by David Tyne
Something didn't seem right, like there was more to it than what he was willing to share — his eyes didn't hold obvious greed in them. What kind of kick does he get out of it, by taking money from a world long gone?
Elsewhere in my mind, it amused me that the suits were still willing to let Serah drag their suitcases all the way up to the hilltop Aquarium, despite allegedly carrying a child. I made a show of helping out, saying I wouldn't let her exert herself too much, and took both suitcases into my possession.
The display of chivalry only cemented the impression that we were a couple, and to be honest, it was pretty fun letting them think that. I wasn't exactly sure why her 'baby' was the first lie that popped into her head, but it seemed to be keeping us alive so far, so I wasn't going to complain.
After gunning down a few more stray Lost, the men finally led us into a large car park before turning around, satisfied that they'd made the trip. "Here we are! Home sweet home. You lovebirds are gonna have a great time in here!"
One of the men waved at a blue-uniformed woman behind the glass door, to which she nodded and messed around with some switches in a fuse box. The automatic door whirred open majestically, inviting us into the safety of the Aquarium.
"Thanks for the offer,” Serah chuckled nervously, “really, but we'll only stay for tonight. We'd hate to be in your hair for too long..." She still appeared tense, trying to lighten the mood after the messy stand-off.
Mr Banks simply eyed her up and down, and just when I thought he was about to accuse us of leaving his money back in the hotel, he nodded with a sigh. "Suit yourself, darlin'. It’d be a hundred times safer if you stuck around with larger groups, mind — for you and the lil' one."
We needed them to think that we were harmless, and it seemed as though they believed our story enough to let us inside. I just hoped that he wouldn't check his suitcases until noon the next day, when we could leave for the docks and never come back.
Breathing a sigh of relief, the three of us waved the gentlemen off as they went to prepare booze for the party they were apparently having tonight. The idea of celebrating physically disgusted me, but it seemed like we had no choice but to attend.
As Jamie, Serah and I slumped against the ice-blue wall of the main lobby, I realised that the facility’s water tanks were already pouring into plain view from the entrance.
I didn't notice how odd it was at the time, but most of the fish were still alive — the surviving employees and staff must’ve holed themselves up here, keeping their sea friends fed and filtered. I had no idea why they would even bother, but it was refreshing to see true altruism for defenceless animals once again.
The last gathering of survivors we'd come across, the O-Saints, left something to be desired in the humanity department. The majority of those creeps burned along with that bridge, but I found myself wondering how many of them escaped… How many were just misguided, and didn’t deserve to die.
Did they know that Burkley was lying to them? Leading them like cows to a slaughterhouse? Would they have changed their minds?
So much had happened since then, I had almost forgotten about the terrifying creature that attacked us. I grabbed my leg, the overdose of adrenaline blinding me to the pain I was in before. I knew it hurt, but never really felt much of anything. That could either be a good sign, or a really bad one.
I silently prayed that Beth and the others were still alive, hoping that they made it to the front gate of the bridge, safely past those lab-created beasts... We would find out tomorrow.
In that moment, all I wanted to do was rest without having to worry — but that was never going to happen. I dropped my head against the wall, almost landing on my fake-baby-momma's shoulder as I drifted away.
I tried to imagine that the whole gang was here with me, in the safety of this welcoming Aquarium’s community. Everyone that I dragged along in my journey, they’d never forgive me for putting them in so much danger.
At least now, we would all be shielded from those threatening nightmares. Hidden in plain sight, by the calming-blue neon lights.
15 | What You Had To Do
We required no accommodation for the night, it seemed; when I awoke from my nap, we were still perched in our nest within the Aquarium’s entrance. Jamie and Serah slept noisily against the wall, looking exactly the same as when I'd seen them last. The warm orange light stemming from the distant sunset pouring in through the glass doors.
