The Sickening King (The Grid 2)

by Amy Cross

  I turn to Dominic. "I won't forget any of you," I say.

  "Come on," Monica says, leading me out into the corridor. "We need to hurry. I'll find some food for you to take. Not too much, we can't weigh you down. But enough to give you a chance".

  She takes me to the store-room and fills up a small bag with some light cans and packets. Soon I have enough food to last a week, and John comes through with a yellow bicycle.

  "I used to use this thing to do perimeter checks," he says. "She's a good bike. She'll get you far. There's a repair kit on the side too, in case you have any problems. We don't have any spare tyres, but hopefully that won't be a problem".

  We go through to the main room, where everyone has gathered to say goodbye.

  "Good luck," Dominic says. "Don't forget to tell people about the crazies you met at an old nuclear power station. If you don't tell our story, no-one will". He smiles. "It's definitely a story worth telling, I think".

  "And warn others about the worms," Monica says. She hands me the microscope, which she has packed up into a small bag. "Take this. I've also put a map in there for you. You have to make sure other people know what's happening".

  "And leave America," Dominic adds. "My advice is to sail south. I don't know how you're gonna do it, but maybe you should head to Africa or somewhere like that. Somewhere where the radiation levels shouldn't be so strong, at least for a while".

  "You have to face facts," Monica says, smiling sadly at me. "You're never going to manage to live a normal lifespan. You're not going to live to be seventy or eighty, you're not ever going to be a little old lady. But you can fight and live for as long as possible. It's a lot better choice than giving up and dying early".

  "Wait!" John says, running off along the corridor.

  "There's no time!" Monica calls after him. She turns back to me. "You have to get going, Emma. You have to see if there's some chance. I wish I could come with you. I wish we could all come with you. But..." Her voice trails off. "That's just not the way the world works these days".

  Moments later, John rushes back, carrying a book which he thrusts into my hands. I look at the cover: 'Sailing by the Stars'. Opening it, I find that it's an old book with yellowing pages, filled with maps that make no sense to me.

  "One of my old books," he says. "It was gathering dust 'cause I could look up the information online, but now the internet's bust, books like this are precious, like gold. You can use these maps to find your way, even across the ocean".

  "Thanks," I say.

  "Look," Monica says, pointing at a potted plant sitting in the corner of the room. Its leaves are wilting and it looks like it's dying. "The radiation level is increasing. Take one of those pills and get out of here, Emma".

  I pop one of the anti-sickness pills from the packet and swallow it, and then Dominic leads me to the main door. I lower the seat on the bike and get ready to head out into the desert evening. I'm not as fit as I could be, but hopefully adrenalin will get me through the long ride ahead.

  "You should be okay," Dominic says. "You've got overnight and part of tomorrow to get far enough away from here when the reactor blows. It should be enough, more than enough". He turns to open the large metal security door, but it seems stuck. He tries again, but it still won't open.

  "What's wrong?" Monica asks.

  "It's locked," Dominic says, turning to the others. "Who's got the key?"

  Silence for a moment.

  "Someone must have the key," Dominic says, seeming a little concerned.

  "Where are the other doors?" I ask.

  "There aren't any," Dominic says. "This is the only way in or out. Someone has to have the fucking key".

  I step forward and try to open the door, but it's firmly locked.

  "I'm trapped here?" I ask.

  "No," Dominic says, "because we're going to find the key".

  "If we don't," Monica says, turning to me, "you're trapped in here with us".

  Chapter Seven

  Holding the axe in my hands, I take a deep breath, count to three, and swing the blade at the small window. All that happens is that the blade bounces off the glass, not even leaving a scratch. This whole damn facility is sealed shut and there's nothing I can do to get out of here unless I find the key to the door. But I have to try. I can't just sit here and hope that the key appears.

  "Blast windows," Monica says. "You won't be able to break them. They're far too tough".

