Safe Haven (Book 6): Is This The End of Everything?

by Artinian, Christopher

  Thiago looked at him, confused for a moment. “The jam. It tastes funny.”

  “Funny how?” Timo asked.

  “I don’t know … coppery … rusty … just funny.”

  “Maybe you had something on your hand,” Timo said, dipping one of his own fingers in and sucking the globule of red jelly into his mouth. He swilled it around for a moment like he was wine tasting then cringed a little. “No, you’re right, there is definitely something wrong with it.” He looked across at his friend who was now just staring dead ahead. His eyes almost seemed glazed. “Thiago? Thiago, are you okay?” A few seconds passed by then a few seconds more. Then… Thiago coughed, and a spray of blood left his mouth and spread over his white uniform. “Thiago?”

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  There were long queues at the breakfast bar even before any food appeared. Noah and Doug had not got ten feet into the colossal dining room when Madison and a small army of entitled wealthy patrons and their various henchmen and women made a beeline towards him.

  “What the fuck is all this about?” Madison hissed, his face barely three inches away from Noah’s.

  “Thomas, I need you to back up now,” Noah replied, not breaking eye contact.

  “I’ll goddamn well back up when you give us answers, you little shit.”

  Noah knew this was coming and he was prepared. He was about to address Madison and the rest of the group with a brief and well-rehearsed summary of what had happened when a piercing scream sliced through the noise hushing every single conversation in the place. Noah, Doug, Madison and the rest of the large group all turned their heads in the direction of the sound. It was followed by another shriek then another. “Holy Jesus, what is it, a fire?” Noah asked. “Doug, go find out what’s happening.”

  “Yes, sir.” While everyone else was glued to the spot, Doug ran towards the sounds coming from the galley. He had not got far when the double doors burst open to reveal Timo, or what had been Timo. His Mediterranean colouring had been washed away. His skin was pallid, his eyes grey, and the bright red blood that painted his mouth and uniform told the story of what he had become. For a moment, Doug froze in shock, but then, as Timo pounced, leaping on one of the female serving staff and disappearing from view behind one of the long tables, he realised what this was. A fire on board a ship was never a good thing, but in that split second, Doug would have given anything for it to be a fire rather than this. He drew his Sig Sauer P320 as more and more screams and howls rose into the air from next door.

  The Timo thing reappeared. Terrified screams erupted all around Doug as passengers saw the bloody flap of freshly torn flesh protruding from the creature’s lips. Doug took aim and fired. Everything fell silent around him for a moment as he watched the bullet enter the beast’s forehead. The monster collapsed to the ground. The rest of the serving staff, having got over their initial horror, began to flee in any direction that was clear, as did the passengers. Any hunger pangs were forgotten as more creatures burst through the doors.

  Doug turned to look at Noah. The crowd that a moment since had been so eager to confront him now fled like frightened children, their security details covering them as they ran. The growing army of monsters surged forward, making the buffet tables cartwheel. Bread buns, brioche and croissants flew into the air like they had been fired from a cannon. More shots began to echo around the vast dining room as some of the security personnel started to realise the only way out of this was to contain the outbreak while it was still in its elemental stages. Doug took aim at the young waitress Timo had attacked as she vaulted over chairs and upturned tables towards him.

  “Watch out, Doug!” screamed Noah, just as the bodyguard squeezed the trigger, but it was too late.

  The bullet went astray as Doug was knocked from his feet. He hit the floor heavily still managing to keep a firm hold of his weapon. He brought it up as the creature’s mouth closed in on him and fired. The freshly turned beast’s face imploded, and Doug exhaled a relieved breath, but then the relief turned to abject fear as he tasted the monster’s blood in his mouth. He spat it out, but still more splashed on his skin. Chaos was unfurling all around him, though he was deaf and blind to all of it. He threw the creature off him and rolled away. “Water. I need water to rinse my mouth,” he shouted to anyone who was listening, but nobody was.

