Earth's Hell Chronicles 2

Minda had a secret. One that would surely get them killed if ever discovered. For this reason, she always packed their supplies up in the tattered backpack and carried it with them. She could not afford to leave it behind in case their little hole in the wall home was raided. Some things were priceless in this tattered world. With everything packed and on her, she felt safer and better prepared.

Just in case her secret was found out. Just in case they had to run for their lives.

Even in the darkness of the tunnels, Minda dared not dig it out of her pack. Instead, she crouched over her daughter as they crawled the last stretch of tunnel to their living quarters. The hard dirt dug into her palms and she could feel every rock through her tattered shoes. They hugged the tunnel wall tightly and paused often to listen. Neither dared speak. For it was later then their usual return home from the watering hole.

And they were not alone.

Echoes of movement rolled off the curved tunnel walls, amplified and deceiving; it was almost impossible to tell how close or far something might be. Tension, heavy as the humid water cavern so far behind them, clung sickeningly in the air. Something felt off. Nothing was right about tonight. Heart in her throat, Minda nudged Maddie on.

Somewhere behind them, near the watering hole, a guttural scream reached their ears. Panicked, Maddie fell down and then tried to scramble up to run. Mind just as numb with fear, Minda still managed to grab hold of Maddie's foot and stop her. It would do no good to get separated now for the chances of survival diminished greatly, especially that of a child.

Clambering up and over Maddie, She nudged her forward again. They crawled up and around a slope and took the small off chute to the right. This little tunnel, for all intents and purpose, looked like a dead end. But looks can be deceiving. For here lay the hidden entrance to their home.

Minda felt along the hardened dirt until she grasped the rusted lever. She turned it hard and pulled. A low grating sound broke the stillness as she pulled the rusted framework of a car door out just far enough to reveal a hole in the wall.

Their home.

They squeezed past the makeshift door and crawled into the cramped space. Minda pulled the door shut behind them. Guided by feel and long practice, She found the rusted pole and wedged in through part of the metal framework. The pole was long enough to stick out across the inside wall and made for a secure way to lock them in for the night. The layers of baked dirt on the outer shell of the old car door camouflaged and protected their home as well.

Only then did Minda dare unpack their pack and pull out the wind up flashlight. The bright glare of light sprung forth and lit up their little home. Both exhaled pent up breath and relaxed. Here, they could unwind and lock away some of the world they existed in.

Here, light fought the dark gloom in the form of a simple wind up flashlight. Such technology was priceless and rare. In a world laid to waste, people would fight or kill for this and Minda knew it.

Minda flashed the light around then propped it up against the dirt wall. She busily unpacked their belongings so they could settle for the night. She pulled out their threadbare throw and Maddie spread it out and flopped on it. Minda passed the water and plastic container over to Maddie next.

"Mommy, can I have some water?" she asked, already knowing the answer. Minda smiled in answer. If nothing else, at least her daughter still had manners in this reality they lived in. She sat back on her heels and took in the scene before her.

Maddie sprawled on their little blanket and stretched out luxuriously, looked and acted like any young kid. She took a drink of water, then opened up the plastic container. Little fingers pulled off a piece fluorescent moss then skillfully snagged a beetle before wrapping it all up like burrito. She popped the whole thing into her mouth and chewed thoughtfully.

Minda sifted through the rest of their supplies, part out of habit and part for comfort. The last of their thread and one lone needle, a few scraps of cloth, bits of wood, and pieces of rusted metal brushed her fingertips and reassured her. But it was the small rolled up bit of cloth in the side pocket that she stressed about the most. Cushioned inside was her SD card from her phone.

She had long ago tossed the phone but kept the SD card out of wild hopes of ever recovering the contents. Memories and a million pictures from another lifetime so long ago were saved. Proof that the world held happiness in the images of a smiling child. Of flowers and apple trees and green grass. Her heart contracted painfully at the memories.

Mind relieved, she repacked their supplies before flopping down next to Maddie. The two ate their meal of moss and grubs in silence. Minda took a sip of water and glanced around their home. It was a small enclosure, barely big enough for them but it was enough. Their blanket spread against the back wall of the small enclosure. Off to the right of the entrance was a dug out hole with a pile of dirt that served as a primitive toilet.

Minda and Maddie spent hours digging out that hole but it afforded them the ability to have some sort of sanitary existence. And it mattered. Little things, like being able to pee and poop in the safety of their home, could make or break a person.

