Cries from the Dust: The Keystone Islands

By Lander Allen

Some say he’s lived hundreds of years. Others claim he just missed his 1000th birthday. Not even his most trusted friends know for sure. Now, see the events that drove Pavarti to build civilizations, and catch a glimpse of what his true motives could have been.

Isaac Pavarti just wanted to survive. To help humanity to survive. While evading captivity in the African mountains, Isaac hacks into his tracker and gains access to his captor’s military system. He gathers who he can and runs, staying one step ahead of those who desperately wants what he’s discovered.
But only a step.
His former captors prove cunning, and his group of followers grows larger and slows him down. As he sees more of the world he discovers just how close to extinction humanity is, and just how much his new discoveries can help them.
Isaac knows its just a matter of time before he’s caught. His only hope is to save everyone first.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lander Allen
• Release date: Apr 14, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386595915

Book preview

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: The Future Past

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 1: The Future Past

[Johannesburg, South Africa: 2320]

Isaac Pavarti squinted his eyes at the window emitting a high pitched whistle. Parts of the electrical tape flapped where the adhesive lost its stick. He stood from his chair and licked his thumb, preparing to rub his saliva over the edges in a last ditch effort to keep the sealant in pace. He paused there a moment, taking in what little grandeur he could see of the tiny world thirty stories below.  Black clouds floated by the high rise at a slow pace, fat and content, the land beneath its shadows already as dreary as possible.

No living thing stirred in his view. Just machines running on autopilot, or worse, controlled by an alien artificial intelligence with unknown goals and no conscience. When they came, they found humanity and the Earth gift wrapped for them. Every weapon, vehicle, financial system, and medical record fell out of control of man and into control of otherworldly beings. They assimilated all of Earth's technology at mind boggling speeds.

Son, that's enough of a break. Time to get back to your studies, his father, Thomas Pavarti said behind him.

Isaac picked up a worn bible off of a table and moved to the living room. Thomas stared back with his brown, hopeful eyes. The very eyes that engendered the trust of friends and strangers alike. Isaac pulled out his bookmark and flipped through a few passages, but his mind raced elsewhere.

Eventually, his gaze turned to his his wrist, and the chip embedded by the aliens. Every living human had one. The aliens used it to summon individuals for manual labor or for execution, depending on who you asked. Isaac finished altering his last night.

Isaac, what do you think we should teach our flock this Sunday? Thomas asked.

That if we wish really hard, the second coming may happen in our great grandkid's lifetime. The words escaped his mouth before he had time to stop.

I'm serious. Thomas' disapproval practically dripped off his long chin. Our flock is facing some hard times right now, and they need a uplifting message. Should we dive into the book of proverbs?

Uh, Proverbs sounds good. Isaac shut his bible and looked at the front door longingly. Maybe the one about God not neglecting you for 5 years?

Thomas sighed. Isaac, you put up a good show at the services, but you're going to need to do more than that if you want to be protected from our enemies.

I need to have faith? Isaac asked.

In a roundabout way, yes. But it helps that our captors have agreed to keep all ministers and their families protected, so long as they keep ministering.

Well, there you go, you've got us both covered then.

I won't be around forever. If you want to keep surviving, you need to take up my mantle.

Your congregation comes every week, they're not ministering. Why aren't they dying off?

Isaac's tracer alarm beeped, the fake summons. Thomas' face went white. Isaac could see his father play out a million scenarios in his head, trying to avoid the summons, and hope the aliens didn't come searching for him.

What do you suppose they want you for? Thomas' voice shook a little bit, but his face went firm. In the end, Isaac knew his father feared upsetting the status quo above all else. Running would lead to the certainty of death, and honoring the summons provided the greatest chance of survival.

Probably just some routine check. It's been a long time since they replaced this. Isaac shook his arm around like he wore a defective watch. I need to be going. Wouldn't want to make them upset.

I'll lock up behind you. Thomas stood and walked to the door as Isaac unlocked each of the seven dead bolts.

Isaac finished opening the security process and stepped into the dark hallway beyond.

You be careful now. Thomas placed a trembling hand on Isaac's shoulder.

Don't worry, Dad. Isaac gave him a casual salute. I'll be back before supper.

Once free of the door, he stepped out into the hallway, and his father locked up behind him. The stairs were to his right. He turned left at a brisk walk.

In the dark, his feet kicked up against garbage, animal feces, and even a few people too tired or too dead to make it to a room. A few lights flickered from the ceiling, but the feeble illumination provided no more light to the hallway than the stars hidden behind thick clouds.

Seven doors down, Isaac stopped at an unmarked door. The numbers long ago faded, and the lock long ago corroded away. He let himself in.

This apartment was less furnished, but also less run down. Less than half of the carpet remained intact, if not stained, and a little slimy in places. Only a few small holes littered the walls. And, this apartment contained a large counter hiding a tipped over fridge.

He quietly shut the door and walked around the counter to the fridge. The motor no loner operated, but Isaac found another use for it.

The fridge door gave a soft squeak as he opened it, revealing a pristine black box with a lock at the top. With the key already in his hand, he opened the lock. The bulk of the box contained textbooks from various universities. On the right, another small container held a watch.

Found a way to get away from your dad this afternoon, Pavarti? Came a familiar voice from behind him.

Isaac smiled as he pulled out a book and turned to face Neicia. She stood a head shorter that himself, black hair, green eyes, and near perfect teeth. He grabbed her hand and pulled her in for a kiss. 

