Life-After

by J. A. Laraque

  “Where have you been?” Jonathan said. “It’s what we called those alien bastards.”

  “It was derived by the substance they leave behind when killed.” Lola interjected. “We have found the residue or ash contains bio matter, but it is strange, nothing like what we have ever known.”

  My eyes glanced over to the soldier who stood silently as our conversation commenced. I still wanted to know why I was under guard and why I was in a private room when there are wounded and dying in the hallways. I had to be careful with my words and actions. If they were to suspect something was wrong with me physically or mentally they would pull me from duty. After what I had experienced and still feeling the loss of Clara I could not afford that.

  “Don’t sweat the guard.” Jonathan said realizing my concern. “There have been reports of Asher activity nearby and the floor you are on contains not only special equipment and information but personal as well. I’m sure you don’t need it but command gave the order to place a guard in each room.”

  “And why exactly am I on a special floor?” I questioned. “I am not a special personal.”

  Jonathan was always the kind of man to give it to you straight. When it was clear I would not be able to reach Clara it was him who did not try to sugar coat the reality of the situation. Perhaps the others thought they were helping or being nice. The truth is, many of them were hoping their loved ones would be there waiting for them and to tell me to keep up my hopes was done so to comfort themselves more than me.

  When Jonathan could not tell me something he would make it clear, either through expression or direct words that it was because he was forced too. What I saw in his eyes when I asked him why I was on a special level within Alpha Medical and under guard was that he had an answer. He was not under a specific order not to tell me. He just did not want too.

  “You know the losses we have taken, David.” Jonathan answered. “As you can see this room really isn’t for treating people it’s for test subjects. We brought you here because you are the only person left alive who was in that sector. There are questions to be answered and we hope you can help us with that.”

  “First and foremost your health is the most important factor.” Lola said. “You suffered a concussion and were exposed to the radiation caused by the Asher’s energy beam. We have already completed preliminary tests and you do not have radiation poisoning, but considering you existing injuries which you should have let healed. You will need to stay under our care, at least a few days.”

  I did not know why I felt so mistrusting. Lola and Jonathan both had been nothing but upfront with me in the past. I believed it had to have been the dream. Nothing I could do to push it aside and accept that none of it was real was working. I believed the world I was in was real, but my dream had left an imprint upon me. There was rage still inside me that wanted nothing more than to kill Richard for what he had done.

  Trust did not come easily with me. It took time for someone to earn it, but once it was given it was unwavering. Even though I was sure Jonathan was holding something back I had no real reason to mistrust him. Lola as always was transparent in her words. She may not have specifically expressed what she felt in her speech, but if you knew her then you would know by what she said exactly what she meant.

  Regardless there were questions to be answered outside my dreams. All resistance soldiers carry a tracking beacon that only top commanders can access. While it was not unknown for a team to be sent after a solider there was no reason to send a helicopter after me. If there was activity in the area I would have been contacted via the radio. Also, the men in the chopper trained their guns on me even though I was clearly in uniform and ordered me to remain still.

  “I’ll tell you whatever you want, but there isn’t much to tell.” I began. “I was in sector seven and had almost cleared the area. There was no activity and I was about to move on. I spotted something near the Union building and made my way there. Someone must have attacked me, knocked me out. I came to and saw the chopper. It was hit from above by an energy weapon and then I blacked out and woke up here.”

  I did not want to lie to them, but there was more than one reason not to tell the truth. I had allowed myself to be drawn towards the girl that was my first mistake. I allowed my emotions to drop my guard. That little girl died because of me and I should have been dead. It stood over me and fired its weapon. How could I explain that to anyone? Nevertheless, tell them about my dream and everything else.

  “I see.” Jonathan responded. “Well if there is more to discuss you will need to be debriefed.”

  “That will happen after he has rested.” Lola said. “Being unconscious is not the same as sleeping. You will need to remain here and don’t even think of removing the monitoring devices on you unless you want to be strapped down. I know you, David. We need to monitor your vital signs and make sure you are okay. Tomorrow we will conduct some final tests and then you can accompany Jonathan to resistance command.”

  I honestly could not tell if Jonathan bought my story or not. Lola on the other hand seemed generally concerned for me. As they left the room Jonathan motioned for the guard to follow him. His gesture did put me at ease that the guard being there was nothing more than an order as he had said. Still, the slight ease I felt did nothing to the overall anxiety. I hated feeling that way. After years fighting and doing what needed to be done to survive a long dream was slowly unraveling me.

  For the next five hours I lied in that hospital bed staring at the blinking light of the security camera pointed at me. I fought against myself. Part of me wanted to fall asleep to see what dreams may come. The other part of me was frightened that I might have dreamed of her again and it was something I just could not let happen again. I had to rest and in the end I did close my eyes. As I drifted off to sleep I promised myself that no matter what I would wake up in the same world and find my answers.

  An explosion rocked the building forcing me awake. I glanced around the room confirming the world I was in. The clock showed I had only been asleep two hours. As I slid out of bed another explosion shook the building even worse. I lost my balance falling to the floor; the wires connected to me were pulled off. The sirens from both my equipment and the building began to wail loudly.

