I looked in the mirror and saw myself more disheveled than I’d been in a long time. It brought back flashes of myself a week after Janny had died: me not showering, not shaving, and hardly eating. The similarities were there, but now I felt more alive than I’d ever felt before. I’d survived the loss of my wife, the loss of the whole world basically, and now I had a mission.
After scrubbing my face in the sink, I lathered up and did the best job I could to bathe in the sink. It wasn’t pretty, but in a couple minutes, I was smelling a lot better, and felt ready to make the trek. The deep bags under my eyes were still there, but I saw a little extra sparkle in them that hadn’t been there a moment ago.
“Come on, Carey. Let’s find some food.” His ears perked up at this, and he had a little more jump in his tired step. We made our way down a couple cars, and there was a lounge. Behind the bar, I found some trays of food in the cooler. The temperature was still fairly cool in there. This state-of-the-art train had some good backup power. I found a still slightly chilled cheese and cracker tray, and grabbed a couple of apples. I filled my bag with some more miscellaneous foodstuffs: granola bars, potato chips, and the ever popular peanuts and pretzel mix. I tore a bag open and gave Carey’s drooling mouth a few pretzels before finding a bowl and filling it with “mountain fresh” water. He slurped it up, and I loaded a few of those bottles into my now heavy pack.
“Come on, buddy. Let’s go share with the others,” I said.
As the door opened, I heard Magnus talking to Natalia. “Uhm, Nat, do you know how to stop this thing?” Magnus asked her.
I looked out the windshield and was shocked to see us already approaching the station ahead.
She just shrugged and pulled the throttle back in an attempt to begin slowing down. It wasn’t slowing us down fast enough. We were still cruising at twenty with the station coming up fast.
“Dean, any clue?”
I scanned for the brakes and didn’t see the lever I’d seen in trains when I was a kid. The old trains all had them, but I’d never been on one this new. For all I knew, there was an app that controlled the damn thing. The distance was closing quickly and I jammed at a button on the dash in a wild last-minute effort. A loud train-whistle sound bolted out of a horn, blasting our arrival to anyone within twenty miles. Cursing, I hit the button next to it, and we jolted forward as the emergency brake took hold. The brake grabbed the metal rails and slammed us forward, hard.
The car slid and scraped, and I picked myself up off the ground, rubbing my head where it hit the dash. We were going to hit! We all braced for the impact, and time paused as we were about to make impact. I looked at Natalia, who was now bleeding lightly from her forehead. Magnus’ face was scrunched up in an animalistic snarl. Then time started again and we smashed into the car on the tracks. The lights flicked off as we went tumbling. Thank God we found the e-brake, because we couldn’t have been going more than ten miles an hour when we hit.
I wiped the sweat off my forehead and leaned back against the wall. “Just like I planned it.”
“Yeah, Nat, next time we do take the copter. You know how to land one of those.” He placed his huge hand on her back and rubbed it lightly. He moved in close and whispered something in her ear. It was a tender, touching moment in this time of stress and pressure, and it reminded me of my wife, but this time a comforting reminder, not a desperate feeling of loss. Maybe all of this was making me grow as a person.
“Let’s get moving. Still a ways to go to get up to the top. And in the dark, no less,” I said, walking back to the second car and out the side entrance. My bag of food was heavy on my shoulder, but I was happy to have some rations again. There was a small fire at the front of the trains, and I thought about putting it out in case someone would see it from the sky. Then the urgency took over and I just wanted to get to the top to do what we had to do, if only I could determine exactly what that would be.
Carey and I looked for a vehicle to bring us to the top. I checked my watch; it was ten thirty. There weren’t many cars out here, but there were a few of the tourist vans and buses. I really didn’t think us driving a bus up the switchbacks was a great idea in the dark, especially when none of us had ever been here before. This wasn’t the way I’d wanted to come to this iconic place. Did aliens really build it? I doubted it, but now I did believe they might have had a part in its creation. I imagined an alien coming down, looking human in the fourteen hundreds. The people here were so isolated from the rest of the world at that time, he would have seemed like a god if he had shown them any sort of technology. They would have been astounded. That being said, they did seem to have advanced building techniques for the time. It also made me wonder about the rumors of aliens in Egypt, and what about Roswell? I had some serious questions for those twin guys...if I ever saw them again, and if I found out they were being truthful.
