Apocalyptic Beginnings Box Set

by M. D. Massey

  I broke free from Nick and ran past Sophie. She tried to grab me, missing.

  “What do you want from me?” Henry asked.

  “Henry! Where is she?” I screamed, running up to them.

  “Elaina! Get back in the truck!” he yelled.

  “No!” I was scared for my mom. I wanted to find her, see if she were alive. Sophie came up behind me, holding me in a bear hug.

  “Ah, now, let her stay. We can have some fun. Two is always better than one.” Kellan had an evil grin plastered on his face. “She is quite beautiful. That long, silky black hair would do wonders for me, brushing along my body.” He let out a sinister chuckle.

  “Answer my fucking question! What do you want from me, Kellan?”

  “Ah, yes, where was I…?” He tilted his head just enough to shade his eyes. He rubbed his chin. “Ah, that’s correct.” He looked up at Henry, his upper lip curled, pure evil on his face. “Roger wants you to come back to the complex.”

  “I don’t work for him anymore.” Henry’s words came out in a snarl.

  “Right. He said you would say that, but here is the problem.” Kellan stepped forward and pressed his forehead against the muzzle of the Sig. He brought new levels to insanity. “You can never quit working for him. My instructions were that if you did not come with me peacefully, I was to… How did he put it?” Kellan pushed harder, Henry’s arm began to buckle under the strain of his massive weight. “Bring you back in a body bag, which is what I’m going to do.”

  “No!” I screamed, still being held back by Sophie. “No! Leave him alone!”

  “Well, isn’t this a scene? Did that upset your little whore? She is rather foxy. Oh, the things I could do to her.” Henry’s arm shook, his anger bubbling to the surface. “You cannot outpower me and you fucking know it!”

  Then it happened. It was so quick. Kellan pushed Henry to the ground, his Sig went flying in the air, and he was on top of him, raining blows down. He didn’t have a chance. Kellan straddled his huge body over him, pinning him to the ground. Henry struggled, trying to hold Kellan back so he could get a few punches in, but it was no use.

  “Nick!” Sophie screamed for him to help. She still had me in a death grip, her dagger-like fingernails digging into my forearms.

  “Stay here, you two,” Nick commanded Claire and Thomas. He took off running toward Henry. Sophie tried to look for a good shot while they fought, holding me back at the same time.

  Kellan punched Henry so hard, I thought I heard bones cracking. Time moved in slow motion, then everything around me went silent. I could only see the scene in front of me.

  “Henry!” I screamed, fighting and clawing, trying to free myself from Sophie’s grip. Nick grabbed Kellan, swinging at him. He landed a couple good punches, but nothing seemed to faze Kellan. He was in the zone, looking to be enjoying every moment of it. He growled at Nick and shoved him off.

  Kellan beat Henry to a pulp. I had a feeling this was how Henry was beaten into submission under Roger’s authority. Kellan grabbed him by the throat and brought him up to his face. Henry was covered in blood. “Had enough yet, you worthless piece of shit?” Henry just looked at him, gasping for air, blood running from every orifice in his face. “Was that a no? Good, because I wasn’t done yet!”

  He repeatedly pulled him up and slammed his head to the ground. I was paralyzed. Just when I thought this fucker was going to kill him, I heard two shots that echoed deep within my mind. He let go of Henry and swayed for a moment, then fell on top of him.

  Sophie and I spun around, seeing Thomas, pale and gaunt, pointing a Sig toward the situation. At that moment, I became forever in debt to the little twerp.

  Nick got up and ran over to Henry. He pulled Kellan, wounds to his back and thigh, off him. Kellan lay on the ground groaning, drifting in and out of consciousness.

  I could do nothing but watch. My feet felt like they were made of lead.

  “Henry! Henry! Come on, Henry. Wake up!” Nick put his ear to Henry’s chest, then felt for a pulse. “Come on, man! Don’t you die on her! Don’t you fucking dare!”

  Sophie finally let go of me and ran to Henry. I collapsed on my knees before I could take a step. I was screaming, mixed with sobs, but I couldn’t hear anything coming out. It was like a nightmare, and no matter how hard I tried to scream, no sound came out. Claire grabbed me and hold me close. Everything was still happening in slow motion.

