Afraid of the Dark

by Chris Hechtl

  “I did day care,” Tamara said sounding relieved. “I can handle one place for a couple of hours. Just not all day,” she said. She knew better than to volunteer to handle dozens or a hundred or so brats for more than a couple of hours. They might be subdued now but that could change. Kids were kids after all.

  Jen looked at her and smiled. “I don't blame you. Six hours with a bunch of kids would have me tearing my hair out or taking on the aliens with my bare hands,” she laughed. Tamara did as well.

  A few of the other women volunteered to take an hour or so shift. Jen nodded. “Thanks ladies. Report to Tamara upstairs after breakfast. I'm putting you in charge of that project,” she said nodding to Tamara. Tamara nodded back.

  Chapter 12

  Bob looked exhausted but he nodded his thanks to Jen as she came over with a tray of coffee. Walt and the others were there and gratefully took the other cups off her hands.

  “How are we doing?” she asked.

  “Well, we managed to get wire mesh over the skylights before it got dark last night. Its not pretty and it won’t last long...”

  “I'll take quick and dirty over nice and neat as long as it works,” Shane said taking a sip of coffee.

  “Word,” Julio said nodding. “Jefe,” he said. The others turned to him. “A word?”

  “Sure, Julio right?” Shane said with a nod.

  “Yeah man, look, see, its like this...” the kid liked to use his hands to talk.

  “You want to send some people to your hood to check you're crib again?” Shane asked. Julio blinked at him.

  Shane didn't have the energy or time to chuckle at his expression. He had about a dozen people with him, most of them bangers. The two girls, Vanessa and Consuela were on either side of him. Vanessa struck a classic gangster pose, giving him a what's up nod. He fought a sigh. Kids.

  “Yeah man,” Julio said after a moment.

  “Sure,” Shane said with a nod. “Can you handle that side of town? I mean hit the stores in the area with teams and send back food and gear? Like you did yesterday?”

  “Sure man,” Julio said with a wary nod. “I think I can handle that.”

  “You think or you know?” Bill asked.

  Julio gave him a long cold look. Bill just raised an eyebrow. After a moment Julio grimaced and bobbed a nod. “We'll get it done,” he said gruffly.

  “Make sure you do,” Bill said with a nod. Julio nodded and sauntered off.

  “Kids these days,” Bill said turning to the others.

  “We all wear our masks,” Jen said, watching Julio and his group go. “Its what we're most comfortable with. He's using it so don't knock it.”

  “Whatever. Can we get back to business? We're burning daylight,” Bill said.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  Julio took his people into his hood. Alex and Teri the surviving utility guys went in ahead of them, shutting off the water, gas, and power to the area. They cleaned out the stores and mark nest areas. Outside a bodega Vanessa confronted him.

  “What you gotta take that for man? We could own this town,” she said in Spanish. He gave her a long look.

  “Girl, don't be stupid,” Consuela said with a tisk. “Look chica, safety in numbers. Jefe here has the right thing going. He knows that sticking close to the man and doing the job is the way to go.”

  “Its the only way to stay alive,” Julio said quietly. He nodded as a group passed with a dolly loaded with melting ice cream.

  “Check it,” he said, hopping off the bumper and tossing his candy bar onto the concrete. “They know what to do. They've got an 'in' to authority. We play our cards right we'll be in too. I'd rather be in than out.”

  Most of the authorities didn't realize Julio was a lot smarter than he looked or acted. Take for instance his predilection for shoplifting. Some of it was arrogance pure and simple; some was just the thrill of doing something and seeing if he got caught. But what they didn't realize was that he really wanted to be caught. His orders from the leaders of the gang had been to get busted and sent to prison.

  It was simple. As a low ranking member of the gang with a relatively clean record he could get into a low security prison. Once there he could be a pipeline of orders and materials to the guys inside further up the food chain.

  Of course the problem was getting in. He wasn't about to cap someone, he wasn't that stupid. Sure he'd had his fling with bullets and shit but he wasn't about to admit it. Nor did he want a body tagged to his name. That was a one way trip to a max prison like Blythe, somewhere he was pretty sure wouldn't be a fun place to be.

