Black Light: The Deplorable Savior

by Rich Richardson

  “I know.” He slapped a pair of cuffs on me, and told the guards, “Get here somewhere safe.”

  “Scott, you bastard!”

  “I’m sorry. I’ll find you soon. I promise.”

  Chapter 63 - Scott Vale

  “There is no rest for the wicked.” My head felt like someone had pried it open with a crowbar, and the lights didn’t help the pain.

  As I woke up on the roof, with my hands bound to a chair, I saw that the black silhouette of Soothouse was disrupted by lights strung up on every building, and a huge neon statue below me, in the city’s square.

  “It’s beautiful isn’t it? I could just sit here and watch them forever.”

  “I figured it was you who left all those stupid lights.”

  “Stupid?” he said, pantomiming insult. “How dare you. I get the feeling you think I’m here with some malevolent intent.”

  “Fly home, Byrd.”

  “Oh, that’s so clever. I love how you’re putting on such a brave face.”

  “A brave face? I don’t think you understand how big a mistake you've made. The Black Jackets will come for you. They’ll cut me loose and cut you down. You never should have stepped foot in my city.”

  He smiled the most wicked smile I had ever seen. “Your city? I think you should take a second look.” He dragged me over to the edge. The square was full of people; one hundred and fifty civilians from the Gray District, who cheered as Byrd came into view.

  “This man is nothing but a murderer and a thug. Together, we drove out his evil cohorts, and we have brought light to this place. I saved you in the forest! I led you here! Now your king will end this dictator once and for all!”

  They cheered even louder than before.

  “What the hell did you do to them?”

  “I didn’t do anything. Darling, these are their true colors. Now, why don’t you go and meet them.”

  He dropped me. “Fuck!” was all I had time to say before hitting the ground. The chair shattered, and so did my arm and two ribs. I heard thunder roar and rain started pouring down from the burned orange sky.

  The crowd was on me in only a moment, kicking and punching relentlessly. Pain shot through my leg, and, when I looked, I saw that a broken piece of the chair had been stabbed into my thigh.

  “Enough! Everyone go. I’ll deal with him from here.”

  They left on his command. My people were at his beck and call

  “How?”

  “Sometimes, the domination of a human mind requires an intricate knowledge of human behavioral patterns and highly addictive psychoactive drugs. Other times, you just need a few chocolate bars and some theatrical flair.”

  I rolled over and got on my hands and knees, but wasn’t able to climb up further. A pool of red rain water formed beneath me, forcing me to look at my own bloody reflection.

  When I turned to Byrd, he was sitting on a bench with his legs crossed, looking completely passive as the rain came down upon us.

  “Why do you try so hard to improve a broken world? A world that cheated us, and left us crawling through the mud, before we finally had the strength to pull ourselves out. These people are morons. They don’t deserve your kindness. No one does. They deserve to have everything taken from them, because they’re not even smart enough to know who’s really on their side. But you and I, we’re the intelligent ones. We’re apex predators. When God dealt us a bad hand, we threw it back in his face. We pulled ourselves up by our bootstraps, and came out stronger than ever. Everyone we kill deserves death. Everyone we persecute, has earned what they receive. And why? Because the world owes us a debt, and I will not consider it repaid until every dollar and coin is in my pocket, every resource in my hand, every son under my boot and every daughter under me. So cling to your antiquated morality, while I sit in my high tower and your people build statues dedicated to my glory. When you’re old and sitting in a broken chair, and I’m sitting on a throne, you will regret the choices you’ve made. I will not.”

  I rose up as high as I could, and sucked in as much breath as my lungs would allow. It wasn’t much, but enough to make my point clear.

  “They deserve more… Someone… A leader who gives a shit… More for them, than for himself.”

  He walked over to me, smiled that wicked smile, and said, “That’s what I love about you; you’re always so damn noble. I’m going to enjoy helping you come to terms with what a horrible person you are, because, darling, this is only the beginning.”

  He shoved me to the ground, and the last thing I saw was his boot coming down over my head.

  Chapter 64 - Scott Vale

  My eyes shot open as if I’d been electrocuted, and I feared that Byrd would be standing over me when I got up. My heart was racing and my forehead was sweaty, but I started to feel calmer as I looked around.

  I was in a tiny infirmary, with only a table, a small set of cabinets and a sink. I didn’t see Vera or Jack or anyone else, but I also didn’t see Byrd, and I was thankful for that.

  I managed to stand and made my way over to the door, but saw something that made me stop. It was a small index card, sitting on the counter, right by the door, with a simple message written on it.

  You’re not the only evildoer. I’ll see you again soon.

  -Byrd

  I wasn’t sure what he meant, but I would soon find out.

  Outside was a long hallway, with a row of doors on one side and large windows on the other. Looking out, I could see black grass below me, but the tree line was less than a hundred yards away. Surrounding the building were tents of all shapes and sizes, with people walking between them, talking, eating and some even laughing.

  I’d seen pictures of these down in the facility, below Soothouse. The Human Corps had established several outposts like these in the Badlands. Each had an armory, garage and a stockpile of food and water. Some even had miniature farming facilities. I was glad to know that the Black Jackets had reacted so well, finding a safe place to regroup.

