by Smith, I. J.
“Nice!” He uttered.
Like a flash of light, Ricky punched Adam in his wounded shoulder. As blood rushed down his body, Adam fell back. Ricky gave no warning; he kicked at the wound on Adam’s leg, falling to the ground in pain, Ricky was quick to kick him in the chest, sending him rolling across the floor.
“Stop!” Zoe pleaded, but Sara held the blade closer to her face.
Ricky cheered as he stamped on Adam’s leg. The echo of a cracking bone made the other Angels cheer. A tear ran down Zoe’s face as she locked eyes with Adam.
Ricky kicked him in the face, and then stamped on his head, Adam started to fade. He managed to roll onto his front, Ricky stamped on his back repeatedly, until Adam stopped moving.
Ricky turned to Zoe.
“Guess your friend lost; looks like we are about to have some fun.”
Sara let go of Zoe, Meyers stepped in and grabbed her. He dragged her to an empty chair, forcing her to sit; he smiled. Ricky stood watching, “Just tell me where Jack Mason is and we will leave you be.”
Zoe closed her eyes. “Fuck you!”
Ricky laughed. “Come on, what do you owe Mason that you are willing to die for him?”
Zoe opened her eyes and uttered one word, “Everything!”
Shaking his head, Ricky told Meyers to continue.
Meyers opened a bag and pulled out a shining silver cheese grater.
“I bet you are wondering about this right? Well this is how me and Jack met, a long time ago.” Meyers told a scared Zoe.
As Ricky gave orders to the other Angels; the screams from Zoe became deafening.
“Stupid bitch should have talked!” Sara muttered.
Ricky glanced at the blood and strips of flesh hitting the floor. “It doesn’t matter; Jack will be on his way soon.”
Zoe’s screams grew louder.
CHAPTER FOUR
TRAP
A cold breeze cut through the air as Ryan drove the 4x4 towards danger. Jack sat in the passenger seat, thinking over what Sarah had told him about the attack.
“Slow down.” Jack told Ryan.
Ignoring Jack, he drove faster. “Ryan! Slow down!”
“Why?” Ryan asked.
Suddenly a zombie hit the car, blood exploded all over the windscreen. “Because of that!”
As Jack watched the wipers try and clear the thick blood and body parts, his eyes locked on the intestines that were stuck under the wiper blades. “This is my world!” Jack muttered to himself.
Kat reached over the passenger seat and wrapped her arms around Jack. “It’s going to be OK!” She told him, sensing the anger in him.
“You’re going home!” Sarah told Raven.
With a hint of a smile she looked at her friend. “My home is with all of you. My home is with my family.” Raven said, as she glanced at Jack; being held by Kat.
“OK! We’re approaching the place, Sarah.” Ryan announced. Everyone in the 4x4 went quiet as they drove along the road. “Turn the lights off!” Jack told Ryan.
Now it was nearly a black night, only a sliver of the moon supplied light. The figures of a few roaming zombies were the only thing that could be seen.
“Be careful.” Sarah warned. “The roads are full of rubble from the collapsed buildings.”
“You really think it was Oasis?” Raven asked Sarah.
Sarah looked at her friend. “Honestly, I don’t know.” She replied.
Jack looked out the windscreen, frowning at Sarah’s words. He was once again drawn to the intestines being dragged across the windscreen by the wipers. As the wiper moved up, he noticed a glint from a nearby roof-top. The moon illuminated a silhouette on the roof.
Without warning Jack reacted, he grabbed the steering wheel and pulled it to the left. As everyone in the car freaked out as the 4x4 swerved, a loud sound hummed out. A flash of fire caught their attention. A small rocket came crashing down into the road beside the 4x4; sending it rolling over onto its side.
As the 4x4 smashed into a nearby wall, bullets began to fly at the vehicle. Four figures emerged from the darkness, all firing guns at the now exposed roof of the 4x4. Sara Backhouse led Tom, Andy, and Daniel towards their target.
Tom and Andy were quick to rush around to the windscreen. “WHAT THE FUCK?” Tom screamed out. Sara rushed to join them; she looked into the 4x4 and was shocked to see it was empty.
