Critical Measures

by Kip Nelson

  People shambled together as if things had become worse. The floor was stained with dried vomit and blood, as were the walls. It was disgusting. It was as though the dregs of human life were contained within the walls. Adam and Diana moved through the floors, shouting at people, grabbing them, trying to make them see there was another way to live. They told them all about Lisa and how she had been using these apartments as farms, and now they could live and be part of something bigger than themselves. Their enthusiastic words fell on deaf ears. Nobody seemed to respond to them, they just stared at Adam and Diana with their cold, gray eyes, and turned away.

  Adam couldn't believe it. These people finally had hope and he thought that would be enough, but it seemed that once the world had turned its back on them, they had turned their back on the world. They were too far gone to be rescued, and although it was difficult, Adam and Diana simply had to leave them there, to their own personal hell. Perhaps one day there would be a way back for them, but the journey would need to be undertaken by themselves. Adam and Diana couldn't force them to leave.

  They both were filled with a deep sense of uneasiness. After all, they had suffered so much themselves, and seen so much suffering, that it seemed a waste for these people to let life pass them by. Even though it was scary and anguishing outside, there still was joy to be had. It was now obvious to Adam that life was short, shorter than it had been before the world went dark, and it was important to make the most of the limited time granted to each person. It was as though these people in the apartments were locked in purgatory, waiting to be called through to the afterlife, but it was a mistaken way to live. They had lost themselves, but it didn't mean they never could find themselves again. Adam raced around different floors, trying to tell them that all they needed to do was step outside and work toward a new goal, to find a new purpose.

  Then it hit him. These people were just like he had been before the world ended. He had shut himself away and eschewed life to immerse himself in fictional worlds. When he thought back, he had nothing substantial of which to be proud. The life he had lived had been empty and hollow, and as the truth dawned on him he felt refreshed, as though he had been baptized and his soul now was cleansed.

  There still was much for him to learn about himself, but he felt as though he was on a good path. The truth he had learned was that without other people life was meaningless. He felt more alive now, more a part of the world than he ever had before, and he felt great pity for the people who inhabited the apartments. He wanted to grip them by the shoulders and shake sense into each and every one of them, but even then he thought it would do no good. They just would shuffle off and carry on their hollow lives.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Well, that was entirely depressing,” Diana said as she and Adam regrouped at the lobby and then left the people in the apartments to their own devices.

  “No luck at all?” Adam asked.

  “None. It's like I was barely there. I don't know if they actually heard me, or if they just thought I was some voice in their head. It's like they've all been shaken by what happened and there's just no getting them away from it.”

  “I tried to tell them about what had happened, but they don't even care. It's like they can't imagine any life away from that building.”

  “Maybe they can't,” Diana said despondently.

  “A lot of people are like that. They never can get over trauma.” The way she said it made Adam think that she meant something else, but he didn't pry. He had learned that if Diana wanted you to know something, then she would tell you, and if she didn't, there was probably a good reason for it.

  “I wonder if most people around the world are like that? I liked to think that they were more like us, that there were people out there trying to make a go of it and working toward building something again.” Then again, he thought, those people likely would die out and, in the end, it would be only the ones who were willing to fight for something better who still would be living.

  It was survival of the fittest in its purest form, and yet there was something so depressing about having to watch so many people just give up on life and die. Over the years, Adam had read many articles on the internet about how humans were a disease on the planet, how their civilization had grown bloated and needed to be culled. Well, those people had gotten their wish, but Adam didn't think it made humanity any richer.

  “That's the nice way to think about it. The sad thing is that we'll probably never know. You know, I always dreamed that one day I'd travel the world, but now I doubt I'll ever get out of America. Can you imagine what it's like for the people who were on vacation? They'll never get to see their homes again, separated from their families. It's no wonder that so many of them have given up. When you've lost everything it's hard to find anything to fight for.”

  As they walked along, Adam had much on his mind. He thought about Tara and Peter, and how he would react if now they were taken from him. He hoped he would not turn into a shadow of himself. He liked what Matthew was saying, and he wanted to be a part of it.

  “I really hope that Matthew can pull it off. What do you make of him?”

  “He's got a good head on his shoulders. He's reasonable, but he seems tired all the time. It can't be easy.”

  “I know, I think that's why he needs help. I think we should set up more people to help him lead the camp. Maybe that would be easier, and it would help avoid the situation with Lisa. One man shouldn't have all the control.”

  “Do you not trust Matthew then?”

  “I do, I just mean in the future, like when Annabelle is older and we're complaining about how things aren't the same as they used to be.”

  Diana gave him a small smile. “You think we'll make it that far?”

  “A guy has to hope,” he replied, and the two of them continued walking on in a comfortable silence.

