He frowned. “The same way the door is. With this white, hard stuff. I don’t understand how they seal it so quick. It was just open a minute ago!” He rammed a shoulder into the plate. It didn’t budge.
“Must be some super goop.”
“I guess so.” He sighed. “On the bright side, it looks like they actually listened to us, although why that is, I can’t exactly fathom.” He pointed toward the cardboard box. Inside were three gallons of warm orange juice, a large bucket, a stack of what looked to be industrial paper towels, and a plastic bottle filled with a white substance.
“The water and orange juice we asked for,” I said. “Do you think they studied up on us enough to know that we need to dispose of our waste? That would explain the bucket.”
“Either that or they’ve seen the toilets in the school.” David grabbed the bucket and paper towels and brought them to the corner farthest away from the rows of benches. “Hey, guys!” he called out. “Here’s our shitter for tonight!” A few people gasped and then quieted as they realized there were no other alternatives.
I picked up the plastic bottle. Condensation formed on the outside, and it dripped on me. I peered into it. David appeared at my side again. “Do you think it’s just ice?” I asked him.
“Why would they give us a tiny bottle of ice? It’s not enough to use for anything.” His brow furrowed in confusion. “Maybe it’s for our hurt shoulders?” he offered. “Maybe it’s some sort of frozen medication to alter our brain waves.” He then shrugged, as if his last suggestion paired with the first quite conceivably.
I grimaced, and then thought about it as I poured my dad a cup of orange juice and brought it to him. He drank as I showed him the bottle. He couldn’t make anything from it either. It just didn’t make sense. Why would these creatures, these aliens, these…things, show us any compassion after doing what they’d done to us so far?
David brought Julie a cup of juice, and I sat down on the floor next to Simon to let him drink from my cup of water. The four of us sat in silence for a moment, drinking, thinking about the bottle.
Naomi joined us once the water line slowed down. “Think we can use the cardboard box to make a stall of sorts over there?” she asked David, pointing toward our makeshift toilet.
David nodded, and then walked over to grab the box and rip off one side of it. We watched him drag it over to the bucket in the corner.
I showed Naomi the bottle, and she stared at it as I had. I shook it into the now-empty cup I held, catching a few melted droplets. I tasted them. It was just ice.
“Well…” Naomi said, scratching her head. “Didn’t someone ask for a cold, stiff drink?”
David returned to us and heard the comment Naomi made. He sat down and started chuckling, his mustache twisting upward. His chuckles eventually turned into a full-fledged, hearty laugh. It was one of those great, contagious laughs that made a person forget what they were even thinking about. We all joined him in laughter, and for a brief moment, we forgot about the fear that enclosed and surrounded us like the walls of our makeshift prison.
Chapter 4
“It’s nearing dawn,” Naomi whispered. We sat on the bench next to the water jug, surveying our dim, pitiful new home. The bright overheard lights had been shut off two hours ago, and darkness once again encompassed us. Everyone took it as a sign to finally get some shut-eye. Except Naomi and I. We sat in the dark with a single candle lit between us.
I nodded. My shoulder was bothering me again, but every time I tried to lay down, the pain worsened. I was more exhausted than I’d ever remembered being, but relaxation seemed a state of mind as distant as a sunny beach at the moment. Maybe I needed a stiff drink. “I don’t suppose you got any real booze in that bag of yours?” I asked.
“If I did, I can assure you I’d be drinking it about now,” she said, laughing. “In the future, I’ll have to add a bottle of whiskey to my earthquake kit. Never leave home without it.”
“Not whiskey. Make it tequila.” I smiled at her weakly. Whiskey had been my father’s drink of choice when he was an alcoholic. The mere stench of the stuff was enough to make me sick.
“Sounds good. Bit of lime perhaps? Salt shaker?”
I grinned. “That’s my kinda earthquake kit.”
We were quiet for a few moments, watching the shadows of people stirring in their sleep. Bruce’s low snores traveled across the gym.
Naomi must have seen my eyes settle on his sleeping form as he lay bundled up with Simon and her blanket. “Is he well?” she asked.
