When dusk creates shadows and then the dim lighting of night time, I lock us into the van and wait for morning. Sleep doesn’t come easily, not when I’m so worried about Garlind. He needs a doctor, someone that knows what they’re doing. All I can do is cross my fingers and wait.
It’s not enough.
I look at the stars through the back window of the van and watch them twinkle. They are beautiful, really. They don’t care what goes on in this world. Every night they sparkle like diamonds and put on a show for anyone that cares to look.
Voices drift in on the wind.
I cracked one of the front windows so we could have some fresh air earlier. Now I’m hoping that isn’t putting us in more danger. It will only take one person to peer through any of the windows and see us. We’ll be trapped and Garlind is still asleep so we can’t run.
My body freezes as I strain to listen. There are several voices and all sound like they belong to males. They could be from the Precinct, finally catching up with us when there were no traces anywhere else.
The voices get louder as they draw nearer. I don’t even want to breathe in case they can hear me.
Garlind is quiet as he calmly sleeps. Thank goodness he’s not a snorer.
Without moving anything except for my hand, I reach over to the tool box and pull out the first piece of equipment I touch. It’s a screwdriver with a sharp, pointed end. If I have to defend us, this tool is probably as good as anything.
I’m ready to attack. If they open any of the doors in the van, I will spring to life and lunge. There will be no hesitating or erring. I’m going to use my element of surprise and defend us. I’m not going to let them get anywhere near Garlind.
My nerves are on a thin wire, ready to snap or spring, I don’t know which.
The men are so close now I can hear bits and pieces of their conversation. Typically, they’re talking about food. They’re all hungry and trying to best one another with thinking about the most delicious food to eat.
Maybe if they’re starving, they’ll leave us alone. They can try to rob us of supplies but all they’ll get is some water and foliage. We’re not exactly flush with anything they’ll want.
But they don’t know that.
Everybody they see is a potential for life-saving supplies. If you can’t find it yourself, the best way is to take what someone else has. It’s not rocket science and you don’t need to be a genius to work that out.
Cold dread runs through my veins as I wait and prepare myself. At least Garlind is quiet right now. He’s not moaning or moving at all. As long as I can stay just as calm, I might be able to pretend we’re not here. I don’t want to give them any reason to look inside this van.
“Chocolate,” one man says.
“Raspberries.”
“When have you had raspberries?”
“I found a bush once. On a farm. They were delicious.”
“You never shared them with me.”
“They were too good to share.”
The banter goes back and forth. They are so close now I can hear their footsteps on the road. I try to count how many different voices there are. I estimate at least four but there could be more. There are enough footsteps for half a dozen of them.
Garlind starts talking in his sleep. They aren’t real words coming from his mouth but a slurring of a few combined. I clamp his mouth with my hand to stifle the noise. His head moves side to side, trying to free himself.
“Shhh,” I whisper.
If he moves too much, it will rock the van and they’ll see it. I press my body against his, trying desperately to stop him. He has no idea just how much danger we’re in right now.
Panic laces through all my thoughts. My face flushes as I fight the urge to run as fast as I can away from this place. I’m not going to leave Garlind. I’ll protect us. I’ll do whatever it takes.
Anything so we can live to see another day.
He settles down again as the men stop. Their footsteps halt abruptly as their voices quieten. I imagine them to be just on the other side of the wall.
I grip the screwdriver tighter and get ready. My palm is sweaty. I hope I don’t drop it when I have to use it. Maybe I should get another one ready from the toolbox, just in case I lose this one. But moving might tip them off further. It’s safer if I just wait and not move one muscle.
Not. One. Muscle.
My eye starts twitching. I want to rub it but don’t dare. My sole focus is on hearing the men and anticipating which door they’ll open first. The front ones are easier but the back hatch door provides a better look inside.
Where will they attack from?
Garlind moans again.
We’re done for.
Chapter 7
I don’t dare remove my hand from Garlind’s mouth. He can still breathe through his nose but he doesn’t appreciate my touch. I want to beg him to be quiet and still but have to settle for having that conversation in my head.
The voices of the men are lower when they speak next. It’s difficult to hear them over the pounding of my heartbeat in my head.
They had to have heard us. Surely they saw the movement of the van. The window is open, they’re so close. We’re completely trapped. There is enough of them to surround us. They’ll have every door of this place covered as they ready themselves to attack.
Well, I’m ready too.
I’ve got my screwdriver and a very strong will to live. Even if they are from the Precinct, they don’t scare me. I will do whatever I have to do to protect us. They will not win this time.
I wait as my heart counts out the seconds.
There is a siren wailing in my head and warning me of the imminent danger.
This is going to end quickly once they open the door. I’m going to jump out and take them all down before they have a chance to touch one single hair on my head.
They won’t know what’s coming.
They won’t be prepared for me.
My hand keeps sliding on the handle of the screwdriver. I quickly wipe my palm on my pants before gripping it tightly again. It’s my only weapon and I will stab them all with it if I have to.
