Circuits of Invasion - Part 1
Humanity was duped. The Earth had put their futures in the hands of the Shay only to find out that they were being judged. The Shay had judged us lacking and had decided to take over.
I awoke the next morning, ears ringing from the concussive blasts the night before. I rose to my feet and stretched my head back and forth. A snap and a pop released pressure. I looked around and saw broken furniture, shattered windows and crumbled walls. I just hoped we were both okay. My throat constricted as I searched through the broken furniture. I panted, hoping not to find what I was afraid that I would find. “Mira!”
I pulled books and shelves free of the pile. I hand lined with scratches and bruises stuck out from beneath the overturned sofa. My breath caught and my heart jumped. I tore through the pile of broken furnishings, hefting the edge of the sofa. My arms and legs burned and my lungs ached with effort.
My wife coughed up a puff of dust and dirt. I pulled her loose and quickly checked her over. She seemed unsteady, but otherwise I saw no major cause for alarm.
Her voice trembled. “What happened?”
I looked through the busted window frame. I ducked to hide as one of their triangular alien platforms zipped by and replied in a hushed tone. “The Shay happened. They attacked through the night.”
Mira sighed. “I knew it was too good to be true.”
I nodded and hugged her. The Shay had come with great promises of peace, knowledge and prosperity. For nearly a year this had been the way. Earth was enjoying immense agricultural gains, medical advancement, and a growing intergalactic knowledge-base from the mutual interactions. It was like the global community had expanded overnight.
“They announced their decision last night on the news, hon. Don’t you remember?”
Mira breathed in, coughed again, and shook her head. “I’m still groggy. Even last night is hazy.”
“They broadcast their message over every social network and communication channel at the same time. I’m not totally clear, but I remember them saying they had made a final judgement and determined us incapable of our own salvation. They told us they would be removing us from the equation.” My shoulders slumped. “Then the ships and platform gliders began doing home sweeps. They are collecting us like animals, but I’m not sure what they are doing to us.”
I waited for Mira to respond, but she just sighed. I continued. “We are no longer safe here, my love.”
Mira climbed over the pile of ceiling tiles and broken chairs. She looked around at the destruction, picking up a small picture of our trip to the zoo. She sighed and scrubbed her eyes with a dirty arm. After a moment she nodded. She wobbled as she followed my lead.
She cleared her throat again to hide the rise in her voice. “Where can we go?”
I snorted. “We can go to Delaware for all I care.”
“What’s in Delaware?”
“Nothing, my love, and that’s why I like it.” I chuckled without amusement and shook my head. “Any place is better than here.”
“Ok, let’s go.”
Steady vibrations of fear ran through my bones and muscles. I inhaled and paused to control my emotions. If I began to cry here, I would just wrap myself up in a ball and sit there. I couldn’t let Mira be my rock, because I needed to be hers. After the staccato vibrations finally eased up, I motioned to the broken wall.
My voice shook and I had to stop and start before I could really get my point across. “We’ll go through there. I think it’s safest to stick to the shadows and alleys where the Shay cannot easily enter.”
Mira nodded. “Ok. I love you.” It sounded as though she needed to say the words, to make sure I knew.
I felt the same way, desperate to not leave the words unspoken amidst the devastation. “I love you too.”
We had to move a few things before we could cross the floor, but once our feet started to move forward, the rest of our bodies pushed us onward towards the streets. I had to split my time between watching our next steps and noises from outside. Glimpses of blue sky peeked through the holes in the ceiling and walls. It seemed to be watching me. I could feel eyes all over, crawling across my skin and breathing on my neck. No mere horror movie could project this type of fear.
Mira and I scrambled over the rubble, grabbing just a few items that we could carry without feeling overburdened. I ended up dropping half of mine before we were through the door anyway, knowing they were just things that would slow us down. I scrubbed tears away and she consoled me with a hand on my shoulder.
“I’m ok,” I reassured her. “It’s just…”
“I know.” Mira was wiping tears away as well, dropping the urn that carried her parents into a corner of the room. “I’m sorry Mom. I’m sorry Dad. It’s just too much weight to carry.”
I wrapped her tight in my arms and we wept for a few minutes. I cleared my throat and it felt like 50-grit sandpaper when I spoke again. “They would understand. They would not want us to put ourselves in danger for their ashes.”
“I know, but I want them with us.”
I gave her a weak smile and bent down. Cringing, I picked it up and cracked open the corner against the floor. White and black ash filled a large bag that barely fit within the small cube. I took the bag out and showed her with finger measurements. “I’ll just take some out.”
I tore a hole in the bag and dumped most of the mixed ashes to the ground, into a hole in the floorboards, before twisting the bag and tying it closed. Now that it was much emptier, it could be carried on us. I put them in my pocket and Mira whispered a thank you to me. I kissed her and we held each other for a long moment before pushing through the crack in the side wall.
Out the door and down the street we ran. Every noise made us dive towards an empty side street. Every bird that wheeled out of the sky made us hunch over together, thinking it might be one of their ships in the distance. Only when we could tell it was a bird or the wind for certain would we be able to pull ourselves together and continue.
I had to pull up for a breather and to see what the morning light revealed. The old store on the corner was completely intact, but only as a base for the Shay. We could not go there for safety. An entire line of houses in one direction seemed alright until we drew closer and could see the opposite walls cracked open. Dead bodies made me want to cry, even if I didn’t know them or didn’t like them. It made me think of my own weak body.
