by Riva, Aline
As she knelt beside him Lauren used the damp cloth to clean blood from his face and out of his hair, then she looked up at David and Tara.
“Is he going to die?”
“I think he's probably got concussion,” Tara replied, “And he needs to rest and keeping an eye on him is all we can do under the circumstances...I can't begin to guess what damage he might have suffered, being punched with that metal hand...Who ever these people are, they have a very strange idea of what makes a good leader...”
David was past any more displays of anger as his concern for Maxie took over.
“There must be someone here with medical knowledge beyond basic first aid,” he said quietly, turning away from Lauren as she continued to gently clean Maxie's wounds, “He needs a doctor. I don't want to say this to Lauren but I'm looking at Maxie and thinking head injuries, he needs to get checked over.”
“And someone here at the mall must have medical knowledge,” Tara replied.
“I'm going to demand he gets help!” David told her, and then he went over to the door and began to pound on it with his fist.
“Hey!” he yelled, “Open the bloody door, we need help in here!”
There was no answer, no one came to open the door, his cries had been met with silence. But refusing to give up, David pounded on the door and called out again, determined to keep it up until the door was opened, because he was no doctor but looking at Maxie, it was clear he was in a bad way and no matter what price he had to pay for demanding to be heard, he didn't care if he was next to receive a punch from the Mall King's steel fist – he wasn't going to let down a member of his group, not now or ever...
Up on the top floor of the mall, a floor above the shops where the office space had bee turned into a private living area with furniture and drapes and rugs taken from the stores on the level below, Rick went through a room furnished with dark leather sofas and a drinks cabinet and a book shelf, then opened up a door that led through to the next room where there stood mirrored wardrobes filled with fine clothing, there was a luxurious rug on the floor that stretched from a pine dresser to the window where a white lace net was framed by impressive dark velvet drapes that were tied back by silken cords. He didn't bother to shift back the curtain and look out, beyond that net was reality – an empty car park where weeds grew through cracks in its once flawless surface, beyond that, wired fencing and beyond that, corpses roamed the land.
Being here at the mall and enjoying all the comforts the place had to offer meant reality could take a back seat for a while, and that was something he felt thankful about, because the horror of what was out there really was too much to take sometimes when he thought about it. Seeing them, running from them, fighting them off – that had been bad enough. But stopping to think about what they actually were, people who had died, human beings dead and then woken up again by the virus that turned them into monsters...it was too much to think about, it was enough to send him over he edge if he wasn't careful, and after having a breakdown in the old days before the virus had come along, he wasn't planning on having another one now, in this crazy mess of a world that was in an even worse state than his own mind could ever be...
He turned his thoughts from his past and looked over to the big, wide bed on the other side of he room, it was covered by a thick, soft quilt and the pillows were soft and the covers were a mix of gold and white. It truly was a majestic bed and all his to enjoy alone – apart from the fact that he had let someone rest up here and she was here, in the middle of that bed, on her side and sleeping soundly... He smiled as he looked at Lois, thinking how refreshing her company was. Most who had come here were seasoned fighters or had some kind of survival skills that had enabled them to survive the corpse invasion – but not Lois. That girl had run and kept running, she had hid and she was still scared and for some reason he couldn't work out, he wanted to protect her. Perhaps it was because she was afraid and showed it when so many around him preferred to stay together and cling to weapons that would soon be useless when the ammo ran out... At least Lois showed all the fear he felt too, but had to hide from the others who looked up to him...
“Wake up.”
As she heard him speak and then felt the weight shift on the side of he bed as he sat down, she woke sharply, sitting up and looking at him in alarm.
“Sorry, I didn't mean to make you jump,” Rick said kindly, suddenly feeling self conscious as he covered he now cleaned steel hand with his own human hand, guessing he would always feel too aware of it when around women, because it was hardly attractive...Suddenly he felt stuck for words as she looked at him and he looked back at her, but thankfully, she didn't stare at the hand this time or seem to notice he was trying to hide it.
“Did you sleep well?” he asked.
She nodded.
“I asked someone to bring you up some fresh clothing,” he said, indicating to a pile of clothes that looked to be her size, taken from one of he department stores and draped neatly over a table on the other side of the room, “It's okay – you can have what ever you want. By he way, that jacket you arrived in? I'm having it cleaned, it's a perfect fit and will be a great addition to my wardrobe.”
Then he looked down at his metallic hand, pressed he release mechanism a the wrist, slipped it off and placed it next to the bed, then moving very quickly in a nervous blur, tugged down his shirt sleeve to cover the stump on the end of his wrist.
“I'm not used to much company...not up here,” he said to her, “There are a few girls in the mall who try it on with me – it's only because I'm Mall King. They don't know Rick Lester...they never will, none of them...”
“What do you mean by that?” asked Lois, now she had rested she felt recovered from her ordeal, her hand was closing up quickly and the wound was starting to heal, the pain was gone and her mind was sharp once more. She had noticed something odd about the look in Rick's eyes as he had said that and then looked away for a moment, almost as if he was afraid she might detect something there in his gaze that he kept hidden...
