“So how many of the total escaped?” a guard asks the other.
“I heard nine,” the other responds, walking away from the lift.
“Everyone get inside your roster bunk!” a Palomin shouts.
Emily observes the bald men and women. They are unsure of what is to come of them. What seem like endless cubbyholes in the walls bear roster numbers. She looks down on her chest to see 0492. People climb the built-in ladders between each stack of bunks to get to their holes. She looks up to see her bunk almost at the top. She sighs and begins the long climb.
“Once you get inside your roster bunk, make sure you buckle in!” the Palomin shouts.
Emily slides on her back into her bunk while everything begins to vibrate intensely. She quickly buckles herself in.
“What the hell is going on?” she hisses to herself.
Just outside the Plexus structures, Apollyon stands there grinning. President Christopher Hernandez stands by his side.
“Beautiful job, Mr. President,” Apollyon states, staring at the colossal structures.
The ground begins to rumble. Dirt and pebbles begin to bounce. Apollyon is confused as he looks down at the ground and then he looks up in shock. The Plexus structures slowly lift out of the ground with massive trails of smoke.
“What is going on?” Apollyon roars, turning to face the president.
“I’m sending them away,” the president replies calmly.
“Where?” Apollyon yells furiously.
“A place far from here.”
“Why?”
“To start a new life, safe from us,” the president answers.
“You’re saving them?” Apollyon asks.
Apollyon walks over to a Palomin guard and removes his side arm from the guard’s holster.
“The government abandoned this project years ago. Seemed like such a waste, or maybe it was fate. You were so focused on killing, it blinded you. So I made use of these rockets; with your money I finished the project and brought them back online to send the humans far away,” Hernandez replies.
“You manipulated my plan and used it against me,” Apollyon growls.
Apollyon aims the side arm at President Christopher Hernandez’s face.
“You are insane,” Hernandez says.
“You are out of line,” Apollyon hisses, falling into a prolonged pause.
The president sighs slowly and looks up, locking eyes with Apollyon.
“I don’t know that I am,” the president replies softly.
Apollyon squeezes the trigger. Bang! Hernandez drops dead while the Plexus arks rise toward the sky.
The Plexus arks quickly ascend through the clouds. As they leave the atmosphere, Emily’s body begins to feel weightless. She looks at her arm with wide eyes as it rises. Emily unlatches her buckles and floats out of her bunk along with everyone else. She maneuvers around people and other floating objects looking for Zach.
In the ruined city, a van pulls up to the Palomin church. The people pour out quickly and make their way inside.
Emily glides weightlessly to the edge of a small, rounded window looking down on Earth as it gets smaller and smaller.
“Emily!” Zach yells.
Emily floats there quietly looking down confused as she holds onto a wall-mounted handrail.
“Emily!” Zach shouts running past empty rooms.
Emily looks up with glassy eyes.
“Where is she?” Zach whispers to himself as he stands in the main chapel hall.
“She went…to find you…” the Palomin priest says softly with a look of despair.
Zach looks at the massive oak doors leading out the front of the chapel, which were left cracked open. As he approaches, he peers in between the great doors, up into the sky and sees the Plexus arks as they leave Earth. His mouth drops, his hands go on his forehead, and his fingers run through his hair.
“No!” he roars, smashing pottery off of an end table.
Zach drops to his knees. His eyes pan back and forth. He pauses for a moment in shock and confusion.
“Is this real?” he asks with a sigh.
He looks hopelessly up at the sky with red, glassy eyes, watching as the Plexus arks leave our world.
