After the Fall (2 page)

I watched a young boy all of maybe seventeen years pass me by. After making sure he was alone, I quietly descended from the tree and stalked him for a good while. I was about to make my move when two zombies—males, strong ones—came out of the bushes close to the stream and tried to attack him. The boy tried to run, but he tripped on something and hurt himself. He tried to get up and screamed when he put weight on his foot. After that, all he could manage was a crawl, and that wasn’t going to be enough for these guys. I had to step in and save him. Now mind you, this was before I knew what their bite could do to one of us. I rushed in and snapped the first one’s neck while the other got the drop on me. 

It was stupid, so
stupid
! I still can’t forgive myself for it. The bastard got a grip on my hand and gnawed on it for a second before I ripped his jaw off his skull and tossed it away. After that, it was easy enough to crush his skull like a ripe melon. It gave way with a satisfying crunch and spilled the sickly greenish-gray mass that once was a living brain. The boy started screaming and fainted. When I went to check on him, I saw that his foot was bent ninety degrees to the inside, which wouldn’t have looked so unnatural if it hadn’t been above the ankle. Now it was I who wanted to be sick, if only I were able to do such a thing. At that moment, I stopped seeing an injured boy and started to see a tasty meal. Sometimes I really hate myself. Then I just shrug and move on.

I took out my small feeding kit bag from my jacket pocket and began to work on him. Using a clean needle and intravenous hose, I tapped into his ankle vein on the injured side, so it wouldn’t draw too much attention once the bruising and swelling set in. I began to drink out of the hose like it was a Juicy Juice bag, the kind kids used to drink. I doubt anyone remembers those anymore.

Doing this probably makes me look like a fool. My ancestors would have had a field day with me for doing this. They were strictly fang feeders back then. It makes sense, doing it the way we were meant to, using the tools that nature gave us. The problem is that sometimes the human can get infected from our blood. A larger amount will turn them, but a small dose will only result in death without the transformation. 

Other times, nature is to blame. The various germs that live out in the world do what they do best and exploit the opportunity. Needless to say, it’s bad for the humans and bad for us, especially when they’re so scarce and diminishing in number with every passing year. 

After I took about a pint from the boy, I pulled the needle and put it away. I would make sure I sterilized that one before I used it again. Feeling rather sorry for the boy who had just broken his foot and gotten a pint of his blood taken from him, I splinted his leg and bandaged the whole thing with his overshirt. Nothing personal, young man, but I’m not wasting my one good change of clothes on you. He was in no condition to walk, so I carried him back to camp while he slumbered.

The gatekeepers were very good at their duties, but they could have used some manners. From the minute they saw me coming, they had their scoped crossbows trained on me until they could see I was holding one of their own in my arms. I walked up to their high brick wall, noticing the undead corpses strewn around the wall, until one of them challenged me.

“Halt! You, there! Is either of you bitten?”

“No,” I replied. The bloody marks on my finger could have happened some other way, I reasoned, and that was a little detail they did not need to know.

“Where do you travel from? You’re not from around these parts.”

“I’m from nowhere,” I explained. “I go from town to town in search of others.” My explanation, as amazing as it may seem to you, was all true. Accompanied by the fact that I was carrying one of their own in my arms, it convinced them to open the gate for us.

The gate was made from solid planks of oak reinforced with crisscrossing iron strips fastened with round-head bolts. The two halves parted and receded into the wall. I suspected their perimeter wall was thick, but I did not know how much until I stepped into the chamber within. It resembled a tunnel and measured ten feet wide by twenty feet long. When I walked inside, the room lit up with the faint glow of the electric lamps overhead.

Electricity?
I thought.
What’s next, running tap water and hot showers?

Alas, the light was for their benefit, not mine. The walls had a thin horizontal arrow slit that ran the whole length. For all their precautions to avoid being seen, I was able to see their beady eyes watching me from the next chamber, observing me for the slightest provocation. I raised my hand and said, “Hello.” They raised their crossbows in return. How rude!

“No sudden moves,” they said. Those men must have thought themselves very clever, hiding behind the walls in those dark rooms. It gave them a sense of security to think they were invisible, but I could see inside those dark rooms as clearly as they could see me standing there.

“The boy, what happened to him?” asked one of the men.

“He was trying to run from the two biters and fell. His foot is broken,” I replied, turning around to show them the bandage and splint.

Another one of them grew concerned and asked, “Your hand, what’s happened to it? How did it get cut?”

I looked down at it and became irritated. That should have healed a while ago. I blamed my blood deficiency for this, even though I had fed on the boy not too long ago. Times are hard, as I’ve explained. Our bodies try to adapt by taking our unnatural strength and healing abilities for the sake of survival. More often than not, I’m teetering on the verge of starvation.

“Scraped my knuckles when I fell,” said I. They didn’t seem very convinced. Smart people, those guards. I wouldn’t believe me, either. In fact, I would have shot me right then. You can’t trust anyone as far as you can throw them. For my sake, I’m glad they held their fire. It shows that there is some remnant of humanity on this dying world. Besides, in my weakened state, I’m not sure I could have called upon my speed to catch a flying bolt, much less all of them. The guards may not have bought my lie, but they had enough concern for the boy to raise the inner gate and let me into their inner courtyard.

I was blinded at the sight of my old enemy the sun. Even with my old relic sunglasses on, the light was painful and I squinted hard to block it out. Two of the rough-looking crossbowmen waved me forward. They kept their crossbows at the low ready, showing me their trust only went so far.

“My son! You have my son! Is he well?” asked the Commander of the Guard as he pushed his way through the men. He was a brawny, broad-shouldered man with a sun-bleached beard and leathery skin. The scars on his massive arms spoke of his battle-tested experience. He was a very tough man, cast out of iron, but right now he was simply a loving father who was worried half to death.

