by Ryan Casey
She’d been warned there would be footsteps. There were people running past, after all. People trying to escape that place. People trying to get away from the horrible things that were going down.
And it made her sad. Because as much as she’d never felt like that place was right… it was still better than it was now.
But at the same time, it showed just how much of a sham this place really was.
But the footsteps. The difference with these ones were that they were behind her.
Right behind her.
She looked around, over her shoulder. It was weird because most of the footsteps were running past her, away from her. Few of them were heading back in this direction.
It made her worry. Because she was sure it wasn’t Mike and the others. She would’ve seen them. She was watching closely and waiting for them.
But at the same time… what if it was Aiden on his own?
What if that really was his plan all along?
Get rid of Mike, get back here, then get away with her.
She looked around. Scanned the woods. But she couldn’t see anything. Couldn’t see anyone around her.
She held onto the knife that Mike had given her regardless. The one that he always carried with him. The Becker BK2, he called it. His favourite. He told her it’d kept him safe a lot of times, and that if she just held onto it and only used it when she absolutely needed to, it would keep her safe too.
She hoped so. Because as much as she told herself she was feeling better now, as much as she told herself she felt stronger… she was still worried. She was still afraid.
Everyone was afraid.
They just had to get used to living with it.
She went to turn around to face the extraction point.
But that’s when she saw it again.
There was a figure. Movement. Something rustling through the grass, heading towards her. She couldn’t see anyone. She couldn’t figure out whether it was a person or a dog or whatever.
Deep down, she hoped it was Arya.
That somehow, out of the blue, she and Arya would be reunited all over again.
But whatever it was, they were coming towards her.
She lifted her knife and held her breath.
And then she saw it.
It was a pig. A little pig, snorting away.
For a few seconds, Kelsie just stayed sat there, totally still, knife raised, a state of confusion setting in.
But as this pig sniffed around her, snorting away, Kelsie realised exactly where it was from.
It was one of the pigs from down at the extraction point. It must’ve got free in the middle of all the fighting.
And Kelsie felt sorry for it, in a way. Because it had escaped. It had escaped its fate—a fate where it was destined to become food.
And for that reason… she felt bad about what she’d have to do. Because a pig like this was valuable, especially when they were living out here in the wild.
She stroked the pig. Felt its head turning towards her hand, comforted by her.
“It’s okay,” she said, lifting the knife, heart still racing from the adrenaline of thinking someone was racing towards her just moments earlier. “You don’t have to worry anymore. It’s okay…”
And then something happened.
The pig.
It looked around.
Then it squealed and went racing off into the wild.
Kelsie frowned. She turned around, looked to where it had gone, tried to see it, tried to trace it.
But there was no sign of it.
It had gone.
She sat there, turning around. Because that pig had been spooked by something. Something had disturbed it. Caught its attention. Something had scared it.
And as Kelsie sat there, she wondered. Was it just her? Had she pushed a little too far past its limits?
And then she heard the rustling right in front of her again, and this time it wasn’t a pig that stepped out.
“Hello, Kelsie,” the voice said. “Considering you’re supposed to be dead, you look pretty alive to me.”
She recognised the voice.
And then, she recognised the face.
It was Richard.
And he was holding a rifle.
Chapter Forty-Five
“Drop the gun. Lift your hands up. Finish this, Aiden. Finish it now.”
Mike held on to the rifle and saw the three people surrounding him. The people who looked like Aiden. The people dressed just like him.
The people pointing their rifles at him.
And Mike wanted to fight. Because he was confident he could get the better of one of them, at least. Maybe even two of them using the element of surprise.
But three…
Three was going to be difficult.
Especially when he didn’t really know where Aiden stood.
Especially when he didn’t really know where Aiden’s allegiances would be in a situation like this.
He looked around and saw Aiden staring back at him. And there was that changed expression to his face again. That look like he was torn. Like he didn’t know what to do. Because suddenly, he had the upper hand again. He had a chance to step back on side with his people. A chance to turn on Mike and forget Kelsie even existed.
“Come on,” one of the guards said. “Quit messing around. We don’t have all the time in the world here. Get that rifle from him right this second.”
Mike held tightly onto the rifle. All around him, occasionally, he heard the peppering of gunfire. He heard shouts and screams. In the distance, he saw people flooding out of the gates of the extraction point. A heaven that had turned into hell. Out into whatever world awaited them out there.
And he felt for them. It wasn’t easy going from the comforts of a place like this and back into that horror show. He’d been there himself. It was only through going through it repeatedly that he’d managed to harden himself to the inevitability of it. And even then, it wasn’t easy.
He felt a hand on the side of his rifle.
When he looked, he saw Aiden looking at him.
“Hand it over, Mike,” he said. “It’s done. It’s finished.”
The guard pointing the rifle at Mike frowned. “Wait. You know this guy?”
Mike wanted to step in and tell the truth.
