The Book of Practical Kills

Chapter 2: Dead on Arrival

It was more than a figure of speech that I was leaving myself behind, if what Guy said was true. I still doubted him, somehow, but then again I was the one with no memories. In the end, the best way that I could understand the world that I lived in was to explore it. To experience it.

Everything felt alien to me. But maybe that’s what amnesia felt like. Maybe everything that I felt was right, wasn’t. All that I could depend on was my instincts. But even those couldn’t feel like more than spontaneous anxiety attacks.

“Follow me,” Guy said. There were a lot of reasons why wouldn’t. But I felt as if I needed to keep an eye on him. More than that, I needed to know where to go next. If this man, who proposed to take over the world not minutes ago, had any plan for me.

We arrived at some kind of gondola lift a few levels down. It was attached to yet another destroyed wall. The whole level was a barren mess compared to the pad we left. Made me wonder if the building was like that all the way down. I didn’t bother to look over and find out.

“It’s like this right down to the base level, in case you’re wondering,” said Guy, as if he could read my mind. “In fact, half of the city is like this. A wasteland inhabited by dark creatures. Undomesticated, violent, and toxic.” He opened the gondola door, and gestured me inside. “Let’s go then, shall we?”

Hesitantly, I stepped inside the gondola with Guy. There was remote control padding at the side of the door which he fidgeted with for a second. Next thing I knew, we were moving down the rope.

The slow whirring of the machine as it inched its way down several thousand feet became a soothing distraction, and, thankfully since I didn’t seem to be too afraid of heights, the scenery on top of that mostly calmed my nerves. Except for the fact that Guy was staring at me. His eyes wouldn’t leave mine. Despite the view outside, with the sun setting over dozens of buildings, all of which seemed dark and abandoned, he would only look at me with his unnerving grin.

I looked behind him at the skyscraper we just left. He was right. It was in ruins all the way down. It was also the tallest building out of every one in the city. Not too hard to believe considering the view I woke up to.

Guy noticed me looking at the building, and looked back at it himself. Then he looked at me with a raised eyebrow, still grinning. “You nervous?” he asked jokingly. I said nothing. He laughed at me, perhaps taking my silence as the answer he expected.

“Don’t worry, this thing is as sturdy as cement!” He kicked the side of the gondola and the whole thing shook. I reeled back, reactively grabbing on to the side of the lift. He just continued to laugh as we shook. Gradually the gondola settled, and I sat there, grinding my teeth at the ass hole in front of me.

My hand was on the grip of my revolver. Guy noticed it before I did.

“You gonna shoot me?” he asked. I was tempted. “Because you only have one bullet in that thing. I think you need to think real hard about what you’re going to do with that one, tiny little bullet.”

He didn’t need to sell me on it. I was well aware of the number of bullets my gun was loaded with. However, I was also well aware of how little one single bullet could do. I didn’t like what he was implying.

“I didn’t wake up to a world full of zombies, did I?” I asked. The sound of my voice seemed to overjoy him, as he slapped his knees and dropped his jaw in surprise.

“So he can make intelligent conversation!” he laughed. Laughing was getting low on my list of tolerable reactions. “No, sir, there are no zombies down there!” He shot me a glare full of mischievousness. “It’s worse.”