Collapse

Chapter 4

"Your one and only job is to protect the scientists and military personnel at the test site." I said to the soldiers in front of him. "I picked you because you are the best so prove it." I dismissed the soldiers to gather their gear and grabbed my own.

"Nathaniel?" I looked up from the rifles I was looking at and quickly bowed.

"Princess, I did not expect to see you here."

"Stand up, you know I hate that whole bowing thing."

I looked up at the warrior princess of Acelesia. Elizabeth Acelesia led the Emperor's most elite troops, the Emperor's Fists. She was decked out in the same body armor and jacket. Her body was lean and she radiated an aura of authority. Streaks of white flowed through her golden hair and her ghostly pale eyes seemed to track your every movement.

"Why are you here Ma'am?" I asked.

"I came here to retrieve you. After the test you'll be returning with me to the palace."

"What for Ma'am?"

"A promotion. My father is stepping down soon and I will have to take his place. I want someone I trust running the Emperor's Fists." The security detail left the armory and headed for the bases airfield.

"Thank you Ma'am."

"And what did I tell you about calling me Ma'am, makes me feel old." Elizabeth said. Considering both of us were only nineteen it annoyed her to no end.

"But it's a sign of respect." I said sarcastically.

"Just because you're a Captian now doesn't mean I won't slap some sense into you like when we were little."

"My apologies...Ma'am." I grabbed my rifle of the table and left the building. She whacked me across the back of the head and walked beside me. When we rounded the corner into an empty hallway she pushed me against the wall. I wrapped my arms around her waist and our lips met. I felt the hunger and desire as she pressed up against me.

"I missed you so much. I can't stand being at the palace by myself."

"Then you won't have to wait much longer." We kissed again wanting to savor every second of this moment of secrecy. Someone to our right coughed and we jumped apart. I tried not to look flustered as I fixed my jacket.

"Am I interrupting?" The general asked.

"No sir." I said getting my emotions under control.

"Good then it is time to go. A pleasure as always Elizabeth." He said with a bow.

"Actually I will be go with you as part of the security force. I want to see how the captain handles this."

"Of course your highness." The three of us proceeded to the airfield. A helicopter carried us out into no-mans land, the vast desert that connected the three continents on the planet. It set down at a small outpost near the center. Dozens of scientist scurried around a circular device.

"Welcome to site 32. The test will begin in about ten minutes." One of the scientists told us. I split the security team and divided them around the test site. I found the lead scientist on the team.

"So what is this thing?" I asked.

"This... this is the Singularity Bomb." He said with a smile. "If all goes as planned it will create a small black hole that will collapse after a set amount of time."

"You want to weaponize a rip in the fabric of space."

"Just think, one of these could compact an entire city into something the size of a baseball. No one could stand before us." A red light went up and a voice spoke over the comm.

"All personal please move to the minimum safe distance of a quarter mile from the test."

My anxious feeling returned as I entered a bunker with the general, Elizabeth, and the lead scientist.

"Test beginning in 5...4...3...2...1... detonation."

There was a low pitched thump and the bomb imploded on itself. A black tear only a few inches wide tore open in mid-air. Only a small disk directly above the tear remained. The ground around it was sucked in and it started to grow larger. At a few feet wide it seemed to stop growing but it had created a crater around it as it absorbed more and more material.

"This will finally give Acelesia the victory it has fought for for so long." The general said. Suddenly the control panel started to beep and flash.

"What's going on?" I demanded.

"The event horizon is expanding again. All personal evacuate the area immediately. Engaging emergency shutdown." The disk above the tear started to spark and the tear lost its circular shape. It expanded and contracted, with parts of the bunker being eaten as it reached further and further. The scientist slammed his fist down angrily. "The automatic system is damaged. One of us has to manual shut it down."

"What do we have to do?" Elizabeth said anxiously.

"We have to go outside the bunker and destroy the stabilizer holding it open." I looked around the room unslung my rifle from my shoulder. They didn't notice me leave to the automatic door slid open. Outside the wind whipped wildly and the roar was deafening. It hooked my legs around a bundle of wires and leaded around the side of the bunker. Immediately I felt it trying to pull me in. Elizabeth leaned her head out of the door.

"Get back in here, someone else can do it." She yelled.

"Who, I told the security team to evacuate the civilians first before we got here. Get inside only one of us needs to do this."

I sighted on the small disk and fired. The bullet was ripped into the hole before it ever even got close. I shifted my aim up and fired again. The bullet was pulled in again but it had gotten close. Steadying my breath I fired one more time. It arched into the disk and shattered it.

The rift started to collapse and the force yanked my rifle and we around the corner. I grabbed the bundle of wires as it pulled on every inch of me. My handhold ripped itself from the wall and I was ripped in. The last thing I saw was Elizabeth banging on the bunker's window.

Hey everyone hope you enjoy the cliff hanger. Feel free to leave a comment and tell me what you think so far.