“He’s not so well. I spied two dead ones as they mounted an ambush. They boy ran from them and fell. I’m afraid his foot is broken. I did the best I could to mend it and bring him back here.”

“And what about you? Were you scratched or bitten? Surely you must have fought the demons.”

“There are two less zombies left in the world.” The man stared. It seemed that the word
zombie
had gone out of vogue in this part of the world. “The demons, that is. As for myself, I am fine. Nothing a day of rest can’t cure.”

I stole a glance at my hand when the man wasn’t looking. The wound had not healed, but it had scabbed over. It felt swollen and painful. Now I was beginning to worry. Until then, I thought that being undead myself, their bite would have no effect on me. Now I realize the sheer foolishness of my thinking, and it could have cost me my life. 

I pictured myself falling ill, like all of the others I saw during the Fall. The fever would take me and I would awaken as one of them, ever so ravenous for flesh and with all but the most basic faculties gone. I wondered if any part of my consciousness would remain.

No punishment in hell could be worse than that. To know that once you used to be someone but unable to recall exactly who. The only things left in the mind would be scattered memories and the strongest habits. During my travels, I have watched the dead sitting at a desk inside what may have been their offices. Not once did it cross my mind whether something remained of that person. Now I thought I might find out for myself very soon.

One of the guards came and took the boy to the infirmary. The Captain took my hand and held it up for examination. He flipped it over and let it drop, letting out a grunt that I chose to interpret as approval.

“It’s obvious you’re not one of them. You speak quite well and you don’t appear ill at all. Their bites do not heal at all, either. They fester until you die.”

That was the most reassuring thing I had heard all day. Maybe I was just resistant to their poison. Add that to the list of benefits my condition has given me.

“Welcome to Jericho. The name is Alaric. I am Captain of the guard and a leader to these good people.”

“I’m pleased to meet you. Mordecai is the name.”

“I would ask you to let our doctor look at that hand, but it looks days old. Are you sure you did this while fighting the demons?”

I said, “You know, I’m not even sure anymore. I’ve been on the road for a while.”

“Then you must be weary, I’m sure. My son Matthias means more to me than you would ever know. I don’t know what I would do without him…I feel we owe you a debt for saving my only remaining son. Please stay for a spell and let us thank you properly. ”

He was asking me to stay at a dwelling full of people. They saw a safe haven; I saw a potential smorgasbord. If I was still capable of it, I would have started drooling. Instead, I felt fangs begin to protrude like I was preparing to take a drink.

“Oh, you think too much of me,” I said, which was true. “I would feel like I am imposing on you.” Not true, but this is a game. I wanted to scream “yes” as soon as he’d asked me, but my overeagerness might seem a little suspicious.

“Think too much of you? You have endangered yourself to save my son! I can’t possibly think enough of you.”

Yes, yes. Lay it on thick.
“Please, stop. You embarrass me. I’m just a passing traveler who saw a chance to save a life. There’s so few of us left in this world.”

He looked out at the sun as it made its way back to the West. “It’s getting late,” he said. “The roads late at night are no place for a traveler. You will stay with us. I will not let you go out there after dark.”

“I suppose it has gotten a bit late. You’ve convinced me. I will stay, at least for tonight.”

“Dinner should be ready shortly. I cannot wait to tell the others of your deed!”

Wonderful.
“Yes, I look forward to it. Is there a place I may put my things down for the time being?”

“Of course! You’ll come stay at my house, won’t you?”

“I would be honored.”

A little bit of conniving and playing hard to get has earned me a place at the table. I can only hope that I’ll be there when dessert is served. In days long gone, I used to wait until the hosts and the rest of the guests had gone to bed or were too intoxicated. I would then indulge my hunger to the fullest extent. Drinking alcohol-saturated blood is twice the pleasure drinking alone was when I was living. It has both the Vampire rush that follows a meal and the relaxation of the alcohol. Now I found myself hoping that it would be that kind of dinner.

“If it’s all the same to you, I would like to walk the place and look around. It’s been some time since I saw this many people or a town this size. It really is a true jewel in the wilderness.”

“Thank you. We do our best by our Lord God every day of our lives. It is because of His Grace and the hard work of all these people that we have thrived so well. Yes, by all means, feel free. Our town is yours for as long as you wish.”

“I will be back for dinner. Where is your home?”

“Find the biggest building in the center of town and you will be there.”

Welcome to Jericho

After thanking him and excusing myself, I left to wander the town, which had ceased to be a hamlet in my eyes. The streets were thick with people. I could smell their blood, and it was tantalizing. My fangs were now fully extended and touching the bottom of my mouth. I would now have to be mindful lest I show someone my toothy grin and get myself burned at the stake. It’s not an experience I care to repeat.

I was starting to feel a bit ill and once again blamed it on the lack of blood. It was so obvious that I should have realized it right away. 

The people were living underground! 

Those small dwellings were like the first story of an underground building. How else would they manage to squeeze so many people into such a small space?

Going back to Alaric’s residence confirmed my suspicions. It was a square two-story brick building measuring about one hundred feet long and wide. For someone who had lived long and seen much, I could say it was no Versailles or Taj Mahal, but this place was the most magnificent structure in the whole town. Not a single foot of this place was made for lavish waste, either. There were people walking in and out of the place, but right now they were mostly entering. It seemed to serve as a civic center of sorts. I walked right up to the door, where an old matron eyed me with great attention. If I still had a soul left, I would say she could look right into it. She was old enough to have seen the beginning of the Fall. I wondered how much she remembered of it, how much she mourned or welcomed the change that followed.