Afraid of the Dark

by Chris Hechtl

  A few of the kids blinked. After a moment smiles began to appear here and there, then enthusiastic nodded. He smiled back and nodded. “Right. If you're old enough maybe we'll even let you take a hand at driving something. Just around the parking lot mind you,” he said holding a finger up. That brought bigger smiles.

  “Now, I've got to get a shower, cause I know I stink,” he said, sniffing an arm pit then making a face and waving a hand in front of his wrinkled nose. “And I happen to know Tater does too,” he said sniffing his way and then coughing.

  The little girl with Tater took a sniff and then held her nose. “I wasn't going to say anything but yeah, you guys do,” a little boy said.

  “Thanks kid,” Bobby said dryly.

  “Its sweat, gunpowder, and other stuff. Get used to it. For us its part of who we are,” Shane said with a smile.

  “Right, now we've got to get back to the class...” Tamara interrupted. She started hustling her charges to start walking. A few turned and waved and said thank you. He waved back. So did Bill.

  “I'd give you a lift but there are too many of you,” Bill said.

  “No problem, we need the walk,” Tamara said with a nod. She nodded and turned to Shane. “We can walk, its not that far. Thanks,” she said softly. He nodded.

  “Any time.”

  He waited with Bryan as they left and then turned. “What was that about boss?” Bill asked.

  “Traumatized kids and a few adults I gather,” Shane answered. “I think I saw a therapist in the back but I'm not sure,” he said with a shrug.

  “Um... Boss, what are they doing all the way out here then?” Bill asked surprised. Getting any of the traumatized people out was a challenge.

  “Therapy,” Shane said in answer. “I think Tamara wanted to show them us and well, I decided to take it a bit further and show them the outer wall and how our defenses work. I want them to remember that the next time the boogie man comes for them in the night,” he said. “To imagine one of us there with them, with a bright light.”

  “Oh,” Bill said with a nod.

  “Right. Hopefully the positive knowledge of knowing they've got protectors and defenders out here keeping evil at bay will sink in a little.”

  “Don't bet on it boss,” Bill said dubiously.

  “Yeah well, its worth a shot. What have you got for me?”

  “Other than a ride back?” Bill asked amused. “The usual. Light day, not much happened here. We had one incident with Spencer, he had a nut job who got in somehow. I'm not sure how, we'll nail it down. Probably walked in. Adrienne handled it.”

  “Or a pick up who slipped through the cracks before orientation. Sounds like you've got it handled. Good to hear,” Shane said with a nod. It was routine now, get up in the morning, exercise, eat, and then spend the day shooting aliens. Come back here for a brief debrief, and then eat and crash before doing it all over again the next day. Some people griped about the constant combat or lack of any better options but he thought of it this way, at least they were alive to gripe about it. Any day that ended without a fatality was good in his book.

  “Heard Eric's trying to figure out something with the farms. I gather he checked with Gabe about it and Gabe tapped the feds for a meteorology report. We've got a week or so of rain coming in.”

  “Oh lovely,” Shane sighed. He should have known, after all it was mid-January. They usually were hit with storms around the last couple of weeks, right into February.

  “We need the rain boss. Bad,” Bill said opening his door.

  “Yeah well, I'm still not thrilled about it,” Shane sighed.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  The next morning he sighed as he listened to the rain. So much for going out. He'd have to find something to do or the gang would bury him in back paperwork he'd been avoiding. He smirked a little at that.

  After breakfast he grabbed a towel and his sweats and headed for the small gym. It had shrunk a lot, Jayne had been forced to give up some of the space to accommodate the crowd. Hopefully they'd get more space soon so people could work out.

  “What's up?” Tater asked, looking up from a conversation with Bobbie and Ursilla.

  “Nothin', just going to get a work out.”

  “Ah,” Tater said with a nod.

  “He say out?” Ursilla asked looking up.

