by Nathan Ward
The room fell silent as Josh let out a shriek of devastation as his eyes fell upon his daughter in the arms of Jordan, lifeless, cold and pale skinned.
“No! My daughter, my beautiful daughter…let me through! Let me through!” He bellowed, pushing past the crowd as they stood saddened in their dirty rags.
Josh stumbled over to Jordan and reached for his daughter, pulling her away from him and in to his own arms where he fell and cradled her, stroking aside her dark hair and wiping away the specks of crimson that had splashed up on to her cheek. “My girl…My girl…” he sobbed, as Steph slumped over, pressing her face against his and clamping her hands around him and their daughter, they shared the sadness, the pain, the tears as they processed the death of their beloved child and begun a silent, painful journey together, remembering the times they had spent as a family, the time they had smiled and laughed as one, times that were gone forever.
Sasha and Murdock stood back, holding one another with the young boy Connor knelt in front of them. Then Jordan approached Murdock, and held out his hand as a civil gesture, but Murdock was still shocked and saddened by the child's death, he took a moment to turn his thoughts to the fact that Jordan had just extended the hand of friend ship, then before snapped it up, collecting his hand with a look of sincere gratitude.
“Thank you…”
Murdock glanced down at the floor then back to Jordan, who stood in front of him, moving his head in a nodding motion, unsure what he may say in return - but he had taken a step forward and let go of the past in an instance which both captains seemed delighted by, but they knew the past would always survive as a memory and perhaps some of them wouldn’t be as forgiving as others...
Sasha also held out her hand to make it clear where she now stood and Jordan shook it softly before turning back to Josh and Steph, who laid together with their daughter on the glistening white tiles.
The howls of human grief and pain continued into the evening, not one soul managed a wink of sleep because the love was so heart felt that no one could bear to leave them alone, so the community gathered on the upper level and laid against each other, circulating a protective warmth among them – but no one slept, even Murdock with his heavy eyes, he laid with Sasha resting against his chest as he stared up towards the stars as they twinkled in the clear night sky.
Chapter 48: Closure
As the sun begun to rise from behind the distant hilltop, a warm orange glow filtered through the medical complex, over the sea of bodies that were still laid along the ground. Some had managed to grab an hour of sleep, and others had only just nodded off, but in the centre of the room Josh and Steph were still hanging on – their eyes bruised and aching from the constant agonising pain of tears that had not stopped flowing...
Murdock had been watching them for most of the night, leant against a cupboard as Sasha rested her head in his lap. For the first time since they arrived there was a peaceful silence, a rare moment of normality and there was also the sound of birds outside the window, tweeting in the gentle breeze.
Murdock slowly glanced around the room, observing everyone. There was easily a couple of hundred people gathered inside the building…more than enough to begin a rebuild of the city, he thought as he caught the sight of Joy, lifting her head and rubbing it like she’d woken from a mad night out with the lads.
He cast her a warm smile, she didn’t realised who he was at first. huddled among a mass of strangers but then it clicked, and she returned the same gesture, slightly disappointed to see Sasha glued to him but she was also happy for him, he deserved happiness and Joy had never seen that in all the time they had spent together, it was a delight for her as she turned away and slid herself along the surface of the bed.
Eventually, people were beginning to wake but didn’t want to cause any disturbance, so some quietly wandered outside to catch a breath of fresh air while Joy and Murdock met at the sink to pour themselves water.
“You’re looking well,” whispered Murdock, turning the tap and releasing the water.
“You look like shit!” she replied, smirking as he turned with wide eyes.
“Oh, I see how it is, that’s the thanks I get.”
“I never asked you to do it.”
Joy placed her clear plastic cup under the fountain of water then Murdock planted a friendly kiss on her forehead.
“And that’s why it happened,” he replied, turning and leaning against the unit, “We lost Thomas and Jennifer yesterday, Thomas was a good lad and Jennifer…well, you met her. Neither deserved that fate, I’d give my own life to have them back but things don’t work like that, do they…”
Joy turned and leant beside Murdock, looking across at the white sheet that covered Thomas’s body. She couldn’t look for long, and then she noticed Josh, cradling Jennifer. She was ice cold and her skin was now blue, it wasn’t a pretty sight to behold but no one wanted to interfere, no one wanted to step over that threshold of anothers terrible loss and intrude.
Murdock bit his tongue, considering how help was often a good thing when needed, even if it was a difficult situation – like this one. He had to do something. He approached Josh ever so slowly, minding not to knock the people still asleep on the ground. Steph was just about awake, staring in to the great abyss…
These were broken people, friends of Murdock's and he didn’t want them to think that they had to do this alone, so he knelt beside Josh carefully, carefully meeting their sights and then he reached out with his hands.
Josh took a deep breath and clamped shut his eyes as Murdock slowly removed Jennifer’s body from his arms and carried her away to a bed on the furthest side of the complex. Josh and Steph found their footing and carefully wandered over, supporting one another in every step until they arrived beside the bed where Murdock lowered her body and positioned her as comfortably as he could because even in death, family should always be respected, he believed – handing over a folded white sheet to Steph. She pulled it apart and shook it then gracefully laid it over her daughter’s body, it was like a sense of closure, laying her soul to rest. And the moment the sheet sunk against her, the pair of them felt as if they could breathe again, like a weight had been lifted but equally it was a weight that would never, ever disappear...
