by Muga, D. M.
“Their vests are solid shields, but those MECCUs are not reinforced! Aim for their arms and then their heads!” Ben shouts.
::Crack::Crack::Crack::
::Crack::
::Crack::Crack::Crack::
::Crack::Crack::Crack::
::Crack::
Seeing that the entire front area of the force field is now shattered on the ground around the front of the platform, she aims at one of the men standing in front of Captain Jackson. She sees as he goes to reach for his MECCU, but a little too late.
::Crack::Crack::Crack::
The man screams out in agony as his arm is now missing his right hand and his MECCU is shattered and splintered in his forearm. The next shot puts the man out of his misery and he drops to the floor.
::Crack::
::Crack::Crack::Crack::
::Crack::
Eileen watches as the man right next to him falls, who’s also blocking Captain Jackson, then the man to his left falls as well. She pauses and looks over at Ben and Steven.
They’re going for Captain Jackson too, taking out the men in front of him. She thinks to herself. If we take him out here and now maybe this madness will end… like cutting off the head of a snake.
Captain Jackson is looking directly at her, and she thinks he can read her mind about what she’s thinking.
“Lieutenant Meads! Get us out of here, now! The rest of you! Get your personal AEs up! We are done here!” Captain Abraham Jackson shouts to his men.
Two more Federalists drop before the rest of them put their hands out in front of them, with their own shimmering force fields appearing.
Eileen and the others continue firing at the remaining five Federalists on the platform, which is now rising off the ground. The platform quickly retreats back into the Leviathan, and Eileen can see yellow lines forming on their personal force fields.
“Dammit! He’s getting away!” Ben shouts out as the platform recedes behind the closing gap of the Leviathan.
“Hey Burke! How much fire power does the ship have on it?!” Steven asks.
“The Leviathan only has one sleeper remaining in its arsenal and Captain Jackson will be reluctant to use it.” Alicia replies.
“Why? And what else does he have at his disposal?!” Steven snaps at her.
“The last sleeper that we have…” She pauses for a moment. “The last sleeper that he has holds an extinction radius of 500 miles… If he uses it, our plans here are useless and our species will likely die out. However, there are a great number of CSDs onboard the Leviathan. I'm unsure as to how many.” Alicia explains.
“Well, at least he won’t use that sleeper on us like Edwards. But what the crap are CSDs Burke?!” Ben asks her.
“Carrier Stationary Dozers. They are much stronger than the IMDs or Individual MECCU Dozers.” Alicia replies.
“Well, isn’t that just peachy fucking perfect.” Ben responds.
Eileen glances back to Alicia and then looks to the rectangular looking spaceship.
“Will your ship protect us from the blue orbs from that ship?” She asks, pointing at the Leviathan.
“Somewhat, but not long term. I would advise we get into my Security Tactical Assault and Recovery Unit and relocate to a different region.” Alicia says.
“Let me guess… it's called a STARU?” Ben asks Burke in a sarcastic tone.
“Who the hell cares, Ben! Move into the damn ship now!” Eileen blurts out.
“She’s right! We are sitting ducks out here against that big ass spaceship!” Steven says as he makes the small dash to the opening of the STARU.
The rest of the DFC unit members follow suit, followed by Eileen, then Ben, and then Alicia Burke. As Eileen enters the STARU, she sees that it’s rather spacious inside and there are what can be described as very large windshields on both ends of the rectangular spaceship, where the coned ends are. They remind her of the viewing areas on tour ships that take you to go see underwater creatures. The sort of ones where you can see the whole ocean around you, at the bottom of the viewing area. Only these viewing areas are to each side of the spaceship.
She watches as Alicia walks over to the wall directly across for the opening of the spaceship. The panel is covered in circuits, panels, knobs, controls, and other items that she’s unfamiliar with. She watches as she presses a button and she feels a whoosh as the opening closes behind her. She turns around to see that the opening is gone, and they were all completely inside of the spaceship.
