Lost Survival (Book 1): Only The Living

by David Tyne

  How many people do they think are involved with this so-called 'attack'?! How did the news put it, an 'act of aggression'?

  I could only have assumed that those words meant one thing; we were at war. There were so many questions yanking at me from all sides, but stopping to consider any of them would only seal my fate.

  Eventually we ended up on the far side of the Waverley Bridge, after being forced all the way around. Ian was panting after me, not built for running such long distances. As I turned into the junction, however, all hope of getting near the station was lost. Between us and the entrance was a stacked-up wall of melted cars, and... the bodies.

  It was one thing to see them from the conference window, or on the television... but this was too much. Black-red puddles stained the ground they fell upon; unmoving strangers had their pale skin ripped apart, exposing their internal organs... and those were only the dead ones.

  Some were still crawling around, gurgling on their own blood. Looking for their missing parts. My body couldn't handle the mere sight of it — I vomited all over the pavement.

  As my knees went weak, I would have collapsed if Ian wasn't there to catch me, although I ended up getting sick all over him too. As my mind fluttered away from the surrounding horrors, I heard a distant yelling, someone screaming at us to 'get a move on'.

  Ian apparently understood what this meant. The student rushed me through a scratched glass door only a couple of metres away, letting it magically slam shut behind him.

  The familiar roar of the armoured truck penetrated my senses with a deafening screech, power-sliding onto the bridge. Bullets splattered all over the area we stood not even a second ago, and then I heard their final screams. Those helpless people I’d just witnessed... Gone.

  A strange man helped Ian lay me across the ground, but the position did nothing to stop me from drifting into unconsciousness.

  This is hell, I tried to say, but couldn't manage it. The last fleeting thought I had, was about my mum. My God-fearing mum, who took me to morning mass every Sunday and loved me more than the world itself. Was she safe from all of this?

  I never told her the truth, but that church really pissed me off. I hated all of those cold mornings spent worshipping her God, a being who never answered me or my prayers... But even so, I could still hear the words of the priest who damned me. Warning me, as I lay gasping for another chance to live.

  “But the vile ones, the liars, the cowardly, the murderous, those who practice the magical arts, the sexually immoral and the unbelieving; their place exists in the fiery lake of burning sulphur. This is their second death."

  4 | Panic

  When I came to, the first sound I heard was a woman sobbing. Ian’s vague shadow perched beside me, turning its head to realise I was awake.

  “Daniel! You're all right...” He didn’t say anything else, or rather, couldn’t. Our chase through the city streets had left us both at the end of our ropes, wondering where to go next.

  I tried to sit up, but my stomach wasn't having it. Taking in our surroundings instead, we were still resting opposite the glass door that I'd just barely noticed before blacking out. It was the entrance to a mall of sorts, standing right next to the train station.

  There was no chance of making it past that bridge, not after what we’d seen.The war-torn street outside was eerily silent; almost frozen in a much darker, bullet-ridden time.

  On the same side of the glass lay a middle-aged man, a blonde woman and an identical child cradled in her arms, both crying into each other. Overhearing that I was up, the shaken man came over to us and sat down with a disgruntled look on his face.

  “Daniel, is that right? Name's Leo. You ain't one of those crazy fuckers, are ya?” He seemed serious, but the bluntness of the question caught me off-guard. I shook my head.

  Nodding with an exhausted sigh, Leo buried his forehead into his reddened palms. “...This is fucked up, man. One minute we're on the bus tour across town, the next... I don't even know. They just attacked us. Like a bunch of fucking animals, right in front of my damn kid.”

  Looking over the man’s shoulder to observe his weeping family, they did appear visibly distressed about whatever they had just escaped from. After what I'd just seen on that bridge, they had every right to be.

  “Who... attacked you?” I strained, managing to stand on two feet.

  The man glanced anxiously at his kid, who couldn’t have been older than 10 years old, and rolled his sleeve back discreetly. The pungent smell hit me almost immediately, as he unveiled a bloody mess of veins where his forearm should’ve been. A giant chunk of his flesh was missing, eroded by puncture marks.

  “What the hell... How did that happen?!” I bawled at him, to which he retracted in surprise.

  It wasn't anger or shock that I raised my voice with... The tension was getting to be unbearable. People had already died in front of me. Leo wasn't alone in wanting to find out why.

  “...These three wankers stopped our tour bus, growling some satanic shit. One of them jumped inside to grab my wife, but I wasn't gonna let them anywhere near her. I gave him the old right hook, but he took a bite clean outta me! That's when the bus...”

  He rolled his sleeve back down, obviously not wanting to worry his partner behind him. “Listen, kid. If you know anything about a way out of here, now would be a pretty fuckin' good time to say so. I got a family to look after...”

  I shook my head curtly, still triggered by our proximity to those bodies outside. “We were just... Everything just happened... I've never been here before today, I was gonna go to the train station—” I paused for a second, trying to gather my thoughts. I must have sounded like a confused toddler, trying to retrace my steps. “W-Where are we, anyway?”

