Dusk of Defiance (The Era of Ensemble Book 1) (11 page)

“
There’s no one at the Bastion called Luke, but he may turn up, just like you have.” Kara gave Megan a reassuring smile, before she continued. “Let’s head to the Bastion then. Keep close to me, and stay quiet.”

They followed Kara as she led them down twists and turns. She pointed out ‘landmarks’ for ways to find the
Bastion if they go on a raid or if they help scavenge. Megan was glad Oscar was taking everything in because she was lost, just following Kara like a helpless little lamb. They had only been walking for five minutes before Kara made them stop. Megan didn’t understand why they had stopped so abruptly, but then she heard. Footsteps, only they were quieter than last time.

“
Kara?” A voice whispered.

“
It’s us Nelson.” Kara replied in a hushed tone. She waved Megan and Oscar to follow her again.

“
I was surprised when you were gone.” Nelson said as the group approached him.

“
We had a bit of company. All dealt with now.”

“
I can see that.” Nelson looked up and down at Oscar’s blood stained clothes. “Anyone hurt?”

“
I’m fine.” Oscar replied.

Megan nodded her head.
“I’m okay.”

They travelled in a closely packed group. Nelson led the way and Kara covered the rear. Megan kept close to Oscar and grabbed his sleeve whenever the lights flashed out. Kara seemed unfazed by the flashing lights and Nelson looked mor
e annoyed than anything else. They stopped shortly at the bottom of a stairwell.

“
The Bastion is just up here.” Nelson turned to face Megan and Oscar as he spoke. “When we get in don’t do anything, just follow me. Don’t run off, even if you see someone you know, just keep following.” Nelson stopped until he received nods of acknowledgment from both Megan and Oscar. “I’ll be taking you to the leaders. They will want to know what you can offer to the Bastion. Right come on then.” Nelson led the way up the stairs and the others followed quickly.

“
Don’t worry about the leaders.” Kara whispered to Megan. “As long as you’re sane you’ll be fine. They’ll be pleased with your friend. He’s strong and he can handle himself. They’ll see him as a great addition.”

“
What about me? Will they see me as a burden?” Megan whispered back.

“
You’re a woman. You’ll get in.”

Megan didn’t understand what her gender had to d
o with being accepted into the ‘Bastion’, but before she could ask, Nelson had led them up to a double door leading into a cafeteria. He stood by the entrance, waited as everyone walked up the last few steps, and then pushed open the door.

“
Welcome to the Bastion.”

Megan walked through the double doors first. The cafeteria was huge,
larger than an auditorium. The ceiling was higher than Megan had anticipated. She couldn't see beyond a wall of overturned and stacked tables which narrowed from the double doors to an unstable looking metal bridge. She looked up from the wall. There were two towers on either side of the bridge, snipers positioned on each of them. Megan felt hands on her back and she was pushed forwards. Thin trails of smoke rose in the distance of the cafeteria and Megan could smell fresh meat being cooked. Her stomach rumbled. She had forgotten how good food could smell.

“
Nelson, Kara. Welcome back.” One of the snipers called down to them. “We’ll open the gate.”

There was a loud scratching noise as metal scraped against metal. The gate beyond the bridge opened slowly. It must have been heavy, Megan could see at least three people opening it. She walked on as the others passed besides her. As she got closer she realised the bridge raised up from stairs below it
, which was filled with barrels and boxes.

“
This is well fortified.” Oscar noted as he gazed around. “Is this the only way in and out?”

“
Only way in. Yes.” Nelson replied. As they continued to walk, the passage to the bridge became narrower and narrower. They went from walking in a group, to walking in pairs, to walking in single file, one behind the other. The passage widened again slightly just before the bridge. Nelson and Oscar crossed first, it looked unstable.