Eileen sees a light hit the wall where the opening just was. She turns to see that the light was coming from a large screen that materialized in front of Alicia.
“Just what exactly is the plan Sergeant Burke?” Steven asks her.
“Well, firstly Sheriff Reilly… I'm disabling our locator module, so the Leviathan won’t know exactly where we are going.” Alicia replies.
“And just where are we going?” Ben questions.
“I cannot tell you yet…” Alicia replies.
“And just why the hell not?” Ben asks.
Eileen watches her tap on the materialized screen like it was a solid screen. After a moment she sees a red light flashing on the upper right corner of the screen and then the flash is gone.
“There… Now I can tell you. It would have defeated the purpose of disabling the locator module, just to tell them where we were going. This STARU also has a recording feature with audio, which is now also disabled.” Alicia explains.
“So, they can see and hear us in here?” Eileen asks, looking around the large railroad car spaceship, with two very large viewing ports on the ends.
“Not anymore, they can’t. Now take a seat please. All of you.” Alicia instructs.
The group of them look around and don't see anywhere to sit down.
“Where?” Eileen asks.
Alicia looks around the spaceship. “Ah, yes… right.” She says as she turns around, rotates a dial, and hits several buttons along the wall next to the transparent screen.
Eileen hears the sound of a soft hum of a machine and she looks around the spaceship to see two rows of six seats form near each viewing port at each end of the ship.
“That should be enough for everyone. Now please sit down and strap in. Captain Jackson may be able to get a few shots off prior to our retreat.” Alicia says.
As if to prove her point, the spaceship rumbles and sways. Eileen looks to large viewing ports and sees a radiant blue wave disperse down the huge windshields.
Eileen and the others rush over to their seats. Eileen goes for the end seat to her right, with Ben following her. She sits down in the front row, far left. Ben sits next to her, with Steven sitting next to him. She fumbles for her seat belt, as another shock wave hits the spaceship. The rest of the DFC unit members all grab seats as well.
“That should be a sufficient hiding place for a short time.” Alicia says from behind her.
Eileen twists her head to see Alicia tapping on the transparent screen that now has a map of what looks to be North America. She then turns back around to see the Leviathan directly in front of them.
She watches as several blue orbs materialize out of very large cannons in front of the massive spaceship. Eileen’s eyes go wide as the orbs are released from the cannons and she grips Ben’s hand tightly.
Oh my gosh! No!
She exhales in relief as their spacecraft begins rapidly moving backwards, or at least backwards from Eileen’s perspective.
Their spaceship speeds away from the dried-up lakebed of Big Bear and she sees the Leviathan become small very quickly. She then gets a view of the valley below the mountains. An area where she had to pass through to get to Crestline, close to two months ago.
She looks down to the bottom part of the huge windshield and sees the highways and freeways, thinking she can see the area where Stephanie and Eddie had died a couple of months ago, at the hands of two escaped inmates from Patton State Hospital.
She strains her eyes to try and figure
out which area is Redlands, where her father used to live... before he was killed by drunk thieves. They had been his neighbors that had turned on her father on the first day of this whole Blue Hole Radius.
Before she can discern where her former home was, the area is gone and they are over another mountain range.
The remembrance of her lost friends and her father pains her heart. She had not thought of this too much in the last week or so. At least not in a saddening or tragic way. Most of her thoughts of her friends and family had been of fond memories over the last couple of weeks. She felt as though she was truly beginning to heal. But going over the area where they died brought back the memories of how they died, and how cruel humanity could turn so quickly.
With the immediate threat gone and the view during their voyage giving way to old memories, she gets lost in thought. I miss you dad… I wish you were still here with me… I know you would know what to do. Everything seems so crazy and insane now. Where do we go from here? She thinks as though she’s speaking to her father in her mind. I wish you could answer me from wherever you are now. I just wish you could tell me what to do. How to fix all of this crazy ass mess of a world we now live in.