Gunfire suddenly echoed out. Sara turned to see Andy hitting the ground hard; a bullet had hit him hard in his body armor. At the rear of the 4x4 the trunk lid was open; Jack and the others had crawled out through it. Ryan helped a limping Kat and Raven held up Sarah as they rushed away to the far side of the street. Jack was still standing at the rear of the 4x4 with a small sidearm; he went to grab a couple of rifles from the vehicle, when he was met with another barrage of bullets.
“Shit!”
With only a few bullets left in his gun, Jack had no choice but to abandon the weapons and join his friends. Jack rushed away and disappeared into the darkness of a building, following his friends.
Sara Backhouse smiled. “Perfect!” As she watched them escape, Andy helped Daniel up from the ground. “Idiot!” Daniel laughed, “I was told to make it look good.”
“Yeah! But what if he shot you in the head?” Andrew replied.
Daniel suddenly looked sick. The realization of how lucky he was suddenly dawned on him.
Touching a black button that rested on her body armor, she held her other hand over her right ear. “Sir, the rats are in the nest!” She reported.
∞
Inside the ruins of the building, Jack was quick to force the double doors shut. Ryan looked around and could see only one way out; a doorway which he quickly rushed through with the others.
“Stop!” Jack shouted, but it was too late; they were already inside.
Jack lost sight of his friends as a large grey door slammed shut, blocking him from the others. He could only guess that they tripped a wire that locked them inside. Placing his side arm into the back of his jeans he pulled one of his machetes clear and worked his way forward.
The groan of a zombie caught his attention; he looked down to the floor and could see a hand trapped under a large rock. “Poor bastard!” He muttered to himself, wondering how long it had been there.
Then there was a loud locking noise, he swung round back towards the entrance he came in. He could hear large metal rods being locked in place to make sure he could not get out.
“I knew it, fucking trap!”
Jack knelt down for a moment and looked around his surroundings, once again he thought about his friends on the other side of the door. His mind continued to think about Banks’ warning that there was a traitor in his group. Jack feared this was the start of their betrayal.
Jack shook his head; he needed to think about what was going to happen now. “Well, it’s not just about killing us. Otherwise we would be dead by now! This is about something else.”
Suddenly, the grey door opened. He could see Kat and Raven looking at him. Jack quickly rushed into the room. Raven was fast to hug him. But Jack was disturbed by the image in front of him, he walked past Raven. On the floor was a puddle of blood, looking up he could see a beaten Adam hanging from his legs. Jack rushed to cut him down, the rope holding him was tied to a nearby pipe, and he lowered Adam down. As the others looked to help Adam, Jack stood staring at the wall ahead of him.
Kat walked over to him. “What is it?”
Jack was looking at the wall, above the grey door. On the wall was words painted in black. WE ARE THE BLACK ANGELS! Kat suddenly noticed the fear in Jack’s eyes, like never before.
Raven and Sarah looked over Adam; his face was so swollen and bruised. Feeling for a pulse, Raven announced, “It’s weak, but it’s there.”
A clicking noise could be heard and then a static sound.
“SGT. Mason!” Through the static, a voice spoke.
Jack looked down at Adams body. He could see a walkie talkie att
ached to his belt. Jack slowly approached the radio and unhooked it.
“This is SGT. Mason!” Jack answered into the radio.
There was a silence for a moment.
“But how do I know it is you, Mason?” the voice asked.
“Why don’t you come in here and I can show you!” Jack replied.
The voice laughed. “NO! Just answer something for me.”
“What?”
“2007, Jack Mason was on patrol in a secret location. He was told to watch out for enemy bombers during peace talks. What happened?” The voice asked.
“If you know about a Top-Secret mission, then you already know!” Jack snapped in reply.
“Mason, you seem to forget. We still have a pretty red head here waiting for you to save her.”
Ryan jumped up and rushed at Jack. Jack managed to hold him back.
