Gemma had stared all the way down at the melted hunk of metal in her hand. This particular hunk of metal, as there were several flying around the room, was the main component from in the navigation system. Gemma knew because she saw the enraged Yylern shoot it with some sort of powerful energy weapon not two minutes earlier. In a daze, Gemma’s eyes slowly raised and made contact with the gaping hole in the control system. A high pitched whine was ringing in Gemma’s ears from the explosion and she felt the air stir near her head as another piece of metal flew past her ear, almost as if in slow motion. Looking through the frontal dash of the small passenger ship that Gemma found herself on, she really had to admit that the unique atmosphere that they were violently rocketing through was one of the most beautiful sights she’d ever seen - the ground that they were rapidly hurtling towards was filled with lush, dense foliage. The type of greenery that Earth was currently only able to replicate on the viewing screens within the Eutierria Museums. The item fell limply from Gemma’s hand as she took in their approaching destination, the one that would undoubtably rip everyone’s lives from them on impact. Pretending that the exotic, towering trees were the planets’ warm arms reaching out to embrace her, Gemma’s eyes slipped close and she accepted what was to come.
Seconds later, a white lightening hot pain shot behind her eyes and everything quickly went dark.
__________
Gemma gently caressed the spine of the tome in her hands, one of the only books written in the new world. The Dynamic Warfar Used in the Greatest War was written after the global decimation of the human race, something pop culture had deemed the “Greatest War”. Gemma scoffed at that, How was it so ‘great’, if it set us back in nearly every aspect of existence?
Gemma briefly considered her understanding of the war, as retold through nearly ten generations of survivors, finally passing her mothers’ lips down to Gemma when she was old enough to retain the history of her home. This oral history is what spurned Gemma’s interest in the collection of knowledge, aka dream job of working at the St. Colmcille Area Library. The ‘greatest’ war ravaged the globe three hundred years before Gemma was born at the hands of several countries involved in nuclear warfare. Scientists found more effective ways of harnessing the power of atomic weaponry and this information fell into the wrong hands, a particular leader of a first-world country whose arrogance challenged Hubris. With a complete disregard to mutually assured destruction, this leader decimated 99% of all living things on Earth.
Gemma always thought that this could have been a point of change for the New World, the survivors could have banded together to create a more unified, diplomatic society. The current state of the world, however, was far from a utopia. Most of the Earth remained still uninhabitable from the nuclear residue left behind. The current population of the Earth remained at a centralized point encompassing parts of North and Central America. From an official standpoint, there was a President of the New World, but he held just about as much power as Gemma did. He existed to smile and make everyone at ease, the true power was held by the gangs running the City-States of Mezza, St. Colmcille, and Rhydren.
A loud bang sounded from somewhere in the back end of the library, startling Gemma and almost making her drop the book in her hand. Thoroughly distracting her train of thought, Gemma quickly shelved the book and started quietly creeping towards the noise. She was one of the only librarians on staff, and certainly the only one working this late. With her pulse pounding in her ears, Gemma recalled that she’d dealt with theft attempts before. All she needed to do was give them the valuables in her purse.
Sliding her hand down the cotton fabric of her summer dress, Gemma’s hand made contact with her pulse gun strapped at her thigh just barely hidden by the flowing hem. More of a pacifist, it was her mother that insisted that Gemma bring the pulse gun when she moved closer to the inner ring of St. Colmcille.
“I’m trained and armed, I suggest that you quickly make your way out. The police have already been requested,” All of that was a blatant lie, Gemma barely one end from the other with the pulse gun and she certainly didn’t have enough money on her to pay the police to take her call.
The back hallway came into view, barely lit by the few bulbs illuminating the library. Occasionally, the bulbs would engulf the library in complete darkness, something Gemma was used to after working in the building for two years. It was due to the overloaded electrical grid within St. Colmcille. Sometimes, they would go days without power. Gemma sent up a small thanks that the lights were mostly holding fast.
“Hello?” Gemma called out when she didn’t hear another sound. She quickly peeked into the first room she came upon. Empty. Holding the pulse gun in what Gemma assumed was a defensive stance, she made her way down to the next room. It was there that her eyes were met with the most terrifying creature she’d ever seen. Seven feet tall, the creature was a humanoid for sure, but it also had an uncanny resemblance to a beetle. Large wings, the color of the sunset, fluttered at its back. Gemma’s eyes raised to the bug-person’s face. Two shiny eyes sat near the top of it’s head, two slits acted as what Gemma assumed to be a nose, and the creatures mouth was open and filled with hundreds of sharp looking teeth.
Before Gemma could act further, the creature raised a massive arm and clocked her upside her head, knocking her out immediately.
