by Nathan Ward
As Williams approached, she grasped on to her two single handed pistols that were equipped to her thigh holsters and ferociously removed them, whipping them out with mechanical precision as she took aim towards Steph, who she could make out with her advanced vision through the translucent murk.
Josh watched on as Williams’s bright blue eyes begun to glimmer through the haze, locked in her sights, becoming more and more visible as she approached.
Josh was all out of plans, and knowing that terrified him as well as making those demons of doubt in his mind rattle furiously at their cages. But he knew he had to try something, anything – there had to be one last attempt to save them all, no matter what the consequence...
His mind now made up, he rose to his feet, meeting the height of Williams as she penetrated the shroud and became visible to all. She took a few more steps forward then stopped with her right held gun aimed at Stephanie’s head, then she aimed the other at Josh, stopping him in his tracks as he froze, knowing his plan to get closer to his wife had just failed. Fear and panic rose inside him as he looked to Williams, and followed the aim of her weapon to Steph, and then he looked back at Williams as his eyes blazed with anger.
“Put the gun down, Williams!” ordered Josh, shouting in her direction.
“You are all my prisoners, you must now return to the back of the vehicle,” Williams replied in a cool and measured tone.
“But, you freed us!”Josh exclaimed as he looked at her in utter disbelief.
“I saved your lives, yes. And now you will return with me.”
“you let us go,” Josh said angrily, “And now we’re going to turn around and continue in that direction.. feel free to join us, you might enjoy the stroll!”
“You will come with me,” Williams repeated as she stood there with her aim unwavering and her tone calm and flat.
“We will not be returning with you,” Josh raged, “Why you can’t get that in to your thick skull is beyond me! You will have to kill us before we do anything you say!”
Suddenly the neon blue glow in Williams eyes had begun to fade until it was completely diminished.
“If you do not comply, Mr. Levett, your wife will be terminated.”
Josh held his ground, determined to make this last push to defend the others.
“You need us alive… I’m calling your bluff! You’re going to have to do better than that, Madam!”
“You think that much of me, Josh?” asked Steph, shooting him a stunned look.
“They need us alive, she’s not going to shoot any of us. Are you?”
“If I have to, yes,” Williams replied, “You have thirty seconds to comply with my instruction.”
“Then what?” Josh demanded, “Because if that’s so… I would rather die, we all would rather end it here!”
“Twenty seconds,” Williams stated, continuing the countdown.
“We’re leaving, come on boyo...”
Josh reached down and grabbed on to Henry's arm. Steph and Thomas remained frozen to the spot, unable to move in fear of being killed.
“Ten seconds,” Williams added.
“Fuck you, Williams. Fuck you…” Josh muttered, feeling certain that his instinct was correct as he continued to pull Henry away from the scene, by this time he had lost far too much blood and had begun to foam at the mouth, his flesh was chalk white and his breathing was shallow, a sure sign that he would not last much longer.
Then the sharp, piercing sound of a gunshot cracked through the air, all of the weary mortals were covered in an explosion of crimson that leeched on to their flesh and trickled down them warm and wet as they remained still, like blood stained statues, eyes wide with shock.
Williams marched across the blood stained ground until she arrived at the foot of Josh, who had fallen in fear staring back trying to uncover who had been shot.
His stomach was churning, his vision a blur. A subtle hum rattled his eardrums as he scrambled around knowing that Williams was stood above him with her pistol aimed at his head.
“Who was it?” He said as panic rose in his voice, “Did she actually shoot someone? She must have done, there’s blood everywhere. Was it me, am I shot? My body feels so numb I wouldn’t even be able to tell...Who got hit?”
Met with no reply, Josh felt around his stomach and his face for an entry wound but couldn’t feel anything, just the wetness of the victims crimson that had covered his weathered suit.
“Let this be a warning, Mr. Levett,” Williams said as she stood over Josh, who cowered in fear.
Josh didn’t care for anything she had to say, all that mattered to him now was the safety of his people and he had just gone and put their lives on the line again, and he blamed himself, and he still had no idea who was still alive. For once there was just silence and the sound of the night air whistling through the nearby foliage.
“You are prisoners of the UNA, you are the survivors. You have to come with me,” Added Williams.
Josh slowly raised his head and gazed up at the blackened silhouette of Williams, his vision remained a blur but he could make out her figure.
“Who is it…?” he said as his voice trembled, and then he found enough breath to yell out, demanding an answer, “Who did you shoot?”
But his shout was met by another thunderous roar that came hurtling from where the six UNA soldiers were left.
Williams turned to look back and acknowledged her fears.
“Wh… wha…. What was.. that?” stuttered a fearful Thomas.
“THOMAS! Who did she shoot!? Tell me now!” Josh yelled in desperation as his thoughts turned to his wife. In his heart he was silently pleading a mantra over and over: Not her, please not her, not Steph, not my wife...
Williams returned her attention to Josh, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him to his feet.
“Let go of me!” he roared.
