Among the Fallen: Resurrection (27 page)

Above her were hundreds of bodies - mostly police officers, riot police and a few civilians; all tangled in razor wire, cables and crammed in cages; a cold and bitter framework of scaffolding that hung ten feet above her. The dead were all piled up on top of each other, spanning the entire length of hall before her, all elaborately slain and wrapped in plastic film, their tortured crying faces all gazing down at her below. The lights above the twisted cage broke through a few empty areas, squeezing past limbs and bodies wherever it could, casting beams of corrupt light down into the hall before her, like the sun beaming through clouds on a macabre horizon.

As the masses above cast its reflection on her black weeping eyes, she blinked erratically as the disturbing sight burrowed further into her fraying mind. She stood silently, chilled; disheartened and besieged, her body trying desperately to pull her fixated mind from the heart-crippling sight above her. Suddenly, her suit whispered; ranting and chanting in her mind as it quickly awoke her from her torturous trance, desperately trying to pull her sight from the macabre and twisted art that inexorably overshadowed the hall.

Alex stiffly looked away, her face still stricken in shock and bewilderment as she looked over the lobby before her with feeling that turned her stomach. As she gradually pulled away, she calmly made her way into the lobby as the dripping sound continued to haunt her, quickly wiping away any drips that fell upon her. She slowly and carefully made her way through the red sludge, grabbing desks and rails, treading light and flat as if she were walking on ice. She grumbled and moaned, covering her face with the sleeve of her jacket as her stomach heaved; every step disturbing the congealed skin, releasing that sickening rotting smell into the air.

She wearily made her way to one of the work stations and quickly looked directly above it as the crowded ceiling looked down upon her with crying eyes. Above her head was an Officer, fat and bleached, his grey skin streaked with dried blood and tears. His face was callously squeezed between the bars from the weight of those stacked on top of him and Alex was almost mesmerized.

He was not stricken in horror, or even pain; he just appeared very sad and Alex merely stood trying to imagine what went through his mind at that one terrifying moment before his death. She frowned and looked away pitifully, eyeing over the workstation as she switched on its lamp and sat down. The desk was in disarray and full of files, blood encrusted paperwork, pens and normal office equipment. At the back on the memo board were photos, a happy family; a fat man with his wife and children, smiling and glowing in a perfectly captured moment. Alex frowned and looked up at the man above her as he sorrowfully looked upon her - her question as to his final thoughts answered with just one photograph.

As she searched the desk, she found a stack of incidents involving the dead. The reports actually stopped two days ago, so it was feasible even to her that the city laid dead long before her return, or it was more than likely that they simply gave up writing them. She sat there for a few minutes quickly scanning the words and throwing the sheets to the ground, page after page, a different family and a new victim. Suddenly, one of the earlier reports caught her eye.

Officer Statement 334-76

Officer Name: Sonny Cleavland – 5632, Date: Wed 23rd July 2012; Incident No: 4432-6675.

On the night of Wed 23rd July 2012 myself and Officer 4436 were called to 453 Spruce Street to a
domestic disturbance involving a family of 6 (six) involving a fatality. According to the Mother (Lisa
Hartwell) the Father (William Hartwell) was attacked by their son Bobby Hartwell aged 8 (Eight)
while he slept. Lisa claims her son, who has Swine Flu was locked in the cellar after he attacked the
father during a bout of ‘sleep walking’ and efforts to awake the boy had failed. The father died on
the scene after receiving a fatal bite to the side of the neck causing a hemorrhage within the jugular
artery. Myself and Officer 4436 entered the cellar at 23:43pm and found the boy standing in the
dark apparently still sleepwalking backing up the claim of the Mother. All attempts at
communication with Bobby failed and he proceeded to bite Officer 4436 severely on the thigh. We
took the boy into custody at around 23:52pm and Officer 4436 received on site medical attention and
later, after his shift went home. Due to the boy’s age we handed the case to social services
department, however, we still have a dead man and a wounded Officer. How do we proceed? Officer
5632.…

Rest of the page appears to be missing.

