Apocalyptic World

Chapter Four: Satan? Nah, just Eli

The raider nodded and said, "You should be fine for now. The old world government does a check on the world tomorrow." I nodded and said, "Thanks but does Eli still have that country wide bounty?" The raider nodded and said, "He'd be straight crazy to travel in Colorado." I nodded and asked, "Anything else?" The raider nodded and said, "You have the two girls right." I nodded and said, "They haven't stolen, raided or murdered anyone yet." The raider nodded and said, "Good but they can't leave this Rv at all. Just some extra protection, we don't want them to be in the coliseum." I nodded and said, "They won't leave at all." The raider said, "Good but do you still need that medic?" I said, "We don't have anywhere to perform right now there's a five year old with us." The raider said, "All right, just relax and follow us." I nodded and rolled up the window. I looked at Sam and said, "Follow them." Sam nodded and dropped his speed so that he was in the center of the raiders. I said, "Catherine, Lucy. You can't leave this Rv until we get to Gang Falls. If you do, the raiders will have the right to arrest you and put you two in the coliseum." Catherine asked, "Arrest us for what?" I said, "Attempted murder without a license." Lucy said, "Can you turn on the radio?" I nodded and turned on the radio. I fell asleep after thirty minutes. My dream at that time was weird. I was in a dark place and everyone was dead. I also saw a man with long hair, scars, and eyes like the sun. I walked to the man and before I could do anything, I was woken up by Catherine. I looked around and asked, "What happened?" Catherine said, "You slept for an hour but then started to sleepwalk." Sam asked, "Are you ok?" I said, "Yeah, I'm fine." Sam said, "Alright but at least tell me what you were dreaming about. You walked around and turned your head surprised about something." I said, "Everyone was dead and a man with long hair and eyes like the sun was at the center of it all." Sam said, "Well, that sounds crazy." I said, "It was but that doesn't matter right now." Sam said, "Yeah, you're right." I limped into the backroom and saw that Lucy was asleep. I peeked out the back window and didn't see anything to be worried about. I limped back to my seat and asked, "How much further?" Sam said, "I don't know but these guys are making sure that no one gets near us. We passed ten gangs while you were sleeping." I asked, "Well when are we stopping to recharge?" Sam looked at the battery and said, "Right now." I rolled down my window and said, "We need to pull over. The Rv is on low power." The raider nodded and we pulled into the sand. I walked outside and talked to the head raider. I said, "So they can't leave the Rv." The raider shook his head and said, "Not at all." I asked, "What if they were with me or Sam? We have our licenses." The raider said, "Only if they stay with you at all times. If we see you separated then." I said, "I know I know." The raider nodded and said, "We can't protect you if you leave." I said, "Like you would protect us against Eli. You'd probably drive away scared." The raider said, "You want to bet." I looked the raider in his eyes and said, "Eli was sent to Hell and spat back out. He could take Satan's spot if he wanted to and no one would know. He's the type of man who can't be killed easily. Just by mentioning the name Eli, people would hide. I stabbed him in the back and I'm surviving. You know why?" The raider shook his head. I said, "That's because we are where he isn't. Eli doesn't care about raider patrol. He'll kill you guys first and then come after me. Now, you still think you can take him?" The raider said, "He's just a bully and nothing else." I said, "Really, tell me that when you see him." I limped back into the Rv and said, "Good news. You guys can go outside if you're with me or Sam." Catherine said, "Great, let's go." I said, "Hold up, I want to wait a little bit." Sam said, "You didn't." I said, "I did." Sam said, "You'll scare him away, what did you tell him?" I said, "I told him that Eli is practically the devil." Sam said, "What the heck?" I said, "He said that he wasn't scared of Eli. I gave him a reason to be scared of him." Catherine asked, "And if I wasn't scared of Eli?" I smiled and said, "Then I'll give you a reason to be scared." Sam said, "Nathan, don't you dare." I shrugged and said, "I think I waited long enough." I asked, "Catherine, do you still want to walk?" Catherine nodded and I walked outside. She followed and the leader said, "I talked with the boys and we'll still be protecting you but we will have some backup to follow us." I said, "That's great but let's try not to make this too obvious. Don't want to tempt Eli into attacking us." Me and Catherine then walked off and Catherine said, "You didn't have to scare him like that." I said, "Maybe but if I don't then Eli can get to us easily." Catherine asked, "How'd he even create the Lost Raiders?" I shrugged and said, "No one knows. He just tells us that he was made in a place in Hell where not even Satan goes to. Satan found him and sent him to earth. He then walked to a bar and convinced people to join his gang. Soon after the