by JJ Zep
Ruby scanned an eye towards Scolfield’s perch, and saw him standing there, one hand behind his back, a pair of binoculars pressed to his eyes, his posture rigid. There was a man sitting in a chair beside him, his features masked by the glare off the window. Now the sun drifted behind cloud and Ruby recognized her father.
“Jesus Christ, what is that thing?”
Ruby’s attention snapped back towards the arena, where the first of the creatures had just stepped through the doors and entered the holding cage.
thirty five
“Minerva,” Scolfield said, as though speaking the name of a lover. Chris craned his neck to the left and picked out a hulking figure stepping from shadow into light. He drew in a sharp intake of breath.
“Handsome isn’t she. Just a little something I’ve been working on since my days running San Jose for the Corporation. I call them Zombstrosities.”
“What in God’s name –?”
“God has nothing to do with it Chris. This is all my own work, the result of a little BH-17 / SH-1 cocktail I threw together, plus a couple of my own flourishes, stuff those limp dicks at the Corporation wouldn’t countenance.”
“Why the hell would you want to create something like that?”
“Why? Why did Howard Hughes build the Spruce Goose? Why did Raskob build the Empire State? Bigger and better, Chris. Bigger and better. Ah, here’s my boy now, Quinirius.”
Another of the creatures lurched forward this one even bigger and more grotesque than the first. He stopped and scented the air, nightmare face inclined towards the sunlight, a mess of weeping sores.
Chris ran his gaze to where Ruby and the others were huddled. That was good. They’d have a better chance if they worked together.
He looked back towards the enclosure and made out two more of the things lurking back there in the dark. Not even Ruby was going to be able to defeat them, Chris realized. Unless he got loose, his daughter was going to be killed and eaten right before his eyes.
***
The small guy, Pete, was blowing hard, breaths wrenching in and out of him like expulsions from a faulty bellows. But, the other guy, Daisy, worried her more. He kept edging forward, peering over the edge of the mound, the makeshift shield clutched to his chest. She was worried that Daisy might do something stupid, like charging down the mound the minute the gate opened.
“Sit tight,” Ruby said, using one of her uncle Joe’s favorite expressions. “Let’s not give them an easy meal.”
The announcer’s voice boomed again as another of the monsters entered the enclosure, the hulking giant that Scolfield called Quinirius. He shuffled forward, squinting and scenting the air. Julie gasped, Pete let out a low moan.
The gate to the holding cage would slide open any minute now, Ruby was sure of it. She tensed, ready for action. Four against two wasn’t bad. As long as her new companions kept their nerve, as long as they worked together on this, some of them might actually walk out of here alive.
Daisy was shifting restlessly again. Ruby was about to call out to him when she spotted movement from the enclosure and saw another of the monsters separate itself from the darkness. That made three. Now another. Four!
A rush of ice-cold adrenalin coursed through her veins and with it the realization that she’d been a total idiot. She’d assumed that, with Juno dead, Scolfield had only two of these creatures. She’d never entertained the notion that there might be more. But why shouldn’t there be? If Scolfield could create three, why would he stop there, why wouldn’t he create dozens, hundreds even? Why wouldn’t he just keep sending more and more of them into the cage until she and her companions were overcome? Idiot, she reprimanded herself, stupid idiot!
Another of uncle Joe’s truisms popped into her mind, “focus on what’s in front of you.” What was in front of her was four formidable and extremely aggressive creatures. No, make that six, as two more stepped through into the holding cage and the doors closed behind them.
Now the gate separating the enclosure from the main arena parted and the creatures surged through. Six was too many. They were going to die.
thirty six
“We hold this position,” Ruby said. “Hold here as long as we can. They’re going to have to climb this mound to get to us. That’s not going to be easy, with the ground giving way under their feet, but we’ll make it even more uncomfortable for them. Gather up some bricks, rocks, missiles, anything you can throw.” Pete and Julie complied immediately. Daisy hung back, peering over the mound, watching the things approach, that insane grin still resting on his face.