  “Nah, he's talking working out. Hell, me? I was thinking of hitting the gym myself and then the hot tub doc's got stashed around here someplace. Find a nice beer and a hot chick...” Tater grinned as Ursilla puckered and slapped his arm.

  “Well, you need it,” she said patting his belly. “Starting to look like a fat Buddha, buddy.”

  “Funny,” he drawled, shaking his head sorrowfully as he stretched, rolling his shoulders. “Yeah,” he drawled. “Yeah, I think I need to pump some iron. See you ladies later,” he said. “Hey boss!” he called. Shane turned to him. “Hang on, I'll spot you on the weight bench,” he said.

  “Sure,” Shane said with a nod. “Don't have anything better to do?” he asked glancing back to the bemused women.

  “Shit man, women making cracks about my weight and you take my guns away. Gotta do something,” Tater grumped. Shane grinned a little.

  “Whatever floats your boat I suppose. Come on, let's do this,” he said.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  A half hour later he was fighting a cramp and feeling his right arm trembling a little. “Damn, I'm so out of shape,” he growled, determined to keep going.

  “Don't push it too far boss,” Tater cautioned, giving him a concerned look. “Don't need to blow a blood vessel, or tear something you might need later,” he cautioned.

  “True,” Shane sighed, easing up as Tater helped him maneuver the bar back into the yokes. He knew he hadn't done this in a while, it'd been maybe a monthly thing since the invasion, but he always promised to do it more often after each run.... and never did. He never had the time or left over energy. He sat up and rubbed the small of his back and rolled his shoulders again.

  “Sore?”

  “Just my pride,” he said, taking a towel and wiping at his sweaty face. “You want a turn?” he asked.

  “I think I'll wait for your sweat to dry. No sense in trying to do it just yet, I'd be swimming and slipping and sliding all over the bench,” Tater said with a half-smile. Shane snorted a little, slowing his drying to look around. There was only one weight bench left in the gym, everything else was either a cardio toy or mats for people to do yoga on.

  “Seems to be underpopulated,” Tater said just as the rest of the squad wandered in. He snorted. “Spoke too soon as usual,” he sighed, nodding and waving politely to Bobby and the others.

  “Damn, not much here,” Jerry said, looking around.

  “I'm planning on taking a run around the place after this. Then I think I'm going to hit the showers, then the hot tub.”

  “Okay, that's cool,” Bobby said with a nod. “Why not run outside? Combine the shower and run in one go?” he asked amused.

  The others gave him dirty looks and he spread his hands, smiling a little. “Just saying,” he said.

  “No need to slip and fall. Or get shin splints. Just trying to keep in shape and keep from going stir crazy,” Shane said, moving over to an exercise bike and programming it for a two mile run. He started to pedal as the others stretched and started to dig into the equipment.

  Chapter 50

  The next day was more of the same, even though he was a bit stiff. He felt like he had used muscle groups he hadn't used in a while. Working the teams was hell, more scare tactics shit that stressed you out than physical effort sometimes. The constant tension ate at them. Now he knew his people didn't know what to do with themselves. A day off was one thing, but an entire week?

  “Sun's supposed to come out next week boss,” Bobby huffed as they jogged. He looked over his shoulder to Bobby and then back to the path ahead. He had to be careful, everyone was inside and some parts of the mall were heavily crow
ded. They tried to tailor their runs around them, but the crowds tended to shift around. It did make it a little interesting though.

  “Give it a bit to dry out and we'll see about doing this outside,” Shane said.

  “Anyone up for football later?” Tater huffed from the back. Shane had to hand it to the big guy, he'd hung in there. This was entirely voluntary. His team, well most of them, were here. Some of the other teams were starting to fall in as well. It was something to do, and it kept them fit for when the rains stopped.

  “I'm interested if you're talking PS3,” Shane said over his shoulder. Tater had been on them about going out and playing Iron man in the rain on the concrete. So far he hadn't had any takers. “If we don't have a session with Kyle and his R&D people. They keep promising something but then back out of delivering.”

