The Perfect War

By Apollo Diaz

The Perfect War is a gripping, fast-paced dystopian thriller and the first novel in the Perfect War trilogy. Set in a near-future America devastated by a catastrophic meteor event, the story follows young Will Light as he searches for his family and uncovers the h

• Language: English
• Publisher: McGilligan Publishing
• Release date: May 6, 2025
• ISBN: 9798349347795

Book preview

The Perfect War

Book 1

Apollo Diaz

Copyright © Year 2025

All Rights Reserved by Apollo Diaz.

No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form, or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information browsing, storage, or retrieval system, without permission in writing from Apollo Diaz.

Dedication

Dedicated to angel. My rain of fire.

About the Author

Apollo Diaz, also known by his given name Gianni Diaz, is an accomplished e-commerce professional, U.S. Marine, and trained psychologist. His life has been full of discipline, learning, and service, and now he brings all that experience into his writing. The Perfect War is his first novel and the beginning of a powerful trilogy. With a passion for storytelling and a heart for adventure, Diaz writes to inspire, entertain, and remind readers that even in chaos, there’s always hope.

Preface

The Rain of Fire

was an unthinkable disaster that shattered 17-year-old Will Light’s world.

Meteors and ash fell from the sky, blotting out the sun and reducing everything in their path to ruin. In the chaos, Will is thrust into a battle between survival and total annihilation as he searches for his sick younger brother in a dying world.

To stay alive, he aligns with a private military group known as FIRA, led by the hardened Commander Dominic. Together, they confront a mysterious and deadly enemy—one barely understood but terrifyingly real.

As danger closes in, both Will and Dominic are willing to risk everything to reach their goals. But for Will, each step forward comes with impossible choices—ones that could shape the future of every life they encounter.

August 18th, 2035.

8:42 AM

Somewhere in Florida.

Three days?

The public needs to know.

Are you kidding?! The company will be ruined!

"Doctor Stone. Understand that the whole world could be ruined."

Stone looked at the screens in front of him as waves of worry crashed over him. Never would he have thought that he would have been the cause of such a large-scale extinction-level disaster. If the world knew what he had done, they would have his head on a pike.

Call your family, Martinez, and tell the rest of the ECTO specials to send their final messages, Stone said sternly. Omen’s design of the room will survive an impact if it does happen, but not one word about what’s happening goes out of this program. Understand?

Yes sir, she sighed in a defeated tone as she stalked out.

You there! What’s your name?! Stone barked, pointing at a skinny man in his late 20s typing away at a red chart beaming on his face, illuminating his drooping eyes and nervous look.

Walker… sir? he said, puzzled, turning around.

Call my brother! And keep from mentioning anything about this situation!

Yes sir, Walker answered hastily while quickly grabbing the phone on the wall next to him. After a quick search in the system, he fumbled with the dial numbers, and a few clicks later, the ring sounded before a heavy-toned man answered.

Who is this?

The aggression seemed accidental, but still, it sent chills down Walker’s spine.

Mr. Stone… your brother would like to speak to you.

"Who?"

Your brother, sir.

"Then put him on the phone!" The man yelled, annoyed.

The doctor snatched the phone away from Walker, Sorry, Dom! My coworker here is multitasking, he said. His demeanor shifted to easy and ongoing, a sudden change from the once tense and stern man that had stood before.

Doctor. There seems to be trouble?

Stone looked at the chart again on the big screens above and below him, furrowing his brows, hoping it was just a fluke— if anything, a hallucination as it continued beaming red.

A little, but it’s nothing that should concern you. I just need you to step away from home. Occupy yourself at work or something if you can, please. Just for the week.

"No problem, doc. I was planning to do some bombing drills with the boys anyway. He replied, Should I ask why?"

Nothing worth bothering you for, brother. I have some very… abstract people and projects coming home that I can’t have any distractions for, Stone said, his cheerful tone faltering slowly.

However, the man was convinced.

"Alright, doc. Just call if you need me to kick some informant’s ass." The phone choked out before the phone clicked, and the line was cut.

"Always a busy man." Stone thought to himself, tossing the phone back to Walker.

As the clock struck nine, Martinez, a slender woman, strutted inside the room. All our specials are notified, sir. Although, Omen has not sent a response back to our call.

Thank you, Doctor Martinez, Stone said without looking up.

What now, sir?

Stone again hoped that the doomsday counter above was a fault. A sensor misinterpretation. But as the minutes passed slowly, one after the other, all he could do was answer truthfully.

