Mankind

by Stalletti, Matthew

  *****

  Matthew walks through the front gates of the base and looks around. He sees multiple armed soldiers walking around in groups, possibly patrolling. Matthew continues to observe, and quickly notices kids and adults, unarmed, walking around and speaking to each other. Matthew wonders if this is a military post where they find survivors and keep them safe. Matthew continues to walk, and the soldiers behind him split off and do their own thing. One soldier, the same one that had been sitting across for Matthew in the truck, remains by his side. The two of them walk toward a long barracks at the back side of the camp. Matthew feels relieved and starts to think about everything that has happened to him up until this point. It feels like it was all worth it. He believes that this is the start of something new, and that he and his family can live a normal life here, safe from the outside world. Matthew has a smile on his face, but as approaches the barracks, he notices something unsettling. Matthew looks along the side of the barracks and sees dozens of civilians lined up with multiple armed soldiers pointing their rifles at them. He’s unsure, but it looks like they are about to execute these people. So many things run through Matthews mind. He can't comprehend why unarmed civilians would be executed in broad daylight. As Matthew passes by these innocent civilians, he can hear the cries and their pleas for mercy. Matthew feels uneasy now. He wonders if he is going to end up like the rest of those people.

  Matthew and the soldier walk up to the door to the long barracks. The soldier opens the door and holds it open. Matthew proceeds and enters the building. He quickly notices how small and compact the interior is compared to everything else. The smell reminds him of a doctor’s office and looks very well kept. Matthew looks around and sees guard standing by one office door. Matthew looks at them for a moment, but the soldier behind him nudges him forward. Matthew walks toward the guarded office door. The guard looks at Matthew with disgust before knocking on the office door. After a few seconds, Matthew hears someone's voice from inside.

  “Come in!”

  Matthew doesn't move, but just waits for someone to open the door for him. His hands are still tied so he can't do anything on his own. The soldier walks in front of Matthew and opens the office door. Matthew steps in side, and the soldier follows from behind. He closes the office door shut. Matthew looks forward and sees a man sitting at a desk. He is wearing a black suit and has long white hair. Matthew is confused by his appearance. He doesn't understand why anyone would wear a suit in a world like this. Matthew quickly realizes that this man is probably the leader of this entire camp. Matthew looks at him, waiting for him to say something.

  “Hello, I see you brought back another wanderer.” The leader says.

  “Yes, sir. He was out there, and we saved him from infected.” The soldier says.

  Matthew looks at the soldier for a moment. He is confused. He just lied about what had happened earlier. Matthew wonders why he is lying to his leader like that.

  “Good job. In most circumstances I would be glad… but not today.”

  Matthew and the soldier look at the leader, confused by what he is saying. They were both expecting to hear different things.

  “What’s your name son?” The leader asks.

  “Matthew.”

  “Hmm… My name is Jeremy. Well you see, the reason why my men brought you here was to give you a new life. To let you live safely from the monsters outside the fence. But, unfortunately, we have a situation here. You see, we have been finding a lot of survivors recently, and our population is becoming rampant.” Jeremy explains.

  “Alright, well I’ll just be on my way then.” Matthew says.

  “Yeah… I’m sorry but it doesn't work like that, son. Our job isn't just to save people, but it’s also to control the population. If we let you go, we can't keep our eyes on you, and we sure as hell can't let you stay either.”

  “So, what are you saying?” Matthew asks.

  “I think we both know what I’m saying. We both know that your good as dead if you go back out there.”

  Matthew’s heart sinks into his chest as he hears this. He knows what he has planned for him, and it isn't pleasant. They are going to kill Matthew. He knows this. It’s their only option, but Matthew knows it's not right. He begins to panic, and anger overwhelms his emotions.

  “You just brought me here to be killed?!”

  “Well, things don't always go as planned, but I have a community to run. I’m sorry, but this is just the way things have to be.” Jeremy explains.

  “What shall I do with him, sir?” The soldier asks.

