Worlds Without End: Aftermath (Book 2)

by Shaun Messick

  Adrian cracked a small smile. He loved John’s sense of humor and it seemed to perk him up a bit. “I get the sense I wouldn’t want to be outside in that kind of rain,” he said.

  John shook his head. “No, you wouldn’t. Not unless you want to come back charbroiled from hot coals from space.”

  Adrian gave a small laugh, and Kevin and Ashley managed small smiles. He then looked at the battered lieutenant colonel. “Colonel, what’s our status?”

  With a raspy voice, Chris replied, “There’s not much left, sir. At last count, we have forty-three soldiers left, we’re low on ammo, and we have no planes or choppers left. We moved all military personnel and the remaining civilians into the bunker for safety until the firestorm stops.”

  “What about the Gnols?”

  Chris shrugged. “The Gnols were fleeing. As far as I could tell, the meteorites seemed to be targeting the Gnols and their ships. Some of our men and civilians were hit, though.”

  Adrian finally managed to pull himself up into a sitting position, hanging his legs off of the bed. He looked at John. “Do we have communications with Mount Weather and President Thompson?”

  “No. Any communication with the outside world has been disabled. We are going to have to hunker down inside this bunker for a few days. Even though I ushered in the storm, I don’t know how long the Lord will allow it to last,” John said, looking back up toward the ceiling as more explosions rocked the base above.

  Adrian looked at his brother and niece. They were both unusually quiet and their expressions told him that their minds were somewhere else. He was about to ask where Adam was when it hit him, reading their faces. “Adam’s gone, isn’t he?” he asked.

  Ashley threw her face into her hands and left the medical unit. Christopher went after her. Kevin watched them leave and turned back to face his brother. Tears were streaming down his face. “H-he sacrificed his life for ours.”

  Grief and sadness enveloped Adrian. He ran his hand through his hair, shaking his head. “I-I’m sorry, Kevin. This … this is my fault.”

  “No,” Kevin said, shaking his own head. “If I wouldn’t have created artificial intelligence, Adam would still be alive and we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

  John intervened before Adrian could respond. “You two, don’t blame yourselves. I told you, the Lord is very proud with what both of you have accomplished. No. This is the work of Satan and you two are the Lord’s warriors standing in the way of evil.”

  Both brothers looked at John. The ancient apostle had a way of infusing anyone he met with faith when they needed it most. And that small seed was what Adrian needed. Even though Dorange had severely beaten him, he knew that none of his bones were broken. Standing up, he ripped the I.V. from his arm. “We need to establish communications again with Mount Weather. We also need to plan a counterattack to get the Gnols off of Earth.”

  John smiled. “I admire your courage, Adrian. That’s why the Lord has called you, but your place is not here on Earth. You need to get back to Terrest. There’s more to this puzzle that needs to be deciphered.”

  Shaking his head, Adrian replied, “But what about the people here? My brother? Ashley?”

  John placed a blackened hand on his shoulder. “Lt. Colonel Peterson, the President, and I will coordinate efforts here. Plus I have three other buddies of mine throughout other parts of the planet, helping the resistance against the Gnols.”

  “Ashley and I are going too,” Kevin interjected. “We have nothing left here.”

  John looked back at Adrian. “If that’s okay with your brother?”

  Adrian smiled and pulled Kevin into a tight hug. “Yes. Jake will be so glad to see you again. That is, if he is still alive.”

  * * * * *

  The pain. The despair. The anguish. It was all too much for Ashley to handle. She sobbed uncontrollably as she walked down the corridor away from the medical unit. With tears streaming down her face, she looked for a place of solitude – a place where she could just be alone. But there was no such place to be found. Soldiers, men, women, and children were everywhere. People were scrambling about, frantically trying to help the wounded, the burned, and the distraught. Everywhere she looked, her eyes were met with the same fearful expressions.

