Quiet Earth

Bolt-Action: 11
Girl From the North Country

The rumblings from the alien attack awoke me from my dream. I was drenched in sweat and still slightly dazed by the recent ordeal in the sewers. When my eyes refocused and I finally remembered where I was, I could see the girl standing guard by the door. It looked like she would pick a fight with anything that tried to walk through that front door.

“How long have I been out?”

She did not answer me and continued to stand alert.

“I didn’t get a chance to thank you for helping me.”

There is still no movement from the girl and I start to get annoyed.

“Hey?”

Nothing.

I get to my feet and make my way up to her. Once I get right behind her, she startles and turns around immediately pushing me in the chest. The unexpected blow sends me stumbling backwards until I fall on my ass.

“Can you stop doing that? I think I got the message the first time when you punched me in the jaw.”

I sat on the ground looking up at her. She stood ready to fight.

“What’s your name?”

Nothing.

“I’m Dylan. You are?”

I can’t help by notice the unclear and puzzling look in her eyes. I slowly point to my ears.

“Can you hear me?”

The girl shakes her head sadly.

“Where do you live?” I try and speak as slowly and clearly as possible but to no use.

I point to her and then put my hand to my head like I’m sleeping. “Where do you sleep?”

The girl unexpectedly steps out onto the streets. I cautiously follow her still on the look out for Feeders.

She points up the streets towards the North.

I was partly bitten by curiosity plus I wanted to make sure that she got home okay. So, I point to her and myself and then point in the same direction towards the North. She shrugs her shoulders and starts walking.

I stop and watch her begin to walk through the streets with absolutely no fear. She looks back towards me and pauses. I point above to a series of zip lines motioning back and forth. A slight smile creeps from the corners of her lips, and she motion with her hands for me to come on. She wasn’t physically laughing, but I could tell deep down inside her spirit was laughing.

This girl was going to be interesting.

Bolt-Action: 12
Man In The Long Black Coat

We walked for what most have been at least five miles sometimes over near treacherous terrain ducking down various streets and alleyways. I am not sure if I have ever gone so long without saying a word, but I felt like we spoke volumes as we helped each other network our way through the maze that is New York City.

I wasn’t sure how much further she planned on walking, but she seemed perfectly intent to keep marching on. With the sun setting, we would need to quickly find shelter from the night, and to be completely honest I was utterly famished. What I wouldn’t give right now for a can of my mother’s beans.

I stopped her and pointed to the descending sun. She motioned for me to keep going almost sayings it's just a little further. I obliged and we continued on our walk.

As soon as turned the corner of the next block, she gave a grand ta-da gesture. This was a relatively new territory for me so I wasn’t too sure where we were. She pointed to a wonderful looking building that was guarded by two ominous stone lions. I stood with my mouth agape, and she pulled me by my sleeve. Etched into the front façade, it read “New York Public Library”.

The inside was a wonderland of marble and my neck was permanently cocked towards the ceiling. We retreated up and down various staircases through the cold catacomb. Besides the natural occurrence of cobwebs, dust, and decay, the building seemed virtually unscathed by the alien attacks. Even some of the windows remained fully intact.

As we moved deeper into the library, we passed by various camps of people. Most of them didn’t pay us any attention their noses glued to the inside pages of countless books.

One more floor up, we entered a great hall to which she did another ta-da gesture. I was completely amazed.

“You live here?”

The girl happily shook her head and motioned for me to follow.

In the far distance, I could see a candlelight burning next to an old leather chair. We kept walking towards the light, and I could see a pair of legs sprawled out from the bottom of the chair. Sitting under the candlelight was an old man who lay fast asleep with a massive book draped open over his chest. The hair of his wryly and disheveled beard vibrated with every snore.

The girl took the book off of his chest gently and then slammed it close. The old man jumped right out of his chair.

“Are we under attack!”

He scampered wildly until he caught sight of the girl’s sweet face with a mischievous look in behind her blue eyes.

“Oh, it’s just you…” He calms himself back down keeping one hand over his faint heart. “What have I told you about scaring me like that?” He shakes a dirty finger at her.

The girl points towards me and raises her eyebrows.

“You brought a guest.” The old man straightens up and combs back his hair with his hands and then runs his fingers through his beard. “Allow me to introduce myself, I am Maxwell Connolly.” He extends those dirty fingers towards me for a handshake. “Who might you be?”

“I’m Dylan.”

“Right you are Dylan, and where do you live?”

“I live in the Woolworth District.

Maxwell perks up a little straighter. “Ah, I’m quite familiar with the place. Nice people there.” He takes notice of my rifle. “Say, that’s a nice gun you have there.”

“It was my father’s.”

“He must have been an excellent marksmen.”

I had to agree with the statement and shook my head. “He passed the rifle down to me when he passed away.”

“Does it still work?”

“You bet. It’s perfect for taken down Feeders.”

“Feeders, nasty little pests. I hope you take down the whole lot of them with it.”

We share a quick laugh even the girl shares a smile with us.

“Woolworth you said… hmm.” He scratched his beard. “Your father didn’t happen to be Lee Annenberg?”

I bolted upright. “Yes, that’s my father. Did you know him?”

“Not directly per say, but I heard all the stories about him. Damn fine hero he was.” He looks over to the girl and pats her hand. “Looks like you found a true guest.”

“I’m sorry, sir, but did you know that your daughter…”

“Angelina? She’s not my daughter. Found her wandering the streets when she was three and have been helping raising her since.”

“Did you know that she was down in the sewers and almost got attacked by Feeders?”

He quickly ignores Dylan and turns towards Angelina. “Let me see what you got?”

Angelina reaches into her backpack and pulls out her notebook. Maxwell begins thumbing through it swiftly. He stops on the last page written on and holds it underneath the candle light.

“Yes. This might be it.” He pats Angelina’s hand once again.

“Might be what?”

Maxwell pounds a dirty finger into the notebook and looks back at me with a crazed glint in his eyes.

“This is where we make our escape!”