Invisible Conflict - Electric Dreams #17

Blood trickled along bloated skin, creating a spiderweb of red. It dripped from the tip of a finger and landed with a splatter on white tiles. The small room stunk of copper and salt. The bath water long since turned red, accompanying the speckled walls. A knife sat precariously on the side of the bath. Blood still clinging to the sharp edge and wooden handle.

Jessie stood in the doorway. She had seen death before, but this was different, this was her father.

Three years had passed since Jessie had lost everything. Her mother had worked at the hospital as a doctor, she had been killed during the alien attacks. On the first day, the day the UFO’s appeared in the sky, the houses of parliament were eviscerated along with every other countries centre of government. The country’s immediate response was to attempt an attack, before they could make a stand, the Army, Navy, RAF and even local police stations were turned to rubble. On the third and final day, they took out all forms of communication, local libraries were targeted and every hospital, including the one Jessie’s mum had been working at.

Jessie stepped out of the small room, she barely made it over the threshold before her stomach emptied itself of its little contents. She gasped, trying to drink in the air from the corridor. She heard footsteps behind her but couldn't muster the strength to look. The image of her father covered in his own blood, swarm in her mind. She had seen him struggle to survive, but hadn't considered this as an outcome.

Two arms wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her to her feet, she was lead out of the house and onto the street. She continued to gasp, the fresh air barely washed away the stench that now clung to her. She was taken across the road to a different house and told to sit on the floor. She obeyed without any objections, her mind flicked from the image of her dad in the bath to one of him only a few hours earlier, smiling and pulling her into a hug.

She pulled her knees in, tightening her arms around them with a reassuring pressure. Somebody sat next to her. She didn’t register who it was and she didn’t feel them squeezing her hand until they said her name.

“Jay, what happened?”

She shook her head, she couldn't say the words out loud, it would make it too real. She grasped at the hand holding hers, the physical contact with someone else centered her thoughts, her breathing slowed.

Jessie finally looked at her companion, Michelle. She focused on the details of her face, the curve of her eyebrow, the shape of her nose and the freckles dotting her cheek.

“We need to get going, the boys don’t like it when we’re late.”

“They can give us five minutes.”

Shaking her head she stood up, pulling Michelle up too.

“The last time I was late I got this.”

Jessie pulled back her sleeve to reveal the thin white line of a scar. Michelle looked at the soft skin, now bearing the truth of a world were they were inherently weak.

They had spent hours comparing scars once, it had been a game back then. Everything had been easier before the attacks. They had both been children when it happened, it didn't take long for the countries law and order to dissolve. They had been young and vulnerable. Jessie’s father had protected her as best he could, but he had only been one person, against a gang of thugs.

The sensation of nausea overwhelmed her again, she placed her hand on the wall to steady herself.

“You okay? Jay, what happened over there?”

Without looking at Michelle, she straightened up and tightened her free hand into a fist.

“My dad’s dead.”

She was surprised at how strong her voice sounded. The words had lost their meaning already. She marvelled at how desensitised to blood, death and violence, she has become. They headed out of the house. A bus waited on the road, its engine idling.

“Hurry up girls.”

Jessie recognised the voice belonging to Neil. He stood on the back of a truck, his hand up to his eyes to block out the weak sunlight.

“Jay I think you should hang back.”

She ignored him as she purposefully stepped onto the bus. She found a seat and Michelle sat next to her. A few more got onto the bus before it took off.

“They won’t think any less of you if you don’t work today.” Michelle said softly.

She was trying to be kind, Jessie realised. But in this world, kindness and compassion was crushed out of people until all that’s left is a bitter and cold shell.

“Yes they will, I’ve worked too hard to be where I am. My dad was weak and a fool, I’m glad he’s gone, now I only have to look out for myself.”

The women sat in silence for the rest of the drive. Michelle kept her thoughts and her hands to herself while Jessie stewed over memories of her dad. She remembered playing in the park with him as a small child, laughing and shouting “higher” while being pushed on the swing.

The bus stopped and everyone got off. They filed into the largest building around, an old shopping centre. It now served as a community centre, food dispensary, school, hospital and a form of hierarchy to ensure the populace was protected.

