Octavio felt somewhat better. “I never thought about it that way. Maybe things will turn around for my company soon.”
The artist patted Octavio’s left shoulder. “Of course they will.”
Nadine sat pouting at a table. Two men tried to make her feel better.
“What’s the matter? There’s no reason to shed tears on Mardi Gras,” one of the men said with a positive attitude.
Nadine wiped her eyes. “It’s just a bunch of personal drama. You don’t have to get involved.”
“Come on. We really admire you as a dancer. I thought you were one of the prettiest gals in show business,” the second man mentioned.
Their flattery caught Nadine’s attention. “Really? It seems women like me can’t get attention in this Steampunk era. Everybody goes crazy over Priscilla, and everyone else in the Nelson family.”
“Who cares about the Nelsons? Their popularity is just a fad,” one of the men replied.
“I doubt it. America turned into a haven for Steampunk, and the rest of us got left behind. Most people view the Nelsons as a classically beautiful family,” Nadine muttered.
One of her companions scoffed. “Are you kidding me? The Nelsons are just ordinary people who dress weirdly and have business connections. You’re totally special. You’re one of those beautiful women who ages well. So don’t feel bad. Priscilla, Savannah, and everyone else from the Nelson family can’t hold a candle to you.”
Nadine felt much better. “I think you’re right. It’s good to know that some people still have a decent sense of taste.”
Meanwhile, Cody tried to keep his mind off of Savannah while he played archery. Two men joined him at the game, but none of them were very good at shooting arrows.
“Man, we suck at archery,” one of the guests muttered.
Cody sighed and said, “I can’t really concentrate. My heart was broken again.”
The second man was curious. “Really? Tell us about it. Maybe it will make you feel better.”
Cody tried to aim at the target. “Ever heard of Savannah Nelson? She was my girlfriend before any of this Apocalyptic and Steampunk nonsense entered the picture. I knew her back when she was still an actress. Savannah had a lot of talent and she was remarkably beautiful. Ironically, I helped her get a lot of acting jobs. Later, she forgot all about me.”
“That’s terrible. I guess she used you,” one of the men replied.
Cody dropped his archery set on the ground. “You’re right. I was good enough until she found somebody with more money and a bigger reputation.”
“You’re talking about Percy Nelson? It’s hard to surpass a man with that level of success. He owns a huge electronics company. Even Octavio Renatus can’t match his merchandise,” the other man admitted.
“I don’t get it. They look ridiculous together because she’s out of his league. She was one of the sexiest women in Hollywood at one point, and he’s a total geek. I’m way more handsome than Percy,” Cody griped.
One of the guests reassured him. “Don’t worry about it. Both of them will get what they deserve very soon.”
Cody sighed. “I hope you’re right. Savannah’s greed needs to bite her in the butt.”
In a different area, one of the male celebrities relaxed on a bench. He sipped on an alcoholic drink and was feeling tired. Several minutes later, Reb walked up to the bench and sat next to him.
Reb fiddled with her baton while she rambled. “Dude, I’m going to be honest. This is a remarkably disappointing party. It’s Mardi Gras and nobody is having fun. We’re stuck on a dark, slimy, creepy island until sunrise. The celebrities here are equally creepy. A lot of the guests here are Steampunk haters. It’s just prejudice. There’s no cell phone reception because this place is in the middle of nowhere. We didn’t even get to meet our host because he’s sick with food poisoning. What do you think?”
Her companion was completely silent. Reb waited a moment, but she quickly became suspicious. She nudged his shoulder and then he tumbled to the ground. Apparently, he was dead.
Chapter 8
Reb panicked when she saw the dead body. “Are you kidding me? This is the worst place to have a heart attack!”
She knelt next to the man’s body to check for a pulse. She could not find one. The unusual sight caught the attention of several celebrities. A handful of them hurried over to the scene.
“What’s going on here?” Giles asked in a confused tone.
“I don’t know. He just fell on the ground. Maybe he was already dead when I sat next to him,” Reb pondered out loud.
