CHAPTER 110: WATCHERS AT THE WHITE HOUSE.

The priest could not fight them, and he could not stop them from using the church as a rest stop. He even offered them some bread, although it was stale.

Just as they said, they had food and offered some to the people in the church and the priest nearly wept. The woman with the baby actually did when Sunshine gave her ready milk in a bottle for the child.

She did not even question how the milk had been kept warm or where it came from. She was just glad that her child could sleep on a full stomach after such a long time.

As they prepared to eat a dinner of noodles and roasted meat around a fire that Siegfried started close to the doors, Nimo showed Alfred’s picture around.

"Have you seen this man?" She asked them.

They all shook their heads, telling her that they had not.

"Nobody has come around here since the meteors fell. We were having mass when it happened." The Priest looked down to hide the grief in his eyes. "Most of the survivors that were with us died in the rain that followed. We are the only ones that remained."

Sunshine looked at the group. One priest, a teenage boy two women and a baby. They were defenseless here, and when they run out of food, they would die. That was if marauders did not come upon them and slaughter them for the little food they had.

"You should come with us." Sunshine told them, locking her eyes with the pregnant woman. "You are not going to be safe here for long and that baby is not going to survive when the endless winter comes. I am not out to save everyone that I meet but you gave us some bread because you thought we lacked food."

"I will go." The woman with the baby said eagerly. "For my baby, I will go."

Another woman pulled on her arm, looking at her anxiously. "Ask some questions first. They had blood on their shoes."

Siegfried laughed. "The blood was not ours, we were attacked by some monstrous looking wolves, and we fought them off. Our boss is right; you should come with us or else something might eat you out here."

Nimo looked at the women. "Don’t worry, we have a base with many other people. We just came out to look for my brother." She showed them the picture again, hoping that they would share some good news.

But the answer remained the same. None of them had seen Alfred.

****

Lugard and his team were back at the White house. They had been welcomed like heroes with cheers and a loud applause. This was because they returned with some supplies and renewed hope in the people.

Ceasar met them outside and met them like a legitimate president welcoming back troops from a war. Of course, he did not step outside until Janet dried up all the acid rain.

Lugard had given his report and observations on Janet to his president and then gone off to eat and rest. As he walked past a window later that night, he saw something that turned his legs to jelly.

A very big bird was standing in the shadows of the fallen meteors that had fallen on the grounds of the white house. He could make out the shape and see what looked like a giant bird which was standing taller than the dark stone in front of it.

"What the fuck!" He bellowed and leaned his face against the window. "Light up the compound." He shouted into his walkie-talkie.

The urgency and loudness of his voice attracted a few people who approached the windows and every opening that allowed them look outside.

Hundreds of lights fell on the compound, bringing into focus the watcher. An alarm was set off, alerting all the residents above and below ground.

People panicked, some screamed, and others run for cover. Janet came out to see what the fuss was about. She found Lugard and stood next to him.

"What the hell is that?" She asked, taking a few steps back instinctively.

"You are the freak, shouldn’t you know?" Lugard mumbled, the words spilled out him unintentionally.

Lucky for him, Janet was too focused on the bird to care for his words.

Soldiers pulled guns out, preparing to fire. Most were looking at Janet like they expected her to do something about the situation.

In the bunker, Ceasar slept away in his noise proof room, unperturbed by all the fuss outside.

Lugard was trying to find answers above ground meanwhile. "Has anyone seen anything like this?" He shouted.

Governor Adkins who was among the politicians taking refuge in the White house raised his hand and shouted "Yes, I saw it last night when I woke up to pee. I thought that I was imagining things, so I rubbed my eyes for a few seconds. When I looked back, it was gone."

"And what the hell have you been waiting for to say something?" Lugard screamed.

Someone fired a gun and Lugard turned his head, groaning angrily. The bird unfurled it’s metallic like wings to deter the bullet from accessing it, then it flew at once as if to attack but paused a few meters away its focus on the weapon.

He did not know who had fired first, but he figured that they should just continue. More men fired, Lugard inclusive but the bird remained unaffected.

"Are you insane!" Janet screamed. Her body trembling like she was being blown by the wind. "Why the hell would you shoot at it? It wasn’t attacking, we should wait and see what it wants."

"Are you crazy, lady?" Someone shouted.

There was a lot of noise in the White house and nobody could really hear each other over the screaming, crying and sound of bullets.

Janet was right to worry as two more watchers suddenly flew fell from the sky, evoking more panic among the people. It was like they had been thrown back in the middle of meteor rain again.

"Are you just going to stand there?" Lugard bellowed at her.

Janet glared at him and joined the fight. Her ability became a weapon; she pummeled the birds with brutal arcs of water.

The watchers however stood, unflinching with every whip-crack of water that hit their bodies.

"What the hell?" Janet exclaimed when it seemed to make no difference.

The bullet festival lasted for an hour and Janet also run out of gas. Her arms would not allow her to continue anymore.

"Stop." Lugard eventually ordered.

"We need a new strategy." Janet suggested.

Tension tightened, fear grew, and teeth chattered. And suddenly, the watchers flew off, vanishing in seconds at inhuman speed levels.

For a moment, everyone remained silent, waiting for the return of the birds or something else that was unexpected. When an hour of no activity passed, they relaxed.

"Woohooo." Someone shouted. "We won."

The people applauded and rejoiced. Whatever it was, humanity had won, and it would win again. Lugard even sneered at Janet secretly. Her ability was really a joke. She had not done any damage to the bird creatures except maybe anger them.

Hopefully, when they found the one with the fire ability, she would do better. As for Janet, her use would run out after the acid rain stopped.