“Seems like you two worked well together.” Melissa commented.
“You shouldn’t judge Mr. Snipes too harshly, Witness. He did what was best for his wife, and for the people we love, shouldn’t we be willing to sacrifice everything?” The Ancillary questioned.
“That’s an odd attitude for someone whose philosophy values strength and the will to survive.”
“There’re many forms of sacrifice, Witness. His strength first ensured the safety of his wife and a place in the new world for both of them, then he sacrificed your trust and friendship by showing he had the strength to do whatever he needed to do to ensure her continued well being, together with a promise that they would be reunited soon.”
Melissa sighed and rolled her neck. She didn’t want to die angry, so she faced Roy and shrugged.
“I understand. I don’t blame you it’s just...”
“I know.” Roy responded.
Melissa looked back at the Ancillary.
“So, what were you going to do with me before this rebellion?”
“Pardon?” The Ancillary questioned back.
“Well, if I have to ask you to take me to the Teacher, what was the point of taking me prisoner? What were you going to do with me?”
“If everything had gone to plan, we’d have taken you to some of the safe places we’ve established for those worthy of living in the coming world - communities not only of those with the strength necessary to fight and survive, but with great thinkers; men and women who have the foresight to see what we’re truly trying to accomplish. There’s no one there with selfish ideals that would contaminate the new world with greed and weakness. It’s something truly spectacular to behold. Then I would take you to the final weapon in the Teacher’s arsenal; the tool that will truly help this world be Reborn.”
Melissa looked at the Ancillary and then at Roy. She felt there was a subtext to what she had been saying; was she suggesting that it would show Melissa’s strength to accept her offer of aid to save the people she cared about? Would they really be safe if she told the Ancillary she was ready to be taken to the Teacher? If they were going to survive, it seemed as though she didn’t have a lot of choice.
“Can you still call for help?” Melissa asked begrudgingly.
“Of course, Witness, if that’s what you truly want.” The Ancillary replied, starting to smile. Melissa considered what to say next carefully. Her decision was hastened when she saw the door begin to buckle under the weight of the infected.
“Make the call.” Melissa declared.
“Excellent. We’ll still need time for my associates to come, so if you could hold off the infected for as long as possible, that would benefit us all.” The Ancillary explained. She reached down through the top of her robe and retrieved a cell phone, then turned and started to walk away... but Melissa stepped suspiciously into her path.
“Where are you going?”
“To the roof. I’ll make the call and then flag down our transport. You can trust me, Witness.”
Melissa glared at her, not sure if she should ask Roy to accompany her, but the hinges of the door begin to buckle loudly and the barricade was jostled.
“There’s no way down from there unless she jumps.” Roy commented.
“Fine.” Melissa muttered under her breath, moving out of the Ancillary’s way.
“This truly is for the best, Witness, I promise you.” The Ancillary informed her as she started to walk hurriedly down the corridor.
“What do you have for ammunition?” Melissa asked Roy.
“A couple of mags for my pistol, that’s it.”
Melissa patted down her pockets. She had five pistol magazines and one for her assault rifle, so she gave him two more.
“I need to go check on Kevin. Call out if you need me.” Melissa instructed.
“I really am sorry for what I did, but she’s my wife... I had to make sure she was safe.”
“When I said I understand, I meant it Roy. I’m being a bitch because that’s the only way I know how to act these days.” Melissa told him, glancing to make sure the Ancillary was gone. She wasn’t in the corridor, so Melissa lowered her voice and leaned in to speak with Roy privately.
“What?” He questioned softly, his voice barely audible over the sound of the infected.
“If we can get your wife to safety, can I count on you?”
“You’re planning on taking down the Teacher.” Roy stated.
“The thought crossed my mind.”
“I’m sure it’s crossed hers too.” Roy said, gesturing towards the Ancillary.
“Maybe if we can find a way to take the head from the snake we have a chance of stopping this madness before it’s too far gone.”
“That’s not something you’ll walk away from, you know that right?”
“Probably not, but it’s the right thing to do.”
“If we get Tammy to safety first, then I’ll help you.” Roy confirmed.
