Apocalypse Omega Read online

  Apocalypse Omega

  The Omega Series

  marc landau

  Copyright © 2019 by Marc Landau

  This is a work of fiction. All characters appearing are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter One

  “All is fair in love and spacewar. - Wil”

  I took a step forward into the sphere.

  It was like walking into a ball of hardened jello.

  My body recoiled. It couldn’t deal with the gelatinous substances that pervaded every aspect of alien existence.

  I panicked at the memory of breathing goop. I couldn’t suffer through that again. My heart rate spiked. My palms went clammy. I tried to force myself into the middle but couldn’t move. My mind wanted to go forward but my body wanted to turn tail and run.

  I could barely breathe. The fear was closing my throat.

  I stepped back and caught my breath.

  “It’s okay,” Kat said. “It’s hollow inside. It won’t be like before. I promise.”

  Somehow, she knew my fear. By now I’d stopped trying to figure out how the alien inside of her was communicating with Kat. At this moment her reassurance was enough. I trusted her.

  You trust it? the little voice in my head said.

  “Shhh.”

  I took a deep breath then stepped into the purple ball of hard snot. My legs wobbled like noodles as I passed through the structure. It was like walking into another dimension.

  Through the looking glass. But I was no Alice, and this was no Wonderland. For all I knew, I was walking directly into the belly of an alien.

  Into the belly of the beast.

  “Shut up with the old-timey quotes!” I yell-whispered to the little voice in my head.

  Sorry.

  One thing was certain, first contact with these aliens scrambled human brains.

  Alien contact, the little voice snickered.

  “Shhh.”

  I’m shushing.

  “Thanks.”

  You’re welcome.

  “Shhh!”

  Then stop talking to me!

  Kat was right. It was hollow inside. Thank the gods. I couldn’t handle it if she'd lied and it turned out to be solid, and I was breathing mucous…again. It was like walking on some type of nano-comfort foam. I pressed my hand against the shell and it sunk in a few inches. I thought of a handprint on a marshmallow. I tried to force my hand back through to the outside but it wouldn’t go. I couldn’t get back out. I was trapped inside. Hopefully not for eternity. There wasn’t even a hamster wheel in here to get some exercise.

  The aliens had turned me into a human snow globe. If they shrunk me down mom would put me on her bedside table.

  “You’re safe and sound right by my side.”

  “Mom, please let me out of the snow globe.”

  “But you’re so safe and warm in there.”

  “Please let me out.”

  She’d pick up the snow globe, give it a smooch, then shut off the night light.

  “Goodnight, chukkalka. Sleep well.”

  Focus!

  I looked over at Kat, and her expression told me everything was okay. My heart rate slowed and I calmed down. Then she casually stepped inside of the other sphere, as if she’d done it a thousand times before. Maybe she had.

  It was quiet inside the bubble. I couldn't hear anything at all. No sounds from the ship. No beeps from the bot. No barks from Poka.

  Oh shat! Poka. I couldn’t leave her behind with the bot-alien. That thing would shove her out of the garbage chute first chance it got. I yelled for her from inside the bubble, but there was no way my voice was getting through the gelatin. This thing was soundproof, secure, and ready for space travel. Nothing was getting out. Hopefully there was enough oxygen in here.

  Stop worrying so much. The aliens won’t let you die before they kill you, the little voice said.

  It made a valid point. So I went back to trying to get Poka’s attention. Luckily, it didn’t take long before she stopped licking her butt and turned toward the sphere, and saw me waving my arms wildly at her. Her ears immediately perked up, and I gave her the “come here” hand clap.

  She raced towards the purple ball building up a head of steam. I couldn’t get out, but the passage was one-way, so she shouldn’t have had a problem getting in. Her paws scrambled wildly against the slick floor as I clapped my hands faster urging her on. “Come here, girl!”

  She might not be able to hear me clap or call to her, but she knew the visuals well enough to know the drill. And she looked just as excited as when she could hear me.

  She was building steam. Her dense mass thundering closer. She was at full gallop now, her excited face wide-eyed, her tongue dangling from the side of her mouth.

  I couldn’t hear her thundering paws from inside the sphere, but I knew exactly how it sounded out there.

  She was a few feet from the sphere now.

  She was going to bull-in-china shop her way right through the jello and slam into me.

  Now only inches away. Another second, and she’d be leaping on me.

  I watched her go airborne…

  SLAM!

  She hit the outside of the sphere and smooshed into it like she’d run into a marshmallow wall. She got up, slightly dazed but uninjured, and then licked the outside of the ball. Thank the universes she was okay! If it was a hard surface, she would’ve smashed her little brains in.

