Savage: An Apocalyptic Horror Novel

by Wright, Iain Rob

  There was something poking out of the breast pocket of Poppy’s cardigan. It looked like a charred piece of paper. Anna removed it carefully and unfolded it. She couldn’t help but smile as she looked at the drawing.

  The picture was unfinished and the top half was burned, but Anna could clearly see the pier sketched in pencil. Atop its deck, brought to life by dozens of colours were all of the people of the pier. Anna spotted Garfield, bigger and stronger than everybody else, with bright red hair. Standing beside him was Alistair with a bright big grin and huge muscles. Then Anna spotted herself. Poppy had drawn her in a long white dress with a golden tiara upon her head. She stood next to Rene who was holding the train of her dress. She thinks I’m a princess? At the bottom of the picture, below the two-dozen people drawn on the pier were two words written in wiggly capitals: MY FAMILY.

  Anna felt a fire burning. At first she thought it was coming from her gut, but then she started to feel it against her skin. The delicate flesh of her cheek started to tingle and burn, but she did not care. She breathed in the pain like it was power. The more it hurt her, the more conviction that filled her heart, until she could stand it no more and stumbled away. She headed back outside and ignored the desperate queries of her campmates – her family. Instead, she stared out across the moonlit sea at the frigate all lit up like a beacon of hope. It mocked her.

  Anna thought about the man onboard, Samuel Raymeady, and how she was going to kill him.

  DAMIEN

  Damien stared out at the fires on the shore and fought the urge to throw up over the side. If he’d eaten recently, he probably would have. What he’d just witnessed was beyond belief. Even though he’d known it was coming, Samuel’s actions itched at his soul. Damien had naively hoped that Frank would persuade his son to stay his hand, but it appeared that the captain was without mercy. He destroyed the pier and killed everyone. Just to kill one man!

  It’s my fault. If I’d just brought back that goddamn cripple…. Now people are dead because of me. A child is dead because of me.

  Damien gripped the gunwale and squeezed so hard that the bones in his hand creaked. His body shuddered and he was unable to blink. The fires shimmered on the water and lit up the night. The inferno held his gaze, unwilling to let him look away from what he’d done. What Samuel did. I need to stop blaming myself. I didn’t have the power here, Samuel did.

  But I could have done something. Anything….

  “Do you still need convincing of what Samuel is?”

  Damien didn’t turn around. He knew Harry’s voice well enough to recognise it. “I should have killed your friend the first chance I got. I should never have flinched.”

  Harry joined him at edge. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean I had a clear shot at his head but I flinched at the last second. Now I wish I’d pulled the trigger without thinking about it.”

  “You’re not a murderer,” said Harry. “That’s a good thing.”

  Damien snorted. “I killed two men less than twenty-four hours ago. Fox and Birch.”

  Harry said nothing.

  “If Samuel finds out I killed both men he sent with me to the pier, he’ll have me killed. He already knows I killed Birch, but at least then I had reason. He won’t ignore me killing Fox.”

  “Why did you kill Fox? He seemed harmless enough the few times I spoke with him.”

  “To protect you, you bloody dickhead. Fox would have told Samuel everything that Tim had said, about how you two were involved together. He’ll still find out one way or another, though. We’re both screwed.”

  Harry nodded and looked serious. “All the more reason to listen to what I’ve told you. Samuel Raymeady is evil, a monster. He needs to be stopped before more things like this happen. Those people on the pier are burning alive because of the casual orders Samuel gives from the comfy chair in his chambers. He’s craven, unwilling to bloody his own hands. He must be stopped. The people on this boat are already brainwashed, but it’s not too late to do something. We can st-”

  “Stop!” Damien hissed. “Just…stop. Samuel isn’t evil. There is no good or evil. There’s just people. And people are weak or they are strong, they are selfish or they are dead. I’m not interested in staging a coup just so some other bully can take control later on down the road. People like Samuel Raymeady have always controlled the human race, because the rest of us don’t want to make the tough decisions. If he’s willing to take on all of the lost souls of the fleet, then he’s entitled to do as he pleases. Taking innocent lives is just part of the gig, survival of the fittest. Thousands of years of history have taught us that.”

