by I. J. Smith
Screams echoed out. “I’M GOOD! I SWEAR I AM GOOD!” A tearful voice cried out.
As they lowered the person, onto the fire, Bray screamed out. “NO!” He ran at Gabe, but the soldiers stopped him and wrestled him to the ground.
“Gabe, please!” Bray begged.
Ryan, Zoe, and Tommy watched in terror as a crying Eddie was lowered, down over the fire, his flesh bubbled and burnt immediately. His skin scorching black, blisters bursting out.
Gabe stepped forward again. “LISTEN TO ME, THE LORD SUPPLIES! THE UNPURE WILL BE WIPED FROM THE WORLD!”
“You fucking animal, I am gonna gut you!” Bray shouted.
The soldiers began to beat on Bray, blood poured from his face and the sound of cracking ribs echoed out.
Gabe looked up to see Ryan. He pointed to the soldiers. The soldiers had the weapons from the bus and began to shoot at Ryan, Zoe and Tommy.
“RUN!”
Ryan led the others down the grass side and into the water, they managed to swim to the other side and run across the dark field, weaving in and out of the zombies.
Bray was beaten half to death. As he was dragged away, he watched as the soldiers starting cutting away the flesh from Eddie’s corpse. They ripped at his flesh and began to eat. The screams of children echoed out.
CHAPTER TEN
LIBRARY
Bushes had grown over the stone walkway that led to the heavy wooden doors of the library. Taylor pulled a key from around his neck, the doors were chained up with a padlock on it. Unlocking the padlock, Taylor hesitated to open the doors.
“Craig, I’m not sure about this!” Taylor said.
Continuing his glances at Kat, Craig turned to Taylor. “COME ON! THESE ARE OUR NEW FRIENDS!”
Taylor reluctantly opened the doors; the twins Brad and Brian pushed ahead and rushed in happily. Craig bowed and offered entrance to the others. Adam led them into the library, Kat was the last to enter, with Craig smiling like a school boy as she passed him. Craig went to walk in and was stopped by Taylor pulling him back.
“We should not have brought them here!”
Craig looked seriously at his friend. “We’re dying here; we need friends if we are going to survive.”
Taylor moved aside allowing Craig to enter.
There was a large dark room, candles were lit on tables, a giant staircase led up to the second floor. Craig noticed Adam and the others had stopped and were looking around the dingy building.
“It’s nice!” Adam said.
“Yeah, nice little home!” Kat added.
“IT SMELLS LIKE PISS!” Jacob added.
Sarah broke out laughing.
“Yeah, well, it’s home to us!” Taylor said angrily.
Large beanbag chairs were scattered throughout the ground floor, Craig lowered his bow and arrows and drop heavily into a beanbag chair.
“Make yourselves comfortable,” Craig told the group.
The twin started fighting over a bag of biscuits, together they devoured them. Looking at how disgusting they were eating, Sarah snarled.
“Look we just need a book, do you mind if we look around,” she asked.
Taylor stood in the middle of the large room, he stood on front of an oil drum and lit a match, flames roared from the fire.
“If you can’t find it, then we probably burned it to survive!” he spoke sarcastically.
Kat walked around the room, she looked up to the second floor. Adam moved next to her.
“Wait here, while I go look,” Adam told her.
Adam ran up the stairs.
Craig smiled at Kat. “So, what are you all doing here looking for a book?” He asked.
Jacob looked at Craig. “You a nosey fucker!”
Sarah answered Craig, “We are looking for our friends.”
Jacob gave her a glance of fear.
Kat walked around looking up at Adam, who was searching the shelves of books. Taylor moved over to her.
“What book is he looking for?” He asked.
“Not a clue,” Kat replied.
Craig stood up in front of Sarah. “So, these friends, you must be close?” He asked her.
“WE’RE FAMILY!” Kat suddenly replied.
Sarah smiled. “Two of our family were taken by soldiers. We are going to get them back!”
“And a book can help with that?” Craig asked.
