by Lee Kerr
She doesn’t say anything, but I can feel her frantic heartbeat and hear her muffled crying. I look down at Carlos, who is watching me. His body is still chained and his mouth still gagged, but despite all of this I know that he is still smiling. I think of those things I dare not ask and will never know; things between him and Lucy that should never have happened. Despite how much she hates him, they have secrets now – things that will never be shared, not with me, anyway.
‘Aren’t we forgetting that there’s something in the basement?’ Terry asks. ‘And I don’t think we should wait around to meet it.’
We all fall silent for a moment as we try different doors and windows, all of which are sealed, and it becomes obvious that the only way into this house is through the tunnel.
Lucy grabs hold of Carlos, as she pulls the gag off. ‘How do we get out?’
‘Marius!’ he shouts.
She stuffs the gag back into his mouth, and he shouts and struggles.
Terry moves closer, the gun pinned to Carlos’s forehead as she nods for Lucy to remove it one more time. ‘There is something trying to get in, so we need to get out. Tell us how and we will take you with us.’
Lucy pulls it out of his mouth but Carlos only laughs, and then coughs up some blood. ‘I’m already dead. I just hope I get to watch them eat you bitches first.’ He turns to Lucy, his head shaking and his creased face full of what looks like disgust. ‘I looked after you, gave you everything, and look what you’ve done.’
She picks up a knife from the floor, her resolve all but gone; she has been pushed to a place I have never seen her in before.
‘Lucy, leave him,’ I shout, but don’t bother to see what she does, have no interest in watching the already dead when I want us to live. I head towards the back door and wedge the stick of dynamite between the door handle and the metallic, reinforced frame. I have no idea if it will work and no certainty that the hole it needs to make will ever be big enough.
I turn to see both Lucy and Terry running into the dining room. They hide, and I cannot resist looking at Carlos; I need to know if he is finally dead. He is still looking at me, the knife is on the kitchen table and my Lucy is still intact. I smile and flick the lighter and once I hear the hiss of the flame moving down the small rope I run towards her.
As I slam the door shut and put my arms around the huddled mass of bruised and bloody skin I feel the house shake. I move quickly, desperate to know if it has worked. I had expected the noise, but the flames and smoke were not things I remember from the movies. I try to look through the grey plumes of smoke that are filling the house, trying to see if they offer any path to freedom. It doesn’t take long for me to realise that the smoke is being pulled out of the house, as I see a glimmer of the outside world.
My body jolts as I hear the sound of gunfire in the basement – four shots from a gun, followed by a long scream from Marius. It’s enough for me to grab them both and push them towards our burning freedom. The smoke has cleared enough to see the way out and Terry leads us forward. Lucy takes hold of my hand as we stumble ahead, until we’re distracted by Carlos, who is still tied to the chair and looking at us. ‘Shoot me,’ he shouts.
We both ignore him and I pull Lucy closer. The only thing I want is a safe escape for both of us, for us to get away from whatever is coming to attack us next. If I could have one other wish granted it would be to be equipped with all manner of torture equipment and have ten minutes alone with him. I don’t know where I would start but I know where it would end, but since there is no time and the one I love is still in danger, I ask only to be able to escape.
‘Please shoot me!’ he shouts again.
‘Not so secret now, is it?’ Lucy says, as she pushes us forward.
I don’t ask what she means; I don’t want to know. We run through the flaming archway into the chill of the night. Against a background of darkness I see a chaotic light show rage all around us, as we stumble into a desperate battle that has descended on this sleepy neighbourhood. Helicopters circle overhead as spotlights flicker between the gardens and houses. I see flashes of light coming from them, bullets roaring as they fire at things both close to us and then further away. There doesn’t seem to be any method to their attack: they all circle in random patterns, then fire quick rounds at anything and everything.
‘We have to get to the road,’ I shout over the deafening roar.
