by Rick Kueber
The foul stench of death filled the city and within days, it became impossible to stomach opening the windows, and they hadn’t ventured outside at all. The truth was that Elle had gone no further than the hallway outside of the apartment, and that was only to get a little exercise and Jenny hadn’t braved anything lower than the third floor.
The apartment was a comforting and safe but after nearly a month of confinement the ever shrinking apartment, and the slowly escalating stench that crept into the building, the apartment became a prison, and the women felt claustrophobic. When they neared the two-month mark, the food supply was running low, and they found themselves eating the same things over and over; oatmeal, chips, cheese, canned goods (though they had run out of soups and canned pasta in the first weeks). The tiny space became a roller-coaster of heightened emotions and hair-triggered anger and frustrations.
***
“So what’s for lunch today?” Elle called out to the kitchen while she nursed Phoenix from the front room.
“Oh, hell, I don’t know, what do you want? How about tuna salad on toast?” Jenny sneered the sarcastic comment as she stared at the dwindling supply in the cabinets. “Oh, wait... We don’t have any of that. How about peas and oatmeal? Or maybe your Tanner will bring us some bread and tuna.”
“Why do you have to be such a smart ass? You think this is all my fault, don’t you?” Elle shouted her rebuttal.
“It sure as hell wasn’t my idea to start a revolution!” Jenny was on the verge of a breakdown. “You think we won because they’re gone and we’re alive? That’s bullcrap because I would trade this for the life before you showed up, in...a...heartbeat!” She exaggerated the last three words.
“Fine!” Elle choked back her emotions. “I can’t take this anymore..” She whispered the last statement, but Jenny heard it anyway and dropped her elbows to the counter top and put her head in her hands.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean all of that Elle.” Jenny spoke, but there was no reply. “Elle?” Still, there was no response and so she went to apologize in person. Elle was not in the front room where she had been, so she followed her ears and found Phoenix in the papoose on Elle’s chest in the bedroom, with Elle feverishly packing her belongings.
“Look, I’m sorry. I’m just stressing more than usual... This smell... It’s getting unbearable and if you leave, you know it’s going to be horrid out there. You can’t go.” Jenny tried her best to calm the tensions between them, and while it did help, it wasn’t persuasive enough.
“Maybe it was stress, but you’re wrong. I can go, and I am going.” Elle dropped the things in her hands onto the bed, and her whole body relaxed for a brief moment. She turned to Jenny and gave her a gentle hug. “I have to go. We can’t stay here anymore.”
Jenny was at a complete loss for words and watched silently as Elle stuffed everything she could into the backpack she had brought with her and the diaper bag. She had already strapped on the shoulder holster and firearm. As much as Jenny had hoped Elle would break and give up on her quest, her decision to escape the tiny prison cell was set, and she was not going to back down. In her head, she kept telling herself it was now or never. Elle knew she would rather die trying to escape and find Tanner than to remain in this place one more day. When she had finished packing, she found Jenny sitting at the kitchen table with two places set, two glasses of water and two bowls of plain oatmeal sprinkled very lightly with brown sugar.
“I’m going...” Elle said regretfully. “but, I’ll never forget you.”
“At least eat something before you go.” Jenny thought that the longer she could delay her departure, the better the chance that she wouldn’t go at all.
“Okay, just a few bites.” Elle didn’t even sit, but instead stood at the table, spooning the thick and cold oatmeal into her mouth like a starving third world child, stopping only long enough to gulp the glass of tepid water. Jenny ate slowly and silently, but it did not slow Elle’s determination. She leaned over and hugged Jenny’s shoulder, kissed the top of her head and walked to the front coat closet where they had stashed the arms. She retrieved a semi-automatic rifle and several pre-loaded magazines. Elle looked like a homeless bag lady/soldier of fortune mixture, but the truth was, she was a mother who was prepared to do what she had to do, no matter what that might be, to provide a future for her child. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she still believed that little Phoenix would actually be the one who provided a future for her.
