‘Just get your ass through that vent—now,’ Raine said, her mouth trembling as she spoke.
Ethan retreated to the shaft of sunlight coming from the opening where they’d entered and turned back just in time to see the first creature stumble from its hiding place. He shone his flashlight in its direction, picking out the floral pattern of its summer dress.
It was a girl around about the same age as Emily. Like Emily, the girl’s brown hair was tied up in pigtails, but she was a great deal chubbier. Her facial features were almost flat, her neck stunted and her head seemed much too small for her body. Her ears were the size of dimes and her eyes were upward slanting. It was obvious from her particular appearance that she had suffered from Down’s Syndrome. She reached out towards Raine, clenching her short-fingered hands into fists.
A gangly kid followed behind her. Its head was dominated by a curly mop of black hair and a pair of thick-framed prescription-lensed glasses, magnifying the menace of the infected grey swirl of its dead eyes. A thick string of bloodied drool hung from its bottom lip and reached down to the floor. The creature lurched forward on its leg braces, a metal clunk accompanying each awkward step. It wore shorts, so Ethan could see how its rotting flesh had allowed the stainless-steel anchors and leather straps to sink deep and truly become part of its limbs.
The last child to emerge was an overweight boy in a wheelchair. The lime green horizontal stripes of its shirt stood out in the glare of the flashlight. The wheel brackets squealed with each rotation like the screams of a tortured animal. Its hands were resting on its lap, so it was impossible for it to be propelling itself.
But then its aid appeared from behind the door frame. The middle-aged man wore the familiar navy-blue pants and jacket of a school bus driver. The name plate on its lapel was hard to see from a distance, but Ethan thought it said ‘Jerry’. Even as a reanimated corpse, the driver had the presence of mind to grip the handles of the wheelchair to push the kid forward, just as he would have done in life.
Ethan noticed a chunk had been torn out of the driver’s arm on its jacket, and the wound that lay beneath the shredded fabric. His morbid curiosity caused him to wonder which one of them turned first, or if they had all been bitten before entering the warehouse to take shelter.
‘S-shoot them,’ Ethan said.
‘Do you see where we are, genius? Fancy a bullet chasing you around in here?’ Raine said. She continued aiming her rifle at the danger but refused to fire. ‘Just get moving.’
Ethan finally tore himself away and scrambled up the wall to the opening. In his panic, it seemed a much tighter squeeze on the way out. He struggled, twisting his body until he thought he was stuck. His heart pounded against the frame of the vent as he heard the creatures’ crooked feet dragging across the floor. He managed to calm himself enough to wriggle free and reached back in to take Raine’s rifle and flashlight.
Salty saw Ethan and immediately ran over to him just as O.B. and Darla returned from their reconnaissance.
‘What happened?’ O.B. said.
‘Just help me get her out, will you?’ Ethan said, taking hold of Raine’s outstretched arm.
They all assisted in dragging her through the vent. She had to kick hard to force her muscular thighs through the opening, so much so, she tore a section of her combat pants. Once clear and on the ground, she shook herself clean of the dust and cobwebs.
‘You found nothin’?’ Salty said.
Raine responded by pointing across the parking lot to one of the dead ambling towards them, alerted to their presence.
‘Time to go,’ she said. ‘We’ll talk in the car.’
6
Darla opened her eyes and realised she’d fallen asleep with her head resting on the car window. She could feel O.B.’s thigh pressing against hers and tried to pull away from the contact, but there was no room to.
As she began to drift off again, she heard voices in the front. She was just about lucid enough to understand what they were saying.
‘You’re fallin’ asleep at the wheel,’ Salty said.
‘We’ll pull over for a while,’ Raine said.
‘We’ve done that twice already. The night’s comin’ in. If we drive for much longer, we’ll all be asleep, including you.’
‘Fine. So we stop,’ Raine said.
‘Fine… Good.’
“We’ll stop here.’
Salty paused and Darla felt the car slowing down to take a right turn.
