The Carnage Trilogy (Book 3): Aftermath [Who Will Be Left?]

by Birch, Matthew

  I can't die here.

  Callum pounces at me, his body a blur in the air! I take a single shot, and I have no idea if it connected as I tumble, everything dizzying as I crash into the ground. Callum wrestles with me, gaining the upper hand in seconds. His style is to overpower, take you by surprise, and finish you quick with a deadly assault. He thinks my weak spot was so easy...

  Driving the knife upwards with a single practised thrust, I penetrate greatly into Callum's stomach, bending and wrenching his interior organs!

  “TAKE THAT DICKHEAD!” I scream in his face, a civilized cry escaping my tongue as my beast within applauds me for my smarts. Tricking Callum into thinking he had a chance in the first place is worthy of note. Swooping down, Callum goes to cleave through the skin on my neck. He practically makes a scratch, my skin being numerously more robust than his own. Our bodies already begin to adapt, trying to outdo the other in a battle where all the different varieties of things you'd need to win become meaningless when your body repeatedly changes to the enemy you fight. It means my plans have to adapt as well, and it is frustrating as little time is provided to think.

  I wish my human mind was faster-

  Using the gun this time, I take another shot, splitting Callum's shoulder in two! Bellowing loudly in a distressed roar, he throws himself backwards, enraged like a demented gorilla! Throwing him off me, I clamber to avoid his thrashing, booting him back across the room!

  Callum, tumbling through machinery, gradually raises himself off the ground, a nasty look on his monstrous face as he slips the knife out from his stomach with a cringe-worthy pop, slimy blood leeks out for a second before clotting. Chucking the weapon aside, his human mind seems to show for a moment, only for his feral side to kick back in!

  I have five bullets left. My tears continue to fall. I cry as I fight because I don't want this. I just want to be human. I just want to be free...

  Do you remember Linda? I never really knew her, but she was kind when she needed to be whilst being just as fierce from the other stories I've heard. She died for me to get this far. Everything that happened to her built me to be who I am. If she weren't out at the radio tower, Patrick would have never needed us to come along to investigate. The only reason Patrick took us is that he didn't have enough Officers on hand to help him. Those adventures shaped me into who I AM.

  So be it. I open my arms, holding the handgun out at my side. I willingly give myself to Callum, to draw him in...

  What about Ben? Surely you remember that bumbling old fool! He loved in his own weird way, but he proved to be cold as the world caught up with him. Ben passed, killed by the beasts I swore I would destroy. I NEVER got to say goodbye.

  Callum pounces like a bloodthirsty lion for the second time this fight, and as I had expected, he shows no real sign of strategic thinking as he falls for the same trick twice. As I had done before, I go to fire again-

  Fuck! He hit me hard-

  I DROPPED THE GUN! WHY-

  Callum slams me hard into one of the machines, breaking it and sending wires sprawling everywhere-

  A sharp pain pierces through my nervous system as his claws dig into my body, ripping me open at the torso-

  His claws grew sharper, he adapted-

  Let me handle this.

  ROARING AS LOUD AS I CAN, I MAKE THE FLINCHING CALLUM DRAW AWAY FROM THE NOISE, COVERED IN MY BLOOD AND GUTS. SHOVING HIM BACK WITH ALL THE MIGHTY STRENGTH ED WOULDN'T USE, I SEND HIM TUMBLING THROUGH HUMAN FURNITURE AND TECHNOLOGY. BREAKING THEM INTO OBLIVION AS THEY SHOULD BE.

  Hold on, what about the three Officers, they protected me, sheltered me, and died for me so I could get this far?

  SHUT IT HUMANE SIDE OF ED. IF YOU WON'T FIGHT, I WILL. CALLUM KEEPS POUNCING, ENTERING US INTO A FIERCE DUAL OF STRENGTH AND STRENGTH ALONE. BATTLING IT OUT FOR DOMINANCE AS DIRTY FIGHTING BECOMES MANDATORY WITH THE BONE CRUNCHING KICKS AND THE BODY SHATTERING PUNCHES. THE CLAWS THAT STAB ME AND THE BITES THAT TEAR ME-

  THIS IS THE NORM ED, DON'T YOU SEE? HUMAN WEAPONS AND THINKING ONLY GETS YOU SO FAR!

