In the Aftermath: Burning of the Dawn

by Coleman Thompson

“They probably had no idea what you were talking about.” Maria added.

  “That doesn’t matter. What’s done is done; let it be.” Clarissa responded, slightly less calm.

  “Wait…” Daniel chimed in. “There’s somebody else here?”

  The daughters waited for their mother to reply, but she said nothing. Eventually, Maria spoke out in her mother’s stead: “A man and his two kids, we met them yesterday?”

  “Really? Which town was this?”

  “We don’t know,” Clarissa answered this time. “I don’t even know where the hell we are now. It’s not like there’re many signs left standing.”

  “You’re not wrong about that.” Daniel replied. “I know the patterns of the Sayona pretty well. They were here a few days ago, so they probably won’t be back for at least another week, but they are still in the surrounding areas. If this man and his kids aren’t familiar with this place, they could be in a lot of danger.”

  “Not… my… concern.” Clarissa coldly retorted.

  “Christ momma, we could’ve done more for them.” Maria pushed.

  “You are my daughter, Maria; I am your mother – not a mother to some strange man’s children. They are his concern and his responsibility; not mine and not yours.”

  Sensing the mounting tension between mother and daughter and the increasing possibility that said daughter was about to be smacked with the butt end of a shotgun, Daniel decided to intervene. “Ms. Maria, your mother’s right.” He stated. “Not that it’s any business of mine, but if you and your sister were my daughters your protection would be of the utmost importance; no one else would matter. Your mother knows the dangers; that much is obvious. You don’t risk your children – not for anything.”

  Maria marched off back towards the storeroom taking a seat against the wall by the door. After she had gone, Clarissa threw the Sayona scale back to Daniel. He studied the macabre, little trophy in his hand, as he had done many times before. It had taken him four different knives and two whole days of work just to pry off this wretched scale. The last time he had killed a Sayona was nearly ten months ago. He wondered if it would still come as fluently to him now as it had before, even after all these months. Vita’s curiosity with Daniel’s experience with the creatures was not yet satisfied, so she continued her questioning.

  “You know their patterns,” she spoke. “What do you mean by that?”

  Daniel was more than willing to pass on any information he could about the beasts, “They’ll take a major city – anywhere from a hundred to two hundred Sayona. And from there they’ll form into smaller groups of three to five individuals and start fanning out in an umbrella-like pattern. They have their own strips of territories that start at the central point, the city itself, and then branch out to as far as the Sayona choose to roam, which is usually around eighty to a hundred and fifty miles depending on how plentiful the food is.”

  “And we’re within that range of Pittsburg?” Vita supposed.

  “Pittsburg, Cleveland, and Buffalo are all within range.” Daniel replied. “Pittsburg’s Sayona tend to prefer hunting grounds in the south and the east. The ones in Cleveland don’t stray all that far from the city, most likely due to ample amounts of food in the area, which means the ones that come here are probably New Yorkers.”

  “Why take Buffalo when Toronto is just across the Lake?” Clarissa questioned/criticized. “Wouldn’t it be better to take the bigger city?”

  “Yes, I have no doubt Toronto is taken, and likely by a much larger group,” Daniel answered. “And they probably hunt that entire province. A smaller group simply broke off and took Buffalo to better their odds of finding food on our side of the border.”

  “How exactly did you come up with all of this?” Clarissa asked with an incredulous glower. “Are these just your own theories, or is there any actual proof behind any of what you say?”

  “Yeah, a lot of it is my own assumptions, but they are backed by a bit of research and a lot of experience.” Daniel gently assured. “After I fled from Cincinnati, I came across an air force base outside of Dayton. No one was there and nothing was taken, but there were many indications that something ugly had gone down. Obviously, to me, it was the work of the Sayona. Anyway, I took data files, smartcards, flash drives, discs… whatever I could carry. Months later, once I set up shop here, I powered up a few of those computers of mine and voilà – knowledge! Those glasses Ms. Maria has probably has a bit of that knowledge on them right now, if you’d like to take a look for yourself.”

  “Have you ever watched the Sayona eat anybody?” Vita brusquely inquired.

