by Ian Williams
Before he could turn back and see, Graham felt someone suddenly grapple him from the side. He was pushed toward the large cube with a smooth, rugby style, tackle. Within a foot or so of the damaged box he managed to spin around and loosen the man’s hold on him. It was only then that he realised who he fought. It was Anthony and he had suffered a few cuts to his face from the flying glass.
“Graham, get out the way!” Phoenix shouted.
But he could not. Anthony appeared eager for a fight and was the one with the speed and strength in reserve to do so. He could only hope to hold his ground long enough for Phoenix to get a clear enough shot.
“I’m gonna fucking kill you,” Anthony shouted as he threw a volley of punches into Graham’s chest.
With his arms up in front of his face, the only thing he could think to do was push his opponent away. If it were a boxing match then any sane referee would have called time on such a one sided fight already.
Graham was allowed a moment of respite when another thunderous explosion rocked Sanctuary’s foundations. It knocked them both down instantly, quicker than any punch they could have served. The Sentient’s fight proved multitudes of times stronger than their feeble human one.
This time the shaking had carried an earthquake’s level of force along with it, which caused a crack to race along the ceiling above them. Pieces fell away and crashed into the ground around. It was clear that Luke and the other Sentient’s were set on destroying Sanctuary all together in order to contain Isaac.
When similar – though smaller – cracks started to open up in the walls, sending a light film of dust and grit down upon them all, a large majority of Anthony’s men decided to run. The increasing noise and the rippling energy was too much for them. The cowards wanted out. Even Craig had begun to run for the exit. If this were a test of their resolve, then most had just failed.
Graham saw that Phoenix was returning to her feet and still intent on ending Anthony with a bullet or two. “Get Stephen and go,” he called to her.
While the rumbling settled down temporarily, Anthony had taken the chance to time his next attack, which he launched as soon as Graham was up. The two of them rolled over each other a couple of times before reaching the cube. Then, with Graham pinned underneath, Anthony followed with a frenzy of flying fists. In his crazed state he began to froth at the mouth as he sent punch after punch into Graham’s face and side.
Their fight was to be uninterrupted too, as Phoenix had to exchange fire with a few of the more zealous of Anthony’s followers. These were the ones who had chosen to stay and serve their new master.
Each blow of the head snapped Graham’s neck to the side amid a blur of red. Whether his own blood or Anthony’s, he struggled to tell as he tried to protect himself. While his enemy continued to strike his upper body and head with hate-filled fists, he reached out for anything he might use in return. He eventually found something that would do, lying on the floor just behind him.
Half of the cube had been destroyed by the door soon after it had been blown in. What remained scattered around its structure were hand-sized pieces of thick glass that until then had been useless. The piece Graham found was now anything but useless. Even though it cut into his palm as he gripped it tight, he decided to use it anyway.
He could see only Anthony’s deadly stare while he continued to take hit after hit. So he aimed for the only part he could make out with crystal clear clarity: Anthony’s left eye. With one forceful jab, Graham forced the glass piece straight through it and into the grey-matter hidden behind.
Instantly Anthony threw his head back and took a handful of the glass sticking out of his eye-socket. His hands swung violently out in front of him as he quickly made it worse. With each failed attempt to remove it he screamed. The horror was written on his face, which now had a sharp and bloodied centrepiece to match the cuts already there. Phoenix wasted no time in reacting and fired off two shots straight into Anthony’s chest. He fell back and landed with his legs underneath him. He was dead, finally.
Graham remained still amid a huge chorus of rumbles and shouts coming from the entrance of Sanctuary. He could not see the other side at all now, only a lung-filling wall of dust that accompanied the effortless destruction. It was obvious those trying to get out on the other side were failing miserably and were probably being overwhelmed by the falling earth and raging heat of the repeated blasts.
The same went for them, unless they at least tried to outrun the devastation. When a portion of the night sky could be seen through a gap in the ceiling he knew it was finally time to leave. There was little left to hold the farming tower in place above them, now that the shaking had worked it free.
“Come on, we have to get out of here,” Phoenix said as she pulled him free of Anthony’s body.
“What about Luke?” Graham mumbled. His mouth was quickly swelling after the violent onslaught he had suffered. A searing pain in his side shot up through his ribs as he was yanked to his feet. “Luke?”
He heard nothing in reply, but he could just about make out two figures exchanging blows. He could see flashes of light each time their impacts hit the other. When the wall containing the large window broke off and fell into the cave beyond, the shapes continued to fight while floating in the air.
“We have to leave him, come on.” Phoenix dragged him away and toward the door.
He had to give in and follow her. They raced toward the door, picking Stephen up from the ground as they did. It was now a race against time to get out before the entire building was brought down.
“Stephen, lead us out, quickly,” she ordered.
Just as they were about to pour out of the escape route, a loud and crackling static screamed out. It was followed by a deep moan that built in intensity. They all glanced back toward the missing wall and window, and saw a large diagonal fissure form in the tower’s top third. With one last aching cry the top piece suddenly leaned over before falling away. It crashed into the cave floor and smashed into billions of human sized chunks. The Sentient’s world was falling.