‘This place? You sure about that?’ Salty said.
‘It has fences—high ones. I doubt we’ll have much in the way of company inside.’
‘I have to admit, it wouldn’t be the first place I’d think to seek out in a crisis,’ Ethan said from the back seat.
The Sedan stopped and Raine got out.
‘Wait here. I’ll go make us a door in the perimeter,’ she said. When she closed the door, the sound roused Darla enough to cause her to sit up and look around.
‘Hey!’ O.B. said smiling at her. ‘You’ve been out for hours. You should drink some water.’ He held a half-empty bottle in front of her face.
‘Quit babyin’ me,’ she snapped, snatching the bottle and taking a sip to cure her cotton-mouth.
‘It’s good that you slept. You needed it.’
Darla scowled at him.
‘What did I just say?’
O.B. stayed silent and stared down at his hands.
‘Where the fuck are we anyway?’ she said.
‘Not far outside of New York,’ Salty replied.
‘We found a place?’
‘Oh yeah. It’s a doozy,’ Salty said.
Darla looked out of the window, but all she could see through the gloom on the access road was an open field and a high fence at the end of it.
Raine signalled once with her flashlight to indicate it was safe and Salty drove the Sedan under a tree close by, so it was partially hidden by its low-hanging branches.
By the time the others reached Raine, she’d already cut an opening in the fence and ushered everyone through it.
They quietly made their way over a substantially large parking lot to a path that led to an arch made from artificial rock. Beneath the arch were what looked like the open, skeletal jaws of a T. Rex.
Darla gazed at it in confusion, wondering if the symptoms of her withdrawal were causing her mind to play tricks on her.
‘What’s this happy horseshit?’ she croaked.
O.B. pointed up at the sign above the monstrous jaws with a huge grin on his face.
‘It’s Dinoland. I remember my folks bringing me here when I was nine years old. It scared the hell outta me.’
‘Yeah, well don’t get distracted by the dinosaurs. There could still be some real monsters wandering around inside the park,’ Raine said.
Raine led them through the entrance, over the turnstiles and past the box office. In the main body of the park, they found themselves surrounded by high rock formations made from a combination of the real thing and moulded glass fibre reinforced concrete, sculpted and painted with the highest levels of detail. They were permeated by a vast array of artificial treescapes and plant-life designed from silk and polyester.
No one else noticed, but Raine made a mental note of the hidden cameras that had been built into the environment.
They double-timed it through a small funfair aimed at reasonably young children. The carriages of the carrousel were cartoonish depictions of baby Triceratopses, painted pale blue to accentuate their innocence. The fair’s main attraction was a rollercoaster designed to look like its tracks had been made from dinosaur bones. The vertebrae of the creature’s tail rose high against the dull skyline and then plunged to form the coaster’s primary dip.
Accompanying the funfair was a quite fancy restaurant/café. Multi-coloured parasols were attached to the line of outdoor tables.
O.B. stopped to gaze at the family of Diplodocuses. They were depicted to be on the move,
following each other in single file. O.B. imagined them crossing a vast expanse of desert, escaping some environmental disaster or in a desperate search for a new water source.
‘Watch out, fat ass,’ Darla said as she gave him an unceremonious shove in the back.
Ethan heard a shuffling sound coming from behind a striped kiosk that had previously sold Dinoland’s signature candy. One of the dead emerged shortly after. From the look of its uniform, the man had clearly been employed as part of the park’s security team. A long chain swung from its belt as it lurched towards the group, a gruesome bite on its arm indicated the origin of the man’s demise and transformation.
Ethan took a couple of steps back and felt something touching him. He spun around and was immediately confronted by jagged claws, beady eyes and a mouthful of razor-sharp teeth. It gave him such a fright, he even screamed out. Fortunately, his fears were misplaced. He’d backed into a life-size model of a Velociraptor.
‘I got it,’ Salty said. He wasted no time in running up to the dead security guard and swinging his hatchet. The blow cut deep into the front of the creature’s head and its face was virtually hanging off as it fell to the ground.
