October

by Dave Rowlands

  Criss-Cross was nowhere to be seen; German Doctor mentioned that he had told her that he was going for a brief scout. We humans arranged some breakfast for ourselves, then packed everything up onto the motorbike and kicked sand over the fire’s remnants to properly put it out. The Klee-vics returned as we were tying on the final bundle.

  He shook his head, informing us that he’d found nothing. It was hardly a surprise; there was little enough along the Nullarbor, after all. Less now that the Dead had risen, clearly. I climbed onto his back once again, German Doctor taking the bike, and we started off once more.

  A couple of hours later, I felt the tickle again. Once more, it faded without incident and I assumed that we’d just gone out of range of whatever Dead had been behind us. It was a strange feeling though, and I brought it up with Criss-Cross as we travelled. He seemed to think that it was some kind of hive or herd mental connection. It reminded him of his own experience when near other Klee-vics, he said carefully. He was aware of my deteriorating condition and suggested that maybe I should talk to German Doctor about it. She did, after all, have medical training, and specialised in abnormal biological conditions.

  I didn’t necessarily have a problem with talking to her about it, but the fewer people that knew that I was becoming one of the Dead, the better. I loathed the idea… After Elder’s tea, I felt much better, but I knew that it was only a temporary thing. I also felt that, had I not been subjected to The Major’s ‘medical experiments’, I’d be feasting on the flesh of the Living by now. The Disciple had become something different to the Dead that plagued the world, however; I was wondering whether I’d be something more like him, or maybe The Kid. It was a disturbing line of thought, however; German Doctor might be able to help, or offer some advice, but more likely she’d just shrug her shoulders and suggest that we wait and see what happens.

  noon

  So, I spoke to my human companion about my condition over lunch. The expression on her face was one of horror at first, though as I spoke, she composed herself. I told her everything that I knew about it. From what first happened to The Kid, which she knew already, to The Major and his fucked-up experiments that had led to Archer’s untimely demise. I told her what I knew of The Disciple, having had an arm bitten in the early days, which he’d chopped off and cauterised himself, leading to his turning into something not Living, nor quite Dead, but capable of leading an army of shamblers to attack me and my friends, and finally showing her the bite on my shoulder. She prodded it, which hurt a little. Less than Elder’s whack the other night. I suspected that the tea was beginning to wear off.

  “I’m glad that you trusted me with this,” She told me afterwards. “I understand that it would be difficult; I’m uncertain whether I’d be able to open up to anybody about it. Did you ever tell…”

  I hadn’t told Apocalypse Girl. She’d been with me every step of the way, knew The Kid as well as I did, and had personally washed and treated my injuries sustained by The Disciple. I think, on some level, she knew that something like this was possible, but the final clue was how I’d acted before The Flame. I hadn’t had any opportunity to speak to her after that. The Flame had ended everything. I still don’t really know what had happened, just that I had experienced terror such that I had never felt before. Then I’d been taken over by something, perhaps The Shadow once again… Probably The Shadow. I hoped it was that, and not something new and unknown. Not that The Shadow was particularly familiar to me, but I’d been possessed by it once before for a couple of days. The experience had definitely been similar.

  “So, there was no time to inform her.” German Doctor sighed. “If something happens to you, and I discover that she lives… Would you like me to tell her?”

  I thought about it for a long while. If our positions were reversed, I think I’d rather know than not. I told her this, and she nodded.

  evening

  The rest of the day we travelled in silence. German Doctor kept glancing at me from her motorbike, until she nearly lost control courtesy of an unseen pothole in the road surface. Unfortunately, over time, the roads were likely to only deteriorate further without someone Living to maintain them. I didn’t see that being particularly likely. Not unless The Queen decided to extend her territory and influence further than Adelaide and the surrounding area.

  I’d been thinking about her a little more lately. If not for Apocalypse Girl, I might well have stayed there. Probably I would have, in fact. She was a smart and capable woman, though her decisions had gotten some people killed. Surely, she’d saved many more than she’d been responsible for their deaths. Adelaide was, by far, the most populous of all the settlements of survivors that I’d seen up until this point.

  We came to a billboard in the middle of nowhere before the sun’s hazy glow sank beneath the horizon and figured that it was as good a place as any to camp for the night. Once the fire was lit and the Meat-Beast cooking, German Doctor pointed up to the sign.

  It had one word written on it, with an arrow pointing to the north.

  Sanctuary.

  Journal of A.G.

  We came to the western edge of the Rainbow Wall after two days of careful driving. Not where there was any opening, which was just fucking typical, so we had to back track a little bit and find another road that led a little further south. It was a brilliant idea, really, that wall made from all the abandoned cars in and around Adelaide, but The Queen’s failing was not clearing out all of the buildings in the city itself. Or it had been, when we were there last. Hopefully Deathwish had sorted that out, as her newest Sheriff…

  It was a bizarre feeling, being back here. I told Viking and Valkyrie not to tell her of their immunity, under any circumstances. Valkyrie just nodded, though Viking had to ask why. I reminded him that it had meant my incarceration to secure Book’s compliance, and eventually it had cost me my eye. The Dog licked my face as I said it, as if to comfort me. He’s a good boy, that one. If I had to lose Book, at least I had my Apocalypse Dog.

