The slam of William’s boot against the arena’s large locked gates went off like a thunderclap, the diseased responding with their own explosion of sound. As he pulled himself up to the hole at the top of the arena’s gate, he searched for Olga and Matilda. He shouldn’t have paused.
Several pairs of hands wrapped around his legs and tugged hard. His head cracked against the gate on his way out into the street. His back slammed against the hard stone ground. The small amount of light from the moon vanished as the diseased piled in.
Chapter 56
The foetid stench of the diseased caught in William’s throat. Closing his eyes, he waited for the searing burn of teeth to sink into his flesh. But it never came.
When William opened his eyes, he found Max standing over him. “Get up now!”
William stood on shaky legs and leaped at the small opening for a second time. The blood from Max battling the things to keep them at bay sprayed his back and turned the gates slick. His feet were slipping, and his arms were on fire from having to support his weight.
“Hurry up, William!”
William’s feet slipped again before he finally found purchase then pushed and dived through the hole. What sounded like an army of diseased slammed against the locked gates as he hit the mattress, gasping to fill his tight and still smoke-irritated lungs.
But before he could recover, Max appeared above him. As William rolled aside, his friend landed on the mattress.
The arena floor was nowhere near as soft, but it would do. William let his body fall limp and continued to look up into the dark sky. A second or two passed before his view of the stars got blocked by Matilda’s smiling face.
Chapter 57
Although Max threw several harsh glares William’s way, he saved the lecture. They both knew William’s mistake; there seemed little point in dwelling on it. After all, they’d made it across the road and they were both still alive—just.
A table in the middle of the arena, William lifted the note. Written all in capitals, the words were only just visible in the moonlight. “So we’ve finally got to one hundred. It might have been an arbitrary target, but aren’t most goals? The important thing is we’re going through with our plan to leave. We hope one hundred will be enough to fight our way somewhere safe. Maybe even close the main gates so we can try to take Edin back. I hope you found Max. We’ve left enough water for the five of you, and some bread too.” As he read the last bit, Matilda passed him and Max both the water and bread mentioned in the letter.
William took a bite of the loaf and sip of water before continuing. “William, Matilda, Olga, and …” After a pause to clear his throat, William managed, “Hugh, we wish you all the best. And welcome, Max. Give those bastard politicians everything they deserve. The world will be a better place without them. Good luck and much love. Samson.”
Matilda held up a small bag and a flask. “They left us one flask and we found this bag for the bread. I thought we could use it to take Hugh’s rations to Artan?”
She didn’t need to ask William, but Max nodded, speaking with his mouth full. “Of course.”
“What were the tunnels like?” Olga said.
Max shook his head as he chugged down his bread. “Labyrinthine, pitch black, and filled with diseased.” A smile utterly devoid of mirth, he raised his eyebrows. “They were positively delightful.”
“Although, it was a toss-up over which was worse, the tunnels or the fact we surfaced in woodwork,” William said.
The clap of Matilda’s hand slapped across her mouth. “My god. What was it like in there?”
William replied quickly, sharing a look with Max. “Hot.” Even as he said it, the memory of the girl’s screams rang through his skull. From the wince on Max’s face, he undoubtedly had a similar experience.
“Can I see what’s going on with the political district?” Max said.
Matilda had clearly been waiting for him to say that, responding on the heels of his question. “Are you sure? You don’t want to wait until morning?”
“Best to see what we’re dealing with now, eh?”
William remained at the table to take another sip of water before jogging to catch up with the others.
Before William reached them, Max had peered over the edge of the arena. “My god, what have they done to those people?”
“They used them to bait the diseased so they could trap them between the two walls,” Matilda said.
“They used kids?”
When William reached the top, he flinched. His memory had somehow muted the reality. About two hundred diseased between the two walls, and the ones who’d been turned while having a noose tied around their neck still hung at regular intervals. They continued to tug at the ropes as if they could get them off. The only way free of them would be decapitation.
“Maybe I’m off here,” Max said, “but I feel like the politicians have planted their flag. They’re now the enemy, right? You say the prisoners are still in their cells?”
“That’s what we believe,” Matilda said.
“So they’re safe whatever happens to the district?”
“That’s what we believe.”
While scratching his face, Max’s eyes narrowed as he studied what lay below them. “I suppose the best time to go in there is now, while it’s dark and hopefully most of them are sleeping.”
Matilda practically bounced on the spot. “Are you sure you want to go now?”
“It’ll make it harder for the people in the political district, and that’s what we want, right? To cause panic and chaos between them so we can get Artan and the other prisoners out.”
“I worry about what state Artan’s in. I’d like to get down there and be the one to let him out of his cell if that’s possible; I think I should be the first person he sees.”
William moved close to Matilda and held her hand.
Max nodded. “We’ll make sure that happens.”
Olga had watched quietly until that moment, hooking a thumb in the direction of the opposite side of the arena. “I’ll go and get the rope ladder. It has to be the best way in.”
