by Matt Ryan
Joey squinted and watched the goat family as they shifted from brown to white and then back again. In a second, the whole room shifted to its white base. Joey looked for Harris at the doorway but there was no one.
“What happened?” Hank asked.
“I don’t know. The power is fluctuating—” Julie said as her fingers slid on her Panavice, before an intercom voice cut her off.
“Attention, attention. Hull breach. Everyone report to your designated zones, and await further instructions.” The message kept repeating.
An explosion from above shook the room. Joey covered his head with his hands.
“What’s going on?” Poly mouthed.
“MM. I think they’ve found us,” he called out over the warning blaring.
THE INTERCOM REPEATED ITS MESSAGE and Joey cringed. He didn’t know their designated area. Where should they go? They moved toward the scene generator door—it flew open.
“We have got to go, now!” Harris yelled. He stood at the doorway of the room. “Go to your rooms and grab your weapons. Meet me at the elevator. Run!” Then he was gone.
They all sprinted back to their hallway. Joey bolted into his room, intent on getting one item. He opened the drawer next to his bed and pulled out Samantha’s box. He ran to his door, adjusting his guns under his jacket, and opened it. Harris paced the hallway. Another explosion from above shook the floor.
Harris’s eyes darted to Joey, glanced at the other doors, and resumed pacing. If Harris was nervous, then Joey felt a near panic building in him. He moved to open Lucas and Hank’s door when they opened it themselves. Poly and Julie came out of their room a few seconds later.
“What’s going on?” Poly asked.
“He’s found us. We may only have minutes,” Harris said. Another explosion rocked the structure.
Joey looked up and gripped his gun. Tendrils of dust fell from the ceiling. He didn’t want to run. He wanted to kill. He wanted to end it now. “Let’s stay and fight,” he suggested.
“No, not here. He’ll have the upper hand. He’s prepared.” Harris shook his head. “Listen, we have no time for debate. Almadon is nuking the mainframe as we speak. With any luck, they might not even know you were here. Your rooms will be ablaze in a matter of minutes as well.” He jogged to the elevator, the doors opened and he stepped in. Joey stayed in the back and made sure all his friends got on.
The elevator plunged to the lower levels of the complex. The doors slid open and they ran down a long hallway, to a door at the end.
“The Alius stone is in the next room.” Harris said, pointing at the big steel door.
“Where do we go?” Lucas asked.
“Back to your home,” he replied.
“Preston?” Poly looked horror-struck.
“It’s the best place to go right now.”
“Is it clean?” Joey asked.
“Clean enough,” Harris said.
The sound of clanking metal emanated from the elevator, as if someone dropped a can of soda on its metal top. He turned to the doors as an explosion blew the elevator doors off, sending smoke down the hallway. They were far enough away to be safe from it, but the concussion blew by them.
Something landed behind the smoke in the elevator with a thud. Joey struggled to see the movements masked by the fog. He pulled out one of his guns, and three silver assassins emerged into the hallway.
Harris shot them dead at the elevator doorway before Joey even got one shot off. He couldn’t believe Harris could shoot from that distance. But his admiration had to wait, as three more fell into the elevator and ran at them. Harris shot two more and Joey took out the third.
Harris’s Panavice chimed and he held it to his ear. “Okay, I’ll get there as quick as I can.” He lowered his hand. “Compry and Nathen are pinned down, I need to go and help them.” Harris pointed at the Alius stone room. “Get in there and don’t wait for me. I’ll hold them off.”
Joey grunted an argument, but Harris ran down the hallway toward the elevator. Go on without him? He stuffed his gun in his holster and followed his friends into the Alius stone room. It smelled clean and didn’t have a hint of zombie goo anywhere in it.
Lucas and Julie rushed to the stone in the middle.
“You know what you’re doing?” Hank asked.
“No, not really, I mean Almadon showed us a few times.” Lucas kneeled next to the stone. “Julie?”
“You were better at it in the simulation.”
