New Enemies

by Melony Paradise

  “Alright, man. Let’s get out of this dump.”

  ***

  The squad retraced their footsteps, and headed out to the alleyway that ran parallel between First and Second Avenue. Every few minutes, they heard a volley of gunfire. Bas hoped that meant his squad wouldn’t be tackling the terrorists alone.

  The closer they got to Pike Street, the louder the shots sounded. He guessed—prayed—the battle might be winding down, making his team extra muscle to beat down the remaining enemies. He grabbed Becky’s hand, squeezing it while pulling her close behind.

  Half a block from Pike Street, Tony split the squad and headed through a parking lot that led to First Street, while Rick led the remaining crew, Bas and Becky included, down to the rest of the alleyway. At the end, he snuck a glance around the corner to scope out the action with Bas on his heels.

  Down the street lay empty stalls with broken glass displays that once held seafood of all kinds. Pike Place Market used to be famous for many things, including fish being tossed around for the entertainment of the masses. Now, it harbored terrorists who destroyed their city just for the sake of causing destruction. Whatever religious or political agenda they started with was lost after four years of mindless war.

  Rick motioned for everyone to follow, leading them in and out of empty storefronts, occasionally dodging a stray bullet. Bas covered the rear, sticking close to Becky as she frequently glanced back at him. He tried not to worry about her, to keep his focus on the job at hand, but the trembling lip and panicked eyes were a stab in the heart.

  At the end of the block, they ducked into a hollowed-out coffee shop. Bullets rained down on the sidewalk where they’d just been, causing them all to holler and squeak in surprise. Everyone found what cover they could as Rick yelled for them to “watch your asses!”

  “Bas, did you see any of our guys? I didn’t see anyone,” Rick said in a loud whisper.

  “No,” he whispered back, looking over to find the medic hiding behind an over-turned wooden counter. “I thought we were hearing shots from this intersection, but I don’t see anyone.”

  Rick pointed to the only other guy besides him and Bas. “You… make your way across the street. See what you can find. We’ll cover you.”

  The guy, the one who looked like a football player, ran forward with his head down, while Bas, Becky, Rick, and the girl who’d had blood on her hands, sprayed Pike Street with gunfire. Football guy ran full out, stopping behind upended or abandoned vehicles on his way across the street. He ran it like a familiar obstacle course, disappearing into an empty shop a block away.

  Shots rang out from the dark, fish market, pinging off the walls of the coffee shop. Bas peeked around the corner of an empty food display case, watching for football guy. Bouncing from shop to shop, the guy kept close to the walls. When he popped out of a shop directly across from the squad’s hideout, he glanced their way. Bas yelled for him to wait, they couldn’t cover him if he ran in their line of fire, but his words fell on deaf ears.

  One shot rang out from above the coffee shop, killing football guy instantly. Becky and the other girl screamed, while Bas shook his head and Rick cursed. Fear or something came over the girl, and she ran out, heading back towards the alleyway. Several shots fired from the fish market, taking her down before she could get around the corner.

  “Fuck, man, what the hell are we going to do now?”

  Bas looked at Rick, then Becky. “What can we do? We’re stuck here.”

  “I don’t know,” she said. “We’re only four people. How can we fight against an enemy we can’t see?”

  “Why don’t we just sit tight for now?” Bas asked. “Let’s take a break. Wait and see if Tony’s team shows up.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” Rick said. “You got any extra MRE’s? I haven’t eaten since yesterday morning.”

  Bas slid a brown, plastic pouch across the glass and debris covered floor.

  “Thanks, man.”

  “No problem,” Bas said, as he opened an MRE to share with Becky.

  Chapter 4

  March 23, 2020 8:34PM

  “Medic!”

  Bas searched the dark, smoky street for Rick or someone to help him. Dust clogged his throat and coated his eyes. He scrubbed his face with his hand, wiping away sweat and grime.

  “Medic!”

  He carefully peered around the front end of an overturned vehicle, jumping back as a bullet zipped past his ear. The bullet hole in his arm burned as if a hot poker had been jammed into his muscle. The hazy air smelled of melted rubber from a car that took a grenade across the street.

