by C C Solomon
“You smell like good people. You just have to be more discriminating and find others like you,” Erik went on.
I raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean by ‘smell like good people?”
“I’m a were. We can tell good and bad, truth and lies, all through our sense of smell. For good people or truth, it just smells like a nice, natural perfume. Like flowers. It doesn’t stand out unless I searched for it. But evil and lies, those smells are strong and I started encountering it; recognizing it. Still took me a while to put together what the smells meant, but other weres had similar stories and eventually we figured it out.”
“What does evil smell like?” Charles asked.
“Sulfur.”
“Like someone passed gas?”
“Fun. What about lies?” I asked.
“Like body odor. And it was starting to smell like both in my pack.”
“That was one funky place,” Charles murmured.
“Why didn’t you run the pack?” I questioned Erik.
He shook his head. “Not my thing.”
I snorted. “Says the man who was former military. I’m assuming you weren’t some private ranked equivalent the whole time. What game are you playing? I smell sweaty underarms.” I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow.
Erik glanced at me again with a scowl. “What are you a were-witch?”
I wiggled my eyebrows. “You never know.”
The edge of his lips twisted up in a weak smile. Maybe he didn’t totally despise me.
“I started out leading when things first fell apart. I think I’ve just reached burnout. War can only prepare you for so much. Good people went bad. Bad people went worst. You just stop caring…” he replied, his voice trailing off.
I looked in his direction with a frown. I wondered what he’d gone through since the world changed. Lisa seemed to portray a pleasant disposition, even through all the pain I could only imagine she’d endured. We’d all lost friends, families, ways of life. What had Erik lost to make him so negative?
I looked to Lisa, who had turned away and was staring out of the window on her side. We were all strangers with pasts we wanted to escape.
Finding the Hagerstown government town was not a hard task. Government towns were all publicized on the internet. Sure, that was risky, knowing that there were insane people out there looking to take and destroy what was good. It’s why the town I’d lived in before I was snatched kept secret. But the whole point of the government reclaiming its role over the country was to let people know they existed. After all, the White House—before it was swallowed into the ground from a large supernatural sinkhole—was never in a secret location. People had to see things getting better.
Also, the only way the government would grow is if it had more people willing to live in its towns and follow its order. Government needed people to get things running and to defend its towns. And by people, they meant all people. As long as you weren’t breaking laws, it didn’t matter if you were supernatural or a normal human who wasn’t sick. And yes, the Sickness was still out there but less of a problem. Many of the non-gifted humans remaining were immune, which seemed like a gift to me.
Each government town was run by someone the equivalent of a mayor. From my limited understanding, they weren’t necessarily past politicians. The president and the vice president had perished. Most of government, federal and state, had been wiped out by the Sickness or some supernatural monster. I’m sure some people survived and had gotten roles or were even running the government-backed towns but most leaders were former non-politicians who’d found the leader in themselves as the world changed around us.
They ran their respective towns and regularly met with the other government leaders in North America. There wasn’t one leader, so our former democracy where we had a president wasn’t quite there yet. I had complete faith that a presidential race wasn’t too far away, especially as the government towns looked to expand and battle the “lawless” communities, as they called non-government towns.
I peered out of the front window. There was a large blue sign right off the highway, with wording in black paint telling us Hagerstown was about three miles ahead. When we got off the highway, we drove farther on an almost-cleared street, passing vacant housing, grocery stores, gas stations, fast food joints, and office buildings.
Another blue sign told us to turn right to get to the town. After that, yet another sign stated, “Slow Down, Approaching Ward.” A few years ago, not having such a warning would have resulted in smashed cars at the least, and lives lost at the worst, since driving into a ward was like driving into a brick wall. I felt it before we even stopped in front of the invisible wall.
Charles slowed down and we approached a final large sign on the left side of the two-way street. It was the size of a hut that stated, “Welcome to New Hagerstown: A United North American Territory.” To the right of the street was a bank. There were lights on inside and a car parked in the front lot.
Charles stopped the car on the side of the street in front of the bank.
“There’s a camera hanging from the street lamp in front of the bank and pointed at us. They know we’re here,” Erik stated, glancing out of the window.
“What if we came to the town at another entrance?” Charles asked.
“I don’t know how large this place is but I’d have to assume they have this territory surrounded by cameras with guards scattered about. Probably signs telling people to come here or to particular sites where there are guards. We wait here.”
Minutes later, I strained to look past Lisa and saw two men in HAZMAT suits exit the bank and walk towards us. They were armed with automatic weapons.
“Well, that doesn’t look very welcoming,” I muttered.
One man, a tall black man, walked over to Charles’ window. “How can we help you?” He said, his accent sounded very New York.
“Well, we were hoping to get entrance into your town,” Charles replied with a smile. “We’re all paranormal and don’t have the Sickness.”
The man looked into the car at all of us. “Cut off your engine and pop your trunk and front hood. Everyone, please exit the vehicle.”
