by Linda Mooney
She started to put the can back when Mykail stopped her. “Go ahead and get it.”
She smiled. “That’s nice of you, but—” Her protest was silenced when he reached up, plucked the can from her hand, and set it in the basket.
They finished their shopping after Emlee hoisted a couple of cases of bottled water onto the cart. They passed under the overhead scanner, and as the items were robo-wrapped, Mykail completed the transaction with a thumbprint to pay for it all.
While Emlee loaded the packages into the car, Mykail carefully slid into the driver’s seat. She gave him a curious eye but got in on the passenger side without comment.
“I have an idea,” he announced after giving the car instructions to take them home.
“What?”
“When was the last time you had a good steak dinner?”
“Oh, geesh.” She gave a little chuckle. “Six years, at least.”
“What do you say, after we put this stuff away, we go out and have a nice dinner?”
This time she couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “Like what murderers get right before they’re executed? A final meal?”
“If you want to think of it that way. I’m just hungry for some prime rib. What say you?”
“I’d like that. Sure. Thanks.”
“While we’re at it, I want to hear more about the Tlok.”
“There isn’t much more to tell you.”
“Well, do they continue to hunt you down?”
“No. Once they took out most of the major cities, they left us alone. Every now and then, you can still spot one of the scout ships, or a mothership moving about. Blowing up factories and ships and the like when they come across them. Anything that’s really tall, or stands above, it’ll get demolished sooner or later. You can count on it.” She observed a family in a pickup, their possessions loaded in the back as they passed by. She faintly wondered if any of them would survive. And if so, for how long.
“Do you know how many people died? Or how many were left alive?” Mykail inquired, as if reading her mind.
“Nobody knows for sure how many died. Millions. Hundreds of millions. Maybe a billion or more. It’s all guesswork anyway. We don’t even know if the Tlok took out the other countries, or if they specifically targeted the US. But after six years, and I never heard of anyone coming to offer rescue, I thought it was safe to assume the entire planet had suffered.”
She was surprised when a warm hand took hers where it lay on the console between them and gently squeezed. That simple touch became her undoing, and her body convulsed as a torrent of tears and misery overcame her.
Chapter Nine
Dinner
“This meal is going to cost you a fortune,” Emlee observed, looking at the prices as she read over the menu. To her delight, Mykail chuckled.
“Hey, either I’ll end up with a charge I’ll need extra time to pay off, or a charge I’ll never have to pay off.” When she glanced over at him, he waggled his eyebrows at her. “Am I right?”
“You’re right,” she admitted. When, or if, the aliens arrived, the economy would disintegrate, and all debt would be wiped out in a global tsunami collapse.
After the waiter took their orders, she laced her fingers together on top of the table. “It’s my turn to ask a few questions.”
“Shoot.” He popped a prescription painkiller in his mouth and swallowed it with a sip of water.
“First off, how are you feeling?”
“Sore, but okay.”
“You say that downstairs bedroom and all is an apartment? You don’t live upstairs in the house?”
“No. The house belongs to my aunt and uncle. My mom’s sister and her husband. They went down to Belize for ten days for their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. When I got transferred here by my company, they offered to rent me the apartment for a good price if I also helped to house-sit their home while they were gone.” He grinned. “They said they’d rather rent to family than to a stranger.”
“Were you going to stay, or were you planning on leaving when they got back?”
“I hadn’t made that decision yet. But, considering the upcoming circumstances, I’m probably staying.”
“You said you got transferred. From where?”
“I got promoted to manager of quality control for Dadgum Good Ice Cream, and was transferred here from our Louisiana factory.”
“Oh, I love Dadgum Good Ice Cream, especially their mocha marshmallow flavor.” She leaned back in her chair. “I was wondering why your trunk only had t-shirts and jeans in it. I was thinking some teenage boy used to live there.”
Her remark made him snort in amusement. “Or another spoiled brat out of high school but not in college, who didn’t have a full-time job, so he was mooching off his folks?”
She grinned in embarrassment. “Yeah, kind of.”
“No, not the case here. I needed a place to stay, and I didn’t have the time or energy to look for an apartment while my transfer went through. I was thinking I’d have to get a hotel room in the interim, when Mom called and told me she’d spoken to Aunt Alicia, and, well, that’s why I’m there. As for the t-shirts and jeans, I have to suit up whenever I go inside the sterile production area. So I don’t have any need to wear a suit or anything fancy.”
At the mention of wearing anything fancy, she glanced down at the borrowed clothing she still wore. She’d protested going out to eat on the grounds she didn’t have anything more decent to wear. Mykail had assured her she looked just fine, and to forget about it. “They don’t care what you’re wearing, as long as you’re not naked, and your money’s good,” he’d quipped. “I’m just surprised you were able to fit into my clothes.”
“You can make anything fit if you try hard enough,” she’d grinned.
He caught her eying herself. “Look, when we get back to the house, we can put your things in the washer.”
She smiled. “Thanks, but that won’t be possible. When I…got here, I seemed to have left my old clothes and my backpack in the future.”
