Children of the After: The Complete Series: A Young Adult Postapocalyptic Action and Adventure series (39 page)

Will didn’t have the heart to hurt the creature anymore. He hadn’t really meant to hurt it in the first place. He had simply been angry. But seeing the beast now, he felt sorry for it. Even if it had hurt Fairy Pickle, it probably didn’t know any better. Like a dog, it could only do what it was taught, or act on instinct.

With a sigh, Will’s shoulders sagged and he met the monstrous beast’s gaze.

“You will never get anywhere by fighting or taking what isn’t yours. Go away and leave us alone. Go find yourself a new home and don’t come back.”

Both scared and upset, Will watched as the beast lowered his head. With its shoulders sagging, the gargantuan beast turned and sauntered off beneath the overpass and out of sight. Will didn’t delay. As soon as he realized the creature was going, and the danger had passed, he rushed off between the foundational remains of the small town, towards his injured pet.

* * * * *

Tammy ran alongside her companions towards the injured beast that still moaned in agony upon the ground. Nearing the creature, she kept her distance, afraid of being struck by the creature’s thrashing. Though it still kicked and flailed, it held one arm up to its head, covering what she presumed was a wound. Rounding the remains of the last basement between her and Fairy Pickle, she slowed to a stop with her companions as they neared the giant beast. Seemingly noticing their approach, the giant ape ceased its thrashing. Trembling and moaning in pain, its eyes locked on the smallest of them, and it whimpered as if asking for help. Will did not hesitate. Running to the creature’s side, he climbed atop its chest taking its face in his hands, and began cooing to the beast as if it were a child.

Within seconds, Tammy watched as Jack removed the first aid kit from his bag. Working together Tammy joined Jack and helped pry the large creature’s hand away from the wound on his head. Beneath its massive fingers a gash nearly a foot long split the monster’s hide in two where blood slowly oozed from a wound that was too large to ignore. Without the ability to stitch the wound closed, Jack selected several packages of gauze and began to wrap the beast’s head, leaving space for its eyes, mouth and nose.

Within moments Fairy Pickle was bandaged. Though he looked peculiar, almost like a gorilla with a mummy’s head, the task was done and the beast stopped thrashing. Looking about, it was evident to Tammy that they were already prepared to leave. Even with her chaotic awakening this morning, they had all grabbed their bags by instinct and now stood gathered around Fairy Pickle. Though the car was destroyed, Tammy presumed it could still roll, and thus still be used to return to the alien city if needed. Looking to each of her companions, she locked eyes with Jack before she began to speak.

“So now what do we do?” Tammy asked.

“I guess there’s no time like the present,” Jack shrugged.

And that was all that was said. Tammy watched as Jack gathered up the remains of the first aid kit and stuffed it in his bag. There was an odd feeling in the air this morning, something between anxiety and fear. Even so, Tammy couldn’t help but feel that this was what they were supposed to do.

It didn’t take long and they gathered all their supplies and prepared to leave what remained of the small town.

Jack looked to his younger sister, brother, and then to Tammy. Today was
the
day and all of them knew it. He wished, at least, that they had had a plan. But they didn’t. Everything they would do today they would have to make up as they went. He didn’t like walking into the unknown. They needed something to give them an edge, an element of surprise, anything. Turning all about, he looked for something that would give him an idea of what they should do. But there was nothing left.

Jack was prepared to give up and just begin walking when he realized that there might actually be something else at their disposal. Looking first to their now dilapidated car, he then looked to his younger brother’s new puppy. He doubted very much that they could just walk to the alien city and go unnoticed. There had to be security measures in place. If the aliens were so technologically advanced, they had to be watching. They had to expect resistance. No way would they be able to just walk in. Unless they had a distraction.

Smiling mischievously, Jack looked to his younger brother first.

“Do you think I can borrow your pet for a while?” Jack asked.

“You’re not going to hurt him, are you?”

“No, of course not,” Jack replied.

“Okay.”

“I need to conserve my energy. And we’re going to need a distraction. Can you have Fairy Pickle push the car back to the alien city for me?” Jack asked.

“Yeah.”

And that was it. It was done. Jack’s plan was barely a plan at all but they had nothing else to work with. Within moments Jack related details of his plan to his siblings and Tammy, and watched as Will gave orders to Fairy Pickle and the beast rose once again and began pushing the car away from the small town. Letting the great ape get some distance ahead of them, Jack and his siblings also began walking just as Fairy Pickle began to fade into the distance.

Mile after mile they walked, staying at least half a mile behind Fairy Pickle and watching all about them for any sign of the enemy. Jack wished that there was something for cover, but there was nothing in any direction for miles. No charred trees. No skeletal buildings. Nothing. All about them was desolation and destruction. All evidence of man had been erased. The only proof that this world had even been inhabited was a growing pinnacle of an alien race’s creation upon the horizon. With every step it grew and gained more definition. It was a hideous thing, and Jack knew that they had to enter it.