  “Bring him outside and line up him with the rest. We dispose of those we don't need. Matthew, was it? Consider this an act of mercy. It’s the most pleasant way you can go… you know… without the pain,”

  Matthew’s eyes become filled with tears. He cannot believe how evil this man behind the desk must be to just execute innocent people. The soldier grabs Matthew by the arm and violently pulls him toward the office door. He opens it and throws Matthew outside. Matthew falls onto the wooden floor, barely catching himself with his bounded hands. Matthew looks enraged. He cannot believe that he is being treated this way by people who call themselves the government. Matthew quickly realizes that these men were never apart of the army, or the government. They are just phonies trying to rebuild what was lost, but that isn't possible now. Matthew understands that these men are not different than the bandits he encountered back in town. Everyone who is still alive these days is sick in the mind. Everyone except for him and his family. The soldier walks over to Matthew. He grabs his arm and drags him toward the front doors of the barracks. The soldier kicks the doors open and throws Matthew outside. Matthew falls face first into the mud. He lays there and feels the rain hitting his back and the top of his head. Matthew looks up, enraged. He’s not going to wait any longer. Any chance he gets to escape, he is going to take. Matthew doesn’t care anymore about playing it safe. If he must be violent and hurt these men around him, he will. Matthew does not plan on dying today.

  The soldier picks up Matthew and pushes him toward the side of the barracks where the civilians are being lined up for execution. Matthew steps into the middle of the line. He looks over in the line and sees women and children next to him. Matthew is truly sickened by what these soldiers plan on doing. The people around him are crying and begging for mercy. Matthew on the other hand is just staring into the eyes of the soldiers around him. They feel intimidated by him but know that they are the ones with the weapons. Matthew looks at them for a moment, and then gets down onto his knees. The other civilians around him stop crying and see what Matthew is doing. They are surprised to see someone just giving up. The soldiers raise their weapons at the civilians, signaling them to get down onto their knees as well. Matthew isn't entirely sure if he is going to make it out of this alive, but he knows that he is done crying and feeling sorry for himself. If he’s going to die, he’s going to do it honorably. Matthew continues to stare at the soldiers who are pointing their guns at them. In the lineup of civilians, Matthew is in the middle.

  Suddenly, Jeremy steps out from the barracks with a handgun in his right hand. He walks over to the lineup and looks at everyone as they cry and plea for mercy. The rest of the civilians that are not being executed see what is going on, and quickly scatter away. They are too much of cowards to see what their own leader is about to do. Jeremy walks over to the first person in the line and points his hand gun at his head. The innocent man begins screaming and begging for his life, but Jeremy pulls the trigger. The man's brains splatter on the wall of the barracks, and his lifeless body falls forward into the mud. Jeremy walks over to the next person in the line and executes them as well. The people in the line begin to panic and scream. One by one, the people in the line are shot in the head. Jeremy walks up to the man who is next Matthew. He points the gun at his head and pulls the trigger. The blood from the shot man splatters onto the side of Matthews face. Matthew flinches once it hits him, but he quickly looks ba
ck up at Jeremy. He doesn't want to look at the corpses next to him, as he feels that it will make him scared and terrified. Matthew just wants to be strong as he is about to die by this leader. He walks over in front of Matthew and looks down at him. He looks disgusted with what he is doing, but he proceeds anyways. Matthew looks at his waist and sees that he has a knife sheathed on his belt. Jeremy stares into Matthew eyes as he raises his gun. He sees how Matthew doesn’t look scared. He is stronger than all these people around him. He begins to question whether or not killing Matthew is wise. He hesitates, but he makes up his mind. Jeremy positions his finger to pull the trigger but is interrupted by something cataclysmic. Suddenly, multiple gunshots are heard from just outside the front gates. Everyone turns to look, but they see nothing. They all stand there confused.

