Fallocaust (The Fallocaust Series Book 1)

by Quil Carter

  “Good, you’re still standing. How’s your head?” Greyson appeared, holding a few bottles of Tulley beer. He handed me and Killian one each and motioned us over to their living room.

  “It’s just fine,” I said, twisting the top off of my beer. I grabbed Killian’s and twisted his off for him too. I didn’t want him to try with his wrist still buggered.

  “He almost passed out last night.” I heard Killian say as I handed him the bottle back. I gave him a bit of a look. Immediately his eyes shifted down; I even saw him cower slightly.

  “It might mean something,” he said in a small defensive voice. He took the beer gently from my grasp as if trying to show me how submissive he was. I wondered if that was his personality, or just something he was doing because of me.

  “But you’re feeling better today?” Greyson asked. The four of us sat down on their couches.

  Greyson must have been worried about us, the whole house was clean. Greyson was a strong, muscular guy that no one fucked with, but one of his dirty little secrets was that he cleaned when he was stressed.

  I gave him a dismissive shrug. “Head hurts a bit, but nothing crazy.”

  “Good,” Greyson said, then he glanced towards the sliding glass door which led to the backyard. “Come with me, I need to talk to you about work and Leo wants to talk to Killian.”

  “Why?” I said, not very impressed. I didn’t know what Leo wanted with Killian; I would have rather he stayed with me. I also didn’t like the idea of Leo talking to Killian alone. He was probably warning him to run the other way when it came to me. Wouldn’t blame him, he probably should.

  “I need to talk to you about work, come on.” Greyson motioned for me to come. I looked at Killian and gave him a shrug to show him that I too had no idea what was going on, and I went along with Greyson.

  We walked off into their backyard. It was completely enclosed by concrete slabs and wooden pallets leaned up against the remains of their neighbours’ houses. Reaching almost twenty feet high in some places, the slabs left the backyard, and subsequently the house, fully protected. To a normal person it might seem overwhelming and almost claustrophobic, but I always felt safe out here. I was actually the reason they had walled it off like this. I was a rather wild kid and they needed some place to stick me where I wouldn’t get myself killed.

  Greyson sat down on the bench and I sat beside him. He took a drink from his beer and tapped the neck up against his battle-scarred knuckles.

  “I need you on the wall tonight,” Greyson started. “East wall, but you’re doing it from the east watch building.”

  I groaned. I despised doing my sentry work from the watch buildings; they smelled like mould and piss, and I hated being inside anywhere where there were a lot of places to hide. I would rather be on the wall, out in the open.

  We had four watch buildings on all sides of Aras, all tall structures with the best view points and range. When we were in danger of being sniped we took watch in these buildings; it was much safer. And probably why Greyson was sending me there.

  “Are we expecting legionaries? Any backlash?” I asked.

  I felt cautious relief when Greyson shook his head. “Nothing over the broadcasts, but any news of terrorism isn’t going to be sent over the radio,” he said. The amber liquid bubbled in the bottle as he took another drink. “I’d rather be safe than sorry. I want your eyes out tonight. I would rather you be in the den with the boy, but you’re our best man.”

  I nodded. I was the best sentry in the unit. I would have preferred to take the north or south wall, our gates, but if there was going to be an attack or spies or something, it would be from an abandoned part of town that wasn’t as guarded.

  “Sounds good,” I said. I started to get up but Greyson grabbed my arm and pushed me to sit back down.

  “One more thing,” he began. I groaned; I had a feeling I wasn’t going to like this.

  “What?” I said in the most disinterested tone I could muster.

  Suddenly Greyson smacked me over the head, right on one of my rubber bullet wounds.

  “Don’t you EVER EVER knock me out like that again, you little shithead!” He hit me again, and a third time. I put my hands up, before falling onto the ground under the blows.

  “You nearly gave Leo a heart attack! You smart-ass little fuckhead,” Greyson continued. I started to laugh and I could see he was smiling.

