by Chris Hechtl
“Yeah,” he said watching her go in amusement.
“Honey...” he turned to his wife, steeling himself. She was standing there, arms crossed. He gulped and screwed up his courage before plowing on.
“Look babe, just get someone to watch the kids and pitch in. Get as much food and stuff in as you can.”
“Where do we put it all?” she asked in amusement.
“Get someone to clear out the nearest shops. In fact, get someone to do an inventory of the food shops and restaurants. Tell them to clear out the Jewelry stores here and toy stores. Store stuff there.”
“The kids will love that,” she said with a smile.
“Then stick them on it. Turn it into a game if you have to. Whatever works. Have Bob's wife, Tamara, help with them. Pull the entire contents of that store in the food court and relocate it to the store around the corner. Get the kids to do the work. Give them a dolly and let them rip.”
“Right. That'll keep them busy anyway,” she said with a nod. “At least until they start whining about being overworked and tired,” she muttered, lips pursed. “I'll get them clearing out the stores downstairs too so we'll have room to sleep. We've got a lot of people to bed down.”
“Thanks hon,” he said, kissing her forehead and hugging her briefly. He turned to the next woman.
“Jill, do what you can to...”
“To make sure people eat and drink plenty of fluids, I know. I'll get Bill to have someone in the security room at all times. I'll see if we can scare up some more radios or phones from the kiosks and get them out and get some communications,” she said with a nod. She waved and left.
“Good,” he said. He was glad he had good people. They were more precious than ammunition right this second.
“All set,” his wife said, stepping up to him and kissing his cheek. She smiled and hugged him as he looked down and stroked her hair. “Stay safe,” she murmured.
“Do my best,” he said softly.
“You do that, you always do,” she said.
“This won't break the chain ma'am,” he said in amusement.
“Better not,” she said slapping his ass and then releasing him as his team pulled up.
“You coming boss?”
“Yeah, let's get going,” he said with a nod. The other teams were pulling out already. He thumped the side of the SUV as he shut the door. “Let’s get this crate moving we've got a lot of shopping to do.”
He waved to his wife as they left. She watched him leave wondering if he'd return. He'd better if he knew what was good for him.
...*...*...*...*...
“Hey boss man I was thinking about this crate, you know like souping it up?”
“Turning it into a tank?” Shane asked in amusement, putting his seat belt on.
“Something like that. Hey man, cops ain't going to give you a ticket man, they got other things on their mind you know?”
“Yeah, but with your driving I think I need it,” he said ribbing the guy. The others in the back snickered and he could hear seat belts click. The driver looked at them in the rear view mirror and grimaced.
“Everyone's a comedian,” he growled in disgust.
“Not today man, not today,” Shane said, turning his attention to the surrounding area. They tooled through Towngate. The area wasn't bad. But when they got to Sunnymead, it looked like a battlefield.
...*...*...*...*...
A pair of drivers found food trucks, including a pair of reefers on the 215 and brought them in. Excited, Jayne sent out a crew of a dozen drivers and assistants to bring the other vehicles in, driving on the shoulder or moving obstructing vehicles out of the way to do it. They found a few more survivors and brought them in as well.
...*...*...*...*...
“So what the hell are we doing?” Bert asked shaking his head at the chaos around them. “Do we even know?”
“Yeah, shelter, fire, water, food, weapons. First rules of survival,” Tia said in reply, pursing her lips as she studied the crowd.
“Shit and that means?”
“Beating the looters to the prize,” the girl said looking at a pair of people coming in. They waded into the fray. She waded in as well and grabbed one by the arm. She didn't recognize them and from the look of what they were doing, fighting over stuff, they weren't part of her team.
“Hey!” he said turning. She held up a hand.
“Chill man, I just didn't recognize you. You in our team?”
“Um... team?”
“Look, we're setting the Mall up as a fort. That's the word anyway. The Mall and maybe other places. You can come if you want.”
