“Don’t worry about me, let’s just get this over with so I can go.”
“Nice doing business with you,” Simon extended his hand, but Sam walked away from him.
“Get some rest. You have quite the day tomorrow.”
Simon and the two men exited the room, but Christine stayed inside to check on Sam.
“I’m sorry Sam.”
“Thanks to you, I’m alive. I don’t like that you just completely abandoned us, but you saved yourself, and for that I can’t blame you. I’m getting out of here and I have to get back to my family.”
“I hope you do.”
“I will.”
─
The next morning, Simon walked to Sam’s room, but when he walked inside, Sam was already prepared. He stood confident in the middle of the room and looked at Simon.
“We’re ready?” Sam asked.
“We’re ready.”
Sam walked out of the room and followed Simon, the wide hall and concession stands made him guess where he was. When he looked next to him, he saw that he was walking around a stadium. Up ahead were three men. They were positioned like they were in the military and stood firm, but still.
“These are the men that will be going with you for the trade. They are very skilled so you should have nothing to worry about.”
“I don’t care, let’s just hurry up and do this.”
One of the men grabbed a bag near them, large enough to let Sam know it was the ammo Simon mentioned, and tossed it near him.
“Inside there’s a gun for your use or whatever else suits your fancy.” Simon explained.
“Do you have any knives?”
The men laughed and Simon smiled, but Sam kept a straight face, “What’s so funny?”
“We don’t need ‘em!” one of the men laughed.
“What idiot told you that?”
“The same idiot that’s allowing you to leave soon.” Simon interrupted.
“Well, I stand by my words,” Sam grabbed a gun and stood up, “let’s go.”
─
They opened the front gate and watched Sam and the men walk out. Simon and Christine stood by and waved at them, but as soon as the gate closed, Christine simply let her head down and cry.
“You did the right thing. You wanted to go back home, and now you can. A human for a human. The perfect trade.” Simon smiled.
“I will never forgive you for this!”
“You won’t have to. You’ll never see me again.”
─
Time passed as they all walked alongside the road, but Sam walked behind the men. He didn’t trust one thing Simon said, but he knew he wanted to get out and this was the only way. They walked past a sign and Sam noticed that it pointed in the direction where his community was. He knew it. Seeing that made him rethink everything and his body started to get shaky from excitement. His stomach filled with butterflies and he pictured him approaching the gate and being greeted by Jess and the others. It was a moment he was ready to bring to life. Sam wanted to get to his family. No matter the cost. He suddenly stopped and looked at the men.
“I’m sure you are great guys.”
When they turned around, Sam shot one man in the head and the other two in the chest. They all fell to the ground and Sam exhaled in relief. The two men struggled to breathe as one of them suddenly died and the other tried crawling away. Sam noticed he tried reaching for his gun, but he walked over and kicked the gun out of the way.
“I’m very sorry. He can’t know!”
Sam shot him in the head and grabbed their guns, but he noticed one of the men had a machete on them. He grabbed everything he could, put them in the bag, and ran the opposite direction. He knew to get out of the area quickly before zombies came. No matter how much his body would tell him to stop and rest, Sam was going to keep running.
─
His feet began to ache, his lungs felt depleted of air, but he wiped the sweat away from his eyes and kept running. From thinking he was dying to now, he never felt more anxious to see Jess and the others. He thought again about all the times he dreamed of the moment the gates would open. How he’d smile and they would be speechless. Jess running into his arms and they’d finally get the life they promised each other. He cracked a smile as he slowed down and flopped on the ground. His ears were pulsating, and his breathing was the only thing he could hear. He just stared at the sky and calmed his breathing.
“Come on Sam! Get up!”
A zombie emerged in front of him, forcing him to jump to his feet. He grabbed the machete and charged after the zombie. The zombie jumped at him, but he ducked and knocked it down. He cuts its head off and cracked a smile. He missed it, no matter how dangerous it was. Something was wrong about the zombie. It was almost as if it looked familiar. He looked over at the head and noticed he in fact did know the person. It was a survivor of the community.
“What?”
There could be many reasons the man could’ve turned, but Sam only had one thought in mind: Jason and his men destroyed the community. Sam stood up and ran straight for the community again.
“God, please no…”
─
Soon, he came upon the community, and his worse fear had come true. The whole community filled with debris and a graveyard of rotting bodies. Some of them were burned as the fumes of their rotting flesh overfilled his nose. Sam just looked around, not sure what to think. A zombie rose out of the debris and ran at Sam, but he stabbed it in the head and kept walking. He only looked for one thing, but he knew it would be too long. Suddenly, he noticed the graves they made outside the community were still intact; mostly. He walked over and stood in front of his own grave, next to his mom and son. Jess thinks he’s dead, and his heart ached just to acknowledge that.
