A loud BOOM echoed down the river, breaking him from his thoughts.
Was that explosives? Hell. Whoever was at the dam, they were serious.
Jack heard the motorboat engine revving and turned his head, searching out the craft. It tore around the corner, the throaty sound of its engine reverberating around the cliffs.
The monsters’ howls and screeches followed. Jack’s eyes were drawn up. Fascinated, he watched as a black mass flowed out of every entrance of the dam and buildings. The creatures poured out of the doors. Windows. Tunnels. Everywhere. There had to be hundreds of them now. Standing near the back of the mass was the Alpha leader. It towered above the monsters. Arms outstretched like some evil priest, it urged its brethren on.
Jack raised his free arm, trying to signal the speeding boat. It was only a few metres away. He ducked under the water as it swerved around him. Jack spat out river water and hugged George closer. The craft slowed and fishtailed around. Jack could see the tall teenager and a bearded man looking at him. Slumped in the back of the boat was a smaller figure.
“Help, please… I have a boy,” Jack said, raising his tired voice.
The boat floated towards him. Or was he floating towards it? Coaxing his exhausted arms, he held George up. The bearded man frowned and hauled George into the boat.
Strong, gnarled hands grasped Jack’s and pulled him out of the water. “What the hell are you doing in the water?”
Jack flicked his eyes back to the dam and nodded. “Thank you,” he gasped.
The howls and screeches of the creatures became deafening, so loud they shuddered through Jack. He glanced up as the creatures started throwing themselves into the river like suicidal lemmings. The monsters had lost their fear of the water. His heart sank. Just for a fraction of a second he had thought he was safe.
“Boss. Get us out of here!” the bearded man yelled as he raised his rifle and began firing.
Jack felt the bow of the boat lift as the teenager opened the throttle, and he grabbed whatever he could hold on to.
He watched in horror as more and more monsters threw themselves from the cliffs, trying to reach the fleeing boat. A few managed to land on the boat. Digging their claws in, they scrambled and tore into the skin of the boat, their yellow eyes glaring at the humans.
The bearded man swung his rifle and fired. Calmly taking them out.
“Dee. We need you. Snap out of it!”
Despite everything happening around him…the boat speeding down the river…the gun rapidly firing…the creatures’ howling and trying to eat him…time slowed down for Jack. Dee? Here? After all that? Is this real?
Turning to the stern of the boat, Jack looked into those beautiful eyes staring back at him.
Covered in mud, blood and God knows what else, he launched himself into the arms of the one person who meant the most to him in the world. His rock, his shelter from the storm.
All those years alone had been worth it to spend the last three with her. She was a woman of beauty, intelligence and magic. She had taught Jack so much about life, about ways to appreciate it.
Even after these nightmares had torn his world apart, he had never given up hope of finding her again. It had been his motivation, his energy. His one ring. He had kept the image of her in the forefront of his mind. Those long, confused hours stuck to the wall. Through everything. Dee’s beautiful eyes and smiling face had kept him going.
Jack embraced Dee and sobbed. Holding her against his body, he was afraid to let go.
“I thought I had lost you,” Jack said, kissing her cheek.
“Me too,” Dee said.
“Dee. Come on!” shouted the bearded man.
Dee pulled herself out of Jack’s embrace and, racking her shotgun, started blasting at anything that moved in the water.
“Jack. In that bag. Grab a gun!” Dee said, gesturing with her head.
Jack found the bag and unzipped it. There were half a dozen guns that he didn’t recognise and two shotguns. He hadn’t fired a shotgun for a few months, not since that day at the firing range shooting clay pigeons. Jack gritted his teeth.
He looked around him. At the howling monsters throwing themselves into the river. At the little red-haired boy, George, huddled against a seat. At his wife, Dee, firing into the black mass of monsters. At the teenager steering the boat down the river. At the bearded man, rifle held to his shoulder, firing quick, controlled bursts.
Each of these people was fighting, fighting to stay alive. Fighting for the human race.
