Part 20: Earth's Twilight
Millions upon millions of years of evolution had led them to this point, here and now, a struggle for survival that would decide the fate of everything they'd ever known. Armageddon it was called in the Bible, the end of days on Earth... judgment day. They must have done something to piss off whatever God that existed pretty bad, because it looked like the war was coming to a close. Humanity... was being annihilated.
They'd searched high and low for the last week and a half for any other survivors... but none remained. They checked city after city in country after country. France, Pakistan, Israel, Istanbul, England, America, Germany, Russia, Canada, India, nobody remained anywhere they searched. It wasn't hard to believe that the arrival of the main Zardexian fleet had signaled the end of the human race's presence on Earth.
But then why did they leave this small group of war survivors alone? It was simply really. They were being toyed with. Or more specifically, Mandy knew she was being toyed with. Day by day the sweet stench of the Zardexian toxin grew stronger, as she was forced to watch her friends and comrades slowly weaken from its debilitating effects.
Mandy stood atop the hill that overlooked the blasted and shattered remnants of one of the grimmest sights on the planet. The smoldering crater that had once been Los Angeles. The nuclear radiation was still pretty intense around this area, but Mandy didn't really care. Besides, as she'd guessed, the radiation didn't seem to have an effect on her Zardexian body. In fact, it was quite the opposite. She felt strong here.
They'd just finished searching the former United States of America from East Coast to West, and found no signs of life anywhere on the ground. In the air they occasionally caught sight of a Zardexian ship pacing them, as though reminding them that they were never safe. That they never escaped... could never elude them.
"Are you ready to come back to us, Zeninia?" A familiar male voice spoke from behind her. Mandy looked back to see the man from Moscow approaching her with his hands jammed in the pockets of his blue jeans. "Are you ready to return to your true people?"
Mandy stared at him. She knew she was a Zardexian... but she still felt like a human. She loved Clover, she felt a kinship with Sam... she wished she could help them. But it seemed like there was still so much she didn't know even about herself. She'd forgotten her life once, and she'd claimed it once again... was it time to claim a different life?
"Tell me who I am... what I'm doing here." Mandy said coldly.
"Your name is Zeninia... you are my wife." The man told her. Mandy stood up in surprise, expecting to find some trace of deception in his eyes... but she found none. "You volunteered to be genetically altered into the human known as Mandy... to use her legendary name and likeness to confuse the humans into losing hope, and make them easier to subjugate."
"If that's true, why can't I remember ever being a Zardexian?" Mandy looked down at her hands, flexing her fingers as though looking for Zardexian blood to come spilling out. "How come all I remember is being Amanda Victoria Delaroyale?" She asked.
"There was some kind of accident in the middle of your genetic alteration." The Zardexian man approached her with his arms stretched out to his sides. "We're unclear on exactly what happened... but it must have overwritten your normal memory with those of Amanda Delaroyale. I... I thought you died in the explosion." He walked up to her and placed his hands gently on her shoulders, staring into her eyes. "We didn't realize you were still alive until we received word that you were among their ranks..."
"Why... why should I believe anything you say? You've been trying to kill everyone I love..." Mandy pointed out.
"I AM your love, Zeninia..." The man told her. "I'm your husband, Tarren... I promise we can bring back your memory if you come with me." His hand gently stroked her cheek, brushing a lock of midnight black hair out of her face. "Please, my love... we are meant to be together for as long as we both live. That was our vow." He told her. Mandy stared at him blankly. She didn't see any trace of a lie in his eyes... but she didn't remember any of this either.
"Give me the night to think it over..." Mandy told him softly.
"Of course..." Tarren nodded, never taking his eyes off of hers. "I will return to this spot tomorrow morning at first light... if you want to come back to us... to me... be here." He pulled her close and gently pressed his lips against hers. Mandy didn't pull away nor return the kiss, standing calm and still until he pulled back. "I'll be waiting for you..."
Mandy stood and watched him turn away from her and walk into the blasted crater of San Francisco California. He seemed completely genuine... she could practically feel the love radiating from him... but she just didn't know if she was who he said she was. Even if she was Zeninia before... she didn't feel like her now. Was she still Zeninia?
Or had she truly become Mandy?
