XX Author's Note XX
The first leg of the trilogy is rated M primarily for language, depictions of violence, and disturbing content. I intend to lower the amount of disturbing content this time around, as the characters' indirect combat roles will allow for less violent depictions. There will still be some strong language though, especially in some parts of the story, but obviously not as much as on the first one.
X Vera, the day the meteors came. X
The fifteenth of May, in the year 1995: easily the most significant day in human history, and the worst in my life. Nothing is more insulting than watching a higher power take away everything you've ever worked for. There was absolutely nothing that foreshadowed the events that happened. No warnings, no signs, nothing of the sort was even predicted. There are setbacks, and then there was this.
It happened soon after we returned from a patrol. Everyone was in their rooms, enjoying leisure time. I was reading, Heather was sleeping, and Madeline and Kayla were watching a ridiculous romantic movie on the TV. Looking back, it was being there that probably saved us.
The light fixtures began flickering at random intervals. I looked up in annoyance, thinking nothing of it. Then, the TV went off. Finally, the lighting fixtures went out permanently, causing a squeal of fear from Madeline. Voices began shouting all throughout the ship. I sighed and set the book on my lap.
This ship's so old the wiring must've shorted itself out. At least we were only a few more hours from port for repairs. As long as the aging engine didn't wear out, we were good.
"They better fix this soon," Kayla pouted. I was about to tell her to be patient when something that sounded like a distant explosion caused me to stop. Before I even had time to register what the sound was, the ship shook violently. Then, I was thrown out of my bed and collided painfully with someone else.
I might have heard one of the others scream, but if I did, it was drowned out by the roaring and hammering outside the ship. The room tilted left and right, causing us to roll across the floor. The ship itself was moving wildly, far more than should've been possible. All the while, my mind was trying to rationalize the situation.
Could it be an attack? Unlikely. We were well within our territory and certainly would've gotten at least a minute of warning from the bridge. A freak storm? Also unlikely; the Admiral had sailed us through light storms before, but he knew to avoid any odd weather patterns. No natural storm developed that quickly, anyway.
The ship lurched violently again, flinging me back. By chance, I avoided smacking any of my limbs into the bunk, and instead I flew straight in the wall before falling back onto my bed. Pain flared in my head, and even the darkness in front of me seemed blurry. The panicked screaming I'd heard also stopped.
Suddenly, the ship once again shifted, albeit less violently, causing me to lift off the floor before gravity slammed me back down. Something bounced off the back of my head, likely the book I had been previously reading. I was hurt, but my body didn't seem to be registering the pain, even if I could taste my blood. The roaring and the darkness made my senses essentially useless anyway, but I was starting to get my ability to think back as my head cleared.
The beds are bolted to the wall. Grabbing on to the legs would keep me from being thrown about—though that still leaves the threat of the others barreling into me. Self-preservation was rather distasteful for me, but I had look after my own for now. I rolled over on my stomach and groped wildly in the dark for something to hold onto. My hand closed around one of the metal legs. Got it! I scooted closer and wrapped both my legs around the other bed leg before pressing myself against the floor. All secure.
Now that I wasn't flying around, my mind began to ask: what exactly was happening? This certainly wasn't an attack; we definitely would've been sunk by now. The problem was the sea, which had somehow turned rabid. It all pointed to the weather, but there was no natural disaster that even remotely resembled the effects being experienced. It could've been… it might've…maybe… I stopped dead.
I have no idea.
It was upsetting. I was ALWAYS aware of my surroundings. It's just the head trauma, I thought to myself. It'll all make sense when things settle down. If it didn't kill me, that is. The thought was even scarier. This wasn't something I could control or turn to my advantage. I was at the mercy of whatever was happening…
I couldn't suppress a yelp when someone grabbed onto me and dug their nails in. I could understand why they did it, I just didn't like where their hand was. The ship rocked again, and this time the door flew open. I gasped as something very cold doused me.
Water.
It was water. Water was in the ship. There was a hole in the ship. The ship was sinking. We were certainly going to die. This probably would've triggered more alarms in my mind, but the shock of cold water caused me to lose my grip and again become a victim of whatever force was hitting the ship. The last thing I remembered was a light feeling as I was flung across the room.
