The American soldiers and some of the British sailors, or Otherworlders as the locals called them, had done much in the last week to clean up the rubble of Zakrostas. The army cleared the streets of debris and rebuilding had begun. They also removed the huge numbers of corpses by either burning or burying them.

The citizens of Zakrostas were at first hesitant as to what to make of these strange people from the sea. Mina did much to help win them over. She quoted the old prophecy of men in iron boats and told them that one of the ship's names was the Olympus. After that, the people of Zakrostas welcomed their liberators as heroes, some even as gods.

With the lack of housing, due to the utter destruction of the city, tents were set up as temporary shelters for the citizens to live in. As more refugees returned to their city, housing was becoming a crisis. There were few buildings left undamaged from the recent battle.

The language barrier was a big obstacle at first. However, between Lt. Greer and Mina many of the Otherworlders and the people of Zakrostas learned the other's language well enough to get basic ideas across. The language schools that were established proved very popular.

General Crist wasted no time in repairing the breach in the wall and laying out the best defensive measures possible. Although, they had plenty of rifles they did not have enough ammunition to press an offensive. It would be some time before they would be able to manufacture their own bullets not to mention grenades and shells for the tanks, the artillery, and the ships.

Crist also strictly rationed the activities of all vehicles to conserve as much fuel as possible. The only oil they had was in the tanker and they did not have any refining facilities. Some of the engineers believed that they could convert some of the vehicles to burn alcohol.

The men were proving to be very ingenious. They already had a blacksmith shop with a Bessemer converter to make pig iron into steel. The introduction of the modern saddle, bridle, and stirrup proved extremely popular with the Atlanteans. Another group had already begun construction of a watermill on the Skalandos River south of the city. The mill would prove extremely valuable in powering the first factories planned for the city.

General Crist had no problem assuming control over the city. It appeared that the city's leaders were the first to evacuate and headed for the capital city of Atlantis. The remaining military forces of Zakrostas were eager to learn from the Otherworlders. The U.S. forces taught them how to fire the rifles and modern military tactics.

"We've been knocking over every latrine looking for saltpeter," one of the soldiers in charge of making gunpowder explained to the general. "Until we can get better facilities up and running we will be only able to make black powder. This I believe will be in conjunction with the introduction of the muskets planned to be manufactured."

Crist nodded his head. The muskets would be the easiest weapon manufactured at this time. Plus, the more weapons made and put into the hands of the local military the better off they were. He had already concluded that only the Otherworlders would use the M1s unless there was an invasion.

The removal of the latrines was also proving to be expedient in another matter. The medical staff on the Respite determined that the sanitation conditions of Zakrostas were deplorable. The construction of a modern sewage system was already in progress with the reconstruction of the city. With it was planned running water in every household.

Corporal Manders kept watch on the south wall. The sun was high in the sky and its hot rays beat down on him relentlessly. The smell of human and animal waste permeated the air. The corporal mused that Homer never talked about the omni-present smell of sewage. He would rather be anywhere but on sentry duty. However, it was his turn and so he stood on the wall looking to the south.

At first, he thought it was just a cloud, but then the dust cloud grew larger as time moved on. Corporal Manders called for the officer on duty to confirm what he was looking at. Captain Miller took out his field glasses and focused on the gathering dust cloud.

Down the road marched about five hundred men wearing bronze armor and armed with the long spear. One man rode a horse in front of the small army. Behind him marched a standard-bearer with the symbol of a double-headed axe on the standard.

The captain quickly called his superior who then passed it on to General Crist. The general wasted no time in mounting the wall to observe the procession himself. By now, the army was within half an hours march to the city's southern gate.

The general quickly assembled some men to prepare to meet the delegation outside the gate. For a show of force, he would ride in one jeep, Greer and Mina would ride in another and two M4 Sherman tanks would drive along with them. The hastily assembled reception party drove out of the gate fifteen minutes after Crist noticed the delegation approaching the city.

As the quartet of vehicles approached, the advancing army stopped. The man riding the horse had a hard time retaining control over the terror-stricken animal. Even some of the soldiers hedged back waiting for the first chance to run.

Sergeant Maxwell the general's driver halted the jeep several yards in front of the Atlantean army. The tanks pulled up next to the jeep and halted as well. General Crist and the two guards riding along with him and the driver left the vehicle. The guards had their Garands ready in case they needed a show of force. Although the tanks would be much better at it than two men with .30 rifles.

