Zephyr's Crossing

Zephyr's Crossing

  by Philip Kiely

  Copyright 2014 Philip Kiely

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  Chapter One

  Zephyr, out of breath and dripping with perspiration, ran into the cavernous chamber that he called home, slamming the door behind him. As he brushed his long, unkempt black hair out of his eyes, a loud, dull thud echoed through the bunker. Outside, the Zarx? beast slammed headfirst into the heavy metal door. After three more attempts, it lost interest and loped off in search of other prey. It was not likely, Zephyr thought, that it would find any. He knew from his increasingly sparse pickings on scavenging missions that the earth was getting picked clean by the ravenous beasts that roamed outside. Ordinarily, such thoughts would send him deep into depression, his usual state of mind. Today, though, was not a day for despair, but a day for hope.

  The cause for this hope glowed softly in his rough, calloused hands. A faint beep emitted from the basketball sized silver orb. He examined it more closely and saw the faint etching "Time Capsule: Multi-Use 200" just above the equator of softly glowing golden light. The same light filled the interior, shining through the device to give it an opalescent sheen.

  Zephyr gave the top a clockwise twist, and it popped off, filling the usually dimly lit bunker with a radiant golden glow. This confirmed that the strange metal orb was indeed what he thought it was-a time messaging capsule. He let out an exorbitant shout of elation.

  Another thud echoed as one of the many monstrous beasts roaming outside slammed into the fortifications around Zephyr's bunker, trying in vain to get inside. Zephyr had grown to appreciate the sporadic bombardment, as the pandemonium was a welcome interruption to the monotony of silence that engulfed the bunker. He once again counted the fifty-seven steps as he walked to the far end of the bunker, where the mattress that served as his bed lay next to the wooden box that was his desk. Shuffling through the piles on his floor, the spoils of dozens of resource runs, he found two of his treasures, a dirty marker and a torn piece of paper. He began writing.

  *****

  Anna was relived that it was Saturday. School was getting harder and harder as teachers pressed to get in all the necessary material before the final exams in two weeks. Today, though, she could relax with Mark and Lynn, on the hour's drive from Milaca to Minneapolis, the nearest metropolis, a monthly tradition that the three friends had shared on the first Saturday of each month ever since Mark and Lynn had gotten their driver's licenses, about a year ago.

  As usual, Mark drove on the way there, and Lynn would drive back. They were debating where to go as the old red Ford pickup truck bounced along the road to Minneapolis.

  "We should go to The MOA," proposed Lynn from the front passenger seat. "It will have everything we want."

  "No," said Mark, "the MOA is full of tourists, and it's overpriced. Besides, I just need to go to a RadioShack and a bookstore. A big grocery store would be nice too."

  "Technically," Anna said from the narrow back seat as the three rumbled past a sign stating that there were ten miles to Minneapolis, "we qualify as tourists. Plus, if you need RadioShack, there's one in Princeton, which is a lot closer. Besides, Lynn and I need new summer clothes."

  "Why can't you wear the same ones as last summer?" asked Mark with genuine curiosity.

  "Why can't you use the same computer as last summer?" retorted Anna.

  "Because it's dated," replied Mark incredulously.

  "Unlike you."

  "Lay off, Lynn," Mark said as he swerved deliberately into a pothole.

  "The reason that we need new summer clothes is the same reason that you need a computer." Explained Anna, infinitely more patient with Mark.

  "You're right, we shouldn't go to RadioShack. We should go to Circuit World instead. A couple of other similar places as well," insisted Mark. Anna and Lynn disagreed in unison.

  "You're a pain in the pancreas," agreed Lynn, "and you are out-voted."

  "Pain in the pancreas," grumbled Mark, "eloquent, Lynn. Very quotable."

  *****

  Zephyr enclosed his note in the capsule and pressed the button on the top. It let out a high-pitched buzzing sound, then flew up and began shaking violently. The capsule became blurred with speed, and faded from view. The buzzing ceased and was immediately replaced by a barrage of thumps as a dozen of the alien beasts outside, attracted by the noise of the capsule, laid siege on his bunker.

