by Cage, Zion
The End: Revelations
An Emp Post-Apocalyptic Survival Thriller
Zion Cage
Copyright © 2020 Zion Cage
All rights reserved
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
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PROLOGUE
PART ONE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
PART TWO
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
PART THREE
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
PART FOUR
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
EPILOGUE
About The Author
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In events prior to the EMP, Vivien will do anything to please the one she loves. That is until he decides to put her away. Her eyes open and, for once, she realizes the truth. She will have to make a hard decision.
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Also By Zion Cage
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The End: Fight For survival
The End: Captives
The End: Warzone
The End: Rogue
“Spoiler, we die in the end.”
Atticus
PROLOGUE
22nd February 2021
3:55pm
Grand Kremlin Palace, Moscow.
Russia.
Billy Monroe shook hands with Sergei Olga, the president of Russia. They had just completed peace talks and signed the most significant agreement in the history of both countries.
“I, for one, am glad that we have done this. The decision we have taken is the height of wisdom. It takes a courageous man to have offered what you did, President Monroe. The world will remember you for this. And you, President Olga, have demonstrated the height of team-play. Your names will go on throughout history. I had been wondering for how much longer the differences between both your nations would remain. The world is evolving, and we can only become better by joined efforts,” Aaron Ben-Ammi, the UN Secretary-General, said from behind them, where he sat. He had acted as a referee during the meeting, which had gone better than he expected. There had been no bantering. Billy had shown great self-control through it all. There were moments when Sergei had tried to prove difficult. However, Billy remained easy going. His character had been the foundation of the meeting’s success.
“That is true. I am glad that we have come this far,” Billy said, smiling brightly. They stood up and began to walk towards the door. Their escorts followed them. They knew that, beyond the door, so many reporters were waiting to hear the meeting’s outcome.
“I must say,” Sergei said, leaning over. “Between you and me, you’re the smartest president America has ever had.”
“I’d say the same of you, sir. It takes two smart minds to do something this momentous,” Billy said, nodding his head vigorously. Two men opened the large doors, and some escorts went ahead to make way for the men that mattered. They waved and smiled at the press; then, the UN Secretary-General gave a short speech to the public, announcing the meeting's outcome.
When Aaron was done, Billy and Sergei shook hands before the press, allowing them to take pictures.
Sergei smiled brightly but his seeming goodwill didn’t fool Billy. Billy knew that Sergei thought he was stupid and would look for every means possible to exploit the agreement to his favor and America's detriment. Sergei had only signed the agreement for what he stood to gain from it. He knew Sergei.
But he didn’t care. That wasn’t the goal yet. In fact, that kind of thinking was what he needed.
Soon after the meeting, Billy returned to his hotel room. He looked at his wristwatch. It was 7:37 pm. He wanted to sleep but he was waiting for a phone call. He took a shower. The call still hadn’t come. He wondered what was taking so much time.
He sat on his bed and thought about his wife- the wife that had been given to him by the ones above him. Then, he thought of his children- poor kids whose futures had already been programmed. They were going to turn out to be like him.
And he wasn’t a good person.
Like a thief, sleep came upon him. He didn’t know when he fell over on the bed and began to sleep. His escorts watched over him. There was no need to fear.
However, the dreams always brought fear with them: seeing himself run away from home… meeting Nikolas under the bridge… becoming part of something big… partaking in combat classes… being punished for slow thinking… struggling to rise through the ranks of his class… leaving Russia…
Suddenly, his phone rang, and he jumped up from sleep. Slowly, he realized that the sound had come from his phone and he calmed down. His two escorts looked puzzled at his reaction. Before he could pick his phone, the call ended. He looked at the caller ID. There was no name. he knew who was calling. He also knew he was in trouble. He wasn’t supposed to miss the call.
Sure enough, in a couple of seconds, the call returned.
“Excuse me,” he said to his guards and they left the room.
He picked the call up immediately.
“Hello,” he began.
“You know you were not supposed to miss my first call, don’t you, Igor?” a lady’s voice came from the other end.
“I know. I’m sorry. I fell asleep,” he begged. The lady was his Chief-of-Staff- at least in the public's eyes. She was way more than that.
“You’re lucky Adrik wasn’t yet a part of the call. I’m sure he wouldn’t have taken it lightly,” she said.
“I know, High Priestess. I promise it won’t repeat itself.”
There was a brief silence before she spoke again.
“I saw the news. You’ve been working so hard these days. I’m so glad it has all paid off well.”
Billy smiled.
