From the Berlin Berliner Zeitung, October 28, 4101 (Page 1)
Tornado Ravages France, Germany, and Nearly Master Vile
With it having a base of nearly five miles, two hundred mile per hour winds, and a damage path of seventy miles, its no surprise that it's being called the Colossus of all Tornadoes. While we heard from the researchers, weather experts, and storm chasers to be on the look-out for something like this, we weren't expecting for it to happen nor for the damage or heartbreak that it caused. From the sixteenth to the nineteenth, people were on edge after the sky grew dark and ominous, then as the funnels were seen as trying to form; they did the same between the twentieth and twenty-fourth, where it was sunny but the funnels were still being seen. Most everyone shook their shoulders, then went by their usual when the weather cleared up on the twenty-fifth. Groceries were bought, kids were taken and then brought home from school, after-school activities were done, and certain businesses that closed up in the event that bad weather may happen opened up to resume business. According to some, the twenty-fifth was the day of calm before the storm that produced the tornado struck parts of north-east France and lower Germany; when the rope was seen near Beinheim, all eyes turned to it and mouths dropped in shock.
"The system that produced it was small, and shouldn't of produced what it did." Roderik Eilerts, the weather forecaster for the EMWS News, said after being questioned on what happened. "When correspondence was done with our sister networks in and around Beinheim, it was learned that it was just raining. The wind was normal for such a system, so no flags were thrown on it producing a tornado or anything of significance to warn anyone about."
The rope was seen at 11:23:09 A.M. GMT. While most stopped to photograph it, others tuned into the radio and news stations to keep up with it. With it being south of Beinheim, in the forgotten community of Bois de Beinheim, no one expected for it to do much harm to anyone. Or to become the size that it achieved in a short, five minute period. Initially, only the ones in Beinheim were spectators to it then, when it grew to having a base of over a mile wide, people across the Rhine took notice then started making efforts to avoid it.
The remnants of Bois de Beinheim were completely destroyed, trees were severely damaged, grass was eroded from its soil, and animals either ran in fright or were hurled from where they were plucked from. Within three minutes of being seen, the twister crossed the D87 motorway; it ripped the asphalt from where it was, then mangled the guardrails before moving on to doing as it did with Bois de Beinheim to the forest that sat before it. Once done with scouring the forest that it set its sights on, it crossed the Rhine then made a line for Bietigheim.
The fury of the storm was felt after it crossed the Rhine, and everyone both in and out of its path was treated to it. With the storm being as wide as it was, none are surprised to hear that the shields over Ottersdorf, Steinmauern, and Bietigheim were damaged. Like with what happened on the French side of the Rhine, roads were destroyed, trees were completely shredded and debarked, grass was eroded from its soil, and animals either fled in terror or were flung like rag dolls; while the damage in Ottersdorf was massive, it was severe in Steinmauern and minor in Bietigheim.
"It destroyed the west-side of Ottersdorf, where most of the business district is. Everything, from bank to retail store, is gone. It almost looks like a wasteland now." Heinz Uhse, a resident of the village of Ottersdorf, said about an hour after storm passed. "My family and I were talking about it when we saw it crossing the Rhine then, five minutes later, we were rushing for our basement—while our home was damaged, we were safe."
While Heinz Uhse and his family were safe, the same can't be said for some of the others who called Ottersdorf home. The village of Ottersdorf, which is in the district of the city of Rastatt, was home to around five hundred people; following the storm, only a hundred could be accounted for. Efforts are still underway to find survivors, and to clean what the storm left behind. It's estimated that seventy-five percent of the structures in the village are destroyed; the rest sustained damage that can be repaired in a few weeks to a month's time.
In Steinmauern, the farming community was hit, as was some of the market and business square. Around €10,000 was lost after the town's bank was hit, and around €3,000,000 in damages was done to business and housing buildings. Of the two hundred civilians who were said to be living in the town, only a hundred and seventy-five have been accounted for—efforts are being made to find survivors. The tornado continued on a north-easterly course until, finally, hitting the village of Bietigheim; by the time it hit Bietigheim, it was losing size and strength. Many accredit this to why the village didn't sustain but so much damage.
"An effort was underway to get the roads clear of the vehicles that were on them. I think that's where most of the casualties took place—people who were on their lunch breaks, or on their way to one of the neighboring communities, trying to get out of the storm's path, and not being able to." Frank Reuter, the Mayor of Steinmauern, said when questioned on the damage and casualties done in his town. "With no warning being made, and no one knowing it was coming this way, everyone went by their own as if everything was normal. Like with the school in Ottersdorf, the one in Steinmauern was damaged—no children were harmed thanks to the efforts by teachers. Our hearts go out to the families of the effected; we wish for a swift recovery from this storm."
At 12:01:20 P.M., the monster ceased its assault on our country then receeded to where it came from. While we mourn for the ones who didn't survive the storm, and get dirty in cleaning up what it left behind, researchers are busy in looking over the data that was collected on it. Thanks to witness testimony, image photography, and video, we know its size, strength, and that many are thinking about putting it in a category that no other tornado's been put in. With the width and strength being known, many are wondering how it came to be made, and how it sustained its power for so long. Even though the path stayed on a north-easterly route, it did have a kink in it, which went right to Ottersdorf. While no casualties occurred in France, more than a hundred have been counted in Germany.
While the shock over the storm's fury is great, the shock over who nearly became a victim of it is greater. When the storm left Steinmauern, the man who claims our planet as his was near the shield. Even though the tornado was nearly obscured by the soil that it was picking up, it could be seen, so many are wondering if Master Vile thought he was safe from it. Along with the ones who were standing before the shield that stands before Steinmauern and Bietigheim, Master Vile was thrown some feet before coming to a rest near some trees then being buried in debris. According to the ones who witnessed this happen, both he and the ones who were thrown got up from where they were. It's unknown if they were injured or not.
