by Chad R. Odom
He took proper precautions, observing the rendezvous spot from a safe location. He wanted to be sure Stehli was a man of his word. He needed to make sure he wasn’t giving himself over to the wolves by sticking his head out like this. Tecton was positioned on a rooftop a safe distance away with a rifle, a scope, and Asher. It wasn’t enough to fend off a lot of men, but it was enough to buy Oryan a chance to escape if needed.
The appointed hour arrived, and no one came. Oryan knew how these meetings went and expected tardiness. Tecton, not used to the world Oryan was baptizing him into, spoke into the comm in Oryan’s ear.
“I don’t like this.”
“You have to be patient. He’s taking just as much of a risk as we are.”
“He should be here by now.”
“Relax. He’ll be here.”
Before Tecton could repeat his unease, Stehli’s vehicle slowed to a stop not far from where Oryan was perched.
“Look sharp,” Oryan said. “Once I’m down there, if anything moves before I signal you, pull the trigger.”
“I got this.”
“Don’t take chances.”
Stehli’s driver exited the vehicle and opened the back door so the older man could get out. “If things go south, you take Asher and go where I told you. Don’t be a hero and don’t come back for me. Get him out.”
“You have my word, brother.”
Stehli walked alone to the back of the street. Oryan moved from the rooftop and descended silently. When he reached the street, he pulled the hood over his head and made sure to remain in the shadows. When Stehli was close enough to hear him without speaking too loudly, Oryan stopped him.
“That’s close enough.”
Stehli froze. “I almost didn’t come.”
“I can understand why.”
“It seems to me everyone who helps you winds up regretting it.”
“Then why are you here?”
“At my age, stupid decisions are the only ones worth making. What do you need from me?”
“I have…a son.”
“The woman in Tamrus’s home.” Stehli put the pieces together. “Your wife?”
“Yes.”
Stehli’s face became sullen. “I’m so sorry, Oryan.”
“The people behind Tamrus’s murder are going to hunt me. There’s nowhere I can go where I’ll be safe, but no one knows about my son. No one knows he’s mine. I don’t have a future, but he does.”
Oryan choked back emotion. His voice was thin and cracked. “You can’t protect me, and I wouldn’t ask you to, but you can help him.”
“Where is he now?”
“Safe.”
“I assume safe means safe with your Centauri bodyguard. You’re asking asylum and protection for him, too?” Stehli let silence fall. “What will you do?”
“Kill Roanoke. Find Kovac. That’s all I know for now. In the end, it’s the only real way I can protect him.”
Stehli put a pensive look on his face. “I can take you too, Oryan.”
Tears came to Oryan’s eyes. Generosity, charity, mercy extended to him when he couldn’t deserve it less. “Just them, thank you,” he managed.
“At least let me help you get started.”
“You’ll be an accomplice to a fugitive if you do.”
Stehli snorted. “I’ve been called worse. I’ll give you transportation, weapons, communications, food…whatever you need.”
“How soon?”
“Two hours.”
Oryan finally stepped from the shadows and removed the hood. His face was tear-stained and water welled in his eyes. His look conveyed deep appreciation without saying a word. He extended a hand, which Stehli took and let a tear fall for sorrow’s sake.
“Tecton,” Oryan spoke, activating his comm. “Come down.”
Stehli and Oryan worked out details. Stehli instructed his driver to collect the things Oryan would need as well as the means to get Asher and Tecton citizenship, birth records and anything else necessary.
True to his word, Stehli was able to deliver in less than the estimated time. The only thing left to do was to say goodbye. Oryan delayed this, going over details of the next steps more than he needed to. Finally, Tecton put a hand on his shoulder and ushered him to a place where they could speak privately.
“I don’t know what you’ve gotten yourself into. I never asked, and I don’t want to know. Frankly, I don’t care. You believe in what you’re doing, and that’s enough for me.
