After the Fall- The Complete series Box Set Page 5

  SHINK!

  The familiar sound of a blade slicing through paper. Fatty’s arrow did nothing to stop the creature but it did alert Jamie to the approaching danger. Lungs aching, Jamie got to his feet. The creature was right on top of him. He withdrew his axe. He could snatch the girl but he wouldn’t get more than a few steps before the creature would fall on them. Weak as he was, Jamie couldn’t put up much of a fight.

  The girl. She needed to act as a distraction.

  Except she was unconscious and making no sound. Nothing to distract the monster. Jamie firmly kicked the girl in the ribs. She grunted. The creature’s flapping jaws covered the girl’s weak protests.

  “Sorry about this,” Jamie said, stepping on the girl’s chest.

  She wheezed, the oxygen rushing out of her throat. The creature paused, hesitating. She lay on the ground, unconscious, defenseless. Jamie didn’t move a muscle. He had no idea how—or even if—the creature was capable of thinking. Anyone with a single functioning brain cell would have recognized the trap. Jamie was ready to stab and tear and slice at the Rage the moment he bent down to feed on the girl. Could the Rage identify the danger?

  Evidently not. The creature fell to its knees. Jamie didn’t have long to make his move. With its jerky movements, the Rage was difficult to attack with any accuracy. He swung his axe in an arc, removing the creature’s head. Two, then three swings, and it was done. The creature’s body fell back, thrashing and clawing randomly. Dangerously.

  Jamie sheathed his blade and bent down to pick the girl up, leveraging one of her arms over his shoulders. The girl’s head flopped side to side. She mumbled something under her breath that Jamie couldn’t make out. It was only then that he realized he hadn’t yet checked her for bite marks.

  With half an eye scanning her face, observing for any sign she was infected, he raced across the desert in the direction of their commune.

  17.

  “RUN!” NESTER shouted at Fatty, who didn’t need to be told twice.

  He could move faster than anybody when his life was on the line. The monsters were chasing them. They kept a safe distance from Jamie, who was travelling much slower than they were due to his extra load.

  “Jamie needs help,” Nester said. “Give him a hand carrying the girl.”

  “What about you?” Fatty said.

  “I’ll be all right,” Nester said.

  Fatty gave her a look. Are you sure?

  “There’s no time,” Nester said. “Go. Now.”

  Fatty took off. If there was one thing Fatty was good at, it was following orders. He’d only follow them if they did not put him in any immediate danger. She supposed that was the smart way to do things.

  As Fatty peeled away in Jamie’s direction, the creatures eyed him and began to follow him instead. Nester supposed her own skinny frame didn’t have the same appeal as Fatty’s juicy one did. She banged her knife against her sword and shouted to get the creatures’ attention. They obediently followed her.

  Her lungs were already hurting, burning. A stitch stabbed at her from the inside. She set herself on a steady pace, matching the creatures’ behind her. She didn’t want to pull away too far in case she needed to double back and regain their attention.

  Step by step, she was drawing closer to home. To her family. To safety. She felt sad.

  18.

  JAMIE’S LEGS were shaking, struggling to maintain momentum. He heard footsteps, fast approaching. He spun around, prepared to drop the girl and make a stand. It would be the weakest ass defense in the history of defenses, but he would do his best. Nothing could have prepared him for what he actually saw approaching.

  “Fatty?” he said. “What are you doing here?”

  “Here to help you,” Fatty said, ducking under the girl’s other arm.

  Jamie turned to look in Nester’s direction. She was jogging, turning back every few seconds to ensure the creatures were following her.

  The girl mumbled something under her breath. Fatty eyed her uncertainly.

  “Are you sure she hasn’t been bitten?” he said.

  “Of course she hasn’t,” Jamie said. He wasn’t about to admit he had no idea if she was infected or not.

  The commune began to rise up from the desert, higher and higher, a giant beacon of hope. Jamie had never been so happy to see it his entire life. Home.

