by Jacob Rayne
Weiland dropped the tree trunk and started firing at the advancing creatures. The first five fell, their twitching carcasses spraying diseased blood onto the floor beneath them.
‘Let’s get this fucking tree moved and get back to the chopper,’ Hennessee said.
Weiland agreed with him. They grabbed the tree and ran with it, practically hurling it across the river.
When they turned it round, more of the creatures were coming for them. Hennessee fired one more bullet, bursting a reptilian head. His gun clicked empty.
‘Run,’ he shouted.
Weiland gutshot a creature then ran after Hennessee. The creature followed them back to the chopper.
‘Start the engine,’ Hennessee shouted.
Peterson shook his head behind the sniper scope. ‘They’ll all come if they hear it.’
‘They’re coming anyway, look.’
He pointed at the huge line of eyes headed towards the crude tree bridge.
‘Shit. You’re right.’
‘Give me the rifle,’ Hennessee said.
Weiland slumped back in his seat, feeling sick. Hennessee roared at him to help, but he didn’t even have enough strength to keep his eyes open.
Duggan heard the chopper start up, saw the light from its nose cone. He was relieved. It wasn’t too far now. A mile at most. He smiled. A mile was nothing compared to how far he’d already come.
His smile faded when he saw the hordes of creatures headed towards the chopper like flies to shit.
Hennessee took another creature down with a headshot. The creatures he’d put down were quickly concealed beneath the rushing mass of their kin.
‘No way we’ll shoot all of them before they get here,’ Hennessee said.
‘Not a chance,’ Peterson agreed.
‘What do we do?’
‘You really think anyone could have made it out of there alive?’
‘If anyone could, Duggan could.’
‘I know, but still…’
‘I think he’s out there. I’ll call him.’
Duggan’s radio screamed white noise at him. He jolted and picked it up fast, to avoid the creatures hearing it.
‘Hey, Randall.’
‘Jim, this is Hennessee. The chopper’s overrun. We can’t keep them off us.’
‘I’m almost there. Wait for me.’
‘I can’t hear anything from you, Jim. We can’t risk it. There are shitloads of them. I’m sorry. We’ll come back if the creatures leave. If not, I’ll hopefully see you back at the island. I’m so sorry, Jim.’
‘Hennessee? Can you hear me? It’s Duggan. I’m almost there. I’m waving my arms. Can you see me?’
No reply came from his radio.
‘Fucking piece of shit,’ Duggan shouted at his radio.
He set off running, using the last of his energy to try to reach the chopper.
He was heart-breakingly close, just crossing the tree trunk, when the chopper took off. Duggan waved his arms frantically, trying to get their attention, but it was a waste of time and energy.
The chopper’s light disappeared over the trees, leaving him alone in the dark with the creatures. His legs buckled, throwing him into the surging river which took him downstream, towards the ruined caves.
Abbott finally set down the chopper in Taunton. One thing was clear from their journey over the country they’d once been proud to call home; everything had changed.
The mutants had already wreaked havoc on the majority of the country. Torn bodies lay in piles in the streets. Blood stained the roads and sidewalks. Mangled wrecks of cars choked the roads, making escape by road even more unlikely.
Groups of predators lurked on the streets, searching for easy prey. Man had become something more savage and had already began to turn on itself – as they had seen with Cormac and his private army.
‘I thought I saw him,’ Hennessee said, peering through the scope.
‘Where?’ Peterson said, hoping that Duggan was there. He felt yellow for abandoning him, in spite of the circumstances.
‘Na, must have been imagining it. He was near the log, I swear it.’
‘Wish he had been there. I feel shitty for leaving him.’
‘Me too, but he did say to go if we had to. He’s tough as nails, Peterson. We’ll see him again, I’m sure of it.’
‘I sure hope so.’
Chuck put down the rifle. The creatures seemed to have gone now. A few had come back after they’d dragged the other cop’s corpse away, trying to discover where the gunshots had come from.
Chuck had let them know first-hand, sending their bullet-riddled bodies plummeting to the floor. The remaining one had approached the cabin, but seemed puzzled by the fences.
