After a while, it began to rain, and still we walked. The Twin pulled out handy raincoats for everyone, Jester suggesting that he'd be warmer if he could simply share hers. She withered him with a glance and he took the proffered piece of plastic. We were onto the final stretch by now, trudging mainly through muck and mud now. Eventually, the rain let up.
Abruptly, a warning shot rang out. This was followed by a voice over a megaphone telling us that if we were the expected party from The Queen to raise our hands up and continue onwards. Deathwish assured me that he recognised the voice as one of The Master's cronies and that we were perfectly safe. I told him that perfectly safe didn't happen anymore, raised my hands in the air and walked forward.
evening
Apocalypse Girl, sporting a rather fashionable shiny black eye-patch, ran into me and greeted me with a hug that nearly knocked the breath right out of me. She practically squealed with delight seeing Viking and Valkyrie, wrapping her arms around the pair as well. The Master had come out personally, leaving his family behind, bringing with him several heavily armed men.
We ate a hearty meal together, Deathwish adding to the Meat-Beast steaks with several cans of baked beans. “Toxic gasses don't work against the Dead, dude,” he was told by one of The Master's thugs. A moment later, the same thug spoke once more. “How many cans can you fit in that fucker, anyway?”
Deathwish smiled. “I don't know, really.” He passed the bag to the thug, who reached inside. He was surprised to find that his hand met nothing but more empty bag. When the thug handed the bag back to Deathwish, he reached inside and pulled out another can of baked beans. “I don't know how it works, it's only with this particular bag, too. I just reach in, fossick around a bit and boom! Instant baked beans!”
Apocalypse Girl, in my arms once more at last, told me in a whisper that if she put her patch over her good eye, she could see people. She didn't know if what was happening was real or if she was simply going insane or what, but it was odd. Then she said that she wanted to speak with Elder about it. I told her that might be difficult. “I didn't think he'd die that easily,” she mused when I told her what had happened. “He always seemed to me to be, I don't know, above death, or something. If he's gone, then who's left to help me with this?” She tapped her eye-patch. “Do you think, maybe, that I'm seeing another dimension with the eye that Bitch Queen took?” Her voice faded until she was snoring gently in my arms.
August 25th Year 1 A.Z.
morning
The Master had his men clear out the Dead from the carpark, several dozen of the things still wandered about there. Jester told us that when the former Sheriff had gone in with his ill-fated group that there had been a great deal more of them, though greatly slowed by the snow and cold of the Winter. At least we were done with that shit.
“I don't really know where the fuck they keep coming from,” The Master told us as we ate our breakfast, watching his men make short work of the Dead. “I wake up every day thinking that by now we should have killed them all off, but still they keep on coming.” I shrugged around a mouthful of hot baked beans. “The worst part is a lot seem fairly fresh, too, if you know what I mean.” I did.
After about twenty minutes, the men came back, deeming the area safe enough for now. The front, at least. We still had to find some way into the main complex itself, preferably without smashing any windows or otherwise creating an entrance that any old shambler could amble through.
I spotted a window high up on a wall, low enough to reach but too high up and too small for Apocalypse Girl to use. I suggested that Jester and Deathwish hop inside and take a quick look around. The smaller of the pair gave me a look that could have killed a Dingo General, then Deathwish simply hoisted Jester up and into the window, following a few seconds later.
They called out that it was clear in there, they were going to see about another entrance. Past the fence, along the same wall, I could just barely see the outline of a doorway and called it out to them. Deathwish replied that they'd check it out and a few moments later the door opened and Jester ran out heading towards the fence. A couple of Dead followed him, though they were far slower than the usual corpses we had seen.
Jester reached the fence, The Master pulled out a pair of tin snips and began cutting a hole for him. “Where's Deathwish?” Apocalypse Girl wanted to know. Jester simply shrugged, saying that he had been right beside him to begin with, then they had seen the Dead. More than the two that had covered more than half of the distance. When asked how many more, Jester simply began panicking and demanding that we hurry up with the hole, he wasn't that small, dammit!
