Project Mars (Dying Planet Book 0) Read online

  None of the soldiers moved. They remained motionless looking at Rayan with great expectation.

  “Looks like, I should be the first one.” Rayan said with a grin.

  Rayan slowly poked his head out of the ship through the window. The window is perfect for a single person to jump out. Rayan slowly jumped out with his head towards the water. He landed safely on water and came up.

  “Okay, everyone, come out one by one quickly.” Rayan called out.

  One soldier looked at Rayan through the window. Rayan is blistered in the moon light. One by one soldiers and Jenny and Rose jumped out of the room through the window. Suddenly, some of the creatures spotted them from the upper level. They jumped on top of the soldiers. Creatures hit the water hard. Some of the creatures landed on top of some of the soldiers. Soldiers screamed in pain. Creatures on the water began to roar loudly and started to rollout through the water surface. Looks like the salt water have a good effect on the creatures. All the survivors quickly swam toward USS Enterprices.

  Suddenly Jenny began to cry out loud. Rayan and soldiers looked back. Jenny was looking at the mutilated body of Rose. Looks like one of the creature landed on Rose’s head. Her neck must have broken, because her head is turned in an odd manner. Rayan quickly swam towards Jenny and he began to calm her down.

  “You have to let her go now. Come, there are people waiting for you with great expectation. You have to take this as a woman.” Rayan said soothing words to Jenny.

  “Rose was my only friend. This was her idea, of going to United States. Without her I would have been dead long ago.” Jenny said between hiccups.

  “Don’t worry about it. You have us now. There are children of your age aboard the ship. You will not be alone. That’s a promise.” Rayan said.

  Jenny finally calmed down and stopped crying. She followed Rayan to the ship.

  “Is anyone out there? We need help.” One of the soldier called out from the water.

  Johana came near the side of the ship and looked down.

  “Rayan! And, everyone. I knew you weren’t dead. I knew it.” Johana said with excitement.

  “We need something to get on to the ship. A rope or something like that.” Rayan said.

  “Wait a minute. I will get you that.” Johana left them and she moved to somewhere else.

  A moment later Johana returned with a rope ladder. She attached the rope ladder on the side of the ship and she rolled it down. Rayan and others climbed aboard the ship.

  “Where is everyone else?” One soldier asked.

  “They went inside the cruise ship to search for you guys.” Johana said.

  They waited for an hour. There were some random gunshots from the cruise ship. Then the team of soldiers emerged from a side door on the cruise ship. They walked towards USS Enterprices.

  “So, how did it go?” Rayan finally asked.

  “We lost seven of ours. We managed to trap most of the creatures on the bottom floor.” One of the approaching soldier said.

  Everyone jumped on to their ship.

  “Who do we have here?” One of the soldier asked looking at Jenny.

  “That’s Jenny. New member of our group.” Rayan said smiling.

  “Then, let’s find our sanctuary now. We don’t want to waste time here.” One of the soldier said.

  * * * * *

  Chapter 19

  Pacific Ocean

  The ship USS Enterprices glided through the ocean water at maximum speed.

  “We will reach our destination in any minute now. We are only one nautical mile away from Guadalupe Island.” The ship engineer announced.

  Everyone sighed with relief. Finally they are going to really survive this plague. The moon lighted their path with silvery light. Stars are blinking in the skies. Sam, Josh and Jenny stood outside the ship staring at the stars.

  “Kids, you may want to be careful down there. Those hellish birds may come back. We have to be cautious.” Johana said with worry.

  “Don’t worry, mom. We will be alright.” Josh said.

  “You should be …” Johana mumbled.

  “Rayan, please keep an eye on them.” Johana said to Rayan.

  “I will. You don’t have to worry about anything. Besides we will be there in our sanctuary before the moon goes down.” Rayan said.

  Johana smiled at the comment and she went inside the control room. Rayan glanced at the young children who are enjoying the beauty of the night sky. Dark silhouette of some island appeared in a distance. Rayan looked at the image with patience. The size of the Island increased relative to the motion of the ship.

  Everyone came outside the control room and looked beyond the skies.

  They have reached their destination. Only the sunlight can tell the difference now. They have to wait a few more hours for sunlight.

  “We are there.” Ship’s engineer came outside and announced.

  “Is this the Guadalupe Island?” Rayan asked with relief.

  “Yes, it is.” Ship’s engineer said.

  “I can’t wait to see those tree lands.” Johana said.

  “Should we move in there now or should we wait for morning?” Ship’s engineer asked.

  “We will move in the morning. First we have to make sure that the island is safe for us to live. Only then we should move to that location.” One of the soldier said.

  Everyone nodded in agreement.

  Everyone waited for four hours for the moon to disappear. Sun came up from the east. Sun’s light illuminated the forest landscape. The entire island is filled with trees. They could start a whole new life there for sure.

  Soldiers launched small lifeboats on the ocean water. Everyone got inside the boats and paddled the boats towards the Guadalupe Island. Finally the boats touched the sandy beach. Soldiers dragged the boat away from the tides and settled them in a side. Everyone looked at the massive trees in front of them with astonishment and relief.

  * * * * *

  Chapter 20

  Guadalupe Island, Pacific Ocean

  The island is huge, about the size of Los Angeles. Everyone moved through the treeline. No one have taken away their biohazard suit. They can’t afford to take any chances now. They should be very careful if they want to survive among the plague lands.