  Out of nowhere, a huge explosion goes off near the gate of the camp. Everyone looks at the massive explosion nearby. In the huge fire ball are chunks of body parts and flesh of the infected that were huddled around the outside fences. Matthew quickly remembers the large propane tank next to the fence. He quickly realizes that is what must have caused the explosion. Suddenly, multiple gunshots are heard. All the soldiers around their leader raise their rifles and run toward the explosion to see what is going on. Jeremy turns and looks at the smoke left by the explosion. Matthew realizes that he is distracted and looks down at the knife on his belt. This is his only chance to try and survive this situation. Matthew lunges forward, grabbing the knife out of the sheath. Matthew stands up with the knife in his hands, ready to kill. Jeremy is shocked and quickly turns back to face Matthew, but before he knows it, Matthew violently swings the knife and slices his throat. His neck opens wide, and blood gushes outward onto Matthews chest. Jeremy falls to his knees and looks up at Matthew. He is in utter disbelief and complete shock. He holds his hands around his neck, but the blood pushes through his fingers. Matthew stares into his eyes as he slowly dies. Jeremy inevitably falls over onto his side, dead. The rest of the lined-up captives stand up and run away. Matthew just stands there, looking at the dead leader. He never thought he was capable of murder, but he just did it. He looks at the corpse on the ground and feels nothing; no mercy whatsoever. He doesn't feel guilt for what he just did. He only feels alive. He wonders if he was as evil as he had originally thought, but he concludes that it doesn't matter. He was going to kill him, so he took his opportunity to survive.

  Matthew snaps back and begins to cut the rope around his hands with the knife. He eventually frees himself and crouches down to pick up the leader’s handgun. Matthew looks back toward the fence where the explosion was and sees dozens of infected coming inside the community. The soldiers run toward the infected and begin shooting at them, but out of nowhere, they are struck by multiple bullets from outside of the fences. Matthew focuses and watches from a distance. The soldiers fall, dead with multiple bullets in their bodies. Matthew looks through the fence and sees people on the other side. One of the people looks kind of like Michael, but he is unsure. Matthew steps forward and begins walking toward the fence anyways. He understands what is happening here. The camp is being attacked by outsiders. Whether it’s Michael or not, he needs to escape now. Civilians run around panicking. Soldiers step out from their tents to defend the camp. Matthew stops when he sees this. Some of the soldiers that stepped out notices Matthew holding the gun next to their leader’s dead body. They hesitate, but suddenly raise their rifles and fire. Matthew turns around and runs toward the back of the barracks. Bullets are hitting the side of the building, but none hit him.

  Matthew runs around the side of the barracks and takes cover up against the wall. Matthew looks down and takes a deep breath. He feels adrenaline like he has never felt before. He is being hunted by armed soldiers. If he runs, they will chase him. He only has one option. The soldiers who had just shot at him are now chasing after Matthew. Matthew hesitates, but eventually begins to fire back at the soldiers. Matthew peaks over the corner and takes shots. He hits one of the men, but quickly runs out of ammo. There are four remaining soldiers coming after Matthew. Matthew turns and runs to the back doors of the barracks. Matthew swings the doors up and runs inside. He looks around the tiny room that he is in. It is a dark and cold storage room. Matthew looks around and sees nothing at first, but then suddenly sees a rifle leaning against the wall near one of the doors. Matthew runs over to the rifle and picks it up. He quickly turns the safety off and backs into a corner with the gun pointed toward the back door where he entered. The soldiers should be approaching any second now, so Matthew has his finger ready on the trigger. He is scared, and his hands are shaking, but he has every intent to kill these men. Suddenly, Matthew sees their silhouettes outside the smudged glass window of the back door. They are about to enter the room, and as soon as they start to open the door, Matthew squeezes the trigger. Matthew holds the trigger and the assault rifle shoots multiple bullets a second. He continues to fire at the back doors until his magazine is empty. As soon as he hears the click, signifying that the mag is dry, Matthew drops the gun on the ground. He slowly stands up and looks at the door. It is littered with bullet holes and shattered glass. He no longer sees the silhouettes of the men on the other side of the windows. All he can hear is the distant screams and gunshots coming from the other side of the camp. Matthew slowly walks toward the doors and opens it. He peaks outside and sees the four soldier’s dead on the ground. Their bodies are stuck with multiple bullet holes and blood oozing out of them. Matthew had just killed so many men. They could have been good people, but they were trying to kill him. Matthew feels guilty for a short moment but reminds himself what he told Sydney back in the car. He must be willing to do whatever it takes to stay alive, no matter what. He doesn't like what he just did, but he doesn't feel bad about it either. He realizes that things are different now. He knows that he can’t go back to the same mentality that he had before. He needs to be more cautious around other people that he meets. Matthew turns around and walks through the small door at the other end of the room.

