Torn Apart

by James Harden

  “So what are you going to do now? I asked. “What’s the next step?”

  “I am going to hand you over to General Spears. Our cooperation will ensure our survival. It will buy us freedom from his wrath.”

  “Wrath?”

  “He still commands a small but formidable force of Special Forces soldiers.”

  “I told you,” the old man said, “This boat. This is the last refuge down here. Don't get off the boat. Don’t ever get off the boat. I told you. You should stay on the boat. You will be happier here. Lots of people have stayed on this boat. Now they keep me company. Their ghosts. Their spirits. Their souls. I am never alone. Would you like to keep me company?”

  The old man had cabin fever, I thought. He hadn’t been outside in a long time. Hadn’t seen sunlight in a long time. That’s gotta mess with your mind after awhile. But as long as Doctor Hunter was with us, he would control that maniac. He would protect us. Or at least, he would protect Maria. I had a feeling I was about to be offered as a sort of sacrificial lamb.

  “Why are you doing this?” I asked Doctor Hunter. “Why are you helping him?”

  “He is giving me asylum. Like I said, it is a symbiotic relationship. It is fair.”

  “Yes, asylum,” the old man said. “You girls should prepare yourself. The General’s men will be here soon.”

  Right on cue, three bright red flares were fired high into the sky, lighting up the cavern. The glow from the flares turned everything an ominous red. They had been launched from a tug boat.

  “They are here,” the old man said.

  The tugboat approached slowly. We could see shadows moving around on the deck. Suddenly a rope was thrown over to us. The rope had a grappling hook attached. The grappling hook latched onto the hand railing of the fishing trawler. They had us. They immediately began to tow us along.

  The movement was sudden and violent.

  The old man was thrown off his feet. He dropped to his knees and dropped his gun in the process. It slid to my feet.

  I picked it up with my free hand.

  I did not hesitate.

  He looked at me. His eyes said that he was not ready to die. And in the split second before I blew his brains out, he begged me to let him live. Pleaded with his eyes.

  He spoke, “No…”

  He was about to say something else. Present his case for life.

  But I was not ready to listen. I was not ready to be merciful. Not when he had killed innocent people. Eaten innocent people.

  No. I was not ready to be merciful.

  I was ready to kill.

  I squeezed the trigger and the bullet made a mess of his face and his head.

  His life was ended. Because he did not deserve it.

  Chapter 33

  I aimed the gun at Doctor Hunter. We had a chance to kill him once before. We didn’t.

  Was it a mistake?

  Was mercy a mistake?

  “No!” he shouted. “You can’t. I can make this better. I can fix this. You need me. If I’m dead, then he won’t care about Maria. He won’t. He is beyond reason. He is beyond it. But I can convince him.”

  “If he’s beyond reason then how are you going to reason with him?” I asked.

  “I can persuade him. He will listen. Trust me.”

  “Drop your gun,” I said. “Throw it overboard.”

  He threw the gun into the water and raised his hand.

  “You lost my trust a long time ago,” I continued. “Back in the morgue of North Sydney Hospital.”

  “Maria is all that matters,” he said. “I mean, we had her. In the morgue. With Maria we could’ve made a vaccine right then and there.”

  “And then you would’ve butchered us. You were going to pack us on ice. Ship us out. North Sydney still would’ve been firebombed. All those people on the freeway and on the bridge and in the tunnel still would’ve been massacred.”

  “I can fix this,” he repeated. “You know I can. You know this is the right thing to do.”

  I turned to Maria. “What do you think?”

  “I think we don’t have a choice. I hate to say it, but we need him.”

  Unfortunately she was right. Doctor Hunter needed to do his thing. He was the only one capable.

  “You take her blood,” I said. “That’s it. I swear, if you put one scratch on her, I will execute you.”

  He nodded.

  “Unlock these cuffs,” I said. “And don’t try anything. Or my finger will slip, if you catch my meaning.”

