“She has a brother now… The brother that we never gave her. I wish you had met Elliot, even just once. Just so that I could see that perfect little family we had envisioned ever since our first date… You, me, a girl, and a boy…” A tear rolled out of her eye. “I made it real, for you,” she paused as a second tear formed, “Elliot means just as much to me as Annabelle does now… They’re both growing up so fast. Birthdays might have passed us by, but she’s past 21 now for sure - And to think, we didn’t even celebrate it… Elliot’s hit his thirties too. It’s just so strange, the age that Annabelle is now, is the age Elliot was when I first met him. He’s suddenly sprung from a young man into a proper adult. Before I know it, dear Annabelle will do the same thing. By the time she reaches his current age, I… I’ll either be dead or greying. I’ll be well into my sixties; something which I only ever planned on doing with you by my side.” She took a minute to compose herself, wiping the tears away.
She cleared her throat, “Nah, you know me. I’m tough as nails!” Even with no one around to convince, she put on her hard-woman façade. “Gotta go love, I have some learners to teach. Speak soon!” She kissed the photograph, and then gently slid it back into the side pocket of the rucksack.
Five minutes later, she headed back to her “learners”.
“Alright,” she clapped her hands twice, just like Annabelle did with Elliot, “Chop, chop, everybody! Let’s strip-mine this place and get out of here before sunset. Follow me.”
Nikola and Alek followed her at once, but Andre hesitated, with a confused look on his face. “Chop, chop?” He mumbled to himself.
Inside one the decaying buildings, there was an office that was, much to their amazement, completely intact; except for the door, which was rusted shut.
“It’s not barging!” Gwen gritted her teeth, as she shoulder-barged the door to try and bust it open.
Alek nudged Andre.
“Co? [What?]” Andre asked in a whisper.
Without verbally responding, Alek nodded towards Gwen.
It took him a second or two to catch on, but eventually Andre realised he should probably help Gwen with the door. So, he raised himself up to full height, and marched over to it.
Nikola put her hand over her mouth to hide her smirk.
Andre cleared his throat, and tapped Gwen on the shoulder, “Might I try?” He asked with an unbelievably polite tone.
“Really?” Gwen’s eyes widened. “No offence pal, but I’m probably the strongest one here, and I can’t even do it… But, if you think you can, be my guest.” She stepped to one side.
Andre titled his head to the left and to the right, to relax his neck. Then, he took several steps back.
Knowing what was about to happen, Nikola completely turned away now.
Andre then sprinted at the door and barged it with his shoulder; it didn’t even shift.
He grasped his shoulder, and winced subtly, but tried to downplay his pain.
“Ouch…” Gwen flippantly remarked.
Alek scratched the top of his head, feeling second-hand embarrassment.
“Oh, silly me. Why didn’t I try this first?” Gwen said upon noticing a rusty window next to the door.
Alek leant forward to grab Andre, who was still clenching his shoulder, and pulled him away from the office.
Gwen picked up a grey brick from the floor, and bashed it into the window once, and then a second time; the glass shattered inwards. She tossed the brick to one side, and then brushed her hair out of her eye. “Right then, which of you is going in?”
Hearing this question, Nikola turned back around now. She looked from Gwen to Alek, as did Andre.
Alek sighed, “Seriously?”
“Careful, careful!” Gwen hoisted Alek through the window, as he wrapped a cloth around the pane to avoid any glass piercing his skin.
Once he had successfully made it through the window, he headed straight for the nearest filing cabinet.
He pulled at the top drawer, but again, it was very rusty. He gave up on it and moved down to the next drawer. This one took several attempts, but he was able to open it in the end. “Paper.” He stated, while filing through several documents with his flashlight.
“Any cans? Medical supplies? Useful materials? Anything?” Gwen rushed him.
“Not here.” Alek continued to skim through the documents.
“Move on to the next one then! We’re losing daylight! Come on!” Gwen hurried him again.