“I said I'd explain the rules to you,” he added, looking back at her, finding it easy to meet her gaze now the conversation had swiftly moved on, “My rules are simple – respect others, protect the mall and share your skills to be useful to the community. What skills do you have, Lois?”
She thought about it.
“I'm a trained nurse -”
“We have a paramedic here and limited stocks from the pharmacy, some medical supplies in there. Your skills will definitely be needed here, Lois.”
“But Rick -”
“Maybe you can help me with this,” he said, now feeling more comfortable about showing her his wrist stump, “I had to interrogate the guy who shot one of my guards...hit him a few times with my metal hand. I felt a shock go all the way up my arm with every punch and what's left of my wrist is killing me! Take a look...what do you think?”
He slid up his sleeve, and she gently cradled his wrist in her hand, ran her fingertips carefully over the scar that healed the skin together over the stump.
“It aches like hell,” he added.
Lois cautiously rubbed at visible bruising, it was a gentle movement that stopped the pain as the heat of her touch eased the ache in the damaged tissue.
“What do you think?” he said again, “It's crazy - I mean, my hand is gone but I worry so much about my wrist...I keep thinking I'm going to get some kind of complication.”
“What do I think?” said Lois as she gently held his wrist and met his gaze with wide, honest eyes, “I think you should stop hitting people. And it doesn't look damaged to me – just a bit of bruising. But that's all I can tell because you didn't let me finish.” “Finish what?” Rick asked.
“What I was saying! I'm not that kind of nurse. I'm a nursery nurse, I used to work at a children's crèche!”
He was suddenly aware that he had exposed that ugly sump on he end of his wrist and now she was holding it – and she wasn't even medically trained... he
drew his wrist back, sliding down his cuff once more.
“Well we have a few children here – most of them stay with their parent's, most are too old to need a crèche... we have a couple of teachers that give them lessons three times a week...”
“Sounds like you've got everything organised.”
He smiled on hearing that compliment and his face flushed a little.
“Thanks,” he replied, “I do my best.”
Then as the door opened without warning, he got up from the bed to see a guard enter the room.
“Sir, I'm sorry for disturbing you, but the prisoner you interrogated..he's collapsed.”
“Then get the paramedic to check him over. If he's badly hurt bring him up here and keep him in the room at the end of the hall and guard it. Keep the others locked up.”
“Yes, Mr Lester,” the guard replied, and then he left the room.
As Rick turned to follow, Lois got up too and he turned back as he reached the door.
“You stay here for now,” he told her, and then he left the makeshift apartment, locking the door behind him.
As the door opened David stepped back, tensed up and ready to start a fight, but the guards entered the room with weapons in hand, gesturing the three of them to get back and clear he way, then a tall, heavily built man in denim jeans and a t shirt came in with a medical bag and knelt down beside Maxie as he started to check him over.
“You took your time,” David said, “I told you about this half an hour ago!”
“And now your friend is getting the medical assistance he needs,” replied Rick as he joined them.
As the paramedic said his name, Maxie gave a groan and opened his eyes.
“Is he okay?” Lauren asked anxiously.
“Let Danny do his job,” Rick told her, and then as the paramedic spoke again to Maxie and he murmured replies that were hampered by his split lip and facial bruising, Danny turned back to Rick.
“He's in pain and he's got mild concussion. I'd recommend proper rest. He needs to go upstairs.”
Rick nodded.
“You don't need to worry about him, he'll be looked after,” he said to Lauren, then he looked to David and Tara, “I didn't intend to cause him this much damage. But in dangerous times like these, I have to be really sure of who I can trust. For now, you're still my prisoners.”
Then the guards helped Maxie to stand, as he leant against them heavily, then he was led from the room, Rick followed and the door closed and locked behind them once more.
Tara's eyes were blazing with anger as she saw Lauren blinking back tears. She looked to her lover and kept her voice low as she spoke.
“David, if I get out of here I swear, my fist is going straight in Mall King's face -”
“Don't,” David replied, shaking his head as his gaze stayed fixed on the locked door, “It sounds like he's starting to accept the truth from Maxie - I think we just got as much of an apology as we can hope for. Now we need to sit tight. He won't keep us locked up forever.”
Then he fell silent as the three of them waited, wondering when the door would be opened again, because while they were locked in the secure room, there was no hope of escape.
Down below the mall, where an outer mesh cover had been compromised, a corpse wandered in. It stopped, standing in the dark, dank area, listening to the sound of trickling water that splashed about its boots as the air stank of sewerage. Its clothing was torn, its skin mouldering and its dead eyes fixed ahead to the winding tunnels, then it sniffed at the air, the corpse detecting a delicious scent above the rest of the odours:
Somewhere up above were warm, fresh humans, fresh blood, fresh prey...
It sped its pace to a jog on heavy limbs as it dashed down the tunnel then took to the slope that went up, then it reached more mesh and tore it away, casting it into the river of filth with a splash as it stepped out into a lower area where an arrow pointed upwards and the sign was marked FIRE EXIT.
Here there were no cameras, here it had been believed could never be breached.
The humans had been wrong.
The reanimated corpse took to the staircase, making its way slowly up, all the while its dead eyes fixed upwards as the higher it climbed, the stronger the scent of the living became...
