In the Aftermath: Burning of the Dawn Read online

  Vita took her last deep breath and Daniel slid the tube down her throat and into her windpipe. Vita’s body then fully succumbed to the Sayona’s venom; rendering her completely paralyzed. Daniel squeezed the resuscitator bag and filled Vita’s lungs with air. He then looked to Maria.

  “Maria, I need you to do something for me.” Daniel spoke to her in a calm, yet hurried tone. “There’s some medical tape somewhere in that box over there; I need you to find it for me.”

  “Is Vita going to live?” Maria asked, trying to overcome her tears.

  Daniel had no idea whether or not this idea of his would save Vita. He hoped and prayed that the alien venom was only a paralytic agent, and that it would not cause any internal damage to the helpless girl. Nevertheless, he confidently answered Maria’s question: “Yes.”

  Immediately, Maria was off in search of the medical tape. Clarissa regained full cognitive control of herself and joined Daniel by her daughter’s side. He handed her the resuscitator bag and spoke, “Stay as calm as you can and try to time your squeezes with your own breathing.” He elucidated steadily. “At least one squeeze about every five seconds.”

  “Have you ever done this before?” Clarissa implored.

  “No,” he answered. “I never have.”

  “It’ll work.” Clarissa stated. She was not certain of that by any means, but she knew that Vita could still hear her voice.

  “Yeah, it’ll work,” Daniel concurred. “But I’m gonna have to move her to the truck; we can’t stay out here.”

  “All right…” Clarissa spoke softly. “I hope she’s not in pain.”

  Daniel hoped for that as well, and he prayed he was not putting the young girl through a slow, silent, excruciating death. Intubation could be a lifesaver when it came to Earthly neurotoxins, but the human race knew very little about the alien venom utilized by the Sayona. How the human body would handle it over an extended period of time was unknown to everybody. Nobody had ever survived a sting from a Sayona.

  Maria returned with the medical tape. Daniel used it to secure the intubation tube by taping it to Vita’s mouth. She had a rough ride ahead of her, and Daniel wanted the tube to be as immobile as possible. As he was finishing up, the horrible screaming of the Sayona returned. It was far away, but Daniel and the Hannigans could hear it clearly, and feel it.

  “God, why do they keep doing that?!” Maria cried.

  “It’s calling for backup.” Daniel replied. He had fixed the intubation tube to Vita’s mouth as best he could. He looked to Clarissa and spoke, “She’s tall; I don’t think we can get her in the front seat. Will you be okay taking care of her in the back?”

  “Yes,” Clarissa answered. “We’ll be fine.”

  “All right then.” Daniel reached underneath Vita and hoister her up into his arms. Clarissa stayed with them, never relinquishing her hold on the resuscitator bag and never losing her timing.

  As they approached the rear of Daniel’s truck, Maria lowered the tailgate. Carefully, Daniel laid Vita onto the gate and climbed into the truck; Clarissa followed by her daughter’s side. Daniel picked up Vita again and moved her closer to the cab. Maria climbed into the truck bed to assist in any way that she could. Her mother seemed to be in control, so Maria took a seat next to her sister and gently held her hand. Daniel leaped from the back of the truck, closed the tailgate, and headed for the cab. He grabbed his metal box from the driveway and tossed it into the front of the truck. He got into his vehicle and shut off the lights. Lying next to him in the seat was a transceiver. It was making a rapid clicking sound and had a line of small, red lights that were all blinking in tandem due to the close proximity of the nearby transmitter hidden in the Hannigans’ car. Daniel shut it off and threw it behind his seat. He then reached down to the floor and retrieved a pair of night-vision binoculars that were attached to a head-mount. He put them on and shifted his trunk into reverse.

  The night-vision binocular-goggles were not pleasant to drive with, but they were necessary. They had saved Daniel half an hour earlier as he was unaware that the bridges on the interstate had been destroyed and he nearly drove right into Lake Wilhelm because of it. Conversely, the fact that he was forced to find an alternative road around the lake ended up leading him right to the Hannigans’ location. Had he remained on the interstate it would have taken him much longer to find them. Driving at all at night was extremely dangerous; driving with the headlights on was nothing short of a death sentence. With a clear line of sight, the Sayona could spot a vehicle’s headlamps from an entire county away. Daniel would have to make do with moonlight and the vicarious night-vision.

