THE EVENT

by Jamie Heppner

  He closed his eyes and concentrated, instructing one of his more useful Nightwalkers to bring him some food. If he had to wait, he would at least do it on a full stomach. Besides, with his latest attempt spoiled he would have to think of another way to rid himself of his annoying twin.

  The remains of what used to be a human slowly shuffled their way into his room. They didn't knock, that always annoyed Donovan but the idea was too hard for them to remember.

  "Stupid people, they could have enjoyed this new world we are in, all they had to do was be safe and hide like the smart ones did." When he summoned a Nightwalker, it was usually just the closest one to whatever he wanted. They didn't move around much on their own, or not very fast, but they did move whenever the urge struck their empty minds.

  This Nightwalker wasn't like most of the others. As far as their bodies went, most were in horrible shape. They didn't feel pain, their hearts pumped blood, but so slowly, they only beat maybe five times a minute. He had experimented with a few as he built his army. It took a very long time to bleed a Nightwalker dry. Even when he had bled some dry, they lived for quite a few hours until they simply stopped. He wasn't even sure if they died. How can you be sure if they die when they don't even live?

  Most of the Nightwalkers came into injuries just walking into things in light that was too bright for them. The wounds didn't heal, at least not without help. Donovan had learned that he could heal most of the injuries on a Nightwalker but after doing it a few times, he simply ignored them. For every one injury he healed, the same Nightwalker would come back with two more the next day. When they took too much damage, it was just easier to replace them or send them out on a suicide mission.

  Usually he sent them to the werewolves; it was a good a way as any to use up a Nightwalker before they expired. The Nightwalker stood in front of him with two cans in her hands. Beans...why did they always pick food that he hated. He took them from her without care and put them aside on a table, his hunger forgotten for the moment. He concentrated on the Nightwalker that had answered his summons. She was in almost perfect health. A gash on one arm showed some of the slow blood he had become accustomed too. It was minor and wouldn't be a problem for quite some time. She stood stone still as Donovan circled around her for to inspect her fully. He didn't remember this one. He would have remembered. She was beautiful. "Well as beautiful as you could be as a walking dead." Donovan amended inside his head.

  He didn't see all the Nightwalkers that he pulled into his army. It would be impossible to remember them all. All that mattered was that they were there and did what he wanted when he wanted it.

  Her clothes were filthy and worn out."That can be fixed."

  Her slick black hair was matted and pressed against her face; it was filthy. Personal hygiene seemed to escape them for some reason. Underneath the matted hair, her eyes looked blank against the contrast of her olive skin. Donovan took a closer look. "No, not blank, not this one. Something is left inside her, a little something, yes, but still something."

  Donovan tore the ruined shirt off her back without ceremony. Her shoulders were wide and surprisingly clean. She must have kept good care of herself before, she wasn't very muscular but she was in good shape. Maybe she was a swimmer, Donovan thought. Her chest was full and held up high with a black lace bra. Donovan had never looked closely at many Nightwalkers, male or female. Most were broken and beaten, and they hardly even looked human anymore. This one was a rare find.

  Donovan had a hard time looking away from the Nightwalkers chest, her breasts were full and the old bra forced them up high on her chest. She had wide ample hips in contrast to her thinner waist. She wasn't skinny but she did have a little thicker hourglass form. Her legs were in the worst shape, dark bruises took away from their attractiveness and they weren't skinny like a young woman's but there was no fat on them either. She had strong, powerful legs.

  Donovan had a stack of magazines he had kept in this room; the mall's bookshop had been full of them. He knew what a woman looked like, but never before had he had one this close to naked before him. This Nightwalker was perhaps ten years his senior, thirty years old at the most but it didn't matter. A new hunger took the place of his old one. It took only moments for him to strip the Nightwalker down to her underwear. It was as though a mannequin stood before him. This time Donovan sent a very specific message. He didn't want any interruptions. The female Nightwalker moved over to his bed and lay down. Donovan followed and removed the last of her clothing.

