by Jeff Olah
After thirty seconds and with no other activity within the deep reaches of the home, Rath delicately removed his foot from the plank and headed back to the kitchen. Setting his pack next to the door leading to the pantry, he took only the edible items that he could carry and two plastic bottles from the cabinet. He shoved them into his bag and began digging through the cabinets for anything they may find useful on the trip he knew they’d have to make.
His bag at full capacity, Rath pulled his weapon and moved back to the living room. Glancing out the front window and into the street, he nodded his head. “So predictable… feed all night, sleep all day.” The half dozen Andros he could see from his perch alongside the overturned couch were sprawled out in the street and partially covered in the morning snow. Unmoving other than the quick rise and fall of their chests, he never understood how their kind adapted so quickly to their altered world. “Live among beasts, I guess you end up turning into one yourself.”
As the last hushed syllable left his tongue, the energy of the blow from behind nearly caused him to bite the end of it off. Thrown to the ground with such force that he smashed the antique coffee table into hundreds of pieces, he instinctively rolled onto his back to face his attacker. Reaching for the metal pipe he dropped, the large male Andro standing above him kicked it out of the room.
As the beast turned to see another of his kind march into the room, Rath slid his right knee under him and pushed off the wall he’d backed into. Catching the Andro off guard, Rath lunged forward with both hands extended. He grabbed the beast by the head and drove a thumb into each of its eye sockets. He clamped down and pushed its eyes into its head, instantaneously blinding his attacker.
The second was already coming for him as the first fell to the ground, either stunned or unconscious—Rath didn’t care which. The female Andro screamed as her partner lay motionless alongside the recliner. The sound carried, although as Rath looked to his right and again out through the window, it didn’t appear the others outside were aware of what was happening. She leapt over the shattered coffee table as Rath moved farther right and into the area between the stairs and the family room.
Maintaining eye contact as the Andro circled the room, attempting to close the distance, Rath slid his right leg to the rear. She lunged forward yet again, although he sidestepped the attack and seized his weapon as she went head over heels onto the hardwood, landing on her back. The low growl she emitted as she scrambled to her feet held an air of confidence, as if she was merely an animal toying with her prey.
Rath moved left and leveled his weapon as she vaulted off the bottom stair and came straight at him. Squatting to avoid another collision, he swung hard, making direct contact with her left arm and torso. She took the blow without any signs of harm and reeling backward under her own momentum, grabbed his pant leg, bringing them both into the wall. She pulled her right arm underneath, twisted to the left and was on top of him before he could react.
Her hands on his throat and her knees pressing into the meaty part of his upper arm, she was powerful, much stronger than any female he’d encountered before today. Female Andros were much faster than their male counterparts, although their strength usually couldn’t compare, not by half. The air running out of his lungs as she clamped down, Rath pulled his right arm free and clutching the three foot piece of metal, slammed his fist into her lower jaw.
She reacted by clenching tighter and leaning forward to her left. His windpipe felt as though it had already collapsed and his vision doubled as he was slipping away. The female beast sitting atop his chest brought her face in close and sniffed at his face, his eyes beginning to flutter. She assumed this to be a precursor to his defeat.
His vision, now just a hint past charcoal grey and his aggressor only a vague silhouette, Rath used his free right hand to grip a fistful of her matted down long black mane. Her focus was only momentarily distracted at his efforts, as he pulled free a sizeable chunk.
He sucked wind at an alarming rate as her left hand moved from his throat, attempting to bring his right arm back under control. He found his weapon and followed through with two quick blasts, again to the left side of her face. Backing away, her jaw was now completely obliterated and shards of torn flesh littered the floor below.
Blowing a mouthful of blood and saliva across the room, she stood and shook her head, attempting to free herself of the pain radiating from her mouth to her ear. Narrowing her eyes, she stepped forward as Rath anticipated her attack and swung once again, this time letting the heavy piece of lead do the work for him.
The instant the worn piece of metal made contact with her temple, her response time slowed to a mind numbing halt. Blinking away the fog that held her just the other side of this reality, her look softened. She appeared almost scared, a bit fragile, and the thick layer of rage from months on the road faded with the second and third strikes that relived her of consciousness. She continued to draw in a few labored breaths, although they were among her last.
Ripping what was left of the worn t-shirt from his first victim, Rath wiped clean his weapon and looked on as the two assailants navigated their way from this life. “They’re learning to adapt.”
Through the entry and up the stairs, he checked the Jack and Jill bedrooms before moving on to the fourth room, when he noticed movement in the street. Three of the male Andros had awoken and were headed to the front yard. Through the upstairs hall and into the master bedroom, Rath moved to the window. He watched as they avoided the front of the home altogether and instead moved along the side of the house, their pace so furious he was having trouble tracking them from one window to another.
