“I’m sorry about that.” Her smile was sinister, as she pulled the knife out of his heart again and pushed him onto the ground.
Mattias rolled over onto his back, and desperately reached out, trying to grab Klara’s ankle.
“For what it’s worth, I was planning on keeping you alive right up until we reached the rendezvous point – At least that way, I wouldn’t have all this extra weight to carry around.” She was still smiling evilly while saying this.
Mattias gasped for air, clenching his wound with his hand that wasn’t trying to reach out at Klara.
“Oh, and for the record…” She began, before moving around to the back of the trolley, and pushing it several yards, without any hesitation, “…I didn’t need your help.”
“N-no…” Mattias tried to speak up through the blood rising in his throat.
“Sorry? I didn’t quite hear that!” Klara dashed back over to him and knelt. “What did you say? You want a kiss? Hm, I guess. You’re pretty handsome, to tell the truth.” So, she grabbed his cheek, and pulled his face up for a passionate kiss; it appeared that, on the inside, Klara was perhaps just as ‘psychotic’ as the man she was trading with.
The kiss lasted for a significant amount of time, before Mattias’ mouth became loose.
“Wow,” Klara pulled her face away from his. “Dying in the middle of snogging me? That’s just rude!” She exclaimed, staring at his corpse, as a pool of blood formed on the floor around him.
She looked to the left, and then to the right; fortunately, nobody had followed them out on their ‘personal errand’.
“J.V., come in. We may have a little bit of situation here.” Klara had headed back into the pharmacy and was now contacting her trade partner over the radio again.
Static blared out, there was no response.
She peeped outside, making sure that Mattias’ corpse and the trolley were both still in the middle of the road; she was paranoid, on some level, that he somehow wasn’t actually dead.
“What situation, Klara?” J.V. replied over the radio.
“The feast is down. It’s gonna take some time to shift it.” She referred to Mattias’ mass, “Could be delayed by possibly… Not sure.”
“Klara, my dear, you know what happens if you don’t arrive with your end of the bargain,” J.V. said playfully, despite the severity of the implication behind these words.
“I’ll be there, you know I will. Just, don’t leave if I’m not there, ok?” Klara was desperate, but who for? For the group’s safety? Or for herself?
“Are you bending the terms of our trade, Klara? Because, if so, I’m more than happy to ‘even the playing field’ with one of your comrades.” J.V. threatened her.
“No, no. That won’t be necessary. I’ll be there. Forget about this. There’s no situation. Over and out.” She put the radio back on her side, with jittery hands; so, perhaps she really did care about her group on some level after all…
It took multiple tries, but she had finally loaded Mattias’ body into a second trolley.
Now, she just had to get both loads to the rendezvous point, otherwise there was going to be more bloodshed.
Shifting the supply trolley wasn’t too difficult, as she had proven, but shifting Mattias’ trolley required putting her back into it.
As the sun set, she drew nearer to the rendezvous point, with only a few minutes left on the clock…
With only seconds left, she finally made it to the rendezvous point; but J.V. wasn’t present on the other side.
Klara looked around but couldn’t see him.
“Boo!” J.V. jumped her from behind; he was dressed in a cream tuxedo, with cream chinos, a white shirt, and a black bowtie – a fancy attire to be sure. He was clean-shaven and could be no older than forty years at the most.
Klara wasn’t startled however; she was used to any kind of scare at this point.
“Hm. You really are no fun, are you?” J.V. commented.
“Oh, I can be fun… You’ve just gotta warm me up in the right way.” On the inside, she was cringing at this flirting, but it was necessary for everybody’s sake.
“Well then, I’ll be sure to keep that in mind, mi chica,” His smile was even more sinister than hers. He brushed against her arm playfully, on his way over to the trollies.
“Well just look at this!” He pointed to Mattias’ cadaver. “The boys are gonna be eating like kings tonight! Look at all the meat on this one!” He squeezed Mattias’ left bicep.
“My dear Klara, you really are a promising one aren’t you.”