"The man's been seen as patrolling the shields on our side of the planet for a while now, so its no surprise that he encountered it." the Mayor of Bietigheim, Bernd Kessing, said when asked about Master Vile being effected by the storm. "He got up afterwards, so he was fine, as were them other men. While my town wasn't hit that bad, we offer our support to the ones that were and are helping the ones effected as much as we can."
Assistance from all over Germany, and from parts of France and Switzerland, is pouring into the communities that were struck by the tornado. While Germany's experienced its fair share of tornadoes this year, the one that was seen on the twenty-sixth will be the most remembered. The sheer size alone atones to its power, while the damage done by it shows how angry it was. While the full cost in damages isn't known, it's estimated as being ten million; an estimate of five hundred have lost their lives, and a thousand have been injured.
"The "estimate" over-exceeded itself last night, when they found all them cars in them ditches." Ajeet said while putting the newspaper that he just read to the side.
Like so many others, he took time out of his schedule to grab a pair of scissors then clip the article that he just read out from the page that it was on. Once the article was free from its page, he tossed the rest of the paper in the trash then returned to looking at the forms that were before him. While reading these forms over, he was reminded of the events that happened when that tornado was seen.
Just before it reached the middle-marker of its course across the Rhine, efforts were made to clear the roads that seemed to be the most threatened by it. The tornado's speed increased once it made it across the river, so many of the ones who were redirecting traffic were forced to get out of dodge and fast; while most of the roads that's traffic were redirected were safe, others weren't. Almost every vehicle on the roads that were victim to the storm were picked up and then hurled—all of the people in them were pronounced deceased when their vehicles were found in the ditch that looked more like a ravine yesterday. After assaulting the unnamed roads that lay before Ottersdorf, it stopped then became stationary for around ten seconds before making the curve then going towards the village.
The hairs on the back of his neck pricked when he saw that. Before stopping, it was on a consistent course, which would of taken it right through Steinmauern. Even now, he thought it had eyes for the village of Ottersdorf, and all who either lived in it or were traveling near it. His stomach churned when the thing ran into the outside edges of the village, then grew cold as it started chewing everything in sight. Even though two days had passed since the storm happened, the village still looked like something a bomb had hit; just recently, it was learned that the whole place would have to be bulldozed and then rebuilt from scratch.
Up to his wife's call, he didn't know it was storming in Beinheim, or that a tornado was on the ground. According to Gretel, he best get near a tv and fast; he did wish that he hadn't done that. What he saw was horrible, and it was going to haunt him for a while. That tornado had eyes, and a good stomach, on it and they were very focused on the parts that it went through. Once he saw what was on the screen of the tv that he went to look at, he started jumping and worrying about the ones who lived in the part of the country that it was in. As natural, no call to the president was made—knowing him, he knew about it and had the phone glued to his ear all while it was happening. President Leinart was probably already hard at work in getting the help that the storm-ravaged people in their country's southern sector needed when it was happening.
"Boom... It had a sudden, and very unexplained, acceleration to it when it was within a mile of Ottersdorf then, when it started going through Ottersdorf, it returned to its former speed." Ajeet thought.
In all, it took fifteen agonizing minutes for it to get its fill of the village before moving on to Steinmauern, and then Bietigheim. Since he couldn't do anything to help anyone, he stood then watched as the helicopters did their aerial footage, the ground-based reporters and storm chasers sent their reports, and the civilian-based photographs were shown—the Colossus was expected to be spoken of for a long time, and it was also expected to alight the pages and covers of newspapers and magazines for weeks.
The news, just before he and his family went to bed last night, showed a civilian-based photograph that depicted the two overpasses that were on the outskirts of Steinmauern. This picture, which was taken before the storm struck them two overpasses, showed that there were around fifty cars under them. That tornado barreled into them like an Elephant, and made mince meat out of them in nothing flat; none of the poor souls who were trying to use them as a means of protection had a chance. All of them cars were picked up and then mangled in more ways than one before being spat out. All who were in them were dead—he did hope that their passing was quick; he could imagine the untold horrors that they faced while experiencing what they did.
The farming community of Steinmauern was given a direct hit after the overpasses were destroyed, but no one was killed. With the tornado having picked up all that dirt from the farmlands, it became hard to see, which caused a lot of casualties to occur in the south-eastern section of the town's business square—people knew it was happening, but they couldn't see it to avoid it.
Like the newspaper said, the bank in Steinmauern was hit but, instead of having €10,000 in it, it had somewhere over €20,000 in it. Most of that was missing. While some were coming forward to return what they found—it was either stuck to a tree, or found in a bush or flowerbed, or lying on the lawn, or hanging on the roof, or seen in the air—others were keeping what they came across. The people who ran the bank weren't concerned for the money that was lost. They were concentrating on finding the injured and making what repairs they could of the buildings that weren't that badly struck. Following its assault of Steinmauern, the tornado set its sights on Bietigheim. He held his breath all while it went on its course then, when it was seen as dropping in size and strength, threw up a cheer. The outside edge of the tip of Bietigheim sustained minimal damage, like the newspaper said it did, and no lives were claimed. Once the tornado dissipated, he dropped to the chair given to him then buried his head—it wasn't until thirty minutes later when the reports started coming in on what all was damaged, and what happened with Master Vile and them seven men who were hurled from where they were.
