Cataclysm Epoch

by Paul Heingarten

  “We’re good up here. Gonna need help with the rest though, plenty wounded around.”

  I looked back to Llewyn, who shook his head. “Damn lucky. We must have gotten a small patrol this time.”

  “What about Nelson?” I asked.

  Another voice to my side answered, “Who me?” Nelson’s eyebrows arched as he dusted himself off. “Nice group of friends y’all have.”

  #

  Llewyn, Nelson, and I stopped over at the barracks on our way back to the front. One of the barracks was badly damaged; even in the darkness we saw the black smoke it coughed into the air. The other looked like it took a few shots, but nothing too serious.

  “I need an update on the wounded.” Llewyn nodded to me.

  “Talked to Baudricort yet?” I asked.

  “He's at Encampment 5, yeah, I contacted him after this was over.”

  “What'd he say?”

  “Relo at once.”

  “I’m glad we have him to tell us this.” I shook my head. Llewyn eyed me for a second then darted off.

  As medics tended to the wounded, Llewyn saw about the facility repairs. Treg and Norg found Nelson and me. Treg yanked his helmet off. His scowl bored into me. “What the hell was that?”

  I pulled my helmet off and ran my hand through my hair. “You mean me trying to protect our asset?”

  “How about the part where ya ran through a sea of pulse fire?” He narrowed his eyes and shook his head. “You’ll get your ass chewed up and spit out if you keep pulling crazy shit like that.”

  “I had it under control, OK?”

  Norg regarded Treg as he spoke. Treg replied, “Think smart, Ana. People look to you, whether you think they do or not. Don't go getting yourself killed.”

  Treg and Norg walked over and unloaded their heavy gear.

  “So I'm an asset, now?” Nelson asked.

  “I'm sorry, Nelson. It's not like that.”

  “But you said it.”

  “I know, I'm - things have been crazy for me.”

  Nelson squatted down and surveyed the cleanup work. “Crazy, huh? Like being-zapped-a-few-centuries-into-the-future-to-a-world-I-wrote-about-crazy?”

  I joined him on the ground. “Yeah, I keep forgetting you've been through a lot yourself. Keep the faith, we’ll both get what we want yet.” I smiled and patted his leg. I looked around and made sure Llewyn wasn't in earshot before I added, “Nelson, truthfully, I could care less about you being Xander. This Xander business is really Baudricort's idea.”

  “What about Treg? He seemed pretty into it too.”

  Treg and Norg had joined up with Llewyn. The three of ‘em were into an active discussion. Probably a recount of their exploits from the raid earlier. Heh.

  “Treg's along for the ride. For how long, I dunno.” I looked at Nelson. “You'll need all the help you can get getting to one of those Verge zones, though.” I sighed and added, “I can't do it alone.”

  “Yeah, those other people you lost. Does that happen a lot?”

  I shrugged. “For me, that was the only time I ever did that. But yeah, I’ve heard it happens a lot.”

  “So what do you do next?”

  “First, we move this Encampment and get supplies. Then Baudricort.”

  Hissing noises followed by a low growling hum came from every building around us. “Better stand up,” I said as I grabbed for Nelson. “These things make a little ruckus when they start up.”

  I watched as the Encampment facilities, except for the second barracks unit, rose a few feet off the ground, revealing that they were large hover units. A team of people moved and directed ‘em into a single line.

  “What in the world?” Nelson gasped.

  I watched his eyes. They sparkled with wonder a little like Varrick’s when he was impressed. I beamed. “Welcome to the Action, Nelson. Always ready, always mobile.”

  Chapter 27 (Nelson)

  I rubbed my eyes, but it didn’t help the burning sensation from the smoke around me. Ana and the rest joined in with the clean up; they looked a little too familiar with all of this.

  I chuckled to myself when I thought about what had happened over the last two days. Had it just been two days? It felt like a year had passed in that time. And my rescuer, Ana, seemed to have brought me into more chaos and misery. So much for a shining knight.

