by I. J. Smith
Children played hopscotch, as women sat in front of a big tank cleaning clothes. There was a fire pit in the middle of the courtyard, a large metal rod hanging over it.
“What do you think they cooked there?” Ryan asked.
Bray smiled, “Whatever is was, it smells amazing!”
There were stone rooms around the courtyard; ahead of them was a large opening to a room. A broad-shouldered man appeared, wearing white pajama-like clothes. He had long dark hair and a beautiful smile. In another life, he would have been a model.
“WELCOME!” He said approaching towards Bray and Ryan with his hand held out.
“Celine, get them some food! They look as if they need some!”
Celine smile, “Yes, Gabe!” She said, as she rushed off.
Gabe took Bray’s hand and held it tight.
“My friends, you look tired. Come please, eat and rest. You are safe here, we can speak later when you are rested!” Gabe told Bray.
Ryan was still gripping his baseball bat. Zoe appeared from the bus and placed her hand on his.
“Not everyone we meet are enemies,” she told him.
Ryan just nodded, while keeping his eyes on everyone around him.
Bray told everyone to come off the bus. Rain appeared next to him and looked into Bray’s eyes.
“Is it safe?” he asked.
“I think so!” she smiled.
Rain then led the children from the bus; Gabe was there to greet everyone. People appeared around them and were making them feel welcomed. As the children walked off the bus, they were instantly taken care off and shown love.
Gabe stood with Bray.
“So many children!” Gabe said.
“We have some supplies; we can share what we have.” Bray informed Gabe.
Gabe smiled. “Nonsense, you are our guests. You have done something amazing and noble by protecting God’s children. For them, the new world will be their Eden!”
Ryan heard everything Gabe was saying and frowned. He had suspicions and knew Jack would not be so easy going about this place.
Tommy arrived from the bus; Gabe shook Tommy’s hand and laughingly remarked, “I can see you have not missed many meals!”
Feeling insulted, Tommy walked away.
As the rest of the group came off the bus, Eddie appeared. Gabe’s expression changed seeing the Down Syndrome Eddie.
“Welcome!” he said firmly to Eddie.
Gabe glanced at Brandon and tilted his head; Brandon smiled.
CHAPTER SEVEN
ROUND TWO
Raven sat on the bed, with her legs up and her hands covering her ears. Jacks screams echoed though the corridor and into her cell. Between the screams, she heard Jack shout out.
“FUCK YOU!”
“I’M GONNA KILL ALL YOU FUCKERS!”
Raven cried, knowing the pain he was being put through.
Jack had his hands chained to the ceiling. As he hung there, a water sprinkler overhead was dripping water down his naked body. Two clips, connected to his testicles, were attached to wires that ran to a switch.
“Where is the box?” Kelly asked him.
Jack breathed heavily and gave his half-smile. She pushed the switch sending voltage running through his body. He screamed through gritted teeth, the veins in his neck almost popping from the pressure. Kelly pressed the button again stopping the power.
“I can do this all day!” she told him.
Jack struggled to talk, “Then carry on!”
Kelly pointed to the soldiers in the room, who then took turns at punching Jack in the stomach.
Groves entered the room and watched. He took notice of the scars on Jack’s stomach and leg.
“We’re not going to break him,” Groves stated.
“We will, in time!” Kelly emphatically replied
Groves pointed at the hideous scars on Jack’s stomach and leg. “You see that? He cauterized it himself. Anyone who can do that is not gonna break!”
“Then we use the girl?” Kelly asked.
“Looks like we might have too,” Groves replied.
“STOP, TAKE HIM DOWN AND TIE HIM TO THE CHAIR AGAIN! KELLY, GO GET THE GIRL!” Groves ordered.
Kelly smiled as she left the room.
Groves watched as they tied a naked Jack to the wooden chair, he noticed how beaten Jack looked.
A noise behind him made him turn.
“Get off me you bitch!” Raven told Kelly.
Kelly dragged Raven inside and threw her in front of Jack. Raven looked up to see him naked and destroyed. She got on her knees and cradled his head.
“Jack!” she said softly.