“NO!” Adam shouted as he walked down the stairs.
“It’s not here, SHIT!”
Taylor looked at the angry Adam. “I told you, we needed them to stay warm.”
“It’s not your fault, you did what you had to do to survive!” Adam said while walking past Taylor.
Taylor noticed the look on everyone’s faces, they looked defeated and broken.
“WHAT WAS THE BOOK?” Taylor suddenly asked.
Adam looked at him, did he really want to help or did he just want them gone?
“Treasure Island!” Adam replied.
Sarah walked over to him and hit him hard on the arm. “TREASURE ISLAND?” She repeated.
Adam rubbed his arm. “It is just a lucky charm; a lot of British Naval ships carry it.”
Taylor walked over to a bag and pulled out a scrappy old book, he walked over and handed it to Adam.
“One of my favorites!” Taylor said with a grin.
Kat rushed over to Taylor and kissed him on the cheek. “THANK YOU! THANK YOU!”
Craig stood up with a smile on his face. “Yeah, kisses all around.” He announced.
“NO PROBLEM!” Jacob replied puckering his lips. Craig looked stunned.
Adam grabbed the book and pulled the paper from his pocket. He rushed over to a table and looked at the numbers on the paper.
“So how does this work?” Sarah asked.
Adam begun to mumble to himself. “18 – 335,” he scanned the book. “Underneath!” He continued, “5 – 3, Black!” “27-607, Arrow!”
“I KNOW WHERE THEY ARE!” He smiled as he looked at Sarah. She threw her arms around him.
“This family must be really close,” Taylor said.
“We can help!” Taylor said, suddenly.
“Yeah!” Craig added.
The twins both raised their hands to indicate they wanted to be involved.
“NO!” Adam said seriously.
“Oh come on, please?” Craig begged.
Jacob walked towards the door, Paige by his side. “Thanks, this is not your fight and trust me, you do not want to be part of it!” He replied.
“You know that would have sounded better, if your dog was not pissing on the floor!” Taylor replied.
Jacob looked down. “Makes the place smell much better, trust me. Besides, she’s not my dog, she belongs to The Reaper!”
Craig frowned. Taylor asked. “The Reaper! She is The Reapers dog?” he laughed.
Craig began to laugh aloud. Then without warning the twin spoke in unison. “SHUT UP!”
Brian asked for them. “The Reaper, the death that walked from the ashes in London?”
Kat and Sarah stepped towards them.
“You know him?” Kat asked.
“We were prisoners, locked up with others. Then a man came, burnt the evil bitch and released us. We ran and ran and found our way here. We thought The Reaper was dead.”
Kat stepped forward. “Alina, the woman who held you?”
“Yeah!” Brad added.
“We want to help the man who saved us.” Brian also added.
Adam strapped his gun to his back. “I am sorry, but NO!”
“We know where there are weapons, big weapons, the kind we can’t use!” Craig offered.
Sarah grabbed Adam. “We could use the help!”
“What about these weapons?” Kat asked.
“The Army left a lot of stuff behind after the outbreak. We can take you there!” Taylor told them.
“Then let’s go!” Jacob quickly said.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
JACK BROKEN
Dr. Banks walked into a laboratory; he stood over a computer looking towards a scanner. He watched as two men carried Jack inside, while Kelly was keeping a gun on Raven. Dr. Banks walked around and had the men, sit Jack in front of the scanner; it was a large white machine that hung from the ceiling. He strapped Jack’s head to the chair and stepped away, holding a remote. Pushing the button, the machine began to spin, taking scans of Jack’s brain. Raven watched with scared emotions as Jack continued to speak to himself.
“Ray, I tried to save you all!” Jack muttered.
The scanner came to a stop, Banks unstrapped Jack.
“It will take a while before I get the results, you should take them back to their cell.” Banks told the soldiers.
The soldiers grabbed Jack and dragged him and Raven back to their cell, throwing Jack onto the bed. Raven was thrown into the wall with Kelly holding a gun to Raven’s head, with a wicked smile on her face.
