Chapter 10

The first day was fairly uneventful. It came and it went in a very slow and methodical pace, each minute beating each hour and so on and so forth. With Burke around we had a watch on us at all times so it was a very bizarre feeling to know what time it would be up above us. During the first day one of the supplies Burke had ordered arrived. It was a bunch of communications gear, radios, wireless transmitters, receivers, speakerphones, and we were told that tomorrow we would receive a broadcast station to create our own radio station and frequency. A lot of it was far beyond anything I had imagined and was presented to me as a way to communicate throughout the entire length of the subway track and even send out a signal to those nearby, provided they had a radio.

Giacomo fussed over everything that came through, leaping around like a small child receiving oodles of presents and he had to constantly be dragged away from the machinery so he wouldn’t tamper with anything or break it. After awhile Roy decided to simply lock Giacomo in his room and post a guard with him for company. When it was my turn I reluctantly dragged me feet into Giacomo’s room and away from the excitement of the day.

I found enough room to sit on the floor while Giacomo simply paced around like a trapped dog. The idea of this place finally converting into a truly hospitable refuge was keeping us on such an edge that it took every second that much longer to tick by. And while I sat I finally started to think about these contacts and the technology they were providing us with. How on earth did we have access to these sorts of resources in this kind of post-apocalyptic wasteland? Were there really just groups of people left in isolated pockets throughout the city who simply worked on their own little projects in an effort to save the world? Or was it like Mr. Burke said? Just an extension of business, even into these horrific situations? Were people really just in this for the money, regardless of the state of the planet? Then how much did we owe them...?

“Giacomo, how do you think all these technologies are possible in this world? I’ve seen people struggle to piece together a decent pair of clothes and yet I’m supposed to believe that there are scientists out there building machines for underground farming and communications and purifying water.”

“Oh of course there are. I mean the Pariahs alone are enlisting enough people to rebuild the whole world. You think this is the only little shelter in the world? Or even just in LA? And I t-thought it w-was y-you who f-found this guy anyways?”

“Yes I found him but I had no idea people could be out there doing all this. I thought it was just a dead zone outside this place and all we have here is you.”

Giacomo stopped his pacing, his personality shift putting him into more of a medical mood and disheartening his interest in the machines outside. “This world is still full of surprises then, for both you and me. I thought I had seen it all for a while, when I was younger. Then I saw you come in here and change this place completely. I didn’t think I could ever see that happen.”

“And are you happy it’s changing?” I couldn’t believe what I was saying! A completely normal, caring conversation with Giacomo? He was right, this place had completely shifted.

“Oh of course! More people means more test subjects! Oh the experimentation I could do! Maybe even get a chance to complete my research into cyborgs and androids...Oh yes, the possibilities...” Giacomo started to babble for the rest of the time I spent with him, leaving me in the corner shaking my head at him. Eventually Roy pulled me out of there and threw Fiona in instead. He took me into his room and showed me how it was being completely converted into the main office for the future where we would have the transmission system put in and the radio working. From here he would be able to oversee the entire Black Pueblo, from one end of the rails to the other.

“This is your dream, Thomas, come to life. Is this what you envisioned when you first came to us?”

“This isn’t what I wanted at all Roy. I just wanted to go stay somewhere for awhile, ‘til I died. And then I just sort of came around to this. Because of my shattered memories, and because of a little bit of luck I suppose.” I held up the teleporter on my hand for Roy to see.

“I remember when you first came here and that was the only thing that had kept you alive so far. It seems it still remains the only thing that keeps you going these days, only now it has more of a chance of sending you into the heart of danger than removing you from it.”

“Without it I’d be dead either way. How ironic that I took it off a dead man.”

“Perhaps it isn’t about the tools you have, but rather how you use them. Look at this place. I had all of this at m disposal this whole time and yet I never harnessed it. You very nearly took this place from a dead man.”

“Instead I fight for control with a live one.”

“And a good fight it is.”

