I knew this man.
evening
The shock of seeing The Disciple wore off quickly enough, once he started his spiel. He spoke of me, at least as far as an enemy of the followers, about how many of his men I had cut down with my blade. I remember shooting a few of them, at least. I also remember wanting to run up to that stage and tear out this man's throat with my teeth, if need be. He spoke of The School, and how as a group they were pitiful and disorganised. He went on further to say that when his 'allies from the north' arrive then the attack can commence. After they bury The Mech-Techs, of course.
He then ordered his men to bow their heads in prayer. I pretended to do so, while I got a good look at him. It was indeed the man I remember, someone I grew up with, in fact. He was missing an eye now, the socket bare and angry and red, and half of his hair had been burned off along with half the flesh from his head. The skin had healed around bare bone at the temple on the left side. The only other difference was that his right arm was now missing below the elbow.
Once The Disciple was done, his men dispersed, myself amongst them. I met up with Redbeard easily enough, the brute being unmistakable even among hundreds of other brutes, but The Soldier was nowhere evident. We decided to edge closer to the hole through which we had entered and hope to hell that he joined up with us. He was already there and waiting for us, swinging a key on one finger while idly whistling a tune from an old army recruitment advertisement.
“Managed to swipe this from one of The Disciples lieutenants. I suggest we get to what we came here for, and get it done now. Otherwise there might be a line for the women. That might make our job a little more difficult.” The Soldier told us as we approached. The three of us swiftly ducked out of the warehouse into the grey snowy darkness, heading to the rear of the compound where they kept the women.
The Soldier unlocked and opened the door and we slipped inside as silently as we were able. The sight that greeted us was appalling. A line of women, chained to one another with shackles taken from a prison, I assume, wearing only enough clothing to keep them alive in the Cold, provided they huddled together as well. Several were obviously pregnant, those would have to have been so before all of this happened, but I would assume that most of them would share that condition by now. Those nearest us cringed slightly at our presence, but did nothing. Redbeard huddled next to one young woman telling her that we were there to get them all out of there. She simply shook her head.
The Soldier tried to get through to another one, while I kept watch for any Followers that might decide that now was a good time to get some. He met with as much success as Redbeard. Then one of them stood up.
“Kill us,” She said, “Or at least give us the means to kill ourselves.” I could see a pair of Followers heading this way from the main building. They were laughing and punching one another. I hissed a warning to the others, Redbeard took up a position on the other side of the door. “Please. Not one of us wants to live anymore, not with this life, these memories.” The pair drew closer, one pulling a key from his pocket as they came nearer the door. “What kind of life would our babies have? Please!” The door opened. Redbeard grabbed one of them, covering his mouth and nose with one massive hand. I tapped the other on his shoulder as he turned to see what had happened to his mate, and punched his square in the jaw, knocking him senseless. He flew back into a pair of women, girls really, who proceeded to strangle him to death. Another grabbed a knife from his belt, stabbing him with it repeatedly, laughing all the while. When she was certain he was dead, she turned the knife on herself, gleefully running it over her own throat. “Thank you!” Said the standing woman and the three of us left, running as fast as the snow would allow to where Driver awaited with the truck. Soldier locked the door behind us, then threw the key away as we ran.
“What happened? Where are the women?” Driver asked when we arrived, not that any of us could answer him immediately, as out of breath as we were. Saying nothing we piled up into the truck. The Soldier told him simply to “Drive.” and he drove.
April 10 Year 1 A.Z.
morning
We were welcomed warmly once we returned to The Mech-Tech's warehouses, Apocalypse Girl throwing her arms around me, kissing me soundly, then returning my sword. “Can we get back to The School now?” she asked me in front of everyone. I nodded, added that as long as The Colonel didn't need us for anything and we were now un-conscripted. She nodded at that, smiling slightly.
“One thing, though,” The Colonel began, “What happened out there? Where are they?” Redbeard shook his head, looking at the floor. The Soldier said that they had experienced more than anybody should have and that it had been too much for them. Then a pair of Followers had tried to crash the party. Images flashed through my mind as he described what had occurred. Apocalypse Girl clearly noticed something was up, and moved me elsewhere so that we could be alone for a little while.
Our attempt at solitude was foiled by Viking and Cyclops, the former greeting me with an almighty Nordic clap on the shoulder that nearly sent me flying into the side of The Nightmare. The tall blonde man told me that he had heard about what had happened at the warehouse, that we had made the right decision in leaving them there. Now, The Followers would have some serious problems. I told him that they had been planning to crush The Mech-Techs on their way to taking The School once their northern allies arrived. Viking told me that he assumed The Disciple and General Fuckwit had already been communicating somehow, in that case. I told him that seemed likely, then tried to leave. Cyclops barred my way.
Looking up at the one-eyed giant, I knew there was no moving him. Viking told me that we were going to have a few drinks. I reluctantly agreed, and the blonde giant sent his equally large sidekick to find Redbeard and the others from our group. The Colonel was able to absent herself, seeing as she had duties to perform now, but neither Sister nor Firecracker bothered to. They were glad we made it back in one piece, and felt the need to celebrate the fact.
evening
Now that I've sobered up a little...
