by Brad Knight
Amber got up and ran over to Mack’s side. An obscene amount of his blood was spilled out onto the street. His skin was severely burned. And his neck was gouged open. She didn't think he would make it.
Overcome with grief, Amber collapsed to the street next to him and sobbed uncontrollably. She’d never cried like that before in her life. In her mind, it was over. Mack was dead.
Stephanie picked Amber up, lifting her under her arms. She took Amber into her embrace and let the girl cry into her chest. While holding her, Stephanie looked down at Mack and locked eyes with him.
Mack’s body tried to heal itself. The wounds on his body were fixing themselves up, but not his neck. It didn't look good.
“Don’t look,” said Stephanie as she gently pushed back Amber. She took out her knife and got down on one knee next to Mack. There was no way she was going to leave him to suffer and bleed out on the street.
I can’t leave him like this. You have to do this. You have to be the strong one now. Stephanie was about to stab Mack in the head, giving him relief and mercy.
Mack tried to speak but blood came out instead of words. He tried to point towards his neck. Stephanie looked closer and saw the nanites trying to stitch the wound together, but the cut was deep and wide.
“Find something to use as a bandage!” yelled Stephanie. It caught Amber off guard. The teen wiped away her tears and took out her blade. She cut off the bottom part of her shirt.
Stephanie gently lifted Mack's head and wrapped the piece of t-shirt around his neck. He groaned as she tightened it. After sitting with him for a while and waiting for his wounds to slowly heal, Stephanie and Amber helped him to his feet.
“Don't you ever fucking do that again!” cried Amber. “I've seen you dead way too many times!” She gently hit Mack on his chest. He gave her a punch drunk smile.
“I won't, I promise.”
I'm not leaving this to chance. With Amber and Mack helping him walk, Mack went over to Ted's corpse. After looking at him for a few seconds, he stomped on the mad man's head until it was nothing but brain and skull puree.
Satisfied that Ted was dead and they were safe, Mack, Amber and Stephanie limped away. They stuck to the original plan and headed north, where they hoped to finally reached safety.
In the woods, out of sight, Isaac watched them leave the scene. As soon as they were gone he went to go check on his boss. He didn’t need to be a doctor to tell that Ted was very much dead.
***
Isaac reached the Galatea site where the helicopter dropped him and Ted off. It was there waiting for him.
“Where’s Mr. Gorman?” asked the pilot.
“Mr. Gorman’s dead. Take me back to the Los Angeles facility. I have to inform our new boss that he’s the head honcho now.”
The Galatea helicopter lifted off. As they flew away, Isaac looked out at the Oregon pine forests. He had one thought going through his mind. The king is dead. Long live the king.
About the Author
Brad Knight writes post-apocalyptic fiction. His influences include The Walking Dead and The Last of Us.
Subscribe to his mailing list or contact him at BradKnight.net
Continue Mack and Amber's journey in Nano Z: Oblivion, available on Amazon.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: The Strip
Chapter 2: Retrieval
Chapter 3: What Happens in Vegas...
Chapter 4: Home Base
Chapter 5: The Mojave
Chapter 6: The Board
Chapter 7: The Dark
Chapter 8: The City of Angels
Chapter 9: The Highway
Chapter 10: Wipe Them Out
Chapter 11: The Docks
Chapter 12: The Pacific Northwest
Chapter 13: The Pursuit
Chapter 14: Plymouth
Chapter 15: Burn Baby Burn