Through the Eyes of the Phoenix

by Martin W Francis

  We took in what they told us the best we could. Neither of us was thrilled to be leaving when every man and woman was highly needed here. We accepted the mission making plans on the best place to leave and the route to take. We discussed with the others factors that would be necessary to make the mission happen before leaving them to finish their discussion.

  We left out after midnight that night. We snuck over the wall taking the path that we had taken long ago during our first kiss. On foot we traveled as silently as we could. We only ran across one Fallen on our way towards Mt. Ord. The following day we arrived at the location where a vehicle had been stashed along with a small trailer. The trailer held a tank with a hundred gallons of fuel. It was plenty to get us to Lubbock and back. I stored the J23 and documents inside a hidden compartment under the back seat. We stuffed the rest of our belongings inside taking off immediately.

  We were told to take our time while making a wide path. We only drove for a few hours each day so that we were not spotted. Securing new places to stay wasn’t too difficult. There was an old farm in the middle of nowhere that we stayed the first evening. It had three Fallen roaming about that we made quick work of. Another day we secured ourselves inside an old gas station that sat alone on a long stretch of highway. It appeared to have been shut down long before the epidemic. The price on the sign outside for regular fuel was around a dollar. Most places with gas pumps had prices that were over seven. Not that I really have any concept of money, but apparently the fuel prices were driven up really high right around the epidemic. We finally arrived at my dad’s house the day after sleeping at the gas station on sleeping bags. We did not foresee using more than half the fuel in the process of taking such a wide berth to get here. The only way that we could possibly make it back is if we took a more direct way. That was going to take us on a dangerous path. I had noticed the grandfather clock were not working during our last visit. Apparently the hands on this old clock had never ran on their own. It took a while to find an old letter describing how to use the darn thing. It gave directions on setting a new entry code using the hands on the clock. The directions were a bit confusing at first, but eventually figured them out. Once I entered the code that it was now set to, a doorway popped open. The clock was attached to the door easily moving with unseen caster wheels. The safe inside the room opened using dad’s birthday which I had hoped it would. Placing the briefcase inside, we locked everything back up exiting the room. After a small dinner we passed out for the night in a large comfortable bed. We unintentionally slept in late. The next day we began the trip back.

  Every mile closer we worried that we were going to run across scouts or worse. After a couple hours we saw a wayside park just outside of Seminole. We pulled the car and trailer off the road enough that it couldn’t be seen from the highway. There was an old R.V. parked there that was completely unoccupied. We found out why when we went to inspect the open restroom area. There were several rotted corpses with glowing pale blue eyes waiting to greet us. We thanked them with blade and bullet. The entire ordeal was an intense workout. Sandra and I took a few of our belongings into the R.V. to occupy us while the day passed. I read a book that I had borrowed from Rye’s library. Sandra spent her time looking over maps, sharpening her knife, and keeping watch. I took first watch that night. Sandra woke on her own a few hours later. She told me to get some rest. I crawled under the covers closing my eyes.

  An hour later I was sleeping deeply. In my slumber I opened my eyes overlooking Alpine from above. It was hard to recognize it at first, but small things stood out that were clearly identifiable. The town was rubble and ruin in every direction. There were major gaps in the walls. There was a tank pouring smoke out of an open hatch fifteen feet inside the main entrance. A large bus laid on its side near another one of the holes in the wall. Fires burned in blackened buildings. There were large gaps of charred dirt (not sure if they were made by artillery shells or land mines). Everything appeared to be riddled with bullet holes. The entire town looked worse than when the tornado had hit. The only difference was that now there were a hundreds of Fallen. Some wore military uniforms. Others had newer civilian clothing. It looked like a storm had poured down a river of blood from the skies. It covered the ground, walls of buildings, the Fallen, and basically everything. In the midst of the Fallen, I saw a face that resembled Amy. I began noticing similarities between many of the other Fallen and those I had called family. I woke up screaming bloody murder according to Sandra. I wasn’t even fully aware I was awake until a few minutes later. Not sure if I was in shock or had mentally shut down my mind during that time. Sandra held me in her arms rocking me. She kept telling me that it was just a dream. She also reinforced that everything was alright over and over again trying to help.

  “No, everything is not alright. Not this time. Not ever again if it’s already happened or about to.”

  “What do you mean sweetheart?”

  “I saw….I saw Alpine destroyed. Everyone was dead. I think Amy was among the Fallen horde roaming around inside.”

  “What? It was probably just a nightmare. Every dream you have can’t be something that will or has happened. You’re just worried, that’s all.”

  It sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than me.

  “I hope you’re right. If not I hope there is time to change it.”

  “Your right. We need to leave. We need to head out right now.”

  “It’s dark hun. The type two Fallen are out in greater numbers at this time. It’s not safe.”

  “So you want to wait? What if we get there too late to do anything?”

  “What good will we be if we die before we get there? What if it has already happened? Is it worth risking our lives too?”

  “Fine! First glimpse of light we leave out. I wish you didn’t have those damn dreams. They drive me crazy.”

  “If not for the dreams or visions you wouldn’t be alive. A lot of people would have died or been injured.”

