I let Carey go and he wandered around, following fairly close to me as I checked all of what I assumed were the executives’ desks. I found many strange things, including booze, poker chips, and a spare set of underwear. Whoever worked here sure wanted to be ready for a good time. After ten minutes of looking around, I called out to Ray. “Any luck?”
He appeared with a big grin covering his face. “If one of these doesn’t open the door, I’ll eat your hat.”
“Ray, I’m not wearing a hat.”
“Yeah, I know. I only make bets I can win.”
We laughed, showing our raised spirits as we tried each key on the ring one by one. After about five keys, we found one that fit. With a final holding of breath, I turned the key and heard the latch click. Victorious, we hugged each other as if we had already saved humanity.
I moved to deposit box 107 and stared at it for a moment, wondering if Janine had been the one to put something in here. How could she have known about this moment? It just didn’t make sense at all. She was a clothing store manager, what did she know about all of this business? Ray stood directly beside me; he had box 108. Box 109 beside him hung open, like someone had already been here for it.
“Do you think...?” I asked, nodding to the open box door.
“I couldn’t even presume to know,” he answered, digging a key out of his pocket.
“On the count of three?” I asked with my own key in the lock. “One, two, three.” We both turned the keys and our doors swung open. I had no idea what to expect but wasn’t surprised to see an unmarked envelope inside. Ray held his identical envelope up to mine and we smiled at each other.
“Time to save the world.”
We moved out of the room and laid the contents onto a desk. They appeared to be identical in every way. Ray started to read the letter aloud.
“You have been carefully selected to save the world’s population. We can’t say who we are or explain much, but do believe me when I say we are on your side. For centuries, your planet has been the target of invasion. We tried to postpone it for as long as possible, but it was inevitable. To ensure survival, we created and left you a device. It is a counter to their tractor beams, which at this point have taken every human into space. They mean to have your planet for themselves, but it will take a generation or so for them to adapt the atmosphere to their own liking. You must go to this hidden device we planted three hundred years ago and disarm it. Doing so will bring your people back and notify us of your actions. At that point, we will come and escort the invaders from your solar system. We have a pact, but once they break the agreement, we will use force to remove them. A map of the device’s location is in this letter. You must hasten there and save your people. Be wary of the ships that are undoubtedly searching for you. You must avoid them at all costs.”
He stopped reading, and we stood there with our mouths wide open for a moment. I grabbed the letter and flipped to the next page. It was a map of Peru, and the next page was a zoomed-in map of Machu Picchu. It was incredible to think that we were left letters from a second alien race. Could any of this really be happening?
Ray broke the silence. “I’ve never been on a vacation with a man before. What do you say, Dean? Ever thought of traveling to Peru?”
“What choice do we have? But did that letter give you the sensation you were reading an email from a Nigerian prince, needing you to send them a thousand dollars so they can send you a million?” The better question was, how was I selected to save the world, and who had already been here to open box number 109?
______________
It was dusk outside when we hit the streets again, and we made our way back to the truck in silence. Dusk. One day since the ships took everybody into the sky with them. The pressure of the task at hand came tumbling down on me, and I almost stumbled off my feet. Just a few yards away from the truck, I sat down on the curb as the street spun in front of my unsteady eyes. Carey sat beside me and licked my face; he brought me back to reality.
“Dean, we can do this. All we need to do is get to Peru and turn this damn machine off. Voila.”
It sounded easy and impossible at the same time, somehow, and I couldn’t shake the question of how it all worked. How would turning a device off return them all? In the end, I supposed I wasn’t the resident expert on alien technology, so I shrugged off my doubts for the time being.
“Atta boy. We’re going to have to stop and hit an electronics store. I may need my computer, and I’m going to need backup laptop batteries – lots of them. And a phone charger. Good thing is about these phones – the GPS still works even with no active network running,” Ray said.
With a new resolve, I let Carey into the back cab and got into the truck. Ray smiled at me as we started down the street. I knew there would be less traffic density if I headed west a way, and then down towards the south side of Manhattan where I would hit an electronics store I knew of.
“Ray, it’s getting late and we’re going to have a long day tomorrow. Not only that, but we’re going to have to hike across to Jersey. I realize that I may have wasted all my time carrying all of this junk with me when I’ll just have to dump it now. We should hit the hay for the night. How does the penthouse at Trump Tower sound?” I laughed.
“Well, my dogs are barking. Pardon the pun, Carey. That sounds good to me.”
An hour later, it was fully dark, and I left my lights off in case a ship was looking for us as we pulled up to the hotel. We had picked everything up from the store that Ray was hoping to grab, so all we had to do was go in and find a bed to lie on. The hotel loomed over us in the dark, and I took Carey for a bathroom break before heading into the luxury building.
I was pretty sure it was a few thousand a night for a penthouse, but unless the elevators were working, that was going to be an awfully long walk. We opted for the third-floor units, and to be respectful, we found a couple of suites that were empty. We went our separate ways, each with a flashlight to light our way. The hotel had a backup power source, and we used what looked to be universal keycards to get in. Ray said Kate had worked in the “biz” and they all had them.
