Call To Arms - 'Til Death Do Us Part

• David Nguyen, Grade 10
• Short Story
• 2009

Call to Arms: ‘Til Death do us part.
The world of the future was never how he imagined.
As Jack stood atop of a pile of rubble, he thought to himself, ‘Is this what has become of humankind, our very existence on the brink of extinction?’ All these years he believed that peace had finally emerged from the depths of despair. Only pain and suffering had come instead.
December 21st, 2012, the beginning of a new era; foretold by the ancient Aztecs long before this very day. They were an advanced civilisation, their technology long ahead of its time and thus, they built great canals and structures of epic proportions. However, their brilliance came at a steep price as they had dark secrets hidden within the murky depths of their tombs, secrets which would only horrify those around them, and they were the predictions of an apocalypse.
Jack Russell scoured the area for any survivors amongst the enormous piles of wreckage and destruction. He cautiously scanned the area, his assault rifle tightly gripped, ready to fire at any sign of danger. Jack moved ever so slowly, like a tiger stalking its unwary prey. He took sight of the Big Apple’s many skyscrapers, once tall and magnificent, now reduced to rubble. The desolate place was now starting to get to his nerves, sending a cold shiver down his spine.
Suddenly, he heard an earth shaking explosion. Kaboom! Voices of anguish and despair not too distant from his position. “Ahhh! “a woman screamed, as she and many other people came sprinting down the street, all trying to escape the midst of an unyielding spray of bullets. Chhtt,Chhtt,Chhtt sounded the machine gun, unleashing hundreds of bullets, all narrowly missing Jack Russell as he dived to a nearby car for cover. “I need some reinforcements ten miles east of Central Park now!” yelled Jack frantically as he tried to ward off incoming Imperial forces by returning fire. The Imperial force most notorious of all resistance forces, known for their brutal and often cruel tactics, and were sworn enemies of the Royal force, in which Jack Russell was a commando. “Take this!” A grenade flung from Jack’s hands and into the heart of the group of soldiers and exploded on impact, killing numerous soldiers. There are too many of them, thought Jack, I have to retreat until my men arrive. As bullets filled the air around him, Jack sprinted back, heading towards Central Park and hurriedly took cover behind an alley way hall. “Where are you guys!?” shouted Jack into his communications radio, “I won’t be able to last much longer!”
“Up here!” Jack looked up and saw a helicopter with ‘Royal’ emblazoned across its body. “Jump on!” screamed the soldier. A rope ladder dropped from the helicopter and landed 100 metres from his position, floating mid air. With hostiles closing in quickly, he had only one option, to jump onto the ladder while it was still airborne. He took one last look behind him and ran for his life. The sound of bullets filled the air, whizzing only inches from his body. Pew, Pew, Pew Pew! Sounded the rapid fire of automatic rifles, the pellets closely pursued his feet. 30 metres... 20 metres... 5 metres... He was nearly there when tragedy struck. Jack was shot in the leg. “Arghh!!!” Ngghh!!! Although he felt immense pain in his legs, with a mighty roar, with his arms outstretched he leapt for dear life. The battle is won for now, but the war has only begun...