Solvet Saeclum in Favilla

Die illa, die irae In Favilla, solve the saeclum The planet will burn to ashes on the day of wrath.

With sunshine streaming from the Pacific across Asia's immense breadth, sweeping through Europe's ancient territories, and soaking New York City, morning broke on a global scale. It kissed the pristine sand beaches of California after gilding the American Great Plains.

Crederis esse venturus Judex We think the judge has arrived.

A woman stood in the middle of an endless corn field outside her farmhouse in South Dakota. New lights burst through the twilight as the sun dipped low, hundreds of missiles arcing skyward with their rockets burning. A fiery testimony to humanity's demise, tactical nukes and intercontinental ballistic missiles flashed across the pristine skies. She withdrew inside, sobbing, lamenting the state of the world.

Domine speravi in te I have put my trust in you, Lord.

At the gates were the Mongols.

The final human stronghold on the Eastern Seaboard, Hackensack Courthouse, was the target of another volley directed by Tobey Colins. The country had fallen apart; zombies were in charge.

Variant Cs were the strongest creatures on Earth and the next step in evolution. No human could escape their grasp, no fortification could stand them, and no accomplishment was out of their grasp.

They won. Men and women of all Variants, races, colors, and creeds rushed the doors of the courtroom, ready to be slaughtered, and Tobey raised his sword high as the perimeter collapsed. His soldiers let out a thundering cheer.

In aeternum, non confundar Please spare me from eternal damnation.

"Have you read The Chronicles of Narnia before?" Ross Effing, the president, inquired.

“Yes,” said Steve Marquet.

"The Witch and her sister are at war in The Magician's Nephew," Effing stated. With her fortress encircled, the Witch loses. She believes she has won when her sister comes through the blood-red streets.

"And?" Marquet asked.

Effing went on, "The Witch speaks the Deplorable Word." "A magical word that destroys everything on Earth except her." Along with millions and billions of others, the hostile army perishes.

"That's great, brother."

Populus tuum salvum Lord, save your people.

"Take them all out!" With his face streaked with battle paint, Tobey roared. "Don't hold back—bring me the head of that bastard Effing!"

Von Dornen led troops inward while brandishing his shotgun. Father Robson and Thorpen battled their way into the courthouse, ready to kill the remaining humans.

Lord, liberate me, dominate me.

America's nuclear arsenal arced toward its targets across the early sky. The city nearest to the launch sites was Denver, Colorado.

The people of Denver never anticipated it. To the south, in Littleton, they had fought a small Variant C breakout, but aside from its dense population, the city itself was blameless.

A tactical nuclear exploded with a blinding brightness as it shrieked down from the ionosphere. Everything within twenty miles was destroyed by it, and the skies was filled with a mushroom cloud, its horrible red glow signaling fallout from a blackened heavens.

Free me from eternal death. Save me from eternal death.

In Paterson, Jenna Gray pulled over on Route 80 close to Garrett Mountain. Tears were running down her face as she pressed her forehead against the steering wheel, her heart broken by the loss of her nation. She had grown, lived, and loved here, and now she was seeing the end of the world as she knew it.

Through the illa tremenda That awful day

The final door of the bunker gave way beneath the zombie assault. President Effing looked at Marquet as he slowly opened his eyes.

"There might be a heaven," he muttered, nodding. He closed his eyes once again and licked his lips as the pistol's soft weight pressed against his temple.

After taking a breath, he squeezed the trigger.

When they are moving, they are When will the heavens be moved?

The door exploded inside. Father Robson looked around the room and saw Effing lying on the table with blood dripping from his mouth and broken eye sockets. With the rifle in hand, Marquet faced the undead.

"No—"

He fired twice, and Robson's chest was hit by the bullets. The former priest gasped and crumpled, sword clattering. Marquet pierced two more people as he rushed into the crowd, keeping the final one for himself. Zombies rushed forward as he shoved the barrel under his chin, cutting his arm with their swords.

In the packed bunker, Marquet's gutted body collapsed, pinned against the wall.

Judicicare Caeli et terra dum veneris At the fiery judgment, with heaven and earth

Over the Delaware River, two lone ICBMs headed for New York City, one intended for Times Square in Manhattan and the other at Bed-Stuy in Brooklyn.

Caeli pandis ostium, belle premunt hostilia, da robur fer auxilium, o salutaris hostia O rescuing victim, let us below unlock the gates of heaven with your assistance and might when enemies attack us from all sides.

When Jenna Gray got out of her car, she was astounded to see two comet-like trails that were piercing the stratosphere and humming softly as they descended to Earth.

Gloria, sit sempiterna. May you be admired forever.

Tobey mumbled, looking up into the sky, "Goddamn it." As they led wise men to Jesus, the twin lights shone like stars.

Nature et stupebit. Cum creatura resurget The Judicanti Response When creation rises again to answer for judgment, death and nature will be confused.

"Close your eyes, my love—it will end soon."

Nil intulum remandabit Judex ergo cum sedebit Therefore, no wrongdoing will go unpunished when the judge sits down.

"Tobey! Tobey!" Running from the crowd in the courthouse, Marcia Thorpen sobbed. "Father Robson."

Tobey gestured up. Transfixed, Thorpen froze.

