Think about Dad, we’re almost there.
It was enough to keep me going, and with one last terrified glance at the room, we entered the dull day. Outside was a mess, made worse by the gloom of winter, although it was more from the fact the factories had shut down years ago and weren’t being tended to, rather than the horrific new reality. Empty containers littered the grounds, and rusted ramps used by fork trucks long ago to move produce in and out of the buildings were scattered around.
A crane loomed high above us, its former white metal red with decay. It didn’t look entirely stable, and part of me worried it would collapse on top of us, an end that was almost anti-climactic. We made our way to the streets outside the factory grounds and we held our breath, waiting for signs of movement. There were none, and I knew it had less to do with luck, and more to do with the mysterious force hell bent on us reaching the hospital.
We half ran, half jogged after Chris. I’d stayed in Greystone all my life, but even though the town was small, I’d never needed to go to hospital. My Mum and I had never visited my father at work either as he thought it a waste of his time. We turned into the hospital carpark and gazed at the short but wide building. Like everything in town it was empty and damaged. The windows that weren’t smashed had splatters of red on them, and to my horror, bodies lay around us.
I hadn’t seen many bodies so far, and I’d thought even less about them. But then, there in front of us, it was hard to ignore. Limbs were missing or lying a few feet away, and our shoes walked through sticky blood on our way to the hospital entrance. The automatic doors were shut and didn’t move at our approach, but one of the glass panels was broken, and we stepped inside.
The smell was overwhelming, blood and death. It took me by surprise and I turned and wretched. Anna’s face was paper white, but she didn’t throw up. Chris had his game face on, and was deliberately ignoring the chaos around him.
‘Come on,’ he whispered. ‘We do this fast.’
I staggered after them, glass crunched under my feet and I slid on the bloody floors, leaving imprints on scattered sheets of paper. We reached the reception desk, and Chris groaned. I thought I knew what he was thinking, that how would we find my father quickly, but I followed his eyes. On the wall, someone had sprayed a black arrow, which pointed to the stairs. I couldn’t help but shiver, without a doubt we were wanted there, and we pushed open the door and entered the stairway.
The arrows continued up as we crawled up the stairs. Eventually they stopped, and pointed to a sign next to a set of double doors.
Maternity Ward.
Anna furrowed her brow, but kept silent. Chris pushed the doors open and went first. The mess wasn’t any better up there, and we reached a few rooms that housed mothers after delivery. I couldn’t look inside them, and Anna’s gasp confirmed I shouldn’t. We searched the floor, the arrows gone, until we heard someone whimper.
‘Dad?’ I shouted, and all caution disappeared from my mind.
Chris swore as we ran to what looked like a waiting room for women starting labour. There were beds on either side of the long room, some were bloody, and others held motionless women, but my eyes were pulled to the end of the row of beds. They grew wide as I choked down a scream. We had gone there to find my father, but instead, tied to chair, my mother groaned loudly.
‘Mum!’ I whispered and ran towards her.
Rebecca Bishop’s head shot up at the sound of my voice. The relief on her face broke my heart, but as soon as it appeared, it was replaced with fear. Her former luscious brown locks were damp with sweat and her face glistened. She looked much older with her eyes wide and bloodshot.
‘No,’ she whispered. ‘No, Lucas, you can’t be here! You shouldn’t have come!’
I ignored her, and tucked the gun at my waist as I started to untie her restraints.
‘NO!’ she screamed, and I jumped, startled.
The relief coursing through me cut off, and I stared at her. Tears formed in her eyes and I hadn’t noticed how she shuddered. Heat emanated from her in waves, and suddenly she shrieked in agony.
‘Mum?’ I shouted, helpless.
‘It’s a trap,’ she gasped between breaths. ‘You have to go, please honey, you have to go.’
‘What’s happening?’ I asked. ‘Where’s Dad?’
She couldn’t breathe though, she wheezed air in and out, tried to form words, but she broke into another blood chilling scream and Anna pulled me back. Anna’s eyes were terrified. Chris raised his gun without a word and aimed it at my mother.