My frown grew upon realising how royally screwed our sleeping schedules had become. At least the heated glow meant that spring was close at hand, bringing balance to my scowl. It almost implied that the world was still turning; or maybe it was more like a candle, burning closer and closer to its inevitable end.
The blue-uniformed woman that let us in approached our sleeping party, lowering her head humbly. "Forgive me, Mr Banks would like to ensure that you are prepared for this evening's event. Should I come back at a... better time?"
She could tell that we were still fatigued, but the woman had no clue of what we'd been through since crossing that bridge, so I let her hesitation slide. I nodded towards my two unconscious friends, smiling uncomfortably.
"...I'll let them know, thanks. We'll be right there."
After Serah and Jamie had woken up from their public rest, we decided to use the nearby employee's lounge to fix ourselves up a little — after all, we weren't suited-and-booted like the men who had picked us up.
Jamie and I entered the men’s changing room, and the first thing we both took notice of was the dripping shower head attached to the indented wall. "No way! Dibs!!" Jamie shouted, claiming the first turn as his clothes practically flew off of him before I could even turn away.
"Man, you're such a kid at the weirdest times..." I sighed, rifling through the open lockers for any non-muddied or ripped clothing.
"W-Woah! Fuckin’ hell!" I heard Jamie squeak from behind the wall, fully hyped as a carpet of steam drifted around the corner.
"Hot... Hot water?!" I almost cracked with excitement myself, not caring how depressingly trivial it was in contrast to everything else that was going on.
After Jamie's turn, he searched for fitting clothes in the next room while I took full advantage of my time. Undressing myself, I wasn't particularly attentive in my thrilled state and accidentally ripped the leg seam right off of my worn jeans. It was impossible to manoeuvre them below my throbbing bite mark, after all.
The sensation barely felt lucid; I was finally able to take part in the full bathing ritual, rather than the lame sink-showers I'd been relying on for the past few weeks. All I really did was just wipe myself down with freezing-cold brown water, dabbing my pits underneath my clothes.
The heated sprinkler sprayed my face with an intense pressure, almost baptising me as weeks of grime and filth circled the drain below. It burned after a couple of seconds, but I couldn’t care less.
I let the water run all over my body while carefully cleaning out my leg wound. The once-gory sight looked substantially better now, after my little sleep and Serah's medical touch. Opening my mouth, I let the water expand my cheeks until I spat it all out, completely revelling in the experience.
When I finally stepped out after nearly half an hour, Jamie was already dressed and waiting by the door. I pottered over to the pile of clothes I'd picked out earlier, my red-raw skin worth every second. Dropping my towel, I planted my feet into a new pair of clean-looking boxers, although I wouldn’t dare imagine how they ended up in a tourist attraction's lost-and-found.
I turned to Jamie as I stuck on my old pair of smelly socks; the contrast between my filthy clothes and the new ones became instantly clear to me.
"How was it? Feels great to be clean for once! You kind of forget about stuff like that on the road, don't you?"
The boy nodded, sitting down to fasten his shoelaces. "Yeah... I guess."
Buttoning up my shirt and grabbing a sleek black tie, I realised that he wasn't as chipper as he was when we f
irst arrived. He wore those heavy eyes again, the ones he had just before freezing up in that tent. I wasn't going to ignore it this time.
"...You can talk to me, dude. I don't know if Serah or Mils brought it up, but I had a friend once. He didn't tell me about how rough those first days were for him, and in the end... Well, he's not around anymore. Bottling yourself up, it doesn’t work in the long run.”
Jamie wasn't going for it, I could tell. He wasn't the type to express himself, unless he was showing off his usual aggressive attitude.
"If it's easier to punch me in the face and call me an arsehole, you can do that as well. Just don't keep it pent up inside."
I knelt down to his face, giving him the perfect chance and range for a good whack. He resisted the urge, staring vacantly at the tiled floor of the changing room.
"My parents... had problems. Or at least, that's what they told me. I figured they were always one conversation away from getting back together… That’s why I made them go."
“Go?”
