Afterworld: Into the Arms of Darkness -- Chapter 55
When last we saw our dynamic duo, Natalia threw a vial of her own blood at Jeffrey, which got him eaten by the dead (including, ironically, himself) while Olivia realized that the house was now open to the dead and she’d better get moving.
Title: Afterworld: Into the Arms of Darkness
By: Pink Rabbit Productions
Chapter: 55
Date: 26 July, 2012
Disclaimer: Hmmm, characters, not mine, situation, mine, though with the proviso that certain scenarios owe a major debt of gratitude to George Romero. Sex? Likely. Genders involved? Likely all female (at least anything on camera). Also there are likely to be very bad things in this story. I'm not one for prodigious amounts of gore, but this is horror and there is likely to be ickiness and things that might disturb some folks. Seriously. If it's gonna bother you, move along.
Summary: When the dead rise, civilization falls.
Dedicated to: My mom. Seriously. All of my growing up years, she would constantly throw me these what-if scenarios and press me to figure out logical ways to survive/get out of various emergency situations. Now, she never mentioned the zombie apocalypse, but I'm sure that was just an oversight or a desire not to scare a little kid (because, really, I grew up as the daughter of a top secret type during the cold war...I already had enough fear issues), but really, that odd little game was the genesis of...well...not just this story, but a lot of my love of writing. So, thanks mom.
Author’s Note: Wish this could have come sooner, but hopefully y’all will enjoy.
Author’s Note #2: On the personal front, many thanks for the caring words. We’re still muddling through. Mom has some good days and some rough ones, but we just keep plugging along. She’s an amazing woman and I can only hope that I would face such a challenging situation half as gracefully and courageously. In a situation that would have many just wanting others to do for them, she does her best to contribute and is almost always the soul of kindness, not just to me, but to the myriad of medical people we deal with (the people at the cancer center adore her as do the various other techs and medical personnel we meet). I am amazingly proud of how she’s handled all of this.
Previous Chapters: | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 15 | Chapter 16 | Chapter 17 | Chapter 18 | Chapter 19 | Chapter 20 | Chapter 21 | Chapter 22 | Chapter 23 | Chapter 24 | Chapter 25 | Chapter 26 | Chapter 27 | Chapter 28 | Chapter 29 | Chapter 30 | Chapter 31 | Chapter 32 | Chapter 33 | Chapter 34 | Chapter 35 | Chapter 36 | Chapter 37 | Chapter 38 | Chapter 39 | Chapter 40 | Chapter 41 | Chapter 42 | Chapter 43 | Chapter 44 | Chapter 45 | Chapter 46 | Chapter 47 | Chapter 48 | Chapter 49 | Chapter 50 | Chapter 51 | Chapter 52 | Chapter 53 | Chapter 54 |
In mathematics you don't understand things. You just get used to them.
Johann von Neumann (1903 - 1957)
Chapter 55
Natalia made herself stay and watch even though her left arm was in agony and her knees wanted to fail.
It was her duty though. Much as she would have liked to turn away, she had to see it through. She'd killed before, but never like this, never with malice, only with the need to survive. But this? The others had already been dead by any measure, while Jeffrey had been something in between, not quite alive, yet still possessing something of the man he'd been.
And if she was honest, it was that man she'd killed, not the walking corpse that contained him. She'd never hated the dead, but Jeffrey O'Neill? Yeah, he qualified.
Which was why she stayed at the window, staggered and bleeding, her ears ringing and body aching with a myriad of injuries while Jeffrey met his fate. She tracked every moment as he was torn limb from limb, partially devoured, more than a few bites, his own.
She had to know for sure that he was gone, that he couldn’t hurt anyone ever again.
Then finally, he was pieces to be gnawed on and spread across the ground by the creatures that swarmed in response to her blood and his screams.
Good. Olivia and Emma wouldn't be safe now, but they'd be safer.
She could live with that.
Her knees threatened to buckle and she leaned against the wall in an effort to stay upright. It didn’t work. She stumbled and half fell, then slowly slid down the wall into a kneeling position. Blinking dazedly, she suddenly became aware of the blood pooling in the carpet near her knees, the spreading stain fed by the steady stream of crimson dripping from the self-inflicted cut just below the crease that marked her inner, left elbow.