Obeying her, he moved down to the next drawer, and opened this one, again after several tries. “Oh!” He burst out jovially and produced two unopened cans from the drawer.
“Excellent Alek! Pass them here!” Gwen reached through the smashed window, as Alek handed the canned goods over to her. She slipped them into her rucksack.
“Who put those there? Someone was living in this office, maybe?” Nikola suggested, trying her best to ask this question in coherent English.
“Possibly.” Gwen answered, unconcerned. “But not for many years.” Nonetheless, she quickly peeped across the entire office, and noticed a rotten corpse in the back corner, with spider webs all over it. “Yeah, not for many years.” She nodded over to the corpse.
“Oh my--” Nikola wretched, and turned away once again.
This time, Andre was the one smirking; yet still he was clenching his shoulder.
Alek moved down to the bottom and final drawer of the cabinet. This one was easier to open than the rest; but unfortunately, it was empty. He turned to Gwen and shook his head to express this.
“Alright, not a problem,” She reassured him. “Try checking some of the desks.”
He turned to the nearest one and searched the drawers under it. “Erm,” he said in disgust, as he pulled up a half-eaten energy bar.
“Crikey, no!” Gwen gestured for him to put it back down. “Actually, that’s another useful scavenging tip right there.” She turned around to Nikola and Andre; the former still covering her mouth feeling nauseated, and the latter still clutching his shoulder. “If something’s already open, or eaten, or basically not new and sealed, do not consume it… It could be poisoned, it could be a trap, and above all else, it just won’t taste very nice.”
“Gwen!” Alek called out to her, with a packet of headache tablets in his hand.
“Hm, not much.” She commented, “But it’s better than nothing. Pass it over here!”
So, he threw the packet over to her, which she caught single-handedly.
“Nice.” Andre remarked.
Gwen looked down at him with a stern expression. “I’m here to teach you how to survive, not how to flirt.”
Andre nodded, with rosy cheeks, as he turned away from her.
Gwen turned to Nikola now, noticing that she was bending over. “Nikola?” She asked.
“I’m going to be sick.” She bluntly stated.
“Outside. Go, go!” Gwen rushed her, as she complied, and left the building.
And so, Nikola did indeed vomit onto the ground; but this was also partially due to the heat and the rucksack she had been carrying all afternoon, rather than just the sight of a decaying corpse.
She unloaded the rucksack from her back and slouched down against the old factory wall. She was once again short of breath, so took some time to regulate her respiration.
But then, something caught the corner of her eye; she could see a face in the tall grass. To get a better look, she twisted her head extremely slowly, so as not to give away that she had noticed the person. The face was indistinctive; it appeared to be covered with a cloth. The rest of the body was hidden by all the green.
Once again, with caution, she raised herself to her feet, and calmly walked back into the building.
“More headache tablets, really?” Gwen ungratefully commented, as Alek chucked another packet to her. “Well, still better than nothing, I guess.”
As Nikola stepped back inside, Andre was the first to notice the concerned look on her face. “Nikola?” He too n
ow had a concerned expression. “Nikola? Jsi ty fajn? [Are you okay?]” He watched as she ignored him and continued to approach Gwen.
But before Nikola had even reached her, Gwen turned around, alerted, “Remember the rules, Andre. No Czech when I’m around. I need to know what’s going on at all times.” She paused, upon noticing both Nikola and Andre appeared to be worried. “What is it?” She cut to the chase.
Gwen peeped around the corner of the building, “Where?” She was trying to see the face that Nikola had just spotted.
“Between those two buildings! Right in the mid--” Nikola ceased her guidance, upon realising that the face was no longer there.
“No, no! There was somebody there!” Nikola insisted.
Gwen sighed, and put her hand on Nikola’s shoulder. “It’s just heat, Nikola… We’re all dehydrated. It’s playing tricks on our mind. Don’t worry my dear, there’s nobody there.”
