by Luigi Robles
The host on the radio had just announced the aliens had been defeated. But it wasn’t a victory anyone could celebrate. The loss of human life, both civilian and troops, was too great.
“I can’t believe it,” Mom said furiously, closing the door behind her. “Almost ten times the regular price. There are no limits to people’s greed.”
The room was small, and nearly everything in the room was outdated—even the TV was one of those ultra-thin kinds that required pixels, instead of the more common digital projections.
“Don’t worry, honey,” Dad said as he sat down on one of the beds. “We’ll be out of here in no time. As soon as we rest and we figure out where to go.”
“And on that subject, have you given any thought to where we are heading?” Mom asked, opening up one of her suitcases.
Dad didn’t answer the question right away; he hadn’t thought about it, just like August. All they knew was that the city they used to live in was destroyed, gone, erased from existence. Whatever previous life they had in the city, that was gone also.
“How about you?” Dad asked. “Where do you want to go? Maybe this could be a new beginning for us. We both hated our jobs anyway. And August’s school was too far.”
Mom was an accountant, and Dad was the vice president of a sports company. Hating their jobs was the one thing they could always agree on.
“Wait a minute, I don’t hate my job,” Mom said. “I only hate some of the people I work with, which makes me hate my job.”
“It’s the same thing, Ella,” Dad said. “We hated our jobs. Starting from scratch seems pretty good to me.”
“It’s not like we have a choice,” Mom said. “Is it, Henry?”
“Ella, we do have a choice,” Dad said. “There’s always a choice. In this case, we can choose the light that we view the situation in. We can either take this as a new start and do everything that we’ve always wanted to do, or live in the shadow of what happened—and if we do that, why even try to be happy anymore? Besides, something tells me that August didn’t like his school either.”
“I liked my school just fine,” August said. “Nothing about it bothered me so much that I wanted to go to a different school.”
Talking about August’s school made him think how it probably didn’t exist anymore, and he wondered if his friends had made it out of the city. He hoped that once the smoke settled, he would be able to get back in touch with his friends, or at least find out if they were alive or not.
“OK, fine, wrong question,” Dad said. “You just don’t know you didn’t like it, because you haven’t been to a different school. But I am your dad, and I know you, and I know that it was a school you didn’t like.”
August felt the faint traces of a smile on his face.
Even if August didn’t have school, or his previous life, he still had the most important thing to him: his parents.
“For now, let’s try to unwind, if we still can,” Dad said as he lay down on the bed. “We’ll talk about it tomorrow morning during breakfast—that’s if we wake up for breakfast. We are probably too broken to think; my head feels way too fuzzy.”
“You better have some good options for us,” Mom said as she went into the shower. “If not, I will choose.”
“Hey!” Dad said, with a mocking voice. “Why don’t you have options for us too? If I don’t have options, you pick? Give me a break.” He chuckled. “You give us some options too.”
“No,” Mom yelled, closing the restroom door. “If you don’t have options for us, I get to choose.”
“Sometimes I think your mom is a little bit off,” Dad said. “But I can’t help but fall for her just a bit more every day.”
August rather enjoyed his parents’ conversations. It was like he was hearing two best friends that would always be there for each other no matter what.
August was next to use the restroom, and lastly Dad. They went to bed as soon as they could; they were exhausted. August couldn’t remember the last time they had stayed up this late. Maybe they hadn’t.
They slept soundly all the way up until the phone rang around twelve noon. Dad was the one to pick it up.
“Hello,” Dad said.
There was a loud voice on the other side of the old phone.
“What do you mean if we don’t check out in half an hour, you’ll charge the card again,” Dad said, getting half up from the bed.
“Who is that, Henry?” Mom asked, turning towards Dad.
“I don’t care if you have twenty people waiting to get a room,” Dad said, raising his voice. “We just checked in like seven hours ago, at ten times the usual price. We should at least be able to get a few more hours before you try to kick us out.”
The voice on the other side of the phone sounded even louder, but August was still unable to hear what it was saying.
“Really? Rules are rules?” Dad asked. “You know what, why don’t you grab your rules and shove them up yo—”
“Henry,” Mom yelled, interrupting Dad.
“Do whatever you want,” Dad said. “Greedy slimebag.” He hung up the phone.
“What happened?” Mom asked.
“He’s going to charge another day to our card,” Dad said, “if we don’t leave by twelve-thirty. We aren’t leaving anytime soon, so yeah.”
“What a load of crap,” Mom said furiously. “Wait until I go down there.”
“Who cares, honestly,” Dad said. “Let him rot with greed. We won’t be coming back here anymore. Just rest for now. We’ll leave in a little while.”
They rested for two more hours before they started packing their bags to leave. After a heated but brief exchange of words with the hotel manager, they left the hotel and stopped by a restaurant two hours later to try and get some food. It was the first restaurant they had seen open since leaving the hotel.
Each of them ordered a simple breakfast: scrambled eggs, bacon, and coffee, although August had a glass of juice. They were excited to eat, and the food looked delicious. It must have been because they were starving.
