In the Aftermath: Burning of the Dawn Read online

  The screaming of the Sayona was present throughout the night. As they furthered their search for the degenerates who had brought destruction to their city, their screams grew fainter. Mary, Serena, and Anthony made not a sound. Two Sayona had entered their building, but the beasts did not attempt a thorough search; their attention was more absorbed in the nearby fire. As the night came to an end the Sayona returned home. They were raucous as usual, but less noisy going in than they were coming out: fewer screams and growls; more purrs and chirps. Mary knew what that meant: they had found somebody.

  Eventually, all sounds ceased and there was only quiet darkness again. Mary waited half an hour more and then breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, she spoke, “It’s over.” Remnants of the frightful night were still there, but her tone flowed with sweet relief.

  “Is it?” Serena shuttered. She was glad for the darkness now; she could shed a few tears without anyone seeing. Anthony never cried; he was too frightened for that.

  “It is.” Mary answered as she stirred from her spot. She writhed and stretched to get out all of her kinks from sitting in the same position for so many hours. After that feat was finished, she obtained the rifle and procured her tiny flashlight. “Light’s comin’ on.” She stated, and then switched on the light. Mary kept the beam low and searched for the panel they had entered through. She remained cautious while opening the panel. It wasn’t likely that any Sayona would take refuge in the casino, but Mary’s mode of caution was running on high at that moment. Mary dropped down into the room below; it was still very dark – too dark to see without the flashlight. Serena and Anthony followed close behind. One of the Sayona had ventured up to the second floor, but she never checked any of the rooms. The door creaked subtly as Mary opened it. She shut off her flashlight as the pale, purple light of dawn proved sufficient enough for her to make her way down to the first floor. In their furious haste, the Sayona had knocked over their pyramids of tables and smashed many of the glasses scattered across the floor. The beasts had a knack for memorizing their surroundings, but Mary doubted that they had bothered to make any mental maps of this mess. Mary burst through the front door to take a deep breath of the morning air. It would have been nice after spending so long in that stale, dusty crawl space, but what Mary received was only a deep stench of death. Anthony and Serena followed her out the front door.

  “Oh my God…” Anthony retched as he witnessed the horrible scene waiting outside. His mother only gasped.

  Mary herself was stunned by the image. Two lanes of bloody, skeletal remains lined the street in front of her – more than sixty men in total. Each dead man lay a few meters away from each of his neighbors; all lay on their backs staring with empty eye sockets to the dreary sky above. The macabre seen proceeded all the way down towards the capitol building. The Sayona usually consumed their victims’ bones along with everything else; the beasts obviously had something horrible planned for the remains of this lot. Mary had no desires to learn what that fate might be. These men were not good people, but Mary still felt the pangs of guilt stabbing her in the gut and throat. She soon suppressed them, however, and moved on.

  “Don’t touch the bodies…” Mary called back to Serena and Anthony. “As if you planned to.”

  Serena and Anthony proceeded down the side of the road; Mary walked between the lanes of dead men. How many of them did I know? She wondered. One skull stood out amongst the others; Mary knelled to examine it. A large hole was on one side and a small hole was on the other – a gun shot. “Is that you, Roddy?” Mary spoke softly. “Ugly bastard, you should’ve stopped chasing me.” Mary did not linger long. Stone was never a decent human being, but Mary did remember a time when he could almost pass for one occasionally. Everything ends eventually, she thought as she left the lanes of dead men behind and joined Serena and Anthony.

  Smoke and smoldering remained, but the inferno that was the service station no longer burned. The Sayona had plugged the hole to the fuel tanks and stamped out most of the other fires. The semi-truck Mary had used to reach the fuel tanks had caught fire at some point, as did a few other surrounding locations, but the garage where Serena had hidden her car had mercifully remained unmolested by both fire and Sayona. The bodies of the men Mary had killed were nowhere to be seen. Mary correctly assumed that they were now amongst the skeletons left to rot near the capitol building, waiting to become a part of some macabre masterpiece courtesy of the Sayona.

