Dark Apocalypse: A Post-Apocalyptic Family Saga

by Gabriel Alexander

  “Hell, no!” some yelled.

  “Well, ladies and gentlemen,” Simon continued, “everybody hates war, right? I mean… who likes seeing their friends, their relatives, their colleagues dying in battle? What mother would love to see her son dead after a battle on the battlefield? What wife would love to see her husband pierced by bullets and bleeding to death in the heat of battle? What man or woman would love to see their friends dying in their arms, killed by a gunshot wound? No one, I suppose. Nobody would love to see this kind of scenes taking place in front of their eyes. Am I right or not?”

  “Absolutely, yes!” the crowd approved him.

  “Not to mention that our numbers were significantly reduced, right? I mean… you just said it, Pete: we were once more than a thousand people in this gorgeous town.”

  “One thousand six hundred and thirty-four,” the man repeated.

  “Yes, exactly. We were once a numerous, prosperous community. Now look at us. Less than four hundred of us are now left alive. And the consequences for that are visible. Crops have been reduced, and the birth rate is at an all-time low. How many kids have been born this year? Can anyone tell me?”

  The entire crowd was silent. Nobody knew exactly.

  “I’ll tell you exactly how many. Twelve, ladies and gentlemen. Just twelve. This year, we had only twelve babies born in our town. Compared to no less than two hundred a year in the previous years.”

  “That’s unacceptable!” someone yelled.

  “How many valuable people have we lost due to this war I ask you, huh?” Simon continued. “How many people with precious skills are now two feet under because of those scums?”

  “Too many!” a woman in the crowd yelled. Everybody immediately approved her.

  “That’s right,” Simon said. “Too many. You do remember Jed Nixon, right? Everybody remembers him. We all used to go to him when our shoes would tear. He was the best shoemaker our community has ever seen. And then one day, we lost him in a battle with the rebels. Now, we have no choice but to wear torn shoes.”

  The crowd, again, approved.

  “Or who remembers Roxanne Darrow, the cook? Boy, she could make one hell of a pie.”

  “Let’s not forget about her stew,” a man in the crowd yelled. The crowd laughed.

  “Yes, thank you, Steve. Everybody remembers her stew. And the memory of her pies and stew is all we have left, since she was captured and her throat was slit right in front of our gates, while all we could do was to stand on the wall and watch.”

  “Yeah!” the crowd again exclaimed.

  “And just like Jed and Roxanne, we lost countless other valuable men and women for our town. Good men and women. And children. Which finally leads me to the reason I called this meeting here tonight. I can’t afford to lose any more of you, guys. If we’ll keep doing this, the whole town will be gone. Which is why I have decided to end the hostilities with the rebels and accept their eighty percent offer.”

  The whole crowd was shocked to hear their leader’s decision.

  “What?!” many voices in the crowd said.

  “You got to be kidding me, Simon!” a man in the crowd yelled.

  “I’m afraid I’m not kidding at all, Buzz. This has to end sometime.”

  “It has to end, yeah, but only when those sons of bitches are all exterminated. That’s when it has to end,” another man yelled. The crowd quickly approved him.

  “Ladies, gentlemen, please listen to me. I thought we agreed that war is a bitch and we can’t afford to lose more people.”

  Another man in the crowd raised his voice and said:

  “Yeah, war is a bitch. And yeah, we can’t afford to lose more people. But if we agree with those bastards’ terms, we’re going to starve to death. And we’ll die anyway.”

  “Yeah, he is right,” someone else said. “We’re going to have to ration the food and eventually, we’ll die of starvation because some assholes with pointy haircuts and bling-bling on their bodies wanted what was rightfully ours.”

  “Please, listen to me…” Simon begged the crowd.

  “They killed my son,” a woman yelled. “A patrol bumped into him while he was fishing and they stabbed him because he didn’t want to give them the fish that he caught.”

