by KJ Nelson
“Okay, mount up,” Cameron said, putting her foot into Angus’ stirrup and pulling herself into the saddle. She turned and offered Garland her hand as he weakly pulled himself up behind her. Cameron really didn’t want the extra weight slowing Angus down, but there was no way Garland could ride with Stafford, considering his size.
Garland wrapped his long pale arm around Cameron’s stomach as Angus trotted back toward the cleared path they were on earlier.
“Where are we going? Isn’t the shipping yard back the other way?” Garland whispered into Cameron’s ear. His breath smelled like molded cheese, and she turned her head seeking fresh air.
“We’re on a supply run. You’ll have to come with us.” Cameron said once the air cleared of Garland’s rank breath. She really hated the touch of the man’s arm on her midsection. He gripped her so tight it was making her stomach ache.
“Loosen your grip,” she whispered back at him and he slowly let his arm slacken. It took a second for Cameron to feel like she could breathe again. She continued to follow Stafford as they made their way across the barren landscape.
“How much further?” Garland asked in Cameron’s ear. She gagged at his breath again and regretted ever finding the man. “I feel like I’m going to pass out.”
“We’re almost there. Here take this.” Cameron said, passing him the water. Hopefully, it would keep him occupied until they got to the outpost. She could hear Garland grunting as he drank the water. She felt several droplets hit her arm as he sprayed some of the water out of his mouth from his haste.
“Don’t waste it, that’s all we’ve got,” Cameron said to him, hoping to slow him down. It wasn’t true, she had three other bottles with her. There was still no reason to let perfectly good water go to waste.
“It’s so good,” Garland said, his voice quivering in delight. “I haven’t had anything to drink in two days. I thought I was going to die.”
Cameron nodded, her vision focusing on the outline of the outpost in the distance. They were still almost a quarter of a mile away, but she could see the flesh-colored dome. Relieved that they hadn’t made the trip in vain, Stafford and Cameron urged their horses to pick up their pace.
“We need to run,” Garland said faintly behind her. “That’s one of their outposts.” His grip hardened on Cameron’s stomach in fear and she could tell he was going to make a scene if she didn’t control the situation.
“Garland, calm down. The Squatches have all left this area. We think there might be supplies they left behind.” Cameron spoke quickly, hoping to calm the man down.
“Are you sure?” He said in a high pitched voice, his fear of the creatures evident in his tone.
“Yes, we haven’t seen any of them in over a month,” Cameron could feel Garland shivering behind her, still afraid of getting close to the alien structure. It was so strange to see the difference a year and a half had made in the man.
When they’d parted ways after Cameron decided to stay at the shipping yard, Garland was a confident leader of men. He was naturally able to command people’s attention. The person that sat behind her quivering in fear, was the complete opposite of everything he used to be. Cameron wondered what had happened to him to cause such a change in character.
She also wondered what had brought him back to South Carolina. When she saw him last, he was planning on leading his group to North Carolina to see if there were more supplies to the north. Him being back made her nervous about what was going on in other parts of the country.
Cameron decided to put it out of her mind, she would talk with Garland as soon as they were safe, hopefully with something to show for all of their efforts.
Stafford led them in a circuitous route around the outpost to make sure no one was hiding near the structure. It seemed completely deserted, so they warily approached the domed building. Cameron remembered the first time she’d been there and shivered at the fear she felt that night.
“Looks clear,” Stafford said as he stopped his horse 15 feet from the outpost. “Let’s get this over with.”
Cameron stopped beside him and nodded. She felt the same way. She wanted to know if their trip was going to be worth it. Cameron dismounted from Angus and handed the reins to Garland.
“Stay with the horses. Stafford, and I will be right back,” Cameron looked up at Garland. She could still see the fear in his eyes at being so close to the outpost. She could also see the relief in his shoulders that he wasn’t going to have to go in.
“How long will you be?” Garland asked taking the reins to Stafford’s horse in his hands as well.
“Should be in and out quick,” Cameron said, looking to Stafford. “Lead the horses over to the west side of the outpost, it will be less likely anyone will see you on that side. The co-op and more importantly the Freeriders’s camp was to the east and she didn’t want their horses spotted by any scouts.
Cameron walked quietly over to the domed structure and knelt down near where she knew the entrance seam was hidden. She grabbed it as she saw the Squatch do the first time she’d been there. She could feel the resistance holding the seam in place. She continued to pull knowing that it would release with enough pressure.
Finally, after pulling with all her strength the entrance flap started to separate from the main body of the outpost. She could see the sticky membrane come apart and felt a rush of air move past her as the seal broke.
“It’s going to be hard to breathe,” Cameron said to Stafford who was staring at her in awe. Stafford composed his face and nodded his head as if he’d been through all of this before.
“Let’s do it,” Stafford pulled the rifle off his back and loaded a bullet into the chamber.
9
Cameron led the way into the alien structure. It looked exactly the same as it had the last two times Cameron had been there. The floor inside the dome was completely flat and covered with beautiful lush grass.
