Fear of God (Trials of Strength Book 1)

by Matthew Bell, Jr

  My mind spun back to what I said earlier, ‘We might not need to,’ I thought aloud. ‘If we can cause a distraction and get the men guarding the exit to move, we might not need to fight them. We can start with the armoury Chris knows, that should rattle them.’

  It was bleak, dangerous, completely guaranteed to fail and get us all killed, but everyone nodded. Anna was right, we had no choice. We couldn’t stay in hiding while we were being picked off one by one until all of us were dead. I had a feeling it would be over soon anyway. I had changed, but not like the others, and my father’s voice echoed through my mind.

  You’re almost ready.

  ‘Okay,’ Anna whispered. ‘So how are we going to do this?’

  ‘A small group, Anna, Lucas and I,’ Chris said.

  Paul narrowed his eyes slightly, the suspicion kicking back in, but Jane stepped forward, as if she too had sensed it.

  ‘I’ll go,’ she said.

  Chris’s gaze hovered over Paul, and they both nodded.

  ‘We leave in an hour,’ Chris said, and we started to prepare.

  *

  I sat with one of the backpacks we had filled with food, emptied now. The plan was simple, get in, take what we need and get out. Simple, but there was an uncountable amount of problems that could, and more than likely would, happen. I had my gun tucked at my waist, Anna and Chris had theirs. There were two more guns leftover, the ones Paul and Grace had used, but there wasn’t enough ammo left to fill them both, and Chris left the one he could fill with Paul.

  Jane joined me halfway through our hour respite. She smiled and sat opposite me.

  ‘How about we take a look at those bandages, huh?’ she said.

  I had completely forgotten about that. My wounds hadn’t been acting up, and with everything, they had slipped from my mind. I unravelled the bandages around my hands, dreading to see the wounds from where I’d attacked a wall. Jane gasped, and I could only gape. The wounds were gone, no marks whatsoever, completely healed. For a second I sat frozen, and then I removed my top and started on the bandages there. The bullet wounds were still there, but drastically healed, the stitches were gone and in their place were two faint scars.

  ‘Wow,’ I whispered.

  ‘Looks like yet another plus to your new, um, condition,’ Jane said.

  I nodded, and she put the bandages in her own bag.

  ‘How do you feel, Lucas?’ she asked.

  ‘Great,’ I replied. ‘I feel great. Like I’m light and heavy all at once, but it’s good. I can move fast and I’m stronger, and apparently I heal quicker too.’

  I shook my head in disbelief.

  ‘I’m also terrified,’ I confided. ‘What’s happening to me? What am I becoming? What have I already become?’

  I sighed and stared at the floor. Part of me was glad to get that off my chest, I was terrified, more than ever. I didn’t know who I was anymore, and that was worse than the guilt and anger and fear.

  ‘You’re who you’ve always been, Lucas,’ Jane said as she patted my knee, ‘a strong, smart young man who’s only trying to do his best. I mean, it was you who saved Anna. You saved me and pulled this group back together. Now look at them, they want to fight, not just because there might be a way out. But because seeing you, and how strong you are, it’s inspired them.’

  I smiled and shook my head.

  ‘They just needed a push,’ I said. ‘They did it themselves, not me.’

  ‘Wrong,’ she replied. ‘Think of Anna. You forgave her after what she had done and put your faith back in her. You backed up Chris and stopped him from destroying himself and gave him back the will to lead. You stopped Paul and Grace from ripping the group apart. They respect and trust you, all of them.’

  Before I might have felt overwhelmed, but I couldn’t be that way anymore. We all had to stand together, as one, or else we’d all collapse.

  ‘Is this my pep talk?’ I smiled, and she laughed.

  ‘Yes, now get inspired and let’s go get ourselves some guns shall we?’ Jane replied and grimaced. ‘Never thought I’d ever say that.’

  ‘I am right there with you,’ I agreed.

  We stood up and put our backpacks on. I checked my gun was still at my side and we joined Chris and Anna at the exit. I waited for the pounding of my heart and the shallow breaths that usually afflicted me when we went out, but they never came. Jane was a miracle worker.

