After The End

by Jamie Campbell

  It would be nice to have another night of rest but it appears we’ve arrived just in time. Another day and we might have missed the whole thing. Twenty people might not sound like a lot but it takes a lot of individuals to make the army strong.

  “Do we know how many there are here?” I ask. I need to know the odds and how far they are stacked against us.

  “Approximately four thousand, best we can tell. They stay in their ships for long periods of time. It appears they sleep in them and only come down to meet and carry out ground missions.”

  Six thousand of us compared to only four thousand of them. It may sound like we’ve got this beat already but I know better. The aliens’ far superior weapons and armor more than make up for their smaller numbers.

  “My team are ready,” I reply.

  Hanson nods. “Good. Get some rest. The plan hasn’t deviated at all. We go in exactly as discussed at twenty-three hundred hours. Make sure you are in place by then.”

  I feel like saluting him but don’t. I’m not in the army, I’m not one of his troops. I’m a civilian that is along for the ride. I ask if there is anything else I can do to help but Hanson assures me everything is in place.

  All I have to do is rest, apparently.

  Garlind and I find a quiet place to lie our sleeping bags. I’m too wired to fall asleep but always ready to snuggle up with Garlind. We hold each other in an embrace and don’t speak. We don’t need to. I know everything he’s feeling right now as I’m sure he can read me just as easily.

  We’re scared.

  We’re excited.

  We’re ready.

  We need more time.

  We’re counting down the minutes until our world will completely change. I hate looking around at all the people here and knowing so many won’t make it tonight. It would be stupid to believe we’ll all come out of this unscathed. There will be casualties and there will be deaths.

  There will also be a winning side. I just hope we’re on it. This is the fight of our lives and we are all ready to sacrifice ourselves for the greater good. I wish it didn’t have to be like this but nobody said war was fair.

  Our future is worth fighting for. We have all agreed to this by coming here today. I have no doubt everybody will fight as hard as possible to make our presence count.

  Garlind plants a kiss on my forehead. “This time tomorrow it should be all over.”

  “Is it stupid to wish we had more time together now?” I ask. The few hours standing between us and the war seems tiny now. This might be the last time we get to hold each other like this.

  “Not at all. Just remember what we’re fighting for.”

  “Freedom.”

  “And a beach house we can live in forever,” Garlind reminds me. “Is that what you really want?”

  “I don’t care where we live as long as we’re together,” I reply. I mean it too. I’d live in a shack if it meant having Garlind with me for the rest of our lives.

  “The beach where your parents were married, where was that?”

  “Santa Monica Beach. It’s supposed to be in California.”

  “Let’s go there first. Maybe it’s a good place to make a home for us.”

  “I like that idea.”

  “It’s settled then.” Garlind pulls me in tighter and we no longer need words.

  We hold each other for a very long time.

  It’s only the sweet thoughts of our future that finally quiet my mind enough for me to sleep. I know I’m safe in Garlind’s arms and nothing will happen until we start the battle that will change everything.

  If I dream, I don’t remember them.

  I’m awoken by movement rather than noise. When I blink my eyes open, I can see there are people rushing every which way. There is a slight tinge of darkness to the sky, we must have slept for a few hours.

  It’s time.

  I gently wake Garlind and instantly make his dreamy expression turn into one of concern. I wish I could have let him sleep for longer. God knows we all need it.

  Maybe we’ll sleep for a week when this is all over. The thought brings a smile to my lips.

  “Has it already started?” Garlind asks wearily.

  “I think it’s about to. We need to get into place. Nightfall is coming.”

  I’m already moving when he nods. We pack up our sleeping bags and leave all our earthly belongings beside this tree. We don’t have much. We can abandon our packs easily with no sentimental attachment. As long as we can find some clothes and blankets afterwards, we don’t even have to come back for them.

  The air is buzzing with nervous anticipation. Everyone has a job to do and we all know it will take each and every one of us in order to pull off the greatest win in Earth’s history. There has probably never been so much at stake before. Fighting for a country is one thing, fighting for an entire planet is something else entirely.

  I wish we had more time but I am so ready to end this whole thing. Even if my death is mere hours away, at least it’s a result. We’re doing something besides running and hiding. Being dead has to be better than living in fear for the rest of our lives.

  Maybe.

  I’m glad my parents aren’t here to see this. They would be beside themselves with worry. Their deaths were peaceful in the bunker. The same place they so lovingly built for the three of us to live in forever. My life there seems like a world away now. I sometimes wonder if that was truly my life or if I’ve dreamed the whole thing.

  I only really came alive when Garlind found me.

  If I’m going to be able to do this tonight, I have to push all those thoughts aside. This is the now and my mind has to be here or I’m not going to be able to give everything I have to this fight. It deserves my full attention.

  “We’re going to be okay,” Garlind says as he plants a kiss on my lips. My concern must be written all across my forehead. “Just stick together and we’ll be there on the other side.”

  I nod, afraid my voice will waver if I speak now.

