From the Ashes

by Mark Tufo

  “You’re not half bad.”

  “You haven’t known me long enough. I’m assuming your rides are on the other side of the hill, so where should we rendezvous?”

  “The hill goes for another two miles, we’ll be there.”

  I shook BT’s hand. “I can’t thank you enough.”

  “When this is over I want Wyoming.”

  “I’ll see what I can do.”

  BT nodded and he and his men went back up the slope.

  ***

  “Well, at least I now know why they call you Rut,” I said, one hand propped on the dash and the other on the roof of the cab. I was trying desperately to keep myself from being tossed around like a sneaker in a dryer.

  “Sorry, ma’am. I mean sir!” He stumbled over his apology. Tracy was just smiling.

  “This funny to you, Captain?” I asked.

  “Actually, yes.”

  “How are you not bouncing around like a super ball?”

  “It’s called a seat belt. Maybe you should try it sometime.”

  I started looking for this magical device.

  “Umm, sir, that belt is broken,” Rut meekly said.

  “Of course it is. Do the men in the back actually survive these rides?”

  “Only six concussions to date,” Rut said proudly.

  I could hear moaning coming from the back of the truck. If I hadn’t of known better I would have thought we were transporting zombies. Looking ahead I saw that BT had beaten us to the gathering point.

  “School buses?” Tracy asked questioningly.

  To say it was an odd means of transportation, especially considering whom the passengers were, was an understatement. It was like looking at nuns in a hot tub. Great, now I had visions of Sister Mary Elizabeth half naked, oohing at the sensation of jet nozzles on her ass. Pretty much just punched my ticket to hell.

  We drove past, BT’s men followed. We’d been on the road for a while when we finally started to see the Geno horde. I had Rut stop, BT swung around the military column and pulled up alongside.

  “Nice ride,” I told BT as I quickly got out of the death machine Rut was driving.

  “These were the only things available. Found them in a garage in South Central.”

  “Got any room?” I was looking back over at Rut, who may or may not have sprouted horns.

  “What’s your plan?”

  “Plan? I don’t really like to have one. That would mean I’ve thought out what is going to happen and then I wouldn’t be flexible enough to change should the need arise.”

  “Uh-huh.” BT wasn’t buying it.

  “Right now I don’t see any reason not to follow the design the Captain has already laid out. Getting in front of them doesn’t really pan out so well.”

  “You going to be able to stop them before they take out that plant?”

  “No,” I finally answered. “I’m going to have to warn the people there, though.”

  “Don’t they know?”

  “I don’t know. Tracy says she has not had comm with the Guardian in a couple of days and they’d be the ones to relay updates around the globe. Shit, I should have thought of warning them earlier.”

  “Don’t beat yourself up; you’ve been a little busy.”

  “I’ve got to go up to the factory.”

  “You just gonna go around the whole Allee army?”

  “Well, if anyone can do it, it’d be that guy.” I was pointing at Rut who was mouthing the word ‘me’ in question and pointing at his chest.

  “I want to come.”

  “What about your men?”

  “I don’t really lead them; they’re doing what they’re doing because they feel the same as the rest of us.”

  “This is going to be pretty dangerous. I can’t ask you to do it.”

  “Yeah, because nothing we’ve done up to this point has been dangerous.”

  I went back to the truck. “Captain, I’m requisitioning your truck and your driver.”

  “The hell you are.” I wasn’t expecting that. “And don’t pull that rank crap on me. What are you thinking?”

  “I need to get ahead of the Genos and warn that plant to evacuate.”

  “I’ll come with you.”

  “And who are you going to give command of your unit to?”

  “Technically, Colonel (there was a definite sneer added to that word), you should be assigning me to the mission while you lead the main force.”

  “Tracy, these guys love you. They’re not my men—they’re yours. You’ve found a way to win an unwinnable battle, a battle that you were basically left to hang out and dry in and you’re winning.” I don’t think I was convincing her quite yet. “Plus, you know I don’t play well with others.”

  She nodded in agreement. “Talbot, I just got you back…I can’t stand the thought of you leaving again.”

  “Rut, how far to the plant?” I asked.

  “Maybe four hours or so, depending on the terrain, sir.”

  “And with you driving?”

  “I can do it in three, sir.”

  “The Genos won’t make it there tonight. I’ll be back before they even start up in the morning.”

  “Rut, anything happens to him you’ll be digging latrines with a spoon.” Tracy kissed me then ushered her men out of the back of the truck.

  “I didn’t think she was going to let me go.”

  “Me neither, sir.”

  “Let’s get that seatbelt fixed. My big friend has decided to come with us and if he’s hopping all around the front of the cab he’s likely to squish one or both of us.”

  BT grunted and then went to tell his men what was going on.

  Within fifteen minutes we were back on the road. I didn’t know if having the seat belt on was better or worse. It was cutting through my midsection every time Rut tried to launch us into the air.

