The small creature released a cawing sound that made Flynn think of a demented bird. Its shrill call came in waves and rang through the housing estate like the man’s scream had. It alerted any and all rats in the area. Not a cry for help, a call to action. It had found two more.
A glance back into the house and Flynn saw the rats had pulled away from the blood-soaked corpse. As one, the hungry and hollow eyes stared straight at him. He and Rose looked at one another before Rose shouted, “Run!”
Chapter 16
Flynn ran straight for the noisy rat on the neighbouring front lawn. It stopped to draw breath, giving him a moment to see the reality of what he raced towards. A child, it was no more than eight or nine years old. Not to blame for its actions because it had been socially conditioned to behave in that way. That didn’t stop it being a threat to his and Rose’s lives.
Then it yelled again. Flynn didn’t break stride despite his reservations. He kicked the little fucker square in the face with a loud crack. Child or not, it wanted to eat him alive.
The rat flew backwards from the blow, instantly out cold. Flynn jumped over its limp form and took to the roads running through the old housing estate. No need for stealth anymore, he ran with the sound of Rose’s footsteps a few metres back.
It took just a few seconds before a rush gave chase behind them. Hundreds of simultaneous footsteps, it sounded like a landslide. A plague. A glance over his shoulder and he saw the mob of wretched little things spill from the candlelit house and several houses behind it. They came through the front doors and through the downstairs windows. Some of them even jumped from the top floors, landing and giving chase as if they were superhuman.
Adrenaline overpowered Flynn’s exhaustion as he sprinted through what used to be the front gates of the community. He listened to be sure Rose kept pace with him. Other than that, they needed to focus on their own escape. Despite being together, they were alone on this one.
Although Flynn remembered the way back, the KEEP OUT signs helped. They reminded him of his path. A small reassurance as his doubt threatened to climb his tired body and choke him.
The old streets were abandoned. Fortunately, in the town, the roads hadn’t given over to the push of grass through them as much as they had elsewhere. Solid underfoot, Flynn moved like the wind down them.
A quick check behind, Flynn saw Rose and, behind her, rats filling the entire width of the road. A tsunami of little feral bodies. Where they’d only seen about fifty in the house, it looked like at least one to two hundred of the little fuckers followed them now.
Flynn fought for breath, his pulse pounding. He heard Rose gain on him, even over the sound of the charge.
The houses on either side had looked abandoned. Until Flynn saw something inside one of them, and then inside several others. Movement. Sunken and hungry eyes peered from the darkness, watching them pass. They then spilled out of the buildings and gave chase with the others.
Five to ten minutes of running and the slap of Flynn’s feet echoed through the streets. It might not have revealed anything to the rats, but he knew himself, and even if he ignored the nagging feeling urging him to give up, he couldn’t deny the clumsy stamp of his tired steps. If even one of the little fuckers caught up to him, he’d fold like wet card.
The reality of it sent a spike of panic through him. His legs wobbled, but he kept going. His and Rose’s lives depended on him getting them out of there. He needed to keep moving.
A few seconds later, Rose caught up to Flynn and they burst out into the high street together. He listened to her rhythmic breath as she moved up to his shoulder: In … two, three, four. Out … two, three, four. He did his best to mimic it; anything to stop his lungs feeling like they were about to burst.
The rats still packed the road and some of them moved through the shops on either side of them. They transitioned from one building to the next at the same pace as him and Rose. They jumped through ground-floor windows, vaulted obstructions, and navigated fallen roofs as some of them ran along the tops of the buildings. If they wanted to, they could clearly outpace the pair. So why hadn’t they yet?
The large decrepit tower block stood in plain sight. The symbol of their exit from the town. Chased by the pack of rats who moved like monkeys hunting them through the canopy and funneling them where they wanted them to go, Flynn focused on the old commercial building.
When Flynn and Rose rounded the corner, they saw the railway bridge and stopped dead.
Flynn’s legs burned as both he and Rose gasped for breath.
Their path out of the town had been blocked. It seemed like as many rats were packed into the tight space as had chased them. They couldn’t get through.
“What do we do?” Rose said, her entire body rocking with her respiration as she tried to recover. She looked over her shoulder at the pack approaching them.
No time to answer, Flynn took off again, running around the other side of the old office block. He’d never been around that side before. And with good reason …
When Flynn saw the dead end, he slowed his pace. The last of his strength abandoned him. What had once been a wide road leading somewhere now ended abruptly with a mountain of rubble. It looked like a large building on the right had collapsed across the highway, making it impassable. Yet he still continued towards it at a jog. Where else could they go?
It didn’t matter how close he got to it, he still couldn’t see a way over. A shake of his head and he muttered, “Fuck!”
The rats had slowed down behind them. They blocked the street. They knew they’d won. Hissing and clicking as they stepped forward, many of them bared their teeth at the pair, biting at the air between them as if they could taste them.
The dryness in Flynn’s throat made it pinch every time he swallowed. It reached down and grabbed a hold of his gag reflex. He spread his mouth wide to pull as much air in as he could. His wrists buzzed with the sweat that now soaked his bandages.
