End of Days 9: The Last Flight

continues from part eight

Part 9: The Last Flight

"Are you serious?!" Gromet yelled, glancing behind him, only to pick up speed as he saw the bandages enveloping the street behind them. Already the tower itself had been wrapped up, and within a few minutes, so would the entire city around it. If they weren't fast enough, their group would join it as well.

Vikki and Gromet ran, feet pounding the sidewalk as they fought to outrun the bandages giving chase. Yet, no matter how fast they went, the bandages were faster, and they closed the gap with each footstep, getting dangerously close to Quinn and the others.

"Over there!" Vikki shouted, running toward an abandoned jeep. Gromet changed course and followed.

Reaching the jeep, Vikki leapt into the driver's seat, dumping Quinn in the back.

"Hey!" Quinn shouted as she was banged about on the seat and support beams.

"Sorry," Vikki said, searching for the keys. Finding a spare set, she rammed them into the ignition and turned, causing the engine to turn over. Slamming the accelerator to the floor, Vikki sent the jeep tearing down the street, Gromet just barely managing to hold on.

"Where are we going?!" he shouted.

"Anywhere but here!" Vikki shouted, swerving to avoid several abandoned cars in the road before them. "You got any ideas?"

"The airport!" Quinn said, struggling to wiggle herself off the floor. "We can go faster in the air than we can here!"

Vikki spun the wheel, sending them towards the freeway. "Works for me."

The jeep shot up the onramp and onto the freeway, managing to gain some speed. Behind them all, the city was completely wrapped up as the bandages spread further, spreading out into the countryside, and even into the sea. But nobody was looking back; all eyes were focused on the road ahead, and the airport in the distance.

"You have a plane?" Vikki asked.

"No," Quinn admitted.

"Then what the heck are you going to do?" Gromet asked. "Hijack a jetliner?"

"It's worth a shot."

"But if we fail, we'll be mummified like everything else!"

"We have to try!" Quinn said. "We don't have a choice!"

Above, the sky rumbled, and through the thunder, Quinn thought she could hear the universe itself. It was a dreadful sound of tearing and gears being torn apart.

"Keep going!" she yelled at Vikki.

Shifting gears, Vikki went even faster.

"And can someone get me out of this damn thing?!" Quinn said, both anger and fear giving her the strength to fight against her sleepsack.

Behind them, the bandages surged down the freeway like a tidal wave, eager to overtake and engulf them all. But by some miracle, Vikki managed to maneuver the jeep past the stalled and abandoned vehicles in their path. Once, she glanced the side of a truck, nearly overturning them, but she managed to spin them around, and regain control, speeding away as the truck was enveloped and wrapped up.

They reached the offramp and shot down, crashing through the three fences blocking the public from the runways, and shot across. There were numerous planes on the runways, ranging from small, one-person planes, to massive 747s.

"Which one?" Vikki shouted.

"That one!" Quinn said, pointing her head towards a corporate jet. It was medium sized, the personal luxury transport for a CEO long since mummified, and stood on the tarmac, just waiting for someone to take command. And by sheer luck, the doors leading inside were open.

Vikki shot towards the jet, then slammed on the brakes as they got close, bringing them to a stop just outside the ramp. Not bothering to turn off the engine, she leapt out and grabbed Quinn, then ran to the jet, Gromet in tow.

Behind them, the bandages reached the offramp, and started towards the terminal.

Once Gromet had gotten into the jet, he slammed a button, bringing up the boarding ramp. "Please tell me one of you knows how to fly a jet!" he said.

"No," Vikki said, putting a still sacked Quinn into one of the luxurious seats, before running to the cockpit. "Still, cant be too difficult, right? Just start the engines, go really fast, and take off."

Plopping down in the pilot's seat, she started flicking switches, hoping that one of them would get them going. Already, the terminal was starting to be wrapped, and though it's larger mass would take the bandages longer to envelop, it wouldn't be long before the runways and planes would start being claimed too. Vikki didn't know if the plane would protect them from being wrapped, but she had no desire to find out.

"Hurry!" Gromet said, flicking switches of his own.

"I'm trying!"

Slamming her fist on one of the buttons, the engines roared to life, and the jet jerked as it started to move across the runway.

"Got it!" Vikki said, pulling the seat's harness across herself. "Go strap Quinn in!"

