In A Universe Without Stars 1: Skyeater

by J Alex McCarthy

  “I don’t know!” Cole screams. The stars and galaxies suddenly disappear again.

  “Or something else. Something more, more personal, something that leads you, something that if someone would take it away from you, you would make them feel your wrath,” NegaCole says.

  A small blue marble appears behind NegaCole.

  Earth.

  It slowly drifts toward them. It outlines NegaCole’s body as it approaches.

  “For them death would be an easy way out. Only you can save her, Cole, her and the human race.”

  He stares directly into Cole’s eyes. Piercing into his soul.

  “It’s her. She’s hurt and we lied to ourselves. Without her we are nothing. It’s not about us anymore. Embrace her and let her know that it’s going to be okay and give yourself a reason to live.”

  Thora.

  That’s his reason to live, but it still doesn’t seem right. Why did he not see it before? Earth is getting bigger, it approaches them quickly.

  Neither NegaCole nor Cole moves as they enter its orbit. But it continues to get closer and they break into the atmosphere.

  “I didn’t mean to hurt her. But nothing last forever,” Cole admits. “Even love.”

  The air around them turns red hot as they hurl into the atmosphere, speeding down like a meteor. But their orientation is still on each other. They don’t even glow as they descend to the Earth.

  “To you and I, time and reality is only a minor inconvenience.”

  The sky around them explodes as they break into the ozone layer. They zoom past the clouds and plummet to the ocean below them.

  Blood red covers the ocean, something the Eliite did with their kill all promises of life initiative.

  “We only cared for own problems. You are responsible for them all now,” NegaCole says.

  They come to a suddenly halt only a couple hundred feet over the sea.

  “You’re the only one who can save her and your unborn son…just forget…everything,” NegaCole says. He suddenly turns into Thora.

  “All your fears, all your demons, all your regrets, all your mistakes, and all your successes,” Thora says. She turns back into Jahum.

  “They don’t matter anymore.”

  Something about this feels really off, he doesn’t know what, but he doesn’t feel completely there. It’s as if he’s watching his actions through a television screen.

  It’s him, but it’s not.

  But he can feel the power surging through him, he doesn’t fear anything anymore. His depressions and his worries are gone. He closes his eyes, he starts to ascend into the sky.

  Acceptance.

  “Because you are one with everything. And one with the stars,” Jahum says.

  Cole’s lifts his arms up as he ascends. His life flashes by him. From his childhood to now, it all flashes by. He now knows that in the end it’s going to be okay.

  Twenty three small spheres of light appear around him, they spin around him in orbit, in a chaotic but controlled manner. Slowly spinning faster around him.

  “You are all and nothing. These spheres are your DNA, they are a part of you. With them you can create life and destroy it. Move the stars and destroy them. Speak with them and become one.”

  Cole ascends higher past the clouds. Into the blueness above them. The spheres spin so fast that they’re a blur.

  “You are an omniscient being. A god.”

  Jahum doesn’t follow him as he ascends but his voice carries on.

  “But don’t forget what you truly are.” Jahum shields his eyes as the sun peers through the clouds.

  “A human and nobody—“

  Cole’s watch beeps.

  “Nothing will take that away from you.”

  Cole shoots up fast into the sky in a blur of light and rockets incredibly fast to the left.

  The five other Astrons appear next to Jahum. They look old and decrepit. They skin is old and cracked. They all look at Jahum.

  He nods.

  They start to decay and the wind blows them away.

  Jahum starts to decay.

  “Cole…I’m sorry…” His deep booming voice is gone, decaying away with his body. But it stops, he holds his form but he is now a former shell of himself.

  Cole flies through the clouds, they twist and spin around him as he flies so fast they don’t have time to move, trailing behind him as he rips through them. Spheres spin around him.

  Five of the spheres position behind his feet, still spinning, when—

  Cole disappears, he shoots off so fast it’s like he went warp speed. No sound was heard as he shot off. The spheres that were behind his feet still spin, floating where he left them.

