Afraid of the Dark

by Chris Hechtl

  He closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them as he got his breath under control. He stood up. Voices around him had gone quiet.

  “We're always, always, wanting someone else. I've got news for you. News for all of you.” he glared around the room. “There isn't anyone else this time. We're it people. Get off your ass and help or shut up and do what you can to help from the sidelines. There aren't any other choices.”

  The man looked down in shame or embarrassment. Shane just didn't care. After a moment he cleared his throat. “Fine,” is all he said. He pushed his way through the crowd. After a moment the crowd dispersed. Shane sat down heavily and sighed.

  “Not one of your finer moments dear,” Jen murmured in his ear as the dinner crowd started talking once more.

  “I know. I'm doing the best I can,” he said.

  “I know love, I know,” she said, patting his hand. He caught hers and held it briefly.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  The next morning he got a call to visit some of the other warehouses along the 215. Crews had recently cleared enough of the roads in that area to get in and out a lot more easily than before. Apparently they had been noticed and someone had finally come out and started talking. He grimaced, but then shrugged. His team was doing working up exercises since the area they had planned to work on had been burned in a fire.

  Everyone was walking on eggshells around him. He knew he was grumpy damn it, but he didn't have a way to do anything about it today. Killing aliens helped a little. It at least got the mad out. Maybe this would help keep things in perspective, he thought as he climbed out of the truck.

  Shane looked at the warehouse and snorted softly. The people inside had tacked up chain link fence and were nervously keeping watch, but weren't out and about, and they hadn't put much thought at all into their defenses.

  “You Carmen?” he asked nodding politely to a heavyset gentleman and his followers.

  “Yeah. I hear you want to trade?” the man asked, licking his lips. “We don't have much,” his eyes shifted back and forth scanning. He had a nervous tick. He obviously didn't like to be outside.

  “Calm down, the predators, well, most of them aren't out and about during the day. Only when its dark. This is the perfect time to get shit done,” Wayne said.

  The man studied Wayne's dirty sheriff's uniform and then nodded. He still looked nervous though.

  “Here,” Shane said. He pulled out a water bottle and handed it over. “You're out of electricity and water right?”

  “Yeah uh...”

  “I've got some people making generators.”

  “You're sitting on Lowes and the Sears man, why make them?”

  “Cause the ones we've got only go so far. We need a lot of power to run things. And so do you,” Shane said waving. “Lights for one, Electric fences. Equipment to make a better wall and trench a moat.” He pointed to the perimeter.

  “Uh... I'm not sure that's possible without um... permits?” the man said lamely.

  Wayne chuckled, looking away. Bob rolled his eyes. “Wake up to a new day man,” Bob said. He'd tagged along for the ride, saying something about wanting to see how the other half lives. “Look I'll walk you through it, that's why they brought me along. You're right here along the 215. You've got the drainage ditch there, the tracks, the drainage ditch on the other side and then your inner perimeter. See if you take the cars, drain out the fuel, pull the engine and bits you may want later then you can flip em on end.”

  “On end?”

  “Yeah,” the contractor said nodding. “See,” he pulled a Matchbox car out of his pocket. “Flip em like so,” he said demonstrating. “Either ass up or nose up in a trench about two or three feet deep. Then you support em for a bit, back fill or pour cement then move on. You can do two maybe three. You get creative you can add a walk around the top.” He said using his hands to sketch out the area.

  “Um... I'm not sure that's possible,” the man said reluctantly.

  “Sure it is boss,” one of the guys said. He nodded as his boss looked at him. “I worked in a junkyard as a kid. I can do it with help.”

  “Um... those cars are people's property,” the man said, glancing around.

  “Most of them were eaten,” Wayne said. Everyone seemed to look down for a moment. “I don't think they'll mind.”

  After a moment Shane cleared his throat. “He's right. But that's not all you can do. The engines are perfect for generators. Get someone with welding experience to make a stand for them and you can rig up a generator to run your electrical system. That is if you don't trade and get them from us. We might even take engines and parts in trade. Say two for one?”

