Beyond After

By Herve Jaubert

Beyond after is a pre & post-apocalyptic drama set in the near future in the Philippines. Ann is a talented young woman who has a fulfilling and happy life. A global nuclear war triggered by the military expansionism of China in South Asia whips out mankind and plunges Ann, who is pregnant, into a hellish world. Sole human survivors, Ann and her newborn son are trying to survive, fighting zombies and human-size mutant insects until rescue comes from beyond the galaxy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Herve Jaubert
• Release date: Jul 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005518479

Book preview

BEYOND AFTER

By

HERVE JAUBERT

Copyright 2022

All rights reserved.

CHAPTER 1

A BEAUTIFUL LIFE

Tiny insects could be heard buzzing about on this warm afternoon. The sun shone brilliantly as it always did. There were no seasons to persuade the weather between one way or another. Throughout the year, it was either hot or wet.

Ann was riding her Ducati on her way to work through alternating picturesque landscapes. From shady woods, she emerged into terraces of rice fields which opened up, allowing her to see far and wide. The beauty of nature was so spectacular that she felt compelled to stop along the side of the road to enjoy the view. She parked her motorcycle and stayed seated, leaving just the speakers on to play a jazz piece entitled ‘Spooky’. She looked out from her opened faced helmet, revealing two almond-shaped brown eyes, thick with lashes.

From her look-over spot, which was a hot tourist attraction; she could see a forest running down below her, stretching out to the beach- almost touching the waves. Sticking out into the ocean, there was a long viaduct bridge elevated high above sea level. Ann felt the pull as a rider towards it. She decided she would take it for a ride later while going to the city.

The music playing fell into harmony with the scenery, making Ann get off her bike. She removed her helmet. Trestles of long, silky black hair fell and she waved them into place with her gloved hand. She smiled with subtle joy, white teeth against tanned skin. She enjoyed the moment, the music, the view and began to dance. Her eyes slightly closed, all by herself. Twisting around and beating the rhythm with her feet. At that moment she felt free and happy like the breeze blowing around her small frame that stood just over five feet tall without heels.

After a few minutes, she laughed, turned around, and threw a leg over to mount her bike. Her miniskirt barely covered her long legs ending on strappy heels. Ann liked to live on the edge, she took pride in being more than average. She enjoyed the sheer thrill of possible exposure and embraced her sexuality. Ann wrapped up her hair and put her helmet back on, then revved the engine. After a last glance at the panorama, she shifted into gear and rolled forward, churning dust to float into the sunlight. She flew out into the open road and sped off in the direction of the city.

Riding a motorbike through the Philippines with its tropical paradise feel brought her great pleasure. Here, people were kind to riders which allowed for bikes to be a common means of getting around. Ann was not the standard commuter going from home to work and back. She was fortunate enough to enjoy her work as much as the ride going to it.

Vibrant communities were sprinkled throughout the land, showcasing a rich amalgamation of Spanish and Catholic influences begging for her to explore them. Laid-back countryside, colorful vegetation, superb beaches, and the chance to watch exotic animals nestling in their natural surroundings- she loved all of it. Any chance to feel a sense of freedom without restriction. She would drive up the hills to feel the cool breeze of fresh air blowing against her face. More than half of the roads in the Philippines went unpaved, but it was fun to ride over dirt, going through the tangle of villages, mountain passes, and winding roads along the coast.

Ann enjoyed spending quality time riding her motorcycle, going through various locations or visiting scenic provinces. Between the congested cities and the provinces with their majestic views, it was rare for her to drive on an empty road though. She could not drive fast either because the roads were always busy.

Once Ann reached the city limits, it was busy traffic. Cars jammed with idiot drivers, careless people crossing the roads like lost chickens, and the countless ‘Philippines only’ vehicles such as Jeepneys and tricycles. Jeepneys were the preferred mode for mass transportation, and they were everywhere, slowing down traffic. Motorcycles were the popular choice by those that wanted to move as quickly as one could through congested roads as these.

As soon as Ann turned a couple streets, she heard a loud dog whistle which made her chuckle. Guys often whistled or called out to her. Personally, she didn’t mind the looks, and she found it exciting so long as it never went too far or became abusive. Though sometimes she wasn’t sure if it was for her or her eye-catching Ducati Scrambler. Probably both, although a sexy girl on an exotic motorcycle was not an unusual sight there.

A few more streets and a bit more patience, and she was out of the city and headed down a new road. She was on her way to work on her airline pilot rating at an airport that used to be a US air base. An eruption from Mount Pinatubo spewed volcanic ash all over the base, destroying half of the buildings. After that happened, the U.S. government withdrew and turned over the trashed air base to the Filipino government. Fortunately the base was located forty miles north of the capital city of Manila, far away from the density of the main city.

Ann was twenty-eight years old and a licensed, experienced pilot. Too many times had she heard that she was ‘pretty for a pilot’. Did it mean that the others were ugly? She always laughed it off, but secretly found it sexist and misogynistic. As if being pretty or not had anything to do with the ability to fly an airplane, she would think.

