“Shut up! I’m not letting you talk to me that way!” the second cannibal yelled.
Lionel groaned as his minions continued to bicker. “Stop fighting! The Steampunks are going to hear you shouting at each other!”
The hungrier cannibal picked up a rock and smashed the side of his companion’s head. As a result, the other cannibal fell to the ground. The hungry cannibal held up the blood-stained rock and turned his attention to Lionel.
“I’m getting food one way or another. If you can’t fix our problems, maybe I should devour you,” the cannibal threatened.
Lionel pulled out a handgun and shot his follower in the forehead. The cannibal dropped the rock and collapsed onto the ground. Lionel shook his head and put away the handgun.
“Imbeciles! I’ll finish the task by myself. The power plant is only a short distance away. I’m almost there,” Lionel said as he marched forward.
Reb and Malcolm were driving toward the other side of the town when suddenly their car sputtered and slowed down.
Malcolm became alarmed. “Are you kidding me? Come on! We need to keep going!”
The car completely halted and the engine died.
“At least we made it part way through the town. We need to move on foot again,” Reb suggested.
Both of them exited the car and Reb used her baton to help her hobble across the terrain.
Malcolm shielded his eyes from the sun. “The radiation is making the town like a dessert.”
“Be glad that your clothes have temperature control. It must be a lot worse for the cannibals. I don’t understand how they’re still alive,” Reb commented.
“You’re right about that! The weather is painfully hot in this town!” a mysterious voice shouted.
Two cannibals ambushed Reb and Malcolm. One of the cannibals was armed with a fire poker and his partner held a lead pipe.
Malcolm prepared for a fight. “This would be easy if your buddies didn’t steal my weapons! Hand over the serum or I’ll snap your necks!”
The two cannibals laughed at Malcolm’s bravado.
“He’s an interesting one! I can tell he has plenty of meat on those bones!” one of the cannibals remarked.
Reb glanced at her lobster claw. “Maybe this silly claw will be useful after all.”
She snapped her claw at the two cannibals. They stumbled backward and raised their weapons.
“This one is mutating! Let’s kill them before she turns into a killer crawfish!” the pipe wielder commanded.
He swung his lead pipe at Malcolm, but the Steampunk hopped backward and evaded the impact. The cannibal with the fire poker tried to stab Reb. However, she grabbed the fire poker and yanked it out of his hands. She snapped the fire poker in half with her lobster claw.
The cannibal was terrified. “Never mind! I’m not dealing with these Steampunks! This one might tear me apart!”
“Where are you going? Coward!” the other cannibal hollered.
“All of you are cowards!” Reb shouted.
She attacked the remaining cannibal and grabbed his right arm with her claw. Reb squeezed his arm and fractured it. He howled in pain and hobbled away from the two Steampunks once she let him go.
“You’re monsters. Just go away and leave us alone,” the cannibal whimpered as he clutched his broken arm.
Malcolm shook his head. “Sometimes we have strange enemies. These guys are eating human beings and calling us monsters.”
“I suppose they’re not entirely wrong. We need to keep moving. I don’t think we’ll last much longer in this nuclear atmosphere,” Reb said, using her baton to walk again.
Percy, Savannah, Gable, and Priscilla entered the small business complex. It seemed normal, although it was a quiet and outdated building.
“Time is running out. We need to find more serum. Let’s split up into pairs and search for the antidote. I’ll check on the communication systems,” Percy ordered.
Gable became annoyed. “It always becomes a problem when we separate, but you’re right. We need to find more of the antidote.”
“You guys can check the second floor. We’ll check everything down here. Does that sound good?” Savannah recommended.
Priscilla pulled out her metal fan. “That works for me. At least I have my fan. Come on, Gable. I don’t want to waste any time.”
They split up and headed in different directions. Gable and Priscilla hurried up the stairs, while Percy and Savannah started to examine the first floor. The younger couple walked through the hallway and saw multiple small offices, a copy room, and a break room.
