The Harvest (Book 2): Eve of Man

by Anne Ferretti

  As Ed number crunched, Zack wondered what in the hell the government had been up to when building these camps. What were they anticipating needing them for? These questions and many more plagued him, but most disturbing was what to do about these people? Could they save one? Could they save any?

  “We should go,” Zack said in a low voice.

  “What about these people?” Luke asked.

  “There’s nothing we can do.” Zack replied, bracing for a fight, but neither one of them argued back. Maybe they’d thought it through and reached the same conclusion he had, that any attempt at this point would be futile. They needed transportation, medical equipment, and knowledgeable staff. The list of things they did not have and could not get went on and on.

  “Let’s go. If we get to an airport by noon, we’ll be home well before dark. In enough time to drive back to the bunker.” Zack pulled his ski mask down over his face.

  The men traveled down the steps feeling heavy hearted and ridden with guilt. Zack thought of the redhead. She looked to be eighteen or nineteen years of age, not far from Colin. What if that was Colin lying behind the glass, with his life being sucked out of him? No way in hell Zack would leave him behind. And despite his earlier decision concerning his mom, he knew he wouldn’t leave her behind either.

  They exited the building not looking back. Outside they stood for a long time saying nothing. The situation was dire, but they were powerless to make changes and no amount of wishing or good intentions mattered to the fact. They were leaving those people behind. Luke knew doing so would haunt him for days, probably weeks, probably forever. The redhead’s green eyes would come to him in the dark, her lips would speak to him, plead with him to set her free.

  Luke turned to Zack and Ed. “There’s got to be something we can do. I mean we can’t leave ‘em like that.”

  “We could come back,” Ed replied.

  Zack shook his head. “And then what? Take ‘em off their life support system? Watch ‘em die before we get ‘em out of the building. We’re not trained for this shit. Not me. Not you. Not none of us.” Zack began walking towards the gate. He wanted to get back, and damn it to hell, he wanted to see Madison.

  Ed and Luke shared a defeated look and followed Zack down the path. Nothing more was said about saving anyone. They’d be lucky to save themselves at this point and they knew it. Still, the doubts continued to linger and the guilt ate at them like a termite on a piece of wood.

  Once through the hole in the fence, Zack put some effort into camouflaging where he’d cut the wire. He didn’t imagine the Adita took kindly to trespassers any more than the US government might have at one time. He reviewed his handy work and figured even a blind bat could see someone had cut the fence. He stared at the hole, trying to decide whether or not he should do a better patch job, but he wasn’t seeing the crisscrossed wires or thinking about how to fix them. He knew it didn’t matter. The Adita would know. They’d know and then what might they do? Read the sign dumbass. Use of deadly force is authorized. Zack smiled under his face mask. Old Bobby Londergan might have been a rotten bastard, but he was no dummy. Luke tapped Zack on the shoulder, startling him from the trance he’d settled into.

  Luke raised a finger to his face mask and pointed to the sky. Zack and Ed turned to listen. From far off and high above, a strange sound came to them, strange to all except Zack. Zack recognized the sound of death approaching and was frozen still by the chill it delivered.

  The sight of the great-winged Svan, the Sundogs flying high above, made Ed feel like a character from The Wizard of Oz. Except these weren’t winged monkeys obeying orders of the wicked witch. These were fierce predators with razor sharp talons and pointed teeth capable of tearing through human flesh and bones as if made of paper. Their master was a demon who had come from the deepest pits of hell.

  Zack pulled out the modified taser gun and aimed it upward. The Svan screeched, flying at lightning speed towards them. Zack didn’t wait to see the whites of its eyes, or black in this case, before he squeezed the trigger. A strong pulse emanated from the taser, but to their utter shock and dismay the Svan didn’t slow. The electromagnetic pulse had no impact. A second round resulted in the same. Zack shook the taser, banged it against his hand, as if these simple actions might prove to be the catalyst in garnering the desired results from the weapon.