  I pull him into a hug and wrap my arms around him. He feels so solid and stable. He is my rock and we will fight side by side tonight. Until the end.

  We release one another and join in the wave of soldiers as we head for our positions. Our role in this war is to lead the first surge of soldiers. Colonel Hanson will linger back on the sidelines. He can change the plan at any time, making him too valuable to face down the enemy directly. His strength is strategy while ours is just pure determination to wipe out the alien species from our planet.

  There are thousands of people behind us. This is the army we built from scratch. The humans we offered a better future if they fought with us.

  I can feel the energy of everyone. There is electricity in the air that makes my skin shiver with goosebumps. I’ve read books about war. There were a few big and devastating ones in Earth’s history. It’s heartbreaking reading about them in books but I never imagined this is how it would feel to stand here on the front line.

  I’m as insignificant as a caterpillar amongst all these people yet my role feels purposeful. I’m playing a part in this show which is just as important as everyone else. We only win if we work as one. It’s a fact we are all aware of.

  Garlind and I hold hands all the way to our final position. In just a few minutes, all hell will break loose. We have no way of knowing how the aliens will react. Everything from here on out is an unknown. I can only hope our training will see us through.

  We stop when we’re in position at the edge of the forest.

  Ahead of us is open space that will eventually lead us to the beach. Once we step out of these shadows, there is nothing hiding us from the aliens. We will be exposed with no way of going back.

  It starts now.

  Chapter 19

  I take the first step out into the clearing. Garlind is right beside me. “Here goes nothing,” I whisper underneath my breath. My heart is hammering against my ribcage, begging to be let out. I don’t think I’ve ever been this scar
ed and excited in my life.

  My hand falls away from Garlind’s as we start running. The time for stealth has passed. Now, it is all about the element of surprise. We’re going to take them down.

  The air is filled with battle cries. Declarations of war from the soldiers that have trained for this their entire lives. They thought their skills would be used against other humans. Little did they know they were preparing to defend their planet.

  I remain quiet. I’m too focused while thinking about the steps ahead of us. My mind is alive while I recall our strategy. I think about all the possible variations that we could face and how we’ll react to each one.

  The armpits, that’s the most vulnerable part of the alien. It’s the only way through their skin of armor. We’ve killed before, we can do it again.

  We. Can. Do. This.

  We are a strong army of people with nothing more to lose. We are determined. We are vengeful. We need this so much more than the other side do. We are human and we are taking everything they took from us.

  The beach arises from the ground and stretches out into infinity before us. This is where we make our stand together. The aliens have chosen Folly Beach to keep their base. They didn’t think we could defeat them, but we will.

  Today.

  It all ends today.

  Far on my right side, a rocket missile is launched with a loud bang. I watch as it arcs upwards and lands directly in the side of an alien ship as it hovers in the sky. A boom fills the still night as smoke starts billowing from the side of the ship.

  There is no way to ignore us now.

  More missiles shoot upward. Most of them hit their target and cause more noise and smoke. Some of the ships start to move. One goes upward while the others head for the shore—directly to us.

  I’m terrified but adrenalin surges through my body and makes me stronger. There is no flight option here. It’s fight hard or die. We’ve declared war and now we have to see it through.

  The aliens pour from the ships and step out onto the sand. They are so tall and imposing. Their stench drifts in on the breeze and makes me want to vomit. I can finally place the smell. All these months, I haven’t been able to put my finger on what they smell like. Now it hits me.

  They smell like death.

  As if they are directly from the depths of hell, they all reek of death and decay. Of rotting corpses and maggot-filled cavities. What planet did they come from?

  I clench my teeth together and force my dinner to stay in my stomach. I can vomit later, after we’ve won. Right now I have to stay here and fight until I can fight no more.

  They stand in a long line in front of their ships. They are at least a dozen lines deep—probably more. It’s clearly apparent how outnumbered we are. The scouts must have gotten their numbers wrong. This isn’t just four thousand, it has to be double that.

  Too late to back down now.

  We surge forward in one long line. It only takes the aliens a moment to react and do the same. Thousands of people and aliens rush toward one another and clash in the middle.

  I quickly lose sight of Garlind as we are swamped all around by aliens. I hold my gun with my right hand and shoot at any alien armpit that stands in front of me. With my left hand, I unsheathe the knife at my belt and hold it out. I doubt I’ll be able to stab anyone effectively but it makes me feel better knowing I have a backup weapon.

  My vision blurs in all the chaos. My gun fires at the nearest alien and I miss the target. The bullet bounces off his chest and makes his face twist into something like a smile. It’s the most chilling expression I’ve ever seen.

  I focus on his weak spot and fire again. This one makes contact and the bullet goes into his skin. His opposite hand comes up to cover the wound as his expression changes once more—this time he’s clearly angry. It only takes him a moment to drop to the ground.

  Their injuries are fast acting, that’s good. It means they don’t have time to lash out before they fall. As long as we keep hitting them in that weak spot, we might have a shot at actually winning tonight.

