In The End | Book 3 | After The End

by Stevens, GJ

  “There’s no way of telling how big the tank is,” she replied, her voice still flat.

  With Thompson’s nod, I knew we were committing to a wing and prayer we’d have enough fuel to get to the Isle of Wight.

  Although the sky had darkened, as we passed the great hulk of steel looming over us there was still enough light falling on the ship’s steep angled deck to see the bodies caught up in its abandoned equipment.

  The stench of fuel caught in my nostrils; the rainbow shimmer slick on the water’s surface looked so beautiful in the last of the light.

  I turned away as something in the distance fell to the water, but no shouts for help came after. No one wanted to rescue what had fallen.

  With our view clear, I looked out to the water and the vast expanse of the English Channel stretching as far as I could see. With the sun almost gone over the horizon, I rocked with the gentle motion of the boat as we cut through the low waves.

  Thompson climbed the steps to the wheelhouse, speaking with Cassie loud enough so we could all hear. “Keep land to the left and don’t drift out until you see the coast of Weymouth jutting out. Then we’ll head straight for it. We can navigate by the land and if we get low on fuel, we won’t have far to go.”

  I turned away as Cassie gave a shallow nod. With the light almost gone, I sat on the deck, looking to the coast to the left. Watching the glowing lights, I tried to pretend flames weren’t climbing high as I relaxed with the rise and fall of the waves.

  With a nudge at my side I turned, surprised to see Gibson’s smile in the last of the light, then glanced to the bright moon high in the sky. Looking back, he offered half of a small bar of chocolate.

  Nodding a thank you, I savoured the sweet milky taste coating my mouth as the treat slowly melted, watching the others in the sitting circle do the same. Except for Cassie and Jess, who’d refused.

  Turning from the coast, I stared to the dark horizon ahead, the white of the shallow waves catching the moonlight and the fuzzy mirror image of the great ball in the water.

  Our battle was not with the cold cutting through our still damp seams; we could have taken it in turns to wait in the cabin. It wasn’t the constant motion of the waves or the darkness which made the sea so alien, or the quiet, the only noise coming from the rhythm of the engine.

  The battle came from the time we had to think. A fight against the calm after so many days of constant fear, of constant racing from death, not knowing what would come next. At least here I knew the worst would be for the sea to turn us over. We would drown, but it would be the end. Or I could just fall over the edge and slip beneath the surface and it would be done.

  I looked to Cassie, watching her back with her staring out along our path. Unerring. Not looking away. Not seeing me.

  But had the shared moment when she’d spoken about her childhood been a glimmer of a future together? Or once we’d saved the children would I have to move on and find safety for myself?

  I looked to the water with its inviting darkness.

  Turning to Jess with Alex sat at her side, I glanced at Alex’s hand resting on top of Jess’s. Perhaps all was not lost.

  Shaking away the thoughts, I peered out to the coastline our journey tracked. The land was still so dark. I couldn’t help but think of where the other escaping boats had gone. Were they lost like the ship beached in the estuary? Or had they, some of them, made it to the land further along and found somewhere not overrun? I had to hope for their sake and for ours.

  “I haven’t seen any airplanes.”

  The words came from Alex and I turned to her looking to the sky, Jess’s head following at her words. I didn’t want to imagine what those two were going through.

  I looked up, taken aback by the brightness of the stars in the cloudless night, the view unbroken by vapour trails lining the sky. Was this a sign that our country was not the only infected?

  I looked to Alex staring my way and as our eyes met, she nodded in my direction as if I had something on my face. Wiping the back of my hand to my eyes, I looked away.

  77

  JESSICA

  Alex’s words were the last for hours, Thompson’s voice the first to point out the approaching land and the emerging light from the coast. “The Solent.”

  “What happens when we get to the island?” Logan asked after a few moments when we saw the white Needles jutting from the sea.

  Thompson didn’t meet his gaze; instead, he looked to Gibson before turning to frown in Sherlock’s direction.

  “We land at Fort Albert and take you in,” he eventually said, twisting to catch my eye as he spoke.

  Logan looked to Sherlock for his reaction and Sherlock frowned back, not bothering to hide his contempt.

  “But...” Logan said, turning to me and then to Thompson. It was my turn to speak.

  “You’ve seen what they’ve done to me,” I said, peering to Thompson, then the other soldiers. “What they’ve turned me into. You want to hand over that kind of power?” I tried to keep my words calm and considered, watching as Logan looked over to Cassie, but she still had her back to us.

  “It’s not right,” Gibson said, leaning forward towards Thompson before looking at Sherlock as he spoke. “If everywhere is as bad as the South West, can you think of anything...” He held his words, pausing for a moment. “Anyone who can take those things on?”

  “You’d give them the power to make more like me, to condemn more to the life I face? Is your life worth more than mine?”

  “Superhuman strength and to run and leap like that. You could be a superhero. The saviour of the world.” Sherlock’s words dripped with sarcasm.

  I couldn’t help but chuckle and looked briefly to Alex.

  “I don’t wear my underwear on the outside. Have you ever heard of a hero who goes home with the need to devour human flesh?”