  "Then what do I do?" I ask, turning to her. I've always suffered a little from claustrophobia, and now I'm really starting to get scared. I'm trapped inside a building, with all the doors and windows sealed shut, and with a nuclear reactor melting down just a few yards away. On top of that, the people I'm with are all going to turn into zombies after they've died and they'll probably end up eating my body. Part of me thinks it might be better to get infected on purpose. At least that way I'd be one of the eaters rather than one of the eaten.

  "We have to find the key," Monica says. "It must be here somewhere. You can't look the door without the key, which means it has to be inside the facility". She pauses. "But we don't have long. If we don't get you out of here within the next two hours, there's no way you'll have time to get far enough away before the meltdown".

  Dominic enters the room. "Monica," he says, seeming preoccupied, "can you give me a moment alone with Emma?"

  Monica frowns. "Why?"

  "I want to ask her something," Dominic says, looking a little nervous.

  Monica shrugs. "Whatever," she says. "I'll go and look in the store-room. If someone's hidden that key, it has to be somewhere, right?"

  Once she has left, Dominic smiles and steps over to me. "I want to suggest something to you," he says, "and you might think it's a little weird at first, but I really just... I want you to think about it, okay?"

  "What?" I ask, feeling a little creeped out.

  He smiles nervously. "When you were first here, you had to be naked so I could see if you developed the rash. I had this theory that infection by the worms meant a rash. And now I can't stop thinking about you. And I know we've only got a few hours to live, but for those few hours..." He steps close to me and puts a hand on my waist. "Well, why not at least have some fun?"

  I pause. "Dominic..."

  He leans in close and tries to kiss me. "Come on," he says, as I try to avoid the kiss, "just fuck me".

  "No," I say, pulling away. "I'm going to get out of here. We're going to find that key".

  "No we're not," he says. "Whoever's hidden it, they'll have made sure it can't ever be found. So why not just accept your fate and have fun?"

  "No," I say. "And you told me that blood can transmit the worm's eggs, so why not other things? If we have sex, I could end up infected too".

  "Does it really matter?" he asks. "I mean, does it really, really change anything? You're trapped in here anyway, so we might as well have some fun".

  I pause. I guess a lot of people would take him up on his offer, but casual sex right before I die just isn't something that appeals to me. "No thanks," I say, worried that there's something about the way he's looking at me that suggests he might not take no for an answer.

  "Come on," he says. "Even if you don't want to do it, do it for me. I've been good to you, haven't I? I've helped you out. Can't you find it in your heart to do something for me in return? All I want is a quick fuck. We can do it right here. It won't take long".

  "No," I say, moving to go past him, but he grabs my arm and pulls me back. "Get off!" I say firmly, but he puts a hand over my mouth and forces me onto the floor. I struggle, trying to get free, but he's pulling off my clothes and unzipping himself. I try to kick back at him, and to bite at his hand, but he's so strong.

  "This could have been so much nicer," he says as he keeps one hand over my mouth while using the other to position me ready for penetration. "If you'd just -"

  Finally I manage to get my right leg free, and I knee him in the balls as hard as I can. But it's like he doesn
't even notice, as if he doesn't feel pain.

  "If you'd just calm down and stop fighting," he says, "you might even enjoy yourself". He reaches a hand down, ready to insert himself in me. At that moment, Monica and John come rushing through. They grab Dominic and pull him off me, and I scramble to my feet, rearranging my clothes.

  "What the fuck's going on in here?" John shouts at Dominic.

  "Leave us alone," Dominic snarls at him. "Both of you, just get out of here. I need to do this".

  "Are you okay?" Monica asks, looking at me with concern.

  I nod, too shaken to speak. I thought Dominic was a friend, someone I could trust, but he just tried to sexually assault me. With my heart racing, I back up until I'm against the wall. "Keep him away from me," I say.

  At that moment, Dominic almost manages to break free from the others. They just about stop him in time, sending him thumping to the ground. A large grey key falls from his pocket, and Monica grabs it quickly.

  "This is the key," she says, looking at me. "This is the key that's gonna get you out of here".

  "Why the hell did you have it?" John shouts, holding Dominic down.

