by Saxon Andrew
It was close to midnight and his son said, “Dad, there’s another 250 parked beside that store we’re about to pass.”
Grant hit the brakes and said, “I’m going to stop and top off the diesel. Check it out and see if it’s also a diesel.” The son nodded and got out of the truck after Grant pulled up to the pumps. He walked over and looked at the truck. Grant watched him nod and finished filling up the tank. He and his wife walked into the store and looked around. The wife was carrying a blouse in her hand and smiled at the cashier, “Do you have a place where I can change my shirt?”
“The bathrooms are outside.”
The wife shook her head, Uuuggghhhh, is there not somewhere cleaner?”
The cashier nodded toward the door behind him and shouted, “Jack, come out here for a moment.”
A man with a handgun in his belt came out of the back room and Grant’s head went back. The cashier smiled, “Relax. We’ve had some problems with thieves in the past.”
Grant smiled and looked at Jack, “Is that your 250 outside?”
Jack smiled, “It is.”
“Do you have the new towing package?” Grant asked as he saw his wife go into the back room.
“I ordered it special.”
Grant sighed heavily and said, “I really wish I had ordered it on mine…” as his wife stepped out of the back room, raised her Glock, and shot both men in the head before they could turn and see what was happening. Grant jumped over the counter and turned the dead man over and went through his pockets. He found the key to the truck and said, “Start moving everything.” He lifted the shotgun off the shelf behind the counter along with three boxes of shotgun shells. He grabbed a plastic bag and swept the Zippo lighter display into it along with all the butane fuel on the shelf behind him.
No one else showed up as they loaded the new truck and they drove away with both trucks loaded with durable can goods. His son put the license plate he took off the car from the family they killed earlier and replaced the one on the truck he was going to drive. They drove off into the night and Grant kept a close watch on the rearview mirror for headlights. After three hours, he started to relax; two more hours to go.
• • •
Tomucha Goodthing walked down the street and entered the pharmacy. He looked around and walked back to the drug counter and sat down at the blood-pressure machine. He put his arm in the cuff but didn’t turn it on. The store was pretty much empty. Everyone was glued to their televisions watching the Shuttles. Finally, the metal door opened and he jumped up, pulled a long knife out, and grabbed the Pharmacist coming out of the door. He put the blade against her throat and said, “Scream and you’re dead!” The woman’s eyes were wide open in fear and he smiled as he pushed her back into the drug room and closed the metal door. He pulled out a handgun and shot a technician in the head. “Honey, just the good stuff and you’ll live. I promise.”
Fifteen minutes later, he broke his promise and walked out of the metal door. He threw the canvas bag over his shoulder and whistled as he left the store. The thick plate glass at the counter prevented the shot from being heard as the clerks at the front counters stared at the wall mounted TVs blaring at high volume.
He smiled. The name he chose for himself was appropriate. This was very good things in the bag. He turned the corner at the end of the block headed toward the gang leader’s hangout and went into an alley to take a short cut. He took two steps and was shot in the head by a thirteen-year old girl. She looked both ways and then opened the bag; she couldn’t believe her luck. She grabbed it and ran down the alley.
The bullet-proof glass at the pharmacy was there for a reason; this was not a safe part of town. Tomucha should have paid attention.
The girl was on the couch next to her brother high as a kite when three members of Tomucha’s gang burst through the front door. She was too far out of it to even move and she died along with her mother and brother. She should have known that witnesses are never a good thing. She never saw the homeless man under the tarp next to the dumpster in the alley.
• • •
The initial rise in murders around the world went unnoticed for a few days. Those that feared the law began losing their fear as news of the possible end of the world began showing up on the news. Once the world saw the shuttles destroyed by an Alien Spaceship, the trickle became a flood and then a raging tsunami.
John Alligood walked out of his front door and went to his next-door neighbor’s house and knocked on the door right after he saw the shuttles being destroyed. The door opened and John smiled, “Tony, do you remember shooting Patches for jumping the fence into your back yard a few months ago?”
“I was within my right’s, John. You should have kept that Pitbull on a chain!”
John raised a Colt 45 semi-automatic handgun and shot Tony six times as he fell to the floor. He replaced the clip and shot him six more times as he said, “Chain this!” He turned and did a little dance as he walked back home. Later that day, Tony’s twelve-year old son shot both of Tony’s children as they walked home from the store.
• • •
In Houston, Texas, a Latino gang gathered their guns and drove into an affluent neighborhood just north of their territory and began shooting at anyone they saw on the streets and at the houses. They cheered as people were hit trying to escape and high-fived each other when one of them shot a wounded bystander unable to flee. They opened fire at any one they saw and riddled the front of the beautiful homes as they walked past.
They made it two blocks when all thirty-four of them were mowed down by property owners who had pulled out their AR-15’s and Remington Assault Shotguns and opened fire.
Houston had more than fifteen hundred establishments that sold hand guns and Texas had an open carry law. No one knew how many of the home owners had opened fire on the gang members. There were too many rounds in them to tell.