  She couldn’t take it anymore. Her walk turned into a jog, and then into a dead sprint down the corridor. She heard someone call her name from behind her. But she didn’t turn around. All she wanted was to be left alone. The corridor ended, splitting into a T. Stopping, she looked right and then left. There, just a few feet ahead of her, was a closet door propped open with a mop and bucket. A janitor’s supply closet. When she got to the door, she glanced down. The water within the bucket was a deep crimson red. It had obviously just been used to clean up blood.

  In disgust, she kicked the bucket aside. The bucket rolled and crashed into the concrete wall of the bunker, and the bloodstained water splashed out onto the floor and splattered the wall. She was just about to shut the door and lock herself into the closet when a hand caught it. “Ashley, wait.”

  She tried to pull it shut, but the strong hand and arm held it open. Looking up, she met the battered and swollen face of Chris Peterson. Despite his injuries, she was still astonished at how handsome he was. “Pl-please, I just want to be alone.”

  But Chris didn’t relent. He gazed at her, his eyes revealing his concern for her. Ashley never noticed it before, but his eyes had flecks of gold in them, making them even more striking. She stopped trying to pull the door shut, staring into his eyes. Every emotion seemed to flood within her.

  “Ashley, are you okay?” Chris asked with genuine concern.

  Without responding, she threw herself into his arms, burying her head into his chest. She felt comfort in his arms. The floodgates opened again as she began to sob uncontrollably.

  “It’s okay. Let it out.”

  And let it out she did. At this moment and for the first time since the Gnol invasion, she felt safe; safe in the arms of the man that had rescued them from torture. Finally, after a few more minutes in the strong soldier’s embrace, she looked up. “Thank you, Chris. Thank you for helping us.”

  The soldier smiled warmly at her, placing a hand on her cheek. The physical touch was nice and something that she desperately needed. She smiled back and just as fast, leaned in and kissed him passionately.

  She could tell as her lips met his soft, wet lips that he was surprised. But he gave in and kissed her back. After a few more minutes, Ashley heard someone clear his throat from just outside the door. Chris stiffened as the two separated lips. He quickly turned around.

  “Uh … Dad … sorry,” Ashley stammered.

  Kevin looked suspiciously at Chris. “I came to see if you were okay. But from the looks of it, it looks like you are.”

  The brave soldier ducked his head in embarrassment, but then quickly looked back up and stood at attention. “Sorry, sir, I … uh … came to see if she was okay as well.”

  Kevin nodded, still holding a suspicious gaze. “I’d like to speak to my daughter alone, if you don’t mind, Colonel.”

  “No, I don’t mind, sir,” Chris said as he turned and gave Ashley a comforting grin. “I’ll talk to you later?”

  Ashley nodded and watched as he scurried away. She then looked at her father. His face had the same look on it she had seen thousands of times before. Disappointment. Only this time it was mixed with grief and sadness. He took a few steps toward her, and she backed into the closet. Stepping inside, her father closed the door behind them, giving them some privacy. He still had the disapproving look of a concerned father on his face as he looked at her in silence for a few seconds.

  The awkward silence was excruciating, so she spoke first, “What did you need, Dad?”

  Kevin shook his head. “I came to see if you were okay. Apparently you are. Here we are … at war, your brother’s dead, and you’re here in a janitor’s closet making out with a man you barely know. I expect more from you, yo
ung lady.”

  Ashley lowered her head in shame. She never wanted to disappoint her father. She respected him and loved him too much. “I-I’m sorry, Dad. I-it just happened. I don’t know what happened. Chris just came to see if I was okay, and—”

  “Did he take advantage of you?” Kevin interjected in anger.

  “No, no. It’s not like that, Dad. Chris is a great guy. We’ve been talking a lot since he rescued us … and well … it just happened.”

  The anger and disappointment in her father’s eyes seem to fade away. He reached out and placed both of his hands on her shoulders. “I know. It’s okay. When we’re under extreme stress, we do things we normally wouldn’t do.”

