by Jenkins, Seb
“Folks, did I ever say that two people would be walking out of here again? Because you know what, I don’t think I did!” he roared with patronising laughter.
Max’s heart sank. His heart broke.
The crowd cheered and slammed the wooden fence like a pack of apes, begging for more bloodshed.
“Max, I’m done; just let me go,” Lizzie begged.
“Kid, I can’t…I just can’t,” Max sobbed, picking up one of Lizzie’s fallen knives.
“Don’t you dare, Max, don’t you fucking dare!” she yelled, thumping his chest with everything she had left.
Max smiled; he had never feared death. He couldn’t think of a more meaningful way to go out than to save Lizzie. Finally he had found a meaning to his life, in this world of death.
“I love you, Lizzie,” He said simply.
“You know that’s the first time you’ve used my name,” she laughed through the tears.
Max smiled back.
He readied himself, shutting his eyes, tensing his muscles, ready to drive the knife into his own heart.
“Wait!” A call from behind them sounded out.
“I volunteer to take the place of the girl!” The same voice shouted.
Max looked from side to side, unable to fathom where the voice was coming from. He could see no one coming forward.
Then, out of nowhere, the servant in between Otto and Patrick leapt down into the pit.
Slowly he pulled down his hood and grinned over at Max.
“Joey?!” Max said, awash with shock and confusion.
Chapter Thirty-Five
“Hello there, Max,” Joey spat, no longer smiling.
His eyes were like daggers.
“Joey, what the…how are you even…” Max stuttered, not able to believe his eyes.
Joey was barely recognisable as he removed his hooded robes fully. There were chunks missing from his arms, legs and torso, and bite marks everywhere. You could see where clickers had sunk their teeth in and torn away his skin and flesh. Not an inch of his body had escaped pain; even the parts untouched by teeth were scratched and ripped to pieces. His face was disfigured, his left cheek significantly lower than the right. A large piece of it was missing and it looked to have been stitched up desperately.
His hair was patchy, and his scalp red from where the hair had been torn from its roots. Max wasn’t sure he would have recognised this wreck of a man if it wasn’t for the eyes. He had the same eyes; but where there used to be warmth, now lay hatred.
“Surprised to see me?!” Joey yelled, spit flying from the corners of his mouth.
“Of course I am! I’m fucking happy to see you too!” Max smiled, walking towards Joey with open arms.
“Happy to see me?” Joey screamed in a furious rage.
Max stopped in his tracks.
“You left me for dead! You called me a brother, and then you left me to slowly die, getting ripped apart. Alone!”
“Joey…I couldn’t-” Max began to explain before Joey cut him off.
“Couldn’t? Fucking couldn’t?! I would have risked my life a thousand times for you man! I would have died for you, yet you wouldn’t save me! Not couldn’t! Wouldn’t!” he cried.
“You were covered in them! I thought I was too late!” Max sobbed.
“Joey I’m sorry!”
“Sorry? You think sorry makes up for all this?” Joey hissed, pointing at the bite marks and chunks missing from his flesh.
Max looked. He couldn’t help but look. All of this was his fault; Joey was right.
“I shouldn’t have left you, I’m sorry,” Max said sincerely.
“I thought you were gone, Joey. But I’m here now; why don’t we go have a chat inside somewhere?” Max suggested.
“No Max, let’s talk here! So all these people can hear what Max Dalton is really like. Let’s talk about how you left me to die, swarmed by fucking clickers. Let’s talk about how I had to punch and kick and squirm and crawl my way through teeth and razor sharp nails. Let’s talk about how I had to cower alone, bleeding under our Ping-Pong table, using every bit of life I had left in me to kill those sick undead freaks one by one! Let’s talk about how I had to crawl and climb up the stairs, alone, desperately trying not to pass out before I could find help!” Joey bawled.
Max didn’t answer. He didn’t know what to answer.
