by Billy Dering
Her mind was not yet fully functioning, and only allowed her to focus on one thought at a time. She wished her mind always worked that way. Angels Never Cry. In her head, she was still singing with Kid. What a powerful, and inspirational moment. She finally felt the magic everyone else seemed to feel with his music. She finally got it.
How could she see Kid so differently now? It was as if a switch had been flicked inside of her. Why did I dislike him in the first place? She couldn’t recall any specific reason. Actually, she remembered finding him attractive when she first met him. She never admitted it, or let on, but she also found him funny. Then why was I such a bitch to him all the time? Waiting for her subconscious to chime in, she kept pondering the same question. Was I a bitch to him in self-defense, because I was really… attracted to him?
Her subconscious then spoke, but didn’t answer the question on the table. It smacked her with one word.
Sara.
Overwhelmed and restless, she gently lifted Kid’s arm and sat on the edge of the bed.
Kid’s eyes opened. He watched Heidi get up, dressed in only undergarments. His eyes opened a little wider, and he blinked a couple of times.
Heidi put on her uniform, wrapped herself in a thick blanket, and quietly lifted the wood bar locking the door. Leaning the bar against the wall, she opened the cabin door and peeked her head out. Looking left and right, she took a step outside. Although dawn was arriving, she was still stepping into a dark gray.
As the cabin door closed, Kid lifted his head. Checking his watch, he whispered, “Where is she going at 5:30 in the morning?” As he laid his head back down he groaned, “Probably the bathroom.”
Walking slowly and tentatively, Heidi approached the fresh grave. She dropped to her knees. “I need to talk to you Sara.”
Putting her head down, she exhaled heavy steam. “First off, we all miss you so much. I wish that shot hit me instead. Well, I really wish the shot had missed all of us,” she tried to laugh and tears started running down her face, “But if it had to hit someone, I wish it was me. We all loved you so much, especially Kid, of course. He’s crushed. His heart is broken into little pieces. That… well… that’s kind of what I wanted to talk to you about.”
Rubbing her nose and wiping her tears, she peered up at the wood grave-marker. The silence around her was deafening. The cold air was sharp, but not moving. “This is so difficult. Sara, you know I never had anything but respect for you, and looked up to you and cared so much for you. Where you’re at now, you can probably see inside my heart, and I hope you can because you’d know that I’m telling the truth. I guess if that was the case then you would already know why I need to talk to you,” she again tried in vain to laugh. It only made her cry more.
“You know I would never betray you, or step on your toes. To the point Heidi, to the point,” she reprimanded herself. “It’s Kid. I’m so sorry, but it’s Kid. I would never go there if you were alive, but… I’m developing feelings for him and I have this guilt, and fear, and it’s ripping me up inside. It’s all happening too quick and too soon, but the truth is, I can’t fight it. I can’t believe I’m saying it, but it’s true.”
Dawn was creeping in and it offered a lighter shade of gray. She glanced at the grave marker and then down at the slightly rounded dirt mound. “I’m not even sure how he feels about me, but I imagine you would want someone to take care of him and love him if we do survive. This might not matter at all since those damned soldiers could find us any minute now.”
Pulling her blanket tighter, she glanced around. She then closed her eyes and put her hands together. “Please Sara, let this be alright with you. I promise I’ll do my best. I also promise that I will never try to replace you, and I know I couldn’t. But only you can free me and take away my guilt. And from the world beyond, please, I’m begging you, set him free.”
Taking a deep breath, she momentarily shuddered. “Sara, if you’re not alright with this, send me a sign. Just send me some kind of sign.”
She opened her eyes and all of her senses were set to acute. Her anxiety level outpaced her growing realization of how alone she really was. Nervous and spooked, her breaths were shallow and rapid as fear pushed her heart into her throat. Her eyes combed her surroundings in every direction, but nothing moved. Even the treetops were deathly still in the looming gray dawn. Her eyes settled on the grave. She wanted to look away from the mound of dirt, but wouldn’t let herself.
Still no sign.
