At Her Mercy

Chapter 7 (Tomek) 417 Expectation Failed

Since the skirmish with the emojis, we'd traveled without trouble. Lily didn't need to drink anymore. Maybe she was hunting during the nights.

One evening, we were all resting by the fire in an abandoned school gym when Francesco sat closer to me than usual and gave me a smile, which looked awkward on his gaunt face with dark circles beneath the eyes.

"So, um, what did you do before the emojis?" I asked, smiling back at him. "I used to create web pages and was hoping to go to university. Didn't work out very well..." I added to make him feel a bit more comfortable. I'd never been good with small talk.

"I was the head of security in the First Lab. That's where I met Thirteen," he said, his eyes darting to the women. They were deep in conversation, sprawled on a gymnastics mat in a far corner of the room.

"Why did you call her Thirteen?" I asked.

"Nobody knew her real name, and she was subject thirteen. Plus, she brings bad luck, " he added bitterly.

"It must have been hard in the lab when the outbreak started," I wondered aloud, tightening the blanket around me. It didn't help much. I'd gladly move closer to the fire, but I didn't want to interrupt Francesco.

"It was... strange. There were feral emojis outside the lab. There were some inside. The scientists tried to mutate the worm," he mused.

When I gave him a questioning look, he continued in a hushed voice: "Thirteen. First, she was like a sex machine. She was alluring as hell and not contagious. She used to have stunning, auburn hair then," he recollected. "She could have any man she so much as smiled at. I kept away from her," Francesco continued his story, playing with his pocket knife.

"But the emojis were overwhelming us. The docs did something to her. She lost her charm. They gave her super strength and heightened senses. Stopped her in between the first and second phases."

The fire cracked, and I looked at the women. Lily was gone, and my savior sat cross-legged, with closed eyes and palms resting on her knees. Was she meditating?

"They gave her the axe. She learned to use it in a few days. Flecking fools. She was half emoji. She could force anyone she fancied to satisfy her lust. And I wasn't even allowed to stop her. Not that I would be able to, anyway," Francesco said, pocketing his knife.

"She fought us a way out. I've never seen anything like that. We were giving her cover with rifle fire, but I don't think she needed it. She went berserk. When she finished, there were dead bodies everywhere. The razing monsters looked flecking human in the pools of blood," he shuddered at the memory and took out his knife again.

"She turned around to us, covered in gore. One of the doctors went to her. To save the rest, I think. I took my squad, there were three security officers beside me, and we got the hell out of there. I should've probably stayed with the docs, but I had enough. They created the monsters, so I thought I'd let them deal with it," Francesco muttered, his eyes fixed on his blade..

"We became nomads. We foraged and hunted for the animals that the emojis didn't eat. We did our best to take out smaller groups of monsters. We hid from the bigger ones. From time to time, we met other groups of survivors, trying to settle down. We found several camps robbed, people killed with gunshots, not eaten." The man's face went dark. "Flecking bandits," he spat.

The next few days passed without incidents. The man warmed up to me, and we talked much about our lives before the worm. He never brought up the huntress again, and I didn't press.

After over a week of marching, Warsaw's skyscrapers cut the line of the horizon. We had to figure out how to traverse the ruined city and find the Bloody Court.