by Logan Jacobs
“We haven’t had many lizards over this way recently,” Larry said as he pulled his bandage tight. “After we plugged up the water, they tend to go right by us. Last run I made into town for food, I saw some eggs, though. I didn’t like that one bit.”
“Yeah,” I sighed. “It seems like they’ve started to breed. They are really protective of their eggs, too, but it worked to our advantage before we got here.”
“They chose staying with their young over chasing us.” Hae-won nodded. “Although, it won’t be a good thing when the babies hatch.”
“It’s really getting bad, isn’t it?” Grey asked, and she looked over my shoulder toward the town. “They’re not going anywhere.”
“It doesn’t seem like it,” Kat replied. “But you’ve got to keep your head high. Show the scaly bastards whose planet this is.”
“I suppose so,” Grey sighed. “We’ll get moving some of the cars so you guys can pass. Hey, Tim, Larry, can you guys help with that?”
“Thank you.” I smiled as the two men hurried off to the right side of the fort, and they each climbed into one of the barricade vans.
I got onto my bike, and the girls returned to their vehicles as the local men started to maneuver the wall of vans out of our path.
Once the first two vans had been parked to the side, both men got into the cars at the second layer of the barricade, and they quickly reversed back onto the right side of the bridge. Once they had created enough room for us all to fit through, Tim gave us an encouraging wave.
“Good luck,” I called as we all started our engines.
Kat took off first in her jeep, closely followed by Becka.
“To Hull, then.” I grinned at Hae-won, and the Korean gave me a coy smile.
“I hope there is a shower,” she said. “Then maybe you can help Kat get all that blood off her. I think she would really enjoy that.”
I opened my mouth to reply, but the Korean beauty sped off before I could. So, I revved my engine, throttled up, and took off after the trio of girls, but from that second onward, Kat’s athletic body was blazing at the forefront of my mind.
Chapter 5
“I don’t think it’s too much further,” Becka called out as we drove onward from the Barton-upon-Humbar bridge.
Kat’s Jeep roared alongside our bikes, and she kept up with the pace no problem. The sun had stuck around so far and warmed our blood-spattered faces as we drove. We still had our radios strapped to our belts, and with a Jeep full of military grade weaponry, our fighting style had definitely levelled up.
My worries from seeing those videos had eased a lot because of this, too.
With the four of us together, and an arsenal like ours, even the chance of being meticulously hunted by a growing swarm of human-hungry dinosaurs wasn’t as intimidating. Plus, I was still on a high from our group effort of taking down a whole fleet of pterodactyls, and I grinned as I watched the three girls ride beside me.
“We should check the phones in a few minutes,” I hollered. “Find the best route specifically for the aquarium.”
We drove on for a ways, but when I gave the signal, we all slowed down and made sure to check our surroundings for wings or large footsteps before we stopped. There didn’t seem to be any unwanted visitors around, and the road looked empty ahead.
Kat swung out of her Jeep to jump down beside me, and Hae-won pulled her phone out to check the maps.
I reached into my pocket to look at my cell as well, since I hadn’t given the device much thought recently. After the internet started to go down, there wasn’t any means of communication with any family or friends. For the time being, though, the GPS systems still seemed to work okay, and I pressed my home screen button to track our progress.
Then I was greeted by a flashing red battery sign before the screen went black.
“Mine’s dead,” I sighed. “Hopefully, we can charge up at the aquarium.”
“It’s kind of a shame social media’s down,” Becka said and twisted in her seat to look at me. “Can you imagine how many likes our dino killing sprees would get on Instagram? We could have started a whole account to show people how it’s done.”
“I’ve never been into that stuff.” Kat shrugged. “I’m pretty private. I don’t like my business being out there for everyone to see.”
“Shame.” Becka smiled. “Super hot army chicks get thousands of followers.”
“Do they?” the soldier chuckled, and I offered her a confirming nod.
