“Is that it?” Robyn asked.
“Yes,” Elizabeth replied, nodding her head.
“Phew,” Robyn replied. “I thought we were in trouble there for a moment, but that sounds like a piece of piss.”
chapter 11
Wren whipped the door open, and Robyn stepped into the hall, at the same time, pulling the string back on the bow. She glanced towards the direction of travel, which was clear for the time being, and then up the corridor to where the majority of the noise was coming from. A strobing sheet of lightning lit the corridor from outside revealing a scene that belonged in a gory horror film. Smoke was beginning to bellow from the infirmary wing into the gigantic foyer, and shrill screams continued to accompany the thunder as if a chorus of wailing banshees were serenading the devil himself.
The screeching smoke alarms continued as well, and this place, once the holiest of sanctuaries when an order of Cistercian monks inhabited it hundreds of years before, was now just a monument to fear and chaos.
“Go, now!” Robyn said, stepping out into the hall and holding the bow up, ready to fire at anything that headed towards them.
Wren and Elizabeth filed out of the door and began to run down the hallway. A fallen body began to rise in front of them, like Dracula awakening in his coffin, but Wren thrust the javelin through its skull and jarred it back out again without missing a step.
Elizabeth looked back to see Melissa holding hands with Ruth. The little girl was crying and terrified, but at least she was running. Matthew and Susan were following. They kept throwing glances back towards Robyn, who was stood, statuesque, in the middle of the hallway, as a creature was sprinting towards her. Elizabeth stopped. “Wait, Robyn needs our help,” she cried.
Wren stopped and looked. “Bobbi?” she shouted.
“Keep going, sis, I’ve got this,” she said, releasing the arrow, which flew through the candlelit hallway. The explosion of blood from the beast’s forehead looked like a fountain of oil in the dim light, satisfying Robyn that the job was done.
She turned and began to sprint, coming up alongside Susan. “Remember to keep checking behind,” Robyn said, leaping over the creature Wren had put down, then speeding up even more. Robyn joined her sister at the front of the group, and she, Elizabeth, and Wren all stopped as they came to the end of the corridor. Robyn and Wren took their places, one at each side. Robyn looked down the passageway to the left and saw nothing. Wren looked to the right, the way they needed to go. The frustration on her face said it all. She held four fingers up.
More thunder boomed as the two sisters and Elizabeth stepped out. The four creatures immediately began to dart towards them. The largest was at the front, and Robyn misjudged her shot. Her arrow missed the first beast and entered the collarbone of the second, but no creature paused in its pursuit.
“Crap!” Robyn shouted, quickly pulling another arrow from her quiver and lining it up.
Wren raised her pistol crossbow and lined up her site as well as she could in the poor light. She fired, and her bolt whistled towards the first of the monsters, entering its eye and knocking it backwards into two others. Robyn released her arrow as well, and the beast she had already wounded went down like a sack of potatoes.
The two creatures that had been knocked over by the first beast scrambled to their feet and began to advance once more. Robyn fired, taking one down with a perfect headshot, but Wren could not load her bow in time. She placed it on the ground and advanced slowly, with both hands around the javelin. The wild monster ran at her, its arm flailing and its fingers grasping the air.
Wren just stood there, ready to strike. The beast was almost on her when it stumbled and went sliding across the tiled floor, taking Wren completely by surprise. Her feet were knocked from underneath her, and she toppled, crashing on the tiles. She let out a stifled scream, and the javelin flew from her hands. She raced to beat the creature to her feet, but it was already advancing on her as she stood. She turned and started running as fast as she could, until she heard the familiar whistle of one of Robyn’s arrows and then the thud as the creature crashed onto the tiles once again.
She stopped and turned, picking up her javelin and waiting for the others to join her. Robyn grabbed her sister’s pistol crossbow and handed it to her as they met up at the mouth of the corridor to their left. “Down here?” Wren asked Elizabeth, who just nodded.
