“Look!” Sammy almost screamed, pointing to the bay. The blue-white light made the water look magical, and as if straight out of a fairytale, a pod of dolphins moved across the water like a well-rehearsed ballet troop.
“Shall we go down to get a better look?”
“Can we?”
“Why not? It’s not like there’s anything good on telly.” Sammy giggled, and the pair of them began to run. They ran over the verge and across the road, onto the greener grass on the other side and down the embankment. They slowed as they reached the jagged rocks and Wren shone the torch into every crevice to make sure they could find a firm footing. Then they both started to run again as soon as they hit the soft sand of the cove. Wren flicked her trainers off, and Sammy followed suit. They both stood there on the still-warm sand as the water lapped around their feet. It was a picture-postcard view, a flashback to a time when all was right with the world. They held hands again, two orphaned girls who had lost their sisters and now adopted each other.
As the fins and tails emerged then disappeared beneath the almost black surface time after time, the girls pointed and laughed and giggled. They had front row seats to nature’s great carnival, and whatever was wrong with their lives was forgotten for the briefest chiselled out moment of joy.
Wren and Sammy remained there until long after the dolphins had disappeared from view. The air was still warm, and the refreshing saltwater felt good on their bare skin.
Eventually, they both resigned themselves to the fact that the beautiful creatures would not reappear and they released each other’s hands. They were about to walk back up the beach when Sammy stopped sharply. “What’s that?” she asked, pointing to a silhouette seemingly bobbing in the shallow water of the cove.
Wren couldn’t see it for a moment, but then her eyes focused on the black thing drifting towards them in the water. The darkness did not help their determination as to what the object was, but as the calm waves carried it closer to shore, Wren slipped off her jeans and her backpack, handed Sammy the torch, and ran towards it. At first, giant splashes erupted behind her, but then, as the water got deeper, the splashes became waves and running became wading.
The water level was just below her chest when Wren finally reached the object, only to realise it was a body. She turned it over, and the white glow across the bay provided her with enough illumination to see who it was.
“John?” she half said, half whispered. But as the figure’s eyes flicked open and Wren suddenly noticed the fresh neck wound, a terrifying realisation struck her. This was not Beth’s rosy-cheeked little brother anymore.
✽ ✽ ✽
The night Emma had left Safe Haven she had no idea where she would end up. She was racked with sadness, guilt and anger. She had lovingly wrapped Sarah’s body and placed it in the back of the car then just started driving. It was only when she saw signs for the Kyle of Lochalsh that a dusty memory from the time before gave her an idea.
Michelle, Emma’s one-time girlfriend, had organised a week for them in a luxurious log cabin a few miles out of Kyle. She had booked it eight months before they were due to go, a kind of apology for Michelle spending far more time working than with Emma. They had a full itinerary mapped out of places to visit and things they wanted to do. That holiday was their focus, their happy-planning time together where they could forget all the petty annoyances of everyday life.
Even though Emma had never been there, she knew the route well. She’d remembered that route in great detail, avoiding cliffs and bridges wherever possible, they were among Michelle’s many phobias. Thanks to the apocalypse, the vacation never took place, but as Emma left Safe Haven behind her and her head finally cleared, she knew that was exactly where she should head.
A part of her was resigned to the possibility that the holiday property’s rightful owners may well have beaten her to it. It had been early morning when Emma had finally arrived, and to her delight, the cabin was empty. Since then, she had set up a life for herself. She fished in the nearby river and foraged in the woods. Occasionally she would head out to scavenge, she’d keep whatever she needed and take the rest to Kyle of Lochalsh to trade.
It had surprised her to find that there was a thriving community there, much like Safe Haven but more concentrated. They were friendly and accommodating and happy to barter. It had surprised her even more to discover another lost soul, an empty shell looking for nothing more than physical comfort and someone else to mourn with. Tabitha, or Tabby as she was better known, was beautiful. Another time, another place and things may have been very different, but for now they were just two people who held on to each other when the pain was too much. Two people to get drunk together and hate the world.
