Fort Hamilton was a lot smaller than Caleb had expected. At least the mess hall was. Or maybe it was just all the rowdy kids filling the space, laughing, sleeping, talking or just sitting quietly like he was. He didn’t know.

  Still, it’d looked pretty big from above.

  He yawned, trying to ignore the last dregs of tiredness as he shifted in his seat. He sat next to Sierra who snored against his shoulder, Harrison shivering opposite them clutching the foil blanket he’d wrapped around himself tightly. Ria sat staring out of the window a few feet away, talking quietly with a few others, and Aliyah was gone, already doing rounds at the nearby hospital with the healer volunteers, despite injuries she’d sustained herself.

  Caleb glanced around as the last of the chosen were led inside by a few soldiers, their eyes searching desperately for friends amongst all the rest. He looked away quickly back to the floor. They’d been brought over in groups by helicopter, the more injured and healers taken to the hospital first, then the rest, brought here.

  By that time Caleb the gravity of the situation had started to weigh on him. The last flashes of relief had given way to an anxiety as more and more helicopters had appeared in the sky. News helicopters that’d recorded him and the chaos all the others had been subject to, or even caused themselves from every angle, distance, and detail. He’d been glad when it’d been his turn to get scooped up by the military. But as they’d flown up, he’d been reminded again of the destruction. Seeing all the bodies from above, of the still steaming statue of Liberty and the churning waters of the Hudson, it’d neutered any trace of joy.

  And when they’d flown beyond, his heart had grown even colder. Seeing the chaos below, the ambulances, police cars, blockades. The buildings and their windows – shattered, and the people, herded down the streets in orderly fashion by armed soldiers, trucks and tanks as sirens echoed through the entire city. Brooklyn had been in disarray, and that was even after they’d tried to minimise things.

  He couldn’t help but consider the worst-case scenario. What if that monster had beaten them? What if Ekhut had won?

  He shook his head as if to dismiss the thought. That was something he really didn’t want to think about.

  The memory of the flight slowly faded, his mind emptying before he looked back to the chosen in the surrounding hall. There couldn’t be more than two hundred people in here. Mostly kids, teens a little older or younger than him, though some adults too. It’d seemed like so many in the heat of battle, in all that chaos on the museum roof. But it wasn’t. From the small whispers of conversation he’d picked up, the entire island had been packed with people and by the end, it’d been easy to stand without touching anyone. And yet corpses had been everywhere, dragged around by the water.

  They’ll probably take days to find all the bodies, he thought.

  It made him feel sick. The whole thing did. It was almost a cruel joke. Thousands brought back to their home after being forced into weeks of torture and survival, just to die moments before their freedom was returned. Caleb clenched his fist slightly, feeling the tightness in his newly healed skin. He wanted to do something about it. Fix it. But he couldn’t bring others back from the dead. And he knew he certainly couldn’t bargain with the system.

  At the very least he hadn’t lost anyone. Not here.

  His fist unclenched almost on its own, the sudden burst of tension released from his body. He stared at the floor for a few seconds, glad to have Sierra’s head on his shoulder. Even though he was still wet, tired, and mentally exhausted there was a sense of calm in the moment. The same relief that he’d had at sea.

  The worst-case scenario hadn’t happened. Sure, it’d come at a cost, a great sacrifice but everyone had banded together, and they’d overcome. He looked to the rest of the hall once again, almost enamoured by the sudden sense of community he felt.

  But with it came a sense of foreboding.

  But there’s more after this isn’t there. The stuff with Daen, and whatever happened in that tunnel, he thought. I still don’t know how any of this works.

  Suddenly he paused, his thoughts bringing with them a horrible realisation. One he knew no one except he and Ria probably grasped. They we’re important now. All of the chosen. And not just here, but to the universe. To the war. They’d have to fight again. And that meant-

  We might not be home much longer.

  He suddenly wanted to call his sister. Hear her childish laughter and petty insults before she was ripped away from him again. He even wanted to speak to Casey, to apologise for disappearing so abruptly, especially on the day he had.

  And even if he couldn’t, he just wanted to know they were ok.

  “Hey! Hey!” some shouted.

  All eyes turned as a group leapt up off the floor attempted to pat down, a now partially aflame boy, before a gust of cold washed over him extinguished the flames. The group sagged with relief but by the doors and around them, soldiers had raised their guns.

  The atmosphere changed immediately, Caleb feeling mana rise up all over the place as people shouted at the soldiers, who shouted back panicked.

  “Stay back!” one of the soldiers shouted.

  “G-get on the ground!”

  “Don’t move!”

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing!” an officer shouted, entering the room with an entourage “Lower your guns dammit!”

  The guns lowered slowly, the soldiers uncertain, as they looked to the spooked chosen. The officer glared at the soldiers as the last of them pointed their barrels to the floor, shaking his head. Then he turned back to the rest of them. “Try not to use your… abilities for the meanwhile. We’d prefer the building intact” one of the officers said.

  [S-sorry. It was an accident] one of the guys said before sitting down.

