OMEGA ARMAGEDDON: BOOK ONE OF THE REALM OF ZERROS SAGA

by Shoraz

  As their trek continued, John took the helm of the airmobile while Dean lay in the back of it; then John asked Dean a question, and even though it started off with the simple words of – “So Dean, I know you and I know a bit about your kids, but tell me about your wife. What was she like? And how did she die?” – little did John know that asking those questions would forever change his friendship with Dean and take his life on a path that he could never have imagined.

  CHAPTER TWENTY–SEVEN

  Meanwhile, back in the middle of the ocean as Chandra lay in the pod, she pondered about Bridget and hoped that she was safe. She was now floating in the ocean for over ten hours and was beginning to wonder if she would ever be rescued. As she lay in the pod, she could hear the waves crashing into it, and the constant up and down movement of the waves was nauseating. She then quickly opened a compartment within the pod and grabbed a bottle of water and a nutrition pill in hopes that they would ease the nausea.

  She then pondered upon her past inside the Invisible Dome, as during her time there she was surrounded by many of the elite among the betasapiens and she felt important and felt that she was making a difference. And now, alone in the emptiness and solitude of the pod, she was left with only the memories of the good days and the thoughts of the dark and gloomy days which lay ahead in the not too distant future.

  It was then she realized that this was the most important time of her life, and she felt a sense of happiness and humility to be helping those who the betasapiens opposed, and she felt good that her message would give the humans a fighting chance at surviving the Second Great War.

  Then suddenly she heard a loud noise and felt the pod being pulled downwards, at first she thought it was a piece of large debris that damaged the pod, but then she heard a series of knocks and realized it was the rogue knights of the ocean who were taking the pod to the safety of their home, deep in the depths of the sea.

  In her anticipation of being free from the pod, the journey to Zanos seemed to take an eternity; she had never seen Zanos after its destruction, and although she felt happy about going there she also had an uneasy feeling about going to an underwater city with a war on the horizon.

  As her thoughts went back to Bridget, she felt the pod come to a sudden stop. She then felt it being lifted and heard some voices, and the lid of the pod was then opened, and Chandra squinted her eyes as the light shone in towards her.

  “Give me your hand Madame,” said a voice, and she was helped out of the pod and lifted to a bed.

  As her vital signs were being checked to ensure her health was optimal, she asked, “Am I in Zanos?”

  “Yes you are in Zanos,” replied the rogue knight of the ocean.

  “What’s your name?” she asked.

  “My name is Gunner, and I am a rogue black knight of the ocean,” he replied.

  “I have a message to you all from Milo. He said to let you know that the Second Great War will soon begin and to spread the message across the earth so that the humans and rogue knights can prepare for battle,” and with that Gunner ordered the rogue knights around him to pass the message on.

  The knights quickly ran out of the room and headed towards the main control room. Chandra and Gunner started to follow them, but before they left the room, Gunner gave Chandra a wetsuit and a mask as she would need this for survival in this underwater labyrinth. Chandra quickly put the gear on and they started heading to the main control room. As Chandra left the room she was in, she couldn’t believe the state of Zanos, as it was barely a shell of its former self.

  Gone were the gold plated statues, the pristine walls and decor, as well as the ambiance of elegance and power. It now looked like a city forgotten by the gods in the same manner in which they forgot about the great lost cities of the past, including Atlantis, many, many centuries ago.

  Large rocks and statues now lay on the floor, majestic hallways and foyers which in the past were bustling with pleasurable activities were now buried in salty water, and the atmosphere was now of death and destruction. Gone were the days of past glory and grandeur which were now replaced by insignificance and obscurity.

  Almost all of Zanos was drowned in water except for a few pockets of areas which had breathable air; and Chandra was now leaving one of those areas and she dived into the water and Gunner pulled her along as they made their way to the main control room which was located on the south side of the structure.

  As they made their way, Chandra was surprised to see the amount of knights that inhabited the ruined city, and finally as they arrived at the control room, it was only then did Chandra realize the sheer size of Zanos.

  A map of the entire facility was in the control room, and the view from the control room showed that many more knights inhabited Zanos than she could have ever imagined. The knights of all three bases were in Zanos, and they were the silver knights of Russia, the golden knights of Africa and the black knights of China.

  “How many knights live here?” she asked.

  “Approximately one million knights live in Zanos,” another knight replied, “But not all of them will fight; most of them just want to be left alone in peace,” the knight continued saying.

  Chandra and the other knight continued their conversation while Gunner and the others were busy getting ready to head out and warn the world of the looming blitz that was about to begin.

  “How are they going to warn the others?” Chandra asked.

  “We have no communication tools, we’ll have to do it the old–fashioned way, by word of mouth,” the knight replied.

  Then one by one, Gunner gave the knights their instructions, and they headed out of the control room to begin their journey of warning the humans of the upcoming war.

  “What is the plan?” Chandra asked.

