Zero Gravity Zero Hour - Extinction Read online

  “Yummy. Sarah, honey, where are you?”

  He slowly walked towards the front door. Sarah is not in the living room too. As he reached the living room, Jan and Jim came outside from their bedroom.

  “Jan, Jim, did you guys saw your mom?”

  “No, dad.” Jim said.

  “Okay. Quickly do your things and get ready to go to school.”

  “Okay, dad.” Jan said.

  Jan and Jim ran towards the wash room. Edward walked towards the front door. As soon as he reached there, he opened the front door. The newspaper is on the veranda. He took the newspaper from the floor. Then he saw it in the corner of his eye. On the yard lies his wife Sarah. The coffee cup fell from his hand and it shattered into pieces as it met the concrete floor of veranda. Coffee splashed everywhere.

  Edward rushed towards his wife. He quickly crouched down near his wife and he scooped her head from the ground. He placed her head on his lap and he patted her cheek.

  “Sarah, honey. Wake up, honey.”

  Then his left hand detected a wet sensation. He drew the hand from her back and he looked at his hand. Suddenly he backed away from his wife with fear. His hand is drenched in thick blood. Then he saw it. Blood is slowly oozing down from his wife’s back and there are bullet shells all over the yard.

  “Honey ... Somebody, please help ...”

  * * * * *

  Chapter 4 – Bobby

  Somewhere in Oregon

  Bobby rubbed his eyes and he walked through the faintly lit corridor. In a corner, through the window, morning light seeped into the house. At the end of the corridor, there is a wash room and a bathroom. Bobby took a towel from nearby table and got inside the bathroom. He slowly stripped his cloths and he stood under the shower.

  He is already late for school. So, he need to do everything fast. Within two minutes, his quick shower ended. He dried his hair and body using another towel and he ran for the bedroom. Before long he reached inside his bedroom.

  He looked at his little sister’s bed. She is already up and she must be having a breakfast now. Bobby quickly wore a nice pair of trousers and a blue shirt. He then took his back pack from a corner, and he ran for the kitchen.

  In the kitchen he saw his mom. His mom is already dressed for work. Abigail is near a table and she is having a good meal. Bobby took a chair from nearby and he sat nearby the table. His mom looked at him. She quickly took a plate from the shelf and she walked towards Bobby. She placed the plate in front of bobby and she put some scrambled egg in it.

  “Eat fast. School starts in half an hour.” Mom said.

  “Where is dad?” Bobby asked.

  “He didn’t came at night. He must be at work.” Mom said.

  Bobby nodded. His father is always busy.

  Bobby quickly ate his food. And after that he ran for the kitchen sink. He washed away the remnants of food from his mouth and he quickly ran towards his back pack. His mother and his little sister, Abigail, stood near the front door waiting for him.

  Bobby quickly grabbed his back pack and he ran towards the front door. Mom smiled at Bobby. The three of them exited the house and his mom locked the door. She then placed the key under a flower pot.

  “Come on, we are already late.” Mom said.

  They quickly entered into the street. Mom walked by holding Bobby and Abigail in their arms. Her small bag which is strapped across her chest pounded on her belly as she walked. It’s extremely quiet for this morning hour and there are no vehicles on the road. His mother barely noticed the emptiness since she is too focused on getting to office.

  “Mom, where are the vehicles and where did all the people gone to?” Bobby asked.

  “I don’t know son ...”

  Pop!

  “Ahh ...”

  A gun shot echoed and Bobby’s mother fell down face first into the dark asphalt with a short yelp.

  “Mom ...” Abigail and Bobby screamed. Blood steadily oozed down from his mom’s head.

  “Mom ...” Bobby crouched down near his mother and he shook her. “Wake up, mom.” But no response came from the mother.

  “Mom ...” Abigail also crouched down near her mother and she screamed out loud.

  Both Bobby and Abigail don’t know what just happened.

  Pop!

  A gun shot echoed and the bullet struck at the side of Bobby’s left shoe, making a hole on the shoe.

  Pop!

  Another bullet came and it struck on Abigail’s back pack.

  Bobby didn’t thought twice. He grabbed Abigail’s hand and they both ran towards their house. Tears uncontrollably oozed down from their eyes.

  Pop! Pop! Pop!

  More gun shots came and they struck the road behind them, just missing them. Bobby knows one thing for certain – someone is here in this town who want to kill him and his sister. It now make sense why the streets are empty of people. A moment later, the gun shots died out. On the far corner of the block, Bobby saw his house. He and Abigail ran at maximum speed towards their home.

  * * * * *

  Chapter 5 – William

  Somewhere in Denver

  “Olivia?” William rushed inside Olivia’s apartment and he yelled her name. “Olivia?”

  Then he heard sound of flowing water. She must be in the bathroom. William ran towards the bathroom. He tried the knob on the bathroom door, but it is locked from inside. She is definitely inside.

  “Olivia?” William knocked on the door.

  “What is it?” Olivia slowly opened the bathroom door and she peeked outside.

