Grubs

A small gathering of people quietlysit, staring into a cracking fire they built inside the remains of a convenience store. Having only recently come together, they are all strangers each person has losty all of their memories. They are timid and leery of each other but feels safer in a group than alone. The world is a strange and scary place, especially at night.

A man sits hunched over on the check-out counter, his long, lanky hair covering his face. Like everyone else, his clothes are filthy and raggedy. He calls himself Bookbros because of the tag sewn inside of his suit coat. It doesn’t feel like his name, but, he concludes, why is it there if it’s not?

The smoke from the fire rises to the ceiling and slowly drifts out the broken storefront window. The fire casts eerie and peculiar shadows on the walls.  Nothing remains inside the store except for a few posters and signs advertising products that no one can recall. The sound of a can rolls across the sidewalk outside. All eight heads turn to look and when there’s no isn't any sound, breath a sigh of relief.

Brookbros breaks the silence, “I remember,” 

Each wide-eyed, smudged, dirty face gasps as a calliope of voices start asking questions. “What did you say?” “You remember? Remember what?” “Do you know where we came from? What happened to us?”

Lifting his head, the flames of the fire are dancing in his eyes. He sadly shakes his head. Turning to all the anxious faces, he apologizes, “I’m sorry. I don’t remember any of that.”

The man sitting in front of Brookbros adjusts his glasses, though the right lens is badly broken. “You mean you can’t help us? Then what is it you remember, huh?”

Brookbros addresses the man. “I was thinking about this coat; it’s not just a coat, it’s a suit coat. At one time, I used to wear one for work. At least I think I did. I believe that in the inside pocket, I carried a device.” A voice from the dark asks, “What kind of a device? What did it look like?” Brookbros strokes his beard and started picking at something stuck in his whiskers. “It was heavy and black. It’s rectangular, and you push a button to turn it on. Other than that, I can’t recall what it was. All I remember is that I always had it with me.”

One of the women in the group starts shouting, “Wait! Wait! I think I might have one of those in my handbag, but it’s white!” Everyone in the group begins muttering excitedly, and some even stand to see her rummage through her purse. After a minute, she shouts, “I found it! I’ve found it!” and waves it over her head for all to see. Some people sigh in amazement, others clap. 

Brookbros tucks his hair behind his ears, “May I see that, please?” The blonde lady is wearing a red checkered blouse.  Nods her head and hands it to him. Brookbros takes the device and turns it over in his hands a few times. Then he presses the side with his finger and waits. After a few seconds, the image of an apple appears. The tall man looking over Brookbros shoulder is dumbstruck, “Would you look at that!” The screen suddenly changes to a new image of numbers along with a statement to enter a passcode. Brookbros sighs, “That’s right. I remember now.” Turning to the lady, , “You need a passcode to operate the device, and I’m more than certain that you, like the rest of us, can’t remember what that is. Am I correct?”

The woman blinks her eyes as she looks to one side. “Hey! Wait a minute. I’ve got the feeling that my memory was never that good. Perhaps I’ve written the code down, and it’s also in my handbag!” She takes out her wallet and looks through the billfold section, the photos, and the coin compartment. Among the pennies and the dimes is a piece of paper with some numbers written. With a hopeful voice, she hands it to Brookbros, “Could this be it?”

Brookbros smiles. “Let’s give it a go, okay?” After entering the code, the screen changes again, and many little categories appear. Everyone cheers. “What now?” the woman asks. 

Brookbros shakes his head. "Not much, I’m afraid. Do you see this red line in the corner here? I believe that shows us how much power this device has and that it needs to be recharged soon.”

“Can we do that?” Broken Glasses asks

“No. I’m afraid not. We’d need electricity to do that, and there isn’t any. We would also need a plug to transfer the electricity to the device. See, here is where it would have to be plugged in.” Brookbros points to a small slot in the device.

Holding up a piece of cord, the red checked blouse lady raises her eyebrows and asks. “Like this?”

Broken Glasses guffaws, “What else do you have in that magical handbag of yours?” A light chuckle spreads through the group.

A young man with tattooed arms asks the woman if he can see the item in which she found the code. He takes it from her and looks through her small photo album. There are about six photos of children, a dog, and one of three ladies smiling. He points to the lady in the middle. “Do you know who she is?” The owner of the wallet stares at the photo and shakes her head. “No. I’m sorry, but I don’t recognize her.”

“It’s you!” he exclaims. You’re the lady in the middle!” She gasps as she throws her hands to her face. “No! Is that really me? ”The young man smiles. “Yes. This proves that this item belongs to you. Please, let me see if I can find some sort of identification with a name on it.” He looks through the wallet until he finds a hidden flap concealing a plastic card. “It says here that this is an Arizona driver’s license and has your picture, name, and home address! 

