Afraid of the Dark

by Chris Hechtl

  “Shit,” Julio shrugged.

  “Where are all the people?” Torres demanded. “There were a couple of hundred here.”

  Julio shrugged. “They left. Some returned, most didn't. Course you know about that,” he said rubbing his face again. After a moment he pulled a tequila bottle and took a swig.

  “Julio...”

  “What man?” Julio said tossing the bottle away. Wayne ducked as it smashed into the wall nearby. “What do you want of me man?” he snarled.

  “Something better than this,” Tom growled, wrinkling his nose at the filth. There was barf and crap everywhere. Obviously they hadn't taken care of the place.

  “Julio...” Wayne sighed. He'd tried. Hell he was still trying. Sometimes though, sometimes you had to know when to quit trying. They had to do it for themselves. He looked back as Torres stared the guy down. People were coming out of some of the storage bays. A few saw them and either hid their faces in shame or looked defiant. One kid came over and tugged on Tom's pant leg. he said something in Spanish about food. Tom pulled a candy bar out of his breast pocket and handed it to the kid. The kid grinned and ran off with it. He got about to the corner before being jumped by a pack of bigger kids.

  “Feral,” Quincy said.

  “You could say that,” Ursilla said watching the boys tussle. The candy bar was getting mushed into a pulp. One kid was trying to eat it, wrapper and all.

  Julio cussed and waved to a guy sitting across the way from them. The guy stuck his head out, saw the fight and barked at the kids. The kids froze and then broke up.

  “Food that scarce Julio?” Wayne asked, looking at the piles of money around the kid. His throne was propped up by bundles of cash.

  “It’s a buyer's market man,” Julio said shrugging. Consuela came over and paused. She looked at Torres and then looked away. The girl looked like shit, bloodshot sunken eyes, and they could see her rib cage through the outfit she was wearing. It was barely forty degrees and she was in undies. She had yellow skin and the wounds on her arm and leg looked a little swollen and infected. She had needle marks all over. She looked a little fat; it took a moment for Torres to realize it wasn’t gas from not eating. No, the woman was pregnant. Pregnant and looking like that.

  “And this is how you want to live. How you want your kid to live?” Torres asked, looking at the woman. Wayne stepped over to look. He couldn't quite make the girl out, she was in the shadows. He'd seen enough in that brief glimpse to know she wasn't long for this Earth.

  “For your bambino?” Torres asked softly. “Living like this?” she asked, eyes searching the girl's face. The girl bit her lip and then shrugged.

  “It’s their choice,” Tom said. “They want to live like animals, I say let them. No skin off my back. We'll get along fine without them,” he growled.

  “I don't want to stay here,” a woman said coming over with a pair of toddlers clinging to her. Her face was bruised and battered. “No more,” she said shaking her head. A drunken man got up and tried to cuss at her but she kicked him. He fell onto his back groaning.

  “You can come with us,” Tom said, ever the protector. He looked around the compound and then his chest swelled a bit. “Anyone want out of here the bus leaves in five. Get your shit and get out here!” he yelled. “Kids! That means you too! With or without your parents! I don't care! Move!”

  They could hear a few groans and a couple of curses at being woken up. Torres shook her head. She looked at the mother and then nodded slowly. The woman hid her face in shame.

  “Let's go,” Wayne said, eyes searching Julio's face. The guy had it. He was trying hard to stay awake but he couldn't. He shook his head in disgust as he turned away. He paused, looking at Consuela. “Good luck,” he said.

  “I'm coming too,” she said softly. She moved past Julio to Wayne. “If you'll have me,” she said, looking down.

  Now that she was in the light Wayne and the others could see what Torres had. She was pregnant. Despite all the track marks, the ribs, the... he shook his head. From the look of her, about three or four months. Wayne nodded.

  “What about your crew? Vanessa? Courtney?” Torres asked.