As Vikki steered the jet towards the longest runway, Gromet reached Quinn's seat, and grabbed the seat belts, buckling her down so that she couldn't move. In any other situation, being in bondage while on an airplane would have been an erotic thrill, but here, it only reinforced Quinn's helplessness. All she could do was stare out the window, and pray that the others could get the jet up in time.

"All right, hang on!" Vikki shouted as she spun the steering wheel. "Here we go!"

Grabbing the accelerator, she pushed it to maximum speed. With a thunderous roar, the engines shoved the plane down the runway, the speedometer steadily increasing as they gained speed. Yet, the bandages that now swarmed across the planes and runways seemed to sense that the plane was taking off, for they increased speed as well, aiming to catch the jet.

"Go faster!" Quinn shouted, peering out the window. "Faster, faster, faster!"

Vikki kept a firm hand on the steering wheel, trying to get them to flying speed.

"Come on!" Gromet said, struggling into the copilot's seat. "Get us up!"

"We're not going fast enough!"

Gromet grabbed the wheel. "The fuck we are!"

With a yank, he sent the jet into the air. As Vikki had feared, their speed wasn't enough. But somehow, they managed to stay airborne. The engines struggled, but their speed continued to increase, until they finally managed to speed away from the airport, leaving it behind to be mummified, along with the buildings, the city, and the nearby forests.

For a moment, all was still inside the cockpit. The adrenaline surging through everyone's systems kept them on edge, too tense to relax at their escape.

It was Quinn who broke the silence. "Well, now that we're all airborne and safe," she said. "Can someone finally get me out of this?!"

Glad for the distraction, Vikki managed to switch on the autopilot, went into the back, and undid the straps and zippers on the sleepsack, finally releasing Quinn, who quickly undid the seatbelts, and emerged from the neoprene, tossing the thing towards the back of the jet in disgust.

"Finally!" She said. "If I never see one of those things again, it'll be too soon."

"We've got problems!" Gromet called from the cockpit.

Quinn went up, Vikki behind her. "What?"

Gromet pointed out the windows. They all looked out to the ground far below. They had risen fast enough to get a vantage point that allowed them to see for hundreds of miles, and right before their eyes, the ground was being covered in white, as mile after mile was covered over and sealed within the wrappings Targonamey had unleashed. No matter the terrain, the bandages continued on, mummifying everything in it's path: buildings, trees, animals, roads, and even rivers. At it's speed, it would be a matter of minutes before everything below them was covered up.

"So what do we do now?" Gromet said.

Quinn went to Vikki, pulled out the sealed scroll Xesex had given her. "This thing... do any of you recognize it?"

Vikki and Gromet looked it over, shook their heads.

"Well, whatever it is, it's our only chance of stopping this. Xesex wouldn't have given it to us if he didn't have a reason."

"So what do you have in mind?"

"We've got to find Targonamey. I have a feeling we'll need to use this on him... only question is, where would he go?"

The three thought, all too aware that every moment they spent thinking, the bandages below continued to spread. Time was not on their side.

"Wait," Gromet said. "Xesex said that we needed to use it where it all began. I think... I think he meant the first story in this universe... the first one Targonamey ever appeared in."

"And where was that?" Quinn asked. "Please tell me you know."

Gromet thought, his eyebrows squinting as he concentrated, sweat pouring off his brow.

"I got it!" he said. "The first story with Targonamey took place in ancient Egypt. We've got to head there."

"Egypt?!" Vikki said. "But that's several hours away!"

Quinn got into the pilot's seat, took hold of the steering wheel, and turned the jet until it was heading east. "Then we'd better get a move on!"

"But our fuel... what if we run out?"

"Then we're screwed. But we gotta try."

Outside, the night sky rumbled; lightning shot past the jet as it headed east, as if trying to outrace death itself.

*

As Quinn, Vikki, and Gromet shot through the night sky, none of them had any idea of what truly was happening below them. While they were relatively safe within their jet, the earth below it, and all those who remained, were not as lucky, for there was nowhere for them to run, no place to hide as the earth itself was mummified.

Few had escaped Targonamey's conquest, and now they found themselves facing a new danger that they could not hope to escape. Those who were not hiding inside caves, basements, or closets had time to see their doom advancing towards them. They all tried to run, but were overtaken, wrapped, and absorbed into the wave of bandages, joining countless others in a dark and turbulent storm where escape was impossible.