  Ashley relaxed a little and gave her father a small smile as she leaned in and hugged him. Her father hugged her back. As he did, memories flashed through her mind. Kevin Palmer had always been an overprotective father. After all, she was his only daughter. In high school, she rarely dated because her father grilled every guy over the coals. The word quickly spread, and the dates just as quickly disappeared. While most teenagers would have rebelled and held a deep animosity toward their father, she didn’t. She revered her father. He was a great man with strong moral character, and she loved and respected him for that. Even with her mother’s passing when he became even more protective, she let him because of a deep-felt responsibility that she had for him and Adam. She would never disappoint her father and would follow him anywhere.

  “Ash, there’s something we need to discuss.”

  Ashley pulled her head from her father’s chest and looked up into his hazel eyes. “What is it?”

  Her father seemed uneasy. “Well, I thought this would be easy to ask of you, but with the feelings you must be developing for Lt. Colonel Peterson, it might be more of a difficult request.”

  Feelings? She thought. She really didn’t know how she felt about Chris. “What, Dad?”

  Her father looked lovingly into her eyes. “We’re going to Terrest with your uncle.”

  Stunned, Ashley fell silent for a few seconds, looking away. Looking back at her father, she said, “Terrest? Wh-why?”

  “We have nothing left here, Ash. Ada …” Kevin choked on his words, and his eyes glistened. “… Adam is gone.”

  Tears began to flow from Ashley’s own eyes. Her father needed her, and despite the feelings that were welling up inside her about Christopher Peterson, she knew what she had to do. “If that’s where we need to go, then I will go with you, Dad.”

  Her father smiled at her and pulled her in to the most loving and protective embrace he had ever given her.

  * * * * *

  The firestorm from space had stopped, and the blue of Earth’s atmosphere was beginning to return to normal, even though Dorange could still see the orange fireballs decimating the land from space.

  “Sir?”

  Dorange turned his stunned gaze from Earth and looked at his colonel, the executive officer of his command ship, Mahane Baine. Colonel Baine looked at him with fear in his chocolate brown eyes. He was sweating profusely as he ran his hand through his thick black mane. The look of fear on his colonel’s face disgusted Dorange, despite Colonel Baine’s physical stature and presence, which was impressive to say the least.

  “S-sir? What do we do?”

  Dorange placed his hands behind his back and strolled toward his young executive officer. He stopped within a few feet of him. “How much of the fleet do we have left?”

  “Only our ship along with a few of the transports that were able to escape to the far side of the moon with us.”

  Furrowing his eyebrows in anger, Dorange paced for a few seconds. The faces of the ten other officers on the bridge of the command ship watched him with fear and worry, waiting for an order. You cowards, he thought. He stopped and turned back toward the image of Earth through the giant viewscreen. “What about our warships?”

  “We are the only one left, sir. … What was that? Where did it come from?”

  The questions of his subordinate only infuriated Dorange even more. He bit down hard on his bottom lip, trying to control his anger. Blood began to seep into his mouth from biting down too hard. But he knew the answer to Colonel Baine’s questions. He knew how thousands upon thousands of meteorites directly targeted his fleet and troops, and this enraged him even more. Giving in to his anger, he spun on his heel, thrust his arm forward, and caught Colonel Baine in a telekinetic grip around his neck. He levitated Baine toward him as the colonel gasped for air.

  Seething with hatred, vengeance, and disgust, Dorange spat as he spoke. “The goddess has punished us for our failure, for failing our savior, Koroan Chast, and for your incompetence, Colonel Baine. Where was your warning? From your position in orbit, you should have seen the meteorites approaching.”

  Colonel Baine tried to respond, but the invisible squeeze Dorange had on his neck made it difficult to speak. Dorange relented his squeeze, but still held him in the air just a few feet in front of his own face.

  The colonel gasped and coughed for air. His voice was raspy and rough as he spoke. “S-sir, we didn’t see them coming. It-It’s like they just appeared out of nowhere.”

  Dorange dropped Colonel Baine to the floor of the bridge and turned back toward the screen. He stood silent for a few seconds, lost in his thoughts. If he issued a retreat back to Terrest, he knew that Koroan would certainly kill him, or worse … have him tortured to death. But his forces had been decimated in one swift blow. He knew what he had to do. He turned back around and looked at Colonel Baine who was picking himself up off the bridge floor. “Send a distress message to all our forces to prepare for our retreat back to Terrest. Wait until I return. I need to return to the surface. There is something that I need to do alone.”