Jack shook his head and answered the question. “There was an attempted attack at the peace talks. I was on the roof opposite as delegates arrived. A young girl walked passed the cordon, she had a bomb strapped to her chest.” Jack paused for a moment; he then glanced at Kat and Raven. “I put a bullet in her head; it was her or dozens of innocent victims.”
Jack lowered his head in shame. The sound of applause echoed over the radio.
“It is very nice to finally meet you Jack. I understand the people here call you ‘The Reaper’. Shit, if only they knew how true that was.” The voice said.
“And who the fuck is this?”
“The Black Angels!” The voice replied.
“Oh yeah, the chicken shit cowards, who could not make it in the real army!” Jack replied.
“Tut-tut-tut, Jack, now that is not nice, is it? I am the Captain of the Angels, my name is Chambers, but my friends call me ‘Butcher’.”
“How about I call you ‘Asshole’?”
The radio went silent for a moment, a sudden female scream echoed over the speaker. Ryan pushed at Jack, but was once again forced back.
“Play nice, Reaper!” Chambers told him.
“So, I guess you work for Oasis now?” Jack asked.
“It’s always about the money Jack. Did you know in the refugee camps, people are more concerned about their homes and assets, rather than the number of dead? Honestly, it’s heartbreaking.” Chambers replied.
“What do you want?” Jack asked.
“Just to play for a while, let’s get to know each other. Then, when we are friends, who knows? Maybe I will let you all go.”
“After what you did to Adam, I doubt that.” Jack replied.
“I gave him a choice to save the girl. I gave him, a soldier’s honor!” Chambers told him.
Jack shook his head. “Now let’s have some fun!” The radio went dead.
“What the hell is a soldier’s honor?” Kat asked.
Jack stared at her and pointed to Adam’s body. “Get him ready to move.”
“Ryan, start looking for a way out!” Jack ordered.
“I’m not going anywhere without Zoe!” He replied.
“Of course not, that’s why I baited him for proof of life. Now, get moving!”
Ryan locked eyes with Jack; he was struggling to control his emotions. Finally, Ryan moved away looking for a way out.
“But, what is a soldier’s honor?” Raven asked.
Jack glanced at Raven and gave a little shake of his head. She immediately knew that it was a question he did not want to answer in front of the others. At that moment, Raven knew they were now in big trouble.
CHAPTER FIVE
BRAY
Over a hundred miles away, a scruffy, dirty man walked along the motorway. The long road was packed with abandoned cars and lorries. As the man walked, the dead that roamed around seemed to ignore him. Under the dirty clothes and overgrown hair and beard was a familiar face. It was Bray!
His clothes were mainly stained with blood, he had lost a lot of weight since his departure from the others. The only weapon he had left was a long-sharpened piece of metal with a rag wrapped around for a handle.
Bray had struggled on his journey, many times he had wanted to return, but the shame he felt was still strong in his heart.
Walking along the road he kept looking inside the cars for food or water. As he opened the rear door of a red car, a small black cat shocked Bray as it jumped at him. As Bray grabbed the cat it clawed at his face, leaving him bleeding. Bray threw the cat across the road and held his hand to his bleeding face as he watched the cat run off. He wondered to himself, how long the poor thing had been in the car.
As he rummaged through the car, the sudden sound of groaning approaching caught his attention. He swung round and in a flash with his weapon in hand and buried the blade into the head of the zombie. He buried it so hard the skull split in half revealing its brain.
The sudden sound of clapping echoed out.
From behind a large white truck four men appeared, all carrying weapons. Baseball bats, cricket bats and knives. They all looked rugged and like rejects from a horror movie.
A man with a greying beard clapped. “You let our dinner escape!”
Bray looked around and then thought about the cat. “Didn’t realize pussy was on the menu. You have my apologies!” Bray began to walk away, as the four men surrounded him.
“No! No! You don’t understand, you lost our food. So, you need to replace it!” The bearded man said.
