Bluebird Chapter 4

Bluebird Chapter 4

An Ongoing Story by Selomon

[Bluebird is an ongoing sci-fi fantasy story. Read Chapter 1 HERE]

There wasn’t much I remember after falling in the water. Bubbles floating up. Gasping for air. Muffled shouts that sounded human. I was fearing the worst when I finally came to.

It took a few minutes before my discombobulated brain was able to put things back together. As well as it could, at least. There was a bright light that was hard to look at. I shielded my eyes with my hands.

“You’re awake,” came a young woman’s voice.

My first reaction was to escape wherever I was being held. I could have been in an alien prison for all I knew. I jumped off of the table I was lying on and grabbed the first thing my hand touched. My vision was still a little blurry and all I could make out was a figure on the opposite side of a table facing me.

“Stay back!” I shouted.

“Relax Rambo,” she replied. “You were nearly dead and we saved you. So take it easy.”

It was too much for me to say anything or make a move until my vision cleared up. Once it did, I saw that I was in a small room. From what I could see in a little window, it appeared to be inside an abandoned building. There was paper and trash all over the room. The table must have been the only clean thing in there.

“Who - who are you?” I asked in a harsh tone.
“My name is Jane. I’m an assistant to Dr. Foster. We found this abandoned building to set up in after the first attack,” she replied in a somber tone.
“Whose Dr. Foster?”
“You will meet him here shortly. I’m sure he could answer your questions better than I.”
“Am I your prisoner?”
“Dude, we saved your ass. Those things were attacking you when our guys ran over and shot one down.”
“So that’s why it fell to the ground,” I replied.
“You almost drowned, you know.”

My racing heart began to calm down a little. I relaxed my grip on the weapon I had, which I realized was just a small measuring stick. I let out a deep breath which I didn’t realize I was holding.

“So where are we?” I asked her.
“Only a few kilometers from where you fell into the river.”

The door to the larger part of the building opened and an older man with a dark beard and glasses walked in. He was wearing a large, brown coat that went down to his knees. From there large boots covered his calves and feet.

“Ah good. You’re awake.”
“Are you Dr. Foster?”
“Indeed I am. And who might you be?”

I almost forgot my name after everything that happened. There was a moment I thought about using a different name. But something within me made me feel like it was okay.

“My name is Carth. I was a businessman in the city before the attack.”

The older man took a few steps toward me and looked into my eyes. I think he was trying to see if I was lying or telling the truth. He walked back and leaned against the wall.

“What were you doing before our men found you?” he asked.
“Trying to get out of the suburbs. There were safe zones I saw on a map. I was thinking of heading that way to help fight the aliens.”
“You don’t want to go to those zones, Carth,” he replied with a serious tone.
“Why not? Those things out there are monsters. We need all the help we can get.”

Dr. Foster glanced at me with a fiery look. It gave me an eerie feeling. Instead of telling me why I shouldn’t go, he stood up and walked over to the door.

“You look healthy enough to move. Walk with me.” 

[Read Chapter 5 HERE]