by Sawyer, JT
He motioned with his hand to the stairs. “Why don’t you all get some rest, and in the morning we can talk about how you can contribute to the community here.” She nodded, then slowly backpedaled before turning around and quickly following the others up the stairs.
***
Jared moved in closer to Engel. “She and her friend didn’t check out—A and B blood types.”
“Dammit—that’s a shame,” said Engel. “We’ve only found three candidates in the past week of new arrivals.” Engel watched Kelly’s shadow disappear upstairs. “What about the daughter—you failed to mention her.”
Jared stepped back, narrowing his eyes. “She’s a kid—eight years old.”
“That’s of little concern to me.” He waved his arms in the air, his formerly charming expression dissolving. “But the continued safety of this place is of concern to all of us.” Engel’s face became rigid, his lips tensing. “So, what was her blood type? Is she suitable or not?”
Jared glanced away, then darted his eyes over at the restrained alpha, wondering who the real monster was in his presence. Jesus, Engel is willing to go farther than I thought. The others that were selected in the past were all dregs—mostly low-life gutter trash that wouldn’t have fit in here over the long haul anyway. There’s no way I’m telling him that little girl has the right blood type. “No, she’s, uhm, same as the old lady.”
Engel stared at Jared for a moment, looking over his facial features, then folded his arms and moved towards a steel lever emanating from the wall beside the glass chamber where the alpha was contained. “Pity, then we may need to start up the broadcasts again. Our remaining three donors will only last the week.” He muscled the lever down, causing a rusted iron panel to slide upward in the chamber. The sight reminded Jared of the feeding door in a tiger’s den at a zoo. The faint outline of a young man lying unconscious on his side was barely visible, like an apparition bleeding through from another realm. The alpha flopped on its side, squirming its scarred torso along the damp cement until it reached the opening. Its head arched up as its mouth opened, revealing a thick parasite which darted out into the darkness. The dim setting was filled with the sound of slurping as the creature’s neck muscles vigorously contracted while the groaning man’s body twisted, his face contorting.
Jared withdrew and moved back, a grimace forming over his chiseled face. What kind of insane world have we inherited? He blinked hard, his mouth going dry. He watched in horror as the limbless monster continued to drain the stupefied figure. Jared pried his eyes away, heading for the stairs and the outside world, where the clear air would help wipe away the memory of the horrors below. Reaching the overlook above, he leaned on the metal railing and watched people walking along the newly established courtyard area below. Since arriving at Raven’s Keep, he had seen how the other members had fallen under the spell of Engel’s bullshit, which wasn’t hard to do, given the idyllic setting inside the facility and the brutality outside the walls. The daily Jim Jones-esque sermons by Engel on how fate had guided them to his safe haven was starting to get old. Jared could see Engel was indoctrinating the desperate refugees in his own brand of quasi-messianic beliefs, trying to create an outpost of sheep while plucking out the ones favorable to his repulsive undertaking with the alpha. These people here should all be training in fighting tactics instead of acting like they’re in a fucking commune. This can’t last forever—what if that alpha dies tomorrow? We don’t even know how long they live.
As he stared into the crowd, he could make out Kelly, who had just arrived at the playgroup of other children, where her daughter was sitting. Have to warn her—get her and her kid out of here. But to where? He’d gone along with Engel’s nefarious approach since he arrived because he had the chance of being in charge of the other guards and enjoyed getting an occasional glimpse outside the dam during their recon missions, not to mention Engel explaining that he was only culling less-than-desirable people from the crowd of newcomers. His own fucking eugenics program—only now he’s willing to cross any line to keep this place afloat. He heard the squawk of a lone bird and glanced up at a raven circling above. Raven’s Keep—what a croc! Maybe I should have just stuck it out on the road, moving from town to town. Jesus, how did I ever get myself into this mess?
