This Is Where I Want To Be

199. Too Slow

Carl

The barracks where we were stationed were empty. The watchers were recalled from En-gannim, and our station had gotten leave for a few days. After the non-stop battle on En-gannim, they decided we needed some time off. The four of us sat staring at each other. We had nowhere to go so we had stayed at the base. Our guns were clean. Our boots were polished. Beds were made, and even the four men’s watcher feed was disconnected. It had left us in the dark.

Earth had decided to ship all the alien food back to En-gannim, leaving the farms empty and deserted. The world had not taken the news well. It felt like every couple had tried it. The masses of people that streamed into the hospitals were staggering. Basic first aid had to be broadcast on TV, and so far, it had not produced one Ittoqure. What it did cause was hatred. I chuckled. Every couple who had tried it had broken up.

Teleporters were a thing of the past, and the world was in an economic mess. Doctors couldn’t get to hospitals in an instant. Paramedics were back to driving ambulances. Large shipments of food were stranded. Since the teleporters, world hunger had suddenly ceased. Homes and businesses could leave parcels at the stations every night. All the food that usually went into the trash was sent worldwide. People were rewarded if there were no food wastage. Unemployed teachers suddenly had jobs. They could be in some remote village and come back at night. Volunteer workers could dig water wells on a Saturday and still come home for dinner. But those people were back to a waitressing life and stuck in some small town playing video games.

All the armies had divided again. Countries were back, and diplomats were no longer used for “foreign” relations but to represent their countries. The different generals had relocated to their homes, leaving us on the American base. After the people found out aliens were still murdering innocent humans rather than child molesters and murderers. The death penalty was back to what they were in specific countries before all of it happened.

Women had been paid to have babies. With the fear of the human race dying out… The world had no choice. Since conception was established, they got subsidiaries, healthcare, and time off from jobs. IVF was free. Women who wanted to have children as a career suddenly had the option. They would go to a sperm bank. Choose their donor and got paid to raise a baby. Caretakers were sent to help them. Social workers had little to do. If a family was unfit or abusive in any way. They were sent away. The foster system had become the highest-paying job. The kids had therapy, food, and a roof over their heads. The best education. But that had also stopped. And with abortion being banned worldwide, women were going crazy against Lyla. Some of them needed the money and the support. And for those who were pregnant and had lost a partner because their ass carried the scar to prove it. The situation was getting out of control.

The world had seemed cleaner. In many instances. No more litter and no more fear. After Lyla, people stopped caring again. There was a lull in the streets. A deadness. The numbness was back. Where society had something to look forward to. Better futures, more prospects, and cheaper education. No one had the options anymore. No one would ever travel to other planets or be able to colonize ones that would still be discovered. Scientists were Lyla’s greatest enemy.

One night the first accusation of rape was on the news and shocked America. Protesters had stormed the streets. Ones against Lyla and her companions. The rape was followed by a missing child in North Carolina. It left the people livid against all her efforts.

The watchers were not scattered anymore. Not able to fly and catch anyone trying to flee a scene. Working with local law enforcement to determine how to use teleporters to their best advantage. Every child in America and worldwide was accounted for and checked up on daily. Having a teleporter in every neighborhood meant a watcher was there to operate the station. It had created jobs. The comings and goings were documented; if someone didn’t come home that night, police could quickly follow up with a one-second trip. There was also a watcher and policeman patrolling and listening for screams, whistles, or even basic emergencies. Where women were safe to walk around drunk, they were back to being careful.

Jack put the TV on. All we had to do was sit and wait. We didn’t think things could get any worse. That night, Lyla was on screen. She had posted a video of her own feed playing on the screen, telling the humans that the watcher could install the tech on anyone they wanted, and no one would ever know.

Strangely, people were quiet whenever anything came to the surface. As if the whole ordeal had been too much of an up and down. No one knew when things would stabilize. It had started to. After Michael killed Lucy, the aliens were banned for the first time. The humans soon changed their minds about Lucy’s death. And when the aliens returned, there was general consensus and more enthusiasm among the people to change the planet and accept the Vampires’ help. Useless roads were converted into solar farms. Power plants were at half the consumer rate. Conservative groups had banned all and any exotic animal farms. Puppy mills and Zoos. Wales and rhinos weren’t being hunted for what they could give us. Poachers, gang members, and those fighting traditions were sent to prison. We were finally giving back to the planet. In small ways, people who were into anything the least illegal or morally unsound were sent away. Order had come back in a massive way to what was right or wrong.

