Human Nature

by Finlay Borthwick

  The afternoon had now come around; the trial was commencing outside in the open air for all the residents to watch. Sierra and Tracey acted as the judges, while Foxtrot was among the jury of six agents. As the trial progressed, Erica and Reed looked at each other more frequently, reminding each, “We’re so screwed.” It came around to Tina’s statement eventually, she tried to make her statement as objective as possible, but it seemed unintentionally biased towards Jane. She had also tried to portray Erica as innocent in what she was saying.

  It was now early evening, and the trial was coming to an end. “Have you reached a verdict?” Sierra asked the jury, as Foxtrot stood up, “we have indeed.” She nodded at him to go ahead, “Erica. You were trialled here today for two counts of criminal offences: Suspicion of conspiring with a suspected criminal, and Suspicion of abetting in treason. We the jury find you not guilty of these offences,” Despite how pathetic and unrealistic the whole ‘trial’ thing was to her, Erica was still relieved to have not been found guilty – whatever the definition of the word was these days. One of the soldiers released her cuffs, and pulled her away from the suspects area, pushing her into the rest of the crowd. “As for you, Reed. You were trialled here today for three counts of criminal offences: Suspicion of abetting in treason,” in reference to Pierre’s uprising against him, “Attempted arson, and Attempted vandalism. We the jury find you guilty for two of these offences. The punishment is death.” He dropped his head even lower, as Sierra banged a hammer against the podium, “It is settled. Tomorrow morning, Reed shall be executed in this spot, in front of the eyes of the public.”

  As the evening turned to night, Elliot finally reached the mansion, offering Seymour a proposition. “It doesn’t matter where Celeste is right now. I mean this with the upmost respect,” Elliot swallowed cautiously, “If she’s dead, then she’s dead. My friends in that base however, are not. Sure, we can easily sneak out, but they need a place to live without any threat. This government must be disposed of at once before my friends are killed.” Seymour leant across the table, “You have the heart of a warrior, my English friend. Your loyalty to your friends is admirable. I shall consider your request.” Elliot wasn’t finish however, “What exactly is there to consider? Why can you not just make us the explosives tonight, and then by tomorrow that place could already have fallen. I’ll stick to my promise and go help you find Celeste after that. Do you not trust me?” Seymour got up, “My friend, perhaps you should think with your mind, rather than with your gun.”

  Though he was considerably shorter, Elliot stood up to him, literally, “That’s a bit rich coming from the man who stabbed a Sinner this morning. So much for a diplomatic solution.” Elliot’s bravery was again admired by Seymour, “I really do like you my friend. Such a brave heart indeed. Very well. I shall assist you with your explosives. Under one condition only,” Elliot would now do nearly anything to get those bombs, “Bring me the head of Zach…”

  Elliot asked Seymour to repeat his terms, “The head of Zach?” Seymour nodded, “The boy is a traitor. This morning he was more than willing to throw Pierre back under the bus. He may seem like he has good intentions, but ultimately everything he does is for his own benefit. That even includes the death of his own brother.” Elliot didn’t understand what relevance that had, “His brother was killed by the Government. How is that anything to do with his best interests?” Seymour leant closer to Elliot, “The whole event was set up. He had intended for his brother to die, just so he would have an excuse to go on a warpath. The kid’s fourteen, and he’s also corrupt. As a sign of good faith, I will make several firebombs for you, but if you want enough to take the base down completely, bring me his head on the end of a spear…”

  The following morning, Seymour had made four firebombs for Elliot. All night, he had not gotten any sleep, fearful from what he had been asked to do. “Seymour, I will kill anyone I have to, that’s no lie, but Zach’s just a kid! You said it yourself. I don’t care if he’s corrupt, I will not kill a child!” Seymour sighed at him, “In that case, good luck with taking that base down using just four firebombs.” Loading all four into a crate, he headed back down into the wine cellar, choosing to use the tunnels as his route.