“Not really. He has cancer in his throat and mouth. It went into remission about a year ago, but it’s come back with a vengeance. His body’s too weak to handle a second round of chemo and radiation. The doctors are afraid it’ll spread before he regains any strength.”
“You care a lot about him.”
“I dunno about that. He’s so stubborn. He refuses to go in for regular checkups this time around. I think he’s afraid to go through it all again. He’d never admit it, of course.”
“Can’t say I blame him. Cancer treatment is one of the worst things a person can go through. The thought of going through it twice…”
“I know. At the same time, he’s always been such a fighter. He’s survived two terms in the army, a stroke, heart attack, triple-bypass heart surgery, almost losing part of his foot due to an infection, diabetes, alcoholism, and two divorces. My mother passed away right as he was diagnosed with cancer…” I wasn’t sure how to continue speaking without letting my voice break apart. I didn’t know why I had just told Naomi my father’s entire life story consolidated into a single sentence, but there it was. His entire life, and my own life intertwined with his, hovered in the air. I took a deep breath and waited for it to collapse at my feet.
Naomi laid a warm hand on top of mine and squeezed it, negating any chance of a collapse. “Sometimes even the strongest of souls gotta sit down and take a breather. My late husband fought cancer for two years before he finally took it easy. He just stopped taking his medication one day, didn’t tell me until it was too late. He said he’d reached the finish line and didn’t want to die in a hospital bed, too weak to say my name. I called hospice, and a week later he was running the race again, this time among the clouds.”
“I dunno.” I sighed. “It’s really up to him. I’m not sure he’ll survive all this.”
“Is he on much medication? Did you bring it with you?”
“No. He pretty much fought every pill they tried to put him on. He’s on a few, but I didn’t think to grab them.”
“I don’t have much in my bags. Vitamins, some aspirin. But you’re welcome to either if you need them.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it. Could I steal a couple aspirin right now, if you don’t mind? My shoulder’s still killing me.”
Naomi nodded and rummaged around until she found them, then handed me two.
In the dim candlelight, a shadow crossed the room and came toward us. I swallowed my aspirin as the silhouette approached. It was a feminine silhouette I didn’t recognize. Finally she neared our candlelight, and stopped.
“Can I…have some water, please?” she asked in a soft voice.
“Well of course, honey, don’t be shy,” Naomi told her, handing her a paper cup.
“For my family too?” The newcomer was young, around my age or perhaps younger. Her accent was of Hispanic origin.
“Of course. Didn’t y’all come up and get some earlier?”
The girl shook her head shyly, her dark brown ponytail bobbing in the candlelight. My eyes surveyed the rest of her body. She was shorter than I was, barely, and wore jeans and a snug red hoodie. Her face was soft, with striking cheekbones and dark skin.
“How many?” Naomi continued.
“Three. Myself, my father, and mother.” Her gaze wandered toward me.
“Hi there. I’m Sam,” I said, smiling.
“Hello. My name is Kisana. My parents are Pablo and Marie.” She returned the smile, her green eyes me
eting my blue eyes for a second. “I have a brother too, who was not…with us.”
Naomi gave Kisana two more cups and introduced herself. “I’m sorry, honey. Many of us have been separated from loved ones. All we can do is pray they’re safe. Here you go. Now, no need to be shy. We’re all a family here until we figure out what’s going on.”
Kisana nodded. “Thank you very much. Good night.” She turned around and slowly left, shifting back into a shadowy silhouette. The silhouette floated back to the opposite side of the room. It had some pretty nice looking curves from my angle.
“You done drooling?” Naomi asked me quietly, eyebrows raised.
“I, uh…” I stammered, feeling my face redden. I guess I had been staring.
She chuckled at me and yawned. “She’s a cutie. Keep an eye on her?”
“Eh, she’s probably straight. I have a bad habit of falling for straight girls.” I scowled at the candle in front of us.
“So find out if she swings your way first, silly.”
I chuckled. “You make it sound so easy.”
“Psh. It is easy. If you want it to be. But something tells me you like to do things the hard way.”
