(Hey there, everybody. I know it's been quite some time since I've added anything, but I've just recently been given the inspiration to write again. A combination of long zombie talks and shitty zombie movies led me to write some redemption. And speaking of shitty zombie movies, don't go see Resident Evil: Extinction. You will cry. It's terrible.)
The Second Rising
Chapter 1
Strips of sunlight that managed to sneak through the bars on the windows awoke Ryko. He blinked once, then twice, and finally gave up on trying to fall back to sleep. The shirtless man rose to his feet and stepped over various sleeping bodies that littered the same room. The man was trying to maneuver his way towards a lone sink next to the only door in the room.
Ryko turned a knob and waited a moment for the rust-filled, yellow colored water to pass through until it seemed to get as clear as possible for traveling through the old pipes. He slipped his hands beneath the faucet to the warm water flowing out. He splashed a handful of the liquid on his face, followed by a few splashes to his arms and chest. This was the closest he could get to a shower, a privileged not experienced by many in nearly ten years.
None of the nearby towels were clean, but it didn't matter to him. The heat from the sun would dry him off faster anyways. Ryko maneuvered his way back to where he woke from so that he could grab his shirt. The sunlight had moved deeper into the room, causing someone to stir and roll over. Snores soon rose from the man as Ryko exited the room enviously.
The hallway was also filled with sleeping bodies. Men, women, and children huddled together in clumps, making passage difficult. Ryko stepped carefully, shirt in hand, between bodies and spread legs so as not to disturb anyone. The heavy red doors at the end of the hall watched Ryko's careful navigation through the minefield of people. Reaching the finish line, Ryko pushed open one of the red doors. It groaned open loudly, answered by groans from several of the people awoken by the noise. Sunlight flooded into the hallway, causing people to turn and glare at Ryko. All he could do was apologize and continue onward.
The blaring heat of the sun seemed to get worse with each passing day. Ryko stepped out into the daylight and onto the dusty earth. He paused for a moment to get used to the heat and brightness. The first thing to come into clear view was a body sitting against the building he had just walked out of. The body of this young female was not heaving with breaths. Her head hung forward, and her hair was completely dried out. Her arms hung limp to the dirt, with he hands loosely open. Ryko moved closer to her and knelt down to find that her skin had been cooked to a leathery state.
"Poor girl..." a voice said from behind. Ryko recognized the voice as his friend Megan.
"It's not the worst way you could go," he answered without turning around to face her. "Especially these days. Maybe she's the lucky one."
"It's still sad."
"It always is."
Ryko turned to face his friend, and she greeted him with a genuine smile. Megan stood 5' 6" at twenty years of age. She wore a blue tank top and short green shorts. There was a black leather glove on her right hand to hide the fact that she was missing her little and ring finger. She felt that leaving her hand exposed left people uncomfortable. Her clothes were torn and dirty, as were the white tennis shoes she wore. Her shoulder-length hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and her green eyes shone with excitement like they always did.
Ryko looked her up and down once. "Interesting choice of dress today."
Megan put her hands on her hips and tilted her head. "At least I'm actually dressed today."
Ryko realized he was still holding his shirt in his hand, so he pulled it on as Megan stared. Ryko stood a few inches taller than Megan at 5' 10". He was twenty-two years old, and the two of them coincidentally shared the same birthday. He wiped the sweat from his forehead before holding his arms out to his sides for approval. "Better?"
Megan walked up to him and hooked arms. "Dressed to the nines," she answered with a wink. "You ready to go?"
"Go where?" asked Ryko.
"There's a few executions at noon in the stadium. They've got three prisoners today. If we leave now we can get good seats." Megan pulled at Ryko's arm towards the old football stadium.
"Oh dammit that's right," Ryko said more to himself than anyone else. "They want me to make a speech at this one." Megan looked up at him confused. "Well one of the men being executed was from that Chicago mission a few years back. They expect me to say something to him or about him or something like that."
"Ah, so the 'Hero of Chicago' is giving out his introduction?" she asked with a laugh.
Ryko thought for a moment as they walked. "I guess so...but don't call me that."
