Afraid of the Dark

by Chris Hechtl

  “We've got some intel on various groups here and here,” he pointed to a group of red icons in Riverside. “But what's got us concerned is this one coming from the South West. It’s joined a group coming up from the South and they are headed our way.”

  “Why?” he asked frowning.

  “We're not sure,” Ross grunted. “It could be a migration but it doesn't sound like it. We've heard about some predator swarms hitting some of the enclaves in other areas, but this is... it just feels different.”

  “Organized,” Hernandez said grimly. “I heard the same reports.”

  Shane mused over that tidbit. He'd heard bits and pieces but maddeningly few real facts or documented data. “Numbers? Time?” He asked after a moment. He rubbed his chin in thought.

  “From what we've picked up, thousands. Tens of thousands. An alien army. Mixed. Mostly predators if you can believe it. We don't have a UAV that can range that far. I'd send a chopper but I'm leery about whether or not we'd get it back.”

  “Oh lovely,” he said shaking his head. “An army? Are you serious?” he asked.

  “As a heart attack, unfortunately,” Ross said. “We've got intel confirming they are using a combined arms approach. That is, air and land. Gremlins of course,” he said. That definitely ratcheted up the tension in the room. IF the aliens were that intelligent, if they were starting to organize, things were not looking up. Things were about to get very shitty, very fast.

  “Of course,” Shane said grimacing.

  “They are apparently a lot smarter than people gave them credit. The mature ones are scary smart and seem to be running the show,” Hernandez said. “Standing orders from command are to take them out. Priority one,” he said scowling.

  “No shit,” Ross sighed. “We've been doing that all along. The problem is getting to them. They are only moving at night of course, but they are making a big sweep. We picked up a couple of refugees this morning who gave us this,” he tapped the screen icon and a video played.

  Shane thought for a fast second... Refugees... if they came up the 60... That was possible. They had cleared most of the freeways for miles around now. It was entirely possible.

  “Make it... here I'll do it,” Hernandez said. Shane refocused his attention on the presentation. Mateo used two fingers to pull the window bigger. They watched a video of what looked like a Gremlin and Creeplings riding a Hellcat. From the look of it the Gremlin had rigged reins to the bull's tusks to steer it.

  “Shit,” Shane said. The Hellcat didn't look happy about its pint sized riders, but it followed the commands like a war mount. One of the Creeplings was using its claws like spurs to get the thing to move faster. “What else can go wrong?” Shane asked bitterly.

  “Oh, it gets worse,” Hernandez said. He paused the video and then minimized it and brought up another. This one showed a Gremlin about the size of a chimp, carrying a base ball bat. Another was sporting a pistol. It was waving it around like a toy. Then it pointed it at the camera and fired. The cameraman ducked, swearing.

  “You're shitting me,” he said feeling a little pale. “Damn it...”

  “All we need is a white Mohawk and cackling laughter and we've got a really bad nightmare,” Ross said. Shane looked up to him. The man used his good hand to wipe his brow.

  “Yeah, not good. They... do they know how to reload?”

  “No idea,” Hernandez breathed. He shrugged as the others glanced his way. “Hopefully not. These... things are wicked smart. Human level apparently. That video made it to the web as soon as we got it. Gabe's doing. He wanted others to know. It’s causing a panic in a few quarters now.”

  “I bet. I bet there are quite a few military intel types shitting bricks right about now,” Ross said with a snort. He shook his head. Just when they thought they had a handle on things, that was when it all went South. “Not much we can do about it,” he said.

  “Anything else? You mentioned air?”

  “Yeah, they are snagging queen Locusts and the hives seem to obey them. Or at least attack on demand.” Mateo shook his head. “They seem to bottle the hive up in something and then release them. I'm not sure if they are under mind control or spraying something on a target or what. Egg heads will have fun figuring that one out.”

  “Oh lovely. Anything in between us and them? What about terrain?”