  Alex swallowed hard and I looked to Logan, but he turned away as our eyes met.

  “And did you know they can reproduce by themselves?” Alex said, not looking at me.

  “And heal broken bones in hours,” Logan added, this time catching my eye as I looked his way.

  Alex spoke again. “To kill the monsters, we have to make something so much worse.” She leaned toward me and I felt her warmth radiating through my clothes. She took my hands and wrapped hers around mine. “But what happens when all the monsters are dead? What happens when we’re left with just what we’ve created? Are they going to lie down and let us kill them after they are of no use? Do you think they’ll let us control them?”

  I looked at each of the soldiers in turn, nodding as Alex spoke.

  Sherlock was the first to reply. “Do you want us to put you out of your misery?”

  “No,” I said without pause and Logan looked at me as if I could jump up at any moment and attack. Instead, I kept my calm. “I want to end this. Let me off at the Fort. Alone.”

  Only the sound of the engine and the water lapping at the hull replied.

  “And what do you expect us to do?” Sherlock finally asked.

  “Sail off and find somewhere safe,” I said. “Or join with us and make sure my message gets out to the people.”

  “What message?” Thompson cut in.

  I looked to him and spoke again. “We have to tell everyone to prepare. We have to tell them what’s coming. There must still be people who have a chance. I need to make a live broadcast to the people. It’s all set up with my editor.”

  “Huh?” Logan said, and both he and Thompson turned my way.

  “When I went to get the satellite phone, I made a call. Stan said the BBC is under military control.” Thompson nodded in the corner of my view. “He has to be so careful or they’ll put him back under arrest. They’ve locked me out. We know that already. We have one chance to make one last broadcast. All I have to do is call him on the sat phone and he’ll get me in, but we have to make the broadcast great. One shot only. He’s willing to sacrifice his position, and possibly his life. So am I.”


  Alex nodded, and after a moment Logan did too. Gibson tipped his head without pause.

  “I don’t know about all this,” Thompson finally said after taking his gaze from Gibson’s resolute expression.

  “Do you have families?” Cassie asked from the wheelhouse and we looked her way, watching as she stared out across to the dark coastline with her back to us. “Wives. Children. Parents. Friends?”

  “Yes,” Sherlock said, nodding. The others kept quiet.

  “Do you want them dying in fear, rushing down the street to help an injured old man only for him to turn on them? Are you prepared to go home and put a bullet in their heads?”

  A murmur came from under Sherlock’s breath and he looked at Thompson, squinting slightly as if he was trying to say something without speaking. He looked away when Cassie spoke again.

  “Well, most of my family are dead because we weren’t prepared. The rest are with that woman, helpless to stop her testing like they did on Jess and ready to make more of these creatures we’ll never defeat. So I know what I’m doing.”

  I had nothing else to add; between us we’d said it all. Logan then spoke to break the silence that followed.

  “You see,” he said to the group, looking at each of the soldiers, glancing to the weapons on the deck or holstered at their side, and then to me. “We all have our reasons to go to that place and end the plans of those two psycho-doctors and we can’t have anyone getting in our way.” He tensed, readying for the fight as Cassie glanced over her shoulder and despite knowing some of us would lose our lives, we knew it was a battle we couldn’t prevent.

  I stood and stared at each of the soldiers for a moment before I spoke.

  “So are you with us or against us?”

  78

  LOGAN

  Thompson turned away, moving his gaze to Gibson and then to Sherlock, and with it our attention followed, but theirs stayed fixed on his moonlit features.

  “That’s a brave thing for someone in your position to say,” Thompson said, his words slow and considered as he turned back to glance down to the pistol strapped in his holster before looking Jess in the eye.

  My muscles tensed, readying for the fight and the engine note slowed as Cassie let down the throttle.

  Thompson didn’t flinch. “But this is something we have to decide as individuals.”

  “I’m with you,” Gibson said without delay, and I looked his way, tipping a nod. All heads turned to Sherlock as he stared at Jess.

  “But what if you’re the answer?” he asked, his brow furrowed. “You came after us. You put yourself in danger, at massive risk to save us. Who’s saying those that come after wouldn’t do the same?”

  Water lapped at the hull as Jess stared back to Sherlock.

  “I live on a knife edge. Your scent is so powerful I’m picturing you naked on a platter with an apple stuffed in your mouth. Do you know you’ll taste somewhere between chicken and pork? The dark meat is the best,” she said, licking her lips and taking a deep swallow as her face bunched to highlight the dried blood around her hairline and in the creases around her nose.

  I swallowed hard. I had no idea if what she’d said was true, but turning to Sherlock, his hardened expression remained unmoved. Jess spoke again.

  “During your training, were there people who were great at getting the job done? Those that could summon so much aggression they were amazing at doing all the physical stuff, but come the dinner bell they just couldn’t turn it off?”

  Thompson looked to me, and then to Sherlock, his eyes narrowing. Sherlock caught his gaze, then turned back to Jess with a slow nod.

  “Do you want to take the chance that the monsters you help to create will have enough self-control to stop themselves splitting you in half and eating your organs whilst the blood still pumps around your body? If you do, then I suggest you start swimming now.”

