by M. D Khamil
"Hey buddy how did you get in here?! How am I so glad to see you!" I was so happy that I almost cried. Prince seemed happy too. He won’t stop licking on my face not until I have to push him back.
"That’s kind of gross." Claire said.
"Oh sorry, Claire this is my friend Prince. I came with him earlier before we stumble with each other." I clarified.
"I thought he was a guy?"
"Well no. He’s been a good friend when I have none."
"Good for you." she said. "So now if I am not mistaken we’ve got something to do yes?" Claire added.
"Yeah we should go now. We shouldn’t be wasting anymore time now. Get the job done, everyone’s happy."
"Raven’s Hill shouldn’t be that far from here, just about five miles." We both get inside the truck, and let Prince sat on the back seat. The open air at the back of my truck wouldn't guarantee his safety. I started my truck and drove away. During our way to Raven’s Hill, I couldn’t help myself but to stare at her. She didn’t notice it as she was looking outside from the window of my truck. Then she started talking to me. "Whats with the glare? You would burn me away with that sharp look." She caught me red handed. I was embarrassed. What the fuck Travis. Then she continued talking, "You have a nice truck." she said.
"Thank you." I replied while smiling and blushing.
"Where do you lived?" She asked.
"I don’t really have a place to live, not even a house. I actually stay and live in my truck and I saved almost 90% of my salary from that. No bills and all. I only have to worry about petrol. As you already know, which is obvious I am a trucker." I explained. "Not until this pandemic started then I own a whole apartment to live." I added.
"Apartment? Where?" She looked curious.
"Yep, an apartment, in Brooksville."
"No way! Brooksville?!" She was shocked.
"Yes Brooksville. Why you seemed like you just seen a living dead eating me?"
"You mean you came somewhere from the Cornfield of Brooksville and actually living there now?"
"Yes Claire. What about it?" I suspected something strange.
"I used to live around the area when I was small with my adopted father Jonathan Johnson. Our house was at Bartson Street, just near to the cornfield. I know the apartment you’re talking about exactly in front of the cornfield at Cornfield Street. My father used to take me to the cornfield during the weekends. There were a large empty space at the far back of the cornfield. We were flying kites. It was the most memorable thing I’ve ever had with a family member. Now it was just a bitter memory." She was emotional and breaking up softly.
"I am sorry Claire."
"It’s okay." She tried to calm herself. "I think we’re almost there." A view of graves over the hill was slowly visible as we went near to our destination. The time on my watch shows 11.35 hours in the morning. But it was odd enough that the mist on the graves were still available during this kind of hour. I know that behind the graves over the top of Raven’s Hill was a thick forest but that doesn’t explain the mist how it appears around the area. It wasn’t even raining earlier. There was no sign of water on the ground or on the road. "This place looks creepy." I said to Claire.
"You’ll get used to it." She replied. I have no idea how she could lived by herself all this time. She was a high spirited woman and knew what she does.
“Come on buddy, let’s get out of the truck now." I brought along Prince with us to the graves, you know just in case if something’s happen he’s the one to be alerted first. We walked to the graves while carefully examining around us for the walkers if any were spying on us. Everything seemed alright and we began searching the graves one by one. I thought to myself it would be easy if the graves were arranged alphabetically so we didn’t have to search every grave for it. The graves were randomly arranged and this makes the search difficult and longer. Finally, "I found it!" Said Claire. I ran toward her with Prince. "This should be it, Elizabeth J. O’Neil (1984 –2022)"
"Great! Now wait here I’ll get those shovels out from my truck." I quickly ran back to my truck and grabbed the shovels from behind the truck where Prince sat earlier with opened air. To my cautious I found a walker just walking past my truck. I froze and held my breath for few seconds. The walker stop for a moment. His head move from left to right as if he was looking for something. To my relieved he went forward and continue walking. When I thought it was saved, then I ran back to the graves. Claire greeted me with a weird grinned on her face and said, "That was close. I thought you were about to shoot him, which I wish you don’t, because if you did more of them gonna come up here and eat us all."
"I’m not that stupid. That’s why I stopped." I answered. We dug off the grave, it was a long work and very tiring it took us almost two hours to get it done until finally I hit the coffin just few inches deep from the soil. Quickly we dug of the last remaining soil until the coffin clearly visible in front of us. I opened the coffin with the support of the shovel and applied a little bit pressure to it then suddenly it cracked open. The smell from the coffin was almost choking us to death. The corpse was not completely decomposed. I took off the silver rectangular shaped pendant from around the corpse's neck and quickly close the coffin back. Claire went up first then she helped me out of the grave.
"We should honor her. She’s a strong woman to fight cancer all her life." Claire said.
"Yes, I believe she was." I agreed to what Claire has said. We shoved off back the soil to the grave and prayed for her to live an eternal happiness in the afterlife.