“There was!” She protested once again.
Realising that Nikola was not going to see reason, Gwen looked past her, and down to Andre, indicating for assistance.
“Nikola,” Andre spoke up, still slouched down clenching his shoulder, “It’s hot. Hot enough to… Play tricks on us.” He mimicked Gwen’s words.
“No.” Nikola shook her head intently. “Someone is watching us! Listen!” She raised her voice.
“Nikola, no!” Andre spoke over her, in a desperate attempt to calm her down. “Nobody is there. Nobody.” He wanted to say more to calm her down, but at the same time, he knew he had to do so in English, and therefore couldn’t bring together the right words.
Nikola reached into Gwen’s personal space, “Vím co viděl jsem… [I know what I saw…]” She grunted, looking her dead in the eyes.
The tense stare down lasted for several seconds.
“She knows what she saw.” Andre translated, causing Nikola to take a deep and slightly frustrated breath. She turned around to face Andre, with a look on her face which said, ‘Why the heck did you do that?’
“To je horký, Nikola, [It’s hot, Nikola,]” Andre calmly responded to her aggravated expression, “Nic jiného. [Nothing else.]” Now, it was him having the stare-off with Nikola.
Outside of the industrial complex, there was a trail in the tall grass; a trail that went in a straight line. It was as if somebody had recently run through the sward…
Chapter 3: Personal Errand
Several miles away from the town in the other direction…
Mattias, helping Klara with a ‘personal errand’, trekked with her through the woods. Their journey had been mostly silent so far, which made it more awkward.
While Mattias was born and raised in Prague, Klara was from Spain. Inconveniently, neither of them could speak the other’s primary language. English was their only common tongue; however, neither of them realised they could both speak it at first.
As they neared the edge of the forest, Mattias sighed, and shook his head.
Klara looked over at him, “Problema?” She asked him sarcastically.
Mattias didn’t need to speak her language, nor any language at all, in order to understand this sarcasm. He responded with the universal word, “No.”
After this brief interaction, they went on in silence again, as they approached the edge of the treeline.
Klara grabbed Mattias’ arm and pointed down to a small town on the other side of the road running parallel to the forest. This town however was far more traditional and basic, with buildings and intersections, rather than bridges and mountains, like the town which the rest of the group had settled down in.
“Co?” Mattias asked her, curious about ‘what’ they were doing here, and why she had asked him to help her; he was probably the member of the group that she had the least interaction with.
Klara didn’t answer, but instead proceeded down into the town.
The buildings were, much like the ones in the industrial zone, slowly crumbling away. The basic structures still stood, but after all the years that had passed, all the raids and fights that had occurred, they were finally on their last legs.
Klara’s eyes were forward the entire time, while Mattias was looking all over the place, spinning around, darting from side to side, and just generally enjoying the scenery.
Eventually, they reached a small pharmacy. The shelves, while not fully stocked, had a fair amount of supplies that would be beneficial to the group.
Mattias squinted in confusion; Klara had taken them directly into this building – So why hadn’t she told the rest of the group about this place? They were low on medical supplies; this place could save them. Due to the language barrier however, he couldn’t exactly express this suspicion to her.
Still, Klara hadn’t stopped. She continued heading towards the back of the pharmacy, into the stockroom. Cautiously, Mattias continued to follow her.
The back of the stockroom was also a goldmine for medical supplies. Everything the group had needed was here, on these shelves.
Klara finally stopped upon reaching a large and heavy trolley, which was filled up and overflowing with boxes, bottles, syringes, gloves, and all kinds of medical supplies and equipment. She looked up at Mattias, waiting for his attention.
Once Mattias had ceased looking around the stockroom in confusion, he watched Klara again. She tried pushing the trolley, but to no avail; it was heavy. She was gesturing for Mattias to assist her while doing this, rather than genuinely trying to shift the load.