  “That's what we were just looking at actually,” Ross said, minimizing the movie to show the map. “They roll right over any opposition. No enclave can stand up to them. When they start to move in, people move out. Fast.”

  “Ouch,” Shane said wincing. “Not a normal swarm I take it?”

  “No. They are living off the land, but they stick around if they hit a pocket of resistance. They won’t move on until it’s reduced to rubble. Hiding is...”

  “Not our best option, but probably our only option to survive it,” Wayne said. “We can bleed them dry with daytime raids.” A quarter of the city was now rubble. Most of it was around the Mall and fallen base. He thought about setting up the base and then discarded it quickly. He'd love to have the aliens trapped between two forts but the Cactus people were right there. No. It would never work. Besides, they didn't have the time to overhaul March or the man power to man it all. Or the firepower. No, best not to even mention it to the others.

  “We can try you mean. The things breed like wildfire and feed on their dead. They seem to stir up local pockets of aliens and either feed on them or add them to their army. They even herd the herbivores. Some are used as mounts. We don't have video of that yet though.”

  “Wonderful,” Shane sighed. He could just imagine a Gremlin on a Hell Bison or a Deer or Direhorse. “What's our time line?” he asked.

  Hernandez pulled the view out and then pointed. “They are here by our last report. They are moving about a click; call it two clicks a night. I'd say they will hit outer and parts of central Riverside next week. When they do, we're going to be swarming with refugees.”

  “Where will they go?” he asked. “Vegas?”

  “Probably. We can't take them on boss,” Hernandez said shaking his head. “Right now we're hoping they will bypass us and stay on the either the 215 or 60. Hopefully the 215 and hook back South through Mead Valley, Perris, and Lake Elsinore.”

  “Could the forests be their target?” Shane asked. They shrugged.

  “They could also head up the 215 here to San Bernardino. Or go right down, past us down the 60 to Norco and head to Blythe.”

  “Desert doesn't sound right,” Ross said shaking his head. “If they are living off the land then that will get them to turn after a day or so,” he said. “Lack of water and prey at the very least.”

  “Norco and San Jacinto, Nuevo, Perris... We've got quite a bit of life around here for them to feed on,” Wayne said.

  “I wonder if they can see it? Sense it or something?” Torres asked. They looked at her. “They have ultrasonics right? Could they be communicating somehow? Long range?”

  “Don't get us started on that,” Kyle said sounding disgusted. “You are thinking of whales right?” She nodded. “Whales use low frequencies. Also water is four times denser than air so the sound travels further,” he explained. When she raised an inquiring eyebrow he squirmed a little. “Jolie had a science report a while back okay?” he demanded. She smiled a tight lipped smile and nodded.

  “So our best bet is to either pull up stakes and circle around them and stay out of their way, or batten down tighter than we've ever been and hope they pass us over for better pastures?” Shane asked.

  “I don't like those options either,” Wayne said slowly. “We'll definitely have to abandon the outer complexes. Sam's, Costco, and maybe the hotel. The Mall is well...”

  “A fortress. Or as close as we can make it,” Shane said with a nod. “So, by your time table we've got what? A week you said? Maybe two?” he asked. That would mean the last week of August.

  “About that.”

  “At least we've got some warni
ng,” Ross mused. “I bet some of the poor sods in their path aren't going to know what hit them until it’s too late,” he said.

  “Probably,” Hernandez mused darkly. He rubbed his chin, looking down. “We need to warn everyone we can.” He looked at the others. “I mean everyone in their path, not just our people. The city too. Pass the word to get out and take your shit too.”

  “Or bury it,” Shane said.

  “Russian campaign,” Ross muttered. They looked at him. He looked up. “Russian campaign. Napoleon. Also World Wars One and Two. Hell, the allies did it during the battle of the bulge. The Romans were the best at it. We deprive them of stuff to live off the land. Scorched earth policy. Salt the earth so nothing grows again. Bleed them by day and they'll turn on their own. Take out their leadership if they have it and they will tear themselves apart.”

  “If they even have a chain of command,” Hernandez said nodding.