Alex sighed and put her elbows on the table with a sulk, her head in her hands and rubbing her weary eyes; gazing upon the photos on the notice board blankly. Growing exhausted and fatigued, she tilted her head and looked upon the paintings on the wall. The art hung proudly; strange, gothic and expensive looking oil canvases daubed in browns, yellows and greys of the various sights and locations around the city - until suddenly one caught her eye. Carefully, she stood up and approached the painting as her feet squelched through the blood-soaked floor and tilted her head.

It was titled the Cherry Tree, and depicted a ghostly, almost witch-like looking tree with people hanging from it by their necks. Alex held her arms creepily as she realized she had seen this tree before. The artist and the year of the painting were unknown, but under the painting was a tiny plaque.

The Cherry Tree

“A tree that was said to be the place in which a family hung themselves in the early 18th century.

Folklore says the family hung themselves in protest at family member’s choice of marital spouse. The
dead tree actually exists on the outskirts of Blackwater, but no record of the event is documented in
the city archives. Real event or Urban Legend? You decide.”

All of a sudden, Alex’s attention was drawn to the back of the hall where it was all partitioned into roofless rooms of polished wood and frosted glass. Offices and waiting rooms were her first guess, but standing behind the glass were tall shadows, undisturbed and quiet. She looked down at the ground and lifted her feet from the coagulated floor and then stared back the offices with a frown.

She had a gut feeling that everything she was looking for could be in that area as there was nothing of any immediate interest in the main hall. She calmly made her way to the closest door and opened it, slowly peering inside.

Inside, it was more of the same, varnished desks hidden in the shadows, papers and files littered the ground and there were a few cadavers were standing silently, their painful bodies swaying as they waited. Suddenly, they sniffed the air and heaved into motion, gasping and turning towards her with slow and deliberate moves. Alex entered the room and shut the door tightly behind her, wedging a chair under the door handle with growing paranoia. She turned and faced the cadavers as they painfully made their way towards her, blindly shuffling as their stiff arms dragged the files and stationary from the desks, shambling with relentless anxiety and desperation. She glared across the room, strategically counting the cadavers as one lunged at her, its snarling teeth snapping at her as she grabbed it by the throat. She held the cadaver in front of her for a few moments as she counted the others, and then swiftly slammed its face onto a desk and stamping on its neck. She frowned with guilt and turned to the others, their empty minds not even phased by their fallen comrade.

Suddenly, another lunged at her as she calmly stepped aside, grabbing the next by its jaw and ripping it off with a swift tug, then grabbing a chair and knocking it to ground savagely. As the cadavers twitched before her, she looked over the back of the room and watched with fright as a corpse was suddenly dragged away and out of sight, quickly followed by the slamming of a door which made Alex jump nervously. She frowned and glared towards the area solemnly, clearly startled and unsettled. She looked down at the heaving cadaver below her briefly before stamping on its neck, then stepping over it and cautiously approaching the darkened area at the back of the room. Slowly, she peered around the corner and spied a sturdy blood stained metal door - on it was a note.

Note on the Iron door, Police Precinct – Ground Floor

Enter this glowing door and grant me a friend I so seek, Together we will play a game and havoc we
will wreak. The smelly friends I have I will definitely leave for you, Come into the darkness and find
me as fun we renew. As we search and play within the walls beset by damned, We can take our lives
and souls across the Promised Land.

Alex pulled the note from the door and gazed back into the offices clearly worried. Something clearly dragged that corpse through this very door and foolishly, she had cut off all other routes out of the precinct and left this one door as the only available option. She placed her ear against it, listening with deep concentration as she heard a dragging sound on the other side. As her heart pounded within her chest, she continued to eavesdrop, her black eyes blinking with erratic concern.

