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Michael, Earth

A military base was a great place to be in an apocalypse. Especially when it was a secret base, underground, and known to only a handful of people. The power rarely went out. It was well stocked with food, clean water, and weapons. Lots and lots of weapons.

It was a great place if one wanted to survive a war with armored monsters who just wanted to exterminate humanity and were pretty damn good at it.

It was not a great place to raise a handful of orphaned girls, as Michael was discovering.

Commander Dent, the woman in charge of the base and the leader of the IHP, had done little more than assign them a room to live in and tell Michael to keep the kids out of the way. That room was empty except for four bunk beds and the ugliest carpeting Michael had ever seen in his life. He supposed he should be grateful. Three teenagers, one little girl, and an old man weren’t of any use to Dent. He suspected that the only reason she hadn’t turned them away entirely was that there were so few humans left, it seemed vital to keep as many alive as possible.

They were the only five people in the base who weren’t members of the International Human Protection organization, a quasi-military multi-country organization that was established when things like militaries and countries still existed. They’d been established to keep the stations safe. They sure hadn’t been established to fight the Hollow Suits. Nothing had been.

Certainly Michael, now in his sixth decade, hadn’t any idea how to fight them. Which was why he instead was looking after the children he’d managed to save while traveling from England to New York. Children that, sadly, he had not yet taught to pick up after themselves. This was why he now found himself stalking their room, shoving clothes into a basket and grumbling.

There was a gentle knock at the door frame. He looked up fast, expecting it to be one of the kids and preparing to unload on whatever unfortunate kid it was.

Instead, it was Evelyn, looking at him with a raised eyebrow and a smile that was threatening to turn into a laugh.

She was a tall woman, solidly built with dark hair cut short. An IHP captain who’d been off-planet when the Hollow Suits attacked, she didn’t normally suffer from fits of the giggles. So perhaps Michael could be forgiven for taking this personally.

“You got something to say?” he asked.

“The girls are so busy with their lessons, they can’t clean up after themselves?” she asked. Her smooth, deep British accent felt even more sophisticated compared to his twang. He was fully aware that he sounded like some outdated country bumpkin cartoon character. Nothing about the two of them matched. Evelyn looked every inch the captain that she was, in a spotless uniform and boots. He was dressed, as he usually was, in a patchy sweater and old sneakers. Not to mention his old body. Still, they had helped each other save their people, and that was enough to make them family as far as he was concerned. She was one more adopted daughter.

“These girls apparently don’t own a stitch of clothes,” he muttered. “Anytime I send one of ‘um to clean up their stuff, it always belongs to everybody else, and she can’t possibly get her stuff before everyone else gets their stuff, and not a damn thing gets picked up until I do it. I tell you, it was so much easier with Godfrey.”

“Of course it was. He was a boy, not to mention an only child,” Evelyn said. “I think you men teach us to depend on you for all these domestic things.”

“Well it ain’t like I’m doing much else,” he muttered. “The girls are basically IHP cadets at this point. They’re with Alomb, going over the new Hollow Suit intel. Ain’t nobody asked me if I want to do that.”

The clothes now collected, Michael shoved one laundry basket under his arm. Evelyn grabbed the second before he could, and the two of them headed to the laundry room together.

“Nobody’s keeping anything from you. And honestly, it isn’t much to tell.”

“Enough that the girls are having a whole lesson about it,” Michael muttered. “But all I know is that Dent was shouting at us as we came in that they were aliens from the Andromeda Galaxy like it was the greatest news ever.”

They reached the laundry room and started loading clothes into empty machines. It wasn’t a busy part of the base just then, with one dryer making a solitary hum. It smelled of the harsh chemical soap that was all the base had.

Evelyn shut the lid of the washer and started it. “It kind of felt that way, didn’t it? I mean, the whole war we haven’t known anything about the Hollow Suits at all. Just that they were big, hulking suits of metal with nothing inside we could even try to reason with.”

“Don’t feel like any of that’s changed,” Michael said. “Ain’t we still hiding from them? Has anyone managed to do any damage to them?”