“You know, when Groves finishes with Jack I’m gonna enjoy putting you down!” Kelly told Raven, with the gun pushed hard against her head.
Walking away, Raven watched as Kelly left the room, locking the door behind her.
She rushed over to Jack, who jumped in fear as Raven touched him.
“Elle!” He said while hugging her.
Raven held him tight. “Jack whatever happens I’m not going to leave you.” She promised.
Jack placed his hand on her face and moved in to slowly kiss her. Raven hesitated and slightly pulled away, but quickly allowed him to kiss her. She knew he was thinking of Elle and not her, but their connection was strong. Neither of them seemed concerned by the camera.
Jack pulled her shirt off revealing her firm olive-skinned breasts. She then removed his to reveal his firm muscles and scarred skin, she felt the scars on his back and it turned her on even more. They laid down and began to make love.
Groves held a blood-soaked cloth to his nose; he watched the monitor as Jack and Raven made love. Kelly came into the room.
“Pervert!” Kelly mocked Groves.
He looked at her angrily.
Kelly looked over at the monitor. “OUCH!! Must admit, I wouldn’t mind a bit of him myself!”
Groves switched the monitor off. “Let them enjoy it, they’re both going to be dead soon anyways.”
Over the next hour, Jack and Raven made love, falling asleep in each other’s arms. A noise from outside made Jack jump! He looked to see himself and Raven naked, he was confused. Jack rushed to get himself dressed, disturbing Raven in the process. She began to get dress when she spoke.
“Look, it’s OK,” she said, trying to calm Jack.
Jack looked at her in confusion. “We’re adults Raven, I’m sure we can handle it,” he said coldly.
The door opened and Dr. Banks walked inside holding a folder, closing the door behind him. Jack looked at him and for a moment wanted to tear his head off.
“You better start talking, now!” Jack demanded.
Banks looked at the camera. “Sit down, both of you; we need to make this look right!”
Jack continued to stand; Raven was now dressed and sat on the edge of the bed looking uncomfortable. Banks sat next to her; he opened the folder to reveal the results of the scan.
“Jack, you have some swelling on the brain, there maybe even some bleeding. That is why you are having these blackouts.” Banks told him.
“Nice try! Groves put you up to this!” Jack snarled.
Banks handed the scan Raven, she looked them over.
“Jack I told you I was nurse. It’s real!” she said softly.
Jack looked angry. “Then I’m crazy, stop those fuckers from getting what they want!”
“You’re giving up?” Raven asked.
Jack glared at her. “NO! I’M GONNA POP DOWN TO THE HOSPITAL!”
Raven stood up and threw the scan at him.
“Jack, you cannot die!” Banks suddenly said.
Jack sat next to him. “And why not? Because right now I am sick of this shitty life!”
“Eric Jenkins!” Banks said.
Jack looked at him. “Start talking or I will snap your neck!”
“Samantha Jenkins told me I could trust you, she said, she would find a way to get you to me. Then she thought you were dead. Jenkins was working from inside Oasis; at least until they found out she was a traitor and tried to kill her!”
Jack noticed the horror on his face.
“You work for Oasis?” Jack asked.
Banks nodded. “I was part of the team who launched the rocket into the atmosphere!”
Raven suddenly attacked him. Jack jumped up and grabbed her. “STOP IT, NOW!”
“Oasis is practically a global government on its own. We were doing medical research into biological warfare. We were asked to design a flu strain that could take down an entire army, make it impossible for them to fight.” Banks said.
“And you tested on British soil and now its spread all over the damn world.” Jack replied.
“That’s the thing Jack, we worked on the virus for over a year; it never worked. Dr. Grant was the lead scientist on the project. He was suddenly called to another facility before the test.”
“What the hell do you mean it didn’t work?” Raven asked.
Banks swallowed hard. “Look, we fail at projects all the time. All we do is prove it doesn’t work and move on. The capsule that was loaded into the rocket was nothing more than colored water!”
