“How did you…?” Siobhan, lost for words, simply gave up. Stunned, she and Josh simply stood there, staring. Watched as the many workers scurried about busily tending to their tasks.
“Damn guys,” said Josh, in awe of the spectacle before him. “This is amazing!”
“Thanks,” said Lily, with a smile, “but it is just something we had to do. It is all about survival. You understand that right?”
Nods.
“Come on,” said Vincent, “Let’s carry on. There is more to see.”
“There’s more?” Josh was gob smacked.
“A little more, yes. I am sure you can appreciate that we have tried to make the best of a bad situation. In the early days many people panicked and fled the city for the countryside. What happened to them nobody knows, but this undead plague surely had to have followed them.”
“Yeah, they are everywhere,” said Siobhan. “I honestly don’t think anywhere is safe anymore.”
“Once people leave here,” added Lily, with slight sadness in her voice, “we never see them again. They go with our blessing and prayer, but that is all we can do.”
“Everyone meets their own fate now,” said Josh, philosophically. “I believe that despite everything you still have control over your own destiny and where you end up. Whether you live or die, for the most part, is now in your own hands.”
“That is very wise and very true.” Lily smiled, genuinely.
They continued up the stairwell past the gymnasium on the thirteenth floor and then on through several vacant floors. Vincent stopped them at the door to the rooftop, turned to face the others. “Surviving is not living,” he said, “I hope you understand that. Existence is futile if there is no purpose to one’s life. Here we have a reason for living; that is the whole point of the Oasis.”
“I can see that for sure,” said Josh.
“We will protect what we have in every way possible. Anyway, the rooftop…,” he said, pushing the steel door open and stepping outside, “is where we come to relax.”
Green AstroTurf greeted them, a tennis court, basketball hoop and a golf driving range. Dozens of buckets were placed strategically in every nook and cranny, obviously to catch rainwater. A beautiful garden of blue painted rocks and pebbles contained flowers and succulents of all shapes, sizes and colors.
“This… this is where we come to forget about the savage world below us,” Vincent said with a smile. “This has been so important in helping us to keep our sanity.”
“You have an awesome set-up Vincent,” Josh said as he gazed around at the empty city. “Only one way in and one way out, have you ever had a breach?”
“Never!” Vincent exclaimed, giving a slow shake of his head. “We have taken care of every contingency, knowing full well that we have some vulnerabilities. Certain weakness.”
“What sort of contingencies?”
“As you know we take every precaution outside, covering our tracks and removing our scent. We try to stay invisible to the undead. We have sensible rules and so far no-one has lost their life defending the Oasis.”
“That’s impressive!”
“Right from the start we recognized the need to protect ourselves. We handpicked and trained up an elite group of foot soldiers to keep us safe. They watch over us every day patrolling the streets outside. We call them… the Shadowmen.”
“Cool name.”
“Ha! Yeah, I suppose it is. Never stopped to think about it until now. The Shadowmen walk the perimeter on a regular route checking traps and eradicating all threats around us. Up until now the only real danger has come from the undead that still haunt the inner city. Nothing like these4Horsemen characters you have spoken of.”
“Back it up a bit,” Josh said, with an eyebrow raised. “Traps?”
Vincent rubbed his chin. “We’ve taken no chances. Inside the building there are booby-traps and explosives, an early precaution we took. We never really believed they would be necessary, but they are there just in case. Outside, on every street and alleyway in a two block radius we have snares and traps to halt the undead. The creatures walk into these on a regular basis and these barriers generally stop them from getting to our door. It is the responsibility of the Shadowmen to clear these traps on their rounds.”
“Nice! Damn, I so love the name aye. Has this mystique about it. Hahaha…”
“Well, you met them outside. They are a focused and deadly squad, whom we trust with our lives.” Vincent’s mouth curled upward in one corner, thought for a moment. “Why don’t we go out on a patrol this evening, that way you can see what they do first hand. Surely you’re not continuing on tonight are you?”