“Poor thing.” Mira was knelt beside someone she had known from High School. “She had just had a child. She was a good mother and didn’t deserve this.”
I pulled her up and started down the street again. Even though I hated the way things ended up, they had cured my Spina bifida and scoliosis. My knees no longer had ACL damage. Even the arthritic wrist pains were gone. Mira no longer had to worry about her asthma and she was as healthy as she had ever been. I was going to use that to our advantage as we tried to escape.
I whispered into the predawn dark. “Thank you Shay for giving us a chance.”
Mira looked up at me from where she knelt. “What? JJ, why are you thanking them?”
“If it were not for them, we would be unhealthy and unable to attempt an escape at all.”
She responded with a simple circle to her lips. “Oh.”
We zig-zagged through the streets, avoiding the triangular platform gliders and the small glowing orbs that darted between buildings in search of living people. I held Mira’s hand in my own. She gripped mine in return. Her hand felt clammy. Maybe it was my own hand that was sweating like a stuck pig? I didn’t know and didn’t care to think more on it.
We turned down Oak Street and almost ran straight into a group of Shay. I grabbed Mira’s hand and pulled her off her feet as I dove into a nearby doorway. The innards of the building were barely standing, but it gave us an outlet in the shadowy cracks between the walls. We slid carefully between wires and pipes and protruding nails, our now-athletic bodies able to fit in tighter spaces than before. We slowed our breathing and synchronized the pattern.
“Kalind Uhr ach nen dinin gahlos!” One of the Shay was reprimanding the others, his sharp alien accent pouring depth into the words.
We could both understand them, but it still took us listening and interpreting the nuance. The knowledge of their language was passed to Humanity only in trickles. One or both of the faulted Shay had allowed an entire herd of Humans to escape to the outer rise. Once I had the interpretation of the words, I then had to interpret the meaning.
I nudged Mira to get her attention and pursed my lips close to her left ear. “Seems as though they let a group of prisoners escape to the countryside. Maybe they can be of help?”
She tilted her head and nodded.
I looked over at the triad of Shay patrollers and sighed. The aliens were magnificent, tall and sleek with skin as smooth and hard as diamond. The ruby igniting their skin tone was fierce like the setting sun. Rounded muscles flexed in strange ways, but it all looked so… superheroic. The outfits of the guards didn’t help that image either, with the tabards and helms reminiscent of Ancient Greece and Sparta. Flowing capes threw a burgundy cast against nearby concrete fixtures.
I shook myself free of the daze and breathed in clear air. I held my breath and felt the same from Mira. We watched and listened, but could not piece much more together of value. The group broke apart and zipped away on their gliding platforms, each in a different direction.
“The countryside?” My words, even pitched low for Mira alone, sprang forth against the swell of silence.
Mira didn’t even pause. “Yeah, let’s go.”
The sun was peeking above the horizon by the time we edged away from the building. My muscles burned, but I pushed onward. I knew it was a mixture of effort and fear that drained my energy so quickly and tensed my body to the breaking point. I looked back many times to reassure myself of Mira’s trailing footfalls. I dodged and darted between the shells of once-inhabited buildings, avoiding watchful eyes that may or may not have been real.
I pulled up at the grocery store near Timothy Street. It used to sell affordable fruits and vegetables, but now smoldered from doused fires. I could hear Mira’s panting breath mirroring my own. We had to rest, otherwise we would wear ourselves out too quickly. It wouldn’t do well to pass out in the middle of the street.
I inhaled short bursts of ashen smoke. “Let’s duck around the corner and rest a bit.”
Mira nodded and started forward.
I heard it before I saw anything. It was the wah-wah hum of the Shay platform engines. That loud? It had to have been very close. I yanked Mira’s hand and dragged her to the ground. She let out the slightest wail of surprise before dropping down. I pointed towards the corner and crooked my finger, pantomiming a flat object wavering in the air. She understood.
My throat was tight. “Inside.”
We dove through the broken wall and squirmed as fast as we could beneath the cover of the toppled shelving units inside the store. It was tight, but at least I could feel the warmth of my wife against me. I held her close and realized I was trembling. I tried to still the shakes, but it was pointless. I wanted to cry. I wanted to run away. Panic grew inside me. My leg shook as it always did when I was anxious.
Mira gave me a pointed look and motioned her chin towards my shaking leg. She pointed into the room. I followed her gesture and almost groaned. The shelves were aquiver, the few jars and boxes moving towards me. I had to get myself under control. Stop it, leg!!
I mouthed silent words. “Sorry. I. Can’t. Help. It.” Then I shrugged, all the while pressing my own hands against my kneecap. Gradually the shaking eased up.
A platform edged into view. The Shay patroller was lined with veiny muscles. Violet eyes pierced the dark shadows. The crinkle of brow and a slight turning in our direction. No! No! Please, no.
Suddenly the behemoth twisted his head upward, eyes closed. He was listening to silent instructions. It only lasted the span of a single breath. It felt like a week. Then, without another look in our direction, the alien vehicle spun three-quarters away and sped off towards the center of town. I could still see the majestic beauty of the Shay silhouetted against the street’s lamplight long seconds after he vanished.
