Dying Planet: A Post-Apocalyptic Novel

by C. O. Amal

  Then the man on the top stared at Eric’s house. Now Eric saw it clearly. In fact Emma and David also saw it. The man’s face is filled with blood and this man was feeding on the man who is lying on the ground.

  “Emma, whatever you do, don’t take off the mask.” Eric commanded.

  Emma nodded.

  Suddenly the man stood up and he made an unholy ear breaking screech, and he ran at Eric’s house.

  * * * * *

  Chapter 12

  Somewhere in Portland, USA

  Bang! Bang! Bang!

  The infected man began to thrash on the front door.

  “He will break that door soon. We need to go away from here.” David worriedly said.

  “Let me pack the essential things.” Eric ran towards his bedroom.

  Emma followed Eric. Before long Eric returned to the living room with a back pack. He hurriedly moved towards the kitchen and once he reached there he started filling the back pack with canned goods. He also took all the bottled water and juice from the refrigerator.

  Bang! Bang! Bang!

  “Eric, hurry. The door will part soon.” David yelled from the living room.

  Eric and Emma ran towards David and they peered at the front door. Cracks began to form on the door here and there. Suddenly the fallen man stood up from the road and he also joined the thrashing. Emma watched the infected with her mouth open. She couldn’t believe what she is seeing.

  “Emma, come.” Eric shifted Emma’s gaze. “We will take the back door.”

  David nodded. They quickly exited the house through the kitchen door. The surrounding is unusually quiet apart from the sound from the front door. They slowly rounded a corner and peeked at the scene on the front of the house. The infected are so determined to break the door.

  Bang!

  At the next thrash the door parted and both the infected ran inside the house.

  “Come on.” Eric led them to his car.

  Before long they reached the front of the house where the car is parked. Emma for a moment stared at the crumbled front door. The infected are nowhere to be seen.

  “Emma, come on.” Eric whispered from inside the car.

  Emma quickly rushed inside the back of the car. David is already inside the car. She closed the back door just in time when both the infected rushed at the car from the back of the building. Eric quickly took the key from his pants packet and he started the car. The infected began to pummel at the windshield with all their might. Eric put the car in reverse and the car rushed towards the road. The infected on the hood of the car fell down as soon as the car starts to move. Eric turned the car and he put the car in drive. A few moments later the car started rushing through the road.

  Both the infected followed the car for some time. Then they gave up the chase. Eric sighed and he floored the accelerator. All the nearby houses are very silent and all the houses are plunged in darkness. No one must be inside the houses. Everyone must have left the houses as soon as they saw the news.

  “Roger’s house is on the north, right?” Eric asked.

  “Yeah.” David said.

  Eric focused on the road. Within minutes he exited the town road and entered into the main road. Now both sides of the road are filled with trees. Eric’s gas mask quickly filled with water vapor due to excessive breathing. It’s actually very difficult driving the car by wearing a gas mask which covers the whole of the face.

  A few minutes later Eric stopped the car on the side of the road.

  “Why are we stopped?” David asked.

  “In this darkness we may not be able to find Roger’s house. Chances are we will not recognize it. We can move first thing in the morning.” Eric said.

  David nodded.

  “Emma, lock both the doors.” Eric said.

  “Okay.” Emma quickly locked the doors. Eric and David also locked the doors.

  Before long the night became too deep. Eric stared at a distant building which is faintly visible in the moon light. There is someone in the top level of that building. Eric could clearly see the light from the top level. People must be struggling to survive. Eric thought about his Martian friends, and without knowing he fell asleep.

  * * * * *

  Chapter 13

  Somewhere in Portland, USA

  Eric woke up by a growl. He slowly opened his eyes. The growl increased and there is a series of growls coming from in front of the car. He slowly straightened his head and peered outside through the windshield. The sight in front of him horrified him. Hundreds of infected are roaming the road, and fortunately they haven’t detected human presence, yet.

  Some of the creatures lack some limbs and most of their faces are missing some flesh at several places. All of their bodies are filled with bruises. While some of them stared at the distant land, some of them walked aimlessly. From where this much infected got here in this middle of the road is a mystery. And also there aren’t any houses nearby and both sides of the road are filled with trees. And without any stimuli these things won’t travel.

  So how did they got here? It hasn’t been much long after the sun broke in the horizon. Emma and David slowly woke up.

  “Eric?” Emma called.

  “Shh ... Keep your voices down.” Eric whispered.

  Then Emma and David saw the horde in front of the car.

  “If I start the car, they will rush at us. And most probably they will break the windows and they will definitely kill us.” Eric whispered.

  “But, we have to start the car one way or the other.” David said.

  Eric analyzed the horde in front of him. He has to start the car. If they moved away, at least a little, he could safely start the car.

  “Do they know we are here?” Emma asked.

  “I don’t know. May be they know. Why else would they stay here?” Eric asked. “It has been too long. I am going to start the car.”