Those inside, who saw the bandages coming, tried to barricade their shelters. But there was no hiding, and all too quickly, the bandages forced their way inside, taking the few survivors, and adding them to the mass of wrappings that enveloped buildings and structures.

Inside Quinn's house, Ms. Cunningham was still inside her casket, deeply asleep. She was one of the lucky ones, and was unaware of the bandages that consumed Quinn's home, the casket, and her as well.

It wasn't long before the bandages had spread far enough to envelop the United States. But they didn't stop, instead spreading north and south into both Canada and Mexico, both of which were claimed within an hour. Then South America was mummified as well, all it's jungles, animals, and ancient temples wrapped and mummified, preserved for as long as the world would hold out. Antarctica came next, it's cold, white surface replaced with another white that would ensure that it never lost any more ice, or melted under the onslaught of the sun.

The oceans came next. Both the Pacific and Atlantic were slowly taken, bit by bit, the bandages slowly replacing water, taking all the fish and all the animals. Not even those at the bottom of the seas were spared. Far from the light of the sun, in eternal darkness, they too, were wrapped.

As the corporate jet shot across the Atlantic ocean, the bandages gave chase. And none of those onboard could see it, but the rest of the planet was starting to follow the example of the Americas. An observer from space would see blue, green, and brown being replaced with nothing but white.

Time was running out. Not only for the earth, but for all the other earths, and for all the other worlds, and all the other universes.

The clock was ticking.

*

By some miracle, the jet managed to cross the ocean, and head deep into the African desert, heading towards Egypt at break-neck speed. Though the fuel gages were getting dangerously close to being empty, Quinn doubted they'd give out now. If they had come this far, then they'd make it.

She also couldn't shake the feeling as if something... or someone... wanted them to reach their destination.

"So, anyone have a plan?" She asked the others.

From the pilot's seat, Vikki held up the scroll, looked it over. "Reach Targonamey, then do something to him with this scroll."

"And what's that?" Gromet asked. "I can't read that thing."

"Neither can I."

Quinn took the scroll, looked it over. The words and glyphs on the parchment no doubt made perfect sense to someone, but to her, they were gibberish.

"I guess we'll just have to play it by ear, then."

Before them, a dark wall had appeared, stretching across the desert sands, appearing to be made out of storm clouds. Vikki flew straight towards it, knowing that at this point, there was no turning back.

"If any of you are the praying type," she said, "then now's the time to do it."

Neither Gromet nor Quinn answered as the jet continued on, getting closer and closer to the storm.

And then, with a jolt, it was in.

The jet bounced, buffeted on all sides by the wind. Lightning crashed down around them, illuminating the path ahead.

No one spoke, too focused on what was coming, unsure of what they'd see.

Then the jet broke through the end of the storm... and emerged to see the end of all things.

Before them all was the great pyramids of Giza, standing tall and unaffected by the storm that encircled them all. At the peak of the tallest pyramid was a floating figure, bathed in red light.

"There he is," Quinn said, leaning closer to the window. "Take us down!"

"But there's nowhere to land," Vikki said.

"Who said anything about landing?" Quinn said. "Ram the son-of-a-bitch!"

"What?!"

"It's either that, or fly by, open the window, and chuck the scroll at him."

Vikki hesitated. Being a GELF, she had been given incredibly powerful instincts never to harm a human, or any other sentient being. But, just this once, she would make a once in a lifetime exception. The death of one individual was better then having all people and all races be enslaved.

Spinning the steering wheel, she angled the jet and sent it straight at Targonamey, aiming to smash him into goo.

They were just about to hit when Anubis leapt from the side of the pyramid, and smashed into the side of the jet, knocking it away. Targonamey didn't even glance over as the jet veered away, heading towards the local ruins.

"We're going down!" Vikki shouted, spinning the wheel in a desperate attempt to pull up. "Brace yourse-"

The jet slammed into the sand, spinning as it slammed into several pillars, coming to a stop.

Anubis's claws tore through the frame of the jet and ripped it apart. Bitterly cold air shot inside as he reached in, grabbed Quinn, and yanked her out.

"Fools!" he shouted, his angry gaze boring into Quinn. "You have ruined everything! You destroyed our greatest chance at surviving! Even if we are to die, then you will pay for what you have done!"

