Final Days: Escape

by Jasper T. Scott

  “Is there anything better than the smell of tomato plants?” he asked her, and to his surprise she did trail beside him, one step behind.

  “My mother loved to garden,” she said, her tone wistful.

  Roland looked toward the courtyard, and he spotted Tony running toward the stairwell. He’d done his job. Roland took a deep breath.

  Eve kept talking, and Roland listened, adding in the occasional nod or comment, but all he could think about was how they were one step closer to reclaiming the colony.

  * * *

  Val

  Val woke to the sounds of people shouting. The muffled voices radiated in from the window of her new room. After her outward-facing apartment had been broken open by a rogue bulldozer, she’d been assigned one that faced the courtyard.

  Sitting up, she rubbed tired eyes and shook her head to clear it. What time was it? She checked the Eden-issue smart watch on the night stand beside her bed—6:54 AM. Her alarm was only set to go off at seven, but whatever was going on out there had woken her early.

  Val swung her legs over the side of the bed and walked to the far wall, where a bright square of sunlight highlighted the edges of the windows. On Eden, the days were a little more than twenty-five hours long, and actual daylight spanned roughly fifteen, meaning the sun had been up for several hours already.

  Parting the blinds of the second-floor window, she saw the source of the commotion outside. Mary and some of her guards were clustered around the Communion water on the pedestal in the center of the courtyard. Mary appeared to be trying to calm them down, but a few of the guards looked agitated. One of them pointed animatedly to the tank of water. Another took a quick step toward Mary and stole the jug from the pedestal. He shook it a few times and then tossed it aside, as if it were garbage. The jug must have been completely empty for that guard to have lifted it so easily.

  A sharp spear of dread lanced through Val with that realization. Were they out of Communion water? Was that why the guards were arguing with Mary? What were they going to do? Val’s entire body began to itch with anxiety. The thought of not being able to take Communion was unbearable. Her hands started fidgeting at her sides and her heart pounded erratically in her chest. She chewed her lower lip, wondering what to do. Maybe she could help. Yes. Anything was better than standing around here.

  BZZZT, BZZZT, BZZZT! Val flinched at the sound and turned to see her alarm buzzing loudly and vibrating on the nightstand, steadily inching toward the edge of the furniture. She ran over and strapped the device on her wrist, then went to the closet for a fresh white jumpsuit with the Saints’ emblem on the shoulder. Once dressed, she hurried from her room and to the stairs. Flying down them, she emerged at a pair of reinforced doors to the courtyard, and she burst through them to see what was going on. A crowd was trickling in from other entrances around the U-shaped complex. People gathered around in the circle, muttering and gasping as they noticed the situation.

  “Everyone, please try to remain calm!” Mary said. “Have faith! We are not suspending services forever. I just need more time to properly bless the holy water for our next service.”

  “How long does it take to bless water?” someone shouted angrily.

  “You crazy old witch!” another added.

  “She’s keeping it all for herself!” a third put in.

  “I would never do that!” Mary replied.

  A pair of glassy-eyed guards with sweat beading their faces started toward Mary. Val recognized one of them from his spiky red hair, but the haunted, haggard expression on his face shocked her to the core. It was Arthur. He looked like he hadn’t slept in weeks.

  Another pair of guards moved to Mary’s side, raising their rifles to track Arthur and the other one. They stopped their approach. Arthur sneered. “She’s not! You’re lying!” He raised his rifle.

  “Drop your weapon, Arty! Let’s talk about this!” someone else shouted, stepping between him and Mary with both hands raised. Val recognized the woman from her freckled face. It was Alice.

  “Stop lying! I saw her yesterday!” Arthur screamed.

  Val’s brow furrowed. Arthur was responding to an entirely different conversation.

  “No! You leave her alone! If you hurt her, I swear I’ll kill you!”

  The guard standing beside him shook his head, his eyes almost as glassy as Arthur’s. “I needed it to stay awake, Pa. Once a day just isn’t enough. You can’t blame me for this... it’s not my fault they ran out!”

