by Chris Wright
Survival
Chris Wright
Copyright © Omni UK Publishing/Chris Wright 2019
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner.
All the characters in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
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Chapter One – The Vanishing
Chapter Two – Forest of Splinters
Chapter Three – Shadows Arise
Chapter Four – The Reality Changers
Chapter Five – Reality Bites
Chapter Six – The Elite
Chapter Seven – Extraction
Chapter Eight – Nano-Nano
Chapter Nine – Zombied
Chapter Ten – Dear Nephew
Chapter Eleven – Rendezvous
Chapter Twelve – Feeding on Memories
Chapter Thirteen – Rogue Elements
Chapter Fourteen – Floating
Chapter Fifteen – Spored Out
Epilogue
Chapter One – The Vanishing
Wednesday
It was a usual Wednesday morning. Danny sat at the table sipping his coffee as he waited for Olivia to arrive. The hustle and bustle of the coffee shop patrons were always a nice gentle break in to the day, as the caffeine slowly dripped into his blood and cleared his foggy morning mind. She was a little later than normal, unusual but not alarming. They always met for a quick pre-work coffee just to see how each other had been, it was a little routine that kept an order they both liked in their day. They had been friends for a long time and their relationship was as close as a platonic friendship could be. They did have the added complication that they had once spent a drunken night together in college, just the one, but they had moved passed that a long time ago.
He glanced out the window, looking to see if she was striding up the street but couldn't see any sign of her, so took another sip from his cup. He looked around at the décor, the modern chic blend of colours that seemed to be the coffee shop template throughout the country. Something seemed slightly different though, he could have sworn that the walls used to be a different colour, but he guessed he hadn't paid enough attention to them before. As his eyes moved back towards his own table, he caught eyes with a smiling blonde-haired woman, whose eyes were fixed in his direction. He didn't know this woman, but felt an urge to smile back, not just from politeness, but because he sensed she had been smiling at him for other reasons.
His attention was quickly taken away from the attractive woman across the room as the front door clattered open and he looked over to see Olivia running through it in a rush. She waved at Danny and mouthed the word 'sorry' and ran to the counter to grab her morning fix. Danny took the opportunity to glance towards the smiling lady again and they caught eyes once more before she looked across to Olivia and then down at her own coffee. Olivia jumped into her seat looking flustered.
“Sorry I'm late” she said.
“No worries, is everything okay? It's unusual for you to be late” he asked concerned.
“Yeah I'm fine, it was weird” she said glancing away from Danny's gaze briefly before looking back to him, “It's hard to explain, but don't worry about it, it's probably nothing”.
“Okay, all set for your big meeting?”
“As ready as I was yesterday” she laughed nervously.
She was going for a promotion, not the first time she had tried it and the scars from her previous rejections were still fresh in her mind, but she was going to do her best to ignore any doubts and sell herself to her manager. They continued their morning pick me up as Danny gave his best motivational speaking he could, every now and then glancing behind Olivia towards the woman behind, who still caught eye contact with him every so often. There was something intriguing about her that he couldn't quite put his finger on. They gulped down the last of the coffee as they realised what the time was and stood to leave the shop. As they neared the door, Olivia turned to Danny.
“You should go and speak to her”
“Who?” Danny replied coyly.
“You know who, the woman you couldn't keep your eyes off that was sat behind me” Olivia said with a wink, “promise me you'll speak to her next time, you know you need to start dating again”.
Danny looked round at the woman, who was trying to not look in his direction, but clearly failing.
“Maybe I will” he said as he gave the woman a smile before they closed the door.
They continued on to their offices. They both worked in adjacent buildings, which is why it was so convenient to have a morning catch up there each day. They went their separate ways. Danny's day was as exhausting and simple as they normally were. He was a statistician and spent his days pouring through and analysing data for a Tech Development company, one reason his morning caffeine dose was so important. There was nothing eventful to speak of, a short lunch with his colleagues, another afternoon of analysis. Then it was a short commute home to grab his dinner and relax in front of the TV before sleeping it off overnight, to reboot the next morning and start again. He had a restful night sleep, the only time he stirred was when a dog a few streets away decided it was the barking hour. Despite this small interruption he awoke feeling refreshed.
Thursday
Danny noticed that he seemed to be taking longer to get going this morning, which he found unusual. He had done the same routine and wasn't aware that he had been slower showering or grabbing his toast, but the clocks can't lie, so he had to quicken his pace. He noticed an envelope that had been pushed through his door and picked it up. It was an invitation to a small gathering at a friends' house that evening for Samir's birthday. Samir was a guy he knew from University, a Doctor, born and raised with an Indian family before relocating countries to study and eventually work. They both got on well, they had a great group of friends that were very close-knit. The invitation said from 7pm, so he decided he'd make an appearance around then. He placed the invitation on the table top and slipped on his jacket. Another look at his watch showed he was around five minutes late, well it looked like it was his turn to show up just in the nick of time.
