Human Nature

by Finlay Borthwick

  “But what about you Seymour? I can’t let you die in there!” He tried to force the door open.

  “I’ll be ok. After this, I shall dine with my warriors. In Heaven, or in Hell. I shall be with my son again; I can tell him about how I avenged him. Oh, but this is just the most glorious death! Now, Reed, go! Please! Look after Celeste for me. Look after Elliot too.” He pulled up the lighter.

  Finally giving in, Reed allowed Seymour his sacrifice. “Alright… I’m going now. We’ll remember you Seymour, always. Rest easy now, warrior.” With those words, he stood back from the door, then ran as fast as he could to escape the fallout.

  With the lighter activated in his hand, Seymour looked around the room. “See you all in Hell!” He threw the lighter at the wall, the oil all over the room lit the place up instantly. Through the flames, Seymour stared at one of parasite jars, watching the glass melt, and the creatures inside burn to death. Despite the immense pain he was obviously in, Seymour didn’t react to the fire; Instead he gazed in satisfaction at the burning parasites, as they all went down into the fire together.

  Outside, everyone watched in silence as the air field burned down a second time. From out of the shadows, Reed came running towards them, looking slightly reddened. “Reed!” Elliot went over to him, helping him catch his breath. “Where is Seymour?” Celeste asked him. He caught his breath for a few more seconds, before looking over to her, “He’s with his son now…” Celeste nodded grievingly. Everyone continued to watch the inferno.

  Elliot took Olivia’s hand and looked at her, “We did it.” They smiled lightly at each other. Elliot then took Reed’s hand as well, prompting everyone to link their hands together in a line. “Seymour, Abel, Langley and Sebastian. We live to fight another day not just because of them, but for them. We shall remember them,” Elliot bowed his head, shortly followed by all the others. He then recited the names of everyone in the group, “Elliot, Olivia, Gwen, Erica, Tina, Reed, Fabien, Zach, Pierre, Celeste. We are a united front now. All ten of us. We found our home, we will live in the mansion until either it is destroyed, or our days are numbered.” Again, he bowed his head, prompting everyone else to do so. Silently, they all turned around, making their way back to the mansion.

  In the office next to the missile silo, Sierra could see the group walking away on the outside camera. She huffed and puffed aggressively, before laughing like a maniac, “No! Nobody lives!” Turning around, she slammed her fist on the red button which said ‘LAUNCH’. Looking through the window, she noticed the missile rise up several inches, the hatch opening. Now, it began to fully rise outside. She watched with gritted teeth, like a crazed scientist. She looked at the desk, and realised she had forgotten one crucial thing – She hadn’t set the flight path for the missile. Where it was headed was still very much anyone’s guess.

  Everyone continued to walk away from the blaze, not turning back. No one even looked at another person, the journey was completely silent. A loud mechanical noise from behind however had drawn their attention. Everyone’s faces filled with shock, upon noticing a certain object launched into the sky – it was the missile. “Impossible…” Elliot was devastated. “If that thing drops anywhere near us, we’re all going to die.” Fabien reminded them, “There’s no point in running, not anymore…” All everyone could do now was watch hopelessly, and pray that the missile continued to fly over them…

  “Please… Let me go!” Cora begged for her life while being dragged by two of the doctors. They entered the bunkbed room, and tossed Cora on the ground. “So then, Miss Annabelle,” Khan referred to her as. “Allow me to demonstrate what happens when you cross me…”

  One of the doctors handed Khan a red hot poker. Standing over here, he raised it up. “No!” Keith charged at and tackled him, punching him viciously. Annabelle hopped up as well, running to take the poker from them. “Stand back!” She pulled out on the two doctors who tried to apprehend her. She watched them closely whilst Keith continued to beat Khan into the ground. She looked over at Cora, who was struggling to get up.

