Christiana
Christiana opened her eyes to a familiar sight. She was laying in her bed, her hands out in front of her, interweaved with Connor’s. He had her cocooned, her back nestled into his chest and his arms tight and warm around hers. He was awake, his fingers were playing with hers, stroking her fingers and re-interlocking them again. She stayed perfectly still watching him do this. She loved this image more than anything else. His hands were so big compared to hers, as if to prove this he wrapped his hand around one of hers, completely encompassing it so that she couldn’t see her hand at all anymore. She loved the way her hands looked in his, completely at his mercy, completely under his protection. She sighed in momentary bliss. This was a man that would protect her no matter what. She took a moment to wonder why that thought had come into her head. Did she need protecting?
Suddenly a flash of a memory ran through her mind; fire, and Connor there, his massive hands holding onto hers and pulling her along. She remembered burning and suddenly felt the twang of burnt skin on her arms. Another flash of memory shot through her mind, a little girl crying. She shut her eyes tight and choked a sob. More memories poured in, more people crying, people on fire. She felt Connor’s arms tighten around her and his lips were at her ear, soothing her. Her memories soon faded away to images that were of her own imagination; her own mother, her father, her two brothers, everyone she knew and loved; all burning, all dying slowly whilst she lay there in bed.
That was enough for her, she was up. She pushed Connor away and was out of bed within a second. She turned back to see Connor, hair tousled and eyes red, fully clothed and staring at her cautiously.
“Christie?” He said. “You okay?”
“I need to…” Christiana started, her eyes darting around the expensive looking bedroom she was in. She couldn’t end the sentence though. She didn’t know what she needed to do. It was something. She needed to be moving, but she didn’t know what that movement entailed. What should she be doing right now? If she didn’t move, she’d be overwhelmed. She couldn’t do that. She had to be pro-active. She had to do something.
“What do you need?”
Christiana looked back at Connor, he looked scared, no, he looked terrified. His eyes were desperately searching for an answer in hers and she didn’t know what it was. He was scared, not for outside, he was scared for her.
“My family?” Christiana choked. “They’re all…?”
She couldn’t say the word but she didn’t need to. Connor nodded slowly, getting out of bed and making his way towards her. She stepped back and held her hand out, bringing him to a halt.
“I can’t,” she said. “I just need to…”
But there it was again, the sentence that she couldn’t finish. She decided to move, she went to the door and pulled it open. She was now in a living area of rich orange and brown, decorated with large circular chairs and artefacts that Christiana found vaguely familiar. She didn’t stay in the room for long. She walked through the room and found herself into a walk in kitchen/dining area.
“Christie,” Connor called out. “Please, talk to me.”
Christiana turned back to Connor, the sharp movement made her lose her equilibrium and she had to hold onto the kitchen counter to stop her from crumbling to the floor. Connor was there within a moment, his arms holding her up. She let go of the counter and put her entire weight on him. She felt her stomach heave and she pushed away from him, moving just in time so that her vomit hit the floor beside him and missed him completely. She bent over, her hands on her knees, heaving and gagging repeatedly. Connor rubbed her back, letting her get it all out of her system.
When she was done she straightened up again, she took a moment, her arms resting on Connor’s, just staring at the contents of her stomach on the floor. She decided that it wouldn’t be that hard to clean, it was just liquid after all, she couldn’t remember the last time she had actually eaten anything. She started rummaging around the kitchen, searching for a mop and bucket. She found them in a utility cupboard. She got to work, boiling water in a kettle and finding bleach. She said nothing during this time and quietly acknowledged that Connor really did know her well not to interrupt her. Instead he sat on one of the counter stools and watched her work. He didn’t try to help, she would have just shot him down if he had tried. He just watched her. He was waiting. He was waiting as he had always done from the moment she met him, he’d become a genius at it, waiting for her to be ready.
She moved the mop over the vomit, rinsing it into the bucket and then applying a second layer of bleach. She did this meticulously for half an hour, moving onto a sponge for the sides of the counter that caught some of the spray, she got onto her hands and knees and scrubbed. She scrubbed until the smell of vomit was completely replaced with the smell of citrus bleach. Once she was satisfied, she began on emptying out the bucket, giving that a good clean and leaving it in the massive sink to soak in disinfectant. After that was all done, she took two steps back and looked over her handiwork. There was no sign at all that someone had vomited, she had done her job well. She smiled to herself, taking a deep breath and soaking the view in.
Suddenly it was back; A flash of fire, the sound of crying. She blinked and shook her head. She looked to Connor, he was still watching her his expression looking thoughtful.
“What do I do now?” She asked, eventually.
Connor didn’t say anything but he got down from his stool and walked to her. He took her hand and once again immersed it with his own. He pulled her into a walk and took her back into the orange sitting area, sitting her down on one of the circular chairs. He took the other chair and pulled it so that it was facing her. He sat down, held tightly onto both of her hands and looked her in the eye.
“For the past three years,” he said. “I have been lying to you. I was brought into your life by my sister, not because she thought that we would get along like you thought, but because she assigned me to you. It was my job to protect you, build a relationship with you, and ensure that you never came to any harm.”
Christiana didn’t know what to make of this, she just blinked stupidly at him.
“For the whole time that we have been sleeping together, I need you to know Christie that that was never part of my job. I didn’t do any of that because I was ordered to. I did it because, well, you’re pretty much the most amazing and gorgeous woman I have ever met and, after spending time with you… well… I’m only human.”
Again Christiana couldn’t work out how to respond to what he was saying. Was she angry? She didn’t think so, from the moment she heard the word ‘terrorist’ she guessed that Connor had known a lot more about what was going on that she did. She had also accepted that there was no coincidence that he was the one to come and get her. She knew all of this. She just hadn’t realised she did until now. And now he was saying this, she couldn’t feel angry, he'd saved her life. He also loved her, she had known that for months. She didn’t doubt it now. She couldn’t. But if he had known all of it? Could she forgive that? She thought of her family again and quickly pushed the thought away. She realised that it wasn’t about whether she could forgive him or whether she was angry or not with him, above all she was just too overwhelmed and too tired to care.
“Connor,” she said eventually. “I really don’t know if I have the energy to…”
“I’m not asking you to process anything right now Christie,” Connor interrupted her. “I know it’s all too much to make sense of now. But I need you to know something before you start to process it. I need you to know what I do. I need you to know that after this conversation, every new bit of information that you hear will be news to me as well. So don’t worry about dealing with it, just… just, let the information sit there for a bit, until you’re ready.”
Christiana sighed but nodded in agreement to let him continue.
“Kelly assigned me to you. She told me that you were important and that I needed to protect you and keep you away from danger no matter what. She told me that danger wasn’t going to be a massive threat on you but that I had to ensure it stayed that way. That was all I was told. That was all, all of us were told.”
“All of you?” Christiana asked.
“There was a team of us. About 250 soldiers, each assigned a person. They were nicknamed our eggs. In the sense that it was like the school project kids get given where they have to look after their egg and make sure they don’t get hurt? Well that’s what you all were to us.
“Then two weeks ago, our instructions were changed. We were given a date. Yesterday’s date. We were given a time and told that we had to get our eggs to this address. We were told that if we didn’t do this in time then the threat on their lives would be imminent. That was all I knew Christie, I just knew I had to keep you safe.”
Christiana nodded her head again to show that she understood. She still didn’t know if she had the right reaction to this information, she still didn’t feel mad at him but there was something inside her that seemed to think she should be. She should feel betrayed, she should question her relationship with him given that he had been in it because he was paid to. She considered all this, but she couldn’t bring herself to show any of those emotions. She couldn’t bring herself to feel anything towards Connor but dependency and need. She decided that this must be far more important to her for the time being, maybe she needed him more than she needed to be angry.
“Is that all you know?” She asked.
“It was.” Connor said, his face looking grim. “But it isn’t anymore. After you passed out and I brought you to bed, I went to see Kelly.”
“What did she tell you?” Christiana asked.
“In short?” Connor replied. “She told me everything.”
Thursday, 20 December 2012
Chapter twenty two
Kelly
"You wanted to see me?" Michelle asked, entering the room.
Kelly looked up from her desk, littered with reports, some on what had happened, some on things that are yet to. She felt her skin crawl at the smile that continued to grow on Michelle’s face, this woman really pissed her off.
“I need your report from today.” She said crisply.
“Everything seemed to go ahead without a hitch.” Michelle said, sauntering over to the plush sofa in the room and spreading herself over it.
“Funny, because I could have sworn I saw someone in my control room who shouldn’t have been there.” Kelly countered.
Michelle rolled her eyes.
“I can hardly be blamed for that,” she said. “She’s your room mate, it’s not my fault if she wasn’t prepped properly prior to entry.”
“Your job was to ensure that all guests stayed calm and out of our way,” Kelly said quietly, “that includes everyone, no matter who they were linked to outside.”
Michelle held her hands up. “Fine,” she said. “I’ll deal with it, I know who’s to blame.”
Kelly felt her stomach drop as she too realised who Michelle was referring to.