The poor woman’s hands shake terribly as she clutches them together. “It has my name?” she whispers.

“Yes,” the tattooed boy answers as he holds the license for her to see. “Hello, Maryellen Willison. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Maryellen bursts into tears as she throws her arms around the man’s neck. “I have a name! Maryellen! That’s my name.”

The man waves his tattooed arms in the air. “Does anyone else have one of these? If so, see if you have a driver’s license too!”

Maryellen adds, “I don’t know why I remember, but it’s called a wallet.” Two men and a young girl discover that they have licenses also. “Hey! My name’s Joe!” The other man adds, “And I’m Alexander!” Eyes tearing up, the girl lauighs and brusts out, “Britney Jones.”

The tall man, standing behind Brookbros, taps him on his shoulder. “You know, the other day, while I was looking through a car for anything useful, I saw something like that cord dangleing from the dashboard. It didn’t have a plug but fit into a hole in the dashboard. Do you think this device can be recharged with a car battery?”

Brookbros puckers his lips and raises his eyebrows. “Maybe. If we can find a good battery, we could try it. Tomorrow, take me to where you saw this cord so I can have a look.”

                                                                …

Everyone gathers around the car while Brookbors looks inside for the keys. They aren’t in the glove compartment or the armrest. Finally, pulling down the driver’s visor, the keys fall into his lap. He smiles at everyone, crosses his fingers, puts the keys into the ignition. The battery growls a few turns and stops. Brookbros repeatedly pumps the gas pedal with his foot and tries again. This time, the engine sputters a few turns before stopping.

Broken Glasses pounds the hood with his fists. “Come on, you piece of junk! Start!”

Once again, Brookbros pumps the gas and turns the key. To everynoe's relief, the engine burst into life. A great cheer rises from the group as Broken Glasses pats the hood while joking he’s sorry. Brookbros picks up the charger cord and plugs it into Maryellen’s phone. The word "charging” appears on the screen and, again everyone cheers.

Alexander shades his eyes with both hands and asks Brookbros how long it will take for the phone to be recharged. “Oh,” Brookbros responds. "At this rate, I’d say maybe twenty minutes to half an hour. We’ll have to find some gasoline to keep the car running because that’s how it charges its own battery. Meanwhile, let’s see if we can learn anything by pushing these buttons. I see you have AP news." Brookbros touches the icon and gets a message stating, “No connection found.” This same message repeats itself on many icons except Maryellen’s mail, which contains no information about the incident. The last one Brookbros pushes is the camera, revealing a close-up photo of a Jack Russell dog.

Britney awws. “He’s so cute! Is he yours?” Maryellen turns her palms up as she shrugs, “Could be?”  Brookbros pauses, “You don’t mind if I scroll through them do you, in case we find something useful?”  Maryellen doesn't protest, so Brookbros continues.

Most are photos of places she has visited until Brookbros comes across a blurry picture. It turns out to be a video. He plays it.

The video begins with Maryellen at a street fair ora similar event. There are food vendors and booths with jewelry and bobbles. Suddenly, there is a bright flash of lightand the screen goes black! When the scene returns, people are running and screaming. The air is full of smoke, and more explosions can be heard in the background. Maryellen is shouting, “Jack! Jack, get the kids!” At this point the video ends.

Everyone stands in mute silence until Maryellen starts wailing and collapses to her knees. “Kids! I told Jack to get the kids! Oh, good God, what has happened to them? My children, what has happened to my children?” The group is frozen in disbelief as memories start to surface.

An alien surveillance ship is orbiting the Earth. The communications officer arrives on the main deck. “Captain! We have just discovered an electrical signal on the planet’s surface.” 

The Captain, a being with flat facial features but with large golden eyes, turns to face the officer. “A signal, you say? Location?"

 The officer clicks his heels and bows. “Just below our present location, Sir.” 

The Captain ponders, “Is it powerful?” 

“No, not at all.” The officer replies. 

“Very good, thank you, Commander. You’re dismissed.

"Begging your patiece, Sir, but I thought the gas we released was suppost to leave them in a state of amnesia. Shouldn't they have forgotten how to make electrcity?"

The Captain gives the communication officer a side glance, " perhaps they where partically protected some how. What does it matter? Dismissed."  He then turns his attention to his chief engineer, "Ensign Ke, prepare a bolt of energy to be sent to the Earth’s surface in an area say one acre in width with the signal centered in the middle. We were sent here to clear and transform this planet into a beautiful garden to feed our people back home. We can’t have it ruined by slugs now, can we? Ready the beam.”

Resting his chin in the palm of his hand, the Captain watches the ensign turn dials and adjust sliders, then, waits for the command. The Captain yawns and says, “Fire.”  A tremor runs through the ship when the attack is executed. The Captain smiles as he repeats, “Slugs.”