Afraid of the Dark

by Chris Hechtl

  “We picked up some toys, but the real find was someone who brought in some hobbyist UAV stuff. Nice shit,” a guy said with a smile. “Big helicopters and a couple of airplanes. One even looks like a predator drone but small.”

  “We've also got a couple of small surveillance drones issued to the police force,” Bill said. “Deputy Wayne handed them over since his crew will be doing door work.”

  “Door work?”

  “Most of the offense will be going door to door clearing buildings. Then a team will follow up to clean out any stuff we want and then they move on. Think SWAT on a huge scale. That's our offense.”

  “Shit,” a guy said shaking his head. “I don't want to do that. Go in and piss some sleeping alien off.”

  “Yeah, under the bed, closets... talk about a shoot house,” a woman said shivering. A few more nodded grimly at that. Johnson and Adrienne opened their mouths and then closed them. They exchanged looks. Johnson had to admit he was an outdoor kind of guy. Something he liked to do. Entering a shoot house was something he'd done, but a steady diet of it? Urban combat had sucked in Iraq. Really sucked.

  “We've got a limited number of goggles,” Bill said picking up a pair from a counter and putting them on the center of the table. “Also a limited number of radios and heavy weapons. We're going to need to keep these in working order, which means recharging them and if possible finding more or making more. Or modifying these to work on alternative power if needed. But that's someone else's head ache.”

  “Right!” A guy said mockingly.

  Bill shot him a glance then ignored it and turned. “Each sector will have at least one set. Some won’t be all that hot. I'm telling you that right now. The most common sets we've got are kid’s toys.”

  “Which are coming in handy right about now,” Johnson said. “Something is better than nothing.”

  “Not as good as you think, they have a limited range. About fifty to sixty feet on a good night,” Adrienne said quietly. Johnson made a face.

  “Right. Which means we've got to rely on other means for now. We're going to have lights to hopefully keep the aliens at bay. That is the alien predators. The plant eaters will most likely want to stick around since we're offering protection.”

  “Oh joy, I can see where this is going,” Adrienne said shaking her head. “You realize we're going to be like a watering hole right? The plant eaters come to us for protection so the predators will follow.”

  “Exactly. We're also getting some scattered reports of alien predators that can fly. Be on the lookout for those too.”

  “It gets better and better,” someone muttered.

  “We're going to set up systems and hides on the roof tops. I'd like your input on that, as well as procedures. I've got a sketchy TOE here, but we need to finalize it before we get too far into our day,” Bill said. “We've got about an hour here to work this out.”

  “If we're here who's covering out there?” Johnson asked.

  “The boss is. He's sticking close for the next couple hours but he'll get antsy if we drag our feet too long. I know he wants to be out busting doors and kicking alien ass.”

  “So do I,” Johnson said.

  “You can always transfer. Or moonlight,” Adrienne suggested, giving the border agent an amused look.

  “Not on your life. I know not to burn the candle at both ends in combat. Not happening,” Johnson said. “I might give it a shot on a rest day or something.”

  “We're still working it out. So, Adrienne, who do you want for section heads and where do you want them?” Bill asked.

  Adrienne got a thoughtful look on her face. Johnson smiled a little, thinking of his own choices of people he'd met. Bill was good, he was curious to know if he'd been trained. The meeting rolled on well after that.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  Sheila shook her head as another group came in loaded with food. “Where do we put it all?” she asked. “Were running out of freezer space. Hell, we've run out of freezer space come to think of it,” she mused.

  “The reefers are full?” Jayne asked as Hermes looked up.

  “Reefers?” Hermes asked staring at her in befuddlement.

  “Refrigerated shipping containers. Dave found a couple yesterday or the day before and we've tied them in.”

  “I...” Sheila blinked. “I think someone said they are full but let me check,” she said. She tapped at her tablet and frowned.

  “They are full,” Hermes said. “I just came from there,” he said as Sheila looked up. “We've got them packed to the brim. Getting stuff out of them is going to be fun.”

