by Maxey, Phil
“Excuse me?” said a women in a white shirt, her jacket over her knees.
He stopped and looked down. “Yes?”
“Are you in charge?”
“I am. Is everything okay?”
“I was just wondering how long we were going to have to stay down here?” She looked around her. “All of us here have nowhere proper to sleep. We can’t just stay in this corridor.” Murmurs rang up and down the few dozen people that were trying to make the concrete floor and walls habitable.
Zach’s head began to ache again. “We’re doing everything we can to keep all of you safe. Have you got enough food and water?”
“Yes, but—”
“Then that’s all I can do for now. When we know it’s safe to return to the surface, we will let everyone know.”
The woman smiled meekly.
He walked away, not being sure which direction to take. Hearing noises from behind a door, he knocked then opened it. Two soldiers sitting at desks looked up, startled.
“At ease. Which way is main operations again?”
“End of this corridor, then right and third door on the left, sir.”
Zach smiled. “We need to get some signs on these walls so old men like me don’t get lost!”
The soldiers nervously smiled.
As he walked away any vestige of humor left his expression. Soon he entered a large corridor with equally wide doors at the end. He pushed them open to a wall of noise.
A young woman in civilian clothes ran up to him. “General. How long do you think we will be down here?”
Zach walked into the center of the room and stood looking at various video feeds showing the different parts of the camp. “Your guess is as good as mine, Karen.”
She looked frustrated. “General, there are over twenty thousand people crammed into a shelter that was designed for seven. I’m the civilian liaison, I need something to give these people hope that they’re going to see the sky again.”
He turned to the woman a good few inches smaller than him, her hair tied in a ponytail and searched for what she required. Words of hope. “The best we can do for them right now is keep them warm and give them food and water, but beyond that it’s up to the aliens.”
She frowned, nodded then walked away.
He turned his attention back to the camp’s video feeds. A few hundred feet above his head it was a blistering sunny day. Most of the fires that were alive the night before had burned themselves out, and the different areas inside the one hundred and sixty square miles looked almost peaceful.
He looked at nearby soldier. “When was the last time we saw any of the Hulathen or their craft.”
“Last sighting was at zero two hundred hours, sir. Approximately twelve hours ago.”
“If that changes, let me know.”
“Yes, sir.”
Zach turned on his heel and left the noise, entering a small quiet tunnel which led to comms. As he walked he went over in his head what Abbey’s reason could have been to be involved with a bombing, and leaving with a man that had tried to kill him and her more than once.
He entered the small room. “Patch me through to general Trow.” He said to the officer stationed there.
The soldier did as ordered, then left the room as before.
Zach sat down.
A few moments later Trow appeared on the monitor. “How are things in bunker five?” She said.
“Bit of a tight fit, but we’re managing, you?”
“Pretty much the same. We’re monitoring for the aliens, but it has been a while since they made an appearance… do you think they could—” The general looked to her side as if someone was talking to her. She looked shocked. She looked back at the camera. “Zach, we’re getting reports of explosions at the power station.”
Before he could reply, a knock came at the door to his side. “Yes?”
An anxious looking soldier appeared. “Sir, there’s been explosions at the power station. It looks as if the camp’s electricity grid is offline.”
“Can you bring up the feeds of the station, on these other monitors?”
The soldier quickly entered and typed away at the keyboard on the desk. A scene of smoke rising from the block like building appeared on one of the monitors.
“Looks like they’re still around,” said Trow on the other monitor.
“Cutting power to the camp. Good thing these bunkers have their own generators.”
“Yeah, but what about the other five or so million that are still up top?”
“We could send a crew out there to try and restore power, but maybe that’s what the Hulathen what. What does Elijah think?” It was a question he didn’t want to ask, but he was open to any good ideas.
“He thinks we should just give the aliens what they want. Which is not going to happen on my watch.”
“He wants us to just hand over the Cascaders?”
“Yup. He said ‘A few thousand to save over ten million is worth it.’”
Zach shook his head. “Even if we did do that, there’s no guarantee the Hulathen would stop. No, get his genius brain to come up with something else.”
Trow nodded. “Well he did have a plan B. He said the aliens are waiting for us to go up top and hand over the Cascaders… but what if we use the Cascaders to draw the aliens out?”
Zach liked the idea, but it meant risking some civilians which most of the Cascaders still were. “I’ll ask the Cascaders if they would be in on that.”
She nodded. “I’ll get a plan drawn up.”
“Any word from Mitchell?”
“We are trying repeatedly, but there’s no word from them.”
He sighed. “They were radio silent for months. They’re used to being on their own. How many units we got at the outpost?”
“There’s a whole company up there, about six platoons with accompanying light armor and air support.”
“We need that toxin.”
“I agree.”
