The Carnage Trilogy (Book 3): Aftermath [Who Will Be Left?]

by Birch, Matthew

  Screeching to a halt, I stand at the overly large entrance that leads into the empty, main open hanger. Casually strolling into the open battlefield, I make out Callum limping about. He's injured severely, his chest undulated with bullets. Leisurely walking forward, Callum takes deep breaths as he struggles to heal himself, until he senses me...

  Man or monster, it doesn't matter, because we meet at a point so terminal, everything else up until this point in time feels trivial. Callum's at a huge disadvantage in a full-on fight, he knows this, and the horrific look in his monstrously orange, dimly lit crimson eyes show this like a children's book. Then, Callum's extended ears twitch, before sinking into his head. His real attention isn't on me; it is the two humans who watch frightfully. I am not their saviour; they need to learn that once I am done with Callum, I am going to kill them too-

  Dodging the bullet, an iota of pride flows through me-

  This is wrong...

  Chris tried to take the shot; there is nothing wrong with me fully acknowledging the parasite. It speaks to me, tells me I have all the speed, strength and skill I need to kill them all. So shut up, and let me end their miserable lives. Human, monster, I don't care, they all die for what they've done.

  Callum roars, his chest inflating instantly, blowing open into various holes that suck in air before firing all the bullets he had stored inside him?! One hits my arm, and then my stomach, another in my leg, struck in the chest-

  And again, and again-

  Growling, I fall back, doubling over...

  Fuck, he was planning this-

  I have to escape this hailstorm of lead. Leaping up, I am just able to grab onto a nearby railing that overhangs the area on the open second floor. The second floor overlooks the hanger, giving me a moment of respite from the battle.

  Nimble once more, Callum turns back to the two men, his teeth bared openly. Watching from the metal bridge on the second floor, I stand in the centre, hanging over the edge of the railing and following accurately to see how Callum works. How he fights, how his mind takes and processes information, then most importantly, how he acts on it. Callum intends to regain his strength. Is it for his brawl with me? He suspects it. He knows we're not a team, and I desire to win.

  I won't lose...

  The real question here, are the humans. Do I kill them so Callum won't consume them, or do I protect them to remove Callum from his initial plan?

  Chapter 20 - You Don't Need That

  Ed

  27 minutes till the passing

  Fleeing up the staircase at the back of the hanger, Matty curses frantically in Italian when Callum slams himself into the metal bars head first, breaking straight through it and smacking into the wall behind. Chris, being extremely pissed off, guides his boot down on Callum's head, smacking it stubbornly once. Callum, in a daze, spurts up, staggering somewhat as he goes to seize Chris exclusively to be elbowed back into the wall, hand wrapped around his skull, Chris proves he is a mighty human when he smashes Callum's skull into the concrete, reverberating an astoundingly tumultuous fracture through the echoing hanger. I flinch slightly, and my human side shows through. Burying it deep down, I ignore my guilt’s voice. I have to make a choice. The two humans rush across the open second floor. Matty witnesses me gradually walking across the suspended bridge. The last two humans are cut off when I step right in front of them. My choice is still undecided. Kill them, save them, or maybe, consume them just for me...

  Retain your HUMANITY!

  SHUT IT!

  With the last possible weapon they have up their sleeve; Chris pushes the panicked Matty to one side. My eyes don’t lie, Matty holds a submachine gun that he is too scared to use, what a waste. The hard-skinned man with the fibrous attitude has split, and Chris is their immediate and final real fighter. In one hand is an army knife, in the other is a handgun, and with one quick advancement, he creates a brand new advantage point when he slashes my chest-

  Grunting, I take the attack, tanking it. It stings, but it doesn't stop me when I pounce forward, wrestling with Chris, baring my teeth, I lose control, the beast inside comes out when I knock him down and go straight for his neck-

  Then-

  Retain your humanity...

  The guilt speaks in Maya's voice?

  The bulky man beneath me watches me in confusion when I stop, only for him to erupt in pain seconds later, howling in agony when he darts down to his bloody leg-

  Seeing my opportunity, I close the gap, the beast taking over again, and for once I wish I was in control. I don't want this. I just feel so forced to. This isn't me. THIS ISN'T ME.

  Lodged in my heart, the army knife finds its resting place.

  Ears buzzing, heart pounding, I flounder back, standing up as my eyes glance down at the weapon in my heart. Seconds later, a bullet sounds through the room, and everything goes blurry for a second. Taking long pants, I think hard, using my human side.

  Think, don't get reckless.

  When the Carnage had his eyes blown out, he simply made more. He adapted to survive, thus becoming the survival of the fittest in the sense that he found what was best suited to his environment or enemy.

  Taking over, the beast inside sends the red and black streaks of new flesh over my ashen skin, my hand is coated, and with runty effort, the knife pops out as I am covered in a new coat, and my hearts rebuild in different locations, but stronger this time. The broken parts of me are used for scraps. The transition to a stronger body and rebuilding leaves me in a changeover from awake to tired. My energy is spent, and I look up in time at Callum who is holding the side of his neck where several small tentacles emerge, flailing wildly after a bullet had missed his vital cords.