  I pulled myself to my feet and searched for my uniform to put on but it had been removed. I walked over to the door and peeked through the small glass window. I could see the security forces scrambling, doctors and nurses rushing from room to room. I thought about what Jonathan said about enemy activity nearby. Even with the shield generator a few direct blasts from their ship based weapons would destroy the building.

  Unarmed and in a hospital gown there was nothing I could do, but I refused to remain in the room. Luckily the door was not locked. I made my way into the hallway trying to get my bearing. It had been years since I visited Alpha Medical and I had never been on that floor. I wanted to find my uniform and a weapon and join the others defending the building.

  “David, what are you doing?” Jonathan shouted from behind me.

  I turned around to see him running towards me holding his side arm. Another explosion tore a hole in the side of the building not far behind Jonathan. Debris and dust flooded the hallway; the impact knocked me to the floor. I could not see the smoke and dust was so thick I could hardly breathe. I crawled along the floor and reached Jonathan who was laying motionless face down on the floor. As I reached over to him he opened his eyes and quickly retrieved his side arm and pointed it towards me.

  “Jonathan, wait! It’s me!” I yelled out.

  Jonathan’s eyes blinked. He shook his head and began to stand. I stood as well helping him to his feet. I could see he was clearly shaken up by the blast. He put his arm over my shoulder and we began to make our way towards the stairwell. The sound of weapons fire and screaming was emanating from all around him. Whoever was attacking was close.

  “Jonathan, is there a command post set up?” I asked. “I need my gear and a weapon.
”

  “No.” Jonathan responded. “We need to get to the bunker downstairs.”

  Jonathan removed his arm from my shoulder and headed towards the stairwell. I did not know Alpha Medical had a bunker and I wondered why Jonathan would want to head there when we were under attack. I did not want to question him, as a friend or a commanding officer, but his decision did concern me.

  “What about the Ashers?” I questioned. “Shouldn’t we help defend the building?”

  “There’s nothing to defend, David.” Jonathan said. “A few moments ago we detected an Asher’s base ship in orbit moving over our position. It is the same one that destroyed the helicopter sent to retrieve you. They will be able to fire upon us in less than ten minutes. These explosions are from their ground units. We have to make it to the bunker before they fire.”

  As we continued down the stairs the sounds of combat and men and women dying made me feel like a coward for fleeing. I could understand Jonathan needing to get to the bunker, he was a vice commander, but I was nothing but a grunt. My rank of sergeant was given to me because of service but as far as I was concerned I was just a weapon to be used for revenge. I wanted to be out there even if it was to be a death sentence.

  “Is Lola safe?” I asked.

  Jonathan looked at me, almost as if shocked that I asked him that question. I was not trying to imply that he was going to her. I knew he would gladly give his life in battle, he was an honorable man. I sincerely wanted to know. Lola was important to me as well. She had helped deal with the loss of Clara and signed off when I would have been medically removed from active duty.

  “She’s fine.” Jonathan answered. “She was with me when we detected the ship. She is waiting for us in the bunker.”

  “Why am I going with you?” I asked. “I should be out there with the others.”

  Jonathan did not answer. We continued down to the basement and made our way down a long corridor to a metal door with a keypad. Jonathan entered the code on the key pad and unlocked the door. Another long series of steps went even further down. It was clear the area below was built to withstand a nuclear blast.

  “I know you rather be out there, but that isn’t possible.” Jonathan responded. “We still need any information you can give us. I promise after we are secure and you are debriefed you can get back to the front lines.”

  I nodded in acknowledgement. Jonathan was just doing his duty as a soldier and commander and I respected him for that. We continued down several more flights of stairs to another metal door locked by an electronic keypad. As Jonathan entered the code I could feel the vibrations from the explosions above. I refused to block them out. If I could not be out there fighting alongside them then I would at least acknowledge their presence and their sacrifice.

  “I understand, Jonathan.” I said. “But I don’t know what I can tell you that I haven’t already.”

  We reached a set of massive blast doors leading to the bunker. They were partially open just enough to allow personal through. As we passed through each door it closed behind us. There would be no one else that would make it inside. That fact did not sit easy with me. There were many we passed in the hallway and stairwell that would be killed when the blast hit. I wanted to ask why they could not be saved, but as I knew far too well, not everyone can make it out alive.

  “It’s not just a matter of what you can tell us, David.” Jonathan said. “That’s not the information we are looking for.”

  As I walked through the last set of blast doors I quickly realized where we were. The Alpha Medical building was also one of the twelve bunkers created during the global war. It was more than just that. Along with medical and scientific equipment I could see several familiar areas. A clean room, a research lab, a medical bay, the bunker was almost a mirror image of Naxum Research.

  I walked ahead of Jonathan looking across the vast area at the hundreds of people going about their tasks as if they were oblivious of what was occurring outside. It was as if they were there all along working on a project. I turned to Jonathan, this time to demand some answers.

  “What are you talking about?” I asked. “What are you looking for?”