  But Callum is winning now. We were never strong enough to defeat him. If we don't think, how can we win? How about this, remember Patrick? He was as good a man as anyone. He would have deserved to come this far, but like the beast I fight, his obsession ruined him. I miss Patrick in a weird way; he was the mentor who taught me everything I know, only for him to almost killing me all the same. Back then, I had people to fight for me, now I fight for myself.

  THAT IS WHY YOU HAVE ME NOW, SEE?

  No, no I don't. I am you, and you, are me.

  Taking back control, I think fast on my feet as I barrel my way into the environment, it will be my ally! The human mind, human brain, human heart, they power me forward as I grab two chairs, crushing the metal that keeps them structurally intact before chucking them like a javelin at Callum who smacks one, and takes another head-on. Throwing another this time and Callum adapts, dodging this chair only for it to smack the rear view window that overlooks the airfield. The glass is thick, but I see those dimples of senility...

  Digging my hands into the metal of the control panels, I take a chunk back out, heaving the metal block up above my head and throwing it at Callum who doesn't realise I aim for the rear view window. My eyes scan the developing cracks. I need to wear Callum down, where is the gun?

  Ouch, what is that? Fuck, I can't stand? Looking down, I see the army knife that nearly dismembered my leg in one swift move? How...?

  Screaming in agony as my body attempts to repair my impairment, I fall backwards, hitting the floor and seeing the gun just nearby, so close, yet so far. Crawling, I shift my way towards the gun before Callum can-

  Two hands grab me, spinning me around so I come face to face with devilish Callum who takes the same knife he practised before to pin me down! Shoving its point through my arm, I am forcibly stuck to the floor! The gun is still so close, on my left side, where I can nearly reach out and-

  Dropping down sensually, I feel a slight creepiness wash over me as Callum sniffs me, smells me, and tastes me-

  Fuck this-

  NO! HE GRABBED THE GUN. IS HE ADAPTING TO ME IN A WAY I DIDN'T SEE-

  Callum empties the entire magazine into my body...

  Everything has gone black. What is happening? I feel like I am lifted through the air...

  Like that same feather from earlier, except I am no longer calm nor in control, now, I let the wind take me. Callum doesn't play around, he takes pleasure in smashing my head into a nearby wall, and I realise that through this fight, as he smashes my skull time and time again into the breaking wall...

  I realise deep down he is still in there, sadistic as ever. Then, at last, I hear his voice...

  “I... CAN’T... BREAK... YOU-”

  Can't he break my skin?

  GOOD.

  No, don't take over again, please! I am scared I'll lose myself this time...

  Do you want to die, Ed?

  So, what about... Marcus? That man was so... I can't even describe him. He was my leader, my friend, and my brother. He gave his life so I could get this far. But it wasn't just for me. He did it for Maya, Chloe and Alice. Now, they are all dead. He died only for us to die along the way. We didn't survive to die; otherwise, his sacrifice would be in vain. I will make it worthwhile. I am still here, plodding along, just striving to get by. I won't die. Everything was planned from the beginning in a weird way. I suppose you lose your humanity, and in turn, lose the same intelligence that enables humans to survive. Throughout history, with every disaster, we always bounce back stronger than ever. Yes, we are feeble-bodied, pathetic creatures, but our cunning and will, with the overall teamwork we broadcast as a species allow us to prevail every time.

  I didn't get this far because I am Ed Jones, the unyielding, unbending, unforgiving. I got this far because I am Ed Jones, the loving bubbly boy who just wants to have fun.

  I know I will not go hollow. I will do everything I can to not become a beast, t
he same way the Carnage did everything to become human. The irony is not lost on me.

