The Next Thing I Knew (Heavenly)

by John Corwin

  I checked on Nick. He wasn't too hard to find since Kyle had assigned a few trustworthy members of our team to keep tabs on him. I'd been thinking a lot about him lately. With my new skills, I knew it was time to either confirm or assuage my doubts about his alien connections. Nick may have unknowingly been used by Shaval to kill us.

  He was camped out in an old farmstead in southern Argentina. He had plenty of food. He was also plenty scared. This part of the world wasn't ground zero for the Rrilk operations since they'd started in major cities around the world. But one of Kyle's operatives told me Nick had made it far enough north to see the Rrilk converting a mid-sized city into energy cubes. He'd spied on them a while, then retreated south. Since then, he'd been stockpiling whatever weapons he could find but didn't hold out much hope of surviving.

  Dead bodies lay everywhere as well. It hadn't taken Nick long to know that something horrible and widespread had happened during his exile. The poor guy was beside himself with fear and grief. It was time to let him know he wasn't alone.

  I found him sitting in the kitchen of the old farmhouse. The place was clean, but worn with age. Cracked white paint covered the doors and walls. The antique stove burned coal. The oak table was battered with age and use, but could still probably take another century of hard duty. A clear bottle filled with amber alcohol sat in the center of the table. I expected Nick would be drunk as usual. But he wasn't drinking the alcohol. He was pouring it into other smaller bottles and stuffing rags in them.

  "He's making Molotov cocktails," a familiar voice said.

  I spun and saw a face I hadn't seen since dying. "Jane!" I grasped her in a fierce hug. "I looked everywhere for you on D-Day, but got sidetracked."

  She smiled that crooked clever smile of hers that always spelled trouble, especially for me. "I did some pretty extreme experimentation during our first months. I only started looking for family recently."

  "But if you're here, that means Kyle found you."

  "I found him. When you guys put out a general distress call for volunteers, I came."

  That meant she'd been here a while. My happiness turned a bit sour. "And why the hell didn't you tell me you were here? Why didn't Kyle tell me?"

  "He didn't know it was me."

  "Bull. Kyle could identify you a mile away. He used to have a huge crush on you."

  Jane turned away. "Really?" she said. Except her voice no longer sounded the same. Her hair shortened and turned honey gold, then light brown. She turned back to me and it was no longer the cousin I'd known. It was a cute brown girl with cropped hair.

  "Holy crap."

  Her features morphed back over the course of a few seconds. "It's really hard to hold it for long. Your self-image has to change inside here," she said, tapping her head. "I didn't want him to know it was me. I was pretty messed up in life. It felt like a chance to start over, maybe do something worthwhile."

  "No excuse for hiding from your cousin, punk."

  She smiled wistfully. "I know. I want you to know how proud I am of you, Luce. Everyone in the group looks up to you."

  "Are you kidding? I'm pretty sure half of them hate me."

  "They respect you. I respect you. You saved our lives."

  I cleared my throat and looked away to keep sudden tears at bay. "Do you have a Rrilk host?"

  "Yes. I've been practicing. I love my Rrilk."

  "They're not pets, silly. What made you decide to show yourself to me now?"

  "I missed you." Her right eye twitched. I'd seen that same twitch a million times before. Jane was lying to me. It could be a little white lie, or something big. And no matter how much I prodded her, she wouldn't admit it.

  I decided not to confront her about it. It wasn't important. Not now. "I'd better get to work," I said. "Let's catch up later."

  She hugged me again, kissed me on the cheek. "I'm headed back to base, cuz. Ciao."

  Nick cursed as he spilled some alcohol on the table. Was he seriously going to throw these things at the Rrilk or the giant centipedes?

  I slipped into my meditative pose, hovering next to him. I merged into him almost effortlessly. I felt his thought stream pressing against my mental dam, but it wasn't as hard to keep it at bay as it had been with Zhrrii. Maybe because he and I shared human genes, or maybe because I was better at it now. I found his conscious thoughts. He wasn't even aware I'd linked up with him although he wondered why the temperature had dropped a few degrees. Then he stopped what he was doing as his mind remembered something.

