Dead World Rising (Book 1): Staying Human

by Petrova, Katerina

  I came from Ross Head in Northern Ireland, I had been backpacking around England when the outbreak happened. I had grown up learning how to fight from my older brothers, so in a way I was lucky. I was walking down the road near Jade's when I heard the fighting noises, I rushed in to help but sadly I couldn't save everyone. That was six months after things went bad, I had been with them ever since.

  Being with her group gave me something I had never truly had, a family. As I was raised as Gypsy I had never known what it was like to feel equal or be looked at as a person instead of a prize. I had ran away from home, my very religious father was planning to marry me off to a man almost double my age. Though my brothers had tried to stop it they feared my father's temper so were unable to do anything.

  My mother was a quiet and timid woman who had never stood up him, I missed my brother's terribly it was they who had helped me escape. As the only girl I was expected to obey my father's commands and marry the suitor that he had chosen.

  I had loved my parents but I could not stand being forced to be with some one I hated, the man my father had chosen was cruel and sadistic. We'd all heard the stories of how he had treated his first wife, before she committed suicide that is.

  He had abused her for many years, she bore him three children all of whom were girls. Many of the people who lived in my home town had not yet come into the 21st century, they still lived in an era where women were second class citizens. We were treated like slaves and expected to be okay with it.

  The man had wanted me because I was young and fertile and he hoped I could give him sons to carry on his line. I can still remember begging my father not to sell me to him, anyone but him and I would have stayed but my father refused because Montgomery aka Monty was very rich and had not only promised father money but also my brothers lifetime jobs working for him. I had never told a soul back home that I favoured women, my father would have beaten me black and blue if he'd known. I wouldn't even dare tell my brothers, it took me such a long time to accept myself.

  Monty would look at me like he was undressing me with his eyes, it made me sick to see and when I left I was so thankful not to have to see him again.

  I could not have thought of anything worse than being married to him, I had always dreamed of being able to travel the world but never in a million years would my father allow it. The night I escaped my home was a terrifying one indeed, my father had gone out to the pub while my mother nursed another black eye. I had not told my mother of my plans to leave if I had she would have told my father, my three brothers took me out of our back door which led to an alley way. They took me down to the docks where I boarded a ship to England, I cried as hugged each of them goodbye. Though I was relieved to be leaving my horrible life behind, I felt a sadness in my heart knowing that I could never return.

  Just as I boarded the ship my father came barrelling down the road, he was screaming for me to come back but I ignored his threats and I got to the top of the stairs I looked down at his angry red face and I knew I'd done the right thing. The last horrific sight I saw of my home town was of my brothers fighting to keep my father from stopping the ship, my heart swelled with the love I had for them. Not only had they tried to shield me from my father's rages as we grew up, they had gotten me to safety and now they were ensuring that my father didn't come after me. I let the tears fall that night, how I wished they could have come with me but I knew they had to stay behind to protect our mother.

  Now that I was gone it would be her who would truly suffer at the hands of my father, I felt an overwhelming sense of guilt as the ship sailed through the ocean. I had brought shame to my family and my poor mother would be tormented over letting me escape, no doubt my father would assume that she had known of my plans.

  I had to take comfort in the fact that he would never find me and I could live out my days in peace. All that was before the outbreak, I had been on the road for three years before the virus. I took crappy jobs wherever I could and mostly slept in a tent but in truth I was free and the lack of a home never did get me down.

  I never regretted leaving my home, but I did miss my brothers; Anthony was the eldest he was twenty-five when I left, it was he who used to put me on his shoulders when I was little and run around the room he always made me laugh. George was the middle brother, he was the tallest one out of the lot of them; I used to play football with him when my father went out.

  My father would never have allowed me to do boy things but when he wasn't around my brothers always let me join in their games. Simon was the youngest brother he was nineteen when I last saw him, he was the joker out of us; he always had me laughing. I can still remember one time when father was telling me off for something and Simon stood behind him pulling faces, it took everything in me not to laugh.

  Despite the pain I was in I smiled at the memories of my brothers, without them my life would have been empty of love and laughter. I only wished I could see them again just to say thank you for everything they did for me, I didn't cry as I thought about them for all my memories of them were the best ones I'd ever had.

  My mind returned to the present just in time to see Izzy, Cammi and Jillian come through the door with worried looks on their faces.

  'You two alright?' Jillian asked concernedly.

  'I'm fine, but Tamara's done a number on her leg,' Finn told them.

  'Let me take a quick look,' Jillian replied.

  'Make it quick lass, we need to rescue Frankie and Jensen,' I told her impatiently.

  She took only a few moments to look at it, Jillian asked Izzy to hand her the medical bag.

  'You've mostly just bruised it, very badly I might add. You've got a hell of a cut though, how did this happen?' She asked as she tended to it.

  'A roof fell on it,' I replied plainly.

