Apocalyptic Confrontation

Fictional Non-Fiction? Or Non-Fictional Fiction? Probably neither.

Zack's heart raced as he slowed the car to a stop in front of the house, shifted into park, and killed the ignition. He knew he didn't have much time and would have to act fast, in case things really were moving forward. Opening the trunk of the little silver rental car, he popped the latches on the single rectangular black Pelican brand case and began to assemble together the military grade rifle inside in the waning light of dusk. Thoughts were flying wildly on plans, backup plans, and backups to the backups. Through the flurry of ideas though, he stopped for a brief moment, contemplating his own hubris. Here he had the chance to walk away from it all, leave 'her' to her fate, and live on in happiness. Instead he had spent everything he had to travel 2,500 miles to see things through to the end. Zack realized he had spaced out with the now fully assembled gun in his arms. Shaking his head clear, he pocketed several extra magazines of ammunition in his tiger striped camo pants and slammed the trunk shut, approaching the house with his rifle at the ready. The neighborhood was not very active so he wasn't worried about being spotted in his approach and lights in the house confirmed that she was home. Softly stepping up to the front door, he pressed the doorbell and waited after the lengthy chiming. Several seconds passed before deadbolt unlocked with a loud clunk and a long haired man swung open the door with no attention at first. The man didn't have time to register anything before Zack was pressed forward with the rifle aimed just off of the man's body, a smirk on his face as he spoke.

"Hey Paco," he said with amusement in his tone.

"It's Pe-"

The moment caught up to the man and he froze up realizing the gun in his visitor's hands. Zack took the moment to press on.

"Where is she?"

The man didn't say anything and merely stared, as if refusing to be an accomplice to his wife's apparent fate.

"Hey babe, who was that at the d-"

She came around the corner from the kitchen and jolted at the scene at first before letting out a brief shriek.

"Zack!?! What in the (expletive) are you doing here," she screamed.

Zack smiled with the same warmth he felt in his heart for a moment. Here was a woman that he had never faced in the flesh, much less spoken to in close to ten years, someone that had once been the light of his life, and now he was here as an intruder into her life.

"Hey Alyssa," he muttered, still smiling.

Thinking Zack was distracted, her husband shifted but Zack's attention was back on him in a heartbeat, smacking his outreaching hands away with the barrel of the rifle and stepping back several feet for added security.

Alyssa was clearly horrified, fearing for her life, and it wounded Zack inside to see her so upset.

"How did you find me!? Why!!! I don't want you in my life, you psycho!"

Zack gave a slight head tilt.

"Guess I deserved that," he said with a slight tone of sarcasm before shifting back into an aggressive mode, "Grab your immediate belongings, ID, and let's go."

Both Alyssa and her husband grew more bewildered and spoke at the same time before the husband took lead.

"No! We aren't going anywhere! You're insane! Get out of here!"

Zack raised an eyebrow.

"Really, Pinto," he asked, purposely butchering his name like always, "You're going to argue with the guy with a gun?"

The husband started to protest again when a faint explosion and screaming echoed off in the distance outside, sending Zack looking back over his shoulder out the door. Several more screams echoed and a roar of jet fighter engines shook the house as a trio of F-22s blasted over the house at low altitude. Everything went quiet in their wake and Zack's countenance grew pale as he turned back to face the two.

"It's really happening. Please for the love of god, do as I say, otherwise we're all going to die," he pleaded in a choked whisper, certain that time was drawing short.

There was a pause as the couple stared at him before something seemed to click in Alyssa's head and she turned just as pale.

"Honey, let's listen to him," she said, turning and grabbing her husband's arm and pulling him towards their room.

The man began to argue as he was dragged while Zack remained at the door. He could hear the couple arguing through the thin walls as Alyssa grabbed several things in her room.

"Why are we listening to some psycho that just showed up out of nowhere!?"

"Because he's in the military! You heard all that noise! Something's happening and he knows about it! I'm not saying we have to go WITH him, but we definitely should get out of here!"

"I bet you still have feelings for him! That's it, isn't it!?"

"Ew," Alyssa shouted in her long typical drawl that Zack had heard so many times before, "No way! He's so not my type anymore!"

The two continued to bicker and once again Zack found himself unable to contain a smirk. True he had loved her and she had to him, once, but that had been so long ago, it felt like a different lifetime. They had been different people than they were now and while Zack still felt something for the girl of that past, he knew this woman was no longer her. He was only here for that fragment of the past and nothing else. A few more seconds to reminisce passed before Alyssa and her husband returned with small travel bags in hand.