  I walked down the hall, but stopped to peek into each of the rooms. They seemed to be individual observation rooms, with a singular doctor’s office down at the end. Each room was occupied with an injured person, but they all seemed to be resting comfortably.

  At the very end was a large meeting room, with a long table, several chairs and an enormous computer terminal against one of the walls. Most of the furniture had been knocked over, a few potted plants even looked like they had been thrown across the room. Exactly three chairs were still standing upright, occupied by Vera, Revy and Rae.

  None of them were speaking, but each held a tear stained index card, identical to mine. The looks on their faces could only be described as void of hope, and the crippling silence did nothing to hide that they felt as horrible as they looked.

  “What happened?” I asked, not sure of any better way of getting their attention.

  Their faces lit up when they saw me. Vera hugged me, Rae ran up as well and even Revy cracked a smile.

  "I'm so glad you woke up."

  “I’m fine. Give me an update. How many people are left?”

  “About two hundred.” Rae said, her voice hoarse, as if she’d been screaming for hours on end. “That’s not including the Black Jackets, all of whom stayed loyal and made it here. Those traitors wouldn’t have taken the city if they hadn’t gotten the drop on us.”

  “How long can we last? I mean, food wise?”

  Revy answered. “Our best option would be to find other outposts and split our people between them. The one we’re in is well equipped, but not made to support this many people. We might last up to eight months here, but for the last two we’d be eating half-rations.”

  It was hard to wrap my head around. We’d only been living in Soothouse a week, and already it was gone.

  I sat down at the table, using my sleeve to wipe away the tears that had accumulated on its surface.

  "How did I get here?"

  "You just kindof showed up. We were going
to plan a rescue mission, but we found you passed out nearby before we could start. It was almost like someone had dumped you on our doorstep."

  “How long have I been out?”

  “Two weeks.”

  “What’s happened since then?”

  “Nothing in particular.” Revy turned his card over in his hands. “Until today.”

  Rae sat down next to me and asked the others, “Should we just tell him?”

  I pulled out my card as the others gathered around me.

  “You got one too?”

  “Yeah. The man who left them is trying to fuck with us. He was an 80, like me, but you all knew him better as the King in Lights. He’s evil, intelligent, manipulative and he wants us to be at each other’s throats.”

  “But, Scott,” Rae said. “Revy was hiding…”

  “I don’t want to know.”

  Vera came next. “Rae was sleeping with the man who…”

  “I don’t care.” I stood up from my chair and held out my hand. “Give me the cards.”

  Once they reluctantly handed them over, I turned to the computer terminal, and quickly booted it up.

  “What are you doing?”

  I didn’t answer. From the outpost, I had access to all the computers in Soothouse; even those in the farming facility. Camera feeds, security systems and all other devices were under my control, and all it took was a few alarms going off to drive out the traitors trying to grow food inside.

  There was an emergency program called Protocol 12747, which I had learned about from a file tucked in the throne, in Soothouse, hidden in a secret panel. I typed in the pass code and watched as every door in the facility simultaneously slammed shut, cutting Byrd and those traitors off from their only supply of food and water.

  “We’re all bad people,” I said, tearing the cards into tiny pieces. “If you haven’t already come to terms with that, then do so now. The Gray District is done, and so is that chapter of our lives. I don’t want to hear any of you bitching or moaning because of something that happened back in Jamestown, because what we did then no longer matters. Once they’re good and hungry, those people in Soothouse will come crawling back to us, and the King in Lights will have nothing. We’ll go back and get the President to help us, we’ll split our people between the outposts so there’s enough food and shelter to go around and we’ll retake Soothouse as soon as we’re able.”

  They looked up to me with newfound respect. I knew that Byrd wanted me to read the cards and cry about how horrible we all were, but, at this point, I just didn’t care.

  “Wait…" I said, as something occurred to me. "We all got cards, but what about Jack?”

  They all looked down at the table or at the floor. Rae began to cry once again, and even Revy couldn’t look me in the eye.

  “He’s just outside.”

  Vera took my hand and led me out to the infirmaries; specifically, the room on the far side of the one I had been staying in.

  Jack was lying inside, with another Black Jacket next to him, holding his hand. His skin was pale and wrist was bandaged, covering the gash he had cut into it. However, despite that, he still smiled as I walked in.

  “I’m glad you’re ok,” he said, weakly.

  “Same to you.”

  “We should let him rest,” Revy said from behind me. “Try to make it quick.”

  “I’m sure you have more important things to do than visit me.”

  “Couldn’t be farther from the truth.”

  “I’ll be fine, just do me a favor and kill those bastards who took Soothouse from us.”

  “I promise.”

  “Scott,” he called, just before I could walk out the door. “I don’t want to be a Black Jacket anymore.”

  “Of course. Anything you want buddy.”

  As I walked out, I pulled some papers out of the trash. There were three photographs, one of a young girl on a wooden rocking horse, the same girl as a teenager in a flowing blue gown and another of her wearing black metal armor with her arm draped over my shoulder. Next to them was an index card with a message that was short but loaded.

