APOCALYPSE 3 – A DYSTOPIAN GALAXY

The time has come. After 3 years, it is ready. A nuclear bomb, ready to be launched
into space. It will destroy the alien space station and let society finally reclaim their
homes once and for all. Just one problem. Cobalt 9 Launch Station is miles away.
Mike, Polly, Gildo and the other Wanderers have been selected to bring the launch
codes to the station. It won’t be an easy journey…
Mike was getting tired. He had been riding on Old Leafy’s leathery back for hours.
Polly was feeling the same. They had been playing I Spy to pass the time, but soon all
they could see for miles was a barren wasteland. Occasionally a tumbleweed would
pass by, but apart from that, Mike felt like the only living creature for miles. “Are we
going the right way, Gildo?” asked Polly. Gildo opened his map, a rough, hand-drawn
chart. “The map doesn’t lie, Polly. Just through this valley and then across Nukeland,
and then to the Paladin Military Base.” Mike could feel himself getting tired. He
looked over his shoulder at Polly, who looked the same. “I think we should stop now,
Gildo.” Moaned Mike. Gildo agreed, and the Wanderers made a camp and rested…
After many nondescript days and nights of travelling, Gildo piped up one hot
morning: “We’re just about in Nukeland now!” Mike looked into the distance and saw
a theme park. “Well, looks like we’re here right now!” Mike exclaimed, as Old Leafy
passed under a huge barrier that read the following: “WELCOME TO NUKELAND”.
Inside Mike saw a Ferris wheel, a shooting display, and a claw machine, among other
attractions. The shooting display seemed like the place to go. Mike walked over to it.
The man running it had a ruddy complexion, and a huge bushy beard. “10 caps a go!
Test yer skills! Get rewards galore!” the man noticed him. “A good day to ya!” he
roared. “Fancy a game of Shoot Yer Treat?” Mike nodded and handed over 10
bottlecaps from his wallet. The huge man handed him a rifle and turned on a timer.
The target board started moving. Mike took aim and fired. He hit a board. “Bullseye!”
the huge man at the stall shouted happily. He turned over the target Mike had shot.
“50 caps! What a score!” He took his prize and smiled to himself. This could be a
good money-maker…
After earning a generous 120 more caps, 2 water bottles and one box of ammo,
James moved on. Gildo had a go at Hook ‘Em, a game where you needed to hook a
target board, and then pull it towards you. the further it was towards you, the better
the prize. Gildo earned 200 more caps and a can of pet food for Old Leafy. Polly was
extremely good at the claw machine, and she managed to lift out a gold bar. “There’s
no value to that now,” said Gildo. Polly shook her head, the gold bar shiny as ever.
“How about that white elephant stall?” she asked. Polly pointed to an old shed
decorated like a box office. The sign read “IF IT SELLS WE’LL BUY IT”. Gildo
changed his mind, and the group travelled to it. The man at the stall was dressed like
a ninja. “Hello strangers.” He said. “What’re ya buying?” Polly looked at the man.
“Oh, we’re not buying anything.” “How much is this gold bar worth?” the man
examined it closely. “I’ll pay ya 150 caps for that.” Polly agreed, and the man took in
the gold. Mike bought everyone a drink, and they sat down on a bench and relaxed.
Everything was going well. Suddenly, someone shouted something out of the
ordinary… “DEATHCLAW!!!” Mike looked towards where the sound was coming
from, to see a horned beast run into the crowd. Before he knew what was
happening, Mike was on Old Leafy with Polly and Gildo, riding away with the launch
codes. The Deathclaw was in hot pursuit, and it picked up one of the Wanderers
right off his mount. His lizard ran wild, causing more damage than the Deathclaw!
Gildo looked behind him for a second. “Don’t worry about Hemlock. He can handle
this himself!” Mike turned to see Hemlock being eaten by the Deathclaw. “Um…
Gildo? Hemlock is being eaten alive right now!” Gildo took a double take and turned
back. “There’s not enough time to go back for him now!” he yelled over the
screaming and roaring of the Deathclaw. There were four Wanderers left, not
including Gildo. They were coming to a gate. There wasn’t enough time to stop. Mike
loaded his father’s handgun with the ammo he had been given and shot the lock at
the top of the fence. It split apart with a crash, and the Wanderers dashed through it
while the Deathclaw was terrorising the inhabitants of Nukeland.
