Invasion

by Eli Constant

  I was about ten yards from Jason, but I knew that those few yards could mean the difference between my children staying alive and dying. I screamed Jason’s name over and over. And he looked at me, confusion spreading across his face like the reaper appearing to get us. I ran. Nine yards… eight yards… five yards.

  I shoved the cart, letting it roll ahead of me to free my hands. I yelled Jason’s name one more time and mimed shooting a gun. His expression altered drastically and he dove for the passenger floorboard. Maybe today wasn't our day to meet death, but I would still look back on these moments as some of the most terrifying of my life.

  Jason reared back into view holding a matching pair of .50 caliber Desert Eagles. He threw one out the window towards me. You don't throw guns to people in normal circumstances. Nothing about this was normal though. Nothing about the whole damn world was normal now.

  The action around me seemed set on slow motion and my hands were set on autopilot. These two things combined caused the gun to fall into my hands as if drawn by some unseen and directive force. A magnet- skin to cool metal. I'd thank lady luck later.

  The pale fingers were no longer sprawled across the ebony rubber, but I could hear scratching.

  Scratching like claws against metal. The scratching was coming ever closer towards my most precious belongings. Scratch, scratch. Louder and louder. I was too chicken shit to throw myself under the truck and face the undergrounder head on. But I had to. Anything to save my girls.

  “Elise, I’m coming.” The driver’s door began to open.

  “No. You stay with them. Don’t you dare leave them alone.” The yell that escaped me then was piercing and primal. It was up to me. Of course it was. I didn’t let myself think it through; I dropped to my knees and then let my body hit the ground.

  I rolled beneath the truck, finger on trigger, safety off. I kept my aim parallel to the ground towards where I expected to find the demon-ugly dirt digger clinging to the undercarriage. It wasn’t one though; it was two. Were they traveling in freaking pairs now? Two at the gas station and now two here. Jesus, give us a damn break!

  I could only shoot one at a time, so I concentrated my fire on the closest beastie. If I could put it down quickly, I'd even the odds. Not that a human ever has even odds against a monster. I'm not trained, I don't aim and take the bad guy down with one shot. I'd just kept shooting until it stopped moving. So by the time I robbed the first one of a pulse, the second was on top of me and I was out of ammo. We death rolled in the shadows. I heard an audible cracking and felt a shooting pain. I screamed and I heard my girls scream above me. I hurt in a way words could not describe; my already-fractured ribs strained to stay unbroken.

  The monstrosity rolled off me and crawled away towards the front right of the truck. It began to pull itself up towards the passenger door. I could smell the very slight singeing of its delicate flesh- pale skin pressed against the bulbs of nature’s tanning bed.

  It wasn’t fully adapted to UV rays, but it was determined to get to my children. There was no freaking way it was accomplishing that goal today. I heard more gunfire. I heard my daughters still screaming- a regular occurrence nowadays.

  I had to fight through the pain.

  With great effort, I rolled to my right and emerged into daylight. My weapon was empty. Jason couldn’t help me. He was too busy pushing the girls into the rear of the truck and volleying the occasional shot towards the busted passenger window.

  Fighting to ignore the waves of pain rolling over my entire body, I moved behind the undergrounder and grabbed its waist. I yanked downwards, hoping to throw it off balance. It fell backwards, lifeless. When it hit the ground, I was greeted by a surprised humanoid face.

  Jason had made the kill shot with perfect timing. Thank God.

  My heart was pounding and the fear for my girls was replaced by sheer agony. Each time I took a steadying breath, it felt like a red hot poker attacking my side. My injuries had gone from minor to shit-that-hurts major.

  I grunted and grabbed my left side. I heard a car door and then strong hands were guiding me and helping me climb into the truck. “Wait. I’m not going through this crap and not getting what we came for.”

  “I’ll get it. Just sit still.” I didn’t fight the command. Jason walked over to my abandoned cart and removed the diapers and formula. He put them in the front cab between our seats. “Happy now?”