  The Action pulled several vehicles nearby as they loaded supplies and got people ready to move. I saw a few vehicles that looked like the car I rode in with Brenn and Nycole, and a thought landed on me like a piece of falling timber. This is your world, Nelson. Who the hell are any of them to tell you where to go or what to do? You want answers, you go find them yourself.

  Ana strode up. “About ten more minutes and we’re out of here. You OK?”

  My eyes surveyed the scene again. When I caught her glance, I saw the concern in her eyes. I grasped her shoulder. “Yeah, I’m alright. Just taking things in.”

  She nodded and jogged off toward a group loading some heavy gear into one of their vehicles. I saw at least three of those small cars near the outer ring of transports. It was now or never; a few more minutes and I’ll be in tow once again.

  I walked slow at first. People still milled about; I bet most of them didn’t know my name. Did I know their names? I created this story. How could I not know people here?

  A few soldiers carrying a collection of rifles brushed past me. They were more concerned with their weaponry than who the hell I was. They both want something from me. Well, what the hell about what I want? I never asked for this. Let me get back home. I’ll delete the damn novel and let the future be something else, something that has nothing to do with me.

  I glanced back and saw Llewyn instructing a small group. He held up a digital screen that displayed some maps of the area for their next destination. They’ll see. It’s time I take things into my own hands. Let them come begging to me for whatever they need.

  The vehicles weren’t attended. I fumbled with the door for a few seconds before it slid open. The console inside looked like the one I rode in earlier. There wasn’t a steering wheel, though. I thought back to what I saw Brenn doing when he drove me through Sector 5.

  I tapped and slid my fingers across the console, but there was no response. I looked up, and people still milled about. I then caught sight of Ana. She’d stopped helping and peered around.

  The console came to life with a series of beeps and flashing lights. An electronic voice sounded: “Destination please.”

  “Uh, Sector… 5?”

  The engine started into a rhythmic clunking noise. The seat shuddered, and a steering wheel appeared from out of the console in front of me. The voice responded: “Warning, Sector 5 is Lebabolis territory.”

  I moved my feet about and found pedals below. It was close enough to a car that I could handle it. If I just knew where the hell to go.

  “Nelson?” Ana called out, and I saw her walking briskly toward the car.

  “Start now, get me out of here!” I yelled to the console.

  “Incalculable destination,” came the response.

  Ana ran toward the vehicle. “What are you doing?”

  “Move!” I yelled.

  “Incalculable destination.”

  I pushed the pedals at my feet, but they only revved the engine. I was stuck. Ana was close; another twenty feet and she’d have her hand on my door.

  My breaths huffed in short bursts. There had to be something, some kind of-

  “-Xander! Take me to Xander!”

  The console reverted to a map display. “Do you wish to locate a Prophecy Center?”

  Anything that wasn’t here right now. “Yes, sir, affirmative, for fuck’s sake!”

  The vehicle lurched back and careened into a swift 180 before it zoomed off. I clutched the wheel and prayed that the auto control would last until my head felt like it wasn’t about to explode.

  #

  My hands were sore from their grip on the wheel, but I couldn’t
have let go if I wanted to. My pulse raced in my throat. The freedom and the curiosity of this place had me almost trembling.

  The console map updated, showing indicators of where my vehicle was and wherever the destination, a Prophecy Center was. Nice they still had GPS these days. If only they had an airport.

  After about ten minutes, I ended up on a rough patch of road. I moved the wheel and guided the car around several large holes and cracks. The road looked like it was once a main thoroughfare of a city, but time had rendered it a loose patchwork of pavement and rubble.

  The radio in the car hissed to life with a familiar voice.

  “Nelson, come in. Pick up the handset. Talk to me.”

  “What, Ana?”

  “What are you doing?”

  “Getting away. I want to see this place for myself.”

  “What?”

  “You heard me. It’s my story, it’s my world. You’re just living in it.”

  “You’re putting yourself in a lot of danger, Nelson. Why don’t you stay put? I’m heading your way.”

