© Finlay Borthwick 2020
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or modified in any form, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
© Finlay Borthwick 2020
Human Nature III
Contents
Chapter 1: A World Rebuilt
Chapter 2: Scouts
Chapter 3: Personal Errand
Chapter 4: Eyes
Chapter 5: West
Chapter 6: Community
Chapter 7: Rushed Reunion
Chapter 8: The Trade
Chapter 9: Journey
Chapter 10: Enemies Closer
Chapter 11: Other Ways
Chapter 12: Leverage
Chapter 13: Out and About
Chapter 14: The Line
Chapter 15: Paranoia
Chapter 16: Nostalgia
Chapter 17: The Loop
Chapter 18: Old New Friends
Chapter 19: Terms and Conditions
Chapter 20: The Port
Chapter 21: Day Zero
Chapter 22: Slaughter
Chapter 23: Suspicious
Chapter 24: The Beast
Chapter 25: The Murderer
Chapter 26: Guerrillas
Epilogue
About the Author
Chapter 1: A World Rebuilt
A desolate hotel, in an abandoned and far away town in Czechia, many years ago…
“So,” Elliot began, holding his hands together behind his back. “As you all know; we are headed to Prague. We are headed there to get assistance. More bullets, more supplies, more people… Things that we will need to go after the group that killed our friends. However, there is of course also a chance that, the people who killed our friends are in fact the same people who we shall meet in Prague. If that is the case, if you even so much as suspect that, to be the case… Then we will light the place up. We will kill, absolutely everybody, if we must. We’re taking no more chances. We shall not have Reed, Celeste and Zach turning in their graves. Not on our account, no-no.” He paused after delivering such a dramatic monologue.
“Now, Prague is still over a day’s walk away.” As Elliot said this, everyone sighed, and threw their heads back in disbelief.
“And thankfully, we’re not walking it,” he had misled the entire group. They all pricked their ears up at him now.
Without saying anything, Elliot walked over to a white minibus parked on the curb opposite the hotel.
He opened the driver door and turned the keys in the ignition. He, awkwardly, had to spin the keys multiple times, before the engine started.
Everyone began to smile, and this time, their celebrations really weren’t premature whatsoever.
“That’s right! In this thing, and with this map,” Elliot raised the curled-up map in his dominant hand, “We can make it to Prague in no more than four, maybe even three, hours!”
Wasting no more time, everybody gratefully ran towards the minibus. Elliot slid the side-door open, as everybody piled in through it.
Tina was the last to board. As she stepped on, she leant over to Elliot. “You know something?” She smiled at him. Elliot smiled back at her, and perhaps now, this would no longer be a rare occurrence.
“Olivia would be proud of you…” With that compliment, Tina boarded, and slid the door shut behind her.
Still smiling, Elliot looked up at the clear blue sky. “Are you?” He asked her…
Czechia, Four Years Later…
Elliot and Annabelle were spending time together in a small clearing surrounded by a forest. A large wooden pole, padded with cushions and other soft materials, had been erected in the centre of this clearing.
“Concentrate,” Annabelle mumbled to Elliot, watching him from behind, as he tightly gripped a pair of nunchucks with his right hand. His other arm was raised out in front of him, in an almost defensive-like position.
“Listen, carefully, to your surroundings,” Annabelle humbly guided him. “Listen to the birds, listen to the gale, listen to nature…”
Elliot followed her advice and tried his hardest to concentrate.
But, very quickly, his attention span broke, as he stood upright out of his defensive-stance and turned around to face his sister. “Look, Annie, no offence, but this whole ‘be one with nature’ thing is kind of cringing me out.”
Annabelle shook her head at her brother’s naivety, but there was a little smirk evident on her face. “And no offence to you, El, but you know I hate that name.”
Elliot smirked back at her in response, yet a wisp of sadness was clearly lurking behind this smile; which Annabelle clocked on to.
“Seriously though, Elliot,” she approached him, and gripped his arm with her hand, “You may be able to fool the others that you’re ok with it, but I can see that you’re still hurting.”
Elliot sighed, and looked to the ground, as if he were ashamed for some reason, “It’s been a year, sis’… And yet still, I haven’t come to terms with the fact that I’m blind… For the rest of my life, that’s going to be the truth; I can’t make some magical trade, my sight is literally gone, dead, and forgotten – just like most of our friends.” He grunted after this declaration.
Annabelle took a moment to think about what Elliot had just said, before replying to him. “They’re not forgotten, Elliot. You and I think about them every day. Your sight, the things you did, you were amazing. You got us through some of the hardest times…” She took another moment to think of examples to reassure him of this. “Remember the mutations we encountered? The giant spider, the giant lizard, too? Think of all those crazy encounters we had; and now all that’s a thing of the past. You may have lost your sight, but in doing so, you helped us all to find the world again.”
Unlike his sister, Elliot didn’t even take a second to prepare his response. “Like I said, your philosophy, it cringes me out.” With these words, he turned back around, and raised his nunchucks once again, before swinging them at the pole with significant force.
Annabelle sighed, and nodded in acceptance – for herself – before turning around and backing away from Elliot; at least she had tried.