Lucas shrugged and looked put out. “We were supposed to spend most of the day tomorrow learning this.” He rubbed his hands together, and held them over the stone. He paused, hovering over the stone.
Maybe Joey shouldn’t have been avoiding his friends the last few days. They were learning how to travel with the Alius stone and he didn’t even know.
Gunfire erupted in the hall followed by a large explosion. Smoke poured into the stone room. An Arrack ran in with a dagger in hand. He shot it three times before it fell on the floor. Another Arrack emerged from the smoke; its large eyes regarded its dead friend, and lunged for Hank. Joey shot it in midair.
“We got to get out of here,” he called to Lucas.
Lucas shook his head and looked to Julie.
Julie looked several times between her Panavice, Joey, and the stone. “You got this.”
Lucas nodded his head. “No problem, I got this,” he said, as if trying to convince himself.
Rapid gunfire echoed down the hall. Joey trained his gun on the open door.
“I hope this works,” Lucas prayed aloud.
The dome went black.
WATER SEEPED INTO JOEY’S SHOES. A familiar smell hit his nose and the blood left his face. No other place smelled like it.
Joey pointed his gun at the moans coming from behind him. In the darkness, he used his ears to guide his aim. Julie lit the room with her Panavice, at the same time, Lucas screamed. He thrashed in the water with a zombie’s mouth attached to his leg. Pulling an arrow out, he stabbed it in the head until it fell from his leg.
No one could see Lucas’s leg under the water, couldn’t tell if it was bitten.
Glancing at the broken ceiling, Joey confirmed where they were . . . Ryjack. Under the casino.
The dark, domed room filled with the sounds of splashing water and moans of zombies. They weren’t alone. A zombie sloshed toward Poly and Joey shot it in the head. The sound thundered through the small space. Poly spun with a knife in hand and threw one at the zombie approaching Joey. It fell next to him and splashed water on his pants. The thing was only a few feet from taking a bite out of his back.
“Get us out of here, Lucas!” Poly squealed.
Lucas dragged his leg and kneeled next to the stone. A zombie fell from the ceiling and crashed next to him in the water. He stumbled back as it emerged from the water, clawing after him. Joey shot it in the head and it echoed through the bowels of the casino.
“Now! There’ll be more any second,” Joey ordered.
Julie directed her light to the stone and Lucas. Lucas’s red-covered leg came into view. He froze, transfixed at the sight of his leg. He knew—they all knew—what it meant. Placing his hands next to his wound, Lucas peeled back the damp clothes.
Another zombie fell from the opening above, sending foul water splashing on everyone. Hank smashed its head with a large piece of concrete.
Julie bounded to the stone. “Anywhere is better than here.” She punched her fingers against the stone and it hummed.
The ceiling changed to a steel dome. However, the foul water and smell still filled the room.
Julie ran to Lucas. “You’re bit.” She helped Lucas to his feet.
“Where’d you take us?” Lucas clutched his leg and winced.
“I don’t know.”
He laughed—his face already pale. “Maybe somewhere awesome.”
“Maybe,” Julie sobbed.
Lucas fell to his knees and bent his head back.
Julie grabbed his arm an
d tried to get him up. “Help me. We need to get him out of here.”
Hank rushed to help her carry him across the dome to the steel door, while Joey avoided the carcasses littering the floor. He kept his gun trained on each body as he passed it. He wouldn’t let another of his friends get hurt.
Poly took her place next to him as they reached the door. He pulled the handle and climbed out of the room and onto a stone ledge in the middle of a hill. He helped Hank lay Lucas on the ledge. Joey swallowed and turned away from the blood trailing down his leg.
Of all the places, in all of the worlds, Lucas had to choose the one filled with zombies. He wanted to be mad, but settled for pacing. “Is he going to be okay?” It was a stupid question and Lucas answered with a moan.
“I don’t know.” Julie flailed her hands as she knelt next to Lucas’s leg. “Hank, open that bag and get me the white box with the tree on it.” Her face contorted with fear.
