by Chris Hechtl
“I'll tell the on-call nurse,” he said walking off.
...*...*...*...*...
He went to check on the kids an hour and a half later. It was getting closer to dark, about an hour before sunset. He could hear the occasional crash and tearing of metal over the roar of motors and the loud concert going on. Shut down was set for 4:30 to give everyone plenty of time to clean up and pack it in for the night. Hopefully they wouldn't have any trouble with that. He nodded to a group of people walking with a therapist. He recognized a few. One was a guy who had panicked about going out the first day. Apparently they had managed to talk them into going outside to get over their fears.
So far everything had been going great. No reports of problems other than a few minor fights. One report of theft, and one of attempted theft, a guy had tried to steal a dog. He checked with Jake. Jake pointed to an altercation at Doctor Phillip's booth. They went over to listen.
“So you see, not all aliens are a threat. Or at least not an immediate threat. What we have here,” he said indicating the ugly toad like thing in the box. “This is what some people call a Medusa puppy. What it actually is is a Strider calf,” he said.
“That thing is...” a woman asked. A man near her was clenching his hands into fists. Another was wiping his eyes with his arm. More than one person looked repulsed by the thing. Shane wasn't sure if they were repulsed by the alien or by the doctor's choice in harboring it.
“Damn aliens,” the man kept muttering. His fists were clenching until his knuckles turned white.
“As you can see its lying on its belly. Much like a seal or walrus. It has four big eyes and these dendrite lips. Two of the eyes are quite large, possibly to give it that puppy eyed look that people described when it was first encountered.” Doc said. The little thing burped. He shook his head.
“As you can see, it’s a plant eater,” he said, feeding it grass. “The tentacles on the back will firm up into spines as it ages. Eventually the front legs will extend and it will stand on them, and the rear legs will become the grasping hands.”
“Its butt ugly.”
“Which is why people called it a Medusa. I assure you, as a calf it is not poisonous.”
“You should kill it,” a guy growled. Quite a few people nodded grimly at that.
“Now see here, it's a valuable specimen!” Doc said as the guy tried to reach for the alien through the plastic.
“Someone get me a knife. Or a club. I don't care,” the man growled. A few more people nodded. Shane noted the looks, he could easily read the crowd, knowing with his training that they were on the ragged edge of violence. He'd warned Phillips not to do this.
“Easy folks,” Shane said coming to the front. He turned to face the crowd. “Doc is doing this at my urging. We need to educate ourselves about the enemy.”
“And to do that we have to learn to observe them,” Doc said.
“We can watch how fast they die,” the guy snarled, hands raised. “You can either get out of my way or die too alien lover.”
“Settle down,” Shane said locking eyes with the man. “I don't remember you or any of you out there on the front line, so settle down,” he growled as Jake touched the mike on his shoulder and called in for more support. The crowd was growing.
“Let me tell you something mister man, mister fighter, mister boss man, my kid died. My wife died. They were both eaten by these these...” The man's eyes were wild.
“And as doc is trying to tell you, not these. They are plant eaters. Cows. Your family died by predators,” Shane said. He looked around and raised his hands to get everyone's attention. “Listen to me people. Killing a couple of plant eaters isn't going to get your family back. Its not going to help. What its going to do is waste time. Waste weapons. Tell me, which is more important to kill? A Hellcat or one of these?” he asked picking the thing up by the back legs and holding it over his head.
The crowd murmured, looking at one another uncertainly. “My vote, and the fighters that are out there every day? Its to ignore these things. We need to save our ammo for the predators. The things that hunt people,” he said making sure everyone could see the thing before he put it back in its box. “The things that hunt us. They are more important.”
“Doc here is trying to tell you which ones are the bad ones, and how to kill them. So calm down and listen to him. You might learn something that could save your life,” he said looking around.
He waited until the crowd settled before nodding. “I'm sorry about your family,” he said, one hand on the guy's shoulder. The guy brushed his hand off and walked away. Shane shook his head.