  “RICK!”

  “I’m. Right. Fucking. Here!”

  Bas swung around to find Rick crouched over Becky, frantically shoving gauze into the gushing wound in her chest. He quickly crawled over to assist, wondering if anyone else in his squad was still alive.

  When Tony’s team hadn’t arrived after a couple hours, Bas, Becky, and Rick tried firing into the market, hoping to take out as many targets as possible. The overcast sky had given no light to the already dark market, making it impossible for them to see the enemy. They’d watched for muzzle-flash, but the insurgents moved around constantly, likely aware how invisible they were.

  After they’d started to run low on ammunition, they decided to see if they could sneak their way out of the coffee shop and head up First Avenue, away from the dangerous intersection. Waiting for nightfall, Bas led them out of the dark shop and along the outer wall, sticking to the dark shadows.

  Whether the enemy had night-vision, or was close enough to see their movement, the insurgents opened fire on the three of them. Rick disappeared, and Bas hauled Becky behind the overturned car. He tried to see where the shots had come from, but Becky pulled hard on his hand. He’d spun around just as she fell to her knees, her eyes wide, gurgling as blood poured from her lips.

  ***

  “You get hit?”

  He shook his head, grasping his girlfriend’s hand. “Just a graze. Is she going to make it?”

  “It doesn’t look good.” Rick searched his bag for more gauze.

  “Shit, you have to save her! She can’t die!” Bas bent over his love, holding her hand, and rocking back and forth. Her eyes watched him as the light—her brave light—faded from them. He leaned down to kiss her forehead, begging her to stay.

  “Please, Becky, don’t go. I love you. I love you so much. I need you. Please, don’t go.” His voice faded to a harsh whisper as he felt her hand go limp in his.

  Bas lowered his head, touching his forehead to hers, crying uncontrollably. He prayed for her to wake up, for God to take him instead, but nothing happened. Of course, nothing happened. Why would any god help my Becky if they won’t help our world? Why have a god if he can’t do something to save his people? Maybe we’re not worth saving anymore…

  “Bas,” Rick whispered. “Bas, I’m sorry. I’m sorry you lost your girl, but we can’t stay here.”

  “Just go without me, Rick.”

  “No way, you’ll die here.”

  “I don’t care. What’s the point anymore? Everyone is dead but you and me! No one’s going to save us. There’s nowhere left to go.”

  “Come on, don’t you have family? Isn’t there someone out there waiting for you to come home?”

  Bas thought about his mom, how she begged him not to go, and Jordan’s big blue eyes. Does the four-year-old even understand that his brother left?

  “No. There’s no one. Becky was all I had, all I cared about.”

  “That sucks, man, but you can’t give up. She wouldn’t want you to die with her. Besides, I need you now. I need you to help me get out of here. Help me, and then you can do whatever you want. Please.”

  With a heavy sigh, Bas silently promised the love of his life he would help Rick, and as soon as possible, he would join her… somehow.

  ***

  Swallowing down the lump in his throat, Bas placed Becky’s hand gently on the ground at her s
ide and turned to Rick. “Okay, I’m with you. How are we going to get out of here?”

  “How much ammo do you have left?”

  “This is my last mag.”

  “Well, shit. We’re just going to have to make a run for it, I guess.”

  “How are we going to do that? It’s like they’re everywhere—”

  “What the hell is that?” Rick pointed to the sky over the waterfront.

  Looking where the medic pointed, Bas saw roiling clouds start to glow with a strange blue light and jagged bolts of lightning shooting out in different directions. Gradually, the light grew brighter and brighter, until suddenly it glared down on them, like a giant spotlight.

  Beaming down on the city streets, the bright light showcased the devastation of four years of war. Burned out husks of overturned vehicles lay scattered on streets and sidewalks. Rubble from bombed buildings was strewn about as far as the eye could see. Veils of suffocating dust and smoke drifted between skeletal structures.

  “What the fuck?” Bas squinted at the strange light.

