by David Shiels
The journey down the elevator had never felt so slow, the sounds of growling and gunfire growing ever louder and somehow more frequent.
As the elevator opened on the fourth floor she noticed a quick blur of wolves running past; She expected that they wouldn’t be running from danger, but to it. She quickly navigated her way through the bloody glass hallway. She did not stop to check for any potential soldiers patrolling the floor or hiding around any corners.
She arrived at the fire escape; it was a large window with glass that was easily broken by using the small red hammer which was placed just next to it. Claudia used this, enjoying it more than she thought she would, to smash open the window, the harmless glass dropping to the floor beneath her expensive blue trainers after just one blow.
She passed through the window and immediately the sounds of the fight were deafeningly loud causing her to grimace at the eardrum assault. She walked to the end of the small metal catwalk. There was a small metal lever; Claudia kicked this causing it to make a satisfying snapping sound and suddenly the ladder grew longer legs as it fell stopping perfectly at the floor, not even making a sound.
Before descending the ladder she looked down below at the dark alleyway. The end of the alley looking like a scene from a movie where the bright light leads to another world; before the radiant light she browsed for any signs of life; but all she could see were dumpsters and black bags full of rubbish; mostly from the building adjacent to hers.
She carefully climbed down the ladder, putting both feet on each step as she went down, turning her head around to peek down every step in case anybody was waiting at the bottom.
She ran towards the light, which was also in the opposite direction of the fighting, and bolted as fast as she could, away from the place she loved most in the world. Never to return.
She charged down the cluttered main street, taking great care to not trip on any of the corpses, tangle her feet in clothing or ram into any of the hastily parked cars.
At current she did not have much of a plan; her plan to go to America was obviously now off. She found it hard to think while running at full speed whilst also avoiding so many obstacles. Her body had never received such a workout.
Her instinct was to get to a place where she would once again be worshipped and admired. She knew there must be a place where a lot of millionaires are hiding out and she knew they would accept her with open arms. She decided that she must find an airbase and take a plane and check out all of the islands. She made this decision without even actively thinking about it.
After she turned down street after street, suddenly at the end of a large, lifelessly busy street a huge wave of wolves appeared and were running towards her, their eyes completely blank and fixed in the same direction, the hundreds of clawed feet making almost no sound. As they came closer it would appear it would be impossible for her to run through them unharmed. She placed both of her arms over her face to embrace the impact.
As she braced for the painful impact, Claudia could feel nothing but a gentle breeze as the wolves parted for her like the sea parted for Moses, their feet around her as silent as a cat hunting a bird.
Claudia, in slight shock, lowered the pink guards from around her eyes and sheepishly looked around herself. It was like was she surrounded by an invisible orb that the wolves couldn’t penetrate even if they wanted to. To her it looked like a moving wall of mud was shimmering past her as they moved around her with such precision and confidence that she had no doubt in her mind that they wouldn’t touch her.
Her vision of what was ahead while inside traversing the seemingly endless sea of wolves was limited, but she could make out where objects would be as the wolves would be jumping and hopping all over the place to avoid colliding with them themselves. A noise above the relentless wave of wolves disrupted the strangely tranquil moment.
A helicopter began to buzz in the clear sky, hoping to quell as many of the beastly army as possible. The machine started to rain bullets down on the horde of brown sharp fur. Wolves fell by the dozen as it was impossible for even a blind gunner to miss his targets, however, it did not stop the wolves from firing back with their own unlimited weapon supply, but the helicopter was too out of reach; the needles losing velocity and striking back down to the earth like a twig in the wind.
The bombardment of bullets surrounded Claudia. The wolves to her left and right fell down in soundless death, some would jump in her way and fall down soon after. At this point Claudia had to sway and dodge as the wolves corpses would fall erratically, depending on where the bullet had struck them. This scene of mass sacrifice to enable her to continue on was the moment, unbeknown to Claudia herself currently, that she fully embraced what she would become. At first she held some resentment for the wolves for keeping her in that cabin, then resented them for destroying her business, but she had never seen or felt such loyalty in all of her life and decided that now would she take her place upon the throne of wolves and assist them in destroying the world. This world was jealous of her and wanted her dead; she would not allow this to go unpunished. But before fulfilling this role and fully understanding these feelings; she had one last dream to chase.
As Claudia finally came upon the end of the parade of wolves, the wall of brown around her thinned, revealing her again to the damaged streets, the sounds of gunfire and barking becoming more distant the further she travelled. She stopped, turned around, and admired the tidal wave of wolves; they were now jumping on top of each over to assist their efforts in taking down the airborne American machine.
