by CC Solomon
“I wish I could give you an answer that doesn’t sound crazy, but I honestly don’t know. It’s a presence, a voice in my head. I only hear it when I’m awake. They think it’s dangerous that we connect, but it’s not. I think they’re lying, but I don’t know why.”
I was quiet. I didn’t really know what else to ask. Whoever was telepathically speaking with him was possibly an enemy, and they were threatened by us or me. I wasn’t really searching for another enemy, but I had to meet Phillip in real life. I wanted to touch him and see him in person.
I looked up at Phillip, our faces only inches away, and he was staring back at me with intensity. His brown eyes almost glowed, and my heart did this funny skipping a beat thing. “I want to know you, Amina. I want to know everything about you. You have transfixed me. I need to see you in person.”
I’d never had a man say that he needed to see me. My desire to see him tripled. “Where are you?” I asked him.
“I’m right here.” He cocked an eyebrow.
I elbowed him in the arm. “Okay, silly, I mean in real life.”
“I’m near D.C. In Silver Spring.”
What could only be described as a grumble came from the distance. Like a large, very irritated animal.
Phillip grimaced.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“That sound wasn’t nothing.”
“But it’s far away.”
I shook my head. “Then why are you frowning?” I said, hopping off of my stool. “I’m sorry, I can’t keep ignoring this stuff. We should get inside. Dream or no dream.”
Phillip stood up as well. “I have to go, Amina.” His face looked pained.
“What? Why?”
He pulled me to him and embraced me in a tight hug. It felt right, and I didn’t want to let go as my hands rested against his muscular back. I closed my eyes and inhaled a final whiff of his woodsy scent. He rubbed my back, and instant relaxation draped over me, releasing the tension in my muscles. The pressure was gentle, but the effect was profound. I wanted to lay down and rest for days.
When Phillip removed his hands, I tried not to growl in protest.
“Find me, and we’ll be able to help you free your friends. Hurry.”
He let me go, and I woke up.
Chapter 8
I opened my eyes and stared at the living room ceiling from the couch; blinking away sleep and visually gathering my surroundings. Charles lay on the floor, sleeping, a pillow under his head and a blanket covering him.
I sat up, yawning. We needed a plan. There were two concerns. One, we had to stay hidden from our captors. Two, we had to recruit people who were willing to help us free the others. I was more concerned about the latter. This was not a world where we could go to the police, and they would arrest folks. The men and women in blue didn’t exist anymore. Even if we went to a community that had a policing system, they still might not be inclined to help people from outside of their town.
After the supernatural took over and many of the non-gifted humans were eradicated from the disease, the United States became, well, less united. The last person in power was the Secretary of State, who became a blood-lust vampire. Such vampires usually stopped being thinking humans and were ruled only by the need to feed. The Secretary killed off his entire cabinet. After that, any semblance of the old government was minuscule. Instead, we were a bunch of self-governing bodies, sharing a continent. Divisions of Canada and Mexico were now irrelevant.
Recently many of the communities were merging, either voluntarily or being overtaken by a larger group; the struggling remains of the former government. Slowly it appeared that we would get back to a country of sorts. Yet, not every community was on board, and the growing government had a fight on their hands trying to recapture what we had before. There were just too many factions that liked their new independence, and those factions had a lot of supernatural power behind them.
Finding a community could be challenging, but… My mind suddenly went back to my time on the roof and Phillip. He’d said his town would help us.
I heard Charles let out a deep sigh, and I stood up, looking down at him as he opened his eyes.
“What’s for breakfast?” he asked, stretching.
“Air because there’s nothing in the kitchen I can use. Let’s check out the neighbors.”
We packed up anything of value we could find in the house like jewelry and needed toiletries and headed next door. That house wasn’t much better, but by house six, we hit the jackpot. Apparently, whoever was living there had only vacated recently.
“What’s for breakfast, Sis?” Charles asked again, smiling as we looked in the fridge.
“Pancakes and eggs,” I replied, returning his grin.
“Can I get French toast instead?” Charles asked.
“Sure thing.”
I covered my nose as I reached into the refrigerator. I had no idea how long whatever was in there had been marinating. The state of the home wasn’t the neatest, but the fridge still was running, so magic had touched it. Once magic from a tech mage touched something, it kept working unless purposefully ended, or the person who was behind the magic died.
So, I wasn’t that surprised that there was something redeemable inside the fridge. Anything covered in bugs was my end game. I’m sure I could have made something good even with the rotten meat, but who wanted to pick the maggots out to get to it? And I didn’t want to just blend them into the magic meal.
To our delight, the fridge contained spoiled milk, rotten eggs, old shriveled fruit, moldy cheddar cheese, margarine, and hard bread. No viable meat, but that was a rare commodity nowadays since it required hunting. Old meat was the first to get critter-filled.
I looked in the cabinet and found some flour, oil, and several spices.
“And there’s some oranges and grapes in here for a little fruit salad,” Charles announced.
I did a little dance, and Charles joined me.
“Okay, but first, let’s drop a little magic and clean this place up because I can’t eat in filth. I’m not an animal,” Charles muttered, looking around. He clapped his hands together and recited the cleaning spell again. This time I did do a spin.
