Hey... Sooo, yeah. Mhmm, yup... Yes. I know okay? Too bloody long, I should be whipped. But not too hard, I'm delicate yeah?
This bed of roses that I lay on
Where I was taught to be a man
This bed of roses where I'm livin'
Is the only kind of life I'll understand
The music flooding into my ears makes my head ache, as the foggy outline of shapes start to become clearer in my vision. The smell of gasoline is over-powering my senses, as I start to move my limbs slowly; testing their flexibility.
"Naoms..."
A sharp intake of breath from Emily drowns out the horrible gospel music pounding through the Jeep speakers. I reach down and unbuckle my seatbelt, turning my head slightly to Emily.
"We have to get out of here-"
Emily's door opens and she is swiftly grabbed around the throat by a burly man. "Come on." he grunts, as she struggles in his grasp.
"Let go of me, you smelly twat!"She screams, as he pulls her out of the car and I grab onto her foot tightly.
She is squirming frantically, trying anything to loosen herself from his hold. I pull on her ankles as much as my aching body will allow me to - trying desperately to pull her back into the car - before my door opens and I'm smashed over the head with a glass bottle. I hear Emily scream my name, as I am forcefully pulled out of the car; the sharp pain in my head becoming unbearable. I drop to the floor limply with a solid thump, as the man reaches down; placing a firm grasp on my neck with his oversized palms. He pulls me along, by my neck and left wrist; to a smashed glass door in the back of the store. My head is foggy as I try to find a way out of his grasp, before he shoves my head down forcefully. I push back on him hard, there is a protruding piece of glass he is trying to shove my face into. I grab the sides of the door tightly, and do everything I can to push back on his force. He is strong, and in a much better position than I am. As my hands grip the edges tightly, I can feel small pieces of glass piercing into my skin, the warm blood starts to drip out of the gashes and down my arms. I'm loosing the struggle - my face inching closer and closer to the giant shard - before I hear a blood curdling scream from behind me. Emily.
I place my right boot on the bottom skirt of the door - giving myself a bit of a brace and leverage - push back with all my might, and quickly snap my right elbow back; connecting with the man's face. He is disoriented, and I take the opportunity to grab him around the head, and shove him down into the glass. His painful howls are drowned out completely by Emily's cries.
"Get off of me!" She screams, as the man is huddled on top of her, pinning her arms above her head.
"I've got you now, you little shit!" he growls, taking her arms in one hand and pulling out a knife from his belt with the other. I begin to charge at the man - the adrenaline fuelling my rage - and kick him in the face as soon as I reach him. He rolls off Emily, and I step over her; grabbing the man by the scruff of his neck. I hear Emily coughing for breath behind me, as I pull the man over to a fallen shelf and kick his face into the metal object. His body falls limply, and I stand over his lifeless body as my mind tried to process what's happened; Emily gasping for breath a few metres from me.
"Mother fucker!"
She screeches, voice hoarse with irritation. "What is with these guys?!"
Finally the thoughts run clearly in my mind, and we need to get out of here. Now.
"Come on," I say, getting to Emily's side and pulling her up off the floor "Grab your bag, we need to move."
There is an exit sign to my left, and I don't hesitate to use it. We fly through the doors and out into the sunlight, beams of hell burning into my eyes as they hit the open air. Emily is surprisingly swift - keeping up with my every stride - as we weave our way through the deserted streets. All the stores seem to be boarded up by the windows and doors, which leaves the only option of a shipping and receiving door to a warehouse. I lead Emily over to it, and I realize for the first time that I have had an unhealthy death-grip on her hand for a lot longer than I find acceptable. I release it - suddenly feeling the sweat flood through my palms - as I grab at the bottom of the aluminum door.
"Em, when I pull this up; you get in there and find something to prop this door open. Okay?"
She nods at me without muttering a word, as I reach down and pull up the door. It is heavy, my muscles buck and twitch with strain. Emily ducks under the opening, but stops abruptly on the other side.
"Em-" I open my mouth to urge her on, but she cuts me off.
"Um... Naomi..."
The shakiness of her voice is uncanny, but I can't get to her without her help.
"Emily, the door hurry!"
I hear her whisper "Right." as she starts her search. A few struggling grunts later, and she is pushing something metal under the door; propping it open for me to squeeze through. I slide under quickly, and pull the metal box out from under the door. It slams with a loud bang, and I catch my breath a little as I turn around. The air is thick with a sickening odour as I inhale, and I roll the sleeve down on my shirt and press it to my nose in instinct as I take in a few more breaths. Emily is standing next to me - eyes fixed on something with a hint of horror on her face - as my mind registers the sight before me; and the words are out of my mouth before I can stop them.