“To say I’m relieved will be an understatement. Sergei just kept trying to play stubborn. It took all the wisdom I could muster to put him in that corner,” he said.
“I’m proud of you. It turns out you’re not so much of a scatterbrain after all,” the lady said. Billy frowned at that, but he said nothing. It was foolish to react rashly. She had given him he now wielded. She could easily take him down.
“Do you know if Adrik knows about my accomplishments? I’m sure he’ll be pleased with me,” he said. Adrik had believed in him. When the other council members had argued that he’d be unable to handle the presidency, Adrik had ensured that he was chosen.
“Oh, I bet he knows. He asked me to call by this time because he was in another meeting. I’ll add him to the call now; however, I believe you know it will be rather idiotic to expect him to congratulate you heartily,” she said.
The next second, the call was put on hold. Shortly after, the meeting resumed. This time, it was a male voice that spoke from the other end.
“Alexei, Vivien tells me you did a great job. I believe we are in line for the next phase,” the man said.
“Yes, Tsar Adrik. I’ve
positioned us to strike without being noticed,” Billy said.
“Russia shouldn’t have been in a hurry to bite that bait,” Vivien said. “It’s never good to be arrogant. You’ll never know when you’re falling into a trap.”
Billy would have chuckled if Adrik hadn’t been listening. Vivien always had a way of making him laugh.
“True,” Adrik said. “Sergei will have to bear the initial brunt of our move. However, it’s a brief one. And, besides, he was too self-willed to be of any use to us. He has to go.”
Billy nodded. He noticed how silent Vivien was. He always wondered what went through her mind whenever she became quiet like that.
“Well, then, I’ll contact our weapon’s unit in Russia to prepare our package. It must be completely invisible. You and Vivien are to ensure that your defense and intelligence teams know nothing about this. Not even rumors should go around the US. You have brethren in every unit of government, military, and media. Use them wisely,” Adrik said.
“Yes, sir,” Billy and Vivien said together.
“Good. Vivien, disconnect Alexei. I want to speak with you in private,” Adrik said.
“Okay,” she said. “You know you have to wipe out all evidence of this conversation, don’t you, Igor,” Vivien said. The next second, Billy’s phone beeped. The call had ended.
He sighed as he went under his blankets.
Our Package…
The package was like Pandora’s Box. Once it was opened, all sorts of mayhem would be unleashed upon America. Innocent people would die.
He was betraying the nation he led. He was also betraying his nation by framing her. He was a bad person.
But he didn’t care. He’d been labeled bad since his childhood. That was why he had run away from home. If they chose to believe he was bad, he was going to be just that.
He called out for his guards to return. The two loyal men came in immediately. This time, as he slept, there was only satisfaction in his heart. It was only a matter of months.
To hell with America.
PART ONE
The Arrival
CHAPTER ONE
“This is way bigger than you are…”
23rd November 2021
12:05pm
Bronx Whitestone Bridge, New York.
USA.
Okay, folks. Before you is New York: our penultimate destination. Feel free to sigh in relief because we are not stopping until we cross those gates,” Sergeant Graham said as he turned and looked at the multitude behind him.
Murmurs rose from the crowd.
“But it’s time for us to rest. Our wives and children are tired,” a man in front called out.
“Well, then carry them on your shoulders. You’re a man; I don’t expect you to tire easily. You’re not tired, are you?” Graham asked him. The man didn’t reply. The murmurs continued but Graham didn’t care. They were going to get to New York before they stopped. He didn’t like civilians. They were too lazy.
Aaliyah stood with Ted and his family. They were all emaciated. The trek hadn’t been too favorable. Aaliyah was just glad that Marcia, her grandmother, hadn’t gone through it all. As her mind drifted to her family, she felt the wave of sadness hit her again. An EMP was never good news. Ted held her hand and squeezed lightly.
“You’re not tired yet, are you?” he asked with a smile as she looked up to him. She returned his smile and shrugged.
“I guess I am. Think you’re up to carry me?” she asked.
“He’ll carry you, alright; right after Rory Hankins becomes strong enough to carry me,” Elizabeth said, poking her husband on the ribs with her elbow. They all laughed.
“I’d carry you, Lizzy. It’s just that while the rest of us were getting slimmer, you were adding weight. I’m not sure I’d be able to lift you now,” Rory said, and they all laughed again.
Aaliyah nodded. She had lost a family, but she had found a new one. The Hankins had loved and protected her since she lost her grandmother. Elizabeth and Rory had been like parents to her. And Ted? Ted had become her closest friend. There was nothing about her that he didn’t know. He returned the feelings, opening himself up to her completely. His leg had healed considerably, and he could walk without any support. Aaliyah was glad that he had come for her when she had almost been abducted. That was the turning point for their relationship.
