Afraid of the Dark

by Chris Hechtl

  He paused, frowned, cocked his head as he looked at her and then shrugged. Bobby snorted softly. “Come on, shit shower and shave. Tomorrow is another day.”

  “Throw in a steak and a beer and I'm all for that,” Tater said moving faster.

  “Can't do that, but there might be pizza or burgers. Dunno,” Hadji said.

  “Yippy,” Jody said in disgust, head down, shaking her head. She preferred salads and subs. Both were in short supply these days. Hell, so were burgers and pizza. Everything was.

  “Yeah come on, before they are all out,” Tater said moving faster. Jody snorted but fell into the big guy's wake with the others.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  The doctor sighed wearily as he toweled off. Another day of meatball surgery. It was getting routine now, and he wasn't sure he liked the implications. Ten people maimed for what? He turned to a see Shane there, leaning tiredly against the door frame.

  “How are they doing doc?”

  “The guy who lost his arm is in ICU. I'm not sure we got all the sepsis, we'll see if he lasts through the night. The abdominal wounds were mostly superficial, luckily.”

  Shane nodded. “What about the others?”

  “A few broken bones, a couple of scrapes and bruises. For what?” The doctor demanded, tossing his towel into the hamper. “A couple of cases of ramen?” Shane followed him a bit then stopped near a counter.

  “A bit more than that actually doc,” Shane said, leaning back against the counter behind him and crossing his arms. “Food, weapons, material, water, and ammo.”

  “Which we...” the doc paused and shrugged. “I heard we got some stuff from the government? FEMA?”

  Shane nodded reluctantly. Yes, they'd had that one delivery. Fifteen loads of food, weapons, ammo, and other stuff. Everyone had been happy about it, morale had skyrocketed that there were still people out there looking after them. It had been hard getting people back into the grind of going out and trying to keep things moving. The fact that there wasn't a follow up flight a week later had helped, but they'd gone through some grumbling until that fact had sunk in. That and the fact that all the air drops had managed to give them was a couple of days of food for their entire population. “Some, doc. But we do this for three reasons. No four.” Shane frowned.

  The doctor looked up at him and cocked his head in inquiry. “And they are?” he asked, pretty sure he knew some of the answers.

  Shane cocked his own head in thought. After a moment he blew his cheeks out and nodded. “Well first, this stuff isn't going to be good forever. Some of it has a short shelf life. Which is why we're doing this.”

  “I thought you said there were four reasons.”

  “There are,” Shane said with a nod as he watched the doctor go to get dressed. He turned to look politely away. “Second, the stuff we get from the government is a bonus. Something we can't count on as a regular thing. We can't become dependent on it. I don't want to get shortened. We need a safety net, at least a three month supply.”

  The doctor paused with his shirt half on and looked at him. Shane shrugged. “All good things come to an end eventually doc,” he said.

  “Okay, I'll buy that....”

  “The third is training. We need to get our people out there, handling the situation. Training on the weapons, the situation, and learning about the aliens as much as possible. Hell, more than four. Just thought of other reasons.”

  “Really?”

  “Well, another, killing the damn aliens now during the day before they get big.”

  The doctor reluctantly nodded. “Seems like we're losing as much as we're gaining.”

  “It seems that way sometimes doc, but we're killing ten times as many as we lose.” Shane admitted to himself that the way the aliens bred it was still a losing proposition. Hell, losing experienced people was a losing proposition. Sometimes though, you had to be the cold bastard and risk your people to get somewhere.

  “Still not enough,” the doctor growled pulling his pants up.

  “It never is doc, it never is,” Shane sighed, shaking his head. He rubbed at his brow.

  “Another reason?”

  “You really want to go out there or send people out there to scavenge for food a year from now? Six months even?” he shook his head again. “Now is as good as we're going to get. It'll go downhill from here if we bunker up doc. Trust me on this. The aliens get bigger. I'd rather we kill them and keep the food for us.” He grunted. “Hell if I'll let them eat it and use it against us,” he muttered.