  “Really? New rocket?” Tater called from the back. He snorted. Trust the Tater man to go right to the rockets. What was it with that guy?

  “Nah, something about a bot. Not sure. I'll let you know so you can tag along if you guys want,” he said.

  “Something to see, they're trying to replace us already,” Todd huffed as he slowly passed Shane.

  “Hell, if they do, I for one won’t mind.”

  ...*...*...*...*...

  Jen looked up at the ceiling as the doctor picked at the carcass. She smiled a little, but waited patiently for the professor to reach the same logical conclusion she had already. It just took him time. Time to get over his annoyance.

  “And you're sure this creature is a week old?” he asked.

  “See the scar on the right side?” She asked pointing to the creature's muzzle. Three scars ran across that side of the face, blinding one eye. “The team in the field picked this guy out. They shot a trank but it didn't slow it down even as a kit,” she shook her head. “But we had enough identifying markers to finger print her.”

  “Okay...”

  “They did manage to tag it with an ID tag three days after first seeing it as a kit. According to Mark's notes here,” she took out her tablet and looked at it scrolling. “Ah, here it is, yes the alien had apparently quadrupled in size. It was a member of a pack, about four sub-adults, two primary adults, and a half dozen kits of varying size at that time.”

  “And that was...”

  “A week ago. Six days.”

  “And its gotten this big since then?” the doctor asked stepping back and walking over to the sink to wash the blue gore from his hands.

  “Its not only reached adult size, its apparently reached adult status. Mark managed to get pics of it breeding.”

  “That's...”

  Yan choked on his drink and set it down, coughing and distracting them both. The assistant pounded on his chest for a moment and then started to breath.

  “You okay?” Jen asked concerned.

  “Yeah,” he said weakly, holding up a forestalling hand. “It just went down the wrong track,” he strangled out, trying to remain functional.

  “And you just found the fetus remains in the body doctor. How far along do you think she is?”

  The doctor paused, looking up in thought. “I had thought the second trimester. But if you and Mark are right...”

  “Time doesn't seem to be a factor in their growth and life cycle. Food and water only. If they have enough of it they grow. If they are wounded...” She motioned to the scars. “They heal. Its interesting that it just closed the wounds and didn't regenerate the eye completely.”

  “I'll look into it. My guess is scar tissue formed over the scalaria before it regenerated on its own. We're still looking for the stem cells or meta-factors involved in their regeneration processes.”

  “Looking for a way to stop it?” Jen asked smiling. She knew he didn't have much of a chance of that.

  “Hell with that,” Yan answered with a snort as he got off his stool and put his report down. “I for one wouldn't mind grafting the technique into our own medicine. Or at least our veterinary practices. I'd love a steak right about now.”

  Jen grinned a little, shaking her head. Men and their love of beef. Brought out the carnivore in them all when they couldn't have it.

  “This.. I... we had thought that the baseline was three months to maturity. I knew growth factors depended on environment and resource allocation but...”

  “But it throws a monkey wrench into our carefully thought out simulations,” Yan said quietly. He looked at the carcass in disgust.

  “Of course this is one isolated specimen.”

  “Where there is one there can be and probably are more doc,” Jen cautioned. “We'll have to find out,” she said, looking up at the sound of loud plops of rain. “Just not today,” she sighed.

  “Yes it is inconvenient that we're trapped inside,” the doctor said with a scowl. He looked up to the ceiling, listening to the pitter patter of the rain.

  “Yeah well, you think its bad for us, try the teams. They are used to being busy all day. Now they're torn apart with nothing to do.”

  “Problems?” Yan asked.

  “Not yet,” Jen said shaking her head. “A few fights, minor stuff, until one or the other person backed off or security got involved. I'm actually used to this, heaven forbid my husband have time off that wasn't planned,” she said, lips quirking in a smile.

  “The type that has to be kept busy?”

  “Like a kid. I'm boooored,” she drawled and then rolled her eyes. Yan snorted softly. The doctor was oblivious, reorganizing his thoughts and concepts.