“I want the fight to stop though Roy. I may have been the catalyst but I am not the leader here. When I this is over, and the bomb is detonated, I want to pull out from all of this and form trying to change this place. I don’t want to fight with you anymore over where to go and what to do. There will be new people coming in to give you more headaches. I have my own projects to chase after, my own goals. Perhaps I will leave this place to accomplish them, perhaps not. But after that bomb goes off I won’t be part of the council anymore. I won’t be part of anything anymore, just living here.”

Roy took in my sentiments for awhile before placing his hand on m shoulder and releasing the deepest sigh I had ever heard. “Then there will always be a room here for you, no matter where you go or what you do, even if you leave because you accidentally teleported yourself again.”

“James wasn’t an accident. He pushed the button.”

“Yes, though I’m surprised the Pariahs have not done worse to this place yet in all the time they’ve had to strike at us.”

“Perhaps they’re too busy working on the Sentinels, and their zombie magnet.”

“I don’t like it Thomas. Too much time for them to strike. It’s just unsettling for me to think of dealing with them while we’re in such a critical stage of development.”

“Then don’t think about it. We’ll look towards the future with hope now, not pessimism. We’re moving forward.”

“It’s easier to do that if you do not have a past.”

I was struck with the vision of my parents, each one being killed by the ravenous hordes of zombies and disembowelled in front of me eyes and shuddered. Not have a past? The notion hurt on a level I didn’t know I had. I had thought that my ventilation about my parents and my expression of emotion to Fiona had cleared this for me but no, the truth was still just as crippling. “Pasts take different forms Roy, but we can all learn similar lessons.” I left the room and went to helping move things around to clear my head and keep my body occupied. I couldn’t do much heavy lifting since I was still in a state of recovery after my explosive day yesterday but I still felt like I helped.

And it was enough to get me through the day.

§§§§§ 

The second day almost nothing arrived from the outside world. The rest of the broadcast equipment showed up at our door, among other things. The only other thing to arrive was very much unexpected and uninvited. I was in Roy’s room helping set up the radio when a gunshot rang through the subway tunnels and called me out of the room, scrambling to get a look at what was going on.

I came out behind a small crowd of people, all of them clambering to see the source of the disturbance. At my height I couldn’t see anything so I opted to lean against the wall and trying to look around them. In the middle of the tracks was a group of three Pariahs, the leader of which was holding a smoking pistol pointed to the air. He was also lacking a helmet, the only one not wearing one. But across his eyes was a large white band with two red circles bled through where his eyes would lay. Perhaps he was...familiar to me?

Roy stepped forth from our group to challenge them, a pistol held behind his back for us to see. “What is it the Pariahs would like from our little refuge this day? Come back to kill more zombies among us?”

“Sounds like Roy is a little testy today with us. Too many bad memories with me? Or do you not recognize my face in these bandages? An unfortunate incident with an arrogant young traveler. Let me assure you it makes us no less of a threat.”

“I’ve never thought any less of you Damien. You were already at the bottom of the barrel.”

“As much as I wish to devolve into petty banter I have better reasons for coming here. Your recent activities here have come to our attention, namely the conquest of these subway tunnels. It was a commendable job taking this place over and eradicating an entire society to do so. Very noble of you. But your victory here has inspired us to resume our full operations here. We have come to request you step down and allow for the Pariahs to take full command of our outpost.”

“You’re saying this place belongs to you but I am in control here? Than as the commander of this outpost I declare us independent from Pariah rule, as I have done many times before. You never learn though do you?”

“No perhaps it is you who never learns your place here. Perhaps you have been away from the Pariahs for far too long and lack an understanding of the firepower you are up against.” As Damien spoke the two Pariahs lifted their weapons at us, each one wielding a massive Gatling gun. “I ask again. Surrender the outpost and all weapons stored here to the Pariahs or I will remind you just what you’re dealing with here. Unless you’d like to see another slaughter happen under your watch.”

I saw Roy grip his pistol tighter in suppressed anger but he kept it concealed. “Get the fuck out of here Damien. Come back when you have your whole damn army to take this place from me.”