  “How bad are we on the supplies? I thought we had enough?”

  “Never enough doc,” Shane said as the doctor put his shoes on. “Never enough. I think we keep hovering around a two month supply.” The doctor looked up at that. “That's with what we bring in, which is about a day’s supply for the entire group. That doesn't include the extra mouths we pick up daily.”

  “So we're getting what we're eating?”

  “There about I think, some goes to the black market, and some is fed to the animals for various reasons. But we're getting a diminishing supply, that means its finite.”

  “Yeah,” the doctor said. “So there is an end to this?”

  “No, I'd like to tell you there is doc, but this is the world we live in now. Better get used to it or find another line of work. Don't try mine, its worse. Just a suggestion.”

  “Great,” the doctor sighed, rolling his shoulders. “The ankle biter as you call it is in ICU as well.” He shook his head. “Severed the foot, ripped up the calf, dislocated hip and knee, and shattered most of the bones in the leg.”

  “Ouch.” The cat had probably shaken the kid like a rag doll when it had taken the foot.

  The doctor sighed. “Yeah,” he said softly. “You could say that. Ouch.”

  “I tell you what, let me buy you a cup of coffee and some dinner now...” Shane said in sympathy as he patted his shoulder. “At least while we've still got stuff on hand.”

  “I'll skip the coffee. I need to sleep. But I'll take you up on dinner. If your lovely wife doesn't mind.”

  “Great,” Shane said nodding. He waved to the door and followed the doctor out.

  “Thought you'd be with your family?” the doctor said as they made their way through the crowd.

  “Jen is busy with Doctor Phillips again, the girls are volunteering at the day care, and Nick has training tonight.”

  “Oh, so I'm you're date?” the doctor asked amused.

  “Something like that doc. That way if I'm propositioned I can foster the better looking ones off on you and run for cover.”

  “Gee thanks,” the doctor said, grinning.

  “Survival instinct,” Shane said sounding smug. “Jen would have my ass if I even thought of straying.” His lips flickered in a quick smile as the doctor chuckled softly.

  ACT III

  Chapter 46

  Jayne nodded to Jill. “Hear about the castles?” Jill asked. She crossed another box off her mental calendar. Another day gone. December was shaping up into an interesting month.

  “Just did,” Jayne danced in a pirouette then kept going in her original direction. “Good reporting, keep it up,” she called over her shoulder.

  Jill looked a little put out about not having something to spring on her as gossip so she chuckled and waved. “Lunch?” she asked. Jill blinked. She cupped her hands and asked the question again. Jill's face cleared and she gave her a thumbs up and a smile. She nodded and returned to her path before she ran into someone or someone ran into her.

  They had heard early on that other malls in Riverside and other areas were trying to emulate their example and set themselves up as fortress castles. There were also reports that a group had occupied the Mission Inn. Castle park arcade had been turned into a real castle.

  The castles were hard to defend though. Riverside had had a population in the millions, now only a few thousand terrified survivors remained. Apparently not many were terribly interested in going out a
nd improving their defenses. Therefore they weren't terribly interested in surviving for much longer.

  Word of what was going on back East; up North around Sacramento and San Francisco and in LA and San Diego made what they were going through look like nothing. It was sobering. Some people were realizing just how good they really had it. It had dampened some of the grumbling. For now at least.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  “I can't believe it’s nearly Christmas,” he said softly to Jen as she cuddled with him on their bunk. She looked up at him in surprise. “Today's the twenty second. Swim suit calendar in the office,” he told her by way of explanation.

  She blinked sleepily and then yawned. “You're serious?”

  “Yeah, it’s got a nice blond with a red string number. I wonder if we can find one in your size?” he teased. She poked him in the ribs. He chuckled as she dimpled.

  “Too damn cold out,” she muttered.

  “It’s make for nice things to stick up and out,” he teased, grinning at her. Her eyes flashed and then she laughed softly as she squirmed against him. “And if you're not careful you might get other things to do the same right now,” he said softly voice catching a little.

