by Ryan Casey
His opportunity, right here, right in front of him.
But Calvin didn’t scrap. He didn’t fight. Not like Mike had seen in the past. Not like he was so used to.
He just held up a hand and covered his bleeding face.
“I’m not lying,” Calvin said. “I… I asked Gina to set me free. Ian and Alison, they were gone. You were gone. They—they left me at the cabin. Left me there with Gina and Kelsie and Arya whilst—whilst they went to look for you. But Gina. I told her I could lead her through the woods. And when I had… I told her I’d tell her where to go from there. But that’s the thing. Once she gets out of the woods, she’ll see it. Once she’s made it… she’ll know exactly where to go.”
Mike went still. Because he couldn’t make his mind up about any of this. The main problem was Sonia. She was missing. Gone. She’d disappeared right as they were being chased by those “Screamers,” as she called them.
And now here was Calvin. Claiming to have been travelling with Gina and Kelsie. Claiming to have been helping.
“What’s happened to them?” Mike asked.
“They—they…”
He stopped. Stopped speaking, then. It was as if he’d only just processed that Arya was here.
“They were with me. Then… then I heard something. A scream. I told them to run. But… but when I looked back, they were already gone.”
Mike pondered Calvin’s words. He didn’t want to believe them. Didn’t want to trust him. But he couldn’t deny they made sense. Especially the thing about the screaming.
“I went back for them. Tried to find them. But… but well, I guess I strayed off the path. And hey. That’s where our paths crossed.”
Mike heard Calvin’s words. But there was still something of a wildcard that he was holding close to his chest. The knowledge. The knowledge that Sonia had provided him with. The knowledge of the place where Calvin had been leading them. This supposed extraction point. Its real purpose.
Or maybe worse.
“Come on, Mike,” Calvin said. “I could’ve killed you, right? I could’ve let you die right here. But I didn’t. Why would I do that? Why would I do that if I was trying to get one over you? How much… how much more can I punish you, really?”
Mike heard Calvin’s words, and again, he couldn’t deny that an element of them made sense.
Because he’d already done all the damage he possibly could.
“I don’t know,” Mike said. “And that’s… that’s what worries me. I really don’t know.”
He backed away. Just for a moment. Let Calvin breathe.
And then he tightened his grip around his neck and pressed the knife against his temple.
“I know about the extraction point,” Mike said. “I know about its real purpose. And I can’t help wondering if that’s what you’ve been leading us towards. If that’s the trap you’ve had us walking towards all along.”
Calvin looked… well, Mike had to hold his hands up and admit it. He looked genuinely surprised. “The trap? Real purpose?”
“You’re going to pretend it’s just a coincidence now, are you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“The extraction point takes women into the new world. Women who are… capable of conceiving. And it imprisons them. Everyone else, well, let’s just say they don’t have much time for them. That’s its goal. That’s its purpose.”
He couldn’t deny it, then. He couldn’t deny the look he saw on Calvin’s face.
Something like a vicious, ironic sense of pride.
“It sounds like they’re very intelligent people in charge there. If that is true.”
Mike resisted the urge to silence him there and then.
But he leaned in and said something else. Something even more stark.
“If what I’ve been told is true… that means I don’t need you anymore. That means I’m free to do as I please with you.”
A look of fear. Just for a second. A look that Mike lapped up. That he had to admit he actually enjoyed.
And then that look turned to a smile.
“But you do, don’t you?” Calvin said.
Mike frowned. “What?”
“Gina’s gone. Kelsie’s gone. I’d wager a bet Alison is in trouble, too. But Gina and Kelsie. Let’s take them as more… important. Let’s just say there’s a rough chance Gina might find her way out of trouble. That she makes her way out of the woods via the way we were following. Let’s just say she makes her way to this extraction point. I’d say it’s important you’re with someone who knows exactly where it is, just in case you need to stop her before she gets there. Right?”
Mike’s heart started pounding again. The adrenaline of frustration surged through his body. That frustration of not being able to act about Calvin for so long. For not being able to do what he wanted to do for so, so long.
“So what say I take you there?” Calvin said. “What say we end this, you and me, once and for all? And after that… well, after that, then you can decide what you do with me. Because let’s face it. There’s not much left for me in this world anymore after all, is there?”
There was sadness to Calvin’s voice when he said those words. Sadness that made Mike wonder. Was that why he’d killed Holly? Was that why he’d done it? A twisted sense of not wanting to be the only one with… well, nothing?
But then there was that rival force. That rival pull. And it was telling him to do something else. Something very different.
“Let’s do this, Mike,” Calvin said.
The urge filled Mike’s body. The urge to end it. The urge to finish him.
“Let’s save your people.”
The urge getting stronger.
“Let’s—”
Mike didn’t think anymore.
