I reach out once more, stroking my fingers through the short hair at the side of his head. He leans into my hand for a moment before pressing his lips to my palm.
“I should get back to work.” He stands and takes the towel from his shoulders. “Hopefully, they’re going to bring back a lot of water jugs, but we’re still going to need this, especially when it gets cold.”
Falk goes back to the well, and I go back to the apartment to gather up trash and burn it in the fire. It’s nearly nightfall before everyone else returns, armed with grocery carts full of supplies. They have a good load, water included, but they cleaned out the place in one trip.
“We’re going to have to venture farther for the next run,” Caesar informs us. “One way or another, we’re going to need better transportation.”
“I ran up to the university while they went shopping,” Brett says. “I did find what I think are solar cells, at least as far as I can tell. I’m not sure exactly how to use them, but maybe we can figure it out.”
“There have to be some kind of diagrams or instructions, maybe in the library.”
“I’m not even sure I could figure out where the library used to be,” Brett says.
“I also doubt the card catalog will be a whole lot of use,” Wayne says.
“Do they even have those anymore?” Caesar asks.
“What the fuck is a card catalog?” Brian asks with a shake of his head.
Everyone starts to take items out of the carts to get them distributed. I notice how well everyone in our small group seems to share what’s been found, and I wonder how long that will continue. Will everyone be just as friendly with one another when the supplies run low?
Christine starts sorting through the canned goods while I organize the paper towels, napkins, paper plates, and toilet paper in the shed. I’m glad to see plenty of toilet paper was found since that is one thing I really don’t want to run out of.
“Gonna run this stuff over by the fire,” Christine says as she heads off.
I see a flash of light, calling my attention to Falk, who must have found a fresh supply of cigarettes. He leans against a nearby tree, smoking and watching me. The mud from his earlier work on the well is gone, and he looks freshly shaven, too. The sight of him sends tingles down my spine.
I lick my lips, remembering that all I have to do is give him a sign—any sign—and he is going to take me back to that apartment. The thought heats my skin and causes my thighs to clench.
I continue loading paper products into the shed, placing the things I always seem to need on the lower shelves so I don’t have to drag out the stool. After unloading the last of the supplies, I step out and lean against the shed for a moment, staring into the night sky.
It’s peaceful and quiet. I close my eyes and breathe in the night air, wondering how long it stays warm in Atlanta in the fall. By now, Chicago would have had its first dusting of snow, but it’s quite warm and pleasant here.
As I open my eyes, a flash of bright light catches my eye. At first, I think it’s Falk lighting another cigarette, causing some strange reflection up in the trees, but I quickly see that it’s not.
“Falk!”
“What is it?” He heads in my direction.
“Do you see that?” I point up in the sky.
The light is brighter now, and it moves slowly across the sky. My heart beats faster as I wonder what it is. If it’s a plane, that means someone is out there, rebuilding our lives. It could mean that everyone has been wrong this whole time, and the problems were isolated to this area.
Everyone else starts to gather around, shielding their eyes from the firelight and staring up into the sky.
The light suddenly turns and brightens in the sky. It looms closer, appears to grow larger, and a strange, hexagon-shaped craft suddenly glows bright orange before it zooms off to the north.
I feel my stomach drop as my breath catches in my throat. The craft continues to glow and pulse rapidly until it disappears into the night sky. Falk’s arm slips around my waist right before my knees almost give out on me. He pulls me close to his side and keeps me from falling as he whispers in my ear.
“Do you still doubt me?”
Chapter 11
For the next several minutes, we all stare into the sky as similar lights appear. There isn’t a pattern, and there is never more than one light in the sky at a time, but there is no longer any question about what we are facing. Falk has been right all along. We’ve been invaded by something extraterrestrial.
There is no sound accompanying the lights—only the occasional change in color from amber to bright orange as the craft shifts direction. As we all stand there, dumbfounded, one of the lights glows brightly and moves closer.
I can see it better now. The shape isn’t quite a hexagon—it’s longer on two of the sides with a point in the front. There’s something jutting out from the back of it, but I can’t guess what it might be. As it descends, I can see where the bright glow comes from two long strips of light running along the longer sides.