Charger the Soldier

by Lea Tassie

  "Never heard of the place," Ben said.

  "Good, then we can be civil to each other. The church is not happy with my efforts to dig up this old site." A broad smile lit the old man's heavily lined face.

  "Well, I'm sure the church has its reasons for not liking you. God knows I'm not fond of you right now myself," Ben said, with an equally broad smile. "But seriously, why should the church care what you do in your retirement?" He rubbed his back gently.

  "It seems that after the site was built, it was deliberately buried. A few years back, a group from the University of Chicago began digging it up and was stopped by the church, which had the place again reburied. Then I found intriguing references to the site in some old papers and got permission from the Turkish government to dig it up yet again."

  Ben found this interesting. "So why would the church insist that the site remain buried? Did you ever get an answer from the Diocese?"

  "Actually I got a letter directly from the pope, with only a simple message, 'Stop at once. You know not what you do.' Curious that they seem to think they know more about this site than archaeology can teach us, don't you think?"

  With the continuing gunfire becoming fainter, Ben thought that the silence outside the closet might mean that the aliens were preoccupied with a new fight. Now might be a good time to find another place to hide. Standing up and peering out the broken door, Ben said. "Get up; let's move! If we hurry, we might be able to get out of this building and hook up with the guys who have the guns."

  "Good," the professor said. "Then we need to get to the military. With their help, and my knowledge of what can save us all, we stand a fighting chance."

  Not waiting, the professor stood up, stepped past Ben out into the hallway, and almost into the arms of a waiting alien. The creature raised one appendage holding what appeared to be a weapon and fired a razor-sharp spike, with barbs along the edges, straight into the chest of the old professor.

  He screamed and collapsed. The alien's peculiar semi-transparent form bent to inspect the professor's body, then straightened. Suddenly Ben realized the alien was refocusing its weapon at him.

  Ben drew some incredible luck. He turned back to grab a mop handle he thought might make a good weapon. At that same moment, the alien leapt full force toward Ben and, missing him by just inches, blew past and struck the electrical wall panel. Sparks shot everywhere. The alien seemed to have merged with the panel; liquid spilled to the floor. The hard portion was receiving the full electrical current, frying like bacon on a grill until it fell to the floor. There it lay, quite still.

  Ben turned from the alien to find the professor choking on his own blood. He knelt beside the dying man and began praying for his soul.

  "Frequency in hertz 823.43 from Stonehenge," moaned the professor.

  "What are you saying?" asked Ben.

  "The answer… 823…"

  The professor's body jerked once and it was over. He was dead.

  Ben held the professor for a few minutes. They had become friends in their short time together. They had shared a plane ride from hell in an attempt to escape the chaos, got trapped in a closet and now, after being terrorized, the professor was gone, and Ben was once again in the company of the church's old nemesis, death. Yet he was not alone, for the alien was now rising behind the mourning man.

  Ben sensed the alien stirring, jumped to his feet, and ran for the exit. Outside, in the intense sunlight, Ben shaded his eyes and looked toward the noise of gunfire just down the street. A pretty young girl caught his gaze. She seemed so out of place, blasting continuously with a large shotgun at an advancing alien. The thing bearing down on her appeared to be passing solid mass through liquid as the impact of the shotgun rounds sheared fragments off its body. Yet still the alien advanced on her.

  She was yelling, but Ben couldn't hear the words over the noise of the guns. Straining to see, he could just make out the figure of another young girl who was shooting at several aliens moving rapidly toward her. Ben realized that it was the sound of these guns that had drawn the aliens from the closet where he and the professor had been hiding. Across the road was the bank he first considered as a hiding place. More importantly, there was the bank's armored truck. Ben raced to the truck, pulled out the dead body of the driver, climbed in, and started the engine.

  Roaring full speed down the road, Ben sent the truck smashing into the closest alien.

  The impact slowed the truck, but tore the hard portion of the alien's body away from the liquid part, as it disappeared under the front of the vehicle.

  The young girl jumped into the cab. Several hard rods smashed in through the back of the truck, just missing the two occupants. Ben floored the gas pedal and the truck lurched forward.

