Against The Darkness (Cimmerian Moon)

by A. M. Griffin

  That’s when I see it. A glimmer of movement to my right. I blink and what I thought was there is gone. I stare into the woods, wondering if the aliens have finally found us. I’m not going to yell out. I’m just going to let them come and take us. These sticks I planned to make into spears would slow the Tanners down, but aliens…no.

  Just when I’m about to look away, I see it again.

  White.

  I squint harder. Squinting, trying to make out what I see under the blackness of night and through the trees.

  A t-shirt.

  Into view steps a Caucasian boy…no a man. He’s young, maybe in his early twenties. His hair is hanging just above his eyes. I can’t quite make out the color, but it looks dark. He’s got something written on his t-shirt in bold block letters, but I can’t tell what. He creeps out of the woods and glances around.

  What is he doing out here?

  I can’t believe there’s someone else in these backwoods besides us.

  As he comes closer, I can see him more clearly. “Booty Inspector” is what’s written across his shirt. I frown. That definitely seems like a poor choice of clothing for an alien invasion. Who would want to die with that written across their shirt?

  He snaps his fingers, bringing my attention back to his face.

  He mouths something that I can’t make out. I shake my head.

  He creeps closer. I notice a few other things about him. Like the gun that he’s holding in one hand and some kind of knife in the other.

  My eyes widen in understanding.

  He’s here to save us.

  I peer to my right and left. No one else is paying attention to him. I turn back to him.

  “Where are they?” he mouths again.

  I nod toward the cabin where Ms. Burgess is screaming.

  “How many?” he mouths.

  “Three,” I mouth back to him.

  He nods and goes back into the woods.

  No, I want to yell. Come back, don’t leave us here.

  I’m about to do just that when he returns with another man, this one older, but similar looking. They creep closer to us, their eyes scanning everything around them. As they come closer I see the rifles strapped across their backs, the guns in shoulder holsters, the knives strapped around their legs and pistols in their hands. I want to cry.

  If anybody can save us from the Tanners it’s them.

  The tickle of a tear is on my cheek. I use a shoulder to wipe it away.

  I don’t say a word as the younger one crouches behind me and uses his knife to cut through the ropes that bind my wrists. The other man goes behind MJ to do the same. I see him whispering something to MJ and MJ nodding in response. Once my hands are free, he moves down to my ankles and begins to saw away at the ropes there.

  He glances up to me, his eyes focused squarely on mine. I have a hard time looking away and I think that’s his intention. “What’s your name?”

  Instead of my name a cry escapes my lips.

  “It’s going to be okay,” he says, still sawing away at the ropes. He takes a quick peek to his right, where the other man is working to free MJ’s feet. “My name is Jason, but all my fraternity brothers call me JC.” He attempts a smile. “You can call me JC.”

  “I…I’m not your frat brother,” I say, in a stutter, as confusion clouds my mind. “I’m a girl.”

  Why did I point that out?

  “Really? I hadn’t noticed.”

  “Huh?” I’m as confused as ever.

  With my feet free, he crawls quickly up to my side.

  “Are you still with me? You look like you’re about to freak out and bolt.”

  I nod. Yes I’m okay and yes, I’m going to run.

  “Stay with me sweetheart,” he says, in a rush. “I’m going to give you this knife and you’re going to free the other girls. After they’re free, I want you to take them where you first saw me, okay? Behind those trees are some backpacks, you wait there for us. Do you hear me?”

  Yes.

  “Answer me. Do you understand what I want you to do?”

  “But what if you don’t make it. They can kill you,” I whisper. I can’t cover up the fear that is smothering me.

  The smile he gives me this time is genuine, not at all forced, and all I notice are the deep dimples in his cheeks. “We got this.”

  And for some reason I believe him. “Okay.”

  I want to cry again, but he’s counting on me. Mia and Shayla are counting on me. He’s braving certain death to save us and I have to be strong. I can’t act like some kind of damsel in distress.

  Well…I am…but still.