When he had come through, I ducked into the opening, drawing my sword as I did so. The Master followed me through, stopping me momentarily as I was about to swing at the first one. “Just watch for a minute first, mate.” He told me. “I think they might be starving.” Another Dead crawled out of the door. I saw a fourth just lying there, propping the door open with its frail looking torso. “I wonder how long ago their last meal was?”
The rest of our group had come through by that point and I rammed the point of my katana into the thing's head, then performed the same service for the other three before heading inside to search for Deathwish. He seemed at some times only a kid, though there was more upstairs than many other people his age. Idly I wondered just how old he really was, anyway.
noon
It wasn't hard to find his trail, we simply followed the trail of corpses. The Master ordered his men to patrol outside, testing a pair of kids walkie-talkies that had to have been manufactured at least a couple of decades ago. They worked well enough. At least our two groups would be able to call one another for assistance, if it were necessary.
Eventually the trail of corpses led to the site of a massacre. Somebody had made a final stand right here in International Arrivals, slaying an awesome number of Dead. Deathwish knelt over one of the corpses. “This is him, this is the Sheriff.” he told me as I approached. Tiny and The Twin kept a close eye on all of the corpses, lest any start to move. The Sheriff's corpse still held tight to a revolver, shining silver in the light of the sun that broke through a rather large hole in the ceiling. His head had a tiny hole in the right temple, but the entire left side of his head had been obliterated.
“Somebody needs to tell The Queen.” Jester mused. “But I am royally fucked if it is going to be me!” I wholeheartedly seconded that. The Master nodded, saying that he would make certain that word gets back to her about it. Jester continued. “In any case, if even half of these are his kills, the man died a fucking hero's death.”
Deathwish reached down and patted the former Sheriff's clothing, reaching into one pocket and retrieving a set of keys and a Zippo lighter proudly emblazoned with the American flag. “Yeah, the guy was a Yank. Didn't mean much after the shit hit the fan, of course, just that we all gave him shit about the way he talked.” Then, reverently, he retrieved the revolver. “And, I'm keeping this little beauty. I told him I wanted it one day. He told me 'Over my dead body!' and here we are!”
“Some of us gave him grief about his accent.” Jester said, gravely. “I was way more afraid of this character than The Queen, and you've all seen how that bitch makes me dress.” He seemed distinctly uncomfortable, as if the former Sheriff's brainless carcass would suddenly get up and attack him. “Besides, everyone already knows you're a fucking loony!” He and Deathwish shared a quick grin.
evening
My leg felt as if it were on fire. After Viking and Valkyrie volunteered for dead Dead cleanup duties, gathering up all of the corpses, smashing in the few skulls that still wanted to nibble on people, we decided on finding somewhere to hole up for the night, maybe with a door that we could barricade fairly easily. I suggested the security office, as The Sheriff had the keys for it in his pocket and may just have left something there we could use.
At least there was comfortable seating in the security office. Not really enough room for all of us, though we
didn't mind that much. Apocalypse Girl checked my leg, unwrapping the bandages was a more than painful process. She turned to Apprentice, who seemed concerned. “I there anything you can do for this” Apocalypse Girl asked her.
“Not really...” Apprentice replied. “If I'd been the first to treat it, then yeah, but Queen Bitch-Head had her doctor deal with it already. I'd end up healing flesh over stitches, that'd only make things worse for him.” I fucking hate it when people talk about you as if you're not there.
“This needs to be cleaned. Shit. I don't suppose anyone has any...” Her words trailed off as her eye alighted on a first aid kit, hanging on the wall, unopened. She scurried for it, tearing it open and finding a bottle of something nasty that hurt a fuck-ton. As I screamed in agonising pain, she simply told me that it was for my own good. “It looks like you've got a mild infection here,” she said. “All I can really do for you now is wrap it back up in fresh bandages, but we should really find a chemists or something, get you some antibiotics.”