  Chris, leaning against the dented railing, falters as his eyelids continuously close then open, his thigh bleeding from where Callum had bitten him while I was distracted. Chris, glaring, places his final weapon on us. We watch him carefully, wondering who he deems the greater threat. Steadily, the gun's tip shifts slowly from me to Callum?

  A shrill whistling has me and Callum swaying our heads in irritation. Our ears adjusting to the high pitched sound so it doesn't fluster us again. Chris, not realising what is happening, looks down on the lower floor for the reason we are like this. In the open hanger, walking freely is Matty who casually flips us off with a smirk before half-limping to the plane outside.

  Chris, gritting his teeth, seethes in rage at his betrayal. Matty intends to use him as a sacrifice for us two beasts to feast. Callum, recovering quicker after having taken the flesh from Chris, rebuild better, stronger, and faster than I can.

  Kneeling down, I wearily retake the knife as my own weapon, eying up Callum who circles Chris, walking around him like a dog as he hums happily. Notoriously, for the first time, I see Chris's fear shine through the cracks in his toughened mental mind.

  I know what I have to do.

  I must be human.

  I won't be a savage like Callum.

  I won't give in.

  I have a choice.

  I choose to be human. But I retain my abilities because I need them more than I know. So, with the single step forward, and the leap out, I get in Callum's way as he pounces-

  He sinks his teeth into my shoulder-

  Not making a sound, we fly over the balcony, soaring through the air as we fight one another until we hit the ground rolling-

  Callum gains the upper hand, flinging me over his head before booting me backwards-

  I drop my knife, my body aching-

  When another gunshot rings through the air! Chris had taken a shot from above with Matty's weapon. Matty had ditched his submachine gun, and now Callum takes a thrashing defeat from it! Retreating hastily, Callum leaps up and over Chris, before dashing through the open door that leads up to the last place there is - the control towers headquarters.

  Leaping up, I land on the second floor, and with my last bout of effort, I realise-

  My body weakens, my joints give out-

 
; My body can't sustain itself any more...

  Falling forwards, I crawl on my hands and knees for a moment as my body becomes human inside, and the singular heart I have skipped a much-needed beat-

  With the world fading around me, and my senses mashing together as I grow dizzy, I stay on my knees and throw my head back, trying to win the battle of my own life.

  When Chris, reaches out to me-

  Chapter 21 - Thank you

  Ed

  20 minutes until the passing

  What is he doing?

  Lingering on my knees, I blankly follow Chris with my clueless eyes. Beast, human, it doesn't matter, he has all of me baffled. Stone-faced, he tries his stubbornest to maintain a soothing look, and bit by bit he begins to reach out to me, lending me his arm. With a firm nod, he makes his decision fact, and I realise what he is trying to say.

  As a man of honour, despite all he's been through, with those who have passed or betrayed us, he does this now. Nodding back to the newly docile man, I know nothing more is needed than our actions.

  Remember to retain your humanity.

  I have been human this entire time, and this is just a small example of it. Human and beast, we are side by side, his arm outstretched in front of my salivating mouth. I will make good on the promise I made to Maya, I can't lose my humanity, and I just need to tie up some loose ends first. Gently, I take little bites of Chris's arms, nibbling on him like buttery corn on the cob. He's muscular, and well built, making him a delicious snack as his blood fills my cheeks. My teeth try to be delicate, only taking what I need to replenish myself. Not removing his arm nor ripping him to shreds, I take only thirty more seconds at the most before my little refreshing snack is finished. Not a wince of pain is shown from Chris who honestly smiles at me? It's confusing, but I think he realised I am human despite everything. I stalled on biting him, refrained from killing him quicker than I could have done, but most of all, I protected him from Callum.

  I will remember to retain my humanity, I promise you, Maya.

  At last, I finish, moving away and wiping my mouth on my non-existent clothes, my form is the beast now and the beast alone. Though I retain my human side, with my human features shining through, my hair, eyes, face, it is all still me with the deadly twists that show me as one of them. My clothes are sunken into my skin, not that they were used for much in the first place. My body reeks of this new form, but I won't let it control me. The parasite will not be my shepherd, as I am no follower.

  Chris, still bleeding out, glances at the first aid kit on the wall. I nod at him, directing him to stay where he is. Rebuilding, my body takes the sudden rush of adrenaline from consuming the surface of his arm like a drug hit! I feel alive; so much better, the effects of such little consumption make a huge difference to me. The Branded, our small bouts of consumption affect us more than it ever did a normal monster? Why is this...?

  Grabbing the first aid kit, I hold it normally by its handle, walking back towards the smiling Chris. Wearily, his droopy eyes show his exhaustion as he reaches out, his hand taking the first aid kit I offer so politely to him. Facing each other one last time, human and a beast, we touch without any gesturing or words. Not that he could hear me if I tried speaking anyway. We shake hands, his rough, bloodied skin against my hardened Carnage like flesh. This is goodbye.

