Kaylee’s World
By Colleen Bement
A tired and annoyed woman watched out her kitchen window as the suns slowly dropped below the horizon. Her daughter was nowhere to be found. She figured her firstborn would push the limits and make it back under the wire. But the potatoes and protein patties were on her perfectly set table, and there was no one seated there to eat it. Supper time was the one meal she expected her family to be on time, yet not even her husband was on time this evening. The hot summer sun had almost set and she opened the small kitchen windows to let in whatever breeze was available. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath of the hot but fresh air.
Kaylee Frye knew full well that her mother would ground her for a week if she wasn’t seated at the table, hands clean, and ready to say grace. Choosing between certain punishment in order to get her scooter transport running, and being on time for dinner wasn’t an easy decision. She could push it a bit and pray her Mom hadn’t looked at the clock. But then the painful reality set in that if she stayed to finish her task, she wouldn’t be able to ride her new toy if she was grounded.
“Gorramit!” she shouted as she set down the wrench dashed for home.
Thankfully, she only had about a ten minute walk from her father’s shop to home. She figured running would cut the time in half, and she stopped for a breath only when necessary. “God, I need a man,” she said aloud. Not just for the sex, but for a decent ride home! She just had to make it home in time.
She ran past small wood-built dwellings, a school house, and a town market. Their home was at the end of town. Mechanically inclined, Kaylee’s father, Hank Frye, had built a very nice home for his family. He was proud to own one of the best homes in town for his wife Emma. He always felt she deserved more than he had able to offer her.
Kaylee stopped short of the front door to brush the dirt off her jumpsuit and from her unkempt hair. After she figured she’d done the best fixing up she could, she stepped through the door with a glowing pride that she’d made it in time. She smiled merrily as she walked past the table to wash her hands.
“Kaywinnit Lee Frye, you really pushed it this time,” Her mother admonished. “Another few minutes and—“
“C’mon, Ma,” Her father interrupted, already seated at the table. “She’s only sixteen. Have you forgotten what it was like to be a kid?”
“Clearly I haven’t since this is exactly why I want her to follow the rules.” she answered. She turned to Kaylee and added, “Honey, is that scooter really worth it?”
“Of course it is, Ma,” she answered as she continued to scrub the dirt and grease from her hands and arms. Her younger brother Kyle pushed his way in front. Kyle was ten years old. Kaylee picked up her almost annoyingly cheerful attitude from her father. Her mother, on the other hand, took everything in life so seriously.
“Are you sure that you want to be a mechanic, dear? Don’t you have other aspirations?”
“Gifted, she is,” Her father interrupted. “Like nobody I’ve ever seen. And what better job could she have in this huang wú (barren-wasteland) place like this?”
“College. She could obtain a decent education and settle on one of the central planets. That’s where the good men are– where the stability is.” Her mother continued to lecture her while Kaylee already had her eye on the desert.
“Apples! Shiny!” Kaylee exclaimed.
The Fryes were excited to see that they were being treated to fresh apples for desert. Fresh fruit and vegetables were a delicacy on the outer rim planets. Various rice or potato dishes along with protein supplements shaped into meals were the norm. Hank went hunting once a week, and on occasion, they’d have some sort of fresh meat for supper. Flour and rice were hard to come by as most of the border planets were comprised of deserts or ice. Terraforming didn’t always create the most ideal conditions. Fresh meats were rare considering there weren’t too many animals roaming around on Aura. Their planet was actually a moon that had been terraformed to mimic Earth. What livestock and fowl to be found were eaten up within the first few months. People found themselves too hungry to allow the animals to reproduce.
Kyle tried to grab an apple when no one was looking. Before he knew it, his mother had slapped his hand and told him to wait until after dinner. Kaylee laughed and started her dinner.
“Kyle, after you finish your dinner,” his mother admonished. “Is there anything else that we can discuss at the dinner table?”
“I heard that the Spencers are opening a new fabric store. Maybe we could check it out, Ma? “ Kaylee asked.
“Maybe if business picks up, you girls can get yourselves some proper clothes,” Mr. Frye added.