  The flash of white and pain hit before I realized Jonathan had struck me with his side arm. My body went limp. I fell to the ground fighting to remain conscious. I looked up at Jonathan who had his weapon trained on me. His eyes turned away from mine. He was looking ahead at someone else. I could hear the footsteps approaching me.

  “It has been a long time, David.”

  The voice from behind, it was impossible, it could not be him. I only had the strength left to roll onto my back and look up and behind me at the man approaching. My body began to shiver at the sight of him. I could not believe what I was seeing. Losing the fight to remain conscious my eyes rolled to the back of my head. My last thought was that I must have still been trapped in a dream world. Jonathan would have never betrayed me and the man that stood over me, Doctor Henry Flag, was killed over twenty years ago.

  11

  I could feel the cold floor beneath my body. A surge of pain flashed images of Jonathan striking me and Doctor Flag standing over my body. Face down on the floor I pulled myself to my feet. I had a flurry of questions and emotions coursing through me. I needed to know exactly where I was. The floor was grated. Reinforced steal designed to allow any liquid to drain out. There was one small air vent in the top left corner of the jail cell sized room. It was also reinforced. I felt like a caged animal or more like a specimen being held for examination.

  Three solid concrete walls surrounded me and one was made of a glass-like material. Smooth to the touch I quickly realized it was one-way glass. All I could see was my reflection. They had clothed me in a black body suit. It was fitted tightly like scuba gear. I could not remove it. It was as if the material was attached surgically to my skin. It reminded me of the suit soldiers wore before being connected to the virtual reality training unit.

  They had tended to my wounds. Before I loss conciseness I could feel my own blood running down the side of my face. My friend, the one of very few I still trusted had turned on me. What I was really looking at was a reflection of a man who had lost everything. I had no strength left to fight. The world with Clara was a lie and my true reality was a nightmare. All I had left was the pursuit of answers and revenge for those who had hurt me.

  “You were unconscious for over twenty-two hours.” Doctor Flag said, his voice coming through a small speaker just above the one way glass. “Doctor Kane is as puzzled as I. You should not have been out that long. Did you experience anything while unconscious?”

  They were studying me but for what purpose I did not know. I fought to keep it together, not to lose it, but it was battle I did not think I would win. To get answers I would need to give some, but every ounce of me wanted to scream out, to tear at the walls like an animal. The rage inside me was building and only kept in check by the sadness of Lola’s and Jonathan’s betrayal. Flag’s question did not concern me. I had experienced nothing while unconscious. No dreams of an afterlife. No visions of Clara.

  “How are you still alive?” I replied trying to remain as calm as possible.

  There was no response. I could not see or hear anything outside my cell. I closed my eyes trying to focus, to think about what had happened and why I would have been in that situation. If I was to disregard everything that happened with Clara as a dream then the fact would be that during patrol I encountered an Asher while trying to save a little girl. I was caught off guard and knocked to the ground by its weapon blast. I could do nothing but watch as it killed the girl dissolving her body with its green energy weapon.

  The Asher chose to kill a defenseless girl before a trained solider. It made no sense, but it did not matter at that moment as it turned its attention to me. It stood over me and was about to fire, but I had set my grenades to explode once I triggered the detonation. I closed my eyes and pushed the button and everything went black.

  I w
oke up in the exact same spot, but it was clear many hours had past. The trigger had been pressed but the grenades did not explode. Unfortunately, I did not get a chance to find out why because a resistance helicopter had found me. The soldiers inside trained their weapons on me as if I were the enemy and before they had a chance to land was destroyed by one of the Asher’s orbiting ships.

  The blast was only a few meters from me and the resulting wave should have killed me, but I awoke thirty-six hours later at Alpha Medical. Doctor Lola Kane believed I may have been infected by the radiation caused by the Asher’s energy weapons, but the tests she conducted on me proved negative.

  “This is important, David.” Lola said. “If you experienced anything just tell us, please.”

  I knew something was wrong. Being under guard and on a special floor inside Alpha Medical was clear enough proof and then it was the way Jonathan and Lola looked at me. Jonathan was clearly holding something back, but I did not think it was because of me personally. Lola looked concerned for my well being even though she said I would be fine.

  The facility that I was brought to after the Asher’s attacked Alpha Medical was almost a mirror of Naxum Research. There I saw Doctor Flag, a man who was supposedly killed by a Federation assassin. The pieces did not add up, but I knew for certain my involvement could not just have been because of my encounter with the Asher. There had to be something else.

  “Why are you doing this to me?” I asked. “I did nothing wrong and you brought me down here and locked me in this cell. Was the attack even real or was it staged to?”

  “The attack was real, but then you should know that shouldn’t you, David.”

  It was Jonathan’s voice, but unlike I had ever heard it before. His tone, it was if he was speaking to a captured enemy solider or a traitor. I remembered the look on his face when he struck me with his gun. He was angry. A thought lingered in the back of my mind, one I kept away from my evaluation of the facts became relevant. Twice I should have been killed but I survived. Often when someone survives when everyone else did not that person becomes the subject of interest, of suspicion.