  “Lunch?”

  “Thanks but if my hubby and the kids are stuck here I'm going to make the most of it and have lunch with him. If I can catch him. He's been trying to keep busy. Trying.”

  “Give credit where credit is due,” Yan said with a nod. “At least he's trying,” he said.

  “Yeah well, there is that,” Jen said pushing her way through the double doors. “Good luck cleaning that up,” she said.

  Yan grimaced, turning back to the carcass. “Yeah,” he sighed, pulling off a rubber smock from the peg by the door and putting it on, then the gloves and face shield. “Fun,” he said, picking up the electric chain saw.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  It took two more days, but finally the rains dried up and they were back to work. He managed to get through the day but a cryptic call made him come in a little earlier than planned.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  Jayne met him outside, scowling a little. “Something up?” he asked. Jayne hesitated but didn't say anything at first. He looked tired. He took his sweat soaked helmet off and wiped at his brow and then took a drink from a sports bottle he was using as a second canteen.

  “Yeah,” she said nodding to the others. She took him by the arm and led him off out of earshot of the others.

  “Oh so secretive,” he said.

  “Its Jen,” she said.

  That stopped him cold. “What about her?” he asked, suddenly sober.

  “She's... she's not well. I can tell. She's really pale and well...”

  “It’s the cancer. She's in remission Jayne. Her system, her immune system, its all out of whack still. The doctors said she needs a lot of rest and a lack of stress. That's hard to come by now.”

  “I'm... Look I'm no doctor but I'd get one to look at her. Soon,” she said releasing his arm.

  “Okay,” he said nodding.

  He went to check on her. Other people pointed the way casually. She was in the kitchen, hair up in a ponytail the way he liked, stirring a pot. She seemed to falter all of a sudden, swooning.

  “Hey,” he said coming up behind her and catching her. She relaxed in his arms. “Hey babe,” he said softly.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked weakly. He felt a start of fear. Her voice was weak. He... hell. He wrapped his arms around her. Jayne was right, she'd been weak for the past couple of weeks. She usually bounced back a little, but not all the way. No, something was off.

  “You got a problem with me checking on m
y woman?” he teased, squeezing her tight.

  “No, not when you do that,” she gasped. He released her but backed away from the stove. “Let Hermes work on this. You my beautiful lass, need a break.” He nodded to the chef who nodded back. Hermes looked in total agreement.

  “I'm fine, I'm just tired.” She brushed her bangs out of her eyes.

  “You need your rest. Doc'll have my ass if you don't get some rest. Come on. Let's go outside for a minute.”

  “Just... just.. let me finish here,” she said raising a hand. It trembled. He smiled tenderly and kissed it before he pushed it down. “But me no Buts, I'm pulling rank this one time,” he said. She looked up at him. He smiled at her.

  “Mutiny?” she asked eyes starting to glower a little.

  “Call it what you like lady, you're still taking five,” he said firmly.

  “If you insist,” she sighed. He snorted. He guided her outside to where they could see the kids playing soccer. It was a pick-up game, a quick break during their lunch period. She smiled as she watched Nick dribble the ball and score.

  “Okay, that was worth it,” she murmured.

  “Told you so,” he said softly, holding her. He rocked her gently. After a little while he felt her slump a little. “Jen?” he asked. He looked around and then stroked her hair. “Hey, you with me?” he could feel her entire weight in his arms. “Shit,” he looked around and then waved to Nick. The kid came over.

  “What's up dad? What's wrong with mom?”

  “She's tired. Wiped out on her feet. I think she fainted. Go get me a chair and then get doc.” He scooped her up into his arms and then sat in the chair their son hastily pulled out. Nick gave his mother a scared look then raced off.

  “Don't fall!” he yelled.

  “Don't run!” Jayne yelled at the kid as she held the door open.

  “I told him to get doc,” Shane said looking over his shoulder.