“You don’t know the full extent of what you’re getting yourself into Roy.”

“Oh no I’m very aware. Door’s behind you. Get out of my sight. Wait you can’t even see my sight can you?”Damien smiled, the same smile I had seen when I met him in the Pariah base, wicked thing of cruelty and malice not in the least disguised. “Then I look forward to hearing the sounds of this place being torn apart.” He turned to leave and the Pariahs backed away, their guns still pointed at us. “And if you see a young man with a personal teleporter come by here, give me a call.” I looked down at my wrist with the teleporter wrapped around it and tucked it behind my back. I had forgotten that I was one of the only people in the wastes with such a recognisably rare item on my person.

“Bah this subway doesn’t need another slaughter. Not under my protection. Alright everyone back to your duties. We need to get this place in order quickly.” Roy dismissed us all with a wave of his hand and we returned to work. He went back to Fiona’s room where he had moved in since giving up his room for the radio machinery. It seemed to be a display of the new openness infecting the Black Road or perhaps our united resolution of our pasts. Whatever the case, Fiona and Roy were bonding fast and I myself found a connection forming between the three of us stronger than ever before.

The rest of the second day was uneventful, except for Giacomo bursting forth from his room and proclaiming that the detonator was completed and then paraded it around as though it were his greatest work of art. I was on a break during the time, sitting against one of the walls with our Hound, Buddy, laying beside me with her head in my lap.

And she was enough to get me through the day.

§§§§§ 

The third day, the final day, the revelation, the absolute end, the zero hour, the moment of triumph, started early for me. Early by Mr. Burke’s watch at least, and earlier than the other days started. Burke woke me up utilizing the ancient technique of banging on my door until I answered. He took me out to meet with Giacomo and Roy in the middle of the subway. Everyone else was still asleep. The place was strangely silent, the polar opposite of how it had been over the last few days and it unsettled me as much as it excited me.

Roy beckoned me over and began relaying his instructions. “Good to see you awake so early Thomas. As we all know, today is the final day that the supplies are set to arrive. But it is also one more day for the Pariahs to mobilize. Since Damien’s arrival I have felt a growing paranoia in my mind about them striking. When it came to war, Damien was one man who always kept his word and I have no doubt that he will bring all the firepower he can against us. I considered originally waiting until tomorrow to detonate the bomb in case any deliveries were delayed but it seems our hand is played for us. Giacomo has the detonator completed, set to a trigger that I shall carry.” Roy held out a small box with a button in the centre then tucked it away again. “Thomas, you and I shall plant the detonator while Fiona is on the point. And before you asked I already went over the plan with her last night. Then we return to down the tunnel where either you, Thomas, or Fiona will close the door and I will push the button. All of this will be done tomorrow night, close to midnight when the zombies will be sleeping or at least blind. Burke will stay here and oversee the set-up of the various supplies as they arrive while Giacomo will head to the front door and secure it. We are going to completely lock this place down for the next few days until we are able to finalize the construction of the secondary doors along the tunnel so that people can enter without letting radiation in. Now I can’t stress this point enough so listen carefully. If anything, absolutely anything happens during this such as a Pariah or zombie attack or a malfunction we are not to abort this mission. Find a way to detonate the bomb. If this means one of us gets sacrificed, then so be it. I want all of us to be willing to put our lives on the line for the benefit of us all, so that those who follow us will live free. The only person who I’m not asking to risk their life is Mr. Burke, who has barely lived here and has also expressed a desire to avoid any kind of dangerous situation in any way. As for the rest of us, I trust in each of us to make the right choice when the time comes. Stay alert for the rest of the day. We’re up early to get as much done as we possibly can. Let’s get working.”

With that we broke apart, each of us nodding our heads in agreement and distributing ourselves among the rooms so we could commit ourselves to more progress around the Black Road. Not much longer after that the rest of the supplies started to arrive.  I was tasked with guiding the materials for the underground farms to the Villa where we could access the water. Unfortunately we could only bring them to the location and unpack them from the various forms of packaging they arrived in since the water purification system has not shown up.