  Aliens had surrounded the second young girl. As they turned toward the truck, Ben crashed headlong into the mass, again scattering alien bodies which splattered into fragments both liquid and solid. The second girl threw herself into the cab, and Ben drove on, aiming for the military base he hoped was close by.

  Chapter 8 Charger goes to war

  "Danny Opinhimmer isn't the smartest guy that ever lived," Suzie said to her girlfriend. "I used to think maybe he was a little handicapped, but the day he spoke, I mean really spoke to me, it was like someone else had crawled inside his head and took over."

  Bambi knew that Suzie loved Danny with all her heart, for she only ever talked about him. Didn't matter what subject came up; all her conversations revolved right back to Danny.

  "I thought he was going to be just another useless boyfriend." Suzie checked the bathroom mirror and added a bit more lip gloss. "I've seen them come and seen them go, but Danny is different."

  Both girls had spent way too long in the bathroom, Danny thought. He could imagine what a vast network of gossip was being transmitted to all parts of the reservation from inside that barroom can. It never failed; everyone seemed to know what was happening in his relationship with Suzie before he did.

  As the two girls returned to the booth where the three had been drinking beer, they took no notice of the silence that had fallen over the bar. The girls just kept chatting until Danny finally turned to them and said, "What the hell, man! Can't you see what's happening on the tube?" The girls turned their attention to the TV.

  "To repeat," the newsman said, "we ask that everyone remain calm, and stay indoors. Both the military and police are using the roads as access to the areas of these explosions. Please stay off the streets to help emergency vehicles and services. As soon as we get more information, we will be letting the public know where the explosions are taking place." The newsman's confused expression made it obvious that he really had no idea what was happening.

  "You hear that? Sounds like huge parts of the white man's world are blowing up," Danny said, with a smirk. "Guess there really is a god." Then he started laughing.

  "Shut the hell up, Danny, people are hurt," Suzie said, scowling. "Geez, sometimes you're such a freakin' idiot!"

  Looking down at his half empty beer mug, Danny said, "Was just a joke…fuck."

  "That's right," Suzie said. "Everything's always just a big joke to you, isn't it?"

  The TV became the focus of their beer drinking. As the night wore on, it became clear with each news update that something was going very wrong out there beyond the dim lights of the bar, beyond the reservation, beyond the world they knew.

  Then everything just stopped. No TV, no phones, no radio, no sound at all. For a moment the bar was dead silent, then the questions began.

  "What's happening?"

  "What the fuck?"

  "Is the world coming to an end?"

  Danny turned to the two girls and said, "Maybe we should head back home. Seems whitie has spoiled the night yet again." Both Bambi and Suzie chewed out Danny as they picked up their stuff and headed for the truck.

  As morning brightened the horizon, Danny's friend, Bobby Running Bear, burst into Danny's house. Bobby was so thin that Danny sometimes said yo
u could just spread maple syrup on him and have him for breakfast. Suzie scrambled for some clothes.

  "Did you hear? Did ya? It's a goddam alien invasion!" Bobby sounded hysterical, though he was staring intently at Suzie's half-naked body. "The whole damn world's on fire and Emma says her sister in Maine saw the whole goddam thing. Just before the power went down, Emma's sister said she saw army trucks and soldiers shooting at something, and there were tons of explosions and houses on fire and, shit, man! It's aliens, real fucking aliens!"

  "What the hell, man? Like Mexicans or something?" Danny asked as he fumbled for his pants.

  "No! Listen to me, Danny. I mean, like real aliens, like space aliens, like fucking aliens from Mars!" Bobby grabbed Danny by the shoulders and shook him.

  "Get off me, man," Danny spat. "What the hell? You on crack or something?"

  Everything seemed to happen in slow motion while Bobby frantically waved his skinny arms and Danny and Suzie tried to take in what he was saying. After they moved to the kitchen, Bambi came in and looked at them sitting around the table. "What's all the yelling about?" she asked as she rubbed the sleep from her round face.

