The screams that echoed all through Molina were beginning to die down. Rowan could only imagine it was probably because people were finding safe shelter or the creatures were running out of people to hunt. Even the night time sky, which was once abuzz with carrier class warships and military grade combat helicopters, was now empty. He’d seen a few crash down to the city below near their location and took note in case they could detour to check for survivors. By now, Rowan and his team had collected a good number of people on their way to central Molina where the commerce building was waiting for them.
Before long, night time fell over the crumbling corpse of Molina bringing an eerie quiet that washed over the city with it as the sun made its departure. The automatic Street lights fluttered on, offering what little luminance they could for those that are still alive.
Next to him, Millie and Shara were keeping themselves focused on a conversation to help them ease their nerves while still being on alert.
Millie asked Shara, “That’s a cool jacket! It looks like some kind of fancy designer that only the rich can afford made it.”
Shara blushed. She rested her hand on the patch of her brother’s unit on her shoulder, “It’s nothing like that. My brother is a soldier. When he went overseas he sent me this as a birthday present to apologize for not being home so we could endure our family together.”
Millie then asked, “A soldier? from what unit? What is his name?”
Shara answered, “His name is Irvin Fend. He’s a member of the Corpse eater company.”
Miliie’s eyes widened and her lips puckered before she spoke again, “The Corpse Eaters?!?! Those guys are THE black ops of Deademalta’s armed forces. I heard you have to be built of some different shit for them to even send you an application.”
This got Shara to smile a bit, “He always tells me about how hellish the training is. My dad is…was…. against him leaving home and never told him he was proud of him for his accomplishments. But I’m always proud of him. I could never do what he does. I hope he’s okay.”
Millie answered, “I’m sure he’s fine. Let’s just pray that whatever this thing is isn’t spreading too fast. At the rate its turning people, and with how many people live in Molina, it’ll be an army of these things spreading all over Desdemalta. There’s gotta be a way to stop this.”
Thinking about these creatures and their broken bodies made the scars on her shoulders and back itch. Even if she wasn’t fully one of them she knew she was no longer human. She was now something else entirely, something dangerous. It frightened her. As much as she tried not to think about it, the what if that she could be a ticking time bomb and could turn into one of those things at a moment’s notice was constantly present in her mind. She’s seen how others turned almost instantly if they weren’t eaten first, but why not her? She had so many questions regarding her condition but no way to answer them. At least, not for now.
After some walking they finally reached their destination. The City’s commerce building was once a proud staple of Molina as the pillar of money management for the city as well as where citizens came from afar to gain residency into the city and build their new life here. Now it stood hollow. The trademark Violet tumors had begun to climb all over its surface from the base of the building all the way up to the rooftop. Black growths like ivy crawled out of the tumors and snaked their way all over the building leaving black puddles to pool under them.
Rowan and Brick took point as they approached the closed doors while Rueben stood watch over the small crowd of civilians they had gathered.
Rowan approached the door and gave the door a push but the door refused to budge, almost like someone had also pressed something against the door from the otherside. A series of pad locks also covered the handles of the door for added security. Shooting off the locks would only cause more attention to themselves and bring the creatures to them so they’d have to find another way in.
Rowan called his team to a huddle to game plan with them. He instructed, “Doors jammed. I have reason to believe someone is in there and they don’t want visitors. I’ll go and check things out to see if I can find another way in. Stay here and defend the civilians. If things get bad, backtrack to the Supermarkets we passed and set up defenses there. I’ll keep my radio on for regular updates then catch up with you.”
Shara stepped forward and poked her head into the huddle, “I want to come with you.”
Rowan denied, “No way kiddo.”
Shara moved her head in farther, nearly shouldering past Brick and Reuben with a strength neither thought she had. Her face and tone remained unchanging as she continued to press her case defiantly, “You need backup and let’s be honest, other than the soldiers no one else is brave enough to go in there. Please, let me pay you back for saving me.” For the most part, she wanted to go so that she didn’t have to be alone with her thoughts. Her fears were already loud enough and being around more frightened people would not do wonders for her already unstable frame of mind.
Rowan sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, “I can tell you’re not backing down. Fine. But you’ll need more than a rusty pole.” He reached to his thigh and pulled out a stainless steel serrated combat knife with a black carbon plating material on its handle. At the end of the knife was a small wooden charm tied to a loop at the end of the hilt. Rowan took the knife out of its black sleeve to inspect it then put it back in. He flipped the knife in his hand and passed it to her hilt first. “Take this. Only use it if you need to.”
Shara carefully took the knife and clipped the belts of the sleeve against her left thigh. It took some adjusting of the belts for it to fit snuggly but she made it work then looked back up at Rowan to show that she was ready to go.