  Reed had been forced to sleep outside all night under armed guard. Now that the morning of his execution had come about, he had been placed on his knees with a bag over his head. “When the public is awake, the execution shall commence. Half an hour, spread the word,” Sierra request to her sister. Foxtrot was keen to find the true enemy, “Sierra, we must find that Pierre guy. He’s the one who put me in that cage in the first place. The verdict on Reed was only a majority anyway, one juror did not believe him to be guilty… That was I.” She was shocked by this revelation, “He stabbed one of our scientists. He was going to burn all of the parasites. Yet amongst all that he said he was afraid to die still. He deserves it.” Foxtrot felt that she was forgetting her position, “You’re only the second in the command here Sierra. I hope you’re not forgetting that.” She looked up at him naively, “Of course I’m not forgetting that, sir. I hope you’re not forgetting what you did to the leader when you were second in command.” Foxtrot looked guilty, “Everyone remembers, Foxtrot – or should I say, Fabien.” He shivered upon hearing his own name, it had not been used in a long time, “Every single person who has been here since it happened remembers how you assassinated Foxtrot to assume position as leader. You didn’t even get trialled for treason. If you’re not careful, perhaps I won’t either,” she left him with that cryptic warning.

  In Gwen’s bunker, there was a knock at the door. If it was someone she knew, the knock would’ve been specific, but it wasn’t. She went to put her hand over her gun, but then remembered that she gave it to Elliot. Instead, she put it over her knife. Opening the door cautiously, Foxtrot shoved his way in. She pulled the knife out on him. “Whoa, easy there!” He put his hands up, “I’m not here to kill you. In fact, the opposite.” Gwen looked at him cagily. “I think we can help each other out.” She lowered the knife slightly. “You help me with my issue, and I’ll provide your group with whatever you need. Heck, I will let you guys control this place. I’m tired of being in charge, I just don’t want to die.” She was still very distrusting of him, but thought about her daughter, then proceeded to let him talk, “Maybe we can work something out after all…”

  “Annabelle, are you absolutely sure about this?” Olivia was willing to help her steal one of the planes, as was one of the former test subjects – who also had a grudge against the government still. “I’m certain of it, Olivia. I can’t stay here any longer. Not when my mum won’t even look at me.” She brought her in for a hug, “Tell her I do still love her, even after all of this.” The other escapee was also a pilot, therefore knew how the plane worked. “Please come back one day. Don’t just vanish for good,” Olivia requested her, she winked in response, “Don’t worry, I’ll be back.” As she hopped into the back seat of the plane, Olivia stepped back. “As soon as we taxi around, someone will notice us. Brace yourself for a rough take-off!” The pilot advised Annabelle, who noted his comment with a thumbs up. As they began to taxi towards the main part of the runway, Olivia waved her off.

  As a sign of good will, Foxtrot was open to answering any and all questions that Gwen had for him, as well as allowing her into other secrets about the base. “The reason why Reed is being executed this morning, I completely disagree with it. He tried to destroy these quote-unquote parasites.” Gwen didn’t know how to react to the existent of these parasites, “What? I mean, why? Just, why do you have parasites in this place? On top of everything else, parasites.” He looked ashamed, “Look, we don’t know exactly what kind of parasites they are, or where they even came from. We just know that they can take control of the human mind. They first began popping up days after the apocalypse began. Some new species, I would imagine.” To Gwen, it still made no sense, “So you’re telling me a whole new species of parasite just randomly started po
pping up because the world went to complete shit?” He wavered his hand, “Sort of. We don’t really know, but that’s the running theory currently. Perhaps they were even spawned by Mother Nature herself.” Outside, his attention was caught by a plane taxying on the runaway, as well as many people running around in a panic trying to stop it. “What the hell’s going on now?” Ditching their conversation, Foxtrot left the bunker.

  With everyone distracted by the plane, Reed took his chances. He swooped his cuffed arms under his legs to give him more control, and then pulled the bag off of his head. As fast as he could, he made a run away from Sierra. He didn’t know where he was going, he just knew he had to go somewhere.

