The Colony

by Kathleen Groger

  A group of soldiers filed down the hall. One of them pushed a cart that emitted delicious smells. My stomach prayed they were bringing us food.

  One man shoved a covered tray through the opening at the bottom of the bars.

  I waited until I heard the click of the soldiers leaving before I took off the lid. The scent of chicken and potatoes made me almost cry. I stared at the paper plate filled with a breaded chicken breast, small red potatoes, carrots, and a roll. A bottle of water rested on its side next to the plate. There was only a plastic spoon for silverware. I didn’t care. I devoured the food. An honest-to-goodness hot meal. Besides the soup we made at Megan’s, I hadn’t had a hot meal since before the Great Discovery. Maybe staying in here for a few days might be worth it, if they fed us this way three times a day. Maybe I’d get some muscle and strength back.

  “That was so good,” Adam said.

  “I think I ate too fast.” I rubbed my belly. I thought about licking the plate, but stopped myself.

  Moments later, the corridor opened again and the same group of soldiers wheeled their cart back down the hall. After they took my tray, one of them stuffed two blankets and a pillow in the slot.

  I clutched them to my chest. “Thanks.”

  He didn’t respond. Even with the blankets, the thought of using the mattress was revolting. I spread one blanket on the floor and huddled under the other one.

  I slept, but nightmares of Bugs crawling over my skin plagued my sleep.

  Morning brought eggs and toast for breakfast with a cup of coffee. Hope that life would go back to normal disappeared with the last sip of coffee. My life was at its lowest point since the Great Discovery, but my stomach was at its highest. Go figure.

  I finger combed my hair and pulled it back into a tight ponytail. If they let me shower, I might cease my plans for escape.

  Soldiers came to get us and they rebound our wrists. They directed us to a room like the conference one, but without the big table. A number of cushioned chairs and end tables filled the space dominated by a blank video screen.

  “Sit.” The command was brisk and gruff.

  When General DeCarlo entered the room, all but two guards left. Dr. Collins and Dr. Morgenstern stepped in behind him.

  “Val, Adam. Dr. Morgenstern has informed me of your willingness to cooperate, so I would like to offer an information exchange.”

  I glanced at Adam and he raised his eyebrows ever so slightly. I was sure the general never did anything that didn’t ensure his victory. We had nothing to lose. We both nodded.

  “Very well.” General DeCarlo held his hands out, palms up. “What is it that you would like to know?”

  “Where’s Megan?” The words sprang from my mouth faster than my brain processed.

  “Yes. Your friend.” He stepped up on a small platform that made him taller than before. “She’s fine and being well cared for.”

  “Is she locked up too? We want to see her.”

  The general stroked his chin a moment before answering. “I don’t know if that would be a good idea. Let’s see how this exchange goes. Then I will decide.”

  What a horse’s ass. My hatred for him grew stronger every time he opened his mouth.

  “What happened to the world, to everyone, and what was the Great Discovery?” I blurted it out so I wouldn’t piss him off until he gave us something.

  “Good questions. Four months ago Pearan Chemicals located what they thought was a large natural deposit of oil in the Gulf of Mexico.” The screen lit up and he pointed to a spot on the large map behind him. “Enough to end our dependence on foreign oil.” He looked at Adam, who just glared back. “I believe your father was one of the team leaders on the project.

  “Calculations showed this deposit expanded deeper into the earth crust than any discovered previously. When drilling began, Pearan soon hit what appeared to be a hard outer shell. Your father ran the test on the substance and determined it was not of this earth. He concluded it to be an asteroid that crashed around the time the Mayans were in power. Your father tried to convince Pearan to stop drilling, but there was too much money committed to the project to cease. It’s unfortunate no one listened to him.”

  “An asteroid? Like what wiped out the dinosaurs?” My voice held a note of disbelief. This was getting crazier by the second.

  “Yes.”

  “How did they live that long? Why didn’t they die?” I hugged my bound wrists to my chest.

