by Cross, Amy
He pauses.
I want to say something to make him feel better, but I know I can't. There's nothing in the whole world.
“I wasn't even allowed to bury them,” he continues. “Disease, apparently. All bodies were taken away and put in some kind of pit. That's not very dignified, is it? They didn't even get a marker. They were just tossed into a pit and covered up.”
“I'm so sorry,” I say finally, taking another step forward, and now – in the darkness – I can just about make out the sight of a thin, wiry middle-aged man slumped with his back against a wall and his head in his hands. “I can't do anything to bring your wife and daughter back,” I tell him, “but we're trying to make things better. To save the people who are still around.”
He looks at me, and I see the face of a man who has lost everything.
“There's nothing worth saving,” he tells me. “We should all just die and get it over with.”
“No, you're wrong,” I say, stepping closer still. “There's a small group of us and we're trying to get more people to join us. We're going to force Patterson to stand down, and then good people, better people, are going to take control. We're going to make sure that everyone gets a chance.”
Stopping for a moment, I'm shocked by how I just sounded. Since when did I become someone who tries to encourage other people, who tries to give rousing little speeches? How did I end up here, in such a short period of time? I swear, over the past few months it's almost as if time has moved ten times faster than it should.
“What's that thing you're wearing?” he asks after a moment, peering at my chest. “That round thing.”
“This?” I look down at the badge for a moment. “It's kind of silly, I guess. You probably can't tell right now, but it's red. It's a sign of... something. That we're on the same side, I guess.”
“My daughter had a badge like that,” he replies, “except it was a ladybug.”
“This isn't a ladybug,” I tell him. “It could be, I guess, if you attached little legs.”
Suddenly I hear a rustling sound, and I glance at the man just in time to see that he's getting to his feet. He steps closer to me, and he seems a little uncertain.
“My name's Martin,” he says cautiously. “Martin Miller.”
“Elizabeth,” I reply. “Marter.”
“Marter?” He hesitates. “Are you related to John Marter? He was part of the Council.”
“He's my father,” I explain. For a moment, I feel as if I should tell him that my father's dead, but then I realize that I only have Bloom's word for that. Bloom might just be on our side, at least for now, but I still refuse to believe that Dad is dead. At least for now.
“Things were better when the Council took over,” Martin says. “My family survived. It was only after the battle that things went wrong.”
“That's what we're trying to fix,” I tell him.
He pauses again, staring at me for a moment as if he's not quite sure what to say.
“Sure,” he says finally, and then he reaches out a hand. “Do you have any of those badges going spare?”
Day 114
Elizabeth
By the time the sun begins to rise, Julianna and Martin and I have been wandering the streets for hours. We haven't managed to pick up any more recruits so far, but I guess that's not too surprising. The fact that we've managed to find Martin is something of a miracle, and he's actually wearing one of our badges. For the first time, I'm starting to think that we might have a chance.
“Shouldn't we be more careful?” Julianna asks cautiously. “Now that the sun's coming up, I mean. People might see us.”
“We should be okay,” I reply, “so long as we stay away from the areas where there are usually soldiers.”
“But what if we happen to bump into a patrol?” she continues. “Or what if someone sees us and goes to report us? Anything could happen!”
“We're okay for now,” I tell her. “But you're right about one thing. Maybe we should think about turning back. We're supposed to meet up with Natalie and the others soon, to see how everything's going. Let's just hope that they've managed to pick up a few new recruits.”
“Everyone hates the people who are in charge right now,” Martin says darkly. “The problem is, they're terrified of them. If you need to know why, just go to the square a few blocks from here. There are bodies in the -”
“I saw them,” I say, turning to him, not needing any further reminder. “I get it, people are terrified. That's why our only chance comes if we work together.”
I stop for a moment and look along the street, but I'm starting to realize that we need to be extremely cautious. Natalie wanted us all to meet up at sunrise, and I guess we should head back to the rendezvous point and figure out how to proceed.
Suddenly I hear a loud boom in the distance, and I turn just as the ground starts to shudder beneath my feet. Before I can react, there's a crashing sound nearby and glass shatters in several windows.
“What was that?” I shout.
“It sounded like a bomb went off,” Julianna says, her voice filled with panic.
“Are they fighting again?” Martin asks, before turning to me. “I thought you were trying to take back control without fighting!”
“We are!”
“And those guns are really just for defense, are they?”
“It's probably just a coincidence,” I point out, “and -”
Before I have a chance to finish, there's a second explosion, and then a third that sounds much closer. Screams start to ring out, and I take a couple of steps back as I realize that there seems to be some kind of bombing campaign starting in the city.
“We need to find Natalie,” I stammer. “And Bloom, and Ringcroft. Now!”
I turn and hurry back the way we came, and Julianna and Martin quickly follow. I'm starting to panic, and a moment later there's another – closer – explosion that feels as if it could almost lift me off my feet. We reach the next intersection and start to cross, but then I stop as I see people running in the distance, and a moment later there's the sound of gunfire.
