I started writing this a while ago, was wondering if it was any good...


The Lives and Exploits of Post-Apocalyptic Freaks: Volume I

One
The year was 2287. Cascade, Idaho, was relatively unaffected by the Great Apocalypse. The only thing that got them was The Great Plague. Project Blue, as it was once called. A genetically modified strand of the Black Plague meant to be used as a “superweapon” by the U.S. Army. A nuclear blast had released it, and it devastated the world. The population Pre-Apocalypse had been approximately one thousand. Afterwards, it had gone down to less than twenty. A roaming group of survivors had eventually found it, and the population soared to over one hundred. It now sat at 163.
***
“Hey, Sam; get over here!” called a large, burly, man. His name was Henry Evans. He was 42, with a wife and three children. His wife was Anita Evans, 37. His three children were Sam Evans, 11; Chuck Evans, 15; and Alicia Evans; 17. They owned a 10 acre plot of land which they farmed for electricity using solar panels.
“SAM! Come here!” Henry called. Sam was a short, energetic boy with curly, jet black hair, and dark, solemn eyes.
“Yes Father?” He said quietly, looking up from the book he was reading. He was the smartest of the children, able to do more circuitry work with the solar panels then both of his siblings combined.
“Come here, I got work for you.” His Father replied tiredly, “Panel 34 is on the fritz. Can ya’ go check it out? I’m gonna nap for a while.” Out of the 45 solar panels on the Evans property, 13 ran consistently. The rest had to be repaired constantly.
“I’ll get right on it...” Sam sighed. He trudged to the panel, book in hand. Why do I have to work on a stupid, low power solar farm? Sam thought; why can’t we just build a power plant? He grudgingly did his duty, repaired what needed to be repaired, and sat back down to continue reading Moby Dick. The small town of Cascade had few commercial buildings still in commission; a library, a general store, and a semi-functional airport. There was also a small school run by a local couple for Grades 1-12. Sam was far beyond all of his classmates, and most of the grades above. There were four teachers, each teaching four grades: Mrs. Alia Roberts, Primary Teacher/Principal; Mr. Frederick Roberts, Intermediate Teacher; Ms. Felicia Stewart, Junior Teacher; and Mrs. Sarah Morgan, Senior Teacher. They had very limited school supplies, and had six hour school days, every second day, all year round. Each grade only had two hours of teaching time every two days, due to lack of teachers, and never learned much. Sam had learned to teach himself through reading, and surpassed most of the town. His dream was to leave for a bigger city someday.
As he sat reading, someone called him.
“Hey Sam, wanna come boating?” It was Drake Edwards, one of Sam’s closest friends. ‘Boating’ was a popular pastime in Cascade. It involved taking one of the old, rotting canoes found around Lake Cascade and trying to row across before everyone else, and without sinking.
“Sure.” Sam called back. He bookmarked his page, set down Moby Dick, and ran inside to ask his parents.
“Can I go boating with Drake?” He yelled as he entered the house.
“Alright, but be back by seven o’ clock!” His Mother yelled back; “We’re having stew!” Stew was almost a delicacy Post-Apocalypse, as was any food that wasn’t rotten, radioactive, or less than a few grams.
“Alright, thanks!” He called, running out the door and grabbing a faded red baseball cap. He ran to get his bike, or his excuse of one; what wasn’t made of wood was brown with rust, and neither gear-shifter nor brakes worked. Scrawled in faded blue paint down the side was “Super Sam’s SpeedMobile;” he had had the bike since age six. He rode it as fast as he could to the shore of Lake Cascade; luckily only a few hundred metres from his house. Waiting by the shore where five boats, and eight other kids. Drake Edwards, 12, tall with straight jet black hair and faded grey eyes. Danni Edwards, Drake’s sister, 14, and identical in almost every way to her brother; she was partnered with Gladis Bechard, also 14, large, with curly blond hair and piercing blue eyes. George Peterson, 12, with broad shoulders, long, greasy black hair and light brown eyes; paired with Wardley Peterson, his 16 year old brother, with similar build to his brother and bright green eyes. Rebecca Reed, 14; with crooked teeth, long brown hair and strange violet eyes; always drawing attention with her eyes. She was standing with Bethanie White, Her bleach-blonde best friend with deep, brown eyes. Bethanie was 13 and rivalled Sam in intelligence. Farthest away from Sam was John Hayes, 14; tall, with shoulder length brown hair and average brown eyes.
