Along Came the Others

The plummet wasn’t nearly as eventful as we expected. No War of The Worlds chaos, no mass public illness wiping out the population, there wasn’t even a red alert sent out to anyone’s phone, the end of the world happened just as it began; abruptly and before we even knew what was happening.

First came the innocent initiatives like the recycling movements and environmental protection groups, us attempting to repair the damage bestowed on our planet. Then we quietly turned from healing the Earth to the race to escape it, as the wealthy sought to break loose of the damage they helped create. The distractions started, one fight turned into another, and while we argued about plastic straws and who was at fault for the housing crisis, the elites sent up their rockets and depleted our natural resources.

It wasn’t long after the first attack in Tristan da Cunha, maybe a month or two, that the world started to catch on to what was happening. Although even then we didn’t understand. The mass murders became some lady’s true-crime podcast episode and the sheer mystery of it all sparked endless threads on paranormal subreddits. We barely batted an eye while they wiped out the most rural places, completely demolishing entire villages. From all the forgotten crevices of Earth; Pitcairn Island, Antarctica, hell, even from the depths of Yosemite, they hunted.

Turns out the Big Footers weren’t so far off after all. A little bit abstract maybe, but definitely had the right idea.

The religious folks chalked the attacks up to some sort of biblical consequence of our collective sins and the scientists’ marveled at the fact that they were wrong about what happened to the ancient human relatives. We thought natural selection took out the sub-human species making them extinct over time, but it turns out they adapted to the conditions just like us.

And they were tired of hiding.

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“The East is gone Annie, it’s gotta be ” Vernon groaned, bending down to adjust his worn leather boot.

I squinted up looking at the sun sitting high in the clear sky, slightly after midday.

“We will make it to Richmond before nightfall ” I assured, dusting off my jeans and removing the gas nozzle from my bike.

This region belonged to the Night Jumpers, the type Denisovans said to come from the buried cave systems that run along the midwest. They are ruthless hunters with perfect night vision and hearing like a bat. The fuckers could land perfect jumps from like 60 feet drops, making them an absolute terror in the Appalachia. Even the most seasoned hunters didn't stand a chance. They knocked out everything between Atlanta and Richmond.

“ We haven’t heard from Richmond in three days. ” he sighed, slipping on his helmet and hopping on his motorcycle.

This is true. We set out from our base in Atlanta four days ago, after receiving a distress call from Richmond’s Defense Unit, they warning us of a potential attack and they weren’t confident they would be able to handle it. One day into our trip Richmond went ghost.

“You’re such a negative Nancy! ” I shout toward him, snapping on my helmet, “ just call out for a day and save me a headache” I mumble, following him out of the gas station.

Vernon and I are called Extractors, our jobs are to track and monitor potential threats and extract key intelligence before the region completely falls. Humans no longer attempt to fight against them, we survive in this world by hiding.

Sticking to highway 85, we make it to the makeshift border separating Richmond and the open woods. It’s a thick concrete wall rigged around the city, made from random pieces of structures and street barricades adorned in reflective street signs and floodlights. The Night Jumpers can’t see well during the day or with bright lights.

We park our bikes along the wall covering them in loose debris. Vernon starts on the gate, tightly grasping the barrier latch he twists the lock, the heavy brass bar groaning in protest.

“Eerie, “ I whisper glancing around. The wind seemed to stop and everything was still. Too still. Too silent. And although we couldn’t see any bodies, it was obvious that the East had fallen.

I use the radio to call into our base, “This is Extractor A confirming that Richmond is gone, I repeat Richmond is gone. Over.” I shakily spoke into the radio. We’ve never had a mission where everyone was already dead. We slowly walk through the gates.

“ The Herbalist is secure in the bunker. Extraction Authorized. Over. ” I snap back into reality and confirm back to base.

“Let’s go. We don’t have much time.” I set my watch timer, “30 minutes till sundown.” I call, unzipping my backpack and securing my thermal vision goggles to the top of my head. I ready my rifle, flick the safety off of my pistol sliding it into my thigh holster, and adjust my extra mags. Ready.

Vernons actions match mine as he prepares himself, his chest rising and falling quickly, long dark hair sticking to his forehead. He’s just as nervous as me. As I’m studying him, my eyes catch on the golden heart-shaped locket clasped around his neck. Instinctively, I grasp mine, an exact copy, clutching the cold metal around my fingers. He slips it in his shirt, locking eyes with me and nodding.

“Go.”

With that, we’re running and weaving through the empty streets. I could feel the wind slapping my face as I ran and the twigs whipping at my cheeks as we maneuvered our way through town silently and methodically. The center of the city is where each region created its safest quarters, reserved for only the most useful members of society. They are directed to lock themselves inside at the first sign of anything going south and wait until the time of extraction.

“15 minutes!“ I call, hurdling over a rouge trashcan. We’re cutting it too close.

