by Ryan Casey
“Eddie?”
Eddie jogged around the corner, his eyes wide like a curious puppy. “Huh?”
Jasmine lifted the multipack of cheese puffs and smiled. “Looks like you’re in luck.”
Eddie grabbed the bag and laughed, his eyes wide, like he’d found treasure at the foot of a goddamned rainbow. “Jesus,” he said, tearing the multipack open immediately. “You’ve no idea how damned happy I am to find these.”
He stuffed the cheese puffs into his mouth. Basically devoured a whole pack in one.
“Jesus,” Kelly said, glaring at him. “You’re an animal. Stay away from me with that cheesy breath. Now come on. We can’t wait around in here. This place reeks.”
Jasmine nodded. She knew Kelly was right. They kept on going from shelf to shelf. Kept on gathering all kinds of supplies, so much so that her rucksack was full already—something she found hard to believe, to be honest. Dog food for Barney—and for them if measures got desperate. Penknives. Hand wash. Toothpaste. A treasure trove of supplies, all here, all before them.
But something still didn’t feel right about this.
It felt like time was running out.
Like something was going to reveal itself. Something was going to rear its head.
And it felt like this was all too good to be true.
She wanted to get out of here.
She turned down the final aisle, and she saw something that made her heart jolt.
There was a lone trolley right at the end of the aisle, down by the freezer section.
Inside the little seat at the back of the trolley, a young child sat. A boy.
Totally still.
Jasmine looked away. She didn’t want to look any closer. Didn’t want to acknowledge what was right in front of her. It was too painful.
“Come on,” Noah said. “Let’s get going. We’ve got enough to take back to Kelly’s now. Enough to buy us some more time.”
Jasmine nodded. But she found herself turning back to that child. That poor child, alone in that trolley. Barely even a toddler. Left alone to die in a cold store like this. Nobody deserved that fate. Nobody deserved things to end that way.
She wondered where that boy’s parents were. Wondered what his name was. She wondered so many things.
“Jasmine?” Noah said. “Come on. We need to get moving.”
She turned around. Pulled the rucksack further over her shoulder, then rushed down the aisle, towards the doors of the store. Her chest was tight. Her breathing grew difficult. She felt surrounded. Suffocated. She wanted to escape. She wanted to get out. She needed to get out of here while she could.
She heard Eddie crunching down on those cheese puffs, and she wanted to feel as carefree as he did. She wanted to be as optimistic and live and let live as he was.
She wanted to embrace his attitude for herself.
She reached the end of the aisle, and she stopped.
She almost fell over.
As too did the others.
“Jasmine?” Noah said. “What is it?”
But Jasmine couldn’t speak.
She could only stare out those windows, back out into the car park.
Out beyond those cars.
Out into the silence and the solitude.
The silence and the solitude that wasn’t so silent anymore.
Because there was a truck right at the front of the store.
A military vehicle.
And jumping out of it, Jasmine saw people dressed in that familiar white quarantine gear.
People holding rifles.
Walking towards the store.
“Shit,” Kelly said. “It would be too good to be true, wouldn’t it?”
All Jasmine could do was stand there.
All she could do was watch as those three people made their way closer to the store entrance.
And all she could do was stare at the rifles in their hands.
She was trapped.
They were all trapped.
Chapter Eleven
Noah saw the three armed people walking towards the entrance to the store, and he couldn’t help laughing at the typicality of it all.
They walked towards this warehouse store with their rifles raised, like they knew they were going to find someone in here. They were dressed all in white, with large masks covering their faces. It didn’t look like they were here to rescue anyone, as much as Noah wanted to believe that might be the case. It looked like they were here to clean up.
Which meant Noah and his people were in danger.
Big danger.
He stepped back. Stood behind the shelf. Jasmine looked back at him, wide-eyed. Eddie had stopped crunching on those cheese puffs, paleness washing over his face. And Kelly scratched her head, muttered under her breath.
“What’re we going to do?” Jasmine asked.
Noah saw them all looking at him, and he didn’t feel comfortable about being thrown into some impromptu leadership role again. He didn’t feel at ease with this level of responsibility, especially when it was a case of life and death.
But then he heard those footsteps inside the store now. Heard them echoing against the shop floor. And he knew there was no time to be indecisive. They had to act. Fast.
He crouched down. Peeked around the side of the shelf.
These three people stood at the entrance of the store. Held those rifles close to their bodies. Looked around the store, closely. Intently.
Noah moved back again then. Trying to keep as quiet as he could. As calm as he could. “If they move up that first aisle, we need to make a break for it.”
“But if they split up?” Jasmine asked.
“I...”
He stopped. Because he heard those footsteps moving quicker now. He wanted to hold his ground. He didn’t want to see. Part of him didn’t even want to know what his impending fate was.
But he looked around that shelf again.
The group was nowhere to be seen.
Walking up that first aisle, presumably.
