Afterworld: Into the Arms of Darkness Ch.31
Title: Afterworld: Into the Arms of Darkness
By: Pink Rabbit Productions
Chapter: 31
Date: 12 October, 2010
Rating: R (for sex and violence)
Disclaimer: Hmmm, characters, not mine, situation, mine, though with the proviso that certain scenarios owe a major debt of gratitude to George Romero. Sex? Likely. Genders involved? Likely all female (at least anything on camera). Also there are likely to be very bad things in this story. I'm not one for prodigious amounts of gore, but this is horror and there is likely to be ickiness and things that might disturb some folks. Seriously. If it's gonna bother you, move along.
Summary: When the dead rise, civilization falls.
Author's Notes: Awhile back, just for fun, I did a faux movie poster that set Otalia in a horror setting and used some elements from an idea I've had running around for ages (what can I say---it was the Halloween season). See the poster here: http://altfic.com/artgallery/otalia/glafterworld01b.htm . Sooo, at some point, it seemed like fun to take a gander at writing them in that universe. I've quite deliberately tried to break away from my usual style and make it a bit faster moving, with frequent chapter breaks, deliberate cliffhangers, shorter scenes and more directed pov. We'll see if I can keep to one pov per chapter (well, they are short chapters...lol).
Dedicated to: My mom. Seriously. All of my growing up years, she would constantly throw me these what-if scenarios and press me to figure out logical ways to survive/get out of various emergency situations. Now, she never mentioned the zombie apocalypse, but I'm sure that was just an oversight or a desire not to scare a little kid (because, really, I grew up as the daughter of a top secret type during the cold war...I already had enough fear issues), but really, that odd little game was the genesis of...well...not just this story, but a lot of my love of writing. So, thanks mom.
Previous Chapters: | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 15 | Chapter 16 | Chapter 17 | Chapter 18 | Chapter 19 | Chapter 20 | Chapter 21 | Chapter 22 | Chapter 23 | Chapter 24 | Chapter 25 | Chapter 26 | Chapter 27 | Chapter 28 | Chapter 29 | Chapter 30 |
Afterworld:
Into the Arms of Darkness
Chapter 31
Natalia stood in shock as the door shut again, closing between them.
"Give me a few seconds...then go," Olivia hissed through the thin panel.
Shaking, Natalia raised a hand to her lips, momentarily lost in the emotional flux. She wanted to scream, drag Olivia back and ask why and how and what and who and what the hell. And then she wanted to shake her and make her run like hell, or failing that run after her, and find a way to help. She wanted to protect her and keep her safe, which was very strange given that during most of their interactions, she hadn't actually liked the woman.
Confusion barely began to describe what she was feeling.
She just knew that with Jeffrey threatening her and not even knowing if she could survive, when she looked up and realized who was standing there, she'd known she'd be okay. Olivia would protect her.
And now she needed to return the favor.
Except she was unarmed and even if she'd had a gun, she barely knew how to use them and couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. That was why Josh had set her up with the shotgun, it was simple to use and barely required aiming to do its job.
Go after Olivia and she was more likely to get her killed than be of any help.
Which left her with only one real option.
Follow Olivia's plan.
At least for the moment...
* * * * * *
The world swirled around Olivia as she hit the stairs and she had to cling to the wall until things righted themselves again.
She had to move fast, she realized with a sick rush. She was feeling weaker, a little shaky and dizzy.
Death was riding in on a pale horse.
Coming for her.
Pushing the vertigo back through force of will, she straightened herself. It wasn't like it was exactly a surprise, she reminded herself. The trick was to make sure she wasn't the only one he got to take with him.
Remember to save a seat for dear Jeffrey.
A hint of a smile curved her mouth as she contemplated all the ways she could send him on that particular journey.
She could just barely hear Jeffrey in the distance. Still alive.
Damn. She'd hoped he'd gone quiet because he'd bled out. Apparently not. Both guns drawn and ready, she crept down the stairs, moving carefully.
"We've gotta find them...before she can run again," Jeffrey was snarling. "Only found her here because I knew she'd try and find dear little Emma's loving daddy...she gets away from here and she's gone....as in, I've got no idea where to look next."
