Invasion: Unseen Things, #20

By Duane L. Martin

Another day filled with boredom turns into story time when Derek, Jarrod, Tina, and Sarah prompt Jake and Lana to regale them with tales of their time on the road after the Echnid invasion.

From the moment they first met at the police station when Lana released him from a holding cell and saved his life, Jake devoted his life to making sure she had as good of a life as they possibly could in the post-invasion world, and he often risked everything to ensure their survival, and even though he purposely sabotaged any chance they had at being together because of his own insecurities, neither of them ever doubted that the other would always have their back.

After their escape from the echnids in Los Angeles, they traveled from small town to small town, searching for jobs that would be more suited to a mob enforcer than they would be to a homeless guy and a mechanic. Still, they needed to be able to do these sorts of jobs if they were going to survive in this new reality, because the only alternative was hardship and death. Fortunately, they seemed to have a rather high aptitude for this sort of work, so they managed to keep themselves going by contracting themselves out to whoever was willing to pay for their services.

Also, when Sarah decides to use their newly discovered ability to alter reality to save Jake from having to live with a mistake from his past, it leaves them wondering whether or not they should continue to keep this ability a secret from the rest of the family.

Invasion is book 20 of the Unseen Things series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Duane L. Martin
• Release date: Apr 20, 2016
• ISBN: 9781311764201

Duane L. Martin

An avid reader since he first discovered the Hardy Boys books in the second grade, Duane L. Martin spent years being educated by some truly great authors. In 2013, after years of dreaming about writing a novel of his own, he finally hit upon a story idea that would ultimately turn into the 22 book Unseen Things series. Currently, aside from the series, he's also published two standalone novels. Cindy's Story, which is a humorous private investigator novel, and a superhero story called The Accidental Hero, which is both humorous, and quite dark at times. Aside from his writing, Duane is also a musician. He took his first bass guitar lesson in 1987 and has been playing bass ever since. He also plays some guitar, and a little keyboard and some percussion as well, with a particular focus on hand drums. As he's always been a great lover of music, he often has it playing quietly in the background while he writes. Born and raised in Northern California, he would later move to Idaho, where he lives the quiet life of a relative hermit with his wife Sharon, and their two dogs.

Book preview

Chapter 1

Several weeks had passed since they'd dropped Diedre's energy clone off on Purgatory, and no one had seen hide nor hair of a reaper drone since then.  What Derek from the future had told his past self turned out to be true.  They had indeed solved the problem, and were finally able to put the whole nasty episode behind them.

Aside from helping the new residents from their home dimension to get themselves settled, everything was pretty quiet over the course of the following weeks.  Freddie finished training the folks in the parallel dimension, Naelen and Karth started dating the girls from the club that Stephanie and Alarwyn had set them up with, the shop folks were spending inordinate amounts of time working on the doorway energy scanners they'd be installing in all the houses, and Mike and Jeremy finally got Danny back for the leaf and glue joke he'd pulled on them.  Unfortunately for them, Danny was already hard at work on planning his next little prank, and Beth and Freddie were both helping him with it.  All in all, things had more or less returned to normal, which everyone considered to be a very nice change.  Well, it would have been nice, if not for one little thing...

Holy crap I'm bored, Jarrod said.  He, Derek, Tina, Sarah, Jake, and Lana had all been sitting around the living room staring at each other for the last half an hour.  They'd been trying to come up with something fun to do, but everything they came up with was either not all that fun, or they'd done it a million times already and didn't really feel like doing it again.  It was one of those times where nothing, no matter how fun it may be, sounded like it'd be any fun at all.

We could have an orgy, Tina suggested flatly.  It was supposed to be a joke, but even she was too bored to smile about it.

Hell yeah, now you're talkin'! Jake said eagerly.

I think she was kidding, Sarah said.

Oh.  Well...shit, he said, suddenly looking really disappointed.

The fuck man?  They got technology up the ass here, tons of beautiful places to go, and we've got an unlimited amount of money, yet we're sittin' here bored out of our freakin' skulls, Derek said irritably.

