by T A Williams
There was a large metal trash dumpster near the gas station and Ally landed on its lid with a thud. She jumped off and hit the ground in a roll just as the man began to turn in her direction. As the man reached into his jacket and began to pull out a handgun, Ally slammed into him, knocking him onto his back while she rolled away and back on her feet. The man didn’t try to get up; instead he reached to his side and pulled his hand back up, showing it was covered in blood. Only then did Ally realize her ears were ringing. The gun had gone off when she hit him and the impact had caused the man to shoot himself. He lay there for a second in shock and then he sprang back into action. The man rolled onto his side, searching for his fallen sidearm, and Ally charged him again, only this time her knife was at the ready. As she approached he rolled quickly out of the way and fired at her blindly. She felt the wind from one of the bullets as it passed but it didn’t land; her knife did. Ally jumped on top of the man and slammed the knife deep into his chest and less than a second later she jumped off and rolled to her feet. The gun went off again and then the man screamed in pain. Ally was already on the other side of the gas station by the time the man screamed. She heard his scream turn into a moan of pain and shortly after silence.
The sound of footsteps approaching reached Ally’s ears and she realized she didn’t have a weapon. Before she could turn to flee, three soldiers came around the corner with their guns raised in her direction. Ally’s mouth dropped but words refused to come out.
“Stop, I know her; she’s not a threat.” Maclin was one of the three soldiers and he jumped in front of the other two. “Ally, are you all right?”
For the first time Ally looked herself over. No blood, no pain. She nodded yes.
“What the hell happened here?”
Ally
“Nervous?” Maclin asked, giving her a comforting smile.
“I don’t get nervous,” Ally lied as she tried to ignore the knots in her stomach and found herself reaching for a bow that was no longer there. Maclin had picked her up in a Humvee and driven her as far west into the Wastes as she had ever been. As they drove through the destroyed ruins of what used to be Los Angeles, the skies had blackened and the heavens had opened up. Just as she thought the destruction would go on forever she noticed a tall building nearly untouched by all the destruction. It was several stories high and as they approached Ally noticed dozens of men patrolling on the roof, along with barricades set up all around it.
“That’s it,” Maclin said as he began to slow down. “What used to be a courthouse has been turned into the new White House.”
They pulled up to the only opening in the barricade and a group of soldiers waved them through. Maclin pulled the Humvee into an underground parking garage and they got out. Ally got out of the Humvee slowly and tried to ignore the dozens of armed soldiers standing about when she heard Maclin laugh.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you worried before. Nice to know you’re human.”
“I’m not worried,” Ally said quickly, trying to compose herself. “I just don’t like…being this far out in the Wastes.”
“Right, of course,” Maclin said, giving her an exaggerated wink.
They made their way to an entrance where a soldier patted Ally down and waved them through. They walked through a narrow hallway until it opened up into a large room where there was another checkpoint full of soldiers.
“Maclin to see the President,” Maclin said causally. “I have her…VIP.”
The soldiers pointed them into a small waiting room where Ally sat down and her foot began to immediately bounce against the floor. She saw Maclin watching her and furrowed her brow.
“I don’t see why I have to come here.”
“You don’t have to; the President asked you to. You do realize that you probably saved her life, right?” Maclin said.
“Not on purpose. As far as I knew the guy was trying to shoot one of my friends,” Ally lied again.
“Well, she would like to thank you for accidentally saving her life,” Maclin said, chuckling.
They waited for what was probably only a few minutes but felt more like hours to Ally, until a soldier opened the door and told them the President was ready to see them. They walked through two more checkpoints until they were finally ushered into a large room where Sylvia Carter sat behind a desk. When she saw them she smiled and walked out from behind the desk.
“Ally, I understand I owe you a great deal of thanks.” Sylvia shook Ally’s hand gently.
“I…guess,” Ally said.
“Maclin has told me a great deal about you. Seems like you have a habit of saving people’s lives.”
Ally shot Maclin an annoyed look. “I’ve just been in the right place at the right time.”
“Well, we are both glad you have been. Please come take a seat.”
They sat down around a small table on the far side of the room. While large, the room was barely decorated and outside of an American flag stashed away in the corner one would have no idea that this room housed the President of the United States.
“I don’t know how much Maclin has told you, but that man was likely there to kill me,” Carter said, running her hand through her hair.
“Why?” Ally asked.
“That is a good question,” Carter said, glancing for a moment at Maclin. “We have our suspicions but nothing concrete. There are factions out there that don’t want our country to be rebuilt, or would rather they be the ones to rebuild it.” Carter stopped for a moment and seemed lost in her thoughts before she jumped back in. “That doesn’t matter though; the point of this was to thank you.”
“Ok,” Ally said quickly.
“Maclin told me that you lost your family.”
Again Ally shot him a look; this time Carter noticed.
