"... Good night... Goodbye" With a sudden click Earl turned off the TV set before walking over to the window and staring out into the blizzard. A weary sigh escaped his scaly maw. It was coming down worse with each passing minute. His house was cozy, warm, and safe...for now. According to the news, the power plant was already a risk for overloading...if it went offline...they'd be in trouble... He stood there for some time, staring at the swirling snowflakes that seemed to blur into one another as they danced around like an angry mob of demons. He was cold, tired, hungry...even with the heater on maximum it wasn't enough. Earl had no idea how long he had been staring outside but he knew it must have been more than a few hours because the sun was already starting to rise over the horizon.
"Earl? Have you been up all night?" Francine poked her head downstairs as called out. She came down a few minutes later, concern etched on her face. "What's wrong?" "I'm fine," Earl replied with a frown. "You sure? You look terrible...," she added as she sat next to him. "Just tired is all...and hungry," he said quietly, his voice sounding so weak. "Can I ask you something?" she asked. "Sure," he replied as he rubbed his eyes. "Why didn't you leave me? You could have left with the kids and made it somewhere warmer by now?" "Because I love you, stupid!" Francine snapped back angrily. "And why would I abandon my husband when we have nowhere else to go? We're together forever! That means you and I will survive this storm too!"
"But what if it doesn't? What if the power goes off? Then where are we going to go?" "We'll figure that out once it comes to that. I don't want to live our lives in fear! I've got plenty of food and water stored away here in case of emergencies. You know I like to be prepared?" "Yes I do," Earl said weakly as he leaned against the wall, "but there are a lot of things we never planned for." Francine gave him a reassuring smile. "Well...if worst comes to worst we can always take shelter under the stairs...or in the closet..." "That's not funny," Earl muttered nervously. "No...It's not." She paused for a moment, then took his hand in hers and kissed his cheek. "We'll get through this...after all we dinosaurs are survivors." She said proudly.
Earl nodded, feeling better knowing she was right. He squeezed her hand tight and held it for a while. It was true, dinosaurs had lived for millions of years...a little cold wasn't gonna stop them. Francine gazed out the window. She could see the streetlights glowing brightly, giving off bright halos as the snowflakes reflected the light. "Why don't we bundle up the kids later and let them play outside for a bit? No better way to conquer fear than to face it head on right?" "Alright," Earl replied with a laugh. "Good idea." The two shared a chuckle as Francine pulled on some thick socks before helping him into his pajamas. After that, it was just a matter of making sandwiches and heating soup.
Earl felt so much better after eating...it definitely helped clear his mind. He fell asleep shortly afterwards, but was woken up by the sound of banging on the front door. It startled him awake and he bared his teeth before approaching the door. "Oh, hey, buddy," a familiar voice called out from the other side. "It's me...Roy." Earl put on a surprised expression. "Roy?" "Yeah." Earl opened the door and stepped aside so his friend could enter. Earl shook himself to calm his nerves. "Man, you really need a vacation..." Roy said as he approached. "Yeah? Where?" Earl laughed, scratching the back of his neck. "So what's up?" "Well...I guess you heard the news," Roy began, "the power plant might blow any minute now."
"Yeah...what about it?" Earl asked as he walked past him and headed towards the kitchen counter. "Well...I was wondering if you wanted to come stay with me and my family for a bit...they live way down on the southern coast. A little warmer than here, but more importantly no reactor threatening to go boom." He said, joining Earl at the kitchen counter. "I...err...maybe...we could talk about it over lunch." "Sounds good," Roy replied, "but I gotta warn you, my wife may or may not try and kill you." Earl turned to glance at the staircase. A Tyrannosaurus Rex...though similar in size to a Megalosaurus, Tyrannosaurs are much more likely to eat other carnivores if the need arises.
Later that day the sky grew darker as the wind picked up. Francine had gone outside to help Earl shovel the driveway, but the task quickly proved to be futile. The snow was coming down so hard that it soon became impossible to tell how deep it actually was. "Oh well...at least we tried." Earl shrugged. Francine chuckled as they went back inside. Charlene and Robbie were watching television (probably trying to distract themselves) and Roy was making a vain attempt to keep the Baby from whacking Ethyl with a cooking pot. "Now now little guy, let hand that to Uncle Roy ok?" BAM "Not the Momma!" Baby yelled had he sent Roy for a loop. "Kid's a real slugger...he should go pro." Roy mumbled before falling to the floor.
"You alright?" Earl asked as he helped his friend to his feet. "Yeah...just had a bad angle on that one." "I'm sorry." "Don't worry about it. I've been hit much harder than that before." Earl grinned before...BAM. "Again!" Baby laughed, having scored a direct hit again.
The doorbell rang. "Who is it?" Earl shouted out. "It's a package for the Sinclair family." A gruff voice said on the other side of the door. "Delivery?" Roy exclaimed, turning to look at Francine. "For you and your family," the deliveryman said, ringing the doorbell again. "What is it?"
"Um...I have no idea sir," the deliveryman responded. "Just open the door and find out, ok?" Earl did just that. Standing at the door was none other than Mr. Richfield, Earl and Roy's boss and he was indeed holding a package.
Inside was a large, plush dinosaur, wearing a t-shirt that read 'Greetings From the End of the World!' "Really!?" Earl snarled, taking the stuffed animal from the box. "This is great...just great! We might be facing death, but here you are still peddling useless junk! Didn't you anything from all this!?" Earl all but roared. Having never been on the receiving end of such a terrifying display Richfield all but cowered. Richfield looked at Earl with an irritated expression. "Well you see, it's our company policy. If there's a disaster, we send a present to the families of everyone who works for us. It's just meant to lighten the mood. "Richfield said quietly." Right...cause a plushy will fix all this." Earl gave the stuffed animal a firm shake. "I OUGHT TO MAKE YOU EAT THIS SEEING AS YOU WERE BEHIND IT ALL!" "Earl Sinclair!" Francine shouted from her chair as she rose to her feet. "You will calm down right this moment! Can't you see he's trying? Right Mr. Richfield?"
Richfield bowed his head slightly. "Yes. Yes...I am." Earl glared at him with eyes filled with rage. "Good, then if there's nothing else I think we're done here..." Richfield squirmed. "There is one more thing...I wanted to give you these." He stepped aside to reveal a large box that had been hidden by hid bulk. "What now? More toys?" Earl scoffed. "No...Supplies. Heaters, water, food, blankets and anything else I could think to grab...I know I can't fix what happened, but I don't want you and your family to suffer cause of me." Richfield bowed deeply and turned to leave. "Hold on..." Earl stepped forward as Richfield flinched, expecting a bite or least a punch...instead he got...a hug. "Thank you...boss. We both screwed up. Thanks for this." Richfield smiled. "Anytime Sinclair." He turned, closing the door as he left.