The Vanishing (The End of Time Chronicles Book 1)

by Heath Jannusch

  “Steady men! We got this!” shouted Ian, with a resolve that reassured the group.

  The Enlightened Ones came to a stop about two miles outside of town. A small contingent of five men, including the giant, emerged from the main group and began walking toward the town. When they’d gone half the distance, they stopped and stood there waiting, as though they wished to talk.

  “What do you make of it?” asked Lex.

  “I don’t know, I don’t like it,” answered Shiloh. “It looks like they wanna talk.”

  “Yeah, maybe,” agreed Mason, “or it could be a trap.”

  “That’s true,” said Lex, “but to what end? If they lure a few of us out there it doesn’t give them much more of an advantage, they already outnumber us.”

  “It could be a diversion,” suggested Mason, “so that while we are looking forward, they hit us from behind.”

  “The scouts would’ve reported back,” countered Ian, doubtfully. “But just in case Lex, you and Cleo take a couple of radios with you and scout their left and right flanks. Find out where their main force is and radio back. I’ll radio the rest of the men on lookout and get a report.”

  Lex reached down and scooped Cleo into his arms. He bent down and pressed his lips to hers, kissing her passionately in front of everyone. Cole let out a whistle and several of the men chuckled.

  “Move soldiers! This is not your bedroom,” shouted Ian, cautiously.

  Mason felt like no one understood how serious this was, except for maybe the men who’d been in combat.

  Lex released his embrace on Cleo, ignoring Ian and winked at her saying, “See ya on the flip side.” With that he turned and ran off toward the north, rifle in hand.

  “Come back to me, ya bloody fool,” Cleo called after him, before turning and heading off toward the south.

  Ian picked up a radio, “Report!” he said and the radio came to life immediately.

  “All clear at position Alpha!”

  “All clear at Bravo!”

  “All clear at Charlie!”

  “All clear at Delta!”

  Each report came in with the reassuring whisper that everyone was hoping for. It didn’t seem like a diversion.

  “Now what?” Asked Mason, hoping Ian or Shiloh had a brilliant idea.

  “Now I’m gonna go out there and see what they want,” answered Shiloh.

  “Be careful!” Ian warned his friend.

  “You just be ready.” Shiloh stood up, picked up his rifle and gave Ian a reassuring grin. He hadn’t smiled like that since their last dangerous adventure as teenagers.

  “Ya want some company?” offered Mason, with his rifle cradled in his arms.

  “Sure,” agreed Shiloh, “glad to have it!”

  “Are you sure this is a good idea?” asked Mason.

  “No, not at all,” replied Shiloh, with the same grin.

  Shiloh and Mason climbed over the debris blocking the road. The two men walked side-by-side toward the waiting raiders, each carrying a rifle.

  “Be ready,” whispered Mason, as they grew closer to the five raiders standing in the middle of the field.

  Shiloh and Mason stopped about ten feet from the group of men and stood there silently. All five men looked strangely similar; something in their eyes seemed to link them. Shiloh and Mason were wary of the giant and both kept a close eye on him. The smallest of the men stepped forward with an evil grin on his face and began to speak. They were shocked to learn that he was the leader.

  “Hello town of Clearview, my name is Augustus and this,” he said, indicating the army behind him, “is my legion of Enlightened Ones.”

  “Kind of a bad name wouldn’t ya say,” said Shiloh. “Your men don’t look very enlightened to me. In fact, they don’t even look educated.”

  One of the other four men began to step forward while reaching for his gun. “Wait Darius,” said Augustus, holding up his hand. “That wasn’t very polite of you Mister…” he said with a smile, fishing for a name.

  “What do you want and why are you on our land?”

  “Actually this is now my land and my town,” said Augustus. “I came out here to give you the chance to surrender the town. If you do, we’ll let you go free.”

  “And if we don’t?” asked Mason, with a laugh.

  “Then we’ll kill you all and take what we want anyway.”

  “Try it,” hissed Mason.

  “And that’s not all,” snapped Augustus. “I want the man responsible for killing several of my men a few weeks ago, in Utah. We have reason to believe he’s here.”

