In The End | Book 3 | After The End

by Stevens, GJ

  I pulled my hand back, slowing to a stop when I felt the first touch at my fingertips. With Alex clattering into me at my side, the flat of my free hand pressed against the uneven surface of wood with flecks of paint scratching at my skin.

  “A door,” I said, groping around.

  “Is there a handle?” she replied between heavy breaths.

  I said nothing. Instead, I ignored the sense of loss when I let go of her hand and swept both of my palms across the dark surface.

  With Alex by my side, her fingers joining the race, our search sent paint flecks stinging under our nails, jabbing at our skin as our hands collided. When neither of us found what we sought, my hands balled to fists and I hammered against the wood, sending the echo outward.

  Alex grabbed around my shoulders, pulling me back and wrapping her arms around me as she held tight until I relaxed, unclenching my fists. Loosening her grip, she stepped back and her hands found my cheeks to send sparks racing across my skin.

  She pulled me in close.

  “We have to go back,” she whispered. Releasing her grip, she grabbed my hand and led me the way we’d come to the renewed echo from the other end of the tunnel. As Alex pulled me along, I felt an overwhelming need to take the lead.

  Fighting to control my breath, I knew our best bet now would be to climb the concrete steps we’d fallen down. We had to trust from the quiet that the bombs had stopped so we could take our chances with whatever still lingered the other side.

  Alex didn’t complain as I rushed past her to take the lead whilst doing my best to block out the growing noise ahead.

  She gave a huff of air and pulled out of my grip as she squealed to the sound of a heavy thump at the ground, followed by the scrape of metal. My first thought was of my worst fear coming true and they’d found her. With adrenaline surging, I forced my eyes wide in hope I could make out where the attack had come from.

  Before I could get my bearings in the darkness, the tunnel lit bright and in front of me I saw Alex in shadow, hunched over the camera body and the light blaring out at its front.

  I saw the pistol right at my feet, with light refracting to rainbows in the scattered glass. With a sharp breath I grabbed at the gun just as movement caught in the corner of my eye and I swung around, holding the gun gripped with both hands.

  A shout called out, the volume so loud but the word indistinct as the echo died. The potent stench had grown so strong as I turned and instinct took control, exploding the shot out when I saw the creature in the centre of the curving tunnel.

  The bullet smashed into its skull, sending it spinning in a circle. Before I could shoot again, I watched as it slumped but remained in the centre of the space. Shaking my head, I followed the line from its neck to a rope tied to the ceiling. Peering down, its feet dangled from the floor with another two pairs just behind.

  Flexing my finger back to the trigger, I zeroed in on the new target.

  6

  LOGAN

  “Noooo,” I called, feeling Cassie draw back from the sound. With the sudden light and boom of the gunshot, rancid blood sprayed from the body hanging with a cord around its neck.

  Ducking for fear of another bullet, I pulled Cassie down as Shadow continued to bark. Panicked voices rang out ahead, and I realised another bullet hadn’t launched from the ominous figures standing on the other side of the strung-up creature.

  The light dimmed, turning to the wall to reveal dark, patchy brickwork as the limp body hung between us, slowly twisting on the cord tied with a rough knot to a bunch of cables at the ceiling.

  Despite seeing it from behind, by the cut of its short, grey hair and the breadth of its shoulders under the blue overalls, I could tell he had been a man. A hole gaped out of the back of his head and I wiped my face, releasing Cassie’s hands to rid myself of the foul mess which had sprayed our way.

  With Shadow still barking, my gaze settled below the hanging man’s feet and a short stool laying on its side. He’d made a choice to kill himself before he turned into one of those things. Time would tell if it had been the right one.

  The body’s turn slowed to a stop, then spun in the opposite direction. I had no interest in seeing his face and looked past him to the two figures staring wide-eyed in our direction.