  “Maybe it would be better if I hadn’t lived! Maybe your gift is a curse.”

  I slapped her hard across the face.

  “You have no right… I could care less what you think about my gift. Never say it would be better if you were dead. I love you, but that is so fucked up.”

  Her facial expression went from momentary anger to shame in seconds. She began crying. They were not tears of pain. She wept because she had hurt me with her words. She broke down almost stuttering between her words.

  “I’m…I’m sorry, Em. I didn’t…didn’t mean it. I was…just upset.”

  I threw my arms around her beginning to cry with her.

  “I’m sorry for slapping you. I’m worried too.”

  Neither of us slept for the remainder of the night. At first light we got back on the road. We drove without any sign of an invading army. It took a while, but we were now five miles from Alpine. Coming up a rise, a silver Dodge Ram sat off to the left a little ways down a side road. It gunned its engine roaring in our direction. There was no time to react when it slammed into the rear driver’s side of our car. The car flipped twice before coming to a rest. Sandra was knocked out from the impact. There was blood dripping down her face where shards of glass had gave her minor cuts. If the truck had hit the car a little further towards the front, she would have been seriously injured or dead. The entire backend of the car was crushed. The car was laying at slight angle upside down. I had to use my boot knife to cut myself free from the seatbelt. I fell down to the roof pulling myself out of the broken windshield. My pistol holster was lying on the roof along with anything else that had been loose. I automatically grabbed the gun drawing it from the holster. Standing on my feet I felt a little dizzy. I began seeing two of everything. A man stepped into view on my right. There appeared to be two of him with my blurred vision. They both had guns drawn on me. I tried to turn my gun in their direction to shoot before they did. I heard the loud sound of gunfire. I was knocked backwards falling to the groun
d. There was a burning sensation below my right breast. I now saw a single man standing over me.

  “What a waste. You gave me no other choice. Let’s see what else is in the car.”

  Before I could yell, he kicked me hard in the face knocking me out. I awoke a while later in a bed. There was a bloody bandage tightly wrapped over the area I had been shot.

  “Hello? Anyone there?”

  I tried to get up, but the pain was too intense on making the attempt. I yelled out it hurt so badly. I heard a baby cry like it had been woken up by my voice. Footsteps pounded through the hallway coming in my direction. The sound made me tense up. I wasn’t sure who might come through the door. After the experience I’d just been through I was freaking out. I thought it might be the man who shot me or perhaps a Fallen looking for a meal. A face I recognized appeared in the doorway.

  “Are you alright? I heard you scream. Glad to see you’re awake now. I was worried sick that you might have lost too much blood.”

  I started crying a little. Took me a minute to get my composure again. In the meantime he held my hand.

  “It’s good to see you Uncle Dan. Is Sandra here too?” A distraught look came over his face. He averted his eyes looking down at the floor. I gripped his hand squeezing it gently. “It’s alright. Just tell me. Is she dead or missing?”

  “There was no sign of her when I got there. There was no sign of struggle other than you being shot. I’m guessing that she was taken.”

  “Any idea who it could have been? It was a white male in a silver Dodge Ram. He had a scruffy unshaven face. He was wearing a long black trench coat.”

  “Doesn’t sound like anyone I’ve seen sweetheart. I’m sorry. I’m just glad that I found you in time.”

  I gave him a sad frown. I felt like crying endlessly. Making myself shut down those emotions I still heard a baby crying.

  “Better go take care of the little one. Sounds like he has a set of lungs on him.”

  “That’s Jake. He’s eight months old now.”

  “Sandra’s little brother? Where is Celeste and Frank?”

  A look of anguish, anger, and fright at telling me something appeared and disappeared.

  “Celeste is out on a run. She should be back soon. Anyway, I better go check on Jake.”

  He got up leaving the room. I had a bad feeling that I already knew what it was that he couldn’t say.

  “Uncle Dan. Can I have a glass of water? Please?”

  He came back carrying Jake in one arm. He held out a glass of water with a straw.

  “Thank you, my mouth is all dry. By the way, I had one of those dreams last night.” I saw a look of terror come over his face. “It’s alright. We don’t have to talk about whatever has happened until you’re ready. I think I already know.”

  He kissed me on the forehead leaving the room again. Laying there I wondered why I had not flashed about the truck that hit us, about Sandra being abducted, or being shot. It frustrated me that my gift had been completely useless again. It would be nice if it was more useful of recent. I eventually fell back asleep.

  -5-

  When I woke up Celeste was sitting next to the bed.

  “Hey there, Ember. Are you hungry? Dan is warming up some soup right now.”

  I shook my head that I wasn’t hungry. I was honestly too depressed to even think about food.

  “I understand. It’s been hard for me to think about food the last couple days either. When you do get hungry let me know. How are you feeling?”

  “Like I’ve been shot, my wife has been kidnapped, and the world has gone to hell. Pretty much like it has been the worst day in my life.”

  “Well, it is going to take some time to heal. You can focus on the rest after you’re able to walk around again.”

  “Did anyone else make it out of Alpine?”

  She got a surprised look on her face from the unexpected question.

