Chapter 2 – Nobody Ever Did

Regina Kelvin was at the store. It wasn’t much of a store, just a few aisles for storing food. She was carrying two cans of tomato soup, a loaf of wheat bread, and a jug of milk. She walked up to the register. As she walked in front of the register, a camera popped up and the screen lit up, reading “PLEASE SCAN EYE WHEN READY”. Regina set down what she was carrying and scanned her eye. The screen then switched to displaying Regina’s favorite picture, a beautiful sunset in the mountains of Colorado.

Thirty years ago, after the aliens landed, the government feared that aliens could hack the current computer systems and take over everything. So they set up biometrics everywhere, at convenience stores, grocery markets, and even your own apartment building. All the servers were in one central place, an undisclosed location in Minnesota. Whenever somebody used a computer, it accessed that server bank and copied everything the user had saved on another device to the current device. It was convenient but also very efficient. That was why cameras were everywhere, scanning everybody’s eye.

Regina scanned all the items and tapped the “Finished” button on-screen. Her total was $6.59. She accepted and walked away. The computer, detecting she was moving away using motion sensors, automatically withdrew the $6.59 from her bank account and locked up. Locking up was the way the computers automatically logged a user out and erased any trace they were there from its system. The government still had records of users who used a machine but the records were stored in another server bank off the coast of Hawaii.

As Regina walked out of the store a lone siren sounded, shortly followed by the rest of the sirens. She hustled to the nearest shelter, carrying plastic bags with her. She joined the rest of the crowd and moved into the shelter. The soldier’s seemed to be acting weird, glancing over their shoulders. She thought nothing of it and moved down into the shelter.

*             *             *

It was uncomfortable. Always was. It smelled. Always did. That was it; nothing more, nothing less. Unpleasant, yes. The sirens died, leaving the entire city in silence. A slight breeze picked up, quickly turning into a gale. The sunlight outside the gate faded, leaving everyone in total darkness. Nobody questioned what was happening. Everyone already knew. The tornado passed by, leaving a path of destruction like it always did. Ten minutes later, the sirens wailed once then fell silent again. The soldiers cautiously opened the gate and everyone poured out, resuming their tasks before they were so rudely interrupted. The voice, again, read statistics. Three dead, eight wounded. Names accompanied them. One building seriously damaged, eight more suffered slight damage. One was her apartment building. Daniel! Regina quickened her pace.

Twenty minutes later, Regina arrived at the apartment building. Windows were shattered and a few belongings lay strewn about the street. One guy came around a corner, heading toward the building carrying a small armchair. She went up to the apartment, scanned in, and went inside. The inside was a disaster. Pots and pans were strewn everywhere, the couch was flipped over and on the opposite side of the room. Regina called Daniel’s name multiple times, each response was silence. She started to panic when the door opened behind her. She whirled around to see her son standing there.

“You called?” he asked, humorously. Regina smiled. Daniel’s humor never faded, no matter what seemed to happen. Even when his father died, he didn’t lose his humor.

“Well, yeah.” she replied sarcastically.

“Then it’s a good thing I came.” Regina playfully punched Daniel. He looked around the apartment.

“This is a disaster.” he said in a funny voice. Regina laughed.

“Then let’s fix it.” she said. The next thirty minutes involved moving the couch, replacing pots and pans to their respectable places, and Daniel attending to a small water leak under the bathroom sink. When Daniel was done with that, he replaced the tools in their toolbox and slide the box back under his bed. He was going to miss this place. ‘Oh, yeah. I have to tell Mom that.’ he thought. He moved out into the main living space where his mother was sitting on the couch, reading a book.

“Mom, can I tell you something?” Daniel asked.

“Sure, honey.” Regina replied. “What is it?”

“Mom, I’ve been thinking about this for quite some time and…” he paused and took a breath. “I’ve decided I want to enlist in the Army.” He grimaced as he said it. As much as he wanted to, he hated the fact that when he left, his mother would be left alone.

Regina gasped slightly as Daniel said it. Her husband, Andrew, had been in that same Army Daniel was talking about when he had died. She didn’t think this was a good idea. Or an idea at all. Just then, the power went out.

Author's Note

How is the dialogue? I'm still trying to work on it but I'd love to hear your thoughts on it.