One Minute to Midnight (11 page)

"So far, so good. This is kind of
fun." Richard said.
Security seemed startled by his moving ship, but they didn’t appear
to be threatened. Richard hovered his way out of the hangar, and
with an educated guess he pulled back on the stick. The ship shot
skyward in an instant, leaving the atmosphere and entering the
vacuum of space. His fear of the unknown was quickly replaced by
the overwhelming excitement and enormity of the rift. The General
may have been purposefully vague about the details of what he would
see out here. A ring of clouds, perhaps half the size of earth had
opened up, and electricity danced inside billowy gray and blue
swarms, like lightning during a summer storm. In the middle of the
maelstrom Richard could see shimmering stars, but as he came closer
he realized something else was there: another planet with its own
blue and white atmosphere and greenish brown continents orbiting a
bright yellow sun. Richard gauged it as roughly the same size as
earth.
The planet began to appear larger and larger as he came closer.
Richard lost control of his stick as the rift pulled him toward its
massive gravitational field like a tractor beam. Perhaps Moira was
somewhere on the blue planet, waiting to be rescued. The planet
looked much like Earth, but the continents were larger, and were
spaced differently between oceans. A sucking, whooshing sound
filled his vehicle as he came within a hundred miles of the rift.
Streaks of light flew by him as he accelerated. His chair began to
wobble and shake from vibration, but when Richard stood up he felt
nothing but stillness. He was a pilgrim, standing on a platform of
pure light, and filled with excitement. It was time to go into the
unknown.
Richard crossed over into the rift, and as he did, he suddenly saw
himself being born in the fetal position, and being held in his
mother's arms, and growing old, and dying, and repeating the cycle.
This went on for what felt like a few lifetimes, but with greater
speed. Richard eventually blasted through to the other side, and
when he did, he saw that he was on a collision course with the blue
and white planet ahead. He saw what looked like North America, and
the African continent, but in the center was another very large
landmass he had never before seen on any map of Earth. Richard
regained control of the ship, flew closer with mounting curiosity.
This planet had a moon much like the one orbiting earth, but there
was something unique about this moon. He decided to fly closer to
the moon to investigate prior to landing on the planet. On the
surface of the moon were entire cities covering her face, and
fleets of spaceships leaving and returning. He was close enough to
the moon to see that buildings had been geometrically placed on the
surface, which he guessed may have been strip mining operations.
Glass towers penetrated the atmosphere, miles above the
surface.

Richard wondered what kind of galaxy
he had crossed into, or perhaps, what time? It was time for answers
so he sped away, and his ship was like quicksilver, racing toward
the blue planet in the blink of an eye. Minutes after Richard left
the moon he was soaring through the air on the strange earth like
planet looking for dry land. The oceans bustled with sea life
below, as monstrous fish leapt from watery depths catching flocks
of passing birds in black, gaping maws before disappearing once
more into serene blue water. The sun was beginning to set, casting
a golden shimmer on the ocean that obscured his view of the crystal
blue waters. A coastline began to materialize out of the sea two
miles ahead, so he pressed the stick forward and instantly he was
rushing past golden beaches, where the tide rolled gently in. Some
villagers casting their lines watched as his ship zipped through
the sky.

"Humans? I think those were humans."
Richard said to himself.

Richard was now flying over a vast and
beautiful rain forest, dense with vegetation. As darkness lowered
her evening veil, Richard saw the outlines of tall trees stretching
up into the sky. His space ship had no exterior lights, but the
glass dome had turned green, allowing him night vision from within,
and he could see what lay outside almost as if the sun were still
up. Richard continued flying until he noticed the lights from a
city ahead. When he got closer, he saw high-rise buildings like
those back on his Earth, and gorgeous pyramids surrounded by a
living, breathing city. His amazement got the better of him, and he
decided to set the craft down in a clearing just outside the
perimeter of the city, hidden from view by tall trees and
bushes.