We wouldn't be if we could tell 'em about our new ability.  We could have all kinds of fun with it, Jarrod thought to him through a link.

Yeah, we totally could.  Too bad no one's supposed to know about it, Derek thought back to him.

Hey, I know, Sarah said suddenly.  How about you guys tell us a story?

A story?  What kind of a story? Lana asked.

Well, you told us how you guys met, and we know a little bit about what happened to you guys after that, but you never have told us the whole story about what happened to you between the time you guys met and when you got to Cottonwood.

Man, that's one hell of a long story, Jake said.  Ain't exactly a pleasant one either.  Well, parts of it aren't anyway.  Some parts were extremely pleasant.

Oh, shut up you, Lana said, giving him a playful little smack on the arm.

Hey, if we're gonna be tellin' 'em the whole story, you can't expect me to leave out all the chicks I banged along the way, can ya?  I mean, that's a part of it.

If you sit here telling 'em about all the chicks you banged, we're gonna be here for the next hundred years trying to get through it all, she said with a bit of a sneer.  How about you just limit it to a few of the more notable ones, and leave it at that.

Yeah, like she said.  Just limit it to the ones that are important to the story, Sarah suggested.

Yeah ok, that'll work I guess, Jake said, looking rather disappointed at not being able to regale them with tales of his sexual conquests.

All right, where should we start then? Lana asked.

Might as well start back before we met, Jake suggested.  I mean, it's not like we're short on time or anything.

All right then, you asked for it.  So, here ya go..., Lana said, gathering her thoughts for a moment before she launched herself into the story.

*   *   *

It was the year 2231.  Jake had just recently left the homeless shelter, hard set and determined that he was going to find a job and get his life back on track.  For several weeks he did his best to find work, and he was willing to do pretty much anything to make some money.  Unfortunately, because of his situation, as well as his lack of marketable job skills, it was pretty much impossible to find anyone who'd take a chance on giving him any sort of employment.  He'd briefly considered going back to the homeless shelter for a while, just so he could regroup and try to figure things out, but he'd seen enough horrors in that place to last him a lifetime.  The final straw in his mind was when he had to save a little girl from a junkie who'd kidnapped her to sell her for drugs.  Her parents made it out of the shelter, and they offered to help Jake as well, but his pride and his sense of honor both got in the way of him accepting their offer.  He didn't want to be a leech on them while they were trying to get back on their feet, and he knew that if he kept relying on other people like he'd done while he was growing up, he'd never learn to live life as a responsible adult.  The end result of that conviction however was that he was broke as hell, still homeless, sleeping in parks, and practically starving to death on a daily basis.

He'd done everything he could to avoid becoming a thief.  He even scrounged in the dumpsters outside of restaurants looking for leftover food.  There came a point however, when he'd finally reached his breaking point.  He was walking past a grocery store, and the smell of the rotisserie chickens they had cooking in the deli section twisted his empty stomach into knots.  Unfortunately, when someone's been living on the edge of starvation for as long as he had, desperation takes over, and they lose the ability to make rational decisions, which is what led to him getting arrested when he tried to steal some food from the store.

He was taken in to the local police station where they booked him and threw him into a holding cell while he waited for further processing.  As low as he already was, the last thing he ever wanted to be was a criminal, but that's exactly what he'd become.  On the bright side, at least they gave him some food to eat while he was waiting for his public defender to show up.  It wasn't much really, but when your stomach has grown used to being empty, a bologna sandwich, an orange, and a carton of milk seems like the feast to end all feasts.

Out in the maintenance yard where the police cars were serviced, Lana was not only hard at work on one of the cruisers, but she was also working furiously to control her anger.

Hey, cruiser fifteen's having electrical problems.  You wanna check that out please Lana after you finish on that one? Dexter asked.  Lana simply ignored him and continued working under the hood of the cruiser she'd been working on for the past hour.  Awww, come on Lana.  It's been a week already.  I said I was sorry, and you even gave me a black eye.  Can't we just call it even already?

