by Casey, Ryan
They were six miles from Liverpool approximately. They could be there in a couple of hours on a good day. But it wasn’t a good day—far from it. They’d been walking through the whole day at this point. Time was running out. The helicopters were due to depart in two days—if that. Phase Three was due to begin.
But Noah knew they were close, now. And he knew if they kept on going in a windy blizzard like this, in these ice-cold temperatures, they might not make it at all.
So they had to shack down. Rest up. Use it as an opportunity to get a few hours.
And then if it didn’t look like the blizzard was easing, they’d just have to move on anyway. Make that final push. What other choice did they have?
They stopped at a little cottage just off the motorway. Strange place. Right on the edge of the motorway, right through some fields, where cows and sheep had once roamed, long ago. There was nobody inside. No smell of rot or death, so nobody living here recently, either.
Noah looked out of the window. Watched the snow hammer down. Heard the wind blasting the house, making every inch of the house creak, making Bruno jump with every howl.
Jaan walked up to his side. Stood there. Looked out the window, too. Concern across his face.
“You okay?” Noah asked.
Jaan nodded. “I just… Time is of the essence, Noah.”
“Yeah, but the laws of nature still apply. Just a couple of hours. That’s all we need. See if we can ride this out. Then we keep moving.”
Jaan hesitated a moment before nodding.
“Something bothering you?”
“I just… I keep thinking.”
“Thinking about what?”
“About what happened back on the road. My… my old people. How they chased us down. I’m starting to wonder if they know about you after all. And if they do… I have my concerns about this whole venture.”
Noah sighed. “You’re leading us towards Liverpool. You’re telling me in one breath it’s the only way. That it’s the only option. And now you’re saying you’ve got cold feet? What gives?”
“Look,” Jaan said, “it’s important we get there. Really, it is. I just… I have a bad feeling, is all. A feeling that something isn’t quite right. And I’d be doing you a great disservice if I wasn’t straight with you about that.”
Noah nodded. He was hesitant about Jaan. Didn’t want to open his arms up and be all trustworthy all of a sudden. But at the same time, he got his point and appreciated him being straight with him.
“Look,” Noah said, rubbing the back of his head. “This is the only chance we’ve got. You said it yourself. We’ve not exactly got an abundance of options right now. Even if something isn’t quite right… do we actually have any alternatives? Really?”
Jaan sighed. “Phase Three is already set in stone. The only way we stop that is physically stopping it. The command has already been given. It’s irreversible. The nuclear button has been pressed. This really is the only shot we’ve got. I just wish there were better odds for us.”
“Yeah, well. We learn to work with what’s in front of us, right?”
Jaan nodded, but his eyes looked glassy. He looked less triumphant now. Less… caught up in the drama of all this. “I suppose you are right.”
“Something else on your mind?”
Jaan sighed. “My ex-wife, Kristie. I think of her a lot. Knowing this journey is… is likely to be my last, let’s face it. I just try to ask her whether I’m doing the right thing. I always try to see whether she would be proud of me or whether she would support me whenever I do anything.”
“And what’s she saying right now?”
He looked up at Noah. “She’s telling me I’m a crazy idiot, and I’m going to get myself killed. But I already know that anyway.”
He laughed. And Noah laughed, too.
“Well,” Noah said. “Here’s to being crazy idiots with a death wish.”
“Here’s to that indeed,” Jaan said.
They walked back into the lounge and saw Kelly and Shel in there.
Shel lay flat on the sofa. Kelly rolled her eye, Bruno by her side.
“What’s up?”
“Her,” Kelly said. “Can’t share a bit of sofa. Not even for a couple of hours.”
“Hey,” Shel barked. “I told you. I need my fucking beauty sleep, okay? Besides. It’s not the only fucking sofa in the world.”
Noah sighed. This really was the least of their worries right now. The least of their concerns.
“That’s okay,” Noah said. “Jaan’s gonna stay in here with you anyway. Right?”
Shel’s eyes widened. “Not a fucking chance.”
“Thought you were keen to keep an eye on him? And surely you’re far more qualified to do that than a woman with one eye and a man with one arm, right?”
Shel sighed. “Bastards.”
“You had way more sleep than the rest of us last night. About time you quit being lazy and took watch for a while.”
Shel shook her head. Sat upright but still outstretched her legs along the sofa. “Got a real way of killing the joy, you know that?”
“I have been told,” Noah said. “Anyway. Jaan, get some rest. Shel, keep an eye on him.”
“And you two?” Shel asked, raising an eyebrow.
Noah’s cheeks flushed, just a little. “Don’t… don’t worry about us.”
She looked at the pair of them. Winked. “Don’t worry, lover boy. I’ll keep a real close eye on Jaan. I know that’s what this is about, really.”
Noah shook his head. So too did Kelly.
Both left the room to Shel’s laughs.
They headed up the creaky stairs. The sound of the wind even louder up here.
Stood outside the two bedroom doors, right next to one another.
Stared at each other.
“Well,” Noah said.
“Well.”
“Goodnight, I guess.”
“Yeah. I…”
And then Noah stepped forward and kissed Kelly.