“That Jason kid?” She asked.
“Oh, so you’ve met the darling.” Michelle said. “Sweet guy, queer as anything but hey, what are you going to do?”
“I wanted to talk to you about him anyway.” Kelly said.
“Don’t worry,” Michelle said, “I’ll make sure he doesn’t let anything like that happen again. I’ve worked out my leash on him anyway.”
“It wouldn’t have anything to do with telling him that you have his boyfriend tied up somewhere, would it?” Kelly asked, trying to keep the sheer level of disgust she felt out of her voice.
Michelle looked at her startled.
“Damn,” she said. “He figured it out?”
“It was pretty impossible for him not to,” Kelly said. “After he had seen what was going on outside, he asked me when we were transferring people from the other facility.”
“And you told him the truth?” Michelle asked irritably.
“Of course I did,” Kelly said. “I wasn’t consulted about a fictional place where we were holding loved ones hostage.”
“It’s called common sense Kelly!” Michelle said. “Come on! Like anyone’s going to work and do as they’re told without a little incentive to-“
“It’s not an incentive when it’s a down right lie!” Kelly said. “Have you seen outside? The place will never be fit for any kind of transfer! And even if you could sell that idea, think of the repercussions Michelle. One little idea that there is a way of moving around out there and suddenly we will have an entire building full of people who want to get out and search for people!”
“Well, if they’re stupid enough to want to try it, perhaps that’s Darwin’s way of saying they shouldn’t be survivors.”
“If they’re told that it’s possible then of course they’re going to believe it!” Kelly shouted, slamming her hand down on the desk. “We need to build a level of trust with these people Michelle, we cannot do that if we are sending out mixed messages. Once it gets out that one member of the leadership team has lied then what chance do we have to keep calm and restoration in here?”
“I did what I had to, to keep the place working over,” Michelle said. “If you have a problem with my ethics then maybe you should have highlighted that in your ‘whatever is necessary’ orders.”
“You kept it going for one night,” Kelly said. “What happens when Jason starts telling people what you did? How you lied to him? Do you think that that’s going to create a future calm for these people?”
“Are you kidding me with this?” Michelle asked. “You actually think that this is all going to ahead and have them all still like us? We lied to them from the very beginning. We lied to them to get them here, we lied to them as we plied them with drink and locked them down in their comfy little rooms. We have been lying to them for years, all the while knowing that each and every one of the people that they love and adore are going to be out there dying whilst they are passed out in their beds. They will know that we knew about this happening, and not only that, they will know that we planned it this way!”
“It is one thing to have planned this world of survival for them, it is another to lead them into a false sense of hope.” Kelly said. “It was made very clear that the moment they entered this place, the moment that the immediate danger was out of the way, all lies will be stopped.”
“And I believe my little bend of the truth fell within that time frame.”
“Seriously Michelle?” Kelly said. “You honestly don’t see the difference between what we have done to save these people and what you just did to completely wreck that guy’s life?”
“No,” Michelle said evenly, “I don’t.”
“You know what?” Kelly said. “I don’t care, just fix it Michelle. Apologise to Jason, kiss his arse for the rest of your life, I don’t care what it takes, but make sure that he doesn’t go around spreading any bad feelings about this place. We have enough to contend with as it is.”
Michelle said nothing for a moment, her eyes fixed on Kelly’s. Kelly could feel her blood boiling. Finally Michelle spoke.
“Fine.” She said, allowing her creepy little smile to etch back onto her face. “Anything you say, Ma’am.”
And with that, Michelle got up, bowed deeply to Kelly and walked out of the room.
"You wanted to see me?" Michelle asked, entering the room.
Kelly looked up from her desk, littered with reports, some on what had happened, some on things that are yet to. She felt her skin crawl at the smile that continued to grow on Michelle’s face, this woman really pissed her off.
“I need your report from today.” She said crisply.
“Everything seemed to go ahead without a hitch.” Michelle said, sauntering over to the plush sofa in the room and spreading herself over it.
“Funny, because I could have sworn I saw someone in my control room who shouldn’t have been there.” Kelly countered.
Michelle rolled her eyes.
“I can hardly be blamed for that,” she said. “She’s your room mate, it’s not my fault if she wasn’t prepped properly prior to entry.”
“Your job was to ensure that all guests stayed calm and out of our way,” Kelly said quietly, “that includes everyone, no matter who they were linked to outside.”
Michelle held her hands up. “Fine,” she said. “I’ll deal with it, I know who’s to blame.”
Kelly felt her stomach drop as she too realised who Michelle was referring to.
“That Jason kid?” She asked.
“Oh, so you’ve met the darling.” Michelle said. “Sweet guy, queer as anything but hey, what are you going to do?”
“I wanted to talk to you about him anyway.” Kelly said.
“Don’t worry,” Michelle said, “I’ll make sure he doesn’t let anything like that happen again. I’ve worked out my leash on him anyway.”
“It wouldn’t have anything to do with telling him that you have his boyfriend tied up somewhere, would it?” Kelly asked, trying to keep the sheer level of disgust she felt out of her voice.
Michelle looked at her startled.
“Damn,” she said. “He figured it out?”
“It was pretty impossible for him not to,” Kelly said. “After he had seen what was going on outside, he asked me when we were transferring people from the other facility.”
“And you told him the truth?” Michelle asked irritably.
“Of course I did,” Kelly said. “I wasn’t consulted about a fictional place where we were holding loved ones hostage.”
“It’s called common sense Kelly!” Michelle said. “Come on! Like anyone’s going to work and do as they’re told without a little incentive to-“
“It’s not an incentive when it’s a down right lie!” Kelly said. “Have you seen outside? The place will never be fit for any kind of transfer! And even if you could sell that idea, think of the repercussions Michelle. One little idea that there is a way of moving around out there and suddenly we will have an entire building full of people who want to get out and search for people!”
“Well, if they’re stupid enough to want to try it, perhaps that’s Darwin’s way of saying they shouldn’t be survivors.”
“If they’re told that it’s possible then of course they’re going to believe it!” Kelly shouted, slamming her hand down on the desk. “We need to build a level of trust with these people Michelle, we cannot do that if we are sending out mixed messages. Once it gets out that one member of the leadership team has lied then what chance do we have to keep calm and restoration in here?”
“I did what I had to, to keep the place working over,” Michelle said. “If you have a problem with my ethics then maybe you should have highlighted that in your ‘whatever is necessary’ orders.”
“You kept it going for one night,” Kelly said. “What happens when Jason starts telling people what you did? How you lied to him? Do you think that that’s going to create a future calm for these people?”
“Are you kidding me with this?” Michelle asked. “You actually think that this is all going to ahead and have them all still like us? We lied to them from the very beginning. We lied to them to get them here, we lied to them as we plied them with drink and locked them down in their comfy little rooms. We have been lying to them for years, all the while knowing that each and every one of the people that they love and adore are going to be out there dying whilst they are passed out in their beds. They will know that we knew about this happening, and not only that, they will know that we planned it this way!”
“It is one thing to have planned this world of survival for them, it is another to lead them into a false sense of hope.” Kelly said. “It was made very clear that the moment they entered this place, the moment that the immediate danger was out of the way, all lies will be stopped.”
“And I believe my little bend of the truth fell within that time frame.”
“Seriously Michelle?” Kelly said. “You honestly don’t see the difference between what we have done to save these people and what you just did to completely wreck that guy’s life?”
“No,” Michelle said evenly, “I don’t.”
“You know what?” Kelly said. “I don’t care, just fix it Michelle. Apologise to Jason, kiss his arse for the rest of your life, I don’t care what it takes, but make sure that he doesn’t go around spreading any bad feelings about this place. We have enough to contend with as it is.”
Michelle said nothing for a moment, her eyes fixed on Kelly’s. Kelly could feel her blood boiling. Finally Michelle spoke.
“Fine.” She said, allowing her creepy little smile to etch back onto her face. “Anything you say, Ma’am.”
And with that, Michelle got up, bowed deeply to Kelly and walked out of the room.
Chapter twenty one
Daniela
“Ms Davids?”
Daniela stopped focusing on the empty plastic cup she was holding and looked up. A peppy young woman with hair in a high ponytail and wearing far too much make up smiled pleasantly at her. This woman clearly didn’t know what was going on, either that or she’s sick and twisted.
“Your room’s ready for you now.” She said. “If you would like to follow me.”
Daniela did as she was told, as she had done since an unconscious Christiana had been carried out of the Bubble. She didn’t have the energy to do anything else. She had waited for all of the Walkers to kill any suffering people outside like she had been told. She had brought them all back and reset Stylo 1 like she had been told. She had sat at her beloved console and waited for further instructions like she had been told. She had come out to the main room to sit at the bar until someone came to take her to her room, like she had been told. And now she was going to her room to ‘get some well-earned rest’ like she had been told.
