Z. Apocalypse

by Steve Cole

  ‘Maybe.’ Adam felt seriously weirded out, but had to admit it was the likeliest explanation. In the past, traces of his personality had bled through Zed’s programming, with the creature tearing apart New Mexico to find him. And even Loner, the raptor with a human mind, had felt linked to Adam thanks to Think-Send. He glanced over at Keera, remembering the pain in her eyes on the rooftop, the way she’d looked at him as if desperate for help.

  And I was too busy being scared to death to think of giving it.

  ‘She may think she knows me, but you’re the one who seems to know her.’ Adam went back to staring at his phone. ‘You said you’d touched her mind – and even when you were unhooked from the cables you were shouting about wanting the sky, and the hunters and stuff . . .’

  ‘Keera’s thoughts.’ Zoe nodded, speaking through a mouthful of biscuit crumbs. ‘So freaky. It was like she was broadcasting her feelings and I was a radio picking them up . . .’

  Adam looked at her warily. How could that happen? But it wasn’t as if the rest of the world made a bunch of sense right now. ‘Can you tune in and find out what happens next? Why Keera’s brought us here – wherever here is?’ He broke off as a weak signal crept into his phone beside the word Telenor. ‘Finally. I’ll call Dad. He must be going crazy.’ He dialled the number, but it wouldn’t connect; he got an automated voice saying something in a foreign language. He tried again, with the same result.

  ‘What’s up?’ asked Zoe.

  Adam put the recorded voice on speakerphone. ‘I can’t get through. My phone doesn’t allow international calls, and we were rushed out to the States so quickly I didn’t even think about asking Dad to change it . . .’ He put down the tin of corned beef, feeling sick. ‘Zoe, we’re not in America any more.’ He switched back to the main screen and selected the satellite map. ‘Let’s see if this tells us anything.’

  Zoe wriggled over beside him. They both stared at the screen like they meant to burn holes in it, until finally a blue circle appeared on the grid. Adam swept his fingers across the touchscreen to zoom out and the map began to load a moth-eaten coastline in pixelated pieces.

  ‘This is crazy,’ Zoe whispered. ‘Looks to me like . . . Scandinavia.’

  Adam looked at her. ‘Telenor. Nor as in Norway? That’s got to be thousands of kilometres from Maryland.’

  ‘And Keera made it in just two days?’

  The blue circle on the screen went on pulsing serenely. ‘Perhaps that’s another reason why Geneflow bred pterosaurs alongside Z. rexes,’ Adam supposed. ‘Not only can they swim, for whatever reason, they’re faster in the air.’

  Zoe jumped as Keera deposited another huge bone on the pile. ‘Maybe Keera’s stopped here to fuel up and rest.’

  ‘But where’s our destination?’ Adam surveyed the sleeping bags and the edible litter all around. ‘She’s stocked up for us. I guess she sensed we’d need food and drink after two days.’

  A chime from the phone made them both jump. A text message had come through: Voicemail: Caller unknown.

  ‘At least I can still receive calls.’ Adam stabbed at the soft buttons on the phone. ‘But can I pick up messages . . .?’

  As if in answer, the calm tones of his voicemail sounded over the speaker: ‘Thursday,’ it said sunnily. ‘Three fifty-four a.m.’

  ‘That’s yesterday,’ Zoe realized.

  Then a familiar voice whispered urgently out from the phone: ‘Adam? It’s me, Dad.’

  ‘Dad!’ Adam held the phone closer, straining to catch every hoarse word.

  ‘I pray you’re all right, that Keera saved you and Zoe, that you get this. Ad, they’ve taken me – Geneflow. The raid on the hangar, those monsters took me and Eve . . .’

  Zoe gripped Adam’s arm. ‘What—?’

  ‘Shhh!’ Adam hissed, straining to hear.

  ‘We were set up, Ad. Colonel Oldman and Dr Marrs – they’ve been working for Geneflow all along. Whatever happens – don’t tell Oldman or Marrs where you are.’

  No. Adam shook his head, throat burning with the threat of tears. No, they can’t have been . . .

  ‘I know you’ve been tricked in the past by messages you thought were from me, but this is for real. Remember your birthday meal at Browns when Stevie got that candle stuck up his nose? Remember those beige pants you got me Christmas before last, three sizes too big? It’s me, Ad. Eve and I, we’ve been taken to Geneflow’s headquarters – where Keera was reared. We think it’s some way inland from the port of Murmansk in Russia. We’re all right for now; Geneflow need us to work for them. But . . .’ There was a long pause, then his voice dropped lower. ‘I have to go. Please – try to find someone you can trust. Oldman and Marrs will be out to get Keera – and you and Zoe too. Don’t believe anything they say. Be brave, Ad.’