After getting out of Nukeland, Mike, Gildo and Polly came to a small town, littered
with tents and small camps. Gildo checked his map. “It seems like we’re in the fabled
Swan Common.” Polly shivered. “I heard about that place while at Scrap Crescent.
Apparently, there’s this giant swan or something that attacks people.” Gildo
laughed. “A giant swan? Really?” Gildo didn’t perceive “A giant swan that attacks
people” to be much of a threat, but Mike was worried. All around them were signs of
danger. “KEEP OUT.” “STAY AWAY FROM SWAN.” “TURN BACK.” Mike knew that
they should get a move on, but it was quiet. Too quiet. Mike listened for any noises.
Suddenly, a raider jumped out of a bush, brandishing a shotgun. “Gimme your caps
or the girl gets it!” she shouted, pointing the gun at Polly. Mike took out his own
handgun. Suddenly, Gildo threw a flare at one of the mounts. It went crazy, and
before long the raider had lost them. The rider of the unfortunate lizard was thrown
into the air, and shot by the raider, who was chasing after them. “I know you got
caps in that case!” she yelled. Old Leafy ran left, through an open gate. Mike didn’t
see the rusty Welcome sign to Swan Common. The raider paused. “I’ll let the Swan
take care of you!” she shouted, before running off. The trio dismounted, and Old
Leafy sat down. Mike looked towards the lake, now a boggy quagmire. In the middle
of it, Mike could see what seemed to be a swan boat, stuck in the marsh. As Mike got
closer, the swan boat lifted out of the ground, and Mike realised what the warning
signs were about…
Swan was a 20-foot tall super-mutant behemoth. It was an amalgamation of
contaminated flesh and a swan boat. The swan’s wooden head was poking out of the
monster’s shoulder. One of its arms had a huge wooden wing protruding out of it like
a massive flipper, while the other was smaller and malformed, clutching a huge
hook. Its face was dark in colour, and its piggy eyes were a deep red. It opened its
mouth, revealing sharp teeth, and roared its name. “SWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!” it
rushed at Mike and used its flipper arm to pick up a rock. It threw the rock at Mike,
who narrowly dodged 30 kilograms of rock launched at his face. One of the
Wanderers ran at Swan with a harpoon, but the mutant monster just knocked him to
the side. He was smashed into a tree, and the harpoon landed in the swamp a few
feet away. Gildo grabbed the harpoon and threw it at Swan. It hit the wooden swan
head and pierced it. This confused the beast and gave Mike time to shoot it with the
handgun. The bullets just made Swan angrier. “Look above you!” Polly yelled, and
Mike looked up to see a huge airship approaching them. Its titanic hull had the
letters NDRS printed on it, and the word Phantom underneath. “It’s the Phantom!”
Gildo shouted happily. “The Nuclear Detonation Response Service will save us!”
Mike smiled too. Finally, they would receive help from the military!
A door opened on the side of the airship, and a soldier came out, clad in full Nuke
Forces armour. He had with him a minigun. He revved it up and fired from above onto
Swan. The beast fell to its knees, but the battle was not yet won. Swan lifted itself up
and picked up a tree. It teared the tree right out of the ground and threw it at Mike
and Gildo. They dashed out of the way just as the huge oak hit a fountain, spraying
water everywhere. The Phantom was getting closer to the ground now. Mike heard a
voice break out through the speakers. “First grade combat system failure. Initiate
second grade combat.” The soldier took the minigun back inside, and the door
closed as several cannons pushed out from the hull of the ship. Fatman launchers!
