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  Jared began getting antsy. “There has to be someone here. There’s a fire going.”

  “Maybe they left to hunt. It’s almost dark. If they left, they should be back soon. Unless they don’t know that the Intruders only come out at night.” He knocked one more time. “Hello! If anyone is in there, we don’t want trouble. We need help. Our friend is hurt.” Nothing.

  “I think our chances are better if we wait until they get back,” said Jared, arms quivering. He was clearly losing the strength to hold me another minute. Setting me down on the ground, he sat beside me, massaging his biceps. Blaine turned his back to the door, wrapping his arms around me, allowing me to sink into him for comfort.

  As we looked off into the distance, down below the hillside, we heard a click. From the way every muscle in Blaine’s body tensed, I knew exactly what would make a clicking sound like that. A shotgun.

  Chapter 35

  I felt Blaine’s arm begin to rise behind me. “Don’t move,” growled the voice of the shotgun’s owner. It was a man. I could tell little else than that. He continued, voice shaking, ragged, “I don’t want any trouble. Now please be so kind as to leave, or I will use my friend here as an escort.” He nudged the barrel of the shotgun up, referring to it like it was a person.

  Blaine was shaking now, composing himself with a single deep breath. “Please. Our friend is hurt. She was shot and badly needs medical attention. We have been walking for days trying to find someone that can help. We aren’t here for any trouble.”

  Behind me, the man grunted. I felt Blaine’s body sway as the barrel of the gun was dug deeper into his back. The man must have grabbed Blaine’s gun because it was then hurled above our heads and rolled down to the bottom of the hill. “Stand up,” the man ordered, almost in a whisper.

  Knowing that standing was not an easy feat for me to accomplish, Blaine clamped his arm around my waist and supported me as we rose together. The pressure of my wound on his chest was excruciating, and my breathing became staggered. I got a head rush from rising so quickly. I hadn’t stood in days, and it was not agreeing with me at all.

  “Hands where I can see them!” growled the man behind us.

  “But, sir, she can’t…” Blaine pleaded.

  “Where I can see them,” he growled again.

  Blaine looked at me, apologies in his expression, and slowly let go of my side. The pressure of my weight on my legs sent my severely weak knees to buckling, falling on my left side. All of my body weight sent me landing on my left shoulder, pain instantly shooting through my body in a jolt that caused me to howl in agony. My breathing became ragged and shallow, my body convulsing with pain, the fever spinning my surroundings like a horrible version of a carnival ride. Everything at that moment was just too overwhelming for my body, and I felt my world getting dark.

  As my vision became hazy, looking up, I saw Blaine and Jared standing with their backs away from the cabin. Blaine, a look of worry, concern, and anguish at the sight of my fall. Jared, a look of horror. And the man, older, with aged skin and gray hair, a white stick hanging out of his mouth, a sucker, and pointing his shotgun barrel at the man I love. “Kara?” I heard Blaine get out, just before I succumbed to the nothingness.

  Chapter 36

  Visions over came me, muddled with the voices of reality. I was standing in the middle of a meadow full of daisies, the sun bright on my face. Blaine stood by my right side, Jared on my left. The three of us held hands, bracing for something, but what it was, I had no clue. The Intruders didn’t come out during the day, so it couldn’t be that. And yet, here they were, emerging from the trees lining the perimeter of the meadow. Things had changed. They were out in sunlight. We knew the Intruders were not human, but like human in some form. If humans had evolved over the thousands, if not millions, of years, what was to stop the Intruders from something similar? Something kept them at the edge of the meadow, and I could get a good look at them. They were just as Blaine has described them, pale skin, almost transparent. They had pointed ears, resembling a bat’s, on the sides of their oval shaped heads, nearing the top. Their eyes were unnaturally close together, but it must have not mattered because they were completely useless from what resembled a severe case of cataracts. Their fingers and toes were webbed like amphibians, and their mouths filled with razor-sharp teeth. There were at least twenty of them, dressed in various pieces of clothing. Though I didn’t think they were used to clothing because many had pants that were not zipped, shirts that were not buttoned, and a few were wearing their clothing inside out or backwards.

