“You bitch,” he groaned.
Maggie shook her head. Her finger hesitated on the trigger. “Where do they take the kids?”
The guard looked up at her, confusion etched on his face. “I don’t know, and if I did, I wouldn’t tell you,” he grunted, his pain evident.
Maggie was about to respond when a Variant’s screech rang out. The guard kicked out at her, catching her on the shin. She let out a gasp and hopped back a step. “Wrong move, asshole.”
Maggie brought up the AR-15 and put a round through his head. She reached down and grabbed his rifle. Turning, she jogged back to the shed and glanced around. Spotting the ammo she was looking for, she grabbed it and started to fill her pockets. A small rucksack sat beside the door. Even better, she thought. She emptied her pockets and filled the bag with as much ammo as she could find. With one last look around, Maggie zipped up the rucksack and jumped back in the van.
Alice stared at her, eyes wide, her mouth turned slightly upwards. Maggie handed her the rifles.
“What?”
Alice was now smiling. “You are badass. Bloody badass.”
Maggie smiled back at her. “They deserved it.”
Shrieks sounded out. Maggie glanced in the rearview mirror. Several Variants were scampering up the road. She gently pushed on the gas, moving the van forward. Gathering speed, she watched as the Variants sniffed at the two guards she had shot. Maggie pushed down harder on the accelerator, keen to put distance between themselves and the prison camp. Keen to leave that place behind and start on her journey home.
She gripped the steering wheel tighter, thinking of the two guards. She had trained to both save lives and end lives, but it was the desire to help those in need that motivated her. It surprised her how easily she had executed the guards. Shaking the misgivings from her thoughts, she glanced out the window. The pine trees whipped by. Hundreds of them, stretching for miles.
“I hope you know the way, Alice, because I can’t see the leaves through the trees.”
Hearing no response, she looked over at Alice. She was holding one of the rifles, rubbing her hands over the barrel, testing the weight.
“Alice?”
Alice glanced up at her. “Sorry, what did you say?”
“Do you know the way to Towlewronga?”
Alice let out a giggle. “Yes, and it’s Tauranga.”
“Yeah, that place. Is it far. Will we make it in one day?”
Alice placed the rifle back down in the foot well, wedging it to one side. She nodded. “We should do. As long as the roads are clear, it should only take a couple of hours.”
Maggie smiled at her. “I think they will be. If these traitors brought us in here for the Variants, they would have cleared the roads.”
“I hope so. When we reach the highway, turn north. Once we reach the town of Tirau, I’ll direct you.”
Maggie glanced over at Alice. “Thanks, Alice. You did good back there, kept a level head.”
Alice smiled back at her. “I just followed your lead. Please tell me you sorted out that creep.”
Maggie took her hand off the steering wheel and rubbed her neck. She could still feel Ian’s slimy tongue, his hands groping her. She shuddered. “I don’t think Ian’s going to bother us anymore. I’m more worried about who comes after us.”
“He got what was coming to him, then?”
“You could say that. Yeah.” Maggie tilted her head back towards the children. “I’ll tell you about it later.”
“All right. Should I load these guns?”
“That would be great. Thanks. Always good to be ready.”
Alice reached down and extracted the magazine, checking. Maggie glanced back at the children. Happy, she concentrated on driving them to safety.
Maggie marvelled at Alice’s resolve. She had been pulled from her bed in the early hours by Ian, and forced away to do God-knows-what. After the explosion, she had run for the fence to help Maggie with the kids. Now she sat here, driving through Variant-infested forests with traitors gearing up to chase them. She took her hand off the wheel and squeezed Alice’s hand, enjoying the comfort of her friend. As much as she portrayed the badass Army woman, Maggie was terrified that she was leading herself, Alice, and the kids to the slaughter.
The trees were beginning to thin out, and Maggie could see a sunlit clearing up ahead. She slowed the van down, bringing it to a stop before a dual carriageway. She looked left and right. It was devoid of life, not even an abandoned car. She wound down the window, enjoying the fresh pine scents.