  He presses a cold handle into my hand. “Good girl.”

  I peer down and notice that the knife he gives me doesn’t look like any kind of knife I’ve ever seen before. I guess I was expecting a kitchen knife, the kind I had before. But this knife has a black handle that fits nicely in my hand and a double-sided, irregular blade. It’s so shiny the light from the fire bounces off the blade.

  “Go on now,” he coaxes.

  Without a word I roll to my knees and, holding the knife with a tight grip, I crawl over to Mia. I work hard to free her hands. She’s crying and begging for me to hurry. I do everything I can to go faster while also trying not to cut her. Once I finish her hands, I move to her feet.

  “Who are they?” she asks.

  “The younger one is JC.” I shake my head, remembering that he told me that in jest, trying to get me to think about something other than my impending death. “I mean Jason. I don’t know the other one’s name.” Once her feet are freed she scrambles to stand. She peers around wildly and tugs on the sleeve of my shirt. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

  I pull away from her. “No, we have to get Shayla.” Mia sticks by my side as I crawl over to Shayla. On the way, I notice that Wade is free and all of them are around Ian, waiting for Jason to finish his feet. Jason looks over to me and I think he winks. But I’m not sure. I don’t know what else to do but nod. If he has winked I want to let him know that I haven’t forgotten what he wants me to do.

  I hurry with Shayla’s hands.

  “I want to kill those bastards,” Shayla says, over and over again.

  As I work on her feet, the guys are heading toward the cabin where Ms. Burgess’ screams have not let up. I want to get done and away before they confront the Tanners. Every ounce of my adrenalin is poured into freeing Shayla. After she’s free, Shayla jumps up and tries to run after the guys. I don’t let her get far. I grab her by the back of her shirt and pull her back.

  “No,” she growls. “I’m going to kill them.” She’s almost hysterical as she pushes me away.

  I fist my hands in her shirt and pull her close to me. “That guy, Jason, he wants us to wait for them behind those trees.” I nod in the direction we’re supposed to go.

  “But I want to get them,” she cries, and her knees buckle.

  I hold onto Shayla and Mia grabs her other arm.

  “Tanners will get what they deserve,” I say, as I lead her to the trees. “Those guys have a lot of weapons.”

  We find the backpacks and wait for them. The cries become louder before they finally abruptly stop. We hold our breaths and each other’s hands.

  “Bow your heads,” Shayla says. We do as she says without asking any questions. Shayla begins to pray and I repeat each word she says and, as I do, calmness washes over me. I don’t know why Ms. Burgess has stopped screaming. I don’t focus on the two most obvious reasons, she has been saved or she is dead.

  Shayla is praying for everyone’s safety and for God to strike down the evil Tanners. Mia is saying “Amen” after every sentence. She’s never been religious, but she says the word with such conviction it reminds me of when I used to go to church with my grandmother. She would say it like that after Reverend Lewis did a sermon that Grandma deemed was “straight from the Lord”.

  Shayla keeps praying, even as we hear approaching footsteps. Fear grows as the steps c
ome closer, weighing on my shoulders and making each strand of hair stand on end. I want to peek between my lashes to see if it’s the guys or the Tanners, but I’m too scared. Shayla’s prayers become louder as the steps come nearer. She’s praying that the steps approaching us are feet sent from God to help us return home safely and I repeat each word she says, as Mia says “Amen”.

  A strong hand grips my shoulder and I want to cry out but, just as my body begins to shake uncontrollably, I feel a reassuring squeeze and hear a deep, “Amen,” from Wade.

  “Thank God,” I cry. I bend over as relief washes through me. Wade wraps his arms around me and pulls me to my feet. I turn into his chest and let out every tear I have inside of me. He holds me, rubbing my back, promising me that everything is going to be alright from now on.

  “We have to keep moving,” Jason says.

  He’s right. I turn to him and he’s got his eyes on me. I turn my gaze from Jason to the other man. He’s holding Ms. Burgess like a baby. She’s turned away from us, sobbing lightly, her face buried in his chest. I step away from Wade. I want to go to Ms. Burgess and let her know I’m glad she’s been saved.

