User blog:Joeaikman/Wiki: Apocalypse - Chapter 3 - Paradise From a Prison Cell

Justin is sat on his throne in the reception of the office building. The glass doors and windows have been blocked off, leaving the room gloomy and dark, lit only by the artificial lights high up on the ceiling. Nathan and Felco are stood either side of the steps leading up to the throne. Brandon is knelt before them, and Cam is prowling behind him.

Justin: This place has rules. You are new. You broke them. What do you have to say for yourself? How do you explain your actions?

Brandon splutters on the floor. There is blood in his mouth. He has just come before Justin after being beaten by Cam.

Brandon: You- You let them kill each other-

Justin: That's the point. It reminds my people that this world is dangerous. It scares them into line, so that those who don’t go past the walls every day don’t grow complacent.

Brandon: Keep telling yourself that-

Nathan: You speak when spoken too, bitch!

Justin: Let us stay calm, Nathan. Brandon is new to our group. He doesn’t know how we work. He probably didn’t even have the rules explained to him.

Felco: Actually, sir. That's wrong. I clearly explained all of our rules. He just chose to break them.

Brandon gawped at Felco. That was a lie and he knew it. He had never explained anything about the games. Zander and Matthew had been the first to tell him about them.

Brandon: Liar-

Justin smiled and rose his finger to demand silence.

Justin: Thank you for enlightening me, Felco. In that case, you, Brandon, have broken one of our rules. I am sure that Felco told you what happens to those who break the rules here when he told you them.

Brandon: He never-

Justin: There is no strike policy in The Community, Brandon. You break the rules, you go to jail, and when you are in jail you fight in the games.

Nathan laughed at Brandon’s utter disbelief. Felco had a smirk on his face.

Brandon: You- You arranged this. You knew this would happen-

Justin smiled.

Justin: Did I? Now why on earth would I go to all that trouble, when I could just throw you and your brother in jail the moment that my men found you on our property? You’re making no sense, boy.

Brandon is left speechless, and Justin rises from his seat. Cam grabs Brandon by the scruff of his neck and drags him to the door that leads down to the basement. Justin smiles as Nathan laughs.

Justin: You are weak, Brandon.

Brandon and Cam disappear down the stairs.

Justin: And weak people die.

-

Matteo and Kung are sat at their station deep in the depths of the main building of The Community. Kung has his head in his hands, whilst Matteo is perched on his chair, eating some crisps.

Kung: Oh god. Oh god. Oh god.

Matteo sighs.

Matteo: What is it?

Kung: Why do you care?

Matteo shrugs.

Matteo: I don’t, but I figure that you want me to ask. I probably won’t listen, though. I just don’t want you to think I’m anti-social or something.

Kung thumps the table in front of him and Matteo shirks back at the sound, almost falling off his chair.

Matteo: What was that for?

Kung: I’m just about sick of this place. I have to put up with you all day, and now Brandon has been taken away. What are they going to do with him.

Matteo: Oh, all that'll happen is Justin will shake him up a bit.

Kung: Really?

Matteo holds up his finger and looks at Kung in an irritated fashion.

Matteo: I wasn’t finished. Then your brother will go into the arena with one of the other prisoners to fight to the death.

Kung: You- You couldn’t have fucking led with that part?

Matteo: Of course I could have, but that would've made no sense. Why would I tell you that he would die and then tell you Justin would scare him in prison? That's the wrong way around.

Kung: Oh my god, dude. I don’t give a fuck.

Matteo looks at Kung as if he is crazy.

Matteo: You asked me-

Kung: I know, I know. I’m sorry for snapping.

Matteo: That’s alright. I understand.

Kung: Do you-

Matteo: No, not really, but I thought that was the kind of thing I should say.

Kung: I was going to ask if you knew where the prison cells are.

-

The scene is the same prison cell that has appeared before. Barry is slouched against the wall on one side, with Stan sat directly opposite him. Rob is laid in the middle of the room, staring up at the ceiling.

Barry: So this guy has saved Stan’s life now too.

Rob: What was it you were saying about you not owing him your life, Stan?

Stan: Fuck you, Rob. I could have-

Barry: Beaten Mendes? Yeah right, dude. Where is he anyway?

Rob: Nathan came in and took him whilst you were asleep. Says we're getting a new cellmate. Reckon it's gonna be the guy that saved Stan.

Stan: Fuck you.

The door opens then and Brandon is thrown on the floor. Cam follows him in and gives him one last kick in the stomach before grabbing Stan and pulling him from the room. The door then closes behind him.

Barry: Is this the guy?

Rob sits up and Barry goes over to Brandon.

Rob: That’s him, yeah.

Barry smiles and kneels down next to Brandon.

Barry: You okay, man?

Brandon: I- I think I'll live. Who are you?