“No, but we know more now. They’re not machines. They’re sentient beings, like us, the Khloe, Ma’sheed, or Toth. And we know where they’re from. Dent has this theory that if we can communicate with the Andromeda Galaxy, we can find someone there who can call the Hollow Suits back. Or at least talk to us, tell us why they’re doing this.”

“So that’s what we’re doing now? Talking to aliens that may or may not be there in literally another galaxy? We might, in fact, be the last people on Earth alive, and we’re doing what? Yelling please stop hurting us into a void that might or might not have someone in it who might or might not understand us or even give a shit?”

Evelyn leaned against the machine and crossed her arms. “I’m starting to understand why no one’s taken the time to explain all of this to you.”

Michael’s sharp retort was interrupted when a lanky, blond young man came into the laundry. He gave the two of them worried looks. “Should I come back later?” he asked.

“No, of course not, Toby,” Evelyn said. “Michael, have you met Toby yet? He’s one of our new residents.”

“You’re one of those who were healed from the nanites, right?” Michael asked, reaching out to shake his hand. “How you feelin’ after that?”

“Alright mostly,” Toby said. “Some headaches. Most of us have been getting them. But, guess that’s to be expected.”

“Sure. Little metal bugs crawled around your brain, making you act like a zombie. I’m still surprised any of you are up walking around after that.”

Toby gave Evelyn a shy smile. “Thanks to you. I mean, thanks to the cure you brought back from the stations.”

“Glad we could do it,” Evelyn said.

Michael sat down in one of the uncomfortable chairs. The washing machine would take only minutes, there was no sense in going back to his room. Evelyn, to his surprise, sat down with him. “Don’t you have something important to do right now?” he asked.

“I am doing something important,” Evelyn said. “I’m checking in with you, Michael. You’re important.”

“You’re condescending,” he replied.

“No, I’m serious,” she said. “The girls depend on you. And those girls are our future. Dent was just saying the other day that the most important thing anyone in the base can be doing is taking care of those kids. If you’re right, and we are the last people on Earth, then the girls are the entirety of the next generation.”

“Oh God,” Michael muttered. “An entire generation that doesn’t know how to pick up their own clothes.”

Something crashed on the other side of the room. Toby, who’d been reaching into the wall-mounted washer for his clothes, had collapsed. Evelyn and Michael hurried over to check on him.

“I’m okay,” he said, as Evelyn helped him sit up. “Sorry, I just got a little dizzy.” He tried to stand up, but his head lolled to the side and he sat down hard again.

“Don’t try to get up just yet,” Michael said, kneeling next to the younger man. He reached out to steady him but stopped. Toby’s eyes were blood red.

“Hey, that don’t look healthy,” he said. “Evelyn, do you see this?”

Evelyn pulled a penlight from her breast pocket. She carefully used it to inspect Toby’s blood-colored eyes. “Probably a side effect of the nanites. Toby, when you’re feeling up to it, I’m going to take you to the medical ward. I want to get some scans of your head to see what’s causing this, okay?”

“Yeah,” Toby said. “I’m okay, let me just-.”

He tried to stand up and started to heave. Michael grabbed a nearby wastebasket, barely getting it in front of Toby’s face before he started puking. He looked up a few moments later, sheepishly muttering “Sorry.”

“It’s gonna happen,” Michael said, giving Toby a tentative pat on the back. “Better not to keep it in.”

Toby’s face changed, contorting with anger. He shoved Michael away. “Don’t talk to me like that. I’m not one of your fucking kids.”

“Woah, there’s no call for that,” Evelyn snapped.

Back over the bucket went Toby’s head for another round of heaving. When he again looked up his eyes were their normal shade of brown circled by white again. “I’m sorry,” he muttered. “Don’t know where that even came from.”

“Heat of the moment. Don’t even think about it,” Michael said.

Evelyn helped Toby to his feet. “Come on, I think you need to lie down at the infirmary for a bit. Get a nice nap in and a good cup of tea.”

“I don’t like tea,” Toby said, even as he slung his arm around Evelyn’s shoulder.

“Ah, don’t be silly,” Evelyn replied. “Everyone likes tea,”

Copyright © 2024 by Nicole C. Luttrell

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Godfrey

Sennett collapsed. She’d been pulling so hard against Godfrey and Liam that they almost fell when that pressure gave up.