X The bridge of the RNS Pontus, the day the meteors came. X
Admiral Ryman held on to the two fixed chairs with a grip worthy of an arm-wrestling champion. The windows had already been blown out, killing several unfortunate men at their posts. Waves were still able to get up here, often sweeping away bodies and men out into the unknown. In all his years, the Admiral had never seen anything this bad.
Outside was nothing but black. It was like there was no light to be seen for miles. He couldn't even hear anything but the roaring of the water—not his thoughts, not the shouting, and not even the screams of sheer terror as other sailors were swept into the unforgiving hell outside. Ryman had no idea what had happened to the flight deck crews. They'd been sailing through calm, sunny waters one moment and the next the sea beneath them had turned violent and the sky above turned dark.
Somewhere, his mind told him there was something extremely wrong with this entire event, but up to that point, terror had hampered any ability to think rationally. But, somewhere through the terror, rationality suddenly shined through as he watched the waves steal away his men. Whoever had been at the helm was probably gone too—if the ship's erratic movement was any indication.
The waves were hitting the ship hard, to the point he was amazed the Odin hadn't capsized or broken into small pieces. He had to do something or else everyone would die. Adrenaline took over, canceling out fear. He quickly tried to remember where he was, and where the wheel was. He mind quickly decided (correctly, he hoped) that the wheel was behind him on his left. When there was a momentary pause, he let go of the chairs.
He was immediately thrown, with great fortune, where he wanted. He came into rough contact with the wheel, knocking the breath out of his body and possibly breaking a rib. But a hand firmly gripped the wheel, and he hauled himself into an upright position as the ship seemed to be thrown away from the worst of the waves.
Admiral Ryman felt a body bump into him. "Admiral!" The sailor gripped the wheel himself. Another found his way to the wheel. Another wave of water entered the bridge and doused them further.
"If this fucking sea doesn't kill us, sickness will!" Ryman wasn't sure his men even heard him, but they did hear him as he started telling them to steer against the way the ship was turning. The sailing got slightly smoother. Water stopped coming into the bridge, and the ship began rocking up and down instead of spinning around wildly. It was better, but the roaring still meant they weren't out of danger.
In the distance, a red glow appeared, like a lighthouse. Ryman doubted it was one; he believed it was a fire, which likely meant that they were a few miles from dry ground. Beaching his ship would definitely mean she'd be in dry dock for months, but it was the only way to save the crew. The light drifted to the right; Ryman pulled on the wheel to steer the ship to that direction. If the rudders hadn't been torn off, the pressure that the water was putting on them made it seem as if the wheel was glued to its current place.
"Right! Right!" Ryman yelled. "Put your backs into it!" He pulled even harder on the wheel. If the wheel actually turned, none could tell. The glow of light stayed in their sights, sometimes going left or right, or sometimes up or down as the ship did with the water. It was the only sense of direction they had.
The light suddenly went down, and disappeared from their view. The ship was actually going up, carried very high by a wave. There was a sudden feeling of lightness.
The aircraft carrier was airborne.
"Son of a—" the sailor didn't finish the sentence as the ship crashed back down into the water. The glow disappeared from their sights.
"Goddamn it!" Ryman swore. The ship suddenly lurched violently as it hit land and skidded roughly for several hundred meters before grinding to a halt. The men were thrown back to the floor and slid against one of the panels. The sound of the roaring sea decreased, as if they'd gotten further away from it than he originally planned.
"I think we ran her aground, sir!" One of the sailors yelled.
"No kidding," Ryman replied. He briefly reflected that she'd likely never sail again. At least, they were out of whatever danger the sea posed. Its terrible roar could still be heard, and even on land the world outside seemed to shake. As hard as that landing had been, Ryman was sure there were injured throughout the dark confines of the ship.
They'd escaped the sea, but they weren't safe yet.
X Nate, the day the meteors came. X
If you watch enough movies, you'll almost always hear 'time heals all wounds'. It actually seemed to be true. I don't know how, but I managed to live after Maria's letter. It still hurt to think about it, but I thought I was actually starting to get over it. In fact, I'd already been thinking my pay back: what if I became a famous hero? I bet she'd regret it then!
"You with the black hair! Pick it up!" The drill sergeant leading our group for the regulation ten-mile jog yelled at me. I felt my spirit deflate when I noticed everyone was in front of me. Like that'll ever happen…
She was gone, and I was all alone. I still hadn't seen Russell since we got here. I was willing to bet it was on purpose, but I was starting to forget about him too. It was hard to think about anything really, as busy as they kept us.