“Don’t get mad at him,” Carter said, chuckling. “He’s a soldier and I am the Commander-in-Chief, so technically he has to answer any question I ask him. In his defense, I will say that it took him awhile before he was forthcoming.”
Maclin looked down sheepishly
“I didn’t mean to pry, it’s just when you are told that a young girl protected you from an assassin it tends to make you a little curious.”
Ally couldn’t help but smirk.
Carter smiled back, then her face became serious. “I’m truly sorry to hear you lost your family. Someone so young should never have to face something like that. Unfortunately, there are many that have gone through the same thing you have.”
Ally wanted to leave. She didn’t know this lady and she didn’t care who she was; all she knew was that she didn’t want to talk about this.
“I want you to know that is my fault.”
Ally looked up, surprised, and saw she was serious.
“I didn’t ask to be President; to be honest, I never had any aspirations to be in the seat one day. But regardless of that, I was called upon and it became my job to protect my people, and we haven’t done a good enough job of that. So for that, I am sorry.”
“That’s stupid,” Ally said and Carter sat back, surprised. “Bad people killed my family, not you.”
“True Ally, but what I’m saying is-”
“I know what you’re trying to say and that is stupid. People are responsible for themselves. My job is to protect myself and the people I care about, not a government.”
Carter sat back and looked to Maclin, who only smiled. “I guess that’s true. But Ally, you know it wasn’t your fault what happened to your family.”
“No, it wasn’t. I was too young; I couldn’t do anything then. But now I know how to take care of myself. I’m no more responsible than you are.”
Carter sat there stunned for a moment, until a large smile broke out on her face. “Ally…I really think I like you.”
This time it was Ally who was stunned. “What?”
“Maclin, if you could...” Carter said, motioning toward her desk.
Maclin walked behind Carter’s desk and pulled out a l
arge package covered in wrapping paper. He sat it down at Ally’s feet and then returned to his seat. Ally just sat there staring at it.
“It’s a thank you,” Carter said, smiling.
Ally carefully unwrapped the package and opened the long box. What she saw stole her breath.
“There was a benefit to Maclin telling me so much about you,” Carter said.
Ally pulled out the gray metallic bow in wonder. She ran her hand over the sharp edges and pulled it back slowly. She wanted to scream out in glee but managed to hold herself back. Instead she looked up calmly and nodded her head. “Thank you.”
“If you’d rather have something else I can take it back,” Carter said with a smile.
Ally shook her head a little too quickly. “No, no, no, it’s fine.”
“I have some more supplies I want you to take back with you. Some for the camp as a whole, some others just for your close friends.”
Ally barely heard her as she continued looking over the bow. She heard laughter in the background but ignored it. It didn’t matter, nothing mattered; she had a bow again.
Ben
He lay outside with his shirt off and his eyes closed to the world. The sun felt warm on his skin and the sounds of birds chirping filled his ears. As far as Ben was concerned, this was paradise. He felt her cool hands slide across his chest and stop near his belly button.
“Is this what you plan on doing all day?” she asked.
Ben opened his eyes and saw Elly leaning over him. Her ocean blue eyes stared into his and her dark hair blew in the cool breeze. She grinned at his expression.
“I love it when you look at me that way,” she said.
Ben sat up on his elbows and she leaned into him. His lips touched hers and for a moment that was the only thing Ben could feel. “I love it when you do that,” he said with a chuckle.
“Mommy, come watch.” Eliza, Elly’s five-year-old daughter, ran through the trees toward them and completed a cartwheel. She landed on her feet and jumped up and down while letting out a large squeal.
“Not bad,” Ben said as he pushed himself up and clapped his hands together.
Eliza blushed and ran to Elly, who gave her a big hug. “You’re getting better at that.”
“I’ve been practicing,” Eliza said, slightly out of breath. “Tina said I couldn’t do one so I’ve been trying and now I think I can do one better than her.”
“I’ve seen Tina’s cartwheels,” Ben said causally. “They’re not even half as good as yours.”
Eliza smiled and gave her mom a peck on the cheek before turning around and running back toward town.
Elly watched her go and sighed. “I should probably head back too. I have some things I need to get done today and I have a shift tomorrow.”
“As much as I’d like to sit out here for the rest of the day, I should probably accomplish something as well,” Ben said as he sat up and put his shirt back on. “I’ll come with you.”
They followed the dirt path through the grove of trees so tall they nearly blocked out the sun until it suddenly opened up and they were surrounded by buildings and people. The mountain housing the new United States of America loomed over the outpost and Ben still couldn’t help but feel in awe of what was stored inside. He followed Elly until they came to her home. It wasn’t much, two bedrooms and a living room that was barely big enough for the three of them, but it was all theirs. Or at least all Elly’s, but he was there enough that it had begun to feel like his as well. Elly began to rummage through the cabinets, taking mental stock of what they needed.
“I should probably check in with my unit, make sure nothing has changed over the last couple of days,” Ben said as he came up beside her.
Elly nodded and closed the cabinet. “Do you enjoy being a soldier?”