Reaching behind his back, Anubis yanked out numerous strips of bandages, and started to roll them around Quinn, trying to wrap her up. But without his magic, he had to do it manually, which made it easier for Quinn to fight, to grab the bandages and tear them off, refusing to be turned into a mummy once again.

Anubis scowled, tried to wrap faster, only to yell in pain as Vikki bit into his heel, scratching his tendon. He dropped Quinn, who shrieked, only to be caught by Gromet just before hitting the sand.

Another bite, and Vikki sent the god crashing into against a set of pillars, which collapsed on him.

"We have to hurry!" Vikki said, pointing to the top of the pyramid. Targonamy now looked like a god, his arms outstretched as he floated above the pyramid's peak, staff floating about him, deep in some sort of unknown ritual.

"But what about Anubis?" Gromet said.

"Forget him!" Quinn said, leaping from Gromet's arms, boots sinking into the sand. "We've got bigger fish to fry!" She grabbed the scroll, holding it up high. "Now come on! Follow me!"

Taking off, she ran through the sand, heading towards the pyramid. Gromet and Vikki followed close behind, all struggling to stay upright as wind shot around them, sending sand flying through the air. Vikki's suit glistened as lightning shot down into the desert, as if the very heavens had now joined Targonamey, and were aiming to take them down.

They were almost at the base of the pyramid when a thunderous blast threw them all to the ground as both the air and the ground shook.

From the top of the pyramid, Targonamey looked up towards the sky, and spread his arms wide.

"Show to me now," he said, "all the worlds of the cosmos!"

With a blast, the sky itself seemed to melt away, and Quinn gasped as it seemed that the very night sky itself seemed to transform into a painting of living images and pictures... countless things, places, and beings flashed before her. A few she recognized, others she did not. Driders, black coffins, countless individuals as mummies, wearing rubber, and countless other things as well.

"What's happening?!" Vikki shouted, trying to be heard.

Quinn could only guess... this seemed to be the event that Xesex had warned them all about.

The end of all the universes.

The end of everything.

"Hurry!" she shouted, getting back to her feet, grabbing Vikki's hand. "We have to hurry!"

A blast of wind almost knocked them all into the air as a great suction came from the peak of the pyramid, as if a vacuum cleaner had come on, and was now trying to suck up everything around them.

A roar joined the noise as Anubis, bleeding and limping badly, leapt into their midst, trying to crush the three. By some miracle, he missed, knocking them aside. But still he swung, aiming to cut them open. Even without any magical powers, he was still a god, and a very dangerous one at that, far stronger then any of them, and more then capable of killing them.

'Maggots!" he screamed. "Even at the end, you try to kill us all!"

Vikki crouched and leapt, grabbing onto his back. "I'm not keen to end up as a slave to that lunatic!" she shouted, punching the god's spine, trying to find a weak spot.

Enraged, Anubis grabbed Vikki and ripped her from his back, squeezing down hard, trying to crush her. He dropped her when Gromet slammed his fist into Anubis' testicles, causing the god to shriek, and crash over in agony.

"Not so tough now, are you?!" Vikki shouted, kicking him in the face.

Another thunderous roar swept over them all, nearly deafening them in the process. And from far away, another roar answered in turn. Gromet spun, saw an advancing tidal wave of white. Targonamey's bandages had spread far, and were now closing in.

"Quinn, go!" he shouted. "You've got to reach the top of the pyramid!"

"What about the two of you?" Quinn asked.

"We'll take care of Anubis here," Gromet answered. "If we don't, he'll take us all out."

"But he'll kill you!"

Gromet knew the odds wern't in their favor. "Then we'll at least buy you some time."

Quinn looked at the scroll, then towards the top of the pyramid. She knew Gromet was right, but that didn't make her decision any easier.

"If we don't see each other again," she said. "You're a pretty nice guy."

Gromet nodded. "The same to you."

"Will you get going, already?!" Vikki shouted. She was hanging off Anubis's head as he rose, trying to punch her off as she simultaneously hit him in the eye repeatedly. She was willing to override her "do not kill" imperative for him as well, knowing what was at stake.

Without another word, Quinn turned and ran, leaving Gromet to leap into the fray, and have two mortals take on a god, trying to buy time for a mission that was fast running out.

27.08.12