“Doc, you and I have to talk about your specimen and where you got it. I believe I specifically ordered them...”
“Not to be here, I know,” Doc sighed shaking his head.
Yan was scowling. “I honestly thought it would help. I thought if they saw them, saw some that weren't dangerous that it would change their minds. I had no idea this would happen.”
Talk about willful ignorance, Shane thought, noting a camera crew filming the scene. He turned so his back was to the camera. “You were lucky,” Shane said quietly. “Damn lucky security was keeping an eye out doc. Emotions run high when people think about the aliens. You were very lucky not to get lynched. I knew this doc, I tried to tell you. I did tell you.”
“I'm sorry,” the doctor said subdued.
“Damn straight you are. Now, put that damn thing away and stick to the slide show and videos.”
“I will,” the doctor said, nodding to a kid who was assisting him. The kid took the cage and pushed it to the back and then tossed a towel over it. Shane nodded as Doc cleared his throat and used the remote to display his canned speech.
He caught sight of Frankie and snorted. Bob had the boy on his shoulders. Nick was coming up behind him, bouncing. He pushed his way through the crowd to meet them. “What's that all about?” Bob asked as he toyed with his son, pretending to try to knock him off while he tickled the lad.
Frankie clutched at his father's head giggling. He took Bob's hat off and tossed it. Shane snorted as Bob tried to catch it, then made a show of bending to get it with the kid still on his shoulders. Frankie whooped in glee at the bow and recovery. His father however groaned something about his back.
“Doc put his foot in his mouth,” Shane said, glancing back the way he came. Jake was sticking near the booth, watching the crowd warily. A few were looking angry, but doc had won over others by showing them footage of the Sky-ray eating Hoppers and explaining about how they can use some aliens to kill others.
“Oh?”
“He ignored what I said and brought an alien in. Damn near got lynched for it,” he sighed.
“Serves him right,” Bob said over the sound of the band. He winced. “They call this music?” he asked.
“Kids these days,” Shane yelled back and waved for them to walk up the hill. “How'd it go?” he asked.
“It was a BLAST!” Nick said hopping up and down. Walt was coming up behind him. “I got to drive! That was soooo cool!” he said.
“You did?” Shane asked, turning to look at Bob and Walt. Both men shrugged and spread their hands.
“Seemed like the thing to do,” Bob said. “He didn't last a full round though.”
“He didn't did he?” Shane asked amused.
“Nah, I messed up,” Nick admitted, looking at Walt. “Took you out though,” he said as Walt snickered and then sobered.
Walt nodded and glanced at Shane. “That he did,” he said turning to Shane with an annoyed yet amused look. “I told him to use the rear end only, if he used his front end he'd crack his radiator right off and be out of it. Did okay for the first couple of seconds but then he forgot and rammed me.”
“Ouch,” Shane said chuckling.
“Caught me off guard and tucked my wheel up so I was out. But he took himself out by popping his radiator,” Walt said smirking at the kid and ruffling his hair.
“It was stil
l fun,” Nick said.
“Do me a favor,” Shane said.
“Yeah dad?” Nick asked.
“Don't tell your mother,” Shane said. Suddenly Nick sobered.
“She okay?” he asked. Walt and Bob were also looking at him. He sighed.
“She's tired. Doc took a look, he said she's sleeping. Wore herself out. She shouldn't have exerted herself but she was determined to have fun. And worse she was determined to make sure you and your sisters did as well.”
“Okay,” Nick said nodding. “So you're worried about me getting grounded if she finds out?” he asked slyly after a moment.
Shane shook his head. “You, hell! I'm more worried about me!” he said with feeling. Bob and Walt guffawed at that.
...*...*...*...*...
They caught up with Jayne who was softly cussing as she picked through the trash. Shane looked at her. Sheila was holding the bag open. A guy came out of a porta-potty, burped, adjusted his belt and then tossed a can her way. She snarled as it bounced off her and turned. “Thanks asshole!”
“Easy there, Jayne,” Shane said. The girls were nearby bagging stuff from a recycling bin. “What gives?”
