Lola does send a worried glance at me. Concerned, I do reach out, changing the subject. “Are you sure you're okay?” I ask again, but he doesn't waver from the path he has chosen. Controlling the situation and the conversation, he meekly replies while standing still, not looking at us, a slight misstep in his voice.
“Never give up, no matter what...” His voice does become clearer, and he feels confident for a second. He does not move, at least until I reply.
“Of course?” I say, sitting more upright, my guts telling me he needs comfort more than anything right now. I want to help, but I don't know how. My heart is in the right place, but my brain is so lost.
“You shouldn't have to grow up in this world...” Voice lowering, he disappears into the confines of the dark back room, the storage becoming his shelter. Trudging on, he lazily continues on his path. I still can't tell if he is injured or if it is something else...
“Is he okay?” Lola rustles, placing her hand on mine-
Cringing, I pull away; the touch of someone else feels mistrusted. “Yeah, he is okay-” I say speedily, despite my doubts.
Ian leaves the room, and we go silent. We watch him as he travels behind the reception, checking the back of the till where he kneels down, only to come back up with a map and a radio. He's openly crying, his face covered with streaks of water. His eyes are puffy, and he seems so slow and unsure of himself. Can't I figure him out?
“Everyone is going through a tough time, we just need to give him some time,” I say in a whisper, and Lola agrees with my statement. It's the right thing to do. We've just lost Chloe; Ian must've taken a hit from that because he relied on her. For now, I pick up the knife and scratch in the lines that create our next intense game of noughts and crosses. I place my cross in the top left corner, only for Lola to counter me by taking the most predictable place - the middle. The foolish girl hasn't got a clue what she is doing!
“Do you ever wonder if Ed or anyone else is coming?” Lola suggests to me while checking out the current game, plotting her next move after I took the top right corner.
“I hope... But I wouldn't place a bet on it...” I'm honest, I have to be. I don't think there is much hope left for anyone. Lola hums; seemingly annoyed I said that as a response? Not even upset, she is actually annoyed.
“Is there a problem?” I ask, raising my voice against the screeching sound she forces with the tip of the metallic blade. Flinching, I glare at her; I know she is doing it on purpose. Not for a laugh, but because I've said something that annoys her.
“Yes actually-” She drops the knife, looking me in the eye...
Are we about to have a confrontation-?
I'm scared... W-We can't be fighting each other-
“You're so depressing. Can't you just be positive for five minutes?” She says through a tone of calm. She keeps this peaceful.
“I'd rather accept the reality of my situation than live my life behind a wall of lies” I reply, crossing my legs and sitting straight, hands placed peacefully in my lap.
Lola begins eying me up, her mind searching for the right reply. I feel the same way; I'm terrified that whatever I say could demolish this pacific dispute. If there is one thing I've learnt from everyone else, it is that you have to choose your words carefully.
“I've lost my mum because she got infected. I lost my grandfather because he lived in the north. I never got to say goodbye to him. My uncle died, and I never even got to kiss his cheek goodbye like I had planned if anything ever happened. My dad beat me, got obsessive, and went fucking crazy-” Her voice gradually raises, and I see her flare up, and for a moment, I feel defensive. I was right, we're both on edge, and we both have our doubts, concerns, insecurities, anger, fear, numbness-
We're young, but we're no different from the adults who kill each other...
“But...” Lola sinks, relaxing long enough to reveal how she really feels. “When it comes down to it, I'd rather be hopeful because it makes me feel like there is something still worth fighting for...” Lola gazes into my eyes, her own welling with tears. She can't stop herself, and I feel guilty for how I have been behaving. I have been such a bummer, but I felt I was just. No, I was wrong and caused this...
“I'm sorry...” I whisper, reaching out to her and placing my hand on her upper right arm. Smiling, we share a first-hand look of empathy for one another because I care for her. We are all we have left-
The thundering blast that resounds from the back room has us both reeling in terror. Is it a creature, monster, or the damn Carnage?! We bounce up, running, using the things we've learnt, weapons ready-
Except...
Lola screams, covering her mouth, closing her eyes, and darting from the storage room in seconds-
I stare, gazing down at the body. I-
I don't know-
What-
Lola begins panicking outside, speaking to herself, an anxiety attack kicking in as she freaks out. I don't blame her. This is horrible. It all makes sense. He was so slow because he wasn't injured; it was because he was trying to refrain from doing what he didn't want to do. We could've helped him! Scanning Ian's dead body, I watch the gun that hangs loosely at this side, his head gently lolling to the left, his body limp on the ground while blood seeps from the hole in his skull...
Turning around, I look at Lola who begins clawing at her hair. Opening my arms, I pull her in, wrapping her up. Crying into my top, she scratches at my body nicely, not causing harm as she bawls her eyes out. Stroking her hair, I whisper into her ear that it is all going to be okay. We're going to be fine. We have to be. We really are all we have left now.