  “You went down like a fucking pile of bricks! I could have tapped that eggshell head of yours and you would’ve fallen in a heap,” I taunted. I got up and sprinted away from him. I glanced behind my shoulder just as he swung a beer bottle at my head.

  I ducked as it whizzed past my head and broke against the concrete wall, spraying the wall and the surrounding pallets in beer and shards of glass.

  Greyson was roaring with laughter; it made me happy to see that asshole enjoying himself. I almost felt bad for knocking him out.

  Greyson picked up my beer bottle. “So, you’re not being stupid with Killian this time around, are you?” Greyson asked handing it back to me after stealing a drink. We walked slowly across the yard.

  I felt my ears go hot. I hated it when he pried into my personal life. “Well, we talk now.”

  This is why he wanted me alone. He wanted to drill me about Killian.

  I rolled my eyes as I watched the gleam appear on his face. “And? Do you like him?”

  “Yes,” I said simply. I looked around for an escape from this conversation. I probably could climb up the concrete wall if I needed to. My hands twitched.

  “Are you two dating yet?”

  I didn’t even bother hiding my derisive snort. “Dating? What sort of bullshit is that? No one dates anymore.”

  Greyson rolled his eyes. “I’ll tell you this, boy, that kid is extremely fragile and insecure. I would suggest you make it official or you’re going to drive him insane overthinking your stupid idiosyncrasies.”

  “Leo told you to say that didn’t he?”

  Greyson sighed, he had that caught look. “Of course he did, I don’t care about that bullshit. No one dates anymore. I never dated Leo. Fuck, we were married a few months after we met.”

  I chuckled, then started to walk back to the house but once again Greyson grabbed my arm. “One more thing, and I’m serious this time.”

  I stopped when I heard his tone; he did sound serious.

  Greyson sighed and shifted around uncomfortably. I widened my eyes a bit, he was indeed serious.

  Greyson dropped his voice. “He left before Doc could check him. You’re going to have to approach what happened to him on Highway 11. If he’s hurt down there, he’s going to need Neosporin and antiseptic. He’s also going to need you.”

  I froze. I had completely forgotten about that. Damn, how could I have forgotten? I let out a breath, wishing I could make Greyson, Leo, or Doc talk to him about it, but I knew it was my duty to do that now. As uncomfortable and horrible as it would be for him… and me. I had already had to do something similar once with Reno, though this would be a lot different. Reno was made out of strong stuff, Killian was a bit well… I didn’t know the word for it. He was just Killian.

  “Okay,” was all I said back. Greyson nodded, clapped me on the shoulder and we walked in the house.

  Leo and Killian looked at me wide-eyed as I walked into the living room.

  “I said don’t draw blood!” Leo said angrily.

  “I didn’t draw blood, I just loosened up a scab, sit down, Mother Goose.” Greyson waved him off annoyed, using a nickname he called Leo every time he tried to mother me.

  I noticed Killian looking at me, a worried expression creasing his face. I sat down beside him and took a drink of my beer. He would eventually learn this is just how I interacted with my pseudo dads. “I deserved it, don’t worry. I hit him over the head with my combat knife yesterday.”

  Killian’s mouth dropped open in shock. “Why?” he exclaimed quietly. He went to touch my head but I flinched. I didn’t
know how I felt about him showing me affection in public yet. This was a new thing for me.

  “Nothing, he just wanted to come with me to get you, and I wanted to go alone.” I shrugged.

  Killian took the hint and withdrew his hand. I watched out of the corner of my eye as he folded his hands on his lap, as if making sure he didn’t try to touch me again.

  “I’m working tonight. You can stay in my den and play Mario if you want,” I said. I knew he probably wanted to go home by now, but I felt better having him locked up and quiet. He liked quiet anyway, he would probably be more than happy.

  “Can I come with you?” Killian said in a sad voice. I looked at him and was surprised to see how worried and nervous he looked. I felt that empathy thing again; poor kid didn’t want to be alone at all. I couldn’t blame him. I didn’t want to be apart from him but I had to make sure no one was getting into Aras.

