by Phil Maxey
“Come on Wyatt,” he said under his breath. The young man was already ten minutes late and going without him, without a Cascader was not an option.
A bright point of light flicked on and off about a hundred yards away just to the side of the garage which was housing the vehicles.
Finally.
He looked both ways, then sprinted across the grass, past the closest Humvee and to the side of the building. Wyatt turned on his flashlight again, this time pointing it at the ground.
“You ready?” Said Michael.
“Yeah. You sure you want to do this? Why can’t we just—”
“I told you, they ain’t going to spare any hardware or people to go looking for people that have been beamed into space. We are the only chance they got.”
Wyatt nodded.
“Wait here, I have to go inside here and grab the keys. Just lay low and don’t make any noise.”
Wyatt nodded again.
Michael turned and crept forward, keeping low so the vehicles in front of him would block any view from the other buildings. He then ran between the Humvee’s to the back of the garage. A single light illuminated a small office area. He ran up to the door and grabbed the handle. It only turned an inch.
Locked.
He could see the keys on the wall. He had two choices, either he broke the glass which would create a lot of noise or he rammed the door, which would also create a lot of noise. He looked around. Part of an engine block sat on the floor with a small rag on top of it. He quickly moved to it and picked it up, needing both hands because of the weight. When he got back to the door he swung it back, then forward slamming it into the handle and lock and causing the flimsy constructed door to break and fly open. Placing the engine part down as quietly as possible, he grabbed the keys then ran back through the garage. As he approached the entrance he waited to see if there was anyone coming. He then ran back outside and waved Wyatt over to him.
He tossed some of the keys to Wyatt. “Find the key to your Humvee near you, I’ll try for this one.”
They both set about trying the different keys. Michael found the right one first. He got into the drivers seat throwing his pack into the back and dropped the other keys on the floor outside, while Wyatt got into the passengers seat next to him doing the same.
“Now, remember what the story is. We have been told by Brad to do a quick recon, as you are sensing some E.L.F’s heading this way, got it?”
Wyatt nodded.
Michael slid the key into the ignition and went to turn it, then stopped. “You don’t sense any E.L.F’s out there do you?”
“No.”
Michael continued turning the key and the engine started up. “Good.”
Soon they were approaching the front gate. Two guards stood up from a small fire that was keeping them warm. One walked to the drivers side and gestured for Michael to lower his window.
“No one told us there’s going to be any activity outside the compound?”
“Wyatt here sensed some E.L.F’s a few hundred yards from the east wall. We’ve been sent to investigate. Shouldn’t take long,” said Michael.
The guard looked at Wyatt who was looking forward.
Michael noticed some commotion out of the corner of his eye, but did not want to remove his smile from the soldier next to him.
“Hey, we just got word from the house, not to let anyone leave,” shouted a soldier near the fire holding his radio in his hand.
“They know!” Said Wyatt under his breath.
The soldier frowned then briefly looked at Michael. “Hold on.” Then walked over to the other solider.
“It’s a bust! They know!” Repeated Wyatt.
“Keep friggin calm, they don’t know—”
Vehicle lights appeared in the rear view mirror. Quickly followed by the roar of another Humvee’s engine.
Michael looked at the gate. It didn’t look too secure, but it was only a few yards away and he needed more of a run up to it to break through. He went to put the Humvee in reverse when the other Humvee pulled up behind, just a few inches behind the rear bumper. He swore under his breath.
He looked out of the windscreen, the two soldiers were now pointing their assault rifles directly at them. Wyatt already had his hands up.
The sound of a car door opening drifted on the night air, followed by the crunching of boots over mud and grass. Michael turned to face Bower looking at him through the open window.
“You got a date soldier?”
One of the soldiers near the fire stepped forward. “He said there was E.L.F activity outside the walls.”
Bower smirked. “You’re going off after Zach and the others right?”
Michael looked away. “Just going for a drive. Need some—”
“Well, I thought you might want to know. We just received a message from him. He’s back in Pittsburgh with Fiona and I’m putting together a team to go and get them. You want in?”
CHAPTER 13
Abbey sat at one of the long connected tables in the food hall. A smattering of people sat around her, all eating what their rations could afford them. A light above her head, one of a few that were strung across the ceiling blinked intermittently.
She sipped on some stew which the bunkers kitchen had left over from dinner the previous night. By her reckoning it was about 6 am, but it was easy to lose track of time this deep underground.
Some young men kept glancing in her direction and cackling like a coven of witches. She frowned and turned away. She wondered why anyone would still find her attractive. Her leg still hadn’t completely healed, which meant she walked with a slight limp and her left wrist did its best to remind her of what happened to it some months back at the most inopportune moments.
A woman from the kitchen who Abbey earlier learned was called Gretchen walked over to her with a large pot in her hand. “You want some more?”
“Sure, thanks.”
Gretchen started ladling the thick brown liquid into Abbey’s plastic bowl. She briefly looked across to the group of sniggering men. “Meh, don’t mind Trey and the rest. Each time a new girl arrives their testosterone get’s the better of them.”
