by Russ Watts
“Something like that,” Kate said. She had said it impulsively and regretted it now. She had never had as much stamina as her husband for drink. They had met in a wine bar twelve months ago, been married six months ago, and drunk through pretty much the whole thing since. Any thoughts of having children she had given up on a long time ago. Even if they’d decided to have kids, Philip spent so much time drinking that they rarely made love anymore, so it would be a long time coming.
“Well, I thought it was a good idea.” Philip got up and walked over to the window. Ten floors below him was the plaza.
“They’re still there, those things. Those bloody infected things. Christ, what a disgrace. I tell you, Kate, coming here was the best bloody idea you’ve ever had. Apart from marrying me, of course.” He continued staring at the streets below.
“Philip, don’t you think we should try to do something today?”
“Like what? Fight back like the army did? You saw how that turned out yesterday.” Philip turned around and looked around the bar. It had been set up as a place to wine and dine clients. The office on the other side of the floor was completely separate from this area. If you didn’t know better, you would think you were in a fine dining restaurant in the city.
“Look at this place, Kate. It’s perfect. We’ve got enough food and booze to last us ages. I’m not going to try and fight off a thousand of those bloody...chavs downstairs, when I can wait up here for someone else to sort the damn mess out. This is Armani you know,” he said pointing at the suit he wore.
“Like who, Philip? Who is going to sort this? You just said so yourself, the army crashed and burned, much like the Akuma Insurance people.” Kate looked wistfully out at the burning building opposite. It was starting to burn itself out. The flames were subsiding although the black plumes of smoke still ascended from the building’s orifices.
“Look, I don’t know, the government will sort something out.
The Tories can’t fuck this one up. If they lose the city, its game over. No, they’ll do something. I’m not pussying out like the chasers over at Akuma.”
Kate physically cringed. She hated it when Philip referred to them as chasers. Anyone who worked in the Insurance building was one, he said, just another grease-ball climbing the slippery pole, chasing the money. Anyone like that ended up working in the Akuma building. He seemed to think that what he did was somehow superior to them, as if he wasn’t chasing after money day and night himself.
“Have some respect, Philip. You think they would’ve jumped if there was any other way out?”
He shrugged his shoulders. “So what then? You can take the fire escape if you like, but I don’t think you’ll get far. No, you’re better off waiting it out up here with me.” Philip walked back around the bar and found a packet of peanuts. He threw one over to Kate. “Breakfast?”
“Shush, hang on, I hear something,” she said tossing the peanuts away.
“Oh come on, darling, I...”
“Shush!” Kate stood up and glared at him. It was not a face he was used to and he shut up. Maybe she had heard something; they listened and then he heard it too: footsteps.
Philip picked up an empty wine bottle and held it by the neck over his shoulder, ready to strike.
“It’s coming from the stairwell. Maybe it’s help?” said Kate, cheering up as she walked over to the door.
“Maybe,” said Philip warily. Kate pushed open the door and disappeared. Philip heard talking and waited. His wife did not come back and he counted the seconds.
“Kate?” He went over to the door and raised the wine bottle higher. The door abruptly opened and Kate came through followed by two figures.
“Philip, we’re not as alone as we thought. This is Benzo and Michelle. They’re from floor sixteen.”
Philip dropped the bottle to the floor, embarrassed, and shook their hands.
* * * *
Jenny had managed to swap with Benzo, grateful that she wouldn’t have to go far. He had agreed to swap with her and now she only had to do floors thirteen to fifteen with Dina. Both were larger ladies and stairs were alien to them. It had taken them an hour to go through floors fifteen and fourteen, coming up with surprisingly little. There were fridges on both, and they’d grabbed a loaf of bread and a tub of butter encrusted with sticky jam residue. Other than that, they had turned up nothing of value. They were just carbon copy floors of their own: endless rows of computers and telephones, square desks and shiny screens.
“I’m worried about Amber,” said Jenny to Dina as they approached the thirteenth floor.
“Who’s that?” said Dina.