He arrived at the coffee shop and looked around for Olivia, but couldn't see any sign of her again. Two days in a row, this was unprecedented. He noticed the woman again sat in the corner and she lifted her head and smiled at him, to which he smiled back. He should go over and talk to her but needed to wait for Olivia. He paid for his coffee and sat down in his usual seat. Where was she? He checked the time on his watch and noticed she was even later than yesterday, but he had been late so perhaps she had come and gone already. Again, this was unusual, but there could be any number of reasons why she couldn't stay long, she could have got that promotion she wanted and had been asked to come in early perhaps. Of course, the promotion, he really wanted to know how that had gone, so sat waiting, hoping she would arrive at any moment.
After five minutes, he started to get worried. She must be sick he thought, but normally she would send him a text to tell him that. He pulled out his phone and dialled her number, but it didn't seem to connect, so he tried it a few more times, still no connection. It had never done this before, and it gave him a sense of unease. Something just didn't feel quite right. Just then he looked up to see that the woman from the corner was standing in front of his table, smiling at him.
“Hi” she said.
“Oh, err, Hi”
“May I sit down?” She asked.
Danny was taken aback a little, but didn't hesitate in pointing to the empty seat and gesturing for he
r to sit down.
“I'm sorry to be so upfront, it's just that I noticed you yesterday and erm, my name is Julie”
“I'm Danny, and there's no need to apologise. I noticed you too” he said glancing out the window briefly.
“Is everything okay? You seem a bit worried” Julie asked as she placed her coffee down on the table.
“I'm just looking for my friend, she was sat here yesterday with me. Have you seen her come in here today?” He asked.
“No, I've not seen her, is something wrong?”
“I don't know, it's unusual for her not to show and I can't seem to get through to her on her phone” he said worried, “Excuse me one second”.
He picked up his phone again and tried once more. Still nothing, it didn't even ring. A few thoughts ran through his head, panicked thoughts that he knew were just over the top and silly. She was either at work as she had to get there earlier and had to turn her phone off or she was in bed sick and hadn't realised her phone battery had died. Simple, nothing to worry about.
“I'm sure it's nothing” he said, backing up his thoughts, “So, Julie, I can't recall seeing you here before, have you just moved here?”
“Yeah I'm here for work, I'm not expecting to be here too long” she said, “Which is a shame as this place is nice”
“So, what do you do?” He asked
“I'm an investigator” she replied smiling.
“Sounds intriguing” Danny replied, “Anything you can tell me about it?”
She smiled and looked deep into his eyes.
“I'm afraid not, its top secret”
He laughed. He wasn't sure if she was being truthful but he decided to believe her anyway. They spoke for a few more minutes, small talk, just trying to gauge each other and see if they could pursue this further and before they knew it, they had finished their coffees.
“So” Danny said, “I'm going to be late for work so I really should get going. Will you be here tomorrow?”
“Definitely” she said with an alluring grin.
“Great, then I'll see you here” He said as he shook her hand.
Why was he shaking her hand? He guessed he was nervous and his body was moving of its own free will. She shook his hand and smiled again, before Danny turned and walked towards the door. There was something about the handshake that felt strange, it was as if it meant so much more than he knew, but even thinking that thought sounded crazy. He got out onto the street and pulled out his phone, dialling Olivia again. Another call to nothing, this was very strange. He convinced himself everything was okay and he was just overreacting, and put his phone back in his pocket. It was another usual day at work, practically the same as yesterday, with the addition of trying to phone Olivia every few hours, but with no luck. By the afternoon any conviction that she wasn't in trouble was starting to fade.
He decided to pass by her house on the way home just to check to see if she was there. It was a short stroll from the office and was a pleasant walk, with the fresh breeze sending floral scents through the air.
He reached her house and approached the front door. The house felt different, as if it was unloved. Olivia took great care of her house previously and prided herself on how inviting it looked, but now it was completely different. She was a micro-biologist by profession and her attention to details with her garden landscaping and interior decoration mirrored her line of work. But something was very wrong. Danny couldn't actually remember how long it had been since he had been round, but what was once a beautiful garden of ornamental flowers was now an overgrown jungle. The paint on the house was fading and there were patches of rotten wood dotted around the facade. What was going on?
He knocked at the front door frantically, hammering louder and louder, but there was no answer. He repeated this over and over but still nothing. He walked towards the lounge window and peered through to find the inside completely empty, as if no one lived there. Had she moved and not mentioned it? He couldn't quite understand. He walked around the perimeter of the house, where the overgrown garden would allow him, and stopped to check each window to see any signs of life. There seemed to be no furniture, nothing to suggest anyone had lived there for a while. He was now understandably worried and equally confused. He made his way back to the main road and dialled his childhood friend David. Olivia and him were good friends from back in their teen years and he was hoping he might be able to shed some light on what was going on.
