The Charred Lands: Apocalypse of Fire (18 page)

Then a second
bullet hit home. The back of his head exploded outwards as he
collapsed, face first into a heap in front of my feet. A blood
puddle instantly spread around his head. I couldn’t help but stare
at the golf ball sized hole in the back of his skull. Blood and
brains matted his greying hair. I let out a scream, a scream as
loud as my lungs would allow as tears erupted from my eyes. I
almost felt like I had lost my father all over again. I turned away
from the grisly sight and slammed my eyes shut. Right there and
then, I accepted defeat. I didn’t want to get up and run. I just
wanted to stay exactly where I lay and cry. All around me, men lay
dead or dying; why was I any different? I had let them down by
hiding and cowering away like a child. I should have been gunned
down with them. I should have died alongside Conrad. But no, I hid.
And here I lie, alive and well. I didn’t deserve life.

But then I
thought about Lizzie. She was all alone now in a place she
desperately wanted to be free of. She had been completely reliant
on Conrad, even more so than me. She may have been a mentally
stronger person than me, but she was nothing without her protector.
I needed to get out of here alive, for her.

I gritted my teeth, took a deep breath and jumped to my feet.
At first I didn’t hear any gun shots, but a moment after I took off
running towards Warrington, they began. I heard bullets whiz by my
ear, I couldn’t tell how close they were, but I could have sworn
I
felt
them fly
past. Sparks shot off of cars as bullets missed me and hit their
metal. Only when I reached the Warrington border and the woodlands
fell out of view did the attack stop. I leant against a building
wall, hot and sweaty and turned around to face the road. Dozens
upon dozens of bodies littered what now could only be described as
a graveyard, or a massacre zone. I took one last hard look at
Conrad’s body, thinking back to all the things he had done for me.
All the things he had sacrificed to help me, all the advice he had
given me, and most of all, how he had gone out of his way to save
me, a complete stranger. I owed my life to that man. I wouldn’t let
his death be in vain. I would complete my mission – not for me, but
for Conrad and everyone else that had died over the past few
weeks.

Chapter
Twenty

The walk back
to Warrington’s town centre was a sad, lonely walk. I didn’t see a
single other survivor from the roadside massacre. I kept checking
behind me for signs of any other survivors, but the further I
progressed into the town, the less I began to believe I’d see
anyone. As far as I was aware, I was the only one to escape the
massacre. I felt somehow guilty for surviving, but I forced these
thoughts to the back of my mind as I arrived at the towns walls.
The guards atop looked nervous, they had clearly heard the
gunshots.

“
Stop there, boy.” A rough women in her fifties yelled to me,
raising a bow and arrow. I stopped dead in my tracks as I began to
feel tears well up in my eyes.

“
Who are you?” Another guard atop of the wall yelled
out.

“
My name’s Zachary Jefford. I was with the men who went out to
attack the Saviour of Man. I’m the only survivor.” I called out, my
voice breaking with sadness as a lump grew in my throat.

For a few
moments, everyone fell silent – until the gates slowly swung open.
The wood creaked as someone on the inside pulled them open; waiting
for me on the other side, was Lynette.

“
My God, boy. What happened?” She asked, her mouth wide with
shock. She quickly came walking over to me and wrapped an arm
around my shoulder.

I didn’t know
what to say.

“
Come with me.” She said, patting me on the back and taking me
by the hand. As she led me through the streets of Warrington town
centre, everyone fell silent as they spotted me making my way
towards the town’s library. It wasn’t until I saw people pointing
and whispered amongst each other that I realised just how I looked.
I was painted from head to toe in blood. Some of it was from the
numerous pieces of broken glass still embedded in my arm, but most
of it belonged to fallen soldiers. Knowing I had their blood on me
made me feel sick.

“
It was a massacre.” I eventually said, as we neared the
library. Lynette didn’t reply, instead she took a long, hard look
at me. I sense a hint of sadness in her eyes.