Jack checked the safety was off, and shells were loaded. Planting his feet, he tried to get his balance in the moving boat. Frustration boiling up, he joined the fight.
The Variants continued to throw themselves into the river. A couple more managed to land on the bow of the boat, but between himself, the bearded man and Dee, they dealt with them quickly.
The boat swung from side to side, dodging the beasts. Jack fired at a creature swimming towards him, taking off part of its head. He grimaced as it sank under the waves. Jack glanced up, searching for another target. The river in front of him was clear.
“Go!” Jack said, pointing.
The teenager heard him and opened the throttle, launching the boat free of the raining terrors.
As the boat pulled away, a loud bellow echoed down the cliffs. Jack shook his head and looked up at the Alpha. It glared down at the fleeing humans. With one last bellow he turned away, and his army of demons followed, howling and screeching.
Jack saw the bearded man raise his rifle and look through the scope, but he held his shot.
For now, they were clear of the creatures. The boat sped down the wide muddy river. Soon the high limestone cliffs gave way to rolling farmland.
“Why didn’t you shoot?” Dee said as she hugged Jack.
“No point. I don’t think this calibre would penetrate all that bone and hide,” Ben said. He lowered the weapon and glanced at them. “I guess this is Jack?”
A smile broke out on Dee’s face. “Yeah, it sure is.” She squeezed Jack tighter.
Jack caught her gaze. He knew what she was thinking. Somehow amongst the insanity, they had found each other. He could once again look into those blue eyes.
“Ben, Jack, Jack, Ben. And the tall one driving is Boss,” Dee said.
Jack and Ben acknowledged each other with a nod before shaking hands.
“Thank you. How did you know where I was?” Jack asked, shaking his head.
“A bit of guesswork. A bit of technology and a lot of luck,” Ben said. “I asked one of the collaborators what they were up to. He told me about the nest. When Dee came along looking for you, I figured it was the first place to look.”
“Thanks,” Jack said. He glanced down at Dee and raised an eyebrow. “Technology?”
“Find My Phone,” Dee said. “Your phone is thirty kilometres upriver.”
“Yeah. I crashed the car and ran into some of those beasts.”
Jack cast his eyes down. With all that had happened, it felt weird to talk about it.
“Guys,” Boss said, turning around. He pointed to the far bank. Dozens of Variants were charging down, screaming and howling at them.
“Keep going, Boss. Get us to the car,” Ben instructed. He reached into his combat vest and slammed in a new magazine.
“Boss?” Jack said.
“Another time, Highlander.” Dee grinned, her eyes twinkling in the afternoon light.
Jack returned the smile.
Boss turned. “Hey. We’ve been waiting for you.”
“You have? Well, I would’ve got here a bit sooner, but I ran into a bit of bother with some locals.”
Jack reached down and ruffled George’s hair. “This little fighter is George. He saved me.”
Dee crouched down to George. “Hey, little guy.”
Jack’s heart skipped a beat when the little red-haired kid wrapped his arms around her. He’d known she would like him. Perhaps, in spite of the apocalypse and the h
orrors they had faced, he and Dee had found that missing piece.
— 29 —
Jack could hear the howls of more monsters in the distance. Finally the river bank flattened out. Boss turned the boat for shore, heading towards a 4x4 parked under the trees.
Ben turned from scanning the bank with his scope. “All right everyone, stay frosty. We need a quick transition to the 4x4, no dawdling.” He glanced at each of them. “Dee, you drive. I’m going to radio the chopper. With those pursuing Variants, that LZ is going to be hot as hell.”
Jack felt the keel of the boat nudge the bank. He wrapped George in his arms and followed the others into the waiting 4x4. Jack liked this guy, Ben. The waiting vehicle was planned, the boat in the river, everything.
A chopper, coming to get us? To where? Safety?
Jack had so many questions he wanted to ask, but the ever-closer howls and screeches reminded him they had more pressing matters to be concerned about.