“What gives? My glorious trash crew bailed on me. That's what. So we've got a mess,” she said indicating the overflowing trash cans.
He winced, looking at them and the ones further away. As it got closer to dark more and more people headed inside. “I'll help,” he said taking a bag from the pile nearby and shaking it open.
“Yuck,” Nick said wrinkling his nose. “You recycled food? Come on,” he said disgusted.
“Its for the pigs,” Jayne said not looking up.
“Oh,” he said. He just stood there and watched.
“Nick,” his father growled.
“What?” Nick asked.
“Are you going to help or what?”
“With that?” Nick asked wrinkling his nose and stepping back as he shook his head. His hands went up defensively.
“Don't worry about it, didn't expect him to,” Jayne growled as she kept working through the trash. She tied one off angrily. “After all, not his job. Its not a job for little boys. Adults are supposed to...”
“Lay it on a little thicker why don't you,” Nick sighed. He looked at his sisters and shook his head as his hands fell. Other people were looking at them. A few were pointing to Jayne and Shane bagging trash. “Where do you want me?” Nick asked in resignation.
“Take this to the dumpster,” his father said, indicating the two bags near his feet.
“Okay,” Nick said, picking up one, slinging it over his shoulder then taking the other. He hefted it and then made his way through the crowd. “Coming through, heavy load...” he said.
“Leave it man, someone else will take care of it,” a guy in the crowd said, waving a beer.
Shane looked up and then went back to work. “Someone else was supposed to,” he said, raising his voice so everyone near could hear. “Problem is they bailed. We've got to get this done before dark.”
“Why?” A woman asked, sitting at a picnic table nearby.
Jayne looked over to her. “The aliens. They smell this and its like a dinner bell. I don't want them to come knocking.”
The woman got up suddenly, eyes wide, skin paling. She shook her head, looking for cover. “Yeah,” Shane said nodding but giving Jayne a warning look. “Its not just about keeping clean and avoiding disease and stuff. Its about making sure we don't have any late night visitors looking for this,” he held up a half-eaten burger. “Things like this attract the predators,” he said.
She gulped and then nodded, moving off into the crowd. A few dispersed but a few came forward to help. After a moment watching one or two others pitched in, one guy muttered, “What the hell,” and came over to help as well.
...*...*...*...*...
The next morning everyone slept in who wasn't on duty. Even the cooks were off. Shane was amused as he made his way through the empty food court to the kitchens. He snorted at the darkened displays and covered over counters. A few kids were near, the younger ones were up at the crack of dawn of course. He smiled.
“Can you get us breakfast?” one little girl asked, wiping at her eyes. Another boy said something in Spanish to a little girl and then they both looked at him.
“Sure,” he said. Trina came up the escalator and smiled as she made her way over with a train of kids. He cocked an eyebrow at her. Frankie and Kathy were bringing up the rear.
“I heard them playing so I figured I'd let the adults lie in a bit more,” Trina said.
“That's sweet of you kiddo,” he said rubbing her hair. She ducked but smiled. He smiled as well. “Okay,” he said looking at the kids. “Here's what we're going to do. Trina here and...” he pointed to Frankie. Frankie pointed to himself and smiled a gap tooth grin. “Frankie, right?” Frankie bobbed an enthusiastic nod only a little kid his age could perfect.
“Okay,” he said chuckling softly remembering Nick at that age. “You two get get to play waiter and waitress. That means you get to set the table and take orders. I'll play chef,” he said finding Hermes’ hat and plopping it on his head. The kids snickered as he put an apron on and pretended to chase one of the cords. He spun in a circle, ignoring the fit of giggles from the munchkins. “Okay, let's get this show on the road,” he said. “Who wants eggs. I can do scrambled, or an omelet or scrambled.”
A few of the kids looked at each other. Frankie was already heading to the silverware with Trina. “I'll get things rolling,” he said.