  “Shit,” Jayne sighed. “We need a better option.”

  “Well, we could gut a store and turn it into a walk in freezer,” Hermes suggested. “Or a part of one of the bigger stores,” he suggested.

  “I suggested it earlier but I think it was nixed. We could also use the freezers and fridges in the nearby restaurants,” Sheila suggested. “I've got a crew pulling out the dishwashers now. They are more suited for washing dishes in a commercial situation than...” she shrugged helplessly.

  Jayne knew what she meant. The commercial dishwashers were designed for the heavy loads that they were throwing on the ones they had picked up in the home improvement stores.

  Jayne frowned, biting her lip. “Not really an option I think,” she said slowly, eyes going back and forth. “But maybe... maybe we can get Walt and his crew to rig up something in a couple of containers. Temporary things.”

  “How? We've got every fridge and freezer from the stores in use. We're even ripping out the ones in campers and furniture,” Sheila said shaking her head.

  “Air conditioners and ice makers,” Jayne said. “And we can get the harvesters to bring fridges and freezers back if need be.” She looked thoughtful and then nodded. “We'll need to insulate them too. Now I know what to do with some of that insulation they brought over.”

  “Okay, that's true,” Hermes said with a nod. “Now where do we put it all? We don't have the space.”

  “We'll find space. We're not quite full up at Lowes. The 99 cent store is set up. We'll use that for one.”

  “Smart,” Sheila said with a nod. “We've got that in use already.”

  “But not the entire space. Which we can do. Also the other restaurants there. And the places in Costco, Sams, Target and Wal-Mart.”

  “Them? Shit we just moved stuff out of them!” Hermes said in disgust. He shook his head. “People are going to be fit to be tied Jayne!”

  “Their problem,” she said coldly. “They'll get over it.”

  “We can't,” Sheila said. Jayne turned on her. She held up a forestalling hand. “We don't have those places secure. I know you want to but...” She shrugged.

  “I'll bring it up at council. Maybe we can secure one site at least.”

  “Towngate. We're occupying all of Towngate,” Sheila said in surprise.

  “We've got Costco, what about there?”

  “I...” Jayne frowned again and then looked down at her tablet. “I'll get back to you on that,” she said making a note. “I think its supposed to be used for something else. Used by day and then locked up at night.”

  “They can leave us the freezers,” Sheila said. “We've got some stuff there. SAMS and Winco would work too.”

  “Um...”

  “Think about it boss lady,” Sheila said. “I've got to get with Herb and Eric about growing stuff. They want to know what to prioritize.”

  Herb, Eric and Eric had approached them earlier. All three had green thumbs and had emphasized setting up greenhouses right away if they wanted food for everyone in a month or two.

  “Stuff that grows fast that we can harvest and keep growing is a priority,” Jayne said immediately.

  “Tubers, mushrooms, yeast,” Hermes said immediately, eyes thoughtfully looking up to the false ceiling.

  “Um...”

  “Those are off the top of my head. I'll get you a list. See if they can get a t
est greenhouse going. Good soil, some fertilizer, you'd be surprised how fast some stuff can grow. Use it as a starter for others we'll set up later down the road.”

  “Okay,” Sheila said nodding as she got up from their table.

  “I've got to check the kitchen,” Hermes said with a smile. “Nice talking with you ladies,” he said, tipping a hand to his brow and then getting up to move off.

  “Nice guy,” Sheila said watching her boss. Jayne however was oblivious, looking down at her tablet and tapping out notes.

  “Huh? Oh yeah right,” she said, still working.

  “You two an item?” Sheila asked. Jayne frowned and then when Sheila repeated the question looked up.

  “Um, no. I don't swing that way,” Jayne said shaking her head absently. Sheila's eyes widened as Jayne tucked her tablet into her pouch and got up. “I just got a message from the manager at the buffet. Something about a fight. I'll go handle that. Have fun with Eric and Herb,” she said moving off.

