Twenty-Five Percent (Book 2): Downfall

by Nerys Wheatley

  For what seemed like hours, they watched the eaters, tensed to run. Although where they would run to, Alex had no idea.

  Eventually, the eaters looked down.

  Micah began to move again. Alex found he was holding his breath and he let it out slowly. There was nothing he could do about his pounding heart.

  More eaters looked up. This time, Micah kept moving, his pace slow, but steady. The group ahead of Alex were glancing around them fearfully and he marvelled at their self-control. Every cell was screaming at him to run. He felt a drop of sweat trickle down his spine.

  More and more eaters were watching them now, so close Alex could have reached out and touched them. Walking through the narrow gap between the hordes, there was nowhere for them to go if something went wrong. Dozens of pairs of vacant eyes followed their excruciatingly slow progress. Alex silently urged Micah to hurry up.

  Ahead of him, Micah cleared the far side of the horde and headed towards the minivan. Perhaps buoyed by being free of the crowd, his picked up his pace slightly.

  The back end of the line, including Alex, was still sandwiched between the hordes and it seemed like every eater was watching them now. The moans were dying down. Alex could feel the attitude of the horde changing. Deep in his gut, he sensed the danger.

  Brian was directly in front of him and he increased his pace to reach him. Silently, he put a hand on his back and pushed. Brian glanced back at him then moved forward, doing the same with Walker in front of him.

  Finally, Alex was free. He looked back. The eaters’ moans had stopped altogether. Every one of them was staring at him. The smell of natural pheromones erupted into the air.

  The horde surged forward.

  “Run!” he yelled, breaking into a sprint.

  Ahead of him, the others took one look back and started running. Micah reached the van first and pulled at the driver’s side door. Thankfully, it was open. The others arrived, flinging open doors and throwing themselves inside. Alex was last, scrambling into the passenger’s seat and slamming the door shut as the fastest of the eaters reached them.

  “Keys?” Micah yelled.

  “Try the glove box,” Walker said from behind him.

  Alex pulled down the flap in front of him and grabbed the key he found inside, handing it to Micah. Micah jammed it into the ignition. The engine roared into life.

  The van rocked as more eaters slammed up against it. Much longer and they’d be surrounded. Micah shifted into first and pulled off. A couple of eaters in front of them disappeared as the van hit them, bouncing over their bodies.

  Speeding up, Micah headed for the open main gate a hundred feet away, leaving the eaters behind.

  “Stop the van!” Alex shouted.

  Micah jammed his foot on the brake and the van came to a sudden halt twenty feet beyond the fence. Alex threw the door open and jumped out, running back to the sliding gate and pushing at it. The leading edge of the horde was uncomfortably close as he strained at the heavy steel gate, fighting the mechanism keeping it open. Eyes squeezed closed, he leaned against the bars, pushing with every ounce of strength he possessed. The wound in his chest screamed in agony.

  Suddenly, the gate began to move. He opened his eyes to see Micah, Brian, Walker, Hartley and Claire arrayed along the length of the wide gate, pushing with him. With the eaters just ten feet away, the mechanism broke and Alex stumbled forward as the gate released and hurtled shut.

  Metal clanged against metal as it hit home, sealing the eaters inside the compound. Alex stepped back from the bars as dozens of arms reached through for him.

  Cheers erupted from the minivan. Walker and Brian high-fived. Sam jumped from the van and punched both arms into the air, shouting a triumphant, “Yes!”

  Alex wished he could feel their euphoria. He stared back at the Omnav building. He was relieved those with him were safe, but this wasn’t how it was meant to be. He had failed in the one thing he’d come here to do, the need that drove his journey.

  He’d lost her.

  “Would you like to do this?”

  Brian stood next to him, holding out a small metal box with a switch at one end. Alex took it, feeling the cold, hard edges against his palm. He wanted to flick the switch, to take something important from Boot for what he’d taken from him. But someone else had lost even more than he had.

  He walked over to Micah and handed the box to him.

  “You should do this,” he said.

