Chapter 7
I jump awake at the sound of Cano’s barking, my heart beating wildly in my chest. My stomach lurches, like how it feels to miss a step on the stairs. When my eyes adjust better I can see him standing in front of the open well door, growling viciously. My body shoots up. I turn to wake Travis, but I find his spot empty.
“Travis?” I whisper loudly.
“Mommy, what’s going on?” Ty’s voice sounds exhausted as he rises beside me.
“I don’t know. We need to find your dad.” I slide my legs over the side of the bed and stand up. Wind blowing through the door left ajar sends a chill down my spine. As my feet inch forward slowly, I whisper again, “Travis?”
Reaching the door, my body freezes in hesitation. I force myself forward and poke my head out the small entrance. Moonlight peeking through the branches above me shines down on my face.
“Travis?” My voice hardly travels up the well. I inhale and exhale deeply. As my heart beats rapidly, I call out louder, “Travis?”
A piercing scream breaks out near the top of the well. My heads falls back inside and I slam the door closed. “Come on Ty, let’s go.” My feet move quickly back to the sofa bed where he waits in fear.
“Was that one of them?” He cries with his wide eyes fixated on the door. Trembling, he extends both arms out for me to pick him up. As I swoop him up to my chest, he wraps his short legs around my waist. Without answering his question, I dart across the room to the tunnel door. Behind me, Cano is still barking ferociously at the well’s entrance. I grab the cool knob and shake it vigorously. I twist and turn it, but it doesn’t budge I realize it’s still locked. My eyes scan the dark room for the only key.
Another muffled scream rings out above us.
“Where’s daddy?”
I squeeze his trembling body closer to my chest.
BANG. The well door echoes loudly.
I have to do something.
BANG.
Ty screams and burrows his face into my shoulder. Without the key anywhere in sight, I need to be prepared for a fight. His fingers dig into the tops of my shoulders when I try to set him down. “Ty, I need to distract it while you slip out the door and try to escape.”
BANG.
The trick door swings open.
Billy is the first one inside with Travis following right behind, slamming the door shut.
“Travis!”
“Daddy!”
Still carrying his rifle, Travis runs over quickly. “Come on, we need to get in the tunnel. Now.”
BANG.
The well rings out.
BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG.
Travis uses the key on his dog tags to unlock the steel door. “Ty you go first.”
Ty steps into the tunnel while Billy hurries to the table to grab the ham radio and power supply. Once he stuffs it safely inside of his backpack he throws it on then runs into the tunnel. While I watch the trick door, waiting for the Grey One to find its way in, I notice our weapons bag sitting on the floor below.
BANG. BANG.
“Isabelle, let’s go before it finds its way inside!” Travis yells urgently from behind me.
My eyes shift back and forth from him to the well door. When the door begins to indent on the side I know that it’s only inches away from hitting it in the right spot. I let out a deep breath to release the tension in my chest and sprint for the weapons bag. I can hear Travis shouting behind me as I attempt to lift it off the floor. The bag is heavier than I had anticipated. With both arms I throw it over my shoulder. The strap digs into my shoulder as I spin around.
BANG!
The well door falls to the floor with a massive alien lying on top of it. I run past the monstrous being while it rises up on all fours. With globs of reddened spit falling from its serrated teeth it sets its sights on me. Cano jumps in front of it, with his own sharp teeth exposed, blocking its path. With his aggressive bark driving the creature back, I dive past Travis into the tunnel.
“Cano!” Ty cries out.
He turns around and darts for the tunnel. The monster follows only feet away for him, blood dripping from its teeth. Cano’s large body narrowly makes it inside before the door slams shut. The steel makes a loud BANG sound that echoes throughout the tunnel, from what I assume is the Grey One’s body crashing into it.
In an instant, Travis spins the wheel that locks the door. The banging gets louder and louder as the alien tries to break its way inside.
BANG. BANG. BANG.
When the door doesn’t budge even a centimeter, I realize it’s too strong for it.
Changing position, my elbows dig in to the tops of my knees. “What’re we going to do?”
“We’re going to wait until the morning. When the sun rises we will move to Bunker 2.” Travis says as he sets down the flashlight. The beam bounces off the ceiling and illuminates around us. He crouches next to me then yanks the weapons bag over to him. With a raised eyebrow he gives me a disapproving look, but I know he’s proud. Even if he’s too stubborn to admit it.
“Is it going to get in here?” Billy’s voice is unsteady. He steps in front of the door, nervous. Behind his big glasses his eyes are wide with fear. With his backpack hugged closely to his chest he stands motionless.
“If it were able to get in here, it would have by now.” Travis glances up at the door while reloading his rifle.
“What about the other side? Can they get in from the house?” Billy asks, looking down the dark tunnel in the direction of our old home.
“No. We have the same door over there. Only way they’re getting in is if we let them in.”
After a few minutes of listening to its unsuccessful attempts to break in, Billy finally squats down across from us. I hadn’t noticed until now how clean he managed to stay out there. While Travis’s clothes are filthy, Billy’s blue jeans and black long sleeve are completely clean.
“What happened tonight? How did they find us?” I ask too loud for the narrow quarters.