  *****

  The trio of friends emerged from The Mall of America, laden with their purchases. Even Mark was happy, having found a store full of electronic objects that had no apparent purpose to either Anna or Lynn, but Mark was very excited by. According to him, he had spent a hundred dollars on what he said were pieces for an important project. Anna thought that if this project didn't explode, leak toxins, or use so much power that it caused a blackout, then that would be a welcome change in the paradigm.

  Lynn pulled the truck into Anna's driveway just before five. Anna squeezed out from the backseat and ran into her house with bag in hand. As she turned to shut the door, she saw Mark and Lynn walk into their house at the other end of the street.

  "I'm home," she hollered.

  Her mother came into the room and asked about her day, and then told her about the exciting discovery that she had made that day. As an amateur historian, she made many such discoveries, but most of them proved to be unimportant or worse, flukes.

  "Your father won't be home for dinner," she said, as if it were news. Anna nodded. Her father, both a cardiologist and a general practitioner in the small hospital fifteen minutes south in the town of Princeton, was often late getting home. He was the most competent doctor north of Minneapolis, so the entire area depended upon his services.

  Anna hung her new clothes in her closet and set her books next to her bed. She glanced at the clock, judging how long she would have until dinner. Pulling on a light jacket, she hurried down the stairs.

  "I'm going to see Frank," she said, blowing past her mother without waiting for a reply. She walked two blocks and up a set of small steps onto a clean wooden porch. After knocking, she walked into the small, tidy house.

  Frank greeted her with his customary, "Welcome, Madame Newick."

  "Hey, Frank," she responded.

  "Ready to beat this crazy old man in a game of chess?"

  "Oh, Frank, we both know that you aren't crazy."

  Frank poured tea and they chatted as pawns, knights, and kings fell on both sides. After an hour Anna's phone buzzed, a text from her mother, calling her back for dinner. She said goodbye to Frank and left, and was walking slowly back home when a buzzing filled the air, as if a thousand bees were swirling in the street.

  Anna looked around, but there was no one there. The noise increased in frequency, soon surpassing her hearing. Several dogs began howling and a car alarm went off. Suddenly, spinning so quickly she couldn't make out what it was, a glowing silver orb materialized and dropped from the sky. For a moment, all was silent as Anna looked around. She moved forward and reached out for the mysterious object.

  "What is this?" she said out loud. Turning it in her hands, she marveled at how precise the craftsmanship of the orb was. It was a perfect sphere, too light to be steel and too hard to be anything else. Her phone buzzed insistently again. She didn't know what the orb was, but she didn't want to ju
st leave it there either. Her phone rang instead of buzzed, and she answered.

  "I've texted you three times and you haven't answered," began her mother.

  "I'm coming, I'll be there in a second," replied Anna. She pocketed her phone and picked up the orb.

  "Mark can probably figure out what this is," she said, carrying it gingerly and heading home.

  Chapter 2

  Though the wind howled outside, the bunker was fairly warm, as Zephyr had built a fire in one of the large, non-functioning ovens. He sat with his long legs stretched in front of him on a patched up chair, reading a book about the end of the world.

  "I'm the last human alive in the world," he exclaimed aloud. "I read about the ends of the earth while living in one." He sat back, appreciating the irony. Though his food supply was low, his book pile was high, and he was content to wait for the capsule to return. To his right, a hole, five feet around and ten feet down, lay waiting for the orb to re-appear, as it should if it had been buried like he asked. Soon, he told himself, he would need to find more food, but for now he sat on his patchwork chair before a warm flame, laughing at those in situations more dire than his own.

  *****

  Anna lay awake that night, turning the mysterious basketball-sized sphere. She wished she could consult Mark and Lynn, but they were spending the night at their grandparents' farm, without cell service. Once again, she pulled out her laptop and looked for UFOs and military experiments. While she did find a very interesting article on an unscrupulous astronomer in the nineteen-fifties that had succeeded in a very elaborate hoax, she found nothing of use in her situation. She shut her computer, turned off the light, and was determined to get some sleep when she noticed the sphere start to glow.

