by Stevens, GJ
If this was what it was like after forty-eight hours then what would it be like after a week?
“What?” Toni said, turning at my side.
My look must have said so much.
“This after such a short time?” I could feel hope draining as I stared on. “If it was just the original mutation,” I said, pushing down the lump in my throat, “if it was just those you didn’t create, then I guess we would have a chance. But when these creatures…” I paused, searching for the words. “Your amalgam, the ones who are still alive, when they spread their version of the virus we won’t have a chance.”
Toni shook her head.
“No,” she said, reaching her warm hand on top of mine at the edge of the roof. “Those things, the mistakes, they’re not the same. When they bite, only the original virus passes on. So it will only bring back someone once they’re dead. It’s just these we have to deal with. No more.”
Questions rose as I processed her words, but as a pair of eyes from below snapped up in my direction, the thoughts dissipated in the shared look.
Their pause was less than mine. His black-lined faced stayed fixed as he forced his way to the edge of the building, smacking aside the dead creatures in his way.
My heart raced as he pounced into the air, his feet landing to the window ledge on the first floor.
“Toni,” I squealed as it took another leap, not looking where it would land; the window above.
Leaning forward, she followed my view of the creature slapping against the second-floor pane of glass to fall backward, its landing cushioned by bodies who took no notice, only squirming while he rose to his feet to try again.
I couldn’t crawl. I had to stand, frustrated at the pace, but dropped back to my knees as we completed the wide circular perimeter. My heart pounded in my chest with a great sense of dread when our miracle escape didn’t materialise whilst knowing it would only be a matter of time before the creatures would get a footing and make the next leap to the roof.
“Get up,” Toni said, and I twitched my head to look at her stern face, her hands out for mine. “Get up. We need to get there,” she said, pointing to one of the twelve outer buildings.
Standing with my mouth agape, I felt like laughing as I saw the cell blocks were only one storey high, but as I lingered I could see the double perimeter fence intact with none of the dead filling the space. On the far side stood the wide space of a car park full of vehicles we could use to the get the hell out of here.
But to get there we would have to bound across a gap of over three car lengths wide. Unless we’d sprouted wings or gained inhuman strength. I felt like asking if she had a potion for that; instead, I pulled back the barbs.
“Have you gone mad?”
My words fell away, a scream piercing through my head giving no chance to hear if she’d mouthed a reply.
I watched as Toni pulled out the pistol with her left hand, pushing me toward the base of the tower with her right.
With my head rolling to the side, I caught a blur of motion, my body shaking with every shot launching from the barrel which did nothing to slow the creature’s race towards us.
22
Puffs of blood, skin and bone burst out from every angle as Toni continued to hit the target. This was it. This was the end of the line and all before we’d got started. Before I could set this outrage straight; before I could tell the world Toni’s story. My story now.
No. It couldn’t be.
I hadn’t got this far in my life to go down as a footnote in a history never told.
I sat up straight, landing on my knees and lunged forward just as the creature blurred across my view. I caught its sodden flesh; tacky thick blood sticking to my fingers as I pushed, only stopping just beyond the edge of the roof with Toni grabbing my ankles.
The creature stared, snarling back as it fell, its jaw snapping at the air before its head smashed against a short wall and its neck set forever at a right angle.
I watched as it rose, my breath getting out of control, but coming back as I saw its slow movement, its eyes already whitening over.
Toni pulled me back and into her arms, squeezing tight until our gaze followed to the cable from the high mast above running down to the centre of the shorter building we hoped to be a haven.
“You first,” she said, pointing halfway up the tower. She’d had the same idea. Her other hand pulled a tissue from her pocket, its white ruined by the dark blood coming back as she dabbed at my face.
A shot rang off in the distance and we fell to a crouch.
“Take off the lab coat,” she said and I did, the cold air biting through the blouse. She pulled a penknife from her pack, slashed at the material halfway down and tore it in two before rolling one half in on itself.
Holding each end of the improvised rope, she wrapped as much as she could around each fist as she held on tight.
I understood, I said, but only with a nod.
“You first,” I said, my hands shaking as I tried to wrap my half of the lab coat into a rope. Toni handed hers over, trying not to let it unravel as she took my half and repeated the twist.
“You,” she replied with force in her voice, taking me by the arm and guiding me towards the tower.
Movement caught in my peripheral vision and I turned to see a hand on the edge of the roof. We were too far away to see the detail, but I knew it would run with dark veins. The scream confirmed it, stopping only as it thudded to the ground.
I stood and a second scream lit the air; a third call joined it and I didn’t need to be asked again. I ran, the thin metal of the mast cutting into my feet as I climbed with Toni close behind on the opposite side. The mast creaked, swayed and moved, tightening the cables as we rose.
The calls grew so loud I wanted to push my fingers deep into my ears. The shout of the distant gunfire grew more frequent, but still we didn't know who the target could be.
We climbed, stopping only when I could reach out to the thick cable.
