Apotheosis: Stories of Human Survival After the Rise of the Elder Gods Read Online Free

his rendition of “Mack the Knife.” The attention quickly shifts from me to him. There are other smiling people in the office and they begin to cluster around him. The one grabbing me turns to look at this new spectacle. Having not captured all his audience, Tom jumps onto a desk and begins showing us dance moves worthy of a drunken dad at a wedding. It is such a comical sight a few of the office workers are giggling, some out of hysteria.
    The smiling person releases my hand and moves closer to get a better look at Tom. I sink to the floor clutching my hand. It’s agony but I grit my teeth not to cry out. Tom and I exchange looks, and I mouth a brief thank you. He nods in acknowledgement as he tries to get some of the others to join in the chorus. To his credit, he gets some of them to at least begin clapping along. I remember there is a medical kit in the kitchen that might have something I can bind my hand with. As I leave the main office, I turn to look at the smiling person who hurt me, and he has his head turned towards me. I freeze, and he turns back to Tom, who is coming to a big finish. It is all I need to see to understand this incident is not over.
     
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    I’m too scared to leave early, so with my hand wrapped in a bandage and throbbing with dull pain, I stick out the rest of the day. I want to catch Tom to thank him for possibly saving my life, but he seems to be avoiding me. He is not the only one. It’s like I’ve been marked, and no one wants to get tainted by being seen with me. So all that I can do is walk home and hope the day doesn’t get any worse. My hand continues to throb as I walk, but the cold helps a little. Something must be broken, but there are no hospitals here. Pain is a draw for the smiling people. I think they want to know how easily we break or how much suffering we can endure.
    Just before I get home, someone pulls me into an alley. I shake off the hand that has yanked me by the arm and turn to defend myself. I’m surprised to see it’s Tom.
    “I need your help,” he says. “I figure you owe me after this afternoon.”
    He’s right, but I’m still confused. “What do you need?” I say noncommittally.
    “I’m getting out of here.”
    It’s a simple sentence, and not the first time I’ve heard it. I’m filled with equal parts hope and terror.
    “What makes you think you can leave?”
    He opens his coat and shows the handle of a gun poking out of his belt. The device looks old and a little worn, but it might just still be serviceable. I think it might be the same type of gun my father used to own before the creatures came.
    “This will get us past anything if we’re fast. Once we’re over the wall, we can get hold of the resistance. I just need someone to watch my back. I can’t do this alone.”
    “Why me?”
    “You know why. They are going to kill you after what you did today. That’s why I distracted them, why I risked my life for you. I need someone with nothing left to lose.”
    I want to tell him I have Alison, but I know that isn’t true. I change the subject.
    “Where did you get the gun?”
    “It came in my box. I know that sounds crazy, but there it was, and a few bullets too. I think the resistance has infiltrated wherever they pack this stuff up. There must be people like us filling the boxes and delivering all this food and one of them sent me this. I don’t know if they meant it for me, or if they just wanted to get it to someone, but it could be my ticket out and I’m not going to waste it.”
    “Okay, so when do we leave?”
    “Now.”
    “Okay,” I say, unsure. “I’ll get some things and meet you back here.”
    “No. When I say now, I mean right now.”
    “What? No! We need clothes, provisions; I have stuff at my place.” I don’t want to say it out loud but I can’t leave the ring behind.
    “That’s no good. We start packing anything and they’ll know.