  “Cora… Your mum, Erica. I’ve seen her, she’s alive.” At the present moment, Annabelle couldn’t think of a better way to comfort her. “My mum? Alive?” She was looked scruffy and ragged from the way she had been treated. “Yes, alive. Come with me, and I’ll take you to her.” Cora tried to smile as best she could; though this emotion had been lost long ago. As one of the doctors tried to sweep the poker away from her, she stabbed it through his chest, “I said stand back!” He dropped the ground, cradling his burn.

  “I’ll let you live, Khan. But I am going to torture you. Annabelle, give me the poker,” Mercilessly, she handed it right to him. Amongst the blood he was covered in, Khan tried to beg. Feeling no remorse, Keith pressed it against Khan’s temple, prompting him to scream from the agony of the burn. “Alright Keith, that’s enough! I can’t stand his annoying scream anymore!” Annabelle requested. Keith dropped the poker, the other doctor was too scared to act against them. Lifting Cora up, Annabelle and Keith ventured to find their way off of the ship…

  Recap

  Our group successfully managed to destroy the Government base, at the cost of several lives. The sacrifices made were not taken likely by those who remain alive. However, remnants of the threat still remained, namely in the form of Sierra, who launched a nuclear missile from the ruins of the Government base. Now, the survivors find themselves helplessly watching and praying that the weapon was not targeted at them...

  Chapter 15

  Elliot crossed his fingers – but not for his own survival. He could not care less what happened to him at this point, but for the other members of the group who he had worked and fought so hard for to keep alive, he did. He silently watched the missile flying overhead, and over the sea. “It’s headed over the Channel!” Reed remarked, “It’s going to destroy England!” While most people were concerned about the loss of their home country, Elliot was just grateful everyone around him wasn’t going to die. They continued to watch as it faded off into the horizon. “Where is it headed then?” Erica wondered. Seconds later, a mildly bright flash emitted from the country. It hurt everybody’s eyes slightly, but it wasn’t intense enough to blind them. Then another few seconds later, a powerful breeze followed, causing some of the group to wobble slightly, repelling their hair crazily in the draft.

  TWO MONTHS LATER

  Elliot awoke all of a sudden in, what was now, his own bed. He rubbed his eyes, and for a brief second, he thought he was living in the old world again. Downstairs, he could hear some commotion. Part of him thought it would be best to just let it go, but then the other part of him didn’t want to risk any division within the group. Throwing his covers off, he slipped out of bed. When his bare feet made contact with the cold wooden floor, he wriggled his toes slightly. As much as he wanted to believe he could finally have a normal life, he knew that was a luxury nobody could afford anymore.

  He had pulled a dressing gown out of the wardrobe, and tied it up as he trotted down the stairs. He could hear a French argument in the kitchen, concerned something was about to go down. “What’s going on in here then?” He crossed his arms at Celeste and Pierre, arguing over the table. “Look, if you’re arguing about leaving, then just leave. No one’s going to stop you.” They both shook their heads, Elliot had gotten the wrong idea, but he was looking away from them at the time so therefore did not see these gestures. “But if you want my group to leave, then think again. We’ve fought too hard and lost too much to just run away again.” Pierre, not saying anything, tapped Elliot’s shoulder, pointing to the table. “Oh…” He noticed two cans of beans. “Celeste here thinks we can heat them up using a campfire outside, I’m telling her we can’t and we just have to eat them cold. “Oh…” Elliot was beginning to realise he didn’t need to panic anymore, about anything.

  Olivia was trying to help Gwen out after everything with Annabelle and Andy. “I met him all the way back in high school… I even remember the day we
first met. He wasn’t the brightest spark, but he was still Andy. We even happened to be interested in the same work industry… That was long before Annabelle even existed.” Gwen was again staring into the wall, as though she was in a trance. “But Gwen, you have to remember: Annabelle is still your daughter. Regardless of the things she’s done.” Olivia calmed her. “Her name isn’t even Annabelle… Elliot dubbed her as that. She preferred it to the name I gave her nineteen years ago…” Gwen still looked into blankness, “But do you know what, Olivia?” She turned to face her, breaking free of her ‘trance’, “I raised a sweet innocent little girl, along with the help of my husband. The last spark of her existence died with him. Now, there’s a psychopath roaming around out there, a woman who is not my daughter.” Olivia was surprised by how strong Gwen still was, but also by how unforgiving of her daughter she had become.

