Blue Through the Grey
A Howling Wind
BEEP, BEEP, BEEP. It's the sound of a heart monitor and then I wonder, where the hell am I? BEEP, BEEP, BEEP. My eyes shoot open and dart around the room. Could this place get any more white? I'm lying in a chair, it feels like a dentist's chair. Tubes in and out of my arms, IV's, and my throat is killing me. Like they put a feeding tube in me and just pulled it out a few hours ago. Oh, god. That's probably what happened. My chest is bare, and...where's the gaping wound? Where a bullet tore through. I look up at the ceiling and touch it, expecting pain but...there is none. A scar, that's what remains. Nothing but a scar. I pull the tubes out of my arms and roll out of the chair. WHAM. Hitting the floor, my body curling into a ball. I grab onto a sink and pull myself up. Why am I so weak when my wound is virtually gone? The door across the room opens quickly and a woman walks in, a nurse. She tries to calm me down and put me back in the seat but my fist makes contact with her cheek and she falls to the floor, whimpering and pressing a button on her chest frantically.
"Sit down," A man says, his voice so stern, like magic. I do what he says. "Do you know where you are?"
"N-no." My voice soft as a mouse squeak.
"A very safe facility in Columbus. We found you in a store after being badly wounded. Do you remember?" He asks. My eyes focused on his, light blue, almost silver.
"Yeah. I was shot."
"Correct," He smiles, teeth perfectly white. "Come, you need food."
"I'm not hungry," I say, he turns towards me and then something in the back of my head tells me I am just a bit hungry.
He leads me down multiple hallways, telling me about how they found this place and fortified it and got the power back on and avoid being under the alien radar. I'm not too interested in his story, I don't really care but he puzzles me, like he has some sort of magic that draws me to him. Like he's the boot and I'm the insect. I can't get away. He swings open two large doors that lead into the lunchroom area. So many people. Rows and rows, kids, adults. They're all munching on food, food I haven't seen since the arrival.
"Welcome to your recovery, Noah"
What? How'd he know my name? Who cares? There's food here. "Dig in," He smiles, that smile that puts me into a trance.
Running. I'm running so fast and behind me is Jessica. The girl that played hard to get, the girl that said: "Fuck you, Noah." And I admired her for that. My hand is wrapped around her's so tight that I could probably rip it off. Above us, the onslaught of drones coming from the mothership. We had just gotten out of the movie and was heading back to my car when BAM. It exploded into a thousand different pieces. I instantly knew what had happened, I think we all did. We're running through the streets, pushing people out of our way. Screams, screams that are so loud that my eardrums would burst at any second. I look back at her, her shiny blond hair frantically bobbing up and down with each step she takes. Lasers, or vaporizers, whatever the hell they are, come from the sky and slice across the asphalt. I drag her into a store at the corner of the street and hunker down, looking through the blinds.
"Well. They ruined our night," She says, trying to make light of things.
"Yeah. They did," My stone cold tone of voice echoes through the store.
"Noah. God, I'm such an asshole. I don't want to die an asshole, I'm sorry."
I lock my lips with hers and pull away quickly. A kiss to signify my feelings towards her. "You're not an asshole and you're not gonna die."
"You don't know that." She looks away.
"You're right. I don't. But I'm gonna keep you alive until the day I die." I grab her chin and turn her towards me. "I promise."
Her eyes peering into my soul, she trusts me and I don't even know if I trust myself with that promise. Promise. What is a promise?
Sitting down, my tray clanks against the table. Only embarrassing me A LOT. I look at the food for awhile, not knowing if this is real or not. Then my brain says; EAT. And I do, I shove whatever was on my tray down my throat and savor it. Savor every flavor, every bite.
"Noah. You'll work here Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Then you'll have Saturday for Physical Training and Sunday is a day off. You'll be in squad 8, bunk 12. Eat and report to your bunk. Today is Sunday so feel free to get to know your fellow bunkmates"
I eat and I eat a lot. Filling my stomach. That's the first time in a long time. I head to my bunk and there on a bed is my bag. No rifle, no knife, just my valuables. Picture of the family, map of the state, some empty water bottles and a fresh change of clothes provided by "The Safe Facility"
"You must be Noah. I'm Josiah," A man says, I quickly turn to him, startled that another kid my age is still alive and breathing.
"Yeah, I'm Noah," I smile and unpack.
"Bunk 12. Noah, Josiah, and Evan. Bunk 13. Jessica, Jennifer and Reilly. That makes up squad 8," He says, laying down on his bed.
"Great. Can't wait to meet them. What exactly are we doing here?" I ask.
"Well. Squad 8 and 9 feed the people and then Physical training obviously trains us."
"Trains us for what?"
He rolls his eyes. Sorry, my questions are bothering you. "We train to kill aliens. Never seen one but...ya know."
No, I don't know. "Cool," I say. "So, free days are we allowed to go outside?"
"Yeah." He laughs to himself. Dumb question I guess. "There's a patch of woods and a lake we're allowed to visit. We go there for training too."
