At Night's End

by Benham, Tara

  "I think that there’s something fishy with Sallen. He seems to be hiding something." Ever was naturally suspicious, which is another reason her and Dad got a long so well. She was laying on her back with hands behind her head. She was closing and opening her mouth like she wanted to say more, but wasn't sure what. "There's just something about him that makes me uneasy. Doesn't he do that to you too?"

  "Yes, he does, and the sooner we get finished the sooner he's gone so let's get to reading." I knew there wasn't much we could do about Mr. Sallen until Dad got home, or emailed me instructions. Making the best of the time we had, I read the instructions, talked over the parts with Ever so that we both had an understanding of how to activate, pass through and log into the necessary computer program. Now we only needed to learn how to log codes into the bracelet, which we're supposed to learn when we got back downstairs. We were gathering our packets and getting ready to head downstairs when Darcy and Denver knocked.

  "Hey did you two understand the packet? We think we're good." Denver was standing beside Darcy in the doorway. Her question had no sarcasm or undercurrent that made me roll my eyes. If she was like this always I could possibly learn to enjoy her company, but I knew that was wishful thinking on my part. She may be acting civil but I had no doubts that she would be different when she was away from the house.

  "Yeah Denver, I think we both got it. We might have questions when we get the bracelets but we're good for now. Thanks" Darcy smiled at us kind of smugly like she was saying "See Denver is better than what you think". I just smiled back, because Denver has been good these past few days thankfully, I don't think I could have dealt with her misbehaving on top of all the stress. Dad had never left us for more than a day, and definitely not under such secretive reasons. I thought with all the training Dad had gave me I could handle it, and I thought I had done fairly well, but I didn't quite know how to handle Mr. Sallen without the assistance of Ever. I don't know if it was the increased stress or if it was me, but that man made me lose my temper very quickly, and I was unable to hold it in and speak at the same time.

  Back downstairs, we were the first of the group to return. We got drinks for everyone, again, and sat out some more cupcakes for whoever might want some. We didn't have a cook or a maid in the house. Dad made sure that we all could cook and bake whatever we wanted, or at least follow recipe. Darcy and Ever were better at it than I was, but I could make food that was eatable. Milo came in first, followed by the team, then Henry, Micah and Master Sergeant Long. Henry nodded at me and winked but still blushed somewhat from what I assume is the memory of Ever's harassment earlier. Micah snickered some, so I bet that Henry or Master Sergeant Long told him about the incident. I gave him a sympathetic nod and smile at him. Ever giggled and elbowed me in the ribs, which made me blush, causing Micah to snicker even louder. Mr. Sallen came bursting into the dining room, with the same authoritative persona as he had when he left. I don't know what made him think so highly of himself. It's not like he came up with the idea, Dad did. Just seeing him made my temper rage internally. Ever squeezed my hand reassuringly, and whispered that it'd only be a little while longer. I smiled gratefully at her, and reminded myself that I needed to tell her how much she helped me.

  "I will now field any questions you all may have about the packets, and the instructions within about how to operate the fence." Sallen was standing at the front of the table, like a judge.

  "I have one." Micah surprised me, he normally didn't speak up about these types of trainings. Sallen nodded like he knew that we would need assistance. "The bracelets identify the person that it's assigned to but how?"

  "Great questions. One that I think Milo would be better at answering, since he is the one who helped design the product." When Sallen said that it took just about every ounce of will power in my body not to jump up and smack him. Ever and Dad had created the bracelets, the Sallens had absolutely nothing to do with the design just the manufacturing of the bracelets. Milo was standing up to start to answer the questions when we heard the front door open. We all turned to see who had come in the house, I was looking around the table to see if one of the team members were missing. Suddenly I heard Darcy holler.

  "Daddy!!" she was running to the door when I saw Dad walk in. He looked fine, which was a relief. He did seem tired, but if he took a late flight, I guess he would be very exhausted. I got up from the table with a little more composure, but I did walk faster to normal to give him a hug.