Once I’d whipped up the best breakfast we’d had in over six months with my magical food recycling, we sat down at the kitchen table. Charles poured me a cup of tea from some old tea bags he found in a cabinet. We weren’t sure about the water here, so it was better to go with boiled water.
“I want a shower and new clothes,” I stated before biting into the scrambled eggs. It wasn’t as good as the farm-fresh kind, more like a frozen egg breakfast, but it would do.
“I want a fresh haircut,” Charles said, cutting into the French toast. We lucked out and found maple syrup in the cabinet as well. “We need to find a town, do some work, and earn some things.”
Wherever we went, even to Phillip’s town, we’d probably have to ask for credit because we had nothing to immediately barter. I had diamond earrings that my parents gave me when I graduated college, mom’s engagement and wedding rings, which hung around my neck on a chain and a diamond tennis bracelet I’d bought myself before the world went to crap that I kept in my bra. Charles had dad’s wedding band and a pricey watch. Our jewelry was invisible to the naked eye, due to a cloaking spell, which is the only reason we still had it after being in that hospital prison.
“We need to find more stuff. I’m sure not every clothing store or mall was looted in this country,” Charles said with a mouth full of food.
“It’s been nine years, Charles. I’m sure they were. Either people stole the clothes or communities moved things to their towns. At this point, people are making new things. There might be clothes here, and I can do a spell to make them fit. If there are clippers, I can shape you up.”
“Goal one resolved. Goal two: Find a large community that is strong enough to take out those human hijackers, wants to save others because they have a sense of decency an
d doesn’t hate supernaturals. In theory, that shouldn’t be too hard. The question I have now is, how do we go about finding a town?”
“We go to the town Phillip is in, Silver Spring.”
“So, we’re pinning our hopes on a dream?” Charles frowned before taking a bite out of his French toast.
“A dream that got both of our asses out of that hell hole.”
“What about finding a government-backed town nearby? They’re probably more likely to help anyway.”
“Phillip’s town will help.”
“Did he say that? And if he did, you trust he will?”
“He knows that helping the others is what I’m doing first. He’s a sure thing.” I bit into my eggs.
“But why bypass a possible closer town to go practically all the way to D.C.?”
“It’s only about four or five hours from here.”
“And David’s probably already moving camp. Let’s not be picky.”
I shrugged, unsure. Charles made a good point, but something itched inside of me to see Phillip in the flesh. I couldn’t explain why I had so much faith in him.
Back in the car, fully fed, cleaned, and newly clothed in some jeans and T-shirts, we were in search of a computer. None of the houses we’d already searched had computers or laptops lying around, oddly enough. It was possible the owners had taken the laptops with them when they fled if they were able to get them to work. The internet was the only universal way to communicate and learn about magic and the paranormal now.
“Why don’t we just go into some more homes and see if they have computers there? We can also get some more supplies. See if there is any food, clothing, toiletries,” I said.
Charles turned the car onto a residential street and slowed down as we looked from one cookie-cutter house to another. “This area looks clean but abandoned. Either there is nothing inside, or there is if you know what I mean.”
I knew. If the area wasn’t damaged, it usually meant people had stayed and eventually left the area for better opportunities. That meant there would be a low chance of finding any supplies.
Trauma in an area meant people probably fled in a rush, leaving behind goods. So, if we saw broken ground, busted doors, or dried blood, there was a higher chance of a payday. There was also a higher chance of finding things we wouldn’t want to encounter as well, like ghouls who ate the flesh of the dead or seeing dead bodies.
“We need to get someplace where we can gather more goods. So far, what did we find from the houses we checked already?” Charles asked.
I thought about all the things we stuffed in two hiking backpacks and trash bags we found in the houses earlier. “Okay, we’ve got toothpaste, perfume, hand towels, some containers we filled with water, cheese sandwiches, a couple of sharp knives, brushes, extra clothing, and shoes. We still need flashlights, a first aid kit, some type of shampoo or soap, and lighters, clean undergarments, toothbrushes…” I strained my neck to look down another less residential street. I saw a few shop signs and a gas station. “Down this street, make a right. Looks like a main street.”
Main Street, USA. Most towns had them. Located in the suburbs, it was a street with a mixture of quaint shops, offices, restaurants, and bars.
Charles turned down the street and parallel parked on the right side in the middle of the strip. The area looked desolate; a few storefront doors and windows were bashed in and broken. From what I could see behind the thick, dark-green plant overgrowth on the buildings, there were deep brownish-red stains of varying sizes on a few of the store porches, streets, and sidewalks. Some of the building signs hung crooked or had long given up the fight and were now on the ground. The street in front of our car was cracked and broken up as if construction was breaking ground before everything went to hell, but no work trucks were in sight. The broken ground stopped right in front of where our car was parked, but that wasn’t the disturbing part.
Charles opened the car door and frowned. “Phew, I’d ask what died out here, but I can guess by the broken up skeleton parts.”
“Jesus,” I whispered, looking out the front car window.