“Should one of us go with them?” Liam asked, nodding his head towards Russell and Candace. “Don’t seem like a good idea leaving them alone. Aren’t they both part of the Core?”

“Couldn’t hurt to keep an eye on them,” Godfrey replied. Liam nodded and trotted after the two.

Godfrey scooped Sennett up and took her inside. Owen trailed after him.

Mason, April, and Bailey were in the living room, clearly trying to look like they hadn’t been doing their best to listen through the front door. Mason jumped when the door opened, and turned the wall screen on to a cartoon. “What happened?” he asked, as Godfrey laid Sennett on the couch. “Did Candace hit her?”

“No,” Godfrey said. “Sennett tried to attack that woman, and passed out with one of her headaches.”

“Shit,” Mason said. “I don’t guess there’s any sense in taking her to the hospital unless she doesn’t wake up soon. The only thing they did last time was hook her up to an IV. I can do that.”

“What’s the matter with her?” April asked. She picked up Bailey and held him tight. If the dog had been flesh and blood, instead of a metal terrier, she might have been constricting the poor thing.

“She just got too excited,” Godfrey said. “It’s because of those nanites that were in her brain, probably.”

“Yeah,” Mason said. He placed two fingers on Sennett’s throat. “Yeah, that’s probably it. I’ll get her down to the lab once she wakes up, do some scans. Don’t worry, April. Watch your cartoons, we’ll just let your mom rest for now.”

April curled up on an armchair, still clutching Bailey. She kept one eye on her mother and one eye on the screen. It was clear that she wasn’t as comforted by the grownups as they would have liked.

Soon, though, Sennett woke. Godfrey looked closely at her eyes as soon as she opened them and was thankful to see that they’d returned to their usual brown.

“What are you doing?” Sennett asked, sitting up and pulling her face away from his.

“Just checking,” Godfrey said.

“Can you describe how you felt back there?” Mason asked.

“How do you think I felt?” she snapped.

“I mean physically,” he replied. “Clearly how you were feeling emotionally was homicidal.”

Godfrey moved out of the way so Mason could sit next to Sennett. Mason carefully set his fingertips against her chin, moving her head up and down, before inspecting her eyes. “Any pain now?” he asked.

“Just a lingering headache,” she said. “But when the attack started, I had this real sharp pain right behind my eyes.”

Sennett glanced towards April, who appeared to be consumed by her cartoon. In a whisper, she said, “I think I really would have killed Candace if I could have reached her. I honestly think I would have just ripped her apart.”

Godfrey nodded. “It sure as hell looked like that was the plan.”

“I want you to come down to the lab so I can run some tests,” Mason said. “I don’t think those nanites are as gone as we thought they were. And I’m going to get ahold of the station you were on when you got infected and see if anyone else is continuing to have symptoms. What station was it?”

“Sixteen,” Sennett said.

Suddenly April shrieked. “Look!” She pointed at the wall screen. “Look, there’s somebody there!”

“What?” Godfrey asked. The adults all turned, but there was nothing on the screen but colorful cartoon characters dancing to some song. “What is it, Little Bit?”

“There was somebody on the screen, looking at me!” April screamed.

Mason turned the screen off. Sennett rose from the couch to kneel next to April’s chair. “Calm down, it’s okay.”

“No, no somebody was watching me. An old man,” April sobbed.

“I didn’t see anything,” Owen said.

“Me either,” Godfrey agreed. “April, it was probably just a reflection or something.”

“Come on,” Sennett said, holding her hand out. “Well go into the kitchen and get some hot chocolate. Then I think we both need a long nap.”

“But he was there!” April said.

“I know,” Sennett said. “Come on, now. The screenman can’t see you in the kitchen.”

“I mean, there is the table screen,” Owen said. Mason shoved him.

Godfrey and Mason were in the kitchen when Russell and Liam returned. Russell sat down hard at the table. Liam went to the replicator and pulled up a few beers. After passing them around, he asked, “Where are the girls?”

“Sleeping in Sennett’s room,” Godfrey said. “Owen’s taking a nap on the couch. I think I’m going to invite him to stay with me at my place when he gets up.”