I turned on my flashlight and checked the first van. No keys. Checked the second. No keys, and it smelled like fish in there. I needed the third one to have some, or it was off to search the buildings for spare sets. I was in a hurry and didn’t think crawling around in the dark for keys was a good use of my time. Third van. No keys in the ignition, but when I was about to slam the door in frustration, I spotted something shiny in the cup holder. Bingo. I shooed Carey into the door and I got in and fired up the engine. It made some interesting noises, but I just needed the thing to get me to the top. I backed up and pulled over to the train, where the other two were waiting for us.
“Not the prettiest ride, but it should do the job,” I said as I got out and helped throw the few bags in the back seat. I took a handgun, made sure the safety was on, and tucked it in my pants.
“What are you expecting up there?” Magnus asked.
“Hopefully, nothing. But I don’t think it’s going to be that easy.” I had so many questions, and I still had no answers. Was I going to turn the damn thing off? We had to find it first too. Did Mary, Ray, or Vanessa even make it there? Maybe they were behind us, trying to make it here themselves.
“If you’re bringing that, I’m bringing this.” He hefted out a semi-automatic with the firepower to take down more than an alien or two, if that was who we were going to be fighting.
Natalia grabbed one too, smiling at us. “She’s the happiest with a weapon in her hands. You have no idea how many times I’ve told her I’m thankful she’s on my side. Whatever we find up there, be glad you have us with you.” Magnus grinned back at her.
I wasn’t so sure. What if I told them we couldn’t turn this thing off? Would they just do it? Would they blink an eye at disposing of me to fulfill their dead buddy’s wishes? I had just me then. The gun sitting in my belt suddenly felt much heavier.
“I’m driving,” I said, and took the driver’s seat, Carey in the passenger seat beside me. The other two climbed into the back and rolled the windows down. The air was cooler in this part of Peru, especially with this high elevation. It was going to get much cooler as we climbed the switchbacks. The first few miles were fairly straight as we made our way in the dark down the road. I was extremely nervous, sweat dripping down my back despite the cool air blowing in through the windows.
“Looks like the climb starts just ahead. We’re so close I can smell it,” Magnus said, and I could almost hear his smile.
“How do you speak English so well? You are Swedish, right?” I asked, wondering why it took me this long to find it strange.
“I get that a lot. Actually, I speak five languages well, and a couple more are passable. I’m what you would call an army brat; dad ranked high, and we moved all around the world when I was young. I spent three years in Anaheim when I was eleven. I remember going with my dad to the beach, and there were those guys who always worked out at those outdoor muscle beaches. Something drew me to it, and that’s where I first got the idea to become a builder.”
As he spoke, I drove up the small sections of roads. They reminded me of seeing those horse trails on the sides of hills: gra
ss worn out in paths carving up the hillside. It took me back to a trip to Montana when I was a kid, riding a horse for the first time. Now I was climbing a much larger, steeper hill in a van, carrying a gun, with a huge dilemma at the end of the road. As if to reiterate my fears, flashes of light crossed the sky, presumably from Machu Picchu.
“What was that?” Magnus asked from behind me.
“No idea. Maybe lightning again? No rain, though.” It caught me off guard, and I’m sure my voice cracked a bit. I didn’t think it was lightning. I thought it was coming from one of their ships. “I think we only have about five more miles to go,” I said, and kept driving in the dark, the dim headlights the only light on the narrow pathways. The van was groaning constantly now, its life probably hanging in the balance. I just wanted it to get us up top; we hadn’t seen any other vehicles on the way up so far, and I doubted we would.