“Run, dammit, run!” Graham shouted as a chunk of ceiling landed right behind them. This increased their pace much more than his ordering had. With Sanctuary about to be shaken apart from the inside it did not give them much time to reach the surface.
The path ahead was dark, just as Stephen had told them, and nothing was telling them how far they had to go. They were forced to speed along with the real risk they might run straight into a wall. In the background the rumbling had intensified even more and now vibrated through the walls and ceiling right alongside them. Sooner or later they too would be overwhelmed by the cave-in. Despite the devastation that had already occurred, it was clear that the war between Isaac and Luke’s people was still raging just as strongly.
With Graham’s side threatening to tear open if he moved too fast, it was up to Phoenix to drag him along. He hated being such a burden, even though he had little choice in the matter. Phoenix was showing an honourable unwillingness to leave him behind, which he appreciated. He just did not see it as the correct choice. He was slowing them down too much.
Another piece of debris fell in front of him, cracking open like a large black egg. They stopped just in time to miss it, only to then find themselves separated from Stephen, who cried out in panic as more rubble began to fall.
“Don’t leave me too, please,” Stephen shouted to them.
The next rock to fall came from directly above Phoenix. Unfortunately, she had become distracted and missed seeing it. Instead she looked at Stephen as he continued to beg them to stay with him. She opened her mouth to speak, no doubt to try and calm Stephen, when it fell.
Graham had seen it though and was quick to act. “Get down,” he screeched as he ran straight into her back, hurtling her forward and landing painfully onto her front. With her out of the way there was nowhere left for him to go. The rock slammed down on top of his shoulders. He buckled under the weight and came to rest, pinned by
the rock. He could not get free.
“Graham, no! Stephen, help me,” Phoenix bellowed in a flood of sudden tears.
Stephen began to hit the sides of his head when he saw Graham suddenly trapped. He stayed behind as Phoenix raced back over. What she could actually do to help was anyone’s guess, she could not possibly lift such a heavy obstruction. She still tried her best, regardless.
“My leg won’t move,” Graham said. There was no pain. Either his leg was numb or it was no longer even attached anymore. He failed to tell which.
Phoenix put her entire weight behind trying to push the small boulder off of his leg. It refused to even rock from side to side. Her next tactic was to pull on Graham’s leg. Except this showed the same unwillingness to come free. “I can’t move it either. What do we do?” she said.
As another, equally large, object split in two upon hitting the floor to Graham’s side, it was clear to him all of a sudden what had to happen. He realised he was not going to get free. His survival was not on the table any longer. The others could still make it out, if they left him there before the place shook itself apart. He pushed Phoenix away.
“Go,” he said, wiping dirt from his eyes and face. Neither of them did as he said, or even took a look toward the exit to consider it. “Go, for fuck’s sake, go. I won’t be the reason you two die as well. Now leave me here.”
Again they stayed put. “Are you serious? We can’t leave you here, you’ll die alone for sure.” Phoenix approached him to again try and help.
“No, go you morons, go. When the relays blows everything else will fall.” Graham just managed to avoid another falling fragment of the ceiling as he finished speaking. He peered back toward Sanctuary and was shocked to see pile after pile of rocks. The whole ceiling had collapsed behind them. He turned away again out of fear of what was to soon take him too.
Phoenix followed his gaze and saw the same. For a second or two she locked her eyes onto his and stared in. In such a small amount of time and with such a subtle gesture, she sent him the most heartfelt thank you he had ever known. No words were necessary, the look had said all that needed saying. Her brother would not be alone. He would still have her and that was all because of the sacrifice Graham was making.
“No, we can’t do this. No, no, no,” Stephen said while looking to the exit ahead of them.
Before she could leave, Graham grabbed her by the arm. “You need to get my family away from here. Promise me you’ll do that.”
“Of course I will,” she replied with her hand squeezing his tightly. She then handed him her gun. “Take this.”
“There aren’t any left to shoot at,” Graham said. He had not entirely thought the gesture through.
“It’s not for that, Graham.”
Looking down at the gun in shock, he suddenly sucked a stale breath in. She was offering him another way out, other than being crushed alive. It was never something he would ever have considered doing unless it had been put to him this way. The idea of being mashed to bits under a hundred foot layer of dirt and rock did not appeal to him at all. Though the second option felt almost as impossible to cope with.
When Phoenix finally got Stephen to follow her, they both raced off into the darkness. The emergency lighting from inside Sanctuary still found its way through the tiny gaps between the rocks. It was just enough for Graham to see the gun in front of his face and the outlines of his companions as they headed for freedom.
He was then alone and with only the continued sounds of devastation coming from behind him for company. He took a moment to consider exactly what had happened in the last few minutes. Luke and Isaac had still been fighting. Their battle would surely go on for as long as what remained of the Sentient tower could withstand such violence. But Anthony had finally gotten what he deserved and Graham had been the one to hand it to him too. It felt good. He would have the last laugh after all, even if it was to be a short one.