Hank flung the bag open and pulled the box out. She rummaged through the white box as they hovered over her.
Poly paced nearby, her face occasionally peeking from behind her hands. “You know what you’re doing?”
“Almadon showed me some basic medical stuff.” Julie held a glass bottle with red liquid in it. “Can you guys give me some room?”
Joey stepped back and scanned their surroundings, realizing they had no idea where they were. A zombie could be nearby, or who knows what else. He looked up to the cliff they were next to, waiting for a zombie to fall off the edge. Above them, he saw large pine trees. Below them, an ocean splashed its waves on a sandy beach.
“This may hurt.” Julie had put on gloves and pulled up Lucas’s pant leg. She dipped her finger in the red liquid and pulled out a glob of the goo. She grimaced and watched Lucas’s face as she rubbed the medicine over his leg. It stopped bleeding immediately and Lucas’s face changed from total agony to complete wonder.
Lucas half-smiled. “Wow, what’s in that stuff?”
“It’s a bit of everything.”
Julie studied the wound with the blood cleared off. Two crescent-shaped bite marks marred his leg at the calf.
“I’ll put some bandages on it.”
Hank covered his mouth and turned away. Joey knew what the big man felt. He felt it as well. He saw it on everyone’s face. The question hung in the air like a neon zeppelin over them. He looked Julie in the eyes; someone had to ask.
“How long do we have?”
She stared at Joey, her eyes full of tears. She didn’t want to hear the question, as much as he didn’t want to ask it. “I don’t know.”
“I’m fine.” Lucas climbed to his feet as Julie gasped. “See? All good now.” He walked in a tight circle, holding his arms out with a big smile.
“He needs a hospital,” Poly pleaded. “We need to get him somewhere where he can get help.” She pointed at the stone room.
“No can do. That’s a one-way stone we came in on, a slave stone,” Lucas said. “What? I listened to stuff Almadon said.”
Joey sighed. Stuck in an unknown world got his heart beating. Were they still on Ryjack? Harris said the stone seemed to have a mind of its own when you tempted it. Could the stone be so vengeful, it would send them back there?
“Where’s the nearest stone?” Joey asked, staring at the crashing waves below them.
Julie held the Panavice in her hand. “About fifty miles to the south, there is a master stone we can use.”
“Can you walk on it?” Joey pointed at Lucas’s leg.
Lucas raised an eyebrow. “You want to race?”
Joey smiled and shook his head. “You couldn’t beat me with two good legs.”
“I was talking to Hank. I could beat him with zombie bites on both legs.”
“Not if I got my hands on you first,” Hank added.
“Can we just race out of here and get to that master stone?” Poly stared at Lucas’s leg.
A small dirt path hugged the cliff wall and led down to the beach.
“If we keep close to the water, it’ll cover our tracks.” Julie shrugged. “I don’t know if they can follow us or not.”
Joey glanced back up at the ledge. “Yeah, sure, why not?” He hoped Harris could follow them. It didn’t feel right not having him around. They now had no safety net; bad decisions could not be made. Making the wrong choice would most likely get them killed.
Waves crashed nearby, sending a mist over them. He felt the salty water on the back of his hand. He’d never seen the ocean, and admired the massive body of water as he moved closer to the water line.
THEY’D MADE GOOD TIME JOGGING down the beach, trying to close the distance to the master stone. Joey’s legs and chest burned as he slowed down and gazed at the sun nearing the ocean’s edge.
“It’s going to be dark soon. We should find a place to make camp,” he said between breaths.
“Not on the beach, we’ll be sitting ducks.” Julie bent over, panting.
“I think I see a path up the cliff,” Hank pointed out.
Joey led the way up a crooked path on the rocky cliff. The climb up the narrow path was slow, but when he reached the top, he looked back at the setting sun over the ocean, with its thin, golden clouds stretching over the horizon.
“We’re on the west coast. I’d say northern California by the look of the trees,” Julie said.
“You think we could be back on Earth?” Poly squeaked with hope.