Barry: Me? My name is Hugh Hefner.

Brandon stared at Barry, a confused look on his face.

Rob: Ignore him. He thinks he's funny. This is Barry Anson. Your name was Brandon, right?

Brandon: Yeah… Brandon Crevicees. You’re Rob Goman, yeah? You’re the guy that we rescued.

Rob smiled sadly.

Rob: The very same. Didn’t do either of us much good, did it?

Brandon: I'd rather be me than Tigar and Nit. That Nathan guy killed both of them.

Rob: I'd rather be them. They died quickly, at least, and aren’t having their ends delayed.

Barry sighed exasperatedly.

Barry: This one is a massive downer. He still doesn’t believe that someone is gonna come and save us. I know that somebody's probably already on the way. My leader wouldn’t just leave me and Stan in a place like this.

-

Han is sat in the corner of his garage. One of the town’s jeeps is in the middle of the space. He is slowly sipping from a bottle of water. The town had to conserve the water they got, because clean water was hard to find. They had already gone through all the water from the office building. Enter Skeep and Leege. Leege has a bandage over his wound.

Leege: Do you ever actually do anything? I only ever seem to find you sitting down.

Han: Just finished, actually. Gonna keep this jeep here so that we can use it to escape whenever we decide to.

Leege: About that. Me and Skeep were talking, and we think that you’re right.

Han: Right? About what?

Skeep: About Justin. We think that he has changed from the man that we both knew before all this started. He is darker. He enjoys the murder. Sometimes I see him on the walls staring out at the dead. He smiles. He enjoys their suffering.

Han: I did-

Leege: Don’t you dare say that you told me so. We have one condition for if we make our escape in a few days. We want to rescue the prisoners and take them with us.

Han looks at Leege questioningly.

Han: What? Why? That is a massive risk-

Leege: We know, but some of those people are survivors.

Skeep: I’m an old man, Han, and you haven’t been outside the walls since you arrived here. We won’t live long if Leege is the only one used to handling himself.

Leege: Besides, I heard them talking about some community that two of them came from. It sounded like a utopia compared to this place, and if we returned their men then Justin wouldn’t be able to touch us there.

Han: If we get caught-

Leege smiles and puts his right hand on Han’s shoulder.

Leege: Don’t worry. I won’t be.

-

Stan is laid out before Justin’s throne. He is moaning and groaning, with Cam stood over him. Justin sits on his throne still, laughing. Felco has left the group, but Nathan is still stood at the base of the steps, a smirk on his face.

Justin: I didn’t get to see you bleed for me yesterday evening, scum. You will bleed for me now. Kick him harder, Cam.

Cam buries another kick into Stan’s stomach. Stan calls out in pain. Justin laughs.

Justin: Nathan, help Cam bring our friend to his feet.

Nathan nods and walks over to where Cam is stood over Stan. He helps Cam haul Stan to his feet. Stan’s face is bloody and bruised. It looks like his nose may be broken. Justin dismounts from his throne and walks over, so that he is stood in Stan’s face.

Justin: My men tell me that you are the quiet one of the little duet. Would you agree with that?

Stan has to muster the strength to answer.

Stan ...yes.

Justin: I like quiet people. They don’t interrupt me when I’m talking.

Justin pulls a knife from the sheath at his belt. It is a simple blade, made of silver steel, and with a brown handle.

Justin: I sharpened this up only this morning. It is something I treasure very much. This was the knife I used to kill the very first of those things outside the walls, when it came at me. I am here because of this knife. It is a very special thing to me.

Justin runs the point of the blade along Stan’s cheek, not cutting the skin. Stan is breathing heavily.

Justin: Hold him very still, boys. You aren’t gonna want to move much here, bro.

Justin forces Stan’s mouth open and puts the tip of the blade inside. He runs it along Stan’s tongue.

Justin: Do you really need a tongue, since you don’t talk much. Maybe I should remove it now, and watch you choke on it, or I might let you live and work for me. You would owe me, wouldn’t you? For helping you escape all those awkward situations where you have to talk to people you don’t like. I am quite merciful like that.

Justin smiles and licks his lips at the thought. Then he pulls his knife back and laughs, stretching his arms out as he walks backwards.

Justin: Just kidding, bro! It is the fucking apocalypse, after all! If I start killing every guy who upsets me slightly then there won’t be any fucking people left over! Why aren’t you laughing? Didn’t you enjoy my joke.

Stan stays silent for a few seconds. It looks like he is about to say something, but then he spits on the ground. Justin looks down at it and frowns.

Justin: Take him back to his cell. Send Skeep down to fix him up in a couple of days. Leave him to suffer a bit first.

Nathan and Cam nod, and walk off with Stan down the stairs that lead to the makeshift cells. Justin turns and walks back up to his throne. He sits himself back down and stares intently across the room.

