Age of Men

by Eduard Joseph

Alicia the trip was a smooth one – almost like driving on rocky terrain with shock-absorbers. She just wish she knew what the natives wanted from her.

  “Don’t be afraid.” Alicia heard someone say.

  She glanced up at the large men riding their horse-like creatures; they were still deep in a conversation in their own language and she dismissed it as a figment of her imagination. It might’ve been her inner voices of calm trying to reassure her that she would be alright.

  “Just don’t resist.” She heard again.

  She glanced up again and noticed that the horse-like creature carrying her was staring down at her as he rode through the countryside. Two of its three eyes stared down at her and she could feel those icy blue eyes in her mind feeling a bit like brain-freeze after you ate ice-cream too quickly, but not as intense as a brain-freeze.

  “You’re able to hear my thoughts.” She heard it say, “And I’m able to hear yours.”

  She stared at the majestic creature in disbelief for a moment. Could this be possible?

  “What are you?” She asked in her mind.

  “I’m a Perd.” It replied, “My name is Wernus.”

  “Where are you taking me?”

  “We’re going to Pretor.”

  “Please let me go.” She pleaded, “I have to find my family.”

  “You know I can’t let you go.” Wernus said, “I am bound to my master by sensory impulses. I have to do what he wants me to – and he wants to take you to Pretor.”

  “What’s in Pretor?” Alicia asked.

  “The leader of the Eljavican people.”

  “Why are they taking me there?”

  “They say you’re unlike the other women they’ve come across.” Wernus said.

  “There are other survivors?” Alicia was relieved at the news of others.

  “Oh, yes. Many others of your kind.” Wernus assured her, “Millions in fact, but none like you… that’s why we’re going to Eljavic.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “My master, Petrav, and his companion were tasked with roaming the country in search of humans that haven’t been round up. If they were female, they get taken to Pearlite where the rest of the females of your population are kept.”

  “And if they were male?” Alicia dreaded the answer.

  “You saw what the scouts do to males.”

  “Oh, God…” Alicia wept.

  She feared the worst after seeing what the aliens did to Bruce. What if they already killed Jack and Timmy? She couldn’t bear the thought, but also couldn’t get it out of her mind.

  “Most of your kind were transported here at the same time – to the same place. Men one side and woman on the other. I sense from your sadness you’re worried about your family. They might be alive where they keep the men.”

  “There are male survivors?”

  “Yes.” Wernus said, “On the other side of the dark mountains – hundreds of thousands of your earth miles from where we are now.”

  With those words, the new found hope of seeing her family faded away again. How would she ever escape and get to them thousands of miles away? With each stride the creatures galloped they moved even farther away from Jack and Timmy and she felt as if she was drifting in and out of a surreal dream. It had to be a dream… there was no possible way that this could be happening.

  26

  Timmy had calmed down, but was sucking his thumb like a baby – something he hadn’t done in years. Though all the scared people around them was scaring him, he felt a bit safer in his father’s warm embrace with Jack’s heartbeat softly lulling in his ear.

  With Timmy in his arms, Jack and Richard walked about a twenty yards through the crowd of millions until they got to the fire wall – a wall of one continuous flame that hardly flickered as it reached up to the sky. Theoretically and scientifically such an object – a motionless fire of this magnitude – shouldn’t exist, but then again less than two days ago teleportation to an alien planet was something from science fiction novels.

  Jack inspected the blue part of the flame and then the yellow part that started just above his head; wondering whether it was possible to escape. Surely one could simply try and extinguish the flame? Has any of these people even tried to extinguish the flame or were they all too terrified to think about it?

  “I know what you’re thinking.” Richard said, “You’re wondering whether you can put it out?”

  Jack didn’t respond, but instead kept his sights transfixed upon the peculiar obstacle between them and freedom.

  “It’s impossible.” Richard sighed, “Everyone who’s had that idea tried.”

  Jack finally turned around as Richard picked up a large heap of loose soil in his hands, walked over to the fiery wall and cast the soil into the blue part. The soil settled in the flame without as much as making a dent in the flame.

  “See…” Richard said in defeat.