In the light of day the monstrous tower looked ever more frightening than it had the evening before. Though upon first glance it might appear that the mechanism had been constructed haphazardly, it was now evident that there was a pattern to the way the giant structure was pieced together. At regular intervals, there were portals through the outer skin of the forbidding structure. Here and there, where it appeared that metal beams and wires were simply twisted and left clinging to the side of the building, it now became apparent that these were actually stairways or passageways to climb from one level to the next. The arcing electricity and showering sparks were where creatures clung to the building welding and were still piecing it together. Here and there crews of alien beasts could be seen clinging to the outer skin and scampering this way or that. Jack couldn’t help but wonder how many creatures inhabited the thing. It was monstrous. Just the tower’s footprint had to be more than a mile in each direction. He had never seen a building so large and doubted that there had ever been one on Earth. How they would discover how they would destroy the giant building was beyond Jack. It was unlikely he would locate the leader of the enemy and defeat them in a building so immense. The only option he saw was to tear it down panel by panel and watch it collapse, hopefully destroying the aliens’ plan and killing those who it sought to destroy the human race. Looking to Tammy and his siblings it was apparent that they were having very much the same thoughts as he was. All of them doubted. All of them wondered. They were all afraid.

Nearer and nearer they grew to the alien city, until it was the only thing they could see. Ahead, Jack watched as Fairy Pickle began to pick up speed. Within seconds the great ape was at a dead run, shoving the compact car ahead of him. The beast was following plans perfectly. Now it was time for Jack and his companions to do their part.

“Let’s go,” Jack said, as he began to jog.

* * * * *

And they were running again. Samantha tried to breathe through her gritted teeth as they jogged along, hoping, yet doubting, that her brother’s plan would work. Ahead the giant ape, Fairy Pickle, was loping full tilt, shoving their compact sedan directly towards the alien structure. From here she could see large groups of various races of aliens within the charred field surrounding the giant structure. Though she could not tell what it was that they were doing, it appeared they were dragging something behind them. As Fairy Pickle roared up ahead, growing ever nearer to the alien city, some of those groups stopped and turned to watch his approach.

Nearer and nearer they ran, and Sam found herself beginning to panic. She knew what it was that she must do, but that did not make it any easier. Ahead, their compact sedan smashed wholly into the side of the structure as a metallic clang echoed across the open expanse of fields and reverberated through the metal of the alien city. Fairy Pickle roared in triumph and began banging his fists on the car before beginning to scale the side of the building hooting, hollering, and screaming as he pulled here and punched there, tearing bits of steel off of the structure. Sam sighed loudly, she knew it was now her turn.

Calming her nerves as best as she was able, Sam blinked ahead the hundreds of yards to the only visible entrance at ground level. Though it was little more than a hole in the wall, Sam was forced to get her bearings as she reappeared within what she believed was a viable entryway. From afar it had looked no larger than the size of your average door; however, now that she was within its opening, it had to be at least twenty feet tall and half that wide. Within the entrance, rows of lights blinked upon the floor and a buzzing sound echoed down the corridor that lay mostly in darkness ahead. Here and there, sparks showered down from the ceiling, and she could hear screams and footsteps from somewhere beyond her line of sight. Stepping outside the doorway, she hid herself behind a bent metallic panel that had been secured to the side of the doorway, waving her brothers and Tammy forward, letting them know the coast was clear. Though his theory was untried, Sam watched as Jack used his power to lift himself along with Will and Tammy and propel them forward towards her at an alarming rate. There was no going back now.

Glancing up, Sam watched as Fairy Pickle scaled higher and higher up the wall of the building. Here he tore free a cable and there he pounded his fists on a metal panel, doing whatever destruction he could. It seemed to be having the effect they had hoped for, as groups of aliens were now rushing from all directions to see what it was that the giant ape was up to. Thus far, there was no evidence as to who was in command. All the groups seem to act of their own accord.

Joined by her allies, Sam again re-entered the structure with her brothers to either side and Tammy right behind. Cautiously moving forward down the darkened walkway, she watched as the lights in the floor illuminated ahead and extinguished behind them. Whether it was made from human scraps or not, it was apparent that there had been a plan for the construction of this building. Moving slower than she could ever recall, Sam flinched again and again as new sounds erupted seemingly at random from every direction. Voices could be heard coming from everywhere and yet nowhere all at once. Footsteps echoed seemingly forever, causing them to hide time and again, fearing that they would be found. Yet it was some time before the first sign of life from within the building was discovered.

