Nina bowed her head.
"The one thing you were sure of was that you knew how to fight. You had strength. Courage. Speed. And when people saw that in you… when they saw such a beautiful woman…"
She raised her eyes at the word ‘beautiful’.
"…who was so strong and tough, they wondered; they wondered what had happened to make you that way. Was your father abusive? Or maybe you didn’t have a father. Or maybe when you were young some man hurt you…forced you…attacked you."
Beads of water covered his outstretched palms. Wet curls of hair sagged over her eyes.
"They figured there had to be a reason because no girl would choos e to be that way. No girl was naturally like how you were."
Nina burst, "There wasn’t anything! I loved my parents! I had a good family!"
"You grew up feeling different from the beginning. It didn’t take some outsider to make you who you are. You were that way from the start."
"I’m not like other people. I’m a monster…I don’t belong."
"You’ve been waiting, Nina," he pushed on through the drenching shower. "You’ve been waiting all your life for now. There’s more to you than fighting and killing, but it has been bottled inside waiting for all of this to happen," he waved his arms in the rain in reference to the new world in which they lived. "You’re like me but I had everything else before Armageddon. I had a life and love and hope. But I wasn’t a fighter. I wasn’t a leader. All of that was in me but I didn’t know it. This new world released it so I could do what I have to do."
"You’re not making sense! I–I’m leaving," she took a step but he blocked her escape.
"You’re not running away, Nina. I won’t let you. You’ve been looking all your life for the reason why you are who you are. That reason is right here…right now. If you embrace it, it will release the rest of you. You can find the person- the woman — inside of you without giving up the fighter. You can be whole, Nina."
The storm matched light with sound again.
"You’ve been looking for a cause; for a leader to follow. I offer myself as that leader. It’s why I’m here. It’s my purpose."
She staggered in the downpour, "I betrayed you!"
"Nina… I forgive you."
"Don’t! Don’t say that!"
"We need you. I need you, Nina. I need you to help me remember who I am. I need you to make this whole thing work. It falls apart without you."
"That’s a lie!" She wiped a wet curl from her eyes. "You don’t need me. You’re strong. You’re tough. You know everything you need to know."
"No I’m not. I’m not the toughest. That’s Jon. I’m sure as hell not the smartest. That’s Omar. I’m not the strongest. That’s you, Nina. You’re my strength. Stay here and we can find out what else you are. I can help you. We can all help you."
She did not speak.
"I’m a Jack of all Trades; a master of none," he told her because he knew there were limits to what he could "pick up" and how well he could do those things.
Trevor slowly, deliberately, knelt in front of her, first one knee then the other.
He asked, "What more can I do?"
It shocked her to see him on his knees.
"Stop it! Get up! You’re the leader. Leaders don’t get on their knees!"
"That's what I've learned, Nina. Leaders do anything for the cause. It isn't about ego; it's not about strength. It's about sacrifice. So I'm on my knees because I need you to stay. What will it take? I will humble myself. I will do whatever it takes to convince you because without you, we fail. Without you, I fail."
The puddle on the ground soaked through his pants. The rain splashed on his shoulders.
She stared at Trevor. She remembered the feelings that had been rising in her before the parasite had taken control. She remembered wanting to understand him; wanting to catch a glimpse of him. How she felt funny when he walked in the room.
Of course now all of that was gone. The feelings remained but she could never share them after betraying him so. She could never have what she feared her heart wanted.
Nevertheless, at that moment she understood those feelings clearly.
He found strength when he had needed to be strong. He fought when he had needed to fight. He had made mistakes, but not let them stop him. He had been decisive when decisiveness was called for; other times he had sought advice.
And at that moment, he humbled himself on his knees. He would disgrace himself. Shame himself. Kneel in a puddle of cold rain all for the sake of the great cause. No arrogance, no sense of self-importance. Only an understanding that he had one purpose in life, the way she felt she had only one purpose in life.
Trevor said through the blinding storm, "You deserve to be here more than any of us, because you have been ready for this moment all your life. You were strong before, while most of us are just finding that strength now. Stay here, with me. With us. Stay here and I promise I’ll help you find out more about who you are. Nina, I…"
The word came out of nowhere. He stopped, pushed it back, and hid it. He should not feel that way. The ghost of Ashley would not allow it. He could not let Nina go but he could not say what he wanted to say, either.
"I need you to stay," came the new words.
He feared she would walk away at that moment. Walk away and leave him kneeling in the rain. None of the tortures of The Order…none of the monsters of the new reality…none of them scared him as much as the thought of her disappearing into the night forever.
But she remained.
Nina held a hand to him. He grasped it and she lifted him to his feet.
The rain drove with a violent fury. The hair on both their heads had long since turned to soaking wet mops.
She searched his eyes…then bowed her head.
"I will stay," she spoke softly but with surety. "I will follow you. Whatever you tell me to do, I will do it. I am yours to command. I understand, now. I understand why Shep wanted to stay. I understand why people come from all around to find hope here. They do it because of you. Because of what you are. I will die for you. I will kill for you. Because you are truly a leader. You are my leader."