“But you’re asking something pretty serious here. Your boy just watched his mother get murdered, and he’s about to watch his father walk away. Once you do, you won’t have to see the tears anymore. When he cries himself to sleep or wonders what he did so wrong that both parents left him…You won’t have to see it, but I will.
“That’s what I get to deal with. Me, the worst possible person for any of this. And I didn’t even cover the fact that I’m going to have to stay sober for it.”
Oryan opened his mouth to interject, to try and justify why it was the only safe thing for Asher. Tecton waved him off. “I get it. I get the why—you don’t have to sell me. And I’ll do it. Not for your crusade, and not for you. I’ll do it for him.” He pointed a thumb over his shoulder at Asher. “I love that kid. But if I’m going to do this, I need to ask you something, and if I don’t believe your answer, I’m walking away, and you’ll have to be the dad you’re asking me to be.
“Tell me this isn’t a suicide mission. I need to hear you’re coming back.”
Oryan understood. His wristband weighed on him like an anchor. He wanted to see her so badly. He knew what he was asking Tecton, and it meant he would be missing more of Asher’s life. He turned his attention to the boy who sat with Stehli. He didn’t want to leave him again. He wanted to be there and wipe away the tears. Asher was not only his boy, but the last piece of Celeste he had in this world. Oryan finally understood what Armay must have felt long ago when he left his wife and unborn son alone to try and protect them the only way he knew how. His heart ached even more. He understood firsthand how lonely it was to be Asher. When he did this, Asher might never forgive him.
“I’m not a good man.” His eyes sunk to the ground. “I didn’t deserve her, and I don’t deserve him.
“I won’t ever be able to turn back the clock and live the life I should’ve. If I stay, he’ll be a slave to the life he’ll be forced to live. That’s not fair to him.
“I don’t know if I can stop Roanoke, but I have to try. I have to give him a chance to live a life free of me and my…my past. If I succeed, he won’t just be free of my mistakes; he’ll have the whole world. There’ll be no limits, no boundaries, no dream he can’t live.
“I can’t tell you I’ll come back, because I honestly don’t know if I will. But, I’ve taken everything else away from him. I owe him this. I owe her this.”
Tecton’s head was bowed.
“Does any of that make sense?” he asked his friend. Tecton didn’t look up. “Tecton?”
“Just a minute,” he replied with a sniffle. “You made me cry, dammit. I feel like a woman.” He lifted his head with a smirk. Tears lined his cheeks. For the first time in days, they laughed together.
Tecton hugged him. “I’ve got him, brother. You go make it happen.” They parted. “I kinda hope you don’t make it back,” Tecton snorted.
“Why?”
“Then I know for sure no one will ever know you saw me blubbering like a chick with a skinned knee.”
Oryan grinned, and they walked toward the vehicle. The ground beneath his feet vibrated, like the beginnings of an earthquake. He stopped moving, trying to isolate the vibration.
Tecton stopped with him and saw the confusion on his face. “What is it?”
Oryan didn’t answer, but within seconds, Tecton felt it, too. Stehli rose to his feet as did Asher. Dust fell from the buildings and a noise like nothing they had ever heard filled their ears. Windows shattered and pieces of buildings fell.
> They heard screams as people began flooding the dark, deserted streets, looking skyward. Oryan dashed back to the perch he had been waiting on for Stehli and surveilled the sky beyond the buildings.
His mouth fell open. Coming over them was an airborne vessel like nothing he had seen before. It was easily the size of a small city, triangular in shape, flat on both top and bottom with a hole in the center. It crept across the night, parallel to the ground. Even at the high altitude in which it flew, it covered the night sky. Stars, moon, and clouds blotted out of existence as if someone were rolling a blanket out across the heavens.
Oryan’s mind was attempting to believe what he was seeing and then to try and define it. As possibility after possibility raced through his brain, it landed on what his heart knew was true. They could call off the search.
He had found Lucius Kovac, but it was too late.