CHAPTER TWENTY
“T…s…ch…eck…ol…vo…”
The wooden door is locked and barricaded. It’s dark inside. The shadows run back and forth in the light beneath the door. Gunshots crackle outside. Chaos fills the air. It’s hard to breathe. A woman cocks a twelve gauge, chambering the first round, then with her thumb, she pushes in a fifth round. Her back hugs the wall next to the window. She peers through the curtain lace. She watches as people run by—as they are killed—waiting and fighting her inevitable end. A man runs up to the door, grabbing the handle. He attempts to open it. It’s locked. She gasps. He grips the handle with both hands, readying himself to burst through. He pauses. His mouth drops. He looks to the window. A barrel peers through the curtain lace. His eyes glow green. Boom! A baby cries. She runs to a cradle in the center of the room. Her baby is inside. She places her hand on his head to calm him. She runs her thumb gently across his forehead. The baby intently locks eyes with his mom.
“Mommy is here,” she says softly while kneeling over kissing him on the head.
Bam! She turns to the door. Bam! The doorframe snaps, and the door swings open. Three armed Palomin stand at the door in the shadows with glowing blue eyes. She aims her shotgun at the doorway.
“Aah!” she roars.
Boom! The middle Palomin hits the ground. The other two scatter for cover. One of the Palomin lines up a shot outside the window. Bang! The china cabinet explodes, sending glass past her face. She grabs her son and runs to a closet in the back room. She places her son on the floor in the corner of the closet. The baby screams. Tears run down the mother’s face as she cocks the shotgun, then loads a fifth round again. Feet hit the wooden floor closing in on her and the boy. A Palomin runs into the room. Boom! Blood splatters on the photographs behind him. He falls into his own blood. Another Palomin runs in. She takes aim. Click! The shotgun jams. Her heart stops and her eyes widen in panic. She charges. Smash! She crashes him into the wall, knocking down the bloody photographs. He grabs her collar, running her across the room and smashing her into cabinets. Another Palomin runs in. He focuses on the closet. She is horrified. She pushes the Palomin off her. He hits the floor. She stomps on his face. The other Palomin goes for the boy. She charges, grabs the Palomin, and knocks him on his back. The mother grabs her baby. Three more Palomin walk in and surround her. The other two Palomin stand up. She backs into the corner. Tears run down her face.
“Please,” she stutters.
The Palomin close in on her.
“Please don’t do this,” she cries, holding the child tightly in her arms.
They grab her. She fights, grabbing onto corners as they pull her through the hallway and outside to the alleyway. Bodies are littered everywhere. They push her and the baby against the wall. She slips on brass shell casings, landing on her side. She gasps and then gets up on her knees, her back facing the wall as she clings to her son. She opens his blanket to reveal his face. The baby looks up into his mother’s watery eyes.
“Mommy’s here,” she says softly.
They take aim. The back alley flickers while their gunshots echo off the buildings.
A helicopter zips across the rooftops and past the alleyway, ignoring the chaos from below. Inside the helicopter sits a woman, as it flies over the ruins of Washington DC. She holds something in her hand that is covered with a white silk cloth. The helicopter lands on the White House front lawn.
The lady enters the White House and makes her way through its renovations. Humans work vigorously driven by the new palomin order. She enters what appears to be a throne room. At the end of the great hall, Apollyon sits upon a stunning bright white throne that is built from the grounded bones of man's great leaders. She approaches Apollyon with the object concealed by an ela
borate cloth.
“You made a stand, when no one else would. You fought, when everyone was too afraid. You led, when nobody had the stomach to lead.” she says proudly, as she removes the cloth to reveal a crown that was blackened by human leader’s processed flesh.
The crown bore an engraved scene of the palomin savior’s rebellion and the freeing of their people. A tribute to all palomin who victoriously threw-off the bondage of mankind. Within the image portrayed, the leader’s eyes were made from rare orange diamonds and stood out like two stars in an endless black sky.
She steps up to Apollyon and gently places the crown onto his head, then quickly steps back.
“I would also like to commend you, Lord Apollyon, for your great accomplishments. We would be honored to follow you into the future you decide to build,” an elder Palomin says with a smile.
There is a long pause, Apollyon appears oblivious to their words.