  “The day after Annabelle was born, and I took her home, I remember Andy being the first one to visit. She liked him a lot. He was even the first person she smiled at. But just imagine, Olivia, just imagine if he knew that one day, that baby would grow up to…” She couldn’t bring herself to finish the hypothetical sentence. “But he didn’t know that though, Gwen. Nobody could’ve. Just as no one could’ve predicted that Andy would start turning against all of us. She took him down when she had to. It’s the reason why we’re all still alive and finally free of the curse Vincent left behind.” But Gwen still begged to differ with Olivia, “He wasn’t cursed by Vincent at all!” She slammed against the bed, “I don’t know what happened to him. We all have fits of anger now and then, but that doesn’t justify murder!” As Olivia moved in to pat her back, she jumped up off the bed. “I can’t do this anymore, I just can’t!” She left the room in a state.

  Erica and Tina had joined the others downstairs for breakfast. They looked outside the window, noticing Elliot and Celeste using a campfire to cook the beans.

  “It’s a little technique that I used a long time ago,” Elliot was surprised by his own remark, “Wow, isn’t it weird how you can say things happened ‘a long time ago’ and they could still have occurred in the apocalypse?” Although Celeste’s English was improving, she could only interpret the gist of what he was saying. “Anyway, I did it with soup before. There’s no reason why it shouldn’t work with beans either.”

  Erica noticed Tina smiling at Elliot and Celeste’s humane interaction, “Look at that,” she said, “That really is something rare these days. One person helping another.” Erica looked at her anxiously, “Tina, there’s something I want to tell you…” She turned to face her, “Anything Erica. You can trust me, always.” She took her hand, and held it tightly, “I’m in love with you. I have been for some time now. I can’t hide it any longer…” She was beginning to sweat slightly from how nervous she was. Tina looked down and then back up again, swallowing hard, “Erica… I love you too,” she smiled affectionately at her.

  “Morning ladies, what’s for breakfast?” Reed had stumbled into the kitchen, but upon noticing how close they both were, he mimed the word ‘Sorry!’ Before leaving the room again.

  Turning their attention back towards each other, Erica and Tina slowly went in to kiss each other. Now, it was Elliot and Celeste watching them from the outside, rather than vice-versa. “I told you,” Celeste leant over to Elliot, “That’s amazing. They work so well together!” Elliot was happy for them.

  With Zach and Fabien now being the only two defectors from the Government – and perhaps the only two survivors of the base overall – they had a lot to discuss. “We’ve gone from living in an airfield to living in a mansion down the road,” Fabien pointed out, “Zach, do you really want to be here with all these people? I mean think about it for a second, nothing is perfect these days. Not anymore. How long do you realistically think we will last in this place before someone kills us for our past?” Fabien was concerned, but Zach was not, “Foxtrot – I mean, Fabien – I’m only fourteen, you seriously think any of these people could bring themselves to kill me? Besides, these people are lovely people anyway. Quite the contrast to the assholes you lead back in that dreadful place.” He did see Zach’s point, but Fabien’s track-record was a lot worse than his, “I’ve wronged all of these people at least once. I threw Elliot into a cage with a live tiger; I forced Gwen and Olivia to fight to the death; my idea of having a trial-system nearly got Reed killed; it was also my idea to have a last resort plan in the form of a radiation bomb.”

  Zach rolled his eyes, “But Fabien, that’s not how I see it. Elliot bested the tiger against all the odds; Tina stepped in so that both Olivia and Gwen could live; you were the one juror who voted against Reed’s execution; Sierra was the one who actually ordered that missile to be constructed.” But still, Fabien couldn’t forgive himself, as evident by his expression. Zach therefore continued to support him, “Look Fabien, you brought out the best in all these people. Sure it had risks, and consequences too, but you ultimately made them more durable to survive in this world. I might not agree with how you went about it, but I do accept it. Now it’s time for you to accept your own choices, everyone else here already has.”

