Ryan nodded, then walked back to Nicole and pulled her forward to his father.
“Hello,” she said. “I’m—”
“Can you take him downstairs ... have some breakfast? I need ... sleep.”
Nicole paused, caught by the man’s eyes. They had the same look of terror and exhaustion that she had seen in Carol’s. “Uh, sure. Sure we can.” She turned to Ryan. “Do you wanna come downstairs with me and David? See what we can have for breakfast?”
Ryan quickly shook his head and clutched his father’s hand.
“Ryan,” his father said, his voice barely more than a whisper. “You have ... something to eat. You ... have to ...” He started to fade out of consciousness.
Nicole took a step back and offered her hand to the young boy. “C’mon, Ryan. Let’s go. What’s your favourite breakfast? Mine’s pancakes. How ‘bout you? You like pancakes?”
Unsure of what to do, his eyes flitting between his father and Nicole, Ryan slowly nodded.
“Great! Pancakes are easy to make for a lot of people too, so maybe that’s what they have downstairs! I think I can even smell ‘em, can you? Let’s let your dad have a nap, and then we’ll come see him after we have something to eat, okay?”
The boy nodded, and slowly took Nicole’s hand, though he continued to stare at his now sleeping father.
“Okay, let’s go!” Nicole said, walking away from the cot. “David,” she whispered loudly. “David? David!” The third one got David’s attention. “Come get breakfast with me and Ryan.”
“Who’s Ryan?” David asked, rubbing his eyes.
Nicole looked at him, incredulously. “Who do you think?” She looked at Ryan and shook her head. “See? I told you he was weird.” She turned to leave. “C’mon, spaz. We’re not gonna save you anything if you’re late.”
Nicole had been right about the pancakes—they were made bright and early. However, when the power went out, that was the end of them. By the time they got downstairs, all that was left was cold cereal and warm milk. Nicole wasn’t really hungry but decided she would eat so Ryan would. She got three bowls of Froot Loops and sat at an empty table. The staff room/makeshift cafeteria had mostly cleared when the power went out.
Nicole forced down a few spoonfuls, smiling all the while. Ryan followed her lead. David just stared at the bowl, occasionally picking up his spoon and letting its contents fall back into the milk. Soon he pushed the bowl across the table. Nicole glared at him with a look that said, Don’t be a jerk; eat so the kid will eat. He didn’t take the bowl back.
To distract Ryan from this, Nicole dug for more information. “So, Ryan,” she started with the basics, “where do you live? Around here? Me and David live a while away, but we’re staying with our aunt.” Ryan just stared, no longer eating. Maybe that was too forward a question, she thought. Kids don’t talk about where they live ... though Ryan doesn’t seem to talk at all. Before she could think of another question, some yelling caught everyone’s attention.
“You’re goddamn right I’m allowed! My wife is in there! I want to know how my wife is!”
Nicole, David and Ryan ran to the end of the hall leading to the medical centre. Six people stood with their backs to them. One man with a broken arm was yelling at the guard—a new orderly, switched in at some point during the night.
“There are no visiting hours, sir,” the orderly explained. Others had joined the man, presumably those who also had family in the blocked off room. “You’ll just have to wait until she is released.”
“Who the hell are you, huh?” someone in the crowd yelled.
“You can’t tell us what we can do!”
“Yeah, Will, get the hell out of the way!” Apparently, some people knew this orderly, but it didn’t make them any more pleasant toward him.
Will said, “Look, I’m sorry, but it’s not my decision. Doctor’s orders, okay?” Though his words were civil, there was a clear threat to them.
They made a good choice, putting this Will guy at the door. He’s calm, but it looks like he could snap, Nicole thought, as she watched him slowly back the small mob a few feet away.
The man with the broken arm apparently didn’t see Will the same way, and he rushed at him, knocking the orderly against the door. Quickly taking control of the situation, Will threw his arm around the man’s neck and walked him through the crowd, down the hall, away from the door. The remaining group followed, some protesting Will’s actions, their interest having turned from seeing family to immediate entertainment. No one was looking at the door anymore; no one was even near it. Except for Nicole.