  Confusion rolled through the crowds and everyone backed up a step.

  “Let’s all calm down, okay?” Alice said. “We need to—”

  A single shot rang out, loud and echoing through the courtyard as a horrified silence thickened the morning air. A perfectly round red circle with a black center appeared in the middle of Alice’s white jumpsuit. Her eyes grew wide with shock and she placed her hands over her stomach as the circle rapidly grew, blood seeping through her jumpsuit and bubbling between her fingers.

  The crowds screamed and fled. Val ran with them, angling for Tony. She caught a glimpse of Mary running ahead of them, leading the charge for the nearest exit.

  “Someone get the doctor!”

  More gunshots rang out, but these were softer and muffled by the distance. “We’re under attack!” somebody cried. Val turned to see Eve running into the courtyard. The woman stopped short when she saw the chaos. Two of the Saints opened fire, their rifles rattling loudly as they shot at each other across the courtyard from cover positions behind stacks of supply crates.

  “This is insane!” Tony said, breathing hard as he ran beside her.

  Val nodded as she squeezed through the doors with several dozen others, into the relative safety of the residences. Mary was nowhere to be seen, and people were practically trampling each other in the hall to escape the armed conflict outside.

  And yet somehow, in spite of it all, the only thing Val could think about was the fact that Communion had been suspended. What was she going to do?

  * * *

  Roland

  Roland’s eyes darted open at the first sound of gunfire. The makeshift burlap blanket wrapped around his legs, tripping him as he climbed to his feet and rushed for the shed door. He’d sneaked away after talking with Eve, hiding before she noticed the Communion tank had been emptied.

  He’d considered moving for the treatment plant, but that might have triggered the perimeter sensors that, ironically, he and Tony had set up a couple of months ago. Instead, Roland had settled with hiding out in the newly-erected garden shed, hoping to leave before the workday began.

  Another bullet rang out in the distance, and Roland unwrapped the rough fabric from his shins and pressed a hand on the door. He pried it open enough to see that everyone was pouring from Eden One, staring toward the far end of camp.

  Had the Saints gone completely bonkers after their supply of drugs was lost? Judging by Morris’ appearance and Arthur’s escalating behavior, Roland didn’t think they were far from complete implosion.

  He left the relative safety of the shed, wishing he was armed. Now might be the time to uncover their hidden stash of weapons, before things escalated.

  Another rifle report shot through the camp, and Roland guessed he was too late.

  No one but Eve could place him at the scene of the crime last night, and she’d been there with him, talking about her past as they’d stared at the night sky. She might not even rat him out, since she’d likely be blamed for improperly guarding the drugs.

  He risked his hide, moving toward Evan, who stood with a group of other workers, slowly walking toward the center of camp. “What’s going on here?” he asked Kendra’s friend.

  Evan shrugged, moving tentatively on his sore ankle. “No one knows. I heard we’ve been attacked.”

  “Attacked by who?”

  “Terry claims he witnessed three aliens entering camp through the forest five minutes ago,” Evan said, and Roland’s heart hammered in his chest.

&n
bsp; “Thanks. You might want to stay here until it’s resolved,” he told Evan, but the man continued along with the rest of the inhabitants of Eden One. They all chatted amongst themselves, as if sensing freedom from their recent oppression. Roland, for one, wasn’t sure an alien assault was a good thing. No one had seen Hound since he’d threatened Andrew two days ago, and Roland glanced to Eden Five as they walked by, hoping for a glimpse of the man. His station was silent.

  A group of Saints were moving from the residences, and he spotted Tony’s long hair bobbing as he ran. “Tony!” Roland shouted, waving the kid over.

  Tony arrived out of breath. “This just got real. They’re almost ripping each other’s throats out over the drug.”

  “What’s happening over there?” Roland pointed to the far edge of camp, where the armed Saints were headed.

  Tony was pale, clearly frightened. “Things are happening, man. Eve saw aliens advancing.”

  Roland swallowed hard, wishing Andrew and Kendra were here. They’d know what to do. Think, Rollie.

