Gods and Men, Ch. 7
March 31, 2008
By J.D. Cook
7. War Child
Don awoke in a deserted field. He got up and looked around, but had no clue where he was. His body felt remarkably good even though he knew a meteor had propelled him into the air. He stretched out and started to walk in a random direction. Clothes barely clinging to him, Don emerged from a small wooded area and notice a diner lay across a street stretching past the trees. Inside it was empty but there was some water in a fridge in the back of the kitchen, which he drank down quickly. Outside a rumble was heard and Don raced to the doorway.
A convoy of tanks was rolling down the street, which came to a shuddering halt upon seeing Don. The top hatch of the closest tank opened and a man dressed in military camouflage wearing a large helmet stood out of it.
“Don’t you know this area’s been evacuated?” asked the military man.
“What? I…” Don had no clue what was going on.
“This area’s been evacuated! Do you have a way to get out of here?”
“No.” said Don, not understanding what was going on.
“Hop in. We’ll give you a ride to the nearest base.”
Don climbed up and hopped into the tank. On the ride to the base the men explained what was going on and Don realized that he had been unconscious for eight months. A mad man by the name of Loki was attacking the U.S. from New York City, which he had turned into his capital.
Once they got to the base Don thought about what he should do now that things had changed so drastically. He first attempted to contact his relatives but then he found out where they lived, in Binghamton NY, was under Loki’s control. Then he tried his best friend Jeremiah, but the number had been disconnected. Finally, he found out where the military base he was at was located. He currently stood in a base on the outskirts of Allentown, Pa. Without many other options, Don decided to join up with the military and fight back.
Due to the immediate urgent-ness of the situation, Don was admitted after a short training and he was sent straight to the front lines, fighting in the ruins of Philadelphia. It was there when he discovered an awesome new gift. He was able to feel the earth as if it were an extension of his body. In the heat of combat he didn’t have time to think about what this meant, he just acted. The ground shook and already decrepit, war-torn buildings began to collapse. The enemy was vanquished, but the U.S forces had lost too many troops to hold the city and retreated. Once back at a small base outside Philadelphia, Don practiced his new power and honed it. He would be a valuable soldier in the fight against Loki.
When the army found out about Don’s power, they immediately began using him to stop enemy troop movements. He would collapse vital bridges and tear up roads. His biggest mission came when he destroyed an entire enemy base. This drew the attention of Loki himself who came after Don during his next mission. He was supposed to stop enemy supplies from reaching their target, but when he arrived to stop them he was attacked by Loki. Don attempted to shoot him but the bullets had no effect and Don was forced to flee before he could complete his mission. As a result, the U.S. forces lost their next major battle at Hazleton. After the loss of Hazleton, Loki’s forces overwhelmed most of the other defenses set up against them.