Fallocaust (The Fallocaust Series) (76 page)

It was a hassle, and I don’t see why I personally had to be there for the blithering and wailing but it was my duty as mayor to have a presence, even though my non-chalant attitude seemed to piss them off even more.

Funny, the people were always pushing for early extermination for the other residents but once it was their own family then apparently exceptions had to be made. Slobbery goodbyes and painful wails over diseased, green corpses. Then the infection gets into them and soon I have to waste more bullets.

Not like it would have made a difference now though, looks like another one had the sickness.

I saw the silhouette of Redmond up the block, in front of the quarantine shacks. Several small buildings that had once been a dentist’s office. Now reinforced with insulation, sheet metal and medians to make them pretty much everything proof. Even escape proof... we needed that one the most. People get desperate when they realize they’re dying. I don’t know why but the ones who can’t accept it sometimes want to just escape at all costs. Even if it means endangering the block. We had a guy run into the door and break his neck once.

That was pretty amusing.

I nodded at Redmond as I walked up to him, and lit him a cigarette. I took one for myself. I waited until he had taken a few drags. I could tell the ol’ man needed it.

Past him the cracked, moonlit pavement was empty. Office buildings and stores streaked with rust from bleeding roofs, and curls of peeling paint stood on either side of the road. Some of them standing three stories tall. They were all abandoned, and had been left to decay. In a few years they would fall and would be dismantled for supplies and firewood like the others; but until then they stood without dignity. Their windows and doors boarded up, blinding and silencing them until the ebb of time took what little pride they had left. A fate that would eventually reach all of us.

I looked around my surroundings, we were in the heart of Aras. What Aras would have looked like if Greyson’s distant grandfather hadn’t settled it. This is what our world was, we were just a bandage trying to stem the inevitable.

I heard Redmond give out an exhale, the cigarette was half gone. My ears picked up a distant sound of crying. It was the oldest son, perhaps the younger one was already dead, or he was upset he couldn’t be with them.

“Thanks for giving me a moment.” Redmond dropped the cigarette and stepped on it. “The other two seem fine, but I knew you would want them in quarantine anyways. The kid started showing symptoms last night but the father failed to tell us. It was Mickey the new kid who told us. Good thinking putting a sentry out there.”

Mickey was a respectful guy, I had hoped I would be able to trust him. Though I would be keeping an eye on him too, I assumed he wasn’t dumb enough to talk to the family or get near enough. The disease was spread by blood or other body fluids getting into an orifice, like the eyes, mouth something like that. So he should be alright, unless he had been tonguing one of the sons and with the way he got all puppy around Jess I assumed that wasn’t a risk factor.

“I’ll handle it from here.” I pulled out my pistol and checked to make sure I had enough bullets. “You can go back to sleep.”

Redmond gave me a nod. “I’ll send an officer to watch over the other two.”

I shook my head and opened the door to the quarantine house. “No need, I’ll be exterminating all three.”

Shocked was an odd look for Redmond, he was usually very even faced and serious. “Reaver they haven’t shown any signs of infection...”
“And they may not, maybe they would be one of the ten percent that never caught it, but I don’t trust the father and the son enough to not report the next fever... even to each other,” I said. “Decisions have to be made and as mayor... this is my decision.”

Redmond didn’t look happy, but he was silent. I knew he agreed but as a compassionate human he probably felt at odds with himself. His silence was all I needed, he gave me a nod and I opened the door to go inside.

“Their generator is still on... and their lamps, we had to... take them by force,” Redmond said, it seemed like he didn’t want to admit to the last part. Further justifying my decision. “It’s on the way back to your street. Can you shut everything down?”
I nodded, it would be a waste of fuel and resources not to. “I’ll turn it off and lock it up and tomorrow I’ll get the clean up crew to bleach everything.” At least I was doing it in quarantine, shooting them in a perfectly good house was always a hassle. We had a hostage situation once that went terribly wrong. Fucking brains everywhere. It was neat at the time since it made a very mosaic like splatter but Greyson had made me help clean as punishment for laughing. The family who had been right there had demanded me getting flogged in the square, they died soon after from an acute case of suicide. Serves them right.