  "That's it, man," Bobby said. "We got to get the hell out of here, go to the hills and hide." His gaze shifted to Bambi. "And start repopulating Earth."

  "Yeah, like that will ever happen, you pimple-face dweeb," Bambi said as she stared right back into Bobby's eyes.

  "No, wait, Bobby's right," Danny said. "We got to get to the hills. My dad showed me an old cave out there once. We can hide out in the cave till we know what's really happening."

  Bambi seemed about as impressed with Danny as she was with Bobby, but after a little more argument, the move to the hills was what they decided to do.

  As they loaded gear into the back of the truck, Bambi asked, "Should we tell our folks where we're going?"

  Bobby replied, "Do you even know where your folks are?"

  "I guess not," Bambi responded sadly.

  Danny knew where his folks were. In the graveyard. His uncle was still around, but he was over in Turkey somewhere, digging history out of the ground. The old guy had done research on aliens, too, and maybe he'd know what was going down. But he was too far away to do them any good right now.

  Danny's friends had had a rough upbringing in the deserts of Arizona. Set apart from the town communities, they mostly spent their days watching television or playing video games online. Gaming was good for Danny, for it gave him the chance to be with people who did not judge him by the color of his skin. He liked online combat games and they liked him. He was often the leader of small groups of gamers who battled monsters or evil-doers, spending hours honing and sharpening strategies that would be the envy of most military colleges.

  The drive up into the hills to the caves had Bobby really revved up. He sat with Bambi on his lap, and every rough bump was heaven for him.

  "Down, boy," Bambi chided. "Remember the aliens. That's the only reason I would ever ride anywhere with you."

  Nothing could deflate Bobby's ego at that moment. They made the caves by midday, set up camp in a dark area deep inside, and built a small fire. There they sat, eating homemade bannock and beef jerky the girls had brought. As night fell, Danny and Bobby went out into the darkness and climbed to the top of the hill. They could see the town's faint lights off in the distance.

  The air felt thick and heavy, as though all Earth's cool breezes had gone stale. The starry sky was slowly and relentlessly turning black, and the hairs on Danny's arms were now standing up straight. Suddenly, a bluish blaze of light, followed by an intense white beam, streaked down from the clouds and slammed into the small town on the horizon. The two heard a faint puff, then a moment later were knocked flat on their backs from the stunning impact of air hitting them square in the chest. Scrambling back to their feet, they saw that the town was gone. Now a dark rolling cloud containing arcs of wicked light was striking outward in all directions.

  "Shit, that's coming toward us," gasped Danny as he yanked on Bobby's shirt. They both scurried back down the hill to the cave. They raced along the tunnels and, when they reached the girls, yelled, "Hide, hide!" and kicked sand onto the fire.

  The two couples huddled in the darkness, one on either side of the dead fire, hearing snapping and scraping sounds far off in the distance. Danny held Suzie close but they both shivered all night long. At dawn, a faint light from the tunnel entrance brought some hope that the terror was over. Danny looked over at Bobby and asked, "Do we go out and look?"

  Bobby just sat there with the oddest smile on his stupid-looking face.

  "I better not be pregnant," Bambi snapped.

  "Ah, geez, what the hell, man?" Danny said to Bobby.

  Bobby got up and the two of them walked quietly to the entrance, slowly and cautiously, wanting to see what lay outside. As they peered out at the dull gray day beyond the entrance, Bobby turned to Danny and said, "Scored!"

  Danny replied, "Shut the hell up, man, I don't wanna know!"

  Nothing looked out of the ordinary; the sky was a dull gray, but it was still there. The two of them ventured out further, eventually reaching the top of the hill and looking toward the town off in the distance. It was gone. All they could see was a gigantic pit, with some type of red stuff at the edges.

  Bobby stood up and said, "Well, guess that's all over, so what do we do now?"

  Danny continued to lie on his belly, staring at the pit where the town had been, and said quietly, "I really don't know."

  From the ring of destruction, something stirred. Dirt flew up into the air in puffs, and then a snaking ridge of soil seemed to be moving rapidly from the pit toward the two friends.