“Get in contact with the commander on the ground at the outpost, and put together some platoons to go up to Boston. I don’t want to drag that toxin out of that bunker, but we will if we have too.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
As the hours rolled by Abbey and Clovis passed out of New York State into Pennsylvania, and then by early afternoon dropped down into the northern part of Maryland, then West Virginia. The beauty of the lush green forests and hills almost made her feel queasy, being so at odds with the situation she was in.
After a short stop to refuel, they were back following roads which weaved between hills, and the kind of homes she had always dreamed about owning herself one day. Despite being a ‘city’ girl, the idea of having a country home was something she always aspired too for when she was ‘older’. Her mind flicked back to her home near the lake, and she wondered if that or any of the buildings in the camp would be left standing by the Hulathen, by time she made it back. Her hand felt by her side, for the hard shape of Raj’s box still residing in her backpack.
She presumed Clovis already knew the box was important. She wasn’t going to underestimate him again.
A familiar buzzing sensation ran across her spine.
E.L.F’s.
It had been a while since she had sensed any, but they were knee deep in a national forest and she knew if there were going to be creatures left anywhere, that is where would they would be.
She slowed the pickup to a stop as the sensation increased. Suddenly a heard of spider like creatures, covered in dark brown fur and walking on spindly legs, each one larger than the vehicle they were in, smashed through some of the small trees and swept across the road. After a few moments, they were gone, swallowed by the forest.
She glanced at Clovis and went to pull off again, when he started to speak.
“The critters need to be saved.”
“Yeah, well, we might not have much of a choice in that, if the Hulathen want to take them all.”
Clovis looked at her. “They also wan
t to take us. We got no say in that too?”
She ignored his question but agreed with his sentiment. She pushed down on the gas and drove forward.
As they drove past small towns, heading deeper into the state, she went over the plan in her mind. Get to the outpost then use the aircraft they have there to get the toxin to the camp. It was risky. The Hulathen could take down an airplane without trying, but it was that or a few days of traveling across thousands of miles by land, and now there were E.L.F’s out there that she couldn’t detect let alone control, she didn’t want to take her chances. The other option was she would just give the Toxin to Elcher and let him do what needed to be done, but then she wasn’t sure if she would trust anybody to use a weapon of mass destruction against their own species.
Every once in a while she would glance at the man to her right, and then think of how she was going to ditch him. She wasn’t sure what would happen if she drove in through the gate in Kentucky with him seated next to her. But she still had no idea why he was taking this ride with her and that troubled her the most.
As the trees flowed by she would sometimes see creatures that otherwise she couldn’t detect. Strange unnatural shapes would pop out onto the road and then scurry away, or flocks of flying E.L.F’s would be just visible in the distance. In some ways she felt as she did in the early days after escaping the prison in New Mexico, not knowing what was around the next corner, but every time she saw a creature she felt relieved. The planet was still alive and that was a good thing.
As the sun hung low over the horizon the road they were on passed a town. Roads and multi-storey brick built buildings glistened in the setting sun.
“We should find a place to hold up for some hours. Then get back at it,” said Clovis.
She calculated it was another seven or so hours to the outpost. If they kept on driving, they could be there by midnight. “If we keep going, we can make it without stopping again.”
Clovis scoffed. “I know you want to be rid of me girly, but that town over there will probably have some good places to rest up.”
He was right. She hated it when he was right.
“Fine.” She skidded onto the left lane, drove a little further then turned a sharp left onto a road which wound into town.
*****
An assortment of around twenty young and old stood in front of Zach and Fiona in one of the common rooms of bunker five.
Fiona leaned into Zach. “These are the Cascaders that are left down here?” she whispered.
Zach nodded.
“Damn.”
Zach looked out at the group. “Some of you might know why you’re here, for others—”
“We’re Cascaders and you need us to save your asses… again,” said an overweight woman.
Zach smiled while Fiona frowned, walked forcibly towards the woman and standing a few inches from her face. “What’s your name?”
“Cynthia…”
“Do you like living?”
The woman’s hardened expression softened, despite being a few inches taller than Fiona. “Yes.”
“So does everyone else, and you—” Fiona stepped back. “And everyone in here can maybe save the camp. Think of it as another reason for us humans which outnumber you a hundred to one, not to run experiments on you again.”
A ripple of discomfort ran around the group.
“What Fiona is saying, is that we need your help. The Hulathen—”
“That the aliens?” said a scrawny young man.
“That’s the aliens.”
“So cool.”
Zach sighed. “What’s not so cool for you at least, for all of you, is that they are abducting Cascaders.”
“Why?” said an older man, raising his hand slightly when he spoke.
“Stan is it?”
The man nodded.
“You’re a threat to them. Cascaders can mess with their heads. Put them out cold.”
“Can we control them like we do to the creatures?” said the young man excitedly.
Fiona shook her head.
“Not that we are aware,” said Zach.
The young man frowned.
“So what’s the plan?” said a man in a checkered shirt.
