Red the First (12 page)

“
Armageddon,” said Father
Bob. “What are we talking—months, years?”

“
Days, weeks. The mother
ship is set to land on September 18th. Setting down a craft that
massive is a huge drain on Celerun resources, and therefore
requires all the attention of the crew. They will be so preoccupied
with the landing, it will give you an edge. That’s why we scheduled
Armageddon to arrive that day at precisely 6:00 am.”

“
That’s only two months from
now,” Elizabeth gasped. “And you’re planning on leaving? It’s too
much to remember—too much to do.”

“
We all have our tasks. For
instance, I am heading to Maryland from here in hopes of finding
another Moses to lead the people into Isaiah’s Bunker. You, Red
Wakeland, are the Noah of Hewego. You will lead the people to the
ark, Galatians Bunker, I mean.”

“
If you remember,” Father
Bob said, “the original Noah didn’t have much luck convincing the
people to take shelter from the upcoming flood. They jeered,
mocking him until the day the rain came.”

“
I didn’t say it would be
easy,” the general said.

Father Bob was right; the people were
going to mock her husband if he tried to convince them to go to the
bunker. “Please,” she pleaded. “Red has a wife, a child, and his
duties as mayor keep him extra busy. Can’t you pick someone
else?”

“
He’s the one,” General
Moore said firmly. “I dreamt of two cops eating donuts the night
before we made radio contact. When the boy used that image as a
clue, I knew that I had found the right people for the job. Not
very scientific, I know, but these days intuition serves me just as
well.”

The compliment about Michael made her
forget the topic at hand for a moment. “That was our son,” she
proudly beamed.

“
He’s a clever one,” the
general said, producing a manila envelope from inside his flannel
jacket. He slid it across the table to Red and
Elizabeth.

“
I have committed a capital
offense by putting this information onto paper, but we’re down to
the last play. Inside you will find a map, schematics, and detailed
instructions pertaining to the Galatians Bunker. Do not allow these
to get into the wrong hands.”

He produced a metal briefcase from
underneath the table. There was an electronic keypad built into the
surface. After punching several numbers on the pad, the briefcase
beeped and clicked as locks released. He opened the lid, turning
the case for all to see. Pushed into the foam lining were three
ordinary-looking, silver-colored keys. Two spots for a fourth and
fifth key were vacant.

He handed one of the remaining keys to
the mayor.

Red held the key to the sun rays
streaming through the window, turning it one way and then the other
as the light flashed off its shiny surface.

“
You mean this key can
destroy the world?”

“
In unison with four others
and the numerical sequences—yes.”

“
What if we fail to
cooperate?”

“
If you fail, humanity will
die out, so never forget that your descendants are counting on
you.”

“
This is very hard to
accept,” Red said, his tongue cleaving to his mouth.

“
I cannot stay to talk you
into doing the right thing. Travel is not easy these days. I must
be in Maryland when the time comes.”

“
I don’t know about this…”
Father Bob said

“
The Celerun fleet will soon
be here.”

“
How do we contact you if we
have more questions?” Elizabeth asked.

“
Once I leave, there will be
no way to reach me. I won’t know if you’ve done your part until
after the keys are turned. It will not be long before the aliens’
efforts are concentrated between our shores. Once the Celeruns are
spotted, you’ll know my story is true, and it will be too late. I
pray you’ll be prepared to flee before that day comes. And before I
depart, I leave you this.” The general reached into his shirt
pocket and pulled out a device the size of a deck of cards. It was
light gray and appeared to be made of quartz. No lights, no
buttons, no writing adorned its surface. “A gift of technology from
one of the friendlies.”

“
It looks like a rock,”
Father Bob said.

“
What does it do?” Elizabeth
asked.

“
It’s set to cloak all human
activity—movement, warmth, smoke, noise, vibration, automotive
exhaust, electromagnetic transmissions—from Celerun
instrumentation. They won’t know Hewego is here until they see her
with their naked pink eyes, which will buy you extra time. Mayor.”
The general offered it to Red.

He closed his fingers around it.
“What’s the radius of this thing’s effect?”

“
Twenty
kilometers.”

“
Is it working
now?”

“
Always.”

The general got up to shake their
hands. “May our descendants meet in peace and prosperity in the not
so distant future.” He handed Elizabeth the manila envelope and
leaned in closer to her ear. “Your son will be a great
man.”

As he was about to walk through the
doors, and out of Hewego forever, he turned to give a stoic salute.
Red returned the gesture and the general gave a toothy grin. As the
general departed, Father Bob went after him.

Red growled, “The damn fools on the
council won’t listen.”

“
They’re not fools, they’re
good people, and you know it. If you hadn’t seen a Celerun for
yourself, you’d act just as deplorable.”

“
So you believe me now—about
the alien at Schlotz’s?”

“
The things I saw in the
general’s head.” She shuddered, closing her eyes to try to block
them out. “I can’t shake them. Now I know the memories in your head
aren’t from a dream. They’re very real and I’m sorry for ever
doubting you.”

He gently brushed a strand of hair from
her eyes, and brought his lips to hers. The way he kissed her, like
she was the most precious thing in all creation, sent waves of
warmth through her body.

She tried not to see his thoughts, but
in his mind they were already upstairs in bed making love. The way
he wanted her, needed her, made her want to satisfy his every wish.
An image of his first wife crossed his thoughts, but she had grown
to accept that Kay, the first Mrs. Wakeland, would always be a part
of him, lingering at the fringes of his mind. Nonetheless, she was
a little jealous, and wanted his kiss to go on forever.