  In a boom, the spheres follow him.

  Deconstruction - A friend

  Cole dreams of darkness.

  Infinite nothing.

  Something he used to welcome before his suicide attempt. He’s dreamt of this every night since his last attempt. It keeps him up at night, the fear of going back into the darkness.

  What changed in him? It didn’t scare him before. Maybe it’s because he finally has something to live for. Something to lose.

  Cole jolts awake.

  Julio stands over him, in matching track pants and jacket.

  “Wake up!” Julio yells.

  Cole lies half naked under his white fluffy covers. He lives in a moderately nice apartment near San Francisco.

  This is before he moved to Los Angeles with Thora. After Julio saved him.

  “How in the hell did you get in my house?” Cole murmurs. He pulls the covers over his head. Julio jumps off the bed and pulls the covers off him.

  “Come on. You’ve been slacking, when was the last time you’ve worked out.”

  Cole lets out a growl. He looks at the clock on his nightstand.

  6:30 AM.

  The sun is already peeking through his shade covered window.

  He thinks and counts the days out in his head. He sighs. It’s been more than two weeks. He has been slacking, he’s slipping back into his old routine, back to his former self.

  “Get up! Get up! Get up!” Julio yells over and over again. Cole puts a pillow over his head but it does nothing to mute out Julio’s constant yelling.

  “Okay! God.” Cole finally gives in.

  “Let me get dressed,” Cole says. Julio throws a pair of basketball shorts and a t-shirt. Cole’s favorite pair of shorts. Julio dug through his closet.

  “What the—“

  “You, sir, are a very deep sleeper,” Julio laughs.

  Cole slams his head back into his pillow. Funny thing is, he didn’t used to be.

  Julio’s hoopty of a car pulls up next to an empty field. The field is covered in a sea of brown and burnt orange leaves. Dead, white-streaked trees peak off the ground. Cole steps out of Julio’s car.

  “What the hell are we doing here, Julio?” Cole asks. The driver side door slams as Julio gets out.

  “You sure do ask a lot of questions huh?” Julio said. Julio walks out into the field, his feet crunching on the leaves.

  “I do when it looks like when you are going to take me to the middle of nowhere and hack me into pieces with a hatchet and feed me to your family for dinner. And before you do anything I’d like to remind you that I have a girl at home I would like to go back to.”

  Julio laughs.

  “But seriously, I thought we were going to the gym,” Cole says.

  “It’s body weight day.”

  “But lifting weights is better.”

  “Yeah but you got to stay nimble and on your feet.” He puts up his fist and starts to play box Cole. Cole ducks and weaves. They start to spur, leaves crunching and swirling around them.

  Cole loves this, this excitement. But would it be the same without Julio? After the sparring, they start to work out. Push-ups, crunches, mountain climbers, they do it all, at least a hundred times. Julio does it with a smile on his face. Thirty-second rest in-between.

 
Cole tries to keep up, he’s having fun trying too, but he’s still no match for Julio.

  Just when Cole is about to pass out Julio stops.

  “Alright let’s rest for five minutes,” Julio says falling on a leaf pile.

  “Good, I’m just about done.”

  “We’re not done yet. Next is a jog.”

  “I don’t think I can do that, man.”

  “Yes you can, it’s a last push of the day.” He throws Cole a water bottle.

  “Drink up.”

  Cole runs down a forest road. Julio is a couple of feet ahead of him laughing. Cole struggles to keep up with him. Julio carries a twenty pound bag on his back. He still jogs with ease.

  There is a tightness in Cole’s chest.

  His legs get heavier, his breath becomes wisp.

  He starts to slow.

  The distance between Julio and himself is becoming less and less manageable.

  He’s not going to let him win.

  He pushes himself.

  Past his slowing legs, past the near unbearable pain in his chest. He pushes past his older self. He starts to hear his own footsteps and only them.

