THE ANSWER – NOVEL

by Author Paul Hughes

When digital entrepreneur Jake Strong dies in a car crash that wasn’t really an accident, he is sent back from the Afterlife to unravel a prophecy and correct Messages that had been sent to Earth since Time began. Messages that had either been misinterpreted . . . . or deliberately changed.

THE ANSWER

PROLOGUE

Cold shivers slithered down Jake Strong’s spine, an icy ripple tightening his muscles and bristling the hairs on his arms and neck like a dog sensing danger.

Lightning exploded above his Porsche Taycan. Jagged fingers clawed at the full length glass sunroof as thunder detonated with such force it rattled his bones and sent vibrations pounding through the car. Gale-force winds thrashed rain against the windshield in horizontal sheets, turning his world into a swirling, silver blur.

His heart thumped against his ribs as panic tried to force its way in, a desperate drumbeat urging him to turn back. But the road was a three-lane motorway, with barriers forcing him to surge ahead. Power must be out, as street lights and even houses and businesses that normally shone brightly had disappeared into the night.

Eyes darting across the storm-ravaged landscape, he searched for any refuge at all - a bridge, a service station, even an emergency stopping zone - anything! But the shadows only swallowed his hopes. The road stretched ahead, unyielding, a dark tunnel with no shelter in sight, his lights barely illuminating the lane he was in.

Inexplicably, his mind flashed back to previous times when death had tried to curl its scrawny fingers around his throat. 

The monstrous white pointer shark that angrily treated his 10-metre fishing boat like a plaything, shredding the propellers and nearly launching him into the open sea. At least it didn’t get the 14kg tuna it was chasing – the one he’d just pulled on board.

Then there was the week of captivity after he took a wrong turn and crossed the border while hiking in the Taebaek Mountains in South Korea, every minute of his incarceration in the North’s hermit kingdom making him wonder whether he’d survive  . . . . . or simply disappear. 

Even though that was 10 years ago, after days of being blindfolded and moved from one cold, dark place to another, he still couldn’t bear to cover his eyes with anything - not even a sleep mask, or a costume during Halloween.

But this? This was very different. 

A fresh burst of thunder split the air like a war cry, dragging him back to his new potential disaster. His hands were locked on the steering wheel, knuckles screaming with cramp. But he clung on in grim determination. He wasn’t game to loosen his intense grip — not for relief, and not even to hit the button that turned the sunroof from clear to opaque, perhaps denying the storm’s relentless fury from having direct access into his cabin.

It seemed like disaster was not only approaching rapidly . . . . . it was inevitable!

He had to hold on. Hope was all he had left.

He didn’t realise his life had been taken out of his control. He also didn’t know the impacts from this storm could either lead to the salvation of mankind, or trigger the predicted apocalypse that could bring humanity to its knees.

CHAPTER 1 - THE STORM

Three hours earlier, Jake was proud, excited and even a little nervous.

A popular young Australian digital entrepreneur, he was at the Nudgee function centre - about 15 kilometres north of Queensland’s capital Brisbane - to receive a prestigious award for helping police bust an international gang caught trafficking young girls and drugs.

August was one of the region’s driest months and the evening weather was typically cool, dry and calm . . . . . almost balmy. He paused to marvel at the beauty of Saturn, clearly visible in the almost cloudless night sky, knowing many of the planets would have their turn to shine over Brisbane at this time of year.

There were no weather warnings or storms forecast — after all, the rainy season wasn’t due for another three months, so parking 50 metres from the entrance wasn’t a concern.

But the torrential downpour greeting him when the award ceremony ended could only be described as wicked. Despite the short dash to his car, he was drenched by the time he jumped in and closed the door. He briefly wondered if any of the roads home might be flooded.

He could have waited until the storm passed - the heaviest of it anyway - but Queenslanders weren’t usually worried by a little storm. After all, 100mm of rain a day was common during summer.

This storm was early. Very early.

His 18-month-old sleek and sporty black electric Porsche Taycan was regarded as one of the safest cars on the road and featured a huge, panoramic glass sunroof which, combined with the high windscreen, virtually exposed its whole inside to the sky. 

As soon as the motor roared he switched the sunroof’s  polymer-dispersed liquid crystal film from opaque to clear, so he could better enjoy the experience.

Or so he thought!

As he glided out of the carpark, the inside of the car came tantalisingly alive with every flash of lightning, energising the already exhilarating feeling Jake had after receiving his award. 

