The Wrong Guns

Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Man I hate this shit. Every day that passes is about as interesting as the inside of a womb . . . so trapped in darkness you surpass claustrophobia, and become patient . . . so real you're excited to live - to leave if you could.

But here I am, aware again. Unsure of how much time has passed, bearing only the haunting memories of that horrible day - and the faint recollections of dreams. The braces restricting my limbs no longer squeezing my wrists, waist, and ankles injected us with some powerful serum that knocked me out cold, with what had to be hundreds of tiny needles- no longer there all along the inside of the braces.

A sign of finally getting the hell out of this thing?

Who knows... like I said: about as interesting as the inside of a womb.

I didn't even feel the impact of the nuclear bombs that sent earth through space; you'd think I'd remember that. Earthquakes come around still, in the last hours I've even grown to predict their arrival. Going ghost I see a sweeping tentacle like a strand of hair in the wind, or tsunami in the ocean, stemming from the Earth-Chakra. Every time it passes through here it brings a roar underneath my abdomen. The sound is almost completely muted inside the capsule but when I float out of it in ghost form I hear the trembling. I shoot straight up.

Even flying full speed it takes about a minute to be outside of the bunker's darkness and into whatever is left of the world. The ocean's waves were rising to incredible heights. The clouds were dark and uncharacteristically misty. The thunder originating from them connected their bolts of lightning all the way down to the center of the Earth in violent strikes and combos . . . the very center from which my Earth-Chakra spirals and glowed, rather ominously. I thought it could blow up any second.

I gasp. My lungs could be felt expanding back in my body and I'm instantly in my capsule. The most beautiful sight ever, staring back at me . . . one of the only things I could think about since I woke up.

Eva.

I smile and throw myself at her, squeezing her so tight I hear bones in my shoulders and chest pop like the knuckles that cracked. It was a reaction and I didn't want to let her go. She's so warm in my arms I've never felt anything like it. Her smell relieves me for a moment. I know this is the most love I have ever felt for another human being.

Oblivious of the crowd building from now open capsules, we stare into each other's face, smiling.

"Benson." She says and is quick to press the button to his capsule's door right next to mine.

Unbelievable... just moments ago nothing had changed and now there were capsules being opened by Alsepth, his butler, and military personnel. They oriented themselves rather quickly.

We were now hundreds in the large hall. The hundreds of capsules lined up on each side, birthing, even more survivors.

Benson's door unlatched, the face of it tumbling towards the ground but braking to a stop - inches from the floor. I stretched out to hold Eva's elbow and Benson stumbled onto his knee as a tiny earthquake swept by right when he was let out. Then Eva ran around the capsule door and hugged him.

Benson cried as he and Eva held each other. This brought me back down to Earth some. . . .

I was going to try and comfort them when I spotted Kimberly already out of her Capsule. . . .

As the alarms blared that day - we all watched her getting into her capsule; I'll never forget those cold murderous eyes on Kimberly. She didn't seem to care and yet she didn't seem determined, but she never took her eyes off Alsepth even as the capsule door shot up right before a tight seal. She was our guinea pig, at Benson's request that she go first, "See? Safe and sound." responded Alsepth, yelling in his desperation and hurry.

Thank God we actually made it, "You alright?" I asked Kimberly, stopping beside her.

She scowls at me. Guess not.

After a couple moments passed and the voices around us grew buzzing she stops at, "I," hesitating, I lock eyes with her . . . remembering the way she came out into the hangar - crying . . . disturbed . . . and who could forget that punch she landed on Benson.

We both look at Alsepth walking over to us . . . followed by some kind of Military official, "I guess I don't know yet." is all she said.

Alsepth's beard has grown to Jesus' length. I say that because of his hair though he'd be the blonde version with blue eyes that are actually sturdy and looking - coming - directly towards me. The Military official following him, a thick beard himself, and his bald head is blinding from his own precipitation . . . there's something familiar about him, but what's surprising is the look he gave at Benson when Benson stood up tall from the floor. A twitch in his scalp and his hesitation goes noticed. He brings himself from behind Alsepth and I shake hands with him.

"General Darwin. Head of Military." I can't think of what to say and so I take care that he meets Benson and Eva.

"Darwin?"

"Benson." Darwin shakes the seven-foot small giant's hand with disguised effort and a very enthused face . . . like he's happy to see him.

"Uh - we served in Afghanistan together." Benson tells Eva. After shaking Eva's hand and nodding one last time at Benson Darwin dismisses himself. Spinning on his heel he manages to turn Alsepth too as he brings his right hand around and over Alsepth's back and shoulder as they walk - and stop - out of hearing distance to accomplish privacy.

The image of Benson's stern look and balled up fists evaporates . . . some kind of mindful-calculation that had abducted his entire being came to an end in response to Eva regarding the sight of all the students in the hall.

Benson and Eva were afraid of what Alsepth might do to them while they were inside the capsules out cold. But Alsepth wasn't about to argue time was not on anybody's side to begin a debate on whether we'd take a spot in his bunkers or meet with certain death from the nuclear explosions. Options were one-sided.

"We have five minutes to lock ourselves in, Benson! Listen," pointing at the capsule by his butler's feet, "I am deeply horrified of what will happen if we are not inside those capsules by the time this bomb goes off." and that's when his body shook and spit sprayed as Alsepth's voice blared as loud as the alarms did that day, "But I am most afraid of what will happen if we let our planet suffer that awful fate - so I'm sorry you had to lose your daughter, but we must be there in two years to save the human race. That's what I'm here for," he poked at his chest and by now Benson had been speechless "and Harley should have been here too." no longer screaming he wasn't about to hear another word though as kept telling us, "Now, I don't know why he's not but please, we have to hurry up!" that's what Alsepth said, before Benson insisted that Kimberly be the first. Then Eva told Alsepth she'd go last to make sure nothing funny happened to any of us. After Benson's, mine's closed and when I leaned back, arms at my side, I was strapped in tightly by my wrists ankles and lastly by my waist when some kind of binds manifested after everything outside became muted as the doors sealed... even my neck had been pulled tight against the white leather bedding inside the egg shaped capsule . . . that's when needles popped out and put me in a coma.