  A faint golden light intensified around the equator of the orb, giving off the proper light for Anna to read "Time Capsule: Multi-Use 200" written on the side. More light encircled the top and bottom of the device, and when Anna touched the circles in curiosity, the two halves opened on an invisible hinge, bathing the room in a golden glow. The light faded and Anna saw that inside there was a dirty scrap of paper with something written in marker on it. She picked it up and began reading.

  The Zarx? beasts are relentless, and the world is bare. I don't know who you are, but I need your help. Several inches below there were more words.

  I am Zephyr. I think I am the last human left on earth.

  The paper was ripped underneath the lines, and the rest of the words were smudged. Anna turned the paper over to see if there was anything on the other side. All she saw were some strange numbers.

  45? 44' 59" - 93? 37' 49"

  She tried to focus on what they could mean, but sleep overtook her.

  *****

  Zephyr began to grow afraid that the capsule had malfunctioned: he would never contact another living human. He would never get off of earth. He would die alone. He would not be able to stop the Zarx?. The human race would perish, the earth would die, his bunker would fall, and the world would end. With these thoughts racing through his head, he grabbed his pack and spear, a toothpick when compared to the might of the Zarx? beasts, a stick compared to the weapons of the Zarx? overlords. His thoughts swirling in a tumulus cloud inside his head, he ran out into pelting rain.

  *****

  At precisely 2:58 the next day, Anna bounded up to Mark and Lynn's door with a package under each arm. Despite the fact that the Dunn twins' party was always family-only, Anna had been in attendance for the past seven years, as Mrs. Dunn was very accommodable when it came to Anna. The party was a tidy, predictable affair. In addition to Anna and the four who lived there, the Dunn backyard also hosted five cousins and two aunt-uncle pairs of Lynn and Mark.

  As Anna set her gifts (a summer dress for Lynn and a biohazard disposal unit for Mark) down on a small table, she overheard Mark talking with one of his uncles (Ted?) about his college visit at Minnesota State, where a fiasco with some students had caused the guide to lose his balance on the edge of the wharf, overcompensate, and fall right off the edge into the lake. Meanwhile, one of the younger Dunn cousins was crying because her older sister had dumped hollandaise sauce all over her. As she walked over to see if she could help pacify both children, she heard Lynn's favorite aunt, Maurice, and the twin's father talking about the new hydroelectricity bill for the state, and decided that debating policies would be significantly more interesting than resolving the squabbling of the young children. She changed her course and headed for the two adults.

  "Of course, the use of an aqueduct in this situation is ridiculous," Maurice was saying as Anna came within hearing distance. "You'd think this was Ancient Rome. Plus, think about the aesthetics of the area."

  "It's more efficient and cheaper than a giant underground pipeline," replied Mark and Lynn's dad, Ken.

  "I agree with Mr. Dunn," said Anna, entering the conversation, "aqueducts weren't just used in Rome. In fact they're still used today." They continued to debate the finer points of the law until Mrs. Dunn entered the yard holding a massive cake, draining all thoughts of generator dams and reserve pools out of their heads.

  *****

  Zephyr ran through the blinding rain and burned out buildings, heading for the crashed spaceship ahead. It loomed in front of him, curving a hundred feet into the air and two hundred to the side. Scattered around it lay engine parts, as well as both wings and piles of glass and metal from inside the ship. As he neared it, a Zarx? beast saw him and roared, and then charged towards him, eating up ground with its ten-foot leaps. Zephyr slipped the crashed ship, turning just in time to see the beast trip over an engine thruster and sprawl to the ground. As it struggled to get back onto its six muscular legs, he moved further into the relative safety of the ship.

  He quickly found what he was looking for, packages of engineered super-food for energy, designed to last one hundred years unopened. He filled his pack with them, as well as some hydration tabs. He opened one pack of super-food and popped one into his mouth, then followed it with a hydration tab. Within seconds, he felt full of energy as his body rapidly absorbed the nutrition. He returned to the rain, ready to return to his bunker, only to see three of the beasts blocking his doorway and the hover-pod of the Zarx? overlords that their howls had attracted.