Josh looked at Siobhan. She gave him a nod. “We would be thankful for a bed for the night, if that’s ok with you.”
“Of course it is. We can find a bed for you both, something comfortable. Have dinner with us first. After that, if you’re up to it we can go out on a patrol.”
“I’ll pass if that’s ok,” said Siobhan. “I’m a bit tired so I might just chill?”
“More than ok,” said Lily. “Right, enough gibber-jabber, let’s head down for a bite to eat.”
Rotted teeth snapped viciously in a ferocious attempt to bite into Josh’s flesh. Keeping his distance he couldn’t help but gag as the creature’s acrid breath wafted past his nostrils. Through the bright beam of his flashlight he stared it in the eyes for a moment, wondered to himself what it might be thinking. Was it frightened, or was it simply unable to grasp such feelings anymore? Lost his train of thought when he heard his name being called.
“… Hey Josh, are we good here?” Vincent asked.
Josh blinked. “Yeah!” he replied, driving the serrated blade of his hunting knife through the creature’s skull.
As the undead woman’s head slumped to her chest Vincent gently took the tall Armstrong lad by the arm. “It’s not your fault,” he said, in a comforting tone. “It’s easy to drift off when you’re out here. The trick is not to.”
Josh dropped his eyes. What Vincent said made total sense. For some reason when he looked at this helpless undead woman as she struggled in the snare, a tinge of sadness had come over him.
“One thing to always remember is that we are not killing the dead Josh, we’re liberating them.”
Snapping back to reality Josh apologized. “Sorry, she just reminded me of someone.”
“Hey, it happens. We’re only human you know. Just make sure that you never forget that we need to cull the weak so that the strong survive.”
Josh gave a nod. Went back to work helping one of the Shadowmen, a man named Marty remove the dead creature from the spike that had impaled her through the stomach. She came free with a sickening sucking sound and was unceremoniously tossed to the ground, discarded and left for the vermin of the night.
“So, how many of these traps do you have?” Josh asked, picking up his rifle.
“Twenty.”
“Really?”
“Yes. All shapes and sizes as you will see. Barricades, snares, hell… we tried to use everything we could get our hands on to stop these things from getting through. It’s not foolproof, but it is pretty close. It works well for us.”
“Ok, we have to carry on fellas,” interrupted Marty. “Let’s get going.”
Silently, the four men headed off with caution edging their way long a dark street. It was a gloomy moonless night, somewhat eerie. The only source of light came from their flashlights which reflected brightly off the windows of the surrounding buildings.
The rest of the night’s patrol passed without incident. Very few of the traps had gone off, less than a handful of creatures needed to be liberated. Josh was in awe of the system the Shadowmen had adopted; it felt like a life and death version of the TV show Wipeout! The system worked well, so well that the undead always failed to negotiate the slalom course safely.
Two blocks from the Oasis Marty led the group into an ally. Josh half expected to see a fire burning from a drum and
a long line of homeless people settling in the night under makeshift shelters, it had that sort of feel to it. Sadly, those days were long gone in this city, as were the homeless. They had become early victims of the savage onslaught at the turn.
Slowly, the four men marched forward, flashlights focused ahead of them. Their footsteps were the only sounds to be heard. Suddenly, a sixth sense forced Josh to stop and he came to a standstill next to a dumpster.
“What is it?” Vincent whispered.
“Shhh,” Josh placed his index finger to his lips. Strained his ears to listen. He knew something was afoot.
Torchlight revealed nothing. The alleyway was empty.
Josh still felt a presence.
A crow cawed from the far end. Left its perch and flew directly towards Josh, missing his head by only a few inches. He felt the rush of air from its wings as it ruffled his hair. Without question, he was spooked.
Then it came, like a thunderbolt – swift and deadly. Bursting open, the rear door to the restaurant to Josh’s right slammed loudly against the brick wall. Thin pale creatures spilled out before him. At a quick glance he counted eight, could be wrong – it was dark. He did not have time to worry about being right.