“What’s the matter? Nothing to say for yourself? No excuses or bullshit?” Joey spat.
“How did you survive, Joey?” Max asked, he needed to take the focus off him, he couldn’t handle this shame.
“I found real friends. Real brothers and real sisters! A man and his wife drove past me, bleeding out on the pavement outside our house. They stopped. They risked their lives for me. Complete strangers did something that you wouldn’t!” Joey explained, voice seething with loathing.
“I thought you were gone, Joey! How many times can I fucking say it! I thought you were gone,” Max shouted, which turned into a whimper.
Joey ignored Max’s pleas and excuses.
“They took me to their camp; a doctor patched me up as best he could. I lost a lot of blood but I just about pulled through. On the plus side, looks like our immunity theory was right!” Joey yelled with a huge sarcastic grin.
“Why the fuck are you living here with these sick, twisted bastards? Come with me, it will be like old times!” Max pleaded.
“Live here?” Joey scoffed.
“I run this place! This is my brainchild! And I’ve been looking for you ever since you left me that day,” he added, his anger turning to hunger.
The look in his eyes terrified Max. It was a hunger for death; a hunger to cause Max as much pain as Max had caused him.
“Maybe we can…” Max began to ask.
“Enough!” Joey boomed.
“They came here for a fight to the death and that’s what they are going to get!” he screamed, arms outstretched to the crowd.
The audience roared in a chorus of anticipation.
Max gulped. How could he even win this? Even if he defeated Joey, they would surely kill him anyway. It didn’t really matter in the scheme of things, he wasn’t fearing his own death.
“What about the kid? You’ll keep her alive right?” Max begged.
“Oh we’ll keep her alive alright. What we’ll do after that is another matter. She won’t have long until the disease takes a hold of her brain, Max; then she’ll fit right in here,” Joey grinned.
Joey raised his hand and looked across at Patrick. A klaxon echoed through the pit and Joey turned back to face Max.
“Happy fighting,” he winked.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Max turned around and looked back at Lizzie, still laying on the ground, but trying to pull herself up to watch what was about to unfold. He needed to win this and he needed to do it quickly; she wasn’t looking good.
Max turned back to face Joey, and before he knew it he was on his back, slamming against the dirt. Joey had launched himself towards Max as he was distracted, and now had him pinned to the ground.
Max couldn’t move; his arms were planted down by Joey’s knees, and his old friend’s entire weight was pressing down on him.
“Joey, please; the kid,” Max wheezed.
“I’ll take good care of her, don’t you worry,” Joey hissed.
Max squirmed as tensed as best he could, but he couldn’t shift Joey, who retracted his right arm and threw a violent punch into Max’s face.
Joey’s hand connected with his jaw. Max could feel his lip cut open on his teeth as blood spurted out onto the dirt. Before Max could even turn his head back, Joey’s left hand connected; then his right again, then left. Max’s head snapped from side to side, blood flowing from his mouth and nose.
Joey was relentless, throwing punch after punch into the defenceless Max’s face.
“Max!” Lizzie screamed in worry.
Joey looked up briefly to smile at the girl’s distress, momentarily lifting his weigh
t from Max’s legs. Max propelled his knee up forcefully into Joey’s crotch. The younger man rolled off to the side, clutching between his legs and groaning.
Max hauled himself to his knees before wearily finding his feet.
Joey spat into the dirt and found his own bearings.
“There’s not a lot left down there now anyway, Maxie boy. A hundred clicker bites don’t leave much loose flesh behind!” Joey yelled.
“Joey, it doesn’t have to be like this!” Max roared over the crowd.
“Oh it does, Max. You took everything from me. I loved you like a brother!” Joey screamed.
“Shame I’m going to have to kill you!” he added before running at Max like a charging bull.
Max sidestepped the attack, sweeping his leg round to send Joey falling to the ground once more.