August 26th Year 1 A.Z.
morning
Shit. I don't really know how to do this. Umm, okay, first things first. My eye hurts like hell, what's left of it, anyway. If that isn't enough of a clue, this is Apocalypse Girl writing now. I don't suppose it really matters who writes what in this damn journal anyway, seeing as this is clearly the end of the world, but what the fuck, my man started it so I'm going to continue it on his behalf, at least until he comes back to his senses, however long that might be.
Right. How did it happen? No fucking clue. I was scratching the dog's ears when Book, my man, suddenly stiffened up like, I don't know, something fucking stiff. Viking reckoned he saw a Shadow for half an instant, dropping from the ceiling to Book's shoulder, but I'll have to take his word for it, cause I saw shit. Now Book is standing stock still in the middle of the room staring at people, one at a time. Usually me.
Anyway, I told everyone that I'd take care of him, of course. Apocalypse Dog is keeping us both company, Deathwish is guarding the door with Jester, though from the hallway. I can't blame them. If it weren't Book, I'd likely be out there with them, too. Tiny, Machete and The Twin are all in here with us, too. To protect me, they reckon, or at least to protect the baby. I know I shouldn't complain about it but this fucking child... I just wish he, she, whatever, would just hurry the fuck up and pop out already. The baby is slowing me down a lot.
Everyone else is out searching for something different. The Master and his men are looking for fuel so he can keep his generators running at his Fortress, Apprentice, Viking and Valkyrie are all looking for a chemist, or at least some antibiotics. She told me just before closing the door behind them that they'd raid people's luggage if they had to. After all, nobody needs it now, do they?
noon
Still nothing. No word from anyone, yet. Jester and Deathwish came in to check on us a couple of times throughout the morning, the latter leaving us with a whole heap of cans of baked fucking beans so that we could have something to eat, at least. Food is food, after all, but come on...some variety would be nice, Deathwish! Oh well, it's not like I can control what I find, whenever I search kind of … between dimensions. I just put my hand in, fiddle around a bit and whatever I pick up comes with me. That's the only way I can describe what I do. Sort of like an interdimensional lucky dip.
Book is speaking now, in a whisper. “dry.” he said, a few minutes ago. I poured some water in his mouth, but it just dribbled out the sides. So, I tried some more. This time, he seemed to swallow some. I was so totally not cut out to be a nurse. Fuck, that reminds me, I am going to have to change his bandage again, soon.
“You. I know you.” Book's words shook me from a light doze. He was staring at me. No, not Book's words, though spoken in his voice. “No, he knows you.” A quizzical expression furrowed my man's brow. “He, she. Gender. Sex. Interesting.” His eyes rolled back in his head. When they lowered a few seconds later, he said “Dry.” once again. I reached out towards him, offering a bottle of water. He took it, raising it to his lips. Nothing came out, but then he hadn't even popped the top. I showed him how.
After he finished the entire fucking bottle, over a litre of water, his eyes found me once again. Tiny and The Twin backed away from him, towards me, in case he became a threat. I doubted that he would. Machete took Apocalypse Dog out for a walk. I told her to take her time. And Deathwish and Jester. If I wasn't safe with Tiny and The Twin, I wasn't safe, period. The Twin had proven herself time and time again, to both me and Book. Tiny, not so much for me, but he vouched for her. That was more than good enough.
evening
Still no real change in Book's behaviour. At one point he pointed at my belly and uttered the word “baby,” but other than that he had been silent as the grave, just standing, watching. He didn't even blink. I had to show him how to do it, which, having only one eye, was awkward. He seemed to feel the need to wink at me every few moments, first with one eye, then the other.
