Evolution (7 page)

“Come on buddy it’s time to go”

I could hear the love in her words and feel the emotion seep through the darkness of our dire situation. In an instance, I understood what separated the human race from the foul creatures that aim to take our place.

We lifted Boomer and handed him the make-shift crutches, waiting, hoping against all odds that something was in our favor. He attempted a few steps and pushed down on the branches. Her idea took life.

I grabbed my bag and lifted my golf club. Alex tried to do the same but was struggling to accommodate both her brother’s items and her own. Throwing Boomers bag over my free shoulder I handed her the ax.

“Everything is okay. We will be okay.” I smiled as I spoke, trying to convince myself of these words as much as I was the two.

We marched slowly into the daylight, nervously listening to the sounds of our enemies fill the air as they came ever closer. We knew at the pace we were going, it was only a matter of time...We knew they would catch us.

We lasted almost an hour before Boomer started to wear out, his body slumping against the branches as he walked, his leg oozing blood and his back aching, he finally just stopped and stared at us, silently pleading for a break. I helped Alex lower the man to the ground. Squatting next to her nervously, I whispered into her ear.

“They are right behind us, what are we going to do?”

She didn’t reply, she just sat there looking at Boomer with concern. His armpits were beat red from the pressure of the branches. Tiny scratches littered his skin and drips of blood still ran down his leg. She changed the soaked cloth, tying a new one on his thigh, pulling tightly as she knotted it, she spoke.

“It’s up to me and you Trevor. They will catch us and we will have to fight them eventually”

I felt fear swell up inside me. I knew she was right. A long pause that stretched from one horrific moment to another keep me on edge. Thoughts swirled inside my brain, thoughts of death and thoughts of life. I tried to concentrate on the task at hand. I played out several scenarios in my mind, letting each one of them come boiling over into a vivid end for our trio. I was sunk.

I looked into her eyes, allowing myself to see her for the brave caring soul she really was. I knew what had to happen, and yet I couldn’t find the words. Saying goodbye, the act of forcing the words out of your lips and letting the other person hear them was harder than simply vanishing like a fog over a riverbank.

Instead, I simply gripped my weapon and stood, brushing the dirt off of my clothes. Laying Boomers bag on the ground next to her I smiled.

“Walk at night and hide in the daylight.”

Those were the words I chose as my goodbye. A part of me wishes I was brave enough to say... “Alex I’m scared. I love you and will never let you down.”

I felt tears swell as I walked ever closer towards the creatures, intent on holding them off at all costs.

*~*~*

Chapter 12

He could hear the heavenly sound of silence. Blood trickling from open wounds and tiny tremors rumbling from the core of his stomach, Jedd dared to breathe. The vivid imagery was so severe that his brain couldn’t process it all; rather, it seemed to chew it up in small chunks.

Bodies of dozens of green baboons blended with fallen soldiers,  green and thick pools of murky brown blood dotted the floor, mingling together for an eternity of horrific new age art, burning itself into the deep recesses of his memory.

With a hard push he felt the corpse fall from the top of him, deep scratches and puncture holes dotted the flesh of his human meat shield. Jedd slowly stood, in shock, he could feel the stinger of his thoughts, like a swarm of angry hornets, a million things flooded his brain at once. His stomach ached and rumbled, his legs wobbly, he just shook his head.

“YOU SEE THAT MOMMA? YOU SEE THAT? I WON! “

He shouted and cringed at the echo assaulting his ears. Almost instinctually, he swung his knife blindly in the room, waiting for an attack. None came.

His eyes scanned the doorway and flickered back and forth. Complete silence. He slowly slid the knife back into his boot and dared to take a step. He shuttered as he felt the soles of his boot imprint themselves into the syrupy muck. The pain of hunger stabbed him once more.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this.”

