The engine stops, they stall.
It’s getting easier for him to breath, he calms down. Can he breathe because of his power? He takes one deep breath.
Reese is yelling, “Just do it. You’re going to die either way.”
He’s going to die if he does it. But he’s going to do it anyways.
Yeah, he thought, and he’s going to go out with style.
Julio smiles as the cockpit opens.
He grabs his gun and jumps out.
He closes his eyes as he falls for the angels. He cocks his gun.
Let’s do this.
His eyes fling open as he thrust down. The angels fly straight for him, approaching fast as he fires his special round.
In a crack! He falls under the first angel as the round annihilates it. It doesn’t even have time to let out a scream. He fires again at the angel immediately under him.
Shit!
It’s too close.
As the round hits, Julio still falls for it.
The round starts to expand as Julio falls eye level to the angel. He looks into the eyes of the beast, even then it can’t tell that it’s about to meet its end. The angel screams as the round suddenly expands out, consuming it.
Julio barely passes the angel as the round expands out to an inch away his face, searing off some of his hair.
It stops, he needed a haircut anyways.
Overhead, the jet loops over, Reese uselessly pulling hard on the joystick in the lifeless jet. He hopes he has enough momentum to keep moving.
The last angel is under Julio and he’s out of bullets. He lands on its shoulders, it grabs his legs. Julio grabs a grenade off his belt as it opens its mouth to spit out hellfire.
He activates it and shoves it down the fuckers throat, burns be damned. It releases his legs and grabs at its throat. Julio flips off it and—
The angel explodes in a bloody fashion. The explosion thrust Julio though the air –
He’s suddenly caught by Reese’s jet’s cockpit door as it flies straight down.
“Fuck yeah!” Reese yells. Julio climbs into his seat and closes the cockpit.
Holy hell, it worked. That should make it a lot easier for their forces now that the angels are gone. Julio clutches his fist.
“Let’s go!”
Reese powers the jet back up, engine rev as they still head straight down, ground approaching quickly below them. They break back into the main fighting area. Julio places his hands on the glass, his force field projects over the jet.
A faire flies under them.
“Go through it,” Julio says.
The faire screams as the jet rips right through it, bursting through the other side unharmed. It explodes as they fly away.
Ulbe sits on top of the Washington Memorial, watching the battle. With his power he can see every single one of his soldiers, he knows when his children kill, when they’re in danger and when they die.
He can feel their pain, their suffering and their emotions. That’s the job of the general of the Eliite fleet. Because of this, he can control them.
He can only handle it because he decided to ascend to this position, the power to handle the emotional toll, instead of something greater.
It was something he was willing to give up for the greater good. Luckily for him, his soldiers, his children can also see the greater good, so when they see death, they embrace. Making it easier for Ulbe.
He feels something to his left.
Reese’s jet approaches. He raises his arm and swings down as it passes him.
In the sky, Julio’s shield is ripped apart as the back of the jet is crushed down as an invisible force tears down.
They’re going down.
“What the hell was that?” Julio yells.
He felt his shield ripped away from him, it hurt his arms for some reason.
“We have to eject! Mayday! Mayday!” Reese screams. Smoke fills the cockpit and Reese jerks on the ejection lever.
Nothing.
He pulls again and again.
Nothing.
Shit.
It’s not working. The blood drains out of Reese’s face. If he was going to die, he’d rather it be in an instant than like this. He can barely see out the cockpit but he can see them quickly approaching the ground.
He keeps pulling on the lever.
“Shit! It’s not working!” Reese yells. He can finally see death, he always knew it was there, in this war, but to see it this close up, it scares him.
“No! No! NO!” Reese loses it.
Meanwhile in the back, Julio starts to think, it took him awhile to come back to his senses because of the shock of his shield being ripped away was so great but he has to think fast. He sends his fist through the cockpit blowing it open, rips Reese out of his seat and leaps out, but it’s barely enough time as—
They go crashing into the building with the jet. It rips into the building exploding and tearing down half of it.
Minutes later after the smoke clear, Julio lies face first in some rubble, body covered in dirt. His shield protects him. It disperses as he forces himself to his feet. Reese is directly below him, his dirtied emotionless eyes stare into Julio’s.
Julio clutches his fist in pain. He’s just now noticed that he hasn’t been hurt by anything until now, the force hitting the jet was the first time.
His legs and arms are all bloodied and broken.
How the hell is he standing?
His powers takes over and starts to heal, his arms and legs creak as they snap back into place. He grimaces as they finally finish.
He’s aching all over.
What is his limit?
How much more can he take? He’s guessing not that much more, he’s going to need to think before he does anything else stupid.
He rubs his head, he’s getting a headache. Maybe an after effect of using his power to much.
At least they took care of the angels, so maybe just maybe this battle will be that much easier, even if he doesn’t make it.
As long as Cole and Thora make it. They are the only friends he has left.
When is Cole coming? The Astrons said he was the key to this battle.