She sighed and turned away from the ruined site to climb in the car she'd taken from a nearby town and drove back to the place where the helicopters had set down when they'd all become too weak to fly them anymore. The sun was diipping down just past the horizon when she pulled up to one of the tents and climbed out of her car, stepping inside to look around.
The rest of the soldiers were lounging about inside the tent, lying against their beds and looking through those few personal belongings they had left. Some still had pictures or journals from times gone by... but one thing was notably lacking from this picture. Hope. Not a single one of them looked determined anymore. Even Madison, who'd given her speech of hope just a week and a half ago, looked ready to throw in the towel.
Mandy walked down the middle of the isle until she found Clover lying back on her bed, her body limp though Mandy could still see her drawing breath. The smell of the Zardexian toxin was overpowering, with it coursing through every single body around her like a plague. Still she approached Clover's bed and sat down on the edge, looking down at the beautiful fiery blonde.
Clover looked up at her with her old fire despite the fact that her body was growing weaker almost by the hour. "Are you going to stick around and watch us all rot?" She asked.
"I'm thinking about it..." Mandy replied softly. "The... the Zardexians made me an offer..." She trailed off.
"Of course... you're one of them... physically..." Clover told her. Mandy remained silent, not wanting to mention her Zardexian husband. "You probably should go... we're all just sitting around waiting to either drop dead or be eaten."
"You're right... I probably should go." Mandy nodded back, not moving to go anywhere. "But I don't want to go tonight..." She trailed off, staring into the deep blue eyes of the woman who'd become her love in recent weeks. She couldn't imagine being with anyone else, let alone a man. She remembered being a lesbian after all.
Clover reached up and wrapped her arms softly around her, pulling her down until Mandy's head was resting against her chest. Mandy closed her eyes and leaned against her, climbing onto the bed to rest in Clover's arms. They both remained silent, until finally Mandy began to feel herself slipping into a deep restful sleep. Suddenly she heard a soft doubt speak from the edge of her consciousness.
"Who are you... really?"
"What do you mean?"
"You act... talk... think... feel like Mandy. How can you not be her?"
"I don't know."
"Are you Mandy then?"
"I don't know."
"How can you not know who you are? Don't you govern your own identity?"
"Do I?"
"You have for weeks. Why would you suddenly lose that ability now?"
"But I've been lost and confused. It was an accident, Tarren said so."
"Yet you don't want to be Zeninia."
"How can I choose when I don't remember who Zeninia is?"
"But if you knew who she was, would you still have a choice in who you are? Or would you suddenly feel like her? You do have her body, despite looking like Mandy. Are you simply who your body dictates? Do you have no control over who you are? Or do you decide who you are?"
"... I don't know."
"You're pathetic."
Mandy groaned softly and opened her eyes. The moon was still high in the sky outside, and Clover's breath had fallen into a steady sleeping pattern underneath her. She stared up at her sleeping lover for a moment, then pushed herself up from the bed and rubbed her head, looking around at all the troops sleeping peacefully.
She walked down the isle toward the exit and pushed her way out of the tent into the dark night. There were no stars overhead here, the pollution from the cities had created a cloud far overhead that prevented them from being seen in this part of the world. She wished she could see them. They seemed like the only thing that was sure at this point.
"It's the end for Earth." A voice said. Mandy looked to the side to see Sam leaning heavily against the side of one of the helicopters, staring up at the starless sky. "But hopefully Alex got the others safely to the Argathin planet... and the human race won't be completely wiped from the universe. I hope she's happy wherever she is now..."
"Couldn't sleep?" Mandy asked.
"I could... but I'd prefer not to." Sam replied simply. She looked exhausted leaning against the helicopter with her arms hanging limply at her sides. "Our time is running out... I'd prefer not to waste it all sleeping." She smirked and shook her head. "All the fighting we did, all the heartening speeches, all the courage... and it all ends up here."
"It had to end eventually. Nobody can fight forever." Mandy reminded her with a soft tone.
"Yeah, I know." Sam replied. "I just know I could've done something differently though. Something to at least save more people. Maybe if I'd encouraged them to leave with Alex, more people would've gone instead of stupidly following me into a futile war." She sighed and lowered her head to her chest. With her head and arms hanging, she looked completely and utterly defeated. "As it is... I just kept pushing fake optimism..."
