by James Harden
“Why not?”
He doesn’t answer. He just points ahead. And way off in the distance we see a lone figure walk through an intersection, back towards the failed barricade. They’re a long way away. At least three blocks, maybe more.
I can’t see clearly, but I immediately know who it is. He is big and strong and terrifying. He can run faster than a man of his size should be able to.
It is Ivan the Terrible.
He drags his sledgehammer across the road, not giving a care in the world to the noise that it makes as the solid metal scrapes across the bitumen. He hasn’t seen us yet. But if we hang around any longer, we’re done for.
“Jesus Christ,” I whisper. “Both of them are here.”
“This is bad,” Maria says. “What are we going to do? What if he finds the others? I’m pretty sure Kim is still concussed. Sarah is unconscious and Jack has one good leg. Kim will put up a fight, but there’s no way she can take down Ivan on her own. They won’t be able to defend themselves.”
“We can worry about your friends later,” Gabe says. “But right now, we should hide before he gets any closer. He does not look friendly. Follow me.”
He says follow me and he begins walking off, but we don’t follow. I look to Kenji and I can tell he is thinking it over. He’s thinking about how many times we’ve been lured in with false promises of help and fresh water and fresh food.
A second later Kenji says, “Gabe, no offence… And I mean this, don’t take it personally… but we’ve had some trouble before. Trouble with meeting new people in particular. As a result, we don’t really trust anyone. So I’ll need you to walk at least ten feet in front of us at all times. And if you lead us into danger, if you do anything suspicious, anything that we don’t like…” Kenji trails off, unable to say the words.
Gabe is already walking off. He turns his head slightly to answer Kenji. “Follow me or don’t follow me. Take my help or don’t. It really makes no difference to me. But if you want a place to hide, I can help you. And look, I’m no expert, I’m not a particularly good judge of character, so I can’t be certain if you people are all right, but I know for certain that the big guy down there, the one dragging the sledgehammer across the ground, I know for a fact that he is bad news. Just look at him.”
He’s right. Ivan is very bad news. And we need to get off the streets. So we follow Gabe and Kenji tells us to keep our weapons, our homemade spears at the ready.
Chapter 9
We move through the town in the dead of night. It’s amazing how dark the world gets now that the world has ended, now that there’s no electricity, no street lights. For some reason it seems darker just after sunset. I guess this is because the stars haven’t all come out yet. I look up at the sky. Can’t see the moon.
Gabe’s hiding spot is relatively close, but we move slowly, keeping one eye out for any infected stragglers. But mostly we’re looking out for Ivan the Terrible. We come to an intersection and Kenji forces us to wait a few minutes just to make sure it’s actually clear. We kneel down, watching for any signs of movement, listening for any signs of danger.
“How long have you been here?” I ask Gabe.
“We shouldn’t talk. It’s not safe.”
Good point.
So we continue to move in silence. About twenty minutes later we arrive at the storage facility where Gabe’s been hiding. The storage facility is basically a massive warehouse. Gabe leads the way with a small pen light. Each storage room is about the size of a garage. There’s about four floors. Room after room. It’s actually quite a maze. Easy to get lost. We walk quietly through the warehouse, past a countless number of storage rooms. We eventually make our way to the top floor.
“Wait here,” Gabe says. “I need to unlock the roller door from the inside. And move a book shelf and table out of the way.”
“How are you getting inside?” Maria asks.
“Air vent. Need to crawl through. It will only take a minute. Stay down. Don’t make any noise.”
He moves off and disappears in the darkness.
“What do you think?” Kenji asks, clicking on his flashlight.
“About what?” I say.
“Can we trust this guy?”
“Hell no. I don’t trust anyone anymore. Not what after happened with Billy and Marko. Even if this guy saves our lives, which to be honest, he kind of already has, I’m still not trusting him. But we don’t have a choice right now.”
Kenji nods his head in agreement.
“You think this guy is bad?” Maria asks.