  "Lucy?" he said. It feels just like those times I dreamed of her.

  It's me.

  He jumped, spilled more alcohol, and stared around him.

  I'm in your head, silly. Just as always.

  "So I am going nuts. Bloody hell. First aliens, now I'm crazy. Or maybe I'm just crazy and there are no aliens."

  I laughed. You're not crazy. The bad news: Everyone is dead and aliens have landed. The worse news: You're the only human alive.

  "I take it there's no good news then?"

  Well, the aliens here are going to help us.

  "Help us? Wait, if humans are dead, who's us?"

  That might take a while to explain. But I did. For the next several hours, I told Nick everything. And while I did, I spied on his past. I went back to the time during the car crash to see what he knew. I didn't find much. After answering his questions he still seemed reluctant to believe that he wasn't simply crazy. I told him we'd send a shuttle to pick him up and take him to base, that being Atlanta.

  "Will an alien be in it?"

  Yes. They look scary as hell, but they're pretty cool. Don't panic.

  "After those images you showed me in my brain, I don't know if I can stay calm. I might crap myself. How would that be for meeting their first living human?"

  Considering how stinky their natural odor is, I don't think they'll notice a little poo in your britches.

  He laughed.

  I need to ask you some questions. They relate to your parents' deaths.

  Nick stiffened. "If you've been in my head before, then you probably know how stupid I was during my last few years."

  I don't think you were stupid. I think you were used. I tapped into his memories and pushed the last few seconds before the crash into his conscious mind.

  "Why am I seeing this? Wasn't it bad enough having to live through it once?"

  You'll see why. I skipped to the part with the floating orb. I'd examined it earlier. It was definitely alien. What is that?

  It took him a while to answer. I noticed he was holding back tears. "I have no idea."

  I think that thing brainwashed you. That's why you blanked out for a few days. Kyle thinks you might have been carrying a disease that wiped humans out.

  He pushed back in his chair and jolted to his feet. "You think I'm responsible for killing everyone? You think I'm a monster?"

  Calm down, Nick. We think you were used. And you probably weren't the only one. There's no way one person could spread the disease to all corners of the Earth.

  "Are you sure there aren't any other survivors? Maybe in remote parts of the planet?"

  We haven't found any. Look, it doesn't matter. We're dead and there's nothing to be done about it.

  "Unless Shaval shows up and tears us a new one. Again."

  Right.

  "What can I do to help?"

  I really don't know. For now, I want you safe. I called Kyle and asked him to bring the shuttle in. He was merged with Ciirr. They'd decided having Kyle in his host might smooth the psychological impact for both parties. When Kyle had asked him to help gather bodies, Ciirr had been deathly afraid. He thought humans were scary looking and gross. Oh, I'd had a laugh about that one.

  Let's go outside. The shuttle will be here shortly.

  Nick took one last look at his meager lodging. He grabbed a suitcase of clothes he'd scavenged together over the past few weeks of travelling and stepped into the chilly night air.

  The shuttle la
nded without a sound. I hadn't seen one in action and was impressed. It looked boxy like the main cube ship and was designed for carrying cargo. You could fit a couple of elephants in it. Not surprising since the intended purpose was to collect species from planets for Shaval. He probably had a massive zoo right next to his pimped-out mansion.

  An unseen light source flooded the area around the ship. The side hatch slid silently open. Ciirr poked out a tentative tentacle and peered around the edge. He trumpeted a sound.

  I tapped into Nick. He just said, 'Hello, human'.

  Nick waved. "Hi, Rrilk."

  His name is Ciirr.

  "Hi, Ciirr."

  Of course Nick's pronunciation didn't even come close to making it understandable to Ciirr. But it's the thought that counts in my book. Ciirr stiffened his walking tentacles and approached. Nick shrank back. Ciirr paused, his front tentacles up in a sign of peace. Or maybe that was the gesture for "Please don't hurt me, scary human." Sometimes I mix the signals up.

  Hold out your hand to him. He'll rub his tentacle against it. Don't freak out.

  Nick cringed. "Oh, God. Oh my God. I wish I'd peed beforehand."