The group began to run down the hallway as the shouts, screams, and sirens diminished further. This was not an annexe that housed accommodation, and the tension eased a little as they continued through empty, tall corridors. Robyn turned on her torch as they advanced farther towards the grand, double doors at the bottom. They stood outside and waited a moment to catch their breath. Ruth was still crying, but she was far less vocal now, Melissa had picked up the six-year-old and was holding her in her arms. Matthew’s earlier anger and hurt was gone; now his face was just that of any other eighteen-year-old boy who had been jettisoned into a nightmare of titanic proportions; all excitement of seeing zombies fled from blind terror.
Elizabeth raised her table leg and placed her fingers around the handle. “Are you ready?” she asked.
Wren and Robyn both nodded, and Elizabeth opened the door. A powerful gust blew straight at them, and all the candles in the chapel went out as a flash of lighting revealed somebody had beaten them to chapel’s back door. Matthew, Susan and Melissa turned on their torches and frantically panned them around, as did Robyn. The chapel was cavernous, and the once dark corners and crevices now possessed a new, deathly blackness. Robyn’s ears were more in tune with the sounds of these creatures than most, and she shot her beam of light to the front pew. At first, she struggled to make out what she was seeing.
“Hey!” she said to the others. “Shine your torches to the front.” They did as they were asked, and the torches revealed a freshly bitten woman. She looked towards the open back door as if to suggest that whatever had attacked her had already left, then she looked again at the blood in her palm from her neck wound. She looked down at her blood-soaked clothes, then back up towards the source of the torches, before finally collapsing to the floor, out of view.
“Run!” Wren said, and the group began to sprint down the aisle before the beast could transform and come after them. They had almost made it when Robyn’s torch beam caught movement again.
The creature was on its feet and charging. Melissa and Ruth screamed, their voices echoing around the chapel.
“I can’t aim in this light, Wren. I can’t see!” Robyn shouted.
“Keep the beam on her,” cried Wren, handing her sister the pistol crossbow and taking the javelin in both hands. Wren reached the front two pews at the same time as the newly morphed beast. It leapt at her with animalistic ferocity, and Wren planted her feet apart on the stone floor. She thrust the javelin upwards, skewering the creature’s neck. The growls turned to bubbling gurgles. Wren pushed her left foot up hard against the beast’s chest and kicked it back as hard as she could. The monster toppled over the pew behind it but was back on its feet in no time. Robyn caught it again in her beam of light, and Wren plunged her spear straight through the monster’s eye. Melissa and Ruth let out two more deafening screams, as the beast fell back, but now Wren knew it would not get up. She let out a breath, and so did Robyn.
The group advanced to where Wren was standing, and Susan pointed her torch down at the creature. “That was Dana; she came here at the same time as me.”
“Let’s just make sure you’re not leaving at the same time as her,” Elizabeth said. “Come on, we need to go.”
They ran to the open chapel door and looked out. The wind had changed direction from earlier on in the day, but it had not lost any of its power. They looked out across the enclosed garden and saw a creature chasing down another member of Adam’s flock, who, for the time being, was managing to outpace the sprinting beast.
The fire from the infirmary had taken hold of the foyer and library, and now, despite the
wind and rain, it was burning out of control, lighting the sky around them for miles. “If this is still burning in the morning, there are going to be a lot more of these things around here. The sooner we get out, the better,” Wren said as she took the pistol crossbow back from her sister and ran out of the door with Elizabeth. They headed across the large, walled garden and all shot a look back towards the once beautiful monastery. They reached the far wall, and Elizabeth vaulted the waist-high construction with the table leg still in her hand. She placed it down and lifted Ruth over before helping Melissa. The howls and screams and the screeches of the smoke alarms were all muffled now beneath the sound of the relentless wind and the crashing waves below them.