“Hey Danny” the voice on the other end shouted, with a cacophony of noise enveloping his voice.
“Hey Dave, have you seen Olivia today? I'm round her house and it looks like she's moved out, there's nothing here”
“Sorry Danny, I can't hear you properly. I'm here with Jim in the Stumble Inn” he replied.
That would explain the noise, it was a nice bar with a great selection of beers but terribly loud terrible music. It was only two blocks from where Danny was, so he decided to walk there.
“Ok, I'm going to pop over, I'll be there in five” Danny said.
And off he went, walking as quickly as he could, not that walking quicker was probably going to make a difference to what David knew or didn't know, but Danny was worried now and somehow walking quickly seemed involuntary. He arrived at the Stumble Inn, looked over at the bar and saw David and James sat on stools. David was a slight guy with Asian parentage, an Astrophysicist, someone Danny couldn't win an argument with. James was a Quantum Physicist, tall and blonde, slender but muscular, a guy who always got the best of everything, and someone else Danny couldn't win an argument with. They had both met James at University, the place where a lot of Danny's friends had met as their paths crossed.
“Hey guys” Danny said as he approached. He looked at the Bar Tender and asked for an IPA that was swiftly placed in front of him, “So, I can't seem to get hold of Olivia today, she didn't show up this morning and her phone isn't working”
“Eh?” said James
“And I have just been to her house but there's no furniture, the garden looked like a jungle and-”
“Woah Danny, wait" said David, “Who's Olivia?”
“What do you mean 'Who's Olivia?” Danny said frustrated. He didn't have time for ill-timed jokes, he was genuinely concerned about what was going on.
“Is she a new girlfriend?” asked James.
“Stop fucking around guys, Olivia. I am seriously confused about what is going on” Danny said, “Try phoning her mobile and you'll see what I mean”.
David and James looked at each other, both frowning,
“I really don't know anyone called Olivia, Danny” David said, “How do you know her?”
“What do you mean 'How do I know her'? We all went to college you asshole, stop messing around” Danny retorted angrily turning to James, “and you met us and her at Uni, which you know”
They both looked back at Danny, still completely confused.
“Look man, I'm sorry, I don't know what to say” David said, “We're heading over to Monique's in a moment for Samir's Birthday. Maybe someone else has seen this 'Olivia' you're talking about”
Danny was getting angry with their childish games so knocked back his drink in order to leave. He'd forgotten about Samir's little gathering and decided he should probably go around and see if anyone there could shed some light on the matter.
“I'm going to go and freshen up, I'll be there later” Danny said as he threw the Bar Tender what he owed and turned away to leave.
“Okay, see you later” James said, by which time Danny had exited the front door, “Jeez, what the heck is wrong with him today?”
“God knows. Who the hell is Olivia?”
Monique’s House
The doorbell rang and Monique dashed towards it excitedly. She opened it to find Samir, as expected, bottle of wine in hand.
“You didn't need to bring wine, it's your birthday, I've stocked up with plenty” Monique said.
“Well I thought I'd bring a Merlot, you know how picky Emma i
s about her red wine” he said laughing.
Monique joined in with the laughter and gestured him in. As she was about to shut the door, she saw Mike walking up the pathway waving to get her attention.
“Mike, you made it” she said and promptly greeted him by kissing him on the cheek as he reached her. Mike shook Samir's hand and wished him happy birthday and they all made their way to the lounge.
Monique reached into the cabinet and pulled out some wine glasses and handed them to her guests. They had all known each other over fifteen years and had encountered lots of adventures together. Monique was of afro-Caribbean descent, an exercise freak and was always the life and soul of a party. She worked as a researcher into Artificial Intelligence, which she felt was the most exciting job to be in and she was making progress daily. They all had very different jobs, their connection was their shared histories from College and University. Mike was kind of the odd one out in the group of friends, a short dark-haired Caucasian, he had been separated from the rest while they went to University as he decided to go on a different path. While they were all sitting in exams, he was out in the wilderness, learning to survive in extreme environments. There was something about being in raw nature that excited him, a close connection to the planet that he was teaching himself to be in tune with. He stayed in touch with them all and they all met up again after university and continued their friendships, as if they'd never been apart. He wasn't an academic, but he was skilled in his own way. Give him a box of matches, a hand towel and drop him in a desert and he'd survive, that's how he was.
There was another knock at the door, and Monique made her way to it. That's one thing she liked about this group of friends, they were all punctual.
She was greeted by James and David who were smiling wildly. She could tell they had already been to a bar drinking, that's just what they did.
“You two look like you've had fun” she said smiling back at them, unable to quite match their maniacal grins.
