by David Moody
Thankfully not.
It’s almost half an hour later when she comes back. He whistles to her as she creeps across the plaza looking for him, then gestures for her to join him in the shadows of the hardware store. She refuses, instead calling him out to her.
“Do you realize how dangerous it is for me out here?” Matt says.
“Yeah, I do as it happens,” she immediately replies. “But you need to see this.”
“If I get caught out here I’m a dead man.”
She shrugs. “No worries. If they find us I’ll just pretend I’m killing you, okay?”
He looks at her, unsure whether or not she’s joking.
“This way,” she says. “Move!”
Jayce ducks through a gaping hole in the outer wall of an otherwise relatively undamaged house. It looks like it was caused by a bizarrely precise missile strike, because although appearing outwardly structurally sound, the interior of the building is a ruin. Jayce climbs the badly damaged staircase and Matt follows, edging around the missing steps.
There’s another hole in the bedroom ceiling, and a corresponding chasm in the roof through which sunlight pours. Using a chest of drawers, Jayce hauls herself up and into the attic. Matt follows, matching her athleticism, and they look out through the damaged roof together. Several doors farther down the road there’s an ugly redbrick building. Even from this distance it’s clear that it’s a hive of Hater activity.
“So what do you reckon they’re up to?” Jayce asks.
“Hardly an army, is it? Do you recognize any of them?”
“Apart from the bloke we just spent the last couple of hours trailing?”
“Yes, apart from him,” he says, ignoring her sarcasm.
“Matter of fact, I do. Several of them have been through the convent.”
“Our man down there, the guy we were following, I reckon he’s a local. He seemed to find his way here pretty well, wherever here is.”
“You think?”
“He didn’t end up here by chance, did he? Someone told him where to go—presumably Sahota—and he did as he was told. Question is, why?”
“Any thoughts?”
Matt puts two and two together and comes up with an answer he’s not sure he wanted to find. “You say you know some of the Haters down there, so that makes me think this is the next step. I reckon Joseph and his mates must finish with them, then they’re sent here.”
“I didn’t get an invite.”
“Why not?”
“I was one of the program’s first successes, though I still maintain it had more to do with me and less with Joseph and the others than they’ll have you believe. I was determined to find a way to control what I was feeling for my stepbrother’s sake, not for any other reason. It was early days when I ended up at the convent, less regimented, less military involvement.”
“Did they hunt you out?”
“No, and that’s the biggest difference as far as I can see. I was injured and I couldn’t get away. After they’d finished with me I hung around to help Joseph out because I initially believed in what he was trying to do. The intention behind it, anyway.”
“And you don’t think any of these people have anything to do with Joseph?”
“Nope. I just think he’s a means to an end now, Sahota’s puppet. He supposedly sends them out into the wastelands when he’s finished with them, off to spread the good word.”
“But there’s got to be more of a purpose to it than that, hasn’t there?” Matt’s struggling to join the dots. It’s like doing a jigsaw puzzle without a picture: just a mass of random shapes which somehow have to be arranged to form a whole. “Hardly an army, though, is it? Even if there are other groups like this, they’re still massively outnumbered. So what can they hope to achieve, other than causing absolute fucking chaos if they decide they preferred being Haters after all, and then—”
He stops abruptly.
“And then what?” Jayce pushes.
Matt’s mind is racing again, working overtime to piece together the things he’s seen over the last couple of weeks and in the moments leading up to here. “Oh, fuck. That’s it, isn’t it? Those people down there, they’re not the weapon, they’re just the trigger. They can walk among us, and I reckon that’s exactly what they’re planning to do. They’ll head back into town and start a chain reaction … waves of panic. It won’t take a lot to make it happen. Once they start fighting, word will get around there are Haters in the camp, and the trouble will spread like a frigging bushfire. It’ll get worse and worse, and what’s left of the CDF who haven’t already bailed are so stretched or so indifferent that they’ll struggle to contain it … the people will panic and the city will fall.”
“They’ll be forced out into the open—”
“—straight into the arms of the thousands of Haters waiting out there for them. Exactly. It’s beautiful in its simplicity, don’t you think?” But Jayce doesn’t reply because she’s already on her way out of the ruined house. Matt lowers himself down from the attic after her. “Jayce, wait … hold up.”
She stops just long enough to be sure he can hear her. “We need to get back to Franklin and let him know what we’ve seen. If we’re going to get those people out of the city, then we have to do it now. This could all blow up at any second. We can’t risk waiting.”
38
The skies are heavy over the camp, and trying to get through the crowds is like wading through treacle; the harder you push and the faster you try to move, the more they suck you in and drag you down. It’s humid on the streets, and hot as hell. After days of relative inertia, weeks even, Matt knows that the clock’s now ticking at double speed. Franklin’s plan starts today, and suddenly all the plotting, all the talking and preparation … it all feels hopelessly insubstantial. Matt had relative confidence in what they needed to do, until they actually needed to do it. Now it feels like a catalog of impossible tasks: get the van from the convent, get out to the base in the wastelands, get back with the truck, then get a chapel basement’s worth of survivors loaded up and shipped out of the city-camp before it all goes to hell. But before any of that, Matt has an even more pressing task to complete. “I’ll meet you back there,” he says to Jayce and, before she can protest, he splits.
