The Blood Will Dry

by Mary, Kate L.

  Bryan came up behind me and wrapped his arm around my waist. “You still okay?”

  I twisted to face him. “I am, because I have a future and I have you.”

  I jerked awake. The room was dark and at my side Bryan shifted too, but I could tell he was still asleep. I didn’t know what had woken me, but I had a sinking feeling in my stomach that told me something bad was about to happen.

  For a few seconds I didn’t move, and I found myself holding my breath. Nothing happened, and even when I strained my ears I couldn’t hear anything. The building was as silent as a graveyard.

  Maybe I’d been dreaming.

  Hoping to go back to sleep, I closed my eyes and tried to get my body to relax, but only seconds later a rumble rocked the building. This time I was up, moving so fast that my shoulder throbbed, but I didn’t stop. I knew what was coming. I knew what was happening even before something banged against the wood panel covering the window. The click was followed by a buzz that started low, but rose up only a moment later. Soon others joined it and then there were dozens of wings humming together. And they were right on the other side of this wall.

  Bryan shifted on the bed again, but I stayed silent, afraid that if I said a word the bug on the other side of the wall would burst through. I moved through the darkness to the table where my candle sat, clicking the flint together with shaky hands. Sparks shot through the darkness and I saw Bryan moving. I struck the rocks together again, and this time the flame caught. It burned, glowing through the blackness and illuminating the corners of the room.

  I spun to face Bryan and found him already pulling his clothes on. His gaze was on me, his eyes wide and terrified, but there was something else there too. Adrenaline. Hope. That was when it hit me. We were going to get the chance to test out my theory about the flowers, and to get more claws. This attack could be exactly what we needed.

  We dressed in record time, and then hurried from the room. The third floor was already alive with activity. People ran down the winding and crowded corridors toward the stairs, some of them half-dressed, some still pulling pants or shirts on. Bryan led the way and I did my best to follow him without disturbing my injured arm. It throbbed like it always did when I first woke up, and I cursed the injury for the millionth time since it happened. I hated being useless. I hated not being able to pull my weight.

  The echo of feet charging down the dark stairwell was louder than it had ever been. With my shoulder injured the way it was, the darkness felt suddenly overwhelming. I kept close to Bryan as we descended, hoping to make it to the lobby in one piece, but that didn’t stop the people behind me from bumping into my back and jostling me around. Every bump sent a throb of pain through my arm and shoulder, but I knew it was only the beginning. I had to learn to work through it because we had a long road ahead of us and there was no way in hell I was getting left behind—no matter what Bryan said.

  We made it to the first floor and burst into the lobby. That’s when I realized that a lot of the noise from the stairwell hadn’t been from the crowd of people, but from the bugs. The noise on the first floor was even more deafening than it had been in the stairwell. The walls seemed to shake; the hum of the bugs’ wings rose and fell as their claws clicked against the outside of the building. The echo of pounding vibrated through the air, almost like they were trying to break through.

  Anderson was already yelling orders, and people were already arming themselves with the few claws we had and preparing to head out. They were in groups, two people with claws and two people with explosives. It was a good plan, but one Anderson must have come up with on the fly, because we’d never discussed it. Right now, it was our best bet.

  “Come on,” I yelled to Bryan as I headed for the supply room.

  He swore, but followed me. I had no delusions that he was going to pat me on the back for wanting to rush outside, but I also knew there was no reason I couldn’t throw a grenade with my good arm. Plus, I wanted to see if my theory panned out. I wanted to know if the poison hurt the bugs, and if it did, I wanted to watch them die.

  Anderson scowled when I stopped in front of him and demanded to be put on a team, but he didn’t argue. He waved to two guys who had just come back from Oakwood with us as he shoved a grenade in my hand. Bryan probably would have argued if it hadn’t been too loud, but in the absence of the ability to have a conversation, he armed himself with a claw and nodded. The four of us pulled on gas masks before heading to the door, armed with two grenades and two claws. Even before we got close I could hear the boom of explosions from the street, as well as screeches from the bugs.

  When we pushed our way outside, the scene was even more chaotic than it had been the last time the bugs attacked. Back then we’d been on the move, but now we were trying to lure the bugs toward the barrels set up along the street. It was a delicate dance, one that required us getting them close while we kept a safe distance.

  The good news was that it seemed to be working. Just as I stepped away from the building an explosion at the end of the street took out two nearby bugs and knocked over a barrel. A puff of pollen floated into the air. It was so thick that it was visible even through the window of my gas mask and the fine mist falling from the sky. I stopped long enough to watch, and to my intense satisfaction saw three nearby bugs stumble. Seconds later a creature that had been climbing the roof above the barrel fell to the ground, and two of the three that had been close dropped as well, almost as if their legs had given out. The fourth made it a few more steps before falling over, and even though it was still moving, it didn’t seem to be able to get back up.

  “It’s working!” I called over the noise on the street.

  “Good,” Bryan said as he nodded toward the other barrels set up. “Let’s get a few more of the bastards.”