  Consuela shook her head as Vanessa steamed. Vanessa was a looker, she'd come onto him right away. Consuela had her charms though, so he let the girls fight it out. He knew what they were doing, he didn't care. That Spanish fire was all he wanted to admire in each.

  Courtney though, the blond bimbo was a different story. She was blinking at the other two women and was totally clueless. You'd think someone who lived in Cali, let alone SoCal would have picked up at least a little Spanish. Girl's got to learn the lingo if she wants to hang with the big boys and girls, he thought to himself.

  “Look, we've got things to do. When I'm sure we can set up shop and make a break we'll do it. Hell, we may never do it. I'd like to set up nice and tight, let them foot the bill and we can have our shit going on right under their noses. They won't give a shit as long as we're cool about it,” he said.

  “True that,” a guy said passing them with a load. “Now you bitches want to get off your fat asses and get the lead out like the rest of us?”

  Vanessa glared but Consuela nodded. Courtney followed her lead. Julio went to give Vanessa a kiss but she turned away so it turned into a peck. He snorted. “Okay, play it that way if you want girl,” he said into her ear and moved off.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  Jayne sorted the food loads as they came in. Some restaurants and stores had backup generators that kicked on when the power went out. A few were destroyed by the aliens in the first or second night. Those that survived ran out of fuel after the second day. However that was long enough to keep the contents of refrigerators and freezers cold still. Kept closed they would remain cold for another eight hours. The clock was ticking. As the sun rose so did the temperature. As did tempers. She waved irritably to a guard to handle a pair of people in a shoving match. When he didn't move fast enough she wiped at her face with her shoulder and then moved off into the fray.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  Shane shook his head as a dog tired Bill came over holding a couple of cups of coffee. “Bill you need some down time,” he said as Bill handed him a cup of steaming coffee. It seemed like everyone was living on coffee and energy drinks. He hoped it would last. Unfortunately he knew it wouldn't, not for long. Bill paused and withdrew the cup. “Hey!”

  “Sorry,” Bill said handing the cup over. “You're right,” he said grumpily.

  “Yeah. Which is something we need to work out. A shift system. Can you handle sleeping during the day?” Shane asked taking a sip.

  Bill sat on the edge of the berm and watched the work around them. After a moment Shane cleared his throat. Bill blinked and swayed a little. “Yeah uh...”

  “We've got a couple of other good people. Deputy Wayne, Torres, Ross, Leon, Todd, and that army private, Hernandez. We can hold the fort while you get some shut eye.”

  “In this place?” Bill asked, motioning to the controlled mayhem going on around them.

  “We'll find you a spot. Hell, a camper will work if nothing else. I'll get Jayne to find some guys and gals who want to work the night shift and put them down as well. Preferably all in the same spot.”

  “Um...”

  “We need to break this down into shifts or we're going to burn the candle too far at both ends. You're a prime example.”

  “No offense boss, but you're not all that hot either.”

  Shane yawned and then stretched. “Yeah but I've got the training to deal with it.
And once the sun goes down and you are officially on duty I plan on getting some much needed sack time with a lovely young lady,” he said smiling.

  “Sack time. Yeah, right,” Bill snorted. “That is if you can pull Jen away from watching the aliens outside. Which I highly doubt.”

  “Oh I will eventually,” Shane said smirking a little. “I have my little ways,” he said with a slight knowing grin.

  Bill looked at him and laughed. He shook his head as a few people slowed to look at them. He slapped his knee and got up and downed the rest of his coffee. “You might, but she's smarter, remember that. All right, you talked me into it. I'm going to make a pit stop then crash.”

  “Good, it was either this or let Jayne drag out her rubber mallet. She threatened to use it on both of us,” Shane said, one side of his mouth quirking in a lopsided smile.

  “She would too,” Bill snorted. He waved as he walked off. Shane watched him go and didn't quite notice Bob and Walt until their shadow was upon him.

