by Ryan Casey
He wasn’t sure how long he had left in this place.
But he soon got his answer.
Three people appeared around the corner.
Three people in gas masks.
These ones armed with rifles.
They looked at Mike and his people.
And then they started to run in their direction.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Holly felt the hands drag her out of the pile of bodies, and she thought her time was up.
She squeezed her eyes shut. The fight had slipped from her body. Fear had taken over—a combination of the fear of what had happened, the fear of what could happen, and also the pain crippling her broken leg.
She squeezed those eyes shut, and she hoped for a swift end. Because there was no fighting anymore. There was only waiting for the inevitable.
And then she heard the voice.
“Holly. Holly. It’s okay. It’s me. It’s—it’s me.”
She thought she was hallucinating at first. She thought she’d got this wrong. There was no way this could be right, no way this could be happening.
When she opened her eyes, she realised she wasn’t hallucinating.
She wasn’t imagining things.
It was Alison.
“You’re… you’re alive.”
Alison smiled. But it was forced, smeared with tears. “Don’t sound too disappointed.”
Holly went to wrap her arms around Alison. But she felt the pain stretch up her leg again, crippling her. “My… my…”
She saw how Alison looked down at her right leg; how her eyes widened. “Oh, Holly. Oh, God. How did you—”
“They’re out there, Alison.”
Alison frowned. Looked over her shoulder. “We’re going to be okay. I’m—I’m going to get you away from here. We’re going to get out of here. Both of us.”
“But Dad. I saw him. He’s… he’s still alive.”
Alison looked back at the rest of the camp. Holly could see from the regret in her eyes that she’d already made her mind up about what she was going to do here; about how she was going to get out.
She looked back at Holly, face tinged with regret. “Your dad. He’s a strong guy. He’s… he’s going to be okay. I promise.”
“I’m not giving up on him.”
“Right now, you don’t have much of a choice.”
Alison reached down. Tried to pick Holly up. Struggled. They probably didn’t weigh much differently now. But Holly still felt like she wanted to be carried. The pain. The shock. All of it made her feel like she was reverting to a child again—something she couldn’t afford.
Alison helped Holly to her feet—or rather, to her foot. Holly leaned on Alison to avoid standing on her bad leg. But just being elevated made her feel worse.
“We need to get out of this place,” Alison said. “Then we can think about what comes next.”
Holly swallowed a lump in her throat. Because she feared what all of this meant. Walking away from this place. Turning her back on a place that she’d called home. A place she’d grown comfortable.
But it was that or die.
There was no doubt about that.
“Emma,” Holly said.
Alison narrowed her eyes. And then the realisation struck her. “I’m sorry about what happened to her. But—”
“It’s my fault.”
“What?”
“What happened here. If I hadn’t been so naive. If I’d just…”
She shook her head.
And Alison reached over, put a hand on her shoulder.
“You can’t blame yourself for what happened here, Holly. There’s plenty of things you have to take responsibility for. But not this. Not this.”
Holly didn’t feel convinced.
“We need to find another way out of here,” Alison said. “Going through the front, it’s not going to be s—”
She just started to talk, and that’s when Holly heard them.
The footsteps.
The footsteps banging against the floor of the bus.
“They’re coming,” she said.
Alison started to run around the side of the pile of bodies as the masked people got closer. Soon, they’d find them. They’d be onto them.
“We have to hide in there,” Holly said.
Alison looked at Holly. Then she looked at the bodies. Like she couldn’t understand, couldn’t accept.
The footsteps got closer.
“It’s all we’ve got,” Holly said.
And then Alison took a deep breath, and the next thing she knew, they were in the mound of bodies.
Holly pulled the dead weight over her, and she tried to keep still. As still as she possibly could. Her heart was racing. Her body was shaking. Any slight movement could be enough to make her leg twinge with pain, something sure to make her cry out.
But she just had to hold her breath.
She just had to lay low.
She heard the footsteps getting closer, and she closed her eyes. Because it felt like she was getting a second chance. It felt like she’d been gifted. Because Alison was alive after all. Alison was alive. It didn’t matter what they’d been through together. It didn’t matter how much they’d suffered. This was an opportunity she couldn’t waste. This was an opportunity she had to take.
She held her breath and held still when she heard the footsteps right opposite her.
She opened an eye. Just a little.
Through the gap between the bodies, she could see movement.
One of the men. Gas mask in place. She couldn’t see his face, couldn’t make out any distinguishing features. Just his silver Rolex watch, which somehow, she got the impression he hadn’t stolen from the dead.
Someone appeared beside him. And for the first time, Holly heard these people. She heard them speak.
“What do you mean she just got away?” he said.
“I’m telling you,” the other masked man said. “She—she just disappeared.”
