Remnant

by Michael Clements

  Seth was sitting up straight against the wall, scowling at Isaac the whole time. He has a point though, he hated to admit.

  “I showed you the freedom I have here. I have company, I have women – Women who are truly happy with their lives right now. I always liked you, Seth. I don't want to torture you and keep you in this cell. Why do you pretend like you love Mercy? Face the truth: you only want one thing from her.”

  Seth fought against himself.

  “If you want her, just take her. Have your way. You don't need to follow the unwritten rules of etiquette from the world before. We have real freedom now.” Isaac began to walk out of the room. “Until you realize this, Seth, you can remain imprisoned for your actions.”

  Seth didn't sleep that night. Occasionally he shut his eyes, but his thoughts consumed him the whole time. He had forgotten his headache, which seemed to help in being finally rid of it. Why did that anger me? he couldn't stop asking himself. Isaac has to be wrong. I've seen other girls, hotter girls. He admitted to himself that he had wanted Mercy before he had met her properly... but that thought spread like a virus, and on its own started to make Isaac's other statements seem more true.

  Being in your fifties must mean you know something about the world... During the good days when all was well with them and their shelter, Isaac had never said anything he disagreed with, and he frequently enjoyed his philosophical monologues. He had figured everything out decades ago. He hates the truth, but he knows it, Seth concluded. It is still truth. Why should I suffer and risk my life for a girl that doesn't appreciate me?

  Just this once, why not get what I want? I've earned that much.

  He stood, ignoring all lingering pains, and knocked on his door loudly. “What!” said the other side.

  “Where's Isaac?”

  Eventually Isaac came in, his suit removed as he seemed to be preparing to go to sleep. “Yeah?”

  “I'm sorry for everything.” His words, though genuine, sounded unconvincing. He flavored them a bit. “What happened at the shelter was my doing. I was angry then, too. I shouldn't have doubted you. You've been the best friend I've had since all this began.”

  Isaac put his hand on Seth's shoulder. “Everyone has needs.”

  In the dead of the night, Seth hastily went to Mercy's room, which was currently not in session. He gave the guard the clearance he had received from Isaac. The guard nodded and allowed him inside.

  “Seth?” said Mercy, starting to panic.

  “I've protected you. I was there for you.” He shoved Mercy against the wall, one hand pressing her face against it while the other forced her pants down. She started to cry, begging him to stop and asking him why. “I could have died for all the things I did for you! Would you even care? Would you even remember me?”

  Just before he could unzip his pants, there was a loud, violent explosion that shattered windows on the floor below them. Panic froze Seth in place, and Mercy took her chance. She slapped him with all her strength, allowing her longer nails to cut into his flesh. As she ran out the door, she screamed in fear.

  Once Seth gathered himself from the shock, he ran after her. In the hallway, the guards were scattering about. He saw one get in Mercy's way but she fearlessly tackled him, digging a thumb into his eye. She continued to run, her pants hanging down to the floor, occasionally making her lose step, but she never fell.

  “Mercy! Stop! I'm sorry!”

  He followed Mercy all the way to the first floor, where a massive cloud of smoke obscured his vision and made him cough violently. Multiple soldiers, likely an entire squad, were pouring inside and making their way to the upper levels. Seth found a corner to hide behind, though it exposed his left side some. He had to wait until they were all up the stairs before he could move again.

  He didn't hear Mercy. Did they take her? He ran to a window, but could see nothing with the lingering smoke still so thick. “Mercy?” he called. “Please, I'm sorry. I don't know what...”

  There she was, curled up into a ball, tears drenching her cheeks. She was shaking, and couldn't bear to look at him. He slowly stepped up to her. “Look, Mercy...”

  Next he knew, his head was slammed against the wall on his right, pulled back, then slammed again. “Aaah!” he screamed as blood covered his face. He frantically cleared the blood on his eyes... It took him a long moment, but when he could see again, he saw Ethan, carrying Mercy over his shoulder out of the building.

  “NO!”

  He charged at Ethan, who calmly set Mercy down, then struck Seth with great force directly in his sternum. It was quick and easy, and Seth was reduced to the floor again. He watched Ethan leave with Mercy, and there was nothing left he could do.

  MERCY

  She was thrashing about, screaming to her lungs' full capacity. She could not move her body.

  It felt like being buried alive. She saw herself running through streets and fields, escaping the bombs falling from the sky. Her family was with her. No matter where they ran, the crowds and the planes followed them, but they were all coming for her. When she realized this, she told them to run. They refused.

  One by one, they fell behind her until she was running alone. Mercy looked back. She saw the pieces of their bodies strewn everywhere in that open field. The crowd chasing her was closing in, and in a great rage she ran at them all. They filled her body with bullets, but she kept running. Before she reached them, she was tackled from behind. It was Seth. He screamed, “This is what you get! Dirty whore!” Then the men she had serviced emerged from the crowd as all the others watched.

  “It's just us,” they said, as they held her down and Seth tore off her clothes.

  “Stop! STOP!” she screamed.