I released the breath that burned inside. I coughed and spluttered. “Breath. Must catch my breath. Those creatures are amazing, even if they’re the scariest enemies that we’ve ever had.”
“Do you think they’ll ever relent?” It sounded as if she expected the answer.
I paused a moment. “Probably not. They seem pretty bent on collecting and destroying all of us.”
Mira glanced around as we climbed to our feet. “It’s probably safer in here than around the corner.”
“I agree. Let’s find a good place deeper inside to sleep. I’ll take the first watch… we’ll only sleep for a short while each.
I was shocked how quickly she fell asleep. She curled herself around me and began to inhale and exhale rhythmically. She was normally the one that was up far into the night, playing some simple games on her iPad while I drifted off quickly. She had been wound up so tight that any relaxation probably made her pass out.
I watched outside as the daylight inched closer. I found myself remembering the early days from late 2018 and throughout the entirety of 2019. Less than a year ago, but so far in the past. I had still been programming software for shipping at that point. The drones from Amazon had not even been implemented across the country at that time. Then we had First Contact. I thought for certain that our own President was going to embarrass us to the point where the Shay hated us. I recall thinking about how he might look to build a giant dome around the entire country.
I was surprised when the Shay just took over. People feared them and there were, of course, multitudes of paranoid war-mongering groups planning attacks. They never happened. The Shay were civil, eloquent, and knowledgeable about our own shortcomings.
I imagine the Human Race was too far inferior for concern.
The Shay Ambassador -- I believe he went by the name Klonid -- was always resplendent in attire. His voice was majestic and calming all at the same time. “We are the Shay.We bring you the wealth of our knowledge and experience throughout the galaxy. You who stand at the precipice of your own future shall flourish and prosper. Learn from us and your global community will shine healthy. Take our words as your salvation for which you stand united with renewed vigor. The collected knowledge of our society shall push away the darkness of ignorance.”
I remembered so many different speeches that were worded as such, with an odd blend of formality and casual conversation. The Shay as a species exuded vapors of charisma, if you ask me. They were awe-inspiring.
Within a week of their arrival our scientists had learned ways to replicate food supplies to eradicate famine and hunger. Homes were designed that could be built and moved without effort. Homelessness was gone. Two months after that first contact brought about the medical miracles of an advanced race. Devices and tools were developed that could mend the body and mind.
My spinal deformities were gone within six months, the ACL damage was repaired so that I could run again, and the replicated food was synthesized to burn the optimal calories and provide the best nutrition for each person. I had never been fit or athletic and I found myself to be both in a short matter of time. Mira no longer had asthma and her weight was shed just as fast.
We, as the Human Race, began to trust the Shay with everything. We even allowed them into our government. Most weapons were destroyed and the Shay even globalized our economic structure. We no longer used currency in any shape as the concept only fueled Humanity’s selfish behaviors and hostility towards others.
Not making money was pretty odd, but when food could be replicated as we were shown, then money is only a mark of power. Shay appeared to be as close to Utopian as I could imagine.
I yawned and stifled it with the back of my hand. I was so exhausted. I had to let Mira get more sleep though, so I refocused on those memories.
I remembered all of it as clear as anything in my mind, which is not a surprise since we were taught to harness our subconscious minds and were enhanced with memory implants for querying and sorting and storing. I could now flip through folders in my mind to recall events. Far easier than struggling to find moments in a jumble of hazy concepts and poorly-managed information inside the brain.
I shook off the dreary eyes, wiped out the mucus, and rocked to keep myself awake. The sun was well up over the horizon now and only wisps of drifting smoke broke the serenity and boredom of the view outside. Holed up like we were with utter silence as the backdrop, it was that deep silence that scared me. At any moment a Shay patroller could come along and decide that they might have seen or smelled something to give away our presence.
The Shay, at the end, had just decided we were incapable of sustaining our growth. They saw our innate hatred and hostility, I think, and determined that we were a lost cause that needed to be snuffed out of existence rather than self-destruct.
I sighed. “I can’t say I blame them.”
“Huh?” Mira’s eyes fluttered open. For a moment she seemed her old self, ready to take on the challenges of the day. Then her brow creased and she drew in a sharp breath. “It wasn’t a dream.”
I shook my head in answer and watched her features twist into a mask of dread. But, being her, she sat up, bolted herself into position, and smoothed her grimace. “Go to sleep.”
I gave a faint smile. “I love you, my wife, always and forever.”
She returned her own approximation of a smile. “I love you, too. Always and forever. Sleep now my JJ.”
I crashed. I don’t know how long it took, but I was instantly immersed in a nightmare that mirrored reality. I guess that’s how scared I was. The nightmare was not as ferocious, though. Reality was so scary that even my nightmare was a step up.
I awoke to my own thoughts and a hand shaking my body. “Boy were we wrong.”
Mira tilted her head slightly. “What?”
“Oh, sorry, I was responding to the dream. I was dreaming of… this.” I motioned to the store and the outside world and to us. My arms shrugged the entire time.
She nodded. “I think it’s time for us to get going. It must be about lunch by now. I’m hungry.”
I looked around. The grocery store now filled our needs from the fruits and vegetables that utilized the Shay agricultural advancements. Food storage wasn’t even needed because farms were able to cultivate produce in one-eighth the time, which meant that stores never ran out.
