Tropical Weird

by Allison J. Wade

  At the end of the hallway there’s a refreshment area with vending machines, on the left the entrance to the cafeteria. It has a back exit from which come in the food supplies for the kitchen. To reach the main entrance of the school building instead, he should turn right, but he knows how that would be stupid. If they are still there, they will control each access.

  However, he doesn’t have the chance to decide where to go, because as soon as he gets to the end of the hallway, one of the men in black comes out from the right.

  He sees him, points his submachine gun, and shoots.

  Sasha has seen him too; he reacts sprinting to the left.

  A bullet hits him in the shoulder. Again that hammer blow.

  Not again, please stop...

  He enters the cafeteria and starts running through the tables, but the mercenary follows him.

  In front of him, more broken bodies on the ground; they’re not students this time, he recognizes some of his teachers.

  Behind him, the bullets whizzing in the air, reaching him to his back, to his thighs; he feels one piercing his buttock, another one cutting off the breath in his throat.

  He stumbles, falls to the ground.

  Combat boots creaking behind him.

  Sasha tries to crawl away, dripping red on the floor.

  A shot to the back of his head turns off the world.

  19. Silence of the Heart

  “Delta One. Ground floor clear.”

  “Epsilon Two. First floor clear.”

  The operation leader has gotten out of the black vehicle in front of the entrance gate; his eyes shielded by a pair of dark glasses, a square and wrinkled face. He has lost a man and that puts him in a bad mood. He always demands the one hundred percent.

  He brings the radio to his mouth and communicates new orders. “Alpha Team, relocate at the main entrances. All other call signs: collect the bodies and move them to the gym.”

  The men proceed. The job is not finished yet.

  Everything happens in complete silence.

  The mercenaries can finally take off their glasses and balaclavas. They uncover sweaty faces, disheveled hair, empty eyes, and pursed lips.

  They still don’t put down their weapons, they keep the submachine guns on their shoulders, in the event that someone has escaped, is hiding somewhere, or is still alive and needs the final straw.

  They already completed a first inspection of the building, but you never know where those damn kids can squeeze in. And making the roll call to almost two hundred and fifty corpses would be quite problematic. Better consider them numbers and count.

  The mercenaries are organized in pairs; one by the feet, one by the arms, they collect the bodies and transport them to the gym.

  The school is already stagnant with the smell of death. Some of them have even pissed their pants. The floor is a mess of red footprints.

  In the silence echoes a gunshot. There was still some who didn’t want to give up.

  The mercenaries raise their heads, they stop for a moment; the silence returns to reign in the building and they resume their thankless task.

  Victor, call sign Delta Two, enters the cafeteria with Delta One.

  They collect Sasha, who is face down in a pool of his own blood. They carry him like a bag of sand. They cross the lobby and the main door, and go out on the back to reach the gym.

  Inside are already stacked numerous bodies, some in the bleachers, others in the middle of the field or on the sidelines. The intent is to make it look like an accident. A fire broke out at a sports event or student assembly. An electrical failure, the panic, the exits blocked by fire, suffocation due to smoke.

  The Future & Hope will arrange the bodies for the funerals, no, no need for autopsy, the Philippine government has already given the green light, no, the bodies are in a terrible state, better keep the coffins sealed. Many condolences to the family.

  They throw Sasha with the others, on a pile of bodies which seems about to collapse. But the dead won’t go anywhere. They just ooze blood and stare at the ceiling with glazed eyes, tossed around like rag dolls, their limbs resting in bizarre positions, old puppets in a landfill.

  One of the mercenaries feels sick; he’s one of the Gamma team that during the operations has been on guard in the courtyard. He leans against the side of the building and throws up in a corner.

  Victor stops next to the threshold. He wipes his forehead. The heat is terrible on that damn island. He feels his comrade retching; he, instead, has just a big black hole in place of his stomach.

  He’s made many dirty jobs in the recent years, but that... that’s the most damn stinking of all.