  ‘Ready?’ Chris asked.

  We all nodded. Anna positioned herself beside me and on a whim, I took her hand. She shook and I squeezed it to reassure her. We left the room of survivors and headed on our suicide mission.

  It was slow and steady progress. Around an hour had passed and we stalked the corridors of pipes and weak light, primed for an attack. None came, and finally, the corridors began to change. The pipes became less rusted and the thin line of lights above changed to square panels of bright white, the heart of the maze, where the enemy no doubt took better care of things.

  ‘So,’ I whispered to Anna, ‘how are you feeling?’

  ‘I’m alright,’ she replied. She tried to smile, but grimaced instead. ‘Kinda drained, I don’t know how long I can keep this up.’

  Her face sagged and the dark circles under her eyes had gotten darker. I put my hand on her shoulder and squeezed. We came to a corridor where the floor changed from stone to metal slabs. Our steps echoed, and we could hear voices at the other end of the hall. When we reached the middle, we stepped through a doorway that actually sported a door and my heart picked up speed.

  The voices were close, and the corridor broke off in two directions. Chris pointed left, away from the sound of people and we slouched forward. We didn’t encounter anyone, and I wanted to scream into the silence when we reached a closed metal door. It resembled what I imagined submarine doors to look like, rounded with a wheel for a handle. Chris grabbed it and grimaced as he twisted it.

  Anna let go of my hand and turned, it was her job to watch our backs, so she didn’t have a backpack. I focused on our task as the lock on the door grinded loud with each turn. After what felt like an eternity the door roared open and we all jumped. Chris nodded and we sprinted into a square room, metal racks on all sides holding different sets of weaponry. Large guns faced smaller ones, and across from the door the light glinted off of blades taller than me.

  Chris and Jane grabbed boxes of ammo and extra guns. Chris had said only take the smaller weapons, they were effective and wouldn’t slow us down as much as some of the bigger ones would. I couldn’t help myself though, after filling my bag with boxes that rattled, I ran to the blades and grabbed one the size of my arm. A gun could only do so much, and the creatures on the surface had proved that, if you didn’t get their head, it didn’t seem to faze them.

  A high pitched ringing filled the air.

  ‘Chris?’ Anna shouted.

  ‘We’re done!’ he replied. ‘Let’s go!’

  We barrelled out of the room and headed back in the direction we came. I was surprised by the lack of resistance, but when we came back to the first crossroad we had sneaked through, I saw why. Men and women sprinted down the corridor where we had heard the voices before. When they saw us, they lifted their weapons and fired.

  I moved fast and grabbed Anna, throwing us into the corridor we needed to go through. Chris was already there, but I heard a gasp and Jane hit the wall beside us. Blood blossomed on her shirt and she grimaced. Before we could say anything, the shouts from our pursuers grew louder.

  ‘You have to go,’ Jane shouted as we stared in surprise.

  She took her backpack and handed it to Anna. Jane slipped something behind her back and stared at us.

  ‘No,’ I said, coming to my senses. ‘We are not leaving you! Come on!’

  She looked ready to fight, but sighed and motioned us on. We ran down the corridor and through the open door in the middle.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Jane shouted.

  She had stayed behind the threshold, her eyes glis
tened, and she held a round object in her hands.

  It was a grenade.

  I knew what she planned to do, but I sprinted back anyway. I wasn’t fast enough, she slammed the metal door in place and the wheel spun, locking it. I hit the door and tried the handle. It wouldn’t budge and I could just hear Jane from behind it.

  ‘This is my choice, Lucas,’ she cried and my heart pounded. ‘It’s my turn to save all of you.’

  I wanted to scream at her that without her we would have never made it. Without her I would never have been able to get to where I was, but the words froze in my throat and tears stung my eyes.

  ‘You have to go,’ Jane shouted. ‘I’m going to give these guys an introduction to the anger we feel, and you are gonna drive it home. Now go!’

