Battle at Zero Point (38 page)

A sword to the heart caused a silent, bright flare—and then there was nothing. No remains. No dust.

Nothing.

There would be no bodies left after this battle.

Hunter finally hit the ground—hard. His arrival scattered a group of refugees who'd been watching the battle above, too astounded to move. They took one look at him, though, and their mass paralysis was cured. All of them ran as fast as they could to get away from him.

He'd come down on top of a plateau of sorts, and it was windy up here. His chute dragged him for hundreds of feet, banging him up against many of the rocks strewn about the forbidding terrain. He finally released the straps, and the chute blew away. He fell backward, absolutely stunned, and watched in awe as the strange combat went on above him unabated. The white-suited soldiers continued to battle fiercely with the devils. He thought he could even see faces of people he recognized. Some of the combat was happening no more than 100 feet above him, or so it seemed.

He straggled to get to his feet. But then came another bright flash. It was so strong that it picked him up like a doll and blew him backward. He went flying over the edge of the plateau and fell for what seemed like a mile or two to the hard plain below. He hit with a great
thud
. Had he not been wearing his helmet, he would have surely cracked his skull open. As it was, he had a huge welt right in the middle of his forehead.

He rolled over and was flat out on his back again.

Dizzy.

Dazed.

Maybe even seeing things.

The ethereal fighting went on. Hunter saw it all—or at least he thought he did. At one point it seemed to be taking place just a few dozen feet above him. At other times, the combatants were battling each other in outer space. But for some reason, he could see that close up, too.

Then, for a little while, it seemed that he, too, was an angel and that he was in the middle of the great battle. That his friends Tomm, Calandrx, Erx, Berx, Klaaz, and Gordon were right beside him, and together they were battling furiously. Hunter and the others were fighting with huge swords, Tomm with his famous blackjack. And as they were slaying the REF soldiers, who really did look like devils now, Tomm and the others were telling him all kinds of things—infusing his brain with centuries' worth of knowledge. They finally told him how Zarex had died at the hands of the REF, and how by doing so, he'd really saved them all, but this Hunter did not understand, at least not yet. They told him how many people that day had simply done the right thing, and how that would help in the eventual victory. They even told him names of some of these people: SF officers, the anonymous arms dealers, even the guy Hunter had buried near the first evacuation site. Many heroes
were
made this day.

Then somehow they returned him to the ground and said their good-byes—final ones this time. And he watched the last of the great battle, the sky filled with flashes, as the devils were finally vanquished with the angels, triumphant, disappearing right along with them. And he knew, in that moment, that he would never see his friends again. That Tomm, and Calandrx, and Gordon, and Klaaz, and his two oldest friends,

Erx and Berx, were
really
gone this time. That their spirits had moved on forever.

And then there was one last great flash, and the sky above him was empty again. He lay there for a very long time, unable to move. Not because of his injuries, which were many but small. But simply because he was exhausted. He hadn't slept in weeks—or was it years? He didn't know. So he closed his eyes and started to drift. And of all the things that floated through his mind, it was the visions of men with wings that lingered the longest. From that, the strangest but strongest memory of his previous life came back to him.

Men… with wings.

He used to be something like them. Not exactly, but close.

He used to be…
The Wingman
.

And remembering that, he smiled, for the first time in a long time.

Then he finally went to sleep.

It wasn't until much later the next day that Hunter woke up.

But where was he? He'd fallen asleep on hard, rocky ground, but now he was lying on a grassy plain.

Beside him was a stream, running quick with cold, fresh water. It was the sound of this water that eventually caused him to stir. He opened battered eyes to see not just miles of grass everywhere, but mountains and trees and lakes. For one very long moment he was convinced that he had died and gone to Heaven— again.

But then he looked up and knew, sadly, that this was not the case. High above, he could see the huge planetary rings, which he recognized, and that's when he knew he was still on
Doomsday 212
.

Yet the planet had changed radically in just a short time. How?

He looked off in the distance and saw six enormous Sky Chiefs moving slowly just above the landscape, beams of golden light shining down from their nose cones.

Then one word came to mind:
Puffing
.

The Sky Chiefs were puffing the planet.

No surprise, the Third Empire held the secrets of the Ancient Engineers, too.

He got to his feet and tried to remember what had happened. The original UPF ships finally did cross over, of that much he was certain. Their appearance had been delayed, though, almost as if on purpose—but that had been a good thing. If they had crossed over at the expected time, the REF would have blasted them to nothingness. By appearing when they did, they'd saved many lives and had won the day.

How then did they know to delay the arrival?

Just as the thought came to him, an image was standing in front of him. Huge. Smiling. But transparent. There, but not really there.

It was Zarex.

And at that moment, Hunter recalled what Tomm and the others had told him about Zarex's death.

Then, at least one part of what happened became clearer.

"You let them kill you…" Hunter said to him now, "so you could go back to Paradise and warn the fleet."

Zarex just nodded. "I knew our ships had to cross over," he said. "The Vanex Door was breaking down, so it was essential that they leave. But I also knew the devils would be waiting for them and that all of you would be trying to prevent the ambush. So I had them delay exactly thirty-three minutes on the other side—and I guess that equaled about three minutes and thirty-three seconds over here. I was hoping it would be enough to catch the REF off guard. It was a gamble. But somehow it worked."

Hunter was astonished by Zarex's tale. And also by his appearance.
Spooky
was the only word for it.