She quickly turned to David, the almost sinister smile from the previous evening returning to her face. “I’m going to go for it.”
“Go for what?” David asked, an edge of fear in his voice.
“You know what.”
David said nothing as his eyes widened.
Nicole grabbed him by the shoulders and looked straight into his eyes. Serious message delivery. “You stay with Ryan. All right?”
David nodded, and Nicole returned the gesture. She then took one last look around. Noting that the argument between the mob and Will the orderly was still escalating, she bolted for the door and went in without being noticed
ALEX
A low hum and click woke Alex up, but when he opened his eyes, the sound was gone.
Shadow scrambled clumsily to the floor out of his way as he stretched and sat up.
“Oh well, I’m sorry to bother you,” he said to his dog. Shadow looked only long enough to force him off the couch and into the kitchen where she expected breakfast.
“Eat up, buddy,” he told her, dumping a heaping scoop of kibble into her dish. She needed no prompting.
His own stomach rumbling, Alex looked in the fridge. He didn’t remember eating anything substantial since breakfast the day before. When was that? What time is it now? The clock on the microwave was dark. The fridge was also dark.
No power. Great.
He quickly pulled the jug of milk from the fridge and slammed the door. He went to the pantry, got his cereal, and poured himself a bowl. As he did so he looked at his watch.
6:58.
Where’s Dad? Or the evacuation people? Or anyone? They should have been here by now. He looked out the back window: a lovely sunny day. Nice green grass; leaves in their bright fall colours; it looked like all the trouble had ceased.
They must be still sleeping.
He almost spit out his cereal when he heard a scratching at the door. He looked up sharply and then sighed with relief. It was just Shadow looking to get out.
Now he had a dilemma.
He wasn’t supposed to open the door—no matter what. Only when his dad or the evacuation people got there, that’s what he had been told. Plus, he was in this mess in the first place because of the dog.
However, it was obvious why Shadow wanted to get out. She had just eaten her whole bowl of food, and she hadn’t been out all night. He did not want to have to clean up whatever she would soon do on the kitchen floor or to make her suffer through waiting.
Her whining made his mind up for him.
He made another quick scan of the yard from the back-door window: grass blowing in the breeze, the sun sitting just on the horizon. Just like any other day. He slowly unlatched the door and even more slowly opened it. He looked around again before he opened the screen door. Still looked good and welcoming.
“Go quick,” he told the dog as he put her on her chain. She impatiently fidgeted until he opened the door. Then she bolted to her usual ‘bathroom’ spot.
Alex decided to call the school one more time. Now, instead of no answer, the call didn’t go through at all; just the clicking of the busy signal. Regardless, he suddenly felt cold and clammy. Why had no one come? He hung up the phone and heard Shadow barking to get back in. At least she had been quick, like he asked.
He looked out, but Shadow was not at the door scratching to get in. Instead her chain was stre
tched taut as she barked at something around the corner between his house and the Wattses’.
The first image that entered his mind was of the woman from the news—the one from New Brunswick—just before she got hit by the car. He wondered if she had gotten up too, like the man in the street in Halifax. These thoughts were interrupted when, to his relief, he saw Mr. Watts walk around the corner. It was good to know he wasn’t the only one left in the neighbourhood. He could stay with the Wattses while they all waited to get picked up. His cold feeling was replaced by an almost overwhelming relief.
Only, something was off.
Why is Shadow barking like that? She knows Mr. Watts. Is there another dog out there?
Mr. Watts walked with a limp. He must have gotten hurt, and that’s why he’s coming over. Only, he was not walking toward the house. He was walking toward Shadow, and Shadow was getting more and more upset. She had her haunches up, her teeth bared. She went from a bark to a snarling growl. Slobber flew from her mouth.
He quickly opened the door. “Mr. Watts! Are you okay?”