With the sun beginning to set and feeling tired of watching her brother seemingly fight ghosts at this point, Annabelle clapped her hands twice loudly, as a gesture for Elliot to ‘hurry up’.
Elliot stopped, and lowered his nunchucks. Turning around, he bluntly asked, “What?”
Annabelle rolled her eyes, “It’s gonna get dark soon. We should start heading back to the town if we wanna play it safe.”
Elliot sighed, “’Play it safe’? Annabelle, what is there to be afraid of?” He threw his arms up while saying this, to express his extreme feeling of safety.
“Oh no, I didn’t mean it like that,” she was quick to go back on her statement, “I’m just saying that, I suppose… Well, when it gets darker, it’s harder to navigate. I mean, you really can’t see. There’s no need to make that the two of us, is there?”
Elliot scoffed at her remark, “That’s very classy that, isn’t it?”
Annabelle squinted awkwardly, upon realising how what she had just said could be taken as mildly offensive, “Elliot… I’m sorry.”
“No, you aren’t,” He bluntly rejected her apology, “How can you possibly be ‘sorry’? You don’t understand what it feels like to not see anything, Annabelle.”
Annabelle’s heart broke a little as he berated her. “Please, Elliot--”
“Look at me!” He cried out and moved his face right in front of hers’. With his middle and fore fingers, he pointed up
at his eyes; the pupils and the irises were completely grey, empty, and lacking any kind of emotion. Around his eyes, and over the bridge of his nose, a long bruise stretched across – as if something sharp had cut across his face. “The pain will never go away… The physical injury stings, and it hurts like hell, but it is nothing compared to the knowledge that my sight is gone.”
Annabelle’s eyebrows dropped in despair; she was genuinely trying to empathize with Elliot, but he was right, she just couldn’t understand what he must be feeling.
“The thing about not seeing, Annabelle, is that I can’t make any more memories. Everything that I see in my mind, is all I will ever see from now on. Over and over, the deaths, the friends, the family – Everyone we lost, is ingrained in my mind for the rest of my life. None of you even bat an eyelid to everyone who helped get us here!” He raised both his voice and his tone now, “We shouldn’t be the ones still standing! Not without them at least! Sometimes, just sometimes, I think to myself, do we really deserve to live, AT ALL?”
There was silence for a few moments.
Then, Elliot became aware of his fury, and backed out of Annabelle’s face. Once again, he turned to the ground in shame. “Sorry,” he murmured.
Annabelle cleared her throat, “Feeling any better, at all, now?”
Elliot took a few deep breaths to calm himself, and then nodded. He raised his arm out, waiting for Annabelle to hook her own arm around his; Which she did, as she guided him out of the clearing, and back into the forest, homeward bound.
About an hour later, the pair finally made it back to the town; and it was a beautiful town indeed. They walked arm-in-arm down a road that went on for miles and miles which, on the left side, showcased a hill with rows of houses going across, and on the right side, there was a narrow river flowing adjacently to the road, also seemingly endlessly. Bridges crossed over it every couple of intersections. On the other side of the river, there was another road, though the hills formed into mountains that stretched on for as far as the eye could see. The sun was barely up still, casting a reflection over the river.
“It’s just so, quiet,” Elliot remarked, “To think, once upon a time, this place would have been thriving.” He painted an image of the town in his mind, based off the way Annabelle had once described it to him.
“I know, it’s almost creepy… But there’s another way to look at it,” Annabelle optimistically suggested, “Think about how one day this place will be thriving once again, thanks to us, to you.”
Elliot joined in with the silence upon hearing this comment.
“Elliot! Annabelle!” A woman called out from one of the houses in the nearest row on the hill, as Elliot and Annabelle passed by it. She spoke with a thick Czech accent.
“Petra! Dobrý Večer! [Good Evening!]” Annabelle greeted her, sounding far more upbeat now.
“How are you this evening, friends?” Petra called down to them.
“We’re great! Aren’t we, Elliot?” Annabelle nudged him.
“Oh, yes… Yes, we’re quite alright. Very great, indeed!” Elliot tried his best to convince both Petra, and himself.
This exchange was interesting, purely because each speakers’ accent contrasted the others; with Elliot being English, Annabelle being Welsh, and Petra being Czech.
“I am happy to hear that!” Petra responded; her English wasn’t basic, but she was still learning it. “I hope to see both of you tomorrow morning! Oh, what about breakfast at mine? Would you two like this?”
Annabelle looked to Elliot, who was quiet, and then back up at Petra, “We really appreciate that Petra, truly, that means a lot to us, but I think we might be sleeping in for a while tomorrow.”
“Aw, a shame!” Petra was still smiling; she was genuinely happy with her quality of life, “Another time then?”
“Absolutely!” Annabelle responded passionately.
“Excellent! I look forward to it. Goodbye friends!” And with these words, she backed away into her house again.
Annabelle nudged Elliot once again, “You see? Did you hear how happy Petra was there? Remember the absolute state she was in when you found her? Look at her now! She’s all smiley, and bubbly, and she loves the pair of us! You made that possible!”
