by Maxey, Phil
Zach followed the voice, coming out into an open space near one of the far walls. Along it was a large worktop, and a wall full of equipment. Brad was sitting down with a pair of welding glasses perched up on the top of his head.
“Couldn’t sleep then?” said Brad.
“No.” Zach sat on one of the three chairs that was close by. “This is something,” he said looking around.
Brad swiveled around on his chair. “This basement covers the entire size of the house above our heads. Enough for thirty people for a few years I would say.”
“I get the impression you’re not planning on going back?”
“To Roswell or the camp?”
“Either?”
Brad smiled and pulled his welding glasses off, laying them on the worktop. He then walked a short distance and pulled a bottle and two glasses from a shelf. “From the sounds of it, there’s nothing left for me in Roswell. As Abbey described it, that was a pretty extensive fire. And well, the camp never seemed like it was the place for me.”
“It’s a place for everyone, I’ll see to that when I return… but I know you’ve always preferred your own space.” Zach took the half filled glass of liquor and took a sip. “That’s pretty sharp,” he said breathing in.
Brad smiled. “Found it in one of the drawers upstairs in the study. Think it belonged to John Hopkins, the guy who ran this outpost.”
“Did you know him?”
“Nah, not really. We exchanged a few messages on the radio sometimes, but no. I buried him with his wife and the others in the old cemetery outback.”
“We noticed it driving in.”
Brad took a sip of his drink. “So Abbey’s a Cascader?”
Zach looked down. “Yeah. She and the others saved my ass more times than I can count. Same for the camp. If it weren’t for the Cascaders we would have lost our little war.”
“How does that work? The whole, controlling the E.L.F’s?”
“She could tell you better than I, but when a Cascader connects with a creature, they sort of imprint onto it and the creature does whatever the Cascader wants them to do from—”
“What?”
Zach suddenly remembered Cal, and that Brad didn’t know. “We lost Cal.”
Brad’s face contorted. “What?”
“We were south-west of Atlanta. Doing some recon, when things went sideways, he was killed.”
Brad’s eyes looked past Zach, as he took another sip. “I’m sorry to hear that, he seemed a good guy. Didn’t talk much, but he seemed someone you could depend on.”
“Yeah.” Zach took another sip.
“So what’s your plans? It’s still a long way to Boston.”
Zach swallowed the last of his drink. “Get to Boston, Abbey does what she needs to do, then we get back and start helping with the rebuild.”
“If you can spare a day or two, I could do with some help getting the radio mast back up,” he looked down at the mangle of wires and boxes in front of him. “I’ve almost got the wiring sorted, I just need some muscle to hoist the poles vertical.”
Zach wanted to get up north and back as soon as he could, but there was something about the place that Brad was putting together that made him feel like he belonged. “We can do that.”
*****
The wind buffeted Zach as he gripped the rope. The thirty-foot high alloy tripod was at a forty-five degree angle and dangled straining against the ropes holding it up.
“You got it?” shouted Brad twenty feet away, securing ropes at his end.
“Yes!” Shouted Zach.
“Hold it there!” said Brad as he ran across to where Zach was. He then gripped the rope as well. “Start pulling!”
They both heaved, pulling in unison and inch by inch the radio tower pointed towards the blue sky above them. After a few minutes of grunting and tensing their muscles the mast was vertical, with each of its legs resting in small holes in its cement base.
“Right, great. Keep holding it while I run around and secure the other tethers.” Brad took off running to each side, over the mud and small shoots of green grass, and locking down each steel cord. He then raised his hand and Zach let go of the rope. Zach walked over to him. He was knelt with his hand on a thick plastic pipe. “I’m running the cables through this, should keep them protected in most weather conditions.” He looked up at Zach. “Let’s see if she works!”
As they walked back to the house, they heard Abbey laughing in another part of the field around the side of the house. Instead of going inside they kept walking until she came into view.
“Well there’s something you don’t see everyday,” said Brad.
Abbey was holding a branch, which Jai was gripped on with his teeth and Mo was trying to take off with. The three of them were spinning around, pulling and pushing while Abbey was laughing. It could have been a scene from just a year ago, except with the animals from the past.
Zach smiled.
Brad patted him on the back. “Hopefully, I’ve connected everything right!”
“Yeah,” said Zach still watching her.
They both walked down into the basement, and sat in front of a large wall of metal boxes containing knobs and plastic faced dials.
Brad stretched behind one of the boxes and made sure the different cables were connected securely. “This little lot is at least thirty years old. They must have salvaged it from an old radio station or something.” He sat back down in front of the boxes. “Hopefully things will work as well as what I had back in Roswell.” He placed his hand on a switch. “Here goes nothing.”
Throwing the switch upwards, brought the whole system to life, with the meters lighting up, and immediately static came from two large speakers either side of the worktop.
“So far so good. Let’s switch to the right frequencies.” He looked down to numbers that were written on a small piece of paper, then adjusted the dials in front of him. Finally, he picked up the mike. “This is Brad Crenshaw, calling from Kentucky outpost, for Camp Bravo. Over.”
