Samuel's eyes slowly crept open. His head uncomfortably was rolled back on his matted pillow, staring up into the bright blue sky. Fluffy white clouds slowly floated through the sky, each in a unique shape. There was a slight cool breeze sailing through the dead street, pushing rubbish around from last nights celebration.

Tiredly, Samuel pulled his body up from the cold harsh pavement, and sat up from his makeshift bed. The street was littered with broken glass from discarded bottles of booze. Residents of the community sickly moved around the barren street, holding their heads in pain from a long night of drinking.

Reaching to the side of his body, Samuel carefully picked up the mug which Tahlia gifted him. With a large smile on his face he examined it closely, fondly reminding him of last night. He thought that finally he had found his luck, something he wasn't accustomed to.

Placing the mug into the bottom of his bag, Samuel stood to his feet, fully stretching out his body. Wrapping a coat around his body, he decided to take a short stroll. Shoving his cold hands deep into his warm pockets, he ventured the street.

The brothel was dead from customers. Blacked out older men were sprawled out across the entrance. Samuel made eye contact with Brooklyn as she smoked a cigarette. Her appearance seemed tired and frail, most likely from a busy nights work. Disappointingly Samuel gazed away, focusing on the path ahead.

Ahead Tahlia say quietly on her bed spread, drinking from her mug and enjoying a cup of crap sachet coffee. Samuel stood still for a moment, lustfully staring at her with a subtle but loving toothless grin. "We should make this official." He whispered to himself, practicing how he would ask her. Shaking his head cringing at himself, he stepped towards her.

Tahlia's eyes looked up at his. A smile ran across her face as she quickly put her mug down. Standing to her feet she wiped dust off from her clothes. "How are you feeling?" Tahlia asked.

"I don't get hangovers. I just feel a little groggy." Samuel responded locking his eyes onto hers.

They both fall silent, staring into each others eyes. In unison they both speak, "There's something I need to tell you." Samuel excitedly smiled, hoping Tahlia was about to ask the same thing. "You go first." Samuel anxiously spoke as he clenched his arms closer to his nervous body.

Tahlia cleared her throat and broke her eye contact. Staring down the street she admitted, "I don't feel like I'm in the right space for a relationship."

Samuel's heart instantly sank low into his body. Confusion grew across his mind as he remembered the night before. His mouth opened slightly, attempting to push words out, however he kept silent. His eyes never left her beautiful sight.

"Okay." He eventually responded his voice cracking. "What was that last night then?" Samuel wondered his throat becoming dry.

"It was nothing." Tahlia responded.

Hoping for any kind of response, Samuel slowly stepped backwards, Tahlia's head dropped to the ground. Realising his reality, he stepped away from her, mindlessly walking down the street.

He felt the build up of sadness slowly creep up on him. Speeding up, Samuel ran down a side alley, throwing his body against the side of the building he collapsed to the ground.

"Oh god. Not again." He sadly stuttered.

His mind felt lost and confused. Standing back up to his feet, Samuel paced up and down the alleyway. His mind foggy and broken. His heart began to ache in pain, he held his hand over his chest. His face convulsed sadly, his mouth opened wide as salvia and snot ran down his face. Collapsing once again, he tucked his weary head into his arms. No tears were forming, just sounds of pain and sadness. Crying without tears, Samuel had never felt this type of pain before.

Rolling onto his back, he reached into his coat. Slowly pulling out a small antenna he had kept from the broken radio he used to speak with his mother. Holding it closely to his heart for comfort, he attempted to calm himself down.

"I met this girl. Her name is Tahlia. You would of loved her." Samuel sadly spoke, holding the antenna closely believing his mother could hear him.

"I met her at a point in my life I was having no hope. Then this person comes along and she just made me feel like a part of something again. You know like I had something to live for. Something to want to better myself. You feel that light, and you feel like a normal person. It just feels like everything I ever needed is right here." Samuel confessed to his mother.

"Do you know what a broken heart feels like? It feels like your heart is free falling. You try to catch it, stop it from hurting so much. But no matter what you try, there's nothing that can help it. You just keep sinking, lower and lower. I can feel it's starting to get bad again, and when it gets bad, it gets worse." Samuel spoke sitting up and laying against the side of the building once again.

"I should have known. It's been too good lately. And it never stays good. There's always something that makes it bad. Then it gets even worse." Samuel added.

Looking at the antenna one last time he folded it down and hid it back into his coat. Mindlessly sitting against the wall, Samuel longingly gazed into the abyss, reminiscing every second he spent with Tahlia. Although he only knew her for limited time, she was special. He had never felt a stronger connection.