“Yeah,” Elliot half-heartedly accepted. “But what about all the people who made it possible for me to be there for her?”
Annabelle sighed, and gently rubbed him on his back, “We remember them. That’s what, Elliot… Now come on, let’s give the others a visit as well, shall we?”
After walking further down the road, Elliot and Annabelle finally ascended to the top row of the hill. They were now waiting outside a beautiful all-white traditional family house; four bedrooms, two bathrooms, nothing special, but it clearly meant something to the couple living there.
Annabelle knocked on the door with one fist, with her other arm still interlocked with Elliot’s. She noticed that Elliot was tensing up, and then realised why. “They don’t blame you for what happened. You know that, right?”
Elliot didn’t answer.
Then, the door opened. Erica stood in the doorway, and without even saying anything, she immediately opened her arms, gesturing for the pair in front of her to move in for a group hug; and so, they did, though Elliot was kind of forced into it by Annabelle.
“I’m so glad you two are here! We barely get any visits from you these days!” Erica held the embrace for longer than expected.
“Sorry about that!” Annabelle explained, “We’ve been really busy lately. Elliot’s been training in martial arts, and I’ve been, well, mentoring him, I guess.” They both laughed, while Elliot politely smiled.
“Anyway, come in, come in!” Erica stood to one side, allowing her guests to enter. “We’re cooking some of the vegetables from Mattias’ garden tonight.”
Once Annabelle and Elliot were in the hallway, Erica closed the front door behind them.
“Oh, is Mattias joining us?” Annabelle asked.
“Oh no, he wanted to, but he had a personal errand to run for Klára.” Erica explained, and then looked at Elliot. Although he obviously couldn’t see this, Erica shivered and looked away from him upon making eye contact. “Right, through to the kitchen. Follow me!”
And there in the kitchen, at the hob, stood Tina, stirring vegetables in a pan; they had their own electricity source, powered by solar panels on the roof.
“Evening Tina!” Annabelle nodded to her, as Tina nodded back. “Mm, the vegetables smell nice!”
“Why, thank you. I’m stirring them to perfection!” Tina quipped. “Have a seat, they’ll be ready in a moment!”
Annabelle complied, and sat herself at the head of the table; it was a small square table, but four people could easily fit around it. Elliot reluctantly let go of Annabelle’s grip, and took his seat at the table.
Erica stood in the kitchen doorway, and lent against the frame, taking a second to appreciate the people in front of her; Elliot, Annabelle, and Tina – the London gang – all finally back in her eyesight at the same time, after so long.
Chapter 2: Scouts
An Industrial Zone, several miles away from town…
Gwen, Nikola, Alek, and Andre entered the industrial zone; the buildings, which were once factories, were now crumbling, decrepit, and slowly rotting away into piles of ash and concrete. In fact, most of them already had.
“We’re here!” Nikola declared, though she was short of breath, due to how heavy the rucksack on her back was.
Hearing Nikola’s irregular breathing pattern, Gwen decided, “We’ll take a short break before we explore. Five minutes, stay within eyesight and earshot of each other.” She turned around, and looked between the two of them, “I mean it. This is your first supply run. If you ever wanna go out and about again after this one, you must do exactly as I say, otherwise you may find yourself six feet under. Ok?” She was firm, but she had to be, for the group’s own benefit.
“Yes, ma’am.” Alek declared, wit
h Nikola nodding in agreement. Andre on the other hand was too socially anxious to submit; but Gwen knew this, and knew he understood the rules.
“Right, I’ll do a quick perimeter check. If you hear the signal, you know what to do.” Gwen reminded them, in the case of danger.
The three of them watched as Gwen jogged towards the perimeter of the site.
“Jak…? [How…?]” Andre asked, whilst they all continued to watch Gwen.
“Jak co? [How what?]” Nikola responded, still trying to regulate her breathing again.
“…Ona být běhání? To je velice horký! […Can she be running? It’s so hot!]” Andre fanned himself with his hand as he said this.
“To je horký? Nebo ona je senzační? [It is hot? Or she is hot?]” Alek joked, in reference to Andre’s obvious crush on Gwen.
Nikola laughed at Alek’s remark, while Andre clammed up awkwardly.
The site was surrounded by tall grass, roughly half as tall as Gwen. She managed to completely roughly half a lap of the perimeter before settling down; to tell the truth, she only wanted some to herself.
As she slid her bag off her back and onto the ground, she rummaged through one of the side pockets. Her fingertips reached the desired object, as she gripped it, and pulled it out of the rucksack.
Her face was stern and expressionless on the outside, but all that emotion was building up within – the object was a photograph of her family before the apocalypse.
She shook her head gently, and sighed, “I’m so sorry love.” She brushed her finger over her ex-husband’s face. “You deserve to be here with our little girl… So much more than I do.” She declared, while reminiscing over all that had happened since his death many years ago.
“She doesn’t even use her own name. She hasn’t done for so many years now, our Annie.” Gwen paused, and was shocked with herself; that was the first time she had said her daughter’s real name since before Elliot came into their lives, and that lead her into what she would say next.
Human Nature (Book 3): Human Nature III Page 1