Claudia took one last longing look at the building that had shaped her to be the amazing person she was today. She pictured the large ghostly face of her father looming over the building, his face beaming full of pride. She was also impressed at the great distance she had covered in a short time. She was proud of herself for picking such great energetic, nutritious and delicious food. But it did not prevent her from almost keeling over.
After a small break drinking some fresh coffee on the street in front of a blood stained cafe, corpse both human and wolf under and near her feet, Claudia decided it was time to leave the city once and for all. As she got up to leave, she heard a tiny pair of feet shuffle through the shredded clothes behind her; Hilisky.
She was certain he had died in her bunker, once again saving her life. She couldn’t help releasing a smile, something she rarely does unless it benefits her.
Woman and wolf walked in silence as they followed the road out of the broken city.
An Unwanted Reunion
She was on the main road just on the outside of the city. Each way she looked the road’s length was further than her eyes would show her, it was completely empty, not a car nor a body in sight. The mission now was to get to the airbase and find a plane. Her father had a worrying amount of love for aircrafts and had taken her there to fly in his own personal airplane many times as a child. It never had interested her, but she did it because it seemed to make him extremely happy, especially after the divorce. Her memory was fuzzy but Claudia was sure she could remember where it was without the aid of her phone.
Four hours Claudia had walked down the long road in a single direction, ignoring every side road along her way, hoping that a sign detailing the distance to the airbase would appear before her; but nothing offered itself. She was thankful for the nice weather, usually it would be extremely cold, but on this fine day she felt comfortable in her tank top, showing off her smooth skin. She wouldn’t be able to bare this search in any other conditions.
Claudia was beginning to get used to spending time without human interaction, usually she would be spending time in meetings, sorting out her incompetent staff, or going to bars and parties with Amy, and this solitude is something she would need to get used to if destiny has her way and makes her the sole survivor on earth. Her journey to the airbase was her last chance at living the life she had been accustomed to and felt she had every right to be a part of.
Hilisky had
been his usual quiet self, walking slightly behind Claudia. She would occasionally turn back and the wolf would look into her eyes, her reflection appearing on his black eyes, prompting her to often alter her appearance in the dark mirror.
Along the way she had passed many abandoned petrol & service stations. They all told the same story; abandoned, destroyed cars, blood and torn clothes, but they were bountiful with food and water. She had found a small red backpack and crammed in as much as she could.
Claudia constantly kept her eyes over the large mountains to the west. At times, when in the naked open, she would be easy prey for anymore American helicopters searching for company.
An hour later Claudia was surprised to see a vehicle in the distance; it looked like it was coming down the road towards her. It would be the first car she has seen in a while that wasn’t either crashed or had its wheels impaled and flattened. At first glance its army-like appearance had triggered her survival instincts and she made movements to hide behind the petrol pumps at the station she was at, but as it became clearer it seemed to be that of a Russian army patrol truck. She sharply ran out of her hiding place, waving her arms to grab its attention as she wandered over to the roadside. Hilisky ran off into the opposite direction, avoiding detection.
The car edged itself along the wide road into Claudia’s direction, beginning to sway erratically the closer it came. The truck skidded across the rough, broken road past Claudia and almost into the nearby petrol pumps.
Claudia followed its action and watched as the engine of the car stopped buzzing.
A hand sloppily fumbled to open the driver's side door of the vehicle; it shook flimsily in the wind. This went on for about thirty seconds until the truck door finally shuddered open, Claudia had fully expected a man in full Russian army attire to emerge, but it did not. What did exit was a young, sweaty, chubby girl who appeared to be in her mid-twenties. Claudia knew exactly who it was.
“Lisa…you” Claudia’s mouth dropped as the young girl finished appearing from the truck.
“Claudia, it’s been a long time” The youngster replied.
The two women intensely stared at each in silence for what seemed like hours, not quite knowing what to say to each other, but in the normal flow of time, was merely thirty seconds. The silence was broken when the young girl decided, her hair now visibly soaking wet with sweat, to share her thoughts with the flame haired business owner.
“Of all the vile trash I expected to encounter, I never expected it to be you!” Lisa’s plump cheeks wobbled with each word she flung out of her mouth.
“Then why did you stop and get out of your car? I’ve been through enough the past few days without having to encounter your multiple flabby chins” Claudia let out a little chuckle, clearly impressed with her insult.
“Predictable insults from you” The youngster let out a sigh and flicked her wet hair over her shoulder, causing drops of sweat to splash against the window of the jeep. “I couldn’t see that it was you until it was too late, otherwise I would have ran you down”
“Unlike you, I’m not a mammoth; I could have easily dived out of the way. It’s much faster than rolling. Maybe try it once you’ve lost 10 stone” Claudia let out a louder chuckle at this one.