Looking back into the storage room, I see something peculiar, and this tiny detail that has been left behind tells me something. Apologising to Lola, I pry her off me and check out the room, avoiding the body as best I can. It is because pinned to the wall is a map, a location has been marked X with some numbers scribbled next to it with a message that reads, 'You are the next generation, and I trust you will not make the same mistakes humanity made to get us where we are now...'
He left us with a way out. He ended his life knowing where the military base was. He didn't feel like he could live his life knowing what he has seen and done. He's had enough, and just wanted a way out, but now, he has provided us with the way forward. He did what we didn't know how to. He did one last deed for us...
Tears trickle down my face, I don't force them, and I let the few droplets I spare fall in his name. Taking his weapon out from the wall, I carefully lay it upright on his body, taking the map, and regarding the dying radio that broadcasts the message he found, I take my leave, closing the door to the storage room.
“We can leave now...” I whisper, presenting the map. Lola instantly realises what he had done, though she doesn't understand the reasoning behind it. Taking her hand, we leave the shelter, walking out into the ensuing storm. As we walk, I'll explain to her everything she needs to know. I am just happy that he left us with this; he never wanted to abandon us. He gave us this opportunity. He knows if he told us, we'd have convinced him to stay. He...
He just wanted an escape...
Chapter 17 - The Hour Glass
Alice
40 Minutes until the passing
Harsh is the wind that hits us like an intense waterfall of white, the snowflakes become deadly, like bullets in the wind as they pelt us. The map was long left to soar in the breeze, and my memories of the location begin to dwindle. My legs burn out, my energy diminished. Feeling disgruntled, Lola is at my side, her motivation leaving her. Our hearts are sunken deep into the eternal void that is hopelessness. Overflowing with white, our path forward has since been lost, and our vision is disrupted to the point we no longer see. Our bodies are reduced to a living statue as we realise we sincerely cannot keep going any further. Holding each other for support, we have been left paling till frozen. This is it, how we die, not from the creatures, but from the island itself-
No, I take that back,
the shimmering figures in the far off distance move in a pack of white. Shaking my head, I shiver violently; my nerves cannot support my body's functions, my brains commands not reaching their destination. My weapon hangs loosely on a small clip on my jeans belt. Maybe there is no more point in fighting? This is it, how everything really comes to a close - with another horde coming down from the north...
There is no redemption, the time is ticking and every passing moment is fragile. Our last memories are the sentiment that is our strong will to have survived this wearisome life.
I will not fight when all is lost; this is how we end...
Chapter 18 - Where do you think you're going?
Ed
35 minutes till the passing
Wasting time isn't at the top of my list of priorities. The light that shows the end of the train tunnel begs me to move faster, my rage fuelling me when I shouldn't let it. I would be going against Maya's last wishes, except I have to. Callum needs to be executed. This is all because of him. Every last incident, accident, problem, fight-
It doesn't matter to me anymore. Someone has to pay, and a little part of me tells me it was always him. He was the link between all of this death. He is the reason I am so angry at the world and myself...
The underground train station shows much of what humans were capable of. Like an artistical marvel, this island does truly boast its modernisation and magnificence all at once to any easy to lure tourists such as me; I was fooled into coming here. Moving quickly, I squat down before releasing all the power in my thighs, launching myself up high. In a single leap, I land back on the platform with a thud. Looking around, my eyes scan for my targets. I must be vigilant. At this moment in time, only I and four others are left. Callum, my most desired target, the person I'd do anything to see dead. Chris, silent, deadly, I will be cautious when approaching him. Matty, a person I honestly couldn't care for, is still of the utmost priority. I refuse to let anyone escape me.
I want to see them all dead. Why not, I have nothing left to lose but myself?
My eyes see nothing, not a single trace; however, the fading sweaty scent that always lingered underneath the disgusting sweat patches Matty always adorned is my metaphorical map. Following the scent for as long as I can, I eventually start sprinting, moving with haste as every second is wasted when I don't push myself. Finding a staircase, I take a running start, using my momentum from my initial dash to propel myself upwards, vaulting the staircase and landing near the top. Climbing the rest, I reach the summit, only to turn a corner into an empty marble hall. So rich and luxurious once upon a time, now replaced by a military blockade that has been set up most likely to check and search anyone coming in and out from the Capital when the time of the outbreak was still around. From the camps that have also been set up in the various halls, rooms and shops, I see many citizens were executed instead of being granted the freedom to escape. Body bags, white and stained with human blood, the decaying bodies are but mush by now. With no one to stop me, I trespass these barriers and find myself at my next junction, a straightforward hallway towards an escalator. Paying consideration, I listen strictly, being more focused than I have ever been. On the prowl, I begin to walk up the escalator, my mind questioning whether or not this is the smartest thing to do.