  Beyond Micah, Alex saw Claire look up. “Can anyone hear that?”

  They looked into the sky, searching for the source of the noise they could all now hear.

  “Get back to the van,” Alex said. As everyone else ran for cover, he lowered his voice. “We need to go.”

  Micah shook his head, his eyes fixed on the black helicopter approaching beyond the building.

  “Not yet. I want him to see.”

  They waited, watching the black Omnav chopper get closer. Alex imagined Boot surveying the compound, wondering when it would be safe to return, planning on the continuation of his twisted quest to become a Survivor. Then seeing the van outside the fence, Micah and Alex standing nearby.

  The helicopter reached the building.

  “This is for Lucy and Hannah and all the millions of others you’ve destroyed, you murdering bastard,” Micah said, lifting the box into the air and flicking his thumb over the switch.

  One side of the ground floor erupted in a billowing flash. An instant later, an explosive boom shattered the air. Eaters were thrown in all directions, those nearest the epicentre of the detonation ripped to pieces. Glass, flames and debris showered down on the compound.

  Alex and Micah staggered backwards as the shockwave hit them. The helicopter, hovering above the building, wobbled in the air, listing to one side.

  “Well,” Micah said after a couple of seconds of stunned silence, “that was bigger than I was expecting.”

  The helicopter righted itself and turned in their direction.

  “I think we should go,” Alex said, turning and running for the van.

  “I may have overestimated how much C4 was needed,” Brian said as Alex climbed into the passenger seat, Micah jumping into the driver’s seat beside him.

  “Better safe than sorry,” Micah said, firing up the engine.

  Machine gun fire split the air behind them.

  “They’re coming!” Pauline yelled from the back.

  Micah threw the gearstick into first and the minivan lurched forward. An explosion punched the ground where they had been moments earlier.

  “What on earth was that?” Micah said.

  “All of Boot’s choppers have grenade launchers fitted, as well as fifty cal machine guns,” Hartley said.

  “Why would he need grenade launchers?” Dave said.

  “Because he’s insane?” Brian said.

  “Oh, right.”

  Micah swerved the van left as bullets strafed the ground behind them, cutting across a stretch of lawn and ploughing through a dwarf box hedge. The van crossed a pavement and bumped down the curb onto the access road leading to the back of the compound.

  “We need to get under cover,” Alex said, craning his head to look for the helicopter.

  It swooped in from their right, firing. The van was filled with the staccato sound of bullets hitting metal before the chopper veered away to circle for another pass.

  “Everyone okay?” Alex called out, looking at the people sitting behind them.

  A chorus of yeses replied and he turned back to the front.

  “Hump!” he yelled.

  The van leaped into the air, the exhaust grinding on the speed bump, and landed with a stomach-churning jolt and an assortment of yelps. He looked back to see Brian, Walker and Hartley all rubbing their heads where they’d hit the roof.

  “Would you like me to drive?” he said.

  “No, thanks,” Micah said, jamming his foot on the accelerator. “I plan on coming out of this alive.”

 
; Another speed bump loomed and Micah swerved around it on the grass verge.

  Alex looked up. “I can’t see it,” he said. “Can anyone see the chopper?”

  No-one answered as they all peered out the windows.

  “I can,” Micah said, jamming his foot on the brake.

  Ahead of them, the helicopter was aiming straight for them. The fence of the compound was to their right, a ditch running beside the road on their left.

  There was nowhere to go.

  Micah shifted into reverse and twisted around to watch the road as he sped backwards, but it wasn’t fast enough. As Alex watched out the windscreen, Boot’s helicopter opened fire. Massive bullets tore up the asphalt in rapidly approaching twin lines.

  The van came to an abrupt halt, throwing Alex forward against his seatbelt.

  “Why...?”

  The sound of gunfire erupted behind them. A Panther class armoured patrol vehicle sped by, its roof mounted machine gun blasting into the air at their attacker. It passed beneath the helicopter, the bullets from the chopper’s weapons bouncing harmlessly off the armour plating. The APV screeched to a halt, the doors swinging open, and Hudson and Ridgewell leaped out and opened fire. The helicopter veered away, trailing a thin stream of smoke, and flew off into the distance.

