It looked like Rohan wanted to go to his friend, help him, take care of him, but he didn’t. There was pity and sadness in his eyes. He turned back to the wall-screen, where Patrick had been watching the scene dispassionately. Kyle caught a movement from the corner of his eye and whipped around.
Somehow, Damian had snatched back control of his body. He was still twitching, but was on his belly, trying desperately to take aim at Rohan. The steely determination in his eyes was unmistakable; it shone as if he had put all his willpower behind it. The determination changed to a look triumph in Damian’s eyes as he squeezed the trigger. Kyle threw himself to the side. The stun gun’s charge caught him mid-air. There was an intense jolt of pain, and then every cell in his body was on fire. The world turned to darkness around Kyle, and he lost all sense of existence.
Chapter 23
Kyle felt too comfortable to open his eyes. A headache was pounding away at the back of his head, and his throat was dry, but he was comfortable. A dull thud, a noise he felt more than heard, prevented him from sinking back into sleep. He idly wondered what it could be.
He tried to remember where he was, but couldn’t. It was all a blur. A sharp jolt of pain shot through his chest, and the memories came flooding back - the explosion, the magma, the evacuation, and the final tussle with Damian. His eyes flew open, and he tried to get up, but something was holding him back.
“Hey, hey! Relax! Kyle, it’s okay. Breathe, breathe.”
The familiarity of the voice made him pause. “Rohan?” he asked, settling back down.
“Yes, it’s me. No need to worry, we’re all safe now. Relax.”
Rohan was sitting in a plush chair facing him, strapped to it by a safety harness. Kyle brought his right arm to his chest and felt his own safety harness holding him in place. A safety harness? What the hell? He was about to unbuckle himself when Rohan stopped him.
“Leave it on for now. We’re not clear yet,” Rohan said, reaching across the table to offer him a bottle of water.
Not clear? Kyle accepted the bottle and drank deeply from it. He coughed and spluttered, but drank it all anyway. Only then did he take a few deep breaths and open his eyes to look around. They were in a narrow, low-ceilinged room. It felt slightly claustrophobic in spite of the luxurious decor. Rohan was sitting in one of the tan-colored plush chairs facing him, which seemed to be identical to his. The floor was carpeted in a rich cream color, the ceiling emanated a soft white glow, and the walls seemed to be wood-paneled. Even the scent of the room was exotic, like musk and forest greens. Kyle felt another dull thud, and this time, the entire room shook.
“What… where are we?”
Rohan had been looking at him with concern. “We’re in Patrick’s personal aircraft, making our way out of Waylain,” he said carefully.
“Out of Waylain? You mean…?”
Rohan nodded. “I don’t know if it’s a good thing or not, but you were passed out when it happened. It was the most terrifying thing I’ve ever seen, and at the same time, it was so grand, so enchanting that I could not draw my eyes away from it.” He shook his head in contemplation. “We are less than a speck of dust in the grand scheme of things. All our plans and technology and everything else, it amounts to nothing when nature unleashes her power.”
Kyle’s breath seemed to catch in his chest. “Waylain…”
“We don’t know for sure. Every thing’s covered in fire, ash, and smoke. Here, take a look,” Rohan said, and tapped something on the wall.
A rectangular section of the wood-paneled wall changed colors. It turned black and then gradually lost opacity until it became transparent. Kyle looked out with intrigue. All he could see was a writhing mass of gray and black, shapeless forms twisting and merging wherever he looked. The aircraft started banking, and the view shifted a little. He could suddenly see streaks of red and orange through the writhing mass of thick smoke. He leaned forward. A sea of glowing red and orange was spread out in a perfect circle, pockmarked by dark splotches. The top dome reflected the fiery orange light of magma, which surrounded it on all sides. Some distance away, Kyle could see a gigantic hole in the ground, which was still spewing dark smoke and ash, with molten magma oozing out of it, like blood from a half-clotted wound.
It suddenly brought to mind the vision of Waylain he had seen on the day he had arrived. The aircraft had circled around to give him a glimpse of the Waylain’s surface. The sun had been shining brightly that day, glinting off the exposed glass dome in the center, which reflected the blue of the sky. The surface road strips, solar panels, and life support systems spread out in a neat grid around it, all encircled by a perfectly circular boundary that kept the harsh, dusty environment at bay.
Now the boundary walls had trapped the magma from escaping, and all Kyle could see was orange and black. All signs of civilization had been consumed by the magma, except for the central dome. The plane banked again, and the scene of destruction disappeared from view. He collapsed back into his chair with a heavy sigh. This was the second time he had been forced to abandon his home. Last time, he had run away to leave behind the madness and despair. This time, he was running away from death and destruction. I hope this doesn’t become a pattern in my life.
“Our aircraft was still on the ground when the first explosion went off, as were at least seven other evac vehicles.”
“What,” Kyle exclaimed, “but I thought…”
Rohan shook his head sadly. “I don’t know what happened to them. Maybe Patrick does.”
Kyle strained in his seat, looking around the cabin. “Where is he?”
“Who do you think is flying the aircraft?” Rohan replied.
Unbelievable! Kyle thought to himself. That man must be made of something stronger than us regular people. He had only lived in Waylain for a few years, and yet, he felt the pain of loss. Patrick had dreamed of and built that place himself. He must be a wreck on the inside, and yet, he has the temerity to fly an aircraft manually, through this hell.
“I have to thank you, Kyle, for doing what you did back there. Not only did you give Waylain a chance and save me, you also did something that I haven’t seen anyone ever do. How?”