"Holy shit."
Bodies. Or should I say, body parts. That's the first thing I see. A big pile of limbs and clothing, piled high next to a wood table in the middle of the room. There is a dead corpse of a man on the table, hacked to pieces in a bloody; smelly mess dripping from its edges. The pile beside the broken man suggests he is one of many victims.
"Fucking hunters. This could have been us." I say, with more confidence than I feel.
After the outbreak, the people left alive in many quarantine zones throughout the UK - let's face it, probably around the entire world - quickly became impatient with the military, accusing them of being corrupt liars when they ran short on rations or wouldn't distribute food regularly; not to mention the nightly 'checks'. Of course they were corrupt, we all knew that. But some people became more angry than others, letting random acts of violence and rage become their only outlet. Eventually, the citizens in certain zones rose up against the militants and the continuous state of martial law. The rioting citizens took complete control of the perimeter in the cities, demonstrating their animalistic brutality by killing any 'travelers' passing through the area to steal their possessions. Because of this behavior - hunting down out-of-towners and brutally killing anyone that they came across - we started calling them 'hunters'.
"That... It's... a lot of people died here." She says in a low whisper.
I ponder if for a moment - in this VERY moment - if she finally gets it. Finally understands why I don't like people, why I would rather take my chances with a runner. But I won't dare ask, because... well. I just refuse.
"I knew I should have turned the fucking Jeep around." I start, kicking at a stray box on the floor.
"We lived?" She replies, in a surprisingly hopeful way; as opposed to an actual question. I shake my head in frustration, and walk towards an open door around the back of the room. I need to get out of here quickly, or I'll never get the stench of death out of my nostrils. I hear Emily padding softly behind me, as I push open the obnoxiously loud exit doors. There is a rusty staircase that the door opened to, so fuck it. up the stairs we go. The daylight pours into my retinas again, but this time they are less painful. I seem to be getting my head back. As I breath in a deep lungful of clear air, I feel Emily brush past me and jump down over the staircase railing; onto the rooftop ahead.
"Hey! where are you going?" I sigh. "Fucking... wait for me."
I jump down to her, as she pats off some dust from her pants. "What? I'm right here."
Her tone is playful - yet dismissive - and I can't help the grunt that escapes me. This girl, is absolutely frustrating. And kind of odd... she hasn't said a thing about what we saw back there. Maybe she isn't as bothered by human brutality as I am... was.
"How about you let me go first?... And keep your bloody voice down."
I walk past her without a glance in her direction, as I try to pry open the chain doors in our path. I hear her sigh behind me, but I choose to ignore it. No sense in starting a battle with her over who should go first. I have the guns, therefore I go first. End of.
;
;
We wander for a few miles, without uttering a word to each other. Normally, I am totally comfortable with silence. But for some reason, I would actually rather anything besides this. I'd even listen to her whistle away if she wanted. So, being the big tit that I am - I decide to break the air around us.
"You alright?"
She stops in her tracks and looks at me, confusion written all over her face. But it isn't one of those looks you're given when someone is confused with you, it's a general one. And it makes me feel like I broke her out of some sort of... trance.
"Tell me something I don't know about you."
"What?" I choke, I should have just left it fucking silent out here.
"Tell me something-"
"I heard what you said, I just... why?"
I don't realize it at the time, but I'm wringing my hands together in nervousness, a tick I thought I lost many years ago. Would you look at that? I get fucking nervous now.
"Because I want to know something human about you."
I feel my stomach lurch like I've been kicked in the gut, constricting about in there like an anaconda has gotten a hold on my intestines. She thinks I'm some sort of monster - a killing machine - and I can't really blame her for that. I calm my nerves as I think about every instance we've been together, and I realize that it's my own fault she has come to such a conclusion about me. This is the image I've worked so hard for, and I need to think hard about my next move. Do I answer her question? Or do I keep everything how it is? I've never been one for change - I loathe it - but in this world; nothing has stayed the same for long. Time to bite the bullet and decide.
"I prefer the smell of gasoline to flowers."
"...Huh?"
She seems shocked by my sudden revelation, enough so that she needs a minute or two to process what I've just said. But for some reason I continue, even though she only asked for one thing about me.
"My favourite song is Cruisin' by Smokey Robinson,"
Her eyes widen a little, she says "Oh... I, I don't think I know that one-"
"I was born in France, I used to collect tea sets, and I have an unhealthy obsession with antique clocks. I'm allergic to sesame seeds, rainbows don't make me smile and..."