A loud clattering, which was followed immediately by gunshots echoing through the building, cut short any further conversation. Melissa looked in the direction they were coming from and then back at Roy.
“Go, help Kevin!” He instructed, turning away and taking on a battle stance. Melissa charged away; heading towards Kevin. She rounded the corner and found him bracing his weapon against the top of the desk and firing at the infected spilling through the doorway. A number were crawling, likely having been the first through the door and been trampled by the infected behind them. Melissa took aim and started to fire, assisting the wounded Kevin to keep the infected at bay. With the wounds he had endured, Kevin was having a harder time aiming so more than half his shots clipped or winged the infected, some missed and precious few actually killed a target. Melissa aimed at the undead faces, some bloodied and some damaged after an altercation of some kind either before or after their death. She cut them down mercilessly, grinding her teeth and maintaining as much of the discipline she had been taught in Galgambwe as possible - while fighting the urge borne of fear to switch her weapon to fully automatic and spray bullets at the approaching targets. She killed and killed, stopping only when her assault rifle ran empty and she was forced to load her last magazine. She saw they were getting closer, having passed about half the distance between the stairwell door and the rough firing line she and Kevin had established. More gunshots were audible, leading Melissa to believe the infected were through the other stairwell and were being engaged by Roy. The infected were getting closer and closer, and were definitely incensed by the smell of Kevin’s fresh blood. Despite the sound of the gunshots from both their weapons, their hungry gaze was clearly focused on Kevin, the closest stretching out their arms in the hope of grabbing him, only to be cut down a moment later.
“Kevin, get ready to move!” Melissa barked. “Roy, get back here!”
Melissa continued her salvo until her weapon clicked empty for the final time. She let go of the rifle, pulling the strap over her head and dropping it on the floor, then she retrieved her pistol. She let off several shots, but the surge of infected was nearing the barricade. Kevin stood, his weapon clicking empty and he looked with concern at Melissa. She offered him a spare magazine, which he loaded into his weapon quickly despite his hand injury, and then they began to retreat, taking careful steps backward while firing at the undead horde. When they reached the intersection of the corridor, Melissa saw that Roy was nearing them with dozens of infected pouring forth from the stairwell beyond. The barricade she and Kevin had hastily built was demolished by the infected as they picked up speed, desperate to catch the fleeing, edible morsels.
“Where’s the Ancillary?” Kevin questioned.
“Calling for help.” Melissa answered, hoping she had been true to her word.
When their backs were brought to a sudden halt by the door leading to the roof, Melissa turned, pushed it open and took a step inside, then she turned back to cover her companions as they followed her. Kevin was still bleeding, and leav
ing a trail that was serving to incense the undead as they followed them. Melissa slammed the door shut and followed Kevin and Roy as they made their way up the stairs. The door was being battered moments later, causing Melissa to believe they didn’t have much longer. Reaching the rooftop door, Melissa followed Kevin through and Roy shut it behind them. There wasn’t anything to use to block it off, so they were down to a door to hold back the infected. Melissa quickly surveyed the rooftop; it was mostly flat, with a few large air conditioning units and what looked like some kind of power box that was about as tall as a person.
“What do you have for ammunition?” Melissa asked as she continued looking for the Ancillary.
“I’m out.” Kevin stated.
“Same.” Roy confirmed.
Melissa checked her own, realized she’d used all her spare magazines and had only the bullets in the current magazine. She ejected it and saw that there were only five left. She heard the ravenous cacophony of the infected as they swarmed around the police station and sighed. What concerned Melissa even more, however, was that she couldn’t see the Ancillary.
“Where are you?” Melissa called out.
“Right here!” Rochelle replied, stepping out from behind the power box. She had one arm around the Ancillary’s throat and a gun in the other hand, which she was aiming towards Melissa.
“Where the hell did you come from?”
“I slipped in through a window while you were making your move towards the bus.” Rochelle answered calmly. “I came up here to signal the others on the rooftops across from here but they’d already left, so now I’m going to be catching a ride with you.”
“I doubt that.” The Ancillary commented. “The men coming to aid the Witness and I are loyal to me and the Teacher. You’re future lies in being turned into an infected and let loose to actually contribute to the movement.”
