Famished (21 page)

One-by-one, colonists rushed out of their quarters, stopping right behind me, frozen in fear as six hungry cannibals breached the safety of our underground world and started descending down the rope ladder.

Chapter 23: Shattered

Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his! ~ Numbers 23:10

Five-year-old Ruby Martin, Colin’s kid sister waddled up next to me. Her bottom lip was quivering and then she started wailing. Annie, her mother, sprinted forward, scooping Ruby up into her arms and ran to the back of the hall. Frankie woke up, peeked out from our room and ran
 
down the hall to our mother.

My father, the council members, and boys old enough to fight charged forward as the first cannibal hit the ground. The cannibal hissed, twirling a makeshift machete made from aluminum scraps. The cannibals had weapons, dangerous weapons. We were unarmed and I feared that none of the men in the colony would leave this battle alive.

All of the women and children had retreated to the mess hall. I faced my father, watching in horror as he stormed toward a second cannibal, carrying only a large wooden pole. “No, Dad!” I screamed and rushed toward him. The cannibal had a baseball bat with nails sticking out of it and he brought the bat down as my father dodged it.

My father locked eyes with me for a split second. The sound of battle and the people screaming drowned out the sound of his voice. “Get out of here!” he yelled as the cannibal lifted the bat again.

“What?

“Get out!” The bat came down again, blasting my father’s foot.

I bent down reaching for his foot as tears swelled up in my eyes. “No, Dad! You’re hurt!”

He grimaced and twisted himself around, swatting at me. “Get out of here! Now!” he screamed. “I can’t fight if I’m too worried about you. Go find your mother!”

I was distracting him. I wouldn’t be any use to anybody if I was just standing out there screaming.

Bolting down the hall, I winced at the sound of one of the men screaming, one of the most gut-wrenching screams I had ever heard in my life. Tears brimmed in my eyes. I couldn’t look back to see who it was. If it was my father, I would have turned around, ran straight for the cannibal who hurt him and got myself killed.

No, I had to push forward, because I had bigger plans in store for the people of this colony.

In that moment, I knew that I could save everyone. I still

had my secret place. The one place I vowed to never tell anybody about. I kept it a secret for my own selfish reasons. And now was not the time for me to be selfish. We were on the verge of losing everything, our loved ones, our home, and most of all, our lives.

I skidded to a stop in the mess hall as my mother came to my side and wrapped me in one arm, Frankie in the other. “My babies,” she sniffled, trying to suck back the tears. “I love you so much.”

Looking around the room, I noticed all the women were just sitting there, hugging their children while the men from our colony were out front, fighting, maybe even dying. That’s when I decided to take charge. “Guys!” I shouted. “Everybody listen up!” Every eye in the room was on me. “I have a place where we will all be safe.”

My mother furrowed her eyebrows. “What?”

“Mom, now isn’t the time for all the questions!” I snapped. “You have to trust me!” Facing all of the women, I cupped my hands around my mouth. “I need all the mothers to go back to their quarters and bring anything they can grab! Get the food, blankets pillows, clothes, and meet me in the Baker’s old quarters!” I glanced at May, who was next to my mother, holding on to a frightened Grace. “Can you bring some medical supplies just in case?” May nodded in reply. “Ladies, whatever you do, do not look at the end of the hall.” I knew what would happen if they did. One look at their husbands, or sons and they would fall apart. That couldn’t happen right now. We needed to be strong. We needed to be organized or none of this would work. “The children need to come with me.”

Frankie clutched on to my arm. “I’m so scared, Georgie,” she whispered, in between sobs.

“Frankie, I won’t let anything happen to you, I swear.”The children filed into a line as the mothers took off. I guided them through the mess hall doors, telling them, “Look at the walls,” as we passed our fathers and brothers fighting. The sounds of clinking metal and distorted grunts hung in the air and it took every ounce of courage inside of me for me to stay calm and focused.

