Afterworld: Into the Arms of Darkness Ch.24
Title: Afterworld: Into the Arms of Darkness
By: Pink Rabbit Productions
Chapter: 24
Date: 1 October, 2010
Rating: R (for sex and violence)
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.
Author's Notes: Awhile back, just for fun, I did a faux movie poster that set Otalia in a horror setting and used some elements from an idea I've had running around for ages (what can I say---it was the Halloween season). See the poster here: http://altfic.com/artgallery/otalia/glafterworld01b.htm . Sooo, at some point, it seemed like fun to take a gander at writing them in that universe. I've quite deliberately tried to break away from my usual style and make it a bit faster moving, with frequent chapter breaks, deliberate cliffhangers, shorter scenes and more directed pov. We'll see if I can keep to one pov per chapter (well, they are short chapters...lol).
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.
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 |
Afterworld:
Into the Arms of Darkness
Chapter 24
Olivia was slipping farther away. She'd clung to her dark angel's reassurance like a life raft in high seas, but the raft was coming apart all around her. She could feel it happening, feel things changing. The flames had cooled and the voices in her head had ceased to tormentors. They were becoming her friends.
And it scared the crap out of her.
She was fighting it, pushing it off, struggling to keep up with reality, but it was getting harder and harder. Fisting her hands tightly, she concentrated on controlling her muscles and her ragged breathing in an effort to gain a little clarity.
It didn't help much.
House. Upstairs. The same bedroom where she'd woken looking like a dungeon master's dream date. Had to be. Meanwhile, her dark angel had come and gone and come again. She'd heard voices, soft and muffled by doors and walls.
Emma.
She had a momentary panic as she struggled to remember why that name was so important and then a burst of shame as a sunny visage appeared in her mind's eye.
Emma. Daughter, best thing in her life and all around reason for living.
The demons snickered, but it wasn't in a cruel way this time. It was more of a comradely, that's-gonna-change-soon sound. Like the kids on South Park whenever Kyle or Stan had a plan and Cartman insisted he wasn't gonna go along, but of course, he always did.
And how awful was it that she was Cartman in that scenario?
But hey, she remembered the cast of South Park. She remembered her daughter. Emma. And she remembered her dark angel too...
Natalia...that was it. Her name was Natalia. And she hadn't included a last name, so not knowing that was perfectly acceptable and didn't mean a damned thing.
The demons snickered again, confident they'd win in the long run. Their voices soft and silky, they whispered in her ear. Pretty soon she wouldn't remember anymore. Pretty soon, baby girl would be lunch meat. And her pretty little dark angel?
The other white meat as far as they were concerned. So soft, so tasty.
That's right, they whispered, she was gonna taste so good because pretty soon Olivia was going to be a fucking zombie. And really, wasn't it going to be a relief when it happened? No more worries, no more ties, no exhaustion, no pain, nothing left to lose, and never gonna be hot or uncomfortable again.
She'd finally be free.
She wanted to scream at them to fuck off, that nothing would ever make her do that, but she knew better. They were getting stronger and she...
She wasn't.
"Mommy?" The voice was small, uncertain, scared, but in that moment, it beat the demons back, scaring them with its pure sweetness and innocence. A candle in the darkness, scaring away the shadows.
"She's sleeping, Emma." Stronger, but seemingly as sweet and innocent for all of the adult timbre and gently chastising note. Dear God, how had any adult matured and still managed to retain even a hint of innocence in this world or the one that had come before?
"No," Olivia gritted out, fighting to open her eyes and see her daughter. "I'm awake." She saw Emma, her eyes scared, and offered up a smile, her voice as gentle as she could make it. "And I've always got time for my Jellybean." She could feel the muscles in her hands cramping in palsied shakes and twitches, but found that if she clamped her fingers closed with enough force, she could make the worst of it stop for a little while.
And all she needed to do was control the shakes long enough to smile at her baby girl and see her baby smile back.
Maybe for the last time.
"Mommy...Emma rested small hands on Olivia's forearm. She was incredibly careful, her touch light and gentle.
And still it stung so much that Olivia had to bite down on her inner cheek to keep from crying out. She didn't care though. She glanced toward the window. Sun. High angle to the light. Late morning or early afternoon. That meant... "So what'd you have for breakfast?" Emma's appetite had suffered on the road. Limited food choices, lack of treats, and eating while moving all conspiring to leave her little girl a little underweight if not dangerously so. Still, it was something she worried about and was careful not to let get out of control.
See, she taunted the demons right back, I can still be a good mother.
Emma managed a small smile. "Chicken salad 'n' some bread 'n'..." she glanced at Natalia as if seeking approval. She got a small nod. "...'n' Natalia had some animal crackers, so she let me have some for dessert."
Olivia glanced at other woman, seeing the guilty flush. The dark lady was learning the fine art of bribery. Good. Her kid was a smart cookie. It would take every tool get her through.
Olivia was startled when that thought didn't bring on the expected surge of resentment that bordered on hatred. Suddenly there was just relief.
Someone would be there for Emma.
She watched them, seeing the adoration in dark eyes. Someone would love Emma.
