by E S Richards
“Everyone stay quiet and follow me, I’ll get you out of here.”
“Who—”
Angelo started to speak but Harrison quickly cut him off with a deadly glare. “I said stay quiet if you want to live through the night, got it?”
Silence filled the room in response to Harrison’s threatening question. Angelo wasn’t acting like a big man now, his frame shrinking down under Harrison’s glare and offering him nothing but a timid nod. With everyone finally silenced and ready, Harrison beckoned Len forward. He wasn’t happy about the other two coming with them but knew it was easier than making them stay behind. Now they just had to be extra careful.
“Only in an emergency,” Harrison whispered to Len as he passed him a pistol, a spare he had thought to pack in his rucksack. Len nodded and took the weapon from Harrison, his demeanour changing into that of a confident man with the reassuring prepper by his side.
“Lead the way,” Len whispered back and waited for Harrison to start moving, leading their ragtag group around the sleeping tiger and toward the exit of the room.
Len was shocked to find the door unlocked, but then realized that Harrison must have entered through it. He followed him quietly out into the zoo and noticed immediately the slumped body of a shaved head in a pile beside the door, blood pooled on the floor. How many men had Harrison killed to get to where Len was being held prisoner? How many more would they have to kill to get the group of them out? For once, Len didn’t care and, as he looked at the body on the ground, he felt nothing but a desire to see his son again.
As soon as all four of them were out of the room, Harrison closed the door behind them and started jogging. It was clear he had a route mapped out and Len was more than happy to follow it, Angelo and Vanessa sticking close by. Without a burlap sack over his head, Len was able to take in his surroundings a little better and marveled at how all the animals appeared to still be living in the zoo. Immediately the thought occurred to Len that it wouldn’t last long; these animals would need proper care, not just to be used to keep people trapped in a room. Len was almost positive this set up wouldn’t last long and he didn’t want to be around when the animals finally broke free.
Curving around “The African Savannah” exhibit, Harrison brought their small group to a halt. Up ahead Len could make out two figures, almost certainly gang members, as they walked across the field of grass, familiar shotguns clutched in their hands. The four of them dropped low into a crouch, partially hidden by a large rock formation where tourists could pose for pictures with the animals. Holding their breath the four of them remained quiet as two women—both wearing gang colors and prominently tattooed—walked past them, close enough to notice if they happened to be looking.
Harrison had his Glock pointing at the two women, ready to fire if the need presented itself. Len raised the pistol he had been given as well but thankfully the two women passed without sounding an alarm. As soon as they were out of earshot, Harrison got the group back to their feet and they continued running. Len could tell by the setup of the zoo around them that they were nearing the exit and the gates to freedom. Only a few more steps and they would be back on their journey, the route to South Haven and James continuing. Only a few more steps, so long as nothing else got in their way.
Chapter 16
Amy tried to figure out what to do as she sat between her son and a grieving mother. Try as she might, she couldn’t imagine how Mel must be feeling. The woman was unable to stop crying, sobs shaking her body as she wept for her daughter. It had to be the worst feeling in the world to lose a child and she just couldn’t bring herself to think of that happening to her. James was everything to Amy and she would rather suffer a thousand deaths than picture her life without him.
The wreckage of the country club continued to deteriorate in front of her eyes. The fire had completely taken hold now and the once impressive building was crumbling to a pitiful mess. Amy’s body was exhausted but she knew she had to remain strong for her son and to offer support to the other woman beside her.
Turning to look at James, her heart broke. His clothes were torn and dirty, his face covered in filth. All Amy wanted was to give him a bath and tuck him into bed, make sure he was safe and that nothing in the world could hurt him. Before becoming a parent, Amy couldn’t imagine what it would be like but as soon as it had happened, her own safety had quickly taken second position in her head.
The day she and Len had brought James home from the hospital was such a beautiful memory for her. Even after everything that had happened between her and her ex-husband, Amy was thankful she could look back on the time they spent together—in the earlier years at least—and smile. She remembered sitting in front of the fire in their home in Chicago, James wrapped in blankets in her arms. Len sitting beside her, gazing down at their son, the beautiful human being they had made. Remembering that moment and the love that the two of them had felt made Amy think of her ex-husband. She had no idea what was happening in Chicago but if South Haven was anything to go by, she knew it would be bad. For James’s sake, Amy prayed that Len was still alive out there.
Suddenly Amy remembered the bag she had packed for their journey and the small wooden box that she had placed carefully within it. The burning of the country club ahead of her told it was hopeless, that there was no chance of it having survived the wreckage but she couldn’t stop herself from rising to her feet. She needed to see if she could find it.
“Mom?”
James looked up at her as Amy stood, hands on her hips as she stared forward at the burning building. They wouldn’t be able to get inside while the fire was still raging, but sitting around and doing nothing was not helping them either.