Big things, like light, could make or break one's humanity.

Minda saved the last chunk of moss for breakfast and repacked it and the water back into the pack. She kept the pack close by and ready at all times.

By the light of the flashlight, the two got ready for bed and settled down for the long night. Though it was still hot and stuffy, it felt more comfortable at night, almost cozy, Minda thought as she wrapped her body protectively around her daughter and drifted off to sleep.

Far in the deepest recesses of her mind, the uneasiness of the night mixed with memories of the beginning and she dreamt.

"Mommy, talk Romeo," Maddie urged from the backseat. Minda glanced in the rearview mirror at her laughing red headed little girl. They had just gone shopping in Salem and were heading home.

"Ha Ha! I am going to take over the world!!" Minda mimicked pretending to be Romeo. Her little four year old was all about the PJ Masks these days.

"Oh no your not! I will stop you!" came the warrior cry from the backseat. Maddie giggled as she waved Owlette around in the air. "Look Mommy! She's flying!"

Minda glanced again in the rearview mirror. A flash caught her eye. Strange, she thought as she watched the silver object gliding through the sky. She, as well as other cars slowed.

"What the hell?" she muttered. Behind them, the object disappeared. A moment later, the blast shook the car and a huge plume of smoke could be seen behind them. Shocked, Minda yanked the car off the road. Looking up she saw more of the little silver objects gliding through the air.

Terror ripped through her as she realized that they were missiles. Shit!

Time slowed. Minda watched as cars screech and crash around her. Her daughter's high piercing screams echoed in the background. Pillars of smoke filled the sky, blast vibrations split the air and rocked the car. Nearly paralyzed in fear, Minda saw the larger missile cruising through the air northbound.

"Oh God!! No!!" she cried and jerked herself into action. Instinct told her what the big bomb was. They had no time, no time at all. She scrambled out of her seat and to the back. Yanking on the car seat buckles, she freed Maddie then jumped out of the car. She picked Maddie up and began running. Running and stumbling, she searched frantically for shelter. Maddie clung to her mother and screamed in her ear.

She saw the colvert to the left of them and dove in. Hunkering down she covered her daughter with her body as the world around them tore itself apart.

Screams still echoed when she felt someone shaking her awake. Disoriented between memories and reality, it took Minda a moment to realize Maddie was shaking her awake. Fully awake, she jerked into a sitting position. the room was dark and the flashlight off. Maddie whimpered and clutched at her mother.

"Shhh...," Minda gathered her child into her arms and held her tightly as she tried to grasp what was going on. Fighting and screams echoed on the other side of wall. Heart hammering in her chest, she managed to pry Maddie's hands loose and tuck her into the corner.

"Don't move, stay quiet," she warned. A high wailing sound, closer this time, drowned out Maddie's whimpers. Minda crawled to the door entrance and checked to make sure the door was holding. She pressed an ear against the metal frame and listened. Something thudded against the framework on the other side and Minda jumped back. The door held.

Men's voices, angry and loud, could be heard. Minda pressed her ear to the framework again. The muffled voices faded as the men moved further away. It was quiet for a moment before a faint sound reached Minda's ears. A low keening whistle and the high pitched cry of a child jolted Minda into action.

The echoes of angry voices started to grow again. The men were coming back! And they were after whatever was on the other side of their door.

"Mommy!" Maddie cried, "help them." The distressed sounds of a child could still be heard. Minda yanked the locking pole out of place then pushed the door open. The child on the other side shrieked in terror.

"Hush, I am trying to help you," Minda whispered urgently. She grabbed blindly and felt a small body. She pulled the petrified child to her and felt little fingers grasping at her.

"Mama, help my mama!' she cried. The sounds of the angry men grew louder and she could tell that they were closing in. Minda shoved the child inside then felt along until she came across the body of the mother. With a strength born of desperation and fear, she hauled the woman inside and closed the door. She barely had time to place the metal pole and lock them in before the men were upon them.

She crawled backward toward the others and urgently shushed them. Clinging to each other the women and children listened for the sounds of the door being pried away. For several long minutes, the sounds of men could be heard before slowly fading away. Still clinging to each other, they kept listening until only the sounds of their own ragged breathing were heard.

Minda untangled herself from the others and felt around until she found the flashlight. Trying to be quiet, she wound up the flashlight then turned it on. Shocked surprise greeted her as she took in the scene before her. Maddie's face bleached of all color and terror filled eyes. The tiny little girl with black hair and black eyes reflected Maddie's expression. Panting with exhaustion and fear, the little girl clung to her hybrid mother.