  “I think they do. Even if it’s a simple alpha hierarchy,” Shane mused. They looked at him. “Wolf pack. Also, we've seen the harems. One or two Gremlins and a harem of female Creeplings. Or one or two Lion Hellcats and the rest are females and juveniles.”

  “Wolves you're saying.”

  “Exactly.”

  “I see,” Ross said with a nod. “But I agree with Mateo, we need to bleed them. But we've got to be careful about it. One false step and we'll lead them right to our door,” he said.

  “Which will suck,” Kyle said shaking his head.

  “Get with Bob. See what he says about the defenses. We'll see if we can fort up in layers. I'll see if we can pull in more support.”

  “Layers?” Ross asked and then drummed his fingers on the screen. Little circles appeared where he touched. “You were thinking basic siege tactics right?”

  “Yes,” Shane said as they looked at him. “We can't run folks, if we do, we'll just die tired. We've got nowhere to go. No safe place to go, the aliens are everywhere. The roads are so clogged beyond us we'd have to move out on foot or on bikes,” he said.

  Grimly the others nodded. Torres looked bleak. The idea of taking their entire population out on foot to an unknown location when the aliens moved three or four times faster than them was a losing proposition. “So, siege tactics?” Hernandez asked.

  “Siege tactics. We'll try to hunker down. Try to play possum. Use the lights if we have to. But if that doesn't work, we'll have to fight. I want them to pay in blue blood for every inch of ground. We'll bleed them, and then if we have a breach we'll fall back to the next line behind us and start the whole process over again.”

  “Keep falling back?”

  “At night,” he said smiling a little. Ross grunted a laugh as he caught on. He shook his head as the others looked at him.

  “Damn it, he's right. We bleed them at night, fall back to the next layer, hunker down and bleed them some more until day breaks and they are forced to retreat. When they do, we come out and retake the old positions and if we can, sweep the areas for nests.”

  “Pop them like zits,” Hernandez growled.

  “Exactly. We'll make them pay two, three times for each piece of ground,” Shane said. “We'll know what works and what doesn't, and Bob and his crew will work to fill in the holes during the day.”

  “So...”

  “So we conserve ammo, starting today. Use weapons we can replace for your hunting. Let people around us know now. Today. I'll get Walt and Jayne to stockpile fuel and water. We'll work on the siege defenses and plans here.”

  “Why fuel?” Ross asked and then snorted. “Okay, stupid question. Flame throwers right?”

  “And walls of flame. They don't like fire. At least some of them don't. We'll use that.”

  “We've got auto turrets.”

  “We do?”

  “Found the design on what's left of the net. Or I should say Gabe did, as usual. It’s a modified paint ball gun auto turret, he said he saw it on some blog news thing called Blaster back in April of 2012.”

  “Oh?”

  “We've got two designs. One with the paint balls and the other with a rifle.”

  “Um...”

  “We were working on getting it set up with the Gatling gun but its...” he shrugged helplessly. “The weight and vibrations are too much for the servos.”

  “I saw the test firing the other day,” Shane said with a wince. It hadn't gone well. The thing had practically shaken itself to pieces.

  “The paint ball...”

  “Loaded with citric acid. Concentrated,” Shane said with a nod. Ross blinked at him in confusion. “Jen figured out that the aliens hate citrus. At least the herbivores do. That's why we've got it out on the perimeter. We've tested an aerosol on the predators. They get it in their face and it’s like pepper spray or shark repellant.”

  “Interesting.”

  “Yeah. I was hoping we'd have enough to load up a couple of crop dusters to spray entire areas but that's not going to happen.”

  “Huh.”

  “Hit a charging Hellcat or one of the other animals with the paint balls and they turn when the balls burst. It’s a good way to get the animal to go broadside so you can hit it in the flank,” Hernandez said with a nod. “We were working on integrating the new technique last week now that we've got more paint balls loaded and available.”

  “Huh. Guess I missed that,” Ross mumbled.