  They ventured deep inside the woods. There is clean water and there are many banana plants everywhere on the island. They are saved. This is the sanctuary they were looking for. This island could support many generations for sure, provided the plague won’t reach here.

  Soldiers built a make shift camp using wood. They cut the wood using the chain saw from the ship. Birds are chirping on the trees. The whole island is alive and well. A healthy island for sure.

  “Can we take off these suits?” Josh asked.

  “No. We have to wait at least two weeks, before we could throw away the biohazard suit.” One of the soldier said.

  Everyone nodded in agreement.

  They slept on the ship when night took over the island and they moved further into the island when the sun is highest in the sky.

  They spent one week on the Island. No sign of infected creatures or those hellish birds. So far, so good.

  “Now we have to build houses.” Johana said.

  “We can do all sort of things, but first safety is important. We have to make sure this entire island is clean and we can’t disregard the fact that those birds are still out there.” Rayan said with a deep sigh.

  “But I can’t adjust to sleeping on the ship. It just making me lonely again. I need some space.” Johana said taking Rayan’s hand in hers. “I need a companion now.”

  “I will always be there for you. You don’t have to worry about a thing.” Rayan said. “But first, safety is mandatory. We have to wait until we make sure those creatures are dead due to hunger.”

  “I can’t wait to take off these suit. It is really hot in this.” Johana complained.

  “Well, you have to make some sacrifices for the greater good.”
Rayan said.

  “So much for sacrifices.” Johana said.

  “Mom. We found it in the woods.” Sam called out. In his hands is a rabbit.

  The rabbit looks very healthy.

  “Oh. We could make dinner with that.” Johana said smiling.

  “Mom.” Sam said with anger. “It’s my new pet!”

  “Oh, honey. I am sorry. I didn’t mean it.” Johana said.

  “No. you didn’t.” Sam said and he left the scene.

  “You have a nice pair of kids.” Rayan said.

  “Thanks.” Johana said.

  Soldiers have started building small houses now. Rayan and Johana walked deeper into the forest discussing their future plans.

  * * * * *

  Epilogue

  Guadalupe Island, after one month

  Rayan woke with a sharp pungent smell in his nose. He covered his mouth and nose using his hands. Johana mumbled something. She is still in sleep. Rayan opened the door and walked towards the beach. Soldiers were already there. Everyone is watching something.

  Rayan got closer and he saw it too. The entire ocean has changed its colour to a reddish brown. Fishes are dead and are floating on the water. Rayan covered his mouth with his hands in disbelief. After all they have been through. It was all for nothing.

  Suddenly a sharp screech came. Everyone looked at the horizon. The hellish birds are filled in the whole sky. They have found them. There is no escape from this anymore. They have already exposed to the virus.

  “It good knowing you guys.” Rayan said.

  Everyone smiled.

  ####

  Thanks for reading this book. Check out my other books at your favourite retailer. Also if you liked this book take a moment to write a short review on the site from where you purchased this book. Reviews save a book a lot.

  This story continues in the book When Darkness Returns – Book two of the Dying Planet series.

  Author’s Note

  A few words about the creatures depicted in this book. These creatures are like the undead, only difference is that these creatures’ body operate even if these things are dead. Their body will continuously emit the airborne version of the virus infecting more people or more animals or may be more plant life. The plague virus can destroy all living things.

  The most important thing that should be remembered about the creatures is that, unlike zombies these things will never rot even if they are dead. The fact is that decomposers won’t work on the infected people’s body.

  That’s all folks. I hope you enjoyed this book. Next book When Darkness Returns in this series is now out there. In that book you could see a whole new world of undead and lots and lots about the advanced Martian civilization.

  Once again thank you for finishing this book …

  * * * * *

  About the Author

  C.O. Amal lives in a small house in Wayanad district of Kerala state of the country India with his father and mother. He loves to read science fiction apocalyptic books. He writes a lot. His imaginations are all about extra-terrestrial life and colonizing across the galaxy. He believes human kind will soon reach its glory in space travel and soon everyone can travel to the deep space.

  He love scientists like Stephen Hawking a lot. He can be often found watching Discovery channel. He is living in harmony with nature. His best friends are the cows in his home.

  He is now chasing his dream of becoming a great writer.

  Contact author on [email protected] for any questions regarding the work.

  Also visit www.coamal.wordpress.com

  Facebook Page www.facebook.com/COAmalAuthor

  Also by this Author

  Dying Planet

  Project Mars (Dying Planet Book Zero)

  When the Darkness Returns (Dying Planet Book One)

  Planet Dead (Dying planet Book Two) (Coming Soon)

  Harmony

  Into the Triangle (A Prelude to Harmony)

  Gamorphia (A Prelude to Harmony)

  Harmony Season 1

  Harmony Season 2

  Harmony Season 3

  Among the Stars

  After the World Ended (Among the Stars Volume Zero)

  The Andromedan Chronicles (Among the Stars Volume One)

  The Santoran Chronicles (Among the Stars Volume Two)

  The Fourth Dimension (Among the Stars Volume Three) (Coming Soon)

  From Heaven

  From Hell (From Heaven Book Zero)

  From Heaven (From Heaven Book One)

  Zero Gravity Zero Hour

  Extinction