  She laughed again, softer, and kissed him. “Not on your life,” she said looking around. The barracks was full of people. Someone was snoring softly three rows over. Another, to their left and a bunk up, sounded like a buzz saw even at this distance. She didn't envy the people around the noise maker at all.

  “Why not?” he asked amused. “I heard a few people doing it last night...” She blushed and got up under the covers, sitting on the edge of the bed. She brushed her hair out with a head shake and hand and then gave him an amused look.

  “Later lover boy, some place private,” she said firmly.

  “Where you going?” he asked, reaching for her.

  “If its really near Christmas then I've got some work to do,” she said, grabbing a bathrobe off the hook nearby and shrugging it on. “Have a good day hubby of mine,” she said, leaning down to kiss him. He naughtily pulled on the robe's belt but she batted his hands away with rolling eyes and a smile. “Later I said,” she growled backing away.

  “Spoilsport,” he teased, stretching and laying his hands behind his back.

  “Horny toad,” she teased right back over her shoulder as she left. She made sure to give a nice strutting hip bump to keep him amused.

  “You better believe it for you lady,” he said, just loud enough for her to hear. Her ears burned as she made shushing sounds. He chuckled softly as she left.

  “Is it really nearly Christmas daddy?” Trina asked, leaning over the edge of the bed. He looked up at her in surprise. She rubbed one eye with a fist.

  “Yes honey, now go back to bed,” he said. He glanced at the clock. It was four a.m. He could hear the occasional sound of the pitter patter of rain outside. His crews would love and hate the day off.

  “You're not up,” she said getting up and swinging her legs over the side to drop off to the floor. She bounced and then sat on the bed.

  “Rain delay,” he said pointing up. She looked up and blinked and then yawned. “We can't go out with the rain hon, it’s too dangerous,” he said by way of explanation.

  “Oh.” Her sleepy mind finally caught on.

  “So we're getting a bit of a longer lie in than normal. Catching up on rest and stuff,” he said, fighting his own yawn.

  “Huh.” After a long moment she stretched again. “Wonder what mom's up to?” she murmured hugging him.

  “You know your mother, could be anything,” he said smiling and stroking her tangled hair.

  “Well, if it’s only four I'm going to go back to bed,” she said yawning and then climbing back up the ladder. He smiled as he felt the bunk move a little and then settle. He relaxed, trying to get a lie in, but the need to get something done started up. He tried to fight it but guilt hit him and he sighed. “Ah hell,” he muttered pulling the blankets aside and getting up. “Might as well,” he muttered grabbing his shirt.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  Jen found Jayne and Tamara around six. They blinked at her in surprise. “Shouldn't you be resting?” Jayne asked, sounding concerned. Jen knew she should be, but she felt excited. She had a purpose, one she was determined to follow through on. Something to keep her focused. Hopefully she would have the energy to see it through properly.

  “I'm okay. Look I wanted to talk to you two and some of the others about Christmas.”

  “Oh lord,” Tamara said. She shook her head. “I feel so sorry for the kids...”

  “That's what I wanted to talk about. We can't do much, but what we can do we will. Jayne can you get some crews together?”

  Jayne blinked at her and then set her cup of coffee down. “Sure, Why?”

  Jen didn't answer, she turned to Tamara. “Can you get the kids distracted? I want them to make holiday decorations and stuff, country Christmas style, but I also want them away from the mall for what, four hours?” she asked looking at Jayne.

  “No idea. Why don't you tell us what we're doing in that time period first,” Jayne said warily.

  “Think they could take a field trip to John's? Should they walk or bus?”

  “Bus. No way would the parents go for the kids being outside in a large group on foot, far from cover,” Tamara said shuddering. “No way I will. Not that distance.”

  “Okay, bus it is then. I'll get Walt or someone in motor pool to set it up,” Jen said nodding.