  “Sure. How could I not be happy? I almost died again and I get to have a heart attack going over what could have happened to my girls while I…” a sharp pain made me gasp and bend over; my head almost resting on my knees. I continued speaking, but my voice was strained, the words muffled, “…wasted away the hours shopping. Why wouldn’t I be happy?”

  “Sorry… sorry. Stupid question.”

  “You think?” I would have glared at him, but the all-over-my-body pain defeated my need to be indignant. Jason grabbed his clothes duffel from at my feet. After rummaging through it for several seconds, he pulled out two rolls of ace bandages.

  “Lift up your shirt.”

  “Got to buy me dinner first.” I tried to laugh. “Shit, remind me not to laugh anytime soon.”

  “Pick one. Do you want me to buy you dinner or remind you not to giggle? Either way, I need your shirt up now.” He slid his hand between my thighs and upper body and gently helped me sit up again.

  Biting back the pain, I used my right hand to roll up my shirt and tuck it under my arms. With deft fingers, Jason began to wrap the bandages tightly around my abdomen. “Do you think anything’s broken?”

  “Elise, I’m sure as hell not a doctor. But no, I don’t think anything’s broken. Fractured maybe.” He stopped wrapping and softly touched one of the bruises on my side. “Some of these aren’t new; they’re already healing. I’m surprised you didn’t bust a rib or two this time.”

  Jason was still sitting, playing with the healing, dark purple marks on my side. He was quiet now. I felt tension and was confused. I was in pain! This was no time to get dark and flirty. I wanted to snap my fingers in front of his face, but couldn’t lift my arm. Stupid injuries. I opted for humor, hoping it would yank Jason out of his thoughts.

  “So I should avoid street fighting and karate class for a while.”

  Jason’s head shook slightly and his eyes found mine. The seriousness drained away, the skin around his eyes crinkling as his mouth stretched into a smile. “Yeah. That’s advisable. We’ll do a post-op next week.”

  “Thanks Dr. J… wait.”

  “What?”

  “I don’t know your last name?”

  He looked at me oddly- maybe because knowing a last name is pretty trivial given our circumstances. Or maybe because it had been so long since anyone cared about human niceties. “Chambers. Jason Chambers. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Mrs. …?”

  “Elise Swanson. Yes, like the broth company, but no relation. Am I all done Dr. Chambers?” He secured the last bandage with a standard metal clip.

  “All done.”

  “Then let’s get the hell out of here.”

  “Don’t have to tell me twice.”

  The pain in my side was making me nauseous. Bile rose in my throat; I tasted just the hint of it in my mouth. Yummy.

  Course Change

  We changed vehicles outside of Chicago.

  I was sad to abandon the luxurious eighteen wheeler with the oh-so-soft bed, but it was just too damn cold in the truck, blustery air pouring in from all sides. Jason and I had been freezing our butts off in the front seats. The minivan we found beat the hell out of the tired old POS we were driving before meeting Jason. That was consolation at least, as we drove away from the bed and relative comfort my daughters had enjoyed for a brief while. They hadn't been as cold cuddled beneath blankets in the back.

  Also, I was glad I could drive again. Getting a break from the road was nice, but I liked the control being behind the wheel gave me.

  The van was a fairly new model and even had an
entertainment system. Megan was saying how nice it would be to watch a movie when my finger hit eject instead of turning the radio on like I'd intended. A disc slid out and, for the next hour and a half, Jason and I drove to the sounds of a mischievous monkey, a street urchin, and an unattainable princess. By the end of the movie, Megan and Kara were both napping and I was the one laughing at the genie's finish line "made you look!"

  Of course, laughing hurt like a bitch. My fingers played with my side, massaging the deep bruises gently, as I tried to keep the majority of my focus on driving. I sucked in a quick, painful breath as I pressed a little too hard against the most tender spot.

  "You okay?" Jason's voice was only slightly sleepy. I'd thought he'd been dozing, his eyes were closed for so long.

  "Yeah. My side's just hurting. Can you grab me some aspirin."

  Jason twisted at the waist and reached towards the floor compartment under Kara's feet. It took a few moments longer for Jason to flip off the cap and shake two pills into my waiting palm. "Two enough?"