The man shook his head. “You know how important the young ones are. You know how important the women are. They’re not just food. Not like the rest. You know what Calvin’s going to think about all this.”
Holly started to feel sick. Because that’s what this boiled down to. That’s what this pile of bodies was going to become. Food.
But what about the rest?
What about the ones who weren’t “just food”?
She closed her eyes again. She didn’t want to see anything else. She didn’t want the man to look at her.
She heard the footsteps start to walk away, and she started to feel hope.
And then she felt a movement and heard a cry.
There was someone moving. Someone coughing right on top of her. A man.
He was shaking. Writhing either side. Making her squeal every time he nudged her broken leg.
Her stomach dropped. Everything went weak.
She heard the footsteps start to walk back to her again. Back to the pile of bodies.
The man with the Rolex stood over her. He looked down at the man. And Holly found herself opening her eyes again. She found herself looking.
And she saw something.
The way that man was looking at the writhing bloke.
Just staring at him through those deep black eyes.
He leaned in towards him. Put a knife to the side of his head.
“I’m sorry you had to wake up for this,” he said, voice gruff and steady.
And then he rammed the blade into his temple.
The man went still.
Holly felt the man’s blood trickle down onto her. She felt its warmth pooling onto her face. She felt it, and she tasted it, and she couldn’t move. She couldn’t do anything but keep still.
But when she moved her eyes again, she saw something.
The man with the Rolex.
He was looking right at her.
She went to cry out. Went to scream. Went to warn Alison.
But it was alr
eady too late.
The man grabbed Holly.
He dragged her out of the pile of bodies.
And as he pulled her away, gag wrapped around her mouth, all Holly could do was stare back at that pile of bodies.
All she could do was stare back at Alison.
And all Alison could do was stare back at her…
Chapter Twenty-Three
Mike wanted to stand his ground.
He wanted to fight.
He wanted to take down these people who had taken those he cared about most from him.
But in the end, he had to make survival his priority.
In the end, he had to do whatever he could to get out of this place.
For Gina.
For Ian.
For Kelsie.
For Arya.
He took a deep breath, and he pointed in the opposite direction.
“Run!”
The group turned, and they ran. They ran through the alleyway. They ran through the streets. And as they ran, Mike found his heart racing. He found the tension inside building. Because the main entrance was blocked. There was no quick, easy route out that way.
They’d have to go through the flats.
They’d have to try something different.
He looked back. Saw his group outrunning the three rival group members. But they weren’t letting up. They weren’t giving up. They were going to catch them, eventually. One slip was enough to do it.
They had to make sure they stayed on their feet.
They had to make sure they didn’t slip, no matter what.
Mike focused on the flats in the distance. He knew there was a fire escape at the back of it. An escape that was coded and could lead to their way out of this place.
It wasn’t foolproof. There was no guarantee it was going to work.
And a part of him wanted to stay here and fight.
But there was another part of him screaming survival. For the sake of Kelsie. For the sake of everyone else here.
And that was the voice he was listening to, now.
That was the voice he had to listen to.
The other voice would lead him to despair.
“We make our way through the flats,” Mike shouted. “We go through the back. We use the code, and we get the hell out of this place. Understood?”
He didn’t get any comprehensible responses.
But he looked over his shoulder again and saw everyone was running. They were running, and there was some ground between them and the group, now.
They were doing this. They were succeeding. They were getting out of here.
And whatever followed next… well. It followed.
They ran further. Mike saw the opening to the flats up ahead. Adrenaline spiked. Excitement grew. Optimism grew.
But then something hit him.
The sight of someone on the right.
Another two members of this group.
Nearer to the flats.
Catching his eye.
Then running.
Mike gritted his teeth, tightened his jaw. They had to press on. They had to power forward. They couldn’t hold back. Not now.
“Keep going!” he shouted.
They ran. And Mike ran as quickly as he could.
He saw that group closing in.
He saw them getting closer.
They had to keep pushing.
So close now.
He reached the door to the flats.
The two people were a few metres away still.
“Quick!” he shouted.
He watched everyone hurl inside.
Watched them race through the door.
Watched the enemy get closer.
And then when everyone was inside, the group just feet away, Mike slammed the door.
He wanted to rejoice. He wanted to rest. He wanted to recharge. He needed a victory, however minor. He was still running on fumes. The despair of what had happened here still hadn’t hit him, not truly.
But there was no time for that. Not now.
“Up the stairs,” he said. “To the fifth floor. When we’re there, we enter the code. We all know the code, right?”
Gina nodded. Ian nodded. Everyone nodded.
“Good,” Mike said, leading the way as he started running up the stairs. “Then that’s what we—”
The door to the flats slammed open.
The enemy were inside.
