by M. L. Banner
He was once again both anxious and excited. He allowed himself to feel a little of the hope that this might truly be the end of his journey. His people were desperate as their water supplies were running so low from the many generations of drought. They needed to find an answer, knowing that their water could be gone in a year or sooner. Gord had volunteered for this journey, offering that Cicada might have their answer, hoping the secrets from his journal were true. He knew how difficult this journey would be. And now the future of all his people, numbering over one hundred now, was dependent upon the success of this mission. He didn’t want to fail them.
In little time, he found himself walking on a smaller trail to the north that went right toward the tall wall, ending at a gate. It was a well-worn passage way, with discarded pieces of other people’s lives tossed aside long ago in the deep depressions on either side of the trail. He was almost upon the large wall and a giant gate, not unlike the wall he had witnessed when he came across the Cicada sign. That was before the man they called Snort knocked him out and tried to make him their meal. This time, he was going to make sure he was on his guard. He approached the wall more slowly.
The detritus from previous travelers on both sides of the trail grew higher the closer he came to the gate. It was as if more and more people disposed of their cast-offs before entering this sanctuary. Until now, the layers of debris were not really visible, as the dip off the road was cavernous. Less than one hundred steps to the wall, the piles of debris were almost level in height with the path. He stopped when one of the rejects caught his attention. It was a strange mechanical contraption that reminded him of the transportation devices he had often seen in his travels, used during the Before Times a few generations ago. But this one had three wheels, not four. It appeared to be powered by a human traveler who would ride upon it. Each wheel was covered in small twig-like pieces; he remembered these were called “wires.” Attached to the back was some sort of container with two separate wheels, one on each side. They must have carried their belongings in this, behind them. The container was sticking straight up, bent at an unusual angle, as if it had fallen in or had been pushed off the side of the road. Piles of discarded wreckage surrounded both sides of it, but the container was sticking up and out of the mass. On the back of it was a well-worn but very readable plaque that bore the notation “CARR + MEL.”
Mechanical noises alerted him to the giant gate; they were sounds of movement.
Gord stared at the grand-looking gate, waiting for something to happen, clutching his ax tighter. Just then, he noticed something that felt out of place and odd to him. The wall was smoother than the one he remembered beyond the marker that told him he had found Cicada. Of course, he saw no marker on his approach to this wall. Also unusual was a thick tree trunk that rested against the wall directly to the left of the gate, as if it had been tossed there. Studying it he thought it might have been used in an attempt to scale the wall. Red patches, perhaps dried blood, spoke to its failure. Behind the thick tree trunk, on the wall, was a placard, its letters hidden, almost but not quite readable.
The gate burst open and a bright white luminescence poured out of the opening, as if a white sun actually rested on the other side of that gate. Gord looked up into the sky to make sure the sun was still where it belonged. A man’s silhouette appeared in the brightness, but he couldn’t look at it any more than he could look directly at the bright sun.
Forgetting his anxiety, and remembering the instructions from his father’s father, Stepha, he quickly put down the ax—he didn’t want to be mistaken for one of the people in the town nearby—and pulled from his satchel the book that held so much hope for him and his people. He hoisted it up, held it steady so that the now three silhouettes in the doorway could see it plainly.
He stepped into the bright white light, holding the book higher, and said, “I am Gord and I have brought this.” He closed his eyes and white spots danced on the inside of his lids. Besides the light’s calming warmth he felt peace, sure that he had finally arrived. These people of science would give him answers to his questions, the answers he and his people would need to solve their water problem. I have made it to the sanctuary known as Cicada.
A deep voice came from the light, “You have the book… Please enter.”
He did.
The massive door closed behind him, cutting off the shafts of light, its large interior bolts slid into place. The wall shook slightly from this, its movement dislodging the large tree trunk to the side a few inches. The trunk slid down the wall and crashed into its rocky base.
The placard of bronze, its letters reflecting the afternoon light, read “BIOS 2.”
The following is an excerpt from CICADA
(The next book in the Stone Age Series)
BIOS-2
1 Day Before the Event
Senator Brian P. Westerling was up for re-election in six months, but he didn’t care about that; he wasn’t even campaigning. When the world was about to end, why would such trivial things as running for a third term in the US Senate matter? He just received his notification announcing the Cicada Protocol had started. It was to be a giant solar flare that would end it all. This was no surprise to him; after all, he was the one responsible for bringing this chapter of humanity to a close. It was a moment of pride.
Enveloped as he was in the comfort of his supple leather lounge chair, the buzz from a bourbon and ice smoothed out his trivial concerns. He took a drag from his Cohiba Robusto and released white swirling puffs of wispy smoke circles. He smiled at his air-borne creations as they appeared to float out from the lonely confines of his office to the environment he created outside. Ringing beside him drew his attention.
“Sir, everyone is ready,” the voice on his intercom announced.
“Thanks, Reynolds. I’ll deliver the message.” Resting the freshly lit cigar on his polished stainless-steel ashtray, a gift from one of his many mistresses, Westerling popped out of his chair. Its butter-soft arms released their squeaky embrace. He stood, then straightened his tie and buttoned his jacket while walking across his vast office. Past his desk, he stopped in front of the giant floor-to-ceiling, forty-five-degree angled windows that were his office walls; like the control tower of an airport, he could see everything. Looking down, through the glass, to a street polished and marble-like, he took note of the several hundred men and women who looked up at him, seemingly at attention.
