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

by Artinian, Christopher

  “Okay, give me a minute.”

  Robyn disappeared for a moment then returned with a long sturdy branch. “Ah yes, perfect. I ask for a crutch, and you bring me weight-lifting equipment.”

  “I suppose it is a bit heavy. I’ll see if I can find something else.”

  “No. It will do. I just need a moment.”

  Robyn helped her friend to her feet and across to a tree while she collected the spare magazines, sidearms and knives from the dead soldiers. “Result!” she said, holding up a silver hip flask. She opened the top and gave it a sniff. “Smells like the good stuff too.” She reached around into her rucksack and pulled out a packet of ibuprofen. “Take a couple of these with this stuff. It will mellow the pain a bit.”

  “Ah yes, drugs and alcohol. Always a good mixture. And at which medical school did you learn this?”

  “Fine, if you don’t want them,” Robyn said, starting to bundle both away into her backpack.

  “Wait,” Mila said, letting out a sigh. “Give them here.” She placed the pills in her mouth and washed them down with the whisky, wincing a little as she swallowed.

  “Look. We need to get back to the others, and then I need to try to find my sister.”

  Mila nodded. “Ja. Let us go.”

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  Wren had not seen or heard any sign of her pursuers for over a minute. Rather than being happy, she felt more paranoid than ever. She scoured the surrounding landscape, searching for any kind of movement. Maybe I’ve really lost them. She and Wolf carried on but then skidded to a stop as a figure dressed in black stepped out in front of them. Wren immediately raised her Glock, and a menacing growl began in the back of Wolf’s throat.

  The figure was around ten metres away from them. His weapon was raised too, aiming straight towards Wren, but his hands were not shaking the way hers were. “Look, this can go one of two ways. I can drop you where you stand or you can come and meet my boss.” He turned and shouted over his shoulder. “Chadwick, I’ve got her.”

  “On my way!” The other voice came from some distance away, and Wren knew if she was going to do anything, she had to do it quickly.

  Wolf’s growl intensified as the standoff continued. “And what about my dog?”

  “I’ve done a lot of lousy things in my life, but I’ve never hurt an animal. He can have the run of the forest,” Hepworth said. There was a cruel smirk on his face, and Wren’s stomach churned. In that instant, she knew that if she relinquished her weapon, it would be over. Wolf would be dead, and she would be imprisoned or worse.

  She could see another man in the same black uniform heading towards them. She stared at the one in front of her. His finger was not on the trigger. He thinks his lies can win me over. Wren knew very little about police equipment. Could be a stab vest. Could be a bulletproof vest. She glanced beyond him once again to see the other man getting closer by the second. Shit! Running out of time. The growl in the back of Wolf’s throat was growing louder and louder in volume.

  “Calm boy. Calm.”

  “That’s right. Now put your gun down and nobody gets hurt,” Hepworth said, lowering his ever so slightly.

  Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap! Wren began to lower her gun slowly, and the corner of Hepworth’s mouth curled up.

  BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  Panic seized Robyn as the shots reverberated through the forest. “Go! Go, Robyn!” Mila ordered. “I will get back to the road.”

  “I can’t leave you. What if you run into more of them?”

  “Five came after us—two after your sister and three after me. I will be fine. I will be careful. Now go. Please go!”

  There were tears forming in Robyn’s eyes as she looked towards her friend. If one of the enemy did happen across her, it would mean the end, but at this exact moment in time, someone was in trouble, and she’d bet her bow that it was Wren.

  “I hate doing this.”

  “I will be fine. I still have one good leg to kick ass. Now go.”

  Robyn sniffed back more tears then turned and sprinted away.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  Hepworth’s legs caved beneath him, and he fell back on the ground. Wren had fired three shots taking him completely by surprise. One had entered his left thigh, the second had somehow managed to miss completely, but the third had shattered his right patella. He let out a tortured scream, and, despite his injuries, he began to gather himself, driven by anger and a thirst for revenge. “Wolf! Get him!”

