Arcadium

by Sarah Gray

  Chapter 23

  I SWING MY arms out but there’s nothing. I can’t see my hands or my nose or lights in any other lab. It’s dark as death, like nothing exists. Dim backup globes blink awake, tracing the shapes of objects. Suddenly a light in the very centre of the ceiling starts, sending bolts of blue over us.

  “No,” I say. It comes out with my breath, barely audible, and I just stand there staring up. This can’t be happening. This can’t be Jacob’s distraction.

  What did he say? I wrack my brain. How long do we have until total annihilation?

  The woman scientist comes flying and knocks me back. She lands right on me, gritting her teeth and pushing the gun down toward me. I grapple with her and we’re locked in a surreal power struggle.

  She pushes the injection gun toward me and I push back. It hovers between us, the needle aimed at my chest.

  She’s concentrating so hard that she doesn’t see my next move coming. Instead of trying to get away, I slam my forehead against hers. I’m sure there’s a technique to head-butting; Jacob made it look so easy in the camera room, but instantly I see stars. Like my brain just shattered. Everything gets slow, my ears whine.

  The woman must feel the same because for she loosens her grip for a second, and I manage to pry the gun from her fingers. The minute I have it, she leaps up and takes off, running for a desk. I can see what she’s doing, heading for high ground.

  The woman jumps onto the desk and clambers up onto the glass boxes. The infected beneath her go crazy, leaping and climbing one another trying to reach the ceiling. She crawls along, heading straight for Liss.

  In a second I’m up on the desk and then up on the glass boxes too. I chase her down with all my fury, like a mother bear protecting her cub.

  When I’m close enough I grab at her ankle and yank her back. She hits the glass with a thud and kicks out. The gun goes flying straight up and then smacks against the glass, right between us. For a second we both pause. And then we move.

  I scramble toward it, she launches herself. We collide, each collecting an uncertain grip. The silver metal gets lost in the chaos of fingers and hands. She’s fighting for her own life, but I fight for everyone. Liss. Trouble. Kean. Henry. I’m stronger. I have to be. Suddenly my hand slides into the grip. I yank the trigger awkwardly with my free ring finger.

  The woman tenses. The injection spikes her palm. Delivers the infection straight to her bloodstream. She reels back, cradling her hand, horror washing over her features.

  She’s right near the edge of glass, frozen with shock, and I see my opportunity to get her away from Liss. I barrel toward her and push her right off the side. She doesn’t put up a fight, just falls like a ripe fruit and lands splat on her back. I drop the gun and look over to the boys. The situation has changed dramatically.

  Trouble and Kean are both pinned down by the scientists, and the woman is getting to her feet now. But what can I do? I can’t take on the two… three attackers by myself. If I go down there they’ll over power me, but if I stay here I’m no help.

  Kean’s face is bright red and the big scientist tightens his grip around his neck. A thump comes from below. An infected man claws up at me.

  And suddenly I know what to do.

  A crash sounds from the other side of the lab and the woman collapses onto a bench of glass beakers.

  I punch the code in with my thumb, before I have a chance to change my mind, and the door hisses open. The two infected men race out into the open space of the lab.

  “Heads up guys!” I call. “Infected on the loose!”

  The infected men lurch toward Kean and Trouble. I haven’t seen clean, tidy infected people before — fresh ones with no damage, no blood.

  The scientists glance at one another and leap up, rushing across the lab to get away. Kean holds his throat, Trouble watch motionless from the floor. The infected track the scientist’s movement and chase them around the bench. Trouble pulls Kean to his feet and goes back for Henry.

  Kean is stunned, just standing, blinking.

  “Kean,” I call. He looks up slowly and coughs.

  Trouble comes running with Henry on his back, and I wave them to the desk.

  Horrible sounds come from the far corner, screaming and snarling, that sort of thing. I can’t see the scientists or infected, they’re all down behind the bench, but I can still imagine the scene.

  Kean’s up first and Trouble leans against the glass so we can drag Henry up with us.