Or maybe die with it.
It occurred to Natalia that she should push to her feet and go looking for Olivia or at least fold her arm back up to staunch the bleeding as much as possible. But the world was swooping around her, her heartbeat felt sluggish and she was so damned tired.
It was easier to just close her eyes and lean back. Maybe in a little while...
A touch of guilt tweaked her for not doing more, but...
Later...
Just...later...
“Natalia...Natalia...”
Natalia wanted to protest as she was shaken-not for the first time, some distant part of her mind realized-but the words wouldn’t come.
“Come on...wake up.”
Olivia’s voice, breathless and scared, echoed inside Natalia’s skull, then a hand touched her forehead and stroked her cheek as warm breath touched her face.
“Please,” Olivia begged, “don’t do this to me.”
Olivia leaned so close that Natalia could feel the heat radiating from her body, then something warm and infinitely gentle brushed her forehead. A kiss, she realized distantly, tender and as non-sexual as anything she might have bestowed on Emma as she put her to bed.
And yet...
“IneedyouIcan’tdothiswithoutyou.” Olivia’s confession came out on one breath as one word, albeit one that cracked and creaked in the middle and faded into almost nothing at the end. It shouldn’t have been enough, not as beat up and exhausted and light-headed from blood loss as Natalia was.
Not when Rafe and her friends were gone and she had no reason left to hang on from her old life.
And yet...
Somehow it wrapped around Natalia, slipped inside her and bound her to the real world just enough to drag her back from the brink. She blinked, frowning as she struggled to pull Olivia’s face into focus. It took several seconds, but the haze that lingered around familiar features fled and the image sharpened. She saw the unasked question that lived in green eyes.
It took Natalia a moment to summon the strength-as well as the certainty-but finally she nodded. She’d live. It was a choice, not a fact. She was smart enough to know death was still a possibility, but it wouldn’t be because she gave up.
“Good girl,” Olivia praised even as she unbuckled her belt and pulled it free. A quick flip and she’d wrapped it around Natalia’s left arm, just above the elbow. Yanking the leather through the metal buckle, she pulled it tight, then knotted it back on itself to make a decent tourniquet.
Natalia silently watched the process, wincing as leather and metal pinched her skin, but distantly relieved to see the bleeding slow almost instantly. She looked up a beat later as Olivia leaned back and pealed her shirt off over her head. Despite the marring impact of slashing cuts and purple-splash bruises, Natalia couldn’t take her eyes off the beauty and grace of the other woman’s nearly bare torso. Her modesty protected only by the pale cover of a sports bra, Olivia was all flowing lines and flexing muscle.
She was dimly aware of the way Olivia gently drew her injured, left arm out straight, then used her t-shirt as a makeshift bandage, wrapping it tightly enough to catch any of the still-oozing blood not stopped by the tourniquet. Barely tracking the other woman’s efforts, Natalia’s attention was elsewhere.
Reaching out with her right hand, Natalia just barely made contact with Olivia’s shoulder, then trailed her finger down the narrow trail of her bra strap only to pause just above the swell of her breast. She could feel the faint throb of the other woman’s heart under her fingertips, the sound steady and comforting, the rush of emotion it caused reminiscent of the hours spent wrapped around each other on the couch while she tracked life and death by that throbbing beat.
Olivia’s head was down as she finished tying off the sleeves. She showed no sign of noticing the light touches or close perusal directed her way.
Natalia didn’t know whether to be disappointed or relieved.
Then Olivia looked up, the caring in her eyes enough to take Natalia’s almost-nonexistent breath away. Without saying a word, Olivia reached out. Her fingertips just barely grazed Natalia’s cheek, the contact so intense it threatened to leave heat trails seared onto her skin. Green eyes searched her face, hunted deep and long, until it seemed as though she shouldn’t have any secret corners left in her. For just a moment, she thought Olivia was going to say something, could almost hear the words hanging in the air between them.
Almost...
Then suddenly Olivia shook her head sharply, momentarily closing her eyes as she took a deep breath. Natalia thought she muttered something, but already lost in her own haze, she wasn’t entirely certain.