  “Are you okay?”

  “What kind of question is that, William? Of course, I am okay.”

  “There are ... There are dead bodies on the road.”

  “What? Where?”

  “Just outside the apartment. I think ... I think, your whole neighbourhood is dead. There are no running vehicles on the road. The streets are empty.”

  “What?” Olivia quickly wrapped a towel around her body and she exited the bathroom.

  “Did you call 911?”

  “I tried. There is no signal.”

  Olivia forced a nod. She quickly wore the under garments, and then she grabbed a blue jeans and a blue shirt, and she quickly wore them.

  “So, you see no one alive on the streets?”

  “No, Olivia. But, I didn’t checked further into the town. First I saw a cop’s dead body. There were bullet holes everywhere on the car. And there are hundreds of bullet shells on the road. I think somebody shot down everyone. There are a few dozens of dead bodies in the north part of the road.”

  “Will it be terrorists? I heard yesterday that, a suicide bomber exploded in Chicago, killing thirty three people.”

  “It might be terrorists. What would we do? They could be anywhere. Since the network is down, it must be happening all over the town.”

  “What about CIA and our Military?”

  “What about them?”

  “They would have anticipated an attack like this. They must have detected this. Will they send reinforcements?”

  “I don’t know, Olivia. But, I do think that we are in grave danger.”

  Olivia went near the window and she peered outside.

  “It’s very quiet.” Olivia said.

  “That’s what I am talking about.”

  Olivia looked in every direction. She saw desolated streets, and then she saw a police car in the middle of the road. The lights on the roof of the car are still blinking. William also watched the scene outside.

  “We can’t stay here. There must be some survivors.” Olivia said. “If it is terrorists, they might bring down everything while we are still inside this building. At worse, they will break inside the building and kill us.”

  “Where would we go, Olivia? They will shoot us down as soon as they see us. I don’t think we can get out of this city alive.”

  “Why are you saying things like that, William?”

  “Because, you didn’t saw the dead bodies out
side. Only I saw them. Blood is still oozing down from their body. It hasn’t been too long since they were killed.”

  “So, they may be close by.”

  “Yeah.”

  “But, William, we didn’t heard any gunshots.”

  “Did you forgot? We were doing things in the morning. I barely registered the outside sounds.” Olivia nodded her head. “I need to check my house. My brother and parents are inside the house.”

  “They might be okay. Come on, let’s get out of here. If we are careful, we can find somebody alive.”

  “Okay.”

  Without further thought, they both quickly ran towards the door.

  * * * * *

  Chapter 6 – Edward

  Somewhere in Wyoming

  “Oh, honey ...” Edward cried out loud.

  “Dad?” Jim called from the doorway.

  It’s then Edward noticed that the entire surrounding is extremely quiet and there are no one on the streets. There is not even a single vehicle on the road.

  “Dad, who is that?” Jim again called.

  Edward quickly wiped away his tears using the sleeve of his shirt and he ran inside the house. On the way, he forced his son to get inside the house.

  “Dad, is that mom?” Jim asked.

  Edward closed the door. “Don’t you dare open the door, Jim.” Edward stared at Jim. “Did you heard what I have said?”

  Jim nodded.

  Jan also came to the scene. Edward quickly took his cell phone from the living room table and he dialled 911. But the call didn’t went through. There is no signal.

  “Damn it.” Edward muttered.

  Pop! Pop! Pop!

  Suddenly, a series of gunshots came from just outside.

  Pop! Pop! Pop!

  “Ahh ...”

  More gun shots and closely followed by a scream came from outside.

  “Dad?” Jim called.

  “Hush.”

  Pop! Pop! Pop!

  “Ahh ...”

  Gunshots and scream again came. Suddenly an armed man walked through the street in front of Edward’s house. The man wore a bandana on his head and he had covered his face using a part of the bandana. Edward quickly motioned at his kids to crouch down, and they obeyed. Edward also crouched down.

  The armed man walked away from the street. Edward took a deep sigh.

  “We need to get out of here.” Edward whispered.

  Jan and Jim nodded.

  * * * * *

  Chapter 7 – Abigail

  Somewhere in Oregon

  Abigail and Bobby ran towards the house. As soon as they reached near the house yard, Bobby rushed towards the flower pot and he fished the key from under the pot. Bobby quickly opened the door and they both rushed inside. Bobby quickly closed the door behind him.

  “Bobby, mom.” Abigail began to whimper.

  “Don’t cry, Abigail.” Bobby came near Abigail and he patted on her shoulder.

  “Now what would we do, Bobby?”

  “I don’t know, Abigail. I don’t know.” Tears uncontrollably oozed down from Bobby’s eyes. Then Bobby went near the window and he peered outside. “There are no one on the streets.” Bobby muttered.

  Abigail went near the window and she too peered outside. Then they saw some opened shops on the side of the road, but they couldn’t see anyone inside them.