  Leo told me about how after he was attacked, the pile-up on the bridge started attracting serious heat from the military. Soldiers showed up and opened fire on the crowd without warning, so they all ducked inside the mall’s entrance. They were the only ones who made it, and that was when he saw Ian and me about to be crushed by the truck.

  Ian was starting to look worried again, so I tried to change the flow of the conversation. We had to stay cold, figure out some sort of direction without losing our minds.

  “So, you don’t have any idea of what’s going on either... We both really appreciate you sticking your neck out for us back there, thanks.” Trying to rationalise everything, only minutes after waking up… This mess was starting to give me a headache.

  “I think the best thing for us to do…” I folded my chin into my fist, pausing to grumble. “...Hmm. Maybe we should see if there's any trains running? You know, something to get us out of here as fast as possible. Then we can all head home and forget that today ever happened. Worth a shot?”

  Leo thought about it carefully for a moment, then motioned for his wife to follow him. “We've been here on holiday before — there should be a way through to the station, directly through this mall. Even if the trains have stopped, there could still be an evacuation service... Kid, I hope you’re right about this. I can't deal with any more freaks."

  With a tense nod in response, all I cared about was getting some distance from those bloodied ragdolls we'd seen on the bridge. They didn't seem like ‘freaks’ to me... just regular people, desperate for help.

  As we charged past the various abandoned shops, it suddenly hit me that the entire complex was completely dead. Where did everyone go? Are they already…?

  Each compartment was either left open with all the lights on, or had the shutters down in complete darkness. Perhaps the owners were still trapped inside, hiding — seemed like a better idea than sprinting across the centre and attracting all sorts of unwanted attention.

  Leo crashed against the marble walls every time we turned a sharp corner; his wrecked arm was obviously holding him back, as much as he refused to admit it. The wound did look pretty nasty, but his 'tough-dad' attitude told me that he would be pissed if I asked whether I could help.<
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  We finally made it to a widened staircase, and at the bottom I could just barely see the base of a turnstile. We'd arrived at Waverly Station, against all odds. I let out a sigh of relief, knowing that the only thing left to do was to see if any of the trains were still being operated. Then I can just go home and forget this nightmare...

  All four of us hobbled towards the only lit-up train in the station. As soon as we got to the other side of the tracks, we could see dozens of terrified people pushing and yelling as they demanded to know what was going on.

  After an oblivious second or two of staring into the crowd, my heart began to sink... It was painfully clear, just by looking at the number of potential passengers.

  Not everyone would be able to fit onto the train.

  My gaze aligned with the very front carriage, where a concerned train conductor tried not to acknowledge the angry mob surrounding him. Leo’s wife clutched her child’s hand tighter, whispering to her husband in a hushed tone.

  “...They know that someone’s going to be left behind... Oh, this is just awful.”

  The husband didn't seem to react.

  “...Leo? What's wrong, honey?”

  His eyes rolled until they were completely white, and he hit the station floor.

  “...Help!! My husband... Someone help!!” she screamed. A handful of passengers ran over to Leo’s aid, now writhing in agonizing pain.

  Blood trickled out from under his arm, and someone from the concerned group took it upon themselves to investigate. They slowly retracted the red-stained sleeve to reveal the gushing bite wound. Everyone reacted like it was fire, all of them fleeing back to the train as they smacked on the doors and desperately cried for help.

  I didn't see what they thought the train conductor could do for Leo. At the time, I thought they were still trying to help us. The man had stopped breathing, his wife throwing herself to the ground and screaming his name through panicked tears.

  I yelled for someone, anyone to do something... Ian ran up to the crowd, but they pushed him back with extreme paranoia. They were trying to get away... from us.

  “S-Stay back!! Don't fucking touch me!” The distrust in the crowd’s eyes felt intense, like they knew something we didn't. I was confused, but it slowly became clear that it was too late to save the man.

  His wife tried giving him some kind of CPR, for a full three minutes. Unfortunately, nothing was happening. His little girl begged for her daddy to wake up, but he didn’t budge. It was all too much for me to handle.

  Once again, I was frozen in place by the surrounding tragedies. I had only just met the man, and without any warning, he’d simply collapsed and died... Leo was dead.

  Only something truly horrific would make me wish he’d stay like that.

  5 | Evacuation

  Still caught in a trance, it took a resounding crash from the upper level to jolt me out from my own sympathy. The sound came all the way down from the staircase we had previously descended.

  “...The truck...” Ian started, but he didn't need to finish.

  One of those murder squads must have seen us coming in here, and now they'd smashed through the glass entrance. Those armed men were invading the mall above, searching for any survivors.

  With slight feelings of guilt about leaving Leo, I huskily reported the situation to the angry mob while Ian escorted the man’s broken wife and daughter towards them. The people were not having any of it.

  “I'm warning you! One step closer, and I'll...!” One man spat at us, revealing a stolen police baton from behind his back.

  Alarmed, I pulled everyone back and made sure that the little girl was the furthest possible distance from him. “Hold up! We're the victims here, what the hell is your problem?! Her dad just died, for God's sake!!”

  The man sneered at us, but still he would not lower his weapon. “Victims... We're all fucking victims now. I’d be out of here already, if you didn't bring your damn disease with you!”

