Jason woke Thursday to the sound of the television blaring, Dan’s face glued a foot or two away from the set.  He was watching the morning news, of all things.

“What’s up?” Jason sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“Another plant explosion,” Dan said without turning.  He reached out and muted the sound.

“In Beaumont?”  Bad news always comes in threes, Jason thought.

“Nah, that was yesterday morning at the Exxon refinery,” he said, turning his face away from the pictures of devastation.  “This was last night at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas.  Pretty much flattened the whole town.”

“Fertilizer?”

“Ammonium nitrate,” Dan nodded.  “Dumbasses in this state n...

Please subscribe to keep reading.