“Don’t even think about it, Daisy,” Ruby said. “They’ll tear you apart.”
“I got this,” Daisy said, and before Ruby could stop him he stood, brought his shield up to his chest and then stumbled forward, a gladiator ready to do battle. He hit bottom just ahead of an avalanche of bricks, raised the tire iron above his head like a scythe, and charged.
“Daisy!” Julie screamed, as he crashed into the lead creature with his shield, driving it back. He swung with his tire iron and missed, clattered the creature with his shield again. The other creatures reached him, surrounded him, probing, keeping their distance while Daisy tried to hold them at bay with his inadequate weapons
“Do something!” Julie shouted at her. But there was nothing Ruby could do, wading into that melee was suicide. The only way they could win this was to try and isolate the creatures, pick them off one by one.
A brick sailed through the air and struck one of the creatures and now Julie was standing at the top of the mound, screaming and raining down a deluge of bricks and mortar on them. “Yeah! Have some of that, you fuckers! Yeah!”
But the missiles were having minimal effect. The creatures merely shrugged off the blows and circled, closing. One of them got a grip on Daisy’s shield, wrenched it away, sent it skidding across the yard. Daisy swung with the tire iron, landing a blow but getting one in return, a flash of claws that opened up a trio of jagged cuts across his face. He staggered back, still grinning crazily, blood welling in his wounds. A clawed hand swiped at him. Daisy ducked away from the blow, but in doing so he lost his balance, went down on one knee. One of the creatures charged him, drove him to the ground. One of them ripped at his midriff, opening his abdomen in an explosion of blood and guts, another buried its face in his neck, another got hold of his arm and ripped away a bloody chunk of bicep.
Julie was screaming, Pete standing gape-mouthed with tears streaming down his face.
“First score to the Zombstrosities,” the P.A. announcer proclaimed.
Ruby looked to the carnage before her. The creatures were feeding in a frenzy, oblivious to all else. She saw the opportunity to strike her first blow.
***
Chris hadn’t known Daisy long, but the man’s pointless death, his futile sacrifice, angered him. More than that, it terrified him. He’d never seen Z’s of this size and ferocity before. He couldn’t see how Ruby could survive them. Perhaps if she could stay out of reach long enough, try to isolate them. But now, Ruby did something really stupid.
“No!” Chris screamed as she threw herself from the mound, landed in a crouch and then, with barely a pause, charged towards the Zomstrosities.
***
The creatures were feeding, crouched over in the dirt, oblivious to all else. Ruby straightened out from her somersault and dropped to the ground. She tightened the grip on her makeshift daggers and sprinted directly towards them. Two of the things were backed towards her and she targeted those, directing the daggers towards the base of the skull, scoring a sure hit on one, snapping the blade in the process. The other dagger missed its mark as the creature turned to face her, instead burying itself in its throat, severing its jugular, a blow Ruby knew would not be fatal. She allowed her momentum to carry her through them, relying on their slow reaction, then circled, rounding the bus and joining Julie and Pete back on the mound. This time, the P.A. announcer had nothing to say on the matter.
***
“I make that one point each,” Chris said.
“The game’s only just started,” Scolfield said. “The outcome is inevitable.”
“You sure about that?”
“Absolutely.”
The creatures were staggering to their feet, faces painted with Daisy’s blood, the corpse they’d left behind barely recognizable as a man. One of their number was sprawled face down in the dirt, another drenched in its own black gore, listing slightly, but still walking.
Ruby was back with Pete and Julie behind the mound of brickwork, peering over the top as the creatures lurched forward. The mound would serve them as long as the creatures relied on a full frontal attack, if they split off and surrounded it, however, there’d be no escape. That wouldn’t be a problem though, Z’s weren’t that smart, they always went directly towards the source of food. Except…
“Watch this,” Scolfield said. The five remaining Z’s branched away from each other, two left, two right, the biggest, Quinirius, straight up the middle.
