Black Light: The Deplorable Savior

by Rich Richardson

  I didn’t respond to him. Everything seemed so wrong; like the world was spinning while standing still at the same time.

  “Alright then. Good luck, I guess.”

  The last things I heard before the reaper came for Ben was the door shutting, my six year old son sobbing behind the couch and my little girl in the other room, crying for the first and only time in her life.

  Chapter 28 - Ins Vera

  Before we left the Gray District, Rae pulled me aside and said, “You may not like what we find. It might be better not to find out.”

  “I have to go,” I told her, adamant about finding the Truands. “I need to know what happened to my family.”

  Now, I knew. Tex, Jack and Rae put their arms around me, trying their best to console me as I watched the bodies swing back and forth in the breeze; hung from rusted girders like strange fruit from some god-forsaken tree.

  Where was Myracell? Where was our savior? Where was god or the government? Did the other Truands ask the same thing about me? Did they ask each other, where is Vera? Shouldn’t she be here? Shouldn’t she be helping us? Why the fuck is she over in the Gray District?

  “I’m so sorry,” Rae said to me, but it didn’t make me feel any better.

  Scott stood on the roof’s edge, looking out over the Sunset District. He seemed to be taking this almost as hard as I was. We could see spotlights and hear music playing in the distance, but all the buildings around us were gutted, lifeless and falling apart. Only the neon lights that traced their skeletons were left intact. They continued to run, even though the streets and buildings were filled with the corpses of Truands, Omniscients and a few Sapiens who were half or fully converted into dog-creatures.

  “We need to go,” Scott told us. “We’re not safe here.”

  “Some of them might still be alive. I need to get back home.”

  He leaned down, putting a hand on my shoulder. “Vera, I know that you’re…”

  “You don’t know anything!” I said, swatting his hand away. “I’m going to find my family.”

  “What if they infect you? There are dead lykans sitting out in the streets. The virus is in the city, for certain.”

  “I don’t care.”

  “Don’t you understand? You’re not safe with them. You’re safe with us.”

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  He started pacing back and forth, frustrated by my stubbornness.

  “Fine, whatever. If you want to die, than be my guest. Run off and find your goddamn family, even if it gets you killed!”

  He looked away, angered at my decision.

  “Scott, we can’t leave her.”

  Tex seemed to state what the others were already thinking. Even Jack, who was carrying his axe slung across his back with an old rifle strap, looked downright pitiful.

  “If some of them were left behind, where would they hide?”

  “In the Court of Myracell," I told Scott. "It’s an underground complex with entrances all over the Sunset District. The nearest one is about a block away.”

  “Alright, I’ll radio Revy and tell him what’s happening. We’ll take you there and then… Then the rest of us will head home. Everyone stay hidden. Keep out of the light.”

  As he said that, I remembered something, or rather, someone.

  “Nearly.”

  “Vera, come on. We have to go.”

  “No, stop. There’s a man named Nearly. He lives in the Temple and we need to make sure he’s ok.”

  “Are you fucking serious?” Unsurprisingly, that outburst came from Jack, but everyone seemed to share his response.

  “Tex and I spent a lot of time in the Temple and we never met anyone named Nearly.”

  “He lived in the attic, out of sight.”

  “Is he a friend of yours?”

  “Well… no. But he’s a poor crippled kid that Frollo used to keep in his attic.”

  “Goddammit, Vera.”

  “Please?” I pleaded.

  “Fine, Tex and Rae, go drop her off and then get back home. Jack and I will check on your friend, but you’d better…”

  I cut him off, kissing him on the lips. It was something I had wanted to do since he had saved my life and I figured it would be the last time I’d ever see him.

  “Goodbye, Scott.”

  I walked down from the roof, Tex and Rae escorting me to find the last of my people. I looked back at Scott, one last time, still able to taste him on my lips, but the last thing I heard as I left the rooftop was Jack saying, “Damn, I don’t even get a goodbye?”

  “Goodbye, Jack.”

  We started down the street, following Scott’s instructions. The three of us ran from cover to cover, keeping the neon lights from exposing us.

  We passed several people, all walking in the direction of the music. There was something off about them. Their eyes had turned strange colors, just like vapor junkies did, but it was worse than I had ever seen. They almost seemed to glow, and even their skin had a slight violet tint.

  We didn’t take the time to inspect them closely. The entrance was nearby and I was anxious to be home again. I wondered if the other Truands would be angry. Would they berate me for not coming back sooner, or condemn me to some horrible punishment? Of course they would, and I would deserve it. I knew I was a traitor for ever leaving.

  “This is it,” I said, as I ran to the hidden door. On the ground, next to it, were several bricks with no cement rooting them to the ground. I dug them up, scraped the dirt underneath, flipped the concealed switch beneath them and… nothing.

  I flipped it over and over again, but the door didn’t open.

  “Is something wrong?”

  “It should be unlocked. The door should be opening up. Why isn’t it letting me inside?” I got angrier with every passing moment. I pressed my fingers to the seam of the doorframe and tried desperately to pull it open.

  “I don’t think it's working.”

  “Shut the fuck up,” I told Tex, screaming in his face.