I jump onto the bed. "My free day is being spent sleeping. So what do we do Tuesday and Thursday?"
"Guard the gates," He says. "I'll show you the ropes when It's time. Get sleep. We work long hours."
He's absolutely right, my fingers are almost bleeding. Opening cans and serving all day. I don't ever see Reilly, Jessica or Jennifer. They work a different part of the kitchen. I'm not even sure what they look like. By the time we're done cleaning up, it's 10:30 PM. I get back to the bunk and fall onto the bed, feeling dead tired. The window is cracked, letting in a silent howling wind.
"Sit down," A man says, his voice so stern, like magic. I do what he says. "Do you know where you are?"
"N-no." My voice soft as a mouse squeak.
"A very safe facility in Columbus. We found you in a store after being badly wounded. Do you remember?" He asks. My eyes focused on his, light blue, almost silver.
"Yeah. I was shot."
"Correct," He smiles, teeth perfectly white. "Come, you need food."
"I'm not hungry," I say, he turns towards me and then something in the back of my head tells me I am just a bit hungry.
He leads me down multiple hallways, telling me about how they found this place and fortified it and got the power back on and avoid being under the alien radar. I'm not too interested in his story, I don't really care but he puzzles me, like he has some sort of magic that draws me to him. Like he's the boot and I'm the insect. I can't get away. He swings open two large doors that lead into the lunchroom area. So many people. Rows and rows, kids, adults. They're all munching on food, food I haven't seen since the arrival.
"Welcome to your recovery, Noah"
What? How'd he know my name? Who cares? There's food here. "Dig in," He smiles, that smile that puts me into a trance.
Running. I'm running so fast and behind me is Jessica. The girl that played hard to get, the girl that said: "Fuck you, Noah." And I admired her for that. My hand is wrapped around her's so tight that I could probably rip it off. Above us, the onslaught of drones coming from the mothership. We had just gotten out of the movie and was heading back to my car when BAM. It exploded into a thousand different pieces. I instantly knew what had happened, I think we all did. We're running through the streets, pushing people out of our way. Screams, screams that are so loud that my eardrums would burst at any second. I look back at her, her shiny blond hair frantically bobbing up and down with each step she takes. Lasers, or vaporizers, whatever the hell they are, come from the sky and slice across the asphalt. I drag her into a store at the corner of the street and hunker down, looking through the blinds.
"Well. They ruined our night," She says, trying to make light of things.
"Yeah. They did," My stone cold tone of voice echoes through the store.
"Noah. God, I'm such an asshole. I don't want to die an asshole, I'm sorry."
I lock my lips with hers and pull away quickly. A kiss to signify my feelings towards her. "You're not an asshole and you're not gonna die."
"You don't know that." She looks away.
"You're right. I don't. But I'm gonna keep you alive until the day I die." I grab her chin and turn her towards me. "I promise."
Her eyes peering into my soul, she trusts me and I don't even know if I trust myself with that promise. Promise. What is a promise?
Sitting down, my tray clanks against the table. Only embarrassing me A LOT. I look at the food for awhile, not knowing if this is real or not. Then my brain says; EAT. And I do, I shove whatever was on my tray down my throat and savor it. Savor every flavor, every bite.
"Noah. You'll work here Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Then you'll have Saturday for Physical Training and Sunday is a day off. You'll be in squad 8, bunk 12. Eat and report to your bunk. Today is Sunday so feel free to get to know your fellow bunkmates"
I eat and I eat a lot. Filling my stomach. That's the first time in a long time. I head to my bunk and there on a bed is my bag. No rifle, no knife, just my valuables. Picture of the family, map of the state, some empty water bottles and a fresh change of clothes provided by "The Safe Facility"
"You must be Noah. I'm Josiah," A man says, I quickly turn to him, startled that another kid my age is still alive and breathing.
"Yeah, I'm Noah," I smile and unpack.
"Bunk 12. Noah, Josiah, and Evan. Bunk 13. Jessica, Jennifer and Reilly. That makes up squad 8," He says, laying down on his bed.
"Great. Can't wait to meet them. What exactly are we doing here?" I ask.
"Well. Squad 8 and 9 feed the people and then Physical training obviously trains us."
"Trains us for what?"
He rolls his eyes. Sorry, my questions are bothering you. "We train to kill aliens. Never seen one but...ya know."
No, I don't know. "Cool," I say. "So, free days are we allowed to go outside?"
"Yeah." He laughs to himself. Dumb question I guess. "There's a patch of woods and a lake we're allowed to visit. We go there for training too."
I jump onto the bed. "My free day is being spent sleeping. So what do we do Tuesday and Thursday?"
"Guard the gates," He says. "I'll show you the ropes when It's time. Get sleep. We work long hours."
He's absolutely right, my fingers are almost bleeding. Opening cans and serving all day. I don't ever see Reilly, Jessica or Jennifer. They work a different part of the kitchen. I'm not even sure what they look like. By the time we're done cleaning up, it's 10:30 PM. I get back to the bunk and fall onto the bed, feeling dead tired. The window is cracked, letting in a silent howling wind.