by Peter Okafor
Runner moved back into the room and shut the door tight. He walked to a table at the centre, placed his shoulder at its side, and pushed it across the floor to bar the door.
“Oh my god.” Olivia panicked. “My mom is with them.”
Runner walked to the second door and leaned on the wall beside it. His axe was ready in hand, and he was trapped. A team of spectres was heading towards one door, and LongJaw was coming towards the other. He could hear the mad priest’s footsteps, one after the other, menacing with a promise of death.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Judgement Day Part II
The world was about to change. He could feel it like the last breath about to flee from a dying man, desperate to leave him nothing but a corpse. At that moment, he was akin to a figurehead, granted so much power yet not able to wield any. He was a hero of the people—a power any councillor would kill for—but even as he was trapped hopelessly with nothing but an axe in hand, he couldn’t help but feel like a fly in a spider’s web.
It was all about choices, and there were so many waiting to be made. If it was his life alone hanging in the balance, it would have been easier to pick a choice. But poor Olivia sat in a corner, wondering why her mother was part of a plan to exile people with unwanted traits under the pretence of saving humanity.
The choice was clear to Runner. Open the door to the left and surrender to the councillors. More than anything, they wanted him alive, as he was their most valuable creation since the building of the domes to protect MegaCities. The second was a bit nasty. It involved opening the door to his right and surrendering to LongJaw. But that would earn him a barrage of beatings and probably rape for Olivia.
“What are we going to do?” Olivia crawled from one end to reach him.
It was quite an easy decision for Runner. Pick neither. But this was not the wasteland where there was a myriad of ways to escape an enemy. They were stuck in a tower a few paces from the Citadel of Defence, crawling with spectres and fighting marauders.
Runner brought his gaze down at her.
“If I surrender to your mother and Gaius Capricorn, it’s like handing them missiles to fight opponents wielding swords. I am the last thing they need to steal away any remaining right from the masses because loyalty gained from reverence is far more dangerous than one given with reluctance. That is exactly what they want in order to promote a cull.”
Bang! Bang!
Olivia stood up, overwhelmed by a rush of nervousness, and held tight to Runner’s shirt. The door at the left was being forced by the spectres, but his bar was holding strong. The footsteps grew closer. LongJaw would be reaching the door at his right at any moment.
The repercussions were clear. What was left of liberty was about to be murdered by the councillors. Innocence was long dead; freedom, a fleeting dream once mustered by daydreamers. His victory in the Remnants of Men gave him power, an access to the hearts of many and a power to influence multitudes. Liberation was the only thing remaining, and if Runner should die, it would die with him.
“I’m not so sure my mother is with them. Let me talk to her,” Olivia said.
“Yeah, Olivia, go talk to your mother; she looks really happy to see you. I will just shut the door behind you and stay here.”
“Right?” Olivia sighed.
“Are you blind? This shit is real. Be ready. That door will open anytime soon.”
Runner felt his grip tighten harder around the handle of the axe.
Bang!
The door sprang open. Runner lifted his axe to his shoulder’s height and smashed its head into the stomach of the first man to step through. Drops of blood splattered on Olivia’s face, and she screamed. The man fell on his knees as his bowels were forced through a large opening at his abdomen.
LongJaw charged upon Runner, forcing him to fall on a control board. He raised his fist to unleash a blow on Runner’s face, but the boy dodged with his left hand, using his right to grasp the man’s jaw. In his struggle, Runner saw the third marauder caught in a scrimmage with Olivia.
He freed his hand from his opponent’s jaw and reached for a hunting knife on the man’s belt. LongJaw did not notice it. Runner wrapped his fingers around its hilt and drew it out. He jabbed quickly at LongJaw’s thigh. The man let out a shriek, and Runner pushed him off his body.
As quick as a breath inhaled, Runner flipped the knife over to hold the pointed tip. He aimed at the scrawny marauder tearing down Olivia’s clothing and released the knife. It struck the man’s head right through his ear, and he slumped dead in a second. A pool of blood gathered around his head.
