This Is the End: The Post-Apocalyptic Box Set (7 Book Collection)

by Craig DiLouie

  Anyway, I stood on a chair and pushed the ceiling tile to the side. With the rope in one hand, I tossed it over a steel beam. The end came back to my other hand, and by that time I could hear them coming. The private elevator dinged a single tone. Footsteps in the marble foyer. If I had more time, who knows? I might have reconsidered. But I didn’t. I tied a knot at the top underneath the beam and took the other end and twisted it around my neck. I wasn’t schooled in the knot-tying, Boy Scout bullshit, so I triple looped it just to make sure it wouldn’t give. I remember standing on the chair with that noose around my neck, and I was laughing. Maybe it was the absurdity of it all, or maybe I had lost my mind by that point.

  “The door to the waiting room slammed against the wall, which meant the raid was seconds from reaching me. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes and leapt off the chair. I think they came through at the same time, because I remember someone shouting and I felt hands grasping my legs. But they were too late. Those knots held better than they were supposed to because they snapped my neck.”

  Samuel stopped walking and turned to face Major. He shook his head and coughed. “Is that all you remember?”

  Major shook his head. “I remember waking up at the foot of a tree. I remember looking around and seeing other ropes hanging from branches and dangling next to streamers of yellow caution tape.”

  “You woke up here, in this place?” Samuel asked.

  “Not far from your swingin’ tree, my friend. But it wasn’t my first rodeo. I quit counting how many times I’ve dropped from that cursed tree.”

  Chapter 9

  Samuel peered down the path at the Barren. He saw three cabins. Although not identical to the two he already discovered, they looked the same.

  Major led them through towering trees and into the valley. He had gone quiet since finishing his story, and Samuel wondered if the retelling put an emotional drain on the old man. Major looked over his shoulder as he walked, measuring the pace of the cloud as it approached from the west.

  Samuel could see two people at the Barren, but they were still too far away for him to make out features. The shapes appeared to be gathering things off the ground.

  “A week, maybe two.”

  The comment caught Samuel by surprise. He stopped walking and shifted his weight to one hip, waiting for Major to elaborate. When he didn’t, Samuel spoke.

  “Until the cloud arrives? Until this, uh, reversion gets here?”

  Major didn’t answer. He kept maneuvering down the path, stepping over jagged rocks and debris, trying not to twist an ankle in the process.

  Samuel followed Major. As they approached the Barren, the shapes began to take form, a man and a woman. He noticed the eyes first. It wasn’t their gazes so much as the hurt behind them. Samuel shivered and felt an ache in his heart. The woman appeared to be in her twenties, thin yet magnetic. He imagined she was once an actress or possibly a singer. She had scraggly, black hair that hadn’t been washed in days. Remnants of makeup were brushed across her face in random places. Eye shadow ran down her cheeks like cracks in a porcelain cup. She held her lips together, creating the single line of her mouth. The woman’s pointy nose sat in perfect symmetry with the rest of her face. Samuel flushed, realizing he had been staring longer than was socially acceptable. He looked at the ground and then back up at the woman—this time, his eyes locked on her neck. Underneath her jaw and across her collarbone was a diagonal black bruise. The discolored skin made a line toward her heart, and the bruise looked recent, but not fresh.

  The man stepped in front of the woman and broke Samuel’s gaze. He sneered at Samuel and shook his head. “Who’s this?” he asked, directing his question at Major.

  Major walked up and placed a hand on the man’s shoulder. He smiled. “It’s speeding up, Kole.”

  The man shook his head and nodded his chin toward Samuel, who stood behind and to the right of Major.

  “Find him in Aokigahara?”

  “Yeah,” Major said. “He landed in the Sea of Trees, like the rest of us.”

  “We don’t need his help,” Kole said.

  The woman stared at the top of the path, through Samuel, as though he didn’t exist.

  “Posturing,” Major said. “He’s trying to act like a tough guy.”