“I also want to point out that there are still problems left in the world, as I know you are aware,” he adds with a nervous stutter. Apollyon looks at him menacingly, insisting that he continue.
“There are many small human concentration camps all over the world; however, there remains a few large ones that could possibly pose a threat to us in the future,” he states.
Apollyon leans forward. “Make a list of every known camp and prioritize them by threat level so that we can start hitting them immediately. They need to be taken care of before this gets out of hand,” he orders with a deep rasp.
One of the council-men smiles proudly.
“You have led us to a great victory Apollyon,” he says.
There is a moment of pause as Apollyon locks eyes with him.
“Do not celebrate yet. The war has only just begun,” Apollyon growls as his eyes ignite a fiery orange.
Twenty-six Miles Away
The truck tires turn fast, gripping the trash-littered road and spinning through fire and smoke. The broken rearview mirror rattles and the cracks are caked in dry blood. Screams can be heard around every corner. Jiro watches out the back passenger side window, seeing things no child should ever see. People fighting, killing, and screaming for help, asking them to stop their truck so they can get in. Eric refuses to stop and risk the lives of his wife Penny, his baby boy, and Jiro. A glass bottle splatters all over Jiro’s window, startling him.
“Where are we going to go?” Penny asks Eric, concerned.
“There’s a valley deep in the woods of Dermot. Rumor is there are survivors migrating there,” Eric replies.
They turn a corner, finding the road blocked off.
“Shit!” Eric hisses, quickly putting the truck into reverse.
People surround the truck. Smash! Jiro’s window shatters on him. A woman reaches inside, grabbing Jiro.
“No!” Jiro screams as she starts to pull him out.
Penny quickly places her baby onto the floorboard and grabs Jiro’s leg. The woman fights to pull Jiro out. The woman looks up through the window to see Penny aiming a pistol at her face. Bang! Her head cocks back, launching a twirl of blood all over the people behind her. The gunshot startles them. Penny pulls Jiro back inside. Eric slams the gas in reverse. They clip a pile of rubble. Their back right tire hits a shard of metal. Boom! The tire bursts and they slide into a convenience store and get stuck. Eric looks out his left window to see the crowd sprinting toward them.
“Get out!” Eric orders everyone in the truck.
Eric throws the door open, stepping out and revealing an M4 Carbine rifle as he takes aim. Penny steps out of the passenger seat holding the baby. Jiro hops out. The three of them make their way around the truck to meet up with Eric. Bang! Bang! Eric fires off two rounds into the air, scaring off the crowd. Two Humvees roll up to the crowd, each with a Palomin inside and a gunner on top. The gunners aim at the crowd of survivors. Boom! Boom! Boom! They fire. Legs, arms, and heads fly through the air. Eric grabs his wife and Jiro’s hand, pulling them around the corner. The Palomin gunners spot them. Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! The Palomin gunners fire upon Jiro, Eric, and his family. Pieces of concrete, glass, and metal glide past their faces as they fight for cover.
“Follow them!” a gunner shouts to the driver as they lose sight of the group.
“Watch out!” a survivor screams, looking up at a tilting building.
The building cracks, spitting rubble down onto the street and hitting several people. The liquor store explodes, throwing Jiro, Eric, and his family across the road. Eric looks up to see Jiro down the street by himself. Eric then looks up just as the building collapses. Jiro locks eyes with Eric in horror while the white, cloudy wall consumes him. Jiro starts coughing and is unable to see. People sprint by screaming. Jiro looks around to find himself alone and submerged in hell. A Humvee pulls up and stops right in front of him. He freezes with fear. The intense headlights blind Jiro as they turn on, illuminating the particles swirling around him. A dark figure emerges from behind Jiro, wrapping its arms around the boy. The figure places a hand upon Jiro’s breast. Jiro’s eyes open wide.
“It’s okay,” the elderly male voice says calmly.