“They ever cause any problems?”
The woman baulked. “What trey? Nah, he’s harmless…” She put the pot on the table and leaned in closer. “It’s the ones that are trying to make a life down here work that you got to be worried about.” She then stood back up. “So you come from a camp down south? Texas?”
Not being quite sure what the woman had just tried to communicate to her, Abbey smiled and nodded.
“Must be nice to see the sun and clouds.” She looked upwards. “Even with the monsters everywhere.”
“Well we can mostly control them now.”
“You mean those Cascaders? Humph, I don’t trust them.”
“Why’s that?”
“Well, they ain’t normal, are they? My Daryl says they might even be responsible for how the world ended.”
Abbey did her best to hide her own guilt and smiled once again.
“Anyway, I’m closing the kitchen now. Will reopen in a few hours, when Ted’s here. You’re going to have to get yourself some ration tickets, if you are going to be staying here.” The woman started to walk away.
“Thanks, I’ll look into that.” She had no intention of ‘looking into it’. She was already started to feel claustrophobic and she wondered how Mo was getting on. Down here she couldn’t sense him at all. “Umm, do you know if the general would still be awake?”
The woman stopped and turned around. “More likely already awake. Try the officers section, it’s through the door behind you, then follow the tunnel until you see a red painted door. There’s usually a guard there.”
“Thanks.”
Soon Abbey had finished her meal and was standing in front of just such a soldier. Like many others down here he had pronounced bag’s under his eyes. He looked at her suspiciously.
“I’d like to talk to G
eneral Mitchell.”
“No comms are possible with the senior officers until zero eight hundred hours, ma’am.”
“This is important. Tell her Abbey Reisner needs to talk to her. She’ll want to know what I have to say.”
The soldier frowned then turned and walked to an old fashioned phone mounted on the wall, and relayed Abbey’s message. It wasn’t long before the red door was opening.
“Follow me ma’am,” said another soldier.
After walking for what seemed ten minutes, but must have been half of that, the soldier led Abbey into a tunnel with multiple doors, but only one of them had two armed guards outside. The soldier knocked on the door. The general’s voice came from the other side and the soldier waved Abbey inside.
“I thought you would be still resting,” said Mitchell.
Abbey looked around the luxurious decorated room, which had two other doors. Paintings adorned the walls along with bookshelves that dusty volumes sat on. Unlike the rest of the bunker the floors here were covered in rugs, and chairs, sofa’s and a large desk sat on them.
“I need to get back up top.”
“And why do you need to go back outside? We have everything you could need down here. Why don’t you take a seat. Would you like a drink? I got a good selection here.” She briefly pointed at the well-stocked drinks cabinet alongside the book shelves.
Abbey shook her head. “I’m fine, thanks. Don’t you patrol outside the bunker at all?” She sat on one of the sofas, enjoying the softness of it.
The general sat on the edge of her desk. “It was a month ago the last time we stepped on the surface, and even that was a close call. We needed to erect a new antenna, as the creatures destroyed the old one. We sent a team, including two Cascaders, but they were unable to keep the creatures away for long. Anyway we got the job done, but since then… we just patrol the tunnels beyond the bunkers.”
“I think I can help with that. It’s taken a while but I’m pretty skilled with my umm abilities, and I can teach your Cascaders to use theirs. But we have to do it on the surface. I can’t sense anything down here. I feel…”
“Cut off?”
“Sorta. It’s like I’m deaf or something. It’s hard to explain.”
“Hmm. I noticed since you have been here, you haven’t asked to contact your camp…”
“Oh they—”
“Are you running from them?”
It was a question that she didn’t want to answer. She wasn’t here for that. “I thought you didn’t want for anyone else to know about the bunkers? I thought you wouldn’t let me communicate with them, so I didn’t ask…” It was a good excuse off the top of her head she thought.
Mitchell smiled. “Well you’re right about that. But about the other thing. It’s swarming with E.L.F’s up top. I would be risking the lives of anyone I send up there, including your own, even with all your super powers.”
Abbey sat forward. “You can’t stay locked up underground forever. And what’s more, you don’t need too. In my camp near Austin, people live and go about their daily lives and the Cascaders keep everyone safe. It works….well until the Hell fire gang appeared, but that wasn’t the E.L.F’s fault or the Cascaders.”
Mitchell took a long breath and crossed her arms. “Maybe you can take a few at a time, with a two soldier escort.”
* * * * *
“It’s a beautiful day!” Said Burt as he stood up from climbing out of the sewer. Turning around he reached back down and helped Abbey out. She immediately searched the intensely blue skies for Mo.
After her came two soldiers, one seemingly a lot older than the other. Taylor, the gray haired Sergeant came first, looking at the skies suspiciously. After came a young woman.
“Look sharp Clayton. I want your eyes permanently fixed on the buildings and trees around us, you got that private?”
“Yes, sir!”
“I got a bad feeling about this.” A young man with black short hair peered out of the manhole.
“Come on Jason, I don’t have all day!” Came a woman’s voice from below him.