  “Serious? That's all you've got for us? Advice?” the man asked shaking his head and looking at his followers. He turned back to them. “We need help. We need food, weapons... medical supplies. I...”

  “I think we can help you out with some of that,” Wayne said. He turned and whistled. Jolie came over and dropped a pair of duffels at the man's feet. “A welcoming gift. First aid kits, paramedic kit, and a couple of cases of MREs,” Jolie said. She straightened and brushed her hair back. “We tossed in papers and flash drives with stuff on how to purify water and make things you'll need.”

  “You um... Thanks,” A wiry guy said in the back. “Damn,” he muttered, licking his lips at the sight of the MRE bundle. They could hear his stomach growl.

  “We don't have a lot of food and ammo to be honest. We've got a lot of people.”

  “So do we, I've got hundreds of mouths to feed and the stores around here are picked clean,” the warehouse leader said, shaking his head. He too was looking at the bag. “We need more than this. This'll...”

  “This is a gift,” Shane said, stressing the gift part. “We can't afford free rides. You're not the only one with a lot of mouths to feed. You've got hundreds? We've got over fifteen thousand. Advice we give for free. Intel we give for free. You'll find plenty of both in there. We also tossed in flash drives for you with our intel and advice on them. That should help,” he said.

  “It's not enough. We need...”

  “We need. Man, we need a lot. What do you want?” a woman said, coming over and passing the warehouse leader. “Want a blowjob for an MRE? I'm willing. Hell most of the people here are. Even the straight guys.”

  Shane stepped back, suddenly embarrassed. Wayne however was snickering. He sobered though at Jolie's glare. He coughed into a fist and then shook his head. “Ah, thanks but no thanks,” he said.

  “What do you have in the warehouses? Anything useful?” He asked, trying to cover the gaffe.

  “Half of them were empty,” the woman admitted. “We've got some furniture. One of them is wall to wall furniture. Crap we're planning to burn it when it gets cold.”

  “Ah...” Shane glanced at Bob. Bob shrugged.

  “Okay, um, how about beds and mattresses. We've got a lot of people to bed down. Um... that didn't come out right,” Wayne said suddenly embarrassed. Jolie rolled her eyes.

  “He means we've got thousands of people in the mall and its not set up to house that many people. We've shifted a couple of thousand to the hotels and other buildings but its still not enough. But if you've got bunk beds, maybe we can work a deal for some equipment and other things.”

  “Barter you mean?” the woman asked. They nodded politely. She nodded back. “Well, I figured my credit card was no good,” she said brushing her hair back over her ear.

  “Nope, no cash, no credit, definitely no checks. Barter only,” Shane said. “We've got some extra welding equipment we can trade. Some bathroom stuff if you need more bathrooms. Kitchen stuff too.”

  “Yeah, okay, I see where this is going,” she said nodding. “All the comforts of home,” she said looking at the concrete building with a wrinkled nose.

  “It's… think of it as a fixer upper. A castle. A fortress. Start with the basics. Work on homey touches later,” Shane said with a shrug.

  “Cute
.”

  “Do you have solar panels on the roofs?” Shane asked. She shook her head. “Damn,” he said.

  “My sentiments exactly,” she said. “I wished. But any port in a storm is good.”

  “Me too,” he said. There had been a slow growing movement to cover the roofs of warehouses and commercial buildings with commercial solar panels. It was popular in Ontario and some other areas but had only just started to trickle into the Inland Empire before the invasion.

  “Is this going to end?” a young girl said quietly. “Is this how it's going to be?” she asked, hugging the woman's leg. When the adults looked at her she looked down and popped her finger into her mouth.

  “Do you have a doctor?” the woman asked, stroking the girl's head.

  “That we can also help you with. We've got doctors and we can send them around to do checkups and help. We've got medicine. At least until we run out,” Wayne said.

  “Thanks,” she said softly.

