Warlord: A Post Apocalyptic Alien Invasion Thriller (The Crumbling Book 1)

by KJ Nelson

  Cameron blinked several times clearing the tears from her eyes. She looked at Jeb who was taking in the confrontation with a frown on his face.

  “Here Jeb,” Cameron said motioning with the gun. He walked over to her and took it lightly from her hands. She knew he was comfortable with firearms and with Stafford down he was the only one she trusted with the weapon.

  “Keep an eye on him while I work.” Jeb took the gun and trained it at Drac’s midsection. Cameron watched as Drac took in Jeb’s familiarity with the weapon.

  “If he does anything, shoot him in the legs first.” Cameron’s voice was cold with rage. Jeb nodded silently agreeing to her plan.

  “I can see everything about the plant all the way down to the cellular level.” Cameron stared at Drac drawing his attention off Jeb. “Tell me what to do.”

  Drac’s eyes darted back and forth from Cameron to Jeb. He wasn’t comfortable having an unknown like Jeb pointing a gun at him.

  “Tell him to stop pointing that archaic metal slinger at me and I’ll tell you,” Drac spoke slightly above a whisper.

  “No.” Cameron shook her head once. “You’ll tell me, or I’ll have Jeb use the bone saw on you. He’s very good at amputation. Most people don’t even die.”

  Drac’s eyes grew wide at the threat. Jeb let out a menacing laugh that fit the situation perfectly.

  “You Sapes are even more archaic than your weapons.” Drac backed slowly away from Jeb who continued to grin enthusiastically at the idea of cutting one of Drac’s limbs off.

  “What’s a Sape?” Jeb asked in his thick southern accent.

  “Never mind,” Cameron said quickly, not wanting to give Drac a chance to answer. “Tell me what I need to know.”

  Drac nodded slowly, resigned to giving up more information to Cameron.

  “If you can truly use the replicator as you say, there should be a new input option list. The machine will format it into whatever language your brain is most used to reading.”

  Cameron closed her eyes again, allowing the replicator’s vision to take over. She pulled the focus back out and the entire plant came into view again.

  Flashing in the top left corner or her new sight was a blinking message. At first, it was written in the strange alien script that was on the portal in the outpost.

  As she stared at it, the text morphed into English. The message read “Scan complete.”

  23

  “It says, scan complete.” Cameron opened her eyes again. This time her brain didn’t immediately snap back to her human eyes. Instead, she was able to see what the replicator saw at the same time she could stare at Drac.

  To her, it was the same sensation as driving a car and having the rearview mirror in her peripheral vision. She could focus on what was in front of her, or if she wanted she could glance at what was behind her.

  It was the same with the replicator. She could focus her mind on whichever view she wanted to see. She focused on Drac, who once again was staring at her in awe.

  “If that’s the case...” He said quietly, his breath coming quickly. “You should see a new set of executables appear when you focus on that prompt.”

  Cameron turned her inner focus back to the replicator, but this time kept her eyes open. She was able to focus on the tomato plant, while at the same time monitor Drac and the rest of the room. It was still very strange for her mind, but she was getting used to it quickly.

  Cameron stared at the blinking message and it immediately stopped pulsing. It turned a deep shade of purple and faded away. In its place appeared three options.

  “I see three options. Replicate, repair, or reform.” Cameron read the choices out to Drac.

  “It seems like you have successfully paired with the system. From these options you can, create an entirely new plant, you can fix any damages to the plant, or you can reform the plant’s genetic makeup.”

  Cameron watched as Drac bowed his head as if in pain. He grimaced to himself and sat down on the floor. Jeb flinched with the gun, but when it was clean Drac meant no harm he calmed.

  “If you want to replicate the plant, I recommend getting another pot and some dirt to put it in. The replicant will be very fragile.” Drac motioned to Joanne as he spoke.

  Cameron nodded to her and she rushed off to make preparations. Cameron focused on the replicate option and she felt as her hand started to vibrate. The purple glow grew and she squinted her eyes at the bright light.

  After a few seconds, she saw a prompt enter her vision. It said simply, replicate. She stared at it for a second and felt as the machine released its pent up energy. The sensation was glorious in her mind. As intertwined as she was with the machine, she felt the longing the machine had at fulfilling its mission. The rush of joy sent tears into her eyes again.

  Cameron watched through the replicator as the plant shifted. The edges of the leaves began to blur. Small particles were moving away from the main body of the stem. Cameron watched as the particles started to form into an identical plant.

  The new plant, or the replicant as Drac had called it, formed in a matter of seconds. It floated in the purple light as it took shape. Cameron could see all of the roots that were below the surface as they formed into hundred of tiny strings.

  She laughed out loud as she felt the energy start to abate. The feeling of pure joy grew inside of her body as the plant took its final form. Strangest of all, the joy originated not in her own mind or body, but it flowed from the replicator.

  “It’s a wonderful feeling, isn’t it?” Drac asked her quietly. “The replicator wants to be used.”