  “Fuck you,” Zack yelled at the Svan. He grabbed Luke and Ed and they ran for the forest. A worthless effort, he knew, but what else were they to do? Watch death approach without so much as moving a muscle to save themselves? He didn’t know about his companions, but lying down wasn’t Zack’s style. He didn’t live this long to go out like mindless prey, too stupid or scared to fight back. He was a Londergan goddamn it! Zack ran faster, cursing his weak lungs.

  They ran across the frozen ground, lumbering along in their heavy gear. No one thought why they ran for the trees. The trees offered no protection, but seemed to be the only option. Logical thinking was a luxury seldom available to those facing life or death situations. Fight or flight, those were the choices within this situation, the former fell under death rather than life and the latter a hopeless cause.

  Ed looked over his shoulder. The Svan had landed in the exact spot they had only recently vacated and were now charging after them. In seconds they would catch up. In seconds it would be all over. Ed urged his legs to move faster. Despite having spent the last month training, Ed was no runner. He didn’t possess natural speed, not even now with the adrenaline flowing through him faster than Niagara Falls.

  The Svan were close enough Luke heard them breathing, heard them talking in their odd language, felt their breath on the back of his neck, on that one place between his collar and ski mask where his skin was exposed. He risked a glance over his shoulder, something he should have been accustomed to doing while running, a movement he had performed without thought thousands of times. A twisting of his head was something that had never been a problem, not even when mere inches stood between him and being flattened by a three hundred pound lineman. But exceptions were possible and Luke’s exception came when least desired and least able to recover. His eyes met those of the Svan, his feet twisted underneath him and down he went, tumbling hard for several feet. Motion ceased and Luke lay still on the ground, frozen by the certainty of death. No visions of his past life flashed before him. In fact no thoughts came at all and when he felt himself being lifted in the air his mind went blank.

  “Asta!” a woman’s voice yelled out.

  Luke was dropped to the ground where he lay silent and motionless, certain he was dead.

  “Asta!”

  Luke heard the voice say again and this time the Svan moved away from him and his mobility returned. He slowly rolled over. By now Zack and Ed had rejoined him. Ed helped Luke to his feet.

  “You ok?”

  Luke nodded his head in reflex only, as he didn’t know if he was or wasn’t ok. He was still alive and being alive or ok held little, if any meaning these days.

  “Where’d she come from?” Zack asked, but wasn’t expecting an answer from either of his companions.

  The men stood watching as the Svan bowed down to Eve, not knowing if they should stay or continue on their way to the forest, to the ATVs, to a perceived escape. Having removed the immediate threat of death, logic stood a chance at making a decision and without discussion, they turned to go.

  “Wait,” Eve said, reaching out to grab Zack’s arm.

  “Oh shit!” Zack jumped out of his skin. “How’d you get over here so dang fast?”

  “I did not mean to frighten you,” Eve offered as a means of apology, but not the answer Zack wanted. “I must return you to the bunker. The Adita will be here soon.”

  “Great. I’ve been wanting to meet with them again. You know invite them over for supper. The last time we met was so brief and the circumstances were, how shall we say it? Less than desirable,” Zack replied, but his sarcasm was lost on Eve.

  “I don’t
have time to explain,” Eve said. “You go now or you die now. It is your choice.”

  Luke, with his senses as near to normal as allowable, stepped up to Eve. “Who the fuck are you? And why the hell should we listen to you. You infect Austin with your sickness and now we’re supposed to blindly follow you? Fuck no.”

  Eve ignored his outburst. “If you stay you will be killed.”

  Not to be pushed aside, Luke grabbed Eve’s arm. “I asked you a question you blood sucking freak of nature. Who are you? What did you do to Austin?”

  Across the field the Svan took notice, but held their place watching and waiting for a sign from their mistress. Eve turned her black eyes upon Luke. “You know nothing of your origins, yet you assume humans are the rightful heirs of this planet, that humans are the species Nature showered her favors upon? You are a silly boy.”

  Luke released her arm. He didn’t care about her opinion of him or the human race. “Tell me he won’t die.”

  “He will live forever,” she responded.

  “No one should live forever,” Zack argued. “It’s not natural.”