“Um...” The man looked at the woman he was with. She looked at him uncertain.
“Safety in numbers folks. We've got people with guns who know how to use them. People who are turning the place into a fortress.”
“Yeah, that sounds good,” the man said nodding.
“And we've got doctors and stuff. We're taking care of everyone.”
“Okay,” the man said with another nod. He looked relieved.
“Good,” Tia pointed to the load he had in his hands. “Get that to the trucks then. If you live nearby get your stuff. Food, clothes, medicine, and weapons. They were opening the restaurants just as I was leaving so if you haven't eaten then do so when you get there, after you unload okay?” she said.
Both of the couples nodded to her. She smiled. “Welcome to the team,” she said, patting the man on the arm. The woman dashed a tear from her eye and hugged her husband. The other man looked at his wife and both nodded.
“You don't have to do it alone, we're in this together,” Tia said with a backwards look as she walked out.
“Think there are more?” Ross asked as he looked around. The parking lot was a writhing sea of humanity and machinery. Goods were moving at a breakneck pace. It was shocking really, how fast a store could be cleaned out. She'd heard that the stores in looted areas had been cleared in minutes but hadn't believed it. Now she did.
“I dunno. But I think I can do something about it,” Tia said taking a bullhorn from someone walking by.
“Hey!” he said starting a tug of war.
“Chill,” she said getting on the bumper. “People listen up!” she said into it, then grimaced and fumbled it. She found an on/off switch and flipped it and then tried again.
Work around her slowed and then stopped as the bullhorn whined. “Listen up folks. If you aren't in on the plan let me fill you in. We're moving all this to the mall for safe keeping. If you haven't been there yet we're turning it into a fort, I mean fortress. There is safety in numbers folks, so get with the program. The medics that are there are setting up one of the stores as a hospital now so if you're injured head over there now. Otherwise pitch in. We've got a lot to do and the aliens will attack again at sundown. Pass it on. That is all,” she said hopping down and handing the bullhorn back to the guy she'd taken it from.
The big guy held it for a second, spun it in his hands and then handed it back as people swung back into action slowly. “You take it little lady, seems you need it more than I do.”
“Thanks,” she said with a smile. “My name's Tia, I'm in charge of this mess.”
“Bert, I'm well... I wasn't sure what to do.”
“Well Bert, if you can help me get this lot organized I'd appreciate it. We've got to get this stuff under cover fast.”
“Um...”
“Word is by dark. The boss thinks that the alien predators will come out again then, so we need to get back indoors by then.” People around her stopped what they were doing when they heard that. A few looked instinctively to the sky. She nodded.
“Right folks. We've got to get this food to safety before it’s too dark. That's our job. Others are working on turning the mall into a fort and getting weapons. Let's make sure we've got food to feed everyone okay?” she asked looking around, hands on her hips.
Sheepishly but with renewed purpose people moved back into action. Ber
t shot Tia an admiring look that made her blush. He moved off and she lost him in the crowd in a moment.
Ross poked her and nodded to a pair of people fighting over a flat of ramen. She sighed and moved off.
...*...*...*...*...
Jill saw the closet door knob turning and felt her heart leap. She froze, ready to run, feeling her heart leap in her chest. The door creaked open and she saw a hand on the inside knob.
“What the hell? Who's in there?” she said. “You kids necking again?”
“No, ah senora it’s me,” a small wiry man said, coming out of the closet. “Only Miguel, the night janitor ma'am.”
“Damn! You scared the shit out of me! What are you doing in there?” She demanded angrily.
“The monsters come and...”
“Now?” she asked, looking around in sudden panic. “They got inside?” she felt her thighs get suddenly very damp. Oops.
“No, no, I ah, hid in here when they came last night. The demons they...”
“Oh.” she blinked, hand going to her chest. “Seriously you need to work on your delivery Miguel.”
