The Legend of Dark City

Chapter 5

The community had initially been set up to be run by a group of decision makers. In the four years since its inception members of the managing body had died and in the face of endless dithering by those left behind Napier had inserted his self as leader in a bloodless coup. He was only twenty eight, but he had the vitality tempered by intelligence to make the settlement a success. No one opposed him because they knew he was their best hope.

He too had been in different groups before ending up in the small rural village where they now lived. Napier realised that the only model that was going to work was that of a benign dictatorship. He wanted his people to have enough to eat and be safe. He wanted everyone to do their share and abide by the rules. He wanted the people to live in harmony, but life seldom works out the way you planned.

It became apparent from an early stage that Napier would have to make some very difficult decisions. When marauders tried to steal the food which they had grown they could not simply be chased away. A message had to be sent as a deterrent to future raids so the invaders attacks were met with violence. Dissenters or agitators could destroy everything that they were working for so unless they were persuaded to cooperate they would be banished or worse.

Law breakers were dealt with swiftly. The punishments were designed to fit the crimes. They were harsh enough to be preventative but not so harsh as to be draconian. Napier didn't want to rule by tyranny. He presided over most of the trials and disputes himself so that he knew what was going on in the community and who he needed to keep his eye on. His right hand man Wilson was similarly minded and they rarely disagreed on a course of action. He was not surrounded by yes men and women though, as he sought a range of opinions on some matters before he made up his mind.

Before the plague he had worked in the IT department at an insurance company. Nothing about his former job had prepared him for what was to come. He watched the disease sweep through his coastal town and began to be very concerned about the future. As the plague spread he had collected information which may come in useful should he survive. Details of ancient farming techniques were printed before the power went. Notes on animal husbandry and the use of herbs were researched too.

He investigated what would be needed to stay alive after an apocalypse. There was a huge amount of information on the internet. The preppers who had planned for this eventuality and the doom mongers were finally having their day. He had never given the slightest thought to what one would do following a catastrophe. Luckily a lot of people had.

Having done his research and gathered instructions Napier caught the plague. He awoke one morning damp with sweat and he felt the heat raging through his body. He drank plenty of water in an attempt to reduce his fever but could not face food. In bed with aching muscles and joints that burned with pain the fever took hold.

Napier could barely sleep but at some time he must have drifted off. He came to in the middle of the night and instinctively touched his face where the lesion had appeared. Other lesions, one on his thigh and a third one on his back, appeared. His initial thought was that he would stay in bed and most probably die. At some point he shook off his inertia and got up determined to do what he could to stay alive.

He kept the lesions as clean as he could to try to stop them from becoming infected. He forced himself to eat so that he could keep his strength up and he prayed. At some point he had fallen unconscious and when he woke up he felt a bit better. How much time had passed? Probably a couple of days. The growth of hair on his chin and his desperate hunger were the only indicators he had of how much time had elapsed.

He was still alive. In his torpor he had dreamt about his family and of happy times they had spent together. The rest of them were gone. They had been taken in the early weeks of the plague. The town in which they lived on the south coast had ensured that they were exposed to it early. Now that he thought he was going to live he had to regain his strength and plan for his future.