“You aren’t serious, are you?” Ben asked. Ethen shook his head as he started down the stairs. He called up to the shack from the darkness.
“See, no tricks, just safety,” Ethen said, and Ben led the rest of the group into the darkness.
The trapdoor above them closed and another trapdoor below them opened. This entrance was lighted. Maddie felt the warmth coming from the opening. She peered through and it looked quite nice. It was clean and comfortable. There was a kitchen area and a lounge with a sofa, much better than anything she had seen since waking up at Mac’s clinic. She went through the trapdoor and found a spot on the sofa. She plopped herself in a deep cushion and sunk down to comfort.
Ethen sat down in a chair next to the sofa and invited the others to sit. He began talking to the group, “This is where you will stay tonight,” he pointed to one door. “That is where the rooms and showers are,” he pointed to another door in the opposite direction, “and that door leads to the outpost common area. You shouldn’t have to go there unless there’s trouble.”
“I get it, this place is made of interconnected tunnels,” Ben said. Ethen slowly nodded his head.
“Yeah, like an anthill. This phone will connect you to the communication watch and they will be able to answer your needs, if we forgot anything,” Ethen said, and let out a little huff, “We don’t have too many guests out here.”
“Do you have sentries outside to monitor the outpost?” Marcus asked. Ethen looked at Marcus like he spat on him.
“Of course we do. We’re not some backwoods outfitter. We’re professional and that’s how we stay alive,” Ethen replied. Marcus hung his head feeling slightly embarrassed.
“I was just asking, do you think that I could go and stand with one of the sentries?” Marcus asked. Ethen realized he had come across harsh and went back to a hospitable tone.
“Of course, it won’t hurt to have another set of eyes out there. Tony, you have the next watch anyways,” he said, and looked at Tony. Tony nodded in acknowledgement and signaled Marcus with his head to follow him. The door to the common area shut behind them.
Ethen got out of his seat and asked Ben, “Would you come with me, I think we have a few things to discuss.” Ben rose to join him.
“Sure, it’ll be good to let them get some rest,” Ben answered. He pointed to the sofa. Barron was fast asleep with his jaw leaning on his chin. Maddie was stuck in the sofa with her chin touching her chest. Will was balled up but sleeping soundly.
“You’re with one odd group,” Ethen said.
“They’re a good group, a group of survivors,” Ben replied.
Ethen and Ben walked out to the common area. As they were walking, Ethen jumped into the topic of discussion. “Ben, I wasn’t making small talk when I told you we were losing. You’re going to find out tomorrow just how bad we’re doing.” Ben shook his head. He couldn’t understand why Ethen was beating around the bush.
“Why would I have to wait until tomorrow if you have the answers now?” Ben asked. Ethen stopped.
“There are things that I’m not supposed to tell you. That’s what they’ll do at Supreme Command. As far as what I am allowed to tell you… The aliens are wiping out entire towns, Charlottesville was just the most recent,” Ethen said. Ben cut in when Ethen took a breath.
“I figured that’s what happened in Roanoke,” Ben said.
“Yes, you’re right. Roanoke was our first loss. They were the first to be wiped out,” Ethen told him. Ben took a moment. Roanoke was a disaster, run down, one survivor. If that was a precursor of things to come, he had to know what they were going to do.
“How many militias have fallen? More importantly, how many are left?” he asked. Ethen chuckled like it was a simple answer.
“I wish I knew. I do know that there are only a handful left and everyone is very cautious of doing any more raids on the bunkers. You’ll get a better debrief tomorrow.”
Ethen wanted to know Ben’s intentions. There weren’t many transients anymore. Anyone with any military or alien experience had become a golden egg. “On a different note, are you going to stay on at Supreme Command?” Ethen asked.
Ben hadn’t given it much thought but he knew his answer. He replied, “What else am I going to do? Nobody really has a choice now. It’s either fight them or they fight you. Either way, there are no bystanders.”
“Thanks, we need everyone we can get,” Ethen said. He gave Ben a smile and said, “We’re leaving at daybreak, get some rest my friend.”
Marcus had been watching the forest with Tony for a couple of hours. “I’m getting tired,” he said with a big yawn. Trying to focus in the faint moonlight had taken its toll. He was stretching out his body when Tony, eyes looking forward through his binoculars, started to tap Marcus wherever his hands could reach.
“Look, look, look,” Tony whispered repeatedly.
Marcus grabbed his binoculars and focused on the same area as Tony. He started to search for the same point saying, “What am I looking… I found it.” It was right in his sights, another Troll.
“We don’t attack them here,” Tony informed him. “Watch and report, that’s all we do.” Marcus continued to observe the Troll. Its orbitizer started to glow and then let loose a shot. The blue orb passed by a few trees and hit a deer.
“They shoot everything that they can. They’re terrible shots though,” Tony told Marcus. They watched the Troll continue to plod through the brush and Marcus no longer thought it was a threat. He started to scan other areas of the forest with a renewed vigor. The fatigue had gone away. He started to scan from his left. His field of view drifted to the right. Further, and further, and further. He spotted something else.
