“I can’t see anybody!” James informed his brothers.
“One of these assholes is blind.” Joshua revealed, recalling his short time of being held hostage.
“Look! There!” James pointed out Jázmin and Naiser, who were running towards the bridge.
“Get them!” Joshua began firing recklessly at them.
They both instantly ducked down for cover but continued moving towards the bridge.
“Up there! On the porch!” James pointed to a house, noticing Petra standing there; the gunfire from earlier was presumably beginning to drawn attention.
Joshua looked back to the mountaintop. He raised his hand and spun it in a circular motion.
Whilst the massacre was underway, Erica had become aware of the situation. Putting her argument with Gwen aside for the time being, she took her to the armoury; which was just a wardrobe bound in chains with a padlock.
Using a small key, Erica unlocked the padlock and pulled the chains off. “Two of the rifles are functional, the other one still needs fixing.” Erica told her. “Here.” She handed her one of the working rifles, and then took the other for herself.
“What about the pistols?” Gwen asked, observing the four handguns.
“Put them in here.” She picked up a duffle bag from the bottom of the wardrobe. “Try and dispense them out to our best shooters.”
“What’s happening? What’s happening?” Annabelle was shaking violently.
“It’s ok, it’s us. We’re winning.” Elliot held her tightly, trying to reassure her.
But still, she continued to panic. “You’re lying. You’re lying!”
“Shh, shh.” He began running his fingers through her hair, “It’s ok. Everything’s going to be ok. I’ve got you, little sis’… Just be calm. It’s ok.” He spoke to her as though she were a small child.
“Where’s mum? Is it J.V.? Are they coming for me?”
“No, no they’re not. It’s ok, Annie, brother’s got you… Just be still.” He tried his best to be the brotherly figure that he had perhaps failed to be ever since he lost his sight; it had always been her taking care of him since that day.
Using the houses for cover, Gwen and Erica navigated their way towards the bridge.
“It’s Naiser.” Erica pointed down to him and Jázmin, watching as he returned fire using Johnson’s pistol.
A bullet chipped the corner of the house next to them.
“Shit! Get back!” Gwen pulled Erica firmly against the wall of the house. “Looks like J.V. went back on his word.” She remarked, regarding the presence of the snipers.
“How the hell can we win with those guys up there?” Erica queried.
“One step at a time,” Gwen answered. “Observe.” Still leaning against the house, she moved forward slightly to get an angle on the bridge.
“What can you see?”
She raised the rifle and looked down the scope. “Alek and J.V. are fighting… I can’t get a clear shot.”
“What else?” Erica hurried her, desperate to know whether Tina was on the scene of the fight.
Gwen shifted her aim slightly and watched as Tina plunged a knife through the head of the son that she was already fighting with. “Oh…”
“What? What is it? Is it Tina?”
Gwen nodded, “Yeah. She’s just taken one of the bastards down.”
“She’s down there?” Erica flustered. “The snipers can get her! No, Tina!” She broke from cover, and darted forwards.
“Erica, wait!” Gwen tried to grab her, but she was too quick down the hillside. “Dammit!” Unwilling to break from cover herself, Gwen tried to cover her by aimlessly shooting over at the mountains; she wasn’t even sure if her bullets were reaching that far.
“Die! Die!” Alek’s fists were bloody, as he brutally beat J.V.’s face inwards.
Then, Joshua saw this; his father no longer had the upper hand. “Dad!” Furiously, he raised his handgun—But before he could squeeze the trigger, he was shot straight through the head; Erica came running on to the bridge, hunched over, holding her rifle steadily.
“Tina!” She slid down and hooked her wife’s arm over her shoulder. “Tina? Tina!” She slapped her face gently, but she had become unresponsive and extremely droopy; J.V.’s attack had finally caught up with her. “Alright, come on, let’s get you to the medical bay.” She assisted her through the crossfire, with Gwen now laying down cover fire on the bridge to assist her.