Static came back to them from the speakers.
“This is Brad—”
“We hear you loud and clear Brad—”
Brad and Zach both clenched their fists and let out a small cheer.
“—This is Core operations at Camp Bravo, in Texas. We thought your outpost was destroyed or abandoned? Over.”
Before Brad could reply, General Trows voice came through the speaker. “Brad! I thought you were dead! You’re in Arkansas? Over.”
“Good to hear you Elizabeth. It’s a long story. I’ve got someone else here who wants a word.” He handed the mike to Zach standing close by.
“Hey General, we made it. Didn’t expect to find this guy here though! Over.”
“Are the other people there from the outpost? Over.”
“No. But Brad should probably explain about that. How’s the rebuilding going? Over.”
“Making progress. Actually maybe we can discuss that later. We have been putting some of the E.L.F’s to work. Some of the species are surprisingly useful. Over.”
“I look forward to hearing more. Here’s Brad. Over.” He handed the mike back, and then turned around. Abbey was standing there, smiling.
CHAPTER SEVEN
A low rumbling howl echoed in the night.
A heavy set man with a ponytail, chipped away at a log with a six inch blade, his face lit by a fire. Around him sat a group of disheveled looking men and women.
“The boys are hungry,” said Clovis without looking up as he scraped the knife along the piece of wood.
Eyes amongst the group flicked from person to person, but nobody moved.
Clovis stopped scraping. “Someone go feed them…”
An older man, who looked like he hadn't eaten for a week, looked at the man with the large knife. “Clovis, we hardly got any food left in the store. What—No—No.”
Clovis half lifted the man by his shoulders and dragged him across the dust and grime laden floor of t
he warehouse they were in, to the exit door. Most looked on in horror, apart from a thickset young woman, who was using a splinter to pick dirt from her nails.
Clovis kicked the door open and the chilled night air flooded past him. The man went to scramble to his feet, when a muscular hand grabbed the back of his neck, spinning him around and in one continuous movement slung him out into the darkness. The tall ponytailed man stood for a moment with his eyes closed, as the old man pleaded to be allowed back in, then pulled the door closed.
As he walked back to the fire they had built on the ground floor of this former farm equipment warehouse, the growls and snarls increased beyond the walls. There was then a short scream which abruptly ended.
Clovis sat back down in his original spot, and picked up the wooden pole which was quickly transforming into a spear. He looked at it intently. “Best, some of you find some more food by tomorrow night.”
Murmurs of “Yes” and “We, will,” rippled around the group.
Further away from the others, two people sat.
A young gaunt looking man, needing a haircut, shifted uncomfortably on the floor, then leaned into the older man next to him. “He say anything about where we’re heading? Is there a plan?”
“He just said we’re heading north.”
“Why north?”
“He didn’t give a reason why. Just said it’s what his gut is telling him.”
The young man shook his head.
“If you think you’ll do better by yourself out there—” The older man nodded to the door. “—Then I don’t think Clovis would stop you from leaving.”
Brett sighed. “Bryan, you’re a doc, he needs you. He needs me like he needed Dwayne. I got no love for being food for his giant bear things.”
“Then be useful. Find things we need. You heard him. Find food.”
Brett looked across at the young woman with braided hair sitting a few feet from Clovis. “It’s fine for her. She just gotta use that body of hers, and Clovis will do what she wants.”
The doctor frowned, and for the first time since Brett started talking looked at him. “You know Lilly is not that way inclined. And I’ve never seen him show affection for anyone. Well, apart from those things outside.”
The fire flared up, making those close move back, apart from Clovis.
Bryan leaned further back against the mash up of cardboard that he was using as a bed. “Get some sleep, Brett.”
The young man wanted to be gone from this place, from these people. He and his ma and pa got drafted into the gang months back when they passed through the small south-western town he grew up in. He survived the battles the gang dragged everyone into, his parents didn’t. Now it was just him, and the leftovers from Geneva’s and Troy’s great war on the camp, and he didn’t care for any of them. Including the old man laying next to him. When he heard they were attacking the camp near Austin, he nodded and cheered like the thousands of others that had been press-ganged into joining, but deep down he never wanted to be part of it. ‘Do unto others, what you would have done unto you,’ his ma used to tell him, just before she tucked him in as a child. And he tried to live that way. He figured it was as good a way to be as any other. But men like Clovis just preyed on people, on the weak. Like how Clovis and the others treated the pretty lady back in Atlanta. The one he gave water too, and who he saw again on the truck when they traveled west. Clovis seemed to have a particular dislike for her.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Zach shook Brad’s hand. Above them a blanket of gray clouds covered the sky and a cool wind blew across them.
“Should be a few days before the group from the camp get here,” said Zach.
“I’ll have some of my stew waiting for them!” Brad then looked uneasily at the large brown fur covered creature standing a few yards from him. They were all standing near the large gate at the outer edge of the property.
Abbey talked to the large creature in hushed tones, which then hopped up into the back of the pickup.
