From where he lay, William saw Matilda and Hugh on the gym’s roof, both of them at the edge, staring down at him. Trent and his friends had adopted a similar pose on the roof of Phoenix’s dorm. Careful to remain out of the creatures’ line of sight, he raised a thumb in Matilda’s direction. She returned the gesture with a smile.
As long as he remained hidden, William had time. He took a minute to recover in the morning sun. The moans and groans of dissatisfaction continued around the carriage, but the creatures soon ran off, back towards the gym or to gather at the foot of Phoenix’s dorm.
The horse’s reins were attached to the driver’s seat. If William sat on the bench, he’d be in plain sight. The horse might have been impervious to the disease, but their frenzied state had rattled it. If they were to get anywhere, he’d have to remain hidden, for the horse’s sake if not his own.
Maybe the diseased would hear him, but he had to try something. William spoke to the horse. “Hey there, boy.” The creature’s large ears twitched. One brown, one white like the colouring on its body. “I need your help to get through this city. Can you do that for me?”
The sound of the few remaining diseased around them grew louder, but they didn’t flip into the rage of the hunt. They might have heard something, but they couldn’t locate him.
While rolling over onto his front, William reached out for the reins, stretching across the gap. A gentle tug, he kept his tone soft. “There, there, boy. We’re going to go on a little walk. There’s nothing to worry about. We just need to pick up a couple of friends, and then we can take a slow plod into the city.” A tug on the left rein turned the horse left.
A big stallion of pure muscle, the horse followed William’s lead, twitches and spasms firing across its velvety skin. This relationship went both ways. It could bolt whenever it liked. Show it respect, and hopefully it would do the same in return.
They moved at a slow plod, leaving many of the diseased behind as they walked back towards the gym. They took the most direct route, even though it meant passing Trent and his crew. As they got close, William and the boy from agriculture glared at one another. A tug on the left rein, William coaxed the horse to give the hut a slightly wider berth.
When they were close enough to Phoenix’s dorm, Trent leaned towards them, the diseased around the foot of the hut responding with hammering blows against the wooden walls. The boy hissed one word. “Coward!”
William got it, he really did, and were the roles reversed, maybe he’d be as pissed, but Trent had already played his cards when he sent the diseased after them. The kid next to Trent, however—the one who stood about five and a half feet, the one with the kind face who’d not raised the alarm when William, Matilda, and Hugh were exposed—William had made a promise to him. As they passed one another, he repeated the promise, pointing at him and mouthing, I’ll be back for you.
Although, silent words were easy; the hard thing would be fulfilling his pledge.
Chapter 22
Two hours earlier
Olga might have been safe on the roofs in agriculture, and now she’d moved to the edge of the district, she stood just twenty feet from laundry, but the relatively short distance might as well have been miles with the sea of diseased between her and her destination. Laundry had clearly fallen like everywhere else. Maybe she should give up on her mum and dad. Her parents weren’t exactly survivors. They’d be the first to lie down and die; in fact, they’d welcome it with open arms. Still, she had to know their fate before she moved on.
Every diseased face in the street turned her way, but Olga kept her eyes on laundry. A view across the rooftops of the city showed her several other survivors. Several from ten thousand. Maybe, like her, they were on the search for loved ones. Even if she did get into laundry, how the hell would she get out again? “One step at a time,” she muttered. But even that first step seemed an impossibility.
She then heard the slamming of fists beating against a door. Muffled voices cried for help, louder than the shrieks of the diseased. Olga stepped closer to the edge of the roof, the crimson eyes widening as if she’d give herself over to them. It took for several diseased to move before they uncovered the hatch in the ground. Two large wooden doors, they granted access to the storage tunnels. Agriculture had more hatches than most districts because they needed somewhere to keep the harvested food. Now at the end of winter, they’d be emptier than ever. Although, from the bangs and screams, they clearly weren’t completely empty.
Even the diseased moved their focus from Olga to the hatch. The doors lifted again. An inch or two, no more, before slamming shut from the weight of the creatures standing on them. They must have been down there when the city turned. If they knew what waited for them, they’d remain where they were.
The hatch opened again, only a small way but enough to release a man’s voice. “Help us! We’re trapped. Please, someone help.”
If Olga replied, she’d pull the attention of the diseased back on her. And if her run through agriculture had taught her anything, it was that people were hard to help in a crisis.
Although Olga hadn’t been in the storage basements and interlinking tunnels, she’d heard about them. A fascination for many of Edin’s residents, especially the kids. Large spaces off the main streets where they stored goods—mostly food for rationing during the winter—a maze of tunnels linked them all together as a distribution network. Some said they stretched under the entire city. Hundreds of caves, where access to one would lead to the others. She never knew what to believe though because she didn’t know anyone who’d actually been down there.
The doors slammed again from the weight of the diseased. Although this time, the creatures seemed to get it. Olga shook her head as they moved away, clearing the hatch. Before she could warn the people, the hatch flew open, the heavy wooden doors swinging wide and slamming against the road with a thunderclap. Five men dressed in tailored suits. Fat bureaucrats, they must have been planning how to manage the rations while they no doubt took more for themselves. Olga suddenly felt less guilty about not being able to warn them.
