After the Fall (37 page)

“Rhiannon…You remember me, don’t you?” I reached out to her hand. She stayed still, watching my hand move closer, not hissing or scowling at me. Her eyes were focused on my hand. My heart soared at this. I desperately needed to believe this was a good sign.

And then she bit my hand.

It didn’t take long, just a split second. I felt the sting and withdrew. Her teeth left red marks down my hand, but she never clamped down. It was only a warning bite. She started to snarl.

“I think you should go,” said the Queen.

“You might be right. I cannot bear to see her like this. Can I visit her later?”

“Of course. I won’t deny you that.”

“Maybe she just needs some time to recover, like I did,” I said, but it sounded false even to me. The Queen smiled and tried to appear as reassuring as possible, but I could see right through that.

It was all too much. I excused myself and walked right out of that house, back to my own place. Rayna, the person who had been foremost in my thoughts, was gone and forgotten. Never mind that I had not seen her since this morning. She was a faraway memory in my mind.

Incursion

As I headed back to my apartment, I passed several police cars and ambulances heading the opposite way. They sure seemed in a hurry. After I passed the fourth one, curiosity got the better of me. I made a screeching u-turn and followed them.

We arrived at a burning building. There was only one fire truck and I wondered why there were so many policemen at the scene. Then I saw why. Panicked people rushed out of the building. The police were on them before they could go anywhere. Undead stragglers came after the living. The policemen shot them in the head several times even after they fell. Paramedics came and wrapped them in body bags.

You might want to make sure they don’t get back up
, I wanted to say, but the blockage of emergency vehicles and the crowd of gawkers stood in my way. They left them lying on the sidewalk and loaded the bite victims into the ambulances. Some screamed for help while others sat back in silence and accepted their fate. They would be dead within the night and reanimate sometime thereafter.

It looked as if the adjacent building would catch fire, but the heroic exertions of the firemen kept the blaze at bay.

I stood watching as the fire consumed the building. Some of the crowd had thinned and I was able to get a spot near the front. Now that I was closer, I was able to see the body bags lined in front of the building. Maybe it was my imagination, but it looked like they were moving.

“Hey!” I said to one policeman. 

“Please stay back, sir,” he replied.

“Those body bags are moving.”

“That’s impossible. We shot them full of hollow points. There should be nothing but mush inside their heads.”

“Well, I see them moving now.”

“I assure you, they are as dead as can be. When the ambulances get back, we will take them back to the hospital for examination.”

“I’m telling you.” I stabbed a finger in the direction of the body bags. “They’re coming back to life.”

“And I’m telling you to stay back!”

Frustrated, I watched the bags squirm. Paramedics piled them in the back of an ambulance and sped away. I could only hope the staff at the morgue was smarter than the policemen at the scene.

The building continued to burn while the firemen did all they could to contain it. Eventually it collapsed under its own weight. Anyone left inside, alive or undead, would be no longer. As daylight neared, some of the responders left without explanation. No one seemed to question this, but I knew the reason why. An equal number of human replacements came and took over their duties. I imagined something similar happening throughout the city. I put on my protective garments and went back to my car. 

Everywhere I looked, there seemed to be a squad of policemen or militiamen. I got the impression that no matter what they told the populace, this was not a routine search. They weren’t sweeping block after block “just as a precaution.” Several undead were on the loose. They were stronger, faster, and able to revive time and time again. Anathorn was no longer a haven. It was infected, and it was about to become a war zone.

I can’t say I was surprised when the Queen called an emergency council meeting that night. I was already on my way when I got the call. “Of course I’ll be there,” I replied, arriving a few minutes later. For once, I wasn’t the last person to arrive. When the last of us sat at the table, the Queen began her speech.

“When I first spoke to you all, I gave you every assurance that the situation was under control. I’m afraid that is no longer the case.”

Gasps came forth from the council members.

“I was positive that we had contained the threat when, in fact, we had not. Our defenses have failed us, and I have no one to blame but myself. I alone am responsible.”

Lucretius got up and said, “My Queen, you cannot shoulder all of the burden on your own. As your subordinates, we are expected to carry out your orders. We should share some of the responsibility.”

“Make no mistake. We will distribute the responsibility where it is due. We give so much and all we ask is that everyone does their duty. Is it such a terrible thing to ask that they care for those who give us sustenance?”

Lucretius shook his head. The other sycophants followed suit.

“No. Of course it isn’t. It is a pittance, a bargain in a world where the future grows bleaker with every passing year. We are a beacon of light in a world that has plunged into obscurity.

“So what am I to do about this grave dereliction of duty? In light of recent events and our increased state of vigilance, these actions are akin to treason. So I ask you, my wise council, what am I to do?”

“They must pay. Death to the traitors!” yelled Gustaf. Lucretius seemed a bit shocked at this but did not protest.

“Death!” echoed the council.

Trial

Marie-Evangeline held up her hand. All eyes turned to her. “These are serious charges, no doubt about that, but are we sure that we are making the right choice? Does the punishment fit the crime?”

“Of course it fits the crime,” replied Gustaf. “Whoever has done this, is responsible for many deaths. That deserves nothing short of a public execution!”

More yells of agreement followed.

“Hear me out,” she continued. “If you truly want to make an example and send a strong message, you must do something that will burn in the people’s minds. I do not believe an execution would serve our purposes. In fact, she may be looking forward to a merciful, quick death. Why end Rayna’s suffering so soon when she is responsible for the prolonged suffering of many? Let them serve as a lasting example.”

