Chapter Three

Chapter Three to post-apocalyptical dark fantasy The Cataclysm

"Sadness is inevitable, even in fiction"

-Aisha U-K Umaru

They were mere black etchings, mumbling incomprehensibly. Their black countenances were disrupted by the stars that Nyla saw when she opened her eyes. Her body felt disjointed, as if every limb had been torn from it's socket and reattached with fraying wires. 

"Mmbm." Her throat was clogged up, and every time she tried to speak a substance bubbled up to her airway, choking her. She begged for them to notice that she was conscious so that they could help her, but she felt trapped in the prison that was her poisoned body.

"Elizabeth Carter." Someone said; she recognised the voice as Walt's. Elizabeth Carter. The name floated around her head for a moment before registering in her brain. It belonged to her mother. Impossible. These people new more about her than they cared to admit; why though, she didn't know. She tried to listen to their ongoing conversation but her mind could register nothing but the pain she felt, and once more, she succumbed to sleep. 

When Nyla woke she was in the same metal bed that she had blacked out in, the only difference was that she was no longer clamped down. She lay motionless, covered in a thin white sheet, feeling like a corpse ready for burial. 

"You're awake!" Two bright blue eyes came into focus, followed by a halo of ginger hair. 

"I-" She started to say, before Mish clamped a hand over her cracked lips.

"You're not meant to speak," He said seriously, "It drains your energy, and we don't need you fainting again." His ever present smile came back, "Last time you were out for days…" Nyla ignored Mish as he rambled on and surveyed her surroundings. She was no longer in the large training warehouse, but had been relocated to a small trailer. It was empty except for her bed, the chair that Mish was sprawled across and the small medics table that held syringe after syringe, lined up in a menacing pattern. The door was open and it let in a gentle breeze, carrying the hushed tones of what sounded like a heated argument. 

"She could wake any moment," The first voice said, "And we don't have any VH1 left."

"We don't need anymore!" said the second person, a woman, "We already know that she's-" The conversation 

was cut short as Mish slammed the door shut with his foot.

"I'm not stupid you know." He raised an eyebrow in her direction, a disgruntled look on his face. She closed her eyes again, trying to make sense of what was happening to her, but her thoughts kept going back to Griffin. What was Exodus doing to him? He had promised not to hurt her younger brother as long as she could bring him back Gaz and Jake Logan but the way things were going she couldn't even guarantee taking herself back safely. She wondered if he knew that. 

"Why are you doing this to me?" She somehow found her voice only to be given a sour look by Mish; she wasn't meant to be talking.

"I'm not at liberty to discuss that." His dry humour tried to mask his obvious discomfort at the subject. 

"But you know why?" Nyla probed.

"It's complicated." Mish gave her a pointed look, telling her to drop the subject. She obliged, mostly because her throat was killing her, and her dark thoughts were threatening to suffocate her.

She thought back to the last time that she was conscious; Walt had said her mother's name, did that mean that she was still alive? She had disappeared months before the cataclysm, taking any trace of her existence with her. Elizabeth Carter. The name was so familiar but it conjured up so many bad memories that Nyla was forced to suppress it's existence to the back of her mind. Now those memories were threatening to boil back up and burn her.

"I think I saw a fish yesterday…" Mish's voice floated into her brain, bringing her back from her reverie. He was more jovial now, smiling to himself as he recalled things he'd possibly seen. Nyla found his mood-hops fascinating; even when he was slightly ticked off, he still found a way to bring a sort of joy to the dark emotion of anger, which she found remarkable. 

"How are you always so happy?" She asked, she words rushing from her mouth in a strained babble.

He paused before answering, "The way I see it there's no point in being sad. None of us can change the circumstances we live in, but we can change the way we live in them." He paused again, his brows furrowing, "I mean, that's what makes us humans special isn't it? The fact that amidst all the horror, chaos and inhumanity we witness every day, we're somehow able to manipulate hope into actions that better our situations and mentality. And besides," He smiled wryly, "The weather's moody enough, we don't need everyone else to be crabby as well." 

Nyla felt the floor of her mind crumble as he spoke. This joke-filled, red-headed stranger had touched upon such a delicate subject; the secret to happiness. As Mish sat back in his chair, oblivious to the emotions he had just fired up in her, she found herself thinking about the three keys of survival. Exodus had told her what she needed in order to survive; skill, knowledge and apathy. He was right about the first two, but she didn't need apathy to survive. She needed what Mish had an abundance of; pure jubilation. If she was going to die before she reached her little brother, then she had to die knowing to things; first that he was happy, and second, that she was too.

"Having a little daydream are we?" Mish waved his hand in front of her face, grinning away at nothing.

"I was just-" Before she could tell him what she was just doing, the door to the trailer banged open and Nyomi walked in, followed closely by a boy she did not recognise. 