Five relieved faces fell slack as the first of the diseased crashed into them, driving them back into the darkness. Half an eye on the wretched creatures as they flooded into the pit like they’d flooded through the rest of Edin, Olga pulled the guard’s baton from the back of her trousers and gripped it as she moved to the very edge of the roof.
Where before the creatures had watched Olga, they now fought to get into the pit. Those not descending were waiting to descend. For the time being, she’d become invisible.
Still far more than she could fight, but gaps were opening up in the mob. They continued to spill into the underground storage, alive with the excitement of the hunt.
Olga sidestepped along the roofs until she’d put a gap of about thirty feet between her and the open pit. The rumours of the space down there must have been true: the dark mouth swallowed the diseased with no sign of slowing.
A gap opened up on the main road. A direct route between Olga and laundry. Despite resistance locking her muscles, if she waited too long, it would close again. Another opportunity might come, but it might not.
Too long to think about it and she wouldn’t go, Olga jumped down from the roof, the shock of landing on the hard ground snapping through her. Most of the diseased remained focused on the basement, but those closest turned their attention to her.
A diseased just a few feet away opened its mouth to scream. Olga slammed it shut again, driving her baton into it with a swift uppercut. The diseased fell back as she took off towards the other side of the road.
She couldn’t fight them all, so Olga picked carefully, waiting for a diseased to get close enough before she swung for it, her baton cracking bones and driving back the imminent threats.
Most of the diseased twigged only after she’d passed them. Just a few feet between her and the buildings in laundry, Olga jumped like she had in agriculture and kicked off against the wall
, grabbing the roof of the building. As she pulled herself up, a diseased hand clamped around her right ankle and yanked hard.
Chapter 23
William led the horse and carriage towards the gym. When they got to within about fifty feet, Matilda pointed at the ladder leading down the side of the building as if to ask if she should descend it. He replied with a raised thumb. It would rile the diseased, but what other option did they have?
Like when William had lain on the carriage’s roof, Matilda and Hugh were invisible on the gym. The diseased had calmed almost as soon as they’d disappeared from sight. The second Matilda hung a foot down for the ladder, the creatures grew more animated and screamed louder. The pack had halved from where many of them had followed the carriage, but the sight of Matilda brought them all back and then some. They swarmed the base of the ladder, their arms outstretched as if reaching for her would somehow make her fall.
The horse then stopped, still at least forty feet from the gym.
“Come on, boy,” William said.
Another twitch of its ears and nothing more. Apparently, they’d gone quite close enough.
William kissed through his teeth and flicked the leather reins. “Come on, boy, keep going. We need to rescue Matilda and Hugh.”
The same circular twitch of its brown and white ears, but the creature remained rooted to the spot.
“Come on, you don’t need to be scared of those nasty things. They can’t do you any harm, as you’ve already seen. There’s a good boy. Come on.” This time, William flicked the reins slightly harder, a gentle slap where the leather hit the creature’s velvety hide.
The horse stepped back several paces. Maybe the stress of the situation made him imagine it, but William could have sworn the animal shook its head at him.
“Okay, I get it,” William said before raising a halting hand at Matilda. He’d be there soon. She needed to trust him. While she waited on the ladder, inviting the wrath of the creatures below, Hugh paced on top of the gym’s roof. The short and squat frame of his friend wound tight, his steps quick. He scanned the national service area as if he had plans of his own. Whatever they were, he couldn’t be allowed to execute them. One of the deadliest fighters he knew, Hugh’s once sound mind could no longer be relied upon for decision making.
When William moved from lying on his front to sitting up, Matilda’s mouth fell wide. About twenty diseased remained around the carriage, but they hadn’t yet noticed him. It wouldn’t be long before they did.
William moved slowly so he could get into a good position before the insanity started. He shifted over the roof of the carriage and climbed onto the driver’s seat.
His pulse quick, the diseased still shambling around the carriage, William nodded at Matilda before reaching forward and patting the horse’s hide. “You ready, boy?” In a voice loud enough to attract the diseased, he then said, “Let’s do this.”
The diseased’s shriek lit the horse’s fuse and it charged towards the gym.
With only the reins to hang on to, William pushed against the footrest, planting the soles of his boots as he hopped and bounced on the hard wooden seat. The large wheels drowned out the sound of the chasing diseased, but did little to soften the journey.
With no control over the horse’s speed, William gritted his teeth and tugged on the left rein. The horse moved where he guided it. A gentle tug on the right and he got a similar response. As long as he didn’t get thrown from the carriage, he’d be fine. “I’m coming for you, Tilly. Just be ready, okay?”
If she acknowledged him, William couldn’t tell. Too focused on not getting thrown to the ground, hopefully she’d heard him at the very least. About twenty feet from the gym, his vision blurred with the vibrations. He guided the horse around the left side of the building. Many of the diseased waiting around the base of the ladder watched him. Some of them gave chase.
As they passed around the gym, the thunder of the carriage echoed off the wall on their right. The vibrations ran up William’s back, sending a sharp ache into the base of his skull. He tugged on the right rein, keeping the horse close to the building. The diseased stood no chance of catching them, but they were trying.