“Where the hell are you going?” she shouts after him, but he’s not listening. None of this will be worth anything if he doesn’t do this first.
* * *
Home.
He reaches the house breathless and lets himself in. Jason and Jen are in the kitchen, chatting like they don’t have a damn care in the world. They look up when he bursts into the room, and they can see from the expression on his face that something’s terribly wrong. “What is it, love?” Jen asks.
Matt looks directly at Jason. “It’s today.”
“What’s today?” says Jen, sounding nervous.
“Time to leave,” he answers. He turns to speak to Jason again. “You’ve got a couple of hours tops. Get your stuff together and get over to the place I told you about.”
“What place?” Jen demands, increasingly agitated the more she’s ignored. She positions herself between the two men. Matt senses her panic and pulls her close. She pushes him away slightly but he refuses to let go. He looks deep into her eyes, desperate to at least try and give her the impression he’s not completely fucking terrified.
“I told you, love, there’s somewhere safe we can go. Getting there isn’t going to be easy, but it’s our only option. Just do what Jason says and you’ll be all right, okay?”
Numbed by the unexpected speed of events, Jen just nods. Mouth dry, she tries to speak but no words come out. Matt kisses her cheek and whispers into her ear.
“Get a few things together.”
“Okay.”
“You know I won’t let anything happen to you, don’t you?”
“I know.”
“I’ll always look after you, Jen, no matter what.”
“I know,” she says agai
n.
“I walked half the length of the country to get back to you. I’m not going to let you go again now.”
And before she can argue, before she can protest, before she can try and stop him, before she can do anything … he’s gone.
39
“You took your time,” Jayce says, unimpressed. “Do you not realize how fucking serious this is?”
“Of course I do. This isn’t just about you and the people in the chapel, though. Had to make sure my lot are ready, too.”
He brushes past her and enters the convent. Despite it being unusually late in the day, his arrival is met with very little interest. That’s good. The last thing he needs right now is anyone sticking their nose in. Unfortunately Joseph Mallon seems intent on making everything Matt does his business. He spies him across the courtyard and calls out to him. “Evening, Matthew. What are you doing back here so late?”
Matt forces himself to engage in conversation while he looks around for Franklin. Franklin has the key to the van, the van is the key to Matt and Jen staying alive. “I thought there might be more I could do to help. I didn’t do a full day. I had to go home for a while earlier.”
“There’s always more to do. I’ve got a whole list of things. You can start by helping me get a couple more rooms ready. It’s been a good day. Several of our guests left while you were out.”
Matt steels himself. He knows where they were going. He knows why. “Okay. Give me a minute. I just need to find Franklin first.”
Matt enters the main building and starts searching the ground floor, going from room to room. There’s a hand on his shoulder which grips tight and spins him around. Matt’s filled with momentary panic which quickly subsides when he realizes it’s just Joseph again. “Did you not hear me, Matthew? There’s a hell of a lot to do upstairs.”
“Sorry, I was miles away. I’ll help you once I’ve found Franklin.”
“Can’t it wait? Sahota’s men are out looking for more suitable Haters. We need to be ready by the time they get back.”
“This is important.”
Joseph just looks at him, and Matt wonders if he suspects something? “This is important. It’s the whole reason we’re here.”
“I know. Have you seen him?”
“Who?”
“Franklin!”
“He’s around the back, I think. I don’t know why he didn’t go out with the others. You can talk to him as soon as we’ve—”
“I need to see him now.”
“You need to calm down, my friend.”
Matt stops and checks himself. Forces himself to take a breath. “I know. I’m sorry.”
“Want to talk about it?”
“About what?”
“About whatever it is that’s vexing you.”
“Vexing me? What, apart from the fact that the world’s on its fucking knees out there?”
Joseph’s demeanor changes. “Maybe you should take a break. Look, this work’s not for everyone. I understand that. It’s intense. I can’t let you work around the Haters in this kind of mood. They’ll pick up on your unease and we’ll be right back to square one.”
“Back to square one? We never took one step away from first base, do you not see that? And as for your Hater pets, I want to be as far from those fucking freaks as it’s possible to get. I quit.”
Joseph looks like he’s been punched. A couple of Sahota’s guards are close, their interest renewed by the raised voices. Matt knows he needs to bite his lip before he says something he regrets.
“I’m going to get rid of this one,” Franklin says. He appears from out of nowhere, grabs Matt by the scruff of his neck and pulls him toward the door. “I’ve had enough of him. He’s a fucking liability.”
“He came on your recommendation,” Joseph says, seething.
“I know. My mistake. He’s a loose cannon. I’ll get shot of him.” And before either Matt or Joseph can say anything, Franklin drags Matt away. When they reach a more secluded space he pins Matt against the wall. “What the hell are you doing? Are you out of your fucking mind? That prick’s already suspicious enough without you giving him more ammunition.”
“I was trying to look for you. He was getting in the way.”