***
When the alpha had finished feeding, it wriggled its scarred body back into the main chamber, its ulcerous skin shearing off along the coarse concrete floor. It lay back, staring up at the ceiling then out through the glass window at the humans standing in the hall outside. Suddenly, it felt its mind filling with images from another region—flashes of a forested area amidst a large estate and catacombs of underground tunnels. A lone voice seeped into its psyche, and it felt the burning in its mangled stumps slip away as it merged with the consciousness of a more powerful being.
Soon, your suffering will end. You have done well to last this long, but your brood to the north will be taken over by other leaders like you that are moving in your direction.
The creature blinked several times, nodding its scabbed head in acknowledgement.
I have one last thing for you to do, and then your pain will ease for good. That time is nearing.
The images faded, prompting the return of its physical agony. The creature rested its head on the cold flooring, its facial muscles relaxing for the first time since it had been flung into its holding cell. After a few minutes, it tilted its head again towards the window, staring intently at the man who had done this to it. Its pupils dilated and the tingling in the base of its neck amplified. It wanted to feel the final breath drain from the monster responsible for its pitiful condition. The creature relaxed its head back on the ground, focusing on a singular crack in the ceiling above. Soon…soon.
Chapter 34
“Concentrate all firepower along the southern flank so we can get what’s left of our Bradleys engaged,” yelled Dorr into his ear-mic as he stood in the tac-ops command center. Hemmings had just rushed in and took up a position beside him, followed by Runa, who was wearing a vest.
“Sir, you requested me?” said Runa.
Dorr grabbed him by the shoulder and leaned in towards him, pointing to the satellite image of the tropical storm on the desk monitor to the right. “My analyst just confirmed that we will have a thirty-minute window of calm when this storm passes to the southwest of us. I need you to get the crop-duster planes in the air and release the bioagent over the drone army along Riverview Drive before they cut through all of our defenses. Doctor Munroe and I have a plan to concentrate them into one mass long enough to deliver the aerosol. Our other pilots are out in the fight already. Two of my men are waiting downstairs, so if you could muster up one more who can handle a Cessna you’d be blowing sunshine up all of our asses today.”
Both men heard the sound of footsteps as several men ran through the doors. Runa turned and saw Reisner trotting in his direction. Runa didn’t think he was capable of smiling any longer but proved himself wrong as the two men reached out and embraced. “Damn you, you young pup!” Runa said, smacking his hand on Reisner’s back.
Reisner was speechless, gripping both of Runa’s arms while baring his teeth in a huge grin.
Ivins slipped past the two of them and rushed up to Dorr’s side. “Sir, we just heard shots being fired near the northwest edge of the base, about a half-click from here. Is that zone hot?”
Dorr scrunched his eyebrows together and scrolled over to another monitor as one of his intel staff shouted out that there was a breach in the wall near the guard tower there. Dorr pulled up the image on the big screen, watching as sixteen alphas bounded along the interior. “They came in from the ocean,” said the blond-haired analyst. “Their heat signatures didn’t even register until now.”
“Commander, take your team up top and join the Marines already in place—make sure none of those things get in here,” Dorr said to Ivins. “If this place falls then it’s all over.”
Runa had already grabbed Rei
sner’s arm and motioned him to follow. “Where to, sir?” said Reisner.
“Back to the airfield.”
He slowed his gait. “Wait—where’s my sister?”
Runa nodded for him to keep up. “She’s fine—on board one of the civilian vessels off the coast, not far from Selene.”
When they reached the double doors of the entrance, Reisner rested his hands on Runa’s shoulder. “What you did—keeping my sister safe all this time—I am forever in your debt.”
Runa smiled, looking him straight in the eye. “We look out for our own—our family. That’s what we do. It’s the drive that allows us to wake up each day, no matter how gray the skies are. No need to thank me, Will.” Runa patted him on the back then flung open the door, trotting down the hallway as Reisner eagerly followed his old mentor.
