After Tomorrow: A CHBB Anthology

by Samantha Ketteman

  “Ohanzee, figure out our location.” Callahan ordered before stepping back outside.

  “A word, Sir,” Aerd followed him out.

  I sat down at my terminal in the front of the small craft and started entering in what data I had, which wasn’t much.

  Sabin continued putting together a comfortable area to sleep.

  Aerd came skipping in. She made a quick turn and closed the hatch and the interior block doors. This would seal the craft from the poisons of the outside air. She turned on the vent processor and started to unclip her mask.

  I quickly followed her lead and stripped the confining blue plastic away from my face. A soft suctioning sound followed its removal. My skin felt moist and it was a relief to have air on its surface. I slowly pulled back the visor and untucked my hair from my suit. The fabric was unyielding and I struggled to pull my hair free.

  “Oh, for heaven’s sake!” Aerd exclaimed. She had already removed her visor, her short-cropped, red hair made it easy for her to do so without trouble. She came behind me and pried the skintight suit far enough away from my neck to allow me to pull my hair free. “You know, asking for help isn’t against regulations.”

  “I know, Sergeant Aerd.”

  “What’s with the rank? When Callahan isn’t around, call me Leigh, okay?” She looked at me a few moments and shook her head. “The same goes for Sabin, she’s Solita, got it?”

  I nodded.

  Solita chuckled. She had also stripped away her mask and visor and had half unzipped her suit, revealing a white tank top. “Hell, you can probably get away with calling DC and the doc by name.”

  “Who?” I asked, not being quick to realize who DC was.

  Leigh exhaled deeply, “Oh, boy. DC McLean and Kyne Ewert.”

  “DC.” I repeated softly.

  “Initials.” Solita responded, mistaking my comment as a question. “We think. He hasn’t told us yet.”

  “They are. His name is Daniel Christian.” I confirmed softly.

  “And how do you know that?” Leigh leaned over me.

  “He told me.” I lied. I didn’t need them to know I had their DataCards.

  “We have a lot to teach this girl, Leigh. A lot,” Sabin mused after she had recovered from her shock.

  “Is that wise? We aren’t the strictest of teachers.” Leigh laughed. Her eyes still held brief suspicion, but she let it go.

  I looked from one to the other and returned to my research. They must have given up on me because I could hear them clicking away on their own terminals a few moments later. I tried to concentrate but my thoughts kept returning to the windswept plains.

  “Hey, Kohana,” Solita called after a moment.

  “Yes?” I didn’t turn from my screen. I needed to find out where we had landed because it certainly wasn’t Seattle.

  “You never answered my question.”

  “Question?” I turned slightly. I didn’t remember a question.

  “Yeah, about the other Epitome Points.”

  “Why don’t you look them up?” Leigh drawled. “Wait, that would require effort.”

  Solita stuck her tongue out. “Maybe I can’t read. Ever think of that? Maybe you’re picking on a poor misfortunate.”

  “Bull. There isn’t an illiterate in the entire span of the colonies. Kohana, answer her quick so she shuts up.”

  I looked at both women, baffled. It was truly amusing to watch the way the two interacted. Despite the gruffness and childishness, they were clearly the closest of friends.

  Aerd was almost like Sabin’s protective sister, reserving the right to pick on Solita herself, but all others beware.

  “Well, you know what happened in Seattle and Beijing.” I sat back stalling to think of the easiest way to clarify the other three Points without long explanation.

  DC saved me the trouble as he came into the sleeping area. “London was overly polluted. Years of coal burning, and Heaven knows what else, poisoned the air and water. They eventually outlawed the use of fossil fuels, but it was too late. Cairo was hit by a famine and drought. Actually, all of Africa was, but Cairo was the center of trade and when there was nothing to trade, it went bankrupt. The political unrest caused civil unrest that spread throughout all the Middle East. Bogotá finally succumbed to all the drug wars in Colombia and the cartels took it out on the innocents. Am I right, Ohanzee?”

  “Basically.” I answered.

  “Happy?” Aerd asked Solita.

