by Crae, Edward
“The lights here are powered by geothermal energy,” Barty said. “That was one thing the aliens couldn’t take from us. We just dig a pit, put some shit in it, and the generators begin producing power. It’s pretty simple, really.”
“How many people are left?” Max asked. “I mean, in the world. What percentage of the population was killed?”
Bart shrugged. “Ninety percent, probably. More every day. We’re pretty close to being wiped out. That little girl is our only hope.”
“Why is that?”
“Well,” Barty said. “She holds the key to transporting us into another world. The problem is, the aliens could potentially follow us wherever we go unless we can find a way to close the portal afterwards. Plus, who knows how many other kids in the world are like her. There was her sister, but she disappeared like we said.”
Max nodded. He decided not to tell Barty that Maynard had chopped her head off. That might sound bad.
“So how do we catch her? I want to go home.”
“We’ll figure it out. But we must figure out how to prevent the aliens from following us.”
“Surely they have some kind of name. You don’t have to keep calling them aliens.”
Barty sighed as they reached the bottom of the stairs, and paused. He looked down at the floor, tapping his one good foot.
“That’s the thing,” he said. “They’re not really alien at all. I mean, they are from a different universe, but they’re…”
“What?”
Barty sighed again, this time loudly. He looked up at the ceiling for a moment, bobbed his head a bit, and then looked Max in the eye.
“Genetically speaking,” he said, sadly. “They’re human.”
Chapter Five
Max stared blankly for what seemed like hours. It took him quite a while to process what Barty had just said. Surely this was impossible, he thought. Though he hadn’t gotten a good look at the creature he saw, he was surely it wasn’t human. It was too tall, and the facial features he saw were nowhere near human.
“You’re shitting me,” he said, finally.
“Nope. We ran the DNA of the one we captured. With a few extra genes at the end of the genome, the rest was completely human. They are one step above us, like we are to Homo Erectus, I would imagine.”
“So on their original world, they simply evolved faster?”
“It would seem so. Come, I’ll show you some cool stuff on the way.”
They entered the living quarters, where dozens of people were huddled together for comfort. It wasn’t cold, so to speak, but the gloomy atmosphere had dashed their spirits. There were large archways leading to other areas; children’s’ playroom, exercise area, kitchen, cafeteria, etc. But the one that Max noticed first was the infirmary. It was a glass door, through which Max could see what looked like a containment area.
“Quarantine?” he asked.
“Yep,” Barty said. “People get sick, and there’s nothing we can do about it.”
“What kind of illnesses?”
“Infections from injuries mostly,” Barty said. “But some colds and flu, too.”
“Injuries? Can’t you treat them with antibiotics?”
Barty stared at him for a moment. “Antibiotics?”
Max grunted. “Yeah, like penicillin, you know.”
Barty shook his head.
“Seriously?” Max blurted out, catching the attention of others.
They all began to stare at the two of them, noticing how identical they looked.
“You’ve never developed antibiotics?”
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“Antibiotics, invented using fungus. They kill bacteria.”
“Fungus? No.”
Max sighed. “I can help them. Do you have any moldy food? Bread maybe?”
“Are you kidding? Of course we do. It’s all moldy. We just tear it off and eat it. Nothing goes to waste.”
“Get me some, and get me a work area. I’ll make you something that will cure everyone with a bug.”
Barty nodded. “Cool. The doctor is in.”
“We found the casino and resort mostly intact,” Jeff said as Dan showed him around the hardware store. “From there we just repaired the damage, gathered supplies, and made a home base. Ever been there?”
“To French Lick?” Dan asked. “Once. It was nice. I never thought of using a hotel as a base.”
“The center dome is the common indoor area where we gather during storms and such,” Jeff said. “It was hard to heat during the dark times, but we managed. Plus, we’ve been left alone mostly.”
“What about fences and shit?”