“Come here,” she let herself go, into her psychotic side. Grabbing J.V.’s face, he pulled him in for a long and passionate kiss as well.
“Well, well, well,” J.V. began, “You Spanish girls really know how to hit the spot, don’t you?”
Although on the inside she was repulsed by this remark, on the outside, she brought him for another kiss after this.
“Wait, wait,” J.V. broke away from their interaction. “Gotta check these!” He turned his attention to the medical supplies and rummaged through them. “Hm…”
Klara shivered slightly, worried about what Mattias had suggested – “What if it isn’t enough, Klara?”
“This will do. Excellent work.” He complimented her, as she bowed her head in gratitude.
He grabbed a bottle of pills from the top of the medical pile, and handed it to Klara, “Here. You should have this one…”
The pills inside were mood stabilizers.
Klara read the label, and completely froze momentarily, unsure of how to respond.
“You don’t have to let your bipolar control you, my dear…” Although he said this with seemingly good heart, the grin on his face suggested he had an ulterior motive.
“Thanks,” Klara said, “But, no thanks.” She handed the bottle back to him.
“Oh, but I insist.” J.V. pushed her hand away. “I really do think you should have them my dear.” He said this with a disturbing tone, and so, for the sake of safekeeping, Klara slid the bottle into her trouser pocket.
“Now then, next week’s trade, hm? Let me think… I want another test subject.”
A shiver went down Klara’s spine. “Another?”
J.V. nodded slowly, “Yes, another. Will that be a problem?”
She hesitated for a moment. “No, of course not. No problem. Heck, I could probably get you a double load!” When saying this, she only meant it as a gesture of good will, but then immediately realised how naïve she had just been.
“Oh…” J.V. closed his eyes, and looked upwards, taking a deep breath. “Wonderful,” he whispered as he exhaled. “You are a true wonder my dear. Next week’s trade: Two test subjects, in return for your group being allowed to live another week.” He offered his hand out for a handshake. Reluctantly, Klara accepted it.
J.V. loaded Mattias’ corpse into the back of his pickup truck, followed by all of the medical supplies.
“An electric pickup, hey?” He remarked to Klara about his vehicle. “The old world’s shining beauty, if you ask me… 2025,” he mentioned the year which he had bought the electric pickup truck; one year before the apocalypse had started. “What an amazing year that was… This beauty is the only thing that’s been with me since the start. I’d do anything for her,” he caressed the truck door.
Klara nodded politely, despite what she was really thinking.
“Right then, I’ll be off. Same time, next week. Don’t disappoint me, hey, babe?” He teased her.
She flirtingly smiled back at him, but as soon as he was in his truck, and driving off down the road into the night, her smile dropped into a look of disgust.
Chapter 4: Eyes
Back in Erica and Tina’s house, they had just finished eating, along with Annabelle and Elliot.
“Well, I’ll be the first to say that was delicious!” Annabelle complimented Tina’s cooking.
“You’re welcome to stay for dessert.” Tina said, flattered.
> “Really? We’d love to, right Elliot?” Annabelle nudged her brother.
“Yeah, sure. Absolutely!” Elliot didn’t say any of those three words in the same tone; he went from unfazed, to flippant, to jovial.
Erica kept on glancing over at him, noticing the emptiness in his greyed-out eyes. “Elliot, we don’t blame you.” She knew exactly what was playing on his mind.
Tina and Annabelle went silent.
Elliot looked up at Erica, despite not being able to see her. “Please, say that again.” He asked sincerely.
Erica looked to Tina, and then back at Elliot. “We don’t blame you, for Prague… We all lost something.”
Elliot smiled at her, “I needed to hear that… So much.” A small tear formed in his eye; emotionally, behind his façade, he was just as soft as his stepmother.
“She would still be proud of you,” Tina added, “Olivia loved you more than anything in this world.”
The lone tear escaped Elliot’s eye, as he looked over at Tina now. “I miss her, so much.” Elliot didn’t feel vulnerable about being honest to his oldest friends.