  Serena hurried around the remains of the service station, where the heat was still dense, to get to her car. She lifted the garage door and smiled in relief to see her vehicle unharmed and exactly the way she had left it. The night before was a terrible ordeal, but Mary’s plan had worked. In that moment, Serena forgave the crazy girl for all her trespasses and hugged her son with delight. Anthony was still shaken; nearly getting murdered by both men and monsters, defying his mother, and seeing the brutality that the Sayona were capable of had overwhelmed him. He felt numb, but still had an overwhelming urge to scream and cry and hit something until his hands bled. He did none of those things; he only took what comfort he could in his mother’s embrace, and also in Mary’s touch as she held him gently by the hand.

  “I’m sorry, Mary.” Serena spoke, still clutching her son. “About yesterday; I hope you understand.”

  “All is forgiven, hon’,” Mary answered. “I’m sorry I wasn’t honest with you.” She then looked to Anthony. “You, too, little brother; I put you in a tough spot. That was wrong of me and I’ll never do it again. I promise you.”

  Anthony nodded in acknowledgment and forged a smile. He held no ill-feelings against Mary. His love for his mother did not deter him; the fact of it was that Mary’s way was the right way. His mother’s way would have gotten them all killed. After last night, he had no doubt about that. The Sayona were more terrifying to him now than any human had ever been before.

  “All right,” Serena smiled as she took both Mary and her son by the shoulders. “Let’s get out of here already.”

  “You sure you want me to come with you?” Mary asked.

  “Wouldn’t leave without you.” Serena answered.

  Mary knew that wasn’t the truth, but she thought it kind of Serena to say anyway. “Then I’m yours, Mama Bear.” Mary replied. “Take me where you will.”

  As usual, Serena took the driver’s seat. It had been a long time since she had last slept, but the anticipation of leaving Nevada kept her wide awake. Anthony took to the backseat, again. He was very tired, but with sleep would come nightmares, so he avoided it for now. Mary would eventually take the passenger seat. She was tired as well and would have happily slept for as long as she could, but Serena needed guidance out of Carson City, so she, too, refrained from sleeping.

  Serena started her vehicle; it was very pleasing for her to finally see her fuel tank gauge past its full limit again. She shifted her car into gear and pulled out of the garage. Mary waited outside to close the garage door as soon as Serena was clear (the Sayona might notice if the garage was left open). As soon as that task was complete, Mary entered the vehicle and they were off on their journey once again.

  Nobody in the car had any inclinations to revisit the horror near the capitol building. They also did not want their vehicle to be anywhere within earshot of the Sayona, so Mary pointed them east towards the Carson City Freeway, then south down Highway 50. The majority of the city was thus bypassed completely. Highway 50 would then lead them westward into the Sierra Nevada Mountains and soon into California. As they finally turned to the west, nobody in the car was displeased to see Carson City vanish behind them. Soon the shrubby hillsides turned into tree-covered mountains. It was a scenic view, but Serena had to stay alert; the road out of Nevada had more travelers than she had anticipated. Elk, mule deer, wild sheep, and mountain goats seemed to be around every turn. Serena and Anthony were both shocked by so much wildlife.

  “What the hell…” Serena spoke as she carefully navigated her way around a trio of
mule deer standing in the highway. The animals curiously watched her pass them by and showed no fear in the process. “How is this possible?”

  “Why’re there so many animals?” Anthony asked, finally roused from his fear-induced stupor. “How’re they not all dead?”

  “Lions and tigers and bears…” Mary stated.

  “Huh?” Anthony knew the quote, but why did Mary say it?

  “Lions and tigers and bears.” Mary restated.

  “What about them?” Serena asked.

  “There are no more.” Mary answered. “Just like there’re no more dogs, no more wolves, no more pumas… and why we humans are now an endangered species.”

  Serena was perplexed; she really wasn’t fond of Mary’s riddles. Anthony, however, understood exactly what she was talking about. “They’re taking out the competition.” He stated as he watched a trip of goats scamper away from their approaching vehicle.