All we had to do was grab up some of the food stuffs from the shelves. We ate our fill, our bodies told us when to stop, and the metabolizers inside the food gave us no more or less than what we needed. It was nice, though, that they could do all of this without sacrificing the flavor.
We sat close to each other and prayed for safe travels, knowing what might lay at the end of it all. We rose as soon as our bodies were balanced, loading two canvas sacks with food and drinks in case we did not encounter another store or restaurant outside of town. I didn’t even know where we were going, except that it had to be out into the countryside somewhere.
I could feel the fading warmth as the sun moved towards the western horizon. My feet were leaden as I began to shuffle around shelves. Every time a box of noodles or can of cheese sauce fell off the tilting shelf closest to us I would freeze in place. My eyes darted back-and-forth. I must have looked like one of those black cat clocks with the moving eyes. I don’t think my tongue stretched downward though, so that’s good. It’s not like I had anyone to impress, so it wouldn’t have mattered anyway.
Mira tapped my shoulder and pulled me to a stop. “Let’s go up Twelfth. I think it will be safer since there are fewer residences up that way.”
I pursed my lips and pulled my mouth towards the right side of my face. Twelfth Street had the boutiques. Even on normal days they were not the most visited businesses. I nodded slowly. “Good idea.”
It felt nice acting a little like our normal selves, but it was short-lived. I heard the hum of the egg-shaped vessel and ran away from the sound, pulling Mira along behind me. When it became louder and closer, I ducked into a cluttered alley. There was a good bit of exposure here, so I felt the heavy pulse of my heart.
I pulled over some wooden planks that were loosened from the adjacent wall. I gestured to crouch low and leaned the planks over our shoulders. As the hum echoed deeper into the alley, I just closed my eyes and prayed over and over. I heard Mira’s whispered prayer as well. It was comforting to know we were both scared, although I wish I had been far braver than that.
The waiting felt quite long. The egg-shaped vessels did basic sweeps using a photonic sensor beam. The beam was a deep violet, bathing the entry to the alley in a sort of mock-twilight. I knew the sweep fields by heart, having seen them over the past year in research duties. They would pass a single circle, then a criss-cross, and finally a figure 8 ending in the center. After that, the light would expand outward and lose cohesion of color.
I could feel Mira sobbing beneath me. I covered her form like a protective shell. I knew I wasn’t enough to actually stop any kind of weapon, but it was the childish activity of throwing a blanket over her as a shield against enemies in the dark using myself as the blanket. I tried to send a feeling of confidence through my arms. I doubt it worked, but after a short bit she seemed to calm.
I whispered near Mira’s ear.“They will not see us if we are still. The egg-shaped probes are only equipped for base reconnaissance actions. They record shapes, so if we can be still we should blend.”
“I forgot about that.”
“It’s okay. And they have no audio recording devices either, but I don’t want our breath to give us away. Fortunately -- or maybe not so fortunately -- these are so damned slow in their probing.”
Mira sighed and I could feel her muscles relax. This could take an hour if it was set for a complete probing detail. I felt a drip of sweat fall from my head onto my hand. No, please don’t let me start sweating like I used to do. That could be enough to give away our position.
I felt another drop of sweat. Then I felt another and another. The last two were higher up, though, so no place that could be hit by my beading sweat. I slowly turned my head the slightest bit towards the mouth of the alley. I saw splattering on the ground.
“Rain.” I wanted to laugh and dance. It wasn’t that I liked rain, but the egg probes couldn’t record positional information with the dance of raindrops. When they detected rain, they returned home.
“Rain? Really?”
“Yeah.” I squeezed Mira beneath me. “There, it’s turning away and leaving, now that the rain is becoming harder.
“God heard my prayers.”
I wanted to cry, relief flooding through my body. “Thank the Lord.”
The rain became heavier, but at this point I didn’t care all that much. The Shay, although unaffected by rain physically, were less than pleased when forced into the rain. Likely none would be patrolling while the conditions remained this way.
I smiled and let the water splatter my cheeks. “This should give us good cover. Let’s hope the rain continues for a long while.”
“I agree. I love rain.” She really did, though. I only enjoyed the rain when it helped me out, but Mira absolutely would stand in the rain, given it was warm enough.
Mira laughed lightly as she spun in a circle. I felt a bit like a kid at the moment and stopped to catch the raindrops in my mouth. The water tasted a bit metallic, which was not uncommon for the first major rainfall of Spring.
I tugged at her sleeve. “Let’s go.”
“Right. Let’s get as far away as we can before the rain lets up.”
We hurried up Twelfth Street as far as it would go. The houses in this district were larger, higher-priced modular systems. They were also shattered.
I gestured up one of the numerous side roads that had no signage. Kids were still kids, after all, even after all of the derived knowledge of the Shay. Perhaps they were even more the mischievous youths with the knowledge that was given.
I pulled up at an intersection. I was feeling a bit ill-tempered as my clothes were drenched. Better my clothes are wet than my life is forfeit, right?
Mira stopped beside me, gulping air. “Towards Carter’s Dealership?”
“Yeah, that way is closest to the country, after all. How far do you think it is?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know, 5 miles or so?”
I sighed. My lungs were sore and my eyes stung. “Ok. 10 minutes and then on our way?”
“Yeah. Thirsty?” She reached a bottle of water to me.
