A New World: Dissension by John O'Brien

Author:John O'Brien
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: mutant, horror, zombie, virus, a new world, apocalypse, thriller
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

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Alan wakes and finds himself standing on the first floor of the compound that took him in a while ago. For a moment, he is confused and not sure how he arrived here. This isn’t the first time he’s suddenly found himself away from his small cubicle in the middle of the night. Many other nights have been ones full of nightmares in which he wakes drenched in sweat and wondering where the strange visions came from. His dreams have been filled with images of running endlessly through the night and ghastly moments of tearing into the bloody bowels of living people. His terror-filled nightmares end with him suddenly bolting upright and shivering uncontrollably. His blankets are crumpled and lying on the floor, his pillow soaked from night sweats.

Other nights have ended just like this one, waking in some part of the building confused and disoriented. In a way, this is better. He isn’t stuck with the sickening images. On nights like this one, he has the distinct impression he was on his way out and doesn’t know why, only that there is that definite pull to do so. That is the one thing that fills him with dread. What if he didn’t wake? Well, the walls actually protect the immediate grounds so he would be safe but why the hell does he feel the desire to be out?

With the disoriented feeling fading, he makes his way back toward the escalator and his cot. The people here have treated him well since finding him outside of the gates. The memory of that day resurfaces and he relives those terror-filled moments when fleeing from those shrieking creatures in that dark building. The others here filled him in on the changes in the world. Those still seem like a fairy-tale story but waking in that dark room with the overpowering, musky odor of sweat and unwashed bodies lying next to him… his inability to see clearly but fleeing from those pounding footsteps and ungodly shrieks… launching into the daylight only to find himself alone. Night runners the ones here call them. And they tell him that they believe he might have been one of them. That’s the part that seems so far-fetched.

Waking the few times downstairs, like he did tonight, reminds him of waking in that room. For the first few seconds when he does, he thinks he’s back in that place. Fear fills him and he feels that he must flee. He hopes time eases his dreams and he finds a time when he doesn’t wake in a different place. Lying back on his cot, he hopes the dreams don’t return and that he can actually get some sleep. The one thing more frightening than the images of his dreams is that, on waking, he has the sensation that he actually enjoyed the experience within his dreams; he hates the thrill he remembers feeling.

Cressman watches as Alan returns upstairs. It’s not uncommon for some people to become restless and stroll through the building during the night.

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