  They decided together that someone else could go to the other apartment complexes. They had given it their all, and couldn't face trying to persuade those people again. There were others more suited to that task. They would go back to their new home and try making the best of the situation. Things were looking up for them, Adam thought. The fighting was over, and he felt they had done enough to prove themselves to the people they were living with. If he hadn't, then he would keep working hard and show them he was a worthy member of the community.

  “It seems as though Annabelle has settled in well with Stan,” Adam said. “How do you feel about that?”

  “I couldn't be happier for her,” Diana replied.

  Adam had a feeling that that wasn't the end of it, so he let the silence linger until Diana spoke again. “I guess I'm a little sad as well. I thought I'd be taking care of her until she grew up, but that's Stan's job.”

  “I'm sure he wouldn't mind the help, and it's not like Annabelle is just going to start ignoring you.”

  “I know, but it's not the same. I don't want to get in the way. They've missed out on a lot already, and the last thing they need is a stranger butting her nose in.”

  “You know neither of them think you're a stranger,” Adam said. He put his arm around Diana and hugged her in a friendly manner.

  “There are probably a lot more kids out there who need help,” she sighed.

  Before Adam could respond and ask exactly what she meant by that a cloaked figure leaped out of an alley and came upon them. Wielding a crowbar, the figure waved it at Adam and Diana. Adam cried out in pain as the weapon slammed across his back. The assailant roared and shrieked and his obsidian black cloak billowed. Adam's arms flailed as he tried grabbing for something to steady himself. The crowbar flew wildly through the air. Diana ducked its vicious swipe and shot out a leg, finding the midsection of the man attacking them. The blow knocked the breath from him and he doubled over. Adam scrambled and flung out his arms, grabbing the crowbar and yanking it from the attacker’s grip. Adam panted as he wielded it, ready to strike as Diana punched the man across the face. A yelp of pain fo
llowed as he sank to the ground and Diana ripped off the cloak’s hood. They both were surprised when they saw the face, because they recognized the man as one of Matthew's people.

  A strange look came upon his face as well as he saw Diana and Adam. They looked at each other quizzically, their breaths heaving.

  “I thought we were done with all this. You want to attack us out here? We're not your enemy,” Adam said, rolling his eyes. He kept his grip on the crowbar, although he held it non-threateningly by his side.

  “I know you're not,” the man panted. Adam remembered his name being Oscar or something else beginning with O.

  “I just...I thought you were them. I didn't know. I'm sorry.” Diana and Adam glanced at each other, their brows creasing.

  “What do you mean?” Diana asked warily.

  Adam thought the hostilities were over. He hoped that things hadn't become worse since they had left Matthew with the other camp, but he was sure that with Tara and the others there shouldn't have been any breakdown in negotiations.

  “I went back...to the camp...” Oscar said in halting breaths, “to tell Matthew what I had found, but they were there already.”

  “Who?” Diana and Adam asked in unison.

  “Other people. They've taken over. The only thing I could think to do was to come and get help. I'm sorry for attacking you. I just...my mind...I see enemies everywhere. They must have been following us...watching us. I don't know when they came there or how many there are, just that there were a lot of them. We can't go back there yet. We'll be walking into an ambush.”

  Adam made a low whistle. So many thoughts ran through his head. He was worried for Tara and his friends, but most of all he was angry that there were yet more bad people who wanted to take this world and have it for their own. They just had gotten rid of Lisa and already there were more people who wanted to inflict harm on those he loved.

  “What do we do now?” Adam asked, looking at Diana.

  “We do what the man said. We get help,” she said.

  The two of them helped Oscar up and moved to a darker, more sheltered area for now they were afraid people were watching them. Once Oscar calmed down they tried to get more information from him about the numbers they were facing, although he only had caught a brief glimpse. He had turned tail almost as soon as he saw what had happened. Neither Diana nor Adam could blame him, and they agreed that he had done the right thing.

  Oscar told them where the other camp was, and with his help the two of them were able to piece together where the other camps were. Matthew already had sent envoys to them to make overtures for peace, but now perhaps it was time for a more concrete agreement. Adam and Diana were not about to let yet another enemy endanger them. They had been through so much already to get to a point where they could start to be hopeful for the future, and they were not going to have that taken away from them. They mapped out the area and decided on a plan. It was time for another rescue mission, and to find out what this mystery enemy wanted.

  “I guess the fun never stops,” Diana said as they got underway again. Adam grunted in response as he handed the crowbar back to Oscar.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The ruthless people quickly had managed to subjugate those in the camp. Matthew had seen the severed head and had called everyone to panic stations. He had tried rallying everyone to talk about what to do. It seemed they had a new threat to take care of, and their freshly-made alliance was being forged in the heat of it. Matthew's heart was beating as he tried keeping his faith and remembering the Lord had a plan, but this was almost too much to bear. The world was filled with sinners, and it was all he could do to keep from breaking down.

