After Apocalypse

chapter 2: A Father's Love

After much deliberation by the village elders, it was decided that the twins were to collect manure from the livestock enclosures to be used in the production of biogas. When they received the news, they were anything but pleased to say the least but they begrudgingly began their work. The duration of the punishment was a whole month and during that time they came home smelling of manure every single day. Mkhize would always hose them down with some water before allowing them to enter the house. Each day seemed longer than the last for them and Mkhize would often have a few laughs at their expense as they went on about how terrible the work was. After two weeks, the smell grew more pungent and it seemed as though no amount of bathing or hosing down could get rid of it completely. One day the twins came back home after a long day of shovelling manure to find members of the Kuena Regiment waiting outside their home. It was not the usual guards they had gotten used to. These guys seemed more battle hardened than the guards. The looks in their eyes were the coldest they had ever seen. Three of them were posted at the door and several others surrounded the parameter. One of them was also inside the house with Mkhize but the twins only managed to get a glimpse of him before the guards shut the door. The man was the leader of the entire Kuena Regiment. He had a very large muscular build that made him tower above Mkhize. He kept a bald head and had three diagonal scars that cut right across his face as though he had been attacked by some kind of animal. To the general public and the members of his guild he was known as Arsenal. Not many knew what his real name was and those who did never really bothered using it. As the rumours went, he was the only person to have ever invaded New Jerusalem and live to tell the tale. It was perhaps for that very reason that he had become the leader of the Kuena Regiment. He sat at the table smoking a cigar while Mkhize stood staring at him from across the room. Mkhize stared intently as the steel fingers of his guest’s prosthetic arm pulled the cigar from the lose grip of his brown tobacco stained teeth and then put it back in again after exhaling. Everything about was intimidating, even the way he performed such a mundane act.
“I don’t understand what exactly it is you’re saying to me.” said Mkhize with a slight quiver in his voice.
“I’m sure I was loud and clear but let me say it again since you didn’t hear me the first time. I want those kids of yours to join my guild; they’d make a fine addition.” Arsenal replied.
“But you can’t do that, they’re just children. What use could you possibly have for ten year old children in your army?”
“You say that like they are no different from the average child playing in the dirt in this poor excuse of a village. I figured since you so adamantly turned down my requests for you to join us, they would be the next best thing. Knowledge is a very precious commodity these days; the most dangerous weapon there is and I want it.”
“Well you can’t have them, I won’t let you.”
“Taking them by force would not be that difficult for a man with my resources but they’d probably end up revolting against me if I did that. Besides, from what my men have been telling me, those two would in all likelihood jump at an opportunity to join us. I can tell by that look on your face that I’m right.”
“Please don’t do this, they are just children and are not in any way ready for all the horrors that await them out there.” pleaded Mkhize as tears began to roll down his cheeks.
Arsenal got up and put out the cigar on the table top. He then smashed both his hands on the table and the weight of their steel caused the legs of the table to buckle.
“Listen here old man, it’s only out of respect for and all that we went through together all those years ago that I have indulged you for so long. The truth of the matter is I should’ve been more forceful from the onset. Now I’m afraid the courtesy period is over. I’ve heard you out for a long time now but the time has come for you to listen to me. I’m going to turn around right now and walk out that door to recruit those kids of yours. Anything you do to try to stop me will be considered an act of aggression against the Kuena Regiment and trust me I will respond in kind. My men will slaughter every single person on top of this mountain and not even a single woman nor child will be sparred.” yelled Arsenal as he glared at Mkhize with a look that reeked of murder.
Shaken by the sudden flare in Arsenal’s temper, Mkhize could only watch as he made his way towards the door. Just as he was about to open it, Mkhize yelled;
“Stop!”
Arsenal halted his advance towards the door and turned around to face Mkhize, still with the same murderous look in his eyes.
“Take me instead.” He added.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t quite get that. What did you say?”
“I said take me instead, I’d be a far more valuable asset to you than those children will ever be and you know it. I’ll join your guild and make whatever weapons you want me to. We both know that’s the only thing you’re really interested in.”
“I don’t know what brought about this sudden change of heart but I love it, now you have my attention. If that’s what you’ve decided then we leave now.”
“Wait, I need to say goodbye to my kids. Can’t I leave a few days from now?”
“I’ll tell my boys to let them in right now so you can say your goodbyes.”
Arsenal turned back around to open the door, only to find his men struggling to restrain the troublesome twins as they relentlessly attempted to enter their home.
“Leave them.” He commanded.
“They will say their final goodbyes to the old man and then we’ll be on our way.”
Having heard what Arsenal said, the twins became puzzled and were not quite sure what to make of his statement.