  Foxtrot tried to work out who was piloting the aircraft. Unable to distinguish either of the individuals on board it, he had to think of a different approach fast. “Sierra!” He called to her, “We need to bring that plane down, right now.” She nodded, and pulled up her radio, “We need heavy artillery up here now,” Foxtrot turned back to her in an alarmed manner, “No! Not like that! I meant we need to physically bring it back to the ground! Not destroy it! Cancel the order!” He commanded her, but instead she put the radio back on her side. She gestured for two soldiers to come over to here. “This is treason Sierra! What do you think you’re doing?” She smirked at him maliciously, “I’ve been dying to say this for ages: Agent Foxtrot, it is my duty to relieve you of command. I am taking control of this place with immediate effect.” She pulled her radio out again, “Proceed with the bazooka, take that plane down at all costs. I’m also issuing a warrant for the arrest of Gwen and Agent November.” He glared at her, “I should have never taken you in.” She sarcastically nodded in agreement, “No, shouldn’t have, Fabien.”

  By the time Foxtrot/Fabien had been thrown into the waiting cell, Gwen was already in there. “Well, well, well. Looks like your little clan have risen up against you,” She taunted him. “Leave me alone Gwen.” He sat facing away from her. “When this is all over, join us. Elliot shot you on that first day, we were always even, right from the start. There’s a place for you in the world which we’re going to create.” He turned to her, and laughed disapprovingly, “Do you seriously think your group are heroes? What, do you think that my group are the villains then?” She didn’t answer, partly stuck for a response, but partly felt guilty for feeling that way indeed. “Let me tell you something, Gwen. You haven’t seen it from my perspective. If you did, if anyone did, they would support us, and see your people as the so-called villains. Think about it for a second, the whole reason why I chose to recruit Elliot as Agent November was because he didn’t hesitate to kill your friend Vincent. You should’ve seen the manner in which he went about it though. Hatred, evil, anger, pure sin in his eyes.” She tried to avoid talking about Elliot in a negative way, “He does what he has to. We all do what we have to in this world. Why do you think Sierra overthrew you just now? Why do you think I’m inviting you into our group? Survival, at all costs.”

  Fabien nodded, calming down slightly, “My real name is Fabien. If I’m joining your group, that’s probably a good place to start.” She had suspected his name would be something like that. “Elliot will save us, don’t worry. He’s on his way back right now, I bet.” He was disheartened by the amount of double-crossing going on, yet he accepted it nonetheless, “Save you, you mean. Just like with Vincent, he’s gonna kill me when he gets back. I could’ve let that tiger kill him, I could’ve let Vincent kill him, both things I did nothing to stop. Elliot had to save himself. Imagine if he’d have died back then, Gwen. What would things be like now?” She shrugged, “Well for one, there would be no one to save us,” she emphasised the pronoun, “On this very day. Don’t worry, he’s not a serial killer, not really. That’s an occupation my daughter is a part of…”

  With a blanket over the crate, Elliot had successfully snuck back into the base. Seeing everyone distracted by something, he turned to see what it was. “Annabelle…” Instantly, he realised she had gotten her way. With one less friend on the airfield, there was less risk posed by the firebombing. “Agent November,” one of the soldiers approached him with handcuffs, “You are under arrest for –” His speech was cut short by a knife which had just slit the soldier’s throat. As he dropped to the ground, Reed was revealed to be standing behind him. “Reed! You haven’t been executed yet, well done with keeping yourself alive.” He nodded towards the plane, “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Elliot looked down at the crate, then back up at Reed, “Maybe... I think perhaps you’re thinking of an air raid using guns?” He nodded ingeniously, “Well I’m not, I’m thinking of an airstrike, with fire. Lots of fire. A big crescendo that ends in a fiery blaze consuming this damn place,” he smiled fiendishly, “So, you in?” Reed picked up one of the firebombs, “Let’s send it…”

  Asking around, Reed and Elliot finally found several pilots who were willing to help. They had even radioed up to Annabelle’s pilot to get them to clear away from the airspace. Four planes were readied, each with one fire bomb on board and two passengers – one pilot, one attacker. Each of the attackers were given machine guns too. Two of the attackers were Reed and Elliot, the other two they had not previously met. One of the pilots gave a count down over the radio intercoms, before the terminal door opened up. One at a time, the planes taxied out onto the runway.

