Human Nature (Book 1): Human Nature I

by Borthwick, Finlay

  “Olivia! No! Why? Why didn’t you just say?” He had never been so shaken up in his entire life as he held her in his arms. “Come on baby, you survived a gunshot, you can survive this too. Just stay with me, ok?” She didn’t respond, rather only looked into his twinkling eyes. “How… When?” He had no idea how or when she could’ve been stabbed. “On my way to you… silly.” She tried to laugh, but it ended up in a chesty cough. “No baby, don’t. Don’t say anything, It’s ok. The others w-will find Erica, a-and Tina,” his voice became croaky. “They’ll save y-you! I promise ‘Liv.” She continued to stare into his eyes, accepting of whatever would happen next…

  Zach and Celeste searched the back area of the camp. “Get down!” Celeste pulled Zach back, noticing a knife duel going on up ahead. “Wait a minute,” Zach looked carefully at one of the duellists, “It’s him! Reed!” Zach ran out as Celeste tried to pull him back. “Reed! Over here!” He caught his attention, “Oh no! Reed look out!” He remembered that distracting a combatant in the middle of a fight was always a bad idea. Reed spun around, avoiding his opponents’ knife, and using his own to stab the man in the heart, pushing him back to the ground.

  “Nicely done!” Zach complimented him, but then instantly regretted his awe due to the fact that someone else had just died.

  On her own, Gwen searched around the other side of the camp. She had found her heavy pistol again, and was searching around with it. She opened one of the tents, noticing a mother with her two frightened children inside. “Shhh! It’s ok! I’m not going to hurt you, just be silent!” Gwen zipped the tent back up again, leaving the family to be.

  Suddenly, she was apprehended by Louis, who held a knife against her throat. “Well met again, bitch. Let’s have a little talk, shall we?” He manhandled her about, still at knifepoint.

  “What do you want Louis? Just look around, there’s no one left to appease. Why don’t you just give up? Or better yet, why don’t you just die?” He didn’t answer and continued to force her in the direction he wanted to go. “Sit down,” he pushed her onto an office chair, tying her arms down, backing away. “I like your weapon by the way. Very elegant indeed!” He crazily remarked her heavy pistol, before aiming it at her.

  “I saw you, Gwen. I saw you kill William. I know it was you. I saw you and your friends enter the hospital as well – I know you killed Raphael. My two best friends they were, great guys. Now, on the same day, both of them have died. It’s all because of you.”

  Gwen put her hand up, “Actually, Raphael was dead when we found him. Just thought you should know that. As for William, well, the bastard deserved to die.” Louis intensified his grip. “Why don’t you just run anyway, Louis? I mean, think about it.” Gwen suggested. “If you kill me, my group will find you. When they do, you’ll die anyway. Whereas if you let me live, they’ll never even try to find you. They won’t care what you do.” He began to see reason, but Gwen could tell he still needed convincing.

  “Look, I know a place. It’s not far from here. We only left it because we wanted to settle in here with more people,” Gwen bluffed her way into an excuse, “You’d like it. It’s a really big house, with a really big swimming pool. You can live in it with the rest of us. All you have to do is let me live. Just let me live. Can you do that; do you think? Why take vengeance for the past, when you can live the perfect future?” He lowered the gun slightly, then raised it again. He lowered it even more the second time, before yet again raising it. At last however, he saw Gwen’s reasoning, dropping the gun in front of her. “Have a shit life…” He walked away from her, parting with those words. “Louis! No! Aren’t you going to release me? Hey!” She spun the chair around, however he had already disappeared from view, “Talk about spooky…”

  “Four green bottles, sitting on a wall. Four green bottles, sitting on a wall,” Gwen had been alone for so long on her chair that she had begun to sing, “And if one green bottle, should accidentally fall, there will be three green bottles, sitting on a wall. Three green bottles,” she took a deep breath, fearing that she may have to go around again, “Sitting on a wall…”

  “Gwen!” Fortunately for her however, help had finally arrived. She spun her chair back around, “Erica! Tina! Thank goodness you two are alright!” Erica pulled out her pocket knife, cutting Gwen free of her restraints. “We hid in one of the underground dugouts. A nice little family let us hide with them. They just told us they were leaving however.”