  “No, not right now,” Wade says, holding me back.

  I glance back to him. “Was she…did they?”

  “No,” he says. “She was fighting them off.”

  Thank you, God.

  “Let’s get out of here.” The older man picks up the backpacks and tosses one to Jason. He turns and heads down a trail and we all file into a line, following him, with Wade and I bringing up the rear.

  “What happened to the Tanners?” I ask.

  “They’ll get what they deserve,” he says in a cold and controlled voice.

  I don’t know how I feel about that. I wanted them to die, but I don’t want murders on our hands. “Who killed them?”

  “We didn’t kill them.”

  “Then what happened to them?” asking him again, unsure why he didn’t answer the first time.

  One side of Wade’s mouth rises into a sinister smirk. “We tied them to a tree.”

  I look back, expecting to see them coming after us with shotguns and promises of death. “But they’ll just escape and come after us.”

  “I don’t see them escaping before the aliens come.”

  “What? How?”

  “We started a fire in all of the cabins. In no time, those cabins will be up in flames, attracting every alien in this part to where they are.”

  It’s somewhat satisfying to know the Tanners and Tanner land will be no more. “What about us? What’s to stop the aliens from coming for us?”

  “We’ll be far away from here by the time that happens.”

  “I guess we’re walking all night then?”

  “All night.”

  Chapter Eight

  Just inside the Tennessee border

  April 20th, 2012: Day 29

  We traveled all night. The guys take turns carrying Ms. Burgess. She isn’t a big person, but I know it still can’t be easy, since we’re traveling up and down hills and over rocky terrain. To the guys’ credit, none of them complain or even act like they don’t want to do it when their turn comes up.

  I don’t get to talk to her, not because anyone stopped me again, but because she has finally cried herself to sleep. I guessed she was asleep when her soft sniffles faded to silence.

  As we walk, I watch the sun rising, piercing through the trees and casting an orange light against the sky. Only then do I allow myself to breathe a sigh of relief. We were away from the Tanners and hadn’t run into any of the aliens. With the threat of immediate danger out of the way and adrenalin leaving my veins, I begin to feel the effects of exhaustion. I’m not the only one whose feet are shuffling along the ground or who had tripped more than once. My legs are on fire and my eyes burn. By the time we finally stop, I don’t know what city we’re in and, for the first time in a long time, I don’t care.

  The older man, Kennedy, or Ken as he told us to call him, stops us at the bottom of a hill with boulders and trees scattered around. He directs us all to take up spots under the boulders where we can. I find one just big enough for Mia and me and I crawl under its wedge with her following. Before I can wrap my arms around her, I’m asleep.

  I’m grateful that exhaustion frees me from having nightmares of my mother being dead and that sleep claims me quickly.

  The light sound of Mia snoring is what wakes me up. I stretch my aching muscles, or least try to. I need out. My bladder is full. With Mia blocking my exit, I wiggle away from her and down. Free, I search for a secure spot. I can’t see where anyone else is sleeping, but that’s the idea. After we found our sleeping spots, I heard leaves being placed around us, hiding us from outsiders and aliens.

  “To your right,” a voice says.

  I whirl around.

  Jason.

  He sits with his back propped against one of the boulders. I also didn’t have the chance to appreciate how handsome he was last night. The threat of fighting off the Tanners hadn’t allowed for such luxuries.

  In the darkness his hair had appeared darker, but now I notice that it’s actually a dirty blond. It’s hanging so low over his eyes it’s almost covering them up. Those eyes are cobalt blue, intense and on me. He’s got a nice amount of stubble on his face and neck. He’s no longer wearing the “Booty Inspector” t-shirt but, instead, has on a plain black one. The jeans he has on are worn and dirty, but I can’t fault him for that. I know I’m more of a mess.

