by Saxon Andrew
Twenty-minutes later, she looked at the woman in the mirror and didn’t recognize her; she was a complete stranger. She heard the alarm go off and sighed, she could remove it after breakfast. She went to the cooker and began preparing the plates. She glanced up the cavern and saw something was different. She thought for a moment and then recognized that there were two-metal stands with a large black circle at the top of a metal pole. She looked further up the cavern and saw two more. What were they. She took the plates to the table and still didn’t see Grady. She went to the open port and shouted, “Breakfast is ready!”
“I’ll be right out!” Grady replied. She turned to go back to the table and heard, “ARE YOU RIGHT-HANDED OR LEFT-HANDED?”
Taffy stopped and shouted, “Right-handed.”
She heard Grady say, “Good!”
She went to the table and sat down as Grady walked out of the ship. Something was dangling from his right hand and she couldn’t determine what it was. He walked up to the table and dropped the item beside his chair. He raised his eyes to her and they narrowed. “You don’t like it?” Taffy said. She decided to change the subject, “What did you bring with you from the ship?”
Grady was still glaring at her face and he sat back, “I’ll tell you about it after we eat. But before we do that, you should go and put on a shirt. “
Taffy’s head tilted, “You were ok with how I looked before you left for the ship!” Grady lowered his chin slightly and shook his head. “What’s wrong?”
Grady blew out a breath, “You are right about your body having a shape men like. I avoid looking at it by looking at your face instead; you’ve just removed that option.” Taffy’s eyes narrowed as her head tilted left. “Your face has dainty features and the makeup you put on accents it…perfectly. You are very nice on the eyes and you need to dress appropriately.” Taffy stood up, went to the bedroom, and came back wearing a midriff tee-shirt. She sat down, and Grady bowed his head and gave thanks. She hadn’t heard anyone do that since she left home. She bowed her head as well and heard Grady say, “This smells delicious.” He took a bite and smiled, “It is!”
“My mother taught me how to cook.”
Grady nodded, “Your mother taught you a lot.”
Taffy looked up at him, “She also taught me how to apply makeup. You don’t like it, do you?”
“Quite the contrary, it makes you almost too pretty. I don’t understand why you would ever mess it up with all those black and blue dyes you use.”
Taffy ate in silence and Grady finally said, “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”
“You didn’t.”
“Something I said has you bothered; I can see it.”
Taffy looked into his eyes, “I don’t recognize the woman looking back at me in the mirror.” Grady blinked and remained silent. “You asked why I would ever use the dyes to mess up my appearance?” Grady nodded. “When I ran away from home, it was a tough time. I took what little savings I had, and it wasn’t enough to support me very long. Everywhere I went, no one wanted to hire me and everyone I encountered said cruel and hateful things to me.” Grady’s eyes closed slightly. “I was fifty pounds overweight and my stomach stuck out further than my chest. No one wanted to hire a fat girl and I was ridiculed by most of those I asked to hire me.”
Grady exhaled a soft breath, “People can be cruel.”
Taffy nodded. She was silent a moment and continued, “One of the girls working in one of the places I visited was getting off work and she asked that I follow her. She told me that people are cruel and that I didn’t deserve it. She took me home with her and after a few hours of discussion, she told me to stay with her until I found a job. She said I could share the rent once that happened. She was dressed in black and her hair was multicolored. Her eyes were covered in black makeup. I met many of her friends and they all lived in the same building. They were the nicest people I’d encountered since I left home and a few weeks after I moved in with her, she convinced me to dye my hair, eyebrows, and start wearing black.”
“What happened?” Grady asked.
