The End of Everything Box Set, Vol. 1 [Books 1-3]

by Artinian, Christopher

  “How can you stay so positive?”

  “What else is there, Bobbi? Every time I lost a race, a throw, a jump, an event...every time I got an injury…if I gave in to my doubts, if I gave in to that little nagging voice in my head, that would have been it. I’d have packed up my kit, gone home and probably taken up stamp collecting or something. But god bless my old twisted perv of a coach, because he told me how to get stuff done. He told me how to fight back.”

  “I wish he was here now, maybe he could show me.”

  “You don’t need him, you’ve got me. We’re going to get out of this. I know it looks impossible. It looks like we’re stuck here, but we’re not.”

  “Oh really?”

  “We can head out of that front door now and make a run for it.”

  “And what do you think our chances would be, exactly?”

  “Pretty bad.”

  Robyn slipped her boots off and lay down on the examination table, closing her eyes. “You’re so awesome at motivational speeches, Wren. I feel much better now. That coach taught you well. Oh god, please kill me now,” she said looking up at the ceiling.

  Wren jumped down from the table and turned to look at her sister. “You asked me what I thought our chances were if we headed out there now and I told you. That’s because I’m injured, you’re injured, and we don’t have a plan. That doesn’t mean that we couldn’t do it; we still have that choice. I just don’t think it would be a good idea.” The words slowly computed in Robyn’s brain. She opened her eyes and turned to look towards her sister. “Now, if you just asked me what I thought our chances in general were, I would say, brilliant. Look at what we’ve done in the past couple of days. Look at how far we’ve come. What we’re capable of that we didn’t think we ever could be before. God, Bobbi! You were going to kill a man to protect us. You and I have been working together as a team. I never thought I’d see the day, but we’ve worked together well, and when we’ve put our minds to something, we’ve done it.”

  “So, what are you saying?”

  “I’m saying if you and I rest up. If we get match fit, then we can get out of this place. And I’m not just saying this stuff to make you feel better—I know we can do it.”

  “Okay. Say we do it your way. How long do we stay here?”

  “Two days, three tops. We heal, we eat, we prepare supplies and we form a plan. Then when we’re ready, we go, we head out, and we find the place we want to stay. The place that we’re going to call home from now on. Somewhere that’s safe.”

  Robyn leant up on her elbow. “Okay...maybe you’re a bit better at motivational speeches than I gave you credit for. We’ll do it your way. We’ll rest up, then we’ll make a break for it, but I’ve got some conditions.”

  “Go on.”

  “Absolutely no torches, no lights on after dark. I don’t want any of those things knowing we’re in here.”

  “Agreed.”

  “We don’t go outside at all until we’re ready to go.”

  “Agreed.”

  “We condense our supplies to just the two rucksacks.”

  “Agreed.”

  “And I get the last of the Garibaldi biscuits.”

  “You drive a hard bargain,” Wren said, smiling.

  “Now that’s been decided, we should probably get some sleep. I’m pretty certain I didn’t get my full eight hours last night,” Robyn said turning over onto her side.

  “I’ll join you in a little while, I’m just going to go have a snoop around the place. “I wasn’t really up to it yesterday.”

  “Okay. But don’t wake me when you come back in.”

  “Scooch over to the other side, then I won’t have to.” Robyn tutted, but then shuffled across to the other examination table and settled down to sleep.

  Even with all the downstairs windows covered, there was enough light for Wren to see. She headed up the stairs, and even though she could feel her wound pulling a little, it was nowhere near as bad as it had been. She walked into the supply room where she had found her sister, and her eyes lit up. There were shelving units full of everything from tablets and medicines to bandages and medicinal alcohol. She picked up one of the bottles and saw the flammable sign on the side of it, and her lips curled into a smile. She would definitely have to stock up before they left this place, there was way too much good stuff to leave behind.