I chuckled. “Water when it’s raining. Seems counterproductive almost.”
I popped the top of the bottle and tipped it to my lips. In a few moments I was snapping the lid closed again and handing it to my wife. Half the bottle? I didn’t think I had been that thirsty.
Mira drained the last of the bottle and looked around as if she were searching for a trash can. I quirked my eyebrows in question. I coughed. “Hon, why are you looking for the trash? The whole city is a trash can right now.”
She snickered. “Hadn’t thought of that.” She tossed the bottle into a small gas station parking lot and turned back to the road.
This time she took the lead and I was content to follow behind. She weaved through the city, avoiding the normally-busy sections as much as possible. Once or twice we saw a small group of people in the distance. I also saw a small knot of patrollers down one side-street and I was sure that we had been spotted.
“Nothing we can do right now except to keep running.” Mira made perfect sense.
I was feeling more tense. Then the rain faded. The thunderheads in the distance flashed and sparked with lightning, but it was at least ten miles away. I couldn’t even tell if it was coming closer or paralleling our position.
I swore under my breath. “Rain is gone.”
Mira nodded and moved up an angled street. I think it was Meridian or something like that. I didn’t come into this part of town too often, so I didn’t know many of these street names. The buildings in this district were nearly intact. It was a wonder against the backdrop of the rest of town.
The rains had stopped, but now the heat of the day was increasing steadily as the sun neared its zenith. It wasn’t the warmest day this year, but it felt like it would be close. Between buildings where there was standing water, I could see the faint shimmer of heat haze. I was already beginning to sweat, but then again I would have been surprised had we not been sweaty with so much fear tightening around us.
The angled street was probably 2 miles long and we were going to follow it to the end. I’d say it was about a mile down the street, around the big curve and the hook-back, where I finally figured out why these houses were intact.
I yanked Mira behind a hedge. Good timing, too, as a spherical orb slid into view from the mouth of the next alley. I would say the Luck of the Irish was with me that day; and her name was Mira.
She was next to me and blew out air. If she had had a Snidely Whiplash moustache with the long curves, they would have been waving like a flag. But no moustache meant no Snidely Whiplash either. I almost laughed at the thought, and then felt bad for finding humor at this time.
Mira was watching me, eyebrow lowered. “What are you thinking?”
I whispered in response. “Snidely Whiplash.” I mimicked her exhalations.
“When we get to safety, remind me you said that.” There was suddenly a very devilish twinkle in her eyes. “I think I can find a good, heavy cast-iron skillet.”
I covered my head and made a sound in my throat. “Sorry.”
As we continued to hide behind the overly-large hedge, we saw what I could only describe as a pair of Shay patrollers herding a group of Humans. Almost all of them had torn clothes and worn expressions. Only a few seemed to still have any air of confidence remaining, and one of them had darting eyes as if he knew something that the others did not.
I pointed at the Human Herd. “Watch.”
Mira’s brows creased as she watched the group. She gave a startled gasp as the one I picked out of the crowd raised up and shoved through the group. She gripped my hand, but didn’t look away.
The man leaped into the air and began outpacing the rearward Shay patroller. He ran fast, with long strides that took him near to the corner of the next set of buildings. Neither of the patrollers chased the escaping man.
“Here it comes,” I predicted.
The first Shay was smaller in stature. His brow line was crowded with tiny golden earring loops. Each one was nestled close to the next, almost like stationary dominos. His tattooed right arm showed his rank as Risen among the Shay. He pulled out a small object that glinted against the dropping sun.
I was blinded momentarily by the reflection and had to blink away the crescent shapes in my vision. When my eyes focused again, the Risen Shay had his right arm extended with the small device clasped between his first two fingers. The hairs on my arm danced and my chest compressed.
A scream erupted from the running man and he fell over. I imagine he was already dead on-the-spot. The wave of energy swept over his body as an aftershock, flipping it into the air and face-up a few feet further away.
An oval platform drifted down from somewhere that I could not see. Pairs of metal tubing extended and suctioned to the body. The tubules lifted the dead man off the pavement, his body arched the wrong way. Vacant eyes stared out from the carcass that was dropped onto the center of the platform. A translucent dome of energy popped up around the top of the platform, covering the body.
The Risen Shay turned away from the body’s removal and shook his head. He tossed something to the other Shay patroller. “Such waste! Enter it in the Script.”
I didn’t know what the Script was, but it sounded like some sort of ledger of losses or some such. I had to use mortality rate ledgers when I worked at the botanical nursery.
We followed at a safe distance, but still we needed to know what the Shay were doing to these people. House-to-house, bush-to-bush. I felt like a ninja, but filled with fear. I felt as though they knew we were here and were just luring us. I mentioned as much to Mira, but she didn’t respond.
A few more blocks and we saw the machinery of the Shay. Enormous tubes and spirals and lift platforms. Was that where they would be kept? What were they going to do to them?
We stationed ourselves in the nearest broken-down housing unit. I think we were settled among an apartment complex, but I saw no signs or mailboxes or anything of the sort. These units had been empty for a very long time, probably before the Shay. Dust covered every inch of the floor and walls. Cobwebs and abandoned spiderwebs stretched across the doorways.
I was just waiting for them to spring the trap, but it didn’t happen. The Risen Shay came out several times to check his herd over the next few days. We ate and drank a minimal amount, not moving much for fear of being uncovered and captured.
