Dark Apocalypse: A Post-Apocalyptic Family Saga

by Gabriel Alexander

  “Cover me, I’m reloading!” Bill said at one point.

  Sophie did just that. She got up and fired four shots, hitting a rebel and killing him. Then, she fired again, this time killing two rebels. Soon, her husband joined her, firing three shots and killing one rebel, before missing another rebel the second time.

  “Enough games,” Drake Rim said, at one point. “Bring the RPG!”

  One rebel came from behind the convoy with the RPG. He put it on the shoulder and aimed.

  “Fire!” Rim ordered.

  “Shit! Get down!” Bill told Sophie.

  The two ducked, as the rebel fired the missile. It hit the wall, pulverizing it. Dust and debris fell on the two, as they were getting up. Their ears were ringing and they were disoriented.

  “Are you okay?” Bill asked Sophie.

  “I’m fine, just a little stunned,” she answered. “You?”

  “I’m fine too. Just a little stunned as well.”

  “You, you, you and you,” Drake said, while pointing at four of his rebels. “Go up there and see if they are still alive!”

  The four rebels entered the building and they cautiously headed upstairs. When they reached the top of the stairs, two of the rebels headed toward the room where the two were. But when they got next to the door frame, Bill and Sophie greeted them with two knives in their guts. They fell to the ground and died. The other two rebels fired at them when they saw this scene. Sophie returned fire and put four bullets into both of them. Their bodies fell down the stairs with a thud.

  Sophie and Bill then went downstairs and hid behind the wall.

  “Are you ready?” Sophie asked Bill.

  “As ready as I’ll ever be,” Bill replied.

  They turned the corner and started running toward the barricade they built from chairs, tables and other debris in the middle of the street, while the rebels kept firing at them. They reached it, hid behind it and started to return fire. Their first burst killed about four rebels. Then, Sophie fired two shots at a rebel hiding behind a car. She missed him. But her husband didn’t.

  “I’m reloading!” Sophie said.

  “I’ll cover you,” Bill told her.

  The rebels’ bullets kept hitting the barricade. As Sophie reloaded, Bill kept firing. His first three bullets hit nothing but the ground, but his next three hit a rebel. Then he hit another one and another one. Three rebels, one after the other. Then, his wife reloaded and she started firing as well. She hit no less than five rebels from her first burst. Then, she hit another three.

  Suddenly, however, a bullet hit her right in the chest. She collapsed on the ground.

  “No!” Bill yelled. He ran toward her, grabbed her in his arms and told her:

  “It’s okay, honey. You’re going to be just fine. It’s okay.”

  Sophie put her hand on his cheek and told him:

  “Bill… I love…you… so much…”

  These were her last words before she died in his arms.

  “No! You sons of bitches!” Bill yelled, before grabbing his gun and starting to fire again. But after hitting three more rebels, luck ran from him as well. Two bullets hit him in the gut and he collapsed on the ground.

  “Yes!” Drake Rim yelled, excited. “I finally got you, you bastards!”

  He jumped out of his car and headed toward the two. When he reached Bill, he saw him standing next to his wife’s body, facing up, coughing up blood and holding one hand on his wounds and the other still on the weapon. Drake pointed his revolver at him and said:

  “Say hi to your wife for me.”

  “Not before you say hi to your brother in hell,” Bill said, before he sat up, pointed the weapon at his head and fired. Drake Rim fell to the ground, dead. When the other rebels saw what happened to their leader, they started firing at Bill. They fired their whole clips in him, before he collapsed again. He died ten seconds later.

  ***

  Thomas, Julie and Carla reached in front of the gates of another community. From the outside, it looked peaceful. A smell of a delicious cooked meal was heading toward them. They couldn’t hear anything suspicious from beyond the wall to tell them that this community was bad. Still, they were fearful. But they had no choice. They were dirty, hungry, and out of ammo. They had to risk it.

  “Should we try to enter?” Carla asked Thomas.

  “Yes,” Thomas answered. “But we stay only for one week.”

