Children of the After: The Complete Series: A Young Adult Postapocalyptic Action and Adventure series (37 page)

Holding out her hand, Sam accepted the piece of chalk back from Tammy and without a word she ported out of the room again.

* * * * *

Will watched as Sam vanished again as if she had never been there. It was a cool superpower to have and he was a little jealous that he hadn’t gotten it, but he supposed his power was just as good. If he wanted to go somewhere, he could just tell someone to carry or drive him. Then again, whenever a superhero abused their power something bad happened to them, so he supposed he had better not just start giving orders so that he could be lazy.

Within just a few seconds Sam ported in again, scribbled a line here, a letter there and
poof
, she was gone. Looking at the chalkboard, it became evident to Will that this process could take a while and as such he looked around the room. Finding what he sought in the corner, he pulled the teacher’s leather office chair across the floor and hopped in it.

Digging in his pocket, he pulled out the bag of M&M’s and tore the top off it before pouring several of the yummy little chocolate morsels in his hand. Tilting his head back he dumped the handful of candy in his mouth and just let the candy shells dissolve off slowly as Sam teleported in again, scribbled some more, and vanished. Yup. He had time.

After at least a quarter of an hour and like fifty arrivals and departures of Sam later, a map was beginning to take shape and Tammy helped by sorting out the letters to words. At one point, Sam ported in with a map which she said was of the actual town they were in.  All the while, Will sat comfortably in his chair, spinning it slowly as mouthful after mouthful of chocolate dissolved deliciously, coating his mouth in yummy goodness.

Taking the time to daydream, Will decided that when the world sought to repay him for all of his heroic deeds, he would ask for his payment in candy. No matter how he looked at it, it was a great idea. Who wouldn’t want candy? After all, asking for the money to buy all the candy sounded kind of greedy, but a gift of candy, well that was another story altogether.

Another fifteen, twenty, or five hundred minutes passed and Sam appeared in the room yet again, her body swaying this way and that slightly as if she had just spent the same hour or so with Will, spinning in the chair. Grinning a chocolate-stained grin at the thought, Will hopped out of his chair to inspect Sam’s map.

As it turned out, it looked rather like a map, if a map was drawn by a dog with an unsteady paw. Aside from that, Will was fairly certain Sam should keep her powers and stay a superhero because her chances as an artist or map drawer person were probably not too good.

“I think that’s everything,” Sam said, panting like she had just run a marathon.

“OK. I get the highway here, and the interstate there, and looking at the map I can see both of those towns, but what the heck is that big thing at the end of the road? It doesn’t show on this map, but I guess it’s too far out of town. What do you think it is?” Jack asked.

“I don’t know, I can try and draw it again. Maybe I missed something,” Sam offered.

“I don’t think so, Sam,” Tammy interrupted. “I don’t think it is supposed to be on any of the maps drawn by your people. I think that is why they took all the effort to hide it like this.”

“So what do you think it is?” Sam asked, looking at Tammy for answers.”

“It’s a spaceship,” Will answered, cocking his head on an angle and scrunching up his face. “Look,” he said, snatching the chalk from Sam’s hand.

Approaching the board, Will reached up and wiped away a couple of the lines with his sleeve and adjusted them. Then, wiping away another section, he rearranged the lines Sam had drawn, and redrew them in an order that made sense. There it was. In its basic essence it was like any other spaceship he had seen in cartoons or old comics. It was long and pointy with fin-like supports at the bottom, and out from its side was some sort of stabilizer used to help it launch or something. Under it, was simply an X drawn on the map where the road apparently ended.

“You’re right,” Sam said, as both Jack and Tammy nodded at him.

It was a spaceship, though a really, really big one if drawn to scale on the map. If they headed in its direction, they shouldn’t have any trouble finding it. Good enough. All he had to do to be a superhero now was go to this ship, kick the bad guys’ butts and send them packin’ back to wherever they came from. Will had his plan all figured out. Turning around, he pulled another bag of candy from his pocket and hopped back up and into the leather chair.

* * * * *

Tammy stood back and looked at the map that Samantha had compiled. It was crude, but effective enough to give them the next destination on their journey. She had a feeling that whatever it was that they were supposed to do, it was at the other end of that map.

Following the route on it would be easy enough. Follow the main highway out of town until they hit the interstate and then follow it south until they found a giant space craft.

“How far do you think that is?” Sam asked no one in particular.

“Hard to say,” Jack replied.

“Not far enough,” Tammy answered.

“What do you mean?” Sam asked.

“As long as it is here, we will not be safe. We have to find a way to destroy it or make them leave.”

That was what it all boiled down to and Tammy knew it. There was little chance of peace so long as the invaders who had abducted her people and delivered them here were still allowed to force their will on this planet. It might not be her people’s home, but it was the only place she had ever been where she wasn’t a prisoner. Here she could make real choices and stand up for what she thought was right. Here she had a purpose. Here she had a chance at a future that involved peace, happiness and safety. If anything was worth fighting for, that was it.

After all of them had committed the few important details on the map to memory, Sam reached up with her sleeve and wiped it all away. Every last line.