Basic training had been bad, but this was actually starting to look okay. Aside from my extra training, this first week was mainly just reviewing what we learned and completing some drills. In a few days, we'd learned about parachuting, survival tactics, and a lot of other things for 'operating behind enemy lines'. It was scary to think about, but exciting at the same time. It'd looked cool on T.V., but I only watched this stuff. I never wanted to do it.
"All right, drink!" the sergeant ordered, and the group stopped. I had to catch up before I could get any water. We were doing our morning jog on the trail that ran by the nearby forest, and it was already pretty hot. I pulled out my canteen and fumbled with the cap. After taking a drink, I hunched over and tried to catch my breath, watching my sweat drip down onto the brown dirt. This has got to count as abuse somehow.
I looked up when I heard expressions of surprise from the other trainees. What the—?It was still early morning, so the sun had definitely gone up. But, something even brighter was streaking down. A falling star? I closed my eyes and wished I could go home.
Something like a cherry bomb behind us made me jump. I turned to see something crashing into the trees. Grey smoke floated up from the area. Then, something else hit the trees in a different place. Then another, and then another. One hit the trail in front of us.
"Hit the fucking dirt!" the sergeant yelled. I threw myself down and covered my head as more things rained down. What was this, an attack? Oh no, I couldn't fight yet! I hadn't even completed basic training!
No. No. No. Please no. I screamed in terror as another thing landed closer. I could actually feel dirt hitting the back of my head. I felt something warm and realized I'd pissed myself. I groaned in dismay. Just kill me first. Please just get it over with.
Thick smoke started drifting above us. The trees were burning.
"Get up! Get up!" The instructor was yelling between his fits of coughing. "We got to get back to the base!" Getting up was not something I wanted to do. For some reason, it felt just like when I didn't want to get out of bed to go to school.
"Come on!" Another trainee helped me up. He looked absolutely terrified. At least I wasn't the only. The instructor was still yelling. Everyone stumbled back the way we'd came. I could barely see; my eyes were watering from the smoke. My chest felt tight and opening my mouth just made my throat burn. I started feeling really dizzy, and my vision became blurry. I saw several others in front of me collapse, but I couldn't figure out why. Nothing was making sense. I couldn't breathe. I stumbled and fell forward onto my knees. My chest was heaving for air. Another one landed close by; close enough to send some of us flying into the air from the impact.
Part of the trail had been a steep hill that we had had to jog up. I landed near the top, and before I knew it, I was rolling down. I could finally breathe, but I kept bouncing off the ground. At one point, I think my leg latched on to a rabbit burrow or something, because I suddenly stopped and felt a pain in my ankle before I continued rolling as I finally got to the bottom of the hill.
I hit the ground hard and rolled over onto my back. I finally lost consciousness, but as my eyes closed, I could see the sky. It was turning red, and there were still strange white streaks coming down.
What's going on?
X The world, thirteen hours after the meteors came. X
In less than a day, thousands of years of technological, social, and historical advancements and reforms were destroyed. Humans were, for all intents and purposes, thrown back into the Stone Age.
Meteors rained from space—thousands of them. Some were big, some small. Others broke into pieces upon entry or, in rare instances, as a result of anti-aircraft fire. Some regions were completed annihilated by larger meteors; others were severely damaged by smaller chunks raining down like artillery shells. Whole forests were burned to the ground; earthquakes changed the landscape; and enormous waves from the Channel wrecked havoc where they struck. The disaster scarred the entire planet, reducing its appearance to that of an uninhabitable chuck of ground.
The fall of society had a profound effect on the surviving people. People turned on each other—violently in many cases. Some surviving military personnel also took part in the violence, though few attempted to serve as peacekeepers and rebuild.
Many regarded the disaster as a tragedy, some as a sign, and others as divine retribution. Two people, in particular, regarded it as an opportunity
X The Channel, fourteen hours after the meteors came. X
The port had been heavily damaged during the disaster, although it remained operational on a very small scale. Ships from the Rubinelle 5th Fleet, or the ones fortunate enough not to have been destroyed or irreparably damaged, were recovering here, although the lack of manpower made the process very slow. Among the dead were most of the repair crews and the base commander. As a result, the base and its surviving personnel fell under a new leader.
