Time Left Over (Time Book 1)

Chapter 20

8:43
September 26, 2019
Washington DC
9 Months and 22 Days Left

I'm sat in the corner of the room trying to decide on some details for the ship when I notice Anna standing outside staring at the starry night sky. The night and day cycles have been off ever since everything went wrong, but tonight however it seems to be acting fairly normal. From my view I can see that there are tears flowing freely down her face.

Slowly I get up to go comfort her, as I approach her eyes find mine and she flashes a weak smile at me. "What're you looking for?" She responds by wiping a tear from her cheek and looking back up at the sky. I look up to see what she is looking at, I find several light gold and orange wisps of sun light strewn across the stars.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" She asks still looking up.

"Yeah." I respond taken aback by scene. "What is it?"

"It's actually a lot more destructive than you'd think. Here take out your phone." I do as she says. "If the readings are correct than these are called Coronal Mass Ejections, or C.M.E.'s. They are masses of electrically charged particles flying through space." She explains.

"Um... In English please?" I say feeling really dumb for not knowing what she is talking about.

"Basically it's a big ball of light from the sun that will crash into the Earth and kill the power grids." Just as she finishes talking my phone shuts down completely. From outside I can hear Adam shout in frustration.

"Aww man!! Now I'll never get to watch Netflix again!!!" His phone must have just died too.

"Do you know how Hunter's doing?" Anna asks, changing the subject. I respond with as much sympathy as possible.

"Not good. Adam says he is in a state of shock and will soon slip into a coma."

"Is there anything we can do? Or will he ever even wake up?" Anna replies already assuming the worst, and sadly, she isn't far from the truth. According to Adam, Hunter is about to enter a type of coma that he has never seen before. Adam can't tell if Hunter will ever recover, but there is still a chance he could come out of it alive.

"Do you want to see him?" I ask avoiding her question.

"Okay." She agrees solemnly, silently I guide her to the room where Hunter is resting.

Hunter is strapped to a cold metal table that we found an hour after he went unconscious. Since then he has come and gone from consciousness. I shiver when I see him, his skin has gotten more pale and his forehead is drenched in sweat. Every now and then his body will twitch slightly and something about him just doesn't seem quite human anymore.

Adam is standing opposite us and greets us when we enter.

"Hey guys." he says, we both greet him and he gives us an update on how Hunter is doing. He explains to Anna how this is something he has never seen before and that anything could happen. Anna doesn't seem to register what he is saying, her eyes are focused on Hunter. I can see the familiar emptiness of grief resonate in them, something I have come to know all to well.

As Adam continues to explain Hunter's condition something strange happens. Hunter's body stiffens and retracts on the table causing it to create a loud crash. From the corner of my eye I see Lucy run through the door to see what's going on. Hunter's eyes open and they have become a bright orange, his pupils have gotten smaller and the rest of his eye has become a deep black color. He turns to look at Anna and let's out an ungodly roar that sends terror through my spine. Then his eyes close and he collapses back onto the table, leaving a strong silence to resonate through the room.

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The End Of Part One

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