We all run, as I realise neither Lucy or Terry have any shoes. I look around for the other women, for anything that can help us, but all I see is Lucy’s silhouette against the flashes of light and thundering explosions as houses, homes with now meaningless histories of their own, seem to implode and crumble around us. Each eruption of those makes us bow down, still running, still determined. I look at her withered frame, her torn skin, and I wonder how she has anything left to give.
I slow them down as we make it to the road and I take hold of Lucy. We all look up, each of us jumping with whatever energy we have left as we try to attract the attention of the military. I grab my flashlight, trying to point the small light towards the cockpit, but they are moving too quickly and are still high in the sky. It doesn’t take much to realise that they aren’t here to rescue us – we are in the middle of a battleground.
Lucy grips my hand tighter and then lets out a scream. I look at her and see that she is staring down the road, her body trembling. I follow her gaze, trying to see what she can see, and that’s when it comes into view. All I can see at first is a shadow but it’s obvious that it’s something tall, even though it seems to be crawling along the floor. It remains in the middle of the road, stalking towards us. It roars and we all scream in a combined chorus of horror as we realise the horror that followed us down the tunnel has found us in the street.
A light suddenly lands next to it, showing a muscular form and razor-like talons. Bullets strike the road all around it and I’m convinced many of them hit their target, but it doesn’t seem bothered. It suddenly jumps off the road and the helicopter pursues it, still firing in its direction as bullets shatter glass and tear through houses.
The helicopter moves lower, low enough for me to see the soldiers inside it. I see that it’s some sort of gunship. The soldiers manning the two large weapons mounted either side pay us no attention. There are two more men in the middle, both looking at large screens while pointing and shouting to the others inside.
Terry suddenly breaks rank and runs towards it, her arms flapping. No one inside notices her but they see something, and the helicopter quickly pulls backwards, the shell casings hitting the floor nearby as they seem to fire everything they have.
It doesn’t look to be enough: their enemy comes out of the shadows, leaps onto the side of the helicopter and rips the door clean off its hinges. I’m not sure if it’s the same beast or a new one but it’s soon inside the cockpit, causing blood to splatter across every window.
Terry is the closest and is first to turn around, as she runs the couple of steps back to us. I know she won’t stop and I quickly grab Lucy and pull her around. She screams in pain and I realise she is wounded. I try to carry her but I’m exhausted and so I’m forced to push her along, even though I know how much I know I’m hurting her. ‘Please keep going,’ I shout to both of them, as another helicopter spirals downwards and I hear the sound of scraping metal on concrete, and I feel the heat of the explosion chasing after us.
As we run I think I can see a shadow in the bushes of the house next door to Carlos’s place, but I keep pushing forward, focused only on the many lights up ahead.
Two army vehicles speed past us, their gun turrets firing shots into the dark night, the soldiers on view wearing night-vision goggles and clearly able to see the threat that I don’t dare think about. We nearly collide with one of them as it screeches to a halt. The doors open and men in dark green uniforms start shouting at us. I don’t know what they’re saying, can’t hear anything in the haze of this battle, but I feel relief when I see hands reaching out a
nd pulling us in, one by one.
I wait until last and only when Lucy is on board do I take hold of the metal railing. I feel the vehicle moving backwards, the engine roaring as the tyres screech, then I look up to see continuous white flashes spraying out from the roof. I feel one of the soldiers take hold of me, his hand grabbing my wrist as he tries to pull me in headfirst, and I start to lose my grip.
I land on the metal floor and I turn and twist, trying to balance myself. I look around and see men packed into whatever space they can fit into, all of them loading weapons and firing out of different holes – still trying to fight an enemy which seems so different, so powerful to anything they have faced before.
Someone looks at me, and then looks at the women. I think he expected the monsters but not us. ‘What are you lot still doing here and where the hell are their clothes?’ he shouts at me and only me, as if the burden of an answer is mine alone. I look at his uniform and see sergeant strips on his arms, as I wish he had come along a few hours earlier.
