Dead Ones

Chapter 21: Killer

I came out of my housing unit an hour after the first light. People were moving about. Some in deep conversation with one another. Some sitting in solitude. Some people were eating something for 'breakfast'. Breakfast was a funny word. It means what it says. To break fasting. You 'fast' while you sleep, and when you wake, you eat something: Breakfast. However, now, 'breakfast' was whenever you had food available to eat. There were no more 'three square meals a day'. It was 'eat whenever you're hungry, whenever there is something to eat'. Some people stopped what they were doing and stared at me as I walked down the street. I stared back at some of them. They looked afraid. I walked to the part of the town where Dhru's mangled body lay. There was a discolored sheet covering him. An open scrap wood box sat next to him. I bent down and grasped his body. Rigor mortis had not yet set in. That, or there wasn't enough muscle mass on his body left for it to go stiff. I held the body over the wooden box. "Gently," Maria said from behind me. I dropped the body instantly. It made a muffled thud when it connected with the hard wood on the ground. "I said gently you idiot!" she shouted. "Why? Ain't like he's gonna care anyway," I replied. I turned to look at her. She was giving me an annoyed look. I turned back to the box and picked up the lid. I slid the lid into position. I drew my knife from my holster and began to carve into the wood on the top of the casket. "What are you writing?" Aaron asked, walking over to me. "Something for Hexblade," I said. When I was finished, the box said: 'For Hexblade- Last warning'. I grabbed one of the handles of the box. "Help me with this, yeah?" I said to Aaron. He grabbed the other end. Together, we lifted the box and carried it to a nearby pickup truck. We dropped it into the bed of the vehicle. "By the way," I said, placing a hand on Aaron's shoulder. "You still owe me a beer," I said. He smiled. "Still not letting that go, eh?" he said. "I never let a bet I won go," I said with a slight smile. He parted ways with me. I went through the town, looking for someone in particular. When I found him, I approached him and spoke. "You wanna tell me why you didn't listen yesterday?" I asked in a harsh tone. "I did what I could to distract him. You and the others took care of the rest," Will said. "And yet, you, the sharpshooter, didn't take out the two female soldiers, who were blatantly in the open might I add," I said. "I didn't have a clean shot," he said. "I don't care. I'm calling bullshit. One of our own died to them. He died, and you could have prevented that," I said, thrusting my finger into his chest. "Not my damn fault!" he said, pushing my arm away. "You know what?" I said, snarling. "What?" he said, his tone rising as well. "You're going to bury him. You are going to dig his grave by yourself and you are going to bury him," I said. "Like hell I am!" he said. "You aren't the boss of me," he added. "I was voted in leader of the Refuge. You are unfit to be in the front lines. I'm ordering you to head back to the Refuge," I said. He looked stunned for a moment. Before he had a chance to argue, I spoke. "Aaron will escort you personally. Give Sophie my regards. Do not come back here," I said sternly. He rolled his eyes at me. "Pack your things, we're leaving now," I said. I left him and went to find Aaron again. When I did, I pulled him aside from his conversation with John and Maria to talk to him privately. "I'm sending Will back to the Refuge. I don't think he's fit to fight right now. After disobeying orders like that, and not taking a shot that ultimately led to the death of one of us..." I said, my voice trailing off. "Don't worry. I'll take care of it," he said. "Take Dom's body with you so he can bury it. Make sure no one helps him. And make double sure he doesn't try to come back. Make it clear to the Father I don't want him out here unless we absolutely need fighters," I said. Aaron nodded and walked off in the direction of Will's temporary living area. Now that was taken care of, I could clear my mind a bit. I needed to think clearly before planning my people's next move...