She was tired. No, she was exhausted. She would be beyond exhausted if she had a word for it. She had been running on adrenaline for the past two hours. She had been excited about using her machine, she had got caught up in the danger and excitement when all she could see was her beautiful Walkers and mindless beasts fighting each other. She had been so concerned about preserving her precious Danel that she hadn’t stopped to think about anything else. Including the lives that were out there, dying and crying for help. She hadn’t even noticed them. Or if she had, she had ignored them. And then in walked Christiana and she shone this massive floodlight on every single one of them. Men, women, children alike all crying out to be saved and she hadn’t batted an eyelid for over an hour.
Once she had noticed though, she couldn’t help but notice. She noticed the hell out of them. She sat and watched as her precious Walkers run each of them through. She knew it had been the humane thing to do. She knew that there was no way any of them could have survived the carnage that was still raging outside of these walls. But still… she hadn’t noticed. For so long.
Daniela’s guide stopped outside large oak double doors and handed her a key. Daniela glanced around, she hadn’t been paying attention to where she was or how she got here. She was in a long corridor, carpeted in a deep red and holding rich green plants. There were two sets of these oak doors on each side of the corridor, each about 30 feet apart.
“This is your suite.” The woman said. “If you need anything at all, just call room service.”
Room service? Suite? What the hell? The woman gave her another large smile and sauntered off down the corridor.
Daniela looked down at the key in her hand and glanced up at the door. She saw that her name had been engraved in slanted calligraphy deep into the wood. It hit her then, behind this door wasn’t just a room she’d be staying in. Behind this door was her new home. She briefly wondered what the correct emotion she should be feeling to react to this but decided that there was no correct emotion for any of this, there had been no research to back it up. Except for now, maybe this was the correct emotion, this 'void of nothing' that she was now feeling. Maybe this is the emotion that she would now feel for the rest of her life.
She put her new key into the lock and turned it easily. The door opened with a click and Daniela pushed it all the way. The room was dark but the moment she entered, sensor driven lights came on and Daniela caught sight of her new home.
In front of her was a large living area with cream carpet and black stencilled walls. A circular glass table stood in the middle holding the most magnificent arrangement of Silver Dollar flowers. They had always been her favourite. On the far wall of the living room hung a classic film poster of ‘It’s a Wonderful Life,’ her favourite film. A plush and inviting three piece suite faced east around the glass table, on the wall in front of it was a television screen mounted on the wall and taking up almost the entire space. On the screen was a welcome message, waiting for Daniela’s entrance.
Hello Ms Davids.
Welcome to Utopia. We hope you enjoy your stay.
There were three doors leading out of this room. Daniela walked to the first one and found a small walk in cupboard. It was fully stocked with coats, hats and shoes. On closer inspection Daniela noticed that they were all hers. She waited for an emotion in response to this revelation, pretty sure that she should be surprised or outraged that they had raided her stuff and brought it here. However, there was nothing. She closed the door and tried the next.
This door led to an open plan kitchen/dining area. She wondered in and let her fingers stroke the marble surface of the workspace as she walked around the kitchen area first. All the drawers were labelled with it’s contents. The first drawer she came to was labelled cutlery. She pushed it to open and it popped out, gliding open to reveal a fully stocked cutlery collection; knives, forks, spoons, can opener, bottle opener, potato peeler and so on. She closed the drawer and continued her inspection through each drawer and cupboard methodically. The kitchen was kitted with a dishwasher and fully stocked fridge and freezer. In the fridge were four bottles of champagne. She took one out and opened it. She briefly considered using one of the many champagne glasses she saw in her glass door cupboards but decided against it and drank from the bottle instead.
She continued her slow, lifeless inspection of the kitchen, reaching the fully stocked pantry and utility closet with washing machine and tumble dryer. She reached the dining area where a family sized oak table covered the majority of the space, another arrangement of Silver Dollar Flowers placed in the middle. On the wall above this table was a large screen projecting an image of a beautiful green garden, a virtual window for an underground bunker.
She passed it without a second thought and made her way back into the main living room. She headed straight to the third and final door. Inside was a large beautiful bedroom. The far wall was nothing but a screen, projecting another beautiful garden. This time she noticed that the main flower in this garden was again the Silver Dollar Flower. It appeared that whoever had designed this room had had one idea and decided to really overdo it.
In the middle of the room was a large king-size bed. Beautiful purple silk sheets covered it along with what looked like twenty pillows. What caught her attention however was a small object in the middle of the bed. A small stuffed elephant, old and dog-eared, stitched together in so many places that it was barely recognisable to the elephant it was when it was originally bought for her when she was a baby. It was at the sight of this elephant that something finally stirred inside her. She walked to the bed, sat crossed legged in the middle and nestled the elephant in her lap so that it’s faded face stared up at her expectantly. She took another swig of her champagne stared blankly back down at the animal. She searched for that stirring of emotion she had before but it had gone. Still she stared, still she waited.
Daniela didn’t know how long she had sat there alone staring at the elephant but she knew that she had just tried to drink out of an empty champagne bottle for the fifth time when another bottle was presented in front of her. She looked up to see Duncan standing there, two glasses in one hand, the offered champagne in the other.
“I’m not in the mood to talk about you right now.” She said, turning her attention back to her elephant.
“I’m not here to talk about that.” Duncan said, taking a seat on the bed next to Daniela and pouring the champagne into a glass, offering it to her.
Daniela looked at it for a moment and then reached for the new bottle instead. Duncan gave it over willingly and took a sip from his poured glass.
“I’m not in the mood to talk about what happened.” Daniela said.
“I’m not here to talk about that either.”
“Well then, why are you here?” She snapped.
“I figured you’d be having a hard time with what you had just seen.” He said. “I’m guessing you don’t have much experience of seeing death like that.”
Daniela didn’t say anything but took another gulp of champagne. She waited for him to continue but when it was clear that he wasn’t going to, she eventually spoke.
“So are you here to tell me that you’ve been through it all before and know how to teach me not to care?”
“Yes and no.” He said. “Yes, I have been through death and destruction before, no, I’m not going to teach you not to care. It’s not about not caring.” He took another chug of his glass. “The average human mind is this fragile thing that tends to like happy and content things and shut down when it sees things that it doesn’t like. It will tell you that it’s either completely freaked out and wants you to be as well, or it will tell you that it’s fine and let things fester until you crack and fall into a nervous breakdown.
“Yes, there are therapies and psychiatrists and counselling and stuff like that. Talking about it helps and doing all that ‘confront your demons’ crap but it doesn’t fix it completely. Ultimately, the moment it’s exposed to a trauma like what you just saw, it decides that sooner or later you’re screwed.”
“Is this supposed to be some kind of pep talk?” Daniela said. “Because, if you’re just here to make me feel crap and vulnerable so that I’ll sleep with you, you can either try making me feel worse now and I’ll beat the hell out of you, or you can sit with me in silence until I’ve finished this bottle of champagne and you’ll probably have a better chance.”
“As tempting as that sounds,” Duncan said. “That’s not why I’m here.”
Daniela went to take another swig but Duncan grabbed hold of the bottle and took it away from her.
“Look at me,” he said, taking her chin in his hand and forcing her face to his. “What I’m saying it, most brains can’t cope with the crap you just saw, but yours isn’t most brains. Your brain can kick everybody else’s brains arse.”
Duncan was holding Daniela’s gaze with such a deep intensity that she couldn’t help but listen and absorb every word.
“You see the world the way the rest of us can only dream Daniela Davids.” Duncan said. “You are stronger than anyone else here. Do not bottle up or push away anything you have seen today. Do not think that you can’t handle it. You can. Take it. Own it. And cry, goddamn it. Your brain can handle it. I know it can.”
Daniela felt it then. Emotion. Deep, deep down. Right in the recesses where she had stored everything she couldn’t handle. Her bottom lip quivered and one tear fell down her cheek. She started to panic, she didn’t want to start. She knew she wouldn’t be able to stop. She tried to pull her face away from Duncan, shaking her head in attempt to break free. Duncan wouldn’t let go of his hold though. She couldn’t hold on for much longer, the damn in her brain she had patched up since taking over Stylo 1 in the Bubble had started to leak again and she had nothing left in her to keep it at bay. She choked back a sob and with that one noise, suddenly everything fell apart. The damn broke free again and she broke down, her body convulsing into sob after sob.
Duncan finally let go of his hold of her chin, propped himself up on the pillows and pulled Daniela to him. She buried her face into his chest and cried like she had never cried before, every emotion flying through her one after the other and out in tears, wails and frustration. She clung to Duncan as if her life depended on it and felt the slow relief as the damn ran dry.
“Ms Davids?”
Daniela stopped focusing on the empty plastic cup she was holding and looked up. A peppy young woman with hair in a high ponytail and wearing far too much make up smiled pleasantly at her. This woman clearly didn’t know what was going on, either that or she’s sick and twisted.
“Your room’s ready for you now.” She said. “If you would like to follow me.”