Apocalypse Girl wanted me to talk to her about what happened at the warehouse. I couldn't. Having seen somebody not just taking their own life but doing so happily, and with the intent of causing Death to others... It was not something that would go away easily, that much I knew, but I was not remotely ready to share that with her just yet. I told her why I didn't want to talk about it, she seemed somewhat mollified by that, but I knew eventually if would all have to come out.
We decided not to move on to The School alone, preferring to move in a convoy with the rest of The Mech-Techs. Safety in numbers, all that sort of thing. As it was, there was a lot of work needing to be done, just to prepare for the move. Viking sent out a couple of scouts on motorcycles to tell The Principal and the others that we were on our way, probably tomorrow, maybe the next day, and to warn them that The Followers would probably be coming not long after.
April 11 Year 1 A.Z.
morning
Head is pounding this morning, from Viking's fucking homebrew, no doubt. So very glad that The Colonel offered to drive The Nightmare to The School today, though it seems like we won't ever get there at this rate. Still whole heaps of shit needing to be loaded up onto various vehicles, people to be told what to do, and The Colonel still had an army to manage. Armies are notorious for needing to be told what to do, every single step of the way. Sure, individual soldiers might have the right idea from time to time, but as often as not they will get in the shit for doing something that they haven't been ordered to do. This meant that every little detail needed to be checked and rechecked about half a thousand times before we could actually leave.
On the positive side, this meant that Apocalypse Girl and I were able to just relax in the relative comfort of The Nightmare's middle compartment while my companions from the raid were busily helping Sister and Firecracker get the rear in order. The amount of spare room available in the rear of The Nightmare was handy, and since we
were able to make it to The School in a matter of hours nobody needed sleeping room.
I opened up a little to Apocalypse Girl, told her that when I saw The Disciple I recognised him. She naturally needed to know from where, so I told her the whole tale. I grew up with him, he had been almost like a brother to me in fact. Hell, this was the guy that taught me how to drive. Sure, he taught me while we were out stealing cars, but that's not the point, now is it? We had gotten drunk for the first time together, gotten stoned for the first time together...For fuck's sake, this guy took me to my first strip club! That's how close we were, once.
She asked when the last time I had seen him was. I looked her in the eye and told her that he had taken me to the party at which we had met. Once the shit hit the fan, he was the first person I looked for, but he and the other few people that I had arrived with had disappeared by then. Not to mention I had acquired my shadow by that stage. She grinned at that. She said that I should tell the others, just so it doesn't come up as a problem in future. As I was mulling the decision over in my mind, Redbeard poked his head in with a “Tell the others what?” and the choice was taken out of my hands.
After getting that off of my chest, The Colonel said, “So you used to be friends with this Disciple, hey?” I nodded. “We're your friends now, remember that!” I assured her that I would, laughing. I no longer thought of anybody as being remotely who and what they were before the world ended, and I told them so. We were who we were now, that was what was important. My friend was dead in my eyes, there was only The Disciple. And The Disciple would one day taste my steel.
noon
On the road once again, at last. Apocalypse Girl has been great, plying me with water making sure I'm as comfortable as possible while The Colonel drove over everything she could find under the snow. At one point she had to stop and reverse, taking another route because the road beneath had somehow fallen away. Before too much longer, however, we had arrived at the furniture shop that we had used to sleep in, the same one at which The Colonel had been ambushed by Followers.
Knowing the procedure, those of us that had been already welcomed by The Principal found the manhole under a layer of fresh snow and descended into the sewers, travelling under The School's guard-Dead while an army waited outside their walls. Viking joined us, leaving Cyclops in charge, bringing along a woman as tall and as blonde as he himself. I would have assumed them siblings, except for the fact that she spoke with a European accent.
Guide, who happened to be passing by at that precise moment, nearly had a heart attack when the inner manhole opened from within, smiling widely upon seeing our group, the five of us at least, with Viking and Valkyrie in tow, The Colonel abiding by their previous arrangement and staying outside, fortifying the bejabbers out of the furniture shop. Once he regained his composure he helped us up and out of the sewer system. Viking told him that he needed to meet with The Principal as soon as it could be arranged, Guide replying that he would want to see all of us anyway, sooner or later. He took Viking and Valkyrie to The Principal's Office, while Apocalypse Girl and I along with Sister, Firecracker and Redbeard sought our friends that had chosen to stay behind.
evening
We found Doctor and Nurse soon enough, the pair of them beaming with pleasure seeing us once again. Before long Archer and The Twin joined us in the medical centre, asking us about our stint in the military. We laughed and joked with our friends, feeling as though it had been years since we had been together last, rather than mere weeks.
“So, you guys actually hanging around this time?” Archer asked us. Redbeard laughed, saying that he wouldn't want to be anywhere else right now. Firecracker seconded that, Sister simply saying that she was happy to be with good people that she liked and respected. “Well, you might have to arrange a new house with The Principal, but there's still plenty of room, even with all these Mech-Techs you've brought with you.” Doctor immediately offered us the use of their spare room while we get everything sorted out. Apocalypse Girl accepted for both of us before I could even consider the offer. Apart from anything else, it did give the two of us a chance to disappear and get some time to ourselves at long last.