While Aaron and Will were headed back to the Refuge, I was down two good fighters. Until Aaron's return, I didn't want to make any big decisions. One decision I was going to make was delivering the body to the Hive. I did not know who I wanted to bring with me however. Perhaps it was best I went alone. I decided that was the best decision. I might as well go now, before daylight becomes scarce. I went back to my housing and grabbed my armor and weapons. Suiting up took less than five minutes. I walked out of my room at a quick pace. Maria jogged up from behind me and matched my pace at my side. "Where ya going?" she asked. I didn't respond. "Can I come too?" she asked. I still didn't acknowledge her. She sped up slightly, then stopped in front of me and stared me down. "Oh so we're not speaking now?" she asked. I stared her down. "Why aren't you saying anything?" she asked. "Because I know if I told you what I was doing, you'd either try to come with me, or you would try to make me not go," I said simply. I stepped to the side and continued walking. "What are you doing?!" she shouted after me. "Giving Hexblade a present," I said without looking back. I got into the truck that had Dhru's body in its bed. I turned the key in the ignition and fired up the engine. I revved it, then switched it into drive and drove to the front gate. Juggernaut and Tasha were on watch. "Out to clear your head again?" Juggernaut asked. "Something like that," I replied. They opened the gate for me. I pressed the gas pedal down and left the community, turning left and entering the road that led to the Hive's center of operations. The drive was long, but passed quickly. The billowing smoke and steam clouds grew larger and larger as I approached the pit. I drove past the research and storage buildings, right up to the edge of the quarry. I opened the door and hopped from the vehicle. I jogged around back and opened the tailgate. I grabbed the casket by one of its handles and dragged it to the edge of the quarry. I stood it up on one of its ends on the edge of the quarry. I grabbed my AK-47 from its sling and racked the slide. I raised it up into the air and squeezed the trigger, letting a set of shots fire off from it. Some of the doors in the nearby research facilities opened. I aimed my rifle at the scientists who peeked their heads outside of the facilities. They dashed back inside at the sight of my weapon. I watched as a vehicle from the main building in the center of the quarry drove up one of the ramps leading to the edges of the pit. They pulled the vehicle up near mine. The two females who were at the ambush at the town got out of the front two seats and approached me, weapons drawn. One of the back doors opened. Out stepped a shiny dress shoe. "I'll be damned," I said aloud. Hexblade stepped down from the vehicle and walked to stand in between the two females. He looked at me blankly for a moment. Then a large grin covered his face from ear to ear. "You gotta be shittin' me! Is that Grim under that mask?" he said. "In the flesh," I said. "Well! What brings a man like you all the way out here to a place like this?" he asked. "I brought you something," I said simply. "Well I sure hope I get to see your face before you give me this wonderful gift you've brought me," he said. "I got the gift for you, not these two," I said, gesturing to the two people, one on either side of him, with my rifle. "Oh. Them? Nah, they don't bite. In fact, I believe you've already met these lovely ladies," he said with a smile. I glared at them. The one sneered at me. The other, the one who had shot Dom, stood a little stiffly. She looked extremely uncomfortable. I directed my gaze to her. She met my gaze, then looked away nervously. "The one you're eyeing up, that's Willow. She's one of my best, besides Dhru that is," he said. "By the way, have you seen him?" he asked. "No, I can't say I have," I lied. "Well, the other one," he said, gesturing to the one who had made a face at me. "She's my wife. Her name is Star," he said with a flirty look at her. I didn't respond. "So, am I gonna get to see your face or what?" he asked. I reached up and tucked my thumbs under my mask. My right thumb became moist with my saliva leaking from the open hole in my face's skin. I lifted the mask over my head and stared into the very soul of the man that stood in front of me. "Jeeeeesus! You look terrible," he said. I smiled with the left side of my mouth. "Good luck finding a lover with a face like that," he said, chuckling. My smile faded. "I don't need to find one. She's right here," I said, bringing my hand to my chest where the necklace with the ring was. "Oh, so you lost your boo?" he said. My expression didn't change. I just stared at him. "I am sorry to hear that. Really, I am," he said with a sorrowful look on his face. "Cut the shit," I said. He smiled. "Ah, you know me too well. I couldn't care less what happened to you or your wife," he said. "Well, you know how this goes," he added. The doors of the research labs reopened. Armed soldiers emerged and flooded out of them. They surrounded me, weapons pointed. "Drop em' or lose em','" one said. I let my rifle fall loosely, but it remained attached to the sling.  All of them were dressed the same, except one. The one seemed to be in charge of this group. I studied him. He had pale skin and dark hair with stunning blue eyes. I looked over his weapons and gear. Nothing out of the ordinary. When I examined his legs, I noticed that one of them was false. I brought my gaze back up to the man's face. The face that stared back at me, I hadn't seen in a long time. He too looked at me, studying me. He focused on the scar going down my eye. The only recognizable feature to him, since my appearance had changed a lot since we last met. His pale skin lost what color it had left. "Grim.." I heard him mutter under his breath. I stared into his cold blue eyes. He knew I knew him too. The leg was a dead give away. It was Bill. He didn't change much, besides growing a thin layer of facial hair on his jawline. He held a bull-pupped rifle I was not familiar with. Bullpups were more advanced than what the U.S military used.  