“Hey, then, don’t worry about. You’re welcome to whatever will fit you. They look better on you than they do on me, anyway,” he teased. “I’m sorry I don’t have any underwear you could wear.”
“That’s okay. I haven’t worn a bra or panties in years.”
Mykail chuckled. His expression suddenly became serious, and he leaned over the table as much as he was able to, considering the bandaging around his ribs. “I’ve been wanting to ask you this question for some time, but I’ve been hesitant to do so.”
“You mean, about the aliens?”
“Yeah. About when they arrived. What happened? I mean, what did they do? What did our military do? You said our men shot down one of their spaceships? What happened after that?”
“You’re wanting a timeline.”
“Yeah.”
She took a sip of her water as she prepared herself. Sorting through the last six years of turmoil and terror, back to those initial days of the invasion.
“Well, the news first reported about several dozen dark masses heading for Earth. They referred to them as asteroids, but the space military said they had it all under control. That their satellites would be able to blast the asteroids into small enough chunks, that would burn up once they entered the atmosphere. But those dark masses weren’t asteroids. They were the first wave.”
“When did that happen?”
“April first.” She giggled softly. “So many people claimed it was some kind of April Fool’s joke, and completely dismissed it.”
“Did you?”
“Yeah, I did, until we were told those dark masses took out all our satellites in that area, and were still in-coming. Some of those satellites were communications satellites. When they were blown up, over ninety percent of all cell phones and TV broadcasts were eliminated. We were left blind and deaf to any further information.”
“Wow. I bet there was panic in the streets at that point. Especially with
no way for the government or news organizations to give you any updates.”
She nodded at the painful memories. “Some people tried to keep people from going overboard. Mostly, people were peeved they couldn’t call anyone, or text, or watch their TVs, or get any kind of radio transmission. The police and sheriff’s department drove up and down the streets assuring everyone it was just a temporary shutdown. They said it was caused by a huge solar flare coming from the sun, and that things would be back up and running as usual within a few hours. We just needed to stay calm in the meantime.” She grunted. “In the meantime, we had no electricity, no running water, and no way of cooking the food we had unless we had an outdoor grill. It was as if a hurricane had hit us and left us helpless in its wake.”
“So, what did you do next? Where were you when all this went down?”
Their meal arrived, temporarily halting their conversation. Emlee took a bite of her filet mignon, and reveled in the taste.
“God, this is so good.”
“Here. Want a bite of my prime rib? I should’ve ordered the sixteen ounce. I don’t think I’ll be able to eat all of this.” He held out his fork to her with a piece of meat on the end of the tines. She accepted the bite, closing her eyes at the succulent piece.
“Mmm. That’s heavenly, too.” She noticed him observing her and smiled. Taking a deep breath, she continued as she added more butter to her baked potato.
“I was at work when the lights went out and the computers went down. After waiting about an hour, and no sign of anything coming back on, the boss told us all to go home. Of course…” She made a face. “With the grid completely wiped out, we had to drive our cars ourselves. That was probably the scariest day of my life,” she confessed.
“Why do you say that?”
“People were taking advantage of the power outage. Breaking into stores and looting them like crazy. I had to laugh at times, though, seeing some of those people stealing TVs and other electronics. Like they hoped they’d be able to use them once the power was restored.
“But with the traffic lights and all no longer functioning, some people drove like maniacs. I mean, there was no telling how long it had been since some of them actually put their hands on a steering wheel. I saw at least four accidents on my way home.”
“So, I guess you could say that, in a way, H. G. Wells was right. We have a War of the Worlds happening. The man was a prophet as much as he was an author.”
“This is no war, Mykail. This is total domination and annihilation done faster and with more far-reaching results than anyone could have ever imagined.”
She noticed how his attention had turned inward. He appeared to be debating with himself, to where she felt it was her turn to ask. “What?”
“I just got this crazy thought.”
“What?”
“What if you were able to go back to where you came from? Go back to your home town, right at this point in time. Would you find yourself? I mean, could there be two of you existing at the same time, at this point in time?”
It was an idea she’d never considered. “I don’t know.”
“What if you could? I mean, if this thing’s about to come down, the last place you’d want to be is in an airplane just as the switch was flipped. But, for the sake of argument, what if you were able to go confront yourself? What would you tell your other self? What kind of warning would you give her? What advice would you pass along to help ensure her survival?”
The answer to those questions were easier. “I’d tell myself to be very, very careful about strangers, especially who to trust. Just because they look and sound like they have your best interests at heart doesn’t mean they’re not cold-blooded killers. They could be setting you up to be their next meal.” She inadvertently glanced down at her bandaged hand, and a shudder went through her. When she finally looked back up at him, there was a distinct paleness in his face.
“Sweet mother of God. Emlee, did people resort to cannibalism to survive?”
She didn’t answer that one. She couldn’t. Instead, she shoved some of her baked potato into her mouth and chewed furiously. To her relief, Mykail dropped the interrogation, and they continued to eat in silence.