"Heh, they had to of seen it. No tears being shed over their stupidity." Ajeet thought when the idea of the tornado having an "effect" on Master Vile and the men that were by the Steinmauern and Bietigheim shields came to him.
Normally, when a tornado picks up dirt and debris, it grows darker. With this one, that didn't happen. When it sucked up all that dirt from the Steinmauern farmlands, it grew to being quite faint. It was only by way of seeing the other debris that it had in it that it was able to be seen. Master Vile, and them seven men who were "stationed" near the Steinmauern and Beitigheim shields, were watching the thing as it ravaged what it did; right when he was seen as throwing out a mighty cheer after seeing four cracks appear in the Steinmauern shield, Master Vile was thrown back. It was much like a broom was taken to him; one minute, he was standing just as sturdily as could be and, the next, he was flying through air. He had just been buried under debris after colliding with a tree when the Steinmauern shield cracks repaired themselves, thus making any of his thoughts on the shield dropping, and his getting in to reek havoc on Protected German Soil, not happen.
While everyone was running, and trying to find some safe place to wait out the storm, or get out of its path, Master Vile was acting like he was excited. The man probably enjoyed seeing what he did; knowing him, the destruction, and loss of lives, probably made him feel happy inside. The men stationed near the shields looked to be keeping a good eye on the tornado too, but they also looked to be quite shocked and scared of what they were seeing—if he had to make any guesses, they couldn't move from where they were because of Master Vile being there. If he had been either one of them seven men, he would of said screw the man, I'm getting out of here.
"With the thing being as big as it was, it's no surprise that debris was found as far as Switzerland." Ajeet stopped what he was doing to rub his eyes.
People from all over south Germany, north-east France, and north Switzerland were finding debris in their yards, on the roads, and in stretches of unowned land that was routinely used for outdoor recreational activities. Some of what was found was being collected for research, while the rest was either thrown away or kept as a souvenir. Even though the storm was as big as it was, he and his hadn't found a single piece of debris in their yard or even in the neighborhood that they lived in—Haimi was hoping to find something, while the rest of the Ballal's weren't.
If the Colossus was the only occurrence in freak-oriented weather to strike the globe this year, everyone would of written it off as a one-time thing. That wasn't the case. Like with last year, the weather this year was crazy... or crazier, considering some of the stuff that was happening in Australia, India, Russia, and parts of the Americas. Just two weeks ago, a system engulfed the entirety of the eastern United States then dumped bucketloads of either rain or snow on people. A week ago, two hurricanes slammed into England, Ireland, and Scotland. A few days ago, it was extremely windy in China and Japan. Severe droughts were happening in India and Russia; torrential thunderstorms were happening in Africa; and unprecedented snowstorms were happening in Australia. It was no surprise to citizen or scientist that earthquakes were happening in the areas where substanial rainfall was falling, or that the aliens who moved into parts of Central and South America decided to move to some other location on the planet after an 8.2 earthquake happened in Nicaragua, Bolivia, and Uruguay.
"No, but both scientist and citizen received a shock when the sea rolled up to claim some of Texas, Alaska, south Africa, and Baja California." Ajeet said in a near-shaky voice.
A month and a half ago, all of them places found themselves as being swallowed up by water. Baja California, which use to be two separate states, but was made into a single state in 2075 by the Mexican government, was close to being separated from Mexico now; the bit of Alaska that stuck out in the ocean was now completely separated from the state, and nearly overrun with water; and the tip of south Africa no longer existed. Up to the discovery of Antarctica and Greenland being half-gone, everyone was baffled over this happening. Scientists were now saying that something worse than the unpredictable weather was happening—the climate, which returned to normal a hundred and twenty years ago, was changing and no one could do a thing to stop it.
While sliding the forms that he just signed to the side, he remembered the things that he learned from his history teachers. The planet had gone through hell multiple times in the past; he was honestly surprised that it was still here, or stable enough to sustain the life that it had on it. According to his teachers, Earth had gone through seven major climate shifts in the last two thousand years—the first in 2025, with the rest happening in 2708, 3023, 3045, 3080, 3899, and 3952. Each shift in climate happened in conjunction to one of plagues that struck the masses, and lasted for a number of years before evening out.
After 2025 came around, it took about eighty years for the weather to shape up. When the Avian Flu Plague had its fill of victims, it took around a hundred years for the climate to calm down. Even though it was warmer than usual in some places, the climate before 3023 came around was fine and everyone was happy and healthy; a steady decline in temperature occurred between 3023 and 3079 then, in 3080, it plummeted to an excess of nearly thirty degrees in some places. It took three hundred years before the temperatures returned to normal, and everyone was able to stop acting like their caveman ancestors. A minor change in climate occurred in 3899, after the last major plague was experienced by the ones who were on the planet, then it began to warm up after the Trypanosomiasis plague took effect in both Germany and three of its neighboring countries. While he agreed that it was past due for another climate shift to occur, he wished that it wouldn't happen now—he'd like for his children and grandchildren to grow up without seeing their peers being so stressed out by what was going on around them, or have to worry about being parentless after their parents succumbed to not being able to sustain both themselves and the young ones that they birthed.
"Get that foul Master Vile, and Miss. Irene's husband, daughter, and brother-in-law, off the planet and, maybe, things will settle down." Ajeet thought after making the call to his secretary. "We were doing very well before they came along. Once them four, and them other aliens, came here, everything went to shit. Bet that, if they were gone, and it was just Miss. Irene and her children here, everything would return to normal."
