“So she spent time in a psychiatric hospital and she was the only voice of reason when the other ones wanted to open Sweeny Todd’s pie shop in the kitchen.”
Mila smiled. “A literary reference from you? You are scaring me.”
“Literary? It was a book? I was thinking of the Johnny Depp movie.”
“Aha! Suddenly I am less scared now.”
“I didn’t know any of that. Maybe we should keep an eye on her. She might be getting depressed or something.”
“Yes. Maybe we should talk to her. Offer her help.”
“I’ll talk to her.”
“That is probably for the best. Sometimes I feel she does not like me as much.”
“That’s understandable.”
Mila burst out laughing and clapped her hands. “Very funny.”
They stayed in the same spot for several hours, playing cards, talking and regularly sweeping around the city with their binoculars. When the sun began to make its descent, they headed back down to the van and Robyn drove them home.
✽ ✽ ✽
“Oh Shiiit!” Robyn screamed, jamming on the brakes, bringing the van to a skidding stop.
“What? What is it?” Mila asked, looking at the clear road ahead.
Robyn pointed, and Mila followed the line of her friend’s gaze into the distance. Plumes of smoke were rising into the sky.
“That … that can’t be the hospital!”
“What else is it going to be?”
Robyn set off again and put her foot down. The tyres screeched louder with each bend they negotiated. “Robyn, if it is the hospital, we are not going to be able to put the fire out in time. Hopefully, Freya and Aiden will have got everybody a safe distance away. Us dying in a road accident is not going to help anyone.”
“You don’t understand.”
“What don’t I understand?”
“Every single zombie in sight of that smoke is going to head towards it.”
Robyn’s words hit Mila like a hammer blow. “Sheisse!”
They carried on driving for a few more minutes and then saw a group of four creatures running in the centre of the road towards the spiralling smoke. “See what I mean?” Robyn said.
As the beasts became aware of the sound of the engine, they turned and started heading towards the van. Robyn gripped the wheel tighter. There was a cacophonous bang as the vehicle ploughed into them. Bodies crumbled; heads splattered against the glass of the windscreen before disappearing from view. Robyn looked in the mirror to see the gory aftermath strewn across the tarmac. They travelled another few hundred metres and experienced almost the same thing.
“Where are they all coming from?” Mila asked.
“Everywhere. I’ve seen this before. If they catch a glimpse of smoke or fire, they’re just drawn towards it.”
“Robyn, the little ones. They will be defenceless against them.”
“I know, Mila!” Robyn snapped. “Let’s just hope Freya has got them somewhere safe.”
The towers of smoke continued to rise into the sky and the nearer they got, the more the butterflies in their stomachs jostled. Robyn turned onto the track. The gate was wide open, and as they eventually pulled into the courtyard, more than forty beasts bolted towards them. The hospital was an inferno; the wild, dancing flames lit up the surrounding woodland, and both women knew in an instant that when the fire finally jumped, the forest would be ravaged.
“Aaaggghhh!” Mila screamed.
Robyn was still not great with reverse gear, so she turned the van around in a big loop as the first creatures thrashed against the side of the vehicle. The deafening clatter reverberated in the cab, and this time both girls let out a scream. Robyn accelerated down the track, and the beasts followed. As she reached the road, she eased her foot off the pedal to make sure the rabid horde stayed with them.
“They’re just going to keep coming. While ever they can see the smoke, they’re going to keep coming,” Robyn said.
She turned back onto the main road and started leading the pack away from the hospital.
“What are we going to do?”
“Get these things out of here then double back. Deal with whatever’s left at the house and just hope that the others are still in the area somewhere.”
“But what if—”
“Oh shit!” Robyn cried, jamming on the brakes.
Suddenly, Tess, one of the children, ran out into the middle of the road thirty metres ahead. Robyn looked in the mirror to see the beasts still in hot pursuit. Two more of the younger children ran out to join Tess, and now the focus of some of the zombies had fallen on them rather than the van.
“What do we do?”
Robyn unbuckled her belt. “Swap places.”
Mila did as Robyn asked and the two of them clumsily fumbled and climbed into position. “What now?”
“Reverse.”
The first creatures were just a couple of metres away when Mila jammed the gear stick into position and put her foot on the gas pedal. Loud thuds began to echo in the confines of the van once more, and the vehicle shifted and swayed as it ran over the fallen bodies. Some of the creatures avoided colliding with the makeshift battering ram and started to hammer against its shell to get to the sweet fruit inside. Others ignored it, mesmerised by the three children standing in the middle of the road. The van immobilised more than it left standing and as it finished its Hail Mary play, just fourteen out of the forty-odd beasts were still a threat.
Mila shifted into first and began to accelerate once more. Zombies continued to smash against the side of the Ford Transit. Two launched at the windscreen, their heads battering the glass. In different circumstances, Mila and Robyn would have been terrified, fearing for their own lives, but all they could focus on were the six beasts charging towards Tess and the other two children, frozen in the middle of the road like statues.
Aiden appeared from the trees at the side of the road. He looked as petrified as Tess and the others. He called them but to no avail. Two of the beasts veered onto the grass towards him.
