In the Aftermath: Burning of the Dawn Read online

  Before attempting to load Clarissa’s car onto his trailer, Daniel made a trip into the house to see if the Hannigans had left anything of importance inside and to look for any items that might help brace his trailer’s tailgate. He located a bag of personal items in the upstairs bedroom that he was sure belonged to the Hannigans’. In that same room was a black, oak chest – finely crafted and quite large. Daniel pulled the heavy chest to the broken bay window and then heaved it outside. It did not break on impact. Once back outside, Daniel returned the Hannigans’ bag of items to their car. He then dragged the oak chest to the back of his trailer and wedged it under the tailgate.

  Daniel carefully maneuvered Clarissa’s car onto his trailer. To his great relief, the trailer did not fall to piece beneath him. He didn’t fancy the idea of having to pull Clarissa’s vehicle all the way back to his place by chain alone. Daniel shut off Clarissa’s car and departed from her vehicle and from the trailer; he wasn’t quite ready to leave just yet though. Instead, he walked over to one of the dead Sayona, kicked her once for Maria, and then picked the beast up from the driveway and threw her into the back of his truck. He then did the same to the other dead Sayona.

  Nothing would have pleased Daniel more than to string up these horrible monsters from some nearby tree as both a warning and as an affront. Yet he did not do so. Daniel knew better than to enrage the beasts. The Sayona collected their dead. What they actually did with them was anybody’s guess, but the beasts always came back for their fallen sisters. Daniel hated them enough to deny them of that small satisfaction, but not enough to blatantly disrespect them by desecrating their dead and having the Sayona, in turn, tear apart the entire state in retaliation.

  Soon, Daniel was on his way back home. Hauling Clarissa’s car in a trailer not necessarily designed for transporting vehicles slowed his progress on the return trip. Daniel also had a small task that he needed to attend to once he reached Meadville. He passed by the truck stop—where he and the Hannigans had spent the previous night—and into the outskirts of Meadville once more. As Daniel left the interstate and entered the city, he came to a halt in the middle of the bridge, the Smock Memorial Bridge, crossing over French Creek. He left the truck running as he opened his door and stepped outside. He went to the back of his truck and removed the corpse of one of the Sayona. Daniel carried the monster over to the edge of the bridge and tossed her into the creek below. He then did the same to her sister. Daniel had no doubts that the Sayona would be tenacious in their search not only for the bodies of their dead sisters, but also for him and the Hannigans. Searching Meadville would slow the Sayona down somewhat, but there was no telling how many Sayona would be in on the hunt. It could be just a couple, or it could be a couple dozen. Whatever the number was, it would grow with time; Daniel was sure of that much. The dead Sayona were light and buoyant, so their bodies could float for some distance. French Creek eventually emptied into the Allegheny River, and from there the bodies of the Sayona could end up in any number places. If their sisters found them in some distant location, it could throw off the Sayona’s search in Daniel’s area (so he hoped). He returned to his truck and continued on home.

  It was nearly noon when Daniel made it back to his place. He unloaded Clarissa’s car and parked it in his garage and then pulled his utility trailer to the side of the garage and unlatched it from his truck. Lastly, Daniel piloted his truck into the garage next to Clarissa’s car; he shut it off, grabbed his M14 rifle, and left his vehicle. Before closing up his garage, Daniel shouldered his rifle and reached over the side of his truck and removed two boxes from the back. The boxes had been there since the previous day; they were the former property of Louis Doniphan – his prized cases of ration bars. Daniel locked down his garage and headed towards his home. Clarissa’s car was still full of the goods he had given to her, but Daniel was more concerned with the well-being of the Hannigans than he was with unloading their vehicle. Also, the last twenty-four hours had been very grueling and Daniel really just wanted to be back inside his house with the Hannigans. Unloading Clarissa’s car could wait.