I found the accommodations annoying and uncomfortable, but I had been in worse places and slept far less comfortably. The food was acceptable, but nothing more. The water tasted of old tin can.
I awoke on the fourth day to rancid smoke on the wind. Crimson striations painted the clouds a burnt umber as I looked out a dingy window. “This would be wonderful if not for the destruction.”
Mira answered without opening her eyes. “I wish we could see it from elsewhere.” Her voice trembled.
“Agreed. What’s that smell?”
She opened one eye and inhaled, gagging and stifling the sound. I suddenly knew what was causing the odor. I crept to the doorway and peeked outside. There it was, a strong flame against the darkest night in history.
“JJ, that’s probably the smoke covering the light. It stinks bad.”
I turned back and closed my eyes. The pile of burning bodies stuck in my head after that glimpse. It was definitely not something that I wished to see, let alone smell and taste. Ash dust swirled around us and threatened to go up our nose and into our mouths. The glow of the fire lit up the street, pushing into the corners of the house.
I heard a burst of voices that I didn’t recognize.
“10122-32386!”
“Data drawn.”
“Field 6! Lock it!”
“Agrah emu das!”
Sometimes the words and accents were hard to interpret, especially from a distance. Beyond that I began to hear other sounds on the wind. I heard gears and the hum of a machine. I crept outside and around the edge.
I heard Mira’s frantic whisper. She was pleading for my return to safety. “I’ll be right back. I need to see.”
Knots were tightening in my belly. I forced myself to the ground and slunk forward to see better. There it was, the actual machinery. It was a platform inside a caged area with a tube at the top. The tube would allow a tall man to stand erect without touching its edge.
I asked myself quietly, “What is that?”
I didn’t get an answer, which was expected, so I continued watching from my low perch. The crackle of the fire could be shrugged off as a campfire, and the lurching stink could be something foul that had been burned on the stove.
A Shay patroller was next to a raised keypad, entering information. He picked up an overly-large circuit board and slid it into a matching slot in the side of the largest unit. It began to light up with glowing LEDs and diodes. The unit itself keened for a moment and then went silent again.
The Shay at the keypad raised a finger my direction.
Had he seen me? Was he motioning someone to get me? Oh, no, he was pointing at the other Shay patroller.
“24 for storage.” They worked on the keypad together for a few long minutes. “Done.”
I continued to watch for several more minutes. One by one they led one of the Humans onto the platform, fiddled with the keypad, and took away the dead body. After each death the pair would enter into the ledger and slide the newly-completed circuit board into the large system.
I crawled backwards on hands-and-knees towards the doorway. A noise caught me up and I shot a look into the dark. There, across the street and two buildings up, was a tight knot of people watching the same as I was doing.
Another group? Here? Maybe they have some idea of what’s going on here. I wanted to call out to them, but I was not about to give away our location to the enemy. That would just be stupid.
With nervous excitement flooding my limbs, I crawled back to my wife’s side. She gave me the look. I apologized for taking so long. Combined with the information that I had gleaned from the experience, she accepted my apology.
Her words were toned-down but full of hope. “Another group? Across the street?”
“Yes. They looked a bit ragged, but I guess we don’t look too good right now either.” I looked down at my own clothes and shook my head. The jeans had been new only a month ago, but now they were soot-stained and tore at the knees. Mira’s outfit looked in similar disrepair. “I guess having a house fall in on you and crawling on the ground so much can have that effect.”
Mira looked at herself as well and cringed. “Yuck. I could do with a nice warm bath and a nice cozy bed.”
I smiled. “That would be nice.”
Mira drew a couple of lines in the dirt on the floor and said they were the streets around us. She indicated walls and two circles that represented us, even going so far as to draw little smiley faces in the circles. She drew some dotted lines that circuited around the group, backtracking a few streets and crossing to meet them a few streets up from where we were now.
I pursed my lips and thought a moment. It was as good as any idea that we had already developed. “Well, it’s not going to happen here, so let’s get going. Backtrack and go a few streets down then?”
She nodded. “We may have to hurry, though, especially if they start moving quickly.”
“A larger group like that one will probably need extra time to sleep, eat, and travel. With it just being us we should be able to move faster. We have to move through the night, though.”
Mira puffed out a breath and drew her lips into a pout. “I know. I still want that bath and bed.”
“You got it. If we get to the countryside, we can find a farmhouse for a bath and a bed.”
“Promise?”
“Sure.”
Mira shook her head. “Leave it to you not to be able to lie.”
“It’s why you love me.” I smiled as large as I could, even if I wasn’t feeling all that happy.
She pretended to consider for a moment. “Is it? Or is it a side-effect of the constant Mind Control. Ha! One mistake and I’m suffering for the rest of my life.”
I gave a wry expression. “Oh, har har. You are too funny.”
“I know.” She stuck out her tongue. “Ick, I think I just swallowed soot.”
“Well, serves you right if you ask me.”
I was glad that, even at times of great stress -- or perhaps because of it -- we still had enough humor to joke around like normal. I loved her so much that sometimes it made me want to cry.
Shaking free of the jokes I relaxed and drew in a great yawn. “We better be on our way, it’s probably about nine o’clock now.”