"Fuck you Dex!  You lied to me!  How could you do that to you wife...and to me?" she asked.

I don't know.  It's just one of those things, ya know? he said tentatively.

Look, I'm done with you.  If you've got something work related to say to me, then fine, but otherwise you just keep your fucking mouth shut.  Got it? she said bitterly.

Ok, fine.  Take care of cruiser fifteen then, he said.

You take care of it, ass hole!  You're not the boss here.  I don't take work orders from you.

Jesus Christ!  Fine!  I'll do it myself then...ya fuckin' cunt, he mumbled as he turned to walk away.  Before he knew what was happening, Lana had grabbed him, pinned him against a wall, and shoved a screwdriver so hard into his neck that it was practically pushing through the skin.

"Ok, you listen to me you piece of shit, and you listen good, because I'm only gonna say this once.  Everything that happened was your fault, not mine, and I'm not gonna have you walkin' around here callin' me a cunt when you're the one who lied to me just to get me to have sex with you.  Now, I swear to god, if I hear one more fucking word outta you, I'm gonna chop your dick off with a god damned cutting torch!  Do we have an understanding?" she asked through clenched teeth as she pushed the screwdriver even harder into his neck.

Ok, fine!  Sorry! he choked out.

Now, get the fuck outta here and go to lunch or somethin', she said.  I don't wanna see you right now.  I don't know what I'll do if I see you too soon.

You know, I could report you for this, he said angrily.

You gonna report how you lied to me and told me you were single just to get me to have sex with you in the back of a broken-down police cruiser too?  Because I'll tell you somethin' right now.  If you report me for this, then I'm gonna tell 'em all about what happened, and then we can both be unemployed, she said threateningly.  He stared at her hard for a moment, but then finally he let out a little huff, jerked away from her, and headed off to the parts room without another word.

Hey, Lana, someone said from behind her.  She turned around and saw that her boss was standing over by the bay door.

Oh, hey Carl..., she said meekly, desperately hoping that he hadn't been standing there watching what had just transpired.  Unfortunately for her, she was out of luck on that front.

Listen, we need to talk.  Come on out in front of the shop with me for a minute, he said.  His expression and his tone were enough for Lana to know that this wasn't going to be good.  Letting out a heavy sigh, she headed out of the shop and followed him out into the parking area.

So...what's up? she asked innocently.

"I don't know.  How about you tell me what's up?  What was that I just saw?" he asked.

It was personal..., she said quietly.

Yeah, it sure as hell looked personal.  Look, I don't know what's goin' on between you two, and I don't wanna know.  I don't like hassles, and I sure as hell don't like filling out disciplinary paperwork, so whatever's goin' on in there, you two need to patch it up and..., he said, but he was suddenly interrupted by the sounds of explosions far off in the distance.

The hell was that? Lana asked as she looked around, trying to figure out which direction the sound was coming from.

I have no idea.  Shit, I hope it's not a terrorist attack or somethin', he said as he tapped the transmitter that was mounted on his ear.  Hey, Rufus.  Any idea what those explosions were?

Well? she asked.

Hang on, he said the phones are ringin' off the hook in there.

Shit, I hope it wasn't a terrorist attack.  If it was though, why would we still be hearing explosions?  Terrorist attacks are usually a one-off kind of a deal, she said.

What?  Are you serious?  Ok, thanks.  Listen...we gotta get the fuck outta here.  It's not a terrorist attack.  It's an invasion, and they're comin' this way.  Some kinda spaceships, and ground troops that look like monsters.  There's flashin' lights all over, and they seem to be coming through 'em.  Everyone inside the station is gettin' the hell outta here, so we need to do the same, he said urgently as he turned and started running for his vehicle.  Lana turned indecisively back toward the shop and stared at the parts room door for a moment.

God damn it, she growled irritably.  Dex!  Get your ass out here, now!  We gotta bail!

What do you mean we gotta bail?  What the hell's all that noise? he asked as he appeared in the parts room doorway.