In the Baker’s chambers, I led the children through the closet, up the hidden ramps, up the metal ladder, and finally through the hatch doors. Once I made sure that everyone was safe and accounted for, I grabbed Grace by the arm. “Make sure they all stay here,” I commanded. “Leave the hatch open and only close if I tell you to.”

Grace’s eyes were filled with panic. “Where are you going?”

“To get our mothers.”

I slid down the ladder, raced down the ramps, and arrived to a room full of mothers. Most of them were out of breath and hysterical, but they had all done what I asked, carrying armfuls of food, blanket clothing, etc. “Follow me!”

During my second trip I was starting to get winded. I sucked in more air and breathed harder, trying to push through. At the end of the metal ladder, I helped each woman climb up until I came to last one: May. Panicked, I spun around in a circle. My mother wasn’t there. “May!” I shouted as she was halfway up the ladder. “Where’s my Mom?”

May looked over her shoulder. “She was right behind me, I swear.”

I took off running and shouted over my shoulder, “I’ll be right back. Leave the hatch open!”

When I reached the Baker’s quarters my mother was nowhere to be found. “Mom!” I shrieked. “Mom!” No answer. She wasn’t anywhere close to me or she would have heard me.

Sprinting out of the room, I charged down the hall, not focusing on anyone who was fighting, but out of the corner of my eye, I noticed bodies on the floor. I couldn’t tell whether they were cannibals or the men from the colony and I couldn’t make myself look. “Mom!” I screamed. “Mom!”

Finally, I told myself that I had to look. She might have been an accidental casualty and I had to know for sure. A million questions were running through my mind as I prepared myself for the worst. What would I tell Frankie? She was already so scared. How could I go back to her and tell her that something bad happened? That’s when I came to halt. That’s when I stopped breathing. That’s when I saw my mother, clutching my father’s lifeless body, sobbing uncontrollably. And that was when I saw the cannibal with the makeshift machete, hovering over her, preparing to decapitate her.

“MOOOOOMMM!” I screamed so loud, I swore that the whole room shook and everything that took place after that seemed to happen in slow motion.

My mother lifted her head and met my gaze, her eyes rimmed in red and wide with fear. She contorted her body slightly and glanced over her shoulder and the tip of the machete ripped into the entire right side of her body from her shoulder to her hip.

Her mouth dropped open, she faced me, and blew me a kiss. I ran forward pumping my legs as hard as I could. “No, Mom! Don’t!”She smiled weakly and mouthed, “I love you.” That was when her body slumped over and hit the ground with a thud.

Shooting pains went through my heart. Hunching over, I gasped for air as rage and sorrow consumed me. I screamed out in agony. My face was rippled with hysteria and I hugged my chest as I hit my knees “No! No! No!” This had to be a dream. I was having another nightmare. That was it. Any second I would wake up and my mother would tell me that it was time for breakfast.
 

Pinching myself hard, the sad reality set in; Both of my parents were dead. I’d lost both of my parents. Frankie and I were now orphans—lost and alone.

Then, I heard a voice squeal behind me. “Georgie, where’s mommy?”

“Frankie!” I shouted. “Why aren’t you with the other kids?” She never listened. “I told you not to leave!”

“I had to come find you and mommy. Where is she?”

My gaze shifted between Frankie and the tall, burly cannibal barreling down the hall, headed straight for me. “Go back!” I shrieked. “Frankie, go back!”

She wasn’t going to move. I knew her too well. But if I moved and ran after her, I would lead the cannibal straight to the women and children. I was torn, unsure of which decision might be the best, so I went with my gut.

Getting to my feet, I zoomed toward Frankie, clasped my fingers around her wrist and took off running for the old Baker quarters. She was restless, dragging her feet as sobs crept out of her harder and faster. “Where’s mommy?”

In a bind, I did the best I could and came up with something quickly. “I’m not sure. Don’t worry. We’ll find her later.”

The cannibal behind us pounded his feet against the concrete walkway. Every time they smacked down against the cement, they reminded me of the slow, soft beating of a drum.

