When They Came

by Kody Boye

  When we reached the rooftop, a black helicopter stood awaiting us, its pilot ready to engage the aircraft at a moment’s notice.

  “Hop in,” Captain Sin said. “And remember—make sure you’re strapped into your seat. Wouldn’t want to go flying out of the damn thing, now would you?”

  “No sir,” I said. “I sure wouldn’t.”

  I boarded with the help of a taller man, then reached down and assisted Asha in climbing within the helicopter—all the while dreading the takeoff and what the experience would be like. I’d never flown in a helicopter. I hadn’t even been on a plane, so I knew nothing of what airborne travel was like or how it would affect me come time we finally took off.

  Not wanting to dwell on the matter more than I had to for fear that it would make my nerves even worse, I buckled myself in. I took extra care to tighten the straps as much as I could, before I looked across at Asha and forced a smile. “You ever flown before?”

  “Once,” Asha said. “In a plane. When I was little.”

  “Do you remember anything about it?”

  “No.”

  So she was just as green as I was. That at least made me feel a little more comfortable, considering I would not be experiencing it on my own.

  The last of the men and women entered the helicopter and took their places in the seats beside us. After Captain Sin walked forward to talk to the pilot, the aircraft surged to life with a rumble—the metal trembling, the seats vibrating, the lights on the walls above the two entryways glimmering as they turned from red, to orange, and then green. When the rotor atop the craft began to spin, I tightened my hands around my weapon to ground myself, which prompted a laugh from Captain Sin as he came to seat himself beside me.

  “Never been in a helicopter I take it?” he asked while he strapped himself in.

  “No sir,” I replied.

  “It’s not that bad. Don’t worry yourself over it.”

  Though I’d been trying not to, hearing the words just made me more anxious, especially when the inertia caused by the vehicle lifting from the ground threw my body off-center. I felt as though I was falling. The feeling was only temporary, however, and passed more the further we rose into the air. It was only when the craft turned and headed west that I felt as though I was safe.

  “Not so bad,” Captain Sin said, “is it?”

  “No sir.” I glanced toward the thresholds leading out of the helicopter, both of which were open and allowed air to buffet us.

  “Yeah. This isn’t one of our battle-ready helicopters. It’s mainly used for transporting men and what few supplies we happen to find out in the field.”

  “Do we plan on stopping in Stonewall first?” Asha asked across from us.

  “We do,” Sin replied.

  “What about the armed men?” I asked.

  A man with a sniper rifle slapped his weapon’s stock and flashed a grin beneath his heavy helmet. “I’ve got us covered.”

  “Josh is the best shot we’ve got,” another man said. “Well, besides Tasha, anyhow.”

  “Hey!” the sniper named Josh said.

  “Well, it’s true,” a female soldier, whose uniform stated her last name was Ramirez, said. “Don’t leave a man to do a woman’s job. Ain’t that right girls?”

  “I don’t know,” I shrugged, which prompted laughs from everyone, including Asha and Captain Sin.

  I turned my attention to the greenery beneath us and realized we would shortly be out of the Austin city limits.

  Soon, we would be back in Stonewall—and, hopefully, would find Jason.

  The helicopter came to rest at the junction near where we’d encountered the armed bandits on our initial entry into the small town of Stonewall. Scared out of my mind that we would come under fire and knowing there was a distinct possibility those men could still be around, I filed out alongside Captain Sin and Asha and waited for orders to be given.

  “Listen up!” the man said in his commanding voice, drawing all eyes to his short but imposing stature. “We’re here for two reasons: to gather supplies and to hopefully recover the last known survivor of the Fort Hope massacre. Given that there’s a chance we could be sieged by the bandits Ana Mia and Asha spoke of, I want us to split into two groups of three. Asha, Ana Mia, and myself will make our way north; while Cindy, Clay, and Easton will scout this area. Josh—I want you to remain with our pilot and make sure nothing that isn’t us gets close to him.”