  By the time we’d reached the Western Gate it was sundown already. Viking got out of the car and banged on the gate with his hammer, only to be told to fuck off and come back in the morning. Queen’s orders. Nobody gets let in after sundown, not unless they were expected. Nobody was expected at this gate. Not ever.

  So, we piled back into the wagon and attempted to get some sleep.

  October 13th Year 1 A.Z.

  morning

  I felt the tickle in my brain again. This time it was subtly different, though… I had a strange sensation of familiarity, something that I should have known. I asked Criss-Cross to keep an eye out while German Doctor and I arranged some breakfast. He nodded and left our tiny camp, spiraling outward with a speed that no human could have ever hoped to match, not on foot.

  Meat-Beast jerky tasted like leather, to me at least, but I choked it down. I felt that it was not as capable of delaying the onset of my Death as the fresh flesh, but we were out of that. I found myself wondering whether I’d enjoy the taste of human while glancing at German Doctor as she ate. Crushing such thoughts, I stood and found a bush for my morning evacuations.

  Criss-Cross returned in short order, saying that there seemed nothing out of the ordinary in the immediate vicinity. I glanced back at the sign pointing to this supposed sanctuary, asked German Doctor if she wanted to check it out. She smiled, saying that any chance at finding someone alive in this wasteland was worth looking into.

  We gathered up our meagre belongings and followed the road to the north. As we did so, I felt the tickle growing more intense, though not like before. Not the intensity of a large group of the Dead, then… It also felt like it was coming from behind. We outran the sensation before too long, though. The motorbike was a fairly rapid form of transportation, after all.

  noon

  We came across a walled town shortly before midday, Criss-Cross running around it to meet up with us at the northern edge. This might have been the promised Sanctuary; if so, we’d
call him back in once we’d made it clear to the residents that we were travelling in mixed company. However, the silence that radiated from the town also carried with it a sense of dread, and death.

  Sure enough, the town was covered in dried blood, almost painted over the buildings. Corpses left out in the open to rot in the streets left us in no doubt. Everybody here was dead, lifeless, and unmoving.

  I called out to Criss-Cross, and he appeared almost as if by magic. We went through the remains of the buildings, hoping to find some supplies, but they’d been ransacked thoroughly by whoever had wiped out the populace. The inhabitants had been slain by bullet and blade, rather than the teeth of the Dead.

  As we searched, the tickle returned. I climbed the stairs of the local church’s steeple to get a better look and was horrified at the display on the ground. The corpses had been laid out as letters, forming words.

  WHERE ARE THE RANGERS NOW?

  I wondered the same thing. We’d been hearing about this group of roving heroes for weeks now, on and off. I admired anybody that stood up to raiders and bandits, human scum that had become far too frequent an occurrence in these days, but clearly something had happened to them.

  If we’d had the numbers I’d have considered going after whoever had caused the carnage in the town, but with only the three of us… We’d have no hope. If I’d had my old squad, even, I’d have bet that they would’ve been chomping at the bit to deliver some payback. They’d clearly left town to the west, so we decided on continuing to the north.

  evening

  As darkness covered the wastes, we found another billboard to camp under. Again, the word Sanctuary featured prominently, with an arrow pointing in the direction we’d been travelling since finding the last one. I felt that this place, wherever it might be, was the home of the Rangers. German Doctor seemed to agree with my assessment, though she wondered if it was worth continuing. I told her that they had been trying to do some good for the land, so we, as a part of the land that they’d been helping, should at least find out what had happened.

  The tickle was back again. This time I hadn’t noticed it until well after we’d made camp. Whatever it was, it was quicker than the average Dead. No shambler could have hoped to keep up with the speeds and distance that we’d been travelling today, even with the lengthy stop in the devastated and ravaged town.

  I told Criss-Cross to be on the lookout for anything unusual as German Doctor and I slept. He nodded and began his patrol while the fire still burned bright. My lone human companion took the opportunity to perform an examination on me, taking pulse and blood pressure and temperature readings as best as she was able. Where she’d scavenged the tools from, I had no idea, and said as much. She smiled, saying that the town had not been completely devoid of useful items, as she removed the blood pressure cuff from my arm.

  “The good news is, you are still among the Living, as best as I can ascertain.” She told me. “But your pulse is weak and your blood pressure dangerously low. Your temperature is what I would have once considered incredibly high, though you seem well enough. I would have wished that your friend that integrated with the plague had allowed me close enough to take similar readings to compare against, but these things cannot be helped.”

  Journal of A.G.

  We had to leave the station wagon behind. I was expecting this, of course, but it still seemed harsh. Viking and Valkyrie swore loudly as we were allowed through the gate, Giant seemed almost ready to punch our hosts, but I told them that was how things were here. The gate guard glanced at me gratefully and told us to follow the main road to the south-east.

  We left the Rainbow Wall behind and began trudging towards the same city that I’d fled with Book on a number of occasions now. The gate guard had radioed ahead, we’d be met by someone on the way into town.

