THE LAST OF THE TWENTY

By

J.N. Wdowski

Fountain of Truth

"You sure about this?" Gilbert reluctantly followed his commander.

"No, but what other choice do we have?" Miller responded.

"We still have another few hours of day light. We could find something better further up the road."

Miller at full alert walked into the old complex, "It's a shopping mall. We should be able to find supplies here."

"The last shopping mall we lost the rest of our team."

"Just don't drink the water. We should be fine." Commander Miller un-slung his Pepa rifle leading his only remaining member of his command into the main doors of the New Rochelle Mall just off Route One.

"I am really getting tired of this." Gilbert whined as he scanned the deserted shopping mall that already had several small trees growing up out of the floor tiles.

"What's the alternative?" Miller responded spotting a pharmacy and heading towards it.

Before entering the pharmacy Gilbert looked at an old poster in the window, “Isn’t that ironic.” Gilbert’s voice exposed how rattled he was. He read out loud the fading poster that promoted a DNA sampling product “’Discover Your Roots.’”

Miller walked up to the poster and yanked it off the inside glass. “More like; let us sell your DNA code, so Communist Chinese can create a targeted bioweapon.” He tore up the poster in his hands, throwing the shreds down on to the moldy and weed covered mall floor. He ordered Gilbert “Forget it. What’s done is done. Stay focused on our mission.”

"What mission? We should have never left the shelter. How could they think that only twenty of us could have reclaimed this world?" Gilbert re-slung his Photon Energy Particle Accelerator (PEPA) after he took off his backpack to begin filling it with medical supplies. Reading the labels of one of the meds in his hand he threw it to the ground “What are we doing, these are all expired decades ago. They are useless”.

"Do we have to have this conversation again?" Miller also slung his PEPA and began to fill his backpack "Where are you not clear on our mission?"

"I know, I know." Gilbert answered as he zipped up his filled bag. "Can we get out of here now? You know how much the mindless prune faces love these kinds of places."

"I am set." Miller zipped up his bag. Weighted heavily with the additional bottled sports drinks, he lifted it up and threw it on his back. "This should last us a few days at least." He realized his canteens were extremely light as he spotted a fountain still running in the center of the mall. The solar panels on the mall's roof must still be functioning he thought to himself.

Gilbert looked at Miller knowing what he was thinking." You sure it is not contaminated?"

Miller walked up to the fountain, as he removed a test kit from one of his leg cargo pockets. "I am sure the pool is, but the running water could be free of the bug." He inserted one of his test strips into the fountain of what seemed like clear clean fresh water. The white test strip to their disappointment turned an instant blood red.

"I could have told you." Gilbert responded.

"Damn!" Miller blurted not meaning to speak so loud. In response to his exclamation several loud bangs echoed throughout the mall. The two reclaimsmen un-slung their PEPAs and instinctively put their backs to each other with their weapons aiming outward at the unseen danger. From all directions they could hear the shuffling of scores of feet moving closer towards them. The broken skylights above them still gave them a large shaft of protective sunlight.

"Do you think we can make it to the doors?" the fear in Gilbert's voice was clear to Miller.

"Miller!" a voice called out to him from the shadows.

"Is that you, Kim?" Miller shouted back.

The voice did not reply.

"Sounds like the bug has not rotted out your mind completely yet. Why don't you just let us go as we came!" Miller responded to the silence.

"Can't let you." the voice finally responded.

"Why not, Kim?" Gilbert anxiously shouted out.

Silence.

"Why not!" Gilbert even more rattled screamed out at the disembodied voice.

"This new world. New age. You are the old. Disease. No room for you and yours."

"A new world?" Miller chuckled, "Reverting back to the primitive is not what I would call new."

"We no bend nature to us." The voice responded. "We bend to nature."

"Mother nature can be a bitch, Kim!" Miller answered. "Man without tools is no match for her!"

"We survive!" The voice for the first time immediately responded.

"Survive? Your kind is lucky to make it to adulthood, and even then, you live what, another ten years at best? That is if wild dogs don't catch you in the open. The wolves and bears are returning to the cities. Man without tools, is nothing more than food, for the children of Mother Nature."

"That was poetic." Gilbert whispered to Miller "Did that just come to you?"

"I’ve been kind of waiting to use that line."

Gilbert let his fear subside just enough to give a smile to Miller's response.

"That her choice!" The voice sounded closer as the protective shaft of sunlight narrowed to the setting sun "If we to feed her children so be it!"

"Sorry, we have no interest in being dog food!" in response to Miller's reply one of the prune faces jumped out of the shadows to strike at them, only to be blinded by the shaft of sunlight forcing it back into the safety of the darkness.

"We are not going to have this light much longer." Gilbert pointed out as they moved closer to each other in the shrinking beam of light.

"Gilbert, join us." the voice did not scream out this time, yet seemed much closer. "Don’t die like the others. Join us."

From all around them several dozen voices began to chant "Join, join, join."

Gilbert looked to the floor and could see the shadows creeping up on him, like a clock of doom. He took off his combat helmet. Beads of sweat covered his brow. "I can't go through this anymore."

Miller looked over his shoulder at Gilbert "What are you talking about?"

"We've lost. It is over. We started with twenty in our team, and in only a few days, it is only the two of us." Gilbert began to lower his weapon.

“Are you losing your mind?” Miller protested. “Stand at the ready, Gilbert!”

“I think I am. I think I'm losing my mind." His voice shook as he spoke, "This is not what we were created and trained for.” Gilbert dropped his rifle at his feet.

"Pick up your weapon! That is an order!”

Gilbert ignored Miller; instead, he focused on the sight and calming sound of the fountain water.

"Drink. Drink from the waters of truth." Kim's voice seemed even closer.

"Drink, drink, drink." became their new chant.

"Drink, be one with nature." Kim encouraged Gilbert.

“Gilbert!” Miller screamed trying to get his comrade to snap to.

“We are already dead. We are running out of supplies, most of our energy packs are depleted.” As the darkness began to crawl up Gilberts legs, he looked one last time at Miller. “I rather live another ten years, than die now. Face it we are in the wrong place, in the wrong time. We are not meant to be here.”

Gilbert turned his attention back to the fountain; entranced with the sight and sound of the cool clear water as it shot up in the air and arced as gravity pulled it back down. Cupping his hands he reached into the spray of water, filling them. The shaft of sunlight narrowed more so and moving away from the fountain. Miller staying in the safety of the light moved with it, away from Gilbert and the fountain. Gilbert was soon lost in the shadows.

"No!" Miller screamed as he began to fire his PEPA. Balls of pure photon energy shot out from his weapon lighting up and killing instantly those that stood before him in the dark. He kept firing as he cut a path for himself towards the main doors that they had entered by.

"Kill him!" Kim shouted to his followers.

As Miller ran and fired before him, he could feel the claws of hands reaching out to him from all sides, but he just kept firing and running to the doors that would bring him back to the outside. He finally shot a burst through the closed entrance doors and was soon bathed in the late afternoon sun. The hands that tried to grab him remained in the shadows of the shopping center. He made it out, but he lost Gilbert. He was alone; the last of the twenty.

Catching his breath, he slipped a fresh energy pack into his PEPA. He noted he was down to only two charged packs. He knew he could not stay where he was. As soon as the sun set they would be out in force. Only the sun held them back. Miller would need to put enough distance between him and them before they did. His HUD display in his helmet visor informed him he had just over an hour to find a place he could safely hold up for the night.

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