This is my original work. The story isn't finished, so please try to be constructive with criticism.
http://www.mediafire.com/?zifhdogz5zxThese are the first chapters.
PROLOUGE:
A hiss seeped out of the machine as the red gas leaked from the output nozzles. The room was bleach white, with several blocks coming out of the floor for tables, with test tubes, chemicals and tools on them. “Take the Zthrinium core from the casing.” A man in a white radiation suit called to another man. He took pliers and expertly grasped the pure ore from a glass shell, and gently placed it into the open electromag drive. The Zthrinium slid down into the machine. The drive closed, and the alarm stating that the radiation level was safe sounded. The doors made an electrical noise, and opened. In through the door stepped a skeptical looking general, with an un-impressed look on his aged face. A scientist followed him.
“So what is does this thing do exactly, doctor Huxley?” The general asked while circling the machine.
“It reverses the electromagnetic energy fields in the atmosphere, and generates high velocity ‘rips’ in the space fabric, which in a rapid state, will counter act in making a sufficiently sized hole in space.” Huxley explained.
When the general gave him a side long glance, he stated,
“In short, it creates a wormhole.”
“Ah, interesting. How far are you in the process and production?”
“We can place a tracker into the wormhole, measure the distances, retrieve the coordinates, and use that data to possibly create portals which could potentially be used for teleportation.”
“What test is about to be conducted, Huxely?”
“We are about to test if it can create the wormhole. Let’s come into the other room now.”
Safely in the next room with a bullet-proof glass window, measuring a hearty 2.2 inches thick, they put on their goggles, and Huxley gave the command to begin.
“Check the CMX-3 Transmitter!” The general heard someone say.
There was a high pitched whirring sound and then, like a power down, a low vaporizing blast. The room grew dark, and the only light was from the worm whole. It was sustained for several seconds, until an alarm went off. One of the men shouted,
“We have a breech!”
A long gangly creature seeped out of the wormhole. There were yells to turn off the machine. The creature took two steps, surveying one of the men. He opened his clenched fist, and threw a ball-like object at the wall. The scientists stood, petrified. The ball blinked and chirped three times. There was a huge explosion. The general was thrown backwards into a metal shelf.
“We’ve gotta get out of here!” The doctor whispered to the general, both of whom were currently on the cold floor. The general clenched his bruised side. Huxley’s hands were bloody from the shattered bullet-proof glass on the ground. “Follow me.” The general caught the last glimpse of more creatures that were beginning to appear from the wormhole and other different dragon-like creatures crawling up into the ceiling, as the humans made their escape crawling through the door.
“But the wormhole,” the general insisted.
“We can’t! They’ll get us! We’ll call in a disinfectant team to exterminate them.”
“This is the future of earth, Huxley... if they start spreading; it’s on your life.” They ran down a few hallways, and came to an elevator with a hand and eye scanner. The doctor verified himself. The elevator door opened, revealing a huge beast crawling through the ceiling.
“Damn!” It eyed them, and struck.
CHAPTER ONE: A DAY AT THE MALL
“God, what’s takin’ her so long?” James Talon complained, gazing out the .
“Well, it’s been a while since she was here.” Joey offered lazily.
“Yeah, but we bought just as much, and im freaking hungry!” James proclaimed with a laugh.
“IT’S RIYO, MAN; C’MON! She and her friends take forever to shop!” Charlie laughed. Strip mall’s mammoth windows into the great Nevada clouds.
They had been at the mall all Sunday afternoon. The boys were in ‘Game-Gear’ a few stores down from ‘Silver Starr’ the shop the girls tended to reside. James idled a few seconds to exclaim, “Damn it…c’mon girls, I wanna get some pizza before we gotta leave!” James was a clever, yet lazy, sixteen year old. He brushed his brown hair back which was sleeking over his piercing hazel eyes. Hey, James, want anything from the Candy Corner?” Liam asked.
“Could you get me a crunch bar? Here’s a five” James called back to him, while giving him a crumpled 5 dollar bill, and a dime to him. His vintage high-top Chuck-T’s squeaked as he traversed the distance of the stores. His heavy military jacket with the master sergeant badge and the Heaven 17 patch on the arm shook back and forth with each step.