“To the amusement park.” From his tone, I already knew what must’ve happened there. A large crowded area, iron bars penning the visitors inside. Not the best place to be, when the outbreak hit.
“Oh. I’m sorry.” Empty words, but I had no idea how to console a grieving teenager.
“Those things were everywhere. One bit my mum…” His fingers clenched into the wooden bench, trying not to show emotion. “I hated her, for not loving my dad. For running off with someone else.”
“Jamie, you didn’t—”
“No, I hated them both. When she became one of those monsters… I actually thought for one second, ‘Yes! I can finally get back at her, for ruining my life!’”
I sat in awkward silence, jaw slacking open. Jamie held his hands out in front of him, trembling as though he was reliving the moment. His parents turning Lost, having to defend himself against the only two people who were supposed to protect him.
“I killed Mum… I pushed her out of the ferris wheel, watched her head crack open on the ground. It happened so fast.”
“You didn’t kill her... Remember, she was already dead.” I tried to reason with him, but he shook his head in childish denial.
“Maybe hating her made it easier. Maybe I never loved either of them… I just wanted us to be like a normal family. Didn’t matter what they wanted.”
Jamie suddenly reached into his discarded denim jeans, and pulled out a surprisingly well-concealed wallet. Opening it, I peered inside to see clippings of incredible scenic views. Tropical islands, snow-covered mountain tops and the skyline of New York, all mangled in his front pouch.
"Been saving up, this past year... Only made around two-hundred bucks, though. I was gonna get us enough money for a holiday, and we could visit all kinds of places. We'd travel everywhere… Anywhere, just to get away from the mess they made."
I was surprised to hear him talking like that, holding such responsibility at his age. “Is that why you tried to take Mr Banks’ briefcase?”
"Who cares?! It’s not like he can do jack shit with it, either!” After a brief pause, Jamie glanced away with a red flush. “It just… calms me down. If I have lots of money, it’s like I can still make it happen. I can still bring my parents back together. It’s dumb, I know.”
I pulled the grieving boy to his feet, and after a second of calculation, I pulled one of the photos out of his wallet. "...Barbados, huh? Wouldn’t mind going there myself, dude."
My cheerful grin spread like butter across my face, further confusing the grumpy teen. This was not the correct response, after he’d confessed to his so-called murder.
"Why don't we all go, after we find Beth and the others?” I pressed further.
“Are you fucking retarded?”
“What? It's not like there's anything holding us back now, least of all travelling costs."
Jamie thought I was kidding, and if I'd repeated the words myself, I would've thought the same. All of my friends had sworn that we’d do anything to help each other, and the least I could do was return that sentiment for Jamie.
"You don't need money when you've got us, man. Who cares what you thought when your parents turned? If you feel bad about it, then that's all you can do. You’re already coping better than those O-Saints... They wouldn't know regret if it smacked them right in their bandanas."
I used my towel as a shrouding hood, throwing my best Burkley impression at the boy, which coaxed a light chuckle out of him. It was the first time that any of us had made Jamie laugh, something to pride myself on.
"The bottom line is, you did what you had to do, when you were up there. It’s okay to hate your mum, for putting you in that position. It takes time to forgive people, so why not check off our own bucket lists in the meantime?"
I patted him on the back, and while he tried to throw me off with his usual frowning face, it only took a second for his cheeky smile to shine through.
"S-Shut up, ya fuckin' softie."
While Jamie and I exchanged good-natured jabs, we eventually heard a knock on the door and Serah's voice called on us. When she came through, my mouth almost fell to the manky floor.
The women’s changing room must’ve had a rather prosperous supply of goods, since she came out with a full-black evening gown and a silver necklace. Her hair was even styled up into a bun of sorts — she looked rather high-class, even with her usual glasses that always slipped down her nose.
The med student seemed to blush, but pretty soon I realised that it wasn't because of the two boys gawking at her. "Um, Daniel... How long are you going to stay like that?"