  ***

  The woman got out of the car, as soon as it stopped. She was then escorted by three rebels to her husband’s dead body. Her blonde hair was shaking in the wind. Her eyes were filled with sadness; understandable, given the fact that her lover was just killed.

  As she was walking toward her lover’s dead body, tears flowed down her cheeks from her blue eyes. In her mind, she cursed those who killed her lover and thus sentenced her and her unborn child to a life of loneliness and misery. The child that was now inside her would now grow up without ever knowing who its father was. It was not fair. She was sentenced to raise the child alone. Not fair either.

  When she reached her beloved’s dead body, she kneeled in front of it, petted his face and started crying loudly.

  “Don’t worry, Drake,” she said. “Don’t worry. One day, our child is going to avenge your death. That I promise you. I promise you I will make sure that it will not rest until your death will be avenged. It will find the children of those who did this and it will kill them, just like they killed its father. And then your soul will rest in peace. Of that, I assure you, my love. I assure you.”

  PART TWO

  CHAPTER NINE

  The bride headed toward the altar. The darkness in the small, wooden church was dissipated by all the torches placed in key positions. They enhanced her cheekbones. She was extremely pretty, with her elaborate curly hairstyle, beautiful white dress, specially tailored for this occasion, her white shoes and the red roses in her hand. Her brother was holding her hand, walking with her, while her groom waited for her in front of the altar, along with the priest.

  The two eventually reached the altar. The bride grabbed the groom’s hand.

  “She is all yours now,” her brother said.

  Then, the two stepped in front of the priest. The crowd sitting behind them was filled with excitement.

  “Dearly beloved,” the priest said, “we are gathered here today to witness the union between two of God’s children in the holy matrimony.”

  From the crowd, sounds of sobbing could be heard over the priest’s words.

  “Marriage is a holy institution, created by God so that two people can share their love for each other. It is a sign of unity, as the two will unite their bodies and be one flesh. It is a sign of commitment, since the two will have responsibilities and hardships to endure over the course of their union.”

  The bride’s brother stood in the front row, watching his sister becoming someone’s wife. The community’s leader, standing next to him, approached him.

  “My God, Thomas, how quickly the years passed,” he said to him.

  “Indeed,” Thomas said.

  “It seemed like yesterday, when you knocked at my community’s gates and we opened. How old was Julie then? Four? Five?”

  “Four, sir. She was four.”

  “Four years old. It’s been twenty years since then. And now look at her. About to become a wife. Can you believe how quickly things evolve?”

  “Yep, that’s true. I wish our parents were here to see this.”

  “How do you know they are not watching from up there right now, proud and happy about what they see?”

  “Yes, sir! I suppose maybe you’re right.”

  “Julie,” the priest said, “do you take Darryl to be your lawfully wedded husband, to love and to cherish, in sickness and health, for richer and for poorer?”

  “I do!” the bride said.

  “Darryl, do you take Julie to be your lawfully wedded wife, to love and to cherish, in sickness and health, for richer and for poo
rer?”

  “I do!” the groom said.

  “Then I hereby pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride!”

  The bride and groom kissed and everybody screamed, whistled and applauded in happiness and exaltation.

  For the rest of the day, or better said, night, since it was dark outside, the party went on undisturbed by any unforeseen events. Everybody mingled, danced like crazy, and enjoyed the party like there was no tomorrow. The bride herself danced with her groom, emanating good spirits. But from a certain point of the night, sometime between the main course and dessert, she seemed like she became a different person. She kept her head down, her laughter was gone from her lips, and even tears started flowed on her cheeks.

  “What’s wrong, Julie?” Darryl asked.

  “Nothing,” Julie answered, before getting up and leaving the table for an isolated corner. Thomas, her brother, noticed as well, and she went after her. He found her crying. Darryl came right behind him, but Thomas sent him away, reassuring him that he’ll talk to his wife and get to the bottom of this.

  “Julie, what’s going on?” Thomas asked.

  “I wish mom and dad were here,” Julie said with sadness in her voice.

