-III-

"Like shootin’ fish in a barrel."

"I’m sorry sir?" asked Rev, looking over at the officer. Baker turned from the edge of the road and looked at the young soldier.

"This will be the first time you see it then?" he asked.

"Yes sir.” replied Rev, “ I haven’t had the opportunity to witness the device fire in a live setting. I was just..."

"At ease kid.” interrupted Baker. “ There’s no point to polite protocol here. We’re about to burn this place to the ground, possibly kill hundreds of people..."

Baker turned back and looked down at the camp. He pressed a finger to his temple as a slight twitch in his left eye had begun. He pulled a cigarette from his front pocket and rolled it between his fingers.

"Its times like these..." he mumbled, his voice trailing off as he got lost in his own thoughts.

He paused and rolled the cigarette between his fingers for a few moments before placing it between his lips.

"Sir?" asked Rev.

Baker lit the cigarette, staring at the camp below them. He took a long draw, holding the smoke in his lungs.

"It’s times like these, when you show your true colors...that you must embrace the savagery of humankind.” The smoke came from his mouth in short bursts as he spoke.

Rev examined the old man’s face, wrinkled and tired as the smoke circled above his balding head. Baker turned back towards the guardrail, looking down at the camp.

"If you don’t mind sir, I have to use the bathroom." said Rev.

Baker turned and took a step forward, waving his hand towards the valley.

"Well this ain’t exactly the best of times kid..."

"With all due respect sir...” said Rev, cutting him off, “ I’ve been holding it for quite a while and if I don’t go now..."

He paused and looked into Baker’s eyes.

"I may literally shit myself when the device fires. Sir."

The two stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity before Baker let out a muffled laugh. "Well go on then! But be quick about it." he warned, "We’ve got about twenty minutes before it’s in range." Rev nodded and turned, running into the woods.

Baker turned back around and stared down at the camp. Below, a dull siren had begun to wail.

He dropped the cigarette and stepped it out as the twitching in his eye stopped.

-’-

Anna had been loading ammunition clips when the alarm sounded. A short but piercing ring echoed through the camp followed by an announcement. "Attention residents! This is not a test! Code red! This is not a test!" Anna finished loading the last clip and slid it into her pistol, placing it in the holster at her waist and rushing out of the room.

People were running in all different directions, carrying supplies and relaying messages. Anna looked up at the moon, hiding behind the clouds. Quickening her pace to a swift jog she made her way through the cafeteria and into the communication room.

"Anna over here." said a deep voice.

She looked over to see her father sitting behind a brightly lit monitor.

"What’s going on?" she asked.

"We’ve received a message from one of our scouts on the border.” replied Joseph, “It’s been labeled as high priority." Anna sat down at the screen with her father. The code had been compressed and encrypted. She reached into the drawer at her knees and pulled out a spiral notebook, flipping to a laminated page filled with algorithms and descriptions. She scrolled through the message on the screen and started with a line beginning with Z.

"Z8A326..." she muttered to herself, picking the notebook up again and running her finger down the page. "That’s the old code for a hologun attack. I haven’t seen encryption like this in a long time...like when I was just a little girl...” she whispered. Her eyes darted to her father’s and back to the screen.

“Any luck on those coordinates?" She asked aloud.

"We’ve bounced the signal off two towers, were looking for the third one now to pinpoint." said a young man sitting at a console.

Joseph stood up and rubbed his chin. He stood taller than anyone else in the room, his head nearly brushing the ceiling. He turned to his daughter.

"We need to leave. Now." his voice was steady as he looked around the room, nodding for others to begin packing. Anna looked up at her father.

“But why...we don’t even know I-” She broke off as he looked down at her. His brow wrinkled over his eyes, silently demanding her cooperation.

"Alright Dad." she whispered, standing up and putting her arms around his neck, squeezing his frame with all her might.

“Alright everyone.” He said aloud, “Relay the message code silver. Evacuate everyone as fast as possible. Load the hardware and the weapons. Leave the food.” Everyone looked up at Joseph in disbelief. He shook his head at them.

“Leave the food and let’s go.”

-’-

Emily had been humming for forty five minutes straight when an eerie silence came over the road. Robert stopped and turned around.

"What is it?" he asked.

Her lip trembled as she slowly raised her hand and pointed to the sky, looking to the bend in the road ahead of them. Robert’s mind raced. "Where?" He bent over and grasped Emily by the shoulders. "Do you know where it’s going to fire?"

A tear ran down her cheek as she nodded. Without thinking Robert stood up and started running towards the bend in the road.

"Robert no!" Emily screamed, frozen in place.

Thoughts and memories started flooding through his mind. The first time he had met Anna.

The lake where they would escape to so they could be alone. The first time he held the death grip of Josephs hand when they met.