Reese’s chest moves up and down.
He’s alive.
Julio coughs, blood splatters on Reese’s face. He finally blinks.
“I guess you’re not invincible after all,” Reese says. Reese’s leg is a twisted mess.
Julio coughs again, struggling to stay up. Reese wipes the blood off his face and wobbles to his feet and grabs Julio for support.
“Guess not,” Julio says.
Holding each other up, they limp over to the makeshift opening of the building. They look out over the city, the sky is painted black with smoke.
The sky flashes.
“You wouldn’t happen to have another jet would you?” Julio asks.
“No.”
More angels and ships descend from the sky. Julio’s heart drops, everything they just did was for nothing. How can they win this?
“Where’s Will Smith when you need him?” Julio says.
Thora, Arnold and Neil all huddle on one bed in the stadium. All holding each other as the building shakes around them.
14 - Something more
BLACKNESS.
What is a god?
There is nothing.
But blackness.
But Cole’s mind is here.
It’s the beginning of it all. A small bright light appears in the darkness. It illuminates Cole’s face. He stares directly at it. He has no thoughts, no emotions, he’s just there.
The light explodes out releasing gas hurling past Cole and into the infinite. The twirls of gas explode in a vibrant force of colors and light. They swirl, churn and morph into stars, galaxies and gas giants.
In front of him, a pool of gas collects and merges. Sparks of light shoots off from it as it collects faster and faster. Gravity pushing together the mass, making it firmer and firmer until—
The star pulls giant rocks around it. Swinging and crashing together in orbit.
Forming planets. He looks in front of him as two of the objects crash and merge together. It cracks and molds into—
In a flash, he’s in a thick lush forest. He’s surrounded by tall ancient trees and foliage. Light breaks through the canopy to illuminate the ground around him. The humidity doesn’t really bother him since he’s not really there. Something rustles in the bushes besides him.
At a diminutive level, it’s all really simple, we are all connected. Jahum’s voice comes from everywhere, as if he’s part of the universe. Cole doesn’t look amazed or startled, he’s just a watcher of events that once happened.
A small lizard pokes its head out of the bushes. We are all made from the things of the heavens, from the stars and their recesses. Twisted and molded into something more.
The lizard runs through the grass and out the trees and out into a clearing. A Tyrannosaurus Rex’s jaws crushes the lizard and pulls up. It starts to feast.
One of the lucky few to make it through the evolutionary cracks.
How hard it is to accomplish that?
As the T. Rex chows down, the sky flashes as a bright light falls from the sky.
To understand the universe, is to understand that you’re not alone.
Another flash, another place. But this time it’s different, Cole is the universe, everything is happening to him, instead of being a memory. But his conscious mind is still gone.
A woman lies on the floor of a shabby looking place. A couple of people surround her. She’s pregnant and going through labor.
Everybody you touched or will touch.
“Push!” One of the men yells. This isn’t a native English speaking nation, but to Cole, he hears it as English.
The woman pushes with all her might. The baby comes out, one of the men wraps a cloth around it and hands it to the mother.
“What are you going to name him?” He asks.
“Lance.”
Another flash.
Kid Lance looks out the window, he wants to go out and play with his friends but his mama made him stay inside.
He sees why. A tank rolls down the dirt road. The road is surrounded by apartment buildings. Armed men advance next to it.
The tank barrel turns to an apartment window only a few apartments from Lance. It fires and blows a hole through the building.
Lance falls back as the building shakes, gun fire starts go off outside. The door slams as armed men run in, one of them is his older brother, he holds an AK-47. His mother runs up and hugs him.
“Thank you,” she turns to Lance.
“You’re going with your brother okay?” she says.
“No! I want to stay with you,” he cries. The gunfight outside gets more intense.
She hugs him. She let’s go and put a locket around his neck. “I love you and your brother,” she says as his brother pulls him out the door. He screams as he’s forced out the room.
Kid Lance sits in a ship’s hull with a hundred other immigrants. It’s dark, dirty and over filled. Lance sits next to another immigrant, his brother left him at the port.
Saying he still had a war to fight, telling him the guy next to him is trustworthy and would help with citizenship. He can’t believe he left him. He’s on his own now.
The guy next to him leans over him. “Cheer up brother, you’re going to love America,” he says. Lance hope he does, because there is no going back home.
Another flash, it is twenty something odd years later. Lance sits next to Serena on a bench in central park.
It’s dusk.
He can’t believe she said yes to a date, the cutest girl in the office.
“I still can’t believe you let me take you on a date.” He didn’t mean to say that out loud.
“Keep talking and I might just regret it,” She says with a smile.
He shuts up.
But she wasn’t too turned off by it.
“I’ve never dated out of the country before, so I just wanted a foreign taste,” she says.
“I’ve been in America for twenty-five years,” Lance says. He can barely remember his childhood.
“What? What’s with the ascent then?” she asks.