Lt. Greer hopped down from his jeep which was parked behind the general's; as usual, Mina escorted him. They walked a few paces behind Crist and the guards. When the five people were a few paces away from the man on the horse they stopped. The well-muscled rider wore a kilt and a bronze breastplate, under his highly polished helmet with a long black horsehair plume the dark tan face of a man in his thirties looked down on them. His hair and short-cropped beard were black and his piercing eyes were brown.

The man on the horse said something to the Americans, and Greer quickly translated, "Greetings, God killers! I am King Podaistas and I welcome you to my kingdom."

General Crist spoke to the king through Greer and Mina, "Greetings king, I am General Crist and we come in peace and friendship."

"I hear that you and your metal monsters have defeated the army sent by the gods to punish us. I also hear that you have slain the mighty king of the seas, King Poseidon. My people have been spared and all owe you their lives," King Podaistas said in a mighty voice.

Crist smiled and said, "Your Greatness, it is our sworn duty to protect the innocent from oppressors. On our world, we were embarking on such a mission. We ended up in your kingdom by mistake. Yet our mission is still the same."

The king high on his wide-eyed mount looked down on the general and his men. Then in a loud voice for all to hear the king stated, "In payment for your deeds I grant you the city of Zakrostas and all the lands north of the Skalandos River and east of the city to the land of the Asgards of the kingdom of Ragnarok east of the Dragonspine Mountains."

Posted by Douglas Gogerty at 6:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Gaius had been kept busy on the road to Campania. He was beginning to wonder if he would ever make it. The Appian Way was teeming with travelers and thieves. In fact, he had taken care of many problems, but he had not yet reached the coast. Upon reaching the coast, he would be slightly less than half way through his journey.

He had planned to be gone a month, and he was well behind schedule. Not to mention that every time he had hoped to begin to make up time, something occurred. It would be a struggle to catch up. Gaius was planning on riding hard to make the coast on this day. He arose early, and made it to the first way point by midmorning.

At this stop, his horse was tired and needed some water, so he would have to rest a while. He sat underneath an olive tree while his ride recovered from the morning's ride. He was about to rise and leave when someone approached him.

"I have been following you for quite some time," stated the young stranger.

"Is that so," replied Gaius.

"You make it easy," the stranger added. "There has been a trail of dead bodies for miles."

"What makes you think I am responsible for those deaths?"

"I know!" the young stranger replied confidently. "They have slowed you down enough for me to catch up."

"And you are?"

"My name is Nonus Iuventius Mordanticus. Now, prepare to die."

"Ha ha ha!" laughed Gaius as he continued to sit. "I have no argument with you young one. Now be gone while you still can still walk."

"You have met your match in me Ferrarius!"

"So, you do know me. Well, test your metal somewhere else! You are working in a hotter fire than you realize."

"I have been training my whole life for this moment. I know what I am doing."

"Clearly you do not know enough, or you would not challenge me. For the record, I have not trained since before you were born."

"I am good enough to defeat you!"

"I very much doubt that. You see, every move you know or could ever hope to know, I know how to counter it. Now, if you are fast enough, and strong enough, and you do not make any mistakes, then any fight between you and I could last up to seven moves. I will be impressed if that is the case, which I doubt."

"It will not last that long because you will be dead in three."

"Obviously, you have never killed a man or you would not speak so -- boldly."

"I may have never killed anyone, but I am a match for you."

"Listen," replied Gaius with a very serious look on his face. "I have killed many people, and everyone earned their deaths. Not one of them treated death as cavalierly as you. There are no time outs and no second chances. If you make one mistake against a competent foe, your insides are exposed for all to see."

"I am not afraid."

"You see, that is part of the problem. You should be afraid. You are confident about your own skills; however, you know very little of mine. You do not know how easy or difficult the fights along this trail have been. I am confident that my skills can withstand anything you have to offer. Yet, I am still afraid."

"Stand up and fight!"

"You are not listening. I do not fight -- just to fight. All my fights have purpose. Fighting you will serve no purpose."

"It will serve the purpose of telling people who I am."

"If you went around telling people I am the one who killed Gaius Cornelius Ferrarius, most would ask who?"

"Your reputation is well known."

"You would think so, yet people still try to fight me."

"I can defeat you."