Runner crawled quickly to Olivia. “Are you alright?” he asked.
Olivia’s eyes widened as if she saw a ghost. She pointed behind Runner. He turned around and was knocked down by a hard blow on his head.
Runner lay flat on the floor. He managed to open his eyes, but they were still recovering from the concussion. LongJaw loomed over him with the axe in his grip. The man caught Olivia by her hair and dragged her to kneel before Runner.
“You scallywag,” he said. “I should have killed you when we first met. But not to worry. All in good time, Runner, all in good time.”
He began to laugh and cleaned the blood that gathered around his lips. He kicked Runner on the stomach and limped backwards from the pain on his punctured thigh.
“Do you know how long it took to plan this? How many minds it took? How many sacrifices had to be made? I lost dozens of men to the storm before I found a way into this city. But you had to open the gates, Runner. You just…just had to, didn’t you?”
LongJaw stood up and positioned himself beside Olivia. The vagueness that clouded Runner’s sight faded and he saw a long cable running right beneath LongJaw’s feet. The man was standing on it, but he was more interested in taunting his captive.
“You know, before I became a priest, I was a butcher. Not the kind that hacked meat from animals, no, no. I worked in a shelter where I had to snuff out the life from folks dying of radiation poisoning. There was no cure to help those miserable fellas, and no one wanted to do the dirty stuff, so they gave it to me. I did not complain. Somehow, I knew I was bringing them peace. I killed them and hacked their corpses into smaller pieces to help them pass through the sewer.”
Olivia sobbed lightly.
“Oh, no, sweetie. Don’t worry; you won’t feel a thing. Just close your eyes. When I’m done with her, Runner, I will find that little girl of yours. What’s her name again? Angie. Yes, Angie.”
LongJaw raised the axe to deliver a blow on Olivia. Runner quickly grabbed the cable beneath the man’s feet and drew it hard. LongJaw lost his balance. He slipped and slammed on the floor with a loud thud.
Runner charged towards him. The priest tried to reach for the axe, but Runner trampled on his hand, crushing LongJaw’s fingers beneath his boot. The man screamed as the pressure on his fingers increased.
“How does it feel?” Runner’s voice rose with a hint of anger.
He held the priest’s right arm and raised it up to reveal his armpit. Runner readied his knife. His aim was to plunge it right into the man’s armpit, to cause him much pain before death as he had done to others. He lifted the knife to strike.
Bam…bang!
The table that barred the door to the left was sent flying to one end. The door sprung open, and spectres trooped in with fingers on their triggers. Gaius Capricorn and Dr. Lysander Patterson followed behind.
LongJaw looked at Runner with so much dread in his eyes. “Gaius! Gaius! Don’t let him kill me. Please, I did as you asked.” His voice cracked with fear.
“Dim-witted wastelander. I should have known you would fuck this up,” Dr. Lysander said.
She snatched a gun from a spectre’s holster and shot once. A burst of blood from LongJaw’s head splattered upon Runner’s face. The boy flinched in surprise as the priest’s warm hand slowly slipped from his grip.
“Mother!” Olivia cried.
“Stay out
of this, Liv,” Dr. Lysander said. “You have no idea how much I sacrificed to get here. Come with me, Runner. I will not harm you, I swear it.”
“Because you need me.” Runner stepped backwards.
“Yes, I need you. But if you don’t come, I’m going to shoot her.” She pointed the gun at Olivia. “And then her.”
Runner watched as the boy, James Wednesday, dragged Angel into the room and pushed her to fall on the floor.
“James, you too?” Olivia’s gaze narrowed in gloom.
“What? Do you think of me as a fool? I’m your mother. I knew from the very first day that you and your brother were the very head of the rebel group, Death Throe. I asked James to keep an eye on you. He would do anything to further his family’s goal to join the council.”
Runner turned to Olivia. His face grew grim, and his knife slipped from his grip.
“You killed my best friend, Rhiannon?”