Suddenly, Raven screamed as Groves dragged her away by the hair.
“One more time Jack! Where is the box?” Groves demanded.
Jack looked at the fear in Ravens eyes. The truth was he knew nothing about any box, but needed to buy time. He knew the moment they knew anything Raven was expendable. So, deep in his own heart, he needed to take everything they could throw at him. He needed to protect Raven.
“Kill the bitch, I don’t care, just another life to me!” Jack sneered, trying to save her.
Kelly pulled a table out in front of him.
Groves threw Raven onto the table.
“Jack, come on. I’m not gonna kill her, that would be too quick!”
Groves turned and nodded his head at the soldiers. Groves grabbed Jack’s head and made him watch the soldiers tear her clothes off. They held Raven, bare naked, onto the table. One of the soldiers undid his belt and dropped it to the ground; he unbuttoned his trousers, and pulled his trousers and underwear down. Holding his cock in one hand, he smiled at Jack.
“Watch this!” he laughed and said.
Before the soldier could do anything, Jack slammed his head back, headbutting Groves in the face and breaking his nose. Blood exploded over the back of Jack’s head. Before the soldiers could react, Jack forced him arm free snapping arm of the chair off. Standing up he smashed the chair into Kelly, kicking one of the soldiers in the balls and stamping on his neck, killing him quickly.
The other soldier tried to pull up his trousers; Jack pushed him up against the wall.
“I was just following orders...,” the soldier was begging, when Jack rammed the wooden arm of the chair into his throat. Jack watch the blood pour out, he twisted the wood and dragged it along the man’s throat; tearing the flesh from him as more blood gushed out.
Jack turned covered in blood, Raven was getting dressed again and she threw Jack’s clothes at him. She grabbed a soldier’s gun and handed Jack another, opening the door she looked out.
“Come on!” Raven told Jack.
Together, they ran down the corridor towards the lift, pressing the button; it was taking too long. As they ran towards a door, a man appeared from it wearing a white coat; Jack held the gun at his head.
“ERIC JENKINS!” The man said.
Raven pointed her gun at him and asked, “Who are you?”
“Dr. Steven Banks, but that is not important.” He replied.
“No, it’s not, but that shit you put in me is!” Jack said angrily.
“You’re Lance Corporal Jack Mason, former Special Forces. You left your best friend behind, because you knew there was no chance he would survive. You carried a man…”
“SHUT UP!” Jack told him.
Raven looked on in confusion.
“Jenkins is alive, well she was! She told me you were coming to London and that she would guide you here. She said I could trust you.” Banks told Jack.
Jack backed off and leaned against the wall.
Soldiers could be heard running, Raven tried to grab Jack but instead he dropped to the ground in pain holding his head.
“FRANK, I’M SORRY I HAD TO KILL YOU!” Jack started to punch the floor and kept screaming. “YOU HEAR ME MACLEOD, DIE SLOW YOU FUCK!”
Raven watched her friend in confusion.
“How long has this been going on?” Banks as
ked.
“Not long,” she said fearfully.
Soldiers appeared, Raven dropped her gun. Groves went to kick Jack in the head, when Banks shouted out, “STOP!”
Groves looked at Banks in anger; his face was still covered in blood from his broken nose.
“OASIS WANTS HIM ALIVE! THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH HIM! HE MIGHT NOT EVEN BE AWARE OF WHAT HE KNOW!” Banks yelled.
Groves looked at Jack, who was still on the floor, “You hear me MacLeod?” Jack muttered.
Kelly looked at Raven, and snarled, “At least I can kill that bitch!”
“No! You told me she was a nurse!” Banks replied.
“I need to get this man into a scanner immediately, and if there is something wrong with him; he will not believe us, but he will believe her.” Banks told them.
Groves wiped the blood from his face.
“For now, take them back to their cell. They are not to be touched until Dr. Banks has had a chance to examine him!”
“Thank you!” Banks said.
“Don’t be, because if it turns out that Jack is playing us. I am gonna kill you first!” Groves growled.