Marcus tapped Tony this time and pointed in the direction of his binoculars. Tony looked and spotted the same thing. It wasn’t a Troll. It was a man. Tony was watching with Marcus. Tony fidgeted as the man walked around. There wasn’t anything special about him except, “He’s carrying an orbitizer,” Tony blurted out. The man walked the same path as the Troll and then his orbitizer started to glow at its core. The blue spark flew and it was a direct hit on another deer.
“He did the same thing as the Troll,” Marcus said. Tony stared through his binoculars, he had seen this before.
“He fired that orbitizer. That means he’s an Inject. He shot a deer and is following a Troll without harming it. I don’t know what that means, unless he’s with the aliens,” Tony said. He dropped his binoculars and they beat against his chest as the lanyard pulled them tight.
“We have to report this now,” he told Marcus. Tony started to gather his things into a backpack and Marcus followed his lead. “I think Ethen is going to be interested in this one.”
DAY 107
ETHEN JOINS
THE OUTPOST
The back of the bus was littered with candy wrappers and pencils. It looked as if elementary school children had just taken the route prior to the current passenger load. It may well have been the case since this was the first time that the bus had been driven since the Attack. Ethen was sitting by himself in the second to last seat. The bus was sparsely loaded. Guns and other provisions occupied the first 10 rows and seven people, plus the driver, were riding along with Ethen.
Ethen looked behind him and saw his old home on the horizon. It was a desolate area and one scarred by the alien attacks. At first, he thought that there would be a chance to defend his home, but the continuous waves of assault took their toll. They fought hard against the aliens but no aliens were ever killed by their gunfire. He thought they were invincible.
There was no smoke, no fires, no smoldering indications of attack. After the last assault, the eight survivors decided to leave Greensboro, not giving the aliens another chance to eliminate them. Ethen turned his view back to the other bus riders. A petite goth girl and a husky man sat together in front of him. They had said they did not want to stay during the vote to leave. The girl showed up after the first attack against the aliens. S
he was odd and the man never left her side. Harold was driving the bus. He was skittish and every movement that was not his own caused him to flinch. With both hands on the wheel, Harold nervously looked left, right, then forward. He repeated his scanning pattern without pause. He feared the aliens more than anyone else on the bus. The other four survivors were an elderly couple and two children. The children were sleeping next to the man Ethen assumed was their grandfather.
They drove on the county roads and the old shocks were not able to support the bouncing of the vehicle. With every pothole, Ethen would bounce up and watch every one else elevate synchronously with him. They crossed the border to Tennessee. The view changed to lush forest with no sign that the aliens had been there. Harold stopped the bus and announced, “Bathroom Break.” Everyone filed out of the bus and stretched. A couple of people went to the forest line to do their business. It was a short break as Harold called out 15 minutes later, “Let’s get going!” The riders filled the bus and they were back on the road.
This leg of the trip was short-lived. Five minutes into Tennessee, the bus began to slow down. “Roadblock,” Harold called out from the side of his mouth. The bus came to a stop and Harold opened the door. Everyone stood up and looked out of the windows.
“We’re going to need you to get off the bus,” one of the sentries told Harold.
The guy was human and Harold started the exodus off of the bus.
“What is this all about?” Harold asked. The elderly couple stepped off the bus with the children.
“Mandatory checkpoint, we’re required to check for any possible threats,” the sentry replied. The goth girl and the man walked off the bus.
“We have to check for contraband and anything else that would be considered detrimental to the territory,” the sentry informed Harold as Ethen walked off the bus.
As soon as Ethen took two steps away from the door, three other sentries entered the bus. One stood guard at the door as the other two investigated. The guns were in plain sight as well as the food. One of the sentries poked his head around the guard, “They have munitions. Enough to require confiscation.” Harold started to run back toward the bus but the sentry held him back.
“That’s ours. We’re getting the hell away from those aliens,” he yelled. The sentry maintained his stance between the bus and Harold.
“Sir, we’re going to take this to our camp but you’ll get some of it back. You have more than what is allowed per person,” the sentry said. Harold let up as he came to the realization that they were not going to take it all.
“Fine, let’s get this over with so we can get on our way,” Harold said, and surrendered his fight as he backed away. He adjusted his shirt and composed himself.
“Where are we going?” Harold asked.
“Camp Phoenix,” replied the sentry.
The sentry showed the riders to two SUV’s that would take them to Camp Phoenix while another sentry drove the bus. The bus stalled twice as the sentry tried to drive it.
“You want me to drive it?” Harold asked with some resentment in his voice. The sentry remained silent.
The SUV’s and the bus drove into Camp Phoenix. It was rather empty. Ethen could only see a building and a dam holding up the lake. The vehicles stopped near a shipping container and everyone was directed out of the SUV’s.
“How long is this gonna take?” Harold asked. The sentry walked him to the bus.
“You get your choice of one gun each. Then we’ll take the rest. Once we’re done, you are free to go.” Harold nodded his head and boarded the bus. He looked around, a couple of assault rifles, shotguns, and one handgun. He picked out eight pieces and ammunition. He turned around and stepped off the bus.
