by Brad Knight
It worked. It fucking worked! Mack was ecstatic. Trying to heal Amber by transfusing his infected blood into her was a long shot. But she was alive. And all the bug bites and stings that covered her body rapidly healed. He knew that she wasn't out of the woods yet.
There was still a chance that Amber's body would ultimately reject the perfected nanite virus. And even if it didn't, she would have to endure the painful transformation, and by the look and sound of her it was already under way.
The only thing that Mack could do at that point was stay by her and protect her until her fate played out. In some ways it was harder than when he found her in the dormitories, because he had to see and hear her suffer. But he kept the fact that she would be stronger if she did. And that when it came down to it, she wouldn't need him to protect her anymore. He'd be there. But only due to the fact that he wanted to be there.
***
Amber felt something cold underneath. When she looked around she saw that she was on a linoleum floor. Nearby there were empty aisles that according to the signs that hung above once held any product one might have needed for their dental hygiene.
A pharmacy? The top half of Amber's body bent up and forward. She was a bit sore and stiff but overall she felt good. Her condition was in step with just waking up from a long night's sleep.
She got up from the pharmacy floor and found it was surprisingly easy. Something as simple as standing up wasn't usually hard, but she never shot up like that.
At first she didn't realize the lights were out. She had no trouble seeing and getting around. All she wanted was to find Mack. He should be able to tell her what was going on.
Did I die? Memories of what she thought was a dream were still fresh in Amber's mind. Though it would've been more accurate to call it a nightmare rather than a dream. There was an awful vividness to what occurred during them that gave her a chill down her spine.
“Mack?” she said as she wandered the empty pharmacy aisles. Where the hell is he?
On top of the register at the front of the store were some of Amber and Mack's things. Finding those, she knew he had to be close by. And if he wasn't in the store he had to be outside.
This fucking place. Amber looked out the broken front windows of the pharmacy. Surprise, surprise, she was still in the small mining town.
“That you, girlie girl?” asked Mack. He was just outside leaning against the pharmacy's brick walls. In his mouth he had a menthol cigarette. The Viking puffed away.
“What are you doing out here?” Amber joined him outside. It was late evening and the sky was a beautiful mix of red, orange and blue.
“What does it look like? I'm enjoying the sunset and a smoke.”
“Where did you find cigarettes?”
“Turns out that no one smokes anymore. Even in the Apocalypse. There were cartons behind the counter in there.” Mack took a long drag after speaking.
Amber coughed. “It smells horrible.”
“Better get use to smelling things you don't want to. Soon you'll be able to smell just about everything, whether you want to or not.”
“I'll smell everything? What do you mean? What happened to me?” She had enough of Mack being vague.
Mack threw his cigarette to the sidewalk. “You died.”
“Okay... then how am I standing here talking to you?” Amber knew the answer to her question. But she needed to hear it from Mack's mouth.
“I uh… I saved you.” Mack looked down at the sidewalk. He was ashamed. For the life of her Amber didn't know why.
“How?”
“Remember that stuff we found at the ranger station?”
No. “Yeah?”
“I used that tubing to give you a transfusion. In other words I gave you some of my blood.” Mack waited with baited breath for a reaction.
“That's kinda gross,” laughed Amber.
Mack was relieved that she wasn't angry. She was a young woman. She had to know the implications of what he did.
“You think that's gross, you should have seen yourself. You were a mess.”
“Thanks. That's always what a gal wants to hear, you jerk.”
Mack and Amber laughed.
“Can I have one?” she asked as she leaned up against the brick pharmacy wall next to him.
“No. These things will kill ya.”
Chapter 19
: Perfection
“Is it going to hurt?” nervously asked Amber. She held a knife in her hand.
“Yeah,” answered Mack.
“I don't know if I want to do it.”
“I'm not going to make you. But you need to learn not to fear the pain.”
Amber looked at the knife in her hand. Then she looked up at the red and orange mountains around her and Mack.
You can do this. Don't think about it. Just do it. Mack watched her try and decide whether or not she'd cut herself. It wasn't that he wanted her to get hurt but he needed her to not be scared by the prospect. That was the only real gift that Ted Gorman gave him. Pain and injury became nothing more but hurdles.
Amber put the blade of the knife against her opposite palm. She figured that she should do it fast. That way it would be over and done with and she wouldn't have to dwell on it.
“That's it. Don't try and ignore the pain. That won't work. Embrace it. Learn how to accept it and move on.” Mack tried to deliver some sage words. Amber only heard some of them. She was too busy holding her bleeding hand against her body in a useless attempt to stem the steady flow of blood coming out.
“It really hurts. Like a lot,” she complained.
“Yes it does. Now do it again.”
Amber looked up at Mack with one eyebrow raised. He nodded towards her injured hand.
“Get the fuck out of here!” Amber was surprised to see the self inflected slash on her palm was almost healed.
“Again.”
Well, here goes nothing. Wait a minute. That sound? Both Amber and Mack heard a very loud screech. They only heard one that loud before. It came from an Alpha.
Amber heard some other strange noises just after the screech. The only way she could describe it was there were thousands of tiny birds all chirping at the same time. She'd never heard the nanites communicating with each other. It made her uncomfortable.
We can't stay here. I'm not sure we can take those things. Mack saw two figures approaching about a mile away. From the looks of them, they weren't in great shape. That made him feel a little better but still cautious.
“Are we…?” asked Amber. She saw the Alphas as well.