  “Yeah, I wish they were here too,” Thomas said.

  “It’s not fair, Thomas. It’s not fair. Why did they have to leave so early from us? Why did they have to die so young? They had plenty more years to live ahead of them. If it wasn’t for those goddamn rebels, they would be here right now, watching me becoming someone’s wife and starting my own family. Why is life so unfair, Thomas? Why?”

  Thomas hugged her.

  “I don’t know, Julie. I don’t know why life is not always milk and honey. But it is what it is. Sometimes life sucks. Sometimes it seems like it’s more beautiful than ever. I wish mom and dad were here too. But unfortunately, fate wanted something else for them. It wanted them to fight the rebels so we got to live and secure their legacy. If it wasn’t for them, we would be dead right now. They sacrificed themselves so we could live. Besides, look at it this way: maybe they are looking at us from up there, somewhere, proud and rejoicing. Who knows?”

  “Yeah, maybe you’re right. Maybe they did see everything from up there.”

  Thomas released her from her grip.

  “Come on! Let’s go back to your husband!”

  “Yeah, you’re right!”

  ***

  It was seven o’clock in the morning, which meant it was still dark outside. But Julie woke up and sat up on the bed. She yawned and rubbed her eyes, in an attempt to drive away her sleep.

  Suddenly, she felt Darryl’s hand on her naked skin, petting her.

  “So you’re up too?” she asked him.

  “Yes, honey, I’m up too,” he said, kissing her on the shoulder. “But I suggest you stay in bed with me for a little longer. What do you say?”

  Julie smiled.

  “I can’t. Thomas is probably waiting for me.”

  “So let him wait. If he truly is your brother, he will wait for you.”

  “Do you want your breakfast or not, Darryl?”

  “Of course I do.”

  “Then let me get dressed, grab my rifle, and go with Thomas to hunt something.”

  “You’ve got all the time in the world to do that. Now get back to bed and let’s make some wild, crazy love.”

  “We did that last night. Haven’t you had enough?”

  “No. I want to make love to my wife once again. Is that too much to ask, baby?”

  “Right now, yes, it is.”

  Julie got up from the bed and took her bra and panties. She put them on.

  “This is so unfair, you know that?” Darryl said to her. “I just wanted to cuddle you some more.”

  “I’ll tell you what, Darryl…” Julie said, before putting her T-shirt on. “When I come back from hunting, we will have the craziest, wildest, most perverted sex two people could ever have. And then I will prepare you the most delicious breakfast in the world. Okay? Sounds about right?”

  Darryl sighed.

  “Yes, I suppose so.”

  Julie put on her socks, jeans, boots and jacket. She then grabbed her rifle from the wall and got out in the hallway. But before she could close the door, Darryl said:

  “I’ll be waiting for you right here.”

  Julie rolled her eyes over and closed the door.

  ***

  Thomas put his jacket on. Carla rolled over in bed and opened her eyes. She saw him getting ready to go.

  “It’s seven o’clock already? Man, time flies. Especially when you’re having fun and a good sleep.”

  “I take it you slept well,” Thomas said.

  “Oh yeah. I had a beautiful dream.”

  “Did you, now? Tell me. What was it about?”

  “It was you, me, our son and your parents. We were all in Heaven. And we were all so happy. You were happy to see your parents again. I was happy to see my in-laws. Our son was happy to see his grandparents, and they were happy to see all of us yet again. It was the most beautiful dream ever. I wish it never ended.”

  “I wish dreams like this would come to me too,” he said, sighing. ”But believe it or not, I haven’t dreamed about my parents since they died. I wish I had.”

  “Maybe you will someday,” Carla told him.

  “Yeah, maybe I will. Until then, however, I have to go hunting.”

  He went to the cabinet on the wall and opened it. From a broad selection, consisting from a Kalashnikov, an M-16 and a hunting rifle, he chose the hunting rifle. He loaded it, took a few spare bullets, and put them in the pocket.

  “Good luck out there!” Carla told him. “And bring us a delicious breakfast.”