  He looked towards Noah, who was still standing in the same place he had left him. “I’m sorry,” Noah mouthed, and Doug saw genuine sadness in the preacher’s eyes as he spoke.

  “Run!” Doug shouted. “Run, sir!”

  Noah tore his eyes away from his loyal bodyguard to view the hellish scene unfolding around them. When he looked back towards Doug, he saw him coughing blood, and his skin was beginning to drain of all colour. Noah did not run, but he turned and walked out of the dining room for the last time.

  chapter 19

  Wren knew the woodland and landscape surrounding Safe Haven better than anyone. She and Wolf made good time sprinting through the trees. Mike would be angry that she had not done as instructed, but he didn’t make her choices. They were just a few hundred metres out of the village; this was where the real danger began. If what Talikha said was true, being spotted would result in Wren’s end plus who knew what for the nine prisoners.

  She paused to catch her breath and think. Mike would not just burst into the village hall guns blazing. As impulsive as he was, he would not do anything to risk the lives of his sister and Lucy. Wren thought back to the stories she had heard about him, and there had been plenty of stories.

  Hughes had told her about the time when Mike first showed up in that village and was ready to fight him to find out whether his family was there. Jenny had once regaled the story of the first encounter with Fry and how, against all odds, they had beaten back his forces due to Mike’s heroics. Beth had told her about how he had saved her from Fry’s mad hands at that farm.

  Suddenly, a light bulb switched on over Wren’s head. Up until this point, her sole focus had been to get back to the village to help Mike, but she had not thought for a second where he would be. Now she knew exactly.

  “Come on, boy,” she said, turning towards Wolf. “We’ve got some way to go yet.” The German Shepherd cocked its head slightly, then the pair of them set off at a sprint once again.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  Talikha held Sammy’s hand, who in turn held Jake’s. Tabby walked by Talikha’s side, and Humphrey trotted along in front of them. Up until here, the path had been winding but relatively flat; however, they had reached one of the many steep inclines on this coastal route, and their pace had slowed.

  When Talikha had given Sammy and Jake the Disney version of events, there had still been tears, but Sammy’s unwavering faith in her brother meant she would do as she was told. Whatever Sammy did, Jake always followed. Wren disappearing had not helped the situation and saying goodbye to their gran’s beloved goat had resulted in more than near hysterics, but as the journey had progressed, a resignation to the task had set in.

  The ascent of the hill was slow going, and at first, when they stopped halfway up, Talikha presumed it was due to fatigue. She looked at Sammy whose eyes had grown wide. Talikha turned towards the ocean to see a fleet of ships on the horizon. This was it, the invasion was underway.

  “Don’t look, children, just carry on walking. We have a good distance yet to cover,” Talikha said and tightened her grip around the young girl’s hand. They reached the brow of the hill, and Humphrey stopped and turned to look back. He let out a bark.

  Talikha, Tabby, Sammy and Jake all turned at the same time to see Richard and David leading an emerging crowd. Even from this distance, Talikha could recognise villagers as well as people from the outskirts. As they stood and waited, more and more emerged from around the bend.

  It took the two librarians a few minutes to lead the rag-tag mob up the incline, but when they reached them, both men uncharacteristically threw their arms around Talikha, who happily reciprocated. They had all bee
n through so much together, and their torments were far from over, but being back with old friends, being back with people who had suffered the same trials made them feel a little better.

  “I didn’t think we’d manage to catch up with you,” David said. “Do you think we should wait for the rest of the village or should we just carry on?”

  “Mike wanted me to get Sammy and Jake out of here as quickly as I could. That is what I promised him, that is what I must do.”

  David nodded slowly. “Okay then, fair enough. I suppose we’ll all meet up on the other side anyway.”

  Tabby shot him a sharp glance. “You don’t rate our chances then?”

  David looked confused for a moment then chuckled. “Bad wording. I meant on the other side of the checkpoint.”

