Grand Design - Prologue - An Audiobook by Matthew Bullis

Start from the beginning and get the whole playlist here:    • Grand Design - Ch1-14 written by Matt...  

*Prologue*

Every fire has its spark, and every war has its instigator. The war for The Great Empire was sparked on Lomen, where three factions reside.

Jacob was busy packing his bags as his mother ran back and forth, grabbing what she could. She didn’t worry about neatness; getting out as fast as possible was paramount.

“Jacob, Jeremy! We have to go... NOW! The Adlit militia is coming up the street,” Father exclaimed, pulling Mother with him. The whole family pulled each other to their vehicle. Jeremy was so overloaded that he dropped his stuffed teddy bear. “Leave it, we have to go! Jacob, hold on to him!” The vehicle moved before the doors closed, and Jacob was still buckling his little brother in.

It was the middle of the day, but the sky was dark with smoke, and the roads were filled with debris. The vehicle bounced and buckled as it traveled, and the sound of heavy machines filled the air.

The radio was on while Father listened to the reports, hoping for a clear path. “All humans must evacuate. As we stated earlier, the Adlit militia has taken over the capitol building; the Governor and General Laren are in Adlit custody. Terra Prime has not issued a statement and has refused to take a position. Frontier has rendered assistance for the human evacuation.”

“Of course not,” Dad said. “We’re stuck in a game of politics. King Lanner got too powerful for Terra Prime.” Dad hit the armrest on his seat. “I warned Evin that this would happen. Even Terra Prime can turn on their own.”

Mom grabbed his hand for reassurance. “I’m just glad that Frontier got their ships here on time. I’ll be happy to go back to Frontier and be with other humans. Maybe our kids can still have a normal life.”

“We still have to get off this rock! Thankfully, we’re almost at the evacuation center now.” The vehicle came to a stop; the roads were filled with too much debris and soldiers. Dad opened the door. “Get out, we’ll have to rough it from here.” Outside, the shooting was much louder. The family ran through the wreckage of buildings and cars and finally reached the doors of an old sports stadium.

The Frontier guards ushered them in. “You're lucky you got here in time; these are the last two transports out,” one said as he closed the door behind them. Hundreds of people pushed and shoved their way to get on the transports. The family was quickly scooted into line.

“Jacob?” Mother turned frantically, searching. “Where’s Jacob?”

“I have Jeremy! You find him,” said Dad, holding Jeremy in his arms.

Mom moved back out of the line to look for her lost son. An explosion rocked the building and blew open the doors. “Jacob, Jacob,” Mom screamed while pushing through the crowd. The explosions from outside grew louder.

“That’s it, close the gates on this one, we have to launch,” said the Frontier security guard. The gates closed before Mom could get out.

“My son, he’s lost. Open the gates.” Mom shook the gates with her hands.

“Get in the ship, ma'am, we’ll put him on the last transport.”

“I’m not leaving my son, dammit! Open these gates. Jacob, Jacob!” By this time, Mom was in tears and fighting the guard.

“Lieutenant, get this woman on the transport,” ordered the guard. “I’ll get your son, ma'am.” The Lieutenant forcibly hauled Mom into the ship as the doors began to close and the engines fired up. “Direct everyone who’s left into the last ship!”

As the ship took off, several blasts hit it. It was damaged and smoking, but it continued on and faded from sight.

“Colonel, Adlit troops are in the buildings!” said the guard over the communicator.

The Colonel turned to the guards. “Protect the civilians, engage any Adlit in the building. Kid gloves are off! They don’t care we’re non-combatants!” All the Frontier troops fired on the Adlit entering the building. But the Adlit paid them no attention, instead focusing their fire on the last ship until its eventual destruction.

Jacob was hiding in another part of the building. He knew this wasn’t good; as anarchy broke out, he found a hole in the wall and left the building. He didn’t know where to go; he just knew he had to get away from the shooting. He ran down several streets, holding his head low. Debris fell from the sky as shooting hit the buildings. A group of Lomen troops ran down the street in front of him. “Help me,” he screamed. These weren’t humans; they were Terran soldiers in the Lomen Army. Terrans looked human, they were biological constructs. They were too perfect, except their eyes would occasionally reflect light in a way that no human’s would.