  Daniel entered his home through the backdoor. He laid his rifle on the kitchen counter, along with the boxes of ration bars, and made his way to the storeroom. The hidden room was hidden once again as Maria had dutifully sealed herself, her mother, and her sister inside. Daniel walked over and gently tapped the bookshelf hiding the storeroom door and spoke, “It’s only me; I’m back.”

  As Daniel was about to open the door to check on the Hannigans, it was swiftly pushed open from within by Maria, who was eagerly glad to see him again. “Everything went okay?” She inquired.

  “It did; your car’s in my garage now.” Daniel answered. He then looked down to Vita and asked, “How’s she been doing? All things considered.”

  “She’s doing all right, as far as I can tell.” Clarissa replied. Her voice was faint; Daniel assumed it was due to fatigue.

  “Good; I’m glad to hear it,” he spoke. “And how ‘bout you two? Tired and hungry, I assume.”

  “A lot of both.” Maria answered.

  “Pick out whatever you want; I’ll be glad to make it for you.” Daniel graciously offered to both Maria and her mother. Much of Daniel’s former stock was still in Clarissa’s car, but he still had a decent selection left amongst his storeroom shelves. Maria had been eyeing many of the items; ultimately she settled on a canister of freeze-dried beef stroganoff.

  “What about Vita?” Maria whispered as she took the stroganoff can from one of the shelves and handed it to Daniel.

  “She’ll be all right for a few days,” Daniel whispered back. “So long as we keep her breathing and hydrated.” Daniel looked down to Clarissa and presented her with the freeze-dried stroganoff and asked, “Is this good for you, too, or is there something else you want?”

  “No, there’s nothing, I’m not hungry right now.” Clarissa replied. Daniel believed her. Clarissa looked unwell, but he, again, presumed it was only due to fatigue.

  “All right, I’ll get this started for Ms. Maria then. I’ll be nearby; just call if you need me.”

  Daniel left the storeroom and headed to the kitchen where he set up the hotplate and began to boil some water. Maria joined him. The young girl smiled at Daniel as she appeared; he could tell that it was not completely genuine.

  “Anything I can help with?” Maria asked.

  “Uh, well, boiling water and opening the can is really all there is to it.” Daniel replied with a more genuine smile. “That much I can handle, but I do appreciate the offer – thank you.” Maria nodded in acknowledgement. It was evident that she had come to talk with him more-so than to actually help with the cooking, so Daniel obliged her. “So, how’re you holdin’ up? As if I haven’t asked that question enough already.”

  “I could be worse, I guess.” Maria answered. “Thanks for bringing back our car and for, you know, saving us and stuff.”

  “Anytime, kid,” stated Daniel. “Just wanna make sure you’re doing all right.”

  “Oh, I’m fine, I’m perfectly fine!” Maria replied sardonically. “My mother’s been beaten, my sister’s been paralyzed, and I don’t have a single damn scratch on me… and, shit, I’m the weak-link in my family. That just doesn’t seem quite right, does it?”

  “I understand how you’re feeling,” Daniel professed. “Through the whole war and the fighting with the Sayona, I should’ve died about a thousand times over… it’s just weird, dumb luck is all. But believe me when I tell you that you’re many things little Ms. Hannigan, but you are not weak. You didn’t run and you didn’t hide; you fought, just like your mother and sister.”

  “Yeah, and I also whined like a little brat all day yesterday because I didn’t like the way my mother was doing things. As if I could do them any better… Christ, I’m still whining right now.”

  “Hey, nothin’ wrong with a good whine; nobody loves to whine more than I do, but unfortunately for me no one was ever around to listen. It kinda
sucks when there’s no one there to share your sulking with. Never underestimate a good grumble every now and then. All it means is that you’re still human.”

  “Too much human maybe. I just wish I could trade places with my sister. She’s the stronger one; she’s the fighter.”

  “You think we’re the ones with the tough jobs? Your sister is in unknown place – nobody has ever won the fight that she’s fighting right now. Yeah, we’re in her corner doing everything we can to help, but it’s her strength and her will-power that’s gonna win her this battle.”