“Are we all set now?” Wardley asked. Murmurs of agreement followed.
“About time.” Gladis said irritably.
“Alright, so we’re all in pairs... except for John; but we’ll proceed normally,” Wardley announced, “First to land on the other shore is the winner, and shall be awarded $90 dollars. So, everyone, boats in the water!” Splashing and a flailing of bodies began, and suddenly, someone shouted.
“Wait up, wait for me!” It was Stewart McDonald, 14; and he was late. He ran as fast as he could the last hundred metres and leapt into John’s boat. John looked more annoyed than pleased.
“You’ve just wasted all your energy...” he murmured vehemently.
“Alright, the award is up to the proper $100 dollars now.” Wardley announced. There were murmurs of contempt. “Now everyone’s boats are in the water... on your marks, get set, GO!!!” There were sounds of many paddles splashing in the water. Sam and Drake pulled ahead with George and Wardley.
“You ain’t winnin’ this time!” Drake shouted. Sam paddled faster. Left, Right, Left, Right. Sam was methodically switching the side of his paddle strokes, in perfect alignment with his partner. They pulled ahead.
***
The race lasted almost two hours. Sam and Drake had one; they were each taking home $50 dollars.
“Mom, Dad; look what I won!” Sam shouted, bursting through the door and waving five $10 dollar bills in the air.
“That’s great Honey!” His mom replied from the small kitchen. Their house was menial at best. They had six rooms; a bedroom for the parents, one for the sister, and one for the brothers, a kitchenette, a main room, and a bathroom. None were more than seventy square feet.
“That’ll buy some real food!” Henry exclaimed. Even small amounts of money could buy basic necessities. Sam ate beef stew for dinner, read some more Moby Dick, and then went to sleep.
***
He awoke the next morning with a start.
“Hey, hey Sam; wake up! We gotta go boating again! Everybody wants a rematch!” It was Drake again.
“Why are you in my bedroom...?” Sam replied groggily.
“Because we’re going to make another hundred bucks!” Drake said.
“Fine.”
“Good. Hurry up, we don’t wanna be late!” Sam got out of bed; dressed, ate, and left a note: I’ve gone out boating again. I’ll be back soon. ~ Sam. He began to leave the house, and then was called back.
“Sam? Where are you going?” It was his Mother.
“I’m going boating again... I left a note.”
“Oh, alright. Be back soon!”
“Don’t worry, I will!” Sam replied. It was the last time he would ever see his mother.
***
Sam raced as fast as he could to the shore. When he got there, all of the same kids were there. Ten of them, wanting revenge. He didn’t want to take their money, but he didn’t want them to take his.
“Everybody, listen up!” It was Wardley again. “We are going to have a repeat of yesterday’s event; the only difference being the outcome.”
“Yeah right...” Drake muttered.
“Alright... boats in the water!” There were splashes and yells. Soon, everybody was out on the water, sailing smoothly. Suddenly, everything stopped. First came the noise. It was a deep, loud rumbling; followed by an explosive roar. Someone in the boats started screaming. Then came the flash. It was white, blinding, and all-encompassing. Next came the heat; a feeling as if the skin melts off and the bones become a molten soup. Sam started vomiting over the side of the boat. Lastly came the shockwave; like being hit by a wall moving at high-speed. It flipped every boat, saving the occupants lives. All ten children and teenagers were submerged. Even underwater, it was bright, hot, and loud. Even louder were the muffled underwater screams and sounds of vomiting. After what seemed like hours, Sam emerged.