Ethan placed his hand on the snout of the Raptor, so he could catch his breath.
‘Cheers, old man,’ he said.
They performed two circuits of the complex and didn’t find any more enemies. It appeared they were alone.
Raine directed them to the most impressive rock installation in the park.
‘We’ll sleep there,’ she said.
It had been used as a backdrop to display the Pterosaur models. The multi-tiered formation had a large nest at the top of it, which showcased eggs at various stages of their hatching process.
Salty gathered as much flammable material from the park as he could find and made a small fire on their chosen perch. It allowed them to cook up some baked beans straight from the can and finished it off with a few slices of corned beef. They even used porcelain plates from the restaurant.
O.B. passed a plate to Darla, but she refused it. She sat hunched over, her back to the flames.
The fire cast enough light on their camping spot for Salty to see what Raine was doing behind them. She had taken off her sweater to reveal the vest underneath and poured water over her arms and head from one of the bottles, washing the dried blood and dirt from her skin. He couldn’t be sure whether it had come from the dead they had slain or the Grahams. As she turned to shake herself, he was able to zero in on the tattoo inked across her right shoulder blade. He got to his feet and took her a plate of food as an excuse to get a closer look.
‘Chow time,’ he said. He managed to get a clear view just before she threw her sweater back on. The design was a skeletal frog with words in Latin beneath it: ‘MAL AD OSTEO.’
‘Thanks,’ she said, accepting the plate from him.
‘Afraid it ain’t much to speak of, but I did my best.’ Salty tried to hide his reaction to the tattoo, but Raine’s searching eyes detected his discomfort.
‘You did good,’ she said, still staring at him with suspicion.
Salty wandered back to his place by the fire. He knew what the tattoo meant, but it made no sense that she should have it—no sense at all.
Raine made short work of her supper, grabbed another plate, and stood up again.
‘We should kill that fire now. No reason to leave it burning any longer than it needs to,’ she said.
‘I’ll deal with it,’ Salty said.
She carried the plate over the concrete rocks to the highest tier.
Ethan sat in the prehistoric bird’s nest next to one of the hatchlings. He stared up at the stars and didn’t acknowledge Raine’s arrival.
She took a seat next to him and pushed the plate in front of him.
‘You should eat something,’ she said.
‘I’m not hungry.’ He glanced at the strips of corned beef on the side. ‘And especially not for that… but thank you.’
‘You might have to abandon your principles. We don’t exactly have access to all the resources needed for a balanced diet. We have to take what we can get,’ Raine said.
‘When you’ve seen what I’ve seen, you may change your mind.’
‘I’ve seen plenty.’
‘Oh, I don’t doubt that for a second, Miller.’ Ethan turned to examine one of the hatchlings. It was posed crawling from a broken egg shell. Its glazed eyes half-closed—its malformed wings tucked into its body and its backward-pointing head glistening with a coat of embryonic fluid. The level of detail was as impressive as it was frightening to look at.
‘I was just thinking about what I said to Emily—about the monsters, I was trying to reassure her. Even though we could see them coming, it was still no fucking good, was it?’ he said.
‘What happened on the beach when you touched that woman? You haven’t been the same since,’ Raine said.
Ethan shuffled uncomfortably.
‘Nothing.’
‘You saw something. What was it?’
‘I didn’t see anything.’ He paused and Raine noticed the visible shiver that coursed through him. ‘It’s what I heard.’
‘What did you hear?’
Ethan was about to answer. Then he smiled wryly and shook his head.
‘Do you trust me, Miller?’
‘I’m starting to.’
‘Then trust me when I say that knowing won’t provide you with an advantage in our current situation. It will only bring more doubt.’
Raine considered his words carefully before challenging him. She recalled their previous conversation about the Thompson case the police had consulted him on before the outbreak, and the revelation that Kenny Thompson had still been alive when his parents had committed his body to the water.
