Everything Dies | Season 3

by Malpass, T. W.

‘Jesus H. Christ,’ Salty cursed. ‘Go grab him, cupcake.’

  Teddy did as asked, getting on all fours and crawling to the edge of the roof.

  Before Kaos could reach up to take his hand, a long, almost fleshless arm shot out from the broken window next to him and caught hold of the front of his shirt.

  The dead driver was little more than skin and bone, a mass of jet-black hair flaking from its scalp beneath a stiff-beaked hat.

  It had been unable to escape the train to answer the call like the others in the river. Instead, it lay dormant inside, reactivated by Kaos’s foolhardy attempt to cross the bridge. It gnashed its teeth at him, prevented from reaching Kaos’s neck through the small frame of the window.

  To compensate, it continually tried to pull him inside, smashing his body against the metal of the train’s front.

  Anna ran to the gap in the crossing and started to bark at the commotion.

  Kaos could do nothing but frantically kick his legs to try and free himself of the monster’s grip.

  Salty immediately collected his rifle and lined up the creature in his sights. The boy was blocking any clear shot, and his flailing about wasn’t helping.

  ‘I can’t get a shot,’ Salty shouted over to Teddy. ‘Do something.’

  ‘Do what? I can’t fucking reach him,’ Teddy said. He stretched his arm as far as it would go towards Kaos, wary that he too had a chance of getting bitten. ‘Grab my hand, kid!’

  Kaos was too busy screaming, fighting, and being bumped against the train’s body.

  In the midst of the fear and chaos, watching the vile creature’s jaws edge closer to his face each time it pulled him in, something occurred to Kaos, and he reached into the inside pocket of his jacket.

  He grabbed the red spray can he’d used to tag the carriage. It had been shaken enough to still work, and he popped off the cap with his thumb, letting the piece of plastic fall from the train and through the gap between the bridge, down to the river.

  He held the can level with the broken window and pressed down on the nozzle.

  The paint hissed through the opening and sprayed the driver across its face, filling its sunken eye sockets with red. Blinded and stunned by the substance, the creature recoiled into the cabin and released its grip on his shirt.

  Kaos fell from the front of the car, clearing the way for Salty to take aim.

  The single shot rang out and struck the driver on the top of its head, blowing its cap off and sinking just low enough to sever its brain stem.

  Teddy covered his hand at the sound of the gunshot. Once he thought the coast was clear, he pulled himself forwards to peer over the edge again.

  To his relief, Kaos hadn’t fallen through the gap but managed to land on the narrow ledge just before it.

  Salty lowered his rifle and let out a disconcerted huff.

  Anna barked once more and stopped when she sensed the danger had passed.

  ‘Now please, just for once, do as I goddamn say,’ Salty shouted.

  Once Kaos had gathered himself, he climbed back onto the front of the cabin, and Teddy pulled him up.

  They both made it over the gap, and Salty caught them on the other side.

  As they were about to move on, Kaos walked to the edge and looked into the river for the last time. He glanced at the palms of his hands and thought he’d cut them to pieces like Salty had, but it was just the red paint from his spray can, which now rested in his pocket without its cap.

  He wiped his hands down his pants and turned around to catch up to the others.

  2

  Raine and the others spent two hours or more drifting in and out of sleep, still feeling the aches and pains from their confrontation with their abductors, their hands and feet bound again.

  It was difficult to say how long it had been since they’d been removed from the church and brought back to the holding barn.

  Raine watched the sunbeams creeping through the slats in the wood gradually fade as the day drew to an end.

  The only thing that fully roused them was the arrival of one of Edwards’s disciples. The man kept his hood up so they couldn’t identify which one it was.

  He left their evening meal. Nothing more than a piece of bread, a few vegetables, and an apple each. Just enough to keep them from becoming malnourished. In some ways, they were eating better now than they did for some periods on the tundra.

  They consumed every last morsel. Keeping their strength at a maximum was the most important thing right now.