Random facts are spewing out of me at a rate I can't control anymore, and I try desperately to shut my mouth. I rub my hand up my arm, I kick at rocks on the ground, I fucking pinch myself; anything I can do and nothing is working. The last words are out of my mouth before I have a chance to stop them, and the raw and honest truth I blurt out seems to be the catalyst for my mouth to finally shut.
"...I'm terrified of caring about someone."
She looks at me for a long moment, and I know my face mirrors my inner shock. She studies me, taking in all the cracks now visible in my armour before coming to some sort of conclusion. She smiles - something I haven't seen her do very often since my arrival - and says simply:
"Katie always told me there was a pot of gold at the end of every rainbow. She was a little crazy."
;
;
"Woah, this place was fan-cy! Did you ever stay somewhere like this? Before it all went to shit, I mean."
Standing inside the foyer of the Hotel Grande was something I never thought I would get the chance to do; apocalypse or not. I survey the room around me, both taking in its massive architecture; and looking for an exit path. There is a giant glass dome as ceiling above us, which surprisingly hasn't broken. Which thankfully means there aren't giant shards of old glass waiting for us at the bottom of the murky puddles a few feet away from us. The walls are painted a faded burgundy and a few bits left of gold accents along the trim. The crown moulding spans the entire foyer and down the collapsed hallways creating the illusion of classic rapture, a time when movies were black and white; a time when people couldn't fathom a world without Marilyn Monroe, cigarettes and alcohol.
"I wish."
She continues to survey the foyer with silent enthusiasm, as she runs her hands lightly along the walls.
"Katie would have loved to see this place. Bit of a lush princess, she was."
I don't look at her - a courtesy I usually like when I share important things with people - as we continue our search down a narrow hallway; littered with debris.
"Some people found that side of her annoying, especially the blokes she used to date. But I found it oddly... comforting? I don't know... we were just so different, but that was the beauty of it. I guess two sisters that are so different shouldn't be so close... but we were."
I stop a little ways ahead of her to a partially opened elevator shaft. Emily comes up to me and takes a quick peek inside as I shrug off my backpack and detach my metal pipe.
"The elevator isn't in there..." she starts, inching closer to get a better look inside.
"I know," I grunt, unclasping the pipe and standing up; brushing some dirt off my pant legs as I do so.
"That's a good thing, Em. If I can pry these doors open, there will be a ladder inside that we can use to get to the top floor."
She nods, making a slight O shape with her mouth, as she steps aside. I place the pipe in between the small opening, and start to pry the doors open. The grunts escaping my mouth are anything BUT polite, and I hear Emily lightly chuckling as I strain my still sore body.
"Having a fucking laugh over there or what?"
She raises her arms up in mock surrender, and lifts herself up on a box leaned against the wall to my left.
"My apologies, Hulk. I'm just glad your purple pants didn't rip is all."
I stop pulling, and send her a confused-as-fuck look; rolling my sleeves higher up my arm.
"The fuck are you on about? I don't have purple pants on?"
She laughs again, her cheeks becoming red with amusement.
"It's a comic book character. The Incredible Hulk? Please, don't tell me you've never heard of it."
I shake my head, mostly out of amusement - but to her I'm sure it looks like frustration - as I start to pry the doors open again. They start to lurch a little, and I reply:
"I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about."
In a quick snap the doors fly open, startling Emily atop her perch next to me. i smirk at her smugly, as I fasten the pipe back onto my bag. I lean into the elevator shaft and take a look below, it seems the bottom has filled with rainwater. I start to stand, Emily next to me shrugging on her backpack, when I hear a low rumbling sound. Before I can register what's happening, I hear Emily scream my name as the floor falls out from under me and I plummet down the elevator shaft and into the freezing cold water below.
"Naomi!"
I float up to the surface and take in a few heavy breaths - coughing out the rain water that filled my lungs - and shout up to her with as much clarity as I can muster.
"I'm alright!"
She seems to be only a few floors above me.
"You okay?" I shout up to her, as I float around and take in my surroundings.
"No!" she yells, "You scared the shit out of me!"
There is a small hole I'm able to squeeze through, that seems to empty out into a lower floor. I look up to Emily, who has started pacing frantically.
"I'm coming down there..." She finally shouts, but I have other plans. Easier plans, considering she can't swim.
"No! I'm coming up to you. Stay there!"