She opened her blanket and held it with both arms outstretched. Closing her eyes, she leaned forward, not realizing that her face was now only inches away from the dirt mound. Tears were streaming down her cheeks and her heartbeat was reverberating throughout her entire body. She kissed her fingertips and despite her overwhelming fear, she actually touched the earthen mound. Pressing lightly, her fingertips broke the surface of the soil. She was overcome by an emotional release that made her tremble. She did not move for a full minute.
Pulling her fingertips out of the soil, she clasped her hands together and closed her eyes. Trying to catch her breath, she whispered, “Thank you Sara. Thank you.”
Walking back inside, Heidi felt drained. Her emotions were raw and frazzled. She unzipped her uniform, hung it next to the fire and climbed back into bed.
Kid kept his eyes closed as Heidi slowly slipped under the blanket. He could feel her warm breath on his face. She gently brushed strands of hair off of his cheeks and forehead, and continued to stroke his cheek long after there was no more hair to push aside. He then heard deep, rhythmic breathing and knew she had fallen asleep.
Opening his eyes a sliver, Kid stared at her for a few minutes. Her hand was resting under her chin and she appeared very much at peace. Looking down, his brow pinched as his eyes settled on the dirt-stained tips of her fingers.
A little past 7:00 a.m., Maria woke up. After putting on her uniform, she grabbed the coffeepot and opened the door. All was clear so she walked down to the stream. She filled the pot with water and made her way back up the hill. Placing it on the wood stove, she stoked the dying fire, threw in a couple of logs, and stepped out the back door. Making her way up to the roof, she brought the binoculars to her eyes and swept the visual aid from left to right
Heidi awoke to the sound of footsteps on the roof. She lifted her head and looked over at the other bed to see that someone was missing. Just Maria on lookout. As she laid back down, her eyes focused on Sara’s uniform hanging next to the woodstove. That has to go. It will be a constant reminder, she realized. Climbing slowly out of bed as to not wake Kid, Heidi slipped on her own uniform. She tiptoed over to Sara’s uniform, took it down and went to the large metal garbage can just outside the back door. “Sara,” she whispered and hugged the uniform tightly. “I guess this is goodbye.” She began to fold up the garment, and stopped. She could see Sara pointing at the corner of her own eye while in the bathing tub. Heidi would forever be haunted by Sara’s facial expression and mannerism.
As she went to drop the uniform, she again froze, this time paralyzed by the sound of a distant wind charging through the pine trees. Heidi felt unsteady and held onto the garbage can to keep her balance. Her breath was caught in her throat.
Suddenly, Maria screamed from the roof. “Help!”
Heidi dropped Sara’s uniform in the garbage can and stumbled out behind the cabin. She yelled up, “What’s the matter?”
What the… Kid bolted upright, ran out the door and turned his eyes toward the roof.
Maria’s face was as white as a ghost. “I saw them! Come up here, quick!”
This was the moment Kid feared would come. He had imagined it 100 times, but had underestimated the surge of fear he would have to wrangle with. “It was just a matter of time,” he muttered and hustled up the ladder. Maria handed him the binoculars and pointed. He carefully scanned the area a couple of times over. “I don’t see them.”
“They were right out there!” She was adamant.
; “I still don’t see them!”
“Let me try again.” Maria took the binoculars back and put them to her eyes. “Shit! I… I can’t find them now!” she huffed, sounding flustered.
“How far out were they?”
“I couldn’t tell, but I could see them through the clearing between the trees way out that way. They were right there!” She pointed far in the distance.
“Based on where you’re pointing, we could run into them on either trail out of here, depending on which direction they’re moving. It’s the worst place they could possibly be,” Kid stated. “We have to locate them again.”
“We’ll have a better chance of spotting them from the fire tower. Come down!” Jess yelled from the ground and ran for the truck.
Maria started climbing down the ladder. Kid hesitated for a moment, and then followed her down. The group piled into the truck and sped away.