They fired mortar bomb-like projectiles that landed around Swan, breaking off its
huge flipper, revealing a malformed sliver of an arm. The soldier returned with a
drone. He pulled out a remote control and flew the drone around Swan’s head. This
angered the beast, swatting at drone while it launched little red balls that exploded
when they hit Swan’s face. Suddenly, Old Leafy ran from behind a house and butted
into the monster, making it fall over face down in the mud of Swan Common. Finally,
the soldier pulled out a bomb. He pressed some buttons on the control panel and
threw it out the door of the airship. It landed on Swan’s back. “EVERYBODY DOWN!”
shouted Mike…
The bomb exploded, destroying Swan. Bits of the wooden swan embedded into its
body went everywhere, as did chunks of its mutated flesh. Once the smoke had
cleared, Mike saw the soldier that had helped them descend from the ship. He
walked up to him. “Didn’t you read the signs? You need to stay away from Swan
Common!” the man seemed cross at first, but then smiled. “Hey, since you’ve lost
your squad, I’ll give you and your companions a ride in our airship.” Mike thanked
him, but Gildo took him aside for a moment. “You’ve been a help to us Wanderers,
but the time has come for us to move on.” “Good luck for your journeys,” He said,
and threw Mike a black box containing 50 caps. Mike gave him a wave as they
boarded the Phantom, and Gildo prepared to leave Swan Common.
The Phantom took off. Mike was taken into the cockpit with the captain. Mike took off
his Nuke Forces armour for the first time in ages and sat in the seat next to him. “I’m
Captain Steel. I’ll be taking this ship to the Paladin Military Base, and then I’ll be
going back on for another mission.” Mike smiled. Just where he needed to go. Mike
checked the digital map on the control panel. Not long now. Mike pressed another
on, which poured him a cup of coffee. “Coffee?” he exclaimed. “In the apocalypse?”
Captain Steel nodded. Mike sipped his beverage, and relaxed. After about 20
minutes, the Phantom arrived at the Paladin Military Base. Mike put on his Nuke
Forces armour and retrieved the launch codes from the cockpit floor. He exited the
cabin and climbed the stairs to find Polly at the bottom, wearing a suit of Nuke
Forces armour, helmet and all. “I got a suit,” she said. Mike nodded, and they set off
for the main building. Eventually they came to the manager’s room. Mike explained
the situation to the best of his ability. “So, you need to get to Cobalt 9.” Mike nodded.
“The Phantom is leaving for a mission… you could take Paladin 2,” Mike looked
outside. “Is that the helicopter outside?” the manager nodded. Mike took the keys,
and they walked over to it. Polly took the driving seat, while Mike took the passenger
seat. Time to get this nuke launched, Mike thought.
They had been flying Paladin 2 for a while, when Mike got a message. A distress call,
from Phantom. Mike turned on the radio to hear a distressed Captain Steel on the
other end. “The Phantom is hit! All Paladin crafts, I need your help!” Polly turned the
helicopter around, and they travelled back towards Swan Common. Once they could
see the hulking silhouette of the NDRS flagship Mike ran to the door on the right of
the aircraft. There was a turret on the side, and Mike got hold of it, ready to fire. Polly
called through to Mike. “There’s something on the ground!” He looked to see a
massive behemoth, even bigger than Swan. It held a fire hydrant in its hand, and its
yellow skin was covered in cuts. It seemed to have escaped from an aircraft hangar,
and it was surrounded by people trying to catch it. There was a man on the roof of
the hangar dressed in wolf furs, firing arrows at it from a bow made of wood and
metal. Mike scoped in on it, before revving up the turret and firing at it. The
behemoth looked up and slung a rock that narrowly missed Mike. “Watch out!” yelled
Mike to Polly, who flew Paladin 2 out of the way of another rock. Mike started firing
again, as the behemoth threw a rock at the Phantom, this one shredding the metal
cover and going inside the hull. The radio cut out, and Mike didn’t know what had
happened to Captain Steel. Suddenly, a soldier in full Nuke Forces armour
parachuted out of the Phantom as another rock hit the airship. It hit something inside
the ship’s core engine, and the huge aircraft blew up. A huge hole almost split the
Phantom in two as a raging inferno blazed within, melting the metal exterior and
revealing bursting pipes and an overheated engine. One pipe couldn’t take the
strain, and it broke in two, spraying hot water everywhere. That was the breaking
point. The Phantom finally snapped, and the two pieces of airship landed on the
ground, still burning violently. One of them landed on the behemoth, while the other
was smashed to smithereens on the rocks. Mike wondered how many people had
been killed - 12 at least. Mike entered Paladin 2 again, and Polly silently turned back.