Daniela did as she was told, as she had done since an unconscious Christiana had been carried out of the Bubble. She didn’t have the energy to do anything else. She had waited for all of the Walkers to kill any suffering people outside like she had been told. She had brought them all back and reset Stylo 1 like she had been told. She had sat at her beloved console and waited for further instructions like she had been told. She had come out to the main room to sit at the bar until someone came to take her to her room, like she had been told. And now she was going to her room to ‘get some well-earned rest’ like she had been told.
She was tired. No, she was exhausted. She would be beyond exhausted if she had a word for it. She had been running on adrenaline for the past two hours. She had been excited about using her machine, she had got caught up in the danger and excitement when all she could see was her beautiful Walkers and mindless beasts fighting each other. She had been so concerned about preserving her precious Danel that she hadn’t stopped to think about anything else. Including the lives that were out there, dying and crying for help. She hadn’t even noticed them. Or if she had, she had ignored them. And then in walked Christiana and she shone this massive floodlight on every single one of them. Men, women, children alike all crying out to be saved and she hadn’t batted an eyelid for over an hour.
Once she had noticed though, she couldn’t help but notice. She noticed the hell out of them. She sat and watched as her precious Walkers run each of them through. She knew it had been the humane thing to do. She knew that there was no way any of them could have survived the carnage that was still raging outside of these walls. But still… she hadn’t noticed. For so long.
Daniela’s guide stopped outside large oak double doors and handed her a key. Daniela glanced around, she hadn’t been paying attention to where she was or how she got here. She was in a long corridor, carpeted in a deep red and holding rich green plants. There were two sets of these oak doors on each side of the corridor, each about 30 feet apart.
“This is your suite.” The woman said. “If you need anything at all, just call room service.”
Room service? Suite? What the hell? The woman gave her another large smile and sauntered off down the corridor.
Daniela looked down at the key in her hand and glanced up at the door. She saw that her name had been engraved in slanted calligraphy deep into the wood. It hit her then, behind this door wasn’t just a room she’d be staying in. Behind this door was her new home. She briefly wondered what the correct emotion she should be feeling to react to this but decided that there was no correct emotion for any of this, there had been no research to back it up. Except for now, maybe this was the correct emotion, this 'void of nothing' that she was now feeling. Maybe this is the emotion that she would now feel for the rest of her life.
She put her new key into the lock and turned it easily. The door opened with a click and Daniela pushed it all the way. The room was dark but the moment she entered, sensor driven lights came on and Daniela caught sight of her new home.
In front of her was a large living area with cream carpet and black stencilled walls. A circular glass table stood in the middle holding the most magnificent arrangement of Silver Dollar flowers. They had always been her favourite. On the far wall of the living room hung a classic film poster of ‘It’s a Wonderful Life,’ her favourite film. A plush and inviting three piece suite faced east around the glass table, on the wall in front of it was a television screen mounted on the wall and taking up almost the entire space. On the screen was a welcome message, waiting for Daniela’s entrance.
Welcome to Utopia. We hope you enjoy your stay.
There were three doors leading out of this room. Daniela walked to the first one and found a small walk in cupboard. It was fully stocked with coats, hats and shoes. On closer inspection Daniela noticed that they were all hers. She waited for an emotion in response to this revelation, pretty sure that she should be surprised or outraged that they had raided her stuff and brought it here. However, there was nothing. She closed the door and tried the next.
This door led to an open plan kitchen/dining area. She wondered in and let her fingers stroke the marble surface of the workspace as she walked around the kitchen area first. All the drawers were labelled with it’s contents. The first drawer she came to was labelled cutlery. She pushed it to open and it popped out, gliding open to reveal a fully stocked cutlery collection; knives, forks, spoons, can opener, bottle opener, potato peeler and so on. She closed the drawer and continued her inspection through each drawer and cupboard methodically. The kitchen was kitted with a dishwasher and fully stocked fridge and freezer. In the fridge were four bottles of champagne. She took one out and opened it. She briefly considered using one of the many champagne glasses she saw in her glass door cupboards but decided against it and drank from the bottle instead.
She continued her slow, lifeless inspection of the kitchen, reaching the fully stocked pantry and utility closet with washing machine and tumble dryer. She reached the dining area where a family sized oak table covered the majority of the space, another arrangement of Silver Dollar Flowers placed in the middle. On the wall above this table was a large screen projecting an image of a beautiful green garden, a virtual window for an underground bunker.
She passed it without a second thought and made her way back into the main living room. She headed straight to the third and final door. Inside was a large beautiful bedroom. The far wall was nothing but a screen, projecting another beautiful garden. This time she noticed that the main flower in this garden was again the Silver Dollar Flower. It appeared that whoever had designed this room had had one idea and decided to really overdo it.
In the middle of the room was a large king-size bed. Beautiful purple silk sheets covered it along with what looked like twenty pillows. What caught her attention however was a small object in the middle of the bed. A small stuffed elephant, old and dog-eared, stitched together in so many places that it was barely recognisable to the elephant it was when it was originally bought for her when she was a baby. It was at the sight of this elephant that something finally stirred inside her. She walked to the bed, sat crossed legged in the middle and nestled the elephant in her lap so that it’s faded face stared up at her expectantly. She took another swig of her champagne stared blankly back down at the animal. She searched for that stirring of emotion she had before but it had gone. Still she stared, still she waited.
Daniela didn’t know how long she had sat there alone staring at the elephant but she knew that she had just tried to drink out of an empty champagne bottle for the fifth time when another bottle was presented in front of her. She looked up to see Duncan standing there, two glasses in one hand, the offered champagne in the other.
“I’m not in the mood to talk about you right now.” She said, turning her attention back to her elephant.
“I’m not here to talk about that.” Duncan said, taking a seat on the bed next to Daniela and pouring the champagne into a glass, offering it to her.
Daniela looked at it for a moment and then reached for the new bottle instead. Duncan gave it over willingly and took a sip from his poured glass.
“I’m not in the mood to talk about what happened.” Daniela said.
“I’m not here to talk about that either.”
“Well then, why are you here?” She snapped.
“I figured you’d be having a hard time with what you had just seen.” He said. “I’m guessing you don’t have much experience of seeing death like that.”
Daniela didn’t say anything but took another gulp of champagne. She waited for him to continue but when it was clear that he wasn’t going to, she eventually spoke.
“So are you here to tell me that you’ve been through it all before and know how to teach me not to care?”
“Yes and no.” He said. “Yes, I have been through death and destruction before, no, I’m not going to teach you not to care. It’s not about not caring.” He took another chug of his glass. “The average human mind is this fragile thing that tends to like happy and content things and shut down when it sees things that it doesn’t like. It will tell you that it’s either completely freaked out and wants you to be as well, or it will tell you that it’s fine and let things fester until you crack and fall into a nervous breakdown.
“Yes, there are therapies and psychiatrists and counselling and stuff like that. Talking about it helps and doing all that ‘confront your demons’ crap but it doesn’t fix it completely. Ultimately, the moment it’s exposed to a trauma like what you just saw, it decides that sooner or later you’re screwed.”
“Is this supposed to be some kind of pep talk?” Daniela said. “Because, if you’re just here to make me feel crap and vulnerable so that I’ll sleep with you, you can either try making me feel worse now and I’ll beat the hell out of you, or you can sit with me in silence until I’ve finished this bottle of champagne and you’ll probably have a better chance.”
“As tempting as that sounds,” Duncan said. “That’s not why I’m here.”
Daniela went to take another swig but Duncan grabbed hold of the bottle and took it away from her.
“Look at me,” he said, taking her chin in his hand and forcing her face to his. “What I’m saying it, most brains can’t cope with the crap you just saw, but yours isn’t most brains. Your brain can kick everybody else’s brains arse.”
Duncan was holding Daniela’s gaze with such a deep intensity that she couldn’t help but listen and absorb every word.
“You see the world the way the rest of us can only dream Daniela Davids.” Duncan said. “You are stronger than anyone else here. Do not bottle up or push away anything you have seen today. Do not think that you can’t handle it. You can. Take it. Own it. And cry, goddamn it. Your brain can handle it. I know it can.”
Daniela felt it then. Emotion. Deep, deep down. Right in the recesses where she had stored everything she couldn’t handle. Her bottom lip quivered and one tear fell down her cheek. She started to panic, she didn’t want to start. She knew she wouldn’t be able to stop. She tried to pull her face away from Duncan, shaking her head in attempt to break free. Duncan wouldn’t let go of his hold though. She couldn’t hold on for much longer, the damn in her brain she had patched up since taking over Stylo 1 in the Bubble had started to leak again and she had nothing left in her to keep it at bay. She choked back a sob and with that one noise, suddenly everything fell apart. The damn broke free again and she broke down, her body convulsing into sob after sob.
Duncan finally let go of his hold of her chin, propped himself up on the pillows and pulled Daniela to him. She buried her face into his chest and cried like she had never cried before, every emotion flying through her one after the other and out in tears, wails and frustration. She clung to Duncan as if her life depended on it and felt the slow relief as the damn ran dry.