  Gwen smiled, “Well, looks like Elliot’s plan worked after all. This place is still standing, and there’s less mouths to feed!” Erica and Tina looked at each other, “I’m sorry, his plan? You mean,” Gwen already knew what she was going to ask however, “Yes, that’s exactly I mean. All along, Elliot was tricking us. He had to make it seem real. But ultimately, it worked anyway.” They all breathed sighs of relief. “Where’s Elliot now then?” She put her finger up, “No idea. Might as well go and find him.” They all nodded at each other as they went to find Elliot.

  “Don’t let go, baby. Just hold on, just a little longer.” Elliot rocked her in his arms, “Come on, just stay with me. Don’t you dare close your eyes, ever!” She tried to smile at him, but couldn’t succeed. “Think about our future together, ‘Liv! One day, we’re going to settle down in the mountains, in a little cabin. We’ll have two daughters. We’re going to live like a happy family for the rest of our lives. Can you see it now?” Olivia nodded at him slightly…

  …Elliot, Olivia, Lucy Jr. and Alice arrived at the dance later that evening. “Elliot!” Reed ran over to them, “My guy! How’s it hanging?” They shook each other’s hands. Reed then bent down to kiss Olivia’s hand, as well as Elliot’s ‘princesses’. “I must say, you two look absolutely adorable this evening!” Reed complimented Lucy Jr. and Alice. “Well, I’m sure they might get a little bit red in the face when I say this, but they would love to take it in turns to dance with Tommy!” Elliot referenced Reed’s son. “Ohhhh, and I’m sure he’d love to dance with you two as well!” Reed had made both of Elliot’s daughters turn away in shyness. “Oh, come on you two!” Olivia took both of their hands, guiding them towards the other guests. “You were right Elliot,” Reed looked to him, “Everything did work out in the end. You and Olivia finally got your daughters, and I finally got my son. Thank you, mate. Truthfully. I should’ve never doubted you…”

  Erica and Tina arrived at where Olivia was. “Everyone back!” Tina demanded space, while Erica examined the wound. “Oh my god…” She whispered to Tina. “What? Oh my god what?” Elliot was distressed and eager. “Don’t say ‘oh my god’ and then not follow it up! Erica? What is it?” Both of the nurses swallowed hard and turned back to Elliot.

  Erica put her hand on his shoulder, “Tell her that you love her…” Elliot looked suspicious and bewildered, “Elliot, please. Just do it. Tell her that you love her…” He leant over to her, and put his hands on the sides of her head.

  “I love you, Olivia. I’ll love our daughters just as much. You’ve seen that vision. I’ll make it come true – no, we both will. Together, Olivia. I’m only doing this with you.” He bent down and kissed her on the forehead. “So, are you ready to spend the rest of our lives together?”

  Her eyes twitched, as one last tear rolled out, “W-we… already… d-did-d…” Elliot looked confused at first; but then, all of reality hit him at once. He heard Olivia exhale her terminal breath, noticing her chest ceasing to move up and down.

  Erica put her hands on Elliot’s arms, pulling him away from Olivia’s body. “Wait…” he was quiet, “N-no…” Tears began to flow out as he bobbed his head. “With you, or not at all…” Elliot whispered to Olivia’s corpse, before falling back and passing out.

  “Elliot!” Tina caught him before he hit the ground. “How is he?” Erica turned around. “He’s out cold! The shock of Olivia’s death… It’s just taken him down! He’ll be ok but, he’s going to need our support.” She looked around at the entire group, “All of us.”

>   Standing back still, Zach and Celeste bowed their heads to Olivia. Reed, still knelt next to Elliot, did the same. Erica and Tina followed shortly after.

  “God’s speed, Olivia,” Gwen spoke up, “God’s speed…”

  Chapter 28

  After going back to collect Emilia from the campfire, Tobin and Ellie strolled through the forest; firearms at the ready. “So,” Tobin initiated a conversation as they proceeded onwards, “We told you our story. How about you tell us yours now?”

  Annabelle didn’t answer, instead continued to look through the trees in search of Vanessa and Miguel.

  “I didn’t have to save your life you know,” Tobin reminded her, “You were just lucky that I happened to be pretend-sleeping at that moment. Otherwise, well you most certainly wouldn’t be strolling with us right now.”