  “What about them?” Julio asked. He looked around blearily. “Come to think of it, I ain't seen them in a while.” He turned and yelled. “Courtney! Get your tight ass out here!” he yelled. “I want a blow job you dumb blond bimbo!” he snickered at that. “All she's ever good for...”

  “She's dead you stupid prick. Died of an overdose a week ago. Vanessa died two days ago,” Consuela said. She watched as a girl went behind Julio and rubbed his shoulders. She came over to him and spat in his face. “Stupid. There are always more to fill in. Whatever. Not me. No more. Never again.” She slapped him and then turned. “Let's roll,” she said.

  Nodding Torres pointed to the gate. “There's the door,” she said. Consuela raised her head high and started walking.

  “You leave here bitch you ain't coming back!” Julio yelled after her. She didn't even twitch as she kept going.

  “Looks like your whole world is falling apart Julio. I hope you wake up and do something about that soon man,” he said shaking his head. Two dozen people, most of them kids were there at the gate now. Hopefully it was all the kids. He wasn't sure any had a chance of surviving for much longer here. He nodded. “Time to go,” he said making a hand gesture to the teams to pack it up and move out.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  The story of how Julio ran his little enclave made the rounds over the next several days. Jayne got a piece of it and was amused to hear a comparison of how things were run here. She felt a little better at the implied complement and went back to work. Jen however was heartbroken. She'd had high hopes for the kid.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  Shane noted Consuela helping out in the infirmary a few days after her rescue. She smiled a little as she moved. She was drawn, but moving about. She looked a hell of a lot better now, clean, and her wounds were not so swollen. She bumped a cart with her growing belly and a nurse giggled and patted her arm. The once sullen girl nodded, talking softly. She didn't seem to be going through withdrawal, hopefully whatever she had been taking hadn't affected the child. Torres checked on her daily. Apparently they were hitting it off. He was glad.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  Eddy Newman shook his head at the vehicles the refugees had brought in with them. They'd trashed them, tagged them, and covered them with stinky half rotten animal hides and bones. He couldn't figure out why, or how the hell they could drive the vehicles. His eyes watered when he got within ten feet of the things.

  “Anyway you can get them cleaned up?”

  “Stick of dynamite handy?” He asked, only half joking. He had intergrated into the machine shops and garages easily. He saw Bert only a once and a while, but that was okay. Same with Jerrica. She was neck deep in one project or another and usually bunked in as exhausted as he seemed to be every night. But it was a good exhaustion, one that made them feel like they really were contributing. Which they were. He knew it, he was good at making weapons mounts and armor for the various vehicles. He frowned at the thing and then pantomimed blowing it up.

  “Very funny.”

  “Fire hose? Seriously. We're going to need respirators, and hazmat gloves. Why are we stuck with the duty and not them?”

  “You want it done right?”

  Eddy sighed, looking at what had once been an Avalanche. “Well, you've got me there...”

  ...*...*...*...*...

  A week after Wayne and Torres had their visit to Julio's compound Maria called in that there had been an attack on the compound late in the night. Hell-hounds had gotten into Julio's compound, most likely by scaling the walls. She wasn't sure about the casualties and wasn't interested in sending anyone in to check.

  Shane got the news and felt a bit of depression. He wasn't sure he wanted to tell Jen or not. She had hoped that Julio would be a bright spot. Now he was just a stain on the wall. They h
ad heard some shots in the night. Towngate Center and the others nearby had reported it. He'd known it was coming. Could he have done anything different he wondered?

  Torres heard the call and went over with her team. She found the place abandoned; no survivors. There were obvious signs of a battle and Julio's throne room had signs of a last stand. A girl's pinky was found. Julio's bandana with a piece of his scalp was found in a corner. It was a grisly sign of what had gone down. She reported it to the mall as her people picked up the weapons and spent brass. They spent a couple of hours picking over the ruins before giving up and going about their duties. Consuela cried a little when she heard the news but then shook her head and seemed to collect herself. She never mentioned any of them ever again.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  Phillips came up excitedly one morning. Shane glanced at him and then met him at the door. “Is Jen available?” he asked.