“Forgive me”

Jedd grabbed the body of the meat shield and tugged him, with much effort he was able to drag the cold carcass across the rubble and watch the trail of blood follow their path. His stomach churned. With a loud thud he dropped the weight and watched the man’s arm bounce off the floor. He lifted it once more and dropped it. As it collided with the ground and made a wetting clunk, he slowly sat in front of him.

His gaze was blank and his thoughts were agony upon his soul. The unspeakable acts in the name of survival, HIS unspeakable acts. Jedd felt his hand on the small black knob of the oven, closing his eyes he slowly turned it to some unknown temperature and took a deep breath.

“WHAT MA? LET ME GUESS YOU KNOW A RECIPE? YOU DONE THIS BEFORE?”

A bizarre mix of tears and anger swelled up inside him. He knew it had to be this way, but the choices he was left with plagued him. Cannibalism or death? Wow not much to work with here! He thought to himself.

Rummaging throw the drawer, he felt his hand upon a small cleaver. Ripping it from its resting place he examined it. He more than examined it, he felt the cool metal under his fingers, stared at his own demonic reflection in the smooth metal, and tested its weight under his weak grip.

He could smell the electrical coils heating. He had images of the glowing orange metal searing into his own flesh for another’s very survival. His screams and pleas for mercy going unheard as the faceless man salted his skin and cut away at his meat.

“NO!! NO. HAPPY THOUGHTS I CAN DO THIS!”

The fear in his voice startled him.

For a brief moment, the survival side of him became the alpha in his pack of misfit emotions. Anger, its right hand man. He stood and flung open the cabinets, one by one he tossed the pots and pans over his shoulder, listening to its metallic music as it slide across the floor. The glass lids shattered on impact leaving shards glistening in the small illumination of the cavern. Finally he found what he was looking for, a large casserole dish.

Tears finally fell. A small river of tears streaked down his face diluting the splatters of green blood and washing him. He sat with clever in hand, and lifted the victims arm.

He shuttered as he slid the casserole dish underneath and let the arm flop over it. His hand shaking he placed the sharp edge against the meat shield.

“I can do this! DON’T WATCH MOMMA!”

He sobbed and he hesitated. His thoughts were back to his own burning flesh.

Jedd closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He pressed down as hard as fast as he could, separating his supper from the rest of the motionless body. In haste, before he could lose his nerve, he slammed the casserole dish into the oven and flung the cleaver across the room. He cradled his knees and let the tears fall freely. He could feel the blood slowly pooling around his boots and didn’t dare move.

Jedd just sat hugging his knees, deserving to see the blood he spilled upon his own race.

“IM GOING TO HELL MOMMA!” He sobbed.

*~*~*

Chapter 13

Sometimes I surprise myself. This was huge! The first truly selfless act I ever committed. As I walk ever closer to the reality of my decision I can’t help but relate it to my childhood days. Video games. That was exactly right.

That was how my life turned out. Though tough to admit, I was never brave I simply hid. I waited for death and when it didn’t come...I waited some more. Cowered. That was the word. I cowered from life in the dark dank dungeon of a subway.

I was the character, the pods were the boss. This is my last life, there is no continue, and my health is low. I am Mario skittering on the edge of tiny blocks with fireballs whizzing over my head, one wrong move and game over. Bowser's victory, Peaches Demise.

I feel the wind lick my face and feel my grip tighten around the golf club. The pings of anxiety radiate through my chest and my footsteps echo in my ears. Everything was so surreal. I can see the green shimmer in the sunlight and hear the stifled gargles of hunger as they came rushing towards me.

I feel my resolution slowing fading into a dark cloud of fear. The sun seems to be burning brighter and my throat is void of all saliva. Dry. I feel like I’m swallowing tumbleweeds and razorblades.

I take a deep breath. Come on Trevor you can do this. You can! I know you can! You don’t need an extra life, just fight hard for this one. My thoughts fall short of bravery. A random memory and my mother’s sweet voice flashes across my mind.