  “I guess. It was short and I didn’t get bored. Good job, DC!” Solita smiled and whirled around in her chair.

  “Are you done fooling around?” Callahan asked as he stepped into the cabin.

  Solita stopped abruptly and fell from her chair.

  Leigh looked away to cover her smile.

  “We need to set up our watch. Four to bunks, one to the floor, and one outside on guard. Easy enough, right?” Callahan asked.

  We all nodded.

  “Sabin will take the first watch since that’s why she’s here. I’ll go next. After that…”

  “We’ll draw straws!” Sabin giggled.

  Callahan’s face began to redden.

  “It’s not a bad idea, Lieutenant.” Aerd commented.

  “Fine.”

  We drew straws. I was to take the third watch. Each watch was to be an hour and fifteen minutes. The reason for the short watch, besides fairness, was to keep fresh eyes on the plain. We didn’t know what surrounded us yet.

  Callahan woke me when it was my turn.

  The first half of the watch was uneventful. The clouds from the storm that had led to our crash had cleared, but the sky was still hazy and the full moon was blurry in the lifeless sky. Then, he came forward from the shadows.

  “Who are you?” I asked, reaching for the weapon, a standard issue VT54 pistol.

  “I am Wicasa Howahkan,” His voice was low from disuse.

  “Wicasa,” I repeated softly trying to translate the name. Run! A small voice came from the back of my mind. Alert the others! My body refused to move. I couldn’t press the com button and my fingers wouldn’t curl around the pistol grip. I was paralyzed.

  “And what are you?” he asked.

  “What am I?” I asked in surprise. Idiot! Go get Callahan. This needs to be reported!

  He cut off the voice, “Yes, what creature are you with a blue mouth and shiny head?”

  I stood silent a moment, not comprehending. Then he tapped a finger against my visor.

  “You mean the mask! I am a woman. This equipment protects me.” The voice of reason was gone.

  “A woman?” He took a step back and I could feel his dark gaze trace the shape of my body. “Yes, I see now. Why do you need protection?

  “Because the air is poisonous and would burn my lungs and eyes.”

  “I need no protection,” Wicasa stated, stretching his bare arms out for me to examine.

  “So I see.” How can he survive in this reported wasteland? “Are there other people here?” I asked.

  He nodded.

  I was glad the visor masked my surprise. “Where are they?”

  “Watching us. They are unsure of you and your kind.”

  “I am no different than you.”

  Wicasa leaned in closer, his dark eyes squinting as he peered at me. “Remove your mask then.”

  “I can’t.”

  “Then you are different.” He turned on his heel and started to walk away.

  “Wait!” I called after him.

  He stopped and looked over his shoulder. “We shall speak again, Swift Shadow Kohana Ohanzee.” He continued walking away.

  The hill blocked my view of him before I realized I hadn’t told him my name.

  I had somehow wandered out of the camp circle though I didn’t remember moving. My watch had come to an end. I started back to the shuttle, wondering what I had just witnessed. Perhaps it was my tired mind playing tricks on me. I looked over my shoulder; the grass was bent only where I had stood. There was no inde
ntation where Wicasa had stood or where his path had taken him. I shook my head, dismissing the incident as a fancy.

  I keyed the shuttle door and waited a moment before entering. I debated what, if anything, I should say.

  “My watch,” DC declared as he entered the outer chamber. “Anything of interest?”

  I shook my head automatically.

  “Get some rest.” He stepped out before I could change my mind and tell him.

  I settled into the pallet that McLean had so recently occupied. It still held the warmth of his body and I snuggled deeper into the unyielding mattress. I had stripped off the suit jacket and my arms tingled from the sensation of release from their synthetic prison.

  Sleep crept up on me and I expected the dreamless state of every night. Instead, I dreamed of the valley and the river. I found a disturbing peace.

  I was in the middle of the field and the grass was trampled from horses’ hooves. My heart pounded in my ears in exhilaration. Warrior cries mingled with screams of agony. My blood felt hot in my veins as I felt the glory of the battle. We could win this. My people could win!