Stumbling backwards he groped for his weapons. Found them, closed his fists around the handles and braced himself. He swung around with hockey sticks raised immediately summing up the situation. Counter-measures were required and he had to act fast, decisively. With a flourish he struck out at the creature closest to him delivering a powerful blow to its jaw. Bone shattered. Dislodged teeth flew through the air, slammed against the brick wall then clattered against the metal dumpster.
The creature fell heavily. As it thrashed and twisted around on the ground Josh turned and slammed one of his weapons into the skull of an approaching undead male. With a sickening crack cranium shattered. Death came instantly. With a loud swish he swung the melee weapon in his off-hand disposing of the first creature in a similar fashion.
With that Vincent and the Shadowmen joined in the fray. Their response too was swift and deadly. It was an all-out assault as they fought for their lives. Time flashed by and in an instant the confrontation was over. Corpses, contorted in all sorts of hideous positions lay everywhere.
Josh panted and caught his breath, stared at the pool of blood on the cobblestones. Getting to his feet he clipped his weapons into place behind his back. Smiled.
“Is everyone ok?” asked Marty.
Hands patted down bodies. Each of them checked for wounds.
Gripping his long combat knife Marty asked the inevitable question. “Is anybody bitten?”
Silence.
“Your hand,” said Chris, the second of the Shadowmen out on this evening’s excursion. He pointed to Josh’s right arm.
Josh dropped his eyes and stared. In the torchlight he saw that blood covered his skin from wrist to fingertips. Frantically he wiped it against his pants and looked again. Dreading that he might see an open wound, or worse still a bite mark, his heart sank.
“I’m ok,” he said. Felt slightly intoxicated with relief. “All clear. It’s just blood. Undead blood.” Held his hand out in front of him for all to see, shining his flashlight over it.
Vincent slowly sheathed his knives and turned to the young man who fought so valiantly beside him. “That was a close thing,” he admitted. “Like I said, the traps are not foolproof.”
“Nothing is these days. We have to be ready for anything.”
“You fought well. I see you have skill… and you are pretty fearless. I like that. You would make a fine addition to the Shadowmen.”
“Ummm…” Josh was lost for words.
“Relax. I’m kidding.” Peering around the dumpster Vincent checked the alleyway ahead. It was empty, deserted, as it should be. Nothing stirred. “You’re too young to join up anyway.”
The two older men dressed all in black laughed.
“Right, let’s finish these traps and get back to base.” Vincent signaled for Marty and Chris to lead them off.
Dawn arrived, adding color to the drab wasteland of the dead city. Siobhan was woken by sunlight streaming through the large office windows forcing her eyelids open. She yawned, rolled over on her side and propped her head up with her arm. Smiling, she lay there watching Josh sleep.
“Good morning lover,” she said, in a husky, morning voice. Leaning forward she gave him a soft tender kiss, rousing him.
Blinking, Josh raised a hand to shield his eyes against the glare. “Good morning.” Smiled broadly as Siobhan’s attractive face came into view. Pinched himself. He thought he had died and gone to heaven.
They dressed then made their way to the mess. Others had arrived for breakfast, greeting the newcomers with hearty smiles and warm genuine handshakes. Two large tables were covered with fruit and a variety of other breakfast food. Coffee was brewing in percolators. Neither Josh nor Siobhan knew exactly where to start.
23
Troubled Times
As far as screams go the one Olivia just heard was right up there. The single piercing shrill had come from outside and was filled with pain and agony. Dropping her ladle she dashed through the rear door, bolting into the back yard. By the time she reached the scene, a huddle had already gathered.
Seeing Jon lying prone on the ground made her heart dropped. She screamed her husband’s name and fell to his side. He was moaning. Not moving.
“I… I don’t know how, but he fell from the roof mum,” Rebecca said with panic and concern in her voice.
All color immediately drained from Olivia’s face.
Nikita was kneeling on the other side tending to Jon. She was checking his pulse and trying to determine the extent of his injuries. Given her background as a nurse, there was a sense of relief amongst the bystanders. Jon was in good hands.
“Give them some room guys,” ordered Rory.
