Previous Chapter: "Yea, I understand. Where's Tonya?” Carlos asked. “She's usually with you."

"At the club's party, we're actually on the way there now if you wanna go."

"Really?!" Carlos grinned.

Ariel nodded and put her arm over his shoulder. "We have food, snacks, and even wine you can't drink."

Carlos sucked his teeth, sarcastically, "Yea, yea."

Just as the three were about to leave the precinct, the lights shut off, and the cars on the street went dead, rolling onto lampposts and other nearby cars, only to hear the intensifying whistling of a falling object coming from the sky.

Atlanta, Georgia

Saturday, September 22, 2018

8:00 P.M. - Apocalypse Now

The ground shook immensely from what seemed like a plane making an impromptu landing from outside. All that could be heard was screaming. No engines, no sirens, just the sound of people screaming for their life.

"What the fuck is going on out there?" Ariel asked in shock.

"There's only one way to find out," Mikael responded. He walked up to the front double doors made of glass and looked out. Cars that were once driving had now piled up at the end of the road. People climbed out of their wrecked cars and the only source of light seemed to be from the on-fire buildings a few blocks down.

"Oh my god," Carlos Díaz awed.

"What happened over there?" Ariel pointed down the block at the burning buildings.

"That's towards the airport. It’s only safe to assume..." Mikael's voice drifted.

"All those people," Ariel whimpered. "We have to go find Tonya... she might be at the party!"

Ariel jogged down the street with Mikael, and Carlos following suit. The sun had officially set but none of the city lights were working. After a couple of blocks down the street, they were brought to a halt when a group of three threw a big brick at a window.

"Stop what you're doing now!" a police officer yelled as he ran up, gun in hand.

"... We should probably get out of here," Mikael insisted, dragging Ariel with him. Ariel's eyes were stuck on the altercation while they jogged away. The three guys walked closer to the officer.

"Stop now, or I will shoot!" The officer said nervously, but they didn’t listen and kept walking closer. Finally, the officer pulled the trigger, but nothing came out as if it was jammed. The three men jumped the officer, blood splattering across the ground. As the group ran, Ariel heard the officer’s groaning and screams as they beat him on the ground.

...

"Tonya!? Tonya!?" Ariel screamed as she banged on the door of the apartment. "It's me, Ariel!"

A couple of minutes went by until Ariel heard multiple locks, and Tonya appeared from behind the door, "Oh, girl! Y'all are okay!" They hugged passionately.

"Is everyone okay?" Ariel asked, looking into the room to see only a couple of people sitting in a dim-lit room filled with candles.

"Mhm, most left and walked home, but some stayed. What is going on, though? Peoples’ cars won't start, and all our phones aren't working."

"We have no clue," Mikael said. "It seems like we're under attack."

"By who!?" both Ariel and Tonya yelled.

"I have no clue, but all the points lead to... maybe some type of EMP bomb?"

"The hell is an EMP bomb?" Ariel asked.

"Electromagnetic Pulse bomb, meaning that's why all our tech won't work."

"So, is that why his gun didn't work?" Ariel asked.

"What do you mean, the cops? That wouldn't have affected it. It could've just been jammed."

"Oh, what is this world coming to!?" Tonya sobbed as she went into the room and told the others of the bad news.

"Mikael, I don't think his gun was jammed," Ariel whispered to him at the side of the room.

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

"Then what could've it been?"

Ariel just shrugged, "I honestly don't know, but I don't think staying in the city is a good idea."

"Why not? Everything we know is here, in Atlanta!"

"I know but, my gut is telling me not to stay here. We have to go somewhere. Far from the city."

"Well, there's a pasture my family owns down south near Savannah. We could go there and keep holed up for a couple of weeks, but I don't know how bad it's gonna get."

"Great, if everything isn't fixed by the morning, we can leave for there?" Ariel asked hopefully. Mikael nodded.

Atlanta Police Department, Atlanta, Georgia

Saturday, September 22, 2018

10:00 P.M. EST - 2 Hour After 'The Apocalypse’

The sounds of shattering glass echoed in the distance, mixed with fearful screams and anger inside the police station. After the lights had turned off, so did the citizens' civility. They wanted answers to what happened, and they weren't getting them fast enough. In fact, no one knew what was going on.