***
The 4x4 tore up the middle of the country road. Glancing in her side mirrors, Dee could see the Variants closing in from the sides and rear. Urging the vehicle faster, she jammed the accelerator to the floor.
“Guys, we got company!”
A couple of Variants sprinted ahead of the chasing pack and slammed into the back of the 4x4, rocking it from side to side. Dee swerved the vehicle, but their claws tore into the metal as they tried to get a purchase.
Dee looked over at Ben. He was filling his combat vest with fresh magazines. She blinked a few times. “What should I do?”
“Just get us to the airfield. We’ll take care of it,” Ben said.
Ben leant out the passenger side window and tried to get a bead on the chasing pack.
Dee could still see the two Variants clinging to the back of the vehicle. “Boss, Jack, see if you can get these bastards off us!”
***
Jack twisted around in the back seat and saw the two monsters clinging on. One started smashing its head into the rear window. Tiny cracks appeared, spider webbing across the glass. With each bash of the creature’s deformed skull, the cracks grew larger. Jack figured he only had a few seconds to react.
He pushed George down into the footwell. “Cover your ears.”
Jack blasted the headbutting monster. The boom of the shotgun inside the small cabin rattled his brain. Jack shook his head and looked at the shattered window. The monster still clung to the back of the vehicle. Its sucker mouth seemed to be smiling as if mocking him.
It began to crawl in through the now-broken window, howling, its mouth smacking so close Jack could see the rows of tiny sharp teeth. He pulled the trigger again, this time blasting off half its head. The black gunk sprayed all over him.
Jack heard another boom of a shotgun and saw the last one fall onto the road behind them, tumbling over and over before righting itself. It started to chase them again, sprinting down the road in rabid pursuit.
Hell, these things are hard to kill.
Jack crawled into the back. Using the shotgun, he pushed the corpse out. Beyond, he could see hundreds of them chasing, moving in a weird wave as they scrambled over the fields, hunting them tirelessly.
“How much further? These bastards are gaining fast!” Jack yelled, throwing his voice over the constant rat-ta-tat of Ben’s carbine.
“About half a click. It’s just up over that rise,” Ben said as he let off another shot. “This is going to be tight. Chopper is still ten minutes out.”
Jack nodded, reached down into the ammo bag and reloaded his shotgun. He crammed extra shells into his pockets, filling them as much as he could.
After another minute, they pulled into the small airfield. Long grass surrounded it, baked dry by the hot sunny days. A small tin shed sat next to a couple of larger buildings. Jack could see a concrete pad with a big capital “H” painted in bright yellow. He scanned the sky to the west for the chopper; he could just make out a tiny speck flying out of the clouds.
***
Dee slammed on the brakes, bringing the 4x4 to a skidding halt between the buildings. She looked back down the road and saw the mass of Variants charging towards them, already down the other end of the runway. Their screeches and howls filled the air. Raising her rifle, she sighted one through her scope. Pulling the trigger, she watched as it stumbled, fell, picked itself up and kept on charging.
You’ve got to get these things in the bloody head!
She looked over at Ben, firing into the mass. Dee could see the odd one staying down. In that moment she realised this was it, their last stand. Unless the chopper arrived in the next few minutes, they were dead.
Dee grimaced at the thought and glanced at her husband, searching out his eyes. She wanted to look in to them and feel the love of his soul one last time. She had fought through loneliness, anger and frustration to find him. She had battled Variants, killed them, watched people get torn apart. Almost got raped.
For a few glorious moments, she had held him again.
She saw Jack grinning at her. Covered in grime, mud and Variant muck, he still looked handsome.
She could see the little red-haired boy, George, peeking out the car door, his ice-blue eyes staring at the oncoming mass. She looked over at Boss as the wisecracking teenager loaded shells into his shotgun.
Dee turned back towards the mass of monsters.
So be it, but I’m going to take down as many of you bastards as I can.
Raising her rifle back to her shoulder, Dee spotted a stack of red tin barrels off to one side, next to a large tank with a bowser attached. Of course! AV gas! Do we have time?
