Anthony DeCosmo - Parallels

Nina reacted, "Fire in the hole!"

Shepherd did the only thing he had time to do; he rolled under one of the seats.

Nina launched a grenade from the M203 on her M4's barrel and also rolled for cover.

The grenade hit the creature at close range. The explosion pushed it back into the rear-most coach. Chunks of the creature tore off and the wood frame of the passenger car caught fire as the creature went up in flames. The flash-fire threatened to engulf the entire compartment.

The last two of the insects stood on top of that coach jabbing their scythe-claws through the roof hoping to hit prey but actually cutting at their burning comrade.

Nina stood and reloaded her launcher. She then fired a second grenade into the burning coach. The explosion split the train car in two. The rear half derailed and rolled down an embankment. Two of the dying creatures went with it while the third-the last one-took to the air with its wings on fire. It fluttered for a second like a warped firefly and then fell.

"We need help back here," Shepherd radioed from the floor between seats. "Get us a fire extinguisher and someone who can uncouple the last coach."

Nina, still full of anger, turned to face Shepherd with half-a-mind to restart the interrogation right there. She wanted answers.

Then she saw the metal rod through his shoulder.

"Holy shit, Shep," anger evaporated into panic.

The explosion had sent shrapnel every where, including a foot-long steel rod through the seats and into his right shoulder.

The Conductor and two men entered the car and worked quickly to disconnect the burning, dragging coach from the train before the flames could spread.

Nina held Shepherd. A blood stain formed on his shirt and his sharp eyes glazed.

"Oh my God. I need a medic here!"

"It ain’t nothing, Nina. Don’t go fussin'."

Nina took stock of the nasty-looking wound. The rod had not hit any vital organs but the pain was immense, or it would be, once the adrenaline of battle faded.

"Oh, Shep, this is my fault. I shouldn’t have fired the grenade so close."

"Now don’t go sayin' that. You did what you always do, Nina. You won the fight."

He fell unconscious. Nina felt for a pulse and found a strong one. Still, she cradled his head in her lap and forgot about her questions. Suddenly they did not seem so important.

10. Redoubt

Trevor stood at the apartment's only window and from what the other Nina told him, most apartments did not have windows and those that did needed to shut the shudders after dark. That gave Trevor only another few minutes to view the city from the thirteenth floor of what felt like a nearly empty skyscraper hotel.

From his vantage point, he saw a couple of other skyscrapers which were part of the cluster of tall buildings comprising central Thebes; each colored dirty green, each-according to Nina-dormitories.

As he scanned the city, he saw smaller square-shaped and rectangular buildings; he saw fuel cisterns and generator stations, roof top greenhouses and air defense batteries.

Far away from the downtown sector, he saw smoke stacks and factory buildings including a giant structure resembling a sort of industrial cathedral, but a veil of smog hovered over the district obscuring the view.

A few traffic lights worked and he spied a handful of vehicles that reminded him of cargo carriers, transports, and cars from home but the streets remained mainly empty.

It was January in this world, too, yet half the buildings in the city emitted no smoke. That meant half the buildings in the city did not need heat because they were empty.

Overall, he saw a dark, sad city more depressing than the empty cities on his own post-Armageddon Earth. Those cities had died. This city-this 'Thebes'-seemed more a zombie: dead but too stubborn to pass quietly.

The thought made him shiver because he knew there had been a Trevor Stone on this world. A Trevor Stone who-like himself-led humanity’s fight. A Trevor Stone who made some mistake or another; who had failed.

Yes, they brought him here as a prisoner, but he felt pity for these humans. The Nina of this world thought that he could help so she kidnapped him. Could he judge her harshly? Had he not sent waves of his K9 killers to slaughter a village in the name of victory?

The bathroom door opened. Reverend Johnny joined Trevor at the window.

"What is it you spy, my friend?"

"I have spent every day since the world changed fighting so as to never see this."

Johnny nodded his head and quoted softly, "They may try to rebuild, but I will demolish them again…their country will be known as 'The Land of Wickedness,' and their people will be called 'The People with Whom the LORD Is Forever Angry.' "

The second sunset of their stay in Thebes neared. The two men were kept isolated the entire time, starting first at a vacant military barracks, then an empty dining hall where they found the food as bland as the walls, and now this apartment. Other than the company of a few silent guards, they remained alone except for the occasional question of "how are you guys holding up?" and the promise that "this won’t last much longer," during quick visits from Nina.

As for the dormitory, the furniture felt old, musty, and hard. Trevor found neither communication devices nor any type of radio or television. The dim lighting tended to flicker on and off, meaning power generation posed yet another issue for the people of this Earth.

With his eyes fixed on the darkening city outside, Trevor told Johnny, "I want to apologize. It was my foolishness that led us here."

"You owe me no apology, Trevor. I am wise in many ways but your vision in matters such as these is keener. If we were to speak honestly, then I must admit that you are in tune with forces I can not comprehend. You are a person of destiny, everyone knows this but we fear to speak openly of it."

"I suppose," Trevor said, "some things are best left unspoken."

"This is true. But here we are in what is apparently a duplicate world; a duplicate universe. The same in many ways and yet different in its subtleties. Imagine if told of a parallel universe a few years ago how we would have reacted. That revelation would have been enough to question all of what we know; our place in the universe, our faith, our science. But here I stand not in awe of this incredible truth, but in complete acceptance. Why is that?"

Trevor answered, "Because you’ve seen so much already. Because monsters and aliens are real. When you’re fighting for your life it is easy to set aside the larger picture and focus on the 'what' and not the 'why' because the 'why' might just drive you crazy."

"Yes, indeed. But for those who follow you, Trevor, there is a greater truth. We have fought the vile beasts and glimpsed Hell. These things point to powerful, all-encompassing forces. Yet, we are not afraid of these powers. Do you know why? Because of you. Partly because you are a master general, partly because you have taken the burden of our survival on your shoulders so as to keep that burden from crushing us. But most important, you are a man in tune with the powers. I suppose you could say, when the Gods convene to weave their plans, they save a seat for you at the table. I know that no matter how small we seem, we are in fact giants. We have to be; otherwise the universe wouldn’t be going to such trouble to destroy us."

Trevor considered.

A seat at the table.

A quick knock on the door interrupted their conversation. Nina Forest walked inside.

"Sorry leaving you alone for a while like that, but I had a couple of things to take care of. I promise you’ll have my complete attention from here on in."

"I see," Trevor responded as she joined them at the window.

"Beautiful, isn’t it," she gestured to the view although her words were probably sarcastic.