She dared to take the elevator to the ground floor and nervously, she stepped out into the lobby. She looked out the glass entry, and the carnage just outside looked completely different than it had from the fifth-floor windows. The apartment may have been a prison, but it was also a haven that isolated them from the harsh reality that the world had become. She sucked in a deep breath, hissing through her clenched teeth, looked down to see Phoenix looking at her. His wide eyes had lightened, and his pupils were now more of a cinnamon red, though the shimmering golden flakes were just as prominent as ever.
“Are you ready to meet the world, baby?” She asked and little Phoenix smiled and cooed as if answering, ‘I’m ready. I was born for this.’
Chapter 11
Wayward
Traveler
Pushing her way out of the door, Elle was overwhelmed by the lingering and putrid smell of rotting flesh baking in the early summer heat. She gagged deeply and fought the instinctive reflex to throw up. “Where are we going ‘Nix?” She pretended to direct her question to the infant but was really asking her inner self, hoping there would be an answer from deep within. An answer came in the form of memory.
“You have to take what you can and head for the city. Maybe you can, at least, make it to that building and take shelter there. Daniel and I have to wait for the Titans to come. Here... take the letter and map the doc gave me. Maybe his family is still there.” She remembered Tanner shoving the envelope into her pack.
Elle labored to get her pack off of her back without jostling little ‘Nix too much. She tore through the pack with both hands and found the crumpled envelope and map stuffed near the bottom on one side. After tucking the map under her knee, she ripped open the envelope and read the note inside.
“Tanner,
You can follow this map to my sister's house in Phoenix. She and her husband live at 2245 E. Plateau Lane. If they are there, explain your situation, show them this note, and they will help you. My brother-in-law is an electrical engineer (though that may not be much help). If they are not there, they keep a key to the back door hidden in a fake stone in the backyard garden. You may need to find a set of jumper cables, but if you can, you may be able to get a charge on the R.V. that they have in the large detached garage at the back of the property. It would surely make for a better vehicle to travel in.
With hope and many thanks,
William Patel”
Elle searched the map and found the road she needed and her present location. She was on the wrong side of town and had many miles to travel to find her next destination. Several blocks into her walk, she had the horrible realization that she had passed many desiccated bodies and paid them no attention until she was forced to alter her path to avoid stepping over one of them. The deeper into the city her path lead, the more frequent the bodies became. A sobering sorrow swept over her when she thought she recognized one of the dead by the clothing they were wearing. Her soul ached when it became apparent that there was no way of knowing if the bodies that littered the city streets were Takers or her friends, or both. The combination of time and the heat of early summer in Arizona had left little for even the scavenger birds to pick at, though they still made an effort. It turned Elle’s stomach to think that this could be the fate of her friends, and worse, Tanner and Daniel could have met with a similar demise.
From a nearby alley, the sound of movement caught Elle’s attention and fueled her imagination. She stood on a deserted and eerily abandoned city street, carrying young Phoenix and sud
denly she was sucked back in time to a dream she had, not so many months ago. Was the sound coming from the alley a horde of Takers who would rip her child from her and devour her like an army of starving zombies? Elle took off with a start, sprinting down the street as fast as her healing body could carry her and her child.
Out of breath and near exhaustion, Elle leaned against a tall, limestone building. Looking up, she watched the dizzying clouds rush past. The sun was hidden behind the building and glimmered across the cross on the steeple of the old church. Little Phoenix began to cry, and Elle squeezed him tight against her chest. Her stomach pained her, and she thought, perhaps her little man was hungry. Feeding him was still fairly simple, she could do it while she walked. Flipping the map around haphazardly, and looking around to find street signs, she reoriented herself and continued on her journey.
It took several simple break-ins to keep herself fed and hydrated, and a few days of following the map, but when she reached Plateau Lane, she was in a suburb, and the wind was in her favor, keeping the unspeakable smell behind her and little ‘Nix. She read off the house numbers to herself as she passed each cross street until she reached the 2200 block. As the numbers grew from the hundreds into the two thousands, the size of the houses and property grew as well. On her left was a palatial brick home, two stories and multiple gables that gave the roof numerous peaks and valleys. The number 2245 was clearly marked in gold on one of six large pillars that adorned the covered front porch.