  The phone went silent.

  ‘To delete the message, press two,’ came the automated voice. ‘To play the message again, press three . . .’

  Adam pressed three and listened again, tears squeezing through his eyelids, Zoe still clutching hold of his arm. ‘This can’t be happening,’ he muttered, shivering now in the warehouse chill. ‘Losing Dad . . . tricked by people we thought were friends . . . it can’t be happening again . . .’

  The message ended just the same: ‘Be brave, Ad.’

  ‘Brave. Right.’ Adam put down the phone and looked at Zoe. ‘So . . . what the hell do we do now?’

  ‘Lose it completely?’ Zoe looked crushed. ‘I mean, you’re positive that was your dad, right?’

  ‘I know his voice. And all that stuff he said . . .’ Adam sighed, remembering that carefree night at Browns last year. It felt like another life. ‘Only he’d know that.’

  ‘Then if Dr Marrs is a part of this, and Oldman too, what can we do?’ Zoe was working herself up into a state. ‘Oh, Mum . . . if anything happens to her, what am I—?’

  ‘Don’t think that way,’ Adam urged her. ‘Maybe Keera can find them. She was reared there, she must know where the place is.’

  ‘That’s it . . .!’ Zoe grabbed the phone from him, started pressing buttons. ‘The map, look. Norway’s well on the way to Russia. Adam, I think Keera’s been taking us to this Geneflow base all along!’

  ‘I don’t see—’

  ‘What was the last thing you asked us – asked Keera in the hangar? For anything that might lead to the ones who did this to her, remember?’

  Adam blinked and wiped his nose. ‘I did ask that, yeah. And you were muttering on, something about being free, and—’

  ‘I will lead! That’s what I said. Lead you to the ones who did it.’ Zoe looked over at Keera in wonder. ‘She wants to be free, Adam, and you promised if she led us to Geneflow she would be free. That’s why we’re here, I know it. This is just a pit stop on the way to that base!’

  A low chittering came from the corner, like confirmation. Keera had finished her meal and was watching them with those cold, black eyes.

  Adam couldn’t meet that stare. ‘She was supposed to tell us stuff that could lead the army to Geneflow,’ he muttered. ‘Not take the two of us. What are we supposed to do by ourselves? A couple of kids against a base full of maniacs and killer dinosaurs.’

  But Zoe held up a hand to shush him, staring at Keera. The pterosaur was swinging her massive head from side to side. An agitated chittering noise built in her throat and echoed around the high walls of the warehouse.

  Adam eyed her worriedly. ‘What do you reckon’s up with her?’

  The Z. dactyl scuttled towards them, claws clacking on the cold concrete floor of the warehouse like some nightmare monster. Then she turned towards the exit and emitted the low chittering sound again.

  ‘Something’s out there,’ said Zoe.

  Adam got up from the makeshift bed. He was a little wobbly after doing so little for so long. Then he helped Zoe to stand, trying not to stare at the baggy material her artificial leg should’ve filled, and held on to her as they made their way over to join Keera at the broken doors. T
he day outside was dazzling, and Adam had to shield his eyes against the blinding glare of sunlight reflected on the vast, snowy landscape.

  His face soon turned to ice in the chilled wind. The warehouse overlooked a small village – little more than a few dozen low-rise buildings dwarfed by the imposing, snow-capped mountains. There were no signs of life – but then, Adam supposed, it was seven o’clock in the morning in the Arctic. Unless it was actually seven o’clock back in Maryland, and something else altogether here. Did the sun set at all this far north at this time of year?

  Suddenly Keera gave a groaning gasp. She keeled over, dipping her head so she could strike the flesh above her right eye with a taloned claw, her wings rustling as if she too were shivering.

  Adam frowned. ‘Uh . . . is she OK?’

  ‘Duh.’ Zoe was peering at the giant pterosaur in concern. ‘I . . . I think there’s something wrong with her head.’

  Suddenly, Keera released an ear-splitting screech. Adam and Zoe covered their ears as a large, shimmering shadow fell over them, blotting out the sunlight overhead. Adam turned instinctively . . .

  And the world seemed to slow.

