“That didn’t taste bad, but I felt like a fucking inmate,” he said softly.
“In a sense, isn’t that what we are? Don’t talk now,” she warned.
They arrived in what he gathered was a recreational room because several people were playing cards at small tables. “No computers or TV?”
“No TV or radio. Computers? Cards, dice, games, a few books, that’s about it.”
“Most households now have a computer or two. There’s a quiet corner.” Mark headed for the empty table and chairs. He looked at Carol after she joined him with two steaming mugs of tea. “So how do we get out of this place,” he asked softly.
Carol glanced around the room and leaned toward him. “Told you. It’s not possible. Not an option for me. I want to live, even if it’s in this hellish place.”
“When I first got here, they said I’d put in some kind of application and I’d be here until my term was completed. I didn’t apply for anything so it’s all news to me, but let’s say I did. You did, so what kind of term are they talking about? If you’ve been here for that many years, did you sign up for life?”
“I didn’t apply for anything either. I once tried, asking to see the paperwork, and was punished for asking too many questions.”
“How?”
“They locked me up in a tiny dark room for what seemed like forever. All I got to eat was bread and some water.”
“Good God. I’m going to find a way out of here, even if it kills me. I need to find out what happened to Megan and the others. Maybe they’re not even alive. That explosion was fierce. I saw body parts flying everywhere.”
“Carol! Who’s your new friend?”
Several women and two men pulled up chairs and tables and joined them. Carol did the introductions. One woman, Sally, looked in her mid-fifties, another was a sweet looking little grandmother. He couldn’t imagine her working in the mine. He guessed Carol saw his expression.
“Granny works in the kitchen, Mark. Anyone over age fifty-five is given easier assignments.”
Mark nodded. “I was wondering.” Then there were Janet and Molly, both attractive young women seemingly in their early twenties. The two men, Bruce and Jack, were in their mid-forties, he guessed. “You’ll need to be patient with me. I’m terrible at remembering names.”
“Where you from, Mark?” Granny asked.
He wouldn’t forget her handle easily. He grinned inwardly. She reminded him of his own grandmother who had passed away a few years ago.
“New York for the past six years, originally from Seattle, Washington.”
“What made you move to New York, son?” Granny asked.
“Work, to start with, and I always wanted to see New York, ever since I was a kid.”
“And what made you come here to work in this old gold mine?”
“Wasn’t by choice!” Was it his imagination or did they all glance at each other.
“Watch what you say, boy. The walls have ears,” Granny said very softly.
When one of the younger women told him she’d been there for more than a hundred years, he thought it was a joke and laughed. But they were all very serious—not one joined him in laughter. He wanted to question her, but he thought better of it after all the warnings. Carol steered the conversation into a different direction. For the next while he listened to mine gossip until a bell sounded.
“Five minutes to get to our dorms,” Carol told him. “G’night everyone.”
He was glad Carol had attached herself to him as his guide and seemingly a new friend. At the door of his dorm, she patted him on the arm. “Try and sleep. Tomorrow is your first hard workday. Being an office worm, you’ll feel it by day’s end. G’night, Mark.”
The dorm held at least a few hundred beds all neatly placed in rows. It was huge. Light was very dim but he noticed all the beds’ numbers were easily visible. His was number forty-three. He hurried to it. It wasn’t really a bed, but more like an army cot. Sheets, a pillow and a blanket were on a neat pile at the foot end. He didn’t even have time to make the bed when the lights slowly dimmed and he stood in darkness. Groping for the pillow and blanket he laid down on the hard, lumpy mattress, tucking the pillow under his bald head. The blanket was thin. It hardly helped to ward off the damp cold permeating the dorm. Now that he was alone and in the dark, he felt utterly miserable. Men don’t cry, his mother had always told him, but his tears flowed freely and he didn’t feel ashamed of them, although he tried to contain his sobs so others wouldn’t hear him. He’d never felt so utterly miserable and alone in his whole life.
Sleep wouldn’t come. Thoughts about his parents plagued him. He hadn’t talked to them in over a year. Since he’d finished university, gotten a great job right away and moved into his own apartment, contact with his family had become almost zilch. He was so busy partying, living his life, he had no time to think about them, or his brother and sister—his little sister, Mandy, who he’d so adored. She was ten years younger than him. Had to have finished high school now. His younger brother was already married. He’d been too busy to go to the wedding, hadn’t even sent a gift or a card. Regret plagued him. What had he been thinking? People he valued most in the world, and he’d neglected them. When his mother’s number showed on call display, he’d let the phone ring. And he’d proposed to Megan? Was he ready to start a married life himself and have a family?
He thought about his wild years, dating one woman after another. Occasionally he’d date one for a few months, but as soon as he noticed her getting serious, he’d dump her.
