《The Beacon》 Chapter 1 *SOMEWHERE IN ANTARCTICA* Following years of exploitation, the governments discovered no sign of life in Antarctica. They allocated only a few people to drill the remaining oil reservoirs on Earth under the seabed of Antarctica. Erecting from the glaciers, was a facility built to accommodate workers. It was comprised of 8 oil platforms connected together with bridges and a roof garden, surrounding a glass dome at the centre underneath the garden. In between the oil platforms, were rows and rows of defensive walls. Most of the researchers were working inside the dome, in different rooms. ¡°CLING.¡± Todd mixed chemicals in a lab. After Todd pushed a button, a test tube rack arose from a rectangular hole. Todd placed his chemicals into the holder. ¡°ANALYZING 1%¡± ¡°ANALYZING 5%¡± It was already at 9 pm. In Antarctica, there was not much to do. No TV, video games, orInternet connection even though 20 years had passed. Technological advancements promised had flown under the radar. The only thing changed was the social order of mankind. Everyone became cynical and egotistical. ¡°ANALYZING 75%¡± ¡°ANALYZING 80%¡± ¡°ANALYZING 95%..96%..97%¡± Todd anticipated his bedtime since he woke up.Ittookmeticulouscalculationstoworkinalaboratory,butthedutieswereredundant. High wages were his only incentive. Resources depleted quickly on Earth, causing costs of everything to skyrocket. *ANALYZING 98%...99%* Todd clenched his fists and pressed the table firmly before him. He was awaiting the moment of joy.Themoment whenhewasabletowavehishandsintheair,jumptohisbedandclosehiseyes.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°COMPLE... EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE...¡± Todd became exasperated as he had never encountered such a situation before. The robotic voice stutteredin a monotone. Itwouldn¡¯tendbydeclaringCOMPLETED. Todd covered his ears as he couldn¡¯t bear the eerie anomaly. *EARLIER IN THE CONTROL ROOM OF LAB* ¡°Tomorrowwewillhavetomoveoilviathenetworkorthecitylightswillgoout.¡± A woman said. ¡°No, we can¡¯t! Look at the power storage! 1 more week and we all will die here!¡± Spencer argued. ¡°We could evacuate! We have to transfer the power!¡± The woman said. ¡°How? Our helicopters also need power! We are scientists! Without us, they will all die! Taking care of ourselves is our top priority!¡± Spencer replied. ¡°We have already charged our helicopters! Aren¡¯t you trying to take the power away by yourself!¡± The woman questioned. Spencer blanched when the woman revealed his secret plan. He looked around slyly and peeked at the button he needed to press on the control panel. He began running towards the button, but the woman was already there blocking. ¡°Sarah,Idon¡¯twanttodothis!¡± shook Spencer''s head, blustering. He caught hold of a syringe from the table and charged towards Sarah. She parried Spencer and duffed him up, trying to snatch his syringe.Both stumbled upon a wire on the floor and lost balance. They were then rolling on the floor, wrestling. ¡°PCHUKK!¡± Unfortunately, Spencer outflanked Sarah. He thrust the syringe deep into her neck. His immediate reaction was fear. He could not imagine killing someone. Sarah was bleeding, and her wound was getting bigger and bigger. Blood seeping out contaminated the pristine and sanitized floor. Her dilated pupils gave him the evil eye. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry.¡± Spencer whispered out a faux apology. He took out a garbage bag and threw Sarah¡¯s corpse in. He hauled the bag into an old cabinet after tying, then closed the doors. Unbeknownst to Spencer, what he did will eradicate mankind. He didn¡¯t know there was an ancient oil valve control in the cabinet. Oil began leaking back into the boreholes. The leakage triggered the alarm, which began blasting out. Yet it didn¡¯t matter. The only thing Spencer cares about was he killed someone and he needed to run away. He took out a huge power storage to discharge the main power and manipulated its capacity to 90%, to deceive others. He then sneaked to the backdoor, arriving at the helipad. Leering when he put the power storage on the back seat, he did not use it to charge the helicopter. With no piloting experience, he still pulled the acceleratorto full speed in fulfilling his secret plan. *EXPERIMENT ROOM* Todd heard the loud siren going off. ¡°It must be one of those stupid fire drills again. There isn¡¯t a fire incident happened here at all.¡± Todd chafed. Chapter 2 Leaked oil pervaded into the profound depths, slowly filling up an enormous tank buried deep underground. A network of pipes connecting itilluminated progressivelywhen fluid traveled through in a radiating manner, spreading through every place on Earth. While a stone-made cylindrical pillar was emerging from the ice, the ground shook vigorously with lightning zapping and cracking the floor open. A humongous bright white laser beam spurt out of the pillar, zooming through the night sky. Noonerealizedthatoccurred,though. Todd was still frustrated by the annoying siren.He neared the doorway to look around.There, he saw files of soldiers marching through solemnly towards the central hub of the oil mining facility. A few scientists followed them with a worrying face as if something ominous had happened. ¡°Perhaps this is the first alarm since day 1 here.