It was like any other day. I had just gotten scheduled for an interview at a new job. Since being discharged from the Air Force, finding a job was difficult, but I was able to secure a position with a security firm.
It was while I was getting ready to leave. I put on the suit my father gave me before he passed. It was the only suit I had, but it fit well enough.
So as I laced my shoes, I was about to leave my apartment when I saw it from the corner of my eye. It was small and thin; I had almost missed it at first.
Sitting on my living room table was a small brown leather-bound book.
"When did I get that?" was the first thing that came to mind, but I did not have time to worry about it since I had the interview to get to.
Pushing it to the back of my head, I left my apartment and walked to my car. As I turned it on and let it warm up, I saw something that made me stop scrolling on my phone.
Snow.
There was snow falling. Yes, that may have been normal at other times, but it was the middle of August, and I was sweating just wearing the suit. But somehow it was snowing.
And it wasn't like I was imagining. I stepped out of my car and looked at my neighbors and people on the streets, all of them looking up at the falling snow and the dark grey clouds that began to fill the sky.
"Do you know what's happening?" I heard my neighbor Chris, who was going to drop off his kid at school, ask.
"No idea... It's the middle of August...this...this shouldn't be possible," I replied as I held my hand out and the snow touched my palm, melting from the warmth.
As my confusion grew and I could not make sense of what was happening, I turned my car off and walked back to my apartment. Going inside, I turned on the TV and flipped to the news channel.
"Breaking news. The weather, projected to be in the high seventies, had taken a drastic turn as snow began to fall mere moments ago. Though it seems harmless, we are cautioning people to stay out of the snow until further notice..."
As the anchor lady continued her broadcast, I put down my bag and took off my suit top. Sitting on the couch, I placed my face in my hands and let out a deep sigh before my eyes met the thin leather book.
For a few moments, I just looked at it, wondering when I had gotten this book, if I was the one who brought it, and why.
Picking up the book, I check the cover as I saw nothing beside the initials A.G...my initials.
"Did I really buy this book...why can't I remember?" I asked myself as I rubbed my fingers over the marking.
Unclipping the leather strap, I opened the book to the first page with a single sentence on it.
'Once the snow falls in the dead of summer, the end will follow soon after.'
"The end..."
Flipping through the book page after page, I looked for anything else, but it was empty besides that one line.
"I never wrote this...I'm losing my touch," I said as I shook my head and rubbed my eyes.
But right as I was about to put the book down, I saw something even more impossible than snow in the summer.
A new sentence begins to write itself. A sentence that caused a shiver to run down my spine.
'Leave soon. Get food and water, then leave. They will kill you if you come back. Leave the car, it's useless.'
"Kill me...who will kill me?" I asked, thinking that I could speak with it as if it were a person.
As I tried to wrap my head around a book, writing its words, and it told me someone would kill me, a new line appeared.
'Tomorrow the temperature will drop. The following day, ice will form. The last day you die...Run'
"Three days... you're saying I will be killed in three days...by who?"
Nothing.
Putting the book down, I looked out my window at the snow that continued to fall and the frost that slowly began to form on my windows.
Walking to my room, I opened my closet and took out my bag from the military and laid out everything on my bed.
Two sets of clothing. A pair of boots, a flech winter coat, a bennie, summer gear, one pair of summer and one pair of winter gloves, and a few medals.
Grabbing my secondary ruck sack, I pack it with my uniforms, regular clothes, a second pair of boots, and a few other supplies I would need to set up a makeshift camp. Going into my safe, I pulled out my Sig Sauer M18 , loaded the three magazines, and placed it on my chest rig.
Moving to the top of my closet, I pulled out a gun case that held my father's Marlin Model 336 lever-action rifle and two cases of ammo. Placing most of the ammo in the bag and loading two magazines that held six shots each.
"Okay, so either I'm going to die in three days, or I'm just losing my mind...I'm not liking either outcome," I sighed as I took a step back, looking down at my bed.
Taking a moment to think things through and weigh my options, I changed into more comfortable clothing and made my way to the small army general store.
"Anderson...what are you doing out in this weather?" the store clerk and old Vietnam veteran, called Buck, asked as he watched an old boxing tape.
"Just getting a few things, Buck...Planning on going camping in a few days, hopefully when this clears up,"
"Alright, yell if you need anything," Buck replied
"Like you would hear me even if I yelled," I replied, letting out a small laugh.
At the end of the store, I grabbed 10 packs of MREs, two boxes of water purifiers, and a small axe, along with a compact shovel and a boot knife.
"Damn boy, how long you plan on being out there for?" Buck asked as he saw the items in the cart
"Not too long," I replied as he rang me up.
Paying for all the items, I was getting ready to leave when I turned back and spoke.
"Hey Buck...I would close up shop for the next few days."
"What...don't tell me the snow got you scared?" Buck joked, laughing with a raspy voice
"It's the middle of August, Buck, you tell me the last time you saw snow in the summer?"
"Yeah, I can't lie, it is beyond strange, but I have been alive and have seen enough to know that they always make it seem worse than it is," Buck replied as he looked out at the snow.
"Just be careful, Gramps,"
"Don't you worry about me, I've survived worse than some snow," Buck laughed with his comforting laugh as I left the store.