I realized as I lifted heavy boxes and dragged spare parts around through the rubble of the Villa that I was being drained of my energy faster than ever before. Each day I had pushed myself time and again, burning through my body’s fuel until I collapsed in my room and slept until awoken. I was destroying myself at this rate, my muscles tearing apart and my bones splintering under the constant pressure. By the mid-afternoon I could barely move, my legs aching and burning with every motion I attempted and my arms hanging limply by my side. I ended up leaning against the railing along the bridge and nodding off to sleep.

My eyelids flickered in my dreamless state, my body unable to procure any sort of worlds for me to bend reality in. Instead I was restlessly napping in darkness. My eyes fluttered more until light pierced my vision and I was forced awake. In front of me I once more saw a Stalker, this one prancing across the railings opposite me, its balance flawlessly perfect with each of its jumps and dances. It paused for a moment to stare at me and raise a bladed finger to its mouth in signal for silence. Then I saw it look towards the doorway to the Ravine and I sensed its malicious intent to trigger the bomb.

I withdrew my pistol, finding hidden strength in my exhaustion to defend the bomb from this invader. I fired at it but each bullet seemed to fly out of the chamber slowly, sluggishly passing through the air in a feeble effort to kill the target. And with ease the Stalker dodged each one, arching its body into contortionist positions impossible to the average human body. With a few flips through the air the limber being was into the open and outside of my range as my arms collapsed to my sides. One of my co-workers moving boxes gurgled a scream as their throat was slit by the passing Stalker. In a flash it had bolted down the hallway and out of my vision. Laughter echoed down the tunnels as light filled the subway and waves of heat passed over my body.

“Hey are you alright?” Someone was shaking me, the person who had delivered the farm equipment to us and was helping moving it in. “You started yelling there for a moment and fired your pistol off. Is everything ok?”

“I-I, thought I...there was something...it was...nothing but a bad dream.”

“Some dream. You went and scared the shit out of one of the workers. Got her screaming and everything when you started shooting. You sure you’re alright?”

“Uhh just overworked I guess. Severely overworked.”

“Then perhaps you should get a rest in for now. I hear rumours you plan to blow up a bomb sometime soon. Wouldn’t want you to burn out early then.” He helped me up to my feet and started me on my way towards the closest home, one of the few still standing after the ravaging of the Villa. I fell down inside of it, sprawled across the floor in hopeless agony. The man left me alone in there so he could go comfort the poor woman I had startled.

But I could not sleep. I didn’t want to. Would I hallucinate again if I did? Or would it only be when I awoke? Did that mean I slept when I teleported or was the feeling just similar to awakening? And why? Why? Why? Why? Why these visions? Why of these creatures that I hopelessly tried to classify as Stalkers, these foul creatures who tormented me in the most devious of ways, who seemed to ooze evil and malice and yet were somehow in complete control of the world surrounding and knew of all the events transpiring throughout? Or was this simply what it felt like to lose your mind, piece by piece, not through the most obvious means but simply by self-destructive questioning without ever being able to get answers. Maybe I could get answers to this one by consulting Giacomo. Was his a madness of questions or simply of two many minds in one head?   

“Wake up sleeping beauty.” Roy’s face hovered above me as my eyelids fluttered open. When had I fallen asleep? When had I even gotten into this shack? Memories of my hallucination snapped back into my head and I sat bolt upright, my body procuring a slight ache in response but nothing on the level to pains I felt before in my muscles. Roy had to leap back to avoid my head smacking into his and he looked at me quizzically in response before shaking it off. “You’ve been sleeping in here most of the day. It would appear you were overworking yourself to the point of collapse. It’s been a long time since I’ve been at that stage myself. It means now though that you should be ready to go.”

“It’s night already?”

“Not just night, it’s nearly midnight. It took me some time to find you. We need to get moving if we’re going to plant this thing tonight.” Roy held out the detonator for the missile and barely contained the excitement in his voice, trying to cover it with a mixture of seriousness and severity.