  “She's asleep doc, sorry,” Shane said indicating they move off from the bed. The biologist nodded.

  “I take it you found something out and you're eager to share?” Shane asked, voice lowered as he cocking his head in inquiry.

  “Yes, you could say that,” the biologist said, glancing back the way they had came and wringing his hands. “See we did some checking. Do you remember the antelope creatures? About two meters tall, horns, white diamond crests...”

  “I know what you're talking about doc,” Shane said with a nod. “What about them?” he asked as they pass a group of nurses.

  “I've discovered that they are marsupials. I checked the net. Some of the other aliens are marsupials as well. We found more information on the net. One of them is called the Sailback antelope. I'm posting our material and links to our servers there now. Gabriel's tap with the satellite is a bit slow sometimes but it’s helpful.”

  “Good to know,” he said with a nod. “I heard that the talks are under time constraints. Everyone has to shut down before dark and all.”

  “It’s slow, but it works,” the biologist said with a nod. “Anyway, I found out these things are marsupial mammals and give birth to multiple live young. That's one answer to the population question.”

  “Ah.”

  “And your wife is right. They do have diapause. Something else to consider.”

  “Oh?” Shane asked.

  “Yes. Your wife suggested it and I confirmed it. Apparently they are more marsupial than we thought.”

  “Doc, pretend I am only married to a genius, not the genius.” He pointed to his own chest. “High school jock. Law and Criminal investigation degree here.”

  “Oh. Sorry,” Doctor Phillips looked nonplussed. “Yes um, diapause, its um, okay a mother can carry multiple animals to term in different stages of development, even arresting the development cycle of one while the other stages progress. It’s... in red kangaroos the mother mates, but then holds the resulting fetus in stasis. When the existing joey stops suckling it gives off a signal to its sibling to begin growth.”

  “Okay.”

  “What we've discovered is that one; both parents can carry the young to term. So a single mating or a series of matings could be held in stasis in the body pouches of either parent. When the parent has an excess of calories it could flood the pouch allowing development.”

  “Okay.”

  “And if there is a lack of calories the fetus could be either aborted or its growth held in stasis. I'm not sure. More work needs to be done there. More research.”

  “Okay.”

  “Your wife really is a genius. She has an intuitive grasp that I envy,” Phillips said, looking away.

  “I know. I wonder sometimes why she married a dunce like me,” Shane said with a smile.

  “I found something out by accident too. Apparently they reach maturity in three months. But if you kill them a few weeks shy of their reaching full sexual maturity their flesh is palatable. Edible I mean.”

  “Really?” Shane asked surprised.

  “Yes. I'll have to do our own tests to confirm it. I've got a hunch that something happens when they enter sexual maturity. That's when the brain usually starts releasing triggers to change. Hormones kick in that make the flesh unpalatable to us. Also the blood is an issue. I accidentally ran into a cooking recipe...” He shrugged and smiled wryly.

  Shane snorted. “And you want to try it?”

  The biologist nodded. “Someone has to. We can't go on eating what we've got. We won't last the winter at this rate,” he said. “Yan can try it if he wishes. Or we both can.”

  “We can ask for a volunteer,” Shane said shaking his head. “I'd prefer that over having one or both of you poisoned you know.”

  “I hadn't thought of that,” the doctor said looking embarrassed.

  “You were more focused on getting a steak. I know, we all are. Or at least the guys are doc,” Shane said amused.

  Doctor Phillips looked up and then shrugged. He snorted softly. After a moment Phillips cleared his throat. “Do you think we can try it? Ranch them if it works?”

  “Only one problem doc, we don't have many of those antelope things around.”

  “Um...”

  “I'd remember something that size doc. Most of the herbivores, the big ones, are moving East or North. I'm betting they are plains dwellers. It could also be an embedded migration kicking in.”

  “That makes sense,” the doctor said with a nod. “But I bet some are forest dwellers.”

