“I need to tell you something.”
“What?” Robyn asked, concerned, as she leaned up on one elbow.
Wren broke wind louder and longer than her sister before running back to her bed giggling. “Night night, sis,” she said, diving under the covers.
“You dirty bitch,” Robyn said, starting to laugh again. “Oh god! That’s toxic. You’ve got something wrong with you. Ugh! Gross! I can’t believe you came onto my side of the room to do that. You’re going to pay. You won’t know where, and you won’t know when, but you’re going to pay for that.”
The two of them laughed until the effects of the alcohol made them start to drift. Wren reached over and switched off the torch, “Love you, sis,” she said, but Robyn was already asleep.
✽ ✽ ✽
It was the sound of ducks quacking from across at the pond that woke Wren up. She had the start of a headache and immediately reached for the bottle of water on her bedside cabinet. She unscrewed the top and took a few thirsty gulps before placing it back down. Wren climbed out of bed and walked to the window, quietly peeling back the curtains to make sure she did not rouse her sister. The sun was up, and she looked at her watch. Nine-twenty. That was some sleep.
She put on her clothes and headed to the door. Out in the hallway, there was no sign of activity. After the events of the previous day, it was no surprise. People needed their sleep, but the earlier they set off, the better. Who knew what may lie in wait for them on the road ahead? Wren walked down to Elizabeth’s room and knocked gently on the door. There was no response. She waited a few seconds and then knocked a little louder, but there was still no reply.
“Lizzy?” she said, opening the door. The beds had not been made, and there was no sign of the family. Wren checked the rooms to either side to find the same thing before heading downstairs.
She had forgotten about the stench and nearly gagged as she entered the bar area, but held her breath long enough to make it to the kitchen. She pushed open the swing doors to find it deserted. When she had visited it the previous evening, she had gone to the pantry to get the pickles and tinned fruit that she, Robyn and Susan had snacked on, and she knew she had closed the door firmly just in case they got another rodent visit during the night, but now, it was slightly ajar. She walked towards it as it began to dawn on her what had happened. She stepped into the large food cupboard to see it had been emptied of all the tins, all the dried packets, all the jars that she had seen there the previous night.
Wren ran back out, through the bar, and to the rear door. The key was in the latch, but it was open. As she emerged into daylight, she looked towards the space where the Golf had been parked, and suddenly felt weak at the knees. She collapsed onto the garden wall that enclosed the porch area. “Oh no,” she said in little more than a whisper. She looked towards the road, and a shiver ran through her as she realised she was outside without a weapon. Wren stood again as quickly as she had flopped down onto the wall, and went back inside.
She headed through the bar, now oblivious to the smell of rat waste as bigger things concerned her. Lizzy had abandoned them. She and Robyn had saved them from the monastery. She had risked her own life to dive into the sea to save Ruth, and now, Lizzy had run out on them, leaving them with nothing. What kind of person did that? Then Wren remembered back to Susan’s stark warning. Susan!
Her pace increased as she reached the landing and ran down the corridor. She burst into Susan’s room to see the bed empty. She walked further into the room and just stood looking out at the empty car park. “Oh Susan, not you too.”
“Not me too what?” asked Susan as she appeared behind Wren.
“Where were you?”
“I’d gone into the landlord’s flat to see if there was anything I could eat for breakfast. I didn’t want to disturb you and Robyn.”
“The others. Lizzy, Matthew, Melissa, Ruth. They’re gone. They’ve taken all the food from downstairs with them.”
“What!?” she cried, running down the corridor and checking each of the rooms. “They took the car?”
“Course they did.”
“This is bad.”
Robyn emerged into the hall in her t-shirt and knickers. “What’s bad?”
“They’ve gone. They’ve taken everything, all the food...the car,” Wren blurted.
“Meh!” Robyn replied.
“Meh? What do you mean, meh?”
“Think about it. Other than Lizzy being able to drive, what advantage did they give us? Matthew nearly pissed himself every time he saw one of those things, Melissa complained constantly about everything, and Ruth cried her own bodyweight in tears every five minutes. Lizzy was okay, but overall we’re better off without them. Good riddance, I say.”
“Robyn’s right,” Susan said. “They never contributed at the monastery; they always depended on others to do the real work.” She looked first at Robyn, then at Wren “I’m going to head back down to the kitchen. They’ll have been in a rush to get out before we woke. They might have missed something.” She went across the landing and disappeared down the stairs.
“It’s not losing them that bothers me,” Wren said quietly, “it’s that they are completely clueless. They won’t last a day out there alone.”
“That’s on them. We did everything we could to help them; if they want to face the world armed with a table leg and a Volkswagen, there’s nothing we can do about it.”
“I just didn’t expect that from you. I thought you’d be all doom and gloom,” Wren said to Robyn.
“Yeah, well, maybe I’ve been spending too much time with you.”
“So, what’s the plan?”
“Jesus, Wren, I’ve just woken up. Let me put some clothes on at least,” Robyn said, starting to head back into the room. She paused and turned around to look at her sister. “Look! Since all this began, we’ve managed by ourselves. We’ve always found a way, and that’s what we’re going to continue to do. We’ve got a few days’ worth of food and drink. We’ve got weapons, and more important than anything, we’ve got each other. Whatever faces us out there, nothing will change that. Today’s no different from any other day since this started. As long as we’re together, we can face anything.”
THE END
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Acknowledgements
To my wife, Tina. The more I do, the more she does. The last few months have been relentless and she has supported me every step of the way. Thank you so much, you’re the best.
Thank you to the members of the fan club across on Facebook. A more engaged and engaging group of people I would struggle to find anywhere. Thank you for all your help, encouragement and support. You guys are awesome.
A big, big thank you to Sheila Shedd. This is the fourth book I’ve worked on with Sheila and I’m so happy to have such a great editor taking care of my work. I also want to thank my mate, Christian Bentulan. This is the ninth cover he has done for me and he never ceases to amaze.
Finally, a huge thank you to you for buying this book. I will never take a reader for granted. As much as I hope people will continue to read my work, I will never expect it, and I will always be grateful.
A note from the author
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Christopher Artinian
Christopher Artinian was born and raised in Leeds, West Yorkshire. Wanting to escape life in a big city and concentrate more on working to live than living to work, he and his family moved to the Outer Hebrides in the north-west of Scotland in 2004, where he now works as a full-time author.
Chris is a huge music fan, a cinephile, an avid reader and a supporter of Yorkshire county cricket club. When he’s not sat in front of his laptop living out his next post-apocalyptic/dystopian/horror adventure, he will be passionately immersed in one of his other interests.
The End of Everything Box Set, Vol. 1 [Books 1-3] Page 56
