Chapter Twelve #2
“I did not see my parents until I matriculated. I graduated with honors, so they attended the commencement, but they never visited. I was a baby when Grav left for the MEC. He was eleven when I arrived, and by then we had nothing in common, so we didn’t interact much.
After he graduated at age sixteen, I never saw him again.
I visited my parents twice after I left the MEC. ”
Well, this explains a lot. “After graduation, then what happened?”
“I entered the military. We’re required to serve a minimum of ten years. But Grav and I made it a career. Both our parents were career military.”
His government undermined the parental role and severed emotional connections to prevent development of empathy and compassion. They’re producing emotionless automaton soldiers with no qualms against murdering innocent people.
Except Rok had demonstrated he had qualms. At least, with respect to her. She touched the weapon on her hip. “Why didn’t you kill me?”
“What else do you want to know about my brother?”
“How is it your brother has a brother who didn’t kill me?” she persisted.
“I guess we are both disappointments.”
What? Before she could reply, he added, “My parents did not expect much of Grav. From the start, they dismissed him as soft and weak. One reason we did not become close was because I knew how our parents felt, and I didn’t wish to associate with him.
I did well at the MEC. I was the promising one, the star cadet.
I excelled in military drills and simulations. ”
She could imagine what those would be.
“I expected to move up the military ranks quickly, but I never received an assignment in which I could distinguish myself. Then came the Earth campaign.”
Otherwise known as the opportunity to annihilate an entire population.
“Drills and simulations didn’t prepare me for face-to-face engagement.” He looked at her, and she was struck by how blue his eyes were. How earnest. “You smelled good, and I couldn’t kill you.”
“You didn’t kill me because of how I smell?” Her life hinged on that? What do I smell like? The lady’s soap and shampoo? Her deodorant?
“No, I just couldn’t do it. I guess I’m weak.” His gaze focused on the distance. “What’s that?”
A round water tower with the town name emblazoned on the tank stuck out of the trees. “That’s Big Creek,” she said.
* * * *
As woods thinned, businesses began to crop up. There was an auto repair shop, a nursery with overgrown and dead plants, and a self-storage unit—the kind of businesses people wouldn’t put in the town center. As they drew nearer, a sign pointed to the Big Creek downtown area.
This was where they parted company. She didn’t know what to think about all that he’d told her.
He seemed sincere, but how could you trust the enemy?
Everything he said could have arisen from a careful campaign of alien psyops.
The thank-you, the apology, telling her she could go, could be part of a strategic manipulation campaign.
Maybe he hadn’t released her—maybe he intended to follow her in hopes she’d lead him to other humans.
But if he intended to do harm, why give her his weapon?
“I’m leaving now.” She could not willingly accompany a Progg. She’d check out the downtown area and see what it offered. He could go wherever. She didn’t care, as long as it wasn’t with her.
Rok projected an air of forlornness, like he was being abandoned. Which made her feel vaguely guilty. And how warped was that? An hour ago, she’d been his hostage. Stockholm syndrome, much?
She had to leave for her own sanity.
He opened his mouth as if to say something then closed it. He nodded.
The situation seemed to call for some sort of farewell.
Etiquette did not address consorting with alien invaders.
What would be appropriate? See ya around?
Have a good day? Goodbye, which was an abbreviation of the original phrase God be with ye?
Certainly not. If there was a god, she should be praying for him to smite Rok and every other Progg.
“Come on, Kevin.” She marched away, the dog at her side. The hair on her nape prickled like he was watching her, but she held her head high and maintained a brisk stride, refusing to check.
A couple of blocks later, she caved. She knelt, ostensibly hugging Kevin, and snuck a peek. He was gone. I’m not disappointed.
Up the street a ways, she came to the HOME OF THE GROUNDHOGS or so proclaimed the marquee at the Big Creek School. Someone had sprayed illegible graffiti over the message announcing the start of band practice. Somebody doesn’t like band.
The vacant, abandoned school with overgrown weeds rising to the windows caused her heart to pang.
So many lives lost. Had the kids been in class when the area got vaporized?
Or was Big Creek one of the towns through which regiments marched on foot?
