Tales of the Apocalypse: A Dystopian Anthology

by Publishings, BBB

  Breath races from my mouth, and at first I think the thudding noise I hear is still my pulse thundering in my head—until I realize it’s the sound of someone coming at me fast with heavy, bounding steps.

  I roll onto my back so I can see. From the form I can tell it’s a male. Jonah? Mathus? It’s not until he gets close enough in the moonlight and I can make out more of his features that I know it’s neither of them. It’s someone infected with the rage.

  Propelled by his fury, he looks like he’s flying when he lunges at me. I roll away from him just in time and he collides with the ground hard. He has no care for the damage he’s doing to himself—the impact does nothing, and in seconds he lunges at me again. I roll away, but he’s too fast, and then he’s on top of me, his face in my face, saliva raining down on me as he snaps and snarls like he wants to tear me to pieces. His palms press on my shoulders and I scream in pain and terror, pushing my hands up into his chest to try to get him off me.

  In the dim light it’s hard to see anything. He’s a smudge of impossibly fast movement, but when I scream out, “Help me!” he suddenly becomes still.

  Our eyes lock.

  God. No. No, no, no, no, no.

  “Nate.”

  Is it him? He’s not the young boy who left our parents’ farm in the middle of the night without a goodbye. He’s bigger. Stronger. His face has no youthful roundness. It’s more chiseled, and soft tufts of hair sprout from his chin and above his lip. He’s all grown up. And he’s infected.

  Nate snarls at me, and for a moment I have to fight him again as he tries to bite my face.

  “Nate. Nate!” The words explode from my mouth as I thrash and strain to keep his face away from mine. “It’s me! It’s Bella.”

  Abruptly he stops and his brow fills with furrows.

  I know somewhere buried deep within his rage-filled mind there’s a memory of me. Somewhere in there, there’s still my brother. I’m sure of it. The night I woke to find our parents had transformed into people who no longer knew who we were and wanted us dead, there was one second—one second—when I saw in my mother’s eyes recognition of who I was. It was the moment right after I put a bullet through my father’s brain. The moment before I did the same to her. And Nate had seen it, too. I didn’t know he was standing there behind me.

  “She was okay,” he had howled at me. “She. Was. Okay.”

  She wasn’t okay. It was only a single moment in what would otherwise be an existence of unstoppable rage. There was only one choice: her or us.

  “I’ll never forgive you.” How many times had he screamed those words before he went into his room and slammed the door. How long had I sat outside listening to him sobbing? Why did I eventually go back to my room instead going in and trying to explain?

  “Nate. It’s me,” I whisper.

  Why isn’t he immune? I should have been the one to get the virus and the rage. Not him.

  His hold relaxes and he sits up, still straddling me.

  A single gunshot rings out. Nate makes an “oomph” sound and grasps close to his heart. I don’t really understand what has happened until I see Simeon staggering toward us with his gun raised.

  “Don’t! Don’t! It’s Nate!”

  I look back at my brother. If it was me, suffering from the rage or not, I’d be bent on attacking the person trying to kill me. Nate, however, only continues to sit on me, his hands where he’s been shot, looking down at it as though he’s merely been stung by a bee.

  Moonlight catches trails of blood that run from his eyes down the side of his nose. It makes him look like he’s crying.

  “Nate?” My chest is tight with blossoming sobs. “Nate?”

  His eyes latch onto mine for a second time, and in that moment Simeon places the muzzle of his gun to my brother’s temple.

  I want to scream at Simeon to take it away. I want him to leave Nate alone. To leave us alone, but I know why he’s doing it. I knew I had to kill my mother because her clarity wouldn’t last and the rage would once again consume her. Simeon knows at any moment Nate will try to kill me again.

  “I’ve been looking for you.” My voice trembles. Not from fear. “And I’ve found you.”

  “Bella?” Nate’s focus is solely on me. “I’m sorry.” His breathing begins to quicken. “I know now. I know why you…” He bares his teeth at me so hard I hear them crack. “What’s happened to me?” His voice is a little boy’s, the one I grew up with. The one who would slip his hand into mine as we’d walk home after the school bus dropped us off. “Bella, can we go home?”

  Every emotion I have refused to feel in the last six months breaks free in one long sob. “I’ll take you home, Nate. I’ll take you home.” I reach up and slip a hand into his. “Simeon.”

  Simeon fires.

  * * *

  With the rising of the sun, I look back on the stadium down in the distance. As we sit together, Simeon holds me in a protective embrace, and I am resting my face against his chest. I hear and feel the rhythmic beat of his heart.

  He carried me when I couldn’t walk, talk, or think, when every second I was consumed by my grief.

  I did what I needed to do, what I wanted to do—I found Nate. It was supposed to be a happy ending when we were reunited. Instead all I got was the reality of this new world as I witnessed the absolute end of the life I once lived. I sobbed for all that and more as Simeon carried me. For my mother’s apple pie and my father’s beery scent. For schoolteachers I loved to hate. For friends, summer breaks, and swimming at the waterhole. Binge-watching Netflix. Long hot baths, fresh milk from the fridge, and Oreos.