The fire tower soon came into sight. Kid gazed up at the square tower basket 100 feet in the air at the top of the tall, skinny steel structure. They jumped out of the vehicle and ran in between two of the four concrete block footings that anchored the tower’s legs. Kid looked around at the ground and did not see any footprints in the snow, or any evidence that the soldiers had marched by.
They started up the narrow metal treads of the switchback staircase, climbing from one landing to the next. As they neared the top, Kid could feel the tower swaying in the wind. At the final landing he grabbed a diagonal metal crossbeam, one of the many that zigzagged from the bottom of the tower to the top and held the structure together.
Walking past him, Jess ascended the final section of stairs. He turned a handle and pushed open a square wood hatch. Climbing through, they found themselves in the tower basket, which was a small square room with a seven-foot ceiling and large plexiglass windows facing in every direction. Now far above the tops of the trees, they could see for miles.
Kid used the binoculars and searched in the direction of the cabin. From experience, he knew Ironside was due east, despite being hidden by a dense wall of tall pine trees. Casing out the woods in all directions, he couldn’t spot the soldiers.
Jess grabbed the binoculars. “I was hoping we could spot them from up here, but I don’t see anything.” They were all clearly anxious, and weren’t sure what to do next.
“This thing could make you seasick,” Heidi said, holding on to a tabletop as the tower continued to sway.
“It’s never been real steady.” Kid sighed and waved his hand. “Let’s go. We’ll just have to pick a trail to get out of the woods and hope like hell it’s not the wrong one.”
As he opened the floor hatch to go down, he froze as he saw what lurked below. His eyes were wide open in horror. About halfway down the switchback staircase, he could see the whole pack of soldiers marching upward. Now aware of their presence, he could feel the slight vibration as the soldiers marched up in unison. He slammed the hatch closed and stood on it. “They’re here, climbing up the stairs. We’re trapped!”
“What? How? I saw them…” Maria started saying.
“Trust me, they’re here!” he responded, knowing that Maria had obviously been mistaken.
“Now what?” Heidi asked. Nobody knew what to do. As the vibration from the soldiers’ steps intensified, so did their panic level.
Peering down, Kid could not find any lock for the hatch. Casing out the room, there was only a table and two chairs. He yelled, “Jess, pull that table over!”
“It’s anchored to the floor!” he called out.
The soldiers reached the top of the tall stairwell and started pushing on the hatch.
Before Jess could break the table free, a sudden forceful thrust caused Kid to lose his balance and fall against one of the plexiglass tower windows.
Jess dove to the floor to keep the hatch down until Kid regained his stance on it.
“It’s hopeless. We don’t have anything to fight them with!” Jess yelled as the pushing of the hatch continued. “And I don’t think you can talk us out of this one Kid!”
With all hope fleeting, Kid knew that words could not save them. They would die in the fire tower. Words could not save… Suddenly, it hit him. A long shot, but the only shot they had. Kid turned to Heidi, “What was that word they used, the one that turns them into zombies and makes them collapse?”
“Ion!”
“Yell it at them!” Kid said in desperation.
“What?” she asked.
“Yell the word, just like they did on the ships!”
As Heidi yelled, “Ion,” the soldiers continued pushing up on the hatch. “Ion!” she tried again. The hatch popped up with even greater intensity. “It’s not working!”
Kid grabbed at another possibility. “It must be the tone and inflection of the word.” He began to shout, “Ion.” Jess joined him.
After changing the delivery several times, Jess chanced upon the proper vocal articulation. The pushing on the hatch stopped and they heard a bang and clatter down below. He continued to yell, “Ion!” with the same sharp, snappy cadence, overemphasizing the letter ‘I’. They heard more thuds and crashes as bodies tumbled down the stairs. Kid changed his voice to match Jess’s.
Heidi fell to her knees. Maria also had to sit on the floor. Kid was confounded until he realized, “It’s affecting them too!” He then heard Elder-1 yelling some other word.
“You need to say the second word… that one that brings us… back,” Heidi huffed.
“What word?”