Wednesday, 19 December 2012
Chapter twenty
Jason
Jason paced up and down the room outside the sliding doors. He was tense, incredibly so. He tried to control his breathing but he was finding it hard. Every time he closed his eyes, he could see the images of outside over and over. He couldn’t stand it. The images just kept on getting stronger and stronger until they overwhelmed him, causing him to have to stick his head in between his head until his dizziness abated. After that he continued his pacing once more until the images came back.
“Please, please, please.” He kept on repeating to himself, drumming his fingers rhythmically against his leg, trying to focus on the random patterns he repeated in order to keep his mind from getting too out of control.
When that didn’t work, he went to his plan B. He started counting down from 100, putting his entire mind into it, trying desperately to keep his mind preoccupied. A rogue sob escaped his throat and he let out a little moan, shaking his hands and head whilst jogging on the spot.
“Please, please, please.” He began again. “Please, please, please.”
The sliding doors opened and the woman he’d been hoping to see came out, surrounded by four other official looking people. What had Christiana called her? Tracey? No. Kelly. That was it.
“Kelly.” He called out.
She didn’t respond, deep in conversation with one of the men walking with her.
“Kelly!” He said louder.
Kelly stopped, tutting loudly to show her irritation.
“What?” She snapped, turning to him.
“I just need a moment of your time,” he pleaded, trying to keep the whine out of his voice and sound as authoritative as possible.
“I’m busy,” she said, “It will have to wait.”
She began to walk again. Jason raced after her and cut in front, blocking her from going anywhere.
“It will just take a second.” He said.
Kelly didn’t answer but looked at him expectantly. Jason took his cue.
“I just wanted to know about the transfer.” He said.
“What are you talking about?” She snapped.
“Well, it’s just… outside looked so… how are you going to do it? Safely I mean.”
“Do what?” She asked, irritation growing in her tone.
“Sorry, I’m not making myself clear, sorry,” he stammered, “I meant the transfer of the people from the other facility to here.”
“What other facility?”
Jason felt his blood run cold.
“The one where they’re keeping Mark, my Mark.”
“Look, I really don’t have time for this.” Kelly said, walking around Jason.
No, Jason thought, Please, no.
He caught up to her and cut in front of her again.
“Michelle told me!” He cried, not able to keep the panic from his voice. “She said that there was another facility, that you guys had taken him there, that if I complied and played nice then you would bring him here so that we could be together!”
Kelly looked at him for a moment, some of her irritation ebbing away, a sad expression replacing it.
“Look,” she said, “I don’t know what Michelle has told you but there’s something that you need to know. I hired Michelle to keep the morale of this place high and calm whilst we dealt with what was going on out there. She had her orders, to ensure that everything runs smoothly in here, whatever it takes.”
Jason staggered back. “She wouldn’t… she couldn’t. Please no.”
“I’m sorry, but this is the only facility there is. The only people to have survived are in here.”
Jason shook his head. “No, please no.”
Kelly gave him a sympathetic look and began to walk off again.
“Could he already be here somewhere?” Jason called out after her in sheer desperation. “Maybe Michelle has him somewhere but didn’t want to tell me until I’d done what she asked?”
Kelly sighed and got out a hand held device.
“What’s his name?” She asked.
“Mark,” Jason said, hope stirring once more. “Mark Farrington.”
She entered his name and took a while scrolling through the information but Jason knew the answer before she said it.
“I’m so sorry.” She said.
It felt as if someone had just punched him in the gut. Every fear he had felt since he had seen just how bad it was out there came rushing at him. He couldn’t lose it. The moment he did, he knew he wouldn’t be able to reign it back in. He took two deep breaths and nodded at Kelly, afraid to open his mouth for fear of falling apart. Kelly threw him another sympathetic look and walked away, one of her little followers patted him on the back.
“Welcome to Utopia kid,” he said. “Everything’s gone to shit.”
Jason paced up and down the room outside the sliding doors. He was tense, incredibly so. He tried to control his breathing but he was finding it hard. Every time he closed his eyes, he could see the images of outside over and over. He couldn’t stand it. The images just kept on getting stronger and stronger until they overwhelmed him, causing him to have to stick his head in between his head until his dizziness abated. After that he continued his pacing once more until the images came back.
“Please, please, please.” He kept on repeating to himself, drumming his fingers rhythmically against his leg, trying to focus on the random patterns he repeated in order to keep his mind from getting too out of control.
When that didn’t work, he went to his plan B. He started counting down from 100, putting his entire mind into it, trying desperately to keep his mind preoccupied. A rogue sob escaped his throat and he let out a little moan, shaking his hands and head whilst jogging on the spot.
“Please, please, please.” He began again. “Please, please, please.”
The sliding doors opened and the woman he’d been hoping to see came out, surrounded by four other official looking people. What had Christiana called her? Tracey? No. Kelly. That was it.
“Kelly.” He called out.
She didn’t respond, deep in conversation with one of the men walking with her.
“Kelly!” He said louder.
Kelly stopped, tutting loudly to show her irritation.
“What?” She snapped, turning to him.
“I just need a moment of your time,” he pleaded, trying to keep the whine out of his voice and sound as authoritative as possible.
“I’m busy,” she said, “It will have to wait.”
She began to walk again. Jason raced after her and cut in front, blocking her from going anywhere.
“It will just take a second.” He said.
Kelly didn’t answer but looked at him expectantly. Jason took his cue.
“I just wanted to know about the transfer.” He said.
“What are you talking about?” She snapped.
“Well, it’s just… outside looked so… how are you going to do it? Safely I mean.”
“Do what?” She asked, irritation growing in her tone.
“Sorry, I’m not making myself clear, sorry,” he stammered, “I meant the transfer of the people from the other facility to here.”
“What other facility?”
Jason felt his blood run cold.
“The one where they’re keeping Mark, my Mark.”
“Look, I really don’t have time for this.” Kelly said, walking around Jason.
No, Jason thought, Please, no.
He caught up to her and cut in front of her again.
“Michelle told me!” He cried, not able to keep the panic from his voice. “She said that there was another facility, that you guys had taken him there, that if I complied and played nice then you would bring him here so that we could be together!”
Kelly looked at him for a moment, some of her irritation ebbing away, a sad expression replacing it.
“Look,” she said, “I don’t know what Michelle has told you but there’s something that you need to know. I hired Michelle to keep the morale of this place high and calm whilst we dealt with what was going on out there. She had her orders, to ensure that everything runs smoothly in here, whatever it takes.”
Jason staggered back. “She wouldn’t… she couldn’t. Please no.”
“I’m sorry, but this is the only facility there is. The only people to have survived are in here.”
Jason shook his head. “No, please no.”
Kelly gave him a sympathetic look and began to walk off again.
“Could he already be here somewhere?” Jason called out after her in sheer desperation. “Maybe Michelle has him somewhere but didn’t want to tell me until I’d done what she asked?”
Kelly sighed and got out a hand held device.
“What’s his name?” She asked.
“Mark,” Jason said, hope stirring once more. “Mark Farrington.”
She entered his name and took a while scrolling through the information but Jason knew the answer before she said it.
“I’m so sorry.” She said.
It felt as if someone had just punched him in the gut. Every fear he had felt since he had seen just how bad it was out there came rushing at him. He couldn’t lose it. The moment he did, he knew he wouldn’t be able to reign it back in. He took two deep breaths and nodded at Kelly, afraid to open his mouth for fear of falling apart. Kelly threw him another sympathetic look and walked away, one of her little followers patted him on the back.
“Welcome to Utopia kid,” he said. “Everything’s gone to shit.”
Tuesday, 18 December 2012
Chapter nineteen
WARNING: THIS CHAPTER MIGHT BE UPSETTING TO READ.
Christiana
It was chaos. Dead bodies littered the floor, fire everywhere. Giant metallic moving statues were walking amongst them. She saw one pull a sword out of the head of a massive beast. It was like she had just walked into a scene from some kind of futuristic science fiction movie. As if she had walked onto the deck of the Enterprise with high tech machinery all around. Except they weren’t in space, they were in Stratford. But a sick and twisted version of Stratford, a version of Stratford that was burnt and destroyed almost beyond recognition. Her eyes fell on a small girl, no older than 6. She was lying on the ground, writhing in pain, her skin covered in burns. She was crying. There were so many noises going on but Christiana could still hear her cries. She was crying for her mum, but there was no one there to help her, she just lay there, wailing and screaming and everyone inside the glass bubble were ignoring her as if she wasn’t there.
She walked over to window, getting as close as she could to the girl who lay five feet away from it. She bent down and pressed her hand against the glass, pushing hard, trying to reach her. There was a lot of noise and movement going on around her but she couldn’t focus on it. She could only see the girl. She let out a loud sob and pushed even harder against the glass. She heard another wail and allowed her eyes to leave the little girl. More people, more cries. It was a blood bath of dying people. Those who were moving were dragging themselves along, trying to find shelter. Fire was everywhere. It seemed as if the air itself was on fire. She remembered the heat that she had felt when she had been outside, it had been suffocating, intense and terrifying, and she knew by the looks on the faces of the dying bodies, that it was nothing compared to what they were feeling right now.
