Afterworld: Into the Arms of Darkness Ch.54
Title: Afterworld: Into the Arms of Darkness
By: Pink Rabbit Productions
Chapter: 54
Date: 12 November, 2011
Rating: R (for sex and violence)
Disclaimer: Hmmm, characters, not mine, situation, mine, though with the proviso that certain scenarios owe a major debt of gratitude to George Romero. Sex? Likely. Genders involved? Likely all female (at least anything on camera). Also there are likely to be very bad things in this story. I'm not one for prodigious amounts of gore, but this is horror and there is likely to be ickiness and things that might disturb some folks. Seriously. If it's gonna bother you, move along.
Summary: When the dead rise, civilization falls.
Author's Notes: Awhile back, just for fun, I did a faux movie poster that set Otalia in a horror setting and used some elements from an idea I've had running around for ages (what can I say---it was the Halloween season). See the poster here: http://altfic.com/artgallery/otalia/glafterworld01b.htm . Sooo, at some point, it seemed like fun to take a gander at writing them in that universe. I've quite deliberately tried to break away from my usual style and make it a bit faster moving, with frequent chapter breaks, deliberate cliffhangers, shorter scenes and more directed pov. We'll see if I can keep to one pov per chapter (well, they are short chapters...lol).
Dedicated to: My mom. Seriously. All of my growing up years, she would constantly throw me these what-if scenarios and press me to figure out logical ways to survive/get out of various emergency situations. Now, she never mentioned the zombie apocalypse, but I'm sure that was just an oversight or a desire not to scare a little kid (because, really, I grew up as the daughter of a top secret type during the cold war...I already had enough fear issues), but really, that odd little game was the genesis of...well...not just this story, but a lot of my love of writing. So, thanks mom.
Previous Chapters: | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 15 | Chapter 16 | Chapter 17 | Chapter 18 | Chapter 19 | Chapter 20 | Chapter 21 | Chapter 22 | Chapter 23 | Chapter 24 | Chapter 25 | Chapter 26 | Chapter 27 | Chapter 28 | Chapter 29 | Chapter 30 | Chapter 31 | Chapter 32 | Chapter 33 | Chapter 34 | Chapter 35 | Chapter 36 | Chapter 37 | Chapter 38 | Chapter 39 | Chapter 40 | Chapter 41 | Chapter 42 | Chapter 43 | Chapter 44 | Chapter 45 | Chapter 46 | Chapter 47 | Chapter 48 | Chapter 49 | Chapter 50 | Chapter 51 | Chapter 52 | Chapter 53 |
Afterworld:
Into the Arms of Darkness
Chapter 54
The were days-more of them than she cared to consider-that Olivia was amazed by the punishment the human body could take and keep functioning. As a child she'd read accounts of explorers and soldiers and often been rather doubtful of the tales where they survived what seemed unsurvivable and kept going in the face of ridiculous odds. As an adult, she'd come to understand that with enough motivation, the body could keep going a long time.
But still, there were limits, points at which even the hardiest lost the fight.
Olivia would have sworn she knew what she was capable of, would have sworn too that she'd been pushed right up against the line on more than one occasion.
Then again, maybe not she realized as she hit all her previous benchmarks and just kept going.
Unfortunately, it looked like the limit really was in sight. One hand near useless, running low on oxygen, and pinned like a bug against the wall, she pushed against the ax handle without success. Much more pressure and her larynx would give way and she'd die, strangling on her own blood.
Jeffrey on the other hand was looking better in a worse sort of way. Dead and bloodied, with gaping wounds that would have left a living man not long for this world, he was nonetheless, unnaturally fast and eerily coordinated with a mad glint in his eye and wild giggles erupting from split and torn lips.
He was also strong as hell.
She kept pushing, but couldn't gain an inch. He was just playing with her now, could kill her anytime he wanted. Sooner or later-probably sooner rather than later-he’d tire of the game and finish her.
Then Jeffrey would have Natalia. Olivia was under no illusions that the woman wouldn't be able to protect herself against the monster he'd become. Hiding wouldn’t work for long. She carried on her the sweet smells of warmth and life and those would drive his hunger even as they guided him right to her.