"Even if that were true, it would not help your reputation. Those who had heard of me would speak of how old and tired I was. You would not strike fear into them. Respect has to be earned. The road to respect is long and arduous. There are no shortcuts."

"Get up and fight! Let me worry about the after effects."

"You still do not understand. If we fight, only one will walk away. If you think that I will let you live to challenge me again in the future, you think very lowly of me. If we fight, there is only death. Your death would serve no purpose. Thus, I will not fight you."

"You are a coward."

"Go ahead and spread that around. I will not mind. In fact, it could help me out a bit."

"Is there nothing I can do to make you fight me?"

"Become corrupt and take advantage of average people and the fates may allow us to meet in battle. However, they will likely take you down in some other way, so I do not recommend going down that path."

"If you will not fight, then perhaps you would let me study under you."

"I am not a teacher. Further, at some point you will feel the urge to test yourself against me. That can only end poorly. No, it is best that you join the army. They will teach you what you need to know. Further, your chance of survival -- is by no means assured -- but it is better."

"Very well Ferrarius -- fare well. Perhaps we shall meet again."

"Let us hope that is not the case."

The young Mordanticus walked away as Gaius watched. Cautiously, Gaius got up and mounted his horse and rode off. He hoped that he would not be forced to fight the young man because he saw a bit of himself in the young warrior. However, he would kill him if he had to.

Gaius made it to the second way point without incident. After a brief rest, he pushed on. After a few more hours ride, he made it to the coast. His journey was nearly half over, and he wondered how many more encounters there would be. He was sure he had enough.

Posted by Douglas Gogerty at 5:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This is for Michael Jackson...

Posted by Douglas Gogerty at 5:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

An old man with wild white hair and a matching beard sat upon his gilded throne. He wore a simple white toga and a gold crown sat upon his head. He looked around the room at the assembly around him. He still had not heard any word yet about the war.

"What can be keeping my brother?" grumbled the old man.

"Relax, oh king," a beautiful woman lying across the lap of a bronzed skin man wearing armor said. "Your brother knows his job and has never failed you yet."

"Yes, father," the man in the armor added. "I am sure Uncle has performed his duties."

"What do you think daughter?" the king asked the woman sitting by herself wearing armor much like her brothers.

"From Olympus over the sea, men in iron boats shall set us free. The coming fight will split heaven, bringing against us the wrath of seven. In the end, those across the Styx will only number a paltry six. I think that you, Zeus might have much to fear," the woman said. "The prophecy will come true and men will rise against us gods.

"Gods!" spat the woman. "Only to the mortals are we gods. Just because we will not die of age or disease does not mean we are gods,"

"Athena, watch your tongue!" snapped Zeus. "We brought the mortals here to our world to worship us. To be our slaves, our breeding stock, our pawns, whatever we want from them."

"You fear a prophecy that men had made," the man in armor added. "We keep no men here on Olympus. So where are the men in iron boats supposed to come from?

"The mortals have not been giving us our due so we naturally need to remind them of who we are. Even now, Poseidon is leading his forces of sea serpents and cyclopes with father's minotaurs as reinforcements against Zakrostas. The city shall fall and the rest of Atlantis will respect and worship us. Plus, the female slaves from the city shall arrive any day now."

"Ares," Zeus said, "you are correct in many things. Nevertheless, Athena speaks wisdom in being concerned with the prophecy. Even Apollo has confirmed it as much as he can. Although he cannot give us anymore answers than we have now."

"I am sorry father," Apollo replied lightly plucking the strings of his lyre. "The vision is not clear. Even I cannot force things that are beyond my power."

The beautiful woman laughed, "You all sound like old women."

"Aphrodite do not mock father," a man wearing leg braces admonished.

"Sorry, husband," Aphrodite said with heavy sarcasm. "Too bad you are not half the man as your brother, Ares."

Ares smiled as he stroked Aphrodite's soft golden hair. "Hephaestus is only half a man," mocked the God of war.

The blacksmith scowled. It was bad enough his wife warmed Ares' bed instead of his, but having the two mock him made things worse.

"Enough!" roared Zeus, his voice rumbled through the hall like thunder.

"Look, husband," Hera, his queen said from her throne. "Even now I see Hermes returning on winged foot.

The messenger of the gods flew into the great hall. He carried a large bundle in his arms and as he landed lightly upon the floor, he gave Zeus a sorrowful look.

"Hermes, what troubles you?" the king asked.

"I do not know how, but Poseidon has been defeated," Hermes said in a dour voice.