  He turned. “Something I can help you with gents?” he asked.

  “We're, well, we're working on the wall, but one level ain't going to cut it,” Bob said indicating the outer perimeter. Shane looked and then nodded.

  “I need more gear to get the things closer together. Its either that or we get them as close as we can then tack metal filler in the gaps.”

  “Which is a pain in the ass. No, you're right. But if we're going to stack them we've got to do it like Legos.”

  “Which we can't do without the right equipment. We need a big ass forklift. Or a loader with a forklift mod.”

  “Which they don't have around here?” he asked.

  “No. At least we don't know of any,” Bob said. “We've got four loaders though.”

  “So you're thinking of modding one?” he asked. He looked at Walt. “Thought you were out driving trucks?”

  “I'm a mechanic at heart boss. Give me a welder and some people and I can fab up all kinds of shit.”

  “Okay...”

  “What he means is we want to mod a loader. And some other vehicles. The loader isn't that hard. Pop the bucket off and rig up a couple of tongs and its good to go. Maybe toss in an extra weight in the rear to counter balance the load.”

  “Okay,” Shane said with a nod. “Not stopping you.” He indicated the Sears building. “We'll use that as factory and machine shop headquarters since the automotive is set up for it. That work for you two?” he asked. Both men nodded.

  “You can turn the ground floor into machine shops easily enough.”

  “We're also getting some complaints about property misappropriation,” Jayne said coming over. He leaned forward to see around Bob. She waved as she got closer.

  “Oh?” he asked amused.

  “Yeah, oh. As in uh oh. Couple of people started making noises. Grumbling...”

  “Which we need to head off,” Bob said. He looked around. “We've been getting a lot done with it though. We just don't have time to argue. Not now.”

  “We don't have a whole hell of a lot of choice. Its not like we can throw it all on a credit card. We also need the damn food and weapons. The dead don't,” Shane snarled. He set his coffee cup down and stood.

  Jayne, Bob, and Walt nodded. “But still, what do we do about people who want their shit back?” Bob asked.

  “They can have it back if we can give it to them. If it's gone its gone. So we need to keep track I guess,” Shane said.

  “Um...”

  “Vin numbers,” Walt said. They looked at the big mechanic. He shrugged. “I bet Deputy Wayne has access to the DMV or something. Databases you know, shit like that. Set up tables and crap. If we can't keep track they are SOL or they get something similar and are shown the door.”

  “We need a list of survivors and the known dead. Missing too. Also databases of items we're taking into our possession. Vehicles, etc. Places we go. We can figure out how to compensate a person if they want it. But if they are here, then its fair game.”

  “Why?” Jayne asked.

  “Because if they want food and shelter then they've got no cause to complain if we use what they have to aid in that.”

  “True,” Bob said nodding and looking at Jayne. She made a note.

  After a moment of writing she looked up. “Okay. I've got plenty of people in our overflow with nothing to do but bitch. I'll put them to work.”

  “Find some people to manage the IT side too,” Bob said with a nod. Communications and data management were a headache all on their own. Jill was good at talking but she was a bit shallow on the nitty gritty tech side of the pool unfortunately.

  “Sure, we're working on it. We've got to have steady power first,” Jayne retorted. He nodded gruffly.

  “Working on it. We're bringing in some more construction generators and a couple of big ones we've run across are getting tied into the net today. I've got that Edison kid and all the electrician's I can scrounge up working that out now. I've also got that solar panel guy up on the roof with a team, installing the panels now.”

  “I want more video surveillance cameras too Bob,” Shane said. “And someone get a cherry picker and find a way to protect the lights. And tie in the Towngate lights into our system, and surveillance system too.”

  “Whoa, whoa boss,” Bob held up his hands. “A bit out of my field.”

  “I'll let the electricians and Leon know. The Edison guys are out trying to patch the grid or shut down the problem areas. Some of the lines are down all over and we've got some blown transformers. They're worried about electrical fires and people getting electrocuted.”

  “Not a happy thought,” Shane said.

  “What about the covers?” Walt asked. “What's that about?”