Isaac savored the moment, and then broke off the kiss. He pulled out an old physics text book and sat on the counter.

Yup. I'll probably find him dead from fright and stress when I get back though.

Neicia sat down next to him and put her arm around his waist and leaned into his shoulder. You should be easier on your dad, he's trying to keep you safe.

There is no safe, Isaac said as he flipped open the book. Only the optimum chance of survival.

Which he is giving you.

He grew up when humanity was safe. Public speaking topped everybody's list of greatest fears. It's different now. We have before us something incredibly dangerous, and no one knows how to deal with it, least of all him.

Can't we try just giving them our water, see if that makes them go away?

Isaac put his finger in a page and shut the book. I keep telling you it would be impractical to steal our water. Plenty of that in space. No need to fight us for it.

Then what do they want?

I'm not sure.

They sat in silence for a while. Isaac reopened his book and read while Neicia rubbed the back of his neck with her finger nails. After he'd read a few chapters, she grabbed a biology book and read with him.

Isaac reflected on his good fortune of the afternoon. Quality reading time with his favorite person in the world. Hours of quiet reflection time. Not much more he could ask for these days.

That's when his tracker alarm beeped again.

Did you set it twice? Neicia asked.

No, I uh... Isaac examined the red beeping tracker embedded in his arm. This wasn't his hack. It was a real summons from the aliens.

Chapter 2

After an almost tearful goodbye, filled with half lies about everything being fine, Isaac descended the stairs of the apartment tower and stepped into the arid heat of Johannesburg.

A group of people, mostly small children, played across the street. A woman in the group spotted him and tensed up, ready to take her herd to a safer place. Isaac smiled slightly, and then looked away.

Just as he reached the curb, a driver-less electric bus pulled up in front of him and opened the door. As soon as he sat down, the beeping on his arm stopped.

A woman who must have been in her early thirties, sat in on of the front seat. A young boy with a dark complexion sat in the back, hugging himself. The bus made a few more stops and picked up seven more people. All ages, different genders, and different nationalities, if that even mattered anymore.

They traveled over a hill where he got a good view of the city for the first time in a while. His stomach tightened a little when he saw it.

The city skyline resembled a little kids mouth with half of the teeth missing. Large gaps of sky now shined where buildings used to shade. Of the remaining buildings, many bore huge holes, and some of them looked like they were starting to tip over.

Isaac taxed his mind, trying to remember his last trip downtown. However long ago, the visitors were not leaving earth's inhabitants alone anymore.

The bus drove on. Past the outskirts of the city, and away from the tall buildings and concrete roads.

Anybody know where we're going? the man next to him asked.

No, but by the looks of things, this may take a while.

Isaac sat back and closed his eyes. If there was nothing else to do, he may as well get some rest. The bus drove on and on, over dirt roads, through small swamps and forests, and across miles and miles of prairie and desert.

While Africa as a living destination grew in popularity in the years leading up to the invasion, it didn't take long to find one's self completely removed from civilization.

The sun set and darkness enveloped them. The car needed no lights to navigate the dark, so those remained off. No moon cast a silver light on the surroundings. Only small lights from inside the bus randomly blinked to break up the complete darkness.

Attention passengers, the bus' computer spoke in a British accent. We will be driving for the remainder of the night to our destination. It is recommended you rest, in preparation for tomorrow's labor.

Which is what, exactly? the young boy asked. Where are you taking us?

All you need to know will become apparent upon our arrival. With that, the interface shut off.

Looks like the question and answer segment will be cut short. Isaac nodded to the boy. 

Isaac laid back and closed his eyes, while subtly changing his tracker to beep early in the morning. He wanted the stars to give him a bearing of where he was before the sun rise took those away.

He didn't get much sleep. The bus bounced all night on the rocky terrain. While the bus was amphibious, and could handle nearly every terrain thrown at it, there's just no avoiding turbulence in the wild.

Isaac woke up for good before his alarm. He turned that off and looked for familiar constellations. If memory served him right, then they were traveling north west. Driving a whole night through nature's best, they may have gone three or four hundred miles. Unless the roads were smoother in sections while he slept. Then that distance could be closer to seven hundred miles.

As the sun crested the horizon, his ears popped. He leaned his head against the window. Cold. Not even in the dark of night would Johannesburg cool down any in the summer. Patches of snow spotted the ground. He looked out the back window. A steep decline down a long mountain.

These bits of data tumbled around in his brain. Three to seven hundred miles north west, steep elevation. He tried to pinpoint where they were being taken. And then it hit him. Dragon Stone mountain range.

He turned around sharply, waking up the woman in her thirties, and looked out the front window. In the distance, clouds danced  around the peak, probably another thirty miles away.

The woman at first grew angry at him, and then she saw it too. Are they going to kill us on the mountain?

This woke up most of the other's in the bus. The sleep grog wore off as soon as they saw what they were driving towards.

Not very practical of them. Isaac observed. There were probably a dozen or more closer areas they could have crashed us into on this trip and no one would have ever found us.

Why else would they take us to a tall mountain like this?

Isaac sat back down in his seat. Look, one thing you have to know about our alien robot overlords, they're not inherently evil. Their end goal isn't killing you.

How do you know? Someone in the back asked.

Because we're not dead yet. If they wanted us dead, they wouldn't need to bring us out here. They have seven nations' fleets of predator drones at their disposal. And they don't even need those to kill you.

So, we're safe? The