“He’s always getting in the way. Why pick today to have a meltdown?”
“Have you spoken to Jayce?”
“No, I haven’t left this place. Why?”
“Because it’s time.”
Franklin immediately relaxes his grip and drops his head. “Thought as much. We knew it was coming. What’s the cause?”
“It’s the Haters Joseph and the others have trained. We found them waiting on the outskirts of the camp. It’s a bloody terrorist cell, Franklin. They’re the trigger. We reckon they’re going to head back into the center of the camp and cause absolute fucking carnage.”
“Are they already on the move?”
“Not yet, but it’s only a matter of time. The longer we leave it, the harder this is going to be.”
“Where’s Jayce?”
“Outside, waiting for the van. Do you have the keys?”
“Not on me. They’re in the armory.”
“This place has an armory?”
“Of sorts.”
Matt follows Franklin back into the convent. The van has been left parked alongside a nearby outbuilding, appearing almost forgotten. It hasn’t been driven for several days. What if it doesn’t start? Matt thinks. What if their survival hinges on a dodgy starter motor or an empty fuel tank?
It’s less an armory, more a pantry. An innocuous-looking room just off the kitchen. A plain-looking door that Matt’s walked past a hundred times previous and never thought to look inside. Franklin struggles with the lock.
“Got a problem, Franklin?”
Both Franklin and Matt spin around, looking as guilty as they feel. It’s Phil Henderson, one of the few remaining CDF soldiers from Estelle Bisseker’s watch.
“No problem,” Franklin answers quickly, mouth dry with nerves.
Henderson waits for a second, then nods casually. “Cool. I had trouble with that lock earlier. Need to get some WD40 on it. Catch you later, mate.”
Franklin breathes an audible sigh of relief as he gets inside and grabs the keys to the Transit. “I can’t be doing with all of this. It’s making me paranoid.”
“You’re not wrong,” Matt agrees. He looks past Franklin but the cupboard’s practically bare. Just a few clips, a stack of riot shields, and a disassembled rifle are all he can see.
“Can’t wait to get out of this bloody place,” Franklin mutters to himself.
With Henderson gone, back doing whatever the hell it is Henderson does, the convent feels empty again. Matt and Franklin move through the corridors toward the rear of the building, preferring the limited shelter of being indoors to being outside and exposed. “Is the tank full?” Matt randomly asks.
“What?”
“Where d’you get the fuel from? Most people can’t put food in their mouths, yet you lot seem to manage to fill up your tanks regularly. Have you got enough to get us there?”
“What is this? You switching back into accountant mode again? Bit late to start getting risk averse, don’t you think?”
“I’m nervous. It always happens when I’m nervous.”
“We loot it, same as we loot everything. There’s plenty left out there if you know where to look. Things haven’t gone completely Mad Max just yet. Not far off, mind.”
Matt thinks he detects the faintest trace of a supressed smile on Franklin’s face. Is he getting through to him at last?
A door opens out onto the area where the van’s parked.
“Act casual, like your life doesn’t depend on it,” Franklin tells him as they emerge back out into the open.
“Thanks, that helps.”
“I’ll drive until we’re outside, then we get out and let Jayce take the hot seat. Got it?”
“Yep.”
There are several soldiers
out here, alternately busying themselves or just sitting around, waiting. They each appear wrapped up enough in their own little worlds to keep their noses out of Matt and Franklin’s business.
“So how many are we taking out on the first trip?”
“Just a handful. Darren and a few others. Darren has it sorted, though. He knows who to take with him. Enough to get the place ready for the rest of us.”
“But he doesn’t know we’re coming?”
“He’s always ready. We all knew this was going to happen at some point.”
“He’s just not aware we’ve reached that point yet?”
“Exactly. I’m sure we’ll make his day.”
Franklin glances around the courtyard again, then opens the van and climbs up into the driver’s seat. “Go man the gate,” he orders Matt. “Once I’ve started the engine we’ll need to move fast. Get ready, get it open, then follow me out. Try and shut it behind you if you can, give us a few extra seconds’ head start.”
It’s only now it’s sinking in that Franklin’s about to desert the CDF and steal equipment from right under the nose of a Hater general. Matt walks casually around the perimeter wall. He considered skulking in the shadows, cloak-and-dagger, but until the engine’s running all that will achieve is making him look as guilty as he feels. Franklin watches him like a hawk, one hand gripping the wheel, the other ready on the ignition.
Matt signals that he’s in position and slides the gate across. Franklin turns the key and the Transit starts first time. Immediately there’s movement all around the convent grounds: everyone’s already on edge, and the combined noise of the gate being opened and the engine starting causes panic. Franklin ignores all of it and puts his foot down, sending the van careering across the gray courtyard.
Calm as anything, Sahota walks out of the nearest building and stands directly in the path of the van, blocking the way through. Franklin instinctively slams on the brakes, bringing the van to a juddering halt less than a meter short of Sahota. He’s unflappable. The fucker doesn’t even blink. He shouts to make himself heard over the rattling motor noise. “Mr. Franklin, where exactly are you planning to go with my vehicle?”