  One of them stepped forward and opened its mouth wide. I couldn’t hear a sound come from it, but I knew it must have given the others an order because they began to advance on us.

  As they approached the clearing, I squeezed Blaine’s hand. He gave me a reassuring squeeze in return and looked down at me with a smile. From the corner of my eye, I could see the others in the tree line behind us, but these were not Intruders, these were humans. They began walking up behind us, and I got a better idea of how many there were. In response to the Intruders’ twenty, we had three times that many, armed and ready to fight. I looked to Blaine and returned his smile. As he spoke to me, I had trouble understanding. The movement of his lips did not coincide with his words. “Kara, I love you. You have to stay with me. Hold on.” But I know this was not what he was saying because it didn’t match up. Confused I look over to Jared. “She doesn’t look so good. You sure you know what you’re doing?” He said all of that and only opened his mouth once. By reading his lips, I was sure he had said “Ready?” but I couldn’t be positive.

  I was watching the Intruders approach, and the leader that gave the orders before was now only two feet away. He was now talking, but it didn’t make sense; the Intruders couldn’t talk. Again, like the others, his mouth did not correspond with the words he said, and his voice was strange, “Get me the morphine over there.”

  The lead Intruder then lifted his arm above his head and opened his mouth again. By the expression on his face, he was shouting, and suddenly the four of us were surrounded by a battle. The humans swarmed forward, around us, countering the opposing swarm of Intruders. The leader just stood there, eyes focused on me, while Blaine and Jared held their ground, clasping my hands. I watched as the sea of fighting melted together, Intruders mixed with humans, in a swirl of colors, spinning around us, pulling my feet out from under me. And then it was dark again.

  Flashes of light surrounded me, pulsing like a slow strobe. Patches of darkness were interrupted by random explosions of fireworks, but instead of a cannon sound followed by a star burst pattern, they echoed voices and spelled out words.

  Are you a doctor? A bright gold burst, with silver lining.

  Used to be. Blue with specks of green trailing below.

  Why? What happened? Gold burst, same silver lining.

  Lost my license. Blue again, green showers.

  Oh great, Blaine. And you trust this guy with her life? Red, with white sun bursts behind it.

  I have no choice. Beautiful gold and glowing brightly.

  Wow, um…a thank you would be a more appropriate phrase for this particular situation. Blue, this time with some purple mixed into the green flecks.

  Right, it would be. Thank you for not shooting me in the back. The warmth of the gold made me want to touch it.

  You’re welcome. And the blue faded, leaving an outline of green shadow in its place.

  I was back in the meadow, warm and sunny. But I was alone this time. I could see Blaine coming toward me from the tree line as he picked a daisy off the ground. When he reached me, he gently tucked the daisy behind my ear and took my hands in his. He was speaking now, but I couldn’t hear his words, not even mismatches. When he was finished, he smiled and cupped my face in his hands, kissing my forehead. I closed my eyes to enjoy the moment. When I opened them, he was smiling down on me. He opened his mouth again to say something, but stopped, mouth gaping. His eyes became wide, dis
tant. I could feel the weight of his body pressing against me, when I saw a single tear fall down his cheek, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. Panicking, I called his name, but no sound emerged from my lips. As he fell forward, I could see the knife embedded deep into his back. The Intruder stood behind him, staring at me. It pulled the knife from Blaine’s lifeless body and raised it above its head in an attack position. I saw it open its mouth, razor-sharp teeth gleaming at every pointed tip, but no sound came out. Slamming my eyes shut, I braced myself for the knife, I could feel the end penetrate my left shoulder before I screamed.

  Chapter 37

  “BLAINE!” I screamed as loud as I could, eyes still sealed tight.

  Someone was holding me now, Blaine, whispering softly into my ear. He was stroking my hair, rocking me like a child that had a bad nightmare. This only seemed fitting because, in actuality, I did just have a horrible nightmare. Still too frightened to open my eyes, I could feel his breath on my face as he hushed me, trying to calm me. Relieved that he was alive, I opened my eyes.

  I was in a strange place, lying on a small bed in the back of a one-room cabin. I recognized the man with the shotgun, standing at the end of the bed watching me intently, a look of concern crossing his expressionless face. I saw Jared sitting in a chair at the table by the stove, watching from a distance. He had been playing cards, solitaire, on the table. His body was rigid, stiff, wondering why I was screaming, undoubtedly.