She was continually complimented on her looks, but surprisingly to others; that did not give her many dating opportunities. The reality was that too many guys wanted their high expectations in the physical appearance category to be fulfilled, while not wanting much of anything else. Being sexy was a plus, but being an intelligent female pilot was a major turn-off. The average Joe felt their masculinity challenged and would often choose to move on to the next pretty girl.

Ann was currently certified to fly turbojet planes and flew private jets professionally, but she was attending flight school to obtain approval to fly large commercial planes, specifically the Airbus A320. In order to do so, she needed to complete mandatory training and log more flight hours to be able to be licensed to fly such planes. She was sitting at about thirty-six hours still needing to be logged to achieve certification.

Ann arrived at the airport’s gate and came to a halt in the gravel. The guard recognized her immediately and let her in with a salute. She waved a thank you and drove to a building with a sign on top that read APSC Flight School in bold letters.

She parked her bike in a designated parking lot in the large airport. It could accommodate fifty airliners, a few helicopters, and a dozen jet fighters sometimes deployed by the Filipino government. Off in the distance, a few burnt skeletal remains of buildings and rusted planes could still be seen, partially overgrown with plant life. New buildings were scattered about and radio towers stood tall, overlooking the fenced off area around the runway.

Ann walked inside the building she parked in front of, heading to the locker room to swap her normal, sexy attire for her formal pilot’s uniform. She entered the room and was greeted by the half-a-dozen women inside. They were all staff or other pilots in training, gossiping about breaking news, and trends in Taiwan.

Hey, what's going on? Ann asked when she heard excited voices. She wasn’t the best at

staying in the know.

The ladies were surprised by her nonchalance as she stood in front of her locker.

"Damn, girl. Where have you been? The Chinese military just invaded Taiwan! It's all

over the news!"

No shit, really? Wow, that's bad, but not actually a surprise, she responded in a high,

confident voice.

Taiwan laid just a few miles north of the Philippines, so it was a concern for everybody in the country except Ann who brushed off the issue. Not because it wasn't important, but because no matter what was happening; Ann felt she could do nothing about it. For her, it was a governmental problem and she believed that the people in power watched over their interests before people's interests anyway.

"The tension between China and Taiwan has always been high. And China has always

maintained the viewpoint that Taiwan was an integral part," she told them matter-of

factly, speaking quickly as she always did. She turned to open her locker and began to

undress.

Taiwan has declared itself an independent nation for a long time, you know, a woman

in the back responded.

"Doesn't matter. In the face of China, the people in Taiwan have no say and people in the

Philippines have even less," Ann replied.

She was now standing in a lacy black bra and thong. She did not know them much, but it was not a reason for her to hide away in a tiny bathroom stall to change. She wasn’t self-conscious about her body, nor were the other women. They were not the kind to neatly arrange their clothes and shoes on the bench to avoid bending over and risk flashing someone. Ann and the other women treated the locker room as their boudoir.

Now dressed in full uniform and formal shoes, Ann exited the locker room and left the girls to chit-chat about the Chinese drama. She walked down the empty hallway through the building, opening doors, passing through a couple of rooms where she waved polite hello to others, until she finally came to the operation room assigned to pilots and staff preparing for their flights.

A TV mounted on the wall was running a report on the military invasion of Taiwan. Here too, the instructor pilots and the staff were concerned. They were glued to the TV and were arguing about it with each other as if nothing else mattered anymore.

Wow. Hello guys! So, everybody's talking about the China-Taiwan drama now? Ann

asked with her hands on her hips.

"Hi Ann! But, you know, it's a little more than just a drama. It's an invasion," replied one

of the student pilots from across the room in a chair.

"Maybe it is, maybe it's not. I don't know, but what I know for sure, is that we are not

going to change anything just by worrying about it."

What if they attack us? Asked another young man.

Well, do you have a plan?

No...

"Ah, you see, it's just you gossiping then. Please guys- come on. Go on with your lives.

Don't bother with this Chinese drama because there is nothing we can do about it"

Hi Ann, Ronaldo, her flight instructor, came over to greet her. He was a couple inches

taller than her, a stocky tanned Filipino man dressed in uniform. "You’re not worried

then?"

"Hey Ronaldo. No, it's not that, but if something bad’s coming; it’s just one more reason

to enjoy life today and not worry about tomorrow. Hmmm, well if you don't mind, we

have a four hour window for flight training in the simulator, so it would be nice if we

could go ahead and not allow the Chinese to ruin my training?"

Let's go Ronaldo said with a nod, resigning to leave the topic to settle for now.

He set the necessary flight documents on the desk; the flight plan, the weather forecast, the details of the airport she would be flying to, the operations manual, and the radio frequencies schedule. The flight itself would be in a hyper realistic flight simulator or SIM, all virtual and computer-generated, in an exact copy of an Airbus A320 cockpit.

