by J. W. Elliot
Hours later, he laid Cedar down to sleep on one of the beds in the abandoned hovercraft and went to the controls. The one nagging thought that had gnawed at him since that vicious black cloud tore the hope from his heart still hadn’t been answered. Was he alone? Had anyone survived? Were he and Cedar the last humans alive?
He switched on the power, and the hum of electricity passed through the controls. Lights flashed, and a shimmering blue holograph screen popped into view. A newsfeed panned over a silent city showing heaps of bodies. Forrest stared. He had been worried about the California earthquake when, all the time, this plague had been the real threat. Where had it come from? It hadn’t been a natural phenomenon. Those glass vials were manufactured.
Then a female voice came over the speaker as the image shifted to show a megacity that looked like New York City. Sleek, silver hovercraft, bearing the red image of a ship, swept across the screen.
“The new order has begun,” the woman said. “The Ark Project has cleansed the earth of naturals to make way for genetically-improved humans who will give the earth time to heal.”
The image of a beautiful black woman filled the screen. “This is the future of humanity—genetically engineered to be more altruistic, more environmentally conscious, more intelligent, less prone to disease, less subject to greed and self-interest. Humanity has been given a second chance.”
Forrest stared at the screen. “Clones?” This Ark Project, whatever that was, had sent the disease to kill naturals so clones could replace them?
“But there are those among us who fail to recognize the last chance for humanity,” the female voice said.
The image of a handsome black man with a scar on his forehead flashed onto the screen. “This clone, who calls himself Kaiden, has rebelled against TAP and seeks to undermine our efforts. He attacked two TAP installations and murdered our beloved director, Noah. He was last seen flying west and is to be seized or shot on sight.”
Forrest tuned out to the rest of what she said.
He wasn’t alone, but he and Cedar might be the only naturals left alive. Still, if there was a resistance to this new order, he would join it. They had slaughtered his family, but TAP would regret the fact that he had survived.
ABOUT J.W. ELLIOT
J.W. Elliot is a professional historian, martial artist, canoer, bow builder, knife maker, woodturner, and rock climber. He has a Ph.D. in Latin American and World History. He has lived in Idaho, Oklahoma, Brazil, Arizona, Portugal, and Massachusetts. He writes non-fiction works of history about the Inquisition, Columbus, and pirates. J.W. Elliot loves to travel and challenge himself in the outdoors.
Connect with J.W. Elliot online at:
www.JWElliot.com/contact-us
Books by J.W. Elliot
Available on Amazon and Audible
Archer of the Heathland
Prequel: Intrigue
Book I: Deliverance
Book II: Betrayal
Book III: Vengeance
Book IV: Chronicles
Book V: Windemere
Book VI: Renegade
Book VII: Rook
Worlds of Light
Book I: The Cleansing
Book II: The Rending
Book III: The Unmaking
The Ark Project
Prequel: The Harvest
The Clone Paradox
The Covenant Protocol
The Miserable Life of Bernie LeBaron
Somewhere in the Mist
Walls of Glass
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J.W. Elliot