“We need to check these offices for phones and serum. Maybe the cannibals hid syringes inside the desks,” Gable mentioned.
“That’s a good idea. I’ll check this office to the right. Keep going and I’ll catch up with you,” Priscilla responded.
Gable placed his hand on her back. “Priscilla, be careful. I get really worried about you when we’re in dangerous situations.”
She proudly held up her fan. “This is a deadly weapon. I could slice off a man’s head with this fan. Besides, you know I’m not helpless. Check the phones and look for serum. I’ll be fine.”
“Well, holler if you need help. I’ll be nearby,” Gable wearily replied.
He walked down the corridor as Priscilla checked one of the offices. She found a desk and pulled out the drawers. She rooted through the office supplies and thought, Why can’t these cannibals have anything useful? I don’t understand how they survive in this abandoned town.
Someone tackled her and held his hand over her mouth. Priscilla used her elbow to sock the attacker’s ribcage. He grimaced in pain and stumbled backward. She turned around and stared at the cannibal.
“What kind of lady elbows a man in the ribcage?” the cannibal complained.
Priscilla spat back, “You’re one to talk! What kind of man attacks women and eats them?”
She attacked him with her grafted fan. The criminal ran out of the way as she slashed at him. During the attack, she destroyed a lamp, cut open a cabinet, and left two deep gashes in the wall. The cannibal decided to abort his attack.
“This is nuts! A fan shouldn’t cause this much damage! I’m getting out of here!” he complained.
The villain opened a window and tried to climb out.
“Wait! It’s too high!” Priscilla warned.
He ignored her and jumped out the window anyway. The terrorist fell out of the building and landed on the ground with a splat.
Priscilla shook her head. These cannibals are idiots. I can tell the atomic power is messing around with their minds. A normal person would never climb out of a window on the second floor without bracing himself for impact. These cannibals also seem quite fragile. It seems like their bodies are falling apart in a very gruesome way.
Priscilla felt dizzy and her neck started to throb. She fell to her knees and clutched her neck. The southern belle felt her veins and flesh move during a shape-shifting process. It was a negative situation because she did not have the antidote.
Chapter 18
Priscilla placed her hand on the back of her neck as the transformation occurred. “I don’t want it to end like this!”
She felt someone grab the back of her arm and inject something into her wrist. The mutation subsided and then she stood up. When she turned around, Priscilla saw Gable standing in front of her.
“Sorry, baby. I need you to stay beautiful,” Gable said, and smirked.
Priscilla hugged him tightly. “Your timing was perfect! I’m so grateful that you rescued me!”
“What happened? I heard a commotion from this direction,” Gable mentioned.
Priscilla stopped hugging him and she explained the situation. “One of those crazy lunatics attacked me but I scared him with my fan. Ironically, he tried to escape through the window. I assume he didn’t survive the fall.”
Gable found the situation bizarre. “He didn’t have very good judgment. A two-story fall probably wouldn’t
kill most people, but these cannibals seem to be frail. I assume their minds and bodies have been impaired by the radiation.”
“I think you’re right about that. Anyway, did you find anything useful?” Priscilla inquired.
Gable shook his head. “No. The phones and internet aren’t working in this office building. I didn’t find any serum either.”
Priscilla was disappointed. “That’s not surprising, but it still sucks. We should catch up with your parents. Maybe they found some answers.”
“I’m sure they’re still on the first floor. Come with me,” Gable said, and he took Priscilla’s hand.
He led her down the stairs and they searched for Percy and Savannah.
*****
Giles and Beauregard walked away from the suburb and came upon a dead cannibal lying in the dirt.
“What do you think happened to this guy?” Beauregard wondered out loud.
Giles knelt in front of the corpse. “Hard to say. I wouldn’t be surprised if he simply died from radiation poisoning. If we’re lucky, he might have some anti-radiation serum on him.”
