Afraid of the Dark

by Chris Hechtl

  “Okay...” the General said with an unseen nod.

  “Ammo for one, standard, fifty cal is a must, MREs if you've got any going a begging. Also some grenade launchers.”

  “Weapons, ammunition, food, I'll throw in medical supplies...”

  “And shipping containers. Oh, better make the weapons and ammo heavy caliber.”

  “Shipping containers?” the general asked and then barked a laugh. “Whatever for?”

  “Well, Long Beach is sitting right there... Seriously, they make great walls General. We're in a medieval situation you know that right? We have to fort up. By using the containers and concrete, which by the way I also need, along with trenches we can fort up, make the defenses deter or kill the aliens for us.”

  “I've heard some talk along those lines,” the general admitted.

  “We're using choke points. Or at least we will use them. Make them focus their efforts on one point in the perimeter, the gate house so we can leverage our people and gear the best we can.”

  “I see,” the general said with an unseen nod. He sounded like he was finally paying attention. To hear a civilian, albeit a former marine quote military defensive doctrine was interesting. “I'll ah, have to get back to you on that.”

  “Thank you sir, that's all we ask. Support of any sort is nice, support aimed at long term survival is best,” he said. “About the heavy weapons, we're recycling our brass but...”

  “What about RPGs? LAWS? Javelins?” the General asked. “Most of the survivors have been clamoring for them. Or tanks. Anything with a big enough punch to get through the armor.”

  Shane thought about that for a moment. Kyle and the rocketeers had come through with flying colors a couple of days ago. They had a working RPG and were now cranking out copies in five assembly lines. Well, four separate part assembly lines and one integration assembly line.

  “We've got some homemade RPGs and rockets General, we're making our own. I would love to have a shipment of bloopers or better yet some XM302's if you've got some going cheap. The older MK-19's if you've got them going will work as well. They're heavy though.”

  “Grenade launchers?”

  “I've got one XM174 general; we're not comfortable making our own right now like the RPGs...”

  “You... that's the most common asked for thing and you're making your own?” the general asked sounding surprised.

  “Yes sir, we've got some weapons experts on site who whipped up our own version and we've got some production lines going making more. I've got a chemistry expert who's whipping up some homemade plastic explosives as well as the napalm additive and rocket fuel for us, but he can't do big batches which is what I want.”

  “You seem to be on the ball.”

  “We're trying sir. We need flash bangs but I'm told that's hard to do. Turtling isn't a long term option. I've got crews out clearing the aliens and scavenging for resources daily sir. Sir any word on the base? When are they going to do anything?”

  “Not my department,” the General said slowly.

  “Oh.”

  “Anything else?”

  “We've got some eggheads who have been working on understanding the enemy. Any intel you can send our way would be good to have sir. We can upload what we've got to help.”

  The general cleared his throat. It sounded weird over the radio. “Definitely. Okay, work on your list and get it off to me ASAP along with the intel. I'll see what I can do. Sigma six clear.”

  “Mall six clear here sir. Good night, good luck.”

  “And to you too son. God bless son, stack em like cord wood.” The general's voice said gruffly.

  “Thank you sir, Semper Fi,” Shane said with a nod and smile to Sparks. He knew the grapevine would be abuzz over this. Morale should take an uptick for a while. All good.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  He looked over to Bob a little while later. “How we doing?” Bob asked, coming up and resting his arm on the railing as he watched the scenery around them.

  “Okay.”

  “Heard you had an interesting call today,” Bob said, sounding amused. Shane looked at him, smiling a little.

  “Oh you did huh? You and just about everyone else I can imagine.”

  “Probably,” Bob said, amused as well. He'd figured out that Shane had used the opportunity to feed the grapevine to build morale. Hell, he knew it was working, he for one felt better for getting some support in the pipeline. Just knowing someone higher was listening to them and was impressed with their efforts lifted his spirits. “Think we'll get anything?”