  I awoke suddenly to find the doctor and McLean standing over me.

  “Was it a night terror?” Ewert asked as he took my wrist in his hand to check my pulse.

  I shook my head. “It was far more thrilling than that.” My eyes went wide. “I think I know where we are!” I jumped up from the pallet and went to my terminal. Pulling out the DataCard for the 1800s, I quickly scanned through the titles.

  DC and Ewert looked at each other before following me to the screen.

  “How can anyone read so fast?” asked the doctor.

  “Practice,” answered DC. “She is an Archivist, after all.”

  After that, they were silent as I looked for the one bit of information I wanted. My dream had told me where we were. Part of me felt like I had been there. Perhaps, Master Hobart had been right. Perhaps, I was finding the missing part of myself.

  “Here we are,” I found it at last. “The Battle of the Little Big Horn.”

  I selected the header and came to a list of subcategories. I chose Memorial and nodded in satisfaction. On the screen before me was a picture of the white monument and the markers around it on the hill. I had been right.

  “Well, you gave us a name, can you give us a location?” McLean asked.

  “How do you mean?”

  “I mean Lats and Longs. A precise point,” answered McLean.

  “Hmm...” I scrolled through the text and had to back track to the main menu. I clicked on the general article and came up with an estimated location. “We are at 107 degrees West and 45 degrees North. Does that help?”

  He was at another terminal typing in the coordinates. “Is that exact?”

  “No, it’s actually the location of the nearest city. I don’t know why the exact coordinate isn’t in here.” I returned to scanning the information.

  “Well, it’s a start.” DC kept searching his own screen while I took interest in mine.

  We both had forgotten about the doctor until he spoke. “Well, I’ll just return to my watch, I guess. Don’t forget to get some rest. Kohana, let me check your heart rate before I go.”

  “It’s slowed,” I confirmed, not turning to grant his request.

  The next few hours passed swiftly as I gathered the information about our location. My dream coincided with the information I reviewed. I remembered stories of the battle told by Grandmamma before her passing. Our ancestors had camped on the banks of the Little Bighorn River; they had been there when Custer came across the river to attack. That had to be why I felt connected to the land when I had stepped out of the shuttle. The blood of my people was bound to this valley.

  “This is an excellent start.” Callahan praised when I handed him the information about our location after he woke a few hours later. “We can start our tests here.”

  “This isn’t where we were sent, Sir,” I responded.

  “We can’t leave until Aerd fixes that engine. Maybe in a day or two we can go to Seattle and find out what a dump it is. For now, we test here.” Callahan turned away from me and started reviewing my report.

  There was little for me to do in the shuttle most days. After a few days, I went to investigate the nearby buildings. The museum and visitor center had been built after the battlefield and were designated as National Monuments.

  DC was already in the museum looking at a faded jacket. “The person who wore this must have been pretty important,” he remarked when I entered.

  “Why do you say that?” I asked.

  He turned the jacket so I could see the sleeves. “The sleeves.”

  Ornate embroidery covered the sleeve from the cuff to almost the elbow. It was overdone with unnecessary scrollwork and had little symbolism that I could see. Part of me knew that it had to be his— General Custer’s.

  “The fancy lines don’t make the wearer important.” I replied flatly. I hadn’t pressed the Com button and McLean didn’t hear what I had said. I was thankful. I normally looked at the subjects of my studies with less personal feeling, but I couldn’t look at the jacket much longer without a strong resentment to an owner that was over three hundred years dead. I walked away.

  DC followed me. “Is something wrong?”

  “Do you think anyone is out there in the hills? Could we be watched?” I asked, remembering the button this time.

  . “What are you saying Kohana?” he asked, concern in his voice.

  “There are survivors. I’ve spoken with one,” my voice was flat.

  DC stopped and turned. I wished I could see his eyes but the visor was shaded to keep out the harmful midday sun. “That’s not possible. There are no inhabitants or survivors, as you call them, on Earth.” His voice was cold and stern.

  “But there are!” I was surprised by the desperation in my voice. I had thought DC, of all the crew, would believe me.