  “No, it’s not safe. I would rather you stay locked up in the den,” I said. Killian gave a forlorn nod and looked down at his beer.

  “Take him.” Greyson shook his head. “I want him to start learning how to handle a gun anyway. You’ll be in the building, no one will be able to see him.”

  Killian’s face lit up, he smiled gratefully at Greyson. I had Reno, Greyson, and Leo visit me occasionally as I worked, but not that often. It was usually just me watching the dark vast greywastes. It might be nice having Killian there, as long as he didn’t feel the need to talk all the time and he wasn’t in the sights of anyone from outside the walls.

  “I’ll… I’ll bring books, I won’t be in your way,” Killian said, his voice small. I guess he noticed I looked a bit skeptical. “I won’t talk unless you want me to.”

  I heard Greyson and Leo both scoff at Killian. They exchanged glances and shared a groan. “Boy, don’t show the beast your belly,” Leo said, exasperated.

  “What other type of boy would tolerate him? We should be happy he found someone.” Greyson smirked, not even trying to hide the derisive tone in his voice. Killian looked at him confused. He would get their humour eventually.

  But for now, I’d had enough of this. I got up and started walking out the door.

  “Killian,” I called. A few moments later I could hear Killian walking behind me and I could hear Greyson and Leo laughing about it. Why they decided to tease me mercilessly today was beyond me; maybe they were just happy me and Killian were safe, and we were talking now.

  “Thank you,” Killian said shyly. I saw his hands wring around the beer bottle’s neck. “I won’t bother you, I promise.”

  He was such a timid little thing, I decided to make him happy and gave him a smile. “What makes you think you’ll bother me?”

  Killian’s deep blue eyes flicked up to mine for a second before he gave me a shy shrug. “I just don’t want to take the chance.”

  “So, you promise to just sit in a corner, and watch me do my thing for hours, and not say anything or move at all?”

  Killian nodded.

  I don’t think he saw the irony in that.

  We had a good time hanging out at my place for the rest of the day. I asked him if he wanted to make a trip to his house to get some junk but he didn’t want to. I’d thought he would be eager to get some of his cooking shit and stuff but whatever. I didn’t care either way.

  He cooked some interesting food for us. He fried up an onion with some Good Boy and then put in some cut-up corn. It was pretty good if you added lots of salt. I had grown the corn myself; it looked like shit but it didn’t taste half bad. It was a lot better than the canned Dek’ko crap. That shit just tasted like chemicals.

  After eating we played some more Mario. He didn’t hold back at all this time and fucking beat me to hell. I was used to being able to whoop Reno’s ass so this was a challenge. I didn’t like him being better than me, and what was even more frustrating was the fact that he wasn’t competitive at all. He just didn’t care. That made it worse.

  After he packed his little satchel bag full of books, papers, pens, food and god knows what else, we headed towards east Aras. I was holding a bluelamp (more for him than me, I could see fine) and a foamy mattress thing I had kicking around the main floor. It would be a long night and I knew eventually the kid would get tired. He was probably sore as fuck as it was.

  I also made sure to bring my M16 and my pistol. I had brought Killian’s Magnum with me, the one I had bought for him. I was thinking of showing him how to use it if the opportunity presented itself. Or maybe I would let him fire my M16, it might be funny seeing him fall on his ass from the kickback.

  I got out my M16 as we walked inside the east watch building. I had never had a problem with anything in here besides croaches and the odd scaver, but I didn’t want to take any chances, especially with Killian glued to my hip.

  The building used to be an old office building; there were lots of big areas split up into smaller compartments. We were heading to the roof. Greyson wanted me in the building but this was close enough. I knew just the angle to position myself in so that the shadows of the air vents and electrical boxes would hide me. I knew where Killian could sit as well, and if anything happened it was only a ten second run down the stairs into the sentry room.

  “Shadow Cat, checking in. E-W-T,” I said into my handheld. A few moments later Greyson radioed back.

  “Roger, Shadow Cat, have a good night.”

