The Turn: Chapter Forty

The Turn

Chapter Forty

~New Way of Life~

One Year Before The Turn

Funny story! I actually wrote this chapter after I had finished writing the series and started writing the Iridescent story line. I realized poor Row Harper, our favorite detective, didn’t have a type of closure chapter. So here it is! Written just in time For you!

A Week after the Fall.

 

Detective Row Harper rubbed his temples as he listened to another junkie try to explain away why he had dugs in his pocket. It was the seventeenth time he had heard the “It just appeared there!” excuse. He got up from the interrogation desk and let himself out. The suspect shouted his complaints as Harper closed the door. When the door closed, Harper took a deep breath.

“HARPER!” the sergeant called from his office.

Harper groaned. This was the last thing he needed at this moment. He forced himself to walk down the hallway and out where the offices where. The sergeant looked at him and growled.

“HARPER! GET YOU’RE BUTT OVER HERE!” the sergeant recoiled back into his office.

Harper took a deep breath and walked into the office. He made sure to call the sergeant by his real name and not the one the officers used to make fun of him.

“Sergeant Hailfeather, you called, sir?” Harper tried to smile genuinely.

“DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY ARRESTS YOU HAVE MADE THIS MONTH?!?”

Harper looked at the ceiling as he thought.

“FORTY-NINE!!!” the sergeant shouted, “DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO MAKE?!? FIFTY!!! DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS HARPER?!?”

Harper sighed. A half an hour of you yelling at me?

“WE CANT AFFORD SLACKERS LIKE YOU HARPER! YOU NEED TO SHAPE UP! I CAN DEMOTE YOU ‘TILL YOUR TICKETING PEOPLE AT THE PARKING METORS! DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT?!?”

“Yes, sir,” Harper said, his voice monotone.

“I DON’T THINK YOU DO! WHEN I WAS AN OFFICER I REALED IN NINTY-FIVE ARRESTS ON AVARAGE! CAN YOU SAY THAT ABOUT YOURSELF HARPER?!? I DON’T THINK SO!!!”

Harper tuned out the rest of the ‘conversation’. He glanced out the windows surrounding the office. There were sympathetic glances as the sergeant went on and on. His voice had a way of vibrating every glass window in the building. Harper could swear if the sergeant tried, he could be considered a small earthquake on the Richter scale. The other officers tried to continue their work with the sounds of rattling in their ears.

He said ‘yes, sir’ and ‘no, sir’ at the right times but barely took note on what was said to him. Harper thought he felt the ground under his feet rumble. He glanced out through the windows into the office. There seemed to be a bit of a commotion going on. Phones started ringing off the hook. Interested Harper looked more directly out the window.

“ARE YOU IGNOREING ME!?!” the sergeant shouted, “YOU THINK YOU GOT BETTER THINGS TO DO THAN LISTEN YOU WHAT I AM SAYING!?!”

“No, sir,” Harper said, “I just think that there is something going on.

Harper walked out of the office. Phones were ringing off the hook. Harper walked over to a friend of his and looked at his desk. His friend looked up at him and shook his head.

“There are calls from all over about a flying mother ship,” he smiled, “Can you believe that?”

There was a loud explosion a few streets down. That explosion brought the whole department to their feet, running outside to the street. Harper ran out into the center of the street and saw the chaos. Civilians screamed and pointed at the sky. Harper looked and saw what had frightened all the people.

 A massive ship sailed through the sky like a black cloud. The air force descended on the ship. F-15 Eagles zoomed through the air to attack the massive air ship. Lasers and missiles struck the fighter jets, knocking a few of them out of the air. A large explosion knocked Harper off his feet.

He got to his feet quickly and looked around. There were several people on the ground, dazed and frightened. Harper grabbed those near him and helped them to their feet and pointing them in a direction that was safe.

“Come on! Get up! Get out of here!” Harper called out.

The ground shook as another missile struck a building. The National Guard appeared on the scene helping the people and getting them to their feet. A little girl lay on the ground. She was bleeding slightly for her head and looked confused and disoriented. Harper picked the girl up in his arms and ran.

