by SD Tanner
The anguished woman turned, and with a look of complete hatred, she launched herself at the man, clawing at his eyes and screaming, “You fucking asshole!”
While allowing the woman to claw at his face, leaving deep, bloody tears in his skin, he said nonchalantly, “Quit screwing around.”
The woman continued to tear at his face with her nails, and the deep red marks were welling with blood while she continued to curse him. Tessa stood by the bunk bed transfixed by the scene. Lying next to her on the lower bunk was a younger woman, who seemed to be sleeping and unaware of the commotion around her.
“Please leave.”
Her words seemed to break the moment, and the woman immediately stopped her attack and calmly faced Tessa. “Why would we do that?”
“Because there’s nothing here for you. It’s just me and my daughter here, and Jen is in a coma.”
The young man raised his eyebrows. “What?”
The woman chuckled merrily. “She’s not in a coma. She’s dead. You’re loving a corpse.” Pursing her lips and narrowing her eyes, she added, “That’s kind of interesting.”
“Jen is not dead,” Tessa declared angrily.
“Yeah, she is,” the man replied casually. “But so are you.”
Tessa cried, “Get out! Get out now!”
When neither the man nor woman moved, she tried to push her way past them. With his face still bleeding, the man grabbed Tessa firmly by the arms. “Which one do you want?”
The woman shrugged. “Either. They’re both ugly.”
Still holding Tessa’s arms, the man looked down at her. Suddenly, Tessa’s eyes widened, and the man’s body dropped to the floor. Running a hand through the white hair, the demon who now possessed Tessa said, “Ugh. I should have taken the younger body. This one’s all wrinkly and it smells funny.”
With a smirk and a gay flick of her delicate wrist, the woman said smugly, “Too late,” and she walked to where Jen was lying on the bunk bed.
CHAPTER TEN: The aliens have landed (Gears)
Hatch would find somewhere safe to land the bird just inside the New Jersey Turnpike near New Bergen, and they would walk to the rendezvous point in Union City. Before entering the city, he needed to find out as much information as he could, and he hoped by walking the streets they’d meet up with some survivors outside of the city. He’d no doubt Ruler had taken Manhattan. Firstly, he’d seen him was in New York, and secondly, he saw no reason why Ruler couldn’t just walk into the city with a million hunters and take control of it.
He and Pax were sitting just inside the open main door of the bird peering out. He wasn’t sure how friendly the natives would be, or how much resistance they might encounter, and with the exception of Hatch and Ip, they were all dressed in full battle gear including their Kevlar helmets. He figured it was better to be safe than sorry, plus it might help if they looked like military, and not a group of well-armed thugs. It was winter, and although he wasn’t grateful for the extra weight, he was happy for the protection against the cold. They were flying over the edge of Union City, and beneath them were apartments and offices, car yards and small shopping complexes. Plenty of places for survivors to hide, he thought.
“Hatch, can you land us on the roof of one of these buildings?”
“Yep, can do.”
Hatch and the four shooters would wait with the bird on the roof of the building in case they ran into problems. He knew they couldn’t travel far on foot, and they’d be close enough to radio and call for a pick up if they needed one, but right now he was keen to get on the ground and start looking for survivors. Ip could take care of any hunters in the building, and he wasn’t worried about making their way down to the street. Hatch located a three-storied flat-roofed building and landed the bird. Grabbing their heavily loaded packs and guns, he, Mackenzie, Pax, TL and Ip climbed out onto the roof.
Looking around, there were low storied buildings and the area appeared to be a mix of cheap accommodation, light industrial and offices. He walked to the edge of the building and peered down at the road below. There were cars scattered at all angles, but they’d clearly been moved for a single line of vehicles to pass. The ground floor windows of the offices and shops lining the opposite side of the road were broken, but there was no glass around the buildings. All the damage to the vehicles and buildings looked old, and the whole area looked deserted. The desolation of the street made him wonder if he’d find anyone left alive.
“There’s a door here,” Pax shouted. “Reckon it’ll lead to stairs outta here.”
