3531

by Black, John

  She forced herself to total exhaustion trying to reach the far side. The stalkers second attempt caught her violently has she was jerked back and thrown to the ground. Stunned she felt herself being totally subdued by the vast strength these stalkers had. She could feel the barbs biting into her neck. She continued to kick has they began wrapping her ankles with more barbed rope.

  The gunshot surprised everyone, as it partly tore away the arm of one of the stalkers.

  Rachel surprised looked towards the direction of the gun shot. A man stood in the old bleachers. “Let go of her,” he ordered.

  Two of the stalkers began running towards him. The third continued its binding of the girl. Its arm oozed of its white milky substance.

  He fired again, this time he caught one of the hideous machines in the face, and it fell to the ground thrashing about wildly. The other leaped at him and they tumbled about, fighting.

  Rachel still did her best to fight off the wounded third one. Grabbing the pole, she struck it in the side, but caused herself just has much pain from the barbs that continued to dig themselves deeper into her flesh.

  The stalker had never encountered a human that had such strength, has they continued their engagement. Rolling down the steps they came to a stop at the bottom. The stalker was motionless has it was broken in several places. Donovan was stunned by the amount of strength he had from the fight. Where had it come from? He never felt it before.

  Rachel ignoring her own pain, and taking advantage of the injured stalker, used her feet to pummel her attacker. It fell over dazed and struggling to reorganize itself. She used her feet to press the release button on the pole. Several more times she kicked the stalker, then quickly finished removing her ankle binds. Freeing herself she begin limping a new direction. To fearful of looking back she saw her avenue of escape.

  Donovan used precious seconds looking for a safe way down on the field, finally leaping nearly 15' he rolled safely to a stop. “Wait stop!” he yelled towards the girl.

  He watched the third attacker crawling in the direction of the girl. White liquid oozed from his grotesque body. Donovan stopped long enough to put a bullet through its head. He watched the lights in its head and about the body dimmed till they were extinguished. He looked to see the girl limp passed a damaged fence. He then chased after the girl in a desperate attempt to find her. He leaped over the railing and looked about, seeing piles of rock, concrete and rubble he saw the remains of disturbed dust in the air, giving clue of the direction she took. Panting for breath he followed climbing over several boulders, he spotted droplets of blood.

  He stopped to listen. Had she vanished? He moved along the ridge. A large crater made traversing the area dangerous. One wrong move and the fall would be enough to serious injury someone if not worse.

  He stopped to rest a moment. Were those creatures a part of the alliance? Was this why she had warned him? They obviously wasn't human. Who created them, and why? Why did the girl run from him? He sighed from the never ending of questions. He took several sips of water and it was refreshing. He then heard the sound of rocks falling. Was it the girl, or maybe someone else? Standing he began to investigate.

  Chapter 5

  “Hello, someone there?” he called out. Breathing heavier he took several steps closer. “Hello?” he said. He took several gulps of saliva in a attempt to dampen his throat, which failed.

  Jumping at the sound of some pebbles tumbling down the slope he raced up the ridge himself, someone had been there he thought. “Wait please stop,” he labored at climbing the ever growing grade of rocky cliffs, reaching the top, he surveyed the area, gasping with labor for oxygen. Seeing no movement, maybe the wind, or his own actions caused the little cascading rocks to fall away. He paused and listen quietly. It sure seem like someone was close by.

  Suddenly the scampering of feet, of someone running away was more defined this time. Jumping up himself, he headed towards the noise, “Wait!” he screamed while laboring to breath. Up ahead he saw the image of someone very thin, dashing between and over rocks, with matted hair, the person bolted over a boulder, but losing their balance slipped.

  Hearing the fearful cry of someone in trouble, he rushed over and saw the girl, dangling precariously on a ledge. The fall would be enough to seriously injure her.

  “Hang on, I'll get you,” he replied working his way slowly to the edge, reaching out his hand. “Grab a hold,” he said. He saw the fear and distrust of her eyes. “Come on, I'm not going to hurt you,” he encouraged.

  Her fingers strained to keep a hold. She looked down, and saw it was about a thirty foot drop to another ledge full of rocks.

  Donovan, dared himself to move closer, “Take hold of my hand,” he pleaded.

  Her fear of dieing diminished her suspicion of him, reaching for his hand, she was pulled up to safety.

  “Are you all right?” he asked watching her back away from him. Sitting down his breathing was returning to normal.

  She gazed at him, his clothing looked almost brand new. He certainly wasn't from the town, nor any of street gangs. The wind blew his blondish hair about, revealing his green eyes.

  Donovan sighed, “I said are you all right, my name is Donovan.” he grew frustrated at the lack of communication. She looked to be about twenty years of age, her stringy hair was dirty including her face, what clothing she had was raggedy.

  “I'm all right, my name is Rachel,” she finally answered. She kept a close eye on him, trust was a limited commodity this day and age.

  “huh, listen, are you hungry, or thirsty,” he questioned removing his back pack.

  She backed away even more, almost bolting into a run.

  “Wait wait, I'm not going to hurt you,” he dropped the back pack and held up his hands. “Those creatures chasing you, what were they?”