  He was young, he was inexperienced but none of that made any difference. He did find it odd that the Nightwalker didn't move under him, but the release of youth soon took over and he didn't think about it again. He had a fleeting thought that he could have commanded her to move but that faded as soon as he thought it. It wouldn't have worked. Spent, he moved off to the side and lay beside the Nightwalker simply lying on that bed. That had been a very new experience for him. A sensation prickled in the back of Donovan’s mind, guilt, he had acted on his basic lust and used another person.

  "No! You aren't a person; you aren't even a thing anymore. You are no better than one of those blow-up dolls in the back of those magazines."

  Donovan rolled off the bed and started to get dressed, the Nightwalker still lying where he had commanded it to stay. His eyes strayed across her form once again to finally land on the wound on her arm.

  "Well I can fix that up for you then. At least that will be something. Whether you appreciate it or not."

  Donovan placed his hands a hairs width over the wound on the Nightwalkers arm and closed his eyes. A light formed under his hands and the skin began to stitch itself back together. The slow trickle of blood ceased and the scar that would have been began to disappear leaving the skin perfectly healed. The Nightwalker took in a deep breath and gasped ever so softly.

  Donovan snatched his hands away and stared at the Nightwalker. He had healed dozens, hundreds even before he gave it up. It had never helped; all it had ever done was drain his energy. He was used to that, the feeling of everything being dead around him for a day or two until his power returned. He was almost that spent now actually, all the colors seemed less sharp than normal.

  "Did you just gasp?" He asked to the Nightwalker that was once again lying still on the bed.

  Donovan took a step closer and again looked into the eyes that were so familiar yet somehow different. The Nightwalker didn't respond. Donovan was here for a few days until his power returned. He was used to it, every time he tried something larger it was the safest place to be. He could easily defend it. On a whim, Donovan placed his hands on the side of the Nightwalkers head and poured the last of his remaining power into trying to heal her mind. He watched as the life in the room turned drab and colors all took on a tint of grey. As the last of his power drained into the Nightwalker, he removed his hands. It was just as he had thought, nothing changed. He'd tried this many times before on many other Nightwalkers, not once had he seen any effect, why should this one have been any different.

  Donovan walked over to the table to open a can of beans he had been brought. As he searched around for the can opener, he could never find it for some reason. A faint rustling came from the bed. Donovan turned to look but the Nightwalker lay as he had left her. He walked up to her to try to find the source of the sound and he saw the Nightwalker's lips move.

  "My name... Silvia," came out of her lips.

  Donovan dropped the can, splattering beans all over his shoes.

  Chapter 14

  Blinding pain...Dawn felt nothing but the pain. Her entire body felt covered in bee stings. The sound of a million needles jamming into her nerves filled her head until she thought she would lose her mind. The worst part was it didn't get any better. With every jolt of her body, with every breath she took the pain was there. Dawn retreated into her mind.

  With concentration, she tried and tried to break through the pain, to communicate. Her own thoughts were so hard to form. The blinding terror
of the pain was breaking her. In desperation, Dawn retreated farther into her mind. Somewhere she would be safe. Something inside would protect her. There had to be something. The pain seemed less as she fought against it, or was it she who was losing the battle, and her own mind. Dawn rallied again and pushed against the pain with all her concentration. It lessened again. Frantically she worked inside her mind, building a wall here, then a wall there, holding back the pain from herself. Eventually she trapped herself inside a box of her creating. It was enough though... the pain drew away. Not gone...no...It was just pushed aside for the time being.