  Nick cradled Henry. He looked lifeless, like a ragdoll. I cried so hard, I threw up. Nick opened Henry’s eyelids. Oh god, I was losing him.

  Then I had a moment of clarity. I had to make Kellan true dead. I became like a caged wild animal. I scratched and clawed to get away from Claire and to Henry. Gritting her teeth, Claire yelled, “Elaina! Calm down!” Finally, she couldn’t hold me back any longer as I scrambled away.

  Nick had his ear to Henry’s chest. “Come on, man. Come on!” Sophie sobbed.

  I grabbed Henry’s lifeless, icy-cold hand, shoving Nick away from him. My adrenaline pumped fast and furious through my veins. “Get away from him!” I laid my head on his chest, listening for a heartbeat. I was too panicked to hear anything except my own heart pounding in my ears.

  “Henry… Henry, please. Please come back to me!” His beautiful face was such a bloodied mess. His eyes were already bruised and swollen, blood trickling out of his nose and mouth. “Henry! Please! Don’t leave me!” I cried out, beating on his chest. When I laid my head back on it, I heard his heart thud a couple times. It was slow, but it was there. “I can hear his heart beating!” I shouted. I laid my head back on his chest, hearing it beating faster.

  Henry coughed, blood misting out of his mouth. He moaned. Nick rolled him on his side to help keep his airway clear. “Lai-na…,” he whispered.

  “Oh, my god, Henry.” Weakly, he reached up and stroked my face. Even through all his pain, he was trying to comfort me. He couldn’t open his eyes all the way, and his breathing didn’t sound great. “We need to find him help!” I panicked. Henry needed medical attention right away, but we were in the middle of a motherfucking apocalypse.

  “Elaina,” said Nick, “there’s no one around.”

  “Love… It’s okay,” Henry mumbled, hissing between his teeth.

  “I know there’s no one around! And no, it’s not okay, Henry! It’s not okay,” I cried. His eyes slowly opened and closed as he drifted in and out of consciousness. I held his beautiful, bloody face in my hands.

  “I love you so much. Don’t you dare leave me. Please. Henry, please. Can you hear me?” His eyes opened slowly, meeting mine. “I love you. You are my world. My rock. My everything. Please, don’t leave me. Please, I beg you. Whatever it takes. I will do whatever it takes to fix us.”

  I laid my head on his chest and sobbed, sick with worry. It tore me up to see my strong, gentle, loving man dying. He wasn’t going to leave the world not knowing how I felt.

  “Henry… Henry, please listen. If it weren’t for you, my world would be dark. I would have perished already. I don’t care what has happened, or what you are. I love you. Please! Stay with me. I’m so sorry I doubted you. I’m so sorry I left you. After I gave you back my ring, I regretted it. I love you so very much. Please fight. Fight, Henry. You have to fight for us.”

  He tried reaching for my face again, then his eyes fluttered shut.

  While he was still conscious, Claire tried to assess him. “Henry, tell me what hurts.” He tried to laugh, but he grabbed his chest. “Your ribs? Chest?” When she pressed down on them with a gentle hand, he cried out. It sent him back into an unconscious state. “He may have cracked ribs. I’m not one hundred percent sure. They could just be severely bruised. I don’t know. All I know is that he must be in a lot of pain for him to keep passing out from it.”

  Claire called out for Thomas, but he was in shock, still with the Sig aimed. “Thomas, snap out of it! Go get the bin in the back of Henry’s truck. We need to stabilize his chest.” Thomas didn’t move. “Thomas!
” she screamed. “Oh, fuck it.”

  Claire started to get up, then Sophie jumped up and ran to the truck. It amazed me how fast she could move in those spiked heels. She ran back with the bin in hand, and dug through it. She found a couple rolls of wide elastic bandages.

  “Elaina, I need your help.” I shook my head, still crying. “We need to cut off his shirt and roll him so we can try to stabilize his chest with this bandage.”

  Not waiting, Nick leaned down and pulled a knife out of Henry’s pack, then cut his shirt off. He was bruised all over and had many cuts, some deeper than others. When we tried to roll him, Henry cried out in agony.

