“They’re inside,” she said to him through the glass. “I can hear them.”
“I know. Just open the window and I’ll get you out of here.”
The old lady was white as a sheet, but she did as she was told. She fiddled with the window latch and managed to get her gnarled fingertips beneath the window frame. She slid it upwards.
Nick put his arms out to her. “Come on, let’s get you out of here.”
It was clearly a struggle for Margaret to get herself up and over the window ledge but, given the gravity of the situation, she managed to bundle herself over into his waiting arms. He set her down on the ground and examined her. She seemed okay.
Jan continued to heckle the infected from the rooftop. The coast was still clear.
Nick grabbed Margaret’s arm and hurried her around to the back of the building. It was still clear of infected, although he could hear them banging on the fire escape from inside the kitchen. Not wanting to stick around, he headed for the woods at the base of the hill and slid between the trees.
When they were sufficiently away from the café and the car park, Nick brought them both to a stop to catch their breath.
Jan was still shouting and cajoling from the rooftops and keeping the danger contained to the front of the restaurant. Nick wasn’t sure he would’ve gotten Margaret out without the prisoner’s help, but after what Jan may have done to Cassie last night, he still considered just leaving him there to meet his fate. It would have been wrong, though. Jan had helped rescue Margaret. They owed him now.
He placed a hand on Margaret’s shoulder. “I need to find a way to get Jan off the roof in one piece. Can you wait here?”
“Of course, just make sure you come back in one piece.”
Nick patted her shoulder gently and then headed back through the trees. The building came back into view quickly. He could still see Jan standing on top of the roof, waving his meaty arms above his head and hollering at the baying mob below. Jan probably didn’t even know that Nick and Margaret had gotten clear.
With the alarm still wailing, Nick could think of no subtle way to get the other man’s attention, so he just put two fingers in his mouth and wolf-whistled. Luckily, Jan heard it and turned around.
Nick crouched in the bushes and waved. Jan gave him a thumbs-up, along with a questioning look. Nick gave a thumbs-up back to let him know that Margaret was safe.
Now we just have to find a way to get you down from there.
Jan shrugged and peered around the roof. The expression on his face was an obvious, now what? Nick had to admit to himself that he had no clue. Getting the man off the roof safely was not going to be easy.
He crept forward out of the bushes and headed back to the rear of the building. He thought about climbing onto the roof and joining Jan up there, but there was no way he could make it up on his own. The only way he could help Jan get down was if he distracted the mob of infected people the same way Jan had for him.
But how do I do that and not die?
He headed around the side of the building, back to the open staffroom window. He checked to see that no infected people had found their way inside and then climbed through.
The only weapon inside was an abandoned umbrella propped up beside a dusty television. It was not even worth taking. He would have to remain unarmed.
Great! Maybe I can box my way out of this.
The alarm was muffled from inside the staffroom and Nick could just about make out the shuffling of infected people in the corridor beyond. It was apparent that if he opened the door, he would be face-to-face with a whole bunch of them.
So what the hell do I do?
Suddenly, he had an idea.
He looked up at the suspended ceiling.
Maybe if I can get up there…
Nick hopped up on the sofa and balanced on the backrest. From there he was able to reach up and push against one of the ceiling tiles. It was made of fragile fibreboard and was light enough to push aside with just one hand. The tiles would not be strong enough to hold his weight, but the metal railings holding them in place might be.
Either that or I’ll fall to my death.
He leapt up and grabbed at one of the rails. It bent beneath his weight but held firm after a couple of inches. Kicking at the wall for leverage, he managed to clamber his way up into the ceiling space. Fortunately, the staffroom and offices were made from cheap partition walls and the space above allowed unrestricted access from one end of the building to the other.
It was a struggle to move along the railings, and the exertion quickly made him huff and puff, but he kept going. Inch by inch, he shuffled through the crawlspace.
After several feet, he pulled aside a tile and peeked through the gap. In the corridor below were half a dozen infected people. They milled about like birds searching for insects, all twitchy movements and sudden flinches. They barely even resembled human beings any more.
Maybe they really have become monsters.
Nick carefully replaced the ceiling tile and continued on along the railings. He had to keep his face pointed downwards, chin to his chest, as age-old insulation and dust swirled around him; disturbed, most likely, for the first time in years.
If the infected don’t get me, asbestos poisoning will.
He eventually stopped where he imagined the restaurant floor to be and carefully positioned himself astride two parallel rails. He pushed on them to test their strength. They groaned a little but kept their shape. Above him, Jan’s muffled shouting continued to keep the infected herded together in one place.
Nick took a deep breath and prepared himself for what he was about to do. Here goes nothing.
He smashed his fist into one of the flimsy ceiling tiles and sent it plummeting to the floor. A couple of infected people directly below stared up at him and instantly let out one of their high-pitched screeches. Nick held his breath, terrified, but was glad to see that his plan was going as expected. He hung his head out of the hole, making sure he was easily visible to the rest of the infected below.
“Hey! Come and get it, silly bollocks!”