She leaned into him. Pushed herself close. Wrapped her arms around him.
And he felt his heart racing as he lost himself in this moment. As he sank into it.
He backed away. Looked into Kelly’s eye. Saw her looking back at him. Frowning. Like she was confused.
“What happens on the last night on earth stays on the last night on earth, right?”
“Something like that,” Noah said.
They wrapped their arms around one another, felt their warmth against each other, and stumbled into one of the bedrooms, slamming the door behind them as they made their way to the bed.
Somewhere outside, eyes watched closely.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Noah opened his eyes and felt a bolt of anxiety burst through his chest.
It was pitch black. His heart was racing. Cold sweat trickled down his face. He didn’t know why, but he felt anxious. Like something was wrong. Couldn’t shake the feeling that maybe he’d overslept. He’d overslept, and time had run out. They’d missed the opportunity to stop Phase Three. There was nothing left for them anymore. Nothing left but waiting for Jaan’s people to sweep across the country and impose a new kind of order. A more terrifying kind of order.
A world scarier than the viral world? Quite possibly.
But it was still dark. Which meant it hadn’t reached morning, at least. His heart thudded away. His mouth was dry. His stomach crippled with pain. He sat upright. Saw Bruno at his side, whining.
And then he felt another warmth on the bed beside him.
Looked across and saw Kelly.
His discomfort eased somewhat. They’d slept together. Fallen asleep in one another’s arms. Last night on earth, and they’d made the most of it, if that’s what it was going to come to.
But Noah had lost all concept of time. All sense of how long he’d been asleep, whether he’d been asleep at all.
Bruno panted. Tongue dangling between his teeth. Staring up at Noah.
&nbs
p; “Come on,” he whispered. “Let’s get you out for a piss, lad.”
He walked across the bedroom’s creaky floorboards, trying his best not to wake Kelly. Wind hammered against the walls of the farmhouse, which felt like it was going to collapse. One thing was for sure: the blizzard hadn’t eased at all. Which was a problem. It meant they were going to have to get on the road as soon as possible if they wanted to reach Liverpool in time.
Unless the storm was enough to keep those helicopters on the ground. Stop them leaving. That would be something, at least.
But then an even more terrifying possibility entered Noah’s mind.
What if those helicopters had left early because of the storm?
What then?
He shuddered at the thought. Pushed it aside immediately.
“Come on,” he said, Bruno by his side. “Let’s get some fresh air. Make a snowman or something.”
He left the bedroom. Walked along the dark hallway. Darkness was just an ordinary part of life now. It was commonplace. Electricity was a luxury.
But darkness never lost its intensity. It never lost its creepiness. Never shook the feeling that there could be something there in the shadows, watching, waiting.
He reached the top of the stairs and noticed something.
The front door. Slightly ajar. Snow spilling inside the house. A cold breeze working its way through, right up the stairs.
He tightened his grip on his knife and stepped further down the stairs. There could be an honest explanation for it. The door hadn’t seemed the most stable when they came in here.
But what if it was something else?
What if someone was here?
He kept going. Climbing down the stairs. Knowing damned well he should shout for Kelly, call for help. Or check on Jaan. Shel.
Jaan.
What if something had happened?
What if he’d done something?
He reached the foot of the stairs. Stopped. Heart racing. Bruno sticking to his side, like a shadow.
He looked across at the lounge door. Saw it was closed.
There were no sounds.
There was no shuffling.
No anything.
“Shel?” Noah said.
He walked towards the lounge door. Still no sounds. Nothing.
And the closer he got, the more the sense grew inside that something was wrong here. Something was off. Desperately off.
He put his knife to one side. Put his hand on the door handle, got ready to grab his knife again as soon as he could.
Then he lowered the handle and stepped inside the lounge.
He saw Shel right away.
She was sitting upright in the middle of the room. Sitting on the sofa, her silhouette lit by the moonlight beaming through the curtains. Which was strange. Why was she sitting like that? She was supposed to be sleeping. It didn’t seem right. It…
And then it struck Noah.
Jaan.
There was no sign of Jaan.
Where was he?
And why was Shel…
When Noah got closer, he saw exactly why.
Blood covered her bare chest.
Blood from her neck.
Her neck had been sliced open wide.
Her eyes beamed up. Wide. Bloodshot.
Noah went cold in an instant. He didn’t understand. Couldn’t wrap his head around what he was looking at. Couldn’t make sense of any of it. Wanted to believe this was a nightmare. This was a bad dream. It couldn’t be real. It couldn’t.
Because in his mind, there was only one explanation.
Jaan had done this.
Jaan had slit Shel’s throat and escaped into the night.
Why? He didn’t know. He couldn’t understand.
He just had that crippling sense of urgency and dread coursing through his veins, and he knew he had to do something.
He stood there a few seconds. Cold. His heart racing. Truth be told, he wasn’t sure how long he stood there. Shel. Dead. Throat slit.
But he stood there and stared until a new urgency kicked in.
Jaan. He didn’t know for definite he’d left.
And Kelly. She was upstairs. She was on her own. She was potentially in danger.
Shit.