“Then...let’s get to it Roy.” I picked myself up off the ground, still struggling with my crippled shoulder. With renewed vigour I bounded up and out of the building with Roy tailing behind me closely. Fiona was outside waiting and she followed behind me wordlessly as Roy caught up to stride. Fiona went to the side of the door and flicked the switch to open the massive doors, the same ones she would need to close before we detonated and the plan was completed.

Roy and I stood still for a moment, shoulder to should in front of the thick lead doors grinding open before us. I looked down at his hand clutched tightly to the detonation device. I wasn’t entirely sure what I was meant to do in the situation other than be a good guard and give Roy a hand if he needed one. Giacomo had probably explained how to set up the device in his lab after he had built it, not bothering to give out public demonstrations.

And at the same time I looked at the detonator I saw in it everything I had done until now, everywhere I had been and from where I had come from to where I had gone, travelling throughout the wastes and retuning here time and again, exploring these tunnels and defeating the Screamers and finding Mr. Burke and fighting it out with Roy until it came about to resolution in the form of a little box with wires coming out of it.

Roy lead the way now, dropping down into the Ravine with a wondrous full moon hanging high above our heads and giving us as much natural lighting as it possibly could. Once at the bottom I took an observatory glance upwards to confirm that Fiona was watching us from the point. I checked down the Ravine to see a couple of zombies shambling about but for the most part it was motionless bodies as the zombies slept through the blinding night.

I signalled to Roy that everything was clear and good to go and so he turned his back to me and positioned himself nearly underneath the missile. I sat on a nearby rock and toyed with my pistol on a finger, longing for the days when it was the balance of my old revolver in my hand rather than this strangely weighted pistol. Even with the experience shooting it through my recent battles it would never quite serve me as well as my original gun did. Still the knife was a nice touch built right into the barrel so it would look like I was stuck with this gun over all others. Strange to have chosen it amongst so many other larger more powerful weapons, at least to some people. For me it was all I needed. Simplicity in my killing, not rounds per second.

I heard a buzz through the air, a dull roar growing closer each second. Louder and louder until it was shrieking in my ears and forming into a sound similar to the beating of massive wings. I looked up at the moon above and watched it blotted out by the dark shadow of some flying machine. It continued moving forward, crossing out of my sight, though not my hearing. Another one followed shortly after, this one much lower, almost ready to land on the lip of the Ravine and it stopped overhead. I watched as circular blades spun to keep it aloft, an old military helicopter, something I could only imagine about before from my readings and the stories I had heard. Not only was finding a working one next to impossible but finding fuel to go with it was an inconceivable task.

The helicopter buzzed overhead, pulling down into the Ravine as low as possible. It tilted slightly to its side, balancing precariously so that its side door could be opened. Inside I caught the flash of Pariah armour, the only ones who could possibly possess such weaponry as a helicopter or two. The helicopter had a speaker system set up in it so that it could communicate with us on the ground over the sounds of its motors.

“Roy, I know you’re down there. You told me to bring an army to conquer you. Very well Roy, I have brought you your army. They’re a little disorganized but they certainly have the motivation.” It was Damian’s voice coming through over the loudspeakers, echoing down throughout the Ravine. Roy poked his head out to look up at the helicopter above us.

“What the fuck is he talking about Thomas?”

“The fuck should I know?”

Answering both our questions at once, something was dropped down from the helicopter, bouncing down along the rocks and rolling to a stop nearby me. It was a large metal cylinder with lights surrounding it in bands. Suddenly the Ravine was filled with the pulsing sound of the Pariahs’ zombie attractor, its hum throbbing in my ears and nearly driving me to insanity at such a close distance.

I checked down the Ravine, seeing the zombies begin to scramble along the rocks towards the sound. The helicopter pulled away, Damian’s laughter leaving us with a final note. Roy climbed out from underneath the missile, wiping his hands and attempting to plug his ears at the same time. “The detonator is almost set up. What in the hell is that?” He pointed at the sound generating barrel lying on the ground nearby.

“Zombie magnet. And it’s working really well. We gotta get out of here Roy. Is that thing working?”