  “My daughter was raped by seven of those motherfuckers,” another woman said. “They subjected her to the most heinous sexual perversions and when they were done with her, they cut her head off. And I, personally, will not rest until all of those fuckers’ heads are stuck in pikes.”

  “Yeah, like she said,” the crowd said.

  But Simon would not listen to them.

  “Please, please hear me. We’re not doing our dead a favor if we get ourselves killed as well. I understand that you all want vengeance. Believe me, I do. I want vengeance too. I understand you…”

  “You understand us for shit,” a man said. “Your family wasn’t butchered by those scums. Your family died by of the flu ten years ago. You want vengeance for what? You lost nobody in the war with the rebels.”

  “This doesn’t mean that I don’t relate with your cause. I am your leader after all. I have the moral obligation to be by your side.”

  “Then be on our side in our cause to end these fuckers forever,” a man said.

  “Yeah, like he said!” the crowd yelled.

  After the noise died down, Simon said, with a bit of disappointment in his voice:

  “Ladies and gentlemen… I will hereby give you half an hour to debate what I just proposed you and vote yes or no. I will wait outside and give you time to vote. But when I’ll be back, I expect you to make the right decision, okay? I repeat… the right decision. For that matter, let me remind you that we’re not doing anyone any favors by getting ourselves killed in a war that can be avoided. Okay? Not to us, not to our relatives who already died in the war and we want avenged, not to our relatives who are still alive, no one. Okay? With that said, I’m out and I’ll let you vote.”

  Simon climbed down the platform’s steps and headed toward a side door, which he opened and got out. Undistinguishable chatter immediately started in the crowd. Julie and Thomas started walking toward the door where Simon left. When they reached in front of it, they opened it and exited the warehouse. They saw Simon leaning on the warehouse wall, looking up. They headed toward him.

  “Hey, Mr. I’m The Big Leader… What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Thomas said.

  “What do you mean?” Simon asked.

  “Peace with the rebels? Seriously?”

  “It’s the right thing to do.”

  “Bullshit!” Thomas quickly said. “The rebels don’t know what peace is. All they know is how to pillage, rape, steal, kill and blackmail. This is their entire agenda.”

  “Didn’t you hear me back there? This war took away precious people from us. I don’t intend to let that continue to happen.”

  “The crowd is right,” Julie said. “If you give the rebels eighty percent of your food, your people will starve to death. And your side will still lose.”

  “Not to mention that, basically, your people will work for the rebels,” Thomas said. “Is this what you want? For your people to become slaves?”

  “I understand your point,” Simon said. “But right now, I think this is the best decision that can be made. We’ll have lower food rations, yes, but at least we’ll get to live to see another day. Now if you’ll excuse me…”

  He tried to leave, but Thomas grabbed him by the arm.

  “No, I will not excuse you. You need to listen to me. Yeah, make peace with the rebels if that’s what you want. Hell, give them a kiss, if that’s what you want. But consider this: right now, they want eighty percent of your food. But soon enough, they’ll want more. They’ll want eighty-five, ninety, ninety-five, and so on. Because this is how people like them think. When they see that people like you comply with their demands, they’ll start asking for more and more. And soon enough, they’ll multiply their demands. Maybe they’l
l want more than food in the near future. Maybe they’ll want your wood for the winter. Maybe they’ll want your clothes. Maybe they’ll want to fuck your women in exchange for your so-called… peace.”

  “Now listen here, pal. Don’t you think you’re exaggerating a bit?”

  “No. Actually, I don’t think I’m exaggerating at all. Twenty years ago, me and my parents used to fight these bastards almost daily. Day after day, me, mom, dad and Julie, who was only four back then, had to either hide wherever we could or fight these assholes to keep ourselves alive. I can still remember Julie’s screams and crying of fear whenever we had to repel their attacks and we had to make sure we survived another day. I can’t tell you how many times we came this close…”

  He put two fingers of his right hand together in front of Simon.

