Short Story # 8 — APOCALYPTIC MOONS (3300 words)
*All stories are protected under the © Seal of the Copyright Office of the United States. April 27, 2023 and May 01, 2023
Two children, the last survivors of the human race, search for a way out of a world in extinction. The task seems impossible when they are being chased by animals whose only source of food is human flesh.
APOCALYPTIC MOONS
God had never intervened since Adam and Eve, and Lucius and Katana were not expecting His help. God had probably left already. After all, there was nothing to supervise anymore.
For decades, scientists had predicted that humans would be the leading cause of their extinction. They also said that global warming would trigger other tragedies. Skeptical politicians ignored all warnings and did nothing to prevent the fast-approaching Armageddon.
The wrong decisions of inept world leaders increased madness and devastated Mother Nature. Nuclear wars were not destructive enough to exterminate humans.
We didn’t need alien invasions or galactic wars after all. But many agreed that Armageddon would have been much more beautiful with a space invasion. Or more exciting. Or more entertaining.
Sadly for humans, but gladly for other animal species, only humans were disappearing from Planet Earth.
The animal kingdom realized that humans were the culprits of such devastation. Therefore, they turned against humans. Humanity has consistently underestimated animals, but the equilibrium of nature invariably succeeds. Sometimes, certain species had to perish for others to survive.
All animals worldwide began to grow, and their brain capacity increased. Rats developed to double their size every hundred years. Human flesh became part of the animal diet. Animals had found a logical solution: Kill and feed. Get rid of the enemy by consuming it.
The total eradication of humans from the face of the Earth appeared impossible at first.
We knew that if unattended, an infestation of rats, cockroaches, and termites could devour a house in a few years. Humans not only left their homes alone but the entire world. They had complete knowledge of that possibility centuries before. Powerful nations blamed each other and started wars that accelerated their deserving fate.
Finally, they had reached their sad destiny. They fused the past with the present and canceled the future.
The results were catastrophic. Nearly eight billion people perished in those five centuries.
When the population began to decline, human life expectancy was a hundred and twenty years. Science eradicated many illnesses. People rarely consumed alcohol, tobacco, and fat anymore. That period was the peak of human excellence—body and mind at their best. Then, things rapidly deteriorated.
*****
Lucius Night and Katana were the last survivors. They were the last vestige of humankind. And there was no one left to cheer for their success. Adam and Eve didn’t have such an impossible task.
Lucius Night had a far superior mind than most scientists from the twentieth century. Katana Luna had a JCN chip implanted before she was born. They were human computers. They were taller and more robust than their human counterparts from five centuries before. But they were still vulnerable to the rest of the animal kingdom, where a rat was as large as a cat. The size increase could not be noticeable yearly, but the difference was huge in five hundred years.
Having a common enemy, animals had become allies in fighting against humans. The animal kingdom had significantly reduced killing each other; half of them had adopted a semi-vegetarian diet. The other half was consuming human flesh, which seemed to be addicting, judging from the amount they were ingesting. And the supply appeared to be unlimited.
Lucius and Katana didn’t know they were the only humans left. They had not seen other people for a long time. The last time Lucius saw his parents was soon after his mom had delivered Katana, and many months had passed since their parents had left the cave.
Lucius knew there was a slim chance he and his sister would survive. He had promised himself never to give up for Katana’s sake. The primary purpose of Lucius’ life was to protect his little sister.
It was hard to guess Lucius Night’s age due to the change in human life expectancy. Whatever his age, he was far more intelligent and strong than he appeared.
Every single day was going to be a struggle to remain alive.
Adam and Eve did their best, but they failed. From the story of the Tree of Knowledge, it all went down in a disastrous decline. But their decline had lasted thousands of years. If Lucius and Katana wished to avoid the complete eradication of human life, first and foremost, they had to implant one thing into the minds of future generations: They had to respect their home.
Humankind was one People. Planet Earth was their only home. They had to take care of it constantly, mainly by leaving it alone.
God had never intervened since Adam and Eve, and Lucius and Katana were not expecting His help.
God had probably left already. After all, there was nothing to supervise anymore.