Which meant they had a chance.
Noah looked around at the rest of the group. “We’ve got one chance here. One chance. We wait until it sounds like they’re at the top of the aisle before they turn. And then we make a break for it. We run.”
“And if they see us?” Eddie asked.
“If they see us, we’re dead. So let’s do everything we can to make sure that doesn’t happen. Okay?”
Eddie sighed. Looked like he was going to complain and whine for a moment, but in the end, he just nodded. Accepted their predicament.
Noah stepped to the edge of the aisle. He could still hear those footsteps moving towards the back of the store. They had a chance. They had to get to that door before the group turned around. And then they had to get out of here. As quickly as they could.
There was no room for hesitation anymore. There was no room for delay.
“Come on,” Noah said, holding his breath. “Now.”
They scurried as quickly and as quietly as they could along the shop floor. They clambered over fallen bodies. Around abandoned trollies. Over the boxes scattered around the warehouse. Getting closer to that door. The footsteps edging even further towards the top of that first aisle.
They reached the shelf that formed the boundary between the second aisle and the first. Noah edged closer to it. Heart racing. Chest tight. He didn’t want to look. He didn’t want to know.
But he knew he had to.
He peeked around the first aisle.
The three men were at the top of the aisle. Their backs to Noah and the others. Just about to turn into the second aisle.
“This is it,” Noah whispered. “This is our chance.”
He bolted towards that front door, Jasmine by his side, Barney trailing closely behind.
He ran as quickly as he could. Didn’t look back. Not once. He couldn’t afford to. Every single moment stretching out agonisingly in front of him.
He ran outside the doors. Felt the cla
mmy air hit his face. Tasted its thickness and felt total relief.
And then he heard a shout, and his body filled with dread.
He looked around.
Eddie and Kelly.
Standing there.
Totally still.
Totally frozen.
“Stop!” one of those guards shouted, staring down that aisle at them. “Don’t move a muscle, or we’ll shoot!”
Noah’s heart raced. He wanted to go back in there. He wanted to help Eddie and Kelly. He couldn’t just leave them here. He couldn’t abandon them.
But the guards were already close.
They were so close.
And Noah knew he had no choice.
“Don’t move a muscle,” one of them shouted again. “Not a single muscle.”
Eddie stared back at him.
Wide-eyed.
Frozen.
Kelly stood there, a resigned look of defeat on her face.
He felt Jasmine’s hand on his arm.
Saw that look of dread.
“We need to go, Noah.”
“I can’t leave them—”
“It’s too late. We need to go. Now.”
Noah looked around at Eddie and Kelly. He couldn’t turn his back on them. They were his friends. He’d already turned his back on Eddie once. He couldn’t do it. Not again.
He staggered back towards the store.
Jasmine grabbed his arm. Tightened her grip.
“Noah,” she said. “It’s too late.”
He looked into her tearful eyes. Heard her voice cracking with emotion.
Then he looked at those guards, so close.
And as much as he wanted to stand up, as much as he wanted to fight, he knew Jasmine was right.
He looked into Eddie’s eyes, and he shook his head.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m so sorry.”
He took Jasmine’s hand.
Turned around.
And together with Barney by their side, they ran away from the store.
Away from their friends.
Chapter Twelve
Jasmine didn’t look over her shoulder once.
She ran across the car park. Specks of warm rain pelted down from the humid, cloudy sky above. She heard movement behind her. Shouting. Struggling. As much as she tried to deny it, she knew exactly who it belonged to. Kelly. Eddie.
And just the thought that they were running away from them filled her with guilt.
But what else could they do?
Noah ran alongside her, Barney between them both. Noah wasn’t looking back either. He looked caught in a daze. Wide-eyed. Pale-faced. Terrified. Because they were supposed to be friends. They were supposed to be a group. They were supposed to stick together.
But they were turning their backs on them both. Running away.
She ran up the side of the grass verge of the car park. Looked at the trees surrounding it, at the road ahead. And the thing that filled her with the most guilt?
The thought that Kelly and Eddie were on their knees in that car park, staring up at their friends as they fled.
But again. What else were they supposed to do?
She reached the top of that grass verge, Barney panting beside her. She didn’t want to look back. But she finally turned around. Finally faced reality.
When she saw what was in the car park, her heart skipped a beat.
Eddie and Kelly were being dragged out of the warehouse store, rifles to their backs.
Moved towards that army vehicle.
But there was something else.
One of the armed people stood by the door.
Pointed their rifle towards Jasmine and Noah.
“Get down!” Jasmine shouted.
“Wh—”
It was too late.
Gunfire cracked between them.
A bullet whooshed past. So close that Jasmine wondered if it might’ve hit, and she was just in a state of shock.
She looked at Noah. Saw the surprise pasted across his face.
“We need to get the hell away from here,” Jasmine said. “We need to go. Now!”