“Well I mean, it works well enough. Should be a good ninety percent chance if we pushed the button now.”

“Good enough. Let’s get going!” Roy and I leapt to the walls and began to climb as quickly as possible with Fiona screaming at us from up above. I chanced a glance down the Ravine and was greeted with the sight of hundreds of zombies charging along the small space, some running at enough speed to run along the shallower walls with ease, coming at us sideways. Others were climbing atop of each other and tackling each other to the ground in a bid to draw first blood. It was reminiscent of my near death encounter with zombies in the destroyed building. Only in multiples of hundreds.

Roy grabbed my hand to pull me up the rest of the way, my injury still holding me back from a perfect climb. As he did it I felt the swipe from the first zombie as they clawed at my legs. I pointed the pistol between my feet and began to blind fire down at the them, relying on their mass of numbers to guarantee my hits. At this point though, it seemed like only a bomb could stop them.

I got up onto the tracks to see Roy strapping on the generator for the Vortex Blade and powering it up. Fiona was helping to get it all together on him before withdrawing her own weapon, a shotgun she had strapped to her back. “Are you fucking insane? You want to try and stab every single zombie out there? Fuck this Roy, we need to get back inside, now!”

“No, we don’t. Fiona does. You do. I have the detonator. I can trigger it with or without you, whether I am inside or not. I need that door to be shut though and you to lead them in my absence.” Roy placed his hand on my shoulder and stared down into my eyes. “I know you want to leave us but for the moments after I am gone the people will need somebody to guide them, somebody I know will carrying on this dream. You will.”

“Well you can keep that job to yourself Roy, you’re not dying out here. We can make it back we just need to start running now!” I grabbed his arm and pulled him behind me as I chased after Fiona. She had already started the run back to the doorway so she could be prepared to close it once we made it through. Roy struggled and freed himself of my grasp but he did not slow, seeing the folly in his self-sacrifice and choosing to try and save his own life now instead.

The zombies were onto the tracks behind us, their screeching a constant reminder of the imminent death that lay if we slowed down for even a moment. Every ache and pain I had felt was gone for the moment, my body working on overtime to keep me alive and my mind blanking and tuning in to autopilot survivor. We were still yards away from the doors when the fastest zombies caught us. The lead one leapt out behind me, landing on the backs of my knees and knocking me to the ground. My pistol slammed hard on the flooring and bounced away ahead of me, outside my reach. Without hesitation Roy spun around and plunged his sword through the zombies head then reached down and grabbed my hand, dragging me out from underneath the twitching corpse.

I got up only in time to grab onto my pistol and instantly spin myself around, slashing upwards and into the jaw of the next zombie. Blood splattered across my face, clinging to my hair and nearly blotting my vision for a moment. My blade was stuck in the zombies mouth so I squeezed my trigger and felt more warm red liquid crash into my face. I withdrew the weapon and fired off more rounds at the approaching horde, looking to my side and seeing Roy cutting down a couple of zombies. The corpses were starting to pile up in front of us but still they came, never stopping for a moment.

As Roy spun to deliver the killing blow to a zombie beside him another one leapt over its dead comrades, heading straight for Roy’s throat. I quickly fired off to my side, catching the zombie’s head in the air and causing its body to twist out of the way of colliding with Roy. While I did it another zombie came up in front of me and I grabbed its throat with my free hand, an unknown strength coursing through me and into my fingers, crushing the zombie’s windpipe with ease and throwing it aside. And yet they still came.

My body was getting covered in scratches and bruises from when my kills were imperfect and the zombies got a shot in between my own. Roy and I slowly shuffled back as we held the zombies off from killing us and I looked over my shoulder to see Fiona trying to fire her shotgun at anything she could. There were others nearby, some mercenaries who must have come out to watch or perhaps were hired by Roy in case anything went wrong. They weren’t charging out to help us but were instead trying to pick off the zombies wherever they could. But we were almost back inside the door. If we could just hold out a little bit longer...

“Thomas, this isn’t good enough.”

