Walking The Dead Zone (Short Story)

Here's another short story set in the world I'm writing; these have been a lot of fun to write and have really let me think outside the box and create one-off stories following one-off characters.

Source

Adric Dituri walked through the sprawling industrial complex; now disused and derelict, it was once the thriving heart of Jex's economy. The Dead Zone. Adric had heard about some new gang looking to make a name for themselves; as well as money, which was the main motivator of any, looking to pool in with a group. Vilchis was the man he was looking to meet, the recruiter of sorts; the one who would show him the ropes. He was friendly enough, the back and forth they had over comms was enjoyable and Vilchis was really able to sell the prospect of joining up. Now, all Adric had to do was wait. He would hear the scurrying of rodents and he clocked eyes with a few people while making his way to the ruined Beskin capital ship in the centre of the messy maze of buildings. He leaned against a wall, in the shade of the setting sun; the alcove helped to keep the howling wind at bay, which had left his ears sore and freezing.

A man appeared, covered in old fabric and his hood up. Adric knew it was Vilchis, before he made himself known. The man spotted him and approached, as he got closer he took down his hood, revealing a grimy, dirt-speckled youthful face and a greasy matted mop of brown and blonde hair. "You must be Adric Dituri, we spoke over comms." Instantly Adric pushed against the wall with his upper back, launching himself into an upright stance. "Yeah, you must be Vilchis...?" He smiled, but, not a toothy, jovial smile, it was more of a smirk. "Stratchan. Vilchis Stratchan. Although, it's been a long time since I've gone by my last name." They shook hands. "I'll show you the base, it isn't far from here." With a nod, Adric started to follow him.

He had a bit of a bad feeling in his gut about Vilchis; in a way, Adric wanted to turn around, decline the offer, and maybe throw in with one of the more notable groups, of which there were many. But, something compelled him to push on, to keep following. After a few moments, he started to chalk the bad feeling up to nervousness. It's not every day an offer like this comes in.

Getting in with a group on the ground level was a guaranteed way of being up the top of the food chain, more money, better bonuses, and a say in the inner workings. "I was actually thinking of joining up with Embers Gunners, their ranks seem to be swelling, apparently she has been recruiting anyone with a gun and who's willing to join." Vilchis just nodded to that. "What stopped you?" Adric shrugged. "Mainly the prospect of joining something which is just starting up. I'd rather get in somewhere from the start, as opposed to something that's already established. I think it would be easier." Vilchis nodded once more, whistling through his teeth. "You know, it'll still be hard work. This isn't going to be some free ride, we may be in the midst of the early days, but, we don't take just anyone." "Oh, yeah, I know that it'll be hard. I'm willing to put the work in." Vilchis just stared at Adric for a moment, squinting. As if wondering if he was fit for the job. "Good. So long as you know that."

The twisted metal of the blasted-out buildings shot shadows down to the ground, it was like walking through a thick brush. With each passing gust of wind, some of the sheets of metal would creak and sway, as noisy as they could, daring to come loose and fall to the ground.

"You know, this place is one of the best spots in Jex. It's discrete and quiet, most people forget it exists, and even more forget that people still live here. They're all silent watchers, they've had us clocked from the moment we started walking." Adric could only listen to Vilchis, before looking around. "Who?" Vilchis discreetly nodded to a building they were passing by. "Top floor, third window from the left." Adric looked up and sure enough, there was a man there, just staring at them as he leaned against an old support beam that used to be covered in brickwork. "You'll learn to spot them." "Are they dangerous?" Adric asked while continuing to stare back at the man. "Dangerous? Define danger. To a certain extent, everything in this world can be dangerous. It's not about the situation, it's what you do in the situation that matters." Adric could hear the truth in Vilchis's words; it made sense in a roundabout kind of way.

"This gang, or group, or organisation?" Adric asked, curious about what to call it. "I think of it like a pack." With a smile, Adric agreed. "I like the sound of that. So, yeah, this pack. How many members are there so far?" Vilchis looked up slightly, as he thought for a long moment. "Well, including myself, and hopefully you. We'll have seven, no, eight members." Adric was shocked, he didn't think it would be that established. "So, I got another question. Is this a man-only group, or are there any women?" He asked with a cheeky smile, upon saying the word. His smile was reciprocated by Vilchis. "Oh, I see what's on your mind." He started to laugh, which prompted Adric to laugh too. "Yeah, there are women, mainly women so far in fact," Vilchis said with a raised brow. "Yeah?" Adric replied under his breath. "Yeah, some of the toughest bitches on Jex."

The walk continued for a short time and the whole way there, all Adric could think about was the prospect of being a part of a group that was nearly all women. He hadn't been with anyone for about a year, since his partner dropped him for someone else. It had taken him so long to get over her, but, something like this was exactly what he needed. Respect, money, and good friends, with the chance of going the long mile. He could only imagine what the future would bring. He and Vilchis had spoken over comms about some of the actions they would carry out, it would be thefts, robberies, and maybe some chem selling to start with, then they would transition into more upmarket work. Protection, once they had the numbers, maybe even private security, or they could even open their own business, as a way of earning money legally. It was all open, no road had been traveled yet, so as a group they were still at the point where they could decide and suggest a way forward.

"Well, this is it." Adric stopped abruptly, outside a large, disused, and rotting factory. "It doesn't look like much from the outside, but, that'll all change soon. Besides, the less suspicious the better while we find ourselves in the early days." Vilchis was quick to talk the place up, he must have noticed the look on Adric's face upon seeing the place. "No, it, looks good," Adric said, still unsure of what he truly thought of it. "It has, potential."