“I’d glare at people I encountered and there were no more fat jokes or remarks made to me.” Taffy took a breath and continued, “I finally found a job at a record store and not long after that joined a gym. I started going to aerobic classes and after nine-months, I’d lost forty pounds. One night the instructor didn’t show up for a class and the owner of the gym asked if I would lead the class. He begged me and said I’d been going long enough to know the routine. I agreed, and I have to say the glares I received from the class were not pretty. It made me angry and since they were a class of beginners, I really gave it to them.” Taffy raised a shoulder, “I thought I’d make them pay…but something else happened; the class loved the workout. They demanded the owner make me their permanent instructor and I let him talk me into it. I eventually became the instructor for the advanced classes.” Grady nodded slightly, and Taffy released a heavy sigh. “The reason I’m telling you all this is that I have never seen my face without the dyes and makeup since I lost the weight. It’s not something I recognize.”
“What do you see in the mirror, Taffy?” Grady asked softly.
“A stranger.”
“You’d dye your hair again if you could, wouldn’t you?”
“No, Grady, I wouldn’t.” Grady’s head went back slightly, and Taffy added, “You have allowed me to live in your home and have given me a chance to survive. I know you didn’t like how I looked when you first met me, and I will not do something that I know would disappoint you. The mirror and I will have to grow to be friends over time.”
Grady raised a shoulder, “I believe that I am judging others by their appearance. It sounds like the freaks you met were really good people.”
“They were, Grady. They found solace in the company of others like them.”
• • •
Grady lowered his eyes and nodded, “If you want to go back to your original look, I’ll understand and not hold it against you.”
“Answer me one question?” Taffy asked. Grady nodded. “Were you being honest about me being pretty?”
“You’re the perfect package now, Taffy, pretty face and body. Your face will be prettier as your hair grows out.”
Taffy smiled, “I think I’d prefer to stay like this.”
“Why? I know you’d be more at home in the look you’ve used for years,” Grady responded.
“You’re the first man in my life who has ever called me pretty. I’m not going to mess that up.”
“What about that boyfriend of yours?”
“Rolf?”
“Yes, I think that was his name.”
“He never really saw my face, Grady. He was so focused on his own body that he never paid attention to anything else but everyone else’s bodies. He filled a role of my life of not being alone. We broke up a few months ago when he hit me.” Taffy saw Grady was struggling and she said, “You want to tell me something?”
Grady took a deep breath and blew it out, “I misjudged you, Taffy. All I saw was your appearance and there was a lot more than what I allowed myself to see; I’m sorry.”
Taffy nodded, “Thank you for that. Now what was that thing you brought out of the ship?”
“We need to clean up the dishes and I’ll show you.”
“I’ll do the cleaning; you can show me when I’m done.”
“I don’t mind helping, I’ve been doing it for years.”
“So, take a break from it; I’ll be doing it from now on. Like I said, I have to prove I can help you.”
Grady watched her clean up the table and kitchen. He felt guilty but was thankful she wasn’t going back to that ridiculous appearance.
• • •
Taffy finished and walked back over to the table. “Come here and stand in front of me,” Grady requested. Taffy walked in front of his chair and Grady said, “Try to relax, let your arms hang naturally.” Taffy shrugged her shoulder and Grady shook his h
ead, “Take two steps back and two steps forward and try to relax!” Taffy did as he ordered and felt a difference when she stepped in front of him. “That’s better, your shoulders aren’t pulled up.” Grady picked something up off the floor and Taffy saw it was some kind of nylon fabric with holes in it. He reached around her and pulled the fabric around her waist and moved it down to the top of her hips. He pulled the end through a buckle and pulled it snug around her, “Is that too tight?”
“It’s a little snug.” Grady moved the buckle back one hole and looked up at her, “That’s better,” she said.
“Let your arms hang naturally and look straight ahead.” Taffy complied, and Grady lifted another item off the floor that matched the color of the belt. He moved it up and down until she felt it under the tips of her fingers. Grady snapped it on the belt and said, “Raise your arms and let them fall to your sides.” Taffy did it and Grady smiled, “I’ll change it if needed.” Taffy looked down and saw a holster with a weapon in it. Grady went to the workbench and came back with a pair of heavy-duty snips. He cut off the extra ten-inches of the nylon belt and stood up.