Kid was trying to listen closely to the elder. He heard him saying a word, but it was not a word Kid recognized. Hearing it again, he tried to repeat it. “S-on. Fess-on”
“There’s an ‘L’ in there,” Jess said.
“Fleson. Fleson!” Kid snapped.
“That’s it!” Jess said and turned to the girls on the floor. He repeated the word with the same tone, “Fleson!” The girls started to come to.
The pushing at the hatch ceased for a moment, so Kid peeked under. Five more soldiers had come to the top. He snapped, “Ion!”
The soldiers went limp and collapsed, falling down the stairs. Three of them tumbled off of the tower. The other two came to rest on the landing at the base of the final flight of stairs. At them, Elder-1 yelled, “Fleson!” and they rejoined the ambush.
Kid lifted the hatch to see more soldiers approaching. He could also see Elder-1 in the back of the line, halfway up the steps. As the next wave surged up, Kid again yelled, “Ion!” The soldiers at the front of the line blanked out and fell backward into the ones behind them, knocking one more over the side.
Elder-1 yelled the word to revive those who had come to rest on the steps and the landing. They snapped out of their trance and were again ready to attack.
“They keep coming back!” Kid yelled out with his arms raised in the air.
Jess pulled the girls and himself onto the hatch to add extra weight.
“Keep holding them off!” Kid said. “We’ll never stop them with Elder-1 there. He keeps reviving them, so I am going to try and take him out.” He picked up a chair, and using it as a battering ram, he knocked out one of the plexiglass windowpanes. A strong gust of wind circled the room.
At the top of the stairs, the last eight soldiers still alive were pushing at the hatch. Elder-1 was right behind them. As Jess would yell the crippling word the elder would yell the antidote. “Hurry Kid! It’s not working anymore,” he yelled in desperation.
Kid leaned out of the now open window pane. He took a deep breath after looking down and seeing how high he was and feeling the tower sway. Far below, the ground was littered with the dead bodies of miniature soldiers. Only one shot at this, he reminded himself as he lifted one leg, and began climbing out the window. Gripped with fear, his heart throbbed in his chest. As the tower swayed, the top of a nearby pine tree wavered in front of Kid, as if taunting him. He put his foot down on a small metal bar on the outside bottom of the tower basket. Getting his other leg out, he had
both feet precariously on the metal bar, with his hands holding onto the window frame. He then tried to pinpoint Elder-1’s position by following his voice.
At the top of the stairs, the soldiers continued to push on the hatch and Elder-1 continued to shout the word to save them before they blanked out. After a powerful upward thrust, one soldier, had wedged his arm into the opening to keep the hatch from closing. “Kid! They’re almost in!” Jess yelled as he slammed his fist repeatedly into the wedged hand.
Kid listened as the elder again shouted, “Fleson.” Taking a deep breath, he jumped off of the metal bar, let go of the window frame and plummeted toward the ground.
Chapter 32
January 2, 2045
Monday, Morning
The Pine Barrens of New Jersey
Seven days after the event
Without a split second for miscalculation, Kid’s hands slid down the side of the tower basket and grabbed the metal bar he had been standing on. With the momentum of his body falling and the abrupt jerk as his hands snagged the bar, his legs swung underneath the basket. Leading with his feet, Kid let go of the bar and his forward motion hurled him through the side of the stairwell, with his head just brushing against a steel crossbeam. Elder-1 was a little farther down the stairs than he had calculated, and his feet hit him high, with one hitting the old man’s shoulder and the other hitting his head. The elder flew backward down the stairs and skidded across the landing. His body was within inches of rolling off the tall tower.
Kid landed hard on his back on the stairs just behind the pack of soldiers. He was trying to yell the word ‘Ion’ from behind them, but the wind had been knocked out of him. Nothing would come out of his mouth.
Fortunately, before the soldiers could turn around, Jess yelled, “Ion!” Without Elder-1 to revive them, one by one the soldiers began to crumble and fall down the stairs. As they fell on Kid, who was lying in the stairwell, he would push them over the side, nearly 100 feet to the ground.