We wait. Hope and pray.

August 21st, 2035.

5:30 AM

Abilene, Texas.

Can days go by any slower? I wondered to myself as I woke from a long, dreamless night, which had been happening a lot more recently. I didn’t know why. But other than that, nothing changed.

Anyways. My name is Will, or technically William Lucifer Light. Yeah, I know. Devil’s name for my middle name, but I never really cared. I’ve never really been big on religious Christian Gods and all that —mostly a science kinda guy. Evolution and boring stuff like that. Just a highschooler with a common antisocial personality. Is that even common, though? Not sure.

When I woke up, I realized a few things.

-          First, my hair was a mess.

-          Second, my room was a mess.

-          Third, my life’s a mess.

I try not to seem ungrateful since I was born in America, the land of the free, and that I have great parents. Excuse me… Parent. My father died a hero in the army three years ago, yes. Before you ask, sometimes it still upsets me, hell it would upset anyone if they lost their dad, even if it was five years ago or more. He was a good man, strong, brave, and a good-looking one with a nice sense of humor to match. But what I really missed was his presence. I just wanted a father again, one that would teach me all the Growing Up things, such as how to drive, get a job, or use a gun. Someone who could shed light even in the darkest of times and magically fix almost anything. One like my father, Thomas Light. It’s sorrowful, but eventually, we all need to move on at some point, I suppose. My mother, Arabella Light, is still here. She is a strong resilient woman even after everything she’s been through.

5:32

Damn. A whole hour until I actually have to wake up.

As I got up, I started my usual morning routine.

Get out of bed, trip over my dumbbell and curse, get up again, grab school clothes, go to the bathroom to brush my teeth, take a shower, and comb my hair. Do I have to go on?

As I dress, I wear the least noticeable thing in a Texas military high school that a student can manage to get away with. Same thing as a regular Texas high school. Only… military structured.

A black skin-tight shirt and blue jeans with black combat boots were my usual. Of course, I can’t forget my prized possession, a brown leather cadet trench coat with four pockets on the outside of the leather. It came in handy a lot more than you’d think it would. It was a hand-me-down from my father himself. It’s nice to have something of his with me at all times. The rest of the stuff he left behind when he died was sold or given away due to our living situation. All we had left really were some clothes, his 1911 black star, and the armory gear he used while serving. We were given the gear after his sacrifice to the country.

It should be on display, in my opinion.

I headed out of the bathroom and made it downstairs. It never fails to surprise me when I see my mother awake before me. Even this early.

Good morning, William, she said in a tone as soft and easy as it was years before.

Mornin’ mom.

Did you sleep?

No, I answered sarcastically, as she smiled and shook her head.

It is always a warm feeling when you get your mother to smile.

Don’t fall asleep in class, she joked.

I smiled and looked at her. you couldn’t even tell her age. At the ripe age of 42 my mother looks like she is in her prime effulgence youth, with dirty blond hair with little to no silver spots. She was a little tall — that is, if you count 5’10 as a little tall. I’m 6ft, and she still can look intimidating for her size. She usually dresses professionally when she is working at the storyboard, but now she wore a navy blue dress with yellow blossoms spiraling on the skirt — one she got at her wedding.

Are you going to eat here or at school? she asked, snapping me out of my thought.

I’ll eat at school, I answered warmly.

I would love to eat at home, but again, money was tight. We didn’t need extra money going to food that school provided already.

She leaned on the table. I could hear coffee being brewed by the senile coffee maker. It could retire any day now.

How did you sleep then? she asked, trying to make the usual quick talk.

Good.

English William.

Divine and quickly. I said, trying to sound pleasant.

Good. Now when you get home, I may not be here. I’ll be visiting your brother today so please prepare yourself something after school.

Ah.

My Brother.

Where do I start with him? It’s a touchy subject as if it would be to anyone if they never got to see their younger sibling for years upon end. I saw him leave when I was 13. He was three at the time. Now, he was around seven to eight. The reason being that he had a rare disease. A very rare one, in fact.

At least, that’s what I was told.

So, in my mother’s words, he is at the hospital being treated, and visits are only allowed by the parents. He was not even allowed to talk via phone to me. When I tell you I would beg to visit Jack, just once, only to see if he was okay, take my word for it. Now, I just assume he passed away from it, and my mom, Alice, doesn’t know how to tell me. I sometimes have the intrusive thought to go inside his room, to see what it's like after all this time. But it's set to key lock by Alice. So that was her way of saying, Keep out! I assumed she took a night shift at the press. So, I took the bait, just so she didn’t worry more than she had to.