  And deep in his heart, in the silence, he’s sure that many of them, in the nights to come, will wake up sweaty with those kids’ faces imprinted in their mind.

  There are things that stick on you, and you must deal with them, every time you look in the mirror.

  Delta One gives him a pat on the arm, as if to wake him up from a trance. There is still work to do.

  20. Voices From Elsewhere

  It’s impossible to tell how much time has passed, there, in the dark, suffocated by the mats in the tool shed, holding to each other hard enough it almost hurts. Yu and Aiko, united and inseparable.

  “When we could get out of here?” Aiko’s voice suddenly resonates in Yu’s head, almost shrill, startling him.

  Yu presses a hand over her mouth, whispering. “Shhh. They’re going to hear us. Wait a bit. We’ll get out, I promise.”

  Aiko’s eyes widen in the dark; she removes his hand, whispering too, “I didn’t say a thing.”

  Yu’s fingers linger on her lips, which are motionless, while in his head comes crisp and clear her voice. They will find us, I’m afraid.

  I will protect you, thinks Yu.

  “Oh thank you, my love,” she whispers, this time her lips move, but he hasn’t spoken.

  How could she hear me?

  “I...” he covers her mouth again. Don’t speak. Just think.

  What?

  Yes, this way. I can hear your thoughts.

  Are you serious?

  I am.

  How is this possible?

  I don’t know. I just know that sometimes there are these voices; I thought that the mercenaries were speaking to each other, but no, it’s me. I can hear them.

  And what do they say?

  Not much, they’re tired, tense, they want to go home. Some have bad thoughts, filled with vulgarity. They give me the creeps.

  Aiko hides her head in his chest.

  When will they go away?

  I don’t know, as soon as they have finished.

  Finished what?

  Killing us all.

  She’s trembling, with tears in her eyes. I’m so scared.

  I know.

  They remain close, in silence, trying to listen. Many noises have come from the school building, explosions and distant cries. Yu has heard them echo in his mind, scratching like sharp hooks. Fear, pain, despair.

  But now the noises have subsided; an unreal peace seems to be back. Even though he knows that the mercenaries are still there; he hears their grim thoughts while they carry the corpses. One of them is thinking about his daughter, who is the same age as the students he killed, and lives on the other side of the ocean.

  They’ve finished by now, be patient, my love, soon they’ll leave and we can get away from here.

  Finished? So everyone is really... images, thoughts, words overlap in Aiko’s mind. Dead, deceased, terminated, deleted, erased from the world. They no longer exist. Friends with whom she laughed and joked, people who crowded the hallways, voices, laughter. Everything vanished. And without a reason.

  Why have they done this?

  I don’t know. The mercenaries don’t know, they just follow orders. And their leader is too far away, I can’t hear him. But... Yu stops, stiffens. His heart, which had calmed down a bit, resumes beating faster.

  What?

 
I heard... somebody.

  Who?

  Students. They are alive and nearby.

  Aiko is clinging to his sleeve. “Really?” She forgot she’s not supposed to talk.

  Yu hugs her, suffocating her face in his shoulder.

  Perhaps they can hear me like you do.

  He closes his eyes, trying to tune his mind on those restless thoughts.

  It’s the voice of a girl with an American accent. I want to get out of here, she’s thinking. I want to get off this damn roof, out of this trap and get on the next flight to Alaska.

  Yu tries to reach her. What’s your name?

  Sophie jumps in fright on hearing that sudden and sharp voice. She looks around, but on the roof, hidden among the solar panels, there are only the four of them. “Who said that?”

  “I haven’t heard anything,” whispers Hideo.

  I’m Yu Takaki from class 2A.

  “Where... where are you?”

  Hidden. You are on the roof of the gym, right? There’s four of you? You’re the girl from Alaska. What’s your name?

  Sophie. “How do you know these things? Where are you?”

  “What are you talking about?” insists Hideo, hissing hysterical. “Do you want us to get caught?”