And after he’d had his fill, Emma would just a stone's throw away. Even if he somehow failed to get his hands on her, she'd be alone in the world.
Children didn't survive alone in Afterworld.
That thought sparked a fresh adrenaline surge and for a brief second she seemed to gain ground as the pressure eased slightly, allowing her a quick breath. Then suddenly the ax handle was jerked back so abruptly she was unbalanced and crashed to her knees. She caught a glimpse of Jeffrey's leering smile and realized the move had been intentional. Before she could react, his hand curled into the back of her shirt and he ratcheted it tight, using that harsh grip to haul her up, the pressure enough to nearly cut off her air.
Suddenly he was moving, long strides eating up the floor beneath his feet.
Light headed, Olivia had nothing left to resist as he dragged her along for the ride.
"Gunnnbeefffu-unnn," he giggled, his voice somehow both high pitched and muddy sounding as it echoed inside her aching skull.
He paused as he stepped into the hallway, distracted. Olivia could hear him sniffing the air, hunting for the sweet scents of Natalia hidden under all the darker flavors. The brief break let her get her feet under her and take some of the stress off her throat. A quick gasp filled her lungs with much-needed oxygen and added a little strength to stressed muscles.
Maybe her last chance.
Olivia twisted toward his body, lashing out with fists and nails, hitting and clawing at anything she could reach in a wild effort to break free and inflict some measure of pain or damage. Anything to bring him down, or even just slow the bastard down.
Anything to buy even a few more seconds.
He took everything she had to dish out and only laughed, then laughed again when he slammed her into the wall and she couldn't hold back a whimpery scream.
Knees rubbery, ears ringing, she couldn't resist as he yanked her back from the wall and took off toward the stairs. "I'm sorry," Olivia panted, apologizing to the woman he was hunting. "I'm sorry...I tried..."
Jeffrey only laughed again.
* * * * * *
Trembling hands made Natalia's task that much harder, but she refused to let that stop her. The ugly sounds from the room upstairs made it plain that Olivia was losing her fight, though the fact that they continued sporadically suggested she was still alive.
With luck, there was still time.
No leaving through the entry door to get to Olivia. Tipping the furniture over was one thing, picking it back up another.
Which meant she had to get out another way. Not many options left, and all of them meant risking a leap from the frying pan to the fire.
For Olivia she was more than willing. Death would be better than failing yet another person she cared for.
Shoving Olivia's pistol into her waistband, she unlatched the clip holding the window shutters closed and pulled them open. After a moment of studying glass painted to match the outdoor siding, she reached for the latch, but it stubbornly resisted any pressure. Impatient, she slammed her fist through a broad pane, wincing at the resulting flare in her knuckles. A few more seconds and she'd knocked most of the glass free, leaving only a few shards along the edges.
Outside, she could see the wandering dead. They were gathering as though they sensed the drama being played behind firm walls and camouflaged windows. A few seemed agitated by the sounds of breaking glass.
A second later, Natalia winced as she cut her hand on a sharp edge of the remaining glass, then winced even harder as she heard a crashing sound and a cry from the direction of the stairs.
Not much time left.
Natalia glanced over her shoulder at the barricaded door. It wouldn't hold him back for long.
The only chance any of them had was to make sure she wasn't there when he got through.
Another look at the window. She straightened her spine and set her shoulders.
No more standing paralyzed. No more failing. No more losing the people she loved.
And no more time to delay...
* * * * * *
Olivia didn't have it in her to cry out as her shoulder banged into another sharp edge or her knee buckled and scraped the floor. She was out of tears, out of breath, and damned near out of time.
Jeffrey, meanwhile, was growing stronger with every passing second.
As well as more insane and less human.
He stopped and started again every few paces, sniffing, snickering and twitching wildly even as he mumbled obscene promises to women who weren't there-who probably no longer even lived. More than a few of them due to his efforts.
The sheer inhumanity of it all was scary as hell, but the strange giggles were the worst, high pitched and perversely cheerful with sharp edges of madness threaded through every bit of sound that erupted from
his lips.
