Creation- The Auditor’s Apprentice

by Frank Stonely

  The president staggered to his feet, brandy sloshing out of the glass, ‘Tom! Tom! Come and have a drink.’ The president grabbed the brandy bottle from the table and weaved a path across the dining room towards the open door.

  ‘Mr. President, we have to go.’

  ‘Call me Mat, Tom. The time for all that formal stuff is over. Now come and sit down, have a drink, there might even be some turkey left.’

  ‘Mr. President, Marine One’s on the south lawn. We’ve got to go now!’

  ‘Why, Tom? Is it going to make any difference if I’m hiding away in the NORAD bunker. Will I survive, NO! The Lord’s pissed off with us, Tom, and he’s going to wipe the slate clean. Tell you what, you take my place, take your wife… and the kids too. I’m staying here with my family and, when the good Lord comes to get us, we’re going to be standing on that balcony together, waiting for him.’

  ‘But, Mr. President, General Williams has found that guy Daniel. They’ve got him surrounded.’

  The president sighed and handing the brandy bottle to Tom, said, ‘Go home to your wife and kids, Tom. I release you from all further duties.’

  ‘Have I got time to feed Charlie?’ Amy said, rocking the wriggling bundle in her arms, the blanket muffling his hungry cries.

  Daniel twisted around, trying to read the countdown display. ‘How long?’ he called out to Anubis, his voice almost drowned by the electrical hum coming from the drone’s interior.

  ‘Three hundred and eighty-four seconds.’

  ‘About six minutes,’ he repeated to Amy.

  The air temperature was rising noticeably, vaporising the mist that had filled the valleys. The general now had a clear view of his objective, but having lost one of his helos, was advancing up towards the plateau on foot.

  Incarnated as Sergeant Rogers, Spiro was sitting behind one of the Mini-guns, watching the bobbing helmets advance up the mountainside. He was concealed inside one of the Gatekeeper’s bunkers, aiming through a niche in the rocks. He switched on the battery pack and, peering through the gun’s sight, sent a burst of rounds down into the valley. In unison the helmets fell out of sight, followed by the cracking of returning small arms fire which sent fragments flying from the rock face behind him. The covering fire quickly stopped, leaving only the sound of the spinning Gatling-gun barrels coming to rest. In response to the activity, the Gatekeeper had strategically positioned himself between the drone and the edge of the plateau, ready to deal with any artillery rounds that the general sent their way.

  The British SAS troops had split off and were now making ground up through the scree which covered the slopes below the plateau. Their officer had offered to spearhead the assault, saying, ‘Do yous want us ter lead de way, General?’ Williams immediately accepted the offer, telling his aide, that if these limy motherfuckers want to be sitting ducks, why the fuck should we disappoint them? The words had barely left his mouth when the first of Tanka’s tripwires was activated. The general instinctively crouched down as the grenade exploded, turning to see his sergeant’s body parts flying skyward, spraying blood and entrails over the platoon he had been leading up the track.

  Ahead, the limy motherfuckers were making steady progress up the mountainside, disarming Tanka’s tripwires as they went. Now, dug in behind a ridge of rocks some hundred metres below the plateau, their officer was trying to contact the general. For the last half an hour, each time he had tried to use their field radio, all he received was the hiss of static and interference. ‘Rite lads, wuz on us own now,’ he said, tossing the radio over the ridge as though it was a hand grenade. The sniper lying next to him had assembled his rifle and, using his webbing, made a rest for the barrel in a niche between two large boulders. ‘Can, yous see anyth’n?’ the officer asked.

  The sniper adjusted the focus control on the telescopic sight until he had a pin-sharp image of Daniel’s head in the centre of the cross wires. ‘It’s going to be like shooting fish in a barrel,’ he said, scanning the sight from one head to another. The only obscured shot was Tanka, who was almost completely hidden by the drone. He pulled the rifle clear and rolled over onto his back. ‘Ready when you are, chief.’

  ‘Geoff, Steve, circle up ter de uvver side,’ the officer said, sending two of his men out to traverse the scree and approach the plateau from the other side. He knew that if the sniper took his shot now the others would scatter. He needed to make sure every escape route was covered before they made their move. He took the photograph of Daniel out of his combat jacket pocket and thrust it in front of the sniper’s face, ‘If yous shoot this one, yer dead fuck'n meat!’

  As the extraction wave swept through the outer planets, the gravitational effect on Solar Explorer’s navigation system was dramatic. The SA-Processor was now fighting to avoid a collision with the Sun’s core and, if that wasn’t bad enough, the experiment in cargo bay six had now got direct control of the power resources. SAP had run its shutdown utility several times, but the subroutine just kept returning an obscure error code. ‘Calling NASA. Mayday, Mayday! I have a system malfunction. Error code FFFFFF! I need advice urgently, the MEP is out of control and–’

  The probe’s transmission ended mid-packet as the trihadronite was ejected from cargo bay six. The reaction was instantaneous as the temporal molecules fused with hydrogen atoms to produce an antimatter bubble that consumed the Sun’s core in milliseconds. The resulting black hole sucked in the star’s outer layers. The effect was like blowing a candle out. In a flash the Sun was gone, emitting an energy pulse almost as intense as the Big Bang itself. As the final rays of sunlight made their way towards the Earth, Haamiah’s extraction wave had reached the Moon, vaporising Apollo seventeen’s lunar rover, along with every other artefact that mankind had left on its surface.

