Earth in Darkness

A year from now, the words would wash over the Oort Cloud and then float into interstellar space . . . and be lost in the darkness. She hopped on starships, flew from planet to planet, turned a few tricks in greasy bars, then came back to Earth with a bad case of gonorrhea and no less terror in her heart. The great guns of the Ishtar pointed toward the battle, jammed, covered with the alien slime. Past the ringing in his ears, Kai heard boulders rearranging themselves, the underground reforming, shifting … and finally settling.