Fatal Reaction, Battle of the Hunted

by M A Hollstein

  Burt nodded and forced a nervous laugh. “Y-yes, yes that’s right. Ronnie is always right.”

  “In my experience, only a guilty man states he’s not lookin’ for trouble.” Ronnie eyed the fire billowing from the apartments behind Bill and Amanda. “Did you do that? No one starts fires in my town, but me. You understand? No one! You know who I am?”

  “Yeah,” Bill said, voice low. “I know who you are.”

  “We need to go!” Amanda said, clutching Bill’s arm. “It’s not safe. The Scourge are here.”

  “Scourge?” Ronnie questioned. He looked over at his cronie. “Hey, Burt! You ever hear of a Scourge before?”

  Burt shook his head. “Nope. Ain’t heard of no Scourge gang.”

  “Aliens,” Amanda clarified. “The new ones. They’re all over. It’s not safe!”

  Ronnie cleared his throat. “I ain’t afraid of no alien bastards.” He eyed Bill and noticed for the first time the ray gun clutched in his hand at his side. “What’s that you got there?”

  Bill had kept the gun low. He’d hoped it’d go unnoticed. He glared at Ronnie and then clutched hold of Amanda. “It’s time for us to go!”

  Ronnie nodded at Burt who drew his gun and aimed it at them. Ronnie appeared amused as he hopped off his bike. “Not so fast there, slick. I asked you a question. What you got there?”

  “None of your damn business,” Bill said, lifting the butt of the gun to his shoulder and aiming it at Ronnie. “You fire, I fire.”

  Ronnie held his hands up taking a couple of steps closer. “You got balls!” he laughed. “Not too bright though. I ain’t your enemy. Them aliens are. Now I’m gonna ask you again, what you got there?”

  “What do you want with us?” Amanda asked.

  “Your woman got a set of balls, too,” Ronnie said. “But ain’t smart enough to keep her trap shut.” He turned his attention to Burt. “What do you think? You think he’ll shoot me?”

  “Nah!”

  Zap! Zap! A bolt of blinding blue light whizzed past Ronnie’s left shoulder. He stopped mid-laugh as the bolt of blue hit his Harley, knocking it over, igniting the seat in flames.

  “Oh, shit!” Burt hollered, revving up his engine.

  “You go your way, and we go ours,” Bill said. “Next shot will fry your ass!”

  Ronnie’s eyes lit up with excitement. He was a bit pissed off by the damage done to his bike, but he had to get his hands on that gun. “I think you got me all wrong, buddy. We’re here to band up with the la Muerte to fight these alien motherfuckers. We’re takin’ our planet back.”

  Bill looked at Amanda. She nodded.

  “We’re leaving!” Bill said, aiming his gun directly at Ronnie whose hands were still in the air.

  Whomp! Whomp!

  “Shit! Shit! Shit!” Burt screamed as a dark, growling figure rushed at his bike. Hands shaking, he tried to shoot at the creature, but it was too late. The Scourge pounced on the man taking him down with his bike. The gun flew from his grasp and skidded across the asphalt. Burt hollered at the top of his lungs as the alien ripped his stomach open with its long metal like claws and began to devour his insides.

  “Oh my God!” Amanda panicked. Bill pulled her to the side of him, shielding her.

  Another Scourge had come up behind Ronnie and Bill fired at it. A bolt of blue light buzzed past Ronnie’s head as he ducked out of the way. The blast hit the Scourge in the chest. The alien screeched, taking a few steps back.

  Bill fired repeatedly. Ronnie ran away from the scene, down the street. Each blast seemed to wound the creature but didn’t kill it.

  “Prepare to run,” Bill said to Amanda. He aimed at the gas tank on Ronnie’s motorcycle and fired. He and Amanda ran for their lives.

  ***

  “I don’t think this is a good idea,” Aaron protested again. “You’re trapping us. There’s no means of escape.”

  “If you don’t like it, no one’s keeping you here.” Mike didn’t want Aaron to leave. He felt they were safer in numbers against the new alien threat. However, at the same time, he couldn’t make anyone stay. If they wanted to venture out on their own, then so be it. At the moment, this was the only plan he had.