While Ajeet Mahatma Ballal, a man who he very vaguely knew, was giving his secretary what he signed, and thinking that the world's problems were squarely on the shoulders of all who weren't Miss. Irene, her children, or human, he was putting a better perspective on things. After reading the same article that Mr. Ballal cut from the paper, then hearing that a probable global climate shift was happening, he sat down then started writing the history that was known to exist between the time that Miss. Irene was noted as missing and 4099.
In mid-2000, some months after Miss. Irene and her two, older sons went missing, a robot-like race of people that called themselves the Machine Empire crept in. They were ousted on three different occasions by the teenagers who were the planet's original protectors; on the fourth time that they came in, there were no protectors to oust them. Surprisingly, it was Master Vile who sent them packing. Even though they were a nuisance, they didn't cause anything adverse to happen with the planet.
In 2015, a space pirate named Divatox came to the planet. While many say she was mostly after the ones who protected the planet, others say she was trying to claim the planet as hers. Even though the reason behind her coming here wasn't known, it was known on her causing the already stressed climate to become even more unstable—her odd, fish-like ship, which was piloted in the ocean, was said to emit some chemical on a near-six hour basis. Some accredit her to the three plagues that happened between 2016 and 2019 while others say it was the stress from the climate change that caused it.
A long stretch of years lapsed between Divatox's invasion and the next one. When the next evil-doer came in, she had a companion with her. The year was 2133 when Astronema and Dark Specter showed their ugly mugs, and came close to ripping the rug from under Master Vile's feet; while the Machine Empire had no involvement in causing the planet's climate to change, or any plagues to happen, and while Divatox was the one who caused the climate to begin its shift in 2016, and was suspected of being behind the 2016-2019 plagues, they were directly linked to the events that happened between 2134 and 2171. Almost immediately after they were sent packing, the planet started turning on the ones who lived on it—in June 2134, Hurricane Wilhem struck the entire east coast of the United States, and caused five trillion in damages and took fifty million lives; in November 2139, Mount Shasta, Mount St. Helens, and Krakatoa erupted at the same time, and caused nearly one hundred million to die after spewing poisonous gases and ash in the air; in April 2145, the state of Florida was struck by a 100 foot tall tsunami, which drowned it and all of its population; in December 2150, the eight islands that made up the state of Hawaii went up in smoke after the Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park erupted, and all who lived on them died; in March 2153, the cities of San Francisco, Santa Cruz, and San Mateo were destroyed, and an estimated five hundred thousand to two million died, after a massive earthquake happened; and, from 2166 to 2171, an extreme form of Avian flu struck and claimed one to four billion lives. Earth and its people were allowed to recover from this; before the next invader came in, thirty-nine years of peace were experienced.
"The year was 2210 when Trakeena and Triskull, the former a woman who either mutated into a giant bug or used some substance to turn her into one, and the latter being a brother of Master Vile, invaded. While they created a lot of hell for one of the communities that lie outside of the shields, they didn't cause any climate shifts, natural disasters, or plagues to happen." Horace said while writing this down on the piece of paper before him.
Between 2210 and 2707, no plagues or climate changes happened. When Scorpius entered the planet in 2707, looking for trouble and his glory moment, there were signs of the climate being under stress—thanks to the vehicles that he and his army left behind, which gave off a nearly invisible smoke that counter-acted against the ozone, a one hundred year period of extreme warmth occurred. The insectile man, who looked like a spider but had tentacles instead of leg-like limbs, also left some alien substance on the ground, which the birds ate and then grew sick on. The Avian Flu Plague, that lasted from 2708 to 2712, was the result of that digested substance.
Normal things happened between 2713 and 2923 then, like that, a new enemy to the planet arrived. This one went by the name of Queen Bansheera; even though she did a lot of damage to the communities that lie outside of the shields, which were already overcrowded and in dire need of being grown out, she didn't cause any plagues or climate shifts to happen. Unlike Divatox, Astronema and Dark Specter, Triskull and Trakeena, and Scorpius, she met her end with Master Vile—the man, after showing up following her defeat by the teenagers who were looking after the planet, made toothpicks out of her in nothing flat.
The next on the scene was Ransik, who came to the planet in 3000. While some say he was a human who was bitten by some radioactive bug, others say he was purely alien and came from some planet called Veniplos—whatever the cause of his existence and location of origin, he was known to be the creator of the Green Plague, which started in 3003 and lasted until just before 3006. Like Queen Bansheera, he met his end via Master Vile, who about bisected him with one of his weirdly strong powers.
"A steady change in temperature happened between 3003 and 3080; other than Ransik, there were three others who tried their luck in taking the planet over. These three people are directly linked to the rapid acceleration of the climate changing."
Master Vile must of had it out for the first man because, when he showed up to see him off, he had a sword and body bag with him. The man who invaded the planet in 3023 was called Master Org; he caused the ice-like island of Greenland to swell to twice its size, Antarctica to nearly triple in size, and all of northern Canada to freeze over. None of this was changed after he was killed. Master Vile just bagged him then left; the man didn't shrug his shoulders or even turn to see the mess of what he created.
The Plague of Meats, as it was commonly called by some, happened in 3039. Even though sixteen years had passed after Master Org's invasion, he wasn't linked to it. The cause of the plague was traced to a restaurant called Chick-Fil-A—the food was tainted by some man-made chemical which caused the stomaches of many to explode after the one who harbored them battled a lengthy illness for two weeks. Six years after the plague was beat, a ninja-like being that called himself Lothor came in; thanks to his actions in toying with the already too-cold poles, the planet grew to being colder. Instead of being killed by the teenagers who took over from the last in protecting the planet, or meeting his end by Master Vile, he fled right after Master Vile appeared before him.