The only thing I can guarantee is that they will fight back. They won’t let me get away with injuring them freely. They’ll want to kill me and won’t hesitate to try. I’m prepared for that. I won’t stop swinging my weapon until it’s over.
Footsteps.
Voices.
I’m ready.
I can do this.
“What was that noise?” one of the men says.
“You hearing things now, doofus?”
“I’m not imagining it. I really heard something.”
“Where?”
“Over there.”
I imagine he’s pointing to the van right now. I also imagine he’s a six-foot tall brute with a mean snarl and a gun tucked into his pants. All of the men are giants and ruthlessly cruel. In my head there isn’t just half a dozen now, there are several dozen.
The urge to peek out the window is as strong as ever but I fight it. It would be stupid to move right now. Not when the van is under intense scrutiny outside. Just one little wrong move could confirm their suspicions.
“There it is again.”
“I didn’t hear anything.”
“Well, I did.”
“So you go look for this thing, then. While you’re at it, check for unicorns too.”
“You won’t be laughing when I find us a big deer for dinner.”
“No, I’ll be dead from surprise.”
Laughter fills the air as the footsteps start pounding again. Some of them continue their conversation but it’s too low for me to hear over my pounding heart.
The footsteps grow softer.
They’ve left.
At least, I think so. I wait for a while longer, frozen.
Something in the forest has stolen their attention. I rise very, very slowly to my knees and shuffle over to the back window. I peek through the glass cautio
usly, ready to duck down again at a moment’s notice.
There are men outside but they are a quarter of a mile down the road now. I catch a glimpse of their backs before the trees swallow them up. They are headed in the direction of the Precinct. Are they returning home, or will they be surprised when they’re met by the Precinct’s welcome squad?
I slump against the side of the van and let the cool metal calm me. If there was a deer in the forest, it will keep them occupied for a while. They won’t have a second thought about the road and what could be inside the vehicles abandoned here.
Garlind moans and coughs as he awakens. His gaze finds me. “What’s wrong?”
“There were a few people outside but they’ve gone now. How’re you feeling?” I don’t want him to get caught up with what just happened. I dealt with it, that’s the end of it. Any unnecessary worrying will only make his condition worse.
“I have a headache.”
“That’s not surprising. Can I get you some water?”
He nods and I hold the bottle up to his lips. He takes a few sips and then a few deep breaths. I search every one of his movements for signs of a brain injury. Any little twitch or unusual activity could be a sign he’s not like he was before.
“Thanks,” he says.
“How’s your vision, can you see everything clearly?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“Besides the headache, does anything else hurt?”
“My ribs, I guess.”
“They could be broken. You have a lot of bruising around your torso.”
He arches an eyebrow. “And how would you know that?”
My cheeks burn. “I checked you. Just in case you were bleeding anywhere. That’s all.”
A familiar smile creeps across his lips and it’s almost like looking at the old Garlind again. His lip is still swollen and bruises cover more of his face than not, but he’s still in there. His brain injury hasn’t changed his sense of humor.
“I didn’t want to get blood all over the van,” I quickly add. “It’s too nice in here to mess up.”
He lets out a chuckle then holds his belly as he winces with the pain it caused. “Don’t make me laugh. It hurts too much. Are you okay? Tell me what happened.”
I recount our escape and Clare’s involvement. She risked everything for us so I make her the hero in this story. Without her, I wouldn’t have Garlind and I would still be in the Precinct, waiting for my fate to be sealed too.
He listens carefully and occasionally grimaces from one of his injuries. It’s clear we’re not going to be able to go anywhere for a few more days yet.
At the end, he remains quiet for a few beats as he processes everything. It’s a relief when he finally speaks. “Thank you for saving my life.”
“It was all Clare. She got us out of there.”
“But you carried me. And then looked after me while I was out cold. I’m lucky to have you, Maisy.”
I smile with relief. “It’s me that’s lucky to have you. Just don’t go fighting again, okay? I don’t think I could take it a second time around. From now on, we stay out of other people’s business. Got it?”
“Got it. Now, what do we have to eat?”
It’s so nice having him back that I almost forget about the men that had travelled past us. I give Garlind the remaining berries and leaves before going out to find some more and refill our water bottles.
We stay in the van for four days in total. Each day, Garlind gets a bit stronger. His memory and co-ordination were affected by the brain injury. His hands are clumsy and words he’s spoken his whole life seem to have disappeared from his vocabulary.
I give him puzzles to solve so he works his brain. Anything I can remember from my days in the bunker. My parents used to love giving me riddles and equations that I would have to work out. Sometimes it would take me a full day before I could come back to them with the correct answer.
It helped to pass time too.
Sometimes Garlind would get frustrated with himself because he couldn’t remember. Every time it happened, I just talked him through it. I told him he needed to give himself time. It would all return to him in time.
I hope I wasn’t a liar.