The sounds of footsteps interrupted his moment of pain, "Samuel?" Tony spoke standing at the end of the alleyway. Samuel turned his head and sadly looked up at Tony. His eyes deeply lost. "Are you okay?" Tony worried, stepped towards him.

"I'm fine." Samuel lied, his voice low and somber.

"You don't look fine." Tony got low onto his knee, and made sure he stared Samuel in the eyes. With a worried face he asked, "Have you been crying?"

"No." Samuel answered quietly, his vision becoming blurry.

Trying to hold back his tears, apart from his mother Samuel never cried in front of anyone. His emotions seemed as though they were taking control. Unable to calm himself down, Samuel bursted out into tears. Muffled sounds of pain shrieked out from his mouth, his gritting teeth attempting to hold back the tears.

"Do you need a hug?" Tony asked.

"Yeah." Samuel timidly spoke.

Tony immediately moved towards Samuel, he wrapped his arms around his aching body embracing him. Samuel's tears flowed down his cheeks, landing upon Tony's dry clothes creating an uncomfortable dampness.

"I keep forgetting that you're just a kid." Tony whispered hugging him closer as he grabbed onto his arms for support. "Do you want to talk about it?" Tony wondered.

Samuel paused to catch his breath, wiping the tears away from his eyes. Timidly he gazed up at Tony and sadly spoke, "I just want to be loved."

"Don't be silly. You are loved." Tony replied disagreeing.

"By who?" Samuel muttered shaking his head in disbelief.

Tony pushed Samuel away from his body so he could stare directly into his eyes. "Well there's your family for starters. I'm sure they love you. Your friends back home. Hell even I do." Tony gently spoke. "By the way Tahlia was looking at you, maybe even she loves you. You two looked cute together. I could see you holding hands under the table." He added.

Samuel's heart dropped lower, "Trust me, she doesn't." His voice crackled.

Tony realised what he was upset about, patting his back he apologised, "I'm sorry Samuel. That feeling sucks." Standing to his feet, Tony reached his hand out towards Samuel. "Here, let me show you something." He spoke.

Samuel grabbed Tony's hand and pulled himself up from the ground. Following closely behind him, Tony took Samuel to the Cage. "We've only got two hours until the ceremony. We don't have much time." Tony urged Samuel to speed up.

They both stepped inside the empty Cage, and wondered down the alleyway where the Biters were released. The alleyway led to a dead end, with a strong metal door at the end wall. Tony turned the handle and swung open the door, revealing a dark and musty walkway. Dust particles blew out, floating stagnant in the cool breeze.

Tony confidently stepped into the walkway, as if he's been here before. Samuel followed loosely behind him, his eyes peeled for danger. Distant toothless groans echoed through the tight walls, the sounds causing Samuel's arm hair to rise.

As they walked deeper Samuel realised the walkway was a University study area. Rooms spanned across the halls with wide open glass walls. The familiar stench of rotting flesh wafted through the air. Pinching his nose with his fingertips, Tony came to a sudden stop in front of a study room.

Eight Biters were trapped inside. Noticing the two, they began to push up against the glass attempting to break out for a fresh meal. "Notice anything strange?" Tony quizzed.

Samuel carefully scanned the Biters. As they opened their mouths trying to bite them through the glass, he realised what Tony was talking about. All their teeth were ripped out. As were their nails. Despite his overwhelming grief, Samuel couldn't help but let out a short chuckle.

"Now we know how he faked it." Tony chuckled along with him.

"I broke into his house last night. He had jars full of teeth on a bookshelf. Now I know where they came from." Samuel remembered.

"What a fucking freak." Tony spoke.

Samuel gazed into the room full of the dead. An idea suddenly crossed his mind. "I've got an idea. I need your help. You're going to have to trust me." Samuel told Tony.

"I trust you Samuel." Tony agreed.

Two hours pass and the Cage was now bustling with people, their voices raised in a chorus of anticipation. The crowd had gathered for the ceremony, their excitement palpable. Samuel stood alone near the front, a determined look on his face. The crowd were once again relentlessly chanting, "Praise the Whisperer!"

The Whisperer slowly stepped into the cage. His arms wide open proudly taking in the cheers. His grin was grand and wide. He was wearing his usual outfit, a large burgundy poncho covering his entire body, worn handcrafted fingerless grey gloves, and his deer skull mask, the antlers protruding high into the sky in an odd zigzag. The crowd grew silent as he stood in the middle of the Cage.

