Desolation.
There was no other word that could possibly describe what Rebecca was seeing.
The days spent at the farm had been brutal but the drive into Athens dwarfed the amount of suffering by a magnitude, if not two.
“I’d recommend looking at something else,” Theodora murmured.
Rebecca stirred and turned to her mother.
She had a face in a book, flipping casually through the pages. Though Rebecca knew her well enough to know that she was faking the activity. She moved through the book far too quickly for her to actually be absorbing the words.
But they were a distraction, exactly what she needed at this moment.
“How did this happen?” Rebecca asked.
Charlotte glanced into the rear-view mirror of her minivan, making brief eye contact with her daughter. “Someone very important dropped the ball and now we have to pick up the pieces.”
“Besides that, we really have no idea how this happened,” Theodora said. She licked her fingers and flipped through to the next page. “A guidance system was glitched or some munitions failed to ignite. It could be one of a million mundane errors that normally wouldn’t have resulted in this.”
Rebecca nodded and glanced behind their van, seeing a familiar car behind her. Ashley, and her mothers, were in there, probably having a very similar conversation.
“We’re a planet at war,” Charlotte said, shaking her head. “We should’ve prepared for the fact that something like this could’ve happened. But it seems like everyone is content with just pointing fingers and letting the body count pile up.”
Rebecca flinched at that. After all, she’d worked at that field hospital and knew just how bad that body count likely was.
Hell, she could see it outside the window. They couldn’t go more than five miles without seeing a field station set with a sea of bodies covered in white sheets.
Bring out your dead.
A phrase that she assumed was from a more barbaric time. Though felt more than a little pressing at this current moment.
“Where are we heading?” Rebecca asked.
She forced her gaze away from the window and instead looked at her phone. Her attention went to the texting app, still seeing a lack of notifications. It hurt, a lot, realizing that many people she knew were likely gone.
Instead, she flicked over to a Sudoku, doing exactly what her mother was doing and attempting to push aside the outside world. Not that she really had any success. The numbers, while there, might as well have been written in some alien script for all they meant to her.
But she had to admit that looking at empty grids was a far more appealing proposition than looking out the window.
Charlotte shook her head. “One of the officers aboard the Themiskyra sent us the coordinates of a field hospital near the city. Apparently, they want to drop off some medical supplies then take us into orbit. Can’t really consider wasting perfectly good shuttle missions just to pick up a few personnel.”
Rebecca nodded slowly and glanced out the window once more.
They were now out of the farmland and into some semi-urban realm that existed on the fringes of Athens. Even though they were somewhat far from the impact site, it was obvious that things weren’t exactly great.
There was a house with a big sign out front.
We Have a Generator, Charge Essentials Here.
And then a few which proclaimed that they had private wells instead of relying on the city for water.
At least people were helping each other out.
“It was getting pretty bad at the Reed’s,” Theodora commented. “We had water but after a couple of hours it started to come out brown and orange.”
“The purification facilities are probably offline,” Charlotte murmured.
Rebecca nodded slowly.
She noticed a store up ahead, which showed some hastily adjusted prices. They made Rebecca’s stomach drop. Basic necessities that were going for ten times their usual rates.
“Criminals,” Rebecca grumbled.
“They are,” Charlotte agreed. “But anyone with actual authority to stop them is busy keeping what remains of civilization from falling apart.” She sighed. “Fuck, I really wish I would’ve charged the hydrogen cell after the ceremony.”
“You couldn’t have known,” Theodora said. “No one could’ve seen this coming.”
“I know, I’m just…” Charlotte stopped talking and instead shook her head.
It tore Rebecca up, seeing her parents like this. It had been years since she’d seen either of them in such a funk. And yet, there wasn’t anything she could honestly do to elevate those feelings, especially when they were swirling around within her own mind.
“We need to fuel up,” Charlotte said. “Just a little bit but we have to do it.”
She pulled into the parking lot of a hydrogen fuel station. It seemed like their power was on with lights beaming from the various pumps.
“Fucking Demeter,” Rebecca whispered. “Those prices.”
“No point lamenting them, not like we really have anything else to spend our money on anyways,” Charlotte commented. “Going to be a long time before we return to anything approaching normal.”
“Especially since we’re in the Bands,” Theodora added. “It’ll be years before they let us go on leave again in the future.”
Charlotte turned off the car and got out, moving around to the pumps.
Rebecca decided to join her, stepping into the stale post-apocalyptic environment. It was hot and hazy. The air felt like it had pulp and actively fought anyone who tried to breathe it.
The other car pulled in behind them, coming to a stop. Teresa rolled down the window and poked her head out. “Everything okay?”
“Just running low on hydrogen,” Charlotte called. “Don’t want to risk it running out and having to cram all six of us in your daughter’s station wagon.”