She peeks down at me, and I give her the best authoritative look I can. She looks at me for a moment, studying me with a look that makes me quite uncomfortable; before she nods and pulls herself back in.
"Just... be careful."
;
;
I've been trudging through three feet of water and muck for what feels like an hour, trying to find a way up to the next floor. The stairs on the north side of the hotel were a bust, in light of the fact that they've probably been collapsed longer than they've been together. So I'm searching through the south side, trying to find anything I could maybe use to boost myself up; when I see it. A small gash in the wall, just big enough for me to squeeze through, connecting me with what looks like a giant ball room. I glance into the room silently, surveying around for any movement. I seem to have avoided the hunters for a time far too long - considering luck is never that abundant. So I crawl through the hole as slowly as I can, while making sure I make as little amount of noise as possible. I've made it through the hole successfully, but bring my side arm out and take another glance around the room. Ducking out of sight, I crouch down behind a wooden barrel and focus my hearing - nothing. Not a whistle of wind, not an insect to be heard. So I stand up carefully, and start towards the north side of the room. There seems to be a ledge with enough stability to climb on, and there's a small ladder on the floor beneath it. I walk over and lift it up, placing it firmly against the wall. One last survey of the room before I place my side arm into my back pocket, and start to climb up the ladder. I make it up almost to the top before I see a boot in my line of sight - as it clips me hard in the face. I fall off the ladder and slam into the puddle below, my torso fully submerged in the murky rain water. I surface for air as fast as I can - taking as much air into my lungs as I can - before I see the owner of that painful boot charging towards me. I reach into my back pocket for my side arm; but it's not there. He reaches me and kicks me down, placing his boot on my neck. I'm struggling in his grasp, and I manage to pull myself up again for air before he punches me hard and shoves me back down. I open my eyes and see my 9mm in the water a few feet from me, and I reach out for it desperately. The gun is just out of my reach, and the air starts to run out. My fight is waning - he pushes down harder on my neck - as the last breath of air is pushed out of my lungs; the world is fading. One last reach for my gun and a hand reaches into the water, taking the gun out of my grasp; and I see the light of a gunshot fire as the sound ripples through the water. The man above me goes limp - crashing to the floor next to me - as I surface quickly for air. Gasping, I look over to the source of the gunshot; it's a terrified looking Emily. Red faced and teary eyed, she still has the gun aimed in the man's direction.
"Man..." She says, lowering the gun with shaky hands. "...I shot the hell out of that guy, huh?"
I start to get onto my feet, taking my time as my body starts to recover from the struggle.
"You sure did."
She slumps down onto a wooden crate - gun in her lap - head bowed.
"I feel sick."
I've managed to stand on my feet, trying to shake the water out of my boots with no success.
I watch as she struggles within herself, trying to justify what she's done. Something I allowed - she killed someone. And it was never something I wanted her to have to do, I wanted to be able to protect her from that feeling. But I failed, in the biggest way possible, as I grab the gun from her harshly.
"Why didn't you just stay put like I told you?" I ask with anger, opening the clip from the gun and filling it up with a few extra bullets.
She raises her head slowly, looking at me with damp eyes. And I can't bring myself to look at her, so I click the gun into place and walk over to the lifeless body of Emily's first kill.
"Well... you're glad I didn't, right?"
I lift his body up out of the water, and start to search his body thoroughly for anything we might be able to use.
"Yeah, I'm glad. I'm glad I didn't get my head blown off by a goddamn kid."
She pushes herself off the crate angrily, and starts in my direction.
"You know what? No."
She stands next to me, eyes pointed at me sharply.
"How about 'hey Emily, I... I know it wasn't easy. But it was either him or me. So, thanks for saving my ass.' Do you have anything like that for me, Naomi?"
I stand to look at her, but any animosity I wanted to throw towards her is thwarted by the way she's looking at me. Like I've just killed someone she loves and tried to justify it - she's disappointed in me, desperately seeking my approval - and I can't handle it. So I look away from her as quickly as I can, shaking my head as I do so, and make my way back over to the fallen ladder.
"We have to get going." I say, placing it against the wall.
"Lead the way."
;
;
We've managed to make our way into the dining hall, and an exit has been spotted in the collapsed wall next to the catwalk above. I've surveyed the room, the only way up is the grand piano located at the stage. Emily is studying an old beach scene backdrop for photography when I start to push the piano against the wall so we can climb up. But it's heavier than I thought. Placing my elbows in its top, I shout over for Emily to help me.
"Can you stop studying that old thing and give me a hand?"