Our sacks were getting smaller and smaller as the days rolled together. We had eaten the snack cakes already and only had a few things left. We couldn’t carry much anyway, so it was probably for the best. I combined them into the smaller sack and tied it up tight.
I crouched and peered into the fading firelight. “Ready?”
“No, but it doesn’t matter.”
True. It didn’t matter whether we were ready or not, we had to leave if we had hopes of meeting up with the other group. Leaving was easy, since neither of us were tied to this location. I, personally, hated the stink and firelight that was so close.
I covered my mouth with my shirt and motioned Mira to do likewise. I was glad when she pulled up the fabric as a shield against the soot, smoke and ashes. We crawled into the street, two crouched silhouettes running and rolling over the pavement. The fabric barrier turned out to be the best thing that night. Dead body ash was not a taste that I wanted to experience more than once. It was bitter and salty all at once. I’d remember that flavor for the rest of my life.
We angled back the way we had come. We hurried, but it still felt like an hour before we were two blocks down and a block to the right. That’s my right, not a right turn if you were facing the fire. I never know what direction is what, so it would be a shot in the dark -- or in the middle of the day, for me -- to say we were heading generally East.
I pulled up for a few short breaths before turning again. Seemed like we were turning a great deal, but soon we were staring down the human burn pile. Mira had not actually seen it before and I turned her away before she could get a good glimpse. Even in that short time she had seen enough to make her cry.
She sobbed against my shoulder and her words were muffled by my t-shirt. “All those people, and that’s only around here.”
“I wish it were not the case.” I held her close and let her emotions run free for awhile. “Let’s get going. Should we go up another street and get closer so that we can meet them right on their path?”
The suggestion was more to get us away from a clear view of the Human burn pile. Heck, I felt as though calling it anything but the Human burn pile would give it more reality. It might not have made me break down calling it something else, but I wasn’t interested in taking that chance. I just wanted to stop thinking about the taste of bitter ash.
By the look in her eyes, I’m pretty certain Mira agreed with my unspoken reason. She looked up at the fire once more and cringed. “I think that’s a good idea.”
I guided her by the shoulder towards the alley running up to the next crossing street. Looking one way then the other I saw only the warm glow. “One more?”
Mira just nodded and followed my lead. I didn’t see the slightest stir of action from the Shay. Not even an scouting orb had been seen since late yesterday. I was still too afraid to feel comfortable, so each street was the same routine of pause at the mouth of the alley and check both ways before sprinting across smooth pavement.
We slowed at the mouth of the alley and walked to conserve energy. I fought to stay upright and couldn’t relax my muscles. My thigh was pulling hard to cramp. I wiped beads of sweat from my forehead, sponging it with the collar of my dirty t-shirt.
“Let’s rest a few.” I sank to the ground, my eyelids drooping. I tipped back to meet the wall. It felt nice and cool to the touch.
Mira didn’t sound quite as tired as I did. “Ok.”
I opened an eye and looked over at her. Nervous energy was apparent as she rocked on her heels before seating herself on the ground. Still her eyes betrayed her as well. In moments I was drifting off to her calm breathing. I leaned over and toppled against her shoulder, snuggling close. The last thought I remember having before I was dreaming was that this could be the last time to do this.
I whispered through the dreaminess. “Good night my love.”
She yawned and patted my arm. “Sleep sweet.”
My dreams were pretty bad. Honestly, it wasn’t a surprise in the least that I would dream of fire and charred bodies and running from giant, caped superheroes. I came to the surface of the dream and gasped. My lids popped open and the pounding in my chest was enough to echo in my ears.
A small child was poking me. Her eyes were inset and her hair was the color of the ever-present smoke. She coughed to cover laughter. “He’s awake John.”
John was standing off to the side, rubbing tired eyes. While the girl was quite young, perhaps 10 or 12, he was in his middle years with some gray streaked in his hair. His voice was dry and sarcastic. “You’re just lucky he didn’t wake up swingin’.”
“Nuh-uh! I know what I’m doing.” She stuck out a tongue that reached the bottom of her chin.
“You’re a cow.”
“I’m a girl, not a cow.”
I listened to their squabbles as I shook myself awake.
John responded with a deprecating look. “Cows are girls. Bulls are boys, Natalie.”
The little girl harrumphed. “I am not a cow. I’m a Human girl.”
“Yes you are.” The man nodded and poked her in the nose. He turned his eyes to me and they flashed a dangerous glare. “Now, who are you guys? Refugees I would assume?”
I gave him some leeway with the expression, knowing that I probably looked pretty road-worn myself. Besides, it had been often commented to me that I looked angry when I was in contemplation. I pointed back in the general direction we had used. “We were going to meet up with the group that’s over that way.”
John chuckled and pointed across the street. “I know that group well. They are actually over there now.”
They had made good time. Then I looked up and noticed the sky was bright and blue. I groaned. “Oh wow, how long were we asleep?”
John shrugged. “How would I know? I do know that we were over by the alien camp two nights ago. That’s when we left.”
I shrugged. “Then we were asleep for two nights in this alley? Dammit! We could have been discovered.”
“Not likely. They haven’t moved since before we set up to watch them.”
I reprimanded myself for not keeping my wife safe. Then I reprimanded myself for not using manners. “By the way, my name is JJ and this is my wife, Mira.”
Mira squirmed and rubbed her eyes. “I’m awake, I’m awake.”
