The End of Everything | Book 9 | The End of Everything

by Artinian, Christopher

  “From here to the east coast?”

  “We started doing it before. Who knows, we might come across another couple who are about to off themselves so we can take their car.”

  “Huh?”

  “Long story.”

  “Quiet,” Wren said, leading the way across the field towards the woods that lay beyond. “WOLF!”

  Robyn and Mila cast concerned glances to each other and dropped back a little. “When we can’t find Wolf, she’s going to go into meltdown,” Robyn whispered.

  “Then we will be here for her. Like she was there for you when you came to find me. It is only right that we try everything.”

  “I know. I’m just worried. I don’t want her to build her hopes up.”

  “She does not look like a girl who has any hopes at the moment.”

  “WOLF!” Wren shouted again. Her voice boomed despite the growing wind. She came to an abrupt halt as she spotted movement in the shadowy forest ahead.

  “Scheisse!” Mila and Robyn immediately ran forward to join Wren as half a dozen infected charged from the tree line.

  “This is another reason it’s not a good idea to shout,” Robyn said.

  “Yeah well, if I have to fight every one of those things we left behind in Inverness to get to find Wolf, then I will.”

  Robyn brought her bow up and fired. The arrow shifted wildly in an errant gust and disappeared into the long grass as the beasts carried on their attack undaunted.

  “Oh crap,” Robyn cried, nocking another arrow. She fired again and the second missile went astray too. “Oh crap, crap, crap.”

  “Stay back,” Mila shouted, rushing forward with her swords at the ready.

  Wren joined her, and the pair of them waited as the small group of rampaging beasts got closer. Four were heading straight for Wren, the remaining two towards Mila. The creatures were running parallel with each other, and Mila knew that if she didn’t do something, Wren would be overpowered. She ran forward, flashing her blades in the air hoping to attract their attention. It worked too well. Three of the creatures that had been heading towards Wren veered in her direction. Scheisse.

  Another arrow blurred past Mila. It juddered a little in the wind and dipped faster than it should have. It landed in the hip of one of the charging creatures causing a split-second pause but doing nothing to change the overall speed of the advancing pack.

  “Aaarrrggghhh!” Wren charged forward, screaming and holding her sharpened broom handle out in front of her like a medieval warrior.

  Three—two—one. The makeshift spearhead smashed against the chest of the petite creature zeroing in on her, and it flew backwards through the air, landing on its buttocks and disappearing into the long grass. She saw more movement out of the corner of her eye as two more beasts sheered in her direction. She brought the spear back around, kicking out hard at one monster, sending it stumbling and reeling while aiming carefully at the other. The point disappeared through its eye socket, causing it to crumple to the ground.

  The malevolent growl of the creature she had stabbed in the chest intensified in volume as it scrambled back to its feet and further movement blurred to her side as her other attacker pounced once more. Crap!

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  Mila was not prepared for Wren’s solo assault on the advancing pack. She adjusted her stance slightly. Three infected were a lot more manageable than five. It was a familiar manoeuvre for her by now. Right foot out and high—she made contact with the middle assailant’s stomach then brought her two blades up and across, carving chunks from the other beasts’ heads. They fell like rocks. She leapt forward to finish off the third attacker, but her foot sank into a flooded divot, sucking her boot down and causing her to fall forward. She brought her arms out like wings, fearful that, if she didn’t, she would impale herself on the blades. She let out a small scream before landing heavily, face down in the wet grass. Mila began to struggle to her feet, but her hands disappeared into the sludgy peat as well. I’m stuck. I can’t move.

  A jolt of fear ran through her like electricity as she heard the other creature making its second approach.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  Wren swung the spear around, smashing it against the head of the beast nearest to her. It fell sideways with the force of the blow, giving her a moment’s respite. The first creature dived towards her, its fingers curled like animal claws, its mouth open in a vicious snarl as a chilling growl rose in the back of its throat. Wren waited … and waited then leapt to her left at the very last second.