  I looked up at Blaine. He was holding my head in his hands now, kissing different areas of my face, stopping to say things between each peck.

  “Kara,” he whispered, “you scared me so much. I thought you were gone.”

  My breathing became shallow as I began to hyperventilate. “But, I saw you...the Intruder...you were...” I trailed off. Staring into Blaine’s eyes, I didn’t have the heart to tell him what I had seen or the stomach to believe it was possible. Instead, I clutched him with my good arm and kissed his neck.

  The man approached me and Blaine on the bed. “Hello, Kara. I am Dr. Cartwright. Do you remember me?” He spoke slowly, hesitantly.

  Peeking from behind Blaine’s shoulder, I gave him a nod, then forced out, “The man with the gun.”

  I glared as he chuckled and gently seated himself at the end of the bed.

  Blaine must have felt me recoil because he began to stroke my back reassuringly.

  The doctor saw my apprehension and continued, “Yes…um...sorry about that. Ever since the power went out, I have had two different cases of looting. I guess my paranoia is getting the best of me.”

  “Kara.” Blaine was softly stroking the back of my head now. “The doc helped us get the bullet out of your shoulder. You had a bad infection. We’re lucky he had antibiotics. We almost lost you.” I pulled my head away to look at his face. His eyes were red rimmed. He swallowed hard. He looked horrible, his skin pale, eyes sunken in and dark circles bordered them at the bottom edges. He had not shaved in what appeared to be weeks, which was probably how long it had been since he’d eaten or slept. Although he put on an act of strength to keep me from spinning out of control, his hands were trembling. Instantly I was aware of all he and Jared had done for me. I owed my life to them.

  I felt my chin quiver uncontrollably, and tears began to sting my eyes. I was dangerously close to sobbing. I needed to speak to keep from collapsing into Blaine’s arms and bawling.

  “Um, thank you.” I directed my statement to Dr. Cartwright.

  The doc just chuckled and responded with a grin, “As if I had a choice. You have very persuasive friends. I was able to control the infection. I don’t have a whole lot of pain meds left, so if you can manage bouts without it, it will last longer until you fully heal. Are you in any pain now?”

  With the distraction of waking up in a strange place, I hardly noticed my shoulder wrapped like a mummy, bulging with bandages as big as football pads. Compared to the agony I had endured when first injured, the mild throbbing was nothing. “I’m fine. Really, doesn’t hurt at all,” I lied.

  “Okay, good. Let me know when it is bad enough for more meds, and I will get some for you,” he replied.

  I nodded.

  Blaine used his thumb to swipe the tear that had escaped earlier and was now streaming down my cheek. Holding his wrist with my good hand, I whispered, “I love you.” He forced a smile through his concern and breathed, “I love you” in return.

  Chapter 38

  The next morning, I awoke to the smell of bacon. Bacon? That couldn’t have been true. I must have been dreaming. We hadn’t had any fresh meat since the solar flare knocked out the power grid and refrigerators and freezers were rendered useless. But opening my eyes, I saw that I was awake. Blaine lay to the left of me, sound asleep. I saw Jared standing at the wood stove, flipping strips of bacon in a cast iron pan. Dr. Cartwright was placing slices of homemade bread in a funny metal pronged contraption that he placed in the very front of the wood stove, where the fire was the hottest. He had preserves, eggs, and home fries already sitting at the table. The smell was wonderful. Only being able to sip broth the night before, the aroma of fried pork was calling me. I could hear the faint sound of the bacon sizzling in the pan.

  Dr. Cartwright looked up from the table, saw that I was awake, and quietly motioned for me to come eat. Our communication began awkwardly. After awaking the day before, all I wanted was to focus my attention on Blaine, so the doc and I had not had much time to get acquainted. The room was small, and with Blaine sleeping only feet away from the table, we tried to keep our conversation limited to whispering and hand gestures so as not to wake him.

