The End of Everything (Book 7): The End of Everything

by Artinian, Christopher

  “No, she just had a different way of looking at things.”

  “So, you are her sister. Put yourself in her head. What would be her answer to this?” Mila asked.

  Robyn stood there for a moment with her arms folded then a small smile appeared on her face. “Fire!”

  chapter 26

  Mila and Freya looked at one another with concern. “What do you mean ‘fire’?” Mila asked.

  Robyn ignored the question. She handed Mila the gun. “Keep the door covered,” she said then headed along the hallway and back upstairs. The cries and frightened chatter from the children were still audible as she passed the door to the prison wing. She crossed the landing to the large square window and looked down. The top two feet of the van were just visible. She headed back downstairs and, rather than turning towards the living quarters, made her way to the front door. She opened it up, and a mountain of snow cascaded towards her making her jump back from the entrance.

  Robyn took a deep breath of air and started battling her way through it. It was not as cold as she had anticipated. She climbed peaks and sank into frigid troughs but eventually made it to the van. She clawed and burrowed and dug until there was enough of a gap for her to open the door just enough to squeeze through. It was only when she had stopped digging and climbed into the back of the Ford Transit that the chill struck her properly. Then she saw it, and despite her chattering teeth, a smile lit up her face. A green jerrican stood strapped to one side. She undid the fastener, and the liquid sloshed around heavily as she picked up the sturdy container.

  Robyn forced the door open again and trudged back to the house. The short journey of ten metres there and back took over twenty minutes to complete, and as she re-entered the hallway, her entire body was shaking due to the cold. She left the jerrican by the door and ran back upstairs, flinging open the entrance to the prison wing. A boy who looked about twelve or thirteen held the fragment of bloody tile she had killed Sabina with up in front of him then lowered it again. “I … I’m Aiden,” he said.

  “I’m Robyn,” she replied, rushing past him and the other frightened youngsters. She ran not into her own room but into Mila’s. She rushed to the radiator and stayed there for several minutes until the feeling returned to her hands. Robyn crossed the hall and slid on fresh clothes including the leather trousers that she hadn’t worn since that first morning she had woken in the cell. Suddenly, they were not quite as snug. She had lost weight during the time she had been held captive; hopefully, she would grow back into them—provided she and the others lasted the day out that was.

  She walked across to Sabina’s pale and blood-soaked body as it leaned against the wall. Robyn crouched down and frisked her, checking the pockets on the off chance there was a lighter. She climbed back to her feet, chastising herself for not finding a flame source before her freezing trek to the van. She checked Krissy’s body out in the hall and then made all the children scream as she shouted and punched the wall when she couldn’t find anything on her either. She walked back out onto the landing and was about to head down the stairs when she looked across to the window. Two candles stood in dirty wax-covered jars making primitive lanterns. Next to them sat a small box of matches.

  Robyn almost ran towards them, pulling the box open to see it was nearly full. A relieved smile lit up her face. She was about to head downstairs when she stopped and picked up the candle jars too. A cold draft hit her as she reached the ground floor and she looked towards the open door as the mini avalanche blocked it. She picked up the jerrican and headed back towards the living quarters where Mila and Freya were still keeping vigil.

  “I thought you had decided to leave us,” Mila said.

  “Thought about it but realised I wouldn’t be able to live with myself. Who knows what they might have in that pantry.”

  “Humour. Yes, that is what we need now. Why not put on a clown nose and do some juggling too?”

  “Okay, I’ll be back in a minute,” Robyn said.

  “You’re going again?” Mila replied.

  “Won’t be as long this time.” Robyn disappeared only to return a few moments later with two fire extinguishers.

  Mila looked at them then looked towards Robyn. “You do realise they will not have been checked in a long time. They may not work.” Robyn vanished again then returned with two more. “Aha, so rather than two extinguishers that might not work, we have four. Wunderbar.”