“Yeah yeah Claire, stop your complaining, I’m just getting a feel for things, you know, Cascader style.” He climbed up and out.
“You’re not going to help an old lady? Puh!” Said Claire.
Jason rolled his eyes and leaned back into the hole, allowing the elderly woman to grab hold of his hand.
Abbey couldn’t sense Mo anywhere in the skies around her and it made her feel queasy. He’s out there, he’s just off doing his own thing. Pushing the uneasy feeling away, she switched to sensing all the other creatures that they were surrounded by. There were a lot and the closest of which were already moving towards them.
Jason tried to enjoy the feeling of the sun on his face, for it was the first time since Christmas that he had been topside, but his anxiety was squashing any good feelings he might have. He looked at Abbey who was just standing there with her eyes closed. That didn’t help.
“So how we do this? We join hands or—”
A loud rumbling came from behind what was left of an old three story shop and apartment block. He looked back at the manhole.
“Young lady, what should we do? We are at your mercy out here.” Said Claire.
The rumbling grew louder and part of the building they were all looking at collapsed sending a plume of dust into the air.
The Sergeant raised his gun. “Clayton, move ten yards to the south, behind that car. I’ll cover them from the—”
With an explosion of masonry and metal beams, something the size of a large car looking like a cross between a beetle and a rhino, sprung from the smoke and charged towards them.
“Start doing your thing Cascaders or we’re going to fire!” Shouted Taylor as the ground shuddered.
Instead of stepping back, Abbey walked forwards.
“Is she nuts?” Said Jason moving towards the hole in the ground.
“It’s okay son, she’s got this,” said Burt.
Claire looked at the young man at her side and smiled, then walked forward towards Abbey who raised her hands out in front of her.
The creature skidded to a stop, causing small stones and debris to fly up at them.
Once they all uncovered their eyes all but Burt’s mouth lay open, for Abbey was standing just a few feet away from the E.L.F that towered above her.
“How she do that?” Said Jason.
“Well I’ll be…” Said Taylor.
Abbey turned around, looking directly at the two other Cascaders. “It’s okay, come here both of you, She won’t hurt you.”
“You can tell it’s a girl?“ Said Jason tentatively stepping forward looking wide eyed at the beast which now seemed docile.
“I can. She’s also pregnant.”
“Okay first lesson, Jason you first. Close your eyes—”
“Yeah, I dunno if I can do that.”
“Just trust me.”
A screech rang out around the junction they were standing in the middle of, making everyone but Burt and Abbey duck slightly.
“Mo!” Shouted Abbey walking away, as the bird monkey E.L.F swooped down from the heavens and landed just a few feet away from her.
Jason and Claire looked at each other then looked at the vision of spikes and armor in front of them.
Mo jumped up and down fluttering and screeching.
“I’m happy to see you too! Sorry I don’t have any biscuits, but…” She reached into her pack and pulled out some sweet bread, offering him some which he sniffed at then took.
“Umm, I don’t mean to break up your reunion but what do we do with like the big monster that is right, like…here.”
“Ha, yeah, sorry. Jason, close your eyes, then with your mind try and feel the being in front of you. Don’t try and ‘see’ it, feel it.”
“Okay, here’s goes.”
Burt whispered something into Abbey’s ear.
“Don’t go far, I can only sense a few miles,” she replied. He no
dded.
A tingling started to rise up Jason’s spine, until he could feel a presence. But that’s all he could sense, just that he wasn’t alone in his own head.
“When you sense her, think of something which makes you happy…” Abbey noticed the large E.L.F was moving slowly towards Jason. “Yeah that’s it.”
Jason opened his eyes, when he felt hot foul smelling fumes wafting over his face. “Ahghh!”
Everyone laughed. The creature’s head ducked and bobbed up and down.
“She likes you, whatever you thought about did the trick.”
He looked at Abbey. “I just thought about my kid sister.”
She nodded then looked at Claire. “Right, your turn.”
Over the next hour, Claire and Jason had both taken control of a few E.L.F’s each, under the watchful eye of Abbey. Taylor and Clayton had even gone back to the bunker and brought back food for everyone. It wasn’t until the end of the second hour that she started to worry about Burt.
Abbey sat on the hood of the front half of a sedan, looking at the streets and broken buildings around her.
“And he’s not a Cascader right?” Said Jason sitting alongside.
“Nope.”
“Would you sense if any of the creatures around us had attacked him?”
“I don’t know, maybe. But that’s not the point, he knew not to go far.”
“You know which direction he went in?”
She shook her head, and pointed. “I think towards the stores over there.”
Jason stood. “Then why don’t we go find him. It’s not like any—”
An overwhelming sensation flooded Abbey’s mind, sending a paralyzing chill across her body. She grabbed Jason’s arm stopping him mid-sentence. “We have to go now.”
“But, your friend?” He said trying to keep his feet as she pulled him back towards the center of the junction, where the others were sitting and chatting. They all looked up at her confusion in their faces. Taylor knew something was not right, and leapt to his feet, aiming his gun at the windows and mounds of rubble around them.