  “What’s with the lights?” Kean says, rubbing his neck and looking around. “Our big distraction? Not bad.”

  “No, it is bad.” I pause, not wanting to scare Liss or Henry, but looking at their faces I can see they’re already frightened to the max. What’s one more thing? “Jacob told me flashing blue means thirty minutes, flashing red means ten minutes.”

  “Till what?” Henry says.

  Kean looks back at him. “Till boom time.”

  “Jacob started the self defence mechanism,” I say. “I don’t know how long ago.”

  Kean nods. “Let’s move then.”

  Liss is hovering in the air-conditioning duct. “Go Liss, back the way we came.” I slide in after her and Trouble goes next. Kean pushes Henry through and yells instructions. “Hold Trouble’s feet, Henry, he’ll drag you along.”

  We scuttle along on hands and knees, not worrying about how much sound we make. The grates flash blue as we clang past. The thin metal wobbles and warps. I look back and Trouble is far behind, face pulled taut with effort, arms pumping. I want to help him but there’s nothing I can do.

  I count the grates as we go. With four labs to go the lights change from blue to red. Liss stops in front of me, frozen with fright. She knows what it means.

  “Keep going!” I scream, pushing her on.

  We have ten minutes. Just ten minutes to get out of the air-conditioning duct, through the glass door, up onto the roof and down the escape ladder. That seems like an awful big ask. And on top of that, I have no idea how big the blast will be or how far away from it we need to get. Why on earth did I give Jacob the code? If I hadn’t, we’d be casually walking out. But I know at the same time we might never have had a chance to get Trouble and Henry. Maybe I was right to give it up, maybe I was wrong. Nothing I can do now.

  We reach the grate to lab one. “I’ll go first,” I say and Liss moves to the other side. I stick my head out first to make sure the way is clear and then drop down onto the desk. “Liss, come on!”

  She drops her legs down first and wiggles out. I grab her waist and pull her towards me. “Guys?” I call. “How far?”

  I can hear them banging around but no one answers. I’m guessing we’ve been in the ducts at least three minutes since the lights went red.

  “Guys! Seven minutes! Hurry!” My voice is frantic. Out in the hall scientists are running. No one cares about our presence now.

  One fleeing scientist has actually thought of everyone else: the door to the corridor is chocked open with a box, thank god. That’ll save us a few seconds time.

  Liss is jumping up and down with her fists balled at her sides. She doesn’t make a sound.

  Finally Trouble comes out of the duct, almost falling straight off the desk. I grab him at the last second and pull him back, just as Henry comes through headfirst. Trouble turns so Henry can grab onto his neck, and I hold Trouble steady as Henry’s legs drop out. Kean launches out, hitting the ground with an almighty thud.

  “Five minutes!” I yell, leading the way out. I don’t actually know how long we’ve got left, it could be less, could be more. They took my watch when we arrived so I’m trying to keep a tally in my head.

  We sprint down the corridor and swing left. My legs are burning, my lungs are burning, but I figure it’s nothing compared to the feeling of being exploded. A scientist passes through the glass door and it seals shut behind him. When we reach it I punch in the code. Red lights flash above. I push the door and nothing happens. I punch in the c
ode again but there’s no beep. I try again. Nothing. The door won’t open.

  Trouble, Henry and Kean catch up.

  “The code won’t work,” I say, pulling Kean over. I punch it in again, just to prove it. He rattles the door but it won’t budge.

  In my head all I can think is four minutes, four minutes. It’s not enough; we’re not going to make it. I can’t believe it. Every door I’ve ever gone through has been the same code, why not this one?

  Liss is slamming her palms against the glass, screaming. I try the code again, thinking of every time I’ve used it before — going into the surveillance room, into the basement, into the science labs.

  And it clicks in my head. Every time I’ve used the code I’ve been going in, never coming out. “There’s another code for going out! This code only works going in!” How could I be so stupid? “I don’t know it. I don’t know it!”

  We’re helpless. Trapped. Stuck. And the clock is still ticking down. Three minutes.