  "Hey, Hey! It’s okay girls. Gentlemen, give me a second to hug my girls, get my suitcases in, and I will join you all."

  "I'll grab your suitcases, sir." Master Sergeant Long was already halfway out the door to get Dad's suitcases.

  "Thank you, Long. Mr. Sallen, we will skip the questions for now, and just go out and do the demonstrations with the bracelets." Dad made it clear with his tone that this was not merely a suggestion. So Mr. Sallen agreed and had the team get ready to take us out and show us the fence, and the bracelets.

  CHAPTER 8

  The fence wasn't on yet, because Mr. Sallen wanted us to see how it looked off and then on, as well as he needed to make sure that he had the show that he wanted to present. Darcy, Ever and I all stayed close to Dad. I was dying to ask him questions, but knew that it would be better to wait until no one could hear us or his answers. Denver was even staying close to Dad, which made me kind of suspicious, but since she had been behaving, I tried not to focus too much on it. Henry and Micah kept a safe distance from us, to keep Dad from thinking that maybe something might have happened while he was gone. Which really wasn't the worst idea, since Henry turned crimson whenever we made eye contact, or Ever smirked at him.

  "If everyone is ready, we'll get started." Mr. Sallen stopped at what I was guessing was the first of 3 outdoor activation sites. "This is station 1, you do not necessarily have to have your bracelet to activate these outside sites, but if you have yours on, it'd be better to use it, so that the system registers who activates the fence, as well as where you are when it's activated. Without the bracelet, the computer system will simply show the location, not the person activating. You must have your bracelets to get through the fence, however, once it is activated. The bracelets are what identify you as being permissible. I'll now activate the site using the code that was listed in the packet." Mr. Sallen had us stand back, and then typed the code in. After completing the code, you really couldn't tell the fence was on visually, but you could hear the hum of the electricity working. To demonstrate the effects the fence had on unwanted intruders or objects, Mr. Sallen had Henry through a rock at the fence. The fence zapped and the rock disintegrated. The surprised look on his face was humorous. As we were laughing we noticed that a deer passed through the fence without any issues.

  "So the animals pass through because the fence reads their DNA, and shows they're healthy and not human correct?" I read how it worked, but I wanted to make sure I had understood what I had read. I was trying to make a mental note on how much Sallen knew about the workings of the fence. Later, when I would talk to Dad about the situation, I needed to be ready to have suggestions on how to make changes or have added security.

  "That is correct, Miss Dobbins." The distain in his tone was not unnoticed by my father. Dad raised his eyebrows at me, and I just shook my head, to indicate we would discuss it later. "The ‘fence’ is more of a force field that runs up and down between the locators under the earth in the trees. There are smart readers attached at varying intervals that trigger between locators that within nanoseconds not only identify an object to determine the DNA but if that object is safe and healthy. If the object is a human that is not wearing an identifying bracelet... well let's just say it's not pretty." He seemed to be shooting a warning my direction, which did cause my dad to react.

  "Are you threatening my daughter Mister Sallen?" Dad was not usually an intimidating man. He really was the epitome of a dork most of the time, except when someone threatened one of us girls. Dad was tall and had t
he appearance of being built, because he did hard labor outside on the fields when he wasn't in his lab, so he was by no means, weak. However, with his glasses, and mannerism, most people wouldn't be too scared of him. Mr. Sallen though did at least have the brains to act intimidated at Dad's accusation, whether he was truly frightened of him or not. Dad may not have been able to done anything physical to him, but he could black ball him from ever working again, and to a man like Mr. Sallen that was probably worse than a black eye.

  "N..n..nnn…No sir. I was merely trying to make them understand it is very dangerous for them to not wear their bracelets. I couldn't bear to think that something might happen to your lovely girls if they didn't take the fence seriously." Mr. Sallen was oozing honey out through his veins with these comments, and though none of us believed it, we all let it drop. "Now, if it's good with you, we'll go about setting up the bracelets. Milo!"