“Please Jess, be alive! I’m here now!”
Zombies began heading towards him, but he kept staring at the graves. He saw them coming, but they didn’t scare him one bit. He gripped his machete hard and stabbed one zombie in the head and pushed it against the other zombie. He stepped down on the zombie and stared at it. As it growled at him, he could only see something that ruined his life, something man created to betray one another. It disgusted him.
“It’s not your fault.” He told the zombie as he stabbed it in the head.
Sam let out a loud exhale and took his foot off the zombie. He didn’t know what to do at this point. To him, everyone was gone, and he didn’t know where they could be. Hope was something he haven’t felt in a long time and it continued to disappoint him.
“They have to be fine. They have to be.” He whispered to himself.
“I’m sure they are.” A voice murmured behind him.
Sam turned around quickly, but not before someone knocked him out, “But you’re not going to be.”
─
It was a feeling he was tired of getting used to. Being knocked out and tossed somewhere he isn’t familiar with. The headaches especially. He hated the headaches. This time, however, nothing seemed blurry. He just woke up and was fully aware of his surroundings. It was a large cage with old blood stains everywhere he looked. The sound of men shouting and banging on the metal fences that stood tall in front of them made Sam realize he was in a dangerous place. He was on a theater stage and the seats that usually go in front were all torn from their spots. There was a build cage that seemed to be where men make their surviving stand. Others were in the cage with him, but he didn’t recognize or trust any of them. One of the men, stared at him, but Sam chose to ignore it. A horn sounded and the roar of the men grew louder as a woman approached from the nosebleed of the arena. She just simply put her hands up and the entire arena went quiet. The quickness of their loyalty made Sam’s heart skip a beat and he stared profusely at the woman as she looked down on him.
“The weak are not allowed on this planet. Tonight, we will find out who’s worthy of calling themselves survivors.”
They all shouted and cheered as Sam watched men approach the
cage with their guns. Sam backed away from the cage and watched them point to two men. One of the men began crying while the other one just blankly looked ahead.
“No, not AJ!” one of the men begged.
“Manny!” the boy cried.
The men opened the cage and grabbed the two of them, dragging them out and throwing them in the center arena. The boy only seems to be about 15 or 16 years old, but clearly, they didn’t care. Manny ran to the front of the cage crying for AJ to come back. The arena had weapons hung up to the cage, but AJ was not hesitant to grab the first thing he saw; an old metal pipe. The other man continued to stay quiet and slowly walked to the cage a picked a machete. Sam watched him and noticed how calm he was. He was too calm.
“Only the strong survive!” the woman shouted.
The man looked at AJ and charged after him, but AJ screamed and ran around the cage. The woman laughed at the sight while the men screamed for the man to catch him. He threw his machete at AJ, cutting his leg and causing him to fall. Manny kept screaming, but Sam didn’t know what to do or think. There was nothing any of them could do. The man ran up to AJ and stepped on his back as hard as he could! As AJ screamed in pain, the man began to lift him up, but AJ hit him in the head with the pipe, making them both fall to the ground. The man seemed to be knocked out, but AJ immediately looked to Manny and smiled.
“I did it!” he cheered.
Manny sighed with relief, but Sam noticed the man moving, “Kid! Behind you!”
When AJ turned around, the man shoved his machete through his throat and snatched it out. Manny screamed louder than Sam could bear and watched AJ fall to the ground, dying slowly and painfully. Manny’s cry was hovered by the constant cheers and fence hitting from the men around them. Sam didn’t know this man, but in this moment, he was a person who’s lost someone close to him.
“I’m very sorry.”
Manny looked at Sam and wiped his face, “That was my son. And they took him away from me.”
They watched as the men grabbed AJ’s body and carried it away. The man was brought back to the cage, but he didn’t acknowledge Manny, he just went to the back of the cage and sat down. Sam looked at Manny and saw the rage in his eyes.
“Manny, it’s not worth it right now. Trust me.”
“I don’t know you and you don’t know me! Leave me the fuck alone!”
Manny walked towards the man and stared at him.
“What the fuck do you want?”
Manny kicked the man’s face against the cage and watched him roll over on the ground. Manny began to step on his face repeatedly until blood started spewing everywhere. It caught Sam by surprise. He knew if he were in the same position, the man would be dead too. Manny forced his foot onto the man’s face one last time before backing away and wiping his face. He looked at Sam and walked up to him.
“Don’t you dare judge me. He deserved every single ounce of pain I just gave him.”
Sam just nodded his head, “I know.”