“Is this bucket of bolts going to get us there?” he asked.
“I don’t know, but I hope so.”
We made it another mile before it crapped out, black smoke rising from under the hood. It gave a final gasp and lurched to a halt just as I turned up a sharp bend. This time it was me who rested his head against the steering wheel.
Light still shone from above, sometimes flickering. I knew we didn’t have much time to do whatever I was going to have to do. We needed to get up there quickly. I left my bag and just started trekking up the road like a man on a mission. I could hear Magnus calling to me but didn’t have time to wait. I had no light to guide me, but the clouds had cleared up here, or we were now above them. I wasn’t sure. The beam from a ship shone down, giving me enough light to see the road, and I ran. I heard Carey catch up to me, and when he did, I got a little yip from him. I think he thought we were playing, and he raced past me, determined to win the race. My feet pounded the ground and I kept running.
I thought I heard a gunshot, but it could have been my imagination. I was picturing so many crazy things that might be happening up there that I didn’t know if it had really happened. I must have run a mile when I started to breathe a little more heavily, my legs tight from sitting in cars so much for the past few days. Carey kept pace with me now, still happy to run alongside me up a steep mountain pass. His tongue hung out the side of his mouth by mile two, and I didn’t blame him. I think mine hung out for a while too.
I assumed the other two would catch up to me soon, but I must have been running like I’d never run before, because there was still no sign of them back there. I thought I heard my name being called but couldn’t be sure. I was in the zone, and just focused on getting to the top. If I still had the option, would I deactivate the device? Images of Janine flashed on the back of my eyelids every time I blinked. The first day we met at the Boathouse, the way she looked sitting there drinking a scotch, the archway behind her covered in twinkle lights. I thought she might have been an angel, and I guess I’d been right that she wasn’t from this world. I saw her when I proposed to her, eating a bagel outside on the bench. It was our bench from then on. Our wedding day, standing in front of all our loved ones. She couldn’t have looked more beautiful than in that moment. There were so many days after that where I treasured her. That face was so ingrained in my mind. Our trip to Hawaii, skiing in Aspen, all memories, but gone for good. I remembered her face as I looked into her coffin. It wasn’t the same face I’d known all of those years, yet at the same time, it was. The little laugh lines by her mouth, the tiny birthmark above her lip...all telling me it was her. All of these hit me as I ran with all my heart to the top of the road. Tears streamed down my face, and I knew it wasn’t from the pain of the non-stop sprint I was on.
This was all about to end one way or another. Either I was going to save the world or end it, and I had just enough guts to give it a try. I was slowing down as I rounded the final bend, and was on the last section of road leading up to the ruins of the Inca city. There was a car parked at the end of the lot, and a path leading up even higher. Carey stopped and fell to the ground, rolling on his side. He lapped at some water in a small pool on the road, and this time, I didn’t stop him. I had half a mind to join him, and instantly regretted not bringing my own water. I searched the car and found a half-empty water bottle in the cup holder. I drank it without hesitation; not something I would normally do, but my lungs were burning and my legs aching from the few miles’ uphill run. My treadmill at home didn’t have incline quite this intense. I tossed the bottle to the car floor and started the trek to the city. I still couldn’t see much and crossed through a stone archway that led to a steadily inclining pathway. There was still an intense light ahead, but it was pointed away from me, so I stumbled a few times on rocks or steps that I couldn’t quite see.
Carey followed along again, stopping every now and then to drink from a puddle. He didn’t seem to mind the muddy water too much. “Almost there, little guy,” I said. His tail wagged at my voice.
I heard my name and saw Magnus and Natalia a few hundred yards behind. I kept going. I didn’t want them there to decide for me. I picked up the pace and started to move at a jog. My thighs fought me every inch of the way, but a few hundred yards of paths and stairs later, I entered the Incan city of Machu. Even in the darkness, it was beautiful. I finally had a vantage of what was going on. One of the ships was hovering near the ground at the far side; Wayna Picchu loomed behind everything like a gravestone in the dark. It was an eerie sight, making the hair on the back of my neck stand straight up.
