Counter Attack

# 2

"How did you get it?" Our commander, Ern Silvestre's asked. The tiredness in his eyes covered a much deeper sadness, the same sorrow that ate at our souls since the Droks arrived. The hardship we endured left its mark on him. Nonetheless, he towered above us with his bulky figure.

He was sizing up the container we had laid down on the floor. Mates gathered around us. There were not many of us left, just a bunch of dirty, tired and desperate human beings trying to survive the apocalypse. There were other groups in the city, made up of the same futureless people.

"We caught two Droks in a trap," Ethan said. "Hard to kill those bastards."

"How did you penetrate the armor?" Silvestre asked.

"Collapsed a whole building on them," I replied.

"Good work." Silvestre patted our shoulders. "Let's see what we've got."

It wasn't easy to open the container, as the lock was designed for the Drok's armored hand. After several attempts, and using a crowbar, the lid finally came off. Inside lay five silver-colored tanks, about a liter each. Ethan pulled one out and shook it. We could hear liquid splashing inside.

"Any idea what the hell it is?" Ethan asked.

Silvestre nodded. "Future-telling water."

My gaze must have looked dumb, because he added, "Stupid name, but an interesting substance. Some people have visions of future events after drinking it.

"You're joking, right?" Ethan didn't believe him any more than I did.

Silvestre nodded towards the ceiling and said, "There is shit out there in the universe we have no idea about." He took the tank from Ethan and turned it over, examining the smooth surface. "Anyway, I saw someone drinking this and telling of things that happened afterwards just as he had said they would. The eggheads suspect that the Droks use it to predict our military movements and attacks. This is how they always know what we are up to. It works for some humans, too."

A skinny guy named Luke said, "Maybe we can give it a try."

"Nah," Silvestre shook his head. "It doesn't work like that. If you drink it, you'll puke all over the place, then you'll see crazy visions that have nothing to do with the future. Only a few people can use it properly. Don't ask me why."

"Must be because of the difference in our biology." Another guy, called Dan Romta, blinked. Since he had lost his glasses, he could barely see farther than the end of his arm. "The human genome has not been mapped entirely and there are an awful lot of grey areas, especially factoring in the effect of alien substances on human bodies."

Dan must have been some kind of geek in his former life, from the way he was talking.

"Then it's useless." Ethan's voice held resignation.

"Maybe not," Silvestre said. "I know someone who can help us out."

He turned to me. "Peet, you know where Drake's unit is." I nodded. Colonel Drake commanded a somewhat larger group of soldiers north of us. I had been sent to their foxhole a few times to exchange intel, as communication devices didn't work anymore.

"Take one tank," Silvestre instructed me. "Give it to Drake and tell him I want Yoshiko to look into the damn future and find something useful."

"Yes, sir," I responded, grabbing a tank of liquid.