  Wolf launched like a sprinter out of the starting blocks. Two strides and he was on Hepworth as he fumbled to bring his rifle up. The German Shepherd sunk his teeth into his target’s right hand. Another spasm of agony jolted through Hepworth. He desperately tugged in the hope that he could pull his hand from the vicious beast’s mouth, and another shriek left his lips, but this was one of horror. His entire body shook as he stared at the grizzly remains. All that was left was the thumb and the heel of his palm. The rest of it was gone.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  Chadwick had juddered to a stop. Confusion overwhelmed him. He had heard the three shots and expected to see the girl dropping to the ground, but instead it was Hepworth who had vanished from view. Thick bushes and shrubs hid what happened next, but the sounds sent bolts of terror through him. Something that could only be a fountain of blood arced through the air and in addition to the fear he felt, sickness churned in his stomach. Finally, his sense of self-preservation kicked in, and he brought his rifle up only to see Wren ducking out of view. “Shiiit!” His eyes shot from side to side, and he began to back up.

  Over the sounds of the screams, he could hear an animal’s vicious growls, and now one single thought shouted down all others. RUN!

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  Wren glanced back to look at Wolf, who, having ripped Hepworth’s hand off, had moved up to his neck. The terrified howls had turned to gurgles and she knew it wouldn’t be long before her dog’s victim fell silent. She turned her attention back to the other soldier. From her crouched position she could see through the muddle of spiny branches that hid her. Rather than advancing towards them, he had turned and was running away. She sprang to her feet and hurdled the bush in front of her as Hepworth’s gurgles became fainter. Can’t let him escape. He might hurt one of the others. On the track, she’d never had to run with a backpack and a gun in her hand, but it didn’t matter. From the first few strides she could tell she was gaining. The soldier glimpsed behind him and stopped to fire.

  Wren dived onto the ground. She heard thumps as the bullets made contact with some of the trees around her, but as soon as the sound stopped, she was back in pursuit. She would need to get close to fire. She was almost point-blank with the other soldier and still one shot missed.

  Chadwick turned again, and this time Wren ducked behind a tree as another barrage of bullets blitzed the woods around her. She heard the distinctive click as he replaced his magazine and dared to peek. She could just see his shoulder and arm as he used a tree for cover. Crap! He’s not running anymore. He wants to fight this out. She looked down at the weapon in her hand. I don’t stand a chance with this thing.

  Wren heard a bark and looked up to see Wolf running towards her. “NO BOY!” she shouted, terrified that he might get gunned down. There was a single crack of rifle fire, and Wren clenched her eyes tightly shut. There was only one target the rifleman could aim for, and it wasn’t her. NO!

  CHAPTER 29

  Wren kept her eyes closed for a second longer before another loud bark made her open them. Wolf was still bounding towards her, and she brought her Glock up, breaking cover from the tree, making sure that if another shot was fired, she would be the target and not her beloved dog.

  There was no sign of the soldier. She stayed frozen with her weapon still aiming towards the last spot she had seen him. Even when Wolf joined her, she did not embrace him as she wanted to.

  “Wren!”

  “Bobbi?”

  Robyn emerged from the trees
to her left with her bow raised and an arrow nocked. She was pointing it at the spot that Wren was aiming towards. They both slowly advanced together and when they discovered their target flat on the ground with an arrow through his neck and his eyes closed, they both let out audible breaths of relief.

  Robyn placed the arrow back in one of her quivers, Wren lowered her gun, and the pair hugged each other tightly. “I thought I’d lost you,” Robyn sobbed.

  “Ditto.”

  They broke their long embrace and Wren fell to her knees to squeeze Wolf affectionately. She kissed him on the top of his head before climbing back to her feet. “Where the hell did you go, Bobbi?”

  “I thought I heard them. I thought I could buy us more time. Turns out I was wrong. When the shooting started, it was behind me.”

  “I was so scared.”

  “Me too. I’m sorry,” Robyn said.

  “I suppose we’d better go find the others and then get the hell out of here.”