  “…this close to dying because of them. So believe me, Mr. Leader, when I tell you that I know how these assholes think. Your peace will not last. Now, I hate war, too. Believe me, I do. But it’s the only way to deal with those sons of bitches. So do yourself and your community a favor and let us fight them. Let us wage war against them. You will free your town from under their control and you will give me and my sister the chance to avenge our families. Tell me if I’m wrong. Tell me!”

  Simon frowned and told him:

  “I’m not going to lose any more men. My decision is final, I’m afraid. Now, if you’ll excuse me…”

  He opened the door to the warehouse and entered. Thomas looked up, sighed and said:

  “Stubborn son of a bitch!”

  He then looked at Julie.

  “He doesn’t understand. He simply doesn’t understand.”

  “Yes, Thomas,” Julie said. “I agree with you. He doesn’t understand. He doesn’t know the rebels like we do.”

  “He’ll know them. Soon enough.”

  He then opened the door and entered the warehouse. Julie followed him. Once they got inside, they saw Simon climbing on the platform again and addressing the crowd.

  “Ladies, gentlemen…” he said, “did you vote?”

  “Yes, Simon,” a woman said. ‘We voted.”

  “And may I hear the result?”

  “The woman sighed.

  “We have decided that no one else has to die. We agree with your peace, Simon.”

  “Excellent!” Simon screamed. “I knew I could count on your good judgment. I just knew that you’d listen and not disappoint me.”

  The crowd started mumbling. But Simon kept talking:

  “Tomorrow, I will send a messenger to the rebel territory to give their leader the news. Until further ado, I hereby declare this meeting closed. You may go to your homes and mind your own businesses. Thank you for coming here and listening to me. Good night, everyone!”

  Simon climbed down the platform and left through the same door. Thomas and Julie were sitting next to the stage, with their arms crossed.

  “They have no idea what they’ve just done,” Thomas said.

  ***

  They climbed the porch and entered the house. They then entered Julie’s room. Julie took a candle from the nightstand, put it in the candlestick and lit it. She then sat on the bed, while Thomas leaned against the wall.

  “This is bullshit,” he said. “This is major bullshit.”

  He then started walking across the room.

  “Don’t they realize what they’ve just done? They basically signed their death warrant. Because that’s what peace with the rebels is.”

  “Like you said, Thomas, they don’t know the rebels like we do.”

  “I mean… you do remember twenty years ago when we first came into their scope, right? You remember how we used to do just two things when we got in their path, right? We either hid or fought. That’s all that we would do when we encountered them. We never made peace with them. Because we always knew that peace with this kind of specimens will have disastrous outcomes for us. But that stubborn bastard…”

  He hit his fist into his palm and said, with the same angry tone:

  “That stubborn bastard just signed everyone’s death warrant. He doesn’t know it yet, but he’ll soon realize it.”

  Julie got up from the bed and came toward him. She touched his hands.

  “Thomas, you’re right. What he did is wrong and the consequences of his actions will be disastrous. But you have to look at things from his perspective. He doesn’t want any more of his men killed. And he thinks he will prevent that by making peace with them. It may not look like it, but he actually cares about his people. He just wants them all to be safe, that’s all.”

  Thomas headed toward the door and opened it. Before he got out, he turned toward Julie and said:

  “By starving his people in exchange for the rebels’ well-being? He has one hell of a way of showing it.”

  He left and closed the door behind him.

  ***

  Simon was looking out the window. The sun was rising from behind the hills. He always enjoyed seeing the sky painted orange every time the sun would rise in the sky. When he was a little boy, he would wake up every day at dawn to see the orange sky. He loved it then, just like now. The only difference is that now, he didn’t have to wake up early in the morning to see his favorite view. Now, he had to wait for three o’clock in the afternoon for it.

  Suddenly, he heard a knock on the door.

  “Come in!” he said.

  The door opened. A man, aged about forty, with blue eyes and long, blonde hair came in. He was wearing boots, brown pants, a white shirt, and a black vest.

  “You wanted to see me, Simon?” he asked.

