Havok Bringer

Chapter 1: This Damn Heat

"Damn, I miss winter," I muttered as I opened my eyes after a night of sweaty and uncomfortable sleep. It was hot again, as it always was since "the drop." I tried to remember the seasons - spring, summer, fall, and winter. Winter and fall were harder to recall these days, but I could sometimes remember how the winter air felt on my skin and the first frost of fall.

I considered myself "winter-hot," meaning I looked better with a few layers on. I consider myself a decent-looking guy, almost 6 feet 5 inches tall, with all my hair. My dark brown hair was getting long enough to tie back in a ponytail; I would get someone in the settlement to cut it for me a couple of times a year, but with everyone so focused on the difficult task of staying alive, things like fashion sense took a back seat. I also sported a medium-length beard. I could say it was because shaving was a chore, but honestly, I just liked the way it looked. I was a bit stocky but not fat, like a "corn-fed" country boy.

Before "the drop," I would put on a light jacket or hoodie during the cooler months, and my confidence would skyrocket. But in the three years since "the drop," we had only experienced hot, humid summers, and since we had no electricity, I hated it even more.

When "the drop" happened, it caught everyone off-guard. Millions of orb-shaped objects fell from the sky, acting like electromagnetic pulses (EMPs) that killed power worldwide and fried every electrical grid in the world. Society broke down quickly, and everything we had built was gone in a matter of months. It would be easy to think that society could bounce back from something like the drop, but the truth is that nobody had prepared for a global event of this magnitude.

Living alone now, I've come to appreciate the solitude. In this new world, forming close bonds with people is a challenge, and I don't have the luxury of family ties. I did attempt to reunite with my family after the 'drop,' but they resided a few hundred miles east of me in Louisiana, and the aftermath of the event was chaotic. Riots and looters posed a constant threat. If they suspected you had something valuable, they wouldn't hesitate to kill you and take it.

My dad was always the type to prepare for the worst, and I hoped he and my family were okay. But I had no way to contact them, and for all they knew, I might have been dead for a while.

After 'the drop,' billions of people died because society had become too dependent on technology. With the loss of electricity, most cities couldn't get clean water, and people couldn't survive. The elderly were the first to go, but others succumbed as well. Many people couldn't adjust to the sudden change in temperature from winter to 105-115 degrees Fahrenheit within a month. People got sick, couldn't get water or medicine, and in many cases, the worst happened. The challenges of living in a world without the comforts of modern technology were immense, and many struggled to adapt.

Looting and crime had become rampant in densely populated areas. Most people realized they could not survive there and decided to find a place where they could get support from other like-minded individuals. The good people left, and the large cities became home to bandits and criminals. Outside the cities, settlements formed, and people banded together to try and rebuild. Forming these settlements was not easy, as it required cooperation, resource-sharing, and a shared vision for the future.

About a year after "the drop," rumors spread that the government was trying to rebuild the power grid. People were hopeful, but after a year of waiting, the orbs all suddenly powered up, and another EMP blast erupted worldwide. That was the end of it. No one heard anything else about it. People knew they were on their own if they wanted to survive.

Over the years, the group of people I connected with grew into a settlement of around 500 individuals. We retrofitted some existing infrastructure to make it livable in this new world. Everything had changed since the drop. Large multi-story buildings were no longer practical due to the lack of airflow and elevators not working. Most people lived in large, open paddock-like structures or smaller structures with open windows or doors to create airflow.

My home was in the woods near a small river, about 50 miles east of Houston. Despite the proximity of the gulf, I didn't feel the urge to make the 60-mile trek. I constructed a small cabin, but I preferred sleeping outside in a hammock. With my engineering background, I contributed to the settlement's various projects and bartered my labor for food. I could fish in the river, set trotlines, and there was always an abundance of fish. Hunting wasn't my forte, so I had to trade for other necessities. The settlement, now known as South Town, had established a thriving micro-economy. Its residents had cultivated gardens and raised livestock, ensuring they had what they needed to survive.

Initially, there were tales of looters and gangs of bandits, particularly around big cities. However, in the countryside, people united to survive. Everyone contributed in their own way, working and helping each other. We all lived by the same principle: bring value and assist your neighbors. That's how we managed to survive.