“
Come on.” Kara said as she stopped at a small ramp at the foot of the bridge and waited for Megan. Megan nodded and followed her carefully. The bridge was more stable this time, the weight difference between Nelson and Oscar must have caused the bridge to lean and sway. Megan squeezed through the gate, there were sharp splinters of metal poking out from it and she narrowly avoided them. She didn’t know how Oscar got through without a scratch. The metal scraped against the floor as the gate was closed behind them. Megan stepped to the side of Kara and looked around. There were self-made tents sprawled as far as she could see and there were people scattered around barrels with fires burning inside of them. They turned one by one as they noticed Megan and Oscar walk past, but they didn’t seem pleased, their faces told a different story, one of depression. Megan could guess what they were thinking
‘Oh great, more mouths to feed.’
Megan glanced away from the stares she knew were upon her. She brushed a man as she walked by. She could see his clothes were full of dirt and she knew they wouldn’t have been washed, but the stench of the man was horrifying. She forced herself not to gag. She took another glance around, it was only then when she noticed the lack of women. She quickly counted the people she could see, there must have been about a ten percent population of females, and most of them were teenagers.

They eventually reached a larger, cleaner looking tent. Nelson entered. Kara stopped at the entrance. Nelson returned shortly and signalled for the group to enter. Megan breathed deeply, and then closely followed Oscar. As she entered she saw a large table overflowing with papers in the centre of the tent. There were four people standing on the far side of the table beyond them.

“This is the couple who sent out the distress beacon.” Kara said as she moved to the side. The first person to look up from the table was a heavily wrinkled old man. His eyes had large bags under them, his head was bald, but his face was covered with a light grey beard.

“
Ah, welcome.” The old man returned to the papers on the table.

“
Come forward you two.” A younger man spoke, obviously a second in command or deputy. He looked up at Megan, and then Oscar. His face was freshly shaven and clean, he had a bandage which stretched around his head and covered his left eyebrow. “What are your names?”

“
Oscar Staten.”

“
I’m Megan Mason.”

“
I can’t say I’ve heard those names before.” The young man stated. He studied Oscar. “You seem like you can look after yourself.” He began to walk back and forth within the tent. “You’ve seen what it’s like out there? We’ve hardly survived a few days and we’re nearly out of food and water. We’ve sent people on raids to find food, water, clothes, pretty much anything that we can use. The thing is we keep losing people, either they’re dying or they’re just losing their minds. We need people who can look after themselves and the other people in the Bastion. Can we count on you to help us?” The four men around the table all gazed at Oscar as they waited for an answer.

“
Okay.” Oscar saw the relief on their faces. “But I want some things in return.”

“
What do you want?” The old man replied scratching his beard.

“
I want a clean tent, nothing too fancy, just a decent size and clean.”

“
We can do that.” Another man said with celerity.

“
And I want someone I can trust to watch over Megan when I’m on these raids.” Oscar glanced at Megan.

“
I don’t need protecting. I’m not a little girl.” Megan tried to sound defiant, but even she wasn’t convinced.

“
It’s probably for the best, Megan. You don’t know what’s going to happen on this ship.” Kara glanced around. Everyone nodded in agreement.

“
Did you have anyone in mind?” The old bearded man asked.

“
Yes, Kara.” Oscar said confidently.

“
Done.” The young deputy saw the protest in Kara’s eyes, but continued before she could speak. “Oscar you can partner with Nelson. You two will get things done much faster.”

They’re gaining on me.
Luke tried to sprint faster, but he felt his legs tiring, he needed to rest. The demonic people were faster and it felt like more were joining the chase every second.
I need to hide.
He glanced ahead and turned at the nearest open door.
Great stairs, that’s just what I needed.
Luke thought of a few expletives too, but he couldn’t change his mind now. If he went back he was as good as dead. There were too many to fight, his only hope was to keep going. The stairwell was large, but he kept climbing. His legs felt like they were going to collapse under him. He continued to push until he found a door. He sprinted through it, closed it behind himself, and then fell down and rested against it.

After a while Luke’s breathing eased. He must have lost them, but he couldn’t recall when. He wiped the sweat off of his forehead, and then slowly raised himself to his feet. His legs wobbled as he felt his muscles tighten.
I need to keep moving. I need to find Megan.
Luke motivated himself to walk through the corridor, it was only then that he realised he was in a cell block. There were glass cells all around him. Some were empty, some had motionless bodies, but a few others still had people in them. Luke moved over to the nearest person, they hadn’t seen him. He tapped on the glass. The thing turned around slowly, blood dripping from its mouth and a severed leg in its hands. It dropped the leg, bared its teeth and sprinted for him. Luke closed his eyes as the cannibal crashed against the glass and fell down backwards. He heard the insane creature whimper and saw it crawl to the corner of its cell and return to feasting on whatever it had been eating.