  “I wish we could do more,” he said equally softly.

  “You can! You can give us more than this!” the warehouse leader said kicking the duffels. Jolie's eyes flashed. She opened her mouth but Shane put his hand on her arm. She looked up at him and then closed her mouth and turned a glare on the big man.

  “I told you. We trade,” he said softly. “We're here to help you get on your feet with advice, and to trade.”

  “Damn it you lice! Parasites!” the man said.

  “Buford Carmen, shut your yap and go before you piss em off and make them leave. Now,” the woman snarled. He turned on her but his people were glaring at him. He finally backed down and stormed off.

  “Don't mind him he's... stressed.”

  “We all are ma'am,” Shane said. “It's… it's the times. We'll get through it. I suggest you take a look at what we've got to offer. The list is in the duffel. That one there,” he toed the first one. She picked it up. “Also a list of things we're looking for. I suggest you form a plan and get people working on it as soon as possible,” he said.

  “We'll certainly talk about it,” she said as the wiry man picked up the other two bundles.

  “Here kiddo,” Wayne said, hunkering down and holding out a pair of energy bars. The girl looked at him and then stared at them.

  “Come on, they don't bite little lady,” he teased. She blinked and then reached out, snatching them from his hand. She started tearing into the wrapper.

  “What do you say?” her mother said, looking down at her.

  “Thank you,” the girl mumbled as she popped a piece off and started to chew.

  “You're welcome,” Wayne said as he got up. He went over to the truck and pulled out a double hand full of candy bars and energy bars and then handed them out to people. “Keep what we said in mind people. Do what you can during the day; be in an hour before sun down.”

  “I'll have Doctor Niederman come by tomorrow or Friday. Can you go through your inventory and have some stuff for trade by then?” Shane asked. The woman nodded as the others turned away.

  “Cool. Oh, almost forgot,” he said pulling a pair of cell phones out.

  “They don't work man,” a guy said in disgust.

  “No, these do. These can act as walkie talkies too. We've got a pair of cell towers up. The one over there,” he pointed to the mall. “Both of them run dawn to an hour before dark.”

  “Cool!” the wiry man said grinning. “So that'll let you talk to us?”

  “And to each other if you are on the same network. So you can radio in reports if you’re in range,” Wayne said.

  “Fine, fine,” another guy said. Shane wasn't sure if he was just done with talking or wanted to get into the MREs.

  “Remember what Bob said about the vehicles. Try to pick out the ones you can use as tanks, APC's, and stuff and set them aside.”

  “Tanks,” the girl asked eyes wide.

  Wayne thumped the fender of the armored truck. “That's what we did with this. Customized it. I bet you've got plenty of people who can do the same thing if they put their minds to it.”

  “And remember, that gas you save could be used in flame throwers just as easily as it could in an engine,” Jolie said. They looked at her. “Blueprints are in the bag,” she said. The wiry man grinned.

  “Now that's something worth working on,” he said. The woman shot him an amused look.

  “Think about it folks, we'll see you in a day or so,” Shane said moving back to the trucks. Everyone went their separate ways after that.

  The mall group piled into the rig and then turned and left for home.

  “Think they'll do anything?”

  “A few might. But they are so puckered its not funny. They need to get their heads out of their asses and start to think not react. Hell, it might already be too late.”

  “Hope not,” Jolie muttered glancing back. “Cute kid,” she said.

  “Yeah,” Wayne sighed.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  Shane watched the trucks pulling in and nodded to Walt. Walt gave him a two fingered cub scout salute as he pulled up in the lead rig. The point guard was already in; she was parking her bike and talking with Wayne. He glanced at the load Walt was bringing in.

  “We've got a mall filled with clothes and doodads. They've got warehouses full of stuff. This is the best they could do?” Jayne asked in disgust as she watched the pallets of bunk beds and mattresses rumble past.

  “For now,” he said. The SUV with the medics pulled past the gate and kept going.

  “Where are they going?” Jayne asked.