Suddenly, she heard a door slam and all went silent. Alex clasped the handle and waited. Suddenly, she jumped in fright as the sound of running steps boomed above her, hundreds of scampering feet all racing overhead – then silence. She held her face in torment, the mystery sounds all around her playing with her mind sadistically. She walked away from the door, sighing and gasping for breath as her heart pounded; her bottom lip quivering in growing terror. Suddenly, she exhaled and shut her eyes, trying desperately to settle her rattled nerves. She frowned and approached the door once more, clasping the handle as the cold and empty silence dominated the room. The door handle crunched as the gears unlocked and Alex shut her eyes and held her breath, cautiously waiting for something to happen. Slowly, she pulled the door open and stood in the doorway as the darkness before her droned and hummed, the automatic lighting kicking in and faltering, giving Alex a mere couple of seconds of light before suddenly lighting the corridor in sequence.

Alex cautiously stepped into the corridor, its surprisingly clean stone walls hanging with cables and makeshift lights that all seemed to be working perfectly. Slowly, she closed the door behind her, gazing back into the hallway with serene look of bewilderment. Down the left side, the windows out into the city were sealed behind metal shutters, their sparking and shattered control panels smashed with obvious anxiety. The cold stone floor was also clean, except for the tiny footprints of blood she left behind.

She walked the whole length of the corridor taking a note of the doors: HOLDING CELLS; EVIDENCE

ROOM, STAIRWELL and MORTUARY. Alex glared at the Mortuary for a few moments and turned her nose up with blatant mistrust. Since the whole city appeared to be one immense morgue, she didn’t see the point in even exploring that room. The one room that did interest her however, was the Evidence Room, and without hesitation, she approached the door and listened for sounds from within. The Evidence room appeared silent, but sadly, that didn’t mean it was empty. She stepped away and looked back towards the morgue time and time again, feeling deeply uncomfortable and insecure as she gazed over its sign and creepy frosted windows with suspicion.

She muttered and cursed before suddenly pulling a pipe from the wall. Steam hissed into the corridor and Alex stormed up to the Mortuary, wedging the pipe between the door handles and effortlessly twisting the metal together; jamming the doors shut. She smirked to herself proudly then walked back to the Evidence Room, entering swiftly without a passing thought.

Suddenly, a cadaver lunged at her, biting deep into her shoulder and Alex stumbled dragging the creature to the ground. As she struggled with the cadaver, its maw snapped at her tearing lumps of flesh from her face and chest. Every time it took a mouthful, its gums retracted revealing rows of shattered teeth, growling like a rabid animal as it slobbered and salivated. Its foaming infectious mouth devoured her flesh violently as it choked, its decaying jaw pulsing with rabid toxicity. As the carcass snarled and snapped at her, it drooled and splashed her face with her own warm blood, Alex’s own pain instantly slipping into bitter rage. Swiftly, Alex snarled back in anger, wrapping her legs around its waist tightly and grabbing its face, crushing its decaying skull with her awesome grip.

She growled as tears streamed down her face, pushing the cadaver upwards with full force.

Suddenly, the cadaver’s waist and spine crunched with gut wrenching and mighty snap, its body instantly folding as Alex suddenly glared in vengeance, screaming as she ripped its head from its spinal column with a devastating feat of strength. Alex smashed the head to the floor and pushed away the corpse, scrambling into the corner of the room frantically, smearing and slipping in her blood as she dragged herself along the cold floor.

Alex shut her eyes tight and ground her teeth as her wounds slowly renewed. The torture was excruciating; her eyes streaming in inexpressible agony. As the last few strands lashed back into place, she panted and rubbed where her wounds were. Angry and flustered, she pulled herself up from the blood soaked floor, kicking the decomposing bloodless mess furiously.

She stood for a moment or two, taking deep breaths and sighing as her lost blood quickly festered on the ground, decaying and cracking. She leant back on the wall and cursed, her anger eventually subsiding as she gazed upon the officer at her feet with growing guilt. She knelt down and turned the headless cadaver onto its back and went through his jacket pockets, her reflection glimmering on his bloodstained badge with an eerie distorted glow. She pulled out his wallet and sat up, pulling out his money and discarding it like trash and flicking his Beaumont Corporation Credit cards across the ground arrogantly. Suddenly, she frowned as she pulled out his identification and a photograph; staring upon the cadaver with guilty and regretful eyes. Alex sighed and put the Officer’s wallet back in his pocket, casting her guilt to the back of her mind as she stood up and inspected the Evidence Room with growing curiosity.