  Motioning to the eggs, I looked at him, questioningly. He backed his chair from the table, tucked both hands under his pits and flapped his arms like a chicken, pretending to peck with his nose. Well I know where they come from. Registering my look of annoyance, he took my hand and guided me to the window. Behind the cabin sat a chicken pen, surrounded by three old trucks. That explained the eggs, but the bacon had me curious.

  When we returned to the table, I leaned in to whisper, “What about the bacon? How do you keep it fresh without electricity?”

  “Where does bacon come from?” he whispered, grinning.

  Oh my gosh, really? Do we have to make this a game? I thought. Fine, I’ll bite. I used my finger to push my nose up; resembling a pig’s and lightly snorted.

  He nodded with approval, and then breathed, “Do you see a pig anywhere?” He grinned proudly when I put the pieces together and chuckled, shoving another piece of bacon into my mouth. Poor pig, I thought, while rolling the salty goodness around in my mouth.

  ***

  Blaine slept through breakfast, and it was nearly the middle of the day before he woke, looking refreshed and slightly less worried. I sat at the end of the bed, watching him as he pulled himself up. He just leaned against the headboard and smiled, holding my hand in his. Although he was smiling, it did not reach his eyes. There was still a deep concern, and sadness, swimming in a pool of chestnut brown. I didn’t have to ask him what was wrong. I knew. Although I was healing, he was still worried about something. The doctor and Jared were outside now, tending to the chickens and his garden. We were alone for the first time in weeks. All we could do was stare at one another, thankful that the other was still alive. Blaine caressed the back of my fingers with his thumb.

  The moment was broken, as Jared and Dr. Cartwright, or Hal as he has asked us to call him, came back from tending to the chores. Hal dropped an arm full of veggies on the table and tossed a book towards me. It landed on the bed, between me and Blaine. I picked up the book. It was covered in a light coat of dust, but otherwise was in very good condition. I read the title aloud, “10 Ways To Tell If You Are Psychic,” and looked at him, eyes wide, mouth gaping. A feeling of embarrassment coursed through me as I turned my gaze back to Blaine. He shrugged and gave my hand a slight squeeze.

  “Thought you might want to do a little research,” Hal added. “Your buddie
s told me everything.”

  He poked me in the knee with his elbow, wiggling his eyebrows up and down, and then winked before returning to the other side of the room.

  I raised my voice so it’d cross the room and asked, “What kind of doctor are you?” I watched carefully for his response.

  “Dentist, sweetie,” he said as he tapped his teeth, then winked again, and carried on with his duties.

  I turned back toward Blaine and we exchanged a look of amusement. He was definitely not like any dentist I had ever known. This guy was certifiable.

  Chapter 39

  The days went on, and the nights were filled with worry of an impending Intruder attack. Hal explained how he had not had any attacks by the Intruders at the cabin. And, although they had been abandoned after the power went out, other homes on the hillside had been left untouched. He usually worried more about the possibility of other human beings looking to take over the cabin.

  As night fell, I sat at the kitchen table in silence. Hal and I let Jared and Blaine sleep until their watch shift, as we played a wordless card game. Seeing that I had a winning hand, I lowered my cards to the table and looked up at Hal, expecting a bit of jealousy from him. But when I looked up, a noise called our attention to the door of the cabin.

  Then our bodies went rigid. Hal dropped his cards, leaped up from his chair, and crossed the room to the door. I felt myself begin to panic. I crossed the short distance to the bed and shook both the guys awake. It took them a minute to register what was going on. Blaine asked Hal what was wrong, and that was when it happened. The window above the kitchen sink exploded, glass showering around us on the floor. Hal was holding the door closed now, while Jared sprang into action. Blaine used his body as a shield for me, shuffling me over into the corner opposite the front door. Grabbing his handgun off of the desk, he handed me the shotgun, his eyes locking with mine briefly before he ran to help the others. Blaine ran over to the window above the sink and fired two shots through the opening. He climbed up onto the sink to get a better look when I saw a transparently gray hand reach in and grab the front of his shirt. Blaine aimed his pistol at the Intruder, pulling the trigger to fire. When he realized the pistol had jammed, the color drained from his face. Frantically he began messing with the mechanisms of the gun to get it to fire, but with no luck. Finally, he tossed the gun behind him and began punching at the hand that pulled at him.