“And then?” I raise an eyebrow cheekily. I want to hear him say what he’s leading to.
“And then we go back to our luxurious room and get naked.”
“That sounds like fun.”
“The best kind of fun. We don’t sleep all night.”
“Even though the bed is super soft?”
“There are other things we do with the bed,” Garlind finishes.
I wish we could do that. Every little part of his perfect day. Instead, we have to get to training. If we’re late, we’ll miss out on breakfast.
“We should go,” I say reluctantly.
He sighs because he knows I’m right. We can daydream all we like but the reality we face will always be there. Our lives must be on hold until we’ve earned our freedom.
And that will make our freedom all that much sweeter.
We leave the cabin shortly afterwards and head toward the base center where all the groups congregate before splitting off into our training sessions.
I’m going to be doing fitness runs today—not exactly my favorite thing in the world to do. There are hundreds of people heading in the same direction, getting ready for their tasks of the day.
My hand keeps going to my chest, checking to make sure my necklace is still there. I’ve never worn jewelry before so I’m terrified of it coming unclasped and being lost. I’ll never find it again if I lose it.
As we walk, I spot something in the sky. It’s only a speck but I know what it means. “Alien ships are flying overhead!” I yell at the top of my lungs.
Everyone looks up and it takes a few seconds for the ships to register in their minds. Once they see it for themselves, they immediately act.
We’ve training for this. We’ve had drills for exactly this situation, but this is the first time we’ve actually had to do it. Garlind grabs my hand and we run for the nearest cabin.
There are a dozen other people all headed in the same direction as us. Our training has taught us to get to the nearest building and close all the curtains. We are to sit on the floor and wait for the alarm to sound that means it’s safe to come out again.
Fleeing for real feels a lot different to our training. My heart is racing and I can’t make my feet move fast enough. Every second we’re outside is exposing our presence here. I know from experience that those alien ships can move as fast as lightning. They could easily be overhead before everyone is safely concealed and tucked away.
The door to the cabin is already open by the time we reach it. Garlind and I hurry inside and sit against a wall on the floor. My pulse is pounding in my head. I suspect my panting breaths are more from fear than actual exertion.
More people pile into the room until finally the last one closes the door. There is more than thirty of us in a cabin designed to house only a dozen. The space is tight but it doesn’t matter. Hopefully it won’t be for very long.
Somewhere in the base, Sergeant Shannon Titan is keeping an eye on the sky. His sole job here at the base it to act as lookout. He monitors the fences and the sky. Right now he should be in a hidey-hole, somewhere he can keep an eye on the ships so he can sound the siren that will tell us the danger has passed.
He also has another siren—one that is much louder and scarier that will tell us the ships have landed nearby or are about to attack. We all want to hear the safe siren next. It’s what we all pray for.
Garlind holds my hand as I absentmindedly thumb my necklace with my free hand. It’s my birthday, everything is going to be fine. That has to be how it’s going to be. Surely nothing bad can happen on my birthday.
I know it’s silly but it’s all that’s keeping me from panicking right now. I have to believe in something and blind luck is as good as anything else.
I’ve hidden from the alien ships dozens of times before. So many times I’ve lost count. Yet somehow this time feels different. It’s like there is more at stake now. We have plans, we’re making progress to get our lives back. If we were to be attacked now, we would lose so much more.
Garlind gives me a smile as his thumb strokes my hand. I wonder if he’s freaking out on the inside too. He doesn’t tend to panic. Or if he does, he never lets anyone see it. He’s my rock, but I’m not naive enough anymore to think it’s enough to save us.
I watch the clock ticking away on the wall and count the minutes as they pass. I wonder how they found batteries to power the clock. They must know someone in charge of supplies. Otherwise they are almost impossible to find.
The clock is a welcome distraction. I keep reminding myself I can’t peek out the curtains to check the sky myself. As much as I want to, it’s not allowed. I can’t break the rules just because I’m anxious. I’m sure everyone else in here feels the same.
The humming of the ships are like a static noise overhead. Unless you knew to listen for it, you might completely miss the buzz. It’s starkly apparent in the quiet cabin. We all tense our muscles just that little bit more as we listen to it.
It makes my teeth rattle.
I shuffle closer to Garlind and hope the ships continue on in their journey. We haven’t seen them overhead since we arrived and it was apparently a long time before that when they flew over the last time.
The aliens aren’t usually in this area.
Which is more worrisome than ever. Perhaps they’ve worked out our radio waves and have listened to our messages? It could be my fault that they are here now. If I’ve brought them to the base, I will never be able to forgive myself.
I cross my fingers, just to be on the safe side.
The buzzing gets louder and louder until it hits a crescendo. At any moment, I expect a bomb to drop onto the base that will obliterate everything. I know they are capable of it. I just hope they don’t know we’re here.
Go over, I silently urge in my mind. Don’t stop. Just keep going. Please.
