Earth To Unknown

The Genesis...or is it?

A/N : This is the first book I am truly committed to. acknowledging it might not be the best work here, but I believe I'll improve with your support.

~A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself within." - Will & Ariel Durant~

Ah, yes, power-the bane of our very existence. Power saves, power's good, power kills, power protects... Wait, what? Power kills? Yes, it kills; it killed us.

So, in whatever galaxy or universe you're in, take my message as a "what not to do 101" or a "cursed physics project Bible/Al-Quran" (or whatever you call your religious books over there).

I'm from Earth, one of the 100 billion planets in the Milky way galaxy. We're a very advanced species; guess that might change to "were" in a bit. I beam this message signal through the universe with my last breath. It might take hundreds, even thousands, or millions of light-years for this message to get to you.

You might be wondering why I sent you this message. Okay, I've never been much of a storyteller, but here goes.

5 years earlier

My ADHD-fueled mind was reeling at variable great speeds, taking in the subtle movements of my opponent. The adrenaline coursing through my veins gave me a much-needed energy boost.

The fearsome predator grew tired of just watching me. The cat pounced at me, trying to take me out with a swipe of its wicked-looking clawed paw. I dodged, diving and dropping to the ground, tackling the cat from its underside, and rolling it over. Tom let out a string of angry meows. Yeah, it's actually a cat. Oh, you thought it was a big cat? Maybe a lion?

"There he is," Dr. Richards, my dad, said, his white lab coat flapping as he walked towards me, running his hand through my hair.

"Stop ruining my hair," I fake-pout but fail, giggling.

"Yeah, yeah. Listen, I've to go now. I'm making a deal with some pretty important people," he said apologetically.

"I understand, science, right?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I know today was supposed to be our day, but I'll make it up to you. Promise."

"Stay with Stacey (his secretary) in the lab," he continued, leaving for his transport.

"Tom, want to do something mischievous?" I ask the feline currently leaving scratch marks on some furniture.

"Meow," he agreed.

I sneak into the Jeep's™ boot with Tom. It's going to be a long ride.

________________________________

Somewhere in the Mojave desert, California.

July 7, 0500 hours.

The airborne sand particles stung like small buckshots, the whip flags mounted on the Jeep™ Wranglers were whipping in the air like angry snakes.

"Are they here yet?" Dr. Richards asked at the top of his voice. They'd been waiting for several minutes at their rendezvous, but the soldier had already opened the door, allowing the howl of the desert wind to take every decibel of his question and scatter it among the blowing sand.

Just then, seven government-plated Humvees drove closer in a convoy.

Dr. Richards too stepped out of the vehicle, with one hand holding his hat to his head and the other shielding his eyes from the airborne sand grains.

"Dr. Travis Richards? Lieutenant Wes?" The man alighting from the first Humvee wearing an all-black suit and sunglasses asked.

"Yes, I am he," Dad answered in the affirmative.

"It's actually Captain-" That's as far as the young soldier got. As Travis watched in horror, a black tactical gear-clad man leaning on the hood of the second Humvee raised what looked like a Heckler and Koch MP-5 submachine gun and fired a burst of three rounds into the upper body of the army officer, slamming him first into the doorjamb and then to the roadway. The wind quickly took away the mist of blood that had exploded out of the captain's back like an aerosol.

"My God!" Travis screamed.

It suddenly dawned on him that that was not the best place to be at the moment. He quickly slid under the Jeep™ and scrambled further into the wind and sand, slipping and falling to one knee, not giving up. He leopard-crawled his way to cover, all thought of protecting his invention in the 40-foot armored container lost in his panic to escape. He hunched low and started to make his way to the first truck in line when five .45-caliber bullets slammed into him from behind. Travis hit the windswept road and rolled into a shallow ditch. As his life's blood was soaking into the sand, he saw a tall man with an eye patch dressed in black combat gear standing over him. The man looked around, then slowly leaned over, going to one knee and placing a gloved hand on Travis's quivering shoulder. The man spoke apologetically, as if he had done anything but brutally end Travis's life.

"I'm sorry for this, Doctor. The people, they just aren't ready for this," he said loud enough to be heard above the blowing wind. A confused Travis could only look up at him.

(Omniscient POV)

As the chilling events unfolded, Jacob, Dr. Richards' son, stood witness, his trembling hands desperately muffling his sobs, a silent observer to the tragic end of his father and the devastating collapse of their once peaceful world-the end is here.