Liam Hall

Tuesday, April 12th, 2022 (22 days after the Shutdown)

“I expect you to do the right thing?”

Is he asking me to stay behind and die?

Afraid of the consequences if he argued, he slowly nodded. Garrett, who’d been standing impassively at the side, appeared conflicted at the captain’s decision. Of course he is, I’m gonna slow them all down.

Nonetheless, Garrett relented.

“Ready?” Garrett asked, adjusting Liam’s arm so that his weight was manageable.

Unable to speak from the pain swelling in his throat, he resolutely glared forward.

Taking his first steps, a hollow feeling in his stomach grounded his feet and he lurched forward, momentarily losing control of his body.

Shit, he frowned.

Signaling he was fine to Garrett, the two of them limped forward.

His lower body started to feel cold, but he endured the crippling constraint knowing this was his only chance to leave.

Everyone was busy getting ready in the lobby. With next to no light available, Liam could only hear the soldiers checking their gear as the remaining members of Squad 37 nervously chatted with one another.

The captain and the soldier who returned were in deep discussion and every few seconds they mentioned the “outside”.

Breathing heavily as he supported himself, Liam squinted at the pitch-black night, trying to understand what they were chewing over.

“We move now!” hissed Corporal Nguyen, breaking off from his conversation.

Hobbling out the door, Liam thought he saw a flicker of disapproval as he passed by the captain but the soldier stepped past him and ushered the remaining people out onto the street.

The captain was right about one thing. Without any light – moonlight or otherwise – they couldn’t see anything, forcing their pace to a crawl.

I might have luck on my side for once. If we stick to this pace, I’ll make it back alive.

The captain hoarsely whispered for them to move to the side and the group reorganized themselves, with the captain in the front, calling out when he hit obstacles.

The whole journey was trial and error.

In the silence engulfing them, every step they took or lamppost they hit was like a bass drum, the jarring sound causing them to pause and listen if they’d alerted anyone.

All rational creatures feared the dark and Liam, blind to the world around him, his imagination started concocting different creatures until he pictured the Creature silently following him.

Its shadow cloak rustled as it approached him, and the throbbing of wounds was forgotten.

As if sensing Liam’s fear, Garrett froze.

“Someone’s following us,” he hissed, dragging Liam to one side.

There is no freakin’ way the Creature actually exists.

“Everyone halt,” the captain ordered in a low voice.

Ten pairs of ears listened intently to their surroundings but aside from Liam’s heavy breathing, there were no sounds.

“Don’t mess with our heads man,” Mark said, letting out a sigh of relief.

“I’m not playing around, there’s someone out there.”

“Nobody moves,” insisted the captain.

Liam heard the sound of footsteps from where the captain was and in response, further behind them, the sound of footsteps drew closer. They found us.

“Do not run. They haven’t zeroed in on our location and they won't risk turning on their flashlights yet,” said Private Morales from behind them, her voice coming out in ragged breaths.

Liam felt his heart beating in his throat and the pain from all across his body stifling his movements.

One foot… after another. Slow and steady, he told himself as he prepared to move his leg. One step—

Acute pain from his midsection lanced through his body. Stumbling, Garrett, who had been laboring under the bulk of Liam’s weight, struggled to catch him as he lurched backward toward the concrete.

Landing awkwardly on his arms, Liam tried to bite his tongue to stop himself from screaming but it wasn’t enough. A warbled cry escaped his lips as pain flared out from his injuries.

“Ahhh shit,” Garret groaned, realizing their fate had been sealed.

A city block away a dozen flashlights clicked on and a stampede of people rushed towards them, the sound of their footsteps merging as if a feral beast was hunting them.

“Into the alleyway, now!” Corporal Nguyen yelled, pushing them into the gap, all discretion lost.

Roughly lifted back to his feet, Liam was thrown into the alley just as a beam of light shone on the pavement he was standing on seconds before.

Biting his finger to hold back another cry of pain, he squirmed behind a moldy armchair that had been dumped in the alley, praying that he would melt into the shadows.

“They're over here!” a crass voice yelled back to his team.

A single pair of footsteps slowed to a cautious tiptoe.

Their attacker must've been told about their firepower because the moment he turned the corner, he went Guns Akimbo, firing endless rounds into everything in his line of sight. Stacks of chairs where the rest of his team had hidden behind, shuddered as the bullets lodged into them.

Looking in despair as the chairs toppled over, his concern was swiftly replaced by confusion at the lack of response.

No freaking wa—

A bitter smile came unbidden to his lips.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

They escaped without me.

The cracks of gunfire abruptly stopped. In the ensuing quiet, he saw movement out of the corner of his eye but before he could examine it, footsteps started to move towards him.

“Chayton, is there anyone there?” a reedy voice asked.

From the entrance of the alley, a large man stepped forward. Beams of light were expunged by his massive frame, leaving the shooter’s long shadow to stretch across the alley.

Stopping next to Liam’s head, Chayton surveyed the torn-up alley.

Shit! Liam squeezed his eyes so the whites of them wouldn’t give him away.

“No,” the large man finally replied in a bass voice.

Spinning on his heel, he walked back out. “They escaped. Tell Leon that we’ll find them and their guns.”

“You should know the consequences if they leave here knowing what they do. There’s going to be too much blowback on this. Clean it up before it’s too late.”

As the two went their separate ways, the reedy-voiced man called out. “One last thing. Try not to kill any more of the civilians in the group. Capture them or something.”

“... No promises.”

Sighing, he replied, “See that’s what I like about you. You’re so fucking agreeable. Just steal their guns and body armor.”

***

After he was sure they weren’t lurking around, Liam allowed himself the liberty of silently screaming.