A memory surfaced of the young woman he’d met and dated in his early twenties. He’d gotten her very drunk one night. After they left the club, she wanted to drive. He’d allowed it, knowing full well that she was an inexperienced driver with a learner’s license, but he was too drunk to care. He’d laughed as she’d swerved all over the place, tried to get his hand between her legs and played with her pussy, not paying attention to her driving. She’d been a horny little slut and while driving with one hand she had taken her dress off. Oh, she’d made him so hot for her, driving naked like that, that he begged her to jerk him off. Still playing with her pussy, fingering her, he recalled how she’d opened her legs wide while reaching for his cock. Screeching brakes caused him to open his eyes and pay attention, but it was too late. He’d woken up in the hospital with a concussion, a few scrapes and bruises, a broken rib, but he was fine. The woman, Robin Alderman, wasn’t so lucky. She’d died on the scene of the accident, the doctor told him. He’d shrugged it off. It was her own fault. She was the one who’d insisted on driving.
He could see her clearly in his mind now. Yes, he’d known she was a slut, she slept around, but she was a pretty woman and she’d flirted with him for a while so he decided to date her. He’d fed her crack that night and she’d readily accepted it. She’d been high as a kite and pissed out of her mind. And so was he. Why did he suddenly remember all this now? Weird, he’d put the whole incident out of his mind years ago.
He pulled the blanket over his head to try and muffle the sounds of snoring men. It didn’t help much. Megan’s pretty face swam through his mind. What had happened to her? Had she survived the explosion? How could he escape the hellhole he was in? Better yet, how had he even gotten here in the first place? Thinking about Megan again, he squashed all thought of where he was and concentrated on the memory of her, on how happy she made him, on having her in his arms right now. Through all his misery, his cock rose and throbbed. He cursed inwardly. Sex was far from his mind but he needed relief so he undid the belt and slipped his hand down to his erection. He jerked off quickly, his release easing a bit of the tension in his body. I love you, Mark… her sweet voice echoed in his mind. Escape, I need to find a way out, and when I get out of here, I’m going to make everything right. Vaguely he wondered if any of the other people that were in the nightclub had ended up here. What if Megan was kidnapped, too? Maybe she was in this hellhole somewhere. What happened to her parents and t
he others? Cassie and her date?
Chapter Four
An alien planet…
Cassie had no idea where she was. She remembered the big boom, then nothing. One minute she’d been dancing with Roger, her latest flame, and now she was in a jungle in the middle of nowhere. Warily, she glanced around and inspected her surroundings. She lay in a clearing but thick brush and foliage surrounded it, so she couldn’t really see much. Tall, weird shaped trees sent shade down to her. “I’ve had way too much to drink,” she muttered. “And I shouldn’t have done the crack. This is the weirdest trip I’ve ever had.”
She sat. Every bone in her body felt crushed and she groaned. “Where is everyone?” Maybe Roger took me home and I’m in bed tripping out. She closed her eyes and opened them again. Carefully, groaning all the while, she stood and saw bodies scattered in the tall grass. “Hellooo,” she called out. “Any of you awake?” Straightening her clothing, or what remained of it, she glanced down. She was barely covered, her dress hanging in tattered strips from her body. Her shoes were gone.
“Cassie, where is everyone? Where are we?” a female voice spoke.
Cassie looked in the direction of the voice and saw Megan’s mother standing not far from her, looking bewildered, soot covered, her clothing just as shredded. “Mrs. Leigh, over here!” she shouted. She waited for her to join her. Mrs. Leigh almost fell into her arms.
“I’m so glad to see you. I’ve been lying here wondering what happened, how I got here,” she said.
Cassie held onto the woman and patted her awkwardly on the back. She wasn’t used to demonstrative affection or greetings. “I don’t know, Mrs. Leigh. I’ve been wondering that myself. I thought I’d had too much champagne.”
“I don’t drink, dear, and my mind’s clear. I remember a big bang and suddenly I’m here. Please call me Georgia?”
“What an interesting name. I don’t feel right calling you by your first name, though. You’re Megan’s mother and—“
“Where is Megan? Have you seen her? My husband?” Georgia let go of Cassie, stepped back and looked around.
“No, I haven’t seen either of them.”
“Megan! Megan! Harold!” Georgia shouted and started searching for her husband and daughter.
Slowly, others joined Cassie. She had no idea who they all were except for a few of their friends who’d been celebrating Megan’s birthday with them. One of them joined Cassie. His name was Jonas Lang, a tall black man she’d dated for about six months but it never went anywhere beyond that. It had been her fault, not his. But they had remained friends.
“Cassie, how’d we get here, girl?”
“Do I look like I’m the encyclopedia or the Internet?”
“I’m surprised you’d even know the word encyclopedia.”
“Wow, thanks. Do I come across as that stupid and empty headed?”
“Airheaded, maybe.”
“Is that what you thought of me when we were going out?”
“This is hardly the time to broach that subject. We were at the club and now we’re here. There was a bomb and—“
“How the fuck would you know there was a bomb?”
“The explosion—“
“Yeah, and you come from some godforsaken country so you’re probably the one that planted it.”
“Calm down, girl. You’re just a little crazy right now. I didn’t plant no bomb. I got me a lot of living to do.”
“Jonas, what the hell happened?” Tears threatened and she fought them desperately.
“Don’t know, girl. Let’s gather everyone together and we’ll try to figure it out.”
