The Carnage Trilogy (Book 1): The Carnage [Unbending, Unyielding, Unforgiving]

by Birch, Matthew

  "I am not falling for anything this time. Give me your stuff!" He shouts with his croaky voice. He’s a smoker by the sounds of it, a heavy one at that. His face is puffy and red. Tired? I don't know. We don't have any talking or diplomacy. He quickly refers to how he has fallen for something like this before... Maybe he has met other survivors who done him wrong? I don't know. His face hardens as he presses the nozzle of the gun closer to my heart. "You think I am playing around kid!"

  I sigh outwardly, shaking my head and retrieving Marcus's machete from my pocket. I can't be taking any chances myself. I don't know who he is, what he's capable of or where he's from...

  But he can't be trusted.

  The bald man steps back, seething through his yellow teeth for me to back away. My heart quickens. My blood boils. Holding my hands up, I play the fool. Using kind, soothing words to make it look like I have given up. Cautiously, I step forward, urging him to trust me. I keep my hands above my head, the machete hanging in the air. He takes the bait, believing I have truly given up. He steps forward, keeping the assault rifle ready just in case. "Okay, now drop your things, kid" Demands come my way. These demands that I will not be meeting, although, the demands aren't my problem, it's the fact he keeps calling me a kid. I'm no kid.

  "Okay, now I am going to slowly take my rucksack off - then it's yours, okay?" I kindly say, shrugging my bag off my shoulders and letting it slide down my lowered arm with the machete still in hand. I keep my arms low, until the bag is sliding off onto the road. Foolishly, the man smiles smugly, feeling proud. His triumph is cut short when I catch him off guard. Shoving my sharp weapon straight through his Adam's apple, cutting his vocals cords and ceasing all noise from his lips. His eyes dart around frantically as he scrambles for a way out. I keep one hand on the back of his skull so I can pull him closer to me, my weapon being forcibly driven deeper into him. Red spills, pouring down his body and dripping carelessly onto the floor. He makes a single, gurgled gasp as he drowns in his own blood. I kiss his forehead, whispering the words, "I'm sorry" Before ripping the knife out. I step back, watching as the man falls to his knees. His wide, blank eyes gleam, 'this is the end'.

  Slowly, his body twists and contorts as he hits the road with a thump.

  "Brave but rash" Maya whispers, walking next to me. "I made a promise" I whisper back, telling her everything she needs to know. Maya nods, looking back at Chloe and Alice. "Let's see what he's got. Plus, I call dibs on the gun"

  Chloe groans, exclaiming, “I wish I had spoken up quicker!” Alice, of course, asks, “Do you think he has any snacks?”

  While they scavenge his body, I keep a lookout on the horizon. I don't know what else is out there in this world. It seems to beat monsters, you need only become one. Yes, that is the way now.

  Epilogue

  Ed

  It has only been two days since I murdered that man. He was only trying to survive. But, so were we. Now, pinned down in the middle of a small town, I find myself locked down under fire from another group of survivors. Insults and orders are thrown back and forth. Maya comes out from cover beside me, taking aim with her unused assault rifle. She keeps her finger ready on the trigger and her eyes focused down the sights. She screams, again and again, raising her voice as loud as she can. Her lungs’ being forced to the limit and her vocal cords rattling as her voice gives out slightly. Chloe ducks her head down on the other side of the street after being forced to leap behind a pointless white barricade. A bullet pings off the side of it, making her jump in shock. That barricade must've been put up by any military forces that once worked here. We found a small, abandoned military camp and thought it'd be a great place to search for weapons or supplies. Unsurprisingly, another group had the same idea and beat us to it. We don't know how many of them there are. But they have significantly stronger firepower, we can tell since they are suppressing us from a distance.

  Open fire ceases and the gunshots end. Alice pokes her head out from a nearby bush Maya had shoved her into for safety. She blows some hair out of her eyes, irritated she was shoved into a bush. I half grin at the annoyed look on her face. Alice blanks me in response. I glance at Maya, then back at Alice, offering her a weak smile before coming out of cover myself and resting my arms on the roof of the car. My gun is ready for anything.

  Scouting the area thoroughly, I can tell there is maybe around the same number of them as there are of us. Numbers aren't the problem; it's the weaponry they have available. If only we had got to this military camp first, then the odds would certainly be in our favour. We could've just gun em' down, easy-peasy. Though, that's not really an option here. The best we have is Maya who continues to bark orders at the man who speaks for their group.

  I feel a tug at my side, and I drop down to come face to face with Alice. She raises an eyebrow, stretching her open palm in front of me and using her eyes to tell me something. We share an awkward moment of eyes moving around to translate what we're thinking, since we don't get anywhere, she huffs and points to my weapon. Oh, I see. Placing my pistol in her hands, I whisper, "I'm going out there, cover me" I tell her. She offers me a nod of confidence and peaks out over the head of the car.