“Same jokes even 10 years later” Lisa turned her back towards Claudia and walked towards the Jeep. “It’s a long walk to wherever you’re going, good luck with that”
Claudia lunged towards Lisa, grabbed her shoulder and harshly, with some instant regret to Claudia, turned her towards her.
“Uh, I don’t think so” Claudia stepped back to distance herself from the grotesque girl “I’ll be taking that vehicle, I have a destiny to achieve, it’s obviously why you stopped here, it’s actually probably why you were born. Mission accomplished, now go kill yourself”
Claudia began to sassily walk past Lisa but the girl, visibly extremely annoyed, used both of her large hands to shove Claudia back, the force taking her by surprise, requiring her to maintain her balance or otherwise tumble to the floor.
“So you’re also still a narcissistic, deluded, self-entitled young lady I see” A smile formed on her face as she saw how much the push affected the receiver.
“You’re not getting this car”
Claudia’s face rapidly changed from a light shade of white to an alarming shade of red.
“You fat bitch, don’t you ever touch me like that ever again, or it’ll be the last thing--”
The retort was interrupted by the sound of a car door slamming; both girls looked to where the sound came from.
“Twin sister!!” An excited man-child voice boomed out of Studley as he quickly campily stepped his way towards Claudia “Big hug!”
Lisa eye’s bulged and widened as Studley approached Claudia with his arms out wide. If her eyes were capable of turning a vibrant shade of green, they would have at this point.
Claudia noticed his disgusting, infected, oozing handless stump and placed her arm out as straight as she possibly could planting it against his chest, keeping him as far away as she could.
“How the hell did this complete retard survive in the apocalypse?” Claudia spat.
Lisa raised a lecturing finger “It’s called autism you ignorant creature, and despite how you’ve always treated him, he some reason seems to...tolerate you”
“Because he’s retarded, and it’s all your slutty mother's fault”
“She was not a slut and she was your mother too”
“No, the day she decided to drop her piss stained underwear to sleep with your pathetic, ugly, poor excuse of a father; she was no longer my mother” Claudia reached her free hand in the direction of Lisa and clicked her fingers like a black girl who believes she had just given the best comeback line she will ever give.
Claudia, feeling like she was on a roll, turned back to Studley, her eyes stern.
“And don’t you think I’ve forgotten what you did to my dog all those years ago, you psychotic fuck up” She scowled hard then glanced at his stump “I just wish I could met the beast that tore off your hand and shake it’s paw”
Two dozen packs of crows flew above the warring party, heading towards the smell of a fresh new meal, the winding sweeping the scent into their nostrils.
Lisa now with a red face of her own took a large booming step towards Claudia and slapped her arm down, releasing it from the chest of Studley; he however did not advance any closer to Claudia.
“What did I tell you about--” A sudden slap across the face from Lisa made Claudia cut her sentence short.
Lisa followed up the surprise slap with another large shove to her shoulders, this time it sent Claudia to the floor, she landed on her a hard rock, her derriere feeling the brunt of it.
Claudia snappily tried to return up to her feet but Lisa was on her before she knew what was happening, pushing her face close to hers while tugging hard at her hair; Claudia felt each and every hair strand scream in pain. “You’ve been asking for this for a long time”
And she meant it. Until his death, Claudia’s father would force her, and himself, with his own reluctance, to go to each of Studleys birthday parties. And the same scene would play out each time; Claudia would make snide remarks about Lisa’s ever increasing weight, and make comments about the way Studleys acts and reacts to situations. But what annoyed Lisa the most was the way Claudia would speak to their mother, as if she was just a piece of gum beneath her feet. Lisa had wanted to do this for a long time, and each pull of the hair felt fantastic to her.
Claudia let out a scream and released the blunt edge of her elbow into the side of Lisa’s head. The girl did not release her grip, but pulled harder. Claudia thought of her beautiful hair being pulled out of its sockets and slammed even harder two more times into her attackers head and this time the girl let out a sharp whine and released her grasp.
Claudia picked herself off of the floor, one of her hands now formed into a fist containing many grains of sand.
Claudia
waited for for the moment Lisa would remove her hand from her aching head, then threw the sand directly into her eyes, causing Lisa to bend over and place both of her hands to her eyes, hoping to pry each piece out and regain her vision.
“You little shit, you may have 10 stone on me, but I’ve got more years on you” This remark was followed up by a knee to the head.
“Think again before ever touching me again you greasy mongrel”
Claudia thought of pulling the girl’s hair but the thought alone gave just enough of the feeling of nausea to not even attempt it. She didn’t feel the need to beat Lisa any further, not only did she always have other people to fight her battles, she also liked seeing Lisa roll around on the floor in agony; it was more satisfaction than seeing her lifeless body slumped upon the ground. And she knew leaving her here would eventually result in one of her wolves obliterating her.