  “You think someone actually called in an airstrike?”

  “Not that I know of.”

  “Holy shit, is it just hovering there?”

  “I don’t know. I can’t see, it’s too bright.”

  The light started to slowly rotate clockwise, shining over the market and piers. They watched, mouths open in shock, as the light made its way over the water. Rick gasped and smacked Bas’ shoulder with the back of his hand. “Are you seeing this, man?”

  “I don’t know what I’m seeing. What the hell is that?”

  “Looks like something out of the sci-fi movies I used to watch.”

  “Uh… yeah, I guess.” Bas shoved his hand through his unruly, dust-coated hair.

  The clouds parted, and the bottom of a giant spaceship appeared to be hovering in the sky. The strange, oval-shaped craft had straight walls that came down to an edge where it began to taper into a dull, drill-like point. Black, gunmetal panels covered the hull with hundreds of stalactite turrets scattered around the base. Twenty or thirty enormous spotlights lined the bottom of the ship, lighting up different parts of the city.

  “Uh, Bas... Something’s opening up on that thing.”

  They gawked as iris doors spun open in several places. Each opening spat out smaller jet fighter aircraft that zipped off in all directions. One jet fighter shot straight towards the market and stopped to hover several hundred feet above. Slowly, the nose rotated to point directly at the fish market where the terrorists had been firing from.

  “What’s it doing, Rick?”

  “Fuck, I think it’s going to shoot the market. Run!”

  The entire street lit up, bright as the sun, as the jet fighter shot a missile into the market. The explosion rocked the entire city block, choking the air with dust from the disintegrating cobblestone street, and leveling the surrounding buildings. Unable to run fast enough, Bas was thrown into an alleyway as buildings crumbled around him. The last thing he saw was Rick flying into the side of a scorched metro bus…

  Chapter 5

  August 8, 2020

  A rumble of chatter, clanking of metal, and whirring of wheels blared in Sebastian’s ears, booming through the black blanketing his consciousness. With a groan, he reached his heavy hand up to graze his fingers along a healing gash bisecting his eyebrow. The rough scab scraped against the pads of his fingertips, leading them up to his hairline.

  Bright, white light stabbed his pupils as Sebastian cracked his eyelids open, barely resisting the urge to slam them shut again. A dry, raspy throat clearing drew his attention to someone nearby. Rolling his head to the side, he forced his eyes open a little more to see a brittle, old man with a toothless grin and a withered, paper-thin skinned hand waving like a kid hailing an ice-cream truck.

  “Welcome back, young man,” the wizened man said, his words stabbing through Sebastian’s throbbing head. “Wasn’t sure you’d ever wake up, even with all the fancy new alien know-how. About time though, you’ve been the most boring roommate ever.”

  “Wha—” Sebastian coughed, his throat scratchy as sandpaper and dry as a desert. “What do you mean ‘alien’?”

  “You know, the aliens, uh, can’t remember their name—”

  “Szu’Kara, Frank,” a nurse said, striding in from the busy hallway, checking an IV attached to Sebastian’s arm, “they’re called Szu’Kara, and they’re responsible for you still being alive.” She winked playfully at him, smiling sweetly. “Glad you decided to join us. My name’s Patty.”

  “How’d I get here? How long was I out?”

  “You’ve been here about five months, Sebastian, and from what I understand, the blessed Szu’Kara found you when they swept the city after they arrived.”

  “Oh, fuck, Becky,” Sebastian muttered, his chest squeezing painfully at the memory of his girlfriend bleeding to death on the filthy street.

  “Language, please,” Patty said with an eyebrow cocked at him. “Who’s Becky?”

  “She’s my girlfriend…”

  “You were the only one they brought in that day, honey. Maybe she went to another hospital. I know they mentioned setting up more clinics throughout the area.”

  “No, she wouldn’t go anywhere else,” Sebastian said, his voice hitching as emotion welled in his chest. “She died just before the blast… How did I survive?” Flashes of memory flickered in his mind’s eye: Becky’s terrified eyes staring at him as blood gurgled from her mouth, a fighter jet hovering over the market, Rick flying through the air…

  “I’m so sorry,” Patty said, laying her cool hand on his arm.