  Turning, I move over to Maya and keep my head down. "Maya" I say in a hushed tone. She doesn't move from where she is. Her ears concentrating on everything the man is saying about us dropping 'our' weapons and then they can find a peaceful way to do this. Retaliating back angrily, Maya screams, "YEAH, BECAUSE WE'D GIVE UP OUR WEAPONS ONLY SO YOU'LL TAKE THEM AND LEAVE US DEAD".

  I flinch, her voice hurting my ears. Another gunshot rings through the air and we all drop down into cover. Except, afterwards, everything goes silent? I and Maya share a look of worry. Alice looks at us, wondering what happened. 'Chloe' I mouth. Maya nods, twisting her neck to look across the street where Chloe is slumped against the concrete barricade. She looks at us, just as confused as we. Shrugging her shoulders, Chloe points upwards. Probably indicating we should get a look at what's happening.

  Nodding, I place a hand on Maya's shoulder and whisper. "I'm gonna move in, cover me" And with that, I move out. Keeping my head low, I use my agility to swiftly move stealthily between each piece of cover I can get to. A car, barricade, fence, trash can and I keep going until I successfully manoeuvre around the other group's position. Peeking out, I find the other group in inner turmoil. The leader of their group holds one of his men by the cuff of his jumper. He says something to him but I am too far, and he is too quiet, for me to overhear what is happening. I get a good look at what we're up against at least.

  Their leader is a man in what looks like his mid-thirties. He sports a dark blue polo shirt, black coat, and black jeans. He's tall with broad shoulders. He seems tough because he has his revolver shoved up the jaw line of the guy he holds. Another guy is nearby with a similar look to him, although more scruffy and instead of a dark blue polo shirt, he wears a white vest top. His blues eyes seem shaken, as if unsure of what to do in this situation. There are three others, a young girl with long dark blond hair like the other two men before. She holds a baseball bat and stays hidden in cover. Her eyes closed and she seems to be whispering something to herself. Her hands are shaking by the looks of it. The other two men in the group: consisting of one very dark skinned man, bald on top and looking like he was once a part of the National Guard here. At least that's my guess from the clothes he wears. The other is a young man, still wearing what you would expect from an engineer, a pair of goggles resting on his head. Not any ordinary pair, a military pair. Almost looking like a helmet. Both men are well armed and stay hidden under cover. Unknown to this group, my own people move in slowly. I catch a glimpse of Maya who peeks through the car window that this group rests against, she gives me a nod.

  Carefully, I move towards the man who stands there aimlessly with a rifle in his hands. Stepping quietly, I move closer and closer until he’s just within my grasp-

  "Joe! Get over here and sort this fucker out will you" Their leader de
mands. This Joe person is the same man I am moving in on! Leaping out, I wrap a hand around Joe's forehead while placing my machete against his neck. He gasps, tensing up and not making a sound. Dropping his rifle, Joe starts lifting his hands up in defeat.

  "Joe?" Their leader lets go of the dude on the floor. He stands up, turns and is now facing us. His eyes go wide but get even wider when seconds later Maya's voice rings out from the roof of the car behind him. "You better drop those weapons of yours!" Maya has them on the ropes. Chloe and Alice are beside her, both girls picking a target and focusing on them.

  Their leader seems frustrated, spitting at the dude who scrambles away on the floor fearfully. From the looks of things, the guy on the floor took a shot at us during the ceasefire without his leaders say so and got in trouble for it. This same dude is about to get them killed because his fuck up left them distracted long enough for us to corner them.

  Actually, this same last guy is the one I hadn't actually taken notice of in detail. He is covered in tattoos, like the guy I killed. In fact, the resemblance is uncanny...

  "Fuck sake Ryan, if you didn't take that shot" The leader seethes through his teeth at Ryan, the tattooed fool. Turning to face me now, their leader seems calm, but I can see his blood boiling beneath his skin. He's pissed but maintains a reasonable look.

  "Could you let my brother go?" Their leader asks simply. His revolver’s hanging at his side lazily. Narrowing my eyes, I gain a quick look at the others. The two men in cover behind the car slowly move out, not dropping their weapons and keeping them at their sides. They move towards the young girl who jumps out from her little hiding spot. "Uncle Joe!" She shouts loudly, her voice shaky.

  Tugging the man called Joe back in my grasp; I turn and face the teenager who dashes towards me. "Please let him go!" She yells. Glaring at her, I ignore her words and face their leader again.

  The man in my grip trembles slightly, but sucks it up and simply says, "Don't worry Callum. We got this" He struggles in my hold for a moment. Only, I press the knife harder against his throat. He breathes in, sucking his throat in to escape death. Okay, I think I got things figured out now, but I have to ask just to be sure. "Hey Callum, is that girl your daughter?" I call his name, getting the leaders attention. He glares at me and nods warily. "And this guy is your Bro?" I ask again. Callum vigilantly steps forward, holding up his revolver, aiming it right at my head. I smirk helplessly, how can I not? This dude, uh, Callum - he's got guts to keep the gun on me even though we got his whole group pinned down with only four of us.

