ALL THAT REMAINS Book 3

Chapter 7; The rise

We walked for around two days. We where hungry and extremely thirsty. I licked my lips which where chapped. I felt dead, if I wasn't already dead enough. The sun shinned bright like a flashlight shinning three feet from your face. The area around us was crop land, we didn't know where we where. Hopefully the city up ahead would point us to where we where, and if we where lucky, could find a map. I heard coughing behind me and turned around to see Jessica coughing up blood. I ran over to her as fast as I could, I was so weak from exhaustion. Jessica fell to her knees and Kedryn reached down to help her back up. By the time I got there she was on her feet.

"You ok?" I asked with a parched voice. She looked up at me and I could see the dark rings under her eyes. She was over exhausted and so was Kedryn. I put my hands on my hips and swallowed some saliva to hold me over until we found water. I looked over at the ruined city in the distance.

"Alright, if we can make it to that city we can rest there, it's not safe in the open like this." Jessica nodded her head and we continued on. We approached the huge city, it looked like all the rest. Vines everywhere and some standing water in the streets. The sign read Denver Colorado. At least we where heading in the right direction. Jessica and Kedryn began drinking the water that was in the street, I joined them. The taste of water clean or unclean felt like paradise touching my lips and mouth. After we where done gulping down water that will probably kill us in the next few days we walked inside a sporting store.

"Find backpacks, water bottles and anything else that would increase our chances" I said quickly. We spread out through the building. Some of the roof was collapsed in and beams of light where shinning through the hole. I found old backpack which was the color green. It was a forestry green. I also found some sports drinking bottles and packed them away in the bag. When we all met up at the entrance both girls had found themselves some gear. Jessica found a hiking backpack and Kedryn found a child's briefcase. We walked back out of the store only to have the sun beat down on our faces again.

"Alright next order of business, find a map of the area" I said probably looking high and proud. The parking lot was a mess, surprised I didn't notice it before. Guess I'm just used to everything. The parking lot was completely overgrown. Trucks and other vehicles crowded the area. It looked beautiful with the surrounding sunset. I saw an old eighteen wheeler attached to a storage container.

"We will rest there for the night" I said pointing at the old rusted storage container. We walked over to it and I unlocked the back. Opening the hatch I could see that the entirety was picked clean.

"I guess we can use the backpacks as pillows, no blankets though." Nobody seemed to care about the blankets. We walked inside and I shut the hatch behind us all. It was pitch black but our eyes soon adjusted. I laid down in one of the four corners, the girls did the same. I fell asleep looking at them, they seemed so peaceful, so at rest like there wasn't a worry in the world. We where one step closer to ending all of this, for that I could be happy for....

The great machine was I front of me, looking down on me like everyone I once knew. It was trying to speak to me, tell me of a calling.

"Tell me, tell me!" I yelled back, but I never got my response. It wanted me to know, wanted me to see it, see the new dawn! Around the machine where people hanging from street poles, some where stabbed on giant steaks coming out of the flooring. If this is what the great machine can do, what is stopping me from harnessing its power. Harnessing its power for my own use, making the world my sandbox! Was this thoughts of a madman or thoughts of the sain. This is the reality that everyone will soon come to accept....

I woke up breathing heavy, the girls where still asleep. The dark room looked like a bright lit room now. I heard the lock on the hatch fall off. A bright light shinned in my eyes. I felt two hands grab me and throw me out of the container and onto the ground.

"Grab those two as well, they seem to be worth something." I knew that these where human traffic bandits now. I saw both Kedryn and Jessica get thrown onto the ground beside me.

"That one, that one right there. She's to skinny to sell, pop her!" I saw them step on Kedryn and pin her to the ground. The guy on top of her pulled out his gun and put it right against her head. She was crying I heard and saw the tears on her face hit the ground.

"Please, please, I don't want to die." She then looked at me.

"You promised me safety, you promised!" I heard the ground go off and blood come out of her head in almost every direction. She body went faint and the guy got up off of her.

"No!" I screamed. I saw the guy who was giving the orders come over and kneeled down by me. Jessica was weeping trying to keep her tears in, I saw she couldn't. My face was covered in blood from Kedryn and the fact that the guy pinning me down was grinding my face into the asphalt.

"No?" Said the guy giving orders.

"Why? Your telling me no!? I don't like to be told what to do! If you keep this shit up I will fucking pop your dick off! Do I make myself clear!?" I didn't say a thing or even try to nod my head.

"Get them in the back of the truck!" The people holding me and Jessica down put us on our feet and walked us over to there truck. It was huge and had a cover over the bed. I gulped worried of what was about to happen. At that instant someone popped out from behind there truck holding a hunting rifle. I squinted my eyes.

"Duck!" I heard the voice yell. Me and Jessica dropped to the ground. A round went off from the persons rifle and the guy who was holding me dropped to the ground in a burst of blood. The man holding Jessica also dropped to the ground, but in fear. I grabbed the guys gun ( the one holding me ) and crawled on top of the other. He tried to cover his face but wasn't fast enough. I was holding the gun by the top slide and began to beat the guy with the handle. I rep edgily smashed it into his eye and heard his screams until I had strikes the brain hard enough. I turned the gun around to where I was holding the handle. I aimed it at the guy who was giving the orders and began firing. I heard footsteps behind me and knew it wasn't Jessica, she was still on the ground. I turned around to see my old friend Jaziel.

"Oh my god."