Washington, D.C.
Ed came over, tapped Al on the shoulder, and pointed at the ropes being lowered into the giant hole. “Because of you, a massive bomb is being lifted out from below the White House lawn. It has been there for probably hundreds of years. But how? You saw it for yourself. The bomb, the faded paintings, the writing on the wall, the tomb...”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” Vance said, angrily cutting him off.
“He’s right,” Al responded to Vance as he pulled out the worn Bible the Masons had given him. He flipped through it, eyeing the endless handwritten footnotes. He realized that through all the secret bunkers, hidden tunnels, and mass murders, the secret was right in his hands. He handed it to Ed and asked, “Does this book really say how to prevent the Apocalypse? Is this ‘the beginning of the end’ as the Holy Script indicated?”
“Well,” Ed said. “So far, so good. You have successfully found two of the seven hidden bombs. The locations of three more may be encoded on the wall down there. Al,” Ed continued, “defeating the Sons of Darkness must be done if you are to prevent the end of days from arriving early.”
Vance whacked Al’s back, “Nothing like a little pressure, eh, buddy?”
“Shut up,” Al replied. He glanced up as the helicopter increased power and slowly began rising. The crew guided the bomb to the surface, and the shiny metal flashed in the sunlight for the first time in who knew how long. A technician with black glasses was standing on top, riding it up. The helicopter lifted him and the bomb several hundred feet, then flew East.
“To the ocean it goes,” Vance said.
Al watched it travel off in the distance with several helicopters trailing it.
As the copter slowly turned into a tiny, silver dot, Al suddenly noticed Natalie next to him. She looked him up and down, with obvious concern.
He realized how bad he must look after rolling around in decomposed bodies, cobwebs and his own blood.
“Are you ok?” Natalie asked.
Al was about to respond when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a bright flash of light. It blanked out all his senses as the entire horizon turned silver. Al shut his eyes and turned his head, knowing something had gone terribly wrong. He waited for a nuclear heat wave to incinerate his body.
It didn’t come.
He opened his eyes. A bright, glowing, plasmic orange bubble sat motionless in the sky. The squadrons of helicopters escorting the airborne bomb were now long, vertical smoke and fire trails crashing to the ground.
Al was already in motion with Natalie and Vance in tow. Someone grabbed Al’s arm, halting his pace. A soldier yelled, “The president wants to see you right now!”
Al pushed Natalie towards Vance and said, “Take her someplace safe.” He turned to Ed, handing him the three skeleton keys he had used to open the doors under the White House lawn, “You might need these.”
“You got it,” Vance answered.
Ed grabbed the keys and said, “Go ahead.”