  Bryan and the guy from Oakwood who was armed with the other claw led the way while the two of us armed with grenades kept two paces behind them. All around us explosions rocked the air as we hurried down the street, dodging vines and debris and even dead bugs. I saw a woman two blocks down spear an alien through the face with a claw, watched bugs drop to the ground as the poison took affect, saw men and women pierce already half-dead creatures, sending them to hell for good. It was madness, but we were winning.

  We weren’t without casualties, though. Even before my group had made it to a barrel I saw a man get carried away by a bug. The sight of his useless body and the knowledge of what he faced once he got to the hive sent a shiver shooting through me. I could only hope that we made it to him before he was impregnated.

  We were ten feet from a barrel when a bug dropped to the ground in front of us. The men from Oakwood faltered, and it hit me that we were more prepared because we’d tangled with these assholes more recently. Most people these days hadn’t seen an alien out in the open for years, and the shock of suddenly being so close to them was probably more jarring than they’d realized it would be.

  “Keep moving!” I called.

  I held the grenade in my bad hand and pulled the pin, keeping my fingers wrapped tightly around it so the lever stayed in place. I wasn’t going to let these things get the upper hand again. If they got me now, the grenade would drop to the ground and the lever would be released. The explosion would take me out, but it would get the bug too, and at least I wouldn’t end up back in that hive.

  Bryan led the way with me right behind him while the two men from Oakwood trailed after us. The alien’s wings buzzed at an incredible speed, so fast that they seemed to almost disappear. My instinct was to run when it raised its front legs, but I stayed where I was, keeping one eye on the bug and the other eye on the barrel that was less than seven feet behind it.

  Bryan swung the claw in his hands around, making contact with the bug’s legs. The man from Oakwood rushed past me with his claw up as well, and together he and Bryan waged a war against the bug while I knelt down in the street. I could roll the grenade, could get it to land between the barrel and the bug, but it would be a
risk. Bryan and the other man would need to retreat, but even if we put more space between us, we risked getting hit by shrapnel from the explosion. But it was a risk we’d have to take, because we needed this bug to die.

  I took a deep breath and passed the grenade to my good hand. I slid my thumb from the lever as I pushed the breath out and it dropped to the pavement with a ping that was barely audible over the deafening noise in the street. Less than a second later I tossed the now armed explosive.

  It hit the ground right next to the bug and rolled forward just as I yelled, “Get back!”

  Bryan took one more swipe before ducking down and rolling away. The other man turned to run, but the bug swung his claw forward at the same time and ended up getting him in the calf. The man screamed as blood sprayed from the gash in his leg. He went down and the bug reared up, and even though I wanted to help him, I’d already turned away. Was already ducking down and covering my head when the grenade exploded.

  If it hadn’t been for my shoulder the explosion probably would have felt exactly like the one from the alley the day Daisy disappeared. With my injury, though, it felt more like a burst of pain followed by a rush of heat and debris. Even worse, I was close enough that pieces of the bug rained down on me, splatting against my back in wet chunks that made my stomach twist. I only prayed that it was all bug and that I wasn’t also covered in bits of the guy from Oakwood.

  I stayed down until Bryan had crawled over to my side. His voice rose over the ringing in my ears as he yelled, “You okay?”

  I lifted my head so I could meet his gaze. Through the gas mask it was impossible to see his face, but just having him next to me helped me feel grounded.

  “I’m okay.”

  I pushed myself up and twisted to face the mangled mess that had once been the bug. My arm throbbed, but seeing the other aliens that had been taken out by the flowers made it all worth it. I was relieved to discover that the guy from Oakwood hadn’t been blown to bits, but the expression of agony on his face and the blood that had saturated the leg of his pants told me that his injury was more than superficial.

  Bryan helped me up and together we went over to help stop the bleeding. My shoulder throbbed, but as the ringing in my ears eased I discovered that the noise on the street had been cut in half. I looked around as Bryan fixed the man’s leg with a tourniquet, amazed by what I was seeing. The bugs that were left were either dead or dying, and the buildings surrounding me were bare—at least as far as I could tell. The aliens must have retreated. Even better, there were more than enough carcasses on the street for an army, which is exactly what we were.

  The rest of the day was spent searching the streets for claws. The dead aliens numbered in the dozens, and with two front claws per body, we were more than set. It was dirty work that I only got to observe, not participate in. After the battle Alex had reamed me out pretty thoroughly, and Anderson had declared that if I didn’t take it easy from here on out he wouldn’t allow me to go into the hive when it was time. Since I had no intention of staying behind, I followed the doctor’s orders and stood on the sidelines, watching as other people sawed the claws off the aliens.

  I knew Bryan was going to try to talk me out of going altogether, but there was no way in hell I was staying behind. My arm hurt, but if I needed to use it I could. I’d proven that on the street when I’d thrown that grenade. I was tough, and the thought of staying behind and having no clue what was going on out there made me sick. No. Bryan would never be able to talk me out of going.