  “Roger that,” Josh said, chambering a bullet and raising his gun to scan the high rooftops.

  “We’re to announce ourselves as plainly as possible in the hopes that our survivor will come out of hiding if he still happens to be here. By this I mean to walk down the roads, make your presence known, and address anyone whom you may happen to see. If you do happen to encounter the boy, state that Asha and Ana Mia are with you but in a separate party. Understand?”

  “Yes sir!” the men and woman said one-by-one.

  Captain Sin nodded and gestured Asha and me along the road. “Come on,” he said, hefting his weapon into his arm. “Let’s go.”

  We followed the captain while the other group began to scout the area behind us, disappearing down a side street. While walking, I took note of how nothing had changed and was thankful to see—at least by absence of scorch marks along the ground—that the Harvesters had not been there.

  “They don’t tend to land in the smaller cities and towns,” I said after a moment’s hesitation, “do they?”

  “They’re interested in where they know populations of people are,” Sin replied, turning his head to look at me before he waved his hand toward the area around us. “Here, though? You could probably live out most of your life and never be found.”

  “But that’s the thing,” Asha said. “The supplies are so limited and the food so scarce—”

  Sin snorted—a sound that, while dismissive, was obviously meant to distract her from the point she was trying to make. “Are you kidding, recruit? Food? Scarce? It’s all over these hills.”

  “But only if you know how to hunt,” she said.

  “We’ll teach you, in time.” The commander pointed up the road. “Any of this familiar to you?”

  The series of vehicles we’d hidden behind were still there, but were pockmarked with bullet holes from where the bandits had fired upon Jason. Blood smeared the pavement—and it wasn’t a little bit either. It was a lot.

  “Oh no,” Asha said.

  “We knew this could be a possibility,” I said, trying my hardest not to look at the blood, nor the trail that extended from the middle of the road toward a nearby alleyway. “Sir,” I said, turning my attention to Captain Sin. “Would you—”

  The Asian man disappeared into the alleyway without a response.

  While waiting, Asha and I huddled close—shoulders bumping, hands almost touching from where they dangled at our sides. I wanted so desperately to reach out and touch her—to have some sort of assurance that I was not completely alone in the world—but knew I shouldn’t. Contact, at this point, would prove futile, especially with the cascade of emotions I was sure would follow.

  When Captain Sin finally reappeared from the alleyway, it was with a somber look on his face. “I’m sorry,” he said. “Your friend didn’t make it.”

  Asha fell to her knees and sobbed.

  I merely closed my eyes and tilted my head back.

  I’d expected it. I knew I had. But hearing it was enough to drive me insane.

  Jason had died so we could live.

  No greater sacrifice could’ve ever been made.

  Chapter 17

  Asha and I didn’t want to see Jason’s body, nor did we want to assist in removing his personal effects. For that reason, Captain Sin returned to the alley while my friend and I kept watch, constantly on alert for the men who had taken not only Jason’s life, but a part of ours as well.

  How desperately I wanted to get my hands on them—to stab them, shoot them, to wrap my hands around their
necks and squeeze the life right out of them. I knew, however, that I wouldn’t be able to do it. By that point the men were probably gone—to Fredericksburg where nothing lay or to Johnson City where they would likely meet their own cruel demise. Because of that, I could do nothing but sigh.

  “You okay?” I asked Asha when I realized she hadn’t spoken for a long time.

  “I think so,” she replied, swallowing, then turning her head to hide tears I’d already seen. “I just… I didn’t expect it, you know? I thought maybe he’d gotten away.”

  “He sacrificed himself so that we could live,” I said.

  “I know. That’s what makes me feel so much worse.”

  Rather than say anything, I simply leaned over, wrapped my arm around her, and waited until Captain Sin reappeared with Jason’s backpack and semi-automatic rifle. “He put up a good fight,” the man said, ejecting the cartridge to show that it was empty. “He let them have it.”

