Everything Dies [Season One]

by T. W. Malpass

  Kristin and Vincent felt like going to the bedroom for a lie down, but as happy as Emily was playing endless rounds of Go Fish with her new friend, they worried about leaving her on her own with a room full of strangers.

  Ethan had fallen asleep on the hard floor, wrapping his arms around himself like a toddler. Raine stayed at the window, noting every single person who walked within eye-shot of the container.

  Eventually the Graham’s moved to the sofa to rest. Kristin laid her head on her husband’s shoulder. She thought about reaching for the remote, and then remembered all she would see would be events that had been and gone. Cold reality gripped her all at once. The truth was they had no idea what the world had become since they’d entered the camp, or if anything remained of their old lives.

  11

  Kristin felt something nudging her arm, and she began to stir. She winced at the tight knot in her neck as she lifted her clammy body away from Vincent’s.

  Raine stood over both of them, staring. Her skin seemed darker in the low lights of the container. ‘It’s time,’ she whispered.

  Kristin’s vision crawled back into focus. The blinds on the windows were closed, but she could sense night was upon them. Her next instinct was to twist around on the sofa to look at the dining table. Emily wasn’t there.

  Before she had time to panic, Adam appeared next to Raine. ‘I put her to bed, Mrs. Graham. She put herself to bed actually,’ he said.

  ‘She’s been sleeping soundly – just like you,’ Raine added.

  ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to doze off. We were up most of last night because of Emily’s tooth.’ Kristin rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

  ‘She did mention that it had started to ache before she fell asleep. I knew where the pills were, but I didn’t dare give her any: I had no idea when you’d given her her last dose.’

  ‘It’s OK, Adam. Thank you.’

  ‘If it’s that bad, it needs to be dealt with. We can’t have it being a problem once we get out there,’ Raine said.

  ‘Don’t worry. We won’t slow you down,’ Kristin said. ‘And it kind of sounds like you’ll leave us behind if we do, anyway.’

  ‘I didn’t say that.’

  All the talking and moving around finally roused Vincent from his curled up position on the sofa. Kristin left him stretching, getting up and walking to Emily’s bedroom. The little girl was lying on her stomach. She must have pushed the sheets to the bottom of the mattress because they had wrapped themselves around one of her calves.

  Kristin sat down beside her and placed her hand on the small of her back, relieved when she felt it rising as her lungs inflated. She touched her forehead to check her temperature. The skin contact caused Emily to flinch but she didn’t wake. She felt warm – warm enough to be running a slight fever. She wanted to kiss her, but she didn’t want to disturb her again. Kristin knew she needed to get up soon. She just looked so peaceful where she was.

  Vincent appeared at the doorway holding half of a painkiller and half an Amoxicillin, as well as a glass of water to wash them both down. He didn’t say anything at first; he just wanted to watch Kristin watching Emily. ‘I’ll do it,’ he whispered. ‘I’ll wake her.’

  Kristin forced out a weary smile and got up, touching his chest as she passed by him. Raine was waiting to greet her in the living quarters. ‘Time to get your stuff together.

  We move in ten minutes,’ she said.

  Kristin collected the two bags she’d packed before Raine had returned with Ethan. She’d followed her instructions and left out everything considered non-essential.

  Raine stayed by the door and waited for everyone to gather up behind her. Kristin first, then Vincent cradling a still-sleepy Emily in his arms, with Adam and Ethan bringing up the rear. She stared at each one of them in turn as she spoke. ‘We travel single file and you follow my instructions. If I signal to wait, you wait. If I tell you to run, you haul ass. No questions, no hesitation. We take a straight route to the tents and approach the fence from the northeast. There’s a blind spot for the currently occupied towers between the rec area and the water pump. That’s our way out. Once I open that door, no talking – not one word.’

  ‘Are you absolutely certain about this?’ Vincent said.

  ‘Anyone feels like backing out, by all means stay behind. You can watch the news replays until the soldiers break in here in the morning to put a bullet in your head. Or you could sample their fine cuisine.’ And that was the end of the discussion. Whatever misgivings they had, they were all going to do it.