But Williams continued to drag him along the ground with ease. As she made her way to the back of her vehicle she lifted her other arm and began speaking in to her communicator device.
“Williams to command, suspicions have been confirmed regarding the virus. Returning now with three survivors. My squad will remain, they have been terminated.”
Josh found it difficult to process what he had just heard, he then stopped struggling and allowed for Williams to position him back inside the cell of the UNA carrier. He crawled up against the side as tears blinded his vision making identification of his companions impossible as his fear spiked as he relived the heart break of losing her all over again. He had mourned her death once and found her to be alive. He couldn't lose her now, not Steph, not after all he had been through. If he lost her now he was sure his mind would soon follow.
He felt close to madness as his blurred vision continued to deny him the ability to see, and could only watch through that blur as two other bodies were thrown inside, but before he could find the courage and the energy to ask again who they were and who had been shot in cold blood, Josh fell unconscious, once again smashing his head against the steel base of the chassis that still contained splashes of Henry's fresh crimson blood.
Chapter 9: Murdock's Past
The sun had begun to rise from behind the distant tree line and seemed to cast long, spindly shadows across every single vibrant blade of grass that spread for miles around the secluded barn nestled at the very back of the field against an even taller mass of trees that led deeper in to the unknown.
The new day imminently sprung upon the weary travelers who had spent the evening cooped up inside separate stables, apart from Murdock and Sasha, who had taken great comfort from sharing close and intimate company.
The rays of light slowly crept through the missing grains of the barn doors, illuminating the interior of the barn with a subtle orange warm glow, making the golden straws of hay scattered on the ground and the giant frosty cobwebs along the corners of the roof appear more prominently in the rising light, the cobwebs dazzled as sun rays shone through the translucent st
rands.
Enrique was still laid face first in the damp soiled ground of the barn, he hadn’t moved an inch all through the night. The sheer amount of bodily exhaustion had taken its toll on him; he needed this rest. Now that the group had managed to scavenge a small portion of fresh water that would keep them going for a few more days there wasn’t an extreme necessity to be up and about before sunrise, but haven said that the sun had only just moments ago prematurely risen and the heat inside the barn had rocketed.
Sasha was on her back as the light rays gradually emerged on to her bare flesh through the holes in the side of the stable she had slept in, she’d been awake for a little while now, wanting to see the sun rise to mark this new day as one of change.
Her dark brown hair hung down either side of her face. It had become more and more matted by the day, but now it had sprung in to a fresh life of curls after being completely soaked by the evenings downpour. The front zip on Sasha's crimson wash stained suit had been pulled down as far as it could go revealing her bare breasts and the pure soft flesh of her stomach. As she laid there, nothing clouded her mind – it was the clearest she had ever felt. Entirely rejuvenated by the comfort of no longer being scared and having a strong arm gripped around her, she felt safe and out of harms reach, even if it was going to be for just this one occasion, she made sure she nurtured it. Good memories were rare and when they came along, something to be treasured always, kept locked away in her mind like a secret room, a safe place to go back to in times of trouble. This would become something she could remember and when ever she needed to draw up strength in desperate and harsh times, for those times were the most part of life now, and in a world blown to hell, memories like this would always be a safe place to return to, even in the darkest of hours.
For Sasha, the barn had become a brand new symbol of hope, a pivoting point along their journey, allowing them to take the next step in the direction they embarked to seek. It seemed almost like an egg shell encasing them while they regenerated their long lost energy and now they were ready to be born in to the world again, to release themselves from the paradise and break out in to the land of hell that had risen like a volcanic eruption.
Sasha looked over at Murdock who was still sleeping beside her; he looked so peaceful, he was curled on one side with his hair a frantic mess darting off in to multiple directions, and god, he was handsome... Sasha had never felt happier – something was growing between the two of them and the thought of it was enough to put an enormous smile on her petite face.
The silence was momentarily interrupted by the sound of Enrique leaving his stable quarters and making his way towards the front of the barn, the stable door closed behind him, rattling against the wooden post. As Enrique passed Sasha’s stable he held his hand high in the air so she could see that it was him.
“Morning, you,” Enrique said as he walked on by.
“Good morning,” Sasha replied softly.
Enrique made his way to the front gates and pushed his face against the thick wooden grain, peering out through the cracks:
He could see the sun in the sky above the tree line and the mile long field of lush green grass, he had a clear view and saw there was nothing to fear – absolutely no sign of hostility in sight. So he pushed the heavy block of wood to one side which released the gates, he placed his hands on the edge of one of the doors and heaved it open. These thick heavy doors were not easy to open and close, they were designed to keep the animals inside, or in this instance – outside.
Enrique emerged into the light, pulling the door to as he left the barn.
His trusty Axes were still equipped to his thighs and a full tankard was dangling off his belt.
A new day had come around and this time he felt ready for it.