  With the light bouncing from the dull walls, I saw the red pant suit of the reporter we’d seen from the roof and beside her stood the cameraman holding the camera with its light tilted to the side. My focus snapped to the gun the reporter held two-handed, its barrel drifting downward as she peered low to Shadow, then around the body to Cassie.

  None of us moved. As Shadow wouldn’t relent with his noise, my gaze fixed on the reporter’s face, trying to imagine her thoughts as she kept looking at Cassie.

  “Are you okay?” the figure with the camera said in a soft voice which made me question if they were a man or a woman. Reaching out to the reporter, they guided the barrel of the gun further downward.

  Feeling the tension ebb, I turned to Cassie, taking her hand as she stared back wide-eyed and spoke with a croak in her voice.

  “You almost killed us.”

  Turning to Shadow, I bent down and stroked his back to reassure him.

  Relieved when he stopped barking, I wrapped my arm around Cassie to take her weight. “I’m okay,” she said, fighting against my touch.

  “I’m sorry,” the reporter said softly. Her well-spoken accent sounded so familiar. “I thought…” she added, but cut herself off.

  Her words had been enough. She was Jessica Carmichael. The tall, attractive ball-buster from the television news.

  “I get it,” I replied. “We understand,” I said, keeping my voice flat as I used my sleeve to wipe my face but looked away when I saw the dark, clotted blood which came away. “Can we get out that way?”

  I waited for either of them to speak, still with the creature slowly rotating between us. I watched as Jessica’s companion with their short hair, checked shirt and dark trousers, looked to her with an uncertainty on their face, as if neither had understood my voice.

  “It’s okay,” I said, watching Cassie manoeuvre around the body.

  I rushed forward as she stumbled, my shoulder touching the dead man’s arm to send him in a slow spin in the opposite direction. I kept the gun in view as I took Cassie’s weight. She didn’t complain this time.

  Jessica hadn’t raised the pistol; instead she stepped back to give us space.

  “I’m Logan,” I said, raising my hand in a shallow wave, but pulled back to wipe my palm across my trousers when I saw the dirt.

  She held her gaze for a long moment before eventually turning up to look me in the eye and nod.

  “And this is Cassie,” I said, twisting around and watching as Cassie glared back.

  “I’m Alex,” the person at Jessica’s side said, pointing to their chest. “That’s Jess.” In the darkness I still couldn’t quite confirm if they were a guy or not.

  “And Shadow,” I added, turning to stroke his head, but rather than drawing forward to my side, he remained planted to the spot with his lips pulled back in a snarl.

  It was the first time I’d seen him like this with anyone, but then again, like Cassie, I hadn’t known him that long. “He’s saved my life countless times,” I said when he wouldn’t move.

  The pair nodded, raising weak smiles as they looked at him with caution.

  “Do you think the bombing’s stopped?” I asked, looking up whilst trying to ignore the short white stalactites hanging from the concrete and the long black crack running through the centre of the brickwork above our heads.

  Looking back to the pair, both had turned to the ceiling, but none gave an answer. I broke the silence.

  “How did you get in?”

  Alex turned, the light following to edge away the darkness at their backs. For a moment, the turning light highlighted Jessica in its full brightness and despite her ashen features and pale skin, her features stood out, vivid and pronounced. The onl
y part of her missing from her TV image was the crisp confidence in her expression.

  I peered along the tunnel as the light from the camera filled the void. Broken glass glinted across the stained concrete floor, mixed with scattered rubble and debris brushed to the side of the dingy space.

  At the far end, the tunnel headed right, but directly ahead a set of concrete steps rose high.

  “That’s where we came in, but it’s blocked with rubble now,” Alex said.

  “It’s the same the way we came,” I added, twisting around despite the darkness.

  “We should try a door we found further down,” Alex added, their voice almost juvenile in depth as they pointed along the tunnel. “We couldn’t get it open in the dark.”

  “Yes,” I said, clutching Cassie tight at my side. Not looking back, the pair moved off.

  We followed behind, keeping with their pace, but when my foot hit something loose on the floor, sending it clattering to the wall, the light span around, forcing my hand to shield my eyes.

