The Charred Lands: City of Ash

by Josh A. Murphy

  She began sarcastically pacing up and down the row, staring at each of us as she passed. Her one remaining eye seemed to gaze straight into my soul as she slowly marched past me. I let out a sigh of relief every time she walked past me, and felt my skin crawl every time she approached. She walked up and down her row of prisoners six times before she eventually came to a slow, grinning stop, right in front of Kelvin.

  “Are you sure you want to go down this route?” She calmly asked, staring at Kelvin. I watched as the man nervously tried his best to avoid her death stare, doing his best to hide any signs of his nerves.

  “Go fuck yourself, bitch.” Julian smiled in response, sealing Kelvin’s fate.

  “Fair enough.” Leaz Grinned. With a simple nod, she gestured to her men.

  Two large, brutish men grabbed Kelvin by the shoulders. He didn't even flinch as they forced him to his feet.

  “Don't give them the satisfaction of struggling.” Keith called out to his friend from besides me.

  “Will I fuck.” Kelvin replied through gritted teeth. They marched him over to the edge of the roof, keeping him stapled to the ground. He stood between them, unflinching and unmoving. He stared straight ahead across the great city of Manchester. I dreaded to think what must have been going through his head. I imagined he was either reliving his life, saying mental goodbyes to his loved ones, or more simply, taking in the view – the last thing he was likely to ever see.

  “You know what we're about to do to him, don't you?” Leaz called from beside one of her brutes that had their hand clamped over Kelvin’s shoulder. She turned back to Julian as she spoke, with a smile on her face.

  “Of course.” Julian said, staring straight ahead. He couldn't bring himself to watch, and I didn't blame him.

  “Nothing to say?” The woman asked once more. Julian remained silent.

  “This is on you.” She said, gesturing to her men once again. Without hesitation, they pushed Kelvin. He disappeared over the edge, falling face first off the side of the building. It was a long, long drop – but, true to his word, he didn't scream. For a while we all remained completely silent.

  Despite what he said, I expected him to scream. I listened out for any sounds, but heard nothing but the blowing wind.

  “I bet he looks like a squashed tomato.” Leaz laughed to herself, sparking several smirks and chuckles from her men.

  “You do realise I can do this all day.” She said, turning back to Julian.

  “What's your name?” He asked, as calm as ever.

  “Leaz.” She said, proudly.

  “Ah, well Leaz… Fuck you.” He said. For a few seconds she stood there, going a little red in the half of her face that still existed, she remained completely still, staring at him with her one good eye. Suddenly, she snapped into action, “Bring me my sword.” She spat, her voice now full of anger, as though tired of the game she had been playing.

  There was a moment’s hesitation as several of her men exchanged nervous glances, before one of them quickly scampered off to retrieve it. There was something about the look on their faces which seemed to suggest to me that even they were afraid of Leaz’s sword.

  “You’re wasting your time.” Julian sighed.

  Leaz let out a chuckle as she strutted over, stopping right in front of him. She knelt down in front of him and pressed her face against his, as though going in for a kiss. She remained there, with their noses almost touching.

  “I’m going to cut you into a thousand tiny pieces, and I’ll probably eat you myself.”

  “I knew you were a psycho bitch, but I never took you as a cannibal.” He mocked.

  “I’m not, but for you, I’d make an exception.”

  “If you want me inside you, there’s a much easier way.” Julian retorted, giving her a cheeky wink.

  Leaz let out a bellowing laugh before rising to her feet and pacing away. Julian stared down the line of his men with a confident grin etched on his face. I heard several of the people lined up around me snigger. I couldn’t believe that despite their impending doom, Julian and his men had such a confidence about them. They didn’t look afraid, nor worried. It was as though they each had some secret plan, or perhaps a death wish. I prayed it was the first of the options.

  “So… who wants to take the next tumble?” Leaz asked as she paced back towards us, “I assure you, the fall will be much preferable to the business end of my sword.”