He just plummeted the knife down.
Calvin looked up at him. Shock on his face. Surprise.
And then, he glanced to the side.
To where the knife had slammed.
Into the dirt.
“You have one chance,” Mike said. “One. And then it’s over. All of this. It’s over.”
Calvin looked back at him. And Mike was expecting that wry smile. He was expecting that look of sly victory on his face.
But there wasn’t that look. There wasn’t any of that.
Just a look of sincerity.
Which scared Mike.
“Let’s go save your people,” Calvin said. “Before it’s too late. If… if it isn’t already.”
He said it with just a hint of pleasure.
Just a hint.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Kelsie wasn’t sure how long she’d been walking, just that she felt lost and alone, and she wanted the sun to come up sometime soon.
It felt like it had been dark forever. The wind was cold as it brushed against her, making her wish she was wearing something thicker. Like her nice parka. The parka Mum bought her. She used to cuddle up in that on wintry days, holding her mum’s hand on her way down to school. Stopping to make snow angels on the way.
She missed those days. Missed her mum.
She missed a lot of things.
She looked around, tried to make sense of where she was, of the things she was seeing, but it was no use. It was dark. There were lots of trees. It was no different to anywhere else.
She hoped that eventually, she’d walk back to the cabin. Or that she’d end up on a road. Or that she’d bump into someone—anyone.
She even found herself hoping to bump into Calvin rather than stay out here on her own. Things had gone that far. Got that desperate.
She listened to the silence. That was something that at least made her feel a little bit better. Because anything was better than those screams. Than those footsteps. She’d been holding Gina’s hand one second; the next, she’d been running. She had to. She was scared. Scared of what might happen to Gina. Scared of what might have happened to her.
But in some ways, the silence was worse.
/> Because eventually, she knew it was going to be broken.
And when it was broken… Kelsie wasn’t sure she’d be able to handle whatever it was that broke it.
She kept on walking. Kept on trying not to cry. She had to be brave. She had to be strong. She didn’t know where she was going. Only that she had to hope she was on the right path, or she might end up near those screams again. She might end up in trouble.
And she wasn’t sure quite how much more trouble she could deal with.
But she had to stay strong. She had to stay as calm as she could. Because she remembered what Mike told her.
She couldn’t panic. People didn’t think straight when they panicked.
So she thought right now that the best option was to walk through these woods and see where she ended up.
Because even if she had no idea where she was when she reached the edge of them… anything was better than being lost in these woods.
She was walking as normal when she heard something behind her.
Footsteps. Footsteps heading in her direction. From behind.
She looked over her shoulder. Didn’t see anything.
A knot formed in her stomach. She picked up her pace. Walked quicker. She just had to get out of these woods. Away from whoever was following her.
She picked up. But she could still hear that movement behind her. Still hear it getting closer.
And when she looked back this time, she saw something.
Movement.
Moving branches.
Fear took over her.
There was only one thing she could do.
She turned around and went to make a break for the edge of the woods.
When she turned, she saw somebody standing there.
It was a man. Tall. Muscular. Holding a gun.
He was dressed in military gear.
Smiling.
“Hey, there. You lost?
Kelsie didn’t know what to say. Mostly because she wasn’t expecting this. Wasn’t expecting to run into anyone… but especially not someone like this. Someone who looked armed. Someone who looked… military.
“I—”
“I know a place,” he said. “A place I come from. A home for girls like you. Do you want to come with me?”
Kelsie wanted to say no. She looked over her shoulder. Saw that shuffling. And she knew if she said no… she’d be stuck in the woods.
She thought about the extraction point. The place where Calvin was meant to be leading them to. And it made her wonder.
Was this it?
It must be.
It had to be.
But something still just felt so wrong.
The man held out a hand. “Come on,” he said. “Let me take you there.”
She looked at his hand. Heart racing. Chest tightening. Everything about this just feeling wrong. So, so wrong.
And then she swallowed a lump in her throat and took his hand.
He smiled. “Come on, then. Let’s go find you a new home.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Alison looked at the people holding the knives, and she knew she was in trouble.
Big trouble.
There were four of them. Four of them standing there in the kitchen, staring at her, staring at Ian. She didn’t know what their deal was. Didn’t know what their game was. Only that she was certain of one thing.
These were the people who’d been chasing her and Ian through the woods.
These were the people who’d been screaming.
She held still, the darkness not seeming to be letting up at all. Her heart pounded. She felt trapped. Like there was only one option.
And the only option was to run.
She went to take a step back.
That’s when she felt a hand.
Right against her back. A hand, pressing against her spine, digging right in.
She didn’t want to turn around. Didn’t want to look over her shoulder.
She knew already that it wasn’t Ian.
Which meant it had to be somebody else.
Another one of these people.