"Are you absolutely certain?" The new commander asked eagerly, while failing to keep a wide, though creepy, smile from his face.
"No one…" The radioman said in despair, somehow missing his superior's attitude. He laid his head on the desk. "There's no one else out there. The Capital is gone…"
"So it would seem…" The man mused. "We must avenge this!" he declared, grabbing the radioman's attention.
"Admiral Greyfield?" the radioman asked in confusion.
"It is clear Lazuria is responsible for this," he said firmly.
"What could they have that caused this?" The radioman shivered as he remembered the harsh waves that washed over the base. His life briefly flashed before his eyes as he thought just how close he came to dying back then.
"Clearly they have been plotting to destroy us for some time. We must strike before they finish us off!" Greyfield declared. "You!" He turned to the other Navy officer in the room. "Send word to the ships and the Marines: we will invade Lazuria in several days' time. I want the repair crews to work through the night!" The officer nodded firmly and left the room.
"Can we really pull this off?" The radioman wondered.
"Of course we can!" Greyfield said, with a hint of agitation in his voice. "We are a proud and strong country; our enemies are nothing more but filthy sub humans! We will triumph! Mark my words: Lazuria will burn!"
X Northeastern Lazuria, the day the meteors came. X
Situated on the farthest coast of Lazuria, a few miles away from its most northernmost borders, there was a large region commonly avoided by most people. This area was privately-owned, and guarded by a private military, fully equipped with planes, tanks, and ships. All across the region were factories and 'cities'—or so they appeared to be. Along the coast were more of these cities and several ports for building and repairing ships. Built in the middle of this region was a large fortress encased in a protective shell of metal. This fortress bristled with high-tech weaponry and overlooked a huge swath of factories, radar installations, communication towers, and more structures for unknown purposes. It was simply the largest of its kind in the region.
On the fortress, giant turrets fired large red beams of concentrated energy into the air, destroying any meteors that came close to the fortress. Some would likely hit the region, but the damage would be minimal. Inside the fortress, a soldier clad in gray armor walked into what could be considered a viewing platform. The roof was made of heavy, durable, bullet and explosive-proof glass. The soldier briefly snapped to attention for the lone person inside the room and made a report.
"Dr. Caulder, sir. Damage to IDS property is very light. However, our reports indicate that much of the rest of the world is being completely destroyed."
"Is that so?" Dr. Caulder didn't turn his gaze from the sky; it was far more interesting, and there was a certain beauty to it—at least to him.
"Yes sir," the soldier nodded. "We predict serious effects on weather patterns and ocean currents all over the world. Some reports suggest the sun will vanish." At this, Caulder turned his gaze from the sky.
"Excellent news," he said with an evil grin as he walked over to the only phone in the room.
"…Sir?" The soldier was slightly confused. Caulder privately berated her intelligence. Though he did hire some humans to help him, they were often unsatisfactory workers.
"An experiment should be tested in every possible setting to compare the rate of success. Do you not see? We now have more testing opportunities!" One of his previously failed experiments came to mind. Now was a chance to redeem it. He picked up the phone and pressed the button for one of his labs.
"Dr. Caulder, sir?"
"I want a secure transport arranged for all remaining samples of Experiment No. 294 to the nearby bomber wing."
"Yes sir." The guard hung up. Simple-minded creatures, Caulder thought.
"I want observers deployed immediately," Caulder ordered. "I want updates on all countries around the world, with particular attention to Rubinelle and Lazuria: their governments, armed forces, and civilian populations—any information of use to the experiment." The soldier nodded dutifully as she scratched a note into her clipboard. "I also want the new project ready to deploy within the week." Again, the soldier nodded and turned to leave.
"One more thing," Caulder added as the soldier paused in mid-stride. "I require more notepads. I wouldn't want to have to leave out any details on the demise of my new test subjects."
XX Author's Note XX
Considering the tidal waves, any surviving ships must've gone on one hell of a ride. And yes, the ship was flying at some points of that scene—the waves got so strong they threw the ship up. The light Ryman saw was actually an extreme wildfire miles away from the sea. Tidal waves, fires, earthquakes, falling meteor fragments, and shockwaves—it's amazing anyone survived at all.
Leave a review if you have the time. I'm still accepting OCs, and I also welcome suggestions for improvement, criticism, or ideas for the story.