  'Well you're lucky, if this cut had been even a few millimetres deeper you'd be in trouble,' After she patched me up we decided that Finn and Izzy would take front while me, Jillian and Cammi would walk behind. I wasn't happy but I agreed, I hated being put out of the fight. We were cautious as we climbed the stairs leading to the first floor, we kept our eyes and ears open. We saw no corpses on the first floor, though the dust from the second floor had travelled down here. We crept quietly as we walked along the long foreboding hallway, the sky outside was turning a dark orange colour as the sun fell under the horizon. I felt a cold shiver go through me, we needed to hurry up as none of us wanted to be here after dark. The second floor held more danger than the first, Finn took care of a dead one just as we stepped out of the stairwell. He motioned for us to stay back while he took a peek round the corner, I knew the news wasn't good when he looked back as an expression of fierce concern was laid upon his face.

  'There's twenty of them at least,' he whispered.

  'Shit, how are we going to get them out?' I asked quietly. We all stood for a moment thinking, we needed to hurry up. I hadn't got a good look as to where the stairwell was to the roof, so I didn't know how quickly Frankie and Jensen could get down here or even if they could. One thing I knew, we weren't going to just leave them there to die.

  Chapter 24

  Jade

  Maggie, Ellen, Hayley and I had been with these new men for just over a month, as each day passed my hope of the others coming rescue me grew dimmer. How on earth would they be able to get to Scotland? Especially this far north, from what the other women had told me we were about 50 miles south of the safe zone. To be so close yet so far from what many women had described as sanctuary was just cruel.

  While I did not think I would ever see a group more vicious and sadistic as Dave's group, Nathaniel and his men were far, far worse. Public beatings happened almost daily, chains were wrapped around our necks to prevent escape attempts. Guards kept watch outside our doors at all times, we were often denied food and water to see how long we would go before we begged. It seemed only when the women became pregnant that the men treated them with almost kindness, once they housed babes in their bell
ies they were moved to much nicer housing. Beds were made for them, fresh clothes were put on their backs and if those women behaved themselves they could even have the chains removed.

  I knew I could never be one of those women, for I had been sterilized long before the outbreak. Poor Hayley was not so lucky, within a day of being here her captor had his way. Now as the month had passed and she did not bleed, I heard her tears from the cage next to me. She told me that she'd never believed in a God or a higher being, but now she knelt on the floor, tears streaming down her face as she begged for God to rid her of this child in her belly. I reached through the bars and gripped her hand, there were no words that would comfort her but I smiled gently trying to do all that I could.

  She smiled at me graciously but continued to pray, I wanted nothing more than to tell her it would all be okay but I wasn't in the business of making false promises. I didn't see Maggie that often as Nathaniel had chosen her as his pet, but I knew that Ellen kept a close eye on her. When I did see Maggie I was always surprised at how well kept she looked compared to the other women I shared a room with, I tried to ask her about it but she just looked at me as if to say 'don't ask.'

  I was just thankful that she was being somewhat well cared for, while I on the other hand did not have to endure being violated though I did get a few smacks when I spoke out of turn. The rules at this compound were far worse that they had been at Dave's, but in some ways it was better. Those who obeyed were rewarded beyond imagination, it took a long time of complicit servitude to acquire such luxuries but they were an incentive for women to submit.

  One of the women I shared a room with was called Leah, she was about my age with short jet black hair, hazel eyes, skin as white as snow and a body that could give Katie Price a run for her money. She was quiet in nature but she always watched what went on within the compound, she was the one all newcomers asked questions of.

  'Leah, what's with the hold up?' I asked her one morning.

  The men should have gone back to Dave's group days ago, but they had not even attempted to go.

  'One of the babies are sick, it's one of Maddox's. Poor mite was up all night, I heard him when I was on my rounds,' she replied sadly. Leah wasn't a doctor but like me she knew a lot about herbs and how to use them, she had been appointed midwife to all the babies. Unlike Dave's group, there were a fair few babies here. I had counted ten, two women were due to give birth any day and I knew of at least six others who were pregnant. I had to give them credit though, they were well prepared for the arrivals of little ones. They'd kitted out several of the houses nearby and made them suitable for babies, the place we all lived in was a small village called Brora on the north eastern coast of Scotland. The group had cordoned off small section near the water's edge, it wasn't much but it was large enough to hold everyone.

  'Poor thing, can you help him?' I asked concernedly. 'Aye, I gave the little mite my amber necklace which should help, I also gave him a face massage and told his mum to put a cold cloth on his face.' Her strong Scottish accent came through as she spoke.

  'Glad there's someone other than me who knows about herbs, I'm not great with babies,' I confessed.

  'Ha ha, it's alright, I quite enjoy it. I was a midwife in my local village before all this,' she told me quietly.

  'When do you think they'll go back to Dave's group?' I asked in a hushed voice.

  'Not until the other two babes are born, which should be any day. Though, I'm not sure how many more people this compound can take,' she said worryingly.

  'I have to admit these men are much more organised and prepared than the last group of men I was with,' I replied.

  'I heard about them, the leader was afraid of Nathaniel wasn't he?'

  'Oh yeah, he practically wailed like a baby when Nathaniel came knocking,' I told her trying not to laugh. Since being here I had spoken to Leah in length about things, one of the first things she'd told me was that I shouldn't try to escape. The punishment for escaping was far worse than anything I could imagine, though she wouldn't tell me exactly what that was.