  Once we were untied, we then handcuffed Doctor Hunter to the railing because I didn’t trust him. I even gave him back his surgical saw. “Maybe you feel like cutting off the other one,” I said.

  We went below deck and untied Ben.

  “What about the other guy in there?” Maria asked. “Do we bring him with us?”

  “He is too far gone,” Ben said. “He’s lost too much blood. He’s lost both legs. Both arms. You know what has to be done.”

  I looked at the gun in my hand.

  “No,” Ben said. “It’s easier this way.”

  He retrieved a hypodermic needle from the bedside table.

  “What is that?” I asked.

  “Sedative. I’ll give him an overdose. He will die in his sleep. Peaceful.”

  I wanted to say a few words. I wanted someone to say a few words. But seeing that man. No legs. No arms. His pale, lifeless skin. He had suffered so much. I had to leave the room.

  We made our way back upstairs.

  According to Doctor Hunter, Ben had been given a life saving blood transfusion. So that was a good thing. It was the silver lining to this whole messed up situation. However, the reason he had been given a life saving blood transfusion was not so good. It wasn’t necessarily to save his life. It was so the meat on his bones would be fresh.

  Live meat doesn’t rot.

  It made me feel sick just thinking about it.

  Ben was still weak but he eventually came good. He had plenty of time to regain his strength while we were being towed by the tugboat. It took a long time. Hours. The best part of a day.

  The waiting and the suspense was unbearable.

  Would the General help us?

  Would we find our friends?

  Could Doctor Hunter really make an anti-virus?

  The longer we waited the more nervous and anxious I became. My mind began to wander. I couldn’t stop thinking about how that day, I had made the explicit decision to take a human life.

  I had made that decision twice. I had failed once. And I had been successful once.

  I felt weird. Different. I hadn’t really killed anyone thus far on our journey. Kenji had taken care of the dirty work. And Daniel. And Ben.

  I had killed that soldier in the morgue of North Sydney Hospital. But he was infected. He had turned. And so had Officer Dennis. I hadn’t killed a living, healthy human being until now. And I could feel the weight of that person’s life on my shoulders, like I was carrying their soul or something. Like I was carrying an extra responsibility now. I know that doesn’t really make sense, but it’s how I feel. I feel the weight. I feel the burden.

  The only thing letting me deal and cope with this burden was repeatedly telling myself that the old man was a cannibal. He had turned mad. And evil. Like the priest and his men. They had slipped and fallen. They had changed into something reprehensible, a person that had forfeited all human rights to life, to the pursuit of freedom and happiness and all that stuff. They were so far gone, they were so evil, that the only punishment they deserved, the only punishment that could be exacted in this new world, was death.

  I tried to push these thoughts out of my head as we made our way to the inner-sanctum of the Fortress.

  It won't be long now, I thought.

  The General had us.

  He was dragging this boat, and us, into his domain. We would meet him very soon.

  And whatever I thought was going to happen, every hope that I had for Maria’s life and f
or my life and for my friend’s life, and for humanity, for a goddamn cure, every hope and dream and wish, was about to be burnt to the ground.

  My dreams were about to be shattered.

  And I was about to be broken.

  Chapter 34

  We finally arrived at a long wooden pier. A strange mist hung in the air. A small group of soldiers were waiting for us. All of them were shirtless. Camouflage paint covered their upper bodies and their faces. Then again, it could’ve been mud. They all had overgrown beards, like they hadn’t shaved in years. They were heavily armed.

  The soldiers secured the boat. And we were ordered onto the pier at gun point. Maria and I both had our hands raised to let the soldiers know that we weren’t a threat. Doctor Hunter had his head lowered. Ben on the other hand was just staring at them.

  The soldiers stared back. Silent and fearless.

  It was then I noticed the light posts that were situated along the entire length of the pier. Strung from these light posts were bodies.

  Corpses.