“Move girl,” Chris muttered. He wriggled his hands against his bonds, three staunch cable ties, wrapped around wrist and forearm. He fancied he felt some give.
thirty seven
These were thinking Z’s. That didn’t surprise her much after all she’d seen over the last two days, but it did present her with a problem. They were going to have to fight a running battle that was likely to favor their opponent.
The creatures had split up a couple of minutes ago, Quinirius standing to the fore, half concealed behind a wrecked vehicle, watching almost shyly, waiting. She picked up one of the others now, emerging from behind the yellow bus, the other was…
“Christ!” Pete shouted as the car wreck to his left creaked and tumbled, taking a small landslide with it. One of the creatures gawped up at them, an idiot grin on its face. Then it started climbing, sliding back, climbing again. Another now appeared at left, sneaking from the auto graveyard and now Quinirius broke cover and lumbered forward like a runaway steamroller. He threw himself at the mound, making four big paces before gravity and loose brickwork dragged him back.
Ruby looked to the space behind and saw that that direction, too, was cut off, one of the creatures weaving between the obstacles, scuttling with purpose. If she’d been alone, she’d have simply vaulted from the mound, sailed over Quinirius’ head, landed in the yard beyond. With Pete and Julie in tow that wasn’t an option.
Quinirius was climbing steadily, making distance. She kept him in view, reached down and rooted around for something to hurl at him. Her hand brushed against something with a dull, ragged edge, a rusted band-saw blade. Ruby hefted the blade, gripped the edge of it between thumb and forefinger.
“Ruby! Left!” Julie shouted. Ruby looked up and saw a zombie cresting the mound. She let the blade fly, acting out of pure instinct. It had been a while since she’d practiced with throwing stars, but the hours of rehearsal she’d put in over the years, starting at the age of four, had stayed with her. The blade took the creature just above the eye line, biting deep, dropping it into the rubble.
“That way! Move!” Ruby shouted already crossing in the direction of the fallen zombie. She scrambled down the mound, heard Pete and Julie following her, saw the Z’s aborting their descent, staggering after them.
The only path available led between the bus and a deep crater and Ruby took it, intending to round the bus, to perhaps circle round to the cover of the auto graveyard. But she’d just committed to that route when one of the creatures stepped from the front of the bus cutting off the path. She heard Julie scream behind her and knew that they were trapped.
***
“Slam dunk!” Scolfield said excitedly, scanning the arena through his glasses. “Your girl’s just walked straight into a wall.”
Chris couldn’t see Ruby from his position but be could see one of the creatures standing front and left of the bus, its stance and gaze suggesting that it was focused on something back there. He could see others to the rear, scampering forward urgently, the way Z’s will when food is at hand. He said a silent prayer and continued working at his bonds.
***
Quick and decisive action, that credo had kept her alive through countless missions, had saved her life a dozen times. The action she was thinking of now, was less of a lifesaving tactic, more of a ‘delaying the inevitable’ tactic. There was no getting around the fact that they were trapped. The only possible escape routes lie left and right, and right – a deep trench clogged with razor wire – she discounted immediately. Which left the bus, standing with its door gaping open in invitation. But the bus was a death trap. Even if they could make it through the door before the creatures pulled them down, the only way was up, and up would inevitably back them into a corner. Still, she had to try. She wasn’t going to die for want of trying.
“Get close,” she hissed and slid her foot a step nearer the door. Every inch was going to be vital. The creatures back and fore had stalled, holding their ground, watching silently, secure in the knowing that their quarry had no way out.
Ruby felt someone bump up against her. “We’re going to try for the bus,” she whispered.
“We’ll never make it,” Julie’s desperate voice spoke into her ear.