Noah opened his mouth. Like he was going to protest.
And then another bullet whizzed between them.
“Now!” Jasmine shouted.
They turned around and clambered up that grass verge. More bullets thumped past them, cracking into the trees around them. Jasmine stayed focused ahead. She knew how close they were to being hit. She knew there was no point drifting from side to side because one of those bullets could easily stray towards them.
She just had to keep running.
Keep hoping.
That’s all she could do.
She went to throw herself further into those woods when she heard something to her right.
Something that made her body freeze.
Footsteps.
More voices.
She turned around to her right and saw something that sent shivers up her arms.
That protective gear.
That mask.
And that rifle.
There were another one of those people, here amongst the trees.
So close.
Jasmine looked at Noah and put a finger to her lips. This person—a man, by the looks of things—hadn’t seen them yet. It had to stay that way. She had to keep quiet. All of them had to.
She crept a little further ahead. If they could just get to the road, they could hide in a car. Keep a low profile there.
But that man to their right. He was getting closer. Fewer trees were blocking his view of them.
And those people pursuing them were still coming, too.
She crouched down. Noah by her side. Barney panting. Rushed to the end of the wooded area as swiftly and as quietly as she could.
And then she reached the side of the road and heard the voices.
“What the hell’s going on, James?” a voice behind them barked.
“What you talking about?”
“We’ve got runners. Two and a dog. You haven’t seen them heading this way right now?”
“I... I didn’t see... I mean I thought—”
“You’re a fucking idiot.”
Jasmine heard those footsteps closing in, and she stepped onto the road with Noah and Barney. She crept over to the nearest car. Opened the door as quietly as she could. Went to climb inside it. To lay low. To hide. It was all she could do.
When she saw the inside of the car, she regretted her decision right away.
A man sat at the steering wheel. His head rested against it. Blood drenched his face. The familiar sound of flies buzzing around him.
Rats gnawing at his decaying ankles.
Jasmine held back the urge to vomit and climbed inside the car. She sat in the passenger seat. Looked at Noah, who shook his head, looked back, then realised he didn’t have much of a choice.
He climbed through into the back. Rested himself on the back seat. Stared up, vacantly, into space. Barney stuffed behind the front seats. Jasmine just praying he didn’t bring any attention to himself. Especially with these rats scurrying and squeaking around.
She went to close the door when she saw the movement at the edge of the wooded area.
Two men. Armed. Dressed in full quarantine gear. Stepping out of the trees. Rifles raised. Walking towards them.
Jasmine let her arm go limp instantly. She wanted to close the door, but it looked like she didn’t have much of a choice. Her heart raced so fast she swore it was visible beating through her ribcage. Her breathing was fast, shaky. She prayed they didn’t come any closer. She wasn’t sure she could keep it together.
And she wasn’t sure Barney could stay still long enough without getting freaked by these rats, either.
The men kept walking towards her. She’d kept her eyes open, something she regretted. She stared into space. Tried to keep her gaze open. Wide. Glassy. Dead.
But all she could do was watch those two men inch closer.
Staring at
the car.
Like they were looking right at her.
They stopped. Just two metres or so beside the car.
And then they stood there a few seconds.
One of them looked around at the other.
Jasmine held her breath. Braced herself.
And then the man just shook his head and sighed. “You’re a fucking idiot, James. Especially with what they’re saying about ’um not always… well. You know. I don’t like talking about it. Freaks me out. Head back to the truck, anyway. Got a couple more strays to take back to Broughton. Adele’s got her suspicions about ’em. And we’ve gotta be extra careful now. You know.”
They turned around, then. Headed back towards the woods.
And Jasmine just lay there. Heart racing. Breathing quickening. Barney panting behind her.
She didn’t move until she was absolutely sure those people were gone.
Until she was absolutely sure she heard the army vehicle’s engine starting up, and then driving away.
Even though she felt rats scuttling at her feet.
Scurrying up her legs.
She kept totally still.
When she was certain they were alone, she threw herself out of that car and vomited all over the road.
Chapter Thirteen
Noah walked down the road in front of the warehouse store and searched for any trace of the army truck he could possibly find.
The rain had stopped. The clouds had parted. Sweltering sun beat down from above. The clothes clung to his skin. He could smell sweat and rot, and he could taste vomit at the back of his throat. Couldn’t contain it after being stuffed in that car, hiding from those armed people. The smell of that dead body. The sight of the blood. And the sound of those rats gnawing away at the exposed flesh around that poor bloke’s ankles.
He searched every inch of concrete for a trace of that vehicle. He saw cars every now and then; people who were lucky enough to still have vehicles and petrol of their own. He didn’t know what he was looking for exactly. Just a sign. Some kind of sign that they were heading in the right direction.
Because he couldn’t just give up on Eddie, or on Kelly for that matter.
He wasn’t willing to turn his back on them.
He wasn’t willing to give up.