  He placed an arm around my shoulders. I could feel his hands straining not to grip too hard. “Calm down, Ohanzee.”

  My muscles relaxed under his grip.

  “If,” he started slowly, “there are survivors, why hasn’t the equipment registered them?”

  “Equipment?”

  “Yes, equipment. Leigh has been sending scans out every hour, trying to detect any life. Nothing’s come back, except possibly small mammals, and she’s not sure if they were mammals and not some sort of glitch. A human would give off a lot of heat. The infrared scans would have picked that up.” He removed his arm from my shoulders.

  I couldn’t argue with that logic. I had forgotten about Leigh’s experiments.

  “Not only that, but wouldn’t the satellite have found something in the last one hundred years?”

  He’s right, but I spoke to Wicasa. Didn’t I?

  “The scanning equipment may have problems from the crash impact, and the radiation clouds could have blocked the satellite scans,” I argued feebly.

  “True, but the worst of the radiation cleared nearly forty years ago and those clouds alone would be enough to discourage life on this planet.”

  We had come to the entrance portal of the craft. I remained silent as DC keyed in the code. He had given me a lot to think about and I was most afraid of what would come of my thoughts.

  “How much longer do we have to stay here?” came Solita’s whining voice when we entered the main cabin.

  “As long as it takes to complete our mission,” Callahan responded gruffly. He didn’t bother looking up from the row of soil samples before him. From the red tinge of his face, it was clear Sabin had been whining for some time already.

  “What’s left to do? We aren’t where we’re supposed to be, and you’ve run the same tests four times. What more can be done?” Solita slumped in her chair.

  I peeled back my mask and visor and flopped onto the sleeping pallet, interested in how Callahan would reply. DC did the same, although with far more grace.

  “You’re just bored becau
se there’s nothing for you to do,” Leigh remarked as she entered the cabin, redirecting Sabin’s attention to her.

  “Well, yeah! What’s the point of having a defense officer if there’s nothing to defend against?” Solita drew her legs up onto her chair so she was sitting ‘Indian’ style, twirling a stray strand of hair around her fingers. “Can’t we at least move somewhere to look at different dirt?”

  “You’d still be doing nothing,” Leigh replied before whispering something in Callahan’s ear.

  “I see,” Callahan mumbled once Aerd had finished. “Call the doctor in.” His face was pale in the dim light. Whatever Leigh had said had troubled him.

  I was closest to the ComPad and sent a brief return call to Ewert. “He’ll be back in ten minutes.” I told Callahan.

  He nodded.

  “Is something wrong?” Solita asked, her whining tone replaced with concern.

  “Be patient, Sabin,” Leigh snapped. Whatever was wrong was serious enough for Leigh to use her surname.

  The five of us remained silent until Ewert came in with a full bag of samples.

  “Good timing. I was just starting back. Don’t know if we should really bring this untreated stuff into the shuttle though,” he eyed the bag doubtfully. “I know the containers are sealed, but who…”

  “Take a seat,” Callahan replied, cutting him off.

  Kyne took a seat next to Sabin. The atmosphere of the shuttle was suddenly very tense as we awaited the report Leigh had just give to Callahan.

  “Sergeant, repeat what you just told me,” ordered Callahan, not looking at Leigh.

  “Sir, are you…” Leigh started.

  “They have the right to know the truth.”

  “If you’re positive.”

  “I am,” Callahan stated. He brought his forefinger to his temple and sat back, waiting for the engineer to explain.

  Leigh straightened, a habit formed from years of United Defense training. “We’re in trouble.”

  “Nice start, babe,” Solita taunted, her voice an octave higher than normal and her hands clasped tight in worry.

  Leigh gave a weak smile. “It’s the truth. Half the sensors on the Port are either broken or just not working.”

  “Just not working?” asked DC.

  “I’ve run full diagnostics on them and there is no reason for them not to function. All tests came back negative for trouble. I don’t understand why the terminals haven’t shot off trouble codes like crazy because there is every reason for it.”