Despite not living in the settlement, everyone knew me, and I was there almost every day. So today, like most days, I walked in after waking up to get some supplies.

"Andrew! Glad to see you're still alive!" Craig said.

Craig was about 30 years old, the same age as me. He had lived in the area before the drop, and we had spent many days together since. He was balding, a little overweight, and would just about sell his right leg for a cigarette. Unfortunately, there weren't any more cigarettes. He was also my best friend.

"What's up, Craig? I decided to come in and do some shopping," I laughed as I tugged on my mostly empty pack.

"Well, I figured you would have people to do that for you," Craig joked as he walked up and fist-bumped me. "Hey, have you heard about the orbs? People have been saying that they are acting weird."

"Yeah, God forbid the giant metal orbs that fell from space act weird," I joked, rolling my eyes. "What do you mean weird? They are just there; other than the electrical fields surrounding them, they don't do anything."

"Well, I haven't seen it myself," Craig said as he looked around and leaned in, "but some of the other guys said they were out in the woods the other day, near the one southeast of the settlement, and it started acting weird. It was making some noises, and the field was like… pulsing."

As I looked at Craig, I could see that he was excited. He loved talking about the Orbs. "Look, bro, the best thing everyone can do is avoid those things. We still don't know anything about them. I would love to know what they are as much as anyone, but it isn't worth the risk," I said as I turned and started walking toward the butcher shop.

"Hey, wait! Where are you going?" Craig asked, jogging to catch up with me.

"I'm just going to see the butcher; I can't do fish again. I'm gonna lose my shit if I don't get something else soon," I said, shaking my head in disgust.

"Look, Andy, a few of us talked about going there tonight to check it out. You wanna come with us?" Craig said as he followed me into the butcher shop.

I knew he wouldn't let this go, and I didn't have plans anyway. "Look, I have some things to do here, then I've got to go inspect the new water wheel," I pointed at the old water wheel on the edge of the settlement," That damn thing hasn't worked right yet, I don't think the flow is strong enough. When I finish that, we can meet at my place."

A few hours later, I was back at my paddock, "God, I love bacon," I said. I had scored some bacon from the butcher; he had been working on perfecting it, and I'd say he had just about nailed it. So, between the bacon and a few eggs I had traded for, I had one of the best meals I'd eaten in weeks.

Later that evening, about an hour after sunset, Craig came walking down the well-worn path to my camp.

"Ready to go?" Craig said, with a nervous smile.

He looked around, chasing the smell of the bacon I had just eaten. "I'm guessing you didn't save a piece of bacon for a fat boy?" Craig joked.

"Sorry man, I only had enough for one," I lied, I had eaten at least ten pieces. "Yeah, let's head that way," I said, "let me grab my pack."

I almost always carried my pack. After the drop, I decided I would never be caught off guard again. I always took a go bag with me wherever I went. It didn't have much in it: some MREs that I had hidden away, a couple of bottles of water, some basic first aid supplies, candles, and a flare gun that I found in an old boat about a year ago.

"You don't have to bring that pack with you everywhere you go, weirdo," Craig said, "It's only a 30-minute walk. I mean seriously, bro, between you living outside the settlement and carrying that pack with you everywhere you go, it's no surprise you don't have a girl."

It was true, I didn't have a girlfriend. Sure, I had relationships before the drop, but with my job and travel, it was hard to build meaningful, long-lasting relationships. After the drop, it became more about the fear of trying to keep someone else besides myself alive. Don't get me wrong, there were women in the settlement; hell, there were even attractive women my age. Some were widows, and some were just stragglers who had wandered in over the last three years, but I kept to myself, and I liked it like that.

After about half an hour, we were getting close to the orb. "What the hell is that?" I asked, "Since when does an orb light up like a disco ball?"

I saw it from about 150 meters away as we were coming out of the woods. The orb, which was about the size of a two-story house, was glowing. There was a pattern to the lights, but not any pattern I recognized. There were geometric shapes and some scripts that I couldn't read and didn't recognize.

"I told you!" Craig yelled, "These Damn things have been dead for three years, and now all of a sudden, they light up like Christmas trees?! What the Hell do you think it means?"