  They waited, listening for its return.

  Sam leaped out of the van, running towards the APV. “I knew you’d come,” he yelled, grinning.

  Before the soldier could get out of the way, Sam threw his arms around Hudson, hugging him enthusiastically before moving on to Ridgewell. Alex thought he saw the hint of a smile on Hudson’s face before it was quashed by his usual scowl. Ridgewell burst into laughter and hugged Sam back.

  Alex and Micah got out of the minivan, followed by the rest of their group. Lieutenant Dent, Porter and Collins climbed from the AVP.

  “How did you know?” Micah said.

  “The kid told us,” Hudson said, ruffling Sam’s hair in an uncharacteristically affectionate gesture.

  Sam glanced at Claire and blushed, trying to smooth his hair back down.

  “I phoned them before we came to try and get you out,” Sam said. “I thought we might need the help.”

  “Glad we got here in time,” Dent said. “It’s nice to see you survived, Detective. You too, Micah, Sam.”

  Alex nodded. “Thanks for the help, Lieutenant. I’m pretty sure you just saved our lives.”

  She smiled and studied the group behind him, her eyes lingering on Brian, Walker and Hartley who dwarfed everyone except for Porter. “My, they certainly grow them big around here.”

  Hartley stepped forward and snapped to attention. “Ma’am, Corporal Richard Hartley, retired.” He saluted, which Alex felt was a bit much. Apparently, you could take the boy out of the army...

  Dent saluted back. “Lieutenant Tracey Dent. At ease, Corporal.”

  He relaxed and stepped back.

  She looked towards the van. “So where’s Hannah?”

  Alex opened his mouth to answer and found that he couldn’t. With his adrenalin levels falling, Hannah’s loss was suddenly more than he could deal with. He looked down, swallowing the lump in his throat.

  “She didn’t make it,” Micah said.

  There were a few seconds of silence.

  “I’m so sorry,” Dent said.

  Alex nodded. “Would you excuse me?”

  Without waiting for an answer, he walked back to the van, circling round to the back where he was out of sight of everyone and sitting on the bumper. He dropped his head into his hands, leaning his elbows on his knees and squeezing his eyes shut against the tears that wanted to fall, knowing if he let them, they wouldn’t stop.

  Footsteps approached and the van lowered a little as someone sat next to him.

  “I think we need to go home,” Micah said. “We both need time to... I don’t know. Just time. We need a rest.”

  Alex wiped his eyes and sat up. “Do you really think, after what we’ve done, that Boot will just leave us alone? Sooner or later, he’ll come after us. After me.” He sighed. “But you’re right. I’m so tired I can’t think. I want...” A bubble of pain surged through his chest that had nothing to do with his stab wound. “I want to go home.”

  Micah leaned back against the van and let out a long breath. “Yeah. Me too.”

  27

  Boot’s helicopter didn’t return. Alex hoped it had crashed somewhere.

  Dent and her little platoon decided to hang around Omnav for a few days, to see what would happen. After finding out about the armoury, they were also planning a mission to get inside the building and see if the weapons store had survived the blast, although how they would manage that Alex had no idea. Hartley volunteered to stay with them. After working for Boot, Alex got the impression he wanted to do something to make up for it.

  The rest of them planned to head straight for home. Brian and Walker decided to go with them back to Sarcester. Neither of them had family nearby and with eaters roaming the countryside, they had nowhere else to go.

  After leaving the soldiers, they went to pick up Alex and Micah’s motorbikes where they’d left them at a deserted garage half a mile from the Omnav headquarters. After their experience with Kerry in Sarcester, Alex half expected them to be gone, but they were right where they’d left them.

  Walker sidled over to Alex as he and Micah were getting ready to ride. He looked nervous.

  “I didn’t tell anyone,” he said, darting a brief glance at Micah. “Back in Omnav. Just so you know. I didn’t give you up.”

  Micah, who was standing nearby, looked over at them.