  “First, we’ll warn the underwater cities of Daaviya and Qezai, and from there the knights will then head to the Americas and to Freedom City to warn the humans and superhumans. As for the small pockets of humans, superhumans and knights in other parts of the world, we’ll send lone knights and drones to pass the message along; and hopefully, we’ll get to them before the attack begins,” Gunner replied.

  Chandra and Gunner then watched as the knights departed in droves to warn the humans of the impending attack.

  “Where do we go from here Gunner?” Chandra asked.

  “We’ll go to the center of the free world – Freedom City,” Gunner replied; and Gunner and Chandra then headed to a pod to begin their journey to Freedom City, Alaska.

  As Gunner looked on, he wished that he could have done more, but for now, this simple plan would have to do as it was their best option given the resources at their disposal. And Gunner hoped that in due time the world would soon see the true nature of the rogue knights, and see the side of them that was more human than the humans themselves.

  For although they were made of metal and electronics, inside each of them was a heart; and although it was not a heart in the physical sense of the word, it was nevertheless a heart that was full of mercy and compassion and was ready to die for what the knights believed in. A belief that would hopefully save the humans from the onslaught that was about to begin.

  CHAPTER TWENTY–EIGHT

  As Stryker entered the airmobile, Sarah looked at him hoping that he told her the truth about getting the knife, “You just have the knife right? That was what we agreed to,” she said to him.

  “Yes the knife, that’s it,” he said as he entered his airmobile.

  “Wait, I need to search you,” she said.

  “If you get close enough to search me, I assure you that you’ll be on the ground before you know it. Are you ready to take that chance?” Stryker said to Sarah.

  She then thought about it for a moment and decided not to search him, and he then gave the signal to open the gates of the compound and once they were opened, both airmobiles flew off with Sarah leading the way and Stryker following close by.

  “You’re crazy Sarah, if I die, Stryker wi
ll hunt you down, you’ll be beaten, tortured and then killed. I promise you that Sarah,” Amare spitefully said to her.

  “I’m ready to die for what I believe in Amare,” she boldly said to him.

  “Where are we going?” he asked her.

  “I’m not sure but I want to get as far away as I can from your base,” she replied.

  “Now shut up so I can think of a plan,” she said to him.

  “Sarah, turn back now and I’ll give you the medicine to restore your superhuman abilities,” Amare said to her.

  “When I get to my destination I’m sure I’ll find whatever I need in order to restore my abilities,” Sarah replied.

  “And you think you’ll survive out there alone? I don’t think so,” Amare said to her with a shrewd smile on his face.

  “I’ll be fine, now shut up,” Sarah said to him.

  After a few minutes of silence, Stryker pulled up to the side of the airmobile and signaled for Sarah to stop, and she then looked at him and shook her head in disapproval. Then, upon seeing Sarah’s response, Stryker then went ahead of her and slowed his airmobile down; the move was unexpected and Sarah swerved to get out of the way. Stryker then stopped his airmobile and landed it, and Sarah and Amare looked back at him both wondering why he had landed.

  “Maybe he’s having engine trouble,” Amare said.

  “I highly doubt it,” Sarah replied, and she then turned around and headed back to Stryker.

  She then stopped her airmobile and pulled Amare out of the back seat, and she then opened the door of the airmobile and exited with Amare and they both stood outside the airmobile with her laser pointed at Amare’s head.

  “What are you doing Stryker?” she shouted.

  “This is the end of the road Sarah, you can’t take him any further,” he said to her.

  “That’s not your decision Stryker,” she said to him.

  Then all of a sudden Stryker began walking up to her, and as she pointed her laser towards him, Amare took that opportunity and tripped her and as he did so, she fell backward, and as she fell the laser dropped out of her hand, and Amare did his best to keep her from reaching it.

  Stryker then came running towards them as Sarah was reaching for the gun – her hand getting closer and closer to it – as Amare held her feet trying to pull her back; and just as she was about to grab it, Stryker kicked it away, out of her reach and he then grabbed it and pointed it at her.

  “Shoot her!” Amare yelled at him.

  He then walked over to Amare – still pointing the laser at Sarah – and helped him to their airmobile. He then set the airmobile to autopilot and put in the coordinates of their home base along with a timer to liftoff in two minutes.

  “What are you doing?” Amare asked, “Kill her!” he commanded, his hands still handcuffed.

  “I have a job to finish boss,” Stryker said to him.

  He then closed the door of the airmobile and walked in Sarah’s direction with his laser still pointed at her, “Do what you have to do, just get it over with,” Sarah said.

  Stryker then walked up to Sarah and handed her the laser, “This belongs to you,” he said.

  “I see the conviction you have, and I know that you are ready to die for what you believe in, tell me more about it,” he said.

  “Thank you so much,” she said to him in astonishment.

  Meanwhile, Amare looked on in bewilderment as his bodyguard and second in command let his prized possession go, “I’ll kill you Stryker, and I’ll kill her too, you’ll never be safe,” he said as his airmobile lifted off and flew back in the direction of his base.