  Sheila watched her go with a thoughtful look. After a long moment she lost Jayne's signature stride in the crowd and shook herself. She got up and looked a little distracted as she gathered her things to leave.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  “We're getting reports of a rash of suicides and even murder suicides in other places,” Jen said.

  He sighed, sitting down in front of the mike. He hated these fire side chats Jen had started. He knew it was important to keep people in the loop but damn. He hated public speaking.

  “We had one this morning,” Jen said. He looked up at her in surprise. “Guy lost his family. He just blew his brains out in front of Jayne.”

  “Is she okay?” he asked concerned.

  “A bit shook up. It was awful.”

  “You were there?”

  “Yes,” she said, dashing tears from her eyes. He reached up to touch her and she caught his hand. “I need you to emphasize to people that were there is life there is hope.”

  “Your message in a nutshell,” he said with a nod.

  “Exactly. We're living it every day,” she said.

  “Okay.”

  “Some say that no one believes in anything anymore, that nothing matters anymore. Everything they ever thought... their whole world and family, friends, loved ones is not just crumbling, its gone. All gone for some. Or so you think.”

  “Suicides are a problem. I want you to remember that no matter what you are feeling; no matter how bad you hurt you are not alone. We will get through this together.”

  He cleared his throat and looked away as Jen rubbed his shoulders. “If you are hurting remember so are we. You are not alone. The whole world is hurting. Please don't hurt us with your loss. Don't hurt your new friends, your new family. Us. We'll get through this together. My wife has a saying,” he looked up and smiled at Jen.

  “Where there is life there is hope. Here we have life. Tomorrow we will start a memorial and a survivor list. To both honor our dead and to remind those that survived to keep on fighting. That is all,” he said gently and cut the connection.

  “That was great hon.” Jen said in his ear.

  “Thanks,” he murmured. He got up and tucked her into his arms. He felt her shudder a little, trembling as the emotions of the moment washed through them. He stroked her back and when she was done he gently steered her out and to their bed.

  Chapter 15

  Jen looked up and smiled as he came into the room. He came over and kissed her and then turned to the others in the room. One of them was an older black male with a goatee and a dirty medical smock. The other was an Asian kid with a tattered leather jacket and a motor cycle helmet. Empty sports bottles were in front of each of them.

  “Honey I'd like you to meet doctor Phillips,” Jen said introducing him to the older man. He nodded and shook hands with him. “Doctor Phillips and Kin Yan-lung here made it from UCR yesterday.”

  “The guys on the moped? I think Jayne and Sheila mentioned it,” he said with a nod. “Cut it really close to dark I heard,” he said looking at the two men. Both had spent the night at Lowes before coming here. Art's crew had done such a good job of forting up a few had been brazen enough to volunteer to spend the night there. He wasn't sure if it was bravery, stupidity, or just wanting to get away from the hustle and bustle of the mall. Or a combination of all of those factors. Either way it had been a safe bet, the crew had come through just fine.

  “Right under the wire,” the doctor said shaking his head. “We just made it in,” he said with a shaky breath. He sat down. Shane nodded and shook hands with the young Asian man.

  “You are correct honey,” Jen smiled to him. “They did indeed come in on a moped. Yan here is a grad student of Doctor Phillips.”

  “Ah, how is the college doing?” Shane asked taking a seat and nodding to the others. Jen sat and smiled, taking his hand in hers. He stroked her hand with his thumb and she squeezed his.

  “In a word? Disaster. We got out while the getting was good,” Doctor Phillips said in disgust.

  “That bad?” Shane asked. Both newcomers nodded. “With all the resources of the college?”

  “That's the problem. Everyone has their own idea of what to do. There is no concentrated leadership and people are at odds over everything and nitpicking all the time. Some are trying to create fantasy weapons, others want to communicate with the aliens,” Phillips said in disgust shaking his head.

  “And where were you in all this?” Shane asked.

  Phillips looked at him for a moment and then snorted. “I'm a biology professor. I was trying to get people to bring me samples to study.”

  “Which we did doctor,” Yan said quietly. “Those we could. But they shut us down.”