"Your optimism wasn't fake." Mandy told her. "You wanted to die fighting... and that's what happened. You all died fighting..." Mandy smiled slightly. "It doesn't matter how long it took you to die afterward... you were all killed in the fight at Moscow." Sam smiled at her slightly.
"I guess you're right." She nodded slowly. "So what are you doing up? Are you going somewhere?"
"Maybe..." Mandy replied softly. "One of the Zardexians offered to let me go with them... show me where this body came from. Who I was before I... apparently... became Mandy."
"You don't sound too thrilled at the idea." Sam pointed out.
"It's weird... if you'd asked me... or Mandy... before December thirty-first I... she... would've said she wished she'd never been born into this world of stupidity, hatred, and misery." Mandy shook her head in amazement. "But right now... the idea of not being human seems like it would be worse than death. I mean... I know my body isn't human... but if my mind isn't really human, what'll it be?"
"Zardexian." Sam replied simply.
"The mind of a killer." Mandy muttered.
"Mandy, when you first arrived, I thought that same thing." Sam told her. Mandy looked at her interestedly. "I figured you were Zardexian... of course you would be a threat to us and everyone around us. Zardexians are all murderers... but Clover pointed out that just because you're a Zardexian doesn't mean you're a killer."
Sam smiled slightly. "Humans killed each other long before any aliens showed up. Just because you have a Zardexian body... and a Zardexian mind... doesn't make you evil. She asked me to trust you and try to give you more leeway and humane treatment." Sam stared at her steadily. "I agreed... and I haven't regretted that once. I still don't regret it."
"So what am I supposed to do? I can't just leave you all here to die can I?" Mandy asked.
"It's either leave us to die... or sit and watch us die." Sam told her. "And I'm not going to wish that on you." Mandy stared at her blankly. "Get out of here Mandy. I'll tell Clover you said goodbye... just because it's over for all of us, doesn't mean your life has to come to an end."
Mandy nodded slowly and reached out to pull Sam into a friendly hug. "Tell Clover I... I still love her... and won't ever forget her... will you?" Mandy gulped sadly.
"I'll tell her the instant she wakes up." Sam smiled as Mandy moved away from her. "Good luck Mandy... I hope you're happy with the Zardexians... as I don't think you were ever happy with us."
"Goodbye Sam..." Mandy turned and walked away from the small camp to the vehicle she'd used just the night before. She climbed in and drove through the night toward the edge of the radioactive crater that had once been one of the most thriving cities in the country. When she climbed out she could see the first rays of the sun beginning to peek through the haze of pollution above her.
"You're here..." Mandy looked to the side when she heard Tarren speak. A small Zardexian scout ship was parked on the Earth behind him with the door wide open, waiting for her. "I was kind of afraid you would refuse to come... that I'd lost you forever."
"If I come... I want you to promise me something." Mandy said.
"What?" Tarren asked.
"Cure the rest of the humans and let them go."
"I can't do that." Tarren shook his head. "What would our people think if we cured a group of lower races and set them loose in the world? There would be far too many complications, and possible rebellion."
Mandy gulped. "Then just... just leave them alone. Let them die peacefully, don't make them die in one of your stomachs." She insisted.
"That, I believe I can do." Tarren nodded and stepped aside, gesturing grandly to the vessel behind him. "Now come... your old life and your real people await." Mandy gulped and walked into the ship slowly with the Zardexian man behind her. She saw one of the massive rolling aliens in the front cockpit. Her heart jumped until she remembered that she wasn't here to be eaten. She was here to become one of them.
The pilot's tentacles wrapped around dozens of the controls around it at a time, working it with such precise strokes that it was hard to believe it was one of the murderous creatures she'd feared for the last few weeks. Mandy fell into one of the seats as the ship lifted from the ground and turned skyward, flying rapidly into the atmosphere.
"I've never been in space before..." Mandy muttered stupidly.
"Yes you have... and you'll remember soon." Tarren put one of his arms around her shoulders and squeezed comfortingly. Mandy smiled at him nervously, then turned to look out the front window again. She blinked when she felt something strange... it felt like a whale's cry as strange as that seemed. It was getting closer and closer...