The water was like a hot tub, but the flash and roar were gone. In their place was a consistent rumbling and the sounds of distant screaming, sirens, shouting, and burning. In the place where Cascade had once stood, a mushroom cloud was slowly rising. The kids were silent for a time, floating in the middle of a lake, holding on to their capsized canoes. Finally, John spoke up.
“Well, I believe we’re screwed now. I’m pretty sure everything we’ve ever known is gone, except each other. Shall we swim to shore?” It was a strange thing to say, but it got everyone moving. Some took the boats, some swam, and some were pushed despondently. When everyone had made it to shore, Wardley spoke up.
“Gladis is dead,” He said sombrely, “I don’t know how, but she’s dead now.” He pointed to her, lying face down on the beach; she looked like she had been hastily dragged on to shore and thrown away.
“I say we dig her a grave...” Stewart said quietly. There were murmurs of agreement.
“But we need to get the hell out of this town! We’re all getting irradiated as it is! Any longer and someone else will die!” John finally shouted. It was exactly what Sam was thinking. Bethanie nodded her agreement.
“Well, seeing as are resident geniuses think we should leave, I guess we have to.” Wardley softly replied. He sounded tired.
“Sam, your good with nuclear stuff, what was that and how long do we have?” Drake asked. Finally some sense around here. Sam thought.
“That was definitely a nuclear bomb, no doubt, and I’d say we have less than an hour before we’re all doomed.” He replied.
“How do you know that?” George asked. He was never the brightest.
“Well, the burning buildings a few hundred feet away are good evidence.” He answered, pointing to a levelled beach house.
“Oh...” George replied despondently.
“Alright, everyone get back in a boat; I’ll take the body; Danni and George, you go together. Let’s move!” Wardley ordered. He seemed to be assuming the role of leader. Just because you’re the oldest doesn’t mean you can order us around. Sam thought. At least you’re taking our advice. Everyone slowly got back in their boats and silently pushed off. Some went ahead unflinchingly. Some cried. Some looked back at the burning rubble pile that once was Cascade and the mushroom cloud that still hadn’t dissipated. But they all left. They paddled for hours, in a group, until they reached the other shore. No one had spoken across the water. Now idle conversations were starting; and, more importantly, questions were being asked. Wardley, Sam, Bethanie, and John were answering everything.
“Where do we go now?”
“Away.”
”What do we do?”
“Survive.”
“How?”
“We don’t know yet...” The intrepid crew walked. They walked for hours, until night. They were kilometres away.
“I think we’re safe now.” Bethanie suddenly announced. There were murmurs of agreement.
“Shall we dig a grave now?” Wardley asked. He had been carrying Gladis’ body the entire time they had been walking. John chuckled.
“Well, I guess this’ll do.” He said. They all began digging. The kids started talking about more trivial things, mostly schooling and work. At exactly 9:23 PM on July 23rd in the year 2287 nine children finished digging their friend’s grave. By the end of that year, less than half of them would be alive.
Two
On the morning of July 24th at 4:56 AM the children began moving. They had buried Gladis in a crude coffin made of rusty, scavenged metal and bits of wood and had buried her under a simple wooden cross with the words ‘Gladis Bechard, 2273-2287’ carved in Danni’s messy scrawl. They had found the remains of a rusty metal fence surrounding a nearby shack, which they had used to make a barrier around the grave. They had made camp using materials from the ruined shack which was no more; they had used it for firewood. They had eaten a few cans which they found inside, along with a map.
“How perfect,” John had exclaimed, “We find exactly what we need.” It had been true, what he said; the food and map were exactly what they needed at the time. Now that it was the morning after, they were heading southwest. Their destination was Ontario; a larger city that they dearly hoped had not somehow been levelled or eradicated. As they trudged through the wasteland of endlessly dead, brown hills, they could still look back and see their makeshift man-sized cross.
“We seem to have picked a pretty damn good spot, if I do say so myself.” Wardley said, pointing to the cross on the hill.
“Yeah, if we want it to get looted.” John replied.
