The Crystalline Apocalypse

By Joseph V. Oehring

About the Book
The Crystalline Apocalypse is a boldly entertaining, highly imaginative science-fiction story
about an apocalyptic event that puts the entire world into peril. The colorful characters
—both human and alien—capture the reader’s attention as all of humankind finds itself
fighting a proxy war against a horrific, godlike alien species. This story will captivate the
reader, who’s in for an exciting adventure!

About the Author
Joseph V. Oehring has served his country for fourteen years as an enlisted soldier in the
U.S. Army Infantry, and he continues to serve today. Typing on a typewriter is very therapeutic
for him. He wrote this exciting story in hopes of entertaining the world!
Joseph has been married to his beautiful wife for twenty years, and they have four wonderful
children—one girl and three boys. When he’s not leading soldiers, he enjoys walks with his
wife, playing with his kids, working out at the gym, and playing video games.
He looks forward to the release of the second book in the Lesser World Series,
The Chaos Crystals, in the near future.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dorrance Publishing Company
• Release date: Jun 13, 2023
• ISBN: 9798887299686

Book preview

Prologue

Light years away and millennia ago. In a solar system with two unusually massive suns orbiting each other. The larger one’s gravity overpowered its twin, slowly breaking it apart and combining them together. Creating a single super massive sun in their place. Bigger than anything allowed by the laws that dictate our universe. The sun burned hot and fast, scorching all the planets orbiting it. Its immense size shortened its lifespan, resulting in the largest supernova of all time. The blast was so intense, it breached the very fabric separating the different dimensions. In that instant, a unique item was born. An extra-dimensional sphere the size of a dwarf planet was propelled by the explosion out into the cold darkness of space. Its red and blue liquid energy swirling around inside its glasslike outer shell was a beautiful vortex of power.

Chapter One

L.A. Cali

Korin walked barefoot through the crowded mansion. Her friend Drake’s parents were out of town, so he decided to throw an end-of-the-world pool party. He must have invited the whole school.

Oops, sorry! she says as she bumps into an underclassman dancing awkwardly.

No worries, I didn’t spill my drink, he says.

Korin smiles and moves on. She scans the party looking for her usual group of friends.

Her father would kill her if he knew she had snuck out to be here. Of course, her father, Senator Dan Morto, was super strict and always worried about her actions reflecting on him.

But there she was in the middle of this party. Wearing nothing but a bright yellow bikini. Showing her bronze complexion. With her long black hair and deep brown eyes. Proof of her proud Mexican heritage.

She went from one room to the next. Throughout the house, you could hear the loud thump of the bass. She stopped in one room Drake had set up for viewing the news. Because what’s an end-of-the-world party without updates on the end of the world? Korin found a spot where she could see the 110-inch TV on the wall and watched for a moment.

On the screen was the briefing room at the Pentagon. Standing next to the podium was General Raven Stone. He was in his fifties. With his dark black complexion and massive build, he looked like he could bite the head off a tornado. His chest was covered in medals. At the podium was renowned astrophysicist Paul White. He was slender and pasty. He wore a nicely tailored suit and nice designer glasses.

He was saying, Early detection has shown that two massive comet-like objects appear to be on a collision course with earth. After sending out probes to further evaluate, the data we’ve received is quite troubling. The scans the probes made to determine the composition of the objects came back negative for all known substances. We are unsure what this means. Here are the pictures of the two objects.

The screen shifted to split with the pictures side by side. Everyone in the room looked with fascination. One was a fiery red color, the other a pale blue. Both pictures were blurry.

Paul White appeared again and continued speaking. We are still crunching the numbers. But soon we will have a timeline showing arrival and possible impact with the earth. Questions?

The media in the room blew up. All asking questions at the same time. General Stone stepped forward and took control. Pointing to a small woman in the front row.

Thank you, General. I think everyone in the world wants to know. What can we do to protect ourselves?

The general straightened his back. Excellent question. We are working on a number of options. Mainly focusing on changing the trajectory of the object to miss the earth.

Whatever, Korin thought. They’ll think of something, they always do.

She turned from the TV not bothering to listen to the rest. Finally, she came to the open patio doors leading to the pool. The pool was huge. It even had one of those bars you could swim up to. The music was loud. There was a guy in her school that had his own DJ equipment.

He yelled into the mic, Is everyone ready for the world to end?

Everyone around the pool yelled.

Yeah, that’s right, we’re all going to live forever. Let’s keep it moving. Then he put on a song that made the whole crowd bounce.

Korin! She heard as she walked out toward the pool.

There they were on the other side. Mary, Robin, and Liz, all dressed in bikinis, dancing with drinks in hand. She made her way over to them.

Liz gave her a big hug and handed her a drink. Thank God, you made it, Korin! You know shit doesn’t get real till you show up.

Korin took a drink. Yeah, I know that’s right.

