Chapter One

Chapter One:

 

Empires Do Fall

 

 

Over the past decade Russia had been turning for the worse with a new regime. The new regime was undoing the deeds of the past regime making life worse for their people, after their country began to run low on resources in 2020. Russia invaded North Africa to take any, and all the resources they could find, without the permission of the United Nations council. That was their biggest mistake. The United States, alongside the United Kingdom, and Australia, would not stand by while the people of North Africa were massacred at the hands of Russia. So a counter initiative was forged between them to fight back against Russia on behalf of North Africa.

 

As war raged on and the flame of hate grew bigger only one thing could be certain, this war would be short lived, or so they thought. As the North African Dispute came up on five years of conflict with no end in sight, the United States gave one more chance to Russia to withdraw their troops. In 2025, after finally backing down from the North African conflict that lasted a long five years, Russia went peacefully into an almost dormant state.

 

 But was the peaceful retreat real? No, Russia was preparing for something on a much larger scale. They began building weapons of mass destruction, being nuclear or chemical. Either way the fallout would be catastrophic.

 

By 2029 four years after Russia’s peaceful retreat, the world had collapsed in panic bowing down to the current regime. Russia now reigned supreme over a world, which was too scared to do anything to contest their power. Soon enough a new world war would begin, that was inevitably the path that had been chosen. Nothing at this point could stop the war from happening.

 

The shrieking noise of the sirens boomed throughout the country, no part of the United States was without sound. The first launch of nuclear missiles had been detected; four Nuclear Warheads had just been unleashed. Soaring through the atmosphere each missile landed in their desired spot wreaking havoc not only on the impacted country, but also on the world as a whole. Radioactive material clouded the sky. The world had nuclear fallout that could last for months. This day had been building up for some time. The tension with Russia and the rest of the world had greatly increased in the last decade. Now it was the time of realizing what Russia was truly capable of.

 

Those four missiles landed in strategic points throughout the world. Anchorage Alaska; Belem Brazil; The Panama Canal and Johannesburg South Africa. These parts of the earth had wind and water currents that had been studied to be the most impactful on the world. This decision would prove to be a deadly one. Many died that day, and many more to come at the cost of war. The day of destruction was July 27, 2031.

 

Russia had brought the world to its knees so to speak. In doing so they made many allies, and also very powerful and resourceful enemies. The allies Russia was making assumed they would be safe if each of the countries stayed and helped Russia throughout the war. Soon the Soviet Union was rising up out of the ruble. They were growing faster than the spread of communism which engulfed Russia long ago, before the war began. But no one was prepared for the devastation that was about to be unveiled.

 

On July 28, 2031 Russia sent fifty thousand hazmat troops to Norway after several Chemical Warheads were launched into the country. The troops were to just eradicate the people who lived. Even if they did not oppose Russia, they were to be killed on sight.

 

In the time that it took to form a retaliation and assault the Russians on their own soil, many countries had fallen to their brute force. But the United States stood their ground, driving the Soviet armies out of the occupied countries. With the word spreading that the Soviet armies were beginning to fall to the United States, others started to stand up to the Soviets.

 

                        July 29, 2031

 

The United Kingdom had entered the war by this point in time. Fighting alongside them was Canada, United States, France, Germany, Spain, and Austria with many building an army to join the ranks of the Global Nuclear Defense Unit (G.N.D.U.). After an assault on Russia and their ally China, more warheads were launched. Knowing it was going to be a tough time breaking Russia into submission, the United Nations ordered the G.N.D.U. to take them out by any means necessary. Even if it meant to use nuclear warheads themselves.

 

-          Kyle B. Harrison Jr.

 

 

July 30, 2031

           

            Today I found a note from my dad. Which read: “Dear Kyle, if you are reading this you must have went through my things. Meaning I am no longer with you. I wish you luck in everything you do. You will do great things. Once the war is over things will go back to normal. I believe it will take some time. But you will play a bigger role in it then you think. I love you son. I believe you will make me proud.”