“Blonde girl, really pretty. Sits next to Brad?”
“Oh, yeah.” Dina was not much of a conversationalist - which was not ideal, considering she worked in a call centre. Jenny didn’t care much for her to be honest; she was a cat person and Dina was a dog person. There was never going to be any love lost between them. Dina was an institution at Fiscal. She had worked there almost thirty years, starting a year after Jackson, and her bob of white hair was as familiar as anything in the office. She had seen many blonde bimbos come and go over the years.
“I haven’t seen her today, have you? I hope she’s all right.” Jenny coughed and pushed open the door to floor thirteen, leaving the cold stairwell behind.
“She’ll be fine,” said Dina. “I’m more worried about what’s in here. It’s a bit spooky.”
Jenny looked at her frowning. “Why?”
“Floor thirteen isn’t it. It’s unnatural.” Jenny wasn’t the only one who found Dina odd. Apart from an overzealous passion for dogs, her other passion was God. Jenny knew she went to church religiously, never missing a service. Her husband had died many years ago and since then, there had been only one other man in her life: Jesus.
On the desks at work, Jill allowed them one photo. Jenny had a picture of her cats. Rob had a picture of David Beckham. Parker had a picture of Victoria Beckham, and Amber a picture of her parents. Dina had a picture of Jesus on the cross: now that was just weird.
“Let’s just find the kitchen and get out of here. This is the last one and then we can get back upstairs,” said Jenny, not wanting to draw her colleague any further on why floor thirteen should be unnatural. She knew it was likely to lead to a cross-examination of Jenny’s moral and religious beliefs and she really couldn’t be bothered with it all right now.
They found the kitchen and began examining the draws and cupboards. Jenny found a packet of mint chocolate biscuits and popped one in her mouth. It was only fair: she’d been up and down those stairs for the last hour.
Dina found a bag of salad in the fridge that had turned soggy. Jenny found a packet of cheap Japanese noodles and decided to take them back with her upstairs. Dina found some crisp light wafers and put them back. You can’t eat cardboard, she muttered to herself.
“What are you doing?” A man appeared in the kitchen doorway, his booming voice startling the two women. Jenny shrieked and dropped the biscuits on the floor, whilst Dina grabbed a fork, the nearest thing to hand, and brandished it in front of her.
“Who are you people?” the man demanded again. Jenny looked him up and down. The man held a long mop above his head. He was dark and swarthy, but he wasn’t dressed like the others. His clothes were dirty and he seemed to be wearing an overall of some sort. With her pounding heart slowly calming down, she managed to speak.
“We’re from floor sixteen. We were just looking for some food. I’m Jenny and this is Dina.”
Nobody moved and three sets of eyes glanced around from one to the other until the man laughed.
“Sorry, you can put the fork down, darling, you just spooked me,” he said. The man took a step into the kitchen and the women relaxed. He put the mop down, leaning it against the kitchen counter.
“I’m Reggie. So you’re from sixteen, eh? Are there many people left there?”
“Yes, well, no. There’s a few of us,” said Jenny as Dina put the fork
back on the counter. She just smiled at Reggie. In her world, she didn’t mix with such people. Nobody like this man attended her church group and she was quite happy about that.
“Well, I’m pleased to hear I’m not the last man on the planet,” Reggie said laughing. “Look, I’m sorry for jumping out at you, but I thought I was alone and I think you made me jump as much as I did you. Um, there’s not much food here I’m afraid. I was going to go downstairs to the café to see if I could find something actually. Do you want to come with me?”
“Thanks, but actually we’ve already sent someone down there,” said Jenny. Despite her initial shock, Reggie seemed a nice man. “So who are you exactly? I mean, no offence, but you don’t really look like you work here.”
“Coz I’m black?” he said. Reggie crossed his arms and frowned at her.
“Oh, no, oh goodness now, I mean, sorry, no not that...” stuttered Jenny. Dina looked down at her feet.
“Ha ha, I’m just messing with you! Ha!” Reggie’s laugh bellowed out and Jenny began to laugh too, relieved.