J.V.’s face was extremely bloody and bruised now; he had become unresponsive, yet Alek continued to beat him up still.
Then, Alek was pistol-whipped on the back of the head, knocking him out cold. James pointed the firearm at him and pulled the trigger multiple times; but his magazine was empty. Ferociously, he spat at Alek, and then went to his father’s side.
“It’s calming down?” Annabelle remarked, as the gunfire began to seemingly desist.
“Sounds that way… Because we’re winning, yeah?” Elliot continued to stroke her hair.
“Y-Yeah, that’s right.” She held him just a little bit tighter; some part of her was not entirely convinced that things were going well.
Elliot sighed, “Have I ever told you about that government protest which completely changed my life?” He decided to tell her a story to distract her.
Annabelle answered gently with, “Not all of it, no… No, I don’t think so.”
“Well,” Elliot began, “As you know, I was just sixteen back then. I went there with so much anger in my heart… But it was also there that I met Steven and Olivia. They became good friends of mine. We had a whole decade of friendship before it happened, and then, well, you know the rest, don’t you? You were there for most of it, hey?”
He had expected her to laugh or giggle at least, but she didn’t. “Yeah.” She only affirmed his story bluntly.
“I went to that violent protest out of anger, but I came out of it with love… Through all the napalm, and the explosives, and the Millwall bricks, there was still hope.” Elliot moralised.
Annabelle smiled, “Hope…”
Chapter 20: The Port
Several days later, Naomi’s group were finally nearing their destination.
This time, Naomi hung towards the back of the group. “Kieran.” She addressed him.
He didn’t answer but didn’t speed up or slow down to escape her either.
“I should’ve said this sooner, but: I really am grateful… Thank you for coming back.” She hadn’t expressed her gratitude enough and had been avoiding him recently.
“I did it for myself, don’t get all soft.” He moaned.
Naomi smirked, “Now that is a lie… I’m starting to figure you out, Kieran. This whole dickhead persona you’ve got going on, it’s all just an act.”
“Shouldn’t you be having a mother’s meeting with Cora? Watch out, the big nasty child-killer is about.” He referred to the savage child that he had shot, in a deliberate attempt to maintain his despicable image.
“There you go again! You’re trying to hide from yourself… You’re a big softy on the inside, aren’t you?” Naomi looked him and up down.
“And you’re a big annoyance on the inside and the outside.” He retorted.
“That’s not a denial, is it?”
“Are you trying to flirt with me or something? Because if you’re looking to get laid, I’m sure Worm’s up for it.” He had no filter and spoke whatever was on his mind.
But for once, Naomi wasn’t feeling repulsed by his demeanour. “Alright Kieran, you keep on lying to yourself… But when you’re ready to open up about what’s really going on in your mind, I’ll be here.” She patted him the shoulder and then paced to catch up with Cora.
Once she was away from him, Kieran’s eyebrows dropped into sadness; she was right, he wasn’t just a selfish and unlikeable person, there was pain inside of him…
At long last, the group had finally made it the port, and with resources to spare as well.
“Thi
s is shit.” Kieran pessimistically remarked.
“But we made it.” Mac noted. “Doesn’t matter what you think, we’re here for Aoife.”
They all turned to face Aoife now, as though they were expecting some kind of speech from her.
She cleared her throat. “Thank you,” she smiled. “All of you… Even the new ones,” she nodded to Worm and Naomi. “You’re all such wonderful people. Don’t any of you ever forget that.”
Cora put her hand on Aoife’s shoulder. “Come on, let’s get you home.”
“Good luck with that.” Kieran couldn’t resist heckling. “In case you haven’t noticed yet, the only boat left here is that one.” He nodded towards a large cruise ship. “Do you really think you can get that thing to work?”
“We’ll find a way, alright?” Cora rejected his negativity.
The port was rather large. They passed the checkpoint barriers and made their way across the large and empty waiting area; there were very few cars interestingly enough, suggesting that many people had managed to get away on a departing vessel a long time ago.