  He breaks the wall.

  His legs start to move faster, the pressure lifts off his chest and his former self seems like he’s much farther away. It’s hard to explain, it’s not easier but… he can do more. He pushes harder, he starts to catch up to Julio.

  Julio looks back and laughs and speeds up.

  Cole smiles and speeds up as well. The wind seems to go through him, his feet skirt on the dead leaves on the hardened dirt road. The pending darkness that never left him after his nightmares seems to melt off his heart.

  He’s alive again.

  And it’s thanks to Julio. Julio is always there for him, when he’s down, when he has personal issues and he’s there when he doesn’t have any problems at all just to shoot the shit.

  And because of him, he’s not a bloody splat on a wall.

  He’s his best friend.

  When he’s near, Cole relaxes. He feels like he’s in love with him.

  The farthest fucking thing from a sensual love though.

  More like he loves him like a brother. He almost stumbles over his feet at his thoughts.

  Julio stops.

  Cole comes to a stop behind him, he puts his hands on his knees and breaths in deeply.

  “I win,” Julio says smiling. “You’ve got a long way to go before you catch up to me.”

  “Fuck you Julio.”

  Julio heads toward a thicket of trees.

  “Come on.”

  He goes through the trees and Cole follows. They come out to the sun peering over the mountaintops. They’re on top of a slight hill that gives a view of the mountain range.

  The sun rises.

  “Good, we didn’t miss it. I thought we were going to with your slow ass,” Julio says. Cole is about to punch him but Julio quickly sits against a tree and ruffles through his bag.

  “Here.”

  He hands Cole a protein shake, Cole sits next to him. Julio stares at the mountaintops and brings out his camera and starts to take pictures. Cole just sits beside him, sipping on his shake. He wants to say something to break the silence but…

  He just stares into the mountains as well, he could do this every day.

  Thanks Julio.

  You are a true friend.

  15 – Alpha Eliite

  An auditorium sits silent. Its occupants lie still in their beds and sleeping bags, all huddling together, being as silent as possible, least they bring attention to their safe haven.

  The only noise is the battle outside echoing in, but most of them have gotten used to it. Because they are in the safe zone, so they must be safe right? They don’t take a chance and stay as quiet as possible, as quiet as the dead.

  A knock at the door. Everyone stares at it, hoping whatever knocked was just a rock. The door explodes open and smoke bellows in.

  Everybody screams and runs to the back wall, tripping over themselves, that door is the only way out. Something walks into the door way, covered in smoke.

  Its shadow looks human. The people on the wall start to calm down. What could he want? Maybe he’s here to help.

  “Sorry, kiddies, but I’m going to have to kill you all today,” the voice say in a crackling tone. The man walks through the smoke. He comes in at seven feet tall, has a bluish grey jump suit on and the unmistakable sickly green skin of a Serephin.

  It’s an Alpha, an Alpha Eliite. Screams screech out as people run, trying to get away from him. But there is nowhere to run. The alpha thrust out his arm, an invisible force erupts out and rips into them.

  Blood spouts out of the mouths of the people who braced for it. There inside explode out their orifices as they fall dead. Those who didn’t brace themselves limbs go flying off their bodies.

  People claw at the wall like rats strapped in a heated metal bucket. Fingers becoming bloody as they try to claw their way to the just too high windows up on the wall as people fall around them.

  …

  Blood and guts pool around the alpha’s plain black shoes. He killed everyone there. They have a lot more blood than he thought, he likes it.

  He digs into his pants and pulls out a woman’s severed hand. He pulls off the remaining blue rubber like clothing off her hand. It was a chosen’s or a titans which is what the Eliite call them. The hand has a bracelet under the material, he touches it and types something.

  He holds his neck. “Hello!? Is this Serena!?” He says in a completely feminine voice.

  “Hello?” Serena answered through the bracelet. The Alpha smiles.