I had a shower and was happy to know that the water heaters had enough warm water in them still to make it manageable. Then it was a king-sized bed to share with my new little friend. In moments, Carey was snoring at my feet. The crazy events since yesterday raced through my mind, and my thoughts kept roaming back to how my wife had fit into all of this. It just didn’t add up to me. I wondered if I would ever know the truth of it. It felt like hours passed as I tossed and turned before my cell phone alarm went off. I must have dozed off for some time because I actually felt well rested, but Carey groaned and rolled over as I got out of bed.
I found Ray dressed and ready to go when I knocked on his door, and we were off just before the clock struck six am.
“I was thinking of it, Dean. Let’s hit the pier and take a boat down and across. There’s no other way to get into Jersey, and I really don’t think we want to leave anything or walk,” Ray said as we hiked down the flashlight-lit stairwell.
I felt stupid for not having thought of that. We were surrounded by water; why not use a boat when there were so many just sitting around unused? I felt a little bad about once again using someone’s property but figured saving the world’s population was more important than a missing boat.
“Perfect. Glad to have you around.”
On the way down to the pier, Ray was messing around with the scanner on the CB radio, and as we neared the water, the constant hiss cleared for a second and we heard a distant woman’s voice coming through. “...Philadelp...leave...ington...” That was all we made out, and soon the hiss was back. Ray fumbled to keep it on that channel.
“Holy crap. If I was going to speculate what that message meant, someone is in Philly and is heading to Washington. Let’s get moving and see if we can catch up to...whoever that was.” My voice cracked in excitement to think there were more people out there to help
us, as if the pressure on me wasn’t as immense with more people to share the burden with.
We got there and I hopped the fence while Ray stayed with Carey, who barked at me through the gate. I broke into the security cabin and found the keys, along with a few sets of boat keys. One of them would have to do. Soon we were loading our gear onto a twenty-foot motor boat, and in moments, we were heading south.
“I think we should head all the way down and around Jersey. If we hit the mainland down there, we can find a vehicle and be home free from any more bridges or tunnels,” Ray called out over the wind.
“Sounds good to me!” I yelled back. Carey stood on the back seat and watched cautiously as water splashed up and around us in the otherwise quiet area. We hadn’t seen any ships since yesterday afternoon and hoped they were searching far away, or better yet, just gone.
It took us a stressful hour or so to find land, me constantly worrying about the ships finding us, but we made it unscathed. We trolled along looking for a pier or somewhere to park this thing, and in another twenty minutes, we found a makeshift dock we could use. I roped it off after Ray parked it, and he went off in search of a truck as I started to haul stuff to the road. He pulled up in a smaller truck, but it still had enough room for Carey in the back seat.
“I figured a smaller truck would mean less stops for gas. This one is almost full and I know we’ve been hauling all those gas cans.” He tossed me the keys. “You don’t mind being the driver, do you?”
I’d always felt more comfortable driving than being a passenger, and I wasn’t sure I was going to be much help when it came to the computer device side of things.
“You got it, boss,” I said.
The roads were fairly clear as we moved west on a connector road that would lead us to the I-95. On to Philly from there. Day two of the adventure and I was still scared of what was to come. I glanced back at Carey and then over at Ray. At least I wasn’t alone anymore, and it felt good.
EIGHT
Things were going well for us, and we were making good time. We stopped for some food at a grocery store and found some of the refrigerators were still keeping the food slightly cool. I was sure in another day or two, we might be talking about another story. We got some ice bags from the bottom of the freezer and added them to a couple of coolers we found, and set ourselves up with some food for the trip. Ray convinced me we needed to spend the effort to make some coffee, so we started the generator and brewed a big pot of coffee while we filled up the truck.
From there we drove down the highway, two fast friends with thermoses of coffee and a goal in mind but no firm plan, short of trying to meet up with whomever we overheard on the radio.
“Why do you think it was us, Dean? Of all the people in the world...why were we left to do this job?” Ray asked quietly.
“I really don’t know. There are so many questions that I don’t have the answers to. I was married to a woman who gave me this necklace and knew what it meant! It just confounds me...and upsets me at the same time. Who the hell was she? Who was your girlfriend?”
“Kate was a wonderful woman, an assistant at the plant I worked at. We started dating a couple months after she started there. She was always really interested in the engineering side of things and loved to pick my brain. I think she wanted to be an engineer herself, but thought she was too old to start college. I tried telling her she should start at Penn U, that I’d support her through it.” He was quiet for a moment. “Then she got sick. Coughing up blood; had the doctors lost for words on what it was.”
A lot of things had been making me pause in the past two days, and this was just another to add to the list. “That’s the same thing that happened to Janine. She was gone in six months. We’d been married for four years,” I said, knowing this was no coincidence.
“This is just freaky, man. Sounds like our timelines match up pretty well. We never got married. I was for it, but Kate didn’t think we needed to label ourselves. No kids, either. She wasn’t ready. I loved her, man, I really did. But deep down, I guess I should have known something was totally bogus with us. Now, as I look at our life together through a rear-view mirror, I feel like an idiot for not wondering before. And then the ring. When she told me to wear this god-ugly ring, I almost laughed. Then I saw the deadly serious look she gave me and heard the pleading tone in her voice. I said I would, and I never took it off. Now I’m not sure if I wish I’d just been taken with the rest of them or not.”
