by Nathan Ward
Steph's eyes widened as she turned to glare at Murdock with a look of disbelief.
“I can’t fly this thing either!”
“It’s simple really, just like a video game, honestly…just don’t tell Joy, or Sasha because they think I’m rather special at this flying malarkey but really, anyone can do it! By the way, Sasha is my partner - if you were wondering, Michael.”
Steph pulled Murdock to a sudden halt, clamping her hand around his arm and turning him towards her.
“You can’t leave us in control of the ship! You can’t do that, Murdock!”
“You have to do this,” he replied firmly.
“Why, why now?” she cried in frustration, tugging at Murdock's arm.
“Because your Husband needs us, and I’m needed on that ramp!” Murdock replied, edging towards the front windscreen and pointing up towards two figures waving from the highest level of the tower that was still intact.
Michael and Steph gasped as they stared out of the cockpit and up at the two men.
“How do you even know it’s them?”
“One particular skill I tend to use often is my instinct and it’s screaming at me - so Michael, take her up! Do it now!”
The alarmed Michael slumped into the pilots chair and scoured the control panel before taking a firm grip of the joystick.
“I’ll sure try my best!”
“And that’s all I’m asking of you, thank you,” replied Murdock, then he exited the cockpit and made his way quickly to the opening hatch where the three new passengers were still huddled.
“Thank you, Captain,” the man called out as he walked on by, which came as a surprise to Murdock who immediately turned to catch a glimpse of them, the man's hand was held high once again, so Murdock collected it and held it for a second, casting him a smile as they let go, he then climbed through the under hatch and on to the boarding ramp.
Exposed, weak and dying, the two bodies of Josh and Thomas laid with their arms waving from the highest ledge of the tower, waiting, hoping that the war bird had spotted them. They knew it was close now, they could hear the sound of its powerful engines roaring away and hissing as it suddenly rose to their level, it was almost as quick as lightning the way it shot up from such a distance, tearing up the skies and easing in to a suspended motion where its ramp was just a short jump from the ledge.
Josh lifted his head from the rubble and dirt and his sights fell upon Murdock who was directly opposite him, waiting to help them across, which came as a beautiful surprise.
“Mur…dock,” Josh called out weakly as he turned on to his stomach and tried to pull himself over the ledge.
“No, Josh! Remain where you are…I’m coming over to you!” Murdock yelled over the sound of the engines.
Josh had not heard him, all he could hear was the droning and high pitched sting from the sound of explosions and debris falling around him. Josh reached out for the cold surface of the ramp and pulled his body away from the tower - and dropped abruptly, the drop was sudden and sickening as he held on by his fingertips as panic flushed through him. His mouth widened, his eyes reflected terror as Murdock jumped to his aid, holding on to the ramp with one hand and pulling Josh by the scruff of his leathers with the other.
“You’re going to have to work with me, fella!” Murdock ordered, lacking the strength he was used to as he pulled up the heaviest of his team, it was a challenge, but slowly Josh managed to throw his weight up on to the metallic surface, where he connected heavily with it, a reassuring landing on to something solid to remind him he was still alive, then he slumped and gasped for air.
Murdock took a moment to regain his composure, also taking in a few gasps of air for himself before calling over to Thomas, who was barely conscious but fighting to find his footing, holding on to the broken wall and watching the edge of the ramp as it weaved from side to side.
“Thomas, I’m going to need you to jump….the tower could collapse at any moment and I don’t have the energy to do the same as I did with Josh, do you understand?”
Thomas nodded as crimson dripped from his brow and into his right eye, partly turning his eyesight clouded scarlet.
“On the count of three, I want you to jump with everything you’ve got…Can you confirm you understand what I’m saying, Thomas?”
Thomas nodded once again as the tower shuddered, knocking him off balance ever so slightly as it released a flurry of trapped debris, which fell upon the war birds hull, erupting in to a mass of dust that swept in to the eyes of Thomas like a sandstorm. But he remained on his feet and continued to nod as Murdock called out:
“Okay, I’m going to start, I want you to jump in 3…2….1 -”
Thomas suddenly jolted in to action with a small run up towards the ledge where he launched himself towards the ramp, towards Murdock who anticipated him with open arms - but as he dropped to land on the other side, the war bird drifted from its original position, a fraction out, a fatal fraction too far...
Murdock reached fast with both arms for the shiny metal edge but it was too far, then he screamed Thomas’s name as he rushed to the furthest point and hung his head over the side to watch on as Thomas’s body disappeared beneath the cluster of smoke and dust. The sound of the jet engines extinguished the chance of hearing his body crash against the rubble, but Murdock still slammed his hands against his ears and screwed his eyes closed, shutting out the terrible moment as tears filled his eyes and then streaked his face.
“He was our friend…” Murdock whispered, then as rage bubbled up inside him he snapped open his eyes, glaring at the ugly sight of the tower finally breaking away and collapsing down the centre, “He did not deserve to be lost!” he raged, then as more tears formed in his eyes as he cast him mind back to Thomas, who had deserved the chance of a future that had just been snatched away, he had no more strength to yell at the wind and the noise and the devastation that could not answer him back.