  There was something like a dark green dragon circling high above them – its tail a scaly coil, gnarled wings scything the air, its giant, brutish head dominated by jaws that could crunch through a truck in a single bite.

  The creature swooped down towards them.

  Chapter 13: Far–north Reunion

  NO, IT CAN’T be . . . Awe, excitement, disbelief – they tugged Adam’s insides in all different directions.

  Keera’s wings knifed into flight as she propelled herself up onto the roof of the warehouse. ‘Adam, we’ve got to move!’ yelled Zoe. ‘It’s a Z. rex.’

  ‘The first Z. rex,’ Adam corrected her. ‘It’s Zed!’ He waved his arms above his head as the beast loomed larger in the sky, more lithe than the brutes at the hangar, less grotesque. ‘He’s found me! Zed’s found me!’

  The giant figure dropped the last hundred metres and landed heavily, skidding through the icy wastes like a scaly tank out of control. Finally he came to a halt and lay there, flanks rising and falling, foam flecking his huge lips, his dark eyes barely open. He looked completely exhausted.

  A mournful, keening note escaped Keera’s jaws like an omen of bad things to come.

  ‘Wait here,’ Adam told Zoe, breaking into a run to get to the fallen figure.

  ‘Like I can do anything else!’ Zoe shot back as she overbalanced and fell into the snow. ‘You’re crazy! If you die, Adam, I swear, I . . .’ Her threat was drowned out by a rooftop screech from Keera as Adam fought to clear a path through the thick-packed snow, struggling to reach the beast he’d never imagined seeing again. ‘Zed.’ He rubbed snow against the animal’s sticky lips, ignoring the size and strength of those ivory teeth. ‘Zed, what’s happened?’ He paused, suddenly afraid. ‘It . . . it is you, isn’t it?’

  ‘Ad . . .am.’ The sandpaper growl lit a torch inside Adam; it was just as he remembered. But something was wrong. As he stared past Adam only coldness shone there.

  Then Adam realized Zed’s baleful gaze was locked on Keera, who had dropped down from the warehouse roof. Keera threatened the newcomer with a guttural snarl, her eyes glinting with danger.

  Zed struggled up, and before Adam could try and stop him he had pounced towards the pterosaur. Landing with surprising agility he lashed out with his tail, swiping at Keera’s throat. Keera dipped her head to block the blow, but the force of the strike sent her reeling backwards, howling with pain.

  ‘Adam, help me!’ Zoe screamed, as Keera stumbled perilously close to her prostrate body.

  ‘Stop it, Zed!’ Adam yelled as he half-ran, half-skidded through the churned up snow. While Zed and Keera backed off and sized each other up he grabbed Zoe under the arms and hauled her away into the warehouse, slipping and panting hard as he did so. ‘Zed, Keera’s a friend . . .’

  But Zed wasn’t listening. He was attacking again, biting at Keera’s sinewy body. The pterosaur screeched.

  Ignoring the danger, Adam left Zoe and ran over to where Keera lay helpless, her vast, leathery wings flailing about. ‘Zed!’ Adam bellowed to make himself heard above the cacophony of roars and snarls. ‘It’s Keera, she’s on our side. Just stop!’

  Incredibly, his words had an effect. Zed halted the attack, twisting his massive head in Adam’s direction. ‘Friend . . .’ The word left his mouth in a blast of bad-tasting air – Adam felt the force of it, even several metres away.

  ‘Yes, Keera’s our friend, Zed. You mustn’t attack her!’

  ‘Ad . . . am. Danger,’ came the faltering reply.

  He thought he was saving me. Adam glanced at Keera who had gathered her wings together as if hugging herself; she seemed shaken but unharmed.

  ‘OMG, he speaks . . .’ Zoe had sat up in the doorway, staring in fearful wonder. ‘He really can talk. And he’s so big! Jeez, those teeth . . . He could kill us in a second.’

  ‘But he won’t.’ Adam looked up at the panting giant. ‘Zed, where’ve you been? Since you left, last summer . . .’

  ‘Hunt. Hide.’ Zed snorted. ‘Live.’

  ‘You can’t have been hanging around here?’

  ‘Long . . . time . . . follow . . . ing . . . you.’ Zed inclined his great head. ‘Watching.’

  Adam wasn’t sure he’d heard right. ‘You’ve been watching me?’

  ‘My kind . . . take. Take people.’

  ‘You mean the kidnaps. You heard about them?’

  ‘Not take . . . Ad . . . am.’ Zed nodded. ‘Watching . . . out.’

