by C. S. Nelson
Annie relaxed her shoulders. “Fine,” she said, unable to hide her frustration. She knew that he was done with the subject, and there was no sense in continuing to question him.
“Damn, Annie." Zed exhaled. "You’re feisty.”
She smirked. “That’s not the first time I’ve been told that.”
They began walking again, continuing towards the edge of the Shield. “Maybe I should just join a career and see if anyone notices.”
“You told me that you wanted to be a ranger before, is that still true?”
“Yeah,” he said. “I’d like to help out. And to be honest, the soul suckers don’t really scare me.”
“You know the soul suckers have almost destroyed the entire human race, right?”
“Maybe we had it coming.”
Annie had never heard anyone speak the way he did. Whatever Shield he had come from must have had very backward views about the aliens. “No one deserves to have their home destroyed. We shouldn’t have to fear for our lives every day. The soul suckers came from somewhere, and wherever they came from, they were getting energy from things other than humans. There was no reason for them to come to Earth and murder us all.”
Zed nodded. “Intriguing thought. I wonder if in your history classes, they told you about what humans were doing to the planet before the soul suckers arrived.”
Annie was at a loss for words. They learned, what Annie believed to be, a lot of history about the human race before the soul suckers had attacked. She knew about major contributions, old scientists who had figured out genetics and evolution, and the way of life from the before the Hunt. She learned a lot about Dr. Albert Henderson. He was the greatest hero in all of human history. Annie wondered when they arrived at Mpho if the humans there would care, or if his name would be forgotten. She wondered if Earth history would survive at all after they left the planet behind.
“We were poisoning the planet. Making it sick. Dumping chemicals into our oceans and destroying habitats in the forests. We were killing other species too,” Zed continued.
Annie was at a loss for words. She knew that there were other animals out there. She had learned about the lions and elephants in Africa, the kangaroos in Australia. She had seen deer grazing just outside the Shield, and squirrels and rabbits. One time she had even seen a coyote, as the sun was setting, run across the field. She wondered if there was someone in a Shield in Australia watching the kangaroos hop by.
“Well I can’t defend the actions of the people born hundreds to thousands of years ago.”
“I’m just saying.” Zed held up his hands in defense. “Maybe the suckers were trying to save the planet by killing us off. Human beings weren't the only ones inhabiting Earth, after all.”
Annie couldn’t help it, she laughed out loud at his ridiculous suggestion. “What kind of backward Shield did you grow up in? The soul suckers came here to take over the planet, and that’s all.” Zed began to smirk. Annie furrowed her brow. “What’s so funny?”
He sighed. “This conversation got so serious for no reason. We’re supposed to be enjoying today.”
Annie was annoyed. She was overwhelmed by Zed’s arrogance and ridiculous theories. She was upset at the position she had played in getting Kevin demoted and sent away and she was angry that Summer had so much hatred towards her. All in all, today had been a rough day for her. “Well you aren’t working, so you don’t need a day off. And my day has already been ruined. So if you’re looking to enjoy the day with me, it's safe to say that isn't going to happen.”
They had reached the edge of the Shield, and were just walking along the inner side, looking out as the snow gently fell. “Well if you aren’t going to enjoy today, I promise that I won’t either. But I’ll make sure that you aren’t alone.”
Annie couldn’t tell if she was annoyed with the boy or if she wanted him to stay. She felt a smile creep up on her, unable to hide it. “Why are you so nice to me?” she mumbled. She was too proud to let her anger go.
Zed shrugged. “Everyone in this place is already dead. You’re still full of life.”
Annie didn’t know what he meant, but it made her feel warm. They walked in silence for a few seconds along the inner edge of the Shield. Then Annie felt a blast of cold, for just a moment. She paused. “Did you feel that?”
“Feel what?” Zed asked.
She backed up and felt it again. It was as though the air from outside the Shield was seeping through. It was always slightly warmer in the Shield, from the sun beaming down, the lack of wind, and all the life inside. There were days in the summer where it was so boiling hot that Annie used to think the skin was going to melt off her bones. But here, in this one spot, Annie could feel the cold air from outside.
She motioned for Zed to come to her spot. He stepped over and stood still for a moment. “I can feel the wind.”
Annie swallowed hard. She knew what that meant. This Shield, just like every other one before it, was falling apart. She moved closer, leaning down, and inspected the Shield closely. There was a small area, about half a meter wide, that didn’t have the same shine to it that was supposed to be there. It was from this spot that the cool air was coming in. She sighed, putting her hand in the spot, and felt nothing. No resistance, no jelly-like substance. Just open air. “There’s a hole,” she said. She almost couldn't believe it. She didn’t want to believe it. She had always tried to keep a level head about the understanding that the Shield may break down before the ship from Mpho arrived, but it felt soul-crushing in this moment to understand that this was the reality.
“What do we do?” Zed asked.
Annie stood up. “I don’t know. You’re the one who survived the break down of one of these before. How long until this hole gets bigger?”
Zed shrugged. “I was never close enough to the edge to get a good look at it.”
He was just as ill prepared for this as the rest of them were. “Well..." Annie tried to relax her body. Maybe it wasn't as bad as she thought it was. "The good news is that this hole is too small for any aliens to get through. Hopefully this is the only one.”