Joey growled in anger, jumping up and running at Max again. Max stepped forward, meeting his old friend with a powerful right hook. The two exchanged punch after punch in a furious engagement. Neither of them were backing down; one fighting for vengeance and one for love.
Joey kicked dirt up into Max’s face, blinding him for a moment, allowing him to step forward and land a gut-busting punch to his stomach. Max doubled over, completely winded and gasping for air. Joey didn’t let up, bringing two fists down on to the back of Max’s head, sending him flying face first into the ground.
Max shook off the pain and ignored the blood and dirt clouding his vision as he rolled out of the way of Joey’s boot, which smashed into the dirt.
Max kicked out at Joey’s ankle, connecting well, giving him time to get up as Joey recoiled in pain.
“You can’t win, old man!” Joey shouted.
Max ignored the slur, instead stepping backwards and waiting for Joey’s advance. He was too aggressive, his decision making clouded by revenge and with little thought into defence. Max knew that if he was quick and timed it well, he could beat him one on one.
Predictably, Joey lunged towards Max, swinging a powerful right hand towards his head. Max ducked and bobbed out the way whilst winding up a left hook of his own, connecting sweetly on Joey’s right cheek. His fist cracked against bone and Joey flew backwards, knocked to the ground in a daze.
Max took his chance and leapt upon him, pinning him down as Joey had done to him minutes before.
“What now Max?” Joey challenged.
Max didn’t know. He didn’t know if he could kill Joey. Not after everything. But if it was a choice between him or Lizzie, then he would have to.
“Max!” A voice wheezed from behind him.
Lizzie had stumbled her way over, clutching her arm tightly. She looked pale, her face completely white. Without some kind of treatment she wouldn’t last long. Even if she was immune, the infection working its way into her wound would still kill her.
Lizzie’s cradled arm stretched out towards Max, and as she uncurled her fist Max could see one of her throwing knives concealed within.
Keeping his weight down on Joey, he took the knife; held it; looked at it for a few seconds. He had to kill Joey now, didn’t he? It somehow seemed easier when he was killing himself to save Lizzie. This was all suddenly so real.
Max cleared his mind. He couldn’t think about it; it just made it harder.
He raised his right hand up into the air and paused for a second before driving it down.
Joey’s eyes were full of surprise before they snapped shut as the knife came down.
The crowd gasped.
Then silence fell.
Joey opened his eyes, blinking a couple of times. He turned his head to the left, seeing the knife sticking out from the dirt mere millimetres from his face.
Max shifted himself off Joey’s body, climbing to his feet and rushing to hold Lizzie up.
“You saw your champion here today!” Max screamed to the crowd.
“I won the fight, fair and square! And I chose to spare him!”
“If he has any honour, he will let me live!” he finished, staring Joey down.
The crowd cheered for Max’s speech. Joey looked around full circle, panicked by the support.
“Oh I’ll let you live, Max!” Joey said.
“I wouldn’t want you to miss what’s going to happen to her next!” he taunted, looking towards Lizzie.
“Take her away!” Joey screamed to his guards.
“What? No! You can’t! She has nothing to do with this!” Max pleaded as Lizzie was snatched from his grasp.
Max tried to fight back, but the guards were too strong, throwing his weakened body to the floor like a rag doll.
Lizzie was dragged down the main tunnel, followed by Joey, laughing all the way.
Max was left sprawled on the ground before two guards came to roughly escort him back to the cell. Alone. Without Lizzie for the first time since they had met on top of that lorry.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Max was thrown back into the cell with the rest of the prisoners.
He turned around a barged against the cell door before the guards could shut it, screaming all the time.
“Tell that bastard to bring her back!”
The guards pushed against him, and although it took three of them, they closed the door before locking it and exiting the building.
Max slowly slumped to the ground, eyes bloodshot and watering.
He didn’t know what to do now. Joey had Lizzie, the most important person in his life. The worst thing was that Joey knew how much she mean to him, and he was desperate for revenge. Who knew what he’d do to her? Max dreaded to think.