  Shane glanced his way and then shook his head smiling grimly. “This kid showed me a video of one of those Gremlin like creatures using a rock to smash out the street lights.”

  “Oh. Yeah wait, you told us earlier.” Shane nodded.

  “The predators don't like light. That's our first defense. It's cheap and we can pin them with spots and stuff. Drive them back if we have to or pin them and then kill them. But if they smash them out...”

  “We need wire mesh over them.”

  “Electric mesh,” Jayne suggested. She smiled evilly as the men stared at her. Bob grunted. Walt grinned.

  “Now we're talking,” he said, slapping his hands together and nodding. “I'm a fab guy at heart. I've got a gal, Jesse who's a welder. She's good. I'll sick her on it. She did custom chandeliers and shit like that. Blacksmithing too. I bet she can do stuff like this in her sleep.”

  “Sure,” Bob said.

  “Delegate. Smart. We've got enough people. We don't need to bear the work ourselves. Farm it out. Find some good people to run the show then point them in the right direction, give them the resources then let 'em rip. Check on them once and a while. Train them if you have to,” Shane said. The others turned to look at him. Jayne nodded. Bob took his hard hat off to rub at his scalp and then he too nodded.

  “Works,” he said gruffly. “I should know that, I'm a contractor. Tired I guess. I've got shit to do. The Great Wall of China it ain't but its got to go up fast. And I've got to figure out a gate system.”

  “I'll help,” Shane said.

  “You are going to do your job and let him do his remember?” Jayne said giving him a pointed look. He snorted as he picked his coffee cup up. She took it from him and handed it to someone heading inside. “Go do whatever it is you do, then get some shut eye,” she said.

  Walt whistled appreciatively as she walked off and then shook his head. “What are you looking at, go on, get to work,” Shane said mock gruffly as he turned.

  “Sure thing boss,” Walt said flippantly, shooting his back a mocking salute then trotting off. “Hi ho, hi ho, its off to work we go...”

  Shane shook his head as he heard that. He snorted softly as he caught himself falling into step with the song and then laughed. Damn it, it did m
ake him feel better though.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  Jen scowled a little at the screen. Jayne looked up and paused what she was saying. Others turned. The screens in the food court flickered to life and then showed a test pattern.

  “Folks, we're getting another news broadcast. This came in a minute ago,” a woman said over the intercom. Discussions and activity ceased as people turned to the nearest monitor. The emergency broadcast signal ended after a moment to be brought up by a graphic of the system.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, we've been looking over this unprecedented, some would call it invasion. Whatever it is it seems to be worldwide,” a narrator said and then took a breath. An animation of the comet and Earth was shown.

  “From what we know now, the aliens seemed to have been packed into what we can only think of as a ship of some sort. The outer layer of ice was either built up or camouflage or insulation against radiation. The delivery vessel seeded the Earth's orbital’s with alien pods. Many impacted debris in orbit, a few hit satellites. One or two hit the station and did some damage.”

  “The invasion began at one a.m. on the other side of the Atlantic,” the narrator continued as the graphics changed to a map of the world. A line was drawn just ahead of Europe. “It started there and marched West across our world, currently parts of Asia and Australia are being invaded even now while we speak,” the voice said as the line moved across the map. Jen sucked in a breath.

  “From all reports this has expended most of the aliens, though some pods remain adrift in orbit or in space. We're not sure what has happened to them. Most of our contact with space command has been sporadic at best.”

  “We all know the results of the invasion by now however.” Shots of the aliens and torn landscape briefly flashed across the screen.

  “The aliens landed in pods, most of the pods were eaten by some after landing,” a grainy image of an animal eating a pod was shown. “Those that hit rock or a hard surface were splattered.” Grimly, people cheered at that. Jen turned and shushed them.

  “The pods have a mix of alien creatures. We have yet to hear of anyone getting an intact sample to study. I'm...” the narrator paused and cleared his throat. “No sign of intelligence has yet to be seen. That doesn't mean there isn't any; it just means we haven't seen any yet.”