  …

  Two alphas stand on a rooftop near the air base. They peer over the edge of the six story building at a group of four titans running toward the base.

  “Are those the ones we’re looking for?” One of them says. His name is Molotiz, he has a slight bluish tint to his skin and he wears a green tonic.

  “No,” the other says.

  He’s Subac. He wears a red robe like suit. It was his idea, to color coordinate the team and give each of them different colors, he always had an eye for fashion. Plus it helps tell them apart from the humans, he doesn’t like how they’re so much alike. It disgusts him.

  “Let’s see that’s Travis, Jake, Wilton, and Nolto. No Lance,” Sabuc continues.

  “You said they would be here Subac, I’m getting quite bored.”

  “Oh, hush, they’re around here somewhere.” Subac looks around the air base, and then the titan team running toward it. “How about we draw them out and have some fun while we’re at it?”

  Molotiz smiles and nods. They disappear.

  On the ground, the team of chosen run through the unguarded air base gate in a diamond formation. One in front, one behind and one on each side.

  “I can’t believe we lost. This is humiliating,” Jake says in front.

  “We didn’t lose, we’re just joining another group, nothing humiliating about it,” Travis says in the back. “Hey, Wilton! How much farther do we have?” Travis asks to Wilton on the left. Wilton wears one glove, his totem. He taps on it.

  “I don’t know? They’re not responding but they are around here somewhere.”

  Suddenly Subac appears in the middle of them, they halt and stare at him.

  “Hello, kittens, jump.” Subac’s arms light up as he spins.

  “Shit!” Travis yells. Energy swords appear in Subac’s hands. Travis and Jake jump just in time, the swords skimming the bottom of their shoes. The others aren’t as lucky. Molotiz flies toward Travis. Travis blocks with his arms as Molotiz punches him hard.

  On contact Travis’s bones snap as Molotiz hit goes right through his arm. Travis flies back and crashes into the ground.

  “Fuck!” He quickly get up, ignoring the pain. Jake lands next to him. Unharmed. Fucking shit. His arms are broken.

  He’s other teammate’s top halves fall off and a gusher of blood spurts out. The
y didn’t even know what was coming.

  He can feel himself start to heal, but it could take a while.

  “Run. I’ll keep them off bro,” Jake says. The alphas are in front of him. They smile at him.

  “Jake wait!” Travis yells. Jake flies toward them, Subac hurls at him. They’re about to meet in the middle when—

  A bullet flies straight for Subac, he smiles and dodges it but—

  Lance’s leg connects with his face. Blood sprays from his face as he flies back. He lands on his feet back next to Molotiz.

  “Fucker.”

  Lance’s team runs up next to the other chosen.

  “That’s going to take a while to heal,” Molotiz tells him. Subac scowls at him. “Relax, we’ve found what we’re coming for.” He points at Lance.

  “We are here for you, your team is the strongest on the battlefield and we’ve come to eliminate you. What do you say to that?”

  “I’m honored but you chose the wrong team to mess with.” Lance braces himself and lights up. He’s ready for anything. Molotiz gets into his battle stance.

  “So how do you want to do this?” Molotiz asks Subac. “I’ll take him and you take the rest,” Subac says as he spits blood on the ground.

  Molotiz laughs. “I’m not going to do that, you take lance and the three others and I’ll take the rest.”

  “Don’t think you can take them?” Subac says.

  “I’m not stupid, they have the potential to be as powerful as we are. They’re stronger than they look and if I fight a stronger opponent and lose it was a worthy death. But I prefer if that’s not today.”

  Subac nods in agreement. “You three against me.” Subac points to Lance, Ryan, and Ming. “The rest against him.”

  Molotiz and Subac step about ten feet apart.

  “Are you okay with this?” Lawrence asks Lance.

  “Yes. Are you? The other guy is out of commission.”

  “I got the fucker,” Lawrence says. They step away and to their separate sides. The Alphas smile.