Sunset Rising
Authors: S.M. McEachern
Sunset Rising
Book One
Cop
yright 2012 by S.M. McEachern
Clownfish Publishing
All rights reserved.
S.M. McEachern’s blog:
http://smmceachern.wordpress.com
Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17312777-sunset-rising
“Sunset Rising is thrilling; there is no better word for it. Romance, intrigue, and action all come together beautifully here to create an experience that will leave anyone asking for more.” – Molly Burkemper for “Readers Favorite”
“Sunset Rising is a rollercoaster ride with a terrifying drop at the end. A beautiful love story filled with danger and horror. The Greatest Book I’ve Ever Read.” – Selina Liaw, Book Blogger and Goodreads reviewer
“How is this not on every bestseller list yet? Listen to me now, please … if you love Dystopian YA novels READ THIS BOOK!” – Paula Fetty-King, Goodreads reviewer
“REAL RATING OF THIS BOOK – 7 OUT OF 5 STARS!!!” – Zeina Issa, Goodreads reviewer
“I am shocked this is this author’s first book… I would rank this book up among some of my other favorites, such as… Suzanne Collins ‘The Hunger Games’ and Neal Shusterman’s ‘Unwind.’ This page turner is a must read!” – Kerry Kerr MacAvoy, Author and Goodreads reviewer
Date:
February 16, 2024
Benjamin Reyes wasn’t the kind of man to tell people
I told you so
, but everything he’d predicted was coming true. No one in the Valley had ever liked him. The kids made fun of him and called him “the hermit.” The adults talked about him, too, but never to his face. They all thought he was crazy. So when he told the town a global nuclear war was imminent, they all laughed at him.
Th
eir ignorance dumbfounded him. Didn’t they watch the news? All they had to do was connect the dots. People were suffering the effects of climate change all over the world. In some countries, people were being killed daily by massive flooding; and in others, scores of people were dying because of drought. Countries with abundant water were reluctant to share because they feared that one day they too would face a drought. People all around the world were dying from the famine and disease brought on by the misery of human suffering. Instead of helping each other, countries all around the world strengthened their military defenses and threatened war.
News reports that one country or another was threatening to launch a nuclear attack had become
commonplace. No one paid much attention to it anymore. Except Benjamin Reyes. He always paid attention. He paid attention to all the military vehicles and aircraft coming through the Valley and up into the mountain. No one else found that suspicious. Military vehicles had been coming up and down the mountain for as long as anyone could remember. Everyone knew the government had some kind of secret base up there, and no one questioned it. Why would they? The people trusted their leaders.
However, during the past week
, Benjamin had noted that the vehicles were going up the mountain but weren’t coming back down. So he started warning everyone in the Valley, but they just laughed at him… until they turned on their televisions and saw a tearful President Taylor giving the news that bombs were falling. She urged everyone to take cover then asked God to bless them all.
Benjamin knew where they could find cover
, and people were finally listening to him.
The entire Valley
population followed the path that the military vehicles had taken and walked up the mountain for hours. Mothers and fathers shared the load of carrying babies. Older children helped smaller ones. The elderly had to try to keep up on their own. No one brought any personal belongings; there was no time.
Eventually,
the road ended at a hangar that appeared to have been carved out of the side of the mountain. Military personnel were busily trying to fit helicopters and large trucks into an already cramped space. The civilians surprised them. The soldiers weren’t sure what to do until they were given the order to force the civilians back. The refugees would not be granted entry.
The civilians continued to push forward, desperate to get
to safety with their children. Someone shouted the order to fire on them. Reluctantly, soldiers armed themselves and sent a hail of bullets into the oncoming crowd.
Benjamin Reyes grabbed as many children as he could
and hid them behind vehicles still parked on the tarmac. He shouted for the people still coming up the mountain to turn back, but they kept coming. A rumble from the sky announced the arrival of the first of the nuclear missiles. Panic spread through the crowd, and the clash between military and civilian became more desperate.
Finally, the soldiers stopped firing
, and Benjamin peeked out from behind the truck and saw people being let into the hangar. He took the smallest children by the hand and bid the rest to follow him. Bodies lay where they’d fallen all along the tarmac, and he had to pick his way through them to get the children safely inside the Dome.
“Three more minutes,
and those doors are shut. I don’t care what the president says,” a well-decorated general said to a group of soldiers.
Benjamin realized that no
t everyone would be saved. Thousands were still coming up the mountain. Three minutes later, he watched helplessly as the soldiers shut the doors, drowning out the screams of the people left on the tarmac. He thought he would be sick.
“I am General
Edward Holt,” a voice boomed over a loudspeaker. The refugees quieted, anxious to hear what the general had to say. “Nuclear bombs have begun to reach our country’s major cities. You are very lucky to have found refuge here, for which you can thank President Julia Taylor. This is a bio-dome capable of supporting life for as long as we need it. Forget about your homes and whatever family you’ve left behind. These doors must remain sealed for at least the next thousand years.”
Sobs
among the crowd turned to panic as the severity of their situation dawned on the civilians. The world as they knew it was ending.
