The Harvest (Book 2): Eve of Man

by Anne Ferretti

  “Are you ok,” Kyle whispered.

  “I can’t feel my toes.”

  “I know. I can’t feel mine either,” Kyle replied. “I’m going to start the truck. I want you to stay back here ok?”

  “No. No. I’m coming up front with you.” She grabbed hold of his hand squeezing hard enough to make him wince.

  “Ok. Ok. But let me go first.” He pried her hand lose. “It’s going to be ok McKenna. I promise. We’re gonna get outta here.”

  “Ok,” she replied, sounding unconvinced.

  Kyle turned off the light and slid open the windows leading to the cab. He looked in the direction of the hotel lobby, but saw only the black abyss. He squeezed himself through the opening and up into the driver’s seat. He heard McKenna land on the back seat and slide the window closed. With the key in the ignition Kyle held his breath and turned the key. The sound of the engine coming to life reverberated across the parking lot. Inside the hotel a light came on and a beam flashed out panning the lot. Kyle ducked when it hit the windshield. The beam waved back and forth one more time before being turned off. It was now or never. Pulling forward meant driving right past the front entrance. Behind them was a small curb and what at one time might have been hedgerow, now a hedge of snow. Kyle thought for a few seconds, before shifting into reverse and hitting the gas pedal.

  Several beams of light came on inside the lobby, and then exited bobbing and weaving in pursuit. Kyle cranked the wheel and shifted into drive when the first bullet hit the side of the truck.

  “Son of a bitch.” Kyle floored the gas pedal making the tires spin. Another bullet hit the camper and McKenna screamed. He let up on the gas until the tires caught traction and the truck catapulted down the street. The rear fishtailed wildly before straightening out. Kyle checked the side mirror, letting out a sigh when all he saw was the dark night.

  “Are you ok?”

  “I’m ok.”

  “You can come up here. It’s safe now.”

  McKenna stuck her head in between the seats and stared out the windshield, trying to see beyond the glow of the headlights.

  “It’s ok. Those men aren’t coming after us.”

  “I’m not worried about them.”

  “Oh.”

  McKenna climbed up front, peering into the dark looking for things, or beings, that didn’t belong. She’d heard the aliens at night on the roof, their long nails scraping and clicking along. On those nights she slept under the bed, if she slept at all.

  “Maybe we should find somewhere to stay,” McKenna suggested.

  Kyle glanced over at her. The glow from the dashboard lights was enough to see her frightened expression. He reached over and squeezed her knee. “We’ll be ok.”

  The ‘k’ of ok coincided with a loud screech that shattered the night. McKenna dove into the back seat and pulled the blanket on up over her head. Kyle slowed the truck to a stop, cut the lights, and was debating on whether to turn off the engine when something bumped into the passenger door. Kyle caught his breath, but didn’t dare turn to see the cause, somehow knowing that bump came from something not of this Earth. McKenna didn’t make a peep. Another bump to the hood, to the back, to the roof. The bumps stopped. A minute ticked off the clock and then another. Kyle’s grip on the steering wheel eased up, allowing blood to return to his fingers. He leaned back against the head rest and stared into the pitch black. The air trapped inside his lungs was expelled, slow and deliberate. The engine fan kicked on startling him. He released the steering wheel and lowered his hands. Another minute ticked off the digital clock. Kyle grasped the light lever between his fingers. Two clicks forward was all it took. A slight flick of the wrist and he would know for sure if they were alone. But what if he was wrong? He dropped his hand and shifted his eyes to the glowing numbers on the dash.

  Five fifty-three.

  Five fifty-four.

  He again took hold of the lever. At five fifty-five he would cut on the lights. His eyes were glued to the clock, glued to the number four until it changed to five. Kyle turned the lever two clicks.

  “Oh shit.”