Chapter Ten
News
When they got back to the apartment, Emlee took a seat in one of the overstuffed chairs in the living area while Mykail was in the bathroom. It was late, and she was exhausted to the point of almost being comatose. All she wanted to do was curl up somewhere and sleep.
She wistfully eyed the bed. What she wouldn’t give to be able to spend a full night on that wonderful mattress, with real sheets and a real pillow to lie on. But that wasn’t possible.
She heard the door open, and Mykail emerged. “Hey,” he said, then glanced over her shoulder. “Why don’t you turn on the TV?”
“I’m too tired to watch TV, even though I’ve missed it.”
He grimaced. “You look like you’re on your last legs. To be honest, I’m beat, too.”
“You’re going to be so sore in the morning,” she gently admonished him. “I bet you were supposed to come straight home after leaving the hospital and rest.”
“I have no doubt I’ll be paying for all the moving around I’ve been doing these past few hours,” he acknowledged, and glanced over at the bed. “Don’t take this wrong, Emlee, but you’re welcome to share the bed with me. It’s a queen-size. There’s plenty of room for the both of us. I promise, I won’t try any funny business.”
She shook her head, even though a part of her yelled at her to take the offer. “No. You don’t need me to be tossing and turning while you’re trying to rest. The last thing you need is for me to disrupt your sleep and cause you discomfort. I mean, after all, I’m the one responsible for your injuries anyway.”
“I thought you’d turn me down. Let’s get something straight.” His tone was firm but civil. “I’m believing that you believe aliens are coming to attack Earth. I’m about ninety percent sure you’re from the future. But that other ten percent, ehh, the jury’s still out on that. If our world goes to shit tomorrow, you did say the alien ships were first noticed on April first, right? If our world goes to shit tomorrow, then I’m going to stick so close to you, people are going to think we’re conjoined twins.”
He didn’t have to explain to her why he’d stay beside her. She already knew. She’d managed to survive the first time around, which meant chances were good she’d survive this next time.
He continued, pointing to the bed. “That mattress is the best money can buy. You could do gymnastics on it and you won’t disturb anyone sleeping next to you. That’s what I’m offering you, Emlee. A chance for a good night’s rest. You need some decent sleep as much as I do, so you’re taking the side next to the wall, and there’ll be no argument about it. As beautiful as you are, and as much as I’d like to cuddle against you, you’re safe with me tonight. I promise to keep my hands off of you, although I can’t guarantee where my thoughts might go.” She had to smile as he gestured toward the bathroom. “When was the last time you had a hot bath?”
“Oh, geez.” She almost melted from the suggestion. “I think you already know the answer to that one.”
“Well, you go first. Take all the time you want. I’m going to veg out and watch a little TV.”
“Do you mind if I…” She walked over to the trunk and opened the lid.
“No, go ahead. I need to put a load in the washer-dryer anyway. Toss what you’re wearing outside the door, while I get it started.”
Kneeling in front of the trunk, she pulled out a worn gray t-shirt and a pair of gym shorts she hadn’t noticed earlier. “Mind if I wear these to bed?”
“Help yourself. Pull me out a set while you’re at it, would you?”
“Put them on the bed?”
“That’ll work. Thanks.”
Easing off her boots, she left them at the foot of the bed and took the shirt and shorts with her into the bathroom. Once she stripped, she drop
ped the jeans and shirt she’d been wearing outside the door. For a second she stared at the little punch lock on the doorknob, but chose not to utilize it. She knew Mykail wouldn’t come in unless it was an emergency. Even if there wasn’t an emergency, he was in no shape to put any sort of moves on her if he—or she—wanted to start something.
She turned on the water, getting the temperature to where she wanted it, and turned on the shower. Unpeeling the bandages from her wounds, she tossed them into the trash and examined herself. They looked much better, which she attributed to having some decent food in her body and a little less stress on her system.
She paused to look at herself in the mirror over the sink. In the bright glare she could see the little welts and healed scars she’d suffered from past ordeals. Each one had its own story to tell. Each one was a testament to her will to survive, as well as luck.
She also noticed for the first time the little cut above her eyebrow. The blood had already dried, forming a nice scab. She had no memory of how she’d gotten it, but assumed it might have occurred when she’d banged her forehead against the studs while she was hiding underneath the collapsed ceiling.
Emlee rubbed a hand over a breast, then down to her pubes. She’d lost quite a bit of weight, but she’d also gained muscle. If there was anything positive to say about living in a devastated world, it was the fact that there was not a lot of overeating, and plenty of running, jumping, and other exercise. She figured another week or so of having regular meals and getting lots of rest, and she’d be in prime physical condition.
Thinking of condition, she wondered how long it would take Mykail to recover fully from his injuries. There was still the chance that her coming back to this time might change the future, but she seriously doubted it. But if it did, how would it change? What would it change?
No, she remained convinced the Tlok would show up within the next forty-eight hours, and the world as everyone knew it would be no more. She was as certain of that as she was of herself.