Richard was so excited by his
experience that he lowered the ramp before donning his protective
headgear and oxygen pack. Instead of toxic gas, he was surprised to
breathe the fresh air of a planet untouched by the machinery of his
home. Flora and fauna so sweet, Richard was almost stifled by the
aroma. The odor was so overpowering he caught his breath the way he
would sometimes have to when walking into an expensive floral shop.
He smiled. The night was alive with music from cricket mating
calls, as he exited the ship and looked around for native nocturnal
animals or savages hiding in the forest waiting to pounce. The
General had not given him a weapon before leaving home, only a
survival knife, and there was not as much as a fire axe on the
ship. Richard felt exposed, naked without a pistol in this strange
land. When he was ten years old, Richard's parents had taken him to
Egypt where he stood before the Great pyramid and felt the magic of
its ancient stones beneath his small hands, and experienced a trip
back in time alongside his mother and father. He felt nostalgia and
the familiarity that time where he stood now.

Richard boarded the ship and closed
the ramp with his remote, and slept under the stars in his leather
chair. He found a small switch on the side of his chair that would
allow him to reverse the polarity of his dome and it appeared metal
again. But for tonight he chose to enjoy the panorama of stars
overhead, and just before he drifted off to sleep, Richard realized
he could see the Leo constellation.
"So strange..." Richard whispered. It should not have been there,
he thought. Then he drifted to sleep.
He woke up the next morning to the sun shining through palm fronds
on his face. He stood up, lowered the ramp and decided to go meet
the people of this new city, and on the way maybe get something to
eat. He was starving. He raised the ramp behind him and began to
walk toward town when the ground rumbled beneath his feet. At first
it felt like a small earthquake, and then he could see the trees
shake around him. He stopped, turned, and heard something very
large approaching through the forest. Trees began to crack like
toothpicks, and then he saw the body of a tyrannosaurus looming
over him. It snorted at the odor of fresh meat, looked left, and
then right, as Richard stood paralyzed with fear. His mind finally
came back into focus and he began to run in the direction of the
city. The beast was charging right behind him, kicking up dirt, and
knocking trees over in his path as Richard ran and screamed,
unconscious of the sounds he was making. Richard cleared the woods
and saw the front gate of the city in front of him as he ran
blindly forward like a sprinter heading for the finish
line.

He tripped over a rock in his path and
sprawled across the ground just as he reached the wall. His nose
broke with a crunch as stars of pain exploded inside his head; he
struggled to get to his feet again and failed. Richard could only
roll over and watch with terror in slow motion as the beast raised
a foot in the air above him. As it came down a bolt of lightning
struck the tyrannosaur's head and evaporated it in a bloody mist.
It was over. The giant carcass keeled over and Richard cringed as
the foot that had just nearly squished him came to rest an inch
from his face.

A few moments later, the city gates
opened and soldiers rushed out to make sure the dinosaur was dead.
A small brown boy and a taller dark brown girl stood over Richard
with concern in their eyes.
"My name is Ket." The boy said.

"I'm Sheba. Are you hurt?" The girl
asked.
Richard sat up and brushed the dirt off his hands, as blood
trickled from his broken nose.

"No worse for wear, I guess." Richard
replied, holding his nose.

He felt like a sledge hammer had
pounded him in the face, and he could barely see anything from the
swelling in his eyes, but he managed a wincing smile. He hoped
these people were going to be friendly, but with the ache in his
head Richard was almost beyond care. He could smell the stench of
the dead tyrannosaur and it made his stomach turn. His gut empty,
he leaned over and dry heaved, laying his head on cool grass as Ket
and Sheba looked at each other with worried expressions. Richard
felt a blackout coming until he looked up and saw a pair of boots
that resembled his own. His vision traveled up a white pant leg and
settled into the eyes of a beautiful woman wearing a protective
suit just like his.
"Lt. Colonel Moira Suthers. I'm guessing you're the cavalry?
Welcome to Earth, sir. We're about fifteen thousand years before
Christ." Moira said.
Richard took her hand as she helped him to his feet.
"Earth? How's that possible? I just came from there." Richard
said.

"The rift took us back in time. I
didn't believe it until I began to research this place, and I
learned all of the history they don't teach you in school. Want to
see Atlantis? It's a three minute flight from here." Moira
said.

"Once I eat something and get this
damned nose fixed. I feel like I was in a train wreck." Richard
said.
"Let's go to my home. My mother is the leader of this tribe, and
she's also a medicine woman." Sheba said.
"I've been here for a year and I can tell you that when you get
used to this place you're never going to want to go back home. Not
that we could anyway. I think the rift was a one-way ticket." Moira
said.
Richard walked next to her as they spoke.
"Something strange happened to me when I came through the rift, and
I think my ship almost got stuck. It felt like I lived my whole
life a hundred times." Richard said.

