After The End

by Jamie Campbell

  Still, there is a sense of accomplishment after we’ve gone through our training session. We’ve started. Everything has to begin somewhere and we’ve made it. Now we can get on with finishing it.

  The soldiers share their food with me so I can actually have something to eat for lunch. The meal is a small collection of vegetables that have been boiled until they’re soft.

  I know I’ve come a long way when I don’t even think of the radiation from the meteorite and how it could have contaminated the soil the vegetables were grown in. At this stage, I don’t care. I’ve been breathing the potentially-contaminated air for the past six months. If it was going to kill me, it would have already done it by now.

  I save some lunch for Garlind and find him in the weapons training area. I’ve seen him shoot a gun, I know he doesn’t really need to improve his skills. He could probably teach the teacher some tricks.

  “Are they carrots?” he asks when I show him the plastic container of food.

  “Sure are.”

  “Have you had enough?”

  “Yep,” I lie.

  He finally accepts the container and eats each of the vegetables in turn, relishing every one of the different tastes. I make a mental note to speak with those in charge of food supply here. We’re going to have to increase the vegetable garden, no matter how big it already is.

  We’re about to move on to our next task when a woman comes running toward us. I’ve seen her face around in the meetings but I can’t remember what her name is.

  “You’ve got to come to the gate,” she says, panting out each word. She wasn’t in our training session this morning but probably needs to be.

  “Why? What’s going on?” I ask.

  “Someone’s here.”

  We don’t need to hear anything else. Garlind and I thank her for the message and then hurry to get to the gate. I can only assume it’s the same one that we came in through just a few days ago. I certainly haven’t seen another entrance gate around the base.

  It seems to take us an agonizingly long time to reach it. When we do, there are a few soldiers standing back, just watching the man at the gate.

  They haven’t let him in yet.

  I barge to the front, immediately taking charge. I address the man directly. He’s covered in dirt and grime and looks absolutely exhausted. I doubt he could pose any threat to our safety in the condition he’s in.

  “What is your name?” I ask. I figure it’s a good idea to start off with an easy question.

  “Sergeant Emmett Rowntree, ma’am,” he replies formally. The fact he’s using an army title definitely piques my interest. He certainly doesn’t look anything like a soldier.

  “Where are you from?”

  “I have been stationed at Fort McCoy in Wisconsin. I left last night and came straight here.”

  Garlind takes a step closer. “That’s got to be almost a thousand miles away. You couldn’t have made it here that quickly.”

  He looks at Garlind to respond. “I used an electric bicycle until the battery died and then I peddled with everything I had. I haven’t stopped for more than a few minutes to get here. My orders were to hurry. I’ve ridden like mad all night and all day.”

  I wait until Garlind considers the likelihood of that being a possibility. I can’t comprehend how far the Fort McCoy base is and how much time it would take to get here.

  Garlind finally nods. “It’s possible.”

  I take over again. “Why the rush to get here?” I dare not assume anything. Before I get my hopes up, I need to hear it from his chapped lips.

  “Are you Maisy Rayne?”

  “Yes, I am.”

  “We got your message,” he replies. “My Colonel wanted me to tell you in person that we are in. He’s been trying to launch an attack for decades. He sees this as our opportunity.”

  I can barely believe what he’s saying. I had hoped for cooperation but I never expected anyone to take me this seriously. I wonder if his Colonel knows I’m only seventeen years old.

  My excitement cannot make me complacent, though. “How many willing soldiers do you have at your base?”

  “Three thousand, ma’am.”

  My jaw drops to the floor. Surely I misheard. “Three thousand people, all willing to join our army?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  I almost choke on my surprise. My mind spins with all the possibilities of that many people joining us. How much that will tip the scales in our favor.

  Emmett continues. “The whole base is mobilizing and should be here within a month. They are bringing supplies and weapons. The Colonel will join them in the convoy.”

  A thought suddenly panics me. “Three thousand people, the aliens will see that many humans travelling at once. They will be sitting ducks for an attack. We have to get a message to warn them.”

  “They’re not all travelling together, ma’am. They are mobilizing in small groups and taking as many different routes at possible. We know how to stay away from the enemy,” Emmett replies calmly.

  I guess I should have known to expect more from the army. Obviously his base is one of the advanced ones. Perhaps it’s even good enough to rival that of Washington DC. I’m curious to know everything about them.

  But that can wait. This soldier clearly needs some rest. “We’ll show you to a cabin so you can sleep. We might also be able to find you some food.”

  I hope.

  The group of soldiers step in and take the visitor under their wing. I watch them go, still in disbelief. There is no way this man could be lying. The exhaustion was written all over his face and how else would he have known to come to us if he wasn’t part of the military? Sergeant Emmett Rowntree is exactly who he claims to be.

  And he’s the start of three thousand more.

  Garlind wraps his arms around me. “This is just the beginning.”

  “We’re really going to do this, aren’t we?”

  “Sure are.” He kisses my hair and a flutter of butterflies explodes in my stomach.