  Annabelle shook her head, acknowledging Tobin’s point. “There’s not much to tell, really. I’ve told my story a million times before, always different parts of it to different people. This time though, I think I’ve run my past dry. I’ve absolutely nothing else to tell that I haven’t told before, nor can I really be bothered to tell anything else a second, third, or maybe even fourth time.”

  Tobin looked back at Emilia, “How you holding up?” He stopped to wait for her to catch up, noticing an alarmed look on her face. “It’s just… Ellie was right…” Tobin tried to deny everything his daughter had said, “No, she wasn’t. That star up there really is where your boyfriend’s at rest… At least, if you choose it to be so, that is. Whatever you believe, is whatever your reality is. There’s no need for common sense in this world, not anymore.” Tobin slipped her knife away from her side, “I can’t trust you not to, do something.” He holstered the knife on himself, continuing to walk on.

  “You two going to catch up or not?” Annabelle called back to them. “Come on,” Tobin grabbed Emilia’s hand, “Let’s find out the truth behind this bitch, shall we?” He prompted Emilia to smirk slightly, “That’s more like it! Come on, let’s catch up with her!”

  “Ellie, we’ve been walking for days. Where are we actually going?” Gisela was rather tired and worn out, with her arm around her husband’s shoulder. Ellie continued walking on ahead of them, travelling up the open road.

  “Look, I already said it a thousand times,” Ellie took a deep breath to repeat herself yet again, “If you two want to head back to the campfire, just turn back around now. We’ve walked entirely on or at least alongside this road for our entire journey. If you trace your steps back, you’ll arrive back at the camp.”

  Gisela tripped up, and began breathing immensely. “Alright that’s it,” James pulled her to the side of the road and leant her up against a tree, “Rest, honey. We can venture forth at another time.” She rested against the tree, as James went over to Ellie.

  “Listen, I think you’ve gone a bit too far with this reaction. I get it, I do, you don’t like your father anymore. But like it or not, he got us this far. You and I both remember this isn’t the first time you’ve tried running away, and you and I both know it won’t be the last time. You have to go back to him eventually, Ellie. Why not go back to him now?” James suggested.

  Ellie didn’t have an answer, so merely shrugged at him, “One day, he’ll be gone – just like mum. On that day, I want to make sure he feels every ounce of pain possible. I want him to feel like a failure.” As prepared to continue walking, James stood in her way.

  “Is that what your mother would want? Would she really want you to treat your father like that?” He engaged his eyes on hers. She grunted at him, “You don’t know what my mother would want.” As she prepared to go around James, he stood in her way a second time.

  “That might be true, Ellie, and I get it. I really do get it. You blame him for your mother’s death. The argument lead to the car crash the car crash lead to the death, fine. But think about it, think about everyone you’ve killed since then. How many of them do you think had families or at least friends elsewhere in the world?” He tried to get through to her, but Ellie wasn’t that easy to get to.

  “Does it matter, James? I killed absolutely no one prior to the apocalypse. That fact only changed because the world changed. You can’t compare two different ages of Earth’s history.” She had shut down any further responses of his. “Look,” she lowered her voice to speak to him on a humane level, “It’s not even the fact that he caused her death which is what annoys me the most. The thing which annoys me the most is the fact that he denies his part in it all. That is why I can’t stay with him any longer. That’s why I always run away. I only ever come back for resources. I don’t love him. I hate him. Heck, James, I even love you and Gisela more as parental figures… Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a lot to find and a lot to see…” She attempted to walk off again, and only now did James finally let her go on past him. He watched as she hiked up the road.

  “You need to go after her,” Gisela cleared her throat as James crouched opposite her, still leant against the tree. “I promised Tobin once that I would take care of Ellie no matter the cost,” James confided in his wife, as she turned to face him, “We both did that, James. We made that promise together. That’s exactly what we shall do. I’m in no shape to move currently, and I can wait here for a long time…”

  James sharply turned his head towards her, “What? No, don’t even think about suggesting that. I’m not just going to leave you here all by yourself!”