“There’s writing on the side.” Mac stepped back, trying to get a full view of the letters.
“Oh my god, have you seriously never seen a boat before?” Kieran criticised him. “They all have their names written on the side.”
“Alright, leave him alone, why don’t you?” Cora stuck up for Mac.
“I mean seriously,” Kieran continued to berate him, “You look about twenty-five. It’s a wonder you’ve survived this long without basic knowledge like that. Tell me, have you discovered the big white ball in the sky yet? It’s called the moon.”
“Kieran!” Naomi interrupted him firmly and cast daggers at him.
Strangely, and for the first time ever, he backed down when Naomi asked him to.
Mac had paid no attention to the criticism anyway. “It says,” he raised his hand to shield his eyes from the sun. “S.S. Aquarius?”
“That’ll be my ship.” A middle-aged woman stepped out from the terminal next to the Aquarius, holding a machete. She had a rifle slung over her back as well.
“Don’t move!” Kieran raised his own rifle at her in return. “Drop the machete!” He was some distance from her, but she didn’t back down as he moved in.
“Kieran, don’t.” Naomi advised him, but this time he ignored her.
“It’s been a long time since I encountered any new folks.” The woman spoke with a Canadian accent. “I was hoping the next bunch would be friendlier, but I guess not.”
Kieran halted just several feet in front of her. “Drop the machete. I won’t ask you again.”
The woman rolled her eyes. “Alright.” She complied and dropped the machete on the floor and raised her hands.
Naomi put her hand over the barrel of Kieran’s gun, lowering it on his behalf. “What’s your name?”
The woman was hesitant at first. “Tanika. Tanika Bell.”
Naomi nodded in greeting. “Alright Tanika, my name is Naomi. This here is Kieran. We’re not going to hurt you, but we do want something from you, ok?”
Tanika tilted her head slightly, “That depends on what you want.”
“Did you say that’s your ship?” Cora asked, with Aoife anxiously looking at the Aquarius, desperate to go back to Ireland.
“It is… And what?”
“Can you take us to Ireland?” Cora followed up.
Tanika broke into a smile and laughed. “That’s a good one!”
Nobody else was particularly amused, however.
“Oh, you’re serious?” Tanika rolled her eyes once again. “No, I can’t take you to Ireland.”
“Your accent, you’re from Canada, right?” Naomi observed.
“Well, there’s something new! A Brit who finally didn’t mistake me for an American!”
“Are you?” Naomi reasserted.
“Gosh, why are you guys being so stern?” Tanika cooed. “Yes, I’m from Canada… Can I put my hands down?”
Naomi nodded, prompting Tanika to slowly lower her hands.
“I’m going to take a wild guess here and say that this ship, the S.S. Aquarius, was how you travelled across the world. Am I right?” Naomi hypothesised.
Tanika smiled once again. “I really like you, Naomi. You’re good at this. Yes, you’re right.”
“So, why is Ireland such a stretch? It’s a far shorter distance to travel than Canada to the UK. Heck, why are you at this particular port anyway?” Naomi had many questions.
Tanika became quiet all of sudden. “My presence here has nothing to do with you.”
“You haven’t moved on.” Naomi continued to theorise, nonetheless. “You’re staying here, at the port, why? Are you waiting for something? A boat? Other survivors?”
“I’d stop at that, if I were you.” She warned her. “I like you, Naomi, so for your own sake, stop trying to figure out something that will put you in danger.”
“In danger?” Kieran raised his rifle at her again. “What the hell are you talking about?”
Tanika didn’t answer at all this time.
“Do you want to get shot or something?” Kieran gestured with his firearm.
“Do you even have bullets in that thing?” Tanika called his bluff.
“Would you like to find out?” He didn’t concede, however.
Naomi stood in between the two of them. “Alright, let’s all just calm down, ok?”
Kieran lowered his firearm, as Tanika eased her posture.
“Let’s go inside and talk about this, ok? Perhaps we can negotiate something. If you like me, then there’s no harm in debating, is there?” Naomi reasoned.