 

                                    July 31, 2031

 

In Dallas, Texas it was just like every other major city throughout the world. Riots, preaching, killing whatever they thought was necessary for their own survival. Some tried to help others, some ended up killing themselves. But the upper class had one more option that they all jumped on. Cryogenic sleep chambers. These tubes would be used to preserve families, and all people who could afford them. The tubes cost 20,000 dollars each.

 

-          Kyle B. Harrison Jr.

 

 Among the people who purchased these as some called “Salvation Tubes” was an upper class family. They had bought four tubes, but sadly in a mission to locate supplies looters killed the family. All but Kyle who was in the next building over trying to find more food, Kyle was the eldest son. At eighteen years of age, now scared for his life, he swore to one-day change the world for his family’s sake. It is what they would have wanted.

 

Kyle ran many miles before he finally reached the underground facility in Dallas called Preservation Cryogenic Lab. It was about a thousand meters underground. The only was in was through a security checkpoint, where the military was stationed keeping away all the troublemakers. As Kyle approached the checkpoint he felt uneasy.

 

“Stop!” Yelled a guard, raising his weapon and pointing it at Kyle’s head.

 

“Look…” Kyle said out of breath. “My father purchased Cryogenic Sleep Chambers here please, I need to get inside…”

 

“What is your name?” another guard said cutting him off.

 

“Kyle B. Harrison Jr.” Kyle said, “It would be under Harrison family.”

 

“Harrison Family?” The first guard questioned.

 

Kyle looked at his feet, then at the guard. “Dead.” He stammered.

 

“Alright I’ll humor you. What is the name of your father? We will have him on recorded if he even existed.” The second guard laughed.

 

“Kyle Byron Harrison” Kyle replied.

 

“Okay. Give me two minutes.” The second guard said.

 

As Kyle waited as a third guard approached him raising his weapon as well. “You know we are just going to kill you if you’re lying.” The guard grinned wickedly.

 

“Back down men. This is a V.I.P. we need to treat him with respect.” Yelled the guard who had just looked up his father. “I’m sorry sir, lots of people are lying to try to get in here and kill others. We have to take precautions.”

 

 Once inside we began to search for his salvation tube however he was unable to locate it. So he resorted to asking one of the workers at Preservation Cryogenic Lab. Unfortunately, the tubes his family had requested were not quite ready; the lab needed about a couple more weeks to finish filling up the freezer components and had to rewire just a couple of them to make sure they didn’t unfreeze until the selected date.

 

August 1, 2031

 

Today is just another bad dream, my family has been gone for a week and money is now useless. I have nothing, what can help me continue to go on in this world? But my family would want me to at least try. So I intend too… As for the time being I need a gun and ammunition. But I have nothing of value to those people.

 

Well except maybe one thing… Maybe I could trade a salvation tube for a gun and a couple hundred rounds of ammunition this way I’m prepared for the looters and what ever lays in the time I’ll wake up. Hopefully there is a human population and the world doesn’t revert back to its primal stage.

 

-          Kyle B. Harrison Jr.

 

 

As soon as Kyle woke up the next morning he looked around. He had passed out on a couch in the lab’s waiting room.

 

“Good you’re awake. Dr. Green would like to have a word with you. Umm Kyle was it?” A lab employee stated just before he began to walk in a different direction.

 

“Wait! Sir, what is this about? Are the tubes ready?” Kyle asked.

 

“Not quite but I have good news, the person in charge of the operation in the east wing has found something else your family purchased.”

 

“What is that?”

 

“Just follow me he will answer your questions and tell you more then I can.”

 

“Okay?” Kyle said. “I don’t quite think I caught you name though what is it?”

 

“Phil, now if you would please follow me.”

 

            Kyle quickly got up from the couch and followed Phil around the corner leading them into the direction of The East Wing. As Phil and Kyle walked, they passed a window where he caught a glimpse of what looked like a caged arena. But still needing to catch up with Phil Kyle paid it no mind.

 

After arriving in the east wing director’s office there was no sign of anyone there. The director wasn’t there and there was no secretary. After Phil picked up a phone and hit a few buttons, a wall slide open and a small hallway was right behind it.

“Please step forward.” Phil looked at Kyle as he urged him to take a step into the hall. “I must shut the door now.”

 

“Oh, I am sorry.”