Despite the joy that she felt with them, she couldn’t help but feel the growing apprehension as she moved closer to New York. She wasn’t the only one who had lost someone during the journey. Many people had died during the migration; people no longer cried when they buried their loved ones. The destiny of everyone around her was now on her shoulders and none of them knew it-, no one except Ted. She had shared the secret mission with him, and he had promised to help her. Once they arrived in New York, she would have to begin.
Ted squeezed lightly on her hand again and she looked up at him.
“Don’t be afraid, Ali. We’re in this together. Nothing can go wrong.”
This time, she smiled again and squeezed his hand back.
“We’re in this together,” she said as she leaned her head on his shoulder.
She was safe with him. That was all she had wanted in the past, safety. Even if she died, she was glad that she had known safety with another person.
◆◆◆
24th November 2021
12:05pm
Columbus, Ohio.
USA.
Xander limped through the bookstore, searching for any book on ethical hacking. He had been searching for it for the past two days in every bookshop he had seen on the way to New York. Unfortunately, not many readers were fond of programming books. Currently, he was in the largest bookshop he had seen so far. It had three floors of books. It had taken Joel a while to break them into the store. Apparently, even though the shop owners were never going to see those things again, they were jealous enough to lock their properties up securely. Despite the security measures the store owners had taken, migrants had raided their shops. All grocery stores around were empty even before his migrant group had arrived. Apparently, no one was interested in reading books anymore. That was why the bookstore locks were still intact.
He still had the wounds from his last encounter with Morgan. His left cheek was swollen, his right eye was purple and swollen, and his leg still hurt a little. It was the same one that had been hurt in the accident after the EMP. The leg had become tired of being hurt all the time. Nia had been massaging him, and so, the injuries were healing; however, they weren’t healing fast enough. He was tired of people looking at him and wondering how he had incurred the injuries.
“Hey, Xander, is this what you’re looking for?” Grayson said, running to stand by him. She held an elementary math textbook up for him to see. Xander rolled his eyes.
“Are you trying to help me or are you just doing this to annoy me?” he asked, and she grinned.
“You know me too well, Xander,” she said and ran away as Xander moved to tickle her.
“This is serious, Gray. I don’t know how many times I have to say it to you. There’s no time to play around. If you’re not going to help me, don’t disturb me,” he said as he returned his attention to the bookshelves.
“I still don’t understand why you insist on finding a book on ethical hacking. It’s not as though you could still use it to do anything. There’s no functional computer existing anywhere on the planet,” Grayson said as she walked through the row of books behind him.
“It’s true, Xander. Why are you doing this? With all the passion you’re putting into this, it’s becoming hard to believe that it’s just for personal development. It has something to do with the lady from two days ago, right?” Joel asked as he came up the stairs. He had been searching on the ground floor. Nia and Harper were behind him. They, too, had curious looks on their faces. Xander sighed. He realized how foolish it had been for him to include them in his search. They were bound to ask questions. Suzanne had told him to keep what
she had told him as a secret. She had also told him to start studying as soon as possible. Those two instructions were impossible to carry out at the same time.
The whole thing was even hard to believe. It had sounded like some crazy conspiracy theory from her. However, after watching Morgan come back from the dead and speak to the lady in Russian, it was impossible for him not to believe.
There was no Spain. After New York was the land of the dead.
How could he tell people that? No one would believe him. They’d all laugh at him. They would all think he was crazy- that was until they were face to face with the reality of the situation. He had to help Suzanne. She had a plan. If it worked, maybe he and the people he loved would be safe again. He had never been interested in watching movies on espionage. Looking back, he wished he had watched a lot more of them.
He sighed.
“I’m serious, guys. I’m just doing this because I’m bored and I need to wrap my mind around something from when life was normal,” he said.
“We’ve ransacked six bookstores in two days, Xander. One of the soldiers leading our groups, even asked what our raiding is about. And, of all the books in the world to look for, you want a book that deals with hacking. Besides, there is this urgency about you whenever you search; it’s as though someone’s life or death depended on it,” Harper said, tucking a stray strand of red hair behind her ear. Her police senses had kicked in again. She knew something was wrong.
“Come on. We’re all just worried over nothing. This is just a simple search for a book that I want to read. You all don’t need to join in the search. You could go and anything you want to. I just needed help getting in, that’s all,” he said, raising his hands in exasperation.
Nia came to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.