  “You’re not even real. Why should I listen to you?”

  “Dammit, you’re hysterical. I told you before, I won’t let anything happen to you. Why can’t you believe me?”

  My gut ached a bit, and my voice hitched. “I’m going to this Prophecy Center. See what I can find out. Why don’t you meet me there?”

  “Will you at least wait until I can get to you?”

  “Where are you?”

  “Looking at your sig, I’m two miles behind you.”

  I checked the pedals and sure enough one slowed the vehicle to a stop. “You’ve got fifteen minutes.” I shut the radio off.

  I tapped the console until it switched displays. More maps and diagrams of buildings. It looked like some official Lebabolis documentation. Energy towers, chemical production facilities. Even staffing rosters.

  A pack lay on the seat next to me. It had food rations, a light, and a small book, like a notebook. “Suspects” was written on the cover, and a few names written inside. No one I’d heard of. I put everything else back in the pack.

  Ana pulled up with another soldier in a truck. Getting out, she walked up to my car. “What was that about?”

  “I’m getting away from the war. In the past two days with you people here, I’ve been shot at, inoculated, handcuffed, and almost blown to kingdom come. Excuse me if I’m a little wary of how much your protection is worth.”

  She folded her arms. “Oh, is that right?”

  The soldier with her stood nearby, eyeing her and me.

  “Yep, and I’m sorry but no one, including you, has convinced me that this even isn’t some damn dream yet. In fact, why don’t I get myself killed, and we’ll all see if I wake up or not?”

  Ana’s eyes narrowed. She stepped toward me. “Tell you what. I’ll take you to the Prophecy Center, we’ll do that. I’ll show you what they’ve said about Xander, and what they are saying. And I’ll also show you the Pox and what it’s done to people. If you still don’t believe all of this, I won’t stop you; you can leave and go wherever you want.”

  I took a deep breath and let it out very slowly. “Thank you.”

  “Follow us; do not get separated. When we get there, let us check out the area, and then you can have a look.”

  “Got it.”

  #

  The Prophecy Center stood like some kind of ancient temple. Large columns supported a roof and gave it a look like some ancient Greek structure. The place showed some wear from weather. Black scorch marks also dotted the surface. The surrounding area was rubble with a few paths picked through.

  I pulled my car in front of a statue and froze. The figure was in a dramatic pose. One arm held a book and the other was outstretched as if it cast a blessing. The face was unmistakable. It was me, Xander.

  “Recognize that guy?” Ana asked.

  The inside of the center was basic: more stone, fixtures along the walls. Also some computer terminals that complimented the bookshelves around the place. A doorway at the far end of the room lead into a chapel.

  Ana pointed to the door and said something to the Resistance soldier before he stepped outside. She then approached me. “OK, we don’t have long. Let’s check the terminal.”

  Ana pressed several buttons on the terminal and it displayed a MODOSNet main menu. She tapped her fingers over the screen and sent the display into a quick strobe of screen changes. “Lebabolis has patrols all over the area, so we don’t have time for the grand tour.”

  As she manipulated the controls, the displays showered pictures and updates of Xander, and pages of Cataclysm Epoch cascaded over the screen. “These people know everything about you, Nelson. They’re afraid of Cataclysm and figure the only way they’ll be safe is if they listen to every word you write in your book.”

  “You should’ve gotten me later on, when I was closer to finishing it,” I replied. “I don’t know what to make of any of this.”

  “But you will. It’s in your mind somewhere. And Brenn wanted to pull it out.” Ana winced. “No one deserves that.”

  “Well, what does Baudricort want?”

  “He thinks you can figure out how to shut down MODOSNet. If we can do that, it’s the start of ending their control. We still need to take out Charista and the leaders, but first we have to cripple them. MODOSNet is the leash they have everyone else on, keeping people quiet, and dying.”

  She nodded to the screen, which then displayed a video of several people lying in beds. Their bodies were full of sores and looked horrible.