“The fuel!” Dee said, pointing. Not waiting for an answer, Dee ran over to the barrels.
Seeing what she meant, Jack and Boss followed immediately.
Dee reached up and unhooked the bowser, then depressed the trigger. Fuel started pouring out onto the grass. She sloshed it around as far as she could and watched as Jack and Boss rolled some barrels out onto the grass, straining with the weight.
“Soak the grass between the buildings. We’ll burn the bastards as they funnel through.”
Jack and Boss grunted with exertion.
“Monster meat is back on the menu, boys,” Jack said. He unscrewed the caps, letting the high-octane fuel soak into the grass.
“Ben, how close are they?” Dee asked, sweat glistening on her forehead.
“Back in the truck everyone; they’re coming up fast. We’re going to have to make a run for it,” Ben said, firing his rifle in short bursts.
Dee pivoted and gasped at the sight of the Variants charging towards them. Monsters as far as she could see. Howling and screeching. She pushed Jack and Boss into the 4x4 and slid behind the wheel. Thankfully she’d left it running.
Ben leant out the window and cracked open a flare. As Dee pulled away, he threw it into the pool of fuel.
The AV gas ignited instantly, spreading outwards and into the mass of Variants as they funnelled into the gap. Many were caught in the firestorm, screeching. The smell of burnt flesh reached Dee as she glanced in the mirrors. She sneered at them twisting in pain. Burning. But for every Variant caught in the fire, dozens more were flowing around the buildings, chasing, snarling and desperate to reach them. Dee groaned and gunned the engine.
— 30 —
Jack could hear Ben yelling into a handheld radio, but he wasn’t paying too much attention. He focused on the spreading fire and the rolling black mass of monsters. The fire did its job in slowing down the vanguard, giving them the precious time, they needed. Dee had driven them out into the middle of the runway. He heard Ben tell her to head for the fence surrounding the bush-clad mountain. Jack dared to have a little hope again. Having volunteered on the mountain, he knew it well. The whole mountain was surrounded by a three-metre-high pest-proof fence. Several New Zealand flightless birds, such as takahe and the North Island brown kiwi, had been reintroduced inside with great success.
The 4x4 bounced over the rough farmland
towards the fence. Jack spotted the service road running along it.
“Dee, head left. There’s an entry gate on that ridge.”
He watched, mesmerised, as another mass of the monsters closed in from below the gate.
This is going to be close.
Jack tapped Ben’s shoulder. “There’s a shed next to the gate. That’s where they keep some quad bikes.”
Ben nodded as he gripped the door handles. “Just take your guns. We have to hightail it up to the summit. The boys in the chopper are going to meet us there, okay?”
Everyone murmured understanding.
Jack lifted George onto the seat next to him. “Stay close to me, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Don’t look at them. Just run.”
The mass of monsters flowed ever closer. They had perhaps a few minutes to get the bikes and go.
A chance is better than no chance at all.
***
Dee drove the 4x4 as close as she could to the gate, sliding the vehicle sideways as she stopped. She could see a small enclosure built through the fence with doors at either end. She remembered coming here with Jack when they were first dating. It was designed so only one door could be opened at any given time, a pest prevention safeguard.
Dee jumped out and, grabbing George by the hand, headed for the enclosure. She could hear the howls and screeches getting louder.
“Hurry!” Dee said, her voice full of concern.
Ben raised his rifle and fired off a few rounds. “Go! Go! Inside.”
Dee didn’t hesitate and pulled George through the first door. Boss and Ben followed. She could see sweat dripping off Boss as he watched the thundering mass of Variants getting closer.
“Boss. Stop gawking and move it,” Dee shouted.
“All right. I’m moving,” Boss said, slamming the enclosure door shut with a clang. Dee searched around for Jack. He was still near the 4x4, struggling to get his pack over his shoulders.
The Rule of Three (Extinction New Zealand Book 1) Page 16