  "Give it to me!" Dominic screams at me. "I need you!"

  "Something's not right," Monica says, seeming concerned. "Did anyone check his blood?"

  "He was the only one who wasn't checked," John says, still struggling to keep Dominic on the ground. "He didn't want to know, I think he just assumed he was infected".

  "We've been lovers for the past week," Monica said, looking horrified. "That's probably how I got infected".

  "You and Dominic?" John asked, looking shocked.

  "He asked me," Monica said defensively. "He said since we were probably going to die, we might as well have some fun. I know it sounds stupid, but it passed the time. It felt good".

  "It felt good," Dominic says, looking up at her.

  "At the time," Monica replies, staring at him with nothing but contempt in her eyes. "But now? Now I just feel dirty and used".

  "Dirty and used," Dominic sneers at her.

  Monica stares at him. "Something's wrong," she says.

  "No kidding," John says, still just about managing to keep Dominic overpowered.

  "The worm," Monica says. "Bob only repeated phrases after he was dead, but Dominic's doing it now".

  "Dominic's doing it now," Dominic says.

  "This is another mutation," Monica says. "The worm's taking over before he's dead". She turns to me. "Did he get inside you?" she asks.

  I shake my head.

  "He was trying to infect you," she says. "He wanted all of us to have these worms inside us. These damn creatures are evolving right before our eyes. Bob was the first stage, Dominic's the second".

  "Then we -" John starts to say, but Dominic manages to push him away and get to his feet. Immediately launching himself at me, Dominic slams face-first into the wall as I jump out of the way.

  "Use this!" John shouts, sliding the axe across the floor to me.

  Grabbing the axe, I watch as Dominic approaches me.

  "You're going to die anyway," he says, fixing me with a dark stare. "Why not at least ensure your body gets used by someone else? My children would be very glad of the host". He launches himself at me again, and this time I swing the axe straight at his head. The blade lodges straight in his forehead, but he manages to stumble away, with the weapon still stuck in him.

  John rushes over, grabs him, knocks the axe away and reaches his hands into the wound, forcing it back and ripping off the top of Dominic's head, exposing the brain. Dominic drops to his knees as John digs his fingers into the brain, searching for the worm. Finally he pulls away a chunk and we all see a huge worm, maybe six inches long and an inch thick, flailing around in the centre of Dominic's brain.

  "That's huge," Monica says, shocked. "That's bigger than all the others".

  "Bigger and more highly evolved," John says. "And you can bet this isn't the only one. Dominic was just unlucky, he must have been the first one of us to get infected, but we'll all end up like this. The worm must have taken over his mind days ago, taking control of his body long before the moment of death".

  "We can't stop them," Monica says. "If they can evolve this fast, there's nothing we can do".

  "You can die," Dominic rasps, his voice shaky and hoarse. "This is our world now".

  With a look of intense anger on his face, John grabs the worm and rips it from Dominic's brain. Dominic gasps and then falls to the ground, rolling onto his back. He stares up at Monica.

  "It's still alive," John says, staring as the worm twitches between his fingers.

  "They both are," Monica says. She kneels next to Dominic as he looks up at her, most of the top half of his brain ripped away. "Can you hear me, Dom?"

  For a moment, Dominic's eyes desperately search Monica's face, but finally he falls still and Monica carefully closes his eyes.

  "I want to talk to it," Monica says slowly, looking up at John. "Put it back in".

  "No fucking way," John says.

  "Do it!" Monica shouts.

  John kneels down and allows the worm to slither back onto Dominic's brain. Moments later, Dominic's eyes start to move again, but John keeps the worm's tail between his fingers.

  "Can you hear me?" Monica asks, her voice sounding cold and devoid of emotion as she stares down at the body that used to belong to her friend.

  There's a pause. "I can hear you," Dominic says eventually.

  "You did this to my friend," she says. "Why?"

  "He was the first," Dominic replies. "But there will be others. We are everywhere".

  "Where did you come from?" Monica asks.