“Chances are very slim that we stumbled across the only hole in the Shield,” Zed said. “The suckers are smart. It won’t take them long to notice the holes in the Shield. Their eyesight is better than ours; they’ll notice the lack of surface reflecting the sunlight.”
Annie wondered how Zed knew that, but she wondered a lot of things about him. “What do we do?” Annie asked.
“Tell the president?”
Annie was hesitant, and she wasn’t sure why. The more she saw the president and Summer Henderson interact with each other, the less she trusted them with important information. They were a couple, or so the community thought, but to Annie it seemed as though they despised each other. There was a never-ending power struggle between them. They were using information as weapons. “I don’t trust him,” Annie whispered. “I don’t think we should tell him.”
“Annie…” Zed looked shocked. “I know he’s a dick, but…”
“I know, I know, it’s a horrible thing to say. Just, we can’t tell him yet. Give me some time to think.”
Zed squeezed Annie’s shoulder, and although he seemed hesitant, he smiled warmly at her. “I won’t tell anyone. You can trust me.”
Annie and Zed locked eyes for a moment, and Annie was overwhelmed. Everything that had happened to her today came crashing down on her and she felt helpless. Before she had taken a breath, she found herself in tears. She cried so rarely. It had always made her feel weak. She was frustrated with herself that she was doing it now, in front of Zed.
Zed wrapped his arms around her tightly. She let it all go. Every sob that she had been holding in. For Anthony, for Kevin, for the impeding doom of their home. She cried into Zed’s chest until her eyes were so sore that she could barely keep them open. Zed ran his fingers through her hair, saying nothing as his shirt became soaked with tears.
“None of this is fair,” she sa
id, finally looking up, rubbing her tears on her sleeve.
“Life is never fair.” Zed shook his head, his unusually grey eyes locked with hers. “I bet the humans before the suckers attacked were saying the same thing.”
“Yeah, well they didn’t know how lucky they had it.”
“Maybe we don’t know how lucky we have it now.”
Annie crinkled her nose at him but left the conversation alone. “We need to do a perimeter check,” she said, snapping back into reality. There was work to be done, which meant there was no time to be sad. “Make sure there’s no massive tears.”
“And what do we do if there are?” Zed asked.
Annie shrugged, beginning her walk around the inner edge of the Shield. “You tell me. You’ve been through this before.”
Zed followed her. “The most we can do is act normal and hope that they don’t notice. Any form of panic will attract them. They don’t hang out around the edge of the Shields now anyway, knowing how vulnerable they are.”
“That’s your great suggestion? Pretend the issue isn’t happening?”
“Aren’t you doing the same thing by not alerting the president?”
Annie rolled her eyes. “You’re too smart for your own good.”
Zed laughed.
They walked in silence for a few moments. Then Annie was blasted with wind. Not gently, but a strong gust all over her body. Annie faced the Shield, and saw that there was a hole twice her arm’s length and a meter taller. Zed stopped with her, and they both stared in disbelief. There was no reason to continue searching. They were not safe. “What do we do now?” Zed asked.
Annie couldn’t take her eyes off of the open space in front of her. She knew what this meant for all of the people she had grown up with. This meant the end of the world. This meant death. “Pray.”
Chapter 13: Injections
“I wish Kevin nothing but the best, but as many of you already know, I will be the new acting commander,” Scott said. He was bold. He was ready for this. Scott was the better choice for acting commander. She didn’t understand how Kevin had gotten it over him in the first place.
“Congrats, man.” Mitch slapped him on the back.
Scott tried to hide a grin. “You deserve it!” one of the vets called out.
“Today, we’re going to go on a simple supply mission. Specifically focusing on things for the chefs. We’re running low on food. Vets, you know how dangerous the path is to get to this store. There are often soul suckers in the dark part of the forest. For that reason, I am going to ask the following vets to join me today…”
Annie wasn’t offended that Scott only trusted the veterans to go on this mission with him. That meant a needed day off for her. The five most experienced rangers were chosen by Scott to go on the mission. Annie stood awkwardly with the rest of the new recruits, wondering if it was wise to send their best and brightest all out on one mission. There was always a chance that no one would come back.
“Stay safe,” she said to each of them as the vets stepped past her to go out on their mission. To her surprise, she received nods, half hugs, and handshakes from them all. Somehow she had earned the veterans’ respect overnight. Scott walked past her last and stopped in front of her.
“Annie, thank you,” he said. She was confused. “Thank you for following your commander, and fighting for him until the very end. You’re a damn good ranger.” He patted her on the shoulder before leaving the camp. Annie wondered if he felt any guilt for convincing Kevin to carry on with the mission that had gotten Anthony killed.
The veterans immediately dispersed. They were used to days like these. Mission days that they were lucky enough to not be chosen for. But Annie and the other new recruits stood around for a moment, unsure of what to do.
“So where is Kevin?” Mia asked Annie.
Annie swallowed. “I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?” Allison asked.
“Yes, Allison. I don’t know where Kevin is. He was dragged off before I had a chance to ask him where he was going.”