Liz was Korin’s best friend. They’ve been close ever since grade school. When Liz was new and being bullied, Korin gave the older girl a punch in the face for messing with her. She hated bullies. Now Liz was seventeen with long red hair, wearing a blue bikini trimmed with gold.

They all danced together, feeling the music, when Liz suddenly stopped. Oh, shit, Korin, don’t look now, but here comes Sai!

Of course, she looked. Sure enough, Sahra Iconal, aka Sai, was walking towards them. Totally focused on what she was doing on her phone.

Sai had her blond hair in a ponytail. The same build and height as Korin. She was wearing a short skirt with a white tank top and steel toed boots. The tank top showed off her tattoo. A pair of sais. One over each shoulder blade with the handles crossing the back of her neck. The skull crushers on the base of the handles ended up on the sides of her neck. Korin hated to admit it, but they looked bad ass.

Sai and Korin had been rivals their whole lives. They were both seventeen, both grew up on the same street. Both went to the same school. Both their parents were rich and insisted they learned to defend themselves. So they enrolled them into rival dojos. Korin began mastery of duel wielding swords, while Sahra chose the sais. That’s why everyone called her Sai. Because she was cold blooded with that shit. Both of them trained with the staff.

The girls competed at everything. Sports, grades, martial arts, and popularity. Their rivalry pushed each of them to be the best at everything.

Sai hadn’t noticed Korin there with her friends.

Korin leaned in toward Liz and whispered, Watch this.

As Sai reached them, Korin hip checked her, trying to knock her in the pool. Sai only stumbled and kept her balance. But her phone flew from her hand into the pool. Sai stood there stunned, watching her phone sink to the bottom. She looked to see who had done this.

Hearing the laughter of Korin and her friends, she lost it. Bitch! You killed my phone!

Sai stepped in and delivered a right hook to Korin’s eye.

Korin went down on one knee, touching her face. Damn it!

Her friends stepped back, eyes wide. More agile than a jungle cat, Korin jumped up, landing a solid kick to Sai’s jaw. Sai spun around falling in the pool. She pulled herself out, and the crowd formed a circle cheering them on. They both threw punches and kicks. All were blocked. They were evenly matched. In fact, they were so wrapped up in their fight that they failed to hear that the music was cut off, and someone yelled, Cops! Everyone get out of here!

The crowd scattered, afraid of being arrested. But Sai and Korin kept fighting. Neither one willing to admit defeat. As Sai landed a kick to Korin’s stomach, both were tackled from behind, hand cuffed, and taken to awaiting police vehicles.

Chapter Two

India, New Delhi

Two dirt bikes darted in and out of the old abandon buildings on the outskirts of the city. Sogie and Will loved using the concrete and steel of the shutdown industrial complex to ride. It was perfect for an X-Games-style track. Complete with ramps and big jumps. The boys have been coming here ever since they got their training wheels off. Both stopped in front of the big ramp.

Will said, Hey, Sogie, check this out!

Sogie took his helmet off. Alright, let’s see it man.

Will gunned it. Flying toward the ramp. Which looked like part of a building sticking out of the sand. He gained speed, hit the ramp, and got major air. Throwing his head back, he did a perfect back flip. The landing was flawless. He stopped at the edge of the sand.

Taking his helmet off, he yelled, Come on, Sogie, you’re up.

Sogie put his helmet back on and did what Will had done. Except halfway through his flip rotation, he let go of the bike. The bike flew off, and Sogie fell flat on his back in the sand, knocking the air out of him.

Will ran over to him. Damn, man, are you alright?

It took a second to regain his ability to breath. When he did, gasping he said, Whoooooo, that sucked!

Will helped him up. You good man?

Sogie picked up his bike. Yea, I’m good and I’m going again!

He went back to the start of the ramp, trying again, and this time he nailed it. He pulled up beside Will, and they headbutted each other with their helmets and rode on.

Will and Sogie were practically brothers. Although both were born in India, Will’s father, James Maxwell, had moved there from Africa to open his new factory that made car parts. James fell in love with Will’s mother, Rosalyn, as well as the city, and decided to stay. Sogie’s father, Randell Lain, was one of the first employees of the plant. He quickly became best friends with James. Through hard work, Randell made his way into upper management. Randell and his wife, Pam, would routinely have the Maxwells over for barbecues, and Will spent the night there more than his own home. The Maxwells would invite Lains to stay at their summer and winter homes for the holidays and vacations. They even celebrated birthdays together. Sogie and Will were born a year apart, Will being older at seventeen, while Sogie was sixteen. Rarely was one seen without the other.

It was getting late. There was an old building on top of a hill overlooking the city. The sand had blown against it for years, forming a ramp to get to the roof. The boys rode to the top. Both stopped there, watching the sun set while drinking energy drinks. The sky was full of color. Sogie was the first to break the trance.

He looked at Will and said, Will, you know what I’ve been thinking about?

Internet porn.

NO!

That girl you like. Katie.

No, well yes, but seriously. You’ve been paying attention to the news, right?