  "We have always been here," Dominic replies. "Waiting for the optimal conditions. Waiting for you humans to do something that would raise the level of background radiation high enough for us to be able to grow". He smiles. "And do you want to know something else? We're everywhere. Not just here. All over the country. All over the world. We own this planet now. It's ours. Some of us are dumb little drones like Bob, but some of us are more highly developed, and we are the ones who will rule this planet".

  "Kill it," Monica says to John. "Kill it now".

  "Medusa," Dominic says.

  "Kill it," Monica insists.

  John starts to squeeze the worm, and Dominic starts to scream. John squeezes tighter and tighter, and Dominic screams louder and louder, until finally the worm bursts in John's hand and Dominic falls still again.

  "It's dead," John says.

  "Why did he say Medusa?" Monica asks.

  "He was losing his mind," John replies. "You can't read too much into anything he said".

  Monica turns to me. "Have you got the key?" she asks.

  I hold up the little grey key that fell from Dominic's pocket.

  "Then what the fuck are you waiting for?" Monica asks. "Run!" she adds.

  I turn and run out of the room, heading for the main room and the large metal door. As soon as I get there, I grab the bike and the pack of food and water, and I go and unlock the door. It slides open and I stare out at the desert ahead of me. The sun is going down and the temperature is dropping. It's dark out there, and the desert looks to be an inhospitable place so late at night. But it's still a safer bet than staying here.

  "You've got maybe twelve hours," says John. He and Monica have followed me through. "Then the reactor will go, and there's going to be a huge release of radioactive material. If you're not far enough away, the radiation will overwhelm you. The first symptoms will be soreness and lethargy, but it'll get worse and worse. Even if you are far enough away, a lot depends on the wind conditions. If you're unlucky, the wind'll blow the radiation straight after you. But you might be lucky. The wind might be blowing the other way, and you might make it. But you can't stop, not even when you get to the ocean, do you understand? You have to find a way to get across the ocean".

  "Are you sure you can't come with me?" I ask, but I already know that the idea is crazy.
They have the worms in their heads. They're doomed. They're just going to have to stay here and wait for the inevitable, as the nuclear reactor gets closer and closer to a meltdown.

  "We'll have one final party," Monica says, tears in her eyes. "We'll eat until we're full, for the first time in weeks. We'll drink until we're not thirsty. We'll talk. We'll say our goodbyes. And we'll have ringside seats for the meltdown of a nuclear reactor. If we have to go, that's not a bad way to do it". She reaches over and hugs me. "And we'll know that you're out there somewhere, and I don't know about the others, but I'll never stop believing that you're going to make it. You're going to get to safety somehow".

  "I'd say something moving and appropriate too," John says, "but it'd just be wasting time. Get going".

  I hug him. "Say goodbye to the others for me," I say, and then I grab the bike, get on and cycle away as fast as I can. I have to dismount briefly to open the main gate, and I take one last look back at the building as the little door slides shut. Monica, John and the others are sealing themselves in. I get back on the bike and I ride out into the night-time desert. John told me which stars to follow, and although I didn't really understand him at the time, I feel like I understand now. I'm heading east, aiming for the ocean. It's going to be a long ride and the odds are against me, but I have no choice. I want to live, and that means I have to keep going until I have no more energy. It means never stopping and never giving up hope. It means riding and riding and riding and not looking back, not even if I hear a huge explosion. Even if the odds seem stacked against me, there's always a chance I might reach the ocean.

  Epilogue 1

  "It's a good boat," David said, staring up at the sails as they fluttered in the morning breeze. "It's strong. It's seaworthy. So why not give it a go?" He looked over at his wife, Caroline, as she stood on the dock and cradled their three-month-old baby Andrew in her arms. "Come on," David said, seeing the look of concern on his wife's face, "if we stay here, we're dead. We have to go. We have to give Andrew a chance to live".

  "It's going to be okay," Caroline said. This was an argument they had every day. David wanted to set off to find some new place to live, somewhere safe, but Caroline wanted to stay and wait for the government to restore order.