The door sat in a concrete box on top of the building. It was the only structure on the otherwise flat roof and he agreed this was the only way down. Pax was jiggling the door handle. “It’s locked.”
“Then unlock it.”
Pax took aim and shot at the handle on the door. The metal handle disintegrated under the rapid fire until there was nothing left, but a hole in the door where the handle had been. The door immediately flew open with a fast and wide swing and a snarling hunter, with its head vibrating and tension rippling through its body, lunged at Pax. He stepped back in surprise as he raised his weapon again, but the hunter was faster. Stumbling backwards, the hunter hit his body with speed, weight and force. As both Pax and the hunter fell to the ground, Ip stepped forward and slapped the hunter across the back of the head. Instantly stopped moving and dropped heavily on top of him.
Lying sprawled under the body of the hunter, Pax complained. “Couldn’t you have jus’ taken control of it Ip? Get the damned thing off me. It goddamn stinks.”
Ip speaks: You make a noise that is too much to bear. Next time I will not care.
With a disgusted huff, she walked into the dark stairwell and disappeared into the building. He and Mackenzie reached over and hauled the hunter corpse from Pax, and dropped it to ground next to him. Wearing his pack, loaded tactical vest and still holding his gun, he struggled to get back on his feet and he offered his brother his hand.
Pax grabbed his hand and he hauled him to his feet. “You’re just clumsy, Pax.”
Giving him an annoyed look, Pax said indignantly, “I didn’t fall over, Gears. I was attacked.”
TL stamped over to the doorway. “Will you both shaddup. We got work to do.”
Watching TL disappear into the dark stairwell, he gave the back of his head a dirty look, then pulling his flashlight from his belt, he followed him. The inside of the building had clearly been a nest for hunters, and was so badly damaged, there was only rubble and rubbish on each level. The stench of vomit was overwhelming, and he was relieved when they left the building and made their way onto the street.
He looked at the shattered storefronts and dusty cars with flat tires. “Guess we start walkin’ and see who shows up.”
Holding their weapons ready, they began walking down the middle of the road. Stay close, honey, he thought, you may be handy with the hunters, but you’re no match for a bullet. She didn’t reply, but kept pace with him by his side. The street was in a terrible state. Now closer to the cars, he saw they were dented and battered as if they’d been beaten by a thousand tiny hammers. None had any glass left, and inside some, were desiccated corpses still wearing faded clothes. He was surprised by the utter silence. There was literally no sound at all.
He glanced over his shoulder at Pax. “Why’s it so damned quiet?”
“Dunno. It’s like it’s dead. No birds, no nothin’.”
There should have been birds. In addition to the insects, the two things that flourished since the virus were birds and sea life. The bases were sending out trawlers daily to catch fish, and the experienced fisherman were ecstatic with their hauls. The fresh fish they caught was helping to keep the people at the bases fed. The absence of bird life was odd and it made him uneasy. Lack of life was the mark of Ruler, and it meant he must be in control of the region. Continuing to walk down the long road, nothing seemed to change. Desolate empty buildings, battered cars, broken windows, and complete s
ilence. This was all that was left of what must have once been a busy and thriving community. With a view of the New York skyline, he could imagine how many people must have lived and worked in the area to support the millions living in the city. Now there was only silence and dusty remains. If left unmaintained for much longer, buildings would begin to collapse, until there’d be nothing left and only rubble and dust. It was hard to believe evidence of their old world could soon be gone.
They’d been walking for half an hour when he finally heard a noise other than the sound of their own footsteps. Something crashed to his left, and spinning around, he was confronted by a narrow alley. Aiming his gun, he was about to fire, when he saw a skinny, brown, shorthaired dog scamper towards him and it began whining and nosing around his legs. Still holding his gun pointed towards the alley, he reached down with one hand and petted the dog. Scratching behind its ears, he felt a collar around its neck, and something seemed to be tucked into it. Crouching down until he was eye level with the dog, he felt it lick his face and he grabbed the collar to see what was attached to it. Pulling out a piece of paper that was rolled over and over until it looked like a twist pipe, he his weapon down, tugged off his hard-knuckle assault glove and unraveled the paper. Finally flattening the sheet of paper out on his bent knee, he read the note, but all that was written on it was, ‘RU Army.’