She looks out the viewport to see the mountain range give way to a forest that’s larger than she has ever seen. She looks to her left and right, out the large viewing port, just to find more trees and more hills and mountain ranges of trees. Every now and then she sees a lake or a river.
What she does not see is any sign of civilization or human life. A realization forms into her mind and she continues to see a vast amount of nature that she’s usually only accustomed to in National Parks or mountain ranges.
She turns her head to see Alicia sitting in a chair in front of the transparent screen, looking at the map on the screen.
“Are we outside of the Radius, Alicia?” Eileen asks her.
Alicia turns to look at Eileen. “Yes, Eileen, we are currently outside of your Blue Hole Radius and heading southwest.”
“Oh…” Eileen replies and looks back to the large viewing port on her side of the spaceship.
“We’re outside of the Radius? Everything looks so green… but there’s no sign of human life out here. It’s like we were never here.” Eileen says aloud for all to hear.
“Yes, Eileen. But you must remember that Humans haven’t been on this Earth for roughly 300 years… aside from those of your kind that were trapped within the Blue Hole Radius.” Alicia explains.
“Oh…” Is Eileen’s only response.
“So, where exactly are we going Burke?” Ben chimes in with the question that must be on all of their minds, except for Eileen’s. She cannot seem to get over how much nature has retaken the Earth in a relatively short span of time.
I guess 300 years isn’t all that small of a timespan. But still… no sign that we existed before this? Eileen thinks to herself.
“We’re going to circle the globe and then double back to North America. The hope is to ensure that the Leviathan won’t follow us, because this STARU is no match for the Leviathan.”
“Is there anyone else left down there... Besides for us that were trapped within the Radius?” Eileen asks as she looks back to Alicia.
“No, Eileen. You are the last humans of Earth One.” Alicia replies.
“Are you sure?” Eileen questions.
“Yes, Eileen. We did scans prior to landing over the military installation in one of your desert regions within the Blue Hole Radius.” Alicia explains.
“Oh… wow.” Eileen replies and goes back to staring out of the viewing port, now seeing the Pacific Ocean beneath them.
Could it really be true? We’re what’s left of the human race? I wonder how many of us are actually left. She ponders these questions as she looks at the ocean below the spacecraft as it begins to circle the globe.
19
Alexander Mathis
“That smells really bad.” Isabelle says to her sister and Alexander.
“Stop complaining Izzy. Are you going to complain every time we come outside to feed the animals?” Mia says to her little sister.
“I don’t know… is it always going to be so stinky?” Isabelle says and sticks out her tongue at her sister.
Alexander smiles as he watches the two girls. “Well, it will always stink and then again it won’t. Over time you’ll get used to it… but you are right, Isabelle. The pigs’ food is especially stinky.”
“See! I told you!” Isabelle shouts at her sister.
“Whatever…” Mia replies.
“Do you know why it stinks more than the grass and hay we feed the sheep, or the chicken feed that we feed the chickens, girls?” Alexander asks them, as they finish dumping the food into the pigs’ stall, and move toward the sheep.
Both girls shake their heads no.
“It’s because it’s scraps of old food. Whatever we have left over from our meals, we dump into a big pot and then we bring it out here.” Alexander explains.
“So it’s old food?” Mia asks.
“Yes, Mia.” Alexander replies.
“That’s gross. I don’t like leftovers. They don't taste the same as when they’re new.” Isabelle replies.
“I’d have to agree with you there, Isabelle. But pigs will eat just about anything and they love the stuff we give them. Do you see how fast they eat it up?” Alexander says, pointing back to the piglets.
“Yeah! They’re little piggies.” Isabelle says, laughing and gets a light chuckle from Mia.
“You’re stupid, Izzy.” Mia says as she stops laughing.
“Mia, please don’t call your sister stupid. It was a funny joke and you know it.” Alexander says to her calmly and with a smile.