“Maybe they're onto us!” Julianna gasps. “It's all going wrong! We have to retreat!”
She starts running, but for a moment I can only stare into the distance as I see plumes of smoke rising high above the city. Something about these explosions isn't making a lot of sense, and then suddenly several panicked figures appear at the next corner and look this way. Almost immediately, one of them points at us.
“There are more of them down there!” a man yells. “I think they've got her with them! It's the Marter girl!”
“What the -”
Before I can say another word, several soldiers rush into view, and I see them raising their weapons.
“Move!” I yell, grabbing Martin and pulling him around the corner just as machine-gun fire fills the air.
“Why are they shooting at us?” Martin gasps. “Why are they shooting at you?”
“Let's figure that out later,” I mutter, leading him quickly along the street and around another corner. I'm already lost, but I just need to find somewhere to hide and then I can try to work out what's happening.
“They said your name!” Martin points out. “Are you wanted?”
“Someone's coming!” I reply, and we both hurry into an abandoned building and hide behind a wall.
Sure enough, a moment later I hear several sets of footsteps getting closer.
“They must have come this way!” a voice says. “We've got an unconfirmed report that Elizabeth Marter was seen here with an unidentified male. They were both wearing the badges.”
“Bloom says he wants them all alive if possible, but he'll take them dead,” another voice replies. “Marter's the important one. She's the ring-leader of a little group that's trying to take control of the city.”
“How many are dead so far?” the first voice asks as they hurry away.
“It looks like scores,” the other voice replies. “They knew
exactly where to place the bombs for maximum damage. They even targeted children.”
I wait until the voices have faded into the distance, and then I turn to see that Martin is staring at me.
“It's not true,” I tell him. “I don't know what's happening, but there has to have been a mistake.”
“It sounds like they think you're leading a bunch of terrorists,” he replies cautiously, and I can tell that he's suspicious. “What do you know about -”
Suddenly there's another loud boom in the distance, the whole building shudders slightly.
“This is Bloom's work,” I whisper, as I start to realize that I was right all along about that bastard. “He's set us up to take the blame, but why? What does he have to gain from all this chaos?”
“It sounds like he wants you to be blamed in particular,” Martin points out.
“Because of my father,” I reply, horrified by the idea. “He must be trying to scare people into submitting to whatever he wants. Either that, or he's trying to spread hysteria across the city. If people remember my father, then they'll know who I am. This is Bloom's way of making himself look like some kind of savior.”
“Seems like a lot of trouble to go to,” Martin replies. “Why did he need you to be involved?”
“Maybe it was just the cherry on top of the cake,” I tell him, as I feel a growing sense of anger. “He played us. I knew we shouldn't trust him, but I let Natalie persuade me. I knew that Charles Bloom was a snake but I ignored my instincts. And now he's after us so he can...”
Suddenly I realize exactly what he wants. It's been a while since he carried out any public executions, and he's probably hoping to line us all up in the square and then hang us so that everyone can see our bodies. Looking down at the badge, I finally understand that these things are easy markers. All Bloom would have had to do would be to recruit some people to carry out the bombings, and make sure that they wore these badges. Then everyone would associate our rebellion with those atrocities, and the entire population would turn against us.
“We have to get out of here,” I say finally, as panic rises to meet my anger. “We have to figure out what to do to fix this, but first we have to get away.”
“No.”
I turn to him.
He pauses, before taking the badge from his chest and dropping it to the ground.
“I won't turn you in,” he continues, his voice trembling slightly with fear, “but I won't risk my life for you either. I'm sorry, but this is getting too big. I didn't sign up for this. Not to be shot down in a fight I could never win.”
I open my mouth to ask whether he's serious, but suddenly he turns and hurries away. I hear his footsteps heading off into the distance, and for a moment I can only stand in stunned silence. Then, realizing that I have to focus on getting to safety, I peer out at the street and see that – for now at least – there's no sign of anyone else. I guess most people have run to hide during the attacks, which hopefully means that it's only the soldiers I have to avoid.
I wait a moment longer, before taking the rifle from my shoulders and taking a firm grip, and then running out and scurrying across the road.
By the time I get to cover on the other side, my heart is pounding but at least I think I know which way to go. I take a deep breath, and then I hear voices yelling in the distance so I duck down behind a partially destroyed wall.
Suddenly there's a scream, and I turn to see Julianna running this way.
I begin to get up, to go and help her, but then a hail of gunfire ring out and I watch in horror as she drops to the ground. There are several soldiers already in view, rushing up behind her, and one of them quickly aims his gun down at her body and fires off a couple more rounds.
I flinch and pull away, unable to watch.
“She was definitely one of them,” a voice says. “She still had the badge on. The idiot hadn't even thought to take it off.”