Chuck smiled at the thought of all the scrap metal left abandoned in the town. He was going to rig up his own electric fence, make the place impregnable.
That was worth a drink, so he raked through the kitchen cupboards and pulled out a full bottle of scotch.
He uncapped the bottle with his teeth and held it aloft. ‘To all the people who died today,’ he said and took a swig. It stung, but it was a reassuring burn. He raised the bottle again. ‘To Jon, for saving my ass.’ Took another swig.
‘And to the future, which promises to be a fascinating and lonely experience, but one I’m looking forward to nonetheless.’ He took another swig and sat down.
He looked at the bottle, savouring the burn in his throat. He was going to make sure he went collecting the materials for the fence with one hell of a hangover. With this thought in mind, he smiled, took another swig and slumped back in his chair, savouring the peace in his new home.
High above Scar Island, Peterson and Hennessee slumped in a depressed silence. Neither of them could face speaking to the other.
Suddenly Weiland let out a bloodcurdling scream and jolted upright. His face was pale and cracked, blood seeping from the gaps in the skin. His eyes were glazed but blazing with a tiny orange light.
‘Shit, he’s one of them,’ Hennessee shouted. He tried to pull his Taser, but Weiland grabbed his arm and rived it away from the holster.
Hennessee tried to turn to hit Weiland, but his seat belt restricted his movement too much to land an effective blow.
Peterson’s attention was taken up with avoiding Weiland’s flying claws and they narrowly missed crashing into a building.
Weiland grabbed Hennessee and threw him into the window so hard his head shattered the glass and sent cold air racing into the cockpit.
Peterson’s concentration was all on Weiland’s attacks, so the chopper did a nosedive. Hennessee screamed but it was too late for Peterson to do anything of consequence. The chopper smashed into the huge Miller time billboard and burst into flames.
‘The chopper’s down,’ Lennon said.
‘The fuck happened?’ Warden said.
‘Don’t know. Just started weaving across the sky.’
‘Where is it?’
Lennon gave Warden the binoculars and pointed.
‘Ah crap.’
‘My sentiments exactly. I’ll get Carroll and Gooding, we’ll go find it.’
‘I’m coming too,’ Caitlin Craggs said. ‘If Jack’s there, I want to help.’
It didn’t take the search party long to reach the site of the chopper crash, thanks to Carroll’s hair-raising driving style.
‘I’ll guard the car,’ Gooding said, code for I can’t be bothered to help.
‘Suit yourself,’ Caitlin said, muttering, ‘Lazy bastard,’ under her breath.
Lennon, Carroll and Caitlin ran to the chopper. The front end was smashed in and flames were rising from beneath the fuselage. They couldn’t see the front of it, but as they neared, they saw that the right hand door was open.
They approached from this side and it soon became apparent that the chopper’s windscreen was covered in blood.
Caitlin prayed it wasn’t Jack’s.
They moved closer and saw an arm lying on the floor beside t
he chopper. They all gasped. Carroll was first to stick his head in.
‘Peterson and Hennessee,’ he said.
Caitlin wasn’t sure whether to feel relieved or not.
‘Are they alright?’ Lennon asked.
‘Not really, sir. Peterson’s in a bad way, he’s lost an arm and it doesn’t look like he’s breathing. Hennessee’s not much better.’
‘Either of them breathing?’ Caitlin asked.
‘N—wait, Hennessee is. Someone gimme a hand.’
Lennon and Caitlin climbed in and helped to lift Hennessee’s unconscious body out. They laid him on the floor and checked Peterson. His face had been torn apart, probably by the crash, they reckoned.
They carefully picked up Hennessee and carried him back to the car. They all nearly dropped him through their shock when they saw Gooding slumped out of the passenger side window, his throat torn out and spraying thick trails of blood down the car door.
They gently put Hennessee down and drew their guns.
‘Can’t have gone far,’ Carroll said.
‘Nope,’ Caitlin said. ‘I’ll shake his hand for getting rid of that lazy asshole.’