“I think we should look for other survivors,” Amy spoke, both to her son and to herself to solidify the idea in her head. “We can’t just sit here and watch.”
“Survivors?” Mel suddenly leapt up from the ground where she sat, her eyes wide and frantic as she looked from Amy to the burning wreck of the country club. “Do you think there could still be survivors?”
Amy could hear the desperation in Mel’s voice as she spoke, clinging to any last shred of hope that her daughter could still be alive. Realistically Amy knew it was highly unlikely, but she couldn’t bring herself to say that to Mel. “We won’t know unless we look,” she offered instead, turning to help her son to his feet. “And it’ll be getting dark soon; we need to find somewhere to spend the night.”
Amy had barely gotten the words out before Mel was running back towards the building, sprinting faster than Amy thought possible. It was like her persona had immediately switched from depressive to manic, the slight chance of finding her daughter causing her to charge toward the building. Amy called after her, trying to get the woman to slow down but it was impossible. With the thought of her daughter on her mind, there was no stopping Mel.
James, too, stared after Mel in awe and then nodded to himself, the small boy preparing for what they were about to do. Amy was so proud of her son. He had already demonstrated more strength and resilience than a boy of his age should have. If it were possible, it made her love him even more.
“I’ll help.” James spoke in a strong voice, brushing some of the dirt from his T-shirt and looking up at his mother.
“You’re so brave,” Amy smiled down at him, cupping his cheek with one of her hands despite the painful burns that disfigured them. “Come on, we should try and catch up to her.”
Amy set off after the woman, looking ahead to see her tugging at pieces of the fallen building and throwing them to the side, pausing after she moved each item to shout her daughter’s name. It was heart-breaking to watch, but Amy knew she was powerless to stop it. Perhaps the act of desperation would help Mel somehow, but Amy knew of nothing she could do in the moment. There would be a time for comfort, for an embrace of the mother who had lost all, but now? There was no reasoning with Mel, so Amy decided they should walk a circle around the country club to see if anyone else h
ad escaped. Gradually she started leading James up a grassy verge in front of them, Mel slowly moving in the same direction. She couldn’t deny this was more of a distraction tactic, something to keep James occupied while Amy tried to figure out a plan. They would have to keep moving, keep walking towards Ellen and Maria’s lake house like they had originally intended. She and James needed somewhere safe to stay and wait for the world to return to normal; Mel too, if she wanted to accompany them.
The fire from the country club filled the air with smoke, making it difficult to see in the waning daylight. The last thing Amy wanted was to still be wandering around outside when night fell. She didn’t know whether the burning building would attract people but she was frightened to run into anyone else like Zephyr and the other men he had brought into her home. While most people she had come across since everything started happening had been friendly towards her, Amy knew that wasn’t going to be the case with everyone she met.
Holding James’s hand, she kept her body between him and the burning wreckage, shielding him from the heat to some extent. Her once clean white top stuck to her body with sweat, dirt, and blood, an amalgamation of the three turning the fabric a dirty brown color.
Turning off the grassy bank and around the corner, following the sound of Mel’s gut-wrenching cries as the woman had suddenly ran ahead of them, she was surprised to find the rear of the country club free from flames. The back building was separated from the main section by a large courtyard, tables and chairs scattered around it, also saved from the fire. Looking in turn between her son and Mel, the woman still crying hysterically as she tried to dig into the wreckage for her child, Amy paused. It was definitely worth entering the building to look for supplies, her mouth dry and her stomach empty after the long day of traveling.
“Let’s see what’s inside,” Amy spoke softly to James, looking back over to Mel to see that the woman had noticed them starting to approach the building. Amy beckoned Mel over with her arm and after a brief pause the woman started jogging towards them. Reaching the door, Amy was relieved to find it unlocked and tugged it open to reveal what was inside. Mel pushed past and entered the building first, once again calling out her daughter’s name, her behavior continuing to grow more and more erratic.
They entered what appeared to be a storage room, more tables and chairs stacked throughout with various boxes of decorations. Amy could picture the courtyard outside all dressed up for some fancy event and wondered what would become of the place. Spotting what looked like a large box fridge in the corner of the room, Amy perked up slightly, letting go of James’s hand to walk toward it. As she pulled open the door, she could tell the fridge wasn’t switched on, an unsurprising discovery.
Boxes of food were starting to go bad inside, the smell of rotting meat assaulting Amy’s nostrils as she leaned over into the fridge. Her eyes lit up as she saw a tray of unopened bottled water, twenty-four sealed bottles waiting like a prize. Ripping apart the clear plastic Amy picked two out, handing one to James and then reaching in for a third to give to Mel. Turning around to face the grieving mother, Amy found her sitting on the floor cross-legged, silent tears once again pouring from her eyes. She was staring blankly at the door they had just entered through, her bottom lip quivering as she gazed off into the distance.