  Nester reached the front gate first. Once the creatures were within range, the archers atop the walls released, knocking them out. The undead bodies continued to spasm and lash out the way they always did when their final death greeted them.

  Jamie joined Fatty in slowing their pace to a crawl. The girl still hadn’t woken up. They met Nester at the front gate. She was pale, the journey clearly having taken a great deal out of her.

  “We made it,” Jamie said.

  “You saved her,” Nester said with a smile laced with sadness.

  “We saved her,” Jamie said.

  The door in the gate opened. A pair of guards took the girl and carried her inside. They would check her for bites, infection, quarantine her until she posed no risk to the rest of the commune.

  “Man, it feels good to be back,” Fatty said, stepping inside the commune’s walls.

  “You and me both,” Jamie said, following him in.

  He paused, checking over his shoulder. Nester remained outside.

  “Nester?” Jamie said. “What are you doing? It’s over.”

  “I can’t go in with you,” Nester said.

  “Why not?” Jamie said.

  Nester pulled back her sleeve, revealing a nasty hole in her arm. It was only the fact her top was dark that Jamie hadn’t noticed the blood that seeped from the wound earlier.

  “No. . .” Jamie said. “No. You can’t be.”

  “Can’t be what?” Nester said. “Bitten? But I am.”

  Jamie shook his head. “No. This can’t be happening. You have to come inside. There must be something we can do.”

  “There’s nothing you can do,” Nester said. “One of those things slipped inside my defense and caught me. It’s my fault. I should have remembered my lessons.”

  Her voice shook. She was afraid. She knew what would happen to her, what her short future would be. Her life was over. Because of Jamie. Because of his decision to head into the desert and find Bernard.

  The future they thought they would share together, the future they had only just begun exploring, had already been cut short.

  “We’ll think of a way out of this,” Jamie said.

  “There is no way out of this,” Nester said. “It’s okay. Really.”

  Jamie wrapped his arms around her.

  “It shouldn’t be you,” Jamie said. “It should be me.”

  “I was the one who was sloppy,” Nester said. “You had nothing to do with this.” She held his head in her hands. “Things happen for a reason. This was not your fault.”

  But Jamie knew the truth of it. If he hadn’t decided to head out to find Bernard, convincing the others to go with him, she would never have been bitten. That was the beginning and end of it.

  “What will you do?” Jamie said.

  “I have my sword,” Nester said. “I can’t become one of those things. It’s an easy choice to make.”

  Jamie felt sick to his stomach. “I can’t watch you do that.”

  “I know,” Nester said. “I couldn’t either if it was the other way around. Do me one favour. Ask your dad to send someone to check I did it right and finish the job if I didn’t.”

  Her eyes shifted up. Her strength immediately folded as she openly wept. Her family surrounded her, wrapping their arms around her. They wailed and screamed and cried.

  Jamie crept away, in tears. He didn’t care if anyone saw.

  19.

  “WHAT DID you think you were doing?” Donald said as soon as he stepped through the front door.

  He had grey bags under his eyes and looked like he hadn’t slept in a week. Although he was angry, there was n
o disguising his obvious relief.

  Jamie staggered, almost losing his feet. “Nester. . . She. . . She. . .”

  “I heard,” Donald said. His anger took a momentary backseat.

  “I’m sorry,” Jamie said. “I’m sorry for everything.”

  His father embraced him in silence. He felt the droplets on the top of his head. Jamie didn’t try to pull back. He didn’t want to see the tears in his father’s eyes. He’d only ever seen him cry once before, and it was haunting enough for him to never want to see that again. Especially if it had been his fault.

  “What were you doing out there?” Donald said.

  “She needed help,” Jamie said.

  “Don’t you ever scare me like that again,” Donald said. He hugged Jamie tighter.

  The front door opened.

  “I heard—” Donny said before clocking the hugging pair.

  Donny was clearly concerned too, though he pretended not to be. He stood with his hands on his hips. This wasn’t the scene he’d been expecting.

