The Cause

The wail of the emergency siren nearly drowned out the sound of screeching tires and revved engines as cars began rapidly disappearing from the barracks parking lot. Michelle reached for the heart-shaped locket worn around her neck as she studied the horizon from her balcony looking for any signs of danger promised by the deafening horn. She studied the locket between her thumb and index finger in an effort to ground herself for what was to come. She had recently completed the U.S. Army’s Ranger School as a junior enlisted Army soldier and still sported the shaved head to prove it. She was no stranger to hardship.

“Wagner…Yo, Wagner. HEY, WAGNER!” She was pulled from her trance by the insistent voice of Marshall White, a fellow soldier and close friend.

“It’s time,” she said soberly to herself.

“Yeah, it’s time. Get your go-bag and let’s go!” Marshall barked with a hint of panic in his voice.

Michelle darted into her barracks room, snatched the brown, military style backpack from her bed, and darted out the door. When she reached the parking lot, she was struck by the madness. Young soldiers were piling into vehicles as quickly as possible while others fled on foot in an effort to evacuate Fort Benning immediately.

She scanned the parking lot for Marshall’s Jeep Wrangler when she heard a horn blasting at her three o’clock. It was Marshall waving for her to get in. She hopped in the passenger side and Marshall drove away feverishly shifting gears as he navigated the Fort Benning backroads.

“Everyone will go for the main gate. We’ll take the back gate,” Marshall insisted. “We’ve got to get as far away from base as possible. They’ll hit the bases first and then they’ll hit the big cities.” He glanced over at Michelle searching for a reaction. “Don’t worry. There’s a fallout shelter near Talladega. We’ll be safe th…” Before Marshall could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by a blinding light and a colossal force that sent his Jeep tumbling through the air before slamming into a pine tree.

Michelle came to and instinctively reached for the locket around her neck. It was still there. She clutched it as she took in her surroundings. They had only driven a few miles when the blast hit. Luckily, they were already on the outskirts of base and did not receive the full force of the blast. Michelle could see a large, black cloud of smoke billowing in the direction from where they came. Her eyes scanned for Marshall when she spotted his Jeep 50 meters away wrapped around a tree. She approached it to find Marshall still in the driver’s seat. She checked his pulse but felt nothing.

Michelle knew more attacks were probable as reports from her command had speculated every major U.S. city would be leveled with weapons of unknown effects. She also knew she had to find shelter until the attacks ceased and then make her way to Montgomery to find any surviving government officials.

She retrieved her go-bag from Marshall’s jeep and began making the 90-mile trip on foot. She decided to stay off main roads using the woods for cover. On day three, while placing iodine tablets in her water bottle, there was another bright flash in the distance. Michelle froze. There was an accompanying thunderous roar followed by a wave of heat that shook the surrounding pine trees as it passed by. It came from the West and appeared to be 50 or so miles away. It had to be Montgomery, she thought.

On day six, Michelle reached the Montgomery city limit. The city was still smoldering from the attack that occurred three days before. It had been nearly leveled. Remnants of buildings, automobiles, and bodies lay all over. As she made her way through the city, she noticed a graffiti mural painted on a still-standing concrete wall of an alien space craft with the caption “We come in peace!” above it. She remembered the groups of people who were convinced the alien invasion would be a peaceful one despite the many warnings by the media and government of its potential for violence.

She reached for her locket again. She held it between the bend of her index finger and her thumb and took a deep breath. Suddenly, she was interrupted by the sound of a helicopter in the distance. She looked up to see two UH-64s flying towards the north part of the city. She started running in the direction of the helicopters to see where they were going. As they prepared to land in an empty parking lot, she squatted behind some rubble to observe.

As the rotatory blades slowed, six security personnel equipped with body armor and M4 rifles exited the aircraft followed by four individuals in business attire. They appeared to survey the area for survivors. They approached what looked like an old cellar and the security personnel began removing rubble and debris to open the doors. Once the doors were opened, a dozen people or so emerged unharmed from the blast. They were greeted warmly by the others and all proceeded to load the aircrafts.

Michelle began walking toward the group. One of the security guards spotted her and pointed in her direction. The group of individuals all looked at her but their attention was stolen by the sound of an approaching car horn in the distance. A car was barreling in their direction. The security personnel stepped forward in a defensive posture as the car approached. At approximately 20 meters, the driver of the car slammed on the brakes and got out of the vehicle. “Please, help me! Is anyone a doctor?! My wife is injured and needs help.” One of the security guards walked over to the passenger side of the car. He peered into the window and without hesitation fired two rounds from his M4 into the passenger. Before the driver could react, a second security guard fired two consecutive rounds into his chest dropping him immediately.