  Silence hung for a long while as we drifted towards the shore.

  “Okay. I get it,” he finally said. “I’m with you.”

  “And so am I,” Thompson added, but I could tell by his expression he’d made his mind up long ago.

  Without delay the engine note rose, and we picked up speed as Jess sat back down.

  “So what’s the new plan?” I asked, looking back at Thompson. I expected a thoughtful delay as he considered the options, but I soon realised he’d not been sitting idle all this time.

  “The main objective is to find your family,” he said, turning to Cassie’s back. As he spoke, she twisted to acknowledge his words.

  “And the other children,” I added, as he continued to speak.

  “Yes. Then Jess sends the message and we shut the place down. Do you have everything you need?” he said to Jess.

  Alex replied, nodding as she twisted around to show the small pack she’d been lugging around all this time.

  “Good,” Thompson said, before looking to his bulky watch. “It’ll be dark for a long while once we’ve landed, but this moon won’t help us. They’ll be watching the water, probably for survivors, but it was always an option for us to arrive by water. We’ll have to land down the coast. I know a place.”

  “I thought you’d never been there,” I said, biting down a sudden suspicion.

  “I haven’t, but it’s what we do. We prepare for anything.” He held my gaze as he spoke.

  I nodded, looking away from the intensity of his expression as he continued to speak. “I don’t know the state of the island. If the population has evacuated, or lost, or perhaps the trouble hasn’t got here yet. Either way, we can count on patrols. We must stick together and see what we find.”

  Nods repeated across the deck.

  “How about we use the Death Star approach?” I asked, turning to raised brows.

  “The Death Star approach?” Gibson was the first to ask what the rest seemed desperate to answer, but Sherlock burst out laughing.

  “Are you a fucking child? Do you think this is a fucking game?” he said, shaking his head as the laughter slowed.

  “Can it,” Thompson said, as Sherlock stared my way. “It’s not a bad idea.”

  I turned to Alex as she spoke. “No one’s tying me up, pretending or not.”

  I watched Thompson almost deflate at her words and Gibson glanced over to Sherlock with scorn until he saw me looking his way. He gave a shallow nod and then turned away.

  “Listen, whatever. We’ll get in. There’s a back route. The place is only half built and with patrols out it’s not going to be heavily guarded,” Thompson said. After clearing his throat, he spoke again. “If we go that way then we won’t need anything elaborate to get you in.”

  Sherlock raised a brow and shook his head.

  Thompson stood, taking the steps up to the wheelhouse and we changed course to the right, moments after he spoke with Cassie.

  Before Thompson could retake his seat, Sherlock met him at the bottom of the steps. I couldn’t quite hear what he said, but Thompson screwed up his eyes as he cut Sherlock off, clearly not liking it.

  I tried to listen in harder but Gibson called my name and as he pulled my attention away, I looked to Sherlock glaring back. They were just playing along; it became so clear. They were going along with our idea, but either Sherlock couldn’t bring himself to act, or he was too dumb to realise he was giving the game away by being an asshole.

  Rubbing the back of my neck as I turned to Gibson, I couldn’t pay attention to what he said, instead trying to think what we could do next.

  “Are you okay?” Gibson’s repeated words finally came into focus.

  I couldn’t reply; instead I turned to Jess. She was looking my way, her eyes narrowed and slowly nodding.

  We both knew it, but I had no idea what we could do.

  79

  JESSICA

  Now, I mouthed in Logan’s direction. He stayed still with just his eyes widening in the pause. We had to do this at the same time; it was the only chance we could have to make it work. Then he moved
; as if in sudden realisation Logan jumped up, bending over as he launched himself at Gibson sitting on the edge of the boat, watching as he rose to his feet.

  I didn’t see the soldier’s reaction; I had my focus ahead on the other pair and I was up, time slowing as energy surged outward as if pulsing from my bones. With it came the need to tear into their flesh, but I fought the strain of want, the gaping hole in my gut that came with the power radiating out from my fingers as I ran, touching them with a hand on each.

  They’d seen me, but a blink of an eye later they were travelling sideways, pushed out in front and away from my bared teeth desperate to rend their flesh. They had no time to speak, only to call out in surprise before they were gone, the water rushing up from over the edge, the spray catching my face as I stopped myself just in time so I wouldn’t join them.

  Panting, I turned to the flurry of movement in the corner of my vision.

  80

  LOGAN

  Gibson was like a brick wall as I hit him, with my hands pushed out in front and my full body weight behind. He barely moved backwards; his biggest reaction was his smile dropping as he heard the splash I could only hope wasn’t Jess falling into the water.

  A call went up, Alex swearing as if taken by surprise, Shadow’s bark absorbed into the night. Then Alex was by my side with both her hands on Gibson’s left as she tried to stop his reaching for the rifle by his feet.

  With his grip so hard, he had hold of my wrist, twisting and turning as he did the same to Alex, then dragging us both forward having given up on the gun, now intent to pull us over the edge. And he was succeeding.

  But then it stopped, his grip released, at first for no apparent reason. I looked up just as he fell backwards with his neck at a right-angle and Jess pulling back her fist.

  He slipped slowly into the water as I regained my breath.