‘Sometimes ignorance is better, right?’ she said.
‘Right.’
‘Do you think I can get us there—to the border, I mean?’
‘I’ve told you before, I have faith in you, and I think I’m starting to understand you a bit more. You’ll get us there. As for if we’ll be able to find refuge when we get there? I’m slightly more sceptical,’ Ethan said.
‘It’s the best option we have,’ Raine said.
‘I never suggested it wasn’t.’
‘You’re not expecting to last much longer, are you?’
Ethan scoffed. ‘Every single day, I’m more amazed that I’m still around.’
‘Well, I plan to keep it that way,’ Raine said.
‘All power to you, Miller. Everyone needs a hobby.’ Ethan reached for the plate, picked up the fork, and scooped a few baked beans into his mouth. ‘By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask you ever since we left the nature preserve, what’s with the buzz cut?’
Raine ran her hand over her shaven scalp, still glistening with drops of water from her wash.
‘I didn’t want one of those things grabbing hold of my hair.’
‘Makes sense. Practical and fashionable,’ Ethan said.
‘Do you think so?’
‘It suits you. Very moody.’
Raine laughed and left him alone to finish his beans.
7
At first light, they found plenty of gas in the staff garage and left Dinoland pretty much the way they’d found it. They headed out on the 10, aiming for the heart of the wilderness. The forest and the various bodies of water would provide ample cover to complete their trip to the border.
Salty remained behind the wheel. He seemed to be less agitated when he was in charge of the vehicle. He sat right back in his seat, chewing the inside of his mouth.
Raine rode shotgun, rifle on her lap, always looking as far ahead of them as the terrain allowed.
Fortunately, the road stayed relatively clear of cars and debris, enough to make some decent time for once.
Salty glanced to his passenger in the front, trying to block out the chatter from ‘Ren and Stimpy’ in
the back.
‘Y’know, we’re going to have to get ourselves a new wardrobe. Our current clothes just ain’t gonna cut it up in those Yukon mountains,’ he said.
‘We’ll find a small town and go shopping when we get across the border. I hear there’s a sale on.’ For once, Raine afforded herself a wry smile when she said it.
‘Cute,’ Salty said.
‘Hey, Salty. Do you think you could take a look through some of those CDs down there?’ O.B. said as he leaned forward and pointed to the album cases slotted into the busted glovebox.
‘I guess so,’ Salty said. He grabbed a handful and passed them to Raine so he could keep his eyes on the road.
Reluctantly, she began to thumb through them.
‘So, we’ve got Sam Cooke?’ Raine said.
‘Nah,’ O.B. said.
‘One Direction?’
‘Hell no!’
‘I’m with you there, kid,’ Raine replied. ‘The Cure?’
O.B.’s eyes suddenly lit up.
‘The Cure. Yes, Ma’am.’
‘Call me Ma’am again and I’ll throw you out of the car,’ Raine said.
‘OK, that’s fair. Understood,’ O.B. said.
‘I’ll second that,’ Ethan said. ‘Not throwing you out of the car. I mean yes to The Cure. Classic band.’
Raine shrugged, took the disc from its sleeve, and slid it into the player.
O.B. recognised the first track after a few bars.
‘Into the Forest. This is killer!’ he said.
O.B. and Ethan both bobbed their heads to the melodic rhythm.
‘Aww, Jesus,’ Darla croaked, curling her lip like someone had let off a fart. ‘It’s that punk shit, like those Randals.’
‘Vandals.’ O.B. pulled his shirt out in front of him so she could see the lettering. ‘It’s right there, and they aren’t even similar.’
‘Whatever. I feel tragic enough without this trash in my ears,’ she said.
‘Philistine,’ Ethan said, still quietly enjoying the change in mood the music had created.
‘Happy to be,’ she replied.
Just as it got going, the song abruptly stopped.
O.B. leaned forward again to see Raine’s finger on the power button of the CD player.
Everything Dies [Season Two] Page 3