There were loads of boggy fields. They were between me and the sea. I saw the road and the canal. I saw some buildings. They didn’t look like the Tall Man’s base. The hills bent round in front of me. I wanted to see around them.
I trudged on. I was thinking deep. My mind was heavy. I wasn’t looking around. I shivered. A fog came down on me and the hills. It was thick and cold. I couldn’t see in front of me. I stopped walking. I didn’t want to get lost. I heard Baxter barking. I walked towards him. He didn’t sound angry. He sounded calm. I was curious. I started to follow his voice.
I found Baxter.
There was a black hat in his mouth.
Fog
It was Amber’s hat. Did she drop it on purpose? Did she want me to find it? It didn’t matter. I was going the right way.
‘Good boy,’ I said to Baxter.
It was freezing. I put the hat on. I pulled it over my ears. I thought about what to do next. The Tall Man might be close. He could have men around somewhere. I didn’t want them to find me. I needed to look around. I would wait for the fog to clear.
It was dark when the fog finally went. Baxter shivered. I felt really stiff.
‘Let’s go, Baxter,’ I said. ‘We need to find shelter.’
I got moving again. I went down the side of the hill. I saw bright lights on the horizon. They were ships at sea. I wondered who was on them. I wished it was me.
The power station was bright in the night. There were strong searchlights. I saw flashing red and green lights. They were helicopters. It was a really long way from me. I could hear gunfire. I guessed the viros liked the lights. It made them go the base like silly moths. The soldiers would shoot them.
I came to the end of the slope. I stopped. It was the Tall Man’s base. I knelt by the nearest tree to see better.
It was a giant farm. I saw buildings and fields. There was a high fence with lights on each corner. A dirt track lead to a big gate. The track continued on past the gate and towards the buildings. I saw lots of people. Some were working. Some were standing around. I heard shouting and gunfire. This had to be the place.
There was small stone hut in a field near the fence.
I sneaked slowly to the hut. I was very careful. I didn’t want to meet anyone. Baxter was next to me. I felt safer with him.
We got to the hut. It was tiny. The back wall was broken. I climbed inside. It was dark. I could smell old earth. It was very dirty. But I was safe. The front door was missing some wood. I looked through. I could see the farm.
The lights were bright. I would never get near. Anyone could spot me. I saw two men. They were talking. They had the same clothes as the Tall Man. They had rifles. I kept still. I thought they might see me.
One of them lit a cigarette. I saw his face. He looked unfriendly. His friend pointed. He raised his rifle. The smoking man said something. The man put his rifle down. I saw a mud-covered viro. It stumbled towards the fence. The bright lights made everything look horrible. The viro wanted to eat the men. They stood and watched. They weren’t frightened. I wondered why.
The viro came to the fence. It had a smashed leg. This made it move slowly. The mud made it worse. The viro got to the fence. The men laughed. The viro wanted to get them. It stretched out. There was a bright blue flash. I saw smoke appear. The viro flew backwards. It didn’t stand up again.
The two men laughed. It was funny to them. Death was just a joke. It wasn’t to me.
I watched the men walk off. I sat on the dirty floor. I was never getting over that fence. They would just watch me and laugh when I got blown up.
How was I going to get my friends back? I couldn’t go to the front gate. They wouldn’t let me in. Those men were mean. They would shoot me.
I stroked Baxter’s ear. It might be foggy in the morning. That would give me a chance to look around.
I dozed. When I woke again the fog was back. I gave Baxter a drink from the flask. I took a swig. We were ready.
The fog was so thick that I couldn’t see the fence. I heard shouting and whistles blowing. I felt sick with worry. The fog could go away again. I needed to be quick. I climbed out the hut. I sneaked towards the fence.
I crept carefully. I crouched low. I looked around. Baxter was with me. It was hard work. I was determined. I had to get my friends.
An engine was running nearby. The noise was loud. I got distracted. I wasn’t looking. I fell in a wet hole. I was on my hands and knees. The water was freezing.