  “Shh!” Robyn said, taking the jerrican and tiptoeing to the door. She could hear sobbing from inside. They could storm the place but would almost certainly sustain casualties if they did. Her plan was risky, but it was all she had. Robyn stood back and angled the container. Diesel began to slowly pour, coating the thick wood. It dripped over the floor and the handle. When she decided that there was enough of a covering, she crept back down the hallway.

  “So, we wait to see who dies of inhaling the poisonous fumes first, yes?” Mila asked.

  “Yeah. I figured if they die, great; if we die, I least I won’t have to listen to you pissing and moaning anymore.” For the first time since they had escaped, Mila smiled.

  Robyn reached into her pocket and retrieved the matches then carefully lit one of the candles. She waited until it caught properly then angled the jar and lobbed it towards the door. Because of its trajectory, the flame remained uninhibited by the rushing wind. As the glass smashed a flare of blue and orange flames washed over the door like a wave. Gunshots boomed, and large splinters of burning wood exploded out into the hallway. Robyn poured diesel into the remaining jar, took Mila’s knife and cut a big piece of material from her own T-shirt then stuffed it in the top, forming a bung. She hurled it at the entrance. There was another whoosh as the glass smashed and the liquid ignited. Frightened and agonised screams came from behind the door too as flying globules of burning diesel burst through the large bullet holes and into the apartment.

  “Aaaggghhh! Aaaggghhh! Aaaggghhh!” There was a loud squeak of wood against tile followed by a bang as the sound of heavy furniture clattered to the floor. The wails continued from inside, and the frame around the door, as well as the wallpaper, began to catch.

  If she left it any longer, the whole place would go up. Robyn grabbed the gun from Mila and charged down the hallway. She stopped just back from the burning entrance and kicked as hard as she could. The door flew inwards. Flames seemed to jump off the wood onto Robyn’s boots, but there was no time to think about that.

  A flurry of poorly aimed rounds shot through the doorway ripping into the gaudy wallpaper behind Robyn. She immediately ducked down but jumped back up just as quickly; the floor was burning, the door frame was burning, the heat was already unbearable as the fire caught and spread even more. She looked into one corner to see Brie lying motionless, her face drained of colour, her eyes closed. Deb still had the rifle in her hands, the volley had been her last-ditch attempt to exact some small modicum of revenge for the murder of her sisters.

  “You BITCH!” She screamed like a banshee as the fire spread up her body. She ran towards Robyn, determined to at least set her alight too with her dying actions. Robyn could feel the searing heat at her feet, at her back, all around her. Deb lunged, a burning, screaming, fiery demon desperate to drag Robyn down to hell with her. Robyn dived to the side, landing hard on the carpet as Deb crashed into the doorway. “Aaarggghhh!” she screamed again. “Aaarrrggghhh!” it was a sound like no other Robyn had ever heard. A pain like she could not imagine.

  Deb did not rise to her feet, she convulsed and cried and shrieked; all the while Robyn was frantically patting down the bottom of her own trousers and boots where the flames had caught. The fire was spreading into the room even faster now as the final eerie howls left Deb’s throat.

  Robyn jumped up, only too aware that this could get out of hand in a heartbeat and she would be trapped, but suddenly she heard rumbling and frantic squeals from somewhere within the expansive living quarters. She ran to the room it was coming from as panicked gru
nts, and oinks rose from within. “Oh, Jesus Christ, no!” She shot back to the doorway where Mila and Freya were desperately trying to douse the flames with the extinguishers, but for every section of fire they conquered, more flames appeared. “Throw me one,” Robyn shouted.

  Mila paused for a moment. She didn’t have the strength she once had so swung the heavy canister four times, building more momentum with each pass before releasing it. Robyn braced herself and caught it. She pulled the pin and now three powerful jets of water were fighting the vicious flames as they continued to fan out.

  “It’s no good. We need to get out of here,” Mila shouted.

  “No!” Robyn cried. “We can do this.” The heat became more intense, and the grunts and squeals from inside the apartment got louder as the smoke spread.

  “Robyn! We have to leave!” Mila shouted again.

  “NO!” Robyn moved forward, stamping on the flames nearest to her while continuing to aim the jet towards the door.

