by Ryan Casey
This was what he had to live with.
“Is there nobody?” Eddie asked. It was about the only thing he could ask.
Zelda shook her head. “Not that I can see. But we can’t know for certain anyway. We just… we need to get away from here. To move on. We….”
She looked over Eddie’s shoulder. Eyes widened.
He heard the footsteps and waited for bullets to pepper into his body.
“Shit,” a familiar voice said. “You two made it. You… you actually made it.”
Eddie turned around.
Tim stood there. Blood covered his white shirt and his face. His right eye looked bruised.
But he was here, too.
He was alive.
Eddie walked over and hugged him. Didn’t care about the blood. Didn’t care about any of it.
He was just glad these two were still here.
That they were still alive.
“Hate to spoil the grand reunion,” Zelda said. “But we really need to get moving.”
Tim nodded. Wiped his face. “The—the place me and my family were heading to. Before all this. Lancaster. That’s… that’s where we have to go. It’s our only choice now.”
Eddie looked around. Over at the woods. Over in the direction Noah and Kelly had been taken.
He wanted to go that way.
He wanted to go after them.
But he thought about those guards. Those brutes.
And he thought about that compound Noah and Kelly told him about.
He thought about it all, and he knew there was no hope left.
No hope but to keep on.
To move forward.
He turned around to Zelda.
Then to Tim.
Then he looked back at the mass of bodies, the trail of destruction, and he nodded.
“Come on,” he said. “Let’s go.”
They walked away from the scene of the massacre as the light of dawn illuminated the blood on the grass.
And all Eddie could think about was Kelly.
Chapter Forty-One
Noah walked into the sunrise, cuffs around his wrists, and couldn’t stop thinking about Eddie, Barney, Zelda, Tim, and the group he’d left behind.
A warm breeze brushed against his face. He was in a wide-open field. Really quite a beautiful scene. Meditative. Transcendent, some might say. He could see for miles. Farms. Roads, quiet, empty, but for the few abandoned cars there. He knew there would be a lot of horror hiding just out of view. Like looking through a window and just catching your reflection on the surface.
But right now, he couldn’t see his reflection.
His reflection was his memories.
Of what had happened at Colebridge.
Of what he’d left behind.
Walked away from.
Kelly walked by his side. Handcuffed, too. The trio of brutes didn’t say much. They were pretty professional. Didn’t hurt either of them. Didn’t rough them up. Paul and Bill had done far worse. It seemed like they knew what their jobs and their duties were, and they respected them.
But there was something scarier about that, in a way. Because Noah didn’t know what lay ahead for him or Kelly. Only that it was bad. It had to be bad.
He thought back to the gunfire. To the screams. To seeing the people he cared about—and the innocent people and children and animals—all flee. Some of them disappeared. Some of them would’ve got away. But most wouldn’t. Not with professional killers like that. He didn’t know where the snipers were. Figured they were watching at all times, in case he or Kelly tried anything.
And that was the problem. He thought he might have a shot. He thought he might have a chance of escape, as slim as that hope may be.
But there was no hope.
There was no chance.
And Noah couldn’t help holding himself responsible.
He thought back to how he’d given himself up. At the moment, it seemed like the right thing to do. But what if he’d stood his ground? What if he’d fought? What if he’d tried protecting that place? He knew they wouldn’t hurt him or Kelly. They were both more valuable alive.
What if he’d taken a chance?
Eddie would still be here.
Barney would still be here.
Zelda and Tim and everybody else at that place would still be here.
And if they weren’t… at least he’d have stood up.
At least he’d have fought.
Because regardless of what these people said about the greater good and the better future they were heading towards, this wasn’t the way to do it.
This wasn’t the future he wanted. The future anyone wanted.
These people might have noble intentions.
But their methods were lower than low.
He trailed along the grass. He felt tired. Exhausted. He wanted to stand up. To fight. To do something that might give him a shot at escape.
But he knew he was out of options.
He was totally out of luck.
He just hoped that wherever Eddie was—if he was still alive—he was okay out there.
And something else, too.
As hard as it was to admit, he hoped they didn’t come after him and Kelly.
Because they were only endangering themselves.
The group at the compound didn’t know Eddie had recovered from the virus, just like Kelly had.
If they found that out, they’d scoop him up and turn him into a little lab rat too.
“You know,” the bald brute—the apparent leader of the group—said. “I meant what I said about not killing those people back there. It wasn’t the preferable option. I’d rather not have to do shit like that. But I’m just following orders, pal. I’m just as much a cog in the machine as everyone else.”
Noah gritted his teeth when he heard this man speak. He didn’t want him to push him. Didn’t want him to make him flip.
“Problem is,” he said. “Sometimes, the weak just have to die. It’s just how it goes. At least when all this passes, only the strong will be left standing.”
Noah couldn’t listen to any more of this bullshit.
He turned on the bloke. Squared up to him.
The bloke didn’t lift his rifle.
He didn’t do a thing.
He just smiled.