Listen, there's no time to explain.  We're being invaded by aliens or some shit.  There's spaceships and monsters blowin' shit up out there.  Listen, you need to get home to your wife right now.  Pack up your shit and run before they get here.

The fuck are you talkin' about?  Are you serious? he asked, narrowing his eyes at her as he tried to determine if she was telling the truth or not.

Dead serious.  Carl just got it straight from the guy at the desk.  All the cops are buggin' out too, she said.  He was hesitant to believe her, but another round of explosions off in the distance quickly convinced him.

Thanks Lana.  Hey listen, if I happen to not ever see you again, I just want you to know...I really am sorry about what happened.  I really did care about you.  It wasn't just about the sex.

Yeah well, try caring about your wife now, because she needs you now more than ever.  Come on now, get the hell outta here, she said as she turned and ran toward the station house.

By the time she got in there, the place was already abandoned.  The weapons lockers were left open, and had been mostly cleaned out, though there were still a few weapons left.  As fast as she could move, she grabbed a couple of sniper rifles, three tactical rifles, and as many energy pistols as she could carry, along with their holsters, which she quickly slung over her shoulder.  They'd stopped using conventional weapons several decades ago, so ammo wouldn't be an issue as long as she could find a place to recharge them every now and then.

Before she left, she started running through the station, hoping to find at least a few cops left there that she could stick with.  She didn't know what was going on or how bad the situation really was, but having a few cops around you if things got hairy would be far preferable to facing it alone.  Unfortunately for her she didn't find any cops, but as she ran down one of the corridors she suddenly heard a bunch of voices calling out to her.

When she backed up to see who it was, she noticed that when the cops had abandoned the station, they'd left all the people in the holding cells behind...with no way to escape, and no way to defend themselves.  It was then that she locked eyes with one particular prisoner.  He didn't look like a hardened criminal.  Actually, he looked homeless and sad, which was surprising considering how good looking he was.

Hey, what's goin' on?  Why'd everyone go runnin' out of here? he asked.  He wasn't yelling or acting like an idiot like the prisoners in the other cells, and even though she knew she should run, she just couldn't bring herself to leave him there.  Quickly she ran to the desk at the entrance of the holding area and started rifling through it.

Come on Smitty with the shitty memory, don't fail me now.  I know they change these door codes once a week, she said as she reached under the desk and felt around.  Suddenly, her hand touched a piece of paper that was stuck there, and with a satisfied smile she pulled it out and looked at it.  Oh Smitty, thank god your brain don't work so good.

She ran over to Jake's cell, and reading the code off of the paper, she punched it into the keypad.  As soon as she punched in the last number, the door slid open, and she pointed one of the pistols directly at Jake's chest.

Thanks, I really appreciate it and all, but did you let me out just so you could shoot me? he asked with a rather disarming smile.

No I..., she said, getting lost in his eyes for just the briefest of moments.  What were you in here for?

I was hungry, so I stole some food from a grocery store.  First time in my life I ever stole anything.  Figures I'd get caught, he said.  There was something about the way he said it that told her all she needed to know about him.  He was truly ashamed of the fact that he'd had to resort to stealing, and completely embarrassed by his situation he'd found himself in.  He didn't say it in so many words, but the look in his eyes when he said it spoke volumes.

You know how to use a gun? she asked.

Played a lot of video games as a kid.  I'm sure I could figure it out.

You got anyone you need to get to?

No.  My parents are both dead.  That's how I ended up homeless in the first place, he said.  It was a heartbreaking story, but she didn't have the time right now to be overly sentimental about it.

Ok then, you're with me.  Here, let those other guys out, and then we'll get outta here, she said as she handed him the piece of paper with the door code on it.  He took the paper from her, and as he went down the row opening the doors, she held one of the tactical rifles to her shoulder and stood back.

There ya go, Jake said as he opened the last one.

All right now, all you guys get outta here and get home to your families.  There's been an invasion by some people from another world or somethin', so if you don't have any family to protect, then just get the hell outta here and start runnin'.