 

As he entered a shadowy figure became more apparent, it was a man sitting behind a desk. As he glanced up, he smiled.

 

            “Kyle! Nice to meet you.” Said the man who Kyle believed to be Dr. Green

 

            “Hello sir. I was hoping you could answer some of my questions. One of them being why was I called here?” Kyle asked curiously.

 

            “Well we were looking through some files and found your family had built a bunker. Your tubes will be located in there once they are finished being built. And there are four beds in there along with two refrigerators stocks with food and a microwave. There is a security code on the door. It’s a code you’ll get to choose. It can be up too 22 digits long. There are also twelve locks on the inside of the door. No one will get in without the code or without someone opening the door. It is also built with military grade bomb shelter materials.”

 

            “Thank you, I appreciate what you’re doing here for me, and the rest of the people, may we live to see another day.” Kyle said with a hopeful smile.

 

            “Now Kyle, to get your bunker you must head down to the end of the East Wing, and go out the exit. On your left their will be a proving arena, your bunker is across from that.”

 

“What is a proving arena?”

 

“It is where we let people with less means that cannot afford their own cryogenic sleep chamber fight and prove they are worthy to come on this great journey with us.”

 

As Kyle walked in the direction of the proving arena, where Dr. Green had told him the bunker was across from. Kyle saw a man with a backpack it appeared to be bulging and sagging leading Kyle to believe it was filled with heavy items, the man also carried a .44 magnum. Slowly and cautiously Kyle approached this man,

 

“Excuse me. Kyle began, “Is there any way you would be willing to trade me that weapon of yours for…” But before Kyle could finish explaining the proposal the man denied the offer as he started to walk away again. As Kyle stood there dumbfounded he decided to try once more.

 

“Sir I have extra cryogenic sleep chambers and wanted to trade one for the gun and some rounds.”

 Tearing up the man yelled “My Savoir!” giving Kyle a huge bear hug. Kyle flinched at this trying not to draw attention to himself and the man, but slowly he hugged the man back. Kyle felt the backpack and knew now it was filled with ammunition.

 

“So what’s your name?” asked Kyle.

 

“Antonio,” the man said clearing his throat, and wiping this few tears that had been accumulating.

 

Antonio smiled and agreed to give Kyle his .44 magnum. In addition to all his ammunition, which turned out to be somewhere just a little above 400 rounds, in exchange for a cryogenic sleep chamber, as Kyle led Antonio to the bunker where the tubes were they began to talk.

 

“What are you planning on doing?” Antonio asked.

 

“Well I am freezing myself in about a month or less when to production of the tubes my family purchased is complete.” Kyle stated.

 

But Antonio looked still curious, “I meant, after you unfreeze yourself,” Antonio pressed further.

 

“Oh…” Kyle looked shocked he hadn’t really given this too much thought. He knew he wanted to make a name for himself to do his family proud and make sure they didn’t die in vain. But was there more? Yes there had to be. Kyle thought. “I don’t know yet.” Kyle said quietly. “The world will have changed by then. I’m not sure what to expect.”

 

“I don’t think anyone knows what to expect. But there must something you want to do?”

 

“Yes.” Kyle declared with a smile.

 

“Then what?” Antonio pried. He was trying to see if Kyle could be trusted.

 

“I’ll rebuild, the world has to be made great once again.” Kyle answered. “Or, I’ll die trying to make it what I once loved.”

 

The two stopped abruptly. Antonio looked at Kyle questioning his motives, and what he had said but realizing when he looked into Kyle’s eyes that his intensions were pure, slowly Antonio backed off the subject, as the two began to walk again, they continued to talk.

 

“So how long did you set your tubes for?” Antonio asked.

 

“Why?” Kyle inquired. “Can it not be changed?”

 

“No sadly, it cannot be.”

 

“Well mine is set to unfreeze at May 1^st 2080.”

 

“That’s when mine will too then. You see all the tubes you’re family purchased have to have a set date to unfreeze and let you out all at once.” said Antonio.

 

“Now it’s my turn to ask something. Answer me this,” Kyle began. “Why are you down here? It’s supposed to be people who have bought tubes or are trying to prove themselves worthy enough to come on this journey through time. But you seemed to be walking away from the arena like you weren’t going to fight for one. I hope you don’t take offence to this. But you don’t look like you could afford one. But judging by everyone’s appearance in here, in comparison to yours, it’s my assumption.”