“Should we leave today?” Tammy asked after Sam was finished.

“It’s still pretty early. I don’t see why not,” Sam replied.

“Yeah, we can go get our stuff and collect some extra food just in case, and see where that map takes us,” Jack added.

“Yup. Let’s go earn me that candy,” Will added.

“Huh?” Sam, Jack, and Tammy questioned simultaneously.

“Never mind,” Will replied. “Let’s just go.”

Leaving the classroom behind, Tammy and her friends retraced their steps back to the original classroom containing the boxes and crates of supplies to gather up everything they would need. Digging through the boxes, they each chose several MREs to bring with them, though Tammy hadn’t a clue what any of hers would taste like. Anything had to be better than paper.

In less than an hour they had packed up their gear, and together they walked down the hall. Unlocking the door they had entered before, Jack held it open for the rest of them. As they all stepped through, they were temporarily blinded by the bright daylight and without warning, a great shadow enveloped them all as hot breath blasted across their faces. The same instant they fell into its shadow, they were met by the same ferocious roar that had echoed across the town the day before.

Reacting by instinct, Jack threw up his hands as the huge beast before them rocketed backwards more than a dozen yards, thrown by his telekinetic power. Turning, he looked to his panic-stricken siblings and Tammy, ushering them back towards the door. It didn’t take much to convince them. Rushing back inside the concrete walls of the school, Jack turned back to pull the door closed just as the creature reached it from the outside.

With massive fingers as thick and long as one of Jack’s forearms, the beast grasped the door out of Jack’s hand and tore it from its hinges, casting it backwards over its head with no effort at all. Like a huge gorilla, the thing bashed its fists upon its chest, surging forward and reaching into the hallway, seeking to grasp them and pull them free. Fleeing its grasp, Jack and his group retreated further into the hallway.

Too big to gain entry into the building, the enormous ape began pulling and clawing at the door’s frame, ripping out chunks of concrete with every swipe. Within seconds it tore away a large portion of the wall as the unsupported roof above it began to cave in as well. Ripping and clawing the building apart as if it were made of Styrofoam, the monster came on, tearing itself a large path through the building it decimated.

Running down the hall in an attempt to evade the creature, Jack looked over his shoulder to realize that there was no hope. On the monster came, pulling and tearing down wall and roof with amazing efficiency. They were barely keeping ahead of the thing. With limited options, Jack did the only thing he could think of.

Stopping to let his family and friend get away, Jack focused on his task as two large slabs of concrete heaved up and out of the creature’s path. Focusing his power, the car-sized pieces of ruined building slammed into either side of the monster’s head, causing it to scream out in both pain and anger.  Enraged, the beast shook its head and came forward with renewed vigor.

Turning, Jack began to run once again, sprinting as fast as his legs would carry him. Gaining some distance, he turned again and pushing with all his might, he used his power to pull the feet out from beneath the enormous gorilla thing. Down it went in a mass of flailing limbs and a cloud of dust as it again screamed, though this time there was only pain.

Watching as it rose once again, he noted a jagged piece of pipe protruding from the beast’s leg as it lumbered forward anew. As it gained momentum, Jack again turned and ran, sprinting past the intersection of the hallways and past Will who stood there watching the creature grow nearer.

Realizing that Will had put himself in danger, Jack slid to a stop, twisting low to the ground as he dug in his toes to propel himself back the way he had come, but it was already too late. The beast slowed as it reared up above Will on its hind legs, roaring at him defiantly, yet Will didn’t move. Instead, the small boy held out his hand as if in greeting and shouted to be heard over the beast’s deafening roar.

“Stop it, I said!” Will shouted, and the creature crashed back down onto all four limbs, blinking its eyes. “You cut it out this instant!” he demanded, quoting one of their mother’s favorite scolding phrases. “You are not going to hurt us. You are not going to eat us. As a matter of fact, you are our friend and you are going to protect us. Do you understand?”

Will’s fear for his brother abated. The boy was crazy, that much was obvious, but this was the answer. This was how they were going to defeat the invaders. Will could command an army with zero effort. All they needed was the army. Watching on, Jack approached his younger brother cautiously as Tammy and Sam reappeared out of the shadowed depths of the hallway behind him.

“You be a good boy now and stay here while I get some medicine for your leg. Understand?” Will asked, as the huge beast cocked its head to one side before sitting its bottom upon the debris-littered floor.

With no more than complete trust over his newly acquired ability, Will turned and walked right past the creature like it was no more than a puppy and retraced his steps down what remained of the hall. Here and there he climbed over piles of collapsed roof and walls, but he more or less just wandered down the hall like nothing at all had happened. Crazy. Absolutely crazy.

Shaking his head, all Jack could do was stand and watch the creature to be sure the effect wouldn’t wear off and turn the thing into a crazed beast again, but nothing happened. Soon enough, Will reappeared from the rubble with two bottles in one hand and a collection of green packages in the other.

Approaching the creature, the small boy looked up into its ape-like face.

“Turn your head so you don’t see it. This is going to hurt a bit, but I’m just trying to help you. OK?”

