Dead World

CHAPTER 6

Anna and her family huddled beneath the trees, catching their breath. Save for the sound of birdcall, the area was quiet and the trees provided shade from the sun. Such was the insular nature of Sanctuary; Anna had never stepped outside its walls before. Everything she needed was provided for within her community.

She looked at her family. Tears had left clear tracks down Ben’s angry face, and Lucy seemed shaken and confused. Zeke meanwhile appeared anxious and timid, but he tried to put a brave face on when he sensed his mother was looking at him.

“So now are you going to explain why you dragged me away, Mum? I was about to become an immortal. Do you know what that means?”

Anna wrung her hands together. “You’ve got to believe me; I did this for your own good.”

Ben shook his head and glared at his mother while Lucy cradled her head in her hands, sobbing.

“She’s lying,” Ben said. “She’s jealous because she wasn’t chosen. I want to go home. I want Dad!”

Zeke punched his brother on the shoulder. “Shut your mouth, runt.”

“No, I won’t! I want to go home.”

“Stop it, you two,” Anna said. “We need to work together here.”

Anna walked across and dropped to her knees beside Lucy and placed one hand on her shoulder. She cupped Lucy’s chin in the palm of her other hand, forcing her to look up.

“Lucy, I’m anything but jealous. I’m terrified. I love you kids so much and I can’t bear you getting hurt.” She paused, searching for the right words. “I don’t believe what the church has been telling us…not about the Gods, not about the lottery, not anything.”

Ben snorted. “What don’t you believe? Cousin Hannah was chosen the other month. The Gods took her, and then days later she was back outside. She’ll live forever with them.”

“I don’t understand what I saw, but that wasn’t Hannah. At least not the cousin you knew. Say what you like about your grandmother… she’s been at Sanctuary a long time, and her mother and grandmother before her. She’s not as addle brained as she let’s on, and she says it’s all a lie. The church, the lottery, the Gods… everything’s a bunch of lies they are using to control us.”

Ben shook his head and stepped away from the group. “I don’t believe you.”

“We’ve all seen them come back with our own eyes. If they’re not Gods, what else could they be?” Lucy asked between sobs.

Before Anna could answer, leaves rustled and she cocked her head; heard a branch snap. Movement caught her eye and a man lumbered through the trees towards them. His flesh was grey, what remained of his clothes ragged strips of cloth. Cuts and bites decorated his skin. Seeing Anna and her family, the man shambled towards them.

“Mum!” Zeke shouted.

Ben jumped to his feet, grinning. He stood still as the man lurched towards him, lifting his arms as if about to embrace him.

Anna’s pulse increased, heart pounding inside her chest. She back peddled, almost tripping over a broken branch. She crouched down, picked it up and charged at the man, swinging the makeshift club. She struck the man in the face, felt the reverberations travel along her arm and winced at the pain. The man’s head twisted to the side, his skin puckered where the branch had struck. He continued his advance unperturbed.

“No!” Ben screamed.

Anna skipped out of reach and swung the club again. This time a smaller branch towards the tip of the club pierced the man’s skull. Anna released her hold and the man fell back and landed with a hollow thud on the ground, the branch impaled in his head.

Anna backed away, waiting for him to stand back up. She struggled to draw breath.

Ben stepped forwards and Anna grabbed his shoulder to hold him back.

“Why’s he not coming back?” Ben asked.

“Don’t go near it.”

Zeke cautiously approached the man. “He’s not moving. Is he… dead?”

Ben chuckled. “You can’t kill a God. That’s why they’re called Gods. Don’t you know anything?”

“I get that dip shit. So if you’re so clever, why isn’t he moving?

Ben pulled a quizzical frown.

Anna released Ben and stepped towards the body and gingerly kicked its arm before scooting back. The man didn’t respond. She stepped forwards and tried again. The man didn’t move.

“You killed a God,” Lucy whispered, hands clutched to her chest.

Anna shook her head. “Look at him. Look. If he’s dead that means he’s not a God. The church has lied to us for all these years. I don’t know what they are, but they’re not Gods. Your grandmother was right. Now look. See the truth with your own eyes, all of you.”

“Of course he’s a God,” Ben said. “He probably wasn’t ordained, that’s why he died.”

“Listen to me, Ben. They’re not Gods. It’s just a man. A mortal man who’s now dead.”

Lucy slumped to the ground and buried her face in her hands, sobbing.

Ben stood with his arms folded across his chest, staring down at the man.

“I don’t understand.” Zeke shook his head. “Why would they lie to us?”

Anna crouched next to Lucy and put an arm around her shoulder, hugging her tightly. “I don’t know. But when all your Gods are dead, who do you pray to?”