breakout he planned to rule the world but the raiders got in his way. Then he showed his true colorless self. Half his gang left him and he killed them. Some people think that he doesn't even have a heart. I think he doesn't have a soul." Catherine's face was full of fear. I said, "Sorry if I scared you but you did ask about him." Catherine said, "It's fine, I just never thought a man that evil could exist." I said, "Neither did I but me and Sam have caught him walking into bunkers and walking out covered in blood." Catherine asked, "His blood." I shook my head and said, "Other's blood, he didn't have a single wound." Catherine said, "We're running from a guy like that." I nodded and said, "The only one who can stand up to him is metal arm Ben. He is a good version of Eli but he was born on earth." Catherine said, "We could stand up to him too." I said, "I could but I won't. The man is soulless. If he had a child, he would eat it for a snack." Catherine said, "Come on, he just installed that fear inside of you." I said, "Maybe but I said I wouldn't stand up to him. I never said anything about killing him." Catherine said, "Well, I'm enjoying this walk with you." I said, "Good, I'm glad." Catherine said, "I wonder what Sam is going to say about this." I said, "He's going to call me a bunch of names and I have to deal with three hours of him talking about feelings and stuff." Catherine asked, "What kind of names?" I said, "I can only think of one and that is Lover Boy." Catherine chuckled and said, "Cute, but does he ever come up with names for me?" I said, "Nope, he's probably waiting for me to say some." I looked at Catherine and she was blushing way too much for her to hide it. I said, "But I wouldn't really say any because I see you as a friend." Catherine said, "Right, friends go on walks and talk." I said, "Right, you get it." Catherine asked, "I know you said you don't like me but would I have a chance if you did?" I said, "Well, um...you see I...I-I...I...I'm not sure. The best answer I can give is maybe." Catherine said, "Maybe it's good. It isn't a no so I'm fine with that answer." I said, "But to be honest. We might find someone to love once we get to Gang Falls. I mean there are plenty of people there." Catherine said, "Yeah, we might." I said, "Yeah, we might." Me and Catherine sighed at the same time. I could only wonder what Catherine was thinking but me. I might've screwed this up for both of us. Sam was right, I might not have feelings for her now but I am getting them. Catherine said, "Let's head back." I nodded and we walked back to the Rv saying nothing to each other. Catherine got in first and then I got in. Catherine said, "I'll be in the back room. Tell me when lunch is ready." I nodded and she walked in the back room. I sat in the passenger seat and took some more painkillers. Sam said, "I was going to annoy you more about Catherine but it seems like something went down so I want to know what happened out there." I sighed and said, "I think I screwed up." Sam said, "Oh, so you do like her." I sighed and said, "You were right. I was going to get feelings for her but that doesn't matter now." Sam said, "Tell me what happened." I said, "She asked me if she would have a chance and I said maybe. I also said that we might find someone to love in Gang Falls." Sam said, "You ain't screw up that bad. As long as you tell her how you feel then it should be good." I shrugged and said, "Maybe." Sam said, "Listen, you two were nervous. She'd understand if you didn't know what to do at that moment." I said, "I'll just let it be and if the opportunity appears. I'll take it." Sam said, "Alright Lover Boy but just know that I'm here for you." I nodded and said, "Thanks Sam, you're a good friend." Sam smiled and said, "I know I am but did you tell her about Eli." I nodded and said, "I told her what he told us." Sam said, "You need to stop doing that." I laughed and said, "It's a habit I need to break." Sam said, "Yeah I need to break that habit too." I asked, "How about Lisa? She still has the same channel?" Sam nodded and said, "I just got done talking to her when you walked in." I asked, "So did you ask her?" Sam said, "Nope but we both are interested in each other." A raider knocked on the Rv door and I answered it by asking, "Is something wrong?" The raider handed me a bag and said, "Ben wants you guys to eat." I grabbed the bag and said, "Thanks." The raider nodded and left. I shut the door and placed the bag on the table. I knocked on the back room door and said, "A raider gave us food so I guess it's lunch time." Lucy opened the door and walked out. I knocked on the door again and said, "Catherine, I'm coming in." I walked in the room and saw Catherine crying on the bed. I sat next to her and asked, "What's wrong?" She wiped her tears away and said, "Nothing, I'm fine." I said, "You don't have to act tough. Tell me what's wrong. We're friends after all and friends help each other." Catherine said, "I just miss my mom and my dad. Even though they were killed a while ago. I just want to feel their touch one last time." I put my arm around Cathy's shoulder and said, "I know how you feel and just because I don't cry doesn't mean that you shouldn't." Catherine