by Wade, Cara
“We need to find Erika,” Leonard said sternly.
“We need to get out of here,” Ulita said.
“Please,” he begged, grabbing her blue arm before she could flee. “Help me find her. I can’t leave without her.”
Ulita paused for a moment, eying him with some thought, and then nodded in agreement.
“Alright,” she said. “But we better make this quick.”
Leonard thanked her and then turned to examine the field, watching as the beautiful green field crackled with fire. The ship headed past the dining hall and was firing at the buildings behind it, sending multiple workers who were hiding back to the flame-filled fields. Ulita grabbed his shoulder.
“Is it coming back?” she asked, concern causing her voice to shake.
“I don’t know. I can’t tell,” Leonard replied. “Where do you think Erika would be?”
“Well, she’s always checking Factory G,” Ulita said, pointing ahead to the building that was mostly intact.
“Let’s check there,” he said while pulling her blue hand.
The two sprinted in the direction of the factory, Leonard leading the way. They cut through the path and reached the door, Ulita jumping ahead to punch her code into the keypad. Inside, Leonard searched frantically in every corner and office to find Erika until he found her hiding underneath a desk. The office was mostly bare, likely having not been used in a long time. He knelt down next to her and held out his hand.
“Is it safe?” she asked timidly.
“Yes, darling. We have to go,” he said.
“The reports on my chip have said we need to head to the monorail. The next province is our only hope for safety. So many have already died,” Erika whispered while grabbing Leonard’s hand.
He pulled her out from under the desk and into his arms, his bulky muscles providing a place of comfort for her to hide from the horror outside the building.
“Come on,” Ulita insisted. “My chip is beeping. We must go now.”
“But what about our work?” Erika asked. “I don’t want to leave my plants behind. Will we even be able to return?”
“I don’t know, amiga. All I know is we need to get to the monorail before that ship returns and attacks us,” Ulita insisted. “Please, let’s hurry.”
Erika sprang into action, taking Leonard by the hand and pulling him to the door. The sky was darkening with black clouds, the smoke from the fields billowing up over the buildings and casting a shadow over the province. There were screams in the distance. Erika gripped Leonard’s arm, his muscles tensing as he listened to the sound of suffering from the wounded. They had to move fast.
The trio moved quickly across the field towards the path leading to the monorail, Leonard gripping his lover’s hand in an effort to keep hold of her. As they approached the monorail platform, Leonard noticed the large group of people arguing to board the pods that were speeding through.
“Higher class workers get priority. Please, stand by while we sort out higher class workers,” announced a digital voice over the intercom.
“Oh, really?” Leonard huffed.
He held Erika’s hand hard and kept her from approaching the crowd, looking deep into her eyes. She smiled weakly.
“I would never leave you behind,” she whispered under the chaotic mess of voices shouting their concerns.
“I believe you,” he said, leaning in to steal a kiss.
When Leonard pulled away, he looked towards the platform. There was no one around to contain the crowd except the cameras in the corners which were zapping lower class workers via their chips if they tried stepping over the yellow line. The zap didn’t look incredibly harmful, but it was enough to send a wave of concern through the crowd as each body tumbled backwards and briefly seized up.
“How are we getting you two past that?” Ulita asked, her eyes darting between the couple and the crowd. “Those cameras are everywhere. He’ll get zapped.”
“I can override it,” Erika said. “I can hack the system and override it with my own code.”
“But you don’t have that level of clearance yet,” Ulita stated.
“I know someone who does,” Erika said.
Leonard watched as Erika zoned out into one of the cameras, tapping her palm intermittently as she mouthed indecipherable words. After a few minutes, she looked at him and smiled.
“It’s done. Let’s move,” she said.
As they approached the platform, one of the people in attendance pointed at Leonard and called him out.
“Wait, he’s just a field worker!” he cried.
“Yeah, why does he get to step up to the platform?” another one yelled.
Without warning, the platform erupted into chaos, bodies colliding into each other while trying to grab Leonard. A pod pulled up and Ulita yanked Erika’s arm who in turn grabbed Leonard and pulled him inside. The three of them collapsed into a heap, a small group of higher class workers following and helping them off the ground.
“Are you alright?” asked a woman with red hair.
“Yes, I’m fine,” Erika replied.
“That was quite a mess back there,” said the woman.
“Indeed,” Leonard commented. “Why are they separating people by class?”
“It’s to preserve the knowledge banks,” the woman replied.
“But that doesn’t make any sense. We have computerized knowledge banks,” Erika commented.
“That’s true. If anything, the separation will only polarize us against each other so that...” Ulita trailed off. “Do you think the attack was planned?”
The pod went silent, many of them retreating to their chips to check news sources. Leonard gave Ulita a sympathetic look.
“I don’t think it was planned. The ship didn’t have any identifying marks and the news sources are saying they’re not sure who even invaded,” Leonard said.
“It could be anyone,” Erika commented.
“Or anything,” said the woman.