***
Oryan, Tecton, and Asher huddled in the pod Stehli had given them and watched the progress of the craft on the live news feeds as it made its way onto Vollmar’s shores. Only a few miles inland, it stopped moving, and a harsh blast of white light emanated from its empty center. The light drilled into the ground, pulling the chunks of rock, grass, and earth up the beam. At the center, the pieces of Vollmar melted and compressed into a rough molten sphere almost two-hundred meters in diameter.
Those brave enough to stay on location with the craft were barely audible. They screamed into their microphones, trying to be heard over the roar of the craft and the rushing wind. They ducked and dodged as debris whistled through the air.
When Vollmar unleashed its aircraft and launched a counter-attack, several of the reporters left their posts and ran. Some camera footage blacked in and out while others shut down and didn’t return. Those that remained, showed the brief and vain struggle of Vollmar’s military. A swarm of drones overwhelmed Vollmar’s defenses quickly, leaving it uncontested.
Shortly after the counter-attack was thwarted, the beam ceased, and an eerie silence fell. Noiselessly, the craft rose with its twisting ball of lava suspended in its center. It disappeared above the clouds and the world held its breath. A noise like huge spinning wheels was heard, and the last thing the feeds showed was the molten sphere hurtling toward the ground at a terrifying speed.
Power in Acamar failed as an electromagnetic pulse shorted everything.
The sound of impact was heard from thousands of miles away. Oryan stepped from the pod and observed a world without a heartbeat. There was no hum of electricity, no pods rushing to and fro, and the people on the streets stared upward. An aircraft hurtled to the ground a hundred yards from where they were. Seconds after the impact, the ground shook violently. Oryan, Asher, and Tecton fled into a vacant lot only moments before the building they were parked closest to collapsed onto the pod. The shock-wave of the craft’s meteor had finally reached them.
When they regained their footing and the ground stopped reeling, they heard a sound like hail. A cloud of ash, smoke, and earth belched miles into the air and then disbursed across the globe like rain. As the forced night fell, Oryan ran with Asher and Tecton to find shelter. Pieces of Vollmar pelted their faces, thrown half-way across the world. They desperately searched, running, trying to get safe, but they were too late. Darkness crept over them until it entirely enveloped them.
For three days and three nights, nothing could be seen. Oryan kept Asher and Tecton close only by touch and speech. Ash filled their eyes, mouths, and lungs. Three agonizing days dragged while they groped in the dark for food and water yet found neither. Around them they heard the screams and suffering of others. Throughout that time, they could only guess what was happening. Falling debris was omnipresent. The sound of people falling from buildings onto the street below echoed in the blackness. Other people would stumble past them. A woman stumbled over them. They felt her trip and they heard her head slap the hard pavement. For several hours, they heard her moan. Tecton tried to revive her but could do little in the darkness.
After a while, everything became still and silent. The darkness was so thick, not even sunlight could penetrate it. Oryan held onto Asher while he leaned, back-to-back against a shivering Tecton. Though neither would say it out loud, both recognized this very well could be the end of the world.
As the sun rose on the third day after the blast, Oryan opened his sleeping eyes, his eyelids like sandpaper scraping over his pupils. The vague outline of Asher’s body drifted in and out of his vision, and he could even make out movement.
“Tecton,” he whispered. Startled, Tecton woke up, nearly causing Oryan to topple over.
“Sorry, sorry,” he said.
“It’s fine. Can you see it?”
“I haven’t seen anything for days.” Then his tone changed to cautious optimism. “Wait, can you see something?”
“Yeah. I think it’s lifting.”
“Thank God! I can’t make it much longer without something to drink.”
“We need to get Asher water and a doctor. I guarantee we’ve been breathing in toxic fumes. He isn’t doing well.”
“I know.”
Before long, Tecton was making out shapes and movement just as Oryan had. Asher was awake but moving very little. His breathing was labored, and his forehead was on fire.
“We’ve got to get moving,” Oryan urged Tecton. “He needs help now.”