“Corrugated steel with outward angled barbed wire,” Jeff explained. “The only things that can get in are the jumpers, like I said earlier. It’s secure.”
Dan stopped in front of the gas-powered outdoor appliance section. “Sounds good,” he said. “But why us?”
Jeff chuckled. “Dan, Dan, Dan,” he said. “We need more people like you guys. People like us. Folks that, in the real world, just wanted to be left alone to live their lives the way they saw fit. No rules, no government, no bullshit. Just life, day in and day out. You all look like you have some skills. That black chick looks like a badass, and the big guy… well, he’s pretty mean-looking. I’m guessing he’s as nice as they come, though.”
“Pretty much,” Dan said, smiling. “But we’re missing our tech guy.”
“Where is he?”
Dan shrugged. “We’re not sure. He went after one of the weirder creatures and disappeared.”
Jeff lifted an eyebrow. “Disappeared?”
“Into thin air. Toni, the black chick, said he grabbed the thing when it appeared and then was gone.”
“So where do you think he went?”
“I don’t know, man. But if we go, we’ll have to leave him some kind of message where to go.”
“French Lick Resort,” Jeff said, holding his hands out. “That’s the place. We could use a smart guy, too.”
“He definitely fits the bill.”
Jeff patted Dan on the back. “So, what do you say? Are you in?”
Of course they were in, Dan thought. He knew the others would be on board. “Yeah,” he said. “We’re in.”
“What do you think?” Jake asked Eric as the two wandered around the parking lot.
“He seems alright,” Eric replied. “I’m not getting any kind of weird vibe from him, other than he may be a little crazy.”
“Yeah,” Jake agreed. “He never said he was the actual leader, either. I wonder who is.”
“Who knows? It didn’t sound like there was a leader, just a bunch of guys living together. Some democracy shit.”
“Small D though, right?”
Eric laughed. “I hope so.”
Jake took a deep breath, turning his head to glance at Toby and Royce. The two seemed like good friends, he noticed, which was good. Jake’s initial impression of Royce was wrong, he realized. The kid wasn’t some dumb ass punk with no morals or brains. He was alright, and it was good to see Toby finally having someone a little closer to his own age to talk to. Not that Royce was a ten year old, but he was still basically a kid at twenty-something.
“Jake,” Eric whispered, suddenly pulling back the bolt on his rifle.
Jake turned, seeing Eric pointing off toward the McDonald’s. In the moonlight, Jake could see the faint white outline of a stalker prowling around the outside of the building. It was lurking, sniffing the ground, and occasionally looking in their direction.
“I don’t think he sees us,” Eric said. “We need to tell Toby and Royce to shut up.”
Jake took off running, quietly making his way toward the two boys, trying to get their attention.
“Pssssst!” he hissed, waving his hands.
Royce looked in his direction and the two boys stopped talking.
“What?” Toby asked, loudly.
“Quiet,” Jake said. “There’s a stalker over
at the Mickey D’s.”
They both ducked suddenly, turning toward the restaurant as they backed away toward the hardware store.
“Just keep quiet, and go inside. We’ll keep watch. Tell Dan it’s out there.”
“Where’s everyone else?” Toby asked.
“They went around back,” Dan said. “Cliff is showing them the grounds.”
“I’ll go back there and tell them what’s up,” Royce said.
“Alright,” Jake said, looking back at Eric. “Go inside, Toby.”
“Fuck that,” Toby said, pulling out his revolver. “I’m fighting too.”
Damn kid.
“Nobody’s fighting, dumbass. We’re trying to stay quiet. Any shooting happens and every fucking piece of shit rotten ass is gonna hear.”
Toby sighed. “Alright,” he said. “I won’t shoot. But I’m staying.”
“Nigga get yo ass inside,” Royce said. “You’re about as trigger happy as a cop with a bitch ass wife.”
Jake had to laugh. That was a good one.
“Just go, Toby. Eric and I will take care of it.”