  She walked into the office lined with filing cabinets, making sure she avoided walking past the windows just in case there were any creatures looking in her direction. Wren sat down at the desk and opened the top drawer; there was nothing of any interest. She moved down to the deeper drawer at the bottom to find boxes of pens, a spare stapler, staples. She pulled it out farther and saw the top of a red cap. She grabbed hold of it; it was a small bottle of vodka.

  “Result!” she said. “I suppose the life of a filing clerk can get a little dull from time to time.” She examined the drawer further to find out if there was anything thing else exciting, but there wasn’t. Wren headed back downstairs with a smile on her face. She had been drunk once in her life, on champagne when they’d found out she’d been chosen for the Commonwealth Games squad. She didn’t like the after effects, but she remembered feeling very relaxed at the time. A little stress relief for her and her sister might not be a bad thing now.

  She went back downstairs and into the kitchen. She was not hungry but ate a couple of biscuits so she could take her tablets before heading back into their room. Robyn was sound asleep, and Wren climbed onto the examination table next to her, curled up, and drifted off.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  It was mid-afternoon when a scream jolted Wren from her dreams. Her eyes shot open and she tried desperately to get her bearings. Her sister was still curled up on the other examination table, but an eerie high-pitched sound was coming from her direction. Wren shuffled up onto one elbow and reached across, placing a hand on Robyn’s arm and rubbing it up and down, gently. “Bobbi. It’s okay, Bobbi, it’s okay. You’re just having a nightmare.” The sound continued to rise, so Wren took a firm hold of her sister’s arm and shook it. “Bobbi...Bobbi…”

  “Mum!” screamed Robyn, waking herself up. She flipped around like she was still stuck in her nightmare, and Wren withdrew her hand. Robyn’s eyes were wide, her breathing was erratic. She looked at her sister, but for a few seconds, it was almost as if she did not recognise her.

  “Bobbi, you were having a nightmare.”

  Robyn blinked and looked around the room, taking everything in. Her breathing was still erratic, but her eyes started to look a little more normal as the seconds ticked by. “It was...horrible.”

  “It’s okay,” Wren said, reaching out to put a reassuring hand on her once again.

  “You, me, and Dad were sat at the dinner table, then mum brought our plates across. It was sweet n’ sour chicken. Dad told us about his day, as usual, Mum told us about hers. They asked about our days at school and then when dinner was over, we all just sat there with our empty plates in front of us. Mum and Dad just had these smiles on their faces, looking at us both. It got really weird because no matter what we said to them, they wouldn’t answer. They just kept looking at us with these smiles. Then their faces started changing. The colour drained out of them, they started turning grey, and then their eyes clouded over. They stayed in their chairs, just looking at us. We panicked; we were shouting and screaming, but we didn’t pull back from the table, it was like we were glued there…”

  “Then what happened?”

  “Then the smiles disappeared and their mouths opened a little. The growling started, and you and I were screaming and crying and we reached across to hold each other’s hands. We were begging them to stop as if they had some power over what was happening, but the growls got louder and louder. Then Dad dived at you with his arms outstretched and Mum dived towards me. That’s when I woke up.”

  “Note to self: Never sleep again. I’m not surprised you screamed. That’s horrible…I feel scared just he
aring it.”

  “Thank you for waking me.”

  “You’ve woken me from enough nightmares in the past. Remember after we watched the first Paranormal Activity film?” Wren said, trying to lighten the mood a little.

  Robyn allowed herself to succumb to the memory. “Oh my god. It was like a full week after that, that you were still sneaking into my bed when I was asleep.”

  “And who was to blame for that?”

  “What do you mean? You made me watch the sequel, then you waited until I’d gone to sleep and came to stand by my bed in a white sheet.”

  Robyn burst out laughing. “I’d forgotten.”

  “How could you forget that? Mum grounded you for like, ten years.”

  “Dad thought it was funny,” Robyn said, laughing.

  “He did until I woke the house up every night with my screaming, and him and Mum both had to go to work.” The two sisters laughed again.

  “That’s right…” Robyn shook her head.

  “Hey, look what I found,” Wren said, climbing from the examination table and walking over to the desk. She proudly picked up the bottle of vodka. “I thought we could have it tonight.”