  “This is what Pox looks like when it’s not treated, when people are close to the end,” Ana muttered.

  The sight was painful. It reminded me a little of Mom, on a bed and clinging to life. There were dozens on this one video.

  “Is there anything that can be done?” I asked.

  “Treatment, but very rare, and unavailable to us in the Action unless we swear to live by their rules.”

  A loud boom from outside shook the floor. Ana’s gaze shot to the entrance. “Trouble. See, told you this was risky!”

  The Action soldier approached the front entrance. Ana grabbed her rifle and headed out with him. “Stay behind us!”

  Another vehicle joined ours outside. Two Lebabolis soldiers stood beside it, their weapons drawn on us.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” barked one soldier.

  “Catching up on our worship.” Ana scoffed.

  “Forget it, Deviant. You and your kind need to learn your place. All of you, get over here. You’re all under arrest.”

  Ana looked back to me. “You’d dare place this man, the Prophet Xander - under arrest?”

  Ana stepped aside. The soldiers craned for a better look at me. “Impostor,” one remarked. “Why should we believe a Deviant who claims someone is Xander?”

  “No way,” the other soldier added. “We’re here to shut this center down anyway. So, Deviants, get your asses over here.” A low hum filled the air when they activated their rifles.

  Everything paused for a moment. I took a breath but it seemed to get caught in my throat. The Action soldier and Ana looked at each other. She pointed at him with two fingers and he nodded in understanding. She turned to me and mouthed “Here we go.”

  Ana faced the Lebabolis soldiers and extended her hands as if for surrender. She took a few steps toward the soldiers, then reached one hand back and grasped something near the back of her neck. She flung her hand forward and launched a small knife, which lodged in the throat of one Lebabolis soldier. He fell to the ground with gasps and spurts of blood from his neck, firing his pulse rifle off in random directions.

  The other soldier quickly swung his rifle straight at me. Ana yelled, “Down, Nelson!” But my legs locked into place. Ana dove straight toward me when the soldier fired. Ana collided with me, and we both tumbled to the ground.

  The Action soldier fired on the Lebabolis soldier. Pieces of stone from the facility splinte
red off and sent clouds of dust down on us.

  Ana lay on top of me. She watched me with frantic eyes. “Are you OK?”

  “Y-yeah, think so.”

  “Stay down!” She rolled off of me. The Action soldier took a shot to his midsection and yelped in pain as he collapsed back against the Prophecy Center.

  Ana’s rifle had slid down the steps and was too far away. She lunged for the Action soldier’s weapon and delivered a barrage that enveloped the Lebabolis solider in a spray of brilliant light.

  She proceeded slow toward the Lebabolis vehicle, her rifle held up and checked the area. Once it all looked clear, she made her way back and checked on the Action soldier.

  “It’s OK,” Ana cooed. “You’re alright. You’re a soldier. Remember, one or none.”

  The soldier’s breathing slowed, and then he was still. Ana gently laid the soldier flat on the ground. She paused over him for a few minutes.

  I walked near her. “You saved me. You could’ve let me die, but you didn’t.”

  She kept her gaze on the fallen soldier. “You aren’t here because you wanted to be. I made a promise I’d protect you until Baudricort’s done with you.”

  She lunged toward me, hand to my throat, her voice in a tremble. “And that includes keeping you from dying, which, if you haven’t figured out by now, is real. You think I would’ve done that if it wasn’t?”

  Her barrage jolted me a bit. I gazed into her eyes as she slowly lowered her hand from my throat. “Alright. This is all just too confusing.”

  “I know. I just wanted to get away with my brother. But that won’t happen until my deal is done. Same goes for you getting home.”

  “I understand.”

  Ana took another look at the vehicle. “Encampment 7 is in full Relo. Let’s loot that rig for whatever they were dumb enough to leave behind and hightail it to Encampment 3. It’s closer to where we are anyway. Besides, it’s time you meet Baudricort before you drag my ass the other half of the way over the Outlands.”

  Chapter 28 (Nelson)