  Severed heads.

  Some of them appeared to be people who had been infected. Civilians. Some of them were soldiers.

  And then I realized some of them were still alive. They had been strung up and tortured. They were moaning in pain. Moaning and mumbling because they didn’t have the strength to speak, to ask for help. Beg for help.

  I wondered what they had done to deserve such a fate.

  Suddenly the soldiers parted as someone moved through them, towards us.

  I couldn’t believe who it was.

  I was speechless.

  It was Kim.

  “It’s OK,” she said to the soldiers. “They’re with me. They’re on our side. It’s OK. This is Maria Marsh. The one and only. She is going to save us all.”

  “Oh my god!” Maria said. “Kim!”

  We both rushed forward and threw our arms around her. We hugged for a few minutes. Crying and laughing.

  And Kim was all smiles. She looked surprisingly healthy. Her smile and her skin were glowing. She looked like she was in great shape. Her arm, her shoulder where she had been shot, was almost completely healed. You wouldn’t even know she had been shot with a high powered assault rifle only a few months ago.

  We stood back. I was shaking my head. We had been separated from Kim for so long. It was a huge relief to know that she was all right.

  Kim held her arms out, like she was welcoming us, like she was expecting us and wondering what took us so long. “I can’t believe it,” she said. “I can’t believe you guys are here. This is incredible. It’s a miracle. He was right. This is divine intervention. He is always right.”

  We stood silent for a few more seconds. We were still in shock. Completely dumbfounded.

  “Who is always right?” I asked.

  “General Spears.”

  Maria finally spoke. “Kim? What happened to you? Where have you been?”

  “It’s a long story,” she answered.

  “What happened in New Zealand?” I asked. “What happened in the quarantine facility?”

  I had so many questions. The last time I saw her she was practically on her death bed. She had lost a lot of blood and was no doubt dying from thirst. And the footage we saw of her on Doctor Hunter’s computer. She had been drugged and sedated. She was being interviewed or interrogated. She was being used as a test subject for some sort of experiment.

  But for what?

  “I was so lucky,” she said. “I was given a second chance. I was saved. By this man.”

  She pointed to Doctor Hunter.

  Again, Maria and I were both dumbfounded.

  Doctor Hunter had been forced onto his knees by the soldiers.

  Kim moved over to him. “I’m glad you’re alive,” she said. “But he is still mad at you.”

  “Not for long,” Doctor Hunter replied. “We have Maria Marsh. He can’t afford to lose me now. I’m too valuable.”

  “He’s blaming the containment failure on you.”

  “What? Why? I wasn’t responsible for that! You know I wasn’t!”

  “Shh. Save your strength.”

  The soldiers stepped forward, gagging the doctor’s mouth and placing a black hood over his head.

  “Take him to the General,” Kim ordered.

  “What’s going on here?” Maria asked. “And where is Jack? Why did you sedate him? Why did you take him prisoner?”

  Kim tilted her head. “How do you know we found Jack?”

  “We saw you,” I said. “We were looking for Jack as well. He had run off. He was actually looking for you. He said he couldn’t leave you behind. He didn’t even know where you were and he still ran off, into the desert, looking for you.”

  “Jack is safe,” she said. “For the moment.”

  “For the moment?” Maria asked. “What the hell does that mean?”

  “It’s going to be OK,” Kim reassured. “Relax. You’re finally safe. I can’t believe you made it here in one piece. The containment failure, it was bad. The goddamn infected are everywhere. The residential area is totally overrun. The majority of this facility is overrun.”

  “But Jack is safe?” Maria asked again. “Is he… is he hurt?”

  “He’s fine. I’ll take you to meet him very soon. As soon as the General approves it. But we should get moving. We can’t stay out in the open for too long. We’ll probably need to evacuate soon.”

  “No,” Maria said. “I’m not going anywhere until you tell me where Jack is, until I see him, until I know he is safe. Why did they take him? Why? What have they done to you?”