  Sophie, you don’t need to speak, I can hear your thoughts.

  There’s no time for this kind of jokes.

  It’s not a joke.

  Sophie, instinctively, clings to Hideo’s arm.

  An inexplicable feeling is making its way inside of her; that tingling is back, that feeling of almost fainting... and then she’s out, in the jungle, running, free. From a distance she can see the blue ocean.

  We’re getting out of here.

  Section E

  Is There a Freedom?

  21. Obstacle Course

  He opens his eyes; his body is feeling again the tingling of consciousness. It takes him a while to focus. He’s lying on something soft, in an uncomfortable position. He touches with his hand and finds the fabric of a skirt, the thigh of a girl. She’s cold.

  It’s only then that Sasha realizes he has been thrown on a pile of bodies. Acid reflux rises from his stomach; he puts a hand on his mouth to prevent vomiting. He tries to understand where he is.

  He looks around and finds the familiar architecture of the gym, the high ceiling with the iron structure, the wooden bleachers, but now it looks like a battlefield. The corpses are everywhere, almost the entire school body, slaughtered by bullets, smeared with blood; the acrid smell stagnates in the air.

  If this is not Hell, I don’t know what it is.

  Don’t move, two mercenaries are coming. A voice from the strange accent echoes in his mind, overlapping to his thoughts.

  “Who...?”

  Don’t speak, pretend to be dead.

  Who’s talking?

  My name is Yu Takaki, from class 2A, and I can read your thoughts.

  What nonsense is this? thinks Sasha, but immediately comes to his mind that is even more absurd the fact he was shot to death, twice, and has woken up without a scratch. Always assuming that he’s not in Hell.

  Footsteps approaching. His friends creaking boots are returning. Sasha lies dead weight on the pile of corpses, holding his breath and his disgust; he feels the pelvic bones of the girl under him. On another occasion, he would find it exciting. Probably.

  The two mercenaries dump another body, in silence, they turn away again; the voice in his head continues to speak. There are other survivors on the roof, I will let you out, I have a plan.

  What plan?

  I’ll explain everything. There is a window on the back of the gym, in the locker room, do you think you can reach it without being spotted?

  I think I’ll try, responds-thinks Sasha. He turns his head slowly, opens one eye to examine the situation.

  The main entrance is wide open; he can see a couple of men in black placed outside. He must not make any noise, that’s for sure.

  I’ll tell you when to move, comes to his aid Yu.

  Go now. Quietly.

  Sasha rolls to the other side of the stack, so it will be harder to see him; he begins to crawl on the floor. The entrance to the locker room is at the center of the bleachers, opposite to the main entrance.

  Sasha makes his way through the bodies like in a military obstacle course. He thinks back to the bullets that hit him, to the painful sensation breaking his spine, to the blood, all that blood. How can I still be alive?

  Stop! Yu’s sharp voice startles him. It’s as though someone had thrown a bucket of cold water on him. They’re coming.

  Sasha freezes on the spot, pretending again to be dead. I’m good at playing dead if they brought me this far believing I was a corpse, he thinks; even Yu hears him, but he lets his mind wander, without interfering, now focused only on the thoughts of the mercenaries, to guess their movements.

  Sasha listens. Approaching footsteps, the sound of something thrown on the floor dead weight, footsteps going away. Bye bye rubber soles.

  Ok, now you can go.

  Sasha gets up again, takes a breath, and resumes crawling.

  22. I Will Love You Until My Last Breath

  Here’s my plan, transmits Yu to the minds of the survivors.

  Fah is still in shock, unable to comprehend how is it possible for someone to talk inside his head, but if Hideo believes it, then it’s okay. In the end it’s almost funny. Aruna instead holds Sophie’s hand firmly, as if she was her last belay. She’s scared. All of them are scared, even though there are those who try to hide it. But it can’t be helped when you’re shaking like a leaf in the wind.