“Sorry senora, I...” He shrugged. “What do we do?”
“You were in there all night?” He nodded. “What were you doing?” she asked.
“Praying senora. That and I fell asleep after a while,” Miguel said with a shrug. “Nothing else to do.”
“You...” she stared at him for a moment then laughed. The laugh was near hysterical. “You slept?” she asked as Jayne came over.
“What's up? Oh hi, Miguel right?” she asked. The janitor nodded.
“He slept through most of it,” Jill said indicating the janitor.
“He does that,” Bill said passing them. He nodded as he made his way onward. “Keep moving people, we don't have all day!”
“Right, okay, um...” Jayne looked amused.
“Miguel, why don't you get some food, then clean up the bathrooms and help the crew get this place sorted out,” Jill said.
“You're not supposed to...” he turned at the hammering sounds. Neil and others were at work securing plywood over the glass windows. “Um...”
“We're turning this place into a fortress before the aliens, the demons come back for seconds tonight.”
His eyes went wide. “Ah. Wise, senora.”
“Let's get cracking. Either clean the place up or lend a hand. Let the people know where to go and stuff,” Jill said. “I'm going to stop at Victoria's Secret and get a fresh set of undies. I need them,” she said with a grimace.
“We'll figure it out,” Jayne said waving Jill on and giving her an amused look. “Come on Miguel, I can't believe you slept all morning! Let's get you some food and then we'll fill you in. You can help the kids or something,” she said waving him on.
Julio sent back the trucks they'd found and hot wired. Some had additional traumatized survivors, some had goods, some were empty. People who saw the vehicles passing by decided to rush out to join others. Jayne put a few people to work sorting them out. Julio came back packing some guns. “Where did you get those?” she asked.
“Shit ain't nothin',” he said hefting a nine mill and posing with it. Some of his crew were lounging around while others unloaded a pair of light towers complete with generators. Another crew had lifted a pair of construction generators and was unloading them nearby. Jayne tried not to shake her head. They were unloading them wily nilly right in the middle of the area of course, right where people were going to need space to move and unload. Did they care? Apparently not. Oh well, she'd have to get a crew to move the damn things after they left.
“It’s something. We're still arming people with baseball bats,” she said grimacing as she looked around. A few people were armed, standing guard. Those that weren't were either occasionally looking around, or moving fast to keep busy. Or at least looking that way.
“Ah, yeah, we've got some Mac nines and a few other pieces. We're picking up some more here and there.”
“Ah. Cortez right?” Jayne asked. He nodded.
“Call me Julio, Senorita,” he said flashing his trademark grill. She snorted.
“Okay, Julio, can you and your crew knock over some pawn shops?”
“Seriously?” he asked amused.
She gave him her best deadpan expression. “Like a heart attack. Some take in guns.”
“Shit,” he said shaking his head and rubbing at his brow. After a moment he took off his bandanna to fix it. “Shoulda thought of that,” he muttered. He cussed in Spanish. The girl with piercings nodded her chin to him. He barked at her in Spanish. After a moment she nodded.
“Well, someone did. They passed it onto me. I'm passing it onto you. We're telling everyone to check the pawn shops. Strip out any weapons, ammo, and food and bring it back. Standard operating procedure now.”
“Um...”
“I know there is a pawn shop on the corner of Alessandro and Indian that has guns. Or at least they had a big ad on the side of the building saying they do. Start there.”
“Chica I can't get there. Place is nuts. The roads are parking lots in that part of town,” Julio said shaking his head. “People are taking pot shots and there are live wires and fires everywhere. It’s a bit out of my hood too, if you know what I mean.”
She gave him a look and then shrugged. “Okay. I'll get someone else on it. Can you get to the others in the area?”
He nodded, shoulders hunched as he slouched. “Sure. I know a few.”
“We're looking for a phone book.” He raised an eyebrow in inquiry. She smiled. “The phones and net are mostly out. A phone book tells you all the locations of stuff in the area.”
