by Ryan Casey
Keep Kesha safe.
“I’m going to keep you safe,” Riley whispered. “I promise. I’m going to keep you safe.”
“No,” a voice said.
Riley spun around.
Mattius was standing by the door.
He was holding a canister of gasoline in one hand, and a lit match in the other.
He was sweating. He looked at Riley, bottom lip twitching, much more rage-filled and vengeful than when they’d last met. He didn’t look totally there. And that scared Riley. It scared him because there was no guessing what he might do. What lengths he might go to.
“Mattius—”
“You aren’t going to keep her safe,” Mattius said. “And you aren’t going anywhere with her. Because she’s mine now.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Riley looked at Mattius.
Mattius looked back at Riley.
Riley held Kesha in his arms.
Mattius held a canister of gasoline in one hand and a lit match in the other.
He had poured some of that gasoline all around the doorway and in the entrance of the room.
“This place will go up in flames,” Mattius said. “You don’t know how it feels to go up in flames. Do you?”
Riley’s jaw shook. He saw that Amy, Melissa, and Carly had their weapons raised. And as much as he wanted them to take down Mattius, he couldn’t take any risks. He nodded at them to lower them. They sighed and obliged.
He looked back at Mattius, right into his eyes. “This doesn’t have to end this way,” he said.
“No,” Mattius said. “No, you’re right about that, Riley. You’re totally right about that. There’s a way it can end much better for both of us. For all of us. And that’s by you handing Kesha back to me. Right this second.”
Riley felt his chest tightening, a sickly taste filling his mouth. He’d come so close to saving Kesha, to getting her out of here. Now here he was. Pinned back by Mattius.
And a Mattius who was threatening to burn this whole place down if Riley didn’t hand Kesha over.
“You’re not going to drop that match,” Riley said.
Mattius’ eyes narrowed. “And how can you be so sure about that?”
The words Riley was searching for were hard to reach. But deep down, he believed them. In spite of everything Mattius had done, everything he had proved himself capable of, he believed them. “Because… because you care. About Kesha.”
Their eyes met then. It was a strange moment. Like shaking hands with the enemy. Finding common ground that made them both seem more human to one another.
And it was then too that Riley saw things from Mattius’ perspective. He saw the things he’d done to Mattius’ people. He saw the people he’d killed.
He saw Mattius’ viewpoint.
“I care about Kesha,” Mattius said, his voice breaking. “You’re right about that.”
“Then put out the match and let us leave this place.”
“And what? Send her out there into that world outside?”
“She’s safe with us.”
“See I don’t think she is safe with you, Riley. I mean, we got to you. We got to you, and we took her. If we could do it—and we’re good people—then it breaks my heart to think of some of the bad people out there. What they might do to her.”
That was another moment where realisation dawned on Riley. Mattius didn’t think he was the bad guy. He didn’t think his people were the enemy.
He was just as concerned about Kesha as Riley was.
“I hate you,” Riley said. “For what you did. To Jordanna. You know, she was an amazing woman. So caring. She was like a mother to Chloë. But more than that, she was a leader. When I couldn’t be strong, she was there. When I fell, she pulled me back up. She was my moral compass. And you took her away. You took her away just to get to me.”
“And I’d do it again in a heartbeat after what you did to my people,” Mattius said.
“Then there’s Chloë,” Riley said, trying not to let his instinctive emotional reaction to Mattius’ words get to him. “She… I’d known her since the start. She was scared, at first. Then she forced herself to grow up. She lost her sister. Then her mum. Then she—she killed someone. Killed someone very close to all of us. And God knows what life was like when she was out there on her own, but it changed her. In some ways for the worse. In others, for the better. But she came back. She came back from the bad things she’d done, and she kept this little girl safe. Did you know that? Did you know how fucking far she went to keep this little girl safe?”
Mattius’ eye contact dropped. For the first time, it dropped. And Riley sensed that he was thinking through his actions.
“Yes, I killed your people. Yes, I burned down your fucking camp. And I’m sorry. Truly. But this right now isn’t right. Kesha’s special. You know she’s special. We both do. So the fact you’re standing there with a match threatening to burn this place down rather than have her survive somewhere else says everything I need to know. And I’ll fight. If I have to die to keep her alive, I will. But I’m done with you. I’m not fighting you anymore.”
Mattius looked back up at Riley. For a moment, Riley saw that understanding there again. “When my wife was dying, she told me her one biggest regret was that I wasn’t able to reproduce,” he said. “It hurt me. Ate up at my soul, as the cancer ate away her body. And when she finally went away, I felt so alone. I couldn’t help thinking of what she’d said, and it tore me up completely.”
“We all have our demons.”
“You’re right. I killed those two people. But you killed my people. And you’re right. I care about Kesha. But you’re right about something else, too. I’d see Kesha die before she left this place with you. Because I believe this is the only place she can be safe. So you hand her over or you die. Right here. We all do. What’s it going to be?”