He took gentle steps towards her like a predator cornering a scared prey. Olivia scrambled backwards. He caught her by the arm, and his hands went upon her throat. Olivia choked as Runner’s hands tightened around her throat.
He could see his hands grasping harder, but he was not thinking clearly. His mind was vague with thoughts he could not fathom.
“Let her go, Runner. Do it now!”
Runner removed his hands, and Olivia inhaled deeply.
“I’m sorry,” she muttered. “I’m so sorry.”
“What do you want from me?” Runner hung his head in despair. His will was broken, shattered to a million pieces.
Dr. Lysander lowered her gun.
“Everything is not what it seems, Runner. The geothermal generators are dying; our domes cannot hold for long. Soon, there won’t be enough resources for everyone. I want you to stand before the masses and convince them that this is a new age where the right to live belongs to the fittest. I want you to stand by my side as we announce this new programme to keep our society functioning.”
Runner remained silent for a moment. “I will do it,” he said. “But first, I want to meet the supreme councillor.”
Dr. Lysander exchanged an awkward glance with Gaius Capricorn.
“He is dead,” Gaius said. “Supreme Councillor Peter Patterson has been dead for five years now. Dr. Lysander has headed the Council since then, but because of his hold over the city, our technicians have kept his image alive and we communicate to the people through his voice.”
“You killed my father and sentenced your son to death?” Olivia said amid tears.
“Sacrifices have to be made. You will understand that someday,” her mother replied.
“It’s time to go, Runner,” Gaius said.
Runner walked to the mirror and watched the view of the slums from there. He saw all he would give up if he went with them. How many was he willing to sacrifice? Little Angie? Troy? His aunt’s kids? What if they were deemed undesirable by the proposed culling and exiled from the city? Was he willing to risk that?
Runner scanned the room as quickly as he could. He saw the half-broken window of the tower house, the long cable extending from the roof of the control room, and LongJaws’s knife lying beside it. That moment, a vivid simulation of a perfect escape formed in his mind.
Olivia sobs died down. She reached for a crossbow dropped by a dead marauder and pointed it at her mother.
“I won’t let you take him, Mother. I won’t let you corrupt him into a sadistic creature like yourself. The council can find another puppet to serve their interest.”
Gaius pulled a gun and aimed it at her. The spectres did the same.
“Lower your gun, Gaius.” Dr. Lysander ordered. “She is my daughter. She won’t shoot me.”
“I swear if you don’t let him go, Mother, I will put a bolt in your chest.”
Runner bent down slowly as their attention was focused on Olivia. He picked the cable and began to wrap it over his arm.
“Put the bow down, Livy.” Dr. Lysander took a step forward.
Olivia shook nervously and pulled the trigger mistakenly. The bolt hit her mother on her shoulder. Immediately, Gaius responded with a shot, and a trail of smoke left the barrel of his gun.
“Don’t, Gaius!” her mother screamed too late.
Runner charged towards Olivia as she was heading for the hard floor. He put his arm around her waist and held the cable tight.
“Hold on,” he whispered to her.
He ran forward, dragging Olivia along.
“Stop him!” Gaius bellowed.
Runner held fast to Olivia and charged through the large half-broken window of the tower. Pieces of broken glasses were left on his trail. A cold rush of wind went past him as he swung along with the rope, going down the tower. In a moment, their feet dangled a few inches above ground level. Runner released his hand and fell on the floor with Olivia.
He laid her to rest on her back and studied her in keen. Blood grew continuously on her abdomen. Runner tore her cloth to reveal the wound. He put his hand to apply pressure, but it did no good.
“Hold on, Olivia. Just hold on.”
Quickly, he pulled his shirt off, folded it and pressed it upon the wound. In a few seconds, it soaked with blood.
Olivia put her bloodied hand on his cheek. “I’m sorry I lied to you, Runner. I only wanted to help. I didn’t mean…I didn’t mean…”
“It’s okay.” Runner put his finger over her lips, his eyes filled with tears.