Gone either way, Olivia thought wryly as she edged forward to get a quick look around the corner, just enough to confirm that the remaining two mercenaries were still with him, both looking hangdog. His shirt was open enough to reveal the top edge of body armor.
Fuck! Not good. It meant she needed a headshot or nothing.
Too many guns out to have any chance at getting them all before they got her. She slipped back up to the landing, hoping the men would separate and she could do what she needed to.
"Well, I couldn't see any sign of them from upstairs, so they can't have gone far," one of the others responded.
She heard the delicate sound of light footsteps in the hallway above her and somehow plucked a bit of something fresh smelling and very much alive amid the smells of death and rancid sweat that permeated the air. Her gaze tipped upward as if watching the unseen figure that slipped free of the upstairs hiding space and her ears pricked, silently tracking.
She felt Natalia move, step toward the stairs and silently willed her to stay back, stick with the plan. She appreciated the caring, but was realistic enough to know it wouldn't do them any good.
As if in response to that thought, the steps turned away, following orders now, moving fast as the decision was made.
She half expected the men to notice the sound or the smell, but they were so involved in themselves, they never noticed or maybe she was just more attuned to...things.
"Larry said the garage was right next door. Houses on three sides...could be any of them...so we split up...each take a house..."
"What about the fuckin' zeds? They're all over the place, man...and that chick you're after...she's fuckin' armed 'n' already killed-"
"So, you're what, scared?" Jeffrey demanded impatiently, then snarled a curse. "Look, this is just one more mop-up operation-"
"You didn't see what our guys looked like out there. She damn near took Decker's head off."
"She's just one lone woman," Jeffrey ground out. "And if need be, we kill her...because I guarantee you, little Emma knows what we need to know...so all we need is her to get what we want..."
Olivia's eyes hardened and she pushed back the encroaching edges of darkness.
Like fucking hell...
* * * * * *
Natalia ran faster than she'd ever run in her life, sprinting across the expanse of grass that lay between Blake's place and Josh and Reva's. She was carrying an assault rifle and pistol stolen from the body nearest the ladder, but other than that, she didn't slow down for anything as she ran a route calculated to avoid the twitching bodies lying in the deep grass. They were close to getting up. From there, they'd just get faster, stronger and more deadly. And then-
Don't think, just run.
She hit the hidden garage door and crashed through, slamming it shut and making sure the hidden latch was caught in her wake. Instinct screamed to bar the door, keep the bastards out, but she knew Olivia might need a way in, so she left it alone, hoping the camouflage was enough to keep it from being found.
And kept running.
Through the door that led into the house, then the living room, barely pausing to grab what she needed, before she rushed the stairs two at a time to the second floor.
She didn't know if it would work, but she had to try.
Because she'd been halfway home when the truth had struck her. The lips that had touched hers hadn't been chilling with impending death, they'd been warm, alive, and the body plastered against her own hadn't been corpse-cold. That too had been warm and pliant, even hot to the touch.
Olivia's temperature was back up, probably climbing. Maybe it was timing or exertion or something else entirely, but something was happening.
For whatever reason, Olivia's body was no longer sinking into death and Natalia had to give her any chance she could...
* * * * * *
Swallowing hard, Olivia settled herself. She'd hoped the men would separate so she could take them down one at a time. Eager to get what he wanted, Jeffrey was more than amenable, but the other two were not going along with the plan.
The three were arguing, which was mildly entertaining in a trouble-in-paradise sort of way, but mostly a pain in the ass in a shit-I'm-gonna-die-soon-and-don't-have-time-for-this kind of way.
So time for a blaze of glory moment. At least she'd have the element of surprise, so maybe she could take them all down, or at least guarantee they were bloody enough to make every dead thing in the county come for them if they set foot outside.
Headshot for Jeffrey, she reminded herself as she crept back down the stairs. Take him out and the other two were likely to grab the Hummer and scatter. It was obvious from the conversation that they were neither terribly bright nor especially able to plan. Without a strong personality telling them what to do, they'd probably run like hell.
There was a plan she could get behind.
Drawing closer, she peered into the living room just long enough to spot her targets and mentally map out a firing pattern. Headshot for Jeffrey, she reminded herself again. And the others too if humanly possible.