Breath pulled in fast and I wrapped the rope as tight as I could, loosening back a turn as I felt my fingers numb. I held the rolled-up coat over the cable; it was much harder to wrap the left side without letting go of the right. I would just have to hold on for my life.
And there it was, right on cue, another creature had made it up to the roof, its back arching, already in a full sprint toward us as a second summited.
“Go,” Toni shouted over the ear-piercing din.
I took a deep breath, leant forward and let myself down onto the cable with a leap, trying to ignore the creatures I could see altering their path to intercept me.
As I dropped to the cable I saw my news van on the horizon. The folded satellite dish forced a smile, but my lips tensed as I pushed all my energy to my grip. The smile fell as the tower bent with my journey less than half complete.
The cable sagged as if another weight had added, the movement so great I had to tuck my legs under to stop my feet hitting the roof as I went over the edge. At least I’d picked up speed and the creatures wouldn’t get close.
Only just over the side of the building, there was nothing I could do as the cable gave out, snapping with a pop greater than the distant shots.
With its length retreating through my arms, I plummeted through the air, my view filling with the building coming toward me faster than I knew my bones could take.
23
My vision filled with clay bricks, concentration fixing on their symmetry as I raced toward them. Without thought I traced the neat white lines between each course, but the view changed, the world spinning as the top of the chain-link caught at my feet.
I heard the rattle of the thin metal links, feeling weightless for a breath until pressure slammed at my side and I paused, hanging upside down.
With what seemed like just enough energy left inside me, I curled into a ball, rolling as the air pushed out when I hit the concrete. The smash of the chain-link came again, and I looked through blurring vision to se
e Toni at the foot of the other fence, still swaying, sprawled on the floor, motionless with a hundred eyes on her as she lay between the two rows.
I ignored the aches, the pain shooting up my legs as I climbed to my feet, gaze tracking the thick cable slapping to rest on the hard floor, its weight bearing down on top of each fence.
She’d jumped on the cable as I descended.
She’d had no choice with those creatures so close. The inner chain-link fence had caught my feet, slowed me down. Turned me over and I survived the fall.
She’d fallen much further, hit the other side of the fence and bounced into the perimeter.
We’d succeeded in getting down from the rooftop, but were being followed. The air filled with the piercing calls as the creatures jumped from the tall roof, pulling through the sea of stench and would be on us again any minute. We had to go, but first I had to get to her.
Hooking my fingers between the links, jabbing my toes into the space between the thin metal, the fence swaying forward and back as I climbed. Pain shot up my spine as I lurched in my attempt to keep steady.
Toni still hadn’t moved. I pulled myself away from the sight, turning to the sea of bruised faces staring with white eyes.
The dead were cast to the side, thrown out of the way by the creature I knew I would see; a version of what could so easily have been me.
Turning away, I was over the top and with one last grip to slow my fall, I landed. Pain electrified the sole of my foot, stealing my breath as I reached for my pocket.
With the burning sensation subsiding, I remembered the lab coat in tatters, my gun lost as I climbed the side of the building. No sign of Toni’s pistol or the rifle either, cast aside in the panic.
Around me were hundreds of guns. A pistol at each soldier’s side. A rifle slung over every other’s shoulder, as they scraped and clawed, rattling, chattering on the other side of the thin linked metal.
The only weapons I had were my hands. I had to think quickly. The creature hung prone and slow as it climbed the fence, but it would be here, the first of many, any moment.
I ripped open the rucksack, ignoring Toni’s lack of movement, ignoring the thin red liquid swimming inside the bag. I felt no gun, only thin broken glass and I pulled my hand back, a river of panic washing over me as I launched my rage towards the creature gaining height on the fence.
Pushing hard, I screamed my own terrifying call as I raced toward it. Making contact in a blur, I sent it sprawling and slapping to the ground somewhere in the sea of death. Choking back the surprise at what I’d achieved, I ran with the realisation I’d bought myself no time at all.
I scooped Toni’s light body up in my arms. She’d always been so dainty, but I had to push away the building thoughts.
I ran as fast as I could around the perimeter between the two fences, ignoring the snarls of the dead and didn’t look back.
Toni’s tiny movements urged me on. She wasn’t dead, despite the new bruise spreading out across her head.
The relief fell when I realised movement was no longer a good sign. A heavy weight closed around me like thick curtains. Lost in her pain as she moaned in my arms, the pad of feet slapping to the concrete wouldn’t give me time to check if she was still alive.
The race was on, but I knew I would lose. There was no way I could outrun what was chasing us down. No way I could climb quick enough. No way I would leave Toni behind.
I felt what I thought was its breath on my neck and stopped, laid Toni at my feet and turned, letting out a deep breath, locking with its eyes, its clawed fingers swiping at my face as its teeth bared down.
24
Stunned by the sharp explosions of a gun at my side, I watched like a passenger in my body with the creature lurching forward, its black-veined face smashing against my chest and sending me tumbling backward. Despite using all of my reserves fighting to stay upright, its weight overcame me, pushing me to the ground.
