Safe Haven (Book 1): Rise of the Rams

by Christopher Artinian

  She took another drink and looked around the room. Lucy seemed to be in a daze, but Emma and Mike were engrossed. “Well, after that, the car doors opened and eight guys got out. All of them were armed and they started heading for the ambulance. We knew that the same thing would happen to us as had happened to our crew, so we didn’t really have anything to lose. The grounds were all surrounded with reinforced mesh fencing, but we figured if we could get up enough speed we might be able to break through. When the looters saw what we were doing, they started running back to their cars. We heard the pings of bullets hitting the ground around us as we sped towards the fence, but if they hit us, they didn’t hit anything that slowed us down. We broke through and lost our front bumper, but, more importantly, we had a good twenty-second head start on them. By the time we hit the ring road, we were doing more than eighty. They started after us but then realised they weren’t equipped for a chase. They’d be leaving their snipers high and dry and they’d already gained four more weapons from their ambush, so they let us go. We drove for about ten minutes and parked up on a quiet lane. We had no idea what to do or where to go. We couldn’t raise anybody on the radio, so we headed here in the hope that you would put us up until we could figure out what to do next.” She took a final drink out of the glass and drained it.

  “I’m glad you came,” said Mike, looking towards Samantha and then turning to Lucy. “Both of you.” He took Samantha’s glass and refilled it. “Do you have any family around here?” He knew Samantha’s sister and parents had moved away but wondered if there was anybody else. She took another drink from the freshly topped-up glass and shook her head.

  “Mum, Dad and Claire moved to Spain and...”

  Mike knew that, although it was likely small bands of survivors were dotted all over, most people had either died or been turned. “I’m sorry, Samantha.” He looked across at Lucy, who was still swilling the cognac around in her glass. “Do you have anyone around here, Dr Blair?” There was no response. She was clearly still in shock, but Mike needed an answer. He moved across and knelt down in front of her, gently placing his hand over hers and the glass. “Dr Blair. Do you have anyone who you’d like to reach?”

  Lucy slowly moved her eyes up to his. Her pupils were huge in the dim light of the lanterns. “All my family were in the States. I came over here to work because ever since I was a little girl I’d wanted to live in England. I have to admit, it’s not what I imagined.”

  Mike pulled back and sat down. “Well, we’re going to try and make a break for it tomorrow. You’re both welcome to come with us. To be honest, I’d be a lot happier if you came with us, I think there’d be greater safety in numbers.” Samantha and Lucy both looked at Mike as he spoke, surprised that he had a plan.

  “Where are you thinking of going?” Samantha asked.

  Mike leant forward and began to tell them about his gran and her home. When he’d finished, he sat back and let it all sink in.

  “What’s the catch?” This time it was Lucy who asked.

  Emma took over. “It’s over four hundred miles away, in the north-west of Scotland, but Mike doesn’t think that’s such a big deal.”

  Lucy erupted into maniacal laughter, while Samantha tried to reason with him. “Mike, that’s madness. You’d be lucky if you could make it four miles, never mind four hundred.”

  “What’s the alternative? Seriously, what’s the alternative? Do we stay here and wait for help to arrive?” He took a drink from his glass. His voice wasn’t raised, but it was firm all the same. “We’re alone. We have to forge our own path, we have to make our own luck. I’ll fight whoever or whatever I have to, to keep my family safe, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to watch them curl up and die here. We’ve got something a tiny handful of people have. We’ve got hope. We’ve got knowledge of somewhere that can give us a future. Now, tomorrow morning, we’re packing up and heading out. I’d really like both of you to come with us.” His voice mellowed a little and he sat down. “I really would. But if you don’t want to, I understand. You’re welcome to stay here, use this place as your own, because when we leave we’re never coming back.”

  The four of them sat in silence for a few minutes, occasionally taking sips from their glasses. Lucy gulped her cognac as if it was nothing more than tap water and leant forward to refill her glass. “Fuck it. I’m in. Samantha? How about you?”