  “Timing of the lights could spoil a charge too,” Ross mused. Shane nodded. Mateo nodded as well after a moment. “I can't wait to see their faces when we blind the fuckers,” he growled.

  “And then open up on them as they turn away,” Torres said with sudden savage anticipation. She rubbed her hands together in glee. “Yeah, we can do this.”

  “Dave, Jesse, and Walt have been itching to try their new machines,” Kyle said with a snort. “We've never really given them a good field test,” he said.

  “They'll get one. In two weeks time,” Shane said looking at the approaching army once more.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  He nodded to the crews as they frantically worked to get things done. He'd pulled in his teams; they were all hunkering down in the base and helping out with the defensive works. Those Harvesters that had weapons were training with the militia. Some had the spare weapons. Others were helping out with Bob and his crews. Hernandez had insisted on taking Walt's dozer and a team out around the perimeter to dozer any remaining structure. They'd pushed the material over to Bob's crews to try to build the wall up even higher.

  The news had hit the mall like a firestorm. There had been a bit of panic at first, but the grim determination of the militia and Bob's crews had turned a lot of that around. He couldn't blame some of the people for lighting out though. He wasn't sure how far they'd get, but he wished them luck.

  He was worried about the outer curtain wall. The perimeter was large, probably too large. The weakest stretch was along the freeways of course. The 215 and the 60. They were mixed blessings, nice broad lanes of concrete stretching out in either direction... but they were also elevated over some of the property so the aliens could just jump over the walls Bob had put up... Jump right into the heart of the defenses. He really, really didn't want to see what a Hellcat could do inside their defenses.

  TJ and that council lady had told him that the other enclaves were either hunkering down, building up what they could or running for the hills. Most had considered running for the mountains but had realized that there really was no place to go, the damn aliens were everywhere.

  He nodded politely to Miss Morgan and her camera crew but stayed out of reach and kept moving. He didn't need her grabbing him for a comment. He really didn't have anything to say right now. He was pretty sure all he'd do was make an ass of himself.

  Her arrival and stories had helped garner support immensely. Jen and the scientists' work on the aliens had also helped. Support was coming in, most of it best wishes, some unnecessary advice, and a few volunteering to take in refugees if there was a need.


  What he did like was the military. They had finally started to get organized and the General had managed a dozen air drops over the past two days. Most of it was MREs and ammunition. There were a few heavy weapons mixed in, he had already passed them out. He particularly liked the napalm bladder that had been flown in by a sea stallion.

  When the general had called and offered a couple of squads of soldiers, mixed teams of marines and army he'd turned it down. Oh, he could use professionals to help on the line, but all his people were veterans now. No, they needed weapons and ammunition more than bodies right now.

  Speaking of which the next drop was scheduled for noon. Hopefully the general had managed to get a couple more toys mixed in. Hell, even just an entire Globemaster loaded with 50 and 60 cal armor piercing uranium or diamond tipped rounds would be nice. Exploding rounds would be even better. Diamond tipped would be the bomb, but they were in short supply still.

  A few of the enclaves had folded up shop and come over to them in large refugee swarms. Jayne was going nuts trying to handle it all. Packing everyone in had been a pain in the ass. Fortunately everyone was willing to work and was busting their asses.

  TJ and her crews had insisted on taking a scavenger team over to each abandoned place and stripping it of anything useful and then ripping holes in the ceilings to keep it from being used as a shelter by the alien army. It was the best they could do short of burning the place down and dozering it.

  He was sorely tempted to do just that. They could truck the cement and rebar over to Bob. Unfortunately they didn't have the time or fuel. Not anymore. Time was slowly running out. For Jen, for all of them.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  Jesse had been unsure as to why Kyle had insisted on saving rust. He'd even put rusty vehicles out and soaked them down, then had them grind off the scales and save the rust every week.

  “Thermite?” she asked in disbelief at the meeting. Kyle grinned.

  “Remember all the rust? Now you know why,” he said while rubbing his hands together in a dry wash. He looked eager.