  Daniel and Clarissa looked away from each other and over to Vita with odd and staggered looks on their faces. Both were caught off guard by Vita’s disturbing twist of questioning.

  “That’s a little morbid, daughter.” Clarissa stated.

  “Um, well yeah, I guess I have.” Daniel replied. “I really don’t think you’d want me to go into details though.”

  “No, nothing like that,” Vita responded. “Not entirely anyway. I just wanted to know how they do it; I mean, do they eat everything, or just the skin? Why people?”

  “People make for an easy target most of the time… and yeah, they eat everything – including the bones.” Daniel answered.

  “Bones and all? At least they’re efficient.” Vita commented.

  “They are that,” declared Daniel. “Their fangs aren’t much good for chewing, but they kinda grind things down in their gullets; the muscles in their throats crush just about anything they stick in their mouths. The only evidence they usually leave of their human banquets are a few scraps of clothing and, occasionally, some of the person’s teeth.”

  “Well, okay then, I see; thank you, Mr. Daniel.” Vita spoke, mostly satisfied with the answer to her question. “And I don’t know about the rest of you guys, but I’m hungry again.”

  Vita walked over and took up the bag of smoked elk meat, which was sitting near Maria. Maria had gone back to studying the contents of the smart glasses. It had been too long since she had toiled with anything like this, but it was slowly coming back to her as she was getting the hang of the interfaces. Soon enough, she discovered some of the saved content. As Daniel had said, there were files saved onto the device that pertained to the Sayona and their hunting patterns and territories. One file contained a map of the United States, Mexico, and Canada, showing all of the known locations of the Sayona. Almost every major city had a bubble around it that corresponded to a radius between a hundred and a hundred and fifty miles. Maria studied the disturbing image. A giant blotch lay just to the west of where she and her family currently dwelt, as the cities of Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, and Columbus combined their Sayona ranges to form a no-man’s-land that was more than six hundred miles wide. As troubling a sight as this was, Maria did notice something else: the cities of Los Angeles and Las Vegas had no colorful rings around them. This is odd, she thought. Why would the Sayona not attack them?

  As Maria contemplated her findings she was hit in the shoulder by something. It was her sister offering her some of the elk. Maria declined the smoked meat, but she did take notice of her can of cheesecake sitting next to her. Vita took notice of her notice and picked up the can.

  “Any chance you could possibly make this now?” Vita entreated to Daniel as she held out the can.

  “I could do that,” he replied. “If it’s okay with your mother and your sister.”

  Maria had no qualms with the plan and her mother languorously gave her consent as well. Daniel needed a few items to accomplish the task. As Clarissa had not yet warmed to the idea of Daniel moving around freely within his own house, her daughters were sent to retrieve the necessary items instead. Vita was sent into the kitchen to retrieve a hotplate, a plastic bowl, and a pot; all of which were found in the kitchen cupboards. Maria was sent upstairs to acquire one of the small propane tanks. She was dutifully warned to be careful concerning the hydrochloric
acids along the wall. Vita returned first with all of her items.

  “Okay,” Daniel spoke as he contemplated the procedure. He handed the pot back to Vita. “Fill that with water, please, and I’ll need a cup full of water, too, if you don’t mind.”

  “Want me to just bring you a bottle from the storeroom?” Vita asked.

  “No, that’s not necessary; you can just get it from the sink.”

  “All right then.” Vita spoke as she turned and headed back to the kitchen. She then abruptly stopped halfway there and turned back to Daniel and asked, “You have running water?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he replied. “That’s the main reason I chose this place: it had its own well and PV pump. There’s no hot water, but hey, it’s definitely better than nothin’.”

  “So, theoretically, someone might be able to take a shower if they wanted to?” Vita asked pleadingly.

  “No theory; it’s a fact – you can take a shower. But again, no hot water, so cool or lukewarm is the best I can offer, I’m afraid.”

  “I can live with that, Mr. Daniel, and I totally love you right now!” With those parting words Vita turned and continued on into the kitchen to retrieve the water necessary for the cheesecake. Clarissa eyed her daughter inauspiciously as she walked past. Once she was out of sight, Clarissa turned that gaze to Daniel.