  At the same moment, she heard a shrill and fear-filled cry. Her heart began to pound harder in her chest. Whatever was happening to Mila was out of her control. If she didn’t handle her own situation, she would almost certainly die at the hands of her assailants.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  Robyn had never felt so hopeless in her life. She thought briefly about using the shotgun that nestled in her backpack, but it was just as likely that she would hit Wren or Mila as one of the creatures at such close range. Her eyes flicked from one battle to the next and then back again. It was only when Mila fell to the ground that she realised she couldn’t hang back any longer. She sprinted forward; at the same second, Mila’s remaining attacker began its advance. Her friend’s scream sent a shiver of dread through Robyn, but she carried on regardless. She reached Mila as the beast leapt. No time to get her up. Got to do something though. Robyn took a step to her right then sprang left, shoulder barging the ghoulish thing off course. It hit the ground spinning, and Robyn gathered herself, swooped down to pick up one of the fallen swords then jumped forwards, thrusting the blade down with pure brute force.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  Wren brought the spear up high before stabbing the creature she had sidestepped through the temple. There was a brief pause before the hideous monster collapsed to the earth. She immediately withdrew her weapon and spun around to face the other beast. It was already lunging towards her, and a small breath of surprise left Wren’s mouth as the speed of the creature shocked her. She brought her spear up in front of her but, suddenly, a silver blade swept through the air.

  Wren watched as the beast’s head separated from its body. She jumped backwards as the decapitated monster fell towards her like a tree. The head continued to flip over and over until it thudded to the ground, disappearing somewhere in the long grass.

  Wren stood out of breath, looking down at the headless thing lying at her feet then up towards her sister who was still in samurai pose with both hands on the sword. “Is Mila okay?” she asked between laboured breaths.

  “Ja. Mila is fine, but she could do with some help getting up, please,” Mila called across to the two of them.

  Robyn and Wren flashed relieved glances before walking across to their friend whose hands and feet had disappeared into the boggy peat like it was quicksand.

  They each bent down and took a firm hold of one of Mila’s arms then heaved like they were playing tug of war. Her almost black, sludgy hands appeared a moment later with a satisfying plop. The two sisters pulled Mila to her feet, and the three of them collected their weapons. Robyn picked up her two stray arrows before they all resumed their journey.

  “WOLF!” Wren shouted.

  “Err … hello! Didn’t what just happened tell you that it’s a really bad idea to be shouting?” Robyn asked.

  “I told you. I’ll do whatever it takes to find Wolf. If there’s a chance that he can hear my voice, it’s a chance worth taking.”

  “Wren, next time it might not be six, it might be sixty. We don’t know how far away that smoke can be seen. We could have infected all around us trying to get to the city for all we know.”

  Wren turned towards Robyn with tears in her eyes once again. “And if it was me out there, what would you be doing?”

  Some of the bluster left Robyn’s argument. “I understand what you’re saying, but at least maybe leave bigger gaps or something. It’s like taking a walk with a ship’s foghorn.”

  “I
’m not leaving here without him.”

  “And that’s why we’re here with you. Nobody says we’re going anywhere without him, let’s just try to make sure that the next time we see him we’re all in one piece, yeah?”

  Wren wiped her eyes once more and let out another long, trembling breath. “Okay.”

  They continued into the trees just as the rain began to fall in earnest once more. Mila stopped in a small clearing and tried to rinse her hands in the downpour, but it barely made an impact on the ground-in dirt. “Ugh. I am going to have peaty hands for the rest of the day.”

  “Don’t worry; when we get to the loch, you’ll be able to rinse them off,” Wren replied.

  The three girls carried on through the woods, remaining vigilant. The sound of the wind whistled through the canopy above them, but they felt its force less than they had done in the open field. Robyn felt confident enough to nock another arrow. “You are expecting more trouble?” Mila asked.

  “Well, the day’s just gone so well so far I’d hate to spoil it by not being ready.”

