Tribulation (40 page)

He felt himself
tumbling for the second time in as many hours. Tumbling, but
nothing made sense. He didn’t know what was up and what was down.
He was dazed, losing a battle with consciousness.

He hurtled
towards the ground, limp, frail and senseless. He struck the road
with enough force to create a sizable crater and lay completely
motionless, his body curled into a fetal position, broken and
shattered. Next to him were his swords. Both were broken, in much
the same state as he was.

He lay there
for some time. Hours later, his body was discovered by the ragged
survivors of New York. They gathered in numbers, creeping out from
their places of concealment, clustering around his still form.

A whispered
conversation took place in the gathering darkness and eventually, a
wretched group of men descended into the crater. One gathered up
the shattered pieces of his swords while the others lifted Sam up
onto their shoulders.

Slowly, gently
– almost reverently - they carried him off into the gloom.