  The muttering and ramble continued, building slowly before returning to prior level. But Caleb could sense it. The atmosphere was sharper now, a quiet edge to it. The calm had been wiped away, replaced by a reasonable anxiety, and the others were starting to get a little restless.

  His eyes moved to the officer who’d shouted. He spoke now with a few others, glancing occasionally to the chosen with somewhat anxious but calculating eyes. Caleb had never been any good at reading lips, but he could make out a few words.

  …danger…

  …safety…

  …threat…

  They were probably discussing them. And he couldn’t exactly blame them. The chosen were dangerous. Together they’d defeated a threat people probably wouldn’t have been able to conceive of outside comic books and movies.

  Suddenly the officer and his group’s eyes turned to a TV, and he motioned for another to switch it on.

  “What’s going on?” Sierra suddenly mumbled from next to him, wiping at her eyes.

  “Nothing” Caleb mumbled.

  “How long was I asleep?”

  “Not long. Ten minutes? Fifteen?”

  “Oh” she said yawning. “Have they said anything yet?”

  “No. I think we’re going to be here a while.”

  [Holy shit]

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  The chatter slowly died down as others turned their attention to the TV.

  Caleb found himself struggling to make sense of what he was looking at before his eyes widened. He was looking at Christ the Reedemer. Or at least the remnants of it. Most of the statue still stood, though it’d clearly been broken and reassembled again, haphazard pieces smashed together by sheer force. But the surrounding location was unrecognisable. Large chunks of dirt gone, replaced by scorched holes in the ground, and still steaming molten rock.

  And as more of the view was revealed, the devastation to the town was captured in its entirety large footprints and scorch marks leading to the sea where the body of a huge monster lay face down.

  Then the feed cut to Paris where the Eiffel tower lay against crushed buildings, in a twisted and warped heap behind it the space warped and twisted, still shattered like glass. Then it cut to a desert plain, where a monster’s body lay strewn out against one of the pyramids, the face half collapsed. Then the Taj Mahal, or at least it’s ruin where the shattered glass effect shimmered in the air again. Next then the ruins of the Sydney Opera house, a colossal monsters form not even completely in frame despite the distance of the helicopter. And finally, to New York, where from a distance, the devastated island, and body of Ekhut were captured with the city of New York against its backdrop.

  Weren’t there seven frontiers? Caleb thought. But he didn’t have time to consider the thought further

  It cut back to several reporters in a studio, their expressions a mixture of shock and awe at the images.

  ‘I mean the scale of the destruction is just imaginable’

  ‘Of course it was! Did you see those things? Those aliens?’

  ‘Straight out of a Godzilla movie’

  ‘And what the hell’s happened to the sky? It looks like it’s shattered. I- just unbelievable.’

  ‘I mean what can we even say. Is this it?’

  ‘I mean it’s over now, right? They’re dead?’

  ‘We don’t- Oh. I- I’m getting word we’ve received footage of one of these seven calamite. Warning you may see some distressing images. Viewer discretion is advised”

  The feed cut abruptly to something else. Darkness and heavy breathing. Then suddenly light. Someone was running with their phone, the camera shaky as they attempted to point it forwards. Suddenly they stepped as they emerged between two buildings, and the sight of a monster came into view for a moment, before a gust of air knocked the cameraman back.

  Roars and the sound of explosions rocked the area before the camera righted itself, the person running as they made their way through the streets. The monster was out of view again now, but from the sound of it, dangerously close.

  The roar echoed out again, and the feed rocked back and forth as several chosen flew past before finally the camera emerged past a building revealing the monster. It towered over the camera, the strange flashing effect through the video it’s intermittent blocking out of the sun. Caleb almost couldn’t believe it. It was even larger than the one they’d fought.

  The monster moved slowly as blasts of energy hit it, tearing at its outer shell which only continued to rebuild itself before it roared and brought a fist down to the ground. The impact was tremendous, the monsters roar echoed by the roar of dirt and earth as a cloud of dust rushed forward through the street.

  The videographer turned suddenly and then the feed cut.

  ‘And, sorry to interrupt again, but we have even more breaking news for our viewers. The President has arrived to give his speech on this devastating event.’

  The cut again, to the President as he made his way out onto a podium, the flashes of cameras harsh against his face as he set a folder down on the stand in front of him and cleared his throat looking to the crowd. Caleb frowned. He wasn’t exactly caught up on politics, but he was pretty sure this man was different to the one who’d been President before he’d left.

  It was quiet for a moment as the camera flashes slowly started to die down, and then finally the President spoke.

  ‘Good evening, citizens of America.

  I’m sure, by now, most if not all of you are aware of the dire situation. Roughly forty-five minutes ago, several anomalies occurred over the world in seven places of significant symbolic and cultural importance or notoriety. People received metaphysical messages from some unknown entity and were transported out of what were defined as Frontiers. In their place, an unknown number of human anomalies and aliens were transported in, where they proceeded to battle. The battles took place in Rio, Sydney, Giza, Paris, Agra, the South Pole, and of course New York. The resulting damage in every place has been catastrophic. I cannot begin to establish just how devastating this incident has been not only for the American people, but the people of Earth as a whole.