Elle slipped past the dust covered car in the driveway and entered the gated back yard where she found a lavish patio surrounded by an extravagant rock garden filled with beautiful and exotic tropical plants and cacti. Rock after stone, she searched until she lifted one that was so light it couldn’t be real. Turning it over she found a simple latch and door and opened it carefully to find...nothing. It was empty. Elle wasn’t especially worried. She had an entire garden full of window keys. She chose a stone that was slightly larger than a brick and was pointed on one end. Carrying it up to the back door, she raised it over her shoulder and prepared to shatter the glass in the door.
Before she smashed the window light, she noticed the door was slightly ajar. Her first thought was ‘How lucky!’, but then a sick feeling came over her. Elle knew something was terribly wrong. Only steps from entering her temporary destination, she found herself hesitating and considering walking away.
“Get your shit together Elle.” She said out loud to herself and slowly pushed the door, letting it swing inward.
No matter how many places Elle had broken into, no matter how many strange places she had slept, she could never quite get used to the creepy feeling of entering a place for the first time and finding it just the way it had been the moment before the alien invasion... Silent, sometimes dusty, lived in, but abandoned, and that stale and stagnant smell of rotten food and toilet water that had stood in an uncontrolled and undisturbed environment for far too long. Sneaking through the vacant residence like a thief, silent and unobtrusive, Elle searched until she found the garage. Warily, she opened the door and on the other side she found...what anyone would expect to find in a garage; a workbench scattered with tools and random bits, an array of yard tools, etc. Turning to her right, she spotted a key shaped board, hanging on the wall, about eight inches long, with an empty row of brass hooks, but no keys. Her heart sank and then the sound of labored breathing turned the blood in her veins to ice.
“Lookin’ for these?” The familiar twangy voice stabbed like a dagger in her back and little ‘Nix squirmed in his papoose.
The tinkling sound of a key ring dangling on a dainty pinky finger made Elle nauseous and filled her with rage at the same time. Pretending to coddle her baby, Elle drew her 9mm from its holster as she slowly turned around, but the glow in Bailey’s eyes stopped Elle just short of pulling the trigger...repeatedly.
“You do that, and you’ll release the beast within.” Bailey taunted her with the harsh truth.
“So. What the hell are you doing here?” Elle wondered if she truly had been set up from the moment she met Bailey.
“I’m here for you,” Bailey grinned an evil grinchy grin. “Surely a smart girl like you would have done the same thing we did.”
“Plot to kill someone who was trying to help? No, I wouldn’t do that.” Elle feared that there was too much truth to what she had said and that her newborn, this unique child of the heavens and the earth, might soon become an orphan, fostered by those who would end his mother’s life.
“Silly girl.” The alien presence was obvious to Elle, but it did not take anything away from her countrified accent. “No one’s going to kill you. What I meant was, if some stranger moved in with you, wouldn’t you look through their backpack, if you had a chance?”
“Guess I would.” Elle couldn’t honestly disagree but the way Bailey emphasized ‘kill’ troubled her. “You know I’d rather die than be one of those Takers.” The words snuck out of her mouth before she could stop them.
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Bailey snickered just as the floor beneath them buzzed. “There’s no electricity here, but if you need to do anything, you better do it now.” The floor rumbled again.
“K,” Elle said curtly. “He’s hungry.” She pushed past the humalien version of Bailey and made her way back into the living room. Taking off her backpack and unstrapping the papoose, she sat down with the infant cradled on her thighs, removed her shirt and began to feed him. Over and over, the floor buzzed and trembled, never more frequent, but more intense each time. Elle touched her child’s face and caressed him softly, knowing that soon the Titans would arrive and their short time together might soon end. She was strong and independent, but ‘Nix was not. He depended on her for life-giving nourishment and love. She hid her face in the tangle of raven black hair and let the tears stream down her face and drip from her chin. Quietly she whispered to him. “Tom ho ichema.” And as if ‘Nix knew she was saying ‘I love you’, he paused from feeding to gaze into his mother’s teary eyes and smiled.