“Well, maybe people will just flock to it, build a sort of mock graveyard around it.” Rebecca spoke up softly. Her voice was quiet yet somehow completely audible. It was also strangely melodic. She suddenly seemed strangely powerful. Everyone froze. She rarely spoke, except answering questions in school and talking to Bethanie privately. No one really knew what she was actually like, for the most part; she was somewhat of a recluse.
“What’s wrong?” She asked.
“They’re all just surprised you actually spoke up,” Bethanie replied, “As am I.”
“Well, it’s not like... oh, wait.” Rebecca said, then suddenly became quiet; “Let’s keep going.” Everyone slowly began to continue.
“That was weird; I never knew her voice sounded like that.” Drake whispered to Sam.
“Yeah, I’ve only ever heard her talk a few times... it sounded nothing like that.” Sam said. They continued walking for hours, later that day they encountered another group; they seemed to also be kids. There were six of them. The two groups slowly approached each other until they were about five metres apart.
“Who are you?” One of them called. It was a tall, slender boy with short blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He seemed to be the leader.
“Why don’t you tell us the same, say, over lunch?” John replied.
“We have food, if that’s what you mean.” The boy replied.
“Would you mind sparing some?” Danni called. She walked towards the boy.
“Well, maybe, I guess...” He began to mutter.
“Not until you tell us who you are!” A girl shouted. She also walked forward. She looked identical to the boy, they could easily be twins.
“Fine!” John answered. He began listing the name and age of their entourage. He ended with himself.
“Now you.” He called politely.
“I’m Ronan, Ronan Malbury,” The boy said, “15 years old. This,” He said, pointing to the girl who had spoken, “Is Amanda Malbury, also 15. Those two,” He pointed at the remaining two girls, “Are Sydney Lynch and Molly McAllister, 14.” Sydney was average height, with straight, long, black hair and faded grey eyes. Molly had bright red hair and violet eyes similar to Rebecca, she was short, and wore glasses.
“This is Maxwell Armstrong, 13.” Ronan said pointing to a tall, extremely muscular boy with almost no hair and brown eyes.
“And this is Steven Krueger, 15.” He said, waving despondently at the last of the group. He was short, with black hair and mysterious black eyes; he repeatedly shifted his weight and looked nervously around the group.
“So I guess that settles it,” John said, “Would you mind sharing some food?”
“Um, alright.” Ronan replied. Half of each group scattered to find fuel for a fire, while the other half prepared food. Sam was the latter.
“So, where do you guys come from?” He asked.
“We’re from up north, Canada, actually.” Ronan replied.
“Where’s that?” Drake questioned. Sam laughed.
“What, I don’t know where Canada is, alright?” He replied defensively.
“It’s another old country, just north of the US.” Ronan said. They all laughed. Soon, they had a bonfire going. The other group had backpacks full of canned food, and a case of bottles.
“What’re those?” Drake asked.
“Beer,” Ronan replied. He smiled, “At one time you weren’t allowed drinking this until you were 21 in some places.” He took out a bottle opener. Maxwell got out another two cases.
“Who wants one?” Ronan asked. Everyone agreed to try it. Within a few hours there were 15 drunken teenagers dancing and singing around a fire.
“Where di’ you get zis?” Sam slurred.
“Da beer ‘er da foo’?” Ronan replied.
“All’it!” Sam said.
“Scaveggie’d i’ from some ol’ builds! Goo’ ain’t it?” Ronan said. He barfed; then laughed, then barfed again. They drank and ate and carried on until almost sundown, when suddenly their party was crashed.
***
First came the gunshot; a single piercing blast that silenced every one of them. Three masked figures jumped out of the darkness brandishing large handguns.
“Give us all of your food and water!” The first one shouted. It was a gruff man’s voice.
“And give us whatever you’re drinking!” Another yelled. This voice was higher pitched, but still a male. Ronan instantly sobered up and pulled a concealed handgun out of his pants. Maxwell pulled out six and tossed five of them to whoever was closest. Ronan, Maxwell, Drake, Rebecca, Bethanie, Danni, and Sam were all suddenly pointing handguns at the intruders.
