“Now I am ready,” James said.
Like previously he put the truck in gear and they opened the blast doors. He roared out onto the tarmac and headed for the runway. He was doing sixty by the time he was headed straight down the middle of it.
“See anything,” James asked trying to drive and look in the rear view mirror.
“Maybe. Looks like a light spot moving across the sky. I assume that will be the command ship.”
“Looks a little bigger than the others.”
“Yes. That is probably the daddy ship or whatever they call it,” Sarah said.
“I sure hope this thing has enough power to bring it down or at least do a number on it,” James said.
“I want to bring it down. If this is the big one and we can damage it, it could end everything right here and now.”
“Then power that sucker up to maximum and do it,” James replied.
“Gee, I should have thought of that,” was all Sarah said as she made the last adjustment to the settings. Everything was out of their hands now.
James could see the bright spot in the clouds just a few hundred yards ahead. He was coming to the end of the runway and would have to turn and head back. This would present a problem for Sarah as she tried to track the damn thing.
“Sarah. I’m running out of runway.”
“Then slow down. Get down to ten or twenty miles an hour. Your speed will make absolutely no difference when we are talking about Planck time.”
“What?”
“We’ll talk about it later,” Sarah said watching the instrumentation closely.
**
“That object. That must be it,” Baajal said.
“It doesn’t look like much, Supreme Commander.”
“But it is moving. That means something is causing it to move does that not follow?”
“Yes sir.”
“I want you to lock our main weapon on that device. Do not lose it or...”
“I understand Supreme Commander.”
“Let me know when all the power is diverted to the main weapon.”
“Sir?”
“Did you not hear me?”
“Yes sir. All power.”
“I do not want to have to repeat myself again.”
“Yes sir, understood sir.”
“Now get busy,” Baajal ordered.
He sat waiting for several moments. He was becoming restless. He decided the crews had become lax and he would put an end to that once this planet was conquered. He would run drills until they could do as he commanded without the hesitations.
“Well?”
“Almost ready.”
“I don’t want almost. I want the weapon online.”
“Coming on line in 4...3...2...1...now, sir”
“The target is acquired?”
“Yes sir.”
“Fire on my command.”
“Ready to commence firing.”
“All ship’s crew. This is The Expeditionary Forces Supreme Commander. You are invited to watch the destruction of the nemesis that has held up the conquering of this planet. I will now destroy them. Only necessary crew members need to remain at their stations.
Baajal looked over at the weapons commander.
“Fire on my order.”
“Yes sir.”
“Everything is as it should be?”
“Everything is in order commander.”
“Then fire.”
“Firing,” the weapons commander replied and sent the bolt of plasma streaking toward the earth.
**
The dial spiked suddenly in the command station of the truck.
“Here it comes,” Sarah said, “Whoa. Bigger than the last one. A lot bigger,” she said mostly to herself.
James didn’t reply. There was nothing he could say at this point. The sky became incredibly bright as the plasma bolt raced toward them.
The truck shuttered as the P-SMA was released to race up and try to intercept it. Sarah sat transfixed at the bolt passed 30,000 feet then 20,000 and finally 10,000 before she saw a slight change. It was down to 5.000 feet before it began to flicker. It began to sputter out as the modulated sine-wave raced back up the beam. Then it was gone.
“Did you do it?” James whispered.
“I don’t know for sure but I think it at least did some damage or we would be toast by now.”
“We need to get into the hanger if that thing does come down. It’s bigger and probably closer,” James said pushing the accelerator to the floor and up shifting.
They raced for the blast door and hoped someone had sense enough to be watching for them. He was up to sixty-five when the clouds parted and for the first time they got a glimpse of what they had been dealing with. While the last ship had been huge, this one was gargantuan. If it hit before they got to the blast doors they would probably not survive the shock wave.
Closer and closer they raced as the ship fell toward the earth. They had fifty yards to go when it hit the earth with an ear shattering roar. James looked over and could see the shock wave racing at them at incredible speed.
An enormous wall of dirt, debris and smoke was sent high into the air.
“We aren’t going to make it,” he shouted.
“Just keep going,” Sarah yelled back.
Just as suddenly they were enveloped in the leading edge of the wall and the truck started to slide. James tried to correct but the shock wave sent it tipping up and finally they were tumbling through the air.
James tried to hold on to Sarah’s hand but the g-force was just too great and she slipped free. The truck tumbled over on its top and slid along the pavement until the second shock wave hit and sent it rolling over.
James felt for Sarah’s hand but he was pinned in the twisted cab. His left arm was useless and he knew his face had taken the brunt of the truck's windshield.
He thought he heard a moan but it could have been the wind.
“Sarah? Sarah are you okay?” he tried to yell but his mouth was caked with dirt so that it came out as a croak.