  “No arguments from me.”

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  Chuck’s eyes slowly flickered open. He looked down to see the two circles of blood on his T-shirt had converged. There had been gunshots, but he wasn’t sure how many. Everything’s so hazy. Is this what dying’s like?

  He remained there for a few moments, his back still pressed against the rough bark of the oak tree. The wreckage of the first helicopter blazed away further down the road and the smoke rose higher and higher into the sky. If there are any infected in the area, they’re going to be heading this way real soon. I hope the others made it.

  Gradually he became aware of voices behind him. He could not make out what was being said or who was talking, but he felt sure it wasn’t his imagination. He took a breath and tensed to absorb the pain as he turned his head.

  The two helicopter pilots stood with cigarettes, peering deep into the woods. They had sidearms, but neither of them were drawn.

  He looked down to see the SA80 just centimetres away from his right hand. Can still get a little payback.

  He turned again. The pilots were around thirty metres away. They weren’t paying the slightest bit of attention. As far as they were concerned, Chuck and the others were dead. He grimaced as he carefully swivelled his body. He could feel the strength leaving him a little more with each movement. Inch by inch, he manoeuvred around the base of the tree feeling every shard of pain as it tore through him. He wanted to scream. He wanted to shout out at the top of his voice, but then it would be game over. He rested for a moment when he was in position before bringing his right knee up in front of him. He used it to help him balance the rifle. God! This hurts.

  Sweat was running down his forehead as he took aim and positioned his index finger on the trigger. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.

  Crack! Crack!

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  Wren, Robyn and Wolf started sprinting as the shots reverberated through the woods. Robyn reached over her shoulder to withdraw another arrow and immediately nocked it as several figures appeared in front of her.

  “Where was that shot from?” Wren demanded as they realised the figures were their friends rather than enemy forces.

  “It sounded like the road,” Ruby said as Tommy’s anxious sounds, which had only recently subsided, began to rise again.

  “Stay here,” Robyn ordered as she, Wolf and Wren continued. They hovered in the trees for a moment as the powerful smell of burning fuel greeted them. They stayed low behind the tree line for a few seconds, trying to gauge the threats. When they saw the two pilots on the ground, they crept forward with their weapons raised. They looked towards Larry and Emmy’s fallen friends and a small wave of sadness swept over both of them before they continued a little further.

  There was no one around … no one standing anyway. They split up, more than a little suspicious of what was going on. Wren stooped down to see under the van, but it was clear. With her bow at the ready Robyn looked back towards the burning wreckage of the other chopper then slowly turned, shifting the sight window from tree to tree as she went, searching out any possible target.

  “Well, somebody fired those shots,” Wren said. “We didn’t imagine them.”

  Wolf let out two short sharp barks. “What’s wrong with him?” Robyn asked.

  “I don’t know,” Wren replied, walking around the van to see the German Shepherd sitting down in front of Chuck. The friendly Yorkshireman’s head lolled forward. “Oh no.”

  “Crap!” Robyn said, joining her sister. “From the direction he’s pointing, I’m guessing he was the one who shot the pilots.”

  “Poor Chuck. I don’t think he’ll be shooting anyone else.” Wolf let out two more short sharp barks. “What is it, boy?” He barked again.

  Robyn crouched, placing her bow down beside her and checking for a pulse. “He … he’s still alive. I don’t know how, but he’s still alive.”

  “Emmy. Larry,” Wren shouted at the top of her voice. “It’s all clear.”

  Moments later, Emmy, Larry, Ruby, Tommy and Rosie all appeared out of the woods. “Oh my God!” Emmy screamed as she saw the dead bodies of her friends. She and Larry both began to cry, and even more tears came as they saw Chuck propped up against the tree.

  “He’s alive, but his pulse is weak,” Robyn said.

  “Oh dear God, he’s finished. Don’t look, darling,” Larry said, guiding his daughter away.

  “Maybe not,” Wren replied.

  “What do you mean?” Larry asked.

  “We’ve got a doctor in Safe Haven.”