¡± A scientist spotted Todd standing still at the doorway of the experiment chamber. She approached Todd with a worrying face, too. ¡°Is it a fire alarm?¡± Todd blurted out. ¡°No, guards bundled into the control room to check whether a human error triggered the alarm. However, no one was in there.¡± Lexi said. ¡°Wait, isn¡¯t Spencer and Sarah on duty? I glimpsedthem in the control room an hour earlier.¡± Todd asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Who is Sarah? I haven¡¯t even met everyone here. Actually, I am not intended to.¡± Lexi replied. ¡°Alright then,¡± Todd said. ¡°ATTENTION: ALL STAFF IN the FACILITY, PLEASE REPORT TO THE CENTRAL HUB. REPEAT, PLEASE REPORT TO THE CENTRAL HUB!¡± said the announcer. Todd and Lexi followed the files of soldiers and headedinto the hub. Waves of cacophony ruled over the atmosphere. Researchers assembled into circles to talk about what had happened just now. Jostled through the crowd, Todd collided into a brawny and built man. The man glowered at Todd. ¡°Are you guys aware of what happened?¡± Todd questioned, averting his eyes. The researchers sized Todd up and sneered at him. They didn¡¯t want a stranger to chime in. ¡°No,¡± a woman said arrogantly. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with your attitude?¡± Todd retorted. ¡°Can you just leave?¡± The brawny man said. ¡°Hey! Could you guys speak softly? He had done nothing wrong! Why...¡± Lexi argued. The man pushed Lexi on the shoulders and gave out a sneer. ¡°Hey Hey! How dare you push a girl?¡± Todd shouted, racing towards the man and pushing him. The man shoved him backward and Todd stumbled. ¡°Haha, you are stupid.¡± The man said, giggling at Todd. Todd could no longer suppress his anger anymore. He kicked the man in the stomach while lying down.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°**** you!¡± screamed the man. A few more researchers joined the fight and began stomping their feet onto Todd. ¡°Stop! Stop fighting!¡± Few female researchers tried to bangthe fighters¡¯ heads together. Soldierswitnessed the brewing chaos and began storming towards them. Suddenly, as the main gate was majestically opening, sunlight streamed through the gap. Everyone abandoned what they were doing and stared at the entrance. A tiny figure emerged from the horizon under a heavy snowstorm. It was a soldier, pantingand shuddering. The soldier stumbled and kneeled down when he crossed through the gate. Silence reigned in when the soldier was collecting himself. ¡°Spencer is dead!¡± The soldier gasped. ¡°I saw him flying a helicopter. Within a minute, he crashed into the water!¡± The soldier shouted. The crowd was not in dismay at all. Some didn¡¯t even know who Spencer was, so they didn¡¯t feel a thing for him. Most of the researchers were only concerned that Spencer brought away something important from the facility. They only wanted to save their own lives. ¡°Where¡¯s Sarah?¡± Todd said after his pain was relieved. ¡°Who cares? Fewer people here, more survival time.¡± The man who fought with Todd said. ¡°Can you shut up, m*********er?¡± Todd scowled. ¡°What did you call me?¡± The man raised his voice. He clenched his fists and quickened his pace towards Todd. When the man¡¯s fist almost hit Todd, two troops twisted the man¡¯s elbows and dragged him away. ¡°AHHHHHHHHHH!¡± the man shrieked. Just when Todd began leering at the man, a pair of handcuffs was secured on his arms. He looked back and realized thata soldier was pulling his arms backward. Todd was in awe, not knowing why he was detained. ¡°I DID NOTHING WRONG STOP DOING THIS HELP!¡± Todd screamed out of his lungs. He kept on struggling, without any signs of stopping. Finally, the soldier took out a taser, stunning Todd to unconsciousness. *GIZA, EGYPT* An influx of visitors rode on camels to admire the breathtaking view of the pyramid complex. Because of climate change, the layer of sand became thicker and thicker throughout the years, submerging the pyramids with a higher layer of sand. The sun was setting. Stars were slowly filling up the sky. More and more visitors arrived to take a picture of the pyramid at night. Plenty of visitors gathered around the pyramid, trying to steal a couple of stone bricks as souvenirs. These days, they didn¡¯t care about heritage. Most of them were deliberately vandalized by these people. A sharp and high-pitched creepy sound emitted from inside the pyramid. ¡°Wait... Could you guys hear that?¡± A stone stealer said. ¡°Uhh... No.¡± Another stealer said. "VROOOOM!!!" ¡°Look, the pebbles are vibrating!¡± said the stone stealer. "VRRRRRROOOMM!!!! BANGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" A giant laser beam erupted from the pyramid. It burnt the cap and sent stone bricks flying down. It zoomed through the sky, blinding the visitors. ¡°WHAT IS THAT?! IT¡¯S SO BRIGHT?