Enter the Apocalypse

by Gondolfi, Thomas

  “Dad! Someone’s at the door!”

  He picked up the two books but couldn’t leave the room. Tears and guilt were striving to take over.

  “…no hostile intent imagined due to no noticeable reduction in speed or course change…”

  “Dad! Someone’s at the door,” she yelled as he heard her get up and go to answer it.

  “…possibly empty, possibly expired, perhaps not understanding our communications…”

  The front door opened and he heard voices. Seconds later, she rapped on the bedroom door.

  “…lottery for each of the ten bunkers per state…”

  “Dad? Daddy? There’s…soldiers here to see you,” she said through the door.

  He set the books down for a second, scrubbed at his eyes, took a deep breath, picked up the books and hid them behind his back before opening the door.

  D.J. wore her oversized tee-shirt with the latest superhero group from the latest blockbuster movie, jeans, and her sneakers. She was beautiful, with his blonde hair and her mother’s height and figure. Thank goodness she had her mother’s features. As soon as she saw his face, a look of concern crossed hers.

  “…no one accepts blame for the attacks on the Israeli or Iranian bunker systems from either country.”

  “Daddy? What’s wrong?” She took his free hand, just like her mom always did when he heard news of fallen friends.

  “I…have to talk to them for a minute, sweetie. You stay in your room, okay?”

  She frowned. “Daddy? They’re not calling you back to duty, are they? You’re retired. You served your time.” She squeezed his hand.

  He released her hand and pushed her toward her room. “You go to your room now, okay? No listening. Need to know authority only. I’ll explain in a few minutes.”

  “…racial strife in the wake…”

  “Daddy?” she stared at him and wiped a tear off his cheek.

  So much like her mom it made him smile. “Go on now; I’ll be right back.”

  She did as he asked, reluctantly, as she began biting her nails and twirling her hair.

  He made his way to the front door, the TV still too loud.

  “...limited occupancy…”

  He took a deep breath before he opened the door, the helmets and uniform outlines visible through the opaque door. He pulled the confirmation letter out of his pocket. Set the books down on the hall table, put on his military bearing and turned the knob.

  “…two hand-sized personal objects per individual…”

  Both of the soldiers straightened; they must know about his medal. They were young, maybe reservists. The younger was a corporal. A second look at the older and taller, a sergeant, and he corrected himself. That kid had seen war. He had the stare.

  “Sir? We’re looking for Senior Chief Daniel Cortez,” they rattled off his serial number and birthdate; he was just shy of his fiftieth birthday.

  “That’s me. You need something from me?”

  He heard D.J.’s door creak open. He stepped out the front door and partially shut the door behind him. She was headstrong; she got it from him.

  “…no pets…”

  The tall sergeant nodded. “Yes, Senior Chief, we need your authorization number and your confirmation number.”

  Daniel handed them the slip of paper. They scanned it with a blue scanning gun. Checked the results, double-checked their list, and nodded.

  “…months’ worth of instructional visual recordings gathered for the inheritors once the danger has passed and the environment will be habitable once more…”

  “I’ve…got to…say goodbye first,” Daniel said.

  “…leaps and bounds with cryogenics freely distributed among the world’s nations for reciprocal technologies and advancements…”

  “Understood.” The sergeant glanced at the corporal. “Um…we…he and I…we want to thank you for your service. We heard what you did. The Medal of Honor.”

  “…poorer countries and less technologically advanced countries will have fewer bunkers available…”

  Daniel nodded and gave a humble acknowledging smile. “Thanks for your services in this difficult time.”

  “…corruption reported among some foreign countries: political or economic elite classes regarded the lottery winners. Thousands mass at the offices of the…”

  He heard the floorboards creak in spite of the TV. “Just to let you know. She’s a fighter. She’s not going to like me doing this. But I’ve got to. You understand?”

  Both of the soldiers nodded. “We understand, sir. But we are on a schedule.”

  “Understood. No hurry up and wait for the military anymore.”