She then turned and walked to Brad, giving him a hug. “I never thought I’d see you again.”
Brad nodded. “It’s going to take a lot more than a bunch of fanatics to make me part of history, young lady.”
She smiled. “I’ll look forward to see what you’ve done with the place when I return!”
“Yeah, she’s shaping up. Both of you keep careful watch, even with your abilities, we still don’t truly know what’s out there.”
Zach walked to the pickup, and opened the driver’s door. “Thanks for all the supplies.”
Brad nodded and smiled.
Soon Zach and Abbey were back driving along abandoned roads, heading towards the highway.
He looked out at the light green and beige fields, and tree covered hills in the distance. “Each time I think we have been lucky, because of Ray turning up, and now Brad, I—”
“Remember Cal.”
He sighed. “Yup.”
“We have been lucky, and if Cal were here he would be saying the same thing.”
Zach nodded. “How’d you sleep?”
She smiled. “Good.” She wanted to tell him that since she made the decision to take the trip to Boston her dreams, the ones that were haunting her had stopped, but thought better of it.
It wasn’t long before they were approaching the city of Lexington. Farms and fields which lined the highway gave way to gardens and homes, and four lanes became two.
They slowed as they came to a junction with a particularly large build up of broken and smashed vehicles.
“Looks like we might have to go around,” said Abbey, who then looked down at the map in her lap.
Zach looked at the buildings around them. A restaurant, an office building, a fast food joint…
Something moved behind the window of the diner to his right. He slid the gear into reverse, when the windscreen shattered. Both of them ducked, while more automatic fire rang out. Jai started growling.
While still with his head down, he slammed his foot on the gas pedal and the pickup screamed backwards along the road, until it smashed into something solid, pushing them both back in their seats and Jai to roll in the same direction.
Zach looked around them. Men were running towards them from all directions. He went to grab his rifle from beneath his seat, when he sensed a presence just outside his door.
“Uh uh,” said a muscular man with a graying beard and a denim jacket, just a few feet away.
“Quick, they got a pet! Get that net over it!” shouted one of men.
The man in the jacket pointed a shotgun directly at the pickup. “Leave the rifle buddy,” the man said in a southern accent.
“We’re just passing through!” shouted Zach.
“Sure you are. Which one of you is the creatures coach?”
“Uh? What are you talking about?”
“Which one of you is controlling the creature! It’s got to be one of you!“ shouted the man.
“Me!” shouted Abbey. Zach shook his head in disappointment.
“Then you best get your pet under control, or we’re gonna have to shoot it, and that would be a real shame. We don’t get many wolf-men up here.”
Zach looked at Abbey. Wolf-men?
Abbey closed her eyes, and almost immediately Jai calmed.
The bearded man looked at him and smiled. “Good, real good.” He then turned to some men behind him. “Get those chains on its ankles and wrists. Looks like we’re not going to need the net.”
“We got no trouble with you or your people, just leave us be and we’ll be on our way,” said Zach.
The man moved closer to the side door and peered into the pickups cabin, ignoring the request. “That’s a whole lot of supplies you got in the back there, and some nice looking pieces.” He then opened the door and beckoned Zach outside. “And your lady,” he said nodding towards Abbey. They both got out, holding their hands up.
Around eight men stood around them, all pointing guns in their direction.<
br />
A squawk came from above their heads. Mo was circling a few hundred feet above them, threatening to dive down.
An overweight man with an even bigger beard, looked upwards, frightened. “There’s a creature up there!” He then pointed his rifle upwards and fired off two shots from his rifle.
The eyes of the man in the jacket fixed on Abbey. “He one of yours?”
While slowly shaking her head, Abbey quickly projected her mind to the creature above. Return to Brads. Mo squawked once again then became just a small dot amongst the clouds.
The first man looked at both of them and waved his gun towards the front of the pickup. “Move, we’re going for a walk.” He then looked at Abbey. “If your pet tries anything, we kill you first before we kill it, understand?” Abbey nodded. He then turned to the others. “Bring the guns and the water, leave the other stuff, we’ll come back for it tomorrow.”
After walking about a mile along the main street, they came to three pickups. Some of the men jumped up in back. The bearded man gestured for Zach and Abbey to do the same. They corralled Jai up into the back of the other vehicles, where he crouched, then sat themselves.
Soon they were driving over a bridge which crossed railway lines, and heading towards the ruins of larger buildings further into the center of the city. After a few minutes of attractive Victorian homes passing by, they came up to a large pot-marked box shaped structure, that was more complex than building. Driving down a slope to a basement area, they briefly stopped at a large sliding gate, which rose, and then fell quickly behind them. A chorus of chatter immediately filled the air.
Inside within walls of concrete were hundreds of people, between tents and stalls. A mini town had come to exist inside the building.
Some of the men gestured Zach and Abbey to get out of the pickup.
The man who they first set eyes on approached them. “Follow me.”
Abbey resisted moving, glancing at Jai. “What are you going to do with him?”
“He’ll be locked away securely until he’s needed.”
She noticed the briefest of looks from Zach, then started to move.