“I doubt it, no trash on the shore line, no planes.”
“As long as we’re not on Ryjack,” Lucas said.
Poly looked distant as she let the sun warm her face. “My mom took me to San Diego once for some convention. I stood on a beach and watched the sunset . . . just like this one. It’s amazing.”
Joey thought the sunset made the world familiar. Maybe, by some miracle, they were on Earth. Maybe it was a no-fly zone. He turned away from the view and faced the forest. Pine trees lined the bluff, with ferns and bushes filling in between.
“Let’s get far enough in so we can’t be seen,” he said. “And don’t make any noises.”
“You think we might still be in Ryjack?” Julie asked.
“Don’t say that,” Poly begged.
“It’s a possibility,” Julie huffed. “Let’s just find a place to camp for the night.”
Joey didn’t think it smelled like Ryjack, but things could be deceiving. A lurking zombie might be behind a pine tree in the distance. He led the walk into the forest with his gun out, straining to see deep into the darkening forest.
The rocky edge of the coastline gave way to a pine needle floor. Joey stepped into the dense forest, feeling the strange similarity of stepping into Watchers Woods. He wished he never stepped in there. If he’d just listened to his parents, maybe Simon would’ve never found them.
What was done was done. He gripped his gun and tried not to look back.
With the forest around them, he took in the sweet, moist smell. It was amazing compared to the recycled air of the bunker and the horrendous smell of the Ryjack zombies. He stepped over a rock covered in moss, enjoying the new surroundings. The bunker had dragged him down more than he realized. It felt great to be outside and away from the cold walls and artificial lighting.
After a few minutes of walking, he couldn’t see the ocean, but the drone of crashing waves gave Joey enough reason to push farther into the forest. They walked until twilight set. He found a clearing with some grass and thin layers of pine needles spread around the forest floor.
“We can camp here tonight,” Joey said. He cleared an area with his foot and then piled pine needles to create a makeshift bed. Poly watched him as he made his bed and matched his style, fashioning her bed next to his.
Darkness overcame the forest and the night sounds appeared. The crickets creaked and the owls hooted. Joey listened to the familiar noises, but refused to let the familiarities set in. His gut told him he was far away from home.
“This place sounds like home,” Poly said,
echoing his thoughts. “But it sure feels different.”
“Yeah, it does.” Julie eyed the surrounding area. “You guys think they’re okay? You know, Almadon, Compry, and them?” Julie asked.
“They’re pros. There’s no way they didn’t have a hundred ways to escape that situation.” Lucas sat down, favoring his leg.
“How far away are we from the stone, Julie?” Joey asked.
“We have a long trek tomorrow and we should see it the day after next.”
Another night in the forest didn’t seem like a bad idea to him. He was starting to make out the stars in the darkening sky peeking through the tree canopy. A branch cracked from behind him and he jumped up, his gun in hand, only to see the branch had fallen from a nearby tree.
“We probably shouldn’t make too much noise. We don’t know what could be lurking out there,” he said.
“I know, freaking zombies, grinning at us in the dark,” Lucas agreed.
“Shut up, Lucas,” Julie said as she nervously looked around. “Here let me change those bandages.” She pulled out the medical box and worked on his leg. He seemed to relax as she spread more goo over the wound.
Poly scooted closer to Joey and grabbed his arm. She seemed scared as she looked around the forest.
She isn’t scared of anything, usually. He slid his arm around her back and pulled her closer for a quick hug. She seemed to relax and lean against him for support.
A gust of cold air blew by them and stirred the forest canopy.
“We better keep watch,” Lucas said looking at the swaying branches above.
“Yeah, I’m not sure if I’ll be sleeping much anyways,” Julie said.
To keep it fair, they decided which two would take first watch with a game of rock-paper-scissors. Joey was with Julie on the first shift.
As the others settled into sleep, he found a spot next to Julie and sat down. Studying her Panavice, she curved around it protectively. The screen produced little light. She must have had some kind of night setting on it.