  Her name was Jane.

  Chapter 65 - Paige Wilson

  I looked through my binoculars and out of my office window. There were hundreds of corpses surrounding the Temple, positioned as if they had laid down and died waiting for their next fix.

  “How close are we to being ready?”

  “Just about done. We’ve finished packing the last of the supplies.”

  “When did that happen?”

  “Yesterday.”

  I turned back to the officer. “Then why wasn't I told until now?”

  “You were visiting your nephew. We didn’t want to interrupt.”

  "Madam President!" said Officer Rennecin, bursting through the door. "I have something for you." He placed a brown envelope into my hands. “I was told to bring it to you as quickly as possible.”

  “Thank you,” I told him, before dumping the contents on my desk. Only two items were inside. One was a small electronic device that resembled a PDA, but I couldn’t find any way of turning it on. The second was a note that said…

  Move everyone out of the Presidential District. The Gray District will be the safest place. This time, you don’t have a year to decide. You have ten minutes.

  The moment I finished reading, a countdown timer appeared on the device.

  “Madam President, what’s going on?”

  “Get everyone to the Gray District, now: civilians, police, workers, everyone in the Presidential District.”

  “Why?”

  “Is your job to question my orders?”

  He pulled his radio off his belt without arguing further. “Outgoing message, level zero. This order is directly from the President. All personnel and civilians are to immediately report to the Gray District.”

  I shoved the small device in my pocket and left the office, the guards following close behind. As we made our way down to the lobby and out the front doors, I never stopped barking orders. Everyone was told to leave behind everything, no matter how valuable. The only thing we stopped to grab was weapons. Every officer loaded themselves down with an automatic, sidearm, grenades and as much ammo as they could carry.

  A small group of people was already waiting for us at the top of the ramp, including my nephew, and as the police placed themselves along the barricade, their weapons at the ready, I checked the device; thirty seconds.

  “Madam President, I know you don’t want us to question you, but it would be really nice if you could give us an idea of what’s coming after us.”

  “If I knew, I would tell you.”

  The countdown ended and the screen went black once more. After that, there was a long period of silence. I expected the officers to throw away their guns and claim I was being paranoid, but, for some reason, they seemed just as on edge as I was. Something was in the air; something deadly, something terrifying and, worst of all, something unknown.

  A much larger group of civilians came into view, all carrying suitcases, backpacks and oversized luggage.

  I was just about to tell them to turn around and go back home, when, suddenly, the entire group began screaming and running towards us.

  “Get over here!” we yelled at them, but the crowd of people rushing over the barricade kept us from seeing what was chasing them. The police kept their guns in the air until the last of the people had crossed, and sat in stunned silence at what lay behind them.

  Standing at the bottom of the ramp was a feral, with a dead human held in its jaws. Two more ferals were behind that, three more were behind each of them, and a hundred were behind each of them.

  A nearby officer got scared and pulled off the line. I grabbed his weapon, assuming I would need a lot more firepower than my assassin’s pistol.

  “Hold your fire!” I called, and the officer’s obeyed. However, their fear was palpable, and the smell of sweat and urine hung in the air as the wall of bloody fangs and razor sh
arp claws began to slowly move towards us.

  “Hold!”

  They kept coming for us, slowly. There were just so many of them. I looked down the barrel at the closest one, waiting until I could see the whites of his eyes.

  “Fire!”

  The spray of bullets sent a dozen ferals to their deaths in under half a second, but they were endless. I picked off three more, but the sea of teeth and fur continued charging at us.

  The officer's training kicked in, and as I stepped off the line to reload, one of them stepped up to take my place, guaranteeing that there was always enough bullets for every one of those creatures.

  However, the mob was unstoppable, and they continued to progress up the ramp, until fire and breaking glass brought them to a crashing halt.

  We all looked up and were surprised at who our saviors were. Black Jackets sprinted through the catwalks, climbing and swinging through them like monkeys.

  They stayed up high, firing from safety, but when I stopped to reload and looked over at them, many were waving their arms and shouting. I couldn’t understand most of what they said due to the sounds of gunfire and screaming, but I managed to catch one thing, “Explosion!”

  I called out, “Everyone fall back!” and all the officers and civilians alike ran for the other end of the overpass.

  The molotovs had bought us some time, but that time was up and the ferals were coming for us once again.

  “No matter what, keep running!”

  The entire overpass shook like an earthquake had hit it. I could hear the screams of ferals, but never looked back. We all just kept running, praying we didn’t trip.

  We finally stopped when the shaking did, and turned to look at what had happened. The entrance to the Gray District had been collapsed. Why the hell the Black Jackets had set explosives here, I wasn’t sure, but I was glad that they had.

  “Aunt Paige!” His voice pierced the air, along with the screams of the people who hadn’t been fast enough. There was a group of them down below us, perched up on a pile of rubble. Several people were buried beneath them, but the survivors were now reaching to us, praying to escape the crowd of dazed ferals that had begun moving towards them yet again.