  Raine glanced down at her watch. ‘Out of the ten guard towers, six are manned right now. There are also four soldiers patrolling the grounds. In one minute, our route to the east side of the fence should be clear – we will be able to go unhindered.’

  Those 60 seconds seemed to go on forever, but eventually Raine yanked the door open and jumped down. Crouching, she hugged the outer wall of the container and peeked around the corner. The guard patrolling the perimeter of the west fence had his back to them. She waved the rest of the group down to her.

  They followed closely, across the exposed divide between the container block and the tents, eventually ducking behind the wall of the showers. The camp was shrouded in darkness. Only the lights from the barracks and the roaming spot lamps mounted on the watchtowers cut through the blackness.

  Amidst the deathly silence, they heard the distant crunching boots of the foot patrols near the transit station coming from the south. Raine got down on her hands and knees and began to crawl, pointing to indicate that everyone should do the same.

  Vincent struggled to support Emily’s weight underneath him while trying to move using one arm.

  Before they had reached the halfway mark of the tent block, Raine raised her hand. They stopped and held their positions, still on all fours. Another set of footsteps could now be clearly heard. These were heading directly north through the centre of the camp. Raine looked back and saw a single man strolling, as bold as brass, towards the front gates. Tall and wiry, he was wearing a tattered cap and had a hiking pack over his shoulder.

  One of the foot patrols spotted him almost immediately and ran over to confront him. ‘Past curfew, sir. Where do you think you’re going?’ The soldier opened his palm to form a stop sign.

  It didn’t deter him. The wiry man kept on going, forcing the private to raise his rifle. ‘Are you deaf or just stupid? I said stop.’ The soldier’s shout alerted another guard close by, who started jogging over to the commotion. They also caught the attention of one of the towers near the entrance. Its spotlight beam turned towards them like a roving eye.

  Raine instructed the group to eat the dirt and they got as low as they could.

  ‘Look, I don’t want any trouble.’ The wiry man spoke in a calm, deep southern accent. ‘I just want outta here.’

  ‘Get back to your tent, sir. You can discuss this in the morning with the CO,’ the soldier replied.

  ‘All I’m doin’ is exercisin’ my right as a citizen of this country.’

  The group could see the wiry man was hiding something behind his back. The glow from the spotlight revealed a small hatchet. He narrowed his eyes as he stared the young soldier down. ‘Best let me through, boy, and open the goddamn gate.’

  A third guard approached from the container block, and three more emerged from the barracks and headed to the scene.

  Raine was about to signal to make their move when Adam stood up and wandered out into the open, his hands in the air. Vincent attempted to grab hold of him, but it was too late. Another tower spotlight on the back fence zeroed in on him and the soldier running from the containers aimed his weapon at the boy.

  ‘Hey, listen. We-we. Please don’t shoot.’

  The soldier gazed beyond him and immediately noticed the others crouched near the tents. ‘You there. On your feet. Out where we can see you.’

  They had no choice. Raine rose quicker than the others and stormed into the light, giving Adam
a glare that made him feel more terrified of her than he did of the soldiers.

  The appearance of the refugees distracted the private watching over the wiry man, providing him with a window of opportunity. He whipped his hatchet out from behind his back, but the private managed to block his first swing with his rifle. He then struck the man in the chest, knocking him to the ground. ‘Stay down, asshole, or I will shoot you in the face,’ he said, sticking the gun barrel against his pointed nose.

  By the time the guards from the barracks had reached them, they had got all the escapees lined up, their hands behind their heads – all except for Vincent.

  ‘Put her down and get your hands up now!’ one of the soldiers demanded.

  Vincent continued to cling to Emily, who shielded her eyes from the harsh lights, shaking and sobbing. ‘She won’t let go of me. Can’t you see she’s terrified?’

  ‘I said—’

  ‘Stand down, private. He’s not going anywhere.’ The voice came from an officer who had rushed from the barracks with an armed escort. He looked straight into Kristin’s eyes and they immediately recognised each other. ‘You!’ Banks said. ‘I guess you’ve already realised that you’re never going to make that phone call.’