  "Yes, Father?" Milo demeanor towards his dad was usually more formal than we were with my dad. I was getting the impression that Milo was not his dad's biggest fan. He had been over talking with some of the guys from the team, so I don't think he witnessed what had just happened. To his credit I think he would have apologized had he had seen how his father was behaving.

  "Please begin setting up the bracelets with the correct codes for each person."

  "Yes Father." Right at the same time, we heard a commotion behind us. We turned and noticed that Master Sergeant Long was running towards us at a very hurried worrisome pace. He had been at the house still putting away Dad's suitcases; we figured he would be out when he was finished. Whatever had him in a hurried state must not be good though, because I have never saw Master Sergeant Long upset.

  "Mr. Dobbins, we have to get back to the house right now. You need to see this news cast!" Long was paler than normal, and seemed to be nauseas. I knew he was not sweating from the exercise from the house to here, because he ran 5 miles each morning. Whatever was causing his sweaty/clamminess was about the new cast.

  "Let's go over to the tents, Dad. We set them up with cable and a television for when the guys were on their breaks."

  "Just leave the fence on for now Sallen." Dad commanded as we headed towards the tent.

  I had a feeling that Dad may know something of the nature of the news cast just from his sudden change in demeanor. His shoulders stiffened, and he had goose bumps all on his arms. Sallen nodded and joined the rest of the group as we headed towards one of the group tents set up. I couldn't even imagine what we were going to see, but the tension in the air was heavy. Ever came up beside me and we entwined our arms. Just ahead of us Denver and Darcy were paralleling our pose. Henry and Micah were close together whispering frantically about what could be happening. Master Sergeant Long had got to the tent before any of us, and had the television turned on to the broadcast. On the television was a young woman, dressed sharply standing in front of the CDC in Washington D.C. Looking up at Dad, he was obviously concerned for what she would be announcing. There was fear on his face but he was trying his best to mask it. For most people, they would never know he was scared, but I studied my Dad's face so much, I knew he was worried. It seemed like just over the past 24 hours his hair had become grayer. We all got very quiet so we could hear the lady with an upbeat voice explain the situation.

  "Good Afternoon. Six weeks ago, every citizen in our country was given a mandatory vaccination, Influenzo, which was meant to eradicate all series of the influenza .Early today, Washington D.C released a report that they have recently learned of recent complaints from people presenting with new symptoms that may be related to the vaccination. As many of you may remember, ten years ago the CDC made the rabies vaccination mandatory. It has been released to us exclusively that the outbreak of symptoms seem to be related to a mutation from a mix of the two vaccinations. The mutation seems to present with different symptoms at different stages as we’ve been told, but what these symptoms are have not been released. Those currently having these reactions are not thought to be contagious but are being in quarantined and closely monitored just in case. The CDC states that it is hopeful that an antidote has been found and those who have been affected will soon begin to improve. Reports have shown that there are currently only ten known cases of the reaction, but are concerned there may be more suffering from the symptoms that have not yet sought medical help. The CDC asks anyone who may have taken the vaccination and have noticed changes in their health to go to their local hospital for a checkup. The CDC does recommend that you take precautions such as washing your hands, not sharing drinks and making sure not to take any unfamiliar pills. Stay tuned for further information as it comes in. Back to you Bob."

  As Bob whoever on the television started giving the weather report for the day, the rest of us just stared at the TV not really listening. Stunned, I looked at Ever and she had tears forming at the corners of her eyes. Darcy and Denver were quivering and hugging each other. Everyone was silent like we were all waiting for the pin to drop. Those around us were not as affected as we were, but at once the four of us knew what it meant. Even though it was announced that the CDC did not feel these symptoms were contagious, Dad appeared to be too nervous for us to not be very concerned. Dad had to know something that either they weren’t announcing or didn’t know yet. From this point forward, until the situation resolved itself we would be in full training mode. Dad has always told us that he would bring in a tutor if the situation called, so I knew come Monday that Darcy would be home schooled, and that Ever and I would have to start online classes. Denver would have the option, and with this new information out, her father would probably send her to our house as well. There would be no diseases getting close to his daughter, and even though the city made fun of my dad and us, they all knew we had the safest location in town. Dad walked over to us, and in a hushed tone told us he would be returning to the house to do some things but we needed to act as normal as possible, and get all of our bracelets uploaded and ready to work. He also made sure that we knew he wanted us to keep the fence on, for now. Dad face showed strain. I had so many questions but I couldn’t ask him anything now, not with so many people around. I knew for certain though that even if we had to sneak Ever and I needed to few those other videos. I made a mental note to bring up the idea to her later.