If anything was specific in the Bible, it had to be Armageddon. The end-of-times scenario had been worse than anyone could ever have imagined. But, the planet’s landscape has dramatically improved since humans began to disappear. Earth’s heart was beating at a lower speed. Nature didn’t need men. The world had no use for humankind.
Big metropolises like New York, Tokyo, and Rio de Janeiro became beautiful jungles. Deserts began to shrink as soon as humans started to vanish. In the same way humans underestimated animals, they also underestimated Mother Nature’s healing powers. After the first signs of human extinction, all damage done by humans began to reverse. Nature was finally getting rid of a grave illness: humanoid overcrowding.
*****
Lucius and Katana had only two weapons to defend themselves. Katana Luna had the paralyzing waver, a handgun designed to send airwaves in all directions. It could paralyze all animals within a hundred feet radius, and the effect could last from two to six hours, depending on the animal’s size. It was a non-lethal weapon. Lucius had the invisible laser-blazer, an accurate ray-seeking weapon powerful enough to disintegrate a whale in a fraction of a second.
During the twelve-month gestational period, their parents implanted most of their knowledge. The parents prepared that knowledge, knowing that human extinction was approaching. They had specific training in survival skills. Their food source contained mainly pills rich in artificial nutrients and proteins, including water. Each tablet had a slow energy release that lasted a week, and they had a supply to last ten years.
Since there was nothing nice to talk about, Katana rarely spoke. Instead, she used signs and signals. She enjoyed stories about Mom and Dad, and Lucius was happy to share them. After all, he knew those stories would fade from his memory one day.
Sometimes, they would sit on the rocks at the cave entrance and watch the world go by. Sunsets were always sad.
Once a week, Lucius bathed Katana. He grabbed a bucket and a sponge and started washing her face with soft strokes as if she were his most precious treasure.
“Does it bother you?” asked Lucius, lightly touching the spot on Katana’s arm where the scar from her implant was still visible.
“Sometimes.” her answers were always laconic. “Tell me a story about Mom.”
Lucius began, “On hot days, after cooking dinner, she would lie down to rest on the cool cement and ask you to blow air on her sweaty face. You would blow until you fell asleep on her chest.”
Katana loved to hear a song that reminded her of her mom. Every time Lucius sang it, she closed her eyes, swayed her head, and tapped her right temple with her right hand.
“Katana Luna, Katana Luna, my sweet moon
Brighter than the sun
Stronger than a monsoon
Katana Luna, Katana Luna
I’d go insane without you.”
And every time Lucius finished singing, Katana would end up with a big smile and Lucius with tears in his eyes, for that was the song her mom used to sing to help her fall asleep.
The last two humans on Earth were sustained by love, just like the first two humans in the Bible.
*****
Their parents chose a cave on a mountain range less than a mile from the ocean for shelter. Lucius was glad the cave was always dark. That way, intruders would be blind in the dark, too—the hidden cave’s mouth between cracks in the rocky mountain could be their kingdom, but it was a dangerous place, too.
The animal invasion of the cities was a fantastic collaborative operation in which several animal species participated. With no apparent leader, the animals had to communicate telepathically or in another mysterious way.
Professional exterminators could only control house pests, but they had to create special weapons to eliminate the new aggressive and bigger kind. They were no longer exterminators but hunters. These animals emerged mostly after sundown, and they were predators like bats, wolves, coyotes, and others. But it was insanely dangerous, day and night.
The military forces began to help, but soon, they withdrew because they were causing more trouble than help. There were too many human casualties. Besides, the American people were well armed, but the enormous amount of attackers was overwhelming.
Due to the constant contact with such horrific carnage, people began to lose their sensitivity at the sight of human loss. Even when they devoured their children in front of their eyes, they had to continue the struggle to care for themselves. There was no time for crying.
Other tragedies began to occur. With toxic waste, new viruses appeared, causing pandemics of such virulence and infectiousness that further decimated the human population. They had to abandon their jobs to fight for their survival, and famine followed. It was unmerciful.