"Defeated? How is that possible? What did you see?" Zeus urged excitedly standing up from his throne.

"I saw your army retreating, if you can call a rout -- a retreat in disarray," Hermes said. "Their numbers were only a third of what set out against Zakrostas."

"Surely my brother can still raise the waves and shake the earth against the city. His sea serpents can destroy their fleet," Zeus countered.

"I'm afraid he cannot," Hermes replied. He then opened the bundle in his arms. In the bundle, the mangled remains of Poseidon rolled to the floor. His legs were missing, as was his left arm. His ribs were exposed through the torn flesh in his side. Even half his face was gone, revealing his grinning skull.

"NO!" screamed the king. His sorrow thundered across mount Olympus. "How can this be? He was immortal."

"Father, we are only immortal against age and disease. We are also impervious to any spear, sword, or bow that can be wielded by man," Athena stated. "However, the humans must have discovered some great weapon that can harm us."

Fear spread through the room. The gods looked at each other seeking answers. If the humans could kill the gods, then their days were numbered.

Ares jumped to his feet, nearly dumping Aphrodite to the ground. "Father, I can lead an army against the humans. Give me Hermes' draco-lords, and his griffins, Hades' Necro-lords, and his dead. I will overwhelm the humans."

"I too can create an army of Talos, my bronze giants to march against the humans," Hephaestus added.

"Not so fast brother dear," Athena cautioned. "You need to plan this out."

"We need action and we need it now!" spat Ares.

"It will take time for me to assemble the Necro-lords and the dead," Hades said to Ares. "As I am sure it will take Hermes some time to assemble his Draco-lords and their mounts as well as the griffins."

"How much time?" scowled Zeus, his thirst for revenge growing ever more in his heart.

"I can have everything ready in three months," Hades replied.

"I too can be ready in that amount of time," Hermes stated.

"How long for your Talos to be ready, Hephaestus?" asked Zeus.

"It will take me much longer, father," the blacksmith said.

"We do not have the time, father," Ares cried. "We need action now!"

"If you want to move against the humans and be assured their destruction, you would be wise to wait for all components to be readied," Athena counseled.

"I do not need any help. I have my own army of cutthroats and mercenaries," Ares replied. "I will set out immediately and I will finish the job on Zakrostas that my dear uncle was not able to."

"Maybe you should send out spies and see what they are up to," Athena offered.

"Spies? I do not need spies. Am I not the god of war?" cried Ares.

"I will concede that you are the god of bloodlust and murder," Athena added.

"I have had enough of your words. You sound defeatist, sister," Ares said with scorn. "When action is called for, you want to think about it. Well, we don't have time for your precious thinking." Ares grabbed his spear, and shield, and then marched out of the room. As he left he called out, "Victory and glory shall be mine!"

Posted by Douglas Gogerty at 6:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

No one knows how they obtained the nuclear weapons. There was plenty of speculation. It is not unheard of that there were entities sympathetic in high governmental positions. Some of these could have access to the material. Who these sympathizers were and how they got the fissionable material out will likely never be known. What is known is that the perpetrators did not expect the results of their actions.

They certainly expected millions to die in the blast. However, I am sure they did not expect the world-wide devastation that they caused. They did not expect billions to die of starvation. They did not expect the following nuclear winter. They did not expect the flu to be such an effective killer. Most of all, they did not expect to be around to witness the misery and suffering they caused.

While the source of the nuclear material will never be known, the perpetrators did come forward. They made an appearance on the show of one of the conservative radio hosts. After that, many people wanted them killed. However, it was almost universally accepted that they would suffer much more if they had to live with the devastation they caused. Nonetheless, they did not live much longer.

Their high tenet of forgiveness was given to them. Although many did not really forgive them, they just thought they would suffer more if they could see what they had done. The thirteen Christians that killed billions were free to live out their lives how ever they saw fit. They could not take it, and to a person they committed suicide.

They all killed themselves when the biggest thing they did not expect was finally revealed. A year after the event, there was only one birth. I am sure there were plenty of people trying, but only one woman successfully gave birth to a healthy baby boy. There were lots of stillborn children. There were lots of babies that were horribly deformed. There was only one baby who was normal. Only one child that survived for long.