“Hey, nice Sabbath shirt kid!” the older girl at the counter remarked, as James passed, looking up from her magazine.
“Thanks. It was my dads.” He looked around and saw Riyo, along with Becky and Steph, looking around the hydrogen inhalants (legal for anyone 16 and up; they were the new mass addiction. They succeeded cigarettes.), XRD (Xenotrax Recording Discs) and t-shirts.
“C’mon Riyo!” he sighed. “Lee and I gotta go!” James stumbled.
“ALRIGHT!!! Damn James, do you always have to be hungry!”
James and Liam walked from the mall to James’s house.
“Heh, short walk huh?” Liam stated.
“Yeah, last time I thought it was longer…eh, whatever. Wanna jam?” James asked.
“Sure, if it’s ok.” He replied.
“Oh of course it is. My mom doesn’t care.” James stepped up to his front door with Liam in his wake. He dug through his back pockets, looking for his key. He turned around to look at the setting crimson sun and the fluorescent colors in the sky as he searched his front pockets. All he felt was his cell phone, gum, and some change.
“Wow dude, check out the sunset.” James told him.
“Whoa, I haven’t seen one like that in while!” Liam marveled.
“Damn…” James thought. “I guess I didn’t take it then…Help me with this, would ya?”
“Sure.” James and Liam lifted up the steel bench slightly to reveal a key under one of the legs.
“Hold it, ok?” Liam told James.
“Yep” Liam let go and briskly grabbed the key. James continued holding it with one hand.
“Show-off” Liam bluntly stated.
James laughed as he slowly let the heavy 350 pound steel bench down with ease. He opened the door.
“Mo-om, I’m home!” James sang.
“Oh! James, I thought you weren’t going to be home until nine! It’s only seven; why did you come home?” His mother wondered aloud from the laundry room, a cordless comm on her ear and a basket of laundry signified her schedule.
“Well, I just thought that I’d hang out with Liam here.”
Liam announced his presence, “Hey Mrs. Talon.”
“Hello Liam.” She greeted, walking to the front door. Her smile was warmly welcoming.
“Ok, James, could you do the dishes for me?” Her hair was back in a bandana, and she was sporting an apron with a community of stains and splotches on it.
“Yeah, sure, mom” He sighed.
“I’ll help too,” Liam offered.
James’s mom left to do the wash.
“JAMES, JAMES!” His little brother Jack called to him.
“Hmm?” James answered.
“Hi, Liam!”
“Hi, Jack.”
“Could you help me on the Crazy Train chords on the guitar James?”
“Aw, c’mon! Later jack, we gotta do the dishes.” he replied.
Jack, 12, was only five feet tall. He was a boy who was brisk and cheery and still innocently unaware of all the harsh, greedy world that had to make life tough. That was James’ way of thinking since his father died in a past war.
“Can I help?” his bright, blue eyes shined.
“Of course Jack!”
They all pulled up their sleeves.
“So can I try the Highway one today?” Jack questioned.
“we’ll see, Jack. What wrong with the Flying V?”
“Nothing, it’s just I wanna play what you play with.”
“Well, we can practice when were done.”
“Ok, now,” James turned on his Marshall TSL Half-Stack, and put on his worn sunburst vintage strat. “What you should do, is slide down the fret board after you play the nines twice.” James showed Jack what he meant.
“Oh ok.” Jack understood.
“The hardest part of the song is the solo, and that’s not even that hard. Is there anything else that you don’t know on the song?” James asked Jack.
“Nah, I got the rest.” Liam played a blues riff on the bass while Jack followed with a 12 Bar shuffle, and James soloed in the B pentatonic scale over it.
After about three hours of playing with Jack and James, Liam deceided to sleep over, and go to school with James in the morning. “What should we do now James?” Jack asked.
“Well, we could watch a movie…” he walked over to his dive-disk selections on his shelf.
