Free Commodity by Shay Savage Page B

can’t talk about this.”  I stand up and hold my hand out for Falk’s flashlight.  “I’m going to sleep.  You all can continue to talk nonsense if you want.  Maybe we’ll find someone tomorrow—maybe a whole National Guard unit is right around the corner.”
    Falk hands me the flashlight without another word, and I stomp to the tent.
    Aliens.  How fucking insane is that?
    I kick my shoes off outside the tent and pull back the flap to duck inside.  I use the flashlight to look around, seeing the two sleeping bags laid out side-by-side, a small cooler in the corner, and a battery powered lantern nearby.  I turn the lantern on and switch off the flashlight.
    I can still hear mumbled talking outside but try to ignore it as best I can.  I pull off my sweats and socks and shove my legs into the sleeping bag.  The sleeping bag feels cold against my bare skin, but the material is that funky fabric that’s supposed to hold your body heat, so I’m sure it will warm up soon.
      I sit with my head in my hands, rubbing at my eyes.  I know I told Falk I was going to keep it together, but I think I’m allowed a little bit of a private breakdown.
    What if he’s right?
    If it is an alien invasion, Washington, D.C. would certainly have been hit.  Is there any point in going there now?
    There’s a rustle near the door of the tent, and I almost expect to see a grey-green creature with big eyes and an egg-shaped head come through the flap, but it’s only Falk.
    “Didn’t mean to startle you,” he says.
    “You didn’t,” I lie.  I pull the sleeping bag up a little farther.
    Falk steps over me to sit on the sleeping bag at the back of the tent.  He pulls off his socks and shirt before crawling inside, and I stare at the tent door to avoid looking at his chest.  I’m very aware of how small the tent is and how close Falk’s body is to mine as he lies down beside me.
    “Should I turn off the light?” I ask quietly.
    “Yes.  Don’t want to waste batteries.”
    I nod and push the button that shuts off the lantern.  I scoot farther into the sleeping bag and pull it up to my chin as I lie down.  I can hear the fire crackling outside and my own breathing, but that’s it.
    “Do you really believe all that?” I ask into the darkness.  “All that shit about aliens?”
    “I don’t have a better theory.”
    “Do you think they’re going to come back?”
    “Hard to speculate,” he says.  “If they came here for women and children…well, they got those.  If that’s all they wanted, they don’t have a reason to come back.  If that was just the first wave of an attack…”
    His voice trails off, and I think about what he’s saying.  Is it possible?  If not aliens, then what?  Caesar was right—we don’t have the kind of technology that explains what happened.
    “I felt something,” I say quietly.  “I felt something when we were in the tunnel by the train—right before things started collapsing.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “There was a…a sound.  Did you hear it?  It was really low pitched.  It hurt my ears.”
    “Yeah, I heard it.”
    “When I heard that sound, it felt like…like I was being lifted off the ground.  When the sound stopped, that’s when I fell.”
    Falk is quiet for a minute.
    “That’s when they took the others,” he says finally.  “You were too far underground for them to get to you, but you could still feel it.”
    “I don’t know…maybe.  I can’t wrap my head around all of this, Falk.  I was prepared to talk to the government about what Hudson was doing.  I wasn’t prepared for…for whatever the hell is going on here.”
    “I thought you might be relieved you don’t have to testify,” Falk says.
    “Yeah, well…”  I let out a long breath and chuckle to myself.  “I have to admit, I wasn’t looking forward to it.  With all the threats, I really didn’t think I would make it all the way to the Pentagon to even give my