  I switched my eyepatch over, so that it covered my remaining orb and was startled yet again by the results; cars sped past on the road, people walked along the footpath beside it. All of them unaware that the world had ended in what could only have been a parallel dimension. I wanted to be there. But then, it was not my home. Replacing the patch over my empty socket, I almost felt better seeing the roads completely devoid of all vehicular and pedestrian traffic. Almost.

  We walked for nearly an hour before a large open-topped jeep arrived, and the sole occupant exited. Apocalypse Dog barked in recognition, and I hugged the newcomer, The Queen’s new Sheriff, our old friend Deathwish.

  There was barely enough room in the jeep for all of us, but we managed. I explained what had happened to Book, and Deathwish’s face dropped.

  “I get why you came back,” He sounded sad. “And we’ll look after you. You’re not getting locked up again, anyway. I’ve got a bit of pull with Her Majesty, so… yeah. If she wants you in a cage again, she’ll have to go through me.”

  October 14th Year 1 A.Z.

  morning

  We ate and moved on once more, to the north again. After a short while travelling, the tickle resumed. This time it felt like it was all around us, though if I concentrated on it there was the one that had been following us all day yesterday and what felt like a very large group of Dead up ahead. Very large.

  I asked Criss-Cross to scout ahead, as the Dead would not be bothered by his presence, while German Doctor and I kept an eye out behind us. As we waited, we talked about my ‘condition’. She was of the opinion that it might not end fatally for me, though I thought otherwise. She brought up The Kid as an example and reminded me that The Disciple had seemed very much alive when he had bitten me. She told me I had to hold hope that, if nothing else, I’d become something different, unique. I would, I knew, at least not turn into one of the mindless, flesh-hungry Dead that we’d been dealing with all these months.

  The tickle from behind us drew near, and before long I saw it behind us, a familiar hulking form loping along the road in our direction. I put my sword away and walked out to meet The Kid.

  “Hey,” He grinned at me, then at German Doctor. “I’ve been following you guys since The Flame. What the fuck happened to you back there, man?”

  I informed him that I knew little, though it seemed as if I’d been possessed by The Shadow again, which had suppressed the terror that I’d felt at The Flame’s appearance. He nodded, shrugged his vast shoulders, and told me that he was back and ready to help with whatever we needed.

  “There’s a pretty fucking massive group up ahead, you know that?” He seemed more than a little concerned for our safety. I told him that I’d felt them, and that we had a scout looking into the situation. “That alien dude? The Klee-vics? He seems a little weird, but then I suppose it’s reasonable; he’s not from this planet, after all!”

  “You seem a little weird, too, to those who are not used to you,” German Doctor put in with a smile. “Both of you do, in fact…”

  The Kid laughed. With all that had happened to him, to all of us, since this whole thing had begun, it was good to hear a good honest chuckle.

  noon

  Criss-Cross returned as we prepared some Meat-Beast for our lunch. As we ate, he told us of the scenario awaiting us. There was a farm up ahead, well and truly overrun with Dead, though there were clearly some Living inside the buildings. They’d been reinforced with metal doors, the windows on the ground floor thoroughly barricaded, but they would not hold forever. Or else, the inhabitants would begin to starve, and then the Dead would be free to move in the direction of the nearest food source. He looked at German Doctor meaningfully.

  Resolving to do what we must, as these people at this Sanctuary needed saving, German Doctor was to stay as far back as she could while the three of us oddities would attempt to thin the herd of Dead as best as we knew how.

  I rode on the back of the Klee-vics as The Kid ran along beside us. When the farm came into view, it almost seemed as if we were too late; then I glanced over at The Kid, concentration marking his somewhat distorted face; he was holding the Dead in his thrall, making them
stand still so that we were more easily able to put them down.

  A window opened in the upper floor of the main farmhouse, a small boy slipped out with a knife almost bigger than he was, and began stabbing the Dead from above, taking full advantage of the situation. I drew my blade and dismounted, wading into the horde of stinking, rotten flesh, hacking and slicing as best I could, while Criss-Cross used his arm-blades to their full effect. The alien was a whirlwind of carnage, spinning around into the Dead with his blades at roughly human head height.

  Some few noticed the easy meat of German Doctor on the motorbike, but she was easily able to keep out of their clutches, riding a short way away and shooting them down whenever they drew near. Each bullet she fired drew more Dead in her direction, but she had enough rounds and space to move that it hardly mattered.

  In short order the Dead were all immobile, and the boy that had been assisting us ran back to the window he’d exited from and shouted inside that it was alright, someone had come to help.

  German Doctor joined me while the two more obvious oddities hung back as the front door groaned open. A young woman who looked on the verge of collapse from hunger grinned at us. More people crowded around behind her, all wanting to get a glimpse of us, to thank us for our aid.

  evening

  It took most of the afternoon to clear away the corpses. The Survivor that had opened the door for us told us her story as we worked; she’d been an artist living in Perth when the end had come. Finding The Lad as she was fleeing from a group of cultists that had wanted to raise some kind of Beast from the ocean using human blood sacrifices, she had kept on running until finding this Sanctuary, and the Rangers.