“Fine,” Toby said, stuffing his revolver back in his belt. But if he sees us, I wanna fight.”
Jake waved him away and watched them go. Royce snuck around the corner to warn the others. Eric was still watching the beast, which couldn’t see now. He stayed and watched until Toby was inside, then joined Eric again. Nathan had come around the corner and was sneaking across the lot in Eric’s direction.
“What’s going on?” he asked as Jake returned.
“Stalker by Mickey D’s,” Jake said.
Eric raised the rifle. It was then that Jake noticed there was a suppressor on it; a homemade one, fashioned from PVC pipe and other random tidbits from the hardware store.
“Does that work?” he asked.
“I tested it yesterday,” Eric said. “It works pretty well.”
He raised the rifle and looked through the scope. Jake could see the creature again. It was still, but was now facing them, pressed low against the blacktop as if ready to pounce. Its tentacles, shorter than usual, were still and seemed stiff. They appeared to be shrunken and useless. That was a good thing. Eric had almost been killed by a set of those tentacles.
“Better get a headshot,” Jake said. “If you can, that is.”
Eric snickered sarcastically, crouching down to brace his elbow on his knee for stability. Jake crouched down nearby, watching as Eric followed the beast with the rifle, waiting for it to stay still. Then, the stalker froze. As the two watched, the creature began to convulse. Its tentacles began swirling, seemingly flopping off chunks of some unknown and slimy material.
“What’s it doing?” Eric asked, lowering the rifle.
Jake shrugged, reaching out to ask for the rifle. “Let me check it out.”
Eric handed him the rifle and he raised the scope to his eye. He peered through, watching as the creature continued its convulsions. Strange, orange slime spewed from its mouth in heaps, as if it were vomiting blood and bile. Its skin began to stretch over its bony frame, cracking and splitting as its inner form began to change shape.
“It’s metamor… meta… changing shape,” Jake stammered. “What the fuck?”
“Just kill it,” Eric said. “If you can.”
Jake grinned, taking aim for the head. He pulled the trigger when the creature bent down to release another flood of bile. The head exploded in a gloppy cloud of bone, flesh and brains, splattering the window of the McDonald’s behind it. The glass shattered as the bullet broke through, causing Eric to gasp.
“Shit,” Jake said, lowering the rifle.
Then, the creature stood, headless, waving its disintegrating tentacles around it as they threw off glops of flesh. Footsteps sounded behind Jake, and he turned to see Dan and Jeff, followed by Frankie and Royce.
“What the fuck?” Dan whispered harshly. “What are you doing?”
“They’s dead fuckers around,” Royce warned him. “They coming from behind the store.”
“The glass is far away, though,” Frankie said. “Maybe they’ll go that way.”
“We’d better get inside,” Eric said, standing. “Just in case.”
Dan was frozen as he watched the creature in the distance. “What’s it doing?” he asked.
“Dunno,” Jake said. “But’s it weird and I don’t like it.”
“Fuck,” Jeff cursed. “I need to get some shit out of the car.”
“Screw that,” Frankie said. “We don’t need any of that shit.”
“We’ve got booze inside,” Dan said. “Whatever else you need.”
“Alright,” Jeff said. “After you.”
After administering his homemade antibiotics, Max sat down to take a breather, plopping down on a rotting couch that sat along one of the walls. He watched everyone in the large room, saddened by how destitute and hopeless they all seemed. These were human beings, shoved into a rusty metal can underground, fighting and hiding for their lives.
No one should live this way.
He wondered how many others there were out there, alone and terrified. How many of them had the will to keep going, or even go out to find food and water? They were likely sick like these people; dying off one by one because nobody had ever had the sense to make medicine out of common fungus.
Every child he saw here looked like he or she was dying. They were a mass of bundled sticks, crying and suffering like starving animals. Like… Jewish folks in concentration camps. That was it, he realized. That’s what this reminded him of. An entire roomful of people not knowing which hour would be their last.