Shadow’s eyes never left Mr. Watts, but the old man’s gaze shifted to Alex. Slowly he turned his whole body toward the open door.
His eyes were milky white; not seeing, but still looking for something. His eyes only caught Alex’s attention for a brief moment because then Alex saw all the red. Blood, smeared all over the old man’s face and hands.
Whatever was happening out there, it had already happened to Mr. Watts.
Alex froze. Mr. Watts slowly walked toward him, arms outstretched just like the people he had seen on the news. He wanted to scream or cry, but fear wouldn’t allow it. Then he heard Shadow’s barking.
Mr. Watts was between Alex and his dog.
Shadow, still in her attack position, inched closer and closer to the old man.
“Shadow!” Alex yelled, the sound of his own voice making him jump. “Shadow come here! Now!” His eyes darted back and forth between the dog and the old man, who was getting very close to the door; if he got there first, Alex knew he’d had to lock it and leave his dog outside. But, his dad gave him this responsibility: keep Shadow safe. Even if it was just a comfort job, it was his job.
“Shadow! Get in here! Right now!”
This time Shadow stood up, head raised, and looked at him. Alex could see the look of conflict in her eyes. Her head also darted between him and the old man who would be at the door in a matter of seconds.
“Shadow! Now!”
The dog slowly inched toward him, her eyes never leaving the shuffling Mr. Watts. When she got near him, the old man turned and reached to grab her. She growled and snapped at him, just enough to scare him. Only it didn’t scare him; he kept reaching. Shadow stood, frozen in a staring match with Mr. Watts.
“Shadow!”
She ran for the door, the old man’s blood-stained fingers grazing her fur as she went.
Once she was inside, Alex slammed the wooden door, leaving the screen door swinging open. He pictured Mrs. MacLean’s door, blowing in the breeze. Is this what happened to her?
A loud crunch snapped his attention up. Mr. Watts threw himself into the door, trying to get in; his milky white eyes glared through at Alex. A shock of cold ran through him as he backed away. Just as he was about to cross the threshold into the living room, he was forced to stop. Something held him back. He tried desperately to tug away, but he couldn’t. Shadow whimpered. His first thought was that something had gotten a hold of her, but when he looked down he saw that she was still attached to her now taut chain. He had yanked her by the fur across the room without knowing it.
Without taking his eyes from the old man slamming against the door, he muttered “Sorry, girl.” She sat and waited for him to take the chain off. He crouched but found that he couldn’t do it without looking, his hands shook so badly. He looked down and saw that Shadow was shaking, too. She knows what’s going on. He pulled the chain from her collar and hugged her tightly. Her fur was warm on his face, and his hug tightened around her body as he cried.
A loud crash made him look up. Mr. Watts had found the large window over the sink and smashed it with his head. Shattered glass fell into the sink. He tried to crawl through, but the screen stopped him. Blood dripped from the old man’s head where it impacted the window. He seemed unfazed.
Just like the people on the news.
The screen bent inward, held in place with only four small pins. Alex stood, hoping for an idea, but nothing came to him. Shadow stayed by his side as one corner of the screen came loose, followed by Mr. Watts’ bloody left hand.
“Come on, Shadow,” he said, and grabbed the dog’s collar. The dog growled again, and likely would have lunged at Mr. Watts had Alex not been holding her. “Come.” He wasn’t sure where they were going as he dragged her away. His plan only went as far as the living room.
The lower corner of the screen gave way and Mr. Watts shoved his head through, scraping it on jagged glass shards. As more blood dripped down his face, his eyes never left Alex. His slack mouth drooled a pink combination of saliva and blood and he let out a gurgling growl.
Shadow barked, loudly.
“Come!” Alex repeated.
With a snap and a pop, the bent screen flew off the remaining pins. Mr. Watts spilled in, his arms flailing into the sink.
Alex screamed.
Mr. Watts growled.
Shadow barked.
