“Fuck it,” Charlie said, turning his back. “Sorry, I don’t mean to be an ass, I just thought…” He took a deep breath as Denver entered the room and stood in front of him.
“It’s not a problem, dad. We’ll go get it. It’s only an hour’s walk. We’ll get the part and be out of here. The plan can still go ahead.”
“You’re right, son. I just wanted… I’m just getting impatient in my old age.”
“Here,” Mike said, handing Charlie a small black disc the size of an old dollar coin. “That’s the burnt-out one we found. We need something like that; two if you can find them would be even better. Always good to have a backup.”
“You got it. We’ll go now. Quicker we get it the quicker we can carry out the rest of the plan,” Charlie said. “How long will it take you to fit?”
“A few minutes,” Mai said.
“Come on, son, let’s go for a midday stroll into town.”
“We’re coming with you,” Maria said. “If it’s this important, we can be of help. Be spotters or something, some extra backup.”
“No,” Charlie said. “It’s too dangerous. Anything and anyone can be out there. They’re not all gonna be like the last lot. The city dwellers are more hardcore. We need to move quickly and without fuss. It’s better if it’s just Den and me.”
“Fuck that,” Ethan said, surprising everyone. He slapped his hand on the table. “We’ve been through all kinds of crap to get here. I appreciate you looking out for us, but Ben’s been sent off to who knows what fate, and now you want us to just sit back. What if you get into trouble and we’re just sitting round waiting for you? No, we’re going.”
Mike grinned at Charlie as he patted the kid on the shoulder. “Looks like they’ve made their own mind’s up, Chuck. Let ‘em go with you. You can’t protect everyone. At some point everyone has to call their own shots and stand on their own two feet.”
“Exactly,” Maria said. “It’s our choice, not yours.”
Shrugging his shoulders, Charlie turned his back and headed for the exit tunnel. “Grab your guns and follow me. On your own heads be it.”
THE MIDDAY SUN was just passing noon, creating thin stubby shadows on the broken sidewalks and roads where the blacktop had long splintered off to expose the concrete beneath.
Few trees had managed to settle within the city, but there were still overgrown areas of bushes and shrubs, contrasting their natural hues with the monochromatic palette of human endeavor. Charlie and Denver stuck to the main streets where possible. If there were any survivors in the area, they’d likely be in the houses; many had set up homes there or the low rise apartment buildings almost as if nothing had happened.
There were some who still thought it meant something to live in Manhattan. But the place was a ghost town now with little to offer anyone apart from the most basic of shelters. Unlike Mike and Mai’s basement that had power from the building’s rebuilt diesel generators, almost none of the makeshift domiciles had any power. Years before, Charlie had been part of a fuel group whose task was to extract fuel from other generators, cars and trucks.
The yield was low, but given the sheer number of sources, they’d managed to gather enough to keep the Quaternary basement running with power for decades to come. Most of that was due to Mai’s genius in mixing the diesel generators with solar and wind power.
They’d made their way about half way to the warehouse, weaving in and out of streets, making sure they were covered at all times by shadows or dilapidated buildings. Denver, as ever took point, using his scope to observe their intended route.
Maria and Ethan took up the rear and watched the flanks.
Charlie kept his attention on the sky. He didn’t want to worry the others, but ever since they arrived he’d seen the shadow out of the corner of his eye and the glint of something in the clouds. It was flying in stealth mode now, but after hearing the roar earlier, he knew it was here.
Which of course was one of the reasons he didn’t want the others to come with him, but like Mike said, they had to make the choice; he couldn’t protect them at all times.
They crossed a street, rounding a pair of rusted limousines. Most of the road signs had lost all their lettering to the elements. Given the destruction, he couldn’t tell exactly where they were, but knew they’d walked for thirty minutes, always heading north. The Ford warehouse wouldn’t be much further.
As the turned left out of a tight avenue they came to a wide road that led straight forward. Before Charlie could warn the others, having just seen the shadow the instant he walked out on to the road, an alien fighter craft, triangular, flat and deadly black landed at the end of the street no more than a hundred feet away.
“Get into cover,” Charlie shouted as he dived behind a pile of rubble on the left side of the street. Denver joined him, Maria split to the right, and Ethan remained in the middle of the street looking confused, his attention on the alien craft.
It looked nothing like the regular croatoan shuttles and was more advanced than the first fighters that came down after the invasion. This was something new.
A door opened, blue light surrounded an alien creature with an almost neon glow. This was no ordinary alien. It was twice as tall as any croatoan soldier and featured a form-fitting matte-black suit. Its head was flat and pointed, resembling the triangular hull of its craft.
Before anyone had time to do anything, a blast of blue energy shot out down the road. Charlie screamed for Ethan to move, but the kid was too slow, too scared. The bolt of energy coalesced into what looked like ball lightning.
It struck Ethan with a crackling explosion.
The boy’s body seemed to be ripped apart at a cellular level as he screamed. A few seconds later and all that remained was a charred black stain on the street’s surface. He’d been completely vaporized.
Another bolt, smaller this time fired down the street, crashing into the debris. Charlie and Denver jumped back just in time. The shot destroyed half of the concrete before it ran of energy. The air crackled with electricity. Maria screamed from the others side.
“Get down! Stay down,” Charlie screamed over to her. He pulled the pistol from his hip and aimed at the alien. It was on the move now, walking purposefully down the street, reaching behind its back.
“Mother fucker,” Denver said as he raised rifle, using a part of the partially melted rubble to steady his aim. He adjusted the scope and took a deep breath.
Charlie fired of three controlled shots, aiming for the giant alien’s legs and torso. His aim was off. Something about the way the alien moved made it hard to focus. “Shoot the fucker,” Charlie said, urging his son.
Denver obliged. The crack of the rifle echoed around the buildings. The shot was true, but the alien seemed to shift physically in a blur. Charlie fired off two more shots. They went right through the weird-phasing movement of the alien, striking the craft with a spark behind him.
Maria, screaming, shot out from her position, lifting her shotgun.
“No!” Charlie screamed. “Get back. Now.”
It was too late.
Maria stood in the street now, directly opposite the alien. Charlie could tell now with Maria as reference that the damned thing must be at least seven and a half foot tall. Its limbs were twice as thick and muscular as any soldier croatoan.
When the phasing stopped, it came into full focus. The black form-fitting armor seemed to harden. Maria fired off two shots. The buckshot bounced of its armor.
It lifted the rifle-like weapon, its barrel square and at least a meter and a half long, and aimed it Maria. Its long talon-like fingers curled around a trigger.