  At any moment, the chance of escape might arise, and if that happened, they knew they would surely need to fight for their lives.

  After they’d finished their meal, Raine felt O.B.’s eyes on her. It was the same fixed gaze she’d become familiar with since they escaped the clutches of Doctor Grant and the Lazarus Project—an escape that came at a cost, particularly for O.B.

  Since then his eyes had reflected the cold, hardened reality of his emotional devastation. Something had shattered inside of him after witnessing Darla’s demise.

  Raine could see all the signs because it was a state of being that felt as natural as breathing to her. It was the reason why she’d taken him under her wing so attentively.

  ‘Instead of burning a hole into me, why don’t you say what’s on your mind?’ Raine said.

  ‘I’m waiting for you to come up with a plan to get us outta here,’ he replied.

  ‘And what makes you so sure there is an out from this?’

  ‘You taught me there’s always an out. It’s just a matter of finding it in the time you have,’ O.B. said.

  ‘What do you think it is?’ Raine asked.

  O.B. thought hard, squatting on the floor, the bindings forcing his hands together. Coupled with his shaven head, he looked like a praying monk.

  ‘Ethan,’ he said. ‘Ethan’s our way out.’

  Foster, who couldn’t stand listening to their conversation, suddenly sat up and paid attention when he mentioned Ethan’s name.

  ‘How is he the key?’ Raine asked.

  ‘You don’t have to be a genius to figure out what Edwards is using him for. He’s going to have him round up the dead like the Pied Piper and lead them to the enemy camp he mentioned. He’s a precious commodity to them. There’s no way they can afford to lose him.’

  Raine nodded.

  ‘We try to take him hostage,’ she said.

  ‘What?’ Foster said, looking dismayed at the suggestion.

  ‘We don’t have to hurt him,’ O.B. said. ‘We just have to make them believe we will. That’s our ticket out.’

  Foster frowned.

  ‘Our ticket out, but not Ethan’s,’ she said. ‘Edwards sent these men hundreds of miles to find him. They crossed the border, sheltered in arctic conditions, and risked their lives to attack us. There’s no way they’d ever stop chasing us unless we left Ethan behind for them to find.’

  ‘If sacrificing myself could get everyone else out, then so be it. That’s the same for any one of us,’ O.B. said.

  ‘That’s your choice to make. What you’re talking about is making that choice for someone else without their knowledge,’ Foster said.

  ‘If it comes down to it, Foster. If it’s between saving the four of us or staying behind with Ethan, what choice are you gonna make?’ Raine asked. ‘Ethan knows what’s at stake here.’

  ‘She’s right,’ Jason said. ‘They don’t need us, and you know Edwards has a genuine axe to grind. It’s only a matter of time before he puts us in the ground or worse.’

  ‘If we can get close enough to him, we’ll let him know what the plan is. If he can gain some level of trust with Edwards, it might give us the edge we need,’ Raine said.

  Foster shook her head in disgust and turned away from the others.

  ‘Someone’s coming,’ Jason said, pressing his face against the side of the barn.

  The patter of feet moved around the building, and Jason saw a flash o
f brown pass by.

  The lock clicked, and the door shook on its hinges as it opened.

  Samuel, the young boy who had visited them previously, stepped inside. His chin rested against his chest as he looked at the floor where the empty bowls and mugs had been left.

  He quickly knelt to gather everything.

  ‘Hey, how are you?’ Raine asked. ‘It’s Samuel, right?’ She used her powerful legs to shuffle towards him.

  He stepped back when he saw her getting closer, snatching up the bowls and mugs.

  ‘I’m not allowed. I have to get back home before curfew,’ he said.

  ‘What curfew?’ Raine asked.

  ‘Children have to be at home and in their beds by seven tonight.’

  ‘Something happening tonight?’

  ‘Don’t know. I think something at the church,’ he said, edging to the door.

  ‘Could you find out for me?’ Raine asked.

  ‘I-I wouldn’t know how to. Nobody tells me anything. They say and I do. Those are the rules.’