Rose moved next to him, and together they faced the rats as they backed towards the wall of rubble.
Flynn looked at the crowd of small people and shrugged, keeping his attention on them as he spoke to Rose. “There’s nothing for it. We’re screwed.”
After several heavy breaths, Rose looked across at Flynn and said, “I didn’t mean to reject you earlier.”
“You want to do this now? Seriously?”
“Learn when to shut up, Flynn.”
Even now, with their lives in the balance, Rose’s harsh words stung.
“I like you,” Rose said. “I have since the moment I met you. Why do you think I saved you from going back to the dungeon?”
“What is it, then?”
“I’m scared.”
Flynn looked at the rats. They seemed to be enjoying their power, slowing down and edging forwards, almost humouring the pair by pretending they were approaching them with caution.
“I didn’t want to get close to another person so they could die on me.”
Unable to take his eyes from the mob, Flynn said, “And it looks like you were right. Oh well, it wouldn’t have been much of a future even if you had reciprocated. Not with this as our fate.”
“I just wanted to say it before …”
“Before we die?”
Rose’s bottom lip buckled out of shape, her breaths stuttering from her.
Flynn turned around and pulled a bent piece of rebar from the rubble. He raised it, ready to swing at the rats. Rose did the same.
“Thank you,” Flynn said. “I think.” A wave of the rebar, he added, “The way I see it, it’s better to go down fighting than just wait for them to take us. Let’s make these little cunts work for their dinner. Maybe we can take a few of them with us.”
When Rose nodded, Flynn stepped forward and shouted, “Come on then, you little shits! Let’s fucking have it!”
Chapter 17
Flynn moved across in front of Rose so he stood between her and the rats. She was not the kind of woman
to do that to, but he did it anyway. If they got out of there, he’d more than happily face her scorn.
The little creatures continued to press forward, hissing and snarling as they came. A clear lack of self-control, one of them broke from the pack and rushed them, snapping its teeth, showing its destructive intent.
Flynn clenched his jaw as he brought the piece of rebar in an uppercut into the rat’s chin. It connected cleanly, sending a spray of blood into the air and forcing the kid backwards. It hit the concrete ground with a slap and didn’t move. Maybe a bit too much, but he had to send a message to the others.
Another one rushed him. Flynn caught it in the temple and it crumpled with a wet crunch.
Two came at them and Rose stepped next to Flynn. As much as he wanted to protect her, he needed her beside him. Together, they dropped the two kids like they were diseased.
To kill the children they’d planned on saving drained more of Flynn’s already dwindled energy. He said to the rest of them, “Please, don’t make me do this. Just leave us alone and we’ll get out of here.”
Four came at them this time. Flynn stepped forward and met the one at the front with an overarm blow onto its crown. Its legs buckled, its momentum carrying it forward as it hit the road chin first. In his peripheral vision, he saw Rose deal with her two. She managed it with brutal efficiency.
The next rat dodged Flynn’s first attack and kicked his shin on its way past. A sharp sting ran through his lower leg from the impact.
Not a good idea to turn his back on the pack, but he had no other choice than to deal with his aggressor. Flynn led with his bar as he spun around, catching the creature on the side of its face. It burst its eye, the rat clapping a hand to where he’d hit. Despite the heavy blow, the little beast remained on its feet, blood seeping through its small fingers.
The rat snarled and hissed at him, but he saw the truth of it. A wounded animal, it had no more fight left. He stepped aside to let it return to the others. Hopefully it would take the message back with it.
Unfortunately not. An entire line of the little beasts stepped forward this time. A deep breath did nothing to settle Flynn’s nerves. They were screwed; it was just a matter of time. There were too many of the small creatures to defeat.
But before any of the kids could rush them, a snarling, wailing sound burst from the press of bodies in the street. Flynn had purposefully ignored the gender of the kids until that moment. It had made them easier to kill. But, for some reason, he couldn’t ignore this one. A girl, no older than about seven, ran out in front of the line of rats. She shoved the largest one over and screamed at the others. It came out as a loud, broken wail like that of a madwoman.
The entire line backed off and the girl spun to face Flynn and Rose.
“She clearly wants us for her own,” Flynn said. He raised his rebar and shouted louder than she had. “Come on then, you little shit! You fucking want some?”
Wide-eyed silence met Flynn’s challenge.
“I don’t think she wants to fight you.”
Flynn turned to Rose. “Huh?”
“Look at her. She doesn’t look like she wants to fight.”
The same dirty skin as every rat. The same sunken and hungry eyes. The same greasy and matted hair. She looked no different than the rest of them, until he recognised her. “You’re the girl in the shop,” Flynn said. “The one with the cockroach.”
A hard scowl crushed the girl’s dirty face and she continued to glare at him.
Flynn had seen that same scowl when she’d grabbed the cockroach. “You were part of the mob that waited for me to leave so you could attack Serj.”
A strong breeze ripped down the street, throwing the smell of dirt at Flynn. The smell of hundreds of filthy bodies. He ruffled his nose at the stench. “What do you want?” he said.