  “Can we do a raffle?” Geoff confidently shouted out from the end of the line in a mocking voice, once again several of the tied and bound men around me let out a laugh. Leaz didn’t find it funny.

  Without hesitation she marched straight over to Geoff, and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck with her one remaining hand. He let out shriek of pain as she sunk her nails into him. She pulled, but he held his ground and remained knelt down.

  “Someone help me with this sack of shit.” She screamed, growing red in her remaining half of a face. The veins bulged in her neck in anger as she screamed to her men for assistance. The same two brutes that pushed Kelvin over the ledge of the roof quickly came running over. Once again, they each grabbed Geoff by the shoulders and forcefully dragged him up to his feet.

  “No… wait…” Geoff began to plead, before receiving a swift slap across the face from Leaz.

  “Don’t give them the satisfaction!” Keith screamed once again, but this time, Geoff ignored him. Tears began to stream down the older man’s face as he was dragged to the edge. He kicked and screamed, but the two brutes were far too strong for him.

  “Please!” He cried, as they placed him on the edge. Snot dripped from his nose and ran down his mouth as he babbled like a baby in a desperate attempt to earn a reprieve, but he was begging to Satan, and Satan wasn’t in the business of second chances.

  “That’s more like it.” Leaz laughed. The two brutes turned him around, leaving Geoff’s back to the edge, “My face is the last thing you’ll ever see.” She smiled.

  “NO!” He screamed – but it was no good. The two brutes both let go of either of Geoff’s shoulder, and at the exact same time, Leaz gave him a powerful boot to his groin. He let out a cry of pain as he grasped at his damaged privates, with wide eyes and an open mouth he doubled over in pain, giving Leaz the perfect opportunity for the kill. She sent in a second blow, this time sending a knee to her victims face. Geoff’s head was sent flying backwards from the blow, causing him to lose his balance.

  He disappeared over the edge in the blink of an eye, sending out a harrowing scream that seemed to stretch on forever and echo around the entirety of Manchester. Only when I heard the distant splat did his scream come to an abrupt end. Hearing the near deafening silence that followed sent shivers down my spine. I didn’t exactly like the idea of being sliced limb from limb by Leaz’s sword, but the thought of the fall made me want to throw up.

  I closed my eyes, and prayed that this would end soon. The longer this went on for, the worse it was getting. Despite the chill, my entire body seemed to be dripping with sweat. I couldn’t arrange my thoughts properly. Everyone else up here looked so calm and collected, but not me. Perhaps their composure was an act, but even putting on a brave face seemed impossible for me.

  “Oh man, he hit the ground hard!” Leaz bellowed out as she peered over the edge. I prayed that someone from my dwindling line of hostages would jump to their feet and tackle her over the edge, but nobody did. Instead, everyone remained where they knelt as Leaz returned to us, a mocking grin on her half face as usual.

  Finally, after what felt like a life time, I heard several voices from behind. I dared to peak over my shoulder, to see two men approaching. One of them held Leaz’s sword. It was a large, sharp looking thing. It seemed to glisten, even in the dim sunlight of this typical Charred Lands day. It was a magnificent weapon, the metal of its blade looked shaper than anything I had ever seen before. I could just imagine how easily it would pierce skin, or break bone.

  “Thank you.” Leaz said as she accep
ted the sword from the ugly looking man. The sword itself was almost longer than its holder, yet she held it as though it was made of cloth.

  “Right.” She said, stepping in front of us once more. “It’s time to see what your insides look like.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  Once again, Leaz mockingly paced in front of the last of us with her large, glistening sword in hand. She continued to mock us as she passed each of us, calling us names and grinning at our fear.

  After a good look at the sword, I quickly decided I would have rather been pushed over the edge than face the wrath of Leaz and her special weapon.

  “I call her Mary.” Leaz informed as she inspected her weapon, “Because I took it from a woman named Mary, right after I killed her.” She added, as though educating us on some important story that would help us care, or understand her.

  “Just get it over with.” Julian sighed, rolling his eyes.

