Dark Apocalypse: A Post-Apocalyptic Family Saga Page 7

  Suddenly, they started hearing noises coming toward them. They looked behind them on the road and saw… lights.

  “What the hell…?” Sophie said.

  They immediately realized they were being chased by a car convoy.

  “Shit! Run!” Bill yelled.

  The four started running, while being chased by the cars behind them. Suddenly, the rebels started firing upon them. The four hid behind a car. Julie started crying, scared, while the rest of the family was preparing to defend themselves.

  The convoy stopped. Rebels started to jump out of the cars.

  “The assholes had no mercy for my brother or the rest of us,” Drake Rim, the leader, yelled. “I don’t see why we should have mercy on them. Crush them, my beloved subjects. Crush them, like the maggots they are.”

  The bullets kept flying toward them, hitting the car which they were hiding behind. But the family was not about to go down without a fight. Thomas, Sophie and Bill prepared their weapons and started firing back, hitting a rebel from time to time.

  But the rebels also kept firing. And at one point, the car they were using as cover started to break under the bullets.

  “The car is not going to last any longer,” Bill said. “We have to find better cover, or we’ll be torn to pieces.”

  “Any suggestions?” Sophie asked.

  Bill looked around and saw a corn field about ten yards behind them, to their right.

  “If we’re fast, we can lose them in that cornfield.”

  Everybody turned their faces toward the cornfield they were supposed to reach and got ready to run.

  “Now!” Bill yelled.

  Right after Bill said that, the four started running toward the cornfield like the devil himself was chasing them. Which was not far from the truth.

  Bullets started to hit the ground next to their feet. They entered the cornfield.

  “Damn!” one of the rebels yelled. “We lost them, sir.”

  “No, we haven’t,” Drake said. “Everybody, dismount and take some flashlights with you. I’m not letting the bastards escape.”

  The rebels did just that. They got out of the cars, took their weapons and flashlights, and started heading toward the cornfield.

  “Damn, they’re perseverant,” Bill said, after looking back and seeing the rebels planning on chasing them through the cornfield as well.

  “You would be too, if someone would have killed your brother,” Sophie said.

  “Yeah, well, his brother was killed because they wouldn’t leave us alone.”

  “They won’t take that into account.”

  The four looked behind them and saw the flashlights approaching them. They pulled out their knives and prepared to defend themselves.

  Sophie, Bill and Thomas were waiting for them. They were crouched somewhere toward the right end of the cornfield, with their knives in their hands, ready to kill them as stealthy as possible.

  “Okay,” Bill said, “Thomas and I are going to make the first two kills. Thomas, you see the two yahoos coming toward us?”

  “Yeah, I see them.”

  “On my signal, we sneak behind them and slice their necks.”

  “Got it!”

  After a few seconds of silence, Bill said:

  “Ready?”

  “Ready!” Thomas answered.

  “Three, two, one… let’s go!”

  After Bill’s signal, the two got up, sneaked behind the two rebels, put their hands on their mouths, and sliced their necks.

  It was Sophie’s turn. She started walking cautiously toward a rebel to her left. She sneaked behind him, grabbed him by the head and broke his neck. She then sneaked behind two other rebels who were walking next to each other, grabbed their heads and broke their necks simultaneously.

  Bill and Thomas sneaked behind two other rebels. They approached them carefully, put their hands on the mouths and stabbed them in the back. Then, they headed toward a group of four rebels walking next to each other. Thomas grabbed one of them from behind and stabbed him in the chest. Bill approached a second rebel and stabbed him in the head.

  The strategy seemed to be working just fine. However, just like all good things, it couldn’t work forever.

  When Bill approached the third rebel of the group, the guy turned around with the flashlight and put the light on him.

  “They’re here! They’re here!” the rebel started yelling.

  Bill had no choice but to act fast. He quickly drew his gun out of the holster and shot the rebel three times in the chest. Needless to say that the yelling of their comrade and Bill’s shootings drew the attention of the rest of the group, which opened fire in their direction.