Riley looked at Amy, Melissa, and Carly again. Everything they’d fought for. Everything they’d battled so hard for.
All of it coming to a head, right here.
He looked down at Kesha, then. She stared back up at him with those big eyes and that smile on her face.
“Do what you think’s right.”
He heard that voice somewhere behind him. Or maybe to his left, or right.
But there was no mistaking who that voice belonged to.
It was Chloë’s voice.
“Do what you think’s right. For Kesha.”
Riley started shaking then. Because he knew what was right for Kesha. He’d seen what lengths Mattius would go to in order to protect her.
Despite his sins—despite his evils—he was fighting for her.
He cared about her.
He let go of a deep breath and walked towards Mattius, Kesha in his arms.
The closer he got, the more Mattius lifted that match, threatening to drop it, the more uncertain Mattius looked.
And soon enough, they were just inches from one another, Riley looking into Mattius’ eyes, Mattius looking back into his.
“Take her,” Riley said, his voice breaking. He could barely look at Kesha anymore.
Mattius opened his mouth. Then he closed it again, like he couldn’t actually comprehend what was happening.
Riley held Kesha out. “Take her. Keep her safe. I’ll know if you don’t. I promise to God; I’ll know if you don’t.”
Mattius went to put the match out. Then he stopped. He stopped, right before putting it out.
“Let’s see how serious you are about that,” he said.
He dropped the match.
“No!”
The doorway went up in flames.
Mattius stepped back, then. He stepped out into the corridor, as fire stretched up the wooden sides of the door, heat spreading into this room.
“Throw her,” Mattius said.
Riley looked at the flames stretching all around. He didn’t have long to make a decision. If he didn’t act fast, he’d burn in here. They all would.
Th
ere was still a gap to get Kesha through.
“Throw her!” Mattius said. “If you’re serious about saving her, save her!”
It was at that moment that Riley did what he knew he had to do. The hardest decision he’d ever had to make.
He looked down at Kesha, his eyes filling with tears.
“I’m sorry.”
He kissed her head.
Saw Chloë and Jordanna watching him with uncertainty and disappointment all over again.
Then he threw her towards Mattius.
He watched her pass through the doorway. He saw her move by the flames. And for an awful moment, he thought she wasn’t going to make it; that the throw wasn’t enough.
Then she landed in Mattius’ arms.
He looked at Kesha. Then he looked up at Riley.
“Now you’ll know how it feels,” he said, his voice quivery. “Now you’ll know how it really feels. To burn.”
“Mattius!”
But it was too late.
Mattius was gone.
Kesha was gone.
He didn’t know what to do, as the flames stretched around the doorway, as they crept up the walls. The smoke was thickening. Soon, this whole room would be engulfed, and they had nowhere to go.
“Riley,” Amy said.
“We need to find a way out of here.”
“Riley.”
“The window. Or out of a vent or—”
“Riley!”
Amy’s shout snapped Riley out of his trance.
It was then that he saw she wasn’t even looking at him. Neither was Carly. Or Melissa.
All of them, despite the flames teasing their imminent death, were looking outside.
“What is it?” Riley said. “What…”
When he looked out of the window, he saw it, and he understood.
“What do… what do we do?” Carly asked.
Riley didn’t know what to say. None of them knew what to say.
All they could do was watch.
There was a crowd of undead.
Only this crowd of undead was bigger than the horde he’d seen a week ago.
It was at least twice as big.
Stretching out as far as the eye could see.
They just stood there as the creatures reached the walls.
They stood there as they pressed right up against the walls, the force of them going back as far as they could see.
And they stood there as the walls creaked and collapsed with ease, and the thousand strong army of undead moved inside.
EPISODE FORTY-SIX
IN WAVES
(FOURTH EPISODE OF SEASON EIGHT)
PROLOGUE
She felt the splitting pain in her skull, but there was nothing she could do about it.
Everything around her was blurry. There was ringing in her ears. Harsh, loud ringing that went beyond anything she’d ever heard before. She tasted a combination of two things, sick and blood. And in the pit of her stomach, she knew that she was in danger, and that something was coming her way.
But she was stuck here.
There wasn’t a thing she could do about it.
She watched him drift further and further out of her line of sight. She’d heard him when he stood over her. She’d listened to every word he’d said, not really taking them in but still hearing the sounds as they came out of his mouth. She wanted to hear his voice forever. It made her feel at ease and more comfortable about everything.
But she knew what was happening to her.
She knew this was the end.
She felt the warm blood pool out of the side of her head. She’d taken a hit. Just one. But it’d knocked her right in the skull. She could taste the blood on her lips, and she knew that it’d be the last thing she tasted.
She was going to die here.
She just had to hope she died before the staggering silhouette reached her position.
She closed her eyes, then, and she realised she couldn’t see through one of them anyway. It was blackened out, as if she’d lost her sight in it.