At that moment, it was a matter of Juliet not being safe on Earth. Some thought she needed to be brought to justice. Stevie’s death was soon confirmed with some of Juliet’s old footage Lyla had dug out. A coffee shop in her old town had connected them, and the boy did say a monster ate his mother. I ruffled my hair. Juliet’s feed killing person after person, played for those who had the stomach to watch it. Jack changed the channel. Her being infected with Rodrigo and all she had become. Her whole life played on-screen daily, like The Truman Show. It was hard to watch. Lyla had really outdone herself. Not for lack of trying, but no one could find her. She had vanished off the face of the planet. But every day, something new came online. Never traceable.

Warden was the edgiest. He couldn’t calm down or sit still. Not used to barracks life. Jack was so old that he could sit for hours and stare out in front of him.

“You know what ticks me off,” Warden said. “Not once did Lyla broadcast all the good that the aliens can bring to the table.”

Jack glanced up for the first time. James gave us each a beer. “Let’s go talk outside. I can’t stand this building anymore.”

“Yeah, but if we want to go anywhere. We would have to drive.”

“I wonder when the first drunk driver will kill anyone.”

I shook my head. “You’re right, Warden. She didn’t tell them the watchers were also connected to their hosts. For life. The people always just assumed that it was a job.” I looked at Jack. “Would you be able to prove you’re as old as you are?”

He slowly nodded.

“Can you imagine what people would do if they could live for nine hundred years?”

“What about the medical advantages?”

“Yes, but that is something we won’t be able to prove… We had not even gotten to trading for information. Technology. Mining. Traveling.” James said. “Tell me, why no Ittoqures has surfaced yet?”

“Because the people who really love each other would never do it to their partner. They know it would change them. Put their partner in danger. And make them a human-eating maniac in an instant.” Jack said, looking up at the stars. “I enjoyed fighting on Zoreah and En-gannim. I wouldn’t have minded moving out there… Marry some vampire woman wanting to escape the men on her planet… Connect to her and live out my days in a place where there is order.” Jack sat up. It had been the most he had ever said.

“We don’t even know what’s going on. Have you heard anything?” Warden asked.

“No. There would be no communication either. The plates were disconnected. Marcus was very clear. As long as Juliet was a wanted woman. Earth would never see us again.” I said.

“But would they leave you here?” James asked.

“If we leave. We can’t come back.”

“I wished they at least gave us the option. We have been so loyal. We could’ve traveled out with the fugitives and… I have to tell you. I don’t… I don’t want to come back. We’re the only race that can’t fight for common goals.” Jack said. “The slightest shift and we go from one extreme to another. It’s exhausting to keep up with the latest fad.”

“I’m with you on this. Juliet asked me, and I regret not going. We could’ve found a planet where the species did mix. Everyone knows kids don’t survive. It’s not like this planet would have been run by savages. All the women could get that formula, and voila. The problem is solved.” Warden said. “Humans would jump on that bandwagon in an instant. They don’t need the formula at all.”

“None of us have to worry. Michael will come eventually. They can’t trace him. Or stop him.” I said, and I believed it. Although they said I should stay in contact. I hoped Marcus would have time to check in at some point.

“Yes, but Michael won’t know where we are. And we only got a week off. We are back to being US soldiers. Governing the streets of chaos.”

“Probably get shipped off to the Middle East very soon. It doesn’t look good over there.”

We all sat or stood weirdly, staring at the sky. Our hopes and dreams were out there. Charlene… was out there. Kubra could go to her in an instant. I had just gotten her to think about us. We were getting closer to crossing that line. And in my heart, I knew I loved her. I chuckled. She had slapped me when I tried to kiss her. I will never forget that day. That past year solidified it in me. I had been free, and it sucked. I was away from my family, and it wasn’t what I wanted for my life. I looked at Jack. Never did he have a wife. Or a child. “Hey, tell me… How did you cope with Louis whoring around like that.” I asked. The other men seemed intrigued. Jack got a wry smile on his mouth. James threw some more wood on the fire. Warden sat down, all ears.

Jack’s smile grew. “It was educational.” The three of us laughed and clinked our beers. “It was hard to watch, some of the time… He did kill them after.”

James whistled. “That is sick on a whole other level.”

“Once a month, he had to eat. The whole of Europe was open to him.” Jack went on.

“It can’t be. He would’ve had to have slept with so many women that I… I can’t believe you.”

“Look… If a guy starts watching porn at twelve, and it goes on and on until he can’t anymore. Is it really any different than what I had done.” Jack laughed out loud. It was the first time we had heard the sound.

“Watching the same porn star every time with a different girl,” James said.

“At least every time would’ve been a different scene and story.” I chipped in.

