Liberation (Remnants of Men)

Chapter 13: David and Goliath

Day Three

   Oh God! The smell, the stench…it was odious, but nothing he hasn’t smelled before. It was definitely familiar, a miasma of a hundred rotting corpses, something that reminded him of the bad kimichi prepared by Granny Woo in Rat town.

Runner opened his eyes. Something wasn’t right. The world seemed to be upside down, or was he? He looked again. There were hundreds of human carcass piled on the floor and it was then that he realised he was hanging from his feet.

Blood dribbled down his arms to his fingertips. A stabbing pain jabbed at the back of his head, but it was nothing compared to the fear that gripped him when he saw human beings in their numbers hanging dead from what used to be an animal processing line.

Every weapon he had has been relieved off him. But there was one he hid for emergencies. Runner pushed his body up and stretched his right arm to reach for his boot. There, he drew out a penknife hidden in its sole and proceeded to cut loose.

He fell with a hard thud on the ground. Something snapped and he shrieked, holding his left thumb. Immediately, he pushed the dislocated finger back in place, but not without an agonizing scream. Just on the wall, inches to a door frame, the word Slaughterhouse was painted boldly with blood.

“How far have men fallen,” Runner muttered.

He was hungry and thirsty, two of the world most powerful enemies in these times. All he saw were butchered corpses like red venison, littering tables and piled in buckets. It seemed like lack of food had made the gangs resort to cannibalism.

Funny how a man can cut through another, forgetting that his own flesh is equally as soft and susceptible as his victim’s.

Runner stood to his feet and limped towards the door. He grabbed the knob tight, but then heard a soft whimper.

“Who is there?” he asked.

Runner flipped his pen knife, ready to strike at anything he saw. “You sick creeps! You won’t have me for lunch this day. You hear me! I will gut you like a fish before I let you touch me.”

Something creaked. He heard it coming from an old kitchen cabinet. Slowly, he moved towards it and then opened it forcefully, followed by a lunge with his knife.

“Stop…stop…please, don’t hurt me,” a young girl curled in fear.

Runner paused in his attack and then, withdrew his knife. He squatted beside her, “what are you doing here?”

The girl gave him an awful stare. Her hair was wet with blood, slapped to her skin, and bruises were all over her face. Runner felt a wave of sympathy rush down his heart and he stretched an arm to help her up.

She caught his hand and bit him hard. He shrieked and withdrew quickly, but loud footsteps came behind him. He turned almost too late, missing the blow of a broken pipe swung by a boy. The pipe landed upon the cabinet , smashing the wood to bits.

He couldn’t believe that was meant for his head.

The boy recovered and came with the pipe again. Runner dodged and smashed his elbow on the boy’s nose, leaving him covered in blood. He caught the boy at the back of his neck and held his arm to restrain him. That moment, he recognized a bronze chain around the boy’s wrist, one of two given to him by his friend, Rhiannon.

“Troy?” Runner called.

The boy seemed startled and then turned around in astonishment, “Runner, oh God! Runner,” he wrapped his arms around Runner.