"No it can’t be right..." He thought, "The coordinates were wrong...Emily is wrong...please God no..."

Without warning a flock of birds rushed out of the woods beside him and surrounded him. Frantic, he covered his head, continuing up the road...the bend just a few hundred feet away...

"Robert don’t..."Emily whispered in the distance.

A bright white beam of light appeared, piercing through the clouds like a bolt of lightning. The air pressure dropped for a moment, the trees and grasses in the distance bending in towards the light as the air rushed to the center. Emily watched in horror as branches and leaves flew through the air, clutching onto a guard rail as Robert continued ahead.

Just as Robert reached the bend in the road the wind stopped. His heart pounded as he looked down at the base completely illuminated by the light. Like smoke rising from the forest, hundreds of birds took to the sky to get away as the light became more intense. A second beam of light shot through the first, sending a shock wave rippling over the land. The mountain trembled, causing the road beneath them to shake violently. Robert fell back, losing his balance and smacking his head on the road.

A ringing had begun in his ears as the sky lit up, a third beam of sapphire light, twisting through the white beam. He looked back at Emily who was crouched near the mountain side, holding her ears in pain. The ringing continued to intensify until it pierced through the air and deafened everything. "This is it..." Robert whispered to himself, looking up at the clouds as he lay there. Suddenly the noise ceased. An eerie echo of the sound rang in his ears.

"Please be safe." Emily whispered.

The sky lit up as bright as a summer day and the clouds shone brilliant orange. The wind began as if a hurricane had begun, and the temperature rose dramatically.

"Robert!"

He looked back down at the little girl running towards him. Her brilliant white blonde hair glowing a fiery orange as the sky danced above her.

"Robert please! We have to go! It’s not safe here!" she pleaded. Still in a daze from the fall he watched her running towards him, his eyes glazed over in disbelief and shock.

Finally reaching the bend she looked down at the base below them, mouth wide in horror as she saw the growing ring of fire moving towards them. Emily grabbed onto Robert’s shirt collar and began shaking him.

"Robert what are you doing!? We have to go Robert!" she screamed. He stared up at her smiling. Brushing his hand across her cheek, which was drenched from tears.

The clouds had opened up and formed a huge ring above them. In the center, light shone down from what seemed like a small sun. Emily began to panic as the road began to sizzle beneath them. Emily shook Robert violently, screaming.

"Robert we can’t be here!" She said, reaching back and slapping him as hard as she could.

Robert’s head fell back to the ground. He stared up at the sky and waited as the light slowly began to come into focus. In the center of the small orange sun, three red lines had begun to form across its diameter. The light burnt his eyes and yet he remained motionless staring up at its beautiful form.

“Phase three...” he muttered to himself.

"Anna’s safe Robert!" screamed Emily.

Robert’s mind came to a complete stop. He leaned forward and stared at her.

"What did you say?" he whispered.

Emily put her tiny hand on his face, tears running down her shirt.

"She’s safe, I can feel her." She said, smiling.

That was enough to get him moving. Robert stood up quickly, his head dizzy and his eyes swaying. The light from above was covering the majority of everything around them, but it was still dark on the other side of the valley.

He picked up Emily and began running down the highway, searching for the fastest route out of the light. With the valley semi lit he could see all the side roads and paths they had missed traveling in the moonlight. Without a second glance he jumped the guard rail onto a soft patch of mountain side, Emily clutching at his chest. The sand was soft, enveloping his feet as they hurried down its side. The trees around them had begun to steam violently and his skin was beginning to burn.

Suddenly, the ground beneath them gave out and pulled them down into the slide. Robert held tight onto Emily, gripping tightly to the wall of dirt as they rushed down the mountain side picking up speed. Digging his nails into the dirt he let out a scream as one of his nails pulled right off of his finger. With a thud they collided with a tree and stopped, the remaining dirt coming to a halt a few feet below them. Lowering Emily to the ground, he jumped down holding his hand and limping.

"Were almost there. Just keep moving." he said.

The shadow of the clouds was about two hundred meters ahead of them, towards the center of the valley. Emily was now far ahead running at full speed as Robert hobbled in pain after her.

Without warning everything shone a brilliant blinding red. Grass and tree’s began to burst into flames and Robert’s skin screamed in pain as the hairs on his body began to curl and burn.

"Just keep going." He thought to himself.

It was difficult to see where he was going as everything began to swirl a violent red and orange. Flames sprouting up everywhere around him. His clothes and shoes had melted to his skin and every breath was like breathing in a torch. He could hear screaming ahead of him.

"Not Emily, not like this..." He cried.

The pain was so intense as he tried to close his eyes only to realize that his eyelids were sticking to his face. He screamed out as he ran through the blazing forest, unaware of where he was or where he was going.

