A New Evil...

The fourth entry in End of Days...

A New Evil...
   A flash of light, a distant sound, everything was very strange. I woke with a start and leaned forward, I was on a medical cot. What the hell, I thought. A sharp pain went through my body and memories flooded back. Jackson had stabbed me and taken Kevin to who knows where. Feelings of desperation coursed through my body as I got up. The door ahead of me opened and a man with overalls and a striped shirt walked in holding a platter of food.
   "Oh, you're awake," he stated.
   "Yeah..." I replied "What happened and why am I here?
   "Your so called 'buddy' attacked you and took that teenager with 'im. Was he related to you?" He questioned.
   "Um, yeah. He was my son." I replied with tears in my eyes.
   "That's a shame. You gonna go after 'im?" He asked.
   "Yeah, I think so. Do you have any idea where he went?" I questioned.
   "Yes, he was heading North. Our scouters shot at him and he ran into the forest with your boy." He replied.
   "Ok, I'm going to leave now. Thanks for everythi-" He raised his hand to tell me to be silent.
   "Listen, if you're gonna go after that man, you need gear. We have plenty of SWAT weapons and riot gear here. You can have one of everything." He stated. He lead me to the armory and opened the door with a key. I went inside and grabbed the nearest riot gear, sniper rifle, riot shield, and grenade belt.
   "Damn, this armory is stocked. I'll definitely be able to kill him with this stuff." I stated.
   "Yeah, now go. You have a job to do. We all do..." He replied.
   My mind was made up. I had to kill Jackson. Even if all the s**t we went through we did together, I have to kill him. As I stepped outside, the sun blinded me, how long had it been? I turned right and went North. As I stepped in the grass, I fell over on something metal. I pulled myself up and picked up the metal item. It was a motorcycle. Could it hold me? This I did not know. With my legs swung over it, I started the engine expecting not even the slightest shudder. It started up and I drove and drove. The cycle was close to the ground from the weight of the gear. Suddenly, the wheel broke away and I slid off, scraping my left arm. I took a off the riot vest and looked at my arm, or what was left of it... My arm had been broken, and twisted to the right so maliciously, I winced at the sight of it. It was covered in blood and ripped apart.
   As I brought myself to my feet, writhing in pain, I strapped the riot vest back on and set out on foot. The gauze and peroxide in the bag I had taken from the armory proved quite useful in stopping the pain and bleeding. Suddenly, a low growl echoed through the brush as I limped toward the North. A big grey animal jumped out of the bushes and fixed it's piercing yellow eyes on me. It was a snow wolf. The knife in my hand went straight for it's throat. It jumped up and bit my already injured arm. "Augh!" I screamed. "You son of a bi-" another 2 jumped out of the bushes and landed on my chest. The force of the impact pushed me down. I grabbed one of them by the snout and plunged my hunting knife into it's fleshy neck. The other two wolves ran at me and I grabbed one out of the air with my bandaged arm, which spiked with pain. I lodged my knife into the Wolf's skull. I pulled out my silenced pistol and shot the last one in the chest. My eyes rested on the three dead wolves. "I'm sorry..." I whispered as I limped away from the blood stained snow patch.
   A distant noise took my mind off the pain in my arm for a second. I looked to my left and saw a huge tank. I darted into a bush and crouched down. As the tank passed over me, my breath became distant and rattled as I shook with fear. A menacing looking man jumped out of the tank with a fire axe. He turned to a Riser and swung the axe at the monster's neck. The head toppled of it's neck and landed in a ditch. He smirked and jumped into the tank, driving off towards the camp I had been previously. Something wasn't right. I tracked the tank back to the camp and a wave of shock came over me. The driver shot the gate and destroyed it in seconds. "What the hell are you doin'!?" I screamed. The man came over to me and grabbed the back of my head. He then proceeded to knee me in the forehead. I fell on my back. I got up and jumped on him. My fists impacted his face over and over. I took out my hunting knife, and went for his neck, missing by an inch, and taking off his hand. I grabbed a grenade out of my belt and threw it into the barrel of the tank. In seconds, it was in flames. A familiar taste arose in my mouth, blood, I thought. "Hey, what happened here? Why'd they attack you?" I asked the man in the overalls.
   "They usually come for a payment of food and water. I suppose we hadn't given them enough this time. That fella' there is named Dempsey Vorshavski," As he said this, he pointed to the man who lost his hand. "Do you think you could move him out into a ditch for the risers to eat?"
