The Armageddon Over Earth

Part Twenty

Thank You to everyone who has been reading my story and I hope you are all enjoying reading it. There are only five chapters left to go. Please comment and let me know what you think of the story and the ending. Enjoy.

A piercing bright white light illuminated his head before gradually fading away. He was free. He was himself again. He no longer felt in the agonising clutches of The Mother. Nathan looked around unsure of his surroundings, still dazed from his meltdown. He scanned the room before detecting Devin still on the floor, looking frightened and shocked at what he had just experienced. Nathan stared at Devin blankly, still trying to adjust his mind to the current situation, a nagging feeling was buzzing at the back of his head but he managed to diminish it.

“N-Nathan?” Devin whispered, clearly too scared to project his voice. Nevertheless concern for his friend had won over fear and he stood up to walk over to Nathan. “Are you alright?” Nathan looked blankly at Devin, still confused and disorientated, he struggled to stand up and Devin helped him to his feet, realising that Nathan wasn’t going to kill him anymore. Nathan stood up and breathed heavily for a few seconds, suddenly exhausted. Eventually he responded to Devin’s question “Yes, I am now”
“What happened to you? Why did you kill all these people?” Devin looked around, horrified by the sight of his fallen comrades. Nathan did likewise, becoming disturbed and sickened at what he had done to these people. They were his friends. And now they were dead.
“I...I think I was manipulated...by The Mother”
“Who’s ‘The Mother’?” Devin inquired with curiosity in his voice however also a tone of mockery.
“It doesn’t matter.” Nathan replied quickly, not wanting to talk about it.
“So...What now?” Devin said clueless on their next actions.
“We have to finish what we started. We have to win this war.” Nathan spoke heroically which seemed rather ironic due to previous events. Devin stood there confused at what Nathan meant; meanwhile Nathan had walked past him and was heading towards the doors of the bridge. The doors opened and he walked in. Devin was slow to react but he realised who was in there and what Collins might do. “No Nathan! Collins will kill you!” As Nathan was listening to Devin, he noticed General Collins standing directly in front of him, Devin was too late to warn Nathan and Collins fired at Nathan. Fortunately the chemicals that were injected into his bloodstream had not worn off and he managed to dodge the bullet with superhuman abilities. Immediately Nathan lunged at Collins and grabbed the gun before knocking him to the ground.

Collins was on the floor defenceless; Nathan raised the gun and aimed it at Collins. This man had betrayed him, killed his brother and tried to kill him on multiple occasions. The Vector may not have been good but at least they were right about one thing. This man deserved to die. His finger was twitching on the trigger; all Nathan wanted to do was end his miserable pathetic life. “Why?” Nathan whispered, his voice quivering with hatred for this man. Nathan did not say anymore, Collins knew what he was asking; he looked up at Nathan with sorrow before turning his gaze to the floor, too ashamed to even look at Nathan. “It was the only choice” He spoke so quietly that if it wasn’t for the fact that the Bridge was silent, Nathan wouldn’t had heard him.
“What-What do you mean?” Nathan spat with confusion and fury “What choice?”
“I...” Collins sighed, ready to confess “I made a deal with the Vector”
“WHAT?” This was not Nathan but another person who was on the bridge. Nathan peered around to find out who it was, to Nathan’s surprise the President of The United States stood up from where he must have been crouching for cover. More Government officials appeared from their hiding places, assuming everything must be safe now. Collins spoke again, justifying his initial point. “We made a deal that if humanity obeyed and accepted the Vector as the rulers of Earth, then humanity would be spared. It was the only way to save humanity.”
“That’s outrageous!” Bellowed the President again. “Humanity would never agree to such terms.” Nathan still had his gun pointed at Collins’ head, he wasn’t going anywhere. The President found his confidence again, walked forward and stood next to Nathan, looking down on Collins with anger on his face that matched Nathan’s hatred for this man. “General Robert Collins, you are a traitor to the whole of humanity and therefore you will be executed for your crimes. You do not deserve mercy for your vile actions. Walker, kill him” Nathan positioned his gun again and felt the cold metal of the trigger. He stared at Collins contemplating, he was definitely a naive and cowardly man, he was a traitor and damaged many lives, no one’s life was more affected however, than Nathan’s. Collins had utterly destroyed Nathans life completely. But still, did he deserve to die? “I said kill him Walker” the President repeated, beginning to become impatient. Nathan lowered his gun, “No. He doesn’t deserve to die, not now, not by me.” It took a great deal of strength to suppress his anger and hatred for this man. The President sighed “OK, what do you suppose to do with him then?”
“I don’t know, it doesn’t matter though, our main priority is destroying the Armageddon.” Nathan had a determined look on his face and he realised this war would end today. Collins smirked “Are you stupid? How do you suppose we destroy that ship? We don’t have enough firepower in the world that could destroy that thing.”
This time Nathan was the one to smile. “Yes we do” He replied before unhooking his backpack from his shoulders and opening it up. He revealed the small silver box. “This is the explosive device that was supposed to be used to blow up this ship; instead, it can be used to destroy the Armageddon.” The President and other Government officials had a glimpse of hope in their eyes.

For the first time since this war had started, they thought about the future. A future which the Vector wouldn’t be a part of. They could actually do this, they could win the war! On the other hand Collins was still sceptical and still believed all hope was lost. “Even if it could destroy the ship, how are we supposed to get to the bridge?” Nathan’s smile increased.
“With me” He gestured to himself using his thumb. “I have been on that ship many times and know where the bridge is. I know the quickest route to it and which places are heavily guarded. I know my way around the Armageddon like the back of my hand.” Nathan thought about it all, the very thing that was going to win the Vector the war will be the very thing that will make them lose the war. Him. He spoke again “We can do this! We can win the war! Now, who’s with me?” Nathan’s rallying speech inspired the government officials and they started cheering as an indication that they would follow him. The President put his arm around Nathan and smiled. “Then we have no time to waste! Walker, prepare a team and get aboard that ship! I don’t care if you were manipulated to wipe out humanity, because that is over with and now you will be the one to save humanity.”

Nathan couldn’t do this alone; he knew he needed allies, people who will be willing to sacrifice their lives. He suddenly realised that he had killed a great deal of soldiers himself. Who was left? Devin walked towards Nathan and looked him straight in the eyes. “I’m coming Nathan, I’m with you to the end” Nathan gave Devin a hug of appreciation before hearing a voice behind him.  “I’ll come too” spoke Collins, he had stood up again, still looking a bit battered. Nathan gave him a strange look, curious about what his motives were. “Please, if you’re sparing my life, then at least let my life matter.”
“OK you can come” said Nathan. 'Maybe he might be useful', Nathan thought. 'Perhaps in the end he might actually save my life' he thought ironically. He got his mind back on his task. “Are there any soldiers left Collins?” He asked hopeful but not confident. “There may be some but not many that would be ready to dispatch at such short notice and I doubt we’ll get any volunteers for what seems like a suicide mission. But there might be a few who are willing to come.”
“Then round them up and let’s set off” Nathan said almost cheerfully. For the first time in a long time he had a good feeling about this.