Christiana’s body convulsed and every drink she had taken that night escaped her, falling into a technicoloured liquid mess around her. She felt the sun, she felt it on her now in this glass bubble but it only felt warm, not hot, not like how they were feeling it.
She turned to face indoors, throwing an accusing glare to those inside. No one was really watching her, they seemed busy barking orders and focusing their attention on a circular plate of glass in the centre of the room. One set of eyes were on her, the girl who was at her table before, Daniela. She was staring at her, her face pale and terrified.
“Help them,” Christiana said, although her voice was so small she knew no one heard it.
She stood up, her eyes searching for someone to bring sense into this. She saw Kelly, walking around and ordering different people in the room, barely looking outside, as if this was the most normal thing in the world. Was she the only one who thought this was wrong? Was she the only one who was shocked by what was going on?
“Help them!” She screamed.
People turned to look at her then. Kelly looked up from where she was and as soon as her eyes met Christiana’s, she saw the colour drain from her face and terror fill her eyes. Immediately her expression changed to one of anger.
“Who let her in here!?” She shouted.
Everyone looked at Christiana then. Someone ran over to her and pulled her up to a standing position, she turned round and saw that it was Jason.
“I’m sorry,” Jason said, “she ran and I couldn’t catch her in time.”
His eyes were matching how she felt however and they were darting over all the carnage out of the windows.
“Jason,” Christiana whimpered, “Look at them all.”
“Come on,” he said, his voice sounded strong but there were tears streaming down his face. “We can’t be here.”
Christiana felt a stab of anger and pulled her arm free of him.
“No!” She screamed, turning back to the rest of the room. “Someone needs to help these people!”
Christiana watched as people in the room looked out the window, shock registering on their faces as if this was the first time they had noticed the dying people on the ground.
“We need to get them in here!” Christiana said. “Open a door! Let them in, get them out of that sun!”
“Christie?”
It was Connor’s voice, although it sounded like it was coming from a sound system, her eyes shot around the room to find him but couldn’t see where he was.
“Connor?” She called out.
“Jesus, Kelly,” Connor yelled, his voice angry. “Why the hell is she seeing this?”
“Connor, where are you?”
She followed the direction of most people’s gaze, they were turned outside. No, she thought, he can’t be out there, please, please say he’s not out there. She looked but only saw the statues, the bizarre moving metallic statues out amongst the flames. One of them moved to the glass, there was something so familiar about his build, she moved closer and recognised Connor’s features peering out of the statues face.
“What the hell?” She said.
“Don’t freak out Christiana,” Kelly said from somewhere behind her.
Christiana was beyond freaking out, she didn’t know how it was possible, but Connor was out there walking amongst the flames in this strange metallic suit and seemingly unaffected by the heat killing everyone around him. She didn’t know how it was possible, but right now she didn’t care. She could only think about the screams that were reverberating around her head.
“Connor, help them,” she said, her voice quiet.
The metallic statue looked around him and took in all the dying people. He looked back into the bubble.
“Daniela, get me back.”
“Sure,” Daniela said, her voice quiet and strained.
There was more movement behind her, but Christiana couldn’t face taking in any more information, she just kept on looking at Connor’s statue body.
“I’m ready,” Daniela said again.
The statue figure walked over to a large mound of the same metallic substance and seemed to step into it. As it did, it melted away. Christiana’s heart began to race even more, panic rising. Where had he gone? Her eyes searched the metallic mound, looking for any sign of Connor but the thing didn’t move. Suddenly there were arms around her and without looking she knew they were Connor’s. She turned around to see his concerned face searching hers. Emotion overtook her and she wrapped her arms around him and sobbed loudly into his chest.
“What’s going on?” Duncan’s voice sounded over the same loud speaker Connor’s had been just moments before.
“Craig, are we still clear?” Kelly asked.
“Nothing for 30 miles.” A man’s voice replied. “Any that are in the area seem to be dying on their own.”
“Daniela, bring them all in.”
Christiana looked up then.
“You’re bringing the people in?” She asked.
Kelly looked at her levelly.
“There’s nothing that we can do for those people out there. They’re already too far gone.”
“Well surely we should at least try!” Christiana cried.
She looked around, waiting for someone to agree with her, when no one did she felt her stomach drop.
“We can’t just let them all die!”
“Even if we brought them in Christie, they wouldn’t survive the burns they already have.”
Christiana pushed herself free from Connor at his words. She walked over to the little girl, still crying in pain.
“Look at her!” She screamed. “She’s just a child! You’re telling me that there is nothing we can do for her? We’re just going to leave her like that?”
“There’s nothing that we can…”
“Don’t tell me that! What about people that might be safe from this, shouldn’t we at least look to see if there are any that we can save?”
“We can’t go out there,” Kelly said. “If the heat didn’t kill us then the toxic air would.”
“The what?”
“Everyone out of this building is now exposed Christiana,” Kelly said. “Whether it’s now or in a couple of days, no one will be able to survive out there.”
Christiana shook her head manically, pushing the idea out of her head, refusing to believe it.
“No, there must be something.” She said. “There has to be something.”
“There is something,” Connor said.
Christiana turned to him, hope stirring within her.
“Duncan,” he said, turning to face one of the statues outside. “Christiana’s right, no one should have to suffer like that.”
The statue nodded in understanding.
“Jensen, give me a gun.”
Christiana felt her heart jump to her throat. “No!” She cried. “You can’t!”
“It will stop her suffering.” Connor reasoned.
Christiana searched desperately for a reason to contest this, a way that would save her.
“How do you know that she won’t survive?” She pleaded. “How do you know that the air is so toxic?”
There was silence for a moment. Finally it was Kelly who spoke.
“Because we’ve been researching this attack for years, if there was any way to survive that atmosphere then we’ve had enough time to find it, but there isn’t. The only way of surviving is to stay out of exposure.”
Anger boiled deep within Christiana. “You knew this was going to happen?”
Kelly nodded once and turned to the statue outside.
“Duncan, put the poor girl out of her misery. Daniela, hold off bringing the rest of them back, we should try and save as many people as we can out there from pain.”
Christiana turned back to the girl, Duncan’s statue now standing over her. The little girl looked up pleadingly at him, her wailing now directed towards this strange moving object. The statue knelt beside her and took her hand. His touch seemed to increase her agony and she screamed even more, pleading with him to help her. Christiana watched the statue’s face soften and smile tenderly at the girl, keeping her eyes on him. Christiana was so fixated by this, she didn’t even see the gun at the girl’s temple until it went off. The girl’s cries stopped as Christiana’s began, one long wail that echoed round her head although no sound escaped her mouth, it built up in intensity and volume until all consciousness left her and she fell into Connor’s arms.
Christiana
It was chaos. Dead bodies littered the floor, fire everywhere. Giant metallic moving statues were walking amongst them. She saw one pull a sword out of the head of a massive beast. It was like she had just walked into a scene from some kind of futuristic science fiction movie. As if she had walked onto the deck of the Enterprise with high tech machinery all around. Except they weren’t in space, they were in Stratford. But a sick and twisted version of Stratford, a version of Stratford that was burnt and destroyed almost beyond recognition. Her eyes fell on a small girl, no older than 6. She was lying on the ground, writhing in pain, her skin covered in burns. She was crying. There were so many noises going on but Christiana could still hear her cries. She was crying for her mum, but there was no one there to help her, she just lay there, wailing and screaming and everyone inside the glass bubble were ignoring her as if she wasn’t there.
She walked over to window, getting as close as she could to the girl who lay five feet away from it. She bent down and pressed her hand against the glass, pushing hard, trying to reach her. There was a lot of noise and movement going on around her but she couldn’t focus on it. She could only see the girl. She let out a loud sob and pushed even harder against the glass. She heard another wail and allowed her eyes to leave the little girl. More people, more cries. It was a blood bath of dying people. Those who were moving were dragging themselves along, trying to find shelter. Fire was everywhere. It seemed as if the air itself was on fire. She remembered the heat that she had felt when she had been outside, it had been suffocating, intense and terrifying, and she knew by the looks on the faces of the dying bodies, that it was nothing compared to what they were feeling right now.
Christiana’s body convulsed and every drink she had taken that night escaped her, falling into a technicoloured liquid mess around her. She felt the sun, she felt it on her now in this glass bubble but it only felt warm, not hot, not like how they were feeling it.
She turned to face indoors, throwing an accusing glare to those inside. No one was really watching her, they seemed busy barking orders and focusing their attention on a circular plate of glass in the centre of the room. One set of eyes were on her, the girl who was at her table before, Daniela. She was staring at her, her face pale and terrified.
“Help them,” Christiana said, although her voice was so small she knew no one heard it.
She stood up, her eyes searching for someone to bring sense into this. She saw Kelly, walking around and ordering different people in the room, barely looking outside, as if this was the most normal thing in the world. Was she the only one who thought this was wrong? Was she the only one who was shocked by what was going on?
“Help them!” She screamed.