TO BE CONTINUED
Millions upon millions of years of evolution had led them to this point, here and now, a struggle for survival that would decide the fate of everything they'd ever known. Armageddon it was called in the Bible, the end of days on Earth... judgment day. They must have done something to piss off whatever God that existed pretty bad, because it looked like the war was coming to a close. Humanity... was being annihilated.
They'd searched high and low for the last week and a half for any other survivors... but none remained. They checked city after city in country after country. France, Pakistan, Israel, Istanbul, England, America, Germany, Russia, Canada, India, nobody remained anywhere they searched. It wasn't hard to believe that the arrival of the main Zardexian fleet had signaled the end of the human race's presence on Earth.
But then why did they leave this small group of war survivors alone? It was simply really. They were being toyed with. Or more specifically, Mandy knew she was being toyed with. Day by day the sweet stench of the Zardexian toxin grew stronger, as she was forced to watch her friends and comrades slowly weaken from its debilitating effects.
Mandy stood atop the hill that overlooked the blasted and shattered remnants of one of the grimmest sights on the planet. The smoldering crater that had once been Los Angeles. The nuclear radiation was still pretty intense around this area, but Mandy didn't really care. Besides, as she'd guessed, the radiation didn't seem to have an effect on her Zardexian body. In fact, it was quite the opposite. She felt strong here.
They'd just finished searching the former United States of America from East Coast to West, and found no signs of life anywhere on the ground. In the air they occasionally caught sight of a Zardexian ship pacing them, as though reminding them that they were never safe. That they never escaped... could never elude them.
"Are you ready to come back to us, Zeninia?" A familiar male voice spoke from behind her. Mandy looked back to see the man from Moscow approaching her with his hands jammed in the pockets of his blue jeans. "Are you ready to return to your true people?"
Mandy stared at him. She knew she was a Zardexian... but she still felt like a human. She loved Clover, she felt a kinship with Sam... she wished she could help them. But it seemed like there was still so much she didn't know even about herself. She'd forgotten her life once, and she'd claimed it once again... was it time to claim a different life?
"Tell me who I am... what I'm doing here." Mandy said coldly.
"Your name is Zeninia... you are my wife." The man told her. Mandy stood up in surprise, expecting to find some trace of deception in his eyes... but she found none. "You volunteered to be genetically altered into the human known as Mandy... to use her legendary name and likeness to confuse the humans into losing hope, and make them easier to subjugate."
"If that's true, why can't I remember ever being a Zardexian?" Mandy looked down at her hands, flexing her fingers as though looking for Zardexian blood to come spilling out. "How come all I remember is being Amanda Victoria Delaroyale?" She asked.
"There was some kind of accident in the middle of your genetic alteration." The Zardexian man approached her with his arms stretched out to his sides. "We're unclear on exactly what happened... but it must have overwritten your normal memory with those of Amanda Delaroyale. I... I thought you died in the explosion." He walked up to her and placed his hands gently on her shoulders, staring into her eyes. "We didn't realize you were still alive until we received word that you were among their ranks..."
"Why... why should I believe anything you say? You've been trying to kill everyone I love..." Mandy pointed out.
"I AM your love, Zeninia..." The man told her. "I'm your husband, Tarren... I promise we can bring back your memory if you come with me." His hand gently stroked her cheek, brushing a lock of midnight black hair out of her face. "Please, my love... we are meant to be together for as long as we both live. That was our vow." He told her. Mandy stared at him blankly. She didn't see any trace of a lie in his eyes... but she didn't remember any of this either.
"Give me the night to think it over..." Mandy told him softly.
"Of course..." Tarren nodded, never taking his eyes off of hers. "I will return to this spot tomorrow morning at first light... if you want to come back to us... to me... be here." He pulled her close and gently pressed his lips against hers. Mandy didn't pull away nor return the kiss, standing calm and still until he pulled back. "I'll be waiting for you..."
Mandy stood and watched him turn away from her and walk into the blasted crater of San Francisco California. He seemed completely genuine... she could practically feel the love radiating from him... but she just didn't know if she was who he said she was. Even if she was Zeninia before... she didn't feel like her now. Was she still Zeninia?
Or had she truly become Mandy?