Bray suddenly had a flashback of Eddie being torn apart and eaten by the Preacher and his people. Instinct kicked in as he pulled his blade and sliced it through the air, tearing across the chest of one of the men. As the blood sprayed across Bray’s face, for a moment he was blinded as the blood covered his eyes. He continued to swing the blade and buried into the leg of another of the men. As he attempted to wipe the blood from his face, he felt a sharp stab in the back of his shoulder. Bray fell to his knees.
Although his vision was blurred, Bray could make out a body hit the ground in front of him. He became concerned with the sudden shouting of the men, after a moment the noise stopped and there was nothing but complete silence.
Bray braced himself, accepting death was coming. Then a female voice spoke out.
“Where’s my fucking cat?” a rough female voice yelled.
Wiping the blood clear from his face, Bray’s vision returned. Standing in front of him was a short middle-aged woman. Wearing black overalls, she appeared to have a tattoo of a dragon on her neck. Her hair was long and scruffy.
“I said…where is my cat?”
Bray still had the small blade stuck in his shoulder; as he stared at the crazy looking woman.
“Cat!” He muttered under his breath.
He glanced at the bodies of the men who attacked him; lying on the ground around him, he noticed an arrow in each of their heads. He looked at the strange woman in front of him again, the only weapon she held was a meat cleaver.
From behind her another woman appeared, she carried a crossbow over her shoulder with a satchel of arrows. She was younger than the other woman, her blonde hair was hanging down by her shoulders. She wore a straw cowboy hat, a white vest that showed her ample bosom and tight jeans. She smiled as she approached Bray.
As the woman in the straw cowboy hat pulled her arrows from the heads of the men she killed, Bray pushed himself to his feet. She laughed as she noticed the blade sticking out from his shoulder. Without warning she pulled it from his shoulder. Bray barely made a sound.
“I’m Lisa,” the woman in the hat told him, “and this is Phyl.” She finished saying.
Phyl rushed over to Bray and pushed her nose against his, they were so close Bray could see the slight hazel in her brown eyes.
“Where is my cat?” Phyl again demanded to know.
Bray frowned as he kept thinking how crazy looking Phyl was.
“Leave him alone!” Lisa told her. “We both saw the damn cat run away!”
Phyl quickly looked round at Lisa, her gaze was so strong it seared into her friend.
Lisa smiled as she shook her head. She picked up a backpack from one of the dead bodies. She looked inside and threw a few adult magazines on the ground. “Even during the apocalypse, the perverts exist!” She remarked. Lisa pulled a dirty white towel from the backpack, throwing the bag down she walked over to Bray.
He was shocked as Lisa began to push the towel against his wound. “You have to forgive my friend, she loves that damn cat.” She told him. He simply replied with a smile as they both became distracted by Phyl whistling aloud and shouting “LUCKY!” At the top of her voice.
“She’s also fucking crazy!” Lisa joked.
“Aren’t we all?” Bray replied, as he looked at Lisa’s beautiful smile and pure sky blue eyes.
Lisa smiled at him, as she continued to push the towel behind Bray’s shirt, keeping pressure on the wound.
“OH SHIT!” Bray suddenly shouted out.
Looking over at Phyl, Bray noticed a rotting corpse appear in front of her. Bray began to move forward to help her, but was stopped when Lisa grabbed his arm. “She’s fine!”
Bray watching in amazement as Phyl grabbed her meat cleaver and buried it into the zombie’s head. “FUCK OFF! I’M LOOKING FOR MY CAT!” She screamed. The zombie’s body dropped to the ground. Then within seconds the black cat, Lucky appeared and jumped up onto Phyl’s shoulder. She kissed the cat and begun muttering. “Good boy, were those bad men going to hurt you.”
A simple look of shock covered Bray’s face.
“You need stitches.” Lisa told Bray.
Glancing at her Bray replied, “I will be sure to pop down to the nearest hospital right away.”
Lisa was not amused with his sarcasm and slapped his injured shoulder. He winced in pain.
“Then it’s a good thing we have a doctor who can help you then!” Lisa said in a firm voice.
“NO! HE IS NOT COMING WITH US!” Phyl interrupted.
Bray pulled out his blade that was still stuck in the dead man’s leg. “No worries, I am not coming with you anyway.”