“
Even if no one else will
come with us,” Red said. “We’ll get Michael, go to the bunker, and
turn the key ourselves.”

“
We can’t turn the key on
them,” Elizabeth said, waving her arm to indicate all of Hewego.
“When they come to understand that the aliens are real, they’ll be
fighting to get into the bunker.” She took the key from Red and
shook it under his nose for emphasis. “They haven’t had the benefit
of seeing a Celerun first-hand. For that reason alone, it’s your
duty to prepare them for what’s coming. Not to mention the fact
that you’re the mayor of Hewego, which makes you doubly
responsible.”

“
You’re right,” he sighed.
“Like always.”

“
I’ll help in whatever way I
can,” Elizabeth promised. “Just tell me what to do.”

“
First, let’s go home and
sleep on it.”

Chapter 13

By sleep, much to Elizabeth’s delight,
Red meant fool around. There was no past or future when they made
love—just the moment—blissful and glorious. Afterward, Red paced
around the room looking for his clothes. He’d been in good physical
shape as long as she had known him, but nothing could compare to
the way he looked now. All that muscle and sinew earned from
working the land, rather than the vanity of a gym, added to his sex
appeal. She pulled the sheets up to her neck to watch him string
the general’s key onto a chain.

“
This is for you.” He gently
pulled the chain down over her head. “I feel better knowing that no
matter what happens to me, you will still have a fighting chance.”
He kissed the top of her head and slid in next to her on the bed,
taking the general’s envelope off the nightstand. “Are we ready to
see what’s inside?”

“
No,” she said, snuggling in
close to him. His warm, hard body made her feel safe, like the
world was a good place. “Can’t we pretend everything is all right
just for a little while longer?”

“
I’ve pretended far too
long,” Red said. “If we don’t face what’s coming, who
will?”

“
Spoil-sport.” She sighed
heavily. Reluctantly, she motioned for him to drop the contents of
the envelope into her lap. Pages of hand-written instructions fell
out, along with a map, blueprints and half a dozen atomic watches
counting down to September 18th.

“
A Doomsday watch,”
Elizabeth said, displaying one over her wrist as if she was the
host of QVC. “Every girl’s must-have accessory.”

Red laughed. She strapped it onto his
wrist, then strapped another one onto her own. She let her finger
glide over the general’s hand-written notes. “Says here that the
cloaker can’t hide the energy caused by opening the bunker doors;
the Celeruns will be able to detect that. Which means we shouldn’t
open the doors until we’re ready to stay down there for…” she could
barely choke out the words. “…for the rest of our
lives.”

“
That’s no good,” Red said.
“I need to make sure Galatians Bunker is everything the general
says it is before I bring the whole town there.”

For hours they stayed in bed pouring
over the instructions, pointing out important stuff to one another
as they read along.

“
The main entrance is huge.
It leads to a spiral truck ramp that goes all the way to the bottom
floor of the bunker. We could drive a busload of people down it—no
problem,” Red pointed out. “The secondary exit is two miles away.
It’s basically just a ladder going down a metal tube.”

“
The notes say the key will
only turn once,” Elizabeth said. “Five bunkers, scattered, across
the world must turn their keys at the same time, but there’s a
three minute window to allow for slight time variances. Once the
key is turned, the bunker doors seal. They cannot be opened again
without following a whole slew of instructions and
overrides.”

“
This gets better and
better.” Red rolled his eyes and shook his head. “How am I going to
convince the town to prepare for Doomsday when everything seems to
be going so well?”

Elizabeth knelt on the bed behind Red
to massage his shoulders. She could feel the tension building in
them like stretched rubber bands. As much as she struggled to read
his thoughts, as of late they had become increasingly difficult to
access. Strange, considering her telepathy had become increasingly
sensitive to the thoughts of the other townsfolk.

“
The town is going to think
I’m a loon, Elizabeth. What if they turn on me? What if they try to
run us out of town?”

“
Worry about the things you
can change and don’t sweat the rest,” she counseled “We’ll see if
we can find the bunker doorways. If they exist, then we know the
general wasn’t crazy after all, and that ought to alleviate some of
your concerns.”

“
I’m the mayor; it’s my job
to be concerned.”

“
Honey, when you address
Hewego, you can’t express any doubt about the bunker. You must
speak with utter certainty.”

“
I’ll feel like an
idiot.”

“
That’s pride talking,”
Elizabeth chastised. “They’ll hear you out. The community respects
you.”

“
I can’t believe that I’ve
become the weird guy at the bar talking about alien abductions,
while everyone laughs at him behind his back.”

“
I’m not laughing,
Red.”

He reached over his shoulder to grip
her hand, pulled it forward and kissed her knuckles. “I love
you.”

“
I know, but it’s not the
same—is it?”

“
What isn’t the same? Same
as what?”

“
Every time you tell me you
love me, you feel like you’re betraying your first
wife.”

“
That’s not
true.”

“
Whenever we make love, I
see Kay’s face floating around inside of your head. I’m not angry,
Red. Trust me, I understand. There’s no replacing what we had with
our first families—is there?”

He shook his head, but didn’t say
anything.

“
I gave my first family the
best part of me,” Elizabeth confessed. “But I love you and Michael
with everything I have left to give. I’m so grateful to have both
of you in my life.”

He squeezed her hand

“
I love you with everything
I have left to give, too. I just hope it’s enough.”

“
It’s plenty.”

She squeezed his hand back and they
made love again as if the world was scheduled to end that very
night. Later, Red’s dog came in to lie between them, shoving
Elizabeth out of the way. The faint smell of mushrooms wafted from
her shaggy coat.