  “We have to get our stash, Tony. This might be our only shot,” he said, his head craning around to make sure no one heard him.

  Tony only nodded, urging Roland to hurry. The residences were on their left, and Roland saw Val a couple hundred yards ahead, walking behind the Saints as they advanced. As the pair of them passed the apartment block, something caught the corner of Roland’s vision.

  He peered over to see the familiar form of Reverend Shelley Morris rushing away from camp. She was still barefoot, bedraggled and shouting scripture to herself. She’d gone over the deep end.

  “Rollie, she’s trying to escape,” Tony said. “Should we stop her?”

  Roland considered it, but shook his head. “Good. Let her starve to death out there.”

  They were well ahead of the horde of curious colonists walking toward the sound of gunshots. Roland hoped they’d return to the refuge of Eden One until this was all dealt with.

  This part of the colony was used far less, since it was far from the lake and the crops, and farther along than the medical bay. The red grass grew long and wild, especially after the recent rainstorm, and it was damp with dew in the humid dawn.

  While everyone was distracted, Roland grabbed Tony’s arm, pulling him toward Eden Ten. It stood round and stark white, a tinge of blue enveloping everything in the morning sunlight, and Roland pressed his hand to it as they circled the immense section of Hound’s spaceship.

  They paused near the edge, and he stared toward the side of their camp. “This is the spot?”

  “I hid the pack about thirty yards into the trees, right before the barrier,” Tony said. “Want me to go…”

  A boom erupted, shaking the ground, and Roland nearly lost his footing. “What the hell was that?”

  More gunfire sounded, and Roland peered at the incoming Saints. Something rustled from the cottony trees beside them, and it came so quickly that Roland almost didn’t see it. The creature wore a skin-tight green suit, and fins flared at its neck as it noticed them standing in its path. It made a shrill warning sound, raising a long and lean weapon toward them. Roland’s hands shot up, and he backed away, giving it passage.

  It didn’t fire, only sprinted from them toward Eden Sixteen, which stood unguarded a hundred yards ahead. That’s when Roland noticed the other ten or so aliens at Eden Fifteen. They were distracting the colonists from the real target.

  “What should we do?” Tony asked.

  “Follow it,” Roland suggested.

  TWENTY

  Kendra

  Kendra woke with a start, forgetting where she was. Her fingers ran to her head, where the strange multi-legged device clung to her. Andrew was sprawled out beside her, an arm draped over her body. She shook him softly. “Andy, wake up.”

  His eyes flashed open, and he sat up in a hurry, hands searching for a gun. “What is it?” His voice was a low rasp.

  She stared to the center of the room, seeing the pool of water, and it all came flooding back. “We’re with the aliens in the other valley. It feels like a dream.” She was thirsty, and noticed a pitcher of water on a squat table across the room.

  Colorful stained-glass windows adorned the round walls near the ceiling of the room, and with the lights out, the sun scattered rainbows over the stone floor. She rose, smacking dry lips, and poured a glass of water, handing one to Andrew. He drank it greedily, wiping his chin where some dribbled.

  “What are we going to do? We can’t go home,” he said, standing up.

  “I have no idea.”

  “I don’t like what they told us last night. The Watchers.”

  “Neither do I, but we can’t give up.” Kendra said it without conviction, because at that moment there was no strength remaining in her bones. She sat on a rounded bench along the wall, her shoulders slumped. Andrew joined her, placing his arm over her shoulders.

  “I’ve been thinking a lot about my life.” He removed his arm, leaning onto his knees as he stared toward the pool.

  “And what did you learn?” she asked him.

  “I learned that I’m terrible at being myself. I’m always angry… have been since I was a kid. My parents were constantly fighting.”

  Kendra realized he’d never spoken about them before. “What were they like?” she asked.

  “Normal. I was an only child like Val, only nothing like my daughter. I got into trouble all the time. I could say it was because my dad liked to drink too much, and my mom worked nights just to keep the lights on, but that’s not true. I was bored. Hung out with the wrong crowd. Almost went to juvie when I was sixteen, and my mom somehow convinced the judge to give me another shot. She was so angry with me.” Andrew paused, drumming his fingers on his legs. “I’ll never forget that look she gave me, you know, the one only a mother can make?”