“We have a bunch. Pick whatever you’d like.” After jack carefully ran his finger by the boxes, he stopped at one that sounded different; the title read ‘Wings of a Dream’. James ran downstairs, put the movie in the player, and ran back to the foot of the steps. Jack was at the top, with both James’s sheets and his own, and he routinely threw them down. James attempted a catch, but the ball of sheets and pillows just fell apart when it hit him. When the movie ended, Jack was tired and even though it was only around eleven, since he had gotten up around seven, he went to bed. The boys stayed up till around 4, playing music, his relatively new HS6 game system and talking about who they’d most likely go out with next. James grabbed an energy drink from the fridge and tossed Liam one as they crashed on the two couches sitting opposite each other in the game room.
CHAPTER TWO: Intimidation aside…
James jumped awake to his comm in his pocket. The tv was still on, revealing a news alert for their county. He opened his eyes and pulled it out, glancing over to the slumbering Liam across the carpet from him, who had rolled up in a ball of blankets and pillows.
“General Reioko, here.” James answered.
“Sir! We’re picking up something you might wanna hear. It sounds like it’s an invasion, but we're not sure what-.” The troop had the comm taken from him and a new voice started talking.
“General, were screwed.”
“Continue report, Lieutenant.”
“This is an emergency transmission from Area 51 to the Pentagon:
Cabret to Pentagon, Cabret to Pentagon, Over-
Delta, Omega, Charlie, Gamma- over-
Mobilize all units, repeat, mobilize all units- over-
A Threat is upon the nation, over-
Class five Extraterrestrials- over-
The-y- --a—re ho-hostil-e-e-e forc- *transmission ended*
There was a breech in project ‘aurora’; the wormhole worked well: too well. They have come through. God know’s why they’re here, but they made it through. General, they‘ve got biopathogenics.” There was a pause, a single instant of fear in the courageous generals heart.
“But…how…the wormhole requires an extremely concentrated amount of Zithrinium...How are they getting it?”
“There must be a mine here somewhere. Maybe that’s why there here, maybe they use it on their planet and figure they could use ours. It looks like we got 3 days Reioko. We're waiting your orders.” Reioko was silent for a long moment.
“Sir?”
“…Get me the Major.”
“Yessir!” There was along pause.
“Major Alenth Rinehart, General, awaiting orders.”
“Major…Rinehart, have we ever worked before?”
“No sir.”
“Right…Ok Rinehart, listen up. These things are going to kill us all, unless you do a good job, so take my orders seriously. I want all of the R M’s on every goddamn station in desert. Area 51 screwed us again. Have the 31st airborne patrolling the skylines of the major cities; have the whole site zeroed. Keep ‘em outta sight until the nation’s public identifies the ET’s, the cloaking devices don’t wear out, so keep ‘em on. Those Rangers need to be on the scene and shutting down the base by tomorrow. Burn it, blow it up, whatever. We don’t need an outbreak. Make sure that goddamn portal is down, and stays that way. Send more of the R M’s to the earth outpost. Becareful about the biopathogens. I’d like a report on what in hell’s name they’ve got, I wanna know if it’s a syndrome or a Rc7.”
“Im sending the orders delta sir!”
“Rinehart, I’d like to meet who I’m commanding. So in two days, you’ll meet me at GR-Four.”
“Yessir!” He shut off his comm. Eventually, his tired eyes fell heavy and he drifted back to sleep. He instantly dreamt. Dark shadows on a battlefield, blasting away other creatures. Blood was spilling out of open wounds, cascading out of eyes and noses, and a single officer stood on a hilltop, his staff ascended high. Another creature ran behind a rock. A bomb Smashed near him. His skin faded black, his mouth ran dry and his eyes went dark as his mouth, and eyes were spewing blood, his ears rang.
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” His eyes shot open. His body ached like it got hit by a truck. Cold sweat was all over him. Jack scrambled into the room.
“James!! What’s wrong!?” he yelled. James looked around, shaken by his vision.
“James?”
“I had a nightmare…”
Suddenly, his alarm went off, and he swiftly tapped the button.