“
Hey, you.” A man spoke. Luke looked across to a cell further down. “Yes over here.” The man was pale, his lips were cracked, and he was thinner than any man Luke had ever seen.

“
Are you okay?” Luke asked, studying the man.

“
Oh yes, I’m fine. Just stuck in this cell, alone. You couldn’t maybe find the controls and let me out could you?” The man shifted his eyes all the time, never focusing. He never looked upon Luke once.

“
Why would I help you? You must be locked in a cell for some reason.”

“
It wasn’t my fault. Don’t tell me you’re just going to leave me here like the last two who came past. They let a couple of people out. Why can’t you?” The man turned to face Luke, but it felt like he was looking straight through him.

“
When did these people come?” Luke asked eagerly.

“
I don’t know a few days ago, maybe weeks, hell could be months. Hard to keep track of time here.” The man began to lick his lips. “I remember them people. That woman looked fine. If I wasn’t married… Hell I’d kill my wife for one night with her. Well if she wasn’t already dead.”

“
What did this woman look like?”

“
What’s with all these questions?” He paused as Luke stared back at him. “She was good lookin’ a bit petite, especially next to the man she was with.” The man paused again as he looked into Luke’s eyes for the first time. “She had eyes like yours though.”

“
Was the woman’s name Megan?” Luke asked.

“
How the hell am I supposed to know that? But if you let me out I can show you where they went.” The man still couldn’t focus on one thing longer than a few seconds.

“
Don’t even think about letting him out.” The woman in the next cell said.

“
You keep out of this now!” The man shouted as he punched the wall beside him.

“
We’ve been stuck in these cells without fresh food for three weeks. There’s only one way those of us that remain can survive.”

“
You’ve been eating each other?” Luke said, but he wasn’t shocked.

“
I’ve been fighting the urge, but I can’t help it. It’s like a voice in my head, and then before I know it it’s like I’m watching someone else control my body.” Tears filled the woman’s eyes. “Just look what it’s turned me into. What it’s turned my husband into.”

“
He’s your husband? I thought his wife was dead.”

“
My wife is dead! How dare you question my word!” The man became enraged and began to kick and punch at the glass in front of Luke.

“
You'd better leave before the noise attracts the others.”

Luke nodded, he felt sorry for the woman, he didn’t know what was changing the people aboard the ship, but it wasn’t as simple as he first thought.

The ship had returned to its quiet low hum. The last time the ship was as quiet as this Luke had walked into a room full of the savages. He was close to Megan now though, or at least he hoped he was.
That cafeteria must be around here somewhere.
Luke thought to himself as he glanced around the hallway. There was a shriek in the distance, and then a gunshot. Luke ran to the noise.
That must be it. People holding off against these demons, a resistance group.
There were double doors all around a wall to the end of the corridor. Luke reached the first pair of double doors. They were locked. He tried the next two, and they were locked too. He kept going checking all of the doors hoping to find one that would lead to Megan. He pushed a door and it opened, he grabbed his revolver, lifted it out of its holster and headed through the opening.

There were three bodies on the floor just in front of him. All three of them shot between the eyes. He quickly raised his hands above his head and slowly walked forward. Luke heard the faint sound of someone’s voice, and then another person's voice. He smiled as he approached the people, relieved to have found the resistance group.

“That’s far enough.” Someone shouted from above a makeshift bridge. Luke stood still and waited for instructions. There was a flash of light. He raised his arm to cover his eyes as someone shone a bright torch onto his face.

“
Who are you? What do you want?” Another person shouted.

“
My name is Luke Mason. I was searching for a resistance group who may know where my sister is. Her name is Megan.” For a while Luke heard nothing, and then someone shouted back.

“
We’re going to open the gate and let you in. First you need to throw down any weapon you have.”

Luke nodded, placed his revolver on the floor and kicked it towards the bridge.