"Ready," he asked, glancing between the two.

Alyssa nodded and he turned, leading the two out to his vehicle, all the while scanning the immediate area for some unseen threat.

"Alright, bags in the trunk. Alyssa, driver's seat. Jose, passenger's," he ordered, tossing the car keys to Alyssa.

Her husband held back his agitation as they followed his instructions. Zack stood by as they closed the doors, started the car, and rolled down their windows to communicate.

"Zack...?"

He was looking around, alert, and the hate Alyssa had held onto for years towards him was starting to feel empty now that he was here in front of her.

"Follow me," he said, his tone distant, as he began a brisk jog towards the intersection of the road with another.

Alyssa complied, keeping the car at a very slow pace next to him.

"I know you have a lot of questions," he said, never making eye contact with her, "And I wish I had time to answer them all but I don't. In the passenger visor is a map-"

Alyssa's husband grabbed the visor and pulled out a folded map.

"- I want you to take it and once we're at the Clear Point, follow it as fast as you can, understand me?!"

Alyssa started to respond when suddenly the ground rocked violently as a fireball rose from several blocks away. The area was one of the more populated parts of the town. A fresh wave of fear swept over her.

"Zack, please tell me what's going on," she begged as he broke into a faster run and the car picked up speed.

"We've had reports of increased biological terrorist activity. A briefing last week showed potential hot zones where agents might strike. They're using artificial viruses that have unbelievable infection spread rates and can only be destroyed by incineration. I..."

Zack trailed off for a moment before finishing.

"I didn't want to leave you to possibly end up a victim if I could prevent it. I know I did wrong in the past and I'm not here for your forgiveness. Only your survival."

"But, that jet! It looks like they're containing it!"

Zack shook his head.

"No. Those are Fuel-Air Bombs. That's only an attempt to slow progression until they can get the authority from the President to enact the real plan."

"The President," her husband exclaimed, "What kind of plan is that!?"

Zack didn't respond at first.

"...Sterilization Through Nuclear Deployment."

 Alyssa nearly slammed on the brakes in shock but refrained as she struggled to process things. Zack continued.

"There's nothing for you to worry about. We're almost at the depart point. From there you should have it pretty easy to get to safety. You don't even have to wor-"

Zack slowed down as a military camoflaged Armored Personnel Carrier rolled halfway into the road blocking the lane. A military checkpoint.

"Damn," he hissed, "I didn't think they would mobilize a perimeter this far out so quickly."

A pair of heavily armed soldiers stepped out in front of the APC and began to motion to them to stop. The vehicle slowed to a crawl as the three stared at the only block to their freedom and survival.

"Alyssa," Zack whispered, moving his rifle slowly "I'm going to get you a window of escape. Take it and survive."

"Zack, no. Wait!!"

Zack looked over at her husband.

"Hey!"

The man looked over.

"Take care of her," Zack said with a grin.

With a click of the rifle's selector to Full Auto, he let out a loud battle cry and began to shoot at the soldiers. He caught the first one off guard and dropped in pain from a well-placed shot to the lower torso while the other went for cover by the APC to prepare for a counterattack.

"NOW, ALYSSA, GO!!!!!"

In an adrenaline fueled panic, Alyssa floored the accelerator and jerked the steering wheel towards an opening between the APC, the road, and a house. Zack laid back onto the trigger, sparks flying as his bullets bounced off the reinforced armor, the only goal being to keep anyone from attacking the fleeing vehicle. The car's tires shrieked loudly at the sudden acceleration and yanking of the steering but it found its escape and tore off down the road as Zack emptied the rest of his magazine before the gun clicked empty. He knew he wouldn't have the chance to reload so he hurled the gun at the checkpoint and let out an angry roar to the sky.

"Take my life but you'll never take my memories!!!"

His gaze was still skyward when multiple bullets ripped through his body, one shredding through his heart, taking his strength and everything out of him as he fell to his knees. His gaze lowered to where he imagined the car had gone.

"Live, please," he murmured to her with his last breaths, "Live for...me...and....forget......"

Author's Note

-inappropriate mood shattering circus music here-

Background: An old acquaintance of mine conveyed a fear to a friend of mine. A fear I found to be laughable: worried that an ex-lover would find her, stalk her, and hunt her down? Of course, life would have it that hearing about said fear would give me an idea for a story that is based on what would be a real scenario if scenarios were real for really realness. Names have been changed to protect from bit-.....er...."any negative repercussions or feedback". That said, please enjoy.