by W. J. Lundy
The Light
W. J. Lundy
© 2016
The Light
© 2016 W. J. Lundy
V6142016
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental. All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author.
Cover design by Eloise Knapp Design.
Chapter 1
Jacob sat beside her, trying to imagine the world being peaceful again; no more killing, no more monsters. A place where he could shower, watch TV, enjoy a good meal, and sleep in a warm bed. A dark night sky, the crisp winter air, the backyard’s green grass coated with the light dusting of early snow. He forced his eyes closed, exhaled a long stream of white vapor, and felt her warmth against him, the blanket tight over their legs. Her body pressed against his on the bench, he wanted nothing more than to pull the blanket over their heads, just sit peacefully in his backyard, and pretend that none of this was happening.
His eyes drifted to the sky as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. She pushed back, leaning her head against his neck, both of them ignoring what was clearly in front of them. He fought against the despair that was pushing into his chest, the eagerness to submit.
Not again; why can’t it go back to the way it was?
Sitting in the backyard of his newly assigned military housing, for a brief moment the war felt far away. In this home with all the conveniences of their previous life, he wanted to ignore the metallic balloons flying high in the sky, but there was no mistaking what they were. This was The Darkness. It was back.
Jacob felt her tremble against him. He forced his head back, prying his eyes open and taking in the sight of the bright golden balls of light drifting across the sky. They slowed, and the vapor trailing the burning globes quickly dissipated. No longer shooting stars, they now appeared solid, glowing bright, their bodies sharply in contrast against the night sky. It was hard to discern if they were small and floating low, or very large and soaring extremely high. As the UFOs lost altitude, they spread out, some slowly fading over the horizon as others settled directly overhead, eventually stopping right above the remote military base.
Jacob felt Laura press close against him under the blanket. Her arms shook; not from the cold, but the fear. Porch lights came on in the neighboring townhouses. Voices interrupted the silent night as people entered their backyards, searching the sky. He could hear the murmur of their speech, sensing the building panic. Months ago such an event would be cause for excitement, but not now. A phone rang from inside. Laura tensed and went to stand. Jacob put a hand on her leg, stopping her. “We have a phone?” he asked.
Laura grinned softly. “It only works inside the base, but all of us have one.” She pulled away, removing the blanket from her legs. “I have to answer it; they only call in emergencies.”
She stood and looked up at the sky before moving toward the house. Jacob was swiftly on his feet and following her through the sliding glass door, taking a last look at the alien globes before passing inside.
The old-style phone tolled until Laura lifted it from the cradle. Not speaking, she pressed the receiver to her ear. He watched as her flat expression changed to worry. She put a hand over the bottom of the handset and stared at Jacob. “He wants to speak to you,” she said.
Jacob sighed and proceeded into the room, already dreading the message on the other side of the phone line. He took it from Laura and felt her hand on his back as she moved past him to the window, her eyes returning to the sky. Jacob turned away to face the wall, pressed the receiver to his ear, and swallowed.
“Jacob?”
“I’m here.”
“This is Rogers. Do you see what’s happening?”
Jacob nodded involuntarily. Of course I see it, how could I not? he thought to himself. “Yes. What is it?”
“They don’t know yet, but these objects have taken out every satellite we had left in orbit. They’ve cast a virtual net over the entire planet, slowing and dropping in altitude, destroying all of our eyes in the sky—”
Laura stepped away from the window, turning to face Jacob. “They’ve stopped,” she said. “They stopped moving.”
“Europe… Asia… it’s everywhere, all reporting the same phenomenon—”
“Come on, Rogers, we could use terms like that a year ago; this is The Darkness, and you know it. Why did you call?”
“Listen to me. Get your family ready to move in a hurry, okay—”
“Wait, what are you saying… what do you know?”
“Nothing yet; nobody’s saying anything, but have your family ready to go. We’re bugging out. I’m headed to the hospital to find James. We’ll stop at your place on the way back. Listen to what I said—have a bag packed, and be ready to go.”
“Come on, tell me what you think. What do you know?”
“If you were assaulting a base and were getting ready to bomb the hell out of it, what would you do with your troops just outside the fences?”
“Well… I’d move them away, get them in cover.”
“Jacob, be quiet and listen now. The Deltas… they started backing away from the walls less than an hour before these things showed up. It’s like a button was pressed, and they all turned around—”
“Wait, where are they going?”
“Away, Jacob. We can’t track them because they took out our satellites. They are turning and moving away. At first, command thought they were just retreating to the wood lines, but then we got word from other bases in NATO, and holdouts out west. All of the Deltas are pulling back from major installations. Anywhere globes have been spotted, the Deltas have withdrawn. There isn’t a lot of time… have your family ready. I’ll see you soon.”
The line went dead with a heavy click. Jacob held the phone in his sweaty palm, turning it in his hand, wondering about the warning. Debating in his mind, Why else would the Deltas move away? They’re going to bomb us.