Elizabeth turned, and the group followed her to the top of the stairs that were built into the side of the cliff. “Remember, be careful!” she shouted over the sound of the wind and sea, as she began her descent. She took the torch from Melissa, who was holding onto Ruth tighter than ever now as they descended the dark, rain-slicked stairway down to the jetty. Robyn and Wren had fallen back to take up the rear and stayed at the top of the stairs for a moment, just watching the monastery burn as the rest of the group disappeared from view around the bend.
“What next?” Wren asked.
“What do you mean?” Robyn replied.
“I mean. We weren’t planning for this. It was just you and me. We were going to figure stuff out for ourselves, now all of a sudden we’ve got these people to think about too.”
“Hey, listen to me,” Robyn said, pulling Wren around to look at her and doing her best to be heard over the sounds of nature. “Nothing has changed. It’s still you and me. Tomorrow morning, we head off just like we planned. These people won’t last two minutes out here. All that matters are you and me. Never forget that, Wren.”
chapter 12
The staircase was more treacherous than Elizabeth had said. The handrail had disintegrated completely in places, and there was nothing between them and a sheer drop but a prayer. Robyn took the descent slowly and carefully, but it was not long before the pair of them had caught up with the rest of the group.
Although they could not see the waves below them, the crashing wake sounded vicious. An explosion erupted from above, but this was not thunder; Elizabeth turned as Ruth and Melissa both screamed in unison. “It’s all right—it will just be the oxygen tanks in the infirmary,” she said before continuing down the steps.
Robyn panned her torch to the right, and for the first time, the two sisters saw the waves smashing against the frail wooden dock. “Tell me that’s not the boat,” Robyn shouted above the sound of the wind and thrashing rain as the beam came to rest on an orange motor dinghy.
“It’s sturdier than it looks,” Elizabeth shouted back up the stairs.
“It would have to be. Where did Adam get it? The Toys R Us closing down sale? Anyone bring a balloon pump with them in case it gets a puncture?” Robyn said.
They arrived down at the dock and the wind squalled around them with a fresh foreboding. “I know it looks like a rubber dinghy, but it’s carbon-fibre. We’ve used it for years; it’s always been reliable, and it holds up to fourteen people.”
“Go out in many hurricanes do you?” Robyn asked.
Elizabeth ignored the comment, taking hold of Ruth’s hand and walking across the creaking jetty as white wake from the wild waves soaked the bottom of their trousers.
“Mummy, I’m scared,” Ruth cried as another flash of lightning lit the dark waters surrounding them. Stinging rain and salt spray drove into their faces as the rest of the group advanced along the pier. Matthew and Melissa placed their chair legs down, and carefully climbed into the rocking boat. It swayed and lifted wildly beneath their feet, and Melissa fell, but Matthew caught her.
They steadied themselves and extended their arms as Elizabeth put down her chair leg and gave Ruth a tight embrace before passing the little girl down to them. Susan climbed in next until it was just Robyn, Wren, and Elizabeth stood on the small dock.
“So what’s the plan?” Wren asked, as the thunder caught up to the lightning flash.
Elizabeth pointed diagonally across the water. “About four miles in that direction. There’s a small quay that the landowner lets us use when we visit. If we can get across to there, maybe we can wait this out until morning and then come up with a proper plan.”
“Four miles?” shouted Robyn over the sound of the wind and rain. “Can’t we just go straight across?”
“It’s mainly cliffs and craggy rocks. You’ve got to be very careful,” Elizabeth replied.
“Great,” Robyn frowned, handing Wren her bow and carefully climbing down into the boat. She took the bow back from Wren then helped her sister down too.
Finally, Elizabeth got on board and sat down at the back next to the outboard motor. “Matthew, untie the rope from around the cleat,” she shouted as a large wave rocked the dinghy hard.
Matthew got to his feet and for a moment, nearly lost his balance as the boat continued to lift and sway. He grabbed hold of one of the dock’s planks with one hand, while untying the knot with the other, then sat flopped down in his seat again.