  Mercy gasped deeply, jolting herself awake. She found herself lying on her back in an empty convenience store. The battle continued in the streets just outside. After a moment, she realized an arm was hanging over her, its hand resting on her side. She threw it off and stood. “Ethan...” He nodded.

  “Your nightmares are getting worse,” he said, starting to sharpen his knife.

  “Where are we?” breathed Mercy, as she gradually collected her composure.

  “Not in a brothel. You can relax.”

  “H-How did … How did you find me?”

  “I never lost you. I came close once, though.” He saw her shivering. “You'll be a lot warmer over here,” he stated coldly.

  Of all the ways to wake up, particularly after waking from what her subconscious devised, she did not think finding her head on Ethan's thigh would ever be one of them. He's taken care of me before, she thought. He's protected me, he wants something from me... But affections? He's never been like that before. I didn't know he was capable of it. She asked him, “How long will you be here?”

  “Until that is over with,” he said pointing with his eyes to the chaos outside. Mercy was surprised none of it spread into their space.

  “I don't want to come with you.” She was mindful not to display any weakness when she spoke.

  Ethan looked up, pausing his activity. “I freed the kids in Scarlet's custody, like you asked. I saved you from death, and now I saved you from assault.”

  “I don't owe you anything,” she said before she knew Ethan would add more to his point.

  “That's true, you don't,” he said unexpectedly. “But it does contradict this lack of trust you have for me.”

  He had a point, she forced herself to admit. It didn't entirely matter. “You're a heartless killer. I never wanted anything to do with you.” I'm not worried about my safety, anyway. I'll take a good, clean death anytime, even if you'll be the one to oblige.

  “Your choice, Mercy.” He said nothing more on the matter, and resumed sharpening his knife.

  Several minutes passed. Mercy expected Ethan to say something, or do something; to force her to leave with him, or at least attempt to coerce her into leaving with him. But he didn't even look at her. She stepped a little closer to the glass panels, one of which wa
s completely shattered. The battle in the street seemed to be calming down, but there was no way to know for sure; they couldn't see the battle from there, anyway. It was loud, and close enough to the building to be happening in that room.

  She approached Ethan again, who was now eating something. A closer look in, and she saw he had an entire stack of packaged snacks, all junk food. Calories, she thought, when asking herself how he could remain fit while eating that.

  “What happened at Isaac's brothel?”

  “I tracked you and Seth to Isaac, then I informed the troops. I was already familiar with his source of income. It made things easier on them, and on me.”

  “If you tracked me to Isaac, why didn't you take me then? You could have handled yourself against the men that dragged me there.”

  “I was away dealing with business and had just returned when they took you.”

  “What business were you dealing with?”

  “I made friends with the troops. If my theory is correct...” He paused. “I'm going to need them on my side. And they need what I know.”

  “Your theory about what?”

  Ethan looked at her intently. “Where someone is.”

  Someone? She was taken aback for a moment. “You're looking for someone? That's what you've been up to?” Ethan didn't reply, not even gesturing a yes or a no. “I'll come with you. I just need to know who you're looking for.” Ethan still said nothing. She weighed the options in her mind. “When will I know?” she asked. She could feel herself giving in to a fool's errand. Better with him than with anyone else.

  “You'll know when I tell you.”

  She desperately needed more. “What will happen when you find this person?”

  “You'll know when I tell you.”

  She accepted it. Ethan had not yet harmed her, and though she knew everything would end with regret, she chose to go along with his game regardless, ruling, If he kills anyone along the way, I'm leaving without a second thought. Then she dared to ask, “May I at least know where you're taking me?”

  “Mercy, you have the option not to come.” Ethan's words were shrill, almost degrading. Did he suddenly not want her with him?

  “I know. I've chosen to.”

  “Why?”

  “I'm coming because I trust you. Of all the things you are, a liar is not one of them. You choose not to tell me things you don't want me to know, rather than lie about them. I also hope that whatever it is you're trying to do, whoever you're looking for, will explain to me who you are. Maybe you'll be a better person when it's done with.”

  “No,” he told her. “I'll save you the trouble of having that kind of faith. I'm exactly what you've always thought of me. Don't get your hopes up. You're not about to learn that I'm a good person at heart.”

  He stood and approached the exit, standing a foot back from the window panels. The brothel was covered in smoke, ablaze in some places.

  “Now's as good a time as any,” he said. Stepping out into the street, he looked back toward the building. Mercy did as well. She peered intently but found no sign of Isaac or Seth, or any other familiar faces.

  Portland was a ruin. She could now see it, vividly and clearly, with her own eyes for the first time since arriving, without the terror of abduction or walking the line between life and death from malnutrition. A real, silent, and safe, moment to absorb it all. She could see the traps, the barriers, the devastated vehicles, the burnt trees, and above all, the corpses. Much to her surprise, they stumbled upon a demolished building right off of Morrison that could not have been more than four stories high.

  You were beautiful once, she thought of the city. I thought you'd be the one that wouldn't fall.

  She had no idea where Ethan was leading her, but it seemed to be back in the direction of Isaac's former shelter. A building that stood testament to his incompetence as a leader, until it no longer stood. She hoped with all her heart that Ethan was not taking her back there. His criminal family could have taken it over and made something even worse of it than Isaac had. She nearly asked him if he was taking her back there.