  I turned and ran. We made it a few tunnels down when everything tilted sideways and we hit the floor. Dust rained from the ceiling, and a few lights crashed to the ground as an explosion vibrated through the air.

  We’d lost another, and it was passed time we gave their sacrifices meaning.

  The Battle

  When we returned, everyone turned their hopeful expressions on us, but when Jane didn’t appear, they looked away and returned to their tasks. It was scary how used to loss we were, with everything going back to business. There wasn’t time to waste though, the enemy would be rattled by the explosion and it was the perfect time to strike. Everyone gathered as we smoothed out a plan.

  Our main problem was the former residents of the town, fast and lethal killing machines that would follow us even if we managed to clear a way out. Then again, we couldn’t stand an assault from them and my father’s men, so we needed a distraction to draw the latter away from the exit, but only after we’d taken out the first threat, no easy feat. After an hour we had a plan.

  ‘You know what you’ve got to do?’ Chris aimed his question at Paul.

  He nodded and left, taking his one remaining son and another man.

  ‘Anna?’ Chris said.

  ‘I got it,’ she replied and slipped her gun by her waist.

  She walked over to me, her forehead crinkled and her eyes worried. I took her hands and tried a smile.

  ‘Be safe,’ she whispered.

  ‘Don’t worry about me, just focus on keeping out of trouble and getting what you need, okay?’ I said.

  Anna nodded and I leaned forward and placed my lips on hers. My heart pounded and before we could stop, our lips were red and on fire. I placed my forehead against hers and sighed, it would all be over soon. Either we would be free, or dead. We separated and she left, heading out on her own. My heart pulled to go with her and keep her safe, but I reminded myself how capable she was.

  ‘You ready?’ Chris asked.

  Everyone had been armed, men, women and children in some capacity or another. Everyone paced back and forward in silence, switching from nervous to determined and back again. We were as ready as we would ever be, and it was time to honour the people who had died to keep us alive. I turned to face the room and everyone stared at me expectantly.

  ‘I know how you feel,’ I said. ‘I’m scared too. No, I’m worse than that, I’m terrified. None of us asked for this, to be thrust into a world where the people we love are the enemies. None of us asked to be ripped from ourselves, just to survive. To love, lose. To watch as so many people lost their lives.’

  I swallowed and started to pace.

  ‘But you know what?’ I spat. ‘I’m tired. Tired of running, tired of hiding, I am tired. I’m weak on my own. All of us alone can’t survive, but together? Together we can fight back. Together we can win and together, we can show these sick bastards whose town Greystone really is.’

  It wasn’t the most motivational speech, but it seemed to do the trick, people nodded and dipped their heads. We stood in the silence as we remembered the people we’d lost, what we had lost in ourselves, and used it to fuel our anger. We had gone through hell and it was time to share it. Misery loves company, and we had the perfect partner for ours.

  We filed out of the room and through the tunnels. My heart threatened to burst from my chest and my hands were slick with sweat. Everyone took shallow breaths, and when we reached the exit we needed, we stopped. I looked everyone in their worried and tired eyes, sending a prayer to any being willing to listen. Then we began to climb.

  I reached the surface first, breaking out onto a dull, horribly grey day that seemed to befit the circumstances. The air was cold and sharp and I was wondered if it would snow, but as everyone gathered behind Chris, I pushed the thoughts and fear away. I had to focus on the task and battle that would ensue.

  Chris arranged our group in a misshapen line across Main Street, from shop window to the almost identical street mirroring it. Most had guns and others had smaller sharp weapons like the silver blade I’d taken for myself. I held that blade, a gun tucked at my waist in case. If they got close, the guns would almost be useless, they were too fast.

  ‘You ready?’ Chris asked, white mist hanging in front his mouth as he spoke.

  My grip tightened on the handle of the blade, relaxing and tensing, trying to shift the sweat that made it slip. I breathed in and out choked breaths and closed my eyes.

  Do it for the people you’ve lost. For Mum, for all she did to protect me.

  The anger I was becoming hauntingly familiar with sparked back to life and filled me with fire. I nodded to Chris, and he pulled a small can with what looked like a funnel on the end. It was a horn, one that would call Death. I looked down the line to see the terrified faces of our group.