Murdock:
“I guess that was the beginning of a new era for us, once we had mourned for our dead everyone begun working together to explore what was left of the city and capture an idea of how to proceed.
We had water and food supplies scattered throughout the streets and a fully functioning complex to treat our wounded, but not everyone wanted to cooperate…so we were forced to let them go, and what I mean by let, is that we marched them at gun point out of the city and left their fate in the hands of the howlers. We had a community that needed our protection for it to function and dangers had to be removed, which is why Joy had become agitated.
She was like me, she couldn’t understand how the likes of Captain Jordan could be accepted into the city - and even after I had explained what he did she was never going to forgive him, but she tried to forget him, treating him as if he didn’t exist.
Every time they passed in the street or corridor they’d simply blank one another, perhaps that was for the best really. And that’s how we lived for a few months – until the tower was operational, then some of our people were transferred for a premier living condition.
Josh was first in with his wife Steph, and then Joy was promoted to Captain of the freedom fighters. A cosy room came with the contract, right near the top overlooking the entire city. From up there you could see the packs of Howlers as they explored the wilderness, usually after sunset under the moonlight glow…We still didn’t approach them though, the device was probably broken during the war and none of us fancied trying to tame them again, in fact Josh prohibited it, he prohibited a lot of things once he had a firm hand over us.
That man changed, and I guess the death of Jennifer was more than enough to break him, he was never the same again b
ut he did take on board one thing I requested: We got our yard where we could bury our loved ones…Michael was left in charge of that, he became caretaker with Kevin and his girls.
They worked well together and we often met up for a chat, they’d always throw ideas at me telling me where we should visit and I’d reply with the same two words, every week…Some Day…but some day never really came, at least not for a few more months after the city had reinforced its defenses, taken in more surviving families and warned off the packs of rogue traders – after that, I finally felt as if that day had come…and it was on that day that the sun sat high, the longest day of the year, it was a scorcher!”
Carrier vehicles rumbled past, rolling smoothly against the new tarmac roads of the city. Heaps of rubble remained in places, but London was beginning to look alive again as people wandered the streets and white leathered soldiers patrolled the borders. Life was once again worth living, Murdock felt sure of it as he opened his wooden front door and stepped on to the porch, fastening his bow tie and buttoning up his waistcoat as he proceeded to step down on to the pavement and into a flamboyant stroll towards the building in the distance. That building was tall and illuminated by light, it was the brand new tower…completely refurbished and operating again.
It looked magnificent, Murdock thought as he stared towards the top where Joy's apartment was stationed. He wandered past the market stalls and paid his respect to the dead as he made his way along the graves which were being attended to by Kevin, who quickly raised his hat and called across to Murdock as he passed, then slapped his cap against his head, it was a very hot day and sun burn was now humanities greatest threat, even with Howlers lurking at night, at least they could be dealt with, for the time being…
The main entrance to the tower had a wonderful water feature stood outside and even housed a few fish rescued from the Thames. These little things made the community so much more than what it was, it gave them all hope of seeing a world they once knew, but the similarity between hope and desire had worn thin and the strength of some desires could easily have led man down a path of self termination, or so Murdock believed, as he had watched it all unfold around him.
The fountain's spray sparkled catching sun as Murdock passed, then as he made his way over to the front doors of the tower as he heard his name being called, it came from behind him so he quickly turned to see who it was. The sun was bright against his eyes which blurred his vision, but he knew he recognised the voice over the sound of occasional traffic and building work clanging in the distance.
Murdock raised his hand to his brow to block out the light and then a familiar face became as clear as day, it was Josh, out on his morning run in an attempt to get fit, being a leader he thought it was essential.
“Captain, why are you out of uniform? I almost didn’t recognise you with your brogues and bow tie!”
Murdock smiled and looked down at his shoes to make sure they were shining like the gel that slicked his hair and the wiry texture of his beard reflecting in the suns rays.
“Well, I was actually on my way to see you.”
“You were? And there I was thinking we should definitely have tea and a catch up soon…how about it?” Josh asked, looking overly pleased to see Murdock, as if it had been days since they had last seen each other.
“Well that’s the thing I needed to talk about, me being here…I feel like I need some time away, with the utmost respect, Josh.... There's never been a better opportunity for me to travel and….” Murdock paused for breath, but he could see that Josh didn’t look at all pleased, in fact he now wore a furious expression.
“And well, I lived around London as a kid…” Murdock added cautiously.
“I can’t…” Josh interrupted, “This city needs you, I need you, Murdock…I owe you a debt and I promise to...”
“You owe me a debt, so let go of me! You have more here than you ever expected, what can one man do?”
One man, Captain? One man can change the world, you’re a prime example. I won’t allow it, I need you here and that’s final!”
Murdock turned his gaze to the fishes, little captives in their gleaming fountain of clear water. The fishes liked it, but he wasn't a fish, and this city wasn't about to become his gold fish bowl, either...
