by Rick Kueber
“Where the hell are we, anyway?” Elle’s despair was temporarily distracted by her surroundings.
“I can’t be positive, but considering where we came from, and this nasty looking place, I’d guess we are in the bayous. You know... Southern Louisiana.” Maya guessed.
“Oh, that makes sense.” Elle glanced around at the creepiness of the world around her and wondered what horrors were hiding beneath the surface of the waters, like snakes, leeches and alligators.
It was nearly impossible to move the dead weight of Darcy’s body, so the girls drug her as far from the edge of the water as they could. Carefully, they laid her out straight with her arms crossed on her chest, beneath a huge Bald Cypress tree. The Spanish moss hung from its branches in the most mournful way and it seemed as fitting of a resting place as they could have imagined. Elle began to softly whisper her prayers to the universe that was the family of all humanity. Maya combed through Darcy’s tangled hair with her fingers and picked the bits of dirt and debris from her face while she listened to Elle’s every word like it was the air in her lungs that kept her alive, like it was the hope that fueled her desire to live.
When Elle’s words trailed off and ended peacefully, Maya rocked back, sat on her butt and leaned back on one arm. With her free hand she wiped the wet mess of hair from her face and looked up at the towering Titan that loomed over them.
“What the hell are we doing here Elle?” She sighed loudly and pondered the mechanical beast they had come to call their home.
“It’s not the life I expected.” She said sorrowfully. “But we can only do what our heart tells us is right. We couldn’t’ve stopped this all from happening, and it’s not our fault. We’re here because we have survived and from what I am seeing, there aren’t that many of us left.”
“I know.” She said with frustration. “But damn! Why couldn’t it have been E.T. Instead of Predator? I mean, if this had to happen, why did it have to be so damn hard? Why couldn’t we still have cars and electricity and running water and grocery stores ...and wi-fi? I really miss the internet.”
“We can ask why, regretfully, for the rest of our lives, as if we had done something wrong... Like all of this was because of some mistake we made.” Elle thought out loud. “The truth is, how bad or how good this situation turns out to be, depends on us. It depends on the choices we make, and it depends on whether we choose to take this as an inevitable act of universal reality or if we lay blame on ourselves or someone else. Blame only causes anger and anger will not solve anything.”
“That’s too deep for me, chicky, but I think I think I get what you mean.” Maya thought about her dead friend and how she could possibly not have anger and regret. Still eyeing the giant beast, she had a realization ...pointless and useless, but a realization none the less. “The top of this leg thingy; its round, like the place we were in before we were teleported into that foot thingy that’s sunk there in the swamp.”
“I suppose that’s why we stopped so suddenly. Maybe it got stuck in the mud.” Elle almost smiled at the thought. “We might be lucky we got out when we did.” She pointed to the ‘foot’ they had escaped from, which was now totally submerged in the murky water and muck.
“Hey! Listen.” Maya hushed Elle and the two concentrated silently on the distant sounds.
The sounds of distant splashing and a growing grumble of low voices filled the boggy marsh. The thick growth of cypress trees and Spanish moss limited their view and they saw nothing until the noise had become obvious to them. Droves of people and Takers began to appear, led by Tory. Some of those in the multitude carried flaming torches, which seemed quite barbaric, uncivilized and actually almost ironic, considering they had just left the craft created by advanced beings. Their pace slowed and Tory put her hands out, stopping them all several yards from the two women. She carried on and approached them.
“Darcy.” She merely mentioned the name and looked sadly upon the lifeless body before her. “What shall we do for her?”
“We were going to cover her in moss or something.” Maya answered.
“That will not do. Not here.” A man’s voice echoed from the crowd.
“Why not?” Elle questioned his certainty.
“Alligators, for one.” Mark stepped forward. “I won’t leave her here where she’ll end up as a meal for an alligator. We will make a funeral pyre.” He turned to the countless numbers and, fighting his heartbreaking emotions, called out. “Dry wood! I need as much dry wood as you can find. Please!”