Rowan said, “Let’s get in there, slayer. The rest of you keep it tight and stay safe.”
Millie saluted him with a smile, “You got it Captain.”
Rowan and Shara walked around to the left side of the building, inspecting the windows for any forced points of entry. Whoever had locked this place down took great care to make sure nothing was getting in, human or otherwise. Even the backdoor had been padlocked and barricaded shut. Shara pressed her ear against the door and swore she could hear people shuffling and even some yelling that could still be heard even through the heavy doors.
She waved Rowan over and told him, “There’s people in there. No monsters. Can you hear them?” She didn’t feel the prickly feeling on her neck when the infected were nearby so that was the confirmation she needed, but she didn’t dare tell Rowan.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Rowan pressed his ear against the door and heard the voices as well. He looked over at Shara and told her, “Folks are in there, and they’re scared shitless.” He did another look around the side of the building and found a set of stairs that led down to the emergency exit. The two of them walked down and found that this door as well had been pad locked.
Rowan asked Shara, “You got a hairpin?”
Shara pulled one out of her hair then watched as he bent it and began picking the lock.
Curious, Shara inquired, “Did they teach you that in the army?”
Rowan chuckled, “No, I learned this growing up at an orphanage. I used to always run away and I'd break into stores looking for snacks. My ass would get caught and get brought back every time. The nuns were pissed. Nobody wanted to adopt some unwanted kid from the slums but where else could I go?”
Then Shara asked, “Why the army?”
Rowan answered, “It was a chance encounter actually. I was 18 hanging with a bad crowd. We tried to rob the man that would later end up being my commander. He kicked our asses so bad up looked like down. Afterwards he looked at me over the rest of my friends, told me I had potential and that he’d hate to see it die in the streets. Then left his card on my forehead and went about his day. That ass whooping was the motivation I needed to make me enlist and get my life together.”
the hair pin snapped and he cursed, throwing it to the ground.
Shara pulled her knife out and squatted down next to him then pulled another hair pin out her hair and picked the lock open in a matter of seconds. She smiled at Rowan then said, “I may not have been an orphan before all this, but I know how to get into places i'm not supposed to be too.”
This impressed Rowan who patted her shoulder. The two stood up and started pushing their bodies into the door. After a few presses, the door creaked open and they were able to slide into the crack in the door. Just as they suspected, someone had stacked heavy boxes and whatever they could find in front of the door to keep it closed. As if the locked door wasn’t already a barrier enough. They stepped through and found themselves in the basement of the building. Above them they could hear some kind of commotion or a very heated debate happening.
Rowan stowed his assault rifle and commanded, “Let’s go. I don’t want the folks outside to be out there for too long. Not while those things and God knows what else is still out there.”
They climbed the stairs to the main floor. The place was tattered and ransacked but had been in the process of being made liveable for the moment. The upper floor had been transformed into a makeshift clinic for the injured and the lower floors were littered with sleeping arrangements. In some corners of the room were children’s toys scattered around and others had been made into different stations for food distribution. It was a mess but it was enough for now.
In the middle of the room, all of the dwellers were collected in a circle. Different voices were chiming in and out while some yelled louder over the others. Rowan and Shara circled around the distracted crowd until they could see into the middle of the ring. In the middle, Three soldiers and a man in an officer’s uniform stood with a battered man being held on his knees at gunpoint. His eyes had a bright violet glow and they could see his chest had patches of exposed muscle that contracted with every labored breath he took.
The Officer yelled, “This man is infected with whatever mutation is hunting and killing all of our friends and loved ones. I've seen whole teams massacred by these things. He may still be a man now but what if he turns into a monster while we sleep?”
Through the bumps and bruises, Shara could tell the man had eyes and scars just like her. He didn’t dare meet anyone’s gaze as one of the gun barrels pressed against the back of his head.
One of the civilians, A nurse, raised her hand and retorted, “But ever since we’ve gotten here he’s been more than helpful. He was the first to volunteer to gather supplies for this place. He may be sick in body but not in mind. I won’t vote for the murder of an innocent human that has not hurt anyone yet.” The other doctors and nurses agreed.
One of them followed up, “If Dr. Frost were here he’d agree. This man is still a man. He is our patient and we will advocate for him.”
This threw the civilians into an uproar as they all began to yell things like, “So you knew he was sick?!??” and “How could you hide this from us?!?!?”
The Officer whistled and sent the whole room into silence. He addressed the frightened crowd with authority, “It would seem the majority has spoken. We have much respect for you medics but this is a matter of safety for the majority. As is my duty as the highest ranking military leader here.” Then he addresses the beaten man in question. “Do you have any last words?”