Amy approached her slowly, holding out a bottle of water in her hand. “Here,” she spoke softly, “you should drink.”
Mel didn’t even acknowledge that Amy stood beside her and ignored the offering of water completely. She seemed frozen in place, a constant stream of tears falling from her eyes as she watched the empty doorway, her eyes unblinking. Amy moved in front of the woman slightly and tried to grab her attention but Mel just stared straight through her, the grief of losing her daughter all she was able to focus on. Slowly, Amy placed the bottle of water on the ground in front of her and walked back towards her son, biting her lip at the knowledge of what the poor mother was going through.
Looking around the room, Amy tried to distract herself. She moved back toward the fridge and picked out two more bottles, placing them in the back pockets of her pants before handing a third to James.
“We should look around,” she said as an afterthought, “see if there’s anything else in here we can use.”
The burden of losing their rucksacks with the spare clothes, food, and other supplies weighed heavily on Amy and she knew they would need to eat soon as well. While she was fully aware the human body could last up to three weeks without eating, for the journey they had ahead of them they would need to stay as strong as possible. Waiting around for someone else to save them just wasn’t an option.
Rummaging through the other boxes, everything was mostly as Amy suspected. There was a wide array of fairy lights that were clearly used as decoration, as well as boxes of plates and bowls, everything you’d need to host an elaborate dinner party. With nothing of note that they could benefit from, Amy was about to suggest they go back outside when Mel suddenly jumped to her feet once more.
“Do you hear that?” Mel questioned as she took a few steps toward the courtyard.
Amy stopped and listened, searching for whatever Mel had heard.
“Someone’s shouting!” Mel screamed, breaking into a run out of the storage building and toward the voice.
Amy followed hot on her heels, with James jogging beside her to keep up. Eventually Amy also heard the voice, the sound of a man calling for help in between scattered coughing. Immediately Amy thought of Giles and picked up her pace, although making sure she didn’t leave James behind. His form slowly came into view, the image of Giles hunched over, dragging something out of the wreckage.
Stopping dead in her tracks, Amy grabbed onto her son, pulling him into her body as she realized what Giles was carrying. It was a young girl’s body, her hair matted over her face as Giles dragged the body away from the building, his chest heaving from the exertion. Amy could tell immediately that whomever he was dragging was either dead or on the verge of dying; she didn’t want James to see that happen.
Mel, on the other hand, let out a loud scream and started running even faster toward Giles. Could the body be her daughter? Amy couldn’t decide whether she wanted that to be the case or not, the girl clearly not long for the world if she still had breath in her lungs.
“Stay here, James,” Amy knelt down on one knee and looked at her son. “I’m going to go and help Giles; can you wait here please? And stay where I can see you.”
“Okay,” James mumbled, looking slightly around his mother’s body to where Giles and Mel were now bending over the body which lay on the ground.
“Brave boy,” Amy spoke softly as she kissed her son on the forehead. “I’ll be back in a moment.”
Leaving her son behind, Amy started walking toward Giles and Mel. She couldn’t believe that Giles had made it out of the building. So many hours had passed since the fire first shook the foundations that she had completely given up hope of finding anyone else. She couldn’t hide the relief that she felt upon seeing him though; Giles knew the area and he was a strong asset to have by their side. As Amy drew close enough to see the body, she recognized it as Lisa, the country club employee who had been smoking when they first arrived. The girl had fallen from the window, right into the pit of fire below. Surely she wouldn’t have survived all of that?
Mel was crying again, the reality that she wasn’t going to find her daughter finally hitting home and turning her into a wreck on the floor. Loud shouts of her daughter’s name pierced the air from time to time, Mel questioning why she had been left without a child. The woman was on the edge of a breakdown and yet Amy couldn’t think of a single thing to say to make her feel any better. Instead she looked to Giles, reaching forward and touching the man on the shoulder to turn him away from Lisa’s body.
“Is she…?” Amy didn’t want to finish the sentence, but Giles knew what she was trying to say.
The man shook his head, closing his eyes slightly. “She was still b
reathing when I found her,” he spoke quietly, “but she didn’t make it.”
Amy didn’t know how close Giles had been to Lisa, but they had worked together and that had to stand for something. She pulled him into a hug, letting the man sag slightly in her embrace.
“Here,” Amy said pulling slightly back from Giles and offering him a bottle of water from her back pocket. “Are you all right?”
“I…I think so.” Giles spoke slowly, relishing the water that Amy had given to him. “I managed to hold on somehow so I didn’t fall down into the fire, but the whole building started to give way as I was trying to get out. I had to run down the corridor and managed to get out of a side entrance before things started to really collapse.”
Amy listened to the man’s story as she looked from him to Lisa’s dead body. Giles must have gone back into the building to look for survivors, putting his own life at risk in an attempt to save someone else’s.