“
Somebody get this boy inside and find him some clean clothes.
He’s going to need a medic for that arm too. Hurry up!” Lynette
nearly screamed as we arrived at the library. I leant against the
building’s wall, suddenly feeling light headed. My eyes became
heavy and my legs weak, without warning I collapsed to the
ground.

I don’t know
how long I had been out for, it felt like hours, but I soon found
myself coming to in the same bed that I had stayed in the previous
night. There were three other people in the room with me. One of
them was Lynette, the other two I didn’t recognise. One of them was
a doctor, or Warrington’s version, at least. My arm was wrapped up
in bandages, though some blood had seeped through the white
fabric.

“
How are you feeling?” Lynette asked, her voice soft and
smooth.

“
Where’s Lizzie?” I asked, worried that she wasn’t in the room
with us.

“
She’s in the next room, mourning.” She sighed.

“
Does she know about Conrad?”

“
Yes.” Lynette replied, with a twinge of sadness in her eyes,
and her voice.

“
Did anyone else make it back?”

“
No. I sent a scout out to check the area out – everyone’s
dead. You’re the sole survivor.” She explained. Hearing that made
me feel twice as bad about surviving; I knew I didn’t deserve it.
Though I hardly knew a single solider on that battlefield, I felt
somehow connected to them.

“
I take full responsibility for the massacre. And for your
brave efforts, I have drawn up a detailed map with precise
directions to The Church of Fire, assuming you still wish to head
there, even without Conrad.” She sighed. I didn’t know what to say.
Getting there was hard enough, even with the help of a tough,
experienced survivor – but now I didn’t know. I couldn’t do it
alone, never mind with Lizzie. I wasn’t anywhere near as strong as
Conrad had been, there was absolutely no way I could carry around
Lizzie with me too. My task suddenly felt impossible, once
again.

“
I don’t know.”

“
Let’s not worry about that for now. You lost quite a bit of
blood from your arms, but nothing too major. You’re going to be a
little weak for a while. Make sure you eat up whatever we bring you
and do your best to relax. I’m sure this is very hard for you, but
take your time and consider your options wisely.” The doctor said,
before rising to his feet.

“
I have to go now, I need to make a speech to the citizens
regarding todays incident.” Lynette explained, before departing the
room. The two men with her quickly followed her out.

And then I was
alone. I stared at the ceiling for what must have been an hour,
lost in my own self-pity and sadness, until I heard Lizzie calling
my name from the other room. Her voice was dry and mumbled. I
slowly sat up and placed my feet on the floor below. I felt light
headed, but nothing to serious. I carefully, and slowly stood to my
feet, careful not to send a rush of blood to my head, before I
stumbled out of my room. Across the hallway, Lizzie’s door stood
wide open. I entered to find her sat up in bed, her eyes red from
crying.

“
How are you?” She asked, trying to force a smile for me. I
almost collapsed into the small chair besides her bed.

“
A little weak, but they said that’s to be expected.” I
informed.

“
What are you planning on doing?” She asked me, I sat in
silence, staring at her as though numbed by her question. Her blue
eyes stared back, never had I seen so much pure emotion in them.
She was a tough girl, a guarded girl – the kind that never let her
guard down. But right now, she was showing her true
self.

Before I had a
chance to offer a reply, she spoke once again, “I know what I’m
doing.”

“
What?” I asked, dreading her response.

“
I’m staying here. Lynette explained that she felt responsible
for my loss. She thought having Conrad on the field would help the
troops with the assault, but she was wrong. She said that I’m more
than welcome to stay here for as long as I wish, and she would
support me and help me the entire time.” She explained, struggling
to fight back her tears.

“
That’s fantastic news.” I said, wiping away a single tear from
her soft cheek as it trickled down her face. She smiled and thanked
me.

“
She said you can stay too. She said you can live here, with
me.” She asked, I could tell from the expression on her face that
she wanted me to stay.

“
I can’t.” I reluctantly sighed.

“
Why?”

