Not too much later, Elliot had grabbed two rifles from the armoury, and was saying his farewells to his group. “She needs me now more than ever; I’ve been absent for the past two years. I’ll make up the time for the rest of my life now.” Although none of them wanted him to leave, Gwen, Andy, Vincent and Annabelle still accepted Elliot’s decision. “Oh and Gwen, next time you think of pointing a gun at stranger’s head, just try a humane approach instead.” They laughed lightly. “And Annabelle, you’re certainly one of the toughest people I’ve ever met. One day, that’s going to come in handy, stay tough.” As he prepared to say goodbye to Andy next, he was distracted by the sound of the boat engine roaring loudly. “Oh no, please!” As Elliot ran over to the dock, the others followed him.
When they made it there, they were all surprised to see the boat already several metres away from the harbour. “Olivia!” Elliot shouted, but she continued on her journey nonetheless without turning around. Gwen tried to comfort him, “I’m sorry.” While he froze momentarily, he ran towards the nearest gate. “We can still follow her!” Everyone looked dazed at each other, but couldn’t think of a better idea, so they followed him.
In such a rush, they had failed to tell anyone else in the city where they were going – and thus left the camp unknown to the others. The group had returned to their pickup truck, Vincent now driving at high speed to find the road which was parallel to the water.
Eventually they reached the stretch of road next to the river which Olivia had departed on, they followed it upstream in attempt to catch up with the boat. “I hate to say this Gwen, but we’re really wasting time,” Vincent remarked in the driver’s seat to his passenger. “Shut up Vince’. If this was you, we’d do the same thing.” He shrugged, “But that’s the thing. It’s not me. It’s some random person we’ve only just met who came seconds to killing Elliot the other day.” Again, Gwen was the voice of reason, “We only found you a couple of months ago, therefore you’re a stranger too. So if you don’t like it, we’ll kick you out and take your truck from you. Would you like that?” He didn’t answer.
A while later, the group finally caught up with the boat. “There!” Elliot pointed out and banged desperately on the back of the front of the truck. As it stopped, Elliot jumped out to the edge of the road. The boat had stopped at a small dock, but there was no one it. “She’s gone…” he remarked, dropping his excitement levels. “That’s a good thing though!” Annabelle gave him the silver-lining to the situation. “If the boat is there, that means she’s on foot, and therefore cannot have gotten far.” Elliot nodded positively, “Yea. You’re right Annabelle! She must be around here somewhere.” As he turned around, he noticed a small town not that far in the distance. Beyond that town however, there was a vast open stretch of water. “Is that…” he began in shock. “The ocean? Yes, it is,” Annabelle finished and answered the question.
Back in London, more and more residents had decided to leave. The two primary medical personnel Tina and Erica were still debating on which route they should take. “Some people want to stay Erica; they might need us for any injuries they sustain.” But she was undecided still, “My daughter isn’t here. She’s outside of these walls, Tina. I have to find her.” They eventually reached a compromise. “Alright then, here’s the deal. I’ll come with you to find your daughter Cora, but only if we can come back here afterwards. Is that a deal?” Erica mentally debated for several seconds, before ultimately agreeing to Tina’s terms. “Alright, deal. I could do with Elliot’s help though.” Tina looked puzzled by that remark, “He’s already left though?” This surprised Erica, “What? When?” Clearly she had not noticed the truck driving off. “About an hour or so ago. His entire group just got in their truck and drove off at high speed. Elliot, Gwen, all of them.” She leant back, giving up.