They stood there, facing one another as the rain poured, the lightning flashed, and the thunder boomed.
The storm continued through, bringing change on its winds.
21. Redcoats
Despite a sheepskin jacket, Evan Godfrey shivered as he followed the driveway toward the main gate on his way to the church for breakfast. Puffy flurries drifted from the sky.
Danny Washburn stood at the gate serving the last minutes of overnight guard duty.
A heavy thump-thump grabbed the attention of both men. Washburn pointed to an Apache helicopter racing inbound over the lake and said, "Damn, she’s coming in hot."
Godfrey stood next to the former ATF agent. "Is it Trevor?"
"Nina Forest. She went out on a recon flight at dawn."
The air vibrated with a deep chopping from the rotors as the intimidating fighter neared.
Godfrey said, "Um, isn't it crazy to let her fly around with that much fire power? Wasn’t she playing for the other team last week?"
"Hey, sport, that girl saved your ass. If Trevor is cool with it, then I’m cool with it."
"Well… sport, I know a lot of people around here who are keeping an extra eye on her."
"I guess you’d be the one to know about that. You're always off in a corner whispering about something."
The downdraft from the Apache scattered snowflakes as it descended to the landing pad. Washburn saw a black burn mark-a wound-on the side of the helicopter.
Nina Forest-in a green flight suit-exited the craft. She walked fast into the mansion, through the first floor, up the stairs, and into to the Command Center where Trevor sat.
"Listen, we’ve got a problem. A big friggin’ problem."
– "Well, looky here," Shepherd handed his binoculars to Stonewall. "This ain’t good."
Those two-along
with three others-huddled on the roof of the old Lion Brewery building-circa 1905-just off the Cross Valley expressway. Their position afforded a clear view of the elevated, northeastern section of Wilkes-Barre: the section with rows of retail outlets looming above the expressway not far from the junction with Interstate 81.
Nina said, "Listen, that’s just the first of them. The rest are marching down from the top of the mountain, up there by-what’s the name of that place again?"
"Bear Creek." Trevor answered in frosted breath. Despite brilliant sunshine, the day remained cold with snow flurries floating about.
"Coming in from the east," Jon Brewer said.
A half-mile from Trevor's group past the lanes of Wilkes-Barre Boulevard, across railroad tracks, and up a grassy slope assembled an army: a high-tech well-organized military force securing a large parking lot once shared by two big box stores (one electronics, the other household merchandise). That lot occupied a prominent position on a ridge overlooking the heart of the valley.
"Okay, let’s break this down," Trevor focused. "What do we got here?"
Nina said, "I counted four formations supported by ground vehicles. My radar picked up air borne targets, too, but I didn’t get a visual on those."
"That’s not much help," Jon’s voice carried an edge. Perhaps the fading bruise on her chin served as a scarlet letter. "How many troops in those formations? What are we looking at?"
"I’m just saying, they were traveling in four groups. Say, four regiments. Two of those groups are there now."
Stonewall said, "While I cannot be sure without closer examination, I would estimate two hundred mustering there as we speak."
Trevor took mental notes for another page in the Hostiles Database: Bipedal humanoids wearing red uniforms with white trim and full-head helmets looking one part Buck Rogers and one part medieval knight. They stood larger than the typical human: maybe six and a half feet on average with wider hips. Not chubby, just bigger.
"Jon," Trevor said, "I want you to put everything out of your mind for a moment."
"What?"
"I want you to forget about how you don’t trust Nina. Don't worry about how we’re going to fight these guys. Just look and tell me what you see."
Jon hesitated until his mind caught pace with Trevor’s words. He sighed and put the binoculars to his eyes.
Trevor had learned much about Jon Brewer. The man had expertly prepared the assault on The Order’s base and-with Stonewall and Shepherd-outfought or outmaneuvered an untold number of hostiles on his way to and from Allentown with minimal casualties.
During his stint in the military, Jon learned strategy and tactics but those strategies and tactics aimed to fight the armies of man’s old world. Now Jon developed a feel for the ebb and flow of this changed reality and applied those old approaches in new ways: exactly what would be needed for the battles to come. Jon was the first in a new generation of Generals.
"Okay. They’re very organized. Look how they fall in formation, get their orders, then go right to work on putting things together and such."
The aliens assembled temporary shelters constructed from a tan, flexible material. It appeared one of the shelters would serve as a command post.
"You can see their officers."
Gold emblems decorated the collars of about one in every ten of the aliens and two others wore flashy white capes.
"They’re strong. If Nina is right, these guys have marched for miles already this morning and I haven’t seen them take a rest. They’re putting together their base camp without a break."
Stonewall said, "If I may, these foot soldiers appear to be armed with a rifle of some sort. Yet I would expect a force of this size to be supported by heavier guns."
Nina answered, "Listen, I saw some vehicles with the rest of the army. They looked like they could be artillery or APCs. They hit my chopper with heavy ground fire, not small arms. If I hadn’t dodged I wouldn’t be around to be a pain in Jon’s ass."
Jon glanced at her, expecting to see a crinkled brow. Instead, he saw the hint of a smile.
"So there’s more coming," Trevor guessed. "With support weapons."