I walked into the quarantine and locked the door beside me. In front of me was what used to be the lobby. A horseshoe shaped desk, the paneling grey and warped, peeling up from the floor in curls. Behind it cubbyholes full of dust and chips of jip rock from the collapsing roof.

Chairs were in the corner too, all of them stripped of their foam innards, dragged off long ago from radrats making nests. Small strings of red fabric clinging to the dusty wood like meat on bones. The crumbling plaster had fallen around the chairs as well, coating everything in grey, claiming the red fabric as its hostage and prize. Soon it would be grey as well.

The moaning and crying turned my attention. I was here for a reason, I had a job to do.

My feet crunched against the fallen ceiling as I walked down the hallway. A desk standing up right was pressed up against the left hand side, blocking off the remaining offices. To the right... four doors, two on each side. Reinforced with sheets of rusted metal and welded strips of rebar. The second door to the left was where the crying was coming from.

I took out my pistol and quietly walked to the door. In front of it was a metal box with everything I would need. I quickly put my new costume on. A full body environmental suit, bright yellow complete with plastic visor and as an added precaution a face mask.

I got out the keys and opened the door.

The boy was only ten, and he was scared out of his mind. When he saw the suit he stared at it for a fraction of a second before he started to cry. He was covered in sweat, and he was shaking from fever. The whites of his eyes had turned yellow, and his lips were tinged black already. The disease had spread fast.

I didn’t mince words, I had nothing to say to him and anything I would say would only scare him more. I held up my gun and finished him off with a quick blow to the head.

His neck snapped back and he died with his eyes open in shock. He was stationary for a second before he slumped forward. A large red crater in the back of his head, filling with shiny blood black under the darkness.

I could hear the father screaming at me in the other room. I closed the door and checked the other rooms for the older son but they were empty. Redmond had put the two into one room, not something I would have chosen but I suppose it might be nice for them to die together.

I opened the door and stepped in. The father was hysterical, the son seemed to be in shock.

I raised my gun and fired it at the father’s head, before he could let out another desperate sob he was dead. The son got out a single scream before he was dead as well. Their blood and brains spraying against the sheet metal like many other quarantined victims. Killian’s parents included, actually this may have been the very room.

I wiped my gun and listened to both of their hearts. Weak thumping, like a low bass, slow, but with an air of desperation. The sons died first and soon after with one last congested thrum the father’s followed. There was only my own heartbeat after, a motor compared to theirs, besides that... just silence.

A whole family dead in a day, the gnashing teeth of the greywastes took five more victims. Well at least the meat will still be good as long as it was cooked thoroughly.

I walked over to each of them and cut off their heads, before rotating them so they were on a adequate enough angle that their blood would drain. I didn’t want to risk their flesh rotting before the butchers could take them away. This would be great meat for the block.

With that over with I carried on home. I sheathed my bloody combat knife into its holder.

I took the long way to the Kerry’s house, I was enjoying my quiet time and I was enjoying the darkness and even the cold. The only company I had tonight was the glowing eyes of the cats, watching me walk by with muddled interest. I even saw a mother with a bundle of kittens watching me from underneath a forgotten tank. Two big shining eyes  and about a dozen small ones. Now a kitten would have been fun to have, more entertaining then Lord Lard Ass whose main goal in life was to be able to sleep and eat at the same time.

I walked over to see if I could steal one but the mother gave me a very energetic hiss so I stayed away. Oh well, I tried. Bitch could keep her stupid kittens.

I jumped over the shabby fence the Kerry’s had and found their shed, the generator still rumbling in the semi sound proof structure.

The sound was deafening though when I slid open the door, but even more deafening once I turned it off. I stick my finger in my ear and wiggled it before sliding the door closed and walking along the edge of the house.