The second guard, a shorter Asian man, began checking the engine and the trunk after Charles complied.
“You have weapons in here,” the shorter man called from the rear of the car.
We got of the truck and moved to stand in front of the car.
“Wouldn’t you?” Erik replied back, crossing his arms.
The man shrugged. “Well, everything else is clear,” he told the other guard and then looked back to us. “I’m confiscating your weapons for now.”
The man then looked to Charles and I. “Open your mouth,” he demanded. He took out two cotton swabs and a Petri dish.
I heard the other guard tell Erik and Lisa the same.
“Why?” Erik asked.
“So, we can test you for the Sickness,” the black man replied.
“You have a cure?” I asked.
“Not yet,” said the Asian man, before inserting a cotton swab in my mouth.
He ran it over my tongue and then rubbed it into the dish. He next took a small vial with a dropper out of his suit pocket and dropped a cloudy liquid in the dish. “Clear,” he announced soon after.
They did the same for the others and we all got clear back.
“Names,” said the tall, black man.
We gave him our names and he hung the gun by its strap on his shoulder. He then closed his eyes and raised his hands. I was pretty sure he was some form of witch. He was trying to determine whether we were good or bad. If we were evil, every bone in his body would ache like he had a severe case of arthritis. That was, of course, if we weren’t strong enough to mask our being.
He began mumbling something. I could see through the face plate that his eyes were moving rapidly beneath closed lids. Finally, he opened them and looked at us. “Your powers are currently under lock and you will not be able to
use them,” he said, matter-of-factly.
“Come again?” I asked, eyebrows raised and mouth hanging open.
He gave me neutral eyes. “This is a short spell and will only last twenty-four hours,” he replied. “You are free to enter. There will be signs to lead you to our mayor’s office. We also have housing, if you are allowed to stay. The mayor’s office is about two miles down the road. On your left you will see a glass building. They’ll be signs. You can apply for a twenty-four hour stay at the mayor’s and make an appointment to see someone about permanent stay.”
We thanked him, he dropped the ward to the town, and we made our way. During the drive, we passed an active shopping plaza with clothing boutiques, a grocery store, a few other shops, and a couple of restaurants. We also passed a library and a high school. We saw kids playing in the field, running and jumping. It looked almost like the town was unaffected by the changes in the world.
We finally reached a wide three-story glass building. In its former existence, the building had been your everyday office building. A giant New Hagerstown United American Government sign now stood out of a patch of grass at the entrance of the parking lot.
“So, what’s the plan again?” Charles asked, turning off the car.
“We ask for residency. Tell them the truth,” I said.
“We tell them we all escaped the prison,” Erik replied.
“Why lie?” Lisa asked, looking over to him.
“We don’t know if we can trust them. We tell them about Amina and Charles’ prison and that they need to help them.”
I opened my passenger door. “As long as you guys are good liars so we don’t get kicked out for you lying, then I’m cool,” I replied. I didn’t like not going with the truth but I trusted Erik’s instinct. He was the former military guy. I didn’t know too much about the pack they’d left but I did know that this world was a suspicious one and he had the best street smarts of us all.
So, I could go into the tale of us talking to the officials and getting their acceptance but it was really uneventful. We were split up and each of us told our stories. I strongly pushed that they needed to help the others in the prison and that it would benefit them because I’m sure a lot of those people could bring their skill sets to the town. We were tested with magic of all sorts to determine our truths and questioned about our background to figure out what role we could play in the new society.
My legal background made them curious of my ability to assist with law making or even teaching, which was a refreshing alternative to just cooking and healing. In the end, I made it through and was told by a local official I’d be on probation for six months. If I did anything immoral or against their rules they would kick me out, or worse. I was provided with a thin book of rules and town references, given a housing assignment, and told to report to the school to start teaching the next day. Clearly, there would be no rest for the weary. They informed me that they would get back to me regarding helping our imprisoned friends.
When I exited my interrogation room, Lisa was already slouched on a blue couch in the bright and spacious lobby looking bored.
I walked over to her and sat down. I looked through the floor-to-ceiling windows at the parking lot. “Are the others still in?” I asked.
She shrugged. “I guess so. That took longer than I figured it should have. Two hours. I thought these towns were in need of people, especially ones with gifts.”
“They still have to have standards, I guess. What job did you get assigned?”
“So, clearly cosmetology is not a job that’s of importance now. But they feel me working at the market could be my calling.” She crossed her arms. “But they were open to me getting in to fashion, which I am good at as well. Clothes are always a need. Maybe I can have my own clothing boutique.”
I looked at her with tired eyes. “Save it for Silver Spring. We’re only here for a short time.”
Her eyes grew wide. “Right. But…” She scrunched her face. “So, what if we go to Silver Spring and we don’t like it there? I’m thinking we can just come back here if we like it enough.”
“We’re going to like it there.” We had to. Any place that Phillip was, had to be a place I would like to be. That sounded very naïve. Maybe Erik was right about me.