Once we were alone, after Doctor guided us to our room, Apocalypse Girl asked me what we were going to do. Confused, still more than a little hungover, I stared at her blankly for a moment before realising that she was referring to her own pregnancy. I told her that I would talk to Doctor about the situation, asking her if she was certain about the abortion. Looking directly into my eyes, she told me that she was positive. Maybe if we ever manage to get the world into a decent state, then people could think about bringing children back into the world, she said.
As she slept in my arms, I was haunted by visions. The girl from The Followers crept into my dreams, obviously pregnant, slicing her own throat open cackling all the while. This vision continued unabated throughout the night, changing only towards the dawn, and then only slightly. As the sky outside went from the pitch black of night to the vague grey of day, so too did the girl in my dreams change. The vision that awoke me in a cold sweat was not that of the girl from The Followers, but Apocalypse Girl.
April 12 Year 1 A.Z.
morning
I chose to keep my mouth shut about the dream, though Apocalypse Girl clearly knew something was up. However, she respected my wishes not to speak of it, instead giving me meaningful glances throughout our breakfast, shared with Doctor and Nurse. Our Japanese hosts were gracious, yet almost invisible when they sensed we needed some alone time. She still wanted me to talk to Doctor about her baby, but I felt that it could wait for at least a day or two. There was no need to rush anything now, at least. I suggested that we take a day or two to just relax, get re-acquainted with the place and people here, maybe find ourselves a house of our own before doing anything else just yet. She smiled, agreeing with me. At that moment, Nurse opened the door, politely looking away down the hallway in case we were … well, anyway we weren't.
“Sorry to intrude, but there are a couple of visitors here to see you.” She said, “They tell me that they met you on the road to Canberra, and wanted to thank you once again.” Considering Nurse could barely speak a word of English when we first met her, she was making incredible progress. Doctor had been a little better to begin with, but seemed less fluent than his wife. The pair had come to Australia on their honeymoon, because they had wanted to visit the gold-fields of Victoria.
Apocalypse Girl jumped up, grinning ridiculously, and almost flew out the door. I followed her in short order, and discovered Traveller and his mysterious Daughter waiting for us in the lounge room. Now that I got a good look at the girl, it was clear that she was not his child but he had obviously taken responsibility for her. The way she clung onto his hand, hiding halfway behind him told a tale of trust, she was clearly safe with him.
He greeted us, welcoming us home as everybody had, thanking us once more for sharing our fuel and the knowledge of Melbourne's new cultural identities. Daughter had made friends here, as had Traveller, in fact when they arrived they had been swiftly befriended by The Twin, and now the three of them shared a house together.
He went on to tell us that The Principal wanted to see us, and he had offered to escort us for Guide. This was a man that clearly wanted to be a part of his new community, and was more than willing to pull his own weight however he could. As we walked, he asked me questions about our time in Canberra. I didn't really feel that much like talking about it, personally, but Apocalypse Girl filled him in. We passed Viking and Valkyrie on their way back out to gather the rest of The Mech-Techs and bring them in. If anything, she was a centimetre or two taller than he.
Apocalypse Girl chattered away to Daughter in an attempt to get to know the girl, and by the time we arrived at The Principal's Office, Daughter had opened up at least enough for a couple of monosyllabic answers. When the pair left us, Apocalypse Girl waved at the little girl, who hesitated a moment before waving back vigorously, beaming.
“Welcome back!” The Principal greeted us as we walked inside. “Don't worry this isn't a debriefing or anything like that. I know everything already. I must say, that Colonel of yours saved our collective bacon, didn't she?” He smiled warmly as he took first Apocalypse Girl's hand, bringing it to his lips briefly, then my own, pumping it firmly. “I am glad she's in charge of things now, at least. I heard about what happened with those other people, as well. I am truly sorry you couldn't save any of those women, but at least their spirits can be satisfied with some vengeance.” We sat across his table, as we had when we arrived the first time, and he offered us both a drink. Smiling weakly, I refused, as did Apocalypse Girl.
“So, I gather the two of you would still like to stay with us here?” He asked. We replied in the affirmative and his smile broadened. “Good! You have quite a few friends that have decided definitely to stay, and I am sure that they would miss you. I would like to ask you, though, what exactly the idea is bringing that army here? I understand that we need to do something about The Followers, and the military is certainly the best equipped for the task, but do you intend for them to stay here also?”
I told him that Apocalypse Girl and I had no intention of speaking for The Colonel one way or another. Any decision that was to be made about anything her army did was hers and hers alone to make. I also pointed out that she was a much better friend than foe, and that her goals were simply to protect those that couldn't protect themselves. I offered to act as his ambassador, if he wished to negotiate with her. He laughed, nodding. “That's a brilliant idea. I really don't like dealing with military types myself, as you know. You know her, she knows you. Yes, that could work very well indeed. I only need to know what their plans are, after all. If they want to leave, that is fine, but if they wish to stay I don't want them around in large numbers, and they must stay outside of our walls.”
Anno Zombus Year 1 (Book 4): April Page 4
