by Sharp, Tracy
“Ryder, tell me what you know about those reptilian things. I call them lizards.”
“We call them snakes, even though they have arms and legs. They are like lizards, you’re right. But for some reason someone in the crew called them snakes and it stuck.”
He glanced at me and I nodded.
“They live underground. You probably know that. You’ve likely seen them pulling women into the holes.” He looked straight ahead and his face grew hard.
“I have. It’s horrible.”
“It’s from a nightmare.” He stopped and looked me in the face. “They took my sister. She’s only fourteen years old. And I need to get her back.”
“You saw them take her?”
“I had her by the hand as they dragged her in. But they didn’t want me, so they did this to me.” He held up his arm and shoved his jacket sleeve up, showing me several scabbed over gashes on his arm. “It was reflex. The pain made me let go. And then she was gone.”
“They didn’t try to eat you?” I thought of Jessica after she’d transformed. “One of them tried to eat me. She said she could smell my blood.”
“She?”
“It was my two year old niece. Actually, she was close to three.”
He dropped his eyes to the ground, his face sympathetic. “I’m sorry. It happened to my little brother, too. He was only ten.”
“I’m sorry.” I took a breath and looked around us. Snow. Fields. Trees. And a seemingly endless road. It did look like the end of the world. “I think they took my sister, too.”
He gave a single, slow nod. “I was out here searching for holes. Trying to learn more about them. How they’re spread out. How their lairs are built. Is that what you were doing? I saw you looking at the ground.”
“Yeah. That’s exactly what I was doing. I’m figuring they’re nocturnal, because I haven’t seen them out during the day, yet. Have you?”
He shook his head and looked out over the fields. “No. That’s what we were thinking, too. They seem vampire-like. I saw them completely drain a kid I went to school with. Caught him in the middle of the street. He was trying to run.” He shivered. “He was nothing but a husk when they were done with him.”
A shudder moved through me. That’s what the Jessica-thing would’ve done to me.
I frowned. “Why haven’t they taken me? I was going to be eaten. Not dragged away. Once I’d gotten away from the one that used to be Jessica, they didn’t try very hard to find me. I think they were leaving me for the clean-up crew.”
He lifted his brows. “Clean-up crew?”
“The deadies. They eat what’s left, don’t they?”
He looked up and down the road. “Let’s go. It’ll be dark in a couple of hours.”
We came to a side road and followed it for about a mile. Ryder told me more about the snakes, as he called them, while we walked.
“They’re aliens. I think they abducted the kids, did something to them so that they had alien DNA or something, then sent them back after they threw all those meteors at us. They’re like some kind of hybrid now.” He looked straight ahead. “Invasion of the body snatchers. For real.”
“The news reports said that the dead rising had to do with the meteor dust.”
“Zombie dust. Yeah. I don’t think that was an accident, either. I think the bastards have been watching us for a long, long time.” A gust of wind lifted his hair back from his forehead and face and I was struck by how delicate his features were. He looked almost elfish. High cheekbones and amber, almond shaped eyes. A straight nose. He was built lean, but he didn’t look weak. His posture was straight as he walked, like he wouldn’t back down from anything.
Maybe that’s why he was a survivor.
“Zombie dust. That’s exactly what it was. Do you think it’s in us, too? Like if we die, we’ll get up and start staggering around, trying to eat people?”
“Yes. I’m sure of it.”
My stomach rolled. “Ugh. That is so disgusting. I don’t eat meat.”
He threw his head back and laughed. “That’s the only reason it’s disgusting? Not the fact that you’d be chomping down on human flesh?”
“Well, yeah. That too. But meat.” I made a face. “Gross!”
He grinned at me. “Okay. If you die and get back up, I’ll stab you in the eye. Put you back down. Before you get a chance to eat meat. I promise.”
I laughed, and it felt good. I was amazed that I could still manage it. “Thanks, Ryder. I appreciate that. Is that your pick-up line?”
