Chapter 1: A Lone Voice in the Desert

Otis stood beside the road, staring at the remnants of his onetime retreat. The entire mountain was now nothing more than a heap of orange rock. The local experts were flummoxed by what happened, blaming it on a buildup of natural gases which exploded—thought they couldn't explain the utter devastation it produced.

"I've really done it his time. I thought I was doing the right thing, extending human kindness to others in need, and now it's come to this." Otis closed his eyes, massaging the back of his neck. "No one realizes what's about to unfold, and how many lives will be lost. What's more, I can't tell them, because no one would ever believe me. The truth is beyond the pale, too outlandish to be believed. If I tell them after what's about to unfold, I'll be in even worse trouble. Not just with the law, for helping orchestrate events and not stopping them from happening, but because of what I know. And it won't just be the law after me, the government will want to get their hands on me, and others, much more dangerous, would rather I never speak a word of what I know. Face it, you're in for a world of hurt.

"You remember the fuss when Josh Evens decided to do the right thing twelve years ago. The President called on law officers across the country to shoot him on sight, and he set the both the CIA, the military and fighter jets against him. Yet knowledge saved him. He's hoping it'll do the same for me, though I'm unlikely to be seen as a hero by the survivors.

"To be fair, it's not as cut and dried as it seems," he conceded. "Despite their dubious intent, George violated his orders to save my life. What's more, he equipped me with the resources to resist them. I now possess the knowledge to combat forces the world's armies combined couldn't hope to resist. I have the knowledge to save lives, but I can't act on that knowledge until millions die. I'm on the horns of a dilemma, straddling a fence with massive death and destruction on both sides. I'm damned if I do, but the world is damned if I don't. And mankind would have no hope whatsoever if I hadn't made the biggest mistake of my life."

He glanced up at the uncaring sky which showed no sign of those hiding behind its blue façade. "So, how do I convince millions they'll die tomorrow, without admitting how I came by the information? No one listens to a lone wolf howling in the night. If they do, they're as likely to shoot it as heed its advice.

"Still, no one ever claimed saving lives was easy. Despite what I've done, I still have the power to affect the future. I can either throw my hands up and say it's hopeless, or figure out how to make a difference. I was willing to sacrifice myself to help George. What's different between then and now?

"The fact is, there's no way to rescue everyone. I got into this by trying to assist a single individual. I need to take the same approach. Instead of saving millions, start with a few individuals. In lieu of rescuing everyone, I'll save those I can. The information I possess is vital. If I admit to it, I'll never see a sunset like this again. I'll either be dead, or spend the rest of my days locked in a cell. What's more, they won't allow me to act on my information. I've got to save lives without anyone's buy-in, getting people to avoid an unseen enemy. Few will listen until it's too late, but once they do, everyone will be aware of the threat."

Otis sighed, frustrated at how complex his life had become in only a matter of days. "I've got to even the odds by using my knowledge. I can't warn anyone. Instead I've got to play a complicated game of chess. George's people have a board full of queens, while I only possess a lowly pawn. My first dilemma is finding other pawns who can help, and give them enough information to assist."

The bigger man slapped his host on the shoulder, giving him a big hug. "I must say, Liam, I'm glad we're here, but you didn't explain why we're here. It's certainly not to watch another baseball game! As much as we both enjoy the Chicago Cubs, it's easy enough to do in front of two different TVs in different states. What's this about your son, Otis? What's so severe that you needed the rest of the family here, and why couldn't you tell us ahead of time?"

"I hate to disappoint you, but ... at the moment, it's a big surprise. Otis arranged this, so he's calling the shots." Liam dropped his voice. "Personally, I think he's discovered he's got something, either something medical or a mental condition, and wanted the entire family here for support."

Jack Redding, Otis' uncle, stroked his chin, considering the prospect. "I hate to say it, but he's the right age. Depression is common among high school students, and the first signs of schizophrenia usually first appear now, though they're generally ignored until it's too late to prevent it." He glanced at his beautiful blonde wife and kids, playing in the other room. "Linda and the kids will be crushed. The kids were hoping to spend time with Otis, but we haven't seen hide nor hair of him since we've arrived. I know they're curious why."

"I suspect he's hiding in his room. I saw him earlier in the kitchen, grabbing a snack. Man, that kid can eat! He was never a very social kid. He's got various ... unfortunate habits that others like to make fun of." Jack nodded his head, well aware of those behaviors himself. "He's been acting strangely the past couple of days, especially sullen and moody. Frankly, I'll be glad to learn whatever it is. Then we can deal with it, at least, rather than guessing what's set him on edge."