With the radioactivity,the high fevers due to the flu, and all of the other stuff, it was discovered that the surviving men were sterile. Every man who came in for a test, was found to be incapable of having a child. The population of the world went from about seven billion people to less than one billion, but it was going to get a lot smaller. If a species cannot conceive offspring, it is doomed.

Hence, a search for the father of this healthy boy began. Travel during the nine months prior to the birth was difficult; thus, geographically it would be relatively easy to eliminate lots of men. However, there were still lots of men in that particular area. Further, that man may have succumb to one of the many causes of death during that period.

Thus, the search was no easy task. The mother did not always get a name or any other information from many of the men she got close to. It was just one of those things. Fear and uncertainty can make you do things that you would not normally do. Thus, sometimes you seek comfort in the arms of others.

Nevertheless, the search became a worldwide phenomenon. The reporting apparatus that was still in place, gave daily updates on the results of the search. It was as if the entire world stopped to see who the father of the child was.

Weeks went by as the search for the man who could still father children continued. Man after man stepped forward to take the simple DNA test. A call to every man in the city went out. As the interest grew, they wanted results fast. The mother definitely did not have sex with every man in the city, but it is obscure enough that anyone who had been with a stranger eight to ten months previously was asked to come in.

The world watched as test after test was given. Thousands of men stopped in to get their cheek swabbed. Whoever was the father would be an instant celebrity. Who was this mystery man? Who was this -- uh -- mutant?

So, I lived in the Minneapolis/Saint Paul International airport for months. Everyone lived in fear, and we did not know if we were ever going to get out of there. When the killer influenza finally made it to the airport, people started coming and going. The large complex became a makeshift hospital. There was space to tend to those ill with the flu, and most of its infrastructure was still intact. Hence, people would bring friends and loved ones to the airport. While they were there, they would seek comfort with other people doing the same thing. Any encounter would make them feel better, and then they would move on.

I know I make it sound like this type of thing occurred regularly. While it did, I was not involved in that many such couplings. Being mostly immune to the ever changing killer flu, I tended to lots of sick people. I was exhausted most of the time after long days of helping sooth the suffering of those people.

Not to mention that few sought comfort in a pudgy, balding middle-aged man. Mostly, I was looked upon as more of a father figure. Things rarely escalated to -- well -- that type of thing. That is why I did not step forward sooner. I did not think there was any way that it was me.

When my DNA was finally tested, it showed that I was the baby's father. An international day of celebration was held shortly afterward. The human race was not doomed to perpetuate the species by artificial means alone. I was celebrated all over the world.

Now, this mutant travels all over the world to father children. I have lost track to the number of children that I have fathered. However, I have been at it so long that my first child -- that boy -- has started fathering children too. The human race should be able to survive now. They should survive all thanks to me -- Ralph the mutant. I saved the world!

Posted by Douglas Gogerty at 3:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

General Crist stood in a room of one of the more intact buildings still standing near the harbor of the city. It had been heavy work all morning. However, once the crew unloaded the artillery from one of the cargo ships, it was only a matter of a couple of hours before the soldiers were able to push the army of monsters out of the city.

The LST had to move further south to be outside the city walls in order unload its cargo of tanks, trucks and jeeps. Even if they could have unloaded the vehicles in the city, so much debris blocked the roads that the vehicles would not have been of much use.

Crist looked at the papers before him. He had 15 - M4 Sherman medium tanks, 20 - GMC CCKW 2 1/2-ton trucks and 10 - Willys Jeeps that all came off the LST. He also had 24 - 105mm Howitzer M2A1 artillery pieces, 75 - M1919 .30 machineguns, and 80 - M2 .50 machineguns. Not to mention a yet unspecified number of mortars, bazookas, landmines, and even crates of M1 Garand rifles. Plus, they had tools, metal detectors, some trailers and even bulldozer blades for the Shermans.

However, even though they had plenty of munitions for the various weapons they did not have an unlimited supply. Nor did they have any fuel other than what they found in the barrels aboard the cargo ships and the oil in the tanker. They also did not have many spare parts for the ships or the vehicles.

General Crist stood looking over the papers with some of his more senior officers. There was a lively debate as to whether they should train the natives in the use of their modern weapons or, show them how to manufacture them on their own. What was the best when the crew left after the scientists repaired the machine? Should they leave any equipment behind from the Pima once they could return home?

Of course, one of the major problems was they did not know how long they would be here. General Crist was still awaiting word from either Dr. Reno or Dr. Berger on the progress of the machine. So far, the scientist's efforts to repair the machine had been undisclosed. With the recent battles, neither General Crist nor Captain Arnold had time to inquire.