Chapter 35
Kelly was sitting in the makeshift cafeteria, eating a meal of stew and cornbread as her daughter sat at a nearby table with four kids her age. Kelly relished the taste of the hot food but was still having a hard time believing they were living in a sanctuary as Engel had implied. She looked around at the eighty other people seated around the room, wondering what their stories were and how they felt about their current living conditions. They can’t all buy into this utopian crap that Engel is spouting.
“You’re a new arrival, ain’t ya?” said a frosty-haired woman in her fifties who had just sat down across from Kelly with a tray of food.
“That’s right—a few of us got in yesterday afternoon.”
“Where from? I’m from Kingman, a few hours away.”
Kelly didn’t feel like answering any questions and directed the conversation back towards the woman. “Passed through there once going to the Grand Canyon. What did you do there?”
“Paralegal secretary at a law firm—the only decent law firm in that city.” She reached across the table, extending her hand. “Name’s Janice Parker.”
“Hmm…like the name of the dam—what a coincidence.”
“Lots of Parkers in Arizona, it seems.” She paused in between forkfuls of food. “Well, used to be, anyway. I was just lucky to make it here at all.” She shoveled in the food, talking in between bites. “Me and seven others made it here about eight days ago.”
Another woman sat down next to Kelly, arranging her napkin across her legs. “Janice telling you all about our road trip from hell?” said the woman, who squished a small green aphid on the edge of the table with her thumb.
“Oh, Mary, stop—it could’ve been worse, you know.”
“Janice here likes to sugarcoat everything, so you have to read between the lines,” said the woman.
“This is Mary of the glass-half-empty school of thought. Ever since we got here, she’s been looking for an excuse to criticize everything,” said Janice.
“Well, I can’t blame you,” said Kelly. “I mean, not about the food or living arrangements. It’s just,” Kelly leaned forward, lowering her voice, “doesn’t it seem like we’re just living on borrowed time here? We should be preparing, training for the eventuality that we could be in a battle against those things on the outside. That creature that Engel has down below isn’t going to be enough to ensure our long-term safety.”
Janice stopped eating and leaned back, raising her palm up. “I don’t want to hear anything about that thing. I haven’t seen it and don’t want to—I’ve just heard the rumors and that’s enough for me. Whatever Engel’s doing is fine by me as long as we have a roof over our heads.”
“Meet Janice—who isn’t a glass half full or empty kinda gal but rather a bury-your-head-in-the-fucking-sand type,” said Mary, who brushed a lock of her auburn hair aside, revealing a lovely face that was just shy of forty. She waved her fork in the air towards the spillway outside. “Seems like an ideal place to weather out a disaster right now but,” she leaned forward, lowering her voice, “just not so sure about this Moses character who’s in charge. I mean, Engel seems like he means well, but he reminds me too much of a California governor, with his lofty speeches and bullshit promises.”
Mary came across as someone who would make an excellent poker player, with her stoic features and outwardly calm demeanor, but she seemed like a person who could be quick to let her venom fly if someone crossed her, reminding Kelly of herself.
“As long as we have food to eat and a snug roof over our heads each night, who the hell cares?” said Janice.
Mary raised her eyebrows then glanced over at Kelly. “And as long as Engel has sheep like Janice here, everything will run smoothly. Until other options present themselves, I’ll have to stick it out here, I guess.” She nudged Janice with her elbow. “And be a patient shepherd.”
“More like a bossy sheepdog,” said Mary with a cackle.
“You two know each other before all of this?” said Kelly.
“Not at all—we just like taking jabs at each other to lighten the mood,” said Mary. “I’m from Baker, California. Used to be a schoolteacher. I met Janice on a convoy of thirty other vehicles that were heading this way after we heard the radio broadcast.”
“Wow, thirty rigs—that must have been a lot of people.”
“A hundred plus,” said Janice. “But then,” she paused, looking out at the red rock cliffs near the dam, her face stiffening, “we were attacked by those creatures north of Lake Havasu, outside what Jared called the forbidden zone. Another alpha controls that region or something, he said.”