Inside the terminal, Naomi and Tanika debated from either side of a coffee table.
“You’re hiding something.” Naomi tried to read her face. “What’s the big secret, Miss Bell?” She was testing several psychological tricks which she knew of.
“Who says there even is a big secret?” Tanika retorted.
“You do… Well, you’re not saying it, but you’re thinking it.”
Tanika tried to mask her emotions behind a fake and confident smile.
But this only gave Naomi even more information. “You haven’t seen anybody in a while, you said. As such, your skills of secrecy have degraded. You don’t know how to fool people anymore, do you? I can see right through you.”
“Can you? Are you really certain of what you know?”
Naomi chortled, “No… But I am certain of what I don’t know.”
“You’re not getting on board my ship. I may be kind, but I’m not generous. I don’t want trouble, but I don’t want allies either. If you find another boat, then I’ll let you pass, but you’re not using mine.”
“Because you have to stay here, don’t you?” Naomi deduced. “You have some kind of a… A mission? Oh…” She backed out of Tanika’s face upon figuring out the first piece of the puzzle. “You’re working for someone. But not just some Tom, Dick or Harry – That’s a British phrase, by the way – You’re working for somebody in a position of power.”
Tanika maintained the fake smile.
“A post-apocalyptic government? A militia? Go on, spill the beans.” She subtly pressured her.
“You’re deluded.” She giggled. “You think you’re on to me, but you’re not.”
Naomi tested her luck, and went straight in with a complete guess, “Is it something to do with the Zodiac?”
Tanika’s mouth twitched slightly, but she immediately rectified her smile again.
This light twitch, however, gave Naomi the answer she was looking for. “Oh, it does… I figured that out just from the name of your ship. The Aquarius, hey? Your boat… Are there others, too?”
“Dammit.” Tanika mumbled.
“What, what is it?” Naomi continued to pressure her with a cocky smile.
“I really do like you, Naomi… But you’re too smart for your own good.” Her mouth dropped into a sinister frown.
Then, Naomi’
s expression did the same. “Wait…”
Suddenly, Tanika clamped her around the side of her head using a brick.
Naomi dropped to the ground, unconscious.
Tanika flicked her fringe behind her ear, and then looked out of the glass; the rest of the group were busy eating and had not seen this incident…
Chapter 21: Day Zero
San Jose, California, USA
Day Zero – The Beginning of the Apocalypse
“What? But, sir… Yes, I know that, but… What? I don’t understand… Oh… No, that’s not a problem… Ok, thank you sir.” Tanika put her phone down; she was standing out on her porch, smoking a cigarette stressfully.
She watched as daily life went on. Her house was on an intersection. She was used to red lights, beeping horns, and a pile-up of traffic.
Underneath one of the traffic lights, a young boy was tossing a sign around, confusing drivers who were genuinely looking for the dry cleaners that he was being paid to advertise.
Once she had finished her cigarette, she went back inside. Above her dining table, there was wooden board with several notes and photos stapled to it. Right in the centre of this board, there was a post-it note which read ‘PROJECT ZODIAC’, with arrows pointing to all the other pins around it.
At the top of the board, there was a photo of a space station, with the word ‘GEMINI’ written in marker underneath it. There were two smaller photos either side of it; they were labelled as ‘PROFESSOR ROGER’ and ‘PROFESSOR SONIA’.
Further down the board, there was a photo of what appeared to be a large bunker, labelled as ‘CAPRICORN’, as well as a considerably large plane, labelled as ‘VIRGO’.
As Tanika looked down to the photo at the bottom of the board however, she sighed. It was a photo of a cruise ship, labelled as ‘AQUARIUS’.
“Damn Zodiac.” She mumbled.
Breaking the speed limit incredulously, Tanika accelerated through red lights, abruptly turned sharp corners, and didn’t hold back for any other vehicle.
Human Nature (Book 3): Human Nature III Page 14