Zarex tried to hand something to him. It was a bright green apple.

"This is from Xara," he said. "She's cried every day since you left. I didn't think tears in Heaven were possible. But…"

Hunter reached out and tried to take the apple—but couldn't. His hand went right through it. He and Zarex were in the same place but not the same plane. He tried again. At that moment he would have given anything to have that apple, that gift from Xara. But it was not to be. Hunter felt a very bad sensation in his chest. He knew what this meant. His last connection to Paradise was broken.

"Xara does have something to be happy about, though," Zarex revealed.

"How so?" Hunter asked.

Zarex took out a viz-screen device and studied it for a moment. "I'm not sure this will still work," he said. "But here goes."

He pushed the button, and a screen appeared out of nowhere. Hunter's breath caught in his throat. It was displaying a scene he was very familiar with. The beach with the diamond sands. The bright blue skies. The cobalt sea.

And walking on the beach was his precious Xara.

Hunter felt like a knife had been plunged into his heart, a pain of both sadness and guilt. Here she was, this beautiful girl with whom he'd spent so much time in the Garden of Eden, in Heaven, and she was so close—literally a missed heartbeat away—and yet, so very far away. He couldn't bear not being with her.

But there was guilt, too, because just days before, back on Far Planet, he was ready to give it all up, his quest, his flag, Xara herself, for a simpler life forever with his former love, the equally beautiful Dominique.

"A pleasant problem to have," Zarex said with a thin smile, knowing his thoughts. "Two beautiful women living in your heart."

"Don't be so sure," Hunter said.

The viz image started moving, and Hunter saw that someone had materialized beside Xara on the beach. They were walking along the sands together. Hunter took a closer look. Amazing…

"The Empress?" he gasped. "She's dead?"

Zarex nodded solemnly. "Do you recall that Great Flash?" he asked.

"When everything lost power?"

"Yes, temporarily," Zarex replied. "That was the Empress's doing. Tomm and Calandrx gave her the idea to do the right thing, and she did it, and just in time for our side. She was able to disable the Big Generator just long enough to give our ships time to cross over—and finally defeat the REF."

"And for that they killed her?"

"It's not clear what happened," Zarex said. "But she did lose her life, and now she is with her daughter in Paradise. Can you imagine that? Another Special who actually made it over! They may have a lifetime to catch up on, but they'll have eternity to do it in."

Zarex collapsed the viz image, and the device itself faded away.

"But what about you?" Hunter asked Zarex. "What has happened to you?"

"This is the price for crossing over the second time," Zarex replied, his voice halting. "Going back was not a problem. But coming back again? Well, you're not an angel anymore. You're not even a soul, either. You become a…"

He tried, but he just couldn't say the word.

So Hunter said it for him. "A ghost?"

Zarex nodded somberly.

"We'll figure out a way to—" Hunter started to say, but Zarex just shook his head. "There
is
no way, Hawk," he said. "This is just how it is and how it will always be. I'll always know I did the right thing—along with a lot of other souls. I mean, our side won; in the long run, this
was
a victory. And it will save a lot of people a lot of grief. So, take my advice: start up your quest again. Now is the time to make the next move. The most righteous thing
you
can do is to get Earth back into the hands of its rightful owners. I'm sorry none of us will be there with you to see it in the end, but I'm sure you'll find others to help along the way."

Hunter suddenly felt a wash of sadness go right through him. It was beginning to sink in now. All of his friends were gone.

"But you," he said to Zarex. "
Where
are you, exactly?"

The image shrugged. "Caught somewhere in between," he said. "Life and death? Heaven and Hell? Somewhere in the middle, I guess. It's all right, though. At least I have good company."

At that moment, another image started materializing. Hunter felt the nasty bump on his forehead. Was there anyway he was just imagining all this?

The image finally focused.

It was another ghost.

Hunter was shocked. He stared at the apparition for a moment. But then another piece of the puzzle fit together.

"So, it was you who was helping me all along," he said to the second ghost. "You let me out of Joxx's jail cell. You pulled me out of my crash on Far Planet. You've been at my side since I crossed over."

The second image nodded. It was Gym Bonz.

"I had to do my part, too," he said. "I couldn't let you guys do it all alone. But now…"

He, too, had trouble speaking.

So Zarex did it for him. "Now, he can't go back either," he said. "His wife… his kids…"

Hunter was crushed. These two had given up so much. And by trying to manipulate the cosmos, they'd wound up costing themselves an eternity in Paradise.

"Goddamn," Hunter cursed. "Was it all worth it?
Really
? I mean, just look at how many people died today—and every other day since all this craziness began."

Zarex smiled again. His image was fading. So was Bonz.

"But just think, Hawk," Zarex said. "If they did the right thing just one time in their lives, they'll all wind up in Happy Valley. That's all it takes. And we all know that's a better place than this one."

Hunter was still angry, though—and frustrated.

"But if that's true, then what the hell is all this for?" he asked, sweeping his arms, indicating his side of reality. "The pain, the struggle, the inhumanity? Why do we have to go through
all this
?"

Zarex
just shrugged again. So did Bonz.

"
That's
the mystery of life, Hawk," Zarex said. "One of them, anyway. And it will all become clearer to you someday soon."

Both Spirits smiled sadly.

"Good-bye Hawk," Zarex said. "Be well, my brother…"

They both saluted him.

Then they slowly faded away.

* * * * *