Trapped in Time-Extinction (33 page)

The waters that washed inland, stopped and then rushed back into the gulf filling a crater that was a hundred and ten miles wide glowing white hot with superheated rock. The steam that rose into the sky from the impact site, as the water washed in, added water vapor to the cloud layer and soon acid rain began falling. Long dormant volcanoes were shaken into life and erupted adding their ashes to the miles thick cloud layer that continued to grow for weeks. Unending darkness ruled the earth and temperatures around the planet began dropping to freezing levels and remain there.

Plants began dying from being unable to use photosynthesis to grow. Next, the herbivores died, as they starved to death; then the carnivores followed. Every surface dwelling creature died and only those that were able to burrow or live underwater survived. And still the planet shook from the aftershocks that persisted for weeks. The seawater temperature dropped four degrees and all of the large predators that had evolved in warm water for hundreds of millions of years were unable to handle the sudden changes and died. Everywhere on what was once a beautiful green planet, death walked and took life in unimaginable quantities. The Age of Dinosaurs ended abruptly but it would be years before the last one died. They fought to survive but in the end, failed.

• • •

Andy saw the brilliant flash on the wall monitor and shook his head. He stared at the screen and saw the sky to the south of the scanner was growing dark. The Navigator quietly said, “It’s going to take forty five minutes before the explosion’s effects arrive at your former community.” Suddenly, the floor shook and Andy grabbed a table and held on to Melody. The shaking grew worse and the huge ship was rising and falling on its landing gear. Everyone tucked their heads into their shoulders as the shaking continued for three minutes. It stopped as suddenly as it began. The Navigator stared at the display on his panel and then looked at Andy, “That was an earthquake. It measured enough to collapse the walls but they’re holding.”

Andy shook his head and looked at his daughters, “Check on the other caves!”

Melody watched Linnae and Harmony and she knew after ten seconds, something bad had happened. Harmony looked at Andy shaking her head, “Three of the caves have collapsed.”

“Which ones?”

“The southernmost cave collapsed completely trapping them outside.” Harmony paused and said, “Johnathan’s cave collapsed as well and I can’t detect anyone.”

“But that cave was one of the most distant from the impact.”

The Navigator looked at the locations Andy had given him to enter into his ship’s databanks and shook his head, “The impact caused a long extinct volcanoes to start erupting near that location. I suspect that cave was shaken not only by the impact but by the volcano. The two together collapsed the walls.”

The Regent looked at Andy, “You chose that particular site because of the mountain’s old age?” Andy nodded. “There was no way for you to know that old volcanoes could become active with a hard enough shake.”

Melody looked at Harmony, “What about the third?”

Harmony looked at Linnae who was holding Tyler in her arms. “Gordon and Olivia’s cave.”

Andy closed his eyes and shook his head. The floor suddenly shook and Andy grabbed the table. He’d grieve about this loss when there was time to do it. He held on tightly and saw Tyler was weeping sitting against the wall with Linnae leaning against him. The shaking continued at random and then he heard the Navigator say, “The community is about to be hit.”

Everyone turned to the wall monitor and they saw a giant black wave of smoke rushing over the ocean and the land to the south of the cliff where the scanner was anchored. It was moving toward them at incredible speed and the forests in front of it caught fire before the wave blew past and hid them from view. The shockwave blew through and Andy pointed at the monitor, “WHAT IS THAT!?”

The Navigator looked at his panel and said, “You call it a tsunami. It’s only three hundred feet tall now.”

Melody’s head began shaking and she forced herself to look at the Navigator, “How tall was it?”

“About three thousand feet at the site of the blast. It’s fallen over the seven hundred miles it’s traveled.”

Everyone stared at the onrushing wave and it rushed in toward the monitor at incredible speed. The huge wave was only a hundred feet below the top of the cliff when it washed over the community, which immediately disappeared below the rolling water. The floor shook again, but not as violently as before. Andy stared at the monitor and saw the sky above the former community was growing dark. He leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. So much death. So much death. He sighed and looked at Harmony, “What’s the status of the people who were outside the southern cave that collapsed?” Harmony stared at him with tears in her eyes and Andy took a deep breath. He blew it out slowly and said, “You need to tell me, they deserve for me to know.”