Okay, Mom.

Ding.

That was the sound the decrypted coffee maker made when it was finished. She got up and took out the hot clear mug, and she poured the coffee into her flask.

Oh! Could you take the trash to the curb when you leave? It just crossed my mind.

Yes, of course, I said as she headed out the door.

Great. Alone. Again.

Awkwardly, I moved to the kitchen trash can. Taking out the half-full half-empty bag. On the doorway out was my bookbag, which really was just a computer bag. Of course, I didn’t have a computer. Hell, I didn’t even have a phone.

You know… Money.

I grabbed the bag, hoisted it on my shoulder, and headed outside. While I put the trash bag inside the trash can, I saw a young couple walk by. Both looked no older than 16.

Young love. Ew.

Sure, it's cute, but in my opinion, it’s almost useless. I’m 17, and I know that this could end catastrophically. Like why find love at a young age if it’s known to be bound to a breakup? I thought this as I hauled the trash bin behind me to the curb. Yeah, in case it wasn’t obvious, yeah, no. I don’t date, and I don’t think I ever will. Maybe if it was ten years ago, then maybe, but some relationships at school that I see last no longer than a month. The longest I even heard of was two months solid. Love’s complicated now. Everything about you is digital, and anyone can get to know you without even talking to you. Or maybe it’s complicated for me. Yeah, sure, I thought of it but never took enough interest. Plus, there is only one keyword in my life: Antisocial, Remember?

I placed the trash bin by the curb and returned to lock the door. Only to realize:

Shit. I left them inside, I exclaimed out loud.

I rushed inside and headed back upstairs to look for my wallet. Why my wallet? My keys were attached to it. Why? Because management. The brown leather wallet was found on the floor of the bathroom, and my three keys were attached to the zipper clip. This was why I attached them to my wallet. So, what if we were money-tight? I still needed my wallet. Not much was in it, though. There was an old digital Fair sticker, an army recruiter business card, a simple, thin digital pocket watch, and two slightly ripped 20$ Bills. But I never took my wallet for the time and money only. I took it for the last item in it. A photo taken in 2030, on Christmas day, with me, my brother, and my parents, I was 12 then. There I was in the picture, smiling without a care in the world. I closed my wallet and walked back downstairs, out the door, locking it behind me and shoving the wallet in my pocket. The last time I read on that clock was 6:18.

Perfect. I had enough time to mess around in the forest.

August 21st, 2035.

6:22 AM

Abilene, Texas.

I headed into the wall of trees and bushes that the forest began in. Who knew how long these tall redwood trees went? Acres could stretch for miles, and God knows what could be in that underbrush. As I traversed the rugged landscape, I kept an eye out for wolves.

Yeah. Wolves.

Fall was beginning, and if I hadn’t spent my time looking those following few days, I might not have been able to see one until spring due to their hunting patterns changing to survive the frigid cold. They did seem more active during the winter. Just less noticeable, like me.

I followed the trees quietly; wolf or not, if I made too much noise, I would startle whatever lurked around. I didn’t need anything stalking me too.

Oh yeah,

Military school Not by choice. It was the only free school around. Plus, it would provide more for me when I grew up and joined the army. Just like my father.

I went to Churchill Military Academy, named after the famous Jack Churchill. He was a hero for sure, but to me, he was more of a badass Rambo with a gun. When you’re the best soldier in a platoon, they don’t call you the best. They call you a Mad Jack.

It wasn’t that bad. Sure, the drills and PT were annoying, but they would at least teach you right. Or rather, I paid attention the best I could because every little bit of information was essential, training or real scenarios.

As I continued to walk, I noticed more and more droppings, not wolves but deer. Which was also good because if you saw deer poop., then there was deer. And where there were deer, there were wolves. I continued checking my watch along the way. It was still 6:40.

I had to give up. School would start in about an hour, and I was buried deep in the woods. I turned around, defeated.

Snap!

Then I heard a yelp as if a dog was getting kicked in the gut.

Forgetting the time, I rushed to the whimpering sound that followed. It had to be a wolf, but how was it hurt? And could it not run off? If so, why? These thoughts flew by as I rushed to the growing crying of the poor animal until I saw it.