The ape turned its massive head. Sitting down it had to be at least nine feet tall, all of fifteen when it stood, and the thing was all thick limbs and muscle. Jack bet it weighed at least three to four thousand pounds. It was like a hairy elephant with long arms and legs and an ape’s head, but here it was, obeying his little brother like a trained lap dog.

“Jack, can you pull that pipe out of his leg? I’m not big enough.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

Reaching up, Jack took hold of the pipe. Looking up to gauge the monster’s reaction when the pipe was pulled upon, Jack yanked back as the pipe slid upwards and out of the leg, leaving a deep jagged wound.

“This is gonna sting,” Will warned before popping the cap on a bottle of hydrogen peroxide.

Turning the bottle up, Will sprayed a jet of the liquid all over the alien ape’s wound and watched as it bubbled and fizzed, causing the creature to suck in a sudden breath and pound one fist on the concrete floor. When it stopped, he opened the first package under his arm and using a huge swath of sterile gauze he wiped the wound clean. Tearing open another identical package, he opened the other container in his hand and squeezed out the yellowish salve onto the gauze. Pressing it to the beast’s leg, he looked again to Jack.

“Can you hold this?”

“Sure,” Jack reached up and held the bandage in place.

“You can look now,” Will said to the creature as it turned its head back.

Tearing open a final package, Will removed a large roll of what looked like ace bandage only it was white in color. Wrapping it round and round the creature’s leg, he kept it tight and when finished secured it in place with the Velcro provided at the end of the roll. Will had just bandaged the wound on an alien that just moments before wanted them all dead.

“So what now, genius?” Jack asked.

“Now I think I’ll name him.”

“Like what?”

“Hmm,” Will said looking up to the giant ape. “I am going to call you Fairy Pickle,” he said to the ferocious looking beast.

“What? No. Come on, Will… Fairy Pickle? Really? Jack asked looking to Sam and Tammy, who still stood by in shock of the whole event.

“What? Is Fairy Pickle too scary?” Will asked.

“Of course it isn’t scary,” Jack protested.

“Good, then when we get into trouble, and I call for Fairy Pickle, our enemy will laugh right up until they get eaten.”

Genius. Jack had been wrong. He wasn’t crazy. The boy was a genius. Jack couldn’t even reply to his baby brother. All he could do was shake his head in defeat and turn away.

“You hear that, big fella. I am going to call you Fairy Pickle. You stay close, but not too close, understand? I don’t want you stepping on us by accident or something. If I call you, you better come. OK?”

And that was it. The big beast grinned stupidly like a dog might, looking around for something to get into. It was ridiculous, but then again, Jack couldn’t think of anything over the past few weeks that made any sense. Fairy Pickle it was.

* * * * *

Sam stood absolutely dumbfounded. She knew that if Jack thought Will in any danger that he would protect their little brother, but her mind still failed to process exactly what it was that had happened. One moment they were about to be alien monster food and the next Will was patting the creature on the leg telling it that everything was going to be OK, or some other such nonsense.

“So wait… What exactly just happened?” Sam asked Jack.

“Oh… um… Will got a new puppy.”

Yup. Sam gave up.

“So are we going?” she asked.

“Yeah, let’s get moving,” Jack replied, as if nothing strange at all had occurred.

It didn’t take long and they were back out on the street, scouring the area around the school for a small car that Jack could control more easily than the four by four jeep. It took less than half an hour to locate a small hatchback car in a nearby driveway. Although its paint was bubbled on one side from the house that had burned to the ground beside it, and all the glass was broken, it otherwise looked more or less untouched by the alien apocalypse. Jack gave it one look and deemed it fit transportation for his purposes and after they loaded up their gear, they were backing out of the drive with Fairy Pickle watching on from about a block down the road.

The day went almost perfectly from that point. They left town traveling west and found the interstate easily after that, turning the car towards the south. Fairy Pickle chased them down the road, kicking abandoned cars and picking them up to toss them as if it were a game.

It was late evening and around three hundred miles later when they first saw the tip of the alien ship on the horizon. With every mile it grew taller and the devastation upon the land grew more evident. Trees were gone. Grass pummeled to the ground. No houses, buildings, cars, nothing. Everything was gone, reduced to dust and ash. For two more hours the thing grew, taller and taller it loomed, jutting up into the sky like a giant finger reaching for the moon, but it wasn’t a rocket ship. At least Sam didn’t think so. No. It was a city.

Built vertically, one layer atop the previous, millions of tons of steel scavenged from the world of men had been brought to this place and used to erect this monstrous alien creation. Hundreds of stories tall, the thing rose to a point so high that Sam couldn’t really make it out from the ground. Here and there great arcs of electricity shot across its surface as sparks rained down. Bits and pieces of buildings and vehicles could be seen upon its surface, welded into place as if it were a grotesque sculpture created to celebrate the destruction of human kind. The view alone made Sam’s stomach turn.

“What are we going to do?” she asked no one in particular.

“We’re going to tear it down,” Jack replied without even a moment’s hesitation.

-End