When Olivia opened her eyes again, any deeper emotions were carefully shielded, leaving Natalia to wonder if she’d imagined the momentary hint of desperate need and liquid heat.
Olivia straightened her shoulders, then dropped her hand to Natalia’s elbow. “We need to move fast,” she said, her tone all business, though the words seemed garbled and a little alien to Natalia. There was more, but each successive syllable was a little more muddied and unintelligible until Natalia found herself grateful that she didn’t really need words because Olivia pulled her along, guided her, wrapped strong arms around her and nearly carried her when her knees threatened to buckle.
She lost track of time and space until they reached the window that opened above their truck. The ladder was still in place and the truck looked just the same as it had when they left it. Was it only an hour or so ago, Natalia wondered. It seemed like it had been at least a year since they’d been here.
Or maybe a lifetime.
Olivia paused long enough to sling something off her shoulder, then leaned past Natalia to toss it through the window and into the back of the truck. The bundle landed with a solid thud and Natalia realized it was the supplies they’d found in the basement, plus the shotgun and who knew what else. Somehow the other woman had found time to grab their dropped gear during her mad dash back upstairs. She was about to ask how when Olivia stroked her cheek with a light hand, drawing her head up and around until their eyes met.
“I’ll help you all I can,” Olivia promised, “but I can’t carry you.”
Natalia managed a weak nod. Her arm wasn’t at its best and neither was her balance, but the determination in the other woman’s gaze shored up her own desire to survive. How could she let go and surrender when Olivia had risked so much to get them both this far? “I can do it,” she said after another beat. She even managed to sound like she almost believed it.
“I’ll be right below you,” Olivia said quickly, her tone and words clearly meant to reassure. “Behind you even,” she promised, then explained, “I can keep my arms around you...catch you if you start to fall.”
Natalia didn’t bother to argue that the other woman was hardly in any condition for more heroics. Olivia already knew it and the bravado was mostly meant to make both of them feel better. She just nodded gratefully.
Olivia swung out onto the ladder, moving down far enough to give Natalia room, then waiting until she was aboard and steady.
Natalia’s arm throbbed with every successive rung. The self-inflicted slice hurt like hell and the makeshift tourniquet ground into her flesh above and below the wound even as it restricted her every movement. If not for Olivia bracing her up when she nearly stumbled, helping her when she was ready to collapse and whispering desperate encouragements, she never would have made it.
But finally, she heard the soft, metallic thunk as Olivia’s feet hit the truck bed, then felt strong hands at her waist.
“Just step down,” Olivia told her. “I’ve got you...but we’ve gotta move fast.”
Trusting the other woman to support her, Natalia stepped off, then glanced sideways as she landed. In an instant, she realized what had Olivia sounding so stressed.
Three of the dead-she only vaguely recognized them as clerks from the local grocery store-were rounding the corner of the house not very far from the truck. They were twitching and staggering with a familiar sort of intent. Undirected, yet searching for something. It was a combination she’d become used to in the new world.
They were hunting.
“Get into the truck,” Olivia bit out as she caught Natalia’s shoulder and urged her toward the still-open back window of the cab.
The physical prodding snapped the brief bout of paralysis. Natalia shook off the haze as best she could, knowing a lack of focus could mean their lives. As she reached the window, she remembered the need for keys and scrambled them out of her front pocket. Still there. A quick patdown revealed that the garage door opener had also-almost miraculously-survived the journey. Saying a fast prayer, Natalia kept both of them tight in her clutch, then clambered in through the narrow window. Glancing back, she saw Olivia standing straight. She’d retrieved the shotgun from the package she’d tossed down and had it loosely aimed but wasn’t firing-at least not yet.
Easy to know why. It wouldn’t take more than a couple of gunshots to bring even more dead running.
Sliding into the driver’s seat, Natalia shoved the key into the ignition, some part of her terrified the engine would suddenly decide not to turn over. When life became a horror flick, it was hard not to start expecting certain bad movie tropes.
Despite her fears, the engine easily roared to life.