  "Yeah, thanks." I popped the pills into my mouth and had trouble swallowing them down without a drink. But I was already using some of our small supply of medicine. I didn't want to use water too.

  "No problem. Want me to drive?" His voice was still fighting the sleepy edge. It was just a hint, floating around his words. He needed to rest.

  "I can make it a while longer. You really need to get some sleep," I said.

  Jason didn't argue. He shifted, settling himself deeper into the plush seat, and closed his eyes. When he fell asleep, his soft breathing became my companion.

  About an hour past Illinois, I stopped at a drugstore to try and replenish our medical supplies. I wanted ibuprofen especially. I could take four of those to dull the pain and alternate them with aspirin. Jason woke up, drawn out of sleep by the slowing of the van. He looked confused until his eyes found the store sign and he nodded.

  "Our med kit could use a re-supply," I explained, even though I knew he already understood.

  "Want us to all go in together?" Even as he said it, we both knew it was a bad idea and an empty offer.

  "I don't think so... looks a little dark in there." Again, an explanation neither of us needed.

  There were quite a few windows lining the pharmacy building walls, but they were elevated and the sunlight was partially blocked by the sidewalk overhang.

  "I'll go." Jason unbuckled and opened his door.

  "You just woke up. I don't mind going. I'm the one that decided to stop after all," I unbuckled too, making it clear that I intended to go.

  "You went the last time. My turn at bat," Jason shifted so his right foot was planted on the concrete ground.

  I took a deep breath. "Be careful, okay?"

  "Always am." He stood up and stretched, then bent over and grabbed his sidearm from under the passenger seat.

  I watched him walk into the drugstore and I felt unsettled. I realized that I really did want him to come back in one piece. That surprised me... I cared about him.

  The girls woke up while Jason was in the store. I changed Kara's diaper- a healthy bowel movement and soaked with pee. It made me feel better about our situation, that she'd eaten and drank enough recently to fill a diaper. Megan squatted right next to the van and tinkled once I was done changing Kara. I stood next to her protectively, my eyes scanning the store and our surroundings over and over.

  Jason didn't take long and I was grateful for his quick nature. And he found some things, namely antibiotics and antihistamines, that I didn't expect. Unlike our experience at the baby store, this was an uneventful stop. Lucky Jason. Lucky us.

  The girls were so excited after the CVS stop, because, long with the necessities, Jason had also grabbed five more movies from a display near the registers. They weren't mouse classics, but they were PG-rated and looked cute. Megan hit a button over her head as I was putting in one of the new movies and she found two sets of headphones. They still worked. I was actually a bit bummed that I couldn't drive to the movie narrative floating through the van, like I had with the first film, but the kids using the headphones left the space quiet for Jason and I to talk without interruption if needed. And that was good.

  It was frivolous- entertainment isn't high on the priority list when the world has gone to shit- but it brought smiles to my daughters' faces. So the movies were necessary... in a way.

  At the end of the world, what's more necessary than happiness?

  I was driving again. Jason had wanted to take over, but I'd only been driving for an hour before the drugstore stop. The drive-share had not been equal lately. He needed to relax more and I needed to be in control a little longer.

  Time passed slowly. I didn't feel like talking so we drove in silence. Jason seemed to sense my need for quiet. The girls were watching a movie, but they wore headsets. I was glad for that, I didn't feel like listening to a children's movie.

  An hour and a half later, I tired of the silence and began flipping through radio channels; no music, obviously, but I paused when I hit an AM station broadcasting more than just static. It used to be 'listen to 89.4 talk radio; your trusted resource for what's happening now.' It had been my go-to channel before.

  A voice was repeating the same set of numbers over and over again. Another set of coordinates and definitely not Canada. Jason and I exchanged a meaningful glance.

  I pulled to the side of the road, it was daytime and I felt comfortable doing so. Jason watched me, saying nothing. Once shifted into park, I fished out the road atlas that I kept stashed under the passenger seat. Jason shifted his legs to the side as I pulled out the large volume. I guess I could have asked him to get it, but my mind was on other things.