I was sure that being here was better than wherever they were moved to. I just hoped they were being handled without aggression. I pictured my mother being cornered by a horrible alien in space...I tried to shake off the thoughts of torture or the destruction of the race.
“The message we were left said we can save them still, so let’s do it. No moping around, no worrying about what the hell our ladies had done. Maybe we were tricked and they used us for some crazy intergalactic strife...I don’t know, but I do know we’re going to kick some ass, save the world, and feel bad for ourselves after this is all done.” The words hit me hard as they left my mouth, but I knew what I said was true. I had to hold on to the fact that Janny had loved me, she had told me that no matter what happened, to remember those words, so I would assume she’d done what she did because she had no other choice.
Ray stuck his fist out and I hit it with my own. “Deal, brother. You sure you’re an accountant? You’ve got a little Tony Robbins in you. When Earth is back to normal, I’m going to get you on TED Talks.”
I saw a sign saying we were closing in on Philly in a few miles. The best move was to head around the city and keep moving south towards Washington. If possible, we would be able to find the mysterious radio people and meet up with them there.
Ray and I agreed on the plan, and we spent the next few hours avoiding abandoned cars on the road, driving through various side roads and ditches until we were well clear of Philly altogether. The CB radio occasionally stopped its routine hissing and cracked for a bit instead, but we didn’t hear any voices. Once we were through that, we found a secondary highway that would lead us close to Washington, and it was near empty as evening neared, and Baltimore signs came more frequently.
We wouldn’t have much farther to go, but light was rapidly disappearing from the sky. The two hundred miles had taken us most of the day, dodging vehicles and watching for gray ships in the sky.
“Well, what do you think? Do we make a stop in Baltimore or keep going to Washington? I think we can make it there without lights. Once the sun is all the way down, we’ll be screwed – it’ll be tough to see cars at a complete stop on the road, though we may be able to do it at a really slow pace,” I said.
Ray was about to answer when the radio cleared and voices came across. He turned up the volume, and Carey barked once when the woman’s voice came over again.
“We are in Washington, D.C. If anyone is out there, we are at the intersection of I-95 and I-495 Springfield. There are two...Crackle...”
“Come in, Washington. We are on the way. Repeat. We are on the way. Be there in T-minus one hour. Over.” Ray’s hand shook as he held the radio button. There was no reply, and the hissing was back.
“Damn. At least we know where they are. I say we have to go for it now,” he said excitedly.
“Is there any chance we might be walking into a trap? Who knows what kind of crazy things these aliens are doing? Do we just trust anyone we meet?” I asked, not sure I wanted to hear his answer.
“We trusted each other, didn’t we?” he asked as he petted Carey on the head.
“Yeah, we did, I guess. I just feel like such a fool for not knowing my wife that I’m second-guessing everything. You’re right. What choice do we have? We need help, and I’m not missing out on that opportunity. Let’s do this.”
I was excited to see someone, even though I’d been a semi-recluse for the past few years. Just spending some time with Carey and Ray made me remember how much I liked people. It had only been a coupl
e days, but the idea that there were more of us out there had me so happy, I couldn’t wait to meet them and hear their stories.
The sun was going down behind the trees on the side of the road, but I figured we’d be cutting it close at this point. At least this way, we would be going around the main city and heading to the west side. It had been years since I’d visited Washington. The monument, the Lincoln Memorial, and Capitol Hill. All pivotal icons of American history and politics; history I liked, politics was something I’d never cared a whole lot for.
“Ray, I know we aren’t going to do this, but just for fun. We’re alone, or almost alone, in the world. Where do you go?” I figured we might as well waste some time.
“That’s a loaded question, isn’t it? There are lots of places in the world I want to see, but as for being alone and being able to go anywhere? Maybe the Oval Office.” He laughed. “I used to dream of being the first black president, then Obama came in and ruined that one. I’d sit at the president’s desk, lean back, put my feet up on the shiny wooden desktop and...have a nap. I always thought that would be my ideal napping spot. I’d also probably leave some notes on things I think need to be done to make this a better country. I’d use his letterhead and leave the notes with his name and dates on the paper, on the off chance that he might read them thinking they were his ideas, and implement them.”
Ray was staring out the window, but I could tell he was smiling from his posture. I hardly knew anything about the guy, but I felt like I really knew him at the same time. “How about you, Dean?” he asked.
“Not sure if I can top napping in the Oval Office, but I’ll try.” Where would I go, given the chance to be anywhere? “Well, seeing how Carey and I already walked the Yankee Stadium field yesterday, I think having free rein of Vatican City would be quite the experience. I’m by no stretch of the imagination a devout Catholic, but the history behind it amazes me. I’d also like to walk the halls of Buckingham Palace, to see where the Queen sleeps and eats. What does she read? The newspaper? The Ladies Detective Agency books? Does she poop in a golden toilet? I kind of want to know these things.” I felt foolish for a second about that last one, but Ray just laughed.
The Survivors: Books 1-6 Page 5