  “Was it quick?” I asked. “I mean… after he crawled into the alleyway, was it—”

  “I think so, Ana.”

  With a nod, I turned and started back toward where the helicopter lay in the near distance. Josh looked through his scope to acknowledge my presence, then raised a hand to beckon to me. I merely shook him off before looking at Captain Sin. “Should we join the rest of the group?” I asked.

  “We should,” Sin said.

  So we did—making our way down the road, informing first Josh of what we had discovered, then catching up with the group down the road to detail what had happened. Condolences were given, hugs from the only other woman, firm nods and sad eyes offered from the men. I took them all with the knowledge that those people had lost just as much, if not more, than we had. Knowing that was enough to make me feel like I was not completely alone in the world.

  Afterward, we began to pilfer the houses for any supplies they might offer, once more splitting into our separate groups to maintain some level of efficiency. Asha and I entered our first house with Sin closely behind, and were instructed to ensure the house hadn’t been breached before making our way deeper into it.

  “I got bit by a Coyote when we made that mistake,” I said as Asha turned to give us a thumbs-up and a nod.

  “Is that why your eye is that color?” Sin asked. When I nodded, he frowned, his handsome features darkened by the expression. “I’ve heard… rumors… I guess you could say. From when the doctors at Burgundy were first contacted by the people from Fort Hope.”

  “What kind of rumors?” I asked, opening a cupboard and sorting through the bowls and other contents within.

  “That you claimed to have seen things—that your mere presence was enough to draw the creatures to you.”

  “I don’t think my presence alone is enough to draw Them,” I said. “I don’t think the two of us would’ve made it this far if that were the case. As to the visions…” I paused, then considered what I was about to say before turning toward him. “I’ve seen things.”

  “Like what?”

  “Coyotes dancing beneath black monoliths. Harvesters traveling beyond the speed of light to make it to Earth. My family the night it all began.”

  “So you think you’ve formed some kind of bond with Them?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Have you had any more dreams or visions since you left Fort Hope?”

  “No,” I said, hoping that my declaration—as abrupt as it was—didn’t sound like a lie. “I haven’t.”

  Sin watched me for a moment—likely considering my motives and possibly judging the truth of my statement—before nodding. “Good. I can only imagine how upsetting they are.”

  With that out of the way, we went to work securing supplies for the hospital—grabbing blankets, pillows, pots and pans, extra silverware, candles, and other items of worth. When Asha returned from upstairs with a shotgun in her opposite hand, Sin beamed and accepted it with a smile on his face, all the while praising us for our hard and steady work.

  At that particular moment, I didn’t care for praise, nor for the falsehoods that came with it. While I knew he was trying to distract us from the depressing matter at hand, I could tell, judging from Asha’s expression and her defeated body language, it was doing little to help.

  When we finished going through the first house, we loaded our findings into several crates Josh had packed over and carried them back to the helicopter. About that time, the second group was returning—and judging from the looks on their faces, were pleased with what they had found.

  “This place is a goldmine,” the man named Easton said, reaching up to brush a hand through his thick mustache. “We could raid for days and still not have gone through everything.”

  “Right now, we’re focusing on the essentials,” Sin said, casting a glance to the sky. The sun was quickly crossing the horizon, and threatening to become obscured by storm clouds drifting in from the east. “We’ll continue to work for a few more hours, then head back to Austin if the weather allows.”

  “Do you think it won’t?” Asha asked.

  “I hope it will,” Sin said. “Because I don’t want to be stuck out here in the open.”

  Misfortune landed when the first of the rain began to fall.

  “Are you sure we can’t go through it?” I asked over the rumble of thunder that echoed across the horizon.

  “It’s too dangerous to fly during storms,” our pilot said. “We run the risk of getting struck by lightning.”

  “And getting shot out of the sky,” Sin said. “Which is why we’re going to wait here and ride it out.”