Pipe
It was a small stream. I followed the water. I was excited. I thought I had the answer. The water went into a concrete pipe. It went under the fence. I wanted to squeeze in the pipe. That was the way in.
It was a tight fit. The pipe was half-filled with water. I didn’t know where it went. I needed to find out. I crawled to the other end. The pipe was slimy. The water was dirty. It smelled rotten. I didn’t want to think what was in it. I fell a couple of times. The water hit my face. I wanted to be sick.
I got to the other end. I went under a broken metal grill. I was in a small space. It was behind a metal building. There was rubbish everywhere. It looked like a dump.
I crept to the corner. I peeped my head. Someone was standing there. I kept real still. The person was wearing muddy overalls. They had spiky black hair. No way. It was Vinnie.
‘Pssst!’
Vinnie jumped. He was surprised. He turned around. He checked no one was watching. He came over to me.
‘What the hell, Jake? What are you doing here?’
‘I’ve come to get you. Where are the others?’
‘Ellis and Amber are working over there in one of the houses. I heard the sound of children playing and crying so I’m guessing that it must be some kind of crèche for the families here. Abe is locked in a metal hut they call the Brig. He got into an argument with the Tall Man last night and has been there ever since. The Tall Man went back later on and I heard Abe shouting and screaming.’
Vinnie shuddered.
‘I’m pleased to see you, Jake. I knew you’d come looking for us. You must have found Amber’s hat.’
‘Baxter did. We’ve been hiding. I crawled through a pipe. It went under the fence.’
‘Lucky it does,’ Vinnie said. ‘The fence is electric and has thousands of volts running through it.’
‘I know. A viro touched the fence. There was a blue flash. It didn’t get up.’
A whistle blew. Vinnie looked over his shoulder.
‘That’s my break over. Stay here. I’ll come back this evening.’
The whistle blew again.
‘You’ve got to stay out of sight. These guys are trigger-happy maniacs.’
I nodded. Vinnie left. I crawled back into the pipe.
We stayed in the pipe all day. I heard shouting all the time. Other people were screaming. Guns were fired. There was laughing. It sounded horrible out there. I was sitting in dirty water. I was really cold. But it was better here than out there.
A long time later I heard footsteps outside.
‘Jake,’ Vinnie said. ‘You can come out now.’
I crawled out. There was a bright light. It was in my face. I couldn’t see.
‘What the hell are you doing here?’ said an angry voice. ‘I thought I told you the other day that there was no room for you in my army.’
The light went off. I blinked. The Tall Man was holding a gun to Vinnie’s head. Vinnie looked scared. There was two other men. One had a rifle. Another man had a chain and muzzle. He put them on Baxter. Baxter tried to escape. The chain went tight. Baxter couldn’t breathe. He stopped wriggling.
The Tall Man laughed.
‘We’ll put them all in the Brig for now and have some fun with them all later.’
I pulled the knife out of my pocket. I waved it at the men. One grabbed my wrist. He twisted it. My arm really hurt. I dropped the knife. The man shouted at me.
‘This way, you weird little shit.’
Lunatics
The
man dragged me along the dirt track. I saw two large buildings. There was a row of plastic tunnels. I saw a farmhouse. There were four cars outside. I thought Ellis and Amber were inside.
We went towards a small stone building. It had a metal roof. The Tall Man unlocked the padlock. He pulled the door open. Vinnie and me got pushed inside.
‘Don’t get too comfortable,’ he said. ‘We’ll be back for you in a while.’
The shed was dark. I smelled rotten stuff. There was a pile of old sacks. Someone was laying on them. They were sobbing. It was Abe. I went over to him.
‘Abe, it’s me, Jake. Vinnie’s here.’
I gasped.
Abe’s face was all swollen. His left eye was closed. Abe held his tummy. He didn’t look at us.
‘Jake. What are you doing here?’
‘I came to rescue you all.’
Abe tried to laugh.
‘And how’s that working out?’
‘It was going fine,’ said Vinnie, ‘until one those lunatics heard the two of us talking.’
Vinnie put his hand on my shoulder.