  Mike busted open the lock on the front glass doors to the diner at the end of the pier. He and Hiro had decided that the restaurant would be an ideal place for them to take refuge until sunrise. The only way anyone could get to them was to come down the pier unless they had a boat and propelled their way up the sides. Mike thought this would be a good place for them to rest up while they worked on a plan. At this point, he wasn’t sure how to go about fighting the enemy or eradicating them from Earth. All they could do was stay in the present. Stay alive.

  Mike looked around the interior of the restaurant from the entranceway. All seemed to be quiet. He held open the door for Ellie and the girls and ushered them inside. Jorge followed. Aaron hesitated as he glanced at the fog-submerged pier. His shoulders slumped with defeat, and he entered the restaurant.

  “Hiro,” Mike said, nodding at the older man who was bringing up the rear. “Stay with Ellie and the girls while we check it out.”

  Ellie and the girls sat down on a red cushioned bench near the entrance, the-waiting-to-be-seated, area.

  “Jorge,” Mike said, handing him his gun. “You and Aaron check upstairs. You know how to use this, right?”

  “Sure, homie,” Jorge said. Mike wrinkled his brow, and Jorge quickly added, “Sheriff, sir.”

  Aaron kept quiet and followed Jorge up the staircase to the right of the restrooms leading to the second floor of the diner that looked out over the ocean.

  “I’m coming with you,” Ellie said to Mike, clutching Max in her arms. The little dog squirmed. She didn’t want to set him down until she knew the place was secure.

  “No,” Mike said. “Stay with the girls. They need you. Hiro can protect you if anything happens.”

  Ellie looked up at Hiro who was standing next to the front door. He patted his semi-automatic baby in response.

  “What about you?” Ellie protested in a harsh whisper while frowning at Mike. “You gave the boys your gun. What if there’s one of those creatures?”

  “I’ll be fine. Just do as I say and stay here.”

  Ellie pouted but didn’t argue. Instead, she gave him a curt nod. She knew that arguing would be useless and if there were anyone else hiding in the diner, alien or human, their disagreement would not only waste time, it’d draw attention to them if it hadn’t already. Besides, she knew he was right. The girls needed her. Yuka was sitting on her right, frightened, cuddled up next to her, hugging her arm. Bella was to her left, scratching Max behind his ears while Ellie held him. She believed Bella was using Max as a distraction to help cope with her fear.

  Cautious, Mike headed down the dark hall from the waiting room towards the dining room. There was a swinging door leading to the kitchen on his left. Once in the dining area, he walked around the room that was lit up by outside lamps emitting a soft yellow light. Mike was surprised by how clean the booths appeared. He’d expected the place to be a disaster. No dishes or food was left out. No decomposing bodies. No trash was strewn about the floor. No stench of rotting food.

  After making a quick sweep of the dining room, he pushed open the kitchen door and was greeted by complete darkness. He patted the wall nearest the door expecting to find a light switch, but there was none. After searching a bit, and hearing no sounds from the kitchen, he gave up on the lights.

  “Hey,” he said walking back to Hiro, Ellie and the girls. “Anyone have a flashlight?”

  Jorge and Aaron bounded down the staircase as he asked.

  “There’s one in the truck,” Aaron said. “I can go get it.”

  “All clear upstairs,” Jorge stated, giving Mike back his gun.

  “That’s okay,” Mike said to Aaron wondering if he’d come back or decide to leave once he reached the truck. Mike worried about the kid’s safety if he strayed from the group. “No need
to risk it. The place seems secure. I don’t want anyone leaving this building. Daybreak we’ll figure out where to go from here. I’ll take first watch.” Mike looked at his watch, exhausted. “I didn’t realize the time. Sunrise is upon us. Everyone, go get some rest while we can.”

  “You need rest too,” Hiro stated, studying Mike’s face. Dark bags were forming beneath his eyes. “I’ll watch. Go sleep.”

  Mike didn’t argue with him. He was beyond exhausted. A couple of hours of sleep would do him good. “I want to make one quick round; then I’m taking you up on the offer.” Mike wanted to take one last walk around the perimeter of the building before leaving Hiro to it. He trusted the old man, but at the same time, he knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep until he made one last sweep of the area.