The same could not be said for Chicago, were there were no licensed gun stores in the city and it was against the law to carry a weapon. More than ten thousand people lost their lives over a three-day period and then the numbers became too high to track. The killing started and didn’t stop in Chicago until the asteroid finally ended it.
Immediately after the shuttles were taken out, everyone that had a grudge, a prejudice, or just the mood to do it, went and took out their frustrations on the object of their rancor. The big cities became warzones and even calling out the National Guard made no difference; many of the troops became the worst offenders. They saw the opportunity to take out their past frustrations on the communities that taunted them and spit at them in the past demonstrations and this time they did not stand idly by doing nothing. Violators of the curfews weren’t arrested; they were shot dead.
And the gatherings of protesters yelling about the soldier’s actions never made it to police lines to protest. They were fired on by automatic weapons from passing cars and the authorities just stood by and watched. Law and order was a thing of the past. It became survival of the fittest…and the fastest.
The exodus from the large cities started and once the news got out that the US was going to be hit, murder on the choked highways escalated out of control. Fire-fights among the stopped traffic became common place and soon the exodus came to a stop. The roads were more dangerous than the cities.
Some Sociologists have stated in the past that the veneer of civilization was a very thin layer. The coming of the asteroids confirmed their statements. Civilization fell apart and only the well-armed survived.
• • •
Europe fared better than the United States. It was not targeted by an asteroid and most did not know what the aftershocks of the impacts would be. So most watched and waited. But not everyone had patience to sit by and do nothing. Many decided that the only safe place had to be high ground and people loaded up their SUVs and trucks and headed for the mountains.
For the first time since its founding, the members of the European Union closed their borders. T
hey enforced it with their Armies and it took shooting violators to stop the massive flow of traffic. Switzerland blocked the highways and used their warplanes to attack any one attempting to sneak into the mountains overland.
• • •
The middle-east broke out in War and the rest of the world pretty much ignored it; they had more pressing problems. The Nuclear bomb that destroyed Tehran caught every one’s attention briefly but only led to shouts and nothing more. The nuclear destruction of Jerusalem and the subsequent nuclear bomb dropped on Mecca led to a religious war that had been in the making for more than a thousand years. Fortunately for the planet, the three most powerful countries did not use their nuclear stockpiles of weapons.
South America and Mexico saw numerous governments over thrown as the populations revolted against the privileged classes. Other than that, it was pretty much business as usual. They weren’t the targets of an impact and they didn’t realize the magnitude of what was coming. By the time they did, it was far too late to respond.
It was just two weeks until the asteroids arrived and already, more people had been killed around the planet than in all the wars combined from the Civil War through the Korean War and the carnage was just getting kicked off.
The aviation industry came to a complete standstill. Airports became killing grounds and the flight crews quickly found a safe landing place and refused to leave. The armies of the world tried to maintain order but eventually broke up and became a part of the anarchy that was sweeping the planet.
Finally, it was three days until the impacts and the first meteors began hitting. Hundreds of large pieces of the destroyed asteroid that were blow out of the front of the destroyed asteroid were moving ahead of the two giants. One meteor more than a mile-wide hit in the ocean just off shore from Rio De Janeiro and the tsunami it created was more than two miles high when it hit the shoreline. Every city on the east coast of South America was destroyed with millions suddenly wiped away before they could flee.
It was at that point, that the world stopped focusing on killing each other and turned to the skies. The sudden appearance of a meteor crashing down took everyone’s attention away from each other.
• • •
Juan kept activating the link and he finally hear, “Juan?”
“JIMMY. I’M GOING TO ARRIVE IN ORBIT IN LESS THAN SIX HOURS. I NEED A PLACE CLOSE WHERE I CAN LAND THIS THING!!”
“Give me a minute.”
Mellie looked at Juan, “Who was that you were talking to?”
“Hopefully someone that can save us.”
“They didn’t come in over our communications,” Gary said with eyebrows raised.
“Just trust me. I have your well-being in mind.”
Two hours later, Juan heard, “Head toward the Geneva airport. The main runway is more than 12,000 feet long. Will that give you enough room?”
“Barely. Changing course now. I’ll be down by six PM. Will you be able to get us out?”
“How many are with you?”
“There are three of us.”
“Get the bird down, Juan.”
“Thanks, my old friend.” Juan looked at Gary and Mellie, “Get the computer set up to land in Geneva Switzerland.”
“Sir, we’re moving way too fast to land without several orbits to bleed off speed.”
“We don’t have time for that! Buckle in.” Juan flipped the Endeavor around and used the engines at full power for thirty minutes. The speed dropped quickly and Juan flipped the shuttle back around and looked at the remaining fuel. “Gary?”
“We’re still moving faster than we should be we’re going to have to depend on the airbrakes to get us slowed down. Bring her to a heading of two-seven-zero and start skipping off the upper atmosphere. We’re going to have to move around the planet to the day side to land at Geneva.”
Juan gripped the controls and began activating the bow and side thrusters. There wasn’t much time before the asteroids arrived. The Endeavor dropped into the top of Earth’s upper atmosphere and skipped off it. The shuttle slowed by a hundred-miles per hour but it was still moving too fast.