The hybrid flinched at the light but kept her gaze on Minda. She wrapped her arms around her little black haired daughter protectively. Blackened eyes pleaded silently and Minda could see the pain and worry reflected there. Minda felt her reality shift as her heart broke for the hybrid and her child.

"Okay, it's okay," Minda soothed quietly.

She steadied herself and crawled closer. The hybrid hugged her child closer and shifted protectively in front of both children. She whistled softly and the her daughter spoke up.

"Please don't hurt us!"

"We are not going to harm you," Minda said. Something had changed here and she felt like all that they had ever been told about the hybrids was wrong. "Your safe here, we will help you" she reassured.

The hybrid sagged in relief. A look of exhaustion and pain flashed in her dark eyes. Minda noticed blood on the hybrids frayed shirt and realized that she was injured. She jumped into action.

"Maddie, take the flashlight for a moment," she instructed her daughter. Minda edged closer to the other woman and rested a warm hand on her arm.

"Please, let me help you" she urged the hybrid over to their sleeping blanket. The little black haired girl followed, emitting small distressed noises. It occured to Minda that the little girl was making the same whistling and keening sounds that she was used to hearing the hybrids make. Yet the girl could speak English as well. Mystified, she decided that was a mystery for another time.

"Sweetie," she addressed the little girl, "I'm going to look at your mama and see her owies, ok? Why don't you sit over there with my daughter Maddie."

The little girl hesitated but then moved to sit near Maddie. The hybrid carefully lowered herself to the blanket but kept a hand stretched toward her child. Minda smiled for she would have acted the same way.

Minda told Maddie to shine the light better on the hybrid as she helped the woman get her shirt off. Minda gasped.

The wound across the woman's shoulder was jagged and bleeding but it didn't appear lifethreatenting. At least not yet. The chances of bleeding to death were slim now that Minda assessed the wound. However, the prevalence of infection in their primitive lifestyle remained high. Great care in cleaning and bandaging the wound would help.

She grabbed the backpack and pulled out the water canister and the cleanest looking cloth she could find. The hybrid whistled in concern and started to shake her head.

"Mama doesn't want you to waste the water on her," the little black haired girl said. Distressed at seeing her mother injured, she clung to Maddie. Maddie wrapped her arms around her and held her gently.

"We have to clean that wound so you don't get sick" Minda said. "Please, we will make this work but I can't do it without you." She dampened the cloth and reached for the hybrids shoulder. The hybrid closed her eyes and let Minda cleanse and dress the wound. Minda concentrated the task at hand but couldn't help notice details about the hybrid as she worked.

From their brief encounters in the past combined with what the normals had told them about the hybrids, Minda never paused to think that they were still human. It seemed like the hybrids were the enemy and the normals the victims. Minda never thought to think different and had taken evasive action whenever she and Maddie came across a hybrid.

She glanced at the woman's body and cringed. That she had been human was clear. That she had endured extensive injury to her entire body as well as unimaginable pain was made clear from the amount of scarring to her body. Most of her skin was thick and leathery and raised. Almost like layer upon layer of scar tissue.

Minda had thought that the woman had no breasts until she realized that they had melted into the rest of her skin. A gleam of silver on the hybrids chest caught her eye. Leaning closer, Minda inhaled sharply. The gleam of silver had once been a necklace but looked like it too had been molded onto her body. Between the thick keloidal scars and ridges, the remains of a heart pendant shown garishly on the woman's chest.

"My God! What happened to you?" She gasped.

The hybrid raised her arm and gently patted Minda's cheek. Minda took in the blunted misshapen hand with fingers fused together and couldn't begin to fathom how the hybrid had lived through such pain and injury. The hybrid whistled softly through her misshapen mouth. She started to raise up.

"No! just rest. You need to rest, please" Minda begged. She found another dry cloth and wrapped the woman's upper arm the best that she could. Minda helped the hybrid pull on her shirt then urged her down again. Turning, Minda caught her daughters eye. Maddie looked like she was about to cry. She still held the little black haired girl closely. Minda gestured for the girls to come closer then offered the small girl some water.

The little girl took a big swig then looked like she was going to get sick.

"Easy now'" Minda cautioned. "Small sips at a time, ok?" she smiled. "What is your name?" she asked the girl.