  Gisela shrugged, “You have to, honey. Things have got to be this way. Remember,” she held her Holy Cross necklace tightly, holding it up to James’ face, “The Son will always be with you. The Father will always look out for you. The Holy Spirit will always guide you…” She took off her necklace and handed it to him, “And so will I. I will always be with you, I will always look out for you, and I will always guide you. That girl is lost right now, but she can be found again. I see the light in her heart. You must help her reignite that flame.”

  James held the necklace against his heart, then put it back around Gisela’s neck, “You’re right. You are going to be all three of those things… That’s because I’m not leaving you, ever. You hear me Gisela? Ever!” He took both of her hands, “You don’t know how much time we have left with each other. I don’t want to spend it all worrying about when it shall end. I want to spend it being grateful for everything we had and still have even now.”

  Gisela smiled warmly at him, “You always did love me more than I loved you…” They both laughed. “Please, James. You must help her. From the moment I first looked upon you with my eyes back in high school, I knew who you were. This is the kind of person I had always imagined you would become – even in the worst of times, you would help people regain their light again.”

  James shed a tear, as his wife wiped it from his cheek. “It’s ok… Do not cry, my love. This is all part of God’s plan. I’ll be ok, always.” She took off her necklace a second time, handing it to her husband.

  He grasped it tightly, his mouth twitching as he began to tear up. “Come here,” Gisela brought her husband in for a hug. “I’ll come back for you…” He whispered to her during the hug, “I’ll forgive you if you don’t…” She responded.

  Annabelle continued guiding Tobin and Emilia through the forest. “So,” Again, Tobin initiated a conversation with the exact same opening word, “You’re Welsh. Yet we’re in France… How strange.” She shrugged, “Well both of you are clearly English to me… How strange,” Annabelle mimicked his words.

  “We’ve been here since the apocalypse began essentially. I remember everyone in England at first thought it was a country-thing. Then we fled to this place, only to discover how wrong we all were.” Tobin was trying to speak in a friendly manner, but Annabelle’s refusal to give her story made this difficult. “You sure you’ve uncovered every bit of your story? There’s seriously nothing hidden still? How about… What were you doing last year? Or at least whatever you would consider last year to be.”

  An
nabelle sighed, “Alright, fine. Fair play. I’ll give you a damn story.” They continued to walk through the forest as she told her story, “For two years I was part of a small group. A rather small group, might I add. There were only four of us. It was just me, my mum, my dad, and my mum’s best friend Andy. Things were neat. We didn’t encounter too many people… That was for the better, at least until we met the most malevolent force of people in our entire lives. They called themselves the Bandits.” Annabelle paused momentarily, preparing to reach an emotional part of her story.

  Tobin looked back at Emilia, making sure she was ok. He didn’t verbally communicate with her, but questioned her with a thumbs up, to which she also responded with a thumbs up. He then turned back to Annabelle in front of him, “Yes, the Bandits. Go on…”

  “We tried so hard to reason with them. But these people, they needed to teach ‘lessons’ to make sure that trespassers wouldn’t return to what they referred to as ‘their’ land. They could’ve killed my entire group, but they didn’t. They suspected we were part of a larger group – which we weren’t – just in case we were though, they only took one life… My father… Killed before my very eyes.” She stopped talking again, “Look, I’ve told this tale a thousand times before, must I tell you anything else?”

  Tobin grabbed her arm, halting her, “Yes actually, you do. First, you rob me and my friend, then you don’t even keep up your end of this pathetic bargain. You didn’t refer to the woman you were with as ‘mother’, nor did you refer to the man as though he was a family friend. So, where are the rest of your group then? I need to know I’m not in for any more surprises, Annabelle…” He emphasised her name to seem sincerer.

  “Alright, if you really wanna know… Not long after my father’s death we met someone new. His name was Vincent. Then, we met another new man not long after him either. His name was Elliot. Take note of that, it’ll become more important later on. With our new group of five, we headed to London, only to discover the place was a fortified safe haven… Or at least it was until I provoked angry responses from the Bandits by executing the leader’s brother. They followed us to London and killed the camp’s leader. We either killed or drove most of the Bandits back out of the camp. I saw my mother kill the leader – he was shot, and then she pushed him from a lengthy drop into the sewers, or underground tunnels, or whatnot.” Annabelle paused again as Tobin imagined the events in his mind. “Ok. Carry on…”