“Remember Billy?” I say. “He was unarmed. He looked so pathetic. I thought he was dying. We all thought he was dying. And then he led us into a trap, into a nightmare. And Marko,” I say, trailing off. “The lengths he went to, the things he did to gain our trust…”
He saved Kenji’s life when he could’ve let him die. Risked his own neck, put himself into harm’s way to make it look like he was a good guy.
“Yeah, you’re right,” Maria says. “It’s just so hard to assume the worst in people. I grew up trying to see the best in everyone. I guess we can’t really afford to do that anymore.” She pauses, thinking. And then after a while she says, “But eventually we’re going to find some good people, right?”
“I hope so,” Kenji answers. “I’m starting to lose faith in humanity.”
I resist the urge to say, I lost faith in humanity a long time ago. I keep my mouth shut.
“So how long do we stay here,” Maria asks. “We need to get back to the others. We’re running out of time.”
“I know,” Kenji says. “But we might have to wait until daybreak. It is unbelievably risky moving around in the dark. Can’t see a damn thing. And it’s too dangerous to use this,” he says, referring to the flashlight. “Good way to get yourself noticed.”
“We can’t wait for daylight,” Maria argues. “Those people will come back for us. They were pretty clear about that.”
“And we didn’t even get to wreck Marko’s car,” I say.
Kenji shakes his head. “We couldn’t. Ivan was too close. He nearly saw us. We weren’t counting on him being here.”
“I suppose. I mean, if we had started wrecking the car he definitely would’ve heard us.”
“It’s going to make getting away from here that much harder,” Maria adds.
“We might have to create a diversion,” Kenji says, thinking out loud. “Something to lead Ivan and Marko away from their car so we can sabotage it and then make our escape.”
“Damn,” Maria says, swearing under her breath. “I was hoping we could do this without messing around with those psychos.”
I was hoping for the same thing. One of them is bad enough. But two is just not fair. And what if there’s more of them?
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” I say quietly.
“About what?” Maria asks.
“About Gabe. A really bad feeling. I mean, the way he found us, the way he made contact, it is so, so familiar to the way Billy found us. The whole thing is just so… I don’t know. I don’t like this.” And then all of a sudden the narrow corridors of the storage facility begin closing in and I’m struggling to breathe and my adrenalin levels are spiking and I’m getting that weird, cold feeling in my gut. My instincts, every bone in my body is telling me something is wrong, telling me to get out.
Get out now.
While you still can.
Before it’s too late.
And while I’m freaking out and having a panic attack, Kenji is calm.
He says, “I know. It is the same. It is exactly the same. This guy didn’t lose his arm to the Desert King. He lost it to Marko. Something’s not right.”
Maria’s eyes go wide and she can’t believe it. “What? What are you talking about? And why are you just saying this now?”
And I’m not even sure I believe Kenji. But he is so sure of himself.
However, Maria has an excellent point. If Kenji suspected something,
why is he only just saying something now?
“I’m not here for this guy’s help,” he says quietly, menacingly. “We don’t need it. I’m here to see what he’s up to. I want to find out what he knows. I’m here to see if we can use this place. Take it from him if we need it.”
I hold on to my spear and I tighten my grip and oh my god, are we really going to do this?
“So what’s the plan?” Maria says. “What are we supposed to do now?”
Kenji hands me the flashlight. “Stay behind me. Stay ready.”
“Ready? Ready for what?”
We hear furniture being slid along the floor on the other side of the roller door. We can hear Gabe fumbling with the lock.
“He’s here,” Maria whispers. “He’s right on the other side of this door.”
Maria and I get behind Kenji.
The door opens and Kenji attacks. He moves quickly and decisively and Gabe never stood a chance.
Kenji pins him to the ground, knee to his throat, spear to his head. “Talk. Or die.”
Chapter 10
Kenji presses the blade of the spear against Gabe’s throat.
He talks.