One of the celebrities picked up the dead man’s drink and sniffed it. “Wait a minute! His glass smells like bitter almonds! That means he was poisoned! As a professional chef, I have to watch out for this type of problem! Cyanide smells exactly like this!”
Several of the guests gossiped and whispered to each other when they heard the news.
“That woman must have killed him! She was sitting right next to the poor guy!” one of the men yelled.
Reb hastily pulled off her mask. “Watch what you’re saying! I didn’t kill anybody! He just slumped over! It must have been a heart attack or stroke!”
“No way! You’re the only person who was hanging around there! It’s the only explanation!” another guest insisted.
Giles tried to calm the group. “Hold on! I’m sure there’s a logical answer! Reb doesn’t have a motive to hurt anyone here!”
“Who cares? She’s obviously guilty! Murder doesn’t need a motive!” one of the male celebrities protested.
Reb took her husband’s hand and whispered, “I need you to find a brilliant escape plan and that’s going to be difficult because we’re trapped on this island.”
“You’ve got it. Don’t worry, Reb. I’m going to find your father. He can help us out,” Giles quietly replied.
“Hurry!” Reb shouted while Giles ran away to find Percy. These idiots might burn me at the stake, she thought to herself.
During the disruption, Victor surprised everyone when he stood at the podium and used a handgun to fire several shots in the air. The celebrities stopped their arguments and stared at him in bewilderment.
“Now that I have your attention, it’s time to reveal my master plan. There was a time when a visionary man named Boris Vladimir tried to change America into a stronger, purer, and more beautiful place. This perfect land was going to become a true Utopia. It was supposed to be a land without war, greed, corruption, or capitalism. Unfortunately, Boris, and most of his followers, were either killed or captured. I stayed underground and built up a new following. The battle is not over. Tonight we’re going to kill many of the nation’s most corrupt, popular, and powerful individuals. This massacre will scare the public and mark our rise to power. My fellow Utopians, please remove your masks and let the battle begin!” Victor ranted.
Nearly half of the guests removed their costumes and pulled out firearms. They fired aimlessly at their peers, causing the celebrities to scream frantically and scatter across the island. Some of them tried to run inside the mansion.
“The kids!” Priscilla shouted, while she ripped off her costume. She immediately ran toward the mansion.
“Priscilla, we need to stick together!” Gable hollered while he tried to follow her. The hail of gunfire forced him to turn in the opposite direction. Gable yanked off his costume as he ran away.
Reb stared at Victor furiously while she took off her costume. She used her baton to gallop toward him. “You’re one of those sadistic Utopians! I ought to bash your head in with my baton!”
Victor gloated. “You’ll have to catch me first and I know that’s too difficult for a cripple like you.”
He bolted behind the mansion where Reb couldn’t see him.
Bruno clamored to reach safety while he, and other celebrities, ran amok on the lawn. He accidentally tripped and tumbled across the grass.
One of the Utopians approached him with a compact submachine gun. “I’
ll get my first kill tonight!”
Bruno raised his hands in defense. “No! I’m not your enemy! Don’t kill me!” he pleaded.
The terrorist ignored Bruno and shot him several times in the torso. Bruno coughed and then he slipped away.
Giles hid around a dark corner of the mansion while he used a bottle of water to rinse away his face paint. He removed his costume, then pulled out a Steampunk gun when he heard gunfire and screams.
“It’s like a miniature version of the Apocalypse. Well, this time I’m ready. Hang on, Reb. I’m coming,” Giles said out loud to himself, before he darted into the fray.
Oliver heard the commotion while he and Maggie were on the mansion’s top floor. He looked out the window and saw multiple people fleeing from the terrorists.
“Maggie, we need to find somewhere to hide! There’s something really bad going on outside!” Oliver hollered.
Maggie was confused. “What do you mean?”
“It’s probably better if you don’t ask! Come on!” Oliver said while he took Maggie’s hand and tried to lead her to a safer place.