By the time they’d found everyone in the clearing, Cassie counted at least a hundred people that were all very disoriented and confused. She was glad when Jonas took over.
“Listen up, everyone! My name is Jonas. The last I remember is that we were in a nightclub and there was an explosion and fire. And now we’re here. I can’t tell you what happened. I suspect it was a terrorist attack, but that’s only speculation. I haven’t got the answers. How we got here is a mystery. Where we are? Even more of a puzzle. I’ve already determined that none of us are hallucinating unless we’re all on the same drugs and experiencing the same trip. This is very real.”
“I’ve never seen trees like this or foliage. It’s like we’re on another planet,” a man shouted.
An uneasy murmur started.
“Okay, so that’s your answer? We were attacked and abducted by aliens,” Jonas said.
“Unless you can come up with something else!”
“All I can think of right now is survival, shelter and to find help. We need water, food, and find a place to camp for now. We have no weapons. At least, I don’t, and unless there is a terrorist among us, I don’t think any of you went to the club with a gun in your pocket. So we have to be very careful. We don’t know what’s waiting for us in that jungle, but we have to find shelter for the night and hopefully, fruit.”
“Shouldn’t we stay here in case they send rescue or helicopters?” Georgia asked.
“If this is alien territory, how do we know if any fruit we find isn’t poisoned?” someone else shouted.
Jonas sighed. “I guess we’ll have to chance that. I don’t have another solution for now. No, we shouldn’t stay here. We didn’t get here by normal means. Right now, it doesn’t appear anyone is watching us, but I think we should find some kind of shelter where we’re not so in the open. I’d like everyone to check to make sure we’re not leaving anyone behind. Please scour the area carefully for people that might not have woken up.”
“Looks like you’re in charge,” Cassie said.
“Someone has to do it. I don’t relish being the leader.”
“You’ll be good at it. I’m surprised they’re willing to listen to a—“
“Black man? Say it, girl. Wasn’t that the problem between us all along? You were ashamed of being seen with a black man?”
“Not exactly.” She’d lied. It was exactly why she stopped going out with him and why she’d aborted their baby, a pregnancy he never knew about. “There were other reasons.” There, she’d lied again. How could she tell him that her parents would most probably never have accepted a black son in law? Then again, she’d never told them about Jonas, and her parents weren’t racists. No, she shouldn’t have told herself her parents wouldn’t accept him. It was all her. It was true what he’d said—she’d felt uncomfortable going out with a black man, thought everyone stared at them. She’d really been smitten. Knew she’d fallen in love with Jonas. When the pregnancy happened, it scared her and made her think. She’d broken up with him and had an abortion. It had never left her mind and she’d often wondered about the baby that could have been and how life would have been if she’d told Jonas. “Never mind. It’s the past. We need to concentrate on what’s happening now. I haven’t seen Roger, my date for the evening.”
“Rub it in. Girl, you do know I’ve never gotten over you.”
“Jonas, as you said, this is neither the time nor the place. People are waiting. You need to tell them what to do.”
He looked down at her, a strange expression on his face. Then he turned and called out loudly, “Everyone, walk in pairs. Watch each other’s backs. If you have a pocketknife, carry it in your hands. Stay close together and don’t lag behind. We don’t know what’s out there. Let’s go find a place to camp for the night.”
Jonas started out into the jungle. Cassie stayed behind him or next to him. Every now and then he’d stop to make sure everyone kept up. Sounds often startled them, grunts, as if there were wild animals hiding and waiting to pounce on them. A few times Cassie thought she heard the sounds of whispers, human voices, but put it down to imagination. She knew now that she wasn’t tripping, that this wasn’t drug induced. This was very real. How? She had no clue. Georgia was right behind her. Occasionally she walked next to Cassie and kept worrying about her husband and Megan. Cassie was worried about Megan and the others, too, but
right now all she could think about was survival, though she understood Georgia’s anxiety for her husband and daughter.
They came to a river and waterfall. Its beauty didn’t escape Cassie. It was a picture postcard scene and she wished she had her camera. Oh, what the art department couldn’t do with pictures of this.
Jonas stopped. “It’s starting to get dark. This looks like a good place to camp for the night. If the water is drinkable, we’ll at least have fresh water, but no food yet. After we’ve all settled down, I’ll go into the jungle to see if I can find something to eat for us. Do I have any volunteers?” he shouted in a loud voice.
Cassie couldn’t help but admire him. Leadership came naturally and the people listened to him. There were a few oriental people in the group and some African-Americans. She didn’t have a clue if they were tourists or Americans. Matter of fact, she didn’t know any who any of them were, except for Georgia. She recalled seeing some of them on the dance floor. A few men volunteered to go with Jonas.
“Honey, you try and get everyone settled. With no supplies, blankets, anything really, we’re going to have to make do. Maybe find big leaves to cover yourself with during the night. I don’t know how cold it will get. You’re my helper, so use your imagination.”
“Great. I don’t make a habit of sleeping in the wild, so why put me in charge of that? And how do we know if that water is safe?”
Deadly Passion, an Epiphany Page 4