  “There’s gotta be something we can do.” Jack insisted, “We can’t just sit here and do nothing. We just need something bigger than a handful of sand.”

  “What would you have us do? Everyone’s too busy worrying about finding family they’ll probably never find or looking for food.”

  “Daddy, I’m hungry.” Timmy uttered.

  “What is there to eat around here?” Jack asked.

  “Nothing.” Richard said, “I haven’t eaten anything since I got here.”

  “So we’ll starve to death?”

  Jack turned to face the fire wall again. He didn’t want to accept that this was the end – it couldn’t be. Maybe if there was water nearby? They could try and extinguish it with water? And just as that thought popped into his head, Jack felt water drizzle on his face as it began to rain. He glanced up at the grey clouds that covered the sky like a thick blanket and tried to stay optimistic – perhaps the downpour will be enough to create a pool that they could try and use.

  “Water doesn’t put it out either.” Richard said, “We’ve tried.”

  The sound of thunder boomed through the sky and then Timmy clung to Jack even tighter. He was terrified of thunder ever since lightning struck the backyard right outside his bedroom window about two years earlier.

  “Daddy.” Jack cried as he buried his face in Jack’s chest.

  “He’s afraid of thunder.” Jack told Richard.

  “That wasn’t thunder.” Richard said and looked up at the ominous grey sky.

  Jack looked up to the dark heavens above them and saw the flapping of burning wings as the horrid creatures that brought them there circled above the people about a mile to the east; looking like vultures.

  “When they circle like that nothing good has come of it.” Richard said as the distant screaming started.

  “What’s happening?” Jack asked as the five circling creatures swooped down lower.

  “I’m not sure.” Richard said, “They’ve never done that on this side.”

  Jack scrutinized the sight as one of the distant creatures swooped down into the crowd of scared humans before taking to the sky again, and though it was very far away, Jack was pretty sure he saw a person in the clutches of the creature as it flew off towards the mountains.

  “They’re feeding.”

  “What?” Richard gasped and watched as another monster swooped down.

  “We’re just sitting ducks.” Jack said, “We need to arm ourselves; make weapons.”

  “With what? Look around you – there’s nothing.”

  Jack gestured at a rock with a nudge of his head, “We’ll have to use what we’ve got. If we can somehow bring one of those creatures down, we might bring down the wall of fire – fight fire with fire.”

  “That’s impossible.” Richard protested, “Those things are the size of a bus. How do you want us to kill one of them?”

  “I don’t know yet.”

  “I’ve got a suggestion.” Another man said as he stepped closer, “But you’re not gonna like it.”

  “Right now any plan is bett
er than no plan.” Jack said.

  “Josh.” The man introduced himself, “I used to be a wildlife and survivor blogger.”

  “I’m Richard, and that’s Jack and his son, Tommy.”

  “Timmy.” Jack corrected him, “What’s your suggestion?”

  “Like I said,” Josh said, “You ain’t gonna like it. In 2005, while on a trip in South America, I was the only survivor of a bus accident… when death comes knocking at your door, you’ll do anything to stay alive – things that you’ve never even dreamed of doing… things so macabre that it would give Charles Manson nightmares.”

  “You ate the others?” Richard blurted out.

  “There are things far worse than starving to death.” Josh said, “When you’re man alone against nature, everything with claws and jaws wants to kill you. In South America it was the wild animals like wolves and coyotes – out here it’s those flying demons. If we’re to survive, we need to make a stand. We need to make a stand right now. Look around you – everything we need to arm ourselves are scattered all around us. You just need to know where to look.”

  Josh had a look in his eyes that concerned Richard and when Josh pointed at a corpse lying in a puddle of mud a few yards away, his concerns doubled.

  “We use the dead to make weapons.” Josh said.

  “I’m not sure I follow.” Jack said.

  Josh took out something that was wrapped in a piece of cloth, unwrapped it and held up a scale as big as his hand, but neither Jack nor Richard grasped what he was proposing.

  “I come from the south about two miles from here.” Josh said, “The last time one of those demons flew down and snatched up one our people, it grabbed someone who put up quite a fight. He was able to snap