  “That’s too bad, son. Sorry for your loss. Too many’s been taken from us these last few years. Maybe them aliens will live up to their promises.”

  “I don’t know how you survived, that blast took out most of the waterfront, but you were in such bad shape when they brought you in, I was sure you wouldn’t make it. Fortunately for you, those angels from space brought advanced medical technology with them and brought you back from the brink of death. It really was a miracle.” Patty’s eyes turned distant and dreamy as her hand squeezed his arm. “Our hospital was so packed when they arrived, we had patients lining the hallways, but now half our rooms are empty.”

  “Wow, that’s amazing,” Sebastian said. “What’s had you here so long, Frank?”

  “Nothing them aliens could do will fix me, I got the cancer. I’m here until my last breath.”

  “Frank’s a trooper,” Patty said with a grin.

  “So, why was I out for five months, if the aliens can perform miracles?”

  “Your head injury should’ve killed you, and even if it hadn’t, without alien medicine you could’ve been in a coma indefinitely. They were able to repair the damage to your brain, prevent fatal swelling, and lessen your recovery time from years to months. They advised us to keep you in a coma to allow your brain and skull time to heal, as well as the numerous injuries you sustained throughout your body.”

  “I had other injuries?” Sebastian asked, mentally checking his body for any aches or pains. “I don’t feel anything besides the big gash on my forehead.”

  “Miraculous, isn’t it?” Patty smiled wide and bright, her eyes shining with pride. “You had breaks in your arms and legs, several fractured ribs, a ruptured spleen, and massive internal bleeding. Anything that didn’t get fully repaired when the Szu’Kara physician operated on you healed within three months. Only your head needed the extra time, and we took you off all support last week so you would be able to progress naturally and wake up when your body was ready.”

  “Are they still here? The aliens, I mean.”

  “Oh, no, they left after a month.”

  “They been out there rounding everyone up and taking them to settlements, like prisoners of war.” Frank snorted, his lip curled up in disgust.

  “Now, Frank, nobody’s been taken prisoner,” Patty said, scolding the old man. “They’re providing
homes and much needed supplies to people who were displaced by the war. It’s easier for them to help us if we are together where they can keep us safe, and it prevents anyone from taking advantage of others who can’t protect themselves.”

  “If you say so,” Frank mumbled, losing his focus for a moment. “At least they stopped the war. Too bad I won’t be around to see how they manage to fix our world, like they promised.”

  “I’ll be back in a little bit with some soup,” Patty said. “You need to get your strength up before we can let you out of here.”

  “How long do I have to stay?”

  “Probably two or three weeks. Depends on how you do in physical therapy. The doctor will be able to tell you for sure.”

  ***

  Before Nurse Patty made it out of the room, Frank had fallen asleep, snoring loud as his mouth hung open, gray whiskers of his mustache vibrating around his lips. The rhythmic sound droned in Sebastian’s head, which became heavier with each passing second until he drifted off into a troubled sleep. Nightmares of Becky calling out to him in the dark, only her face visible in the distance, blood pouring from her lips plagued him.

  After what felt like days of torturous dreams, Sebastian woke with a start, a wide-eyed Frank staring at him. Scooting up in the bed while pushing the incline button, he noticed a tray sitting on the bed-table with a covered bowl, some crackers, and a bottle of water.

  “Eat up, son,” Frank said. “You got a lot of work ahead of you.”

  “Anything to keep my mind occupied,” he said, pulling the table over and lifting the lid of steaming soup. “Tell me what’s been happening with the world, Frank. What are those aliens doing out there?”

  Bas stared at the grizzly man, who gave him a grin while scratching the top of his nearly bald, liver-spotted head.

  “Well, one of the first things them aliens did, after clearing out the rabble, was clean up the nuclear fallout.” Frank nodded his head thoughtfully, staring at the dark television. “With all the radiation neutralized, people have begun rebuilding as much as they can, but that could take years, maybe even decades.”