Around the world, the ancient temples and relics of the planet were rising. Where the Great Pyramids were located, destruction ensued from the earth-shaking hydraulics of the pillars beneath. The ancient Sphinx crumbled into dust as the pyramids rose higher and higher into the sky.
The pyramids were raised nearly 2000 feet into the air, higher than the tallest buildings in the world. Many of the stones surrounding the pyramids had collapsed, leaving only the central pieces intact, with a skeletal remnant of the former structure. Light was building within the pyramid structures as the energy powering it was about to be released.
Around the world, other structures rose higher and higher into the air, much the same. The structures were an apparatus for pure energy, the likes of which the world had never seen. At least not for the world of today. The Atlanteans knew all too well what the apparatus was and what it could be used for. Rapha knew that once the machines were activated, the end would come soon.
"So, this is the long-awaited ending?" Moses asked.
Rapha looked on as the screens displayed the apparatus's deployments around the world. Once all are in place, the energy release becomes critical and has to be distributed worldwide. However, the apparatus was always meant to have a channel for conducting energy to supply power. Unlimited power sources throughout the world, allowing cities to thrive for thousands, even millions of years. But the channel was not in place. In other words, when the energy goes critical, it will go to the nearest conductor it can find: carbon-based lifeforms.
"Yes," Rapha replied. "The energy will run its course, and millions, even billions, will die."
"And how will we rescue those you mentioned, Rapha?" Enoch said.
Rapha and Moses looked at him.
"You said those who are not deserving will be spared."
Rapha nodded in agreement. "Move the vessels into position."
The seven vessels moved from their orbital positions, with the diamond-shaped grid still surrounding the planet. Each vessel began going through the grid at different points around the planet to prepare for the rescue effort.
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"Their ships are moving into new positions around the planet. They must be trying to figure out how they can stop this process," Rob said.
"There is no stopping the process," Pat replied.
"Regardless, I'm going to take precautions. I'm going back to Washington."
"Columbia is doomed already, Rob. There's no point going back there. The destruction caused by the attack and the volcanic eruption will make that entire continent uninhabitable."
"All just the same, we may need some of the weapons there to assist with whatever they try to do next."
Pat laughed, "The weapons of this world are no use against them. You'll see, but if it makes you feel better, go ahead and go."
Rob scoffed at Pat's statement, then proceeded to a chamber to teleport to Washington.
"He's always been skittish," Britton said.
"It doesn't matter. Soon, we'll channel enough energy to destroy those vessels and much of the life on this planet. They can't stop the inevitable."
"We don't know exactly what those vessels are, Pat. I've never seen anything like them before."
"It's still made by them."
"So were we."
Pat looked at Britton. "Just wait and see."
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The towers were now in position, allowing the rumbling to stop. On the ground near the structures, people of all races, creeds, and religions stood nearby. They looked up at the gigantic towers and the ruins they left in their wake. Things were now peaceful again, for the moment. At the site of Teotihuacan, people stood in awe of the giant structure that rose from the planet, only to destroy the ancient relic. The city near the ruins was now in chaos with fires and smoke rising from different parts of it, after the shaking of the ground leveled some buildings and killed hundreds to thousands. That's when the hum began.
A low hum began coming from the tower, and electrical energy could be seen rising within the pillar structure. The tower began to glow with a white, radiant light as the hum grew louder. A ball of energy began to form at the top of the tower, growing in brightness. People nearby began shielding their eyes with their hands to reduce the light shining down. The hum turned into a buzz, then a screech. This prompted people to cover their ears now and, in some cases, to bring them to their knees.
Without a channel to coordinate the flow of energy rising from the planet's core, the energy produced had no regulation. The budding orb of now-white-hot energy was growing to critical mass and would soon unleash its fury. As one man looked up at the tower, his family close to him, the screeching subsided and the orb condensed. A silence fell for an instant. Then, as if a bomb went off, the orb expanded to a mile-wide perimeter. Anything within this mile zone was vaporized instantly. Then the orb began shooting out large lightning bolts in all directions. The lightning perturbations began generating cloud cover, providing a conduit for its fury. What was happening was that, because of the city's population distribution, the cloud was forming over the carbon-based channels below: the people. The lightning began striking people down in the streets as they ran for cover, finding none.