I already came this far might as well embrace it...
Staring down at my hands, I look at my fingers that grow, becoming longer and thicker until I also feel taller, sturdier, more muscular and fit. The sharp claws I develop shape themselves perfectly and for a moment, I come back to reality-
Ed, this is wrong, please think about this for a second.
Why should I?
You made a promise-
But I plan to murder them all anyway?
Maya said to retain your humanity-
I will not think about the truth of my actions. The real truth here is that no one else would spare me the same mercy my human side wants to show. I am not Ed. He is long gone...
Latching onto the surrounding, dense walls, I make my mark, indenting myself in them as I use my claws to firmly keep myself in place. Resembling the monsters I've done nothing but kill to get this far, I traverse the ceiling upside down, moving slowly, and as steadily quiet as I can to make sure I can follow the faint scent, tracing the men I want to kill all the way till the top.
Feeling more monster than man, I continue to use my abilities, and now I feel they are more a gift than a curse. Human Ed wouldn't have survived this. I know this, I am here now, and I will survive. The small shopping centre I enter after the train station happens to connect to a mall. The airport is imprudently enormous, and travelling through it until I find the main connecting tunnel to the airport building took me longer than I would have hoped, but it means it would have taken them some time as well.
Ditching the shopping centre, I dash at full speed through a connecting glass tunnel that goes straight to the main airport building-
Ah, no need to explore the main central building. I felt the scent was going cold, and the traces were fading. No matter, I see everything I need to out and over the airfield. My enhanced vision identifies three figures battling it out. Matty and Chris run for their lives towards the main command centre, a tall tower overlooks everything. Callum is not far behind them now, running like a crazed dog as he rapidly binds the distance between them. He got trapped on the other side of the collapsed tunnel, yet he got here much sooner than I, just how adept is he in his new form...?
Taking a few steps back, I prepare myself for the run-
Sprinting, jumping-
Breaking the compact glass with just my body force, I shred myself, blood spilling through all the cuts I don't care about. Descending, I drop until I smack the ground, rolling as I connect with the firm concrete. I still leave an indent, the force of my fall and body weight creates it. My body doesn't crack nor falter as I get stronger. My body is made of steel from the quick adaption. I will never give in, my body will prevail. I was born for this...
Now, where do they think they're going?
Chapter 19 - At Last
Ed
25 minutes until the passing
Performing better in this form proves how critically infinite the beast inside is. The Branding is there for me, with the mutations giving me the powers I need to sprint half-way across an entire airfield. Though the half-way point is where I begin to feel winded, and I can personally admit that my human side is still holding me back. I feel my heart hammer, and as if something inside me realised what was happening, my body begins to distort and deform, my bones clicking, my flesh moving. It isn't agonising or overly unpleasant, it just troubles me. Alike to a bad stomach ache where you have eaten too much and you just need to let it out is how it feels. I don't vomit or anything, instead, I end up feeling significantly more refreshed. Several parts of my torso reveal a new beating sensation. My inner body adapted, despite still retaining a more human appearance, my internal system has produced several new hearts and lungs, replacing the inner systems I need to survive. I imagine it is only temporary, however, with my actions, my body adapts, being my serviceable partner in this fight.
I will use this form to my advantage, but even with these sudden improvements, my cardiovascular system doesn't get the bump it needs to test itself. My growing leg muscles and skinnier upper body don't get to learn of these new adaptations because I refuse to test them. I won't heartlessly sprint to my death, alternatively, I think. Literally, I stop and think. I have to think because otherwise, I am nothing but a feral monster. A monster is tough, but they have no smarts when it comes down to it. They get desperate and will do anything, planning only works when against a foe of equal or higher strength.
You keep contradicting yourself...
Are you a man, or a monster?
Regardless, I plan ahead, using my brisk pace to buy me time. Matty flees alongside Chris into a basic, untouched, and most importantly, unused plane. I hear them try to start it, how the engine rumbles
. Callum takes a spectacular leap, literally flinging himself over the side of the plane, only to rebound and come flying back the other side seconds later. With Callum too close and their arsenal of weapons coming to a draw, I lastly make out the two humans heading towards the control tower.
Hammering in my chest, my heart finally feels worthy of running again, so with a uniquely extensive inspiration, I burst out into a sprint so wild I swear my bones would snap in two! The air is against me, and the pressure is astounding, at least until I am already passing the plane where I see the empty shotgun they had ditched. The weapon that blew Callum backwards, it says something. How he, is reckless, doesn't think, just throws himself into the action on pure instinct alone. Is this an advantage or something worse?
The Carnage Trilogy (Book 3): Aftermath [Who Will Be Left?] Page 8