“Maybe not, but if we stay out here we’re getting eaten, at least this way we have a chance. When I give the word, you break for the bus and get climbing. Use the seats to pull yourself up. Maybe they won’t be able to follow. You ready?” She took another shuffling step forward. “Pete, are you ready?”
“Yeah,” Pete stammered. He didn’t sound ready, he sounded scared half to death.
“Right then,” Ruby said. She took a deep breath. “Go!”
Her voice seemed to startle the creature in front of her. It froze for the briefest of moments and in that instant, Julie bolted for the bus with Pete close behind, kicking up dust. For a moment the entire scene seemed to be reduced to freeze-frame action. Julie and Pete moving in laborious strides, the creature regaining its stance, lurching forward to cut them off, footfalls from behind that sounded like thunder, dust motes dancing in a beam of sunshine. And then Ruby was running.
Julie scrambled aboard the bus, going up the stairs on hands and knees. Pete was just behind her. He got a hand on the rail, a foothold that almost gained traction. Ruby was beside him when he fell, going down hard, his chin crunching the bottom step. She swooped down to pull him aboard, almost reaching him before he was wrenched away. One moment he was within her grasp, the next he was yanked backward, as though on a bungee rope that had reached the end of its stretch.
Ruby scrambled on board the bus, saw Julie already climbing and followed her. At the periphery of her vision she could see the other creatures scuttling past to partake in the meal.
thirty eight
The back of the bus seemed a mile away. Ruby grasped the steel frame of a seat and pulled herself higher. About halfway up, she caught up with Julie, clinging to one of the grasping bars, breathing heavily.
“Keep going,” Ruby said.
“I’m beat.”
“Keep going.”
They began to climb again, Ruby in the lead, coaxing Julie upward. By the time they reached the back row, with the emergency exit beside it, Ruby was drenched through. She anchored herself in the seat, reached out a hand and pulled Julie across the last few feet. Julie didn’t have much left to give. Ruby could see that. The woman clung to the seat taking in gasps of air that were part-sobs, part-breaths.
Outside, the zombies were still tearing at the corpse. That would buy them a respite, but sooner or later the things would enter the bus and begin climbing towards them. Would the creatures be able to reach them? She thought they might. She needed to find a way out of here. She tested the emergency exit. Locked. Of course it would be. The only other option was through the rear window, but breaking it wasn’t going to be easy, not when she’d have to aim her blows upward, while trying to prevent herself tumbling down the slope.<
br />
She wedged herself in, ankle wrapped around a bench leg.
“What are you doing?” Julie said.
“I’m going to try to punch out this window, maybe we can climb through, get on the roof, slide down when they come for us.
She got her balance, formed her hand into a half-fist, struck out and connected with the base of her palm. The glass bulged but held firm. The bus suddenly seemed to shift, eliciting a metallic screech. Ruby sensed movement behind her.
“They’re coming,” Julie said.
***
His wrists were bruised and bleeding and still the bounds held fast. He wasn’t getting out of the chair this way. That much was certain. How then? Probably not at all, Chris decided. He wrenched his wrist left and right again and felt the plastic cut in. He was going to keep trying.
At least he had sight of Ruby now, high up in the back row of the impossibly angled bus, Julie beside her. Pete was dead, the P.A. announcer celebrating his demise by playing a few bars of Queen’s “Another One Bites The Dust.” Ruby and Julie would soon be dead too, unless they got moving. Climbing to the back of the bus had bought them some time, that’s all. They were trapped up there, and one of the creatures had just clamored up the stairs towards the driver’s compartment.
***
Ruby angled her head and looked over her shoulder. Her line of sight ran straight down the center aisle, where one of the creatures had just dragged itself on board. The thing reached for a seatback in the first row, its claws jangling on metal. It secured a grip, dragged itself forward, blank eyes angled towards them, its maw gaped open, revealing jagged teeth. It shifted its grip to the new row, heaved, then repeated the action, ascending towards them as easily as riding an escalator.