  Shane looked left and right to make sure no one was in ear shot. “I think he's fishing,” Shane said quietly after a long moment.

  “Fishing?”

  “Looking for people who are self-sufficient, or close to it. People who are worth supporting, people who are panicking, the usual.”

  “Ah.”

  “Bob, we're pretty good here, and getting better every day.”

  “We still need to work on essential services. Get that in order.”

  “Oh I know. But the priorities are shelter, water, food, fire, and defense. We've got them all, and we've got some motivated people. We're not turtling; we're working the problem, not being the problem.”

  “Yeah,” Bob said, lip curling a little. “Some.”

  “Give them time. We'll spread out the projects, put as many people on security as we can and make sure they are visible to give them a sense of security.”

  “Just as long as its not a false sense,” Bob said, sounding concerned. He was wondering now about his own security. He of all people knew just how unsecured the perimeter was. He had nightmares about it and he knew he wasn't the only one.

  “Hell of it is, nothing in this world is ever completely safe Bob. We have to take some risks, to be uncovered. We can't cover all bases at all times; we're not going to be perfect. Far from it. The best we can do is just that, the best we can do. The only thing we can hope to do is to learn from our mistakes and improve on things as we can.”

  “Right,” Bob said with a nod.

  “We'll get it done. The good news is we don't need the power demands the entire city had before. The bad news is...”

  “Well, I could see us using that amount of power,” Bob said, interrupting as he looked thoughtful.

  “Oh?” Shane asked, stopping his train of thought.

  “Yeah, I'd say we could do with a nice electric fence around our entire perimeter. Nice thing, say couple of hundred thousand volts and a couple of amps or so. Enough to stop the heart of anything that comes knocking. We could even do an umbrella over the base with enough wire and power. It'd be like being inside a giant bug zapper. Imagine that.”

  “Yeah, I can well imagine,” Shane said, thinking of some scenes from movies where a person got electrocuted. He winced a little. Safety would definitely be a concern.

  “Not that we can do that right now. I think I can get someone to whip up a system, maybe,” Bob said rubbing his jaw.

  “Stick it on the areas that we can't cover right. And around anything we leave out at night,” Shane suggested.

  “Oh, hmmm... yeah, that's a thought,” Bob said thoughtfully. “The 60,” he said, watching Shane nod in return. They had electric fences already there, but they were just zappers. Nothing lethal. At least not yet. He'd have to remember to put signs up or some damn fool idiot would get fried.

  “Right. How are we on priorities?”

  “Shelter for everyone, even if we're crowded cheek to jowl like a barracks. We're spreading out, but it’s hard and slow. I don't want to push anything too hard and get bit in the ass in return. That's a real problem, not just a metaphor these days. I can't blame anyone for not wanting to be in the hotel, hell if I'd stay there, place is a sponge.” He'd checked it over the first week. From a defensive point of view it was a nightmare of entry points. It was also sunken into the hill, not completely on top of it. That made defending it even more of a pain in the ass. Th
e good thing was that it was tight to the mall on one flank, but still. It was a major headache for him, right behind the 60 side and the perimeter around the work sites.

  “Alien magnet,” Shane said with a wince. He'd reluctantly allowed the project to go ahead after they'd been swamped with people coming in from the hospital and as one after another small enclave fell or was abandoned. He was worried though; the mall was partially underground, so the majority of the people slept on that floor. But the hotels were different. A good portion of them were above ground, there were three or four floors that were exposed. With enough people and equipment inside it would light up with a heat signature big enough for any alien to see for miles around. At least, that was the concern he had. That and there were so many windows and doors to defend... the false ceilings... he winced.

  “I've got people working on the perimeter, and I've got people improving the plumbing. Contractors and the like,” Bob said with a nod. “Water is a priority; we've got enough power for now. Gas we're okay, Walt said he's got all the tanks in the area topped off and we've got every truck we can filled. He's filling every barrel we find with gas or oil. Dave's topping the vehicles off with the excess every night. We've even got barrels that were once filled with other stuff now filled with oil and gas. I have no idea how contamination is going to work there. So yeah, that generator idea might work.”