Continuing to cover the alley with his gun, Mackenzie asked, “What’s it say?”
“Nothin’ much. Jus’ asks if we’re Army.”
Picking up his gun, he stood and boomed loudly. “Yeah! We’re Army! Come on out. You’re safe!”
There was no response, and he pulled a health bar from his pocket and tore open the pack with his teeth. Tipping the crunchy bar into his other hand, he held it out to the dog, who snatched it from his outstretched hand and scuttled away crunching hungrily.
“Dog’s starvin’,” Pax observed dourly.
He heard a low whistle come from a doorway about thirty yards ahead of them, and the dog immediately turned and ran towards the building. A young man in his twenties stepped out with his hands over his head. Behind him was an equally young woman, and behind her was a boy, who couldn’t have been more than about eight years old. The three of them walked out into the middle of the road, they were skinny, dirty and clearly terrified.
In a low voice, he asked, “TL, do you wanna talk to ‘em?”
“Nope.”
Feeling a spark of annoyance at TL for being both ill-tempered and uncooperative, he sighed and walked towards the three people standing in the middle of the road. He waved a gloved hand. “You can put your hands down. We ain’t arrestin’ ya.”
Lowering their hands, the young man asked, “Where’s the rest of the army?”
“They’re comin’. We’re the recon team and we’re lookin’ for survivors.”
While he spoke, he shrugged his heavy pack from his shoulders, and pulled out the water and snacks he always kept in the side pockets. Handing the food to the woman and boy, he said, “I’m Gears.”
“I’m Mark. This is my wife Amy. The boy isn’t ours, but he kinda is now and he doesn’t really talk so we call him Buddy. The dog’s his, but we don’t know its name either, so we call him Dog.”
Digging around in his pack, he pulled out an MRE pack and handed it to Mark. “Are there more of you or are you it?”
“Umm, sort of, but we’re scattered,” Mark replied through a mouthful of food. “It’s easier to hide in smaller groups. Saunders says that way if we lose a group, we don’t lose everyone.”
“Who’s Saunders?”
Sharing the water he’d given her with Buddy, Amy said, “He’s the reason we’re still alive. He got us out of the city and made us hide when the hordes of hunters came. If he hadn’t helped us, we would have been caught like everyone else.”
“Where is he now?”
“We meet every few days in a different location,” Mark replied. “Saunders tells us to keep moving, so no one knows where we are and we can keep looking for food, but there’s not much left. He says we need to move out of the area slowly and that we need to be careful. There’s trucks going in and out of the city across the bridges. We don’t know what they’re doing, but they’re not our military.”
“No, they’re not,” he replied grimly.
“But you are right?” Mark asked hopefully.
“Yeah we are and I need to get into the city, so I need to speak with Saunders.”
Mark nodded. “I can take you to him.”
Following Mark and his family, they wound their way through the abandoned and battered streets until they reached an outside entrance to the basement of a building. Mark disappeared through the door to find Saunders and, while they waited, he looked around the small parking lot. The area was devoid of life, and it was just another dusty area filled with battered cars and shattered windows. Finally Mark returned with a disheveled looking man who was wearing a long woolen coat and a tattered beanie.
With some admiration, Mark said, “This is Saunders.”
Tufts of dry, stiff looking grey hair poked through the holes in Saunders’s beanie and he had matching spiky hair covering his chin. His face was deeply weathered, and his eyes shone with a joy only the genuinely insane seemed to share. With jerky movements, Saunders circled the five of them. While he inspected them closely, every so often he tutted to himself. He glanced at TL as he tried to assess how best to handle the situation, but he sniffed derisively and looked away. Sighing again at his brother’s bad mood, he waited to see what Saunders would conclude about them. Finally he came to a stop and stood directly opposite him. Even from four feet away, he could smell the rancid sweat on the man, and despite himself, his eyes watered.