  I started beating my hands against the door as hard as I could, yelling, “Open up you bastards!” until my voice was hoarse and my knuckles bled. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry I left! I was just so scared!"

  Rae grabbed me from behind, putting her hand over my mouth.

  “You need to be quiet.”

  “I don’t fucking care! I want to see my family!”

  As Tex helped her pull me to the ground and silence me, I finally gave up. My family had locked me out. My mother, my cousins, my uncles, my aunts and my friends were either dead or wanted nothing to do with me. All of this was my fault and Myracell was punishing me. I wasn’t a Truand anymore.

  Chapter 29 - Scott Vale

  The music got louder as we got closer to the Temple. Hundreds of people were crammed into the streets, partying like there was no tomorrow.

  “Are these the same people who killed the danks?”

  “I don’t know. It’s possible. Why?”

  “They just… they just look like regular people.”

  He was right. This mob didn’t look anything like the one that had rampaged through the streets, tearing down signs, smashing windows and kicking Truands to death. They seemed to just be having a good time.

  “Hey, Scott, you brought your binoculars, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Check out those bodies hanging from the Temple.”

  Up above the rave, where hundreds of the Sunset District’s citizens were having the time of their lives, hung the bodies of Men of the Temple, Truands, Omniscients, infected Sapiens, and even…

  “Oh, God.”

  Frollo was hanging from the glass tower, with large bloody gashes cut into his robe.

  “Look alive, Scott. Something’s happening.”

  The lights dimmed and the music started to slow, but a moment later it started rising back up again. They were building up to something.

  The partiers screamed with delight as the music kept building and building,
until, suddenly, every billboard showed Byrd, dressed in his black armor with new flamboyant yellow attachments, rising up out of the roof of the Temple. The crowd went absolutely insane. Fireworks went off, lights flashed and smoke billowed off the stage and filled the streets. He pulled out a brightly lit cane and held it up high in the air, before striking the ground and causing the music to pulse and the lights to shine brighter than before. He walked down from the roof of the Temple, seeming to float above the crowd. I took a second look and saw that he was walking on a clear bridge strung between the Temple and the building across the street, but the crowd still seemed to be in complete awe. They clamored to get close to him, and even climbed on top of one another. Byrd reached down with his cane and whacked a few of them away, swinging it like a golf club. When one girl managed to get her hand on the bridge, he stomped on it with all his might. She fell back and was swallowed by the crowd, but they loved him all the same.

  “Everyone’s distracted and out of the Temple. We should move.”

  “You know Vale, you never told me how exactly we’re getting over there.”

  “That’s because I knew you wouldn’t like it.”

  I found the air conditioning unit on the roof. Inside of a hidden slot was a safe with a combination lock.

  “What’s in there?”

  “Hover packs.” I tossed him one of the metal backpacks and started strapping myself into another. “Frollo had them stored on buildings near the Temple. They were supposed to be used as an emergency entrance, so we could get back home under the radar, in case of an emergency. They’re one of the last great inventions from before the outbreak, but were never perfected.”

  “How so?”

  “The battery only lasts about fifteen seconds.”

  “Fifteen seconds?”

  “We'll have to swing around to the backside of the Temple, but it’ll still be more than enough time to get us across. Just pull the ripcord to start them up. You’ll travel in whatever direction you’re pointed towards, so face the Temple and stick close to me. They’re easy to control, for the most part.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “Landing is a bitch.”

  Just as another round of fireworks went off, I told him, “Let’s go!”

  I grabbed the cord, took a running start and leaped off the building. I yanked it as hard as I could, causing me to stop falling and shoot forward like a rocket. I counted the seconds until impact, bracing myself for it while aiming for roof on the back end of the Temple.

  Just as we hit the halfway point, two 80’s walked out from behind the glass tower. “Fuck!” I thought to myself, but just as I thought we’d get caught for sure, Jack veered away from me. I followed his lead, altering my course to run right into them.

  Our fifteen seconds ran out, causing us to start dropping. Jack swung around and extended his legs like a bobsled driver, while I pulled my head down to let my shoulder take the impact. I felt something pop as I made contact with his chest and hoped it wasn’t something of mine.

  “Fuck,” said Jack, struggling to get to his feet and clutching his chest. After colliding, we had both slid another ten feet across the roof.

  “You ok?”

  “Peachy.” He pulled a flask from his jacket before peeling it off. There was a gash on his back, right behind his left shoulder. It didn’t look life threatening, but pretty painful. He poured out some of the flask’s contents onto the wound before taking a long pull himself.

  I walked back to the two 80’s we had just knocked out. A pit formed in my stomach when I pulled off their helmets. The one I had hit was Dale, a nice guy who usually kept to himself, and the other was Jane. They both had bruised faces, Jane’s breastplate was shattered and Dale’s arm looked like it had been broken in at least two places, but they were alive.

  “What now?” Jack asked me, pulling on his jacket.

  I made my way over to the edge of the roof, crouching the whole way. Byrd was still out on his bridge, looking over the crowd. No one else seemed aware of our presence.

  “I don’t think we were spotted. Now, we just need to find Nearly, make sure he’s safe and get the fuck out of here.”