  “Well, I’m not going to stop here by myself, if that’s what you’re asking me.” Samantha was unnerved by Lucy’s willingness to accept what sounded like a doomed plan, but the fear of having to face anything alone won over logic.

  “You should have gone into politics, Mike. You’ve got a psychotic streak a mile long and you’re full of bullshit, but people still hang on your every word. You could have made it to the top, kid,” Lucy said, taking another drink.

  “Well, thanks, Doc, that’s one of the nicest things anyone’s ever said to me.” He smiled, but the smile slowly straightened and it was back to business. “How much fuel have you got in the ambulance?”

  “About half a tank.” Samantha remembered checking the fuel gauge religiously after the looters fired on them, to make sure that the tank hadn’t been hit.

  “I’m guessing it runs on diesel?” Mike said, already dismissing the thought of siphoning the remaining fuel from Emma’s car. Lucy nodded.

  “Okay. We’ve got a big day tomorrow. I think we should try and get a few hours’ kip before we set off. If you ladies would like to come with me, I’ll show you to your room.”

  Lucy picked up her glass and the bottle and followed Samantha, Mike and Emma upstairs.

  Emma took them into Jake and Sammy’s room where two single beds lay at right angles to each other. Mike put down the lantern for them and retrieved a small penlight from his back pocket. “Sleep tight.” With that, Emma and Mike left, closing the door.

  When they heard a second bedroom door close, the two women hunched up on their elbows. “What do you think really?”

  “Just what I said, I think it’s probably suicide, but this way, at least we get to choose. If we stay here, we’re just waiting to die,” Lucy said, before taking another gulp from her glass. As if scripted, a crack of gunfire sounded from outside.

  The two of them fell into silence, listening to the sounds of the house and the sounds from the world outside. Samantha drifted into unconsciousness despite the stress of the day. Lucy contemplated the journey ahead. She clutched the locket around her neck, brought it up to her lips and kissed it gently before placing it carefully back against her skin. She swallowed another mouthful of the thick amber liquid from her glass and turned to check Samantha was asleep. When she was sure, she reached into her pocket, brought out a small plastic tablet bottle and popped one of the white pills onto her tongue, quickly swilling it down with another mouthful of cognac. Minutes passed by and a contented smile crept onto her face. So what if she was taking the coward’s way out, letting a twenty-year-old kid make all the decisions for her? She had been through enough, she’d paid her penance and more besides. She would just be a passenger on this ride, and when it all went south, at least the blame would fall at the feet of someone else and not her.

  Her breathing gradually became deeper, her eyelids heavier, and slowly she fell into a dreamless sleep, the smile never leaving her face.

  CHAPTER NINE

  When Lucy and Samantha went downstairs the next morning, preparations were nearly complete for the journey. Mike and Emma had packed rucksacks to the brim with supplies, clothing and camping equipment. Everything was neatly piled by the door.

  “Hi,” Lucy said, almost apologetically, as if she was intruding.

  “Hi,” said Emma. “We’ve got a couple of empty holdalls for you,” she said, picking them up and squeezing past the two women on the stairs. “Do you want to come with me and get a few changes of clothes? We might be on the road for a while.”

  The pair followed Emma back up the stairs and proceeded to raid all the wardr
obes and drawers on the upper floor in order to find some suitable clothing. About ten minutes later, they were all back downstairs and Emma was pouring cereal into a bowl.

  “I’m sorry. We’ve only got powdered milk. It’s not great, but it does the job.”

  Samantha and Lucy hadn’t eaten since lunchtime the previous day and they shovelled the food into their mouths. Jake and Sammy watched, delighted that they had house guests.

  Emma wrapped the box of cereal and the powdered milk in a plastic bag and squashed it into a holdall.

  When the two women had finished their breakfast, Mike cleared the dishes and placed a road atlas on the table. Under normal circumstances his actions may have seemed a little rude, but Samantha and Lucy were both grateful that he had a plan and was taking charge of the situation.