"You're meant to keep her quiet." Nyomi snapped at Mish, obviously irate. 

"It wasn't my fault, our little captive here has a big mouth." Mish winked at Nyla as he threw her under the bus. Nyla was too busy surveying her new guest to appreciate his good humour. He was around the same age as Mish and had the same lean build, but everything else about him was different. His mouth did not venture upwards at the corners even for a second as he whispered something to Nyomi, and his dark eyes felt dead. Nyla was too groggy to tell wether he was handsome or not, but something about the way his features fit together on the grim canvas of his face was intriguing. 

"Leave." Nyomi jerked her head towards the door as she addressed Mish.

"Yes Ma'am." He said as he saluted her, before casually sauntering out. 

"How are you feeling?" Nyomi asked. Her tone said she didn't care, so Nyla didn't bother answering.

"She's obviously feeling better Nyomi." The boy spoke in a hushed voice, as if, like her, he wasn't meant to be talking at all. 

"Yes, well, looks can be deceiving." Nyomi glanced at the boy before making her way over to Mish's vacated seat. "Nyla, I think it's time you finally meet the brains behind what's been happening to you. This, is Gaz Logan." She gestured to the boy, who was now approaching her bed. 

"Nice to meet you." Gaz said. Nyla wasn't surprised. Although Nyomi had an authoritative feel about her, she knew that if she was really the boss she would never have come to personally drug her. Someone had to be higher ranked than her, and she'd always had a small suspicion that it was Gaz and Jake. She wasn't surprised, rather scared.

"What are you doing to me?" She asked the same question she had asked Mish, this time directing it to Gaz.

"Testing you." He replied without missing a beat. His eyes stayed fixed on her as hers darted to Nyomi and back.

"Testing me for what?" She was afraid to find out. 

"You'll find out soon enough." Nyomi said, jumping in. A moment of silence filled the room as both strangers stared at Nyla.

"Disgusting isn't it?" Gaz said, breaking the silence.

Nyomi cocked her head to the side, only slightly interested, "What is?"

"How much she looks like her mother." Gaz let out a short bark of laughter, the only real emotion Nyla had seen him show until then. The skilled side of her leapt at the information that he knew what her mother looked like, but the teenage side of her mused over the fact that he found their resemblance disgusting. 

"She does look like Elizabeth doesn't she? Especially that hair." Both sets of eyes darted to Nyla's dark hair. It was matted with sweat and dirt, but the deep chestnut colour was still somewhat visible.

"We should let her rest." Gaz finally said, disregarding her presence as he began to leave, "And have Walt bring her some food; she looks malnourished." Nyla bit her lip, stopping herself from calling out something vulgar. She had no protection and he could easily kill her, so it was better to stay on his good side, whatever that looked like.

"He's right," Nyomi stood up to leave but stopped before she had taken a step towards the door, "You know…" She spoke softly, her tone almost accusatory, "My son died from the plague."

Nyla was lost for words, unsure as to why Nyomi was telling her this, especially so suddenly. She felt no remorse for the woman though, only anger, "Is that why you injected me with it? To kill me? Are you trying to recreate what happened to your son on random strangers? What happened to him was natural, not man made and dealt out in syringes!"

As she replied, Nyomi's eyes didn't tell a story of grief, instead, one of revenge, "Sure," she said, "Natural."

Author's Note

please tell me what you think! what can be improved etc :)

Reviews

[MOON]

Deep dark holds the readers attention.

[FantasyLover24601]

Whoa! Hello sudden dark turn! This is a great chapter and I'm really intrigued by the characters you have written. I think you are doing a great job of adding a little bit more depth to these characters with each chapter. I like seeing their different sides and layers and they definitely keep me guessing!

[T. Logan]

I like how it's dark but still really good. Usually i don't read dark ish things, but I like this.

[Lena Rossmore]

thank you!

[Chloe]

This is amazing! I want to read more

[Lena Rossmore]

thank you! more will be up soon :)

[Renée]

I am sorry I am not a professional writer..but this is very good. Kept my attention to the point of wanting to read on..but alas that is all you have written so far...
I didn't see any corrections that were needed..which usually pop out like large sores when you are engrossed in a story... great writing !

[Lena Rossmore]

thank you so much :) and more will be up soon!

[Renée]

looking forward to it ( :

[Ian H Morrison]

very dark but powerful and very well written brilliant

[Lena Rossmore]

thank you!

[Gretchen Clarke]

Whew! Dark ending! Sends shivers all over the place! *points to arm* Look at this! I have goosebumps because of that ending! You are a natural at making people, or at least me, shiver.
Keep up the great (and spooky!) work!

[Lena Rossmore]

ahaha thank you very much!