  When the last of the group reached the brow of the hill and had the chance to regain their breath, they continued their march. “Err, where’s Wren? I thought she was with you,” Richard said.

  Talikha gave him a sideways glance. “She was with us. She isn’t now.”

  “Oh, dear. That’s not good.”

  “There is nothing good about any of this.”

  “No.”

  A horn sounded behind them, taking the whole group by surprise. It was the school minibus. The crowd edged towards the verge, and it slowly trundled forward. It pulled up by the side of Talikha, Richard and David. The window lowered, and a man with black hair and soulless eyes nodded curtly. He was wearing a military uniform with an insignia on the sleeve that Richard didn’t recognise. “Rest up when you get to the bottom of this hill,” he ordered in an American accent.

  Richard looked beyond him to the armed men and women behind. “I thought we were meant to get out of here as quickly as possible.”

  “Look, buddy, you’ve got a group of about two hundred coming up behind you, and I don’t want to spend my entire day rounding you people up like I’m corralling a herd of cattle. Now, take a breather when you reach the bottom and wait for them. Me or one of my colleagues will be back this way soon.” The window closed, and the bus set off once more.

  “I suppose this is really it, isn’t it?” David said. “It’s the end of everything we worked for.”

  “While ever we are alive, it is not the end,” Talikha replied as they all began to move again.

  They reached the foot of the hill, and some of the older people sat down on rocks while others stood watching the incoming fleet. Nervous conversations fluttered around, and the mood gradually worsened. Richard, David and Talikha all moved away from the rest of the crowd and spoke in hushed tones. “Did Mike give you any inclination as to what he was planning?” Richard asked.

  Talikha shook her head. “He told me he did not believe they would let the council go when we had reached the checkpoint.” A tear appeared in the corner of her eye. Up until now, she had needed to be strong for the children, strong for the people who looked to her, but in the company of old friends, she could be herself.

  David let out a long sigh. “I think he makes a fair point. Knowing what these people have done, there’s no reason to believe they’d do anything that wouldn’t serve their own purpose. I mean look at us,” he said, gesturing towards the already tired and drawn looking faces. “No food, or water, and when we set foot out of Safe Haven boundaries, things will only get harder. What happens when we run into infected with no weapons and old and infirm people to take care of? Ruth is like my sister. I love her, and there’s nothing I want more than to see her again. I’d love to believe that these people would keep their word, but I can’t, and this … this walk to freedom. It’s nothing but a death march.”

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  Mike could feel the sweat running down his bare back as the sun continued to beat down on him. He’d already dug several feet, but there was still a lot of earth to remove before he could think about taking proper rest. He reached over for his water bottle and took a drink then suddenly caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Without indicating he had seen anything, he placed the bottle back in his rucksack and grasped hold of the handle of one of his machetes. This wasn’t going to be easy. He was standing chest-deep in a grave. Vaulting out of it and over to the bushes before someone had a chance to make their move was a tough ask.

  “Relax,” called a familiar voice. “It’s me.”

  “What the hell are you doing here?” he asked, climbing out of the hole.

  Wolf broke cover from the bushes first then Wren stepped out into the open. “Yeah, nice to see you too.”

  “Did you not see Talikha?”

  “I saw her.”

  “And she told you what I said?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Which brings me back to my question, what the hell are you doing here?”

  “I don’t take orders from anyone, Mike. My grandad’s in that village hall, just like your sister and girlfriend. I’ve got as much to lose as you and I’m not prepared to just walk out of town and hope for the best.”

  Anger flared in Mike’s eyes, but it was fleeting. “It’s not safe, Wren. This—” he gestured to what he was doing “—it’s a Hail Mary. Some of them have already arrived, but soon we’re going to be overrun, and when our people have reached the North Ridge, I’m pretty certain they’re going to kill the council. What I’m doing, it might provide the tiniest diversion, the slimmest chance, but that’s all it is. I couldn’t just leave them in there and do nothing.”