They had made it perhaps two hundred yards into the corridor, having hidden at least three dozen times, before footsteps ahead cause them to duck into an alcove once more. Ahead around a corner, steam issued from somewhere within the walls, causing a fog to blanket everything as moisture dripped from steel walls making the floor slick. Hiding in a darkened space, they watched as more than forty humanoid aliens rounded the corner, appearing out of the fog, to walk right past them without a sideward glance. Sam thought it peculiar at first, until she noted something out of the ordinary as she followed the aliens’ retreat down the corridor they had just come through. Strapped around each of the aliens’ throats was some sort of steel collar with blinking lights that appeared to continue down their spine for some distance. Each of them wore the device, and each of them walked in unison as if controlled by an outside entity.

“Did you see that?” Sam whispered.

“The collars?” Jack asked.

“Yeah, I think they are all being controlled,” Sam exclaimed.

“Like mind control?” Will asked.

“I guess so,” Sam admitted.

If she was right, then it explained a lot. Super technologically advanced aliens wouldn’t do manual labor themselves. Instead, they would create slaves of the races they conquered, and force them to do the work for them. It made sense, she supposed. Even so, she didn’t like it. But, it also meant that they might be able to use this knowledge to their advantage. If all the aliens they had seen thus far were slaves, perhaps they could free them somehow and work together to destroy what Tammy had referred to as the City of Angels.

* * * * *

Will barely hesitated for a second. Looking down the corridor first one way than the other, he spied the aliens as they passed, and making up his mind, he stood suddenly and darted away from his siblings. Retracing the path they had just taken, Will raced down the hallway, growing dangerously close to the aliens who had just passed them. Uncertain if his ability could overcome the control the aliens were under, Will cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted at the aliens’ backs.

“Hey you, stop right there!“ Will shouted.

Much to his surprise, or not, all the aliens stopped dead in their tracks. Grinning victoriously, Will vaguely noted the pounding footsteps of his friends and siblings behind him. Without any real plan, he simply stood staring at the aliens’ backs, waiting to see what they would do next. Then, just as Sam and Jack reached him, he had an idea.

“All of you take off your collars,” Will ordered.

Watching as the aliens complied, and their orders were carried out, each of the alien creatures blinked their eyes, looking around to one another as if confused. Within seconds everything went from calm to pandemonium. Stomping upon their discarded collars, the alien men and women began to turn angered glares upon Will and his companions. Some of them began to step forward, baring their teeth, making fists. Will knew he had to act.

Clenching his hands into fists, Will looked to all the aliens before him. It angered him, knowing that he had just freed them from slavery but was about to make them slaves of his own in a way. Even though he wished them to be free, the only way he could make them understand what he intended was to give them orders. Taking a deep breath, he glared at those before him, determined to set things right.

“Go outside the door. Remove the collars from all the rest of the slaves. Run away or help us destroy the city.”

For a moment, perhaps only a breath, the aliens stared at him as if confused once more. Just when he thought his power had failed him, Will watched as the first of the aliens began to turn back towards the exit. After a brief second, more and more aliens began to turn as if finally understanding his words. Mere moments more came and went, and the last of the aliens turned to depart. He had used his power, but realization shone in some of their eyes. Though they knew not his words, they understood well his intentions. Now, as the aliens fled, they moved with purpose. They wanted revenge. Will hoped secretly that they would get it.

Turning to his siblings who stood open-mouthed behind him, Will smiled up at his older brother.

“What? I thought we could use some help,” Will said with a shrug.

“I’m not arguing, but a heads up would be nice next time,” Jack admitted.

With nothing more to be said, Will and Jack simply smiled at each other as they both turned to head back into the fog further down the corridor. Everything was going perfectly. All they had to do now was find the actual invaders and defeat them. If it was as easy as freeing the enslaved aliens, Will doubted they would have much trouble. Picking up his pace to keep up with his siblings, Will held his shoulders high, assured that victory would be theirs just as the first screeches of a siren echoed down the halls as lights began flashing red and orange from the floors, walls, and ceiling. Will’s heart leapt up into his throat. Ahead of them a grinding screeching sound was emitted as a large steel door began to lower from the ceiling, sealing off the corridor. Filled with panic, Will and his companions spun to watch the same happening behind them.

Down the giant doors came. Only moments remained, and Will looked to his older brother for a decision. If they ran now they only had two choices. One, go back the way they came and exit the building. Or two, run ahead in hope that beyond the closing door ahead there would be no further barriers. Either way they were trapped, either outside the building or within it.

After just a fraction of a second it seemed both his older brother and sister had made up their minds. Jack bent low, sprinting ahead as fast as his legs would carry him, as Sam vanished from sight. Ahead Sam reappeared, waving them forward. Will complied without a thought. Like his brother ahead of him, and Tammy beside him, he pumped his short legs furiously as the door ahead lowered ever nearer to the ground. They weren’t going to make it.