Yeah, finally, there was the surge. Resentment, hatred, raw fury.
Vaguely relieved-apparently she wasn't quite dead yet-she smiled at her daughter. "So whatcha been up to?"
Smiling, Emma nodded to indicate two new drawings taped to the wall. "I drew 'em for you...so you'd have something to look at."
"They're beautiful, Jellybean," Olivia whispered, her voice a ragged shadow of itself. She would have given anything to reach up and smooth a fingertip along her daughter's cheek or ruffle her hair, but her hands were bound and she wasn't going to ask Natalia to release them. As much as she hated having Emma see her like this, she seemed to be dealing and it would be too dangerous.
Especially since the demons were helpfully suggesting all the ways she could talk her jailer into cutting her free, and all the ways she could encourage her to forget to replace the bindings.
And then all the ways they could have fun. Given that their version of "fun" involved watching her gorging herself on blood and flesh, particularly that of her daughter and her new caretaker, she wasn't terribly inclined to play along.
She was still human enough to be sickened by what they wanted, she reminded herself, even if the voices were beginning to sound suspiciously like her own.
Yet another thing that scared the crap out of her.
For a little while though, she could hear her daughter and not the demons. They didn't have anything to say that was nearly as interesting as Emma's descriptions of adding cows to her duck drawing skills.
But finally, she started losing track of the conversation for the whispers in her ear and it was getting harder and harder to keep the twitching under control. And she didn't even want to think about how hard it was getting to breathe. "I'm sorry," she apologized as she realized her daughter was telling her about something, but she had no idea what. It was getting harder to talk too. "I-I didn't...hear what you..."
"I think your mommy's getting tired, Em," Natalia interceded as she rested a gentle hand on Emma's shoulder. "So maybe we should let her get some rest."
Even sinking to the demons, Olivia couldn't miss the way her daughter shrank a little, so she offered her the most encouraging smile possible. "It's gonna be okay, Jellybean," she promised. It wasn't really a lie, she comforted herself, just because she wasn't gonna be okay, didn't mean her daughter wouldn't be.
"I know," Emma breathed.
Apparently she wasn't the only one who could skirt the edges of lying, Olivia realized as she saw the look on Emma's face. Most people wouldn't have known, the signs were subtle, but her kid knew it was bad and she was just as scared as her mommy. A beat passed and she felt skinny arms wrap around her neck and the press of a hard hug. "I love you," Emma croaked, her voice muffled against Olivia's shoulder.
Turning her head, Olivia pressed her cheek against silky hair. And not only were the demons silent, for just a moment, they didn't even exist. It was all about the two of them. "I love you, Em...never forget that...and never forget that I will always be watching over you."
Emma nodded jerkily as she straightened. "I know...and you'll keep doing it when you get well," she whispered, making the words a command rather than a question. Speaking of lies. "I'm gonna go draw now," she said carefully. "So you can have something new to look at when you wake up." And then she slipped out.
Natalia didn't say a word, just followed her.
A few minutes and she was back and looking like she'd like to have a good cry.
Tasty, was all the demons said before Olivia pushed them back down. Instead, she tried to focus on doing what she needed to. "You're good with her...with Emma...that's good...you're gonna need to be."
Ms. Other-White-Meat looked stricken. "You don't know that," she argued, clearly clinging to some intangible bit of hope, even if she no longer had much faith.
Olivia couldn't contain a smirk and neither could the demons. "Yes, I do." she speared the future-lunch-meat with a sharp look.
"B-but your temperature was almost normal the last time I took it," Natalia whispered, clearly trying to find some good news to cling to. "And no more hallucinations..."
Amazingly enough, Olivia realized in that instant, apparently, the younger woman really did a bit of faith left in spite of increasingly labored breathing and worsening twitches and muscle ticks.
Unfortunately, faith was a luxury none of them could afford. "And it's still going down, and it's gonna keep going down," Olivia told her, confident of her prediction. She could feel it...feel her body slowing, cooling, changing, becoming. "But that's really the least of my problems." She laughed grimly, and didn't resist when Natalia felt the sudden urge to take her temperature. Demented really, that she experienced a surge of triumph when the other woman saw the numbers and paled. "Yeah," she exhaled in confirmation.
Natalia wavered ever so slightly. "But it was...I thought...maybe..."
Her eyes hard, Olivia shook her head. She couldn't afford pity and suddenly, it was easy enough not to feel anything. The demons made it simpler. Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to focus. "I don't have a lot of time left," she admitted. "It's getting harder to think...and what I am thinking..." She didn't finish. Couldn't. She was still human enough that it made her gorge rise.
"What?" Natalia sounded so worried and sweet and helpful.
And tasty.
Olivia bit down on her lower lip, gnawing as she tried to ignore the demons. Fucking, annoying little bastards. "They're in my head," she panted when she finally managed to speak. "Whispering...when it started, they were taunting...tormenting...but now..."
"Now?" Little-Miss-Spam-in-a-Shapely-Can didn't sound so sweet and helpful now, but worried? Yeah, she had worried down pat. And scared? Yeah, that too.
And really, Olivia couldn't blame her. Why? Because, "They're becoming my friends..."
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TBC