  “Yeah, well, me neither. I’ve lost my parents, I’ve lost my sister. I’m not going to lose my granddad … again.”

  “I didn’t want anyone to be taking this risk but me. And you, you, in particular, I wanted with Sammy and Jake.”

  “Why? Why me? ’Cause I’m a girl and only sixteen?”

  “What? No. Because you’re one of the bravest, smartest and most capable people I’ve ever met. Because if I wanted anybody to look after my family, it would be you.”

  Wren felt a sudden urge to cry but managed to hold it back. “Err, that’s really nice of you to say.”

  “It’s the truth. You might be a sarky little bastard, but I’d trust you with my life … and my family’s.”

  Wren let out a small laugh. “Thanks.”

  “Oh well. You’re here now. Not a lot I can do about it. How did you find me anyway?”

  “Well, I asked myself what I’d do, and when that didn’t work, I asked myself what’s the maddest, most dangerous, suicidal thing anyone could do, so here I am,” she said with a smile.

  “I’m impressed.”

  “Don’t be. I used to watch lots of documentaries about delving into the minds of serial killers.”

  “In fairness, I’ve always been more of the spree killer type. Serial killing requires a level of effort I’m just not prepared to commit to,” he said, crouching down and making a fuss of Wolf.

  “Well, I beg your pardon.”

  “How long had you been in the bushes?”

  “A couple of minutes. I was trying to figure out what I was going to say to you without you going off on one.”

  Mike looked towards the hole he was digging once more. “It’s a good job Beth’s not still here. She’d never forgive me for this.”

  “There’s nothing to forgive. It’s just flesh. That body isn’t John.”

  “I suppose you’re right.”

  “It’s rare that I’m not.”

  “You must have been so popular in school.”

  “I was probably about as popular as you were in prison.”

  “It wasn’t prison it was … alright, it was a prison. And, as a matter of fact, I was popular, eventually.”

  “What, in the showers? Yeah, you strike me as that sort.”

  “Funny … funny girl. If I’d have known you were going to show up, I’d have brought my sunglasses so I wouldn’t be so dazzled by your sparkling wit.”

  “Come on,” she said, jumping down into the hole. “You look like you could do with a break. Let me dig for a while.” She grabbed the s
pade and began to shift more earth without even waiting for a reply. Suddenly, the impossible task ahead of Mike seemed a little more possible.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  Shaw continued to stare at the remains of his oldest friend. In his life, he had never felt so helpless. His captors were only paying the slightest attention to them now. What were he and his fellow council members going to do with their hands cable-tied to the chairs? Troy and the other guards kept throwing fleeting glimpses across to the rectangle of tables before returning to their hushed plans and conversation.

  Shaw finally tore his eyes away from Hughes’s body and looked towards his friends. They were all preoccupied, lost in their own sad thoughts. Jules, Emma and Ruth had tear streaks running down their cheeks. Raj looked distant, like a man who was waiting for the executioner to flick the switch on the electric chair. They all knew what awaited them, Shaw better than anyone. These people were smart and ruthless, a deadly combination. He glanced towards Jenny, whose eyes were closed. Was she praying? Was she just wanting to block out the reality of what was going on? Was she holding back tears? His gaze then moved towards Lucy and stayed there.

  She was not looking towards him; she was staring at Troy. Her face did not reflect the same hopelessness as the others. It was filled with concentration … determination. She was planning something, but what? As if a sixth sense told her that someone was looking at her, she turned towards Shaw before casting her eyes back towards her captors.

  Shaw continued to stare towards her then he spotted it, a micro-movement, no, micro-movements. She was trying to free herself. She knew what he did; that despite Troy’s assurances, when the population of Safe Haven were out of town, everyone around the table would have served their purpose and be put to death. Shaw had no idea what plan Lucy was working on, or if she had any plan at all beyond freeing her hands, but now Shaw slowly began to move the stainless-steel links of his watch strap against the plastic cable tie. It would take some time to cut through the thick material, but for the time being, he had nothing better to do.