He beamed a smile, one practiced from thirty years of politics, to the expectant faces below. They were all there because of him and soon, they would be thanking him for their very lives. His pride was far greater than when they completed all the construction last month. It was now time.
“Greetings, men and women of Bios-2,” he belted over a wireless microphone connected to the entire city’s loudspeakers. “What started out as a dream for me, twelve years ago, has become a reality.” His voice echoed off the smooth surfaces of the buildings and ceiling. “Many of you were here at the beginning, and some of you just joined us. But, we are all part of one family now.”
He lowered the microphone from his mouth, dropping his head to appear pensive, and then slowly lifted it and the mike. “And now, I have news.” Again he paused for effect. Looking at the eager faces, now full of concern, his eyes started to well with tears. This was something he had learned to do during debates.
“It has been announced that a giant X45 solar flare is about to hit the earth, and along with it a massive CME, which should strike sometime tomorrow morning. You know what this means. It is the earth-killer our scientists have been predicting for years, and one of the reasons why we built this place so quickly.” The next part of the speech he had practiced, knowing what the reaction would be, but it was necessary. The din of worried conversations could be heard even through the thick bullet-proof glass of his office walls.
“I know many of you have left family and friends behind to be here. I also know that you will want to warn them in one of your dai
ly phone calls. I’m afraid we just cannot allow this, which is why there will be no further communication with the outside world until tomorrow. As you know, after tomorrow, it won’t matter.”
He held up his hands, a visualization of his desire to quiet their disturbance. “I know. I know this may seem unfair, but because of what we are doing here, and to protect us from the outside world, we have to cease communications. If the world knew what we have here, they would all come and try to take it, and we cannot allow that. This place and its purpose are not known by anyone, except us. And after tomorrow, this one fact will save our lives.”
His puffery knew no boundaries. It didn’t matter who or how many people came to their impenetrable city walls, anyone attempting entry would be burned down in their tracks. That is unless they were one of the scientists who thought this was Cicada.
All his skills from his years in politics couldn’t hold back the curls of a smile that formed on his lips.
Next in the Stone Age Saga
CICADA
(Book #3 of the Stone Age Series)
Coming spring 2015
Go to http://stoneageseries.com/book3 to get the latest!
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(the prequel to DESOLATION)?
Find out what caused the New Stone Age
and what led up to the Event
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Thanks and Acknowledgments
A writer is so blessed to be able to envision a story, write it all down in a coherent way, and publish it for readers to find. I am doubly blessed because this is now my second book. With that in mind, I must thank all my readers first. Thank you for making the decision to buy THIS BOOK. You have many books to choose from, so please know that I am completely humbled that you chose to buy my book and further chose to invest your valuable time to read it. Thank you!
Thanks to my beautiful wife, Lisa (yes, she is named Lisa too), who has embraced my passion for writing, encouraged me always, and is my number one fan. To my Mom (Susan) and many friends including Patrick, Ruthie, Robin, and Mariclare who have all read the early versions of DESOLATION and helped me polish its rough edges.
Thank you to William Weber & Darrin Wearmouth for pre-reading this book and letting me know what you thought.
Finally, many advanced thanks to all my advanced copy readers/reviewers.
About ML Banner
ML Banner founded more than a dozen companies over the past thirty years, before he found his passion for writing. Quite by accident after reading about solar flares, he searched for a fictional book on the subject that was also strong on science. It didn’t exist, so he wrote STONE AGE (the prequel to DESOLATION), which became a #1 Best Seller (in Post-Apocalyptic & Dystopian Fiction) in only three weeks. DESOLATION is his newest installment to the Stone Age World.
He and his wife split their time between Tucson, Arizona and Rocky Point, Mexico. If he is not penning his next novel or short story in apocalyptic fiction, you might find him on the beach reading a Kindle, with his toes in the water (the name of his publishing company).
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Table of Contents
Prologue
Part I
1. Deadly Waters
2. Life and Death
3. Feed My Children
4. Tired and Thirsty
5. Nurse Wilber
6. Lone Survivor
7. Just a Guest
8. Carrington Reid Gets Held Up
9. The Hotel
10. Defending Your Life
11. Seeking Help
12. The Great Escape
13. Giving Back
14. Clyde Wants Revenge
15. Mixed Blessings
16. Blood and Water!
17. Quick Decision
18. The Eunuch
19. Getting Help
Part II
20. Revelations
21. Baby on Board
22. New Friends and Enemies
23. Resistance Is Futile
24. Disconnected
25. Food Fight
26. Demands
27. More Demands
28. More Bad Guys
29. Preparing for a Fight
30. Making the Wright Choice
31. Cocktails, Anyone?
32. Big Guns
33. Defenses
34. Fire!
35. Panic
36. Death Has Found You
37. Agabus
38. Free Fallin’
39. Earthquake!
40. Collect Call
41. An Opening
42. Damage Assessment
43. You Can See China From Here
44. Fireball
45. The Sparks Started to Fly
46. Mushroom Clouds
47. Not Over Till It’s Over
48. The Proposal
49. Sadness and Signs
50. Adios
51. I Do
52. Going to a New Home
53. Together
Part III
54. Breaking Ground
55. Writing It All Down
56. A Trap?
57. New Home
58. It’s a Boy… and a Girl
59. How We Got There From Here
60. The Storyteller
61. The Promised Land
Excerpt: CICADA
Next in the Stone Age Saga - CICADA
Did you like DESOLATION?
Thanks and Acknowledgments
About ML Banner