  Outside, surrounding the truck were maybe twenty Svan, maybe thirty, maybe too many to count. To Kyle they were alien creatures, the things that went bump in the night, the monster under the bed. Without turning around he instructed McKenna not to move, not to make a sound no matter what happened, no matter what she heard. And then Kyle began to silently pray, to beg God to hear him, to spare McKenna, if not him. He stopped praying, and breathing, when a Svan walked up to the passenger side of the truck. Kyle shook to his core, his teeth chattered uncontrollably. The alien grabbed the door and ripped it off, tossing it a hundred yards down the road.

  “Holy Mother help us.” Kyle whispered.

  The alien spoke to one of the others standing close by using what sounded like a series of short grunts. The alien reached inside the cab. Kyle backed against the driver’s door, but the being’s long clawed fingers grabbed his leg and pulled him out of the truck. The alien dangled Kyle high up in the air like a prize for the others to see before lowering him and sniffing his hair. The fiend sniffed all over his head and then turned Kyle so they faced each other, so they were eye to eye. In the alien’s large black eyes Kyle saw his terrified face looking back at him. The alien opened its mouth wide revealing sharp fang like teeth and a black tongue. It brought Kyle closer and sucked in the air around his face.

  Kyle closed his eyes and tried to lean back, to free himself. In a brief moment of clarity he realized the futility of any effort to escape. Tension fell away and his muscles received the signal to surrender. Hanging there like a rag doll, he thought this was it, he was going to be eaten by this thing, this killer of man. He prayed a final prayer, not for himself, but for McKenna. He begged and cursed God at the same time; begging for McKenna to be spared and damning God if he didn’t.

  Amidst a string of curse words running through his head, Kyle felt his feet touch the ground, but before he could rationalize and find his legs, the alien released him. His knees buckled and he crumpled to the ground. He remained in his haphazard kneeling position, head bent down, not daring to look up. All around him the Svan chattered amongst themselves. Kyle listened and wondered if they were trying to decide how to kill him. Suddenly the chatter stopped. He held his breath, waiting for them to strike, bracing for the pain. Out of the silence he heard a voice, a female voice and she spoke in the beast’s language. An instant later the Svan took to the air, swift and thunderous, hundreds of giant wings flying upward, carrying them away into the darkness. Silence again filled the night.

  14 Unknowns

  While Kyle was picking himself up from the road in Anchorage, Zack was flying through space at the speed of light. Upon reentering the present he somersaulted across frozen ground, landing hard on his shoulder. Luke followed in much the same fashion, with Ed seconds behind him. Zack struggled to his knees only to fall back down. He wished whoever was sticking giant needles into his body would please stop. A sharp pain shot through the back of his head and straight into his eyes. He cursed out loud. Luke answered with his own curse words and Ed simply rolled about clutching his sides and groaning. After long minutes of what felt like torture, the pain subsided and then dissipated all together. Ed stopped moaning. Zack stopped clutching his head and opened his eyes, realizing for the first time it was night.

  “Ed,” Zack whispered into the darkness.

  “Over here,” came his weak response.

  “Luke you there?” Zack said a bit louder.

  “I’m here.” His voice came from a different direction than Ed’s.

  Zack fished out a small flashlight from his pocket. “I’m gonna flash this light and you guys walk to me. Ok?”

  Zack flashed the light until Ed and Luke were close enough he could hear them breathing.

  “You guys alright?” Zack kept the light on. Somehow he didn’t think the Sundogs would bother them again, at least not that night.

  �
��Holy mother fucker!” Luke said.

  “Did we just time travel? Or something?” Ed asked.

  “Or something is right my friend.” Zack patted him on the back. “And now we need to figure out where the fuck we landed.” He looked around, but without the stars or the moon, they were no better off than a blind man. The wind picked up velocity and howled around them. “We are fucked,” Zack announced. “All my shit’s on the ATV. Compass, spotlight, thermal blankets. Every damn thing.”

  “Mine to,” Luke added.

  “All I have is a granola bar,” Ed offered.

  “What’re we going to do? We can’t stay out here.” Luke’s voice was a mix of panic and anger. “We could walk for miles. We have no fucking idea where we’re at.”

  Eve appeared on the edge of the circle of light. “I will guide you.”