'I’m ready for anything, today' Enrique thought to himself, as he grasped on to his tankard and unscrewed the cap and took a quick swig. The water was fresh and soothing and just about killed the desperation to quench his thirst, but knowing that the water inside it would have to go a long way, he resisted the urge to drink more.
The sound of the Barn door being opened disturbed Murdock, throwing him out of his dream and into instant panic, reaching for his rifle expecting a intruder, but instead he was met by Sasha looking sweetly down at him as her hand rested firmly on his chest.
“Calm down, it’s okay! We’re all safe, it was just Enrique going outside for some air,” Sasha reassured him, pushing him gently back to rest once more.
He rested his hands on his forehead, blocking out the sun shining in with his arm.
Sasha moved herself in to the beam of light allowing for her shadow to be cast over Murdock, he looked up at her and grinned like a child.
“Thank you,” he said to her.
“You’re welcome,” she replied, and her gaze remained locked with his.
“So,” she said, “You owe me a story...”
“You’re right, I do.”
“And we’ve got some time on our hands...” she reminded him hopefully.
“Time you would rather have spent by me blabbering, or time that we can use to get closer to saving the people back home?” Murdock asked her.
“Don’t say it like that, I feel well rotten now!”
“And so you should!” Murdock told her playfully, and then he added, “I’m messing, there’s no rush... In fact I'd say it would be better to travel when the sun goes down, but we’ve got a few miles of foliage to shelter us by the looks of it out there.”
Enrique quickly popped his head inside.
“The trees are tall, the ground is cool inside the woods. It will be safe to travel.
“Thank you, Enrique. We’ll be out in ten,” replied Murdock, raising his voice to make sure he was heard.
“So you weren’t originally based in Norfolk, where we met?” asked Sasha, who had waited for what felt like forever to find out a bit more about the man she had fell head over boots for.
“At first, no. I came from an outpost nearer central London, that’s were I signed up. A month later I was being reassigned.”
“What was it like, when you were working in London?” she asked him as she fixed her gaze on him intently.
“Well so much change had happened that year, and then the recruitment was all over the news. My parents forced me to sign up and yes I was petrified at the time, I had spent my life working towards a career that I knew I'd enjoy – I did a degree in graphic design - then the next minute I’m on my way to an entirely new corner of the country. I’d never heard of Thetford, to be fair! The UNA shipped us out across the country to all of our specified outposts, that’s when my life turned on its head. I knew there was no going back and I just forgot about them, even now I struggle to picture my family – I can't remember what they even look like, its got to be three years now?”
“Two, it’s been two since the outbreak,” Sasha reminded him.
“Two years?”Murdock said in surprise as he wondered how he could have lost track of time so greatly, and then he continued to relate his tale:
“I mean, when we all arrived we went a couple of days with the occasional face time to let them know we had arrived safe and sound but I guess… when it happened, everyone just became a bit preoccupied.”
In his mind he saw it all again:
The alarm bells had begun to ring; everyone jumped to their feet and started to follow the procedure of a red alert. The corridors were heaving with soldiers making their way down to the main hangar. Murdock quickly left his quarters and shoved his way in to the current of white uniforms...
“We were all running,” he recalled, “We were told in case of this ever happening we would have to get to the hangar bay as fast as we could and stand to attention where we would then be briefed and told the next move.”
“And this was when it started?” asked Sasha.
“We didn’t know that at the time… we thought it was a trial. I mean, fuck! We thought the United Nations Alliance was some form of new mil
itary group brought together to make the world a better place, we got one part right. It was military”
“And sooner or later that uniform you wear... the uniform WE wear. It’s going to be a symbol of hope, we now save people. It’s what you thought you would be doing then, it’s what you’re doing now.”
Murdock dropped his gaze, looking deep to the ground beneath him.
“I never wanted that though, I was selfish. I thought of myself a whole deal more than I did for others. I hardly ever gifted money to the homeless, I never gave blood or held the door for the persons behind me. I was an A hole. It now makes me wonder why I deserve this life, if you can call it that. Or is this my punishment?” as Murdock asked, he expecting no response, but Sasha proved him wrong.
“If you honestly think when you look at me, I’m Gods way of punishing you…”
“I didn’t mean that at all, you’re more than what I should ever deserve. I deserve nothing, Sasha.”
“But this man you speak of, the Nathan Murdock you describe – you are not him.
Maybe you once were, but you are no longer that man. What… what changed you?”
“What changed me? I changed myself…”
“Why?” she asked.
“Because I went too far, I realized what I was doing was wrong. That day was my crossroad, then everything was turned on its head, I met you and now I've been given the opportunity to correct what I did - not that it makes it right in anyway, I was wrong,” Murdock explained, and it was clear by the troubled look in his eyes that he was becoming increasingly stressed by the memories of his past.
“You were a soldier,” she reminded him, “No matter what, soldiers follow orders…”
“And I’m still a soldier, just this time I’m following my own.”
Murdock reached for his bottle and took a long, refreshing swig.
Sasha rose to her feet, zipped up her uniform and rested her hand on Murdock’s shoulder.