  Maria was fed up. At that moment, relief and happiness gave way to confusion and anger.

  “They haven’t done anything to me,” Kim answered. “Well, they have. But nothing bad. They saved my life. I was dying. I didn’t even know I was dying. And they saved me. Doctor Hunter. Doctor West. They saved me.”

  “What did you do to Jack?” Maria repeated. “Tell me!”

  “Look, it wasn’t planned or anything,” Kim said. “The General has surveillance drones all over the desert. There were rumors, intelligence reports about you. At first he didn’t believe you were immune. But I told him. I swore to him. Eventually he believed. We sent out a rescue squad. But instead of finding you, we found Jack. I couldn’t believe it. My baby brother. In the middle of the desert. It was another miracle. You see, this is why the General is a great man. This is why he will be remembered as a hero. Everything he does is for the greater good. He has this knack of following his gut. His instincts are incredible. And once he has a hunch, he acts. He doesn’t hesitate. He just gets in and does it. We wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for the General.”

  Kim was acting weird. It was liked she was a different person. It’s like she had been brainwashed. She was speaking extremely fast, like she had drunk a gallon of coffee. Her eyes were wide, taking everything in.

  “And Jack is all right?” Maria asked once again, desperate to be completely sure.

  “Trust me,” Kim said. “Jack is safe for the moment. And we are safe for the moment. This inner-sanctum is really the only safe area left. You guys should be breathing a very big sigh of relief. It is a genuine miracle that you made it here.”

  She stepped forward and hugged us again. “I’m so glad you’re here. Everything is going to be just fine.”

  She kept saying this. She kept reassuring us.

  And I wanted to feel safe. I wanted to feel happy. And I should’ve felt happy. I mean, after not knowing if Kim was OK, or if she was hurt, or even alive, not knowing for so long, we had finally found her. She had sacrificed her body for us. She had literally taken a bullet; put her life on the line for us.

  She had survived against all odds.

  I should’ve been happy. I should’ve been relieved.

  But I wasn’t.

  I was afraid.

  Something was wrong.

  I looked at her arm again. The bullet wound was practically gone.
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  “Can we talk to the General?” Maria asked. “Do you think he’ll help us?”

  “So many questions!” Kim said. “One at a time. Yes and yes. Maybe. Truthfully, I’m not sure when we’ll be able to talk to him. You see, we’ve had a rough time these past couple of weeks. And right now, with the containment failure and the outbreak and the Code Black and the Lockdown, it’s really not the best time.”

  “Not the best time?” I said.

  “Yeah, well, we’ve lost access to the research facility. It’s overrun. To get in there, we’d need to clear it out. By force. To do that, we’d need to use the General’s best men. And I’m not sure he’d be willing to do that at the moment.”

  “What?” I asked. “Why not?”

  “There have been a few assassination attempts on the General’s life. As a result, he’s surrounded himself with a squad of Special Forces soldiers. Twenty-four seven guard. Tough bastards. Just look at them. You wouldn’t want to mess with these guys.”

  “But we need to do this,” I said. “We could make a goddamn cure.”

  “I know. I know. I’ll talk to him. And then you can talk to him. And then you listen to him. Make sure you listen. He wants to help. He’s the only one left who’s fighting this war. He’s the only military commander left. Everyone else has abandoned the cause. Retreated. Wrote Australia off as a loss. But not the General. He will fight until his dying breath. And he will win. It’s just that, with everything going on. The Lockdown. The outbreak. Like I said, he’s not himself at the moment. He’s angrier. At himself mostly,” she pointed up to the hanging bodies. “You see? And sometimes his punishments are severe. But he has to make examples. He has to. It's what great leaders do. It's what lions do. And I’m sorry you have to see that. But let me explain. They were soldiers, followers who questioned the authority of the General. He had to do it. But he just needs time to get his mind back. To get focused.”