There it was, a gray-furred wolf — a giant one, in fact. This wolf looked bigger than me! I studied the wolf cautiously. Its feet stretched out, and its eyes narrowed while its muzzle pointed down, signaling that it was ready to attack.ready to attack me.

His left back foot, although, was stuck in a dull bear trap. No spikes on it, lucky enough, so it was not meant to kill. But to trap. While I inspected the trap from a distance, the wolf growled at me.

So, I was faced with a choice: to either help the wolf and risk getting mauled or leave it for the trapper.

Hey buddy… easy… I said softly, sticking my hands out to show and signify that I was not a threat. The only response I got was a louder growl, with it shining its canine teeth.

I grabbed a stick and tried prying it open with it. The wolf stopped showing its teeth at me, but it continued its loud, dangerous growl. I gradually came closer, trying to jam the stick in between the jaws of the trap to keep it from closing more, only to have the stick snap. Fuck!

I then stuck my hand out, ready to release the trap myself.

Before you call me stupid, just know that I was running late for a Military School, which was never good.

Never.

I reached closer and closer, hoping not to get bitten or worse. Its intimidating growl grew. I had to be quick.

So, I quickly grabbed it and sent the wolf free. While I did, I heard the beast snap.

August 21st, 2035.

6:59 AM

Abilene, Texas

The wolf didn’t snap at me, (Thank god.) it snapped away when I freed it. At the moment, I didn’t know where it went because I was busy covering my neck. Literally, I was holding my hands over my neck so if the wolf did charge at me, it would attack something less vulnerable. I would much rather lose my hands over my neck any day. It was a tactic I learned from my dad.

I poked my head up and saw the hound standing there, menacingly. It was about seven to eight feet away from me, and it stood… staring.

I would usually get stares, but none like this; I picked myself up and cleaned off my coat the best I could. Sgt Parlor would bury me alive if he saw how dirty I was.

Sgt Parlor. Oh shit.

I quickly finished brushing myself off, and I looked at the majestic animal that stared back.

Gotta go, bye.

Then I turned and ran off. The wolf did the same and headed to wherever wolves frolic too at that time. As I did, I fumbled, pulling out my watch.It showed 7:02.

I had to be there by 7:30, and it was a 50-minute walk! With no choice again, I had to run. I rushed through the forest. Tree branches, bushes, sticks, and, um… whatever else grew in the way had to be shoved over by me bulldozing through.

I finally saw the sidewalk and busted out of the underbrush like a crazed animal.

Glad no one saw that… I mumbled to myself after a quick perimeter check, still dashing down the path.

I continued running until I was out of breath, huffing and puffing as if I had smoked three packs of cigarettes. I checked my watch again. It was already 7:15.

There was no way I was going to make it. I still had a 25-minute path, and I was exhausted.

Even if that was the case, I still could not give in.

I kicked to full sprint; if I kept this speed, I’d be able to make it before the bell. And my death sentence. I made good time, too, but the sprint was killing me. I ran and ran until I reached the end of my street. When I did, I could spot the school clock to the left of my road at a distance. Still far off, yet I could make out the time. 7:26

Shit.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

I ran with all the hidden energy I had left, feeling like dead weight already. The adrenaline was killing me — my feet, screaming for a break.

Never give in.

Those annoying words hit me again. My father said it once, and now it popped up in the most annoying of times.

Never give…

Yeah, Yeah. Quiet now, please! I almost tried yelling in my mind. Annoyed

But I continued sprinting, getting closer and closer by the minute until finally…

Never give in.

Okay! Happy?! I yelled out loud in front of the whole academy of students rushing to class. I got a few odd looks, but I didn’t care. It was not over. It was 7:29, and my class was starting. I rushed to make it to a classroom that was on the other side of the school.

Hey!

Sorry…

Watch it! Private!

My bad...

Don’t be late, wuss!

Fuck off! I yelled running past crowds, bumping into a few people on accident. Some people really didn’t like me after I did.

Anyway, I reached the classroom as the bell rang and walked inside.

"Private Light!"

I looked over to see him behind the desk, standing with his arms crossed. Great.

Good morning, sir! I fell at attention quickly.

As you were.

I spread my legs out and put my hands behind my back. Everyone sat in their desks inside were now looking. And Sgt Parlor stood there, as menacing as the wolf. Except rather than a gray-furred mutt, it was a 6’7 dark-toned man. Slightly balding, yet still in rough and tough shape. While all the students stared, I kept my eyes forward as the Sgt kept his eyes on me like I was a nice juicy