“Hey old man, what’s scar face over here talking about? Who’s leaving?” Ethan enquired.
“Come inside so I can explain everything.” said Mkhize.
The twins slowly walked into the house, still confused by everything that had been going on. As soon as they enter the house, Mkhize made sure to shut the door behind them. After instructing them each to have a seat, he pulled out a chair at the opposite end of the table to ensure that there would be eye contact as he spoke to them.
“The men outside are from the Kuena Regiment and they are here to take me with them.”
“Wait, what? You’ve got to be kidding me old man, don’t tell me you’re actually gonna go with them.” said Ethan in a fit of rage. He stormed up from his seat and sent it crashing to the floor. Before he could head over to where Mkhize was seated, Edith grabbed him tightly by the arm and halted his movement. He tried his utmost to break free of her grasp but her grip was far too tight. Just as he was about to yell at her for not letting him go, he noticed how much calmer she was compared to him. Her composure seemed to have a sort of calming effect on him as well.
“Why now? It can’t be a coincidence that they came so soon after what we did. Is this all our fault?” Edith enquired.
Mkhize was taken aback by her keen insight. Unlike her brother she had always shown some maturity, at times a bit too much for her own good. She had a very calm and collected persona which was at times abit unsettling to see in such a young child, especially for the old man. However, it was thanks to that very attribute that she excelled in most things. Any problem that she was faced with, she would always analyse it carefully and react appropriately, whether it was with her studies or combat training. It was perhaps because of this that she was always several steps ahead of her brother in almost everything. Mkhize had always loved that quality about her but in that moment he found it rather annoying. He could see it in her eyes that any lie that he might try to tell them would surely backfire on him.
“The truth is that they’ve always wanted to recruit and after almost a decade of trying, they have finally succeeded.” Mkhize explained.
“You didn’t answer her question old man, is it our fault?”
“It’s no one’s fault Ethan. Now listen to me carefully, there’s something that I need to give to the two of you while I still have time.” said Mkhize as he got up from his chair and headed to his room. After a few minutes he emerged with two syringes in hand, each containing a clear water-like liquid.
“I’ve been administering small doses of this elixir through your daily food intake but now that I’m leaving I’ll have to administer a much more substantial dosage that will hopefully last a bit longer. From the very moment this wears off he’ll be able to find you wherever you are, all I’m doing now is buying you some time.”
Stunned by what they had just heard, the twins fell silent for a short while. They were confused as to what exactly  it was that the old man was talking about. Edith finally broke the silence and asked;
“Who on earth are you talking about and what is that?”
“For lack of a better word let’s just say it’s a vaccine of sorts, specifically engineered to treat a condition that only the two of you have. I had always hoped I’d be here to make sure it works but I guess there’s no helping it now. It might last for up to ten whole years or maybe far less than that, I honestly can’t say for sure. Now please stretch out your right arms.”
Much to Mkhize’s surprise, neither one of them did as he had asked, in fact they hid their arms under the table and looked at him with confusion in their eyes.
“We won’t let you inject us with whatever that thing is, not if you have no intention of telling us the truth.”
Mkhize took a deep breath and then gently placed the syringes on the table. He understood where they were coming from, everything was happening faster than he had planned. He wished he could tell them everything they wanted to know but he knew that Arsenal would come knocking at his door at any second telling him to go.
“I know there’s so much I haven’t told you everything you want to know but please answer me this, have I not loved you like you were my own children? I know there’s a lot you don’t understand and frankly there’s no time to explain it all. I ask that you please put your trust me one last time as your father. Trust that I love you both and I’d do nothing to hurt either one of you.”
As much as they still craved some answers, they could not help but be drawn in by the sincerity of his words. They were rather hesitant but slowly they raised their hands from beneath the table. The moment was abruptly interrupted by loud and violent knocking on the door.
“Make it quick in there, we leave in ten minutes.” said Arsenal as he waited for Mkhize outside the house.
Mkhize was suddenly overcome by a sense of urgency. The twins could see the worry in his eyes and it was unlike anything they had ever seen before.
“Please, hold out your arms right this second, we don’t have any more time.”
Both of them still had a lot of questions they wanted to ask but they could see that they were probably never gonna get any answers from him in the state he was in. Edith was the first to hold out her arm and then Ethan reluctantly followed suite. Mkhize managed to calm himself and administer the medicine to both of them.
“I’ll try my best to find you when the time comes, until then please continue with your studies to sharpen those brilliant minds of yours. You may not realise it yet, but knowledge is indeed the most powerful weapon one can wield in this era. As for anything else you might need; Lady Susan and everyone else in the village will be more than happy to help you out.”