The screech of the infected brought others near. They funnelled in from the corridors and kitchen areas, and even more started pouring in from outside, dragging themselves in through the broken windows.
It wasn’t long before the restaurant floor was packed shoulder-to-shoulder with infected. There was even one or two of the slower ones amongst them.
The ones that might be dead.
Now’s not the time to think about that.
“Come on,” Nick shouted down at them. “Let’s have you!”
Infected people continued to pile in and fill the floor of the restaurant. They reached up at him futilely, like worshippers praising God. Eventually he was satisfied that nearly all of them were gathered inside the building. Their collective screeching was so loud now that it was hard to hear the alarm siren.
Time to get out of here.
Nick pulled himself back up from the hole in the ceiling and swivelled around on the railings.
Suddenly he fell.
The rail had bent and lowered by about six inches. Nick froze, closing his eyes and praying that the rail did not give any more. The sounds of the infected below him seemed to get even more ravenous as he hung perilously above them.
After a few seconds had gone by, he slowly lifted his hand and grabbed the rail further along. Then he moved his knee.
The railing groaned.
Nick kept moving.
He headed back the way he had come, being mindful to make as little noise as possible. His intention was for the infected to remain in the restaurant, looking up at the hole in the ceiling where they had last set eyes on him. He would escape the building through the staffroom window without being spotted. He just had to be quick, and quiet.
And that’s just what he did. He travelled back through the crawlspace and dropped down onto the staffroom’s sofa. He wasted no time in hopping back through the open
window and heading outside. As soon as his feet hit the ground, he turned around and shouted up to Jan on the roof.
“Hey! The back of the building is clear. Can you get down?”
After a few seconds Jan appeared at the edge of the roof. “What’s happening?” he asked. “They all went inside the restaurant.”
“I know. I lured them in. Get down from there quick and we can make a break for the trees and try to find the others.”
Jan was visibly relieved, his chest losing a full inch as he let out a whistling breath. He crouched down and lowered himself onto the lip of the roof, before letting himself go. He hit the ground with a thud and Nick had to steady the man as he landed.
“Come on,” he said, yanking Jan towards the woods. “Margaret is waiting for us.”
The two of them raced into the trees, fighting to keep their speed as the headed up the growing incline of the hill.
“Do you think the others will have waited?” Jan asked as they huffed and puffed.
“I doubt it. In fact, Dave pretty much said that they wouldn’t.”
“What’s the smart thing to do, then? They could have gone in a hundred different directions.”
Nick stopped running and stamped his foot. “Damn it!”
Jan looked worried. “What is it?”
“Margaret. I told her to wait for me. She was right here in this spot, I’m sure.”
“Calm down. I’m sure she’s here somewhere.”
Nick turned a circle, scanning the trees that surrounded them on all sides, but there was no sign of Margaret. His heart beat rapidly in his chest.
Crack!
A far off snapping of twigs.
“Do you hear that?” Nick set off towards the sound. Jan was right behind him. After passing through several yards of thick trees and thorny shrubs, a figure became visible in the distance. Nick spotted the coloured-flash of their clothing.
He and Jan picked up speed, aiming for the stranger up ahead. Nick almost tripped over a half-buried tangle of roots at one point, but Jan managed to reach out and keep him on his feet. Less than a minute later they had caught up with the unidentified person.
“Eve!” he said, doubling over and wheezing once he knew it was her. “What…are you doing…out here on your own?”
“I came to find you. The others are going to move on if you’re not back in ten minutes.”
“That was dumb of you,” Nick admonished her. He straightened back up and tried to control his breathing. “Where’s the group now? Do they have…Margaret?”
“Dave took everyone down to the bottom of the hill, by where we first found this place. And, yes, Margaret found us. She’s with them.”
“They should have gone up the hill not down,” Jan said. “Less likely to be infected people up high, I reckon.”
Eve shrugged. “Dave said that it would be a waste of energy climbing up the hill. He wanted to go back the way we came in. He said it was the only place we knew was safe.”
Nick shrugged. “Whatever. Up, down. I don’t care. Let’s just catch up with them before they leave us high and dry.”
Eve led the way, taking them horizontally across the hill, and then slightly downwards towards the bottom. The screeches and wails of the infected had stopped now as the restaurant’s security alarm finally died out. Now the only sounds left was the pounding of their feet and the snapping of twigs and autumn leaves.
“They’re down here,” said Eve, pointing.
At the bottom of the hill, Dave and the others were gathered in a tight bunch. Margaret waved at Nick as they approached. “Thank Heaven’s you’re okay,” she said.
Nick went and gave the old lady a quick hug.
Dave had his arms folded impatiently. “We were just about to give up on you.”
“Thanks for waiting,” Jan said. “What’s the plan?”
“We head back into the woods we started in. We know it’s clear of infected because it was clear when we came through.”
“So was the car park,” Carl remarked. “But it’s certainly had a few visitors since then.”
“That was the alarm,” Dave said. “It brought them to us overnight. They obviously heard it from in the distance.”
“But Dash managed to turn the alarm off after only a couple of minutes,” Eve said.