  “Dr. Morgenstern believes they go dormant after so long in the water.”

  Tingling spread across my chest. When I had thought the Bug was dead, it had only been asleep. And it could have stayed that way for thousands of years.

  Adam shifted in his chair. “That would explain my dad’s change in attitude.”

  “I guess. Well, the damn pencil pushers decided they needed a big show to inject enthusiasm into their Zigotgen investors.”

  Dr. Morgenstern half-coughed, half-laughed. The general gave her a quick glance.

  “They announced to the world the date and time they would break through the crust to access the oil. They got more than they bargained for.” He laughed, a dry psychopath-worthy laugh. “When they broke through the crust, instead of finding oil, they found these goddamned aliens.”

  He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “The creatures overwhelmed the drilling platform instantly. Within fifteen minutes, there were reports of them showing up on beaches and river inlets all along the Gulf Coast. We’ve been battling them ever since.”

  I pictured the Bugs swarming out of the river and on top of the bridge back when Adam saved me. I swallowed against the dryness clinging to the inside my mouth.

  Adam glanced from me to the general. “Did my dad figure out where the creatures came from?”

  The general shook his head. “I don’t think so. He only determined that they weren’t of our planet.”

  The room fell silent.

  Aliens. We were really dealing with aliens. No. Not possible. My mind refused to accept it. I had wrapped myself in a cloak of denial since Megan had first said the word.

  “What happened to my mom, my family?” Adam sounded very calm, but pain seeped through his tough exterior.

  “The alien life forms started killing people by injecting them with a toxin, which allowed a new creature to grow and attach to the brain of the human. The aliens took over large portions of our surviving population at an alarmingly fast rate.” General DeCarlo’s eyebrows lowered and pinched together.

  “What do you mean by surviving population?” I was finally able to get a few shallow words out of my dry throat.

  General DeCarlo waved his hand at Dr. Morgenstern.

  She stood and paced the room. She made eye contact with Adam first, then me. “Earthquakes and other natural disasters killed the majority of the population. It appears the aliens occupied the asteroid and helped give it its shape, much like air does in a balloon. When the air is released, the balloon collapses. We believe the collapsing asteroid caused a worldwide shift in our tectonic plates, resulting in our severe weather, earthquakes, and global eruptions.” Her voice came across like a teacher’s, or a mom’s, would.

  I slumped further into the chair. Aliens were responsible for it all. All the quakes and crazy weather. All the screams and sounds and then the silence while I’d been in the basement. How everyone I knew died. I wanted to kill every last creature. Wipe them from existence. I wanted revenge. A burning sensation spread across my chest.

  Dr. Morgenstern leaned against the wall. “During this time, the number of aliens continued to grow. I am working on trying to isolate what makes some people able to be hosts while the majority die. The only outcome to the toxin was either becoming a host or dying. Until now. Were you two stung by the bug-looking creatures or human hosts?”

  This kept getting worse. My skin tingled as if small spiders walked over it. An alien had injected me with a poison. Oh, God. Was I an alien mutation and for some reason
just hadn’t turned fully yet? The room spun and I clutched the chair to keep from passing out. If I had a damn Bug in my head, I would rather die than live as a Rasper.

  “Hosts. So, you’re saying there were a certain number of the alien creatures in the asteroid and they increased their numbers by injecting something to make another alien grow inside a person’s brain?” Adam sounded as shocked as I felt.

  “In essence, yes. The creature injects its—for the lack of a better term—reproductive fluid—into a person and the alien grows on the brain and controls its host.”

  “What happens if the host dies?” I asked, my voice scratchy and not my own.

  “It appears if sufficient time has passed since gestation, the alien can exit the host and start reproducing.”

  Pain exploded through my skull. I couldn’t have a Bug attached to my brain. Couldn’t. I pushed the heels of my bound hands against my forehead.

  Dr. Morgenstern continued, “We believe the alien compresses the vocal cords of its host, causing their raspy breathing.”

