Dead World Rising

by Katerina Petrova

  'I love you.' I'd known how I felt for a little while, but I couldn't quite get the words out for fear that I'd screw everything up. Now I didn't need to be afraid, for the first time in my life I knew where I belonged. He was my life, my everything, he would protect me from his men and all the evils of the world.

  'I love you too,' I moaned. It had been six days since we'd slept together, and in that time my place at his side had been cemented. The women feared me, they cowered at my presence, and so they should. Even Maddox had gained respect for me, he no longer treated me unkindly or like one of the other women. For the first time in the history of this place, there was a woman who's voice could rival anyone's and I was that woman.

  Today was like any other, I did my rounds to ensure the women were doing as they should. The screams I heard as I walked past Maddox's house no longer bothered me, in fact I had come to know that despite his vile nature he always had a reason for doing the things he did. It no longer concerned me that I found the screams, to be arousing. I now knew how intoxicating it felt to hold such power over another, never in a million years did I think this would be my life.

  Yet little did I know, all that I held dear would be ripped away from me on this night. As I went to report to Nathaniel, I stopped for a moment to enjoy the sun as it began to fall beneath horizon. I always loved sunsets, I found them relaxing. I turned to see Nathaniel coming towards me, I smiled gesturing for him to join me. He wrapped his arms around me and nuzzled my neck.

  'Is everything running as it should?' Nathaniel asked.

  'Yup, everyone is at their posts,' I replied smiling.

  'That's what I like to hear,' he told me happily as he kissed me.

  Just then we heard a noise from the front of the compound, a loud crash and then people screaming. I felt panicked but I kept calm.

  'Go home, I'll come and get you when it's safe,' he told me.

  I wanted to argue but I followed his orders, I ran back home, hearing the screaming and shouting as I went. 'Walkers at the front gate! We need all the men,' I heard Maddox shout. I kept running home, feeling useless for not being able help. I couldn't bear the thought of something happening to Nathaniel.

  'There's too many, get back!' I heard him shout.

  As I reached my house I saw people I didn't know coming in the back entrance, it wasn't just walkers, we were being attacked. I hid inside my house, listening behind the door as they talked.

  'Keep an eye our for any women, if they want to leave with us, let them,' a woman whispered. I recognised the voice, it belonged to Vera the leader of Sanctuary. So it was true, my family had joined up with Sanctuary in order to defeat Nathaniel and his men. It was strange, I was so preoccupied with worrying about Nathaniel's safety that I didn't even care that the girl who'd been killed in my place had died for nothing.

  I wanted to find Nathaniel and warn him but I couldn't without alerting them to my presence.

  'I need to find my sister,' another woman said.

  'And mine,' a third girl told them. I waited for them to go by, before attempting to leave. I grabbed the knife Nathaniel and I kept hidden under our bed, I tucked it into my jeans and ran outside. I crept round the back of the houses, making sure I was out of view. I kept to the shadows, listening in as the people checked the houses.

  'If you want your freedom, get out now. There's people waiting round the back,' I heard Vera tell them.

  'Finally we're free,' I heard Ellen say. They gathered some of the women from the maternity house, fuck there was nothing I could do to stop them. I had to get to Nathaniel. I kept out of sight as I tried to get to the front of the compound, if any of them tried to take me I'd put up a fight. It was only when I saw Nathaniel near the front gate, taking out the corpses that I realised, my brother was mostly likely among the people who were attacking.

  Oh shit, fucking bollocks I thought. I couldn't let him see me, I had to keep out of sight, but I also needed to get to Nathaniel. I looked round the corner of the house to make sure neither my brother or any of our friends were there, I ran out towards Nathaniel but before I could reach him, I felt someone grab me from behind. I struggled, kicked and screamed but they held on too tight. I turned to see Frankie, the girl who'd come to live with us at Jade's.

  'Maggie you're alive!' She exclaimed.

  I didn't know what to do, how could I even begin to tell her that I couldn't leave with them. It would break my brothers heart to know what I had become, but I couldn't return to the life I had before.

  'I can't leave with you, you've got to let me go,' I told her.