“Smart choice,” Teresa replied.
She turned off the other car and they stood there in silence. Though one of the doors opened and Ashley came out.
Rebecca approached her and gave her a tender hug. Though the one she got in return felt a little hollow.
There were still bags under Ashley’s eyes and a slight tremor which Rebecca felt coursing throughout her entire body.
“How are you feeling?” Rebecca asked.
Ashley forced a smile. “Somewhere between absolute devastation and barely holding on. How about you?”
“I think feeling returned to my hands on the car ride here,” Rebecca teased.
She drew away, putting a little space between them.
Ashley reached forth and gently cradled Rebecca’s hands. Hers felt warm and she very carefully dragged her thumbs across her wife’s bruised and battered knuckles.
“When this is all over, we’re going to get manicures,” Ashley said.
Rebecca smirked. “Honestly just being able to chill in a hotel room and get plastered would be nice.”
“I mean…” Ashley dipped forwards and gave her a kiss on the nose. “That was the end goal for this date I was planning. Manicures, maybe go get some burgers, and then flee to a hotel room until we get so drunk that we forget about the massive crater to our south.”
“Sounds like a date,” Rebecca replied, offering a playful smile.
A tense silence was soon there, settling between them. It was one which neither seemed likely to break.
Thankfully, there were four other women present to help elevate this strife.
“How about you girls go inside and get something to eat.” Charlotte called. “I have no idea what things are like outside of the atmosphere. So, it’s probably not a bad idea to have something ready just in case.”
“Of course, mom,” Rebecca replied.
Ashley nodded and gave a playful salute. “Right away, Misses Agincourt.”
Together they made their way into the little convenience store.
The shelves were already half empty, with most of the goodies missing. The coolers were in an even worse state with no water and only a few sugary drinks remaining.
Ashley made her way over to the cooler, humming to herself. “You’re not going to like this, babe, but it looks like they only have Pep left.”
Rebecca groaned. “Well get me the orange one then.”
“They’re out of orange,” Ashley replied.
She opened the cooler and produced two bottles. “You can have either lime or raspberry.”
“Raspberry it is,” Rebecca muttered.
She ducked into one of the few aisles, examining what little food remained. Anything that approached nutritious, like jerky, dried fruits, and nuts were already gone. Thankfully, they had pretzels, which were pretty much the best snack food in the world.
One bag didn’t seem like enough, so she grabbed two. And as she glanced at Ashley, she saw that her wife had grabbed a couple candy bars.
With their rations in tow, they made their way over to a bored looking teller, who was reading a magazine. He rang them up without even looking away from his article. And while the total, at first, seemed reasonable, he pushed a button, making the value explode by a factor of ten.
Rebecca reached for her card, gritting her teeth but willing to pay.
Ashley on the other hand didn’t seem even remotely pleased.
“You made a mistake buddy,” she said.
The teller looked up from their book. “No, just charging a premium due to how things are.” He smirked. “I’m sure you understand.”
“So, you’re screwing desperate people out of their money?” Ashley asked.
He shrugged. “Better me than one of those big box stories. At least this way it’ll be supporting a local business.”
“And all the while your neighbours are going without power, water, and likely food,” Ashley shot back.
“Nothing I can do about that,” the man said. “Now are you going to pay or are you going to question the ethics of my business practices.”
“Let’s just…” Rebecca began and reached out with her card.
Ashley lashed out and batted Rebecca’s hand out of the way. Her glare then intensified upon the teller.
Rebecca gasped and drew her hand against her chest.
“If you don’t want it, put it back,” the teller said, nodding towards the shelves.
“Or we could just walk out with it,” Ashley said. She smiled at him. “The civil authority seems pretty fucking busy right about now. Honestly, it’d probably take them years to get through all the petty little offenses that are going on around the city.”
The cashier sneered. “Are you threatening to steal?”
He reached under the counter. Though Ashley was far quicker.
She reached across and grabbed him by the shirt, pulling him towards her with surprising strength.
He yelped as he arched through the air, letting out an audible grunt as he landed upon the floor in a heap.
“Ashley,” Rebecca yelped. “What are you…”
Ashley drew towards him, launching her foot right into his ribs with a sickening thud.
“Teaching this piece of shit a lesson,” she growled. “Thinks he can get away with screwing over decent people.”
One kick wasn’t enough as she launched another into his stomach.
By now the man had gone limb, a weak sob ebbing forth.
“I’ve watched so many fucking people die over the last three days,” Ashley growled. “I’ve held the hands of children asking for their mothers. I’ve applied burn cream to men begging to die. I’ve seen nothing but broken bodies and shattered souls for seven-two fucking hours.”