said, "I know, it's just that you never cried about your parents death so crying about it in front of you makes me feel weak." I said, "You shouldn't feel weak. My mom always said that crying can make a person stronger." Catherine said, "So you must be weak for not crying." I said, "No, I'm still strong because my dad said that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger and I survived a lot of things." Catherine laughed and said, "So we both are strong." I nodded and said, "I want to tell you something." Catherine said, "Sure." I said, "I have cried before and not when my mom died. I was four and my grandfather died. I was missing him and my mom was calming me down. She told me that those who die only really die when I lose the good memories I had with them. A month later she died. Her funeral was the last time I ever cried." Catherine hugged me and said, "She helped you feel comfortable when you cried." I hugged Catherine and said, "She never judged me." Catherine let go of me and said, "It's good to know that." I got up and said, "We have lunch." Catherine said, "Alright, give me a minute." I nodded and walked out of the room. Sam passed me something wrapped in aluminum foil and I caught it. I sat in the passenger seat and unraveled the foil to find a sandwich. I took a bite and Sam asked, "Was that the moment?" I shook my head, swallowed my food and said, "She just needed some support." Sam said, "Well, at least she can depend on you." I nodded and said, "And I can depend on you." Catherine came out and took her sandwich. Sam said, "Catherine, you alright." Catherine said, "Yeah, I just had something on my mind." We ate our food and were back on the road. We were moving much faster and Sam said, "At this rate, we should make it to Arizona in five hours." I said, "You can thank me later." Sam said, "Yeah thanks, Eli should have a much harder time to drive fast and shoot." I smiled and looked at Catherine who was staring out the window showing no emotions. Sam said, "Listen man, I can drive. You go talk to her." I said, "Nah, she needs her space." Sam said, "Trust me, you can do far worse." I said, "I know but I'm a...I can't." Sam said, "You can't show as much emotion as her so you'll feel weird." I nodded and said, "I don't know how to show strong emotion." Sam said, "She can teach you." I said, "The last person to see a strong emotion from is in the grave and the other two people who were close to seeing me express emotion didn't even get a grave." Sam said, "Ok so what if some people were killed after seeing you express your emotion. It's just a coincidence." I said, "Yeah and this coincidence just so happened to kill my family." Sam said, "Well, she isn't family so you should at least warm up to her." I looked back at Catherine and sighed. I got up and limped my way to a seat right in front of her and sat back. I had to think of something to say quickly. Catherine asked, "You're not going to look outside?" Thank goodness she started a conversation. I answered, "I can't, I have motion sickness." Catherine said, "You and Sam worked with Eli before." I nodded and said, "I'm not like him though." Catherine said, "How can I know for sure? You never show any emotions." I said, "Well, everyone I've ever shown a strong emotion of mine to has died so I guess I've gotten used to hiding it." Catherine said, "Just admit it. You don't have any emotions." I asked, "Is this about what I said on the walk?" Catherine said, "You act like you have emotions but you don't. You can't feel anything." "So what?!" I snapped, "That would be my fault. Everyone I've ever cared about died and I've been thinking about each time I did wrong by them. Try dealing with that for eleven years and tell me how it works but me. I got tired of crying and if that means I'm emotionless then shall be it. Your parents have been dead for a month, meanwhile my parents have been dead for almost eleven years." Catherine said, "My parents might've been dead for a month but I've made more progress than you'll ever make." I stood up and slammed my hands on the table and said, "How so? You're traveling with me and Sam. We aren't traveling with you, if you've made so much progress then tell me what you've accomplished because I've saved both of your lives twice. Saved my life countless times and is surviving in this cruel world." Catherine said, "I'm not afraid to cry anymore." I said, "Cry for two years, tell me if you'll keep crying then." I limped back to my seat and sat down. Sam said, "That could've gone better." I grunted and said, "Just keep driving." Sam said, "Try sitting on the roof." I nodded and climbed to the roof of the Rv but left the hatch open. Sam said to Catherine, "Nate does have a point. After two years, he just got tired of crying." Catherine asked, "Were you with him all those years." Sam said, "Only for one year but it isn't right to say that he doesn't have feelings." Catherine said, "It's true though." I heard enough, I shut the Rv hatch and started to think about everything. Catherine was mad about something but I can't figure out what it is. I could only think about the walk though. I was about to enter the Rv but I saw a dust cloud and a dust cloud in the middle