Darren Wearmouth - Second Activation

“Sal,” the old man shouted, “bring three bowls of your lovely stew.”

A thin old lady with white hair pulled back in a ponytail appeared from a side room. She was dressed in a crumpled cream trouser suit, sleeves rolled up to her elbows.

“Three more, Bob?” she asked and rested her wrinkly hands on her hips. “I bet you boys have had an adventure getting here.”

“You could say that,” Jack said.

Bob gestured to three seats in front of a desk. “Sit down and let’s talk. I need to know what happened today.”

“You seem to have a nice setup here,” Brett remarked.

Bob glanced down, tutted, and swept crumbs off the surface of the table. “We’re preparing for the end of the world, young man. Just like we did during the Cold War, but this time it’s real. Every day we gather a straggler. Arrange their accommodation and provide a safe place to rest while we wait. At the moment, we number eight, but we expect to build until it finally happens.”

“Until what finally happens?” I said.

The old lady carried in three steaming mugs on a tray and placed them in front of us.

Bob smiled at her, then focused back on me. “Rescue, of course. You don’t think they’d leave us all here, do you?”

I shifted uncomfortably, trying to think of a reply that wouldn’t cause offense. Bob had shown no guile when he spoke. I could only think that he believed, without question, that the National Guard would descend on the hangar at any moment.

The old lady cleared her throat. “What he means is that we’ll all help each other until the Army sets things straight.”

“I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news,” Jack said, “but the Army isn’t coming.”

“Oh, stop teasing us,” Bob said and rolled his eyes. “They’ll be starting in the cities first. This chemical warfare can’t last forever. We’ll have nuked them.”

“We’ve come from New York. It’s worse than here,” Jack said.

“Nuked who? What do you mean?” I asked.

“It stands to reason that this is the action of the Chinese. I noticed them sneaking up the rail, didn’t I?” He looked at the woman, who nodded. “They’ve attacked us. We’ve struck back. Now it’s just a matter of waiting for the effects to subside and standing on our own two feet again.”

“Sorry, Bob,” I said. “This is altogether different. There’s no easy way to say this—”

He jabbed his finger toward my face. “You can’t scare me. I’m too old and have seen too much. Tell me about those people in town.”

“They’re… well, there’s an organization called Genesis Alliance who did all of this,” I said. “What you see around you has happened on a global scale. Small pockets of survivors like you have here are probably all that’s left. They used some sort of technology to send out an activation . That’s what happened last Friday—”

“How do you know?”

“Because we’ve met them,” I said. “They’ve got a base in Monroe and are heading for a place called Hart Island. There’s going to be another activation soon that will pretty much change you into their slaves.”

“But there’s a way we can help you, and the others here,” Jack said.

“What’s up with you?” Bob said, looking at Brett. “Cat got your tongue?”

“No, it’s just that… I…”

Bob narrowed his eyes before referring to a map on his desk. He briefly mumbled to himself about our story and slapped his hand firmly on the table. “Are you saying we’ve been invaded?”

“Not invaded, as far as we know,” I said. “But they’re taking over and will be using the remaining survivors to clear up the country by the same technique as previously deployed.”

“They’re a clean energy company or something like that,” Jack added.

Bob cackled. “You’ve got to be kidding me, right?”

“Does it look like we’re joking?” Jack said.

“I doubt they’re coming here,” I said. “They seem to mostly rely on the technology to do the work for them. We think we can help you all escape the effects. We’ve been told a way.”

“If what you say is true, I need to know how,” Bob said.

“This might sound odd,” I said. “You have to cattle prod yourself on the head several times, which might work. The other way is by creating a small EMP device—”

Bob frowned. “A what?”

“That’s what he said,” Jack replied. “You have to use a prod.”

“And you’ve done this to yourself?”

“No, one of the GA tech team used a special tool on us—”

Bob locked his hands behind his head and sat back. “Are you sure about this prod? If I’m to do it to my team, I need to give them a reason.”

“It’s the only way possible,” Brett said. I was glad he’d finally chirped up. His silence made him look suspicious. “It’s not one hundred percent guaranteed, but it gives you a chance if the next activation happens.”

“It might not even happen,” I said. “We’re gonna try to stop it at Hart Island.”

Bob looked to his left and drummed his fingers on the table. I could understand his questions, and he seemed friendly enough. He surveyed the map again, stroking his silver beard and placing his finger on various points, mumbling about Hart Island.

The old woman arrived with three large bowls of stew and a hunk of freshly baked bread. My stomach growled in appreciation and, despite the heat, we tucked in, blowing wildly to cool the food. The time eating gave me a chance to think of what was happening here. Bob and his group were living on false hope, and our information had probably crushed it. I was curious to see how he reacted.

“Looks like you’re enjoying the food, boys?” Bob said.

“First proper cooked meal I’ve had in a week,” Jack said.

“Compliments to the chef,” Brett said.

The old woman, Sal, brought three steaming mugs of coffee and a cake to the table. They certainly had a nice setup, as Brett had previously observed, although it could be destroyed in a flash if GA got their way.

Bob kept his twinkling light-blue eyes on me while I finished my cake.

“You don’t believe we’ll be rescued?” he asked.

“Not a chance,” I said. “The best thing we can do is stop the second activation and take the fight to Genesis Alliance.”

“There are eight of us here. How can we help?”

“First, we can make you safe,” I said. “Then, we can discuss if you’re prepared to join us and destroy their infrastructure.”

Sal took our plates away. Bob went to slap her on the backside as she walked past him, until she gave him an icy stare.

He leaned forward. “Tell me more about Genesis Alliance.”

“We met a member yesterday,” I said. “He gave us the info on Hart Island.”

“Well, I think I need to know the full story if we’re joining the fight.”

“He was press-ganged into an organization that did all of this. They carry out activations through devices spread around the world. I’ve seen two of them in southern New York state and Hermitage. You can also trust us.”

“Why are they doing this?” Bob said. “I don’t understand the motivation.”

“We don’t know,” Jack said and glanced at Brett. “We’ve had to fight our way to Monroe and back just to get these snippets.”

Bob pointed at Brett. “Does he know something that he isn’t saying?”

Brett bowed his head. “I arrived with Jack and Harry last Friday.”

Only actors on the Syfy channel outdid Brett for bad acting. I put my arm around him. “He’s been through a lot, Bob. Go easy on him.”

“How did you know they were in Monroe?”

“We met one of them in southern New York,” Jack said. “He told us the location of the main U.S. contingent. There’s a bigger force on their way from the UK.”