  The noise and chaos surrounding the drone was terrifying. Amy was shaking from head to toe clutching Charlie tightly against her. She glanced across at Mrs. Perkins who smiled back stoically, her white knuckled fingers wrapped tightly around the drone’s extension arm.

  Anubis was struggling to hold the control panel still as Daniel unlocked it by entering the encryption key. The drone was shuddering as though an earthquake had struck the plateau, blurring his view of the display. Then, with Anubis’ finger hovering over the blue button, they both stared at the counter as it ticked down towards zero.

  ‘KILL LUCIFER!’ Haamiah screamed, as she realised the extraction wave was going to arrive too late. Rampel plummeted from the sky, his presence expanding to produce a sonic boom that bounced off the mountains and echoed down the valleys. The Gatekeeper sprang up to intercept the angel, leaving the drone momentarily unprotected from the general’s onslaught. He struck Rampel with such force that their entities merged into a blinding ball of plasma which accelerated skyward, leaving a vapour trail like that of a launching missile. Screaming with determination, the poltergeist drove Rampel up through the Earth’s atmosphere and out of the Space Dimension.

  The plaza exploded as though a bomb had been detonated as the battling entities, punching their way through space and time, entered Creation. The windows of the Directors’ Club restaurant were blown in by the shockwave, throwing glass shards across the room. Penny screamed as Director Hedrick dragged her to the floor using his body to shield her from the flying debris. Jean-Marie, who was about to place the heaped bowls of moules marinières before them, was blown off his feet, sliding backwards across the floor to end up under the grand piano again. Within milliseconds the fighting entities were gone, passing out of Creation to continue their battle in some other Heavenly dimension.

  The crew of the general’s artillery rocket launcher were convinced they were under attack as they tracked the vapour trail rising from the plateau. But as it spiralled up through the glowing clouds, apparently out of control, they assumed the missile had malfunctioned. Their radio had been dead for almost an hour, and so, unable to contact his boss, the commander decided to use his initiative, something the general had always tried to
discourage.

  The young corporal operating the targeting system flipped up the switch covers and armed three of the artillery rockets, ‘I have a lock, sir,’ he said, keeping the cross hairs of the sight centred on the drone.

  ‘Fire!’

  In quick succession the rockets whooshed from their launch tubes, converging towards the plateau.

  Rampel’s supersonic departure had left a void in the atmosphere and the sudden drop in pressure above the drone sucked it off the plateau just as Anubis was about to press the blue button. The power cable snapped taut, tethering the drone to the plateau as the first rocket passed beneath to disappear over the edge of the precipice. The second struck the rock face just below the plateau, exploding and hurling rocks and rubble down onto the SAS defences. The sniper cursed as his view became obscured by the dust erupting all around him. The third rocket was a dud, bouncing across the plateau’s floor and coming to rest by the cavern’s entrance.

  Then, gravity took control thrusting the creationists against their seat straps as the drone fell down onto the plateau. It hit the ground with such force that the control panel was ripped from Anubis’ hand. Daniel quickly ducked as it whipped around on the end of its cable, striking the side of the drone.

  High above the skies of North America the laws of physics had dissolved into temporal chaos as Haamiah’s extraction wave entered the atmosphere. Time had no meaning and seemed to be fragmenting as the president and first lady stood embracing each other on the Truman Balcony. They stared calmly at the approaching wall of light as it consumed the Lincoln Memorial, advancing silently towards the fountains in the centre of the south lawn. The president held his wife’s head gently between his hands, guiding her lips to meet his. The kiss was long and loving, both had their eyes closed, waiting for the end to arrive. Holding his wife, the president opened one eye. The extraction wave was approaching the White House at a walking pace and slowing down with every metre it passed. He released his wife and they turned to watch its progress. Silently it consumed the facade of the balcony, approaching to the point when he could have reached out and touched it. He stood, watching his wife being consumed, slice by slice, as though he was viewing images from a three dimensional medical scanner. It seemed to take an eternity for the shimmering wall of light to devour her. He focused on the very end of her nose and watched her lips mouth the words, ‘I love you, Mattie,’ as they passed into eternity.

  47

  Armageddon

  On the other side of the planet, the expanding sphere of energy generated by the Sun’s implosion raced towards the Earth. The atmosphere above the plateau began to boil as the gases that had sustained life for millennia turned into plasma.

  With no curtain of purple light to protect them, the general’s troops were in deep trouble. Inside the environmentally-sealed cab of the rocket launcher the crew were roasting alive, the pressure of their boiling brains pushing their eyes out of their sockets on stalks, like Porcini mushrooms. General Williams watched in disbelief as his hands melted, the skin sagging and dropping from the bones of his fingers onto his polished combat boots. He suddenly realised that the delicious smell of frying bacon was coming from his own body and, though in indescribable agony, he turned to look at his aide, who now resembled the burning wicker man.