  “The only other person that we have run across so far is your teacher, Mr. Franklin. He says that he believes Seth and Aurora were also able to escape. She appeared injured from what he could tell during the few moments he caught a glimpse of them. It’s very possible that others made it out too.”

  “Probably not from what I saw, but I guess anything is possible. I know Amy, April, Steph, Peter, Roberto, and Sergio are among the Fallen now. I saw them.”

  Celeste covered her gaping mouth. Tears began streaming down her face.

  “Sorry, Celeste. It wasn’t my intention to upset you. I’m just trying to focus on one of the reason I need to get better. They didn’t deserve to have what happened to them. There is nothing I can do to change that. It is my responsibility to put those I loved to rest though. They deserve to at least have that peace.”

  Either I had cried too much already or my emotions were simply overloaded. No tears came as Celeste grabbed my hand throwing herself halfway over me. I did slightly wince at the pressure on my wound. She broke down sobbing for my loss and for her own.

  -6-

  About three weeks passed before I was moving around with only minor pain. I was torn between finding Sandra and giving those I loved the final rest they deserved. The fact that I had no clue where to even start looking for Sandra made my choice easier.

  The residence that we were staying at was about a mile from Alpine. I waited until they fell asleep before sneaking out late one night. I came across a few of Alpine’s citizens who were now Fallen. They were just outside what was left of the walls. Among them were other faces that I did not recognize. They were obviously men and women that had attacked Alpine. My heart was pumping fast from an adrenaline rush that suddenly kicked in. I moved swiftly with my sword taking down a dozen in a matter of minutes.

  Out of breath with my wound acting up a little, I decided to make my way back to what was temporarily home. I snuck back inside crawling into bed.

  I repeated the process throughout the next couple weeks. I was careful not to engage the Fallen in large numbers. I took out ones that were away from the bigger group or alone. I sometimes had to come up with creative ways to draw a few out from the main group. Another way I found to safely put them to down was by sniper rifle. I would find somewhere to climb up high taking them down one after another. The numbers over time dwindled until there were about thirty left. Among the hundreds that I had already finished off were Roberto, Sergio, and Steph.

  I decided to have a conversation with Dan and Celeste before going to complete the task of clearing Alpine of Fallen. I waited until after dinner before asking them if we could talk.

  “I’ve been going to Alpine for the last few weeks at night.”

  “Kind of figured that was where you were sneaking off to,” Celeste said.

  “Why didn’t you tell me that she was sneaking out in the middle of the night? I would never have let her go by herself,” Dan seemed a little upset, but I could tell that he was more worried than anything.

  “Don’t get mad at Celeste. It was my choice. It was something I had to do. Anyway, I have been putting down the Fallen. I have been careful to safely do it. Well, most of the time.”

  “Seriously? It’s too dangerous for you to be doing that. There are way too many for even the three of us together to take care of. We can go out tomorrow to see if we can find any clues on where to start looking for Sandra. We need to find more supplies. There are so many other things we should be concentrating on.”

  “I understand your worried Uncle Dan. I told Celeste when I was still lying in bed injured that I was going to do this. Giving the ones I loved the proper rest they deserve is the right thing to do. Just to be clear there are only about thirty Fallen left in town.”

  “Thirty? There were a few hundred people that died there.”

  “I’ve been busy. Very busy! Trust me when I say there are only around thirty left.”

  Celeste chimed in, “I also find that hard to believe, but why are you telling us now. Why didn’t you simply finish the rest of them off?”


  “There really is only one reason. Among the thirty left are Peter, Frank, April, and Amy that I have seen. I feel like Amy is my responsibility. Jessie too, if she is among the few I have not seen. They will likely be the last ones I give a final rest to. It won’t be easy to do, but it’s necessary. I didn’t feel like I had the right to take care of those that you were closest to. I wanted to check first before I did anything.”

  There was silence in the room for the next couple minutes.

  “I’ll go with you tomorrow during the daylight. We’ll do what needs to be done. They do deserve a funeral,” Dan said.

  “I’ll go too,” Celeste sighed.

  The following day we took a truck parking just outside the main entrance. The large metal greenish-grey tank I had seen in my dream was abandoned just inside the broken down gates. Seeing Alpine during the day was a different experience than at night. Dan put the truck back into gear pulling up next to the tank. He suggested that we climb up onto it from the truck to take a defensive position. They made their way up onto the tank with guns and ammunition. I laid down on the truck horn to draw in the Fallen before hoping into the bed of the truck. I climbed from the bed onto the roof, then onto the tank. The first of the undead appeared seconds later. We yelled to draw them in closer. Dan took the first shot. We were not using silencers today so the noise would bring the rest. They continued to drop to the ground as time passed by.

  Seeing what had once been April stirred with all our emotions. I recalled the pecan pies that she made for me over the years. Her smile could always cheer you up. Now she was hardly recognizable. Torn flesh hung from her face. Her body was covered with bullet holes and dried blood. The skin was very pale with a yellowish tone. Her eyes were a pale blue. It took a couple silent minutes for Dan to find the strength to pull the trigger. She fell among the others that were given a final repose.