There's another

He hadn't gone far before he knew that he was in over his head. The dark street seemed to hold innumerable unseen threats and dangers. As he walked, he looked down the way at the parked cars and the light reflecting off the polished hoods from a single street light. The mist seemed to create a yellow cone just beneath it. In the center stood a figure with a long black trench coat and a black fleece hood covering its head.

He stopped walking. He knew he was there for a meeting, but something caused him to pause. It was a feeling inside that something wasn't right. He looked on either side of the street to see if someone else was there, but in the dark it was hard to tell.

Just then, it all seemed to flash before him in quick succession. He saw himself meet with the figure in black, then someone else came out of a nearby house straight towards them. They ran in opposite directions, but there was another person hiding in a car that jumped out and caught the figure in black. He saw himself turn to see a flash of light and hear a muffled pop in the same instance. The figure in black slumped to the sidewalk as the one from the house grabbed him as he stood there watching. He seemed to see it like a movie as the one from the house raised a silver gun with a silencer attached to his head and said, "We warned you," as he pulled the trigger.

The vision snapped like a dream into reality as his consciousness was brought back to the present. The figure in black still stood beneath the light, waiting.

He pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number. He listened to the ringing as he watched the one he was to meet with answer.

"They've found us," he said.

"What? How?" came a female voice on the phone.

"I don't know. But it's not safe. Don't look around, but there's one in the house next to you and another in the car just up the street."

The figure beneath the light stole a glance out of the corner of her eye at the window of the house just in time to see a blind flutter back into its position.

"If I run, they'll take me," she said.

"It's too late. They've already noticed that something is up. Run away from the car and the house. Now!"

Just as he spoke and she turned to run toward him, the door to the house flew open as the man he had seen in his vision came running down the walkway with a gun in his hand. The car that held the other man spun around in the street and started speeding toward everyone else.

As she ran away from the men, he ran toward her, pulling a gun from his jacket.

"Duck!" he yelled. She dove to the ground as he fired at the man from the house. His shot hit the man's right arm, causing him to drop his gun. She immediately jumped up and looked back as the man from the house held his bleeding arm.

"Come on!" her friend called to her as he grabbed her hand. They ran down an alley between two houses just as the man in the car drove up, almost hitting them but instead plowing into a white picket fence. He jumped out of the car and looked to his partner who waved his arm as a signal to follow them.

The dew from the evening mist lay on the ground like a thin wet blanket that would splash up from puddles as they ran. In and out of alleyways and cars they evaded their pursuer who kept right on their heels. Their lungs burned for oxygen as they breathed harder and harder, but they couldn't stop. It had been ten years that they had lived in that hell-hole and they weren't about to go back without a fight.

Turning the corner around the edge of a wood fence, he saw a loose board which he quickly picked up. Stopping just beyond the corner he listened as the agent following them came closer. Just as he saw him make the turn he swung with all the strength he had left at the man's head. The agent quickly ducked backwards, causing him to slide forward feet first. Like a baseball player coming into second, he quickly popped up and turned back around only to find the loose board coming straight at his head again. This time the agent didn't react as quickly and the force of the wood on his skull caused him to black out as his body fell against the fence.

The man dropped the board and the pair quickly left the scene. Looking around them and not finding anyone else following, they slowed down to a regular walking speed.

They were winded and their muscles hurt from so much running.

"My name is Chris," said the man. "I assume you are Desiree from the phone?"

"Yes," she said. "How did they find us?"

"They must have traced the call. I thought we were on a secure line, but it looks like they have feelers into almost every network."

"Have you found any others?"

"Not yet. You are the first, but I know there are more. There has to be."

"How long has it been since you've escaped?"

"Six months. You?"

"Four. I was about to give up on finding anyone else when you called. How did you find me?"

"I noticed you walking to the market the other day. When you bought an apple, I followed you home to see if you actually ate it."

"Damn. I thought I was more careful, but I'm almost glad I wasn't. I've always wondered why they didn't eat the apples."

"It's the pectin. It's poisonous to them."

Desiree looked at the apartment buildings looming before them on the skyline as the day was starting to break. Lights started flickering on in different units as people began to rise.

"They try so hard to look and act like us. They even keep the same night and day patterns even though they don't sleep. Look at them turning on the lights like a normal human as if they just woke up. Damn tweeters."

She spat on the ground as she said the slang term for the aliens.

"Well, we'd better get off the streets before they start coming out," Chris said. "My place is over on 5th. If we hurry, we should be able to make it. Then we can talk and figure out our next move."

"I'm just glad to have found someone else like me," she sighed.

Even though he didn't know her that well, he put his arm around her and let her lean on him as they walked. As far as they knew, they were the only two humans left on the planet that weren't in work farms. And, like her, he was just as happy to have someone else to share the day with.

"I'll make up some apple cider and we can have a piece of apple pie," he said with a smile. She smiled back at his attempt to keep the moment light.

"Sounds good," she said as they hurried into the dawn.