  Kean grabs my shoulders. “Guess something then!”

  I just start punching in anything, random numbers. Liss is still trying to push the door open. Kean is watching me, using his finger to punch imaginary codes in the air. Around us the red lights keep flashing like they’re spilling blood across the walls.

  “Try it backwards,” he says.

  “What?”

  “It’s a circle, right? Punch it in reverse.”

  I start the code: four-eight-six-two-four-eight. I feel like vomiting and collapsing and exploding all at once.

  The door bursts open and Liss falls flat on her face. Kean scoops her up and props her back on her feet as we sprint away.

  We’re through now, but the hallways are full of people just like us, confused and running. I push through, shoving people out of the way.

  “Follow me! There’s a way out!” I scream, hoping that some of these poor people will get the idea and tag along. I look back to make sure everyone’s following. Kean is holding Liss’ hand, and just behind them, Henry hangs from Trouble’s back.

  Man, Trouble must be tired.

  I sprint past the surveillance room thinking two minutes, two minutes. I just hope my count is accurate. I slide to a stop in front of the stairwell door and punch in the code. Someone slams me into the wall as they run in the opposite direction, toward the danger, and I just want to scream at them. But this isn’t about everyone else. I wish I could save them, I really do. But there’s only so much I can do in two minutes. I keep yelling, “This way!” as I push through the door and launch myself up the steps three at a time. I punch in the code before anyone gets there and hold the door open.

  Cool night air blows in. Outside it’s pitch dark. And I remember the torch, still tucked in my waistband. I switch it on.

  Once my four are through, I let go of the door and hope that a stream of followers might keep it open. I search the ledge for the ladder and climb straight over.

  “Follow me, Liss,” I say, and jam the torch into my teeth. The metal clangs as we begin our frenzied descent. The torchlight bounces around and I can see Kean and Trouble climbing down too. I reach the last rung and stop because I know it’s still a decent drop to the concrete, maybe two metres. But I forget that no one else knows. They keep coming, forcing me down.

  Liss has nowhere to go and is crushing up against my face. My fingers start slipping; I can’t yell out because I’ll drop the torch. Suddenly I’m bumped off. My arms flail back. They flap about, trying to keep my body upright through the fall. The ground comes up so fast and somehow I land on my feet.

  My shins explode with white hot pain and I scream out. The torch hits the concrete. I think my legs are still in one piece, because I’m still standing, just shocked from the sudden landing.

  “Jump!” I call up and grapple for the torch at the same time. Liss comes flying down to me and we both collapse backward. “It’s a big drop, Kean!” I yell. I know he’ll be fine with it so I just focus on getting us back on our feet and shining the torch up so the others can see where they’re going.

  Henry dangles off Trouble’s back, and I hope his grip is good; a fall from there would kill him. Above them, people lean out, peering over the edge, looking for an escape.

  Kean touches down and he grabs my arms so they make a sort of net. Trouble is so strong that he lowers himself to the very last rung and just hangs there, giving Henry the best chance.

  “Henry, drop now!” Kean grips my wrists. I’m still holding the torch, it points to his stomach. Henry lets go and drops quicker than I thought possible. We lurch forward and catch him perfectly. We step back and Trouble drops down, angling himself so Henry can get straight back on his shoulders.

  “One minute. We have to move!” I point the torch toward the back fence and sprint. For every single step I take I’m convinced the explosion is coming. With less than a minute to go, we’re out of the building, but just how far away is safety?

  I don’t know why but as I run my mind goes to Jacob. Is he still inside? Did he get out? And then Adrian. Is he still taped to the chair in the surveillance room? If he is… But I can’t allow myself to worry about them anymore.

  I reach the wooden fence and climb, gripping with my strongest fingers and thumbs. My hands are clumsy and they shriek with pain but I figure pain is better than being dead. Liss overtakes me, climbing effortlessly, and reaches the top first. I flick myself over and straddle the fence, shining the torch down so Liss can see where to go. Kean is up and reaches back to help Trouble, but there’s not much he can do.