  Eve ignored Zack and spread out her arms. A vortex of energy stirred the snow around them into a funnel. A tunnel leading to nowhere appeared and the men were sucked inside. The tunnel vanished as quickly as it appeared and the snow settled back to the ground.

  Eve returned to where the Svan waited. She looked across the field to a spot where the landscape wavered like a Vegas highway in the month of August. Out of the waves a male Adita and three females materialized. Eve recognized the male, but could not remember his name or purpose, other than he was a member of the council. She waited for them to come to her. As they walked to her, Eve felt her father’s invisible fingers reaching out to her, probing her mind. A sensation she’d experienced many times in her previous life and had welcomed. Welcomed like someone starving for food, dying of thirst, desperate for companionship. She was no longer desperate and blocked her father from delving deeper.

  “Agra has instructed that you remain on Earth until he calls for you,” the male announced.

  “Remain here? Why what has happened? What is wrong? Tell me Za” Eve said, remembering his name.

  “It is not for me to question his orders. They are thus and you are to obey,” he replied with an air of superiority above his station. “It is not a request.”

  Eve glanced at the females standing behind Za, giving them more attention, noticing who they were and what they represented. The force within her threatened, but she calmed the beast, for now wasn’t the time to unleash or reveal that which she herself did not understand. A human would have described the force as rage and, in its infantile state within an inferior mind, this would be accurate, but Eve did not feel on the level of a human.

  “When the human recovers you are to deliver him to the Svan for harvesting.” Za said.

  “I will bring him to Paru.”

  Za pursed his lips. “This is not what your father has instructed. The Svan are to take possession of the man. If you disobey, your father will be very displeased,” he added thinking this might intimidate Eve.

  “You do not need to tell me what displeases my father,” Eve said.

  “No, I suppose I do not, but I will tell you this, the harvest is fast approaching. Need not I remind you what this means for the Adita,” he responded, his tone that of a teacher instructing a pupil he considered dimwitted.

  Eve only nodded her head, ignoring the snickers coming from the guards. She had many questions, but would not ask them of a mere messenger. As for the females, the guards sent by the council, Eve knew she was superior and took great satisfaction in the fact. If she’d decided to act upon her desires, they would be lying headless on the ground, their smug expressions frozen upon their faces. Today she would allow them to live for no other reason than killing them now did not serve her purpose. In the future she hoped for the opportunity to take action against them, perhaps on the battlefield. A smile teased at Eve’s lips and the guards tensed.

  “When will the human be ready?” Za asked.

  “Thirteen days.”

  Za, unsure if he should press for more, decided to let it go. Agra could deal with the insolent girl. And she would have to be dealt with soon, for the council grew weary and had deep-seated doubts about her son. The child had been created for a sole purpose, but his purpose could not be allowed to cultivate into something more powerful than the Elders themselves, thus eliminating their necessity all together. This would not be allowed to happen.

  “The child will not be harmed.”

  Za started, but quickly reclaimed his stolid demeanor. “Careful where you tread daughter of man,” he replied, his words dripping with contempt. With that obscure warning, he turned on his heel.

  Eve watched them until they disappeared into the shimmering air. Perhaps she shouldn’t have spoken out to Za’s thoughts, but regret wasn’t in her to have. Actions led to reaction. Eve’s thoughts had moved on to the next actions necessary. Her father was growing erratic as the time grew shorter. She sensed desperation in his actions, but was not yet skilled enough to reach the cause without detection. Whatever his fears, he had suppressed them to the deepest recesses of his mind. She could not concern herself over her father, when other things required her immediate attention.

  13 Best Western

  The F-350 Ford pick-up truck glided down the deserted Alaskan highway towards Anchorage, towards hope. Kyle and McKenna didn’t talk of finding survivors, not directly. Talking about something resulted in unwanted reasons and doubts creeping in, the hope stealing, squashing, killing sort of doubts. So they talked of nothing in particular, of things that mattered in the moment, and never of things from the past.