“We know you do.” Annabelle placed her hand over her brother’s, stroking his knuckles with her thumb.
“Hey, you know who else loved you like family?” Erica smiled lightly, to brighten up the mood. “Steven.”
Elliot took a deep breath, and his mouth opened wide, “You think about him as well?”
Erica tutted and looked to Tina, who was also smiling now. “Absolutely we do. Steven made the London camp exactly what it was. Without him, we wouldn’t be here now!”
This made Elliot finally smile; he wasn’t the only one who realised that their deceased friends were the reason they had all made it this far.
“I see Steven from time to time,” Elliot revealed the true extent of what his blindness had done to him. “If I’m ever in a tough situation, Steven’s the one who crosses my mind. I met him at an anti-government protest, of all places. Right from the get-go, he understood life for what it was.”
“Yeah, he told us about your first encounter with him. He spoke about you all the time before you arrived in London.” Erica comforted Elliot.
“And then we took down the bastards who got him.” Annabelle added, believing this to be of comfort. But looking over at Erica, she saw her shake her head, and mime the word ‘Don’t.’
“I mean,” Annabelle rushed to add something more positive, “We saved lives! Lots of lives!”
“At the cost of how many though?” Elliot rebutted.
Annabelle looked over to Erica, who shook her head with a gentle look of disbelief.
“Well done,” Erica sarcastically murmured.
With Annabelle and Erica stuck in an awkward place, and Elliot’s question left hanging, Tina took it upon herself to answer him, “It’s about quality, not quantity; Just like Annabelle said, some of the ‘bastards’ who died deserved what they got. Thanks to you, I was able to marry the love of my life,” She reached across the table over to Erica, who reached her hand back over to her in acceptance.
“That’s right,” Erica added, looking her wife straight in the eyes, “We lived long enough to get married because of you, Elliot.”
“You see?” Annabelle nudged him, “We remember those we’ve lost, but we’re also mindful of those who are still with us. We must live life moving forward, for love. Isn’t that right?” She nodded to Erica.
“Absolutely.” Both Erica and Tina affirmed unanimously.
Once the table and the plates had been cleared, it was dark outside, so Elliot and Annabelle had decided to stay the night at Erica and Tina’s house.
Annabelle peeped through the door of one of the guest bedrooms, making sure that Elliot was fast asleep. With a smile on her face, she lightly pulled the door shut, and then headed off to her own guest room.
“Mum? Can you hear me? Mum?” Laying back on her bed, Annabelle tried to contact Gwen over the radio. “Mum?” She adjusted the frequency.
“Annie?” Gwen’s voice broke through the static; she slipped up and used her daughter’s real name.
Instantly, Annabelle ceased communications.
“Annabelle? Honey, Annabelle? Are you there?” Gwen had realised her mistake, and immediately tried to rectify. “I’m sorry baby. Please tell me you’re still there. Annabelle?”
Reluctantly, Annabelle replied, “I’m here. Over.”
“Annabelle! I know it’s been a few days. How are you? Are you and your brother alright? Is everything ok?” She bombarded her daughter with a dozen-or-so other questions.
“Mum, we’re fine.” Annabelle interrupted, “Everything’s fine. I just wanted to talk to you and catch up. That was all.”
“How’s Elliot holding up?” It was as if Gwen could hear Annabelle’s concerns through her tone.
“He’s… Struggling, to be honest. He told me that being unable to see has hidden implications. Mum, he keeps seeing people in his mind. In his dreams, daydreams, while he’s wide awake; all the people that have died along the way. He’s worried that we’re forgetting them.” Annabelle explained.
“I should be back within the hour.” Gwen had seemingly ignored what Annabelle had just said for some reason. “Though these three are kind of being a pain. They keep exchanging secret Czech messages. Nikola’s the worst, she’s going out of her mind due to all this heat. Times like this, I honestly wish we would’ve just stayed in England or France rather than come all the way out here.”
Annabelle laughed. “That’s the power of Elliot.” She referenced how he was the one who had shaped their journey through Europe.