Becs wriggled her way between the front seats and threw her arms around Maggie. Maggie reached up and wiped the tears from Becs’s cheeks.
“Hey kiddo.”
Becs nuzzled in closer. “Have the bad things gone?”
“Not yet, baby. But you go and sit back down and we’ll keep going until they have, all right?”
“I wanna sit up here with you.”
Maggie stroked Becs head and pushed her hair behind her ear. “It’s too dangerous, sweetie. Can you do me a favour, though?”
Becs nodded.
“Can you be a brave girl and look after the other kids?”
Becs looked at her, her lip quivering. She wiped her nose with her sleeve. “Okay.”
Maggie turned around to get a better look at the other children. Most of them were staring out the windows at the trees. A couple stared straight ahead with vacant, shocked looks on their faces. She shook her head at the cruelty of the traitors, sending these kids off to such a horrible fate. Instinct told her they were being sent away to be eaten. Ian had called them tributes. Give the beasts what they desire and they’ll let you live. A new world order. Ian had weaseled his way into survival to save his own skinny ass. Images of him being torn apart flashed through her mind.
You got what you deserved, traitor.
Maggie looked up from her thoughts towards Alice.
“Which way?”
Alice pointed to the right, and Maggie took her foot off the brake, turning the wheel.
The van made its way through the town of Tirau. Everywhere Maggie looked were signs of violence and carnage. Cars overturned, broken glass. Fires had ravaged out of control through shop fronts, gutting several buildings. The scent of burnt wood and plastics still hung heavy in the air. Even amongst all this ruin, the weeds and plants were growing. With no one to maintain the gardens, the plants were reclaiming the earth. She shook her head at the destruction. It had only been a few weeks, and already the extinction of the world of men was evident. How are we going to recover from this? Can we?
Alice nudged her shoulder and pointed to a road leading east, towards the bush-clad mountains. Maggie had looked at them in the prison, dreaming of escape. Several vehicles had been pushed aside in that direction, confirming they were on the right track.
Maggie gunned the engine and gathered speed. On they drove, following the road as it dipped and curved with the contours of the rolling countryside.
After a few miles, it started to look familiar to Maggie. She turned to Alice. “Isn’t the Hobbiton movie set around here?”
Alice frowned. “Yeah it is, why?”
“It’s a pity those hobbit houses aren’t real. Would be a good place to hole up for the night if we had to.”
Alice smiled at her and turned, watching the countryside flash by. “You really like those movies, don’t you?”
“Just a bit. Don’t you? I thought all Kiwis did.”
Alice chortled and shook her head. “No, not everyone. I knew this guy once, he thought that anyone who didn’t like them should have their passports revoked. Said they weren’t Kiwi enough.”
“He was joking though, right?”
“I think so, yeah. He was a bit of a joker.”
Maggie glanced back at Alice. It was nice seeing her smile.
Alice tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and tilted her head to the sun. She looked over to Maggie. “This road should take us directly up
over the Kaimais. Tauranga is just down the other side.”
Maggie nodded. “Okay, thanks. We might need to feed these kids soon. Check that rucksack that I took off the guards.”
“Rucksack?”
Maggie pointed to the foot well. “That, the bag.”
Alice grabbed the rucksack and started to rummage through it. She glanced up from her search. “I’ve been meaning to ask you, how did you get captured? Watching how easily you handled those guards made me curious.”
Maggie let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose. The events of the Variant purge and her capture flickered through her mind. Not for the first time, she berated her choices and her lack of caution. She glanced over at Alice. Perhaps it would be good to talk it out. She looked back out the windshield. The road stretched out, heading for the ridge of mountains; about ten miles away, she estimated. A few vehicles lay to the sides, some in ditches, but most had been pushed aside, leaving the road clear. Maggie let out a breath.