"Yeah, me too. I'm not sure how long I
was in there but it must have been a long time. Some space junk
came along and dislodged my ship, sending me forward. I don't like
talking about it. Nice to have someone from home here with me,
though. It's tough to have a shared experience from our time with
the Atlanteans, and Khemitians, especially when they're so much
more advanced than us, and have never been to the Earth of their
future. Their technology will embarrass you, I'm afraid, and the
hospitality of these people is unmatched in our time. I've seen
them care for each other in ways that I thought humanity wasn’t
capable of." Moira said.

"I'm still in a state of total shock
and awe. You'll have to fill me in on what you've found here, but
please, be gentle. I feel like an entire school of fish out of
water." Richard said.

They entered the city gates and
Richard's mouth dropped open at the beauty of pyramids far to the
north, and homes lining streets of gold constructed of glass and
stone. It was awe inspiring, and their architecture was like
nothing he had ever seen.
"I think I'm going to like it here." Richard said.
Moira turned and smiled. "Like I said. You'll never want to go
back. Come on, let’s go."

Richard, Moira, Ket, and Sheba will
return in the novel Eye of Time.

hell hath no
fury

My name is Suki Hiabashi, and until a
few months ago I was an assassin for the wealthy. There is a saying
that Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and I suppose that's
why I'm writing this tale. Humanity is on the precipice of a very
new world, one full of wonderful miracles, magic, and horror as we
enter a new age of man, and evolve into the creatures we were meant
to be. I’m leaving this for you to read and maybe you’ll understand
why I had to do the things I did.

As a little girl, my father trained me
in aikido in order to protect myself against what he called 'the
evils of this world'. We immigrated to America when I was three and
lived in a rundown neighborhood filled with gangs, drugs, and
prostitution.
My father went to work for a man named Martin Breswell as his
personal driver shortly after we arrived in the states. Martin was
made quite wealthy by his various investments, and because he was
compassionate, and liked my father, he got me into the same school
his son and daughter attended. This school was expensive, and when
my father explained that he didn't have the money, Martin just
laughed and told him that as long as he was working him Martin
would pay the tuition.

I attended the best pay-to-play
schools in Los Angeles but the high society life bored me, and my
family was never truly accepted by the ultra-wealthy. So, after
skipping my high school graduation I joined the Marines to become a
scout sniper, which was strictly verboten for women until 2019. I
was told that I didn't have the heart for combat because I'm a
woman, and that I was weak, so I smoked the entire male platoon on
the obstacle course on more than one occasion to prove my worth. In
the boxing ring I decked my drill sergeant, a man twice my size and
mean as a snake while our commanding officer was watching. My third
application for sniper school was approved the next day.

For eight years I killed people I
didn't know for God and country, finding that I enjoyed the
experience. I’d squeeze the trigger and seconds later a target’s
head popped open like grape and then I moved on to the next one.
When I was honorable discharged from the Marines I most missed the
sweet smell of gunpowder as my bullet left the barrel. As far as
I’m concerned, there is no deadlier aroma than gunpowder, and the
personal relationship I developed with my rifle was almost
spiritual. There was a kind of solitary peace being out in the
fresh air with just my spotter, on our own stalking the enemy. At
times, when I needed to clear my head, I would go by myself.
Sometimes targets were foot soldiers, or computer hackers, and one
time there had been a chemist, but to me it was a game of cat and
mouse. Their identities were irrelevant, and my commanders labeled
every one of them a terrorist or insurgent rebel.
After my honorable discharge, I felt it was a natural next step to
become a gun for hire, and besides, the pay was better. I worked
for a private security firm for a few years until the economic
collapse of 2032, and then the bottom fell out of normalcy. People
began to loot, burn, and tear their cities apart once the lights
went out, and I found myself working for Martin Breswell as his
personal bodyguard, and shortly I fell in love with his son, Peter.
We became very good friends as I watched over his father, and in my
off hours we began to date. I was against it at first, because I
knew it would be a conflict of interest, but Peter was wonderful to
me, and we had been close friends ever since we were children. I
loved his dark hair, and hypnotic blue eyes. I guess they were my
downfall.