I leaned towards the dashboard and squinted. In this world, I’d seen this scene before. Pass the hole in the ground were skeletal parts covered in dirt, caked blood, and dried skin. There were torsos, unattached legs, arms, and skulls.
“Whatever jacked up the road, did a superman lift-off, right there.” Charles got out of the truck and pointed to where the destruction to the pavement ended in front of us. “Because I don’t see the stores demolished beyond this broken up area. Whatever did that, if it were going into a building, it pretty much would have knocked it down. And the same goes if it leaped on top of a building. So, it wasn’t a gargoyle.”
I got out of the truck, looking around. “This must have been done earlier on in the change for these bodies to be this decomposed. These poor people.” I let out a cough and covered my mouth and nose with a shirt I got from my backpack.
Charles nodded, surveying the area. “A place like this could have a lot of what we need, assuming no one else has wandered here.” He walked over to a clothing storefront that contained a bit of plant life around it and peered in. “I’m thinking the plant life was also a deterrent. It’s probably poisonous.”
Upon hearing that, I turned to Charles just in time to see a snake-like vine wrap around his ankle. “Don’t move, Charles,” I shouted. If he did, the vine would grow tighter. I’d seen plants strong enough to rip a limb out of a person’s socket.
Charles’ body stiffened. “There’s a man-eating plant around my ankle, isn’t there?” he asked in a quiet voice.
“Possibly. Relax.” I moved a little closer and saw the vine tighten. I looked up at the clothing store and saw the second level was covered in moving, wiggly, deep-green leaves, and vines. I hadn’t noticed the vines moving earlier, and perhaps it purposefully hadn’t. Did I forget to mention that in the new world plant life was smart? “Son of a bitch,” I whispered.
“Any day now, Mina,” Charles stated through clench teeth.
I could throw magic over anything natural and, like it or not, even the supernatural was part of that now. I recalled how I first controlled the ten-foot monster dog that disrupted my cousin’s wedding when the world first went to hell. I’d controlled other inhuman things since then. I usually did so to get them to leave us alone and not eat or kill us. The lesser the lifeform, the easier it was to control. And less painful for me.
I threw my hands up and then balled them into fists; forcing my energy into the plants and envisioning them drying out, breaking off, and dying. I’m not sure if I really needed the hand work, but it helped me focus on what I was aiming my magic to do.
Tiny points of pain pricked my skin all over. Soon after that, the plant life started to change from a bright green to burnt brown, then it crumbled and broke apart. The vine around Charles’ ankle fell away and shriveled.
I let out a deep sigh, and my minor pain went away.
Charles turned around to face me, eyes wide. “Took you long enough. Thanks, Sis.”
I rolled my eyes again. “You know better than to run off like that.”
“I was still in eye range, mom. Plus, the plants didn’t look like they were moving. Just poisonous.”
“Well, clearly, they were playing games.”
“I’ve never seen plants do that before.”
I looked down the street to my left. It was after twelve in the afternoon. Since it was early summer, we still had a good amount of sun left, but we had to watch our time carefully so that we wouldn’t be caught out in the dark.
“I think we should know by now that the only certainty around here is that everything is uncertain. All right, let’s search this place but stay on your toes.”
We searched every establishment together. It took a while, but we were finding a gold mine here. A gory gold mine but a gold mine all the same. We tied some scarfs from a clothing store around our faces to help block out th
e stench of decaying, dead flesh, and spoilt food and went through the work of gathering supplies.
I focused on practical items. Jackets and gloves for later seasons and undergarments from the clothing stores, a first aid kit from a bar, some non-perishable food, lighters, and a few more toiletries we were in need of for our day to day. We had to build our base all over again. There would be no going back to our old complex, it had been raided and destroyed by David and his gang months ago.
“I think we have enough time to hook up some lunch from one of those restaurants before the plants get to be dangerous, and the sun goes down,” Charles surmised, eyeing a barbecue restaurant across the street.
I glared at him.
He shrugged. “What? I’m hungry. You can magically cook us up a meal, and I can get this laptop working and search for a government town,” he stated, waving a silver laptop in the air.
While I tried to make a meal out of whatever I could gather in the kitchen of one of the restaurants, Charles made magic happen on the laptop and gained access to the very limited internet. Nowadays, the internet was mostly a ghost town of sites that were abandoned. The only active sites were the informational ones, social media, and of course, what was left of the government had an active site. The only way we even knew of the government’s resurgence was by searching the former White House website and Twitter page. From there, word spread from others who had the same idea.
“Okay, so there’s a government backed town in Hagerstown. A little under three hour’s drive. We go there first. See if they can help. If they can’t, we push on to Silver Spring,” Charles stated, bringing his laptop over to me in the kitchen.
After lunch, we were on our way back to the highway when we spotted trouble on the side of the road.
A man stood, pulling thin legs out of the ground in front of a tree-lined area off the main road. The legs the man held appeared to be female. The torso attached to the legs was halfway in the ground.
“What. The. Hell!” Charles exclaimed, slowing the car down as we passed them.
“Stop the car,” I ordered, straining past Charles to get a better look.
