Memorize (Book One)

Apocalypse

"Too late, the Composium's locked down!"

Wiping his forehead to keep small trickles of blood from obstructing his eyes, Jay scanned the place where they had all come to a halt. Epos was a wreck, the area around his collarbone had taken on dark bluish hues, and he emitted a raucous whistle with each breath he took. Starling was deadly white and listless, panting and constantly slipping from the grip of the formidable man who was holding him. Ananda's tears kept rolling silently and she cast haggard empty looks around her. But the alert giant man opposite him seemed to be thinking along the same lines.

We get out of here. Run for life.

The Arch was showing signs of weakness, and there was no one left there except their small crowd and a few dead, stranded bodies trapped under huge blocks. A deafening growl swept over them. The Station was shattering down and lethal fragments kept falling from the remaining parts of the ceiling. The alarm seemed to have given up on them and had finally receded. The ground relentlessly shook with breathtaking violence. An invisible hungry beast was reclaiming their bodies, pulling them down, pulsating into their insides and drilling their soul.

Jay's and Arende's eyes met.

I'll take the blond rat.

I'll take Starling Kite.

Dodging shards and fragments, stumbling and throwing their last forces into the run, they rushed through the Arch. The Composium's emergency mechanism was still working somehow, and let out an eerie, hashed voice.

Emergency. Emergency. Decamillenial seismic event.

Mr Starling Kite. Mr Epos Meane. Proceed to emergency health pod. Your vitals are critical.

Mr Arende Might. Mr Jay Fleogan. You're reaching excessive bpm rate. Please check out for immediate care.

Ms Ananda Lanciarsi...

A new quivering wave brushed over them and annihilated the female voice, pinning them all down to the ground. In this unprecedented bout of rage, the Arch broke neatly in two while they rolled on their sides and saw the giant structure crumble down. B24's flamboyant technology was being defeated by the whims of its liquid, magnetic core.

"We need... to get... a flying pod," shouted Ananda who was regaining strength and pointing at the area straight in front of them.

A few hundred meters ahead stood long lines of pods of various sizes, all waiting for inhabitants who wouldn't show up. The quivering earth had tossed, rolled and piled them, shattering some of them into smithereens, but in the glow of the last resisting lights, a handful looked intact. Ananda sprinted in the direction the Pod Landing Zone, followed by her companions.

As they were making progress, swirls of fine, airy dust appeared from nowhere, covering their sweaty skin, entering their eyes and filling their nostrils.

Stardust storm! We won't even take off...

Swift, unencumbered and fueled by despair, Ananda sped forward. Seeing only a few inches ahead in the dark orange glimmer of the beacons, her eyes dry and scratchy, she started climbing on vehicles, groping for gate locks, cutting her hands on broken parts. The nervous tears that kept rolling on her cheeks providentially kept her from being momentarily blind. Seconds passed before she found a large pod, fumbled for the opening, and heard the salutary clicking sound.

"I have...found...one... hurry...over here!" She screamed at the top of her voice before slumping into the pod.

Cutting through the howling winds that had raised with the impenetrable swirling mass of dust, Jay reached the embarkation and sank in with Epos. He was soon followed by Arende who carried Starling and laid him carefully on the floor. Ananda sank to her knees and took Starling's hand in hers.