“It’s twenty minutes away,” Hae-won announced as she examined her phone. “Straight drive ahead. If we keep going down the A63, we’ll run right into the place. The aquarium is in the city center.”
“That means we drive alongside the river,” Becka said with a wary glance over to the water.
“The road’s far enough away,” Kat observed. “Nothing could jump over that far. I hope.”
“You haven’t met a giant sea scorpion, have you?” Hae-won asked with a small shiver.
“A fucking what?” Kat scoffed.
“We’ll explain on the way,” the Korean assured her. “Get ready for a horror story.”
“Let’s go,” I said. “Remember, we don’t know what state the place is going to be in. There might not be anyone left there, but if we could grab some medical supplies, then that’s all we need.”
Kat jumped back into her Jeep, and we started back off down the highway toward the city.
I couldn’t help but ease into the enjoyment of the drive, with the rare, bright English weather and the glistening river over to our right. The air didn’t smell like dino blood for this stretch of the journey, and the thought of whatever creatures might be swirling under the surface of the river didn’t faze me as I listened to Becka and Hae-won yell their Scorpion story to a wide-eyed Kat.
I grinned as I watched the girls laugh together like old friends, and Kat’s tough but witty personality seemed to fit right into our little group dynamic. I had worried slightly that the girls would be annoyed by the sudden arrival of another woman, but both of my lovers had welcomed Kat with open arms.
I got the impression they were also just as willing to have me welcome her with way more than that.
It almost seemed too good to be true, but I didn’t want to jinx it by overthinking the situation.
I just focused on the pleasant curve of my girls’ hips as their thighs clung to their motorcycles, and whenever Kat turned a lopsided grin out the window in their direction, I couldn’t help smiling even more.
This was definitely the way to spend a dino apocalypse.
This stretch of road was one of the emptiest we had seen in a while, with only a few abandoned cars scattered here and there. I noticed there were even a few sheep grazing in the fields to our left, and I wondered how the hell they had survived so long.
Probably because they weren’t exactly on the menu anymore.
The dinos seemed to only want to hunt human flesh, and I couldn’t help wondering if the human race would be outlived by a bunch of animals we had reared for food.
“Hey, Jason!” Kat called as she slowed her Jeep to pull back beside me. “I think I made the right choice tracking you guys down. You’ve got some big balls!”
I raised my eyebrows as the curly-haired soldier smiled at me through her open window, and her hazel eyes sparkled in a way that made it hard to remember I had to keep my gaze on the road.
“Is there any reason in particular that you’re thinking about my balls, Corporal?” I hollered back, and the soldier smiled even wider at my wink.
“I’ve just been filled in on some of your fights,” Kat yelled. “I think I made the right choice tracking you guys down!”
“I have to agree with you there,” I chuckled, and I caught Becka throwing a shit-eating grin over her shoulder at me.
“Here we go!” Hae-won yelled as we sped past a sign welcoming us to Kingston upon Hull.
As we drew closer to the city, I could see the buildings looked lik
e a mixture of Georgian and modern architecture, and I couldn’t help but admire the view. The tall houses stretched out around us, and there was a faint smell of smoke as we passed several upturned cars.
It was a short drive to reach the city center, and we found ourselves in a wide-open town square with impressive, ornate office buildings towering above us from all angles. I had always liked the simple symmetry of structures from the seventeen-hundreds, and I allowed myself a few moments to appreciate my very English surroundings before I focused up.
“Alright,” I said as our group slowed down. “It seems really quiet, which honestly probably isn’t a good sign.”
“We’re just here for some quick supplies.” Hae-won glanced upwards at the surrounding windows. “Let’s keep as quiet as we can.”
I nodded, and we drove over to a large signpost with a detailed map of the city. As we examined it, and confirmed the aquarium was a short drive away, I listened for the sound of claws on concrete or the flap of large wings.
Then we heard the distant sound of a human scream, and we quickly set off toward the aquarium.