  Daniel cursed himself for not killing that third Sayona. He knew that she would never stop looking for him or the Hannigans. She would also pass on the knowledge she had gained to her many sisters and they, too, would join the hunt. Daniel was also condemning himself for not disclosing to the Hannigans just how intelligent and vicious the beasts truly were. He had held back the information because he didn’t figure that they would believe him anyway, and he also didn’t want to frighten Clarissa’s daughters any more than was necessary.

  When the Cincinnati Sayona had discovered that Daniel was hunting them, they promptly went on the offensive. Not only did they ardently search for him every night, but they also built elaborately brutal traps. What disturbed Daniel the most, and ultimately led to him fleeing the city, was when the beasts started leaving him messages. They carved hieroglyphs into the building walls, into trees, into vehicles – into anything they could. Daniel had no idea what they said or represented, but he was under the impression that many of them were likely cursing his murderous presence. The Sayona then began drawing him pictures—remarkably illustrated pictures—sometimes sketched in blood. The drawings were consistently macabre: always featuring humans being mutilated in some fashion. What finally chased Daniel out of Cincinnati was when the Sayona starting leaving him notes that he could actually understand. The words ‘eye,’ ‘light,’ ‘born,’ ‘God,’ and ‘die’ began appearing amidst the Sayona’s hieroglyphic messages, written in the English language. How the Sayona had learned these words was beyond Daniel, and he didn’t much care to find out how they’d done it.

  It was only a few miles before Daniel crossed over into Crawford County by way of Interstate 79. Crawford County was where he lived, but he lived on the opposite side. Despite being less than thirty miles away, the city of Meadville stood in between Daniel and him getting the Hannigans to the relative safety of his home. Meadville was a frequent destination for many Sayona; it was a large city nestled in between multiple major metropolitan areas. Being anywhere near it after dark was asking for trouble. Daniel’s paranoia soon got the better of him. Even if Meadville was void of any Sayona for the night, the Sayona that had gotten away still plagued his mind. She could easily be following him at this very moment, and the last thing Daniel was going to do was lead her right to his front door. Daniel and the Hannigans were about five miles from the outskirts of Meadville when he spotted a truck stop just off of the interstate.

  There were abandoned vehicles, discarded RVs, and forsaken semi-trailers cluttering up the deserted truck stop. Daniel left the interstate and took an off-road detour to reach his destination. He kept his vehicle in excellent running condition, but skimped when it came to outward appearances, which would serve him well here. Daniel’s truck fit in adequately with the other abandoned vehicles. He parked his truck and shut off the engine; he then removed his night-vision goggles and detached them from the head-mount. Daniel retrieved his M14 rifle from the dashboard and two road flares from the glove compartment. He then exited his vehicle.

  “Why are we stopping?” Maria asked her mother.

  “There’s a city close by,” Clarissa answered. “A big one… we might be staying here for the night.”

  “Is that a good idea?” Maria inquired in a worried tone.

  “It is.” Clarissa confessed. “Daniel knows what he’s doing.” Clarissa was
very much relieved – at least as relieved as she could be in the current situation. She was nervous enough going near Meadville during the day, let alone at night. Had Daniel gone much further she would have raised an objection herself.

  Clouds had begun to gather and were periodically blocking out the moon, limiting the light even more. Better for the Sayona. Still, Daniel dared not use any form of artificial light to help him navigate his surroundings. He momentarily surveyed the area with his night-vision and then approached the side of his truck to speak with Clarissa.

  “I’m sorry, but we can’t go any farther tonight.” Daniel spoke ruefully. “It’s too dangerous.”

  “I know,” Clarissa replied, almost sympathetically. “Meadville’s getting close.”

  “Yes,” Daniel responded. He was surprised, but very thankful, to find Clarissa empathetic to his disposition. “It’s not much farther up the road. I don’t know if I can find a way around it in the dark – it’s a huge risk.”

  “I agree,” Clarissa concurred. “But we can’t sit out here either.”