  “Hey!” I yelled to the alien sphere. “You coulda hurt her! Open the door and let her in.”

  The bot-alien came closer. “The planet is just for the two of you.” Its voice resonated inside of the bubble like they had a speaker system piping it in. Of course they had to have ways to let sound in when they wanted to.

  “Forget it, then. I’m not going without Poka. Let me out of here.”

  The bot-alien beeped. “You have agreed to the terms and will be taken to the planet.”

  “I never agreed to this. Only to take a look. And you never said Poka couldn’t come.”

  “You never asked,” the bot replied in a sarcastic tone.

  The aliens weren’t particularly sarcastic so it must have been the walrus in there making itself known. Maybe it was trying to fight the alien off, but more likely it was happy to see me trapped inside of a snow globe about to be sent off the ship.

  I pounded on the interior wall, but for all my effort all it did was make indents of my fist prints. There was no way I could break through this stuff. I turned and yelled at Kat but all she did was smile like, “Hey. Isn’t this fun?”

  I gave her the“There’s some serious shat going down” signal, and she replied with the “I can’t hear yo
u” signal. Did she really not see that they let Poka slam into the jello ball?

  Agreeing to go down and check out the planet was turning out to be a bad idea. A really bad idea.

  Chapter Two

  The sphere began floating upwards, and I screamed and flailed my arms trying to get Kat’s attention. All she did in response was wave and smile like we were taking a joy ride at Disneyland Ninety-Three.

  I watched in horror as the purple ball drifted towards the ceiling of the ship, my little Poka shrinking as I went higher. I could see her sad, confused expression and it sent pangs of guilt through my guts.

  She hated being left behind. I could barely take a trip to the nourishment center without her tagging along for the ride. Sometimes I tried sneaking out while she was asleep, but those damn dog ears were attuned for any click or whir of the home quarters’ front door. The second I slid the lock, she’d be up and behind me before I could even get the door open.

  “Fine, let’s go,” I’d say, then toss on her eco-collar and she’d leap into the cruiser before the door was even all the way open. Once settled in her spot she’d give me the“Hey man, crack the window” look. Of course, I complied. I always complied. I even brought treats along in case she got bored, or if I wanted her to stop barking at some random weirdo on the street.

  I felt bad leaving her behind. This time I even wanted her to come along but I didn’t have any choice in the matter. The sphere was taking me for a ride, whether I liked it or not. The bot-alien better take good care of her, or I’d strip it down for parts.

  At the moment, I was about to slam into the ceiling of the ship. The bubble was picking up speed and I wasn’t liking the looks of the ten-foot metal hull we were about to ram into. I knew we wouldn’t but the logic didn’t make me feel any better. I knew we'd pass through the ship the same way Kat did when she ventured into space to fight off the original sphere. But try telling your body not to freeze up when you’re moving toward a thick wall of metal at a million miles an hour.

  I reflexively closed my eyes and braced for the crash.

  But we didn’t crash.

  We passed though the wall like ghosts.

  Fraking aliens.

  I forced my eyes open, and saw we were free-floating in outer space. The sphere had gone clear. I was literally floating in a snow globe. I had a 360-degree view of the universe and the multicolored, vibrant planet below. I was falling through space, but I wasn’t.

  My stomach dropped and a wave of dizziness made me grab at something to steady myself but there was nothing to hold onto except for mushy walls. My fingers dug into the sides but it wasn’t enough to keep me upright. I fell to my knees on the mushy floor of the orb.

  Chapter Three

  On the planet’s surface, I could see a region about the size of a continent on Prime. It was evolving in real time. Shifting, growing, and changing. I watched in awe, mouth agape, as land masses grew from nowhere. Another moment passed and clouds appeared. They’d created a landscape and an atmosphere in less than five minutes.

  It was incomprehensible. There was no known technology that could do anything like this. It took even the most advanced species in the alliance years to terraform a planet. Not only did these aliens have the power to suck up ten black holes, they could create new worlds.

  If they became our allies, they could colonize every planet in our solar system in the blink of an eye. Not to mention how they could help the many resource-depleted planets with species on the verge of extinction due to the environment. These alien bubbles could whip them up a new planet in no time, or fix the ones they already lived on.

  The power to create. The power to destroy. This was truly a God-like species. I was still hopeful they were more benevolent than malicious, but so far only the Kat-alien had shown any concern about life. The rest viewed us as minor annoyances, at best. The robot would of course agree with them.

  Once I got my bearings inside the ball, traveling down to the planet was easy and actually pretty comfortable. The sphere was cushy and mushy. If this was a long trip, I could even take a nap. Might as well try. I needed to conserve my energy. Who knew what the frak was going to happen once we landed on the planet.