“Holy shit, they’ve got guns!” The high-pitched one squealed.
“Don’t just stand there, shoot them!” The gruff one ordered. The men apparently didn’t expect to use their weapons, as they missed every shot. Finally, Ronan fired. He shot off two bullets into the gruff man’s chest, and then pointed it to the silent one. There were multiple gasps.
“Jesus Christ you killed him!” The high-pitched man screamed. He began to run and dropped at the sound of a much more potent weapon. Maxwell had hit the man in the back of the head, blowing the contents into the darkness. The last man simply dropped his gun and put his hands up. Amanda, as if she had done it before, walked up and casually tied the man’s hands behind his back. The crew suddenly started hauling the two bodies back towards their fire.
***
Ronan took the masks off of all three men. The one that Maxwell had shot ceased to have anything resembling a face. Ronan turned the body over, face down. The other dead man’s head was intact. He looked old, about sixty, with a rough red beard, a shaven head, and brown eyes. He was also turned over. Finally, Ronan turned to the prisoner.
“Who are you?” He growled. The man began wiggling.
“Talk to me God damn it!” He was getting angry. The man wiggled again, and then stopped moving.
“Do you sign?” Ronan asked. The man nodded, and then shook his head.
“Which one?” He asked again, trying to remain calm. The man nodded. Ronan untied him. He slowly stood up, and then began to move.
He first pointed at his own chest with his thumb, and then made a rectangular shape above his left breast with his index fingers. Then he pointed at the fire and hopped. He tilted his head and raised his arms in a “Do you understand?” gesture. Ronan shook his head.
“I see it,” John said. He walked forward. “Your name is Fire Jumper.” The man nodded earnestly.
“How the...” Ronan began, but was cut off by a chorus of “Shh’s.” The man began to move again. He showed ten fingers, then two. Then he pointed at the setting sun and moved his hand across the horizon. The he held up five fingers. He then made an “all-encompassing” gesture at the crowd. Then he pointed at one of the first stars, then the ground, and then made a fist and circled it with his index finger and pointed at a blue tin can. He then made wave motions with his arm and another “all-encompassing” gesture. Then he rubbed his hands together. Then he rubbed some dirt off with his shirt. He made a stabbing gesture at himself and wiggled his fingers while moving his hand down his chest. He then pointed at Ronan’s red shirt. He pointed his thumb at his chest. He then held up his right hand. He shook his head and made another “all-encompassing” gesture and pointed at Ronan’s bare arm. He finally pointed at Ronan’s shirt and a green can. He made his “Do you understand?” gesture again and was finally still.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?!” Ronan yelled. The man shook his head. He then pointed at himself, then the sky. He held his hand up and dropped it down again. He hit the bottom of his hands together repeatedly and then slid his index finger off of the bottom of one hand. He repeated this several times, and then pointed to himself. He put his arm down, and pointed to himself again. He pointed to the crowd. He pointed towards the southern horizon. He made his “Do you understand?” gesture. A few seconds passed, everyone was silent; thinking.
“I’ve got it!” John exclaimed.
“Something to do with you and space, multiple generations, you, you coming with us south.” He said matter-of-factly.
“But what the hell is that supposed to mean?” Ronan asked.
“I, I think I know;” Rebecca said in her quiet, powerful voice; “He’s not human. He’s an alien, but of multiple generations. And he wants to come with us.” The man nodded earnestly. He suddenly backed away from everyone. Ronan pulled his gun.
“Don’t move!” He yelled. The man seemed to start glowing. Sam realized it was coming from intersecting vertical and horizontal lines over his face. Suddenly, his face began to peel diagonally along the lines. An intense light came from beneath. His skin peeled, starting with the face, and continuing down the body. The light remained. After he had successfully shed his skin, the light began to fade. The fifteen children got their first glimpse of a Void.