‘What the fuck are you doing!?’ I screamed, trying to rush towards him, but Anna held me back.
‘She’s turning, Lucas,’ he whispered sadly. ‘There’s nothing you can do.’
‘What?’ I cried.
‘He’s… He’s right… Lucas,’ my mother gasped painfully. ‘It’s too late.’
I shook my head. ‘No, it’s not too late. We’re going to get you out of here. It’s going to be fine.’
I freed myself from Anna and tried to undo her restraints again, but she pleaded with me to stop. Chris grabbed me tight.
‘GET OFF OF ME!’ I bellowed.
‘Take him away, please,’ my mother begged Chris. ‘I don’t want him to see this. I don’t want to hurt him.’
Tears cascaded from her eyes and she looked resigned. I knew without a doubt what was happening, but I couldn’t believe it. It couldn’t happen, I begged the Gods not to let it. My beautiful mother screamed again, and in sharp gasps, it sounded like she growled. Chris started to drag me away.
‘Wait,’ she said. ‘Lucas, honey, your father, he…’
She doubled over in the chair.
‘I tried to stop them… But I… I…’ my mother couldn’t finish. Her face became expressionless before she returned. ‘Go, now!’
I tried to break free of Chris’s grip, Anna was crying but she ran too. I screamed, my mother screamed. I couldn’t save her, soon she would be gone. I felt empty, as if my heart had stopped. My energy left me and just as we reached the corner, I took one last glance at the one person I loved most in the world. She smiled, tears glistened in her eyes and she mouthed one of the last things I’d heard her say.
No matter what, I love you.
‘MUM!!’ I cried, and she was gone.
The Betrayal
Chris had my arm in a vice-like grip as we descended the hospital’s stairs. My mother’s screams followed us down, a crashing sound echoed after us and I knew she was free. Fear and sorrow gripped my heart, which thumped almost as loud as the footsteps that chased after us. It was too much. I wanted to rip free of Chris and collapse against the wall, let the monsters take me. My mother was gone. She was gone, and they had my father.
We reached the reception desk where we had spotted the first black arrow and I wondered why I had been brought there in the first place. What was the point? To see my mother change? To ruin the world for me so irrevocably that I would cease to function? I had no idea. We cleared the front doors and sprinted through the river of bodies for the factories in the distance.
Our path was still clear, and it looked like we had lost the creature that pursued us. I dragged my feet. Chris swore, but his grip didn’t lessen. We entered the place of my nightmares and descended into the darkness of our new home. We walked silently till we reached the room Terry had been hung in, Chris let go, and I fell.
Anna dropped beside me, and I saw tears in her own eyes. Chris looked back at us, his face trying to stay composed, but sadness pulled down the corners of his mouth. He mumbled something about checking on the group, and left us. I let go and silent tears turned to sobs and then bone shattering screams. Anna held me tight, never speaking, and we stayed there for what seemed like hours.
*
Someone materialised from the darkness across from where I sat against the wall, and Jane slouched into the room. Anna sat slightly to my left, her hand on my knee. I’d no more tears, no more hope. I was truly empty, and part of
me wanted those creatures to flood the tunnels, to kill us all and finish whatever game we had become pawns in. Jane settled on her knees and sadly stared at my face.
‘I can’t do this anymore,’ I whispered as I rocked back and forth. ‘I don’t want to do this anymore.’
Anna squeezed my knee, but even she didn’t know what to say.
‘I am so sorry sweetie,’ Jane choked. ‘There’s nothing we can say that will help, but I’m so sorry.’
‘Amelia, Hannah, Terry, Paul’s son, Claire, my mother,’ I winced. ‘All of them are gone, and it’s my fault.’
I clutched my chest, the pain inside was overwhelming and I gasped.
‘It’s not your fault, Lucas, it-’ Anna started, but I cut her off.
‘It is my fault,’ I cried. ‘They want me, no?’