  But there wasn’t time for a nap. There was barely time to blink. Before I knew it, we were passing through the clouds and setting down in a clearing at the bottom of what looked exactly like a mountain I’d seen but couldn’t remember the name of.

  If I didn’t know I was on alien terrain, I’d swear it was Prime. Again, I was struck at how advanced these aliens were. They’d recreated a perfect replica of Earth terrain faster than I could take a nap.

  We gently bounced on the ground for a perfect soft landing, and slowly rolled to a stop. I couldn’t believe I was the first human to ever stand on this undiscovered alien home world. I was like Kalis Dubos, the famous discoverer of uncharted worlds. Or Hemma Glip, the first human to make contact with the universe’s most beautiful species, the gorgeous Gregons.

  I was better than all of them. I’d discovered the most remote planet in the universe. This place was nowhere on the charts. Maybe they’d name the planet after me. School kids would have a holiday for the day I discovered the mysterious Planet X. I mean, Planet Wil and Poka. That would drive the robot crazy. Poor bot would be pushed over the edge when it found out I was famous for discovering the planet.

  “You didn’t do anything. Beep bloop!”

  Not to mention, I’d also discovered super-powerful aliens! I was going to be a mega-star back on Prime. No one had ever found aliens a hundredth as advanced as these guys. Look at them. They make planets!

  I bet they could also easily wipe out most if not all diseases, and even extend human life way past its measly two hundred and fifty years. For all I knew, they could make us immortal.

  Then why are they waiting for Kat to die? the little voice asked.

  Good point.

  And don’t forget, they also can kill black holes.

  Another good point.

  These things could do more damage than a million Blue Barvon flu plagues. I might have discovered a new planet and species, but I may go down in infamy as the guy who caused a galactic apocalypse. Mr. Doomsday.

  Good thing I didn’t have to worry about any of it at the moment. We were still way off the grid, and currently deciding whether or not to live out the remainder of our short human lives on the planet.

  Unless Kat dies first. Then they’ll probably just kill you.

  Yet another good point. But along with the rest of it, I’d worry about it all later. Right now I was too taken aback by the newfound planet.

  I hesitantly pressed against the wall of the sphere to see if it was going to let me out or keep me trapped inside. Wouldn’t that be great? I’m on a lush land, but imprisoned inside a marble. Luckily, the jello gave way and I wiggled my fingers on the other side. It was time to step out.

  Everything looked good out there. Sky, clouds, trees. Fingers crossed they’d remembered to add oxygen, or I’d suffocate in seconds. Also, knock on wood, this wasn’t just another mind-game where I was actually about to step into a pit of lava or an alien’s mouth. At this point, anything seemed possible.

  I took a deep breath and held it, as if that would save me if I was hallucinating, and actually just stepped into outer space.

  Okay. Here we go.

  I extended my right foot through the marshmallow and saw it appear on the other side. I put it down on the grass, and it felt like solid ground. I tapped my foot a couple of times just to be sure.

  It was now or never. I closed my eyes and went for it, walking through the wall as if it wasn’t there. When I opened my eyes again I was standing on a patch of bright green grass in the middle of a Prime-like forest. I’d made it out of the bubble.

  Reflexively, I sucked a deep breath into my lungs. The air was fresh—so fresh. Holy hellvian. I hadn’t smelled air this luscious in forever! I’d been breathing multi-filtered robo-recycled oxygen for so
long I’d forgotten how good real air tasted.

  And this was the best of the best of real air. This wasn’t urban stank. Sure, the air everywhere on Prime was clean and unpolluted, since we figured out how to use nano-tech to refresh it. But the urban air, as clean as it was, had a sort of unnatural after-odor to it. Like you knew it was manmade and not natural. The places on Prime with unadulterated organic air were few and far between and I’d never had enough travel-creds to afford a trip to any of them.

  There was something so familiar about the planet. Maybe I was just relieved to be back on terra-firma. I’d been in space for so long, I was just glad to be standing on a planet so similar to Earth. Guess I was homesick after all.

  Yes, but it’s REALLY familiar isn’t it? the little voice asked.

  The voice was right. As grateful as I was to be off the ship and breathing fresh air, there was more to it. It all seemed too familiar. The lush foliage. The giant, healthy trees. The crisp clean air.

  I walked towards the base of the mountain, and as I approached I heard a low roaring sound. The closer I got the louder it became. I knew I’d heard that sound before. What the hellvian was it? I moved through the trees and when a clearing finally opened up I saw what was making all the racket. A waterfall.

  Spectacular.

  It was at least two hundred feet tall with crystal clear water pouring into a glasslike lake. I’d never seen anything like it before… except I was pretty sure I had seen it before.

  Where have I seen this?