"Well you are a hero. You saved me..." Megan trailed off, and the rest of the walk was in silence.
The trip through the campus was familiar by this point. Ryko had been there for five years while Megan had only been there for two. Before this, Megan had been in a camp inside of Chicago, and Ryko would never say where he had been before. He believed that it was his own business.
The two reached the stadium soon enough and parted ways. Megan headed for the bleechers while Ryko walked towards the old changing rooms. Ryko was greeted by a man named Nathaniel Hughes. Nathaniel was the announcer of these types of events.
"There he is! The Hero of Chicago graces us!" Nathaniel called out to Ryko. The announcer gripped Ryko's hand in a firm shake and patted his shoulder. "You're a bit late, but no worries. I'll take you right onto he field from here. Once we're out there, I'll start out with the regular crowd-hyping and whatnot. I'll give you a little intro and let you speak, but you're going to be last. Your man is last since his crimes are the worst of the night."
Nathaniel spoke quickly as they walked. Ryko and Nathaniel passes quickly through the locker rooms, but on the way they saw the prisoners. They sat chained to a bench in the order which they were going to be executed. Each wore a hood over his head to hide their faces until the final moments. The prisoner Ryko was going to speak for looked up slowly. Ryko made eye-contact with the only eye visible under the large, dark hood. After a few seconds the prisoner looked back down to the floor in shame.
Back outside, Megan pushed through the crowd of protesters that showed before every execution. They held signs reading 'This is Murder' and 'Stop the Madness'. One of them stepped in front of Megan and shouted "Please! Please don't watch this barbaric entertainment! Don't let it continue!" Megan shoved the protester back and made her way inside.
Megan stepped out into the bleachers of the stadium which was already beginning to fill up. Guards with high powered rifles lined the top rows of both sides of the stadium, although the audience was only allowed to sit on one half. These spectators wore colors of red and black as if they were watching a college football game. A group of middle-aged men, two with missing limbs and the other two with large scars, spelled out the word 'KILL' on their chests in alternating colors. Megan sat herself where the crowd was dense.
Fifteen minutes passed until Ryko and Nathaniel walked into the open. The crowd began to cheer as they knew the show was about to begin. The football field turned killing field had tables scattered about. Each table contained weapons that were grouped by type. Some tables contained knives, others had swords and axes, and still others held guns and other projectile weapons. Also on the field were makeshift torture devices like one would find from medieval times. Finally, there was a caged ring in the center of the field which towered over everything else. Stairs were placed alongside the cage leading to a wooden platform above it. Ryko and Nathaniel made their way to the top of the cage.
"Ladies and gentleman!" shouted Nathaniel to the crowd. Ryko was surprised by how loud the man's voice would get without the use of microphones. "We welcome you all to the monthly showing of the Execution Exhibition!" He waited for the cheers to calm before speaking again. "We have for you fine people three very convicted and very guilty criminals! I know you're not here to listen to me talk, so let's bring out number one!"
The crowd burst into cheer and excitement as two armed guards brought forth the first prisoner. The hood still shrouded his face, and his hands were still bound in shackles. The man was led into the center of the cage where he was chained to a ring in the center. One guard remained inside the cage as the second exited and stood at the entrance. The crowd still chanted and called for the man's blood.
"This man!" boomed Nathaniel to the crowd as the hood was pulled off the prisoner's head. "This man, in a time when we most need to stand together and trust in one another, was caught stealing food from one of the breadlines!" The crowd booed loudly as the man in the cage never spoke or raised his head. "So I ask you fine, honest people: How should this criminal scum meet God?"
Te crowd burst into a frenzy of responses. Each person shouted methods for the man to die. It seemed to Ryko that it was impossible to tell the difference between all the demands, but suddenly Nathaniel spoke. "Aha! It seems that one member of the audience tonight wishes vengeance of old times! Guards! Remove the prisoner's hands!"