  “If anyone can do it, it’s her.” Maria concurred as she came closer to Daniel; she stared meanderingly at his rifle lying on the nearby counter.

  “Indeed… and don’t underestimate your humanity. Some people might think it’s a weakness, maybe even your mother thinks that, but it isn’t true. A lack of humanity can cause you to make some very reckless and selfish decisions sometimes. I’d know, I’ve made a few of ‘em.”

  “Every decision I’ve seen you make has been incredibly selfless; you’re the least selfish person I’ve ever met in my life.”

  “Others have been through this town before you, Ms. Maria, and I didn’t exactly go out of my way to aid any of them.”

  “You had your reasons for that.” Maria reached out and touched the M14 rifle. “Is this your favorite gun?” She asked.

  “It’s my best one,” Daniel replied. “And my reasons for ignoring the other people were selfish. Some of them I didn’t deem trustworthy, and the others I just didn’t want the responsibility that came with actually helping them.”

  “You ever talk to your rifle?” Maria asked, nonchalantly.

  Daniel was momentarily stumped by the odd question. “No,” he lied. “That’s an odd sort of question.”

  “Not really. The gun is powerful, reliable; your constant companion… makes sense to get attached to it.”

  “Well, yeah, I like the gun, but it isn’t really much for conversation.”

  “Bet it’s a damn fine listener though.” Maria added as she looked away from the weapon and back to Daniel. “How’d you get it? It looks very militarized. Did you find it somewhere or did someone give it to you during the war?”

  “Actually, my brother gave it to me long before the war – a present for my 25th birthday. Most of the modifications I did myself. I wanted something more modern to begin with, but according to my brother this is the greatest rifle in American history and I need to respect that fact. And the really annoying part is that the crazy prick was probably right.”

  “Sorry – I didn’t mean to bring up any… past times. I just figured you’d gotten the gun from the army or something.”

  “I did, my brother was a Ranger. He was killed while fighting… probably doing something incredibly brave and undeniably stupid.”

  “Like my dad.”

  “Yeah, though I doubt your dad did anything stupid.”

  “Your brother probably didn’t either.” Maria contended. Daniel made no immediate reply, and instead acquiesced with a half-smile. “Do you know what happened to him?” Maria asked. “And don’t hesitate to shut me up if I’m being too nosy.”

  “Don’t worry; I’m an open book if anyone’s actually interested in reading me.” Daniel put the finishing touches on the stroganoff. “He was killed in Washington D.C., by way of a dirty bomb. Interesting side note: the ship that dropped the poison on Washington was destroyed two days later over Philadelphia… my utmost thanks to your father.”

  “I don’t know if he did that,” Maria spoke. “But he did take out a quadruped by himself.”

  “Now that is impressive.” Daniel professed; though he was under the impression that Maria might have slightly exaggerated her father’s accomplishment. Quadruped Destroyer Tanks were alien ground vehicles that moved on four legs. They were the size of a two-story house, but they were also quick and fairly agile. What made them dangerous was a particularly nasty weapon that was mounted on the heads of some of these alien tanks. Maria, however, was not exaggerating.

  “Yeah, it was one of the ones with a railgun on it. My dad put out a trap: a line of explosives stretching across a street. When it walked over it he blew it apart. It was charging the railgun when it was destroyed and… well, you probably know.”

  “Gun went off,” Daniel did know. “Those damn things are like nail-bombs the size of semi-trailers; only they throw a lot more than just nails. Lampposts, street signs, automobiles…” Daniel came to a realization as he spoke. “Damn, that’s how your dad died, isn’t it?”