“I know, it’s my overall. I’m the janitor. I fix the lights, the wiring, just bits and bobs, you know.”
“Well, Reggie, if you want to come back up to sixteen with us, we’re gathering there and hopefully the others have had a bit more luck like finding some food.” Jenny held up a wilting, squashed loaf of bread.
“Thanks, don’t mind if I do. Been awful lonely here this last day.” He looked sad and Jenny touched his arm as she passed him by. Reggie plodded after Jenny to the stairwell and Dina picked up the fork before following: just in case, she thought.
* * * *
Brad stuffed Chloe into the closet next to Amber, promising himself that he would get rid of them soon. He knew it was risky leaving them around, but really, who was going to come snooping through broom cupboards and coat cupboards now? Tonight, he thought. Tonight he would sneak back up here, jimmy open a window, and dump them. Okay, he might have a little fun first, and then dump them. Who knew how long it would be before he got another chance. They could be stuck here for a long time.
He closed the door and the sunlight disappeared from Chloe’s and Amber’s faces. He rustled briefly through the kitchen and found some yoghurt. That’ll do, he thought, and slung the six-pack into the plastic bag with the biscuits he’d found earlier.
Before he left, he checked around one more time. He had scooped up Chloe’s clothes and buried them in a desk drawer. There was no evidence of a struggle and no sign that anyone had even been here. He hadn’t gotten this far by being messy. Brad re-entered the stairwell and heard the faint clip-clopping footsteps of his colleagues, searching up and down for food and water: idiots. He knew they wouldn’t find much. His suggestion of searching the building had just been a ruse to get some alone time. They’d get all the food they needed from the café.
Brad turned up the stairs and came face to face with Parker.
“Oh, hey, buddy, what did you find? Anything good?” asked Brad.
“Yeah, we got a decent bag full of sandwiches here. It’ll do for now. You?”
“Hi, Brad!” chirruped Jessica from behind Parker.
“Nothing, just this.” Brad showed Parker the bag of food, ignoring Jessica.
“Well we can help you, mate. You were checking eighteen weren’t you?” Parker said taking a step down toward the door.
“Yeah, no, thanks, buddy, but I’ve got it covered.” Brad stood in the doorway. “We searched everywhere, there’s nothing left, trust me.”
“All right, your call. Hey, where’s Chloe?”
Brad forced himself to smile. “She went on ahead of me back to sixteen. Said she needed the ladies.”
“I’ll go find her,” said Jessica pushing past them, down the stairs. From behind Jessica another figure appeared and Brad frowned.
“Who’s this, Parker?”
“Oh, shit, sorry, forgot to do the intro’s. Brad, this is Christina.” He stepped aside and Brad saw a woman in a dark business suit step out, offering her hand. She looked tired but trim. She was what, forty, forty five? Brad flashed her his best blue-eyed smile.
“Morning, ma’am,” he said briskly shaking her hand. He tried not to let the surprise show when she grasped his hand back and shook it vigorously. No limp fish here, no sir.
“Brad.” She said his name in a monotone voice; as if she was seeing him but not all there. He let go of her hand.
“She all right, buddy?” asked Brad as they continued together downstairs back to sixteen.
“Yeah, I think so. We found her on the top floor. Her office was a mess and I don’t think she’s eaten much in the last twenty four hours.” Parker looked over his shoulder at Christina. She was holding onto the bannister, looking down at her feet, not paying any attention to the two men in front of her.
“Another mouth to feed, huh? Hope Benzo got something tasty from the cafe, buddy.” Brad walked on ahead and Parker sighed. Sometimes Brad could be a real dick.
“Come on, Christina,” said Parker. He took her hand and guided her down the steps toward floor sixteen.