As if conjured from Crist's mind, both Dr. Reno and Dr. Berger entered the room. The officers stopped their debate and watched as Berger pushed Reno into the room in a wheelchair. The head scientist was still pale; his torso still wrapped in clean bandages. However, his eyes were alert.

"Ah, doctors," Crist said to the men. "I was just thinking about you."

"Good day general," Reno spoke. "I apologize I have not been up to par lately. I will try to answer any questions you may have."

"As a matter of fact, we all would like to know how long it will take for you to repair the machine," Crist said to the nods of his senior officers.

Crist noticed Berger stare down at his feet. The scientist was obviously not comfortable. Finally, Reno answered, "I'm sorry general. The cloaking machine cannot be repaired."

The officers started to shout and asked questions of the scientists all at the same time. General Crist had to yell for everyone to calm down at the top of his voice. When the officers finally quieted down, Crist turned his intense gaze to the head scientist.

"What do you mean it cannot be repaired," the general said in forced even voice.

"Simply that we do not possess the parts to repair it, nor the means to manufacture those parts," Reno stated in a matter of fact voice.

Before the room could erupt into chaos again, the general looked over every officer in the room. Finally, he spoke, "Gentlemen, what we just heard does not leave this room. We must keep hope up in our men, so until we can think of a solution we keep telling the men the machine is being worked on."

"General," Reno interrupted. "I said we do not possess the means to manufacture the parts we need. However, we do possess the ability to construct the proper factories. It will take time, but I believe we can do it."

General Crist nodded his head in resignation. They would have to bring these Bronze Age people into the modern age rather quickly.

"Okay," the general finally said. "We'll have to look into this. I want you Dr. Reno to make a list of what we are going to need."

"Well, firstly we will need to establish schools. The first will have to deal with language. Others will have to be in physics, chemistry, construction, and even farming to name a few."

"That is a good start," General Crist acknowledged. "Men, I want you to go amongst your men and find anyone who has a background in any of these fields. I also want people with a background in law enforcement and other social programs; we are going to need those too."

The officers nodded and muttered some 'yes sirs', they were still disappointed to hear about the machine not being able to be repaired.

Suddenly, Lt. Greer and Mina entered the room led by one of Crist's aides. The general almost forgot that he had asked the two to meet with him as well. As the two walked in the general made room for the two to sit at the table. The officers looked at the general, the general only glared at the men to tell them to keep quiet about what they had just discussed.

"Well, lieutenant we have a few questions I hope you and the young lady can answer," the general said after the two sat down.

Greer translated the best he could to Mina. Mina nodded that she understood and looked to the general. General Crist noticed her dark brown hair and brown eyes in her smooth olive skin. The woman had to be in her early twenties at best. He noticed that she was wearing her native attire that consisted of a white tunic with a golden scroll-like design embroidered on the hem.

"My first question is: what is the name of the city we just liberated?" Crsit asked.

Mina understood what the general asked and promptly replied, "Zakrostas."

"Good, good," the general nodded. "My second question is: what is the name of the country we are in?"

Mina did not understand what country meant and looked towards Greer with a puzzled expression on her face. The interpreter said a few words in her native language before she smiled and answered, "Atlantis."

"General," Dr. Reno broke the silence. "You better find anyone with a background in history, archaeology, and anthropology as well."

Posted by Douglas Gogerty at 6:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Wow, would it be cool to shoot lasers from my eyes. Now that is the kind of mutant that I would want to be. Not that my mutation has not had its advantages. I have met thousands of fantastic people all across the globe. However, there is lots of travel involved. London for a month, and then Shanghai for another month. The mutants from the comics always seemed to stay home most of the time. On the other hand, Gotham City no longer exists, so I guess there is that. In any case, I should get back to the story.

It had been a mild winter. There had not been too much inclement weather around the country. Snowfall had been way down. Apparently, this was a sign of the second coming and had nothing to do with Global Warming. Since it was the holidays, I was flying home to Cincinnati to see my family. I did not give one thought about the two hour layover in Minneapolis. It was in the midst of a long drought there -- again a sign of the apocalypse.

I thought it was my bad luck when we approached the Twin Cities. As we landed at the Minneapolis/Saint Paul International Airport, it was in the midst of a terrible storm. According to locals, it gave the Halloween Storm of 1991 a run for its money. Visibility made the landing difficult, but taking off was out of the question. There was no flying out of there.

