by Hamrick, R M
There was work to do.
With all gathered around, Audra reported on the obvious, “Somehow, Lysent got word of our attack. Someone either here or elsewhere — another township maybe — betrayed us.”
“How ‘bout your boy in Lysent?” asked a man in the crowd.
“Possibly his connection there,” Audra conceded. “Lysent sent these half zoms to destroy us. But they didn’t. We’re still here. Now, we need to make our move before the traitor has a chance to report back.”
There were murmurs. Some showed agreement. Most did not. They all sounded tired.
“I know you all fought hard. We will have reinforcements. We just have to pick them up. They’ll have our backs. They’ll help us.”
A few more nods.
“Lysent sent those half zoms to us. They didn’t send them evenly throughout the towns. They sent them ALL here. You know why? Because they’re scared of you. They’re scared of Uno. They know they’ve treated you wrong and they know you’re a threat. Are you?”
“Yes!” came the cries.
“If you’re willing to fight more to get what we need, let’s gather the weapons, some food for the road, and board this train. You know the horror you felt this morning? Lysent will know that same feeling. They sent half zoms to destroy the thing they fear most — us.”
The crowd cheered and readied themselves. And Audra hoped she was doing the right thing.
Within thirty minutes, they were boarding the train. After saying goodbye to loved ones, they settled on stray crates and on the floor, which unfortunately smelled of urine and moist flesh.
Audra and Marcos pulled the barricades off the track and joined the crew in the cab. Ryder pulled on a lever and they began moving forward. She eased them up to speed, sights set on the next township.
They had found Jack and Peter, and they sat in the back of the cab. Audra tried to explain to Peter why his safe word didn’t work, but she got no response — just unfocused eyes and periodic I should have never’s and so sorry’s.
Audra’s next objective was to not get sick. She had never moved so fast before. Well, she guessed she had in cars years ago, but she could hardly remember that. It didn’t feel like this. Her stomach sloshed. Her head spun. Satomi wretched in the back, which made Audra follow suit.
“Can you slow it down?” asked Audra.
“This is the slowest operating speed. It’s an express train, you know,” Ryder answered.
If the next township wasn’t surprised by the arrival of the blood-streaked train, the outpouring of people doubled over with motion sickness guaranteed their confusion.
“Oh heavens! We knew something was wrong when the train flew by without dropping off any goods and completely off schedule…” one man rambled as he gave hugs, touched arms, and shook as many hands as he could. He called out to others even while he continued. “We sent a scout? Did he arrive? We were going to all come to your rescue if we heard there was trouble. We’re so glad you’re here. How did you take the train?”
Audra was surprised to hear a small pause where the lithe man was actually expecting an answer. She explained to them in a few short sentences what had happened.
“We need to get going,” she said.
“Wait! It’s still on?” His blond curls bounced on his head.
“Yes. They won’t expect it. They’ll assume those half zoms wiped us out and we’ll regroup to possibly fight another day. They won’t expect us blazing in on this bloody train.”
He nodded vigorously and barked commands behind him. “Let’s go fellows! The war is still on!”
There was a hustle and bustle as the people began filing out with their weapons.
“Do you have any citizens that disagree with this?” asked Audra. She knew with each township the fighters would become increasingly the minority.
He made a half shrug. “As soon as they saw someone Lysent-cured go mad, they lost the argument. They might not come with us, but they know it’s the right thing to do. We all know it’s the right thing to do.”
Audra nodded and then helped the men pile things into the train.
“No women wanted to come?”
The man suddenly turned reticent. “We’re not sacrificing our women.”
Audra’s eyes shrank as she assessed him. She didn’t know what to make of him and she really needed him on her side.
“Do any want to come?” She pressed. “Other women from the other townships are coming.” She tried not to point out the obvious.
“That’s the other townships’ problem,” he said. His eyes flashed with ice. He wasn’t going to budge.
Audra really didn’t have time for this. She nodded and went into the buildings to help others. While there, she spread the word that anyone who wanted to come was welcome and could sneak onto the train.
With each trip to carry stuff onto the train, she saw new messages painted on the train’s silver sides.
Down with Lysent.
Uno Forever.
Stand with us.
In the next township — half of them had no idea what was happening.
“Are you infected? Where are the goods? What happened to the train?” the people asked on high alert.
And only half of those who knew, wanted to come. They hadn’t even reached Dunnbreak yet and dissenters were becoming few and unwilling.
“Skip the rest of the towns. If they want to fight, they’re not far from Choros,” she told Ryder. Over the intercom, Audra warned her passengers of Dunnbreak’s actions and their probable sellout.
“What do you think we’ll find at Choros?” asked Ryder.
Audra wished she had the slightest idea.
* * *
Ryder approached the train station at Choros, Lysent’s home, slowly. Audra had been sure that Lysent had been informed of both the results of the half zom attack and their movement to Choros. How could they not? Their shepherd had stopped reporting back and the bloody train streaked down the rail line.
And yet, the two guards who stood over the perimeter fence made no action against them. And now within their fences, the train sighed to a stop in front of an empty station platform.