His words seemed to break through the girl’s facade and she dropped her fierce stare for a second. When she looked up again, she moved her mouth as if chewing something she couldn’t clear from the back of her throat. A guttural growl came from her like she was trying to form sounds she’d never heard before.
A shimmer ran through the rats behind her, almost as if they were gearing up to attack again. They could spring to life at any moment, regardless of what the girl wanted. Flynn’s and Rose’s lives rested firmly in their hands; the rebar clubs would only get them so far.
Flynn squeezed a tighter grip on the heavy metal pole, the corkscrew twist of it easier to hold in his sweaty hand. They were getting nowhere fast.
When the girl tried to speak again, Flynn felt like he understood her. At first, it had sounded like nothing, but when he focused, he could hear something of a shared language hiding within the noise. He asked, “The man in the house?”
The girl nodded.
“The one we saw tied up? The man you all just killed, you mean?”
Heavy breaths rocked the girl’s slight frame. She’d fight if he wanted it. Despite her size, she’d rip his fucking throat out if he pushed her too far. A dip of her head and she looked up at him from beneath her brow, the whites of her sunken eyes stark against her dirty skin. The sounds of her words echoed in the space, the other rats silent as she spoke. “Bad man!”
“The man in the house was a bad man?”
A deep breath lifted her frame and the girl almost spat the words, but they became clearer every time she spoke. “He tried to hurt us.”
Flynn looked at the rats behind her. They’d all stepped forward. He fought to keep the panic from his words. “Okay, let’s say I believe that. That you only kill people who deserve it. Is that what you’re trying to say?”
Just one short sharp nod to agree with his statement.
Anger rose in Flynn and he fought not to shout at her. “Then what about Serj? He didn’t try to hurt you.”
A genuine twist of confusion ran through the girl’s face. Shame, embarrassment, hurt. “Offering,” she said.
“You what?” Flynn laughed ironically. “You thought Serj was an offering to you?”
Another shrug. “Dead anyway.”
To talk about Serj sped Flynn’s breaths up again, so he took a moment as he watched the pack of rats close in another step. They were no more than two metres from them at that point. Just one spark and they’d burst to life.
Maybe the girl had a point. They’d taken plenty of offerings to the town before. They might not have taken bodies to them, but other communities could have.
The girl pressed the palms of her hands together in prayer and dipped a bow at Flynn. She looked unsure of herself for the first time, like she didn’t understand the meaning of their conversation. “We thank you for offering.”
Not an offering, but he needed to let it slide. The fall had killed Serj. He’d killed Serj. The kids just benefitted from the accident.
“We leave you now,” the girl said.
A quick glance at Rose, Flynn saw she still held her rebar ready to use it. He then turned back to watch the girl spin around and face the crowd. Her scream—louder than when she’d burst into the fight—damn near shook the foundations of the surrounding buildings.
Flynn jumped from the sound and looked at Rose again. She had the palm of her left hand pressed against her chest as if to calm her heart. She hadn’t yet lowered her bar.
The pack of rats kept their eyes on Flynn and Rose, but they backed away from them. Slowly, cautiously, they pulled out of the road they’d filled, showing they would give them a route out of there.
While standing and watching the kids clear out, Flynn flinched when Rose reached down and held his free hand. When she squeezed, the smallest amount of tension left his body. He squeezed back. Maybe they would get out of there after all.
Chapter 18
The town and the rats behind them, Flynn kept a hold of Rose’s hand as they walked towards the barn they’d been in a few hours previously. The large structure stood as it had before, a dark silhouette to focus on in the blanket of night. Just the slighte
st silver highlight from the moon ran along its apex like a line of chalk.
A couple of times it felt to Flynn like Rose might let go of his hand. Not wanting to appear desperate, he’d let her, but he kept a grip to try to encourage her to hold on. Especially now she’d told him she liked him too.
What she had said to him in the town made sense; the world had screwed her up and made her standoffish. Not on the surface, but it made it hard for her to get close to anyone. He understood it. The new world had fucked over most people. He just needed to give her some time to come out of her shell. If he stayed there for her, everything would work out.
“We tried to save the rats,” Flynn said, breaking the silence between them.
Although Rose turned to look at him, the swish of the grass yielding to their fast march, she didn’t say anything.
“Do you ever wonder if …” Flynn paused for a moment and stared into Rose’s eyes. “I dunno … If maybe we’ve got it wrong?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, look how that just turned out. We nearly died trying to do the right thing. Were it not for that little girl, we’d have been fucked.” And he’d have lost Rose.
Again Rose didn’t reply. The barn held her attention as they walked towards it, the ground uneven underfoot.
Flynn needed to give her space and time. To tell her he was petrified of losing her would be too much too soon.
The cold, night-time dew trebled the weight of Flynn’s trousers and soaked the bandages covering his wrists. The chilled press gave some relief to his throbbing wounds, but it probably did nothing to keep them free from infection. God knew what they looked like under the bandages at that moment.
“Maybe we should focus on getting as far away from here and the Queen as possible,” Flynn said.
Another few seconds passed without a response from Rose. Although Flynn inhaled to speak again, she said, “I don’t want to live in that world, Flynn.”
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