 

“Well I was leaving the proving grounds and going to take my chances out there. I cannot do what they want me to do to prove myself.” Antonio replied. “Many people are fighting and dying to get a chance at owning some of the extra tubes to help them live to see another day.”

 

“Then why are you leaving if you had a chance to win one?” Kyle questioned further. “I mean your chances are best in here.”

 

“I was disqualified for not finishing my opponent, it’s to the death for the amusement of the owners of this lab. I just didn’t want to kill a man that’s already down on his luck, he is in the same position I am in.  He was fighting for a new life, there is nothing honorable about killing someone to make sure you live when you have a chance to walk away from it all.”

 

“That’s terrible… But at least you have a heart, unlike a lot of the people out there now a days. ”

 

“I know that’s why I decided to take my chances out there. Maybe I could have helped someone out. But turns out I’m the one receiving the help.” Antonio said smiling

 

“I’m glad I caught you.” Said Kyle, “Let’s go back to where I stay here.”

 

“Excuse me?” Antonio looked confused. “What do you mean where you stay here?”

 

“My family bought a bunker also. It has food beds it’s pretty roomy and has many safety features. Such as a security code on the door, I choose it and made it DoD072731kbhj18 I’ll write it down. Don’t worry. There are also twelve locks on the inside of the door. No one will get in without the code or without someone opening the door. It is also built with bomb shelter materials. So we are really safe.”

 

“That sounds great to me!” Exclaimed Antonio. “But the password seems hard to remember. Is there a reason for the randomness?”

 

“Yes there is I’ll tell you as I type it in, we stay here.” Kyle said pointing to the bunker. “Date of Destruction DoD, 7/27/31 the date, first letters of my name, kbhj, and my age, 18.

 

Once at Kyle’s bunker built for his family, Antonio gave him a basic lay down of the weapon Kyle had obtained from him. Kyle was a natural with no prior knowledge of the weapon Antonio believed. But Kyle was in the Naval Academy and took many gun safety classes and learned how to shoot at an extremely early age. Also he was trained in hand-to-hand combat in three different forms. Within just a week of training Kyle had brushed off all his rust and led Antonio to believe he was an amazing teacher. Only two shots out of the fifty fired missed their targets during the week of training. Kyle and Antonio also scavenged for food and ammunition along with other weapons they could use.

 

Every day after the training the two did exercises and went running they even practiced martial arts. Kyle always seemed to beat Antonio but just said he took karate as a kid and it was still in his reflexes. But Antonio began to catch on and believe Kyle was more skilled then he wanted him to believe. Some of the moves performed by Kyle were that of Krav Maga an Israeli fighting style that Antonio had seen when he served in Afghanistan.

 

August 8^th 2031

 

After ten days of gathering supplies for the future travels we have two .44’s, four hundred rounds each, enough dried food and water bottles for two weeks all together. Plus a metal bat and combat knife were obtained through a gun store that had been previously raided. We are ready for whatever the future may hold no matter how bad it may happen to be. Although Antonio wanted to part ways after the unfreezing, we have decided it would be better to stick together until we knew the new world is safe enough for travels alone. If it wasn’t civilized sticking together would be in both are best interests.

 

-          Kyle B. Harrison Jr.

 

 

                        August 9^th 2031

 

Today the U.S. Government fell one of the last, now gone. Four remain, all in the European Union, Spain, France, Britain and Sweden. However most missiles launched have been on a timer and the nuclear lunch pad hidden from the world. Coordinates were previously set waiting to destroy whatever was in their path.

 

-          Kyle B. Harrison Jr.

 

 

                        August 10^th 2031

 

The cryogenic tubes have finally been finished today; Antonio and I go to sleep. The deep sleep we have been preparing for almost two weeks now. Hopefully the world won’t change too much. But I know that is asking for too much. To whomever finds this journal I wish you the best of luck in a world that has gone to quickly. I just hope the future isn’t worse then today’s time.

 

-          Kyle B. Harrison Jr.