  “I’m sorry, dear, he doesn’t need a doctor; he needs a miracle worker.”

  “Trust me; Lucy isn’t far off. If we can get him into the van, there’s still a chance.”

  Emmy wiped more tears away and turned to look at her father. “We could get him onto one of the camp beds with the metal frames and use it like a stretcher.”

  Larry nodded. “I’ll go grab one,” he said, running to the back of the van.

  “I need to go find Mila. I left her when—”

  “I don’t think you do,” Wren said. She was looking towards the dead pilots, and Robyn followed her gaze to see her friend slowly emerging from the trees in front of them.

  Robyn ran towards her, and the two of them held each other for several seconds before finally relinquishing their grip. “How’s the leg?” Robyn asked, pulling back and looking down at her friend's wound.

  “It is perfectly fine. This is why I am walking with a stick and my jeans are dyed red with blood. I am thinking about taking up ballroom dancing. Dummkopf!”

  “I’m guessing that means it hurts then.”

  “Wow! It’s like you’re a doctor or something. You figured that out all by yourself?”

  “I could leave you here, y’know. Nobody would blame me.”

  Mila smiled. “I would track you down, and if I died before I found you, I would haunt you for the rest of your days.”

  Robyn let out a little laugh; then her face became more serious. “Love you, Mila.”

  Mila stared at her friend for a moment, and a single tear ran down her face. “I love you, meine Freundin.”

  They all worked together to get Chuck in the back of the Luton van; then, one by one, the others climbed in. Rosie’s tears had subsided and Tommy’s tics had become far less profound as he settled down with a pile of Larry’s manuscripts.

  “Going to a library. Going to a library now. Wren promised,” he said as the remainder of the weapons and ammunition they had gleaned from the dead bodies was stowed in one corner of the cargo compartment.

  Wren smiled. “That’s right, Tommy. We’re going to the library.”

  “Wren promised, so now we’re going to the library.”

  Wren turned towards Rosie and placed a reassuring hand on her lower leg. “Don’t worry about anything. It’s all going to be okay.” She climbed back out of the van and closed the door firmly behind her.

  “How long will it take us to get there?” Mila asked as she, Wre
n, Robyn and Wolf walked to the cab.

  “Well, barring helicopter attacks, marauding armies, heavily armed convoys, flesh-eating zombies, or engine trouble, I’d guess about an hour,” Wren replied.

  “You and your sister are like peas in pods.”

  Wren paused and smiled. She turned to Mila and took her free hand. “That’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me,” she said, leaning in to kiss her on the cheek. “Now let’s go home.”

  Epilogue

  Fury was not a big enough word to describe what Olsen was feeling. What remained of the convoy had returned to base with their tails between their legs. Since they had begun their campaign to take over the coastline of Scotland at the most they had experienced minor skirmishes.

  Rarely had there been a loss of life or equipment on their part, and certainly nothing like what had happened today could ever have been imagined. There was a half-full bottle of Glenfiddich eighteen-year-old Scotch whisky in front of her. She wasn’t much of a drinker, but today she had learned the value of a stiff drink.

  The dining room door of the once luxurious hotel swung open, and Parkes walked in.

  “Yes?” Olsen asked.

  Only Parkes had seen her like this before. When things went wrong, she always started to unravel a little. That’s why he always did his best to make sure things never went wrong.

  “We’ve got the final count,” he said, walking up to the table and placing a file down in front of her. She pushed it away, and it skidded across the long mahogany surface, almost sliding off the other side.

  “I don’t want to know,” she said, unscrewing the top to the bottle and pouring another full glass.

  “Yes ma’am,” Parkes said, turning to walk away.

  “What are they saying?”

  He stopped and swung back around. “What’s who saying?”

  “The men. The commanders.”

  “Nothing.”

  She took a big gulp of the amber fluid and placed the glass back down, spilling some of it over the sides. “Liar.” She pointed to the file. “Are you telling me we lost all those men and all that equipment and they don’t have anything to say?”