  Simon turned his face at him.

  “Yes, Derek, I did. Come in, please!”

  Derek got closer to his desk.

  “I want you to go to the rebel’s territory, ask for their leader and tell him that Huntsville accepts his terms. And so, there will finally be peace between our sides.”

  Derek was silent for a few moments. Eventually, he said:

  “Um… I must admit I’m a bit reluctant, sir.”

  “May I ask why?”

  “Well, sir… it’s the rebels we’re talking about. They usually shoot first and ask questions later, you know…”

  “Yeah, I know. Just tell them that you go in peace and that you want to tell their leader that Huntsville accepts the terms of the surrender. They’ll be too excited to shoot you if you tell them that.”

  “I don’t know, sir…”

  “Come on, man. This is your chance to do something for your community. Everyone will look at you as the one who made peace with the rebels. Who else do you think has such an opportunity?”

  After another few seconds of silence, Derek said:

  “Fine. I guess I’ll do it.”

  “Excellent. Trust me, you will not regret it.”

  Simon opened a drawer in his cabinet. He took a set of keys from it and threw them in Derek’s hands.

  “Take my car,” Simon said.

  “Yes, sir! I will try not to disappoint you, sir.”

  “Something tells me you won’t.”

  Simon then came closer to Derek and touched him on the shoulder.

  “It’s going to be okay, man. Trust me!”

  “I trust you, sir.”

  “Good. Now go on. Daylight is short and you will need it.”

  “Yes, sir!”

  Derek got in the car and headed toward the town gates.

  “Open up!”

  “Where are you going?” one of the guards asked him.

  “Rebel territory,” Derek replied.

  “You must be suicidal,” the other guard said.

  “Maybe. But someone has to tell them that we agree to their terms.”

  “Yep. Suppose you’re right.”

  The two guards opened the gates and Derek got out.

  He tried and tried and tried to just carelessly drive and enjoy the scenery in front of him. But he just couldn’t. All he could think about was the rebels putting a knife thr
ough his heart or a bullet in his head. Or worse, skinning and gutting him alive and putting his guts and hide on a pike. Thoughts like this just wouldn’t leave him alone.

  “Relax, Derek!” he said to himself. “Just relax. Nothing bad will come to you. Absolutely nothing. You will be just fine. You will simply say that you want to talk to the leader and they will leave you alone. That’s exactly how this is going to work out. Everything will be just fine. Just fine, you hear me? Just fine.”

  But who was he kidding? He himself was not convinced of his own words. He started sweating, he could hear clicks in his ears and he felt his blood pressure skyrocketing.

  That was it. He stopped the car, got out, and started puking on the side of the road. After he was done, he went back to the car, sat down next to the left front wheel and started praying.

  “Dear Lord,” he said, while breathing heavily, “please don’t let those bastards waste me. I’m begging you, please.”

  Three prayers later, he started feeling better and more confident. He got up, entered the car, started the engine and kept driving.

  “Everything is going to be okay, everything is going to be okay,” he kept repeating to himself.

  After about another hour of driving, he eventually stopped the car at the edge of some woods. He turned off the engine, got out of the car and started walking cautiously toward the woods. When he entered it, his heart raced like crazy, with his adrenaline pumping. He had nothing to defend himself, in case those lunatics would decide to attack him. He didn’t even have a knife. If you want to make peace with someone, logic dictated you go unarmed. God damn logic. Now it will probably kill him. Maybe he will be the first man ever to be killed by logic. That would be embarrassing as hell.

  As he walked cautiously across the foliage-covered ground, he suddenly heard a click from underneath his feet. He acted quickly. He threw himself backward, just in time to avoid a spear as it struck the tree next to him.

  “Jesus Christ!” he said, while touching his chest. “Fuck, it almost got me. Holly shit! God, please help me!”

  After getting a grip on himself, he started walking again. He kept saying prayers, in an attempt to calm himself down, and in hopes of making the divine light watch over him on this dangerous terrain.