“I’m not sure. Cano nudged me until I woke up. I didn’t think anything of it until he began growling at the well. When I opened my eyes the well door was cracked open.” He says as he gently pats Cano on the head. His short black tail wags as he leans against his knee in response. “And when I looked at Billy he was asleep at the radio.” Travis shakes his head, rolling his eyes at the foolish kid.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.” Billy mumbles. Cheeks flushing bright red, he looks down at the dirty tunnel floor.
Travis continues, shifting his eyes from Billy back to me. “While I was shaking him awake, the first scream erupted from above our heads. I grabbed my rifle from the bag and then told Billy to grab a weapon. When we got to the top of the well they were waiting for us. I fought two of them off while Billy was taking care of the third. Or so I thought.”
“I thought I had killed it before I jumped back into the well. I swear.” Billy says adamantly.
“Bullets only injure them momentarily.” Travis raises his voice, irritated. His focus moves back to me as he says in a calmer tone, “I realized I was out of bullets when the last Grey One came running right at me. So I jumped in the well and the rest you know.” I can tell by the disappointed look on his face that he’s starting to regret letting Billy stay.
“Wow,” Ty smiles at Travis. With his big blue eyes focused on him he continues, “That was really brave dad.”
“Thanks son.” He smiles. His dirt covered hand rubs Ty’s head, messing up his hair.
“How do you guys do this?” Billy interrupts.
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“How do you guys live like this, with your son, and treat it like everything is okay?” His head shake from side to side. When he glances back at the steel door he mumbles, “I mean, we almost died tonight and you guys act like it’s no big deal.”
Travis shakes his head, “No. We survived to live another day.”
“But…” Billy spits out.
Travis raises a hand, interrupting him. “Here’s where you and I are different Billy. I am a marine. I was trained to not only survive in a war, but to win. You, on the other hand, are a coward who is going to wind up dead. My family has survived this long because of survival rules, the drills we run, and by using our brains. I don’t understand how you have survived this long. Luck maybe? But your luck will run out and you will die.”
An awkward silence fills the room while Travis and Billy stare at one another. Billy’s face is flushed at first, but soon the redness in his cheeks goes away. With a smirk he stands back up with his backpack in his arms. As he locks eyes with Travis again his smirk disappears. He parts his lips slightly, like he wants to say something, but instead he shakes his head before walking further down the dark tunnel.
“You didn’t have to be that mean, Travis.” I say sternly.
“He needs to man up. You could kill an alien before he could.” He says as he watches Billy set his backpack on the ground down the tunnel.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I ask, irritated by the insult.
“Oh stop, you know what I mean. Men are supposed to be men. He needs to be able to protect himself at least. I will not be covering for his mistakes that almost get us and our child killed.” His jaw clenches tightly as he gets even angrier.
“Well, I’m going to go over there and make sure he’s okay.” I whisper. Standing up, I pat the dirt off my pants. When they came back after taking Rhett’s body out they must’ve drug in mud.
“Fine. I’m going to sleep with Ty.” He whispers back. He lays his head down on the ground like a stubborn child. His face turned towards Ty, who’s already back to sleep with his head resting on the dog’s belly. Cano doesn’t take his golden brown eyes off of me when I begin walking towards Billy.
My boots echo quietly as I step down the tunnel. Billy is still clutching his backpack tightly. His dark eyes zoned out on the darkness surrounding us.
“Can I sit here?” I whisper quietly.
His eyebrows knit closely together, expressing a confused look. “Ahem,” He says as he clears his throat, “Uh, yeah. Sure.”
My knees rub against the cement when I kneel down beside him. He avoids eye contact as I sit quietly next to him. After a few seconds, I break the silence, “Travis can be a little harsh at times.”
“He was right. This was my fault. I was getting tired and I should have woken him up, but I just thought I had a little longer.”
“The good thing is that we’re all safe and alive.” I stop talking when I remember not all of us are alive anymore. Rhett’s body was out there when they came for us tonight. I wonder what happened to it. I shake the thought and continue, “A tip from me to you though, learn from this.”
“I will. Thanks.” He replies with a forced smile. He becomes silent again as he begins to unpack the radio and power supply from his backpack.
I take the hint and stand up. Behind me, the radio static powers on as I creep up to the soft snores. Ty has a leg wrapped over Travis’. His mouth drooling on Cano’s back. The dog is the only one awake. He stares at me, his golden brown eyes gleaming in the light.
“What?” I whisper as I sit down beside Travis’s resting body. He continues to stare at me with wide eyes. For a big dog, he sure can rock the puppy eyes.
“Did you say something?” Billy asks. I thought I had only whispered loud enough for Cano to pick up.
Embarrassed, I lie, “No. Good night.”
My eyes focus in on the steel door near my feet. Now that the Grey One is no longer slamming into it, I may be able to get some sleep. As I begin to drift off, Cano’s chain collar scrapes against the cement, bringing me back. His big eyes are focused on Billy a few yards away. As he exhales a deep breath, a soft growl escapes his throat. He doesn’t seem to be a big fan of Billy either. Poor Billy. We need to teach this kid how to survive. And now that we have another two mouths to feed, we need to find more food.