¡± A visitor wondered, with his head averted. Some shut their eyes, but some strode forward and took pictures with the unusual phenomenon. ¡°OMG LIKES! INSTAGRAM LIKES FLOODING IN!¡± Someone exclaimed. Briefly, the sandy ground started shaking and rumbling. Sand particles soared and whirled around the pyramid. Visitors became unsteady on their feet and collapsed when sand hit their eyes. They couldn¡¯t scramble up as the earthquake was becoming more severe and severe. With their bodies on their side while lying down, they could discernthe beam sending energy through the sky and becoming thicker. At one moment, the light beam transformed into a ring of neon plasma, gushing and radiating outwards from the pyramid. The whirl of hot sand particlesblastedthrough the air, landing on the bodies of the visitors. ¡°AHH!¡± whimpered a visitor. The sand singed the skin of visitors, leaving them horrified and desperate. ¡°BOOM!!!¡± After a sharp thud, the plasma ring rammed into the city of Giza. All the lights shut when in contact with the ring, while also setting the buildings ablaze. Pedestrians began scuttling and screaming when everything was on fire. Objects jumped and projected when the plasma ring passed through, taking a toll on the city. When the plasma ring subsided, serenity did not suffuse as the city was still in chaos. Absconders scurried through the streets, battered and exhausted. Without light, theydidn''t know where to go. *IN A HOSPITAL* Molly was a brain-dead patient sleeping on her hospital bed. As the power was out, oxygen had stopped pumping through her nostrils. She couldn¡¯t breathe any longer..... Or could she? Chapter 3 Many patients laydown around Molly. They were also in a coma. The hospital was deserted and gloomy. Everyone left, except for immobile patients sleeping on beds unaided. Molly gasped painfully as she consumed the oxygen supply, but she could onlyportray her despairin her own mind. With one final breath, she died. In an instant, a soul-like creature broke through the hospital window and entered Molly¡¯s ward. Itpierced through Molly¡¯s chest and struck her heart. She began rocking from side to side, while her eyes were wide open and glowing red. Her bed was moving so hard that it was clanking with nearby objects, pushing other patients down their beds. Within a few seconds, she resurrected from death. She got up from her bed and began lurching like a zombie. She leaned onthe shattered window, overlooking at the turmoil of the city. While her lips were curling into a smirk, she crushed and mangled the patients behind her, with bloody entrails ricocheting and bouncing off the walls. She jumped off the hospital window with ease. Anon, she disappeared from the ward, leaving no trails behind. After a few minutes, the power failure was somehowfixed, enabling city lights to switch on and shine. To gain a sense of security, residents returnedinto the abandoned houses and hid. Molly landed on the ground without any injuries after jumping out of the window. She didn¡¯t feel any pain at all. Her mind was embedded with only one command, to go to the pyramid and reactivate it, so she began lurching towards it. On her way, lights started to flash and flicker. Residents peeked out of house windows when they could perceivemovement outside. ¡°WHO IS THAT OUT THERE?¡± A resident asked her husband. ¡°WHO... KNOWS...¡± Her husband whispered. Molly froze and stopped dead. She was standing right next to that resident¡¯s house. She turned her head and stared into the window with her big red eyes. ¡°Oh sh**!¡± The husband whispered. They sat down under the windowsill to prevent the ceiling lamp casting their shadows on the wall. The lamp flickered and turned off suddenly. They pursed their lips firmly and held their breath to prevent making any sound. After a while, they peeked out again. They could not spot the strange figure outside. But from the reflection of the windowpane, they caught a glimpse ofa pair of glowing red eyes becoming larger and larger behind them. ¡°AHHHHHHHHH!¡± the husband screamed. A purple aura wrapped around Molly when she raised and flattened her hands in mid-air. It wafted around the couple and levitated them. ¡°MONSTERRRR!¡± the woman shrieked while she flailed her legs. Their arms were magically manipulated to strangle themselves. With their eyes wide-open and body shuddering, blood and flesh spurt out of their mouth like a fountain, which were all absorbed by Molly. She even absorbed the bone particles. The ceiling lamp flickered and switched backed on again when Molly left the house with blood stained on her clothes. The couple vanished with no traces of existence in the house. Along the row of houses, the same thing happened again and again. The light was out, then switched back on after a few moments. However, no one could hear screams when they witnessedMolly entering or exiting the houses. A portion of citizens vanished into thin airin Giza. *JAIL IN ANTARCTICA* ¡°Giza was devastated after a paranormal explosion happened in the Giza pyramid. About 1000 citizens disappearedafter a police investigation since 6 AM, not yet proved is it related to the explosion. Fortunetellers say this might be the end of the world....