  My body is physically exhausted from training, my heart cannot be any bigger, and now my hope soars as high as those damned alien ships.

  Every day afterwards is filled with training and waiting. We plan, we grow stronger, we prepare the camp for the influx of soldiers. I learn more about the base and exactly what we have here than I ever thought possible.

  As it turns out, their garden is quite large already and they grow so many different vegetables I can barely name half of them. It’s the freshest food I have ever eaten and my body grows stronger each and every day.

  After two weeks, I know everybody by name. I can walk through the base and know exactly what everyone’s skills are, their rank, and which cabin they reside in. They are my comrades and I am theirs.

  I’m part of the army we are building and it still blows my mind when they come to me for decisions. I don’t know how they all came to understand me as their leader but I take their respect and wear it with honor. I’m not going to let they down in any way, they deserve that.

  By the sixteenth day after Emmett arrived, I’m getting antsy. Training is fantastic but we need more people and nobody else has shown up to join us. If the other US Army bases received the message, it’s looking like they’ve chosen not to respond.

  Adam monitors the radio waves every day. Just like he promised, he sent out a message to every single radio in the country and has played it in a loop ever since. We’ve received a few static replies but nothing that can be deciphered.

  Finally, on day seventeen, something different happens.

  Chapter 15

  A whistle blows through the base. It creeps in on the wind and demands to be heard. I instantly know where it came from. We have one soldier stationed at the gate at all times—day and night. We can only spare one person at a time. It’s not an ideal level of security but all we have.

  The whistle tells us he needs assistance.

  I’m in a training class for weapons when I hear i
t. The entire class drop what they are doing to rush toward the gate. We won’t leave the soldier on guard alone to face anything by himself.

  My fitness has improved significantly since we first got here. I don’t get puffed running toward the gate. I take it all in my stride and keep up with everyone else.

  It’s amazing what a steady diet and training can do.

  Garlind is already there when we arrive. He and a bunch of soldiers are lined up in front of the chain-link gate. I can barely see through them to see beyond the metal.

  The soldiers let me through so I can take my place next to Garlind and I can finally see what is out there.

  On the other side of the fence is a group of soldiers. A mini army of exhausted people. They are wearing military fatigues and carry their supplies on their backs in large packs.

  “You’re from Fort McCoy?” Garlind asks.

  One of the women speaks for the group. “Yes, sir. We’ve had orders from Colonel Carothers. We are to report here for duty, sir. We are the first of many from our base.”

  Garlind’s expression remains passive. “Your scout, what was his name?”

  “Sergeant Emmett Rowntree, sir.”

  He turns to the soldiers on our side of the fence. “Open the gate. Let’s get these tired people settled. Keep an eye open for any more. If one group has arrived, the others can turn up at any time.”

  Everyone moves to carry out his order. It’s not just me that has grown in the past few weeks. Garlind has managed to shake off the last of the headaches from his injuries incurred in the Precinct. He’s been just as vital to all this coming together as I have.

  He still manages to impress me every day.

  I still love him with every piece of my heart.

  I count the soldiers as they file into our base. There are exactly twenty in this group. There must be hundreds of the groups if all three thousand are on their way. Taking twenty at a time is manageable, we can definitely deal with them before the next batch arrives.

  I return to my weapons training session and try to focus. I think the new arrivals have made everyone excited and unable to really concentrate on what we were doing before.

  I’m anxious to speak with all the new soldiers. I want to know exactly what their base is like, how many of the three thousand set off for the journey, when they expect everyone else to be here. But I don’t want to barrage them with questions yet. They’ve come a long way and should rest before anyone hassles them.

  Across the yard I can see Garlind helping the newcomers to their cabins. We’ve aired them out and dusted everything inside so hopefully they will be comfortable enough. From what Emmett has said, they had pretty high standards at their base. They weren’t quite as a high as Washington DC had, but not nearly as run down as here either.

  I’ll get my chance to ask them later. If they want to complain about their conditions, I’ll listen. There isn’t anything I can do about it, but I can at least offer them a sympathetic ear.

  I will also remind them that they will be much worse on the road. I’m used to sleeping on the hard ground with nothing but the clothes I’m wearing to keep me warm and protected. They might find it a bit difficult.

  But that’s for later. Right now, I’m supposed to be learning how to clean a M4 carbine gun. I focus on the teacher and try to block everything else out. This is important stuff, I can’t be distracted.

  The afternoon crawls by but I make it all the way to dinnertime before letting myself wander. Garlind is at the entrance to the mess hall, waiting for me as he casually leans against the side of the building.

  “Hey you,” he says with a smile.

  “Hey yourself. You look pretty pleased this evening.” I give him a quick kiss on the lips. “What have you been doing all afternoon to make you smile like that?”

  “Ah, it isn’t what I’ve been doing. I’m just happy to see you.”

  My heart melts as he pulls me into a hug. I’m hot and sweaty but he doesn’t care. We kiss like we’ve both been waiting all day for that one single moment.

  Perhaps we have.

  My stomach rumbles, cutting short the moment. “Sorry.”