  He seemed crazed, his eyes bouncing off each one of us like we were the monsters. His distance closed dramatically, but just before we could move to defend ourselves, an abrupt rattle bounced across the station’s staircase.

  Thinly-veiled smoke filled the platform in a matter of seconds... Tear gas. I hadn't seen it before, but judging from the way people started hacking and choking, I could only assume as my throat enveloped itself in fire.

  It felt like someone had taken a washboard directly to my vocal chords; breathing was painful enough on its own, entirely too taxing as I raspily called for help. Luckily, Leo’s wife had the good sense to get down low and cover her daughter’s face, shielding her from the toxic spray.

  Ian and I hit the deck as well, just in time for the masked soldiers to materialise through the foggy entrance, assault rifles raised. “Everybody get down! Hands on the floor!” One of the uniforms barked at the crowd.

  Confused and disoriented, everyone kneeled on the floor and lay themselves down gently. All except for one elderly woman, who was more than eager to sell us out.

  “It's them, right there! We're innocent!” she shouted, shakily pointing in my direction. I shuddered in alarm, although I could barely see any reaction through the smoke-infused water as it gushed from my eyes.

  All I could make out was the group of five or six men in army gear... Accompanied by another, somewhat familiar shadow. I blinked rapidly, trying to get my vision clear and also making myself appear as less of a threat.

  When the blurry shapes solidified, two of the men were already dropping dead. My eyes darted towards the darkest silhouette, ripping the bloodied face from a third young soldier.

  The other members of the squad were scrambling for their weapons, shooting the ground and the ceiling around the monster. It must’ve taken a lot to frighten people like that, soldiers who had been through years of military training.

  As the smoke began to subside, I heard a familiar beep calling me to safety... A sound I’d memorized from that very morning. The locked train was now open for boarding.

  Civilians clawed at each other’s shoulders, dragging each other back in order to reach the safety of the doors first. The dark figure had lost interest in the scattered military squad, charging straight towards our herded group with a ferocious sprint.

  The train had already started moving along the tracks, with only half of the crowd on board. Others could only clamber sideways to try and jump inside, some smacking into the windows aimlessly.

  “W-Wait!!” I yelled after the railed vehicle, hoping to incite some level of guilt before the conductor abandoned us to the monster’s mercy. Anything, to save myself and Ian like I’d promised. Even Leo’s little girl...

  The terrifying creature almost grabbed Ian, to which he yelped and bolted straight ahead to one of the train’s moving doors. “C'mon, it's picking up speed!” He easily made it on with a quick hop, while the blonde passed her child to him and then grabbed his hand to pull herself inside. Now it was my turn.

  Pushing myself onward, the low-tone beep signalling that the doors were closing was all the motivation I needed. I threw myself against the edge of the train, one foot jammed against the side of the door which thankfully prevented it from shutting me out.

  With one final lunge, I swung myself around and landed face-first on the blessed floor of the dirty train. I could feel the low hum of the engine as we left the murdering psychopath behind, feebly trapped on the opposite side of the door.

  I hadn't gotten the chance to see the attacker’s face before, but once I gazed back at him... I froze.

  There was confusion, then denial, and after that... I was just petrified. There aren’t many words to describe it, when the laws of nature are abruptly ripped out from your life. In a morbid way, all of the chaos that had happened until now made complete sense.

  I wasn't the one who felt devastated, though. Leo's wife pressed her hand against the stained window, eyes widening with offense. “L-Leo...?”

  The walking cor
pse of the middle-aged man had not given up his hunt. Our train was already leaving the station, but he still pursued the futile effort. The whole squad of deceased military men soon joined his side, carrying their heavy wounds from before.

  I watched their shadows shrink into the horizon as the conductor increased our speed to safety, letting them blink out of existence. Their memory held weight in my mind, of course.

  “They... Leo, those army men...” I cracked, loud enough for Ian and the woman to overhear in the next carriage. “We saw them all, they died...”

  I banged my bleeding fist against the window.

  “They died! Shit!!”

  It was absurd to accept as a fact, but we’d all experienced it. Leo was bitten, and minutes after his heart stopped, he rose up again and butchered those five men like it was nothing.

  Somehow he’d brought himself back to life — although the man who came back was definitely not the same man who left.

  6 | Train Ride

  I could honestly feel their eyes burning into the back of my head... Each pair judging me, hating me, wishing that I would’ve died instead.

  Turning to face the wall, I couldn't even make myself look at the huddled crowd on the train; only about half of them had actually made it off the platform, which was apparently Leo’s fault for delaying them. Our fault, by extension.

  Their pained whispers caught my attention every so often, reminding me of what our desperation had caused. The lives that were ruined, because we didn’t know the truth.

  “It's all their fault. Little shits.”

  “My fiancée... I left her back there. Oh God...”

  “We should've ditched them when we had the chance.”

  I couldn't stand their snide comments any longer. Climbing to my feet, I dragged myself through the very last carriage to find Ian lying across a three-seater booth. Leo’s wife and little girl were probably hiding out on the opposite end of the train, but I felt it was best to give them some space. Especially after what they’d just witnessed.