“I think I’m kinda stupid that way. I’ve made a lot of shortcuts in my life, but when it comes to the important things, I like to make them stupidly hard on myself.”
“That’s okay. You’re still young.” Naomi smiled at me and yawned again. “Well, I think I’m gonna try and get some shut-eye. You should too; that aspirin should be kicking in shortly.” She got up and stretched. She was very tall. No wonder people did as she asked.
“Thanks, and good night.” Her silhouette disappeared into a dark corner where the others slept. I picked up the tiny candle and carried it over to the wannabe toilet, thinking about Naomi’s wise words. I felt honored to have met the woman, even if the circumstances were the among the worst imaginable in the entire planet’s history.
While behind the temporary bathroom stall, I took the time to make a makeshift litter box for Simon out of ripped cardboard and bits of paper towels. He wouldn’t like the facilities on hand, but he sure wasn’t alone with that sentiment.
On my way back, another pair of candles glowed in the dim light of pre-dawn. I edged closer to them curiously. Three people hunched over them, two women and a man. The man clutched a beaded rosary in his hands. The three huddled over it with closed eyes, deep in prayer. They didn’t notice me. I recognized Kisana and realized that she was with her parents.
I quietly tiptoed away, smiling. I wasn’t religious whatsoever, neither was Bruce, but in cases like this, I could appreciate the role religion played for families. Religion held them together. That rosary was like a sort of glue. I was glad Kisana had such a good family and found myself just a bit envious.
I found my way back to Bruce and Simon and poked Simon awake so I could lead him to his new litter box. He swished his tail at me in confusion but eventually followed me and used it, making a complete mess out of the cardboard in the process. I sighed and left cleaning up the mess for the morning.
We went back to Bruce and joined him on the floor. I blew out my candle, stole part of Bruce’s blanket, and tried to will my eyelids to grow heavy. I was exhausted, but my mind was working in overdrive. What if the aliens try to eat us in our sleep? I forced my mind away from the thought, figuring that David was probably thinking enough similar thoughts for the both of us.
I sighed, wishing I had brought my book with me. I turned and cuddled up to Simon then thought about how beautiful Kisana’s face looked in the candlelight. That did the trick, and I was soon asleep.
Chapter 5
I slept uneasily, with wild dreams that reminded me of fever dreams and made no more sense to me than our situation. Every little sneeze, cough, or shuffle woke me and caused my heart to thud noisily in my chest. The one time I fell into a decent sleep, loud voices drifted into my feverish brain, and I awoke grumbling. The voices came from Bruce and David, who weren’t even trying to talk quietly. I could have sworn Naomi and I kept our voices down when they were sleeping last night.
“Sam likes to sleep all damn day when she can get away with it,” my dad mumbled.
I opened my eyes a sliver and saw the bright light of the overhead lights. “Forget it, I’m up,” I announced, groaning loudly. I sat up too fast and immediately cried out in pain. “Dammit,” I mumbled. “This thing needs to heal.”
“Whoa, easy there,” David said. “You need to give it time.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I muttered. “Why are the huge lights on?”
“They turned them on a few hours ago. Sorry we woke you. This place kind of echoes.”
My dad rolled his eyes at David. I fumed silently. “Can we ask the aliens for coffee?”
“Coffee? It’s after noon,” David noted, peering at his watch.
“And?” I grumbled. “Doesn’t look like we got anywhere to go.”
“Can we ask the aliens for a shower? How about a change of clothes?” Naomi said.
“Cable TV, please,” my dad mumbled. It was my turn to roll my eyes.
Naomi handed me a sheet of paper with a list of food and supplies on it. “Add Bruce’s supplies and medication. While you were sleeping, we figured we’d attempt to make a list of demands.”
I did as I was told, making sure to add food and supplies for Simon, too. A few minutes later, as we sat in a circle and yawned, an explosive bang echoed, coming from outside. A crashing sound followed. An image of boulders colliding with the shriek of metal support beams traveled through my mind. The walls and ground surrounding us shook, and we exchanged wide-eyed glances. Simon jumped up, hissing and arching his back. I wrapped an arm around him. The lights above our heads flickered off with a resounding, electrical fizzle.