  “I can do that, when I find out what it is we're doing,” Jayne said with a note of patience wearing thin and exasperation starting to creep into her voice.

  “Good, you think four hours should cover it?” Jen asked, turning to Jayne.

  “No idea. Still not following but I'm getting some foreboding feelings,” Jayne said, crossing her arms. “Why don't you come out and say what you've got on your mind and quit pussyfooting around.” She gave Tamara and the other women a much abused look. “She likes to do this sometimes. Normally her husband catches the bulk of it, but since he's scarce she's decided to mess with us instead.” A few of the women smiled in amusement at that.

  Jen smiled as she took up a cup and poured herself a coffee. “Well, I was thinking,” she drawled. Jayne raised a sculpted eyebrow in a clear continue signal. “We know where just about everything is. I made a note where the Holiday decorations are...”

  Jayne suddenly nodded as Sheila came up behind her with a few other people. “I see where you're going with this,” she said.

  “Exactly. Today's the twenty second. That means we've got two days to get organized.”

  “Really,” Tamara said. “Should we?”

  “I think the kids deserve it. And everyone needs a little hope,” Jen said firmly. “We've got all those toys and kids clothes we can hand out. Each child gets a gift, hopefully we can swing two. No, we may need more for next year. One gift it is. Just the kids though.”

  “Ah,” Tamara said with a nod.

  “I'll get with the others, we'll run this through council but I want to hit the ground running.”

  “So much for the schedule,” Sheila said with a laugh.

  “What schedule?” Jayne asked amused. “We've got everything running relatively smoothly right now. She's right,” she said nodding to Jen and turning to Sheila and the others. “We can pull this off. I'll see if we can do a little holiday baking. We've got some stuff we can use up. Sheila, start rounding up crews. Let's keep this from the kids though, let it be a surprise,” she said, smiling. The others cocked their heads and nodded. A few shrugged looking dubious.

  “Don't worry, Shane and the others will go for it.”

  “They'd better if they know what's good for them,” Tamara growled. That got a smile from the other wives.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  Shane blinked as he came into the main mall a day later. He looked around, surprised by all the holiday bunting. He walked down the main drag, nodding to cre
w’s still busy setting up things here and there. There was a cherry picker in the center of the mall busy putting the finishing touches on the artificial tree.

  “Nice,” he said quietly, looking amused. “I see Jen and Jayne are up to their usual tricks,” he said, turning. He didn't see or hear any of the kids inside. That explained why he'd seen a lot of them in and around John's Pizza all day. Jen had cleared the decks so the adults could get this up. He was pretty sure, now that he thought about it, that she'd used John's over the stuff in the mall just to make sure the kids weren't around. Since some of the parents were off, they probably went with them, so this would come as a surprise to them as well.

  He smiled a little; his wife could be sneaky when she wanted to be. He wondered what else she was up to.

  “Not bad huh?” Jayne said coming over with Sheila in tow.

  “You did this all in one day?” he asked.

  “No,” She shook her head, looking amused. “Not even that. Jen put us on it yesterday morning. It took us all day to get the stuff planned out and well, today just took longer than we expected.”

  “Ah,” he said nodding.

  “Getting the cherry picker in was almost as bad as getting the pieces of the tree in,” Sheila said with a laugh. They had just got the thing out of the mall last month to make room for people. “We've done a little too good a job securing this place.” she smiled in delight as the tree lights were tested. “Worth it though,” she said.

  “Yeah,” he said, nodding as his squad came up behind him. He could hear murmurs of appreciation. “Now I know why Jen wants the next couple of days off as a rest day,” he said. He was glad; it was going to rain anyway. Or so the forecast said.

  “Well, we were planning it anyway,” Jayne said.

  “True,” he said. Typical women, turning the entire endeavor into a monumental undertaking. Somehow he felt better for all their effort.

  “We're planning a gift exchange for the kids. Kids only,” Sheila said, looking at the squad. “Services will be performed for those who wish to attend on Christmas Eve and Christmas day.”