But watching water seemed to calm him as he came to terms with what Josh was saying. He had expected he may react in such a way, even though Josh had so much power he was scared, he’d already failed his people once and turned to reliable, dependable Murdock - what would happen if one day Murdock wasn’t there? So the Captain chose to go along with it, confirming that he’d stay.
“Good,” replied Josh, “Now there was one other thing…something I really need to speak with you about, would you come inside?”
“Certainly,” replied Murdock, following Josh inside the tower and closing the door firmly behind him.
The inside of Joshes office was partly rebuilt, Murdock could tell he was trying to go for a high end look by an elegant looking snake skin arm chair sat in the corner among a small pile of rubble left over from the war.
“Quite a place you’ve got here, sorry about the mess…” Murdock smirked. “What?” frowned Josh, sitting back in his chair.
“The mess, that was probably me breaking down the walls…” he added as he wiped his hand along the top of the snake skin chair and looked down at the broken fragments as they glistened.
“Oh…yes, well we’re all to blame. Would you come closer? Pull that chair over.”
Josh ordered, leant over his wooden desk and pointing at the armchair. Murdock turned to make sure he was referring to the same chair then grabbed it and wandered over with it in tow.
“So, what is it we need to discuss, Josh” asked Murdock as he sat firmly on the chair, “Lovely texture by the way!” he added, much to Joshes frustration.
“When I was up there, with Thomas…”
“Now what did we agree? You said we wouldn’t talk about the past, it would only cause unnecessary damage to wounds that are healing so well…” Murdock interrupted.
“I know, I know, but this is important, this has nagged me since the day, since it happened…Astral said to us that time could be…reset, as a means for the UNA to wipe out the human race!”
“Trying to scare you wasn’t it…”
“Apart from the fact that we’d fought that battle over a hundred times already, one hundred and thirty six times,” Josh claimed, looking Murdock in the eye with deep sincerity.
“Scare tactics,” he replied, twiddling his fingers and silently considering if it had been true.
“No, Murdock! It then begun to repeat what we was saying, word for word in synch! It understood, it had lived that moment I could tell, I could really tell! Then we destroyed it, but it knew what was going to happen like it wanted us to do it!”
“Then why are we here? Why haven’t they turned back time? If they’re so powerful?” Murdock spoke rhetorically, not expecting the answer he was then given.
“Because of you…it said you were the key, like you had taken a step off course, changed your very own time line and it fascinated them…”
Murdock's eyes widened as he listened, then they narrowed while ideas fluttered around at the back of his mind.
“I think they’re waiting for something, or maybe they’re watching us, either way if I could reset time I would, I’d do that all over again to save Jennifer, believe me. But it’s odd, right? So odd it could be true?”
The discussion had left both Josh and Murdock in a stalemate of unresolved thoughts and ideas, and Murdock was glad to end the conversation and leave the office.
He was still thinking over all Josh had said as he made his way to the higher levels of the tower, using the newly built stair well which was crafted from slabs of glass, it sparkled like the original but it shone in ways that only a human could appreciate.
“Morning, Captain…” called the workers as they continued to construct the elevator shaft,
to which Murdock nodded in acknowledgment.
“Once you’re done, keep Lynch away from it…can’t have him blowing it up again!” Murdock chuckled to himself and the workers raised their thumbs as he ascended towards the towers medical department.
Everything was sanitary, it had to be, like every hospital unit - but this was the cleanest of them all and Josh was lucky to have a team of five working for him.
They were fully trained for most surgical procedures and had been a massive help to get Lynch back in good health.
The sound of footsteps approached, then a dark figure crept out from behind a corner and walked up to a treatment room, its door was shut and there didn’t look to be anyone inside. The figure
stepped in to the light, it was Joy, and she quickly pushed aside the sliding door then went inside. It was the same old look, white plastic walls and bright unnatural lighting but it for filled its purpose.
Joy slowly wandered over to the bed in the centre of the room, she stopped at his side and cast her eyes over his body.
“Felix... Felix Lynch?” she asked, staring at his wrinkled face and wiry silver hair, “I’m Joy Thorn, Captain of the Freedom armed forces, I hear you know a thing or two about warfare and survival instinct, quite a character…” she smirked, her eyes unusually drawn to the ink on his chest, “I’ve read a lot about you, heard a lot too…I’ve got a proposition for you, that’s if you want to walk again.”
Lynches eyes opened by a fraction, Joy knew he was listening but he hadn’t spoken since the day he had lost the lower half of his body. The terrible loss was like a piece of his soul being stolen away, she could see it in his gaze and she could relate, she had lost an eye for the cause but an eye could never equal that of mobility, and all else the poor man had lost... she had another eye…Lynch had no legs, so the thought of being able to walk again excited him, incredibly.
“What do I have to do?” he muttered in his Scottish accent, looking up at Joy, shifting his vision from the black patch on her left eye hole to her right side, where the glaze of her whites reflected a sparkle of intrigue. Should he be the one? She questioned herself, checking him over with the most subtle of glances.