Elizabeth started the motor, and they pulled away. The orange fibreglass construction struggled against the waves, and the occupants shone their torch beams ahead, casting a weak light on the stormy passage. They headed towards the middle of the estuary where the water was deepest before Elizabeth changed to a westerly course. The boat continued to be tossed by the waves, but each time it was, she corrected it and kept them on a steady path.
The other occupants held onto their seats for all their worth. “Where are the life jackets?” shouted Robyn.
“We’ve only got the one,” Matthew replied, as there was another ripple of lighting and peel of thunder. “Dad always said the Lord would protect us.”
“How’s that working out for him?” Robyn asked, before looking back towards their direction of travel.
“Oh no,” Elizabeth yelled as the engine began to splutter.
“What’s wrong?” Wren asked.
“I think we’re out of fuel.”
“What?” demanded Robyn. “Are you kidding me?” she yelled as another big wave smashed against them, causing all in the boat to let out a scream.
“I thought they would have refilled it after their last journey,” Elizabeth said.
“So what do we do?” Wren asked.
“Pass me an oar,” Elizabeth said.
“I don’t think rowing is going to help us in this,” Robyn replied, passing the oar down the boat.
“It’s not for rowing; I’m going to see if I can steer us. Keep your heads down,” Elizabeth said. “Matthew, put the lifejacket on your little sister.”
Matthew did as he was asked before climbing back into his seat. The water continued to wash over the side of the boat as the waves pounded against it. Salty slaps against the bare skin of their faces ensured no one forgot that they were in the midst of a foul storm that had the potential to swallow them whole.
Elizabeth continued to struggle against the force of the waves. She used the oar as a rudder, navigating the endless black waters with a piece of plastic, the odd prayer, and a bucketful of hope. It was hard; she had done it before in calm waters, but never in a situation like this. Elizabeth knew they were at the mercy of the currents, but surely her efforts must have some effect on their direction. The sporadic lightning allowed her to see that she was maintaining a steady middling course, while the thunder played out a deafening percussive soundtrack that made her stay on high alert.
The occupants had put their torches away, knowing they might need them if and when they landed. Another shimmer of lightning illuminated the landscape, and Elizabeth’s spirits sank as she saw there was no hope of directing the boat to the other side. While they were in the midst of this storm, the safest thing she could do for all of them was just stay out in the middle. Hopefully, the fierceness would dissipate before they were swept into th
e North Sea.
It was not until the Forth Road Bridge Loomed in front of them, that Elizabeth understood her prayers would probably go unanswered, and the waves that she had contended with so far were nothing compared to what she would face as they came out of the estuary and into the open sea. She steered them through the centre of two vast, vertical girders as more lighting lit the sky in front of them.
It was only then that she came to terms with what was happening. She had kept them safe up to now, but the course ahead was one that she would have no control over.
“We’re being swept out to sea!” Elizabeth yelled.
“Then do something!” Matthew shouted as he held on to Melissa and Ruth.
“There’s nothing I can do. Our only hope is the storm peters out,” she answered him.
“Great plan,” Robyn shouted, and everybody let out a scream as the direction of the boat shifted dramatically, catching them all off guard.
“What the hell just happened?” Robyn shouted.
“I don’t know. Maybe one current just met another,” she yelled, as wind and rain continued to sting her face.
Lightning flashed, and they waited for the boom to accompany it, but this time, there was a longer pause. “It sounds like the storm’s moving away,” Wren shouted.
“That doesn’t really help us. It’s the wind that’s our biggest problem,” Elizabeth shouted as the boat continued further into the mouth of the estuary.
Elizabeth felt the pull of the current and adjusted the makeshift rudder to a north-easterly direction. “We’re changing course?” Wren asked.
“We’re heading out to sea. We don’t have a choice, but maybe we can stay closer to land if I can pull us in a bit now. The only danger is if a big wave comes; it could catch us unaware and capsize us,” Elizabeth replied.
The End of Everything Box Set, Vol. 1 [Books 1-3] Page 46