  Cameron nodded silently bathing in the shared joy between herself and the machine. For the first time, she questioned if the replicator even was a machine. It had eyes, and apparently, it had feelings. What was it then, if it wasn’t a machine?

  As her heartbeat started to slow she took in the small plant that was still hovering about a foot above the original plant. She took her free hand and gently grabbed its fragile body. Cameron felt oddly connected to it as she held it in her hands.

  Joanne walked over to Cameron, her eyes huge.

  “How...how did you do that?” Joanne asked tears running down her face.

  Cameron didn’t answer but gently handed the small tomato plant to Joanne who took it and buried it in the plastic container she’d filled with dirt.

  It looked exactly like the original and Joanne set them side by side.

  “That’s alien technology, sure as shootin’,” Jeb said nodding his head.

  “So you are as dumb as you look.” Drac rolled his eyes. Jeb just grinned back at him. He wasn’t one to be easily offended. He loved when people underestimated him.

  Stafford let out a low moan and the room went quiet again. Joanne continued to look at both plants, she carried them over to her shelf and opened a bottle of water. She poured half of the bottle onto the new plant and patted the dirt around its base.

  Cameron turned to Stafford, ready to use the replicator again. She could feel the excitement radiating from the device.

  “Do I need to do anything differently?” Cameron asked, turning her head back to Drac while looking through the replicator down at Stafford.

  “Yes, this time you need to select repair after doing the scan. You’ll need to identify the exact tissue you want to repair. The Sape’s body is similar enough to normal that it should be able to identify where the damage is.”

  Cameron didn’t like his use of the word normal, but she was happy that the device would be able to know what to do.

  Once again she focused her new vision on Stafford’s arm. She saw the ready prompt blinking in the corner of her vision and she focused on it.

  The replicator started to hum again and glowed bright purple. Cameron used her new instincts to focus on where the break was on Stafford’s arm. She watched as the cast melted away. She could see the dark skin and knew if she went further she would see what lay beneath.

  Steeling herself, she moved qu
ickly through the muscle tissue and the tendons to the bone. The break was horrific. Multiple fragments of bone were jutting into the surrounding tissue. She continued to focus in and when she got to the cellular level again she could see the infection starting to set in.

  She didn’t know how she knew what she was looking at, but the replicator clearly identified the foreign particles and outlined them for her. Confident that she was ready, Cameron zoomed back out far enough to see the entirety of the broken arm.

  She looked and saw the blinking scan complete message again. She focused on it, and this time selected the repair option.

  “Here we go.” She said, taking a deep breath. She was nervous, but confident that the replicator would work as it did before.

  Cameron felt as the energy and expectation built inside of the replicator and herself. As the machine reached its peak again she laughed out loud again in amazement.

  Finally, the power rushed out of the device and Cameron watched as first, the cast disintegrated, then from the wound, she watched a trail of particles waft up like smoke. She knew this was the infection being taken out of the wound.

  Stafford’s arm twitched slightly as the bone mended itself from the inside out. Cameron focused through the skin and muscle and watched as the hundreds of bone fragments repositioned themselves in place. It was like watching the most intricate puzzle being solved.

  Once the bone was repaired, the torn muscle and bruised tissue were repaired down to the last blood vessel. After 20 seconds the light from the replicator dulled and Cameron sighed in relief.

  The joy was just as intense as the first time. Cameron’s mind went back to the feeling of having opioids in her system. It was the first time since the Crumbling that she felt that amazing type of high.

  “This could get addictive,” Cameron spoke to herself quietly. She would never forget the sensations of using the replicator.

  Stafford moaned again on the cot, and his eyes started to flutter.

  “Wha…?” He said groggily. Jeb had used a lot of morphine on him. He immediately fell back asleep snoring lightly.

  “Is he fixed?” Jeb asked, walking toward Cameron and Stafford while still keeping his gun on Drac.

  Drac stood and started moving toward Stafford as well. His eyes curious, though resigned, after seeing Cameron’s success with the tomato plant.

  “Yes, I think he is.” Cameron smiled as she took in Stafford’s sleeping form. He was still glistening with sweat, but she could tell he was getting good rest.

  Cameron looked down at her hand, and as if the replicator could read her mind she felt it disconnect from her brain.

  Her head spun again as she lost the second sight. She’d only had it for less than an hour, but she already felt blind without it.

  Cameron cradled the replicator in her hands. It was her new favorite thing in the world. She didn’t ever want to be without it again. She smiled widely taking in her reflection in the polished silver surface.

  “This changes everything.”

  24

  Cameron made her way back to her container slowly. Her head was spinning and she was shaking from head to toe. She’d spent the last three days straight replicating everything she could get her hands on.

  At first, she’d enjoyed the overwhelming joy the replicator gave her as she created the resources her people needed to survive. After a while, the feeling began to make her sick. It was like eating too much fudge at one time, or even worse, taking too many oxy’s. After replicating over 20 tomato plants and 200 gallons of water, Cameron had to take a break and allow herself to recover.

  Drac had warned her not to overdo it when she’d taken him back to the fertilizer container. She didn’t listen and paid the consequences.