  Tracey informed Sierra about the movement of aircraft outside. “What the heck is going on today?” She slammed her fist on her desk, before heading outside. This time, the heavy artillery team were ready. They were three men with RPGs and bazookas. “Kill… Them… All…” Sierra clenched her fists so tightly they went purple.

  Fabien and Gwen could hear all the commotion outside. “You still certain Elliot’s going to save us?” Fabien was losing confidence. “Absolutely. In fact, he’s probably somewhere among all that chaos out there.” Nearer by however, they heard the guard outside their cell being attacked. Shortly thereafter, the door was opened – it was Olivia and Zach. “Come on quickly! Let’s go now while everyone’s distracted!” Fabien looked back at Gwen, who nodded at him. They both followed Olivia and Zach outside.

  Due to their high taxying speed, the heavy artillery team struggled to aim at the planes. Tracey and Sierra grew impatient, “Just fire already!” Fearful of how Sierra may punish them, two of the men took blind shots at the aircrafts. “Incoming! We’ve got to take off now!” Elliot radioed to his pilot, who made a sharp take-off. Unfortunately, the plane behind them was hit by one of the explosives. The other two were forced to back up and taxi around again. “Reed? Are you alright?” Elliot radioed down to one of the other planes, “Reed? Please come in, man!” There was static for a few seconds, “I’m here, I’m alive. I wasn’t on that plane luckily.” Elliot breathed a sigh of relief, “Good man. Make sure you don’t die until after the attack,” He joked. The second projectile had completely missed the aircrafts and instead blown a hole in one of the walls.

  Rushing up to the surface, Olivia and Zach pointed out the planes taking off. “Why is everyone leaving today?” Gwen was startled, “They’re not,” Olivia responded, “This is Elliot’s attack.” Fabien looked to Gwen, “I guess you were right. Elliot did come back after all.” She lightly hit him in a playful manner, “You see? Never lose hope, Fabien.” He smiled upon hearing his own name used with respect for once.

  The artillery team had reloaded. “Fire again! This time, don’t miss idiot number two! I thought you were trained to do this!” One of the men took a shot, but missed the targeted plane by mere inches. The projectile shot off into the sky, burning out and lightly exploding far off. “Alright attackers, you both ready?” Elliot radioed to them, “Affirmative!” Reed answered. “Drop the bombs in 3… 2… 1…” Igniting the firebombs, all three attackers launched them towards the most flammable parts of the ground – there were several fuel tanks, as well as solar panels.” Reed’s firebomb hit the fuel tank, blowing it, spreading a large fire onto the grassy area in front of it.
It rapidly spread, melting the metal of the bunkers on either side. Elliot’s firebomb had hit the solar panels, destroying them and knocking out all electricity. The last firebomb had struck the small building complex in the middle, the fire ravaging it.

  Through Zach’s escape route, Gwen, Olivia and Fabien had all managed to escape. “Well, I have to hand it to you Gwen, I certainly did pick the right side. But you’re still no heroes, you’re only arsonists.” She smiled at the flames, “For Andy…” The planes touched down outside the walls, using the road as a makeshift runway.

  But for Sierra, it was not endgame just yet. From one of the terminals being consumed by the fire, she wheeled out a black safe and a megaphone. “Fair play, Elliot,” she spoke into it amongst the blaze. “But not fair enough. You’ve showed me your trump card, now let me show you mine.” Entering the code to the safe, she pulled it open, revealing a small bomb, perhaps the size of an average cricket ball. From the hole in the wall, Gwen, Olivia, Fabien and Zach could all see this. It had the nuclear symbol on the side of it, “You see, in this tiny bomb,” Sierra continued, “There is enough radiation to contaminate this entire region of France. It will even poison the sea, we’re not that far from the coast after all. So unless you surrender, and die with me in the flames, hundreds of innocent people in hiding shall die painfully – as well as you, might I add. Therefore, you’ve really run out of choices here.” The group all looked at each other. “We’ve got no choice,” Olivia was the first to step forward, climbing through the hole. Fabien and Gwen agreed with her, following her in. Zach however had one last idea, rather than following them, he ran off before he could be spotted.