She yelled like some feral beast and fell to her knees, hammering him with her fists. Again, and again, she struck him, howling as tears dripped from her eyes.
Rebecca was paralyzed, having no idea what to do.
“And you want to profit off of that!” Ashley yelled. “I should kill you!”
The man was now motionless upon the floor.
Ashley turned to look at Rebecca. There was scary coldness to her gaze, a cruel smile plastered upon her lips. Red clung to her knuckles. The blood drained along her flesh in fat droplets before breaking free and landing upon the floor.
“I should kill him,” she repeated.
Rebecca shook her head. Her eyes were wide and panicked.
“Please,” she whispered.
Ashley’s expression faltered, her gaze falling down to the beaten husk that she was straddling.
“Fuck,” she whispered, her eyes wide. “What the fuck did I just do?”
“We need to get out of here,” Rebecca said. “We have to…”
“Did I kill him,” Ashley whispered.
She reached down and touched a pair of fingers to his neck. A look of indecision coloured her but she let out a sigh of relief.
“Oh thank, Hera,” she said, “he still has a pulse.”
“Ash,” Rebecca hissed. “We need to get out of here!”
Ashley stirred and nodded slowly, getting off of him. Together the two of them left the little store. Though as they exited, they almost walked right into Charlotte.
Charlotte drew in a breath. “Are you two okay?”
“Just fine!” Ashley barked.
Rebecca held her close. “Just fine, mom. We uh…” She swallowed and glanced towards the shop. “We just…”
“The guy at the counter had his TV on,” Ashley explained, keeping her voice surprisingly level. “And I guess the news report kind of got to us.”
It was eerie how she managed that.
Rebecca nodded quickly. “Just thinking about our old place and wondering if…”
“No need to explain yourselves, girls,” Charlotte said. “You two have been through a lot.”
She reached into her purse and attempted to duck passed them. “I’m just going to pay and then we can get to the shuttles. Hopefully getting away from this place will help settle you two a little bit.”
Ashley’s breathing hitched and Rebecca’s eyes widened through thankfully Charlotte didn’t seem to pick up on either of these.
“It’s already covered,” Rebecca said, touching a hand to her mother’s sleeve and flashing her a smile. “Apparently since the coolers, that keep the hydrogen stable, are down, the guy is just giving the stuff away at this point. Better that it gets used instead of boiling away.”
“A little weird that he adjusted the price gauges then,” Charlotte quipped.
Ashley shrugged and Rebecca could feel her shake against her. “Maybe he was gouging at first but he seemed to have had a change of heart. Probably just slipped his mind. Things have been pretty crazy lately.”
“Fair enough I suppose,” Charlotte whispered, trying to peer past them. “I… I guess we shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth.”
Ashley nodded.
Charlotte paused for a moment, then shook her head and motioned towards the cars. “Come on, we’re already going to be late for the rendezvous.”
A dozen shuttles sat lined up in the arena’s field. They were grey boxes, utilitarian and practical with little flare to them. The only thing that distinguished one from another was a Roman Numeral that ranged from I to XII and a small piece of art stencilled onto each.
“Everyone in the Bands gets to decorate their ship,” Linda said, looking at Ashley. “And do you know what your mother wanted?”
Ashley snorted. “You’ve told me this story a thousand times. She wanted to do a pin-up girl.”
“Not just any pin-up girl,” Linda teased, “she wanted me to be the girl.”
Rebecca watched Ashley closely. Her wife seemed so calm at that moment, smiling and beaming as if she hadn’t just battered a man half to death, an hour prior. It was an eerie sight to behold, seeing how seamlessly she retained her calm, cool, and collected character.
“Everything alright, sweetie?” Charlotte asked.
Rebecca snorted.
“I know, I know,” Charlotte said. “Seems strange asking that question but you’ve been even quieter since we fueled up.”
“Just…” Rebecca sighed. “Just thinking about the field hospital is all.”
Charlotte nodded. “You know you can tell me anything, right?”
“I know mom,” Rebecca said.
“And that I’m here for you,” Charlotte added. “No matter what.”
“I understand.”
Before they could continue with their conversation a woman with a clipboard came out of one of the shuttles. She started to dictate who and what was going into each of the craft.
There were about eighty women in this field, all of them either veterans or fresh recruits for the Sacred Bands. One by one, they were instructed to board. The shuttle that Ashley and Rebecca were ushered on seemed to be filled with women around their age, likely other fresh recruits.
Inside were six rows of seats, like those on an airplane. And each row was four across.
The officer continued to list off names, filling each of the rows, one after another.
Rebecca was obviously seated next to Ashley and both of them buckled in. The rig, she was attached to, reminded her of the seats on a rollercoaster, binding her entire body to her chair. A plush material then embraced her. It was comfortable and extremely plush, like the world’s softest quilt.