Mattias believed he had figured out what she was up to now; these supplies were indeed for the group, but this still didn’t explain why nobody else knew about this place. He nodded and complied with Klara’s request. Together, they spun the trolley around, and pushed it out of the stockroom.
Once they had pushed the trolley all the way outside, the two of them stopped, and wiped the sweat from their eyebrows.
Then, the radio on Klara’s side activated with a burst of static noise, then went silent for another moment.
Mattias was startled by the noise, but not worried about the walkie itself, as he had presumed it was just another member of the group contacting her.
“Klara, you there?” An American male voice came in over the radio.
Now, Mattias was wide-eyed, and stepped back from the trolley, looking at Klara in shock.
Klara pulled the radio up to her mouth, “I’m here. Go ahead.” She spoke perfect English through her Spanish accent.
“Do you have the supplies?” The man asked.
“Si. What’s your ETA?”
“Be ready within thirty. To play it safe however, give it forty.”
“Copy that. Over and out.” Klara ended the exchange and put her radio back on her side.
“You speak English?” Mattias asked, still with a look of surprise on his face.
Klara too had a surprised expression now. “Oh, you understood all of that?”
He nodded slowly.
“Oh,” Klara looked down, feeling slightly disheartened. “It was meant to be a surprise…”
“What was?” Mattias went from shock, to sincerity.
“This was meant to be a bulk trade… I offered them supplies, and threw in a feast as a bonus…” She explained.
“What?” Mattias squinted at her, “What the hell are you talking about?”
“You may not believe me Mattias, but I’m saving everyone by doing this.” Her eyes met his, with strong conflict between them.
“How? There’s a goldmine of medical supplies here! Things which Erica and Tina could really use… And you’re hoarding them for some outsider? Who even is that guy?” He said all this with a passive-aggressive tone.
“That guy is a loose cannon. Look, I can’t really explain it, but he knows about our group.” Klara revealed, but continued before Mattias could angrily interrupt her, “He knew about us before he met me. If he wanted to, he could bombard the town, and kill us all. He offered me another way however; a weekly trade. He asks for something different every
time. At the end of last week’s trade, he asked me for a significant amount of medical supplies, and, well,” She put her hand on the trolley, “I hope this is enough.”
“And if it isn’t?” Mattias furiously put his hands on his hips.
Klara didn’t answer.
“What happens if it isn’t enough, Klara?” He reiterated.
“…Then we all die.” She gravely informed him, before turning to the ground to avoid his eyes of fury.
“So,” Mattias threw his hands over his head in disbelief, “Let me get this straight, you’re making deals with some psycho, who could just come and kill us any time he feels like it?”
Klara nodded slowly.
“Ok, ok…” He tried to think of a way out of this situation, but he had picked up on something else Klara had said, “You said, ‘feast’… What does that mean?”
Klara was awkwardly silent for a moment, before stating “He’s a cannibal.”
Mattias dropped on to his knees, completely bewildered at this revelation. “How, Klara… How is this happening?!” He shouted into the ground.
“That’s why I asked you to come with me… You’re probably the only person in the group that I don’t interact with. I didn’t even know we had a way to talk to each other until just a few minutes ago--”
“No, stop, wait.” Mattias got back up onto his two feet, realising what Klara was really trying to tell him, “Are you trying to tell me, you brought me out for this ‘personal errand’, with the intention of trading me off to be eaten by this madman?”
Klara looked away in guilt, “I’m sorry.”
Mattias shook his head once again and backed away from her. “Yeah, you will be once I tell Elliot and Annabelle what you’re up to here!”
“No, Mattias, I’m not sorry about this…” She cryptically told him, still looking down at the ground.
“What?” He stepped closer to her, “What are you sorry for then?”
She giggled, and then, in a heartbeat, she produced a knife, stabbed him in the heart, and looked up into his eyes; all in the same second.
Human Nature (Book 3): Human Nature III Page 2