The buzzing seems to last a long time before it starts to fade. I can’t feel relief yet, though. It could just mean they’ve landed nearby and are going to attack on foot.
An hour passes.
My stomach rumbles from a lack of food. I should be halfway through my training session by now. I should be sweating up a storm and silently cursing the instructor for torturing us. I wish I was being pushed to my physical limits right now. At least then I wouldn’t be in fear of my life and the lives of all those around me.
Another hour passes.
The room is quiet now except for the occasional noise as someone coughs or shifts on the floor. It’s been a very long two hours.
Finally, the siren wails.
We’re safe.
Garlind and I stand first as everyone watches us. We are the leaders here, outranking everyone else even though we don’t actually have titles or ranks.
He opens the door and sticks his head out. I can’t wait any longer and do the same. The sky is as blue as the ocean and only clouds dot the otherwise perfectly clear day.
“We’re okay,” I announce to the cabin.
Everyone stands and files out. We’re all keen to stretch our legs and get on with the day. Not because we can shrug off what just happened so easily, but because we need something to focus on. Anything is better than worrying about the aliens and their ships.
We head toward the base center like we did this morning. We’ll get on with the day and train harder than ever before.
The aliens have given us a stark reminder of what we’re fighting for.
We don’t see the alien ships again for another two weeks. We hide then too. They go over and we get back to work. They don’t realize how much they are fueling our determination. They’re only making us stronger.
Every day we all turn to training. Every day we get closer to the departure date we set. It doesn’t matter how many people are on the base at the time, we’re leaving and heading toward Charleston. We can’t wait forever for an army of the size we need. Sometimes you have to do the best you can with what you’ve got.
Miraculously, more people
turn up at our gates. Not just soldiers but other people too. Anyone with a radio and a will to fight join us at the base. They come from all over. Some even as far as California. I’d like to visit there one day, maybe soon I’ll get the chance.
I’m constantly surprised by the people around me. We have no reason to believe we’ll win this fight when we are going up against such an extraordinary enemy but we do. This planet is ours and we are ready to take it back.
On the day we are to leave, I look at myself in the mirror one last time. I see a completely different person I saw when I was in the bunker. I’m stronger, I’m tanned, I’m fit, and I’m ready to show the world what we’ve got.
And it all starts today.
Chapter 16
Garlind puts the last shirt in his backpack and looks around the room. “This place has felt like home more than any other place I’ve stayed before.”
“I know what you mean,” I reply. It looks so empty with all our belongings packed away. We only own a few pieces of clothing each but when all that has been put away, the cabin loses its personality.
There is nothing of us here anymore.
Perhaps that is for the best.
“It will all be over soon,” I say. Either way, win or lose, it’s going to be over. We’ll either be dead or free of the aliens. The cards could fall either way.
“We’re going to win.”
“I know.”
Our words are bold but we still have our unspoken doubts. I know this is the right thing to do—what we have to do—but it doesn’t make it any easier. We’re headed directly for the belly of the beast and there is no chance of running away.
There is no point dwelling in the cabin so we join the others. Our numbers are almost seven thousand strong now. The army base is bulging at the seams but it’s still not really enough to fight the aliens. We could have twenty thousand people and it probably wouldn’t tip the odds in our favor.
But these are the bravest seven thousand people I know and we are going to give them hell.
We’re going to show the aliens what humans are made of.
We organize ourselves into our allocated groups and wait for Colonel Hanson to open the gates. He will lead one team himself, refusing to stay behind while his men and women fight.
That’s how a good leader is identified.
He stands on the top of the lookout platform and sweeps his gaze over his troops. With a loud voice, he speaks. “Today we start our journey. It’s going to be long and arduous. As is our fight against the ultimate enemy. I can’t guarantee anything except that we will give it all we’ve got. And for that effort alone, we will be victorious. Long live the human race.”
Everyone cheers. It’s not something soldiers should do but there is little formal etiquette anymore. We follow our hearts and sometimes they lead us to spectacular places.
“Good luck, troops. Let’s give ‘em hell.”
Colonel Hanson orders the gates to be opened and we file out with a rush of excitement rippling through the groups. I can’t help but feel it myself. Today marks the start of our journey, the beginning of the end—either for us or the aliens. Whatever happens in the next few weeks, it’s going to change things.
Not all change is good.
But all is necessary.
I march alongside Garlind. We break more protocol by holding hands. At least we can claim we’re not really soldiers so there are no rules we must abide by. Even if there was, I think we’d still be holding hands.
My stomach is a tangle of nerves mixed in with the excitement. I have no idea what is coming but maybe that’s a good thing too. If the soldiers of World War II knew what it was like on the battlefield, would they have been so keen to step onto those planes and ships?
I’m not so sure.
But we are off and there is only one destination where we’re all headed: Charleston.
We break off into our assigned routes once we reach the nearest town. There are only so many ways to get to the Southern city so we had to figure out the different roads that would keep the groups somewhat separated.