Shepherd said, "We need to figure out where they’re heading. Maybe they’ll pass us by."
"Wait a sec," Jon placed the binoculars over his eyes again. "Check this out."
A mob of ghouls-maybe twenty-five-lumbered toward the encampment. One of the alien sentries raised the alarm.
The soldiers did not panic: they followed the orders of their officers in a calm, professional manner. Two squads of ten formed to face the threat in rows. They stood perfectly rigid despite the horrid roars and snarls of the charging monsters.
An officer barked a command. After a short pause, the first line of soldiers fired their alien rifles. A volley of energy bolts sent a storm of destruction into the mass of ghouls. The blasts shattered the monsters into sandy grains, instantly cutting the attacking number in half.
Such firepower would have dissuaded intelligent beings, but not mindless Ghouls. What remained of the horde surged forward.
The alien officer signaled again and, after another brief pause, the second of the two rows of red-clad soldiers fired. The remaining ghouls fell into dusty shards.
Stonewall gasped, "I say, very… efficient."
Jon noted, "Seems their weapons have some kind of charge-up…hmmm…"
Shepherd said, "Them fellas didn’t even flinch. These things are pros."
"Like Redcoats," Jon thought aloud.
"I’m sorry, my hearing failed me," Stonewall tilted his head. "Could you repeat that?"
"The way they fight, the way they’re dressed," Brewer explained. "Reminds me of the British Redcoats in colonial days. Disciplined, calm, and maximum firepower."
"Interesting," Trevor said. "We’ll have to remember that."
"Yeah, that’s wonderful and all but maybe we should get off this roof top." Nina accentuated her warning with a point to the sky.
A pair of specks floated in from the horizon, flying toward the Redcoats’ assembly area.
Trevor and company hid inside the brewery and watched through broken windows.
At first glance, they resembled flying bricks hovering in the air without wings or rotors or aerodynamics at all. Closer observation revealed a triangular nose cone with rounded edges and a thin, wide window pointing forward. Next came a rectangular body that probably served as a passenger or payload compartment. At each corner sat a pod sporting flat, round landing gear. A pair of baffles sprouted from the rear, but they did not emit any smoke or exhaust.
The crafts wore red color with small white pin stripes.
One of the things descended vertically into the alien camp.
"How does something like that fly? No wings, nothin’," Shep wondered.
The second ship headed west emitting a steady hum as it flew.
It mesmerized Trevor. The design defied the rules of flight yet it moved effortlessly: as graceful as an eagle to Trevor's eye.
The ship passed over the Cross Valley Expressway, banked, then stopped in mid air where it held steady for a minute before descending, vertically, out of sight.
Trevor said, "It’s landing by the river. Let's go."
– Eschewing their hover bikes and Humvees, the group proceeded to the river on foot and found a hiding spot along the bank among dead bushes and a cluster of trees.
The flying machine parked on the riverbank amidst mud and scattered snowflakes. Two Redcoats stood watch while two more removed their helmets and worked near one of the ship's landing pods.
Trevor, through binoculars, examined the aliens: big round black eyes, thin noses, and small mouths, ironically resembling the extraterrestrials found in tabloids in the days when aliens had yet to make the cover of The New York Times.
One alien extended a large hose from the ship toward the river and waited while the second operated a hand held device in a manner that suggested testing the water.
T
revor pondered the sight. "Now this is interesting."
"What do you want me to do?" Nina craved orders.
Trevor realized how close she stood. He could see tiny puffs of white from the cold of her breath…from between her lips.
"Nothing, yet. For now, we watch."
Apparently unsatisfied, the alien doing the testing directed the other to retract the hose. Moments later, they flew away.
– It took Trevor more than half an hour to return to the estate via hoverbike due to a diving Devilbat trying to snag him as a snack. Moments after arriving home, K9s raised the alarm: one of the alien ships appeared over the eastern edge of the lake. It landed in the parking lot of a marina filled with decaying boats.
Trevor led three K9s, Danny Washburn, and Omar Nehru to a good spying point on a hillside overlooking the marina.
Yet again, the aliens extended a hose from a landing pod but this time actually sucked water from the lake. After a half-hour of siphoning, the craft lifted off, doing so without any visible rockets and flew away in the direction from whence it came.
Omar Nehru had no doubts about what they had witnessed. "Oh, my goodness gracious, excited this is making me."
Washburn joked, "I think Hajji here has a hard-on over this."
"Thank you so kindly for sharing your wits, but it would be fair to say that I am excited, yes. I believe we just watched a hydrogen-powered vehicle."
"Hydrogen powered?" Trevor repeated.
Omar beamed. "I would be imagining that water vapor is the only byproduct. That is why they went to the river as you were telling me and then flew all the way here."
Trevor-suddenly agitated-pressed, "You can’t be sure of that."
"No, I am not sure but it is what I am thinking."
Washburn jumped in, "What? Slow down. What are you guys talking about?"
Omar answered, "Perhaps Mr. Washburn is one who is familiar with the term ‘H2O’? That is being water and the ‘h’ is for hydrogen."
"So what does that mean to us?"
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