She was just about to move when the world shifted on its axis and the voices in her head did a strange little victory dance. That pale horse was getting closer and closer. She could feel the chill of his breath sliding down her spine and hear the crack of his master's whip.
The rock and roll soundtrack was a little unexpected.
What the hell?
Music, loud enough to make the windows rattle gently and probably draw plenty of attention for quite a distance. Maybe not the half mile or so heavy gunfire would draw, but far enough to make life very colorful for awhile to come.
It took her about a half second to decide the driving beat was real and not her imagination.
And then the vocals came online.
"Buddy you’re a boy make a big noise
Playin’ in the street gonna be a big man some day
You got mud on yo’ face
You big disgrace
Kickin’ your can all over the place"
"What the fuck is that?" Jeffrey demanded furiously.
Unless Olivia was vastly mistaken, Freddie Mercury in his prime...
* * * * * *
Negotiating the shingled surface of the slanted garage roof was no small trick, particularly with an assault rifle slung over one shoulder, a pistol stuffed in her waistband, and a huge boom box in hand. The load had threatened to unbalance Natalia when she first climbed onto the roof from a second floor window, but mostly it hadn't been too bad. Now the boom box was roaring at full volume, one of Josh's old Queen CDs blaring out a bass beat. The batteries were old and she didn't know how long it would keep going, but hopefully it wouldn't take long.
"We will we will rock you
We will we will rock you"
Struggling to maintain her balance, she lowered it over the side of the garage by the antenna, praying it would stay on when she had to let it drop the last couple of feet.
It landed in deep grass and kept pounding out the driving rhythm.
Slinging the rifle off her shoulder as she moved, she scrambled up the roof and skidded over the other side onto her belly, purposely lying low. That way she'd be out of sight from the side of the house where she'd last seen Jeffrey and his thugs. Hopefully, they'd come out the same way they'd gone in.
Otherwise, she might be in a whole lotta trouble.
Pushing that thought off, she stretched out on the uncomfortable, gritty surface of the roof. With the stock nudged up against her shoulder, she braced the rifle on top of the peaked roof and did her best to adopt the sort of pose she'd seen snipers use in movies. Lining up the sights, she tried to remember everything Josh had said during the couple of firearms lessons he'd instituted before concluding they couldn't afford the ammo for her to practice missing everything she aimed at.
No mistakes this time, no jerking the trigger or letting her hands shake. This time, everything was on the line.
Then she heard the sound of a door and a man's voice. Jeffrey O'Neill, she thought. "Find that thing and shut it down before we have every zed in the county to deal with!"
Her heart was pounding so hard that her hands trembled in rhythm with its driving beat. Blinking away sweat, she fought to ignore the faint pulse and concentrate on the narrow field of view needed to sight the rifle. She'd slid a setting, so hopefully it would only fire one round at a time, but she was braced to feel the impact of it unleashing the clip...just in case.
And then a man came rushing around the corner of Blake's house. It was the one who'd killed Remy. From a distance, he didn't look like a monster, just a man-tall, lean, wearing the sort of thing she'd seen soldiers wear all her life. For a second, she allowed herself to wonder if he'd always existed on the fringes of decent society or if he'd once been someone decent, just another working stiff like her, a mechanic or fry cook somewhere, or maybe something white collar, a stock broker or bank clerk.
Had the world turned him into an opportunistic thug or had it always been there?
Then he crossed the mental marker she'd put in place.
Over the line.
She fired.
The bullet hit, sending a plume of dirt up from the ground behind him.
Natalia could almost hear Josh's frustrated sigh and his remonstrations, "Remember to lead a moving target."
Meanwhile, her target's head snapped up and she could almost feel his panic as he dodged and hunted for some kind of cover. Only he was out in the broad open space between the two houses and there was nothing for at least ten yards in any direction. She willed him to run away. If he ran, she could stop shooting at him.
But he didn't. He kept coming at her. She fired again.
It came within inches this time.
Someone else came around the side of the house and into range of her peripheral vision. Tall, dark-haired, bearded. Jeffrey O'Neill.
She almost swung the gun his way, but Jeffrey was zig zagging, using a few trees and shrubs near Blake's house as cover. Given that she couldn't hit a man on open ground, Natalia held firm on his underling.
Track the target, lead the target...
Fire...
* * * * * *
TBC