Holding up my open, floppy hand, I wave, a part of me hoping he can see as I weakly grin. Bit by bit, the plane becomes but a speck in my view. All’s well that ends well I guess?
A drony voice drabbles out a exceptionally incoherent version of my name through the bubbles of his own blood. Shaking my head, I traverse the damage done from the battle atop the control tower, where I pass the mushy Callum on the floor. Frail and dying, however he still breathes, living long enough to ask me a single question.
“Is my daughter alive?” He urges me to answer him because that is all he cares about. He loves her, and now with the loss of our battle, his human side comes back.
Shrugging my shoulders, I continue to limp by. “I hope so mate...” Out-loud, I make my voice known as I walk towards him, his eyes becoming sad as I raise my foot and trample on his half crushed skull, ending its thinking and thoughts so that he may live in peace at last. It doesn't end there; vibrations rattle through the ground, and in the far off distance, climbing over the main airport building, is the Carnage. So much older and frail, he miserably drops down the other side, casually making his way towards me.
So I suppose I have one final fight, don't I?
No, this is different from Valbury port. The Carnage can't even pull his own weight. As his thundering footsteps grumble through the airfield, I know he comes civilly. I am going to openly choose to ignore that son of a bitch. Instead, the shimmering arrays of the sun on the ocean invite me forwards. Continuing with my staggering, I make one final effort as I choose my resting place at the surrounding beaches that coat the piece of land the airport was constructed on. I want to rest by the ocean like I did at home on a warm summer’s day...
Chapter 24 - The Passing
Ed
Collapsing onto the rocks of the beach, I let out a piddling gasp from the impact on my worse than wear skin. Groaning, I sit up ever so slowly, looking to my side where a steep, sandy hill descends into the ocean's edge. Smooth, the waves crash into the floor blandly. Sounds of waves falling, sloshing onto the ground, it soothes my soul. Standing up, I take in the sight, it is beautiful...
Easily stepping over the bars separating the beach from the airport with a grunt, his joints clicking as his body truly grows old now; the Carnage stands beside me, the two of us enjoying the view of the sun on the deep blue sea.
“Am I the last one?” The words slip past, and I offer no more than a stoic, dead tone towards the person who ruined my life.
Taking a breath, the Carnage's chest rattles as he talks. “No, three of your friends escaped in the north...”
So, three of my friends escaped... That could be anyone. I think the real question, is why are we doing this impotent ordeal? It's boring, and I want to see it ended.
“Good, now, are we going to fight?” I question him, and then patiently wait for his reply. Instead, the Carnage stifles a hearty laugh, it’s honest, and he fumbles his way down the steep sand hill like a fool, almost tripping over his own feet! Grinning, I wipe my own amusement away and replace it with a smug look. I must stand strong against the devil humanity created. Instead, he does not prove to want to battle me, as he preferably drops down onto the sand near the ocean's edge, letting his feet glide into the water that meets him half-way. The large beast is so carefree.
What in the world is he doing?
“No, I have fulfilled my ambition”
“And what's that?” Odd, my heart yearns to understand him? Though my gut doesn't trust him, and I am annoyed, to say the least, I won't ever yield to him, I'll say that much.
“I dreamt of surviving... Finding a way to live longer...” The Carnage says, still staring out over the ocean.
“And you're achieving this how?” I ask, sitting down cross-legged on the sand, staring out over the sea.
“Please do understand that I don't want to end humanity. I never wanted any of this. I made mistakes the same way humans do, and I suppose, inevitably, I ended up doing the same. Total annihilation of all life...” The Carnage explains like an old man who misses the past, choosing to openly learn from it rather than abstain entirely.
“I'd be misunderstood, the outside world would never take me, nor would they listen. I don't blame them. Though, I hope you listen...” The Carnage briefly talks about the ignorance of humans, before directing the question to me. Then, I realise-
“You left those marks, the branding, on some of us because you wanted to see who would be strong enough to survive...” I piece the story together without much prompting, no clues are needed either.
Nodding, the Carnage continues without interruption. “I didn't expect just one of you to be left...” He admits to me, a tone of, disappointment?
“And this is a problem?” Scowling, I refrain from saying something I'll regret. If he can be so civil, so can I.
“Well, I had expected teams to be formed. Alas, it was you, against Callum...” Trailing off, he seems lost in thought at past events.
I say nothing, awaiting him to continue. I have no words worth saying, so I say nothing at all.
“Please, let me apologise for any hardship I have put you though, Ed,” He says, giving me a chance to speak.
“I don't accept it,” I say, throwing it back in his face. Just because he can talk and be all nice doesn't make him redeemed of his previously committed atrocities.