It made want to cry.
Every sound around him was one of suffering. There was coughing. There was crying. There was the sound of frustrated men pounding their fists on the furniture. But all of these sounds slowly faded away as Max looked into the eyes of every child. There was fear there. There was sadness. These were children who would live their entire lives—however short those lives may be—thinking that this was just the way life was; a long series of suffering where only the strongest would survive to pass that same misery onto the next generation.
But not if he could help it.
He stood, clearing his throat and preparing his voice.
“Listen to me,” he shouted, just loud enough for everyone to hear.
Everyone stopped what they were doing, looking at the strange fat guy with the glasses.
“This is not the way it’s supposed to be,” he continued. “The world is a beautiful place. There are trees, grass, the sun, all beautiful things. But these assholes that are roaming the Earth ruined it all. These kids will never know what it’s like to sit under the sun, or to have a glass of lemonade on a lounge chair by the pool.”
Everyone was silent, listening to Max’s words.
“But it doesn’t have to be this way. We have two choices; we can fight for our lives or we can find a way to get back to where the sun still shines down. I know where that place is, and how to get there. Sitting here and dying is not an option.”
“Max,” Barty said. “What you’re saying is nice. But these people can’t fight for anything. They’re half-dead as it is. Most of them are too weak to hold a rif—“
“Then we have to fight for them!” Max hissed, coming inches from his twin’s face.
Barty didn’t flinch, but stayed right where he was, staring into Max’s eyes. Slowly, a smile spread across Barty’s face when he realized Max wasn’t backing down.
“You’re right,” he said. “We can help them. I know what you’re thinking, too. We have to catch Rose and figure out a way to use her sickness. She will help in some way. I know she will, for humanity.”
“Then let’s find her,” Max said. “Now.”
Barty nodded. “I’ll get the guys and we’ll hunt her down.”
Max smiled, looking out over the people who still watched him.
“One way or another,” he said. “Your suffering will end so
on.”
There was an explosion outside, and the bunker shook violently. Max was nearly thrown from his feet, but caught his balance. He looked at Barty, who grabbed him and took off toward the main corridor.
“He have to gather the troops,” he said. “You’re coming with us.”
“Right behind you, brother,” Max said. “I’ll need one of those ray guns.”
Chapter Six
“Did you hear that?” Dan asked Jake as the two of them pressed their ears up against the door.
Jake nodded. “Yeah,” he said. “That was weird. Like something in the distance, but it felt like it was up close.”
“What are you two talking about?” Cliff asked.
“Explosion,” Dan said. “Big one, there but not there.”
Cliff said nothing, but went to the window to look out. “I thought I felt it too. But I figured it was just my imagination.”
“You’ve heard explosions before,” Jake reminded him. “Bombs and shit in Iraq. Did that sound familiar?”
Cliff shook his head. “No. Nothing specific. But it did feel like it was…”
“There but not there?” Dan finished him. Cliff nodded.
Another explosion sounded, this time closer. The building shook a little, causing everyone inside to stop and stare at each other momentarily. Toby ran up with a shotgun in his hand, pumping it and holding it up.
“Let’s get out there,” he said, confidently.
Dan looked at him, seeing the fire in his eyes. He wondered what Toby’s plan was, as there really was no reason to go outside. It would be a better idea to prepare to get the fuck out of there.
“Why would we go outside?” Dan asked. “If someone is dropping bombs, we’d be stupid to confront them.”
“But we can’t just stay here,” Toby protested. “If someone is bombing us we need to fight back.”
“No one knows we’re here,” Dan said. “Unless…”
They all looked back at Jeff, who shrugged. “What?”
“Was anyone following you?” Jake asked him.
“No,” Jeff said. “And I don’t know what you’re hearing. I felt the tremors, but I didn’t hear anything. I don’t think there’s an earthquake machine, my brother.”
“No earthquake machine,” Frankie repeated.