  “Not going to happen,” said Shiloh, with a patronizing smile. “No one here wants to go with you.”

  “Then you’ll all die together,” spat Augustus.

  “I have a different proposition for you,” suggested Shiloh. “I suggest we decide the battle with champions, like they did in ancient times.”

  “You mean my best man against yours?” asked Augustus with an evil grin, looking at Shiloh in disbelief. He never thought it would be this easy.

  “Yes,” answered Shiloh, “and if our man wins, you leave immediately with no other shot’s fired.”

  “And if my man wins?” asked Augustus, in an ‘as if anything else is possible’ kind of way.

  “Then we’ll give in to your demands,” replied Shiloh.

  “Wait a minute,” said Mason. “I don’t think we should…”

  “Agreed!” said Augustus, extending his hand to seal the deal. “Shall we say here in this spot, in one hour?”

  “Why wait?” asked Shiloh, with a confidence not even Mason understood.

  Augustus looked impressed, “I like your spunk. It’s almost going to be a shame when the birds feast on your flesh. What’s your name?”

  “Shiloh, Shiloh Evans.”

  “Shiloh,” Augustus repeated the name, “it means place of peace, doesn’t it? Hardly a fitting name for what’s about to transpire here today.”

  “We shall see,” said Shiloh, turning to leave, with Mason at his side.

  “That wasn’t smart,” said Mason, as the two men walked back toward the town’s barricade. “What were you thinking? We don’t have anyone who can stand against that giant and you know that’s who their champion will be. Who do you suggest we send out to be slaughtered?”

  “I’ll go,” said Shiloh, “it was God’s idea and that’s why He sent me the vision.”

  “Would you forget about this silly vision,” snapped Mason. “If you go out there, you’re going to die, and we both know it!”

  “It’s alright if you don’t believe Mason. God believes this is the way it needs to be done.”

  “But you can’t beat him!” argued Mason. “He’s too strong and powerful for you!”

  “He won’t be fighting me,” countered Shiloh, “he’ll be fighting the Lord.”

  “You’re crazy,” Mason shook his head, as he guided Shiloh toward his Hummer. “You’ve got to be joking. Your faith is gonna get ya killed!”

  “I’ll fight the giant,” said Shiloh, “and God willing, I’ll survive.”

  “And if you don’t?” asked Mason. “What do we do then? Just let them take the town.”

  “That’s not something we’ll have to worry about. I can’t explain anymore than I already have. You’ll just have to trust me.”

  “You’re a fool!”

  “What happened?” asked Garrett, as he approached with Luke Slater and Rollin Hicks, having just returned from the outposts.

  “They demanded that we surrender or die,” answered Shiloh, leaving out the bit about handing over Lex. At least that’s who he assumed they wanted for killing their men.

  “Well I think we should surrender,” said Luke.

  “Me too,” agreed Rollin, “we’re outnumbered and we can’t win.”

  “There may be another way,” said Mason. “Shiloh suggested a fight between two champions, winner takes all.”

  “What?” Asked Luke, fear written all over his fa
ce.

  “Who’s our champion supposed to be?” asked Rollin.

  “Shiloh has volunteered,” replied Mason, patting Shiloh on the shoulder.

  “Oh please,” hissed Rollin, shaking his head.

  “Would you like to volunteer instead?” offered Shiloh, but Rollin just bowed his head and didn’t respond. “You wanted to surrender anyway. What’s the difference?”

  “Come here Shiloh,” called Mason, standing at the rear of his Hummer. He opened the rear hatch and uncovered a bunch of guns of all makes and models. “Choose your poison.”

  From the corner of his eye, Shiloh caught the glimpse of something white, flashing in the wind. He looked and there standing in the shadows, between two buildings, was Gabriel. Shiloh closed his eyes for just a second and then opened them again, but the angel had vanished.

  “Where are you going?” called Mason, as Shiloh walked away in the direction of the two buildings.