With a wave of her hand, Tory sent many of them scattering into the abyss to fulfill Mark’s request. The friends all stood together, except for Mark, barely uttering a word and waited patiently. Mark knelt beside his motionless love and whispered to her of how he would never forget her and keep her in his heart for eternity. Between the sniffles that held back his tears and his words of affection and remorse, he cursed the aliens who had invaded the Earth. He cursed them for all of the chaos they had brought on his life and all of humanity and he cursed them for the fact that if Darcy had been one of the hybrids he had heard stories of, perhaps she would have had the strength to survive and heal herself.
In the wake of all of his mental confusion, some of the people and Takers began to return with dead and even dry branches and brush. There was some discussion about where to build the pyre, and though it was ultimately Mark’s decision, everyone agreed to build it where she laid, under the massive old tree. Darcy’s body was moved several feet to one side and the larger branches, and brush were layered on top of each other in an area about four feet wide and nearly eight feet long. As more and more timber and kindling arrived, the pile grew until it was over four feet tall. Like pallbearers with no casket, the friends picked up Darcy and, as gracefully as they could, placed her on top.
“Bring one of the torches.” His sadness had dulled his volume to mere muttering.
Tory stepped forward and turned to the crowd of onlookers. “Bring the packs forward!” She shouted.
Takers pushed forward, through the huddled masses, some wading in waste deep swamp water and slimey sludge. A few others came across the mossy banks to deliver their packs, filled with the necessities that they had been told to pack. Tory had enough sense to have each pack filled with a variety of items instead of certain backpacks and duffel bags containing certain specific items. Every bag had bottles of water. Every bag had food of some sort. Items of clothing were scattered through many packs as was first aid items. After digging through three packs, of the hundreds that were scattered across the multitude, Tory withdrew an emergency flare.
“This should work better.” She spoke to Mark as she handed him the flare.
Taking it in his shaking hand, he brought it to where Darcy had been placed. His sorrowful eyes gazed upon her and he whispered to himself. “I don’t know if I can do this.”
Elle wrapped her arm around him and squeezed him firmly. “You don’t have to.”
“Yes. I do.” He said solemnly and struck the end of the flare, igniting it. It burned with a bright pinkish-red glow. “I love you Darcy. I always will. Maybe we can live our happily ever after in another life and another story, but this story ...our story ...ends here.” He sobbed wildly and his entire body trembled as he pulled away from Elle. “I’m sorry Elle. Thank you, but I have to say good-bye now.”
Elle gave him a look of confusion, but assumed that he must have meant that he had to say good-bye to Darcy. Then Mark forcefully crammed the flare deep into the bottom center of the wood pile. The air was soon filled with the aromatic scent of cypress smoke and the snapping pops of burning twigs and brush. Thick smoke drifted through the air and hung low across the bog, giving the bits of daylight that crept down through the canopy an eerie look, as if some supernatural mist was reaching its wispy fingers out through the hoards. The dull roar of murmurs carried through the crowd. Those who were close enough watched in awe and horror as Mark took Darcy’s cold hand and climbed on top of the fiery alta
r to join her.
“MARK! NO!” Maya cried out.
“That isn’t Darcy. That’s just the body her soul lived in.” Elle tugged at his sleeve, trying to talk him down before the flames grew and reached the point of no return.
“Soon, this won’t be me either. I’m tired Elle.” His voice was hoarse from breathing the sooty smoke. “I’ll be with Darcy soon. Don’t cry for me. I wasn’t built for this. I can’t go on in a world like this without her.” His words intensified with the flames until he could speak no more and his words turned to screams of torturous, blistering pain. “Find Tanner! Find love again. Thank you Elle... We couldn’t... Wouldn’t have made it.. Oh God! OH DEAR GOD! AHHHH!”