  Dawn took a mental sigh and fell into a sleep. The walls didn't stop the dreams though. They came through as easy as wind through a cloud. Time didn't work inside her self-made prison. She travelled around her own life in the dream world. Revisiting things that made her happy, and much more that made her sad. The images flashed around her as if she were a ghost in her own past. Farther and farther back, she traveled until something lit a spark inside her battered mind. Most images were fading and vague, but one refused to be ignored. A photo, her mother had it taken not long before something happened. That something was important. What was it? Her parents had gone out to watch it. Leaving her and her brother alone with instructions to stay in the basement and play video games. Her mother! How had she forgotten her, there was her father too and her brother. She had a brother. Why didn't she remember that before?

  He had been angry he couldn't go with them, so he had taken it out on her. He often took his anger out on her. She remembered now. He was always angry. Her parents had been away a lot. They both worked to pay the bills leaving the children at home alone often. She hadn't wanted to play any games that night but he made her stay in the basement anyway. It wasn't that he wanted the company; he just didn't want her doing anything she liked.

  Then there was the flash. All the power had gone out and the light seemed to come from everywhere. Even though there were no windows in their basement, it lit up as though the sun itself was inside with them. Dawn remembered screaming before the light went out. Donovan stood over her then with a wicked smile on his face, laughing at her fear.

  When she woke, Donovan was gone. The basement was dark but enough light came from the door upstairs to light her way. Dawn tried the light switch to give her more light but it didn't work. "The power must be out still."

  She had no idea how long she was asleep. Her parents must be home by now. Dawn climbed the stairs, wary of her brother. She did her best to avoid him. He could get so angry so fast. Often she was the first to feel his anger.

  Dawn rubbed her arm where Donovan had hit her a few days ago. The bruise was already fading. Her mom had told her once that she had always been a quick healer. She didn't mind that, she just preferred not having to heal at all.

  At the top of the stairs, something caught her attention, silence, not just a quiet day but complete silence. Their house was on a busy street. Cars would be racing by all the time, her dad had tried to complain about the speeders but they never did anything about it. It was rare that the kids had been able to play in the front yard until they were much older.

  "Last thing we need is you getting hit by a car." Her father had said repeatedly.

  There was little fear of that now. There were still cars on the street but not a one of them was moving. Most had their doors left wide open. Some were up on the sidewalk and a few were crashed together, most looked like they had simply rolled to a stop where they were now. Dawn began walking among the cars looking for anyone. There wasn't a single person.

  She didn't think she should walk too far away. Something big had happened and she wanted to be home when her parents got back. Carefully she back tracked to her house amid the maze of vehicles and snuck back inside to wait.

  Hours passed by with nothing happening. No one came back to the house at all. Repeatedly, Dawn would think she heard something. Being very quiet, she would sneak to a window only to see a bird outside, or a stray dog or cat, walk into the shadows. As time went by, she became more and more scared, until the front door slammed open with a bang.

  Donovan was laughing hysterically. A huge backpack was on his back and things were falling out of his pockets.

  "What do you have?" Dawn managed with a whisper.

  Donovan turned to her with a sneer. "Nothing for you, that’s for sure. You can go and get your own if you want some."Donovan dumped the contents of his bag onto the floor. A pile of items rolled to Dawn's feet. Inside the bag were razors, candy, mp3 players. Everything that Donovan had always wanted but never had.

  "Where did you get that stuff? Aren't the cops going to be mad at you again?"

  Donovan's sneer was his first answer.

  "I don't think I’m going to have to worry about cops again for a long time. I’m going back for more; maybe you should come with me. Yeah, you are coming with me. You can carry more stuff. Get on your feet." Donovan kicked Dawn in the leg sending shooting pains through her body.

  "Move it!"

  Dawn scrambled to her feet. That kick had hurt, but if she were slow to respond, she would get hurt more. Donovan had little regard for her, especially if their parents weren't around.

  Dawn did her best to keep up but the pain in her leg wasn't going away. Donovan was pulling out ahead, practically running towards the mall that was just down the street from their house. Not a single person was visible anywhere. In an attempt to slow Donovan down a bit, Dawn took a chance and asked a question.

  "Where are all the people? Have you seen Mom or Dad?"