  “Is he all right?” he said.

  “He’ll be fine,” Donald said. “Just a little tired, that’s all.”

  He pulled his youngest son back and smiled at him. Warm and affectionate. He was happy to have him safe and at home. He kissed his boy on the head and held out an arm for Donny to join them.

  “I’m okay,” Donny said.

  Donald’s expression turned hard. Donny sighed and walked over. Donald tugged him in closer than he felt comfortable with, but he put up with it. In his heart, he actually enjoyed it. It wasn’t often that their father let down his guard enough to show his emotions. Best to enjoy it while he could.

  Together, holding on tight. A family of three against the world.

  20.

  JAMIE’S SKIN was burning. It tended to happen after twelve hours of scrubbing and powerful chemicals were poured over your skin. Fatty joined him in the adjacent room. His skin was red raw too. Jamie would have laughed if he didn’t feel so itchy.

  They were dressed in new clothes. They felt rough against Jamie’s skin as the epidermis had largely been scrubbed away. The commune was a success because it didn’t take unnecessary risks when it came to the Rage virus. A single drop of blood could destroy what years of hard work had created. They had to be careful.

  “I hate quarantine,” Fatty said.

  Jamie would normally have struck back with a witty remark, but he wasn’t in the mood. He felt down and depressed, the passing of Nester still weighing heavy on his mind. Fatty recognized the change in his friend’s demeanor but didn’t press it.

  “My mum says it’s good to get a scrub now and then,” Fatty said. “Gets rid of the dead skin.”

  “I suppose,” Jamie said.

  “Do you think they’ll bring us some food?” Fatty said. “I’m starving.”

  “You’re always starving,” is what Jamie would ordinarily have said but he wasn’t in the mood.

  Fatty slugged Jamie on the arm.

  “Ow,” Jamie said, rubbing his shoulder. “What did you do that for?”

  “To check you’re still alive,” Fatty said. “You weren’t the one who got bitten. You can smile now and then.”

  “It’s my fault she was out there,” Jamie said. “She wouldn’t have been bitten if it wasn’t for me.”

  “It wasn’t your fault,” Fatty said. “Do you honestly think anyone could make Nester do something she didn’t want? She was much tougher than either of us.”

  That was true. If there was one person amongst their generation that should have been the leader after Donald, it was Nester. And now she was dead. She was dead and Jamie was still here, alive.

  “It could have been worse, you know,” Fatty said.

  “How?” Jamie said. “How could it have been worse?”

  “I could have gotten bitten,” Fatty said. “Or you. Or both of us. All of us. Hell, I don’t know. But we did find Bernard. And we did rescue the girl. If you want to blame yourself for what happened, that’s fine, but that means you’ll also have to accept the things that went well too.”

  The girl. Jamie had forgotten about her. The last he’d seen of her, she was being picked up by a pair of guards. Probably brought here, to medical. He wondered if she was getting the same treatment they were.

  Jamie moved to the window that looked out on the compound. The medical rooms were located at the back of the commune, tucked beneath the shelf that ran at the corner of the west and south-facing walls. It was a sturdy structure, part of the original gas station they’d converted into the commune.

  Jamie vowed never to put anyone else in harm’s way. Never again.

  The doors banged open, interrupting his thoughts.

  “You boys must be hungry.”

  Theresa entered carrying two trays of food. She sat them down on the table. Fatty attacked his food with relish. Jamie was hungry but couldn’t bring himself to eat. They hadn’t eaten during the entire procedure.

  “I heard you had a close encounter,” Theresa said. “Hopefully not of the Third Kind.”

  “Huh?” Fatty said, stuffing his mouth with mash.

  “Never mind,” Theresa said. “How are you both holding up?”

  “Good,” Fatty said.

  Theresa was lucky to get that much out of him when he was that hungry. The food didn’t smell good to Jamie. It smelled like cardboard with a liberal dose of salt. He put his fork down, unable to even consider eating a mouthful. He would be sick if he did.