  'What are you on about, Jensen needs to know you're alive,' she replied confused. 'I've been too changed by this place, please I'm begging you just leave me,' I cried.

  'If your afraid of these people coming for you, don't worry. Sanctuary has enough people to defend you.' There was no way I could fully explain it to her, she wouldn't understand. None of them would, I turned to look at Nathaniel one last time. His pale hair glistening in the moon light, the memory of his body on mine flashed in my mind as I let a single tear fall. If I didn't leave, the people I loved would be hurt. Nathaniel would kill to keep me, and my family would kill to protect me. I had no choice, I followed Frankie through the corpse filled village, knowing that I'd never feel whole again.

  'Maggie!' My brother cried as he saw me.

  He flung his arms round me, I did the same but it didn't feel natural to me. The tears I now cried weren't out of joy for seeing him again, they were for the loss of my life as I knew it.

  'How are you alive?' He asked tearfully. I told him that I was afraid of him coming here and dying, I made out that I'd tricked Nathaniel into thinking I didn't want to leave. The look on his face as I told him I'd had to have another girl killed in my place, was the reason I didn't want him to find me. I wasn't the sister he knew, I was a stranger to him now. At that moment I swore, I'd never tell him just how dark I had become. The knowledge would destroy him, I could never hurt my brother that way.

  'Is everyone safe?' Tamara asked.

  'Yeah, we've got most of the women out. Where's Nikkita and her people?' Frankie replied.

  'We're here, but we couldn't find Emily.' Oh shit, Emily was the girl who'd been killed in my place. I heard the shouts and screams coming from the other side of the compound, Nathaniel would realise what had happened and would be looking for me.

  'Emily's dead,' I told them sadly.

  'What do you mean she's dead!?' Demanded a tall brown haired girl.

  I had to tell them, if they dallied here they'd all be killed.

  'It wasn't my idea, but she was the girl who was killed in my place,' I confessed.

  Before I knew what was happening the girl launched herself at me, sending me flying. My brother and Tamara were the first ones to grab her.

  'Stop it, it wasn't her fault!' Jensen shouted.

  'We've got to get out of here, there's no time for this Casey,' Tamara yelled.

  'I'm going to kill her, it's because of her my sister is dead,' Casey screamed. Frankie helped me up, she looked me over and handed me a cloth for my now bleeding lip.

  'I can see them, they've got Maggie!' I heard Nathaniel shout from a distance.

  'Shit, we've got to move,' Frankie said urgently. Frankie kept hold of me as we ran towards a large group of people, I guessed that these were from the Sanctuary near here. The outside of the compound was littered with cars, there was at least twenty that I could see. Frankie bundled me in a car, looked at me with tears in her eyes and whispered, 'take good care of your brother,' then she slammed the door and walked off into the night.

  I watched from the back of the car as we drove away, I saw Nathaniel fighting his way through the dead to get to me, but I knew it was futile. I wept silently as I saw him running, even though deep down I knew this would not be the end. The next time I saw him, my family would be dead for he would not rest until I was back in his arms. My brother sat next to me, clutching my hand as we drove.
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  'It'll be alright, your safe now,' he told me. If only he knew, I wept not for fear of my safety but for his and everyone else's. As the dark thoughts crossed my mind, I dreaded what Nathaniel and his men had in store for my family. Every kind of horrible image passed through my mind, the only thing I knew for sure was that in the end they would all suffer a fate truly worse than death.

  Chapter 7

  Frankie

  I hated this, being away from them, losing them all after everything we'd been through. I felt the hot tears burning my face as they slid towards my lips, filling my mouth with a salty taste. I longed for them, I didn't even know if they'd gotten back to Sanctuary safely. How could I have done this to Jensen of all people? He was so sweet, so kind and loving. He was the only man I'd ever loved, and the only man I ever would love. With each second that passed I became that much further from those I'd come to know as family, would I see their faces again? Would I ever hear Tamara's laugh or see Jade's proud, loving face or look into Jensen's pool green eyes? What about Finn, despite our not so pleasant first encounter he'd become like a little brother to me, I loathed not being able to see him grow into the fine man I knew he was going to become.