I had barely realised what she was saying, until it was painfully obvious that I was still standing around half-dressed in my shrunken second-hand undies.
Jumping over to the lost-and-found in a panic, I couldn't find any matching leggings for the shirt I'd picked out. "Oh, c'mon... who loses a shirt and tie, but not any damn trousers?!"
----
When the three of us ultimately stepped out of the changing rooms, only then did we realise that we had no idea where this so-called party was taking place. "Let's just get this over with," grunted the dolled-up Serah as she pretended not to be associated with me. Jamie followed her lead, casually throwing his head back while snickering at my choice of clothing.
The only form of leggings I could find were a pair of ugly-beige, knee-length shorts which clashed horrendously with my perfect white shirt. I was almost tempted to check the female changing rooms for anything that could be classed as less of a creepy man-child look. I scolded myself, remembering that we were guests with no right to be picky.
All three of us gasped in synchronised cliché as we turned the corner, staring straight into the heart of a spaciously-paved glass tunnel. Illuminated along the sides with a neon-blue hue, the corridor seemed to travel straight through the underside of a rather large water tank.
Sharks and sting-rays floated curiously above our fellow visitors; the well-dressed attendees twirled and pointed as they followed the pathway in awe. It was lit very delicately, as though suggesting that you were walking on the sea floor along with these creatures.
Rising from a low rumble, the sound of live instruments gradually blew through the entire corridor, beckoning us to forget our troubles and join the dance.
I held out my hand to Serah, and bowed courteously. "Lady Flowers?"
She touched my extended fingers, and pretended to fan her face with a posh smile. "Sir Walker... Shall we?"
With that, we passed through the undersea gateway and towards the hottest party of the apocalypse. This was, by its very nature, an evening that we were never going to forget.
16 | The Deep-Sea Ball
I didn’t know what I expected to see, waiting for us on the other side of that submerged corridor. It certainly wasn't a cleared-out ballroom, with exotic fish tanks fitted to the full length of the hall.
A constant blur of ‘wealthy’ men and women spiralled around the polish
ed floor, wearing ridiculously-formal attire. Their heels clicked and danced in tune to the onstage band, swinging deeper into their drunken jazz and soul tracks.
Colourful fish darted rapidly from within their tiny prisons, almost as confused as I was, processing the scene in front of me. Clearly, this room was not as exquisite when it was just an aquarium — the survivors had gone all-out to make tonight special, for whatever reason.
The dead were coming back to life outside those doors, eating people alive; yet somehow, this lot had their priorities in check with a full buffet table and an open bar. No rationing, no conservation of energy, no common sense.
As I turned to complain aloud, the look of restraint on Serah’s face forced me to realise the reason why Mr Banks was doing this... It was the same reason we ourselves had taken things so lightly, during those first few nights of the outbreak.
They’re all pampered rich people, at least in their fifties… They know that they won’t live for much longer. Not out there.
After Mr Banks was done shaking hands with a group of elderly men, his eyes slanted over to us and the rest of him waddled behind in his fancy tuxedo. "Ah, I'm so glad you could make it! Even in such... interesting costume." His leer descended to my puke-coloured shorts, a design choice I was not willing to defend. "I'm sorry, it has been absolute chaos today... I haven't even asked for your names!"
As I laughed uncomfortably and repeated my name several times, he looked expectantly towards an absent-minded Serah. Hearing his voice, it took another few seconds for her eyes to click back into place.
"Ma'am? What is your name?"
"...Thirsty." With that, she sauntered away in her dress-and-sneakers to the refreshments table, pouring herself a monstrous glass of water. I tried to apologise on her behalf, bowing courteously with light trembles.
Mr Banks shrugged me off, leaving to greet the rest of his newcomers. Jamie nudged my side, both of us checking out Serah as she guzzled down her second glass of water. She seemed indifferent to the cavalcade of alcohol sitting behind her, laid out on tables which stretched to the other side of the room.