Far Horizons: Tales of Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror. Issue #18 September 2015 | Page 41

enough for him to know just where he was headed. A
bullet whizzed past his left ear, grazing the skin but
missing anything vital.

was obvious. He gulped.
“I do not mean you any harm,” he offered
speaking slowly.

As he ran, he reached into his pocket for the
bag and started to pull it free. He had it in his hand
when he reached the arms and open a heartbeat later.
Hoping his aim was true, he swung the bag, holding it
by the bottom and let the stone fly, praying to the gods
for it to land true.

The leader barked another order, but Arthur
could only shake his head. “I am sorry, I do not understand.”
The man was becoming angry now.

It did, landing squarely in the centre of three of
the enormous arms as they sat on large trailers, ready
to moved out and launched at short notice. Thankfully,
they could be as far as a metre apart for the stone to
work on them all. He’d discovered that when he’d first
used it.
He counted slowly, standing still now that he’d
finished his work. The arms shimmered and disappeared as if they were dissolving into the air.
A moment later, he heard Grace scream and
turned to see her sag, her back shattered by a bullet
Arthur hadn’t even heard. She fell, landing heavily on
the ground and lying horribly still.
Arthur found himself surrounded by a dozen
men armed with identical weapons.
He took a step back and raised his hands as
one of the men snapped some kind of order to him.
Although he didn’t know the language, the meaning

Gods, if you are watching, I would like to go
home now.
Evidently, the gods were paying attention, the
barn melted away and Arthur was gone.
***
A month later…
The jeep veered around the corner and slid to a
halt on the road just outside the silo. The front doors,
baring the anagram UN, opened, letting several men
in army fatigues and two in overalls climb out. One
of the latter held a map, squinting at it before nodding
decisively. The last few silos had showed nothing,
empty, making him look like a fool. But not this time.
This time, they’d find what they were looking for.
“This is the place, this time we’ll find those
weapons of mass destruction.”

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