  They nodded.

  “…military personnel are ordered…”

  He opened the door to find D.J. halfway down the hall, twisting her hair with both hands. She had been crying. He motioned for her to come to the door.

  “…arson in the Hollywood hills…”

  “Daddy? You’re not going back on active duty are you?”

  The soldiers turned respectfully away as he pulled her into his arms and fiercely hugged her.

  “No, sweetie, I’m not returning to active duty.”

  She spoke into his chest. “Then why are the soldiers here?”

  “…parties broke out…”

  “They’re escorts.”

  “Escorts for what?” she asked, then she looked over to her left at the side table. “Why are my books out here?”

  “…religious groups in mass prayer today…”

  “Well, you love Harry Potter and Malala’s Yousafzai’s autobiography. I thought you might like to read them again.”

  “…paramilitary groups lashed out…”

  She pulled away. “Why would I want to read them…” She glanced at the TV. “The lottery?” Her eyes widened. “I won the lottery?”

  The two soldiers kept silent.

  “You did. These men are here to take you to the bunker in Asheville. You’ll—”

  She began to pull away but Daniel grabbed her hands.

  “…airstrikes continue in Kaesong, North Korea…”

  “No, Daddy! No! I can’t go! I’ve got to stay here! I can’t leave you! Who’s going to take care of you! I can’t go!” She struggled harder, pulling and tugging.

  “I’ll be fine.” He pulled her close as she began to sob and fight him. “You’re thirteen now, sweetie, going on forty. You’ve won the lottery. Someone in our family has to survive.”

  “…last minute trips to the Caribbean…”

  “Daddy, I can’t leave you.” Her tears soaked his shirt. “You’re all I have left.”

  He kissed the top of her head. “You’re all I have left too. That’s why your mom would want you to live. And me. You’re the strong one. You always have been. Do you realize what sort of gift you’ve been given?”

  “…supplies unavailable to non-sanctioned bunker construction…”

  She squeezed him as one of the soldiers coughed to indicate they needed to go.

  After a few more seconds of crying and denial, Daniel finally drew his military bearing and attitude up from within and handed her the books.

  “…committed suicide on the Senate floor in protest to…”

  “Sweetie, these men have a duty. Now I’m going to give you yours.” He made her look him in the eyes. Hers were filled with tears; he imagined a panic-filled sailor under his command and he had to get him back in gear. “You, Daniella Jeannette Cortez, are hereby ordered to live, survive what’s about to happen, and help those who survive with you. You are going to protect those who need protecting, save those who need saving, and be an example for others. Do you understand these orders?”

  “…jailed for price gouging.”

  She frowned.

  “Do you understand these orders?” He gave her the sternest look he could give, which hardly ever worked with her.

  “…utter and complete destruction of many continents…”

  She hug
ged the books, glancing at the picture of Malala on the cover of her book, and looked back up at him and nodded.

  “Yes, Daddy. I understand.” She had that look of determination she gave when she had finally set her mind to something.

  “…human life in the billions…”

  Daniel melted inside but kept his bearing. “Save what’s left to save, sweetheart.”

  She rarely kissed him anymore except in private, but this time she stood on her toes and kissed his cheek.

  “I will. Just like you would.”

  He grinned. “Better than me.”

  “Not possible.” She wiped her eyes.

  “…not an invasion, a crash course…”

  Daniel turned to the soldiers. “I think she’s ready to go, gentlemen.”

  The younger one stepped aside. “Right this way, ma’am.”

  She blushed. “I’m not a ma’am.”

  He grinned. “Yes, ma’am, I’ll try to remember that.”

  “…continued efforts to make contact…”

  As the corporal led the way after her final goodbye kiss to her father, the sergeant turned to Daniel.

  “Are you going to be all right, Senior Chief?”

  “She doesn’t have to know, does she?”

  “…armed men attacked and freed…”

  “Negative. We won’t tell her.” He straightened. “It’s an honor to have met you, Senior Chief Cortez.”