As horrible as the massacre from the air was, she prayed for the former so the children wouldn’t have spent their last seconds in abject terror.
This reminded her she had a weapon to test. Removing it from the holster, she aimed at the school bus stop sign and fired.
Not so much as a pfft.
What good was a weapon she couldn’t use? Worse, he’d warned possessing it could paint a target on her back. She crossed the street and flung the vaporizer into a trash can. Kevin peed on the trash receptacle, and they continued on.
Downtown Big Creek typified a small American Midwest town.
Businesses and city government buildings squared off around a grassy quad.
In the center sat the requisite gazebo. City hall and the police department shared a building with two separate entrances.
There were a couple of restaurants—a Chinese place and an Italian one—a women’s clothing store, a bicycle shop—and Sudsy Paws dog salon.
Score!
No grocery store here, but Big Creek probably had one somewhere.
She’d look for it after taking care of business.
Vaporization had eradicated vermin from the cities, but mice had started to return, particularly to the supermarkets.
However, getting dog food at a grocery store would be easier than going house to house. One-stop shopping.
Will Rok know where to find food that is edible for him? He spoke English, but she’d figured out he couldn’t read it. Not my problem. Why do I care? Forget him! She gave herself a mental smack and then looked at Kevin. “You, sir, have a walk-in appointment at Sudsy Paws!”
She led him into the dog salon. Normally he’d be bathed then trimmed, but his fur was too matted. If she washed him first, the mats would tighten, making them more difficult to cut off. He needed a complete shear job.
While she collected supplies, Kevin ran around sniffing, his tail wagging in doggy delight, no doubt detecting the smell of other animals.
She envisioned his owner taking him on walks through the neighborhood, Kevin stopping to pee on trees, greeting other canines with a wag and a butt-sniff.
Dogs were pack animals; they weren’t meant to be alone.
Nor were humans.
Kevin and I have each other now.
Rok has nobody. He’ll never find his brother. How could anybody locate any one particular individual on foot? It had taken months before she’d encountered any people.
Because the Progg murdered them all. Why should I care if an alien is lonely? Even if he wasn’t directly responsible for any deaths, he’d participated in the invasion. She shouldn’t spare him a single thought other than to wish he met with a bitter end.
Except she didn’t. She couldn’t.
Could an individual be acquitted of the crimes committed by the many?
For god’s sake, forget him!
She collected several sets of battery-power dog clippers. The charge was weak on all of them; she figured it might take more than one set to get through the haircut.
She patted the grooming table. “Kevin, here, boy!” To her surprise, he jumped onto the table. “You’ve done this before, I take it?” She attached the leashes to keep him from jumping off or falling.
He remained mostly still as she gently sheared off the clumps and trimmed his coat to a short-do and removed a couple of ticks. “You’re such a good boy. Yes, you are!” Carefully she shaved his face and feet and then trimmed his claws.
With fur gone, she could see how truly skinny he was, and it broke her heart. “We’re going to fatten you up, I promise. No more missed meals.”
She set him on the floor and let him run around while she cleaned up. Then she removed his collar and carried him to the basin. “The water will be a little chilly—I’m sorry. I’ll try to work fast.”
She gave him a flea-and-tick bath then sluiced him off.
As dirty lather rinsed away, she noted with surprise his fur was white.
He’d been so dirty, she’d thought his fur was brown.
She patted him with a towel; there was no electricity for a blow-dry.
He shook himself, flinging water everywhere.
She rewarded him with a generous measure of doggy treats, and, leaving him to shake and rub, she went into the rear storage room.
She collected some flea-and-tick meds for later—the bath would kill existing bugs, but he’d need to be treated long-term.
She also picked out a new collar, a leash, and a box of dog treats.
Luckily, she found a large cloth shopping bag printed with the salon’s name. Have to get another backpack soon.
Kevin trotted in. After transferring his tags to the new collar, she buckled it around his neck. “Aren’t you handsome! The wet look is on trend right now.”
With a newly coiffed Kevin at her side, she strode toward the front of the store.
Outside the shop, face pressed to the window, Rok peered inside.