At least give us some weapons, a particularly burly man in his mid-forties that looked like he'd never seen the inside of a shower said as he stepped toward her.

Did I stutter?  Get the fuck outta here!  Now! she said as she aimed her weapon directly at his forehead.  All of you!  Go!

Yeah...ok, he said nervously as he and the others headed out.  Just as Jake was about to follow them, she grabbed him by the shoulder.

Not you.  You're staying with me, she said.

Why do you want me? he asked.

Because, I got no one else, and I'm bettin' you don't either.  If this is really what they said it is, then we're both gonna need someone to watch our backs.  I'll do it for you, if you'll do it for me.  Whatcha say?  Partners? she asked.  He stared at her for a moment, not really sure what to think about the situation.  Finally, after a few brief moments, he extended his hand to her.

Yeah, ok.  Partners it is then, he said.

Good, here, she said as she dropped one of the gun belts off of her shoulder and handed it to him.  As soon as he'd strapped it on, she handed him one of the sniper rifles and a tactical rifle as well.  "Just turn off the safeties, and they're good to go.

Where are the safeties on these? he asked.

Sniper rifle's is there, and the one on the tactical rifle is right there, she said as she pointed them out to him.  Then she drew her own pistol and showed him where the safety was on that as well.

Ok, got it.  Now, where are we goin'?  Do you know anyplace that'll be safe?

It's hard to say.  I don't know anything at all about what's goin' on out there.  Come on, let's get out to the shop yard.  We'll grab one of the police cruisers and hit the road.

We're gonna steal a cop car? he asked tentatively.

Unless you're planning on sproutin' wheels or a jet pack or somethin'...then yeah, I'm gonna steal a cop car.  I work in the garage out there, so I got the keycodes for 'em.  We'll take the one Dexter just finished workin' on yesterday.  It should be good to go, she said as they headed back out toward the shop area.  As they were running down the hallway however, she stopped suddenly when something caught her eye.

What's up? he asked.

Hang on a sec.  I'm gonna see if I can't make our trip a little easier, she said as she ducked into a locker room and started rifling through everything.  You keep a watch out there.  Make sure that none of those guys came back in to try to jump us or somethin'.

Ok, got it.  What are you doin'?

You'll see in a minute, she said.  A few minutes later she came out of the locker room fully dressed in a rather sexy looking female police uniform, adorned with whatever pieces of tactical armor she could find.

Damn!  Where have you been all my life? he asked with a rather sleazy grin.

Probably standin' around somewhere with my head under the hood of a car, she said as she checked herself over.  I figured if at least one of us was dressed as a cop, we could fake it if anyone hassles us about the car.  Plus, it'll get us through roadblocks and what not.

Hey, that's good thinkin'.  What's in the bag? he asked as he nodded toward the duffel bag she was holding.

Extra uniforms.  I don't have any other clothes with me, so I figured I'd better bring some extras.

What about me?  What am I gonna do for clothes? he asked.

Look, we don't have time for you to get changed right now.  We'll figure somethin' out along the way, even if we have to steal some stuff for you.  We better find you a shower at some point too.  You don't smell all that great at the moment, but I got a feelin' you'll probably clean up pretty good.

Yeah, sorry about that.  Like I said, I was homeless when they brought me in, he said apologetically.

Don't worry about it.  I've smelled worse after a day in the shop.  I don't know where we'll be able to stop, but we'll figure something out.  Come on, it's this way, she said as she led him toward the exterior door.  As soon as they were outside, a series of explosions hit about six blocks away and shook the ground hard.

Holy shit, Jake said as he turned toward the source of the noise and saw plumes of smoke billowing up into the air over the city.

So much for Los Angeles.  I wonder where else they're hitting, she said as they ran into the garage together.

How widespread do you think this is? he asked.

No idea, but you don't come from another world just to invade Los Angeles, so I'm guessin' they're all over the place, she said as she grabbed the keys for the cruiser and hit the button on the remote to open the automatic doors, which raised up instead of opening outward.  Hurry up and get in.  Let's get the hell outta here.