  'Alright ladies, time for breakfast,' called Maddox as he strode through the door. The house we lived had been remodelled into a prison, there were several wrought iron cages built into each room. In the room I lived in which used to be a living room, there were six cages built it. I had one, so did Leah and Hayley, there were three other women but they refused to speak to or even look at us. They were among the few who sought to earn the luxuries by obeying every command, I felt sorry for them whoever they used be was gone. I swore that would not be me, even if I did obey their every command I would still retain who I was deep down.

  Maddox waited by the door while we all walked out in single file, the dining room was an old library that they had converted. I'd no idea how they'd managed to do all of this, despite their vile and abusive nature they were all smart men. The layout of the dining room reminded me of the olden days when king's and queens used to really rule, there was a long table at the at the back of the room which had been place horizontally while ten other long tables were placed vertically next to each other. Nathaniel, Maddox, Cyrus, Byson and their women sat at the back table, I could see Maggie next to Nathaniel.

  Even at this distance I could see she looked well, he long slightly wavy ginger hair fell down her back. Her green eyes sparkled in the sunlight that shone through the windows, today she was wearing a dress fit for a queen. It was long and flowy with mesh sleeves that came to her wrists, the material was light though I couldn't quite see what it was made of. The neckline dipped right down, showing off her small cleavage, I could see the gold embroidery round the neckline and around her waist. She appeared to be smiling, though I could not help but think it was a fake smile.

  'Take your seats everyone, breakfast will soon be served,' Nathaniel announced. There was nothing but silence as he spoke, no one dared speak unless told to. I sat down between to Leah and Hayley, Ellen was on the other end of the table we sat on. She saw me and smiled, as a doctor she was treated with a significant amount of respect as long as she caused no trouble. While they had no electricity there were plenty of home made fires in which to cook the food on, they did also have some livestock like chickens and cows. I was surprised at how well fed we could be, as the cooks brought out the food and drink, I could smell it before I saw it. Glasses and- holy heck there were actual eggs!

  I could not stop my mouth from watering as they placed the plates on the table, there was just about every kind of egg I could think of, scrambled, fried, boiled there was even an omelette. I looked at Hayley and Leah to find a look of surprised delight on their faces.

  'This is a reward for those of you who have proved your worth, and have been loyal to our cause,' Nathaniel said proudly.

  Nathaniel often spoke about 'their' cause, none of us could figure out just what that meant. To me it mostly seemed like they just wanted to repopulate the earth and have fun, but I had suspected that the leader had another motive not that I knew for sure but it was a gut feeling.

  'As you will notice, many of the others are not here. They have betrayed our cause by attempting to escape, once you've eaten I want you all gathered by the clock tower. You will all see what happens to those who betray our cause, now eat!'' Nathaniel commanded.

  I noticed how quickly the other women were eating, I followed suit and shovelled as much in my mouth as I could. Good Goddess it had been a long time since I'd eaten this well, I'd forgotten how good real food tasted. I kept a close eye on Maggie who, despite the awful news we'd received was still smiling brightly.

  As we gathered outside the sun beamed down on my face, I didn't know what time it was but it couldn't have been later than one in the afternoon. I was lucky that in the sun I rarely burned, unfortunately some of the other women weren't so lucky. I could see some of their skin was as red as a lobster, none of the men had managed to gather any sun cream so many of the women were in pain due to being burned. We gathered by the clock tower as ins
tructed, I didn't know what was going to happen but I felt the butterflies in my stomach and I knew it would be bad.

  There next to Nathaniel and Maddox stood two young women, they could not have been more than twenty. One girl was a tiny little thing, she was barely five foot, she had matted brown hair that clung to her shoulders. Her pale blue eyes seemed void of all emotion, her pale skin was tight around her mud soaked face. She did not look well fed like the rest of us, I wondered how long she had been without food, given how skinny she was it must have been some time.

  The the other girl was tall, about the same height as Frankie with short cropped black hair that barely came to her chin. Her jet coloured eyes were just like her friends, empty of all human feelings. Her skin was caramel in colour and I wondered if she might be Indian, she too looked under fed.

  While the girls had no chains or ropes around them, they did not move an inch. None of us in the crowd dared to speak as Nathaniel and Maddox grabbed the women by the arms and dragged them to the clock tower.

  'This is what happens to those who go against our cause!' Nathaniel shouted. Neither of the girls said a word as they were tied to the clock tower, I had not noticed before but there was wood and hay at the bottom of it. Shit, they were going to burn these poor girls alive. I dared not speak for fear that I would meet the same fate, I saw Maggie standing behind the clock tower with a long, thick wooden stick in her hand. Thin bandages were wrapped around the top of it which was on fire, fuck, Maggie was going to be their executioner! No one said anything as Maggie lit the hay and wood at the girls feet.

  As I looked at Maggie, there was no emotion on her face as she stood watching the flames lick at the girls. Where was my sweet, innocent Maggie, I wondered sadly?