A half hour into cooking he was amused when he peeked out into the food court. There were about a hundred kids there, all talking quietly. That alone was surprising. Normally the din from so many kids was enough to wake the dead. He was also surprised that another girl and Tori had joined her twin and Frankie to play waitress. He didn't expect Nick, the kid would probably play dead until someone knocked the bed over and doused him with a gallon of freezing water.
He winced as he felt a jolt. Some of the kids looked up in alarm. The jolt rolled into rocking motion for a moment and then stopped. He sighed in relief. “Just a quake kids,” he said as a few began to rise. Others were half way under their tables. “Relax, just a fall quake.” They nodded and went back to their meals.
About an hour after he had gotten up his energy was flagging. Not a single adult had come to relieve him. A few had shown up, but not many. A few of the night guards had come in for breakfast. They pointed and snickered at the sight of him decked up as a chef. He shook his head as he kept cooking. The girls would be glad he was putting in his moral boosting effort.
“This is fun but my feet are killing me,” Tori complained, shaking her head.
“You'd be enjoying it if you were in roller skates and dressed in a poodle skirt,” he teased her. “Like you did for that one year for Halloween,” he said.
“Oh daddy,” she said rolling her eyes. She took the next order and moved off. “Who ordered the scrambled eggs with pepper again?” she asked raising the plate over her head. Half the room shot their hands up. She groaned. “Sooo not funny,” she sighed as Trina giggled.
Hermes finally relieved him after the second hour. The chef looked at him with amusement as he made a solemn ceremony of handing first the spatula, and then his hat and apron over. He blushed as the kids broke into a smattering of applause. “Now if you twerps big and small don't mind, I want my breakfast!” he said. That earned a laugh.
...*...*...*...*...
Jen woke and smiled at her son later that morning. He shot her an apologetic look. “So I heard you had fun,” she said, sitting up as Jayne set a tray of food down nearby.
“It was a blast mom!” Nick said grinning.
“The derby or the whole thing?” Jen asked, pouring tea.
“You know about that?” Nick asked, eyes wide. “Already?” he asked looking from Jen to Jayne.
“Hi honey,” Shane said coming in. He was amused to see Jayne sitting on the edge of
the bed tidying up. She was pretending to ignore the intruding men folk.
“I heard you had an interesting morning,” Jayne said, looking up at him.
“Me and a couple of hundred kids,” he said shaking his head.
“You... and a couple of hundred kids?” she asked looking at Jayne.
“Apparently the parents decided to sleep in,” he explained. “That and a few other people, not that I blame them in the slightest,” he said amused. “If I never have to crack an egg again it will be too soon,” he sighed.
“Sorry,” Jayne said looking down.
“Not your problem Jayne. Besides, no harm no foul. It was fun. Tiring but fun,” he said sitting on a nearby bed. “So what are we talking about?” he asked.
“Nick was telling us about how much fun he had at the derby,” Jen said smiling.
Shane froze and then shot his son an amused but annoyed look. Nick shrugged and then looked at him mom. “It was no big deal. I'm not hurt or anything. The car's not totally totaled. Well it is, but it’s not...” His rambling died out as Jen froze with her tea cup to her lips and then locked eyes with him.
“Say that again?” she asked quietly. Shane winced at her ominous look she shot him.
“I... ah....” he stuttered. She carefully set her cup down and laced her fingers together, the picture of full undivided attention. “Nothing mom, like I said, it was um... fun but no big deal.”
“Getting hurt? Totaling a car?” she demanded. She shot an accusing glance at Shane who spread his hands apart. “No big deal?” she growled. Shane recognized the signs of mama bear protecting a cub.
“Uh... I thought you knew,” Nick said looking at the adults. Shane groaned, covering his face. Jen glared at him.
“I'm getting a picture. One I don't like,” she said kicking him. He looked up and shrugged again.
“I thought your crony already tattled on me,” Nick said, waving a hand to indicate Jayne. Jayne looked up eyes flashing. She swatted him with a pillow.
“Way to put that foot in your mouth and dig deep kid,” Shane sighed softly.