Strangelets

by Michelle Gagnon

  The boy—though he’s hardly a boy, twenty-five at least—said his name was Ryan Adams. He’s polite and seems nice enough, despite the fact that he has an enormous and somewhat frightening tattoo on his arm (I’ll never understand what people are thinking these days, branding themselves like that. The young clearly have no idea what the passage of time will do to their skin). He works at the auto shop in town, as a mechanic—that was how he got the truck. It was in for repairs, and to get out of town he wanted something large to push aside the vehicles blocking the road.

  But why’d you leave town? I asked. What’s happened? Isn’t it safe there?

  It was a long time before he spoke again. He said it sounded so crazy he hardly believed it himself. He’d been working on a car, trading jokes with another mechanic. He was waiting on a punch line, and when it didn’t come he turned to tease his friend about forgetting it. But his friend was gone, and on the spot where he’d been standing there was nothing but a dark, spinning spot that emitted some kind of strong pull. Ryan claimed he had to grab hold of the hood of the car and haul himself away from it hand over hand. Then as suddenly as it had appeared, the spot vanished.

  He rushed out of the garage and into the street. It was around noon, and usually at that time of day Main Street is crowded with people.

  But everyone was gone, he said.

  What do you mean, everyone? I asked.

  I searched the whole town. You’re the first people I’ve seen since noon yesterday, he said.

  It took me a minute to grasp what he’d said. No one but us? You’re sure?

  No people, he said, with the strangest expression on his face.

  There’s something else, isn’t there? I asked.

  Yes ma’am, he said. There is …

  “Do we really need to hear this?” Yosh interrupted.

  Her voice startled Declan; he’d become so enmeshed in the story, he’d almost forgotten where he was. Nico and Anat were mesmerized, too. But Yosh had risen from the table and was leaning against the wall closest to the hallway looking irritated—and fully awake, like her earlier spell had never happened. She had a stubborn set to her jaw.

  “What, you want her to stop now?” Declan said, flabbergasted. “This is the best part.”

  Even Nico chimed in, “We should finish.”

  “Actually, if you all don’t mind, I could use a break,” Sophie said faintly. Anat groaned as Sophie handed the book to him. “You want to take over?”

  Declan nodded. “Sure. You want some water?”

  “The tap still works,” Nico said. “I tried it earlier. The water tastes fine, too. Probably from a well.”

  Sophie got up and dug through the cupboards, producing a glass. While she filled it, Declan started reading.

  At first Ryan was reluctant to say more, but I finally laid it on the line with him. Young man, I said, I’m all alone here, with a little girl whose mother went God knows where. If you know what’s going on, you better tell me.

  I don’t know, exactly, he said. Everyone just vanished. One minute they were there, and the next … it’s like the world emptied out. Like my mom always used to say, about the Rapture. Like that.

  Ridiculous, I told myself. This must be something else.

  Ryan seemed to guess my thoughts, because he suddenly reached for my hand and squeezed it. I wasn’t going to say anything, he said. I was worried you’d slow me down. But … he glanced toward the kitchen, where Megan was industriously drawing, then turned back. You can come with me, I guess.

  Come with you where? I asked, startled. Where are you going?

  Away, he said. There are creatures … things. He lowered his voice and said, I saw one. And it … was eating a man—

  What kind of creature? I asked skeptically, wondering if perhaps this young man was high, or drunk.

  It was in the alley by the supermarket, he said. I saw it when I was passing by in the truck. He paused again, then said, It saw me, too. Stopped and watched as I drove past. I’ve never seen anything like it. Has to be some sort of demon for sure.

  Mmm, I said, not wanting to encourage his delusions. Already I was thinking it would be best to get him out of the house, and away from Megan. Someone else will surely come by soon. Somebody sane, with any luck.

  You don’t believe me, he said.

  Of course I do, I said, patting his hand. It’s just you’ve had a terrible scare.

  I saw it, he said angrily. Whatever it was, I saw it.

  Fine, I said. What did it look like?

  The thing he described … honestly, I don’t think I could do it justice. He claimed it was huge, seven or eight feet tall at least. Like a person, but with thicker, scaly skin (like a rhino, he claimed), and a longer head that ended in a snout. Greenish-brown fur, too, as if the scales weren’t enough. And to top it all off, claws on its hands and feet.

  Yosh made a small noise.

  “What now?” Anat demanded.

  “Why are we reading this story?”

  “It’s not a story, it’s a journal,” Sophie explained.

  “Still, it does sound ridiculous,” Nico scoffed.

  “Shall we finish?” Declan said through gritted teeth, trying to contain his annoyance.

  No one answered. Sophie examined her hands. Yosh had an odd look in her eye. If Declan didn’t know better, he’d swear it was rage. For a brief flash, she’d looked like an entirely different person, and a threatening one at that. Declan hesitated, wondering whether or not to say anything about it.

  “Well?” Nico demanded. “Sometime today?”

  “Yeah, yeah. Calm yourself,” he muttered. “All right, moving on …”

  Poor Ryan probably spent a bit too much time in Sunday school. He witnessed something odd, and his mind chose to come up with this preposterous explanation for it.