She sighed and turned away from the ruined site to climb in the car she'd taken from a nearby town and drove back to the place where the helicopters had set down when they'd all become too weak to fly them anymore. The sun was diipping down just past the horizon when she pulled up to one of the tents and climbed out of her car, stepping inside to look around.
The rest of the soldiers were lounging about inside the tent, lying against their beds and looking through those few personal belongings they had left. Some still had pictures or journals from times gone by... but one thing was notably lacking from this picture. Hope. Not a single one of them looked determined anymore. Even Madison, who'd given her speech of hope just a week and a half ago, looked ready to throw in the towel.
Mandy walked down the middle of the isle until she found Clover lying back on her bed, her body limp though Mandy could still see her drawing breath. The smell of the Zardexian toxin was overpowering, with it coursing through every single body around her like a plague. Still she approached Clover's bed and sat down on the edge, looking down at the beautiful fiery blonde.
Clover looked up at her with her old fire despite the fact that her body was growing weaker almost by the hour. "Are you going to stick around and watch us all rot?" She asked.
"I'm thinking about it..." Mandy replied softly. "The... the Zardexians made me an offer..." She trailed off.
"Of course... you're one of them... physically..." Clover told her. Mandy remained silent, not wanting to mention her Zardexian husband. "You probably should go... we're all just sitting around waiting to either drop dead or be eaten."
"You're right... I probably should go." Mandy nodded back, not moving to go anywhere. "But I don't want to go tonight..." She trailed off, staring into the deep blue eyes of the woman who'd become her love in recent weeks. She couldn't imagine being with anyone else, let alone a man. She remembered being a lesbian after all.
Clover reached up and wrapped her arms softly around her, pulling her down until Mandy's head was resting against her chest. Mandy closed her eyes and leaned against her, climbing onto the bed to rest in Clover's arms. They both remained silent, until finally Mandy began to feel herself slipping into a deep restful sleep. Suddenly she heard a soft doubt speak from the edge of her consciousness.
"Who are you... really?"
"What do you mean?"
"You act... talk... think... feel like Mandy. How can you not be her?"
"I don't know."
"Are you Mandy then?"
"I don't know."
"How can you not know who you are? Don't you govern your own identity?"
"Do I?"
"You have for weeks. Why would you suddenly lose that ability now?"
"But I've been lost and confused. It was an accident, Tarren said so."
"Yet you don't want to be Zeninia."
"How can I choose when I don't remember who Zeninia is?"
"But if you knew who she was, would you still have a choice in who you are? Or would you suddenly feel like her? You do have her body, despite looking like Mandy. Are you simply who your body dictates? Do you have no control over who you are? Or do you decide who you are?"
"... I don't know."
"You're pathetic."
Mandy groaned softly and opened her eyes. The moon was still high in the sky outside, and Clover's breath had fallen into a steady sleeping pattern underneath her. She stared up at her sleeping lover for a moment, then pushed herself up from the bed and rubbed her head, looking around at all the troops sleeping peacefully.
She walked down the isle toward the exit and pushed her way out of the tent into the dark night. There were no stars overhead here, the pollution from the cities had created a cloud far overhead that prevented them from being seen in this part of the world. She wished she could see them. They seemed like the only thing that was sure at this point.
"It's the end for Earth." A voice said. Mandy looked to the side to see Sam leaning heavily against the side of one of the helicopters, staring up at the starless sky. "But hopefully Alex got the others safely to the Argathin planet... and the human race won't be completely wiped from the universe. I hope she's happy wherever she is now..."
"Couldn't sleep?" Mandy asked.
"I could... but I'd prefer not to." Sam replied simply. She looked exhausted leaning against the helicopter with her arms hanging limply at her sides. "Our time is running out... I'd prefer not to waste it all sleeping." She smirked and shook her head. "All the fighting we did, all the heartening speeches, all the courage... and it all ends up here."
"It had to end eventually. Nobody can fight forever." Mandy reminded her with a soft tone.
"Yeah, I know." Sam replied. "I just know I could've done something differently though. Something to at least save more people. Maybe if I'd encouraged them to leave with Alex, more people would've gone instead of stupidly following me into a futile war." She sighed and lowered her head to her chest. With her head and arms hanging, she looked completely and utterly defeated. "As it is... I just kept pushing fake optimism..."