Well wait a tick... I looked up and noticed a dim bluelamp still on. I walked along the rubble covered walkway to the door but paused again.

Voices and noise... not just normal voices, hushed ones, from people wanting to remain silent.

As I pulled out my pistol I heard them talking to each other, there were three of them and I knew they were not welcome.

The bodies weren’t even cold and already they were fucking robbing them.

I pressed my back against the wall and silently walked to the front of the house. I took a few quick steps and stood by one of the black trees the family had had in their yard. I picked up the radio and whispered into it.

“Do not reply, Kerry house is getting robbed, three residents inside.”

I wish I had brought my M16, I would have just riddled this place with bullets. I was more concerned with one of these fucks escaping and me not being able to pin who they are. Two I could catch but by the time I had them secure one of them would disappear in the rubble. I would take it as a personal insult if one of these drooling fucks got away on my watch.

I was too far away to hear their heartbeats but I could hear their whispering voices. I was planning on just waiting for backup but sure enough after five minutes someone got desperate. Tired of waiting it out, unsure if the person who had turned off the generator was going to go inside.

I heard rustling and the opening of a window around the back. I didn’t waste time, I sprinted towards the back and was greeted with an amusing sight.

Karl was half hanging out the window, with a short blond haired woman behind him trying to get out as well. Both of them strung out and gaunt from too much meth or something. I pointed my gun at the two of them. As soon as the woman saw me she poked her head back in, Karl fell to the ground.

Apparently though, he was a moron. He turned and ran from me towards several houses off to the left. I pulled my gun and shot him in the leg and turned to run back to the front of the house as he screamed and cursed at me.

I ran into the house and heard someone rustling around inside one of the bedrooms. I walked into the now dark house, gun still drawn.

“Come out here now, or else I will kill you,” I said loudly. “I know there are two of you, come out with your hands on your head.”
“This house is forfeit now,” the woman called, her voice was gravelly like she had been screaming at something her entire life. “They’re dead, we’re not breaking laws.”

“I’m the mayor, I get to decide what’s a fucking law,” I said lowly, she wasn’t even right. The house had to be cleaned out, disinfected and then it became the property of the mayors. “Now get out.”

There was a noise behind me, I turned to see a fat balding man trying to escape through the front door. I casually shot him in the foot too.

The man stumbled and let out a cry, he fell hard down the two steps onto the walkway. His fat body jiggling like the pig human’s had. Fat ass wasn’t going anywhere. I turned back to the woman who was still hiding out in the kid’s room.

“One last chance.”

“Greyson can come fucking get me.” I heard the woman spit. “You’re not the mayor, you’re his little stooge boy and you know it.”

I walked to the door way. She was trying to pry the window open but it had been painted shut. She was wearing a faded blue tank top that barely covered her boney, sinewy arms. Track marks spelled out their own story along her flesh. She must be one of the Red House whores who only left their house for rations or tricks.

When she saw me, she turned around and pressed her back against the wall. She spat again. “You wanna get your cock sucked little boy?” She slurred her words like she was drunk. “You step aside, I’ll polish you off good.”

“I’ll pass.”

“Of course, you’re a little gay boy, fucking gay boys.” She spat again, this time it landed on my boot.  I looked down and watched the clear spittle drip down my polished leather army boot.
I had had about enough of this. I drew my combat knife, and as I did she cowered and screamed, throwing her hands over her head.

I ripped her hands away and grabbed her hair. I pulled her head back farther than it was suppose to go, I gave it one last good wrench, making her drop onto the ground. I reached into my cargo pants pocket and pulled out a set of pliers and firmly put my boot on her hair pinning her head down.

I kneeled down, and as she tried to scratch my chest and arms I put the pliers into her mouth and grabbed her tongue. Before she could wrench too far away I drew my combat knife and with a quick slice I cut out her tongue.

She let out a gurgling desperate cry as the blood started to dribble from between her teeth.

“You talk too much,” I said, I held up the tongue and tossed it behind a toy chest.