With every pause, no matter how brief, Olivia experienced a fresh spurt of hope that he'd lost the scent, then a sinking horror as he took off again, clearly still on the hunt. Focused on his task, he was oblivious to her every effort to resist as he followed the same pathway she and Natalia had already blazed through the house. He broke through any blockades that stood in his way and sniffed out their trail with unerring accuracy.
Far too soon he was crashing his fist through the final door and knocking out the inset panels. Olivia thought she caught a glimpse of movement before Jeffrey slung her aside to reach through a large hole for the furniture still blocking his way.
The change in position took some of the pressure off her windpipe and gave her just enough of a respite to grab a breath.
Jeffrey grunted as he pushed at the desk, moving it. Not as fast as he wanted to judge by his irritated grumbles, but it was almost out of the way now.
Barely time for one last, desperate stand.
Olivia turned into his body, using her weight to throw him off balance as she clawed for his eyes.
Unfortunately, Jeffrey jerked his head back just before she made contact, leaving her nails to rake deep, bloodless furrows n his sunken cheeks. He blinked as though only just remembering she existed, then straight-armed her into the nearest wall as he refocused on getting through the last barrier that stood between himself and Natalia.
Shaking with horror, Olivia felt her stomach twist into knots as a soft, almost floral scent teased her nostrils, the smell tinged with a faint, metallic edge.
Jeffrey's low, whoofing chuckle told her he smelled it too.
The very essence of Natalia: her skin, her hair, her...blood.
They both stood frozen, a horror movie tableau painted in blood and gore, one living, one dead, both equally caught in the rich, sensual haze.
Then as abruptly as Jeffrey paused, he exploded into motion, moving too fast for Olivia to do anything but stumble along in his wake, still shackled to him by his grip on her collar. Spun, tumbled and slammed around, she failed to catch even a glimpse of Natalia, in fact lost sight of everything recognizable until Jeffrey suddenly hauled her forward, past the remains of the door and splintered furniture.
Bastard probably had Natalia cornered and meant to make her watch, she realized with a sick rush. She was still hunting for a way to fight him when the sounds he was making suddenly resolved themselves into words.
"Where?" he snarled, the single word garbled and ragged as he repeated it several times.
It took Olivia several beats to realize they were alone in the room.
Natalia was gone.
She was still struggling to resolve reality with expectation when Jeffrey used his grip on her collar to yank her up until she was on the tips of her toes and they were almost nose to nose. His eyes were glazing over with death, the whites yellowing while his skin was growing increasingly pale and bloodless.
"Where?" he repeated, his voice so harsh and guttural he sounded more like an animal mimicking speech than a human being. Her was losing himself to death.
Unfortunately, not quite quickly enough.
Olivia's answering laugh was high pitched and a little giddy. She didn't have the faintest idea. She just knew that the other woman had avoided the reaper stalking her. At least for the moment.
Enraged, he shook her until her teeth rattled, then abruptly froze.
Olivia saw the way his nose twitched and knew. Not good. He'd caught Natalia's scent again. Then she smelled it too, hanging in the air, sweet and supple. Her eyes went to the window frame at the same time his did and she felt his excited quiver as he spotted the splash of blood that edged broken glass.
Olivia suddenly forgotten, Jeffrey released her and never looked back as he stepped step closer to the window. His eyes laser bright, he leaned down to stare at the blood, seeming to inhale the sweet scent like it was a drug.
Caught in her own kind of trap, Olivia staggered forward dazedly, struggling to clear her thoughts as she stared at the evidence in front of her. The shutters were open, revealing the remains of painted glass. The window was divided into four smaller sections and the top and bottom panes on the right side had both been broken out. Just enough for a slender body to slip through, but not without drawing blood. Darkening red streaks marked the sharp points and edges of tiny bits of glass still caught in the frame.
Looking past the window, Olivia could see where the remains of the window-razor sharp daggers-lay scattered in the remains of a dead flowerbed.