The city roads were too narrow for us to drive alongside each other as a group, especially since we had to weave through hordes of abandoned vehicles. Dozens of familiar stores lined the street, and some of them were big name chains I had visited for years. We drove past a Starbucks with the windows smashed in, and I noticed chunks of dino flesh clinging to the shards of glass. Just a few weeks ago, I’d take advantage of the free Wi-Fi whenever I felt like getting out of campus to study, and the coffee chain closest to my dorm happened to be a Starbucks. It was almost funny to recall how I used to think getting a syrupy coffee instead of a tea was an exciting moment of the day. Nowadays, exciting meant fighting off bloodthirsty ancient predators alongside the most gorgeous women I had ever met.
Then we passed a beautiful, ornate fountain that had a dead raptor face down in the stale water, and I redirected my focus as I realized this meant there could be a herd close by.
The aquarium was right ahead and next to the river, though, and as we neared the water, we kept a watchful eye out for any fins.
The large building was sharp and modern, with bright wooden paneling and a glass top. It was an impressive landmark and looked out onto the water with a large plastic shark statue at the side.
In the parking lot, there were four cars, a large gray delivery truck, and an old bicycle that had a tote bag beside it. We parked next to the entrance, and the truck hid our vehicles from view of the road. It wasn’t a perfect hiding spot for our precious motorcycles and Jeep, but it would have to do for the time being.
Hae-won jumped off her bike first, and she poked at the abandoned tote beside the bicycle.
“Anything exciting in there?” I asked as I dismounted.
“Rotten fruit,” Hae-won said with a wrinkled nose. “I guess they had to drop their snacks to escape something.”
We took our rifles with us and carefully made our way to the entrance. There was a wall of glass paneling at the front door, which had all been covered by various drapes and boards to prevent anything from seeing inside. The automatic doors didn’t work, and there was a manual entrance next to them that was also locked.
“Should we just knock?” Becka asked as she tried to peer through a gap in the boards. “I don’t think any lights are on. It might be abandoned.”
I gave the glass door a firm knock, and we waited for a few moments in silence.
“I don’t really want to break the glass,” I said as I checked over my shoulder to make sure we were still alone. “It seems pretty peaceful right now, and I don’t want to alert anything that we’re here.”
“Hellooooo,” Becka called as she gave the door another sharp knock. “Can we come in, please? We’re good people, I swear!”
“Convincing,” Hae-won snorted as she nudged the blonde’s Sharpshooter.
“We could check for another way in,” Kat said as she glanced up at the tall building.
Before I could reply, there was a shuffling sound from the other side of the glass. We all instinctively raised our weapons and took a step back from the entrance.
The shuffle stopped, and I noticed a single finger appeared to pull back a corner of cloth.
I stepped forward again and immediately lowered my rifle, and I gave a friendly wave to the one eyeball peering out at us. The eyeball blinked, and then it disappeared from view again.
“Uh,” Kat said. “Did they just leave?”
A click came from the push door beside us, and it opened a couple of inches.
“Are you hurt?” a meek male voice asked.
“Not really,” I replied. “But we were just hoping to maybe borrow some supplies and clean up a bit if possible?”
“Oh,” the voice replied, and he sounded hesitant. “Um, you’re with the army, then? I see the car.”
“I am, yes,” Kat replied. “We’ve been fighting our arses off to protect what we can of the world, and I would really love it if I could wash the dino guts off before we resume our mission.”
“I see,” the man said as he eyed our weapons. “Well… okay, um, come in. Quickly.”
The door opened, and I let the girls pile in before me. As I jogged into the aquarium, I was hit with the smell of bleach, and my eyes had to adjust to how dark it was. The lights above were off, and only a small lamp to the far side of the reception illuminated the surrounding area. The door was closed and locked as soon as my feet stepped onto the paneled floor, and our host turned to look at us.
