Alone (Book 2): Lone

by Prunty, Mercedes

  Backing away she tried to calm herself down, her nerves were making her feel dizzy and she needed them to help her make the right choices or maybe it was the beer? Making her way towards the third and final door she just hoped this one was melter free, reaching this one she repeated what she had done to the others and listened again she heard nothing, praying to whatever might or might not be looking over her she turned the handle, she paused for a second before throwing it open blade at the ready.

  There was nothing, not a soul in sight. The door was a side exit from the church to a small courtyard and gate which led out onto the graveyard, just through the graveyard she could see the large angel statue with her back to her, just past that were Ricky and his melted friends. She felt like sobbing as she spotted them staggering around wailing and moaning, they didn’t deserve this they were nice people who had only tried to help, what the hell was happening, why was this happening? She had no answers to her questions but she could at least get out of here and see if her family were still alive, she could find out that answer at least.

  Taking a few steps into the graveyard she felt a shiver run up her spine as she passed all the old graves, graves of people who would have no idea what had just rained down on the world around them. She took it slow and steady ducking behind the larger gravestones and keeping low near the smaller ones, she didn’t know how bad Ricky and his melted crew would be but after seeing what had happened to other people who had only been rained on she knew they wouldn’t just want to be friends anymore. She made it across the other side of the graveyard, her heart hammering in her chest. She made sure to avoid large puddles as she thought they might still be lethal enough to melt her feet off if she walked through one, she also kept away from the branches of trees as the dripping wetness melted off the leaves leaving trails of molten bark swirling down to earth.

  At the end of the graveyard was a large metal gate, as she neared it she could see that it was locked tight with chains and a padlock, she didn’t really want to be fumbling with the wet lock just in case, she had to find another way out but how? Everything had been touched by the acid wetness. Glancing around she soon spotted a sort of way out, it was a small curve set into the stone wall like an archway that as she looked she noticed that the archways went around the whole church other than the places where the government had erected the gates to keep people out from the ration stations, this stone curve was a decoration from years ago but was covered up by brambles and other large weeds which gave it a hidden appearance. Again she didn’t want to touch the wet plants but as she grasped her new blade she had an idea, approaching the brambles she hacked down a few of them keeping clear of any splash back, as she hacked away she noticed how the stonework was mostly unaffected by the acid, to her it looked like only living things like human flesh and plant life were affected, the acid only effecting the weaker building materials like single glazed windows but still only managing to etch a small flurry of acid burns in the glass. This gave her hope as she thought about her family at home, safe and sound in there cosy flat, untouched by all this madness.

  Finally she cut through the brambles and peered out the other side, there was nothing other than a small empty side road, no melted people just a couple of broken cars that had been abandoned long ago when the war started and the petrol ran out. She wriggled through taking care not to lean to far down, once through she stood up and glanced one last time at Ricky, wishing there was something she could do but she knew there was nothing. She took off at a slow jog up the road towards where a junction would be that should swing her back round the right way towards her home, it was only about a twenty minute walk or ten minute cycle ride but her bike had been chained up where Ricky was and she thought that too might have been melted down to scrap metal or at least covered in the gory remains of some of his friends and there was no way she was risking seeing them.

  Coming to the junction she froze as a small army of melted people were all standing there frozen in a trance, the one closest to her had its face mostly melted off, its eyes looking in different directions, a hot smell of cooked meat reached her nostrils as she saw how the acid had burned and melted the poor soul along with a small fire that now burned from the building closest to it, now slowly cooking the flesh of the poor human that stood before her. As she took a step back the thing turned its head and sniffed the air around it with what was left of its hideous nose, it had melted into a squashed balled up splat of skin, with two small pin pricks for nostrils now. Then it turned its head towards her and howled a menacing and ear shattering cry of blood lust, then it charged, fairly quickly for a half molten monster. The others had heard its cry and followed it like little lost sheep, they all moaned and wailed into the damp air.

  Monique turned and ran straight up the road knowing it would take her the long way home but she had no choice, her legs pumped fast as the deranged people made their way after her, stumbling and moaning. She turned a corner and saw the street was clear and charged along it full pelt, her lungs taking in the quick gasps of air she needed to keep her moving, then out of nowhere a boy on a pushbike peddled hard round a corner past a shop ploughing straight into her and sending her flying high, she landed hard and smashed her head on the tarmac of the road, stars shimmered in her vision before she blacked out.

  Chapter 4 …

  I took to using one of my dear late sister Tanya’s techniques, I hid Monique in the back seat of one of the more fuller looking cars that had been crammed into a corner of the car park hidden by shadows. I lay blankets that I had found in a neighbouring car over her and placed her bags next to her in the foot well, along with her blade and her gun, if she awoke to find idiots looking at her at least she could put a bullet between their eyes and be done with them. I then closed the car doors quietly and looked around, they shouldn’t really notice this car all the way at the back here but there was that small chance they might but it was a chance that I has to take.

  The men I had seen had said something about a sacrifice to the girl and by girl I presume the one that was chained to the wall in the weird room with the altar upstairs. How would they perform a sacrifice? Hopefully it wasn’t to sacrifice her? But it sounded more a sacrifice to her like they believed she was some sort of god maybe?