  David nodded. Eric for a moment stared at the creatures near the car. Then he turned the key. With a rumble the engine came alive. Suddenly with a sharp screech all the nearby creatures rushed at the car. Eric put the car in drive and the car slowly entered into the road. Creatures jumped onto the hood of the car, and they all began to pummel at the windshield. Some of the creatures began to pummel at the side windows.

  Emma quickly began to scream. The creatures surrounded the car.

  “Eric, get us out of here.” Emma shouted.

  Eric pressed his foot on the accelerator and the car rushed forward. Some of the creatures fell down and the car went through the creatures. Some of the creatures are still on the hood, pummeling very hard on the wind shield. The car moved forward with high velocity, and finally the creatures on the hood fell down, and the car jerked when it moved through the creatures’ bodies. Eric looked at the rear view mirror and found the creatures running at the car from behind. Before long, the creatures disappeared from the view.

  They passed the tree land and entered into the road whose both sides are filled with houses. Eric slowed down the car a little. This road is dead silent and the houses seemed to be empty. Most houses’ front doors were collapsed long ago. Everyone in this area must have turned.

  “Roger’s house is on the end of this street.” David announced.

  Eric nodded. In this area, houses are very beautiful and each house yard has a number of trees. Finally Eric stopped the car at the end of the street, in front of a double storied house.

  “Is this it?” Eric asked.

  “Yes. This is Roger’s house.” David said.

  “What if he is one of them?” Emma asked.

  “In that case, we have to search his house. He is the store house of all the information. He knows where to go. There must be a journal in which he had written everything.” David said.

  “Okay, let’s do this.” Eric exited the car.

  Emma and David followed Eric. Roger’s house’s front door is still intact and Eric turned the knob. The already unlocked door slowly opened. Eric and team entered
inside the house and David closed the door behind him. They quickly began their search. When they reached the kitchen, they heard a growl. Eric and David slowly entered inside the kitchen and they found the back door opened ajar. Eric and David slowly approached the back door. The growl is coming from outside. They peeked outside and saw a creature feeding on a corpse.

  David slowly closed the back door in horror.

  “That was Roger.” David said with a worry.

  “Who? The creature or the corpse?” Eric asked.

  “The creature.”

  “Now, what would we do?”

  “Let’s check his office room. There must be a journal.”

  Eric nodded. They left the kitchen and in the living room Emma joined them.

  “Did you find him?” Emma asked.

  “He had turned, Emma.” Eric said.

  Emma covered her mouth with her hand in shock. “Now, what?”

  “We should search this house for anything good.” Eric said.

  Emma nodded.

  They slowly started climbing the stairs to the upper level. Before long they found Roger’s office room.

  “Check everywhere.” David said.

  Quickly they all began to search through the room. A few minutes later Emma started flipping through the pages of a book.

  “What have you got there?” David asked Emma.

  “I think it’s his journal.” Emma said.

  David stopped his search and he went near Emma. He slowly peered at the book Emma is reading.

  “This book is full of aliens and UFOs. Who was he?” Emma asked.

  “He was our elder. He likes to collect this sort of information.” David said.

  Emma finally reached the last entry Roger had written. Emma and David slowly red that entry. Then, horror struck them. Emma and David exchanged a serious glance.

  “What is it?” Eric asked when he saw Emma and David standing there in shock.

  David finally opened his mouth. “We have a place to go. But ...”

  “But, what?” Eric asked.

  “It’s a planet we recently heard in the news. The 9th planet in our solar system.” David said.

  “And?” Eric asked.

  “According to Roger’s research, this Marselia disease was actually originated from that planet. He says that, the people of planet Nibiru are the one who created this disease. They created it for destroying our planet.” David said.

  “You mean, this Marselia is a weapon?” Eric asked.

  “Yes. They must be the one who did this here too. According to Roger, he saw a flying saucer earlier this month. He says that this flying saucer belongs to the people of planet Nibiru. So there are all the possibilities that the People of Nibiru are behind this.” David said.

  “So, actually you guys are not born in this planet?” Emma asked.

  “Emma, we are born in this planet. But, we are the descendants of the Martians. Our ancestors came here long, long ago. They were actually running away from this disease. This Marselia disease will destroy everything. It completely destroyed planet Mars. Nothing can save this planet now. That’s why we must escape from this place fast.” Eric said.

  Emma tried hard to digest this new information. Finally she nodded.

  “So this planet Nibiru is our only hope, and they are actually our enemies?” Eric asked David.

  “Exactly. If we want to live, we need to go there.”

  * * * * *

  Chapter 14

  Somewhere in Portland, USA

  Eric, Emma and David spent a few more hours inside Roger’s office room.

  “Look at this.” Emma said flipping through the pages of a book.

  “What is it?” Eric asked.

  “He has been doing some serious research on the people of Nibiru and in this book ‘Earth’s Forbidden Secrets’, everything about the planet Nibiru is depicted.”

  David and Eric went near Emma and they peered at the book Emma is holding.

  “It was the Sumerians who first noted down about the planet Nibiru. It says that people of Nibiru were here on Earth looking for gold. Their planet’s atmosphere is slowly disintegrating and they needed gold to stop that.” Emma said.

