I bolt upright—smoke? My window is still open from earlier. I must not have closed it. The air is thick like the cloud of sleep in my head. I leap out of bed and rush to the window. Looking out at my neighborhood, I see that there isn't much of one left; most of Winnipeg has been leveled. Some houses and small structures remain, but for the most part, the city has transformed into an urban wasteland.
The smoke now makes sense; plumes rise into the sky from burning remnants. Even some of the rebar has melted, and the concrete has been reduced to fragments. I grab my iPhone and run downstairs, calling for Nat and my sister, hoping they haven't been infected or worse, killed. I halt in my tracks and find that the entire south side of our house is missing, or rather, it too has been turned into rubble.
Beyond the gaping collapse, I can make out Bree and Nat through the smoke and debris. Then I notice the two Vexon Rogues in hazmat suits, holding them captive. I also see other Vexon roaming the area, as if searching for someone, or something. Then another one wearing the same suit appears out of the smoke, right in front of me. He, she, or it—it's difficult to tell from its inhuman grunts—grabs my arm and marches me to where Bree and Nat are being restrained.
"Do you think they're going to infect us?" Nat asks, wide-eyed and nearly in tears. My captor holds me beside the girls.
"I don't think so," I say, "if they were going to infect us, they would have already. And they probably wouldn't be wearing those suits. In fact, I think they want to make sure that we don't get infected. At least not yet."
"Shut up," my captor says, its alien tone like a bass drop. The three Vexon take us to a group of waiting hostages, then the atmosphere begins to swirl violently, and a huge helicopter descends from above. It lands ten to fifteen yards away, scattering debris like leaves. Two Vexon jump out, and they aren't wearing suits.
"We're missing one," the first Rogue says. As if on cue, a jeep approaches, carrying five occupants. Aside from the driver, there is one riding shotgun and two sitting in the back on either side of a frightened girl, about ten or eleven. The driver jumps out.
"We are done here!" it says to another Vexon who looks in charge. Another Vexon from the jeep grabs the girl and hands her off to the group.
The back of the helicopter opens slowly, and our captors push us towards the flying vehicle's open mouth. As we walk, a young man to my right is fighting against the tight grip of the Vexon holding him. He looks to be not much older than me. I watch as he kicks back with his leg, nailing the Vexon squarely in the crotch. But the Rogue is unfazed and smashes its gloved hand into the poor guy's head, knocking him unconscious. The Vexon drags the limp man by one arm, and the sight of it drains any hope I may have of fighting back.
Others aren't yet deterred. They struggle, but their efforts are feeble and wasted. Anyone who causes enough trouble also gets knocked out. The rest of the captives stop their efforts, and we are gently herded into a cage inside the helicopter. It seems odd that they are being so careful.
The Rogues are probably being careful so that we don't accidentally get scrapes or cuts, which would greatly increase our odds of infection.
As each person enters the cage, one of the Rogues locks an ankle clamp on us. They close the cage when we are all inside and surround it like hawks protecting a prized catch.
As we take off, the helicopter door starts to close, and before it's all the way shut, I see more helicopters taking off and landing. I presume that we are not the only group.
My phone buzzes inside my pocket. Manny! I have completely forgotten about him. I pull out the device, amazed that it hasn't been confiscated. The screen displays his single text:
"Winnipeg: Not safe, evacuate immediately!"
"Man, Winnipeg is already burned to the ground," I text back. "Nearly everyone is dead or infected, and those of us who aren't are captured." No response.
"I can encrypt it for you," a small voice says from the corner. I jam the phone into my pocket, wondering who just spoke. The girl from the jeep I saw earlier crawls out of the shadows. "I can encrypt it for you," she repeats in a whisper. "Your phone, I can code it so that it can't be monitored." I narrow my eyes at her, then silently retrieve the phone from my pocket. I hand it to her, and she tucks it away before anyone sees.
I see Bree and Nat on the other side of the cage. Their eyes are tightly shut, not wanting to acknowledge the awful reality of our dire situation. I stand up and pick my way toward them. None of the Vexon attempts to stop me. But as I get closer, I feel like my connection with them diminishes. I sit down beside Nat and bring my lips close to her ear.
"I feel strangely different about us," I say, and she opens her eyes.
"What do you mean by different about us?" she asks in a quiet but fierce tone. "You mean weaker?" She hesitates, and then her eyes fill with fear. "Oh my gosh, I feel it too! You mean like our connection is weak?" I nod. "I feel like I don't really know you." She squints, and a single tear trickles down her face. I move my hand up to her cheek and wipe it away.
The little girl comes over and hands my phone back.
"Thank you," I tell her, and put my phone away. The little girl retreats to her corner.
"These things are uncomfortable!" Bree says, I glance at her and see she is struggling with the thing wrapped around her ankle. "And annoying," she says. "Did you feel that?"
"Feel what?" I ask her. She stops struggling, and her face falls. "What is it?" I look at Bree again, trying to understand what she is feeling.
Before we got captured, I would be able to instantly tell what she was feeling. But ever since these ankle clamps, it's like the connection I have with my sister, and Nat is no longer there.
"Try again," I say. "What did you feel?"
"It was as if—" She tries to speak, "as if I felt more connected to you when the clamp was being pulled." I slowly nod and store this new information.
The flight is long, boring, and exhausting.