The woman appeared in Sam’s peripheral sight as he looked over Manny and stood back. Manny turned around, fists gripped tightly, and despised her crooked smile. Before she could let a word out, Manny spit on her shirt and men rushed to the gate, but she stopped them. She chucked and pulled out a towelette.
“Hate to say it, but if he were meant to survive, he would have. Same goes for the guy who’s face you just smashed in.” she smirked as she wiped the spit off her.
“Fuck you lady!”
“You sure you want to play that game? I could easily toss you and this gentleman inside and have a fun time.”
“I would never do it.” Sam replied.
“That’s completely up to you! However, if you decide not to fight, I’d just kill you. Both of you.”
“So, why take us? Just to let us fight for your entertainment?”
“Well, quite frankly, there’s not much to do anymore. I need people to keep me entertained, sure, but I also like workers. That’s where you come in. I’m sure you understand. We took over this part of the university two years ago and I’ve been able to keep it strong since then.”
“Even the best places fall.” Manny said as he stepped closer to the gate.
“Not this place.”
“It could.”
“I’ve been able to negotiate with even the worst of men. Even those who made these things.”
Manny’s eyes widened with surprise and fear, but Sam only got more curious.
“Jason?”
The lady didn’t expect for Sam to know who she was talking about, but it intrigued her, “You know who I’m talking about? Interesting.”
“Yeah, I do. I’ve killed most of his men.”
She gasped at his words while she creeped closer to the gate and stared deep into his eyes, “You are the group that I’ve been hearing so much about!”
“Then you know my people will find me soon.”
“I highly doubt that! There was no trace of anyone around when we found you. So, I doubt they’re going to find you. Don’t expect a miracle anytime soon. They don’t exist.”
Sam walked up to her and didn’t blink once, “I will find my way out of here, and when I do, I’m going to give you a chance to do the right thing or I’m going to kill you.”
“You’re the one.”
She snapped her fingers, and the men opened the cage, but Sam backed away quickly and fought them off. The men grabbed Sam’s arms and began to drag him out, but Manny pushed one of them away and kicked the other one in the groin. Sam got up quickly, but the woman had her men pointing their guns at them. Sam put his hands up and Manny backed away.
“I have to say, that was very impressive! I normally don’t tolerate any of this, but I’d make an exception for you two. In fact, I think I’ll just keep you. We’ll see.”
She made a circular motion with her finger, which signaled the men to push Sam and Manny out of the cage. He gave one final look at the woman before they put a bag over his head.
─
It was that feeling again. That same feeling Sam was tired of. The unknown territory, the fear of not surviving. All now heightened because she knows of him and the group. What if she helped destroy the community? What if Jason is on his way there to see him? It was all unbearable.
The bag came off his head, and he was thrown into a room alongside Manny. Sam flinched and held his wound, but he tried to fight the pain. They chuckled and slammed the door as they both looked around and saw they were in a dorm room. Manny stood up and brushed himself off while Sam just looked around. The room was filled with dust, but it floated around every time they walked around the room. The beds were worn down and the mattresses were torn, but Manny pushed down on the mattress to see if it would creak or anything. Sam ran for the door and tried to open it, but the door was locked. He kept budging, but someone from the other side hit the door and made them jump.
“I guess we’re stuck in here, huh?” Manny sighed.
Sam looked at the window and found it was boarded up, so getting out that way wouldn’t be smart. They were stuck in the one room, but Sam knew there was nothing he could do. Manny sat on the mattress and wiped his hands. Sam paced back and forth, thinking of any way to escape, but Manny only got nervous.
“Hey man, there’s no way out of here.”
“There has to be. I can’t except anything other than that.”
“Look, what’s your name?”
“Sam.”
“Sam. Look, even if there was some way to get out of here, we won’t make it out of the entire building. We don’t know anything about them just yet.”
Sam took a deep breath and sat down, “Yeah, you’re right.”
“Trust me, I want to get out of here too, but we have to be smart about it.”
“I know, it’s just been a rough time for me lately.”
“Hasn’t it been for everyone?”
“Not like me, I don’t think so.”
“That lady, she said she’s he
ard of you. How?”
“It’s a long story.”
“Well, it seems we have time on our side for now.”
Manny sat across from him while Sam just gazed off and thought about everything that’s happened over the years, “Alright. What do you want to know?”
─
They don’t know how much time has passed by, but Manny was in shock over everything he was hearing. At first Manny could easily use any experience he’s had to compared to Sam, but as he listened to his story, he noticed that what he had been through was just a fraction of what Sam went through.
Z Island Series | Book 3 | Survivors of Z Island [Retribution Part 1] Page 8