  “You really think he’s in there? If he’s smart, he would have left.”

  “I know, but we’re doing this as a favor to Vera. If he’s not here, then we’ll just leave.”

  That response seemed to console Jack, but only because I failed to mention that I had no idea how we were getting out of here.

  We found an emergency access hatch by the glass tower and started to open it up.

  “Vera said this guy wasn’t really her friend. Why should we save him?”

  “Because we’re already here and we may as well just get it over with,” I told him, fed up with his questions and bad attitude. “Now shut up.”

  I finally managed to open the hatch, but couldn’t make myself go down. Jane was still on my mind and I needed to know that she really was ok.

  “Let’s go. We need to get the fuck out of here.”

  “Shut up, Jack.”

  I walked back over to the two 80’s collapsed on the ground. Both were still breathing, although Jane’s seemed labored.

  “Jane, I need you to wake up.”

  “What are you doing? She’s the enemy.”

  “I said, shut up, Jack! Go down the hatch and wait for me there.”

  “It’s pitch black. I’m not going down there alone.”

  I turned my attention away from him. “Please, Jane. Wake up.”

  Her eyes fluttered open, and in them I saw both tears of joy and the familiar tint that signaled vapor addiction.

  “Scott, you came back.”

  “Yeah. Are you ok?”

  More tears filled her eyes, but her faint happiness melted from her face. “I have to do what Byrd says. Please, get me out of here.”

  I was caught off guard. I’d wanted to see if she was ok, but I hadn’t expected that.

  “I’m going to get you out of here; I promise.”

  “I didn’t think you were coming back.”

  I couldn’t stand to tell her that I was only here as a favor to someone else.

  “Of course I came back. I couldn’t leave you behind.”

  I tried to pick her up, but she screamed in pain. It was so loud that I had to check to make sure no one had heard it.

  “My chest is on fire.”

  “That’s ok. My friend is a doctor. He’ll patch you up and you’ll be good as new.” I pulled the radio off my belt. “Revy, I need your help.”

  “What is it?”

  “I found a friend of mine at the Temple. She’s hurt and I don’t know what to do. She got kicked hit in the chest pretty hard and she’s in a lot of pain.”

  “It might just be a bad bruise. Can you move her?”

  “No, it hurts her too much.”

  “Scott, I want to get out of here.” Her words were pained and she almost sounded like she was gargling as she spoke.

  “Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. Revy, I’m going to bring her back.”

  “That’s not a good idea. If her lung is collapsed you might end up causing more damage, or causing her to suffocate.”

  “Then what the fuck do I do?”

  “There might not be anything we can do. What do you have in your person?”

  “My pistol, a knife, some coins…” I stopped to search through Jane’s pockets, as well as Dales. “...And a few vials of vapor.”

  “Where did you get vapor?”

  “She had it on her. My friend did. I think she’s been taking it.”

  “Fuck.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Scott, if she’s been doing vapor, then fluid is going to start filling her lungs, and if one or both of them have collapsed, she’s not going to make it. You should put her down.”

  “Put her down? She’s not an animal!”

  “If you don’t, her decreased lung capacity will cause her to slowly drown in her
own bodily fluids. Is that what you want?”

  I threw the radio away. I couldn’t stand to hear more.

  “Are you going to take me away?”

  “Yes, Jane. We’re going somewhere much better.”

  She tried to sit up, despite obviously being in pain, and leaned against my chest.

  “I missed you.”

  “Shh, don’t talk. You’re going to be fine.”

  “I don’t want him,” she said, tears running down her face as foam started to leak from her mouth. “I don’t want Byrd.”

  “It’s ok. Everything is going to be ok.”

  “Oh, God,” I thought to myself. “Why didn’t I take her with me? Why didn’t I come back sooner?”

  "What did you do-" She was cut off when she had to stop to cough. "What did you do after you left?"

  "I started a new group. We're like the 80's, but in the Gray District. We've been feeding people, and we're going to set up a school and fix everything that's wrong there."

  She smiled, in between coughing fits, as the foamy slurry of saliva and glowing bile continued to choke the life out of her.

  I pulled off my jacket and shoved my pistol through the sleeve, wrapping the rest of the material around it to muffle the shot.

  “Shit, did I do that to her?” Jack asked, standing above us.

  “Go wait by the hatch.”

  “But…”

  “Just wait by the hatch,” I told him, more forcefully.

  I held the gun, and it’s makeshift silencer, against Jane’s chest, facing upwards to her forehead.

  “I’m sorry, Jane.”

  “Scott?” Her voice came only a moment before I would have pulled the trigger. “You forgot about me, didn’t you?”

  Fireworks lit up the sky. The rave music was drowned out. Jane’s head fell away from my chest as she tried to cough up the fluids involuntarily filling her lungs; fighting her own body just to take a breath. Despite that, her hands still clung to me, like a woman hanging over a cliff, grasping the edge for dear life, and all the while, Jack stood under the glass tower, sucking every drop out of his flask and repeating to himself that it wasn't his fault; that he wasn’t trying to hurt her. It was all just a mistake; a terrible mistake.