by James Sperl
“Now he tells us,” Josh kidded to receptive chuckles.
Warren breathed in deeply, slowed his speech. “These things can assume the physical presence of any living thing. However, it’s our belief that they also inherit the conscious and subconscious state of the subject, meaning most animals, insects and fish will probably pose little threat since they lack a higher consciousness and exist primarily on instinct. Most of the infected in these groups will be born and die on the same day since they will most likely have no understanding of what it will take to survive. But humans, humans are a different story. While it does seem to take quite some time for full cognition to be reached after birth, once it’s achieved everything the victim knew up to the minute of impregnation—memories, education, secrets—is apparently transferred to its replica.” Warren leaned forward slightly. “You can imagine the ramifications of this.”
Warren checked his watch again. He scooted forward on his seat and clutched his hands, resting his forearms on his knees. “I mentioned earlier that I’m recording this message on September first. This is important and I pray with every ounce of faith I have that you’re able to receive it in time. But the word has come down. And the international powers that be are all in agreement.” Warren cleared his throat briefly then began speaking, his words accelerating as if to emphasize their urgency.
“We’ve tried everything we know to try and find a way to eradicate this species. From genetic manipulations in preventing the conception itself to post-infected abortions, if you will, but nothing has come even close. The incubation still continues. The only thing—the only thing,” Warren said, enunciating exaggeratedly, “that reduces them to dust is the absence of light, particularly ultraviolet rays. So it’s with this single shield of knowledge that the unanimous decision has been made.” Warren sighed heavily. Tears seemed to form in his eyes as he stared straight at the camera.
“The go-ahead has been given for a full nuclear assault—”
The room erupted in instantaneous protest.
“A nuclear attack?” Alvin shouted.
“Are they serious?” Oliver added.
Madeline hugged Shelby close as Janet stormed away from the monitor. Warren’s image continued to speak indecipherably beneath the furor.
“That’s their answer?” Janet railed. “To blow everything up? Jesus H. Christ Almighty. Why doesn’t he just tell us to shoot ourselves for fuck’s sake?”
Catherine leaned into the computer, struggled to make out Warren’s message. She wrapped an arm around Tamara as she slid close to her.
“So how are they planning to inform everyone of this?” Oliver queried rhetorically. “It’s not like they can just send an e-mail or advertise on the radio.”
“They’re not. Assholes,” Alvin spat. “There’s your government for you. Shitting on the little people as usual.”
“What are we supposed to do then, huh?” Madeline said, real fear in her voice. “Where do we go?”
“I don’t know,” Janet said. “But I sure as shit ain’t gonna sit here and wait for it to happen.”
Catherine got to her feet, her chair inadvertently toppling from underneath her and crashing to the floor, silencing everyone.
“Look,” she started, “let’s just finish listening to what Warren has to say. All right? Then we’ll figure out a strategy. Agreed?”
Scowling heads nodded their approval. Catherine pulled her chair back up to the table and sat, queuing the video back to its pre-outburst position. Warren’s image mouthed words in reverse as Catherine adjusted the slider on the media player.
Then she hit play.
“—given for a full nuclear assault, the targets for which are still being determined. This assault will not be an attack on our cities but rather an attempt...an attempt to generate a nuclear winter.”
“They’re gonna try and smoke them out,” Josh said.
“Damn right, they are,” Oliver agreed.
“As we speak, targets with little to no population densities are being selected and each country will launch inside their own borders to maintain sovereignty. With enough worldwide detonations, we can—and unfortunately must—block out the sun. These things are clever but we theorize that even they won’t be able to exist in a lasting darkness for that amount of time. And the knowledge they’ve gained from the innumerable hosts they’ve claimed doesn’t seem to have yielded any great gains in terms of technological advances such as the ability to operate a power plant. At least not yet. Which is why the need to act as soon as possible becomes all the more urgent. The only goal of this species—the only goal—is propagation. It doesn’t matter who and it doesn’t matter how. Just that its existence continues. And it will do so relentlessly until the last breath.” Warren exhaled heavily. “If you’d seen the results of the experiments we’ve run, you’d understand.”
Dead silence met the pause in Warren’s speech as all eyes remained fixed on the screen and all mouths remained closed.
“September fifteenth,” Warren choked out. “That is the final date. For them. For us. For everything. Our launch time, for the mountain/central time zone, oddly, is noon. High noon,” he repeated, as if attempting to reinforce the peculiarity. He clasped his hands together in front of him. “Catherine, there is so much more I want to tell you. And so much I want to hear from you and Josh, Abby and Tamara. But if you are watching this right now, if you are still...alive, then I’ll save those words for when we are all together again.”
Catherine’s eyes filled with tears, mimicking her husband who also welled up as he spoke.
“You are a strong, independent and determined woman. If you’ve made it this far then I have no doubt you can make it the rest of the way. Maybe I never told you enough, or even ever for that matter, but I am and have always been both honored and proud to call you my wife.”
Catherine swiped her face as tears squirted down her cheeks. Abby moved up behind her and put her arms around Catherine’s neck, Catherine immediately clutching her forearm.