“Make sure he knows you’re there for him, ok? He can forget that people love him very easily.” Gwen reminded her.
“Of course.” Annabelle reassured her.
“Oh, gotta go love. I think Nikola’s about to go off on one again. Night.” Gwen informed her, before the channel filled with static.
“Yeah, night.” Annabelle said regardless, before tuning out of all frequencies.
“Do you regret it?” Elliot asked, having suddenly appeared at the door, startling Annabelle.
“Oh, Elliot.” She clenched above her heart, “You gave me a fright!”
“Do you regret it?” He repeated it, with his wide grey eyes staring just past Annabelle.
“Regret what?” She queried.
“Killing Andy.” As soon as Elliot spoke his name, Annabelle felt her whole body ‘drop’ – she hadn’t thought about Andy for quite some time now. He was in fact probably one of the only people who hadn’t crossed her mind back at the dinner table.
“I was just a kid,” She defended herself. “I was so young and naïve, Elliot. I thought I was protecting mum.” Her mind was cast back into a bad place as she remembered what her reasoning for the kill was.
“You did it because you thought Vincent’s ways had influenced him, right? You thought he was actually going to hurt mum?” Elliot had remembered her excuse, however.
“Yes, exactly. I’ve had to accept that I did it, Elliot.” Annabelle calmly explained. “I know, I know, Andy would probably never have gone that far, but I was a zero-risk kid, who wasn’t taking any chances. Surely you can understand that, right?”
But he couldn’t; because all the merciless kills that he had been involved in, had been done to his allies. He was always the one getting hurt. His face perfectly summarised these thoughts. “What were his eyes like, Annabelle? Did you watch them gloss over as he bled out?”
“Elliot, please.” Annabelle sat upright. “I don’t want to fight with you.”
“We’re even.” Elliot said, baffling Annabelle.
“Even? On what?” She pondered.
“I killed Vincent, and you killed Andy. I did it to protect Olivia, you did it protect mum. That’s fair.” Elliot compared their pasts. “The only difference is the person you protected actually made it this far... Mine didn’t.”
Annabelle groaned pitifully. “Come on Elliot, I thou
ght you had just gotten past this at dinner?”
“I’ll never get past it, Annabelle. Not while I can’t see.” He forebodingly revealed to her.
“You have to remember everyone living in this town is alive because of you. I know I keep saying it, but that’s only because it’s the truth!” Annabelle stood up now, and walked over to her brother, caressing his arm.
“I’m sorry.” Elliot looked downwards, “It’s hard, Annabelle. It’s really hard to get through all of this; let alone without the use of my eyes.”
“It’s ok.” With these two words only, she pulled him in for an embrace.
Unbeknownst to Elliot and Annabelle, Erica had heard this entire conversation from the other room; she was wide awake, though Tina was fast asleep.
Reaching over to the dressing table, Erica grabbed her walkie-talkie, and headed downstairs.
In the back garden, Erica watched out over the town, as the moonlight bounced back off the river, the water moving in a diagonal pattern.
“Petra,” She spoke into the radio, and awaited an answer.
“Erica! Are you ok?” Petra replied, with a genuinely caring tone.
“Yeah, everything’s fine. It’s about Elliot. I’ve got an idea to cheer him up…”
Chapter 5: West
West England
THEN
The radiation-mutated Polaris snarled and spat at Worm, whilst chained up to the fence of a house in an old suburban neighbourhood.
Worm watched Polaris, with slight distress visible in his eyes. He bent down and breathed out slowly.
“I am sorry that it came to this, Polaris…” He sighed, “I know we never exactly saw eye to eye, or man to man… I’m sorry for that.” He stared into the rabid Polaris’ eyes with awe.
“I just, I just wanted… To make that clear. This isn’t personal. This is just what must happen. Because the truth is: There is no cure for this. Not just for your infection, but for the apocalypse. All hope… is lost.” These words resonated out into the dusk sky despite how quiet he spoke them. It was as though these words had damned the entire world forevermore.
Human Nature (Book 3): Human Nature III Page 3