To make matters worse, all the interstates coming into and out of the Minneapolis area were closed. If you could get a car, it would be tough traveling anywhere. Not that it mattered because there were no rental cars to be had. Hence, my fellow airline passengers and I were stranded at the Lindbergh terminal on Christmas eve. The storm was getting worse, so the prospects of leaving the airport before New Years Day looked mighty weak.

With my fellow strandees, I found a spot on the floor to stretch out. I intended to get some sleep before the next day's attempt to get home. However, little sleep was to be had. Someone had turned on the news in an effort to see when the storm would subside. This was a mistake. Horrible news was broadcast, and it had nothing to do with the weather. It was even worse than being trapped in the airport on Christmas eve away from family and friends.

The early reports were sketchy. That was because no one close to the incidents had survived. It was only reported that huge mushroom clouds were seen over Los Angeles, New York City, and Chicago. There had been no word from anyone in these cities. All communications were out. No one was sure if it was because of the electro-magnetic pulse from the blasts, which would have disabled all electronic devices, or if it was because everyone was dead.

All of the stranded travelers and I became glued to the television monitors to watch the news for developments. All through the night we watched and waited. Naturally, rumors and accusations were abundant and reported; however, evidence was in short supply. Sadly, these detonations killed millions instantly. Further, we watched as the nuclear fallout effected areas hundreds of miles from ground zero. The weather pattern that kept us from spending Christmas with our family's, drove the blast towards those very homes.

Our families were at risk as the winds brought horrible death to people far away from the targeted cities. Cities within a 300 mile radius of the targeted cities were cordoned off. If we could have left, we would not have been able to go home to Ohio. In any event, we were forbidden to leave the airport for many days following the incident. We watched as city after city was abandoned. Further, with all the upheaval, the communication systems were offline. Our only news was from the television. We could not speak with relatives in affected areas. Thus, we did not know what had happened to our families.

Chaos was the state of affairs for months. Everyone looked for the perpetrators and found them behind every corner. The talk radio personalities, those that survived, continued to feed the fire of hate and suspicion. Riots broke out in places everywhere. Everyone tried to bring vengeance upon the perpetrators.

When it was discovered that American Christian fundamentalist were responsible, everyone was dumbfounded. It was unfathomable that these individuals would escalate from killing the symbols of their unrest, such as abortion doctors and other religious authority figures, to destroying millions of innocent civilians including some that agreed with their position. Further, these extremist did not figure on the events that occurred afterwards.

Many of the plotters lived well away from the targeted cities. However, they believed that vengeance was taken out on the offending cities and that their homes would be spared. Nonetheless, the radioactive fallout continued to spread. The weather took the radioactivity all over the globe. Livestock began dieing in every part of the world. Innocent people everywhere lost their livelihood and their food. Starvation became common everywhere. Hundreds of millions began dieing from the aftermath of the blast from hunger as well as radiation poisoning. If starvation did not kill you, then cancer did.

Then there was the killer flu pandemic. Hundreds of millions more died from that. There simply was no way to prevent its outbreak. Authorities were busy dealing with one situation when the next one came along. It almost became a joke as to what would happen next. Those that expected to disappear with the rapture were shocked to find that they too were left behind. They suffered with the rest of us.

So, there we were spending weeks trapped in the airport. We heard about all the horrors going on outside, but could do little about them. The storm had left three feet of snow on the ground. Nonetheless, with all that was happening, no one bothered clearing the roads. It was not business as usual. Further, the uncertainty made us all afraid to leave the airport. Hence, most of us passengers were in some sort of unintentional quarantine.

However, there was only a limited amount of food. Thus, occasionally someone would leave for supplies. Gradually, we had more exposure to the outside world. Our quarantine was short lived. Our happy little airport family was slowly dipping its collective feet in the waters of the new situation.

The airport worker who brought the flu to us was not a welcome person. Did I mention that I had an unusually strong resistance to the influenza virus? Nearly half of my fellow passengers succumbed to the flu. Before I was sitting and watching the news, suddenly I was tending to the ill. I watched people I had befriended in the intervening weeks die in front of me. Me, I never showed a single symptom. My mutancy was slowly becoming apparent. I had to save the world, but how would I do that?

Posted by Douglas Gogerty at 4:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)