We make it to Capital Square just as a loud screech echoes through the air. My head snaps to the sound, the hairs on my neck standing up.

“ This way, “ Vernon points, directing us to a small clearing with flat plush grass, in the middle stood a single shipping container. Relief was short-lived as a single thud sounded followed by two more.

“ Three. Over the wall. West. ” I whisper, looking over my shoulder past Vernon, a bead of sweat forming on my hairline.

We make it to the container, my hands shaking as I type the code into the lock. It alarms in protest. Wrong code.

“Fuck!” I shout ripping my backpack off and digging into the first pocket and retrieving a small notebook.

“Hurry it up Annie, “ Vernon snarls, “ Now’s not the time to be messing around please."

He’s covering me, rifle drew and scanning the area. My hands are working fast, ripping through the pages quickly. I land on the correct page and get the 6 digit code.

The first gunshot sounds just as my finger hits the first digit. I flinch hard, spinning around and drawing my rifle.

“ One on 10 o’clock and one on 6 o’clock," Vernon calls.

I aim at 6. They didn’t look much different than us; they had the same familiar body structure with slightly longer arms and legs, with skin so devoid of color they were almost translucent. A dead giveaway was always the eyes. Much larger and much darker than ours, taking up almost half of their faces. Uncanny and intelligent.

I pull my trigger firmly, “ 6 down.” I reply, circling and scanning slowly.

Vernon and I are back to back when he shoots again, “10 down.” He says. I return to keying in the code, my fingers working quickly. The lock snaps open and I work on unlocking the hinges.

Another screech echos louder this time, more desperate. A moment of silence passes before the thuds begin. I lose count after 8, swinging open the shipping container door. We push our way inside and slam the door. Vernon secures the lock while I work on securing the extraction.

From behind a large supply box comes a woman in her late 30’s, trembling slender frame topped with a large afro. She had thick-rimmed glasses that sat at the tip of her nose.

“ Doctor, hi, my name is Annie and this is Vernon. We’re from Atlanta.” I speak slowly, it’s not uncommon for them to be in shock.

“ Hi, yes, thank you for coming, “ she fidgets, pushing her glasses up. “ I - there’s something I need to tell you,” she starts, it's now that I notice she’s hiding something behind her.

I draw my pistol. “ Doctor, step away.” This draws Vernon’s attention, as he spins around to see, striding towards the doctor.

She shifts, blocking Vernon’s advance, “ Wait, I had to! I couldn’t just leave her out there to die!” She growls. Stepping away to reveal a small child, no older than 7.

I lower my gun chuckling shakily. Just a fucking kid.

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We wait until morning, Vernon and I sleeping in shifts. The Night Jumpers stuck around for a while through the night. They’re not stupid, they know we’re in here, they just don’t know how to get in. It started to get quiet again as the sun began to rise, and by morning, it was that eerie still again.

We packed up camp, informed base that we were headed back, minus disclosing the kid.

The doctor readied the kid, slipping on her shoes and tying them tight. I turn to Vernon, holding his gaze.

“This is going to be interesting, “ I joke nudging him with my elbow, “ we’ve never extracted a kid before.”

He shakes his head at me using two fingers to nudge my forehead. I chuckle and move away, turning to the pair behind us.

“Alright ladies, ” I begin with the mock enthusiasm of the drill sergeant. “ Stay close and stay quiet,” I add seriously. They solemnly nod. With that Vernon pushes open the door, our eyes adjusting to the bright sun. He clears our immediate area signaling the doctor and kid with me trailing behind, alert.

We’re over halfway to the gate before we hear the first thud. I freeze, tensing up and listening. One more thud. I ready my rifle.

“50 - 60 meters East.” I breathe, all of us whipping around.

“Move, now!” I scream, motioning them to run. I keep my eyes locked. They’re running now, looking for us. Two more thuds. I scan the area, running backward toward the gate, not far.

I perk up and shoot, hitting one jumping from a tree. I turn and run, catching up to the others. We slide through the entry gate, Vernon letting me pass first before covering the Doctor and little girl. I quickly scan the area racing to the motorcycles we left hidden. More thuds and Vernon shooting.

The doctor gets on my bike with the little girl and I take my time lining up each shot, 3 down before Vernon runs to me ushering me to his bike. I start it up and take out 2 more.

“ We gotta go!” I shout to Vernon, picking off another before turning to him.

He’s already staring at me when I look at him. We’re not going to make it, his eyes say. I scoff shaking my head. I shoot one coming in close behind him. The little girl starts screaming the doctor starts riding away. Some are top of the wall, as I shoot one more, three more jumps down.

I’m panicking.

He smiles at me wordlessly pushing me to his bike. I’m resisting but Vernon softly kisses my fingers before turning away.

We lock eyes for the last time as he rips off his golden heart-shaped locket. The ticking starts and I’m numb. I’m riding away as he’s running toward them, arms out and screaming, the ticking golden locket explodes in his hand.