  When he reached the spot where Gabriel had stood, there was no sign of the messenger angel. He glanced around and saw a wooden barrel. On top of it were five smooth bullets and a .45 caliber pistol and not just any pistol, Shiloh recognized the gun from his youth. It was the first gun that his father had ever given him and the one he’d learned how to shoot with. He hadn’t seen the gun in years!

  Shiloh picked up the bullets and stared down at them in his hand. One by one, he loaded the bullets into the chambers and then snapped the cylinder shut. He put the gun in his pocket and then returned to the Hummer, where Mason stood waiting.

  “What was that all about?” asked Mason, expecting another crazy sounding answer.

  “Nothing,” replied Shiloh.

  “Alright, well which ones do you want?” asked Mason, referring to the weapons lying in the back of the Hummer.

  “None thanks,” smiled Shiloh. “I’m going to trust in my vision and use this.” He showed Mason the pistol.

  “That old thing,” said Mason in disbelief. “You know you’re gonna die right?”

  “Death smiles at us all,” replied Shiloh, “all a man can do is smile back!”

  “You’re crazy,” stated Mason. “But I have to admit, I like your style! I’m never gonna forget this day!”

  “God is reaching out to you Mason. You should reach back,” recommended Shiloh, still smiling. With that said, he turned and headed out to meet the raider’s champion, who’d already taken the field.

  “What should we do?” Mason asked Ian, when Shiloh was well out of earshot.

  “Like he said, we cover him.”

  Mason grabbed a sniper rifle from the back of the Hummer and started looking for a good position.

  “Come in Clearview. Hello, can anyone hear me?” asked Cleo, on the radio.

  “Cleo,” answered Ian, “I read you. What do you see?”

  “It looks like most of the raiders are formed together, just over the hillside and out of view,” she whispered. “They don’t seem to be attempting to flank us from this side. I make out at least a thousand men, probably more. They have three mortar’s set up and ready to fire on the town. What do ya want me to do mate?”

  “Stay there and keep me informed. If they open up, be ready to take out those mortars. And keep your head down, over and out!”

  “Lex, can you hear me?” called Ian into the radio. “Lex, come in Lex.”

  “Yeah I hear you,” whispered Lex, from somewhere off to the north. “They don’t appear to be making a flanking move on this side either. I don’t think they consider us much of a threat.”

  “Do you see any mortars?” asked Ian.

  “Yeah I can see at least two of them. You better warn everyone down there in the event they open up on the town.”

  “Will do,” said Ian. “Stay there and hold the line if they try to flank us.”

  “There are over a thousand men down there, how do you propose I stop them?”

  “I don’t know, be creative. You don’t need to stop them, just cause enough distraction so that they can’t get organized, over and out!” Ian shouted into the radio, “Scouts report!”

  “Alpha position all clear!”

  “Bravo clear!”

  “Charlie clear!”

  “Delta clear!”

  “Retreat to my position and keep an eye on your rear,” ordered Ian, “over and out! Where are you going?”

  “To get a better view,” said Mason, grabbing his sniper rifle.

  Ian called over a few men, ordering them to warn everyone about the mortars and to take shelter in any way possible, while still covering Shiloh.

  Mason found a tall tree to the southeast of town and climbed it. He settled in on a long, thick branch that provided a platform from which to fire. Flipping up the cover on his scope he zoomed in on Shiloh, walking slowly across the field. Shiloh stopped about halfway to the giant. He bent down on one knee, bowed his head and closed his eyes.

  “God,” whispered Shiloh, “I know You can hear me and I really need Your help. I realize that I haven’t talked to You in quite some time and for that I’m sorry. I was so angry with You for taking away my family, that I lost focus on the truth. I know You exist and I know how much You care. I believe in the vision that You sent me. Please Lord; grant me the strength and courage to see this thing through to the end. Let me be the tool with which Your will is done. If it’s Your desire that I fall today in combat, then I do so willingly Lord. Amen.”

  Shiloh slowly stood up, facing Marcus across the battlefield and began to walk toward the warrior. When Shiloh was about one hundred yards from the giant, he stopped and looked at the man towering before him. He carried a long spear in his hand and a sword in a sheath attached at his belt. His hands were much too large to hold a gun.