  “As you wish.” She said, marching up to one of the men that had been captured when the tower had been taken over. She stared at him, tightening her grip on the handle of the sword. The guy, probably not much older than myself swallowed hard as he realised she had chosen him.

  “Any last words?” She asked. There was a pause for a few seconds, before the guy whose name I didn’t know shook his head.

  “Wait!” I said, regretting speaking out almost instantly. I didn’t know why, but there was something I needed to do. Leaz didn’t reply, but she turned to face me.

  “What’s your name?” I asked, staring at the Leaz’s next chosen victim.

  For a few seconds, he stared at me with a look of confusion splitting his face. “Ray.” He eventually replied. With that, Leaz raised the sword high into the sky, keeping it elevated above Ray’s head for a few moments, before bringing it down like a hammer. The blade struck home with perfect accuracy, striking him directly in the middle of his head. The weapon submerged itself within the top of his head, cutting all the way down to the tip of his nose, nearly splitting his head completely in half.

  She waited for a moment before pulling the blood stained sword from Ray’s head. She quickly wiped the blood on the blade on her shirt as Ray’s bleeding corpse collapsed, landing face first onto the floor of the tower’s roof. A blood puddle quickly began to form around him.

  I didn’t know why, but I needed to know his name. I felt sick knowing that I would be about to watch this boy die, without even knowing his name. Since truly entering the wild Charred Lands, I had already seen so many die, and I didn’t know the name of most. The majority of the nameless people I had seen die had been an enemy of mine, but this guy had been a companion. It may have been for a brief time, but even so, knowing his name as he died made me feel a little better, I didn’t know why.

  “Not too bad, aye Grimm?” Leaz asked, turning to one of the brutes that had been tossing people off the edge of the building. I could only assume Grimm was the man’s name, and it sure was fitting. He was a large, ugly looking man, with a squashed nose that looked like it had been broken a thousand times over, and bald patches on his head where scars streaked his skull. All of these wounds looked to be war wounds. I didn’t even want to know how many people this man had likely killed.

  “I’ve seen you do better.” He smirked.

  “Well, it’s the first I’ve done since I lost my fucking hand. By the time I’m done with these guys, I should have the one handed technique mastered. Listen here, I’ll wank you off if I don’t cut down to someone’s neck by the end.”

  “That depends… losing a hand’s effected your sword technique so badly, who’s to say it hasn’t ruined that technique too?” He smiled.

  “Aren’t you in a cheeky mood, Grimm?” She said, walking over to him.

  Before either of them had a chance to continue their romantic conversation, the silence on the rooftop was destroyed. Everyone instantly froze they listened to the automatic machinegun fire.

  “What the fuck is that?” Leaz screamed at Grimm. He stood there for a few seconds, looming over her in silence.

  “How the fuck would I know?”

  “Well you best fucking find out!” She screamed, raising the sword in the air as a threat. Without needing to be told twice, he quickly scampered over to the door which led to the roof.

  All around us, the rest of Leaz’s men frantically ran around, taking up defensive positions as the sounds of the shots became closer, and louder. The sounds were echoed and muffled, something told me they were coming from within the tower, likely on the top floor.

  “Keep an eye on these guys.” Leaz instructed to the other thug that had chucked Kelvin and Geoff off the building. With a simple nod, he took up a position at the side of Julian as Leaz jogged off after Grimm.

  I watched as Grimm reached the large metal doors which I assumed lead to a staircase to the inner tower. As he placed his hand on the handle, the door exploded outwards. He was sent flying backwards as the door struck him. He stood there for but a second in a confused state, before the machine gun opened fire on him.

  Countless bullets tore through the front of him, and exploded out of the back in rapid succession. The person firing the machine gun didn’t let go of the trigger until his body hit the floor.

  All around us, everyone quickly snapped into action, returning fire upon whoever was attacking them. I did my best to get a glimpse of our apparent rescuer, but all I could see was the flash from the muzzle of their machine gun as they sent bullets flying in every direction on the roof top.

