While her eyes were closed, she saw clear images of mom and dad, George and Beatriz tenderly tucking her to bed. Little Daisy would be sleeping soundly in her cradle, in the other room.
But the momentary breezes of her soothing memory once again gave room to the hurricane of hungry snarls, closing on her in expectation.
And Jill could hear them very clearly in her ears. Sounds of things breaking, the cry of the terrible monsters, the whole place seemed to be falling apart. But how come nobody had touched her yet?
Suddenly, everything quieted down. Am I dead? She asked herself. It took her some seconds to build the nerves to open her eyes and lift her head from the knees.
Jill’s face shone in astonishment. Nothing in the world could have prepared her for what she saw.
“I knew you’d come!”
The Owner dragged Ivy into the improvised corral, where the survivors of his army awaited. He closed the gate, but could not lock it on the inside. But that did not matter anymore.
“We still have some time before the critters storm in here.” The Owner said, dropping Ivy against a board. “Get ready, sweet heart. You’re going to get fat on bodily fluids today.”
He unzipped his pants. But before his hands could get any closer to his genitals, his right shoulder was crossed by a spear. The Owner fell in front of Ivy. His eyes goggled in her direction.
And the spear was not the only device that flew over the corral. A boomerang hit and stunned the rest of the men, followed by a woman who spun into the confined space, catching her weapon in midair.
“I should use this thing more often.” Lily observed.
“I don’t know who the heck you are, but start saying your prayers.” One of the men said.
“Only if you say amen when I finish” Lily replied.
The men advanced on her. And they learnt very fast it’s never a good idea to attack first a martial arts specialist. To Lily, they moved in slow motion. Even the Destructors had offered more resistance.
“Don’t kill them!” Joshua harshly commanded from the top of the monument. “Those are scumbags of the worst possible kind; therefore, juicy, delicious and nutritious. Mister Zomboy will have my hide if I don’t deliver them alive.”
“I’m not comfortable with that.” Lily said.
“What does he mean?” The Owner mumbled the question.
“He means you’re on tonight’s menu.” Lily answered. “Nothing I can do about it.”
The Australian’s karate ballet lasted for a few minutes before she neutralized all enemies. She walked to Ivy.
“There’s a girl…” Ivy whispered.
“She’s fine.” Lily assured her.
Ivy looked up and saw Jill sitting on Joshua’s shoulder and waving at her.
“Up you go…” Lily raised Ivy.
The Australian left the corral with Ivy in her arms, while Joshua’s natives stepped in.
“What are you going to do with these men, Mister Joshua?” Jill asked.
“They are going to be arrested, little one.”
“Do you have a prison in here?”
“Yes, we do.”
“Is there food in there?”
“Plenty!”
Ike made a good run, but he knew he could not outrun his determined pursuers. They were fast and would never get tired, while he was hurt and exhausted. Ike stopped breathless, his body bent down, hands resting on his knees.
Ike serenely waited for his fate. He saw Ivy and Jill running to the opposite direction. It comforted his soul the thought they could be safe. At least, he had done one good think in his life. There were worse ways to die, he considered.
The Destructors in the first row jumped on him.
“Just be careful with the tattoos, huh guys?” Ike spoke his last irony and thought that perhaps Ivy might have found it funny. Her laugher always gave him new reasons to live. He regretted not remembering if he had ever told her that.
He was pushed violently to the side by another man, dodging the beasts’ mad dash against him. Inertia caused the creatures to fall on each other like a domino. Ike and his savior collided against a fence gate.
The powerful living dead jumped back to their feet real fast and resumed pursuit.
“I hope they like pets.” Mate Clarkson said.
He kicked to the side some crates that were barricading the gate. The door broke open and a pack of mutant dogs crossed it furiously. They attacked everything that moved, which meant the Destructors. While zombies and four legged beasts fought and tried to eat each other, Mate and Ike made it inside the college administration building.
In there, they found Lily and Ivy with Jill in her arms.
“Hi honey!” Ike said.
Ivy gently let go of Jill and stood up, interrupting Lily’s patching of her leg. Ike opened his arms to hug his girlfriend, but she actually pounded his chest with hands closed in fists.
“What do you think you’re doing, you moron?” Ivy yelled at him, bursting in tears. “Why you left me like that? You’re crazy? How dare you to leave me alone? I can’t live without you!”
“Whoa!” Lily held Ivy. “You keep this up and you’ll render superfluous all efforts my friend put to save him.”
“Never, ever do that to me again!” Ivy ordered Ike, still weeping.
“Don’t be so hard on him.” Lily said. “Fathers do stuff like that to protect their families. It’s part of the deal.”
“Only if they are this good” Ivy spoke, getting a grip on herself and finally hugging her boyfriend.
“I was going to ask if you were all right, but I can see I don’t have to.” Ike said.
“I thought I had lost you.” Ivy replied.
“I was just trying to be helpful. Besides, you should be thanking my man here…”
“Mate Clarkson” The tennis player introduced himself.