“So, you finally show up! Where have you been? All these years you’ve followed me, kidnapped me, stolen my ideas, blamed me for things I didn’t do, and prevented me from telling the truth! But when I needed you and your sneakiness, you hide like the cowards you are!” With that final loud angry statement, spittle flew from Saunders mouth, and he began to hit himself violently in the head.
Looking at the ground, Saunders paced anxiously muttering, “What to do? What to do?”
He looked over Saunders head at Mark. “Seriously? You follow this guy? ‘Cos he ain’t right in the head.”
Amy walked over to Saunders, and speaking softly to him, she said, “These men are soldiers. They’re here to help us fight the aliens. We need to help them to help us.”
He looked at Amy with a wide smile and eyes shining with joy. “Yes, yes, yes! You are the Angel of Being and you’re always right. Common enemy unites the forces against evil. The innocent lambs must be led to safety and our warriors will be led into battle.”
Patting Amy’s hand, Saunders turned back to them. “We are enemies with a common enemy. We must join forces to defeat the aliens or the Dark Overlord will rule us all.”
Amy looked over at him. “He was a homeless guy who lived behind my apartment block. I was told he’d lived there for about a decade and he was harmless, but he knew his way around the city. How to get in, how to get out, and he’s really good at scavenging. If it wasn’t for him, we would have died when the hunter hordes came through. He showed us where to hide and where to find boats so we could get out of the city. Now he’s showing us how to stay alive.”
Ip speaks: A swirling mass of odd thoughts, but it is the truth that he courts.
Nodding at Ip’s observation, he decided to play along with Saunders’s delusions. “So, Saunders, we are enemy no more and we need to get into the city. Do you know how we can do that?”
Saunders’s brown eyes lit up. “Yes, yes, yes! Easy in, easy out.” His eyes widened. “But you must stay away from the aliens. They are the Devil’s spawn.”
“That’s true. They’re demons.”
Mackenzie stepped forward. “Mark says the bridges are being used by the…umm, aliens. Are there any tunnels into the city?”
“Can’t
use the tunnels. They’re full of the Devil’s maggots. The maggots will eat you alive,” Saunders said with a rapid shake of his head. “No, no, no. Over the water is the only way.”
“The Devil’s maggots are not a problem,” he said confidently. Without turning, he added, “Show ‘em, honey.”
Four hunters appeared from several buildings nearby and slowly walked towards them. Saunders, Mark, Amy and Buddy began backing toward the basement, and Dog was barking madly, but quickly stopped. Cocking its head and whimpering lightly, Dog trotted up to the nearest hunter and sniffed it curiously.
“Dog! Get back here!” Mark called.
Staring at Ip with narrowed eyes, Saunders said, “Oh, I see.” Nodding sagely, he turned to him and said knowingly, “I knew you never told us the truth. You’ve been genetically engineering your own weapons. The government always lies and says it’s for the good of the people.”
He decided there was no point trying to reason with the man, particularly if he was mad in a way that worked for them. “The government ain’t ever right, but sometimes they do the right things by accident.”
Saunders tapped his head and with a winked. “Happy coincidence.”
He winked back and asked, “So, if we control the Devil’s maggots, can you show us how to get into the city through the tunnels?”
With a big grin and a mock salute, Saunders said, “Happy to be of service, sir.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN: Sleeping with the enemy (The Possessed)
His mother always told him he wouldn’t amount to much, and yet here he was alive at the end of the world. In retrospect, he wished she’d been right and that he’d died along with everyone else. Although he was never known to be a good man, he didn’t think he’d been bad enough to deserve this kind of payback. He was only thirty-two years old and worked as a construction worker since he was eighteen. His life was long hard days managing the site inventory with a few beers at night, and if he got lucky, a woman for some hassle-free sex. Working on construction sites meant he was fit and tanned, and he got lucky more often than not. Once a year he would take a week’s vacation to Mexico where he did pretty much the same thing, only he’d do it on a beach. Overseas travel was something he aspired to in a vague sort of way, but his family had always lived in Louisville and he was happy enough to stay there.