Vilchis walked forward, waving Adric to follow him inside. It was dark and rubbish littered the ground, made apparent by the swishing noise of the clutter as they walked through. It stank as well, not completely unbearable to the point he felt he needed to cover his face, but, it was pungent and invasive; like the stink from some bins outside a restaurant. As he continued to follow up the long and dark corridor, the smell got even stronger. The ceilings creaked with each passing gust, but, eventually, they got to a point in the hallway where it got a bit brighter, due to some of the panels being missing. "I'd say it gets rough when it rains," Adric said as he stared up at the ceiling. "Yeah, it does. But, we don't want to cover the hole until we get running electricity. I've got a friend that works in a chop shop who says they can get me an old engine and re-fit it to use as a generator."

Vilchis opened a door at the end of the hallway and walked through. Adric followed and the whole room opened out, it was sprawling, and was fitted with some creature comforts, beds, couches, and tables. All scrap, but, it was better than nothing. The worst thing about the place was the fetid stench that seemed to really hit once the doors were open. "What was this place before?" He asked before covering his nose. "Before the war? It was a fighter assembly line, some of the old machinery is still here, nothing worth value though. The scrappers, ransackers, and poachers took everything they could get, then the High Flyers took their bits, by the time the Jex government started collecting any and all usable pre-war tech, there was nothing left but old broken crap. Still, there are some gems out there, hidden and dotted throughout The Dead Zone. I've caught treasure hunters poking around."

"Doesn't smell like it used to be an assembly line." Vilchis shrugged. "Well, things change, by the time we cleared the place out there were a bunch of addicts living here." Adric nodded as he looked back to the room. It looked lived in, but, there was no sign of life. "Where is everyone?" Vilchis just shrugged once more. "They were here when I left. They're probably around, it's a big place." He smiled at the end, another of those weird smiles. "Right," Adric said as he looked around. "I think I'm going to go." Vilchis's face dropped at that. "Go? Why?"

"The smell, mainly the smell really." Vilchis looked around, sniffing the air. "What smell?" Adric shook his head. "You can't smell that? Are you serious? You must be too used to it." It wasn't so bad he had to block his nose. But, he wished he had a scarf to wrap around his face. Vilchis let out a disappointed sigh. "I'll show you back out. I suppose, not everyone can handle being in a group like ours."

"I get it has space, but, I don't see why your group would choose this location to set up shop in. There are surely better places than this." Adric said, more frustrated than before, annoyed for having to waste his time to come all the way out here. Imagining the long walk back home through The Dead Zone, and at night. "The main reason was this, see, when all those people were stealing whatever tech they could get their hands on, they overlooked one of the most valuable features of these old factories," Vilchis said while nodding behind him. "What valuable feature?" Adric asked, curious about what valuables could make it worth living here." Vilchis turned around fully, looking away from Adric, which Piqued his interest further. Adric walked to stand beside him and looked to find what he was staring at. "What, what is it?" He asked, not knowing what he was looking at, other than a large pit in the ground.

"Can't you see them?" Vilchis asked, his voice had changed, it was more present, and sounded like he was speaking through gritted teeth. Adric felt hands on his shoulders and was taken off-guard, before he had a chance to struggle he was pushed, completely losing his footing and falling through the air into the darkness. He was in a daze, everything was dark surrounding him, and the only light was above, he looked up at Vilchis, who could only laugh to himself and mutter under his breath. Adric couldn't make out any of the words he was saying, there was too much of an echo and his voice was too distorted to even recognise. "Let me out of here!" He shouted while trying to get to his feet, but, there were cylindrical objects underfoot, which rolled and made it hard to gain footing. Occasionally he would hear a crunch. "You can earn your right to join, so long as they deem you worthy," Vilchis said to him, laughing as he walked away. Soon, lights flashed on, which took a long moment for his eyes to adjust. Looking to the ground to not have them shine at him, he noticed what was in the pit; bones. Adric jumped back against one of the walls and he knew by then, it was too late. He screamed, it was the only thing he could do at that moment. He stared up at the walls, even though the lights hurt his eyes. There was nothing to grab, no way to hoist himself up. It was then that he heard the clanging of chains and the stress of steel on concrete. Opposite him was a large solid steel gate, and it started to move. Through the slit it made at the bottom he could see scaly paws and hear the growls of whatever was beyond it. "No, stop!" All he could do was stare at the gate. "You see, they all overlooked this location. You're standing where engineers and technicians would stand while working on the undercarriage of star ships. How many years ago? Fifteen or twenty?" Adric looked back up to the walls, hoping for anything to grab. "Please! Don't do this!" He shouted in frustration. "You'd better try to stay calm," Vilchis called back, in a serene tone of voice.

The gate continued to raise and all he could see were the paws scraping at the ground beneath, raring to be unleashed. Avison Hounds, an entire pack of them.

The smallest came out first and just stared at Adric, he had no way of fighting one of them, let alone a pack. It circled back and forth, while it assessed him, only standing around knee height, they were ferocious regardless of their size.

Adric tried to stand tall, knowing that any sign of weakness and he was as good as dead. Then another made it under, and another, each huddled, one would growl, while another left the small group to surround him. Soon, all of them were out, there were six in total. Each showed their teeth and each had a hungry look in their eyes.

All Adric could do was stave off the shakes and make himself look as big as he possibly could. Don't panic. Don't panic. Don't panic. Was all he could tell himself.