“You don’t want to stay here?” Mason asked.

“Nah, you guys have enough people here as it is,” Godfrey said. “No sense adding two more when I have a perfectly fine house that’s been sitting empty.”

Mason patted Godfrey’s hand. “You don’t have to go back. It can’t be easy, with Ki gone.”

“Well, I have to get used to it,” Godfrey said. He took a long drink. “I’m a grown man. I can’t spend the rest of my life sleeping on my friend’s couch because I’m sad or lonely or whatever.”

“Have you even talked to her since she left?” Liam asked.

“No,” Godfrey said.

“Well, maybe that’s something you ought to think about,” Liam said.

Godfrey gave Liam a dark look. “Ki’s on Khloe with her family. She’s safer there than she would be here, with the Hollow Suits tearing through the stations. I’m not going to ask her to come back just to put her in danger.”

“Oh yeah,” Liam muttered, taking another drink. “Hadn’t thought about them.”

“Anyway, what happened with Candace?” Mason asked. “Did she get around to telling you whatever it was she wanted to say?”

Liam snorted. “No. She barely strung two words together on the transit down to the first level. Then, she refused to leave the station. She got a motel room and said she was going to stay right here until she could tell Sen what she came to tell her. Which is gonna be kind of hard, since she loses all her words every time she tries to talk about it.”

Russell had been silent through all of this. He hadn’t taken a drink of his beer, or done more than stare at the kitchen wall. Now, he spoke. “It’s something to do with The Core, then. It has to be. She’s come to tell Sennett something about us, and her loyalty chip activated.”

Godfrey exchanged glances with Mason and Liam. “And what in the hell is a loyalty chip?” he asked.

“Well, what does it sound like?” Russell snorted. “It’s a failsafe, in case an agent decides to betray us. Before anything can be divulged, the chip suspends the frontal lobe. If the agent keeps trying to talk, it’ll eventually kill them.”

When he realized the others were looking at him with horror, he said, “We don’t use them anymore. Candace must still have one from before she went to prison. I thought they were all deactivated. Mom-.”

He stopped and took a long drink. “Mom said she deactivated all of them.”

Mason shook his head. He started tapping on the table screen, pulling up pages of blueprints that were too complex for Godfrey to recognize. “I’ve heard of those before. I might be able to do something about it, but I’ll need to do some research.”

“Do you have any idea what it might be?” Godfrey added. “You know her, right?”

Russell shook his head. Finally, he drained his bottle. “I knew a girl when I was a boy. I don’t know who this woman is. And I can’t imagine what could make her come to Sennett for anything. Candace was so devoted to Mom, she’d have done anything for her.”

“Right,” Mason said. “Maven’s your mom. So, you probably wouldn’t tell us what she was planning.”

“If I knew of some grand plan, I’d tell you. The Hollow Suits have changed everything. Until they’re no longer a threat, we can’t waste energy worrying about the aliens.”

“The aliens aren’t anything you’ve got to worry about to start with,” Godfrey growled. “Don’t forget that my wife is Khloe. April’s half Khloe.”

“Yeah,” Russell said. “But she’s half human, too. Anyway, I need to talk to Mom about this. Whatever she’s planning, we don’t have time for it. Once I get word to her, The Core will turn its attention to the Hollow Suits.”

Liam looked like he had something to say to that. But instead, he gave Russell a large smile, that showed every one of his teeth and didn’t come close to reaching his eyes. “I think I need another beer. Anyone else want one?”

Godfrey hadn’t been in his own house in over a month. He lived a level below Sennett, in a not-as-wealthy but still nice neighborhood. There weren’t any false lawns here like Sennett had. No space between the houses. There were modest homes and walkways, with a park near the transit station. With the orange glow overhead, it almost felt like a suburb back on Earth.

Godfrey’s little two-bedroom house, wedged between others just like it, was much smaller than Sennett’s. And yet it felt immense. It was cold, and he couldn’t smell anything. The house hadn’t smelled so much like anything since the day he’d moved in.

He’d been alone then, too. Just a cook, brand new to the station. But the most beautiful woman had grinned at him when he made her traditional Earth food, as she called it. So maybe he wasn’t going to regret this move like his dad kept insisting he would.