After half an hour of travelling, Polly pointed at the digital map. “Look, we’re almost
at Cobalt 9!” Mike looked out of the windscreen and saw a tall building. Next to it,
there was a blue and white rocket. “There it is,” Mike murmured. “Cobalt 9 Nuclear
Launch Station.” Polly stopped Paladin 2, and it lowered downwards and landed on a
helipad outside the building. Mike got out first, and Polly came after him. They
walked up to the entrance and came to a foyer. Mike spoke first. “We have the
launch codes for Cobalt 9.” The man at the desk looked at the briefcase in
amazement. “Right this way, you two.” An elevator door opened, and Mike and Polly
got in. It took them up to a control room on what might have been the 20 th floor.
Inside there were people at computers everywhere. “It’s time,” Mike said. “We’re
going to launch Cobalt 9.”
The next 3 minutes went by very quickly. Everyone was at work on the computers,
pressing buttons and powering on reactors. Polly looked through a window and saw
metal panels being turned. Everything had to be perfect. One wrong move and the
whole launch station would blow up. Once everything was in position, Mike came
forward to the main launch terminal. He put in the username “Extra-terrestrial” and
the core launch codes. Once everything was in place, Mike sat down in the chair in
front of the workstation and braced himself. Should he do it? He looked through the
periscope. The space station was right on target. Mike pressed the launch button…
Suddenly, an alarm went off. A red light flashed on in the control room. Polly looked
petrified. Had Mike done something wrong? Were they all about to be destroyed?
The entrance door shut with a hiss. All windows were sealed tight. Mike looked
through the periscope. He could see the missile slowly moving upwards. Suddenly, it
hit a burst of speed, and it launched into the sky. Mike saw it fly through the air,
picking up speed as it rushed towards the station. The alien space station fired one
of their meteor nukes, but with no effect. It just got smashed on the nosecone of the
hulking Cobalt 9. Were the aliens trying to detonate the missile before it hit them?
Suddenly, the green energy pulsing out of the station ceased, and lights shut off on
the exterior of the metal sphere. The missile was about to hit. Mike closed his eyes.
Would it hit? He opened them again. All he could see through the periscope was a
huge explosion. Rings of green energy were blasted into space as bits of metal were
launched out of the massive upsurge. When the smoke cleared, Mike saw that there
was nothing left of the space station but bits of space junk littering the galaxy.
Everyone in the room looked awestruck. Mike and Polly left the launch station in
silence.
When they left the building, Mike and Polly were greeted by Gildo. “I left you once.”
He said. “I won’t leave you again.” Mike explained what had happened to Gildo. He
looked upwards, but all he could see was a slightly greener sky. The group got back
onto Old Leafy, and they left at a relaxed pace. “I heard of a place west from here,”
said Gildo. “It’s called Scrap Springs. We could stay there now the apocalypse is
over.” Mike and Polly agreed. “I think it’s time us Wanderers settled down and found
a proper home.” And with that, the group set off for their new home…
THE END
Epilogue
“Don’t you think it’s cool that Scrap Springs has a working TV?” asked Polly, as Mike
and Gildo flicked through the channels. Just as Gildo had settled on a nature
documentary, the screen changed to a picture of the Prime Minister’s face…
“Good evening to you all. For those who don’t know, the alien space station that has
been deploying radioactive bombs to Earth has been destroyed by our largest
nuclear missile ever made, Cobalt 9. The world is at peace again. But alas, our
nation has been scarred by this constant bombing. It will be hard to make a life for
ourselves once again, but we must try. The threat of more mutated creatures is over,
but that’s not to say that the existing organisms will not breed. We have to live with
this now. Welcome to the New World.”