Anna fell silent and I stood.
‘WHAT IS IT YOU WANT!?’ I screamed at the walls. ‘HOW DARE YOU TAKE MY MOTHER!! HOW DARE YOU!!’
I roared. My fist lashed out at the nearest wall, I didn’t stop, just kept punching, over and over till my arm ached and all the fight had left me. I slouched to the ground, my knuckles on fire and bleeding, and resumed rocking back and forth. The hollow feeling inside grew, and I thought about before the visit to the hospital. It was worse. Suspecting something and watching it come to pass were two completely different things. The light in the world had been taken, and I envisioned the people behind it laughing at my sorrow.
It angered me like nothing I’d ever felt before.
‘They have to pay,’ I growled through clenched teeth.
Anna looked at me and Jane put a hand on my shoulder. She looked ready to say something, when a soft melody filled the room. We turned to Anna as she pulled out a mobile phone, her face white with terror.
‘I thought all the phones were dead?’ Jane asked confused.
‘They are,’ Anna whispered. ‘I’ve been keeping mine off and turning it on every now and again in the hope I might reach someone.’
I took it from her trembling hands and answered, hitting the loudspeaker so all of us could listen together.
‘Ahhh,’ the woman who had called before sighed, ‘I am so glad you are all okay.’
‘Who is this?’ I gritted my teeth.
‘Never you mind love,’ she said brightly. ‘Now, how was your trip to hospital? Not too serious I hope?’
‘You bitch,’ I said. ‘How dare you!? What is it that you want from me!?’
‘All in good time young man,’ she cheered. ‘Now, I would love to help you, but I only called to tell you one thing.’
No one spoke, but she continued without being prompted.
‘It’s time,’ she chimed, and then the phone went dark.
*
We found Chris in deep discussion with Paul, and both looked worried. They filled us in, and we found out Grace had amassed quite a following. She was steadily convincing them that they should leave and ‘step into the sun, beg the monsters for forgiveness and mercy’. Paul and Jane had tried to defuse them, but Grace had turned hostile. One of the men backing her had even broken Paul’s nose. That man was lucky Paul hadn’t shot him, but Jane explained how she had calmed both down.
We filled Chris in on what the woman had said. He stiffened and shook his head.
‘What does that mean?’ Paul sneered.
‘Nothing good,’ Chris replied.
I didn’t care. I was done with everything. I was tired of being scared, of feeling guilty and helpless. I wanted them all to burn for what they had done. Things finally felt like they were going to come to a head. We couldn’t hope to win, but I was finished with their games.
‘What does it matter?’ I asked. ‘Let them come and we’ll play them at their own game.’
‘Lucas, we can’t beat them,’ Chris said. ‘Our best hope is to just wait, and find a way out of town.’
‘There is no way out!’ I said. ‘We’re stuck here! Stuck in their maze like rats, we’re their playthings!’
‘But why?’ Jane asked. ‘What do they want from you Lucas, that they would go to this much trouble to get?’
My mind whirled with the same questions, but I had no idea. My life before had been simple and uneventful. My family was well off, but not rolling in cash, and what would a rogue science division want with an unremarkable guy from an unremarkable town?
‘That doesn’t matter now,’ Chris said. ‘We need to stop Grace.’
I looked over at the group of people sitting cross-legged around her. She spoke animatedly, and her hands reached for the ceiling. I counted ten around her feet, and half that who weren’t. Adding us made almost two dozen survivors. A good amount if the time came and we had to make a stand. Even the thought made me shiver, but I was too angry to dwell on it.
Chris, Paul, and Jane continued to talk about what they could do to calm down the group. I had to walk away before I cracked at them, as if not an hour ago my mother had turned into one of the things we were hiding from. I made my way back to the quiet of the room we had found Terry. The place should have given me pause, but it was better than listening to anyone. Anna followed me like a shadow, and when I slid to sit with my back to the wall, she knelt in front of me.