Three
The Void was only vaguely human. It had a humanoid shape, but was extremely different otherwise. Its skin looked solid, metallic, and was a faded pink colour. It was also slightly transparent. Its limbs and torso were unnaturally thin, its arms made of two connected pieces similar to human bones, with an extremely small space in between. Its legs were similar, except one solid piece each. Its torso was lined, almost wrinkled looking, except they were deep and jagged looking. Its feet were seven claws sticking out on both sides and the front, curved upwards and looking like sabres. Its hands were simply a group of nine digits on each arm, long and thin, almost tentacle-like, able to move in any direction. Its head was the strangest. It was slightly larger than a human head; except that it was perfectly spherical. It had no features, human or otherwise, except intersecting lines running around the length of its head. They were faded into almost nothing on the back, deep and defined on the front. They seemed to move across the head as the creature looked around. This creature was about six and a half feet tall, whether they were all huge, the kids did not know. They also didn’t know whether they all communicated in the strange charades-like way that this one did. There was a long silence in which the children took in the features of this strange creature. Finally, Ronan broke the silence.
“How in hell did you fit in that human suit thing?” He asked. The creature began its charade. First it pointed at itself, then held his hands up and closed them together, and then pointed at the skin. It finally ended with its “Understand?” gesture. Most of the kids nodded.
“You... you squeezed into that?” George asked in disbelief. The creature nodded.
“Wow...” He said. The lines on its face began to glow slightly.
“What does that glowing mean?” Ronan asked. It put two of its fingers on the lower half of its face and drew a “U” shape.
“It’s like smiling?” Ronan asked. It nodded.
“What did you say your name was?” Bethanie asked it. It pointed to the fire and hopped.
“Oh, right, Fire-Jumper.” She said.
“What gender are you?” Ronan asked. It shook its head.
“Do you have genders?” He asked again. It shook its head once more.
“Oh, well... how do you reproduce?” He continued questioning. It held up two fingers, side by side, and then moved them apart.
“You multiply?!” He asked, astonished. It nodded.
“That’s amazing.” Bethanie murmured. It glowed again.
“Well, its getting dark, shall we sleep now?” Ronan inquired of the group. There were nods and murmurs of agreement. The newer group of kids had two large tents, one for girls and one for boys. They each held five people. Danni, Drake, John, Stewart, Sam, and Fire-Jumper slept outside.
***
The next morning the large group began packing up. Nobody really wanted to ask the question they were all thinking, and they were silent for a while. Finally, Sam spoke up.
“So, Ronan, where are you guys heading?” He asked.
“There’s a town called Cascade just up north, we were gonna go check it out, see if it’s abandoned or not.” He replied.
“Oh my god...” Danni said, “There is no more Cascade.”
“What do you mean?” Ronan asked.
“That’s where we come from.” She said. “Er, came from.”
“Oh... what happened?” He asked.
“There was an explosion. A bomb.” She answered. Everyone was silent for a while.
“Well, I guess we don’t know where we’re going now.” Ronan muttered.
“Why don’t you come with us?” Sam asked. Everyone knew the answer.
“Sure.” Ronan said. It was at that moment that the two groups became one.
“And about Fire-Jumper. Is he coming?” Sam asked again. Fire-Jumper nodded earnestly.
“I guess so.” Ronan answered. After that, they packed up everything they had and began moving southwest, towards Ontario. They walked for most of that day, until they came upon a large abandoned-looking building. I was mostly made of wood, and parts of the roof had collapsed. There was a rotting “Inn” sign hanging over the front door, which was open. The sound of voices could be heard inside. The group walked in. They were greeted by a strange sight, at least twenty men, women, and void; gathered around a bar and a pool table. A large woman ran out from behind the bar as they entered. She was at least six foot five, overweight, and had dark brown hair and eyes. She was a rarity in the world, for not many people had the sustenance to be even average weight.
“Why Hello there! Welcome to my Inn children! My name is Tabitha Sanchez, but you can call me Tabby. Come in, come in, don’t be shy. I won’t bite! Oh, and you brought a friend!” She exclaimed, pointing to Fire-Jumper.