“Open the gate.”

The gate began to open as it screeched against the cold metal floor. Luke had never been so relieved to hear such a piercing sound. Two people exited the fortified structure. One stopped and picked up Luke’s revolver.

“What is this thing?”

“
It’s an antique weapon. Be careful with it though, my grandfather gave it to me.” He replied.

“
What’s that thing strapped around your back?”

He had forgotten all about Megan’s rifle.
“It’s just something that belongs to my sister.”

“
Hand it over.”

Luke reluctantly gave the man his sister’s carbine.
Now I am defenceless.

“
Come on then, follow me.” The man led him over the bridge and past the gate. Luke couldn’t believe his eyes, there were still dozens of people. All of them staring at him like he was one of those savage beasts. He wanted to protest his innocence, but he kept his mouth shut. Two children ran past Luke and hurled a few insults at him as they ran. Luke didn’t react though, he was just happy some people were sane and safe. He glanced to the man at his left, he held Luke’s revolver, the man on the right held his sisters rifle.
I expect them back.
Luke thought as they led him to the largest tent.

“
Inside, let’s go.” One of the men barked. Luke did as he was told and entered the tent. There were three people standing around a table.

“
Who is this?” One of the three males snapped.

“
He claims to be Megan Mason’s brother.” The guards placed Luke’s weapons on the table.

“
What are these?” An old man with a grey beard questioned.

“
My guns.” Luke paused as he glanced at the M1 Carbine. “Well the larger one belongs to my sister.”

The youngest male around the table picked up and examined the revolver.
“It’s too heavy, and it takes too long to reload.” He threw it over to the old man.

“
It’s saved my life more than once.”

“
I bet it has.” The bearded man replied, before placing the revolver on the table. “You want to know where your sister is, right?”

Luke nodded.
“Is she here? Is she sane?” He paused for a moment. “Is she alive?” He feared for the worst.

“
She’s alive and saner than most. She came back from a raid with Oscar. She looked shaken, but fine.”

A teenage boy ran into the tent. He breathed heavily and tried to speak.
“Mr. Reilly.” The boy paused as he took a deep breath. “The people are growing agitated they want supplies.” He placed his hands on his knees as he rested. “What should I tell them?” He looked up at the old man with his large blue eyes.
He looks scared.

“
Tell them we’re sending out people to collect a large amount of food that was recently discovered.” Reilly gazed upon Luke. “If you agree to help us collect these supplies I’ll take you to your sister right now.”

“
I’ll help you out.” Luke eagerly responded.

“
Good.” Reilly turned to the teenage boy. “Spread the word throughout the Bastion of the food and of Luke’s arrival. They’ll be pleased to know there are still people alive and sane aboard the ship.”

The boy nodded, and then sprinted out of the tent. Luke watched as Reilly picked up the revolver and placed the carbine around his neck. He nodded for Luke to follow him. They exited the tent together and Reilly led him through the busy makeshift streets of the
Bastion. Luke could feel the change in atmosphere already. There was a buzz around the place. A sense of hope, a feeling of rejuvenated spirits, and a willingness to keep surviving.

“
How long have you been out there, Luke?”

“
A couple of days maybe.” Luke scratched his head as he tried to think. “How long have you been here?”

“
Well the ship went into chaos about a month ago. A small group of us took refuge in this cafeteria there must have been about eight of us at the time. We barricaded all the doors apart from a couple. Some people just found us, others heard our broadcast over their wrist devices. We had to take the broadcast down though. There were too many undesirable people, people who looked as though they were going to turn, besides we didn’t have enough supplies for the people we had here never mind trying to cope with more.”

Megan was lucky to get here when she did.
Luke’s thoughts were interrupted when he heard a shout in the distance. “Did you hear that?”

“
I heard a shout.” Reilly replied.

“
Stop it!” A female shouted from a distant tent. “Somebody help!”

“
That’s Megan.” Luke began to run in the direction of the pleas. Reilly moved as fast as he could.

“
No get off me.” Megan’s voice was fading. “Please.”

Luke turned back to Reilly, snatched the revolver out of his hands and
rushed into the tent.