He went to step away from Shel’s body when he heard something that sent shivers down his spine.
Upstairs, he heard footsteps.
Heavy footsteps.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Noah heard the footsteps upstairs, and every muscle in his body turned to stone.
Shel’s body, sitting there on the sofa, upright.
Throat slit.
Jaan nowhere to be seen.
Kelly, on her own upstairs.
He didn’t know what had happened. He didn’t know who was responsible for this.
He didn’t fucking care.
He just knew what he had to do.
He launched himself out of the lounge. Closed the door behind him, stopping Bruno stepping out. He didn’t want to put his dog in danger. But then, at the same time, trapping him in the lounge probably was a surefire way to put him in danger if anything happened to him.
But fuck it. He wasn’t thinking straight.
Just needed to get up the stairs.
He ran to the bottom of the stairs. The wind blew in through the open front door. Went to throw himself up there, towards the bedroom. Because Kelly. He couldn’t let anything happen to Kelly. He couldn’t—
“Noah?”
He stopped on the middle step.
Kelly stood there. Staring down at him with that one eye. Frowning.
“What’s wrong? Where’s Bruno? Why’s he barking like mad in there?”
Noah’s mouth went dry. “Kelly,” he said. “It’s not safe. There’s… there’s someone…”
He didn’t get to finish.
It all happened so fast.
Someone appeared behind her.
A dark figure.
Wrapped a hand around her mouth and pressed a bloodied knife to her neck.
“Not a move, princess,” a deep voice said. “How about we head downstairs, hmm? How about we all have a nice little sit down by the fire?”
Noah recognised the voice. Couldn’t place it, not at first.
But one thing was for sure.
It wasn’t Jaan.
He stood there. Heart racing. Staring up into the darkness. Confusion spiralling.
If it wasn’t Jaan, then who…
But then it clicked.
That deep voice.
That huge, towering body.
Renault.
“Get the fuck off her,” Noah said, tightening his fist.
Renault laughed. “Or what, huh?”
“You know what?”
“See, making a threat right now really ain’t a great idea. Not one bit. Because I get one twinge of that weird power shit of yours, I’ll cut her throat. Just like I cut your friends’ throats. Understand?”
Noah saw Kelly’s eye widen at that admission. The realisation that Shel was dead.
But also… “friends.” He’d said “friends,” not “friend.”
So where the fuck was Jaan?
He saw that look in Renault’s glistening eyes.
That look that he was deadly serious. That he wasn’t fucking about.
“Come on,” Renault said. “Into the lounge. And when we get there, how about you shut that fucking mutt up? He’s doing my fucking head in.”
Noah gritted his teeth. He wanted to stand his ground. Wanted to use his abilities. Wanted to fight.
But Kelly. Any chance she could come under threat, come in danger, it wasn’t a risk he was willing to take.
Even though she stared at him with that look in her eye.
The one that said: “Do it, motherfucker. Fucking end him.”
But he couldn’t.
Noah backed down the stairs. Raised his hand. Didn’t take his eyes off Kelly or Renault for one moment. He didn’t want to
go into that lounge again. Didn’t want Kelly to have to see what had happened to Shel or Jaan, something that was still dawning on Noah, something he still hadn’t properly got his head around.
But he knew there was no choice right now.
Renault grunted and smirked as he pushed Kelly down the stairs. “That’s right. You go into that lounge, and you get yourself real comfortable, buddy.”
“You’re making a big mistake,” Noah said.
“Did I fucking ask you to speak? Did I? No. No, I didn’t. So keep moving if you want your bitch to live.”
He opened his mouth, wanted to say something. But there was nothing to say. No choice.
He walked towards the lounge door. Put a hand against it. Bruno barking behind it, scratching at it.
“In there,” Renault said. “Now.”
As Noah lowered the handle, an idea crossed his mind. Shel’s rifle. The one she had on her. The one she’d kept hold of while she was keeping an eye on Jaan.
If he could get hold of it… maybe he wouldn’t need to use his abilities.
Maybe he could act by surprise.
It was a long shot. But it was something.
He opened the door. Stepped into the lounge. Saw the silhouette of Shel’s body sitting there, upright. So that discovery was real after all. Not a nightmare. Not a hallucination. Dead. A life snuffed out, just like that. Kelly and Bruno and him next unless he could think of something.
He looked around the room for the rifle. Scanned its every corner. But it wasn’t so hard seeing in the darkness. Where was it? Where the fuck…
“Okay,” Renault said, dragging Kelly inside. “Here’s how this is gonna go. You’re gonna get on your knees. You’re gonna stay there. And if you’re a good lad… I might just let your bitch live.”
Noah frowned. “What the hell do you want from me?”
Renault laughed. “What the fuck do you think I want? I want what’s running through your blood. What’s in your flesh. If people were after it, like you say they were, then if I can take it, I can have what you have. I can be like you.”
Noah shook his head. “It doesn’t work like that.”
“Willing to take my goddamned chances.”
“You’re insane.”
Renault laughed. “Maybe. But ain’t we all insane now, really? Ain’t that just the way the world’s made us? Now come on. On your goddamned knees. Now.”