“Josh, Abby, Tamara, I know this has all been exceptionally hard on all of you. It’s been hard on all of us. I’ve talked to plenty of parents here who are in the same situation as I am, where we’ve no idea as to the status of our family or their whereabouts. But we have something in our corner that those other families don’t have. And that’s your mother. Listen to her and do as she asks. Not just because she’s your mother, but because she truly is the one person I can trust to bring you all back to me.”
Abby stared at the screen, allowing a single tear to spill from her eye. Tamara nuzzled in beside Catherine, crying with both eyes.
Warren dabbed at his face with his palms, then straightened himself. “When I’m finished, do not disconnect. I’ve programmed my system to automatically detect your true IP address and transfer the coordinates of my location to your system. A folder should appear on your desktop bearing my name. Everything you’ll need to find me is in it. I wish I didn’t have to be so cloak and dagger with this information but the risks of interception are too great. Which brings me to something else. Catherine, even though we discussed notifying me of your status via e-mail once you arrived at the shelter, recent events have forced the closure of all e-mail accounts except for the topmost commanders. I’m sorry, but I just don’t have the clearance to that level of encryption. I wished to God I did.” Warren exhaled heavily. “As I said before, these things are clever and their knowledge base, so it would appear, is growing and ever reaching.”
He opened his mouth to say something else then seemed to change his mind in mid-thought. “So that’s it then,” he said finally. “I can’t wait to see you all again. I wish...” He trailed off, his mouth closing. Instead, he only smiled and nodded.
“I love you,” he managed. “See you soon.”
The screen cut to black.
The room remained silent. Everyone drifted slowly away from the computer as they processed what they had just heard.
Madeline an
d Shelby stood in an embrace staring blankly ahead as Oliver and Alvin wandered aimlessly and scratched at their respective facial stubble. Janet journeyed to the far side of the room, her eyes fixed on the floor. Catherine spun in her chair and hugged her daughters fiercely, each girl collapsing into their mother’s arms. Josh laid a reassuring hand on the back of his sisters as he stared over at Derrick who simply looked back, his unblemished face revealing nary an iota of emotion.
“They’re going to blow up the world?” Madeline said ruefully.
“What else can they do?” Josh said. “These things are smart and have lasted this long. They’re only going to get more resilient.”
“But the fifteenth?” stammered Oliver. “Jesus, that’s only four days away.”
“Then we better get moving,” Janet said from across the room. “So where’re we going?”
Catherine peered from over Tamara’s shoulder at Janet, the recollection that information was forthcoming shooting into her like a lightning bolt. She jolted upright, released Tamara and Abby and turned back to her computer. Grabbing the mouse she quickly navigated back to her desktop.
A single folder labeled “Warren” rested in the middle of the screen. Catherine slid the arrow icon over the top of it and clicked.
Pages of information popped onscreen: Maps, potential travel routes, “infestation” data with lists of cities and their purported populations, survival tips and even simplified tutorials on how to hotwire and operate certain types of heavy machinery from big rigs to a tank, if necessary.
But the perusal of this information would have to wait. For as eager eyes scanned the data on the monitor, a pair of shadows trailed down the outside stairwell unnoticed. And by the time Derrik whipped his head in their direction, the sound of his machine gun being cocked wrenched everyone from their hopeful pursuit of escape and plunged them back into the reality in which they lived.
Turning their heads in unison, the fear that captivated the group suddenly intensified when the utterance of five words cut through the air like a hot scalpel through butter.
“Hello, is anyone down there?”
17
Visitors
They were filthy and clearly hadn’t seen a bath let alone a wet washcloth in days. And judging by the way they tore into the MREs Catherine had tossed them, probably hadn’t met with much in the way of sustenance either.
The young man’s name was Sean McAndrews, a fairly handsome twenty-three year old who still retained a muscular physique despite the tissue loss he most assuredly suffered due to malnutrition. Sitting beside him was his girlfriend, Leanne Torril, a lithe figure in baggy clothing, her long, stringy hair pulled back in a haphazard ponytail revealing a face that was now pretty only in the simplest of ways.
At the initial sound of their voices, Derrik, Alvin and Janet had warily confronted the couple from the bottom of the stairwell at gunpoint. Scared, tired and weak to the point of shakiness, it was apparent to all involved that the pair were very likely not New Humans.
It had been Janet’s idea to invite them down. The resistance to this suggestion had been instantaneous, but Catherine backed her logic reminding everyone that New Humans not only craved ultraviolet light, but also needed it to live. And when the young couple descended the stairs, stepping out of the sunlight and into the darkened stairwell without a moment’s hesitation and despite the presence of several automatic weapons pointed in their face, it was clear they posed no threat.
Catherine’s maternal instinct kicked in at the sight of the sorry looking pair. Dirty and bedraggled, it didn’t take a doctor to diagnose the poor condition in which the two found themselves. Handing each of them an MRE of chicken and pasta and a bottle of water, Catherine watched, along with the rest of the room, in a peculiar silence as the starved youths tore into their meals. The sound of their lips smacking was the only noise to fill the air.