of August only meant one thing. I yelled, "Cut your engines." Everyone came to a stop and cut their engines. I looked at one of the raiders and asked, "Do you have a long ranged rifle?" The raider nodded and passed me a hunting rifle with a scope. I nodded and laid on my stomach scanning the area with the rifle. I looked at the dust cloud and just as I suspected. An exosaur but this one looks different. This one looks as if it has a much softer exoskeleton and were built for speed. I aimed the rifle and took a shot. The bullet killed the exosaur but I still didn't lower my guard. I said, "Get moving and fast. We have new monsters." Everyone started moving and I stayed on the roof with the rifle and continued to scan the area. Which wasn't easy due to the constant shaking of the Rv and my motion sickness wasn't helping either. I felt as if I was going to throw up any second. Catherine opened the hatch and saw how sickly I was looking. Catherine said, "I'll take over." I shook my head and said, "You don't know what I'm looking out for." Catherine said, "Tell me then." I said, "Eli." Some of the raiders lost control of their vehicles but immediately got it back. I said, "My story is finally sticking with you." Catherine asked, "Why are you looking for him?" I said, "So I can put a bullet in his head and end this torture." A raider said, "If what you tell us is true then that's going to be harder than you think." I said, "Maybe but we all have a round and he can't kill all of us. Or can he?" Catherine said, "Maybe but if he is a bounty here then why would he come?" I laughed and said, "He has a bounty on him everywhere and if he dies. He won't go to heaven but that doesn't mean Hell will accept him so where does that leave him?" Catherine said, "Earth but if that's true then killing him will be pointless." I said, "Maybe but he's going to end up in Hell either way." I then cocked the rifle and said, "Whether he goes willingly or if I have to drag him down." Catherine asked, "Why do you hate him so much?" I said, "I stabbed the devil in the back because he stabbed me in the back. I told you my dad was killed in an accident but he was only knocked out. Eli grabbed him and held him down. He told me that if I want to survive, I would have to kill him. Eli gave me a gun and told me to shoot him or else I'll die. So I took the handle of the gun and beat my father to death because I knew Eli didn't give me any bullets." Catherine said, "Death is too good of a punishment for Eli if he did that to you." I said, "Maybe but it's better than letting him put Hell on earth." Some bikes pulled up and we clearly saw Eli riding as if he wasn't shot yesterday. Catherine saw him and said, "Jesus, he really is the devil." I said, "Tell Sam about Eli. I got him now." I took the scope off the rifle and shot Eli in the leg. I yelled, "Doesn't feel too good." Eli grabbed his gun and said, "I'll kill you before I deal with my injury." Catherine came back on the roof with her gun drawn and Eli said, "I know you shot me but I'm willing to forgive you if you kill that man." Some of the raiders protecting us dropped speed and drew their guns aimed at Eli. Eli groaned and grabbed his machete. Eli then drove on his bike and killed all of the raiders that were protecting us. Catherine almost lost her footing and said, "He's actually a...a...a" I said, "A devil doesn't begin to describe him." Eli then picked up speed and I picked off his goons one by one with the eight shots I had left. I managed to kill enough of them to force them to back down but I didn't see Eli at all. I looked around and then Catherine screamed. I looked up and saw Eli standing on the roof with his machete out. I put the rifle on my back and then reached for my knife when I remembered that I gave it to Lucy. Catherine jumped into the Rv to get my knife even though I never asked her to and now it's just me and Eli. A raider shot at Eli but missed and Eli threw his machete at the raider. Hitting him in the head and killing him. Eli looked at me and said, "Now it's an even fight." I looked at Eli and said, "I'm not afraid of you." Eli said, "Well they are. I bet you told them that Satan himself didn't like me." I said, "We aren't that much different but I fight for the good of others." Eli said, "True, we both murder in cold blood, we both rob, and we both have bounties. Our only difference is what we fight for." Catherine came back out with my knife but I said, "Keep it. I would much rather kill him with my hands." Eli said, "And there's you little girl. You think that you had it the worst of all but you don't know what pain means." Catherine said, "Maybe not but Nate does and he'll kill you." I then looked at Catherine and watched as she examined us. Eli charged after me but I kicked him back and punched him in the face. He punched back, much harder but as I was charging after him. Eli hopped off the back of the Rv and we started to fall. Catherine sunk my knife into the roof and used it to swing into the Rv. I followed her and I got into my seat and sat down. Sam asked, "Did you kill him?" I said, "No but I'm not dying until I kill him." Soon we started hitting walls as the Rv fell down and after a minute. Everything stopped.