by Chris Hechtl
“Fascinating,” he said amused.
“We're more on the ball than FEMA? How is that news?” Bob said in disgust.
“Give them a break Bob, they are kind of swamped,” Jayne said shaking her head. “I so wouldn't want that woman's job. Not in a million years. Taking shit from all quarters, trying to get supplies out... pass. Gabe, let us know if she or anyone accesses the account.” Gabriel nodded as they filed out.
“Well interesting diversion, but we've got work to do. Lunch!” she said slapping her hands together. Shane snorted softly as Bob picked up the pace. He turned back to see Gabe sticking his head out the door.
“Hey did someone say lunch?” the big lug called after them. “Hey ah, guys? Guys?”
Chapter 45
A few days later a rumble in the air made people look up. They shielded their eyes looking around. After a moment one spotted a jet in the air and pointed. It was cresting the North Eastern horizon lining up with the 60.
“Bomber?” someone asked nervously, looking up as they shielded their eyes.
“Not with those tail fins,” Gus, his partner said, looking at the jet through a pair of binoculars. “C-17. Big mother.”
“Okay, what's it doing here? Didn't the prez say something about FAEs coming from cargo ships? We didn't get a memo though did we?”
“Passing through?” Jayne asked coming up behind them.
“Oh hey Jayne,” Gus said not taking his eyes from the glasses. “Um, they look like they are getting ready to make a drop... Yup, something's going on. Flaps are deploying. Gear is down.”
“Drop?” Jayne asked. She put her hand out for the glasses but he didn't take them away from his eyes.
“Yeah... hopefully not over the alien areas...” Bob said, coming up behind them. Jayne looked back and pursed her lips. “FEMA I bet,” Bob said. “Care package.”
“Maybe. Not for us though, we're pretty well off,” Jayne said as the aircraft lined up on the 60. A parachute of all things deployed behind the craft. “Now what?” she asked.
The aircraft rumbled overhead and then something, a long train of things came out the back. Instinctively they ducked as the thing hit the ground and skidded down the lane, twisting.
“Air drop,” Hernandez said with a nod. He pointed. Wayne was already in motion, taking a team out to secure it. A second plane was lining up to do a similar drop though. They could just make out a third behind it.
“We can use it,” Jayne said.
“We can also distribute some of the perishables about to go bad to other groups,” Shane said. She and the others turned to him. He spread his hands. “Consider it a good will gesture,” he said, smiling a tight lipped smile.
“Seriously?” Bob asked.
“I just got off the radio with FEMA. They want to use us as a distribution node for the region since we're the largest and best organized concentration of people in the inland empire.”
“We are?” Bob asked looking stunned.
“Yes, we are. We're one of the biggest pockets of people on the West coast actually,” Shane said. Bob and the others looked stunned. “What can I say, we've got a lot of good hard working people and we've been lucky so far.”
“Riiight,” Jayne drawled, giving him an amused look and then turning to watch the planes coming in. People all over the place had stopped to watch the drop. Somewhere cheering, others were hugging each other and laughing. A lot of back slapping was going on. One guy lifted a girl up off the ground in a bear hug. When he let her down she smacked him and then grabbed his face and kissed him full on.
“We'll put it to good use,” he said with a nod. “I'm betting MREs maybe something for turkey day tomorrow, and a ton of crap we won’t need. Toiletries and stuff. That crap we can pass out to others with my blessing,” he said with a grimace.
“You say so boss,” Jayne said shaking her head. FEMA had made more work for them, but somehow she wasn't at all mad. Hell she was grateful for all they could get. It was that time after all she thought with a feeling of remorse. At least they were still alive to feel that way.
...*...*...*...*...
The first group of aircraft wasn’t alone; there were five drops all in succession for a total of fifteen. The air drop netted them quite a bounty. They pick up fifty cal ammo boxes and Barretts, grenade launchers. Also tons of food and other gear. When the news hit the mall there was a general spontaneous celebration that lasted nearly an hour.
...*...*...*...*...