“I hope you’re right. It doesn’t look like he’s been dead for very long, so I’m feeling optimistic,” Beauregard replied.
Giles was successful in finding some syringes in the cannibal’s pockets. “Jackpot! Beau, we’re not dead yet! Now that we have the antidote, I want to find Reb and the others.”
Beauregard agreed with him. “That’s a good idea. Let’s keep walking.”
They hurried toward the town’s industrial section.
“How long do you think these cannibals are going to survive?” Giles asked.
“Not very long. It doesn’t look like the serum saves them from the atomic power,” Beauregard replied.
Giles wiped the sweat from his brow. “It would be great if all of them suddenly died before anyone else gets hurt. Unfortunately, we’ll probably run into some more of them before that happens.”
Beauregard stopped abruptly. “I see two people. It’s probably a couple of those cannibals.”
“Wait a minute. I recognize them. It’s Reb and Malcolm!” Giles declared.
The two men caught up with their companions.
Beauregard shook Malcolm’s hand. “It’s really good to see you guys. We’ve been dodging cannibals all day long.”
“Same here. Apparently, I turned into one of those mutants along the way. Reb used the serum to reverse the mutation, but she seems to be having a little bit of trouble,” Malcolm said, motioning to Reb’s arm.
She held up the claw. “I didn’t have a full dose to stop the transformation entirely. Well, it could be worse.”
Giles held up her mutated arm. “It’s going to be okay, Reb. We’ll fix your arm.”
“Heck, I found a good use for this lobster claw. I scared away two of those cannibals,” Reb smugly said.
“We’re in the same situation. Earlier today, I also turned into some type of creature. I don’t remember anything, but Giles turned me back,” Beauregard admitted.
“Do you guys have any serum? Reb and I ran out,” Malcolm mentioned.
Giles handed some syringes to Reb and Malcolm. “Here you go. Beau and I found a dead cannibal who had quite a few of these. We should be okay for the next few hours.”
Malcolm injected one of the syringes into his wrist. “I don’t want to mutate again. It might be a good idea to use it as a preventative measure.”
“You should be in good shape, Reb. You can take the antidote and fix your arm,” Beauregard suggested.
Reb tucked the syringes into her pouch belt. “Actually, I’m hanging onto these. Believe it or not, this claw might come in handy if we run into more enemies.”
“All right, but you’ll need to use the serum if your transformation gets worse,” Giles said in a stern tone.
Beauregard felt unsure of what they should next. “Where should we go? I have no idea where the rest of our group is hiding.”
“It’s impossible for us to know. Those cannibals chased us from our planed searches. Nobody will be in their original exploration sites,” Reb responded.
Giles stroked his beard. “We shouldn’t waste our time guessing. Let’s keep moving forward.”
The group wandered through the town without a clear plan. Eventually, Harold found them. The Steampunks stood defensively in front of him.
“Don’t hurt me! I’m not here to cause trouble!” Harold said and he raised his hands in the air.
Giles aimed his pistol at Harold. “Why should we believe you? You hung me in a meat locker! I don’t feel very forgiving!”
“Your entire group is a sadistic colony of cannibals! Obviously, we can’t trust you!” Malcolm yelled.
Harold tried to reason with them. “I don’t plan to escape from this town alive. My leader Lionel is planning something terrible. He wants to create instability in the power plant’s reactor to create a huge meltdown. The aftermath will devastate the entire state of West Virginia. Tons of Steampunks will be affected by radioactivity. The entire state will be overrun with monsters!”
Reb became suspicious. “You sound really serious about it. Why are you telling us about this awful plan?”
“I came here for research. There was a time when I thought destroying the Steampunk culture was a righteous cause. Now, Lionel’s plan seems like a sick quest for death and anarchy,” Harold replied.
Beauregard came even more worried. “We need to find the power plant. Which direction should we go?”
Harold pointed to right. “Take the right pathway past the electrical plant. Lionel is already on his way.”
“You did the right thing. If you survive, we’ll recommend leniency to the police,” Giles mentioned.