People turned to look at her then. Kelly looked up from where she was and as soon as her eyes met Christiana’s, she saw the colour drain from her face and terror fill her eyes. Immediately her expression changed to one of anger.
“Who let her in here!?” She shouted.
Everyone looked at Christiana then. Someone ran over to her and pulled her up to a standing position, she turned round and saw that it was Jason.
“I’m sorry,” Jason said, “she ran and I couldn’t catch her in time.”
His eyes were matching how she felt however and they were darting over all the carnage out of the windows.
“Jason,” Christiana whimpered, “Look at them all.”
“Come on,” he said, his voice sounded strong but there were tears streaming down his face. “We can’t be here.”
Christiana felt a stab of anger and pulled her arm free of him.
“No!” She screamed, turning back to the rest of the room. “Someone needs to help these people!”
Christiana watched as people in the room looked out the window, shock registering on their faces as if this was the first time they had noticed the dying people on the ground.
“We need to get them in here!” Christiana said. “Open a door! Let them in, get them out of that sun!”
“Christie?”
It was Connor’s voice, although it sounded like it was coming from a sound system, her eyes shot around the room to find him but couldn’t see where he was.
“Connor?” She called out.
“Jesus, Kelly,” Connor yelled, his voice angry. “Why the hell is she seeing this?”
“Connor, where are you?”
She followed the direction of most people’s gaze, they were turned outside. No, she thought, he can’t be out there, please, please say he’s not out there. She looked but only saw the statues, the bizarre moving metallic statues out amongst the flames. One of them moved to the glass, there was something so familiar about his build, she moved closer and recognised Connor’s features peering out of the statues face.
“What the hell?” She said.
“Don’t freak out Christiana,” Kelly said from somewhere behind her.
Christiana was beyond freaking out, she didn’t know how it was possible, but Connor was out there walking amongst the flames in this strange metallic suit and seemingly unaffected by the heat killing everyone around him. She didn’t know how it was possible, but right now she didn’t care. She could only think about the screams that were reverberating around her head.
“Connor, help them,” she said, her voice quiet.
The metallic statue looked around him and took in all the dying people. He looked back into the bubble.
“Daniela, get me back.”
“Sure,” Daniela said, her voice quiet and strained.
There was more movement behind her, but Christiana couldn’t face taking in any more information, she just kept on looking at Connor’s statue body.
“I’m ready,” Daniela said again.
The statue figure walked over to a large mound of the same metallic substance and seemed to step into it. As it did, it melted away. Christiana’s heart began to race even more, panic rising. Where had he gone? Her eyes searched the metallic mound, looking for any sign of Connor but the thing didn’t move. Suddenly there were arms around her and without looking she knew they were Connor’s. She turned around to see his concerned face searching hers. Emotion overtook her and she wrapped her arms around him and sobbed loudly into his chest.
“What’s going on?” Duncan’s voice sounded over the same loud speaker Connor’s had been just moments before.
“Craig, are we still clear?” Kelly asked.
“Nothing for 30 miles.” A man’s voice replied. “Any that are in the area seem to be dying on their own.”
“Daniela, bring them all in.”
Christiana looked up then.
“You’re bringing the people in?” She asked.
Kelly looked at her levelly.
“There’s nothing that we can do for those people out there. They’re already too far gone.”
“Well surely we should at least try!” Christiana cried.
She looked around, waiting for someone to agree with her, when no one did she felt her stomach drop.
“We can’t just let them all die!”
“Even if we brought them in Christie, they wouldn’t survive the burns they already have.”
Christiana pushed herself free from Connor at his words. She walked over to the little girl, still crying in pain.
“Look at her!” She screamed. “She’s just a child! You’re telling me that there is nothing we can do for her? We’re just going to leave her like that?”
“There’s nothing that we can…”
“Don’t tell me that! What about people that might be safe from this, shouldn’t we at least look to see if there are any that we can save?”
“We can’t go out there,” Kelly said. “If the heat didn’t kill us then the toxic air would.”
“The what?”
“Everyone out of this building is now exposed Christiana,” Kelly said. “Whether it’s now or in a couple of days, no one will be able to survive out there.”
Christiana shook her head manically, pushing the idea out of her head, refusing to believe it.
“No, there must be something.” She said. “There has to be something.”
“There is something,” Connor said.
Christiana turned to him, hope stirring within her.
“Duncan,” he said, turning to face one of the statues outside. “Christiana’s right, no one should have to suffer like that.”
The statue nodded in understanding.
“Jensen, give me a gun.”
Christiana felt her heart jump to her throat. “No!” She cried. “You can’t!”
“It will stop her suffering.” Connor reasoned.
Christiana searched desperately for a reason to contest this, a way that would save her.
“How do you know that she won’t survive?” She pleaded. “How do you know that the air is so toxic?”
There was silence for a moment. Finally it was Kelly who spoke.
“Because we’ve been researching this attack for years, if there was any way to survive that atmosphere then we’ve had enough time to find it, but there isn’t. The only way of surviving is to stay out of exposure.”
Anger boiled deep within Christiana. “You knew this was going to happen?”
Kelly nodded once and turned to the statue outside.
“Duncan, put the poor girl out of her misery. Daniela, hold off bringing the rest of them back, we should try and save as many people as we can out there from pain.”
Christiana turned back to the girl, Duncan’s statue now standing over her. The little girl looked up pleadingly at him, her wailing now directed towards this strange moving object. The statue knelt beside her and took her hand. His touch seemed to increase her agony and she screamed even more, pleading with him to help her. Christiana watched the statue’s face soften and smile tenderly at the girl, keeping her eyes on him. Christiana was so fixated by this, she didn’t even see the gun at the girl’s temple until it went off. The girl’s cries stopped as Christiana’s began, one long wail that echoed round her head although no sound escaped her mouth, it built up in intensity and volume until all consciousness left her and she fell into Connor’s arms.
Monday, 17 December 2012
Chapter eighteen
Daniela
“How am I meant to know which is the right gun?” Daniela screamed. “Do I look like I’ve had military training?”
Duncan’s Walker was pinned down by a six foot beast, his paw clamping down at his throat.
“Jensen!” Kelly ordered. “Make yourself useful and get Connor his gun!”
“I’m dealing with six other men here!” Jensen shouted.
“Six more predators coming your way,” shouted Craig.
“Will someone please get Connor his gun before Duncan’s Walker is crushed!”
Duncan’s vitals started to bleep, Daniela brought them up on the screen.
“Duncan’s Walker can’t handle much more of the pressure,” Daniela said. “If someone doesn’t shoot that beast soon, Duncan will start to feel it.”
“I’m already there!” Duncan roared.
“Give me five seconds.” Jensen said, his hands waving manically over his section of the screen.
“Jensen!” Daniela screamed, “If you don’t start making yourself useful now I swear I will beat the living crap out of you.”
“I just need…”
“I said NOW!” Daniela shouted. She grabbed him by the arm and forced him to switch places with her. “Get Connor his gun before that bastard dies from the pressure.”
Jensen looked like he was going to protest but Daniela grabbed his head and forced him to look at the screen, swiping Duncan’s vitals over to her new section of screen.
Jensen started working on the screen, bringing up the entire armory. Daniela turned her attention back to Duncan’s vitals, they were starting to reach dangerous levels.
“Duncan,” she said. “How you doing?”
“I can’t handle much more of this!”
Daniela glanced out the window to see the giant cat attempting to rip his Walker’s head off.
“I got it.” Connor yelled and Daniela saw his Walker jump onto the cat’s back and place a bullet straight into his temple.
The cat fell limp on top of Duncan. Connor pushed him aside and pulled Duncan up. Daniela breathed a sigh of relief and started working on restoring his Walker back to full working order again.
“Connor,” Kelly said, “Three predators on your left flank.”
Connor and Duncan turned in time to see one of them pounce.
“Not again,” Duncan said.
Connor pulled his gun and shot the beast in mid flight, it fell the ground.
“Cover Duncan,” Daniela ordered. “He’s not fully restored yet.”
“I thought this stuff was meant to survive anything,” Duncan said.
“I hadn’t factored in mutated beasts when I was creating it,” Daniela answered. “You’re fine, go and kill as many weird animals as you want.”
“Cheers babe,” Duncan said, giving another salute. “Jensen, something sharp and pointy please.”
A large sword shaped weapon stretched out of Duncan’s hand and he ran at the second beast, driving it straight into his head as Connor slit the throat of the third.
Suddenly everything fell silent. No orders, no roars, just quiet.
“What’s going on?” Daniela asked.
“Craig?” Kelly barked.
“It’s over,” Craig said. “No more beasts as far as I can see.”
“No, please no.”
Daniela looked up to see Christiana standing in the doorway, tears falling down her face as she took in all the destruction around her.
“How am I meant to know which is the right gun?” Daniela screamed. “Do I look like I’ve had military training?”
Duncan’s Walker was pinned down by a six foot beast, his paw clamping down at his throat.
“Jensen!” Kelly ordered. “Make yourself useful and get Connor his gun!”
“I’m dealing with six other men here!” Jensen shouted.