Around the next bend they came to the pack of diseased by the ladder. Already less than before but still four or five bodies deep. Too many to get close to his love. It hurt William’s throat to shout over the insanity. “Wait there. I’ll come back around.”
Again, William had no way of knowing if she’d heard him or not, everything moving so quickly as he tugged on the right rein to take the horse and carriage on another lap around the gym.
When William passed Matilda for a second time, the crowd of diseased were only two deep. “Get ready to jump on the next pass.”
Although, on the third lap, more diseased had gathered than before, forcing the horse wider than William would have liked. Thankfully, Matilda read the situation and remained on the ladder. She shouted, “It’s not working.”
Unsure what to expect when he rounded the corner again, William came back for a fourth time. The crowd had halved in number. While grinding his jaw as he tugged on the rein, William pressed against the footrest with his right boot and guided them close enough for Matilda to jump.
As his love flew through the air, William let go of the reins and reached out to her. Not that he needed to; Matilda landed as if she’d done it a thousand times before, and because he’d let go of the reins, the horse charged away from the gym, straight at team Phoenix’s hut.
The touch of his love against his back, William bounced on his seat as he fought to retrieve the reins. The leather straps danced around like snakes on a drum.
When he finally caught them, William pulled back, a little too hard at first, the horse fighting him. He let up some of the pressure and the horse slowed. They’d opened a gap between them and the diseased. “Well done, boy.” The horse’s hide hot and clammy, the creature shivered at William’s touch. “Well done. And thank you.”
The same swishing of its ears, the horse’s wide ribs swelled and deflated with its wild breaths. His hand still on its rump, William whispered, “I know that was hard, but I need you to do it again.”
William winced as he pulled on the right rein, but the horse did as he asked, following his lead until they faced the gym again. “Good boy.”
If Hugh saw what they were doing, he showed no sign of it. Instead, he looked over the side at the diseased below him. When he finally looked up, William pointed down to instruct him to descend the ladder.
“You think he’ll be okay?” Matilda said.
“He just watched you. Hopefully he’ll copy that.”
“Hopefully.”
“Only one way to find out.”
The diseased who’d chased them from the gym were nearly on them. William patted the horse again and focused on keeping his pulse even as he gently flicked the reins. The animal quickened its pace and moved on.
As they rounded the gym for the first time, a similar mob behind them like when they’d rescued Matilda, William’s stomach lurched. The glaze in Hugh’s eyes told him everything he needed to know. No matter what he said—
Hugh leaped at the horse, a wall of diseased at least three deep beneath him. He hadn’t even aimed for the carriage. He flew through the air, his arms outstretched so he could hook himself around the creature’s neck.
The horse whinnied, reared, and kicked its front legs as Hugh slapped against it and held on like he wanted to wrestle it to the ground. The entire carriage tilted to the left. William caught the right side of the bench and held on. Matilda slid from the roof and vanished over the side.
Chapter 24
Two hours earlier
The diseased tugged on Olga’s right foot, and several pops ran up her spine from the hard pull. Painless, but the sensation turned her weak and she nearly lost her grip. Before the creature tugged again, she kicked out, catching the beast in the face. It stumbled back, the opening she needed to pull herself o
nto the roof before it slammed into the wall as it lunged at her for a second time.
A moment to get herself together, the roof shook beneath her as several more diseased crashed into the hut.
Olga stood up and stretched. No niggles at that moment, but hopefully it would prevent her back from seizing later on. The route she’d taken across the road had now vanished, the street once more packed with diseased. The flow into the storage basement had slowed. The five bureaucrats must have fallen. Good riddance. Now she had to go and check on her parents.
Olga had stood on the roof of her house for the past ten minutes. The early morning sun warmed her skin, encouraging her tired frame into a state of dazed inaction. She stared down at the tiles and tried to block out the sounds of the diseased in the streets, with little success. Every once in a while, the splash of one of them falling into a washing station rose above the chorus of discontent. The only way into her house would be through the roof. At present, she stood over what had been her sisters’ room.
No matter how long she waited, Olga would have to face it sooner or later. She raised the baton she’d stolen from the guard and slammed it down against the tile by her feet.
Like many things in Edin, the tile did a job—just. The blow she’d driven against it had enough force to shatter the thing. Olga moved on to the next one and cracked it. Then the next, smashing tile after tile until she’d cleared a space about four feet square.
After exposing the wooden ceiling beneath, Olga used the end of the baton to bash through the boards. On the second one, she gasped. Her mum and dad stared up at her through the crimson glaze of the disease. The tears they’d needed to cry before they’d turned now ran as trails of blood down their pallid cheeks. Even now, when taken over with the virus, they’d found their way to her sisters’ room. Even now, with nothing other than the need to destroy running through them, they looked like they wouldn’t leave even if the chance to infect someone arose. Despite being diseased, they still held their grief. Their snapping jaws—half-hearted in their efforts to get to her—seemed more like a warning than a threat. Just leave us be. Go away.
Collapse: Book four of Beyond These Walls - A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Thriller Page 9