Audra decided to immediately let the people out. The rail could be boobytrapped, and even if not, the sooner they got fresh air, the better. The station was a short distance from Choros proper. Past there, Lysent headquarters.
Audra and Peter were the last to leave the cab. He had composed himself since the encounter with his army. With steady breaths and the ability to maintain eye contact, Jack no longer felt it necessary to be at his immediate side and helped others off the train.
Before exiting, Audra opened the top pocket of her backpack. She pulled out a syringe intended for her sister. She had kept it safe for many days and months afterwards, to save someone else. Now, she hoped, being as worthless as it was, that it would actually save them all.
“What is that?” asked Peter as Audra put the antidote in her pocket. “You know those don’t work anymore, right?”
Audra giggled at the joke. “It’s how we get to Larange.”
Peter’s eyebrows rose, but he did not pry.
Audra jumped down and signaled for everyone to follow her to the Lysent plaza. Just inside what would be considered the township’s line, where the buildings began, sat Dwyn. He rested on the dusty ground with his back and head up against the wall of a building.
“It’s about time,” he said, jumping up and worried.
“We got delayed. You know how trains are.”
“No. I don’t,” he said, not excited that she was joking at a time like this. They shared a quick hug. He was warm. Too warm. She made no mention of it as he walked with her and all their people.
“Corette? The network? Anyone?” she asked in whispers.
“Yes, some. They are ready when you are. I’ll send the signal.” Dwyn gave a sharp-keyed whistle. One they used often in the woods.
Audra stopped herself from asking about Corette’s
motivations and Dwyn’s intentions. It really wasn’t time for such trivial matters.
“I need a favor from you,” she started.
She couldn’t let down her people. And they wouldn’t understand, but this was how they got Lysent to bow without battle. She had never intended for them to fight. They’d lose a fight, even if they won. They’d lose people and that wasn’t acceptable to Audra. She was here to save her people. And that’s what they were now. In these final moments, they were her people.
“Anything,” he said.
She spoke in a hushed voice. “I need you to bite me.”
Dwyn stopped in his tracks and stared at her, deciding if it was one of her jokes. “Hell no,” he said, finally understanding.
“Shh! Please. I need to infect Greenly. It’s the only way to convince her to work on a cure — when she needs it herself.”
Dwyn gave her a hug. “You don’t have to do that.”
“You don’t understand, Dwyn.”
“I do,” he said. “I’ll do it.”
“I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You’re not.” He reached for her hand. She let him take it and he put it against his face and neck to let her in on his feverish secret, which she already knew. She felt tears prickle in the corners of her eyes.
You don’t have to do it alone.
That’s what he had told her. That’s what she had told Manny. Now it was time to accept it, even if it meant risking Dwyn’s life instead of her own.
They walked in silence for a few moments. Peter coughed behind them and drew up closer.
“Hey, I want to talk to Greenly,” he requested. “Maybe she’ll cave when she finds out she isn’t the only surviving manager. Maybe we can pull corporate on her.”
Peter had seemed so broken up over what he had done. Audra wasn’t sure how stable he was now. She barely knew the man. “She rattled their eardrums. It’s not your fault. We don’t blame you.”
“Oh, but you should. I created them. That’s why they are out in this world. I didn’t see hope, so I made things worse. But you continue to strive toward a cure. You’ve always made sure people are treated as people.”
“Not always,” Audra’s voice broke. “But I try now.”
“Me too,” Peter replied.
As they reached the township, many people watched through windows. Some opened doors and stood outside to watch the small mass of people with weapons quietly march toward Lysent. No one had ever seen so many people convene in the township, not even for major announcements. There were lots of murmurs and discussions, but at least no one was pulling weapons on them. They were more curious than anything else of the people who lived in townships they’d never visited.
“Why are you here?” asked a man, standing on a business stoop.
“We’re requesting Greenly work on a cure,” stated Audra.
“There IS a cure,” the man scoffed. “Why don’t you just play by the rules?”
“We didn’t mess up the cure. People everywhere are regressing. Lysent needs to stop telling you lies and start trying to help for once.”
Some joined their ranks as they continued down the main drag. Many others followed just to see what would happen. And several more tucked away, fearing the outcome of a meeting between an overbearing government and ungrateful constituents. The adults told their children to stay home as they promised to be back. Just another boring announcement, they told them.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
AN AUDIENCE
They marched down the main road to the wrought iron fencing surrounding Lysent Corporation proper. Lysent Corporation was a campus of buildings, which to Audra’s knowledge, had not closed a single day during the pandemic. When things went to shit, Lysent just kept its employees inside. Over the next several years, the township of Choros developed at Lysent’s front door to serve as a public market and to house a farming community.
Larange Greenly seemed to be expecting them. The tall decorative gate had been swung completely open and no one stood at its perimeter to modulate the flow of guests. An open gate, an invitation. Lysent had not confronted them at the station, because it wanted to confront them here.
Audra led over a hundred people into the plaza. Directly across, past the cherub-covered fountain, sat Lysent’s primary building, often called headquarters. The pristine, unbroken windows towered on the face of the white mansion. Pillars and a long veranda graced the facade. The front often served as a stage for Greenly. Even now it had a podium placed in its center.