Harmony took a breath and gathered her thoughts. She shook her shoulders and looked her father in the eyes, “They did remarkable things to survive. The quakes shook them off their feet and once the ground stopped moving, the warriors pulled their cutters and began cutting another opening in the face of the mountain…but every time they made progress, the mountain would shake and collapse the new opening. They had two hours before the shockwave was going to hit them and they fought hard to cut a new cave they could take shelter in.”

“Show me what you saw.” Harmony lowered her eyes and shook her head. “Show me!”

Harmony looked up and sent him the images she had seen in Zam’s mind. The people gathered around the newest opening in the mountain were either cutting away the stone or pulling the cuttings out. They were working at their highest speed and, though there were more quakes, this hole didn’t collapse. Zam smiled and knew that there was hope. He took his cutter out and took one from the women warriors pulling the stones out of the opening. Suddenly, the dark clouds above them began glowing brightly. He had time to furrow his brow just before the giant burning chunk of debris falling out of the sky hit the ledge he was standing on.

The burning rock shattered and blew into the new cave they were working on. In less than a second, all three thousand humans were vaporized by the burning ejecta that hit them. Fifty minutes later, the shock wave arrived and blew their ashes away. Harmony was able to see it because a young woman who was in the very front of the cave was sheltered by the bodies of her friends between her and the cave opening. She managed to force her way through the dead bodies to get outside when the heat was low enough to breathe. She was blown away by the hurricane force winds being blown in front of the shockwave.

Andy lowered his head and closed his eyes. Those winds would arrive at the hole in another hour. For the moment, he sat and wept as Melody held him in her arms. Mat held Harmony and she remained silent. After the weakened shockwave blew past the Hole, she looked up and quietly whispered, “This telepathy is not something I would wish on anyone.”

Mat pulled her closer and quietly said, “Your father is right.” She looked into his eyes again as he said, “We can honor them because you witnessed their bravery and unwillingness to give up no matter what the odds. They are an example for all of us. They will be honored and it’s due to your ability to share their loss. I’m so thankful for you and what you can do. I’m so honored you care for me.”

Harmony lowered her head and sighed. After a moment she said, “What are you going to do about it?”

Mat stared at the top of her head and quietly whispered, “Harmony, will you consent to be my mate?”

Harmony hugged him tightly and remained silent. Mat waited and after an hour Harmony looked up at him, “You haven’t asked me my answer.”

“You’ll tell me when you’re ready.”

“You’re no longer insecure.”

“Life can end too suddenly to have room for insecurities. I don’t want to waste the time we have.”

“I will gladly consent to be your mate. It is I who is honored. We’ll ask Dad to perform the ceremony tom…”

Mat saw Harmony’s eyes widen and he said, “What?”

Harmony stood up and ran over to the Navigator, “I sense the thoughts of a being I’ve not heard before. They’re above the planet and moving toward the surface.”

The Regent looked up at the wall monitor and saw the water receding from the community and the dark clouds above. Large burning rocks were falling out of the dark cloud layer as far as the scanner could see. Andy heard Harmony and stood up from the deck and approached the wall monitor. The Regent looked at him and said, “What color was the ship your first leader saw?”

“Grey.”

They stared at the monitor and after an hour a small grey ship appeared above the community’s location. Huge explosions appeared around the grey ship as falling, burning rocks hit the ship’s force field. Harmony and Linnae had their eyes closed and Linnae said, “The one on that ship has detected your scanner on the cliff. It is contacting someone else on what to do about it.”

Everyone in the room watched the small ship hovering above the community and the Navigator said, “That ship is probably a lander. It had minimal scanning ability.”

Andy nodded and looked at the Regent, “That means their main ship will have to come and scan for your ship.” The small ship suddenly rose into the cloud layer and disappeared. Andy looked at Linnae, “Do you sense anything else?”