“He was our friend…” Murdock said again, reflecting on how hollow victory would seem with so many he knew now gone forever, this being the cost of war. His thoughts were still on the loss of Thomas as Michael maneuvered the war bird away from the scene.
Chapter 46: Our Sanctuary
Murdock:
“That journey was one of the toughest I had ever had to endure. I would have happily trekked the vast wilderness in a state of dehydration until my last breath than watch as the war bird descended through the thick grey smoke where Thomas’s body soon became horribly visible, laid upon a mound of broken concrete and metallic corpses. But I was the one who ordered it, there was no way that I could leave him - so Michael took it upon himself to touch the war bird down in the middle of the silenced street where I could disembark and take Thomas in my arms, escorting his lifeless body back to the war bird, where he belonged.
It seemed like there could never be a worse day than the one we were currently living, surrounded by the wounded and frantic outbreaks of tears :
This was the aftermath of war.
I placed Thomas carefully at the foot of the cargo hold, right beside the three newest arrivals who couldn’t have been a greater help. They rushed to assist in any way they could even though they knew that Thomas had passed.
As I stood there surrounded by people I could truly call my friends I wondered, perhaps if life after death was real, Thomas had gone somewhere far greater - but I’m a bit of an atheist, I don’t quite know what to believe - apart from this:
We now lived in a world that had tested all we used to believe to be impossible.
Along the way I had befriended a man who turned out to be no more than an alien consciousness in disguise and when mortally wounded I had been cured by a drug that had only ever existed in a child’s imagination…I don’t even know if death can be considered an option for me now, after all I should have died in the tower yet here I am. You really need to hear about this place so I’d better finish the rest of the log...We then arrived at a medical outpost stationed within the walls of
the city…”
The war birds lights dimmed to off and its ramp begun to descend, extending like a ladder then crunching against the remains of the apocalyptic looking street. The road was torn apart, Howler corpses littered the alleys and UNA soldiers were smashed and mangled all over – the metal glistened like a layer of frost as the suns rays crept slowly down the bloody road, casting light on the darkest of days.
The crew made their way down the ramp and into the deserted street led by their Captain who held tightly on to Thomas’s deceased body, the others assisted with the wounded, Steph and Michael carried Lynch while the two daughters helped with Joy, leaving the dad in his pale blue medical gown with his hands free – he led the group in the direction that Murdock had pointed out. It was a grand building that didn’t look too damaged from the battle, he had recognised the bright logo flickering from the wall, and it was one he had been forced to associate with the UNA’s medical researchers, so it seemed like the ideal place to unload.
The group carefully made their way towards the main doors which were barely intact, Murdock cast a weary glance around the exterior before giving the all clear…they slowly crept inside as the remains of the tower in the distance finally stopped crumbling, all that was left was a smoking stump but the building itself was still the tallest in the city even with the upper half now non existent, Michael observed before moving with Steph inside the medical complex.
Everyone had a thorough look around upon entering, the waiting area was stained in fresh crimson and filled with mutilated bodies.
“The UNA never stood a chance,” said Steph, observing the remnants of mechanical limbs and skeletal hardware sparking with artificial life, twitching to a distant beat of defeat.
“We definitely couldn’t have done it without those foul beasts…to think they came from the UNA’s meddling in the first place, ironic isn’t it…” said the man in the gown with his arms comfortably clutched around his body. It was extremely cold inside and it didn’t help that some were near naked with only the likes of a thin cloth covering them.
“Let’s get everyone upstairs, and we’ll get something for you to wear…Mr.?” Murdock asked, looking down at the trembling man, he was only short, no taller than five foot.
“Mr. Hawthorn, Kevin Hawthorn…” he replied with admiration still gleaming in his eyes.
“Lets be moving, Mr. Hawthorn” Murdock ordered, nodding in the direction of the stairwell lobby which Kevin quickly begun to scuttle towards, his gown flapping behind him which caused an eruption of laughter from most of the group as they couldn’t help but watch his bum cheeks peering out.
The lobby seemed safe and was almost as good as new, the walls were pure white and the lighting was working. Kevin took a quick glance up the steps then waved Murdock forward, who led the group through the opening.
“Looks safe, let me go ahead and check it’s clear…”
“Quietly…Howlers may have a great sense of smell but their hearing is incomparable,” Murdock whispered, enlightening Kevin, who wasn’t the most experienced with the Howler kind, he’d only come across them once or twice during the early stages of the outbreak before they had mutated in to their most recent, advanced form.
Kevin nodded then turned to the steps, glaring up at the bright white appliance walls. He hesitated at first then begun a steady ascent up towards level one of three, each housing valuable equipment, state of the art and some beyond that of human creation - which excited Murdock, not knowing how quickly they may be able to assist or possibly cure the wounded.