  "Bobby," Danny said cautiously, "Uh, Bobby, maybe you should lay down again." The snaking ridge of soil was drawing closer.

  Bobby pointed at the moving soil and said, "What the fuck?"

  Danny stood up and started back down the hill to the cave entrance, calling back over his shoulder, "I ain't stayin' to find out. C'mon!"

  Bobby decided his best bet was to run, too, but as he turned to follow Danny, the ground beneath his feet opened up, and a white hot spear of burning light shot up, slicing him in two. Danny saw it happen as he hurried into the cave entrance.

  As he bolted down the tunnels, chunks of rock broke off the walls and floor and flashes of light slashed out at him as he ducked and dodged. He yelled for the girls, but it was too late. As he approached, dust filled the cave. Through the dust came wicked flashes of light and screams. For a moment, what looked like blinking gold-colored eyes stared at Danny.

  A sudden violent explosion blasted the inside of the cave. It blew Danny several feet and broke off a portion of the wall next to where he landed in a hurricane of dust and wind and heat, revealing another tunnel slicing off in a downward angle. Danny struggled to his feet. A dim figure materialized out of the dust, and terror sucked the air out of Danny's chest. It was twice as large as a man, with long, wild hair, and two fangs sticking out either side of its mouth.

  For a second, Danny stood frozen with fear. Then the floor beneath his feet gave way. He tumbled down into the darkness, screaming, "Wendigo! Wendigo!"

  Unconsciousness took him for several hours. When he came to, he was cut, bruised and stuck. And it was dark. With no idea of what day it was and little idea of where he was, Danny sobbed in frustration. But not for long.

  It took two days for him to reach the surface again, fighting the rock debris and the dust. This time he was far more cautious. He decided to go back to the truck and get the hell away from the cave. He was alone, hungry, and very angry. This fight was over for now, but he was alive and he'd be able to fight tomorrow. As he drove the old truck down the road, not knowing where he was heading, he could think only one thought. He would raise an army and drive these alien things from his land even if it killed him.

  Danny drove his old pickup well into the night, thinking of the way he'd lost Suzie, Bobby, and Bambi to the alien attack.
The cave they had hidden in and the destruction the aliens had wrought was fresh in his memory, a nightmare that wouldn't go away. Then the old pickup began to sputter and surge, bringing Danny out of his dazed sorrow to realize it must be almost out of gas. As luck would have it, just ahead of him was an all-night gas station. From inside the station, a tall, thin, young man who looked like a farm boy walked out into the night to gas up Danny's truck.

  >>>

  "Fill the tank with regular?" Henry didn't really expect an answer. Anybody driving a beat-up pickup like this one wouldn't want to pay extra for unleaded.

  "Yeah." The young guy driving glanced around and added quietly, "It's so peaceful here, hard to believe the world is burning all around us."

  "What's that?" Either he hadn't heard right or the guy wasn't making sense.

  "I was just commenting on the quiet here. Guess the aliens haven't got this far yet." The guy lifted his head from the steering wheel and turned to look at Henry.

  "Aliens? We don't get many Mexicans this far north. This isn't market garden country, it's mostly wheat and corn," Henry replied as the pump handle discharged, showing the truck's tank had reached full.

  The driver spoke again. "No, I meant the real aliens, not illegal aliens."

  "Sorry, I don't follow you, what aliens?" Henry was beginning to think the guy was drunk. Or on some kind of drugs. Stupid.

  "You don't know? There's been an invasion, I just watched my home town get burned to the ground and three of my friends die." The man sounded sad.

  "Okay. Guess you're a little tired tonight. Might want to pull the truck over to the parking lot and catch a few winks." It would be bad if the guy drove away and fell asleep at the wheel. He was either dead tired or drunk. Or maybe on drugs, since there was no smell of booze on him.

  The guy went still, then stared straight into Henry's eyes. "Hey, what's your name?"

  "Henry. But most people call me Charger. I been working on my Dodge Charger for a long time. It's close to perfect now." Just a little more work on the leather upholstery and he'd take it out for a drive.