"What about his sister, Geraldine? Does she have any clue what's going on?"

"Shhh!" Liam insisted, lowering his voice, glancing around the room. "Don't ever let her hear you call her that. She's very particular. You know she refuses to acknowledge her name, insisting that everyone call her Ger instead. If anyone was going to have a problem, I'd have thought it would be her. She's always trying to prove how adult she is, I keep expecting her to do something irreversible. I'm hoping it'll be as simple as a tattoo."

Jack glanced around too. "Strange, she was down here earlier, but now she's gone too. I haven't seen her for a while."

"I'm sure she's up trying to pry information from her brother. She's nosy and pushy, and hates being left out of the loop. But the game's back on. I'm sure they'll both be down in a little while. Otis promised to reveal everything by the end of the game, so let's enjoy what we can before he creates an emotional scene."

Jack and Linda Redding's kids were sprawled across the floor, playing various games. Linda was sitting to the side, gossiping to Liam's wife, Kelly—probably about the same issues Jack and Liam were just discussing. Jack slapped his thighs. "Come on, sport. Come join your ol' man for some baseball!"

Gary's face split into a big grin, and he threw himself onto his father's lap. "You know I love baseball. We watch every game. I just wish Otis and Ger were here to watch it with us."

"Don't worry. I'm sure they'll join us soon. After all, who can resist the crack of a ball against the bat or the thrill of a stolen base?"

They watched the game, just as the usually did, as a family—this time an extended family. Everyone was enjoying it—though the women never really paid much attention—when the game switched to another channel.

"Hey!" Jack demanded. "Who switched the channel? They were about to score a home run!"

"And what kind of channel is this?" Gary asked. "It's black. There's no picture."

"I certainly didn't do it! I know better," Kelly Crus said, standing up and looking for the remote. "Who's got the remote? Did someone sit on it by accident?"

Instead of video, a gravelly voice spoke in a hard-to-understand accent. It appeared to be a low-grade, science-fiction radio program.

Earthlings. You have one week to surrender Earth to us. To prove the threat you face is real, we are conducting a demonstration. With no unified government, we'll expect the President of the United States to take the first action. That should motivate the other minor nations to fall in line. Your president has until Sunday.

Uncle Jack swiveled, waving his arms and raising his voice. "What the frig is this nonsense? Did you kids screw up our game?"

The game reappeared, still in progress, though they'd missed two stolen bases.

"Otis!" Liam called, looking around for his son. "Where is that boy?"

Kelly spoke quietly, not wanting to upset the rest of the family. "Is this what he was talking about?"

Uncle Jack grabbed the remote, switching channels and finding them all displaying correctly. "It must have been Otis and Ger. Everything's normal now." He was about to turn back to the game when a red banner scrolled across the bottom of the screen. 'Massive mid-west power failure."

"Wait," Linda said, holding her hand out. "Where is this? It might affect our home in Chicago. Let's see what they say before you change it again."

Liam stood, watching the display as he walked to the kitchen. "Try one of the major networks, NBC or CBS. They'll report what's happened."

Jack did as he suggested. They were already broadcasting details.

Breaking news: Northern Illinois has suffered a massive power failure.

Linda gasped, clutching her hand to her chest. "This might affect when we can return home. It's lucky we weren't there at the time."

"The hell with that," Jack swore. "I'd prefer being there to protect our property. If it involves flooding, at least we could save what's important. Being here, we can't save anything."

A large display by the network's news division appeared announcing a "Special News Announcement". Jack turned up the volume.

The commentators took a moment to prepare, shuffling papers and listening to their ear pieces as they juggled the latest information. Finally the lead newscaster began.

This just in: The Chicago power grid has collapsed. Most of Northern Illinois and parts of Wisconsin and Indiana are now without electricity. This is the largest power outage in history, and there are immediate questions about a potential terrorist plot." He held his ear as he got an update and frowned. "We've tried contacting our network offices in Chicago, but get no answer. The landline phone system, which carries its own independent power, is down as well. Cell service seems to be out too. We're trying to reach our regional offices.

"Oh, my God!" Linda cried. All our friends are there. What'll they do?"

"We got out just in time," Gary said in a quiet whisper.

The news team was frantic, with personnel running papers to the correspondents. The various people separated and the lead journalist resumed.

The President of the United States has issued an executive order restricting all air travel over the Midwest, including our news and traffic copters. The Air Force is launching jets to survey what's happening. Apparently the White House has access to additional information we're not privy to.