With everything moving so quickly he chalked down the pain in his back to scarred tissue, but running his fingers over the ground behind him they met the familiar coolness of glass. I can’t catch a single freakin’ break without one thing or another deciding to hurt me.

Debating whether or not to risk any more movement, the pile of wooden pallets beside him shuddered.

“Guys?” a familiar voice faltered. “You alive?”

I guess not all of them left me. “Yeah, I’m alive. Is it just you?”

“Private Morales is here with me, but she took a bullet to the leg,” Garrett hoarsely replied, coughing as a cloud of dust flew off the pallets.

All his relief at having someone still with him evaporated as quickly as it came. Now there’s two of us who are injured.

The pallets shuddered once again as two figures emerged from the rubbish.

Twisting his head to see them, streams of moonlight broke through the veil of clouds and lit up the small alleyway.

Morales, who’d been steadfast in her determination for all of them to return home, was shaking like a leaf. Sweat lined her olive skin and her breathing was coming out in irregular intervals.

She’s losing too much blood.

The moonlight disappeared as quickly as it came.

"How do you reckon we leave together?" Garrett asked in a hushed tone.

Liam looked up at the two of them in dismay, knowing full well they both knew the only solution. They were just waiting for him to say it first to save them from their guilt.

"You’re gonna have to leave me behind. There’s no other way you’ll make it."

He didn’t need light to know how relieved they were. But without them, Liam knew that that one moment of chivalry would cost him his life.

He was already a dead man walking.

“I’m so sorry, man. I didn’t want this,” Garrett promised, but his words had already fallen on deaf ears.

Lying on the ground, the frustration of his endless string of bad luck had him silently crying.

Large tears trickled across his face, cutting through the grime and dust that collected on him from the failed expedition.

“I hope this helps,” Morales said with a brittle voice.

Above him, the snap of velcro caught his attention and a small object landed in front of him.

“It’s a tactical knife I got when I joined the Corps.”

Outside the alleyway, footsteps ran past and the three of them fell silent as they waited for them to pass by.

“We have to go now before they double back,” Morales whispered in Garrett’s ear.

The pain around his torso rapidly returned as the adrenaline wore off. He wanted to beg them to stay but he had no right to ask more of them. He recalled the game of cards he played what felt like ages ago.

“You want to get rid of all your worst cards first, so if you have the Three of Clubs, as the consolation for having the worst card, you start first.”

In the end, he was the ‘Three of Clubs’, the card they got rid of first.

“We’ll come back if we can, I promise that,” Garrett assured him but Liam knew he was lying through his teeth. No one would risk coming back to this hellish situation.

Reaching out, he blindly patted the ground until he found the small sheath Private Morales had left him.

Taking comfort in the cold steel concealed within, he lulled himself to sleep as the sound of gunfire broke out across the city.

Wednesday, April 13th, 2022 (23 days after the Shutdown)

The tinkling of tin cans woke him up.

Shying away from the morning light, he waited until his eyes adjusted to look back at the commotion.

Two tomcats were circling each other, hissing at one another, both locked in a perpetual territorial fight.

As if noticing Liam staring at them they turned towards him and with a hiss, they scampered off.

His right arm was covered in blood and the rest of his body was sore beyond comprehension. And as on cue, pain ballooned from his abdomen. Rolling onto his back, he lay there, staring at the sky like it was just another day.

***

It took him an hour to adjust his body until it was in a comfortable upright position, which he thought was impressive considering his situation.

Like the day before, the streets of Oakville were peaceful. The only sounds present were flags flapping in the wind and litter rolling in the streets.

Last night’s gun show likely only strengthened the populace’s desire to stay in their homes which meant he had enough time to think about his predicament.

The alleyway seemed much larger in the daylight. It was wide, designed more like a small street with multiple dumpsters and stacks of chairs and wooden pallets.

A peculiar smell wafting off the sofa beside him that he hadn’t noticed in all the excitement last night.

Peeking behind it, soiled clothes were bundled together to form some kind of animal’s nest. Great. I have to make my way back home before I die in this place.

Next to his hand, the blade he’d been clutching throughout the night lay on the cool pavement, waiting for him to unsheathe the weapon within.

Pulling back the flap, he tenderly clutched at the handle and pulled it free. The steel gray of the blade caught some of the morning light, glistening along the honed edge.

Admiring it, Liam gently pressed the point into his index finger and a small bead of blood grew from it.

Sharp, he noted.

The length of the blade was close to 5 inches long, and the polished wood handle came an inch short of that. It was as elegant as it was deadly.

Not wanting to lose the gift, he put it back into the black sheathe and strapped it to his waist. He silently thanked Morales, hoping she and Garrett had made it back safely.

Inspecting the buildings above him, the brick walls reached one story above him, different from the skyscrapers and condominiums they’d passed by yesterday.

We must’ve run to a different part of the city.

He wanted to think about the next steps but his stomach suddenly grumbled, whisking him away from thoughts of escape. Food before anything.

Grumbling, he managed to crawl his way onto the street.

An entire street filled with boutiques, bakeries, delis, and even small convenience stores sprawled out in front of him.

A few of the smaller utility stores had been broken into and likely looted, and the delis and bakeries had their storefronts torn down. Whatever scant product was left behind, was likely spoiled without any electricity for cooling and storage.

But it was the most hopeful he felt in a while.

One of them has to have food, he reasoned, gaping at the rows of stores along the street. Why didn’t we come here yesterday instead of going to every odd shop we found?

Crawling to the nearest store, Liam was aware of how odd he must've looked on his hands and knees.

Here's to hoping that one of them will be open, he prayed as he reached up to grab the first door handle.