“Doc?” Jen called looking around a pile of boxes. There were boxes and papers everywhere in the little corner of the Gottschalks/ Round one store they had set aside for the research team. Most of the space had been taken up by a couple of freezers, a fridge, and lab equipment they'd picked up from a couple of the diagnostic and medical places around.
“Here,” Doctor Phillips called, waving an arm. “Come over and see this. Its fascinating,” he said.
“What are you looking at doc?” She asked coming around to see him at the dissection table. She smiled to Nate and Yan who were assisting the doc as they took apart something she couldn't quite see. She pulled a blue smock off the coat rack and put it on. She didn't intend to be here long. She slipped on a pair of gloves and came over.
“You are not changing?” Nate asked.
“I can't stay long. I promised Tamara I'd spell her in a half hour so she can take Kathy to see Jerry.”
“Why does she need to... who's Kathy?” Nate asked.
“Her four year old daughter. She's got a cold and is running a fever.”
“Oh,” Nate said nodding. “I can't blame her. With us all packed in here we don't need an epidemic.”
“No we don't. But this is more of an over protective mom than that I think,” Jen said smiling. “Tamara's the type that if her kids sniffle or get a scrape she's tripping over herself to get a tissue and a band aid.”
Nate snorted softly and shook his head. He stepped back as Doc quietly asked Nate for the clippers. Doc maneuvered the long handles and then began cutting part of the rib cage. The clippers were obviously re-purposed pruning shears. “Wayne brought in a new animal for us to check out.”
“Oh?” Jen asked looking over Yan's shoulder. The young man glanced back at her and stepped aside so she could see better. The room was cold; more to keep the specimens fresh than because it was room temperature outside. The aliens tended to break down quickly in the heat.
“Felhound. Wayne ran into a pack on Alessandro and Graham I believe,” Nate filled in.
“Hellhound?” she asked.
“No Fel-hound,” he said again. “Fel. Its wild Jen, a day predator.”
“Really? The boys won't like that,” she said. The animal was about the size of a Rottweiler. Doc had it on its back, with the legs splayed spreadeagle as he worked on the chest cavity. The bone structure was the typical lattice of the aliens, not quite the structured system Terrans had. She knew from experimentation that the bones were hollow and porous, but able to carry incredible loads.
Doc kept working away at the rib cage and then stopped. Apparently he'd already taken out and documented the internal organs in the abdomen already.
“I'm pretty sure that they won’t,” Nate said. He pulled the lips apart so she could see the long teeth. She nodded. “It’s blind,” he said pointing to the lack of eyes. And it’s got this huge melon.”
“According to Deputy Wayne this is a juvenile. Not quite full grown,” Yan said quietly. Jen looked at him in surprise. He shrugged under her gaze. “The adults were tiger size. A meter tall at the shoulder at least he said.”
“Unfortunately they didn't get an example for us,” Doctor Phillips grunted as he cut through the tough ribs. The team had found that the only way to cut through the armored hide was with a diamond tipped dremel and a lot of patience. Fortunately the bones were of a spongy material that made it easier to cut.
“That's the last,” the doc grunted, handing the tool to Yan. Yan wiped the blue blood
off the cutting blades and then set it down with a clatter. Doc reached in and wiggled the sternum up and out and then handed it to Nate.
“I'm actually working my way up to the head,” he said glancing at Jen. “The melon has a bony cover we can't cut through. There are dermal growths on the outer edges. Fascinating animal,” he breathed, looking at the internal organs. “It is so alike, yet alien. Take for example this. It has two sets of hearts, one here in the chest cavity...” he pulled it out and hefted it, looking at it in the light.
“And another in the abdomen,” Yan filled in, nodding to the cooler beyond Nate. Nate turned and then looked back nodding.
“Wow,” she said nodding. She bent down and looked at the upside down creature. Nate pulled the lips back and then the jaw up so she could get a better view. She spotted something and then turned. “Anyone get a sample of this tissue in the mouth?” she asked.
“No,” Doc said turning in surprise. “Why don't you do that now?” he asked.