  “There is no history,” Harry said angrily. “The history books were erased when the dead rose to eat the living. Mankind has started anew and none of the old mistakes need be repeated. If the human race is resurrected on the back of a man like Samuel Raymeady, then we might as well have died. What are we even living for, if not to do things better this time around?”

  Damien closed his eyes for a second and tried to ignore the stench of burning wafting from the shore. Even if he agreed with Harry and wanted to do something, there was nothing he could do. The people of the fleet were happy to follow Samuel. They had watched the pier burn and not one of the ships had broken away from the fleet. Not one single person had headed for the mainland to help those who may still be alive. Nobody cared. People only wanted what was best for them.

  “You have to do something, Damien.”

  “Why do I? Why do I have to do anything? Why don’t you go and plant a sodding bomb like your friend, Tim.”

  Harry looked away and sighed.

  Damien shook his head. Please, don’t tell me…. “You have, haven’t you? Harry, if you’ve done something, un-do it now. I won’t watch while they string you up and turn you into a figurehead for the Kirkland’s bow.”

  “Then don’t watch.”

  Anger took a hold of Damien and before he was able to stop himself he backhanded Harry across the face. A couple of civilians playing cards a few metres down the deck looked up to see the ruckus, but they quickly lowered their heads when they saw who was involved. Damien stared at his friend and saw the blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. “H-Harry, I’m sorry.”

  Harry wiped the blood away with his sleeve. “Don’t apologise. Just do what’s right. Show me that what I saw in you years ago was right. You’re the man people should be following, not Samuel.” He pointed at the burning pier. “If you’re half the man I think you are, you won’t let any more innocent people die. The world is what we make it, Damien, so don’t tell me to just fucking live with it! If you won’t do something, I will.” Harry turned and walked away.

  Damien went to hurry after him, but another man quickly blocked his path. It was petty officer Dunn. “I don’t have time,” Damien snapped at the weasel-faced man. My best friend might have set a bomb somewhere on this ship and right now he seems pissed off enough to trigger it.

  “The captain wishes to speak with you.”

  Damien shoved Dunn out of his way. “Later.”

  “No, now!” Dunn placed a hand on Damien’s shoulder, which was the man’s first mistake. The second mistake was not ducking when Damien turned and head butted him. Dunn squealed as he hit the floor. Damien was about to grab him up off the ground and send him on his way when he realised he was surrounded. Four other crewmen pressed in on him in a semi-circle. Each of them glared at him like zoo wardens about to tackle a lion. Damien raised his spear and placed a hand on the hilt of his sword.

  Dunn climbed up off the ground, cursing and spitting blood. He scowled at Damien. “The captain would see you now,” he growled. “It is a matter of importance and he has demanded to see you immediately. If you won’t come then he has authorised me to use force.”

  “Going to hit my head with your face again, are you?”

  Dunn snarled. “There are five of us. As much as you may fancy yourself as some post-apocalyptic warrior, you’re still just one
man.”

  “Bruce Lee was one man.”

  “Bruce Lee isn’t here.”

  Damien couldn’t argue with the statement. “Fine, I give up. I’ll come with you.”

  Dunn smiled like a well-fed cat. “Wonderful. You’re not as stu-”

  Damien head butted him again. Immediately the other crewmen grabbed Damien by the arms and restrained him. From on the floor, Dunn bawled, clutching at his ruined nose. “You said you’d come with me.”

  “I didn’t say voluntarily.”

  “Take him to the captain,” Dunn screamed at the other men. “The sooner he gets what’s coming to him, the better.”

  FRANK

  “Are you okay, father? You seem aggravated.”

  Frank looked at his son and for a moment saw only a monster. He had to grit his teeth to picture the sweet boy he’d raised in the countryside of Worcestershire. “I…I don’t know why we fired on the pier.”