Taffy looked at the cut and then at him, “I’ll repair the cut in the belt with a seam. What exactly is this?”
“You told me you’re a fast learner. We’re about to see if that’s true; follow me.” Grady led her over to the closest stand she saw earlier and had her stand ten feet away directly in front of it. He went to a cabinet and pulled out another belt and holster and strapped it on. He stood beside her and said, “I want you to do exactly what I do.” Taffy nodded. Grady put his hand on the weapon in his holster and slowly pulled it out. He raised it in front of his face, leaned forward, and extended his left arm in front of him as he raised his right hand and put it on the weapon in front of his fingers on the trigger. Grady was left handed and she was watching him closely in front of her. She lowered her arm and Grady grabbed it, “Don’t lower your arm. Allow your hand to fall naturally to your side and it will arrive on the handle. Try it.”
It took more than an hour before Taffy could pull the blaster out of the holster and get the proper two-handed grip. It took another hour before she could pull the blaster properly and have the sites on the gun aligned on the black circle. Grady made numerous corrections, and she began to get the feel of what he wanted. He watched her and said, “Freeze and don’t move!” Grady moved behind her and nodded.
“Now, look at the rear of the blaster, do you see the red button?” Taffy nodded. Now I want you to press that button with your right thumb as you pull it, understand?” Taffy nodded and messed up ten times in a row. Grady went in front of her and said, “Look in my eyes, nowhere else.” Taffy was frustrated and did as he ordered. “Now, relax, keep your eyes on mine, and allow your hand to fall to your side.” Taffy’s eyes moved slightly, and Grady put his hand on her chin, “Only my eyes!” Taffy took a breath and started over. She dropped her hand and felt the blaster in her hand. Grady asked, “What do you feel with your thumb?” Taffy started to look down and Grady quickly said, “Uh-uh, keep your eyes on mine!”
Taffy rubbed her thumb on the blaster and said, “It’s on the red button.” Grady smiled, “Don’t look for it, Taffy; just allow your thumb to depress it as your fingers wrap around the grip. Now raise your arm, drop it, and pull the blaster.”
Taffy dropped her arm and pressed with her thumb as she pulled the blaster out of the holster. When she had it in front of her face, she saw the red-button was illuminated. Grady smiled, “That button activates the blaster. To turn it off, press it again. Always press it before you lower it. You don’t want to make a mistake with a live blaster in your holster. Now, start again, and depress the button, bring the blaster to the proper firing position, line up on the black circle, and pull the trigger.”
Taffy did as he instructed and heard the black circle make a pinging sound. She lowered the blaster an Grady yelled, “DID YOU SHUT IT OFF!?!” She flinched and saw she didn’t. She raised her arm and shut it off. She saw a red light flashing in the lower-right-corner of the circle. Grady smiled, “You flinched when you pulled the trigger. Remember, squeeze the trigger with your entire grip, not just your index finger. Do it again and slow down.”
Taffy raised the blaster slowly, she aligned the sites as she gripped it with both hands and squeezed the trigger. The target pinged, and she saw a red flashing light just outside the small white circle in the center of the target. She thumbed the blaster off and squealed. Grady patted her on the back, “That was excellent. Now, I want you to continue to pull the blaster and fire at the target. As you become more accustomed to the feel, try to increase your speed.”
Taffy nodded and looked at him, “How fast should I be able to do this?” Grady’s blaster was out of his holster in an instant and she heard the target immediately ping. In another instant, it was back in his holster.” Her eyes were wide open as her mouth dropped.
“You have a lot more endurance than I do, Taffy. This is how you’re going to spend your days until you can match my speed and accuracy. As your speed increases, you will run through the cavern firing at the targets I’ve scattered. I’ve taught you what you need, now it’s up to you to perfect it.” Grady walked away, and Taffy shook her head; what she just witnessed was impossible. She stared at the target and her eyes narrowed, If he could do it, then the only thing stopping her was herself. She started working and by the end of the day, she knew her speed had improved a lot. She went to bed that night and set an alarm for four hours of sleep. She got up and continued to practice for two hours before going back to bed. She set the alarm again and continued to practice.