“Yeah, I guess so.” Mia replies and then looks at her little sister. “I’m sorry, Izzy. You aren’t stupid.”
Isabelle smiles at her big sister. “I know.”
Alexander smiles at them. “Alright, you two go check for eggs and put them in your basket. After you’re done, let them out for a little while. I’ll go let the sheep out to roam and check on the hay in her little area.”
“Okay, Alex.” Mia says. “Come on, Izzy. Try not to drop any eggs this time.”
“Hey! That was an accident, Mia! Don't worry Uncle Alex… I won't drop any!” Isabelle turns back to him and assures him with a big smile.
As they walk a few feet he hears Mia say quietly to her little sister, “You know he isn’t our real uncle, right?”
“Well… what else am I supposed to call him? He’s a grown up! You calling him just Alex sounds rude, sissy.” Isabelle responds.
Mia darts a quick look over her shoulder to see him looking at them and still smiling. Surely embarrassed because she knew he had heard the entire conversation, Mia says quickly, “Fine, whatever. Don’t you know how to whisper? Why do you have to be so loud?”
“I know how to whisper!” Isabelle replies.
Alexander shakes his heads and laughs silently as he walks over to the sheep. He lets the sheep out of her side of the larger shed and checks the hay situation.
She looks to be pretty good on food. We may need to see if we can find more at one of the markets or make another trip down the mountain. I wonder if sheep can just eat the wild grass around here… I don't see why not. I’ll have to ask Ben and Steven. They might know. I’m still new to this whole raising animals thing.
Alexander then walks over to the smaller shed with their eight chickens, one rooster, and where the two children are.
“So, how’d we make out girls?” Alexander asks.
“We have six eggs, Uncle Alex!” Isabelle responds.
“Yeah, we double checked and there were only six of them…” Mia adds.
Alexander looks down at the watch that Steven had given him. Apparently, Steven liked watches. It made sense to Alexander, considering his age, which wasn’t that much older than himself.
“Well, it’s only 9:30 in the morning girls. We pulled nine in total yesterday.
So, in all honesty, that sounds like a pretty good start to the day.” Alexander explains to the girls.
“If you say so, Alex.” Mia says and looks at the chickens roaming around them pecking at the ground. “Are we going to have enough food for all of us, Alex? I can skip dinner if it helps Isabelle get more food.”
Alexander looks at her and shakes his head and smiles at her. “Mia, you are only a child. If anyone were to miss meals, it would be us adults. But don’t worry about that. We are doing pretty good in the food situation. We do need to start a vegetable garden soon though. Maybe later you girls could help me out… I’ve never made one, but Steven and Ben gave me some tips on how to start.”
“Our mom used to have a garden before…” Isabelle starts to say and then turns around to look over the mountain ridge, obviously lost in thought of being reminded of her mom and looking toward her grave.
Poor girls have been through so much. It’s a miracle they have made it this far… Alexander thinks to himself.
He watches as Mia turns around with her little sister and puts an arm over her smaller shoulder. Isabelle tilts her head to lean on her big sister.
And they made it this far for a reason. Their parents may not be around to protect them anymore. But we sure are... I sure am.
Alexander sighs, and then forces a smile. “So, you’re telling me that you two can show me the ropes on how to build a garden?!”
Isabelle turns around quickly, with tears in her eyes. Her expression turns to one of excitement and she sniffles, wiping her eyes quickly with her forearm and beams a newfound smile. “Yeah! I can show you how to Uncle Alex!”
Mia turns as well and smiles at her little sister and tousles her hair. “You mean, we’ll show you Uncle Alex.” Mia says and then smiles at Alexander.
Alexander smiles back at them. “What say we go start thinking about some lunch?”
“But you said it’s only 9:30 in the morning?” Mia questions.
“Then we’ll just call it Brunch. Are you hungry or not?” Alexander says, with a smile.