  ‘You’re a lying bastard,’ Kristin said.

  ‘Lying is sometimes part of following orders, Mrs. Graham.’

  The lights and the raised voices had inevitably disturbed some of the residents close by, and a number of them were now starting to exit their tents and containers.

  Banks noticed this and signalled to the patrol guards. ‘Get them back inside.’

  As his men ushered them back the way they came, Kristin saw one refugee double up in pain, clutching his stomach when he climbed the steps to his container.

  Banks cast his eyes over the rest of the group, and his gaze settled on Raine. She glared back at him, her lip curled in a snarl. He raised his eyebrows and smiled at her, looking almost impressed by her resilience. ‘Let’s go,’ he said.

  ‘Go where?’ the wiry man replied.

  ‘Where you were heading.’

  Bank’s two escorts shoved the group on and led them to the gate situated at the back of the facility. Banks unhooked a set of keys from his belt and used one to release the bolt. They marched across the marshland into the forest of black ash trees that surrounded camp.

  ‘I don’t want to go in here, Daddy.’ Emily wrapped both arms around Vincent’s neck so tight, he found it hard to breathe.

  ‘I’m sorry, sweetheart, but we have to.’

  ‘Please, Daddy. Please.’

  He didn’t just sympathise with her, he empathised. Even with the threat of what Banks might do looming over them, it was nothing compared to the unknown threat which might be lurking within the dark vegetation. The musty scent of damp clay and oil hit his palate and made him feel sick. It wasn’t just the smell of the woods that turned his stomach: something had been rotting in there for a long time. Every ash tree exhibiting the slightest deformity could be mistaken for a twisted creature hiding in half-shadow. The ground beneath their feet seemed to give a little more with each step. The ambience of the place threatened to close in and overpower them. Yes, Vincent acutely understood why his daughter was afraid of this oppressive place.

  He quickened his pace to reach the front, where he found Banks ploughing on through the undergrowth like a man possessed. ‘Sergeant, whatever you’re thinking about doing, please leave her out of it. She’s just a little girl. She didn’t choose to try and escape,’ he said.

  Banks looked back dismissively. ‘What do you think I should do with her?’

  ‘Take her with you – wherever you’re going.’

  Banks laughed in disbelief. ‘You’d entrust your daughter to a bunch of leathernecks with PTSD, fighting for resources?’

  ‘I’d do anything if it meant her staying alive.’

  ‘I wonder if you’ve really thought that statement through enough. “Anything” is a strong word, which enables all sorts of possibilities.’

  ‘So that’s it? You’re just going to execute us out here?’ Adam’s voice faltered as he spoke. The young man tried to hold back his tears, shaking so much he found it difficult to put one foot in front of the other.

  ‘You’re gonna die anyway,’ Banks replied.

  ‘We didn’t eat the last meal you prepared for us,’ Raine said.

  ‘Doesn’t matter.’

  ‘Why couldn’t you just let everyone in the camp go and take their chances on the outside?’ Vincent said. ‘Better yet, put guns in their hands to help you fight back.’

  Banks slowed down for the first time since they’d entered the woods. ‘I thought you people were smart enough to work it out on your own. There is no fighting back. There’s nothing left to fight for. Not anymore. If we’d opened up the camp, it would have meant just another five hundred people dying and rising up against us. Humans are much easier to eliminate in large groups than those things are.’

  ‘So a nationwide genocide is the solution?’ Vincent said.

  ‘We lied to you about the other camps like we lied to you about everything else. There are only nine left in total.’

  ‘In the state?’

  ‘In the country.’

  Bank’s comment stopped the entire group in their tracks, but they were immediately forced to move again by the poised rifles of the two guards walking behind them.

  ‘What are you saying?’ Vincent asked.