“You know… I’ve got strict orders to bring you two back alive. You’re valuable, apparently. But it would be an awful shame if one of you took a bullet in battle. Or trying to escape. It’d be an awful shame. Wouldn’t it?”
Noah heard this bloke’s words, and he realised right then that he didn’t care about the compound’s motives or goals. He didn’t care about people getting better, recovering, or any of that.
He was a mercenary.
And he’d kill Noah and Kelly if he had to.
Didn’t matter either way to him.
So Noah said the only thing he could.
“Don’t you see how wrong this is?”
The man shrugged. “They pay me good. They keep me fed. Provide me with a home. And when this all passes, they’ll make me richer than I’ve ever been. They’d stuck to their word so far. No reason to start doubting it now.”
Noah smiled now. Shook his head.
And the man actually looked a little rattled. “What’s that look?”
“You just don’t see, do you?”
He frowned. Looked like Noah had actually got to him for the first time. “See what?”
“How much of a pawn you are in all this. How dispensable you are. You don’t matter to them. You’re just an experiment to them, too. Just a different form.”
The man stood his ground. His eyes narrowed. For a moment, Noah thought he saw something in the man’s eyes. Clarity. An understanding.
And then he lifted his rifle. Pointed it at Noah.
“You’d better keep walking,” he said. “I’d hate anything to happen to you.”
Noah did all he could.
He turned. Looked at Kelly. Nod
ded, just once.
And then he kept on walking.
He might have no hope.
He might have no way out.
But he’d rattled that fucker.
And life was all about the small victories now, as the compound emerged on the horizon…
Chapter Forty-Two
Eddie wasn’t sure how long they’d been walking when he heard the movement up ahead.
He figured it must’ve been a couple of hours. The sun was up now. Another gorgeous day. He felt sweaty as hell. He could still smell Kelly on him. Still taste her on his lips. But it didn’t turn him on or anything like that. It just made him feel sad.
Because he felt like he’d given up on her far too easily.
He felt like he was betraying her.
He peered at the trees. Tim and Zelda had stopped. They didn’t have any guns. Zelda had a blade, Tim had a hammer from the camp, and Eddie, a baseball bat. Didn’t exactly feel all that comfortable carrying it, but he’d do whatever he had to do. He wasn’t afraid to kill if he had to. Not anymore. Wasn’t afraid to do a damned thing.
He was just tired.
Tired of fighting.
Tired of not being able to trust anyone.
Tired of the whole damned lot.
“Stay back,” Zelda said. “Keep quiet. Whoever it is, we can’t risk anything.”
Eddie stood his ground. Tim quiet by his side. Rustling in the bushes. Movement. Someone in there. No doubt about it.
Or something.
“What if it’s a lion or something?”
Zelda glared. “A lion? Seriously?”
“What? You expect zoos to just keep on going through all this? And you expect zookeepers to just leave their animals to die in cages? Not a chance. There’ll be lions out here, I’m telling you. And all it takes is a guy and a girl lion to—”
“Yeah,” Tim said. “You got your rocks off last night, and you can’t stop talking about sex. We know how it works.”
Eddie swallowed a lump in his throat. Kept his focus up ahead. He supposed he had been going on about it a bit. And it was in bad taste, he knew. Especially after what’d happened today, just hours ago.
But it was the only thing that could distract himself from the horror.
From the pain.
His new cheese puffs.
He held his breath as that movement shifted out of the bushes and prepared to be faced with a lion.
When he saw what it was—who it was—he froze.
Barney staggered out of the bush. He was limping a little. He looked rough like he’d been through the wars.
But it was Barney.
No damned doubt it was him.
Eddie dropped his baseball bat and went running over to Barney. “Oh, lad,” he said. “Am I pleased to see you! Come here!”
He reached Barney, and he saw something.
Barney. He stepped back a little. Uncertain. Cautious.
Like he didn’t trust Eddie anymore.
Tail between his legs.
“Hey,” Eddie said, perching there, holding out a hand. “It’s okay, boy. It’s Eddie. It’s me, Barney. You don’t have to worry about me. You don’t have to worry about any of us. Okay?”
Barney backed off. Tail between his legs. Ears down.
But as Eddie kept his hand there, he moved up to it. Sniffed it. Then licked his fingers slightly.
“Good,” Eddie said, patting his head gently now. “Good boy.”
He ruffled his fur. And the more time passed, the more Barney seemed to adapt to Eddie and trust him again. Still seemed a little uncertain about Zelda and Tim. But it would take time.
He was just so glad to see him again.
He was just so glad to…
A sudden thought entered his mind.
That feeling he’d had. Seeing Barney again.
Mixed with the feeling he’d had when he thought he was infected that very first day of the outbreak.
When he’d made the bold move to sacrifice himself so that his friends survived, another feeling.
And those words Kelly once said to him.
“You’re tough. Maybe the toughest of the lot of us.”
He heard those words spiralling around his skull, and he had a realisation.
“I’m going back,” Eddie said.