Lennon gave her a harsh look.
‘It’s the truth.’
Lennon and Caitlin moved round the car, pointing their guns. When they saw nothing, they looked at the few nearest buildings.
Carroll heard a noise beneath the car. He bent down and saw Weiland, but he was different – his eyes glowed, his teeth were fanged and reptilian.
Weiland darted at him, knocking him flat to the road. Carroll screamed as Weiland’s teeth sunk into his throat.
Caitlin and Lennon heard the screaming and ran back to the car. Caitlin got there first, being younger and fitter. Her gunshots slammed into Weiland’s back. Weiland let go of Carroll, snarled at Caitlin and started to run off.
Lennon’s shot took off the back of Weiland’s head. The creature that had once been Weiland fell facedown, blood fountaining from the crater in the back of his head. Still he tried to crawl towards them.
She managed to deflect his attack into the car and shut the door on him, sealing him inside.
She stuffed a rag into the fuel tank and lit it with Lennon’s zippo.
Lennon stood over Carroll, his gun in the young cop’s face. Blood coated the young cop’s face and shirt. His breathing was shallow and ragged.
‘What are you doing?’ Caitlin said.
‘Putting him out of his misery.’
She gazed at Carroll, feeling shocked and saddened by the thought of what Lennon was about to do.
‘Tell you what, I’ll ask him,’ Lennon said. ‘Officer Carroll, do you want to risk becoming one of these creatures?’
‘Hell no, sir.’
‘There’s your answer.’
A tear fell from Caitlin’s eye, mirrored by another that slid down Lennon’s cheek.
‘I’m sorry,’ Lennon said.
Caitlin covered her eyes and turned away.
‘May God look after you, son.’
Carroll closed his eyes and waited for it.
Lennon pulled the trigger and freed Carroll from the torment.
Back at the prison, Lennon and Caitlin told everyone the bad news. It seemed Hennessee was the only survivor from the search party. He was in a bad way and was rushed to the hospital.
Caitlin cried for Jack. Weiland’s children cried for him. They cried for the rest of the people who had been lost in the day’s events.
Caitlin found it hard to get the image of Carroll’s blood-covered face out of her head. Sometimes the face morphed into her husband’s, bringing on a fresh river of tears.
A few hours went by with no sign of the missing people. The survivors all assumed the worst, but still hoped for the best. In the end, not knowing the fates of their friends and family was what hurt the most.
The TV screens showed pictures of chaos and blood and flames as the creatures staked their claim on the nearest towns.
The earthquake caused by the collapse of the caves had spread, splitting the land near Scar Island. It served to make the island even more remote.
Tremors continued after the initial earthquake, lasting for the next few hours.
The team guarding the island’s makeshift harbour had to turn away a few intrepid parties who had somehow managed to make the boat journey. The guards felt awful – knowing they were sending the parties back to an almost certain death – but the island was safer without strangers.
This point was driven home hard when a boat containing three men pulled into the harbour. They begged and pleaded to be allowed onto the island. When they were refused entry they pulled their guns. Their aim was poor but they managed to kill Scott Wright before the harbour guards gunned them down.
So when a second boat approached half an hour later the two remaining harbour guards, Caitlin and Holmes, were highly suspicious and ready to shoot at the first provocation.
‘Not recognise me?’ the blood-covered man in the boat asked them.
They looked at each other for a moment, uneasy.
He spent a full minute searching his clothes for a clean patch then wiped the thick smears of blood from his face.
‘Duggan?’
‘Yep. Gimme a hand, willya?’
He climbed the ladder slowly, every rung seeming to make the blood race around his battered body. At the top, he keeled over.
They loaded him into the car and sped off to the prison.
While Duggan slept, the prison doctor fixed him up as best he could. He told Hennessee that Duggan’s injuries were more than enough to kill him.
All of the survivors looked in on Duggan and Hennessee.
They gathered in the small room, eager to hear what the battered warrior had to say.