He snorted. “Nah. I have no pick-up line. But what are friends for? I’d expect no less from you.”
“Oh, don’t worry. I’ll put a knife through your skull for you, too.”
“Thanks, Zoe. That’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”
I laughed again, longer. “I guess this means we’re friends?”
“I guess so.” He gave me a closed lipped smile that made a dimple appear in his cheek.
“Good. Because Hank and I could use one. Right, Hank?”
Hank let out a puff of air behind us.
Ryder looked ahead of us and lifted his chin slightly. “There it is. Home sweet home.”
I followed his gaze. A large structure with huge, metal squares spanning a huge expanse over a clearing sat at the top of a steep hill. “Wow. What is that?”
“That’s the compound. It’ll keep about anything out.”
I looked at him, eyes wide. “Good. Because these days, there’s lots of things that’ll want to get in.”
* * *
The compound was built of metal storage bins --- the big ones. They were stacked on top of one another, three stories high.
“This is incredible,” I said. “How did you guys do this?”
“I had no hand in it.” Ryder looked up at the structure, his face appreciative. “But the preppers did, a couple of years ago, I guess. That’s what Kyle said. There are only a couple from his original group left. His wife, Sherry, and his brother, Ozzie. The others are stragglers. Like me. Like you.”
“Who is your friend, Ryder?”
I spun around, freaked out that someone had been able to sneak up behind me. Meeting Ryder had momentarily lulled me into a false sense of security. I’d forgotten, just for a moment, how dangerous the world had become, and it startled me.
A tall, muscular man in his mid-thirties smiled at me and nodded hello. He looked at my face, his eyes narrow, deciding if I was a threat. It only took him a second, because then his grey eyes softened. He had a strong jaw and a slightly crooked nose, like it had been broken at least once.
“This is Zoe. Zoe, Kyle,” Ryder said.
“Will you be sticking around, Zoe?” Kyle asked me. He seemed genuinely curious.
“Is that an invitation? I don’t want to intrude.” I wasn’t sure how to respond to him. He was large and intimidating, but seemed to be okay with me.
He chuckled. “You’re not intruding, Zoe. If I didn’t want to offer you a place in the group, I wouldn’t have.”
“He really wouldn’t have,” Ryder confirmed. “I’ve seen him turn people away.”
“You’ve turned people away?” I regretted the words as soon as they were out of my mouth. I didn’t want to insult him. I needed a safe place for Hank and me.
Kyle’s face grew serious. “They weren’t nice people. Believe me. They were a threat to the group. They would’ve shot me in the head as soon as I turned around, then killed the others and taken over the compound.”
I stared at him, my eyes feeling round in my face.
“You know that saying about tough times revealing who you really are? What you’re made of?”
“Yeah. I’ve heard that.”.
“Well, this invasion hasn’t brought out the best in everyone.”
That was an understatement. I remembered the carjackers out on the roads when Hank and I first drove out of town. “I’ve seen it. There were people torn from their cars when Hank and I left
. I wanted to stop. Help them. But there were so many and . . . ” A lump rose in my throat and I stopped, unable to talk. My eyes grew wet.
Kyle’s eyes were kind and a little sad. “You couldn’t have helped them, Zoe. You’d have been overtaken. You would be dead, now.”
I pressed my lips together. Tried to swallow the lump down. The images of those families were vivid in my mind.
“So what do you think of our digs?” Kyle asked me, waving an arm toward the building.
I found my voice, though it cracked. “I think it’s neat.”
“Forty-foot steel shipping containers. Designed to carry 58 thousand lbs each. Can be stacked eight high. This is three high. The lower level has larger spaces. We’ve cut walls out of the containers to make a living area. Large enough to house a big group of people. There are lots of separate rooms on the upper levels. You can take your pick of the ones that aren’t taken. That is, if you choose to stay.”
I looked down at Hank. “Can my dog stay, too?”
“Of course he can. I love dogs.” Kyle crouched down and held a hand out to Hank. “What’s your name, big fella?”