“I was in Wellington when news of the virus hit. I was a bit slow to learn of it, as I’d been enjoying the anonymity of staying off-line. I was on a tour when everyone’s phones started beeping with the news. They cut the tour short and I went back to the hotel. I phoned home to Texas and talked to my family. They were being instructed to stay inside. I decided to head to the embassy and try and get a flight home. It was chaos, as hundreds of tourists were trying the same thing. A call went out asking for any military, active, veterans, or retired, to report for duty, so I did…”
Maggie paused and looked in the rearview mirror. She thought she’d seen a flash of light, but could see nothing more.
Alice patted her leg. “Everything okay?”
“I thought I saw something in the mirror.”
Alice turned around, looking back behind them. “I can’t see anything.”
Maggie pointed down at the rifles. “Have a look through that scope.”
Her eyes flicked between the wing mirrors and the rearview, watching for the flash of light. She didn’t want to admit anything to Alice, but she was surprised the traitors hadn’t caught up to them yet, especially after what she’d done. Hopefully the explosion had caused enough chaos to give them the time they needed.
They came up to a town and bumped over the railway tracks that dissected the main road. Movement to her right caught her attention. A couple of Variants jumped up onto the roof of a shop, watching them. One of the beasts raised its head and shrieked. Several shrieks from farther away answered. A couple of the kids cried out.
She glanced behind her. “It’s all right, guys. They don’t want us.”
Must be the scouts. Without looking at Alice, she asked. “Can you see anything through that scope.”
“Not a thing. Just some of those Variant bastards.”
“Good. Must have been sunlight reflecting off a car.”
Maggie slowed the van down and made a right.
The road immediately started to incline steeply up the mountain. She gunned the engine, urging the van on. The road wound up the pass, revealing the countryside behind them. Maggie stopped the vehicle and stared out at the view. It stretched for miles, a patchwork of farms, all in green, with roads periodically cutting through. Smoke billowed out from the towns lying scattered across the plains. In another time, she would have spent hours here admiring the view, taking photos.
She shook her head in frustration at the destruction of this once-beautiful world full of life and people. Wonderful, creative, and brilliant people. All gone. Turned back into some primal beasts with thoughts only of food. All that brilliance lost, and lost for what? Lost, are the days. Lost, are the nights.
Maggie wound down the window, inhaling the cold mountain air. Breathing deep, she blew out her frustrations and anger. She needed to stay focused and get these kids to safety.
The sounds of an engine revving and tires squealing reached her, carrying up the mountain. Maggie grabbed the other rifle. She unbuckled her seatbelt and jumped from the van. Bringing it up to her shoulder, she searched for the source of the noise. She spotted two 4x4s tearing up the mountain road, catching a glimpse of red on the driver’s side.
Pivoting, she yelled to Alice, “You drive! Let’s go!”
She ran around to the passenger side and waited for Alice to shimmy over behind the wheel. Then she hopped in and heard the van rev before lurching forward, its wheels spinning in the loose gravel before getting a grip on the tarmac.
Becs cried out, “Maggie!”
She turned around. “Stay in your seat, sweetie.”
Maggie checked that the rifle was fully loaded. She reached down and pulled some ammo out of the bag, shoving them into her pockets. Thoughts of her training focused her to the task ahead. She now understood the endless drills on loading and unloading her rifle. It was during tense times like these when muscle memory was critical. You had to be able to do what was necessary when you needed it most.
She clicked on the safety and grabbed the other rifle, repeating the task. Ready, she spun her head around, searching for the 4x4s. The groaning of their engines sounded closer, but she couldn’t see them. Maggie felt the van crest the top of the pass and drop down with the road. She glanced back around. Rolling hills cascaded down, petering out into flatter land. A city hugged the small natural harbour. Turquoise water glittered off the Pacific Ocean, lapping up against the hundreds of boats moored in the bay. Maggie’s heart leapt at the sight. Maybe, just maybe, I can go home.
The van swerved around a tight bend, its wheels screeching. Maggie maneuvered herself around in her seat, watching for their pursuers. A black 4x4 squealed around the corner and bullets pinged off the van. The kids screamed.
She turned to Alice. “Keep going. Try to ignore what’s going on. We have to reach that harbour.”
Without waiting for an answer, Maggie wound down her window and steadied herself. Breathing out, she sighted the 4x4 and let loose with a barrage of lead, aiming for the tires.
