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Alone

Keren Green

    Mae looked around the wreck of a room and wondered what it must have been like when people actually lived in these places. She checked her time keeper. It won’t be long before the others get here, she thought. She hated being on duty alone. She hated being anywhere alone.
    DING DONG.
    Mae nearly jumped out of her skin as the sound reverberated through the house. She grabbed her rifle and held it under her chin, the way Hank had taught her. “I’m armed!” she said as she approached the door. She could feel sweat drip down the side of her face. Please, don’t let it be one of them. I don’t want to die here alone. Mae took a step toward the door. If Hank were here he’d yell at me to open the fucking door. Open the door, Mae. Open the fucking door! One last deep breath and Mae yanked the door open. Rifle under her chin, just as Hank taught her. She scanned the front yard, up and down the street. No sign of them. She lowered her rifle, relieved. That’s when she saw it... a small box on the front step. Mae gasped, the rifle back up under her chin.
    “Mae.”
    She spun around, rifle aimed.
    Joe held his hands up. “Whoa, what are you doing?”
    Mae lowered her rifle, tears threatening to surface. She stepped aside to reveal the box.
    Joe stared at it. “Is that...?”
    “I’m not sure. Could be. Hank would know,” she said.
    “Hank’s not here.”
    “I know that,” Mae said as she wiped away the single tear that had managed to sneak past.
    “Bring it in and close the fucking door,” Joe said as he crossed to a chair.
    Mae put the box down on the table. “What do we do now?” she asked.
    “We wait,” he said. “The others will be here soon.”
    They sat for what felt like hours.
    “What if they don’t come?” Mae asked, breaking the silence.
    He looked at her, the way he always did, like he had no respect for her. Hank never looked at her that way.
    “They’ll come,” he answered.
    “They won’t if they’re dead. Do you think they’re dead?”
    “I think they’ll come,” he said.
    “Hank said they’d send something.”
    “I know.”
    “Maybe we should open it.”
    “The others will be here soon.”
    “What if they don’t come?”
    “No one has heard from Hank in three weeks.”
    “I know,” she replied, her eyes filled with tears. “He’s not dead. He went to the wall. He said he’d let them know we were still out here. He said they would help get us out.”
    “He said, he said, he said,” Joe snapped. “How the hell do you think Hank made it to the wall? Everyday there is less of us. Those things are out there... everywhere we turn. What do you think the wall could possibly send?”
    “Don’t you think we should open it?”
    He glared at her, the way he always did. “We should wait for the others.”
    First they heard the screams, then the gunfire. “Get down!” were the last words she heard him say.
    Mae flung herself to the floor as shattered glass and wood rained down. When she opened her eyes she saw it was Paula’s broken body that had been thrown through the window.
    “Joe?” Mae looked up to find him with a shard of glass stuck in his neck. She followed his gaze to the box.
    Mae crawled on her stomach to reach it. She pulled it down and tore it open. Inside were ten small devices, one for each of them. Well, that’s how many of them there were when Hank had left. Mae read the note: They don’t like the sound these make. You won’t hear it, but those fuckers will. Clip it on and head for the wall. – Hank.
    “He’s alive.” She thought Joe had actually smiled before the gigantic, clawed arm smashed through the roof and grabbed him.
    Mae held her breath. She didn’t scream. She didn’t make a sound, just as Hank had taught her. Her hands shook as she pulled a device from the box. She flipped the switch and a blue light appeared. Mae clipped it onto her shirt and remained as motionless as she could.
    The screams and gunfire ended several hours ago. They’re not coming, she thought as she pulled herself up. She slipped her rifle over her shoulder. I have to go alone. Hank is waiting. She opened the front door and walked out.

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