   "Yeah sure," I replied. His body was heavier than anticipated. He was very bulky and wore a black flak jacket with a striped undershirt, cargo pants, and military boots. I dragged his body out and made sure to get lots of dirt and snow on his bloody stump of a hand so it would become infected and attract the risers to his body. Rest, that is what I needed, rest. After all the crap I've been through today, I need it more than anything else. "Hey, um... do you think I could stay here for a day or two? To get my health back?" I questioned the man in overalls.
   "I think we can fit you into the med cell block for a couple days. We won't waste too much medicine on you though. So you'll have to use your brawn to get through that broken arm of yours. By the way, My name is Felix." He stated.
   As I stumbled my way to the medical building, I thought of Kevin and Jackson. Just thinking about them made me red hot with anger. My arm hurt immensely. Then I thought about that Dempsey guy. People don't attack others for no reason... or... has the world really come to that. I will set out tomorrow. It would be great if they let me use one of their cars. Maybe...maybe... I drifted off to a deep, relaxing sleep in the uncomfortable, dirty cot. My fingers touched the cold button and a surge of pain went through my abdomen. I turned my head and saw Jackson with a knife in my back. He punched me in the face and I fell to the ground. Kevin screamed something. Jackson raised a fist and punched him in the face and slung him over his shoulder, blood dripping from Kevin's mouth. "No...NO!" I screamed as my body automatically jumped up and my head hit the top bunk. "Augh! Crap..." I put my hand to my forehead and rubbed it. Felix entered the room with a bloody knife in his hand. I looked at him, stunned.
   "Are you ok?" he asked. He looked perplexed but worried at the same time.
   "Yeah," I replied, "Yeah, just hit my head." He turned to leave. "Oh wait, I have to ask you something, do you think I could borrow a car to get to where that excuse of a man is?" I pleaded.
   "Well, you did help us yesterday with those thieves. I'll see how much gas we have to spare. You can go right now and pick one out." He stated. I was in high spirits for the rest of the day. The car I had chosen was a red pickup truck. I was given 8 gallons of gas too. I had to set out for the North, who knows how far he could be now. My hands grasped the car door and it opened. The car was gassed up already. They opened the gate and I drove the car to the north through the snowy forest. Many times, the car tipped to one side so I had to be careful about driving to fast. A riser stumbled out onto the road. I pulled out a knife and ran the knife across it's throat as the car sped by. Suddenly, the window cracked. "What the he- AUGH!" My screams echoed through the trees as an arrow sunk into my shoulder and the truck stopped. A man opened the car door and headbutted me. Everything faded to dark. Water splashed on my face and dripped into my mouth as I woke.
   "Get up, a*****e." the man demanded. His voice was familiar.
   "Dempsey?" I asked.
   "Yup, you remember me don't you?" He pulled the bag off my head and I saw his face, all bloodied and torn. My eyes darted to his left forearm and I saw a black stump. He had burned the wound closed. He raised a fist and struck me in the throat. blood squirted from my mouth and on his boots. He lifted a leg and kneed me in the face. "Do you know these pieces of garbage?" He asked with a malicious smirk. He turned around and grabbed something. But it wasn't something, it was SOMEONE. He pulled out another person, but shorter than the other. Dempsey pulled the bags of their heads. It was Kevin and Jackson.
   "GIVE ME BACK MY SON, YOU SON OF A B-" He slapped me before I could finish.
   "No, no please, don't give me to that man! He's gonna rip me to shreds!" squealed Jackson. His eyes were bulged and he was shaking all over.
   "That's what you deserve, you piece of crap!" I screamed.
   "Dad? I'm scared." interrupted Kevin. Dempsey pulled out a gun and shot Jackson in the face.
   "I'm tired of his squealing." He voiced. "Now, we're gonna play a game. A game of survival. Who ever wins will be set free and left to fend for themselves. The loser however, will be gutted and fed to the risers." As he finished his sentence, riser Jackson got up and jumped on Dempsey. As he fell on his back, the knife in his belt slid towards me. I grabbed it and cut the rope on my hands and ankles. I did the same for Kevin.
   "That's what happens when you mess with my son!" I bellowed as Kevin and I darted back to the camp. Half an hour later, we were back at camp. "Thanks for the car Felix, sorry for losing it." I told him.
   "It's fine. No hard feelings. At least your boy is safe now, right? Also, we've decided to let you join the group here. You deserve it." he replied.
   "I don't think he ever will be. I don't think we'll ever be safe either... and thanks, for everything." I stated. From that day forth, I've known not to trust anyone. In fact, I can't even trust my own son. What was the deal with that bloody knife in Felix's hand?