A bullpup is a rifle with the magazine and chamber located behind the trigger unit. This way the weapon could be more compact without sacrificing total barrel length. It was a fascinating concept, but i much preferred the ergonomics of an AK-47 or M4. I couldn't believe I had left him to fend for himself and he decided to join these scumbags. For his sake, I hoped that he and I never had to fight one another for our communities. Now that I was securely surrounded, Hexblade made his way over to the box I had brought. He studied the box. He read the note I had carved into the wood and then he pried open the lid. Dhru's charred decaying body flopped out onto the ground in front of him. Hexblade turned to me. "What's this?" he asked. "Your best man," I replied. He looked at the corpse, then looked at me. "You killed him?" he said plainly. "I did. And I'm going to do the same to you, and every one of your people if you don't stand down and leave my people be," I said. I looked at Bill aggressively. His eyes widened slightly. I looked back over at Hexblade. "Well, I'm impressed. You have some major balls to come all the way out here alone, to present me with the mangled body of my most loyal soldier," he said. "Merry Christmas asshole," I said. He smiled and chuckled. "Oh the things I'm gonna do to you," he said. He retrieved the five sided blade from his belt. He held it in his right hand and approached me. "Do you wanna know how I got my name?" he asked. "I've got time. Go for it," I said. "When I was little, I really liked my shapes. I had these little plastic ones I used to play with," he began. "I said 'sure' to how you got the name, not your entire life's story," I said. He shot a look at me. He cleared his throat. "At school, I was always the popular one. The rich kid. The king bee of the hive. Now, I'm still the head of the hive, and this weapon is a symbol. Five blades, and my arm. The human body is the most dangerous weapon of all, you wanna know why?" he said. "Why?" I asked. "Because we are unpredictable," he said slyly. He stepped within the circle of armed soldiers and stood in front of me. He brought the blade up to the unmaimed side of my face. "I should finish the job, shouldn't I?" he said. I leaned forward slightly, pressing the sharp edges against my skin. I made direct eye contact with him. "You might have these people wrapped around your finger, but you don't scare me," I said to him. "I don't scare you?" he asked. "I fear no dead man," I said without breaking eye contact. His smile faded. He lowered his blade. He drew the Desert Eagle from his waistband and pressed it to my forehead. "You do not fear yourself?" he said. "You cannot kill what is already dead," I said calmly. "And even if you do kill me, you'd be doing me a favor," I added. "How so?" he asked smugly. "I won't become the monster of prophecy, and I'll be back with my lover," I said. He hesitated, then lowered the gun and looked at me, puzzled. "Prophecy?" he asked. "You wouldn't know," I said. He seemed annoyed at this misunderstanding of his. "Am I in it?" he asked sarcastically. "Actually no. Which kinda reinforces my point," I said. "You are a fool to think I am intimidated by a lone man on my own soil," he said with a chuckle. "This isn't your soil anymore," I said. "Who's is it then? Yours?" he asked. "Not mine. This land belongs to the dead. Everything you see is theirs," I said. He tilted his head while he stared into my eyes. "As long as there are the living, we will rule over the land," he said. "Then explain to me why there are more of them than us?" I asked. "The weak were weeded out, and the strong prospered," he said. "Wrong," I said. "There are all kinds of people who survived in many different ways," I said. If his statement were true, Cyrus, Sophie, Abby, and J would not have survived. Cyrus was a coward. Sophie, Abby, and J are not warriors. Anyone can survive given the right skill sets, or luck. "But you, and people like you survived," he said. "I survived because I'm too Goddamn angry to die," I said simply. "You refuse to die," he said. "Why?" he asked. "Because I still haven't fulfilled my purpose," I said. "What is your purpose?" he asked. "To put an end to this corruption in the new world, so that the survivors can continue to live in it and progress," I said. "You believe I am holding back your people from doing so?" he asked. "I made the terms clear. Fulfill them and all of this could just be a dream," he added. "That wouldn't be fair to the people we give you, because they'll likely become slaves," I said. "Someone's gotta replace all the people you've killed," he said with a shrug. "Either way, I'm getting what I want," he added. "How so?" I asked. "Either you agree to these terms and you and your merry band of misfits get to grow old together, or I kill you and force them to comply with the deal. After they comply and pay their reparations, the Refuge will forever be in debt to us, and they'll work for me. All of them," he said. "How about I cut you a deal," I said, baring my teeth at him. "I'll kill you now so no more of your people need to die. When all is said and done, maybe I'll give your people a chance at a normal life," I said. "Again with the threats! You are in no position to intimidate me," he said, laughing. I took a step forward, standing mere inches from my enemy. His breath smelled of cool mint. I stared into his blue eyes. "I made my living killing assholes like you," I said to his face. He pushed me back away from him. He stepped from the circle of guards around me. "Shoot him," he said plainly. All the guards raised their weapons. All except Bill. Hexblade walked up to Bill and punched him lightly in the shoulder. "I said weapons ready, soldier!" he commanded. Bill stood frozen, seeming to be conflicted. "It's okay," I said to him. He made eye contact with me. I winked at him. I mouthed the words 'shoot first' to him. He nodded slightly. "Fire!" Hexblade commanded. I made my legs go limp after the command, causing myself to collapse to the ground. A singular shot rang out, followed by several more. I sat up, then rose to my feet. The circle of guards lay on the ground, dead or dying. The only one left standing was Bill. When I removed myself from the equation, the guards simply shot one another, because being in a circle, they were caught in one another's crossfire. Hexblade looked both surprised and aggravated. "Bill! Shoot him!" he shouted. Bill stood, frozen. Hexblade raised his pistol in annoyance. Suddenly a loud string of explosions broke the silence. Smoke began rising from one of the nearby buildings. Hexblade's attention moved from me to the billowing smoke. A guard rushed up on our position. "Sir! We have a situation!" he said. "What now?!" Hexblade asked in angered annoyance. "One of the containment sites has been breached. Someone rigged improvised explosives and blew out the walls. There are weaponized Wanderers all over the place!" he said. "Did you do this?" Hexblade said, snapping his attention to me. I shrugged. "You should probably go check that out," I said. "Bill, Star, you stay with him, Willow, you come with me to deal with the situation," he said. They began jogging off in the direction of the smoke. I had never seen Hexblade run so fast...