  They stopped at a gas station. Inside Kyle snooped around for anything of use while McKenna used the restroom in the back, shouting to him the whole while. On the counter sat a jar of pickled eggs. The eggs floated around in pinkish red formaldehyde liquid. Kyle leaned in, taking a closer look at the eggs. Through the pinkness Beethoven’s face swam in and out of view. He pushed the jar aside revealing a rack filled with CDs. Along with the master, as McKenna called him, were a consortium of artists ranging from rap to country. Kyle grabbed them all, shoving them in his pack before McKenna returned.

  “Ready Freddy,” she announced.

  “Let’s hit it then Freddy Ready,” Kyle kicked back at her and she laughed at him. “What? That’s not right?”

  She shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. You’re too old to understand.”

  Once back on the road Kyle surprised McKenna with the CDs. Her squeals of delight almost broke his eardrums while bringing an ache to his heart. His hand absently went to the picture in his breast pocket. He pulled it out.

  “What’s that?” she asked.

  “A picture of my mom and sister.”

  “Can I see?”

  Kyle handed her the photo. “That was three years ago.”

  McKenna examined the picture. The girl looked to be Kyle’s age at the time the photo was taken. They stood in front of a sign that read Welcome to Cheyenne Mountain. Kyle’s mother was very pretty, but looked as if a brisk wind could whisk her away. McKenna wondered if she’d been sick, but didn’t ask Kyle. He always looked so sad whenever he took out the picture.

  She returned the photo. “What’s their names?”

  “My mom’s name is Gisela, she’s German, and my sister’s name is Grace. She’s my twin.”

  “What about your dad?”

  “Died when I was five. He was a pilot. Small planes, crop dusters, what have you. Anyway, he was caught in an ice storm and crashed somewhere in the Rockies. They never recovered his body.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. Life happens the way it does in the order it does whether we agree with it or find reason in it. Shit happens.”

  “Right. Shit happens,” she agreed.

  “No cussing young lady.”

  “Shit is n
ot really a cuss word,” she informed him.

  “So you know the origins of the word shit?” he asked.

  “Who doesn’t? Duh.”

  And over the next thirty miles Kyle learned more about the word shit than he ever thought possible.

  “You sound like a human Wikipedia.”

  “A Wiki what?”

  Kyle glanced at her. “You’ve never heard of Wikipedia?”

  She shook her head.

  “Wow. No internet in the wilds of Alaska?”

  “We didn’t have it. Dad said he could provide nourishment for our bodies or mind numbing crap on the internet. We chose nourishment.”

  “So no internet,” Kyle mused.

  “Jessica Hornet’s Nest had internet.”

  “Hornet’s nest?”

  McKenna laughed. “That’s what I called her. Her last name was Horne. “

  “You weren’t friends?”

  She shook her head, but said no more and Kyle didn’t pry. He remembered grade school and high school. Kids could be mean. They sank into a relaxed silence as the truck’s speakers kicked out Symphony No. 9 by Dvorak. Kyle had no idea who the guy was, but his symphony wasn’t too bad and Kyle found himself developing a new appreciation for classical music. McKenna wiled away the miles writing out Beethoven’s piano concertos or rewriting the tunes of famous rappers, turning them into hilarious country songs. Kyle discovered not only was McKenna a wiz on the piano, but her vocals had a range that would put a mockingbird to shame.

  The day and the miles flew by in a state of relative ease. They’d stayed the night in a small town the night before, but this stretch to Anchorage was too long and they would have to camp in the truck. Kyle had discussed this with McKenna before they hit the road. She’d accepted the news in a calm manner, reasoning through it until it settled in her mind as being the only option.

  Ahead Kyle spotted an abandoned tow truck. He eased the Ford up alongside the truck and peered inside the cab. He breathed a sigh of relief that it was empty and pulled the Ford in behind the tow truck. He backed in at an angle to give the appearance of randomness. He didn’t give much thought to the intelligence of the aliens and without having any solid facts to go on he applied common sense and hoped for the best. Besides if his logic was off base McKenna was quick to point out the flaws, advice to which he accepted without argument. Her average so far was one hundred percent accurate. He didn’t bet against those odds.