Losing them as they moved from the side of the home, Rath assumed they’d be entering through the same door he’d used only minutes earlier. He hurried to the bathroom and waited for a sign that they’d entered. With the door only slightly ajar, he knelt behind it and through the one-inch gap, he scanned the stairway and the bannister leading to the first floor.
A full sixty seconds passed without so much as a single footfall along the interior of the home. He knew that Andros, especially the more aggressive males, weren’t known for their stealth-like movement. Their presence would have been apparent long before now. Something was wrong with this scenario.
Leaving the door and moving to the small rectangular window at the rear of the room, it immediately became clear.
“Chloe.”
9
The hatch nearly ripped from its hinges, the first Andro moved out of the backyard bunker, incensed as it pulled the young girl from her hiding place. Rath’s size, adrenalin, and forward momentum carried him into the hall with the hollow interior door only offering a trivial degree of opposition as it detonated from its hinges. Descending the stairs two at a time, he missed the last step and collided with the front door as her voice carried in from the rear.
“RAAAAAAATH!”
His aversion to these sub-humans couldn’t be calculated. Rocketing forward, he sprinted through the downstairs hall and through the kitchen, only slowing for his backpack. As he jumped from the elevated porch off the rear of the home, he’d already alerted the two Andros now dragging Chloe toward the side yard. Reacting on predatory instinct, they dropped the girl and moved as a pack toward him.
Chloe backed against the wall and buried her head between her legs as Rath dropped his pack onto the frosted grass. His homemade weapon clutched in one hand, he reached with the other for the stun baton he’d carried away from the crash site earlier that day. Thumbing the switch along the handle, he was able to see multiple notches and acting on impulse, he locked it out on the far left setting.
The smallest and fastest of the trio reached him first, lunging forward as Rath swung across his body, turned to the right, and landed a debilitating blow along his aggressor’s rib cage. As it slammed into the ground in a wrecked mess, the dog like howl and labored breathing told him the strike had broken more than a few ribs. Without acknowledging their fallen partner, t
he others charged in unison.
Taking a step back and with the realization that he’d have to engage at least one of the two, Rath planted his trailing leg and shoved the stun baton forward. The arc from the baton lit up the yard as the Andro he’d hit went airborne. He instinctively dropped the baton as the second slammed into him from a full sprint. The air vacated his chest like a perforated balloon as he landed on his back in the frigid, snow covered grass.
Struggling to grasp the baton, he was snatched by the ankle and dragged toward the home. Flat on his back and unable to collect himself, he drew short breaths, bracing for what was to come as he was dragged through the back door. Before being pulled into the kitchen, he spotted Chloe still frozen against the wall and the other two Andros motionless in the yard.
The massive male Andro, or Bull as others had dubbed them, snatched him by the belt and tossed him onto the counter like a sack of potatoes. As if summoned from the pit of its stomach, the Andro growled as it moved its face in close. The stench emanating from only inches away forced Rath to dry heave as he turned away. The Andro grabbed his face and forced it back to center as if demanding Rath’s undivided attention.
The jagged teeth, the darkened eye sockets and the filth from too many months out in the open—this thing was once the same species as he, although its genetic makeup had moved far enough away over the last three decades that they now sat on completely different rungs of the food chain.
Rath’s free right hand moved silently through the cabinet below and until this moment found nothing of use. The eight-inch wooden spoon would not have been his first choice, although with this thing preparing to drain the life from him, it would have to do. Pulling it clear of the drawer, he inadvertently knocked the much larger wooden spatula to the floor, alerting his foe. The Andro moved one hand from his neck, affording Rath another ten seconds of consciousness.
Eye to eye, the Andro studied him as if trying to decide the most excruciating way to end their confrontation. One hand still wrapped around his neck, although not yet bearing down, Rath offered a distraction, “Let me go and we’ll call it even. I won’t destroy your entire race when I leave this District.”
As if he understood what was said and also detected the sarcasm, the Andro snorted in response and began to tighten his meaty hand.
. . .
The shoddy framework of the home revealed itself as every wall shook against the thunderous roar moving over the area. Overcome with curiosity and releasing its prey, the Andro peered out the rear window of the home as the District was thrown under the shadow of the low flying transport drone. Rath shook free and as if spring loaded, his right arm blasted away from the cupboard, cutting a wide arc to its target.
The beast’s eyes fluttered back into its head the instant Rath drove the narrow end of the wooden spoon six inches into its temple. The exit of blood, rapid and distinct, filled the kitchen floor as the two hundred fifty pound Bull fell to its side, driving the weapon farther into its skull.
Stepping over the motionless body, Rath took a quick glance out the side windows of the home, noticing the commotion in the street. He moved through the kitchen, out the door, and into the rear yard.