Hank moved toward him, sniffing his fingers. He sat in front of him, tail thumping on the ground. Kyle couldn’t be all bad if Hank liked him.
“His name is Hank. I found him alone in the house next door to ours.”
Kyle’s eyes flicked up to mine and held them for a moment. I could see that he’d already guessed, correctly, that I’d lost everyone. He moved both hands over Hank’s large head, then over his massive body. “Well, it’s lucky you found each other then, huh?”
“He’s all I have.” I said it more to myself than to anyone else.
Ryder moved a hand over the back of Luka’s ski jacket. I had to stop calling it Luka’s ski jacket. Luka’s boots. She was gone. She may never come back. If she did, and we came across each other and she wanted her stuff back, I’d give it all back to her. But in the meantime, it was mine.
It was easier to think that way, now.
“So will you stay?” Ryder asked me.
I shrugged. Smiled. “Sure.”
Chapter 6
Kyle introduced me to his wife Sherry, a tall, sinewy black woman who looked like she didn’t have an ounce of fat on her. She wore black leggings and her toned muscles were apparent under them. Her hair was held back in a thick, wavy braid. Her large, dark eyes smiled at me.
“Nice to meet you, Zoe.” She had a strong, friendly voice.
“Thanks for having me,” I said to her, not sure what else to say.
“Of course. Let’s introduce you to the rest of the group, then we’ll get you set up in your own room, okay?”
I nodded, suddenly feeling vulnerable and humbled by the kindness I’d found in these people. How could I be so lucky?
A tall but leaner, less muscular version of Kyle sat at a large metal table with a girl of about fifteen, and another boy of about twenty.
“This is Ozzie, Logan and Mina. Guys, this is Zoe. She’ll be joining the group.”
The crowd waved at me.
“Nice to meet you, Zoe,” Mina said. She wore her dark hair in a boyish short crop. She was a natural beauty, with thick dark lashes and even features.
“Nice dog,” Logan said, leaning forward and reaching a hand out to Hank.
I nodded my thanks. “That’s Hank.”
“I love dogs,” Logan said, smiling at Hank and patting his head and back. “Hey, Hank.”
Hank seemed to be smiling. His movements were light and cheerful. He’d found an actual pack to be a part of. So had I. What could be better?
Ozzie nodded. “Meetcha.”
I nodded back.
“Ozzie is a man of few words, Zoe,” Mina said. “A trait you may appreciate. As I do.” Then she threw a look at Logan.
He looked up at her. “Oh, what? Like intelligent conversation isn’t a good trait?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. Haven’t heard any in a while.”
He shook his head. “Go get her, Hank. She’s a mean girl.”
Mina laughed. “You love it.”
“Yeah, yeah. Don’t listen to her, Hank.” Logan seemed to have fallen instantly in love with Hank, and the affection was definitely mutual. He rolled onto his back and offered up his belly to Logan.
“Come on,” Sherry said. “Let’s get you settled in and then you can have something to eat.”
My stomach growled at the thought.
The upper level had rows of large rooms made from the shipping containers. I chose a room on the left. Each room had a three by four square cut into the wall for a window, covered in bulletproof plexiglass, which was covered in a steel mesh.
“Nothing is getting through those,” Sherry said as I moved to the window and looked out.
“Pretty safe here, huh?” I looked out over the snow capped trees and fields. Were there lizard holes out there?
“Safe as we can be, given the situation.” She walked up and stood beside me, then, as if reading my mind, said, “We haven’t seen them come out of the ground around here. And believe me, we’ve been watching.”
“Doesn’t mean they won’t, though.”
“We’ve been out checking the ground during the daylight hours. It’s almost supper so everyone is in right now. But they’ve been spreading out further and further over the area. We’re trying to figure out why they haven’t dug their little hidey holes around here.”
“Maybe they will, yet.” A quiver moved over me and I hugged myself. “I can’t find my sister.”