  I managed to calm him down, and convinced him that I believed him (although truly, I do not). Ryan said he’d prove it; he’s certain that whatever it was, the creature will be coming for him.

  When I asked how he could possibly know that, he shuddered and said he could tell from the way it looked at him. That it had “smart eyes.”

  I shrugged it off. He was welcome to sleep in his truck, I said, but I wasn’t comfortable having him stay in the house.

  Ryan declared that either way, he’d be leaving at dawn. And if I was smart, I’d take the girl and go with him.

  For the rest of the day, the three of us immersed ourselves in different activities. Megan took another nap and drew some more. I kept trying the phone, at one point dialing numbers at random, waiting endlessly for someone, anyone, to pick up. Ryan sat on my couch and stared at the television, even though there had been no further news reports, and every station was set to static. We weren’t even getting the emergency broadcast signals anymore.

  After an early dinner, Ryan retired to his car. I nearly relented at the last minute and invited him to use the couch, but he’s an odd young man, and I worry that tonight I’m so exhausted I’ll fall deeply asleep. Not that I fear him harming us, exactly, but you never know with people, do you?

  Anyway, I’m completely spent. Megan is already in my bed, snoring away like a little angel. I’m going to try to get some sleep.

  Declan paused for a minute. The writing on the next page changed. He glanced up and met Sophie’s eyes. Her hands were clasped in front of her on the table, the knuckles white. He kept reading:

  September 3rd

  I don’t know what they are, but Ryan was right. A horrible sound woke me in the middle of the night. Megan kept sleeping, thank God, but I knew something was wrong.

  I heard shouting from the front yard and went to the guest room to see what was happening.

  Ryan had parked the truck a little ways away from the streetlamp, so it was hard to see. But there were shadows swarming around the truck, large ones.

  He was screaming for help. I rushed back to the bedroom and grabbed John’s gun box. I’ve never fired a gun before, no
t once. I prayed that it was already loaded, and wouldn’t blow up in my face. I raced back to the guest room, threw open the window, and pointed it out toward the street.

  Those … things were shaking the truck from side to side, as if trying to overturn it. Ryan’s screaming had become even louder. One of them had climbed onto the hood and was trying to break through the windshield …

  I closed my eyes—stupid, I know, but I did it without thinking—and fired the gun. When I opened them again, all of the creatures—monsters, really, because that’s what they looked like—had stopped and were staring up at me. There were three of them. Their eyes reflected red, glowing the way cats’ eyes do. Carnivores, I thought. That was something John used to talk about, how you could tell a carnivore by the way its eyes glowed red at night, while anything harmless would appear green …

  They watched me for a minute, then looked at each other. It was like they were having a silent discussion, and suddenly I was gripped by terror. I didn’t even know how many bullets were in the gun. What if they tried to come in the house? The doors were locked, but how long would it take them to break a window?

  Then they disappeared, melting off into the night.

  Ryan ran onto the porch a minute later—I nearly tumbled down the stairs in my haste to let him in. He was pale, wheezing. He slammed the door behind himself and screamed that we needed to block the windows.

  We did our best, but honestly, there are so many ways in. We sat up until dawn, side by side on the couch, not speaking. I was gripping the gun so tightly I still have marks on my hands.

  Before Megan woke up, we decided on a plan. Ryan is right. We must leave. His idea, which I think is a good one, is to drive out to the coast and get a boat. The truck should be able to push almost anything out of the way. Ryan says there’s a gun store in Middle Island, we can get more weapons there. We should be able to find a boat in Mt. Sinai, then take it across to New London.

  I’m so tired I can barely keep my eyes open, but I need to leave a record of where we went, both for Nancy and Dan and for Megan’s parents. I haven’t allowed myself to think about my children, and what might have happened to them. I pray that they’re okay.

  It feels like we’re the only three people left in the world, but that can’t possibly be true, can it? What could have happened? Where is everyone???

  Declan paused. His mouth had gone dry, and not just from reading aloud. Monsters, she’d written. Was she describing the same creatures that had tried to get into the house earlier?

  Weirdly, the windows weren’t barricaded anymore. In fact, there wasn’t any sign that someone had ever tried to block them.

  “I wonder what her name was?” Sophie said in a small voice.

  “Is,” Anat retorted. “We don’t know that she’s dead. She might be in New London, with the little girl and Ryan. They might all be fine.”

  Declan liked the way she said New London, it sounded oddly musical. But deep down, he had a bad feeling that this particular story hadn’t ended well.

  “What does it say next?” Sophie asked.

  Declan skimmed through the final page. “It’s all about where they were planning on going, some naval base there. She figured the military would be able to help. And she hoped they’d be able to contact their relatives from there. She also went back to Megan’s car, took the registration information, left a note, and … oh.”

  “Oh, what?” Sophie said.

  “Her mother’s purse was still on the front seat. Her name was Lisa Brown.”

  “She left her purse?” Sophie said. “That’s not a good sign.”

  Anat shook her head. “That’s not important.”

  “Really?” Sophie sounded offended. “Because it seems pretty damn important to me, and it definitely was to them.”

  “What happened to them doesn’t matter,” Anat said forcefully, looking around the table. “We need to adjust our goals.”