I slowed down and began to crouch lower to the ground. "Look, man, I don't think we should be messing around with the damn thing. We don't know what these things are, and we don't know what they do; all we know is that they dropped from the sky, and the world ended."

Craig crawled up and stopped beside me, squinting to try and make sense of what he was seeing.

"Maybe we should head back and tell the mayor. He can send a patrol out here to take a look," I whispered.

"Forget the mayor, Andy. He's not going to send anyone out here. You know he is scared to death of these things," Craig replied.

I looked nervously up at the glowing orb. It began to buzz, and arcs of electricity began to spring from its surface in every direction, and that's when I heard it.

Now, you have to remember that most of the orbs had been silent since they fell. We had heard stories of a few science teams that tried to study them in the early days, but unfortunately, nobody had been able to discover anything about them. So now, they just sat there with their fields up, alien reminders of the world we used to know.

After a few months, we mostly began to ignore them. Some people said that every once in a while, they would hear a noise from one. They described it as an electronic buzzing, sort of like the noise a copy machine would make when it would scan a piece of paper. Personally, I tried to stay away from them, but when I had come close to one, I had never heard anything.

"What in the hell is that?!" Craig exclaimed as he fell backward. "It's making a noise. Do you hear that, Andy? It's making a noise!"

"Calm down!" I said, putting one hand on CJ's chest to calm him.

The noise was just as described: an electronic buzz like a copy machine scanning a piece of paper, just way louder. It felt like it was scanning my bones; I could feel it in my teeth.

"Maybe we should check it out," I said, inching ever so slightly closer.

Craig just looked at me like I asked to cut his left hand off, "Jesus, man, the alien orb thingy started glowing and making noise, and now you're interested?"

"Fair point, but if these things were going to kill us, don't you think they would've done it by now?" I said as I stood up to a crouch and started slowly walking toward the glowing, humming orb.

After a few minutes, we were within 10 meters of the orb. I expected it to be hot for some reason, but it was extremely cold. The air around the orb was chilled like an AC compressor would be during the summer heat. A light fog radiated out from it and covered the ground in all directions.

“This is getting weird,” Craig said, “What do you think is happening?”

“I don’t know, but whatever it is, it's waited three years to do it. I’m gonna get a closer look; I don’t think it will hurt us,” I said as I stepped closer to the orb.

“There is no way in hell I’m going any closer to that thing, Andy.” Craig said, “It came from space; for all we know, there are aliens inside it just waiting to kill us! This was a bad idea, man.”

Craig was getting more nervous by the second. He was pacing back and forth, pointing at the orb and talking to himself.

Jesus, he is losing it, I thought to myself.

“Look, let's just see if anything happens when we get closer, If it starts to react, or anything happens, we book it back to the settlement and tell the mayor,” I said, turning to Craig and putting one hand on his shoulder to try and calm him down.

“I’m not touching that thing, Andy, and you shouldn’t either,” Craig said, waving his hands and shaking his head emphatically.

He was right, of course, but I felt an overwhelming need to touch the orb. It didn't make sense; I was generally very wary of anything related to these orbs, but something seemed to be pulling me in closer, piquing my curiosity. I wasn’t sure if Craig felt it, too, but all I could think about was placing my hand on it. As I approached it, the scrolling symbols froze, the humming paused, and the orb began to levitate. Seeing the giant silver orb begin to float was unsettling, and Craig started to Panic.

“Fuck this Andrew, I’m outta here!” Craig yelled. He quickly spun and started to run away from the orb. I could hear him running, dry leaves and branches cracking under his feet, but I couldn’t look away.

As the orb levitated before me, I began to move toward it. I wasn’t afraid; I was instead entranced by the floating giant orb, like a bug to a zapper. I lifted my hand slowly toward the orb, ignoring the fight or flight response that was building in my chest as well as the voice in my head screaming for me to run away. My body ignored my brain and i continued to lift my hand closer to the orb. When I was within a few inches, I felt my fingers burn with a sudden chill. I inched closer and closer, and as my fingers touched the floating metallic orb, I suddenly heard a robotic voice speaking...

“Welcome to the Crawl Participant- Andrew Dawes,”

And immediately, everything went black.