  “Sophie, Thomas, run!” Bill yelled, while running in his turn.

  The trio started running while tons of bullets were whizzing past them, hitting the corn around them.

  “Do you remember where you left Julie, Thomas?” Bill asked his son.

  “Yes, I do!”

  “Take us to her,” Sophie said.

  “This way,” Thomas said.

  Thomas led his parents out of the cornfield. Right in front of them, there was a tractor. They ran toward the tractor and sat down.

  “Julie,” Thomas said, “it’s me, Thomas. Mom and Dad are also here. You can come out.”

  Julie came out from underneath the tractor.

  “Thomas, Mommy, Daddy!” she yelled. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes, sweetie, we’re fine,” Sophie said. “How about you? Are you okay?”

  “Yes, I’m fine too.”

  Suddenly, two bullets hit the tractor. They looked behind them and saw rebels coming out of the cornfield.

  “Our leader wants them dead, my brothers,” one of the rebels yelled. “Let’s grant him his wish!”

  The four ran to the other side of the tractor, while bullets kept hitting it.

  “Now what?” Thomas asked.

  Bill looked to their left and saw a house about fifty yards away from them.

  “If we make it to that house, we’ll be safe.”

  Thomas took Julie in his arms and started praying this will work.

  “I’m scared, Thomas, I’m so scared,” Julie said, while rivers of tears were flowing down her cheeks.

  “I know you are, Julie. I know. I’m scared too. But I promise you this will end soon.”

  “Okay, gang, are you ready?” Bill asked.

  “I’m ready!” Sophie said.

  “I’m ready too,” Thomas said.

  “Okay, then. Three, two, one…let’s move!”

  “God protect us!” Thomas said.

  They jumped from behind the tractor and ran toward the house. Bullets were either flying next to them, or hitting the ground around their feet. But miraculously, only fragments of dirt hit them in their feet, causing them abrasions. They grunted every time a dirt fragment scratched their legs.

  They managed to reach the house after running for two minutes which seemed like two centuries.

  They entered the house and ran upstairs. Once there, Thomas put Julie on the floor and headed toward the windows, along with his father and mother. They looked out the window and what they saw confirmed their fears. The punks weren’t giving up. They jumped back into their cars and they were heading toward the house, to surround it.

  “These guys don’t know when to quit,” Thomas said.

  “No, they don’t,” Bill said. “Which is why we have to show them that we are just as determined as they are. If not even more determined.”

  “Okay, then,” Sophie said. “Ammo check. Bill, how much do you have?”

  “Five clips for the Kalashnikov and four for the gun,” Bill said, after checking his ammo.

  “Thomas?”

  “I got three more clips for my gun.”

  “I got three more clips for my M-16 and three more for my gun,” Sophie said.

  “Pretty clear odds,” Thomas said.

  After a few seconds of silence, Bill said:


  “In case we’re all going to meet God today, I want you to know that I love you all and you are the kind of family I never regretted starting.”

  “I love you too, Dad,” Thomas said, “and there is no one else in this world I would have wanted as my father. I love you too, Mom and I love you too, Julie. I spent wonderful moments with you all.”

  “I love you, Bill, Thomas, Julie. It’s been an honor to be your mother and wife,” Sophie said.

  “I love all of you,” Julie said.

  After that, they all gathered in the center of the room and gave each other a group hug, while tears were flowing on their cheeks. Then, Julie went to a room next to the one they were in and hid under the bed, while the rest of the family went to the windows. Looking out, they could see the rebels’ cars approaching the house. Two minutes later, they were right next to it.

  “This is it,” Bill said. “Get ready!”

  They all raised their weapons, ready to wreak havoc.

  ***

  Drake Rim sat in the lead car, smoking a cigar, pleased with the fact that today might be the day he will finally get to kill his brother’s killers. One of the rebels came to him and told him:

  “Sir, we have surrounded the building. There is no way out for them.”