“
How many of the town’s men do you think were killed out there?
I would say a large percentage. The enemy seemed smart, they waited
for us and ambushed us. Lynette made a terrible decision sending us
out there. She hasn’t got a clue. The towns defences are weakened,
and it’s only a matter of time until the Saviour of Men take this
place!” I snapped, the built up emotions of the battlefield finally
spilling out.

“
Lynette knows what she’s doing. The people of this town have a
passion that can’t be broken. They will defend this place, it won’t
fall.” She cried.

“
Then stay here. I need to go and complete my mission.” He
sighed.

“
Alone?” She asked, almost gobsmacked.

“
I know, I know. I’m not cut out for The Charred Lands. But I
would like to think that I’m getting better. Lynette has given me
clear instructions and directions. If I follow them and avoid
populated areas, I should be fine. She’s going to give me plenty of
supplies for the journey too. As far as I can tell, it’s going to
take me a little over week to get there on foot. I should easily be
able to carry enough supplies to see me there. I think I can do
this Lizzie.” I said, sitting up in my chair with a new found
abundance of confidence.

“
What if you stumble across more people like Phil and Oliver?”
She asked. Even hearing their names filled me with rage, but I kept
my cool – I could see where she was coming from. I didn’t know if
she wanted me to stay so that she wouldn’t be alone here, or if it
was because she was worried about my safety, but either way, it
didn’t matter. My mind was made up.

“
I’ll face that when I come to it. The things you and Conrad
have taught me are invaluable. I’m tougher now, I know more about
surviving and what it
takes
to survive.”

“
Alright, fine.” She finally submitted, looking down in
defeat.

“
I really can’t thank you enough, for everything.” I said,
deciding to make the most of Lizzie’s rare nice mood. It was
strange to have a conversation without her dropping in sly
digs.

“
Just don’t die out there. And if you
do
sell the egg, come for me please.
Take me with you to The Legion of Light.” She managed to
smile.

“
Of course I will.” I leant in and kissed her on the forehead,
her pale skin felt surprisingly nice against my lips. I was about
to pull away when I felt her hands pull me closer; she closed her
eyes and kissed me on the lips.

Before long
she ushered me into the bed with her.

Chapter
Twenty-One

We spent the
rest of the day in bed together, kissing, cuddling and enjoying
each other’s company. It was a strange feeling for me – I didn’t
quite know how to feel for those hours spent in bed with Lizzie. Up
until we had kissed, I had no idea that she looked at me in that
way, or that I even felt for her like that. It was a complete
surprise to me, I wanted so desperately to ask how she felt too,
but didn’t have the guts. Instead I remained silent and continued
to gently stroke her as she slept in my arms. Before long I drifted
off into a sleep, only awaking in the morning.

The night was
filled with nightmares; only these were different. Usually, the
nights consisted of horrible creations of my mind, showing me
family members dying or suffering, but not last night – instead of
dreamt of Florence. In my dream, she appeared through the doorway,
interrupting me and Lizzie. She stared at me, with cold, lifeless
eyes. Before me, her skin began to rot and decay. I snapped from my
sleep, sweaty and guilty. I had spent my entire pubescent life
imagining that the first girl I ever slept with would be Florence,
but she was dead now. Instead I had been with Lizzie. I had shared
that experience with her instead. I felt overwhelmingly guilty.
Though I had never acted upon it, I loved Florence deeply, it was
only now that I had realised that. I didn’t know what love was, how
could I? But after last night, it all became clear. Florence is, or
was, the only girl that I had ever loved. She may have been gone,
but it didn’t stop me feeling like shit.

As quietly,
and as gently as I could, I slipped my arm out from under Lizzie’s
head. I quietly tiptoed out of the room, picking up my clothes as I
left. Once in the hallway I quickly got dressed and headed for my
room. I made sure that the map Lynnette had given me was safely
stored inside my backpack, along with the precious dragon’s egg,
before sneaking my way down the stairs.