The Impossible Future: Complete set by Frank Kennedy (mini ebook reader .txt) 📕

if Valentin had rejected Michael and Sam? Hoped instead for reconciliation with his brother? Would the outcome have been so terrible? Had he trained his soldiers well enough to hold off the Guard? Even if they defeated the Guard, could they withstand James’s wrath? He didn’t deserve to be their Admiral.

They were children he molded into soldiers, yet he failed them.

The fire dissipated as a new volley of flash pegs slammed into James. Valentin’s stream awoke.

Suddenly, hope.

“Go,” Michael told him. “Take your soldiers and go. Win the fight. I got this asshole.”

Valentin tried to break through the fog. The instant he did, a new source of fire rained from the sky. He pushed off on his feet and ran, but there was no escape.

*

“Give it up, asshole,” Michael shouted. “You’re a dead man.”

Of course. James knew it all along. The outcome was too predictable. His brother and the man he once called ‘best friend.’ They were the traitors. His first instincts were always his best.

“As for the one who will kill you, I see two potential prospects, but only one who seems made for the purpose.”

Which is it? The brother who envied me from the day we met? The fool who never graduated above sidekick?

No matter. He’d kill them both.

If the other immortals did not fall in line, he would incinerate them, too. If necessary, obliterate the city and start again. He had other cities to choose from, and a god did not need an army.

He pushed away Benjamin and Peter and told them to run home.

In the moment of decision, Valentin hesitated, as James always knew he would. The great Admiral, afraid of his big brother.

“There’s nothing left for you,” Valentin shouted. “All the Berserkers will die.”

Valentin didn’t understand the many faces of the Jewels. Yes, some would die today, but the hybrids most loved by the Jewels would survive long after. Just now, in the literal blink of an eye, they promised James a grand future.

The white forest materialized before him, reborn. The Jewels who watched him transcend the limits of humanity and bring down an empire glistened. They showered him in praise and showed him the new empire he would soon build.

We, you, are the dark, they said. We, you will drown them all.

They spoke of treachery among their own kind but also of a chance to survive this deception.

We destroyed them long ago. We, you will destroy them now. Look within, James. The dark is your guardian.

James blinked again and puckered his lips.

“Traitors first,” he told his brother.

His fiery breath took unprecedented form. It had life. It had thought. It followed its prey. The fire consumed Valentin. He would be gone in seconds. He would be …

Flash pegs tore into James. The dark grabbed them and held tight, absorbing their explosive energy. But there were too many. James had no choice but to let go.

The fireball dissipated before it penetrated his brother’s armor.

No matter.

“You’re not the one,” James whispered before pivoting to Michael.

It was always going to be you.

He balled his fists together while Michael mocked him.

“I am a god. You have no idea of my power.”

James did not dismiss the impressive figure on the stage. This was not the same tearful, jilted friend he left behind on Earth. Michael was bigger, far more intelligent, and he too had become a killer.

Good, Michael. You grew up. But you’re still a man. That won’t save you today.

“Can a god stop that?” Michael said, looking skyward.

What?

James didn’t see, but he heard. Explosions and fire from behind.

“And another thing,” Michael shouted. “You are the ugliest motherfucker I’ve ever seen.”

James blinked. The white forest shouted.

We, you will drown them all.

A firestorm crashed down around James. His long, beautiful hair – golden like a god deserved – exploded into flames.

*

Michael woke.

He ached all over, but he was in one piece. He tried to sit up, but his body decided otherwise.

Tall columns of smoke rose from the city and beyond. The nonstop rattle of high-powered weapons echoed across JaRa. Railguns fired long, concentrated blasts at Guard ships.

A deep bass, emitted as if from the world’s largest malfunctioning speaker system, turned shrill.

Silence.

Then a bubble rose hundreds of feet above the tree line to the south. It imploded then burst, releasing a dust cloud.

Graviton weapon. The fight. It’s still …

Michael pushed off again, fighting through the agony. He accessed the S-1 convex gradient. Still active.

How long was I out?

He ran diagnostics on himself.

No broken bones. Limited internal bleeding.

A firefight arose close by. Soldiers in black and bronze – maybe ten – made haste. They didn’t see him.

He tapped into the command center’s stream. Orders came rapid-fire. Ground troops were breaking through the lines. The graviton weapons weren’t taking out as many of the enemy as expected.

He heard Col. Joosten’s voice. Where was Valentin?

Michael remembered everything now.

Sam. James. Rayna. Valentin. The energy slews. Sam.

He jumped to his feet and gathered his bearings. The attack threw him far beyond the stage but still inside the amphitheater, or what was left of it. The flames were dying, but most of it was burnt crisp.

Sam.

Nothing was recognizable. The stage was shattered and spread in many directions, but Michael knew where to look.

The spot where Sam fell did not take a direct hit, but the grass smoldered. She wasn’t there.

“No, no, no. I’m not wrong. She was right here.”

That’s when he realized nothing was like he remembered. The amphitheater was decimated. His bearings were off.

The firefight drew closer. From the east, a Guard battalion tried to swamp the few immortals who stood against it. Stray flash pegs whizzed by Michael.