Chapter 7
The Girl Who Killed
Claire took the driver seat while I sat on the passenger on our way to another place. She insisted of wanting to drive, she said she wanted to go somewhere first, of where, I didn’t know. I cleaned of the pendant with mineral water that I had in my truck and wiped it off with a handkerchief. The pendant shone brightly whenever the sunlight reflected on it. The size of it was almost as big as the palm of my hand. It has button on top it. It’s probably a locket. I couldn’t pushed the button. It seemed to be stucked. Tried many times with my best effort to open it but at last I gave up. I put it back inside my belt.
"This damn thing is as stubborn as a stonehead! It won’t budge!" I hit the door of my truck with my left hand.
"Easy, cowboy." Claire interrupted.
"I am!" I answered while letting out a loud sigh.
"No you don’t. Relax, we’ll figure it out sooner or later." She added.
"Where are we headed to anyway?" I asked.
"Somewhere place I belong." A few minutes later we arrived to a place where there was a small cottage near to a pond. There was what it may seem like a grave behind the cottage. The place was well cared, everything looks so nice and peaceful. The view sooth my boiling heart. "We’re here. Come on out." She invited me with the most lovely tone I’ve ever heard from her. I opened the back passenger door of my truck and let Prince out. He was sniffing the ground and scanning around the place. "This was where I lived." She said.
"You lived here?" I questioned. "I like this place but isn’t it just too small for you to live in that small box?" I told her. She smiled.
"You’ll see." We walked to the cottage but she led me to the grave behind the cottage. To my surprised, the tombstone on the grave named Jonathan Johnson. No wonder his name was not there at Raven’s Hill Graves. Claire touch the tombstone and sat near the grave’s hump on a medium size rock. She probably had moved it there from somewhere else. "I’ve never wanted to be parted from my father. I’ve always wanted to protect him even after his death." She expressed her heart felt sadness. "If he were still alive I wouldn’t be what I’ve been today. He would have cursed me for being an irresponsible daughter." Claire was breaking up.
"Claire it’s not your fault. There’s nothing you can do about it." I comforted her which seemed not to be working at all.
"It is. You just don’t understand." I decided not to complicate matters by asking mo
re questions but I am really itching to ask her another. I have to, I thought to myself.
"Claire, when we were in the elevator at Newton Corp, you said about a man in black trench coat with hat and a black mask. Who is he?" I asked in hoping she would answer me. She was hesitating. About wanting to share the information or not.
"He’s my master. He was the one who saved me that night and took me with him."
"Master?"
"I was trained from the night he took me. From many types of weapons to martial arts. I received orders from him through the years to assassinate world leaders, also I am a spy to get information for him at Newton Corp. I have my own name he gave me. He called me Fourteen."
It was hard for me to processed the information in my brain. My sanity was completely paralyzed as if someone had stabbed a sharp electric pole into my skull.
"Travis, I’m a killer. A secret agent. An assassin."
"You must be joking right? If not, back then at Newton Corp, you would have fought them off!" I said to her almost wanting to shout.
"I wanted to see what would you do if I was in trouble. I can’t deny it you have some skills. Beside I don’t want to get my hand dirty on those foul creatures."
"It went so fast, I didn’t even know what I was doing! It was all luck!"
"Where is he? Your master you’re talking about? How he looked like?" I continued.
"I don’t know. He would find and meet me directly if wants to. But most of the time he would sent his messenger to let me know of my next mission. He always wear that black mask. Never seen his face. All my life."
"Your missions doesn’t sound like fun to me." I said to Claire giving her the coldest look.
"I get used to it. Through the years I have been assassinating world leaders. In 2019, I assassinated President of United States of America Ronald Trump, followed by President of Russia Vlad Kosnovik in 2021, King Ahmed Abdullah of Saudi Arabia in 2022, President Cho Young Seoul of North Korea in 2023, Toshiro Namikaze President of Japan in 2024 and President Gabriel Yoshua of Israel in 2026. I am the most wanted criminal in the world but they never caught me. My master always had my back."
"What does he want to achieve? Why he wanted them dead?" I asked.
"They have the answers of what he wants and to what the world are fighting for." Claire said.
"What?"
"Nuclear Weapons. I get the information from them to be given to my master."
"What is he intended to do with them?" I asked again.
"Only God knows." She replied. She got up from where she had sat and invited me to go inside the cottage. The door creaked opened as she pushed the door, then went straight for the switch to light up the lamp. There was nothing much to look inside apart from a broken bed and vase, and spider web.
"Claire don’t tell me you really stay and live in this place. I don’t really think it’s a good idea and I don’t even think it’s safe." I told her.
"It’s the safest place ever. Trust me." Prince was barking outside. He was barking at something but I looked and turn around the place there was nothing.
"Here boy, come on in quickly, there’s nothing out here." I shut the front door of the cottage as Prince got inside. Claire was opening something on the floor. It seemed like a door to a secret passage. Yes, it was what I think it was. I saw bright light from the door she just opened and followed her down to the passage by stairs.
"Welcome to my secret base, this is where I lived and hidden from enemies outside."
I was astonished to see the room, it was very big complete with modern furnitures and technologies. It was as if I was at luxury condominium or a five stars hotel but upgraded to something more sophisticated!