“Oh that would be a treat. If we could afford it. I’d love to visit the store. Let me know once it’s opened,” Mrs. Frye responded with a sparkle in her eye for the first time this evening.
There was a bit of silence before it was broken by Kyle. “I heard reavers attacked a village on Paquin.”
“Kyle!” His mother scolded. “I’ll have none of that kind of talk at my supper table!”
“Why not? They’re real,” Kyle added.
“Whether they are or not, that’s not something we talk about at supper, son,” Mr. Frye chimed in.
“Was everyone killed?” Kaylee asked frightened.
“Yup. Every last one,” Kyle answered.
“That’s enough!” Mr. Frye shouted. “None of us want to hear about those cannibals.”
Emma left the table and started washing dishes. She didn’t want any part of the conversation. Being a mother, of course, she had a tremendous fear of any harm that could come to her family. Stories were passed along about reavers but no one on Aura had ever seen one. It’s common knowledge that no village survives a reaver attack.
Kaylee immediately sensed her mother’s feelings and changed the subject. “So, college, huh?”
Emma smiled as her daughter continued. “Come to think of it, it’d be shiny to learn about the verse. Do they offer courses on mechanics?”
“Engineering,” Emma added. “Wouldn’t that be exciting to learn?”
Before Kaylee could answer, Hank added, “She already knows more than any instructor. What more could schoolin’ teach her? And you know we could never afford it.”
“That’s OK, Dad,” Kaylee added with a phony smile lingering on her face. “What would I do in a fancy place like college? I like my life the way it is.”
Kaylee didn’t see much of a need for education past high school. She was perfectly content with the cards she was dealt. She dreamt of the exciting life of a ship’s mechanic: flying away to exotic destinations-travel the verse. But the difference between a dream and the reality was always clear to her. She knew her father had never been given the opportunity to travel on a ship. Kaylee held fast to a hope that her father’s dream would become her reality. She had no intention of being stuck on the planet Aura, where her parents were born and would spend the rest of their lives.
The Fryes were born in to this lifestyle, much to Emma’s dismay. She had accepted her fate, yet wanted something so much more for her children. There wasn’t much on the border planets but ranching and farming. Hank Frye was lucky when he found work. Although she loved her husband very much, Emma, was obviously never content with the life of a homemaker on a border world. Her dreams of far away places and exotic lifestyles were never fulfilled. She’d fallen in love with a poverty bound musician who worked as a mechanic just to make ends meet. He’d never planned to end up with a career as a mechanic. Emma tried to hold back the bitterness she carried, but she couldn’t hide if from Kaylee.
Who ends up with the lifestyle they’d dreamed of, no matter what century you’re born into? In the middle 26th century, the verse was made up of the haves and the have nots. In 2514, it had only been under a hundred years since the people from Earth spread across the galaxy searching for a better life. Earth had become overcrowded and couldn’t sustain its inhabitants. It took a few hundred years to terraform a nearby galaxy of planets and moons. The central planets were made up of the few worlds where the terraforming took a strong hold. The others were not as fortunate. Inhabitants of the outer rim plants spent most of their life concentrating on survival. They struggled for work, food, and the little bit of happiness they could find in the freedom from a controlling government.
The Anglo-Sino Alliance between America and China was created instead of one destroying the other. Because of the mistakes of the United States in over-extending their military and finances in pointless wars of their recent past, China could easily had Conquered the United States. They instead found it more beneficial to attempt to coexist. Of course, the Alliance became the communist part, and the border worlds clung to the freedom of democracy that the Independents fought for. The planets under Alliance rule had everything…good schools, healthcare, clean food and water. The border worlds had nothing to offer except for a future of freedom and autonomy from the Alliance.
* * *
The conversation had finished long before the meal. There are those times when the supper conversation headed in a direction no one wanted to maintain and silence was preferred. Emma was already washing the dishes, while Hank was reading a newspaper. Kyle was playing with a toy while daydreaming, and Kaylee was simply watching her family. Being a very sensitive person, she couldn’t help but watch and try to figure out what was going on inside everyone’s heads. She knew her father was pleasantly content with his reading of the daily news, and she sensed the pain her mother felt knowing life just didn’t turn out as she planned. Kyle was lost in a world of his own, daydreaming about the mock battle of Serenity that he and his friends played with their toys. Being just a kid Kyle couldn’t understand the importance of that battle. It was the bloodiest and most devastating battle of the entire war against the Alliance. Not only were so many lives lost during that time, but essentially that’s when the Independents or Browncoats as were called, lost the upper hand during that time and the end came quickly. Kaylee just couldn’t understand why everyone couldn’t get along.