  Samuel watched as Kole put his hands on his hips. His dark, rich hair crept far enough down on his forehead that it could have been fake. He wore a tattered, white T-shirt that accentuated the taut muscles underneath. A black belt fastened black jeans on his slender waist. Black leather completed the outfit. A sleeve of tattoos full of cryptic symbols and half-naked women circled his right arm, and a needle track ran up his left. The top three punctures sat atop a blue, swollen vein that oozed pus. Two red lines bisected both of his earlobes where earrings once hung.

  “We’re wasting time. Did you find anyone who can slip?” the woman asked Major, indicating Samuel could not be the man for the job.

  “I was hoping someone else would here, at the Barren.”

  “Well, nobody’s here but us,” Kole said. He kicked at the dirt with the toe of his boot.

  The woman stepped past Kole and Major until she stood face-to-face with Samuel. He caught a whiff of vanishing fragrance, masked by natural body oils, and then it scuttled off, leaving the vacant emptiness of this place with its silent stillness. He felt her eyes latch onto him again, and he could not turn away. Samuel’s mouth went dry, and he felt a tingling in his feet.

  “What’s yer name?” she asked.

  “Samuel.”

  The woman nodded. “I’m Mara. That charmer over there is Kole.”

  Samuel dropped his head to Mara and then turned to look at Kole.

  “He’s a dick. You’ll get used to it.”

  Kole glared at Mara. “Fuck you,” he said. “And fuck you.” He pointed at Samuel.

  Major laughed, tossing his head back and grabbing his abdomen with both hands.

  “Kids, kids, stop. You’ll have time for your schoolyard scraps tonight. For now, we need to get our supplies in order. Kole, make sure we have enough wood. You know how hard it is to maintain a fire here. Mara, get the gruel going. I think it’s been days since Sammyboy here ate, and he’s going to start feeling it soon.”

  Kole waved a hand at Mara and Samuel. He shuffled past the cabin and toward the edge of the tree line.

  “Whatever you say, old-timer. Apparently someone put you in charge when we weren’t paying attention.”

  Major smiled and put his arm around Samuel. Mara turned and headed into one of the cabins, shutting the door behind her.

  “You and I need to examine some things, see if we can punch a hole in this place. Based on the speed of the death cloud over there, we’re running out of time.”

  Samuel shook his head, trying to use the physical motion to make sense of the situation. After several more attempts, he realized it wasn’t working.

  “We have to get out of here,” he said.

  Major turned and looked at the cloud, then toward the cabin with Mara, then beyond the path to where Kole was picking up firewood.

  “Without a doubt,” he said.

  ***

  Major poured the steaming liquid into a filthy clay mug, where it bubbled with a light froth.

  “Drink,” he said to Samuel.

  Samuel sniffed the mug and wrinkled his nose. “A hint of licorice?” he asked. “I hate licorice.”

  “It’s one of the few things in this place you’ll still taste. That’s gotta be better than a colorless, bland drink.”

  Samuel shrugged and sipped. The tea burnt his lip and caused him to inhale.

  “I want you to try something,” Major said.

  Samuel set the mug on the table. He looked through the greasy window of the cabin and saw Kole and Mara arguing with each other. Mara thought they should be cautious with Samuel while Kole agreed with Major’s plan of testing Samuel’s abilities in the reversion.

  “What are they doing?”

&nb
sp; Major grabbed Samuel’s right wrist with his left hand. “I need you try something.”

  Samuel nodded.

  “There’s a man who might be trapped in the ether. It’s a nowhere place, a void. He might have the ability to punch a hole in this place.”

  “Slip.”

  “That’s right,” Major said. He let a smile creep into the corners of his mouth.

  “We can slip into another place. That’s not to say we escape the existence and go home. That might be lost forever. You know that, right? Mathematically speaking, odds are you’ll never see that place again.”

  “Now you’re a statistician?” Samuel asked.

  Major released Samuel’s wrist and rocked back on his chair. “When you’ve sat at as many table games as I have, you get to know the odds.” Major continued, not allowing Samuel the time to respond. “This guy may be able to punch the hole if he’s not damaged.”

  “Damaged like us?”

  Major laughed.