  “Our goals?” Declan asked. Damned if she didn’t sound like she’d just stepped out of a war movie.

  “Yes,” Anat said. “Clearly we should not try to go into town.”

  “But—” Yosh protested.

  “These … creatures,” Anat interrupted. “They might still be there.”

  “So we’re believing this?” Nico demanded, half standing. “This fairy tale about monsters?”

  Anat met his gaze. “There is something bad out there. Maybe not monsters, but something.”

  “Maybe they’re friendly,” Yosh said in a small voice.

  Declan stared at her, stupefied. “I don’t think that whatever was trying to get in earlier wanted tea and a chat.”

  “We don’t know that,” Yosh mumbled, looking away.

  She looked tiny sitting in the chair beside him, her feet barely grazed the linoleum. Declan felt for her, he really did. It was tempting to think that all they had to do was stroll into the nearest town and find Nico’s dad. But based on what he’d just read, Anat was right. If they went out there unprepared, they might as well just carve themselves up for dinner. The terror the woman had felt coursed through her words; he’d practically been able to hear Ryan screaming and picture the dark shapes hunched around his truck.

  Was that considered friendly behavior in Japan?

  There was no truck outside now, though, which was probably good. Maybe they had gotten away. If Ryan had succeeded, the roads should be clear in that direction. Between the five of them, Declan figured they could handle a boat. And meeting up with the military sounded like a smart option.

  Before he could voice his thoughts aloud, Sophie said, “It’s getting late.”

  Looking out the window, he saw she was right. The shadows had lengthened across the overgrown lawn. But it should be light for awhile yet, since it was still early fall … wasn’t it?

  “We don’t even know what day it is,” Sophie said in a low voice, as if reading his thoughts.

  “She left quickly,” Declan noted. “The dishes weren’t put away. You’d think … I mean, she seems like the type of person who would have straightened up, yeah?”

  “But the windows aren’t blocked anymore,” Sophie mused. “I wonder why not?”

  “Again, it does not matter,” Anat said impatiently. “We need to focus. She probably took the gun with her, but this store she mentioned, in Middle Island—we can go there in the morning. We will take the first two working cars that we come across.”

  “I thought we were going to find my father,” Nico said. The way he said father sounded German, and plaintive: how a little kid would say it.

  “Where does your dad live?” Declan asked.

  Nico said, “In Yaphank.”

  “Is that on the way?” Sophie asked.

  Nico shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve only been here once before.”

  “We need a map,” Anat said firmly.

  They dispersed throughout the house. Ten minutes into the search, Sophie yelped in triumph—she’d found an old map on one of the shelves lining the fireplace. The paper was brittle and crumbling. On the outside, it read AAA LONG ISLAND/NEW YORK.

  Carefully, she brought it into the kitchen and spread it across the table. Nico and Anat leaned over it.

  “We’re somewhere around here now,” Nico said, pointing to the area just northeast of Yaphank. “There’s the lab, right here.”

  Declan followed his finger. Brookhaven National Laboratory was marked in black, with a small ring of streets surrounding it.

  “There’s Middle Island,” Anat said pointing at a town west of the facility. “The guns are there.”

  “We should try to find a phone book,” Sophie suggested. “See if we can get an exact address.”

  “I’m going to find my father,” Nico said obstinately.

  Anat straightened and shook her head. “It’s the wrong way. We need to head north.”

  “We can go to Yaphank first,” Nico argued, jabbing the map with his index finger. “Then take County Road 21. It goes directly to Midd
le Island.”

  “But that’s not the way they went,” Anat argued. “The roads won’t be clear. And Yaphank is where Ryan came from. He said it was not safe there.”

  All excellent points, Declan thought. There was no guarantee that any roads would be clear past Yaphank, and this “county road” sounded ominous. He recalled a scary American movie where a school bus filled with kids broke down next to a corn field, and they were terrorized by a giant bat creature that swooped in and ate them one by one. Did they grow corn around here? Because a county road sounded like the perfect place for it.

  “I’m going to my father’s house first,” Nico repeated obstinately, crossing his arms over his chest.

  “Well, I am not going to risk taking a road that might be blocked,” Anat countered.

  Declan sighed. This was precisely why he never went out for group sports. “We’ll have to split up, then.”

  They turned and stared at him.

  “I thought you said that was a bad idea.” Sophie’s face was drawn and she looked drained, as if just sitting there was taking a toll on her. When he got a chance he should check the medicine cabinets, see if the old lady had left behind something for pain.

  “I don’t see any other option, do you?”

  “Agreed,” Anat said. “I will go to Middle Island. Whoever wants to can come with me.”

  “But we don’t have any way of finding each other again,” Sophie protested. “What if something goes wrong?”

  “She’s right,” Declan said. “No guarantee that the mobiles will ever start working, and mine’s almost dead anyway. We’ve no other way to contact each other.”

  Anat chewed her lip, clearly thinking it over. Declan was torn—in his gut, he hated the thought of splitting up. And Nico was the only one keen to head toward town. But much as he harbored a knee-jerk dislike of the kid, he couldn’t let him go alone.