It’s hard not to, Sogie. It’s all over the place. They have no idea what those things are. Not only are they moving impossibly fast, they’re also coming straight for us. And they’re so massive, people are saying that just one hitting the earth could crack it in half. It’s not a joke!

Sogie looked off into the distance. Do you think they can stop it?

Will takes a long drink. I don’t know, man. They have the smartest people in the world working together on it. So, I sure hope so. Sogie, you remember what my grandfather used to say? You know, before he passed away.

No, sorry, I didn’t spend a whole lot of time with him.

Well, he used to say, there’s no sense worrying about things you can’t change. So that’s what we need to do. Just chill on it and roll with the punches."

That’s kind of hard to do when those punches could crack the freakin’ world in half.

You ain’t lying brother. You ain’t lying.

Will put his helmet back on. Come on, Sogie. I’ll race you to my house. Last one there has to buy the gas next time we fill up.

Sogie put his helmet on and started his bike. You’re on!

He lined up with Will. Will held his hand up, and with his fingers, he counted off. One, two, three, they sped towards Will’s house. Leaving their worries behind.

Chapter Three

L.A.P.D.

Handcuffed to opposite sides of the bench in the lobby of the police station, Korin and Sai both had blankets wrapped around them. Sai because she was soaking wet and Korin because she was wearing only a bikini. They stared in different directions, trying not to look at each other. As Sai’s piercing blue eyes scanned the lobby, she wondered, How can this place smell like bacon and piss at the same time? Then her thoughts drifted toward Korin. She remembered all the martial arts tournaments they had fought in. Both of them would defeat all of their other opponents. But when it came time for them to fight, it always ended in a draw. They were too evenly matched to pull off a win. This infuriated Sai.

Sai looked over at Korin and said, I won, you know.

Korin sat up straighter. As if! You sucker punched me!

Sai shot back. You started it!

NO! You started it!

NO! You started it when you were born!

They were both yelling now.

That phone was expensive, Korin, and it had my whole life on it.

It wasn’t my fault you threw it in the pool.

What? Are you serious? It was totally your fault!

Well, I’m going to have a black eye tomorrow because of your psycho overreaction.

Good! It serves you right for trying to show off in front of your lame-ass friends.

Don’t talk about my friends, Sai!

They were interrupted by the officer sitting at the desk directly across from them. He was bald, clean shaven, and slightly overweight...typical.

He said, Calm down, you two, or I’ll stick you in a holding cell.

They both stopped talking, once again staring off in opposite directions. Waiting for their parents to come and pick them up.

Korin’s dad showed first. As he signed some paperwork, the officer uncuffed her, and she put on the sweats and tennis shoes her father had brought for her.

Dan said, Thank you, Officer.

It’s no problem, Senator.

Dan looked at his daughter, annoyed. It was one in the morning. Come along, Korin.

Papa, I...

He cut her off. We’ll speak in the car.

They walked out to his Land Rover together and left.

Finally, Sai’s father showed up. Zack Iconal was a wealthy corporate stockbroker. Very active in the community and local charities. Everyone loved his easy going and laid-back attitude. He was married to a super model Kay Iconal, but Sai’s mother was hardly ever around. Even now, she was on the other side of the world on another photo shoot.

Zack signed the paperwork and walked over to Sai. So, out in the world making new friends again, I see.

Sai grabbed his arm. Let’s get the hell out of here, Dad!

He looked down at her and smiled. Are you sure? I think they might have a place here to sleep.

Sai gave him a mean look. That’s not funny, Dad.

He put his hands up in surrender. Alright.

They walked out to his Tesla together and left.

•••

In the Land Rover, Senator Morto lectures his daughter.

Not only did you sneak out, but, drinking, fighting, and getting arrested half naked! What the hell were you thinking?

Sorry, Papa.

Korin, I’d ground you for a month if I was sure the planet wasn’t going to be destroyed by then. Honestly, with everything going on, you pull this crap. You’re lucky that’s all the media’s covering, because we would be all over the news with this little fiasco.

And there it was. Tears started to well up in Korin’s eyes.

That’s all you care about, isn’t it, Papa? Your stupid career and your reputation. Well, me and Mom are people too. With our own lives! And we make mistakes!

She was full on crying now. Dan reached over and held her hand. Hey, honey, I didn’t mean it like that. Look, let’s go get some sleep, and we’ll talk with your mother about this in the morning. Okay?

Wiping the tears from her face, Korin nodded. They rode the rest of the way home in silence.

•••

Meanwhile, in the Tesla, Sai was ranting. Dad, she killed my phone! It’s dead now, buried at the bottom of Drake’s pool.

It’s cool, Sahra, I’ll buy you another one.

That’s not the point, Dad. Damn it, will you stop being so supportive for two seconds and actually listen to me?

What do you expect? It’s like one-thirty in the morning.

"Look, Dad, Korin’s been out to get me since the day she was born. And who