“We can’t get them all,” Mila cried, easing off the accelerator once again as tears began to fill her eyes.
“Screw it,” Robyn said, grabbing the bow and quivers. The van had pulled about twenty-five metres in front of the remaining eight creatures. “Cover my back.” Without any warning, Robyn opened the door and jumped down.
It was a panicked, instinctive knee-jerk reaction rather than any defined strategy that made Mila drag the wheel around and jam on the brakes, blocking a good portion of the road. She reached across to the footwell and grasped her swords, opened the door and jumped onto the tarmac, immediately backing down the road, waiting for the first monsters to emerge from around the van.
By the time Mila had drawn her swords, Robyn’s second arrow was already sailing towards its target.
“Run!” Robyn yelled. “Run!” She fired again. Everything was happening so quickly; everything was so confused. The children watched as the first then the second creature crumpled to the ground with arrows sticking out of the back of their skulls. Their jaws dropped open in horrified disbelief as the remaining beasts neared.
Aiden suddenly realised that there was no way Robyn could get all the hellish creatures in time. He darted across towards the girls. “Tess, run!” he yelled, snapping the younger girl out of her trance. He coaxed the other two children into the opposite direction as well and pushed them hard. “Run!” he shouted again while he stayed put, like a brave Viking warrior preparing to enter Valhalla.
“Aaarrrggghhh!” It was not a frightened scream but a battle cry. Mila’s blades swished through the air slicing bone and flesh as, one after another, the attacking creatures fell. She heard the plucks of string and the whistle of arrows behind her. She could not think about anything but the job at hand. She could only hope that Robyn was as good with the bow in a battle situation as she was with target practice.
Another monster collapsed to the ground as Robyn�
��s concentration did not waver for a second. She was deaf to everything around her. “You can do this, Bobbi, you can do this.” Wren’s calming voice played like inspirational music in her head. Another down, just two to go. Finally, Aiden turned to run. The beasts would be on him in a matter of seconds, but seconds were all Robyn needed. She grabbed another arrow from the quiver; then a shriek from behind her shattered her zen-like state.
“ROBYN!”
chapter 28
Robyn spun around to see something straight out of a bloody horror film. A creature with half its face hanging off had somehow survived Mila’s flashing blades and got past her. Robyn had no time to draw her bowstring. She ducked and weaved as the beast lunged. She felt the wind of its movement brush past her as it flew. It crashed to the ground. She looked towards Aiden, brought her bow up and fired. The arrow disappeared into the base of one of the beast’s skulls just as the other one leapt.
The creature on the ground scrambled to its feet and pounced once more. “Aaaggghhh!” Aiden’s scream carved through the late afternoon air like a cleaver through pâté.
I’m too late. I’m too late. Robyn brought her foot up hard and fast as the deformed beast came at her again. It flew backwards, stumbling onto the grass and falling onto its buttocks like a clumsy child. She shot a glance towards Aiden to see both he and his attacker were on the ground. Tess and the other two girls had stopped running upon hearing their friend’s cry. Robyn’s heart sank even further as five more creatures appeared on the road up ahead, originally drawn by the smoke but now attracted by the noise. “No!” she yawped, pulling another arrow from the quiver and firing at the creature nearest to her. It shot backwards before it got the chance to rise to its feet fully and Robyn started to sprint towards Aiden, drawing and nocking another arrow as she ran.
She heard a loud grunt from behind. No time to look.
✽ ✽ ✽
When he had been stuck in that room, Aiden had withered away to little more than skin and bone. Since being freed, he had eaten well, exercised every day and, desperate to impress Robyn whenever he could, done push-ups and pull-ups every night before bed. Trying to impress a girl was literally the only thing that had given him the strength to stave off the initial attack as the malevolent creature loomed over him.
He knew it was just a temporary thing though. The creature’s seething hatred, yes hatred, glimmered in those cavernous pupils as its mouth opened. I wish I’d told her how I felt. He closed his eyes and let out a small whimper. As much as he tried to block it out, he could see the beast’s face in his mind as it drew nearer. Please don’t let me pee myself. Suddenly, the creature’s body slumped at a diagonal across him.
Aiden’s eyes shot open. What was happening? For a second, there was nothing, then the beast began to writhe and struggle. Aiden pushed hard, just as the creature scrambled to its knees once again. Out of the corner of his eye he could see an arrow sticking from its back at an angle. It was Robyn. She hadn’t given up yet. He punched with every ounce of strength he could muster. The beast’s skull jarred up and to the side.
✽ ✽ ✽
For a heartbeat, Robyn thought she was too late. The monster slumped down onto Aiden’s body before it began to frantically gather itself once more. The youngster remained still then out of nowhere launched a right hook that Ali would have been proud of.
Robyn already had the arrow nocked, she aimed and fired all within a second. The missile seemed to travel in slow motion. This was her last chance. If the beast resumed its frenzied attack before the arrow hit, it was all over for Aiden.
✽ ✽ ✽
Mila held her breath as the last three creatures stormed towards her. She thrust out her foot making contact with the middle beast, who shot back as if he had just been launched from a catapult. She had misjudged her move though; there was no way for her to bring the swords up in time. Tick-tock.