  Daniel nodded. “Same to you. Be safe out there. Good luck to you and your family.”

  The sergeant jogged to join his squad in their Humvee, and D.J. gave a final wave before Daniel shut the door.

  Daniel lasted a full thirty seconds before he broke down as the TV droned on in the living room.

  “…Family members transferring their win to other family members must adhere to the following restrictions: ages thirteen to sixty are the only authorized ages. Further, the terminally sick, injured, mentally or physically impaired are also…”

  13 Signs of the Coming Apocalypse

  Stephanie Vance

  Editor: Healthy skepticism is good. Some things didn’t exactly happen the way history teaches us.

  One day, as Jesus sat at his favorite spot on the Mount of Olives, trying to eat his figs in peace, the disciples who followed him EVERYWHERE came unto him.

  "Jesus," they asked, "what shall be the signs of thy second coming, and of the end of the world?"

  And Jesus sighed and wondered why these people couldn't figure anything out for themselves. He answered onto them, "Since you ask me that ALL THE TIME, I made a list." He pulled a scroll from his linen tunic and handed it to them. "Just read it and let me finish this fig. The list is in no particular order." As he waved them off, the disciples took the scroll in reverence and awe. And on the scroll was written the following:

  Stuff My Dad Told Me about the End of the World

  The sun shall be darkened, the moon shall not give light, the powers of the heavens shall be shaken, and a company named Microsoft shall issue forth a new Windows operating system for the tenth time.

  The antichrist shall come in the form of a woman named Kim Kardashian.

  There shall be earthquakes, pestilences, Starbucks, kale and hipsters.

  Men shall be disobedient to their parents, and play what will be called video games in their mothers' basements for hours instead of getting a job like they said they would.

  A phenomenon known as Reality TV shall appear, in which everyone will deceive his neighbor, and will not speak the truth.

  Rich men shall cast their gifts into things like day care for dogs and designer salt.

  Knowledge of these prophecies shall increase, and many shall look to a thing called the Internet for answers. And in their desperation, they shall pay heed to the deceitful doctrines of false prophets who post their blasphemy on scrolls called Wikipedia and Facebook. And multitudes shall run to and fro trying to improve their streaming speeds and understand their privacy settings.

  A Few True Things from Revelations

  (Dad says most of the rest of it is crap)

  The vials of the wrath of God shall be poured upon the earth in the form of gluten-free, 100% organic, wheat grass juice.

  Upon partaking of the weed of the tree of life, people called stoners shall see three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon and hear from the horns of the unicorns that their darlings shall be saved from the power of the dog. And they shall see a leopard having seven heads and ten horns rise from the seas. And they shall have the munchies and head to the nearest purveyor of sustenance known as microwave burritos.

  All the chosen shall receive a mark on their right hand, or on their foreheads, or as a tattoo reading God is Good affixed to their rear-ends. Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, thieves, drunkards, revilers, extortioners, and an evil clan known as telemarketers shall have no mark and shall be destroyed.

  Four horsemen shall be unleashed to bring conquest, war, famine, and death to the world. They shall use something called the iPhone map app to get here, and they shall get lost.

  To seven angels shall be given seven trumpets. And those angels will make the great mistake of giving those trumpets to someone whose demonic symbol means “the artist formerly known as Prince” who shall create such a calamitous noise that no one will ever play the trumpet again.

  And lions shall lie with lambs, and goats shall lie with horses, and elephants shall lie with dogs, and hundreds of thousands of moving images of these occurrences shall appear nonstop on something called YouTube. See pestilence above.

  After reading the scroll, the disciples looked up at Jesus in fear and wonder. "Lord," they asked, "when shall this come to pass?"

  Jesus spit out the skin of the fig, and picked at his teeth with a toothpick. He looked grave and leaned in as if sharing a great secret.

  “Oh, my friends. It shall come to pass soon. Very soon.” His face reflected great sorrow. And the disciples oohed and aahed and began to talk a little too excitedly about the coming rapture.