  “I think our best option is to divide the journey up into segments. The first one being getting out of the city.” He zeroed in on a highlighted part of the map. “Now, I think this will be our best bet to get outside of the city boundaries, and I’ll bet that when they set up the roadblocks, they never thought about this place.”

  “I wouldn’t worry too much about the roadblocks,” Lucy said, leaning forward to get a better look at the map. “I’m guessing they’re long gone after yesterday.”

  “Okay, but this will also give us the best way to avoid heavily populated areas.”

  “Well, that is worth doing,” she replied.

  “This road here, Bridge Lane, runs right by Mead Hall Farm. Me and Em used to ride our bikes up there. There’s a hidden turn-off that takes you onto a dirt track which is big enough for a farm vehicle. It runs right through the farm. It goes on for miles. When you come out of the other end you’re in an open field, but there’s a gate at the end of the field that joins a road which takes you north and into the Dales. If we take that lane, we’ll cut out miles of road through housing estates and built-up areas.” He sat back as the two women studied the map.

  “So, how long do you think it’ll take to get there?” Samantha asked.

  “Normally, it would be a ten or fifteen minute journey. Now...”

  “Yeah. Can’t help noticing you trailed off a bit there, Mike,” said Lucy. He shrugged and Lucy went back to looking at the map. “Okay, so who’s driving?”

  “Well, I think you or Samantha should drive. I’ll ride shotgun and everybody else will be in the back.” Mike took charge as if he’d been planning this for days.

  “Wouldn’t it be better if you drove? I mean, you know the way.”

  “In an ideal world, yes, but there may be situations where the road needs... clearing.” He said the last word in a manner that would not alarm the children but would demonstrate to the adults in the room what was meant.

  “Okay, let’s do this,” Lucy said.

  “Right. Everything we’re taking is piled by the door. There’s no way that’s getting into the ambulance in one trip. So, Doc, you and I take the first load. You get into the driver’s seat and get ready. I’ll come back and get the second load with Emma, Samantha and the kids. As soon as you see the front door close, start the engine. Okay?” Lucy nodded, fished out her keys and headed to the door.

  She picked up a large backpack and a holdall. Mike took a huge rucksack, put one of the children’s rucksacks on his other shoulder and carried a holdall in his left hand, leaving his right hand free to carry the hatchet. He turned back to Emma. “As soon as we’re out, shut this door behind us.”

  Mike and Lucy stood face to face. Each could feel the other’s breath in the narrow hallway. Mike mouthed one, two, three and swung the door open.

  The hedged garden meant they couldn’t see what was outside on the road, but at least the immediate vicinity was clear. They stepped out and heard the door gently close behind them. They were both taken aback at what a beautiful morning it was. The sun made the dew on the lawn glisten, and small birds could be heard chattering in the trees. It was an almost comical juxtaposition with the world that awaited them. The pair reached the wooden gate and quietly lifted the latch. Mike pulled the gate back. The ambulance was there, less than two metres away. He put his hand up to signal Lucy not to go any further and carefully edged his head out to look up the road. Everything seemed clear. Because of the weight he was carrying, he had to physically turn his body to look the other way; it was all clear there too. He turned back, nodded his head, and the pair stepped out onto the street. Lucy rushed to the back of the ambulance and opened the doors. They were much higher than those of a civilian ambulance, which made dumping the bags easy but mounting and dismounting for people a lot harder.

  She placed her bags inside and ran to the driver’s door, while Mike unloaded his luggage, all the time keeping a watch up and down the street. When he saw that Lucy had safely got in, he headed back down the garden path. He tapped lightly on the glass panel and saw the net curtains in the living room twitch. He put a finger up to his mouth to signal everyone to be silent, picked up two more bags and led Emma and the children down the path. As he took hold of Jake’s hand, he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. It was a RAM. It had spotted them and was running towards them. Then another appeared, and another.