  ‘You seem like a resourceful boy. I’m sure you could try.’ Raine smiled at him.

  ‘I have to be home by seven, and it’s already getting late.’

  ‘You wouldn’t even have to come in again. You could just whisper through the boards.’ Raine caught sight of the key to the door hanging behind his back from the piece of string tying his robe together.

  Samuel raised his head to make eye contact and immediately lowered it again.

  ‘I hope you enjoyed the blessed meal. Good evening.’

  Before Raine could say another word, he slipped out and slammed the door shut, turning the key in the lock.

  ‘They’re grooming him to be one of Edwards’s henchmen,’ Jason said as he watched the boy scurry away in the direction of the living area behind the church.

  ‘And when the time comes, he’ll be bitten and injected with the Lazarus Serum,’ Foster said.

  ‘We should be congratulating ourselves. We managed to deliver that shit into the hands of someone even crazier than the guy who designed it,’ Jason said.

  Raine crawled over to Jason so she could peer through the same gaps in the boards.

  ‘If he doesn’t come back, we need to keep an eye on the church. If they’re up to something, I want to have some kind of idea ahead of time.’

  Jason noticed her shoulder was brushing against his and remembered their conversation when they still felt relatively safe at the arctic compound.

  ‘Hey, do we need to have a conversation about boundaries?’ he said with a smirk.

  His remark momentarily cut through her hardened exterior, and she responded by pushing her weight towards him in an affectionate nudge.

  ‘I’ll take the first shift to keep an eye on things. I’ll let you know if there’s any activity worth mentioning,’ Jason said.

  Raine nodded.

  ‘Any activity is worth mentioning,’ she said.

  ‘Sure,’ he replied.

  3

  Teddy stood at the broken window of their derelict hideout biting his nails and staring up at an almost full moon.

  Darkness was descending, and they had ventured off the beaten track to take shelter in an old railroad storage building for the night.

  ‘Why don’t you sit your ass down and rest?’ Salty said. He poked at the small fire he’d made. Kaos and Anna lay on either side of him, trying to get some much-needed warmth from the flames.

  ‘What I’m doing is kind of the point in being restless,’ Teddy said.

  ‘Do it for my sanity, then. Your fidgeting is gettin’ on my last nerve.’

  ‘I’ve just got things on my mind.’

  ‘Spit it out, cupcake,’ Salty said. ‘There are no secrets here.’

  ‘If this Black Temple cult travelled all the way to Canada, what were they looking for? I mean, you don’t think they just happened across you, right? Sounds like they were searching for you specifically, or someone like you, at least.’

  Salty sat up and started to pay more attention to his greasy-haired travelling companion. He suddenly felt guilty for thinking Teddy was nothing more than a self-indulgent idiot who’d survived the outbreak by getting lucky. What he’d said indicated he was quite astute.

  ‘Maybe you’re on to somethin’ there. Seems ridiculous otherwise.’

  ‘What could they want with your friends? Why did they take them and try to kill you?’

  ‘We did have a chopper pilot. That’s somethin’ of a commodity nowadays, but they killed her and destroyed her helicopter.’

  ‘Hey, man. I’m sorry about that,’ Kaos said.

  ‘It’s OK, kid. To be honest, I ain’t so sure how much she wanted to stick around anyway.’

  ‘Was there anyone else who they might want?’ Teddy asked. He seemed focussed, as if he didn’t want Salty to veer off track.

  ‘There was Foster. She was a pretty prominent scientist. She was working on a serum to fight the infection.’

  ‘A serum?’ Teddy said.

  Salty could have told them both about the Lazarus Project and how the outbreak had been an experiment gone wrong, but he realised it wouldn’t do either of them any good to know human beings were responsible for their own downfall.

  ‘What we had, we lost. All of it,’ he said.

  Teddy’s shoulders rounded. ‘Can you think of anything else?’