“You did well to outrun us, I’ll give you that.”
The voice came from right ahead. One of these people. Men, it seemed. She couldn’t tell which one it was exactly. Couldn’t make it out.
It didn’t matter. They were all on the same page.
They all wanted the same thing.
“Clearly not well enough,” Ian said.
Alison felt a knot in her stomach. She turned around. Looked at Ian. He didn’t look as fazed by any of this as she did. Which bothered her. Not least because she was supposed to be the former police officer, so the kind who knew how to keep calm and deal with this kind of situation.
But also, because she worried about his state of mind. She worried about what he’d tried to do, back in the woods. How he’d attempted to take his own life, end it all.
As much as she liked Ian… she didn’t want to go down with him.
The man chuckled, just a little. As if he saw the humour in the situation. “That’s just… inevitable, I’m afraid. I mean, we’ve had a few slip away. A few slip the net, so to speak. But one way or another, the numbers always even out in the end.”
Alison wasn’t sure what to say. Just that they still had a chance. There were still gaps between these people. Gaps they’d have to work their way through. That they’d have to attempt to slip through.
Because if they didn’t… Alison got the impression that they weren’t going to get another opportunity to get away.
“What’s your deal?” Alison asked, trying to buy as much thinking time as she could. “The screaming. What’s—what’s that all about?”
She tried to sound neutral. She tried to sound detached. She tried to sound distant.
But in the end, she knew she couldn’t stop the hint of fear in her voice sneaking through.
Because she was afraid.
She was right to be afraid.
The man sighed. Walked closer towards her. Then he stopped, right in front of her. Placed the knife against her chest. “I’m glad you’re curious about the screaming. Really, I am. I mean, most people would know to just run towards it. To investigate. It’s human nature, right? As much as we try to resist our base urges, you’d be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t run to the aid of somebody screaming at the top of their lungs.”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
The man smiled. She could only just make out his white teeth in the darkness, but that smile was clear.
That cocky, arrogant smile that filled her with… well. Disgust. Because it made her fear just what he was planning.
“You’ve seen it before,” he said. “You’ve all seen it before. Animals… they’re pretty easy to catch. But it’s a lot of time investment. It’s a lot of resource investment. And if you scream when an animal’s around, you scare it away. Humans, on the other hand…”
Alison’s stomach sank. Because that’s what this was. That’s what this came down to—the same thing that it always came down to, in the end.
“We’re food to you,” she said.
The man sighed. “It’s a shame. I mean, you’re so close to salvation, too. So close to being whisked away from here and into some new world. Alas. We can’t all make it. We can’t all cross over into the next world. And besides. I think you’re probably going to thank us, in the end. Especially when you find out the truth about that place.”
Alison saw the rest of the men closing in on her. She saw them getting closer. And she felt like she needed time. She needed to delay.
“This extraction point,” she said, seeing as it was clear this guy at least knew about it. “You could… you could take it. You could go. But you stay here. You choose to do this. Why?”
The man tilted his head to one side like he was thinking about what Alison had asked. Like he was really considering it. Then he smiled. “Clearly you don’t know the full ins and outs of that place if y
ou’re even asking that question.”
She wanted to quiz him on that. She wanted to grill him further. What did he know about this place? What did he know that she didn’t know?
And what was he talking about?
She wanted to ask all these questions.
But something stopped her.
Something that threw her.
Something that she couldn’t understand.
First, she saw him moving.
Ian.
He threw himself at this man. Knocked him down, right to the floor.
Then he turned around and looked at Alison. Wide-eyed. “Get out of here,” he said. “Quick.”
She wanted to hold back. She wanted to stay. She wanted to help him. She didn’t want to leave him behind.
But then she saw the knife slam into his back.
Then she saw the blood pooling down out of his body.
She saw the chaos, the panic, all of it taking over, as Ian looked back into her eyes.
Like he was finally ready.
Like he was finally at peace.
“Get out of here,” he said. “Please. For me. For…”
She didn’t stick around to see what else Ian had to say.
She rammed an elbow into the throat of the man behind her.
She kicked free of his loosening grip.
And then she sprinted out through the door of the cabin, out into the unknown.
She didn’t look back.
She didn’t look over her shoulder.
Not once.
She just kept on running.
Kept on going.
And all the time, she knew Ian was still in that cabin.
Dying alone.
She looked over her shoulder. Looked back when she was sure she was far enough away.
And when she looked, she saw someone.
Someone that looked incredibly like a woman.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Sonia looked around the cabin and felt her heart thumping when she couldn’t find Gina anywhere.
She knew she shouldn’t have trusted Mike. She knew he was probably lying to her. Gina would never be alive. She would never have made it this far. Not her Gina. Not the Gina she knew. She’d never have made it this far in this world.