"Praise me!" The Whisperer proudly shouted.

The crowds hands flew up to the sky as they excitedly began chanting again. They were much louder, as they jumped for joy. Slowly spinning around in a circle, the Whisperer made sure everyone got a glimpse of his presence. A complete replication of the last ceremony.

The Whisperer's eyes creepily gazed at Samuel through the skull mask. His arm slowly raising directly pointing at him. Samuel sluggishly stepped into the Cage, closing the door behind him. Moving towards the Whisperer, Samuel's eyes flickered around the crowd trying to spot Tahlia, however she was not present.

"You have been chosen! You're fearlessness will not go unnoticed! You will transcend into the new life! You will be respected and cherished for eternity!" The whisperer spoke loudly so the crowd could hear his voice. "Take my hands. And you will be forever praised as my own creation." He added reaching his hands out towards Samuel.

Samuel slowly peered down at his hands. Every part of him wanted to kill him there and then, get it over with. But these people needed to know the truth. Reluctantly he held the Whisperer's hands. "Are you ready?" The Whisperer whispered.

"I'm ready father." Samuel played along taking in a deep breath.

The crowd began to chant, "Release the dead!" Samuel looked over to the gates as the lifted open. The crowd fell to a silence as the sound of groaning echoed from the alleyway. The herd of Biters sluggishly limped out into the Cage. Immediately the dead pressed towards Samuel and the Whisperer. Although he knew he was safe, Samuel was still frightened.

As the dead reached him, their cold decaying hands wrapped around his clothes as they tried to tear his flesh apart. Their toothless rotting gums wrapped around his neck and arms as they attempted to eat his flesh with no prevail. Some were already loosing interest as they slowly pulled away.

Samuel peered over the Whisperer's shoulder eyeing the open gate, waiting in anticipation for his plan to transpire. A lone Biter hobbled out from the alleyway, wearing a bright yellow bandanna wrapped around its arm. Samuel watched as it limped closer.

"Time to show these people who you really are." Samuel angrily spoke. The Whisperer looked up at him confused.

Samuel grabbed the Whisperer by his neck. Using all his strength, he pushed him towards the Biter. The crowd gasped loudly in fear as they stumbled backwards. Samuel grabbed the Biter's shirt and pulled the decaying corpse into the Whisperer. It's teeth latched onto the Whisperer's exposed neck, ripping out a chunk of flesh. Dark red blood squirted into the air, the Whisperer held the wound tightly with his hand. His eyes panicked grew in size as he stumbled backwards in disbelief.

"What have you done!" The Whisperer angrily yelled. Using his right hand he pushed the Biter away from him, while using his left hand he reached up to one of his long antlers, snapping it in half. The Whisperer thrusted the pointed end of the antler into the Biter's temple, it's body collapsed to the ground creating a small dust cloud from its weight. "You planned this?" The Whisperer angrily said.

"These people deserve the truth." Samuel spoke.

The Whisperer boastful ego changed into hatred. His eyes flaring behind the skull mask, the Whisperer grappled onto a Biter throwing it into Samuel. Attempting to jump out the way, the Biter landed on top of him, it's toothless gums biting down onto his neck.

Pushing the biter off of him, Samuel quickly stood to his feet. Before he could react the Whisperer charged towards him, smashing hard into his body. He slammed Samuel into the ground and angrily shouted into his face, "You were going to become a son!"

"That means nothing to me!" Samuel yelled aching in pain as he used his knee to push the Whisperer off of him.

Slowly pushing himself up from the ground Samuel jumped on top of the Whisperer. Shoving his thumb into his open bite wound, the Whisperer screamed in pain. Blood was gushing out in large amounts. His skin becoming pale. "You let a little girl die! She would of fucking lived!" Samuel yelled.

The Whisperer still screaming in pain managed to speak, "I let nature take its course." Grabbing Samuel around the neck he threw his body into the fence of the Cage. Samuel grit his teeth in pain as his back bruised.

The Whisperer slowly and painfully stood to his feet. His deer skull mask had a large crack down the middle. Standing up straight the crack grew in size, breaking off half of the skull revealing the Whisperer's face. He was badly burnt, half of his ear was missing and his skin was a swollen red pink.

"I. Can't. Die!" The Whisperer yelled pounding the concrete ground hard with his fists, he rushed towards Samuel in rage.

Quickly crawling out of the way the Whisperer collided against the fence of the Cage. Samuel pushed his aching body up to his feet and ran towards the broken skull mask. Grabbing it from the ground he quickly turned around, the Whisperer was back on his feet rushing towards him.