An awkward silence filled the room. “He loved you, you know,” Mia said.
Annie bit her lip to keep herself from crying. “We were close, I guess.”
“You were all he ever talked about,” Ethan snorted, before adding, “He didn’t deserve to be taken away.”
She smiled at her fellow recruits. They all knew what she had been going through since Anthony had died. They had respected her wish to be left alone. Annie realized now that while she had isolated herself, the rest of the new recruits had grown close. Justin’s arm was around Allison’s waist. Ethan was leaning on Dougie. They were all standing close together staring at Annie. She was the odd one out.
Someone pushed the door to the sleeping quarters open. It was a large, muscular man with a dark hood over his face. He didn’t look at them as he walked by, just pushed past and unlocked the office at the back of the room. “Who was that?” Annie asked. She had never seen anyone but acting commander go into the office.
“He’s been coming in here about once a week for the last month,” Turner scoffed. “You haven’t noticed?”
“Has no one questioned why he’s been going into the commander’s office?” Annie asked, ignoring him. “That room is private. This guy started coming and going as soon as Commander Matthew disappeared?”
“It’s probably something important,” Ethan said. “Way above our pay grade.”
“Well…I don’t trust him.” Annie crossed her arms. “Why did he arrive as soon as Scott left? Why is he covering his face?”
“You don’t trust him because he’s wearing a hood?” Turner asked. There were a couple of odd chuckles. “Kevin made you paranoid, my friend.”
Perhaps they were right, Annie thought. She had been spending months with someone who trusted nothing the president said, who questioned everything he had ever heard, who deliberately went against orders. Maybe she needed to relax for once, actually enjoy a day off. The rest of the new recruits didn’t seem to have a hard time doing so.
They all went silent as the hooded man came back out of the office. He pulled the keys out of his pocket to lock the door behind him. Annie debated for a moment whether or not she should say something to him. “Excuse me!” Annie called out to him before she could stop herself. The rangers around her tensed up.
Dougie grabbed her arm. “What are you doing?” he whispered.
I don’t know.
The man turned but his face was still hidden. “Yes?” he grunted. His hand dropped from the door. He sounded familiar.
“I’m the head of Commander Scott’s security team,” she lied through her teeth, hoping that he wouldn’t call her out on it. When the man didn’t move, she continued. “I just wanted to make sure you knew that no one is allowed in that office except for Commander Scott himself. Strictly off limits unless given written permission.”
The hooded man didn’t move for a moment, just staring ahead at nothing in particular. Perhaps to determine whether or not she were lying, or perhaps trying to think of a lie himself. “I was sent by the hospital to gather some papers that contain vital information for the wellbeing of a patient. The acting commander knew I was coming.”
His words were rehearsed, Annie could feel it. “I order you to show me your written permission, or I will be forced to retain you,” Annie said. She regretted the words she chose as soon as they came out of her mouth. Too bold. She could hear Mia whimper behind her as the man tensed again.
“Look, little girl.” He began walking towards her, his face covered in shadow, his movements unpredictable. “I take orders from the president, and the president only. I’d like to see you stop me from leaving.”
As the man stepped past her, he spat. She didn’t need to stop him, she realized as she jumped out of the way of the incoming saliva, she just needed to find out who he was. She yanked his hood off once his back was to her. He growled, turning to stare at her with evil, hollow eyes. She did recogn
ize this man. It was the guard that had tried to stop her from entering the president’s office the day before, with three long scars down his face.
Justin and Dougie pulled Annie back away from the man as he reached out to grab her. Ethan stepped between the guard and Annie. “Just go,” he attempted to say confidently.
The man huffed, pulling his hood back over his head. “You’ll pay for that,” he growled. He turned on his heel and stormed out of basecamp.
“I think I speak for all of us when I say, what the hell was that?” Justin asked.
“He’s a guard that protects the president. I recognized his voice from yesterday.”
“So you thought lying to him was the route to take?” Allison rolled her eyes. “That man could have snapped you in two.”
A gleam from the office door caught Annie’s eye. “Well it did accomplish something,” Annie gestured towards the key that had been left sitting in the keyhole.
“He forgot it?” Turner stepped over and observed the key while simultaneously avoided getting too close to it. “We’re gonna get in so much shit.”
Annie stepped past him and grabbed the key, twisting it to unlock the door. “Don’t,” Dougie warned.
Annie sighed. “You can all walk away,” she said. “If I get caught, I promise that I’ll tell them I was alone.” She locked eyes with everyone around her. Everyone seemed uncomfortable, but stayed quiet.
Annie pushed the door open and took a deep breath. “How long do you think we have before he comes back?” Ethan asked. “He’s going to realize the key was missing.”
Annie stepped up to the cabinets behind the commander’s desk and began pulling them open gently. She didn’t know what she was looking for, but there must have been something in this room that was worth keeping the door locked for.
“What are you looking for?” Dougie asked.
She stopped for a moment, her eyes scanning the room. “There’s a secret in here. There has to be.”
“But we don’t know what that secret is?” Turner scoffed. “You do know how crazy you sound, right? Kevin’s conspiracy theories must have rubbed off on you.”