  I was worried what would happen when we started bandaging him. Nick kneeled at his head, his arms under Henry’s back, trying to keep him straight, while Sophie and Claire wrapped him at a feverish pace. Because of the bite on Nick’s arm, he grimaced every time he had to shift Henry.

  “What if his ribs poke into his heart or something?” I started to melt down again. All rational thought was gone. All I could envision was all of his ribs breaking loose, swimming in his body, lacerating every organ.

  Claire looked at me. “That’s the risk we have to take. We have no other options right now. We’ll try to be as quick and as careful as possible. We need to make sure the bandage is tight.” I was so scared Henry was going to bleed out, or worse. The thought of him turning ate me up inside.

  Kellan moaned, drifting in and out of consciousness just a few feet away, the blood from his wounds seeping through his clothing.

  Seeing red, I decided I was going to kill that motherfucker. Henry suffered enough pain and humiliation because of all of the shit they had put him through. I was going to dish out some major revenge, and it was going to feel so damn good.

  I got up and strode over to Thomas, took the gun away from him, and walked back to Kellan. Everybody was so busy with Henry, nobody noticed. I kicked Kellan in the ribs as hard as I could. He gasped and began coughing.

  “Elaina!” Nick yelled, still holding Henry. “Elaina, get away from him!”

  “No,” I growled. I was calm and felt at peace with what I was about to do. I knew it was wrong, but I wanted to avenge Henry’s pain, humiliation, and possible true death. Kellan’s murderous eyes watched me. I wasn’t sure if he were conscious or just out of it. I leaned down and spit in his face. Then I put the Sig to his forehead. “Fuck off, you sick son of a bitch.” Kellan smirked. I had just about pulled the trigger when I heard Henry call out to me.

  “Elaina. Don’t. I…need…him…alive.” Each word dripped with pain. He yelled out in agony again. He tried to get up, but Nick held him down.

  “Henry, you have to stay still or this is going to be worse for you,” Claire said, watching me.

  “I need…to get her away…from him. He’s unpredictable. He…will hurt her.” His worry brought him out of his state of shock.

  “I understand, but I need to get you stabilized, or you could…” Claire shook her head, unsure of what he was or could be.

  I needed to get back to Henry, but I wanted to kill that motherfucker first. Without warning, the ground was pulled out from under my feet.

  Kellan had grabbed my ankle and hauled me down. He used all his might to crawl up on me, trying to bite me. I screamed and tried to push him off. He was weak enough that I was able to hold him back, but his sheer size started to overpower me. I was also emotionally, mentally, and physically exhausted.

  I still had the Sig in my hand. Holding it to his ribs, I pulled the trigger.

  Click. Click. Click.

  The gun was fucking empty. You have got to be joking.

  Kellan laughed. “Nice try, you foxy thing.” His words poured out of him with a sadistic edge. “I’m going to have you right here in front of lover boy, if it’s the last thing I do.”

  I couldn’t believe he was going to rape me, even though he was shot twice. I felt his repulsive arousal against my thigh as he rubbed his hips against me. I wanted to puke.

  He clawed at my pants and his. I didn’t panic, remembering I still had the Sig in my hand. I pistol-whipped him across his temple. He fell off me and onto the ground. I got up, breathing hard. The blow knocked him unconscious again.

  For a second, I felt that I had conquered the overgrown gorilla. My brilliant lack of judgment had happened so fast, no one had time to react. They were all too busy working on Henry, and Thomas was in his own little world. When they finished, Nick ran to me.

  “Damn it! Why would you do that? He could have killed you!”

  “I know, but what does it matter!” I yelled. My calm demeanor had purchased a ticket and left on the five o’clock train. I was back in Panicville again. “Huh? Tell me. Fucking tell me! What does it matter whether we die?”

  “Elaina, it matters. We’re going to get through this!”

  “Nick! Look at you! You are half-fucking-dead!”

  He swallowed hard. He wasn’t pleased that I reminded him of his new life status.

  “I’m going to the cellar to get Mom.” He turned around, anger rolling off him, and headed toward the cellar opening.

  I looked around. There was blood everywhere. Henry was seriously injured and near true death. Claire was trying to give him water and wipe his face, which was something I should have been doing. Thomas was in shock. I didn’t know if my mother was undead, true dead, or alive. Sophie had taken over guarding Kellan, and there I stood, looking like a fool.