And beside the glass, a few spatters of something dark and wet, sunk deeply enough into the dirt to turn to mud. There was just enough color to mark it, even if she couldn't smell the iron tang. Blood.
Olivia's gaze swung past the evidence of Natalia's flight to the wanderers moving aimlessly in the distance. The smell hadn't drawn them close to the house. At least not yet. But that could mean they hadn't noticed...
Or that they'd already found something much more tempting than a few stray drops of blood.
Like their source.
Olivia's guts wrapped into knots at that thought, but she shook it off. No, they weren't that kind of agitated, more just sensing something and hunting for the source, albeit in their random, shambling way.
Not over yet.
Jeffrey leaned a little closer to the windowsill, then abruptly straightened. "Gotcha." His triumphant laugh was mostly heavy, rhythmic breathing, the sound low pitched and rattling as though he was forcing air through thickening mucus.
Feeling her gorge rise, Olivia stared at his back, watching the uncoordinated play of bone and muscle.
Still strong and eerily fast, he was starting to get gawkier as death played havoc with muscle control.
She considered another attack while he was distracted only to decide against it. If Natalia was out there, maybe having Jeffrey making plenty of attention-grabbing noise wasn't such a bad thing.
Glazing eyes scanning this way and that, Jeffrey broke out the remaining glass with an ungraceful sweep of one hand, then clambered through. He dropped to the dirt with a solid thud, obliterating the muddy blood drops, but not their smell.
Olivia could hear the soft snuffling sounds he made as he hunted for Natalia's scent. Her gaze flashed back down to the dirt. With no other weapons available, the glass shards from the shattered window would have to do. At least two were long enough to make decent knives, and the old style glass panes were deadly sharp. They'd probably slice her own palm deep and maybe take a finger or two in the doing, but with enough force, she had hope they'd take a head as well.
Limping, she threw a leg over the windowsill, her movements careful and controlled-trying not to be noticed.
Absorbed by the scents of blood and strife hanging in the air and the random movements of the surrounding dead, Jeffrey never twitched.
Olivia got her other leg over and landed lightly on the ground. Just a little farther. Her gaze dropped as she reached for a makeshift blade. Her fingers hit smooth glass and she almost had a grip when hard fingers suddenly clamped down on her wrist.
Jeffrey.
He let go almost instantly, but only to deliver a wild backhand. Olivia ducked quickly enough that only the tips of his fingers made contact, but even that was enough to knock her backwards into the windowsill. Pain radiated outward from the point of impact at the small of her back. Another ache to join the other thousand. It would have been nice if she'd barely felt it, but instead, it threatened to take her to her knees.
She couldn't move.
She expected another blow, but Jeffrey just stood there. Staring at her, his expression blank except for a roaming kind of rage, it was as though he'd forgotten what had happened only seconds before.
Maybe forgotten who she was.
Or maybe just forgotten who he was.
Finally, his head tipped to one side, then he lurched forward a step.
Olivia braced herself, digging deep as she readied herself for his expected charge. Whether Jeffrey was gone or still there didn't really matter. Either way, the bastard was dangerous.
Suddenly he shook himself and blinked, pushing off the encroaching strains of oblivion-at least for the moment-and staggered back a step. His expression twitched, showing not only confusion but a kind of fear that was eerily familiar to Olivia.
She'd been on the verge of going where he was headed, but she'd been alive. She'd also had something-no, someone-to bring her back.
What did he have? Exactly what he'd earned. Nothing. No one would mourn. In fact, if there was anyone left alive who'd once known him, they'd probably give a little cheer at his demise. Certainly the quality of the earth's air would improve just a little bit for having him no longer breathing it.
As he watched her, his expression kept shifting, emotions roiling uncontrolled in ever-changing waves-rage, fear, lust, triumph, even something akin to hope. For a beat, the fear dominated and he fell back another step. Molars ground and he huffed a muddled curse, shoulders rising and falling as though he was dragging in heaving breaths, but there was no sound of air moving through dead lungs.
Olivia saw him start to stagger forward only to pull up short, his head suddenly tipping back to search the sky.