  “Good, my warriors. Very good!” Drake said.

  “Should we open fire, sir?”

  “Not yet,” Drake said, stepping out of the car.

  He then took a few steps toward the house and yelled:

  “I’m addressing those who are inside the house now. Make no mistake, you will die here, today. But how you will die is up to you. If you come down, with your hands up and willing to surrender, I promise you a quick and painless death. Plus, I will leave the little one alive. You have my word on that. But, if you choose to fight back, which will do nothing but delay the inevitable, I promise you the slowest, most painful death someone can experience. You have one minute to decide how you will pay for my brother’s death.”

  ***

  “Very interesting offer, indeed,” Sophie said.

  “And I doubt he’ll let Julie live once we let him kill us,” Bill said.

  “I, for one, don’t plan on dying like a coward. If I’m going to die today, I’m taking as many of them as I can with me,” Thomas said.

  “The feeling is mutual,” Sophie said.

  “I take it no one surrenders,” Bill said. “Okay, then.”

  He got up from the floor, opened the window and yelled:

  “Fuck you!”

  “You heard him, boys,” Drake said. “Open fire!”

  All the rebels started firing upon the house, tearing it to shreds. Bill was immediately hit by glass from the windows and got a few scratches.

  “Are you okay?” Sophie yelled.

  “I’m fine, don’t worry. Nothing that won’t heal.”

  The three family members were pinned down to the floor by the rebel fire. Sophie was the first one to get up and return fire. She hit two rebels, but most of the bullets she fired went into the ground. It was Thomas and Bill’s turn. They stood up and returned fire. Thomas hit nothing, but Bill managed to shoot a rebel straight in the head.

  After firing a few more shots which, unfortunately, hit nothing, Sophie had to reload. She replaced the empty clip with a full one and started firing again, this time with success, hitting no less than five rebels, the last of whom was hiding behind a car, which made him an even more difficult target.

  Thomas and Bill fired a few more shots before they too had to reload. Then, Thomas got in front of the window and fired again. Two rebels fell, hit by his bullets. One was hit straight in the heart and the other one was hit first in the right leg and then in the neck. Bill didn’t lower the expectations either and hit three rebels.

  Sophie was doing great. She hit three more rebels before having to reload again. But after she did that, she aimed the weapon properly and hit four more rebels.

  Thomas reloaded again. He now had just one more clip, before he ran out of ammo. After reloading, he got in front of the window again and started firing. But as he was doing that, one of the rebels hit him in the shoulder. He collapsed, in agonizing pain.

  “Thomas!” Sophie and Bill yelled.

  Sophie prone down. She crawled toward Thomas. Bullets still whizzed above their heads.

  “Oh my God, Thomas, are you okay?”

  “Yes, mom, don’t worry! It’s just the shoulder.”

  Sophie got up, went to the window and yelled:

  “You sons of bitches!”

  She then started firing frantically, almost randomly. Bill joined her and shot two rebels, before emptying his clip. Thomas got up, despite the pain and started firing too. He only hit one rebel in the process.

  All three eventually ended up with just one clip.

  “Are you ready to fire our last bullets at them?” Sophie asked.

  “I am!” Bill said.

  “I am too,” Thomas said.

  “Let’s do this, then!” Sophie said.

  All three got up and started firing their last bullets toward the rebels. Even though most of them hit the ground or the rebels’ cars, they did manage to shoot a few of the punks in the process. Then, they ran out of bullets completely.

  “I am out,” Sophie said.

  “Me too,” Bill said.

  “I am out too,” Thomas said.

  “Well, gang,” Bill said, “we should prepare to meet our maker, don’t you agree?”

  “Yeah, we should,” Sophie said.

  ***

  “Enough games,” Drake said. “Bring the 50 CAL!”

  “Bring the 50 CAL!” another rebel yelled.