“If it makes things better, I offer you this, the chance to make things right...”
Now he has my attention, like seriously, what could this gentle giant possibly be running his gob about now? I'm starting to wonder if his old age is driving him nuts. Regardless, he is sincere to the heart humans created for him.
“I cannot survive; my lifespan is out of my control. All humans think of immortality or question it, whether they would accept it if offered I don't know...” He goes off on tangents, though his well-raised questions do probe a certain erudite part of my mind. I won't digest his thoughts, as there are more important matters to attend to. As such, he continues. “I am offering myself; the hivemind no longer needs to exist. It is too difficult to control, and when beings such as you become stronger than me, it is futile to try and fight back...”
“And you're saying what exactly?” Nervous, I try to hide my worry, as I really can't figure out what he is trying to tell me.
“Isn't it obvious enough, you simple human, I am going to let you consume me, and thus you will have the true power of the Carnage!” With a slight jousting to his pride, he beats his chest twice with one arm, letting off a tame patting sound that resembles a gorilla slam. He is still mighty, but not so much now with the abilities I have.
“Look, I mean no offence; I never want to look like your ugly mug” Earnestly, I make my statement, only for him to laugh? To be honest, I laugh too, it's nice, and I feel like for the first time I can truly be at peace with someone. No worry, grief, paranoia...
It's nice to be with someone who understands...
“You won't have to. You will take the form of whatever you choose. With the full power of the parasite, with your mind that has mastered it, you could potentially be impossible to control, or even properly stop...” The Carnage fades for a second, ostensibly happy?
Giddy, I lift a nearby, lone stone, and with the lightest of throws, I toss it as far as the eye can see, its splash being nearly invisible. “So, I've been chosen, I've survived the branding, now what do you expect to achieve from this?” I continue this discussion, trying to receive as much knowledge as possible before he passes away.
To be fair, I am not sure how I feel about all this...
“As I said, you will be gifted powers beyond yourself. My body, abilities, and mind will be yours for the reckoning; however, can you keep a promise?” Now, with the speaking of a promise, the Carnage goes into the territory of human moral and goodness. It's a strange topic, to think about the things that I left behind. “I know words are words, but you are a good human and kept your humanity as I wanted...”
I
see what he is saying. I suppose, when all the ends meet, I retained my humanity. Looking away, I face the reality and give into his teachings and gift. “I'll do it for her...” I try to speak clearly, but I can't stop the mumbling as my mind wonders to the woman I loved...
Smiling, the Carnage starts searching for his own stone, sadly his hands are too massive to grasp one, and I feel bad for the giant who frowns at his own form. “Please stop the Organisation from ever coming back, and to never destroy, infect, or control humanity. Maintain the island; protect it, as the Organisation will want what is theirs...”
“And you want this because?” I pry further, learning all the most intricate of details.
“As we speak Ed, the Organisation continues to crumble...” The Carnage answers with another question in a way. “I just want you to show the world what bad people have created...”
Feeling bold, I make a point. “So, if, I say no, then what?”
Grumbling, the Carnage shifts uncomfortably. “We both die”
Raising an eyebrow, I focus on the sea instead of him. I wonder why we would both die. I'm not angry, trust me, I'm far from it. I just don't understand.
“The Branding will kill you eventually. Your human form will crack under its weight, metaphorically speaking that is. Just know that your body wasn't designed for the changes that come with being a new me. Callum's mind gave in, his brain becoming one with the hivemind; however, he was uncontrollable because of his power...”
So, in a sense, Callum could sustain the form because he gave in. I am merely left with no choice then. If what he said is true, and I bet it is, then I am lost if I refuse. He has planned this, and a part of me dislikes him for it and I think he does too. Then again, why would I say no? What he says deserves to be put through to the world, unfortunately, he cannot do that himself.
“I understand... The more I am in control, and the longer I have these powers, the more I unlock them, instead of accepting them, my body will die...” Repeating back to him more or less what he had just said but in simpler, easier phrasing, I am rewarded with a feisty clapping. Our dulling conversation is ended when the Carnage laughs once more, smiling at me like a living hoodwink.
“I will do what has to be done... I promised everyone who died for me to get this far that I would never give up. I'd never surrender...” As I tell the tales of my past and my drawn out choice to accept his offers and gifts, I truly realise that upon the fragility of human morals and basic words, that I will keep his promise.
“Thank you, Ed...” The Carnage breathes my name heavily, a certain weight to it that shows the burden of his dying form. “The passing will begin when you are ready...”
The Survivors
Behind a glass screen, the one-way mirror sows deceit at its unadulterated finest. Licking his lips, the man behind the mirror prepares his vocal cords as his finger glides over the button. This button, when his index finger delicately presses itself upon it, unlocks the feature to release his voice through the conveniently placed microphone. One by one, he lists their details with the information he has available.