“But you can call him Clark.” Lily spoke.
“…for saving my life.” Ike continued. “That was great, man! And the thing with the dogs was mighty clever.”
“We gathered and teased them just for that moment.” Mate said.
“And it was all his idea.” Lily revealed.
Ike and Ivy exchanged high fives with Clark.
“If you need anything, but anything at all, just ask, man!” Ike spoke to Mate.
“You can help me block this door.”
“Sure thing, buddy.”
“Now, if you please…” Lily called Ivy, waving improvised bandages at her.
“Oh yes.” She responded. “Totally forgot about it.”
Ivy sat down again and the Australian continued mending her leg wound.
“This is Lily!” Jill spoke full of excitement.
“I know that, peach.” Ivy replied.
“I told you she existed!”
“And if she is real, maybe so is Zachary Foxx!”
“I also decided to keep my tattoo.” Ike said.
Through the window, it was possible to see Joshua and his natives taking the Owner and his men to their doom, in the other side of the great walls.
The natives were dragging the captives by ropes tied up around their necks. Only the Owner was being pulled by the spear piercing his shoulder. He made faces of pain and tears ran down his cheeks.
“Astoga sota numa tica oma suca ina kote amaga sunega ota mawala sima.” Joshua spoke to his natives in their mother tongue, and they laughed.
Meanwhile, the Owner and his men did what many criminals do when they have to face punishment for their crimes – cry and beg for their lives.
You keep dragging them like this and you will make them look like dogs, Joshua’s words translated.
Lily, Mate and the rest of the group went to a higher floor, easier to barricade.
“The super zombies and the mighty dogs are still busy licking one another.” Clark said, looking out of the window. “We’ll be safe in here for a while.” He turned to Lily. “Now we let them have it.”
Lily smiled.
“Why would scientists create mutant dogs?” Mate divagated aloud, scratching his head.
“Heck if I know.” Lily answered.
“Maybe they were trying to raise super fleas.” Ivy said.
“Who are you anyway?” Lily asked her new friends.
“Ah, I’m surprised you’re even asking!” Ike replied. “My name is Ike, this is Ivy, and we are a rock ‘n’ roll band!”
Lily and Clark frowned.
“Oh, I’m sure you’ve already heard some of our greatest hits” Ike continued “The killer bees are making me mad, Murderer sisters, My guitar was swallowed by a bear, The naked sailor…”
“The flying cell phones, My agent is a jerk, I’m fathering a mummy, My breasts are melting…” Ivy tried as well. “Come on, you got to know this one!”
Lily and Mate were still frowning.
“Never mind” Ike sighed.
“What’s the name of your band?” Lily queried.
“Ike & Ivy,” Ike answered “with an ampersand.”
“It was supposed to be Ivy & Ike.” Ivy said. “But then Ike convinced me Ike & Ivy was more musical.”
“What are you doing in here anyway?” Clark asked.
“The same old story” Ike replied. “Ivy and I on the road, trying to get gigs, even got some good ones, but then the plague hit. We tried to get help, even called our agent, but when he started to snarl on the phone, we understood we were on our own.”
“Then, little rascal here found us.” Ivy petted the girl’s head and she smiled.
“Very brave this one, eh?” Lily said.
“Thanks.” The girl said flushing.
“You have no idea!” Ivy continued. “Her name is Jill and she’s a runaway, pretty much like the rest of us. We ended up here by luck I guess.”
“You have to help us, Lily!” Jill said, pulling the Australian’s left hand. “They are killing people!”
“Yes.” Ike spoke. “It seems there’s some cult-like shit going on in a city called Brokenville.”
“Jill told us they test people in there.” Ivy said. “And if you don’t pass the tests, they make you drink a poison or something. It’s like a mass suicide.”
“They were going to do the same with her.” Ike pointed at Jill. “But she ran away and stumbled on us.”
“They killed my mom, my dad and my baby sister.” Jill spoke.
“Oh, real sorry to hear that, lass” Lily said and turned to Ike and Ivy. “It was very nice what you did for her, taking her and all.”
“How could we not?” Ivy spoke tenderly and got another smile from Jill.
“You said they test people in this city what its name?” Mate asked.
“Brokenville” Ike replied. “And yes, that’s the story. Apparently, the idiots are trying to get perfection somehow.”
“It sounds like Undertaking stunt alright.” Mate said.
“It got their signature all over it, as much as this place.” Lily agreed.
“The weirdoes are definitely everywhere.” Clark commented.
“Undertaking?” Ivy queried. “What is this thing?”
“The people behind all our problems, from the zombie plague to Devasta Land, passing by your little suicidal town.” Lily explained.
“They call the whole thing Undertaking, and the ones involved with it are the Undertakers.” Clark continued. “Basically, it’s a big corporation working to run the show worldwide.”
“How?” Ike asked incredulous.