“It’s me.” Another voice that Elle recognized called out from the back door. She looked up to see Bailey hovering in the living room doorway and Jenny peering over her shoulder. The house buzzed and rattled loudly, but Elle paid it no attention and felt even more betrayed than she thought possible.
“Why all of the secrecy?” Elle confronted the one person she trusted the most and even liked. “Were you waiting as long as you could so that I would keep feeding ‘Nix as long as possible before you took him from me?”
“What are you talking about?” Jenny seemed genuinely confused, but Elle wondered if perhaps she was still playing innocent.
“You know damn well what I’m talking about” Elle’s tone was cross with her supposed friend, but no longer cared about the consequences. “Oh... You didn’t know that I knew about you going through my things, did you?”
“I didn’t mean to snoop...” Jenny began, but Elle cut her short.
“Like hell you didn’t! You are trying to tell me you accidentally went through my stuff and didn’t read the letter on purpose... It was all unintentional?” Her bronze skin was turning red as her blood began to boil. “I call bullshit!”
“You’re right. It wasn’t an accident.” Bailey spoke up and defended Jenny. “You said you had been venturing out and grabbed your stuff and had a handgun. I’m the one who went through your stuff. I gave this address to Jenny and said if you ever left for her to meet me here. It was my job as Head of the Central Revolution to make sure you weren’t a threat.”
“That was awful sophisticated sounding, even with your southern twang. You sure you didn’t mean ‘make sure you wasn’t a threat’?” Elle prodded at the ex-friend that she had always disliked.
“Bitch! I could kill you right now, ya know?” Elle had pushed Bailey to the breaking point, and she landed a hard slap across Elle’s face.
“Oh, you ain’t seen ‘bitch’ yet... Bitch!” In one fluid motion, Elle drew and sho
t Bailey in the left breast. “Maybe I can’t kill the alien, but I can sure as hell kill the human part of you. Truth is, you won’t die. You’ll heal fast, but until then... Hurts like a bitch, don’t it, honey?” Little Phoenix began to whimper, and Elle’s face went pale as she watched Jenny crumple behind Bailey.
“Whadya do that for?” Bailey gurgled, out of breath, as she pulled her trembling, blood soaked hand from her wound. “We’re on your side.”
Elle sat blank faced and thought ‘What the hell are you talking about now?’ but she was unable to speak, knowing she had inadvertently shot another human, not an Ahsusha or Taker, but a woman who had taken in a complete stranger and shared everything she had in the world with her. All Elle could do was hug Phoenix and sniffle.
Bailey clumsily leaned against the doorway and then slumped to the floor. “Damn girl...this does...hurt...like a bitch.” Gasping every few words, Bailey grimaced. “So...this is...how it ends?” Bailey flinched as the entire house shook. “Our Titan...will be here...soon.”
“Our Titan?” Elle said less than Bailey and felt as if the breath had been stolen from her.
“Yes...” Bailey sucked in a noisy breath and grunted in agony. “Waited till you...driven to...ready to...we came here...to meet you.” Her head hung low, and she rolled her eyes up to meet Elle’s. “You’re ready...to revolt...with us.” The light in her eyes dimmed.
Six-hundred and fifty-three million things ran through Elle’s mind, but one word escaped her lips. “What?”
“Please...don’t make me...repeat...” She grumbled and didn’t finish her sentence, but the reality sank in.
“Aw, hell.” Elle jumped into action, removing her papoose and little ‘Nix and placed him on the carpeted floor.
A thunderous boom shook the pictures from the walls and knocked the table lamp over as she scurried from the room leaving the two women and her infant lying on the floor. Elle tore through the bathroom closet and medicine cabinet. Useless items were tossed carelessly to the floor as she scrambled to find anything that might help her friends. Friends... It seemed odd to think of them as friends again when she had been so certain they were out to dismantle her plans to being a revolution. Maybe, just maybe, she was wrong. A few minutes, at most, had passed when she scurried back to the living room carrying an armload of towels, plastic bottles of rubbing alcohol and peroxide, and a tube of antibiotic ointment.