  “I know,” Alex said.

  Walker nodded. “And I’m really relieved, um, glad, I mean, that you got your boyfriend out. It’s great to see you back together.” He smiled at Micah. Micah’s eyebrows shot up. “So we’re all good now. Right?”

  One day Alex would have to tell him the truth. But he wasn’t in the mood for explanations right now. “Yeah, we’re good, Ben.”

  Walker visibly relaxed. “Good. I’m... that’s good. Okay. Well. I’ll see you both when we get there.” Giving them a nervous smile, he walked rapidly back to the minivan.

  “Do I even want to know?” Micah said.

  “I’ll tell you when we get back. You’ll laugh.”

  “Will I really?”

  “Almost certainly. At some of it, at least.”

  . . .

  The journey home was relatively uneventful, compared to the outbound trek anyway. Alex and Micah rode their bikes while Dave, Pauline, Larry, Sam, Claire, Brian and Walker travelled in the minivan. Alex was glad for the isolation being on the bike afforded him. He wasn’t in any mood for conversation and behind the helmet’s visor, if the tears came, no-one else could see.

  Despite not wanting to think about what had happened, his thoughts were almost all about Hannah.

  On occasion, he would look at Micah riding alongside him and wonder if his thoughts were just as much occupied with his sister now he knew there was no hope for her, no cure that could free her from her empty existence as an eater. Other than at the beginning, when they first found Lucy, Micah hadn’t talked about her much. But then Alex had learned his friend wasn’t one for showing his emotions. He knew he was grieving for his little sister.

  They had to hide from a couple of large hordes and run from a third. With less reason to hurry and more people to lend a hand, instead of diverting around obstacles on the roads they moved them out of the way. Around midday they stopped in a small town to refuel and find something to eat. A horde had obviously been through, although no eaters remained. In fact, they didn’t see any people at all, infected or otherwise. But it was possible any survivors were just hiding. They didn’t linger to find out.

  They finally reached Sarcester just after nightfall. Not much had changed in the six days Alex and Micah had been away, although some of the mess and blockages in the streets had been cleared. They dropped Pauline, Larry and Dave off
at the underground lab, which had become something of a second home for them. While Alex and Micah had gone after Boot, Dave had downloaded all the research data on the Omnav servers onto a flash drive. Then he’d wiped everything from their system before the labs were blown up. They planned to start manufacturing their own pheromones straight away.

  Walker volunteered to stay with them for their protection. Alex had a sneaking suspicion it was because he was still nervous of being around the Survivor who had all but threatened to sexually assault him. Assuming that Pauline would be the most likely to handle the task in a sensitive and mature manner, Alex took her aside and told her what had happened, asking her to explain the truth to Walker when they’d gone. After she stopped giggling, she promised she would.

  When they reached East Town, only a handful of people were about, but as soon as the sentries at the wall of cars saw them, word went around and Alex’s friends came out in force to meet them. He wished he could have snuck in without anyone knowing. Now he was home, all he wanted to do was crawl into bed and never come out again.

  Leon and his family emerged from the doorway to his building and strode across the road to the group, grinning. Emma ran ahead and Alex lowered to one knee and drew her into a one armed hug as she reached him. His free arm wrapped around Katie when she caught up and he held onto them both and fought back tears. After letting go, he reached into his backpack and pulled out two KitKats.

  When he stood, Leon wordlessly drew him into an embrace, followed by Patrice.

  Alex had offered to drop Micah at his own flat, but he’d insisted on coming with them. Alex was immeasurably thankful that he had as Micah took point, introducing Sam, Claire and Brian, giving those who gathered a very brief summary of what had happened, and answering questions about Hannah Alex didn’t feel able to answer himself.

  His friends were all visibly saddened by the news of Hannah’s death, even though they hadn’t met her. Alex smiled and nodded and lied and told them he was fine and just needed to rest.

  Sam stared in awe at the Survivors surrounding them. Alex got the feeling he was going to want to become a permanent resident. Claire shed a few tears when she was welcomed with warmth and acceptance, even by the normal people.