Leonid

Outside!

21:42; November, 12, 2065

The sound of their footsteps echoed through the abandoned streets, shattering the dense silence and making them feel unwelcome. Neither said a word, as though in an attempt to prevent further irreverence to the dead city.

It was safe out here, or so the media claimed. There had been no Phantoms within three miles of the city, the living city, in almost as many weeks. Although few would talk about it openly, and the Council was hesitant to comment, there were high hopes that this was permanent; that the aliens were in decline and the tide of war was turning for the better. Some of the more optimistic hopes were that brief, unescorted outings would again be possible in the not so distant future.

Whether or not this dream was possible, Neil had decided early in planning that it would be better to be prepared than to trust luck. So far in life, luck had been on his side. He'd lived through early childhood, when there were no Barriers and the Phantoms were rapidly spreading throughout the world. He'd survived the following years with ease, until military service took over his life. Four years of hell suddenly seemed worth it when he'd met Jane while serving his first missions with the Zodiac, before he lost her for three years. Those three years made a chance reunion all that much sweeter, and with a little good fortune they were assigned together.

Which was why that, when he thought about it, he decided he really didn't want to be nearby when luck felt it was time to start calling in favors. After all, good things could only hold out for so long.

So, when he found a reason to take advantage of the Phantoms' absence, he formulated a plan with as many variables taken into account as possible. Some things he couldn't guess, such as the actions of other people.

The private guarding the ground level access gate had been completely terrified of the armed soldiers that accosted her at her post. One of them flashed a permit and ordered the poor woman to open the hatchway, which she quickly did. Only later did it occur to her the inanity of the scene: two soldiers, wearing neither armor nor uniform but rather marked clothes and armed with assault rifles and visual equipment. On retrospect, the private decided it would be best to call it in.

Neil hadn't worried about the girl; she'd been amenable enough. Jane, on the other hand, was starting to worry him. Like he'd expected, she had fought against the idea of going outside until he'd made it clear he would go whether she came or not. Once out there, she'd got the 'permit' away from him and learned that it was just a carefully folded, blank piece of paper, and he thought she might have gotten mad at him. Now she was quiet as she followed him further out, which could have meant good or bad.

He understood why she didn't want to be out here. No sensible creature would. He had almost given up the idea several times himself when the rational part of his mind tried to talk him out of it. One of the few things that prevented him from turning back now was the notion that Jane would make him wish he were dead for dragging her on a dangerous excursion that seemed to have no point to it. She had been increasingly touchy for the past week, and for no reason did he want her cross with him.

So he smiled at her. To his immense relief, it seemed to have a positive affect, and he saw the hint of a smile returned. It wasn't that far out anyway, less than half a mile. That left over a two-mile buffer between them and any Phantom sighted in the last eighteen days. And he wasn't that foolish in this endeavor; they were armed, they had scopes, and he had a scanner clipped to his belt. They were prepared, they knew what they were doing, they'd spent much longer outside before… so why did he feel so uneasy?

He'd memorized the way from maps. The old bridge was suspended over the water, which meant clear on all sides, and easy to defend. They would easily be able to see anything threatening before it came close enough to harm them. Once there, he stopped to make absolutely sure there was nothing out on it already, and then dashed out onto it. A minute later he came to the broken edge of concrete and steel at the end of the bridge, and he peered down into the dark, foreboding water so far below.

Jane approached silently and gently placed her hand on his shoulder. Neil had been transfixed, staring at the river and jumped at the touch. For an instant, he thought he'd seen a dull flicker of red through the blue lens. When he looked again, there was nothing there. He tried to calm down a little. He didn't see any more red, a quick look at the scanner showed nothing, and chances were that if there was a Phantom in the water that it wouldn't be able to get to them easily.

Neil took Jane's hand from his shoulder and led her back a few steps from the edge of the broken bridge. He sat down in the middle of the street and tried to pull her down with him, not completely without success. She knelt by him and looked around warily. Both their weapons were within arm's reach if they were required, but she felt having them in hand would be better.

He wrapped his arm around her neck and slipped his fingers between her face and the scope she wore. With a delicate movement he removed the piece of equipment, displacing a few strands of her hair in the process. She grabbed his hand and held it strongly, not sure why and a little angry that he would blind her to possible and very likely threat.

"Trust me," he pleaded with a disarming smile. He felt her loosen her grip a little, and he rested his head on her shoulder and examined the sky. The moon was setting, and he wondered how long it had taken for them to cross the city. He became aware of Jane gently caressing his fingers, and responded similarly by lightly kissing her neck.

"All right," she laughed quietly, startling him at first but soon gladdening him "Why are we out here?"

"'Cause no one's been out here for a very long time," Neil replied, "And I thought it'd be fun to do somethin' daring."

"Is that all?"

"Nah," Neil said calmly, "Look up,"

She did as she was told, and soon stared in awe as streaks of color lit up the cloudless sky. They would appear, fade, and be replaced by others as new meteors struck the atmosphere. Dozens of lines hued in pink, purple, and blue crisscrossed the starry heavens.

The leonid meteor shower, heightened by the change in atmosphere over the years, appeared as it had for centuries, unaware of the changes of the world below.

"See? I told you it'd be worth it, didn't I?" Neil declared, observing her reaction, "And you didn't even wanna leave the city." He looked around quickly to ensure that the Phantoms hadn't made a sudden appearance out of his line of sight and then gazed up at the display above.