  “Okay,” Shane said nodding. He'd seen Dave's crews going in and sucking gas stations dry.

  “I think we're going to have to go over the utilities for the entire complex and set up crews to handle them. Poll the population if we can. I've got the electricians and I know that one gas guy what's his name, but we'll need more.”

  “I'll get Jayne to go over it. I think we can safely restart the water recycling complex at March. If its useable. There is another set up on Perris too we might be able to swing.”

  Bob looked a little annoyed. “I wish the people around us would help out more,” he muttered.

  “You and me both Bob,” Shane sighed. “A fire on your neighbor's lawn could spread to your own. But they don't see that. They are turtling, running scared. They can't see that if we work together, we can beat this.”

  “I tell you one thing,” Bob said, turning and resting his elbows on the railing. “Honestly, I didn't think we could. I had an odd moment when we first started, but you didn't seem to. You and Jen, and Jayne, you just dug right in and started moving. You didn't hesitate, not for a moment. Which got me off my duff and moving too.”

  “That and having a family to protect,” Shane said with a nod.

  “That too,” Bob said with a nod. “We'll get it done,” he said, patting the railing. “Maybe when people see what we're doing they'll come out and help. Hell, stranger things have happened. I'll see if I can rustle up some of my people, see who knows what and if they can get things going. I'll stick the veterans I've got, who I can trust, in command of greenhorns and we'll have to fill out the rest with noobs and people I don't know. We need to do more than just shut off gas lines and water lines.”

  “Okay Bob,” Shane said waving as the big guy walked off. “You do that, see you at next council.”

  “Yeah man,” Bob said with a backward wave. “Later.”

  ...*...*...*...*...

  Bob was cussing later as he marched into the machine shop. Walt looked up and scowled. “Something amiss?” he asked picking up a rag and wiping his hands.

  “Yeah some Twit ran the loader out of fuel. And to top it off generator four ran out of fuel last night and they didn't catch it in time and just now reported it.”

  “Shit,” Walt said looking at the clock. He sighed. “Why me. Do they understand running a diesel out of fuel screws it up?”

  “They do now. I've got the driver trying to fix it but we can't get the loader's fuel filter off.”

  “To prime it with fuel right?” Walt asked. Bob nodded.

  “Vapor lock or in this case straight air lock. Both engines. Damn, it's a pain in the ass to get the air out of the fuel system,” Walt said. “Yo Jesse!” he said turning in place.

  “Yeah?” A woman working at a work bench asked, lifting her welding helmet. “Whadya want now Walt?”

  “I got to go fix a loader. I need you to head over to um...”

  “Generator four,” Bob sighed.

  “Generator four with fuel and tools and get the damn thing running again.”

  “Say that again?” Jesse asked, coming over. Bob noted the tattoos. The woman's arms were covered. Her arms were huge for her frame, she was definitely a lifter. Or had been at one time. She spat on the floor and gave them both an annoyed look.

  “Look we didn't do it, we're just stuck fixing it. Gen four runs the lights and electric fences for the 60 side of the freeway along the Mall. I'd like to get it back online before dark if its all the same to you,” Bob said trying to keep a lid on his temper.

  She gave him another look, worked her jaw and then nodded. She turned and took her helmet off and dropped it on the bench. “Fine, Benny spot me, I'll need Amos too.”

  “You got him, just get it done. I'll be with Bob if you need anything,” Walt said with a nod.

  “Shit, I've heard about this, saw it on Gold Rush, didn't think anyone would be stupid to do it though,” Amos said coming over.

  “Takes all kinds,” Jesse said, making her way through the shop. “Come on, we've got to find a barrel of diesel and figure this damn thing out. Its not a quick fix and we're racing the clock.”