  She stopped, but continued to look at him with suspicion.

  “I did pull you to safety right? That should count for something? Not to mention, I killed your attackers,” he reasoned.

  “But you caused my near accident,” she retorted. She pressed her cracked lips together, still thinking about the offer of water.

  “Fair enough, but I was so surprised to finally find someone alive, I just...” his voice tapered off. He pulled out the hydro bottle, and took a step towards her. He watched her backed away. “This is my water bottle, you want a drink?”

  “You first,” Rachel answered.

  Nodding his head, he took a short drink of the refreshing warm water. Reaching out he tried to hand her the bottle, but again she backed away.

  “Set it down,” gesturing with her hand.

  “Oh come on,” he sighed placing the bottle down, he backed away.

  She watched for any reaction from him, then ran towards the bottle, sliding to her knees, she took large gulps of the water, several drops ran down each side of her mouth.

  He started to protest, but pity for her overtook his feelings. She couldn't have weighted more then ninety or hundred pounds. “Can, can we talk, please?” he asked.

  She placed the cap back on the bottle and sat it back down on the ground, “all right but not here. Thank you for the water.” She walked to a outcropping of rocks that offered a bit of shade, and she sat down.

  He quietly followed. He found his own shade near her, figuring anything closer, to her, would make her protest.

  She tucked her knees under her chin, then wrapped her arms in a tight clinch. “I'm from sector seven, a large town about forty miles north of here. There was a nuclear war, with other sectors across the great ocean, the pacific I think was what it was called. There was little warning, all forms of communication, along with any stable civilization, ceased from existence.”

  Donovan listened, not wanting to interrupt her.

  “My father took me to a subway, and we climbed down a manhole, where we stayed for has long as we could. We ate on whatever we could find, learned to survive. One night he went out to find food and water. I waited for sev
eral days, but he never returned.” Her lips trembled from recalling her past.

  He was not sure if he should ask what happen to her mother. “What did you do then?” he asked.

  “What do you think, I went on fighting for my survival it was brutal in what was left of that city,” said Rachel annoyed. She wiped her face, “I never found my father.”

  “What happen to your mother?”

  She gave out a sigh, “my father said she had been taken away by the alliance and never heard from her again. Street rape gangs formed from the shattered groups of the alliance.”

  She looked him over, “your obviously not from sector seven, where are you from?”

  “I don't know where I'm from.”

  Rachel just rolled her narrowing eyes, her mistrust grew.

  “My parents placed me in some sort of container to sustain me for a long period of time. I just recently woke up. Help me out here, what town is this one, if your from farther north?”

  “I don't know what it was called, I just keep heading south to get away from the street gangs and the alliance stalkers.”

  “So the alliance still exist?” He questioned.

  “I'm not sure, if its still called the alliance, but they hunt down and kill humans, especially females which are generally killed on sight, very few are kept, for what purpose I don't know.”

  “But why?”

  “I just told you, I don't know, I never bother to ask them, the name of game is staying alive.” She glanced at him, wondering who he really was. “So who are you and where are you from?” she asked.

  Ignoring her question, he replied, “what's the purpose of staying alive?”

  She was dumbfounded by his question. “What kind of question is that?” he couldn't be serious, but his empty expression made her wonder.

  “To struggle to find a morsel of food and water? Others trying to kidnap or kill you? Seems like to me, banding together in order to make life better would be everyone’s goal.”

  “You do what you have to, to live another day. I know my family would want me to do all I could to stay alive. In fact I would say you been doing a real good job at it,” glaring at him harshly.

  The sounds of something, in the area, made Rachel panic. “Hide,” she commanded, but cover was limited here, she then scampered over on the other side of the steep ridge. Donovan followed suit.

  Looking down, the fall would be fatal.

  “I've heard when stalkers do not return they send out patrols,” Rachel whispered. She dug her toes into the ridge trying to better her footing. Donovan noticed she was struggling to hold on, Reaching he grabbed her. Close by he could hear soft sounds, like the previous stalkers made.

  Rachel closed her eyes, waiting for the pending doom. There was no way Donovan could hang on much longer. She dug her toes into the rocky ridge to try and help ease the burden of weight.

  “Stop moving,” he whispered softly to her. The movement was making it more difficult for him. Weight was not the problem rather the encumbrance of it, made it hard to hang on. He sensed the danger had passed for it grew quiet. He lifted her to safety, however he began to slide and now dangled in peril of falling. Desperately grasping with his now trembling fingers to maintain his grip.

  “Donovan hang on,” she looked about for something to use for a rope. Grabbing a long rail, she instinctively, pounded one end against a rock to form a crude hook and anchored it hoping it was long enough for Donovan to reach. “Come on grab it.” He had already saved her twice, she wanted to repay his heroics.

  He tried reaching for it, but it was several inches from his grasp. “Are you sure it will hold?” his voice straining now. His attempts to grab other rocks failed for they would crumble through his fingers, falling some fifty feet or more below. His feet dangled freely.

  “I don't know,” she grunted.