Some ice-like being was the one who broke the strand that kept the saddle to the camel's back. In 3079, Flurious came to the planet then worked his skills in freezing it over. The man did as Lothor did in fleeing after Master Vile showed up—like Lothor, he was just defeated by the ones who called themselves the planet's teenage protectors when Master Vile came in to see him off. Two months after Flurious ran off, the Chamydia Plague happened; this, and the sudden climate change, caused trouble for many who lived on the planet.
"And, in 3099, Flurious's brother, Moltor, invaded. While he caused a lot of damage to the settlements that lie outside of the shields, he didn't cause any climate shifts or plagues to happen."
Normal events, including the fourth World War, happened between 3100 and 3898. While they had their issues with several other alien invaders, they didn't experience any climate changes or plagues. Everything was quiet, peaceful, and doing well by their standards then, like a cruel slap to the face, Mesogog came in. If not for this dinosaur-looking man, the Plague of the Mosquitoes wouldn't of happened; the same went with the ensuing climate change, which occurred immediately after the super-mutated mosquito infestation was beaten and a cure to the plague was made. While the plague claimed many lives abroad, the following climate change claimed the lives of all who lived in England, Ireland, Iceland, and Australia—in total, two billion lost their lives.
The final two aliens who were in the history books came in a hundred and forty-nine and fifteen years ago. The first was the Troobians, who made their appearance in December of 3951, and caused the Trypanosomiasis plague, which was felt in Germany and three of its nine bordering countries. While the Troobians fled following their defeat by the next-to-last known teenagers who aided in protecting the planet, their commander didn't; Emperor Gruumm, who seemed to have the idea of taking the planet's resources for himself and his superior, a man by the name of Omni, had a rather spectacular, but short, battle with Master Vile before meeting his end. Master Vile looked to be toying with the man for a few minutes before upping the anti on him; despite receiving some injuries, and being knocked down four times, he got up then vanquished him.
The final alien who came to the planet before Master Vile finally found his way into the American shields was oddly formed. Never had they faced anyone so bizarrely formed, or crazy-minded—he had a red-colored, skull-like face that had two tentacles on either side of it and a pair of skull-shaped adornments on his shoulders that had tentacles trailing from them; his only reason to come to the planet was to destroy it. Even though he was very powerful, he was beat by the final-known teenagers who aided in protecting the planet. He also fled after Master Vile showed up to see what was going on and then dispose of him.
"Like after the weather changed in 2025, where most everyone reverted to being like cavemen to survive, we returned to our ancestral way of life after 3080 came around. Along with not being able to sustain themselves in the new climate, some of the animals that went extinct weren't able to keep up to the demands that our kind put them under—in order for us to survive, we had to hunt certain species to extinction." Horace thought after reading through what he just wrote.
It was a surprise that the wild horse of the Americas was still around. The same went with the Grizzly and Black bear. The various species of deer, moose, fox, skunk, mink, beaver, otter, raccoon, squirrel, wolf, and coyote were able to keep up to the demands that mankind put on them, thus why they were still around today, while the Grizzly and Black bear came close to being driven to extinction. If not for some very compassionate people, who decided to not dive too deeply into their ancestoral lifestyle, them two species wouldn't be around today. The wild horse, or Mustang, was allowed to breed without management; people in the eastern United States, and parts of Canada and Mexico, hunted and ate them and nothing else for a while, which caused their numbers to plummet to next to nothing in the two periods where mankind was acting like Cro-magnon man. If not for the Native American tribes of the west, who took up to a hundred head of horse, and protected their horses fiercely, the Mustang would be nothing more than a lost national treasure and word in the history books.
In Africa, all but the White Rhino survived through the two periods where mankind was acting like cavemen. Soon after the 2025 climate shift occurred, the Bengal tiger, Sumatran tiger, and Malayan tiger were all hunted to extinction; like with the Grizzly and Black bear, some compassionate people came in to prevent the only-surviving species of tiger from being hunted to death. The South China tiger was considered a relic treasure, and was very heavily protected from poaching; if not for them twenty individuals being tracked, caught, and then sent to zoos, the species wouldn't be here now. The Elephant species was also hit hard—with there being a lot of meat on the animals, they were targeted by the ones who lived in Africa and Asia on a near-monthly basis. Of the Elephant species, only the African bush and forest varieties remained; the bush variety came deathly close to being driven to extinction while the forest variety managed to keep itself well-hidden in the forests of Africa that it called home. The Bison came very close to being driven to extinction, as was the Jaguar, Ocelot, California sea lion, and American alligator. Whenever a whale, or one of the larger ocean mammals or fish, washed up on shore, people flocked to them to get what they could before the predators that they had to compete with came in—with mankind in Africa, some of Europe and Eurasia, and Australia reverting to being fully caveman-like to survive, they didn't use any type of boats or ships to go out to fish with; the people of the Americas did that and, thus, caused the extinction of the North Atlantic and Pacific right whale, Blue whale, Fin whale, Gray whale, Beluga, and Vaquita.
Every species that was driven to extinction in the 2025-2105 and 3080-3380 time period was missed. All the new generation could do if they wanted to see them was go to the museum, or look at the preserved pictures in the books that cataloged what species of animals use to be on the planet. Sometimes, he cursed mankind for the animals that were driven to extinction while, othertimes, when it was quiet and he wasn't drunk or overly stressed out, he knew it had to be done. Mankind didn't kill off them animals for no reason—in order to live to the next day, they had to. In a way, if not for their ancestors doing what they did to survive, they'd not be here or be as technologically advanced as they were.
"Oh yes... let's think of the advancements that we've made since the 3080-3380 time period." Horace smiled.