  Salty’s thoughts immediately turned to Ethan and the frightening demonstration he performed, manipulating the dead specimen like it was a puppet on a string. He decided to keep that to himself too. As much as he wanted to do this alone, if he wanted to have any chance of rescuing his friends, he needed all the help he could get, and Teddy was starting to seem like less of a fool with every passing minute.

  ‘I captured one of them back at the compound. He told me the symbol they wore on their heads represented the hand of God and the souls he was protecting, and he said some shit about “He is The Father and we are The Children”.’

  ‘That’s what I told you their leader calls himself—The Father,’ Kaos said.

  ‘And where is this guy now?’ Teddy asked.

  Salty narrowed his eyes and gave him a look that spoke a thousand words.

  Teddy raised his hands in submission.

  ‘Fair enough, man. If they attacked you first, I ain’t gonna judge,’ he said.

  ‘You ask a lot of questions, cupcake. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you sound like a cop,’ Salty said.

  ‘Not exactly. I used to be a private detective. Nothing too serious, just trailing folks who were cheating on their spouses. It taught me to find out exactly what it is I’m getting into before I commit, if you know what I mean.’

  ‘I sure do,’ Salty said.

  Teddy seemed to relax after their conversation. He took up a place with the others next to the fire and lay down.

  ‘If you think of anything else that might be important, all I ask is that you’re courteous enough to give me and the squirt a heads-up,’ he said.

  ‘You’ll be the first to know,’ Salty said. He could sense the continued suspicion in Teddy’s voice and turned to face away from him.

  He felt the heat from Anna’s body as she snuggled up next to him, resting her chin on the side of his neck.

  Teddy’s questions had sent his mind into overdrive. The Lazarus Serum, what Kaos had mentioned about the cult believing the dead had been sent by God to purge the living, the fact that the man he’d tortured was infected but still alive, and the development of Ethan’s abilities since he’d be altered by the virus.

  It all had to be connected. Salty was almost afraid to think on it any further because he was certain the answer would be an unwelcome one. However much he fought it, it was like Teddy said—they needed to know what they were getting into.

  What he did know was that sleep would be at a premium tonight. He just hoped the warmth from Anna would be enough to send him off.r />
  4

  ‘Hey, hey. Something’s happening,’ O.B. said.

  The other three dragged themselves to the side of the barn and quickly found a gap to stare through.

  Darkness had taken over completely, so it was difficult to see much at all. They could just about make out the hooded figures congregating outside of the church.

  Behind them, the rest of the followers were filing in through the double doors.

  The robed figures formed a circle, and flames suddenly ignited in the centre. When the bodies separated, the extra light revealed that the flames were rising from a standing firepit.

  O.B. counted twelve men in total, each one carrying a stave in one hand.

  ‘What are they doing?’ Foster asked.

  ‘Performing a ritual,’ Raine said. She noticed the disciples were standing almost exactly the same distance apart, six on one side of the firepit and six on the other.

  They approached it in pairs, pushing the ends of their staves into the flames to light the wick.

  Once they were all lit, the robed men started to walk slowly but deliberately towards the barn.

  The four prisoners scrambled back into the centre of the room.

  ‘Remember, if any of you get a chance when we’re inside, grab one of the knives from the guards. They all have one,’ Raine said. ‘But only do it if you think you can get to Ethan before they stop you.’

  O.B. and Jason nodded. Foster abstained from acknowledging the plan.

  One of the men unlocked the door and entered without his torch. He was the tallest and most senior of the disciples, Crane. He unsheathed his knife and, without saying a word, began to cut through the bindings around Raine’s ankles. He sliced through O.B.’s next, then Foster’s and Jason’s.

  ‘It’s time,’ he said, gesturing towards the open door and the waiting throng of torchbearers outside.

  ‘Time for what?’ Jason asked.

  ‘To understand your place in this world,’ Crane replied.

  Jason was the first to step into the doorway. The disciples had taken positions on either side to form a corridor for them to pass through, all holding their torches aloft to fight against the dark.