-

This scene occurs at the same time as the previous two. Brandon is seated against the wall with Barry alongside him. Rob is slumped in the corner, looking pretty asleep.

Barry: It’s great, man. I think you would fit right in there. I have a wife there, and a boy that we adopted after he arrived at the gates entirely by himself. Apparently he made his own way there. His real parents- They didn’t last long. His uncle lived in the town that we made our home in.

Brandon: His uncle-

Barry: Also didn’t make it. I am looking forward to the day when the two of you meet. Nial would love you, too. He is our leader. He has been talking about setting up some farming behind our walls…

Brandon: Could we bring my brother, too?

Barry laughs.

Barry: Sure! We're always looking for more people. If the two of you are both natural born survivors then I ain’t seeing any reason not to bring you. I am sure Stan’ll agree, after you saved him, an’ all.

Brandon: You have a wife?

Barry: Yeah, man. We met just after all this shit went down. We were both single before, and she saved my life, then I saved hers, and one thing led to another… Has somebody explained to you how all that works? What happens when a man and a woman love each other…

Brandon flushed a deep red colour.

Brandon: Yeah. My dad told me. Before he-

Barry: You don’t have to explain shit, man. We've all lost people that we loved. The important thing is that we survive, and preserve their memory.

-

This scene occurs at the same time as the three scenes previous to it. Kung and Matteo are still in the camera room. Matteo keeps swiping at his eyes every couple of seconds.

Kung: Are you alright?

Matteo: I’m hunky dory. Why do you ask?

Kung: You look pale as shit. When do you sleep.

Matteo: I take naps in my chair now and again. Nathan gets me lots of coffee when he goes out on runs. That is why I sometimes act erratic.

Kung: Yup… That’s why…

Matteo: What're you implying?

Kung: Nothing! Look, dude, if you want to sleep in a proper bed for a change then I can watch the cameras without you for like five hours.

Matteo silently stared straight ahead of himself for a few seconds.

Kung: Hello? Did you-

Matteo: You would do that for me?

Kung: Absolutely.

Matteo stays silent for a few seconds. Then he gets up and uncomfortably hugs Kung. Kung pats him on the back, equally uncomfortable.

Matteo: Thanks. I think I just made a new friend.

Kung: It- It’s nothing.

Matteo: Of course it's something.

Matteo pulls out of the hug and walks to the door.

Matteo: Remember to-

Kung: Keep the screens clean every three hours. I know.

Matteo: If you need Nathan-

Kung: His number is 436 on the intercom.

Matteo: You listen to the things I say? Man, this friendship just gets better and better.

Kung sat at his desk as Matteo left. He could still hear the guy droning on about how he had never had a real friend a few minutes after he had gone. Eventually it went silent. He felt bad for betraying Matteo’s trust, sure, but he needed to save Brandon. He tried to put out of his mind how Matteo would be punished when Justin found out they were gone.

Kung: I’m coming, brother.

-

Zander and Matthew are stood on the walls of The Community, looking down the main road that led to the safe zone. A large zombie walked into view from down a back alley. Matthew pointed to it.

Matthew: I bet you can’t hit that fucker.

Zander: Dude, you’re on.

Zander positioned his rifle on top of the wall. He took his aim and pulled the trigger and there is a loud crack. His rifle bounces back, and the bullet ricochets off the wall behind the zombie that he had been aiming at. Matthew bursts into laughter.

Zander: Fuck.

Matthew: You are such a bad shot, man. Who taught you again?

Zander: Nathan taught me just after I arrived. I’m better up close. Not sure why the even have me on the fucking walls and not out there on supply runs.

Enter Felco from behind the two of them. He has just come from the throne room where he had been with Justin and Brandon.

Felco: You are up here because we all have to do our bit. You are a bad shot, though. Maybe I should have Leege take you over how to shoot. I would have asked Raven, but… Well, you know.

The three of them stand in silence for a few seconds.

Felco: Give me your weapon, Zander. I want to see if I can hit him.

Zander passed his weapon over to the commander, who knelt down and readied for the shot.

Felco: The trick is to make sure you factor in his movement patterns…

Felco pulls the trigger, and the bullet flies through the air, and hits the target square in the head. The large zombie tumbles over instantly.

Felco: There you go.

Zander: Man, forget Leege. I wish you could teach me.

Felco: Maybe I can.

Felco pushes the rifle back into Zander’s chest, and then a worried look crosses his face.

Felco: You did check with Matteo before you fired that shot, right?

Matthew and Zander exchange a sheepish look. Felco pulls out a walkie talkie.

Felco: Matteo? Matteo, you there? Matteo we need to know something-

Zander’s eyes open wide and he points down the road. A large amount of zombies pour out of the side alleys, joined by some coming down the main road.

Zander: It’s a herd! It’s coming for us!