Gwen, Vincent and Andy were having a serious conversation while Elliot and Annabelle carefully watched the village for signs of movement. “I’m just saying Gwen, the truck’s low on fuel, and god knows where the nearest petrol station is these days. We can’t waste any more of it looking for someone who clearly doesn’t want to be found.” Still, Gwen wasn’t on the same page as him, “If it wasn’t for Elliot, we would still be in the middle of nowhere. At least thanks to him we relatively know where about in England we are. We can do this for him at least.” But still Vincent rebutted the argument, “If it wasn’t for Elliot, your daughter never would’ve killed those two men. Everyone who died in the city would still be alive right now – Steven included.” Although Gwen struggled to disagree with him, she still stood by Elliot. “I’m done here,” And with that, Vincent walked off to monitor the village as well…
…Andy however wasn’t done with Gwen yet. “I need to ask you something Gwen,” he firmly began, “Did you try to kill Elliot?” He cut straight to the chase. “What?” Gwen was baffled. “I was speaking to the nurse, Tina. She told me that the injury on Elliot’s arm wasn’t an accident, it was deliberate. You were the one who found him.” Upon realising the confusion, Gwen shook her head quickly, “Oh god no! No not at all!” He looked at her pending for an answer. She sighed, “Ok yes, I did shoot him. But not with the intent to kill!” Andy didn’t understand that remark, “Why the heck did you shoot him then?” She struggled to explain why, “He was going to leave. I couldn’t let him! I had to find a way to get him back to the city. Having him pass out was the simplest way.” Andy turned away from her, “Are you serious? You didn’t even bother to patch up the wound! He could’ve died from blood loss out there!” Andy looked at her unsettlingly, “So that’s what this is all about. You’re not doing Elliot a favour, you just feel guilty, don’t you?” She swallowed hard and nodded. “Of course,” Andy was more understand than anyone else in the group.
Seeing no movement within the seaside town, the group had decided it was safe to move in on it. It was small with several seaside shops, and a long line of beach huts along the beach. “Nothing in here,” they searched every shop for any useful resources. “Oh. My,” Gwen’s face lit up when she found her ideal shop – a wine shop.
Inside, many of the shelves had been raided, however there were still some bottles left. “Ho-ho! Thank you lord!” She dived straight in with the bottle closest to her. Before she could taste the wine however, her attention was redirected by a gunshot outside. Peering out the window, she noticed an old man with a hunting rifle advancing on the shop opposite her. She could see Elliot and Andy hiding behind one of the shelves, and knew she said to help.
“Hands up!” Gwen flew out of the wine shop with her pistol. “No funny business or I will pull this trigger on you.” That had become a common introductory line for her. Reluctantly, the main dropped his rifle and raised his hands slowly. “Now listen here. You let my friends go, and we’ll be on our way out of this town. Deal?” He didn’t answer, instead only smiled suspiciously. “Now you put your hands up as well,” A different voice commanded. Gwen turned and noticed a younger man approaching her with a pistol too. The old man picked his rifle back up again, pointing it at Gwen as well. “Fair play,” she dropped her weapon and raised her hands.
Elliot, Gwen and Andy had been taken into an empty shop – all the objects removed. Their hands were tied behind wooden poles against the furthest wall from the door. The younger man had the rifle now, watching the group carefully. “So what’s your name then?” Elliot made conversation as Gwen and Andy looked at him, dazed. “Come on man, what’s the point in secrets nowadays?” He simply stared at Elliot with a look of boredom. “You know you’re going to have to tell us your name one way or another. If you tell me now, I’ll give you a heads up.” Still, the man ignored him. A few more seconds passed before Elliot mocked him, “Well, I did warn you.” As the door swung open, the man turned around, being struck with a cricket bat over his head – by Vincent.
Now, the tides had turned. Both men were tied up against the wooden poles by Gwen and Andy. “You need us to stay?” Andy asked Elliot. “Nah. I think one p
erson is less intimidating than five. We don’t want to make any more enemies.” He nodded, and guided the rest of the group back outside. “I did try to warn you. And now, you’re going to have to tell me your name anyway.” Elliot repeated, but neither of the men listened. “I would much rather do this the easy way. Just tell me your name, I’ll tell you mine. Then we can have a civilised chat.” Again, there was silence. “Last warning. You won’t like what I do next…” But still, just silence. “Damn, you really don’t heave my warnings do you.” Elliot picked up the cricket bat, and slammed it into the older man’s stomach area. The younger man looked over, clearly distressed by this. “That was a light whack. If you don’t tell me your name, I’ll go for a full pelt.” The younger man looked down, “Reed. My name is Reed. I’m twenty-two years old. I grew up in this town, I’m an expert in fishing due to being taught at such a young age by that man there – my father.” Elliot raised his hand, “Thank you.”