  “Hospital I bet,” Shane said. They watched the SUV until it was out of sight. “Bet you Jerry brought in a couple of the worst cases there.”

  “More mouths to feed,” Jayne sighed.

  “Everyone who wants to work is welcome,” he said. “I'd rather have them on our side than out there as a roving gang hitting our people.” He nodded to the rear guard as the modified car rumbled past.

  “Is that why you had guards?” she asked. He turned to her eyebrow arched. “Seriously? They went what? A mile and a half?” she indicated Day Street.

  “Its good practice. And yeah, gangs and animals are a concern. I'd rather get into a routine, train for it, than get in trouble down the road and have to get people trained or watch them get killed because they weren't.”

  “Ah,” she said nodding.

  “Besides, having an armed presence show up with the trade goods makes the recipients a little more...” he rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.

  “A little more likely to trade square and not try to rip off the load,” Jayne said with a knowing nod. Wise eyes studied him and then looked away to the makeshift hospital. She turned in place, blowing her cheeks out and then waved as she walked off to oversee the unloading going on at the lower entrance.

  “Did we really need the beds?” Bill asked, coming over. Shane shrugged. “I'm sure most people are a bit tired of sleeping on a pile of clothes. I got a hanger up my rear the first...”

  Bill grinned a little at that and then shrugged. “Seriously though...”

  “We can use them. They obviously haven't put the thought into it. It helps break the ice a little more, gets them something they need, and contact for both of us.”

  “And it gets them interested in thinking of other things to trade with us for,” Bob said coming over. He stretched. “I saw what they were doing over there.” He shook his head. “Half ass man. Pathetic. They've got maybe a dozen people out there with a couple of shovels and picks. One shovel for about every four or five people.”

  “We can send them some shovels and stuff,” Shane said with a nod. “Not a problem.”

  “That's the least of it. I heard they've got about a thousand people there in the warehouses and maybe twenty or thirty are actually working. The rest are sheep,” Bob said in disgust. “They won't lift a finger.”

  “Just want a hand out I take it?” Bill said, snorting in disgust. Bob nodded. “Shit, we do
n't need that.”

  “Well, they'll have to learn!” Shane said. “Learn the hard way if necessary. They have wasted critical time. Time they could have spent building their defenses and scouting. Now they are in piss poor condition, hungry and weak,” he snarled in disgust, pacing.

  “That's why you were onto us right from the beginning. Right there, pushing us out the door to get going. Do something,” Bill said understanding it now.

  Shane glanced at him and then snorted. Bob smiled. “I'd wondered that myself. I mean...” he spread his hands.

  “We were, hell we are, in a bunker mentality. We needed to get out of it, at least a little bit. We needed to get to work as quickly as possible,” Shane said. “And yeah, that's also why.”

  “Tell me about it. You hear the report about some of those Gremlin things getting bigger? Raptor size. Someone claims to have seen a few in Riverside. Warehouse people told us about it,” Bob said. He shuddered. “They said they are mean and smart. Bad combo.”

  “Vicious,” Bill said. “Like the damn movie. I'm betting we're going to have issues with them. I think we need to overhaul the defenses. Check for weak spots.”

  “Hell, the entire 60 side is one hell of a weak spot. No way can we defend that if they are determined enough,” Bob said.

  “We'll have to figure out something. More RPGs, cannons, rockets, whatever. Spotlights.”

  “And if they take them out?”

  “Back ups,” Shane said. They looked at him. “We'll figure it out. We'll push the perimeter on that side if we can. Turn the 60 itself into a no man's land. I'll see if Wayne or the storage depot crew are interested in a hunt on that side. Maybe a controlled burn.”

  “Um...”

  “We'll get what we can done. At least we're thinking instead of hiding,” Shane said.

  “Yeah, there is that,” Bob said with a nod. “Come on,” he put his hand on Bill's arm. “What say you and I check that side one more time. See if we can think of anything to plug tomorrow.”