Grady started her running through the cavern the next day, having her stop and fire as soon as she saw one of the target stands. Some of the targets were widely spaced and she missed numerous times. But by the end of the day, she was hitting all of them; not center hits, but they didn’t have to be to cause a massive wound with a blaster. At the end of the third day, he halted her training. Taffy shook her head, “I can do better!”
“We don’t have the time to do that, Taffy. In the morning, we’re going to the food distribution center. You can defend yourself now with what you’ve learned, and time is growing short on the aliens returning.” Taffy felt her heart start beating faster. Grady watched her and lowered his eyes, “Taffy, are you able to kill if someone threatens us?” Taffy was silent, and Grady put his hands on her shoulders, “If you can’t do it, then I’m not risking the ship.”
Taffy stared into his eyes and finally said, “I’ll do what must be done, Grady.”
Grady stared into her eyes for a long moment before lowering his hands, “I guess that will have to be enough. Get some sleep tonight.” Taffy nodded, and Grady took the practice blaster out of her holster and put a live blaster in its place. Taffy knew this stuff was getting real and her heart started beating faster. She headed toward the bedroom as Grady walked to the robots, “Are you clear on your programming?” Both flashed white lights. “Speed is more important than accuracy.” Again, they flashed. “Make sure you’re completely charged by midnight.” The robot’s lights went out and Grady headed to the bedroom. He would have to keep an eye on both of them; he just didn’t know if Taffy could do what was necessary if things got out of hand.
Taffy came out of the bedroom wearing a flight suit. She handed him a pair of scissors, “I need you to make a cut right at the bottom of the zipper.”
“What’s going on?”
“The top of the suit is too tight; it’ll throw off my aim. I’m going to make the bottom into a pair of pants with beltloops large enough for the blaster belt. I might need you to adjust the holster when I’m done.” Taffy stood up straight and Grady made a cut just under the zipper. Taffy took scissors and disappeared into the bedroom. In less than an hour, she had the pants on with the blaster belt around her hips.
Grady adjusted the holster down a tiny bit and said, “I might want a pair of pants like this.”
“Give me
one of your flight suits,” Taffy requested.
“You need to get to bed early, Taffy.”
“I’m too wired to sleep, Grady. Doing this will tire me out where I can.” Grady put on a flight suit and Taffy made the cut. Less than an hour later, he tried the pants on and was glad she did it. He had more freedom of motion than wearing a full flight suit.
Taffy adjusted two of the beltloops and Grady dropped his hand to the blaster…perfect. “You are amazing with that sewing machine!”
“Thank You. You haven’t told me how many times our blasters can fire before they run out of the charge,” Taffy asked.
“That shouldn’t be an issue,” Grady replied. “They’ll fire more than a hundred and fifty times before they start beeping to let you know they’re running low.”
“Just wanted to be sure the real thing was like the practice blaster.” Grady nodded and headed to the bathroom to take a shower.
Chapter Five
Grady had the ship high above the distribution center looking at his helmet’s face plate. Taffy had her helmet on but didn’t understand what she was seeing. Grady stared at the faceplate and said, “There appears to be five large groups of survivors scattered in the forest in front of the facility. “Those are the five large red lights on your faceplate, Taffy.” Taffy nodded. “Notice between those groups there are small individual red lights scattered.”
“What are those?” Taffy asked.
“They must be guards to prevent the other groups from attacking at night. I think these groups have come to an understanding and are taking food from the buildings based on some sort of agreement they’ve made. I don’t see anyone behind the building so any problems will come from the trees across the parking lot.”
“How are you going to handle it?”
Grady raised a shoulder, “I’m landing the ship right outside the front entrance. I’m programing the blasters to automatic and they will fire a warning shot over anyone that comes out of the trees. If they continue moving toward the building, the blasters will fire closer to them. If they move within two-hundred yards, the blasters will remove them.”