The grasping hands stretched towards her like demonic claws. No time to think. Mila ducked down and dived to her left, her eyes widening in terror as the razor-sharp blades angled towards her as she swivelled. The nearest creature’s fingers missed her by centimetres, and she spun around and steadied herself for the second wave of the attack.
The monster she had knocked to the ground sprang back to its feet, and all three came at her once again. This time, she was prepared; she leapt to her left again, simultaneously bringing her right sword around. The head of the nearest beast came clean off its shoulders, flipping through the air. Mila pirouetted and brought both blades down hard on the remaining two creatures as they adjusted their trajectory once more in an attempt to keep up with this self-styled German whirling dervish. The blades cracked through both foreheads at the same time, and the two beasts dropped to the ground like sacks of rotting meat.
A satisfied smile appeared on Mila’s face, and she turned to see if her friend had seen what amazing feat she had accomplished. The smile disappeared instantly, as she saw what was happening.
✽ ✽ ✽
Aiden gulped as the beast’s eyes fell upon him once more. This was it. It was all over now. “Aiden!”
The shout came from behind him. It was Tess. It sounded like she had been crying … was still crying. He couldn’t blame her. He wanted to cry more than anything. What kind of world was this? Monsters were most definitely real, and the good guys didn’t always win. How many more lies had Hollywood and his parents told him? It really didn’t matter now.
Suddenly the creature’s eye exploded from its head disappearing out of Aiden’s field of vision. The beast remained there for a second longer before collapsing forward. The young teenager shoved hard, and the creature lolled onto its side. Is this a dream? Is this really happening?
“Aiden!” It was Robyn’s voice this time. He sat up, his heart still pounding rapidly in his chest. She was running towards him. This was it. They would fall into an embrace, and he would tell her how he felt and surely she would say it back. He climbed to his feet, a smile beginning on his face. He had cheated death thanks to this arrow-shooting goddess.
“Robyn, I—” He started to bring his arms up, but then she ran straight by him.
“Get back to the van—now!” He turned to look at her as she raced towards Tess and the other two girls. “Run to me. Run!”
✽ ✽ ✽
Mila sprinted towards Aiden who was standing with a bewildered look on his face. “The others. Where are Freya and the others?” She grabbed his shoulders and shook him. “Aiden. Where?”
Finally, he roused from wherever his brain was slumbering and turned towards the woods. “Candice. Quickly,” he shouted.
A few seconds later, the fifteen-year-old girl appeared with the remainder of the group. “Where’s Freya?” Mila asked.
“I think it was Freya who started the fire,” Aiden replied.
“What?”
“I said—”
“I heard what you said, but why do you think—?”
“Start the bloody van!” Robyn yelled, looking back towards Mila. She turned to see the five creatures gaining fast. The two youngest children with Tess only had little legs, it was touch and go whether they’d make it in time. “Run to the van,” Robyn commanded then grabbed an arrow. She brought the sight window up and trained the bow towards the lead creature who was running to the right of the pack; she aimed at its head then carefully moved down to its leg. She took a breath and fired.
The arrowhead disappeared into the meaty rotten flesh of the beast’s thigh, and for a moment Robyn thought it had been a wasted shot. But then the creature buckled, and it fell to its left, piling into the other charging beasts and causing a pile-up. A smirk appeared on Robyn’s face, and she backed up, admiring her handiwork for a few more seconds before racing back to the van.
By the time she reached it, everyone else was already inside. She dived into the passenger seat, and Mila revved the engine. The five creatures had climbed back to their feet and were stampeding towards them once again. Mila re
leased the handbrake, and the wheels spun briefly before the van headed straight at the pack of beasts like a guided missile.
The smaller children let out terrified screams as the bodies battered against the bonnet, but then, as Mila put more distance between them and the inferno, the tension in the van began to abate. Another two creatures appeared up ahead, and Mila mowed them down with ease. “Is everybody okay?” she asked. There was a subdued response, but at least there were no more screams.
When Robyn had got her breath back, she turned to look at the frightened faces. “What happened? Where’s Freya?”
“Aiden, tell Robyn what you told me,” Mila said.
Robyn looked towards the boy. “Tell me what?”
“I think it was Freya who started the fire.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know, but we all went fishing and—”
“What? With Freya?”
“No.”
“You went by yourselves?” Robyn asked angrily.
“We hadn’t seen any of those things around in ages. I thought—”
“No, you didn’t think. Do you know how dangerous that was? Candice, did you go too?”
Candice lowered her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she said quietly.
“This is getting away from the point,” said Mila. “Aiden, why do you think it was Freya?”
“We just saw a little smoke at first, and we all ran back to the house. I went inside, and I could smell diesel. It was really strong. The flames were already out of control, there was nothing I could do. There was no sign of Snowball or Napoleon and no sign of Freya either. I tried to get to the pantry to get some food, but the heat was too much for me.” He lowered his eyes. “We left our rods and the fish too.”
Robyn let out a long breath and looked towards Mila. “This is our fault. We saw there was something wrong and we didn’t do anything.”
The End of Everything (Book 7): The End of Everything Page 20
