The Survival Chronicles (Book 6): Dark Mercy by Nally Fergal F

Author:Nally, Fergal F. [Nally, Fergal F.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Post-Apocalyptic | Dystopian | Infected
Published: 2020-02-25T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

The Crows

“So your crew’s got a name?” Mercy asked Tori.

Tori’s neck was badly bruised, dried blood crusted her scalp. “We came from Baltimore, some of the kids were from a street gang called the Crows. They brought the name with them, it’s stuck even though most of them are long dead.” She shovelled another spoonful of broth into her mouth.

“Sorry again, about your neck,” Mercy said, frowning as she watched Tori try to swallow.

Tori shook her head, “I’m glad you took me down first because I would’ve killed you. I’ve met guys like that before. They just take things into their own hands if they don’t get what they want and that makes things ten times worse—”

“Yeah, fucking low tide for the gene pool if you ask me—” Mercy replied.

Tori smiled, then winced, “Don’t make me laugh, my whole face hurts—”

“So what’s the deal? Is Jay your leader?” Mercy asked.

Tori curled her lip, “We don’t do leader shit, we’re a… what’s that word? Collective, that’s it, we’re a collective. A collection of misfits, everyone’s equal, we put things to a vote. It gets us through the shit. Mostly anyway—”

Mercy finished her food and pushed her bowl away. Something had lodged in her teeth, she reached into her mouth, found the offending morsel and pulled it out. She examined it and looked away flicking the dead insect onto the floor.

“Another fucking roach, you’re beating me,” Tori smirked. “Smacks of favouritism if you ask me—”

Mercy stared at the table then lowered her voice, “Are you guys ready for this? The risks are high, people could get hurt, in fact I’m sure people will get hurt—”

Tori shrugged, “So, what? It’s better to go down fighting than be bled dry like this, for what? To let those roaches feed us up these roaches?” She indicated the row of cooked insects she had made on the table.

“Just sayin’… because once we make our move there’ll be no going back. If they capture us, they’ll kill us, well, torture us then kill us—” Mercy said.

Tori finished her broth, “Fuck it, fuck them, fuck it all. Let’s do it—”

Mercy looked at the others around the table.

I wonder—? I wonder if I stare long enough, will I see who’s not going to make it?

A whistle blew outside.

“It’s time,” Mercy said. She stood up, not looking at the others. They headed to the slave compound gate and lined up to be processed. Mercy hoisted her excess leg iron chain with a length of cord. The guards processed the day shift against the returning night shift. Prisoners were counted using a register, leg irons were checked and locked. Twenty minutes later they were crammed inside the cage lift, descending into the pit.

Mercy pressed her face up against the cage, she partially closed her eyes and counted the seconds as the lift descended. They passed flickering light bulbs on the way down. The air grew muggy, the stench of stale sweat and worse filled her nostrils.

Humanity’s real smell; shit and piss.

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