‘They were trapped,’ I say, looking over at Lucy. ‘I was rescuing them.’
Lucy moves forward, snaking her way through the chaos until she has hold of me, her eyes digging deep into mine. Her body might be battered and bruised but those blue eyes still hold every ounce of the women I love. ‘You found me,’ she says, and then kisses me.
I cry and she cries; we both hold each other so tight, not sure whether we are celebrating or saying goodbye. I want to say that I’m sorry, to make her know how I have battled to find her, but I don’t know where to start; don’t want to waste a precious second on the past.
The sergeant coughs and then nods, a smile forming across his face as he takes hold of a handrail. The entire vehicle suddenly shakes as it turns around and we both fall back onto the cold metal floor, Lucy’s body pressing against mine.
I suddenly hear a scream from above and the boots of the soldier above us disappear as he is pulled from his post. The sergeant starts shouting orders and then shoots at the now vacant hole. He takes one last look at us. ‘And now we’re rescuing you, and let me tell you that success on that front is very unlikely, so you best say your goodbyes now.’
I look at Lucy and she looks at me, and right now I don’t care. I have nothing to say, but I hold her tight, knowing that I will never let her go again.
Welcome to the Apocalypse
Friday 26th August – Washington DC
‘I need to call David,’ he says to the men in the suits. He turns his head, carefully examining each of them. One of them nods back at him. It’s clear evidence that this overdressed man – certainly for these times – is real, that he can actually see him through those dark shades. Larry is used to being the invisible one, and when no phone materialises and no one else makes any effort to help him, he resigns himself to the fact that all he can do is keep asking.
They keep pushing him forward. There is a suit on each of his arms and a further three ahead, plus who knows how many behind him. ‘You can make your calls when we get to the bunker,’ one of the men ahead of him shouts back. Larry figures he must be the one in charge because he is the one giving orders into his radio, talking in codes that sound incredibly exciting. He’s also clearly able to hear all of Larry’s cries, pleas and moans. Larry wonders why this man didn’t listen in the first place, when he told them he would come peacefully.
David must have made it home by now. He will be pacing around, not knowing who to call or what to do. Larry doesn’t know where David will look for him first; it’s literally anybody’s guess, but with the car so low on gas he knows it won’t be far enough.
He thinks of David now, of how much he misses him already, and how he thought they would see the end in together. They had both given up on any plans to fight or to flee and found comfort in accepting an inevitable end. They realised that when they had stopped trying to survive what was coming, and to focus on living instead, they had stopped arguing and started loving each other again. They had it all planned: with all they had stockpiled, they could stay alive for several weeks. From what Larry had managed to find out from his contacts that were still alive, he knew they wouldn’t need half this time.
That was until these men burst through the door in the dark of the night. Larry looks at the one to his left. He’s a big guy but not bigger than his David. He studies him for a moment and although he finds it hard to focus while being dragged along, his feet barely touching the floor, he thinks he can just about spot a bruise forming under his black glasses. He has never had to hit anyone before and he knows David would be impressed that he managed to do some actual damage to such a burly man.
He smiles but doesn’t get long to enjoy the moment before everything changes again. As this small group turn yet another corner he sees two big doors opening ahead of him and realises this is where they are heading. The group speed up, as if they are in a race, all of them desperate to get across the finish line before it’s too late. Larry wants to ask what the rush is but since he already knows who they are, and where they are taking him, he sees little point in asking anything else.
‘Rear flank collapse back and prepare to defend,’ the man in charge shouts.
Larry senses the men who were just behind him now disappear, and soon he hears gun fire echoing through the tunnel behind him.
He looks ahead again, at the doors and what lies beyond them. He suddenly sees soldiers spilling out of the widening metal crack, some of them running and others kneeling down behind makeshift barricades and large machine guns. It looks like something from a war film, and not what you would expect to find beneath a nondescript warehouse on the outskirts of Washington DC.