Men and women moved like apparitions through the lifting veil. With each step, their feet sank into several inches of debris. The entire world had been turned gray. Everywhere they thought they would find water, they found only people fighting over it or places where the ash had turned the water into a lump of dry crust.
More time dragged on and Oryan, carrying Asher, was losing hope. On the roof of a hotel, Tecton found a water tank, still full and clean. The pair tapped into it and administered it in small doses. Asher took only a few drinks before he vomited up the ashy contents from his stomach. The sight caused Tecton to do the same. Asher’s fever broke, and his breathing returned to normal. Not feeling the effects as keenly as his companions, Oryan did his best to treat Asher and Tecton with the medical training he’d received in the military. Other than water and rest, there was little he could do.
When they were on their feet, they washed their faces and bodies covered in soot and ash. It took several gallons before the water ran off them any color other than black.
Satisfied for the moment, they stopped the flow, sat on the roof, and soaked up the sun. Oryan remembered the blue he had taken for granted only days before. Even though the worst of it had passed, the sky was still a dull shade of orange as the sun bounced off particles lingering in the air.
On the street level below them, people stirred as if awoken from a nightmare. Shouts of despair and anger hung heavy. The corpses of humans mingled with the corpses of the city. Fights over water or other supplies broke out. Asher watched the madness as Tecton and Oryan sealed the door that had brought them to this spot.
When they were sure the door was secure, Oryan and Tecton returned to a sleeping Asher. Even with their makeshift bath, his hair was still gray. After everything, from the murder of Celeste to this, Oryan was happy now to see his son resting soundly. He had no doubt it was because the boy’s body and mind simply couldn’t handle any more.
Tecton stretched his long limbs. “We still need to find food,” he said calmly.
“And a doctor. We need to find out what happened. We have to restore communications, so we know where that thing is and where it’s going. We can’t afford to be anywhere near it.”
“So, it’s ‘we’ again, is it?”
Oryan let his eyes wander. The statement cut him deeply. “It’s ‘we’ until we can find Stehli.”
“If he survived.”
Oryan’s jaw stiffened. “He made it. He had to.”
Tecton finally opened his eyes and sat up straight. “If that thing can do that again, there may be no safe place. Not even Stehli can protect us. If he survived.”<
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How ever this happened, the entire world had changed. The world would blame Roanoke and why shouldn’t they? He was the most likely candidate for an attack like this but Roanoke was only doing what he was there to do: protecting his master and keeping everyone focused on the wrong villain.
Oryan’s heart sank. Celeste had asked him for only one thing and there may be no way to do it. Looking at the dismal scene around him, his world became isolated and alone.
Then, he thought about Asher. His resolution hardened. So long as there was oxygen in his lungs, Oryan couldn’t give up. Like Celeste, Asher was the flame that dispelled the darkness and that was worth any sacrifice he had to make. “We’ll give him an hour to sleep. He needs it.” He yawned and curled up next to his son. “We probably do, too.”
The Next Stage of the Journey
Oryan slowly opened his eyes. He could hear Asher and Tecton, but there were other voices, too—a voice he didn’t recognize and Stehli’s. Another realization struck him. The sun was gone. Not because it was covered but because it was night.
He sat up in semi-alarm, realizing this meant he had slept far longer than he’d anticipated. For a split second, he hoped it meant the past three days had been nothing more than a nightmare, but the crunch of ash under his feet dashed that hope.
“Finally, back among the living?” Tecton chided. “Well, I didn’t feel much like sleeping, so I went searching, and look who I found.”
Stehli acknowledged Oryan and Oryan returned the gesture. “It wasn’t hard, actually. I realized he and the other leaders would’ve probably gone to their group therapy when that thing passed here. Sure enough, they were there, slightly trapped in the garage, but alive.”
“And with food!” Asher said excitedly, bringing some to his dad. He handed Oryan small rolls and honey.
“And a doctor,” Tecton added.
“Your son should be just fine,” the doctor reassured Oryan. “I gave him a shot of antibiotics that should take care of anything lingering. The steroid should help clear the lungs and throat.”