Surprisingly, the advancements in technology weren't evolved or even touched in the 2025-2105 time period. They were after that period ended then, after the 3080-3380 time period started, they were lost. While technology existed in the 3080-3380 period, most didn't use or even give them a consideration—survival was what the ones who reverted to their ancestoral roots were worrying about; they didn't have time to worry about this or that type of technology or how to evolve it. In the history books, it was said that about 85% of humanity had reverted to being like Cro-magnon man; the rest had stayed mostly the same, but still didn't have the nerve to upgrade their present technologies, or make new ones. For some reason, the ones who made a return to their ancestoral roots decided to stay clear of "modern" civilization, which was why the history books said there were two distinctions in the human race who lived between 2025-2105 and 3080-3380—Deliciae sapien, for the ones who stayed in the towns, cities, and villages, and Interregnum redit sapien, for the ones who reverted to their ancestoral roots and stayed clear of civilization. After the 3080-3380 period ended, and everyone came together as a new unit, the two classifications were dropped; now, it was just Homo sapien.
"Aliena sapien!" Horace started laughing after thinking of what the aliens in the Americas could be called. His laugh attracted the attention of his wife, who was working the stove.
"Horace?" Winifred asked after turning around.
"Nothing... just thinking about something that happened at work today." Horace said.
After his wife returned to doing what she was on the stove, he stood from where he was then went to collect what he wrote. While taking the sheets of paper up, he thought about the challenges that his species had yet to face—if they survived the ones in the past, they could do the same now in the present and then again in the future. He was sure that they'd survive for a while longer, regardless of their having aliens walking beside or completing with them for the limited resources that were out there. Even though the planet's scientists were smart, they weren't able to predict when the next global climate change happened, or when the climate in one set location was to change—they, and the historians, were able to study what they were finding in their digs, and what was written in the books, but they couldn't determine when the weather was to change. In a way, the ones who lived on the planet were on a roller coaster and had to go wherever it went and take whatever it gave them.
"And, right now, we're set to be taken through a series of loop-de-loops." Horace snapped his teeth to his lower lip to stop the giggle from coming out.
He was about to fold what he wrote when he decided not to. With the future not known, and history being changed for either the better or worse, he decided to stash it somewhere safe then, tomorrow, take it somewhere to get laminated—the idea of what he wrote being useful to the future generations was a good one, which he couldn't ignore or discard. He, Horace Alexander Smith, the President of the United States, which was mostly no longer under his control and would probably never be in his control again in his lifetime, went to the room that he and his wife slept in then drew the mattress up; he was putting the pieces of paper that he was holding on the box spring, and then setting the mattress back down, when one named Efagti Izorot Ubalki began his rounds in going through the city that he and his family lived in.
"Some of the women on this planet are right attractive." Efagti remembered his brother saying.
Yes, and he had noticed their beauty and how "curious" they were of him. If a simple look was seen, or they came up to do a quick chat before leaving, he would of said that they were curious in a normal way. The women on this side of the planet weren't doing that. They were giving him long looks, and using a lot of either unnoticed or noticed language with him that discerned what they wanted. If he was leaving the house that his family were to be vacating here in the next twenty days, then seeing everyone who was both female and straight walking around in skin-tight outfits, or outfits that barely held in their parts, he would of run with the thought of their being too interested in him thick on the brain—thankfully, for both him and his family, he wasn't seeing this. No, they were dressing normally; while some had some cleavage showing, or were showing some leg while wearing one of the types of shorts that women were known to wear when it was warm out, they weren't shaming themselves or making it seem too obvious of their interest in him.
On the nineteenth of that month, he and his brother spoke on his airing himself out with one of the humans. He said that he'd search for someone, who'd be kind enough to help him with his problem, but still be healthy enough to not give him any diseases, on that day; due to the weather, he wasn't able to do that. While it was nice on the twenty-fifth, and he could of gone out to do as he both needed and wanted to do, something told him to not do so. All during the day hours of that day, he and Tazir joked on how he was "using up a good moment to stay home" then, when the night hours came, they grew very quiet towards one another. Up to the late-morning hours of the following day, he thought that Tazir's silence was based on the issue that was going on with his cellular—Master Vile was calling it a lot lately and Tazir wasn't speaking a word on why. He also thought it had something to do with one or more of the children—Guyunis spent a decent stretch of hours with his tattoo'd friend on that day, and he knew Tazir didn't like him or Guyunis being around him; Bile and Lazeer got into it on two occasions; and Tazir started talking to Lhaklar on his needing to quit his job soon.
From the moment the various alarms in the house went off to about twenty minutes before that tornado was seen, everyone was happy and looking forward to the plans that they made. Angel went off to work; Bile "snuck" Hazaar from the house; Lazeer spent some time with his friends; Guyunis and Lhaklar went off to spend some time together in one of the establishments in Durmersheim; and Eshal decided to go to the mall in Rastatt. While he called his father, then admitted to what he was causing in his visit, then heard the man belt his head off on what he was doing, Tazir was thinking about taking Sabine out for a walk in the backyard. The man did so right after his father ended his tirade of words to him; the two stayed out in the backyard for around thirty minutes before coming in. Following the activity in the backyard, Tazir took one of the cat's toys out then started engaging her in play. Guyunis found himself as having a very happy, but tired, cat when he came in a couple of hours later.
He decided to use one of the boys' game systems after concluding his conversation with his father. In all, he played four games, and got the tar beat out of him on each one, before deciding to stop and then do something else. At around the time that he was sending Phaggo an email, and catching up on how his life was going, Tazir's mood was changing. The man who seemed to be so uppity suddenly became very listless; instead of wanting to play with the cat, or use his phone, or watch tv, or use the room that the boys created last year, or play one of the boys' video games, he wanted to stand by the hallway that branched from the one that ran into the foyer. While he thought that was odd, he left him alone.