The prisoner looked up with wide eyes as a guard entered the cage with an axe. The crowd cheered in approval as the first guard inside the cage clubbed the prisoner in the knees to make him fall forward. The second guard took the thief's shackles and chained them to the ground, preventing the man from standing back up or moving around. The guard with the axe then stood to the prisoner's side and lined the axe up to the prisoner's wrists. The crowd grew silent as the guard brought the axe high into the air. Nathaniel looked down with a smile, and Ryko held his breathe like everybody else watching in anticipation.
The axe plunged deep into the earth, and the crowd's cheers were immediately drowned out by the screams of pain from the prisoner. The crowd continued to cheer as the prisoner rose to his knees. He looked at his wrists to see that his hands had been cleanly separated from him. They were still in shackles on the ground. The man drew in a breathe to scream once more, but found no voice inside of himself. He choked on the pain and shock of what was happening.
"Come on!" a man yelled out from the crowd. "Really teach him a lesson! Put some glass shards in him or something!" Some of the audience members laughed, but they cheered in agreement.
"Such a bloodthirsty crowd tonight!" Nathaniel replied. "I love it! Guards! See what you can do about that!" One guard took an empty glass bottle and grabbed one of the man's stumps. The guard faced the arm upwards and brought the bottle down on the exposed bone. The bottle shattered, throwing glass all over the ground, but also leaving broken shards in the man's wound.
The scene was too much for one crowd member. "For God's sake, finish him off!" He yelled.
Nathaniel sighed. "All right, al right. Guards! Send him to God!" At this command, a guard drew a pistol from his waist. He checked to make sure a round was loaded, and he pressed the barrel to the back of the prisoner's head. The gunshot ended the man's cries of pain and started another cheer from the crowd.
"Let this be a lesson to you all!" Nathaniel yelled out. "The guards began to drag off the dead prisoner as he continued. "We are all hungry! We are all starving! Even so, we are all making and honest living here! Make it known: If you steal from one of us, you feel the wrath of all of us!" The crowd roared in agreement. The four middle-aged men slapped high fives and bumped chests. "Now!" Nathaniel started again. "Bring out the second prisoner of the day!"
From the same entrance the first prisoner came out of, the second moved forward slowly. The guards had to keep prodding the prisoner forward. As the prisoner was pushed, the first criminal was dragged past nearby. The second criminal caught sight of the brutality put upon the first convict, causing them to halt. The prisoner turned and tried to run back into the locker rooms.
"No! No God please no!" came a female voice from under the hood. The guards struggled to hold on to her flailing body, but she managed to slip free. She made a mad dash towards the entrance, but a barrage of gunfire brought her down. The hood came off as the woman fell short of her end zone. The crowd sighed at the dead woman.
"Ah fumble!" laughed Nathaniel. "What a waste. One of the few females we get for these shows turns out to be a big disappointment for you all!"
"Who cares! Bring out another!" a man from the crowd yelled out.
Nathaniel, still laughing, responded, "So be it! Bring out the final contestant!"
The guards dragged out the two dead prisoners before the third slowly made his way into the open. The crowd roared again, knowing this was the final criminal and the most criminal of the day. The man walked with a limp, but he did not resist where he was being led towards. The criminal kept his head hung low while the crowd was jeering and taunting to the man. He walked into the center of the cage and let the guards lock him to the center. None of the guards remained inside the cage afterwards.
"This man!" began Nathaniel. "This man is one of the lowest forms of life. He is worse than any thief or adulteress. No normal murderer can match what this man has done." Nathaniel raised a hand in the air to show the number two. "We have for you today someone who has broken the second worst law we have: A child rapist and murderer!" At these words the crowd went ballistic. The laws of the camp had been set by the inhabitants. The people chose the severity of each action, so the crowd was in disbelief at how someone could actually break one of the top three. They wanted vengeance. They wanted blood.
Ryko looked down to see the man staring to the floor. He hadn't moved an inch since he was locked into place. Nathaniel went on about how the man kidnapped a little girl and tricked her into following him by telling her she was in danger. He then took the girl to one of the buildings designated as off limits and sexually assaulted her. He had tied a cloth over her mouth to prevent her from screaming. When the man had finished, he tried to strangle her with his belt. Her neck had broken, and the man wrongly assumed she was dead. The little girl was barely clinging to life when patrols found her. She could barely tell them what had happened to her before passing away shortly after. Even as the story of the criminal's animalistic actions were made known, the man stood unwaivering.