“We’re finally going into space,” Rebecca said.
Ashley couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah, we are.”
“Wish it could’ve been under better circumstances,” Rebecca added.
Ashley nodded. “At the very least, it means we’re going to get a chance to kick in some alien faces when we get up there.”
Rebecca’s stomach knotted, remembering the bloodied man on the floor.
“Hell yeah!” another new recruit boasted from in front of them.
The senior officer cleared her throat, settling the rowdy rumble.
“Please ensure that you are properly strapped in,” she said. “This shuttle will be maintaining an acceleration of between two to three gravities over the course of our ascent out of the atmosphere. If you fall out of your seats, you will be smeared against the rear door and that would be incredibly unpleasant for the maintenance teams to deal with when we land.”
A rumble of laughter coursed through the craft, some of it nervous, some of it not.
Rebecca gave her rig a jostle and confirmed that it was locked firmly in place.
“Now I know for many of you, this will be your first time breaking through the atmosphere. And it’ll also be your first time rapidly switching between various levels of g-force,” the officer said. “Each seat is equipped with a sick bag and I do promise you that your future in the Bands will not be determined by whether you throw up or not. However, your future may be determined if we find vomit on the back of a chair.”
She smiled and another rumble of laughter coursed through the cabin.
“Alright folks, I’ll see you when we get up to the Themiskyra,” the officer said.
She walked over to the cockpit, opening the door and slipping inside. Once it was closed, a tension hung in the air as a dozen or so souls wondered when they were going to takeoff.
They weren’t left waiting for long before the rumble of the engines started to kick in. It began at a low din but soon grew to quite a deafening pitch.
Rebecca clenched her teeth together and clutched at the armrests, digging her fingers into the harness. Thankfully it was also padded with the same incredibly soft material of her seat.
“Three!” the officer’s voice barked through the speakers. “Two! One! And… takeoff!”
Rebecca was pressed into her seat as they lifted off of the ground. It was a little jarring without any outside view acting as an indication of their orientation.
Soon they tilted back at a ninety-degree angle and Rebecca was pressed into the soft material of her chair.
Ashley let out a laugh that sounded one part nervous and another thrilled. It was a laugh that Rebecca associated with theme park rides.
Rebecca reached over and brushed her fingers against Ashley’s. Ashley looked at her hand and took it in her own. They then smiled at one another.
Though before they could enjoy the moment for long the ship started to rumble as the engines really kicked into gear. They were climbing higher and higher, quicker and quicker.
Soon Rebecca’s body felt far heavier than usual. Her muscles were fatigued by the mere action of existing. The plush material of the chair was comforting but only to a certain point. There was only so much the softness could bear before it also turned firm and uncomfortable.
Rebecca could feel her cheeks peel back slightly and the edges quiver due to the pressure upon them. And breathing, while not impossible, became a bit more laboured.
Finally, the burn slowed and before she knew it the inverse of the situation was unfolding. Second by second, she was growing lighter until finally it felt like she weighed next to nothing at all.
The transition was jarring and she couldn’t really blame the few people who seemed to take up the offer of clutching at their sickbags. Her own stomach felt very much the same, rumbling with discomfort. Hopefully, she would learn to overcome whatever nausea she was enduring.
Rebecca looked to the side and saw the wonderment in Ashley’s eyes. Her hair floated upwards, in a chaotic sea of strands.
“We made it,” Ashley whispered.
Rebecca nodded. “We did.”
The communication speakers crackled and another officer’s voice broke through. “Welcome to Low Theban Orbit, everyone. We’re currently a little over one hundred and sixty kilometers above the surface of the planet. The temperature up here is a frigid negative three hundred and the weather is absent. We are about to burn for the Themiskyra and should be arriving in a little over three hours. This burn will be a lot easier on you. That I promise.”
The engines kicked in, pressing Rebecca into her chair. Though not to any degree more or less intense than if she were laying down on Thebes.
“Now sadly, our colonial consul has not shilled out for windows on this bucket of bolts,” the voice continued. “But if you look at the chair in front of you, you’ll get a gorgeous view of the planet from our rear-view cameras.”
Rebecca glanced to the chair in front of her, watching as the screen upon it lit up and showed a pristine picture of the planet below them. It was a beautiful blue marble with a few colourations of green upon it.
“Heard Earth has way more land,” someone upfront whispered.
Rebecca frowned, wishing that she could actually get a view from a window. But she assumed that she’d have to wait until the Themiskyra for a luxury like that.
Ashley snorted from beside her. “I’m going to get some sleep. Do you mind waking me up when we get there?”
Rebecca nodded. “Sure thing, babe.”
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