  I looked out the nearby window and was thankful the home we’d managed to secure ourselves in hadn’t sustained any major weather damage over the previous six years. Other homes had suffered from hail, or snow, or even torrential rain. At least in there the walls were keeping the elements at bay. That was the only thing I could ask for.

  Unsure how to proceed since we were effectively earthbound, I settled down on the couch beside Asha, leaned my head against the plush seat, and shivered.

  “You all right?” Asha asked.

  “Just cold.”

  “We’d light a fire,” Cindy Ramirez said, “but we run the risk of being picked up on Their scanners if They happen to pass by.”

  “Will the helicopter be an issue?” I asked. “I mean… it’s not like it was there before.”

  “I don’t think They like to fly in the rain either,” Josh said. “I mean… I’ve never seen one flying about in the rain during all these years I’ve been at Burgundy, so I don’t see why They’d start now.”

  I didn’t want to comment on how quickly things could change. Just because it hadn’t happened didn’t mean it couldn’t happen out of the blue. The aliens weren’t stupid. That much I already knew.

  Not wanting to dwell on the matter, I removed myself from the couch and reached for one of the many blankets we’d removed from the linen closet. “Is it okay if I go to sleep?” I asked, turning my attention to Captain Sin.

  “You and Asha have had a rough day,” the captain said. “Don’t worry about taking watch tonight. Just get some rest and be ready to work in the morning.”

  “We will,” I said, turning to face Asha. “Shall we?”

  After she rose, we spread the thick quilt out on the floor, plopped some pillows onto our designated sleeping positions, then settled down and covered ourselves with a single sheet.

  The shared warmth beneath the covers was enough to put me at ease.

  “Goodnight,” Asha whispered.

  “Night,” I said.

  The last thing I saw before I closed my eyes was the slight smile on her lips.

  I woke to the sound of feverish whispers.

  “Are you sure you saw Them?” Cindy asked.

  “I’m sure I did,” Josh replied.

  “We need to remain calm,” Captain Sin said. “Panicking isn’t going to do us any good.”

  “What’s going on?” I asked as I pushed myse
lf into a sitting position.

  “Josh said he saw Harvesters flying over the city,” Asha said, turning her head from where she stooped near the window, looking out at the torrential downpour.

  “But we’re not convinced it was Them,” Cindy added. “It could’ve been lightning.”

  “It wasn’t lightning,” Josh replied, his thick Texas accent panicked in light of the situation. “I swear it wasn’t, Cindy. Come on, Captain—you gotta believe me.”

  “All I know is everyone needs to get away from the windows,” Captain Sin said. “Now.”

  Asha drew away, her hands instinctively falling to the gun dangling from the strap around her chest, and came to sit beside me on the ground. I, meanwhile, drew the sheet around my body and stared into the distant edge of the living room—where, looming like sentinels, were two long windows that, though covered by curtains, could offer easy access to anyone willing to breach entry.

  “They landed on the outskirts of Austin,” Asha said after a moment of silence, turning her eyes on Captain Sin and then to the rest of the group.

  “They actually landed?” Cindy asked.

  Asha nodded before turning her eyes back to the windows. “We’ll hear Them if They set down,” she said. “The house will start to rumble; the floorboards will tremble.”

  “The walls will shake,” I added.

  “Then They’ll start trying to find a way inside.”

  “We should retreat to the back ends of the house,” Josh said.

  “It won’t matter if They get in,” Sin said. “By that point, we’ll have to fight anyway.”

  “So let’s make this place defensible then.”

  “Everyone start moving furniture.”

  It took but a few moments to push the couch toward the center of the room, to rearrange the loveseats and recliners into a semi-circle, and to push the massive wooden coffee table over into a kneeling platform. Though it wouldn’t protect us from Their firearms—if They happened to have any—it would surely prevent Them from rushing in blindly at us, especially if there were Coyotes with Them.

  I waited, with bated breath, for something to happen—for the walls to tremble, for pictures to fall, for the floorboards to shake as if an earthquake were about to occur.