  ‘I’ve already told you. You just don’t want to hear it. It’s lost, Graham – the whole shit-show. The infection did break out in San Fran. We didn’t lie to you about that, but it spread too fast for us to prepare ourselves for what we needed to do. Sending your troops out to kill some Arabs is one thing – getting them to turn their weapons on their family, friends and neighbours is another. The fuckers multiplied like a nest of roaches. As soon as one piece of infrastructure came down, its weight brought the rest with it. Fort Pennalworth was overrun weeks ago. We’ve only just taken it back, and that’s where Major Spears has relocated the entire unit to until he decides his next suicidal move. Oh yeah, that crazy son-of-a-bitch thinks we can actually take the world back.’ Banks said. ‘Those creatures, they gather – form herds. We’ve never been able to work out why, but when they do, they migrate towards the nearest coastline. It’s almost like they’re being pulled in by the tide. We’ve been monitoring their movements, trying to redirect them. Even engaged some of the smaller groups. It cost us.’ His eyes began to water with dread. ‘We came across one last week – larger than any we’ve encountered before. Thousands of those rotten pieces of shit. It’s been heading straight for the camp and it hasn’t changed course. It’ll be there by tomorrow night. We plan to leave by the morning.’

  ‘And the folks back there?’ said the wiry-looking southerner.

  ‘There won’t be anyone around to protest. The food rations were laced with a slow release toxin. If anyone’s still alive in the morning, they’ll be incapacitated. When the herd rolls through, it will flatten it. What we’ve done to the refugees is a mercy. There is no refuge any longer.’

  Kristin shook her head as she processed the implications of the military’s plan. The children, the families that had been living around her. ‘Jesus Christ. You actually believe that, don’t you?’

  ‘Yes, Ma’am, I do.’

  He led them onwards for another few minutes until they reached a clearing where their feet sank up to their ankles, soaking through their shoes and socks. The soldiers pushed them up front and raised their rifles.

  The group huddled together, counting each second they had left. Vincent made Emily turn away from the gun barrels and held her tight, reaching out for Kristin’s hand.

  Raine stood rigid, her hands balled into fists, ready to make a dive for the soldier closest to her.

  Ethan remained hunched over with his hands in the pockets of his hoodie. An ironic and broken smile shaped his lips.

  ‘Sergeant, listen
. You don’t have to do this,’ Adam pleaded. ‘There’s a child here. We could just keep going. Your major need never know.’

  ‘Don’t you grovel to them, kid,’ the wiry man said. He snorted, hawking up as much phlegm to the back of his throat as he could, and then spat a ball of mucus at the feet of their captors. ‘Go fuck yourselves – twice.’

  The two privates tightened their stance and took aim, fingers poised over their triggers, awaiting their orders. The group averted their eyes – all except Raine and the wiry man.

  ‘Stand down,’ Banks said.

  Both men looked at him in bemusement. ‘Sergeant?’

  ‘You heard what I said.’

  ‘But Major Spears…’

  ‘Major Spears won’t find out – will he, Private?’

  ‘No, sir.’ The soldiers relaxed and lowered their weapons, and their potential victims breathed a collective sigh of relief.

  ‘Finally found your humanity beneath all that conditioning, Sergeant?’ Ethan said.

  ‘No change of heart. This is why I brought you out here. I follow the major’s fucked-up orders, but I’m no murderer. It made me sick to my stomach to give the order to hand out those food packs.’

  ‘So what happens now?’ Kristin said.

  ‘You carry on heading that way.’ Banks pointed further into the dense and twisted vines and trees. ‘Once you’re on the other side of the tree line, if you trek across the fields for about half a mile, you’ll come to an old sawmill. We used to use it for storing supplies. Past that point, I can’t predict what you might run into.’ Banks turned to the soldier on his left. ‘Private Skully – your sidearm.’

  ‘Sir?’

  ‘Give it to me, now.’

  Skully drew his pistol and handed it over. Banks approached Raine and held it out to her. ‘You seem like someone who would know how to handle this.’

  Raine scowled at him, refusing to take the gun. Kristin stepped forward and accepted it instead.

  Banks pointed to the side of the Beretta. ‘That’s the safety. It holds fifteen rounds. Make every one count.’