  Kendra nodded. She did. “What happened?”

  “I enlisted the second I turned eighteen. I was determined to do better, but…”

  Kendra waited, aware something tragic was coming.

  “Mom died while I was out on my first deployment. She had cancer—knew it before I left, but didn’t want to worry me.”

  Kendra hugged him, pulling him close. “I’m sorry.”

  “What does it matter now? They’re all gone,” he said softly.

  “We’re not. Valeria’s alive. We can make something of this,” she told him.

  He cleared his throat, straightening. “Sorry. You’re right.”

  Something emerged from the pool, water dripping from the smooth head that stared at them. The device on Kendra’s head vibrated slightly, and she heard its translated thoughts, this time without even a whisper escaping from its lips. “We’ve discussed it. Would you care to see our village?”

  “Did you hear that?” Kendra asked Andrew, and he nodded.

  “He’s looking at us funny. Do you think they were reading our minds before, listening while we talked?” he asked.

  Kendra had almost forgotten about the spider-like device on her head while Andrew had opened up, but she supposed these creatures probably were eavesdropping on their conversation. “Maybe.” She turned her attention to the alien standing a few feet away. “We’ve already seen the village.” She pointed to the locked wooden door.

  “No, you haven’t. That’s to give the Watchers something to study.” He pointed to the water, and Kendra smiled.

  “I think we’d like that,” she said, her words seeming to translate. He pulled two apparatuses from a pouch on his hip, and she wondered what they were. He handed one to each of them and pointed to his face.

  “We’re supposed to wear them.” Andrew slipped the bungee cord over his head, and placed a cup over his nose, taking a few breaths. With this and the metal communicator over his head, he looked ridiculous, but Kendra copied him, not caring about her appearance. The cup had two prongs inside, fitting into her nose. She noticed there were other attachments, likely for different types of creatures.

  �
��Apparently they’ve encountered other alien races before,” Andrew said, walking to the edge of the pool.

  “I guess we’re going in,” Kendra said, standing near the water. The rungs led into it, and she climbed in cautiously, entering the water, expecting it to be cold. Instead it was comfortable, like bathwater that you’d sat in for ten minutes. “It’s warm,” she told Andrew, and submerged herself, testing the breathing apparatus. It took a few inhales, but she found it worked well, and the slight panic in her chest evaporated.

  The alien entered the water between them, and it moved with liquid grace, swimming headfirst further down with little movement in its limbs. Kendra tried to copy it, but flailed about, her body wanting to float. Andrew did better than her as they swam through the tube around them, and a minute later they moved into the vastness of the lake. The water was crystal-clear, nothing impeding her view. She stopped, almost forgetting to breathe as she took in the sights.

  Kendra floated beside Andrew, slowly treading her legs as they stared at an intricate underwater city. Lights glowed from round structures, and at least a hundred of the aliens swam between buildings, some chatting to one another in groups, others dragging bundles behind them as they went about their daily business. Along the lake’s edge were jagged rocks; glowing topiaries danced in the water at their passing.

  It was breathtaking.

  She realized what the structure in the center of the lake was. From outside, it was rough, almost like a melted metal mountain peak, but here, far below the surface, it was obvious what they were looking at. Andrew’s expression told her he was thinking the same thing.

  It was a giant spaceship.

  * * *

  Val

  Tony had left Val in her room on the second floor of the residences. She’d tried to stop him from leaving, but she’d been too shell-shocked to properly react to his departure. She remembered now that he’d told her to stay here while he found Roland. The distant echoes of gunfire gave her a new imperative, stirring her to life. Her entire body was cold with shock, but she pushed through, forcing her mind to focus. Eve had said they were under attack. By who? Where? Was it her dad and Kendra, back from their excursion? If so, she had to leave and help before one of Morris’ guards shot them.