Before they even had a chance to settle and wonder what to do next, the massive doors opened to a petite woman. The woman could never resist an opportunity to tell her constituents they were ungrateful. Large bulky guards moved in front of her as they exited onto the veranda. They moved to either side when Greenly settled behind the podium.
Audra could not imagine a tighter bun of hair. It not only flattened crow’s feet, but went as far as changing the shape of her eyes. The salt and pepper was more salt than Audra remembered. Was it age or the stress incurred by building an empire around an ineffective cure? Otherwise she looked well-rested. She had probably slept well knowing she was sending a disposable army into the heart of the rebellion.
She wouldn’t sleep well tonight.
Larange Greenly looked directly at Audra and spoke to her from her perch. “Did I not tell you that you were not allowed in this place?”
“I don’t remember. Did you?” she couldn’t help but answer. Ryder gave her an elbow. This apparently wasn’t the time.
“I see you brought friends,” she waved her hand dismissively over her community, people she should know as fellow survivalists.
“Yes. You’ll see that your towns all want the same thing. To be safe.”
“And how is stampeding into my corporation safe?” she asked a little too fast. Audra knew her temper was already simmering at the surface.
“It’s not the safety of your corporation we’re worried about,” she explained.
“May a few of us could come up there? It is difficult to yell.”
The guards, who Audra didn’t think could tense up any more, did.
“And why would you come up here?” she asked. “Do you want to kill me?” she laughed.
Audra did want to kill her, but she thought it better not to speak the truth on that one. For now, she’d settle for a conversation and possibly a conversion.
“I want to discuss this, leaders to leader. I don’t want there to be a disagreement. We just came to show you how serious we were. We are.”
“You do not want to fight?”
“No.”
“That is very smart of you. Yes, you may come up and negotiate your surrender.”
“We want to fight,” Ryder whispered hoarsely. “We are willing to fight.”
“I know, but maybe we don’t have to fight.”
Audra stepped toward the stage. Peter and Dwyn joined her.
“Please remove all weapons. They are not allowed on the stage,” a guard barked.
Audra raised her hands in a surrender motion. “Of course, of course.” She gingerly and slowly pulled weapons off her, being clear with her actions. Dwyn and Peter did the same.
Afterwards, Peter cleared his throat. “I know you have the original virus, Larange. All the corporate branches received virus and antivirals for distribution.” His tone was professional.
“Who are you?” she asked.
“I’m a Lysent scientist from the Washington, DC branch.”
There were murmurs in the crowd, both in her group and those watching. Peter gave them credibility. Suddenly there was another corporate voice outside of Larange Greenly and her direct employees.
Greenly kept her cool. “We distribute the antiviral in a sustainable way. You don’t have a say without knowing our economic system.”
“You’re providing an antiviral for the original virus, but it’s not effective for the current virus rampaging through your region. We request
that you give up the original virus samples you have, so real work can be done to help the people. Otherwise, you’re taking advantage here, selling snake oil for food.”
Voices began to rise from the crowd, even from behind the fence. Audra hid a smile. The townships loved authority, and Peter was displaying a lot of it — at Greenly’s expense. Even if you didn’t care — especially if you didn’t care — about the antiviral, you didn’t want to trade your food for it. The basis of Greenly’s empire was crumbling to a hungry winter and a down-talking official.
Pink splotched Greenly’s papery skin. Her left eye twitched.
“Get off my stage!” she screamed, rushing toward Peter, waving her hand as if to shoo him away.
As Greenly closed the distance, Dwyn leaped in a forward tackle. He almost made it, but a large fist came up by Greenly’s ear and met Dwyn’s face. A hollow crunch and Dwyn’s task was left incomplete. And yet, Greenly’s screech, shrill and panicked, still filled the stage.
Arms, legs, and fists flew.
A guard pulled Peter off Greenly, not the other way around. A small spray of blood. Twice as large as Peter, the guard plowed his heavy fist into the elderly man. Peter fell back and didn’t move. Audra tried to enter the fray. The same strong arm struck her gut. Lower ribs stung as her small body was thrown off the veranda onto the concrete below.
Blood.
Blood had flown before Peter’s jaw broke. Audra didn’t understand.
The guards pulled back revealing Larange, who sat awkwardly on the ground in her black pencil skirt. Her hand covered her left cheek. Crimson blood flowed, a stark contrast to her pale skin — which paled further.
Still holding her cheek, she screamed, “Search him!”
One of the men began ripping clothes off the unconscious body. He held up a thin arm, its flesh shredded. A grievous injury.
Peter hadn’t flinched when they patted him down. Audra hadn’t even recognized when it happened. He had gotten up in his soldier’s face. He had done it on purpose.
“Kill him! Kill them all!” Greenly raged.
Jack rushed the stage, followed quickly by Audra. Larange backed away, but Jack moved to his father’s body. He held him close to his chest and tried to wake him. Greenly’s face went from pale to fuchsia. She jumped on the guard, physically trying to pull him into action. He brushed her off like someone would a small child.