  “Tell me about it,” Bob muttered darkly.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  He held her in his arms and smiled down at her. “Be-have,” she said with a saucy drawl, glowering up at him mockingly. He caught his driver rolling his eyes just at the corner of his vision. He ignored it, turning his full undivided attention on the vision of loveliness in his arms. Jen always had that effect on him, especially now, early in the morning. It was something all men went through, Jen joked about the rush of testosterone when they first woke up. For him it was seeing her mussed and unguarded, not fully awake, lacking make up and without much on her mind. Unfortunately he didn't have time to do anything about it, not that he was ready to admit it. One had to keep up appearances of course.

  “Or what?” he asked huskily, eyes twinkling with pure mischief.

  “Or nothing,” she growled, giving him a reproving look.

  “Really?” he asked, and they tussled a little. She smacked him on the ass. “Oh do the other cheek too!” he teased. She flushed red, looking around and then laughed. He didn't care. She poked him in the ribs but his body armor prevented her from digging too deeply.

  “I... oh you!” she said, straightening and glaring again. “Later boy.”

  “I'll hold you to that,” he said, pulling her close and kissing her long and lovingly. When the kiss broke he wasn't the only one practically panting. Her eyes softened.

  “You do that.” She replied huskily herself, smiling a little coy smile of better things to come. He felt and heard the truck behind him sway and then the engine rumble to life.

  “We've got a schedule to keep!” the driver yelled.

  He squeezed her once more, gave her a peck and stepped back, gently letting her go. She crossed her arms, smiling and stepping away as he climbed into the cab of the truck. “Stay safe,” she said, blowing him a kiss.

  “I'll do my best,” he said as the door slammed. “Head em up and move em out!” he said whistling. She shook her head turning to watch the crew moving out.

  “It like this every time he leaves?” Sheila asked, amused. She looked over to the woman and shrugged.

  “He is with me. And some of the others are that way too,” she said, looking at some of the other spouses as they moved to go inside. About a dozen or so people were milling about in the dawn light. Similar scenes were being played out in the staging parking lots all around the mall. Over a thousand people were heading out, a few wouldn't return. At least not upright. She felt
a chill at that. He damn well better take care of himself or she'd never forgive him.

  “Huh,” Sheila said.

  “One must relish life when you are in the business of taking it so often,” Jen said quietly.

  “Oh?” Sheila asked. “Never heard that.”

  “My husband. He's like that. Even with everything going on, the world going to shit, he's kept his chin up.” One of the many things she admired about the man. She couldn't accept that he had learned it from her. Through all their trials and tribulations, he'd been her rock and she had been his.

  “And such a classic chin!” Sheila teased. Jen looked at her in amused surprise. “I don't swing that way anymore but I do look,” Sheila said in amusement.

  Jen's confusion and amusement grew a bit more. She smiled hesitantly. “Mine all mine,” she said after a moment. Sheila nodded, smiling.

  “Good for you miss, keep him tight,” she said patting Jen's shoulder.

  “Oh I intend to,” Jen said, blushing a little. Just as soon as I can find a semi private broom closet in this warren. Hell, any vertical wall at this point would suit him. Tamara's porta-potty is starting to sound good right about now,” she said watching Sheila snicker. “I'm betting he's going to be after me to go out with him one of these times.” She grimaced and rubbed the small of her back. “Hell if I'm going to it again in the back seat.” She looked thoughtful. “Come to think of it, I think Nicky was conceived that way.”

  Sheila sputtered a giggle, hand over her mouth. “I think we can oblige,” she said shaking her head.

  “Good, cause he's not the only one who's horny,” Jen muttered, just loud enough for Sheila to hear. The poor girl started giggling, tried to smother it, but then started laughing so hard Jen thought she was going to bust a gut. Her eyes teared over. She shook her head, feeling her cheeks heat even more as she dimpled.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  Jen winced at the caterwauling going on as she stepped into the kennel. They were getting formal now; people's pets were kept in a separate area than the animals designated as a food source. Not that there would be much of a distinction if things went South, she thought with a pang. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that.