“Ah,” he said nodding. “Simple.”
“Sometimes the simplest things work the best. Don't forget to check the restaurants too,” she said.
“Um...”
“For food. And whatever you can think of Julio,” she said nodding to Sheila who was waving to her impatiently. She waved back.
“‘K,” Julio said with a nod, jumping off the hood of the truck and strolling to his gang. “We got some homework,” he started to say.
“What'd that puta say?” a girl asked, eyes flashing. He pretended to back hand her but pulled it when the chick winced and looked away.
“Don't diss the boss lady. She's asked us to knock over a few pawn shops, liquor stores, and restaurants.”
“Seriously?” the girl asked staring. “Isn't that like stereotyping or somethin'?” she demanded. He smiled at her. She blinked. Slowly the others smiled as well. He shrugged. He looked back at Jayne and gave her a wink and a salute and then rested his arm over the girl's shoulder. “Come on, this is the beginning of a beaaautifful friendship,” he said.
“I'm Courtney,” she said with a giggle, pushing his arm off. “And if you ever put your hands on me without an invite I'll...” he winced as she whispered something in his ear.
“Promise?” he asked amused. She looked at him and then threw her head back as she laughed. He shook his head as they climbed into the trucks.
“Talk about some characters,” Jayne muttered shaking her head and turning to Sheila. “Asking a bunch of gang bangers to rob liquor stores and pawn shops. What's the world coming to?” she asked.
Chapter 7
“There aren't any bodies. Why aren't there any bodies?” the driver asked, looking around as they drove. It was eerie, no animals, not even a bird. The grass on the lawns was stripped to bare earth. Many of the shrub plants looked more than a little chewed up. A few palm trees had been knocked over. There were purple, black, and yellow stains on the roads and roof tops, but not much else. A few of the roofs and walls had holes in them. Some areas had divots like something had landed there. Cars with open doors or smashed up were everywhere. By the light of day it looked even more like a war zone then it had at night.
The houses they passed told the same story, open doors, and smashed windows. Many of the windows and even some of the walls were shattered or just gone
. Most looked like they were blown in instead of out. That alone was ominous. The entire area looked like a disaster zone. If the media was right this was happening worldwide.
“Probably ate them,” the man in the back said. Shane looked back at him. He looked nervous but not shocky. He'd have to keep an eye on that, keep everyone busy.
There weren't even alien bodies either. Most of the grazers were avoiding the business sections of town. It made sense, the area was all concrete and steel anyway. All the better for them. With a small population the business sections of town had little traffic, and therefore didn't have as much of a parking lot problem on the streets. But outside it was a different story. It was becoming increasingly hard to navigate the roads beyond Sunnymead. They had been forced to stop twice to maneuver around wrecks or pull them aside to get by.
“There's one,” a guy said pointing. They looked. They could see some weird looking thing with spines all over its back munching on a fern. Another on the other side of the bush looked up at them but kept munching.
“Alien cows. Boss is right, day time,” the driver said nodding.
“I wonder if they'd make a good burger? Or a steak,” the guy behind him said. He glanced in the rear view mirror and snorted.
“You'll get your chance to find out soon enough buddy,” was all he had to say.
...*...*...*...*...
“Hey we've got a live one here!” a sentry said looking back and waving. The crew in the 99cent store looked and stopped what they're doing. Everyone was on edge.
“What?”
“People man, I think,” he pulled his binoculars down and pointed up Day Street. “Coming out of the hospital.”
“Let me see that,” Ross said, taking the binoculars. He looked for a moment. “I see four, no more like six people. Humans by the look of them,” he watched for a moment as more people joined them.
“Looks like a doctor and patients. I'm not sure what they're doing out though,” he said.
“Probably looking for help,” a kid said. They looked at him. He shrugged. “I bet people are going to be coming out now when they realize it’s safe.”