  "Mr. Sallen, please take everyone back to the fence, and let Milo get the bracelets set up. I'm headed to my office to make a phone call, and will be back after to let you get my bracelet set up."

  "Mr. Dobbins?" Sallen appeared nervous, but intent on asking his question "In light of new information, I was wondering if I could set up a bracelet for Milo, and if necessary he could come here. I'm not interested in me having one, but please I ask that you allow my son to have one." There was earnestness to Mr. Sallen's request that portrayed honest concern for his son's well–being, that for a moment I remembered that he was human. Dad thought about this request for a minute, gave a quick nod and the he turned around to give instructions to Master Sergeant Long. Master Sergeant Long was to receive the first bracelet then return to the house to assist Dad.

  CHAPTER 9

  Back at the base site, we each waited our turn to have our individual bracelets set up and activated. Milo explained that the technology of how the bracelet scanned our skin, sent the information wirelessly to the computer in the main lab at the house, then is transported back, all within a matter of nanoseconds to the fence which will allow you to pass through unharmed. The bracelet has a scan code on it as well that will allow you to swipe the bracelet over the activation site to turn on or off the fence. When you scan your bracelet, the computer is aware of who is doing the scanning, and where on the property the activation/deactivation is completed. I was the last one to get a bracelet before Milo. He asked me to help him get his bracelet set. The rest of the group decided to head back to the house, but Ever offered to stay with me and Milo.

  "No, Ever go on. I'll be okay; it'll only take a minute or two." Giving her a confident smile was
enough to convince her I was okay. In the last five minutes a new, unfamiliar calm swept over me, and I felt more confident and prepared for anything than I had ever felt before, so I knew that I was radiating these feelings. Ever gave me a quick hug. This calmness made me grateful for all of the things that my dad had been training us for these past years.

  "Hurry up. I'll see you at the house."

  "Yes ma'am!"

  "McCaid," Milo startled me. "I need to talk to you while we are alone if that's alright? I wasn't sure if I would be able to get you alone, but now that I have, I need to say what I know. Dad has made a copy of all the codes, and the plans for the fence. He has plans to sell the information, and already has a few interested buyers. I thought you would like to know this, before you set me up a bracelet, just in case you decide it's not in your best interest." He truly seemed to struggle with telling his dad’s secret and securing safety for himself.

  I was taken aback by the forwardness of Milo, and thought about the consequences. On one hand he could be playing a game in cahoots with his father to get us to trust him, or he could be telling the truth. My instinct was that he was being honest. I knew if I was wrong he would be my responsibility. Even if he was in cahoots with his dad, what would it benefit them for him to tell us? I went with my gut feeling and decided I would give him the benefit of the doubt.

  "Thank you. Dad agreed to let you have a bracelet, and I appreciate the honesty. Tell me how to set up the bracelet." Milo smiled, lighting up his whole face. I hadn't noticed before how young he looked. I smiled in return because I couldn't help myself. Milo wasn't bad looking. Just guessing I figure Milo to be older than me because I have never heard Darcy or Denver mention him, and I don’t remember him from school either. He wasn't my type, but he was not ugly at all. He had dark auburn hair, laughing green eyes and a strong, square jaw with a five o’clock shadow growing. I just shook my head at the absurdity of me evaluating his looks at a time like this when we just heard the news. Milo talked me through the steps of getting the bracelet prepped, and then we headed back to join the others.