“Can you imagine… How fast did it take him to choose?” Warden asked.

“Oh, he played with his prey. The whole night would go by.” Jack giggled. “Sometimes, he didn’t use his ability.” Jack laughed. “Those were the interesting nights.” Jack sat up out of his slumped position. “Oh F-!”

“What?”

“Lyla’s going to let more information out tomorrow.”

“You don’t think?”

“Oh, s-, s-, s-!” Jack was freaking out. He didn’t like the idea of anyone posting anything about Louis.

“If the world sees his story… If Lyla puts it on-screen. It’s own channel.”

“What about Marcus?”

“Who cares. It might help if they saw what he had to go through… We must find this woman and fast before she causes irreparable harm.”

“We’ve looked, Jack. Where do you want us to search?”

“Wait. You had a point. What about Marcus? His feed was supposed to have been cut off on the compound. Is that not what Kubra said. There was no watcher tech in Qadir’s house.”

“But yet, she had footage of the branding.”

James pointed a finger at Warden and shook it up and down. “That’s right. That’s right. Was there anywhere else no watcher tech was able to work. Marcus was watched but not… all the time.”

“If only Kubra was here. Jessy’s father had to have left her somewhere no tech would be allowed. Look, there is no way he could disconnect it himself. We only fixed it too late, and then she was off-grid. They couldn’t have gotten far.”

“When we evacuated… Was every house searched?”

“I think so. Se wouldn’t be that stu… That’s how they got out of the tunnel so fast. She was there the whole time.”

“And… even if she’s not in a house. Those tunnels… are very long. And where do they come out?”

“The gorge.”

Jack jumped up and put his phone to his ear. “General. We need transport asap.”

General [ You will have to take the chopper, Jack. Keep me posted ]

“Yes, sir.”

“You can fly?”

“Of course, I can… I can do everything Louis can.” Jack said.

“You must be really rich?” I asked as we ran for our bunks.

“You have no idea… Invested every time he did. Reading minds is one way of doing it… Maybe I’ll donate it to some charity for endangered species.”

***

The whole campaign took way too slow. First, we had to fuel the chopper. Then, we had to do preflight checklists. By the time we took off, we were so tired that the three of us fell asleep as Jack flew us hours into the west. The sun was coming up behind us. The barracks at the compound had a helipad, fuel, and everything we would need for the return journey.

As we stepped out of the chopper, I yawned. “Never would I complain about filling in a small form on a plate for teleporting purposes,” I grumbled.

“Same. Got used to the instant get around.” James mumbled. We grabbed our bags and got geared up next to the chopper.

“How are we going to get to the compound?”

“Jog. Get ready for drills, boys.” Jack fastened his last clip, slinging his gun over his shoulder.

We soon fell in line behind Jack, jogging to a place that was such a part of me that I would never forget it. Juliet’s fish had been sold a long time ago. The power was turned off. Her waterfall wasn’t working anymore. Marcus never liked the place. And for some reason. That day. I knew we would never go back. Juliet loved France. Louis’s home and his room. The cabin she had built for Michael would never be used. I had been busy that year, keeping my ear to the ground.

The gates were closed. After the location was released, it was almost a tourist destination. The warning was clear. No one was allowed in the area. Not that it would matter. What would they see? Houses and buildings. Roads and well-manicured lawns. Some fanatics thought it had something to do with the location. That Marcus’s study would turn them into an alien.

“How will we get in?” Warden asked as we slowed our pace. The flags were still hanging on the poles. The fountain was dead, and the streets were dusty.

“How weird it is to see it like this,” Warden said.

Jack walked up to the gate and punched in some numbers. It whirred and clicked and slid open.

“We have to start at the beginning and work our way through.”

Our guns were drawn, and we followed tactical procedures nonetheless. We had no idea if she had built up a following or who was helping her. It seemed a difficult thing to have done for one little girl. Some weirdoes might have been hiding in there.

I slowly opened the first door, and the flashlights on our guns cleared every room. We would do it properly and, once and for all, go through every part of that darkness. The first long straight tunnel was where Rodrigo’s lab, the watcher’s room, and the offices. The one she had put together for the men. At the end of the straight part of the tunnel, just before it split in three different directions, was Juliet’s secret room. Warden’s eyes grew when he saw it. “So that’s what they were doing.”

Jack put his finger on his mouth and gestured for us to put off our walkies and go radio silent. He pointed down the tunnel to the right, and I took my queue. Warden and James went down the middle, and Jack had the left tunnel. The power in the whole place was cut. No lights were flickering on as we walked. If Lyla was down there. How did she do it? She had guts.