I coughed to clear the last of the sleep from my throat. “Hon, we have guests.”
My wife stretched and turned over to meet the guests. “Good morning. Afternoon? Whichever.”
John’s smile never reached his eyes, but he was very courteous in his movements. He extended his hand and waited to shake Mira’s hand. “Nice to meet you, I’m Jon. J-O-N not J-O-H-N.”
She gave his hand a shake before speaking again. “JJ’s middle name is John, with an H, though.”
His crow’s feet showed deeper lines as the smile finally reached his eyes. “Ha ha. That’s great!”
Natalie pushed in front of Jon and put out her hand out to shake each of ours in turn. “I’m Natalie! I don’t want to spell my name though.” She stuck her tongue out in disgust.
“Nice to meet you Natalie. I’m Mira.” My wife was always so compassionate and engaging with children. This one probably reminded her of her precocious, younger self.
Natalie’s smile could light up a dark room by itself. She performed an awkward, functional curtsey. “You talk like my mom did.”
I watched Jon’s expression darken. His words were soft and tender, though. “Natalie, she cannot be your mom.”
“That’s not what I was thinking!” Her own expression faded as soon as he had made the comment. “Don’t be afraid of Daddy, we’re both just sad still.”
Daddy! I had missed it, but I could definitely understand the relationship now. I tried to keep a passive expression on my face. I didn’t want to be the one that was just too oblivious to see it. Why else would some old guy come with a young girl. It could have been different, but it wasn’t a likely scenario.
Jon apologized quietly and sighed. “It just hurts not having her here with us.”
I had to ask. It was probably tactless, but I needed to know. “Did the Shay change her?”
Surprisingly, the older man started to laugh and his eyes softened. “No, not at all. She was in a runnin’ accident a couple years back. It was a freak situation, nobody’s fault really. It’s been hard on us ever since then.”
I apologized for asking. I had lost people in drawn-out battles and in quick fashion, so I understood in some way what it felt like. I didn’t lose the one I love, though. “I can’t imagine.”
Mira wiped her eyes. “I’m so sorry.”
Natalie dove into my wife’s lap and hugged her fiercely. “Don’t cry! You’ll make me cry too.”
Both were crying and huddled together. I shook off the emotion and shook my head. “Why don’t we go join the rest of your group.”
Jon nodded. There was a catch in his words. “That sounds like a good idea.”
I helped Mira to her feet and stretched, listening to the friendly and not-so-friend pop-and-crackle of my body. Even with the advanced medical techniques from the Shay, old age was still a condition that the aliens could not fix. While I wasn’t old, I wasn’t young either. I’d have to do the math to figure it out, but I know I was in my mid-40s.
We followed Jon and Natalie across the empty street. I bit my lip and swiveled my head back-and-forth down the street. I expected an orb scouter or a triangular platform glider to come into view at any moment. Nothing happened, though, and we entered the next alley without incident. It was empty and dark.
“It’s alright everyone,” Jon called out. “They’re friendlies.”
Shuffling and movement echoed across the walls. These people were not as confident as Jon and huddled together like frightened children. Most were adults, some as old as grammas and grampas. They all looked the worse for wear, covered in soot-stained or torn clothes. Many were in piecemeal outfits, as if they had left a burning house half-dressed.
Jon introduced us and some of the people came forward to extend grimy palms. Jon and Natalie seemed like beacons of hope in this group. The father and daughter seemed so much stronger than the rest. Maybe it was all just an illusion with them, but I believed this was their normal behavior.
I smiled at some and nodded at others. “Nice to meet you. Good to meet you. Thank you. Nice to meet you.”
I heard Mira also exchanging some pleasantries as well. It felt rather odd under the circumstances, but it was nice to feel a sense of normalcy amid the danger and fear. I wasn’t really one to go out of my way with people that I didn’t know, so I stepped back out of the center of the mix. I breathed in and out, calming my anxious nerves.
Jon stepped beside me. “You alright?”
“Yeah, I’m not very good in crowds.” I stopped touching my thumbs to the fingers on my hand and took another calming breath. These people were going through the same thing as we were, so why did I feel like this?
“Any thoughts on the situation?”
“My wife and I were planning on going to the countryside and finding a big house and hiding there. We might be able to wait out the attacks.”
Jon ran a hand through his hair and seemed to be weighing things in his mind. He nodded and responded. “That’s not a bad idea, and this way is probably the quickest to reach the outskirts.”
I gave a half-smile. “It’s not a perfect plan, but it gave us a chance that we probably won’t get if we stay in the city.”
Natalie rushed into Jon’s leg and wrapped her arms around him tightly. “Daddy?”
He rubbed her head and brushed a wisp of hair out of her face. “Yes?”
“Mira is going to teach me how to paint! She’s great!”
I smiled. It felt nice to finally have a genuine smile on my face. “Yes, she is pretty great. I agree.” I pulled Mira into an embrace and held her close.
Jon pried Natalie from his leg and knelt down before her. “How would you like to live in the country?”
Natalie’s bright green eyes glittered with excitement. “Really?”
Mira grinned and echoed the same question. “Really?”
I answered. “Yeah, Jon’s going to have his group join us in the countryside. We’ll find some spots that will work for everyone.”
(To Be Continued…)
This story is completely the @OriginalWorks of 