  “We should probably eat,” he replies.

  The food regime here at the base has been transformed in the last few weeks. We have a team of soldiers that do all the cooking and tend to the garden. They are on a rotation so they still have time to train in other areas too.

  We have three meals a day, albeit small ones. It’s just enough food to keep us healthy but not to fill us up. Nobody ever complains about it, though. We all know we’re lucky to be getting even this much.

  Garlind and I take our tray to a table and eat amongst all the others. The talk is all about the new arrivals who haven’t shown up for dinner yet. I send someone out to check on them, just in case they’ve gotten lost or forgotten about meal time.

  After we’re finished, we go straight to bed. I resist the temptation to find the new soldiers and pepper them with questions. I need to be patient. My questions can wait until tomorrow.

  I’m exhausted when I flop onto the mattress. I’m too tired to keep my eyes open any longer as I drift off into a blissful sleep.

  I’m unconscious until morning.

  Garlind is staring at me when I wake up. He’s got that adorable goofy grin on his face again. The one I have come to know as the expression he reserves just for me. Nobody else gets the pleasure of seeing that cheesy grin.

  “What time is it?” I mumble. I’m hoping to hear it’s not time to get up. I could use a few more hours of sleep.

  “It’s time for your birthday surprise,” he says with way too much energy for so early in the morning. Sunlight is streaming in through the window, which I guess means there will be no more sleep for me this morning.

  “You remembered my birthday,” I reply. I haven’t mentioned the date for ages. In all honesty, I keep forgetting about it. There are too many much more important things to worry about right now.

  “Happy eighteenth birthday, Maisy Rayne.”

  He pulls his hand from behind his back to show me a small paper box tied with a pink ribbon. I have no idea where he found something like that. Who has a luxurious thing like a pink ribbon these days?

  I accept the box and turn it over in my hands so I can see every little part of it. It’s been handmade with each of the corners in perfect points. It’s beautiful by itself, regardless of what is in inside.

  “Open it,” he urges with contained excitement.

  I take my time pulling open the ribbon. I have never received a birthday present before. In the bunker, our resources were limited. We didn’t have anything new. Usually my parents would let me have some of the chocolate we rationed. That’s the only thing I could expect from a birthday.

  The lid pulls away with a tug of the ribbon. Inside is a silver necklace with a little silver star pendant hanging from it. I pull it out and hold the delicate chain up to the light.

  “It’s beautiful,” I gush.

  I’ve never seen anything so gorgeous before. Jewelry is another thing we don’t have in this new world. It’s frivolous and does nothing for our survival. I know I could have taken some from the houses we scavenged but it never felt right. Wearing jewelry that belonged to someone else seemed too personal. Like it was only intended for those that used to own it.

  “I got it from a jewelry store a few weeks ago when my training group went to search for supplies,” Garlind explains. “As soon as I saw it, I thought of you. You’re my shining star.”

  My heart skips a beat and I want to melt into his arms forever. I leap from the bed and throw my arms around him. Nothing is as special as Garlind is himself but now I can wear a reminder of him around my neck.

  It’s perfect.

  He squeezes me tightly before releasing me. “Let me put it on.”

  I turn around and lift my braid to he can clasp the necklace. The silver star rests between my collarbones. I have never owned anything as beautif
ul.

  “Do you like it?” he asks nervously.

  “I absolutely love it. Thank you. I wasn’t expecting anything for my birthday.”

  “You deserve a lot more. When all this is over, I’m going to make sure every birthday you have is more special than the one before it. This is only the beginning.”

  I want to believe him so we can live the fairy tale. However, there is still that little voice in the back of my head that reminds me our chances of having the future we’ve dreamed of is slim. If this attack on the aliens doesn’t work…

  I don’t want to finish that sentence.

  Maybe for today I’ll pretend. I’ll imagine our dreams will all come true and our planet will belong to humans again. Today is my birthday, maybe that will be my present to myself.

  “I wish we could take the day off today so we can do something extraordinary,” Garlind says as he moves to get dressed for the day.

  We wear army fatigues most days now. Not because we consider ourselves soldiers, but because it’s all we have access to. We don’t have time to scavenge for new clothes all the time. If we do leave the base, it’s for a specific purpose. Being fashionable never comes up on the mission list.

  “What extraordinary thing would we do?” I ask, indulging in the fantasy.

  “First, I’d take you to the beach.”

  “There isn’t a beach anywhere near here,” I point out.

  “It’s a daydream, facts don’t matter. We’d have a breakfast picnic on the sand with the water lapping at our toes. Then we would do something fun like play mini golf. I don’t really know if that is actually fun or not, but it looks like it might be.”

  “And then?”

  He grins. “Lunch at the top of a tall building. So we can see for miles in all direction and have the world at our feet. Then we’d go see a movie. Except we won’t actually care what the film is because we’d be making out in the back row.”

  “I like where this is going.”

  “For the night, we stay at a fancy hotel. We have dinner in their sophisticated restaurant and have champagne with chocolate covered strawberries for dessert.”