As the short girl walked off, the butterflies in William’s stomach became frenzied. They’d had a difficult path through the city, but something about their next step felt like it would be the hardest yet.
Chapter 58
William stood with Olga on his left and Matilda on his right. All three of them watched Max descend the rope ladder down the side of the arena’s stone wall and over the first fence into the trench of diseased.
“It doesn’t matter how many times I watch him walk among them,” William said when Max reached the ground and moved like a ghost through the foetid mob, “it still puts me on edge. We know those he’s encountered so far don’t want to bite him, but how do we know they’re all like that?” What would Hugh think? Had they ignored the scientific method and jumped to a conclusion about Max’s invulnerability too soon? Although, they hardly had the time to test him against every diseased they encountered.
Olga kept her focus on Max. “Well, we won’t know until it happens, so I guess there’s no point in worrying about it.”
Most of the hung and still-writhing bodies thrown over the wooden fence were no more than a foot or two from the ground. A couple of the children were slightly higher. Max approached a woman whose shirt had been torn from her. The moonlight revealed the bite marks on her exposed chest. He cut her down.
The rope the woman had been hung from was now a perfect height for Max, who reached up, grabbed the frayed end of it, and used it to pull himself over the first wall.
After Max had vanished over the fence into the political district, Matilda exhaled hard. “I suppose all we can do now is hope he’ll be okay.”
Although their elevated position afforded them a decent view of the political district, the darkness made it hard to track Max’s path. William hadn’t seen him since he’d vanished over the wall, and the others hadn’t said anything either. “I hope
he doesn’t have too much trouble finding the wall’s mechanism.”
Olga blinked against the darkness, her gaze locked on the mob trapped between the two walls. “And hopefully he’ll open the right wall. He might end up having to guess if it’s not that clearly labelled. If he lets in the chaos from the rest of Edin, it will flood the political district with diseased.”
As if he’d heard them, a loud clacking noise rang out. It took a few seconds of watching the gates to see he’d got the correct one, a crack opening down the centre of the wall closest to the political district. It slowly widened. By the time it had opened to just a few feet, most of the diseased had already charged into the district beyond.
The silhouette of Max appeared through the gap, spun around several times, and then vanished back into the political district.
As the wall started to close again, Matilda said, “What’s he doing?”
“I think he’s trying to make it safe down there for us.”
A few minutes later, Max climbed back over the wall and lowered himself to the ground with the gentle slap of his feet touching down. Several diseased remained in the space between the two walls, which he quickly dispatched before waving for the three of them to join him.
“You go first,” William said to Olga. “I’ll watch the rope ladders and make sure they hold.”
At the bottom of the ladder—Matilda and Olga having already climbed down before him—William wrapped a tight hug around Max. “Thanks, man.”
The shrill calls of furious diseased charged through the district on the other side of the wall. Pausing as if to highlight what lay in wait for them, Max shook his head. “Don’t thank me yet. We still have a lot to do. I was saying to the other two that the gap between the wall we’re about to climb over and the justice department building is small enough for you to be able to jump it. The building has plenty of glass windows. We can smash one and climb in. I’ll clear the diseased out and secure the place, and then, if Artan’s inside, we’ll be able to focus on saving him.”
“What would we do without you?” Olga said, her eyes alive.
Not even the darkness could hide Max’s blushes. “Anyway,” he said, “let’s do this.”
As part of his clear-up while they were descending the rope ladder, Max had both killed and cut down the women and children used to bait the diseased. It left several ropes, but as William wrapped his hands around one, Max pointed at the end of the wall. “This fence is too thin to climb along, so you all need to use that rope down there. That’ll take you over close to the justice department building. Let me lead the way.”
While pulling on the rope, Max walked up the wooden wall to the top before vanishing over the side. Like with the rope ladder, Olga followed him, Matilda next, and finally William.
By the time William jumped from the top of the wooden wall to a window ledge on the justice department building, Max had already smashed the window and slipped inside. The glow of the moon cast a silver light over the district in front of them, the screaming diseased audible but hidden from sight. He shuddered. “Something about this is too easy.”
“Don’t say that,” Matilda said.
“Sorry. It’s just, nothing has gone according to plan since we came back into the city. I just …”
Both Olga and Matilda glared at William. He raised his hands in submission. “I get it. Shut up, right?”
Neither replied because Max’s voice echoed through the cavernous building. “It’s all clear and locked. Come in.”
As they’d done with every other stage of their plan, William arrived in the building last. Too dark to have noticed it from the window, when he landed, he saw Max had someone with him. The person remained dead still, the point of Max’s sword just inches from their throat.
It took for William to get closer to recognise the ratty face. “Robert Mack. Well, well, how did I know you would have survived? I wonder how many people you’ve sacrificed on the way. I wouldn’t mind betting those hanged kids and adults had something to do with you.”
