The End Genesis (The End 1)

"Xander! Help us!" was what she wanted to say but it came out unintelligibly.

Prim joined her to try to get Xander’s attention. Even the little boy who didn't know Xander joined to call for his help.

The noise got the two men angry. Morgan didn't even ask for permission before he butted Xander head with his gun again, knocking Xander unconscious. Connor turned to the kids and ordered them to shut up. They obeyed instantly.

"See, I told you that we should kill him. He will cause us a lot of trouble. If we are caught it would be because you allowed him to live," Morgan said.

Connor thought on it for a second then he nodded his head.

Morgan smiled and pointed his gun at Xander's body.

"Oh no, you don't," Joel said before hitting Morgan's head hard with a crutch. Morgan slumped. Connor turned to fight his assailant but Joel had the element of surprise on his side. He dodged Connor's punch.

"Let the kids go," Joel said. Connor didn't reply. He lunged at Joel instead and both of them fell to the floor in a tussle.

Harper was at the tree where the children were tied. She loosened the ropes. It took a while but she eventually got it done and the children were set free.

"Stay here," she said to them before running to where Xander was tied. As she got there, Morgan began to stir.

"Uh-uh. Not on my watch," she said as she slammed her boot against his head, knocking him out cold. She then set Xander loose and helped him stand. He was hardly conscious and barely managed to walk but she was able to get him to where the children were, away from the fight.

Joel and Connor rolled on the floor. Joel no longer had the advantage and Connor was on him, punching his face. With one heavy push, Joel managed to turn Connor over and Connor landed on his back close to the bear's carcass. Joel braced himself for another round but Connor suddenly shouted and jerked up. He didn't move to fight Joel. Joel was surprised and looked at the ground where Connor had fallen. The

re was something long and thin like the large animal's tail but it was alive. It curled itself as though afraid. Then Joel remembered that bears didn't have long tails. Connor had fallen on a snake.

Joel looked at Connor and noticed Connor wilting. In only a matter of seconds, Connor fell to the ground paralyzed. Tears streamed down his eyes. Harper, Xander and the kids gathered close to Joel and watched Connor writhe in the dust.

"You have no idea what's coming at y'all Americans. It's big. My bosses will destroy this wretched nation. Go on to New York. Your destiny awaits you there... If you even get there," Connor said just before he died.

17th November, 2001

7:00am

North Orchard, Chicago, Illinois.

USA

Xander watched and smiled as Prim and Grayson played hopscotch in the snow with Brandon Finney, the little boy that had been kidnapped too. His parents had given up all hope of finding him. When Xander, Harper and Joel had returned him to his parents the night before, they had wept hysterically for joy. It was the morning after the girls had been found. Xander, Nia, Prim and Grayson had followed Joel and Harper to their shelter back at North Orchard. Grayson had been sad about moving to New York without Gertrude and Alicia. Xander had promised her that they would all be reunited in New York. He wasn't sure about that though. Nothing was certain anymore. And Connor's dying words gave him the chills.

Xander opened his bag and pulled out his laptop. He checked it. It wasn’t starting up. His phone too wouldn’t come on. He then pulled out one of the two white minitabs from his bag. He had collected them from the men who had abducted him the night before. They both were switched off. He tried to turn the one he held on. It didn’t come on. The battery had died. He wondered how the devices were to be charged since there was no electricity. The minitabs didn’t even have charging ports. He held it under the sun.

The form of a battery appeared on the screen and it came on.

"Okay y'all, let's go!" Joel called out and Xander put the minitab and his damaged devices back in his bag. It was time to go. Nia called out for Prim to come to her. Along with the over two hundred people who were in that community, Xander got up and, with Joel leading the way, he began the march North East to New York.

"Hey, Grayson. Stop playing like a two-year old doll. Come on let's go," Xander called out and Grayson came to walk beside her limping guardian.“One-legged goat,” she called him.

Epilogue

18th November, 2021

7:00am

Outskirts of Vermont, USA.

Aaliyah zipped her hoodie up and laced her boots. Packing her black hair into a bun, she threw the hood over her head. Slipping her bag over her shoulders, she stood in the ankle deep snow, deep in thought. The movies had always warned them about it. Even her novel had mentioned it in passing. She wondered why the EMP had to happen in her generation. Suddenly, walking to New York wasn’t what bothered her the most. She could keep doing that. Her mind ran over the events of the previous day. She could hardly believe she had almost been abducted. Apparently, there was war looming. They were in a danger zone. Americans had turned on each other and the spirit of America had now become the spirit of survival. She didn’t know if she could handle it.

Marcia, her grandmother, came to stand beside her. She hugged her grandma- the only other surviving person in her whole family. They had shared her loot from the previous day with the Hankins.