  ‘No way! He came to you?’ Zoe was shaking her head, incredulous. ‘But Adam, you flew out to Washington from Edinburgh, and you were only there two nights before Keera carried us off here . . .’

  Zed glared at her and she fell silent. ‘Rode . . . not her . . . plane,’ he grunted. ‘Hard. Hard to . . . follow.’

  ‘And as soon as you got here, I took off again,’ Adam murmured.

  ‘Not save you.’ Zed looked away. ‘Slow.’

  ‘You got here, didn’t you?’ Adam stared at Zed’s terrifying teeth, at the deadly claws and sheer brute power his frame embodied. And still a part of him wanted to reach out and hug Zed, to thank him and pet him like a loyal dog who’d returned to protect his master. But Zed’s no soppy pet who’ll roll over for a bit of affection, he reminded himself. You saw him with Keera, he’s aggressive, dangerous . . .

  But never with me. Adam walked up to Zed and gently pressed his palm against the dinosaur’s side. ‘Thank you,’ he whispered. ‘Just . . . thanks. I’m so glad you’re here.’ For the first time in so long, despite the weirdness of the situation, he actually felt safe.

  Zed snorted softly but said nothing.

  Then suddenly Keera started scrabbling around on the ice, swaying from side to side, the same agitated movements he’d seen back in the warehouse.

  ‘Did Zed hurt her?’ Adam wondered.

  ‘I don’t see anything.’ Zoe shrugged helplessly. ‘But something isn’t right with her.’

  ‘She and Zed must both be exhausted after coming so far.’ Adam shivered with the cold. ‘I wonder how much further we have to go.’

  ‘To the Geneflow base?’ Zoe looked dubious. ‘We’ll have to work it out. They’ll have a dinosaur army there.’

  ‘Not if it’s away smashing down other world landmarks,’ Adam pointed out. ‘We can at least try and check it out. Anyway, you don’t know Zed. He’s programmed for loads of stuff – cracking passcodes, setting explosives. He’s like the James Bond of dinosaurs.’

  ‘And he looks ready to drop.’ Zoe managed to pull herself up, leaning in the splintered doorway. ‘I know you want to go charging off to try and do something, Adam. I do too. But this is bigtime serious.’

  ‘Zed will watch out for us. And Keera fought off three Z. rexes before.’

  ‘So it’s all right for them to fight for us? Maybe die for us?’

  �
�No. They won’t. I mean . . .’ Adam realized he was trying his hardest to convince himself that they stood a chance, as well as Zoe. If he thought about things too hard he might wimp out, and what would any of them do then? ‘Look, we can’t just do nothing, can we? Z. animals heal quickly, Zed and Keera will be back to full strength soon.’

  Zoe nodded curtly. ‘So in the meantime, while they rest, how about we try preparing for the next stage of the trip? For a start, if I could find something to use as a crutch I’d be less of a liability to you.’

  ‘You’re right.’ Adam realized how that sounded. ‘Not about being a liability, I mean the bit about preparing, you’re right—’

  ‘Yeah, yeah, whatever.’ Zoe smiled at him. ‘So for starters, I’ll go through the food and work out how we can ration it, while you find me a big stick. Deal?’

  Adam half-smiled and nodded. ‘Deal.’

  Sticks were not exactly plentiful in the snowy wilderness, but Adam did find some large planks of wood in the warehouse, stacked under a tarpaulin. He carried one to a far corner where Zed lay huddled, crunching sullenly on Keera’s leftovers. The Z. dactyl herself had refused to come inside; Adam hoped nobody sighted her out there. Oldman’s troops would surely be hunting Keera; she knew enough to blow Geneflow’s security sky-high.

  He looked out through the doorway. No chance of spotting Keera, he realized uneasily. Because she’s not there. He dropped the plank and peered outside. There was no sign of her.

  ‘Keera’s gone,’ he called to Zoe, who was sat on the other side of the derelict space going through the food and drink.

  ‘She’ll be back,’ Zoe told him.

  ‘How do you know? If we lose her now, we’ll never find Dad or—’

  ‘She’ll be back.’

  Fine. What do I know about it? Sullenly, Adam came back in and dragged the plank over to Zed. ‘Uh . . . can you help me cut this down a bit? Zoe needs a crutch to help her walk.’

  Zed eyed him idly, and went on chewing.

  ‘A crutch, yeah?’ Adam tried again. ‘Zoe’s a friend, we need to help her.’