Erika looked up at Leonard, tears brimming in her eyes. He frowned. It was difficult seeing her this way. All he wanted to do was pull her into an embrace and whisper her worries away. He wanted to transport her into another world entirely where they wouldn’t have to worry about this mess any longer.
“Darling,” he whispered while pulling her close. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be. None of this if your fault,” Erika said with a chuckle. “It’s going to be alright.”
“I hope so,” he whispered. “I really do hope so.”
***
The pod was speeding up the monorail and out over the ocean, carrying the eight passengers with it. All eight of them were wrapped up in their chips while trying to get any information from the news, which was now just repeating the incident that happened on the field. Erika tuned in briefly to get a good idea of their situation.
...The situation has worsened. Military bases the world over have been attacked by what appears to be unmarked ships flown by an unknown species. No one is able to identify the species in question, although reports have varied as to who it might be…
“I can’t believe this is happening,” Erika commented while tapping her palm to turn off the news. “If all the military bases are being attacked, who says the next province will be any safer than our own?”
“That’s a good question,” Ulita said. “What should we do?”
“Well, we can’t head back,” Leonard said. “That would just be going back towards disaster.”
“But we’re already heading for disaster,” said the woman with the red hair. “At least, according to the news.”
“That may be, but they could have reinforcements by now,” Leonard said.
“How would you know that?” asked the woman.
“I don’t. I just have faith that our planet will pull through,” Leonard replied.
“I believe the same,” Erika said.
“I’m worried about our bases being taken out,” Ulita said. “If the
bases disappear, then who is left to help?”
“We can help ourselves. We have the technology,” Leonard replied.
“Are you sure?” Ulita asked.
“Of course, I’m sure,” he said. “I’ve got the extended serum. I can do just about anything.”
“Perhaps we can use that to our advantage. Maybe if we--”
The pod clunked and vibrated forward, picking up speed as the passengers looked around in a daze. A violent blast came from up ahead, Erika craning her neck to look through the front window. She gasped loudly.
“The tracks!” she cried while pointing.
Leonard jumped forward to look at the broken tracks, Erika shouting for someone to pull the emergency brake on the pod. A tall man wearing a suit reached up and pulled a red lever, causing the pod to squeak and rattle again. Everyone grabbed hold of a bar to brace themselves for the pod to stop.
But it didn’t.
Gasping for breath, Erika watched as they rapidly approached the broken part of the monorail, the passengers behind her beginning to panic. Ulita cried for someone to do something. Another woman began sobbing. Erika looked up at Leonard with a fearful gaze, searching her brain for a solution to this crisis.
“I have an idea,” Leonard said “But I’ll have to climb outside the pod.”
“No, baby, don’t do that,” Erika begged. “Please.”
“It’s the only way,” he said while heading towards the middle of the pod.
Erika watched with concern as Leonard reached up to undo the latch of the safety door, tossing it aside while pushing the door open. He looked at Erika.
“I’ll be right back, baby,” he said lovingly. “Wait right here.”
Solemnly, Erika watched as her lover climbed up through the escape hatch, his legs following behind. She turned to watch out the front window, holding her breath as they sped towards the site of the explosion. Erika could see the metal edges of the rail curled up, resembling gnarled vines clawing up at the sky. Within a few minutes, Leonard came into view over the front window. She gasped.
“Be careful, baby,” she whispered.
“What is he doing?” asked the woman with the red hair.
“Saving our lives,” Erika replied.
They watched in heated anticipation for his feet to hit the ground, Erika covering her mouth while trying to keep her mouth from screaming. Leonard stomped thunderously on to the rail and pushed hard against the pod, causing the passengers to lurch forward. They braced themselves against the front of the pod and each other, Erika reaching out to hold on to Ulita as the rail screeched.
“Hang on!” Erika yelled, gripping her co-worker.
The weight of the passengers pressed against her and she screamed, pushing against the glass while waiting for the horrible incident to be over. With a sharp lurch, the pod came to a stop and the passengers fell in to a heap on the ground.
“Is everyone alright in there?” Leonard called through the glass.
“Yes!” Erika replied while untangling herself from the group.
“Oh yeah. We’re great,” said the tall man sarcastically.
He stood and brushed the dirt from his suit pants, picking up his suitcase from the ground. Holding out a hand, he helped each person up from the ground and sighed heavily.
“Now what?” he asked.
“Well, I guess we’re following his lead,” Ulita replied while pointing to Leonard.
Leonard climbed up over the top of the pod and held out his hand.
“We’ll have to crawl out through this escape hatch,” he said. “And then we’ll walk back up the monorail.”
“Are you nuts?” asked the tall man.
“No, but it’s our only chance right now,” Leonard responded. “You can follow or you can stay here.”
“I’m staying put,” said the tall man. “I’ll send out an SOS on my chip.”
“I’ll do the same,” said a purple woman covered in gold marks. “That sounds much safer than trekking up this monorail. What if another pod comes along?”