  I know we chose to fight at night, but some more daylight would be handy right about now. The moon is shining brightly and no clouds remain but everything has that hazy darkness to it which can cause problems. At least it’s easy to identify the enemy—even in the dimness.

  I’ve lost sight of Garlind.

  A moment of panic rushes through me as my eyes dart everywhere to look for him. Another millisecond later and an alien steps in front of me, blocking everything else. He’s too close to get a good shot at him. I raise my knife and clumsily stab at his chest. All I manage to do is make my hand hurt.

  I take a step back and almost fall over a body as it lays on the sandy beach. A momentary glance down and I know it’s a human. I purposefully don’t look at the face, I don’t want to know who it is yet. We’ll have to count the dead later.

  My step away is just enough room for me to get my gun up and aim at the alien’s armpit. I pull the trigger and several bullets hit him. At least one goes into his weak spot. A moment later, he goes down to join the human on the ground.

  I have to step over him to keep going. If I stop to mourn the dead now, I’m not going to have any chance of helping in this fight. We were going to lose people tonight, I’d steeled myself for that. I just didn’t know it would feel this bad seeing them on the ground.

  Seeing the dead body of the human urges me forward. My determination is even stronger now. We are fighting for all humans, both the ones we’ve lost and the ones who could still have a future.

  I let out a scream as I head for the next alien. My gun fires but I don’t have time to see whether I hit the right spot before another one rushes at me. I whip my gun around and keep firing. At some stage I’m going to run out of bullets and have to reload, hopefully I’ll take a lot more of them out before that happens.

  The alien drops.

  Time stands still as I’m caught up in the fight. All the aliens blur together as I repeatedly shoot and dodge their attack. The enemy has far bigger guns than us but that puts them at a disadvantage in close combat. The guns make them clumsy as they try to shoot but can’t find enough room to raise their weapons.

  Another missile shoots over the melee and hits a ship. Smoke clogs the air before an almighty bang sends shock waves rushing along the beach. The ship has crashed into the sea and caused a tidal wave of water. Only my feet get wet before the ocean ebbs away again.

  We have to be running out of missiles soon. Our army didn’t have many to begin with. That’s why it was so important that each one hit its target.

  The rush of water drags some of the bodies toward the sea. I know just with a glance that most of them belong to humans. We’ve definitely lost more people than the aliens have.

  I shoot my gun at every alien I see. With my other hand, I stab and slash at the space between us—hoping some will find the spot I need on the aliens’ side.

  It’s all such a blur.

  There is blood everywhere. Red mixes with black on the ground, in the air, and on my clothes. It’s the single most horrible sight I’ve ever seen.

  Nobody said war was pretty. Anyone who believes differently should see this for themselves—although I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy.

  This is chaos.

  This is pain.

  This is what losing feels like.

  A stray thought passes through my mind, one that tells me I am going to die on this beach today. I may not have been struck yet but it seems like it will only be a matter of time. How can we possibly win this when there is so much blood.

  Everywhere.

  I can smell it. The metallic tang is on my tongue, my nose revolting against every breath I take. It’s too much for my senses. It’s all too much.

  Garlind is nowhere to be seen. Through the thrashing and fighting bodies around me, I can’t spot the one person I never want to lose sight of. I spin around on the spot, never letting my weapons rest, but he’s
not here.

  If he’s not fighting…

  He could be on the ground.

  I can’t follow through on that thought. I can’t think about it right now. If I could just believe Garlind is alive for now, maybe I can keep fighting for that little bit longer.

  An alien lunges for me. Our eyes lock for just a moment but it’s enough for me to see pure hatred staring back at me. He’s ready to kill. In any way he can. I shoot at his armpit and keep firing until he slows down.

  His fingers—or claws, I’m not entirely sure what they are—grapple to find purchase on my right arm. I shake him off but his grip is too strong. With the knife in my left hand, I stab at his forearm. The blade plunges into his skin and releases a string of sticky black blood.

  He pulls back. His eyes are still fiery as one of my bullets finally finds his armpit and plunges in. The alien stumbles backward until he falls to the ground.

  One down. Only several thousand still to go.

  I spin around once more and scan the chaos all around. I spot one person on the ground that could bring this whole thing undone. Everything else freezes for a moment as I blink him into focus.

  Colonel Hanson is dead.

  His eyes are frozen, open and fixed on a spot in the distance. His head is positioned in a completely unnatural position. Even a child would know a neck cannot bend that much and it certainly shouldn’t be at a right angle to his shoulders.

  There is blood seeping from multiple wounds on his body. The alien who killed him didn’t end his life mercifully. He scratched him to pieces and inflicted as much pain as possible. He hasn’t just been murdered, someone relished in the deed.

  I’m absolutely certain we can’t win now. They took down our leader. The one person who knew exactly how to win this war and the one person everyone looked to for guidance. If he could be killed here, then we all can be.

  I want to stop fighting. I want to rush to Colonel Hanson and close his eyes. I want to give him the respectful death he deserves. He shouldn’t be lying in the blood-soaked sand as everyone tramples over him. He has done nothing but serve his country, his planet.