  I knew I needed to save Monique but there was something about that girl, I knew I needed to save her too, she was young and vulnerable and needed me. It was if she called to me in the back of my mind, ‘Stacie’, I had a quick mental flash of my mother and her ice blue eyes staring into mine but I flipped the switch and commanded it out of my mind’s eye, I could not be unfocused right now.

  Taking off at a gentle run I followed the way the men had gone no less than twenty minutes ago, they had done a quick patrol of the area, checked over a few cars for parts before vanishing to one of the upper levels. I sent out my feelers but couldn’t feel them close by, it looked to me that they had gone back into the main shopping centre which was where I had to go. I found a set of double doors which would lead me back in to the playground of the weirdo’s, it was darker up here and by the feel of my body clock it must have been getting late. Sneaking through I had a look around to try and get my barring’s of the place, I didn’t recognise any of the shops on this level but it didn’t matter as by having a quick glance at the map on the wall apparently all the floors at some point reach the centre point to go either up or down using lifts and escalators.

  I took to a quick walk keeping only to the darkest of shadows, I made it to the centre point and found the small little staircase with the hanging bodies that would take me back up to the room but just as I was about to walk up something grabbed me from behind and threw me across the hall smashing my shoulder into a metal gate that was down over one of the shops. Jumping up to my feet I came face to face with Albi the albino, his red eyes glowed into mine.

  “What do you want?” he asked.

  “The girl, I came for the girl”, I replied telling him straight.

  Hi
s hands whipped behind his back and he pulled out two long daggers that had beautifully carved blades that weren’t straight but weaved up and down but they looked sharp but then again so where mine if he really wanted to play and mine were a completely different set of daggers, mine were a part of me, “I’m afraid you can’t have her”.

  “I don’t want her, I need to help her”, I said feeling stupid as I said it, those words just didn’t make sense.

  “What?” he sounded confused but like he knew what I meant.

  “You feel it too don’t you?” I asked him.

  “Feel what?” but I could see by his eyes he knew what I meant.

  “Your infected, like me right? And deep in your mind you hear her calling, asking you to keep her safe…Am I right?”

  He nodded slowly, “How’d you know I’m infected?”

  “Because I am and I have been for a long time, I know how to read it, I can feel it”.

  “What do you know about her?” he asked me crossing his arms with his large daggers sitting neatly by either side of his large arms.

  “Not a lot really”.

  “Do you know about her gift?”

  I nodded, “Yes back at the mansion I saw her use it”.

  “Do you know what it is?”

  I shook my head, “No”.

  “TK…Telekinesis…she has been granted the gift of movement using only her mind. She is the one thing that can save mankind from this…disease, she is the gift from the gods, she is our new age Jesus Christ. She needs people that are strong to help her get to where she needs to go. She chose me and I have been keeping a close eye on her, before me it was another guy, Dale and he tried to save her by running away with her but it didn’t work. She chose me because I am infected and a stronger choice not just a human and now it looks like she has chosen you too, because you are infected…but you don’t look… strong”.

  “Don’t judge a book by its cover”, I smiled.

  “I guess not”, but he sounded unsure, like I was a precious little snowflake that might bend and break easily.

  “What do you mean she has to get somewhere to save mankind?”

  He shrugged, “I don’t know, as I’ve gotten closer to her she shows me things in my dreams of a place deep in snow, a hidden land not in Britain, its underground and that’s all I know”.

  “Another country but how and where?”

  He shook his head, “I don’t know but I’m sure we will find out soon enough”, he came forward and held out his hand, “I guess we are a team me and you”.

  I paused before taking his hand, trying to read him but I couldn’t see anything behind those red eyes, I took his hand in mine and shook it hoping to god it wasn’t a mistake.

  My senses flared to life as I could feel a large group of people coming, with his hand still in mine I dragged him into a nearby shop which was open, deserted and covered in gloom. He looked startled and went to use a dagger on me until he heard them approach, his sense of hearing couldn’t be as strong as mine.

  We watched as around eight or nine men laughed and chuckled as they came into view, they were carrying someone, ‘Monique’! But how I had hidden her, why did they have her? I went to jump out but Albi used his dagger and placed it over my chest keeping me from moving, I glared at him in the dark but he shook his head, “They will kill you before you even make it to her, these guys are ruthless and evil. We need to wait till an opportune moment appears before us, she will show us the way”.

  “But she’s my friend”.

  “And you are now mine, we wait”.

  “I ain’t no friend to you, we’ve only just met, we might be on the same team but she is my friend and I need to help her”.

  “Above the help of saving mankind?”

  “I have no idea if what you say is true but she… my friend has a lot of people depending on her”.

  “And so do we, the world depends on us to save it”.

  I was about to hiss something at him but he held up his hand, “Calm friend, we will find a way”.

  We watched as they dragged her up the stairs, I could see she had woken up a little now and was thrashing around trying to get them off her but she was still too ill and too weak to fight them.

  “Where are they taking her?” but I already knew.