  After a brief pause to stare at Cassie, Alex spoke.

  “Are you okay?”

  “She’s fine,” I said in quick reply, lowering my hand.

  “She’s bitten.” It was Jessica who spoke.

  Twisting around to Cassie, I turned to put myself between her and the pair as Shadow’s low growl returned.

  7

  JESSICA

  Alex turned the light towards the pair as my words came out. The guy, Logan, drew himself in front of his companion, twisting in anticipation of what he thought might happen next. With his lips curling, he squinted, seeking us out behind the brightness.

  I glimpsed the woman before he’d shielded all but her knotted blonde hair from our view and even if I couldn’t smell how different she was to everyone else, her drawn, gaunt features made it obvious enough something wasn’t right.

  These days it could mean little else.

  She’d been bitten, but there was something different compared to those I’d seen. If she’d been with Toni then there could well be more to her story.

  The guy, Logan, stood tall, tensing to show his determination to protect her; the effort stretching out tired creases worrying his face, the rest hidden by a few days of growth around his chin.

  At their side, the dog growled, drawing back to his hindquarters as if to pounce.

  I hadn’t seen such a picture of love for a long time.

  “It’s okay,” I said, pushing the gun into my pocket and holding my palms out. “I understand.”

  Without waiting, I turned back down the tunnel, heading to the door we’d been banging on only moments before. With the light casting my long shadow as I walked, it wasn’t until I arrived at the door, moving to the side to the let the light fall to the right, that I saw the tarnished brass handle we’d missed in our panic.

  Putting my ear to the wood, at first I didn’t pay attention to what I might have heard the other side; instead, I couldn’t help but listen for the pair heading my way.

  I pulled away from the wood, turning back to see Logan with his arm under the woman’s shoulders. Despite her stoop, I saw the fight still inside her.

  “Did they give her anything?” I asked. I had to know if they’d met with the doctors.

  Alex turned the light back to the wall.

  “Give me a moment,” she said, and darkness fell around us to the snap and click of plastic.

  No one spoke. The dog, Shadow, had calmed, but I felt him on the edge of launching another noisy assault. It wasn’t until the light came back, revealing Alex holding just the square of the light with a cable coiling to a battery pack in her other hand, that Logan spoke.

  “Yes,” he said. I sensed a mix of worry in his voice, but with the rise of his head I felt his hope.

  “She’ll be okay then,” I said.

  Logan nodded. If he believed me or not, his expression relaxed and he turned away to check on Cassie before twisting back. Beyond his smile, I saw the desperation to ask so many questions.

  He was about to speak, his lips parting in the bare light, when a noise came from behind us, the low bass tumble of something heavy above our heads percolating through the rock above.

  “Try the handle,” Logan said as the sound settled.

  I wanted to reassure him that Toni knew what she was doing. I was, after all, the proof. But then again, how did I know what they’d given Cassie? My questions sat heavy and unasked. Which came first for her, the bite or the medicine? When did she get the dose? Did she have to take more? Would she feel the extreme side-effects I had? Did he know what he was in for?

  I turned back before the words came out and Alex met my look, nodding as if understanding.

  “She’ll be fine,” I said, forcing a smile.

  Looking back to the door, I placed my hand on the brass, surprised when it turned as I twisted my grip.

  Backing away from the door, I glanced to see the others shuffling away along the dusty floor out of its arc.

  Logan looked behind him, peering into the darkness as he helped Cassie move. Alex leaned to the side, angling the light for maximum effect, ready for when I opened the door. I pulled the pistol from my pocket and with my left hand I gripped the handle again, twisted and counted to three in my head before pulling the door wide.

  Shadow barked and I peered forward, trying to penetrate the darkness, but only as Alex stepped alongside with the light could I see a tunnel much like where we stood. Pipes ran along the ceiling, insulation sagging with its failing grip. Spurs ran off and rose through tight holes in the ceiling, the rest darting away at ground level before disappearing into the darkness.