“I was wondering,” Tabby said as she chopped the wild garlic they had collected from the end of the garden.
“What?” Emma replied.
“Do you think I could move in here with you?”
Emma smiled. “You’re kind of moved in now.”
“I mean properly. I mean leaving Kyle and coming out here, so it’s just you and me.”
Emma looked out of the patio doors, beyond the decking and over the top of the trees towards the moonlit ocean a couple of miles in the distance. The silhouettes of several boats dotted the horizon, but that was nothing new. Kyle traded with a few settlements from further down the coastline, and as fuel supplies diminished, more and more people took to using boats, particularly sailboats, to travel. “I don’t know,” she said, turning around. “Pickfords removals might be a bit hard to get hold of.”
Tabby stopped chopping and smiled. “There’s not much. A few knick-knacks, that’s all.”
Emma walked across to the counter where Tabby was preparing the food and placed a gentle hand over hers. “I’d like that.”
Tabby’s face lit up with a broad grin that made her eyes sparkle in the light of the lanterns and candles. They had not sparkled much since she had lost her two children. “Thank you. It’s just this is the only place where I ever feel even slightly normal now.”
“I know what you mean; things have been a lot more manageable since I met you.”
“Who knows, one day we might stop feeling like this and be able to move on.”
Emma returned her companion’s hypnotic gaze and placed a hand on her light brown cheek. Tabby leaned into it before pulling it away and kissing it. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. We help each other. That’s what we—”
A startling noise sliced through Emma’s words before she had a chance to finish her thought. The two women looked at each other fearfully.
“What the hell is that?” Tabby asked, clenching her fist tighter around the knife.
“Gunfire … lots of it.” The pair of them rushed outside to hear the crack of even more rifles.
“It sounds like it’s coming from Kyle,” Tabby said. “What should we do?” The two women continued to listen over the next few minutes, but the sound gradually came to a stop. The uneasy feeling stayed with them as they returned indoors.
“Whatever it was, it’s over now. We’ll find out tomorrow when we go in for your stuff.”
“I suppose,” Tabby said, returning to cutting the wild garlic, only now the smile had gone from her face.
Emma slid the patio door closed and looked in the direction of Kyle. She could not see it for the massive forest that stood between her house and the small town, but it did not stop her looking. She remained there for another minute before walking across to the range and throwing in another log. Despite the warmth of the day, a sudden chill had gripped her, and she knew it wasn’t going to disappear in a hurry.
✽ ✽ ✽
Mike and Lucy were sitting on the bench, each with an arm around the other’s shoulder. They were taking in the full beauty of the bay as the giant moon gradually made its ascent. The black water rippled gently in the bay below, and the serene beauty allowed them to escape their thoughts for a few moments. Minutes before, they had w
atched a pod of dolphins pass by. It was not an uncommon sight on this stretch of water. Dolphins, porpoises, seals, even whales and the odd shark were all regular visitors. That did not mean seeing them was any less enchanting, any less exciting.
They had been in the kitchen when the fins appeared out of the water. Lucy was the first to spot the pod, and they rushed outside to watch them. Now, even though the dolphins had disappeared from view, the two of them remained there, perfectly content. Lucy’s head leaned into Mike, and he kissed the top of it gently.
“I should really go and pick up Jake and John,” Mike said.
“You’re such a killjoy. They’ll be having the time of their lives. What kid wouldn’t want to pitch a tent next to the beach on a night like tonight?”
“They said they wanted to camp out, and they’ve been camping out all day. No way am I letting them stay there overnight.”
“What do you think’s going to happen? You think they’re going to get drunk and invite some rowdy teenage girls back?”
“I just want to know where Jake is.”
“You know where he is.”
“You know what I mean,” Mike replied.
“Control freak,” Lucy said, smiling.