  The issue now was when we’d head out. Daisy and Tyler hadn’t returned and we were hoping they’d bring at least another twenty people with them. Anderson was cursing the fact that they were taking so long, but the more time that passed, the more I began to worry that something had gone wrong. What if Riverside had a bug problem? What if they’d gotten attacked while Tyler and Daisy were there? It had never happened as far as we knew, but we’d never been attacked either and we’d accepted weeks ago that things were changing. At this point, anything was possible.

  While we waited, we planned. We knew the first step would be to send men with masks into the crater to remove as many of the flowers as we could. There were dozens of the things growing in there, and we didn’t have anywhere near enough masks to go around.

  Removing the flowers would kill two birds with one stone. It would give us a clear path into the crater, as well as allow us to collect more of the poison to take into the hive. It had been decided that the lethal flowers would be transported through the tunnel in airtight containers and be released when we arrived at the hive, although at this point we hadn’t decided if we’d release them before attacking or at the end when only a few bugs remained. There were valid arguments for both plans.

  Once the claws had been collected, the harvesting of the flowers began. It was a tedious process and one that I wasn’t allowed to watch since no one without a gas mask was permitted anywhere near the crater.

  Years ago when the aliens had first come we’d tried clearing out the flowers around our settlement, but had quickly learned that it was a useless endeavor. Like the vines, they grew back, and within forty-eight hours the flowers we had picked and disposed of were once again flourishing. After that we’d adopted the same strategy we used with the bugs: just steer clear of them.

  It didn’t really matter to me whether or not I got to watch them harvest the flowers because I was too busy worrying about Daisy. Anderson acted unconcerned, but I couldn’t let go of that uneasy feeling. It didn’t make sense that they weren’t back. Riverside was further away than Oakwood, but not enough to have held them up for this long.

  By the time they finally showed up it was almost full dark and the rain was coming down so hard that even though I was standing in the middle of the street, I didn’t spot them until they were a block away. One second the street was empty and the next they were there, a big group of them emerging from the darkness like they had arrived to save us.

  I started running, so glad to see Daisy at the front of the group that I almost didn’t notice that she and Tyler were holding hands. I would have thrown myself against her if it wasn’t for my bad arm.

  “Where the hell have you been?” I called over the pounding rain.

  “We had to wait for the militia that was coming in,” Tyler said.

  He nodded behind him, but I didn’t look. I was too focused on Daisy.

  “You scared the shit out of me.”

  She pulled her hand from Tyler’s and draped her arm around my waist, dragging me with her as she continued down the street. “Sorry, babe. We got back as fast as we could.”

  I was already dripping wet when we got inside, but I still didn’t appreciate the burst of water that slammed into my face when Daisy ripped her poncho off.

  I sputtered and wiped my face. “Thanks a lot.”

  She started to say something, but the words died when her eyes scanned the room. It wasn’t until I followed her gaze that I realized the room was twice as packed as usual and that several groups were in the process of practicing swinging the claws through the air.

  “Shit,” Daisy finally said. “What did we miss?”

  Daisy and Tyler had managed to wrangle almost as many people as we had, giving us over a hundred men and women who were willing to go down into the crater and fight the bugs. The militia they’d brought with them had come from Springfield and had been on their way to Columbus before turning around and heading back to Riverside. Bryan had already told me that there were more hives out that way than around here, so the militia reporting that they’d seen a few bugs out in the open before turning around wasn’t a surprise. It did seem to confirm our worries that it wasn’t just our hive that was active again, and it brought up talk about what would happen if—no, when—we managed to take our hive out. Some of Bryan’s old militia was already talking about heading out to spread the word to other settlements, and about taking hives out in other areas as well.

  The thought was no
t only noble, but it also made sense. If our plan worked we should tell others, we should work to take out more hives and reclaim our state, maybe even our country, but it also scared me. It made me think about Bryan leaving when I’d finally just decided to embrace a future.

  Since we planned to head out early the next morning, people turned in early. The building was more packed than it had ever been, with militia members sleeping in the bunkroom and the infirmary, as well as camping out on the floor in the lobby. Since they were used to sleeping on the ground I figured it wouldn’t be much of a change for them, but I also hoped that they’d find a way to get a good night’s sleep. We had a long day ahead of us.

  Bryan and I headed up to my room, and even though he said he was tired, I could tell there was something on his mind and that we wouldn’t be turning in right away. I also had a good idea what it was.

  We were both silent the whole way up, but even after we’d stepped into my room and shut the door he didn’t say anything. I stayed quiet too, taking a moment to light the candle so we could have some light while we hashed it all out.

  “Go ahead,” I said when I turned to face him. “Say what you want to say. I know it’s coming.”

  Bryan frowned. “How do you know what I want to say?”

  I lifted my eyebrows but said nothing.

  “Fine.” He exhaled. “I want you to stay here.”

  “No.”

  “Diana—”

  “No,” I said again. “I won’t stay here.”

  “You’re hurt.”

  “So what? I have one good arm and I can help, so I’m going.”

  Bryan’s jaw tightened. I’d never seen him angry before and I hadn’t expected his blue eyes to flash the way they did as he tried to figure out what to say. It was irritating, but also kind of sexy.