Wrapping his fingers around the second antler he thrusted the pointed end into the Whisperer's stomach. Heaving in pain the Whisperer gazed down at the antler lodged deep inside of him. Blood filled his mouth as his eyes rolled back into his head.

"Praise the Whisperer." He whispered as his final words, his body collapsing and becoming stiff.

Samuel caught his breath, his vision blurry from his exhaustion. The crowd stood gobsmacked in utter silence. Samuel stood to his feet, his entire body covered in red blood.

"The Whisperer can't control you anymore! You won't be fooled by his facade any longer! The Whisperer was a fake! A con-artist! He made you all fall for his deception! He used you to survive! He isn't a fucking god! He's just a man who played dress-up." Samuel yelled to the crowd. Opening the gate, Samuel exited the Cage. All eyes were on him as he stumbled away.

Strolling down the street, Samuel's feet began to ache. Finding a seat on the side of the road, he carefully sat down. Looking up to the sky he closed his eyes and listened to the sounds of the birds chirping overhead. A large smile of relief drew across his face.

Disturbed from his moment of silence, the main gate opened. The ear piercing sound of metal echoing across the street. Opening his eyes he saw Brooklyn with packed bags strapped to her back. She was about to take a step outside.

Samuel sprung to his feet, and stumbled towards her. "Wait! Brooklyn wait!" He yelled out to her.

She came to a sudden stop, hanging onto the straps of her bags. She slowly turned around to face him. "What do you want?" She asked.

"Where are you going?" Samuel wondered stepping closer towards her.

"I'm leaving. I've been planning this for a long time." She admitted tightening the straps of her bags so she didn't have to hold them. Turning around she was about to walk out.

Taking a large deep breath in and clearing his throat Samuel said, "There's a place for you here you know."

Brooklyn stood still and slightly turned her head towards Samuel, "I know. But I need to figure out who I am." She opened up. Sadly looking to the floor, she spun around to face Samuel. Looking directly into his eyes her voice cracked in pain, "This isn't a goodbye. Just a catch ya later."

Samuel smiled as a tear rolled down his cheek. "I'm sorry for how we turned out. We never would of worked out anyway. We are both too damn similar. We are way too arrogant." He chuckled.

A tear escaped from Brooklyn's eye, she whispered to Samuel, "Maybe in another lifetime."

Samuel smiled wiping tears away from his eyes. "I did love you. Despite everything." He admitted.

"I loved you too." Brooklyn agreed her cubby cheeks becoming red.

"You're going to be okay on your own?" Samuel wondered.

"There's a group I know of nearby. I'll be fine." Brooklyn responded reassuring him.

"I wish you the best. Find out who you are. Find out who you want to become. And take out that god awful piercing." Samuel spoke from the heart.

Brooklyn shook her head. Reaching to her nose, she took out the piercing and threw it onto the ground. With a large smile, she turned around and left. Samuel watched her as she stepped down the street, her silhouette becoming smaller and smaller as she walked further away.

"You should leave too." Tony spoke behind him. Samuel turned to face Tony. Confusion spread across his face. "I can tell you miss your family back home. You should leave for Adelaide. Find your family if they are still out there. And of course you would always be welcomed back." Tony emotionally added, sad to see Samuel leave, but knew it was the right thing.

With the keys for the Holden Kingswood Ute in his hands, he extended his arm out towards Samuel. He stared at the keys, a tear escaping his eye. Samuel reluctantly took the keys from Tony, without a word.

"There's something I need to do first." Samuel spoke holding the keys tightly in his hand.

Visiting the abandoned arcade one last time, Samuel squeezed past the wall of arcade machines. A ray of light shun down from the open sunroof. With bright pink tulips in his hands, Samuel carefully placed them down in the ray of sunshine. Next to the tulips he put a radio with fresh batteries and a heartfelt note.

'Tahlia. I thank you for the time we spent together. I do wish I got to know more of you. I'm leaving for Adelaide, hoping to find my family. I'm sorry I couldn't fulfil our promise. I hope to see you again soon. If you ever feel lonely, if you ever want to talk. Use the radio. I'll always be listening. I wish you the best of luck. Love from Samuel'

With both his hands on the steering wheel, Samuel drove down the open road. His eyes looking into the rear view mirror watching the community leave his vision. A large smile on his face, he felt the cold breeze blow through his hair.

His eyes looking at the top of the dashboard, which sat the antenna from the broken radio, and the mug Tahlia had gifted him. Samuel whispered to himself, "I'll find you mum."

TO BE CONTINUED...