Olivia remained once the huddle backed away. She was kneeling next to her husband, holding his hand. Jon lost consciousness.
“How bad is it?” Olivia asked in desperation.
“It looks pretty bad,” said Nikita, tearing Jon’s shirt sleeve that was covered with blood. A deep gash ran down the length of his left forearm. “I need the medical supplies. Urgently!”
Tyler responded immediately. “I’m on it!” he said, before disappearing in a flash. He returned moments later with a large plastic tub in tow, which had a large red cross painted on the lid and sides. The two plastic wheels clattered across the decking as Tyler lugged it to the accident scene.
Jon drifted back, groaned in agony. As he attempted to move he felt a sharp pain in his back. Squinted his eyes and drew in a sharp breath through clenched teeth. It was obvious to everyone that he was in a tremendous amount of pain.
“Lie still darling,” said an anxious Olivia. There was a degree of comfort in her voice. With no way of knowing just how serious the injuries to her husband were she feared the worst.
Nikita rummaged through the medical kit until she found what she was looking for. The laceration to Jon’s arm was still bleeding profusely and so she focused her efforts on stabilizing the open wound. She worked hard to clean and sterilize as best she could before wrapping his arm in gauze and a bandage.
“This will need to be stitched,” Nikita said, “but for now we need to check for any other damage he might have suffered from the fall.”
Jon groaned again.
It took some time for the ex-nurse to complete her diagnosis, but she had insisted on a thorough examination. Head to toe. Despite the severity of the fall and how awkwardly he had landed, Jon was lucky. No broken bones, no sign of any neck or back injury aside from deep bruising. Olivia was relieved the deep laceration to his arm was the only real trauma he had sustained.
Ignoring the pleas of those around him to lay still Jon fought through the pain and sat upright. He paused to catch his breath, stubbornly he rotated his head from side to side to prove to Nikita and Olivia that he was alrig
ht. His greatest injury as the dent he had just taken to his pride.
“Well,” said Jon, rubbing his neck with the hand on his good arm, “that’s enough excitement for one day.” Amidst the protests, he tried to stand. Dizziness hit him, causing him to stumble forward. Eric and Tyler caught him and managed to keep him upright, before half carrying and half dragging him inside the house. Jon groaned all the way.
Over the course of the next hour Nikita worked tirelessly treating Jon. She removed pieces of metal that were lodged in the muscle tissue under his skin before cleaning the wound with a saline solution. The cut was deep and there was no doubt in her mind that it needed stitches.
Pulling Rory aside Nikita shared her concerns about Jon’s arm with her husband. They needed to avoid complications, any type of infection was a real threat. Their medical supplies were insufficient for a wound like this and they needed antiseptic, more bandages and possibly a transfusion kit. Jon had already lost a lot of blood. If his condition worsened, especially if it took too much longer to stop the bleeding he could be in real trouble.
Rory did not hesitate, calling a meeting in the kitchen to discuss the urgency of the situation with the group. He addressed the gathering with some urgency, presenting them with the list of supplies that Nikita requested.
Inside the house the group stirred.
“What do you need most urgently?” asked Tyler. His voice was filled with concern for his father.
“Well it all doesn’t seem like too much,” answered Rory, “but it is all vital stuff.” He paused and looked at his wife who was now leaning on the doorframe at the rear of the group.
“It’s all supplies you would find in a hospital or a medical center, even in an ambulance,” Nikita said.
“Well the hospital is out,” said Eric. “It was the first place ransacked at the turn.”
“Yeah, medical centers too,” added Tyler. “Pharmacies as well and supermarkets. What now then?”
“What about doctor’s surgeries?” asked Eric.
“That would like looking for a needle in a haystack don’t you think?” said Tyler, hating on his brother-in-law for making such a stupid statement. “They could be on any floor of any building and I’m sorry, but my iPhone is flat so I can’t do a search.” Blunt force sarcasm delivered.
Dark of Dawn 4Horsemen: Book one in the Dark of Dawn Series Page 24