***

After what felt like three miles of walking down that thing, my irritation was spiraling. We didn’t have much time until that evening’s broadcast. And I had yet to see a room that wasn’t some cage or steeled door dungeon. It was nerve-racking, opening every door and expecting an infected vamp to come out of the shadows.

I opened the last room and walked in. There was one backpack leaning against the wall. “Strange.” The tunnel was empty. I was walking out the big gate into the gorge. The sun was blazing down, and sweat trickled down my brow. I lifted my gun over my shoulder and let it hang by its strap. I didn’t look forward to making my way back. I sat down to take a break, checking my watch. I pulled out a bar from my pants and peeled the wrapper back. Jack had not given us a timeframe before we would make contact again.

If she wasn’t in those tunnels. Or on the compound. Where was she? I thought about all the places she could go. Juliet’s old house? The Colosseum was close. She wouldn’t hide anywhere near the diner. She would need food and water. Where the hell was she? I took the last bite and turned the round dial on my walkie.

Me [ Hey guys? Any luck? ]

Nothing. I would wait until they contacted me. Jacklin came to mind a lot. If Sita had to work with anyone. Would it be her? Infected vamps? Who did she trust to leave all her information with? And what else did Sita have that we didn’t know about. If I had watched Lyla any longer, I would’ve found out what she was up to. Known she had met Nevin. I did blame myself for the whole mess. Wished Charlene would call me out like she did before. But would she? Why would she? I had told her not to. I had a mission and wanted to run. Defect.

I drank some water and emptied my canaster, reflecting on our days in France when we first arrived. How much time Charlene and I had spent together. We were always together, and I missed her. I missed… France. I stood up. Did we ever check the houses? Wouldn’t France have made sure? The generals were also looking for Lyla. But had they been thorough?

A static rumbling and voices came through on the walkie.

Me [ I’m here. Warden? Is that you? ]

More noises and gunfire. I jumped up and started running. The sounds became more apparent.

Voice [ Carl… Infected vamps… House ]

It was enough to put me in a panic. I didn't want any of them to die. As I reached the fork, I had to decide where I would go. None of us had mapped that place, and which tunnel would lead me to a house? Was it even Warden or Jack?

***

Soren

What had I done? I had used one of Juliet’s worst fears to get her out of there. I was already at Isla’s door.

“Soren? You were just here. What’s going on? Why is the alarm going off.”

I pushed past her and locked the door when it closed behind us. “Isla, Marcus is coming.” She wanted to speak. “Listen… They will kill everyone. And I mean even us.”

Isla’s eyes widened. “Juliet wouldn’t kill us.”

I didn’t have time to explain it to her. “You have thirty seconds to make a choice. Just like in that garden. It’s your choice.”

“I don’t want him to die… Soren, you have to help me.”

I drew in a deep breath and bobbed my head. “I have to go.”

Ian’s office seemed too far from the house that day. He glanced up when I walked in. “Soren? What is all the commotion about?”

“Ian! Marcus is coming. Into this house and taking the Island.”

He wanted to waste time regarding me. “Juliet is the one that hit me. She hit Rana. She has an ability. She can disappear.” Ian slowly stood up, leaning on the table. “Ian. Marcus is coming for the Island. When you leave for Palmyra, there will be an ambush on the Embassy, and you will die. Everyone here will die. Right now. Today.” The words were out, and I couldn’t take them back. If Juliet was there, she was seeing me give it all away. The one honest conversation I wanted had separated me from her forever.

“Soren…”

“Ian, we don’t have time. You have to trust me. They are coming! We’re already at a disadvantage.” I slammed my fist on the table. “Now, Ian, or we all die!”

“You are going to answer for lying to me.”

“No. I am finally on your side. No more lies. It goes both ways.” I waited. I could still get out. I could still get Isla out.

“Where?”

“If I were them, I’d land in the city in the North. The canal there is the only way…”

“They will cross with the stone.” Ian interrupted.

“It will lead them right into your troops…Marcus is done. No more prisoners. We can still stop him.”

Ian came around the table. “How did you know where my troops are?” Ian and I were walking and talking as the soldiers followed his directions.

“There is no time. Evacuate the women and children.”

“Where is Isla?” Ian asked. “My wife is still at the other house.” He grabbed a man by the collar. If my wife is not where she is supposed to be when I get there. I will kill you myself. I glanced at the two veiled women waiting anxiously at the front door. I nodded at her. Isla grabbed Rana’s hand and pulled her toward the teleporter station.

“Come, Soren. You will have to man up. As they say on Earth.” I recoiled.