  “Not eating?” Theresa said.

  “I’m not hungry,” Jamie said.

  “Can I have your roll?” Fatty said.

  The dirty look Theresa gave him said he couldn’t. Disappointed, Fatty went back to eating.

  “Not sure I’ve ever heard of someone going through quarantine without being famished afterwards,” Theresa said.

  Jamie picked at the skin on his fingers. His nervous tic.

  “I heard about Nester,” Theresa said, watching Jamie closely.

  He froze, eyes moving to the floor.

  “Her parents told her not to go outside,” Theresa said. “But you know Nester. She’ll always do what she wants. There’s no controlling strong people.”

  “I could have stopped her,” Jamie said.

  “You might think that,” Theresa said. “She knew she shouldn’t go out there but she went anyway. Her decision has nothing to do with you. You’re only lucky you didn’t get bitten too.”

  “That’s what I said,” Fatty said around a stalk of broccoli.

  “You’re lucky to have friends who care about you,” Theresa said.

  Jamie could feel the tears beginning to well up inside him. He didn’t know what he was meant to say, what he was meant to do. His frustration swelled to a bulbous black cloud of despair that threatened to consume him.

  “The girl you saved is doing well,” Theresa said. “The little girl from the tree. She’s awake now.”

  A ray of sunlight pierced the black clouds. Jamie could see a part of the world now, a big world that didn’t care what anyone did with their lives. The loss of Nester’s life hadn’t been for nothing.

  “She’s alive?” Jamie said.

  Jamie finally managed to drag his eyes up to look at Theresa. She wore a smile on her face.

  “Would you like to see her?” she said.

  21.

  FATTY REFUSED to leave until he’d polished off every item on his tray. He looked sad when he wasn’t allowed to have what Jamie had left on his. It wouldn’t get wasted. It would be fed to the dogs or mashed up and turned into fertilizer, existing in another form in its second life. Still, everything was a waste to Fatty’s eyes if it wasn’t in his gut.

  The girl lay in a bed on her back, unmoving. Her eyes were closed and might have been in a deep sleep. Jamie, Theresa, and Fatty were looking at her through a perspex window.

  “We ran her through the usual quarantine procedure,” Theresa said. “Though we were careful with her. We che
cked her for cuts and bruises, bites, anywhere that the virus might have entered her system. There were none.”

  Jamie breathed a sigh of relief. Not for the girl. For himself.

  “Will she be okay?” Jamie said.

  “Yes,” Theresa said. “She’ll be fine. But you’ll want to take it easy on her for a while. She’s fragile.”

  “Not entirely fragile,” the doctor said, taking off his stethoscope and setting it down. “Don’t let her appearance fool you. She’s a tough little thing. She had to be to survive out in the desert for God knows how long.”

  As the resident doctor, Stephen was a powerful personality amongst the commune members. Everyone knew him well. He undertook every medical procedure at Mountain’s Peak. He’d had to become a master of every medical profession. He birthed babies, treated cuts and scrapes, and oversaw the production of crucial anti-venom.

  Without decent medical care, there was little chance they could survive in the desert commune for long. That was why they were constantly training new doctors and nurses. They didn’t have the textbooks Stephen had used to study when he was a student, so Stephen was creating his own, beginning with the treatments most pertinent to a commune like theirs.

  “She’s a little malnourished, but there’s nothing wrong with her,” Stephen said. “When she wakes, don’t expect her to remember a great deal. The sun can fry the brain for a while. Talk to her. It’ll do her some good to have some friends her own age.”

  “Her own age?” Jamie said. “She looks so young.”

  “She doesn’t have the same wear and tear as the rest of us,” Stephen said. “Probably from another commune. A big one, I’d wager. One where they don’t need to struggle to get by as we do. The kids there might actually enjoy their childhood for a while. If you can figure out which commune she came from and where they are, we might be able to trade with them.” He wiped his hands on a cloth. “She didn’t happen to mention anything while you were out in the desert, did she?”