He raced up the steps. Got higher, higher. All the time he felt his chest getting tighter. All the time he got that desire for revenge getting more acute.
But he had to focus on the task at hand.
He had to push just a little further.
He had to climb just three more floors.
He looked back. Everyone was climbing. Everyone was getting closer. The enemy were on the stairs now too. There wasn’t a lot of time left. This door better damn well open or they were in trouble. Big trouble.
“Just a little further!”
They reached the fifth floor. Mike saw the door in the distance.
The door they had to go through.
It was time.
He ran to it. Keyed in the code, panting, gasping.
Nothing happened.
Dread filled Mike’s body.
“Mike?” Gina said.
“Shit,” Mike said. He keyed in the code again. Tried again.
But still no luck.
He looked back. The enemy were approaching their floor now. So close.
He looked at the door, and he prayed. He prayed whoever was up there would give them a bit of luck.
He prayed for some kind of intervention.
And then he keyed in the code one final time.
This time, the door beeped.
Clicked open.
He looked back. Wide eyed. “Quick!”
Gina ran through the door. Ian ran through the door. Arya ran through the door.
It was just Kelsie left now.
She was trailing.
The men were right near her.
Mike stepped out of the door. Because they were too close. Kelsie wasn’t going to make it.
“Kelsie!” Mike said.
“Mike,” Ian said.
He saw as the man nearest to Kelsie grabbed her. As he dragged her away.
He launched himself towards the people.
“Kelsie!”
But it was too late.
Ian was on top of him.
Ian was dragging him outside.
Ian was doing exactly what Mike had done to him.
And all Mike could do was watch as Kelsie disappeared down the stairs.
All he could do was watch as Ian pulled him away, slammed the door shut.
And he knew it was over. He knew everything was over.
He pushed Ian back again. Grabbed him by his shirt. “Why would you do that?” He shouted. “Why the hell would you do that? They took her. They—they took her. They’re going to kill her, and I could’ve stopped it.”
Ian went to open his mouth. Went to argue.
But it was somebody else who responded.
“They aren’t going to kill her.”
Mike frowned. He turned.
And then he saw her.
Saw her right at the bottom of the steps.
Alison.
Alison was alive.
After everything… Alison was alive.
“What…”
Alison swallowed a lump in her throat. Crossed her arms. “We need to get away from here. And then we need to discuss the next step.”
“What—”
“They have your daughter, Mike.”
Mike frowned. His head spun. This felt like a dream. A weird, bittersweet dream. “But she’s… she’s dead. Holly’s dead.”
“She’s not dead,” Alison said.
Mike began to shake. The tears were flowing now. A release. A release he’d had building for a long time. “But I saw her. I saw you both. I…”
“Mike, she’s still
alive.”
Mike rubbed his hand through his hair. And then the urgency hit him.
“Kelsie,” he said, turning around. He knew he could still go after her captors, now the shock had lifted. He knew he still had time.
“There’s something you need to know, Mike,” Alison said. “Something all of you need to know.”
“About what?”
She scanned the group. Uncertainty on her face. “About what’s happening here. And why it’s happening.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Holly wasn’t sure how long she’d been walking—or rather, hopping—blindfold wrapped around her eyes. Only that she was still alive. Based on the state of the bodies in that pile back at her home, that was something.
Or was it?
Was being alive the best option after all?
Her feet were sore. She’d been walking barefoot for what felt like forever now. She knew reality could be distorted when you were travelling blindfolded like this. But it really did feel like quite some time had passed.
It didn’t help that the man behind her was breathing heavily in a way that made her feel totally uneasy.
Neither did the silence help, either.
Her right leg was agonising. She tried to apply pressure on it now and then, but with no use. It was broken. It needed seeing to. She needed a crutch at the very least.
These people seemed like they were doing their best to help keep the pressure off it. But it wasn’t enough.
She kept on going. She couldn’t get her head around it. These people, they were so quiet. They spoke in whispers. She didn’t know the origins of this group. She didn’t know their motives. She didn’t know what they wanted or anything.
She just knew that eventually, she’d get a chance to break free of them. Either their guard would drop, or there’d be someone easy to manipulate—anything.
She’d get an opportunity to break free of this group’s grasp.
And when she did, she’d take that opportunity.
She had to keep telling herself that.
She had to keep on believing it.
A hand pushed against her back, pressed her forward. She stumbled, almost lost her balance, but managed to regain it just in time. Had to stay upright. Had to stay strong. She couldn’t let anything knock her motivation. She couldn’t let anyone knock her from her feet. She couldn’t show any signs of weakness.
As she walked, she realised how dry her mouth was, and how much she’d like some water right now. She figured that could be an angle she could pursue—pretend she was just a poor, innocent girl who needed a drink. They’d let her loose, just for a second. One of them would see sense.