  Samuel seemed confused. “But it was you who gave the order.”

  No I did not. I told the gunnery sergeant to ‘miss’. I told him to ‘miss’. I don’t understand what happened. “I…I….”

  Samuel spoke over him. “I gave you the order to pass on to the gunnery sergeant, so why the surprise? If you did not agree with my orders, then perhaps you should have mentioned it at the time.”

  I thought I could handle it back then. My plan was to avoid this. How did it happen? Frank could say nothing. Words were failing him.

  “I must admit,” said Samuel, “I was concerned that the gunnery sergeant might refuse you. Not all men possess the steel to fire upon a defenceless enemy.” Frank grimaced. Innocent people, not enemies. “So I sent for the man myself, to reconfirm my orders.”

  Frank’s eyes widened. He looked at Samuel and tried to read his thoughts. It was as impossible as ever. He spoke to the gunnery sergeant? Did the man say anything about the orders I gave him? He must have.

  Samuel picked up some papers from his desk and shuffled them carefully. “It’s a good thing I did speak to him, father, because the man had his orders all wrong. He had it in his head to fire a warning shot. Imbecile.”

  Frank laughed and wished he didn’t sound so guilty. “I-I’m sure he misunderstood me.”

  “Of course he did. I didn’t think for one minute that you would undermine me, father. Not after having owned my trust for so many years.”

  “No, Samuel. Of course not.”

  “If you were to betray me, I would be so hurt that I would probably do something quite dreadful.” He laughed heartily. “My, I would probably do something unbelievably bad. I dare not even imagine. I’m just glad that you would never do that to me. You’re the only man in this world I trust. Nobody else do I listen to but the man who raised me after so much tragedy had befallen me as a boy. I owe you a great deal, Frank. I will repay my debt to you, one day. You will get what you deserve.”

  Frank swallowed and remained silent. I’m sure we all get what we deserve in the end.

  There was a buzz at the door. Samuel pressed a button on his desk and the hatch door released. Petty officer Dunn stepped through, backed by four crewmen and a struggling Roman. Samuel stood up from behind his desk and for once moved around in front of it. His lanky legs and long arms were like iron pipes either side of him as he waited to hear from his men.

  Dunn was bleeding from the nose and sported a black eye. He sounded in pain as he spoke. “He resisted arrest, but I got him here, sir.”

  Samuel disregarded Dunn and kept his dark eyes fixed on Roman. His lips parted and his upper teeth showed through like a hungry wolf.

  Roman stared right back at him.

  Frank shifted uncomfortably. Whatever was happening, Samuel hadn’t informed him about it. It was unusual for him to keep things from him and it made Frank worry. He doesn’t trust me? What made him worry even more was that the two guns that Samuel kept mounted on the wall behind his desk were gone. Why has he taken them down? Does he feel in danger, or is he planning on shooting someone.

  Samuel told the four crewmen to leave, but allowed Dunn, Roman, and Frank to stay. He, himself, remained standing in front of his desk, clutching his hands together. “Roman,” he eventually said, speaking the word softly, almost pityingly. “Roman, Roman, Roman, ROMAN, ROMAN…ROMAN!” In his fury, Samuel seemed to have grown by a foot. He towered over Roman so much that the usually implacable man took a step backwards. Even Frank edged towards the wall. I’ve never seen Samuel this angry. He’s losing control of himself.

  Roman went to speak but was unable to. Samuel backhanded him across the face so hard that blood appeared on the man’s cheek. Despite the force of the blow, Roman remained standing in place. Petty officer Dunn smirked from the back of the room. Frank winced. A leader should not strike his followers. Justice needs a calm hand.

  Samuel took a breath and suddenly seemed calm again. “I apologise,” he said. “But treachery puts me in the foulest of moods.”

  Roman said nothing. The blood on his cheek dribbled down onto his jawbone.

  “Do you have nothing to say?” Samuel asked.

  Roman shrugged. “Do you have any beer?”