“Sure,” she said taking a set of long tweezers from Yan. She teased out sample after sample, putting them on a petri dish Yan held. “This should tell us a little about what this thing was eating,” she said.
“True,” Nate said nodding. He glanced at Doctor Phillips who was also nodding. Jen may not have a doctorate in her resume but she had a way of doing things, cutting to the heart of what mattered.
“I believe this animal was a scavenger,” Doctor Phillips said cautiously optimistic.
“You do?” she asked looking up at him. He grunted as he cut at some tough tissue.
“I'm not sure about the brain and nasal cavity. We'll have to check those. I'm also intrigued by that melon. Apparently someone did a little research on it last week.”
“Oh?”
“They drew comparisons to echo location ability. It looks like that assumption is proving true.”
“Like bats?”
“Just like bats. And dolphins. I was reading an intriguing argument this morning about a debate on the planet where this beautiful specimen came from.”
“Fascinating doc,” Nate said amused.
“Isn't it?” Doctor Phillips said smiling. “Has anyone gotten anywhere with an MRI? Or a Pet scan? What about a simple X ray machine?”
“Doc we're not moving that equipment. But I think they've got a portable set up in the infirmary now,” Jen said amused. “We can run a series of X-rays of a sample before you dissect it.”
“Really?” he asked surprised.
“Yes. I believe the only MRI machine in the area is in the County hospital. I could be wrong; there might be one in the Moreno Valley Kaiser hospital or in the medical complex on the base.”
“But getting there safely and being able to use the equipment...” Yan said softly.
“It doesn't matter,” Jen said shaking her head. “County burned down after it was evacuated. Kaiser was abandoned. Both are in Rancho territory so we can't go try to salvage anything.”
“Damn,” Nate sighed.
“I can get them to pick up an X-ray machine and other equipment from a vet's office. In fact they might have already.”
“Really?” Nate asked.
“Yes. I'll have to check with Jayne or TJ but I'm betting the equipment was tagged and stored somewhere. I hope.”
“I'll look into it. We need more scans though.”
“True,” the biologist sighed softly. He used his fingers to move apart tissue so he could get a better look at the lung. The animal had four lung lobes. “Fascinating,” he breathed softly. “We really need to get this animal under a full scan. I wish, oh I wish we could scan a live animal! A brain scan at least would open up so many doors!”
“We're working on it doc. I think Jerry's trying to get council approval to open up the medical clinic soon. He's been agitating it for a while now.”
“He has?” the doctor asked absently as he cut at the tissue and pulled one lobe at a time out. Nate weighed each and then set them into a cooler.
“You've missed a few meetings doc,” Yan said amused. The doctor tended to work into the night, documenting as much of his findings as possible and then speculating about what was hinted at. Then he would browse the material Yan had downloaded during the day and then crashed for a brief sleeping spell... usually about the time the council was getting out of bed and having its morning meeting.
“Yes, well, I'll lend my support if I can. We really do need access to proper equipment,” he said firmly. He looked up, embarrassed that he had said that.
“We know doc. We're working on it,” Jen said patiently. She turned to Nate. “I heard you have a couple of new patients. A pair of horses and a cow?” she asked.
“Believe it or not its true. A woman tried to run up Alessandro after she saw the C-17 drop yesterday. She didn't get far, less than two miles I believe before she was blocked by debris. She rode one of her horses up to where this thing was. It and its fellows were apparently feeding and turned on her.”
“Ouch,” Jen winced. “She okay?”
“She's...” he paused and shrugged. “She lost a foot,” he said. She winced again. “Bitten clean off. They couldn't do anything about that. Her horse was killed. Fortunately Wayne arrived in time to drive the pack off.”
“A pack huh?”
“It looks like that. He remembered to turn his dashboard camera on so we got some footage.”
“Cool,” Jen said smiling. She wasn't sure about watching the attack, but seeing this animal in action might be worth the gore. “So...”
“So the others got away. This one didn't. The woman was pretty frantic about her daughter and the animals in the truck. Wayne put a tourniquet on her and then sent a team back with her. He brought the animals in a couple of of hours ago.”