Outside, the mood was rather quiet. “I still think this is a waste of time,” Vincent said yet again, causing Gwen to snap, “You know what Vincent? We don’t care what you think. At all.” He snapped back at her, “Well you should do! Especially considering it’s my truck that got you all this far!” He noticed they all had looks of disgust on their faces. “Seriously? You’re treating me like I’m some villain! You want to know what a villain looks like? Kyle. Kyle was a villain. He killed people who didn’t deserve it! And have I done that?” Everyone looked away from each other – except Gwen. “Yes.” He jumped up off the wall they were sitting on. “Right that’s it. You lot can make your own way now. I’m done!” They all watched him head back to his truck; none of them cared to stop him. “Wait,” Andy looked back at the sea, and noticed someone rowing a boat across. “Olivia!” He yelled out, directing Gwen and Annabelle’s attention. Vincent on the other hand continued to walk off without turning around.
“That’s all you ever had to tell me, you see I’m not that bad,” Elliot was cutting Reed free of his ties. “I just need your father’s name, then we’ll go about whatever it is we normally do.” Reed watched Elliot closely, “His name is Ethan.” Elliot cut him free as well, “Ethan? Unusual name. I had a cousin called Ethan once. Anyway, nice meeting you two. Oh and one more thing, I don’t suppose either of you have seen a woman my age with long brown hair and a stupid utility belt have you?” Reid and Ethan looked at each other meaningfully. “What?” Elliot asked through his innocent smile.
Although Olivia had tried to row away from them, Andy had run into the water and manually dragged the boat back to shore. “Why do you keep running from us?” He asked her as they headed back to the group. She didn’t respond, but rather looked down at the ground guiltily.
Vincent tried anxiously to start the car, but the engine only choked. The fuel needle was at the bottom. “Argh!” He cried out, slamming the dashboard. Looking out of his window down at the beach, he noticed the entire group together – but he was fixated on Elliot. He picked up his rifle from the passenger seat, and came up with a sinful idea.
The group watched as Elliot and Olivia had a private conversation in front of the waves which lapped over their feet. “Why would you do that to me? We were going to leave anyway. Your plan was literally to forget about me!” Elliot berated her, as she watched the sunset. “You were better off with them.” Without turning around, she pointed at Gwen’s group. “No Olivia, I wasn’t. Half of them hate me. I was better off with you. The first thing I should’ve done on Day Zero was come to you and Steven. But I only had one thought on my mind: Survival. I didn’t know how to go about it, I just ventured off to wherever the roads lead me. It’s in our Nature to survive, Olivia. We do it at all costs. Sometimes it even blinds us in regards to the things that truly matter.” She looked at him, “Then you can understand why I left you behind. So that you would survive.” He put his hand on her face, “You’re all that matters to me now. I can’t survive if you don’t.” She smiled affectionately at him.
The rest of the group watched the sweet moment. The scenery of the sunset behind them just set it off even more. “Well I’ll be damned,” Ethan finally spoke, “There really is something worth fighting for in this world – love.”
Still gazing into each other’s eyes, they wasted no more time and moved in for a true kiss this time. An unexpected sound made both of them jump, forcing them to pull away from each other before the kiss could happen. Olivia clenched her back with her hand, and slowly pulled it away, revealing blood on her fingers. Elliot screamed out and wailed in disbelief, catching her as she dropped to the ground. The rest of the group quickly hurried over to tend to her, including Reed and Ethan. Backing away from it all, Elliot’s head began to ring, his hearing drowning out from shock. Turning to the left, he noticed Vincent aiming his rifle atop the hill behind the town. “You!” Elliot roared out so deeply, it made his throat sore. When Vincent realised he had been spotted, he dropped the rifle and made a run for it. Storming over to Olivia, he ripped the axe off her utility belt, kissing her on the forehead, “I’ll come back for you.” He looked up at Gwen, “Make sure she lives,” he sternly commanded her. Then, he ran as fast as he could to the hill.