Rochelle pulled hard on the Ancillary’s throat, choking her for a moment.
“We’ll see about that.” Rochelle commented. “Drop your weapons!” She instructed.
“Why? I’ll shoot you through that bitch, I don’t care about her.” Melissa stated.
“Because like me you need her to get aboard that helicopter.”
“Then it seems we’re at a bit of a standoff. The infected are right behind us and I’m not seeing a helicopter anywhere nearby.”
“Well, you’ll have to hold them off then, won’t you? Drop your weapons!”
“And how do you expect us to hold them off while unarmed?”
“You’ve got hands, you’ll figure something out.” Rochelle replied.
Melissa hesitated. She needed to kill Rochelle before the helicopter arrived. If she dropped her weapon, she’d need to get closer to Rochelle, and with the distance between them, it’d take a few seconds to sprint, during which time she’d be easy to gun down. The infected suddenly slammed into the rooftop door, jolting them in surprise, and this gave a window to exploit - the Ancillary was the first to act. She slammed her elbow into Rochelle’s gut and twisted out of her grasp. Melissa took aim at Rochelle, but she was already moving, pointing her gun towards the Ancillary. She fired once, definitely hitting her in the abdomen. Melissa started firing at Rochelle, but the other woman darted into cover behind an air conditioning unit, sending Melissa’s shots wide.
“Cover the door! Use your weapons as clubs, or whatever you can get your hands on!” Melissa instructed Roy and Kevin, who propped themselves against the door to form as much of a barricade as they could with their bodyweight. Melissa started advancing towards Rochelle’s last known position, glancing at the Ancillary and the blood starting to soak her robe.
Rochelle suddenly appeared around the left side of the power box, her weapon aiming straight at Melissa’s head. She fired just as Melissa threw herself towards the other side of the box; grazing her hands as she landed in a prone position, but she had kept a grip on her weapon and the bullet had sailed over her thanks to her quick reaction. Melissa hurriedly scrambled to her feet and shifted to face the front, readying herself to lean out to shoot Rochelle as soon as they came into contact - but the other woman surprised her again. Coming out of cover just as Melissa came into view, she snatched the wrist holding the weapon and shoved it away, which sent Melissa’s next to last shot wide. Rochelle followed up the action with a strike to Melissa’s face, the power of the blow enough to stagger her. Rochelle ripped the gun from her hand and flung it to the ground before continuing her assault. Melissa tried to raise her arms to block the blows, but Rochelle was fast, striking her in the face a second time and, coming in close, hooking one leg around Melissa’s and pulling to send her crashing to the ground. Rochelle dropped on top of Melissa and, wrapping her hands around her victim’s throat, started to choke her. Melissa gasped and spluttered. At first she tried to break the hold around her neck, but Rochelle’s grip was far too tight. She attempted to hook one leg over Rochelle’s to hoist her over, but Rochelle shifted in anticipation, blocking off her assault. Melissa’s throat was burning and her eyes began to water; she struggled, but couldn’t reach up to Rochelle’s face - and then a final, desperate thought occurred to her. With failing strength, Melissa managed to snag her hand in through the head hole of Rochelle’s dress and yanked with her flagging strength. Rochelle was dragged close to Melissa’s face - who then jammed her teeth into the flesh of Rochelle’s nose. She bit as hard as she could, tasting blood as it ran into her mouth from the wound. The pain and shock was enough for Rochelle to loosen her grip and Melissa was able to knock away her hands before releasing her nose and shoving the woman as hard as she could. Melissa coughed and spluttered, drawing in desperate lungfuls of air as she scrambled backwards, and then got hurriedly to her feet. Rochelle managed to stand, her nose ragged and bloody, tears streaming from her eyes.
“You bitch!” Rochelle screamed.
Melissa spat, blood and saliva flying from her mouth as she took on a fighting stance. She couldn’t tell if Roy and Kevin were still holding the door, and had no idea if the Ancillary was dead. She could only focus on her dangerous opponent. She reached for the knife in her vest, holding it ready and eyeing Rochelle as she prepared for their next engagement.