“They took my daughter.” Her voice cracked. “She was only fourteen.”
I turned to look at her. “Why have they taken the girls? What are they doing with them?”
Her eyes were misted over, and her face looked haunted at the thought. “We think they take girls and women who are the most fertile, so that they can breed them.”
It was my worst nightmare. “Why don’t they breed their own creepy females? Why do they need ours?”
She shrugged and shook her head. “We don’t know. Maybe it’s just part of the invasion. Infiltrating every part of us that they can. Maybe it makes Earth more habitable for them. Creating hybrids, like they did with the kids.”
“Because the children were more pure. Not as many toxins in their bodies,” I said.
“That’s what we think,” Zoe said.
“I can’t believe this is happening.” I was thinking out loud. Which I’d done a lot of since I’d found Hank.
“Believe it, Zoe. This is real. But as bad as it seems, having to deal with the chompers during all hours of the day, and the snakes at night, we still have a chance. It’s not over until it’s over. You’re a survivor, that’s why you’re still here. You’ll do well with us. We can fight them. We’re learning more about them all the time.”
“Like what?”
“Like they’re allergic to UV rays. We have LED UV lights and we’ve tested them. Ozzie ran into a few out on the road trying to get back here last night. He lost track of the time trying to gather up as many as he could find.”
“Oh, shit. What happened?”
“We’d already figured that they couldn’t take sunlight, since they only come out at night. He had a bunch of the UV lights in the truck with him. As soon as the sun went down, they came out of nowhere and jumped all over the truck. It was his chance to test them out. It worked like a charm.”
A tremor raced over me, remembering when Hank and I had been attacked the night before last. “They sure would’ve come in handy the other night. Same thing happened to Hank and me on the road.”
“And you’re still here to tell the tale. You’re one tough young woman.”
“Or just lucky as hell.”
“Maybe you’ll bring us all luck.” She rubbed my shoulder as if it were a rabbit’s foot.
I smiled. It was good to not be so alone in the world anymore. Just me and Hank in a world of monsters.
The sound of work bo
ots approaching behind us made us turn.
It was Ozzie. “They shrank at the UV light like they’d been burned. Their skin started smoking and they took off like bats out of hell.”
“Or snakes out of hell,” Sherry said.
“Snakes from another planet,” I said. “Right?”
Ozzie nodded once. “That seems about right.”
“Does anyone know where these things even come from?” I asked them.
Ozzie shrugged. “Hard to say. Maybe someone does, somewhere. Or did.”
“If we could figure that out, we might be able to figure out how to annihilate them. Like, in mass numbers.” I felt a pleasant buzzing in my head at the thought.
Ozzie grinned, and Sherry straightened at the idea, her eyes brightening.
Nothing like the thought of mass alienacide to boost morale.
“If there’s a way,” Sherry said. “We will figure it out.”
Ozzie nodded. “Let’s put a pin in this conversation and go down to eat. I’m starved.”
* * *
We all sat at the large table in the dining room/living room area. The place was utilitarian, with poured concrete over the floor of the shipping containers and the windows cut into the steel walls. It was like a large warehouse. All anyone cared about was that it was safe.
The smell of the food on the table made me weak with hunger. Fried chicken, biscuits and corn were dinner, and it was delicious. I closed my eyes and I chewed the crispy breading. I felt like I’d died and gone to heaven. “Mmmmm.”
“Not bad, huh?” Kyle said, smiling.
“How are you guys able to do this? Food, cooking?” I was amazed.
“Over the last ten years, Sherry and I have stored enough food to keep us and a few friends going for over twenty years. We began preparing and storing back then, in the unhappy event of an apocalypse. That unhappy event happened.”
“Just like we said it would,” Sherry added, taking a bite of her buttered biscuit.
“Everyone thought we were crazy,” Ozzie said. “Better crazy than dead, I guess.”
“Or captured,” Logan said, his face solemn as he sipped bottled water.