¡± said a reporter on the radio.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Todd was sitting in the prison canteen listening to the news. ¡°Bullshit news...¡± Todd whispered, slamming the power button of the radio. Todd was apprehended after fighting with a man in the hub about trivial matters. He has already been detained for a week now. The only thing he loved about prison life was that he didn¡¯t have to do boring research, and he could undergo mandatory body training to keep fit. Within a week, his body was toned and fit. Todd was still furious about that man who fought him with no reason. He wanted to duel him again with his new body. In Antarctica, there were no courts to try criminals, so the facility just put them in the prison immediately. There wasn¡¯t a thing called fairness. *OUTSIDE THE OIL MINING FACILITY* About a week ago, when the soldier discovered Spencer¡¯s corpse, he tried to transporthim back to the facility. However, the ocean has already washed his body away. The facility did not want to waste resources to recover his body. He was carried away onto an iceberg miles away from the facility and left rotting there. His body was 70% decomposed under the exposure ofintensesunlight. Asoul-like creature swept through the sky and pierced Spencer¡¯s body, making him jump for an instant. He started to have a seizure like Molly, and his eyes turned red. Flesh and muscles were rebuilding on his skeleton at an extraordinary speed. He scrambled up and began lurching when his body was rebuilt. In his mind, there was only one command like Molly, to reactivate the Giza pyramid beacon. He looked around his surroundings and heard a thumping sound above him up high. It was a helicopter that departed from the oil mining facility. He knew where he had to go, so hesuckedall the energy out of the power storage he charged a week ago and started trekking towards the facility. Guards were deployed onto lookoutsat the corners of the mining facility. A guard was using his binoculars to spot trespassers. He did a double take when he realized a human figure lurching towards the facility. ¡°Look at there! A human intruder! I have never seen that before in Antarctica!¡± the guard yelled in shock. Several other guards used their binoculars to ensure that the guard was not joking, or else they would report him. Nowadays, people were apathetic and gloating to others, and they don¡¯t even care about others¡¯ lives. The head of the guards on that lookoutreassured the guards and covered up the incident as he didn¡¯t want to cause any alarm within the facility. Spencer reached the door and stood still. ¡°Open the door,¡± Spencer whispered. Soldiers in the main surveillance room noticed Spencer on the surveillance camera screen. They covered their mouth, being startled. ¡°Isn¡¯t Spencer dead? How come...¡± A soldier doubted. ¡°I say open the door,¡± Spencer repeated. ¡°Hmm... I don¡¯t believe in a resurrection. It must be an imposter!¡± The General said. ¡°Maybe we could ask him about his personal information from his data log to validate his identity. Like his birthday.¡± A soldier said. One soldier pushed a button to enable remote communication with the door. ¡°Hello, Spencer. What is your birthday?¡± The soldier asked through the microphone. ¡°4/7/1988,¡± Spencer said. ¡°Then what is your staff ID?¡± the soldier asked after he made sure Spencer did not have his ID card with him through the screen. ¡°1900FX-$&?87E.¡± Spencer recited. ¡°General, should we let him in? He could answer all the questions correctly.¡± The soldier said. The General lost in thoughts when he needed to decide. As people were selfish and apathetic, he refused to let him in. ¡°Tell the guards on the lookout to evict this imposter from the gate.¡± The General commanded. ¡°Hey, you! Leave now! Or we will fire the guns at you in 20 seconds!¡± The guard at the keep shouted through the loudspeaker. ¡°NO. OPEN THE DOOR OR YOU¡¯LL REGRET IT.¡± Spencer snapped. ¡°GO AWAY OR WE WILL FIRE THE GUNS NOW!¡± the guard yelled. ¡°Naive,¡± Spencer whispered. Machine guns fired barrages of bullets towards Spencer. They sped through and refracted the light through the air as the temperature of the bullets were so high. Spencer stood still, doing nothing to defend himself. The bullets penetrated through his body, but Spencer didn¡¯t even make a scream and felt excruciated when they struck him. Although his flesh and blood spilled onto the floor, and there were many holes in his body, the holes weremendedand recovered magically. All the guards and soldiers stepped backward and opened their eyes when they perceivedwhat happened. ¡°IT IS NOT HUMAN! IT IS AN ALIEN!¡± the guards screamed. Chapter 5 ¡°Spencer, isn¡¯t you dead?! Why are your eyes glowing¡­ red?¡± Todd asked. Chapter 5 ¡°Spencer, isn¡¯t you dead?! Why are your eyes glowing¡­ red?¡± Todd asked.