  “Keep your head down.” Penny called from a few people down the line, I knew she was talking to me.

  I looked down the line of people besides me, but their attention wasn’t fixed on the gunner. Instead, everyone was staring to my right. I turned to check out what had their attention, just in time to see Julian snap into action.

  He rolled onto his back and perfectly managed to stretch his arms under his butt, and over his legs. Our hands being tied behind our backs made us defenceless, but now, in the panic of the moment, Julian had managed to get his hands to his front.

  Besides him, our guard was too busy shooting back at the machine gunner behind the door to notice Julian creep up behind him. With ease, Julian was able to grab the man’s head and violently jerk it to the side, snapping it instantly. He dropped to the floor, instantly dead.

  Julian quickly reached into the man’s belt and pulled out an old, large knife.

  “It’s dull, but it’ll do.” He whispered to me as he dropped back down beside me. In his tied hands, he carefully struggled to gnaw at the rope around his wrists. I watched him work at the rope as he slowly cut through it, constantly checking around for anyone catching onto us, but luckily, they were all distracted.

  After what felt like an hour, Julian finally cut through his own ropes. He quickly turned his attention to me, and began to work on mine. With free hands, he was able to cut through mine much quicker. It felt great to finally have my hands free. I began to feel blood rush to my fingers instantly.

  “Cut the rest free, quickly.” He said, handing me the knife as he turned away. For a few precious seconds, I watched him take a weapon off of the man whose neck he had snapped.

  “Hurry up!” I heard someone murmur from besides me.

  I quickly snapped into action and began going down the row, cutting the ropes as fast as I could. Julian was right, the knife was dull. It made it hard work to cut through the thick ropes that bound each hand, but eventually, I managed to cut through Turnip’s rope, thus freeing the entire group.

  “Let’s fucking do this.” Penny roared as she jumped to her feet.

  The entire group quickly followed, each charging at an unsuspecting member of Anarchy’s Children. They made easy work as they snuck up behind their targets. I remained rooted to the spot in fear as I watched them snap countless necks.

  As each body dropped down dead with their heads twisted at an unnatural angle, the roof top fell ever more silent. Before long, the shots being f
ired were few and far between.

  I stared at the door to the lower tower, the machine gun fire had stopped. The wall around the door was riddled with countless bullet holes. Whoever was inside had stopped firing, but the remaining Anarchy’s Children hadn’t. I didn’t know if whoever was inside was out of ammo, or dead.

  “Behind you!” Leaz screamed, finally spotting the attack from the rear.

  Instantly everyone held their fire on the door, and turned to us. By now, the rest of my companions had armed themselves, and quickly opened fire on the remaining targets as they struggled to find some form of cover.

  I kept low and crouched behind a corpse as I watched the battle unfold. I needed a weapon, but there was far too many wild bullets flying through the air to risk trying to get one. Instead, all I could do was watch as Leaz quietly snuck through the exit on the tower’s roof.

  Before I had even realised it, the shooting had stopped. I scanned the body ridden tower. Everywhere I looked I spotted another corpse, each riddled with more bullets than the last.

  “Where the fuck did she go?” Julian asked as he rose from his cover, keeping his weapon aimed.

  “She went inside!” I called from behind.

  “Fuck.” He said, taking off after her.

  Before he had even reached the halfway point to the door, Leaz re-emerged; only, she wasn’t alone. In front of the barrel of her gun, stood Azaria. Blood dripped through the soaked shirt of the frightened girl as she struggled to remain upright. Behind her, Leaz wore her usual grin as she pushed the girl onwards with her gun.

  I scanned the roof, it looked as though nobody on our side had fallen during the battle, but each and every one of them came to a halt when they spotted Leaz.

  “Looks like I found your saviour.” She said, keeping close to Azaria.

  “Let the girl go.” Julian commanded, keeping his gun aimed high.

  “This bitch killed half my men, and you fuckers killed the rest. Like hell I’m letting her go.”