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Linda, Dana, Allie, and Chad were riding in an Argo J18 to Jezreel, where the Fleece orbited three thousand feet above the ground. The Argo was self-propelled, allowing the occupants to focus on each other while the vehicle took them to their destination. With headlights shining in the deeper darkness of the day, the vehicle moved forward.
"So, I do have a question," Dana began. "How exactly are we going to get into the Fleece once we get there?"
Linda looked over at her, "Jay will provide a way."
Dana rolled her eyes and looked away, "Well, that's reassuring."
"Look, I can't explain it all, I just know we have to get there, as fast as possible. Can this thing go any faster?"
Dana looked down at the speedometer, "We're already traveling 200 kilometers per hour. I guess we could if you want to die on the way there."
Linda gave Dana a look, "Make it go faster."
"Ok, Jim," Dana asked the vehicle she nicknamed Jim.
"Yes, Dana, how can I be of assistance?" Jim responded.
"Can you increase the speed to 250 kilometers per hour?"
A red warning light came on as Jim spoke, "Dana, that speed exceeds safety limits for travel on land. We are currently at the maximum safe speed. Increasing speed is not recommended."
"I understand, but this is an emergency, Jim. We must go faster."
Another red light came on from the dashboard, illuminating the entire edge of the dashboard and the windshield.
This display of lights caught Allie and Chad's attention as they looked up from their devices.
"What is that?" Chad asked.
"Weather Alert: A large storm is forming in the area, with severe lightning a strong possibility. Seek shelter immediately," Jim replied.
All of the passengers looked out the windows and through the top of the vehicle. The storm clouds seemed to come out of nowhere and looked intense.
"Mom!" Allie said.
"Stay calm, Allie. Take a storm pill if you need to."
Allie frantically looked through her bag next to her for one of the pills. Chad watched her do this and thought to himself, She still believes those are anti-storm pills?
Just then, a huge bolt of lightning struck only one hundred feet from the vehicle, with a loud, roaring thunder clap. The rush of air momentarily nudged the vehicle, setting off all kinds of warning lights.
"Jim! Silence all alarms and increase speed to 250 kilometers per hour, NOW! Authorization Code: TAYSBAYB," Dana yelled out as Allie screamed, and the others held on.
Linda looked at Dana, "TAYSBAYB?"
"I really loved this boy band growing up. It's a long story."
The vehicle shot forward at greater speed, lightning striking all around. What they didn't know was that every time a lightning bolt struck, it vaporized a human being.
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Jay approached Rapha and the others on the vessel.
"Where are we now?"
"We're over one of the major cities, attempting to begin the rescue efforts from the remnants. They are unleashing pure energy everywhere on the planet."
Jay looked at the screen, watching the lightning bolts impacting every second in different locations. Rapha's vessel was currently over one city, trying to rescue survivors aboard.
Jay saw numbers appear in the upper-right corner. "What do those numbers mean?"
"Those numbers tell us the number of bolts per second, speed of the bolts, intensity, strength..."
"What about the bigger number, Rapha, that just keeps going up?"
"Those are deaths, Jay."
Jay looked at the number; it was now crossing 300 million human beings. All of these deaths had happened in only an hour, and were still going on.
"There's got to be something else we can do; this doesn't seem fast enough, Rapha."
"Agreed, we need to go to the source."
The vessel began moving away from the city. The dome of protection the vessel had been providing was left with it, and lightning bolts began tearing through the streets, killing hundreds and thousands within minutes.
"All vessels, this is Rapha, change coordinates to the following location. Rendezvous there."
Jay looked at the coordinates provided, "You're going to Jezreel."
"Yes, we have to confront them."
"Will that stop the energy from creating the storms?"
"As I've said, Jay, there is no way to stop it once it starts. Everyone on this planet will die soon, no matter what we do now. Our goal is to stop the SIC once and for all. That begins with you."
"My confrontation with Britton."
"Yes."
"How am I supposed to do that? She is in the Fleece, in my body."
"Yes, and we are going to incapacitate the Fleece and her so you can confront her."
"You mean in a dream."
"Yes. Get ready, it won't be long before we arrive."
Jay looked at the screen and saw the vessel streaking across the ocean, with landmasses coming into view and lightning storms all around. He knew Linda and his children were on their way to the same location. This may prove to be the only way to save them and anyone else. Jay hurried back to where he had been induced to sleep to meet with Linda. This time, however, he was going to face off with a woman he had long wanted to confront.