  People needed him to be strong and he would be strong, for them. He told only the most trusted people about what had happened because he didn't want to induce panic. At first, there was some suspicion from both sides that this was some kind of ploy, but it quickly was made clear that neither side was sadistic enough to go to those lengths. Matthew sent a few people to go back home and warn the others to prepare to defend themselves yet again. He wondered if this had been planned, for both camps had been weakened by their war and now they were ripe for the picking. He chastised himself for not seeing this, for not being more careful. He thought that once Lisa had been dealt with everything would be normal and he could begin rebuilding, but things never would be normal in this world, not when it was so easy for people to be savage. They were embracing the worst aspects of themselves. They all had turned away from God, and the rapture already had swept so many away.

  He thought they would have had more time. The severed head seemed to be a warning of things to come, but perhaps an hour had passed before they heard the approach of the enemy. They roared as they swarmed through the barricades and the gates. People rushed to arm themselves, but since the camp had been culled of its best fighters they provided little resistance against the savage warriors. Matthew was horrified as they marched through the camp and swung their jagged swords at the people. The blades looked to have been improvised out of scrap metal. They tore into flesh and the men wielding them had to yank them out, ripping skin apart as they did so. They were wild and it wasn't long before Matthew and the others realized they had no chance of winning the fight against them. There were simply too many of them, and not enough people to resist. Matthew prayed that the children had been taken to safety and were being protected from this gruesome sight. More people were dead. More blood had been shed, and for what?

  The only option they had was complete and unequivocal surrender. Matthew never had seen such a raw, ruthless lust for blood before and he was entirely shaken by the ordeal. It was as though they had stepped forth from a history book, for Matthew had not imagined that such savagery still existed, even in this new world. However, clearly it did, but he hoped he still would be able to talk to them and find a way to broker peace.

  The men were tall and strong. They were scarred and had beards, and had little respect for any of the people kneeling before them. At first it was unclear if anyone was in charge or if they were just a hoard of people who would run through a camp and ransack it. Then striding through the camp came a giant of a man with jet black hair and a thick beard, laughing uproariously. As far as Matthew could see, there wasn't anything to laugh about. This man strode across the ground as if he owned it. Instead of a sword he wore a huge ax holstered to his belt, and it seemed to be the only actual weapon any of them had.

  Matthew knew well that if he said the wrong thing, everyone could die...they could die even if he said the right thing. He kept quiet and exchanged awkward glances with everyone else. He saw the fear in their eyes. Their bodies shook. Matthew shared their fear. There were times in his life when he wasn't afraid like many others would have been, because he had faith in God to see him through, but while his faith in God was unwavering, his faith in humanity was not. He knew full well the ugliness that men were capable of. He had seen it firsthand and more often than he would have liked.

  “Well, well, well,” the huge man said. “What do we have here? It's nice to know that Lisa isn't around anymore. Makes you lot much easier to conquer. She was a tough bitch, and I didn't think she'd go out like that, but there you go. You did me a solid. Who was responsible for that anyway? You two, though, man, you really knew how to go to war. Lit up the sky like fucking fireworks. Damn it was beautiful. I thought you'd be wiping yourself out, but it's nice to see you've made friends now, not that it's going to help you one little bit. This is the beginning of your new lives, so get used to it. Now that Lisa's gone we're free, and there ain't anyone to stop us.”

  “What do you mean?” Matthew said, standing up. He knew that his best chance was to present himself as the leader and hope that this man respected his show of courage. He turned and tilted his head as he eyed Matthew, making a point to rest his hand on the head of his ax.

  “And who do we have here? Ah yes, the winner of the war. I'm sorry to cut your victory parade short, buddy.” />
  “What do you mean you're free?”

  “The thing is, Lisa was the one keeping us in check. I mean, you can see that we're very formidable, and you might have thought that we could have taken her out without too much hassle, but the thing is we're only violent when we know we can be. Lisa, man, you probably have a lot of things to say about her, but one thing you never can do is underestimate her. She knew how to talk to me, you know, and what can I tell you? I liked what she had to say. I wouldn't go far as to say we had an alliance, but we had an...an understanding, yeah. In fact, one of my best guys actually went to work with her. Tall guy? Had burns on his face. Interesting story about that one, actually...although I heard he didn't make it through the war.”

  “Sounds like you've heard a lot of things.”

  “Information is power, my friend. Lisa understood that better than anyone. She knew that we were a threat, so she made me an offer I couldn't refuse. That bought her peace...for a time. I knew it wouldn't last, though. Knew she wouldn't last, although I never thought she'd go out like that. I figured she'd at least see winter through and die in her sleep. Still, good on you for defeating her and all that. You should be proud. But I kept a close eye on things. You must know, I didn't trust her one bit. I figured she'd double-cross me as soon as she could. I kinda had the feeling she was building an army for the day when we met on the battlefield. We both knew it was coming. The city just wasn't big enough for the both of us and, one way or another, we were going to go at it. That makes it all the more disappointing, really. I thought we were going to have a good fight on our hands, but instead we have...this.”