"Your optimism wasn't fake." Mandy told her. "You wanted to die fighting... and that's what happened. You all died fighting..." Mandy smiled slightly. "It doesn't matter how long it took you to die afterward... you were all killed in the fight at Moscow." Sam smiled at her slightly.
"I guess you're right." She nodded slowly. "So what are you doing up? Are you going somewhere?"
"Maybe..." Mandy replied softly. "One of the Zardexians offered to let me go with them... show me where this body came from. Who I was before I... apparently... became Mandy."
"You don't sound too thrilled at the idea." Sam pointed out.
"It's weird... if you'd asked me... or Mandy... before December thirty-first I... she... would've said she wished she'd never been born into this world of stupidity, hatred, and misery." Mandy shook her head in amazement. "But right now... the idea of not being human seems like it would be worse than death. I mean... I know my body isn't human... but if my mind isn't really human, what'll it be?"
"Zardexian." Sam replied simply.
"The mind of a killer." Mandy muttered.
"Mandy, when you first arrived, I thought that same thing." Sam told her. Mandy looked at her interestedly. "I figured you were Zardexian... of course you would be a threat to us and everyone around us. Zardexians are all murderers... but Clover pointed out that just because you're a Zardexian doesn't mean you're a killer."
Sam smiled slightly. "Humans killed each other long before any aliens showed up. Just because you have a Zardexian body... and a Zardexian mind... doesn't make you evil. She asked me to trust you and try to give you more leeway and humane treatment." Sam stared at her steadily. "I agreed... and I haven't regretted that once. I still don't regret it."
"So what am I supposed to do? I can't just leave you all here to die can I?" Mandy asked.
"It's either leave us to die... or sit and watch us die." Sam told her. "And I'm not going to wish that on you." Mandy stared at her blankly. "Get out of here Mandy. I'll tell Clover you said goodbye... just because it's over for all of us, doesn't mean your life has to come to an end."
Mandy nodded slowly and reached out to pull Sam into a friendly hug. "Tell Clover I... I still love her... and won't ever forget her... will you?" Mandy gulped sadly.
"I'll tell her the instant she wakes up." Sam smiled as Mandy moved away from her. "Good luck Mandy... I hope you're happy with the Zardexians... as I don't think you were ever happy with us."
"Goodbye Sam..." Mandy turned and walked away from the small camp to the vehicle she'd used just the night before. She climbed in and drove through the night toward the edge of the radioactive crater that had once been one of the most thriving cities in the country. When she climbed out she could see the first rays of the sun beginning to peek through the haze of pollution above her.
"You're here..." Mandy looked to the side when she heard Tarren speak. A small Zardexian scout ship was parked on the Earth behind him with the door wide open, waiting for her. "I was kind of afraid you would refuse to come... that I'd lost you forever."
"If I come... I want you to promise me something." Mandy said.
"What?" Tarren asked.
"Cure the rest of the humans and let them go."
"I can't do that." Tarren shook his head. "What would our people think if we cured a group of lower races and set them loose in the world? There would be far too many complications, and possible rebellion."
Mandy gulped. "Then just... just leave them alone. Let them die peacefully, don't make them die in one of your stomachs." She insisted.
"That, I believe I can do." Tarren nodded and stepped aside, gesturing grandly to the vessel behind him. "Now come... your old life and your real people await." Mandy gulped and walked into the ship slowly with the Zardexian man behind her. She saw one of the massive rolling aliens in the front cockpit. Her heart jumped until she remembered that she wasn't here to be eaten. She was here to become one of them.
The pilot's tentacles wrapped around dozens of the controls around it at a time, working it with such precise strokes that it was hard to believe it was one of the murderous creatures she'd feared for the last few weeks. Mandy fell into one of the seats as the ship lifted from the ground and turned skyward, flying rapidly into the atmosphere.
"I've never been in space before..." Mandy muttered stupidly.
"Yes you have... and you'll remember soon." Tarren put one of his arms around her shoulders and squeezed comfortingly. Mandy smiled at him nervously, then turned to look out the front window again. She blinked when she felt something strange... it felt like a whale's cry as strange as that seemed. It was getting closer and closer...
TO BE CONTINUED