  “Erm, that’s not a good idea.”

  “Why?” Wren asked, looking hurt.

  “For a start, you’re on antibiotics, painkillers and anti-inflammatories. Secondly, I think we’re going to need our wits about us. If something happens and we’re both pished, it’s not going to end well.”

  Wren put the bottle down on the table, and her head sunk. “I suppose you’re right. I just…”

  “Just what?”

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  “No, tell me,” Robyn said, sliding from the examination table.

  “It’s just...this is the closest I’ve felt to you in years. I feel like after all this time, we’re really bonding, not just as sisters, but friends as well. I thought it would be fun to get drunk together.”

  Robyn walked across and picked up the bottle of vodka, placing it in her rucksack. “Look, I promise, when we get to our next place, we’ll open it up. We’ll have a girl’s night. We don’t need to get drunk to bond.” She walked back and sat down on the edge of the exam table. “It’s my fault, Wren. I was so wrapped up in my friends and going out and having a good time that I neglected you. We used to be close growing up, then when you started with the training, we drifted.”

  “I didn’t want it like that. I thought you might have been proud when I started doing well. I thought, maybe you’d come and see me at one of the competitions.”

  “Like I said, Wren, it’s on me. I should have been more supportive. I shut myself away in my own selfish world without realising just how amazing you’d become.”

  “I’m hardly amazing.”

  “You don’t see it, but I do. You saved us. If it hadn’t been for you, I wouldn’t be breathing now. I don’t know many fifteen-year-old girls who can do what you do.” Wren’s cheeks suddenly flushed red. “Trust me. I’m sorry for not being there, but things will be different from now on.” The two sisters smiled at each other.

  “I can’t believe you gave up your mobile phone for us.”

  “Yeah well, I figured it was more important to think about the family I still had than the family I’d lost.” Robyn’s face warmed again into the most affectionate of smiles. “Now what is there to eat? I’m starving.”

  chapter 21

  The two sisters spent the rest of the day, and the day after that, doing very little other than talking and resting. Very occasionally, one of them would venture up to the second floor and carefully position themselves at the side of the window in the office to see if any of the monsters had strayed into the car park, but none had. From the creatures they had dealt with so far, there were no lingering remnants of the people they had been. They had seen that with their own father. Whatever these things were, they were left with nothing but primal instinct. They did not have to worry about Norman seeking them out. Norman was gone. The whole village was gone. As far as Wren and Robyn were concerned, the whole world might be gone by now.

  On the third day, Wren and Robyn woke up rested. They had spent a full night with uninterrupted sleep. Wren’s wound, although still evident, was no longer hurting; it was a healthy colour, and she could bend and walk up and down the stairs without putting undue pressure on it. Likewise, Robyn could stand and walk around without too much discomfort.

  Wren headed to the toilet to get washed, while Robyn went into the kitchen. They turned on the hot water tap and started washing themselves, and at virtually the same time they called out to each other: “The water’s gone off.”

  Robyn walked into the hallway in just her bra and knickers. Wren came out of the toilet in a t-shirt with soap all over her face. “I suppose that’s the hot water tank used up,” Wren said, wiping the white sheen off with a towel.

  “I’m going to sue under trade descriptions. There hasn’t been hot water for days.”

  “You realise, that means the only water we’ve got left is what’s in our rucksacks now. That means—”

  “I know what it means,” interrupted Robyn. “So how soon do we need to go?

  “We’ve got enough for today and tomorrow,” Wren replied.

  “So?”

  “So!”

  “You want to set off today?”

  “I don’t think we can risk leaving it any longer,” Wren replied.

  “We don’t even have a plan.”

  “Well, I’ve been thinking about that.”

  “And?”

  “Okay, this is a pretty big building.”

  “And?”

  “Well, I’d say there were no more than forty of those things, maybe forty-five at a push.”

  “And?”

  “I could lead them through the front door, and we could make our escape out of the back.”

  “That’s your idea? And people call you the smart one,” Robyn said.