  Now, here on a hilltop looking down on Rysdon, I am resigned to this new life stretching out before me, and for now, I have no more tears left to cry.

  I look up at Simeon and trace my finger along the scar on his lip. “How’d you get this?”

  He grimaces. “My sister. A knife.” His eyes glass slightly, and I know his pain. I always knew there was something that connected us. I don’t need him to elaborate. Just like I know he doesn’t need me to thank him for ending Nate’s pain because it’s something I couldn’t have done.

  Simeon pulls my head close to his chest again and we watch the rising sun.

  “Look. There,” he eventually murmurs as he stands.

  I see off in the distance what he’s spied. Two figures walking our way.

  Simeon knows them. So do I.

  “Jonah! Mathus!”

  They stop for a minute and look around as Simeon waves his arms madly in the air before they wave back and start in our direction.

  Simeon extends a hand to me and I take it. He carefully pulls me up from the ground. I don’t let go as we start down the hill.

  I may have found and lost Nate, but I also found them. The void my brother has left would be unbearable without Simeon, Jonah, and Mathus. With them, perhaps there is some hope for me in this new world. At least, for the time being, I know where I’m heading: wherever they go.

  About the Author

  Jaya Moon lives in Australia on the coast with her husband, son, two cats, one dog and six chickens. She writes by night and digs holes during the day (literal ones…figurative ones, too, probably).

  In her spare time, she eats chocolate, reads every reverse harem book she can find, and binges on Netflix while eating more chocolate. Once in a while she goes outside, just to make sure the world still exists beyond on her front door.

  Jaya’s debut book can be found on Amazon: books2read.com/AwokenJayaMoon

  To contact Jaya, stop by her facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/JayaMoonAuthor/

  Apocalyptic Holidays

  By

  Alexis Taylor

  &

  Beth Hendrix

  To our babies who encourage us to reach for the stars even in the darkest times.

  P.S. To all the teachers….We salute you.

  Prologue

  Looking down from the clouds, I have a moment of hesitation for what I am abo
ut to do. I was never born, like the humans, I stared down at, I came into existence in the exact form that I am in now. My role in heaven is a guardian angel, or at least it was.

  For as long as I could remember, I have watched over and protected the mortals. Every time I watched them envy that I shouldn't feel would start to grow. It grew to the point that I was willing to join the rebellion. I knew that our decision to fall from grace would affect humans in some way, but I just couldn't bring myself to care. I wanted to be like them. To have choices, find love, or make stupid mistakes and learn from them but you can't do those things here.

  Here I was stuck in the endless loop of helping the mortals, being a part of their world in a sense, but not at the same time. I could reach out and touch them to help, but never just because I wanted to graze their hand. Never being able to hold my charge when they were crying, or hug them because they were happy. I was on the outside looking in and I just couldn’t do it anymore.

  “Are you ready, Sariel?” Raphael said behind me, jerking me out of my thoughts. My moment of hesitation ended because I knew I was going to go through with it.

  “You realize that our father knows what we are doing, right? He knows all.” I whispered, thinking about our father. I knew that there would be consequences for our actions, but I just couldn’t stop myself.

  “Do you care?” looking him in the eyes, I shook my head. Nothing was going to stop me unless I was forced by our father.

  Turning back to look at our home, I said goodbye and told our father that I was sorry. I loved him, truly I did, but I had to go.

  Throwing myself backward, I fell through the sky until excruciating pain burned my back and the last thing I saw before blackness was the ground hurtling towards my face.

  Chapter One

  “It's Christmas day, sissy.” My younger sister Kayra yelled in my ear, wrenching me awake. Grunting and opening my eyes, I knew that it had to be the crack of dawn outside due to the fact that there was only a little bit of light streaming in my window. Damn, I just wanted to sleep in. Was that too much to ask?

  “Come on Kay. Let me sleep just a little bit longer. The sun's not even completely up yet.” I replied, groaning as I attempted to turn away from her.

  “No Bernie. You have got to get up now. There are pretty lights outside. Santa left presents everywhere. Please, please, please wake up.” The more she talked the higher her little voice got. There was no way she was letting me go back to sleep.

  Looking at her, her straight blonde hair was a mess, her bright blue eyes were wide and shining. She really was a beautiful little girl. Smart too, at only 9 years old she was number one in her class. She was also spoiled rotten. As much as I would like to blame that on my parents, it was also my fault.

  She was my parents' miracle baby. They had tried to have another baby for years after they had me. When I was 9 they had given up and by the time I was 10 I had a baby sister on the way. Everyone always talks about how they fight with their siblings and such, but we never had that problem. I was just as excited about the baby as my parents were.

  “Fine, I’m getting up, but you know that we can’t open the presents until Mom and Dad are awake.” Swinging my legs over the side of the bed, I grabbed my sweatpants off the floor. I had never been able to sleep in pants, for some weird reason they made my legs feel constricted.

  “I don’t care about the presents, Bernie. Come look at the pretty lights.” She was now jumping up and down like she couldn’t contain her excitement and ran to my bedroom window. “Oh my gosh. There is more now. Hurry up.”