He thought on it some more as he quietly and carefully carried Thomas behind the lead of Kevin who’d reached the upper platform and had begun to peer down the long narrow corridor, it was similar to those inside the tower but this one led to somewhere much more desirable:
Sat at the end was a large, warm room that seemed to glow like hope itself, casting a blinding light down the path of the hallway and into the group's eyes, they had to look away towards the gleaming marble floor – it almost seemed to sparkle like something from a fairy tale but it was just the polished shine, the entire facility was unused since the android soldiers were released from the manufacturing line. there had been no need for human soldiers therefore medical units existed without a use, unless any prisoners were lucky enough to be rewarded with treatment for the diabolical ways that the UNA had handled them... those were the facts, no fairy tales despite the sparkle and the shine.
“Mine was never this clean, rebellions resulted in heavy casualties. The Howler invasion was the first rebellion this fucked up city ever saw, we were driven out, planted in outposts like cannon fodder while the machines churned out metal heads – however, I’d say this has played out in our favour, wouldn’t you?” Murdock rhetorically asked, casting his sights towards the light, advancing without hesitation, as Kevin and the crew digested the story that Murdock had just told, turning to one another with expressions of confusion.
“He was…He was one of them, a solider, but he saw the light before it was too late and that’s all what matters really,” Steph explained, feeling a need to back her Captain in case of any rising concerns within the minds of the newest additions to the group, but they didn’t seem too worried.
“I’m a heavy believer in second chances my friend, if your mind is clouded by a trace of guilt for something that happened, you must let go of it…talk about it, the blame cannot be yours when you work under the orders of someone you never knew was corrupt. Every key player who helped establish the UNA, not even them, they can’t be blamed for something they had no complete understanding of…” Murdock turned to Kevin who’d picked up the pace, walking beside him.
“Then you do your research, thoroughly. You don’t make decisions without consulting every possible outcome.”
“You can’t live like that, Captain. You just can’t…” replied Kevin with a trace of sorrow reflecting against the calm shine of his eyes.
Murdock glanced over his shoulder towards the wounded Lynch who was being carried by Steph and Michael, he stared at him for a second which felt like an eternity as his memories serving with him filtered across the front of his mind like a video tape, a mix of good, bad and ugly. The ugly was the worst of all visions, a reminder of why the Captain had become the man he was today, which forced his eyes towards the ground, where the man in question was no longer in sight.
“Maybe I just need to be a little more careful over who I trust,” He concluded. Murdock picked up his pace and turned towards the wide open space that sat through the archway at the end of the corridor. It was like emerging into the living room on Christmas morning, Michael dreamed, imagining the space littered with glowing Christmas trees and hundreds upon hundreds of presents stacked on top of each other. The view from the window was rather industrial in a nightmarish way as black smoke bellowed from eighty percent of the cities buildings – but here inside was a world that seemed just too good to be true.
Murdock:
“I knew from the moment we stepped inside, that we’d be able to make use of it, because it was big enough, clean enough and full of working equipment. The UNA were non existent and the Howlers had scarpered underground so it was presumably also safe enough for our new community to settle - but that was just a thought at the time.
Inside the facility were a dozen examination beds either side of the room, and at the centre was a vast array of instruments. My medical expertise added up to nothing more than how to apply a plaster and support a head wound, but we came together in the spare of the moment placing the wounded on to the beds and taking care of them in the best ways that we could, none of us were trained in the field of medical nursing - which is why I took it upon myself to begin the turn of the wheel...”
Murdock pulled a soft white sheet over the lifeless body of Thomas and said his final words, which felt to him like a fitting closure to the last chapter of his life. He was satisfied now that Thomas had been laid to rest in the most respectful way he saw po
ssible, this had to be better than to leave him to rot among the wreckage of the deceased dictators – that would have been unthinkable...
As he reflected on this new start for those who still lived, he guessed the new way of life wasn’t to be embraced entirely, progression and achievement would come at a price but no matter what the cost, death had to be respected – he wanted the people around him to remember that too, so he politely called across the room to everyone able, and they all turned immediately and converged around him, close to the man that had led them out of the darkest shadows.
“I just want to firstly thank you all, we wouldn’t be in this position without each and every one of you,” Murdock explained, turning to the group and leaning against a nearby counter, his toned chest exposed and engulfed by formerly nasty scars that were now just faint lumps and bumps, “Beneath me is a cupboard filled with uniforms, I’d like you to put them on because not only will they protect you from any lingering threats but will also keep you very warm, I’ve worn one before, you can take my word on that.”
Steph, Michael, Kevin and his daughters turned to one another, smiling with glee. “I’m going to look for a washroom, but please help yourselves and…if you will, please also take a moment to pay your respects to Thomas. I’d like that…Thank you,” Murdock concluded and then he walked away, heading for an archway at the end of the room.
When Murdock reached his destination it was very dim on the other side, there was only a small window but it led to another quarter of the facility. He marched past the window, taking a quick glance outside where the war bird was clearly in view and exactly how they had left it, he let out a sigh of relief then continued down the gloomy walkway, passing a few doors with the word toilets labeled on them, until he came to a sudden halt. This door in front of him had a sticky label stuck to it and cut in the shape of a female, which made Murdock chuckle and then he slammed his fist against the door and boldly stepped inside.