He tried to turn to look at the control center but it was gone and Sarah was nowhere to be found.
Well this is another fine mess you have gotten me into Ollie, he thought as he struggled to get free.
“Stay still,” a voice said, cutting through the darkness.
James laid his head down and just waited. It was the last thing he remembered. Everything went dark as he slipped into unconsciousness.”
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
When James finally opened his eyes he was looking into the face of a man that needed a shave. It certainly wasn’t the angel of beauty he had always thought he would see. Just as quickly, the face disappeared. He tried to talk but it was impossible.
“Don’t try. We have a tube down your throat. That can come out in a minute. We just need to finish taking your vital signs.”
He wanted to know about Sarah. The hell with the vital signs. Before he could indicate what he wanted his eyes got heavy again and he slipped back into sleep.
“Not so good,” the doctor said.
“You seem to have his internal bleeding under control. We may have to go back in but in his present condition it would be a big risk.”
“For now we will just monitor him. Let’s give it another twenty-four hours and then make the call. I will order around the clock observation on Mr. Flynn.”
“I agree. The President wants status reports every three hours as well.”
**
“Mr. President, Mr. Flynn is not out of the woods just yet. The last report did show a favorable improvement and the doctors are guardedly optimistic.”
“I guess that is all we can hope for. I want to be notified the moment his status changes.”
“Yes sir, Mr. President.”
Ever since Major Beal had returned with the news that they had brought down what they believed to be the ship in total command, all hostilities had stopped. It was if they were waiting to be told what t
o do.
What Sarah Knott had done had obviously disrupted their targeting the country. President Coaler wondered if it had stopped in the other parts of the world as well.
Major Beal said the latest ship made the other one look pale by comparison. It was almost twice as big. He also told them of James and Sarah’s dash to the bunker but not making it by only a few yards before the shockwave caught up with them and flung them like a rag doll across the tarmac.
From the Major’s description it was amazing that James had survived. The truck had been demolished and they had had to cut him out to extract his battered and broken body.
Beal had watched as the truck tumbled end over end and was one of the first to race out and try to locate James. He had reached in and felt for a pulse. It was weak but he had one. He had been one of the men trying to frantically remove James from the battered truck. Finally they got him out and down to the infirmary. The doctors immediately went to work on him but the blood loss was their initial concern. The broken arm, leg, and ankle they could work on after they stabilized him.
**
When James woke up the next time it was dark in the room. Only a faint light came from under the door. He felt around and finally found the call button. He had no more than pushed it when three nurses rushed into the room.
Hey, this was service, the thought. His throat still hurt so he made a motion with his hand that he needed a drink. Instantly one of the nurses put a hand behind his head and the glass of water to his lips.
He took a big gulp and nothing had ever tasted so good.
“Thank you,” he managed to get out after two more big gulps, “Where am I?”
“In the Presidential Bunker. Doctor Simon and Doctor Michel are your physicians. Would you like me to get them?”
“No, I’m fine. Can you tell me what time it is?”
“4:12 A.M.”
“How long have I been here?”
“You have been here six days, well technically seven as of today,” one of them informed him.
“Holy smokes. You mean I have been out for seven days?”
“Some of the down time was induced so they could reset the broken bones. You had a good deal of internal bleeding as well and that was additional time.”
“But seven days.”
“It was for your own good. You are making amazing progress at this point in time.”
“When can I get out of here?”
They laughed.
“The President said that would be one of the first things out of your mouth. Obviously he knows you quite well,” she replied.
“The doctors will need to determine that,” the other one chimed in.
“I need to find out about Doctor Sarah Knott. How is she?”
“Who?”
“Doctor Knott. She was with me in the truck.”
“Sorry Mr. Flynn. We know nothing about Doctor Knott. You were brought here and rushed into surgery. No one else was with you that we are aware of.”
“This is crazy. She has to be here. Oh no...She wasn’t...?”
“I’m sorry. We have no further information at this time. Let me see what I can find out,” one of the nurses told him.
For a few minutes he was lying there all alone with a cup of melting ice water and no answers. His mind raced trying to recall the final seconds before everything went dark but he honestly had no clue.
Only three things could have happened if she wasn’t here in Washington. She survived or was only slightly hurt and was in Plattsburg. She escaped unharmed but had to stay behind due to the limited passenger ability of the Invader. She was dead.
The more he thought about it the more he convinced himself that the worse had happened. If she was unharmed she would be here with him. If she was injured, she would still want to be brought here. He laid his head back on the pillow and closed his eyes. He had only known her for a short time and yet it felt like years.
**
The next time he awoke the President was standing by his bedside.
“Hey tiger, how are you doing?”
“Ready to go another round with those guys,” James said trying to smile.