Everybody had checked in by now, at least. They were all as worried about Book's bizarre behaviour as I was, or nearly so, and Apprentice had found an almighty stash of antibiotics and other medicine. There was enough there that I suggested leaving most of it behind for The Bitch Queen and her lackeys. At least he allowed me to feed him and give him some medicine, though he would not let me look at his leg. In fact, he seemed confused as to what a leg might even be.
Viking had suggested knocking him out so I could take a look at his wounds, but I promised him that if he did, he'd be the next to lose an eye. He laughed, the chuckles sounding particularly nervous when he looked into my face. We would wait, I told them.
August 27th Year 1 A.Z.
morning
Still no real change with Book. I asked him if his leg was hurting, he just looked at me strangely and asked what hurting even meant. So, I tried the term pain. Then, discomfort. Then, I simply asked him how his leg feels. “What means 'feels'?” He enquired. Fuck. This is going to be annoyingly difficult.
I tried to tell him what had happened to his leg, saying that it had been damaged when a Dingo tail sliced it open. “Flesh. Leg. Damaged flesh is pain?” He asked me. I told him that damaged flesh can certainly cause pain, yes. “Damaged eye is pain.” He stated. I told him that yes, my eye had hurt like hell when it was removed. I don't think I've ever experienced pain like it, in fact. He raised his hand to his chest. Other than his eyes and face it was the most he'd moved since yesterday, when this first started.
“Damaged eye is pain here.” He told me. My breath caught in my throat. I told him that was a different sort of pain. Worse, in its own way. “Here hurts more than leg.” I asked him what he was doing. “Stand.” was the only reply I received.
This time, the girls waited outside while Deathwish, Jester and Viking sat with us. The Master was outside with his men, making certain that no Dead were able to cause any harm to anyone. I could hear the occasional burst of gunfire through the window. We ate, and again I spoon-fed Book his baked beans and antibiotics. He wanted to know, in his stunted way of speaking, what the pills were for. After a few minutes I was able to convey the message in a manner that he'd understand. “Stop more leg damage?” He asked for confirmation. I nodded.
noon
I finally got the nerve to ask Book what had happened to him. “Shadow.” He thumped his chest. “See mans, follow mans.” He motioned, including both Viking and himself in the gesture but quite specifically excluding Deathwish and Jester. “Others too, follow them.” Somehow he was able to make a gesture that encompassed Tiny, The Twin and Apprentice, though the three of them were not actually in the room. A Shadow is possessing my man. Now we know. What the fuck do we do about it? I have no fucking clue, there.
Over the next few hours, Viking and I attempted to teach Shadow-Book some language skills, with some limited success. I was able to ask it where it had come from. It spoke, using Book's mouth and tongue, saying that Shadow had always been. Shadow was eternal, it told
us. It had encountered man before, though it took little notice. Man was just something that occupied the surface of Earth, not even something Shadow would bother with. Shadow existed in the dark places, underground, primarily.
Then, man started dying. Man became Dead. That made Shadow take notice, alright. Finally, Shadow could lay claim to parts of the surface of the Earth. Only places that man would never set foot again. Places such as Sydney, where Shadow first noticed Book and Viking and the others, as The Tortoise trundled through Shadowzone. So, Shadow moved them. And studied them. Now, Shadow wanted to talk. Shadow was curious about man. About woman. About baby.
evening
Shadow-Book was quite quiet. He had not really said much since admitting to curiosity towards humanity, just observed. I asked it if it could access Book's memories. Shadow-Book said that it could but that it felt wrong to do so. I asked if Book was still in there with it. Shadow-Book replied that indeed he was. So, I asked it to leave him, which it said it could not do, not yet.
“You said you came from underground. You've always lived there? Here on Earth, I mean?” Deathwish asked Shadow-Book. It turned my man's face to stare blankly at the young man. Everyone present felt a wave of confusion, Shadow-Book was wondering why the man would ask a question that had already been answered.
Anno Zombus Year 1 (Book 8): August Page 9