Chapter 8
Dead Woman’s Pendant Secret
"You built all this?" I was still in amazement.
"No. My master provides me all of this extraordinary luxury. This place has been my home since I was fourteen. Out of public or government eyes. They never found out this place, the ceiling was made out of titanium; so even x-ray can't pass through it. Plus it is equipped with one of Newton’s recent technology that this whole place is camouflaged. Invisible."
"Too good to be true. Newton’s technology is not one to be messed up with. Such intelligence!" I said with excitement. To the far left end of the wall was a gigantic aquarium. Connected with the wall. I started imagining things what would happen if the aquarium cracked and the water rushing inside. There were so many exotic animals inside the aquarium, octopuses, sharks, jellyfishes, stingrays and many others unique marine wildlife I’ve never seen before. The scenery seemed to attract Prince’s attention as well.
"These are salt water animals, how do you take care of them and change the water?" I asked.
"Easy. Newton’s Technology." She answered.
"I see." I replied to her. I could never felt more stupid right now if I hadn’t asked such question. I noticed to the top inside of the aquarium was an opened air. I could see birds flying. Then Instantly I knew what it was. "This aquarium, is the pond I saw outside right?" I asked Claire again.
"Yes it is."
"Will it be saved if you let it opened?" I wondered.
"The aquarium has an automatic roof that opens and closes when I wanted them to, and it is installed with sensor system to detect anything around it. It has the same technology used to hide this base."
"I am not surprise. Such architecture only men in the early 2000’s desired to embrace!"
"Enjoy the aquarium, let me take something to eat and drink."
"Sure thanks." About five minutes later Claire came back to the lounge with handful of biscuits, snacks, chips and burgers. She put them all on the table where I was sitting with Prince on a steel couch, but very comfortable to sit on. She then went back to the wall just near a huge touch holographic glass tv. She pressed some number combination on the touched penal and to my astonishment, a vending machine slowly went out of the wall. There was many choices of drinks but she took two bottles of red wine and a bottle of milk. Claire tossed me a bottle of red wine that she took and gave the milk for Prince where she poured on a plastic bowl. "This will make me sleep." I said to her.
"Oh? This will help me to think." She opposed my words. "Take it out." She said again.
"Take what out?"
"The pendant Travis, the pendant!"
"Oh sorry, I almost had forgotten about that." I took it out and put it on the table. Claire reached for the pendant and started looking at it curiously.
"I have never seen the like of it. This pendant looks different. Its plain. There’s no design on it. Wait. What is this?" She stopped and looking at one spot on the pendant." This part is rough. It's very small. Looks like there‘s something written on it. I’ll be right back." I was enjoying my wine while Claire took something somewhere in the back room. She came back with a magnifying glass.
"What are you going to do with that?"
"There’s something written here. Come see this." I went beside Claire and look through the magnifying glass.
"As red as an angry dragon, by the flame which it breathes fire, only then I will shine."
"What does it mean?"
"That’s it Claire! Heat! We need to heat this pendant and when it reaches to certain degree then it will open!" I was very excited to figure it out.
“Let’s try it now." She agreed. Claire took the pendant and put it inside an oven. I was not expecting that, I thought she was gonna heat it with fire.
"Will it work?" I asked.
"Never doubt with Newton’s technology." Suddenly the pendant burst opened. Claire switched of the oven’s power and took out the pendant with a tong. Afterward she put the pendant in a cold water for few seconds and wiped it clean. We carefully inspected the pendant. There was a key inside. I took out the key.
"What could this be?" Then, there was something underneath from where I took the key. Looks like a plastic paper folded into smaller size. This time I asked Claire to check it o
ut. She took the plastic paper and opened it. It was as big as an A4 paper when it was revealed.
"It’s a map!" She said. "This is not a normal paper. This map is made of Newton’s heat proof technology."
"These mad scientists is hiding something valuable. Something that will save us from this plague. This key is the answer. But where is it?"
"This map shows where the thing or whatever it is, is hidden. It is in another city. Not so far from Greendale, about 30 miles North, at Fort Knox."
"Fort Knox. Last time I went there the road was block. Is there any other route leading there?"
"Yes, but much farther about thirty to thirty three miles from Greendale and we have to crossed . . ." Claire gave me a troubled look.
"Yes?"
"We have to crossed the Dead Bridge. It’s old and the bridge was made of wood. Nobody or any transport ever crossed the bridge since the past 70 years. Could be more than that. Wrong move, we’re doomed to death."
"We have no other options. If this is the only solution, then we must." I was faking my confident and bravery. I am literally been tortured by my own fear from the inside.
"I guess we really don’t have a choice. I would rather die trying than die waiting."
"Then we shall go for our next mission tomorrow." I end the conversation while sipping my wine and enjoy the bitter sweetness sensation in my mouth.
Chapter 9
Runaway
"Good morning sunshine." Claire greeted me as I woke up from my sleep. I didn’t know how did I fell asleep but I guess it must have been the wine. My head felt a bit dizzy. I looked around and saw Claire reading something.
"What are you doing?" I said.