  “There are no cars on the road too.” Abigail said. Suddenly a siren of a police car came from deep inside the city.

  Abigail and Bobby stared at the road. A moment later, a police car came into view. Suddenly gun shots came from the second level of a nearby building, and all the bullets struck on the police car’s windshield. Then the car crashed into a street lamp and it stopped moving.

  Abigail and Bobby stared at the crashed police car with disbelief.

  “Who is shooting, Bobby?”

  “I don’t know. It could be terrorists.”

  “Who are Terrorists?”

  “They are bad people, Abigail.”

  “Can we go to dad’s place?”

  Bobby thought for a moment. “That’s a good idea. Come on let’s go. But, we must be careful. And don’t you dare run away from me.”

  “Okay.”

  “Let’s first grab some mineral water.”

  Bobby walked towards the refrigerator in the kitchen. Abigail followed him. They quickly took two bottles of mineral water and they placed them in the back pack.

  “Let’s go.” Bobby led her to the back door. Bobby slowly opened the back door and he peered outside. Then he led her outside. Abigail also peered everywhere for any danger. Her eyes are still watering.

  Before long, they entered into a sidewalk. Bobby led her deep inside the city. They stayed away from the road much as possible. And they walked in the shade of the buildings. The entire city is dead silent, but occasionally, a crackling sound of glass can be heard from different directions. Before long they saw their mom’s dead body.

  Abigail quickly started to go near her mom. But, Bobby quickly stopped her.

  “Abby, don’t go there.” Bobby grabbed her hand and he led her away from the place. Abigail often peered at the top of the buildings for any danger. Bobby is pretty much alerted. Before long they saw their school. Then they saw it. Hundreds of dead bodies are scattered on the road here and there. School yard is filled with dead bodies of students.

  Bobby and Abigail stayed away from the dead bodies. Abigail want to scream out loud, but, she knows that screaming won’t save her or her mother. Her mother is dead, no doubt about that, but they have to find a way to survive this, at least for dad.

  A few moments later they began to see vehicles. All the vehicles are crashed one another and smoke is still rising from most vehicles’ hood.

  There aren’t much dead bodies near the vehicles, but, there are bullet holes everywhere on the vehicles’ body and windshield.

  Abigail stopped for a moment.

  “What is it, Abigail?”

  “I am tired.” Abigail took a bottle of mineral water and she sipped some water.

  Then they continued their walk.

  “That’s our dad’s office.” Bobby said pointing at a double story building on the next block. Abigail and Bobby rushed forward. Suddenly they stopped. Near their dad’s office stood a few dozens of armed men. All the men wore a bandana in their head and they all covered their face using a cloth piece. Then one of the armed men looked at Abigail’s and Bobby’s direction.

  Suddenly the armed man raised his gun and he trained the gun at Abigail and Bobby, and he pulled the trigger.

  Pop! Pop! Pop!

  Bullets rushed towards Abigail and Bobby. Abigail and Bobby broke into sprint. A few moments later, Abigail took a quick glance at her rear. Then she saw the armed men pursuing them. Bobby turned around a block. Abigail closely followed Bobby.

  Pop! Pop! Pop!

  The armed man fired. Several bullets hit Abigail’s back pack. She screamed out loud and ran at her maximum speed. Suddenly a soldier came from nearby a building in front of Bobby.

  “Get down ...” The soldier screamed.

  Bobby and Abigail quickly crouched down on the road.

  Pop! Pop! Pop!

  “Ahh ...” The soldier pulled the trigger and the armed man went down with a short yelp.

  “Kids, come with me.” The soldier called. Bobby and Abigail stood up. The soldier quickly ran towards an alley. Abigail and Bobby followed him. Then they saw it. A military Humvee rests in the alley. The three of them quickly got inside the Humvee. The soldier started the Humvee and the Humvee rushed forward.

  * * * * *

  Chapter 8 – Olivia

  Somewhere in Denver

  Olivia and William cautiously exited the small apartment building. Before long they started their walk through the empty desolated street. The police car is still there and Olivia set her eyes on the dead cop. For a moment she fell in thought, looking at that cop. Then she continued her walk. William is walking in the fro
nt line and he often peered at the buildings around him.

  There is not a single building with intact glass structures. The sidewalk is filled with glass shards and bullet shells. Bullet shells are all over the place, even some of cars have bullet shells inside them. They quickly reached near where bodies are scattered on the road. Here, there are more vehicles and most vehicles were crashed one another long time ago. Some of the vehicles are still rumbling in a low pitch sound. And smoke rose from the hood of most crashed vehicles.

  There are numerous red lines formed on the road due to the excessive flow of blood. Blood is still fresh, and here and there on the side of the road, there are puddles of blood. Olivia covered her mouth using her hand in horror. She tried her best to not to look at the dead bodies, but it was in vain. It is not possible to walk through this road without looking at a dead body.

  It seems that the entire city is dead. There are opened shops on the side of the road, but supplies from the shop are all over the side walk and the glass walls and glass windows are all broken.