Year Zero - 7.3. The Last Time 2/4

Alter: Olivia

Local Network World: 0055

Dates: 06/03/2025

Drowned in a Sea of Chaos

“This makes no fucking sense…” Anna sat, slumped on the couch, shaking her head slowly in her hands.

“Are we sure there’s actually a connection, here?” Kier rationalised.

“How could there not be?” Lee snapped. “This weird Alter turns up, the Rifts go haywire and we can’t leave, and now…this?”

“She’s right,” Kira sighed. “It’s far too coincidental. But what do we do about it?”

“Has anyone thought about…basic survival?” Tash asked.

“Huh?” Lee squinted at them. “How do you mean?”

“Well…” Tash pointed to the TV: “This is chaos. But we still need to eat, right? What happens when the stores are cleared out, or too dangerous to get to?”

“Yeah. No, I think we’re at a point where we need to plan for this not getting better.” Anna agreed. “Ari, Tash, Sage…can you guys take my car and go get some groceries, please? Just…non-perishables, I guess.” Anna asked without looking up, raising her hand to massage the bridge of her nose.

“Yeah. Where are your keys?” Ari asked.

“Kitchen counter. My credit card should be with them.”

“Sure.” Ari retrieved the keys and card and the three of them made their way outside.

“Lucky we’re in the suburbs. Could you imagine being near the city right now?” Lee muttered. The Alters’ eyes all shot towards the windows as muffled shouting broke out in the street outside. Almost in sync, they ran towards the front door to see Ari, Tash, and Sage arguing with a group of men in the street: Olivia counted five, standing behind Anna’s car. In the evening half-light, it was hard to make out details. Just five large figures in front of three smaller ones.

“What the fuck did you just say to them?” Ari shoved the guy closest to them. Without another word, he reared back and punched Ari in the face, knocking them to their knees.

“Fuck no,” Lee grunted, running down the stairs, followed rapidly by Kier and Kira, then Anna, Olivia and Maya.

“Don’t fucking touch them,” Lee snarled, moving rapidly to put herself between Ari - as well as Tash and Sage - and the man who hit them.

“Don’t tell me what to do you fucking tranny cunt,” He spat - literally spat - at Lee, making her visibly stumble back in shock. Olivia stopped cold. Her mind simply short-circuited. She had never heard those words, in that tone or in that order, in person before. Something about them froze her in place; rooted her to the spot, eyes wide and heart suddenly pounding. She felt the blood rushing to her cheeks and a sort of prickling itchiness spreading up the sides of her neck. Kier, Kira and Anna didn’t stop, and Olivia watched as they pulled up beside Lee, pushing past Tash and Sage. Maya stood just behind Olivia, clutching at her arm like a nervous child. The five men spread out, forming a line in front of them as Ari got shakily to their feet.

“Say it again.” Kier said, slowly and with authority.

“Fuck off!” The man shouted in Kier’s face. Kier didn’t appear to flinch. Olivia watched Kier’s knee come up and into the man’s crotch, dropping him to his knees. Kira and Anna jumped at one of his friends, dragging him to the ground as Ari ran at another and Tash and Sage at the fourth. The fifth lunged at Kier - landing a punch to the stomach - doubling him over.

Olivia looked frantically around - recovering her senses - for any loose objects. The only thing she saw was a hose. Grabbing it by its’ end and running forward, she threw herself at the first guy as he tried to get to his feet, getting behind him and wrapping the hose around his throat; pulling it taught.

“Nghn!” He grunted out, punching up and behind him, trying to get Olivia off of him as the other fights spread out into the darkening street. His fist glanced against her cheek and temple, but she managed to hold on.

She was vaguely aware of other people - neighbours; strangers - moving out of nearby houses and into the street around them.

“That’s Anna; they’re attacking Anna!” Olivia heard someone shout, letting out a sigh of relief - a breath she hadn’t even known she was holding in - as it became clear the bystanders - Anna’s neighbours - were moving forward to target the assailants rather than them. She watched, maintaining the grip on the hose as the men were swarmed by shouting, swinging strangers. The rest of the Alters - other than Olivia - started peeling off, backing away and towards the house, trying to make sure they were out of the way before the reinforcements started to get confused about who was who. Olivia finally let the hose go slack, dropping it and backing away, watching as the man pitched forward, gasping for air. As he looked back at her, the memory of how this started flashed through her mind. Feeling anger welling up inside her, she kicked out wildly at his face, landing a solid boot to his left cheek and watching him fall onto his back at the end of the driveway.

“So much for ‘lucky we’re in the suburbs’,” Anna muttered, sitting on her front steps. The Alters stood, shell-shocked, watching the increasingly large crowd pressing in, attacking their would-be assailants. In the half-light, it was a blur of silhouettes; a cacophony of shouts and screams. “Jesus, they’re out of control.”

"Guess we’re lucky your neighbours like you,” Tash ventured.

"But they don’t. They don’t even know me. Maybe a few of them I’ve met once or twice, but…it’s like they were looking for a reason. Like they just…picked a side as soon as they saw there was one to pick.”

“This is what we’ve been watching on the news. Just this same thing, all over Brisbane.” Maya murmured.

“Meanjin, remember?” Anna corrected. “And…yeah. But it’s not just here. It’s everywhere. Guys, what the fuck is going on?”