  All this commotion will be attracting infected people in droves. I flash the torch around the back yard just before we drop into it, and I run straight for the side gate.

  “Liss, we’re out in the open now. Infected people can be anywhere.” That’s the overly protective sister in me, running from a deadly explosion but still finding the time to warn Liss about everything else. Trouble’s on the ground now. We burst through the side gate and forge on down the driveway.

  Thirty seconds, my mind screams. Thirty seconds.

  I pause when we reach the street and then head right. We need to get to the main road, get a car and get out of here.

  “How far do we have to be?” Kean yells, running up along side me.

  “I don’t know!” We hit Centre Road at top speed and turn left, heading away from Arcadium. The night is alive with the sound of running footsteps. They almost sound like rain, the way our soles patter the bitumen with abandon.

  “We should take cover!” Kean yells. “Now, before the blast!”

  We weave through silent cars, following the small torch beam through the darkness.

  “Florence!” Kean yells again. “Take cover,”

  With just seconds left, I dive behind a car and drag Liss with me. Kean waits for the others. I pull Trouble down and hold him, just in case he tries to get up.

  I glance up. Kean’s just about to crouch down, and I feel the blast before I hear it. It’s like a wind snapping out, surging under and over the car. I duck my head and pull Liss in tight. The windows shatter. The sky erupts with sound.

  It’s so sudden, like a deep vibrating thunderclap right inside my head. The roar subsides and my ears start ringing.

  Debris clatters to the ground around us: pieces of stone, shards of building. When I open my eyes the sky is blood red. I let Liss go and kneel behind the car, watching. A huge fireball burns up into the night. A cloud of caustic smoke spreads out in the wind, blocking out the stars.

  “Is everyone ok?” I say.

  Liss is standing now, wiping her face. Trouble shakes dust from his hair, and Henry is just sitting against the back of the car, staring out into the darkness. I follow his gaze and realise what he’s looking for. Kean is gone.

  I jump to my feet and take a few steps. “Kean?” I call.

  Nothing.

  “Where’s Kean? Henry, do you see him?” I spin about in case he’s off to one side. Liss and Trouble are watching me, s
lowly coming toward me.

  “Help me!” I scream. “Help me find Kean!”

  Liss starts calling out his name. Trouble hoists Henry up onto his back and they move between the cars, searching left and right. Where is he?

  I lead the way with the torch, swooping it low over the ground. When I last saw Kean he was standing over us… how far could he be now? How far could the blast propel him?

  “Kean!” I keep screaming. “Where are you?” I don’t care about being quiet anymore.

  How can we have come this far? After everything we’ve been through, this is how it ends? How can I accept that. I don’t even care if an infected person jumps out and attacks me right now. It wouldn’t matter. Maybe I’d just let it. Maybe I don’t want to be this fragile, knowing that if any thing happens to Kean, I can break this easily.

  “Kean!”

  We move together, looking back and forth. Trouble actually yells his name. I suppose it’s not hard to pick when we’ve screamed it a hundred times. But it’s the way Trouble says it that gets to me. It’s like he’s sifting through sand looking for a tiny piece of himself.

  Trouble’s the only one calling out now. Everyone else falls silent.

  “There!” Liss points to the right. And I see Kean’s crumpled body, pressed up against a car. He’s not moving.

  I run forward and skid to a stop beside him. I don’t know what to do, if I should touch him or leave him. Either way I have to do something. And I don’t think I can cause him any more damage, so I roll him over and touch his face.

  “Kean? Are you all right?”

  His eyes are closed, hiding his crystal green gaze. His lips sit perfectly still, slightly parted.

  “Is he dead?” Liss says.

  I listen for a breath, but can’t hear it over the flames and the yells and everyone else breathing. I watch Kean’s chest to see if it moves, but I’m shaking so much, I don’t trust my own eyes. I press my fingers to his neck, the neck that survived being almost strangled to death. I press them deeper, poke them about. Searching for a sign.

  Suddenly I can’t look at him anymore. I look up. Henry catches my gaze and stares me down, demanding to know what I know.