“Six more predators coming your way,” shouted Craig.
“Will someone please get Connor his gun before Duncan’s Walker is crushed!”
Duncan’s vitals started to bleep, Daniela brought them up on the screen.
“Duncan’s Walker can’t handle much more of the pressure,” Daniela said. “If someone doesn’t shoot that beast soon, Duncan will start to feel it.”
“I’m already there!” Duncan roared.
“Give me five seconds.” Jensen said, his hands waving manically over his section of the screen.
“Jensen!” Daniela screamed, “If you don’t start making yourself useful now I swear I will beat the living crap out of you.”
“I just need…”
“I said NOW!” Daniela shouted. She grabbed him by the arm and forced him to switch places with her. “Get Connor his gun before that bastard dies from the pressure.”
Jensen looked like he was going to protest but Daniela grabbed his head and forced him to look at the screen, swiping Duncan’s vitals over to her new section of screen.
Jensen started working on the screen, bringing up the entire armory. Daniela turned her attention back to Duncan’s vitals, they were starting to reach dangerous levels.
“Duncan,” she said. “How you doing?”
“I can’t handle much more of this!”
Daniela glanced out the window to see the giant cat attempting to rip his Walker’s head off.
“I got it.” Connor yelled and Daniela saw his Walker jump onto the cat’s back and place a bullet straight into his temple.
The cat fell limp on top of Duncan. Connor pushed him aside and pulled Duncan up. Daniela breathed a sigh of relief and started working on restoring his Walker back to full working order again.
“Connor,” Kelly said, “Three predators on your left flank.”
Connor and Duncan turned in time to see one of them pounce.
“Not again,” Duncan said.
Connor pulled his gun and shot the beast in mid flight, it fell the ground.
“Cover Duncan,” Daniela ordered. “He’s not fully restored yet.”
“I thought this stuff was meant to survive anything,” Duncan said.
“I hadn’t factored in mutated beasts when I was creating it,” Daniela answered. “You’re fine, go and kill as many weird animals as you want.”
“Cheers babe,” Duncan said, giving another salute. “Jensen, something sharp and pointy please.”
A large sword shaped weapon stretched out of Duncan’s hand and he ran at the second beast, driving it straight into his head as Connor slit the throat of the third.
Suddenly everything fell silent. No orders, no roars, just quiet.
“What’s going on?” Daniela asked.
“Craig?” Kelly barked.
“It’s over,” Craig said. “No more beasts as far as I can see.”
“No, please no.”
Daniela looked up to see Christiana standing in the doorway, tears falling down her face as she took in all the destruction around her.
Sunday, 16 December 2012
Chapter seventeen
Christiana
Christiana
stared at the bottom of her empty glass.
“That
is the fifth pint of water I have drunk.” She said. “I officially need to pee.”
“You’re
going to have to hold on,” Jason said as he mixed up the fourth cocktail from
his order. “I’m almost finished.”
“Nope,”
Christiana said. “I draw the line at peeing. That I can do on my own.”
She
got up but Jason walked over and sat her down again.
“The
moment you sit your arse on that toilet seat in a nice quiet room alone, you
will feel all those urges to drift away to sweet sleep come crawling back. I am
coming with you whether you like it or not.”
“I
can’t stay awake forever!” Christiana said. “Sooner or later, me falling asleep
will just mean sleeping, how will I ever know the difference?”
“I’ll
tell you.” Jason answered and walked back to his drinks.
“But
I really need to go now.” Christiana complained, wriggling
about in her seat.
“Then
go.” Jason said.
Christiana
gave Jason a look of disgust. “That’s
hardly hygienic.”
“You’ll
be the one mopping it up,” Jason said. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you take
all the necessary precautions to ensure it’s nice and sterile again.”
Christiana
sighed overdramatically. “When did you get so serious?”
“Right
about when you made me an aid to your suicide act.” Jason finished off the
drinks and handed them to yet another random waiter.
“It
wasn’t suicide.” Christiana muttered. “I was just having a weird day.”
Jason
gave her a look of sympathy. “Trust me, we’re all having a weird day.”
A
loud roaring noise came from the huge sliding doors at the other side of the
room.
“What
was that?” Christiana asked, getting
up from the stool and peering for a better look.
“How
many times do I have to tell you?” Jason said. “They’re watching a movie.”
“It
sounds so real.” Christiana said. “Remind me to check that place out later.”
“Sure,”
Jason answered. “I might even come with you.”
Christiana
turned back to face him, “Can you come and hold my hand while I pee now?”
Jason
smiled. “Sure. He said.
He
went to take Christiana by the arm, however when he touched her, a sharp pain
ran through her skin, she flinched.
“What’s
wrong?” He asked.
Christiana
inspected her arms once more, the skin was getting dry and hoarse and seemed to
weather away under it’s new bright red colour.
“You’ll
be pleased to know the alcohol’s wearing off.” Christiana said, “It’s starting
to hurt again.”
“That’s
some sunburn.” Jason commented.
Christiana
shrugged, she really didn’t want to talk about it right now. She had managed to
keep that whole mess out of her head for most of the day and wanted to keep it
that way. However, as she thought it, she felt the throbbing intensify across
her arms. She let her finger lightly caress the skin, it was really hot to the
touch, and white blisters were forming in spots spreading randomly from her
shoulder to her hand. This had to be the worst sunburn she had had, but then she
had been told it wasn’t a sunburn... what was it that Kelly had said? It was
from one of the exploding trees? It seemed to make less sense to her than it
had earlier. She shook her head and closed her eyes tight, rubbing the palms of
her hands against her eyeballs.
“Too
drunk to care!” She said out loud and threw her hands out in front of her,
shaking them as she shook her head, trying to push the thoughts away.
“I’m
sure you are.” Jason said. “Still want to pee?”
“It
actually feels as if there are rocks pushing down on my bladder.”
“I’ll
take that as a yes.”
Jason
put his arm around Christiana’s waist to keep her steady and walked her round
the bar towards the toilets. Christiana tried her hardest to let go of earlier
events but her arms were really beginning to throb, acting as a constant
reminder that she was going to have to face whatever had happened eventually.
“Jason?”
Christiana said.
“Hmmm?”
“Why
does this restaurant have a hospital?”
Jason
stopped short, forcing Christiana to stop with him.
“Why
do you ask?”
“I
was in there earlier,” Christiana explained. “It looked brand new.”
It
took a while for Jason to answer. Christiana rested her head on his shoulder
while she waited for his response. He still hadn’t started walking again.
“This
place isn’t just a restaurant,” Jason said eventually. “It’s more of a hotel.”
“I
don’t know many hotels that have hospitals either.” Christiana said.
“You
obviously haven’t been going to the right ones.” Jason replied and started her
back into a walk.
“Kelly
said something different.” Christiana said. “She said it was more like some
kind of bunker.”
Jason
stopped once again and turned Christiana to face him.
“Christiana.”
He said. “How did you hit your head?”
“Connor
landed on me.” Christiana replied. “I was trying to open the door to get out of
here but I couldn’t. Connor was still outside.” She let out a small shudder.
“Why
did you want to leave?” Jason asked.
Christiana
thought about it for a while, it was really hard to answer all these questions,
she felt like there was an important answer but she couldn’t work it out.
“I
didn’t want to leave,” she said after a while. “But I wanted to get Connor in.
It wasn’t nice outside. It was… scary. Dangerous. There were trees exploding
everywhere and people were screaming and… and…” she faltered, her eyes met
Jason’s, filling with tears. “I saw a person catch on fire.”
Jason
didn’t say anything, he just looked at her. It was then that it hit her, she
wasn’t meant to say anything about any of this, she groaned, Kelly was going to
be so mad.
“Please
don’t tell anyone about this,” she added. “Kelly told me I was going crazy, she
said that it was bombs, that we’d been attacked- Damn!” She shut her mouth
again, she wasn’t meant to tell anyone that either.
“Do
you think it was bombs?” Jason asked.
Christiana
didn’t say anything, her mouth firmly shut. However after a moment, she slowly
shook her head.
“Listen
to me Christiana,” Jason said. “Things are about to get really shitty really
quickly. I need you to stay calm and not worry.”
Christiana
looked at him blankly, her mind still too foggy to work out what he was trying
to say.
“It’s
going to get better.” She said. “Kelly told me.”
“No
Christiana,” Jason said. “It’s not.”
With
those words, it was as if something shifted. The cloud of fog that was clogging
her brain cleared enough for a massive realisation to sink in.
“That
room.” She said. “It’s not a movie.”
Jason
nodded. One small little nod, barely noticeable but Christiana saw it. She
gasped and staggered back.
“Please,
no.” She whispered, she brought her hands to her mouth and realised she was
crying. “It’s
still going on?” She asked.
Jason
nodded again.
Christiana
let out a sob. All of a sudden a new determination hit her.
“Tissue,”
she said. “I need a tissue.”
Jason
let her go to get a tissue out of his pocket. Christiana saw her opportunity
and took it.
She
ran. Straight in the direction of the large sliding doors.
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