Shadow’s collar dug mercilessly into Alex’s hand as he gripped it. He ran to the front door, threw it open, and bolted into the street. He didn’t think to look for any other people—like Mr. Watts or otherwise. He didn’t think at all.
He just ran.
Even though he had let go of the collar, Shadow stayed with him.
He ran straight across the street and remembered that the Arsenaults’ garage was still open. He could hide there. He could even get into the house from there.
He went in through the open garage bay door and headed to the house door. Locked. He fought with it mindlessly. “Come on! Come on, open!” he commanded the door to no avail. Shadow barked savagely again.
Mr. Watts limped across the street, toward Alex’s yelling.
He was trapped.
When he spotted the garage door button, it was the best thing he had ever seen. With a simple push, an impenetrable wall would drop between him and the shambling but vicious old man. Looking at Mr. Watts with contempt, he slapped it as hard as he could.
Nothing happened.
He pushed it again. Still nothing. He hammered on it, again and again. The door didn’t budge. He then remembered: no power.
Mr. Watts was almost across the street. There was no back door from the garage, just the big gaping hole that Mr. Watts hungrily moved towards.
Alex grabbed Shadow again, darted from the Arsenaults’ garage, back into the street, and ran as fast as he could.
Down the block, he looked at his dog. Distracted, he tripped and tumbled hard to the asphalt. He turned over, expecting to have to shove Mr. Watts’ drooling, rage-filled face away, but there was only sky. He sat up and saw the old man down the block, not far from where he had left him, still tracking him, doggedly and slowly.
He can’t run? He is old.
He looked down at himself. He had scuffed the knee of his jeans in his fall, wearing it down to white. When he touched it, blood seeped through, staining the denim, and his leg stung. His hands bled too, and bits of gravel stuck to his palms where he tried to catch himself.
He also realized that he wasn’t wearing shoes. Or a coat. And, despite the shining sun, the air was chilly outside. Shadow licked his face and he grabbed her collar once again.
“Come on. We have to go,” he told her, as he pulled himself up. He jogged away with her in tow, taking care to look where he was going. He stopped every few seconds to see if Mr. Watts was getting any closer. After the second block, he couldn’t see the old man at all. He had either outrun him, or his neighbour had found someone else to ch
ase.
He looked around urgently as he continued on. He had to get somewhere. As they walked, he found a piece of discarded ribbon which he made into an impromptu leash.
“Thanks for staying with me,” he said to his dog, scratching her neck and ears. “But you seem to be calming down, and you’d probably love to take off. We don’t need that again, do we?”
This made him remember the trouble he was in with his dad.
His dad.
He had to get to his school; to the safe-zone; to his dad. That was his goal.
NICOLE
The tunnel was incredibly eerie. Sun shone through the thin plastic, like it was nothing more than stretched out garbage bags, but when Nicole touched it she found that it was strong. The whole thing was held up by metal ribs every ten feet. Everything other than her own breathing and the sound of her feet dragging on the plastic floor, was muffled. The outside world was clearly there—she could make out shapes through the plastic—but it was still so far away. At the far end, she could make out the door to St. Joseph’s.
There’s no guard on this side, she noted. Probably on the inside. Makes sense.
When she got to the door she crouched and stared at it, unsure of what she would do next. She couldn’t just burst in. There was only a small window for her to look into the building, and if there was a guard on the other side, they would be bound to see her. Her whole plan started falling apart around her.
“Now what?” someone whispered behind her.
She let out a quick yelp with a jump, then turned to see David crouched directly behind her.
“What the hell are you doing here?” she almost yelled, just catching herself and lowering her voice before she let out the first word.
“You said we were going—”
“I said I was going! I told you to stay with Ryan!”
David grimaced, then leaned to one side revealing Ryan crouching behind him. “I thought you meant—”
“What is wrong with you?” Nicole said, smacking her brother in the head. “Why do people think you’re smart?” She looked around again, as if someone could somehow see them in the tight tunnel. “You get back over there, right now!” she said, pointing back the way that they had just come.
Rise of the Mudmen Page 7