As the gravity of the situation began to dawn on Ethan, tears began to flow down his cheeks and he started to weep.
“Please don’t go!” he yelled
Mkhize averted his eyes from the twins so as to hide the fact the he too was tearing up. The sight of his children being so sad was just too much for him to bear. Even Edith began to shed a few tears despite her best efforts to maintain her composure. They both ran into Mkhize’s embrace and held on to him as though their lives depended on it. The heartfelt moment was abruptly interrupted by Arsenal as he kicked the door open.
“It’s time to go old man, you don’t want to be out there after the sun sets, trust me on that one.”
He took only a small briefcase and slowly made his way out of the house. Arsenal followed behind him with a huge smirk on his face. The rest of the villagers watched as he made his way out of the village surrounded by a small army. Lady Susan was quick to rush to the twins’ side and tried her best to console them although she didn’t really know what to do or say in such a situation. A lot of muffled chatter could be heard amongst the villagers, none of them were happy to see him leave but alas they had no choice but to watch him go. In the few days that followed Mkhize’s departure, the twins were not as lively as they had always been. Against all odds they served the remainder of their punishment, despite the fact that it had been lifted after Mkhize left. Lady Susan would always stop by several times a day to check on them and see if they had been eating properly and taking good care of themselves which meant occasionally forcing them to take a bath and clean up the house. The days slowly turned into weeks and weeks into months until finally a whole year had passed. Although things were still not quite the same as they used to be, the twins had adjusted to life without Mkhize. With him not around anymore, they were the only people capable on taking on his responsibilities in the village. They did everything from overseeing the biogas production to forging tools and weapons for the villagers and making sure that all agricultural operations ran smoothly to ensure a good harvest. It was a rather big responsibility for a pair of eleven year olds but the villagers were always more than happy to lend them a hand. Overtime they began to teach a selected few how to handle some of their responsibilities so as to ease their burden. Everything seemed to be going well until one morning when it all started to go south.
A group of five unknown people was spotted scaling the mountain by the guards that stood watch over one of the passes that led to the Blue Kingdom. Behind them was a small horde of about thirty undead. Another group was left behind feeding on what appeared to be the corpses of the comrades of the five individuals. For a short while it seemed as those the group of five would make it to the entrance of the village unharmed due to the sluggish pace of their pursuers. However, as those that had been feeding stopped and joined the pursuit, the situation grew grimmer. Their pace was much faster and more menacing and within seconds they were just a few meters from their prey. It became painfully obvious to the guards that if they did not intervene, the five strangers would surely be devoured. They quickly loaded some arrows into their crossbows and fired at the undead. Those that were yet to feed were the easiest to take down but the small that had fed was hard to get a hit on. They were very quick to evade incoming fire all the while keeping their eyes fixed on their targets. Another two members of the approaching party were captured and devoured, which reduced the number of the undead in pursuit of the remaining three. They managed to enter the narrow path that led to the entrance so the guards prepared to let them enter and dispose of the threat before it entered the kingdom. Thanks to the two that had been devoured, more of the undead in pursuit gained in agility, which only served to increase the worries of the guards. Luckily the path limited their movement because of the rocks that lined it on either side so they were easier to target. One by one all the undead were shot down by the guards and the three strangers were able to enter relatively unscathed. After examining them for bites, scratches and any weapons they may have been smuggling into the village, the guards escorted them to the village centre. Their entry into the village caused a lot of commotion amongst the villagers. All the village elders including Lady Susan were immediately summoned to the chief’s homestead, which was fairly larger than any other in the village. A meeting between the new arrivals and the elders was held behind closed doors and the rest of the villagers could only stand outside and await word from those inside. Within the crowd of onlookers were the twins, like everyone else in the village they had never encountered people from outside the village apart from members of the Kuena Regiment. They were all very curious to see what they were like and hear about life outside their little mountain top settlement.  As time passed by, the crowd outside the chief’s home began to dwindle in numbers bt the twins and a handful of others did not waver. One of the village elders stepped out and sent for a member of the military guard. After a few minutes one of the guards arrived and the elder whispered something in his ear, something that instantly turned his facial expression into one of absolute horror. Never had anyone seen such a look on a soldier’s face and with that, their excitement and curiosity quickly became concern. The soldier immediately sprinted to the village’s nearest exit. The elder then returned to the meeting, leaving everyone feeling rather confused. Word of what had happened quickly spread to all the villagers that had left and by night time, the whole village had had convened outside the chief’s homestead eagerly waiting for anyone to step out and tell them what was going on. The longer they waited the more they began to fear the worst. What could it have been that was keeping them in there for so long.