Lisa opened her mouth to speak again but Charles walked off the elevator with a cocky grin.
“Big surprise, they’ve put me in I.T. and military. I gots two jobs,” Charles said, sounding a bit proud of himself.
“Military?” I asked.
“Well, it’s military slash police. ‘cause of my control over weapons and technology. Good for defense and tracking.”
“I always thought men in uniform were sexy,” Lisa said with a shy smile, head titled down.
Charles winked at her. I pretend to gag.
“He worked at an I.T. help desk before all this. Had a pocket protector and everything,” I cracked. “Wore glasses and superhero T-shirts.”
Lisa widened her eyes and made an O shape with her mouth.
Charles glared at me. “Why do you hate me?”
I gave him a toothy smile and he rolled his eyes.
“Where’s Erik the Grouch?” Charles asked.
“Hasn’t come out yet,” I answered. And he didn’t come out for another thirty minutes.
Lisa jumped up when she saw him exit the elevators. “Finally! Are they kicking you out?” she cried.
“They want me in a leadership role in the government and military,” he replied, grimly.
I stood up. “They liked you, didn’t they?”
He gave a quick shrug. “More like loved.”
“What about helping our friends? They didn’t want to act on anything right now when I mentioned it. Since they loved you, did you talk about it with them?”
He nodded. “I got you a meeting with the governor for tomorrow at four.”
“Thanks,” I replied. “They really do love you.”
He gave another shrug as we exited out of the building and went back to the car.
We headed to a large gated community of garden-style apartments about two miles from the governor’s building. Charles and I shared a two bedroom on the third floor. Lisa and Erik shared a two bedroom a few doors away from us.
Still not feeling settled, Charles and I left most of our stuff in the SUV.
“This isn’t bad,” Charles said, looking around. It was a nice apartment, some parts a bit outdated even for Pre-world standards, but style didn’t reign over substance anymore.
I leaned on the beige kitchen counter and flipped through the reference book. “Says this place is a 5-square mile radius. That’s pretty large. There’s even a bar with karaoke and trivia nights. Got a hospital. A grocery store. Mall. A worship space. Two salons. Oh, and a gym…and a bakery. My interrogator said they have around two thousand people here so far. So, I guess this all makes sense. When you have that many people, you have time to make reference books.”
“Sweet! We’re in heaven!” Charles said, walking back from the bedrooms.
I rolled my eyes. “All right don’t get comfortable, this is just a layover. We earn our keep and their trust. They help us free the others. Then we leave.”
Charles shook his head. “You know, sis, if we find this random town in Silver Spring and it isn’t as cool as this place, we are coming back. I don’t care if this Phillip is real and walks on water. In this world, that’s not that damn impressive.”
Chapter 10
I had to admit, the town was really nice. Funny how the everyday things you would find in any small town now seemed like a bustling large city in this new world. Almost fifty percent of the former United States was abandoned, so a town like this with people in it and buildings lit with life was something to be excited about.
That Friday morning, we all reported to our perspective jobs. I was to teach English and History at the local school. I wasn’t too upset about that. I enjoyed law but I always believed I’d one day become an adj
unct professor at a college or law school.
I’d done a little shopping at the local mall the day before to prepare for my teaching gig and bought a simple, gray-sheath dress, black ballerina slippers to wear on my first day, and a few other items. Many of the shops in the building were still empty, but several stores were open and running; some repurposed. The store owners allowed me to use credit, which was essentially me working for free to afford the things I got and the local government reimbursing the store for the time that I worked. Capitalism was forming again here. Anything of solid value was the currency. Jewelry, natural gem stones, and gold, were products to barter. Although I had some goods, I decided to save them and earn credits working at the school and the hospital.
The high school I would teach at housed all students, which was anyone under eighteen. There was even a day care. I entered the principal’s office and waited in the front area for someone to show. There wasn’t a secretary present. I knocked on the closed translucent principal’s door located behind the secretary desk but got no answer.
“Okay, how does this work?” I whispered to myself.
“No one’s there,” came a male voice behind me.
I jumped and faced a large man standing in the doorway. Large was probably an understatement. He was over 6’5 and built like a professional wrestler. He was handsome but looked like he broke people for work. He was olive colored, maybe of Hispanic origin. He had shoulder-length, loose, curly, brown hair and kind brown eyes. With his khakis pants and white button down shirt, he looked like a nerdy wrestler, if such a thing existed.
He walked towards me. “Hey, I’m Felix Gonzalez. Math teacher.” He offered me his hand and I shook it. He had a powerful handshake that bordered on constricting. He’d probably break a cat’s neck if he petted it.
“I’m Amina Langston. Just came in yesterday,” I replied.
He nodded giving me a game show host smile. “Yeah, I heard. They put you to work quick. So, right, we don’t have a principal here. We’ve kind of been running ourselves so far. I volunteered to show you the ropes. I can introduce you to the other teachers and you can shadow them today and get started for real on Monday.” He threw out his left arm towards the hallway. “After you.”