  “No doubt. We'll have to check the forests in the San Bernardino Mountains and Lake Elsinore area to be sure doc. I don't know,” he said with a shrug. “Still, it is good news,” he said patting the doc on his arm. “I won't spoil it for Jen. Give her a couple of hours and I'll leave a note for her to give you a call when she's awake and comfortable.”

  “Yes, ah, yes thank you,” the doctor said. “How is she?”

  Shane sobered, eyes sad. “Not good. The leukemia is moving faster now. The doctors can't get ahead of it. It’s entered her lymph-nodes and we're...” he sighed and shook his head. “We're about out of ideas. And chemo drugs to try.”

  “I'm sorry,” the doctor said, patting his shoulder in return. “She's a great lady,” he said, voice rough.

  “Yeah,” Shane said. “Yeah,” he nodded. “Come on, we've got work to do. That great lady won’t like us moping over her.”

  “True,” the doctor said with a wan smile.

  Chapter 56

  Canyon Springs beyond the plaza and hills on the other side of the 60, around the artificial lake area was a no go zone after six months despite Todd's teams best efforts. The lake area was teeming with animals and alien plants. Some of the plants were even more dangerous than the alien predators.

  Todd's team had shifted focus. He'd split the team in half. One team continued to focus on the Riverside border along the 60 and 215 while the other got to Reche canyon gorge by going in up Perris Boulevard. It was hard, slow going because of the herds of animals in the area.

  Todd had his crew rig their vehicles with cow catchers, chainsaws, mulchers, and rotor tillers. Armor from other vehicles was also added but he knew better than to tangle with anything if they didn't have to. Whenever possible they used squirt guns loaded with citrus products to drive off herds of roaming animals.

  They couldn't force the giant animals though; they had to wait nervously for the road to clear if it was too dangerous to spray them out. Sometimes it was like that, the herd intermingling with the vehicles as they crept forward or there was no retreat for the herd other than right into the road.

  Eventually though they got in and found most of the Terran plants gone and alien plants in their place. Still they worked hard, stripping the area of food and weapons over the remaining month. There were only a handful of pitiful survivors that they escorted back to base. Most of the gear and food was gone but they gathered what they could. They made contact with teams of scavengers coming in from the other end of the canyon.

  The San Bernardino crews were excited to se
e them. Todd told them about how they shot the shit for a little while and then exchanged goods, telephone numbers, and intel. They also hit greenhouse stores together. The plants that had miraculously survived were wilted but they still gathered what they could and split the bounty with the mountaineers.

  Hermes had the mall food court running well by then, like a galley. The people based in the mall ate in shifts like a well-oiled machine. Apparently Hermes had tapped a former submariner who had served as a cook for two tours, to help set up their system. The food was still rationed, and they still had problems with a few people eating more than their fair share, and others being picky, but things were looking up. They hadn't had a serious incident all month.

  KP duty, cleaning and other jobs were used as a form of punishment or work for those who just didn't want to get out of their own way. When that didn't work the perpetrator was forced into a day long ride to help as a harvester. That usually sorted them out and got them in line. For the genuine hard cases, they were escorted out of mall and dropped off far from the base. Fortunately there were very few people who pushed things that far.

  Hernandez shifted to working on the base, clearing it of aliens. He worked with the teams from the warehouses on Cactus. They split the food, weapons, and gear they found there evenly. He suspected they were holding some back, but let it slide.

  Torres had finished her sector of the center of town and had shifted to take over Hernandez's old area. She was determined to get to the center of Perris soon.

  Dave and his crews drained pools for water using tanker trucks. They parked ambulance and fire trucks at the mall and near nodes, for easy access. A rescue alert team was on five minute standby at the mall in case back up was needed.

  Some of the forward teams managed to hit as far as the Perris and Riverside airports. Nagomi rode out with a pair of students. Together they recovered five helicopters along with truck loads of fuel and parts and brought them back to the mall and various bases.