Kyle turned his eyes to Rohan, who was leaning forward in his chair. “I don’t know, dude. I just felt something was off, I turned around to see Damian on his belly, putting every ounce of his willpower into pulling that trigger. I don’t even think I had time to process it, I just reacted instinctively.” He grimaced as the sharp pain shot through his chest again, and reached up to rub the spot gently.
“That’s where the electrodes hit you,” Rohan said, noticing. “I heard something hit the floor and turned, only to see you paralyzed on the floor beside me, and Damian twitching uncontrollably a few feet away. I just stood there, frozen, not knowing what to do until the cops and the medics streamed into the room a few minutes later.” His voice had turned heavy with emotion. “I’m sorry you had to go through all this, Kyle. I’m sorry that Waylain had to suffer this fate. I could have stopped it from happening, only if I had paid a little more attention to what Damian had been doing. He is my friend. I know he never wanted this to happen. I should have been there with him.” Tears were rolling down Rohan’s cheek.
“Don’t blame yourself, you helped avert complete disaster,” Patrick said, walking up along the aisle while pushing along a small cart. “I know it’s hard for you to see it now, but Damian had gone over the edge long before this. Being around you only delayed the inevitable.” He placed three glasses on the table, followed by a bucket of ice and a heavy glass bottle containing an amber colored liquid.
“So what happened to him, and to Chief?” Kyle asked.
Patrick settled down into the chair beside him. “They were both in the other aircraft, with the medics. They said that Chief was just unconscious, but considering how long he’d been out for, they wanted to monitor him. Damian, though, was a complete wreck. The tremors had not reduced even after they got him to the evac aircr
aft. That’s the last I heard of them.” He looked up at Kyle and then glanced at Rohan. “I’m sorry, three of the evac aircrafts didn’t make it off the ground. The rest… I don’t know what happened to them. We lost contact, including the one with Chief and Damian on board.”
A heavy silence descended on them. There was nothing left to say. Kyle realized, deep down, that the grief and the horror would have its time. What they had lost today could never be recovered. But for now, he was too exhausted and numb to feel anything. Rohan seemed to have regained control of his emotions and Patrick never seemed to have lost his, but they felt it all the same. He could still hear the occasional distant thud, but Kyle had no wish to break the silence. So he just sat there with his own thoughts and worries, leaving the others to theirs.
Patrick finally broke the silence. “It’s over now. We did all we could, and this is the best we could have expected. We may have lost a few hundred people, but nearly a million survived. We may still be able to rescue the aircrafts that have gone down.
“Things might look desperate right now, but trust me, we are far better off than if Damian had been left unchecked. On the whole, Waylain survived. I don’t know how soon we’ll be able to get it up and running again, but we’ll get there. Almost everyone got away unharmed.”
Patrick leaned forward and started pouring the amber colored liquid into the glasses. “In the old days, they used to break open old vintages to celebrate. It might not seem like we have much to celebrate today, but I think we can drink to those who survived. And to the memory of those who didn’t.”
Kyle nodded and reached for a glass. He could do with a good drink right about now. He watched the ice cubes gently splash into the whiskey. He took a whiff and raised an eyebrow in appreciation. Real grain alcohol! He thought with surprise. He was no connoisseur, but he could tell the liquor was expensive and rare, probably the only one of its kind.
Patrick smiled back when he looked at him. “It’s from before the Dalton Incident. Wasn’t easy getting my hands on it.” He turned to Rohan, pushing a glass toward him. “I know you usually don’t drink, Rohan. But think of this as a toast, a farewell to the past. Make an exception, just this once.”
Rohan nodded and picked up the glass. “It could have been our last day on this planet, but we lived through it. I saw the debris and ash and molten rock shooting into the sky, and it’s a miracle that we survived. That anyone survived. A second chance deserves a bit of a celebration, I guess.”
“A second chance…” Kyle breathed.
Patrick picked up his glass and leaned back. “Waylain has not been destroyed completely. Made uninhabitable, yes, but only for now. Everything on the surface has been turned to ash and stone, the road strips, the life support systems, the solar panels, everything. But the structure itself seems to have escaped disaster. Even the top dome seems to have survived the debris and rock that crashed into it. It might take a few months, but I will start sending teams to inspect and evaluate it.
“More importantly, though, we have to ensure that our water reservoir is protected. The other SubHabs will descend upon Waylain like scavengers if they find out about it. Unfortunately, the only person, apart from us, who knows that Waylain’s water reservoir is intact, is missing. Damian’s silence is the only security Waylain has, for now. It is imperative that we find him, dead or alive. Until then, we must make everyone believe that all that’s left of Waylain is ashes and dust. But for now, a toast.”
Patrick raised his glass. “To Waylain’s survival and to the future.”
Rohan raised his glass silently.
“To a new beginning,” Kyle said, joining in the toast.
Message from the author
Thank you for reading my debut novel, The Tellurian Threat. I hope you liked it. If you would be so kind as to take a moment and add a review, I would be very grateful.
If you enjoyed the novel and can’t wait to read more, I’d like to offer you a free novella set in this world, “The Tellurian Threat: Prelude.” It predates the Tellurian Threat by almost 20 years, and tells the story of the incident that led to Kyle ending up in Barden, and sets the stage for mankind’s future.
Click the link below to get your free novella:
bit.ly/t3prelude
Thank you very much for reading my book and supporting my work.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Table Of Contents
Wand to Get a Free Novella?
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Message from the author
The Tellurian Threat: A Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction Thriller (The Tellurian Archives Book 1) Page 18