Communities evolved into isolated tribes, and people fled, searching for natural shelters. Mountain caves, forests, and tunnels. But there was no escape or solution; animals were bigger and more dangerous outside city limits. You could be eaten by a thousand ants or by a single bear.
Lucius and Katana witnessed a terrifying sight from the cave’s entrance one morning. A thick swarm of birds and other flying bugs was approaching the cave, along with thousands of terrestrial pests, mice, spiders, ants, cockroaches, and other unidentifiable creatures. Like a plague, they were devouring everything in their path.
Katana’s screams were muted by the swarm’s collective noise. With weapons in hand, they immediately counterattacked and got their guns out. Even with their powerful weapons, it took several seconds to control the impressive invasion.
The reach of their weapons created a contrasting line. Thousands of dead animals on the ground, and many more continuing their journey.
Later, while they recovered from the shock, Lucius said: “I remember when Dad killed our dog, Kepler, because the dog tried to eat you; that’s when all this thing started.”
“Why was the dog named Kepler?” Katana asked.
“That’s the name of the planet humans have been trying to colonize for centuries,” he answered.
*****
When Lucius ventured outside to hunt for food, he struggled with choosing what to do with Katana. He could take or leave her, but he always found that hard to decide. There was no safe place anywhere anymore.
He would often return with fish or birds, the only kind of animals that Lucius considered safe for human consumption. The problem was their size. They could eat you, too.
Dates and seasons had no meaning. Nothing mattered anymore, only survival. Child play had turned into ‘adult’ supervision.
It had been months since they last had fun. That time, it rained for hours, and they went out to dance and sing for a short time, ignoring the desolation around them for a while. The downside was they couldn’t drink the rain anymore. It tasted foul and impure.
At night, Lucius caressed Katana’s face while she slept beside him. He realized that his little sister could not hide her beauty despite her lack of hygiene.
One day, when Lucius returned from hunting, he found two paralyzed wolves in the cave. After he took them outside and shot them with the DD (disintegrating device) gun, he decided never to leave Katana alone again. If she had been asleep, there wouldn’t be any traces of her left. That night, Lucius was sure that if that had been the case, he would have killed himself.
Katana had chosen the paralyzing gun because she was against animal killings except for human consumption. An extreme stance, considering the current situation, Lucius thought these were not times for a pacifist, but he never said a thing.
Lucius found Katana crying at the far end of the cave.
“What’s the use, Lucius?” she said.
“We cannot lose hope, Katana. Mom and Dad would disapprove. Our parents did not bring us into this world so that we would give up so easily. We must never surrender,” Lucius answered, but he also looked defeated.
They embraced with warmth and affection. Orphans like them could only find comfort in each other.
*****
From the beginning, one of Katana’s dearest passions had been contemplating lunar eclipses. Only two things were important in her life. Lucius was number one. Lunar eclipses would be second, for sure. She would never miss those celestial events if it were up to her. She would sit for hours, ignoring all risks and hazards. She would remain captivated in delight, hypnotized by the phenomenon in complete oblivion.
In remarkable contrast, Lucius had to remain constantly alert during those moments, ready to defuse any possible dangers. Moments like that would have made God reconsider His hope for humankind. Any god in any Universe could not ignore brotherly love of such high purity.
Katana had experienced her first lunar eclipse in the peaceful darkness of the backyard while Mom sang her favorite lullaby and rocked her in her arms.
“Katana Luna, Katana Luna, my sweet moon
Brighter than the sun
Stronger than a monsoon
Katana Luna, Katana Luna,
I’d go insane without you.”
*****
One of Lucius’ worst days was when Katana was attacked by a cat twice her weight. She shot the cat while it was mid-flight, aiming in her direction, but she couldn’t prevent the cat from scratching her leg as it landed on her.
That day was the second time Lucius had seen her cry. The day he found the two paralyzed wolves inside the cave was the first.
Several nights later, Lucius had a dream with Dad, and Dad advised him to search for the “crystal wall” and be ready for departure. Dad also said, “All in time, all planets must align.” Dad always gave him some guidance in those dreams. Later, he would recount those dreams to his sister, and their happiness would last for days.