  “Shit! Get in now,” Mike yelled. He lifted Jake by one arm, almost dislocating his shoulder. Jake began to cry, but Mike just tossed him and the bags into the back of the ambulance. Sammy ran towards him and he did the same to her, but she was smart enough to take some of the strain. The RAMs were less than fifty metres away now and they showed no sign of slowing. Two more had joined them to make five. Emma threw her bags into the back and tried to jump into the ambulance, but the ledge was too high. She tried again, and this time, Mike grabbed hold of her hips and threw her into the vehicle. She narrowly avoided landing on Jake, who was now squealing with pain and fear. Samantha was halfway down the path with the final rucksack on her back when Mike signalled for her to get back into the house.

  Her face filled with panic, but she obeyed. Mike leapt into the back of the ambulance and pulled the doors shut as the first of the RAMs battered against it.

  The children were crying and Emma was gathering herself after landing so awkwardly. The sound of the slavering creatures clawing at the door of the ambulance stopped, and Mike instantly realised what had happened. He rushed to the passenger seat and could just see over the top of the hedge. The RAMs were pounding the front door of the house, trying to get to Samantha.

  Mike’s brain started working overtime. He didn’t even hear Lucy screaming at him in the next seat. Eventually, he came to.

  “What the fuck do we do now?” she shouted. Her hysteria matched that of the children.

  Mike took a deep breath. “Em, get up here. Show Doc the way to Bedford Place. Park up outside Mrs Green’s house.”

  “What the hell are you going to do?” Emma demanded.

  “Just do it, Em,” he said, opening the passenger door and jumping down.

  He went quietly to the garden gate, but the RAMs couldn’t hear much over the sound of their own snarls and laboured breaths. Mike watched them for a few seconds, noticing their clumsy repetitive actions. Their capacity for thought or even basic problem solving seemed to be negligible. They had seen Samantha run through the door, so that’s where they focussed their efforts, mindlessly banging on the thick wood while a large window pane was just a few feet away. He took cover behind the hedge, hatchet raised. As the ambulance moved off, he was concerned that the RAMs might follow, but none did. They had a mouse caught in a trap and it was just a matter of time before they got to it.

  Mike was wearing a thick black vinyl jacket. It was the closest he would ever get to owning leather, and the material was just as strong. He zipped it up halfway and quietly entered the garden. The RAMs did not notice him; they were still clawing desperately over each other to get through the door.

  He moved along the hedge until he was opposite the living room window and pulled his cuffs down over his hands. Then he counted down: three, two
, one. Mike ran full pelt across the lawn towards the window. He caught the eyes of the RAMs but they didn’t have time to react. Just as he reached the edge of the lawn, he pulled the jacket up over the side of his head to protect himself as much as he could from the impact, and launched himself at the window. There was a thunderous explosion as the glass shattered all around him and he landed heavily on his side. He was badly winded but he had no time to catch his breath.

  He stood up, small shards of glass falling around him. He saw Samantha standing there, mouth open – she had obviously been expecting one of the RAMs, which were now attempting to crawl through the space once occupied by glass. Their clumsy and badly co-ordinated movements wasted valuable seconds in their pursuit of the two warm bodies.

  Mike quickly took the rucksack, flung it over his shoulder, grabbed Samantha’s hand and began to run through the house, knocking over chairs in the dining room as they heard the first of the beasts gain access through the window. Mike cursed as he had to pause to unlock the back door, losing valuable time. He burst through with Samantha in tow. They were halfway down the garden before he looked back to see three of the RAMs in pursuit.

  The enclosed space was surrounded by six-foot panel fencing, and, although breathless, Mike managed to ask, “Can you make it over that?”

  “Too bloody right I can.”

  Two metres back from the fence, Mike unhitched the rucksack and, despite its weight, flung it over. He slowed and turned as Samantha mounted the hurdle in front of her. Realising she was too slow, and that the RAMs would be on top of them before they got over, Mike turned round fully to face the three assailants while Samantha tried to climb over the fence. Then, rather than aiming for her, they changed target and headed towards Mike.

  Samantha paused on top of the fence. Technically, she was safe. She could easily drop down the other side and into the safety of the neighbour’s garden, but she couldn’t do it knowing the man who’d just risked his life to save her was in mortal danger.