"We have for you a special guest today!" Nathaniel continued. "This man helped to save thirteen people from Chicago two years ago. When the rest of the team had given up hope, this man continued to fight! I present to you all, the Hero of Chicago: Ryko Morris!" The crowd applauded Ryko's efforts in appreciation of what he had done. "Go ahead, Ryko. Say Something."
Ryko scanned the crowd. He saw faces of both familiar and unfamiliar people. He spotted Megan near the center waving to him. He smiled before speaking. "I'm no hero," Ryko began. "I felt that those people still had a chance. I was fighting to protect people. This is something that good Mr. Hughes here has already made clear: Unity. We're depending on each other for survival. If we can't trust one another, we're all doomed to die here. If these executions teach you anything, know that we're not afraid to get rid of anyone who can't be trusted." The crowd remained silent, yet some nodded in agreement.
Ryko began heading down the long staircase to the field. He felt all the eyes watching his every movement. Once at the bottom of the stairs, Ryko headed for the cage entrance. On the way, he grabbed a pistol from one of the tables. One of the guards stepped aside to let Ryko pass. He stepped into the cage and stood toe-to-toe with the prisoner.
Ryko stared at the hood covering the man's face. The prisoner refused to look upwards. Ryko grabbed the hood and ripped it off quickly. Half of the man's face was covered in burns. His lips curled up where the skin was unable to completely heal. No hair grew on the man's head, and his left eye was completely white. He was also missing his left ear. Seeing the man drew no reaction from Ryko. He remembered pulling the man out of the fire two years ago. The sight of the man drew some gasps from the crowd.
"Ben," Ryko called quietly enough for just the prisoner to hear. "Look at me." Ben simply shook his head and kept his focus to the ground. Ryko grabbed him violently by the neck and forced the scarred man to hold eye-contact. "Look at me, goddamn you!" Ryko yelled at him.
A tear came from Ben's all white eye. "What?" he sobbed. "What could you possibly want from me?" Ben stared into Ryko's eyes with his only working eye.
Ryko continued glaring back into Ben's face, but he eased his grip on the man's neck. "Just answer me one question," he growled. "Why? Why did you do it? After all I had to go through to save you, why do you do this?" Ryko's rage caused him to tighten his grip again.
Tears began to spill from both of Ben's eyes at this point. He sniffed a few times, trying to think of a response. "Look at me..." he finally answered.
Ryko stared at Ben a few more seconds before finally letting his hand drop from the man's neck. He slowly shook his head in disapproval. Ben continued to weep while he looked back towards the bloodstained earth. Ryko turned to face the crowd, still silent in the hope to overhear some of the conversation. "You want this man?" Ryko yelled to the audience. "He's all yours!" Ryko turned quickly back to Ben with the pistol pointed at him. Ryko fired a single shot through the prisoner's shoulder, causing the man to drop to his knees in pain.
Ryko turned and walked out of the cage without looking back to Ben. The crowd began their normal chanting of punishments, but Ryko never looked up to respond to them. He heard cries of fire, castration, and the removal of fingers and toes by means of hammer and chisel. Ryko held onto the pistol and he climbed the stairs back to the top of the cage where Nathaniel affirmed to the crowd that all those actions would be taken.
When Ryko reached the top of the cage, he peered out over the bleachers. He could see the edge of the camp, outlined by high fences. Beyond the fences walked the infected dead. Ryko then followed the fence line around to see the fence keeping out the living corpses from the college campus. Guard towers were positioned every few hundred yards along the fence.
"How can you do this all the time?" Ryko asked Nathaniel.
Nathaniel looked back to Ryko to see him staring out at the fences. "The way I see it, we're saving these people. Saving them from turning into one of those things. If I could, I'd put myself through any type of torture than become one of them."
Ryko nodded in understanding. Nothing could be worse.