Author's Note: Here it is, the final chapter of this story. Thank you for reading. I hope that you have enjoyed the story. Do feel free to drop any comments or reviews. I have kind of stopped playing the game so I don't think I will be writing much of the XCOM universe for a while.
Here's hoping that you've enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Thanks again!
Counter Clockwise
Chapter 10
The dark void seemed endless. There was nothing. Only emptiness. He had been floating around in the dark void in what seem like an eternity. Suddenly a voice can be heard.
"Darius! Darius!" the voice went.
Then a light. As he focused on the light it materialized into a room. The room was dark. Probably night time. Night light.
"Darius! Wake up!" the voice continued. Darius. That was his name. The voice. It was familiar and female.
Darius focused on the voice and a face came into view. He was in a room. A very nice room. With a very nice bed. Warm and comfortable. He was lying on the bed looking up at a female sitting on the same bed looking down at him.
Cindy. The name came to his mind. He knew this female.
"Cindy? What.. what happened?" he said, his mind still groggy.
"You're having a nightmare," Cindy said. "Tossing and turning. I have half a mind to send you out to sleep on the couch!" she complained as she settled back down to sleep.
"What time is it?" he asked as he sat up. His eyes found a digital clock. The display showed 2.39am, Nov. 07 2062.
"Two in the morning!" Cindy said testily.
"I had the strangest dream!" Darius said. "Something about aliens and they were invading earth!"
"You've been watching too many of those UFO conspiracy documentaries. Go back to sleep, dear. I've got to work tomorrow. Vahlen Technologies are not too kind on employees that are late!"
"Vahlen Technologies? You mean Dr. Vahlen?" Darius asked.
"The founder of the company, yes. And my boss, remember?" Cindy said lazily as she curled up under the sheets.
Darius got out of bed and walked towards the window. He parted the curtains a little to look outside. It was a beautiful night. The stars were shining brightly in the clear night sky in the beautiful suburb. Darius did not know what overcame him but the peaceful sight brought tears to his eyes.
"Not coming to bed, baby?" Cindy said from the bed.
"I'll stay up for a while," he said, still looking out of the window. Cindy murmured a reply and dozed off.
After a while he walked over to the desk and saw a tablet PC on it. It was his. He turned it on and the email icon had the new email sign on it. He tapped on it. The email list appeared. There on top of the list was one unread email. The sender was V. Zaytsev.
"Vassili!" Darius whispered. His long time friend. He tapped on the mail to open it.
Don't forget. Bowling night is tomorrow! Meet you at the lanes.
That was the only sentence. Darius smiled at the email. Everything was alright with the world.
###
July 8, 1947
A lone UFO was about to take off into the night sky in the desert grass plains. As it lifted off the ground and gained altitude, an energy fluctuation occurred inside the bridge of the craft. A portal opened and 2 Sectoids jumped through. The Ethereal pilot was taken fully by surprise. Before he could react, the Sectoids armed their explosive devices. One headed for the computers databanks on the bridge and the other threw the bomb at the Ethereal. The explosion was large and ripped the UFO apart. Nothing much was left of the wreck as burning debris fell to the ground. Without the information from this scouting craft, the Ethereals would never develop psionic abilities. Without psionic abilities, they would never be able to conquer the Sectiods. The wreck burned for a while but as the night progressed, the fire eventually died and calm returned to the plains.
The crash was near the town of Roswell, New Mexico.
THE END.