The dead were shambling their way, drawing far too close for anything approaching comfort. Right now they were undirected, staggering a bit and without purpose, but Natalia knew from experience how quickly that could change. If they targeted on something, they could move with deadly speed and intensity. With the blood trail she’d left all over herself, Olivia, and everything they’d both touched, it was probably only a matter of time.
“Hold on!” Natalia called to the woman in the back. She knew Olivia had undoubtedly expected to climb into the cab beside her, maybe even expected to do the driving. No time for any of that.
Olivia had the shotgun in one hand and grabbed for the railing around the truck bed with the other.
Just in time. As Natalia saw the other woman steady herself, she gunned the engine and aimed toward home. There was nothing alive or dead anywhere near the garage, so she thumbed the switch on the remote control. The door started to roll upward almost immediately.
A quick glance back revealed Olivia still on her feet, clinging to the rail and her shotgun as she adjusted her weight to maintain her balance.
Almost home free.
Then something came careening around the side of the house, headed straight for them.
And the open garage door.
Natalia was already calculating a path that would let her run it over without losing too much time when a sharp crack sounded and the creature went down hard. Head shot. Dead for real this time, it stayed down. A quick glance confirmed the shot hadn’t come from Olivia. She had the shotgun up, but not yet in firing position. She was staring upward, brows drawn into a frown.
It had come from upstairs-Emma. It had to be Emma.
Natalia pushed down the nausea caused by the thought of such a sweet child knowing how to kill. Just drive, she reminded herself. She couldn’t afford the distraction, not when she was barely holding it together.
Another runner came careening.
Another perfect head-shot took it down.
Then Natalia couldn’t focus on anything but driving if she planned on getting the truck inside the garage and not going splat against the side wall. She skimmed the big vehicle inside with just enough clearance to avoid scraping off the driver’s side mirror, then skidded to a halt just short of the back wall. A fast hit on the close button had the garage door sliding downward almost instantly.
Not quite in time.
“One’s in!” Olivia shouted.
Natalia twisted and looked back in time to see a silhouetted figure step through the narrowing gap, its stride the unnatural, stiff gait of a creature whose muscles had ceased to function normally.
Olivia shoved the barrel of the shotgun through the truck railing and fired, the blast echoing off the garage walls.
The creature was sent sprawling by the impact and fell out of Natalia’s line of sight.
Another explosive shot left Natalia’s ears ringing, then the truck rocked as Olivia leapt out and swung the shotgun at something. The garage door briefly paused on its way down, but Olivia kicked the dead hard, forcing it through the gap and allowing the door to finish sliding closed. In a moment, the interior of the garage fell into total darkness.
“You okay?” Olivia’s voice sounded soft though she was probably shouting to make herself heard above the ringing in Natalia’s ears.
“Fine.”
“Stay in the truck until I tell you it’s clear.”
Despite the desire to argue, Natalia remained in place. The last thing they needed was more bloodshed. She caught sight of a narrow flashlight beam moving this way and that. Olivia checking things. She tried to track the other woman’s progress, but it was hard to keep her eyes focused on the bright beam. Blinking, she shook her head as she realized she’d lost sight of Olivia.
Several tense moment followed, but finally, there was a soft rap on the driver’s side window and Olivia’s face appeared out of the shadows. “All clear.” The other woman’s voice was low, but it still seemed to echo inside Natalia’s head. “You can come out now.”
Natalia nodded only to have the world swirl around her so violently she could barely keep her eyes open against the encroaching darkness. It abruptly occurred to her that she could feel something warm and wet sliding down her arm. The makeshift bandage was losing the battle to contain the blood.
Another sharp headshake to try and clear her head instead left her reeling. It was all sweeping over her and she had a sudden sense that she didn’t have much time left. Fingers feeling thick and clumsy, she fumbled with the door, momentarily terrified she wouldn’t be able to escape what suddenly felt like a prison in time. Her gaze swept up, taking in Olivia’s worried expression. She saw full lips move, heard words as if from a great distance, but couldn’t parse their meaning through the noise suddenly roaring inside her own skull. Shoving desperately at the door handle, she finally felt it give way, then tumbled forward into the comfort of strong arms and the certain knowledge that whatever came next, she wouldn’t be alone.
* * * * * * *
TBC