  “Right… how is she?” Daniel spoke as he looked down to Vita lying languidly on the truck bed.

  “Her pulse is steady… she seems okay.”

  “Good. Can you two handle her, or do I need to carry her?”

  “No, I can carry her.” Clarissa responded. Vita weighed around 150 pounds; she was tall and shapely, but her mother was strong. Clarissa also wanted the M14 rifle in Daniel’s hands, not Maria’s. “Maria, I need you to take over for me.”

  Clarissa relinquished Vita’s resuscitator bag over to Maria; Maria took it and dutifully kept her sister breathing just as her mother had done. Clarissa then pried her arms underneath Vita’s body and slowly and carefully lifted her from the truck. Daniel lowered the tailgate and assisted Clarissa and Maria out of the back. Once they were all on the ground, he led them away from his vehicle. There were two nearby buildings, a gas-station and a service center, but Daniel ignored them both. Instead, he headed towards a row of semi-trailers all lined up side-by-side. He chose a trailer from the middle of the row and wrenched open its large doors. The inside of the trailer was stale and barren; Daniel quickly looked it over with the night-vision googles and then climbed in. He laid his rifle on the trailer floor then knelt down to take Vita from her mother. Clarissa lifted her daughter up into Daniel’s arms as Maria climbed in right beside her. Daniel took Vita to the very front of the trailer and there he gently placed the young girl onto the floor. Clarissa brought Daniel his rifle and then relieved Maria of her duties as Vita’s ventilator.

  “Maria, you take these.” Daniel spoke as he handed Maria his night-vision googles along with one of the road flares. “When I shut the doors you’re going to be the only one who can see anything.”

  “What are you going to do?” Maria asked.

  “I’m gonna be about five feet away from those doors;” Daniel replied. “If anything decides to open them, I’m gonna make ‘em regret it.”

  The metal doors groaned as Daniel pulled them shut. Just as he had told Maria, the entire trailer was doused in darkness. Maria put the night-vision goggles to her eyes; she could see the entire trailer through the intensified green image. She watched Daniel as he took his place as sentinel for the night. Maria then turned to her mother and sister. Clarissa knelt over Vita, operating the resuscitator bag with one hand and poignantly caressing Vita’s hair with the other. Methodically, Clarissa would take her hand from Vita’s head and move her fingers to her daughter’s neck, feeling her pulse. Maria stayed close to her mother and sister and remained silent for the remainder of the night.

  Clarissa, too, remained silent. She continuously replayed the events of the day in her head as she devotedly kept her daughter breathing. In her estimation, she had made no mistakes; she was simply outsmarted by the Sayona. Her daughters would argue that leaving Daniel’s place was a big blunder on her part, and now she could not blame them for thinking that, but Clarissa maintained, in her own mind, that her decision to leave was the right decision. Also, now that she had a moment to quietly reflect on the day, a burning question came to her: how did Daniel find them? If one were to measure it on a map, Clarissa had only traveled about thirty miles downstate. This was done intentionally; Clarissa wanted to avoid the interstates and circumvent the bigger towns and cities, but she also wanted to stay within the confines of northeastern Pennsylvania. Her desires of going west had intensified and she was giving it serious consideration. Daniel had her figured out pretty well, and some simple deduction on his part could’ve given him a rough idea of where Clarissa might have gone, but still, the odds of him finding her in the dark of night were incredibly slim. Clarissa conjectured two scenarios on how he had done it. The first was simple: Daniel had followed her from the moment she had left his house. She didn’t like this scenario. Daniel might’ve had her figured out, but Clarissa believed she had him figured out just as well, and she didn’t perceive him to be the obsessive-stalker type. She still didn’t think that, for the most part. Her bets were on scenario number two: he had planted some kind of a tracking mechanism somewhere on her car. After she and her daughters had left him, Clarissa deduced that something had spooked Daniel and caused him to reason that she and her daughters were in grave danger. Scenario number two seemed more like Daniel: less obsessive-stalker and more annoyingly over-concerned. How he had done it and why he had done it was not her main concern for now. For now, she owed him her life and the lives of her daughters, and for that she was deeply in his debt.