You don't have to tell me twice, he said as they both put their weapons in the car, and then got in themselves.  Just as she backed out of the garage, some sort of a fighter flew overhead, and the police station exploded in a massive ball of flame.  The shock wave from the blast knocked the car up onto its side, but it didn't quite tip over completely.  It just sort of floated there on two wheels for a moment and then it righted itself as the wheels slammed back down onto the ground.  The second that all four wheels were on the pavement, Lana slammed her foot down on the accelerator, and they sped off toward the exit gate of the service yard just as fast as they possibly could.  Unfortunately, having to swerve around all the flaming debris that was falling all around them slowed their progress, but as soon as they reached the gate, she fishtailed the car around and tore off down the street.

Shit, what the hell was that thing? Jake asked anxiously as he craned his neck to look through all of the windows, trying to see where it had gone.

That was the thing that just made the cop station go boom.  Other than that, I don't know any more than you do.  Hang on! she said as she fishtailed around another corner and sped off down a side street.  Behind them there was another series of explosions as the ship circled around and worked on destroying the rest of the block.

Jake...

Huh?

Jake.  That's my name.  What's yours?

Lana.  Nice to meet you.

You too.  This looks really bad.  Where the hell can we go to get away from all this? he asked.

Dunno, but we'd better stay the hell off the freeway and stick to the side roads, she said as she made a hard left, and then floored it once again as she veered around abandoned cars and bits of rubble that had flown over from nearby explosions.  Jake looked over as they passed through a large intersection, and suddenly he reached around and grabbed Lana by the shoulder.

Hey!  Stop the car!  Back up a second, he said.

Why?

I think I saw 'em.  Just go back a second, he said as she slowed the car down to a stop, put it in reverse, and started backing up.  As soon as she was in the intersection, they looked over and saw that far off down the street there was a whole squad of troops with energy rifles killing everyone they happened to come across.  There were a few cops and armed citizens trying to take them down, but their shots were completely ineffective.  It looked like the invading soldiers had some sort of shielding that protected them from energy weapons, and in no time at all the resistance had been eliminated.  That's when they spotted Jake and Lana sitting there in the car staring at them.

Oh, shit!  Go go go! Jake shouted as Lana slammed her foot onto the accelerator once again.  Energy blasts started flying past them as they took off, but unfortunately, not all of them missed the mark.  One of the blasts hit the back end of the car before she was able to get clear of the intersection.

Shit! she shouted as they made their way down the road.

What?  What happened? Jake asked nervously.

They hit one of the power systems.  We're only running on half power now, which means we can only go half as fast.  Fuck!  Why the hell did we stop? Lana asked rhetorically.

Sorry, I just thought we should see what we were up against, he said apologetically.

It's not all your fault.  I shouldn't have sat there for so damn long.  Still, we gotta ditch this car and find somethin' better, but I don't wanna do it here.  They're too close, and I don't wanna get caught and killed because a car I was trying to hotwire decided it wanted to be a pain in the ass and not start for us.

Yeah, definitely.  Hey, look up there, he said as he pointed to something that was going on ahead of them.  About a quarter of a mile up the street they could see what looked like a biker gang veering this way and that.  Suddenly, one of the bikes got hit by an energy weapon and exploded, and then another right after it.  The rest managed to make it through though, and sped off down the road.

Hang on, she said as she made a hard right, almost taking out one of the poles that held up the traffic lights in the process.

Where'd you learn how to drive like this? he asked.

The scared shitless school of driving, she said as she veered around a car that was abandoned in the street, just barely clipping its bumper as they passed.  Shit!  We gotta get somewhere and dump this thing.

What's wrong?

They didn't just take out half of the power system.  They took out the half that controlled the steering assist, so I'm havin' a hell of a hard time trying to steer this thing.

Hey, I got an idea, Jake said.