Jack and Raven suddenly looked horrified.
“This attack was on purpose? Oasis?” Jack asked.
“They are calling all the shots; Jenkins has some proof but, not enough but something. That is why you are here; they think you know where it is!”
Jack rubbed his head.
“You can’t die Jack; the War is coming and you going to be a big player in it.” Banks added.
Raven picked up the scan results from the floor. “What do we do?” she asked.
“They need Jack alive, right now I can say your diagnosis is probably the reason you don’t know what where the box is. They will allow me to operate and save you.”
Jack looked at Raven. “What about Raven?”
“I can insist she helps me. She is a nurse, and I will need help.” Banks replied.
Jack leaned against the wall.
“Jack, this can buy you time. Recovery will take months, enough time for us to work out how to get you both out of here!” Banks told him.
“Then you better go tell Groves the bad news!” Jack told Banks, he nodded and left the room.
Raven walked over to Jack and looked him in the eyes.
“Am I really broken?” he asked.
Raven placed her arms around him and held him tight, the look of concern on his face obvious.
CHAPTER TWELVE
CANNIBALS
Bray had been brutally thrown onto a cold rock floor. He had been laying there for hours, the pain of his broken bones was still throbbing. His face was so swollen and bloodied; anyone who knew him would never recognize him.
Bray had watched the sunrise from under the door. He had heard Gabe shouting orders to look for those that escaped. This bought a painful smile to his face, knowing some had gotten away. But his thoughts soon turned to Jennifer. He had only just got her back and now feared losing her again.
Laying there in a puddle of his own blood and piss he kept thinking to himself. ‘Why did we not go with Adam?’
“Who the hell escaped?” he kept muttering to himself.
For a moment, he was blinded as the wooden door swung open revealing bright daylight. Bray felt two men dragging him from the room and throw him onto the muddy ground. The smell of burning meat still lingered in the air; Bray remembered it from when Jack had cauterized his wound.
He found it hard, but he looked up to see the half-eaten corpse of Eddie. A tear ran down his face as he looked at the burnt remains, he could still remember the happy young man that would never hurt anyone.
Gabe
leaned down beside Bray.
“It’s so sad!”
Bray even with a broken jaw, he looked at Gabe in disgust and through the pain he mumbled the word, “MONSTER!”
Brandon, standing behind Gabe, was laughing. Gabe smiled and placed his hand on Bray’s shoulder.
“He died so we can stay strong. He was wrong for this world. Now he is at peace,” Gabe said calmly.
Bray pulled away from him in anger.
Gabe moved closer to Bray.
“Listen and listen good.” Gabe said. “You brought a lot of people here and for now only the boy was on the menu, but give me trouble or any reason and I will eat your daughter with a chilled glass of her blood.”
Brays breathing suddenly became erratic; he looked at Gabe and shook his head.
“Please!” Bray begged through the pain.
Gabe stroked Bray’s face. “We can live together, we can work together. You can protect your people. First, I need a gesture of good faith,” Gabe pushed Bray’s head to look towards the wall, where all his people were being held.
“Who is missing?” he whispered into Bray’s ear.
Bray remained silent as he looked at the group of children; Rain stood there, keeping a grip on Jennifer.
“One more chance,” Gabe offered. “Who is missing?”
Bray closed his eyes. “Ryan, Zoe and Tommy.”
Gabe looked at Brandon.
“The fat one, they won’t get far!” Brandon added.
Gabe gestured to Rain and Jennifer to join them. Looking at Jennifer he smiled. “Your father is a smart man, take good care of him.” He allowed them to carry Bray away to take care of his injuries.
As Gabe stood up, Brandon stood next to him. “You really think we can trust him?”
“No, but we have all the power here,” He replied.
∞
A FEW HOURS EARLIER
Fort Brockhurst was throbbing with life. People cheered and laughed, Ryan watched as Eddie kicked the ball around. Ryan stood on the edge of the fort looking down at the moat that surrounded it.