She looks over her shoulder at me, with an agitated glare. Making her way over to me, she jumps up on the stage with a grunt.
"Sure you can trust me with that?" She spits, walking around the piano.
"Emily..."
She takes the left side and I take the right, grunts heard from us both as the piano screeches across the old wood floor. She continues pushing after I stop, causing the piano to slam loudly against the wall.
"There. How's that."
She jumps up on the piano and climbs up the wall, as I watch her. She's pissed at me, and I really don't blame her. It doesn't sit well with me, the fact that she wants my approval of what she's done. But it's important to her, and I don't want it to be. I made a choice, hoping it was the right one; but it wasn't. And admitting that I owe gratitude to someone - that I might be dead otherwise - has never been something that comes easily for me. So I jump up the wall, following Emily on the catwalk; as we make our way to the open window and out onto the scaffolding along the building. It seems to have been used as a look out post for some time, wooden boards placed along the sides and an old arm chair pushed into the corner. There is a corpse sat in that chair - nothing but bones now, he seems to have been sat there a while - with a rifle leaned next to him. Emily follows me down onto the scaffolding, as I lift up the rifle and check the barrel. There is a bullet in the chamber, and there seems to be a few more in there as well as some usable bullets littered across the floor. Emily and I pick up the bullets, before I hear voices from the road below.
"Shit." I croak, before pulling Emily down behind the wooden boards next to me. The men below are talking about some of their other men, how they should have regrouped together by now but no one has showed up. Emily and I watch quietly, as I try to work out a plan.
"Alright." I start, scanning the area below.
"I'm going to jump down there."
Emily looks over at me in disbelief, as I continue to think out loud.
"And I'm going to clear us a path."
I look down at the rifle in my hands, and she shuffles a little closer to me; whispering a response.
"What about me?"
"You, stay here."
She shakes her head at me in annoyance, and looks back down at the men gathering below.
"This is so stupid," She starts in a huff. "We'd have more of a fucking chance if you'd let me help-"
"I am." I state firmly, cutting her off as she looks at me in bewilderment. I lift the rifle and hand it over to her slowly, placing the handle into her hands.
"You seem to know your way around a gun... think you can handle this?"
She holds it firmly in her hands, running her left hand along the length of the rifle.
"Well I... kind of shot a rifle before... but it was at rats."
"...Rats?"
"Yeah," She shrugs. "With BB's."
I look at her - words lost a little in my mouth - as she studies the rifle. I decide to bite back any sarcasm that has built up in my throat, because I've just put my life in the hand of someone who's 'sort of' shot a rifle. At rats. With BB's.
"Uhm... well. It's the same basic concept." I motion to the rifle "Lift it up."
She holds it out in combat stance, placing the handle between her shoulder and neck, eyes focused on the sights.
"Now," I start, placing my hand on her shoulder and pushing the rifle into her shoulder a little more. "You're going to want to hold on tight, because it's going to kick a hell of a lot more than some BB rifle."
Well, I tried on the sarcasm front.
"Okay." Is all she says, in a voice far too soft for my liking. So I decide to plow through and continue with my lesson.
"Now, go ahead... pull the bolt back."
She pulls on it as instructed, a rifle bullet clicking out of the barrel and bouncing over her shoulder.
"That's it. Now, as soon as you fire, you're gonna want to get another round in there quick."
She nods her head confidently as she perfects her stance, shifting more weight onto her knee and looking at me.
"Listen to me Em - if I get into trouble down there... you make every shot count. Yeah?"
She hasn't broken eye contact with me, and says with more confidence than I feel in myself:
"I've got this."
I study her, making sure there isn't anything else I need to advise to her, before I'm confident there isn't anything else she needs to know. I nod, and decide to make my way down the scaffolding as she focusses at the men on the ground. I've decided then, that there is just one more thing she needs to know before I leave, something more important than I want to acknowledge.
"For the record..." I turn my head to her, "About back there..."
She looks over at me, rifle aimed out; eyes set into mine. And I mean into. So for that, my eyes start to waver a little out of nervousness - but I keep my gaze set firmly on her - because it's important.
"It was either him or me."
And with that, I jump down to the smooth ground below.
You're welcome, Emily whispers.
So, we're moving along aren't we? Finally our hard, crusty shelled Naomi showed some humanity towards Emily. And Emily, well... She's being given some wiggle room on the contribution front!
Next chapter brings us face to face with some strangers... friend, or foe, do ya reckon?
Thanks for reading. Anyone kind enough to leave a review, they're really appreciated :)
xoV