“OK… OK. Please. I’m not a killer. I don’t kill. I don’t do that. I’m not like Marko.”
Kenji was right. And even though I’m pretty sure he just confessed to working and cooperating with a cannibalistic serial killer, I’m weirdly relieved that we’re not beating up an innocent, one-armed man.
“So you’re working with Marko?” Kenji says.
“I had no choice. I still have no choice. He’ll kill me if I don’t do what he asks of me.” And then he starts begging and he says, “Please, don’t kill me. I’m just like you.”
“You are nothing like us,” Maria says.
“I am. I saw you, when you first got here. Saw the girl. She lost her arm, right? Just like me. We’re the same.”
Kenji punches Gabe in the jaw, knocking some teeth loose, busting his lip open. “You’re working with a serial killer. A cannibal. We are not the same. Now, let’s have a little chat. Who the hell are you? And what really happened to your arm?”
“His arm?” Maria asks. “Why are you asking about his arm?”
“You saw Sarah when we arrived here,” Kenji says. “You were watching us the whole time. The girl, she lost her arm a couple of days ago. She had it chopped off by a psychopath. Did the Desert King do that to you? Or was it Marko?”
I’m pretty sure Kenji already knows the answer to this question, but he wants Gabe to say it out loud. He needs Gabe to say it out loud.
Gabe turns his head away from Kenji and from everyone else. Maybe he’s looking at his arm, the stump, the scar from the blade and the stitches. Or maybe he’s looking at something else. Maybe he has his eyes closed. I can’t tell. His hair covers most of his face. He doesn’t say anything for a long time.
And then he says quietly, “You’ve already met the devil.”
“Devil?” Maria says. “What are you talking about?”
“You know what I’m talking about. You know who I’m talking about.”
“Marko,” I whisper. And just saying his name, speaking his name out loud gives me chills.
“How are you free?” Gabe asks this question with genuine curiosity. “How are you… alive? How are the rest of you in one piece? You shouldn’t be.”
“We escaped,” Maria says with pride in her voice.
“You got lucky,” Gabe says. “So lucky. You have no idea.”
“Luck had nothing to do with it.”
“Luck had everything to do with it. And guess what? Your luck is about to run out.”
Kenji digs his knee into Gabe’s throat. “Shut the hell up. You’re in no position to be making threats.”
“I’m not making a threat,” he says, choking. “I’m just telling you exactly how this is going to play out.”
“Yeah? How’s that?”
“You’ll hide. You’ll barricade your hide site. Board up the windows. Fortify your position. You’ll try and hide and wait it out. But it won’t be enough. He is coming for you. Coming for everyone. The Desert King is next. He’s gonna hang him in the town square. Cut him up in the town square. Make a feast. Force feed his meat to the people.”
“You’re sick. You’re crazy.”
“I’m not crazy. I’m the only sane person here. I was smart enough to make a deal. I’m smart, you’ll see. He’s saving me, sparing my life. He’ll kill the rest. But he’s saving me.”
“And why the hell would he do that?” Kenji asks.
“For everything that I have done for him,” he answers confidently.
Maria has a look of horror on her face. “What have you done?” she asks. “Did you help that monster?”
“You bet I did. Of course I did. He spared my life. So I made a deal. It’s a deal with the devil… I know that. But take a look around. We’re in hell now. This place is full of dead things. Full of devils and demons. You want to survive? Sooner or later, you’ll need to make a deal with the devil.”
“Why?” I ask. “Why are you doing this? He has no control over you. You’re a free man. You’re not his prisoner.”
“I am his prisoner. I am not free. Tell me, do you feel free? No. No, you do not. He killed everyone else. Tortured them first. Mutilated them. Made me watch. People I cared about. Survivors. Strong men and women. He made this deal with a few others. They did what they were told to do for a while. A month. Two months. But then they got sick of it. They tried to run. But he found them. He knew where they would go. And so he hunted them down. And he loved every minute of it. He doesn’t mind if you run. He’ll find you. Hunt you and chase you. He loves it. He loves everything about it. So I’m not going to run. I’m not going to do anything that would upset him.”