‘Can I get some water? My throat’s as dry as a camel’s asshole,’ he said first, to raucous laughter.
His eyes struggled to focus, but he soon made out familiar faces in the crowd.
‘Sorry I slept so long and kept you all in suspense,’ he said, between big gulps of water. ‘The bad news is that I returned alone from the caves. I’m afraid Craggs and Winters are both dead.’
Lennon held Caitlin Craggs as she burst into tears.
‘I’m not sure what happened to the people manning the chopper, as they took off just as I got there, leaving me stranded at the caves. I don’t blame them for getting outta there but another five minutes and I would’ve made it.’
‘Hennessee’s getting on ok,’ Warden said, pointing to the bed next to Duggan’s. ‘The other two are dead. Turns out Weiland had one of the moth things in him and he brought the chopper down. Peterson died in the crash.’
‘Lennon took Weiland out,’ Caitlin said.
Duggan nodded.
‘He got Carroll,’ Lennon said, ‘but I killed him before he could change.’
Lennon sniffed and wiped a tear away from his eye.
‘I got to the labs, but there were other people there. They pulled some sneaky shit and managed to blow the caves up. I was lucky to get out alive.’
‘How did you get back?’ Lennon’s cop buddy said.
‘Well, thanks to the chopper crew’s fuck-up, I fell into the river. Damn nearly drowned. I’m still coughing up water. The caves collapsing actually came in handy as they made a kind of dam. I came to in the daylight, wet and crushed up against the rock.
‘I hauled myself out and started walking back. Seemed to take me forever. I found a boat in this little shack and rowed over. That nearly killed me too.’
‘Did you see many creatures?’ Lennon asked.
‘No. I mean when I left the caves there were hundreds of them, but when I woke up there didn’t seem to be many around. What’s the state of play then?’
‘From what we can glean from the TV, the creature have left Rook’s Foot Canyon and are currently taking over the neighbouring towns and cities,’ Warden said.
‘Shit.’
‘Indeed,’ Lennon said.
‘I’m sore as hell, but I think I’m ok,’ Duggan said, standing up out of bed.
‘The doctor was amazed you weren’t dead,’ Lennon said.
‘I was too,’ Duggan said. ‘We got a TV here?’
‘Yeah,’ Warden said.
They helped him into the next room. He was in pain, but no longer in danger of dying. He sat in the chair and said, ‘So wait, the chopper’s gone?’
‘Beyond repair,’ Caitlin said.
‘Shit.’
‘It’s not so bad,’ Warden’s wife said. ‘We’ve got plenty of food and water and we’re away from the creatures.’
‘True.’
Warden flicked on the TV and changed channels until a news show came up.
Pictures of blood-covered creatures ran through the city streets, amid the screams and flames. Torn bodies littered the streets. Rivers of blood filled the gutters. The creatures were definitely winning, judging by the number of human corpses on the screen.
The spectacle made everyone’s skin crawl. The gaping, bloody mouths and blazing eyes that seemed to stare out of the TV screen were branded into everyone’s subconscious.
The camera changed to another part of the city, showing a steady stream of creatures meticulously trying to break into a boarded up supermarket.
A pile of bodies, mostly human but occasionally reptilian, lay outside the supermarket. The occasional shotgun blast punctuated the screams and the wet sounds of feeding.
‘It’s like the end of the world,’ Caitlin said.
‘Not yet it ain’t,’ Duggan said.
‘Amen to that,’ Lennon said.
‘Turn it off,’ Caitlin said. ‘Please. All I can think about is those things doing that to Jack.’
Warden knocked the TV off. A thoughtful hush descended upon the room.
Duggan spoke first. ‘We’ll talk about our future plans tomorrow. For now, let’s relax, mourn our dead, and have a few drinks. Forget about all the death and bloodshed for one night.’
‘Yeah,’ Hennessee shouted.
‘Let’s just celebrate the fact that we’re all alive,’ Duggan said. ‘Our situation may be far from perfect, but we all have our lives. We should all be grateful for that. There aren’t many people can say that in this part of the world.’