Rochelle moved forward and then weaved back, dodging Melissa’s horizontal swipe. She probed a few more times and Melissa realized she was hoping for an opening that could be exploited. It wasn’t easy, but Melissa kept herself in check, not over extending and not leaving herself vulnerable. She prepared for Rochelle to make a real attack... and she wasn’t left waiting long. Rochelle came in closer and did her best to grab Melissa’s knife hand. Melissa however, managed to avoid the attempted grapple and slashed, her blade making a deep cut in Rochelle’s arm. The new injury seemed to send Rochelle into a rage, triggering a vicious assault, and this time she successfully grappled Melissa. Locked in combat, the pair staggered this way and that, with Melissa using all her strength to try and force the blade into Rochelle’s chest, while her opponent did her best to twist Melissa’s wrist and push her hand down to plunge the knife through her own ribcage. They staggered closer and closer to the rooftop’s edge, where the ravenous cacophony of the undead rose up from the street below. Melissa ground her teeth and roared with primal fury, using every last ounce of strength as she pushed the tip of the blade closer to Rochelle’s heart. Suddenly, Rochelle twisted, flinging Melissa so that her rear was against the rooftop wall. The shift in direction weakened Melissa’s assault, and Rochelle was able to twist the knife towards Melissa’s neck, howling as she did so. Melissa knew she needed to act fast, so she prepared to kick out at Rochelle’s leg, but suddenly the Ancillary attacked Rochelle from behind, wrapping one arm around her neck she yanked so hard it could have snapped with just a little more of a twist. Rochelle was pulled off Melissa, and was at the wounded Ancillary’s mercy.
“You want to betray the Teacher?” The Ancillary demanded furiously. “This is what happens to traitors!” And moving forward she shoved Rochelle past Meli
ssa over the edge. Rochelle screamed as the infected roared in anticipation. Melissa peered over the side and watched briefly as Rochelle was caught by a sea of undead and dragged down. If she was susceptible to the Reborn virus - as all of their frontline people supposedly were - then there probably wouldn’t be much left of her to reanimate, Melissa realized.
Turning away, Melissa looked at the Ancillary, who clutched her bloody side.
“I can’t believe I’m about to ask, but are you okay?” Melissa questioned; her voice rough and hoarse.
“I’m touched by your concern.” The Ancillary answered, a ghost of a smile lighting her face.
“Like she said, I need you to get out of here.” Melissa corrected.
“I’ll live.” The Ancillary informed her. “Providing the helicopter arrives soon.”
Melissa glanced at Roy and Kevin. How they’d held the infected back so long she couldn’t tell, but the door had buckled open and she could see snatching infected hands. As she turned back towards the Ancillary, she became aware of a growing rumble and, scanning the area quickly, saw the lights of a helicopter approaching them. It swung overhead and then moved into a position adjacent to the building. The doors opened, revealing a pair of armed Reborn who trained their weapons immediately on Melissa. Behind them sat a man in a white robe similar to the Ancillary’s, but he wasn’t looking in her direction.
“Drop the knife, Witness. It’s time to meet the Teacher.” The Ancillary told her.
Melissa dropped the knife to the floor, and then looked towards Kevin and Roy.
“Time to go!” Melissa called out.
The Ancillary was helped into the helicopter, to sit beside the man in the robe. The two guards wanted Melissa to climb in next, but she waited until Roy and Kevin were aboard, a throng of infected surging forward from the stairwell behind them. She desperately wondered if there was something else she could do - some other avenue of escape she had overlooked, but in her heart she knew there wasn’t. She allowed herself to be pulled into the helicopter, to sit across from the man and the Ancillary. The guards closed the helicopter door and sat in the seats beside the Ancillary. One reached up to retrieve a medical kit and started to treat her wound. The vehicle pulled away, carrying them to an uncertain destination and an uncertain future. Melissa wished there was some way to take control of the situation, but with Roy and Kevin to her right - with one of the guards training his weapon on them - Melissa reluctantly admitted there wasn’t anything she could do at that moment.
A World Reborn (Book 2): Global Outbreak Page 22
