original

Run on Shadow's Edge

Author: ags2020b

Prologue- The Apocalypse

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"What comes around goes around." - anonymous.

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"Can you feel it? It started!" Jorge shouted. The sky was gray and the birds were panicking in the air as they traveled west. They could hear a faint hum unlike anything else- like a deep trumpet blown from the distant sky. It was something unexpected. Jorge could feel static electricity in his hand and it is some kind of effect so slight that can only be described at the quantum level.

"Where is everybody?" Lyca asked. She was on the verge of panic. She could see the faint glow of the horizon from atop the building.

Jorge asked, "Have you called Miles? And Colonel Riva?"

"Yes! The f_ck happened to them? They should be here!" Lyca was shaking uncontrollably to counteract the fear she felt. She lighted a cigarette but her hands were so shaky she could not hold the lighter in place so she just threw them on the floor.

"Damn!" Lyca ran on the ledge of the building and watched the darkness grow on the horizon. "How long do we have to stay here, Jorge?"

"I have no idea but we need to jump before it hits us."

Lyca looked down on the street below. The streets were filled with cars and people going to their day to day activities- completely unaware of the things that are going to happen.

"How many will die?" Lyca asked.

Jorge looked at her.

"Approximately 3.5 million people Lyca."

Lyca sighed. "How dare we leave them to die and not know what hit them?"

"It is better that way. That is the reason we are doing this to save them!"

"I hope you are right, Jorge. Because if we mess this up we don't have a city to go back to. No friends and families... no earth?"

"I want to go back, Lyca. Not for me. But to preserve what we have right now. This world has turned its ugly side and we need to bring it back. This is our only chance."

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Below the building, Colonel Riva and Miles arrived in the basement. They entered the elevator and Miles was about to press the top floor but Colonel Riva pressed his ID badge and the elevator automatically transported them to a secret destination below. Miles was aghast.

"Where are we going, Colonel?"

"The secret lab. I have to check something."

"But…"

The colonel cut him.

"There's an important opportunity that escaped me and I want to know."

The lower floor was not guarded at the time which is quite unusual. Even the wall was fully equipped with a CCTV camera but somehow the red light that indicates it is on was not visible.

"There's no one here today," Colonel Riva pointed out. "I issued an order to vacate this for an emergency maintenance check. We are here on our own."

"But Doctor Molina is in charge of this lab, isn't he?"

"Yes."

"Where is he?" Miles asked.

Colonel Riva looked at him and did not provide an answer. Everything inside the lab is a secret and asking questions on whereabouts is included.

They walked through the entire length of the dome-shaped hallway where either a green or red light is on but that morning- an orange light overhead was beaming on and off.

Upon reaching the door of the lab, Colonel Riva flashed his ID badge and the heavy metal door unlocked. He pushed the door after turning the knob and the light automatically opened revealing the huge laboratory and its intricate apparatus inside.

Miles could not help but gasp at the metallic objects that were strategically placed in the sections of the lab. They were three humongous bronze columns with circular heads, two huge circular beams encased in titanium shell in the middle, mainframe computers, hordes of machines on the sides, thick cables of various colors littered the floor, and countdown timers carefully placed on the wall. A monitoring loft with a thick glass wall above the entrance was designed for a 180-degree view of the entire lab.

"Amazing!" Miles breathed as he walked alongside the Colonel.

'You haven't seen anything yet." The Colonel replied.

Colonel Riva walked through the stairwell going up the loft. Miles followed him. The view from the deck was even more spectacular with the horde of knobs, levers, and buttons on a big control table.

"How does this thing work?" Miles asked.

Colonel Riva turned the red button on his side. Then pushed one of the levers forward. A loud hum was generated as the three bronze columns began to light up.

A thick electric spark began to emerge from the three bronze towers prompting the circular beam in the middle to move clockwise and counterclockwise. As it spun faster, it created an unusual atmosphere inside the lab. Paper floated. Lights began to turn on and off and a green halo began to emerge.

"Oh my God!" Miles shouted. "Is this something to do with…"

"Time machine, Miles."

"What are you doing Colonel? Jorge and Lyca were waiting for us at the top of the building!"

But Colonel Riva was so engrossed with what he started. That is not his goal to hurry but to understand how everything inside the machine works.

"We have no time Colonel! You need to stop."

Miles is on edge. The agreement is to be there early in the morning.

He tried to dial his phone but the wall around the building is lined with titanium and there's no way it could allow interference from outside frequencies. Then he saw the ID The colonel was holding-it was the ID of Doctor Molina!

Miles went down the stairwell on his own.

"Where are you going?" The Colonel shouted.

"This is not the plan Colonel. I have to go!"

Miles made his way towards the inside of the laboratory but the wind was faster than he earlier thought. It was sucking him.

"Oh, God!" Miles shouted. He slowly walked out of the lab by holding tightly to the row of Mainframe computers. He stumbled on a long pole attached to the wall and climbed out of the metal door. When he was able to get out, Miles rushed towards the elevator and made his way towards the top of the building.

"Come on! Faster!" he shouted. He received a text message on his phone. It was from Lyca.

It said, "F_ck! Where are you?!"

He quickly dialed his phone. Lyca picked it up.

"How long?" Miles asked.

"You got twenty seconds!" Lyca replied at the top of her voice.

"Oh f_ck! I am ready when I get out of the elevator."

"Where is Colonel Riva?" Lyca asked.

"Long story! I will tell you later!" Miles replied.

"Whatever happened, Miles. Make it fast!"

Miles turned his cell phone off.

He readied himself by tightening the hook on his backpack. When the elevator door opened he saw Jorge and Lyca standing on the ledge. The dark horizon was spreading fast and it is telling him he will die if he stayed inside.

"Ruuuuun!" Lyca shouted at him.

Jorge waved his hand inward as the impending apocalypse is about to dawn upon them. 10,9,8,7....

The darkness has now grown bigger and ready to annihilate every living thing on earth.

Miles ran fast towards the ledge and in one breath jumped out of the building together with Jorge and Lyca plunging them 150 meters below.

Then the abominable happened. First, it was total darkness then the surrounding suddenly turned to white as everything around them exploded in a fiery hell.

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Late night.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

The Colonel's phone sounded a message alarm as he was about to make his car turn on the intersection. He looked for a bay area and briefly parked his car to check on his text message. He opened his phone and there was a text message from Jorge. He checked the message that read, "Murder Victim. We may need you here to look at it. Hotel D-Lux Parking Lot."

The Colonel texted back. "Coming in an hour."

The colonel looked up in the night sky and the drizzle had stopped. He made his way to the nearest noodle house. After seating comfortably at one of the tables, he ordered a bowl of beef ramen. It was his favorite comfort food that warms the body when it is cold. From the glass wall, he saw a disheveled beggar carrying a placard that says," Repent! The apocalypse is coming!" The beggar was intentionally letting all the customers see his placard that got the heavy-set manager angry. The manager asked the security guard to remove the beggar in front of the store.

After the dinner, the Colonel was about to go to Hotel D-Lux when the beggar knocked on his car with his tin can. The Colonel took out his wallet and generously gave him twenty bucks. The beggar laughed. "Thank you for your generosity. But Colonel, you need to go back in time. Everyone will die." The beggar walked off as he tucked the money in his dirty pocket.

The Colonel felt having cold water splashed onto him. How did he know my name? What is he talking about? Go back to where? The beggar was kidding him. Everyone ... will die? He felt being stupid thinking about it. He received another text message from Jorge.

"Still coming?"

He started the engine and wiped out of his mind everything the beggar just told him.