  Samuel struck Roman again. Again Roman remained standing in place. “You insolent wretch. You stood before me and told me Fox and Birch died in unavoidable circumstances. You lied to my face after all I have given you. After all I have done for you cockroaches and I am still defied at every turn.”

  Frank kept quiet in the corner, yet hung on every word with interest. He was unaware what information Samuel was acting on. I knew Roman was lying, but I never said anything about it to anyone. Who’s been speaking to Samuel?

  “Dunno what you’re talking about, mate,” Roman said. Frank had noticed that the man’s speech patterns would change whenever he lost his cool. He tries to hide the fact he’s an uneducated thug.

  Samuel shook his head and laughed resignedly. “You killed Birch, you admitted it, but you lied about killing Fox, didn’t you? A member of the fleet saw you dump the body.”

  A look of understanding came over Roman, almost as if he had known about the witness. Frank sighed. The revelation didn’t shock him, but he knew that what happened next would not be pretty.

  “You do not seem surprised,” said Samuel. “You knew there was a witness?”

  “The witness spoke with Roman on the aft deck,” said Dunn. “I noticed the exchange and investigated. The man’s name is Hugo Alban. He told me that he reported seeing a body dumped at sea, from a yacht he saw leaving the pier.”

  “Well,” said Samuel. “That could only be the yacht I sent you ashore in. Quite condemning. That this lawful citizen gave his story to the very culprit of the crime is ironic, don’t you think? Good thing petty officer Dunn was there to see justice prevail.”

  “I am honoured to serve the fleet,” said Dunn like a trained parrot. Frank did not like the man. He was a sycophant with an agenda, always ready to clutch a man’s hand in friendship, but let go of it over a cliff. Roman turned and glared at Dunn with a baleful grin on his face. Dunn stepped back towards the hatch door, all of his swagger suddenly melting.

  Samuel folded his long, bony arms across his chest and let out a breath. The room filled with a pungent odour. “I am disappointed in you, Roman. I thought you were a man of worth, but you’re nothing but a Judas. You are a murderer and a traitor.”

  “You’re the murderer,” Roman spat. “You killed all those people on the pier, and for what? To keep Tim quiet? To stop him telling everyone that it was you who released the infection which killed billions of people.”

  Frank balked. Of all the things he’d heard said of his adopted son, that was the most audacious. Many theories existed about the rise of the dead, from meteorites to God’s wrath, but to place the blame on a single man was absurd. Samuel is just an easy target for blame.

  Samuel cackled so hard that his pale cheeks went red. “You believe such nonsense? Officer Dunn, do you think I have the power to raise
the dead?”

  Dunn was in hysterics. Between belly laughs he shook his head and said “no.”

  “You had the money and power to raise the dead,” said Roman. “If anyone could be responsible for the plague that ended the world, it’s a man like you; a man with endless resources and no conscience. There was a little girl living on that pier, I told you, and you fired at them anyway. You’re a monster.”

  “They were enemies of the fleet.”

  “They were innocent. You’re the only enemy of the fleet.”

  Frank swallowed. As much as he dismissed claims that Samuel caused the end of the world, he thought his actions toward the pier were unnecessarily cruel. He wanted to speak in Samuel’s defence but found himself unable to. Perhaps when things blew over he could find time to explain to his son the error of his ways. He’s just young. Where are those guns he took from the wall? Why does he need them?

  “The captain was doing what he had to for the good of the fleet,” said Dunn, but nobody paid any attention to the man. Roman and Samuel were focused only on each other.

  “The people on that pier got what they deserved,” said Samuel. “They were given the option of friendship, but they chose defiance. They left me with no option. The same way you, Roman, have left me no option but to sentence you for the murders of Birch and Fox. You will be put to death at noon tomorrow. I hope you serve as an example to all others who find murder acceptable. To think I had such high hopes for you.”

  Frank sighed. He hated to see any man put to death, but murder was murder. Roman had always concerned him and it appeared that it was with good reason. The man was a loose cannon and murder demanded the harshest sentence. Samuel’s judgement was fair.