“That was an incredibly heroic thing you guys did. I don’t know if you have been told but they are gone. Just as quickly as they appeared, they left. I guess they decided they had picked on the wrong planet after all.”
“That is certainly good news Mr. President.”
“Listen about Sarah, I mean Doctor Knott. I need to know what happened to her.”
“What happened?”
“Yes sir. Did they recover her body?”
“James. I’m not following. She comes here every day and checks on you before flying back to Plattsburg. She is working on helping make the Invader more user friendly until we can integrate the pilot and the plane. I can’t tell you how many times she has slept in that chair there,” the President said.
James pumped his fist and said, “Yes”.
“She will be here in another hour. Major Beal has been flying her back and forth.”
“I’m glad to hear the Major is doing well also.”
“You know, he acts like you are his brother. You should see them together when the doctors are here. They watch them like a hawk and question everything they are doing. It’s downright comical,” the President said.
“Yeah, I kind of like him too.”
“And Sarah.”
“Yeah, and Sarah,” James said blushing.
“Get well my friend,” Coaler said shaking his hand.
**
“So I get to be best man?” Beal asked.
“I’ve said that three times.”
“Heck, that's only fair. I am the best man. You just lucked out with Sarah.”
“Dream on jockey boy. You make a good third but I’m just feeling sorry for you because you can’t get a girl. Seems like all you can get is beer and that’s because it's free.”
“That is so uncalled for. I would never insult you like that. I mean Sarah and I talked it over and she decided you were too delicate to turn down. We would just have to sneak around when you weren’t looking.”
“I need to talk to the President about demoting you so your head will fit in the helmet again.”
“I doubt it. He is probably deciding whether to make me a General or Head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, if they had one any longer.”
“I’m thinking don’t hold your breath on that one.”
“Don’t hold your breath about what?” Sarah said coming into the room.
“Lunkhead thinks he is due for another promotion.”
“He can barely fit his head through the Invader’s portal now. It doesn’t need to get any bigger,” Sarah said.
“Sarah,” Beal exclaimed, “Not you too.”
“After you flipped that plane over three times in a row, you think you are going to get sympathy from me.”
“Serves you right,” James said.
“Well crap, let’s get this over with. The last time I heard about a marriage in a bunker it was Eva Braun and Hitler. Humm, what does that say about the future?” Major Beal said, putting his arm around each of their shoulders.
They walked like that to the President’s office where he held a Bible. He was going to perform the ceremony himself. Somehow it seemed so appropriate.
- THE END -
About the author:
Marshall W. Huffman never considered being a published author. Most of his writing was for personal satisfaction. His wife, Susan, talk him into submitting his work for publication but the idea of rejection deterred him. It wasn’t until 2012 that he finally gave in and at her insistence e-published his first book, THE END. That almost turned out to be a disaster when he accidently published the rough draft instead of the finished book. After that little setback and of course, republishing the finished manuscript, his writing career has since taken off.
Marshall’s first trilogy is THE EVENT and consists of THE END, THE BEGINNING, and THE REV
ELATION. This was followed by a second trilogy called: THE SECOND CIVIL WAR and consist of Book I – A NATION DIVIDED; Book II – A NATION AT WAR and the conclusion, Book III – A NATION HEALING.
He has also published a series of mysteries entitled: THE ANGIE BARTONI CASE FILES with a central cast of characters. In addition, he has two other series entitled: THE NORRIS FILES with its own set of central characters and THE LOGAN FILES. He enjoys writing mysteries, techno-thrillers, and Si-Fi.
His Sci-Fi books THE BRINK – OPERATION DEEP FLIGHT; BLACKSTAR, CLOSE PROXIMITY and SUN BURST are intense techno-thrillers with Si-Fi intertwined. His latest addition is CHIMERA. It is a look at what could well happen if we don’t stop twisting science in perverted way.
Marshall was born in Bainbridge, Georgia and grew up in Indiana. After spending eight years in the Navy, he attended Ball State University, earning a B.S. degree in Business.
During and after college, he was involved in the restaurant business and spent the next twenty-five years in all types of venues, eventually owing his own fine dining restaurant. After years of long hours he decided on a career change. He attended Eastern Illinois University earning a MBA. Because of his business background, Eastern Illinois University asked him to teach in the hospitality management program. He was recruited from Eastern to Parkland College and soon took over as the Program Director for the Hospitality Program. During his tenure there, he became a chef and had a television show called Cooking around the World with Chef Marshall and taught a series of cooking classes for Continuing Education as well. Professor Huffman retired from teaching along with his wife, Dr. Susan Huffman, to Tampa Bay Florida.
You can find his books under: MARSHALL HUFFMAN at Amazon.com.
WORLDS END Page 20