But before he could get a word in, it was Aiden who spoke.
“He killed Dom,” Aiden said. “He—he killed so many of our people out there.”
“That’s bullshit—”
“He’s been helping that girl, Kelsie. He helped her get away. She was his spy. His goal—his and his people’s goal—it was to destroy this place. It still is.”
The guards looked at Aiden and then at Mike, disgust on their faces now.
“He’s lying,” Mike said.
But he knew it was pointless. He knew it was completely in vain.
Because no matter what he tried to say, Aiden had created doubt around him now. He’d made the guards certain that he was a part of something.
The male guard narrowed his eyes and stepped closer, pointing the rifle right at Mike’s chest. “Well,” he said. “It looks like his luck’s run out, doesn’t it?”
He felt Aiden pulling the rifle away from his hands, and he felt betrayed. He felt like he’d trusted someone all over again, only for that trust to be shat on; to be cast away. Because as much as Aiden insisted he had Kelsie’s best interests at heart, this proved otherwise.
“You’ll regret this,” Mike said as Aiden snatched the rifle from his hands. “You’ll regret it when you try to sleep at night. You’ll think about her and you’ll—”
Aiden smacked Mike across the jaw with the rifle. “Shut up. Get on your knees.”
But Mike didn’t budge. He stood his ground. “I won’t kneel for you. I’ll never kneel for a snivelling traitor like you.”
Aiden opened his mouth like he was going to say something. Like he was going to beg Mike to kneel.
But t
hen he just pulled back that rifle and smacked him across the face again.
Mike stumbled, this time. Stumbled down to one knee.
And before he could get back to his feet, Aiden beat him again.
Then again.
And then he was on his knees.
He spat out a mouthful of blood. Looked up with blurred eyes at Aiden, and at the guards standing around, staring down at him.
Aiden lifted the rifle. Pointed it to Mike’s head.
“Finish him off, Aiden,” the guard said. “No more time for pricks like this.”
Aiden looked down at Mike. Mike looked back up at him. And as much as he wanted to survive… as much as he wanted to stay alive for Kelsie, for everyone… he wasn’t going to beg. Not for this prick. Not for anyone. “Get it done,” Mike said.
He saw Aiden’s finger tightening on the trigger, and he felt a flicker of sadness, of regret. All the people whose fates he would never know of. All the people who had fallen already.
But he’d be with Sofia soon.
He’d be with Holly soon.
“Do it,” Mike said.
Aiden’s finger was shaking. His gaze was solid. Right into Mike’s eyes. And Mike lost a sense of everything else around him. Sounds drifted into the background; smells faded away.
There was just him and Aiden.
Just him and this rifle.
“Don’t you ever forget my face,” Mike said. “Don’t you ever forget Kelsie’s—”
“Find your people. Then get the hell out of here.”
Mike frowned. “What—”
“You were right,” Aiden said, half-smile on his face. “You were right about everything. Go.”
Mike didn’t even have time to react.
Because he just saw Aiden turn around.
He saw him turn the rifle on his own people.
And he saw him fire.
Mike didn’t budge. He hadn’t had time to.
He saw Aiden’s bullets slam into the face of the first guard.
Then into the second.
And it was then that he started to turn away. That he started to go; started to run. Because that’s what this was. All along, that’s what this was.
Aiden was helping him.
All this time, and Aiden was sacrificing himself for him.
He heard the gasp from Aiden, and he knew what had happened right away.
The third guard. The one who Aiden fired at right now, finished him off.
He’d lifted his rifle before Aiden had a chance to turn it on him.
He’d shot Aiden right in the chest.
That third person.
And Mike watched as Aiden fell down. He watched as he clutched his chest.
Silence followed the chaos.
Peace followed the storm.
He wanted to keep going. To get to his people. Then to get out of this place, once and for all.
But he found himself walking back over to Aiden.
Back to his side.
Aiden lay back against the ground. He had gone pale, almost in an instant. He was shaking, shivering.
Blood was pooling out of his chest.
Mike put a hand on Aiden’s shoulder. “It’s okay,” he said. “I’m… I’m going to help you. We’re going to find a way to get you out of this mess—”
“Go,” Aiden said, holding up a cold hand.
And Mike didn’t want to take it. Not after what this man had done. Not after he’d killed Nina. Not after all the pain he’d caused.
But then he thought about the things he’d done, too. The people he’d killed. The difficult decisions he’d made.
And he took Aiden’s hand and said the only words he knew Aiden wanted to hear all along.
“I forgive you,” Mike said. “You… you helped me. You helped Kelsie. Thank you.”
He saw something, then. Aiden’s eyes. Tears filled them. Not tears of fear. But tears of gratitude. Tears of guilt. Tears of a man who had lived with demons for far too long and was finally having them exorcised.
“Thank you,” Aiden said. “Thank—thank you.”
Mike stayed by his side. He held on to his hand as it got colder, colder.