Godfrey shook his head. That line of thinking wasn’t going to get him anywhere he wanted to be.

Owen yawned. “Even with that nap at Sennett’s place, I’m exhausted,” he said.

“We don’t have a spare guest room,” Godfrey said. “My wife used it for a home office, so there’s no bed or anything. But the living room couch pulls out.”

“Thanks,” Owen said. He sat down hard on the couch. “This wasn’t exactly the welcome I thought we’d get here. What with that crazy woman and all.”

“It’s always something here,” Godfrey said.

Owen shrugged. Then he laid down on the couch without bothering with the pull-out feature. “It’s always something everywhere.”

Soon enough, he was fast asleep.

Godfrey was so tired that he ached. But he wasn’t ready yet to go into his bedroom. Instead, he went to the kitchen. The simulator battery was fresh, having been purchased sometime before Ki left and he’d gone on an extended sleepover. He made himself a cup of coffee. Then, he began simulating yeast, flour, and salt. When in doubt, bake. It was a motto that had served him well so far, and it didn’t seem like the time to abandon it now.

When he took his wrist pad off to protect it from the dough, he glanced at the screen for the first time since they’d arrived home.

Godfrey had never regretted moving to Station 86. He had, however, regretted running for a seat on the council. Even though he’d retired, no one seemed to have taken notice. Especially Howard and Joy, who were supposed to now be the only council members.

He had no intention of responding to any messages from Joy or Howard, no matter how much help they were asking for. But there were no messages for him to smugly ignore. He was almost disappointed.

While the dough was proofing, Godfrey sat at the kitchen table and drank his coffee. Out of habit, he pulled up the news on the table screen. He scrolled through headlines, not reading the articles attached.

Hollow Suit sighting on Level Four proven to be a hoax

Simulator energy shortage continues, people urged to ration use

Protest on Level One turns violent, five injured

Police Commissioner Schultz urges patience from citizens

Godfrey closed the news feed. The people of Station 86 weren’t taking the news of the Hollow Suits well. Of course, he understood. The station had lived through political assassinations, terrorist attacks, AI dogs harvesting them for their organs, and an abrupt change in their governing structure, all in the past year. He, Godfrey, hadn’t been the only one to lose a spouse. Sennett hadn’t been the only one to lose a loved one, though not many had seen their mother blown up in front of the whole damn station. The whole population was likely feeling exactly how he was feeling. Exhausted, on a razor’s edge, and scared. So of course people were reporting false Hollow Suit sightings. Of course, protests were getting out of control. And of course, Commissioner Schultz, Sennett’s serene and level-headed boss, was urging everyone to just calm the hell down.

Godfrey sighed. If he could do something to help, he probably should. He tapped on the table screen again and called Howard.

The line rang for longer than normal, but at last, he saw Howard’s face. He was a thin man, with a neat beard and nearly always wore a politician’s smile. That smile looked genuine though, when Howard saw Godfrey. “Hey, man, what’s up? When did you get back?”

“Just a couple hours ago,” Godfrey said. “Surprised you didn’t know.”

“Well, somebody’s watching the incoming ships, but it’s not me,” Howard chuckled.

Godfrey nodded. “Yeah, looks like you and Joy must be busy enough.”

“We’ve been hopping, that’s for sure,” Howard agreed. “Speaking of which, I can’t really talk right now. But let’s get together in a couple of days. I know Joy and I are gonna need to hear about what went down on Station Central first hand.”

“Yeah, it was like a war zone,” Godfrey said.

“No doubt, no doubt,” Howard said. “But listen, I’d better let you go for now. You get some rest, and we’ll talk in a few days.”

“Oh,” Godfrey said. “Alright.”

“I’m glad to see you home, Godfrey. I was a little worried you weren’t coming back from this one. See you soon.”

And before Godfrey could even respond, Howard had closed the video.

Godfrey sat back in his chair and picked up his coffee cup. Having been dismissed so abruptly, he had nothing to distract him from his worries except for rising bread dough.

Copyright © 2004 by Nicole C. Luttrell

All rights reserved.

No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

If you love the story and want to support Paper Beats World, you can do so on Ko-fi.