  It didn’t take too long until we began to see the Genos in the distance again, beginning with the voluminous dust cloud. I had Rut turn sharp right when we could make out actual bodies through the haze they kicked up. They weren’t nearly as large a force as they had been when I’d flown over them. But it still took a mile and a half driving perpendicular to them before we were able to get around them without going through. I had Rut go another mile or so just in case they put patrols out that far. I didn’t think they would but caution seemed prudent. Once we got past them and they were no longer within sight of our rearview mirrors, I could feel the pressure within the cab begin to ease immensely. The drive was even beginning to be soothing. We were on a stretch of highway even Rut couldn’t find a hole in, and for him that was pretty amazing.

  “How long have you known the Captain, sir?” Rut asked.

  “Seems like forever.”

  BT was looking at me.

  “I mean that in a good way. Like we were meant to be together. I don’t know how to explain it. But it’s like I’ve known her spiritually all my life and it’s just a matter of me physically finding her or, more likely her finding me. Does that make sense? There was a connection the moment her eyes met mine, even if she wanted to kill me.”

  “The Captain wanted to kill you? I wouldn’t want those hazel eyes to look at me that way.” Rut was staring through the window and I was not convinced he was looking at anything. Fairly scary proposition when that’s your driver.

  BT nudged me in the shoulder and was smiling. “I think our boy Rut here is crushing on your wife!” He was laughing.

  Rut’s face turned candy apple red. I was afraid it was going to blow up like some cheesy special effect.

  “Got a thing for older women?” BT was taunting him.

  “That’s...that’s not it.” Rut was stammering.

  “Isn’t fraternization illegal or some shit in the service?”

  “Article 12, section 37 b,” I added, although I had no idea. “I think I can have him court-martialed and shot. Or shot and court-martialed.”

  “Sir, I’m not in love with the Captain!”


  I figured it was time to stop before he had an aneurysm. “Just messing with you, Rut. She’s a special woman no doubt, how the hell I ever ended up with her is open for debate.”

  “You got money?” BT asked.

  I shook my head.

  “Well it’s not like you’re movie star handsome, so that’s not it.”

  “Thanks, man.”

  “You packing?”

  “You really think I’m going to get into a discussion about what is or isn’t in my pants?”

  “I’m gonna go with a ‘no’ there as well. You do have the ‘saving the whole world’ thing in the bag. That is probably a positive.”

  “Appreciate the vote.”

  “Is that Beth chick as big a bitch as she looks on television?” he asked, switching gears.

  “You have no idea.”

  “Was she worth fighting for?”

  You would be hard pressed to find someone on the planet that did not know my story. A decent part got sensationalized but the main premise was still there and people loved hearing that the aliens could be defeated. “She was, at least at one time. I’m not sure what ultimately happened to her. She wasn’t always an evil bitch.” I paused. “Shit, maybe she was. I was pretty much enthralled with her, she could have probably crushed rabbit skulls in front of me and I would have thought that was just the cutest thing.”

  “You had it bad for her, man. Can’t blame yourself, happens to all of us.”

  “Thanks, man.”

  “Not to me, I mean. I’m a real man, but to lesser guys like you that kind of shit happens.”

  “You’d have to be with a woman before you could understand,” I retorted.

  “What the fuck you laughing at?” BT asked Rut angrily. Rut’s smile vanished quicker than a nut at a squirrel convention. BT again nudged me and smiled. Rut’s face had taken on a pale hue. I shook my head and smiled.

  We went on like this for most of the ride until Rut pointed out a building not too far ahead. Night was coming quickly and the thing was lit up like a Christmas tree, like it was begging for something to come along and destroy it, with a huge “HERE WE ARE” sign emblazoned on the roof. All it needed was a few spotlights and it’d be perfect. There were thick plumes of smoke coming from circular smokestacks. That would be more than enough.

  “They’re still there. Shit. Rut, make this bucket go faster.”

  The parking lot was full of cars. Light streamed from every window, and we could hear the heavy sounds of industrial work going on inside. I jumped out, heading for the front door.

  “Hold on, Mike,” BT said, looking around.

  “We’ve got to warn these people.” I was a little peeved he was wasting my time.

  “That’s the thing of it Mike…what people?”

  And then it hit me. What people? A factory that had a parking lot full of cars and apparently three shifts that worked 24/7, yet there was no one milling around, nobody going to or from their cars, no one out front smoking a cigarette. No security guards patrolling such a high security area.

  “...the fuck is going on?” I brought my rifle up. Rut and BT followed suit. “Rut, you stay out here and keep a watch on our six.”

  “Yes sir.”

  “You ready?” I asked BT.

  “Looks like fun.”

  I pulled the front door open. The lobby was small; it had a little table with magazines from the Nixon era if the settled dust on top of them was any sort of indicator. The receptionist desk was empty and also coated in the same thick layer. I walked across the room and pushed against the heavy double doors. After doing a quick scan I let my rifle down. BT did the same. There was nothing and nobody here. If this had ever been a fighter plant it had been stripped down to the beams. I walked further in. On a small table to the left was a stereo system I would have loved to own. I hit the power button and all the fake factory sounds ceased.

  There was a huge furnace on the far side of the factory and that seemed the next logical destination.

  BT gave it a once over. “Oil fed. It’s just burning oil to make it look like something is happening here. What’s going on, Mike?”