But his world changed dramatically once he reached the highway. Suddenly, he was forced to focus heavily on the road ahead. The storm ramped up multiple notches, rapidly becoming almost cyclonic. The assault on his car seemed personal, as though it had singled him out.

“Jeez! What is this?” he muttered.

Too late, he realised it wasn’t such a little storm after all.

He barely reached 70 kph and the car was shaking with every booming roll of thunder possessing the night, building closer, closer, closer, until the deafening noise and lightning flashes were assailing him almost simultaneously and a lightning bolt disintegrated a tree less than 100 metres away.  

Focusing through the driving rain became more challenging by the second.

He braked and swerved in surprise as a black SUV roared past, smothering him with a dense spray of water and almost forcing him off the road. He’d been concentrating so heavily on the road ahead he didn’t even see it looming up behind.

Not showing any lights, it appeared out of nowhere and must have been doing at least 100 kph which, while legal, was ridiculously dangerous in these conditions.

Just as Jake regained control, he was temporarily blinded as more than 70 million watts of light angrily lashed at him from every direction.

Deafening blows of retina-burning rays forced him to squint heavily to protect his eyes, then refocus instantly when the fiery bolts paused to take a breath, his pupils dilating rapidly to adjust to the sudden inky blackness.  

His scalp crawled and chills possessed him as reality dawned. The rain increased its attack, thrashing the windscreen like a jet stream from a firehose as the wipers struggled against the vicious winds constantly buffeting him.

With the road obscured by sheets of water, his tyres struggled to maintain traction as the sheer power of the rain bouncing off the surface pushed the Porsche into aquaplane mode. 

He almost lost control again, understanding why many cars had pulled off the highway earlier. Although there were occasional emergency stops, solid crash barriers on both sides of the freeway warned against stopping elsewhere. 

He slowed each time he lost a little traction, and was soon down to 50 kph.

Suddenly his heart jumped and he braked sharply as a figure appeared out of the blackness ahead, standing on the edge of the road beside a dark car. Illuminated in the lightning flashes, it disappeared again when darkness reclaimed the night, only to reappear with the next flash seconds later. It looked like the SUV that passed him at speed a short time earlier. They must be in trouble, as no-one would want to be outside in this weather.

It was hard to see what was happening because the rain distorted everything on the other side of the glass, so he edged into the next lane.

Another lightning flash illuminated the figure pointing a torch in his direction and, as he turned his head and craned his neck to check what was happening, the torch flashed twice, as though they were trying to signal.

Chaos was let loose!

A deafening roar filled the car and a cascading waterfall of glass peppered his face and hands. He instinctively braked and the Taycan veered sideways, turned, then rolled, shattering the sunroof before it jack-knifed through the air and nose-dived into the ground.

Despite his clenched grip, Jake’s hands were ripped from the steering wheel and somehow he was tossed like a rag doll through the space where the now broken sunroof once rested. He felt a massive blow on his chest as he hurtled through the rain and sprawled onto the road edge. His head was on fire as he collapsed in a crumpled heap.

Logic said it wasn’t possible, but everything seemed to happen in slow motion as the Porsche speared back to earth, catapulting end-over-end to complete a full somersault before rolling on its roof. The screech of metal as the car continued its ripping journey along the highway was like the screaming wail of a banshee in a horror movie.

Stinging blows of massive raindrops forcefully pounded every part of his body, reminding him of the time he was caught in a ferocious sand storm in the Gobi Desert. Pain torched parts of his body he didn’t know existed, and the sudden wail of a police siren was smothered by another crash of thunder. 

Unexpectedly, his pain vanished and he was floating above the highway, seeing the scene as though he was looking through the camera on his drone.

It was weird. Flashing blue and red lights were being outdone by the lights of Mother Nature. His car was upside down, the wheels still spinning. A body lay crumpled on the side of the road, wearing his clothes. It took a moment to realise it must be him.

The black SUV roared past, a man leaning out of the passenger window, wet hair plastered down an angry, contorted face he wouldn’t forget.

Jake watched as people rushed to his body, rolled it over, then pushed down on his chest and forced air into his mouth. Despite the rain, they continued for what seemed an eternity.

Without any sense of attachment or control, Jake was slowly drawn toward the group. A searing wave of pain enveloped him as he was sucked into the body, like flotsam being dragged into a whirlpool.

Unconsciousness saved the day.

© Paul Hughes