“However
!” the general yelled over the cries of the people. He only continued when the room became silent and he had their attention. “Your arrival was unexpected, and we’ll have to make room for you. Until we can work that out, you’ll have to stay here in the hangar.”
The
ir stay in the hangar lasted days, but they were given food, water, and bedrolls. Children found ways to entertain themselves, and the adults comforted each other. Everyone thanked Benjamin Reyes for leading them to the Dome. So when General Holt returned and asked to speak with their leader, Benjamin was unanimously elected. Reluctantly, Benjamin accepted the position and met with General Holt in private.
“I am sorry to say that Presi
dent Taylor is dead,” the general said. “Although I suspect you already knew that.”
“The p
resident is dead?” Benjamin asked, shocked. “I thought she was here, inside the Dome.”
“She was safe inside the Dome, or at least we thought she was
, until she let in a bunch of civilians. Don’t try to deny that it was all of you who killed her. You’re trying to take over the Dome.”
The accusation hung in the air between th
e two men while Benjamin collected his thoughts. “General, that isn’t true! No one has even left the hangar. We’re under constant guard.”
“I am
‘President’ Holt now. You may address me as ‘Mr. President.’”
Benjamin was getting an uneasy feeling
about this man. He knew that no one in the hangar could have harmed President Taylor. However, General Holt had an entire army behind him and plenty of opportunity to kill her. And why had the general advanced to the presidency instead of Vice President Kenner? The whole situation put him on edge.
“Now that I’m p
resident, I simply won’t tolerate your mutiny. But I’m not coldhearted enough to send you all out into a world toxic with radiation. So I’ve drawn up a treaty, which clearly defines how you will live inside this Dome. It’s not negotiable. Take it or get out.”
The p
resident produced the document and a pen.
“May I at least read it?”
Benjamin asked.
Holt
nodded his consent.
The terms of the t
reaty designated a place called the Pit for the civilians to live in. Living quarters would be constructed immediately, and everyone would be given food and water rations. In return, they would mine the Pit for coal. The crude resource would be fed into gasifiers and turned into a liquid gas, which was needed for the replicators. It would also serve as the main source of fuel until the nuclear winter was over and solar energy could be harvested.
The last part of the treaty
outlined a Cull. The treaty stated that the elderly, defined as anyone who had reached the age of fifty, were considered a drain on resources and a liability rather than an asset. Therefore an annual Cull would be held in order to maintain sustainable use of resources and control population growth.
Benjamin’s eyes widened with shock
as the realization of what the general was proposing sank into his numbed mind. “You can’t possibly think we would agree to being killed at fifty?”
“With your arrival, there are now
two hundred sixty-seven people we didn’t count on living inside this Dome. When the Dome was built, great care was taken to ensure that it could sustain a growing population. Population models were based on the initial three hundred people who were approved to be here. Now we have a population of five hundred sixty-seven, and we’re only in our first week. You see the problem, I’m sure.”
He wondered if the rules in the Pit would apply to those living in the Dome as well as in the Pit.
“So
everyone
in the Dome agrees to be Culled?”
“You needn’t concern yourself with how I run th
e Dome. Your only concern right now is signing that treaty. If you don’t, you’ll all be out today.”
Benjamin knew
Holt wasn’t joking. They were already under constant guard by his soldiers—the same soldiers who willingly opened fire on them when the general gave the command. As president, he would have even more power. But how could Benjamin sign? He tried to think of how many people he had seen who looked to be fifty or older, but all he could remember was the children. Even in the face of global doom, they were adapting to their new environment, playing the games that children play, somehow immune to the misery going on around them. It was for them that he had to sign. So he did. Benjamin himself was sixty-five. He was signing his own death warrant.
After he signed, he was told
that the first Cull would take place the next day. Holt was generous enough to give him time to break the news to the people and let them say their goodbyes. They were all shown to the Pit, their new living quarters. They were marched through the massive main floor of the Dome, with its modern architecture, all open and airy with lights bright enough to mimic the sun’s rays. Comfortable furniture was scattered about the large room, which was dominated by a fireplace with a simulated fire burning in it. But the room was still under construction.
“What are they building?”
Benjamin asked one of the soldiers.
“A barrier to keep you
urchins out,” the soldier said.
“So we return to the feudal system of the bourgeoisie,” Benjamin mused.
The civilians were marched past the construction, down a narrow hall, and through a door. It was as though they entered a different world, one which was dark, cold, and damp. The Pit was nothing more than the first two levels of a hollowed-out mine. There was no place to sleep, except on the cold, damp stone.
“President Holt promised us living quarters,” Benjamin
said.
“And you’ll get them as soon as they can be replicated.
So you had better get mining. The replicators can’t work without coal,” the soldier said, then laughed.
Benjamin covered his eyes
with his hands, overwhelmed by these inhumane conditions. He shook his head, wondering what in God’s name he had done to these people. Maybe it would have been kinder not to have signed the treaty. Maybe it would have been better to let them take their chances outside.
With growing dread
, he realized he was one of the lucky ones. Suddenly, the Cull didn’t seem so bad after all.