FOURTEEN
Boss peeked out from the flax bushes. He could see six of the beasts as they scampered back and forth along the edge of the crater lake, pausing and sniffing as they desperately searched for them.
Boss gently took off his pack and rummaged around for more ammo. He kept one eye on the creatures as he filled his pockets and loaded his shotgun and Glock. Max and George were huddled against him. Their body heat and the sounds of their breathing calmed him somewhat.
Boss looked up through the twisted, gnarled branches of the pohutukawa tree. The darkness of the night was beginning to fade as the sun crept above the horizon. Boss hoped he could hide out here for a while longer, knowing that the Variants didn’t like the sun so much. He pulled down his shirt, tucking it into his pants, then held out his hand and clenched it into a fist, trying to stop the shaking. This night had been a nightmare.
Boss checked his weapons again. Satisfied, he searched for a way out. There is always a way out, eh Jack? The waves crashed softly as they lashed the rocks at the bottom of the cliff. Glancing once more at the tree, Boss wondered if the branches could take their weight. But then what? Swim out to sea? He tried to remember where the nearest boat was, but came up blank.
Max broke free of George’s grasp and ran to the entrance of their flax hidey-hole, growling a warning, his teeth bared. Boss looked up at the noise and scanned the lake shore. Two of the Variants stared back at him. They raised their heads and let out a blood-curdling shriek. A bellow answered, the awful sound bouncing around the caldera walls. It wrenched at his soul. Boss watched, mortified, as the Alpha of his nightmares lumbered out of the cave. The Alpha looked out to the island and pointed his huge, meaty claw. The children’s heads mounted on his shoulders jiggled as he bellowed, ordering his Variant kin to attack.
The two beasts closest to the island leapt into the water and started thrashing their way over the lake. Several others scampered around the sides, clinging to the walls.
Boss stood up. With t
heir cover blown, it was time to flee. He hoisted George to his feet. “Up the tree, now. Quick! Run around the rocks and hide.”
He boosted George up, watching as his little hands and feet grasped onto the thick bark.
Boss pivoted and raised his shotgun, aiming for the beasts on the walls. He let loose with a blast. He hit a couple, but they didn’t slow down. Cursing, he aimed a little in front of the lead one and squeezed the trigger. A section of its head painted the cliff wall, and its lifeless body splashed into the lake. A shriek and the thrashing of water shifted his attention to those swimming to the island. They were only a few metres away now.
Boss glanced up at the Alpha. He swore the monster grinned at him as he raised his left arm and bellowed. Dozens of Variants flooded out of the cave and started to climb and swim their way over to the island. Boss glanced to the island shore and quickly dispatched the two monsters climbing out. He risked a glance up the tree to see George had reached the top of the caldera wall.
“Go, George! Run. I’ll hold them off.”
George stared back at him, his red hair glowing angel-like in the early morning sun. He shook his head at Boss.
“George, run! Please.”
George’s head dropped away from sight.
Clenching his jaw, Boss squared his shoulders. He pumped the shotgun and twisted to his left, firing at the Variants. So many of the bastards. Boss managed to kill a number of the beasts. He aimed and fired until his shotgun clicked empty. With no time to reload, he reached down and pulled his Glock free. Several of the Variants had reached the island now, and were standing on its obsidian-laden shore, oblivious to the sharp edges.
The Trophy King lumbered forward and waded out into the lake, his bulk causing ripples as he strode towards the island, his towering frame easily staying above the surface. The Variants climbing around the caldera walls started to reach the island and were dropping down, landing with a thud, their yellow eyes watching him. Several pushed their sucker mouths towards Boss, tasting the air.
Boss slowly turned in a circle. He was surrounded. Sweat ran down his spine, soaking the waistband of his pants. Boss stared out at the Variant horde collected around the lake and island. He could feel his stump quivering, all his adrenalin used up during their flight. His nerves were starting to re-establish themselves, telling him that he hurt all over.
The Fourth Phase Page 11