“So, how many arrived…” Kelly started to say.
“There were twelve of us,” said Janice. “Though that’s down to eleven now—one of the men, Allen, disappeared a few days ago. Engel said he must have fallen off the dam walkway as his body was never found.”
“There were so many of us when we left California and then came across Janice’s group,” muttered Mary in a monotone voice as she pushed her still-full plate away. “My husband, my two best friends…they never…” She held her head between her hands as she cried.
“I’m so sorry, Mary,” Kelly said, placing a hand on the woman’s forearm.
“It’s just, you know—we had already survived the initial virus and fled from the city. We figured we could hold out where we were, hiding in the desert with the rest of our group.” Mary sat up, dabbing her tears away with the napkin. “Then we heard the broadcast about Raven’s Keep and knew we had to try to get here.” She clutched a butter knife in her hands. “And we almost fucking did—we were almost here.” She flung the utensil on the table. The people at other tables around them grew quiet and stared in their direction before returning to their conversations.
“I can’t imagine what you’ve been through,” said Kelly, rubbing the woman’s shoulder. Mary looked down at Kelly’s ring finger, noticing the wedding band.
“Your husband—is he here?”
Kelly looked around at the other men in the dining hall, wishing she could see Tom’s face in the crowd, then lowered her gaze towards the floor. “No—but I think he’s still out there somewhere.” She found herself forcing out the words like they were sticking to the back of her throat. Kelly looked up at the cobalt sky through the windows, struggling to see the image of Tom’s face in her weary mind. Maybe this is all that’s left—small groups like this hanging on by whatever means they can. She lightly rotated her wedding band back and forth, finally letting her fingers come to a standstill as she pulled her hand away.
***
In the silent chamber of concrete two levels below the dining hall, the creature lay staring at the mold-covered ceiling. On occasion, it would glance over at the large window on the door and study the armed guard waiting outside. There was no knowing if it was day or night in the outside world from its present location, but the eyes of its brood in the city to the north informed it that the sun was setting. How it longed to be with them—the fibers of its being were infused with a desire it could not consummate, and it knew it would never be in their presence again. It felt a tinge of pressure in its cervical region
followed by its vision shifting to another location as the voice of a more powerful being entered its tortured mind. For a moment it saw legions of drones marching to a location in a warmer region. It could feel the humidity and smell the decay of vegetation as if its feet were tromping through the muddy streets. There were so many drones that it looked like a tidal wave of destruction was sweeping over the army base ahead. Its mind reached out, wanting to join the fight and to merge with others like it.
It is time, said the deep voice echoing in its head. The sound filled the recesses of its mind. Your sacrifice is our sacrifice and will be felt by all of us. Now complete one last task—then your suffering will end.
I understand. The creature willed itself onto its side, its abdominal muscles the only thing enabling it to tilt to the left. It opened its mouth, staring up at the guard outside the window as it shuddered out a high-pitched shriek, the ropey parasite shooting out from its mouth. When the triangular brown head was past its lips, it let out a final shrill sound then bit down with great force, severing the undulating creature. The shrieks resounded off the walls of the small chamber, startling the man outside, who quickly radioed in the bizarre sighting as others gathered in the window to see what was happening. The alpha felt the ebb of its remaining energy drain quickly from its tortured body, then it collapsed back as the dismembered parasite went limp.
Chapter 36
Selene entered the lab in her biohazard suit, carrying a tray with a single syringe and a small tape recorder. She was accompanied by two armed guards clad in a similar fashion. She moved alongside the comatose alpha, placing several new leads along the forehead and then turning on the EEG machine.
“Drape a blindfold over its eyes,” she said to the guard on her right, who placed a folded towel above the bridge of its nose. Selene removed a syringe from the tray and injected the creature with one CC of fluid, leaving the rest in the syringe, which was left to dangle out of its carotid.