Not that it mattered, not anymore.
She just hoped everything else blackened soon, too.
Rather that than die at the hands of the undead.
Rather that than be torn apart and turned into a monster.
But when she opened her eyes again, she realised she could still interpret her surroundings. She realised she was still alive, which meant there was still a chance for her life to be taken away by one of the undead.
She cried as she thought of everyone she’d known, everyone she’d loved, and watched the silhouette stagger closer.
She smelled it right above her. She could hear its groans, even though they were out of focus.
She held her breath and readied herself for the end…
WHEN SHE OPENED her eyes the next time, she wasn’t where she expected to be.
It was dark. She was being rushed somewhere by two people. Maybe more. It felt like she was floating; floating through the car park, away from the breached fences and gates.
She felt herself floating and she became more at ease about this whole situation. At least she wasn’t going to die by zombie. That was something that, if fully awake, she might’ve laughed at.
But she didn’t have the energy, and she didn’t have the strength. So all she could do was float. All she could do was fly and imagine she was soaring above the waves, just like she had when times were good…
WHEN SHE NEXT OPENED HER eyes, she was completely still.
She was lying in a bed. It was a single bed in a cosy little room. She could hear wind whistling outside, and somewhere else inside this building, she could smell food cooking. It smelled like meat.
She lifted her head but instantly regretted doing so. It sent a splitting, agonising pain right through her skull, enough to knock her back down to her pillow. She could still taste blood on her lips. And in truth, she figured she might be able to taste blood on her lips for the rest of her life.
A reminder of what had happened.
A memory of the moment everything changed.
She heard footsteps then and they made her tense up. She didn’t know who was coming. She didn’t know what to expect. And she didn’t know how much had changed since she’d fallen asleep. She didn’t even know how long she’d been out.
“Who—who is that?” she said, but her voice was croaky. It even hurt to talk.
Yet still she persisted.
“Who’s out there. Please…”
When the man walked into her room, she recognised him. Only vaguely admittedly, but she remembered his smile. He was one of the members of her group. Cameron, she thought. Or maybe Calvin.
“Well, it’s nice to see you awake,” he said.
She leaned forward and looked around. It was then that she realised she had a bandage around her head and a white patch over her left eye. She reached for it.
“Hey, hey,” the man—Cameron or Calvin—said. “You want to leave that for a while. It took us hours of work to get the bullet shrapnel out of it and stitch it up. Unfortunately you… your eye didn’t make it. I’m sorry. And there’s still risk of infection. But you’re here. You’re still here.”
She didn’t know how to take that news. Mixed emotions, really. It was shock, more than anything. “How… how long have…”
“Six days,” he said. “You’ve been awake, on and off, but I don’t think you’ll have much memory. That’s something else. Your memory. It might be affected for a while. A kind of reaction to the trauma. The brain’s a wonderful thing. Finds these amazing ways of protecting us from some of the hard crap we’ve been through.”
“The others,” she said. “The—the rest of the people here. Are they…”
Cameron or Calvin looked down then, visibly gulping. “Not many of us left.”
“And my—”
“None of your people left. I’m sorry.”
She felt her stomach turn, then. She’d been with her people since the very
start. The thought that she was going to be made to restart all over again churned her up inside.
“We don’t know for sure who’s dead and who isn’t, except the ones whose bodies are out there. Or the ones who turned, you know? Some might’ve fled. Shit, the wise ones probably did. But I’m sorry. This is just… this is just how it is now. At least you’re still here. At least we both are.”
She closed her eyes—or eye—and felt the burning pain spread through her body. Even though she’d been asleep for so long, she still felt tired. Totally exhausted.
Cameron or Calvin walked over to her. He put a hand on her shoulder. “You rest up,” he said. “Take your time. We’re not moving anywhere. This is what we’re left with now.”
He walked out of the room and left her alone again.
Alone with her thoughts.
Alone with her loss.
She reached for the necklace on her neck, out of habit more than anything.
When she found it wasn’t there, she cried.
CHAPTER ONE
Riley stared at the swarm of undead powering its way inside Mattius’ camp and he knew their day was probably numbered.
The afternoon sun was getting low, further illuminating this oncoming crowd. As far as Riley could see, there was a wave of creatures. He knew the safest thing was probably to batten down the hatches and hold down this hotel right now, taking shelter inside. But that wasn’t as easy done as it was said.
Because behind, Riley could smell the burning, and he could feel the heat from the fire growing more intense.
“Right now would be a good time for any grand ideas anyone might have,” Melissa said.
Riley listened to the deafening groans of the creatures as they swarmed towards the camp, a whole sea of them. And something made him wonder. He remembered what happened when Tamara—bless her—had been pregnant. The kindness the Orions had shown to her, all because she was pregnant.
Then he remembered something Chloë said to him a long, long time ago.