  I am not a beast...

  I am not a human...

  But we are one...

  I will follow in the same footsteps as the Carnage instead. A person with the gift of the most deadly beast, except with the sentiment and compassion of a human, thus, the perfect combination. Still, the one thing I will never lose is me, not the same way Callum has as he still aims to fragment my skull. Of course, he yields, snapping at me instead, although his poor teeth will never pierce my skin.

  Smiling, I realise my plan has worked from the beginning. I had two things I had to overcome. The fact I couldn't win, and the fact I'd lose myself if I tried too hard. Now, after having taken so much onset damage from Callum, I let my body heal time and time again until my adaption made my body so strong, Callum could never annihilate me.

  I think now is the time to fight back. This is it. Our final fight, we will work as one, to overcome our enemy.

  One swift hook and I crack his jaw in half-

  Another steel fist, knocking him two ways to Sunday-

  Dodge his attacks, prevail with superior speed-

  See every attack, show your strength-

  One two, another punch, now throw him down-

  He bounces up, and we meet him half-way-

  Bone splitting head butt, a forceful downwards slash to lacerate the organs-

  Knee devastating kick, disable his movement-

  Evade, move, slip him, and bob out of the way-

  With one final tackle backwards-

  We will kill him-

  BECAUSE WE ARE ONE-

  Sinking my teeth deep into Callum's arm, with the bone-crushing clenched grip, I literally twist my head and rip the limp from its socket! Holding his arm in my mouth, I raise my eyebrows twice, mocking Callum before head butting him with a skull of iron, hurling him backwards in anguish. While he recuperates, I gobble his arm down in at least thirty seconds, and the breath of fresh air I take as my body heals has never known such immeasurable vigour.

  Grabbing the same knife Callum had used on me, I give it an honest chance, nodding to myself as I benevolently slip it into an open wound on my side. I'll need it for later. Callum groans, getting up, looking at his missing right arm in horror.

  I don't spare him the chance as I charge him, delving into his chest where I wrap my arms around his body so I can send my muscles into overdrive as I lift him high, soaring through the sky, only to bring him down, and smashing him into the ground! Going mad now, I gnaw him, ripping his flesh quicker than it can heal and adapt. Once I've got my fill, I turn to claw him, tearing him open to reveal all his weak spots, and now with his body shredded, his insides are out-

  Like us, he is too adept-

  We can’t keep up with him-

  We need a killing blow-

  How, his body is adapting, we won’t be able to kill him soon-

  Then let us take a moment to think-

  Sighing, I leave him be, walking back without a care in the world. I don't care. He'll heal, and the fight will continue. What I need is a clever swift calamity to befall him. Something he could never possibly recover from. There is only one way I know how.

  Withdrawing the knife from my side, I walk towards the same rear view window with the cracks and dents. Smirking, I fling the knife into the weak spot, breaking the window further, but it doesn't shatter, at least not yet.

  Several teeth enter my neck. Callum holds onto my back, wrapping himself around me like we're in a piggyback. Swinging my head, I rotate around, shuffling rearward continuously so I can simply bounce up, and onto the window-

  The glass shatters, and we fall through, my limps stretched out to hold onto the surrounding edges so I don't drop through. A weight builds on my spine as Callum digs his claws in, trying his most strenuously not to fall. However much he fights, his inadequate grasp is loosening with every passing second. It doesn't stop him from trying to take me down with him! Oh god, it's working! Panicking, I feel myself being pulled from the window-

  “TRY... THIS... DICKHEAD...” Grumbling into my ear, his psychotic voice bellows into me in just a whisper, sending chills down my spine-

  Because something wet and slimy, with a rotten smell and taste wraps itself around my skull, twisting itself down until it is on my neck-

  My throat is choked, and his bleeding intestines are wrapped around my gullet, suffocating me! Eyes popping, I feel myself go purple, my body can’t adapt, I can grow as many lungs or hearts as I want, but I can’t move my nose with the little energy I have left-

