Memoirs From the End of the World: Entry #27

It's time for another adventure with RC.  For those who need to catch up, the entire story can be found on this PAGE.

Memoirs From the End of the World

Entry #27

“We’re in danger,” the young man replied hurriedly as the sound of footsteps sounded above them.  “They have surveillance equipment set up all over this house.  The moment you stepped foot in here, you probably triggered an alarm.  Someone may even be watching us right now.”

RC nearly choked as her throat tightened.  “Are you sure?”

“That’s how we were captured,” he replied.  “We’d raided their supplies before.  I guess they got sick of it.”

Then Alyx flew into the room, foregoing the last three stairs completely in his haste.  A second set of footsteps indicated that Ollie wasn’t far behind.

“How long do you think we have?” RC demanded.

He shrugged.  “No more than a few minutes.  Whoever was on the lookout when we were caught must have been ready to go, because we were only in the house about fifteen minutes before being hauled down here.”

Though Alyx didn’t hear the entire conversation, he clearly didn’t like the bit he did hear.  “Maybe this was a bad idea,” he mumbled quietly as he started to search their surroundings.  “Do you know where they hid the keys for the lock on that chain?”

The young man shook his head.  “They’re not hidden.”  Then he looked up.

Following his gaze, RC saw what must have been intended as a cruel joke.  The keys dangled from a little hook in the ceiling.  They were always right there, out of reach, taunting him.  “That’s cold,” she remarked.

While Alyx worked to free him, RC returned to his sister.  Another set of keys hung above her head.  In this case, the reprehensible cruelty of this group would work to their advantage.

“What’s your name?” she heard Alyx ask.

“Tim.  My sister’s name is Jill.”

By the time Ollie made it down, RC had already freed Jill, though she remained unconscious.  “You’re going to need to help me with her.”

Ollie sprang into action, pulling one of the woman’s limp arms around his shoulders.  He clutched her against him with his other arm.  “Who are these people?” he asked.

“We don’t have time to answer that question now,” RC said dismissively.  “We need to worry about getting out of here.”

Alyx had to help Tim in spite of the fact that he kept insisting he was fine.  It took both RC and Ollie to move Jill, and that was anything but simple on those narrow, rickety stairs.  Even so, all five of them made it to the main floor of the house. 

“A patrol should be here any minute,” Tim lamented as he stared at the front door.

“Ollie, you’re going to have to carry her out of here by yourself,” Alyx said softly.  “Rose, you’ll need to stick close and help Tim as much as you can.”

Stopping to glare at his brother, Ollie demanded, “What about you?”

“I’ll lag behind and keep an eye on things,” he replied.  “I won’t be too far behind though.  I promise.”

RC wanted to argue with him, and if it weren’t for the sheer lack of time, she would have happily done so until her voice gave out.  Unfortunately there wasn’t time to try to convince him of anything.  “Just be careful,” she barked.

With the few supplies they’d managed to gather strapped to their backs and the rest of their strength devoted to helping Tim and Jill, RC and Ollie moved quite slowly.  Jill started to respond to her surroundings.  She seemed to be only half awake, as if she were reacting to something happening to her in a dream.  Her head rested awkwardly against Ollie’s shoulder as they moved.

Tim and RC trudged through the snow a little behind Ollie and Jill.   The all tried to stick to a route where a layer of ice covered the snow.  This helped them avoid making footprints.  Even so, they found themselves occasionally sinking knee-deep into the snow. 

RC kept looking back to make sure Alyx was okay.  The first few times, she saw him several yards behind them, wielding a baseball bat he’d retrieved from the house.  He might be able to take down a couple of people with that should anyone come after them, but any more than that, and they would all have a serious problem.

Then, when she looked back the last time, she saw Alyx falling into a snow drift.  At first she figured he tripped, but he didn’t move.  After several moments, she knew something had to be wrong.  “Keep walking if you can,” she told Tim.  “I’ll be right back.”

She reversed course.  Though she tried to hurry, her progress was slow.  Her feet kept punching through the icy surface of the snow drift.

As a result, she hadn’t quite made it to Alyx when they slipped out from behind a nearby house.  Gas Can held a dart gun in hand.  That’s when she saw the dart sticking out of Alyx’s back.  They’d taken him down in one silent shot.

RC only had a knife, and she couldn’t throw a knife worth a damn.  If she tried, she’d only be handing them another weapon. And Gas Can could bring her down in a split second.

When she felt the prick of the dart in her neck, her heart started to race.  What would they do to her?  To Alyx?  Would they ever be able to escape a second time?  Somehow, it seemed unlikely.

The warmth of the tranquilizer spread steadily from the wound, and her knees buckled.  Her vision blurred as her whole body swayed.  The snow cushioned her fall as her eyelids blotted out the last traces of light.


Go to Entry #28