Sean finished his in record time, scooping up the sauce with his fingers and licking the inside of the container. He cracked the lid on his water and took three hefty gulps before setting the bottle on the floor. He looked up at Catherine.
“Thank you,” he said, his voice gravelly and dry. “All of you. Thank you for this.”
Leanne looked up and nodded profusely, her mouth stuffed with a serving of noodles.
“Glad we could help,” Catherine responded.
Sean’s eyes danced over the amply stocked shelves. “May I...I mean would it be okay if—”
“Would you like another?” Catherine interrupted, immediately crossing to the food shelves.
“Please,” Sean said. “If you can spare it.”
“Not at all. We’ve plenty,” Catherine said as she snatched two more MREs, this time beef roast with potatoes and vegetables.
Sean accepted the meals graciously then, once in possession, ripped into one with abandon.
“You should try and eat slow if possible,” Janet said, sitting a short distance away on a backward facing chair.
Sean and Leanne looked up at her.
“You don’t want to make yourselves sick. I’m assuming it’s been some time since your last meal?”
Sean visibly willed himself to chew slower, placing smaller portions in his mouth. “You could say that,” he said in between bites. “We ran out of food a long time ago. Been doing what we could to live off the land up here, but...” Sean glanced over at Leanne and smiled a little. “We’re city people. We just came up for a weekend to unplug after finals. We didn’t realize at the time...” Sean let his head drop. His eyes searched the floor. “Let’s just say neither of us expected to have to become Grizzly Adams to survive.”
“Amen to that,” Oliver said softly from a cot on which he sat.
“Where were you camping?” Catherine asked.
Leanne swallowed with effort. “Our initial site was in a park just outside of Rockway, but that was weeks ago. Maybe months.”
“Rockway?” Alvin said. “I know where that is. That’s thirty to forty miles north of here. Have you come all this way on foot?”
“I suppose so,” Sean said somewhat surprised. “Once we heard the warnings to stay out of the city, we just made the decision to stay put until our food ran low.” He scooped another handful of potatoes. “Once it started dwindling we had to go in search. We must’ve just wound our way down here.”
Alvin extended his hand. “Well, you’ve come a long way my friend. Welcome back to the world. Or what’s left of it anyway.”
Sean grinned between chews as he shook Alvin’s hand. “Thanks. It’s good to see people again.”
“Didn’t you have a car?” Josh asked bluntly.
Sean and Leanne exchanged irritated glances. “We did,” Sean said. “But on the third day after the evacuation announcement we came back to our campsite from a day of scavenging to find our gas tank siphoned. I guess we should be happy they left what little food we had. Sons of bitches.” Sean looked up quickly at everyone. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean...”
“Oh, please,” Janet assured. “If that’s the worst you’ve got to say about it all then it’s probably going to be us who apologize to you. Trust me when I tell you that this lot could make a group of truck drivers blush with the words that come out of our mouths. And that’s when we’re being nice.”
Sean smiled wide, exposing his perfect teeth. Leanne chortled, spewing small pieces of food despite the hand placed over her mouth.
Sean shoveled two quick scoops of pot roast into his mouth then chewed, almost seeming to savor the food.
“Can I ask you all a question?” he said after swallowing.
“Shoot,” Catherine replied.
“What...what exactly happened?”
Leanne stopped chewing, as if the answer to Sean’s question held more importance then feeding herself.
“I mean, we know that we were supposed to stay out of the city,” he continued. “And that we were supposed to stay away from certain types of people, but we never learned who or why.
” Sean let his hands rest in his lap. “All we had with us was a radio and when we lost the handful of signals we were able to get up here, thought it best to wait it out until...”
Catherine nodded to Sean’s trailing sentence, fully comprehending his meaning.
“What made you decide to stick your head down our stairwell?” Janet said. “Being that you knew you were supposed to stay away from people and all. Surely you must’ve thought you’d encounter someone.”
“Of course. But you get hungry enough,” Leanne started, tears forming in her eyes, “you’ll do just about anything.”
Catherine walked over to her computer desk and dragged over a chair, placing it directly in front of Sean and Leanne. She sat facing them.
“The good news is you stumbled upon the right group of people.” Catherine said. “You’ll be safe here and you’re more than welcome to stay with us.”
Leanne burst into tears, her quivering hand trying valiantly to stifle loud cries. Sean dabbed at his eyes, allowed his head to fall gratefully as he exhaled with complete emotion.
“There is, however, some bad news,” Catherine said. “You should prepare yourselves.”
Sean and Leanne sat motionless as Catherine shared in ten minutes all she had learned and experienced in the past months. She told of the tree frogs and the series of events that led to the infestation of the planet. She told of her husband and all that she and her family had been through right up to this particular moment. But most importantly she spoke of the New Humans. And if asked, couldn’t say with certainty whether or not Sean or Leanne so much as took a breath as she spoke.
When she was finished, the two could only stare ahead blankly, as if they had just witnessed a horrific car crash.
“So that’s why you made us come downstairs,” Sean posited. “To see if we would react to lack of sunlight.”