Tim glared at him. “What? Where?”
“Noah. He’s my best friend. And Kelly. I… God, I think I’m in love with her.”
Zelda rolled her eyes. “Love. It would be love that ruined things for us, wouldn’t it?”
“You two need to keep moving on to Lancaster. And…” A lump swelled in his throat. “You need to take Barney too. He isn’t safe with me. Not where I’m going. You need to look after him. Protect him. Treat him like you’d treat a kid. ’Cause that’s what he’s become to me.”
Tim rubbed his hair. “You can’t seriously be suggesting this. You’ve seen how well armed they are. Seriously, Eddie. I’m sorry. Really. I know it hurts. Damn, I’ve lost enough these last few days to know. But… you need to really think about this.”
“I’ve thought about it,” Eddie said. “And I know it’s not going to be easy. It might not work out. It probably won’t. But I can’t just give up. Not without fighting.”
He turned around before he could be convinced to change his mind. Looked back at the road they’d headed down.
“Good luck,” he said. “Both of you. All… all three of you.”
And then he walked.
He heard Zelda say a few things. Heard Tim call for him. And he heard Barney bark, too. Like he didn’t want him to go. Didn’t want him to leave.
Like he knew this was goodbye.
But Eddie walked with his head held high.
It was time for him to stop being the footnote in other people’s stories.
It was time for him to step up.
It was time for him to be the hero.
Chapter Forty-Three
Noah saw the compound widening right before his eyes, and every muscle in his body turned tense.
It was strange, seeing it here in the light of the sun. A matter of hours ago, in the grand scheme of things, he’d escaped this place. Fled with such elation. Such hope.
And now he was back here. Back to face whatever punishment lay ahead for his misdemeanours. For his wrongdoings.
And if this brute’s words—Matt, he was called—were anything to go by, he was in for a rough time. He and Kelly both were.
The compound was a long, grey structure. A former prison. The kind of place that couldn’t look good no matter what the weather was like. It just screamed foreboding. Especially having being in there. Noah thought about the meltdown in there yesterday. The sirens that’d rang out. He couldn’t hear them anymore. Figured they’d got things back under control—or at least, as under control as they could.
He was here.
Kelly was here.
That was just part of the jigsaw.
He walked down the hill towards this place. He tried to think of some kind of escape route. But no matter how hard he thought, he couldn’t think of a thing. Kept on drawing blanks, again and again.
There was no way he was getting out of these cuffs. Even if he did, his fellow brutes would just shoot him in the kneecaps, take him out. No qualms with that.
And if by some miracle he did manage to bypass them, there were snipers out there. Watching his every move. No doubt about it.
He had to face up to reality. He and Kelly both did.
They were trapped.
There was no getting out of this.
There was no escape. Not this time.
They reached the gate at the front of the compound. A long, metal gate surrounded by barbed wire. A man stood beside it. Armed. Matt nodded at him, holding on to Noah. The man nodded back, hit a button, and the gate creaked open.
Noah wasn’t sure what to expect as those gates opened up.
But he didn’t expect the tall, wiry man with grey hair and glass
es standing right ahead, right in front of the doors to the compound. Flanked by two guards.
There was something about this man, as Noah headed further forward. A cold look to his demeanour. Like he’d seen some real shit. Been through conflict and come out the other side a broken, bruised shell of a man. There was just a steely look to his grey eyes that creeped Noah out.
He knew right away without having to say a word that this was the guy who ran the compound.
This was the guy who the workers here answered to.
This was the one they feared.
Matt pushed Noah further along. The man opposite just stared at Noah. At Kelly. No look of satisfaction to his face. Nothing of the sort.
Just a cold, hard stare.
When they were around six feet from the man, Matt tugged Noah’s arm, forcing him to stop. Kelly stopped, too.
And they stood there, then. Noah. Kelly. The three guards standing around them.
And then this man opposite. His two guards.
He kept his stare focused on Noah and Kelly for a few seconds. Like he was frozen in time.
And then he nodded at Matt and the other guards.
“Thank you. Paul?”
Matt shook his head. “Gone.”
“Shame,” the man said. Like he’d lost a pen or something. Not a colleague. “But at least you’ve retrieved what you were ordered out there for. I owe you my gratitude. All of us do.”
The man looked at Noah and Kelly. But there was no steeliness to his stare this time. There was more warmth. More… humanity.
“I don’t appreciate the ruckus you caused in my facility,” he said. “Let me get that straight, right from the off. You’ve caused us a lot of trouble these past two days. If you were less valuable in any way, believe me when I say you wouldn’t be breathing right now.”
Noah raised his eyebrows. “Charming.”
The man smirked. He walked over towards Noah and Kelly. Stood right opposite them. Scanned them, head to toe. “I suppose I should also apologise for our hospitality while we’re here.”
“You mean imprisoning us? Torturing us?”
The man chuckled. “Believe me. What you went through wasn’t torture.”
A shiver went up Noah’s arms at that. ’Cause it implied worse was to come.