“Ok then…god you’re a weird brother. You’re gonna miss the bus!” Jack laughed, walking away and down the steps. James walked to the window and looked out to see the very gloomy, overcast winter day.
“Well, one more normal day.”
James opened his closet and took out some clothes. Giving his hair a quick once over, he glanced at the clock once again.
“Damn.”
Slipping on his Chuck-Ts, he ran down the stairs, shouting, “Bye Mom!” grasped the door.
“James, wait! You have to eat something!” His Mom ran after him handing him a piece of toast. “Have a good day at school, honey,” she sent-off, kissing his head.
The bus was just about to pull away and James sprinted to catch it. Jumping on, he found a seat near the front of the bus, next to a girl from his English class, Kelly.
“Hi James,” she greeted pleasantly, looking up from the book she was reading.
“Hey, Kelly,” James answered, shoving the toast into his mouth.
“Hey James, what are you sitting with Kelly for? You want to catch fleas or something?” James didn’t have to turn around to know who yelled that; Jeff Clinton. A verbal antagonist who never insulted James personally, but felt the need to make fun of virtually everyone else in school. Finishing his toast, Reioko retorted, “
Jeff, that’s what people love about you: you’re such a gentleman,” Turning to Kelly, who’d turned a bright shade of red, he comforted,
“Don’t listen to that guy. He’s just another jerk.”
“Thanks, James,” she blushed, turning back to her book.
James always stood out that way; he always stood up for people. Ever since his Dad died, James felt compelled to do the right thing. He was an optimist, he felt he had to defend people, especially people who couldn’t defend themselves. Thinking about his Dad, James remembered the dream he’d had last night.
“Biopathogenic warfare…” His stomach turned for a sudden moment. He knew what that meant; disease, death, brutalization, and intergalactic war. But James ‘Reioko’ Talon knew that earth stood no fair chance against a class 5 ET like the Horoko. He got off the bus, and looking to the ground, heard the bus driver, Ms. Rosemary, rhetorically say,
“Have a good day.” He walked up to the column with a small 15 ft. overhang over the door. Through the stairwell, taking a quick glance out of the mid-staircase window, James seeing the other two schools a couple of miles away across the hills. He walked up the rest of the stairs, and turned the corner to the 10th grade C team corridor. He walked to the end of the busy hallway with the opening in the middle for another stairwell, where the bathrooms were. Everyone who saw him waved to him. James stopped at his locker letting his school bag fall from his shoulder, catching it before it bottomed. 33-40-17… his locker opened as he pulled on the old forty year old handle. He grabbed his social studies textbook and went next door.
After three hours of contemplating his orders, he realized they weren’t safe. He was leaving before matters began to pulse with war and destruction.
James was now in B-period Algebra. Slowly, his teacher made his way to James’s usual front-row desk to check homework.
“James, did you go to Pearl Jam’s concert Friday night?” Mr. Groden inquired.
“Yeah, it was awesome! Did you see the fireworks?”
“Yeah, those were amazing. I first saw those guys back in 2004 and they’ve only gotten better. Thank god for age reclamation though, eh?” Mr. Groden chuckled, walking back from the cabinets to his desk with some papers.
“Ok,” James disclosed, turning to Charlie and Joe once Mr. Groden was out of a earshot, “Here’s the plan: Joey I need you to go to the nurse’s office-she’s not there yet-and get all the first aid kits. Charlie, go to the maintenance room and grab tools that we might need. As for me, I’m going to tell everyone. We’ll meet in the courtyard in 10 minutes.” James casually snuck out.
“So which one this time? Am I Sick, student council assembly, music room?” Charlie asked Joey.
“We haven’t done sick in a while.”
Grabbing his stomach and moaning, Joey walked over to Mr. Groden. “I think I’m gonna throw-up. I knew I shouldn’t have eaten those chicken fritters at lunch!”
“Charlie, take Joey to the nurse’s office, please? I don’t want any incidents for the maintenance guys; after last week’s honors party, they’re already mad at me,” Mr. Groden worried.
After waiting a few seconds, James gingerly walked up and asked, “Could I go to the bathroom?”