  The students on the roof follow Yu’s direction and, walking on all fours, get near the ladder. Hideo takes courage and looks down.

  The school boundary wall is about thirteen feet away, in front of them. At that point, the back yard forms some kind of corridor. To the left is the corner of the gym, then the path expands, creating an open space where the vans supplying the cafeteria usually stop. The men who are placed at that entrance are indeed covered by the corner wall and can’t see them. This doesn’t mean they’re deaf, anyway.

  The secondary gate is on the left end, it’s open and there are two men on guard.

  It’s suicide, thinks Hideo. Why can’t we just wait until they are all gone?

  They’re going to burn down the gym, says Yu, cold. It’s our only chance.

  Hideo sighs. All right, all right. He watches the others who make a nod. We are ready.

  It’s time to go.

  Yu hold tight his Aiko, surprises her with a deep kiss. You stay behind me and be ready to run with the others.

  But you...

  Don’t worry for me, I’ll be fine. You just run, Ok?

  She wipes her tears in her shirt. Okay. But she’s scared. So scared.

  Yu’s hands caress her, as if it were the last time. A sentence reaches her mind loud and clear.

  I will love you until my last breath.

  Yu breaks away from her and cautiously crawls out of their hiding place, paying attention to stay low, so that no one can see any movement from the windows.

  He takes one of the mats and puts it vertically next to the entrance, then hides behind it, a baseball bat in his hand.

  Please don’t be a stupid plan, he thinks, to no one in particular. Then focuses his mind on one of the mercenary guards.

  Hey, you!

  “Who’s there?” replies Alpha Two aloud, pointing his submachine gun.

  “What’s the matter?” asks his comrade.

  Come and get me.

  “Haven’t you heard that?”

  “Heard what?”

  “A boy.”

  “Are you hallucinating? Maybe it’s a heatstroke.”

  I’m in the tool shed.

  “In the tool shed.”

  “In the tool shed what?”

  “There’s someone. Stay here, I’ll go take a look.”

  “Whatever,” Alpha One stays in plac
e, looking around, but everything seems quiet.

  Alpha Two instead, holding the MP5 tight in his hands, approaches the shed. The door is ajar, it was left this way by his comrade who has previously searched the area but found nothing.

  He turns on his flashlight and pushes the door slightly. The beam pierces the shadows, showing gym tools and dust.

  He takes a few steps inside.

  Don’t miss don’t miss don’t miss...

  Yu comes out of hiding and hits the mercenary to the back of his head. The man is knocked unconscious.

  Now!

  Let’s Go!

  Go go go!

  23. Accumulation of Grief

  It’s the crucial moment, they all move.

  First the students on the roof, who jump on the ladder; rushed moments, twelve feet covered in a breath.

  Sasha gets out through the window of the locker room.

  The five of them gather behind the gym. They look around. There is no one apart from the mercenary to the gate. They mustn’t be noticed. Fast and silent.

  It’s Yu’s turn to create a diversion.

  He grabs the mat, oversteps the body of the unconscious mercenary – perhaps he’s not too unconscious, perhaps he will wake up, perhaps he will chase him – too many doubts and there is no time to think about them.

  He sprints out, using the mat as a shield. He shouts out his battle cry, like a samurai. The adrenaline pumping in his blood, destroying the fear and making him feel a hero.

  Aiko is behind him.

  Alpha One sees and hears – who couldn’t? – the boy screaming behind the blue screen; he has no hesitation nor questions. He points the gun, pulls the trigger.

  A spray of bullets pierces the foam.

  The other five run from the side, reaching the gate. They pass through the opening.

  The mercenary sees them, turns, fires.

  Quick movements, thoughts that overlap, I have to call for backup, they should’ve heard shooting, they’ll come. “They’re running away, damn it!” yells the mercenary while firing at those moving spots.

  Yu is still advancing with his mat, but he stopped screaming. He’s out of breath. He’s staggering. He spreads drops of blood along the way. After a few steps, he collapses to the ground.