It was a man who looked to be in his mid-thirties, and he wore stained hospital scrubs with dirty sneakers. He was a couple of inches taller than me, very skinny, and had dark stubble under purple eye bags.
“Hi,” I said, and I reached out my hand. “I’m Jason. This is Hae-won, Becka, and Kat.”
The man glanced down at my hand but didn’t take it.
“Sorry,” he said. “I can’t risk any unnecessary contamination with the patients and everything. I’m Matthew.”
“Thanks for letting us inside,” Kat said. “Is your power out?”
“No,” Matthew replied. “We just keep the lights off in the reception lobby, but downstairs, we’ve got everything going.”
The lobby area was huge, and even in the dim lighting, I could see how brightly it was decorated. The main desk was covered in cuddly toy fish, and there were huge posters that lined the walls with details of various sea creatures.
It was eerie to see a place so cheery suddenly turned into a hidden refuge.
“So, where did you come from?” Matthew asked. “Did you come from America?”
“Well, originally,” I chuckled. “But we were students at Cambridge when all this kicked off, and Kat was a Corporal at Peterborough.”
“We’re heading to Ravenscar,” Becka added. “To find my mum.”
“Right.” The tired-looking man nodded. “Well, I guess I’ll lead you downstairs, then. We don’t take the lifts, just in case the power does go out, and we get stuck inside.”
“Good idea,” I agreed. “So, you’re a doctor?”
“I’m a pediatric nurse,” Matthew replied as he led us toward a wide staircase next to the reception desk. “But anyone with medical knowledge has basically been lumped into one team, and we just try to help where we can.”
“This looks like a big place,” I said as I glanced up to see plastic sharks dangling from the high ceiling. “Is it a kind of hospital now?”
“I’m not sure I would go that far,” Matthew replied. “More like a resting point for injured people. We have supplies, and we’ve made beds the best we could, but it’s not going to help anyone on death’s door.”
“How many people are here?” Hae-won asked.
“It changes every day,” Matthew shrugged. “Probably a couple of hundred just now, maybe slightly less. My flat is nearby, and I was coming back from night shift when all this kicked off. My flat mate is a nurse, too, and she suggest
ed coming here.”
“How did it become a medical stop?” Kat asked.
“We told our friends about it,” Matthew said. “A lot of them are doctors, and people just sort of brought whatever supplies they had. I guess word spread before all phones went down, and now we have a proper staff team.”
We reached the bottom of the staircase, and fluorescent lights shone above us.
“So, we’re underground now?” Becka asked.
“That’s right.” The nurse nodded. “That’s why we chose the place, even if the upper level is vulnerable, we should be safe down here.”
“Good thinking,” I agreed. “An underground bunker.”
I heard the low rumble of voices, and the smell of bleach was mixed with the faint stench of vomit.
We walked down a short corridor and were led into a huge room full of small, enclosed pools, and I could see the start of a viewing tunnel at the far side.
The pools actually had creatures swimming around inside of them, but the floor between was covered in makeshift beds, which were mostly just single blankets on top of a couple of pillows. There were people lying down in various states of injury, but while some had nothing noticeably wrong with them, others bore wounds that were clearly severe.
Men and women rushed around carrying bandages, alcohol, and buckets of liquid. Some wore scrubs like Matthew, and some were just in everyday clothing. There were a few wearing medical masks, and it was clear that everyone had grabbed whatever they could before they came to the aquarium.
The workers all looked incredibly stressed, even more so than Matthew. If they really had as many people here as they said, then everyone who was severely hurt and stayed within the city after the attacks got worse probably came here.
“This is the main area for patients,” Matthew explained as we stood and looked out over the room. “As you can see, it used to be the rockpool bit. For kids to poke starfish and stuff.”
“You know, for some reason, it didn’t occur to me that the animals would all still be here,” I admitted. “Things are just so strange outside, but it looks like you’ve kept the place up well so far.”