  “And the yellow skin?” Adam asked. His own skin looked tinged with green.

  “I haven’t figured that out yet. Might just be the body trying to fight off the parasitic invader. Possibly something similar to jaundice.”

  “What do they do with the dead? And what about the black tar-like substance? We saw Raspers come out of it. Are they making more? Or reviving the dead bodies somehow?”

  She shook her head. “All excellent questions we don’t have the answers to yet. Believe me, I wish we did know.”

  General DeCarlo steepled his fingers. “Now it’s you turn. What we want to know from you is what communication you have had with the extra-terrestrials.”

  Adam told them everything. About me shooting the Rasper and seeing the Bug for the first time. About being stung. About them chasing us. About the dome on the seminary and mall. About how they seem to work as a group. Thankfully, he didn’t mention the part about our left-handed theory or them wanting me to join their collective.

  I thought he said too much. He should have held something back to bargain our release with, but he was too trusting. I didn’t trust the general, or the doctors, and I was starting to doubt I could even trust myself.

  “The specimen you kept in the jar. Have you learned anything from it?” Dr. Morgenstern started pacing again.

  “When it got wet, I thought it was dead. But from what you said, I guess it was asleep or something.” I rolled my shoulders.

  “Anything else?”

  Adam nodded. “It doesn’t like chlorine.”

  “Chlorine?” Dr. Morgenstern stopped. “What do you mean?”

  After he told her about the Bug’s reaction to the chlorine, she rubbed her hands together and a slight smile played at the corners of her mouth. “Excuse me, I have work to do.” She ran out the door.

  “General, is it possible for the kids to be moved to regular rooms?” Dr. Collins asked.

  “Not until the test results come back. They need to be secured in case they change.”

  I jumped up. “What about Megan? We want to see her.”

  The general’s mouth formed a thin line and his eyes narrowed. “I’ll consider it.”

  Asshole.

  Soldiers took us back to our cells and gave us grilled cheese sandwiches with French fries. For the few minutes it took me to eat, I thought I was in heaven. Then reality crashed down. I wrapped the blanket around my back and slid onto the cement floor.

  Aliens. Bugs. Raspers. Me.

  Was I one of them? I needed to stop thinking about it. “Adam?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Talk to me. Please.”

  The hours ticked by as Adam and I talked about our childhoods. We found out we had the same dislike of math. The same love of cheesy comedy movies. When he told me he’d often been the new kid in school since his father’s job moved them around, I wished I could see his face and hug him.

  At one point, I pushed back my sleeve and caught the faded words that made up the rules. I hadn’t retouched them since I walked out of the house and left Adam. I rubbed my hand across Number One. Trust no one. I had violated that one to the point I was starting to think if the situation was different, I might want to date Adam. The way he smiled made my insides melt.

  I yanked my sleeve back down and ran my hands across my face.

  “What’s your favorite—” Adam stopped talking when the corridor door slid open.

  A lone soldier, dressed somewhat like the stereotypical ninja, walked down the hall. I leaned into the bars as far as I could. Adrenaline pumped through my veins. They had never sent just one soldier before.

  The guard stopped part way down the hall and threw a black cloth over—now that I noticed it—what looked like a video camera dome mounted on the wall.

  25

  When Megan reached my cell, she held a gloved finger to her lips. I nodded at her. She entered the code to unlock my door and grabbed my hand, pulling me from the cell. Megan then repeated the same procedure with Adam. She then pulled white fabric from under her shirt and put on a lab coat over her uniform.

  She led us out of the corridor, down another one, and right to another guard.

  “What are you doing?” His voice was gruff and bored.

  Megan laughed deeper than I imagined she could. “Dr. Morgenstern asked for them. If I don’t get them to her STAT, she’ll be pissed. Do you want to deal with her?”

  “No. You’re good. Go ahead.” The soldier shrugged and let us pass.