“Shut up Roy, no more suicide from you. We’re almost through that door there.”

“Think ahead for once in your fucking life Thomas! Yes we are almost through but so are the zombies as well. We get through the door we can’t possibly close it on all of them without them pouring through.” I shoved my blade through the chest of a zombie and fired into it three times before prying it off the end of my weapon and letting it drop to the floor. Could we fight all these zombies if we let them through? I could only hold out a moment longer at this point before I would fall to the zombies and be torn apart. And without Roy and I to defend them and only the cowardly mercenaries and Fiona left, would we really hold out? “Thomas, we need to make a decision.”

In the moment Roy said that, time seemed to halt. The zombies slowed down until it was just him and I, staring at each other while we battled each other without words. I knew what he wanted to do, what he planned to do with the detonator in his hand. But I wouldn’t have it. There was always another way. Just as I had come up with the solution to our problems thus far, I would solve this one as well so that tomorrow the two of us would celebrate together. If we could just signal to the mercenaries to unload everything they had and could tell Fiona to start closing the door early so we could jump through at the last moment. I formulated my plan in my head, each piece falling into place as to how we would get through this, and I hoped that Roy could see it in this moment of frozen time when he looked in my eyes.

He took a step close to me and closed the distance between us. He placed his hand on my shoulder once more and smiled at me, ready to give it one last shot at our survival. And his smile continued as he kicked out my legs and threw me back towards Fiona, through the doorway with a strength I didn’t know he had. I crashed down hard onto the ground, feeling my shoulder pop with a cracking sound that brought all the pain on my body to life in a fiery explosion. And through it all I could hear Roy’s voice. “I hope that you decide to forgive my decision.” 

I looked up through tearful eyes to see Roy turning around and fending off the zombies single-handedly, wildly swinging around at everything around him. And I saw the detonator in his free hand, ready to as soon as he needed it. And I panicked. Without Roy we were nothing, I was nothing, this place was nothing. He had done so much for me, for her, for everyone, to try and save us all. With my still working hand I tried to fire my pistol off at the crowd of zombies, but could barely hold the gun with all the pain erupting across my body, let alone shoot with it. So I screamed instead. “Come on you fucking idiots, shoot them! Shoot them all! He’ll make it back!”

“Fiona close the door.” Roy was yelling over top of me now, trying to issue commands through the chaos as he battered back the zombies crowding the tunnels. I looked over at Fiona and saw her crying at the door, her hand on the button and ready to go but still hesitant and hopeful.

“No Fiona he’ll make it! He has to...”

Roy thrust his sword out and pushed a switch on the generator, releasing all of the energy stored inside of it in a single pointed blow and sending the zombies sprawling. For a moment there was peace as more zombies approached as rapidly as they could. Roy turned around to look at us all, his final chance to make it through slipping away with each moment he wasted standing there. “Fiona, close the gate. That’s an order.”

“No!” Fiona looked back at me, shaking her head and sobbing.

“I’m sorry Thomas.” Her hands pressed down on the button and I heard the metal beginning its journey to a close. I tried to get upright, flopping from side to side and thrashing around in agony all at once as my hero stood outside our doors, my chance to rescue him slipping through my fingers as my body gave out.

“Goodbye, to both of you. I will see you on the other side.” Roy pushed down on the detonator and spun back around in time to skewer one last zombie on his blade before they jumped atop him at once, tearing down into his flesh with tooth and nail and ripping into him with vigour. I watched Roy’s finals moments as the doors slid shut and through the final crack I could see the flames rumbling down the tunnel to incinerate the greatest man I had known, and the man I had loved, the only one to love me.

My body continued to thrash as the floor shook from the impact of the explosion, the power of the sun blasting against the doors. And just as it released its energy, so did my body, my memories and emotions flowing forth in that moment, pouring out of me as I began to choke on my very own saliva and I caught a glimpse of Fiona above me as my eyes darted around in circles in my head, everything around me blurring together and fading away, breaking apart as I felt myself teleporting away to my final destination.