  Colonel Baine stood at attention and gave Dorange the standard Gnol solute. “Yes, sir.”

  * * * * *

  Dorange flew the Gnol space fighter through the night sky just above Washington, D.C. The fires from the meteor shower illuminated the blackness, making it easier for him to see the details of the destruction that the space rocks had rained down upon the planet. He spotted the White House, or at least what was left of it. From his position in the sky, he could see that the historic home that housed so many of Earth’s great leaders had been completely destroyed. All that remained was a burning pile of rubble.

  He banked his fighter to the left to just above the back lawn and landed. After exiting his craft, he surveyed the scene. The air was thick with the smell of burning flesh and wood. The soldiers that he had left behind were strewn throughout the grounds. Some were charred and burned beyond recognition. Others were killed from shrapnel as a result from the impacts of the meteorites.

  Turning to his right, he saw a pile of rubble move about thirty yards ahead. He sprinted toward it. As soon as he arrived, a charbroiled hand, blistered and bloodied, shot through the debris. He dropped to his knees and began digging through the smoldering wreckage from the body that lay underneath. After clearing rubble, a blistered and blackened face with burned eyes looked back at him. The dying Gnol spoke to him, his voice raspy and rough. “Si-sir, what happened?”

  Dorange recognized the voice. It was that of his most trusted senior officer, Colonel Leonidis Ubel, whom he had left in charge just before he left to attack the rebels in Missouri. Emotions crept into Dorange’s heart. Emotions that he hadn’t felt or recognized in a long time – grief and sympathy. After all, Colonel Ubel had been one of his most loyal subordinates on this mission. He even considered him one of the few Gnol friends that he had. “Shh. Don’t speak, Colonel. I’m going to get you some help.”

  Colonel Ubel shook his head. Dorange could tell that he was experiencing excruciating pain as he did so. “No-no, General. I’m not going to make it.”

  Dorange was about to respond, but just as fast as the colonel said it he was dead. Instantly, Dorange stood to his feet, clenched his fists, looked up into the dark, smoke-filled sky, and shrieked. He yelle
d every curse word he could think of, including the ones he had learned from his time as a Gnol. He cursed God and everything he stood for. If he could have it his way, and if it were possible, he would exact revenge on the one true, living God.

  When he finished, he turned back around and began walking toward his fighter, pressing the comlink in his ear. “Colonel Baine.”

  The broken transmission from space crackled and sputtered in his ear. “S … ir?”

  “Any word from any other remaining ships or survivors?”

  “Neg … ve, sir. Only from the transports and ships that are with us.”

  With a grunt, Dorange responded. “Very well. When I return to the ship, we will return to Terrest.”

  “Understood.”

  In disgust and defeat, Dorange reached his fighter. Just as he placed his foot on the ladder leading to the cockpit, a powerful wind threw him against his ship. He looked up at the burnt trees of the White House grounds. They weren’t moving. Fear suddenly entered his body and he began to tremble. He slowly turned around and fell to the ground in despair, intimidated by the presence before him.

  The isolated windstorm continued to whip around him as he held his arms up to his face for protection. There, about five feet in front of him was a dark whirlwind reaching in height up to ten feet in the air. Within the center of the tornado, he could see the faint image of a man, eyes glowing red, his lips curled into a sinister smile.

  Without question, Dorange who it was. In just the last day, he had been shown that there was in fact a God. And with that newfound knowledge, he figured the presence before him was the antithesis of that God.

  The man within the whirlwind seemed to recognize his thoughts. “Yes,” he hissed. “You know who I am.”

  Frozen with fear, all Dorange could do was nod.

  The presence before him continued. “Donald Garrett, I know who you are. You have been loyal to my purposes and me for a long time now. Your pride, arrogance, and hate, you feed off them. They give you power. And now, look at you. You have achieved untold power.”