  “Right again, my friend!” Mary replied. “Sayona don’t share; they want no rivals. They are the chosen ones, this is the land that flows with milk and honey, and we are the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites and… whoever the hell else.”

  “That’s a little disturbing.” Serena commented. Despite the nightmare that was the previous night, Serena did not fear the Sayona anymore now than she had before. It was simple: no Sayona had ever harmed her or her son. Humans, on the other hand, had tried to harm her and her son on multiple occasions. And some of those humans were now dead due to the Sayona. Unlike Mary and her son, Serena felt no sympathy for the corpses the Sayona had left lying in the street. Some people need to be exterminated, she silently reminded herself. She didn’t like to think that way, but she still did so with little remorse.

  “What do you know about the Sayona?” Anthony asked Mary. The beasts terrified him more than any human ever would, yet morbid curiosity currently had control over his fear.

  “Not very much,” Mary answered. “They’re mean, they’re immortal, they’re fast as fuck, they can see in the dark, they don’t like light, they eat anything, they’re pretty damn smart, and I’ve heard rumors that some of them can fly… that one’s probably not true.”

  “They’re immortal?” Anthony felt a heavy coldness somewhere inside of him. He imagined that he probably would have been better off not knowing that.

  “I’ve never heard anything about any of ‘em ever bein’ killed.” As Mary looked to Anthony, she could see that her knowledge of the Sayona was not doing him any favors at the moment. “But like I said, I don’t know much.” She added. “Everything ends eventually, that includes the monsters. They definitely have weaknesses, and because of those weaknesses they will never find us.”

  “Maybe…” Anthony was not convinced.

  “Definitely!” Mary was convinced. “Have you ever seen the movie Jurassic Park?”

  “No.”

  “Yeah, well the… huh…? No? What the fuck, man? Anyway, in the film the big, bad tyrannosaurus can’t see things that don’t move. You stand still, he don’t know where the fuck you are. We do the same thing with the Sayona: hide in plain sight and outsmart the little fuckers.”

  “Is that really true though?” Anthony questioned. “Tyrannosaurs couldn’t see things that didn’t move?”

  “No, it’s total bullshit. Dinosaurs are the ancestors of birds; t-rex probably had eyes better than a hawk’s, but that’s not the point, babe.” Mary then took Anthony by the hand. “Big sister, Mary, knows how to survive. I will keep you safe, you will keep me safe, and we’re all going to be okay. I promise it.”

  A genuine smile came from Anthony. He did not fear the Sayona any less, but if anyone could kill a Sayona he would bet on Mary. He would even take them on himself if he had to to protect her or his mother. “I believe it,” Anthony spoke softly. “Thank you.”

  “Anytime, buddy!” Mary released Anthony’s hand, took him by the shoulder instead, and pulled him forward to kiss him just below the eye. Anthony’s smile widened as he flushed.

  Much like the wildlife, plant-life was also making successful attempts to take back its domain. Weeds, grasses, shrubs, and even small trees were setting up residence all through the highway. Some grew on the street and some just forced their way up through the street; it was easy to see that this was a road no longer traveled by machines. Serena’s car was the first one there had been in a long while. The drive was slow, yet intriguing.

  “We’re getting closer.” Mary foretold a short time later as they passed by a small lake just to the north of the highway.

  “To what?” Anthony asked. Mary’s tone was playful, so he was mostly confident that it was nothing to worry about… mostly. Serena had no concerns; she actually understood what Mary was referring to for a change.

  “You’ll see soon enough.” Mary answered; she then followed up that answer with an extended yawn.

  “It’s nothing to worry about.” Serena calmly spoke; she was very much looking forward to the sight that was soon to come. A lack of humans meant a lack of human vandalism. Road signs still stood in this part of the country and one of them soon spoiled the surprise for Anthony.

  “Lake Tahoe…” He read aloud as they passed the sign. “I guess that’s the surprise?”