  Maria nodded to acknowledge that it was true. She was sentimental, yet she shed no tears. Daniel no longer doubted any of what she’d said. The magnetic railgun used by the alien forces could turn any metallic object into a massively destructive projectile. When the railgun was fired manually, any objects caught within its magnetic grasp were shot at extremely high speeds in a single direction (like a shotgun), and if the devices firing the weapons (such as the quad-tanks) were to be destroyed while the railgun was armed, then the railgun itself would self-destruct and send its metallic payload in all directions. The magnetic pull of the alien railgun was powerful enough to lift heavily armored vehicles off of the ground and also strong enough to pull aircraft right out of the sky. It was a fierce weapon, but not very effective in the long run.

  “I’m sorry, Maria.” Daniel spoke sympathetically.

  “Don’t be. It was quick; he didn’t suffer.” Maria reassured him.

  “Did you get to see him afterward to say goodbye?”

  “Yeah, we did. He looked peaceful. You know what it was that killed him? A lug nut – right through the heart.”

  “I’m not surprised; I’ve seen those things put car keys through cinderblocks… pretty scary stuff.” Daniel smirked a moment later and added, “We got wise though, and they didn’t. When a railgun got close enough, we’d wait ‘til it started charging up its magnet and then we’d all cook our grenades and just let it take ‘em.”

  “Very nice.” Maria approved with a coy smirk.

  “Always nice to get a little payback.” Daniel affirmed. “Grenades, nitroglycerin canisters, cars full of C4 – we sent some pretty creative concoctions their way.”

  Daniel reached up and removed two bowls from an overhead cabinet. He gave one of them to Maria and kept the other for himself. The stroganoff steamed with a pleasing aroma as Daniel poured it from the canister and into Maria’s bowl. As soon as Daniel presented her with a spoon, she immediately sought to taste the modest yet wonderfully scented banquet for herself. Thankfully for Maria, she had brought her water bottle with her; the meal was still hot and waiting for it to cool down was simply not an option she was willing to consider. A small sip of water chased away the burning sensation and left her with only a mouth full of joy. Daniel took some of the stroganoff as well, but made sure to leave plenty for Clarissa when she was ready to eat, and also for Maria, who would almost certainly be seeking a second helping. The two of them both ate standing at the counter.

  “That’s all you’re going to have?” Maria asked covering her mouth with her hand. She was very skilled in the art of eating and speaking simultaneously, but she still had some manners left.

  “Yeah, for now. I don’t eat much.” Daniel replied after he’d finished his bite. “Thought I’d save some for your mother. You’re welcome to the whole thing if you want it. I can always make more.”

  “Um, I don’t think my mom’s going to be eating anything.” Maria spoke in a discouraging tone.

  “Why not? Because of your sister? I can take over life-support duties for as long she needs. Just because Vita can’t eat right now doesn’t mean your mother needs to go without food, too.”

  “She isn’t gonna like me telling you this, but I don’t really care. I think she’s hurt… pretty bad.” Maria’s eyes welled up slightly as she spoke.

  “Hurt how? What happened to her?”

  “One of the Sayona… it hit her with its tai
l… it hit her really hard.”

  “Damn,” Daniel spoke as he left his place at the counter and moved to make his way to the storeroom. “I’ll go talk with her. Don’t worry, if there’s anything wrong, we’ll fix it.”

  The strength of a Sayona was near equal to that of an average, athletic man, but their tails were an exception: solid muscle surrounded by thick scales with an iron-hard club on the end, the beasts could wield them with brutal force and deadly accuracy. Daniel was confused as to why Clarissa did not mention the injury. He supposed it was merely due to her not wanting to concern her daughters, but it was still foolish. Of course, had Daniel known about the injury he never would have left Clarissa and her daughters there alone while he went to retrieve their car. Perhaps she didn’t want to concern him either. Daniel soon entered the storeroom.

  Clarissa was speaking softly to Vita when he entered. She finished whatever it was that she was speaking and then went quiet. Clarissa looked up to Daniel from her place upon the floor. He could see both strength and pain in the look that she was giving him. Whether she was actually conscious of it or not, Daniel could see that she was asking for some kind of help. He knelt down next to her.