  It took me a few minutes of rifling through the pages, but eventually my index finger trailed its way to 46.8533˚N 121.7599˚W- Mount Rainier, twenty-fourth highest peak in the United States.

  "Huh." Why is someone directing people to a national park in Washington State?

  "What? Where are the coordinates?" Jason leaned across the armrest, trying to see the page I puzzled over.

  "Smack dab in the middle of Mount Rainier," I said, my voice confused.

  "So?" Jason seemed unimpressed.

  "So... why would someone broadcast a safe zone at Mount Rainier? It's an isolated park, meaning 'hello undergrounders.' Not to mention it's an active volcano."

  "But it's a hell of a lot colder up the peak. I've climbed it before, back in the 90s when I was doing a little soul-searching. There are almost forty square miles of permanent snow bed and numerous glaciers. You'd be protected by the landscape of the mountain itself. It'd be too cold for the warmth-loving beasties."

  "Somehow I'm not surprised that you've climbed Mt. Rainier, Mr. Outdoorsman. Still, when coordinates have been broadcasted before there have always been at least 8 or 10 sets. Now only one? Over and over again? What happened to the others? Or is there a reason someone wants everyone to head to this one location?"

  "I don't know, Elise." Jason shrugged.

  I stare at the map a while longer, the van is silent until I speak again. "I guess the real question is- should we change course and check this out?"

  He didn't say anything for a while. "Hey, let's go ahead and switch now that we've stopped."

  I didn't fight him. Once I'd settled into the passenger's seat, I glanced in the rearview mirror. The movie must have ended; Megan was taking off her headphones. Kara's head was lolling forward, her set of earphones askew, her eyes nearly closed.

  "Mom, the movie's over."

  "Okay sweetie. Give me a minute and I'll put in a new one."

  I ejected the already-watched movie disc and snapped it back into its case. The girls were waiting patiently. Kara's little legs danced against her car seat. I slid my nail against the packaging of the new DVD and made a small cut in the plastic. I smiled at the cover. The girls would like this one- fairies and pirates and magic dust. I started the new movie and turned back to pondering over the atl
as which I'd kept in my possession as Jason and I had switched positions.

  Mount Rainier was a composite volcano, a 'decade' volcano. If it erupted, it wouldn't be the lava flow that would destroy lives- the lava flow from a stratovolcano was highly viscous and hardened before moving far- it would be the ash cloud, the volcanic bombs, and mud flows. Cheers for taking Geology to fulfill undergraduate lab requirements.

  Needless to say, Mount Rainier was not where I'd set up a safe zone. But I wasn't in charge of that sort of thing.

  Jason and I discussed the possible change of plan.

  Going to Washington was a major detour, but it could be the key to our survival. If there was something important going on at Mount Rainier, if there was some way to figure out the state of our world and the future of our species, then that was a chance we had to take. Wasn't it? There had to be a good reason why they were only broadcasting that position now. There had to be. It had to be important.

  I didn't entertain the possibility that it wouldn't be a safe place to go. I just kept telling myself that this was the right decision. This detour was what we had to do.

  God, I hope it was the right decision.

  We were almost two thousand miles from the new coordinates. When you compare that with the almost three thousand miles to the Yukon Territory, it seemed like a quick sprint down the road. Of course, if Mount Rainier was a hoax, we'd have added a fruitless and lengthy detour to our journey. We started driving again with Jason at the wheel.

  Things were always changing. It was hard to temporarily abandon the hope of Alaska CANADA!; it had been my goal for so long now. The decision was made though. Our wheels rotated, moving us closer and closer to a new unknown.

  My mind wandered; every now and then, my eyes fluttered, threatening to close. I woke completely once, long enough to open a can of beans and mini franks and feed the girls.

  I transferred half the contents into a disposable cup and gave that to Megan with a plastic spoon. I unbuckled, knelt between the front seats, and stabbed one of the mini hot dogs with a fork. I fed it to Kara. Eventually all the weenies were gone. Kara wouldn't eat the beans. I mixed formula in a sippy cup.