The crowd dispersed into different rooms for their assigned jobs. Jessie followed Michelle into the pantry. The shelves contained rows upon rows of tinned food. They got their orders from the old man in charge and started to help unload a new delivery.

Importing food had become a problem after the invasion, with no communication and no government to uphold the law. Overtime the stockpiles individuals had, diminished and people starved. Eventually a group of resourceful people found a way to import food into the country and started distributing it, community hubs sprung up to make sure everyone ate.

Jessie stacked and counted while Michelle wrote the figures on a clipboard. The morning went quickly, they alternated their jobs, a few times to give each other a break from the heavy lifting.

After lunch Jessie sat on the floor packing a box for her group to take home, Michelle handed her another tin of baked beans when their friends walked in. Olivia ran into the room with a huge grin on her face, followed by Annabell. They were all similar ages and had all experience trauma as a result of the alien attack.

“You won’t believe what we’ve just seen.”

Olivia bounced on her feet and waved her hands around as she spoke.

“What Oli?”

She made a pouty face as the use of her masculine name but carried on regardless.

“We just saw a puppy, a real live puppy!”

The excitement of the youngest one of them bounced off the walls and made them all smile.

“Where?”

“In the atrium, it was so fluffy and it kept wagging its tail.”

They individually reminisced about times before the attack when they had seen dogs everywhere. Now dogs were dangerous creatures, they had suffered from starvation the same as humans and most had been abandoned, left to fend for themselves. A rare few had been kept as pets and they were something to admire.

“So what's new with you?” Annabell asked as she picked up a box.

Michelle glanced at Jessie, her eyes lingering trying to read the woman who had only hours ago seen her dead father.

“Not a lot, how’re you? How’s Joey?”

Annabell huffed out a breath.

“Joey enjoyed his weekly Sunday romp with the Green Street Hookers.”

Olivia started giggling which turned into a full laugh.

“What’s funny?”

“Joey wouldn’t know what to do with a hooker.”

She continued to laugh, holding onto her stomach as tears slipped from her eyes. Michelle couldn't help but laugh too, it was infectious. Jessie joined in too, she had to admit, the image of scrawny Joey going to green street was hilarious.

The laughter covered up the piece of their hearts that would have them cry instead. They all knew the price of not becoming a green street lady, they had paid it more than once.

They worked for the rest of the afternoon chatting about local gossip, mainly who was getting with who, and which groups were better off. The morning's incident was not mentioned.
Neil appeared at the end of the day to collect his group members. He said a quick hello to those he knew and helped Jessie to her feet. He placed his arm around her as he lead them outside. The group loaded onto the bus and stacked the food parcels in the storage compartment.

Michelle stopped to wait for Jessie but she shook her head, a small insignificant motion that Neil didn't see. He squeezed her tighter as the last few stragglers got onto the bus.

“Come on you can ride up front with me.”

They walked to the truck and he opened to door for her to slide in first. She obeyed without him having to say a word. She focused on her breathing, she needed to slow down her heartbeat so that she could think clearly.

The truck engine fired up and she felt the vibrations from her toes up to her spine. The wheels found the holes in the roads more than the bus had. Jessie was thrown around without a seat-belt. Neil wrapped his hand around her and pulled her close.

The street was quiet, the few kids in the group were not out playing tonight. The vehicles pulled up outside the main house, everyone piled out and helped to unload the food and supplies, adding them to the group stores. They lined up to collect their dinner for the evening.

Neil kept his arm around Jessie.

“You can earn dinner tonight.”

He lead her towards the house that had her father's dead body in, she hoped someone had dealt with it during the day.

“You haven’t cried yet, Jay. I think you should cry, and if you can’t cry for him, I’ll make you cry for me.”

Michelle stood in the main house doorway. People walked past her but she didn’t pay attention, she was focused on the scene unfolding across the street. The door closed leaving her out of the picture, her stomach turned to lead as she turned around and got herself something to eat.