  "Look, stranger, I don't want any trouble-"

  "So you shoot at us!" Maya bellows in a rage, her weapon directed at him. Callum jumps slightly, turning to look over his shoulder at Maya. "No, we thought you were the zombies"

  Maya scoffs in response. "They're hardly zombies"

  Callum shakes his head. "It doesn’t matter. Point is when you shot back. We knew we were either in for a fight, or worse. Things got tense; the last group of people we met didn't end well. They killed my son and I wasn't going to let anything happen to my daughter"

  My heart drops. Callum lost his son.

  His daughter still stands there, baseball bat shaking in her small hands. She's sweating, her blue eyes drilling into my own as I hold her family captive. Sighing, I look at Callum once more. "Look, we don't want any trouble either. We've lost lots of people getting here" I set the facts in stone; it seems neither of us wants to fight this out. Both of us want a peaceful solution, we just don't have much trust left in humans. Callum eyes me up and down, getting a look at me before seemingly making up his mind.

  "What's your name?" He questions me.

  "My name is Ed, Ed Jones"

  Callum gestures to his brother with the point of his gun. "In your hands, there is my brother, Joe. That there, is my daughter, Melissa-" He pauses and turns to the two men who keep their eyes on the three women who have them pinned down. "The guy in the National Guard uniform is Zack Allen, he helped us get this far. That dude is Ian Carter, found him along the way and has been a great friend ever since" Callum finishes, focusing on me again. "And I'm Callum, Callum Ziegler"

  I suppose it's my turn now. I waste no time in introducing Maya, Alice, and Chloe. The introductions are instantaneous so that we can find a way through this mess. It starts with everyone dropping their weapons. Not literally, just any aggressiveness towards the other is left in the past. My group gets off the car, personally introducing themselves to the rest of the opposing group. Of course, I release Joe who rushes back over to Callum and his niece, Melissa who hugs him tightly, tears already spilling from her eyes. "I can't lose you too..." She whispers...

  My heart sinks a little bit more. Poor girl has lost her brother recently. No wonder she's so shaken up about this. Add on the fact Callum lost his son, it only makes more sense as to why he did not want to take any chances. Once everyone was on opposite sides; Callum and I stood eye to eye, both of us sternly facing the other. "You're the first group we've met that could resolve things peacefully," He says, his words force memories of the man I killed into my mind. A part of me regrets ever doing that. Maybe we could have resolved things peacefully with him as well...

  "Same here" I reply, giving him the implications we've had problems before, but nowhere near their level. Callum wastes no time in getting to the point. "We're heading north. South has been completely overrun"

  North... He wants to go north?! "No" The words come out so suddenly that I didn't even know I had said them. Callum looks questioningly at me. "I- I came from the north... Trust me, you don't wanna go there" My words seem to impact him. The man suddenly shakes, his eyes shimmering. His brother Joe comes to his side, placing a hand on his shoulder and shaking his head sadly. I'm clearly missing something and I can only guess what it is.

  "My father lived in the north," Callum says through a face of stone although the pain he feels inside is obvious. Joe and Melissa are hit by the news as well.

  Maya steps forward, offering an apology for his loss. Giving her first good impression on the new group considering all the shouting and stuff she did.

  "So, where are you going?" Zack asks with his deep and powerful voice.

  "West, gonna get to the port town, grab a boat and get out of here"

  After the small peace talk, a truce is made between us and our objectives are made clear. Both of us only want to survive this island. So, after checking in and getting the confirmation from my group, we decide that it'd be best if both groups work together. We propose the idea, despite our doubts, and we form an uneasy alliance. A new group of people, which means a new group of potential problems, at least, I gotta say both groups warmed up to the other quite well. Everyone's getting along. Seemingly forgetful of what has transpired. My guess is that it's just a miracle to meet other people who have retained their humanity.

  Before plans are made to leave, we set up camp inside the military base so we can all rest, share what we know, and what we have learned and been through. Both sides tell the other everything and it's all... Hell. Hell on earth. Apparently, Callum and his group don't want to leave just yet. They want to give it twenty-four hours. There's another one of them who chose to scout ahead for any trouble they might find. He hasn't come back and we can only wish him the best of luck. Twenty four hours, then we leave. But the entire time, the Ryan dude has been eying up Maya for some reason. It's making me uneasy, but I try my best to ignore it. Anyway, twenty-four hours, then we leave.

  We will escape. We will survive.

  Then, a vibration rattles through the Earth beneath our feet. A wisp of wind hits us seconds later. Almost swooping us backwards and off out feat! We all turn, leaping into action as we face the south.

  A huge mushroom cloud, enough to rival at least half the city slowly makes its way higher and higher into the sky. The explosion destroys everything in its path. Maya wraps her hand around mine. Our new combined group watch in awe as the city is blown to nothing. We don't know how
or who. So, we are ending the night with the spectacle that is the destruction of the capital city...