Paulo came walking over gingerly, slightly apprehensive as he had never seen Max this way. Since the day he arrived Max had been a very calm and forward thinking character; now he was a mess.
“My friend?” Paulo said, but Max didn’t look up.
Silence.
“Where is she?” Paulo asked.
“Where is Lizzie?”
Now Max looked up. He looked up at the sheer mention of her name.
“Gone,” Max replied.
Paulo sat down on the dirty floor next to Max, gripping his arm as affectionately as he dared.
“What happened?” he asked simply.
Max explained the pit and the fight, the return of his old friend, how he had fought him and won, and how Joey had taken Lizzie as punishment. He explained it all, shedding many tears along the way.
Paulo listened to Max’s story, never interrupting, never breathing a word.
Even after Max had finished talking, Paulo didn’t speak.
Why should he? What could he possibly say to make the situation better?
So he just sat there in silence, next to Max, while they both tried to figure out what to do next.
The silence was broken before long, as the door to the building opened behind them.
Max span around, praying that it would be Lizzie; praying that Joey had had a sudden change of heart.
It was Nev.
“Paulo? Which one of you freaks is Paulo?” he yelled through the cell bars.
Paulo stood to his feet. He wasn’t ready for another fight, not at the moment; but he quietly prepared himself.
“The boss wants to see you in the medical centre,” Nev yawned, fumbling the key into the lock.
“What?” Max said, jumping to his feet.
“It’s nothing to worry about!” Paulo assured calmly.
“Sometimes if they have an injury to a guard or something, they call me in to help. I used to be a doctor before all this shit went down.”
“Oh, this isn’t a guard,” Nev muttered, winking at Max as he did so.
Max looked at Paulo longingly, begging with his eyes.
“Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of her. You know that girl, tough as they come ay?” Paulo smiled, patting Max on the back as he left the cell.
Paulo walked with the guards to the medical centre, washing his hands upon entry as he always did. Except something wasn’t normal. Joey was sat in the middle of
the ward, perched on the end of a bed.
In the bed lay Lizzie; she was pale, and looked extremely weak. Her eyes were shut and her chest was barely moving as she breathed. Her hand was handcuffed to the side of the bed.
Her other arm was in a state. Paulo could see the bite from here. It looked deep, and an infection was already visible with the sides of flesh turning a dirty yellow and black colour. Infection spread fast with clicker bites, and no wonder, the germs and disease being carried on those teeth was beyond belief.
“Paulo, Paulo, Paulo!” Joey shouted as he saw him enter, jumping to his feet to greet him.
Joey grabbed his hand and forced him to shake enthusiastically.
“Paulo my dear friend, it’s your lucky day. How would you like to earn yourself a ticket out of here? Freedom. Out of that little cell. How does that sound?” Joey grinned.
Paulo could already tell he wasn’t going to like the sound of this, but he couldn’t turn down his freedom and the chance to find his family. Not for anything.
“I’m listening,” He responded.
“Fantastic!” Joey shouted, clapping his hands together and leading Paulo over to the bed.
“This girl has had a nasty fall. I know! The youth of today…so careless! Well all I want you to do is keep her alive,” Joey instructed with a toothy smile.
“Alive? What do you mean alive? She’s been bitten, it won’t be long before she starts showing signs of changing!” Paulo argued.
“That’s where you’re wrong! You see, I believe that this young lady is immune, which makes her very valuable indeed,” Joey said, rubbing his hands together.
Paulo thought it over in his head, but not for long. It seemed like a great deal.
“So that’s my offer. Simple. You save her, you walk out of here a free man. She dies…and…well, you die too,” Joey laughed before walking out of the medical centre with a spring in his step.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
It had been two days since Paulo had left, and Max hadn’t slept a wink. He was a nervous wreck. He sat as close to the cell door as he possibly could, eyes never leaving the large, metal door to the building.