  Despite Shadow’s worry, his call turning to a long low growl, we saw no one hanging from their necks. No bodies littered the floor. The only concern was the confusion of footprints in the dust.

  A fine powder filled the stale air, sparkling in the bright light. Logan tried to calm the dog, but he wouldn’t be stilled.

  Taking a step forward with Alex at my side, I pushed the gun forward. Shadow called out, the echo of the bark resounding through my head. I tried to stop the flinch each time his explosive noise sent dust swirling into the light.

  With each step, my gaze traced the pipe, whilst Shadow’s bark grew more intense until Logan’s voice cut through, a deep but sharp tone to stop the high call. The relief felt instant as Shadow replaced the cutting sound with a low growl.

  Still with the pistol taking the lead, I concentrated my view at the horizon of light as it pushed through the darkness, but I saw nothing else other than the slow right-hand curve of the tunnel.

  I had to find a way out. I couldn’t stay much longer in this place. For my sake. For theirs. When my hunger came again, I wanted to be as far away from these people as possible.

  Shadow’s growl slowed, and I turned back, the light following to the dog and his snout high in the air. We watched as he raced forward, stopping with his nose at a gap between the lowest pipe and the ground, eager to get at what lay beneath.

  Logan stepped to Shadow’s side, gently ushering him away. As he reluctantly moved, Alex angled the light and each of us lowered to a crouch, only drawing back when we saw the picked-clean rodent’s remains.

  “Keep going,” Alex said, as the light turned away.

  With a slow pace, I held the pistol tighter, taking time to examine every feature, distracting myself from thoughts of what could have stripped the meat from the bones and piled them so neatly under the pipe.

  With reluctance, Shadow took his attention from the pile and drew up beside me, more eager than ever to test every part of the ground.

  After a few more steps, I took a deep breath when a familiar scent caught in the stale air; the smell that for a week had been an early warning sign. The stench of waste. Of rot.

  I turned to Alex, the light bright in my face, her eyebrows raising in a question before I twisted back around to step slowly forward again.

  Shadow’s growl grew with every mo
ment, but still he wouldn’t venture any further forward, not racing away to see what waited in the darkness.

  I continued on, looking left and right, glancing behind each pipe as it cast its shadow, lingering every few steps whilst keeping the gun fixed forward, ready to move in an instant.

  Catching an impressive bulk blocking half of the tunnel, I stepped closer to the large pipe with one end disappearing through a hole in the wall, the other dropping below the tunnel floor. There was something else there too. Something in the bend’s radius tight against the wall.

  Pointing, I tried wordlessly to direct Alex to move the light and improve the view. When the shadows peeled away, my arm relaxed, letting the gun point to the ground as I took a moment to stare at the familiar blue pattern on the fabric contrasting to the dusty silver of the pipe insulation.

  My gaze rose along the pronounced line of bumps on the curve of the material to the lank, greasy hair at the top. It wasn’t until Alex moved the light further to the side that I jumped back, almost falling against the wall as the high, tearful voice cried out.

  “Go away, please.”

  8

  LOGAN

  “Go,” the trembling voice said again as it peaked to a new volume.

  Cassie flinched against my arm and I took a step back, gripping tighter around her waist whilst Jess stooped closer to the bend in the pipe, angling herself so not to block the light.

  “It’s okay,” Jess said, her voice quiet. “You must be frozen.” She looked as if she were about to remove her scarlet jacket when the childish voice spoke again.

  “Go away, please.”

  I watched a wide smile grow on Jess’s face, her profile rising to reassure and hide the uncertainty of what she saw. At some point, Shadow had stopped his bark, instead switching to a low growl again.

  His snarl faltered, and for a moment silence hung in the tunnel. No one moved, and I stared at what I now realised was a girl in a tatty denim dress with knotted brown hair flowing down to her shoulder as she folded over to squeeze under the curve of the pipe.