  “Yeah, like that. Let’s hope he doesn’t swan dive from the top of a skyscraper or shove the end of a shotgun in his mouth. That’s what I call damaged.”

  Samuel looked at Major, not sharing in his lighthearted giggles.

  “Is this hell? Are we dead?”

  “Depends on how you define ‘hell’ and what you mean by ‘dead’,” Major said.

  Samuel fought to remain focused on the conversation. He felt like his head was buzzing with thoughts he couldn’t quite catch.

  “What do you want me to try?” he asked.

  Major raised one hand and let it fall to the table. “I almost forgot.”

  He turned as Kole entered the cabin, followed by Mara. They stood shoulder to shoulder and leaned against the cabin wall. Major looked at them, and then back to Samuel.

  “I’m going to put you in someone else’s head and see if you can get out. You good with that?”

  “He’s a fucking newb,” Kole said.

  Mara was shooting Kole red-hot daggers. She pushed a lock of hair behind one ear. “Give him a chance,” she said.

  Major looked at Kole and Mara, waiting in silence for them to finish their verbal sparring. “Are you ready?” he asked Samuel.

  Samuel nodded. Major looked at his clothes, his eyes pausing on the silver charm resting on Samuel’s chest. He wanted to yank it and run, testing the amulet himself to see if it was the talisman that would get him out of the reversion. But Major knew he had to let Samuel prove he could slip before he made a play for the talisman.

  “Close your eyes,” he said to Samuel. “If you get in deep shit we’ll yank you back.”

  The cabin disintegrated and the accelerated rush of lights filled Samuel’s vision. He looked up and to the right and saw the reflection of his own eyes, but they were not his. He noticed large red eyebrows on pasty skin and touched a finger to a widow’s peak that retreated back toward thinning, red hair tainted with gossamer strands of silver. His hands gripped the steering wheel of an Italian sports car as it blew past the other cars in the right lane of the expressway.

  Samuel looked to his left and was met with a darkened reflection of someone else’s body. It appeared to be mid-forties, paunchy and pampered. The silk tie sat askew on his collar, while a diamond stud penetrated his left ear. The whine of the engine caught Samuel’s attention as the speedometer pushed past ninety-five on the gauge. Rain fell in large, loud drops and obscured the dividing line on the pavement.

  “Death wish,” Samuel said.

  Major looked at Samuel, his eyes closed and his palm wrapped around the ignition key with the blood draining from his fingers.

  “Do you know where you are?” Major asked.

  “In a car, on a highway.”

  Before Major could reply, a force snapped Samuel back into the shell occupying the driver’s seat.

  He saw the glow of brake lights ahead, like the eyes of angry monsters. Samuel caught a glimpse of the approaching off-ramp in the interval between windshield-wiper swipes. He guided the car onto the shoulder amidst the sound of horns trailing off behind him. Samuel turned the wheel to the left and pulled his foot off the accelerator, bringing the car into a controlled fishtail on the rain-slicked pavement. He pushed the flashy BMW to its limits. He snapped the wheel into the turn and straightened the vehicle out as it approached a congested intersection trapped within four walls of suburban, strip-mall hell.

  “Running it into a wall or bridge?” Kole asked.

  Major shook his head. “No. He’s headed somewhere. The driving is reckless, but that’s the emotional state. He has other plans.”

  Samuel felt the car lurch as he downshifted from second to first gear. His breathing felt shallow and rapid as the adrenaline heightened his senses. He followed the flow of traffic while checking his rearview for flashing lights. It would be miles before they caught up, and even then they wouldn’t know which exit he had taken. Samuel made several turns, until he passed the sparkling new sign for Golden Meadow development. Samuel slowed down and drove through the gate and into the private community.

  He turned through several streets designed after the old, inner-ring suburbs of the twentieth century, complete with tree lawns, sidewalks and street lamps. Samuel spun the wheel into the slick, wet asphalt driveway at 1329. His plump finger reached up to the sunshade and punched the button that opened the double-car garage. Samuel pulled the car into the silence so the rain could no longer pummel the roof. With the car’s engine idling in neutral, Samuel hit the button again, which dropped the garage door behind him.