“I never wanted to lose it, to remind me of my heritage and where I came from… and of my old home,” he says. Serena relaxes and takes his hand and holds it. This is his home now.
Another flash, another person.
Everybody has a story, a reason for them to fight, a reason for them to live.
A teenage Julio walks down a deserted forest road, the fog covers thickly ahead of him. He wears a simple plaid shirt and jeans, a statement to his current extravagant style.
He can’t really see where he’s going nor does he care. He has a huge backpack on his back, full of everything he owns.
He just walks down the side of the road. An old car drives up slowly behind him, it pulls up next to him but he keeps walking. The car is a simple as his clothes. It coast next to him.
A teenage girl drives it, only a year older than Julio. She manually rolls down the window.
“Julio,” she says. She a beautiful girl, her hair is a perfect shade of brown, her eyes the perfect shade of blue. Julio doesn’t answer back and keeps walking.
“Julio,” she says again, she doesn’t say it firmly or pleadingly, there’s no forcefulness behind her voice.
Julio stops and looks at her. She stops the car.
“Get in and let’s leave this place forever,” she says. Julio looks behind him, the fog clears up and he can see the path behind him. He looks back forward and the fog deepens.
He opens the door and gets in. The girl smiles and sets the car in drive. They drive off into the fog, never looking back.
The human emotion is a powerful tool.
Another flash, another person.
Noata and Lane lie next to each other on a grassy knoll, looking up into a star laced sky.
Some would say that love is the strongest connection to bring two humans together.
Noata holds Lane as she rests on his chest. He looks at her, he wishes this moment could last forever.
Some would say it motivates humans to do things that were once thought as impossible.
Another flash, this time to the battlefield that currently rages on. Noata walks toward the orange haze of battle, something he once thought was impossible.
Another flash to Lance fighting a squadron of grunts, in a blur he fights them off and wins.
Why is it so easy for them, to motivate themselves, to find something to push themselves forward?
Why is it so hard for me?
Cole finally has a coherent thought, he tries to breaks away from Jahum’s prying.
Why can’t it be so easy for him?
Why can’t I accept it?
WHY CAN’T I ACCEPT DEATH!?!?
STOP!!
GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!
Cole screams out in his head. Jahum forces himself deeper. Cole’s view of the battle frizzes as Jahum plunges deeper into his psyche.
His world flashes.
Another flash another place. There’s no more thoughts, no more fighting, he’s just there once more.
Cole sits on a bed in the barracks. It’s only a couple hours after he was decommissioned, only a few weeks after he’s gotten his companions killed. The barracks are empty.
He’s just finished packing, his bag is next to him. He doesn’t know why he packed though. Maybe it’s just to make it tidy for anybody who finds his body.
His Glock is next to him.
He pulls out a picture of his old squad, it will make this easier, seeing their smiling faces, knowing he’d taken them away from here.
They were together for four years, he sees his own smiling face in the picture.
A disgrace.
“I’m a failure,” he mutters. He picks up his Glock and racks it.
He puts it in his mouth and hesitates. If he’s going to do this, he needs to do it.
He pulls the trig-
“Stop!” Julio tackles him as he pulls the trigger, the shot fires off but goes into the wall. The gun is knocked out of Cole’s hand and he’s taken to the ground by Julio.
“What the fuck are you doing?!” Julio asks in a yell. Cole scrambles for the gun, Julio jumps on top of him and wrestle him to a stop.
“Let go!” Cole screams. He tries to break Julio’s grip but Julio was always a better fighter than Cole.
“No!” Julio yells. Julio elbows him and forces him against the wall. The sternness on Julio’s face shows he’s not going to give up so easily.
“What the hell where you thinking?!”
“Let me finish it! Let me finish the only thing I can do right!”
“That’s it? You want to kill yourself over a shitty day?”
Julio lets go of Cole, and kicks the gun under the bed. Cole falls to his knees.
“I’ve failed at every single duty I’ve been given. Everybody I was supposed to protect is dead. If I can’t protect the one that I love, if I can’t do my proven duty as a man then I have no reason or point to live.”
There is silence after Cole’s statement, Julio waits as if Cole was going to continue on.
“That’s it?”
Cole doesn’t answer back, he just stares at the floor. Thinking of a way to get the gun without Julio noticing.
“Get up,” Julio says.
He doesn’t move. Julio sighs as he pulls Cole up. If Julio didn’t show up, Cole could’ve finally rested in peace.
“You’re coming with me,” Julio says.
“Why?”
“Because I want to take you back into the showers to fuck you …Just come on.”
Julio bends down under the bed and picks up the gun.
“If you still wanna off yourself afterwards, then I’ll do it for you so you don’t go to hell.”
A flash.
Only a few hours later, another place. Light peers through the canopy as it paints the lush forest as Julio and Cole walks through it.
“Where are we?” Cole asks.
“A forest.”
In A Universe Without Stars 1: Skyeater Page 18