Racing through the closet, up the corner, and around the ramps, I kept a tight grip on Frankie’s wrist. She couldn’t keep up with me and I was practically dragging her. “You’re hurting me!” she whined, her sobs catching in her throat. I ignored her complaints and kept going.

Frankie’s life was in my hands. With both of our parents dead, I was her sole guardian. And if all we had left was each other, I wasn’t about to let either one of us be slaughtered.

At the end of the metal ladder, I helped Frankie up first. The hatch was still open and I kept my hand on Frankie’s back as she climbed. “Are you coming?” she whimpered.

“I’m right behind you,” I guaranteed.

May hung her arms down through the opening, gripped both of Frankie’s arms by the wrists and hoisted her up. Once Frankie was safely in the room, and out of the way, May extended her arms a second time. “All right, Georgie, your turn.” I ascended up the ladder as the sound of footsteps closed in on me. May glanced past me and her eyes shot open wide. “Whatever you do, Georgie, don’t look down,” May warned me.

The cannibal had finally caught up to me. And right before I reached the top of the ladder, I could feel his weight as he followed me. May was starting to panic. Her hands were shaking and her eyes were darting around the room. Stupid. I was so stupid for leading him here. But the only thing I could think of at the time was Frankie and how I had to save her.

Maybe it would have been smart for both of us to perish, we could join our parents and live happy in the afterlife, if there even was one. But I couldn’t give up. I couldn’t just let her and myself die. In this case, dying was giving up. And giving up was a cowardly thing to do.

As I climbed faster, so did the cannibal. May had one wrist and I swung my other hand around. She reached for it, fingers inching closer but the cannibal grabbed my ankle and started yanking on it. “Noooo!” I cried, trying to hang on. May tried to get a firm grasp, but my palms were sweaty and her fingers were trembling.

“Hang on!” she cried.

Every time I tried to pull myself up, my hands slipped further from hers. I kicked my legs, feeling my foot connect with the cannibal’s jaw. The loud echo of a body slamming into the dirt filled the room. But it was too late. I’d lost my footing and May had lost her grip.

My last two fingers slipped from her hands. “No!” May cried, desperation in her tone. Then I fell backwards, the full twelve feet, and my back smacked into the hard floor, as I landed right at the cannibals feet.

The wind was knocked out of my lungs and I gasped for air in huge gulps. “Uhhhh,” I moaned. Every bone in my ribcage throbbed and I struggled to sit up.
 
My attention averted to the cannibal, who was stirring. I felt like a thief thrown into a pit of scorpions—more likely to be stung than escape.

On my feet, I rushed to the ladder. Frankie peered down from the opening her cheeks bright red, more tears flowing from her eyes. “Behind you!” she wailed. I spun around and the cannibal’s hand swiped at my shins and knocked my feet out from under me. Rolling onto my stomach, I pushed myself up with my arms as the cannibal inched closer.

Frankie started shrieking and May tried to pull her away from the opening. During that second I made a rash decision. “Close the hatch!” I shouted at May.

Frankie went berserk. “No, Georgie! No!”

My eyes centered on the machete that was released from the cannibals grasp when I kicked him in the jaw and he tumbled to the ground. If I could get to that, I could save myself and all of the women and children. But that wasn’t going to work if I could see Frankie.

I rolled on the floor, lunged for the machete, and felt the jagged edges cutting into my fingers as I swiped it from the floor.

When I stood, the cannibal’s attention wasn’t on me anymore. He was climbing up the ladder. I stared at May, ferocity in my eyes, and shouted, “Close the fucking hatch!” It wasn’t like me to speak disrespectfully to an adult like that but, seeing that cannibal, inching closer and closer to my sister, the sister I loved, cherished, and would kill to protect, the only family that I had left, twisted the fury in the pit of my stomach and sent it plummeting through every muscle in my body.

Clenching the knife, I let out my battle cry as May closed the hatch door—while Frankie tried to push her away. “Georgie, don’t leave me!”