Ben couldn’t help but smirk. “Never really thought about it, but yeah. Why do you ask?”
“I don’t know. I just…do you always think you’ll be a soldier?”
“You’re asking me what I want to do with my life?” Ben asked.
“I guess.”
“That I definitely haven’t thought about,” Ben said as he walked to the other side of the kitchen and collected himself. “This is the only thing I’ve ever been good at.”
“Have you really tried being anything else?” Elly asked.
“Like what? Farming? Hunting? I can’t sow. You know I can’t cook. There isn’t much else I could do.”
“I was just asking,” Elly said, turning back to her work.
“Why?” Ben asked.
“I’m just trying to get to know you better.”
Ben stood there for a moment, thinking. “What about you? You plan on being an army nurse all your life?”
“Hopefully not,” Elly said. “I mean, I plan to always be a nurse, I love helping people, but I hope one day there won’t be a need to help stitch army men back together again.”
“I don’t think we’ll ever see that day,” Ben said softly. “There was a need for that even in the old world.”
There was a knock at the door and a few seconds later Ty stuck his head in through a nearby open window. The orphaned kid-turned-soldier gave them a bright smile.
“Hey Elly, how are you today?”
Elly chuckled. “I’m fine, Ty. You don’t seem to understand the point of knocking, do you?”
“Hey partner, what’s up?” Ben asked.
“Crimson said we got a briefing. Looks like we may have another mission.”
Elly’s smile lessened slightly but she kept it there nonetheless. Ben walked over to her and gave her a kiss on the forehead.
“I’ll go see what’s going on. See you tonight?”
“Of course,” she said, giving him a peck back.
“Aren’t you two just precious?” Ty said.
Elly tossed a book in Ty’s direction but he ducked out of the way. “You better get him away from my house before I end up sending him to the infirmary.”
“Yes ma’am,” Ben said, laughing.
Ben and Ty began their trek toward the mountain.
“So that seems to be going good,” Ty said.
“Yeah, yeah it is.”
They were waved through security, past the large double doors leading into the base of the mountain and into the elevator, where they went deeper into the mountain. They got off on their floor and went into one of the large briefing rooms, where the rest of the unit was already waiting.
Crimson sat at the head of the table, her dark red hair tied up in a ponytail, and the same scowl she always had was clear on her face. To the right of her was Dex, the only remaining member of her old squad. The man pushed his wide-rimmed glasses farther up his nose and nodded when he saw them enter. To the left was Chavez, who had his feet kicked up on the table while he read an old gun magazine.
Crimson glanced up and saw them enter. “Well, thanks for joining us, gentlemen.”
“It was B’s fault, he had to powder his nose before we left,” Ty said, grinning.
“I doubt that,” Chavez said. “But I’m sure that cute little thing of his needed him to take out the trash and finish up his chores before he was allowed to leave the house.”
“You all are full of jokes. You know, there is a reason you all are soldiers and not comedians,” Ben said with a smile as he sat down.
“All right, let’s get serious,” Crimson said as she sat the papers down on the table. “We all know Ty is just jealous because he’s never felt the touch of a woman.”
“Not for lack of trying,” Ty said as the others laughed. “You’re my superior so I’m pretty sure that is sexual harassment.”
“That’s a valid point,” Ben said, crossing his arms in front of him. “You are his superior.”
“In every possible way,” Dex finished.
“Ok, when did this become about me?” Ty asked, throwing his hands up. “I thought we were giving B shit.”
“What do we got, Crimson?” Ben asked.
“We are headed for the Sunshine State.”
“Georgia?” Ty asked.
“Jesus,” Chavez said. “Florida, Ty. Florida.”
“A unit was dispatched to attempt to salvage an old armory three weeks ago and we have lost contact with them,” Crimson said, ignoring Ty.
“We thinking they just had some bad Comms?” Dex asked.
“That’s the hope but that is what we are going to find out,” Crimson answered.
“Leftover enemy?” Ben asked.
“No reports that we know of,” Crimson answered. “But we don’t have a military presence there so it’s impossible to say with any certainty. If we find anything substantial we will radio back and they’ll send the cavalry. Any other questions?”
“When do we leave?” Ty asked.
“You have forty-eight hours before we take to the sky.”
Alec
He hated to admit it but the cane was starting to grow on him. Jamie had carved some grooves into the handle that felt good against his hand, and in his spare time he carved in the name of their home, New Hope. He still carried it every time he went out but he was able to go longer and longer without having to actually utilize it. He had managed to put on weight fairly quickly--amazing how fast that happened with access to a nearly unlimited supply of good food. The first time he had smelled them grilling chicken and hamburgers he nearly passed out. His body was still healing. He had sat in front of the mirror in the bathroom for what felt like hours when he finally found the courage to look at himself. Most of the bruises had healed and the abrasions had all but disappeared but he still had plenty of scars. Some things would never fully heal.