‘I’m really sorry I betrayed you, Jake. They said they were going to shoot Ellis if I didn’t.’
Vinnie shuddered.
‘These people really are evil maniacs.’
‘They’re animals,’ said Abe. ‘Bloody animals.’
Abe sounded desperate.
‘It’s okay,’ I said. ‘How are Amber and Ellis?’
‘Fine, as far as I can tell.’ said Vinnie. ‘They have spent all their time in the farmhouse. They even sleep there. I saw Ellis very briefly at a window but we only had time to wave.’
‘I’m going to get us out of here,’ I said.
I meant it. I was determined. It was my strong plan.
‘I don’t see how,’ said Abe. ‘There must be twenty of those loonies out there, all armed to the teeth. There’s only the five of us.’
He shuddered.
‘Don’t forget Baxter,’ I said.
We sat in silence. It was a long time. Then the door creaked open. It was two more men with rifles.
‘Out you come,’ one of them said. ‘And no funny stuff.’
He nodded at the other man.
‘My friend here has a really itchy trigger finger and hasn’t shot anyone since yesterday morning.’
We stepped out. It was night-time. I was freezing cold. Abe tripped. I tried to help him.
‘Don’t touch me,’ he said.
His mouth looked sore when he spoke.
I looked around. I could see bright lights ahead. The man with the itchy finger laughed.
‘Have we got some fun planned for tonight,’ he said. ‘Just you wait and see.’
We walked in front of the men. I could see that three cars were now facing each other. Their lights were really bright. Wood was placed between the cars. They looked like walls. There was a row of metal fences. They started by the cars and led to a horsebox.
Itchy Finger told us to stop.
‘Gladiators,’ he said. ‘Welcome to your arena.’
A man moved the wood. They pushed us in. The lights were bright. It was hard to see. There were people everywhere. They were watching us. I shielded my eyes. I couldn’t see Ellis. I couldn’t see anything.
Entertainment
The Tall Man climbed on one of the cars. He pointed his rifle at us.
‘Welcome to tonight’s entertainment,’ he shouted. ‘So glad you could all make it.’
People cheered. Someone threw something into the arena.
‘The rules are simple,’ said the Tall Man. ‘On the count of three the door to the horsebox will be opened. You will each grab a pickaxe handle and try to stay alive for as long as possible.’
Abe grabbed a handle. Vinnie looked at me. He picked up the other handles. He gave me one.
‘We can do this, Jake,’ he said. ‘Watch my back and don’t get cornered.’
I nodded. I felt choked in my throat. I was going to do some toilet in my trousers. I looked at Vinnie. My voice was shaky.
‘What will it be, Vinnie?’
‘I don’t know, probably dogs.’
‘Dogs?’
I was panicking. Really panicking. My head hurt. I felt sick. I started to speak quick.
‘Dogs? How do I fight dogs? I don’t know how to do that.’
‘You can start by stop being such a bloody baby!’ said Abe.
Abe waved his handle in the air.
‘Come on then,’ he shouted at the Tall Man. ‘Let’s get this over with.’
The Tall Man laughed.
‘Whatever you like,’ he said.
The crowd laughed. The Tall Man raised his rifle.
‘Is everybody ready?’
The crowd cheered again.
‘ONE!’
‘TWO!’
‘THREE!’
I heard a metal door open. I heard howls.
It was viros. We were fighting viros. This was worse than dogs. Much worse. I looked at Vinnie. He saw my fear. He looked in my eyes. He spoke strongly to me.
‘You can do this, Jake. I know you can.’
Vinnie looked at Abe as well.
‘You too, Abe. We’ve got this.’
‘Whatever,’ Abe said. ‘You just worry about yourself and Baby Face there.’
He held the handle in both hands.
‘I can take care of myself’.
The first viro appeared in the arena. Abe hit it on the chest. The viro was a big one. Abe made it howl. I didn’t move. Abe tried again. The viro pushed the handle away. Abe slipped. The viro went to get him. Vinnie stepped forward. He hit the viro’s knee.