After going over the pre-flight information; they walked together side by side into an enormous warehouse with two life-sized flight simulators. They were mounted on hydraulic cylinders to simulate the attitudes and vibrations of a real airplane. Ann climbed metal steps up onto the flight simulator and opened the cockpit door. When she stepped into the flight deck, it was cold and dark. With a dozen SIM hours under her belt, she was gaining confidence. She was familiar with the controls and so turned on the lights and sat down in the captain's seat. She adjusted it to fit her size and strapped herself in as her instructor sat down to her right and put on his headset. Ann followed suit.

Her eyes rolled over the vast array of instrument panels from left to right, top to bottom. She mentally checked the buttons, switches, gauges and controls seemingly all at once as she was readying to taxi down the runway.

I have control, Ann said into the cockpit cross communication headset.

You have control, Ronaldo acknowledged.

Cleared to taxi. Ann said.

Taxi clearance – obtained. Ronaldo responded.

Parking brakes off.

Ann released the flight controls and the thrust levers.

With her left hand on the steering tiller, she pushed the thrust levers with her right hand. The plane began to move forward, gaining speed, bumping over the runway lights as she taxied into the take-off position.

Brake check, she announced and pressed the pedals.

FLT control. Check.

Ronaldo acknowledged again, FLT control. Check. ATC clearance, confirmed.

After a call to air traffic control and checking in with Ronaldo over the headset yet again, she pushed the lever full throttle.

Cleared for take off.

Cleared for take off. Ronaldo’s voice echoed her words once again.

Take off, she announced with a smile. Breaks. Release. Chrono. Start.

Climb thrust. Ann now readied to ascend.

Chrono. Start. Echoed the voice of her instructor through the headset. He was loud and

clear every time.

Although it was a simulator, she could feel the immense power and rumbling as the virtual jet airliner tore down the runway. She felt the adrenaline rush as she raised the nose of the plane and lifted the huge aircraft high into the air. She took one last glance at the ground falling away beneath her as she executed a perfect take-off into the clear blue sky.

Gear up. Ann commanded.

For the next four hours, Ann performed take-offs and landings. She flew computer-generated route imagery in real-time. Her instructor created turbulence and other failures to test her ability to remain calm under pressure.

Once in cruise flight, she engaged the autopilot. Ronaldo began to review with Ann the flight plan programming on the flight management computer, the overhead panels, and radio controls.

Ensure the cruise altitude on the unit. Cross check the navigation data.

Check, Ann confirmed.

"Remember to check weather and runway conditions at the destination as well as the

expected runway," he continued.

Check, Ann replied yet again.

It was the same every time, but ‘repetition creates perfection’ was the motto for these days. Every thirty minutes, Ronaldo conducted a drill to train Ann to malfunctions or other problems in flight such as low oil pressure, high engine temperatures, or low fuel situation and even passenger disturbances. She remained calm at all times and managed to resolve the issues. She passed the examination tests.

Nearing the end of her flight training, Ann prepared the aircraft for one last descent, manually flying the plane with the required approach profile for landing. She executed a perfect landing and taxied to a virtual boarding gate at her destination airport.

Ann sighed a small sigh. She was done; she was exhausted, but happy. Just a few more full flight simulator sessions like this one and she would have her Airbus A320 rating. Then she would be qualified to fly jetliners as a first officer in a local, commercial airline company. Ann was on the threshold of a very active professional dream career that would allow for stability and benefits, things she didn’t have flying privately.

Back in the ops room, the staff was still abuzz about Taiwan. She ignored the gossip and rushed instead to the shower to rinse away the small amount of anxiety she had. Ann changed her clothes quickly, now eager to head back home and return to her barangay; her dense neighborhood filled with family and friends. She lived within a cluster of three houses, near her parents and siblings. Her home was deeply loved and filled with many friends and relatives. All of her siblings were all married but still chose to live in the same neighborhood. Ann was the only single one, but she never felt alone.

The next day, Ann went to visit her best friend Rick, a white American living in the Philippines. He was a geeky computer engineer managing local electronic manufacturing companies by making chips and components for mobile phones. He worked in a high-tech, dust-free, and super clean facility. Rick was the go-to guy about various mobile phones, tablets, and any other technical gadget.

Ann visited his three bedroom house often. It was in a quiet area out of town, surrounded by trees and an open area. Inside he converted one of the bedrooms into an office with a wall of computer screens where he liked to work and keep watch over his domain. His kitchen was stainless steel and his living room, where they sat, was warm and inviting with a full mini bar.

Fancy a glass of wine? Rick had his back turned to his guest, facing the bar, but locking eye through the mirror’s reflection.

Sure. So, what’s up? Ann leaned back on the brown sofa.

"Nothing special, but the thing with China worries me. I'm telling you, the Chinese will

not stop if they take Taiwan," Rick said earnestly.

He was a tall man with short black hair and was always found in short-sleeved button-ups, long pants, and covered shoes despite the humidity and heat.

"A China-America war is looming in the near future. They will know no quench for their

thirst for power, but the US will beat them when they try. Just you watch."

No they won't. Nobody wants to start a war with China, Ann rebutted.

Rick handed her a glass as he turned. She swished the red wine around in her glass, letting