Genesis Science Fiction Magazine Issue #1 Electronic Edition | Page 3

GRAND NUBIANS’s Wake Up Call (an excerpt) - Roger Barnes GRAND NUBIANS’s Wake Up Call (An excerpt) Roger Barnes It was a clear, early, quiet morning in the Sudan. Sunlight gently reflected off the rocks and sand of a deep cavern. Like birds soaring through the heavens glowing, green spheres, the size of soccer balls floated in the air, gently as if riding a breeze. The spheres then rocketed downward crashing to the ground— exploding as they hit but missing their targets. Dodging the danger and emerging from a cloud of smoke and sand, four figures came running. These were the Grand heroes Shu, Hapi, Aton and Kam: The Grand Nubians. Kam, the leader, shouted: “Two words: look alive!” Kam was a giant of a man, standing seven and a half feet tall and with a muscular 350 pound build. Shu was the youngest and the smallest. She was also the fastest runner. She led the group. “Uncle Kam,” said Shu, Kam’s niece, breathing heavily, “You said we’d find The Teller here in Edfu, You didn’t tell us we’d get microwaved!” Green torpedoes exploded around the heroes. They ran past technology, mixed in amongst the ancient ruins: old, wrecked and abandoned World War II military vehicles, including an overturned helicopter and a jeep. A torpedo hit the helicopter and it shattered to bits. “I feel like... I’ve once again been denied critical... need-to-know information,” Shu complained. “We all were Shu,” Kam explained; still running and watching the skies. “I don’t know what those things are, but this evil attack seems somehow triggered by our presence here!” Hapi, the other female in the foursome, joined the conservation while never missing a beat running. “Perhaps some enemy knows we’ve reawakened and wants to send us back to sleep— this time permanently?” Hapi asked. “No more running,” says Aton slowing his pace. “Let us stand and face our fate.” He’d never liked running. Fighting, now that was his thing. Fire erupts from the top of Aton’s head as he rose into the air. His cape majestically blew in the wind. Kam reached out to catch him but it is too late. “Aton, no! Kam shouted. “Our mission is too important! We can’t risk an injury!” “But I am Aton. I can’t be injured.” From up in the sky, Aton saw the sandmen: giant floating busts of sand, with heads and torsos with no arms. As the sandmen pursued the Grand Nubians, they fired green torpedoes from their glowing eyes. He caught a bomb in mid-flight as Genesis Science Fiction Magazine May 2011 3