“Pretty much what you see” Lily answered. “First a virus to cause an apocalypse, then they rebuild the world as they please, and only with the ones who please them, clearly not us.”
“Okay, okay…” Ivy massaged her temples to help her mind process what she had just heard. “I can understand them trying to call the shots, but what about people? How come they accept it? Are you meaning to tell me they just go to a town, let themselves be tested and willfully commit suicide when strangers tell them they didn’t pass?”
“Just take a look outside.” Mate said. “And all you’ve been through so far. I figure you guys had a very busy time.”
“We did.” Ike confirmed.
“People got families to think of.” Clark continued. “In the current situation, they’ll do anything to make things as they were before ‒ safe, secure and peaceful. And the Undertakers make them believe their way is the only way.”
“Those broadcasts we heard.” Ike recalled.
“Yes, but making people take their own lives…” Ivy whispered.
“They can be very persuasive.” Lily said.
“And if you think this is bad, you don’t know the half of it.” Clark proceeded. “Right now, the Undertakers have the majority of world population under their control.”
“This is not possible.” Ike shook his head.
“Have you by any chance had a real bad headache?” Mate asked.
“We have.” Ivy replied. “Do you know what that was?”
“A signal they sent to control everybody’s mind.” Clark responded “Strong enough to hit the whole planet.”
“You mean we are under their control?” Ivy queried. “It surely doesn’t feel that way.”
“Not us.” Mate replied. “Some equipment built in this place kind of shielded Devasta Land from the effects of this signal. Our minds are free, but we are the exception.”
“The whole world is controlled by these people?” Ike asked nearly in despair.
“That’s right.” Clark answered.
“Then what are we going to do?” Ivy asked.
And all eyes turned to Lily. The Australian scratched her chin.
“There is something we can do.” She said.
“Is there?” Ike spoke surprised.
“Something that’s been hovering around my head” Lily replied.
“What is it?” Ivy queried with very curious eyes.
“I’d rather tell it on the way.” Lily responded. “With Condor City defenseless and about to be retaken, we definitely have to rush.”
Mate Clarkson walked to her.
“That means we are back to the old routine for good?” He asked Lily.
“It looks that way.” She answered. “I’m really sorry for everything I said to you back in the cave. Please, don’t ever grow up! I like you just the way you are.”
“I know. And you don’t have to apologize. I understand all the pressure, it’s not easy. But that’s why you got me, Lily. Wherever you go, I’ll always be there by your side, so you can spend your life taking care of me.”
“And I wouldn’t want it in any other way.” Lily said with tearful eyes.
“I’ve always believed we don’t need to be perfect.” Ivy intervened. “It’s impossible anyway. As long as you’re good, you’re right just the way you are.”
“Now, I’m dying to know what Zomboy said to you back there.” Mate spoke. “It got to be good!”
“Ah, I’ll never forget our little hanging out…” Lily replied.
NOT SO LONG AGO…
Lily went into the leisure area. It was strangely empty and quiet, but she liked it better that way. She always did, maybe too much sometimes. She contemplated the gracious waterfall, one of the many gifts of nature, bringing not only fun and refreshment, but also the so much needed running water to grow food and quench people’s thirst.
The Undertakers claimed they were just trying to stop humans from exhausting such precious gifts. But did they have to go so far? Lily had learnt long ago never to trust the reasons behind the actions of the greedy ones. There’s always a catch.
And the existence of those caverns was proof enough there were ways for humans to live in peace and harmony with nature, without the control thing; giving or taking the laceration of one or two scumbags.
That was when Lily noticed she was not alone after all. She turned around and saw Zomboy, sitting on a deckchair.
“Am I disturbing you?” He asked.
“No.” Lily a
nswered. “I was just thinking.”
“Oh yes, the blessing and curse of rational beings. Mind if I stay here and think with you?”
“It’s your cave.”
“No, it’s our cave. If you want, I can do my thinking elsewhere. That’s when I wish zombies could sleep.”
Lily smile.
“Do you think I’m running away like a coward?” Lily asked.
“No. Why would I make such judgment? This is coming from you. Besides, I’m the one hiding.”
“Because you have to.”
Zomboy looked straight at her. His eyes shone in the semi-obscurity brought by the bioluminescence.
“Perhaps, you have to as well.” He said.
“What can we do anyway? Like you said, they are just too powerful. What’s the point of trying? Why am I feeling so helpless?”
“It’s normal.”
“Is it?”
“Oh yes. You see, in a situation like this, it's very common for people to get depressed, because they think there's nothing left to live for. All hope is gone anyway. Some just give up and end their most precious gift, becoming dead, and not the undead kind of dead, just plain dead.”
Zomboy stood up and walked to her.
“Others will do anything to survive and turn into animals, even worse than zombies.” The dead man continued. “And there are those who are incapable of evil, but in despair they hold on to anything that makes them believe things can still be as they were before, and wind up deceived by empty promises of false idols.”
Apocalily Series (Book 2): The Almighty Lady of Tomorrow Page 18