  He’s got on tan hiking boots. One of his legs is pulled up and bent at the knee, while the other is extended and relaxed. He has the bad boy appeal going on something fierce. Even without the shotgun lying by his side, I would know he’s trouble and way out of my league.

  He raises a hand and points to his left. “If you go between those trees you’ll find a spot. Make sure you cover anything up with dirt. We can’t let the aliens find us.”

  Heat rises across my cheeks. “Umm…okay,” I say, suddenly feeling shy talking to him about this. I’ve been traveling with a band of people for a while now and never have we brought up the topic bathroom issues.

  Argh. I turn away before he can see me blushing.

  “I can go with you if you want.”

  “Ugh, no,” I say in disgust. I thought I was blushing before, but now I’m sure I’m super red. Like fire-engine-truck red.

  “Not to watch. Gross. I mean to stand guard.”

  If the aliens get me while I’m peeing then it’ll be better than having Jason nearby. I suddenly remember Piper, the dog that I used to walk for extra money. She refused to “do her duty” if I watched her. I now know why she was all worked up about it.

  I turn, going in the direction that he pointed. “I’ll be fine.” Please don’t follow me.

  Despite my embarrassment I find a spot, pee and cover it up. As I head back to our area I hope Jason has crawled back to wherever he had come from and has gone back to sleep. No luck. He seems to be waiting for me.

  If he asks me if I took care of everything I think I’ll die. So, to avoid that very thing, I walk quickly past him with my head down.

  Don’t look at him.

  “Are you hungry?”

  I stumble at the thought of eating and my stomach grumbles. We didn’t get the bags of food from the Tanners or even my bag with my water and crackers. Everything we had is gone.

  Of course I’m hungry.

  He reaches into his backpack, pulls out dried meat and holds it out to me. I reach for it hungrily. I tear into it with abandon. Heaven coats my taste buds and wafts through my nostrils. My mouth waters as I chew, saliva spilling over to the corners of my mouth. I don’t know what kind of meat it is but it’s the best thing that I’ve had—ever. He chuckles as he watches me.

  I wipe away the moisture dripping from my chin. “What’s so funny?” I’m drooling and making a fool of myself. That’s what’s so funny.

  “Nothing…you.”

  I should slow down,
at least try to pretend I still have some manners, but hunger makes me take another large bite. “Nice to know that I amuse you,” I say, after I chew down the meat some, my mouth still full of food.

  He waves a hand through the air. “It’s not that. I’ve never had anyone moan while eating my homemade jerky before.”

  I was moaning?

  I take another bite and chew slower, rolling the meat between my teeth with my tongue, savoring how the juicy goodness is washing over every last taste bud. It’s then that I realize my eyes are closed and I am moaning. I can’t help but smile. “It’s so good.”

  He laughs again. “I think you’re starved. My dad thinks my homemade jerky tastes like dried shit.”

  I open my eyes. He’s assessing me, making me a little uncomfortable, but I stand my ground. “I haven’t tasted crap, or dried crap for that matter, but this isn’t what I imagine it would taste like.”

  “A girl after my own heart.” He pulls out another piece. “I have more.”

  That’s all it takes for me to end up sitting next to him, accepting another piece of jerky.

  “I never got a chance to thank you and Ken for saving us,” I say between bites. I’m talking with my mouth full. My mother would be appalled, but I think she would understand.

  He shakes his head. “We heard the screams. We thought the aliens were torturing a woman. We didn’t know…” he looks away.

  “Thank you for coming to investigate. A lot of people would have kept going, trying to get as far away from the screams as possible.” Suddenly the meat is like a rock in my stomach and I can’t take another bite. I try to hand what’s left back to him but he puts up a hand.

  “Save it for later.”

  “But someone else might need some.”

  “We have enough to last for a while. You can keep that.”

  “Thank you…again.” I glance down, searching for somewhere to put my stash. I don’t have any pockets in my sweats. I can roll the food into my waistband, but it’s dirty. I can stuff it down my bra, but I haven’t had a bath in ages.