“Sean?”
Sean nodded.
“We’re going to split you into groups of about four, and embed you with squads of soldiers or justice force people. Each group will have a different task. But it’s highly likely you will come up against the aliens, and when you do, you’re going to have to do what you need to, to put them down.”
More murmuring swept around the room.
“I should say, this is a choice. Nobody will be forced to go up top, if they don’t want too.”
Fiona moved closer to Zach. “I don’t remember the ‘choice’ part in our discussions,” she whispered. Zach subtly nodded in reply.
“So when we doing this? Me and my family got a home to get back to,” said Sean.
Zach smiled. “How soon can you be ready?”
“Semper Paratus.”
“Coastie eh?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Where were you stationed?”
“The eighth district, down in New Orleans.”
“What rank?”
“O-3. I was a first Lieutenant.”
“Why didn’t you sign up for the justice force, or the military units?”
“I had to look after my family,” he said sternly.
Zach nodded. “I can understand that. They’re safe?”
“Yes, sir. In this bunker.”
“It’s good to have you with us. The sergeant will get you kitted out—” Zach looked at the others. “— And assign each of you to your squad.” He pointed at a soldier near the door, who beckoned them towards him.
CHAPTER NINE
Abbey secured the door to the first story apartment, jamming the back of a chair up against the old style handle. It would probably only withstand a few impacts from a man as big as Clovis, but it might be all she needed to escape out of the fire escape.
Twenty minutes earlier as they pulled into the town, her first choice had been the old courthouse with the Victorian clock tower, but he grumbled something making it clear that was off the table. When an old four story block of apartments with shops at its base appeared shortly after, she realized that the maze like interior would be good cover, in case she had to get away in a hurry.
As they left the vehicle she expected him to demand she hand over the car keys, but instead he walked forward, kicked in the door to the upstairs and disappeared into the shadowy stairwell.
Momentarily she looked back at the pickup. Wondering if she could get back in the driver’s seat and pull away before he reappeared, but the fact that he never asked for the keys, troubled her.
Shortly afterwards she was in the pleasant looking apartment, which resided at the back corner of the building.
She pressed her ear to the door and on not hearing any creaking floorboards outside in the hallway, switched her flashlight on and walked quickly to the window with the fire escape outside. Pulling the latch to the side, she pushed the window upwards and peered outside.
Mo squawked then landed on a nearby rooftop.
I could go. Jump from this window and get Mo to catch me, and be gone into the evening, before he knew I had even left.
She lifted one leg over the window seal, into the gap, but then paused looking into the shadows behind the building.
Why is he with me? What does he have to gain?
She couldn’t shake the feeling that she was missing something.
She briefly waved at Mo, breathed in a lung full of freedom, then pulled her leg back, closing the window as quietly as she opened it.
She shone her flashlight around the room she was in. It was a living room, with an expensive television, gaming console, a stack of dvd’s and a few bookshelves. Getting up she walked back into the hallway and then followed a trail of forgotten clothes, which led her to a single bedr
oom. Drawers had been left pulled out, underwear and t-shirts hanging from them, while an open suitcase sat on the mess of blankets on the bed. On a nearby stack of shelves, a few picture frames sat. A young man, handsome, smiled in most of them with various women.
“Bit of a player eh,” she said under her breath.
She walked back to the kitchen, pulling the chunkiest knife she could find from a rack of them and walked back to the bedroom, where she pushed the door closed, locking it by rotating a small metal knob below the handle and fell onto the bed. She kicked the suitcase to the ground, slid the knife under the pillow then closed her eyes.
*****
Michael tapped the corridor wall impatiently. He looked at the plain door in front of him, pleading for it in his mind to open. And then it did. A red faced young woman left, keeping her head down.
He immediately went inside the comms room and closed the door behind him.
The middle-aged officer stationed there, looked up at him. “You again?”
“Listen man, I just been queuing for three hours. You need to help me find them. A woman and a little girl—”
“Yeah, I got it the first time when you were in here last night. Hannah and Megan right? And you still don’t know what bunker they are in? If any?”
“I’m just wondering if you knew if they had checked in at any of the bunkers since last night.”
The officer turned and typed away at the keyboard. “Hmm… nope, no new arrivals. Whereabouts did they live in the camp again?”
“They had an apartment on thirty-second. On the outskirts of downtown.”
The soldier looked up in the air. “So that would make bunker nine the closest.” He typed away at the keyboard. “No, no one matching those names there. Wish I could give you better news, son.”
Michael nodded solemnly. “Are there any feeds that cover that street? The Apartments there?”
The man typed again, bringing up darkness on one of the monitors. “As you can see, or rather can’t see. It’s dark up there, and with no power from the station at the dam we can’t see diddly squat on the surface. If it helps any I don’t think that area was hit too hard. Most of the fighting was more central and the industrial areas.”