• • •
The President of the Bundesrat arrived at the Geneva Airport and saw it was deserted. He had his driver move around to the side freight entrance and he stepped out of the limo. He opened the trunk and took out the machine-pistol. He went to the fence, shot off the lock, and pushed the wide gate open. He walked back to the car and smiled at the driver, “Go home and be with your family.”
“Sir, my place is, and always has been, at your side.”
“Rocco, you have been loyal and faithful over the years and now my time is over. Go home to Lolo and hold her. If you care about me, you will do as I ask.”
The Rocco stared at him and said, “Johan, live in peace.”
Johan leaned in the window and hugged his life-long friend. The limo backed up, turned around, and left the airport. Johan sent his young son with his oldest daughter to the Valley two weeks earlier by helicopter when he confronted his wife about her affair. She had stormed out and by the time she thought about their son and came back, he was gone and, though she threated to take him to court, he knew it would never happen.
Johan heard a loud boom and looked up. It was getting close. Thirty-minutes later, he heard the roar of engines approaching and five motorcycles came roaring through the open gate. Carter stepped off a BMW and smiled, “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. President.”
“Thank you.” Johan looked up and smiled, “I’ve always wanted to see one land.”
Kellie stepped off her bike and everyone heard her say, “Yes, we’re here Juan. What direction are you coming from?”
“Which way is the wind blowing. I’m about to make my final circle before approach.”
Kellie looked at the huge Swiss flag in front of the main terminal and said, “It’s blowing out of the North.”
“I’ll be coming in from the South.”
Kellie looked at the other five, “He’s landing from the South. We need to get moving!”
The Riders jumped on their bikes and Johan jumped on the seat behind a rider on a Ducati. They roared away from the gate and headed toward the north end of the central runway.
• • •
Juan saw the Endeavor’s speed was at seven-hundred miles per hour and knew he was still moving too fast. He banked the shuttle steeply and heard the stall-warning alarms start blaring. He brought the ship out of the bank and allowed it to drop half-a-mile before leveling it out. Speed was down to four-hundred and twenty and he applied the airbrakes. The stall-warnings began blaring again and he said, “Hold on, we’re going in hot!”
Johan and the other riders saw the Space Shuttle come in at an incredible speed at the south end of the runway. They saw the puff of smoke from the tires as the giant parachutes deployed behind it. It was still moving too fast to stop in time. Suddenly, the front wheel collapsed under the shuttle s Juan detracted it and the shuttle began sliding toward the end of the runway. It slid off the end and dug a deep trench for a hundred yards before it spun to the left and came to a stop. The riders hit the gas and roared out to the shuttle and saw the side door pop open. A young woman jumped to the ground and a blonde man jumped out right behind her. They tossed their helmets aside and then Juan jumped out. Kellie stopped her bike, jumped off, ran up, and hugged him, “Sir, it’s so good to see you again.”
Juan smiled, “Kellie, you joined the project!”
“Yes, Sir. Most of those in your old unit are there.”
Carter looked at Juan, “Can you drive one of these.”
“Certainly.”
“Well, shuck that suit and take Kellie’s bike. Your female crew member can ride with you and your other crewman can ride with Jeff.”
“I think keeping the suit on might be better. It’s going to be cold where we’re going, isn’t it?”
“Are you able to move freely in it?”
“Yes, they’re not pressu
rized.”
Carter took a helmet off the back of his bike and handed it to Juan, “Use this one. That space helmet is just too cumbersome.”
Juan took it as another rider handed Mellie a helmet. She jumped on the bike behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. Kellie got on the bike with Carter and wrapped her arms around his waist tightly. Juan looked at them and raised his eyebrows. Kellie smiled, “Yes, Sir. We are a couple.”
Juan laughed, “Good, it’s about time.”
Carter spun the bike around and the five bikes roared out of the airport and moved out on the autobahn. They reached speeds of a hundred and eighty-kilometers an hour and arrived at the road leading into the valley an hour and a half later. The asteroids were due in another two-hours. There was a brilliant flash over the horizon and Carter yelled, “That’s Paris going down. Get moving!”
The five riders flew down the road all of them knew by heart from the endless trips they made going up and down it. They heard the explosion half way down the mountain and they rode into the bike entrance as the shockwave from the Paris meteor strike blew past far overhead.
Juan stepped off the bike and Mellie took off her helmet, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. The other riders started whistling and Mellie broke the kiss and said, “That takes care of that.”
Juan smiled, “No it doesn’t.”
Mellie tilted her head, “Why not?”
“Because you kissed me. You said you’ve never been kissed. Juan pulled her into his arms and planted a huge kiss on her lips. They finally broke the kiss and Juan smiled, “Now, that should do it.”
‘JUAN!”
Juan turned around and saw Jimmy sprinting across the room. Juan laughed and ran to meet him. They embraced each other in a bear hug as Jimmy said, “I never thought you’d make it back!”
“I have a good crew, Jimmy.”
“Well, come on, we have a lot to discuss. Mr. President, if you would come with us, I’ll try to get you up to speed on what’s happening and reunite you with your family.”