CHAPTER ONE – The Penthouse
All I remember is working on the biggest project at CERN we had tested so far. It Reached speeds we had never achieved before. I recall the thrill we all went through as we saw the speed build up. The alarms rang, things shook, and the ceiling appeared to crack. We had to shut the project down and quickly. We needed to create a collision of the particles there and then. In that moment, intense pain took me over like fire had engulfed me and the sound of wind was roaring through my ears. There was a flash of a bare white room which didn’t contain any furniture. But the discomfort distracted me to take any notice. It felt as if I had immersed myself in molten magma. All I remember is pain, then… nothing. I woke up screaming from the pain as my skin still burned. It was all like a terrible nightmare, a nightmare that seemed all too real. Thankfully, I…
JAMES – CHAPTER X – Stranded (Sample of Book 3)
I was floating there in the depths of space. Like I was floating in a turbulent lake. The blackness around me feeling like a blanket smothering my pain. My arm still hurt from the sudden evacuation I had to perform off of the ship. I had my eyes closed, trying to imagine I was somewhere else, other than among this debris of dead starships. I was wondering what was going to happen next. Knowing the enemy was still here, with me. Should I commit suicide before getting caught? I feared the consequences of getting caught more than you know. But I was still fearing death more. Even though there have been countless times where I have been resurrected, the thought of death still brought a chill up my spine. Perhaps it was because I had experienced it so much that made it even more fearful. I mean, would I miss…
CHAPTER THIRTY NINE – Apocalypse on The Liberty
The Liberty alarms were blaring, yellow lights were flashing filling everywhere with it. It really made the entire place feel like there was a sense of urgency. The Liberty had only just begun moving when the Myrmekes arrived. They came out of warp and didn’t care that they were in a system when they did. The explosion of fast-moving particles came flying out from them as their ship slowed. We watched as asteroids, along with the one we were going to hide in, getting obliterated in front of us. The Tuhingan responsible for focusing the viewscreen on important events was doing a fine job showing us all what was happening outside. First the Myrmekes coming out of warp, then the destruction of the asteroids. All of this while there was the sound of explosions rattling throughout The Liberty as some high-speed particles hit us. “We’re out of here!” The Rehew…
CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT – The Salachar
I awoke that morning like any other morning. My nightmares had decrease, and I was dealing with my past traumas through therapy. It helped to have my Pebble and consulting the AI in there. I was getting better, however I didn’t know that a new trauma was lurking around the corner. One day, I did my usual routines like I did every day. Brushed my teeth, washed my face. I went to volunteer, teaching about Einstein’s theory of relativity. I made sure I was at my best when I did, since we also recorded it for people to watch at home. Caroline rushed in, in the middle of the class. She rushed up to me. “James! We have to go!” “Can it wait until after class? We are almost finished!” I replied. “I don’t think you want to wait for this!” I looked at her for a moment and realised…
CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN – The Ghost
“Is that your AI?” I asked him. “Different cave, James, different Pebble!” I looked at him, confused. “Go and sit at the table!” I walked towards the table and was staring at the back of the character that was sitting there. Cautiously, I walked around and looked to see who it was. Then a nervous laugh crept out from me as I realised who it was. “This has to be your AI right!? Your AI is using Periclum as an avatar?” “No James, I am Periclum. At least I think I am!” I just looked at this character sat at the table. “But you were annihilated. Many people blamed me for that!” “Ahh, yes, I am sorry about that. I never mean’t for that to happen. It’s just, you understand, I couldn’t make people aware I was in here. Legally, they would have to annihilate me again.” Periclum explained. “You…
CHAPTER THIRTY SIX – The Pebble
Once again. I awoke before Caroline. This time, when I picked up The Pebble and took it to the toilet, I connected with it. It was a strange experience. When I connected to the device, I felt myself being pulled into myself. There were lines of light surrounding me, pulsating in different colours. Sounds that filled the air that were like an old 56k modem. The squeaks and squeals from the old way of accessing the internet. I felt as though I was falling through this dark abyss. As I fell, the squeaks and squeals were turning into the sound of people. The pulsating lines formed images of various events happening all over The Liberty. I realise that this is probably what Alice felt like as she fell down the rabbit hole. I came to the bottom of this pit. Except I didn’t land with a thump, instead my descent…
CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE – The Reward
The rest of the day was quieter than usual between me and Caroline. We were intimate several times but found conversation wasn’t flowing. I did, however, enjoy getting ready with Caroline for the event. She looked amazing in the dress we picked out together and I felt amazing in the suit. I tried to compose myself as I felt my nerves settling in. I did not know how everyone will take me receiving a medal. We travelled by foot and pod to the main event. When we arrived, it astounded me at how large it was. The field was full of Tuhingan and the stage was large. There were carts everywhere, giving out food, drink and anything else you could want. If it was on Earth, I would have thought this was a spare no expense event. But I was on The Liberty, where they can make material out of…
CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR – Another breakfast with the Captain
When I awoke in the morning, I felt like I had the best night’s sleep and couldn’t even remember having a nightmare. My situation still wasn’t perfect, however I could see that it was improving. I got out of bed, leaving Caroline to sleep and grabbed The Pebble from my jacket while going to the toilet. Placing The Pebble on the sink, I went to do my business and began searching the news again. This time I searched for Fabula’s article. I found it and read, getting engrossed by it. He had done an amazing job portraying me as some type of hero. ‘Even against the greatest odds, after being hunted. He still rescued the girl!’ I couldn’t believe that he was talking about me. It seemed he used his creative ability of story telling and pushed it to the extreme. Making things fit together smoothly. In reality, he hadn’t…
CHAPTER THIRTY THREE – The Journey Home
These giant snails then came towards us. They looked just like Earth snails, except two-and-a-half metres tall. Their shells appeared to shine in whatever light is around us, like metal plating on armour. They were fast moving, able to slither their way over to us from down on the edge of the village in just a couple of minutes. The snails had some seats on top of them and were made for riding. “The lava gives them what they need to make these unique shells of theirs. They could survive a blast from an explosion if they had to.” I nodded, impressed. It would make for a unique ride to the wall. That was a sure thing. The seats on their backs looked quite large and comfortable. Something you could sit back and recline in. There were even some steps down the side for us to get up. Once on…
CHAPTER THIRTY TWO – The Simple Village
The blind man’s name was Oculis Multarum, and he remained our guide for the rest of the visit. He knew we were starving. We arrived at his settlement after lunch. So our first stop was the first building we came across, a farm. Before we approached, the blind man asked for us to turn off our torches. Of course, we were reluctant. They were the only things lighting our way. But we did as he asked and as our eyes adjusted, we saw there was enough light to see everywhere. It was beautiful. Beyond the farm we could see a large mound and out of it came the dust we saw before. Except here it was glowing, lighting up the area. The dust acting like glow sticks floating through the air. “Is this stuff safe to breathe?” asked Caroline. “I thought you said you couldn’t talk about the forest?” Oculis…
CHAPTER THIRTY ONE – Run!
One creature came into the light and stared into the bush. It stood there, wary, not paying us any attention. We all raised our guns towards it, it couldn’t see anything and Tu shot it. It died as dark blue blood spilled from its neck. It wasn’t an unusual thing to watch this grey furred, large wolf creature dying. Its red eyes seem to stare as death came to it. It wasn’t unusual when the wolves in the forest began howling. They all sang in unison in response to the death of one of their own. What was unusual was the sound of a Tuhingan shouting amongst the chorus of wolves. “What is that?” Caroline asked as we heard it. “I don’t want to know!” Tu said as his head was darting left and right, trying to figure out where the things in the bush were. The sound of footsteps…