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Linda, Dana, Allie, and Chad were driving full tilt toward Jezreel. Once they passed one part of the countryside, they saw the Fleece come into view, hovering above the city.
"There it is!" Dana yelled while pointing.
But as the vehicle crested the hill, they saw something else on the ground and in the air before them. A large legion of Cals had the road blocked, and drones above were standing by. The robots' objective was clear: no one was to get close to Jezreel or the Fleece.
"Oh no!" Linda yelled.
"Guys, we can't keep going at them. They'll start firing on us, and this car won't last a minute against it."
"What do we do?" Linda asked Dana.
"Jim, stop the car now," Dana ordered.
"Registering all stop," Jim responded.
The vehicle was now sitting in the middle of the road, with the legion of Cals just miles ahead. For the moment, the vehicle had gone down into a lower part of the road where rolling hills obscured the view.
"Jim, are there any alternate routes we can take to enter Jezreel?"
Jim calculated, "Negative. All routes are currently closed. Would you prefer another destination?"
"What about off-road?" Linda asked.
"Off-road?" Dana asked back.
"Yes, is this one set up for that, Four Wheel Drive and all?"
"Jim, ready the off-road package."
"Off-road package engaging. Tire capacity has been adjusted for all terrain. Four Wheel Drive is set. Please note the following off-road routes available."
One route got them close to Jezreel, and that might be enough. It would be up to Jay to get them the rest.
"Jim, set the following selected course. Engage at maximum safe speed to pursue."
"Understood, Dana. Route is plotted, engaging at 75 kilometers per hour."
The vehicle turned right and began moving along the dirt trail through the wilderness, heading towards Jezreel. Linda looked back toward the direction of the Cals to see if any were pursuing. She couldn't tell from her angle.
"Do you think they saw us?" Linda asked Dana.
"I really hope not."
Just then, proximity alerts showed up on the dashboard."Another vehicle is closing in. Use caution on this terrain," Jim said.
Two Cal vehicles slammed into either side of the Argo J18, warping the metallic fenders and shattering glass on the sides. Everyone inside the J18 vehicle screamed during the collision. The three vehicles pressed on down the trail towards Jezreel, but behind them, multiple other Cal robots and drones were in pursuit. It was only a matter of time before they destroyed the vehicle and all of the occupants within.
Amid her children's and her friend Dana's screams, Linda looked up at the sky and saw the bright stars closing in on Jezreel. A sense of calm came over Linda as she saw the vessels approaching.
"Help us, Jay. Please!"
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On board the Fleece, Pat and Britton watched as the seven vessels approached from the west over the sea.
Britton gave an order, "Ready all weapons, full strength. Prepare to attack the incoming vessels."
The computer chimed off coordinates to Britton, "All vessels are in firing range, Supreme Imperial Chancellor."
"You may commence your attack."
The Fleece's weapons roared to life quickly and began opening fire on the incoming vessels. The seven vessels were taking direct hits but sustaining no damage. It was not clear whether some form of shielding was assisting with this, or whether the vessels were simply impenetrable. But the Fleece was having no effect in slowing the vessels down.
"Nothing's happening, Pat!"
"You actually thought something would?" Pat said, smiling.
Then, from the seven vessels at once, a large blast emanated. Just one shot aimed directly at the Fleece. The blast knocked the Fleece off its axis, sending it spinning and crashing into the ground. Inside, Pat and Britton were thrown about like rag dolls. Upon the crash, both Pat and Britton were unconscious.
When Britton began to arouse, she reached up and touched her head. She knew she had hit it hard and expected a gash there from the side of the object she had hit. She also expected a lot of destruction around her from the damage to the Fleece. Amazingly, though, there was no damage. She also did not have a head gash. However, she looked at herself and noticed a change. Her body was no longer Jay's; she was in her old body, looking like the woman she had been before Rapha made her vanish. Her clothing was similar, but she was no longer in the reality she knew. As she looked around, confused, someone called out to her.
"Hello, there."
Britton looked up at the voice and saw a man standing before her. The man was Jay, the body she had been in just a few moments ago.
Jay smiled at her and said, "I bet you're really confused right now, aren't you, Britton?"
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