An hour later Michelle paced across the room that she called her own. The door opened slowly and Jessie stepped in closing it behind her. Michelle wanted to run to her to wrap her arms around her, squeeze her tight and never let go. But Jessie didn’t look up at her and she knew herself that someone touching you after, is like acid dripping across your skin.

“I have some water for you and clean clothes and I got you something to eat, it tastes like shit i'm afraid.”

She watched as the woman who had battled through the ordeal of seeing her dead dad this morning, now crumbled.

Jessie let the tears flow freely, she was exhausted and couldn’t pretend not to feel a moment longer. She reached out a hand to Michelle, who took it instantly and wrapped her arms around her. They stood embraced for a long time, Jessie crying and Michelle stroking her hair.

Michelle took a comb and ran through Jessie’s hair. She then took off her clothes and washed her tenderly by hand. The fresh clothes fit snugly and she handed her the plate of cold food.

Jessie scraped the food into her mouth mechanically, barely chewing. Michelle lifted a scrap of hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear.

“They’re having a bonfire tonight.”

A bonfire meant politics and banter. Women were often left to be the butt of a joke and rarely got the chance to gain respect.

“We don’t have to go.”

Michelle said, hope clinging to her voice.

Jessie finally looked up making eye contact for the first time.

“We always have to go, no matter what’s happened.”

She was right, but Michelle didn’t like it. By now the news of their encounter would have become public knowledge. Neil would have gloated and the men would have jeered. Any of the women in the crowd would have remained silent, catching glimpses of each other with a shared understanding.

“Here, it’s cold tonight.”

Michelle handed her a jacket. They left the room in silence, the evidence lying in a pile on the floor behind them.

The fire crackled in its cage, orange embers fluttering into the night sky. Group members sat in small congregations talking quietly. Those closest to the warmth of the fire sat in comfy chairs and had mugs filled with alcohol. Their happy manners and hearty laughter contrasted with the hollow, bitterness felt by the women. They stepped into the light casting a silence over the chatter. Neil spoke up first.

“Jay, over here.”

He indicated to Jessie to sit on his lap.

Michelle clenched her fists as Jessie walked over to him and took the seat he offered. She found herself a chair all the while keeping her focus on Jessie.

The crowd jeered at Neil, calling him lucky.

“Your such a dog Neil boy. Getting her wet with her dad's corpse in the room.”

They all laughed and raised their glasses.

Michelle sat motionless as the realisation hit her. She felt sick to her stomach as she fully understood what had happened.

Jessie focused on the flickering lights in the sky coming from the UFO. The sight had been terrifying once, now it was normal. She ignored the conversations as much as possible, keeping her mind distracted, thinking about the chores she would need to do in the morning. The word “communication” entered her thoughts and brought her back to the present.

“That’s what I said isn’t it, some branch down in London are trying to communicate with them, I don’t know why, that’s just what I heard.”

The young lad held up his hands in defence.

“But what’s the point, it’s been 3 years since they attacked, why would they want to talk to us?”

“They would probably try to kill us all if they actually try it.”

“Maybe we should try to stop them, we don’t want to face repercussions from something they do.”

“What if they find out why they attacked us in the first place? I want to know why.”

Jessie stood up, Neil tried to grab her hand but she turned and gave him a look full of the most venom she could muster.

“You’re all children.”

The men stopped their discussion to look at her.

“The aliens already communicate with us.”

Faces full of concern she pressed on.

“They destroyed our infrastructure, our trade, they took out hospitals and schools, they stopped our communication with each other, they took away our laws and our rights. They rendered us down to nothing more than rats in sewers, scurrying around trying to feed ourselves. We lost the war already, we’re just what’s left.”

This is my entry to @tygertyger’s Electric Dreams Contest #17. Find out about it here.
The prompts were:

1. Ufo’s have shown up over every county on earth and have vaporised the governments. After this was done no more action was taken and they have been hovering ever since-it has been 3 years. Every attempt to communicate has been ignored until now. What has happened on earth since and what is the nature of the communication and it’s consequences and who the hell is in those spaceships?
2. the story must include the sentence “Joey enjoyed his weekly Sunday romp with the green street Hookers”
3. the story must include a dead man in a bathtub

Image from Pixabay.

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