  *****

  Late that night, Anna sat with Mark and Lynn in Mark's room, with the scrap of paper in her hand and the sphere at her feet, closed to mute the glow that permeated the solid metal surface. Mark had happily run dozens of tests on the orb, determining its power source, composition, and scores of other tidbits of information about it, but nothing to suggest the origin or function of it. Anna had also shown Mark the numbers, which he had found to be coordinates for a point near Frank's house, but other than that there was nothing to indicate where the orb had come from. They had scoured the Internet for any clue to what Zarx? were but found nothing. Mark had been careful with the orb during the tests, a welcome divergence from his usual slapdash scientific methods.

  Mark stood up from his spot among the equipment and half-finished projects scattered across his floor. He placed the capsule down carefully next to his latest finished project-a small, super-powerful generator-a testament to how much he admired it.

  "The note is obviously asking for help," he proclaimed, "and we should do as the sender asks. Let's put food and medical supplies in it, and then leave it at the coordinates. We'll see what happens from there."

  "It can't hurt," agreed Anna. The three got up and walked downstairs. Anna clambered into the backseat of the truck and Lynn drove, with Mark sitting shotgun. Five blocks later, they arrived at the Milaca Corner Mart, INC, and piled out.

  "Hey there James," said Lynn to the cashier as the trio walked in.

  "Make 'er quick, kids, I was just about to close up shop," he replied. "Oh, and happy birthday to both of ya."

  "Thanks, James," Lynn replied. Anna raided the medicine isle for bandages and disinfectants, while Lynn judged the nutritional value of variou
s snacks. Mark pulled a few drinks out of the cooler and then picked up a pack of batteries. They piled the supplies onto the counter.

  "Do you think this will fit," whispered Lynn to Anna.

  "Hope so," Anna replied.

  James rang up all of the items and handed them the bags, inspecting them seriously. "Now I don' know what all you need all this for," he began, "and I ain't about to ask. Just don' do anything stupid, or Chief Raymond is gonna hav'ta confiscate all them good-lookin' supplies you got there. Now I've been around for a while, an' I've been uh arbitrator between stupid people and the police before, an' I ain't keen on doin' so again. Just don' do nothin' I wouldn' do."

  "Don't worry, James," said Anna, "we have all of this stuff for a good and legitimate purpose."

  "Okay then, good night to all of ya," said James. Mark, Lynn, and Anna exited the store with bags in hand.

  Chapter 3

  Mark's Geo-locator had led Anna straight to Frank's backyard with a trowel in hand. Anna knelt in the dewy night grass. She unzipped her backpack and took out the time capsule, setting it next to her in the dirt. She laboriously dug a three-foot deep hole and placed the sphere in it. As she was covering it in dirt, a light came on in Frank's house. More came on as he walked downstairs. Anna tried to hide behind the tree, but the light pouring through the large windows illuminated the small backyard.

  "Who's there," yelled Frank in a wavering voice. "I may be old, but I've got a gun right here in the kitchen." Anna stepped forward; her cheeks flushed red with humiliation from being caught.

  "Anna!" exclaimed Frank. "You darn near gave this old man a heart attack. What in tarnation are you doing here at this unholy hour?"

  *****

  Zephyr faced the Zarx?, frozen in place. He snapped out of his frozen state when a beast lunged at him and raced back into the crashed spaceship. He moved to the middle of the ship and stood there, listening to the howls of the Zarx? beasts outside. Suddenly, his entire world tilted and shook. Zephyr fell to the floor, his head ringing from the blast that came from one of the Zarx? overlord's missiles.

  "Missiles!" Zephyr exclaimed aloud, scrambling to his feet. He raced around the ship as two more explosions rocked it. For now, the hull was holding, but there was no telling for how long. He searched through the ship, looking for anything to use. He came across a large metal locker, bolted to the floor and secured with a huge padlock. Zephyr pulled a tiny explosive from his backpack, his last from a box he had found three months earlier and placed it on the lock. Pressing the button on top, he stepped back and waited. Five seconds later, the lock fell smoking from the locker and hit the floor with a clang.