  Ciirr inched closer to Nick's outstretched hand. His tentacle extended so slowly I wondered if it was moving. It reached Nick's hand. The tentacle flinched. Nick closed his eyes. Ciirr mustered more courage, or either Kyle took motor control and rubbed his tentacle quickly over Nick's arm. Then he trumpeted another greeting and asked Nick to follow him into the shuttle.

  I translated.

  "You were right about one thing," Nick said.

  What's that?

  "They stink to bloody high heaven."

  Nick boarded. The seats were high but not too difficult to sit on as they were designed to have tentacles draped over them. They resembled tall metallic mushrooms. Ciirr looked uneasily at Nick. I could have sworn his tentacles pulled to the opposite side of the cockpit even though Nick was sitting behind him and to the right. Ciirr inserted his tentacles into the control sockets and the shuttle lifted off.

  An emergency symbol flashed on the communications holographic display. Ciirr answered. Zhrrii's frightened face appeared. It amazed me how much I could interpret now. But that look meant something bad was going on.

  "Shaval contacted us. He knows we traced his transmission. He is coming for us."

  Chapter 19

  Oh, crap.

  "What?" Nick asked.

  I hadn't meant to transmit that. Looks like Shaval is coming to visit. I've got to get back to base. Can you manage?

  "Well, Ciirr hasn't eaten me yet, so I'm good."

  See you soon.

  I unlatched myself from his body. Kyle emerged from Ciirr. We looked at each other then flitted back to Atlanta without a word. I went straight to Zhrrii and merged.

  Did Shaval give an estimated time of arrival?

  No. She reached out to the display and played back a recording. The transmitting symbol appeared and the same synthetic voice spoke.

  "Worker Zhrrii, an unauthorized trace was sent from your location. You will confine your crew to quarters and await investigation." The transmission ended.

  That could be a month from now, I said.

  We are afraid.

  I am too.

  I withdrew from her and went outside in time to see the shuttle with Nick landing. "That was fast," I said to Kyle.

  "They make our jets look like toys."

  I tapped into Zhrrii and told her about Nick's arrival then tapped into Nick. Zhrrii approached him. She wasn't frightened like Ciirr. She'd seen human bodies, but this was her first living human. She shivered with fascination.

  "He is like the climbers from our world. But he is missing a rear appendage," she said.

  Show me a climber. Zhrrii thought of something that looked like a monkey with tentacles. I tapped into Nick. Zhrrii thinks you look like a monkey.

  Nick laughed.

  Fascinating. Zhrrii thought.

  Nick's eyes widened. Wow. Hello, Zhrrii. I can understand you.

  I realized with a start that I'd tapped into both of them without disconnecting from one or the other. I transferred the Rrilk language to Nick, something I'd meant to do earlier but had forgotten. I also passed along a few other tidbits about body language, but Nick winced and put a hand to his head. Apparently organic beings couldn't take on too much transferred information at once. At least Nick would have the language. He wouldn't be able to speak it, but he could understand the parts that were within the range of human hearing.

  As much as I wanted to foster understanding between my people and Zhrrii's, I had to find Anil and prepare him for Shaval. He might kill the Rrilk from space or send in some other aliens to kill them. We had to be ready to act fast. I called Anil and gave him an update.

  "How are things with Harb?"

  "He's a fast learner but impatient. At least he and his followers are being respectful of the Rrilk."

  "We need a pow-wow soon. Whatever Shaval throws at us will be nasty. I want a plan in place."

  "Lucy, you've become quite the leader."

  "This is survival, mister. Of course I'm going to get bossy."

  Anil laughed. "I'll return soon for the pow-wow. I'm at a critical stage with Harb and lessons are necessarily delicate."

  "Don't want to bruise that ten-gallon ego of his."

  "Yes. But left alone he could damage our operations."

  I snorted. "Ok, see you after the next Rrilk sleep period?"

  "Sounds good." He disconnected.

  Kyle emerged from Ciirr and approached me. "We're going to run that shuttle test."

  "Going to get your body?"

  "Yeah. Might as well get yours while we're there."