* * * *
Jackson walked back into the office on floor sixteen and saw everybody was sat around in the centre of the office. Some were on chairs, others just lying across the floor or draped over bags. It was like they were at home now, all pretensions of office etiquette long gone. He and Troy had not turned up much of use. Troy retreated to a corner of the room on his own, leaving Jackson alone. They had hardly talked the whole time they were searching. Jackson went into the kitchen to see what they had managed to amass so far. There was a reasonable selection and it would probably last them another day. But then what, he thought.
He ran his hands under the tap and splashed water over his face. What on earth would his wife be thinking now? Poor Mary; she wasn’t used to being on her own. Jackson tried to send his thoughts through the air to his beloved wife: lock yourself in and don’t try to come looking for me. I’ll be home soon as I can, honey. Just stay safe, please, stay safe.
He used a paper towel to dry himself and went back into the office. Now, he looked again and noticed some new faces. So they had found more than just food and drink. There was a couple, looking very tired, sat on a couple of chairs. Then there was an older woman in a suit and a man in overalls. Twenty five floors and that’s it? There must’ve been over two thousand people working in this building and they were all that was left? He couldn’t see Jill; she must still be hiding in her office. Jackson sat down and listened to the conversation going on.
“The foyer was scary, I tell you,” said Tom. He was holding court whilst the others sat around him. It was as if he was telling a story around the campfire, thought Jackson.
“There’s certainly no way out through the front door. They’re packed right up against the door and the walls. It’s like being an animal at the zoo. They’re just staring in at us; watching us watching them. When Freddy and I moved, they moved with us. They were biting and scratching and kicking, thousands of them, fighting to get in, to get to us. They obviously know we’re in here.”
“Or there’s nowhere else they want to go,” said Parker absently.
“Maybe they want do the filing,” said Brad. Nobody laughed. Jackson fought the urge to wipe the smirk from Brad’s face.
“I hate to say it, but there’s nobody alive out there,” said Tom. “Not in the plaza at least.”
“Figured as much,” said Reggie sucking his teeth. “I ain’t seen much of the world with these eyes, but I know death when I see it.”
“Anyway,” said Tom as he went on, “Freddy and I tried the reception phones but they’re all dead, just like ours. So we decided to try and find security, see if we could find their office or something. There was a door behind reception so we did some exploring. There are lots of smaller rooms down there, probably for building management or admin’ or something. We almost got lost down there, it’s like a rabbit warren. Behind one, there was an almighty
thumping, like something was trapped in there.”
“Or someone,” said Caterina.
“Well, we tried opening the door but it was locked. We asked if there was anyone in there but nobody answered. The banging went on and on, and in the end, we gave up. At least if it’s locked, whatever is in there can’t get out.”
“So how did Freddy get hurt?” said Jenny. Jackson looked around the group and noticed that Freddy wasn’t there. His stomach turned over.
“Well, we found a room that led to another stairwell, separate from the one we’ve been using. We went down and at the bottom, another door led into an underground car park. It was dark, really dark. We called out, but it was empty. Nobody answered us. There are a couple of cars down there but otherwise it’s empty. Well, sort of.
“We were about to leave when Freddy shouted something, which I won’t repeat, but it involved a lot of words starting with f and s. I turned around and he was dancing up and down on the spot like a bloody madman. He kicked his legs around and a rat flew out of his trouser leg.”
“Jesus, a rat? Ugh.” Kate sunk deeper into Philip’s arms.
“The rat flew back against the wall, then it just got up and ran straight back at Freddy. He managed to kick it away and it came back again.”
“Are you sure it was a rat?” said Parker. “They don’t usually attack humans and if they’re cornered like that, they would probably run the other way, not keep attacking.”
“Well, this rat obviously likes to be different,” said Tom. “Freddy stomped on it until it finally stopped moving. I tried shooing it away but I had nothing to help with. We were stupid. We should have gone prepared and taken a weapon, a knife or something.”
“It wasn’t your fault, Tom,” said Parker. He thought about Cindy lying in the meat locker downstairs.
“Well, the bastard’s bitten Freddy badly. His leg has got some nasty bites on it. He’s in the bathroom now trying to wash the wounds. We found a first aid kit and there was some kind of cream in it.”