He carefully returned the receiver to its cradle and paced across the room. Stopping next to Laura, keeping her back to his chest, he put his arms around her.
“Are you leaving again?” she asked.
“I’m not sure. I need you to pack a bag for us.”
“Us?”
She reached down and grabbed his hands, pulling them tight around her waist. “It’s already done. The men from your unit showed me how to pack a bag in case we had to leave in a hurry. It has clothes, some food and water, even extra ammunition for the rifle… I packed everything they put on the list. It’s in the hall closet.”
Jacob smiled, impressed with her. “We aren’t the same people anymore, are we?”
She shook her head and sighed. “I don’t want to be caught like that again, like what happened in Chicago.”
“I don’t either.”
She paused, looking away at the night sky. Her voice softened. “What did you see out there? Is it bad?”
“It’s the worst.”
“Then where will we go?”
Jacob held his breath, not knowing. He pressed his eyes closed and exhaled. “I don’t know. But the people I left with, they’re the good ones. I’ll follow them.”
“You trust them?”
Jacob paused, considering his answer. He had as much to lose as they did. They had no reason or motive to help him; in fact, they would be better off without him and his family to slow them down. The men had nothing but each other. J
acob considered her question. “Yes, they’re part of our family now. They’ll be here soon, you’ll see.”
***
The remains of Alpha squad, the Assassins, arrived three hours later with an impatient knock. When Jacob opened the door, it was still night. The golden globes put off an eerie glow that lit the street in an orange hue. He stepped onto the front stoop and looked up at the sky.
“Like jack-o-lanterns, aren’t they?” Rogers said.
He turned his gaze, finding them all there. Jesse, loopy from pain killers and his neck still wrapped. James, with his new scout dog, Duke, close beside them, were standing near the driveway. The bearded man knelt down and rubbed the dog’s ears. A late model Chevy Blazer, painted in a woodland camouflage pattern—the replacement for the green military Jeep—sat parked on the street, a matching pickup truck just behind it.
“Well? You going to invite us in?” James shouted.
“Yes, of course. Come on, guys, get in here.”
Jacob backed away, pulling the door open while they pushed in past him just as Laura drifted down the stairs from the second floor. Spotting them, she greeted them and introduced herself at the threshold. “Please… everyone come in, I’ll put on some coffee.”
James’ ears perked up. “Coffee? How about a beer?”
Biting her lower lip, Laura stared at the bearded man. Jacob stepped between them. “Ignore this guy. Coffee would be great, hun,” he said, ushering the men into the next room.
Laura nodded with a smile and turned away from them as the team worked their way into the small sitting room. With his back resting against the wall, Jacob watched them all find places around the sparsely furnished home. They were in better shape than the last time he saw them, cleaned up and in fresh uniforms. Jacob retrieved a chair from the dining room and brought it near the others.
Katy appeared at the top of the steps and looked down wearily, rubbing her eyes. Jacob was on his feet and fetched her, bringing her back to the sitting room with him. Laura returned and was handing out small cups of coffee. “Wish we could offer more, but the rations…” she said, setting the pot and tray of cups on a small table before quickly moving to her husband’s side.
Rogers grinned and dipped his head as he raised a cup. “Jacob, we need to talk about our next move.”
Katy squirmed, trying to escape Jacob’s arms, having taken notice of Duke across the room, curled into a ball at James’ feet. She pulled away and fell in beside the dog. James hoisted Katy onto his knee as the little girl tugged and yanked at Duke’s ears, Duke leaning into it and enjoying the child’s attention.
Jacob turned back to Rogers. “What’s the plan?”
“We don’t have an officer; our unit is on standby until they find a replacement for—” Rogers paused and swallowed hard. “We are on hold until we get a new CO. They want to keep us on the base, but I fought and finally got permission for us to refit at the outpost. I don’t think it’s safe here, or at least it won’t be shortly.”
Laura looked at Rogers. “The outpost?”
Rogers nodded. “A set of cabins close to here. It’s a safe place.”
Jacob stared at James, who appeared discouraged as he sat holding Katy, the dog leaning into them. “Where are Eve and the old man?” Jacob asked.
Rogers dipped his head and grinned. “They’re safe, caught a resupply bird back to the bunker an hour ago.”
“Well, maybe we should go there,” Jacob said.
“No; no way command would okay it. The outpost will work for now. Just an hour from here, it’s secluded. We have everything we need: a full pantry, fresh water source, shelter, and good communications. In reality, we have better access there than we do here.”
James shook his head. “Give me half a day; I’ll go secure us a bird and we can—”
Rogers took a deep breath. “I know, James, and we’ll get there. Listen, I read Captain Cole’s last report from the bunker. The dioxin is still holding the Deltas back. No reported pumpkin sightings since we left the area. Cole has a fire team holding there. Gloria and the kids are safe. It sounds ideal, but I’m not ready to just go rogue… not yet. And you know if we show up uninvited, Cole will send us back.”