“That being’s last thought before I lost him was that he was going to meet whomever he was communicating with.”

“Did you sense where that other being is located?”

Linnae and Harmony both shook their heads. Linnae said, “Normally I would be able to find the other one communicating with the one that was here.”

The Regent shook his head, “The other one might be too far away.”

“Distance has never been an issue before.”

Andy shook his head with a small smile, “I know where they are.” Everyone looked at him and he looked at the Regent, “I wondered how the Time Takers would avoid your scanners. Where could they have gone and not worry about your seeing them?”

The Regent thought for a moment and started shaking his head. Grandel said, “They moved their ship above this planet several weeks in the future from now.”

Andy smiled, “You are one smart Talen!”

“Thank you.”

“That’s why my daughters couldn’t sense the location of the other being. They’re not here in this time.”

Harmony said, “They’re back! And there’s more of them.”

Everyone looked at the Monitor and after thirty minutes something huge began appearing out of the low cloud layer. It appeared over the community and everyone saw a giant circular shaped grey ship. The explosions on its force field were continuous and some were massive.”

“If you’re right about my mind weapon killing them, I could eliminate them now.”

Linnae said, “The first being that came here is not with them.”

Andy smiled, “The first ship is waiting for them to return. If it doesn’t appear within a specified time, it will go back in time and warn the ship not to come here.”

The Regent shook his head, “This manipulation of time is crazy. How did you see that?”

“I’ve had years to think about how they would plan to come and see if their plan was successful. Harmony, contact all the other communities and tell them to block their vents with camouflage material and stay inside.”

“Dad, they won’t dare step outside because of the falling rocks. I’ll send the warning out anyway.”

The Regent stared at the giant ship and shook his head, “I owe you an apology.”

“No you don’t. I know about them and still have great difficulty believing it.”

Linnae smiled, “Their leader is scanning your portable scanner and trying to understand how it survived.”

Andy smiled, “Give him some time. He’ll find a way.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because he can see the remains of your landers. The only explanation he can come up with is that it had to have been thrown out of your ship when the shockwave hit it. By being embedded in the cliff, he’ll surmise you were on the surface without your force field being active. The fact your ship is destroyed will confirm his plan worked. He’ll also see my community is now under twenty feet of mud. He’ll also justify our missing bodies by the heat of the shockwave vaporizing our bodies.”

The Navigator shook his head, “Wow, you have thought this thing through!”

The Regent stared at the giant ship and it disappeared. He was shocked and could only point at the monitor. Andy smiled, “Their ship just jumped ahead to see if any of my species survived the comet.” Andy looked at Linnae, “When will they appear again?”

“The leader ordered a seven month jump.”

“Mark that date on our calendar. We’ll have to be well hidden when they come back.” Andy looked at Linnae, “Why were you smiling?”

Everyone looked at Linnae and she smiled brightly, “One of the beings on that vessel met with the Original Andy less than two hours ago. I was able to see him, Dad! He was everything I thought he’d be. He faced the Time Taker unafraid.” Linnae paused and her smile grew larger, “Dad, he looked enough like you to be a brother.”

“Will you share with us what you saw?”

Linnae continued smiling and sent the images to everyone on the bridge. Tyler stood up and walked over to Andy, “This was worth it, Andy. I’ve lost my parents but you saved us just like the original Andy planned. One day, we will confront that ship and make them pay.”

“No, Tyler.”

Tyler’s eyes narrowed and he tilted his head, “What?”

“We’re going to thank them, Tyler. If our new friends and our descendants survive, and we’re able to make this universe less deadly, it will be due to their efforts.”

“But they planned for us to all die?”

Andy looked at the Regent and smiled, “Just like our new friends here did. But out of this, I pray a new reality will be born.”

Tyler stared at Andy and after a moment smiled, “My parents would gladly give their lives to end the suffering.”

Andy reached forward and hugged Tyler, “Your parents will join the Community’s heroes and they so richly deserve our honor. All of those that died today will be remembered.”