“You can have your way, you’re gonna do it anyway,” Harold said with contempt in his voice.
“This doesn’t seem like a big operation?” Ethen asked as he looked around. He noted the lack of people.
“We just set up camp here. If you’re implying that we’re disorganized, I can guarantee that we are not,” said the sentry. Ethen was curious, he had always wanted to join the police department. He was disqualified because of his 20/200 vision the year prior but had received corrective surgery since then. He was looking forward to trying again but the Attack ruined any plan that he had. He was tired of being a vigilante fighting against the aliens. He wanted to be part of something that espoused authority and honor. He wanted to be in an organization that banded together to fight the aliens. He figured that this would be his best chance.
“Where do I sign up for what you’re doing here?” Ethen asked. The sentry looked at him, surprised he was volunteering.
“You want to join us? Everybody wants to continue on their way,” the sentry said. Ethen felt that this was what he was supposed to do.
“Yes, I want to join and I want to fight the aliens,” Ethen replied. The sentry asked him to stay put and walked to Harold.
“Sir, I will have to take one of your guns. Your allotment just reduced by one,” the sentry said.
“What the…” Harold tried to pull his bounty away from the sentry. He looked around and saw Ethen standing over by the other sentries.
“Why do you want to stay here?” Harold asked. Ethen shrugged his shoulders.
“It seems like the right thing to do,” Ethen answered. Harold shook his head in disbelief.
“I don’t know what you’re thinking but your right thing is wrong,” Harold chided.
The sentries removed the rest of the guns and ammunition from the bus. The lead sentry then gave Harold permission to load the bus and drive off. The elderly couple and the children got onto the bus but the girl and the man stayed behind.
“We’re going to stay with him. He’s the reason we made it out of Greensboro anyway,” the girl said. At this point, Harold was fed up with not getting on the road and escaping the greedy hands of the sentries.
“Y’all are stupid,” he vocalized his opinion. As the sentries removed two more guns, Harold fumed. With an angry shake of his head, he got into the driver’s seat and shut the door. He began to drive the bus but before it started to head out of the camp, he honked the horn and gave the stay-behinds the middle finger.
“Screw you, assholes,” Harold yelled as he drove out of sight.
“I’m Hope and he’s Jay,” the small girl told Ethen. She turned to the sentry, “We want to join too. Not with that fighting stuff but around here.”
“Yes, of course. I’ll take you guys to intakes and you can get started,” the sentry said. He led Ethen, Hope, and Jay to the lone building sitting next to the dam and took them down a stairwell.
When they made it to their floor, Ethen was separated from the other two. He was given a full physical and the doctor told him, “You’re fit for full duty.” A different sentry came to escort him out of the intake facility. As Ethen walked, he noticed that Hope and Jay were still in their room. Jay was standing behind Hope as she was getting her physical. Ethen’s attention turned back to his escort. His escort unlocked the door to the stairwell and took him to the outfitter. Ethen was finally part of something that made him feel important.
Ethen was directed to his bunk. He set down his new gear and was approached by a man. “You must be Ethen,” the man extended his hand. Ethen reciprocated the gesture.
“Yes, I am,” he replied. The man spoke with a deep tone of authority.
“Here is your first assignment. There is an outpost in Kentucky that you will join. It’s one of our forward posts and you’ll be part of the forward defense against the aliens.” Ethen wore a large grin.
“Yes sir,” he said to the man.
“Your transport leaves first thing in the morning. Make sure you’re ready at 0600.”
The man left the room and Ethen stood next to his bunk. It was finally happening. Ethen was doing something better than running away from the aliens.
DAY 282
INTRODUCTIONS
CAMP PHOENIX
It w
as a short two-hour drive to Watauga and as they approached, they saw a power plant in front of the minivan. The control building and the dam were surrounded by concrete barriers that were twenty feet high. As the minivan approached the gate, Marcus noticed that the base of the barrier that looked as if it was weathered by the earth was actually covered with the same metal shards that had been retrieved from the alien bunker. That was the reason the delivery of the scraps from the bunkers was needed. They were using the scraps to defend against the Trolls.
Following the black jeep, the minivan was allowed entry into the facility. Supreme Command didn’t have much but it still had much more than they could gather in Charlottesville. Tanks were parked in a row ready to be deployed. Artillery units were lined in the same fashion on the other side of the entry road. There were hundreds of people scattered throughout the area working on the grounds and equipment. They neared the entrance of the control building and an entourage was there to greet them.
The group exited the minivan. This time Ben immediately gave the keys to a person standing by his door when he parked. The attendant took the keys. Maddie protested but relented as one soldier took her orbitizer and then went to the passenger seat. The minivan started and drove off of the premises. General Huxley was the first person to greet the group. Ethen was standing behind them as the General approached. “I wish I had time to properly welcome you but there are more important things happening,” he was quick to speak. “I have hand-selected individuals that will assist you in getting acclimated here.”
“Excuse me General but are we being forced to stay here?” Maddie asked. The General was equally quick to respond to her question.
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