The Tag Bearer

Chapter 18 - The Room

I sat in a small, dark room. It was cold and I shivered as I lay curled up on the tiled flooring, gazing at the ceiling and wishing it was covered in stars. I ignored the cushioning of white walls and the single bed that lay in the middle, determined to punish myself.

A tear slipped from the corner of my eyes, running down my cheek. It made a small splash as it hit the tiles and I succumbed to the sudden appearance of Allan's angelic face.

I missed him. I missed the way he held me, the way he laughed with me and especially the way we just clicked as one. His brown face glowed a golden hue in front of me and his curly black hair, cropped close to his head, looked like little spirals of freshly mowed grass. A feeling I couldn't describe washed over me and I blinked, trying to rid myself of it. Why did everyone have to leave me so readily?

I couldn't stop the tears from coming. He was right there, teasing me as though I could hug him, and the world would be alright again. Somehow fate didn't want him around, it knew I didn't need him, yet for some reason two young men had entered deaths door in his place. It felt too familiar. Bryce and Matthew were all I had, and I needed them.

I shuddered, the imagery of Matthew's horrible wounds playing on my mind. His body had thinned out, exposing his ribs to the cold, and it still worried me. His open gashes looked infected and perhaps septic too, but I didn't have the energy nor will to forgive him for putting me through this mess just yet.

My body was exhausted, and I felt my eyelids begin to droop. I curled up into a ball on the tiles, drinking in the warmth I had created. It reminded me of the comfort of my sleeping quarters - back when I was somewhat safe. Content at the thought, it wasn't long before sleep succumbed me into its embrace.

I stood on a sidewalk somewhere within the city of New Atlanta. I'd never been down this road before, but little pink daisies encircled me, their leaves as green as ever. Not a single soul could be seen, and I wondered on in search of life. Perhaps I would find a modified bee poised on a little flower, trying to suckle the nectar greedily from it?

'Optimism is always a good sign,' I thought to myself, taking another step and letting my hand brush some deep blue, almost purple flowers. They were striking in their colour and I stopped to gaze at them.

I smiled, but it faded into confusion when the strange new flowers began to curl up and brown, falling to the ground in a heap, dead. I turned back as a loud noise drew my attention to the end of the street.

A flood of dead bodies was fast approaching. Each one was tagged with bright colours – red, blue and green – and at the front of the line, Sergeant Hill stood riding on the bodies of the people I once knew. My father, my mother, Allan, F89, Bryce and Matthew all swarmed in closer, their faces ghostly pale as Sergeant Hill stood on top of the most frightening face of them all.

Maurice, in all his portly ways, rose up barely a centimetre behind Hill and hoisted the Sergeant up onto his shoulders. He waved a gun around in front of him as Sergeant Hill sat comfortably around his neck, pointing at me. I yelled out to him, unable to hear my own voice. He didn't scare me, even though, deep down, I was frightened to death. The swarm of bodies got closer and closer; they didn't stop. I was going to be swallowed up by the dead. My eyes widened and I put my arms around my face to protect it....

I woke up screaming and in a puddle of thick sweat. A loud bang from outside the door caught my attention and I yelped, unfurling to see the door more clearly.

My eyes trained on it, wide open with anticipation, as it slowly swung open and Sergeant hill walked in, brooding as always.

"How do you feel, my dear?" he asked calmly, taking in the features of the small dwelling. My lips were sealed firmly shut as I looked at him in fear, the dream still vivid in my mind. He approached me and crouched down beside me on the floor, his knees cracking. "How would you like to see your friends?"