  What in the world could she be talking about? I headed to the window and what I saw left me in utter shock. These weren't pretty lights falling from the sky. They were flaming balls of something. There were so many off in the distance. I stood riveted at the scene that told me the end was coming even as I tried to rationalize what I was seeing to no avail.

  “Mom! Dad!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. My dad was a light sleeper so I knew that he would be running in any minute now.

  Sure enough a few seconds later, he showed up at my door. I could hear his breathing, that was the only way I knew he was there because I was stuck staring at the sky falling.

  “Is everything okay? What’s wrong?” he said. His footsteps bringing him closer to the window.

  “Something is falling from the sky,” I replied more than a little numb at the fact that I just knew our whole world was about to change.

  “What are you talking about….” His words trailed off as he looked outside. I knew that he must be feeling the same way that I was. “Lisa! Look out a window now!” He yelled at my mother, who must have still been in their room.

  “Aren’t the lights pretty, Daddy.” Kay broke the silence, once again bouncing on the balls of her feet. “I wanna go play with them.”

  “No, Hunny. I don’t know what is happening. You do not leave this house. No matter what, do you understand me?” He kept his cool better than I would have because I would not be letting Kay out of my sight. She may be older, but she was still a kid and I couldn’t help but want to care for her and keep her safe. “I’m going to go try and make a few calls. See if I can’t figure out what is going on.”

  My dad was the Governor of New York, so maybe one of his many government contacts would have an idea as to what was happening. The balls of fire just kept falling and moving closer and closer to the house.

  “Kay, come downstairs. You can open some of your presents while Dad is on the phone,” my mother yelled. I knew it was only because they were worried and wanted to keep her busy and not thinking about going outside.

  I stood in the same spot staring out the window for what felt like hours. Watching houses and cars being slammed by the fireballs, I watched the world go up in flames until I saw one of the flaming balls land in my backyard. Another took out the neighbors house, it was sickening how it crashed through as if the house was butter.

  I might as well check the backyard and see what the ball is. I would like to know what is going to kill us off. I thought, which I knew was a stupid idea, but I had to know. I crept down the stairs stepping over the one that creaked when you stepped on it. I could see my mother and Kay in the living room. Kay was showing Mom a new toy she had gotten in one of her presents.

  “How the hell can you not know what is going on?” My dad yelled from the kitchen. Yup. I knew this was the end. If the government didn’t know about it then it had to be.

  I kept sneaking along until I reached the back door. Pausing as I put my hand on the door, I was afraid of what I would see when I opened it. We had a pretty typical backyard. There was a wooden shed, that held all of Dad’s tools and the lawnmower. A wooden swing set that we had gotten when I was six, and an inground pool off to the side. Which now should have been covered in inches of snow.

  The swing set had seen better days because now it was in pieces on the ground around what had fallen from the sky. There were no flames, but the ground was singed as if the fire had attempted to spread. Everything else was covered in snow, if not for the burnt hole and the falling skies it would have been beautiful out.

  Taking a deep breath, I headed over to where the ball had landed. The closer I got, the more my body started to tremble. I wasn’t going to lie, I was terrified. My gut told me that what I found in the hole would change my world forever.

  Getting to the edge, I looked down confused by what I was seeing. A girl was laying in the middle of the hole. Her white dress marred by the destruction around her. Her dark hair obstructed her face, but her skin looked like marble.

  What the hell is going on? Why would there be a woman falling from the sky? I stood there staring and debating whether or not I should go down and check on her. Knowing I should probably hightail it into the house and tell everyone what I saw, I just couldn’t leave her there.

  Climbing down, my foot caught on something that sent me sprawling down until I landed on top of the woman with a groan. I pushed m
yself up into a push-up position getting ready to set all the way up when I found myself staring into a set of shining green eyes.

  Chapter Two

  Jumping back as far away from her as I could, I watched as she attempted to push into a sitting position. What stunned me most was the fact that I could now see her back, which had two singed vertical holes in it. It looked as though something had been ripped out of her. There was blood oozing from them and some kind of white things on it. If I wasn’t in denial, I would know that they were feathers and the woman in front of me had wings at one point.

  “Are you okay?” My voice hitched as I whispered the words. I was absolutely terrified by this small waif of a woman.

  “Help me.” She pleaded, her voice was soft and so serene that I almost didn’t catch the words she uttered before she fell back into a heap on the ground.

  Well, shit. It's a good thing she is a small woman. I thought as I went over to her to check for a pulse. It was beating so fast that she was sure to stroke out, but then again I knew nothing about what she was so that could be a normal rhythm for her kind. What to do? What to do? Fuck it, I can’t leave her out here.

  I took my hand and slid it back under her small body until my hand could grip her other side. Pulling up on her, it was a miracle that I somehow ended up with her over my shoulder. She was heavier than I thought she would be, but I was a stout girl who would never be classified as skinny. Somehow I was able to pull her and myself out of the hole and make it into the house. I thought about taking her to my parents, but I was more than a little afraid that they would try to harm her in some way.