  “I will,” Thomas told her.

  He then got out in the hallway. But before he could take another step, his son opened the door from his room and ran into his arms.

  “Daddy! Daddy!”

  “Hey there, my little bear!” Thomas said when he grabbed him in his arms and lifted him up. “Why aren’t you asleep, Freddy boy?”

  “I wanted to see you before you left.”

  “Did you, now? Well, aren’t you the little hotshot?”

  The boy took a paper roll from his pajamas pocket.

  “Look, daddy, I made this for you last night before I went to bed.”

  Thomas took the paper roll from the boy’s hands and unrolled it. It was a drawing of him, his son, and Carla holding hands under a tree.

  “Wow, this is beautiful. I got myself a little artist here, don’t I?”

  Thomas put the little boy down and gave him back the paper.

  “Why don’t you go and show this to your mom as well? I’m sure she’ll be happy.”

  “I’m going to show her right now.”

  The little boy opened his parents’ bedroom door.

  “Mommy, mommy, look what I made.”

  Thomas smiled, closed the bedroom door behind him, and headed for the exit.

  ***

  The moment he got out of the house, everybody started greeting him.

  “Morning, Thomas!”

  “Morning, Ms. Rodenberry.”

  He made a few steps and then Mr. Prince greeted him.

  “Good morning, Thomas!”

  “Good morning, Mr. Prince!”

  Six more people greeted him before he eventually saw Julie coming toward him.

  “Well, well, well…” Thomas said. “Look who is coming down the road. If it isn’t my newly wedded little sister.”

  “Well, well, well… if it isn’t my big bro.”

  The two hugged each other.

  “How was your wedding night? Did you sleep well?”

  “Thomas…” Julie said, laughing. “Don’t you know you’re not supposed to ask things like this?”

  “Just kidding, Julie.”

  “So, are you ready for a successful hunt?”

  “I am. The question is: are you?”

  “Ha, ha, very funny.
”

  The two then started heading toward the town gates.

  “You know that I’m a better shot than you, right?” Thomas said.

  “Are you, now? And when was that settled?”

  “Last hunt, when I shot a boar right between his eyes from fifty feet.”

  “That was dumb luck.”

  “I doubt it.”

  “Yeah, it was.”

  “Okay, then, let’s make a wager. The one who manages to shoot the game from the biggest distance wins. And the other gets to admit in front of the entire town that his or her sibling is the best shot in the county. Agreed?”

  “Agreed, hotshot. Let’s see what you got.”

  When they got close to the gates, the leader of the community greeted them.

  “Hey, my favorite brother and sister. How are you doing today?”

  “Just fine, thank you!” Julie said. “We’re going hunting.”

  “Are you, now? You better bring us back some good game.”

  “We will, sir. We will bring you the juiciest deer you ever ate,” Thomas said.

  “I have no doubt that you will.”

  The leader then looked at Julie and told her:

  “Well, look at you, Julie. Twenty years ago, when you and Thomas first entered our gates, you weren’t taller than my waist. And now, you are a fine, well-made, married woman, going hunting with her brother, to feed her husband. I was saying to Thomas last night that time flies so fast.”

  “Indeed it does, sir,” Julie said. “A year, maybe two from now, I plan on multiplying my family. And pretty soon after that, who knows, maybe you’ll have a new hunter to feed us.”

  “I have no doubt in my mind about that,” Hobbs said. “I also remember that twenty years ago, when you first entered our gates, you weren’t planning on staying more than a week. I don’t remember how I convinced you to change your minds.”

  “It wasn’t just you, sir,” Thomas said. “It was the kind people of this community who convinced us they are no threat, but quite the opposite.”

  “And I’m glad we stayed, sir,” Julie said. “If we didn’t, I wouldn’t have met Darryl. So…thank God for opening our eyes and minds and saving us from wandering.”

  “Yep…thank God for that,” Hobbs said. “Well, I’ll let you go hunting now. Good luck and bring us some good game, you hear me?”