  Hiro nodded. “I’m coming with.”

  Mike stepped out onto the front steps of the building and stared down the length of the long wooden pier. The fog was quickly dissipating as the sun began to rise. Hiro stood next to him. All was quiet. As the men descended the stairs and stepped onto the pier, a loud thundering boom caused them both to take a defensive stance. The pier vibrated beneath their feet. Mike could hear Yuka and Bella screaming and Max barking inside the restaurant.

  Guns ready to fire, Mike and Hiro watched as the sky suddenly lit up with what appeared to be static electricity, snapping and popping where the dark, jagged ship of the new alien threat, used to be.

  “Oh my God!” Ellie shrieked, bounding down the restaurant steps. “Did they leave?”

  “It appears so,” Hiro answered.

  Mike pursed his lips together while staring at the static-filled sky. He didn’t like this. Where did they go? And why? He wanted to think they were gone forever, but he didn’t believe it.

  “Do you think they’ll come back?” Ellie asked.

  “Only time will tell,” Mike said, not wanting to get his hopes up.

  ***

  “Over here,” Bill said. They’d entered a house in a neighborhood somewhere between where the la Muerte resided and Amanda’s apartment. The front door had been left unlocked. It was only a couple of blocks from where they’d encountered both the Scourge and the Crusaders, but Bill wanted them to find refuge quickly. Luckily, they hadn’t run into anymore Scourge. He hoped they weren’t being followed.

  Bill and Amanda stood at the front entrance and listened. All was quiet. When Bill felt the house was safe, he turned the deadbolt, locking the door behind them. The house had a putrid scent. Amanda covered her nose to try to filter out the sour stench. “We should look for another house.”

  Not answering her, Bill walked forward and felt the wall. His fingers found a light switch. He flipped it on. Heavy drapes covered the living room windows to their right. The room was empty and clean. He walked through the living room and entered a kitchen. The smell grew stronger. Amanda tiptoed behind him and then gasped. A large dog was lying on the floor, decomposing. There was an empty feeder for his food and empty water bowl against the wall. Amanda’s heart ached for the poor dog. The dog had obviously been trapped in the house until it died. The owners had never made it home. Urine and feces were all over the tile floor and in the dining room.

  “Why do you think the front door was unlocked?” she asked.

  Bill shrugged. “Maybe the owner felt the dog was protection enough.”

  “Maybe.” Amanda walked over to a sliding glass door in the den off the kitchen. Parting the vertical blinds, she peeked outside. The backyard was small and fenced in. That’s when she noticed a corpse in the grass. “The owner,” she said, still covering her nose. The sour scent of decaying dog was turning her stomach. “I can’t stay here.” She slid open the sliding glass door before Bill could stop her and stepped out onto the patio. She walked over to a table and chair set near a barbeque. All four chairs were tipped over on the ground. Feeling queasy due to exhaustion and having breathed in a dead dog, Amanda placed her hands on the lid of the Weber grill and stared at the fence.

  “You okay?” Bill came up beside her and put a loving arm around her waist.

  Amanda nodded. “Just a bit dizzy.”

  Boom! Crack! A loud thundering sound shook the windows and sliding glass door of the house.

  “What the hell?” Instinctively, Bill stepped in front of Amanda shielding her from danger. The sky suddenly sparkled with bright light. The atmosphere snapped and popped where the Scourge ship at been.

  Just then, the sound of a door opening and slamming shut on the other side of the fence caught their attention. Bill raced to the fence and peered into the neighboring backyard. A tall, ruggedly handsome man, possibly in his late forties, stood in the grass staring up at the sky.

  “God damn it!” the man hollered. He then noticed Bill, but seemed more concerned with the disappearance of the Scourge. Amanda hurried over and peeked through the fence. “They took my niece! She’s on that ship!”

  “The Scourge?” Amanda asked.

  “I don’t fucking know! Whatever the hell those goddamn creatures were. They took her.”

  “They didn’t attack her?”

  “No.” He shook his head. “Not that I’m aware of.”

  “I’m Bill, and this is Amanda,” Bill introduced.

  “Jack,” he said and then turned his attention to Amanda. “You called them Scourge?”