  “They are taking her to the girl, she is the sacrifice”, he sounded lifeless as he said it.

  How could I just sit here and let them kill her, I couldn’t! I stood up and went to go after them but he grabbed me trying to stop me, I let out a deep animal snarl and shoved him showing some of that power I kept hidden deep inside me, I had to focus hard not to let my claws come out, that was dangerous territory but the occasional animal strength wasn’t too hard to control. He looked surprised but smiled, “Never judge a book by its cover, well I think I read you wrong. If we go slowly and don’t make too much noise we can make a surprise attack”.

  “Then let’s go, I’m not losing another friend”, I hissed and moved out grabbing my rifle and checking it over.

  “Why the gun?” he asked, “You don’t need it”.

  “It’s so they think I’m human”, I smiled, “Then they will see that I’m not at the opportune moment of course”.

  Together we walked up the small stairs, my skin prickled with a strange sensation as a weird singing and chanting noise hit my brain, it was more of an off key singing of hymns to the gods than a beautiful chant, in the darkness filled with only candlelight it made the shopping centre sound eerie and if I hadn’t been myself I would have crapped my pants and found this all too scary run off and hid but as I was me, the strange animal me, I knew damn right I was most probably the most scary thing walking these halls. But that was before I knew the power I was about to witness.

  The flames of the candles grew brighter as we made our way to the slightly open door where the altar and the girl were hidden inside, I could hear Monique crying out telling them to stop that she was a good person that she could help them but I heard one of the men speak, it was Lucas. “You sinned against our god by stealing from his own hand, you must be punished”. The sound of a whip echoed around the halls and I heard Monique hiss in pain but she didn’t scream, point for her.

  I readied the rifle and so did Albi but with his daggers, I peered in and looked at the weird scene open out in front of me, the girl was still chained to the wall but was slowly coming round from the sedative that had knocked her out. Monique was in the centre of a strange drawing on the floor, it had been drawn from chalk of different colours, it was a pentacle, a star that was mostly used in witchcraft to the best of my knowledge but I was no scholar in the art of the craft. Lucas and all his men stood in a circle around the pentacle, all wearing dark blood red robes with hoods covering their faces casting them in shadows. Monique had been tied to a chair but the wrong way round, sitting with her legs at the back of the chair with her top lifted and her back exposed with neat lines from the whip slicing down her skin.

  My breath was caught in my throat at the scene and I wanted to race in and scream at them but the whole image scared me a little, this was unknown territory but it was fake, their chanting and praying was fake it was all make believe, I was real, Albi was real, the girl who was now wide awake was real.

  Lucas spoke up and I knew which one was him, he held his long sword which had dried blood on it most probably from previous sacrifices on the blade, he also held a whip in the other hand, “The gift has awoken from her slumber, it is now time to initiate the sacrifice and bathe in the blood of the chosen one”.

  Lifting my rifle up I snarled, “I don’t think so”.

  The room hushed and fell into a silence and Lucas and all his shadowed followers all turned to my voice.

  “And just who are you?” he snapped.

  “Remember the girl you thought you killed with the grenade? Well that’s me…”

  He looked surprised and puzzled, “That should have killed you”.

  “A normal person ye
s, but me…I don’t think so pal”.

  His eyes flickered to Albi who stood next to me with his daggers on show.

  “Albi I thought so much better of you”, Lucas smiled, his soul cold and ruthless.

  “The gift from god doesn’t want this Lucas, she is our saviour but this is the wrong way to go about it”.

  “And how do you know this? I am the one who received the premonitions about how to appease her and the gods”.

  “No Lucas you were high on drugs and had a fucked up trip, we are her chosen ones, we are the ones that need to protect her”, Albi cried out.

  Lucas turned to Monique whose face stared at mine, her lips moved but her eyes were lost in thought, “Your dead”, she whispered looking at me, “Stone cold dead, I saw you…”

  “You know this girl?” he asked her.

  Monique still in her trance carried on, “I watched you fall all those floors from the top of the hospital, I saw your broken body, I mourned you and you’re dead”.

  I ignored her words and just stared at Lucas.

  He smiled at me, “Well she seems to think you’re a dead woman walking, let’s prove it shall we”, he lunged forward with the sword and brought it down inches from my face but I didn’t move or flinch I just punched him in the gut and watched him fly into a few of his people, their hoods being dishevelled and revealing who they really were, men, woman but no children, thank god no children, no innocents that might end up killed, just assholes that needed to be killed.

  He coughed up some blood as he stood up, “Well a little stronger than expected but that means you will make a greater sacrifice to the gods, Kill her”. He commanded and all at once his people moved. Most had blades of some sort and all came at me, using my rifle I shot a few down watching as their heads exploded from the pressure of the bullet, when I ran out and had no time to get the extra ammo I smashed a few round the head with the butt end of the gun, one woman’s neck snapped under the force and she crumpled to the floor at the feet of Lucas who I hadn’t seen move up to me. He slashed out his whip which encircled around my wrist springing the rifle from my grasp and it clattered to where Monique sat, her eyes widened at the rifle by her foot and she looked back at me, “It really is you but how?”