  “Oh shit!” Zack shined the tiny light towards Eve, avoiding hitting her directly in the face. “I wish you’d stop doing that.”

  “Follow me.” Eve turned and walked out of the light.

  Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Zack hurried after her, dragging Ed and Luke along before they had time to protest. She was the only chance they had. Zack didn’t fancy freezing to death and she’d already saved them once, so the chances of her killing them off now was unlikely. After ten minutes of walking Eve halted without warning, causing Zack to dodge left or run into her. Had he been asked, he would have admitted that jumping off of a cliff might be preferable to having direct contact with her.

  “You are safe for now,” Eve said. “Stay away from the housing units. You cannot help those people.”

  “What’d ya mean can’t help them?” Ed demanded.

  “It’s the barn,” Zack announced, surprise in his voice.

  “We were that damn close?” Luke asked, sounding pissed off.

  “Did you want it to be farther?” Zack joked.

  Luke didn’t answer. What he wanted was to not have to rely on the vampire bitch. As soon as he thought this, he looked around. “She’s gone.”

  “What?” Ed spun around looking in all directions. “Wait,” he yelled out to the dark, “come back.”

  “Forget it Ed. She’s gone.” Zack turned back to the barn door. He took off his glove and reached his fingers behind a lose board. Within a few minutes the lights came on and a few more minutes the locks were being undone and the door was sliding open. On the other side Colin and Madison stood waiting for them.

  “Shit man. What the hell happened?” Colin asked once they were inside and had closed the doors.

  Zack pulled off his ski mask.

  “Oh my God,” Madison gasped. “Zack, you’re bleeding

  “What?” Zack touched his face.

  Ed and Luke removed their masks as well.

  “Your faces.” She pointed, her face all eyes.

  They looked at each other. All three had dried blood around their noses and mouths.

  “Must have been our mode of travel,” Zack noted.

  As they rode the platform down into the bunker, the travelers took turns explaining what had transpired over the past twenty-four hours and even to their ears it sounded wild and preposterous. Madison and Colin had no trouble believing it was true. In this new world they existed in, surprises were hard to come by, and seldom welcomed.

  “Sick man,” Colin exclaimed. “You were that close to a Sundog dude?” he asked Luke.

  “Yeah. That close,” Luke replied and couldn’t help smiling at Colin’s misguided admiration. He had no idea what they were up against. In a way Luke envied him and wished life in the bunker satisfied him.

  They stopped to cleanup before heading for the command center. When Colin opened the door they were swarmed by a welcoming committee of the bunker’s residents. A hail of questions followed with everyone talking at once. Apparently the nature of their trip hadn’t remained a secret for long. Zack sought out Colin through the swarm. Colin shrugged his shoulders at his brother’s raised eyebrows. It hadn’t been Colin’s doing. He’d only told Charlie, who only told one other person. Who told whom what after that was anyone’s guess.

  Once the hubbub died down to a quiet murmur, and Zack and Luke were the center of attention, Ed quietly slipped out to go see Jenny. He tried not to be concerned that she was not part of the welcoming crowd. He would have been more surprised to see her up and about. A gnawing fear ate at his mind, but he wasn’t going to think about it right now. Right now he wanted to see his wife.

  Madison was the only one to notice Ed’s departure and figured he was going to see Jenny. She’d gone to see her after Ed had left, not wanting her to be alone, worried about how she might be handling her return to the living. Jenny had insisted she was ok, but Madison stayed with her during Ed’s absence. She had Colin bring them dinner, so Jenny wouldn’t have to eat alone. Madison knew Jenny was having a hard time adjusting, and tried to draw her out, but she wouldn’t talk about what happened, claiming she couldn’t remember. The one thing she had been animated about, was their son Ryan. Saying his name brought more than a spark to her eye. Madison’s experience told her Jenny remembered more than she was letting on, but she didn’t press the issue.