  What do I say?

  What do I say to him?

  To everyone.

  This is my fault. I led us into hell. I should have known we couldn’t all make it out.

  My mouth opens, tries to form words.

  And then Kean coughs.

  Shock snaps through me and I nearly jump out of my skin.

  Trouble kneels down. “Kean?” he says.

  Liss touches Kean’s foot and he groans. His lips pinch into a grimace but I don’t feel relief. Kean’s been thrown far. He could have any number on injuries that we can’t treat. Ones we can even see.

  Kean opens his eyes. They land straight on me. “What do you know, Trouble learnt a new word.” He coughs. “Second best word to know in the apocalypse.”

  “Can you sit up?” I say.

  Kean grabs my hand and hauls himself up. “That was some powerful blast… like being smacked in the face with a mallet.”

  Even though it’s a totally inappropriate response to have, I laugh. Trouble puts Henry down next to me and Henry bursts out laughing too. Liss breaks into a smile, looking between us.

  “I thought you were gone,” I say.

  Kean stares at me for a moment and smiles. “I told you I could be the hero. Just a few more times and I’ll be equal with you.”

  “We’re equal,” I say, shaking my head. “You can even be ahead.”

  A car rumbles to life and we all look over. Trouble is hanging out the driver’s side window doing a double thumbs-up. Kean gets to his feet slowly, clutching my hand. I grab Liss around the shoulders and Trouble comes back to pick up Henry.

  “I feel like we should be doing some kind of epic slow motion walk away,” Kean says.

  “Yeah,” Henry says, stretching to see over Trouble’s shoulder. “With all the burning buildings in the background and ACDC as the soundtrack.”

  We pile into the car. Kean and Trouble sit up front; Liss, me and Henry sit in the back. Henry grabs the driver’s seat headrest as the car begins to move and pulls himself forward. “I’m going to need another wheelchair, guys.”

  Kean leans his head back. “I’m sure there’s an old folk’s home around here somewhere.”

  “I don’t want old people wheels.” Henry grins. “I need light performance materials. I need cool.”

  Kean shifts slightly and grimaces. “For picking up all the chicks?”

  Henry and Kean keep shooting witty comments back and forth. Liss yawns and I rub some dirt or something off her forehead.

  “So how far is it from here?” she asks.

  I want to answer with an eye roll but I just put my arm around her. “Not far, this time. Promise.”

  I lean forward and point for Trouble. “That way.”

  “Where are we going?” Henry asks. “It’s not another Arcadium, is it?”

  I look over and shake my head. “No. No way.” I draw in a breath. “No one’s going to look after us but ourselves. We’ll make our own sanctuary and wait until the world catches up.”

  “That sounds better.” Henry sits back. “Hey, we’re going to need new threads too, these are so uncool. White does nothing for my complexion.”

  I glance down at Liss and she giggles. I lean my cheek on the top of her head and close my eyes.

  I can’t believe we’re alive, all of us.

  We made it across Melbourne, through infected hordes. Into Arcadium. Out of Arcadium. We started out as strangers from different corners, different worlds, and then we gave each other a reason to live. We gave each other hope.

  And even though we find ourselves on the open road again, heading into the dark unknown, I’m not afraid. Yeah, there are infected people out there still, but everything I need is right here. And whatever happens next is probably supposed to be the happily ever after. But whatever.

  Epilogue

  LISS AND I sit on the swing together, and I swear her laugh is contagious. Her purple dress floats with each sway, and her bare feet dangle over the wooden balcony. Above us, the trees creak in a soft breeze. The sun trickles through the leaves, making her hair sparkle. We swing back and this time when we swoop forward, I step off.

  My bare feet connect with the wooden balcony and I can’t tell you how nice it is to have the luxury of not wearing shoes all the time.

  Trouble is leaning on the balcony, staring out into the forest. He looks at me as I pass by and gives me one of his sunshine smiles. “Hi,” he says.

  “Hi.” I smile back.