  As he looked at Zach gratefully, he began to cough slightly, and then went into a coughing fit. “You alright?” Zach patted his back, “Cough up, buddy.” But Fabien just kept choking, he then dropped onto the ground. Looking up at Zach, his face had become swollen with blotchy red patches. Zach looked petrified, “Help! Someone help!” Zach rushed outside the room, “Gwen! Elliot! Someone? Please!”

  “The beans are done!” Celeste said to Elliot. As she went to pick up the can, Elliot put his hand in the way, “Ah! Careful! It’s very hot! Here’s how you do it,” Elliot picked up a stick which he had been carved into a small open-triangle at the end. He placed it on the side of the can – it fit perfectly. “You see? According to the laws of all physics, the can now cannot fall regardless of how much you shake the stick about!” He tried to big himself up to be more intelligent than he actually was, but Celeste could see right through his little act.

  Erica and Tina had rushed upstairs to see what the commotion was, “Fabien!” Due to them both having medical experience, they both bent down to help him. “Alright roll him on his side!” Tina asked Erica. As she did so, she jumped back from him, “Look at his arm!” As Tina rolled him fully onto his side, she and Zach were startled as well – his arm had swollen up massively, every vein bulged out of it, as the skin creased and swirled in certain areas.

  “The hell is happening in here?” Gwen and Olivia entered, “Fabien!” She joined Erica and Tina on the floor around him, but then jumped away too upon noticing his blotchy-reddened face and his swollen-veiny arm. “What happened to him? Someone tell me!” But no one could answer. Zach gave it his best shot, “I was talking with him, and then suddenly, this just happened!” He didn’t know how else to word it, “He just started having an attack!” Gwen looked to Tina, “Can you do something? Can you save him?” She put his fingers over his neck as the choking abruptly stopped. “He’s not… Is he?” Gwen glared at her for an answer. Tina slowly pulled her hand away from his neck, rising to her feet. “I’m sorry everyone… He’s dead…”

  Waking up in tents had become a practice Annabelle was very much familiar with. Especially after the amount of time she had spent with Andy and Erica over the past year. Except this time, she awoke to see Keith and Cora next to her. All that she could see in her mind was the vision of Erica and Andy; one of which she may never see again, and the other she definitely will never see again. Unable to take it, she stepped outside.

  They had camped out on the side of a small mountain – it was too steep to class a hill, but nowhere near tall enough to be a proper mountain. She inhaled deeply, taking in the sweet scent of the fresh open air. Again, she had made certain the group camped near the sea; this way, Annabelle could fish for her and her two new comrades. But firstly, she needed to find a rod. Luckily for her however, there was a line of shops along a beach not too f
ar from where they were camped, she could see it over the small mountain. Looking back to make sure the other two were still asleep, she made the climb over in order to acquire three fishing rods.

  Surprisingly, the shop did not appear to have been raided already. Instead, there was an entire basket of fishing rods still standing. Rather than lugging three all the way back to the tent, she decided to wheel the basket which the rods were in all the way down to the edge of the beach.

  “Wake up you two! It’s time to get breakfast!” She nudged them slightly to get them up. While at first they groaned and ignored her, Annabelle’s persistence eventually made them get up.

  They sat along a short fishing pier extending off the beach. The more Annabelle taught Keith and Cora how to fish, the more she felt like Erica. This came with consequences however, as it kept reminding her of Andy and their little fishing competitions…

  … “Who’s going to pull it off? Will Andy make a shocking comeback, or will Annabelle take another victory?” Erica was acting overenthusiastically, treating it like a professional sporting match. “Oh, and what’s this? Annabelle has just reeled in yet another fish! You’ve got two more minutes Andy; you may want to hurry up!” Although he found Erica’s enthusiasm cringe-worthy, he did indeed reel his rod back up a lot faster. “I’ve got a big one! Christ! I think my rod is actually pulling me in, and not the other way around!” It was astonishing how they could still afford to relax and have competitive fun in the apocalypse…