An SUV pulled up, preventing Heather from saying anything else. They left the small building and ventured outside. Heather looked at her world like it was her first time seeing it.
The sky was still red, and there was a dust cloud moving in quickly. There were some buildings in the city still standing, but the windows were mostly gone, exposing the inside rooms to terrible winds. Other buildings were piles of rubble and ash, and the ground was dry and cracked. It truly did look like an apocalypse had taken place.
Sadness filled her at seeing what once was a thriving, lively city completely destroyed. Would she ever see a blue sky again? Was there a day coming where she could be above ground for longer than five minutes without having to wear an oxygen mask?
That’s what made it so hard to travel above-ground from dome to dome. They used trucks to ship supplies, but the drivers had to use oxygen tanks just to make the trips.
Devlon held the door open for her, and she climbed in the backseat. He walked around and got inside on the front passenger’s side.
“Where to first, Commander?” the driver asked. He was a young twenty-something, who checked her out in the rearview mirror as she slid in.
Devlon must have noticed the man looking at her, and made a kind of growling, grunting noise. It made the driver jump in his seat. “Sir?”
“Take us to the subway entrance closest to the North Tribe.”
“Yes, sir.”
Heather gripped the handle on the door as the driver sped off really fast, spinning the wheels in the back. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing when Devlon yelled at the young man that he was endangering them all with his reckless driving. He threatened to take over the driving himself, but of course he didn’t know how to operate human machinery.
Closing her eyes, she imagined taking a nice quiet Sunday drive, with Devlon driving. She would reach out to hold his hand. It was a peaceful scene, until a loud booming voice interrupted.
“Blast your crazy maneuvering! Slow it down or I’ll throw you out of this vehicle!”
“Devlon.”
He turned around in the seat to look at her. “What is it?”
“Shut the hell up and let the poor man do his job.”
Devlon was stunned once more, and blessedly shut up like she ordered. She basked in the short reprieve, because the commander was not one used to taking orders.
*****
“Tell me, what is being discussed at this meeting?” Frazier, the leader of the human resistance, demanded.
“The dome leaders and a representative of the tribes were meeting in one of the domes with the alien commander. I don’t know what was discussed, but I have someone on the inside who will get me that information as soon as possible.”
Frazier needed to know what was going on. He and his followers headed up the secret resistance against the Drastan invasion. He didn’t trust them, and knew no good could come from mixing their species.
Just the thought of the mixed baby up there on the command ship made him feel disgusted and angry. The Drastans were trying to ruin everything that he’d worked hard for. He’d tried to get inside a dome before the nukes hit, but he was turned away. He sought cover in the tunnels. Afterward, when he ventured above-ground, he scouted the dome. When one of the supply drivers came out, he killed him and took over his identity. Luckily for him the guy wasn’t very social with his coworkers, and was close to only one person, a girlfriend. He disposed of her easily. He stole supplies to bring into the tunnels, trading and building up followers and gaining a little power. Also, he planted doubts with the dome-dwellers about having to follow the military rules, wanting to sow discord. His hope was to take over a dome, but he didn’t have enough followers yet.
In the tunnels he was known by his followers as Frazier, but in the dome he lived in he was Frank Start. It was convenient to have a double identity. No one knew the truth.
A beeping noise came from his pocket. He left the group that gathered around for the latest resistance meeting, looking for somewhere more private. He pulled out the Drastan communicator in his pocket.
It was his anonymous co-conspirator on board the Drastan fleet. Not all Drastans were happy about being here on Earth. He didn’t like the aliens, but if this one could help him get them to finally leave, he would put up with him. Plus, the alien had previously supplied him with Drastan weapons, and he was hoping to get more.
“What’s taken so long for you to contact me?” Frazier asked.
“Shut up and listen. There’s another mixed child. This mixing of the species is going to need to be dealt with.”
“What do you expect me to do? I’m here on Earth, and I don’t think the commander is just going to let me fly up there.”
“There is talk that the baby shower will be on Earth, in the local dome.”
“That has possibilities, but I’m not doing anything that jeopardizes my cover. Besides, the mated females have been given extra security, making it nearly impossible to get to them.”
“Yes, they have done so onboard the command ship as well. Continue to cause disruptions where you can. If you get a clean shot at the commander, take him out. We only need to bide our time. Drasta is sending someone to report on Devlon’s progress.”
“I’ll see what I can do. When can we get another shipment of weapons?”
“Weapons are under tight security. We’ll do what we can. Don’t try to try to contact us.”
The communicator cut off, and Frazier stuffed it back in his pocket. Another mixed breed, an abomination…but that wasn’t his concern. If they could get the fleet to pull out, they would take the little bastards with them.