  In the midst of an intersection up ahead, Mercy saw a tiny hut and a man seated on an office chair just outside of it. He was holding a broken guitar, with a drum set in rather fine condition to his right, her left. Ethan nearly led them around the man, but Mercy had to stop. “Hi,” she greeted politely, Ethan sighing heavily.

  “Sorry, I can't see you,” said the elder. Mercy looked into his eyes and saw the man was completely blind. “Who are you?”

  “My name's Mercy,” she told him, crouching in front of him.

  “Mercy? Lovely name. Are you an angel sent to us with a message of mercy?”

  She chuckled. Ethan stood with his back toward them, arms crossed. “No, I'm afraid I'm not. I'm the one who needs an angel to give me that message.”

  “Tell me, Mercy. Do you believe in angels?”

  “Hmm. I can't say that I do.”

  “That must mean you don't believe in God either.”

  “No, not him either. I hope that doesn't offend you.”

  The blind man smiled, looking up toward the sky he couldn't see. “Not at all, my lady. I mean after all, it's all a matter of faith, isn't it? In the end, we will know the truth. We will know what happens to us; to the world.”

  Mercy paused, feeling uncertain of herself. “What if there's nothing?”

  “Nothing? Well, that's a depressing thought. I suppose it's always possible, but one can always have faith, even if they know the truth is otherwise.”

  Mercy nodded, grinning some. “I've been driven a lot by faith lately. Something has to keep me going.”

  “Indeed,” the old man said. “Where could we get to in life without faith? We don't always have the answers. It is entirely necessary.”

  Ethan turned toward them, shooting an impatient glare at Mercy. She got the message. “I have to leave,” she told the elder. “Is there anything I can do for you before I go?”

  “Nothing for me,” he said with a smile. “Do something for yourself. Never give up, okay?” Her thoughts went to James, who encouraged the same of her. She couldn't help wondering when she would see him again. “I believe you have a bright future ahead, if only you don't give up.”

  “I haven't yet,” Mercy said rising up, “and I surely don't plan to give up anytime soon.”

  The old man reached out. Mercy touched his hand. “Then go, and be blessed, my lady.”

  She felt lighter, more alive. It only took a bit of optimism to feel life, and everything it currently entailed, was worth it again. Ethan walked her across several more blocks until he ultimately slowed down close to a parking garage close to a large facility up ahead. She looked for signs indicating their location, and saw posts giving driving directions to places such as “Emergency Room” and “Main Entrance.” Ethan brought her inside, to the base level of the parking garage and crouched down in a corner that was close to the main building up ahead. Good Samaritan Hospital, she realized.

  “Take this,” Ethan said quietly. He handed her a pistol that was in near-perfect condition and fully loaded. “I'll be back in half an hour. If I take any longer, it means they've killed me, and you need to run as far away as you can before they find you.”

  “Who?” Mercy asked urgently.

  “I'm meeting with one of the Matriarch families in this hospital.”

  Suicide mission for sure, she thought. “Which family?” she had to ask. Not that I even know the names of any.

  “The one that betrayed mine.”

  “No!” she demanded as loudly as she could without giving away their position. “Find another way; one that won't get yourself killed.”

  “Everything I'm after depends on this. If it kills me, then it kills me.” Ethan said nothing else, immediately stepping away before Mercy could protest further. She watched with wary eyes as Ethan approached the hospital, raising up his arms once he was past the garage.

  After a moment, Mercy cou
ld see people appearing from rooftops, opening windows from within the building, all aiming their weapons at Ethan. She estimated twenty people ready to kill him. Ethan stood there at the entrance with his hands behind his head, waiting in complete silence for several minutes. Kill, or talk, she thought. Finally, several men approached him from every angle, followed by one man appearing from the main entrance. He was a little short, but walked as if being in an uplifted mood, as if anticipating Ethan's company.

  Mercy saw Ethan being escorted inside and felt somewhat relieved. They could have just shot him, she realized. Seems we both might get out of this alive.

  Then she heard, “Stand up with your hands over your head!”

  Mercy made the near-fatal mistake of turning first to see who spoke. There were two men armed with automatic rifles, and they were surprisingly close for not having been heard approaching.

  Mercy obeyed, lowering her pistol, then standing and putting her hands over her head. “I'm here with someone,” she said, beginning to shake.

  “We know,” said the same one, the taller of the two. He started walking her toward the outside.

  “Just get it over with, then let me go.”

  Both men laughed. “Don't fret, sweetheart. We're not like that,” said the taller one. He left the other behind as he escorted Mercy, in plain, open view of all the vantage points, to the main entrance. She felt humiliated and terrified. It was easy to accept that she would never leave that building once she was brought into it.

  The guards at the entrance pulled the doors open, which would not have been necessary if the building had power. Just inside, at the front lobby, stood Ethan, speaking to a dark-skinned man who had five bodyguards behind him. She saw people of all kinds, including a few women, but everyone else was silent and kept their distance.