  Then Jesus leaned back and laughed.

  “Nah, just kidding. Don't worry about it," he said. "We've got over two thousand years." With a wink, he pulled out his knife and started on another fig.

  The Centaur Project

  Janice Law

  Editor: Sentience is a thin line. Humanity is even thinner. Where does our humanity hide when we choose survival?

  Entry 1: Observer John Prichert, August 3, 2010, first word recognition experiment with genetically enhanced subject 4578. This subject is now eight years old and competent in Ameslan, American Sign Language. A modified keyboard that produces audio and visual cues as well as large print characters was employed.

  BanAnna. ApLe. Watr. Bred.

  ***

  Entry 123: Observer John Prichert, October 13, 2011. One hundred and twenty-third session with computer and genetically enhanced subject 4578.

  Kao like banan. 000# Kao want watr. Thnk you Jon. Kao want aple. Has Jon Apple? Give//Aple.

  A number of other simple sentences, statements, commands and questions are produced. All generated and used without trainer cues. Subject is now completely confident with machine and keyboard. Genetically enhanced subject 4578 has progressed markedly faster than the control subjects. Use of computer spelling component to improve intelligibility is recommended.

  ***

  Entry 235: Observer Paula Gleiss, December 20, 2012. Session with computer trained, genetically enhanced subject 4578. Observers note: all communication for this session was done via computer screen.

  Dr. Gleiss: Hello Kao.

  Kao: Hello Paula.

  Dr. Gleiss:Are you ready to do some work Kao?

  Kao:Give Kao a hug.

  Dr. Gleiss: All right. Now are you ready?

  Kao:Kao write. What?

  Dr. Gleiss: Tell me something. Something that happened in the past.

  Kao: Happened-past? Kao saw John.

  Dr. Gleiss: Yes, that's ri
ght. Anything else? Another happened-past?

  Kao: Paula and Kao went into wood.

  Dr. Gleiss: That's very good.

  Kao: Tickle Kao.

  Dr. Gleiss: All right.

  Kao: Trees tall green. Kao climb swing whooo. Trees swing in the dark like Kao swing. All green and dark. Kao fall into cage.

  Dr. Gleiss: That's good. Did you fall when we went for a walk?

  At this point subject refuses to answer, appears distressed, session ends. I wonder if this is an authentic memory. John?

  ***

  Entry 236: Observer John Prichert, December 22, 2012. Genetically enhanced subject 4578 refused to use the computer during this session. Showed teeth. First sign of unprovoked hostility from this subject. Possible premature sexual maturation?

  ***

  Entry 237: Observer Paula Gleiss, January 15, 2013. Computer session with subject 4578, Kao. This is the first session for weeks since subject refusal before Christmas.

  Dr. Gleiss: How are you, Kao?

  Kao: Kao glad. Paula back.

  Dr. Gleiss: Paula is glad to be back. Will you write?

  Kao: Kao write. What?

  Dr. Gleiss: What does Kao like?

  Kao: Bananas apples oranges. Paula. Trees. Walk outside.

  Dr. Gleiss: What does Kao not like?

  Kao:John baths happened-past.

  Dr. Gleiss: Why not?

  Kao: Make Kao sad.

  Dr. Gleiss: How does John make you sad?

  Kao:John is no-sign. 1

  Dr. Gleiss: How does happened-past make you sad? 2

  Note 1: This is Kao's word for stupid.

  Note 2: Subject refused to answer and session ended. This is first session where Kao has indicated strong emotional preferences. I think he undoubtedly possesses memories of a strong and disturbing nature, but lacks the signs and vocabulary to give them shape.

  ***

  Memo from John Prichert: Paula, you are anthropomorphizing again. Do not offer interpretations, only observations, please.

  ***

  Entry 267: Observer Paula Gleiss, June 12, 2013. Computer time with Kao, #4578. This subject now prefers to work alone.