“It hurts so much…It hurts so much.” Olivia coughed, and blood dripped down the side of her mouth.
“Just hold on, Olivia. We will get through this, and I will show you the stars, the bright warm sun, and the moon. I have seen them all, and you can see them too; all you need to do is hold on.”
Tears rolled down the side of her eyes. “I have always been too shy to admit this, Runner, but if I would ask anything of this world, it would have been a lifetime with you.”
Her voice lowered to a whisper.
“Just hold on.”
Runner put his fingers between hers. She grasped them tight with a smile, and then slowly, her grasp loosened until her hand fell free.
He buried his head upon her warm body in grief. “I promise you, I will make them pay.”
He heard the footfalls from heavy boots of spectres descending the stairs of the tower. Reluctantly, Runner stood away from Olivia’s body. He walked past a trail of corpses left by LongJaw’s war and escaped into the night.
Epilogue
No Country for Heroes
Mekkel’s bar was not the nicest place to be, but so was everywhere these days. Half of Rat Town had been left in ruins by LongJaw’s marauders. Buildings were torn down; smoke ascended from shacks and workshops. Children cried, and their mothers consoled. Rangers of Section 5 laid down their weapons and used their trucks to dispose corpses left on the streets.
Runner made his way past a group of rangers, executing what was left of LongJaws marauders. He was in a grey trench coat with a hood that concealed his face. He reached for the door to the bar and walked in.
The air reeked of smoke. It came from the cigarettes on the lips of disheartened slum dwellers as they puffed away their melancholy. He made his way across to the bartender and sat on a seat.
“Hey, Mekkel. One glass of the good stuff,” he said.
The bartender grabbed a glass and a bottle of Juniper gin. “Runner, is that you?”
Runner pulled down his hood. “Yeah, it’s me, Mekkel.”
“Man, you’re a fucking legend. The news is everywhere; everyone knows you found the darn lake. You saved a lot of lives, my friend.”
“Yeah, tell them to keep it to themselves if they value their heads. Those guys in the big city can fuck you up, wherever they want and whenever they want.”
Mekkel poured the drink in the glass, and Runner swallowed it in a gulp.
He dropped the glass on the table. “I don’t know what’s next for me.”
“Celebrate, my friend. We def
eated LongJaw. Long live Rat Town and drinks for everyone.” Mekkel raised a glass.
“Long live Rat Town! Long live the slums!” the crowd in the bar shouted, lifting their glasses.
Runner was surprised to see how fast the air of depression that clouded the bar gave way to boisterousness. Free drinks could surely do that. He turned his gaze to a television hanging at one end of the bar.
“Turn the volume up,” he said.
Mekkel pressed a button on the remote.
It’s now official. Supreme Councillor Peter Patterson has been confirmed dead. The great leader was found in his office, murdered by no other than the saviour of the city, Runner of Rat Town. Evidence shows that the leader was shot with a crossbow during a personal meeting to congratulate the so-called hero, but he had managed to deceive us all.
Council representative and wife of the late leader, Dr. Lysander Patterson, have promised to personally reward any citizen that captures the boy in this picture with fifty-thousand credit-chips. All sightings should be reported to the nearest Section 5 command.
“My god,” Mekkel said. “That’s a lot of money.”
Runner scanned the room quickly to make sure there was no one after him. He returned his gaze to Mekkel and saw the man reaching under the bar for his rifle.
“Don’t do this, Mekkel,” he said.
“I’m sorry, Runner. This is Rat Town, and times are hard.”
Runner’s gaze settled on the empty bottle of gin resting on the bar. He grabbed it quickly and broke it on the table, drawing the attraction of others in the room.
Mekkel’s hands reached his gun.
“Please, don’t.” Runner shook his head gently holding the broken bottle at its head.
Mekkel drew the gun as fast as he could, but Runner was quicker. He leaned forward and jabbed the glass into Mekkel’s neck. Blood spurted, and the man grasped his neck quickly. In a few seconds, he slumped on the floor.
Runner turned around to see every eye upon him.