  “The whole thing is some sort of elaborate set-up.”

  “Set-up? For the Allees or for you?”

  That was a good question and I told him so.

  I walked around most of the factory floor looking for some clue as to what had happened or what was going on. It was BT who found it. He’d opened a maintenance closet.

  “Mike, you might want to come here.”

  “You find a mop?” I’d asked when I saw the sign on the door. He was standing stock still, as if touching that handle had frozen him in place. “What’s the matter...” I stopped talking when I came around and was now looking at the same thing he was. I grabbed his shoulder and spun him around.

  “Let’s go Rut.” I said tersely when we got back to the truck. I was pushing BT along as fast as I could. Rut was asking questions as we headed back to the truck.

  “What’s going on, sir? I heard all the work stop, everything alright in there?”

  “Rut get in the fucking truck and I want you to break all land speed records getting away from here, you got it?”

  “I’ve got that, sir.”

  We were on the move when BT spoke. “That a bomb, Mike? Was that a fucking nuclear bomb, Mike?”

  “There’s a nuke in there? Oh geez.” Rut found a gear I don’t think even he knew that the truck had.

  I was pissed off to a degree I don’t think I’d ever been. Paul had obviously been planning this the whole time. Why the charade, then? Why let so many good men die? Why put my wife in jeopardy? This just couldn’t all be because of his wife or me, could it? I would pummel the answers out of him if necessary.

  “How...how far away do we need to be?” Rut asked.

  “Twenty miles minimum, fifty would be better,” I told him. It was late night by the time we saw signs of the Genos again. They had hunkered down for the night with some fires going. We didn’t get close enough to run into any patrols. Ten miles later we were back in our own encampment.

  I was in Tracy’s command tent along with BT. I told her everything we’d discovered there.

  “It makes no sense, Mike! He told me directly he didn’t want to use nukes on American soil,” Tracy said as she sat down.

  “I guess he changed his mind.”

  “Who is going to trigger that thing? Did you notice if there was a timer?”

  “I saw some lights on it and once I figured out what it was I thought it would be a good time to go.”

  “It must be booby-trapped somehow,” BT said.

  I shuddered just thinking about it. Maybe if we had opened the left double door instead of the right we might have been vaporized. Probably wouldn’t have even known—BT and I would just have kept trading barbs in the metaphysical world, maybe occasionally wondering why we were never hungry or had to go the bathroom.

  “I think we should pull further back.”

  “Mike, we’re close to sixty miles away from there,” Tracy said.

  “It’s a nuke, Tracy, how close do you want to be? I have no idea how big the thing’s yield is. What if it’s alien technology-enhanced?”

  “I’ll get the men up and moving within fifteen minutes.”

  That was the answer I was looking for. She left the tent.

  “So what about the Allees?” BT asked.

  “Looks like they’re going to meet a fiery end. Whether we’re there or not doesn’t matter much. Wasn’t like we were herding them.”

  BT nodded. “Well, I might as well go tell my men.” I was alone. That’s never really a good thing. Thinking isn’t my strong point. My fucking best friend had set me up...twice, maybe three times. This mission had been doomed to failure, so why bother throwing troops in the mix at all? Can this really all come down to his wife wanting me? It can’t…I wouldn’t believe that. And once I’m done making him bleed he had better have a really good expla
nation.

  I heard trucks and buses cranking up. I walked out of the tent expecting at any moment that the night was going to light up like there was a noonday sun.

  “Mike, we’ve got a problem,” Tracy said as she headed my way, map in hand.

  “Like you and me or in general?”

  She looked at me. “Why? What have you done? Should I be concerned?”

  “Well, I’m just trying to cover all my bases. I usually do something wrong at an abnormal rate.”

  “I’ll give you that but I was talking about in general.”

  “Whew, dodged that bullet. Okay, what is it?”

  “My mother told me you were going to be more problems than you were worth. We’ll talk about that later. According to my scouts, there are settlements around that facility.”

  “How close?”

  She opened the map to show me. “One is no more than ten miles and then one more within twenty-five.”

  Absently I tried to run my hand through my hair and ended up jamming my fingers on my helmet. “What time is it?”

  “It’s three.”

  “Makes sense.”

  “What?”

  “That’s the hour of the dead. Sorry. We have about three hours before the Genos begin moving and they have to cover what, fifty miles? They travel about ten miles an hour or so. We’ve got seven hours. Where’s Rut?”

  “He’s coming. He was making sure everything started up.”

  It was another minute before he came running up. “Everything’s good to go ma’am, sir, they’ll pull out on your order.” He was looking back and forth to see who was going to give it.

  “Rut, I’m not going to order you but I’m looking for a volunteer. Lots of danger, probably cumulating in death.”

  “I’m in, sir.”

  “I haven’t even told you what’s going on.”

  “If the Captain’s going, so am I,” he replied.

  “You do know she’s my wife, right Rut?”

  His face turned deep shades of red again.

  “Mike,” Tracy chastised.

  “They’re not going to listen. The townies I mean,” BT added, walking up to us.

  “Even if they do we’re not going to get anywhere near a hundred percent compliance.” That was my cynical side speaking.