The leader of his small group is shouting more orders to his fellow agents. His instructions are still precise and sparing with details, but now there is an urgency which Larry cannot understand the reason for. ‘Protocol red: we have an immediate breach,’ he shouts into his mouthpiece. He then stops and turns around, the machine gun that was previously draped around his neck now held up high. Larry immediately thinks he’s going to shoot him, although he does wonder what the point of bringing him here just to kill him would have been – he could have done that at home. And besides, who would want to kill Larry? Although, for that matter, who would want to save him at the collapse of the modern world?
‘Get him inside and seal those doors!’ the agent shouts, as the men who have hold of Larry keep pushing forward, their fast steps turning into bold strides. They are now practically carrying him towards the entrance, which must lead to this bunker he heard about.
He tries to turn, desperate to see what’s happening, but he has to be careful not to lose his glasses. He feels them slipping, a thick layer of sweat almost lubricating their path off his nose and onto the floor. He doubts that any of these busy men would be kind enough to pick them up, not with everything else that appears to be going on. He watches as half of this party of suits collapse their formation backwards and focus on whatever is behind them. They are quickly joined by some of the soldiers, and together they form some sort of defensive line that he can only just make out by stretching his neck until it hurts.
‘Get him inside now!’ the lead agent shouts. Until this moment Larry saw him as an enemy, a brutal kidnapper who just happened to look good in a tight-fitting black suit, but now he feels guilty for whatever is happening, and whatever they are going to face. He hears a scream, which doesn’t sound like something that could have come from the mouth of a man. It’s a primal sound and he doesn’t need to think about it too much because he knows what it is; he has heard it before and sat through enough briefings to know what is coming.
Then he hears it again, just after the sound of tearing metal. He thinks he can still hear it but against the deafening sound of gunfire he can’t be sure. The bullets don’t stop as more men are thrown against the beast. The soldiers in front of him are firing at whatever is behind him, and he wonders if those brave, and probably very nice, young men in suits are s
till alive. The doors are closing now, even though Larry still isn’t inside, which forces the two who have hold of him to make one final push.
‘It’s going to jump!’ someone shouts.
They reach the doors and the invisible barrier of air that hopefully signals some sort of safety. The two men who have hold of Larry throw him through the threshold, then turn and point their guns upwards. Larry falls to the floor, but the men on the other side get to him within moments and pick him up, pulling him backwards. He manages to turn and adjust his glasses, catching a glimpse back out there moments before the doors join together. He sees the creature land; its eyes are on him as blood drips from its long fangs. He also makes out what is happening in the distance, sees the ripped suits and mangled bodies spread across the floor. It’s a battleground now, and those final few still standing are trying their best to fend this thing off. He sees black-eye take his turn first, and where he defeated Larry with only an unlucky bruise, he fails to win against this thing three times his size, as it tears through him like a knife through butter.
As the two doors finally meet and the screams of those remaining men are drowned out, he listens to the mechanical noises surging through the middle of its thick metal. He realises he is breathing very fast as he bends down and puts his hands on his knees. He thinks of those men who have just lost their lives for nothing; have just left this world in the most brutal way possible. He knows they are far from the first to die like this, but their deaths are still senseless, and he figures they probably knew that too. He lets out a cry of his own when he realises what a sacrifice they have made; he knows that they died for him.
‘Electrify it!’ someone shouts.
He hears a buzz behind him, realising that something is happening inside the big door, and then he turns to see about 50 men, mostly soldiers, standing there. Some are checking their weapons, while others are keeping them pointed firmly at the door. When he hears banging on the other side he steps backwards, into the arms of a young man in combat gear. The soldier pushes him away, gently, but hard enough to show that he’s not as nice as these previous men were. Larry looks around and suddenly feels alone, seeing all of these hardened soldiers staring at him, and only him.