  'Are you alright?' Nikkita asked concernedly.

  'Yeah, I'm fine,' I answered wiping the tears away. I couldn't even begin to explain things to Nikkita, while she had been distancing herself from me I knew that these last few weeks had hurt her so much. I didn't want her to feel guilty for me leaving everyone behind.

  As began to fall into a pit of sadness, I remembered what Jade had told me.

  'You have to go away with her,' Jade told me.

  'I can't leave Jensen, I love him,' I replied.

  'I know you do, but Nikkita being here, having to watch you two is torture,' she said.

  'I hate this, I love them both. I can't bear the thought of hurting either of them,' I cried. Jade put her arms round me as I cried, the two people I loved the most were hurting because of me. No matter what I did, someone was going to be hurt. We stood in the Keep of the castle, while I cried and Jade held me.

  'And they both know that, but if you don't be with Nikkita you'll always wonder what could have been,' she told me. She was right, but that didn't make it any easier. Nikkita had never given up on finding me, she'd searched for five long years, I owed it to her to try. I would always love Jensen, and I knew he would never stopping loving me. He would be alright, Jade, Tamara and Finn would take care of him. He had his family, but Nikkita had no one.

  It would break my heart to lose him, but if I stayed with him I might grow to resent him for being the reason I didn't go with Nikkita.

  'You're right, but we've got so much going on. How can I just leave?' I asked her tearfully. 'Assuming we get the help we need, when the battle is over and everyone is safe, just go. Don't say a word to anyone, just leave. I'll take care of Jensen, you need not worry about him,' she replied smiling.

  With one last hug, I wiped away my tears and decided to make the most of the time I had left with my family. I wouldn't just miss Jensen, I'd miss Tamara's laugh and jokes, I'd miss Finn's optimism and bright smile. I'd miss Jade's kind nature and a getting advice from her. I'd even miss Izzy who just sat watching everything silently.

  I knew the plan for Jensen and everyone was to go back to Sanctuary after the battle, so they wouldn't come back here. I felt a little envious, when we'd met Vera and those from Sanctuary they'd told us all the luxuries they had. Fresh food, farm animals, actual houses to live in. The memory of that haven flashed in my mind, oh how I longed to be a part of something so vast so safe.

  As we approached the large metal gates, I saw people on top of the wall standing with-holy crap they had guns! I looked at Jensen sitting next to me, to see the shocked yet joyful expression on his face. We'd decided that Jade would be the one to talk to them, given that she'd had dealings with them before. We pulled up just an older man called down to us.

  'Stop, who goes there?' He asked in a loud booming voice. He looked like a wild man, someone who'd spent a lot of time in the jungle. He was tall and slender with long, fuzzy, untamed black hair that was greying. His startling blue eyes shone as brightly as the sun that day, his skin was darkly tanned no doubt from spending much time under the blazing sun. His clothes looked newish and freshly cleaned, I'd not seen someone in this good of condition in many years.

  Jade got out the car and held her hands up to show that we meant no harm.

  'My names Jade, Vera knows me. I'm from the compound not fifty miles from here,' she answered happily.

  'Give us a minute, I'll fetch her for you,' he said a little warily.

  She nodded and motioned for us to stay put, we didn't want to panic these people by getting out of the cars.

  'What do you think this place is like inside, do you think it's as grand as we've heard?' Finn asked almost excitedly.

  'Aye, I do lad. I can't wait to get a glimpse behind the curtain,' Tamara replied smiling.

  'Ha, me neither,' I laughed. It felt strange to be this giddy, given that we were here to ask them to go to war. I couldn't help it though, something inside told me that everything would be alright. A few minutes later the gate opened and an older woman appeared, surrounded by half a dozen of her people. She was a tall slender woman with long grey hair tied in a braid, baby blue eyes and pale skin. She walked up to Jade and smiled.

  'What brings you here my friend?' She asked happily.

  'It's good to see you again, but I'm afraid I come bearing bad news. I must speak with you in private,' Jade answered sadly.

  'Are your people armed?'

  'They are, but their willing to give up their weapons while we talk.'