"He didn't stand there after ten fifty-five came around. Once that time came, he went to the living room windows then looked out them." Efagti thought.
Maybe his brother was running on a hunch that something was to happen. He had heard that parents knew things, and grew nervous before they happened; his brother, despite showing the signs of both, didn't get but so bossy with the ones around him. He mostly just paced, looked out the window, mumbled under his breath, then paced some more. When Eshal came in with her many shopping bags at 11:08, Tazir was elated; when Bile and Hazaar walked in through the sliding glass back door at 11:15, the man didn't jump on them or punish Bile for sneaking his grounded brother out of the house; and, when Lazeer came in from seeing his friends at 11:20, the man looked relieved. His brother had just gotten through using the house's phone to call Angel, and see how she was doing, when the report on the news was shown. Tazir, and Hazaar, busted their rear ends to sit down and then watch what was being shown on tv after it was seen.
It wasn't until after the tornado crossed the river, then smashed into Ottersdorf, that his brother's communicator was fished from where it was. Tazir got Angel to clock-out and then come home, then he got Lhaklar to stop what he was doing and then come home; either Guyunis forgot to bring his communicator with him or purposely left it behind—both Tazir and Angel were nervous wrecks after he couldn't be reached. From 11:39 to 11:55, the two were pacing, watching the news, and going to the living room windows; while he wanted to help them over the situation on Guyunis not being able to be contacted, he was dealing with his own issues in trying to keep Eshal, Bile, Hazaar, and Lazeer near the basement. Like them, he was worried about the boy—apparently, Lhaklar didn't stay near him. From what he was able to gather from his nephew, the two of them spent some time in one of Durmersheim's dumps before going their separate ways.
"He found a lot of stuff, and did a spell to clean them right after we decided to leave the dump. Knowing him, he's probably in Karlsruhe—in its flea market." Lhaklar said when he questioned him on where he thought his brother was.
Even though the tornado stayed away from Elchesheim-Illingen, the town felt its effects. It was dark, the wind was horrible, and the roar from the storm was enough to rattle their eardrums. Eshal actually clamped her hands to the sides of her head when the roar grew in pitch; Bile grabbed Hazaar, and then Lazeer, then threw himself over them when the power went out; and Lhaklar rolled himself up in as tight a ball as he could in the corner nearest the basement door. When the power went out, Angel and Tazir came into the room that they were in then positioned themselves before the children. With himself being in the middle of them, their present children were well protected. They stayed like this until 12:10 came around then, after everything calmed down, and the power returned, moved off; the issue on where Guyunis was, and if he was okay, was then looked into.
"He was fine—thank the Gods! While he was in Karlsruhe, he had sense to get in some structure and then wait out the weather. He teleported to the house just before the reports came in on what all was damaged."
While Angel could of grounded him, she didn't. Tazir tried to, but wasn't allowed to install the two weeks that he wanted to put on him. Instead, Angel let him ground her son until the first of next month. Even though Guyunis was grounded, he still left the house to collect the cash that was found in the yard and some "momentos" that'd say he lived through the Colossus. Naturally, now that the danger was over, and everyone was alright, Hazaar was saying that the storm was "awesome" and he couldn't wait to experience another—while Angel just laughed, Tazir said that he hoped to not go through another like it again; Eshal snapped at him for being so "stupid" in saying that while the rest of the boys either agreed with him or said not for a while.
With the bank in Steinmauern being destroyed, and all of its cash and other items being sucked up into the sky and then cast around to the far corners of southern Germany and some of the neighboring countries, the children had found some items that'd keep them rich for a while. In all, €600 was found—Bile and Lhaklar had the most at €130 while Guyunis had €119, Hazaar €112, and Lazeer €109; Eshal found €100, which she opted to return to the ones who owned the bank before deciding to save it for another shopping trip. Before finding himself as needing to find some safe place to hide out the storm in, Guyunis finished up his trip at the flea market then pocketed what he made. It surprised a lot of them when he gave all €45 that he made to Lhaklar—with his receiving a game that Hazaar gave to him, then admitted to stealing the money for, at the start of the month, and then finding himself as not having the controller to it, he had to ask his brother for some money to buy something for it; he'd not be surprised if he paid him back for what he borrowed from him. Even though he and Tazir weren't looking for anything to keep as a souvenir from the storm, they found something too. Just that morning, Tazir found a royal blue diamond necklace, with the diamonds set in sterling silver; he was planning on putting it to the side then giving it to Angel after the move to Moas was done. He, just twenty minutes ago, found a yellow-gold finish watch that had diamonds set around the clock-face, which didn't have numbers or even symbols on it; he was planning to keep it until the trip home was done.
Things were too chaotic yesterday for him to go out, or give into consideration of finding someone to have sex with. While the weather was decent, everyone was too worked up to do much of anything. Today, which looked to be the same as yesterday weather-wise, started out the same; after Angel decided to go to work for a few hours, and the boys went out to look at the damages that the storm made, he decided to go to Karlsruhe. He was twenty minutes arrived, and in on his search for someone presentable to talk to and, possibly, take his impulses on. Seeing as what he thought he was looking for was on the side of the shopping district that Lhaklar claimed wasn't "family-friendly", he was on the Ettlinger Tor Shopping Center side of Karlsruhe's twin shopping centers.