  Matthew looks around. He is in another office, similar to the one where he had met the leader of this community. As he observes, he hears multiple distant gunshots coming from outside. He assumes that it’s the rest of the soldiers fighting the infected or the outsiders. Matthew looks at the desk chair and sees a black jacket on it. Matthew picks up the jacket and puts it on. It fits him perfectly, and now he can stay dry from the rain and not get cold while in the wilderness. Matthew looks on the desk and sees a map. After further inspection, he realizes that it’s a map of Ontario. The map has a red circle around somewhere near Ottawa, but he doesn't care. Matthew folds up the map and stuffs it into his back pocket. He plans on using it to find his way back to the group. Matthew looks through the top drawer of the desk and finds a 44. Magnum revolver. Matthew takes the gun and checks if it's loaded. The gun is fully loaded, with a max of 6 rounds. Matthew takes the pistol and walks back through the door that he entered from. Matthew walks up to the destroyed back door of the barracks and walks through them. Matthew goes outside and steps over the dead bodies that he just killed. He walks over to the edge of the building and peaks over to see what's going on. Matthew quickly sees that the entire camp is filled with infected roaming around, eating dead bodies. Matthew quickly realizes that he has to leave now. Matthew turns around and runs toward the fence around the base.

  Matthew holsters the revolver and walks up to the fence. He places his hands on the metal and gets a good grip. He begins to climb over the fence. Over a hard climb of dealing with the wet metal and rain hitting his face. Matthew reaches the top. Matthew climbs over and drops down onto the muddy ground. Matthew takes a moment to look back inside the base. Just like that, and entire community was brought to ashes. Matthew is partly responsible, especially if Michael is the one who came to the rescue, but Matthew doesn’t care. He is not going to risk himself for strangers who had every intention of killing him.

  Suddenly, Matthew hears infected approach
ing from his left and right. He assumes that they are attracted to the gunshots. Matthew knows he has to escape now, and hopefully regroup with Michael later. Matthew turns around and runs straight into the woods away from the camp. There is not much that he can do besides run fast and run far. Matthew wonders who else may be in this new world. He never expected to find a camp like that, and he also never expected for a camp like that to be destroyed by just a few people. He really has no idea what kind of people still inhabit this dangerous world.

  Chapter 12

  Wrath

  The minivan slows down and comes to hard stop at the bottom of the hill. One by one, each member of the Legion steps out from the van. Zak slams the driver seat door shut and ready’s his Ak47 with a wide smile on his face. Michael and Moxxie slowly exit the vehicle as well, but they do not look very happy. Michael closes the door and looks at strangers that he just rode with. Zak looks up to the tall hill where the road leads up to. Zak turns around and faces his group. The smile on his face slowly goes away.

  “The camp is just up the hill boys, and gal. We’re gonna cut through the woods right here, climb the hill, and start the plan.” Zak explains.

  “What's the plan?” Michael asks.

  Zak steps forward, “We’re gonna blow some shit up, Mikey.”

  Michael looks at Zak, confused and worried. He has no idea what he means. Michael looks at Moxxie. She still looks worried as well and is probably questioning whether or not these men are trustworthy. Zak looks at his men for a moment. He and his friends are fully aware that Michael and Moxxie and not fully loyal to them, but that’s not going to stop him from going through with his plan. Zak turns and heads off the road and into the woods. Michael hesitates, but after a moment of looking at Moxxie, he decides to follow the Legion.