The heat and rising flames separated Elle from Mark and Darcy and she slumped to the soggy earth, weeping for her lost friends. In only moments, Mark’s inhuman screams ceased and the inferno consumed her friends. She had forgotten, but was quickly and brutally reminded of the putrid, sickening sweet smell of burning human flesh. Pulling her still damp shirt over her nose and mouth, she turned her eyes upward to see the ascending cinders, glowing as they rose to the sky. The intense heat tussled through the tree top and hanging Spanish Moss like a hellish wind. Elle’s heart said a silent prayer for the universal family to accept her friends.
With a wave of her arm and not a single word, Tory called the gathering of people and Takers to slowly begin walking forward. Maya held Elle in her arms as the droves wandered past them. They all seemed to avoid Maya, Elle and ‘Nix, rarely making eye contact or even looking over at the slowly dwindling fire, or noticing how the bones of two lovers were camouflaged in the ashy branches and dimming cinders. The two women held each other and Phoenix, supporting their emotionally drained and weakened bodies against one another. It seemed like an eternity while countless strangers walked past silently. When even the stragglers had passed them by, Elle and Maya mustered their strength and stood up. Slowly, they followed behind the masses with frequent glances over their shoulders at the smoldering pile of ashes, charred branches and bones. Eventually they had traveled so far that they could no longer see the resting place of their friends’ remains, but the horrid smell of burning flesh lingered in their nostrils and the nightmarish screaming memory was permanently marked on their souls, like the searing mark of a red hot branding iron.
Elle and Maya followed everyone for the remainder of the afternoon. The overgrown swamp thinned out and eventually opened up to a grassy and sandy bog. The entire group stopped late-afternoon or early evening and those carrying packs passed around bottles and containers of water, and everyone was given a small snack. It was nothing that most would even consider a snack. With the numbers of travelers and the total amount of food that had been packed, most only received a few stale crackers or a cookie, but whatever the case, the offerings were graciously accepted and appreciated by all.
The short rest gave them time to survey their surroundings and the leaders found a line of higher ground that still led them in the right direction. The movement of the mass of people flushed out a flock of White Fronted Geese to flight, filling the air with the sound of honking birds and flapping wings. When Elle looked up to watch them, she noticed two large Brown Pelicans coasting on the warm breeze and the picturesque scene filled her with a feeling of serenity. Even though they hadn’t see the sky or the sun clearly for most of the day, Elle knew, without question, that they were headed south and that they were headed to somewhere important; maybe not to someplace important, but to something important. Elle almost felt like she was going home and for a moment, she thought her destination might bring her to Tanner. That brief and fleeting thought warmed Elle’s heart and gave her the strength and desire to go on, even after all of losses and all of the tragedies she had endured.
“You know what Maya?” Elle smiled.
“I’m sure I don’t.” Maya answered sarcastically.
“Look at the sunset. Isn’t it beautiful?” Elle drew Maya’s attention to the pink, purple and orangey sky.
“Yeah... Annnnd...” Maya waited for the ‘thing she didn’t know’.
“Everything is going to be okay. Even after all of the hell we’ve been through, with the friends we’ve left behind, the friends we’ve lost and those who have given up... The grass and the trees and the birds of the air still continue to live and grow and fly. The sun and the moon still rise and set and life goes on. Even if our bodies die and we don’t like our story, it’s not the end of the story. Even with all of the death and the trials... This world and this universe is still a wondrous and beautiful place.” Elle took Maya’s hand in hers and leaned her head against her friend’s shoulder.
“Yeah... It’s going to be okay.” Maya kissed her friend on the top of her head.
Chapter 9
Holo Promises
The walking slowed and the sun began to sink into its watery bed for a long night’s slumber. The land seemed to be shrinking, with more and more canals and waterways taking over the landscape. There were more people and Takers in their group of travelers than Elle was aware of and it wasn’t until they had stopped that she had frightening realization. Maya tapped Elle on the shoulder and pointed to the sky. Between them and a growing thunderhead in the skies around them were Titans... As far as they could see, points of light filled the horizon as Titan after Titan gathered across the coastline.