  Daniel spent the night listening to the sound of the resuscitator bag consistently filling Vita’s lungs with air every five or six seconds. He prayed she would survive and that no permanent harm would come to her. If she did not survive, it would undoubtedly destroy her mother and sister. It would destroy a part of him, too. Daniel had already killed the Sayona that had put her into this nightmare, but that was not enough. If Vita was to die, he would devote his final days to making war, once again, with the beasts. It was still uncertain whether or not Daniel would be doing any more battling tonight. If the Sayona that had gotten away had found any of her sisters nearby then they likely would’ve attacked by now. Daniel had chosen the semi-trailer because it would be much easier to defend than a building with multiple entrances. The Sayona could easily ram a hole in the side of the trailer if it were out in the open, but being that it was boxed in by the other trailers, that scenario was not going to be a possibility. Still, if the monsters wanted in bad enough, which they would, then Daniel would be fighting them to the death. All he could do for now was wait for the rising sun.

  The hours passed without incident; there was not a single sound from the outside world. Daniel rarely slept, especially at night. As he had spent many nights sitting quietly in the darkness, Daniel had become very astute to the passing of time. Even if he could not see the outside world, he could accurately estimate the arrival of the morning sun. After hours of patiently waiting in the quiet confines of the semi-trailer, Daniel stood from his crouched position and took a few steps to chase away the stiffness from his legs. On hearing him move, Maria aimed the night-vision goggles to his position.

  “Is it morning yet?” Maria whispered.

  “Should be close.” Daniel quietly replied.

  Slowly moving forward, Daniel stretched forth his hand to feel for the doors. Once he had found them, he cautiously opened the one to his right. The sun had not risen yet, but the night was over. Even the faint glow of the early morning was too much for the Sayona. Flashlights and flares were one thing, but the overwhelming power of the radiant sun was far too much for the beasts, even if it had yet to surmount the distant horizon. Daniel pushed the door all the way open and stepped out into the pale, blue light of dawn. He looked around the truck stop; nothing seemed amiss. After a few moments more of inspecting his surroundings, Daniel went back and spoke to the Hannigans.

  “I’ll be right back,” he stated assuredly. “I’ll bring the truck
to you.”

  Daniel did as he said he would. He backed the truck over to the trailer where the Hannigans were waiting. Daniel got out to assist Clarissa with her daughter, but found her already carrying Vita and waiting at the back of the trailer with Maria by her side. Clarissa and Maria carefully stepped from the trailer and into the back of Daniel’s truck. Clarissa laid her daughter down and retrieved the resuscitator bag from Maria to faithfully continue on in her mission of keeping Vita breathing. Maria reached over the side of the truck and returned to Daniel his night-vision goggles and the road flare. He accepted them and returned to the driver’s seat. Daniel reached back and opened the rear window to speak with, and better hear, the Hannigans.

  “Everything all right?” He asked. “Are we ready?”

  “Yes.” Clarissa’s tone was nearly spiteful; she desperately wanted to get her daughter to safety.

  Daniel delicately drove from the truck stop and made his way back onto Interstate 79. He then proceeded to drive north towards Meadville. Even though it was still fairly dark out, Daniel could see well enough without the aid of night-vision, so he opted not to use the goggles. As the minutes passed, the darkness faded more and more, and soon the city of Meadville was at hand. The quickest way for Daniel to reach his home was to leave the interstate and drive directly through the middle of the city and link up with Highway 86, which was just what he intended to do.

  Soon Daniel was leaving the interstate and entering Meadville. He had been here many times before, but never this early in the morning. In his many trips to the quiet city, Daniel had only spotted people here on a couple of occasions and that was many months back. Meadville was too big and the Sayona liked it too much; no one would last here for very long. At the moment, Daniel’s biggest concern was still the Sayona. He had never witnessed them out at this time of day, but the beasts were capable of anything, especially if they had vengeance in their blood. The sunlight only disabled their vision, other than that they were perfectly fine out in the light. With a good running start, a single Sayona could incapacitate, or even flip Daniel’s truck with relative ease. In any case, he was still reasonably sure that they would not attempt any such attack without their eyesight. They could, however, still leave traps.