1 Prologue

The sky was darkening. It wasn't night or anything there was a strange shape looming over the city. I was still walking through the busy streets. Then as the dark shape moved closer a panic stirred a wave of screams passed through the city. I was still walking my favourite song had just come on and the timing was really bad timing. I moved my hood from my head and looked at the sky.

There was a giant ship like out of a sci fi show from the olden times. It had a huge bulking hull at the front with glowing strips across the side. At the back there was a collection of boosters and after burners. As I looked at the giant UFO I strangely didn't feel any dread nor any fear. The realisation of death hadn't particularly shaken me. But this was a stark contrast to the people in front of me who were swarming around like ants under a boot. The world in just four minutes had deceased to complete anarchy. People were beating each other in the streets and robbing different stores grabbing all that they could like it would stop their impending doom.

I didn't know what I was expecting maybe a ship that dropped to the ground or some kind of announcement maybe even a group of green people asking to be taken to our 'leader'. Sadly it was none of that. It's was just a beam of light. It was just one flash and then it was all over. All of human civilisation. All million years of human advancement ending not a desperate fight for survival or a destruction of our making like so many theorised. It was anti climatic now that I thought about it was kinda lame that I was going die from a light.

Death was different than I thought it would be. I was never a big believer in god or any of that spiritual stuff. But I always figured there would be something. I was just standing there or I guess floating would be a better word. I was just drifting around in darkness. I got to thinking as I often do when I'm alone. I thought about my life. It hadn't been anything special. At the age of nine I had taken out a book on engineering and it was the greatest thing I had ever seen. As a kid my parents called me special although I knew that was just their way of saying weird. I have never been motivated to do anything not sports not games not even friends nothing has even slightly interested until that day when I was nine. In that stuffy library. When I read that book it was like I woke up from a long sleep. It was like someone coloured in my monochrome world. Ever since I have done everything I could to become an engineer. Stemming from taking out every engineering book from ever library in three cities all the way to building bikes and appliances in my garage. From that day on I devoted my entire life to engineering the one thing that had saved me from my destiny of being bored my entire life. And three years ago I achieved that goal. I joined the Air Force and fixed up old jets i moved around from air base to air base fixing planes and aircraft it was my heaven. It is kind of dead that I had to die. I would have liked to fix more stuff and eventually even build a brand new jet. But I'll treasure every minute of my life.