“What will you have me do?” asked the Queen.

Marie-Evangeline told them all. The Queen smiled from behind the thin veil on her face. The gleam of her long fangs shone through the translucent fabric.

“I am pleased with your ingenuity, Marie. It is as brilliant as it is ruthless. I expect all of you should rule the way I do, should one of you be forced to take my place someday.”

“Excuse me,” I said from the other end. All their heads craned to look at me. “How are we deciding a punishment when the culprits are yet to be determined?”

The queen showed the rows of ivory knives between her lips. “Oh, but you do not know. We have found the culprit.”

The council began to murmur and I started to feel very confined in this room.

“In fact, I believe she is one of your close friends, one of the border guards you seem to favor so much.”

“No,” I whispered.

“Yes. Rayna Espinoza is our traitor. She will stand trial for her crimes and then she will die.”

I could not believe it, even as I heard it from her lips and later ratified by the council. They planned to capture her and place part of her body in armor so that she may be bitten by a group of captive undead, but not completely eaten. In time, she would turn and become one of them, but only after her extremities were gone, leaving only stumps behind. She would be alive through the whole process, including her transformation. And did I mention that the whole thing would be displayed in public and televised across the city? After her transformation, she would remain on a transparent display cage at the foot of the statue of Anna Thorn, as a warning to those who would dare defy her.

The gleam in the Queen’s eye told me that she might desire my company after the meeting, but I slipped out while she was distracted. I left the meeting to search for Rayna. After roaming much of the bordering land, I gave up and went back to the shack where we had last met. Her scent was still on the sheets, just as strong as the day prior. It made me wonder if she had not returned here at some point. I spent the day there and some of the night after I awoke. Still there was no sign of her. All that was left was to return to the city, where she may have been hiding in plain sight all along. I decided to get back in the car and return to the city.

“Now for a message from our highest leader, Queen Anna Thorn,” said the announcer on the radio. I turned up the volume.

“My dear children,” she said. “In light of the latest tragedy, I feel the need to reach out to all of you. My heart is heavy with sorrow over the losses we have endured. I grieve over each and every life lost.

“I come to you today to tell you that we have apprehended the one responsible for this heinous act. It saddens me to know that it was one of our own, but I assure you that justice will be served. There will be a trial an hour after sundown, where we will decide the fate of the accused. If guilty of these charges, she will face death.”

My heart screamed that it was a setup all along. She was too cagey for them to catch with such ease. Someone must have deceived her and used her for a scapegoat. I needed to get some answers, but I would get none today. The Queen had posted guards at her office door and refused to see me.

On the Run

The Queen and her puppet council went to great lengths to ensure her people received the message. On the way back to my apartment, passing trucks boomed out announcements on the upcoming trial. Television screens installed on the sides of buildings just for this occasion echoed their message. When I got back to my place, I could not turn on the television or radio without hearing some announcement about the happenings that would take place tonight. I turned off the television and went to bed with a bad taste in my mouth.

A scolding voice reverberated throughout my dreams.
Failure to oppose injustice is the same as committing it,
it said.

The announcements did not stop when I awoke at sundown. In fact, they had redoubled their efforts. When I took to the streets, I realized what a terrible idea that had been to gather everyone at the square. Anathorn had grown much since its beginnings. Its population could not be confined to a few blocks anymore. Many citizens stood in the streets with their children in hand, watching the public TV screens with expectation.

It took me almost the whole hour to make my way through the dense crowd. I had annoyed my fair share of citizens in the process, but I didn’t care. It was all about Rayna at this moment. The crowd began to chant.

“Kill the traitor! Kill the traitor!”

I knew many of them didn’t even know who was on trial. All they knew was that someone told them. All they felt was what someone told them to feel. I pushed and shoved my way through the last few meters to the stage. Lucretius walked up to the microphone and addressed the crowd.

“My beloved citizens, it pains me to see you all under these circumstances. This day was meant for good news, but it now stands marred by the stain of treason.

“Our Queen, as you all know, passed away decades ago. It is a loss we lament with all our hearts. There is not a soul here that still does not grieve her passing. However, I am here to tell you that she has returned. The Queen has risen to rule her people once again.”

The people began to clamor loudly.

“Some of you would like an explanation, and you will get it in due time. I hope this will help you. Without further delay, I bring you Anna Thorn in the flesh!”

The clamoring turned to thunderous cheering when she appeared on the stage and on every screen in the city. Everyone became infected with the joy of seeing the woman on the statue in the flesh.

“Good evening to you all,” she said. The crowd went silent. “It is a great pleasure to be with you all tonight. My return should have been a joyful occasion, but it is a bittersweet joy. Many of us have lost people to the scourge, and even now our forces scour the streets to ensure that we have eliminated the undead threat. I have you all to thank for your strength and courage through these trying times. You are the real heroes.

“The reason I brought you all here tonight was meant to be a joyful one. My return to life stands as a validation to my rule. The heavens looked down and saw the people suffer. They saw it fit to bring me back to rule once more. I have not returned intact, which is why I wear this veil as you now see. It is a small price I have to pay for the privilege of leading my people once more. As a first step in validating my rule, I will preside over the trial of the traitor who has shaken this city to its core. We will prove to her that we will not be defeated.”