  With a lunge he grabbed the pole. Rachel saw the hook starting to slide loose, pressed her body against it to help secure it.

  He climbed up the pole till he could get better footing of the rocks, then finished his climb to safety.

  “I thought you wanted to die?”

  “Did I say I wanted to die?” he argued.

  “You're the one who just said what was the purpose of living,” she huffed in growing anger.

  “So who are you, and where did you come from? This time I want you to answer me.”

  “I told you, I don't know.”

  “Fine, keep that stupid story.” She rose up from her rest and began walking away.

  “What if I show you, where I came from?” He called out.

  She laughed, from his suggestion. “You're kidding right?”

  He continued his gaze at her back. Her clothing was shredded, so badly he wondered how it stayed together.

  “The best I could tell you, is I'm from the past. This world is not mine.”

  Rachel looked Donovan over. Was he mentally insane, or at least unstable? Where was he getting these weird stories from.

  “Look I told you, I'm from this device that kept me in a stasis. My parents wanted me to survive beyond the nuclear war between the sectors.”

  “What were the name of your parents?” She turned around to face him. Walking closer to him, maybe he was not has crazy has he sounded.

  “Doctors Benjamin, and Mercedes Fitzgerald.”

  “You're full of crap, you know that?” she said icily.

  He didn't understand her disbelief.

  “The same doctors who worked for Cyber Robotics Company?” She looked at the flabbergasted Donovan.

  “Yes Dr. Benjamin was the director of Bio-Cyber Robotics, what's so hard to believe about that?”

  “That would make you about 800 years old, you moron.”

  Completely perplexed, he looked at Rachel. “What year is it now?” he asked innocently.

  “You don't even know the year?”

  He shrugged his shoulders signaling he was completely in the dark about a lot of things.

  She saw the baffled look on his face. Maybe he was telling the truth, she reasoned with herself. “It's 3531. I'm not sure of the month or day however. The watch I had broke on me some time back.” She soften her tone with him.

  “Wait how did you know about my parents?”

  She stood there looking at him in disbelief. “According to my parents, they were well known for saving countless lives with their advancement in medicine. They helped people regain limbs, and vital organs.”

  “How did you learn about them? If it was so long ago?” he was curious that his parents were so famous.

  “My father had read and heard about the work and accomplishments they had made. He said they were hauled away by the alliance, and not really heard from again.”

  Donovan was not sure what to think or say to that, however it matched close to what was revealed on the chips.“Can I show you where I've been staying, its south of here, and relatively safe.”

  “All right but any tricks, and you won't have to worry about dieing, I'll speed up the process.” She followed along behind him. “Do you have any food in that pack of yours, I'm starving.”

  He stopped, slinging the pack off his shoulders. “I have some VS-771.”

  “What is that?” she asked.

  “Some kind of food supplement, they sustain life but don't ask me how.” He extended his hand towards her.

  She looked at the tablet in his hand. “You expect me to believe that will feed me? Are you some kind of mad crazed lunatic?” Maybe he couldn't separate reality from his own mental stories, she thought to herself.

  “Well what have you been eating and drinking to survive,” he countered placing the tablet back in the container.

  “Well my latest meal was two days ago, a bag of wheat I found. Otherwise its any kind of four legged creature I can catch.”

  He felt bad for her, “would you like me to carry you?” His question made her step away form him several feet. “No!” she paused. “I could use some water however?�
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  He pulled out a full bottle of water, handing her the valuable container. He noted this time, she took it directly from his hand. “How many of these do you have?” she questioned.

  “I have six left including that one.” He watched her swill the liquid.

  Rachel tried to quell not only her thirst but hunger pains, it simply wasn't enough. She handed him back the nearly empty container.

  “Keep it, till you finish it.”

  “Really?” she asked in disbelief.

  “Really,” he answered swinging the pack over his shoulders.

  She looked at him, thankful for the generous offer. “How far is it to your shelter?”

  “I would say about three days of walking.”

  Fearing she couldn't make such a trip, she swallowed her pride. “All right let me try one of those pills” Catching the bottle, she took several looking at them.

  “You only need one a day,” He watched her swallow it, placing the others back in the bottle. “You'd think it would at least grant some sort of taste.”

  Donovan shrugged his shoulders. He held out his hand. She placed the bottle in his hand, trusting him enough to get that close.

  Using his compass, he guided them out of the annihilated city.

  “What happen to the ocean?” he asked her.

  Walking behind him to his left, where she could keep a eye on him replied, “How am I suppose to know?”

  He kept turning his upper torso, “why are you walking behind me, like that?”

  “I don't trust you. I find it odd, your shelter just happens to be south, the direction I was headed.”

  “Your impossible,” he grew annoyed.

  She looked at him, noting his tone sounded hostile. “I'm alive and I want it to stay that way.”

  Wanting to prove himself, he thought about it a moment. “All right some time tomorrow, we'll reach two buildings that are destroyed.”

  “What's that suppose to mean?”

  “To show I have been here.” he responded. Seeing shade in the rock formation, he changed course heading to them. “I'm tired, I need a rest.”