A sudden feeling of sadness was joined by another much stronger one. He felt huge appreciation that his family had survived. After everything that happened he had still done his job and kept them safe. If his death was required in order to ensure that, then he paid the price gladly. He just hoped Alex would understand what he was doing. She would grow up without a father now. He needed her to be strong in his absence.
So, as the roof finally began to cave in around him, he raised the gun and stared straight down the barrel. It would at least be quick this way.
* * *
Phoenix pulled Stephen along with all of her strength. He was becoming a dead weight after refusing flat out to run. Either through exhaustion or reluctance after having to leave Graham behind, she was not sure. Without realising it, he was putting them both at risk of suffering the same fate as their fallen comrade.
“Come on, Stephen, you need to help me.”
“I’ve lost it all. Sanctuary, Luke and now G. Why did Isaac have to be so cruel?” he replied.
The path ahead was nearing the end staircase. All around them the walls and ceiling had continued to break apart and land at their feet. But with the exit now just a few flights of stairs above them, it became clear they would make it out alive. She was not at all looking forward to arriving without Graham. It felt like a huge failure to her. All except for the man by her side. She had at least saved one of them.
“How far up is it?” she asked.
Stephen looked back down the path they marched. It had now become totally impossible to retrace their steps. The route was no longer in existence, replaced by an impenetrable wall of earth.
“Four flights of stairs. I don’t think I can make it that far.”
“You have to, Stephen, otherwise we’ll be stuck down here too.”
She was grateful to see him take her words with the gravity she wanted. He began to take the steps by himself. It was slow to begin with, though the approaching noise of falling rocks soon sped up their pace. By the time they reached the last flight of stairs they were almost running from the echoing cracks and thuds.
“There’s the door,” Stephen said, pointing ahead.
It was nothing special, just a wooden door in what appeared to be nothing more than an empty warehouse – or rather a garage sized hut. Their staircase came up through the centre of the building, only two metres from the door.
“You go first,” she said.
“No, ladies first,” Stephen replied with a forced grin neither of them believed to be true.
She did not return a laugh as she turned the handle and waited for the night-time air to rush past her face. When it did, it was not nearly as satisfying as she hoped. It smelled of burning. She stepped outside and found the others standing nearby with faces dropped and mouths agape. They all watched the scene of destruction from a distance.
When the two of them exited the emergency door they all immediately turned to see. They waited for the door to open again behind them. Phoenix knew it would not. The first in the group to realise this was Jane, who fell to her knees in a wail of tears. Alex quickly joined in, understandably without really knowing why.
“G?” Elliot said, his eyes as damp as the rest of them.
Phoenix could not bring herself to answer, she only managed a shake of her head. It was far from the heroic return she had envisioned when she decided to stay behind and help Graham. When Sean took hold of her and pulled her close, she wept too. They had all lost far too much in such a short amount of time.
“Oh God, no, not Graham. Not my brother,” Ruth said as she forced her face into Elliot’s chest. She squeezed him tightly and stifled her outburst of tears with his shoulder.
They all fell silent. Only the distant sound of a cave-in and the now distant rumbles from the Sentient tower could be heard. Looking past their small hut, in the middle of a field, Phoenix could see the overall result of what had occurred inside Sanctuary. The farming tower had fallen to pieces and glowed a hot-red from the excess of energy it had imparted into the world. Slowly it continued to slip
into the ground as it was eaten one bit at a time by the Earth. Only the top few floors were visible with the rest having already disappeared into the depths of a hellish oblivion.
“Look,” Stephen said, pointing toward the city. “The relays, they’re all overloading. Luke was right, Isaac will be trapped after all.”
Phoenix saw it too: dark clouds hovering above the city like halos of fire and smoke. A series of explosions could be seen from their far away viewpoint. Stephen was right, the relays had all been destroyed by the looks of things. Evidently the overload had surged through the entire network, frying all in its path. Just as Luke and his fellow Sentients had intended.
“What happens to the rest of them?” she asked Stephen.
“The same. All gone, every one of them,” he replied while watching each new flash of light from yet another fallen relay.
“What do we do now then?” Sean asked his sister as they broke away from their embrace.
She had not really thought that far ahead. It was clear that the cities would be erupting into a chaotic panic. In only days she expected the city’s scared and vulnerable population would be fighting one another for supplies. That would not be a good place to be trapped, especially with a young one in their group.
Of course she and Sean had lived a large amount of their lives out of the city anyway, so it would be easy enough for them to adjust. But the other’s? They would need guidance. She had made a promise to Graham that she would see them survive today and beyond.
Phoenix turned to face the others. “We’ll start again, somewhere out here. Just like my mum and dad taught me. We’re going to need to find somewhere to rest for the night. Me and Sean will take you somewhere we know that’s safe.”
“Where?” Elliot asked. That he had not said ‘no’ was the best start she could have hoped for.