“Chores done?” Emma asked both of her children.
“Of course,” Answered Kaylee.
“TahnZan <of course or duh>,” answered Kyle.
“Lao Pa,” Kaylee started. “Would you have time tonight to take a look at the starter on my scooter? It’s not firing right and I’m really close to getting it up and running.”
“Sure thing, cutie,” He answered. “Let’s go.”
“Yea!” she exclaimed. “Ma, we’ll see ya later.”
“Don’t be too late you two,” she admonished.”
Kaylee waved to her mother as she darted out the door. It was always a treat to have the chance to work with her father, whether it was for coin or not. She usually did some odd jobs around town to gather enough money to buy parts for her projects. Since she was five she had been involved in some sort of mechanical project. Always with an abundance of energy she couldn’t still. This most likely contributed to her lack of interest in school. The only reason she even graduated from high school was the time she spent with her friends…and shop, of course. Shopping was the only thing she looked forward to, besides lunch, of course.
* * *
It was the middle of the night and Hank couldn’t sleep. He had barely dozed off in his favorite chair with a magazine hanging from his hand. All at once he gasped and sat up straight. He thought he’d heard a gunshot and rushed to the window. It was only moments later that he heard screams and saw flames from the other side of town, spewing in to the night sky. Fearing the worst, he grabbed his shotgun and raced to wake his family. He sensed that there was far more danger than a simple fire.
“Emma!” He shouted. “Wake up!”
“What’s wrong, dear?”
“Get the kids up NOW. We’ve gotta get outta here.”
“Why? What’s—“
“Just DO IT!” He shouted.
She ran down the hall to wake her children.
“Kaylee, Kyle,” She firmly said to them. “Wake up, kids. Ni Pa says something’s wrong and we’ve got to leave the house now.”
Barely awake, Kaylee rubbed her eyes and said “Why? What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know. Just get up and let’s go.” Emma knew her husband well and knew full well that something was wrong.
Kyle added, “Shouldn’t we grab our coats?”
“No. Come, hold my hands. Don’t think we have time,” whatever it was, she had realized that it meant their lives. She clutched her children’s hands tight and dragged them out the door, close behind her husband.
“Shhh,” Hank whispered. “No talking. Hurry!”
None of them had any idea why there were running out of the house in the middle of the night. They were scared though. Good and scared. Whatever it was, they knew they were in grave danger. Before long they all heard it. The terrifying animal-like sounds of the reavers mixed in with the desperate screams of their fellow townspeople echoing in the distance. With gun in hand, Hank ran ahead of the family as they raced for his shop. It was pitch dark and he prayed hard to God they hadn’t been seen. Just before they ran in to Hank’s shop, Kaylee saw a woman in the distance with what looked like her skin ripped and hanging off her arms and face, a trail of blood behind her as she was dragged. She was screaming for help that would never come. Reavers never left survivors. Then she saw them. The townspeople were being chasing through the dirt streets, dust kicking up everywhere. One of two of them were running with their bodies engulfed in flames. The reavers appeared to be some-what human, though it was dark and most of the streetlights had been knocked out. She didn’t need to see them to know what these creatures were: the worst nightmare that the border planets could ever face.
“In here,” Hank whispered. He pointed to a trapdoor in the ground. With his gun shaking in his hand, he all but pushed everyone down the hole. Quickly he shut the trap door and locked it tight behind him. He was breathing hard and couldn’t speak. He simply lifted his finger to his lips to signal complete silence. Finally they were inside Kaylee’s hideout, but she didn’t feel the least bit safe. She tried hard to catch her breath as she look around to make sure all her family was still with her. The fear stung her like nothing she’d ever known.