“What about Mommy and Daddy?” Maggie asked.
Oliver felt uneasy about the question. “We’ll find them, but we need to find a safe place to hide first! Let’s try the attic!”
Savannah hid behind one of the porch’s support beams while she removed her costume.
“This is crazy! I haven’t seen this much chaos since the Apocalypse! God, let my family survive the night! I won’t be able to handle it otherwise!” she complained.
Percy took cover behind one of the fallen music speakers and clumsily stripped off his costume. “How am I going to rescue my family? There’s gunfire everywhere!”
One of the women screamed and fled across the lawn. She ran into Giles who tried to subdue her.
“Stop screaming! That’s an excellent way to attract serial killers!” Giles growled.
The female guest pushed him away. “How do I know you’re not one of them?”
“I can help you!” Giles hollered, while she hurried inside the mansion.
She ran deep inside the mansion and entered the east wing. After a moment, she slowed her pace and crept silently to avoid attention. She reached a large metal door that was near the kitchen.
“This looks like a good hiding spot,” the woman said quietly while she pulled the door open.
Unfortunately, she encountered a great shock. She met their mysterious host for the first time. Doyle Teague’s frozen corpse was wrapped up in the meat locker. The woman screamed with fright and bolted toward the front door. Despite the gunfire, she exited the mansion and ran across the grass. Eventually, she tripped over a branch and broke her neck on a rotted log.
Meanwhile, Victor casually entered the study to have a discussion with his most trusted followers. His girlfriend, Claire, and his best friend, Arnold, waited for him next to a desk.
Victor sat down in a chair as he said, “The plan seems to be going quite well. I don’t think it will be very hard to kill these celebrities. After we kill everyone on the island, we’re going to film their corpses, and put the footage online. I want everyone in the nation to know that Utopia will finally rise.”
“Do you really think it will scare the authorities and government enough? Our group is much smaller than the original Utopian movement,” Claire pondered out loud.
“Of course it will work. First, it will terrify the mainstream public. That’s the first thing we need. If we can’t have respect, then we must accept fear instead. Soon, we’ll get rid of that ridiculous Steampunk culture and anyone else who is inferior. None of the celebrities on this island are good enough to share our success,” Victor explained.
Arnold remained realistic. “I’m sure it will work this time. We just need to be careful.”
Victor walked to a cabinet and grabbed a bottle of champagne, along with three glasses. Their leader poured the drinks and he said, “You don’t need to worry, Arnold. We’re chasing washed-up celebrities and a family of Steampunks. How difficult can it be? I think we deserve a toast. Let’s drink to Utopia.”
They took the three glasses and toasted each other.
Chapter 9
Percy ducked behind the speaker, avoiding serious gunfire. He slowly peered above the speaker to see an Utopian walking toward him with a loaded handgun.
“A big one!” the villain declared.
Percy immediately got up and ran away. “What do you think I am? A moose?” he shouted over his shoulder.
The assailant followed Percy and aimed the gun at his back. “This is too easy!”
He fired several times at Percy and three of the bullets struck his back.
“That really hurts! It’s a good thing my coat is bulletproof!” Percy grunted as he fled.
The Utopian was shocked. “That’s impossible! How can he just shake it off like that?”
Meanwhile, Reb caught site of the thug who chased her father.
“Dad!” she hollered.
Gable ran into his sister and grabbed her.
“Reb, help me! I lost Priscilla and the kids! We need to find them!” Gable insisted.
“I know how you feel, but one of those psychopaths is chasing Dad toward another part of the island! He could die if we don’t help!” Reb explained.
Gable was conflicted. “I don’t want to choose.”
Reb noticed an old Jeep that was parked next to the mansion. “Hopefully, we can save them all. Come with me. I’m too slow on foot. That Jeep might help us reach Dad quickly.”
Gable helped his sister hobble to the vehicle. “I doubt that piece of junk will run.”
“Could you be a little more optimistic? Usually you’re the charmer,” Reb grumbled.