James sat Katy down next to Duke and tossed up his hands. “Regardless, we need to get back. We should leave tonight while we’re all still in the clear,” he said. “Come on, man, you know things are about to go sideways. You willing to risk it all?”
Rogers clenched his jaw. “I’m working on it. I plan to get us all there in due time, but for now, making it to the outpost is the best play.”
Jacob reached to the window and drew back the curtain. Changing the subject, he asked, “So what are they?”
Rogers shook his head. “Don’t know. Space command tracked them coming in from behind the moon. They seemed to hit from all angles at once, then slowed down as they entered the atmosphere.
“Now they’re floating, and spreading over population centers. We have three over us right now. The Russians hit one with an S-300, knocked the hell out of it and forced it down. They sent out a recon team to investigate, but we haven’t heard back. Our people in Texas wagered a shot at one with a Patriot battery; let them have it good, multiple missile hits. Last report is, the thing went down somewhere off the shore of Corpus Christi.”
“So they didn’t fight back?” Jacob asked.
“No, but…”
“But what?” Jacob asked.
“In both cases, after they shot one down, it was replaced by two more in a higher orbit, and the second group has managed to evade the missiles,” Rogers said.
“Probes.” James turned to look at Jacob. “They learn, they adapt, and now they know our anti–air capabilities.”
“So that’s it, that’s all we have?” Laura asked.
James nodded, smiling at Katy playing with the dog. “That’s all we know.”
Rogers finished the rest of his coffee and stood, placing the empty cup on the table. “We should get going. Once we get to the outpost, I can talk to the pilots, and arrange transportation to Stone’s bunker from there. We have a helicopter pad on a hill nearby with a fully fueled helicopter, if things go the way we think they will. I’m sure it won’t take much convincing for the pilots to bug out with us.”
Chapter 2
The vehicles were fully loaded with supplies. Under the cover of darkness, they rolled through the gates of the Assassins unit’s compound on the far side of the base. Jacob was pressed in the cab of the pickup truck with Laura sitting in the center of the bench seat and Katy on his lap.
Rogers looked over at him from the driver’s seat. “We have two trailers already loaded with gear; we’re just going to get them hitched and we’ll be on our way,” he said.
The big man stepped out of the truck and ran into the dark night. The engine remained running, the headlights on and illuminating the sides of a steel-walled building. Jacob rolled down his window, allowing the cool air mixed with diesel exhaust to enter the vehicle. Katy was curled into his lap, her head against his chest. Looking out, Jacob could see the globes; three of them were positioned over the base, still glowing and passing off their dull, orange light. He looked left and right, following the horizon.
The globes positioned themselves directly overhead. Jacob felt the fear in his chest, and he suddenly wanted to be far away from them. Rogers was correct about leaving, he thought.
“Hey, give us a hand,” he heard James shout from outside.
Jacob grimaced and slid Katy from his lap, handing her off to Laura before he opened the door and left the truck. Rogers and James were wrestling with a large green trailer. It was fastened to a type of dolly, which the men were using to push it across the lot and fasten it to the backs of the vehicles. With Rogers up front guiding it, Jacob put his hands on the back beside James, and helped push it forward.
“What’s in here?” Jacob asked, grunting.
James laughed. “Everything. When he got back earlier,”
James said dipping his head toward Rogers, “right after the pumpkins showed up, Rogers emptied the team rooms into these two trailers. You know how he is… the guy is like a boy scout, always prepared.”
With a flicker of light, everything changed. The dull glow overhead intensified. When Jacob looked back to the sky, the globes directly above them were turning a deep red. Looking directly at it, he could feel the radiant heat. Then slowly, the orb climbed in altitude as it began to rotate.
Rogers saw it too and, slapping down the top hook and securing the hitch with a pin, said, “We need to move. Back to the trucks.”
Jacob proceeded to the front of the vehicle and jumped into the cab, pulling the door shut behind him. Looking up, he watched as the bottom of the nearest globe turned to black then fired. Not the way Jacob imagined it would, with lasers or cannons suddenly extending from the top, or maybe missiles launching from holes, twisting toward earth in tiny spirals. None of that. The globes changed color then slowly rotated clockwise, the bottoms opened up revealing a blue light, and then they dropped a tiny seed. He couldn’t take his eyes off the rotating orb.
“Something is falling out of it,” he uttered.
Jacob stretched back, holding tight and pressing his head out of the rear window. The truck rocketed forward at high speed close behind James as he acquired the lead in the Blazer, the vehicles whipping through the gates of the unit compound, racing onto a gravel road, tossing loose stone in their wake.
He watched the seed spiral down, dropping out of view just above the surface of the ground. Then the earth trembled.
“Look away from it!” Rogers yelled.
Jacob ducked inside and grasped a hand across his face an instant before a bright flash erupted in the distance. He pulled Laura and Katy down to his legs, shielding them from the light, both of the girls now screaming. Looking over, he saw Rogers’ jaw was clenched, his left hand over his face as he stayed on the throttle and focused on keeping the truck straight on the road.