But then August noticed something wrong with his parents. They were much slower, and they weren’t really talking. It was as if they were struggling to process things.
“Mom, Dad?” August asked. “Are you guys OK? Is there something wrong?”
There was no answer.
“Mom, Dad?” August insisted. “Hey, what’s wrong?”
Again, no answer.
Dad was the first one to collapse on the table, and Mom soon followed. August’s heart and stomach sunk to the floor when he saw his parents unmoving on the table.
No, no, no, August thought. This can’t happen. Come on, guys, react.
“Mom, Dad,” August yelled, attempting to shake them awake. Tears gushed out of him. “Please wake up.”
But there was no response.
“Someone, please help,” August yelled at the top of his lungs. “Someone, please help.”
A few seconds passed, and a crowd formed around them.
I don’t want my parents to die, August thought as it became harder for him to breathe and tears gushed out. They have done nothing wrong.
“Please step back,” a stranger said amongst the crowd, pushing the crowd back. “Let them breathe. Help me get them out of the booth.”
The stranger and one of the cooks grabbed Mom and Dad and laid them down on the floor in front of the booth.
“They are going to be OK, kid,” the stranger said. “An ambulance is on the way, and they are breathing just fine. Maybe it’s just stress or something.”
The words of the stranger were able to calm August down at least a bit.
Soon August and his unmoving parents were on the way to a hospital in the back of an ambulance.
“Hey, kid, what’s your name?” the EMT asked August as she checked his parents’ vitals.
“I’m August.”
“August, I’m Mary,” the EMT said, putting oxygen masks over his parents’ faces. “Do you mind telling me what happene
d?”
“I don’t know,” August managed, finding it hard to talk. “We were just about to eat, and—” He drew a breath in, mustering his courage. “And, out of nowhere, they just stopped responding or doing much of anything. Soon after that, we called you.”
“I see. Did you come from…?” Mary nodded her head in the direction of the now-leveled city.
August nodded.
“We’ve been getting these kinds of cases ever since the attack,” Mary said. “This is my fifth case today. But don’t worry. Some of the best doctors in the country are in town. Hopefully, everything will be OK. We’ll try to find a hospital that’s still admitting patients; they are pretty full.”
August nodded.
In the end, they had to go to a faraway hospital on the outskirts of town, as most hospitals were at capacity. August didn’t mind the thirty-some-minute ride in the back of the ambulance, as long as his parents would be fine. They seemed to be in capable hands, with Mary constantly checking on them.
After his parents were admitted to the hospital, August underwent a series of Q&As from the hospital staff and several other agency staff. Lastly, they asked if he had any family that could come and watch over him while his parents recovered. They explained to him that if no one came, social services would have to take him.
“That won’t be necessary,” August said. “I’m sure that my uncle will come as soon as I give him a call. Will you help me find him, miss? I don’t know his phone number, but I know his name.”
Nurse Alice patiently helped August find his uncle, although it only took a few internet searches before they were able to message him. It looked as if she was willing to stay by August’s side the whole day if she had to.
Peter, his uncle, made his way to the hospital that same night. August broke into a million pieces at the sight of someone familiar.
“Don’t worry, bud,” Peter said. “I’m not going anywhere until your parents are OK.”
Together they waited for the prognosis, but it never came. Despite dozens of doctors coming in and out of the room, running several tests on his parents daily, nobody seemed to know what was wrong with them.
Finally, early one day, a military doctor came to August and Peter with an explanation. The military doctor explained to them that it was a virus that affected the immune system, the motor system, and even the mental process. That the virus sometimes made people crazy and made them do irrational things. August thought about the people on the highway. But what was most disturbing was the origin of the virus: it came from the alien spaceships.
The military doctor explained to them that as of now, there was no cure, but that they had the best minds scrambling around the clock to find a vaccine. There were more alien viruses emerging than they could keep track of. The military doctor assured August that as soon as the vaccine was found, his parents would be the first ones to receive it.
A vaccine was found for the alien virus, but not until two weeks after August’s parents had passed away.
Two weeks after the alien attack, Fain was in an orphan shelter, eating his daily breakfast and watching the news, as he had done in the past. But this time, the news had a different tone. This time, Fain was able to hear a spark of hope in the news anchors’ voices.
“Just two weeks after the attack, scientists have already found a cure for the Acram virus,” Maya, the news anchor lady, said. “It comes in the form of a universal vaccine. It is said to be able to cure a person infected with the deadly virus instantly.”
Fain still wasn’t used to hearing the official name given to the aliens.
“Over twenty-five thousand people are set to receive the vaccine by the end of tomorrow,” Maya continued. “This vaccine will be given to every person around the world that is willing to take it, to prevent any possible spread of the virus.”
“And remember,” Marcus, the other news anchor, continued, “if you are experiencing frequent headaches or if your head feels fuzzy, or even if you are experiencing extreme thoughts, make sure to consult your doctor, as you could be carrying the deadly Acram virus.”