  Megan took us down another passageway, then shoved us inside a room, ripped off the lab coat, and stuffed her blonde hair into a black beanie hat.

  “Okay, we need to move fast. I have uniforms and boots for you. Adam, I had to guess at your shoe size. I hope these fit.”

  “They’ll be fine.”

  “What’s going on? How did you do this? Where were they keeping you?” I shot the questions out in rapid fire as I threw the uniform over my scrub top.

  “They pretty much forgot about me once they determined I was normal. Nothing interesting like you two or the Bug.”

  The room didn’t possess a private changing area and I was beyond caring. I turned around and switched pants.

  “How did you get the codes for the doors?” I stuffed my feet into the boots and laced them. I was never taking shoes for granted again.

  “If you’re dressed the part, no one really notices if you’re somewhere you’re not supposed to be. And having a photographic memory doesn’t hurt.”

  That was new information. “Well, thank you. You’re amazing.” I gave Megan a quick hug that from the look on her face shocked her.

  “Don’t thank me yet. We still have to get out of here. I tried to get some weapons, but unlike clothes, they lock up their guns.”

  “Hopefully we can find some somewhere.” Being outside and weaponless was not a good idea. I adjusted my hat. “Ready?”

  “Do you know the way?” Adam flexed his fingers.

  “For the most part, but not one-hundred percent.”

  “Well, that’s good enough for me.” He grabbed one of my hands and one of Megan’s. “Guys, I’m so sorry I brought us here. This was a mistake and it’s all my fault.”

  “It’s not your fault, so stop apologizing.” Megan gave his hand a squeeze then let go, which left Adam and I awkwardly holding hands.

  We each let go at the same time. Heat rushed to my face.

  “Are you guys ready?” Megan bounced on the balls of her feet.

  “Yes, but we have to tell you something.”

  Megan turned to face me. “What?”

  “The Raspers and Bugs are aliens like you thought. Extra-terrestrials. ETs.”

  Her mouth dropped open. “Seriously?”

  “That’s what they told us.”

  “Well, I was right. We gotta go. You can tell me the rest later.” She peeked out the door, then motioned for us to follow.

  We went down the hal
lways, walking as if we had a purpose. Like we belonged. We ducked into a rocky alcove. Megan held up her hand. “Okay, here’s where it gets tricky.”

  Adam glanced left and right. “What do you mean?”

  “There are four ways out of here. They call them Portals Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, and Delta. I overheard some of the soldiers mentioning patrols only go out of two of them, but he never said which ones. I would think the two that have patrols would be easier to get through. We can say we’re heading out on a mission. The problem is which two.”

  “What portals are we closest to?”

  “A and B.”

  “Then we should take one of those.” Adam said.

  “Which one?” Megan glanced from him to me.

  Adam shrugged, so I said, “A.”

  “Here’s the other part. It’s a good few miles out of here. They brought us in on golf carts and that tram thing. I don’t think we can risk the noise, so we’ll have to hoof it. And they can notice the blacked out camera anytime.” Megan glanced over her shoulder as if she expected soldiers to appear behind her.

  “Lead the way.” I pointed in a sweeping motion.

  We crept along the wall to keep out of sight as much as possible. The tunnel—or Portal as they called it—went on forever. Fluorescent lights, sporadically placed, cast just enough light to see, but nothing extra.

  “There it is.” Megan whispered.

  The large door—our last obstacle to freedom—loomed ahead.

  “Do you have the code to open it?” Adam pointed to the electronic key pad.

  I glanced around. “There’s no guard. I think this is the wrong door.”

  “Shit.”

  “Should we go back and try another one?”

  “It would take too long.”

  “We should be able to get out before any soldiers get here.”

  Megan stared at the panel. “I don’t know. This door is different. It might trigger an alarm if the code’s wrong.” She backed away from the door.

  “You’re the best chance we have. We can’t stay here. Right?”

  Megan and I nodded.

  “Punch it in.” Adam said.