“I’m the first to admit it.” He kept his arm around her. “Maybe I can wait a few more minutes.” He leaned in and kissed her head again.
The silhouette of a tall ship drifted on the waves further south in the bay. Some smaller vessels surrounded it, and although a little out of the ordinary, it was not something they hadn’t seen before. Sea travel without the use of fuel was becoming more and more common, and the outlying islands now made regular trade missions to Safe Haven. Each time, their flotillas became more numerous and grander. They had seen one tall ship before, it had been even bigger than the one they saw now but that didn’t take away from the grandeur of this vessel as they both admired it.
“Looks like we’ve got visitors,” Lucy said.
“Probably across to trade from Rum or Mull,” Mike replied matter-of-factly. “They’re getting some impressive fleets together these islanders. We might have to get Raj and Talikha to get us one.”
Lucy smiled. “And who would we get to sail them? You’re fancying yourself as a ship’s captain are you?”
“I could totally do that. Shiver me timbers,” he said in his best pirate voice, and Lucy started giggling.
“Oh yeah, you’ve got me convinced. It’s like sitting next to Blackbeard. Seriously, though, Raj and Talikha have been amazing. Anything I’ve wanted for the infirmary they’ve managed to find for me on their trips across to the islands.”
“Yeah. I don’t think in all the time I’ve known him he’s ever let me down. I’ve let him down plenty, but he’s always been there for me.”
The two of them sat in silence for a while, contemplating how far they’d come in the last few months, then they lost themselves in the view once more. Lucy nestled her head further into Mike then ran a hand down his arm playfully.
“Y’know, it seems a terrible waste,” Lucy said.
“What does?” Mike asked.
“Both of us have got the evening together for the first time in a long time, and we’ve got the house to ourselves.”
Mike smiled. “Yeah, but Wren will probably be bringing Sammy back soon.”
“What’s wrong, Mikey? Losing your sense of danger?” she said, lifting her head from his shoulder to look at him. Even in this light, he could see that she had mischief in her eyes and that smile on her face that could make him do anything.
Mike moved in to kiss her, and as their lips met, he slid his warm hand underneath her T-shirt and round her back. “Let’s go upstairs,” he said, breaking the kiss.
“Now that’s the Mike I know and love.”
The few months since Emma left had been hard for both of them. Mike blamed himself for everything, and it had been tough for Lucy to keep him on this side of sanity. After the events of Loch Uig where he had admitted seeing hallucinations of Fry and even talking to him, she tried to help, tried to coax him back to a stable psychological state any way she could. It had been hard, and he had been prone to dark mood swings, but in the last few weeks, there had been signs that he was returning to his old self.
He took her hand and began to lead her into the house when both of them stopped dead as a scream made the blood in their veins freeze.
Without pause, they both started sprinting in the direction of the sound.
chapter 2
For a few seconds, Wren stared at the creature, unable to believe what she was seeing. It had been months since she had seen a RAM, a live one anyway. After the trip to Loch Uig, she had not ventured out much, preferring instead to stay in and around Safe Haven. Now she was staring death in the face, literally, and what’s more, it was someone she knew. The frozen bewilderment did not last long as a gargling growl emanated from the back of the monster’s throat, issuing a spray of seawater with it.
Her heart began to pound rapidly, and as the beast reached for her, she let go of its body, and it rolled face down into the black water once more. Wren turned and headed towards the beach as fast as she could. The creature eventually found its footing and stood up. It was unsteady at first, like a newborn foal, and then it began to follow.
“Run!” Wren shouted to Sammy, who was still standing at the shoreline, pointing the torch towards her friend, not fully understanding what was going on.
Now the creature’s throat had been cleared of seawater, its growls were more audible, and as it waded towards the sand, Sammy grasped what was happening and let out a scream that filled the entire cove.