  “WOLF!” Wren yelled once more, and Mila and Robyn shot nervous looks towards each other before scouring the treescape for the sign of any movement. The trees got denser and denser the further they travelled, and with the darkening clouds and the rain pouring down it became increasingly difficult to gauge shapes in the distance.

  “Maybe you should hold off on any more shouting until we’re actually out of here,” Robyn said.

  Wren turned to look at her briefly then focussed her attention on the path ahead once more. “WOLF!”

  Robyn’s shoulders sagged, and she dropped back to join Mila, who was still studying the filth on her hands. “I have never known mud like this before. It is like lumpy glue.”

  “We’re known the world over for our peat,” Robyn replied.

  “How proud you must be. In Germany, we were known for our engineering, for being the home to the greatest classical composer of all time, for introducing the printing press to Europe. Our achievements pale at the side of your world-famous mud.”

  “Sarky bitch.”

  “Yes, well, I am not in the mood to have the virtues of your globby, stinky peat slapped in my face.”

  “Sorry I spoke.”

  “Ah yes, finally we are in agreement over something. I too am sorry that you—”

  “Quiet!” Wren hissed.

  Robyn and Mila looked at each other then towards Wren. “What is it?” Robyn asked. “What can you hear?”

  “I … I’m not sure. I heard … something though.”

  “That’s useful. Hey, I’ve heard loads of things. Does that help?”

  “Quiet Bobbi. WOLF!”

  Robyn rolled her eyes. “It was probably just the wind and rai—”

  “Good grief, Bobbi, can you keep it shut for just a minute … please?”

  Robyn’s shoulders drooped again. “Whatever.”

  “WOLF!” There was a momentary pause then the definite sound of a dog’s bark. A look of pure elation came over Wren’s face. “WOLF!” she yelled again, and there was another bark, closer this time. She started running in the direction it had come from, and the other two girls followed.

  Then he appeared, like the sun breaking through a black storm cloud. Wren started to cry again as she ran towards him, but these were very different tears. Wolf’s tongue lolled out of his mouth and his eyes widened with excitement as he bounded over exposed tree roots and leapfrogged bushes to reach her. He let out another happy yelp and Wren dropped to her knees, holding her arms out wide. Wolf skidded to a stop just in time to avoid a collision, but then he placed his paws onto Wren’s knees and leaned into her as she kissed and hugged him. A series of delirious high-pitched whines rose from deep within him as the two continued to cuddle. After a moment, he rolled onto his back, placing his feet in the air, the cue for Wren to tickle his belly.

  Tears of joy ran down her face as she obliged. She turned to look towards Robyn and Mila to see they were crying too. “Not all is bad in the world. See?” Mila said, sniffing and wiping her eyes.

  “No, it isn’t. It isn’t is it, boy? How’s my boy? How’s my little boy?” Wren said, bending down to kiss him over and over while continuing to tickle his stomach. His tongue continued to loll out of the side of his mouth, and his googly eyes rolled as he revelled in the shared happiness. “Come on then. Let’s get you back to the house and get you dried off a little.” She gave him another kiss and climbed to her feet.

  Wolf reluctantly rolled off his back but still refused to leave her side, instead leaning into her and rubbing against her leg, almost like a cat.

  Robyn crouched down and stroked him, tickling under his chin before climbing to her feet once more. She wrapped her arms around her little sister as they both struggled to stop their tears. The deluge around them continued, and the wind still howled, but if they had been in the middle of the Sahara Desert they couldn’t have felt any warmer inside.

  “Come on then. Let’s get back and we can figure out the next part of the plan,” Robyn said.

  Wren nodded, and they began to move off when Wolf barked suddenly and sat down.

  Wren, Robyn and Mila all stopped and turned to look at him as he barked again. “What is it, boy?” Wren asked.

  “Wolf!” It was a cry from somewhere through the trees.

  The three girls all looked at one another. “That’s Ruby,” Wren said. “RUBY! RUBY!”

  “Wren, is that you?”

  “Yes.”