  Her question worked. Donovan stopped dead in his track. As his head spun around to look at Dawn, she saw his eyes. They were lit up with a fire on the inside. Donovan was rarely happy; this kind of pleasure inside him was not a good one. She could see that in an instant.

  "They are all gone. No one's here. That includes Mom and Dad."

  With that, he took off with renewed vigour, practically racing towards the mall. Dawn did her best to keep up but it wasn't enough.

  When she did reach the mall, she saw the doors pulled apart by force. Some windows held jagged edges where something had already broken them and items lay strewn all over the ground. Donovan's head peaked out of one of the doors and his eyes met hers.

  "About time, get in here and start filling this bag." He tossed her a backpack that was large for an adult. Donovan wasn't selective about what he grabbed, if it caught his eye he put it into the bag. Everything caught his eye, children’s toys, clothing, watches, CDs, DVDs; anything that he hadn't had before, he took it now. When her bag was full and her legs were shaking from the effort Donovan sent Dawn on her way so he could fill his own bag. The light outside was beginning to fade so Dawn did her best to get back home before it got to dark. She didn't know what had happened, but something inside her mind told her to be safe. She didn't care for the dark.

  Climbing the stairs to her house, she flopped down inside the front door. Dawn's cloths were soaked with sweat and her leg was now pounding. A dark purple bruise formed where Donovan had kicked her. She needed rest but she didn't get to rest long. With a sharp kick to the door, Donovan strode in with his pack.

  "He must have run the whole way!"

  His eyes still hadn't lost the shine. The excitement of him taking whatever he wanted kept him going strong.

  "Stand up and get moving, dump that shit and we are going back for more."

  Dawn did what he told her as fast as she could. Silent tears began to stream down her face. She wasn't fast enough. A powerful slap took her across the face and she fell to the ground, the tears no longer silent.

  "Get up! We have more to grab!" Donovan grabbed her by the arm and twisted as he pulled her up to her feet again. "Leave the bag, there are a hundred more where it came from."

  Pain blossomed in her arm and a trickle of blood came down her face from a cut in her lip. Without a care, he began pulling her behind him back to the mall.

  It was fully dark when they got ba
ck to the doors. The stars were out in full force, lighting their way. Dawn had done her best to keep up again, but it hadn't been good enough for Donovan. He had slapped her twice more, thankfully not breaking the skin this time. He had gotten tired of pulling her and told her if she didn't get there fast he would make sure she regretted it. Dawn believed him.

  As she once again got to the doors, she found Donovan outside with a pile of flashlights and a whole battery rack. She could hear his curses even before she could even see him.

  "None of these fucking things work anymore." He slammed another flashlight into the ground shattering it to pieces.

  "What the hell is wrong with this crap? Nothing here works anymore...Well this fucking sucks, I guess we will have to wait here till morning then."

  Dawn collapsed to the ground from exhaustion. With a glare, Donovan left her there and began exploring as best he could with the light from the stars.

  Dawn didn't know how long she slept, but it was still night when she was suddenly woken up. Donovan had his hand over her mouth and he was staring towards the doors.

  "Quiet" He whispered. "Someone is here."

  Dawn felt the excitement of someone else being around. She began to try to scramble to her feet, but Donovan held her down.

  "Shut up! I don't want them to know we are here."

  Slowly this time to not make any noise he let her stand up and look for herself. Three people were walking slowly towards the doors. Dawn watched closely only to find they weren't walking. They were shuffling towards the doors. Donovan was staring at them intently trying to make them out in the dark.

  "They are here for all my stuff. I have to stop em." Anger rose inside of him and he let go of Dawn completely. Donovan picked up one of the flashlights he had been playing with. One of the big ones the kind the cops liked to use. He crouched low and began sneaking up behind the people. As he got close and his intent became clear Dawn took another chance that she knew would get Donovan even angrier, but right now, she didn't care. These people might be able to save her from his fury.