Chapter 6
“Lay her face down on the counter!” Ethan had taken the group into the town pharmacy. It wasn’t much, but it was the best they could do. “What do we do now?” Gwen panicked. “Can you see a second wound?” Perpendicular to the first gunshot wound, there was indeed another one, “Yes! There is!” Gwen reported. “Good. That means the bullet exited the body. That’s one less problem to worry about. Alright, I need you to get the following…”
Elsewhere, Elliot was still running through the fields angrily to find Vincent. “I know you can hear me Vincent!” His voice bellowed and echoed back to him. “Show yourself! Face me like a man!” He hacked into several trees irately with the axe. “What? You’re telling me you can shoot my girlfriend but you can’t face the consequences?” He continued to hack into the trees. “I am going to find you. Trust me on that!” He continued stampeding around.
In the pharmacy, Ethan’s advice and Gwen’s handiness had treated Olivia quickly – though whether they had succeeded remained to be seen. “Do you think she’ll be ok?” Annabelle was concerned, “I hope so,” As was everyone else. “I’m more worried about Vincent,” Andy reminded them, “We don’t know what Elliot’s capable of. But judging by his reaction, I don’t think Vincent will make it out of this day alive.” Everyone looked at each other worryingly. “Do we really care though?” Upon saying this, Annabelle received a look of repulsion from her mother, but this quickly turned to one of agreement. “What? Are you two serious? I know he was out of line in what he said and did, but he did make one good point. Without his truck, we wouldn’t have made it here,” Andy defended his friend. “What he did was ‘out of line’? Andy he may’ve just killed someone. If Elliot slaughters him, it’s his own fault,” Gwen refuted, “We wait here until Elliot comes back, with or without Vincent. If he brings him back alive and Olivia isn’t, then he’ll probably kill him. I’m sorry Andy, we can’t help him now.” He looked slightly saddened, but also accepting of the fact that it was Vincent’s own fault.
The open fields had developed into woods. Although it provided more cover for Vincent, Elliot could tell that he was still around. “Just show yourself mate, please. I know that you hate me. It’s just the two of us here now. No one else ever has to know what happened here. If you kill me, the group will never know. All you have to do is show yourself.” His voice was less angry now, and more of a lower spiteful tone. He heard a twig snap behind him, and turning around, he noticed Vincent revealing himself. The two men stared each other down.
Outside the pharmacy, Gwen watched the sunset across the sea - a beautiful contrast to the first sight she and Elliot shared a heart-to-heart over. Ethan approached her with a cup of tea, “Drink,” she looked down at the cup, surprised by it, “Tea?” He nodded blithely, “You would be surpri
sed how much of the stuff we have here. It’s just me and my son who live here, we don’t get many visitors. The last group of visitors we got… oh, they were nasty. Very nasty. I hope you can understand the need for my shotgun earlier.” Gwen nodded, but then picked up on the ‘previous visitors’, “The bad people. Did they happen to travel by a bus?” Ethan looked at her, astounded, “How could you possibly of known that?” Gwen leant her head back, “They were called the Bandits. We encountered them as well. They killed my husband and the brother of the woman that got shot.” Ethan looked disheartened, “Oh, I see. Where are they now?” This caused Gwen to smile sadistically, “Most of them are in hell. They invaded our camp. Some of them got away with most of our resources and their bus – it’s why we had to leave. But the main one, I dealt with him myself. I avenged my husband.” Ethan looked slightly afraid of Gwen for that. “What does that make me though? If you kill someone evil, does that make you a better person? Or just as evil as they are?” He shrugged, “Who knows. The way I see it, Gwen, there’s no such thing as Good and Evil in this world. Everything is just something you had to do in order to survive.” She accepted the cup of tea upon this statement, “Like a drinking a cup of tea?” They both laughed merrily.
Elliot and Vincent continued to stare at each other. “I’m sorry for shooting Olivia,” he taunted Elliot, “I was aiming for both of you. The perfect lover’s death.” Elliot clenched his axe more tightly. “I hope you understand; this still doesn’t make me a villain. Fuel is a precious resource, and we wasted an entire gauge to find someone who didn’t want to be found. I can’t let you squander what little my group has. We were just fine before you came along. So for that Elliot, I am sorry it came down to this.” Gripping the axe even more tightly, he accepted what had to be done, “Likewise.”
Human Nature (Book 1): Human Nature I Page 6