"Shea," she said shyly. "That's my mama" she added gesturing to the hybrid.

" I am Minda and this is my daughter Maddie," Minda introduced themselves. "What is your mama's name?" she asked.

"Sue, I think," Shea replied and the hybrid nodded and whistled. Minda offered the water to Sue and she took a gargled drink before passing the water container back. Her eyes sagged closed and Minda could tell she was overcome with relief and overwhelming fatigue. Shea crawled over and lay down next to her mother.

"I think we all need to rest from the looks of it" Minda observed. "Let's sleep if we can and figure out things later." Maddie nodded and curled up next to Shea. Minda packed up the water and crawled over to check the door. Making sure it held tightly, she paused and pressed an ear to the door. Hearing nothing, she crawled back to the others and lay down on the edge of the small blanket.

Winding up their flashlight, she propped herself up for guard duty. Glancing over, she saw the others fast asleep. Poor things, all of them, she thought. No matter, she had much to think about. Everything she thought she knew about their world had shifted yet again.

Morning came in the presence of light creeping through the cracked fissure by their sanitary hole. Though barely light, the small space heated up noticeably. Minda rubbed gummy eyes and stretched. She felt ancient. She heard the others stirring and waited.

Sue emitted a low whistling groan before gray eyelids opened. Ebony eyes fixed on Minda before shifting to check on the girls. Both girls slumbered on as they held each other. Sue relaxed and looked at Minda again. Minda smiled and then got out the water canister. She offered it to the hybrid.

"Here, take a drink," she urged. Sue shifted to a sitting position and accepted the offer. She whistled appreciatively as she passed it back. Minda crawled over to wake the girls. Both awoke with a start but calmed at the sight of their mothers.

Minda passed the water around and set out the rest of last nights moss to share. It was not enough, she knew for four people, but it was all they had. They took turns using the sanitary hole and Minda checked on the other woman's wound. The dressing remained dry and she dared not remove or expose the wound until she had to.

Minda watched the others as they got ready for the day. She could see dark bruises on both the mother and child. Anger coursed through her at the suffering mother and child had been through at the hands of the normals.

Suffering and pain because they were different. Because they were hybrids.

Shea had all the appearances of a normal except for the eyes. The blackened eyes as if the pupils had expanded to swallow even the sclera. The child's skin had thickened rubbery feeling areas along her bony prominences.

Minda learned that Sue had been exposed to radiation burns to some extent but it had been the gas bombs that corroded and melted her skin. Appalled, Minda shook at the thought of such an abomination. Bad enough the destruction a nuclear bomb could do, but gas bombs that melted skin. It must have been like liquid fire, she thought.

Minda shook herself from such horrors and forced herself to the here and now. She glanced at the level of water left then at the brightening beam of sunlight through the cracked dirt ceiling. Hard choices were coming and her stomach knotted at the thought. She whispered for the others to gather near.

"Listen, we need water and food," Minda began. "It's going to take a couple trips to get enough for all of us."

Sue whistled and cooed in distress and worry echoed on both the girls expressions.

"Mommy, we can leave early and make a trip later" Maddie said, "it wasn't so bad last night." But her eyes glimmered remembered fear. Minda shook her head.

"No!" I will not risk that." She said. "I have a plan, for at least the next couple of days, but it's not going to be easy." she warned. She would make the trek to the watering hole alone. This way, she could move faster and make more trips. Maddie would stay back with Sue and Shea.

Minda had never left Maddie behind. It scared her shitless at the thought but she knew she had to trust the other woman to care for the children. The little room would be hot but thankfully was limited to minimal sun rays beaming through from the surface. The drawback was not enough water storage containers. They needed to be very creative to survive.

No one liked the plan but no other ideas surfaced. Minda emptied out the pack of everything but the water canister. She poured water into the battered plastic food container. Maddie and Shea used the rusted pieces of metal to dig out a shallow hole. Covering the bottom with the last bit of cloth, Minda poured as much water as she dared into the hole. It left her with very little to drink for the journey to the watering hole.

With hopes and prayers, Minda gave one last look around. She hugged Maddie and smiled reassuringly to the others. Minda told her daughter that she loved her, and, as she cracked open the door, prayed that it wasn't the last time Maddie would ever hear those words from her again.

As the concealed door to their home shut and locked behind her, Minda set out at a steady pace. More determined than ever, she knew she would do what it took to make sure they survived. All of them.

The race to the watering trek had begun.