There was a loud crack. The viro fell forwards. Vinnie hit it on the back of the head. It cried out. The viro lay on the floor. Vinnie hit it on the back of the head. The crowd cheered. The viro didn’t move any more.
‘Look out, Vinnie,’ I said.
Two more viros appeared. One was thin. It had its arms stretched out. The other was wider. It moved slower. Vinnie stepped back. He tripped on the dead viro. Vinnie landed on the ground. He was winded.
Abe was swinging. He didn’t hit anything. The wide viro staggered forwards. It tripped on the viro. It fell onto Vinnie. The thin viro was going to do the same.
I stepped forward. I swung my handle. It hit the thin viro on the head. My shoulder hurt. The viro turned. It roared at me. I swung again. I hit its chin. The viro staggered. It kept coming. I couldn’t stop it.
I pushed the handle at its chest. I thought I could make it fall over. The viro pulled the handle out my hands. It stood staring at it. Something whooshed past my head. The viro fell over. There was blood coming from its ear. The crowd roared.
‘Stop being so bloody useless!’ said Abe. ‘Pick up your handle and help Vinnie.’
Bastards
I looked at Abe. He had anger all over. Vinnie had got out from under the wide viro. He was crawling to us. The viro grabbed his ankle.
‘Help!’ Vinnie said. The viro opened its mouth. It was ready to bite.
I didn’t think. I just ran at the viro. My feet left the ground. I jumped at its head. I knocked the viro over. It let go of Vinnie’s ankle. He found his handle. I got out the way. Vinnie and Abe kept hitting the viro. Blood flew everywhere. It sounded terrible. Like broken fruit. I felt sick. The crowd cheered.
A bright torch swept the arena. I saw Vinnie and Abe. I gasped. They were covered in blood. It shone black on their face. It looked like war paint. Vinnie was leaning on his handle. He was panting. Abe lifted his handle above his head.
‘Is this all you bastards have got?’ he said. ‘You’re going to have to do better than this!’
Abe walked round the arena.
‘Are you just going to hide out there? Watching in the shadows like cowards!’
Abe laughed. I thought he was insane.
‘You’re not men. Men don’t behave like you. They don’t just hurt people. Men stand and fight.’
The cr
owd laughed. They were loud. It was funny to them. I felt confused. What had happened to Abe? Why was he shouting at them? I walked over to him.
‘Abe, what are you doing?’
Abe looked at me. I didn’t recognize him. He was really far away. I panicked.
‘If it’s about Ellis,’ I said, ‘I’m really sorry.’
I was crying.
‘I’ll leave you both alone. I promise I will.’
Abe didn’t reply.
Then I heard a gun being fired.
Amber
‘Stop laughing and let them go.’
It was Amber. She was standing on one of the cars. She was holding a baby. She pointed a gun at its head.
‘Let them go,’ she said to the Tall Man. ‘Let us all go.’
The Tall Man laughed. He thought this was funny.
‘Look out, lads,’ he said. ‘She’s got herself a popgun.’
The Tall Man pointed at Amber.
‘You’re not going to shoot me with that. You wouldn’t dare.’
Amber nodded. Then she laughed. Then she shot the Tall Man right in his foot. He screamed in pain. Amber pointed the pistol at the baby again. The baby howled.
‘Call them off,’ she said. ‘Tell everyone to go away and leave us alone. Otherwise, I am going to shoot your daughter.’
The Tall Man nodded. He looked worried. He was really hurt. He looked around.
‘You heard what she said, lads,’ he said. ‘You’d better give us all some space. I’ll be along in a little while.’
Everyone went away. I was amazed.
Amber told us to get out. I saw Ellis. She wanted to help me. I didn’t want her to.
‘Let me help you, Jake,’ she said. ‘You were very brave.’
I knew that Abe was watching. I didn’t speak.
Vinnie hugged his sister. Abe climbed out. He was going to hit the Tall Man. He stepped forward ready.
Amber stood in front of her brother.
‘Don’t, Abe,’ she said. ‘He’s coming with us.’
Viro [Book 2] Page 5