My punches curled to its face, but it gave no reaction as my knuckles dug into its loose skin. The volley forced on, weakening as my resolve ebbed, until a warm hand encircled one fist and then the other to hold them back.
The creature slumped to the side, its hideous, bent features replaced by Toni’s pained face peering upside down over the top of my head. She leant down, her lips landing soft on my cheek, but I couldn’t calm, twitching around to check the coast was clear and the other creatures hadn’t made it into our haven.
There we stayed, held tight as our breathing slowed, until a shot echoed in the distance.
The wake-up call lifted us to our feet, taking in our surroundings as if for the first time, the moans, the soft snarl of the dead ever in the background.
As I stood, the creature’s thick blood slipped down my front on a slow treacle-like journey, dripping to my feet. As my arm encircled Toni, she handed over the gun pulled from her waistband, its weight too much as she limped at my side.
Somehow we climbed the fence, with Toni being the first to the top, wincing as she fell, not able to make the last few links. She was on her feet by the time I finished leaving a bloody trail over the metal.
We padded into the car park, my gaze turning this way and that, searching for the next battle as we headed toward the news van.
The few creatures who’d made it this far ignored our slow walk as we kept low, using the cars, trucks and SUVs for cover.
With surprise, I found the van unlocked and I helped Toni up the tall step and into the rear, half expecting Dan still to be hidden, hoping his appearance would push this reality back into a dream.
I let my gaze drop and I gave a shallow sigh as I helped Toni settle to the director’s seat fixed to the carpeted floor and took her hands in mine as I stood in her warmth. With her breath settling, I pulled the back door closed, wincing with the click of the lock engaging.
Toni pulled the rucksack from her back in slow motion as I watched the drip of liquid trailing from the canvas.
After searching by fingertip, she drew out two unbroken vials of the red liquid.
“The cigarettes?” I blurted out when I didn’t see her pull them from the bag.
She shook her head with a solemn look to the floor of the van.
“You won’t need them now,” she said, swallowing hard as she clutched the vials tight in her fist.
We didn’t speak for what seemed like an age, neither of us able to put words to what we’d just gone through.
The first to move, I pulled away, opening the long cupboard to find it empty. Time flashed back to Christmas Day when, unsure how long had passed and for the cost of pizza, I’d convinced Dan and Mike to come here to die.
Holding back the pain in my chest, the physical form of my guilt, I stared into the empty wardrobe which, had this been an assignment, would have been full of my outfits. I would have to remain blanketed in the creature’s drying blood for the duration.
“What next?” I said, turning to Toni.
She stared at the doors as if they had windows in the centre. When she didn’t reply, I moved over towards her, but held myself out of her reach.
“If we leave here, we'll get picked up when we hit the perimeter. They’ll have people covering the perimeter, won’t they?” I said, looking to her for answers. “Unless they're still in shock, overwhelmed, waiting for reinforcements. What do you think?”
Still, she gave no movement, no hint of a reply, just continued to stare through the non-existent window.
“If we stay, eventually they'll round me up. You, too, and do whatever they were going to do anyway. Right? Do you think?” I let the words hang in the air, trying not to raise my voice as I spoke again. “You know these people better than me.”
She gave no reply.
“Toni?” I snapped and watched as her head turned away.
Taking a step, I knelt to force myself back into her view. “What next?” I said again, raising my hands to cup her chin as I stared into her vacant eyes.
“We have to find
her,” she said, her words low.
“Who?” I said, letting my hands down from her face.
“The woman who did this,” she replied. “The woman who did this to you.”
“Why?” I said, brushing the front of my hand against her undamaged cheek, drawing back with a sudden discomfort at the intimacy as I remembered the promises I’d made to myself.
“There's not enough…” she said, but stuttered to silence. “There's not enough…” she said again, this time taking care of the words. “There’s not enough to give us time.”
“Time for what?”
“For your immune system to have its best shot.”
“Of beating this thing?” I said.
Toni nodded.
“I feel fine,” I said, doing my best to raise a smile and it wasn’t a lie; apart from the aches and pains from our escape and a hunger which felt like I hadn’t eaten for days.
“For now,” she replied.
“What can this woman do?” I said, standing, my gaze fixed on her face. I wanted to rest her head against my stomach. I wanted to comfort her, but it would be no great comfort to rest against the blood flaking to the floor as it dried and I didn’t want to give her the wrong impression.
For a second time I looked around the contents of the van, trying to find something I could change in to.
“Everything,” she said, and turned back away from my searching look. “She can do whatever she wants. She's the head of the whole program and holds the key to getting more of this,” Toni said, opening her palms and showing me the vials resting in the centre.
“Who is she?” I said, remembering a cupboard above the camera boxes.
“You've met,” she replied, as I pulled out the hi-vis jacket with PRESS written along the back in black letters.
Trying to keep my fingertips from the blood as much as I could, I picked open the blouse buttons and slung the shirt to the corner. Looking down my chest, bare apart from the streaks of dried blood, I stared at the remains of a red river running between my breasts.