Chapter 5: The Home Invader
Maxie barely recalled being taken to the room on the top floor. He remembered on waking later that he had caught sight of an open doorway to an apartment on the way in, and it had struck him as odd that someone had such comfortable living space in these crazy times, or that there had ever been any kind of apartment in that mall to begin with...Then he had laid back on a comfortable bed and closed his eyes.
“You rest,” Rick had said to him, “No harm will come to you now, Maxie. I may be paranoid but I'm not a liar. I said I believed you and I do. Now sleep, you need it.”
Those had been the last words spoken before Maxie had closed his eyes and sleep had swiftly claimed him, a fact he was thankful for because after the battering he had taken, only sleep could provide the escape from pain that he desperately needed.
Now he was awake and there was a strange woman sitting on a chair next to his bed. Her hair was darker and longer than Lauren's and her eyes were a much lighter colour. He was missing Lauren. He wanted to know she was okay.
“Who are you?” he asked, then as he cautiously moved and slowly started to sit up, he found much of his pain was gone.
“I'm Lois,” she said, “Rick let me stay here – well, in the apartment. He unlocked the door about half an hour ago and said I could come over here and visit. He said you might be missing your girlfriend.”
There was a brief moment of dizziness and then it was gone and although he was glad of the rest the bed still gave, now the worst of the pain was over Maxie's thoughts had turned swiftly to the others: They were still locked up?
“Rick has to release my friends,” he told her, “I shot a guard when we arrived here – it wasn't exactly an accident more like a terrible misunderstanding, and I tried to explain that to him so many times, even after he hit me. He has no reason to lock up David and the girls, they've done nothing wrong!”
Lois nodded.
“Yes,” she replied, “I think he knows that now. He said he's thinking about inviting you all to stay...he said something like that...I was a bit distracted, watching him put that metal hand on. It's so weird when he takes it off and just leaves it laying around...and I can see he was rough with you, but I can honestly say, I've not seen that side of him. I think he's just trying to protect everyone who lives here – maybe he goes about it the wrong way sometimes, but underneath all that, I think he's a good bloke.”
“Maybe he is,” said Maxie as he reached up and touched a small dressing on his cheek, as he blinked he realised the worst of the swelling and pain to his eye was gone now and that had to be thanks to painkillers.
“He had me patched up?”
“You fainted. A friend of his used to be a paramedic, said you had a concussion and had to lie down for a while. Rick sounded relieved when he told me you would be okay. I think he was worried he might have caused something fatal.”
“Well I'm very much alive,” Maxie replied, getting up stiffly from the bed and managing to stand as it came as a huge relief that the room was not spinning – his dizziness had gone along with the weakness, and now he was ready to get out of there.
“Where are you going?” Lois demanded.
“To find David and the others,” he replied, “And your nice Mr Lester isn't going to stop me! If he means what he says about believing me, he'll let the others go!”
“So prove to him you can be trusted and stay here!” she said sharply, “Look – the door isn't locked! He trusts us both, he's been through a lot, one of his own people tried to have him killed -”
“I know that!”
“So please, give him a reason to trust you?”
Lois looked at him pleadingly.
As much as he wanted
to rejoin the others, what she said had made perfect sense. He gave a sigh and reluctantly sat down again.
“Okay,” he impatiently checked his watch, “He'd better hurry back. He's got an hour, or I'm off to find him and if he's not about, I'm getting David and the girls out of that cell by myself!”
If Maxie had stuck to his plan to seek out Rick, he would not have had to look far – the man the people called Mall King had just addressed his people in a gathering on the ground floor, to inform them that he considered the new comers trust worthy – as it was clear that even after interrogation, Maxie had stuck to his story about the shooting being a misunderstanding, and then Rick had opened up the floor for opinions to be aired, a few people had voiced concerns about the fact that Maxie had shot a guard, claiming that made him impossible to trust, but then he put it to a vote and most hands were raised in favour of the strangers staying if they accepted his offer. Then he looked about the sea of faces, nodded and promised there would be a fair outcome and reminded the minority who had voiced their opinions against the strangers to remember they ran by majority decisions, and then he dismissed them, and went via the lift back to the top floor.
As he went on his way, he was unaware the mall he tried so hard to protect had already been breached. On the fire escape stair way, the dead creature that had climbed the stairs had paused on hearing the sound of the lift operating, it was a low whine that sounded through the smooth walls as it made is ascent, and the corpse sniffed the air again, taking a moment to tune in to the scent of the living. A first, as it had climbed higher, the scent had dropped lower, as if the warmth of human blood and living flesh had gathered in a huge cluster on the floor beneath, the scent of it was alluring and the pull to it immense, but then it had dispersed about the place, scattered as if the humans had stopped clustering and were now all over the building in many places. It set its sights on the stairway that went up and up, and began to climb once more, then as sounds echoed from many places in the building the creature stopped again, pausing to listen, its dead hand on the stair rail as flesh on the back of it sat degraded and mouldering. It listened to every sound, feeling a tug of raging hunger and a need to feed off each and every one of those humans and to drink deeply of their warm thick blood...