“Chloe Jesse Smith, born and raised in England, age twenty-one-” He says, checking over the information he was provided. Her entire life is at his fingertips, he knows everything from where she went to school to her favourite food that she'd post about on social media. Moving on, he wastes no time in identifying the next person in the room.
“Alice Joyce Ray, born in Spain, raised on the Resort, age seventeen” Prying into the next person's details, he rips into the new information he is given at a moment’s notice.
“Lola Ziegler, born and raised on the Resort, age fourteen” With the final person listed, and their details exposed without consent, he continues to proceed by declaring, “Please notify me if I have made any mistakes” His question is posed, and no one dares answer.
The three woman in the steel box have been specifically placed in different locations, spaced out, tied down tight to a chair with handcuffs to keep them in place. Clean, fresh, angry, irritated, they scratch at their bounds, eager to be free.
“Your test results have come back positive. You are not carriers, so you are safe-”
Calm, polite, Chloe makes her voice heard. “May I know whom I am speaking to?” She asks nicely.
There is silence for a moment, and the hushed chatter behind the mirror ends when the man presses the button and states, “That is classified”
Grumbling, Chloe sinks in her seat, watching as the two girls grimace from their spaces in the room. Politely, but exasperated, Chloe asks again, hoping for an answer this time. “I better not be talking to a member of the Organisation...”
Within seconds, he leaps in, speaking, “I reassure you, I am not among their ranks. The world is thoroughly tracking down all associated members for the problems they have caused-” He pauses, and then continues, choosing now to address them of their situation. “A deadly parasite broke out from a top secret, enormous underground facility disguised as a CDC building. Despite all its defences and advanced technology, the Carnage broke free, and thus destroyed the Resort. Whilst arranged and decided as an outbreak, the world has chosen to address the Carnage who has been assumed dead as the last of his species. His intelligence and cunning rivalled that of a human”
Coughing, Chloe says under her breath even though her voice rings through clearly to them all. “He was smarter and kinder than any human...”
“Please keep in mind that you are government property until-” The man goes silent.
Then, the hidden door to the room slides open, a gentle humming sound is made as it reveals who stood behind it. A familiar face walks inside; a stern look on his expression. Being controlled, and guided by two elite soldiers, is the hulking Chris who limps, his arm and leg horribly injured but also patched up to the best of the ability of the currently available doctors at whatever governmental facility they are at. Chloe doesn't care; she just wants freedom and justice. Though, she is curious, her eyes watching him closely. Their gazes meet, and through the looks they share, a hundred stories are told, and they both know how they all end...
Sighing dejectedly, she knows now, that everyone who went south is dead except, for him...
The door is shut behind them, and the sensitive humming ceases, and a man in a suit walks to the corner of the room by the mirror. This man takes his stance, and through his sign language, he explains who he is to Chris. Chris has been removed from his bandage, and his face is blunt in reminding every person present of his scars. His missing ears...
He has suffered, to survive. The real question being, is life still worth living?
“Chris Faris, born and raised in France, age twenty-nine, member of an undercover elite group of professionals who assisted in searching and retrieving any and all survivors of the Resort. Mission was failed and lost; you were stranded with your group. You have been tested, and the results come back positive, you're not infected despite the bites and the fluids passed, from what you have told us so far, it seems that the transfusions you got where different from that or a normal monster and was unable to infect you. It also says here you escaped using a plane at the Capital Airport, is this correct?”
The sign language translator is going barmy in the corner, trying his best to keep up! Chris still understands, making notes of this situation and room. He is most likely fully aware of what is happening.
“You will not be kept under lock and key, you will be allowed into the world where you will be given full protection and custody with the internal funding from the Governments of the world as an apology for not being able to rescue you sooner. So, either you go home to your families or other arrangements will be made-”
Feeling extra ballsy, Chloe makes an ultra bold move, and interrupts him-
“What happens to my girls-?”
Coughing, the man keeps his cool, letting her finish with an abrupt stop, having risen from her seat, the handcuffs keeping her in position and the soldiers w
ho escorted Chris in remain firmly in their places at the corners of the room, but they do watch her, eying her down until she meekly goes placidly, sitting back down.
The speaker is still on, and a ton of whispering is wasted behind the speaker where the man talking with them seems to discuss her question with a colleague, and they search through the various answers they cannot hear. Then, he replies, “All records have been checked, both girls do not have any family members left and-”
Shrieking in terror, Alice knows exactly what he is going to say-
The Carnage Trilogy (Book 3): Aftermath [Who Will Be Left?] Page 11
