Free Commodity by Shay Savage Page A

says.  “This hasn’t been an invasion by anyone close by.”
    “What do you mean ‘close by’?”  Ryan grabs the bottle of scotch and opens it as Caesar hands him a couple of red plastic cups.
    “This wasn’t some terrorist group.  They don’t have that kind of firepower.  They couldn’t have taken out one city like that, and this goes way beyond Atlanta.”
    “What was it then?” I ask.
    “There’s really only one plausible answer,” Falk says slowly.
    I look back and forth between him and Caesar, but neither offers any further explanation.  They’re being obtuse, and it’s pissing me off, and I finally snap at them both.
    “Whatever the hell you two are thinking, spit it out!”  I address them both, but my eyes are on Falk.
    “Alien invasion,” he says.
    “Alien?” I repeat.  “You mean, like aliens from outer space?”
    He nods, and I laugh out loud, but everyone just looks at me until I stop.
    “Are you serious?”  He can’t be.  The whole idea is ludicrous.
    “You have a better idea?”
    “Anything but that!”
    “It’s the only thing that fits what we know,” Caesar says.  “The most destructive force we have is nukes.  If Atlanta had been nuked, it would have taken everyone with it, not just men.  There’s no explanation for the women and children disappearing.”
    “Dogs, too,” I add.  “Maybe cats.”
    “I hadn’t thought about it,” Caesar says, “but you’re right.  I haven’t seen a single dog or cat.”
    “Humans don’t have the kind of technology to do something like this,” Falk says as he scratches the back of his head.  “There’s nothing that kills exposed men and evaporates women, children, and domestic animals.”
    “So your first thought is little green men?” Ryan questions.  “Isn’t there some other possibility?”
    “You think the plants have risen up, pissed about the ozone layer?” Beck joins the circle between Caesar and Ryan.
    “There weren’t any spaceships.”  I point this out in hopes of another idea coming into someone’s head.
    “If they were up far enough, we wouldn’t have seen them,” Caesar says.  “Whatever happened wasn’t the result of technology that comes from here.  If it’s not from here, that makes it extraterrestrial.”
    “There could be something we don’t know about,” I say.  “A secret weapon.”
    “A weapon that makes women and children disappear?  What year do you think you live in?”  Beck snickers.
    Everyone is silent for a few minutes, sipping their scotch and staring at the fire.
    “What do they want?” I ask.
    “My best guess,” Caesar says, “it that they’re here for you.”
    I grasp my biceps with my hands and suck in a breath.
    “Let go of me!  What do you want?”
    “We want you, baby.  We’re here for you!”
    “Hannah.”  Falk’s voice is in my ear and his hand is on my leg.  “Caesar’s speaking figuratively.”
    “Wha-what?”
    “I meant for women in general,” Caesar says.  “And children, apparently.  That’s what they took, so I assume that’s what they’re here for.”
    “Not you specifically,” Falk says, clarifying.
    “So, you both think that some green, bug-eyed monsters came down and took all the women?  Am I supposed to believe that?”  Ryan huffs a laugh out his nose and leans back to finish his drink.
    “It makes sense.”  Beck grabs the bottle of scotch.  He fills one of the plastic cups and takes a big gulp.  “But how come she’s still here, and are there any other women left?”
    “It took a day just to find you three,” Falk says.  “There are others out there, and some of them are bound to be women or children.  Seems like being underground kept all of us safe.  There have to have been others in similar shelters.”
    “This is ridiculous,” I say softly.
    “Which part of it?” Falk asks.
    “All of it.”
    “I’m still waiting for your better explanation.”  He raises his eyebrows at me.
    “I