  He sat in the front seat as the song on the CD player came to an end. Samuel let the song fade before hitting the power button. As if in cosmic alliance, the overhead light of the garage-door opener clicked off, leaving him blinded by the reflected rays coming from the car’s headlights. He slammed that button too, sitting in complete darkness. Samuel’s ears adjusted as he heard renegade raindrops crashing into the steel roof of the garage, while the engine continued to idle in neutral.

  Mara stood behind Samuel with her arms crossed while Kole stared at Major. Both of them were becoming agitated with Major’s test of Samuel, what he called a “test slip.” As long as Samuel had a talisman, he would be able to invade the soul of another in a different universe—and those in the reversion with him could watch it as if the entire experience was being broadcast over closed-circuit television. A test slip was temporary but the effects were not. Although nobody but Major saw this happen in a prior reversion, he made it clear that dying in the inhabited soul during a test slip meant dying in the current reversion as well. This was a dead-end in the cycle, not an escape from it. For Kole and Mara, losing Samuel during Major’s test would mean the end of any hope. Major knew it as well but he had to be certain Samuel could return on his own.

  “He can’t do it. I told you he can’t. Pull him out,” Kole said.

  Mara looked at Samuel and then to Major. “Kole’s right. Pull him before it’s too late. You know he can slip.”

  Major shook his head. “No, I need to know if he can get back on his own.”

  Mara huffed. “No you don’t. That doesn’t matter. Pull him.”

  “I’m not watching this,” Kole said. He opened the door and walked from the cabin into the eternal dusk of the locality.

  “Do it or I’ll cut him right now.”

  Mara pulled a knife from her hip and placed it on Samuel’s throat.

  “Is that a threat?” Major said.

  “Yes,” Mara said.

  Major rubbed a hand on the stubble covering his chin. He chuckled and shook his head.

  “I woulda spanked your ass back in the day. Taught you some manners, missy.”

  Mara opened her mouth slightly, hesitated, then closed it. She narrowed her eyes without taking them off Major.

  “Go,” he said with the wave of a hand. “Go in and pull him out of there.”

  Samuel felt his head become lighter, as if he were swimming in ether. He turned the CD player on again
and it kicked back around to the first track. Samuel felt the guitar waver through the air and he reached out, almost touching the notes. The engine ran with a smooth, steady purr.

  Samuel tilted his head back until it struck the headrest. He looked at the dull reflection of this other body in the driver’s side window. He saw the eyelids drooping and felt a heavy sleep pushing him down into the leather seat. Samuel blinked and closed these eyes. He could feel the sounds of the car slipping away in the distance, surrounded by the comforting silence.

  He felt the car shake and opened one eye. Another shake came along with a muffled thump.

  “Samuel.”

  He opened both eyes, and a shiver ran across his neck and down his spine. A woman stood on the other side of the glass, pounding it with the meat of her fist. Her jet-black, shoulder-length hair fell across her face. Thin eyebrows narrowed and came together at the top of her thin, pointy nose. Samuel followed the lines of her high cheekbones.

  “Samuel.”

  This time he heard it clearly and knew the woman called his name. He searched in his mind for her name but couldn’t unlock the mystery. Samuel’s mouth was dry, and a dull ache grew from the back of his head, coming forward like a storm cloud.

  “Mara?” He heard himself ask.

  She smiled and said one word. “Duck.”

  A second later, a red brick crashed through his window. Mara took a step forward, reached through the gaping hole and unlocked the power doors. She took another step forward and yanked open the door. Samuel sat there with a grin, amused at the amount of activity around him. Mara turned the ignition off with one hand and slapped the button on the garage door opener with the other. Cool, moist air flooded the garage, and the carbon monoxide oozed into the night. She reached down and released the seatbelt holding Samuel tight.

  “C’mon. Let’s go.”

  Samuel tilted his head sideways like an old drunk. He grinned again and slapped one knee.

  “Not sure how I got here, but thanks for helping me out.” He slurred the words at her.