A single raindrop hit the dirt at his feet in a fat splotch.
Olivia turned her gaze upward. Overhead, the sun gleamed bright. Clear skies all around.
She looked down just as another drop hit the dirt, turning the ground wet dark. Too dark. No, not rain, Olivia realized as she looked up in time to see a drop hit Jeffrey's cheek in a broad, crimson splat.
Blood.
Her head tipped back again as more droplets hit, some large, some impossibly small, spattering Jeffrey and the ground around his feet in shades of crimson.
His nose twitching, senses probably going off like mad, Jeffrey fell back a step and then another as he hunted around for the source of the smells taunting the hunger burning in his belly.
Olivia already knew whose blood it was.
As if summoned by that thought, a voice came down like an angel from above.
"Jeffrey!" Not precisely loud, but with enough volume to draw a look from the wanderers not far away, the tone hard and full of the sort of anger certain to get their attention.
Natalia.
Tipping her head back, Olivia craned her neck around enough to see the slender figure leaning out of the window directly over her head.
"Tastee," Jeffrey ground out, his mouth working as though he was already chewing, his whole focus on the woman looking down from the floor above.
"That's right," Natalia taunted. "Come and get it...nice and fresh."
A few more crimson drops spattered down onto Jeffrey, while the sweet metallic scent caught on a passing breeze.
A soft lowing sound just barely reached Olivia's ears. The moans of the dead as they caught scent. They were gathering, coming closer. All it would take was something to ignite their fury and all hell would follow.
"Olivia, get inside," Natalia ordered, her voice hard and low, brooking no argument.
Jeffrey's gaze skated toward Olivia, but Natalia flicked a few more drops of blood and his attention was instantly back on her.
"Go!" Natalia called out, her voice just loud enough for Olivia to hear.
Spurred into motion, Olivia spun back and scrambled, heaving herself back inside. Her feet hit the floor and she spun just as Jeffrey shook himself, suspicious rage coloring his expression. Teeth gritted, he started to lunge after her only to pull up short as another spatter of blood hit his face.
The sound he made this time was almost a whimper and his expression twisted again, taking on a new cast that seemed oddly panicked and almost pleading to Olivia's eyes. He knew, she realized in a heartbeat. He instinctively knew it was some kind of trap, but couldn't fight the instincts now driving him. Muscles rippled and he trembled as he stared at her. A hand rose ever so slightly as though reaching out to her.
"Ava," he grunted at last, the single word almost unintelligible. She really only recognized it because she knew the angles he always tried in his manipulations. Ava was always his favorite tool for getting her to jump when he wanted.
Not this time. Olivia shook her head and reached for the shutters.
Realizing he'd been denied, he screamed, mouth wide, spittle flying. Muscles contracted as though spasming, he started to lunge.
Only to pull up short, his head tipped back on his shoulders, the fury momentarily drained from his expression as he stared at something.
Olivia couldn't afford to question how the time had been bought and paid for. Her whole focus was on locking Jeffrey out. She nearly had the shutters closed and latched when something arced across her line of view and hit Jeffrey's chest dead center. It burst in a silent explosion of glitter and crimson, sending streamers and sparkles away from the surprisingly neat, red circle that appeared over his breastbone-a near perfect bullseye.
He staggered, his eyes going from blank to wild in a nonexistent heartbeat. Then his head tipped down and he pawed clumsily at the mess on his shirtfront, his jaws working in that strange chewing motion that most of them did at times.
Even from a distance, Olivia could smell the coppery bite-the scent so strong she could almost taste it.
Blood.
Underlaid with something sweet and earthy.
Natalia.
Her breath caught with horror and remembered hunger, while her mouth watered over the unforgotten taste of that kiss between lost souls that had held all those flavors and more.
Low, rhythmic grunting sounds suddenly erupted from Jeffrey's lips and he rocked on his feet. The fingers resting on his chest curved into claws, first pressing against dead flesh, then digging in. A low moan escaped his mouth, then trailed into a whimper. He tore a chunk of his shirt partially free and dragged it to his mouth, teeth and tongue working at the blood caught on the fabric while his hands went back to clawing at his skin.
