Elizabeth knew something was off as they ate their breakfast of cold toaster pastries and dry cereal. There was milk in the refrigerator but it had come down to room temperature and they didn't trust it. He was staring out the window and hadn't said much to her, only answering if she asked him a question.
"So what's the next move? We haven't talked about what we're going to do yet." She asked, but he just took another handful of cereal from the bag. "Hey, Connor, what's going on?"
"Sorry, I was just thinking. I didn't really sleep much last night. What did you say?"
"What's the next move? What are we going to do now?" Liz said and rolled her eyes. "Where is your head? I need you here with me."
"Yeah, sorry, I know. I was thinking."
"And?"
"And I'm not sure yet. We need to be smart. One mistake and it's over for us." He said and stood up from the table. "I don't know why you're treating me like the leader, we're probably the same age. Same experience level fighting these things. You've seen what they're like. What do you wanna do?" Connor said, his voice raising halfway through.
"I want to kill fucking aliens. You've killed a lot of them. Show me how."
"I've been lucky and I've known when to run. I've taken shots at them when they were vulnerable and ran away before they could catch me. That's it, but they're getting smarter. When I shot Vigas, the wounded one that I captured, he wasn't my target. They were starting to be careful and didn't want to go in the open. I missed the first shot and hit him with the second one because he was the only one still out there."
"Okay, so we need to catch them when they're not ready, now we're getting somewhere. Do you want to go to the city?" Liz asked. She started taking her dishes to the sink and then stopped, wondering what the point was. The world had ended. She could just smash the dishes on the floor and it wouldn't matter. Connor looked at her curiously.
The bowl shattered on the floor and she smiled the biggest smile that her face could handle.
"It doesn't fucking matter Connor. Who cares? They're gone and they're never coming back."
He cocked his head sideways and laughed before throwing his glass of tepid water against the wall. "Fuck it!" He laughed even harder. It was a manic laugh but it still felt good. Glass shattered against the kitchen sink and then the floor in front of the oven. Tears welled up in Elizabeth's eyes but she wasn't even sure why. She wasn't sad, but she wasn't really happy either, she was so confused. She dumped the tray of forks and spoons and then turned around to find Connor right behind her.
She grabbed him into a hug before she realized what she had done but he didn't fight her. He didn't pull away. He just hugged her against his chest for several long heartbeats and she could feel her shoulder absorbing his tears just as his dirty brown jacket accepted her own.
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"Okay, one more time. Tell me what you're supposed to do." Connor said as he pointed to her place in the dirt diagram he had drawn with his stick.
"We wait until dark. I'll be sitting here on the rocks, watching over this spot where the road turns. You're going to be right behind the guardrail here." She pointed to the location in the dirt where he was supposed to hide. If a patrol comes by, on foot, you're going to pop the old man's road flare with your string. They'll turn to look at it, and we start shooting." Liz said proudly.
"Yes. Four or less. If there's more than four, we let them pass. Only shoot if they see you, but they wont."
He could only see her teeth when she smiled, the rest of her body was covered in the natural vegetation from the creek bank. Connor had carved up most of the clothing in the old man's closet to create strips of brown and green fabric and stapled it to the winter coat's that he found.
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After he finished with that, he went outside and cut several pounds of grass and gathered dead leaves to staple and weave into the fabric strips. Some mud streaked on their faces and they were invisible to the untrained eye. It had cost them a full day but a day really meant nothing to them now. Every day was both a gift and meaningless at the same time. Time had stopped when the Sharlah invaded.
"Listen. The game only ends if they catch us. We hit hard and we get out. You've seen what their weapons do and if their weapons don't get you, their teeth will. We are not looking for a fight."
"I know. Take them down and run. We rally back here at the house if we get separated." Liz said and shook her head in agreement.
"Right. I don't care how long it takes you to get here, don't rush. If you need to hide out somewhere for a few hours or even a day, do it. I won't leave you." Connor said and touched his forehead to hers. "Let's go, it's starting to get dark."
The ambush location was only a fifteen minute walk from their safehouse but it was far enough that they could rally and move to a safer place before the enemy caught up to them. Connor tucked himself away and did his best to blend in to his surroundings. In the darkness he couldn't tell if the colors matched but he hoped that the Sharlah wouldn't be able to tell the difference either.
He couldn't see Liz from his position and that was a good thing. He pictured her laying in the leaves and other debris under the rock formation and trying to find him in her scope. This was her chance to kill him, but he was starting to trust her. That hug in the kitchen had meaning behind it. It felt real.
Several hours passed and every spot that his body touched the ground was aching. He needed to stand up and stretch but that could mean suicide if a patrol was just around the bend and closing. He put his head down and closed his eyes, opting to just listen and think about something else.
I hope she's awake. It must be 11:00 by now.
The trees turned red. Connor's head jolted back up and he searched for the source of the light. He could hear it now, a low rumbling sound coming from up the hill and around the bend. It was a truck or APC. Connor gripped the string that would pop the road flare if he tugged on it in one hand and his shotgun in the other.
If she's not awake, she will be soon.
The red light bathed the area and he started to hear voices. They were almost to him now. He couldn't make out what the Sharlah were saying but it sounded casual. Relaxed. As the vehicle rounded the bend he could see that it was an APC, Armored Personnel Carrier. There was a mounted gun on top with a Sharlah trooper keeping watch and a driver down below. Three more walked behind it.
That's five. That's too many. Let them pass Liz.
As the patrol drew even with him, he could feel his heart thundering in his chest. He could hear them clearly now, the translator digging it's metal fangs into his brain. They were talking about turning back, the uphill climb seeming more and more of a chore the further they descended down the old country road.
Let them pass Liz, and I'll pop the flare when they come back up. They're going to be exhausted.
She did. She was either following the plan or she had fallen asleep. The Sharlah passed without incident, bringing back the aches and pains of waiting. Connor risked a quick moment to stretch and rose to his feet. The brisk night air filtered in through his hood and cooled the mud caked onto his face. The stretch was one of the best that he had ever felt and he hoped that Liz was doing the same.
The red light came back forty five minutes later and his heart felt like it was trying to break out and escape. It was the first time that he had made contact with the Sharlah from close range unless he counted sneaking up on the sleeping Vigas. They weren't talking this time, all he could hear was their footsteps dragging on the pavement. He risked a grin. It was the grin of a predator that spotted a sure thing. He only needed to eliminate the four who could hurt him, the driver would probably try to flee.
When they had just reached his position, Connor ripped the line and the rear of their patrol lit up with blinding red light. Connor lept out of his position with adrenaline fueled hate but the first shot came from Liz. The Sharlah in the turret screamed and grabbed it's eyes with both hands as Connor unleashed the 12 guage with a mixture of buckshot and slugs.
He fired on semi automatic as fast as he could pull the trigger and sent eight rounds at the confused troopers in the rear. All three of them sprawled out on the road as the driver floored it in reverse and coincidentally crushed the downed Sharlah behind him. The APC rocked as it ran over the armored bodies of his comrades and blasted through the guardrail like it was paper.
It rolled over the hill, bouncing off of several trees but not stopping until it finally flipped over and skidded to a stop on it's roof. That was it, it was time to go. Connor wanted to finish the job. He wanted to stick the barrel of his shotgun through the driver's slit and empty it until the screams stopped but it was time to go. This was how they stayed alive. He would meet Elizabeth back at the house and move on to a new location. He smiled up at her, knowing that she couldn't see him. She did good. She was made of something tougher than the glass that they shattered that morning.