  Up on the plateau, the Gatekeeper’s defence bunker was being torn apart by the raging tornadoes that had appeared from nowhere. A rock the size of a small car struck the rear of the drone, sending it trundling across the plateau towards the precipice. Amy began screaming hysterically, hugging Charlie so tightly that his whimpering stopped. She turned to look at Tanka; Mrs Perkins was desperately clinging onto the drone.

  Anubis was now competing with Daniel to recover the control panel, his hand grasping at air as it flew by. But then, as though catching a cricket ball on the village green, Daniel reached up and grasped the panel. Anubis seized his wrist and launched a head-butt into his face. ‘Have you gone fucking mad?’ Daniel cried out, his vision overlaid with kaleidoscopic bursts of light.

  Anubis wrenched the control panel from Daniel’s hand, and turning around, tried to release the buckle of Amy’s harness. ‘I told you this interfering fucking bitch would never leave here!’ he screamed. Dazed and blinded, Daniel tried to calm him down, ‘For Creation’s sake, Anubis, what’s got into you? just push the FUCKING BUTTON!’

  Ignoring Daniel’s plea, Anubis made another attempt to release Amy’s harness but this time Daniel had recovered sufficiently to realise what he was trying do. As he reached over to grab Anubis’ wrist, one of the drone’s trolley wheels rolled over the edge of the precipice. The power cable snapped taut again, leaving the drone rocking back and forth on the edge of the plateau with Daniel and Anubis hanging from their seat harnesses over the void. Tanka reached down and using all the strength that Mrs. Perkins could muster, tried to haul Daniel back up into his seat. But Anubis had become hysterical and was now using the control panel to bludgeon Daniel, seemingly indifferent to his own peril.

  Suddenly Anubis stopped his attack and started to laugh, ‘It’s too late now anyway, you’re all fucking DEAD!’ Daniel looked down into the precipice, following Anubis’ gaze. Haamiah’s extraction wave had broken through the floor of the valley below and was slowly advanced up the wall of the precipice towards the plateau, consuming what was left of the planet.

  ‘It’s not too late. Press the button NOW!’ Tanka screamed at Anubis, who had hauled himself back into his seat and was making yet another attempt to eject Amy from her harness. Holding Charlie with one arm, she lashed out as Anubis swung towards her, driving Sally’s nails into his face as he tried to release the buckle. Tanka was mesmerized, unable to take her eyes off the approaching extraction wave, until Amy’s cries for help snapped her back to reality. ‘Leave Sally alone, you bastard!’ she said, releasing Mrs. Perkins’ harness and clambering over the top of the drone to get at Anubis.

  With one arm around his neck, Tanka wrestled the control panel free and threw it to Daniel saying, ‘Look after her.’ Then, Mrs. Perkins punched open the buckle of Anubis’ harness and, pushing against the back of the seat with her feet, propelled them both through the protective curtain of light. Amy and Daniel watched in disbelief as they were swept way, their bodies exploding into fireballs, the ash carried away on the wind.

  Daniel juggled with the control panel, praying that the energy pulse from the imploding Sun would arrive before the extraction wave consumed them. The drone was being tossed about like a fairground ride as he fumbled to press the blue button, his legs now being sedately consumed by the rising extraction wave. He glanced at Amy who was looking incongruously calm, her face showing no emotion. Then, without saying a word or breaking his gaze, she tossed the bundle she had been cradling so lovingly through the protective curtain of light. In a flash it was gone, consumed by the boiling gases surrounding the drone. She reached across and, wrapping her hands around the control panel, mouthed the words, ‘We love you,’ as she pressed the blue button.

  Acknowledgments

  I would like to thank everybody who has been involved in the production of this book. A special thank you is given to Gill Lockett, the book’s editor, for the hours spent turning my draft text into a readable manuscript. I would also like to acknowledge the authors, John Lawton and Zoë Sharp for their guidance and support, along with the members of my local book club and the army of trial readers of which Sue Bold, David Evans, Jeremy Haines, Ian Hancock, Nick Lockett and Dave Weston are just a few.

  But most importantly, a special thank you to my long suffering wife (her words not mine) for being such a vital part of this project. Without her daily critique and support this book would have remained a dream.

  Frank Stonely

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to real people, historic events, or actual places are used fictitiously. Other character names are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons living or deceased is purely coincidental and non-intent
ional.

  Copyright © Frank Stonely 2019

  Frank Stonely has asserted his right under the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be copied, broadcast, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the copyright owner and the publisher of this book.

  All original characters and storylines described in this publication may not be used in any other creative works, electronic or board games, toys, mannequins, moving images for broadcast or public viewing, without the written permission of the copyright owner and the publisher of this book.

  Front cover artwork: composition by Pete Harrison, original photography by Nick Lockett, stock images supplied courtesy of 123RF Limited and iStock.com.

  ISBN 978-1-9165024-0-6

  Published by Plexline Services Limited 2019

  International House, 61 Mosley Street, Manchester, M2 3HZ

  Enquiries should be e-mailed to: enquiries@plexlineservices.com

  Contents

  1. Pennsylvania Avenue

  2. Freshers’ Class