“Aaaggghhh!” She wanted to turn and run more than anything, but she couldn’t leave her friend. Wren was wading through the chest-high water as quickly as she could. When she was on shore, they would both escape together but not until.
Wren turned back briefly to see her pursuer was still a little unsteady but clearly had no intention of giving up the chase. “Sammy, I told you to ruuu—”
“Aaaggghhh!” Sammy let out another terrified scream as Wren disappeared under the surface. “Wren! Wren!”
Wren’s head reappeared. “I’m alright,” she said, spluttering and coughing. “Run, Sammy. Please!”
Sammy remained there with tears running down her face. Her left foot took a step back; then she stopped. No. She looked around and grabbed two fist-sized pebbles. The young girl bravely ran into the water a few paces and, aiming the torch as well as she could, hurled one of the small rocks at the advancing creature. The missile sailed by, missing the figure by half a metre. The second one struck it square in the chest. It paused for only a second, but every second counted now. Sammy ran back to shore and pulled more pebbles from the sand, filling her pockets before returning to the water. Not much farther and Wren would be running rather than wading, and they could escape.
Sammy launched another pebble, then another, and another. The fourth was the game-changer, almost a perfect oval and weighing about as much as the average coffee mug; the rock spun through the air. There was a loud crack as it made contact with the beast’s face. Even in this light, Sammy could see a small explosion of tissue a split second before the pebble fell into the water. The creature stopped for one, two, three, four, five—before starting to wade again. The young girl tore her eyes away from the beast as loud plops caught her attention.
The seawater splashed behind Wren as knees, shins and finally feet appeared out of the water. Sammy turned back towards the monster from the deep to see that it had now changed course and was heading directly towards her. She threw another pebble at it, but just before it left her hand, the young girl wavered, and the shot missed its target. Her eyes had been drawn to something else … several things.
“Wren! Wren!” she screamed.
Wren, who had finally reached the sand, turned and for a second did not comprehend what she was seeing, but then she realised. “Oh Shiiit!” The heads of six more creatures had popped
out of the water and were making their way towards them. “Sammy, run! Run, now!” Wren sprinted to her backpack and came to a skidding stop on her knees, the sand mounding up around her. She reached in, pulling out one of her pistol crossbows and a few bolts, then ran back to the shoreline where Sammy was still standing. “Sammy, I said run,” Wren said, grabbing the torch, taking aim and firing. The bolt disappeared over the creature’s shoulder, despite it being less than ten metres away. Wren silently chastised herself. She had fallen out of practice, fooled by the safety and calm of Safe Haven.
She pulled the self-cocking lever, loaded another bolt and fired again. This time, the small arrow disappeared into the creature’s head, and the John monster plunged forward, face down in the water. Her bull’s-eye shot did nothing to deter the other beasts though. There was a time when her sister, Robyn, was by her side and she would not have thought twice about putting up a fight, but she could not risk it. She turned, grabbing Sammy’s hand, and they both began to run up the beach.
“Sammy!” It was Mike’s voice.
“Mike! Mike!” Sammy screamed back.
A few seconds later Mike and Lucy appeared on top of a giant rock overlooking the bay before scrambling down to the sand. “RAMs, Mike. They’re RAMs!” Wren cried as he reached them. This couldn’t happen in Safe Haven … but it was happening.
Mike looked beyond Wren and Sammy towards the dark, shimmering water. There were six silhouettes in varying depths, trudging towards the shore. “We can’t let them get out of here. We can’t have another outbreak in Safe Haven,” he said, turning towards Lucy.
“Mike, there’s something else,” Wren said, still trying to get her breath back.
“What?”
“The one I killed. It was John.”
It was the first Sammy had known about this, and she immediately began to cry. “But he was with—” Lucy started and stopped herself just as quickly. They all knew who John was with, and as these hellish shadows birthed from the sea like the devil’s own spawn, there was only one question consuming them. Which one is Jake?
Safe Haven (Book 6): Is This The End of Everything? Page 2