“It’s hard to feel very charming in a war zone,” Gable replied with a snarky attitude.
When they reached the Jeep, both of them noticed that it didn’t have keys.
“I don’t think it has keys, but that won’t be a problem,” Reb said as she hopped in the vehicle.
Gable was perplexed. “What are you talking about? That’s a huge problem!”
Reb reached underneath the steering wheel and pulled out a couple of wires. “No worries. I’ll just hot-wire the vehicle.”
“Where did you learn that? Hotwiring a vehicle isn’t very ladylike,” Gable muttered while he sat down in the passenger seat.
Reb successfully hot-wired the vehicle. “I don’t understand why you have to ask. You remember what I was like in high school. My name is Rebel, for pity’s sake.”
She drove around the frantic lunacy and violence while they searched for Percy.
Further away from the mansion, Percy fled toward an old tool shed. His assailant feebly pursued him, but Percy was much faster.
“I don’t understand how this guy can outrun me. He’s old, big, and weighted down with metal,” the Utopian complained while he gasped for air.
Percy opened the shed’s door and hurried inside. He slammed the door shut and barricaded it with a wooden plank. Percy looked at the dark and dusty interior that had a multitude of dangerous tools, including a power saw, sledgehammer, and an axe, among other items.
“This doesn’t look like the safest hiding place, but I don’t have a choice,” Percy said while he hid behind the workbench.
The terrorist saw Percy enter the tool shed from a distance. He eventually reached the small structure and aimed his gun at the door. The villain rapidly fired at the tool shed and bullets blasted through the wooden panels. Percy continued to hide behind the workbench, shielding himself from the hail of bullets. After a while, the thug ran out of ammunition.
“Dang it! I ran out of bullets! There must be something else I can use! Maybe I’ll find some tools laying around,” the Utopian griped.
Percy waited quietly for his enemy to leave. The atmosphere seemed completely quiet. A moment later, Percy could hear the gunman shuffling through the grass. He heard a faint clicking noise.
“
What’s that sound?” Percy nervously wondered out loud.
Suddenly, the thug busted through the door with a chainsaw. Percy screamed and tried to run away from the crazed terrorist. There was very little room for either of the men to maneuver. Percy dodged out of the way several times as his attacker slashed at him.
“There’s no room for Steampunks in our world! Just die already!” the Utopian maniacally yelled.
Percy quickly grabbed a large industrial wrench and swung it at the chainsaw. “Shut up!”
He knocked the chainsaw out of his tormentor’s hands. It landed on the floor and broke.
Once again, the terrorist was shocked. “No way! This was supposed to be easy!”
Percy swung the wrench at his enemy several more times. The terrorist ducked out of the way, while Percy missed and broke several items. Percy’s brute strength was very impressive. His enemy bolted out the doorway and fled.
“I see how you operate! Everything is fine unless the odds are against you! Come back here and have a taste of your own violence!” Percy growled while he chased the cowardly Utopian.
The terrorist frantically ran toward the front lawn until a vehicle suddenly ran into him. There was a loud thud, and then he tumbled helplessly across the ground. He felt intense pain shoot through his entire body.
“Dang it! I feel like a steamroller ran over me!” the young Utopian cried.
Reb turned on the windshield wipers to remove splattered blood. “What was that?”
Gable glared at his sister and said, “Good job. You just ran over a person.”
Reb was startled. “He just came out of nowhere!”
Percy caught up to them. “Thank goodness! I’m really glad to see you guys! He was trying to kill me! This jerk shot at me until he found a chainsaw and then it just got crazy!”
“He’s one of those Utopians? Here, let me run over him again,” Reb said bitterly.
“No, that’s not necessary. I have an idea. He’s obviously not going anywhere. I think you broke his back. Let’s find somewhere to keep him as a captive. He might be able to tell us more about Victor and the other Utopians,” Percy logically explained.
The Post-Apocalyptic Society: A Nelson and Hyde Revolution Page 6