  I shook all over. Feeling Henry’s need for me, my name a whisper on his lips, I looked at him, seeing him trying to reach his hand out. I dropped the empty Sig and hurried to his side. His eyes were closed.

  When I knelt and kissed his forehead, he opened his eyes. They were gray. I had never seen them so lifeless. “No… No, no, no!” I screamed.

  “It’s okay, love. You’ll be fine.” He voice was garbled.

  “Are you turning?”

  He nodded, grimacing. He was in absolute agony. “I need a fix.” He tried to speak in a calm tone, but the pain was getting to him. “I’ve lost too much blood.”

  Claire jumped up and ran to the bin of supplies.

  “Bite me.” I held my wrist to his mouth.

  “No. I won’t let you be like this.”

  Claire rummaged through the bin. “Henry, do you have any needles, IVs, or whatever you use?” We didn’t pay any attention to her.

  “I don’t care. This is all too much. It’s okay. I will allow you to bite me if it’ll save you.”

  “Be s-strong, love. G-get a gun.” His words were staggered. Here he was, trying to comfort me in all his pain, then he insinuates that he wants me to shoot him? I had no words. I felt dizzy again, everything spinning and fading around me. “Elai-na?” I threw up. “Elai-na… Claire, hel-p her.”

  “Shit!” She didn’t know what to do. Help me, or try to find something with which to tap herself. Reluctantly, she got up and ran to the trucks to get another pack. Henry reeled, hissed, and growled from the pain.

  Sophie yelled at me. “Elaina, you have to lie down! You must have a concussion.” I lay next to Henry. He touched my hand with his icy-cold, stiff one.

  “Hurry, Claire! He’s turning! Hurry!” yelled Sophie.

  Claire ran back from the trucks, needle and vials in hand. She dropped down next to us. “How do I do this?!” Her hands shook.

  Sophie ran over, still watching Kellan. “I don’t think this is a good idea. You already donated to Nick.” She sounded concerned, but Claire shoved the supplies at her. With a speed I hadn’t seen before, Sophie reluctantly tied off Claire’s upper arm, found a good vein, and started filling one of the vials.

  Claire’s eyes welled up with tears. She couldn’t bear to see me lose the love of my life, like she had lost Marc. Sophie filled one vial, popped the next one on the needle, turned, and poured the first one down Henry’s throat.

  “Come on, Henry. Stay with me. Swallow.” Sophie’s voice broke. “Please…fucking swallow.” His hollow, l
ifeless eyes stared up at her. Her former protector, lover, and her only friend was on the verge of leaving her again…permanently. She ran her fingers over his throat, trying to get him to swallow. Finally, he did.

  Sophie turned back to Claire. She grabbed the nearly full vial off the needle, plugging the next one on. Again, she turned back and made Henry swallow it. She turned back to Claire again and untied her arm. She took the last vial off, then forced it down Henry’s throat. She still cared about him. Proven by her panicked state. His life meant so much to her. Sophie wanted to save him, like he had saved her so many times.

  I peeked over at Henry, terrified of what I would see. He moaned, the pain washing away from his face.

  “Thank you, Claire. I’m forever in your debt,” I said, knowing I owed so many people for saving Henry. She couldn’t speak. She just stared off into the distance, looking a little woozy.

  Nick clambered back up the cellar stairs. He carried Mom, growling in pain from the bite wound on his arm. She looked lifeless. I closed my eyes. I didn’t want to see if she were alive or true dead. The world spun at an alarming rate, then darkness took over.

  “Thomas!” No answer. “Thomas! Get your arse over here!” Sophie was pissed about Thomas’s newfound silence and continual stagnation. As much as she wasn’t a fan of him, she needed his help.

  He finally looked over at her when she trained her Sig at his head. “Thomas, so help me, if you don’t get your arse over here, I’m pulling the goddamn trigger!” Everyone had a short fuse. With careful strides, he walked over to Sophie. She leaned over Henry, trying to keep him comfortable, hoping he didn’t change.

  “Wha’?” he said.

  “I want you to take a gun and clear the house. We need to get everyone inside as soon as possible.”

  Nick laid his mother beside Elaina. He checked for a pulse and listened for breathing.