  Sarah and Stryker then walked towards her airmobile and as Stryker sat in the back seat Sarah started the airmobile, “Why didn’t you kill him, he won’t stop looking for us,” she said.

  “I set the speed of the airmobile to fifty miles per hour, so by the time he gets to base which will be in about five hours, and get his men ready and start looking for us, we’ll be long gone,” Stryker confidently said.

  “I hope so,” Sarah remarked, still in amazement of Stryker’s betrayal of Amare.

  “So where are we going?” Stryker asked.

  “To save the world Stryker, to save the world,” she replied as she started the airmobile and began their trek to Freedom City, Alaska.

  CHAPTER TWENTY–NINE

  The oceans of earth were now bustling with activity, as a large wave of the rogue knights of the ocean were headed to warn the humans of the upcoming attack of the betasapiens. As they made their way through the oceans, they knew that they would not only be warning the humans of the imminent attack but also fighting alongside them against their own kind.

  This was something that they did not look forward to, but it was something they knew that they had to do. Many of the rogue knights killed humans in the past prior to them going rogue, and they hoped that this would be their redemption and their way of repaying their debt to the humans. Gunner watched as the last knight left Zanos, he was in the main hall and ready to leave as well; then, as he was putting Chandra in the pod, a large band of knights approached him.

  “Thank you for everything brother,” a female knight said.

  “May your journey be safe,” said another, and one by one they all came and wished him well.

  “Join us, my fellow knights, for in you burns the same fire that burns within me; we owe it to the humans to fight beside them, even against our own kind,” he passionately said to them.

  “This battle is not about humans versus knights, or betasapiens versus humans. Who you are or what you are has nothing to do with this fight, this is only about good versus evil, and I swear, I will fight to the death for what I believe in,” he continued.

  “I cannot fight my own kind Gunner,” a knight said.

  “To each their own, no one will hold anything against you my fellow knights, be safe and take care of each other,” he said.

  He then finished putting Chandra in the pod and headed for the open sea. As he raced through the water, he hoped that his speech made a difference and gave courage to the rogue knights that stayed behind so that they may fight on the side of good and help the humans.

  But for now, he looked ahead, and in the distance, he could see the hordes of knights ahead of him. For even though he had hoped there would be more, he was extremely proud of the ones that headed out with the warning to the humans even if it meant death at the hands of their fellow knights.

  As Chandra lay in the pod, she had a feeling of uneasiness and anxiety. She knew that what she was doing was the right thing, and it was very helpful to the humans, but at the same time, she felt a certain sadness that came with the certainty of an impending war as well as feeling somewhat melancholy for betraying her fellow betasapiens.

  She knew the power that the betasapiens had at their disposal, and she also knew that Frank was determined to rid the world of humans. Her mind then went back to Bridget as always, and she hoped that she was safe.

  In her heart, she knew that she would never see her again, but given the predicament of her current situation which started when Frank attempted to kill her, she knew that it would not end well for her and Bridget and she felt that she owed it to the humans, given what the betasapiens had done to them, even if it meant never seeing her beloved daughter ever again.

  In the past she had heard the stories about Freedom City; the lawlessness, the crime, the murder and the raping of women, but she knew that Gunner and the rogue knights would protect her amid the chaos that lay ahead. As she lay thinking she dozed off, then suddenly she was shaken awake as the pod hit something, there were then three knocks and she could hear voices; the lid of the pod was then opened, and outside it was a bit dark and the sun was just about to rise.

  “Where are we?” she asked Gunner.

  “Freedom City,” he replied.

  Gunner then put Chandra on his back, and they began walking to the heart of the city. As they made their way, many people ran away in fear of
them while some of the people of Freedom City were comforted by seeing Chandra with the band of rogue knights. Then suddenly out of nowhere, a dozen airmobiles came heading towards them, and the rogue knights raised their hands in a gesture of peace.

  “Why are you here? What business do you have with us?” a loud voice stated.

  “We mean no harm,” Gunner replied, “We come with a warning. The Second Great War is upon the humans, and the rogue knights are here to stand by your side and fight alongside you against the betasapiens and the knights,” he continued saying.

  And with that, the message made its way across Freedom City, and the humans and superhumans began preparing for a battle for which they would most assuredly lose. They then went to their bunkers, and some of them headed to the sea, while others stayed on land and readied their weapons and their small army which they knew would be of no match against the armies of the knights of Africa, China and Russia.

  For even though they knew the odds were against them, they were ready to defend their homes and their way of life in the face of certain death. As Chandra looked around, she realized that Freedom City was not what it was made out to be by the betasapiens.

  There was no murder, rape, or lawlessness, it was about humans and superhumans trying to survive and live their lives in peace; a feeling of peace that was about to be shattered like a pane of glass upon a wall of jagged rocks.

  The humans and superhumans had known for a long time that the betasapiens wanted to destroy and kill them all, but now it was a reality, a reality that tomorrow may not exist for many of them and a reality that the rogue knights were ready to fight alongside them, against their creators – the betasapiens.