The news droned on in the background, talking about things that people were able to salvage from the destroyed city.
At least that’s one piece of good news, I guess, Fain thought as he smeared a French fry with ketchup. I wondered what happened to my friends… and to Mikey? Was he able to make it out OK? Or was he in that stupid arcade, trying to beat the game when the Acram came? He sighed at the depressing thought. I wish there was a way to know. Or should I even know? I already lost everything. Would it matter if I lost just a bit more? Undoubtedly, yes. I shouldn’t go looking for those answers yet. I just hope Mikey and everyone else I knew was able to make it out alive. After all, they did live near the edge of the city.
The TV snapped Fain out of his thoughts as it announced breaking news.
“We have breaking news, this just in,” Maya said. “The president is holding an impromptu press conference to announce big changes coming, and I quote, ‘not only for this nation but for the world.’ Let’s listen to what the president has to say.”
“Thanks to all of you for being here,” the president said. “And for coming at such short notice. I will get straight to the point. The Acram attack we witnessed, which caused so much damage and destruction, and above all the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives, has left this nation in a state of mourning. Since then, and together with other nations of the world, we have been on red alert, watching and waiting for another attack. Perhaps from here on out, we will always be waiting. But next time, we will not take this lying down. We won’t tie our hands behind our backs out of fear. We are a strong nation, and we will show that we are a strong nation by getting up and fighting back.”
Fain noticed the large room fall silent, everyone paying close attention to the TV in the corner of the room.
“Together with fourteen other countries, we will work together to form a federation dedicated to the defense of our planet against any alien or Acram threat. We will develop the technologies needed, we will train, and we will prepare ourselves for another potential attack. And if more work is needed, we will work harder. If more training is needed, we will train even harder. But we will not stand by and be the victims next time.”
Fain’s heart was beating fast. This was just what he needed to hear, just what he wanted to hear.
“Next time, we will hold our own place in the Milky Way galaxy. Next time, those alien scum will not know what hit them. And next time, they will leave this part of the Milky Way alone and in peace. And with that in mind, we have created the Earth Space Armed Federation.”
Everyone in the room cheered, except Fain—not because he wasn’t excited, but because he wanted to hear the rest of what the president was saying. So, he ran up to the TV to try and catch the rest of the conference.
“Among its directives, and perhaps most importantly,” the president continued, “ESAF will begin the search for Earth’s finest. We will scour the globe until the best are found, and when they are found, they will be given the chance to fight for us all, to fight for Earth.”
The president continued for a bit longer, but Fain had already heard everything he needed to hear. Now Fain had a clear path. He knew what he wanted to do, what he wanted to dedicate his life to. He was fiercely determined to make a difference, to not let anyone else die at the hands of the Acram or any alien species with hostility towards Earth.
Fain had found his calling, and he was sure that everyone that had suffered or had lost someone because of the alien attack would join him in the fight. Because in the days, weeks, and months after the Acram attack, the world had come to the realization that humanity was space bound.
1
Reaching the End
Fain was usually the last one to leave the simulation room, because Fain was the only one who could manage not to get shot down by the battle simulator. In fact, he had far surpassed his classmates and instructors. He knew the ga
me inside and out, and today he was sure he would reach the end.
To most of Fain’s colleagues, the game was impossible. They said so themselves as they left the simulations, frustrated. But to Fain, the whole idea of the impossible exhilarated him, made him sharper, and kept him focused.
“Fain, you’re the last of us, as usual,” said Brian, or possibly Carlos. Fain didn’t bother to look away from the simulation to see who it was. “At least try to make it to dinner this time. Don’t make us go through the whole thing of saving you some food for later. You know there’s no chance of finishing that simulator.”
But Fain paid little attention to the outside world. He was lost in the heat of battle. He was surrounded 475 to 1; his ammo was running out, and his forcefield had taken a beating. He had lost the majority of his drones, with only a few still trailing behind him. But he was not about to back down. His speed was still to his advantage.
The battle simulator often took place in a random environment: earth, air, space, or sea. The only things that remained unchanged were the steep odds and insane difficulty. The battle that Fain was in now was taking place at sea.
“This is going to be a walk in the park,” Fain said to no one in particular, remembering a line from a book he was fond of as a kid: Appear strong when you are weak. “We are going to have to put that to the test. Let’s hope you were right, Sun Tzu.”
He sent the drones to circulate around him at full speed, despite all the warnings of low fuel, and programmed his own battle craft to self-destruct in twenty seconds. Fain chose one of the 475 ships surrounding him and focused on it with laser-like precision. In that moment, nothing else existed. It was only him and that one enemy ship.
He lunged towards the enemy ship, creating a colossal splash of water behind him. The enemy fired—all 475 of them. Most of them missed, but the ones who did not found a way to hit the drones that circulated around him. The drones began to drop like poisoned flies, and Fain had mere seconds to complete his plans—but mere seconds were all he needed.