  Gradually, the three women managed to subdue the blaze. Freya emptied her extinguisher, moved on to the final one, and it was she who put out the last fragments of glowing wood. The three of them coughed and spluttered as smoke drifted around the room. Robyn stayed there with the nozzle raised, anticipating a secondary flare-up, but none came.

  Freya rushed through the apartment to the room where all the noise was coming from. She burst through the door and immediately started crying as she saw Snowball and Napoleon. She fell to her knees and hugged them, kissed them and played with their ears as if they were giant dogs.

  Robyn and Mila walked into the room behind her and just watched, wondering if she was just as insane as the other five sisters. She sensed their unease and smiled as she caught sight of their looks. “I raised these two from piglets. My mum and dad bought them for me. They’re all I have left. The hardest thing about being locked up there was not being able to see them. It’s not true what people say. They’re not dumb animals. They have problem-solving capabilities. In many regards, they’re more intelligent than dogs. People used to call me a loony, a kook, a weirdo because I refused to eat meat. I’d turn round to them and say, ‘Well, you wouldn’t eat your dog, would you?’ They’d say, ‘It’s different.’ But it really isn’t. It’s exactly the same, it’s all to do with labels. It’s all—”

  “Okay, okay, okay, you’re giving me a headache!” Robyn said, and Freya suddenly realised she had immediately gone on the defensive to justify her love for her pets just like she had so many times before.

  “Sorry. I feel like I always have to explain myself,” she said, kissing Napoleon’s forehead and climbing to her feet. She wiped away her tears and looked towards the other two women.

  “So what now?” Mila said.

  They walked back out into the fire-damaged room. “Now we need to tidy up. This place looks like hell,” Robyn replied.

  “What? You intend for us to stay here?” Mila said.

  “Well, we’re not going to be able to go anywhere while this snow’s on the ground. This place has got heating, water, shelter and food. I say we go grab the kids, introduce ourselves properly and get to work.”

  Mila and Freya looked at one another then looked towards Robyn.

  “Okay.”

  chapter 27

  It had never been discussed or decided that Robyn was the leader, but that’s what she was. Whenever there were key decisions to be made, people always asked her. Whenever there was a job to do, she was the one who organised it. When she didn’t know something, she was always happy to bow to someone’s superior knowledge. She included everybody in discussions.

  When Aiden had been seized by the sisters, he had been the proud owner of a bow and a quiver of arrows. It turned out that, although he liked the look of it, he had no idea how to use it. He offered it to Robyn, but, instead, she taught him how to use it properly.

  The sisters had amassed a vast amount of food, fuel and supplies in trade for the ‘meat products’ they had manufactured. But still, every day was filled from morning to night. On the whole, the twelve of them, fourteen including Napoleon and Snowball, gelled together like a big family. They fished – well, all but Freya fished – they farmed, they worked on the house and in the garden. They made spears, they trained, and Robyn and Mila occasionally took trips. Winter gave way to spring. Spring gave way to summer, and summer gave way to autumn. Everyone found their place, everyone contributed and, in a world turned upside down, they all found something approaching happiness, apart from Freya. Gradually, she became more and more withdrawn, spending increasing amounts of time with Snowball and Napoleon and less with the rest of the group. She continued to work and do what was asked of her, but there was clearly something amiss.

  “Okay, you can ease into fourth now,” Mila said.

  “I know, I know,” Robyn replied, shifting the gear stick.

  “If you were paying me for these lessons, I would be rich.”

  “You were rich. Where did it get you?”

  “I got some cool swords.”

  “That’s true.”

  Mila looked at the bow and quivers in the footwell. “Every time we go out, Aiden insists you take the bow.”

  “He just wants us to be safe.”

  “I think he has a crush on you.”

  “Yeah well, he’s only human,” Robyn said, leaning to one side and breaking wind loudly. “I’m a real catch.”

  Mila burst out laughing and wafted the air. “You are a disgusting pig.”

  “Hey, don’t say that around Freya.”

  “No, in fact, I take it back. Snowball and Napoleon have excellent manners compared to you.”