“You’ve messed up now,” I say. “This will definitely upset him.”
“I was doing right by him,” Gabe says, defending his actions. “I was doing my job. I thought if I proved myself then maybe he would let me live with him and his brothers.”
“Brother,” I say.
“What?”
“We killed one of them. Billy. He only has one brother now.” I don’t tell him it was really the man in the gas mask who killed Billy, because honestly, there’s no need. So I let Gabe think that we killed Billy. I let him think that we’re better and stronger than we actually are.
“You killed Billy? No… no… he loved Billy. Loved him with all of his heart.” He closes his eyes. “There’ll be no end to the pain and suffering he puts you through. No end.”
“It won’t even start,” Kenji says. “Because he’s not going to find us. Is he?”
Gabe opens his eyes. Looks directly at Kenji. “I’m not supposed to attack people. I’m just supposed to watch. Report back. But maybe if I got you, I could show him I can kill. That I can do what he does. He hasn’t been to this town yet. Not since the outbreak. Not since the walls went up. I thought maybe if I helped him take it, helped him dethrone the Desert King, I would be welcomed into his family. I would become his brother. So I tried to lure you back. That’s how they do it. That’s how they always do it.”
I can’t believe what I’m hearing. He thinks that if he was to prove himself then he could live with Marko back at the Boneyard and do what Marko does. And if I’m hearing him right, he actually wants to do this. I’m not a doctor, not a psychiatrist, but if I had to take a wild stab in the dark, I’d say that isolation has gotten the better of this man. And depression. And losing his family. And losing everything. Watching his loved ones die. Watching the torture, the mutilation. Watching Marko and his brothers eat and feed and butcher. I can totally understand how something like that would drive a person insane. And to be completely honest, if this had happened to me, I would’ve definitely lost my mind by now. I feel sorry for Gabe. Pity. Revulsion. And anger.
Anger because he chose to prey on us. That he thought we were weak.
“What do we do?” Maria
asks.
“About what?” I reply absent mindedly, lost in my own thoughts. Picturing my friends getting butchered while I am forced to watch.
Maria gives me a look that says, I’m talking about the crazy psychopath at our feet.
“Nothing to do but pray,” Gabe says. “Pray you can make a deal with the devil too. Maybe if you help him take the town, maybe he’ll let you live, maybe he’ll only take a slice, an arm. If you’re lucky.”
“We should kill him, right?” Maria says.
“Kill who?” I say. “Marko? We don’t even know where he is.”
“No. Not Marko.” And as Maria says this she is looking directly at Gabe.
He meets her gaze. And he’s smiling. The smile turns to a half smile. He knows his time is running out.
“Are you sure?” I ask. “Maybe we should bring him with us. Find out what he knows.”
“No. You heard him. He’s helping Marko. He deserves to die. How many people have you helped lure to their deaths?”
“You’ll kill me? What for? There’s no point. You’re trapped here. No way out. No one’s coming to help. No police. No military. No more Good Samaritans left in the world. The dead saw to that. It’s like everyone’s humanity died when the dead started coming back to life.”
Maria is strong and she is right. We can’t bring him with us. And we can’t just leave him here.
Not much else left to do.
“We kill you because you’re a murderer,” I say. “Because it’s the right thing to do. Because there are no more prisons, no legal system, no more due process, no more trials. You help a maniac. You help him kill his victims. You might as well help butcher them, cook them, eat them. You’re not even denying it. The only thing you’re trying to do is defend your actions. You are showing absolutely no remorse. And that is why we kill you. That is why you die right now.”
He is still smiling because he knows I’m right and I’m pretty sure he is insane and maybe he thinks Marko will still come to his rescue.
“And you didn’t answer Maria’s question,” I say. “How many people did you help lure to their deaths?”