“This is the one we have to keep an eye out for,” another voice replies. “Make sure to spread these round so everyone knows what she looks like. Stick one on a couple of those posts. Marter's the one behind all this. According to Bloom, she's working for her father.”
I hear them hurry away, but for the next few minutes I can only cower in silence. Finally, forcing myself to look, I turn and peer past the wall, and sure enough I see Julianna's dead body. I watch her for a moment, and then I check that the coast is clear before getting to my feet and hurrying over to check on her.
“Hey,” I whisper, dropping to my knees and nudging her arm. “Julianna.”
I glance both ways along the street, and then I look down and see Julianna's dead face, with her eyes wide open.
“I'm sorry,” I say, as tears run down my face, and then – still holding my rifle – I get to my feet and run.
In the distance, another loud explosion rocks the entire city.
Thomas
“What the hell's going on out there?” I gasp, as I hear yet another explosion. “It's like a war's broken out.”
I'm standing on tip-toes, trying to see out through the frosted window, but all I can see are occasional vague shadows. I've heard four or five distinct explosions over the past few minutes, however, as well as voices yelling in the distance. It's clear that something's happening out there, but I have no idea what.
I need to find a way out of here. Fast.
Elizabeth
“That way!” a voice shouts. “Someone just saw Marter going that way!”
I hear footsteps hurrying away, and at least that means they're going in the wrong direction. So far I've made it five blocks away from the spot where Julianna died, which means I probably have about four more blocks to go. I don't quite know how I've managed to avoid the soldiers, but I guess there aren't really as many of them as I'd feared. Still, I'm shivering with fear and I'm clutching my rifle and I can't quite bring myself to get up and run again.
For a moment, in my mind's eye, I imagine myself hanging from a post in the square, alongside all those other bodies.
“Look at her!” I imagine Bloom declaring to the crowd. “A traitor to us all! The leader of the Red Badge League. Daughter of the infamous John Marter. Look what happens to people who try to overthrow us!”
I squeeze the rifle tighter. I can't believe that I ignored my instincts and allowed myself to trust Bloom. Even when Natalie was telling me that we should be strong, that we should let him help us, I had this deep feeling in my gut that he was just a snake. I guess he's off somewhere now, laughing at how easily he managed to manipulate us, and how quickly he was able to get us to do what he wanted. I don't know who I hate more: him for causing all of this, or myself for walking straight into it so easily.
Suddenly another explosion shakes the street, and I hear more voices. Everything sounds a little further away now, so I figure maybe this is my chance to run. And then, just as I'm about to get to my feet, a piece of paper blows along the street and stops at my feet. Reaching out, I take the paper, and I'm horrified to see a familiar face.
It's me.
My hands are shaking so hard, I can barely even read this leaflet, but there's an old photo of me from social media, and below that there's some text:
WANTED
Elizabeth Marter
Daughter of Doctor John Marter
Leader of a terrorist cult
Reward for capture:
Double rations for a month, for your entire family
Warning: armed and dangerous
Seriously?
It's less than an hour since the first explosion, and people aren't suspicious that Bloom got these leaflets out into the streets already? Even in a non-apocalyptic time, that'd be impressive. The fact that he's managed it all during a period when resources are so limited should be a big red sign for everyone, but I keep hearing people yelling about me in the distance, and it's clear that most of the city is now out for my blood. I guess Bloom and his little room of computers and printers must have been busy.
“I swear,” I whisper, staring at the leaflet, “if I get my hands on you...”
I pause, before letting the leaflet go and watching as it blows away.
Getting to my feet, I check that there's no-one around and then I hurry along the street, keeping low and making sure that I'm ready to duck out of sight at any moment. I reach the next intersection and still don't see anyone, so I take a huge risk and run the next block as well. I'm ready for voices to shout out at any moment, but somehow I get to the next corner and finally I duck down again. If I'm right, I should only have a couple more blocks left to go, which means I'm almost back to the spot where we crossed through the barrier.
“Elizabeth!”
Startled, I turn and look back the way I just came. I raise the rifle and aim, but at first I don't see anyone. Then, finally, I spot someone waving at me, and I feel a flicker of relief as Ringcroft hurries over to join me.
“Where are you going?” he gasps breathlessly, before reaching over and pulling the red badge from my shirt. “And why are you still wearing this thing?”
“I'm going back to the barrier,” I stammer. “I have to -”
“And you don't think they'll be covering that spot?” he asks. “Be smart! That's exactly where they'll be expecting you to show up. That's probably why there aren't many soldiers on the streets, at least not this far from the center. Bloom fully expects you to walk right into his hands by returning to the hole in the barrier. You weren't actually going to go there, were you?”
“I...”
My voice trails off.
Now that he says it, I realize he's right.
“I just saw Natalie,” he continues. “She's heading east, toward a flattened part of the city. She thinks we'll be safe there for a while, at least until we can re-group and figure out what's happening.”