No other people pass us on the highway. We remain relatively safe in our little bubble. We exist on leaves and berries, anything I can scrounge from the surrounding forest. At least we have a supply of fresh water from the creek.
We settle in for a fifth day in the van. I think about the riddles I will give Garlind to solve for the day. One is a bit more challenging than the previous ones—I think he’s up to it. He might get annoyed that he can’t solve it immediately but it doesn’t matter. As long as he’s using his brain, he’s healing it too.
The smell wafts in on a strong wind and instantly wipes my mind of any riddles or puzzles.
“Aliens are around,” I declare with dread.
Garlind is instantly alert as he sits up, almost knocking his head on the side of the van. He sniffs the air with a deep inhalation and then grimaces from the terrible smell. “I wonder how close they are.”
“Stay here while I take a look.”
I’m gone before he can protest. I close the door of the van behind me, at least keeping him safe. If I need to, I’ll run in the opposite direction so the aliens never find him.
Both sides of the highway are clear of anything extra-terrestrial. They are either in the forest or beyond. I can’t see over the tall trees from this vantage point.
A blue sedan nearby might be high enough. I climb onto the bonnet of the vehicle and then onto the windscreen. I almost lose my footing getting on the roof but I catch myself just in time so I don’t fall.
I’m not too much higher, but just enough so I can see down into the valley below. It’s easy to spot the giant ships. They are so big it would be far harder to miss them.
There are only five in total. Not as many as I’ve seen lately all landed together. Still, five ships could mean hundreds of aliens. I have no idea how they fit so many inside but they seem to manage it.
It would only take one to kill us.
I hurry down and return to the van. “There’s five ships all within about two miles from here.”
Panic crosses his face before he can hide it. “We should get moving anyway. This van is starting to feel small.”
“Are you sure you’re up for it?” I ask. There’s no way I’m going anywhere unless he’s healed enough for some physical exertion. “Because otherwise we can just sit tight here. They’ve walked past us in a car before. They might not find us.”
“No, we should go.”
He kneels and then hides the fact the sudden movement has made him dizzy. If I hassle him about it, he’ll only get frustrated. So I let it go and hope that we’re doing the right thing. I really don’t want him going anywhere until he’s better but he’s not going to listen to me. He’s too stubborn.
We pack up the few items we’ve scavenged from the other vehicles and the measly food gathered from the forest. I insist on filling our water bottles before we go anywhere and hurry back to the creek at the last minute.
I run out of reasons to stay put so it’s time to go.
The position of the sun tells us which direction is east and west so we have enough bearings in order to head north. Thankfully, the alien ships are south-west so hopefully they haven’t travelled too far from where they landed.
It feels good being on the move again but I can’t help worry about Garlind. I find myself watching him constantly, searching his stride or posture for any signs that he’s struggling. He only catches me staring a couple of times.
“Why do you keep looking at me?” he asks.
I’m not going to tell him the truth. It will only make him hide any signs of fatigue. “I’m just glad you’re feeling better. That’s all.” I shrug, trying to sell the lie.
“I’m better thanks to you.”
“You’re the one who’s done all the hard work. It can’t ha
ve been easy. You were hurt very badly.”
He taps the side of his skull. “Thick head. Takes a lot to do any damage.”
I laugh. If he’s making light of it, the old Garlind is returning. I’m glad Blair couldn’t knock it out of him in the fighting ring. I will love any version of Garlind there is, but my heart soars that the brain injury hasn’t changed him.
Travelling with just the two of us, it feels like we’re missing so many people. We used to walk with Clare and River. Then it was Sarah and Rhys. Plus all the people in between that I’d rather forget.
Sadness fills me completely as I think about Sarah. She may have only been eight years old but she was the sharpest little thing around. I hope she was wily enough to escape the attack in Washington DC and that she is okay somewhere. I’ll spend the rest of my life wondering and hoping.
We walk in silence for a long time. I think we’re both lost in our thoughts and trying to process everything that’s happened lately. We were lucky to get out of Washington. Then we were lucky to escape the Precinct. I have to wonder how much longer our luck will hold out.
Hopefully it will last all the way to Pennsylvania but I’m not that sure.
The sun starts to make its way down for the day and cast long shadows over the highway. I haven’t seen a house or town for quite some time now. I worry about our supplies and getting some food. Garlind needs something more substantial than leaves if he’s going to make a full recovery.
All of a sudden, Garlind stops in the middle of the road. I come to a halt too, automatically searching the landscape for any signs of danger. That’s why we normally stop so abruptly.
He steps in front of me so we’re facing one another. Without any warning, he sweeps me into his arms and dips me backwards, planting a kiss on my lips.
All my unasked questions about what he’s doing dissolve from my mind as I’m completely consumed by him. His whole essence surrounds me. His taste. His scent. His warmth. His softness. Everything is just…him.
The kiss deepens into one of longing and burning. I don’t ever want it to stop. I want to be in his arms forever and nothing will change my mind.
After The End Page 47