Yeah?  What's that?  You gonna crawl out and try to fix it while we're driving? she asked with a grin.

Me?  I don't know anything about fixing cars.  No, I was just thinking that we should go to Beverly Hills.

What?  Why the hell should we go to Beverly Hills? she asked with a confused look.

Because, if the military's gonna swoop in here to fight these guys, you know they're gonna try to protect all the rich ass holes in Beverly Hills first.  At least they'll be keepin' these things busy long enough for us to get another car.  I'm guessin' they're gonna be totally focused on the populated areas, so we should get ourselves somewhere that's not so populated.  There's a hell of a lot of open road out there.  We just need to get ourselves a decent car, so we can get the hell outta here as soon as possible.

Works for me.  Let's do it, she said as she tapped the screen on the GPS display a few times.  Ok, looks like we're about twenty minutes away.  I just hope we don't...

Don't what? Jake asked as a fighter shot overhead and blew up a building right behind them.  The shock wave from the blast propelled them forward, and sent them fishtailing down the road a bit as she struggled with the steering to regain control of the vehicle.

Don't run into another one of those, she said.

Hey, look!  It's our guys! he said as two human fighter jets flew overhead.  They're after it!

Well, after seeing how those poor schmucks got mowed down on the street back there, I don't fancy their chances.

Shit.  They hit it a few times, but it's shielded like the ground troops, Jake said as he craned his neck through the now open window so he could watch the dogfight that was going on overhead.

Keep watchin'.  If it looks like that thing's gonna make a pass at us, let me know so I can try to get the hell outta the way.

They're still chasin' it.  One of 'em just launched a missile at it.  It's trying to dodge it, but the missile's right on its ass, Jake said.  Suddenly, there was a huge explosion as the alien fighter burst into flames.  The burning remnants of the ship slammed into the ground, tearing off the front end off of a clothing store as it hit.  Woohoo!  Fuck yeah!  Score one for the good guys!

They got it?  That's what that sound was?

Yep.  Looks like their shields don't hold up against regular weapons.  They must just block energy weapons, Jake said.

Well, that sucks for us, because all we got are energy weapons.  The last time I saw a regular gun was in a museum.

Same here, Jake said.

What were you doing in a museum? she asked with an amused look.

What?  Just because I'm homeless, I'm not allowed to appreciate art and stuff? he asked indignantly.

Sorry, I didn't mean anything by it.  You just don't seem like the museum type, that's all.

"So, what type do I seem like then?"

Come on, I didn't mean anything by it, Lana said apologetically.  I don't know you.  I don't know what you're into and what you aren't.  At least you got one thing goin' for you though.

What's that? he asked.

Well, two things actually.  You're pretty damn good lookin', and you ain't homeless anymore.

Heh, thanks.  How am I not homeless though?  Even if I did have a home, I'd still be homeless right now.

Nah, neither one of us is gonna be homeless.  As long as we're together, home's gonna be wherever we're at.  We'll steal whatever we need to keep us goin', which shouldn't be too awful hard in all this mess.  We just need to find someplace to lie low for a while that's relatively safe.  Someplace where we'll have access to stuff, like food and what not.

Is there any place that's actually gonna be safe after this? he asked.

Dunno, but we'll do what we have to do to survive, even if it means we gotta kill people to take what they got, Lana said.

Kill people?

You think they wouldn't kill us?  When stuff like this goes down, you do whatever you have to do.

No, I agree with you.  I ain't got no problem killin' someone if I have to.  Wouldn't be the first time.

What?  What do you mean? she asked as a cold chill suddenly ran down her spine.  I thought you said you were locked up for stealing food?

I was.  This was back at the homeless shelter I used to stay at.  Some junkie kidnapped a little girl from the shelter and was gonna trade her for drugs, so I gutted the bitch in an alley and brought the little girl back to her family.

And you got away with it? Lana asked.

You know as well as I do that the cops don't give a shit what happens in the homeless shelters.  Not when they got all the rich folk out there to protect from us lowlifes, Jake said bitterly as they heard