Lucius found the dream hard to interpret. Nevertheless, the following day, they would begin the search for that mysterious crystal wall.
The last few days, he had noticed a slight change in the sky. The clouds were not clear. They had a blurry, wavy, foggy look like they had entered a new realm.
Lucius had never doubted his dad’s advice. Still, he was uncertain about the “wall” or what to do if he found it. He felt excited but knew they would encounter high risks and unwanted danger. That day, Lucius took Katana along and began to search for the crystal wall.
Early morning, they climbed the mountain’s peak above the cave. Katana’s injured leg had not completely healed yet, but Lucius knew she was strong enough for the task. With weapons in hand, they began the trek. Climbing the mountain was difficult, but Lucius was glad they were well-rested and energetic. Katana was hiking a few feet ahead of Lucius. That way, Lucius thought, he could catch her if she slipped.
And she did slip when a menacing yellow spider crossed her path. The spider was half her size; it seemed that the arachnid could be able not just kill her but eat her. The hairy beast looked eye-to-eye with hypnotic eyes to Katana while gnashing its ten-inch mandibles. Swift and hostile, the spider stunned Katana and made her lose her balance. Lucius leaped between the two-foot-tall monster and, fearless and ferocious, shot the spider while catching Katana in his arms.
After that, Lucius decided to carry Katana on his shoulders. He thought it wouldn’t be a safer place than that. But he was wrong.
The next time they encountered danger, the sun signaled. Lucius saw a shadow on the ground coming in their direction, giving him a fraction of a second to anticipate an attack from above. He had his gun ready when Katana was snatched by a bird so large it appeared to come from prehistoric times. Lucius shot the bird precisely, forcing the animal to release Katana and catching her in the air again.
They kept going for weeks. They began to doubt the possibility of achieving their objective when they crashed into a wall a few yards past what appeared to be the end of the luscious vegetation and thick forest. They never thought the world could have an edge.
Beyond the glass wall, Lucius could see the sky all around him, even below his feet. It seemed so odd and enigmatic.
His inquisitive mind couldn’t find a logical explanation. He hit the glass with a rock as hard as he could but couldn’t even scratch it. He wondered whether the wall was enclosing the space outside or if they were in some cage. Seeing the enormous void of space in the exterior, he guessed the second part was right.
They began exploring what appeared to be a new world within the old one. It seemed like a dream. It was hard to describe the new world.
They noticed a few changes in the surroundings. The animals seemed smaller. Or were he and Katana growing bigger? Ultimately, they concluded that the animals were returning to their standard size. They also seemed less ferocious and began to appear in pairs. It was probably mating season, but it couldn’t be mating season for all species simultaneously.
When they ventured into the ocean, the water tasted less salty. Things were indeed changing. He recalled watching a pod of gigantic whales that caused a tsunami and pushed the seawater close to their cave, almost a mile away and a hundred feet above sea level. But that was a long time ago. The ocean now looked more like a lake. It was serene and peaceful and as beautiful as ever.
He carried Katana on his shoulders for three days along the glass wall. One night, something strange happened: the night seemed longer. Their internal clock malfunctioned because when they woke up, it was still dark. Katana and Lucius went back to sleep three times before the sun reappeared.
Then, something even stranger occurred: two moons appeared on the horizon. It was a beautiful moonrise—peculiar and freakish but extremely beautiful.
Unbeknownst to them, they had arrived at their destination: the New World, a world so big it would take seven days to go around its axis. A day on this planet was equal to seven days on Earth. The crystal walls surrounding Katana and Lucius’ world were, in fact, a spaceship created by their father. It also functioned as an ark, transporting animals to the new, vacant world.
“Look, Katana, look!” Lucius screamed in excitement. “Look, Katana, two moons! Can you imagine a lunar eclipse with two moons? This is the real beginning of Eternity. This world is our new home, Katana.”
The End
Edmundo Barraza
*All stories are protected under the © Seal of the Copyright Office of the United States. April 27, 2023 and May 01, 2023
Written in Lancaster, CA. Nov-28-2015
Posted on Blogger 9-30-2017
Posted on WordPress Jul-21-2019 Reposted 3-11-2023
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