  We believe, from first hand reports gathered from these human anomalies, that this incident is connected to the mass disappearance and reappearance of twenty million people worldwide that occurred roughly two months ago.

  Currently it is unclear why this happened, but I can assure you I am doing everything in my power to find out. But until the citizens of Brooklyn and other neighbourhoods of New York have been, I’ll be providing aid alongside emergency services. And from here, looking forward, we’ll hope to work closely with our military and those of other countries to ensure an event like this does not happening again. I can promise you and whoever caused this that much.

  For now, that’s all.’

  The room burst out into chaos as a barrage of questions and camera flashes assaulted the president. But the man simply stepped back and walked off stage.

  “That didn’t sound very friendly” Sierra said as others in the room all burst out into conversation.

  “No” he agreed.

  “He didn’t even say we were trying to help everyone”

  “Maybe he didn’t know?” Harrison said.

  [It doesn’t matter] Ria said, her tone solemn. [What matters is what people think]

  Caleb looked to her, the mixture of s and fear in her eyes, then looked back to the TV. He couldn’t help but agree with her.

  -

  Earth (Z1-E94-C)

  The United States of America

  New York, New York City, Brooklyn

  Fort Hamilton

  Four hours after the Shatter

  Richard Craft had worked hard to get where he was. He had served two years in the Vietnam war, done his fair share in the Gulf as an officer, been promoted to general during the mess in Iraq for his outstanding service and capability, and then after his discharge, he’d worked tirelessly to become a politician to serve as an advocate for US militarism in the greater search of a way to provide the brighter future his country so desperately deserved.

  He'd made his way up the ladder faster than anyone else. And now at seventy-one after his repeated and endless success he was the Secretary of Defense. An upstanding member of his society, a leader in the bastion of the new and developed world. A world that he was slowly shaping. Well, had been. After today, he didn’t know what world he was living in. Everything he’d ever known or conceived of was falling apart in front of his very eyes.

  Aliens had appeared out of portals, and hundreds of thousands of teens and young adults had fought against them with unexplainable abilities. Abilities that rendered the modern landscape of military technology practically useless for all he knew. And even worse, the one spearheading it all, the strongest man in the world, was this pitiful excuse for a President. James Radner III.

  Richard shook his head. He didn’t like him. No one in the cabinet did he suspected. For one, he was far too young. Only thirty-eight. And secondly, he’d gotten in through the back door through a case of sheer luck.

  After the disappearance of twenty million people world-wide over a month or two earlier in which the President’s youngest granddaughter had gone missing, the President had had a heart attack.

  And then, the youngest VP in modern history had been sworn in and taken the Presidency. Sure, Richard had been promoted to VP but that’d been less of a James decision and more of a party decision. And it wasn’t worth it, especially now, when they were expected to be together to show unity in the face of challenge. Richard grit his teeth. James was a pathetic man-child, who’d gotten into politics off the coattails of his father. A freeloader through and through. And now he was the goddamn president.

  The man isn’t fit to run a hot dog stand, let alone the entirety of the US.

  And it had to be God’s greatest joke that he just so happened now of all times, in likely the most important moment in history.

  He glanced over him as they made their way through the base led by soldiers. He was doing that stupid thing with his fingers again, fidgeting like a child.

  “Oh for God’s sakes”

  “Can we not argue here” he said. “I’m trying to focus.”

  “For what? A conversation with a bunch of kids.”

  “Powerful kids.”

  “Kids being the operative word.”

  “We’ve argued about this enough already” James said shaking his head. “I’m not talking to you anymore.”

  “Right, you shouldn’t even be talking to me. You should be out there, giving speeches to the people while you pretend to help them pick up the pieces of rubble.”

  Jame ignored him.

  “Didn’t hear me? Thought a guy as young as you would have better hearing than a geezer like me. I said you should be doing what you’re best at. Giving speeches and looking pretty.”

  James whirled on him, the anger on his face apparent. It would’ve been threatening if he hadn’t been half a foot shorter.

  “I can fire you any time Dick.”

  “Oh yeah? Go ahead and try. I’m sure you’ll make a lot of people real happy.”

  James clenched his jaw and stepped back as the soldiers all around them glanced between the two. They started forward again, faster now. Richard shook his head, slowing deliberately as he sighed to himself. He could just feel it. Things were about to go horribly wrong.

  [All agreements have been confirmed by the representatives of your planet]

  [Welcome to the Akashic Federation and the Akashic Council]

  “Shit” James said, coming to a stop. Richard stared at the messages for a moment, shocked before chuckling to himself ironically.

  “Looks like your plan to get in on these talks fell through. So, what happens now?” Richard said, as he stepped back.

  “We talk to the kids and then wait” James replied. “We just- wait until this all makes sense.”

  Richard shook his head.

  Dammit Bill, you just had to go and die.