  “Not my fault. I’ve never eaten so much veg in my entire life.”

  Robyn brought the van to a standstill in the same passing place they always did. They collected their weapons and their rucksacks and began to climb. Twenty minutes later, they slipped the backpacks from their shoulders, unstrapped their scabbards and sat down on the wide flat rock that was so familiar to them now.

  “So today is going to be the day?” Mila said as she brought out the travel chess set.

  “Guess again, Fritzella.”

  “So, it is cards then. Maybe I will teach you how to play something more challenging than pinochle.”

  “I like pinochle, and why the hell would I want anything challenging? Cards are meant to be fun, not stress me out.”

  Mila’s shoulders dropped. “Maybe we should forget pinochle. Maybe you would prefer snap.”

  “Okay, I know you’re taking the piss right now, but I love snap.”

  “Why does this not surprise me?”

  Robyn smiled to herself and reached into her backpack. She pulled out a pair of binoculars and slowly scanned the city. She had lost count of how many times they had driven the thirty plus miles to Inverness. As guilty as she felt for using the fuel, she had to carry on doing it. Each time, something had changed. When they had first come, the husks of burnt-out vehicles littered the bridge; now, somehow, that had been cleared, by who she had no idea, but whoever it was must have had a lot of resources. There were thousands of infected still in the city, to undertake an operation of that magnitude would need a massive army, a hell of a diversion, or both.

  She slowly panned the lenses around, carefully looking for anything different, for any movement associated with the living rather than the dead. She felt Mila’s shoulder against her own as she too surveyed the landscape.

  “You think I’m mad, don’t you?”

  There was a pause. “No.”

  “Ha! You took way too long to answer.”

  “No, Robyn, I don’t think you’re mad. I don’t think it is mad to keep a dream alive, to still have hope after all this time, but…”

  “But what?”

  “Every time we pack up and leave, I sense your sadness.”

  “She has to be out there somewhere.”

  “From everything you have told me, Wren was … is a very intelligent girl. S
he would not live in the middle of a city full of zombies. She would live somewhere safe, somewhere with water, food, and heat.”

  “I know that. But this was where we said we’d come, so don’t you think it makes sense that, just like us, she might find a safe spot to check in from time to time?”

  Mila did not want to fuel disappointment for Robyn. “Of course. Of course it would. That is why we will keep coming up here. Now, we have an important decision to make.”

  Robyn turned to look at Mila with concern. “What decision?”

  Mila pulled two large chocolate bars from her backpack. “Whole nut or fruit and nut?”

  Robyn smiled. “Definitely whole nut.” She grabbed a piece and rammed it in her mouth. The thick creamy chocolate coated her palate. “Oh, God, that is so good,” she tried to say, but with her full mouth, it came out as, “Oh Goh, at ie so gu.”

  Mila laughed. “You are such a peasant.”

  Robyn laughed then shrugged and savoured the sweet taste. “Y’know, I get the whole not eating meat thing. I don’t think I could ever give up fish, but I get the no meat part of it. But chocolate. How can you say no to chocolate?”

  “This is why I only eat it out here. I feel like Freya’s eyes are always on me in the house.”

  “I know what you mean,” Robyn replied. They each took another piece and savoured it in silence before Robyn turned to look at Mila once more. “Has Freya seemed okay to you lately?”

  “How do you mean?”

  “When I’ve been talking to her, it’s like she’s been distant … more distant than normal.”

  “She has always seemed that way with me.”

  “I know she’s been going off a lot by herself, disappearing for hours at a time.”

  “You do know she was a resident of the hospital a few years back, don’t you? That’s how she knew about it.”

  “No,” Robyn said.

  “Yes. In her teens, she had a breakdown. She spent several months there. At the time of the outbreak in Europe and the rest of the world, she and the other girls were living in a flat. It was her idea to kidnap Snowball and Napoleon from her mother and father’s place and head into the middle of nowhere. The hospital had been abandoned for some time, so they squatted there. They stole supplies for polytunnels, they dug vegetable patches, and they turned it into a New Age vegan commune.”