“There’s a storm brewing.” Maya pointed out, just as lightning flashed in the rolling, black clouds.
“Yes...” Elle seemed distant, almost in a trance. “But... We are the coming storm.”
Darkness took the world and though there was endless cloud-cover, the lights of the Titans dotted the skies like low hanging stars and planets. When the lightning flashed and backlit the thunder clouds, the silhouettes of the Titans lined their view and shrank as the distance between them grew. The winds picked up and a spattering of rain drops tapped them on their heads and shoulders.
“Ugh...” Maya moaned. “My kingdom for an umbrella.”
“Your kingdom?” Elle actually laughed. “And what exactly is your kingdom?”
“Well, if you’re going to be like that...” Maya smiled through her misery. “Right now, that’d be two pair of jeans, a couple of t-shirts and a purse full of mostly useless stuff like make-up and car keys... Not my keys. They were in the purse when I found it.”
“Well, I’m not sure what we’re going to do next. The Titan is sinking in the swamp, so we might not be going anywhere in that thing.” Elle brought up a point that Maya hadn’t even considered.
“So, you don’t think we’re going back for my purse?” Maya teased.
“I have no idea, but I hope we go back. I only have enough stuff to hold ‘Nix over for a couple of days, at best.” Elle explained. “I hope we find out what we’re doing here soon. If we’re just here to hang out on the coast, they should have picked a place with a better beach.”
“No doubt! I would have picked...” Maya began, but almost as if in answer to Elle’s statement, she was cut short.
A strong wind gusted from the north, blowing the storms to their south, just beyond the edge of the coast. The wall of thundering clouds let loose of a torrential storm onto the open seas, but the skies above them were as clear as crystal. The stars seemed to glow brighter than Elle had seen since her nights in the desolate desert. It was as if there was a protective and invisible wall between the land and the storm. Once it was pushed offshore, there was no sprinkling leftovers, no wind and a feeling of protection from the wrath of nature, but Elle, being connected to the earth since childhood, felt that this was anything but natural.
As soon as the storms released their fury, a loud mechanical hum in a low frequency, like the bass of a sub-woofer, tickled their ears and vibrated the very ground they stood on. The speed and pitch of the sound raised until it became inaudible. In the midst of the frequent lightning strikes and booming thunder a new light appeared. A spinning series of laser lights shot out from the turret-hea
d of every Titan, and out over the waters of the gulf. The lasers shot directly overhead from their Titan, even though it was stuck in the swamp, miles away. The colors were brilliantly beautiful and the faster they spun, the more they seemed to be taking form right before their eyes. Phoenix squirmed in his papoose and turned to watch the light show in the sky as if it were meant for him as much as it was for anyone else. Countless figures of light appeared across the sky in holographic images that seemed more real than illusion.
“Look!” Elle called out, pointing to the figure in the sky in front of them. “It’s Bailey!”
“Who?” Maya asked.
“Oh, I guess you wouldn’t have known her, but she was sort of a friend... That I shot...” Elle looked at the hologram of Bailey it was just a 3-D still shot of her friend, but it gave her hope that she hadn’t actually killed her.
“Damn girl!” Maya crinkled her nose and eyebrows. “I don’t think I wanna be your friend no more!”
Elle began to giggle, but a voice shook her back to the sobering reality of their situation. The voice was not a thunderous, booming voice from some loudspeaker and it was not a synthesized, automated voice. This voice did not sound exactly like Bailey, there was no countrified twang, no ain’ts, gunnas, or ya’lls, but it was definitely female and it seemed to be speaking as a whisper in her ear, or a voice in her head, which, to Elle, was teetering on the fine line between comforting and creepy. Regardless of how it made her feel, she and all of the others listened to the voice intently.