  Cameron tried four times to work the lock on her front door without success. Finally, she just sat down on the bare ground and put her head between her legs. She breathed in the cool air and tried to force her limbs to cooperate.

  She reflected on the last week. The vast shift in her awareness of what was going on after the Crumbling as well as the implications of the replicator left her reeling. Her worldview had shifted so drastically with the end of everything she held dear so this shift wasn’t unbearable for her.

  It did create new possibilities in her mind. For the last two years, Cameron had lived moment to moment, taking lives and not caring about the consequences of her actions. What did it matter? The world was a barren tomb. Humanity would be lucky to last another two years with resources being so scarce.

  But now, Cameron saw a possible future. With the replicator, she could lead humanity out of the tomb. She could unite the remaining survivors, pool together resources, and save humanity. She vowed to give it her best effort going forward.

  She also knew she was going to have to share the knowledge of how to use the replicator. She didn’t want humanity to go extinct because she was selfish with her power. It would have to be someone she trusted implicitly. She would decide later, what she needed more than anything was rest.

  After sitting for a couple of minutes she felt better and stood and tried the lock on her door again. On the second attempt, it opened and Cameron stumbled forward into the darkened room.

  She went straight to the bed and laid down without even removing her shoes. The gun on her left hip was digging into her leg, so she carefully extracted it and placed it on the small table beside her bed.

  She turned on her back and took in the utter darkness of her room. She smiled to herself at everything she’d accomplished.

  She had been able to replicate enough food for the entire co-op to eat for at least two weeks. It would take a considerable amount of work, but she felt confident she would be able to feed everyone for the indefinite future.

  The best news was that after a while there would be enough plants to feed everyone without having to use the replicator at all.

  The only problem Cameron had run into with the replicator was with the water. She’d had Brody collect every bottle he could find and pour them into a big plastic container. Cameron had tried unsuccessfully to replicate the entire drum at one time.

  For whatever reason, the replicator wasn’t able to handle the task. Cameron was nervous at first but calmed when she was able to replicate the contents of a single bottle of water.

  Cameron went to ask Drac what the issue was, and he told her it was because the water didn’t have any connection to the water around it. The replicator worked best on organic matter that was connected into a single mass.

  Cameron was frustrated that she wouldn’t be able to mass-produce water, but she still viewed the replicator in a near idolic light. It was secure in her backpack beside her and never left her sight.

  Cameron passed out a second after her head hit the pillow and didn’t wake for over 14 hours.

  25

  Draconius continued to chant in his monotone voice. He tried his best to let everything flow from his mind. To not focus on the stench of the room, the pain in his limbs, the hunger gnawing at his stomach, and worst of all the hatred that threatened to consume him.

  He finally gave up and slowly unwound his limbs. His body was in perfect physical shape as were all Neandratons, but even he needed sustenance to survive. As far as he could tell it had been over two days since Cameron had last visited him.

  As much as he had originally hated and despised the human, he was impressed with her ability to operate his people’s technology. He wasn’t sure if it was a singularity or if he and the rest of his society had vastly underestimated the Sapes.

  He pushed the idea from his mind. It didn’t help him to think about it. What did it matter if it was just Cameron or the rest of the humans that could operate the technology? Drac wasn’t going to be around to see how it all played out.

  He had a plan. One that he would enact at the perfect moment. Once it was complete, it would lead to his glorious return to the head of the Angstrom Armada. He would watch as his enemies were decimated. His sm
ile would be the last thing they would see.

  26

  Cameron was having the most vivid dream of her entire life. She saw in her mind the world the way it used to be. Vibrant and full of life and possibility. She was at a restaurant with her mom. The food before them was a banquet compared to the last two years.

  Cameron was staring down at a glistening chicken breast atop a bed of greens. She stared at the food wanting to eat it with every fiber of her being. In the dream she was completely frozen in place. The only thing she could move was her eyes.

  Cameron looked up to see her mom’s face. The low lidded green eyes of her childhood. The short gray hair that she always kept perfectly styled. Her mom’s lips were moving, but Cameron couldn’t hear anything.

  A laugh parted her mom’s lips and she threw her head back in joy. Cameron had always loved her mom’s laugh. It was one of her greatest qualities. Cameron longed to hear that laugh again, but couldn’t.

  Cameron awoke with a scream, taking a deep breath as she returned to consciousness. She felt tears on her cheeks as she remembered the dream.

  She started coughing roughly, the movement and the noise, causing her head to pound. To Cameron it felt like she was hungover. She felt around for the flashlight that she kept on her nightstand. Cameron missed and ended up knocking her pistol to the floor and the metal clang reverberated through her head like a gong.

  “Uhhh,” Cameron’s voice cracked as she moaned in pain. She reached again and found the small flashlight. Making sure it wasn’t pointed at her face, she clicked the button on the end and a bright light lit up her room.

  Cameron crawled to the end of the bed and stumbled over to her dresser where she had a nearly empty bottle of water. She grasped at it and missed. Her weary eyes had trouble coordinating with her hands.