Patronum quem rogartus Justus sit securus cum vix When the just man will hardly be safe, to what guardian shall I turn?

Former President John Derringer was standing at the edge of a field in western Pennsylvania, leaning against a tree, with Secret Service officers surrounding him and no enemies in sight.

They were all thrown to the ground by a shock wave, a surge of wind and flames. An agent stumbled to his feet, gripping the tree while his senses reeled. A ball of fire surged westward above Pittsburgh.

"Ross." With a note of remorse in his voice, Derringer muttered.

Ante diem rationis juste judex ultionis Before the day of reckoning, the righteous judge of vengeance

"Effing!" With a cry, Tobey threw his blade to the ground.

"There is still time! We can go away! Von Dornen stepped in front of him and urged.

"Observe!" Tobey yelled, pointing to the skies where a nuclear fell with lightning speed.

Die illa, die irae In Favilla, solve the saeclum The world will burn to ashes on the Day of Wrath.

"No... It will.

Jenna Gray stared at the Chrysler Building in the distance, the death of New York City. The dome of the Hackensack Courthouse rose close to the highway.

When Jux is venturous Is the future of quantum tremor? How many will tremble when the judge arrives?

For a brief wonderful moment, the nukes lingered over New York. They then burst forth in a dazzling flash, lighting up the midmorning sky with a wave of pure white. Jenna Gray's ears were broken seconds later by a deep, piercing roar.

Skyscrapers collapsed with the Chrysler as it disintegrated like dust. In an instant, the white-hot firestorm turned an ugly scarlet, and Rockefeller Center fell. As the blast hit the earth, buildings melted and steel girders buckled under the intense heat.

Addictis confutatis maledictis flammis acribus As the doomed are hurled into the blazing fire

Steam rose from the shores of the boiling Hudson River. The shock wave destroyed buildings all the way to the Bowery, and Midtown was reduced to a burning desert. Tens of thousands of houses and offices in eastern Brooklyn were destroyed by the second nuclear blast.

Autonomous automobiles spilled into the East River as the Brooklyn Bridge trembled and collapsed. Rikers Island Prison collapsed into the surrounding waters, and the ferry ports and piers in southern Manhattan plummeted into the harbor.

Maledictis confutatis benedictis voca me cum When the cursed are hurled down, call me with the blessed.

The George Washington Bridge, a proud connection between Uptown and New Jersey, shuddered erratically. When cables broke, it started to fall apart, its ruins being licked by the radioactive fire in Central Park.

Molten fire filled subway stations, as the ground beneath the mushroom cloud transformed to blazing glass. Hoboken, Weehawken, and Fairview were ignited when the shock wave swept across the Hudson. Fort Lee and Overpeck Creek were on fire in a matter of minutes.

Tobey stared as steam rose from the boiling Hackensack River before a blast of extremely hot air hit. He banged against the wall as he and his army, including Thorpen and Von Dornen, blasted back into the courthouse. His brain was fried by the intense heat, his blood was rushing, and his skin was burning crimson from bone-deep burns.

Mei finis confutatis maledictis gere curam When the cursed are cast down, please help me in my last hour.

Mike Benko stood in the glaring heat on a street ripped apart by battle. His body burned, leaving charred bones—an unmarked cemetery on the sidewalk—as it swallowed him up and threw him back into the pavement.

Skeletons collapsed in heaps on the scarred land as Hackensack's zombie horde burned like ancient pagan monarchs, their sick flesh devoured by nuclear rage. Jenna Gray gazed from Garrett Mountain in Paterson as the courthouse blazed bright, a light on the horizon.

In the distance, she could see Jersey City, Newark, and Bergen County all on fire as the shock wave passed by. Flames spared more structures as its force diminished. The water bubbled but held when we crossed the Passaic River on Route 80.

Mei finis gere curam mei Assist me in my last hour.

With a slight tremor rattling the ground, Jenna Gray held on to her car door while the last of the shock wave warmed her. She remained steadfast despite her hair whipping back. The valley burned below, between Garrett and the Palisades. More missiles raced over Moscow, London, Cairo, Rome, etc.

She had lost life as she knew it. She witnessed the destruction of her cherished homes in New Jersey and New York. Fallout floated from the huge canopy of the greying mushroom cloud.

The Manhattan cloud, a flaming furnace in the morning sky, rose enormously, rising thousands of meters. Its miles-wide, spreading top moaned on the wind in a spooky, evil voice.

Jenna Gray turned on the ignition and opened the door of her automobile. It sputtered to life, much to her modest astonishment. With a final glance at her lost hometown, she slipped inside.

One by one, distant nuclear explosions reverberated from Philadelphia, Boston, Syracuse, and Harrisburg. Leaving her past behind, she put the car in motion and headed west on Route 80.

As the ashes of millions rose, the sky was painted with a horrific beauty. Jenna Gray had a glimpse of the flaming end of New York City and Bergen County in her rearview mirror as she rounded the bend of Garrett Mountain—two enormous grey mushroom clouds. The past burned white-hot in its destruction, but she had no idea what was ahead.

With a touch of relief softening her voice, she whispered, "Goodbye." As she continued down the highway, she lost sight of the blazing metropolis.