“Yeah.” Mack headed back into the pharmacy to get his and Amber's stuff. That included the shotgun.
“Is there a car in this town? Or maybe even a truck or something?” asked Amber.
“Afraid not. We're on foot.” Mack led the way out of the mining town.
They headed towards the mountains, but not because they were beautiful or picturesque. There was nowhere else to go besides back to Norman River. And fuck that.
***
It took the duo till dawn to get deep within the clay colored mountains. The Alpha's didn't stop following them. They seemed determined, obsessed.
Amber and Mack reached the top of one of the not so tall mountains. It gave them a favorable vantage point to keep their eyes on their pursuers. It also gave them a chance to get a good view of the surrounding area.
“Nothing but a whole lot of nothing,” said Amber as she looked out over the vast expanse of land below her. Other than a couple of dirt trails, car or ATV, they couldn't tell, there were no signs of human habitation to be seen.
Not worried about that. I'm worried about them. Or at least I was. They look like they are in rough shape. Mack watched the Alphas. Their movements weren't smooth at all. Every second looked like a struggle, but they didn't stop.
“Are we really going out there?” Amber wasn't thrilled about the prospect of crossing what she only assumed was referred to as the “outback”.
“
What's that?”
Amber went over to see what so fully captured Mack's attention. She saw the Alpha's struggle to climb the mountain. As far as she was concerned they weren't even a remote threat. Mack didn't feel the same way. Perhaps it was paternal instinct or paranoia. Those were the same things really.
“You know they aren't going to catch up with us right? So why worry?”
“Your probably right. Still, what do they want with us?” Mack kept staring at the Alphas.
“Kill us? Eat us? I don't know. Who cares? If we are going to have to walk across the continent we might as well get going while it's still dark.”
Mack looked over at her. He nodded. “Lead the way.”
***
Walking isn't usually a strenuous activity. A lot of people don''t even sweat. If someone got exhausted after taking their dog for a walk then that someone needs to go see a doctor. In other words, it's easy.
Walking for over twelve hours straight was a strenuous activity. It's one that Mack and Amber took part in. And like the latter predicted, they found nothing but open wilderness.
I don't think I've seen a tree for hours. Mack looked around. There was nothing. It was intimidating.
He took a gander behind him. The Alphas still followed them. They had become a thorn in his side, a nagging nuisance on his mind.
“Enough,” he said. He stopped walking.
“Enough what? What are you talking about?” Out of the corner of her eye, Amber noticed that Mack had stopped.
“Those things clearly want something.” Mack pointed at the Alphas. “Let's find out what.”
“Is that a good idea? Those things are pretty dangerous.”
Mack watched the Alphas. From what he could see, they weren't very dangerous anymore. The lead Alpha had a strange gait that would be familiar to any human with an afflicted nervous system. It was a far cry from the agile and menacing creatures that he saw jump from Haven's conning tower into an airborne helicopter. In their state he'd be surprised if they could jump a foot.
The Alpha behind the leader started smoking. There was one tiny explosion. Tens, then hundreds, then thousands of the nanites that composed it's body started blowing up into sparks and smoke. Without anything to hold it up right, the creature fell to the dirt. Upon hitting the ground all of the cohesiveness of it's shape fell apart and it became a pile of burnt out non functioning nanites.
“Okay, maybe they're not that dangerous,” commented Amber as she watched one of the two remaining Alphas go down. The leader kept coming.
Mack stood his ground. He watched as the lead Alpha got within thirty feet. The creature started to smoke.
All the nanites in the lead Alpha's legs gave out. They combusted and took all support out from under the being's upper torso. It fell face first into a shrub. That didn't stop it. Determined, the Alpha crawled towards Mack.
The leader of the Alphas, the last of the Alphas, didn't make it all the way to him. It knew it was almost out of time. So it opened one of it's hands and stared into Mack's eyes with it's own glowing yellow pair.
In it's outstretched open hand, Mack saw that the Alpha was holding a couple of empty vials. He didn't know the meaning of them. Really, it just confused him.
“Wanted freedom. Even if kill me. Freedom,” said the lead Alpha. It had a hard time getting the words out, not unlike a dying man. The vials rolled out of it's hand into the dirt.
“You. You. Not like I. Perfect.” Those were the last words of the lead Alpha. It pointed at Mack and pointed at Amber. Then it collapsed into a pile of deactivated and overloaded nanites.
Mack and Amber looked at each other. Neither of them had any clue what they just saw. If they were honest, neither of them cared. They were both just happy to be alive. Which was rare in the post outbreak world. Whatever came next, they'd face it together. Family always does.
About the Author
Brad Knight writes post-apocalyptic and science fiction. His influences include The Walking Dead and The Last of Us.
Subscribe to his mailing list or contact him at BradKnight.net
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Bull Harbor
Chapter 2: Road to Haven
Chapter 3: Ark
Chapter 4: The Fall of Shanghai
Chapter 5: Church
Chapter 6: Landfall
Chapter 7: Galatea Air
Chapter 8: Borroloola
Chapter 9: Maluku
Chapter 10: Crash and Burn
Chapter 11: Deja Vu
Chapter 12: Book of Revelation
Chapter 13: Escalation
Chapter 14: Fate
Chapter 15: Extinguished
Chapter 16: The Wasteland
Chapter 17: Wild Things
Chapter 18: Lazarus
Chapter 19: Perfection