Scarcely clinging to life, the only Andro to enter the yard that hadn’t been completely eliminated inched toward them. Its labored breathing and broken cough appeared to get worse by the second, indicating at least a few shattered ribs and the real possibility of a collapsed lung. Moving in quickly, Rath raised his weapon and dispatched a single head shot, relieving his adversary of consciousness.
Chloe was his first order of business. He ran to her, lifted her chin, and said, “We have to go—right now.”
No response.
The massive airship continued its slow movement through the area, casting its ominous shadow over the already washed out landscape. Rath tracked its progress as he hurried to the bunker, retrieved Chloe’s pack, and hurried back to her. From his vantage, he could see that the remaining Andros were filtering out into the street. They were as much transfixed on the intentions of the drone as he was and had yet to notice their missing comrades.
Offering his hand, Rath helped Chloe to her feet and pointed to the rear wall. “We have to get out of here. We have to go south.”
She looked up at him, although only half acknowledging his words, forced a hesitant grin, and slid her bag onto her right shoulder.
Moving quickly toward the six foot wall that outlined District Two, Rath continued to monitor the yard as he gathered his pack and the two hand-held weapons. He helped Chloe to the top and handed her both bags. Clearing the wall, he helped her down the opposite side and both covered their ears as the massive transport drone climbed into the sky.
The treeline and the river beyond sat just over four-hundred yards away. Although the pair was hidden from the horde of Andros that inhabited District Two, they were far from safe. He knew that as soon as the lifeless Andros were discovered, the footrace would begin. Their chance at life was directly proportionate to the lead time they were afforded.
Before proceeding, he knelt next to Chloe. “We need to run. I don’t want you to stop until I tell you… no matter what. Can you do that?”
She nodded.
10
Little more than three minutes and they’d made it to the treeline without incident. The slight rise in elevation between District Two and their destination proved more taxing than he’d anticipated and although her strides were much smaller, Chloe managed to keep pace. He was less impressed by this than the fact that although he was sucking wind, the little girl six feet away appeared to have already recovered.
Hands interlaced behind his head, Rath asked, “You do a lot of running?”
Again her timid smirk told him much more than her silence could have. He was sure the confidence she’d shown earlier was nothing more than a coping mechanism. She told him multiple times that she wasn’t afraid and although she appeared to have almost convinced herself of this, he realized it would have been nearly impossible. Hell, he even felt the cold chill of fear running along his spine more than once today, and he’d faced those beasts more times than he cared to count.
His heart rate returning to a manageable level, Rath withdrew the two plastic bottles and nodded in the direction of the river he remembered to be only a few minutes away. “Let’s get some water.”
Before heading out, he motioned to Chloe, held his index finger over his lips, and closed his eyes. Listening to what nature was verbalizing, he could hear the storm running in from the north and its growing intensity. The desperate wind was pushing south as the temperature dropped to levels that were unusually aggressive for this time of year. Flakes of snow whispered through the upper reaches of the thirty foot pines, attempting to locate a branch to call home; the tranquility of the moment was ironic.
The pair headed slowly into the trees, Rath continuing to dissect the plan for reuniting the girl with her mother. Selfishly, this plan also included getting to his wife before he turned into the Benjamin Rath that no one wanted. The person he vowed to have left behind eighteen years earlier. His new family back at District Nine had years ago given him a chance when no one else would. Even though he was able to justify the event to himself, he knew the consequences of his actions long before he marched into the cold and ended that man’s life. More than wanting to find her… he needed to.
As they approached the river and knelt to fill the bottles, the distant footfalls confirmed what he’d assumed would happen. No less than two, and by the sound, likely no more than seven Andros headed in their direction. The pace at which they moved indicated the group must still be following their tracks through the snow. There’d be no way of losing them without heading into the near frozen water.
Staying along the shore, Rath moved through the shallow flowing water while allowing Chloe to stay a few feet away and in turn remain dry. A quarter mile in the frigid water and his boots were now completely saturated and through his socks, his feet we
re seconds from going numb. The pain was unthinkable and about to get much worse.
Surveying the area, he located a stone roughly the size of his fist and tossed it halfway to the opposite shore, which he estimated to be thirty feet. Watching the ripples fade and eyeing the calmest section, he turned to Chloe. “Those bad people back there are trying to find us. We have to cross the river so they can’t.”
Her first attempt to speak since earlier that morning was lost as she fought to find the words. She backed away and shook her head.
“Chloe, we don’t have time. We have to go right now.”
She began to shake and as the words finally came, she also began to cry. “I’m cold and I’m tired and the water is too deep. I don’t want to run anymore.”
The sound of their pursuers grew closer, now so recognizable that Chloe also turned to look into the snow covered forest beyond. He turned back to her standing in the ankle deep water and held his hand out. “You’re not going in the water; I’m going to carry you across.”