  Wolf barked again and began to trot in the direction from which he had originally appeared. Wren, Robyn and Mila followed him, and within a minute, they were staring Ruby in the face. Tommy was twitching badly, and his fingers were shooting up and down an invisible keyboard as he dealt with the stress of the situation. Ruby threw her arms around Wren and then Robyn. “I didn’t think I’d ever see you again,” she said and started to cry.

  “Yeah, we know that feeling,” Robyn replied. “What happened?”

  “It was horrible. Wolf went to the door and was whining to go out. I thought he must have needed to pee or something. Anyway, me and Tommy went outside, and he just sat down looking at us for a few seconds before he began to bark. I went towards him, and he started running. Izzy, Marcus and the others didn’t really talk to us much. They were all embroiled in a discussion about something or other. Every time we caught up to Wolf, he ran again like it was some game.”

  “It’s all a game. It’s all a game,” Tommy said, tapping the side of his head.

  “That’s right, Tommy. It’s all a game,” Ruby replied before turning back to the three girls. “Anyway, we ended up in the woods, and we just kept going deeper and deeper in. Then I heard it.”

  “Heard what?”

  “Gunfire. We hid for hours and when…” She started crying again. “If we hadn’t followed Wolf, we’d be dead too.”

  “It’s all a game. It’s all a game.”

  “That’s right, Tommy. It’s like Wolf knew. Like he was psychic or something.”

  “Well, I don’t know about psychic, but he probably heard the helicopter and the gunshots. We’re not that far out of town. So, wait a minute, you’re telling us Marcus isn’t with you?”

  “No, it’s just the three of us. What do you mean helicopter and gunshots?”

  “It’s a long story.”

  “So we just stayed there. To be honest, I didn’t know what else to do. Then when Wolf ran just now, I thought, This is it. He’s running out on us. We’re finished.”

  “Well, it’s not it, and none of us are finished,” Wren said, placing a reassuring hand on Ruby’s arm.

  “So, what now?”

  “Now we go back to the house, get you dried off, and figure out how we’re going to get back to Safe Haven.”

  CHAPTER 6

  Ruby stayed with Tommy in one of the outbuildings while Mila, Wren and Robyn got rid of the bodies in the kitchen. All the weapons had been taken by the attackers, and
the rucksacks had been looted of anything valuable, although a few garments and personal items like photos had been left behind. Wren, Robyn and Mila cobbled together a change of clothes for Ruby and Tommy, and once things looked a little more normal and a little less like a scene from a horror movie, Robyn went to get them from the old equipment shed.

  Ruby and Tommy went into one of the bedrooms to dry off and get changed; then Ruby guided her brother across to one of the kitchen worktops and sat him down. She placed the dictionary Tommy had been reading earlier in front of him, and he immediately picked up from where he had left off as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

  The kitchen windows were all broken, but the wind was blowing in the right direction for them not to get soaked by the rain. “Thank you for this,” Ruby said, gesturing to the corpse-free kitchen.

  “Well, this wind and rain doesn’t look like it’s going to be stopping anytime soon, so I say we just set off,” Wren said.

  “We can’t. Out there in the open like that. We don’t know what could be waiting for us. What if we run into the people who did this?” Ruby asked, looking down at the bloodstained floor.

  “We don’t have any options … hang on a minute. The other car. There was another car in the vehicle barn,” Wren said excitedly. She turned and ran out of the house with Wolf following her. She flung the door to the barn open and the enthusiasm immediately left her. The raiders had taken it. Damn it. “Looks like we’re walking, boy.” She looked across to the far corner to see the two internal doors that had been stripped and prepared for varnishing by the original owners of the farm were no longer leaning against the wall and instead lay flat on the ground. Her heart sank a little further. Behind them, she had hidden her small cache of tins in case of an emergency, and now, as she and Wolf walked across, she could see that they had been taken too. The rain whipped against her face as she retraced her steps to the farmhouse. Her look said it all as she walked through the door.

  “Well, that’s not really a surprise, is it? These people are thorough. Let us just be grateful for the small mercies that you have been reunited with Wolf and your friends,” Mila said.