Then they heard it. They heard THEM entering the shop. Finally they heard everything being ransacked and demolished. Hank held his shotgun tight and kept it pointed up towards the door, plenty of shells for reload in his pocket. The screams were terrifying, yet the fact that they were becoming fewer was even more disturbing. Kaylee had heard that Reavers didn’t kill their prey right away. Instead their victims were tortured and eaten alive, with their body parts being saved as souvenirs.
They were grateful that Kaylee had built this underground hideout last summer. She wanted a place to get away from everyone and everything. Never did she imagine she’d be hiding from the boogeyman. Her friends and everyone else she knew were most likely dead, or wish they were as the reavers ate their flesh. Hank and Emma knew full well that they wouldn’t survive this, and tried their best to comfort their terrified children through to the end. It wouldn’t be long now.
* * * *
“Dad?” Kaylee whispered.
“Yea, honey?”
“I think they’re gone. Do you think they’re gone?”
“God, I hope so. We’re not movin’ an inch for a long while though.”
Not a sound had come from anyone in the hideout until now. It was all Emma could take as she finally sobbed uncontrollably, holding her children tight. Hank motioned them to continue their silence.
“We’re gonna wait until I hear their ships take off. We’re not moving until then,” Hank whispered so quietly.
Emma nodded her head in acknowledgement All but Hank allowed themselves to relax a little. Hank, frozen as a statue, didn’t move a muscle and kept his gun pointed to the door. They stayed that way for hours before Hank finally lifted the trapdoor to inspect the area. He never did hear the sounds of the reaver’s ship taking off, but felt it was about time they come out of hiding.
The silence was unnerving. Could there be anyone else alive? So much of the town was on fire that it was pretty easy to find his way. Slowly he walked the main street to make sure the reavers had left. They had. It was over.
The rest of the Frye family emerged from hiding, grateful to be alive. Kyle was anxious to see the rest of the town. Kaylee just wanted to go home.
“Emma? Take the children home. I’m going to search for survivors.”
“Oh honey, please, please be careful,” Emma added.
“Don’t worry. They’re gone.”
Hank walked the streets, knocked on doors, and found nothing but silence. Nothing. No bodies. No one was left. The reavers had seen to that. But suddenly, he turned down an alleyway and almost shot his friend.
“God! You scared me!” His friend said. “Hank?”
Hank lowered his gun and embraced his friend. “Have you found anyone else?”
“Yea. There’s a few of us. Made it out to the fields behind the rocks.”
“Your family OK?” Hank asked.
“Yea, thank God.”
“Let’s keep searching. There’s got to be more,” Hank insisted.
“Let’s hope so,” his friend added.
Hank turned to find his family walking up behind him. Immediately frustrated, he told them to go home.
“Not a chance, Pa” Kaylee said. “We’re in this together. Kyle and I can help you search.”
Hank glanced over to Emma with disapproval.
“They insisted, and I agree. I think we should stick together on this.”
Kyle nodded his head in agreement as Kaylee turned to start walking back toward the town. “Let’s go,” she said firmly. “Our friends need our help.”
Hank was overcome with pride. He couldn’t believe how brave his children were. Especially his little Kaylee. He wasn’t sure how or when, but big things were going to come her way. Some day she would be a part of saving the galaxy. He just knew it.
The town would be eventually rebuilt, but for now, people rarely ventured back. Too many horrific memories to endure. The survivors moved into large tents made of canvass, and banned together in order to survive. Emma kept house just as she had before. Family supper was always right on time and their lives carried on. Most of Kaylee’s friends had been killed, and she spent much of her day feeling pretty lonely. Working on repairs with her father helped her pass the time. She had finally finished her scooter transport and found a soothing serenity while flying it. She’d never experienced such freedom and relished every moment.
It was mid-day and the harsh sun beat down on her. “Takin’ a break, Pa,“she shouted back to him. Yet she knew there was going to be a bright light in her future. There was just so much more to do. Someday she’d finally discover what it felt like to travel in to outer space. More importantly, she’d find a man for some much needed sex. She wasn’t sure which one was on the top of her list.
The End
Colleen's Stories and Fan Fic 