  “WE’LL... DIE... TOGETHER, ED...” Callum is still in there, lurking, choosing to be in control through his rage. Tugging me violently, I feel my skin strain and my muscles burn as I ache, everything is on fire as the oxygen escapes me, Callum tugging harder and harder until at last I slip-

  Steel elbowing Callum’s face, I send him back, and thus me too, the two of us soar backwards. Reaching out, I make a single tentacle, digging itself into the side of the tower and retrieving us, I pull us inwards, propelling us into the wall. Indenting the tower, we send debris crumbling downwards, gravity being the real power at play here...

  Ah, gravity...

  We need to get him off us...

  How?

  Let me try something...

  “Don’t you remember all the people you fought for...?” Choking the words out as hastily as I can, I avoid the stuttering fool he is creating me into. Grasping at his organ, I claw at it, simply trying to cut it in two, except it still adapts now as it is connected to his body’s insides, and thus it turns to iron, and my failing form fails to cut it like a FAILURE.

  “Callum... This all started with Joey didn’t it?” Speaking as calmly as I can, attached to the crumbling building, I begin to struggle, the tower growing weaker-

  “DON’T... TALK... ABOUT... HIM!”

  Pressing his feet into our spine, he extends his knees, straightening his legs and forcing the intestine further, I swear if he pulls any harder we’ll be decapitated... ED, DO SOMETHING. THINK-

  “AND WHAT ABOUT LOLA” Fighting him off, I fight back, smoothly releasing my grip on the tower...

  “AND YOUR WIFE, AND YOUR FRIENDS AND EVERYONE WHO DIED FOR US. THE PEOPLE YOU’VE HURT AND KILLED. I FIGHT BECAUSE I AM HUMAN. WHO DO YOU FIGHT FOR?” At last, we are free, gently falling backwards and letting the power we have no control over take us...

  Gravity is our worst enemy...

  And at last, we befall a fate we can't recover from together-

  Chewing his intestines in half, we merely use the force strong enough to break it, our bone crushing jaw and teeth that would make an alligator jealous-

  As we fall, everything feels in slow motion as we scramble against one another-

  Positioning myself perfectly, I use my last boost of energy to make Callum into a living pedestal. Kicking myself off of him, I use the momentum and energy gained to propel myself upwards! As I go up, Callum soars down even faster from the extra force...

  Reaching out, I barely grasp the delicate edges of the window, my fingers gripping tight enough to crush the outlining. Little shards of glass pierce my skin. Breathing heavily, I hold on tight, suspending myself in the air. The ear piercing scream Callum roars can be heard from all the way up here as he falls. Peering down, I see Callum nearing his death, his left hand reaching for me-

  And before he smashes into the floor, I see he is human once more...

  I gotta say, he did all that with one arm...

  Regardless, we have won.

  Chapter 23 - Monster

  Ed

  5 minutes till the passing

  Narrowing my eyes, I avoid the gazing blare of the sun as its light shines down onto my fragile skin. Every step is a staggering limp as my body seeks to accommodate my wounds whilst adapting when it has no remaining stamina to do so. I am spent, and now I strive onwards out into the sunshine where the fresh air can truly hit m
y face. Now, I feel more human than I ever have. So calm and peaceful all at once, at last, I am truly in control despite the various injuries I retain, my mind is strong, and I accept my being the same way my being accepts me as the dominant voice. I am human, and I am in control.

  Bending my neck, I am able to see across the strip of the runway where gunshots ring out. Having been caught in their fierce dual, Chris and Matty had fought, and the person leaving viciously victorious is Chris who empties his guns load into Matty's body and skull. I can't help but smile slightly as the impoverished, vulnerable Chris gradually pulls his pathetic form onto the plane. Soon enough, with the drumming of the engine, the plane begins to slowly take off. Hastily, he wastes no time in escaping this hell. I suppose, when all is said and done, it is nice to know I helped one person get away...