The politician pressed his lips tight as if fighting the urge to argue.
“I’ve got him here; we can deal with him later,” Max said. “I think you three should go and find Artan.”
Having been here several times before, William led the way, heading to the now empty receptionist’s desk and moving through the door directly behind it.
The stench of sewage in the tight corridor had a tangibility that made William’s eyes itch, and he retched several times as he acclimatised to the reek. From the sounds of the girls behind him, they both had similar reactions.
A small amount of light emanated from the windows in the main building. Olga remained by the door, keeping it held open to let the glow in. It helped William see the keys lined up for all the cells. Fortunately, they were numbered.
Number one being the closest cell, he took the key and opened the door with a deep clunk! Olga remained at the door while Matilda stood beside him. The strong reek of waste flooded out of the dark space, but despite his desire to step away, William squinted to peer into the shadows. They revealed nothing … until the darkness came to life. The large form of something more than human exploded from deep within the room, driving both him and Matilda back.
Olga’s distance from the cell must have given her a moment to think. While William and Matilda stepped away, she charged the figure, and despite being half its size, punched it on the nose and knocked it out cold.
Even unconscious, it took all three of them to drag the prisoner from cell number one back into her locked room. After locking her in again, William said, “This isn’t going to work.”
“Artan?” Matilda shouted, her word falling dead as if the shadows feasted on it.
“Artan?” Still nothing.
“Art—” A double thud against one of the doors halted her mid-shout.
“Artan?”
The thud responded.
With Olga back at the exit holding the door open to let in what little light she could, Matilda ran down the corridor, William remaining by the key rack.
“Artan?”
Thud. Thud.
“Thirteen, William. He’s in thirteen.”
At that, several more thuds slammed against their cell doors—they were a bit too slow on the uptake. William liberated the key from the number thirteen hook and ran to be with Matilda.
This time, William unsheathed his sword as Matilda slid the key in the lock.
A loud snap, and the hinges on the door creaked when she pulled it wide.
“I have a sword,” William said. “If you rush us, I’ll assume you’re hostile and cut you down. We’re hoping that’s you in there, Artan. Come out slowly.”
Too dark to know who came forward, but they were cautious in their approach. About the same height as Artan, the person had long and scraggly hair, and looked several stones lighter than the boy they both knew. But he continued to emerge with gradual steps, taking Matilda’s hand when she offered it to him.
William stood aside to let him exit the cell and walked behind them, his sword still drawn as Matilda led the boy back towards Olga.
“Is it him?” Olga said, squinting as she took the figure in.
Matilda gasped and sobbed, the back of her free hand pressed to her nose as she nodded furiously.
Following the two girls and Artan out into the main building, William sheathed his sword, flinching when the moon showed him what had become of Artan. It took all he had to keep his thoughts to himself. If he had nothing nice to say …
“Is it him?” Max said, his voice echoing in the large space.
“Yes,” Matilda said, hugging her brother. “Yes, it’s him.” She sat him on the floor, dropping down with him, and handed him the bread and water from the arena, her hands shaking as he unscrewed the cap from the bottle of water. Although Artan took the offerings, biting a chunk from the small loaf, he still said nothing.
Matilda stroked her brother’s lank and greasy hair
away from his face and whispered, “I’m so glad you’re alive. You won’t believe what it’s taken to get here.”
“What number was he in?” Max asked.
“Thirteen,” William said. “Why?”
“You have the key?”
“It’s in the door.”
Rougher than he needed to be, Max pulled Robert Mack to his feet and dragged him in the direction of the cells. “Looks like there’s an empty room for you.”
“Please, please don’t do that to me. Please.”
The crack of Max’s fist against Robert Mack’s chin snapped through the large space, the politician turning limp from the blow. The scrape of Robert Mack’s flaccid feet left the foyer with Max, Olga following and holding the door open for him like she had for Matilda and William.
“It’s time to eat and rest now,” William said, reaching forward and rubbing Artan’s bony back. “We’ll get out of here in the morning.”
Chapter 59
“Are you sure you want to handle this?”
William nodded at Max. “Yeah, I’ve got a plan.”
“Why does that worry me?”
“Just draw your sword.” He looked at Olga and Matilda too. Despite it now being morning, Artan having had the time to eat, drink, and be around his sister, he still had a distant glaze like Hugh used to get. Although, unlike Hugh, Artan would be more of a hindrance to himself than anyone else. From the frown on Matilda’s face, she read William’s pity for her younger brother.
They were behind the receptionist’s desk in the justice department’s building. Light flooded in from the windows in the roof around them, just one of them smashed from the night before. William opened the door leading to the prison cells, bracing against the stench before it hit him.
Door number one. The cell with the lady they’d knocked out and dragged back inside. Hopefully, she’d recovered. William unhooked the key for the door and Olga gasped. “Her?”
Collapse: Book four of Beyond These Walls - A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Thriller Page 21