  I put the radio back onto my belt and sat on top of one of the air circulators. The roof was patched up, but relatively safe. There were a few areas of it that had been boarded up, mostly where the roof had caved in. We had tried to waterproof the inside as much as we could to keep it preserved. It didn’t rain here often, but rain would eventually wreck anything. That was one thing that was apparent in this world. So many pre-Fallocaust things had been ruined by rain, and if not rain, by fire. You could see that with the vehicles. The ones out in the elements were nothing but rusted out skeletons. Once the rust came, it enveloped the entire vehicles like cancer. The trucks we used in Aras had apparently been found by Greyson’s great grandfather, covered up and concealed, and we’d been using them for a great number of years.

  Besides the boarded up areas of the tar and gravel roof, there were a few chairs we had thrown up here to sit on, and random garbage left by the messier sentries. Miller had tried to make things a bit more interesting by spray painting some ‘art’ on the air vents and circulation systems, but I thought it looked stupid. He liked drawing shit everywhere for some reason; his half-assed attempt at being artistic. I thought it made the roof look like a raver’s den. Miller always got so offended when I said that.

  I focused my eyes and scanned the greywastes before me. The office building was five-storeys high so I had a great vantage point. We usually stuck to the wall though, because it was supposed to make it easier to shoot our targets. I never had a problem with that, my eyes trumped whoever my target was a hundred fold.

  I took off my M16 and rested it beside me. Taking a deep breath of the night air, I lit myself a quil. I looked behind me to see Killian looking out over the east side of Aras; he was standing beside an air vent that had been painted to look like a snake.

  “Come, sit.” I motioned beside me. His face lit up and he walked over and sat down.

  I decided to force myself to take a step forward. I put my arm around him, making sure I was in the middle of inhaling the quil just to distract my brain from what I was doing. I didn’t want my body to cringe at the touch; it had a way of doing that without me even realizing it.

  I could feel his chest give a bit of a flutter and I knew I had made him happy. I smiled at my triumph and offered him the quil.

  He took it and inhaled deeply. As he handed it back he blew a puff of smoke out of the corner of his mouth.

  “Well, at least you know how to do that,” I said with an overtone of amusement in my voice.

  Killian gave me another one of his shy smiles. “My dad smoked. I’ve been lighting his cigarettes for him
since I was two.”

  I’ve been smoking since I was two. I took a drag and handed it back to him. This time I watched every one of his movements. How his brow furrowed when he inhaled, how he blew the smoke out of the corner of his mouth to avoid it going into my face. I liked it, I liked watching him.

  Soon his face became relaxed. I finally could sense him becoming a bit more at ease.

  “Do you know what’s in these?” I asked. He must have known by now it wasn’t just tobacco or weed.

  Killian shook his head. “I can taste the opiate powder though, same taste as the stuff we had last night, right?”

  I nodded and rolled the thin cigarette between my thumb and pointer. “It’s a grass we can cultivate here like weed but weaker, seeds were damn expensive though. It gives you a bit of a buzz, and the opiates give you that good feeling.”

  Killian took the cigarette back from me, pinching it between his fingers. “I can feel it. It reminds me of the opium cigarettes we had in Skyfall. I like it.”

  “Good,” I said simply, making a mental note to ask the next caravan if they sold those cigs. I watched him put his pink lips against the quil and inhale the blue-grey smoke. I hated what I was going to have to do next but I wanted to get it out of the way.

  My cheeks puffed as I let out a breath. I settled down and prepared myself for some crying. “There is something we need to talk about.”

  I could feel Killian tense and his pulse started to rise. “About what?” Immediately his voice dropped back to the shy submissive tones I had been hearing since I rescued him.

  I deliberately took a long drag and held it in until my lungs burned. I decided to just spit it out. “Did they rape you? The legionaries?”

  The poor kid froze up on the spot. I did too. I couldn’t believe I had to do this to him; I wished it wasn’t so important. I’d put down men and women from infection after having shit like that happen to them. If they got torn up down there and didn’t get medical care, it could poison their insides and they’d die from septic shock.