“It doesn’t sound safe, but it’s our only hope right now,” Erika explained.
“Feel free to stay here,” Ulita said while reaching up to Leonard. “I’m not taking that chance.”
As Ulita and Erika climbed out of the pod, the red-headed woman stepped forward and then stepped back. She appeared unsure of what to do. Erika held out her hand to her.
“Come with us,” she said.
“I’m not sure,” the woman said.
“It’ll be safer with us,” Erika insisted.
“Yeah, right,” said the tall man.
Erika ignored his smug comment and persisted to reach for the woman with the red hair.
“Please,” she said. “Come on.”
After a moment of thought, the woman reached out her hand and crawled up from the escape hatch. The four of them stood on the roof briefly before climbing down, the others saying they would stay behind.
“I feel bad,” Erika commented.
“Don’t,” Leonard said. “They made a choice.”
“They did,” Ulita added. “There’s no reason to pity people who make their own choices.”
“Yeah, that’s true,” Erika said. “I just wish we could save everybody.”
“I know that feeling,” said the woman with the red hair. “By the way, my name is Constance.”
“Hello, Constance,” Erika said. “I’m Erika. That’s Leonard and this is Ulita.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you all,” she said. “Despite the circumstances.”
The group chuckled.
“So, what’s the plan, baby?” Erika asked, reaching for his hand.
Leonard squeezed her hand in his and leaned over to kiss her cheek.
“I guess we’ll find out,” he replied.
Erika looked down at the rail beneath their feet, noticing the beams glittering in the afternoon sun. Ahead in the distance, they could see the black clouds of smoke from the destruction and mayhem, watching as another ship hovered over their province and rained green fire down upon it.
“This is such a mess,” Ulita commented.
“Indeed,” Constance said.
“Could someone tap into the news? I’m too low on energy to do it myself,” Ulita asked.
“I’m on it,” Erika said while tapping her palm.
...again. Reports indicate a small crew of ships have been released by the Enadia army, spreading out over each province in order to eradicate the invading species. No information has yet surfaced of the invaders’ origins and crews are standing by to keep the people alert with every new development. This is Finusha Challace with Enadia International wishing you well as we fight back…
“Nothing yet,” Erika reported. “They did say there are military ships flying around.”
“Maybe we can hitch a ride with one,” Ulita said.
“That would be nice. I can’t last long in these heels,” Constance said.
“I can carry you at some point if you need it,” Leonard offered.
Erika smiled in his direction.
“Oh, I think I can manage without them,” Constance said while taking off her heels and tossing them into the ocean. “Farewell, shoes.”
Erika giggled.
“I like your spirit, Constance,” she said.
“I hope it keeps us moving,” Erika said.
“Me too,” said Ulita.
“Me three,” Leonard sighed.
The four of them continued to watch, wincing every so often when they saw the ship fire upon their province. It would take a few hours to reach land and they weren’t sure how long they would last as most of them hadn’t grabbed provisions. Erika squeezed Leonard’s hand hard, hoping that they would reach land before the sun set. As long as they still had sunlight, they would be alright.
***
A loud roar came from overhead and the group looked up to find a military ship hovering near them. They cheered, waving for the ship to pick the
m up.
“Down here!” Leonard called. “Help!”
The others waved their arms as the pilot tapped into Erika’s chip, Leonard watching as she received the instructions.
“He said the Terramites are the ones invading and we need to board immediately. He can drop us off at a secret base nearby,” Erika said.
“That sounds great,” Leonard said, refusing to release her hand as the ship became level with the monorail.
Constance and Ulita boarded first, Leonard and Erika following shortly behind. They sat in the seats lining the ship. The captain made an appearance as they got settled.
“Good afternoon, civilians. I’m sure you’re well aware of the situation we’re in,” he said. “I’m Captain Theodore Nyugen and I’ll be guiding you back to shore.”
Everyone nodded as he spoke. They waited patiently for another explanation, but nothing came.
“Sir, what are we going to do?” Leonard asked.
“I’m going to arm you all with these disintegrators for your protection. We’ll head for the safe base, and then we’ll make an action plan from there,” the captain informed them. “We’ll need your help warding off these Terramites.”
Captain Nyugen pointed at Leonard when he said this. Erika grabbed his hand, worry filling her eyes. Leonard patted her arm.
“It’s going to be okay,” he said. “We’ll get through this.”
Erika offered a smile and he kissed her hand as reassurance. While the ship made its way towards the shore, the captain instructed the pilot and the group sat in the back making light conversation. Leonard cracked a few jokes and had the group laughing until the ship shook. The captain made another appearance.
“We might be running into some trouble,” he said. “I suggest you strap in and hang on.”
As soon as the captain left the room, the ship shook violently and Constance fell forward. Leonard reached out to grab her and put her back in her seat, helping to strap her in. Erika grabbed Leonard’s hand and squeezed. He could see her jaw clenching and he held on tight. Something struck the ship which made her gasp, her grip tightening around his hand.