“Earthquake?” Naomi asked.
David stood up, shaking his head. “Something exploded and then collapsed. Made us lose power.” He walked to the opposite end of the gym, squinting as he tried to peer up and out of the tiny window perched near the ceiling above my head.
“See anything?” I asked. Kisana, her family, and the other inhabits of our prison joined us. We all stared upward as the rumbling continued. I pulled Simon close, rubbing the bridge of his soft nose as his hisses quieted to distrusting grunts. It felt like we were trapped within a collapsed mine shaft, rocks cascading around us, daring us to escape yet mocking us because they knew we were unable to.
“No.” His voice was strained. “What are their plans for us? Why are they blowing up buildings and electrical poles? Where’s the rest of the city’s population? Where’s my family?”
No one had any answers for him. As the final collisions of the demolition sounded, we listened as silence replaced the ominous rumbling. Naomi sighed and lit her two tiny candles. The single boarded window wasn’t enough to let us see much of anything, even during the day.
David kept his gaze focused anxiously at the distant window, but it didn’t offer any answers either. Julie ran to him and hugged his knees.
“Daddy,” she said, “you have me!”
His gaze softened as he knelt and wrapped his arms around his daughter. “That I do, pumpkin. That I do.”
Naomi cleared her throat and stood up, facing everyone. “We need to be strong,” she said. “Let’s think on the here and now, not what’s going on outside that window.”
I stared straight ahead, focusing my vision on a single discolored tile halfway up the wall. I could almost smell the scent of decimated concrete and wood, even though it was unlikely the dust had penetrated our building. I sank my fingers into Simon’s fur, letting his familiar warmth seep into my skin.
Bruce stood up and shuffled toward me. “Sam,” he said, “I don’t feel so good.” He leaned heavily on a nearby bench.
“Dad!” I exclaimed, turning away from my tile. “Why are you up? Sit down!”
He obliged, and I reluctantly let go of Simon to get my father some juice. I also took the time to relieve myse
lf and fix Simon’s papier-mâché litter box disaster. As I was returning, the overhead lights flickered and buzzed on again.
The intercom box crackled. People whispered amongst themselves. I brought Bruce his juice and took a seat between Naomi and my dad, grabbing a hold of Simon, who by now was calm except for his swiveling tail.
“Do you re-quire sus-ten-ance?” the intercom asked. The voice sounded the same as it had the night before.
“We do!” Naomi said loudly. “We have a list of demands, if you can read English! We have a member among us that needs very specific medical drugs and equipment! Before that, however, we have a few questions. We have a right to know what’s happening to us, and the world around us!” She quickly blew out the candles near us.
The intercom crackled in response. “You are tem-po-rary res-i-dents here. Soon, you will be re-un-ited with your fam-i-lies.” I had to concentrate to understand the words that each languid syllable formed.
Naomi took a deep breath. “Yes, but why are we here? What are you doing to the rest of our planet? You’re toppling buildings? What is it you want?”
“We sim-ply wish to stu-dy your civ-il-iz-a-tion. You will be safe if you res-pect that.” The intercom crackled some more. “You have a list? We have re-searched your writ-ten lan-guage ad-e-quat-el-y.”
“Yes. What about the medications and supplies?”
“What-e-ver you need, we will do our best.”
“What about our phones?” David asked. “I need to get in contact with my wife!”
“Elec-tron-ic sig-nals and sat-ell-ites have been dis-ab-led for now. We know who your fam-i-lies are, due to gen-et-ic mark-ings. They will be brought here soon.”
“And what building did you just destroy?” David asked the question through clenched teeth.
“Noth-ing of your con-cern. We are on-ly test-ing your arch-i-tect-ure.”
“Are there more of you in other states, other countries?” Naomi asked.
“Yes. We have stat-ions all o-ver.”
“Are the people safe there?”
“Yes. Please, place the list by the sup-ply hatch. That is all.” The intercom crackled again then shut off.
Captive by the Fog Page 4