“What’s your name?” She asked. Fire-Jumper began his litany by pointing to a random bottle behind the bar, making a wave with his arm, and then shaking his head. He jumped. He made his ‘Understand?’ gesture and was still.
“What are you doing?” Tabitha asked.
“That’s how he communicates.” Bethanie answered.
“Well I don’t get it...” Tabitha said, puzzled.
“Most of us don’t,” Bethanie said, “But his name is Fire-Jumper.” Another Void sitting at the bar suddenly spat his drink all over the man sitting beside him. He jumped up, ran over to the group, and seemed to start dancing. Fire-Jumper did the same. They both seemed to be able to communicate in the same strange fashion. They were both glowing, literally. Finally, the drink-spitting Void began speaking. The horizontal line seemed to ripple and flow as it talked.
“Fire-Jumper, my brother, I have missed you!” To the surprise of the children, Fire-Jumper spoke back. His voice was a heavy baritone, and carried well throughout the Inn.
“Water-Jumper, my twin! How I have longed to see you for all of these years!” They began talking.
“Fire, how has life been for you?”
“Not so well, brother. I had to join a band of raiders just to survive. It was horrendous! Luckily, these children freed me from their bond. How has the world treated you?”
“Better than your misfortune, I assure you. I have a steady job scavenging for this fine establishment, and I live hear free of charge!”
“That is good my brother; may you lend me and my comrades a hand? Perhaps a meal and a good night’s sleep? It would do great things for them, I assure you.”
“Why of course! Tabitha, a round of drinks for my friends here!”
“Alright, just a minute!” Tabitha called. Finally, Sam spoke up.
“How are you guys brothers if you reproduce how you do?” He asked.
“Why, we both split off the same parent, of course. Our dear old Father... of course, none of us really have a gender, but we presume them living on Earth.” Water-Jumper replied. He had a voice similar to his brother. The children all pondered this as Tabitha came and brought them into a room full of tables.
“Just take a seat anywhere; I’ll be back with drinks!” She called.
“Allow me to help!” Water-Jumper yelled running after her.
“So, Fire-Jumper, why don’t you just speak English?” Ronan asked.
“It is a cultural thing, maybe someday I will show you where I come from and you will understand.” He replied. The crew was sitting for almost ten minutes when they heard shouting in the main room. There was a scream. Water-Jumper suddenly burst into their room and pressed a hidden button on the wall, opening a few more to reveal rows of weaponry.
“Take what you can handle and come to fight!” He yelled, grabbing a large shotgun and running back out of the room. As he left, he called back;
“They’re all loaded!” The group began scrambling out of their seats. The walls were full of shotguns, handguns, and hunting rifles. There were even a few grenades. Sam grabbed two small revolvers and an extra box of ammo underneath. I hope they fit. He thought wearily. The scene felt almost like a dream. As he began running into the main room, he heard John calling;
“Meet outside behind the Inn if anything goes wrong!” Sam continued running. The enemy was easy to identify, all Void, wearing tight black suits covering everything except their faces. I hope they die like humans. Sam thought. He fired both handguns. One bullet missed and bounced off of the door, flying randomly into the room. The second shot hit home. It landed in the upper-left quadrant of one of the Void’s heads and blew it into chunks of crystalline pink flesh and strangely glowing orange blood. He continued firing, taking out two more of the invaders. The man he was standing beside fell down in a spray of blood. Suddenly, Sam’s guns started clicking. He was out of ammo. He fumbled with it and the box he pulled from his pocket. He suddenly felt a jolt of pain up his right leg. He looked down and saw a pool of blood beginning to form. Everything slowly darkened and quieted, until all was black and silent. The last thing he heard as he went under was an extremely high-pitched voice shouting; “Grabarlo!”
***
Sam awoke. The first thing he noticed was the pain. It seared up his right leg; burning, frying, seeming to become the heat of the sun. Finally, Sam let out a hoarse scream. It shattered the silent air, and sent two people running towards him. As they reached him he recognized them. One of them was Bethanie, who had mixed red and orange blood covering her.