  “No, listen, I’ve simplified it. We set up a barricade, here,” Wren said, pointing to the area just before the room where they had been staying. I lead them in through the front door. I vault the barrier, then you and I head out of the back, and we’re on our way.

  “And how do you propose to just ‘vault the barrier?’ I know high jump’s one of your events, sis, but I don’t see any big bendy poles around here, do you?”

  “Look, we’ll figure that part out in a minute, but in essence, that’s the plan. It’ll work, Bobbi, I know it will.”

  “That sounds like a really, really bad plan. I don’t like the idea of you going out there and those things chasing you. So much can go wrong.”

  “Okay, what are our options?”

  Robyn just looked at her. She didn’t have any better ideas and she knew it. She let out a long resigned breath. “Alright, you win. We’ll do it your way.”

  “Let’s finish getting dressed, and then we’ll get to work.”

  Within a few minutes, the girls were stood back in the hallway, fully dressed. “So, this is your show; tell me what you want me to do,” Robyn said.

  “Okay, this might sound a little crazy, but trust me, it’s not.”

  “Those are words that always fill me with confidence. Go on.”

  “We build in layers to the barricade, because when there are loads of those things, there’s going to be quite a lot of weight. Even though we’re only talking a few seconds before we disappear out the back, it might be the difference between us getting out and us not.”

  “Okay, I’m listening.”

  “Okay,” Wren said, walking down the hall and building the image with her hands. “We have two rows of filing cabinets, here, filled with files and whatever crap we can find to weigh them down. We place them facing away, so there is no danger of a drawer opening and those things being able to clamber over. And here, we have two of the large desks; we make sure they’re weighted down too.”

  “And how exactly are you going to get over? Those filing cabinets
come up to our necks; it’s not like you can just step onto them,” Robyn said.

  “Yeah, well that’s the tricky part.”

  “Oh, there’s a tricky part? That’s good, it was all sounding way too easy.”

  “We put one of the smaller cabinets, and another of the taller filing cabinets further down the hall. I’ll come in running through the door; leap onto the small cabinet, springboard off that onto the taller cabinet, then a long jump, onto the top of the other filing cabinets here, down onto the desk and onto the floor. Voila. We can’t have the smaller cabinet and the other filing cabinet too close, cos there’s always the risk they could topple and those things might be able to climb over.”

  “Oh my god! You’re as mad as Norman. That’s crazy. You’re going to kill yourself trying something like that,” Robyn said, outraged.

  “Bobbi, long jump is one of my best events. I’ve done this a thousand times, over much longer distances.”

  “You’re right, sorry, I shouldn’t doubt you. I’m forgetting the 2012 games when I saw Jessica Ennis take her run-up, leap onto a small filing cabinet then onto a taller one, finally coming to land on another set of filing cabinets, and finishing her slide on a wooden desk, all while being chased by forty zombies. I thought to myself back then, ‘Oh. That looks like a piece of piss. Why are they handing medals out for this crap?’ You’re mental. M E N T A L. You will end up dead if you try that.”

  “Trust me, I know I can do this. If it makes you feel any better, we can take the pads and cushions of the examination table to soften the landing.”

  “Yeah, that would make me feel a lot better, ‘cos it was the landing I was worried about. Everything seemed straightforward up to that point.”

  Wren grabbed hold of her sister’s hand. “I can do this. Now come on, let’s get to work,” she said, smiling.

  It took them over ninety minutes to build the barricade. All the cabinets needed emptying due to the weight before they could be moved. Then the two sisters refilled them with their original contents, and more besides, making sure they were rock solid. They laid it out exactly as Wren had suggested. Wren climbed onto the desk and stood on top of the cabinets, springing up and down on them a few times. “See, solid as anything,” she said, climbing down and heading across to the freestanding set of drawers farther down the hallway. She pushed hard against it, but it barely moved. They had not only filled them with the files but with reams of paper, scales from the examination rooms, gallon containers of disinfectant from the cleaning cupboard, anything they could find. She walked over to the smaller cabinet; she tried to push it, but it felt glued into position.