Strong arms throw Simon before the man who ordered his capture. Standing in the doorway of the building he and his men first appeared, he slowly steps down the stairs before him and says, “Another survivor, interesting.” In the fading light of the sunset Simon can see that all four men are dressed in orange jumpsuits. The one that seems to be giving the orders is no larger than the rest, but there’s a peculiar intelligence about him that Simon can see in his face; and it frightens him. In a neutral tone the man in charge asks him, “What’s your name?”
Standing to his feet Simon answers with a statement instead, “Please, is there a radio or anything in there that I could use to contact someone? It’s important, all of our lives are at stake.”
The man smiles and says, “My name is Kurt, and I don’t think our lives can be at stake any more than they already are, wouldn’t you agree? And as you can see, we’re not exactly supposed to be on the loose, so you’re telling nobody nothing.” Kurt looks to the rest of his crew, “Kill him and bring anything he has inside, and don’t waste our bullets on him. Use your hands or anything else you can find.”
Simon tries to run, but his weakened body yields to the strength of his captors who wrestle him to the ground, “No! Please! You could help save lives! Please!”
Kurt turns to go inside, but something has him stop and affix his gaze upon the sky. Soon everyone gazes into the dimly lit clouds, but Simon is unable to see what they’re looking at, as he’s being held down. A thunderous roar rumbles through the air. It grows louder and louder by the second, and soon it deafens everyone as everything is bathed in light. He feels the ground shutter as something heavy impacts the ground as the loud roar reduces to a high pitch ringing, a ringing that eventually fades away into silence. The man holding Simon down stands and holds him so he faces the source of the horrible noise. A large craft of an unknown design has landed only a hundred meters away. Ash blown into the air from the ship’s landing tames the pair of excessively bright lights that are mounted on the bow. As the ash hangs in the air surrounding the landing site, a lone figure emerges from within the cloud. The two lights from the ship project beams of light through the haze above him as he approaches Simon and his captors; while the remaining natural light casts a deep amber onto the left side of his dark silhouette.
He halts his approach about fifteen meters from Simon and his captors. His dark apparel remains still in the evening breeze, and his eyes inspect each individual before speaking in a deep powerful voice, “Release this traveler to me, and I’ll leave you in peace.”
Kurt bellows a response from behind Simon, “Why?” The stranger takes one step forward, triggering a response from Kurt’s group of thugs. Simon is able to see two of the men in front of him draw sidearms, and then he feels the chilling touch of metal against his temple.
Kurt’s voice heightens in pitch and shakes with excitement, “How can you threaten us when we have four guns pointed at your head?”
The stranger speaks with unwavering confidence, “Because you won’t be able to pull the trigger.”
“Shoot him!” Kurt yells, but not a single shot is fired. The man holding Simon hostage aims his sidearm at the stranger, but is unable to pull the trigger. Simon can see the man’s finger pressing against the trigger with all its strength as the muscles in his arm tense up. Then suddenly the magazine drops from the sidearm, and then the slide jolts back, ejecting the bullet from the chamber. In an instant, Simon feels himself pulled from the arms of his captor towards the stranger as expletives from his enemies can be heard. He falls upon the ground next to the stranger who casually begins walking towards the gang of thugs. They all rise into the air writhing in pain leaving Simon completely dumbfounded as all four men scream in agony.
Simon’s mysterious rescuer stands before the phenomena, and the four men go silent and limp before they fall to the ground. The stranger then turns to Simon who recoils, “Stay away from me!”
The stranger stops, and speaks with a relaxed, reassuring voice, “You needn’t fear me, Simon Levinson.”
“H-how do you know my name?”
“I must confess that I was observing you when you first rose from the ruins of your home. I watched as you parted from two of your belongings, one of which your name was inscribed. I then followed you, which led me to another survivor.”
“Mary?” Simon interrupts, “Is she okay?”
“She’s on board my ship, resting. After I spoke with her, I made it my priority to find you and lend my assistance.”
“Why,” Simon stands, “Why were you watching me? Why didn’t you help me earlier? Who are you?”
“My name is Loy. I was originally looking for someone else, so unfortunately for you, you weren’t my priority.”
“And now?”
“Now my priority is the same as Mary’s, and yours. Now, let us see if this structure holds anything useful for us.” Loy leads Simon into the building Kurt and his thugs once occupied.
A few lights keep the interior lit, but they flicker from time to time, “Must be a generator in the basement,” Simon assumes.
“Let’s go there next, there’s nothing here.” Loy is right, the entire first floor is in shambles. Various papers litter the floor, while shattered glass crunches beneath their feet. Simon leads Loy down a narrow stairway, but stops at the bottom when he sees there’s no lights to show them the way. Loy walks past him and turns on what Simon assumes to be a flashlight. They’re faced with a long hallway with multiple doorways lining both sides. “I’ll take the ones on the left, and you can cover the ones on the right.”
“But I don’t have a light.”