  “So, they may have got the gold they want, and they released the plague on us like they had done on Mars, for wiping out all of us.” Eric said.

  “And, it’s not over yet.” Emma said.

  “What do you mean?” David asked.

  “Roger noted down in his journal yesterday that the Martians were found out that the people of Nibiru are the one who released this Marselia on Mars. And the remaining Martians destroyed the planet Nibiru’s atmosphere.” Emma said.

  “So, this is far complex that we first thought.” Eric said.

  “Yes. Indeed.” Emma said.

  “Lot of time had passed after Mars is destroyed. And according to Roger, he saw a flying saucer a few days ago. So people of Nibiru must have left this planet after unleashing the plague on us.” Eric said.

  “Right. So, where to? Planet Nibiru is our only hope for survival and we need a ship to get there.” David said.

  “Not any ship. We need, our ship to get there.” Eric said.

  “But, it must be a junk.” David said.

  “I have heard my father saying that, that ship is in Russia and it is in good condition.” Eric said.

  “They must have dismembered the ship to study.” David said.

  “What are you guys talking about?” Emma asked in confusion.

  “We are talking about the ship in which our ancestors came to this planet. Russians used that ship to build most of their space ships and satellites.” Eric said.

  “So, where in Russia?” Emma asked.

  “Rostov.” David said.

  “Check this room thoroughly. There must be maps to that place somewhere here.” Eric said.

  Emma nodded. They quickly began their search. Suddenly a screech came from outside. Eric and team froze. Eric quickly went near the window and peered outside. The sight horrified him. Possibly the horde of creatures, they had encountered in the morning, is here. They are roaming the streets and a few of them are standing around Eric’s car.

  “They know we come in that car.” Eric said.

  “What?” David asked in confusion.

  “Look. They are standing near our car.” Eric said.

  Emma and David came near the window and they too saw it.

  “Now what?” Emma asked.

  “We have to drive them away.” David said.

  “And you have a plan for that?” Emma asked.

  “I am thinking. You look for that map. May be it is in that journal. Dig deep.” David said to Emma.

  Emma quickly began to search through the Journal from the first page. Eric and David stood there near the window and they analyzed outside, devising a plan.

  The horde outside is not going away from near that car. Most of the creatures are limping but they must be very fast, otherwise they wouldn’t be here in a short time. Eric, David and Emma searched the house for a few more hours.

  “Found it.” Emma said with excitement.

  Eric and David went near Emma and they too saw the map. The map is a top secret one, and based on the looks, it is a military map.

  “Where does he get this kind of information?” Emma asked.

  “Nobody knows. He was a skilled man in collecting information. Too bad we lost him. It’s certain that there won’t be a person who could replace him.” David said.

  “So, we need to go to an airport, and we need a pilot.” Eric said.

  “Portland airport isn’t far from here. There must be a few survivors in there. And a few of them might be pilots.” Emma said.

  “Okay. Let’s do this.” Eric said.

  “First we need to drive away those creatures.” David reminded them.

  “Okay. They are very sensitive to sound. So, how about we throw some things to a little far from the car? They might follow the sound.” Eric sa
id.

  David nodded.

  Eric and David analyzed the room for anything to throw.

  “We could use the stones in that aquarium.” Emma suggested.

  Eric nodded. He and David quickly took the stone from the aquarium which is placed in a corner.

  “Too bad for the gold fish that, it will never get food from now on.” Eric said.

  David and Emma sympathetically looked at the gold fish for some time.

  Then Eric and David quickly opened the window and they began to throw the stones at a house on the far corner, on the other side of the road. Quickly the creatures began to wander away from near the car. A few minutes later the surrounding of the car became free of creatures. Eric and team didn’t wait further. They silently ran through the house and finally they got inside the car. Eric turned the key and the engine began to rumble. Suddenly the whole neighborhood rushed at Eric’s car.

  * * * * *

  Chapter 15

  Somewhere in Portland, USA

  Eric pressed his foot on the accelerator and the small car rushed forward. The car, like a bullet, pushed through the crowd of infected. Those infected who got a grip on the car’s hood began to pummel at the windshield. When the car made a considerable distance from the crowd of infected, Eric pressed his foot on the brake and the remaining infected on the car’s hood fell down onto the road. Then Eric accelerated the car and the car rushed forward.

  When Eric looked at the rear view mirror, he found the infected running at his car. Most infected are limping, but they are inhumanely fast.

  Now both sides of the road are filled with trees and the road is mostly empty. They occasionally saw abandoned vehicles on the side of the road. What happened to those who were in the vehicles is a mystery.

  They haven’t covered much distance from Roger’s house, when all of a sudden, two soldiers wearing gas masks jumped in front of the car. Eric applied a sudden brake and the wheels slid several feet before the car made a stop. The soldiers came near Eric.

  “Can we come with you?” A soldier asked.

  Eric for a moment stared at the soldiers. One soldier is limping and both of them have assault rifles strapped across their chest.