  A Humvee with a huge gun, with bullets bigger than a thumb pulled over in front of the house.

  “Everyone, cease fire!” Drake yelled again. “You, do your thing!”

  “Glad to, sir!” the man behind the gun said, before cocking the gun and opening fire. Thunderous blasts pulsed through the night. Drywall dust filled the air. The bullets were so powerful, they crossed through whole sections of the house’s walls, before eventually stopping somewhere.

  Thomas, Bill and Sophie were pinned down to the floor by the powerful gun. By some miracle, they weren’t hit.

  “That gun will sure give us a quick death,” Thomas said.

  The man behind the gun kept firing, with a huge smile on his face. Suddenly, however, a bullet hit him right in the head, killing him instantly and silencing the gun at the same time.

  “What the hell…?” Drake said.

  “That wasn’t the guys upstairs,” another rebel said.

  All of a sudden, from the road behind them, another group of fighters started running toward the rebels, while firing at them at the same time.

  “Take cover and open fire!” Drake said.

  The rebels did just that. They took cover and opened fire against the group coming toward them. And even though they hit a few, they suffered the greatest loses.

  “They’re firing again,” Thomas said.

  “Yeah, but not at us,” Bill said.

  “Then at whom?” Sophie asked.

  The three looked out the window and saw the rebels fighting against another group that came out of nowhere. Their clothes were just as dirty, but they didn’t have piercings, like the rebels. They could see the rebels getting shot, and some even stabbed, or sliced with machetes by the members of the other group, who were, obviously, more determined than they were.

  Eventually, after seeing his men losing the fight, Drake ordered them to retreat. They started running away while firing a few more shots at the other group, before fading away into the night.

  Sophie, Bill and Thomas didn’t know what to make of the situation.

  “Are they friends or foes?” Sophie asked.

  “I don’t know,” Bill said.

  “To the people inside the house… you can come out now,” someone in the group said.

  The three were suspicious.

 
“I don’t know what to believe,” Thomas said. “What if they’re a bunch of scumbags too?”

  “Well said,” Sophie approved. “It might be a trap.”

  “We are not going to hurt you,” the voice from outside said. “We are enemies of your enemies. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. We are your friends. And we consider you our friends.”

  “Good luck with that cheap line, you bastard,” Sophie said.

  “Maybe they are telling the truth, Sophie,” Bill said.

  “We don’t know that.”

  “We don’t know the opposite either.”

  “Exactly. And I don’t intend to put my family at risk. We ran out of ammo.”

  The voice from the outside spoke again:

  “To prove you that we don’t have malice intentions, we will let you come out with your weapons in your hand, while we will put ours down.”

  The entire group threw their weapons down and held their hands up.

  Sophie, Bill and Thomas were watching everything from the window.

  “I think they mean it,” Bill said.

  “You think, but you don’t know for sure,” Sophie said.

  “We can’t stay here forever, Sophie. Thomas is wounded. He is bleeding hard. If these guys are for real, maybe they can help him. It is a risk, yeah, but it’s a risk worth taking, especially for Thomas.”

  Sophie thought for a few seconds, then said:

  “You’re right. Go call Julie!”

  Bill went to the room next door to take Julie.

  “Julie! Where are you?”

  “Under the bed!” Julie said.

  Bill crouched and looked under the bed.

  “Hey, princess! You can come out now.”

  “Is it over?” Julie asked.

  “Yeah, it’s all over. You’re safe.”

  Julie got out from under the bed and jumped into her father’s arms.

  “Come on, princess. Let’s go!”

  They got out in the hallway, where Sophie and Thomas were waiting for them.

  “Okay, gang. Here goes nothing.”

  “If they only knew we ran out of ammo,” Sophie said.

  The gang went down the stairs with their weapons up. They got out and they pointed the gun to a man in the group.

  “Who are you, people?” Sophie asked the man.

  “We’re the ones who rescued you,” the man answered.