"In the center of the Center, there's a section of nothing but bars and strip joints. They're some of the reason to why the Ettlinger Tor Shopping Center isn't family-friendly; the rest lie in what else is on the stretch of road that the Center's on." his nephew said during breakfast.
With his nephew working on this stretch of road, he naturally knew what was available and could be used as a means of entertainment. If he had learned that Lhaklar worked not in the mall but one of the strip joints, his jaw would of dropped from where it was and he might of lost all use of his legs; he just assumed that the boy knew what was on the street because he worked on it. His parents thought the same, while Eshal spoke a little on the heated side on why he knew what he told him—seeing as she had plans to play with her pets, and watch some of the movies that she bought on the twenty-sixth, she didn't dwell too long on her brother's knowledge of the Ettlinger Tor Shopping Center.
"And, like he said, there's a few bars and strip joints here." Efagti said after reaching the middle of the Center.
Even though he was an Ubalki, and a member of Zeta Ren's more renown families, he wasn't one to stay away from bars or strip joints. Just after reaching manhood, his father took him to his first bar; he bought him a beer, toasted to his now being a man, then drank with him. On his birthday a hundred years later, his uncle on his mother's side of the family took him to his first strip bar—this was kept secret from his parents, who'd about have a cow over his going to such uncouth places. Even though the Zoopray side of his family spoke with and saw him and his siblings, the Ubalki side didn't. His father's family disowned him after he decided to quit teaching at Afaab High School then start mining and farming; while they were okay with his being a farmer, they weren't on his being a miner. Apparently, his father used some of the money from his family's combined vaults to buy a hundred acres of land; after he found oil on some of his land, he paid them back then, to thank them for their hostility towards him, wiped his hands clean of them. Of his father's family, only his aunt sent them letters. Aunt Clerabia refused to call or come over; his father, while writing back to her, seemed to be mutual on this.
He saw three bars before coming upon his first strip joint. Seeing as he might need to pick the establishment that he went into carefully, he decided to stop then turn around. Two strip joints down from where he was was where his nephew worked; if he had gone near it, he might of gotten an inkling to his nephew not just knowing what all was on this stretch of road. Since he didn't go near it, his nephew's secret on where he really worked at was safe. After turning, he went down the road fifty steps before stopping then turning to look at the bar that was before him.
The bar was a two-level, so it catered to both beverage-wanting patrons and patrons who needed an apartment to sleep off their drunkenness or, possibly, a bed to entertain someone in. He stood before this green-bricked building, that had a yellow-colored roof and four windows on the front, for a few minutes before stepping towards it. As was natural, he showed his I.D., which showed who he was and how old he was, after going inside then approaching the counter where the beverages were made; once he explained that he was a grown adult, who, in human terms, was around thirty, he was granted the priviledge of getting a drink. Following the receiving of his drink, he drank it then look around. He had no more done so when a hand landed on his shoulder.
"Look like someone I know, Stranger." the woman said when he turned to see who had him by the shoulder.
"Look like someone I'd like to know." Efagti returned.
While he spoke of who he was, and threw in a few flirts and appeasing remarks to possibly rein in a partner, he took in who he was talking to. The woman was a knock-out. Period. Small, dainty, and well put together was a good way to describe her. Her hips were nicely rounded; her breasts were perky, yet proportioned to her body without being too big or small; and her arms were very nicely smooth and slender. No makeup was worn on her face, which had dark brown eyes and a small nose in it. Once he took notice of her legs, which weren't only long but also very well-tanned, he imagined what he could do with them. After speaking with her, he let her speak; in doing so, he learned that she owned the Die Heiß und Hastig strip joint down the road, was closing in on thirty-five, and was single. In all, it took him thirty minutes of talking, and letting her say what she wanted, and his buying her two fancy drinks, before he got up the guts to ask if she was going to do anything in the next thirty minutes to an hour.
"Nope. I'm all available to whoever catches my eye." Miss. Janina Duerr flashed her luke-warm, brown eyes at him, then flung the lock of dark brown hair, that she started playing with in a flirtatious sort of way, behind her.
"As am I, Miss." Efagti said.
"Rüdiger, be a dear in sporting us a key to one of the upstairs rooms."
The trip to the apartment was slow, but pleasant. Miss. Duerr played with his backside while they went up the stairs, and spoke of how she was looking forward to what they did while in the room. When they were in the room, and the door was locked, she declothed him then started examining him; instead of removing her clothes himself, he let her do that—while he wanted sex, he didn't want her to think that he was just after her body and not all of her. The toying around was done in a normal sense then, when he got on top of her, and slid himself in, trouble started.
The reminding of what race he belonged to, and of how different he was to a human, was instantaneous. Right after inserting himself, he was given a confirmation on what he was told of how compatible the human race was with the Zetakins—once he was in, Miss. Duerr started screaming, then telling him that he was either "too big" for her or needed to remove himself. Even though he spoke to her, and reassured her over everything being okay, she still insisted on his needing to stop; he got in one episode of emitting himself before deciding to go by her wish in leaving her.
Even though their meeting spanned for only twenty-five minutes, he'd remember it for a long time. His hearing, which went after his partner started screaming, wouldn't be the same for the next two days; due to his partner clawing at his backside all while he was in her, he wouldn't be able to put on a shirt properly until the first of next month came around. Thanks to her screams, everyone on the first floor was alerted to something happening upstairs. He wasn't but so surprised over finding himself as being thrown from the establishment right after putting his clothes on, or hearing that if he came back, he'd be arrested. Before leaving the stretch of road that he was on, he said the spell that'd make everyone involved in what just transpired forget what happened—everyone but him, that was; since he needed to remember this episode, he left his memories intact.