Cameron’s ears popped as the entrance cover fell back into place. She could immediately feel the drop in oxygen and her heart started pounding harder to compensate. She looked around the sparsely lit area and saw that the room was completely empty aside from the large circle in the middle of the floor.
“Yes,” Cameron said in excitement. Her biggest concern was that they would get there and the entrance to the storage room would be gone. To see it floating just off the grass like it always had, made her feel better about the risk she’d taken.
“Is that the room?” Stafford asked, kneeling down near the dark circle. She watched as he looked under it and saw that it was exactly like she’d described it, completely impossible.
Stafford shook his head in disbelief and looked back at her, fear showing in his eyes.
“We’re going into that?” He said looking back to the paper-thin circle. Cameron realized how impossible it seemed, but she nodded to Stafford showing confidence in her eyes.
“Yep,” Cameron tried to play it off like she wasn’t concerned. “It’s better to go in backward so you land on your back, it’s quite a fall,” Cameron spoke casually, like she was talking about the weather.
“You fall?” Stafford asked, blinking and shaking his head rapidly.
“Yeah, I’ll go first you watch me,” Cameron was ready to get it over with. She wanted to know if the room was empty, or if there would be a prize waiting for her.
Cameron walked over to the disk-shaped opening, and turned, kneeling down. She rocked back on her heels and let herself fall into the opening. She watched as Stafford reached out instinctively to catch her, then stopped himself and let her fall.
As she fell, Cameron wished she’d thought to draw her guns before she leapt. There was no way of knowing what was on the other side, for all she knew a complete Squatch army could be waiting for her when she landed.
She watched as the hole, and Stafford’s face got smaller and smaller. She again had the feeling of falling through liquid instead of air. She landed heavily and felt as her spine crunched into the
warm metal-like surface.
Cameron rolled over onto her knees and drew one of her pistols. The ovular room looked exactly as it had the last time she was there, though there seemed to be less of the square boxes. They used to be stacked so high, she wasn’t able to see over them.
The room was still very poorly lit. She couldn’t see much in the way of detail. She stood still, waiting to see if any of the dark shapes would move.
Seconds later, she saw Stafford as he fell from the ceiling. It was strange watching someone fall in slow motion. She marveled at the decrease in gravity. How had the aliens been able to change the gravity to the point where they could fall from high distances without being hurt.
The technology at display made Cameron’s head spin. No wonder it was so easy to completely destroy humanity and rob the earth of everything valuable. With the ability to fit an entire room into a circle as thin as a piece of paper, she wondered what else the aliens were able to do.
Stafford landed on his back with a huff. She listened as he groaned in pain at his landing. He was twice as heavy as her, and it seemed like he landed harder than she did. Cameron felt bad, she didn’t realize it would make a difference.
“Are you okay?” Cameron asked walking over to Stafford. He was struggling to get to his feet while catching his breath.
“Yeah, I think I might have broken a rib though,” Stafford said, feeling the left side of his back. He wheezed a little and adjusted his shoulders up and down. “No, I’m good. Just pinched a nerve.”
“Sorry, I didn’t know your weight would have such an impact on your landing,” Cameron said quietly to him.
“I can’t expect you to know a quarter of what’s going on here,” Stafford replied. It was true, neither of them really knew what to expect. They would be lucky to make it out with their lives, let alone anything valuable.
“How do we get out of here?” Stafford asked looking around the room. “I don’t see any stairs or anything.”
“We used a platform, over there,” Cameron said, pointing to her left. She’d watched Agbo use the lift and was pretty sure she’d be able to get them out of the room when the time came.
“Okay, let’s see what we can find. Lead the way.” Stafford shouldered his rifle and rubbed his hands together in excitement.
Cameron looked around trying to decide which way to go. She knew from experience that everything in the room could be moved at the oval console, so there was no way of knowing where anything was.
Cameron decided to go left toward a dark shape looming in the distance. It seemed to be square in shape, and she hoped it was some of the containers she’d seen on her first trip to the outpost.
As soon as she started to move she heard a noise coming from straight ahead. She stopped immediately to listen for more noises. She looked at Stafford who had his gun drawn. She raised her eyebrows to see if he’d heard something too. Stafford nodded his huge head and pointed with his gun in the same direction Cameron was facing.
Cameron took two fingers, pointed them at her eyes, and then pointed one finger in the direction of the noise. She then pointed at Stafford to let him know to take the lead. Stafford had taught her military-style hand gestures after their first fight with the Freeriders. Having a form of communication when needing to be completely silent was a godsend.
Stafford took point, and Cameron followed closely behind him, she flipped the safety on her gun off. As they walked they continued to listen for any other sounds. Three seconds after they started moving, Cameron heard a light cough.
Stafford stopped and Cameron nearly ran into his back. The cough didn’t sound anything like the deep guttural noises the Squatches made to each other.
“Human.” Stafford mouthed to Cameron looking back at her. Cameron nodded in agreement. Why would there be a human here? Cameron thought to herself as Stafford continued moving in the direction of the noise.