  “I’ve never been,” His mother answered. “Always wanted to though.”

  “I’ve been.” Mary had been to the lake on several occasions. Emerald Bay was her favorite place. Visiting there proved to be a relaxing release after copious amounts of violence. “It is a beauty.”

  “Can I ask you a question, Mary?” Serena questioned.

  “Please do,” replied Mary. “I’m feeling very ambiversive today!”

  “I don’t know what you mean by that, but those guys you were shooting at yesterday,” Serena didn’t want to come off as mistrustful, but she was curious, as well as concerned, about Mary’s relationship with the desert hooligans who were trying to kill them the day before. “How well did you know them?”

  “Some better than others.” Mary’s answer was vague, but it was not given in an evading tone. Serena was learning the girl: Mary was daring her to go deeper.

  “Were you one of them once?” Serena accepted the dare. She had suspected as much soon after first meeting Mary. Even though Mary had kindness in her, Serena could also see that the strange woman possessed the exact same killer instincts as the murderers in the Nevada desert and the murderers who had slaughtered her friends and family back in Utah.

  Mary gave Serena a half smirk—a show of admiration—before answering. “Not just one of them; I led them… I helped create them.”

  “Was it for protection?” Serena doubted that it was; Mary seemed to do perfectly well on her own, but she wanted to give her friend every benefit of the doubt.

  “For profit… for spoil.” Mary showed neither remorse nor any delight when she spoke. She regarded that time in her existence with simple apathy. “There were only a few of us in the beginning, during and after the war. We ambushed travelers, looted their belongings, sometimes we stole their vehicles. Our intentions weren’t to kill, but some people fought back, and sometimes death happens. Most didn’t fight back; some even wanted to join us. If they looked useful, we accepted.”

  “What changed?” Serena asked. “You or them?”

  “Them.” Mary answered with no hesitancy. “I’m really no different now than I was back then. Problem was, I led but I never ruled. I was never fond of authority, so I never became the authority… a mistake on my part. I let our group separate, and some of them began to do more than just steal. They’d kill the men, take the women, rape the woman, and then kill them, too.”

  “That’s when you turned against them?” Anthony asked. Mary’s story wasn’t pleasant, but it changed nothing in his view of her. Anything she said he would simply rationalize as an act of survival on her part. His mother could see Mary’s inner bloodlust with clear yet sympathetic eyes, but Anthony refused to see anything unsavory regarding the girl.

  “
No, hon’, I distanced myself.” Mary replied with a change in tone. The sound of Anthony’s inquiry had softened her slightly. “I tried to take my OGs and go our own way, but they wouldn’t come. They were afraid. Somebody eventually did take the authority. Some army-trained asshole set up shop down in Las Vegas and sent out his minions—trained by yours truly—to do his dirty work. My guys joined his guys; his guys killed most of my guys anyway, and then they all came after me. You know the rest.”

  “All of this happened on the Sayona’s doorstep and they never noticed?” Serena did not think it possible that a sizable paramilitary faction stationed in a major city could somehow go completely unnoticed by such an observant, kill-happy creature.

  Mary had the answer: “Las Vegas still has power.”

  “What? How?” To Serena’s knowledge every power grid across the globe was wiped-out when the alien invasion took place; her knowledge was not wrong.

  “I don’t know, darlin’, I never asked,” Mary answered mockingly. “But the lights are still on in Vegas, and so long as they keep those lights on the Sayona can’t attack them. The monsters keep a few sentries around just in case the power ever fails, but they won’t do much so long as they’re blind.”

  “Imagine if the power ever did go out…” Anthony imagined the carnage in an unfavorable light, yet Mary and his mother both had inner smiles at the thought of Las Vegas being slaughtered.

  “Do you regret any of the things you’ve done?” Serena finally asked Mary.

  “I don’t,” Mary answered unsympathetically. “I don’t believe in having regrets. Have I done bad things? Yep, but I ain’t gonna cry over ‘em and I won’t condemn myself for anything I’ve done. I look out for me and mine, no matter what.”