  “Yes,” Bill answered for her and then draped his arm protectively over her shoulders.

  Jack looked back up at the sky. “Come on over and tell me what you know.”

  ***

  Going against the wishes of the President of the United States, Susan and Liam had snuck the boy out of the underground bunker.

  Who knew more about the Scourge? The humans or The Order? The answer was obvious. Therefore, Susan did as she felt necessary. She removed the alien threat from the safe house.

  The Order had been living as slaves to the Scourge for hundreds of Earth years. The Scourge were hungry, evil, and relentless. They knew nothing of remorse. They lived to feed their primal instincts of feeding and procreating. Nothing more.

  Driving down the desolate road away from the compound, Susan peered in the rearview mirror of the silver Camry. She knew by now their disappearance would be known by the human scientists and word would soon get back to the president. Not that there was much he could do about it. He would not risk his life or the lives of those humans that’d been untouched by the virus.

  “How is he?” she asked, glancing at Liam in the backseat. Benjamin was strapped into the seat next to him, blinded folded, and heavily sedated.

  “Vitals are good,” he answered.

  “Good.” Susan returned her attention to the road. The connection the boy had to the Scourge bothered her to no end, even though her scientific mind was intrigued. She was more than excited to study the boy and to learn more about this strange phenomenon. She hoped to learn more about the Scourge, and their weaknesses, through the boy. Maybe they’d be able to learn something they didn’t already know. She rehashed all of the same questions that’d been plaguing her since discovering the boy.

  What if they could use the boy to communicate with the Scourge on their behalf from a distance?

  Unfortunately, the telepathic connection could work both ways. Maybe the Scourge would use the boy against The Order.

  What if other humans that survived the virus had the same telepathic connection to the Scourge? Could surviving humans be trusted? All exposed humans would pose a threat. They could be Scourge spies without ever knowing it.

  Since Susan didn’t know enough about the telepathic connection or how it worked, she had Liam sedate and blindfold the boy in case the Scourge could hear and see them.

  An even scarier thought entered her mind. What if the Scourge could tap into the boy’s memories? They’d learn everything they’d need to know about the humans and The Order. What if the Scourge could even control the boy? Take over his body completely.

  Susan watched as the sun began to rise, lig
hting up the world around them. A loud, bellowing shriek pierced her ears startling her. The car swerved to the right, almost rolling into a ditch. Susan counteracted, spinning the steering wheel in the opposite direction and then slammed on the brakes. She put the car in park. Benjamin kicked, screamed, and tried to break free of the seatbelt.

  Liam pulled a vile out of his bag and began to fill a syringe.

  “Benjamin,” Susan said, turning in her seat. “Are you hurting?”

  The boy continued to scream and struggle. His arms flailing. His left hand smacked Liam in the arm. The syringe flew to the floor.

  “I thought you gave him the full dose!” Susan barked at him.

  “I did!” Liam reached down trying to find the syringe on the floor.

  Susan looked out the windshield at the rising sun and wondered if the sunrise was just a coincidence or if it had something to do with the boy’s sudden outburst. She stared at the dark, craggy Scourge ship hovering over Oceanside, California as Benjamin continued to bellow. The site of the ship frightened her. They needed to get moving. Sitting still wasn’t a good idea.

  Liam stabbed the boy’s shoulder with the needle, and within seconds, he stopped struggling. His head slumped to the side.

  “How is he?” Susan asked, glancing at them in the rearview mirror.

  “He’s good.”

  “What the hell happened?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Just then, a loud, thunderous, booming sound filled the sky. The car vibrated and shook. Susan flung open the driver’s side door and got out. Before her very eyes, the Scourge ship vanished leaving only the snapping and popping of static electricity in its place.

  Liam opened the back door and slid out. He stared up at the sky. “Why’d they leave?”

  Susan frowned. She wasn’t sure, but she knew the Scourge wouldn’t depart when the Earth still had plenty of live food to be devoured. “I’m not sure. Maybe the sunlight.” She glanced again in the direction of the rising sun. She worried what nightfall would bring. “Let’s get out of here while we still can.”

  Liam slid into the backseat and closed the door. Susan put the car into drive.