He made his way down the street away from the massive air ship. The girl wrapped her arms around Harper’s neck. Harper saw ambulances ahead and charged forward. He handed off the girl to one of the paramedics. Harper watched a moment as the man carried the girl to the ambulances.

“Submit to the New Order,” a voice boomed in the air, “Submit to the new way of life.”

There was another explosion behind him. Harper turned just as a car flew from the explosion toward him. A woman screamed at the coming threat. Harper ran toward her. The woman raised her hands to defend herself. A blue force field surrounded both her and Harper as he ran toward her. The car struck the force field and exploded.

Harper looked as the explosion surrounded their protected dome. The protective barrier dropped leaving fire around their circle. Harper looked at the woman. She looked at Harper out of fear. She turned and ran away. It seemed Others were still afraid of getting found out.

“Submit to the New Order,” the voice said, “Submit to the new way of life.”

“No, freaking way!” Harper muttered.

The ground shook frequently as distant explosions rocked the city. They were losing, that much anyone could tell. There was a sinking feeling in his stomach as more and more planes were shot down and buildings were toppled.

“Move! Move! Move!” an officer shouted as they tried to evacuate the buildings.

A fellow officer shouted, “Harper! Get those people out of the building!”

Harper nodded and headed into the building indicated. It was a business building and the workers were streaming out of it. Harper ran up the stairs to make sure everyone was out of the building. He got to the third floor when he heard someone calling for help on the floor. Harper walked through the cubicles and found someone on the ground.

“Can you walk?” Harper asked.

The person shook their head, “I think I sprained my ankle!”

Harper threw one of their arms over his shoulder when an explosion blew them off their feet. Harper was knocked back. The ceiling caved in and the floor beneath him fell through. He struck the ground and rubble fell on top of him.

Harper woke in the darkness. He wasn’t harmed but the pitch darkness startled him. Without any light he couldn’t see where his resting place was. All he knew was that he was in the dark. He reached out over his head and felt the cold cement of the ceiling above him.

“That’s a bit of a problem,” Harper sighed.

There was a little bit of a rumble and Harper scooted back in his little air pocket. The slab of concrete seemed to be moving. Harper covered his eyes when a piercing light cut its way through the darkness.

“Come into the light!” a voice called.

“You sure that is a good idea?” Harper said.

“I can’t hold this forever, you know,” the voice said.

Harper crawled toward the light through the dust and grime. He pulled himself up to the street. He looked at his rescuer. She looked Asian with short black hair and purple eyes. When Harper was clear she dropped the large concrete slab and slapped her hands together. His rescuer looked at him.

“You’re vitals seem normal,” she said, “I have to go find someone.”

“Hey!” Harper called as she turned, “How did you find me?”

She looked over her shoulder, “You’re heat signature.”

Harper looked back at the block had been trapped under, “How did you lift that block off me?”

She sighed, “I used my arms. Look, I highly suggest you find a place to hide now.”

“Why?” Harper asked.

“Because the New Order has everything under its control. They are silencing anyone who might be a future threat to them,” she answered.

Harper hurried to his feet, “What!? When did that happen?”

She shrugged, “A few hours ago. The president surrendered.”

Harper was in shock. He stood there trying to figure out the facts. She crossed her arms and waited impatiently.

“If you don’t mind I have to go before I lose his signal,” she turned.

“Who’s signal?” Harper asked.

“My partners,” she said.

“Are you a cop or something,” Harper followed after her.

She shrugged again, “Or something.”

“What’s your name?” Harper ran up beside her.

“Kiri,” she said.

“I’m coming with you, Kiri,” Harper stated.

Kiri looked at him, “Why?”

“I feel like if I stay with you I can help make this all this wrong right again,” Harper looked at her.

Kiri stopped a moment and thought. Her logical brain was telling her that he was going to slow her down and that she should run as fast as she could and loose the creep. But there was something else that told her that he could be helpful.

“Come on,” Kiri broke into a run, “I want to reach him before he goes underground again.”