  Returning the favour for all he has done, I tenderly begin elevating Chris as if he were softer than a stress ball, and by the cuff of his baggy top, I raise him high. Chris reveals that he has no sign of concern as I turn my arm into a stretching tentacle that gingerly lowers him like a rope to the ground flooring of the desolate hanger. Reaching the bottom safely, Chris gives me a thumb up as he holds the first aid kit under his armpit like a lunchbox. Giving one final smile between each other, Chris takes the submachine gun he had been holding in his spare hand the entire time, and carefully limps his way after Matty who clearly doesn't know how to start a plane, though he is making good progress. This is our end; I wish him luck in the world.

  Now, my final fight is with Callum. We have confronted one another on several instances before, and now when we are our most powerful physically, and unprepared mentally, our battle is soon to begin. This fight will be fought between two beasts. One of which has proven to be reckless in the face of danger, with little concern for one's own well-being whilst being as aggressive as possible. Dangerous, but the advantage is that this beast does not think, and thus its intelligence can be overwritten. The other beast is me, while calmer and further in my acceptance of this new form, I won't be as aggressive, and I am still fairly injured. Callum is comparable, though he can utilize these sources of rage to his advantage. So, in this fight, I pick up the two human weapons I feel will prove to be more useful than I know. First, is the army knife that had been previously lodged in my heart, second, is the handgun Chris had left behind? It only has so many bullets left, better make it count.

  No need to rush either, I might as well carefully and casually walk up the long winding staircase. Save the energy, fight better. I am in full control, I know it, feel it, accept it. I won't let the hivemind take me. The parasite shall not guide me. When I near the top, I know at last, that this feral, beast-like side is all I will have left...

  Chapter 22 - Human

  Ed

  15 minutes until the passing

  Hauling my feet up the final step, I squeeze my way through the busted open metal door into the control tower. A large room, ripe with once buzzing machinery, controls, and lights that no longer flash. Still overflowing with chairs, equipment and more where people once worked, a place, where humanity formerly thrived. These times have come and gone - nothing but dust in the wind now as the battles of their own worst creation take their place. Standing on the other side of the room by the large, see-through windows that create a gorgeous viewing of the airfield and beyond, is Callum. Heaving his chest, he rests, the control panel being his seat.

  We won't be fighting at our best, still, that doesn't matter. Our impending battle has come and only one can come out alive. More feral like, he gave into the darkness, the parasitic fucker in his brain has burrowed deep beneath the nerves and tissue, spreading its disturbed influence everywhere as the various tendrils makes itself at home. His feeble mind is just an illusion, he believes he truly has full control, however, I see more than that. I detect merely a beast with a man as its host.

  I myself nevertheless battle with my inner demons; I must rise above at all costs. Gaining the advantages of the parasite whilst maintaining a human form, even if I have to say goodbye to some of the features that made me a human, I won't let the red grime consume my body. I will stay in control, keeping my calm mind in place. I made my promise, and it won't be broken. Collected, like the swaying feather in a cool breeze, I close my eyes for a moment, clearing what voices bash me down inside. I am in control. I will stay in control. I am HUMAN.

  Raising the handgun moderately, yet precisely, I use the last seven bullets as wisely as I can. Every action, movement, and thought could be my end if I am not careful. Cautious, Callum begins circling me like a wolf, he truly is lost. Staying right where I am, implanted on the spot, I let the sights of gun trail closely to Callum's walking pattern. I observed his fighting style, his mind process, how he chooses to kill. I know him better than he knows me. My human mind is smart, courageous, boosted by the body that serves me. Beast against beast, but one of us keeps what makes us human at our core.

  “Look at what we've become...” The words slip ever so tentatively beyond my lips; my own grief squirms its way out of me as the voices merge all into one. The voices in my head, with the voice I speak with, show how disappointed I am with us both. Callum snarls, human speech no longer being a trait of his. It says more than it shows.

  “We are the monsters we fought...” Muttering now, I falter for a moment, body growing weak with doubt at the truth behind everything. How could we become the very thing we hoped to defeat?

  I notice
Callum closing in; he may have found a weak spot. I don't know where, but I can't offer him the chance. Closing up, I become more defensive, backing away slightly. He stops, watching closely, his eyes narrowed. I had a feeling he was searching for a vulnerable position.

  “We need to retain what makes us human... or else we go hollow...” Tears well up behind my eyelids, the water levels’ rising behind a wall, the dam threatens to break. I feel emotion, empathy, regret, compassion, anger, sadness...

  Maya made me promise to keep my humanity. But there is more than just Maya. There was always more than just Maya.

  Chloe, she was like a sister to me, there until the end when I needed her the most. Alice, so small and cute, was full of courage and wit as she proved this world wrong at every turn. Even Joey, so humble, so kind, he was always looking out for the group. Not to mention his niece, Lola, young and naive, but just as intelligent and willing to learn.