“Sure. Take the pass.” Mr. Groden nonchalantly pointed to the pass James walked down the hall with various projects and assignments ‘proudly’ displayed on the walls. He walked past several people in the hallway. Some nodded, but most ignored him. Suddenly, while passing a senior girl, James could distinctly hear a loud explosion, from far away. The hell? James thought as he looked around. Nothing… The girl didn’t seem to hear it.
James turned a corner to find the boy’s room. He looked under all the stalls for legs; and luckily, there were no occupants of the stalls. He picked the largest stall and walked in. James examined the harsh writing on the wall.
“Earth, today,; so cruel.” He murmured to himself”, he stewed. Flipping open his orange fang, he sent Riyo a text message.
Riyo, Meet me at south olds and Columbia, ASAP
-James
P.S.: School can wait another day.
“Be careful…” he muttered to himself. He reluctantly put his phone in his pocket.
“Hey! You can’t go in here!” The Principal called to Charlie.
He froze in his step, which was halfway in the doorway of the maintenance room.
“Damn…Mrs. Naples…there’re gonna be serious questions if she doesn’t believe me…” Charlie thought. He thought for the half second he had.
“The maintenance guy sent me down to get some of his tools ‘cause he’s gotta fix a desk.”
The teacher glared over down her glasses a few more seconds, suspicious.
“…Fine,” she gave in. And pursing her lips, she went on her way.
Once in the room, Charlie gazed at the tools. He walked to the back and took off his empty backpack. He started grabbing things from off the shelves
And placed them in his bag. “Socket wrench…ratchet…might need that…screwdriver…definitely need that…drill, drill bits…”
Meanwhile, Joey arrived at the nurses’ office, and took a pin out of his pocket. “Yes! Finally, I get to sharpen my lock picking skills!” He stuck the pin in the keyhole. He twisted it around, and stared at it with his tongue out, transfixed. Click! A wide grin shaped across his face. He opened the door, looking around him, and with the coast clear, he walked in and closed the door behind him.
“This’ll be great! Well be set for the year with all this!” He grasped his bag and opened the cabinet. He grabbed at least 20 boxes of bandages and gauze, alcohol swabs, pain killers, penicillin, amoxicillin, and other antibiotics. He hurriedly left.
They all went outside, where, on select days, they would eat during C period lunch.
Seeing Liam, Charlie and Joey enter the courtyard, James jumped hurried over. They went over the gate, and glancing around, hopped over the 10 foot fence.
“Yea, I know im not in the A.G.R. but I think I could still fight.” Liam promised to James.
“Yea, right, like we would let you stay?” James returned to him.
He wouldn’t have gone without any of them.
Charlie Rose, Asian, 15, was the smarter, the more intelligent one of the four; which is how he got his nickname; ‘Merk- short for Mercian Engineer, the highest class of engineer in the caste system of the Galactic Republic Army. He was incredibly good with machinery. His hair was straight, forming a point at the top, with bangs coming down over his face.
Joey Beckkett, American, 16, on the other hand, was like a cross between the three. Mostly though, he was much more of James then he was Charlie or Liam. He was rowdy, rude and rough. There was only one word to completely get the full understanding of what Joey was like; crazy. He would jump in the line of fire, put himself on the line to save someone he was supposed to care about (despite ever showing forms of affection to other than his friends) and get both their sorry asses out of the thick. He was manically deviant, and gracefully crafty; it was almost a talent.
Liam Haley, Irish/American, 16, Liam and James were the best friends you could possibly be. Liam was 110% supportive of James, James likewise to Liam. Liam was just as much a rock-head as James was. Only somehow, Liam finessed the hardest people to make cooperate. He always knew just which way to pull their strings. All together, the four were inseparable. The four of them loved to play music together. James was lead guitar, Charlie was rhythm guitar, Joey was on drums, and Liam was the vocals and bass. They would sleep over someone’s house and bring all the gear they could; guitar picks, cords and tuners. They were the best of friends and that would never change.
The four boys went past dozens of stores and shops, until finally, they reached the girls.