  “Doctor Phillips and his crew were the ones posting material on the web. The stuff about the heat vision for one,” Jen said smiling a little. “The growth rate matrix for another,” she added. Shane nodded.

  “Thanks for that. Hopefully it will get out to more people,” he said.

  “Um...” Phillips looked at his student and Jen in confusion. Jen smothered a laugh with a cough.

  “I'm afraid the good doctor was spending more time getting the information than going over the implications of it.”

  “Oh,” Shane said amused. “In other words he couldn't see anything else beyond the marvelous puzzle of Xeno biology landing in his lap?”

  “Pretty much,” Phillips said with an amused flicker in his eyes and quirk of his lips. He sat back.

  “You said they shut you down?” Shane asked looking at the doctor and then Yan.

  “They needed the space,” Yan said. “For the infirmary.”

  “Stupid, short sighted...” the doctor growled, fists clenching. “We lost power the day before we left. All those specimens,” he shook his head as he sighed. “Then they told us to leave, they wanted the lab for the medics.”

  “Now doc, they were trying to save lives,” Jen said. “You do have to give them credit for that.”

  “I don't have to give them credit for anything! The mob heard about what we were doing right after we lost power and broke into the lab and damn near strung me up. They burned all the aliens we were studying and tore the lab to shreds,” he said quivering in rage. “All that work...”

  “Not all was destroyed doc,” Jen said putting a hand on his. “We've got what you released on the net. And more importantly the information and concepts you and your student here have learned is still in your heads. You can start anew.”

  “I saved a few flash drives doc,” Yan said, pulling out a pair of flash sticks from his pockets. Phillips pounced on them eagerly.

  “A computer,” he said distractedly looking around. Yan shot the others an amused smile. He at least was used to his boss's single minded pursuit of science. Jen shrugged. She pulled her smart phone out of her pocket and held it up. He looked at it and blinked.

  “Later doc. We'll set you up with computer support later,” Shane said pushing Jen's offered phone dow
n. “Right now let's get this sorted out. So they kicked you out?” he asked.

  “Pretty much,” the doctor growled.

  “They tried to draft us to work in the medical clinics,” Yan said.

  “I can't do hands on with people! I study zoology and... I'm not a medical doctor!”

  “No but you know which end of a scalpel to hold doc, and how to use it,” Shane said. Phillips looked mulish. He shrugged. “Their loss, our gain. I take it you want him to take over the dissection of the aliens we've been bringing in?” he asked, turning to Jen. She nodded.

  “I heard about that. I told the doctor,” Yan said quietly, looking at Doctor Phillips. “Which is why we are here,” the young Asian man said. Phillips nodded.

  “Okay. I don't know how many bodies we have or how well they have been preserved. Our resources aren't the best gentlemen, and space is limited, but we know how important your project is.”

  “I want security. I can't afford another mob scene.”

  “We'll impress on everyone the importance of your work doctor. Everyone needs to know that we need intel on the enemy. We need to figure out how they tick and how best to either kill them or adapt to them,” Shane said.

  “No live specimens,” Jen said. Yan looked at his boss who looked a little put out. “That's something we had to agree with. The people here aren't as unruly as the mess in Riverside, but it could get touchy if they find out we've got aliens kept in cages in the same building they are in.”

  “Not to mention if there was an incident,” Shane said. “Right now we're not even sure if we can contain them. Some can go through a cage and tear it apart like its made of tissue paper. Until we find a better, safer way of containing them, we're not having them on site.”

  “Agreed,” the doctor said reluctantly after a moment. Yan seemed to look relieved.

  “You've got a mountain of carcasses to go over, not to mention all of Nate and Jen's notes,” Shane said nodding to his wife. “We'll also need your expertise in other matters.”

  “If it's medical...”

  “It is,” Shane said smiling a little as he interrupted. “But not human. I'd like you to help Nate our resident veterinarian and his crew if they have a need. We're trying to preserve as many Terran animals as we can. So if you have any input on that or can help please do so.”