Harold pulled off his gas mask and coughed. “No, I’m done with this problem. I’ll save you the trouble.”
He pulled out a knife and sunk the blade underneath his jaw. The blade went through his head and caused instantaneous death. Harold fell to the ground while the foursome watched.
“That’s a dramatic way to leave this world,” Malcolm said and grimaced.
Reb sighed. “I certainly don’t want to deal with a mutant Apocalypse. One Apocalypse was enough.”
“Yeah, we need to find that nuclear plant. I hate to say it, but we have a big job ahead of us. Let’s find that jerk named Lionel and stop his master plan,” Giles growled.
“Why not? We don’t have anything else on our schedule today,” Malcolm said.
Chapter 19
Lionel approached the desolate nuclear plant. He marveled at the massive structure. It was a building that was both frail and powerful at the same time. Lionel knew the power plant held enough atomic power to cause catastrophic destruction.
He felt proud. “Look at you. The townspeople fled all those years ago and you’ve slept quietly this entire time. I’m going to wake you up. The nation needs to see your power,” He said to the massive structure.
Lionel coughed because the radioactivity was much stronger near the power plant. The criminal also felt sharp chest pains, but he ignored them to move forward. Lionel took a syringe and injected the serum into his wrist. Afterward, he approached the entrance and tried to break through the door. It was locked, but the brittle door eventually broke off its hinges. Lionel entered the facility to search for a self-destruct mechanism.
*****
Inside the business complex, Percy and Savannah examined an office on the first floor. While searching through a desk, Percy found a disc that was labeled as part of Lionel’s research.
“This looks interesting. I’m curious to see what’s on this research disk,” Percy said.
Savannah found a television and disc player. “We can play the disc to see if it has any useful information.”
Percy inserted the disc and the couple watched the video footage. It was an old video that showed Lionel from several months ago.
He looked directly at the camera and recited a lengthy testimonial. “This is
Lionel Coleman again. Today ends another month of research. I’ve been trying to find a way to eliminate the Steampunk scourge, but my original plan isn’t going to work. My research team is slowly getting sick and slipping into madness. A few of them created a mutiny and we had to put them down. We built nuclear missiles, but I’m not going to survive long enough to ship them across the nation. I thought the serum would give us immunity against the nuclear energy, but it only slows down the side effects of the radiation. Despite these setbacks, I know we can destroy the Steampunks. If necessary, I can create a huge meltdown in the reactor that will emit radiation for a long distance. Radiation is the biggest weakness for those Steampunks and it will infect hundreds, or possibly thousands, of them. I just want to cleanse the world of this artificial species. If I’m going to die in this town, the Steampunks are going with me.”
The video footage ended and Percy removed the disc.
Savannah became alarmed. “That man was talking about spreading nuclear energy fallout across many miles! We have to stop him!”
“This video is months old. Who knows what he has accomplished between then and now,” Percy explained.
“We already know this town has a power plant. I want us to find it and stop this madman,” Savannah recommended.
Percy wasn’t sure if his wife’s plan was the best solution. “It’s more important to find Lionel, but he could be anywhere. How do we even know if he’s still alive?”
“We’ve already survived the worst disaster in American history. I don’t want it to happen again,” Savannah said firmly.
Percy understood her point. “We can look for the power plant, but don’t expect the serum to be very effective. Despite the antidote, we might mutate anyway. The power plant is contaminated with radiation that’s been leaking for more than a decade.”
Although Savannah felt apprehensive, she was determined. “We have to try. Sacrifices have to be made sometimes.”
“You’re right. Let’s find Gable and Priscilla. They need to know about this video,” Percy stated.
*****
Meanwhile, Reb was surprised when her cell phone rang. She picked it up and excitedly yelled, “My phone is ringing! I can’t believe it! This is the best phone call ever!”
The Post-Apocalyptic Society: A Nelson and Hyde Vendetta Page 10