Our route will take us past Roanoke. It’s not the most direct route but it should get us there about the same time as everyone else. If we were to all march together, it would take the aliens only hours to spot us. A few bombs dropped and their threat would be destroyed.
There is twenty in our particular group. Garlind is the only one I know well. All the others are soldiers that arrived at different times. They can fight well and know how to use the guns they’re carrying. That’s all the information I need right now.
Three lucky groups are travelling in trucks. After much scavenging, we put together enough fuel to power the vehicles. They will reach Charleston first and undertake some preliminary observations. They may not have to walk the entire way like the rest of us, but their jobs are just as dangerous. Being that close to the enemy is never going to be safe.
We cover a lot of ground on the first day. Our hopes are high and we’re rested from being in the camp for so long. It’s the longest time I’ve ever spent in one place since leaving the bunker. I was thinking about it as home, but I knew it was always going to be temporary.
At the end of the day, we make a camp by the side of the road and huddle underneath a copse of trees to ensure we are hidden from the sky.
Every day is the same after that. We get up, eat, walk, and sleep. Repeat dozens of times and that is our journey in a nutshell. Every day we slow down slightly as we grow weary and tired.
Morale also starts to wane.
One morning on the tenth day, everyone is slow to get up. I could easily stay in my sleeping bag and wish the day would go away. Unfortunately, we don’t have that kind of luxury. We have to keep going or we’ve already failed.
I know that, but trying to convince the rest of the group is tricky. I feel like I need to do something to get the group back on track. If I just ignore the issue, it’s only going to get worse.
As the saying goes, you can live three or four days without water, but how many days without hope?
I pull over my bag and quickly put away my things. The few other people that are up are sitting around in their own worlds. Garlind is the only other person packed up and ready to go. We exchange a worried glance at the state of the camp.
Something needs to be done immediately. I clap my hands together to get their attention. “Good morning, everyone! It looks like it will be a lovely day today and we’re so close to Charleston that I can practically smell the ocean air. Who’s ready to get going and show the aliens what we’re made of?”
Garlind puts his hand in the air. “I’m ready!”
“Wonderful. Who else is excited to get going?”
Nobody, apparently. The few people that are listening to me half-heartedly wave their hands in a completely non-committal sag.
I’m kind of out of ideas. It’s not like I’m highly trained in motivational speaking. Perhaps I should have studied that while in the bunker. At least it might have come in more handy than applied chemistry.
“Okay, great,” I say. “Let’s get going! It’s going to be a good day!”
A few more people get up and start packing away their things. I guess that’s all I can expect. My few words were paltry. I can’t do anything about the endless walking with no guarantee of safety at the end of it.
We leave the camp almost an hour later than usual. Colonel Hanson would be embarrassed for me if he knew how low the morale was within my group. I don’t want to let anyone down so I’m going to have to keep working on it.
Garlind nudges me in the shoulder as we walk side by side. “You tried.”
“It’s not nearly enough. I can’t lose these people,” I say quietly. I don’t want everyone to hear my failures spoken aloud. “I just don’t know how to keep them all happy. This is hard work and I can’t make it any easier for them.”
“It’s not up to you. They all knew what they were signing up for.”
�
��Still, a good leader should know.”
“You are more of a leader than you give yourself credit for. We’re still going, aren’t we?” Garlind waits until I nod before he will continue. “Then don’t be so hard on yourself. In a few days this will all be over and we’ll be there.”
I try to believe him. After all, as long as we are walking, we’re making progress. We’re getting closer to our target and I know all the other groups would be in the same situation. Nobody is enjoying this trek but we will enjoy the sweet victory at the end of it.
The whole group is quiet all day. I’m so preoccupied with the morale issue that I don’t notice the clouds that have gathered in the sky. The temperature has increased all day and the humidity is making my hair stick to my neck.
It’s going to rain.
It also won’t be long before the sun sets on the horizon and starts to disappear for the day. A combination of darkness and rain is a dangerous concoction.
I check the map while we walk, trying to keep the worry off my face. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has noticed the rain but I have to be the one to do something about it. These twenty people are in my care and I cannot let them be harmed by the acid rain.
Garlind seems to know what is on my mind. He points a finger at our approximate location and then moves upwards to the next town. It’s not a big one but it should have some buildings still remaining. We can hide out there for the night.
I pick up the pace and am happy when everyone else does the same. Nobody questions why and I’m not sure if I would be brave enough to answer honestly if they did.
I can smell the rain in the air. It makes my nose tickle and causes alarm bells to ring in my head. I’m not sure our quickened pace is going to be quick enough.
Turning around, I walk backwards while I address the group. “It’s going to rain soon. We need to hurry now to reach the next town. It should be only a few miles down the road. We’ll be able to find shelter there for the night.”
“That’s all we need,” one guy complains in the back.
Instead of being deterred, I have to remain confident. “Exactly. It’s the last thing we need right now but there is no way to control the rain. One last burst of energy and then we can get to bed early for a change.”
After The End Page 55