The man spit blood on the ground. The drop was scarlet with a ting of violet that caught the light as it hit the ground. “I don’t know what will happen to my body the longer I breathe. Who knows if I'd become one of those things or not. So I did whatever good I could do for people in case my time was limited. Do what you must.” He bowed his head and closed his eyes.
The Officer looked to the soldiers in front of him then nodded. One got in position to fire a round into his skull until Rowan grabbed the barrel and angled it up to the ceiling. No one had even seen him slip through the crowd and into the center of the circle until he appeared. Shara was right behind him and ran straight to the infected man who was now looking around in bewilderment then back to Shara.
Shara asked him, “Are you okay?”
The man looked into her eyes at the violet shine in her pupils and answered, “You’re like me.”
Shara nodded then told him, “Yes, and I have many questions for you. So neither of us get to die yet. If that’s okay with you?”
Rowan’s angry glare scanned the rest of the circle of civilians then back to the officer that was the instigator of all this, He snarled, “The city goes to hell and we start killing each other, are you all insane?”
The officer straightened up his posture and spoke with full confidence in his actions, “You’d be angry at me for doing my duty? That man is a danger to the people here, and so is your friend there. Do you think we don’t all see the color of the violet demons in her eyes? They’re both sick and could kill us all.”
Rowan looked back to Shara and the man who were both avoiding making eye contact with anyone. He could only imagine the fear they’re constantly in. This is new territory for both of them, neither of them know what could happen with whatever is going around in their systems. But Rowan knew good people when he saw them. He’s heard stories of the man in question helping people here despite his infection and ever since he met Shara she’s been very helpful in watching their backs and doing anything she can for other survivors.
He turned back to the officer and told him, “All I see behind me are a couple of good humans. Better and braver humans than most of you in this room. You defenders should be ashamed of yourselves. I understand, this is all new. And I understand the risk involved. But killing someone for something you THINK they might do is just wrong. Ive seen this infection turn people in a manner of seconds, they’ve been infected for hours and still have their minds and bodies more or less in one piece.”
He stepped in front of the two asymptomatics and challenged the crowd, “If you still want to kill them, you’ll have to go through me. If not then I have a job to do. I got a crowd of folks outside and more coming that all need somewhere safe and its my job to make that happen.”
The crowd’s hysteria begins to subside.
The officer asked, “Then what if they turn?”
Rowan answered, “If they turn, i’ll deal with it myself and i’ll pay the price with my life.”
The crowd reluctantly accepts as Rowan picks a trembling Shara up off the ground. Then looks at the Officer, “Now that we got that understood, What's your name?”
He answers, “Oswald Caldwell.”
Rowan smiles at Oswald, “I wasn’t mad at you for putting the people first, it’s how you do it that matters. Now, let’s work together to keep doing what we can.”
Oswald pulls a key out of his pocket and passes it to Shara then says, “Those keys will unlock the locks on the front door. We can make this area defendable but not forever.”
Rowan looks over to Shara again and instructs her to go and get the doors open. She does so while those on the inside move the barricade to let their new guest in.
Behind the door, Rowan’s team and their small convoy of survivors waited nervously. As darkness began to set some could swear they could see something dance circles around them from the shadows. Shara came running from the side of the building and met with Brick, Reuben, and Millie who had all taken defensive positions to watch each cross street for both enemies and allies.
Brick sees Shara approach and asks, “What happened in there, little soldier? We were getting worried and folks are starting to get spooked.”
Shara answered, “There’s people in there. That's why this place has been locked up like this. But Rowan got them all under control just by talking. How does he do that?”
Brick laughed then said, “We call it his Dad voice. He tells people what to do and people’s ignorance leaves their bodies. He just has a way of whipping people into shape even if he doesn’t notice it. You got keys for these locks I see.”
Shara gives them a playful shake then unlocks each padlock and watches them with their chains clatter to the ground. When the door opens Rowan is standing there with a smile as he ushers everyone in. As the last ones enter the building, Rowan looks up and swears his eyes met with another pair of bright, glowing blue eyes. An infected creature was hiding in the dark but edged into the light of a lamppost so that Rowan could see it clearly. It didn’t show signs of aggression or hunger. It just stared long at Rowan who stared back with his rifle now in his hands. It neither screamed or bore its fangs, just stared blankly until after a minute it backpedaled back into the darkness. Its bright blue eyes were the last to be seen as it slunk into the dark corner of a pile of rubble and disappeared.
Rowan let his rifle hang from its strap at his side and exhaled the deep breath that he was holding in anticipation for a fight. Whatever was plaguing Desdemalta and its people was only getting worse and he only had more questions. “One thing at a time.” He thought to himself. For now, his worry needed to be on the people in this building that needed his help. He stepped back and closed the doors shut. Then took his radio off his belt and sat in a nearby chair, silently praying Haunani’s voice will be the next one he hears.