Stafford slowed again as he approached a low barrier. It was about the height of a dining room table and formed a square in the center of the large room. There was the distinct sound of loud breathing coming from the center of the square.
As they approached Cameron realized that the floor in the center of the square was several feet lower than the floor they were standing on. As Cameron peeked her head over the low wall, she saw a dark form at the bottom of the pit.
The noise was definitely coming from whatever it was. The pit was almost in complete darkness, and Cameron couldn’t make out any details of whatever was below her. Stafford slid up beside her and looked over the low wall.
“You didn’t happen to see this when you were here before did you?” Stafford asked in a low voice. Cameron just shook her head. She’d never seen the strange square room before.
“It looks like some kind of holding cell,” Cameron said, noticing how deep the pit was, and how there seemed to be no way out. “I wonder if it’s a prisoner of some sort.”
“What do you want to do?” Stafford asked, looking at her seriously. She could tell he wanted to help whoever it was, but Cameron was ready to get out of there as soon as possible.
“Let’s help.” She said knowing it was the right thing to do. She also wanted to know if the Squatches were doing experiments on other humans. Stafford nodded with a small smile, he was always happy when Cameron made the right decision without having to be convinced.
Stafford pulled out a glow stick and bent it, cracking the glass inside and letting the chemical inside mix together. It immediately started letting off a faint green light. Stafford threw the stick inside the pit and waited to see what would happen.
The light from the pit continued to grow, and Cameron could make out the form of a person lying on the floor. It looked like all four limbs had been tied behind the person’s back. She looked closer as the green glow illuminated the face, and realized it was definitely a man.
Cameron saw the man’s eyes flicker open. He squinted at the light coming from the glow stick and started pivoting his head, looking around to see where the glowing object had come from.
“Hello?” He said in a gruff tattered voice. “Is someone there? Show yourself.” The last two words were said with authority and malice. It was obvious from those two words alone that the man was accustomed to being obeyed.
Cameron looked at Stafford and shrugged her shoulders. It didn’t seem like it could hurt anything to help the man out. He might be able to tell them more about the room, and if there was anything to help them survive.
Stafford nodded to her to let her know he would follow her lead.
“Up here,” Cameron said in a voice just above a whisper. She cracked another glow stick and held it up. The man turned his head and looked at her. As his eyes met hers, Cameron saw open disgust in the man’s features.
“Oh fantastic, homo sapiens.” The man spoke with derision and spat in their direction.
10
Cameron stared at the man in the darkness of the alien outpost. The green glow from the fluorescent stick shining on his face. He was one of the most beautiful men she’d ever seen. Cameron rarely noticed physical beauty, especially in the afterworld. She was too busy trying to stay alive.
But standing there, all she could think about was how perfect his face was. Even though he still had spit on his chin, and his eyes were full of hatred, his face held so much beauty she just stared in awe at him.
Stafford seemed similarly affected by the man, as he also stood staring in silence. Cameron couldn’t figure out what made the man look so striking to her. There wasn’t anything that stood out that she could focus on.
Finally, Cameron realized what was so strange about him. It wasn’t his perfect blonde hair or the sharp line of his jaw. It wasn’t the light-colored eyes, perfectly placed below well-shaped eyebrows. The thing that made him completely different from any other man she’d ever seen, was the absolute perfection of his face.
There was absolutely nothing out of place. A crucial element in every human face is the natu
ral flaws we’re born with. No human face is perfectly balanced, there’s always something out of alignment.
The man before her had a perfectly balanced face and body. There were no faults that she could find on him at all. It was as if a computer simulation had drawn up the perfect human, without any reference to what actual humans looked like. It made the man feel almost like an entirely different species.
The man continued to scowl at Cameron and Stafford. He sighed loudly breaking Cameron out of her contemplation about his appearance. Cameron met the man’s eyes and saw that they burned with pure loathing. She stepped back in shock at the look, feeling wounded that anyone could hate her that much without reason.
“Are you Sapes just going to stand there looking at me?” The man said with an accent that Cameron couldn’t place. It was like a mix between French and German. “Your smell alone is enough to make me wish for death.”
What was going on? Who was this person? Cameron couldn’t figure out why the Squatches would be holding a human prisoner. In all of her experiences with the creatures, they had treated humans with a complete disregard. The only time they killed humans was when they were attacked.
The Squatches treated humanity like a nuisance or a pest. Only Agbo had ever shown any interest in talking or interacting with humans, and even he only seemed interested in seeing if Cameron could figure out how to work his technology.
“Do you know Agbo?” Cameron asked, hoping to find out if the man was another one of Agbo’s experiments.
“Do not ask me questions, you witless excuse for a carbon life-form.” As the man spoke in his weird accent, Cameron noticed how truly weak he was. He was trying to put on a good show, but she could tell he’d been there tied up for quite a while.
Cameron pulled out a bottle of water and took a drink. She slowly swallowed the mouthful of water and watched the man’s expression. At the sight of the water, his face changed from anger and revulsion to longing.