"Shield Wall!" Chief Erik Holm shouted to his fellow officers in their riot gear, holding back the civilians trying to get into the precinct. The men and women had themselves shoulder to shoulder, following Erik's orders with swiftness like it was practiced over and over again, "Move up!", They followed his orders in unison and pushed the crowd of people back. ‘Damn, they came out of nowhere. Is it that bad out there?’ Erik questioned himself. The mass of angry people pushed the line back to where they just began.

"What are you going to do?" George Ramirez asked nervously, "It doesn't seem like this wall of policemen is going to hold for long. Maybe, you should retreat and find another area to stop this madness?"

"Where would that be? If you couldn't tell: The whole city is in chaos if not the country, our guns don't work nor does the electricity, and most of my men are out there in the streets!" Erik said with venom in his tongue.

"Well, you have to think of something! We can't be stuck in the precinct forever! We'll be overrun and injured or even worse killed!" George stressed.

Erik thought of his next move carefully. He didn't want to leave his men, but if we were to stay, there'd be no men left. "Decisions, decisions... Front row! Keep in line for 120 seconds, then run like hell. Back row, retreat to the rendezvous point! The Ramirez family with me! I need to grab a few things before we start on our way out." After Erik collected all of his files and belongings, he and The Ramirez' jogged towards the evidence room.

"Why are we going in there?" George asked, confused.

Erik rummaged through cabinets and boxes, looking for specifically something he had in mind, "Since it seems that none of our weapons work, it looks like we'll have to resort to things even before our time," After a bit, he pulled out a falchion. ‘Just what I was looking for,’ Erik thought. "This right here is an A-grade functional sword and honestly can be the meaning of life and death now."

"Sweet! Let's see what's in there for me!" Luis smiled as he ran for a box. After a moment of haste, did he find a battle ax and shield.

"Woah, there buddy, that isn't a toy!" Erik exclaimed.

"Oh, I know that I could tell by design. It looks something like old nordic shit... wicked!" Luis said, "Sorry, my sister Sara and I kinda have a knack for this,"

"You more than I," Sara said as she picked up two hand axes and tested them. "These should do well." Sara was a short woman. 5'3 and a little ball of snobbiness that came from her dad. She looked around 20, and she had her mother's black hair and light skin. Her hair almost reached her waist.

"My sister is a little rude, but once you get to know her, she'll be fine, and she's right. I love everything about this, and she hates it. But, when we were little kids, mis padres bought it for us because we thought it was interesting," Luis swung the ax and held the shield in a steady place. ‘Getting a better look, Luis is pretty decent,’ Erik thought. Luis was barely 18 years old, stood at 5'8, and was very fit and buff for his age. His dark brown hair contrasted the light, almost brown skin. It came from his mother, who was mostly white.

"Hm, you guys might have to teach me one day, eh?" Erik joked and then looked at the parents, "Do you guys need anything before we go?". They hesitantly nodded, nowhere near as enthusiastic as their children were. This was new for them, and they were scared of what was outside and what may happen to them or their children.

"Where'd these weapons even come from anyway?" George asked.

"Well, we had an incident in the past with some society people. I think they liked the idea of medieval society and were really starting a gathering. They took it seriously, with duels, a new way of life, and real weapons later down the road. They got shut down, and their leader was imprisoned because of the death of someone's child. It was pretty crazy."

"Woah," Luis said with excitement in his eyes.

"Yea, let's get going before my men try to find me and ask what's up. You guys grab whatever else you can, and I'll meet you in the back in 20 minutes."

"You got it, chief," Luis said energetically. The rest of the family just nodded and went on with it, scared about what will happen next.

...

As they met in the back, there were around 100 men and women waiting for this moment. Erik was an avid person on safety and backup plans, and this was one of them. "Officers, I know this is going to be hard, but we must leave this city behind or risk being taken apart ourselves. I know we have family here, but the real question is, if you want to survive, you're going to have to trust me. This will not be easy, and it will be a long and arduous path, but in the end, it will be rewarding. Now, if you can't take this path, please go back to the others, and you will be able to stay here and fight." No one left. They all stood there as trained. "Good, now I have some things for all of you. Since we have concluded that our modern machines do not work, we will have to be a little experimental. You will be given weapons that relate to the old times. Swords, axes, shields, etcetera. What are we?".

"A unit," said some of the officers.

"We are what!?" Erik bellowed.

"A family," said all of the officers in unison.

"What do we do?!"

"Protect and Serve!!"

"We are what?!"

"A family!! A unit!!" The men and women chanted in unison. They were stomping their feet and crashing their selective weapons across the ground. Making the earth itself tremble beneath them.