Olivia could see the desperation in his eyes. The cloth would never salve his hunger, no matter how doused in blood it might be, but he couldn't put it down, couldn't walk away, couldn't do anything but surrender any tattered remains of his soul to the monster within.
Cracked fingernails broke the surface of his skin. No blood, but as he continued to tear, Olivia saw the dermal layers revealed in the widening gashes.
Beyond him, more dead were coming, drawing close, but not yet on him, attracted by the smell of blood, their fingers opening and closing as if grabbing for a fresh meal, mouths working as though chewing, whole focus on Jeffrey.
Suddenly Olivia understood.
Natalia's plan was simple. Trick the dead into seeing life where there was only death by giving them what they most wanted.
Her blood.
And Jeffrey knew too. She could see it in his eyes. He knew, but couldn't control himself enough to run while it might still save him. Instead he pressed his fingers deeper, then sawed his nails and finally tore a chunk of flesh out of his chest, revealing a chink of white. His breastbone. He roared, a spittle-hurling sound that ended on a lurch when he couldn't resist temptation and crammed meat from his own body into his mouth.
The sound only spurred the oncoming dead to greater speed.
The thought passed through Olivia's head, distant and only vaguely acknowledged, that she needed to close the shutters, but she couldn't move those final inches, some part of her irresistibly driven to see it through.
Despite the panic in his eyes, Jeffrey kept ripping out chunks of himself from the areas doused in Natalia's blood, eating with one hand, tearing with the other. He'd gotten several bites down and was lifting a fresh hunk to blood soaked lips when they fell on him-the dead, hungry and fooled into thinking he was one of the living.
He screamed. Not pain, but rage, mindless, uncontrollable rage.
Rather than pushing the dead back, the sound drove them harder. Their hands fell on him. Pieces and parts were grabbed, pulled, torn. Teeth found flesh, chewed, found death and spat, then bit again, still hoping for something to satisfy the desperate craving.
In moments, the discernible shapes of limbs were wrenched free, then quickly reduced to pieces of greyish meat that looked eerily like something that had been in the butcher shop at least a month past its expiration date.
Jeffrey's head was the last thing left whole, unattached and soundlessly howling.
And then that too was shredded, bits of skin, muscle, tendon and cartilage peeled free in layers and hurled aside when it failed to salve the raw hunger of the dead things grabbing for it.
And then there was nothing left of him.
Feeling as though she was caught in some surreal dream, Olivia could only stare for a long moment. He'd been the monkey on her back too long for her to believe he could be gone that quickly and completely. No more tormentor, just bits of rotting meat.
Olivia abruptly shook herself, struggling to throw off the paralysis. Hands shaking violently, she thrust the shutters closed and fumbled the latches into place. Not much of a barrier if the dead decided to come running, but enough to buy a few seconds.
"Shake it off," she growled to no one in particular as she fought to clear her head. With Jeffrey in literal pieces-the sort that offered precious little satisfaction to the raging dead-they'd be looking for new prey.
Olivia's heart slammed against her sternum as she was hit with a fresh wave of adrenaline.
Natalia, with her blood like fine wine would be the ultimate feast. Olivia tipped her head back and stared at the ceiling. And she was only a short distance away. They'd just have to make their way through the house...
With its ruined doors and shattered barricades.
She did a fast pivot, eyes going to the wall where Natalia had opened the hidden panel, her undoubted escape route now that Olivia had a chance to think. At least she thought that was the wall, but when she got to pushing and pressing, she either couldn't find the trigger or didn't know how to make it work. It would undoubtedly the faster than slogging through the detritus Jeffrey had left in his journey through the house, but apparently it wasn't an option.
Snarling a curse, Olivia pivoted. Moving as fast as she could, she scrambled over upended furniture and through the tattered remains of the door. More destruction lay ahead, but she couldn't let it slow her down. Her only thought was that she had to get to Natalia and get her the hell out of there before the dead followed her scent into the house.
Because if that happened, she could lose everything.
* * * * * *
TBC