CHAPTER EIGHT
THE BOYS
Blood sprayed through the air, broken teeth flying out, mixing with the blood. A zombie attempted to bite down on Adam’s arm suddenly had its head was sliced in half. Adam looked over at Kat who was holding her new sword with a broad smile on her face.
“Told you!” Sarah said, as she smashed another zombie in the head with her machete.
Jacob stood with Paige as the others took care of the few zombies. Jacob stood eating a tin of steak chunks, Paige kept looking up at him whining.
“NO!” Jacob said to Paige.
Paige lowered her ears and continued to whine.
“Fine!” Jacob said, as he placed the tin on the ground and Paige went to work eating the food.
Jacob shook his head as he pulled a small axe from his belt and walked towards a rotting corpse to smash it through the zombie’s skull. He glanced back at Paige, who was licking her lips.
“No, no, it’s fine you finish it off,” Jacob said sarcastically.
As the last zombie dropped to the ground, everyone took a moment to take a drink.
“Adam, we have been walking for two days. Where the hell are we going?” Sarah asked.
Gulping his water down, Adam looked around at the others. “On the map, there is a town just a few miles from here and I am hoping there is a library there!” Adam replied.
“Hoping…” Jacob said with his accent.
“COME ON!” Adam said. “We will be there in a few hours.”
Sarah approached Kat. “Nice work, Jack trained you well. But now is the time for girl power! Remember to use both swords, don’t be afraid to take a risk and lash out.”
Jacob walked past, mumbling, “I am surrounded by crazies!” Paige ran beside him.
They all walked together, following Adam.
For the next few hours, the journey was peaceful. The odd zombie wandered here and there, but they were nothing to worry about. They walked the few miles and reached a small rural village.
“I though you said we were heading for a town?” Kat asked.
Adam ignored her; they walked past a graveyard that sat next to a large church.
“Ew, graveyards creep me out!” Jacob said in a shaky voice.
Sarah laughed at Jacob and said, “Seriously? Zombies walk among us and the dead in the ground is what’s creeping you out?”
They walked around the village. In the middle of the road was a little old lady. Her thick, grey hair and her knitted, pink cardigan made her look normal. As she turned around, they first noticed the rotting face.
“Oh shit!” Jacob said.
As the old lady turned around completely, they noticed four arrows sticking out of her chest.
As she groaned, another arrow hit her in the shoulder. Adam, Sarah and Jacob pulled their guns, raising them up and looking around them. The old zombie woman approached Adam; with one shot, he put a bullet in her head. As she dropped to the ground a voice shouted out. “HEY! SHE WAS OURS!”
The group still held their weapons high. A group of four young men suddenly appeared from a church; they all stood tall and thin, all with overgrown hair. The oldest of them was only seventeen.
“OLD MINOR! It’s our town,” one boy said.
Adam lowered his gun and looked at the boy speaking; he looked hungry and carried a bow and arrow. The other three stood behind him, also carrying handmade bows and arrows.
“That was a nice shot!” Adam told them.
“Yeah, we live in a village, not a lot to do here,” the main boy said.
“I’m Adam; this is Sarah, Jacob, and Kat.” Adam introduced his group.
Paige suddenly barked. “Oh yeah, this is Paige!” Adam added with a laugh.
The boys looked at them. “We have no food, no supplies worth stealing, so you should leave.”
“Actually, we just need to use the library,” Sarah told them.
The boys broke out laughing.
“I’m Craig, the buck-tooth one is Taylor, and the beautiful twins are Brad and Brain.”
“But, not sure the library is going to be much help now!” Craig said.
Adam glanced back to the others shaking his head.
“And what is wrong with the library?” Kat asked.
“Well hello, beautiful!” Craig said to Kat.
“Shut up or I will cut your nuts off!” Kat replied.
Craig smiled widely, “Well the library is the strongest building in the village, and we have been living there. But it’s not very nice!”
“Four men living in an enclosed space, no shit it’s gonna be crap-hole. But please, we need to get there and find a book!” Sarah told them.
“A book? You’re joking, right?” Craig laughed.
Adam stepped forward. “Do we look like a comedy act?”
“Gonna cost yer!” Taylor said.