The dark figure lifts Jiro off his feet and disappears into the dust. The man sprints with the boy into a back alley. All around them are screaming people running from the gunfire and chaos. Jiro holds on tightly to the man with his face buried partly inside his jacket while the man sprints across the street. Jiro looks up at his savior to see the Palomin priest’s face. The priest stops for a moment and looks up at the sky. Fighter jets scream overhead firing at other aircrafts. An intense dogfight ensues, swarming the skies with roaring engines.
Eric and his wife make their way around the corner and spot a car with a familiar face behind the wheel, Sidney. Sidney stops the car and opens the door. A van also pulls around the corner and comes to a quick stop beside them. The driver of the van quickly opens her door as well. Albert runs around the corner with Jiro in his arms.
“Albert!” Penny says excitedly.
“Jiro!” Eric says with relief.
“No time to chat—let’s get going!” Albert says, guiding Jiro into the backseat.
“We also have room!” the lady by the van shouts. “We’re heading to Dane’s Passage!”
Penny looks at Eric with wide eyes. “My sister is there!” she says.
Eric looks at Albert. “Where are you guys heading?” he asks.
“Dermot. We have family meeting us,” Albert replies. “Are you going with us?”
Eric notices Albert and Sidney’s car has only one seat left. Eric looks at Jiro with kind eyes and smiles at him.
“There’s no room, and we’re going to Dane’s Passage,” Eric responds respectfully. “Keep Jiro safe,” he adds.
“We will,” Albert says to Eric while hopping into the passenger seat, next to Sidney.
As their car pulls off, Jiro looks out the back window. Eric nods to him. Jiro and the car disappear around the corner and Eric finally joins his family inside the van.
The driver looks back at Eric and his family and smiles.
“The name’s Pam!” the driver says.
“You kids may want to buckle up,” her husband mutters.
Pam slams the gas pedal.
Albert and Sidney’s Car
Jiro watches out the window, looking at the city in ruin.
“Where are we going?” Jiro asks.
“The Valley of Dermot,” Albert says.
“Is it safe?” Jiro asks.
“Yes, it is protected,” Albert replies.
Pam’s Van
Eric climbs up toward the front of the van to turn on the radio. He flips through the stations, trying to get a signal.
“T…s…ch…eck…ol…vo…” A voice barely breaks through the loud static.
Eric turns the nob slightly to get better reception.
“This is Zach Becker to all survivors. We have discovered a cave deep in the mountains. We’re calling it Dane’s Passage. A massive cave large
enough for many to inhabit. We have men on the eastern edge of Black Rock, along the wood line, waiting for the arrival of survivors. If you find them, they will lead you to our refuge. We are well fortified and have medical and military personnel. You are welcome here.”
Eric looks back at his wife Penny. She nods. He looks at Pam.
“Dane’s Passage, here we come!” Pam says.
After leaving the ruined city, they find a back road and stay on it for a little over several hours. After what seems an eternity the van finally slows to a stop.
“This is the end of the road. Black Rock is a few miles away,” Pam says. “Looks like we’re hiking it from here,” she adds.
They step outside the van on the side of the dirt road. Eric peers up past the trees and sees a great mountain with dark stone.
Eric, Penny, and their baby make their way down a trail in the woods along with Pam and her husband. They walk for over an hour and find nothing. Hours go by with no luck. They grow tired and hungry and decide to take a break. Snap! Eric turns quickly, startled by the noise. He sees men in camouflage appear out of the bushes with their rifles shouldered at the ready.
“Down!” One of the guards whispers violently.
Eric and the others drop to the ground without hesitation.
“We’re going to need to check your eyes to insure you are not Palomin,” the other guard says, handing off his rifle to his buddy.
The armed guard maintains safe distance from Eric and the others while the other moves closer to inspect. He kneels down to Eric to check his eyes.
“Look up,” the guard orders. Eric quickly responds, looking up into the guard’s eyes.
The guard then leans over to look into Penny’s eyes. A minute goes by while he inspects everyone.
“They’re good,” the guard says.
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