  Here we go.

  Chris pressed the can and a painful sound flooded into the air. One second, two, four, seven, I counted ten seconds and Chris dropped the can, cocked his gun and took a shuddering breath. At first nothing happened, the air still and peaceful. Then one turned the corner.

  It was a man, unharmed and could have passed for one of us, well, if it hadn’t been for the wide eyes, the unsteady walk and guttural scream, anyway. My heart jumped, and the rest flooded the street in a wave of sound and speed. They barrelled towards us, ready to kill, but I reminded myself before that first man hit our lines: We were ready too.

  Gunfire filled the air, and I rushed forward. I focused, moved fast, brought the blade down, and up, and down. I sliced, and killed, and pushed back. As suspected though, some of our own bolted, and in their retreat, they were caught by the creatures that flew at us from behind.

  ‘Chris!’ I shouted through the noise.

  He turned, looked behind him and cursed. It wasn’t a surprise, although we had hoped they would come from one direction, the hopeless optimists we were. I turned and raced through the steadily increasing mounds of corpses. I caught one of the creatures at the neck with my blade, his head coming off clean before he could snap the woman’s leg he had been twisting. I dragged her to her feet and ordered her to grab a few others and focus on the new group of enemies.

  A scream filled the air and I turned to see a boy no older that seven being dragged into a nearby shop. The boy’s mother was pulled down by two creatures. I charged, reaching her before she hit the ground and drove the tip of my sword through one of her attacker’s eyes. He fell, taking the blade with him as my hand grabbed my gun. I swung round and shot the other before she could throw herself at me.

  ‘My son!’ the mother screamed as she jumped to her feet.

  ‘I’ll get him!’ I shouted back, placing the gun in her hand. ‘Help the rest!’

  For a second it looked like she would ignore me, but I wrenched my blade from the body I had sank it in and dove into the building. I heard the boy’s cries, and as I sped towards it, a shrieking woman came at me from a doorway leading upstairs. She ducked my slice through the air and knocked my feet from below. I hit the ground and rolled, spun and brought my fist against her cheek. She lifted from the ground and crashed into a nearby food stand, but I was already on her, driving my sword through her heart.

  I didn’t hesita
te or stop. I made it to the stairs in time to stop the boy’s head being torn off. I took one down effortlessly, but the other knocked the blade from my hands and his foot connected with my stomach, pushing me back. I gasped and ducked as he pounced from the top step. I turned as he landed, and with my newfound strength, buried my fist through his stomach and out his back until he was halfway up my arm. I slid him off and retrieved my blade.

  The boy glared wide-eyed between the creature’s body and the blood I was drenched in. I grabbed him and moved back the way I’d entered. Five blood soaked monsters burst into the shop. I turned, lifted the boy and took the stairs up two at a time. When I reached the landing, we were greeted with a thin hallway, two doors opposite each other on the walls, living arrangements for the owners. A floor-to-ceiling glass window lay at the end of the hall.

  ‘Hang on,’ I told the shivering figure in my arms.

  I sprinted for the window, turned as I reached it and jumped through it backwards. There was a moment of nothing, of air being dragged out of my lungs and then my back hit the metal of a car.

  ‘Oh,’ I muttered standing up, the boy was unharmed.

  There was a small sliver of pain, but it wasn’t much, I’d gasped more out of reflex. The mother saw us and ran for her son and I scanned the war being waged. Our group had suffered more than the enemy. I watched helplessly as the woman I’d helped earlier was torn apart by three creatures, and another man flew through the air and landed with the sound of breaking bones. He didn’t get up.

  Chris was nowhere to be seen and there were maybe fifteen of us left, while more and more of the vacant shells who used to mean something to us appeared round corners.

  Come on, come on, come on…

  I moved through the fight, helping where I could. I searched for Chris and found him trying to push a man who had his fingers round his throat. I grabbed the man’s head and twisted, he dropped dead.

  ‘We can’t keep this up!’ Chris gasped as he got to his feet.