Jacob walked towards Taylor with a smirk on his face, “Shut the fuck up boy, before I make you my bitch!”
The boys all looked at each other in fear.
“OK! Follow us!” Craig told them.
Craig along with his friends led the way, quickly followed by the Adam and the others. Craig kept glancing back at Kat; he could not get over how good she looked.
CHAPTER NINE
HORROR
At Fort Brockhurst, the moon was shining brightly over the fort. It was a clear night; the stars were shining like never before. Bray stood with a huge smile on his face, he felt happy, he felt like Jack would be proud of him.
Looking around, seeing his people happy and laughing. Bray watched Eddie playing with a ball with a couple of guards. Eddie kicked the ball so hard it bounced into a stone room, the guards laughed and walked in with Eddie to retrieve the ball.
The group in Fort Brockhurst had lit a huge fire that lit up the entire fort.
Gabe stood talking with Brandon.
Rain approached Bray. “You think they will let us stay?” she asked.
“I hope so, I am going to speak with Gabe about it,” Bray replied.
A child ran over to Rain. “LOOK!”
Rain looked at the plate of fresh vegetables on the plate. She looked over at Bray with a smile.
Up on the grassy slope, Ryan, Zoe, and Tommy looked out beyond the fort, each of them thinking about their friends who were out there, somewhere.
“You think they will find them?” Tommy asked.
Zoe took Tommy’s hand. “I do,” she said softly.
The sudden cheers behind them made all three of them turn to look. The fire in the center of the fort roared. They watched Bray walking slowly over to Gabe.
“Looks like Bray’s going to creep up that guy’s ass!” Ryan said.
Zoe looked at him. “He is just trying to keep our people safe!”
“You don’t trust him,” Tommy said.
Ryan looked ove
r to Tommy. “Gabe or Bray?” He asked.
“BOTH!” Tommy replied.
Zoe looked them in anger. “Listen, Bray is one of us!”
“But he is not Jack!” Ryan replied. “And he is trying too hard to be!”
Bray stood beside Gabe.
“How are you settling in? Have you all been fed?” Gabe asked happily.
“You have been amazing, and my people are asking if there is a chance we could stay?” Bray asked.
Gabe smiled. “You don’t need to ask, this is a place of safety. God supplies us with what we need and we live in peace here.”
“But there is something I must say. Everyone works here! We grow our own food and almost everyone here is vegetarian. To qualify for meat, you must join the soldiers and venture beyond the safety of the fort. Those that fight to protect us need the strength.” Gabe told him.
“That is something I am more than happy with, I am a former soldier and will happily fight to protect this place.” Bray replied.
Gabe placed his hand on Bray’s shoulder. “Hearing those words, fill me with hope and happiness!”
“I will happily head out tomorrow and go look for food and anything else needed,” Bray said.
Gabe looked around. “There is no rush; you have already given so much!”
Bray looked confused. He thought about the supplies in the bus, but it was a few boxes of tinned food, water and a few medical supplies, nothing special.
“If you would excuse me, it is time for thanks!” Gabe walked away.
Bray frowned.
Everyone around Gabe began to clap as he reached the fire. Dozens of men with handmade weapons all surrounded the fire with smiles on their faces.
Gabe raised his hands, the crowd went suddenly quiet.
“THESE MEN FIGHT FOR OUR SAEFTY, THEY PROTECT US FROM THE EVIL BEYOND THESE WALLS! THE GOOD WILL LIVE AND THE EVIL PERISH! THE DEAD WALK THE EARTH TO CLEANSE IT FROM THE EVIL THAT HAS DEVOURED IT! WE WAIT FOR EDEN TO RETURN AND FOR OUR TIME TO WALK FREE! WE SERVE OUR GOD AND HE DELIVERS! OUR CROPS GROW AND FEED THOSE IN NEED OF OUR PROTECTION! BUT OUR SOLDIERS NEED MEAT, THEY NEED STRENGTH!”
Gabe pointed ahead, a large yellow digger appeared from behind the fire, and Bray struggled to see through the flames. There was a large metal bar with something strapped to it.