  Liss calls to him and Trouble walks over. He gives the swing a big push and she cheers. Henry is behind them, trying to lure birds onto the balcony rail with crushed M&Ms.

  The leaves above us brush against one another, sounding something like running water. They sprinkle golden afternoon light across us like glitter.

  “Lunch!” Kean steps out of the house wearing a white t-shirt, jeans and an apron with tongs tucked into the front pocket. He’s holding a plate of baked beans and something wrapped up in tin foil. “I’m just going to fire up the barbie.”

  “What is it?” I say wrapping my arm around his torso. He leans in close and kisses me. It doesn’t matter how many times he does it, it still makes my heart go wacky.

  “Damper bread.” He grins and sets down the plate. “A true Aussie bush meal.”

  A strong gust of wind sways the house gently. It’s on stilts, on the side of a hill, so it happens sometimes. You get used to it. I always remember the Dandenong Ranges as a nice quiet place in the normal times, so I couldn’t think of anywhere better to be now. It’s about an hours drive from the gutted Arcadium site, and far enough away from the city that we hardly ever see any infected.

  We have beds and rainwater tanks and even have warm baths sometimes, if we can be bothered to boil pots of water. We have the barbecue too, and
all these extra gas canisters to heat our food, so we’re doing pretty well.

  “Hey guys!” Henry whispers as loud as he can. “Liss, Trouble. Look.”

  Trouble pulls the swing to a stop and they both look over. Henry has managed to bribe a green and orange parrot-looking bird into sitting on the railing. Liss creeps over to Henry, trying not to startle the bird, and she drags Trouble along with her.

  Trouble kneels next to Henry and Liss sits on his knee. They stare at this bird with so much wonder you’d think they’ve never seen one before.

  “What are you going to call him?” Liss says.

  Henry looks thoughtful. “I’ll call him Robert.”

  “That’s a terrible name,” Liss giggles. “And it might be a girl. Call her Helly.”

  “But what if it’s a boy?”

  “Then call it… Ro… He. Ooh, I know. Hero!”

  “Yeah, Hero. I like that.” Henry nods. “Good birdy, birdy, Hero. Eat your M&Ms.”

  Kean just laughs, kisses my forehead and moves onto the barbecue. “You guys want to ask Hero if it likes damper?” he calls, as he puts down the plate.

  I wander over to see if I can help Kean, but all I seem to do is distract him from the task at hand.

  I like this place. It’s quiet, I mean, we haven’t seen an infected person in months and I feel safe here. It’s kind of like living in a tree house. And there’s a stream near by so we have everything we need to survive. We could stay here forever.

  Kean steps in behind me and curls his arms around my waist. He rests his head on my shoulder and I snuggle into him.

  “I love you,” he says, loud enough for the others to hear.

  Liss and Henry turn around and start giggling.

  “I love you, too!” Liss squeals.

  “Oh, sweetie pie,” Henry says, in a lady-like voice. “I love you.”

  “Love, love, love.” Liss starts blowing exaggerated kisses to us. “Mwah, mwah, mwah!”

  I look at Kean.

  Seriously, siblings can be so annoying sometimes.

  Kean grins and plants a soft kiss on my lips.

  I know the infection is still out there, wreaking havoc and destruction across my country. It may never end.

  But I also believe that out there, somewhere, someone is searching for a cure. They’ll never stop. Don’t get me wrong, I’d like a cure, but if it doesn’t happen, then I think this is enough for me.

  This is my cure.

  # End of Book One #

  About the Author

  Born and raised in New Zealand, Sarah Gray spent her teenage years in Australia, where she raced go-karts, studied graphic design and then sports management, before deciding that all along she’d just wanted to be a novelist. After studying professional writing and editing in Melbourne, Sarah ended up in England where she now resides in the ever rainy Lake District working as an outdoor activity instructor and writing in her spare moments.

  Thanks

  I’d like to offer a most heartfelt thank you to you, the reader, for taking a chance on this book. Without you there would be no writers. Without you there would be no independent publishing opportunities for artists like me. Without you the world would be a pretty boring place.