“Ah,” she said nodding.
“The girl's alright. A little shook up about her mom and everything but okay. They had a foal and a mare and a cow. Wayne said she was under attack by these things and had locked herself in the trailer with the animals. They took off when he arrived.”
“Glad she's okay,” Jen said nodding as Doctor Phillips pulled out the trachea and examined it under the light. She looked around at the cameras and snorted softly. All of them were lit. Doc was documenting everything. Yan picked one up and did a scan of the interior of the animal and then watched as Nate used a suction tube to suck out the accumulating fluids.
“The cow is pregnant. The foal is a male. So that's good. We'll know more later,” Nate said.
“Have you tried an ultrasound on this doc?” Jen asked looking at the melon again.
“An ultrasound?” Doctor Phillips asked. She looked up at him as he looked over the carcass to her.
“Yes. I know we picked up a few from the medical clinics. Didn't they send one over to you?” she asked.
“No, I don't believe they did,” he said, glancing at Yan and then Nate. Nate shook his head.
“Well, they should have. Its used in veterinary medicine and necropsies. I'll get Jerry or someone in stores to dig one out for us as well. Maybe two.”
“Good idea,” Nate said as she straightened. “Aren't you going to be late?” he asked. She glanced at the clock and grimaced.
“Damn,” she sighed taking her gloves off and disposing of them. “How time flies when you're having fun. Enjoy, boys,” she said taking the smock off and going off to wash up.
“Fun she says,” Nate murmured.
“It is for me,” Phillips murmured, studying the trachea as he dissected it on a separate tray. “Fascinating,” he breathed.
“You say so,” Nate said patiently.
...*...*...*...*...
Bobby pulled his ear pieces out of his ears and pocketed the IPod as they walked. “Now look Chuck, just follow my lead. Its not that hard once you get into it. Its not just the rhythm I'm saying, its what to look out for,” Bobby said pointing to the house they were about to B&E. Breaking and Entering had become something of a really dangerous thing now. But vital fo
r survival.
There were eight harvesters for each shooter on the teams. Together the harvesters could clear a house in ten or fifteen minutes. They were getting really good but the job was both exhausting and dangerous. Very dangerous.
“He means you get used to it? I never have,” Jody said shaking her head as the crew hefted tools and walked up the path. She turned to survey the teams moving up other walk ways to neighboring houses. Occasionally she could hear the shattering of glass or an off pitch scream. Just another day in paradise, she thought as she grimaced.
“Move people, we're burning daylight,” Hadji said waving them onward and inward. “Kitchen, food, don't forget the cleaning supplies and check carefully!” Hadji said.
“Shit man,” Chuck muttered, looking around the dilapidated house. It was pretty wrecked, with holes in the walls and smears of things he didn't even want to know about. “The smell...” he coughed, hand going to his face.
“Yeah, that part I forgot to mention,” Bobby said pulling his bandana up to cover his face. He handed the rookie a face mask. “Scented with cologne. My last one so keep it good.”
“Yeah man,” Chuck said, feeling his eyes water as he hastily slipped the mask on. The scent of Axe filled his nostrils. He didn't like that the others were laying odds that he wouldn't last the day. Hell if he'd give in after his first house. This had to be easier than pushing a broom and cleaning toilets. The real action was right here he realized, not the docks as he'd originally assumed. They only got what the harvesters brought to them. He was going to make a killing here on the black market pretty quick. A week or two and he'd rest easy for a month and not have to lift a finger.
He grimaced at the thought and then shook his head. With wise investment he might make his gains last longer. He made a mental note to find something or someone to invest in. There had to be something out there. A piece of the action was all he asked. All he deserved.
That was all they had for him. Him, who had once been a broker, reduced to scrubbing toilets just to eat. Hell. Hell with that. They were just keeping him down. He'd show them, prove them all wrong. He knew there was a way to move up in their community, it had taken time but he'd finally identified it. The shoppers made a killing on the black market with what they brought in. If they could do it, hell, so could he.