Loy lets out a small sigh, “Nevermind then.” Together, they begin their search for anything that could be used to contact any of the remaining military forces in the area. After searching multiple rooms they come upon a door covered in long scratches. Loy carefully opens the door and immediately the rattling of something made of metal takes them by surprise. Loy swings the door open and quickly brings to light the source of the noise. When he does, he and Simon both are momentarily speechless. Inside this room is a large cage, and inside this cage is a woman. Her hands and feet are bound, and her mouth is gagged. Tears escape her eyes, and her red hair is absolutely mangled while her uniform is full of stains and tears. Simon approaches the cage when it suddenly bursts open. He turns to Loy for a moment, expecting an explanation. Loy approaches the woman inside who tries to scream, but only a muffled cry is all she can manage. Loy lifts her out of the cage and then proceeds to cut her bonds with his mysterious ways.
He begins with the gag around her mouth, but before he removes it, he speaks to her, “Before I free this from you, know that we are here to help. Do you understand me? Nod for me please.” She nods and he removes it.
While he removes her remaining bonds she asks a question, but her voice is weathered from screaming and the lack of water. “How long has it been? Since the attack?”
Simon tries to answer first but Loy’s voice overtakes his, “Four days, and how is it that you know this was an attack?”
She manages to stand, but not without groaning in pain, “There was chatter of a strange message that warned of an incoming attack. Then all hell broke loose.”
Loy interrupts, “Let us provide you with aid before you tell us everything.” The three of them return to the surface and as they do Loy asks her a question, “Actually, can you tell us if there’s a way we can contact any military officials? I have information they desperately need.”
They walk towards Loy’s ship while she answers, “No, everything is gone, but I know where they might be.”
“I have a transport, provide me with coordinates and I can take us there, but first you need medical attention.” Loy leads them to his ship and when they enter he speaks to Simon, “Mary is in the first room on the left.”
“Thank you.” Simon follows Loy’s directions while Loy brings their new companion to the medbay.
The door to Mary’s room opens automatically when Simon stands before it. He passes through the doorway and stops as he and Mary lock eyes. Mary is sitting upright on her small bed and motions for Simon to come closer. “Take a seat.” She points her open hand towards the same device Loy sat on at the foot of her bed. “It’s good to know that you’re alright.”
Simon sits at the foot of her bed, smiling as he says, “All thanks to who I assume saved you as well; what was his name again?”
“Loy.” She answers.
“Right, right. Loy, an interesting name, not sure if I’ve ever heard it before.”
“So where is he now?”
“Oh, he’s helping another survivor we found while searching the base. Which we didn’t find anything, but the survivor says she knows where we might find the people we’re looking for.”
“Okay you need to listen to me, okay?” Simon remains silent and patiently listens to what Mary has to say, “I don’t have time to explain everything, but we cannot trust Loy. You have to believe me, he is the enemy, the same enemy that is responsible for all of this. Now he claims he’s defecting and that’s why he’s helping us, but after all that I’ve seen and been through these past few months, it’s impossible for me to fully trust him. Since he’s just met you, and knowing that you hardly know the scope of what’s happened, he’ll try to use and influence you the most, and that goes for the new survivor you just found as well. Please trust me in this, all I ask is that you keep this in the back of your mind and do as he says, for now.”
Simon nods, “Alright, I trust you. I’ll do my best to keep an open mind, and I’ll always have your back. I’ll never forget how selfless you were when I found you, you’ll always have my respect for that.”
“Thank you, but I’m afraid we’re all going to have to be selfless in the coming days if we’re to help save whatever is left.”
Together Simon and Mary sit in silence for a moment, and then faint footsteps grow louder until the door slides open. Loy enters the room and sits on the floor with his back resting up against the wall next to the door. Facing both Mary and Simon he addresses them with humility, “I know it won’t be easy for me to improve my standing with you Mary, and rightfully so. From what little I know of you I’m sure you’ve instructed Simon to be wary of me, if you did, that is also right. Simon, know that I come from a people who allowed their fears to overtake them. These fears drove them mad with worry and paranoia, so much so that it enabled them to justify the largest genocide ever conceived by mankind. For my entire life I was taught and instructed by mentors and teachers as to why we do what we do, and I believed them with all my heart; but when the war began and I saw firsthand the pain and suffering we produced, I felt something inside me change. Despite being taught to feel nothing for my enemies, I felt the pain of their losses, my mind became enveloped with guilt and doubt. Then, when I witnessed the meteorite impact your earth and inflict its devastation upon your people, that’s when I made my choice to no longer support such malice. Know that my people are preparing to direct another asteroid into a collision course with earth, but there’s still time to foil their plans if we can find earth’s remaining defense forces. This is my new directive, my new purpose, to preserve what is left of your world and its people.”
Mary solemnly offers her thoughts in response to Loy’s statement, “The truth is you have saved both our lives now, you have offered me food and water, and you have provided me with medical aid; but it’s too high of a risk to trust you.”
Loy stands, “If I do nothing, and we all remain here, then your people will never learn how they should defend themselves from this doom.” He glances at Simon and then turns and leaves the room with the door closing behind him. Leaving Mary and Simon to further doubt and wonder.