  “I’m the mighty Marcus,” declared the eighteen foot tall giant. “Who’s this insignificant man that stands before me?”

  “My name is Shiloh and what I do now; I do in the name of the Lord.”

  “Your God doesn’t exist!” taunted Marcus with a laugh. “Before the sun sets today I’ll feed your remains to the birds and the beasts of the earth!”

  Shiloh whispered one final prayer. “Please Lord, protect the town and give me victory so that all may see Your glory.”

  Shiloh looked up just as Marcus began to run toward him, his spear raised high. Marcus hurled the spear and Shiloh dove forward in a somersault, narrowly avoiding the blade. Back on his feet, he quickly withdrew the pistol from his belt. At the same time, Marcus pulled his sword from its sheath, as he closed the distance between them.

  Shiloh took a deep breath on bended knee and then slowly exhaled, as the giant continued to charge. He fired the pistol and the bullet flew through the air, striking Marcus in the forehead. Shiloh watched as the giant fell straight forward and landed on his face.

  He quickly rose to his feet and ran over to where the giant lay dead. Using both hands, he picked up the large, heavy sword and used it to remove Marcus’s head. He then held the head up high and faced the raiders, who watched in awe. With all his might, Shiloh hurled the head toward them and shouted, “In the name of the Lord, be gone from this place!”

  Seeing his brother killed so easily was not part of Augustus’ plan and for a moment he and his brothers just stood there in shock. Then Augustus suddenly cried out, “Attack!”

  Augustus and his brothers began to charge down the hillside toward Shiloh and the body of Marcus, with their entire army falling in behind them. The ground beneath Shiloh’s feet began to rumble, as the raiders descended upon him. Taking a deep breath and careful aim, Shiloh slowly let out the air in his lungs and fired.

  To Be Continued…

  Thank you for reading the first book in The End of Time Chronicles. We hope you enjoyed it and had as much fun reading it, as we did writing it. May the Lord be with you and your loved ones!

  The second book, World War III, is now available.

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site: www.theendoftimechronicles.com for updates and more information.

  The End of Time Chronicles

  World War III

  Written By

  Heath Jannusch

  First Strike

  World War III – Day One

  Clearview, Nevada

  Shiloh’s bullet soared across the open field striking the closest of the Parish brothers, Darius, in his upper body. Reaching for the wound in his chest, Darius pitched forward and disappeared beneath the chaos of trampling boots. The rapid sound of gun shots could be heard all around Shiloh, as bullets whizzed passed his head. He now had only three rounds left; he’d have to make them count!

  From over the hill in front of him, Shiloh watched as hundreds of raiders descended upon him. The horrific sight and deafening roar of so many men charging down the hillside was almost paralyzing. At the front of the pack of thieves and murders, he could see the three remaining brothers leading the charge.

  Instead of retreating and falling back toward the town of Clearview, Shiloh bent down on one knee and took careful aim. His next shot caught the youngest twin, Lucius, in the stomach knocking him onto his back. Severus, the older of the twins, immediately stopped and came to his brother’s aid.

  Three of the raiders were almost on top of Shiloh when suddenly they dropped dead, one-by-one, each with a bullet in his head. Shiloh quickly glanced to his right where the shots had come from and spotted Mason high up in a tree. The ex-CIA agent was a crack shot with a sniper rifle and he continued to shoot raiders one after the other, starting with those closest to Shiloh.

  From behind him, Shiloh could hear the sounds of Ian and the Clearview Militia opening fire into the hoard of Enlightened Ones. The sky above was suddenly consumed with a loud, eerie whistling, as a mortar round flew above the battlefield and exploded on Main Street, followed by another and yet another.

  Shiloh focused his attention on the two remaining brothers leading the charge. Augustus had quit advancing and was instead standing near his twin brothers, Lucius and Severus, shouting orders to his men. Taking careful aim at Augustus, Shiloh squeezed the trigger on his revolver. His bullet struck the eldest of the Parish brothers in the head and he fell to the ground motionless.