Prowlers

Part 6

I have watched the sun come up more times than I can count. Whether it was heading back from a night mission or a long boring guard shift, it was always a welcome sight. Now the dim blue feels even more like a blessing.

I've had to reload my mags, after going around the house recovering them. Most of the windows have been blasted out. For our efforts, the enemy has been left battered, their armor cracked and dented. With enough time, we may be able to break through and kill the things that are encased in those metal suits.

"Is it over?" Jerry wonders.

"I think so, but we can't let our guard down," Daniel says.

"I agree, we should still keep ready. But what makes you think that it is over?"

"We talked about how they are probably nocturnal. I think that we can be pretty sure of that now. Their eyes and all. And besides, paranormal things tend to happen at night."

"That is less than reassuring."

"We aren't exactly in known territory, here."

"Has anything like this happened before? People actually fighting aliens?" he pauses briefly, "Or whatever those things are."

"There was one incident. The Kelly–Hopkinsville goblin encounter"

"Goblins?" Jerry says.

"Well, that is what they were called. But most people think that they were aliens, that is, unless they believe that it is a hoax."

"Well, what happened?"

"They laid siege to a farmhouse. The residents fought with them but couldn't seem to kill them. It was as if they were armored. The attackers eventually left. The cops came, found little evidence. The academics mocked them, called them stupid rednecks. You know, the usual."

In the absence of adrenaline and with the burden of a long night aiding it, the weight of the vest has appeared. The blood loss can't be helping, either.

"How many of them do you think that there are?" Daniel asks.

I ponder it for a second, "At least four."

Jerry thinks it over, "By the end, I never saw one that wasn't hurt, or its suit damaged. I think that it is four or so."

I find myself looking at the floor, "We can't escape. Can't call for help. We are on our own."

"Come on," Jerry shouts, "it's not like we are on the surface of the moon out here!"

"We are at least twenty miles from a city. Anyone that is closer will just as soon shoot us for jumping their gate if we try to get help from them. Even if it is daytime, if you think that those things aren't watching us, aren't ready to pounce when we start down the road, then you are crazy."

This statement causes his face to sour. He rests his hands on the back of the sofa, stares downward. Daniel goes to the backdoor, stares out the window.

"Do you think that she will get worried when I don't call her, come back here?"

"She will definitely get worried, but I doubt that she will come back here. Do you ever lose cell coverage?"

"Sometimes."

"She may chalk it up to that. Who would she call to help?"

"Maybe send the cops to do a welfare check. Tell them the truth, with the important parts left out."

"The best kind of lie."

"If that happens, what do we tell them?"

"The truth backed up by evidence. Remember, our new friend set up those cameras."