Which aliens were here, the good ones or the bad ones? Not that I knew which side was which.
I walked toward it all and tripped on something. I fell and landed on my right elbow, pain exploding up my arm. I rolled to my side, and I was staring straight at a body.
It was Vanessa.
I rolled her to her back and checked for a pulse. Nothing. She’d been with us on this huge journey, and it was terrible to see her lying there. She was so small. If she was here, that meant... “Mary!” I called out. “Don’t do it!”
I reeled and ran to the ship. If the cheap tourist maps were accurate, they were over in the Sacred Plaza, an area that looked like a large room with parts of the wall missing and no roof. No doubt it had been a town square of some sort in the Incan times. I tried to take in everything I was seeing as I ran to them. The ship was there, with the two twins’ backs to me. I knew it was them just from the way they were standing. As I got closer, I saw Mary with a rifle aimed at them. Ray was nowhere in sight.
“Mary! Don’t do it! Not yet!” I yelled. She glanced at me and almost smiled through the terrified, angry look she was giving the aliens.
I passed by them, holding my gun in my hand. My elbow was aching, but at this point, so was the rest of me. I stepped between them and Mary. “Mary, hold on.” I tried to catch my breath. She looked at me like I’d lost my mind. “I think Heckle and Jeckle may be telling us the truth.” Images flashed in my mind. Janine and one of the alien twins, sitting at a table.
“It’s too late, Dean,” she said, lowering her gun. A bright orange light shone from behind the plaza’s largest wall. There was a crack in the foundation large enough for a man to fit through, and that was where the light emanated from. A whirring noise sped up and then slowed down, the light dimming with it. “Ray turned it off.”
The twins fell to their knees and yelled in anguish. Another ship came quickly from the sky, and now I could see the differences in them. These were slightly larger and had more of a curve, whereas the others were smaller and more linear. A red beam shot out of it and destroyed the ground around the twins. They disappeared down the crevice.
“We have to turn that thing back on! Now!”
TWENTY
Five Years Earlier
My head felt so strange, and I wondered what she’d put in my coffee. This man had shown up at our house and Janine had instantly become nervous. I had never seen her like this before, and I didn’t like it one bit. She asked if we could talk in the kitchen and went t
o get us all some coffee. The man never said his name and our small talk went nowhere. I asked him where he was from. He said “quite some ways away” in a voice that literally had no accent, if that was possible. Everything about him was monochrome. Even his hair looked like it was a doll’s hair. None of this bothered me much once I drank that first sip of coffee; after that, I just sat there like an open-mouthed fool. I thought about trying to interject, but my brain didn’t want to participate. Instead, the fool thing made me drink more of the obviously drugged beverage.
Janine and the man argued about a few things, and they pointed at me a few times. She was telling him that she was already in their bad books. That they were still upset about me not being the chosen target, but that she was more than likely under severe scrutiny. I heard her mention Bob, her cousin from our wedding that we hadn’t seen since that day he’d come here.
After a few minutes of this back and forth my brain didn’t let me comprehend, he came over to me and put his hands to my temples. He repeated some words I didn’t understand and then Janine’s face came in front of mine, inches away. I could smell the spinach omelet she’d eaten for breakfast, and the coffee she just had been drinking. Out of all of that, it felt like a very intimate moment for some reason.
She held my hands and spoke softly. “If the day comes where you end up at Machu Picchu, don’t turn the device off. Wait there for this man, or a man that looks like him. Turn off that device and they’ll swarm the planet. Most likely, they’ll send a scout to confirm it’s off. They’re patient. Once confirmed, they’ll destroy it, and Earth will be theirs. No humans, no device to kill them. Do you understand?”
It took me a moment to realize that she had been speaking to me, even though her nose was touching mine. Tears fell down her face; I wanted to wipe them away, but my hands didn’t listen to me.
The Survivors: Books 1-3 Page 14