"It's very pretty," Jane said evenly. The natural display was pretty. She took a deep breath. The sky, the quiet… it was all very pleasant. The only drawback was the threat of death that kept it that way.

They sat together in silence for a while; until she abruptly announced, "We need to go." Something, not in tone but maybe in the way she said it, made Neil turn his head. There was something…. His smile faded and he let go of her hand.

"Okay, fine," he relented, "Let's go." He delicately caught her before she could stand and moved to kiss her, "I didn't mean-" He stopped. She was tense, looking at him without seeing him. He felt a prickling sensation as the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. Yeah, there was definitely something wrong. He let her stand and collected his gun as she did hers.

There was a sound, a barely audible, low howl carried on the wind. But the earth's children were already running back the way they had come. A sudden, neutral beep stopped them near the end of the bridge. Not simply the beep, but also the silhouettes, barely visible through blue lenses, that crept along the ground towards them. The pair backed away from the pack of Phantoms, and Jane leveled her rifle defensively.

"There aren't that many," Neil mumbled. This was not part of the plan! He examined the scanner carefully. Every Phantom blocking their way was marked on its iridescent screen, and there couldn't have been more than ten. Ten of what one of was something to be feared. Only if they got too close.

"How many aren't many?"

"Ah, ten," the technician let the piece of equipment fall back to its place. He was still in control. Well, almost.

"We run after this," Jane asserted. She didn't worry that he might not listen to her. At the time, it wasn't important. She would worry after this if she had to. She carefully selected her targets, and let her mind wander to more pleasant things. Only a week ago shed stood in one of the world's last forests. It was so green and alive… and safe.

The calmness of the past helped soothe the tension of the present. She knew what was happening, of course. She could see that Neil joined her in a fusillade against the alien creatures before them. She noticed with pride how well he performed, marking his seven phantoms against her ten. Wait….

"Um, Jane? They… I don't think they're thinning out at all."

Shortly after one would be shot and killed would one appear and take its place. The asymmetrical, human-sized creatures crept closer, causing the soldiers to fall back a few steps at a time. It soon became obvious that this wasn't going to work.

In a moment of insight, Neil saw a second option. The Phantoms had come closer together, especially some of the replacements. There was a gap on one side. It was not enough to get off the bridge on the road, but maybe to climb down to the river and get away. He tugged on Jane's sleeve, and tried to explain this quickly. When she didn't understand immediately, he decided to demonstrate. He ignored her cry of protest as he ran.

He did his best to avoid the aliens and got to the shore's edge of the bridge unhindered, and was glad to find that she had followed him.

"Climb down here," he instructed quietly, watching the Phantoms nervously, "Please." It felt like forever before she did so. He followed as soon as he knew she was on her way down. It was a hard descent, especially when he wanted to keep his weapon.

As he was clinging to the metal frame, he found himself staring at the creature nestled in the supports. It moved suddenly, and he reflexively leaned to one side to avoid the deadly reddish creature's arm. Despite the effort, he felt warmth brush against the side of his head and dreaded it. Had it touched him? He decided that it must have. In sudden desperation to get away, he let go of the support and dropped the remaining distance to the ground. It was farther than he might have liked, given a choice.

He landed, finding the ground softer than he expected. The muddy water that he'd landed in softened his fall, but it proved detrimental to his equipment. Jane landed beside him suddenly but surely, having let go at a much shorter distance to the ground. They recovered fast and continued on along the riverside, albeit without Neil's ruined weapon and the broken scanner. They traveled for some time, eventually pausing to rest their battered selves.

They stayed there for an eternity, pressed together against the steep slope. Neil tried to ignore the feeling of sickness that came from fear. Like what comes the moment of realization that something is irreplaceably broken, such as a life. Torn suddenly…. He tried not to think about it and forced himself to smile.

Aware of her friend's agitation, though not of the full cause of it, Jane decided it was time to move. She would allow herself the privilege of worry once they were safe again. She abandoned her weapon and began clambering up the embankment, only stopping long enough to ensure that Neil followed.

They climbed quickly, and as they neared the top a sudden burst of light and noise startled both. A Phantom, unnoticed until it burst and became visible from a pulse of energy, tumbled down the hillside towards the river. Jane didn't have time to think about how close it had been before she was being dragged up over the ridge by gloved hands. Human hands, she barely noticed.

Relief flooded her senses. The armored group that surrounded her appeared almost inhuman themselves, but even in their protective gear they were a familiar and welcome sight.

"Who the hell are these people?" one of the soldiers asked, sounding surprised and, at the same time, angry. Very angry… "Who are you and what are you doing out here?" he demanded, looking first at Jane and then at Neil being helped up by his men. When neither offered an explanation, he continued, "Don't you people realize how dangerous it is out here?"

"It's very dangerous, sir," Neil answered quickly, recovering his sense of balance. He wrapped his arm protectively around Jane, as if it were needed, "In fact, I can imagine the only other most dangerous place right 'bout now's my captain's office."

"All right, then, you're coming with us," the officer decided, ignoring the statement and signaling his people that it was time to leave. "What?" he asked when he saw Neil's horrified expression.

"You were jus' gonna leave us out here?" the technician asked anxiously.

"What?" the officer demanded, more confused now than he was at finding these people. Of course he wasn't going to… "Of course not, what do you mean?"

"Huh?" Neil blinked, "Nothin', never mind."