He kept holding on as it started to shake. As Aiden’s breathing grew more intense, more panicked.
And he kept holding on as his breathing softened again. As it grew calmer. More peaceful.
He stayed by Aiden’s side until his shaking hand went still.
Until his breathing stopped completely.
And when he looked back down at him, he saw that even though the light had faded from his eyes, he was looking up at Mike. A smile on his face.
Peace at last.
Mike swallowed a lump in his throat.
He closed Aiden’s eyes, then took the rifle back from his hands.
And then he stood up and turned towards the extraction point, as chaos surrounded them.
It was time to search this place.
It was time to find his people—in whatever state they were in.
And it was time to get out of this mess, once and for all.
Chapter Forty-Six
Kelsie watched Richard emerge through the trees, rifle pointed right at her, and she felt her body turn to stone.
He was taller than she remembered. It was weird seeing him like this, too. His hair all messy, cuts and bruises across his face, his shirt splattered with blood. He looked so professional back in the extraction point.
But he didn’t look professional anymore.
He looked like a madman.
“I mean, you could’ve just stayed put,” he said. “You could’ve just accepted what we had for you. Accepted your education. Accepted your nice food, your nice clothes. Accepted your nice goddamned life. But you had to go and ruin it, didn’t you? You had to go and ruin the whole goddamned thing.”
Kelsie backed up. She could feel the sickness returning to her stomach, feel the nausea taking over her once again. She held on to that knife with her sweaty hand, but she was shaking. She wasn’t sure she was going to be able to use it. Not against a man with a gun. A man like this.
“Your biggest mistake, though?” Richard said. “Not getting far, far away from this place. Because I’m going to make you pay for what you’ve done. I’m going to make you suffer. Just like I made your bitch of a friend suffer.”
When Richard said those words, something changed inside of Kelsie. Like a switch had flicked. “What about my friend? What’s happened?”
Richard half-smiled. “It’s a shame Alison had to go and open her big mouth. It’s a shame she had to go and tell everyone about what the purpose of the extraction point really was. But hey. I put a bullet through her. I made sure she paid for what she did. Justice was done. Barely made my own frigging way out of that place… but I guess bad news for you that I did.”
Kelsie felt mixed emotions. Mostly devastated that Alison was gone.
But at the same time, she found herself smiling. Because she was proud.
Proud of Alison for standing up.
Proud of Alison for bringing that place down.
“You can wipe that smile off your face now,” Richard said, placing the rifle right against Kelsie’s forehead. “You’re dead. You’re finished. This is where it ends for you.”
“But it’s over for you, isn’t it?” Kelsie said.
Richard’s forehead twitched. “What do you mean by that?”
“Your home has fallen. Everyone knows what a liar you are. You might kill me, but you’re the one who’s finished. You’re the one who’s lost everything.”
She saw his eyelids twitching, just a little.
And then he lowered the rifle and turned it over, readying himself to hit her with it.
That’s when she saw her opportunity.
She pulled back the knife and rammed it into his leg.
He cried out. Fell down with shock in his eyes, grasping and clutching as blood pooled out.
And Kelsie saw her moment.
She shot past him, out into the woods.
She was just getting sight of freedom when she felt a hand wrap around her ankle.
She fell forward. Hit the ground.
When she looked back, she saw Richard staring at her, mania in his bloodshot eyes.
He was still holding that rifle.
Still pointing it at Kelsie.
Smile on his face.
“You’ll never get away,” he said.
Tightening his grip around the trigger.
“You’ll never—”
A blast.
A blast out of nowhere.
Kelsie closed her eyes and waited for the pain to come.
But it didn’t.
She opened her eyes, peeked through them.
There was a mess of blood and bone where Richard’s head once was. He was dead. Shot dead, no doubt about it.
And standing over him was…
A man.
An oriental-looking man. Wearing a doctor’s style outfit.
He walked over to her. Held out a hand. “Are you okay?” he said.
And even though Kelsie didn’t know this guy, even though she’d never met him… she grabbed his hand and fell into his arms.
Because right away, she felt different about this man.
Right away, she felt something else.
Right away, as she stood shaking over the fallen body of the psychopath who ran the extraction point… she felt trust.
Chapter Forty-Seven
It didn’t take Mike long to find Alison, Gina, and Arya.
But when he did… everything changed all over again.
The building, and extended section of portacabins, was quiet. There were a few footsteps above, people running about, trying to hide—or trying to find the hidden. But down here, it was silent.
Silent except for the laboured breathing of the person in front of him.
“Alison,” he said.
He walked towards her. Towards Gina and Arya, who were both sitting beside her. Gina was crying. Arya was whining.
Mike was so happy to see them… but so terrified by what might happen next.
He put a hand on Gina’s back when he reached them. Stroked and cuddled Arya. And then he turned to Alison—still in disbelief about all of this—who was sitting there.