  I shuddered. "I'll go with you." I informed Zhrrii of our plans. She wanted to come. She'd seen images of me in her mind, but hadn't seen my physical body yet.

  It's gonna be nasty, I told her.

  Kyle merged with Ciirr, and I with Zhrrii. We directed them to our neighborhood. I'd lost track of time. It had been almost four months since D-Day. I wasn't sure I wanted to see my body. It'd probably be filled with roaches and worms. Maybe maggots. The thought nauseated me. Zhrrii caught some of my emotions and asked me what was wrong. I explained it to her and she made a snuffling noise, the Rrilk equivalent of gagging.

  We will treat your body with respect no matter the condition.

  We arrived. I left Zhrrii and found my body in roughly the same position it'd been in. Unseasonably cold weather had only barely helped. My body was swollen and smelled terrible with pustules, blistering skin, and some bugs skittering around. It hardly looked like me. I wanted to puke. Kyle walked beside me and whistled.

  "You're a hot mess, girl."

  "Your body can't look much better."

  Zhrrii and Ciirr entered. I merged with her again. They lay our bodies out on the floor. She took out a small pen-shaped device that sprayed a disinfectant/preservative on my body and the bodies of my family. I'd expected the corpses to be stiff, but the effects of rigor mortis had long since subsided. I thought I was past caring about the physical vessels that used to be mine and my family's, but had to hold back tears when they brought in my brother's swollen, blistered little corpse. I hadn't spoken to my parents since the day Ms. Tate and her goons had tried to forcibly convert me to their religion. I wondered what they'd think of this horror.

  I am so sorry, Lucy. I wish Shaval did not do this to your people no matter how badly you treat each other here.

  Sometimes I think we deserved it. But anyone who can mass murder like this is a monster too.

  Zhrrii twitched her tentacle in a nod. They picked up the bodies and moved them into the shuttle's cargo bay. Once there, they sprayed a translucent gel over the bodies that hardened. At least now I didn't have to look at them. After collecting the corpses from Kyle's place, we returned to base.

  How can we keep track of whose body is in which shell? I asked as they moved all but Kyle's body from
the shuttle. The gunk they'd sprayed on the bodies concealed their identities, not that it was easy to tell with the nasty putrid skin. If Kyle's travel plan worked, we needed to know which bodies had to be loaded on the shuttle.

  The gel contains nanomeds, tiny robots, which sample DNA and enter the information into the ship database. I will tag the records with your names, Zhrrii said.

  I left her and found Kyle. "We should find the bodies of our other team members. Even if your plan doesn't work, we can find a safe place to hide them for the time being.

  "Sounds good." He looked at the shuttle and bit his lower lip. "I'm off. Wish me luck." He and Ciirr left in the shuttle.

  I contacted the rest of the group and asked them to take their hosts to their corpses in one of the other shuttles. I hoped we'd have all the bodies collected within a few hours.

  It took longer. Some people couldn't remember exactly where they had been on D-Day. At least two team members' corpses were charred beyond recognition, one due to a car wreck after death, the other due to a natural gas fire. Scavengers had snacked on Bethany's corpse. Half her face was gone and her guts were hanging out from a hole in her stomach. I took secret delight at the look on her face when we retrieved it. Chris was there too and it took all my willpower not to shove my gruesome glee in their faces.

  Jane didn't want me to go with her to retrieve her body. I covertly followed her anyway and figured out why. Her body lay barely clothed at the base of a dance pole in a strip club. She'd quit her job at the Flying Biscuit and started working at the Pink Leopard. I decided there was no reason to confront her about it. I wish she'd shared it with me though. It hurt not to have her full trust, especially after all we'd been through. Especially after dying, for god's sake.

  Kyle returned a day later, full of stories about his trip out of the solar system. Apparently there wasn't a lot out there except dust and emptiness but he'd made it past the barrier. We took all the team members' corpses in the shuttle and made a test run after his return to make sure it'd work. When we were almost there, Kyle's friend Mike vanished. Kyle contacted him and discovered that the invisible leash had yanked Mike out of the shuttle. His body was one of the unrecognizably burned ones so apparently we'd grabbed the wrong corpse. Oops.