  Thinking about Jenny brought Madison’s thoughts around to Roxanne. Madison had gone to see her first, before Jenny, but no answer came when she knocked on the door. Later Madison ran into Caleb playing video games with Zoe. Although Zoe was thirteen and obviously knew the games well, Caleb beat her time and time again. When Madison asked if he ever played before he’d replied yes that he’d played many times, but his response sounded rehearsed. She was sure of this, but what was she going to do? Grill a seven-year-old? So she let it go. All things would come to light, Madison was sure of it. She was also certain these things would not be revelations of the good sort, but only time would tell. Madison snapped out of her meanderings and looked up to find Zack staring at her from across the room.

  Her fickle heart beat a little bit faster and she longed to go to him, to tell him she loved him. If he was the only man on her mind, she wouldn’t have hesitated, but he wasn’t and Madison wouldn’t inflict heartache upon him for her own selfish desires. That her aloofness was doing exactly what she intended it not to do never occurred to her. That he wanted her, even if it meant only having a part of her, also eluded her. If her momma had been there she would have pointed out the obvious and maybe saved Madison the unnecessary anguish she was feeling.

  Across the room Zack fought a different battle. He had told himself to give Madison time, she would figure out what she wanted, but now he thought to hell with waiting. Time was running out. He felt it deep inside and at times not deep at all, but right there on the surface ready to burst out into the open. The Adita were coming soon. That their return didn’t bode well for what remained of the human race was also irrefutable. He didn’t want to spend the last days of his life watching the woman he loved from across the room, hoping she would realize one day what a wonderful guy he was. One day would be too late. It was now or never.

  After about fifty minutes of answering their questions with answers that were founded for the most part in speculation, Luke had had enough. He wanted to go see how Austin was doing and, more so, to check on Roxanne. The feeling that she wasn’t who she claimed wouldn’t let go of him. He thought about talking it over with Madison, but in thinking of what he might say, in each and every way he approached the topic it sounded absurd. Intuition fought against guilt and came up the loser. Austin was his friend, his family, and Luke couldn’t betray him, but he would be damned if he’d let his guard down. With his conscience somewhat settled, Luke made his way over to Madison and let her know where he was headed. She gave him a quick hug and asked if he was ok. A charming smile, after a not so convincing yes, kept her from asking more questions. Luke left knowing he hadn’t gotten one off, knowing that not much, if anything, got past her and she would find him later. Later, after she had time to dwell on it all, and then he wouldn’t be able to dodge her qu
estions.

  ***

  Eve stood over Austin, her hand on his forehead, fingers spread wide curled over the top of his head. Za’s visit and delivered pronouncement disturbed her more than she liked. Changes were coming that she could not foresee and waiting for Austin to recover on his own was no longer a viable option. She looked across Austin to where Caleb stood watching his father’s face. He glanced up at her, but not for long. Eve knew he was anxious to meet Austin.

  Caleb was more than anxious, he was filled with great anticipation. Soon his father would leave the darkness and open his eyes. He wanted to see the very moment this happened. To see his father have eyes like his own. Caleb didn’t know why this mattered, not yet, only that his father must be human for a little while longer. Eve withdrew her hand and rested it on Austin’s forearm. Caleb watched Austin’s eyes as they moved underneath his eye lids. Back and forth, fast and slow, slow, and then they opened. Blue eyes blinked, looked at Eve, blinked again, looked at Caleb, and then looked around at the ceiling, the walls, his expression one of uncertainty.

  “Where am I?” he asked.

  “Under the ground,” Eve responded. She knew the humans called it a bunker, but it reminded her of Cheyenne.

  “Mr. Londergan’s bunker,” Caleb added. “In Pueblo,” he continued when Austin turned to look at him, pleased to have his father’s attention. “We arrived last week.”

  Austin reached out and touched Caleb’s face. “Caleb?”

  “Yes father.”

  Austin stared at the boy. Was this child his son? His son, he repeated this and decided he must be dreaming. This couldn’t be his son, the baby Eve had presented to him a few months prior. Had so much time been lost that his son was already a boy? Austin tried to recall what happened. The last memory he had was falling to the floor. Needles and blood also played a part. Austin shook his head. This motion created the opposite effect from what was intended. The lines of the room blurred.