  “Don’t worry,” he spoke to her in placating tone. “Once she gets a taste of this stuff I’m sure that’ll change. Never tried this freeze-dried crap myself, but it can’t be that good.”

  All of the items essential for making the cheesecake were eventually procured. The cheesecake mix was poured into the plastic bowl along with a cup’s worth of water. Water heated on the hotplate (ignited via propane) was then poured into the cup obtained by Vita; the blueberry topping was then dumped in with it. A small package of graham cracker crumbs was added after the cheesecake mix had been sufficiently stirred. It wasn’t so much of a traditional cake, but more like a bowl of pudding. The coffee table was cleared off and moved to the center of the room and the plastic bowl was placed upon it. Vita retrieved a hand full of spoons from the kitchen and returned to put them to good use. She took one for herself, gave one to her sister, then placed two more on the table for her mother and Daniel, though Daniel and Clarissa refrained from taking theirs for the time being. Both girls took a big spoonful of the desert and devoured it in short order.

  “God in Heaven, that is the greatest thing I have ever had in my mouth!” Vita declared brazenly.

  Maria concurred by way of vocal sounds, ranging from abundantly delightful to borderline obscene. Clarissa was content that her daughters were happy, even though the stare she was giving Daniel now reeked more of contempt.

  “All right, so that turned out a little better than I expected,” he fretfully explained. “And it’s probably been a long time since they’ve had anything sweet.”

  “I suppose,” Clarissa replied. “They split a can of soda a couple months ago; other than the occasional apple or pear, that’s mostly been it.”

  “You gotta have some, mama,” proclaimed Maria. “Before we eat all of it.” Vita nodded in agreement as she continued shoveling larges bites into her mouth.

  Clarissa surprisingly showed little hesitation in accepting Maria’s offer. She joined her daughters at the small table, picked up one of the spoons, and then took a scoop of the cheesecake. In another astonishing display, Clarissa actually gave a subtle simile to her daughters after she had finished her first bite. Daniel then noticed Vita looking to him. She motioned for him to come over.

  “Why aren’t you having any?” She asked. “You’re the one who made it.”

  “No, that’s all right; it’s all for you ladies.”

  “Nonsense!” declared Vita. She took her spoon and scooped out a large hunk of the cheesecake, stood from the table, and walked it carefully over to Daniel. Declining this more aggressive proposal was not an option as Vita knelt down to where he was sitting and thrust the spoon towards his mouth. He took the bite reluctantly. It did taste very good. “See? Pretty good isn’t it?” Vita asked as she flashed him a coy, yet brilliant smile.

  “Thank you, Ms. Vita.” Daniel answered, reticently. Vita stood from where she knelt and returned to her place at the table.

  Clarissa watched as her daughter interacted with Daniel. She was not overjoyed about the exchange, but she was not angry either. In a way, she was glad to see Vita showing signs of her former self: verbose, bold, magnetic and charming, much like her father. Yet those traits could also be dangerous. Vita was a smart girl, but she was also naïve. Fortunately, Clarissa took comfort in the fact that Daniel did not seem to be in the least bit naïve. He understood that if he made any intentional physical contact with either of her daughters then that would be his end.

  The bowl of cheesecake was soon a thing of the past, as every trace of its existence was merrily devoured by the Hannigans. Soon after, Vita beseeched her mother to allow her to use one of the showers; Maria got behind this campaign as well. Clarissa approved the request, but stipulated that the daughters had to remain together if they chose to use the grander of the two bathrooms, which was upstairs. The twins were fine with this request. They first made a quick foray outside to retrieve some articles of clothing from their car; not only for themselves, but also for their mother. The girls were soon back inside and then swiftly up the stairs and into the bathroom. Daniel and Clarissa were alone once more.

  “Wow, I remember when you had to lay down a few hundred bucks just to make a kid that happy.” Daniel commented. “I don’t know exactly what happened yesterday between you and that other family, but I do know that you made the right choice. Your girls are special; you do whatever it takes to protect them.”