She looked tired, dark rings lined her eyes, red with tears. For a second she opened her mouth to say something, but stopped and closed it. There was nothing she could say, nothing to fix what was broken in the world. I was glad, I didn’t think I could take any more sympathy, I had to hold onto the fire in my stomach or I would lose myself to grief.
Eventually, she looked into my eyes, and I was taken aback by the brilliant blue of hers. We stayed that way for a few seconds, and instead of talking, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to mine. The initial surprise passed, and I found myself leaning in. I wanted it, needed it like she did. Anna had always been there, defended and looked after me. She was the only one who understood, the only one down there to put me before everyone else.
The kiss became more heated, and I ran my hands through her hair, hers gripped my t-shirt tight. It felt too soon when she pulled away. I was confused, and gave her a quizzical look.
‘That was a mistake,’ she whispered out of breath. ‘I’m sorry I can’t.’
‘Anna?’ I said.
‘Lucas, I’m… I’m…’ she flustered, but she stopped and left.
I blinked. I couldn’t comprehend what had just happened, but I didn’t move. One hour passed, then another, and another. Some shouting echoed through from the other room, but I tried to ignore it. Eventually, Jane appeared, and took up the position left by Anna. She had white cotton balls in her hand, and something to clean my knuckles with. It stung as she dabbed at them and I winced. She smiled apologetically as she wrapped bandages around them.
I wondered if I should ask for more for my bullet wounds, but I couldn’t find the energy, and after a while of silence, the question seemed unimportant. Instead I asked about the situation with Grace and her cult.
Jane sighed, ‘They’re done, Lucas. Those people have given up, with those creatures being their former friends and family. The deaths, and this FOG group pulling the strings, they’re willing to believe anything.’
‘They’re not serious about going topside and offering themselves on a platter are they?’ I asked sceptically.
‘I don’t know,’ she grimaced. ‘That bitch has got her claws in them. Now she’s trying to convince them that going out will reunite them with their families. What she’s kindly leaving out is that to do that, she’d have them killed.’
I shook my head. We couldn’t touch her to stop her. It would give her voice more clout, and cement her group against us. Fear had destroyed everything, especially common sense.
‘Get some sleep, don’t worry about it,’ Jane smiled tapping my knee lightly.
She took her leave and I laughed at the notion of sleep. Adrenaline still coursed through my veins, making my body twitch. My mind whirled with constant questions, the faces of the dea
d making various appearances throughout. If only I knew what they wanted from me, I would have given them it in a heartbeat. That time had passed. I wanted revenge, and nothing would get in my way. It was with dark thoughts that I drifted off.
*
‘Lucas,’ a hushed voice spoke urgently. ‘Lucas! Wake up!’
My eyes snapped open, and in front of me Anna looked terrified. She was sweating and panting, her arm on my shoulder. I went to ask her what was wrong, but she brought a finger to her lips and shook her head. Instead she pulled out the picture of my father and pointed to it.
‘I know where he is,’ she mouthed.
I bolted upright, shocked. What? She knew where he was? Everything fled from my mind, and when she started running down one of the tunnels, I followed without hesitation. Had she found him? I never asked, keeping my mouth shut as we headed deeper into the tunnels. The corners became sharper, and the dark felt denser and more prominent. We sprinted, Anna turned faster than I could catch up with her, and she started calling my name to relay where she was.
Finally I caught up. I had entered a high ceilinged room with the same sandy walls and weak yellow light as the rest of the tunnels, but the pipes wrapped around the walls till they reached the one in front of me. That wall was different. Sitting almost ten feet up was what looked like a sideways glass dome, jutting out into the room like a balcony. It was dark, and I looked around wildly for Anna.
Apart from the entranceway I’d come through, there was another wide doorway on the left side of the room, and Anna stood in the threshold. She looked stricken and as white as a sheet. I was about to call her when iron bars dropped down in front of her. From behind me, I heard the way I’d come in also be barred off and I was trapped.
Fear of God (Trials of Strength Book 1) Page 9