I was at the doctors; those needles seemed so big at the time. So menacing. Just like all kids, I was doomed to letting that tiny sword poke deep in my skin. I was scared and I felt faint. The lights were brighter and noises were distance. I was losing it. Then my mother’s sweet advice helped me through it.

“Close your eyes honey, distract yourself, and think happy thoughts. Think about anything you wish and it will be over before you know it.”

I feel the beady eyes of pod rats swarming closer, analyzing me. Baboons screech in the background and I see the tiny bastards in the trees. I was outnumbered. So I close my eyes. Distraction. I take a deep soothing breath and try my hand at poetry.

The Pods are clever in there endeavor

They patiently

Wait for me

The same can be said for me

Unfortunately,

For one of us

This shall be

When we sleep peacefully

For all eternity!

This did nothing to help. If anything my own broken brain conjured up the exact phrases needed to make the situation worse. I was wishing for that needle. The first of many filthy angry rats jump at me, their claws mingling with the denim of my jeans. Their teeth trying desperately to find the soft meaty tissue beneath my armor. In a panic I kick. I kick, I scream and I swing my club.

No longer surreal, the moment was moving in fast forward. My chest no longer felt the sting of fear but the rush of adrenaline. Anger and resolution, Inner strength and commitment to survival. This is the very thing that makes us special. Makes us different than them. We have the ability to understand our situation and the inner strength to overcome our own extinction. We don’t bow to an Alpha. We destroy the Alpha; we destroy the Alpha and warn any other dominant wannabes that their fate will be the exact same if they try to get us to submit.

I had the fire of hell burning inside me and I was intent on burning down the forest. The battle had just begun and as I watched the baboons close in on me, their nasty green fangs oozing fat drops of saliva and their lungs shrieking their war cry I answered their call.

“COME AND GET IT!”

*~*~*

Chapter 14

An unlocked door. A loaded shotgun. A tough bird named Irene Mae Norwood. A home cooked pork roast and a funeral for Hayseed the pig. The barrage of incomprehensible events that collided with Alex and Boomer within the last hour of their lives left her head swimming.

She let her fork slide into the tender meat and felt her saliva pool at the corner of her mouth. It has been quite a while since she had a home cooked meal, something worth all the gold in the world at this moment in time.

Boomer lay sprawled across the couch with his own plate on his chest, devouring every last bite within a mere five minutes, race between his appetite and his ability to chew. Alex watched the sauce and the bits of food land effortlessly on his shirt as he attacked his meal. A mighty burp and a small pause was all that came from Boomer.

Alex looked down and realized she was just as bad, her meal vanished in a matter of minutes and her clothes too were stained with evidence of ill manners.  Embarrassed, she gets up to collect the empty plates and rush off to do the dishes, her face still burning red.

“No need dear. I can do that” came the rough old voice from just beyond her shoulder.

“He has a mighty appetite, he reminds me of my late husband Herbert. He always was a big eater. I remember making this exact same meal for him. Of course, I wouldn’t dare butcher the family pet for that man. He wasn’t worth the effort. Awful man. Not like your sweet brother here, who only wishes to feast and relax. Innocent in nature I believe.” 

Alex watched with morbid curiosity as the woman smiled warmly. It was strange to see a woman in her early eighties survive the horrific events that were thrust upon mankind. But as she sternly stated as they were met at the front door by her loaded shotgun and her blood stained overalls, she was a tough old bird.

“Granny Mae” as she likes to be called, gently drops the dishes in the sink and lets her bones settle as she sinks deep in her favorite recliner. An audible click and the gentle hum of springs being caught by a metal clasp penetrates the silence as she lets out the foot rest.

Alex takes a deep breath and tries to relax, her nerves are shot and her heart is broken. She thinks of Trevor and the foolish thing he did. Loneliness and heartache diverts her gaze to the floor and her hands start to tremble. The dam was threatening to break and the waterworks would come flooding out any second.