Dave shrugged. “They must have just headed for it when it was going off and carried on in that direction when it stopped. When they hear something they must set off in that direction until they come across something else to distract them otherwise.”
“You mean someone to chow down on,” said Dash. He looked over at Jan. “What were you doing, anyway? Risking your life for this honky?”
“Let’s just get out of here,” said Jan. “I’m not in the mood for being hunted by those things; and it’s only a matter of time before one of them stumbles upon us.”
Carl screamed.
Nick stumbled backwards in shock as Carl crashed to the muddy ground. Someone had attacked him from behind and was now clinging to his back, arms wrapped around his neck.
“Damn it!” Dave shouted. “It’s that bitch.”
Nick looked down and could not believe it. The attacker was Kathryn. She was struggling with Carl on the ground and trying to sink her teeth into him. Her face was still swollen with the bruises Dave had inflicted on her, but her eyes were now bulbous white orbs leaking blood. Blood also poured from her mouth, so thickly that it was like her insides were melting.
“Help me!” Carl cried out. “Somebody get her off m-“
His words were cut short. Kathryn’s teeth sunk deep into his throat. She ripped away his carotid artery and chewed on it like a length of sausage. Carl writhed in agony as he struggled to take a breath through a throat that was filling with fluid.
A wailing screech from the group’s right-hand side made them all spin around as one. Several metres away, coming towards them like an Olympic sprinter, was Jake.
“They must have heard the alarms, too,” Nick shouted. “It brought them in this direction.”
“Everybody run,” Dave bellowed.
No one needed convincing. They all sprinted back the other way, towards the car park. When they burst back out of the treeline, hitting the unforgiving concrete, the group skidded to a halt. Several of the infected had now poured back out of the Rainforest Café and were outside again. Jake’s screeching had alerted them and they were now staring toward the treeline with their swollen eyeballs.
“There’s nowhere to run,” Eve said as she shuffled up beside Nick. “We’re surrounded.”
Nick knew she was right. Jake and Kathryn hunted them from the woods behind, while dozens of infected had started to fill up the car park ahead. He looked around desperately for an option.
“There!” he pointed. “Head for the cable cars.”
The group did as he said and sprinted across the car park. The infected outside the café spotted them immediately and filled the air with their collective screeching. Then they stampeded as one, clattering across the pavement like a pack of bloodthirsty wolves.
With every step Nick and the others took towards the cable cars, the mob of infected got closer. Nick didn’t know if they had any chance of making it, but the air was filled with the echoes of their hurried footfalls as he and the others ran as quickly as they could. They were running for their lives.
They ran so fast that Nick worried his legs might fail at any second. None of them could quit, though. They had to keep running. “Quickly,” he shouted. “Into the cars.”
On the raised cement platform, only two cable cars were accessible. All of the others were hanging at spaced intervals up the hill. The cars were too small to accommodate everyone individually, so the group were forced to split into two. Nick leapt into the nearest car, followed by Cassie and the three prisoners. Cassie seemed immediately uncomfortable in the presence of the men, but there was no time to comfort her. The rest of the group were lagging further behind and barely managed to ma
ke their way inside the remaining cable car before the infected reached the platform.
But they did make it.
Are we safe?
Nick pulled his car’s sliding door shut and watched through the plastic windows as Dave did the same in his. Both groups were now inside a protective cocoon.
But Nick realised something terrible.
Looking across at the other cable car and then checking out the occupants of his own, he noticed that someone was missing.
Margaret wasn’t inside either car.
“No, no, no!” Nick looked out at the car park and spotted the old woman stumbling across the pavement, too old to sprint as quickly as the rest of them.
He made for the door, but Jan stopped him. “You won’t make it in time, brother. Her nine lives are up.”
“I have to get her. We only just saved her.”
But it was too late. The infected mob engulfed Margaret like a swarm of flesh-eating locusts. They pulled her arms at weird angles, snapping her fragile bones and sinking their teeth into her tissue-paper skin. It took only seconds for the mob to strip her flesh like a pack of ravenous piranha, leaving nothing but a wet mess on the floor that stained the concrete like spilled red paint.
Oh, Margaret.
The rest of the infected hit the cable cars hard, rocking them on their moorings and sending everyone inside against the steel walls like beans in a maraca.
“There’s no way these cars are going to hold,” Jan said.
“We be screwed, honky,” said Dash, glaring at Nick. “Good plan, Einstein.”
The infected bashed their fists against the plastic windows, making them rattle and loosen in their frames. One of the infected – a large Asian man that reminded Nick of his co-worker, Paul – got his fingers inside the sliding door and started to work it back and forth on its hinges.
Nick looked across at the other cable car and saw that its occupants were equally as doomed. Eve stared across over at him with fear in her eyes. There were only moments left before the infected would get inside and pluck them all out like tasty pilchards from a can.
We’re totally screwed. There’s nothing we can do.
Nick glanced around, taking in the sight of the infected up close from behind the windows. Their snarling expressions spoke of unbridled fury. It was as if rage had become their sole function. The infected were unable to do anything except kill. The only reason they lived was so that others would not.
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