"Robert over here!" Emily yelled.

He turned to where he had heard her. Shielding his eyes with his hands and running until the air began to cool around his smoldering body. He landed on a patch of dry grass. His skin rubbing off everywhere. Emily ran up to him and dropped to her knees placing her hands on his back.

"Ah!" Robert screamed out in pain.

His head was spinning and his lungs burned intensely. He lay there writhing in pain and moaning. Emily removed her scarf and placed it under Robert’s head.

"Sleep Robert. You need rest." She whispered to him.

Robert began to laugh as his body went into shock and everything went dark.

-’-

The old man looked over to his wife and smiled.

Pointing his feet out and stretching his legs he let out a great yawn. Rebecca bent over and pulled at the string hanging over the bridge side in the water.

“Ooh this feels like a keeper!” she said, half excited.

The old man laughed to himself, leaning back in an old worn beach chair and yawning once again. Rebecca stood up and looked over the guard rail of the bridge, desperately trying to pull up her catch.

“Daniel...” she said. “This is REALLY a keeper, I’m telling you it must weigh fifty pounds!”

Daniel stood up lazily and stretched his arms high above his head.

“Let me see it now.” he said, grinning over at her, his two good teeth shining brilliantly in the moon light.

He reached over and took the line from her, his expression shifting to excitement as he felt the weight behind the string.

“Ooh Mama! You weren’t fibbing!” He exclaimed, looking over at Rebecca who smirked back at him.

One hand after another he slowly brought the catch up, closer and closer to the edge of the bridge.

“It must’ve already died.” he mumbled to himself looking back up towards Rebecca,

“It ain’t thrashing or nothing.”

As the catch made its way into the moonlight from below, its surface reflected a bright platinum.

“Becca...”he whispered. “I don’t think you got yourself a fish at all.”

She walked over to the edge and gasped as he pulled the object over the rail, landing with a tinny thud on the pavement.

“What is that thing!?” she exclaimed.

“Well how am I supposed to know!?” he replied looking at her in disbelief.

The object was round, a little bigger than a basketball, with slots and wires coming out of it. Kicking it with his boot, Daniel revealed a lens on its side. Chills ran down his spine as he realized what is was.

“It’s one of those damn sky lasers!” he exclaimed, grabbing Rebecca by the arm and pulling her to other side of the bridge.

“Let go of me you old fool!” she yelled, prying herself free,“Even if it is one of those sky lasers, who knows how long it’s been sitting in that river?”

Walking over to the device Daniel picked it up and turned the lens towards his face, examining his own reflection.

“Boy I think it’s time for a shave.” he muttered to himself.

“It’s been time for a shave for about three years now...” said Rebecca, teasing.

As he peered into the lens, a small red light turned on inside of it.

“Oh no.” he stuttered, dropping the device and taking a step back.

“It turned on!” he yelled, frozen in fear.

Daniel looked over at his wife but she was looking at the sky behind him.

“I don’t think it did sweetheart.” she said, pointing at the beam of light now brazen the sky.

Taking her by the arm once more they started running away from the light.

“It looks like it’s too far out...” he gasped. The air whistling in and out of his lungs.

“The raccoon rest, that’s close enough.” He said quickly.

As the light changed colors a blast of hot air swept over them, sending leaves and branches blowing past them. The trees around them began to glow magnificently, colors swirling as the leaves created a mosaic of frightening hues.

“There it is!” Rebecca yelled out, her voice getting lost in the wind. A great rush of air surged over them sending a dead tree branch falling to the ground. Daniel leaped over tackling Rebecca out of the way as the branch landed with a sickening thud on his shoulder.

“Ugh!” Daniel cried out slamming in the ground.

“Come on you’ve had worse than this old man.” Rebecca said picking her husband up and putting his arm over her.

“You remember where we hid the supplies?” He muttered, shifting his weight as he felt the blood running down his side.

Rebecca looked over at him nodding as they neared a building.

“Of course I do, don’t worry your going to be just fine.” she replied calmly.

They approached the door of the building and stepped through, she placed him down onto a wicker chair, pulling a stool over and resting his arm on it.

“I’ll be right back, don’t pass out, OK?” said Rebecca.

Daniel managed a smile and nodded up at his wife as she bent over and kissed his forehead.

Standing up quickly she turned and made her way up the stairwell and out of sight.

Daniel looked out between the boards covering the windows. The light had now become a blinding red shining into the building, sending rays across the room lighting up the floating dust.

He sighed in relief, knowing they were out of range of the fire. Rebecca came down the stairs with bandages and antiseptic.

“You’re going to be just fine my dear.” she repeated, laying out the wraps.

Daniel forced a smile as she picked up his arm and cleaned it.

“I hope the raccoon’s ok.” he muttered to himself.