  “I do.” Clarissa retorted. She noticed that Daniel was observing her in a beseeching manner; he wanted to ask her something. She didn’t want him to, but she knew the questions were coming.

  “This place… do you want it?” He asked bluntly.

  Clarissa gave him a look that fell somewhere between perplexity and incredulity. “What do you mean ‘do I want it?’ You’re going to give it to me?”

  “Yeah, to you and your daughters. It’s well stocked; it’s out of the way. You could do worse.”

  “No thanks; I prefer to keep moving.”

  “Staying on the move is dangerous, Mrs. Hannigan. You don’t know where you’ll end up when nightfall comes, or who you’ll run into out on the roads. If you’re worried about me, that’s not a problem. I’ll leave this town; I’ll go far away and you’ll never see me again.”

  “And why would I believe that?”

  Daniel made no direct answer. It was a tough question. He couldn’t think of anything he could say or do to make her believe him, other than firing a bullet into his own mouth, which currently was not an option as he had no weapons in his possession. Eventually he answered with, “Nothing makes me think you’re going to believe that, or anything else I say.”

  “Then stop trying already.” Clarissa responded in an almost suppliant tone.

  “I’m sorry, but you’re risking yourself and your daughters even more by not believing me.”

  “You know, I think you’re getting a little too fond of my daughters.” Clarissa spoke, less suppliant and more threatening.

  “Yes, I am,” Daniel rebutted intrepidly. “But not in the perverse way you’re referring to. I’d never touch those girls, or do any harm to any of you. You don’t believe me? Fine; take me out back, shoot me in the head, and everything here is yours – no worries of me.”

  “If you’re so fearless of death then why’d you leave Cincinnati where the Sayona were so eager to kill you?”

  “I guess the thought of being eaten alive just became less and less appealing. Knowing that I could hurt, and even kill, the Sayona gave me enough.”

  “But it’s okay if I kill you? That’s not giving up?”

  “Being euthanized by a mother fending for her daughters is
a far better fate than being eaten by monsters, or murdered by plundering thieves. If it takes my death to better the chances of you and your girls, then yeah, I’m okay with that.”

  “Tell me something, Daniel.” Clarissa spoke in menacing manner. “You claim to have killed six Sayona… hooray for you. What I’m really interested in knowing is how many humans you’ve killed. All those nice things you have in your secret storeroom: dehydrated goods, freeze-dried foods. Those things don’t come cheap or easy, and the only people who’d have any interest in collecting them are survivalists – idiotic, doomsday assholes.

  “Idiotic? You sure about that?” Daniel scrutinized. “Doomsday did happen, you know. They were more prepared than most. ”

  “They were just as ill-prepared as the rest of us. Only they hid in their holes while others, like my husband, fought and died defending this pathetic world. How much time did hiding buy them? A few months maybe?”

  “If that. Though in their defense, when somebody ponders all the ways in which society will fall, alien invasion is probably not very high on their list of concerns.”

  “Whatever. Like I said, what interests me is how you’ve managed to get your hands on all of these unique items… and how many people you’ve had to kill for them.”

  “I never killed for any of this stuff.”

  “But you have killed, right? I already know the answer, I just want the number. How many?”

  Clarissa’s question was too straight to the point and Daniel didn’t care much to answer it. Nevertheless, he reckoned she deserved some answers. Besides, he also reckoned that he’d brought this upon himself by pushing and prodding Clarissa in questioning her precautions concerning her daughters. Then again, telling her the truth could have negative consequences as well, being that more than thirty people had met their end by way of Daniel’s hand.

  “More than a couple.” Daniel answered.

  “I’ve killed more than a couple,” Clarissa countered. “You can do better than that.”

  Daniel looked away from Clarissa. First down to his hands and then over to his storeroom door. He then fixed his eyes on the table where the bowl and spoons still remained, and where the Hannigans had shared a fleeting moment of happiness together just minutes before. Daniel did not so much delay his answer just out of shame, but mostly out of concern of how Clarissa might react. He was, however, well aware that providing a false answer or no answer at all could be equally as bad as the truth, if not worse.