  'Let them in,' Vera shouted to those still on top of the gate. As Jade got back in the car and we drove through, each and everyone of us were astounded by Sanctuary. It's large, formidable walls, it's stunningly intact houses and it's huge crop fields full fruit and vegetables, plus the various animals it held.

  'This place is amazing,' I said in awe.

  'It's everything we dreamed of, and more,' Jensen agreed.

  'I think this place could be our home,' Tamara told us.

  I nodded in agreement knowing that this place would never be my home. We parked our cars just inside Sanctuary, then got out to follow Vera to a large white painted house. As we entered, I fell more in love with this place. This was no ordinary house, this looked like somewhere they went to organise their missions. There was a large round wooden table in the middle of what would have the living room, papers were scattered about the table and two crossed swords were mounted on the walls.

  'This is what I like to call the war room, we convene here to go over any important business,' Vera told us proudly.

  'It's amazing, just like the rest of this place,' Jade replied.

  'Thank you, now let's get down to business. What bad news do you bring?' As Jade explained the horrible truth about Nathaniel's compound, I saw the soft expression on Vera's face change to one of anger and hatred. Jensen gripped my hand, no doubt silently praying that they would agree to help us. I saw the hopeful looks on everyone else's face, they needed the help, they craved it.

  After what felt like an eternity of silence, Vera turned to look at her own people and after seeing the same angry, hateful expression's on their faces I knew, we'd found our army.

  I would always be grateful to Vera and her people, without them we'd all still be cowering in fear of the slavers. I only wished I could have been with my family, to start that new life we all craved. I didn't go to my room when I got back to the castle, instead I went out the side door and sat on the hill, that over looked the lake. As dawn was fast approaching, I stared in amazement of the view as the sun began rise above the water.

  A thought entered my mind, while I wasn't starting a new life with my family, I was beginning a new journey with Nikkita and that was a miracle in itself.

  'Where's everyone else?' Nikkita asked confused.


  'It's just you and me, they've all gone to Sanctuary,' I told her trying not to sound sad.

  'Why?' She asked confused. I patted the ground next to me, as she sat down I took her hand in mine and looked at her lovingly. 'Because after everything you've been through to find me, you deserve to have me. I love you, and I want to be with you,' I told her smiling.

  'What about Jensen?'

  'I'll always love him, but he's not you. Your my first love, and I hope you'll be my last,' I replied as I kissed her. I'd forgotten how soft her lips were, how being so close to her could feel so right. I could smell lavender on her, even after all these years, her scent hadn't changed. I felt the butterflies in my stomach as we kissed, even though on one hand it felt so right, I couldn't deny the voice in the back of my mind that told me this wasn't where I was meant to be. We were completely different people now, I was no longer the quiet, timid girl who needed her protection. I feared that this was a mistake, but only time would tell if I was right.

  'Come with me,' she told me in a sultry voice. I let myself be lead by her, I'd missed her looking at me with those lustful eyes. She didn't lead me to my room, she took me to where she'd stayed with Tamara. In the room was the large bed where Tamara had slept, along with a makeshift bed on the floor where she'd slept. Her eyes lit up with lust as she took off my clothes, revealing my large, pale breasts.

  'Still as beautiful as ever,' she whispered eyeing up my body.

  'Your turn,' I told her smiling. Off came her long black coat, I could already feel my loins aching. Off came her tight green tank top, I smiled as I saw there was no bra underneath. My mouth began to water as she took off her blue jeans and pants, I pulled the bobble out of her long red hair, letting it flow freely down her back. I needed her, I wanted her with all my soul. I took her hand and pulled her on the bed. I stroked her breasts, feeling her nipples harden at my touch.

  She let out a low moan as I licked my way round her pink nipples, I ran my hand down her body feeling my way through her bush. I slid my fingers inside her, as I sucked on her nipples. Her body shivered with pleasure, it felt so good to be inside her. She clung to the pillow as my fingers slid in and out of her, I kissed my way down her body wanting to taste her. The feel of her juices inside my mouth, was intoxicating. Hearing her scream at my touch only made me more excited, I felt her quiver as she came. She panted, trying to get up. I smiled, wiping my mouth.