Michelle was frozen in place as the party returned their attention to her. She held her hands up to indicate she was unarmed. One of the security guards walked closer to her.

“Are you military?” said the guard.

“Yes,” Michelle responded quickly.

“What unit and what do you do?” asked the guard.

“The 75th Ranger Regiment. Military Intelligence,” she replied.

The guard motioned for another to keep watch of Michelle as he stepped away to speak to one of the individuals in business attire. Michelle could tell they were discussing what to do with her. After much discussion, the guard returned and said, “You’re coming with us.” Michelle followed the group as they loaded the Blackhawks and flew away.

After a short flight, they landed at a remote facility that Michelle guessed was near Birmingham. The facility looked like either a research lab or a government building and seemed out of place in the Alabama wilderness. As the group exited the aircraft, a young woman dressed in civilian clothing motioned for Michelle.

“Welcome!” the woman yelled over the helicopter engines. “Come with me, and I’ll show you to your room.” The woman led Michelle into the facility, down a long corridor, and into a small, sterile room.

“A change of clothes is on the bed and the showers are just down the hall,” the woman said. “After you get showered and dressed, go to room 113.”

Half an hour later, Michelle stood in front the large wooden door of room 113. She knocked three times. “Come in!” said a deep voice. Michelle turned the doorknob and pushed the heavy door open. Inside the room, there were five older men in business suits seated at a conference table facing her. “Please, have a seat,” said one of the men. Michelle sat in the black leather chair at the end of the table.

The old man continued, “We believe you may have a skillset that could be useful to us. However, we must first determine your suitability for our organization. Our mission is simple: to save mankind,” the old man paused to make note of Michelle’s reaction before continuing. “Long ago, it became clear to us that mankind would not survive the turn of the next century. Whether it’s climate change or increasing global conflict, all predictive models show the complete annihilation of the human race in one way or another by 2100. There was one way to prevent it, though: introduce a common enemy and have that enemy reduce our population by 90%.”

“The aliens.” Michelle said.

“Indeed,” confirmed the old man. “We made the entire world believe we were under an alien invasion. People put ethnicity and religion aside and united under the umbrella of humanity. Global conflict was at an all-time low.”

Another board member chimed in, “The next step was to thin the herd. We struck every military base first to reduce the likelihood of any last-ditch efforts to use weaponry that could harm the planet. Then, we hit every major city in the U.S. Our European partners did the same in Europe as did every other government across the globe. We are now beginning the rebuild phase.”

“So, to save mankind, you murdered 90% of it?” Michelle interrupted.

A look of annoyance grew on the board members’ faces at her remark. A third board member spoke up, “Naturally, this information is highly sensitive and its release could jeopardize our mission. There’s not much of a choice here. Either you are useful to us or you pose a threat.”

“And, then you kill me.” Michelle snarked.

The board members shared stern glances and a nod. “Unfortunately, it is becoming apparent that you may not be suitable for our cause,” said the original speaker as two guards approached Michelle on either side.

Michelle grabbed her locket. “I’m sorry, sir,” she said as the guards grabbed each of her arms, “but I’m afraid it is you who is not suitable for our cause.” The old man squinted with confusion at her statement. Suddenly, Michelle made a violent motion and simultaneously kicked the guard to her left shattering his kneecap while thrusting her hand into the throat of the guard on her right and locking her grip. She squeezed until he lost consciousness and collapsed. She calmly picked up his M4. A board member attempted to make a dash for the door. She pointed the rifle at him and fired, dropping him immediately.

“You see, gentlemen,” Michelle explained, “this plan was never yours.” She dropped another board member with another shot from her rifle. “You simply carried out part of our mission for us.” Another board member fell as the .556 round entered his chest. “Your species is a cancer. We had to find a way to turn your destruction inward, and you were surprisingly efficient at it.” She dropped a fourth board members leaving one more wide-eyed and cowering in disbelief. “Thank you for your service,” she said calmly before squeezing the trigger and killing the last of the board members.

Michelle reached for her locket but this time opened it. “One forty-three to base,” she said speaking into the locket.

“This is base,” came a voice from the locket.

“Objective AL-1 is complete,” she said. “You are cleared to initiate phase II.”

“Affirmative, One forty-three. Initiating now.”