by Ryan Casey
How the Orions had let Kesha live.
What if there was something in Kesha’s bloodstream—the cure, or whatever it was—that was drawing the creatures to their position like the holy grail?
What if Kesha really was the key to everything?
He turned around then, taking a deep lungful of air. He knew he wouldn’t get many chances to do that, not now the smoke was thickening. He looked back at the door, at the flames wrapped around it. There was no going through there, not now. That opportunity was gone.
“Check the bathroom,” Riley said, pointing over to the right. “Check every single window. There has to be another way out.”
He saw the uncertainty on Amy, Melissa and Carly’s faces. He saw they doubted his judgement, just like they’d doubted him back at Amy’s camp when he’d been gunning for revenge against Mattius.
Things had changed.
This was about getting out of here with everyone’s life intact.
This was about saving Kesha.
He pointed to the bathroom. “Everyone. In the bathroom. Now!”
He saw the three of them head over to the bathroom and he found himself looking back again. He saw himself looking at those creatures, moving in waves.
A whole army of them. He wondered how long they’d taken to grow so large. He wondered how many of them there really were, and where they’d all come from.
One thing was for sure. They didn’t have the strength or the means to fight them.
They just had to make sure they didn’t die.
“I think there might be a way here.”
When Riley heard Carly’s voice, he immediately joined them in the bathroom. It was cramped, and the smoke was thickening in the room. It’d be a matter of minutes before the entire room was engulfed.
He looked back and he saw Kesha’s cot, the flames inching closer to it.
“I’ll get you back,” he said. “I promise.”
Then he closed the bathroom door.
Carly was standing on the toilet. She was struggling to wrench open a window. Beyond the window, there was nothing but darkness.
“Must be one of those creepy areas between rooms,” Melissa said. “There should be staircases. Emergency exit kind of things.”
“Yeah, well there better be stairs,” Carly said, “or we’ve got a long way to drop.”
Riley tried to climb onto the toilet for a better look. He could feel the bathroom getting warmer, some of the smoke sneaking under the door in spite of the towels Amy had placed there. “Need a hand?” he asked Carly.
“I’ve got it.”
“Are you sure you—”
“I’ve got it, okay? We managed before you came along. We’ll manage when you’re gone, too.”
Riley lifted his hands in defeat. “Okay. Okay. Just make sure you get on with—”
The window smashed, and the glass fell all over Riley and the others.
Carly looked at Riley and smiled. He’d jumped so much he’d almost fallen off the toilet. “Told you I had it,” she said.
They all cleared the window ledge of as much loose glass as they could. When they were done, the bathroom now fully smoky and choking everyone, he helped Carly climb onto the ledge.
“You see any stairs?”
“Yeah,” she said. “There’s some. Bit of a drop down. A floor or so. But we can make it.”
“I appreciate your faith, kid. But now’s the time to hurry.”
“See you on the other side,” she called.
One moment she was there, the next, she was gone.
Riley held his breath and winced. He didn’t want to hear the sound of cracking bones.
He didn’t.
Instead, he heard a bump.
He waited for a few seconds, his eyes stinging, the smell of smoke growing even more intense.
“Carly?” Amy called.
A pause.
Then, “I’m okay. Come down!”
Riley nodded at Melissa then. She made her way through the window. Another painful few seconds, and then another successful drop.
Amy was next. She looked back at Riley like she was still doubtful of this plan.
“Come on,” he said. “It’s our only hope.”
She opened her mouth to respond. Then she coughed so was forced to nod. She didn’t say what she wanted to say. Riley hoped he’d still be around to hear what she had to say someday.
“Come on, Riley. Get down here. While there’s still time.”
Riley felt tears building in his eyes as he turned away from the window. Part of him knew what was going to happen. The escape door was locked where they were dropping to. He’d tested it on his way up.
But they were safe down there. They were secure.
“Riley, quick!”
Riley walked over to the door then. He felt the handle. It was lukewarm. Not too hot.
Which meant he still had a chance.
He lifted the towels and covered himself in a few of them.
And with the final one, he covered his mouth after taking a final deep breath.
Then he turned the handle.
“You stay safe,” he called out, in a muffled cry.
Then he turned the handle and headed out into the flames.
He knew where he had to go.
He knew what he had to do.
And he was doing it alone.
Nobody else was going to die for him.
Never again.
CHAPTER TWO
Mattius ran down the corridor towards the exit of the hotel, Kesha in his arms.
He could smell the smoke from above and immediately felt guilty about what he’d done. The danger he’d put Kesha in was unprecedented. He thought he cared about her. He thought he wanted the best for her. And he did. Really, he did.
But he hadn’t acted that way upstairs.
He’d acted like he didn’t give a shit either way.
As he ran further through the corridor towards the emergency fire exit, he heard footsteps behind him. He knew there weren’t many of his people left. Sure, forty had seemed a strong number before. But this wave of infected was unlike any other, crushing in its assault. He didn’t want to look over his shoulder and see who was coming his way. Or rather, what was coming his way.
He knew that already.
The undead.
He swallowed a lump in his throat as he made his final paces towards that emergency exit. He looked down at Kesha. She was wailing, pretty damned loud. Part of Mattius wanted to reassure her and tell her that everything was going to be okay.
But another part of him wanted to put his hand over her mouth and quieten her once and for all.
What did that make him?
Did it make him the monster Riley claimed he was all along?
He reached the fire escape and pushed the handle.
The door didn’t budge.
A nauseating sensation pounded through his body. He tried the door again, but still it wouldn’t budge. Someone had locked it. He didn’t know why, but they had.
And because they’d locked it, Mattius was trapped.
He heard groans behind him. He didn’t want to look back, but much like when you see a “No Entry” sign, the first thing you have to do right away is wander on in.
He looked over his shoulder.
When he saw the crowd—and it was a crowd, make no mistake about that—of infected heading his way, Mattius didn’t know how to feel. He could try to hold them off, but he wouldn’t be able to keep all of them away. There were way too many of them for that.
Kesha’s cries grew louder.
“Be quiet, now,” Mattius said, trying to sound as reassuring as possible.
It was hard to be reassuring when the undead were literally filling the corridor to the brim. In fact, it was so full that some of the undead were being pushed up against the walls, the anti-life squeezed out of them, crushed under the weight of the collective crowd.
Kesha’s cries got even louder.
> Mattius took a step back and pressed against that fire escape once again. But still, it wasn’t moving.
Undead ahead of him.
A locked door behind him.
A fire roaring above him.
Kesha in his arms.
He couldn’t stay here. He had to think. Fast.
He looked to his right and saw a partly ajar door to a hotel room.
Then he looked back at the zombies. They were just ten metres or so away now, the smell of rot filling Mattius’ nostrils.
“Please let this work out,” Mattius whispered under his breath. He knew going into that room would be a gamble. There was a good chance he’d fail to find a way out. The window could be locked, or he might not fit through it, or the zombies might get to him before he even had the chance to escape.
But still he had to try.
“Please work out.”
The zombies were just five metres away.
Mattius held his breath.
He stepped away from the door and he ran into the room, Kesha bundled in his arms.
He felt the sharp fingertips of the infected scratch at him, trying to tear the coat off his back as he ran into that room. He slammed the door shut, pressed himself against it, then realised he didn’t have much time to sit around. He had to get to the window and he had to get out of here.
But he wasn’t alone.
“Mattius? Is that you?”
Mervin was sitting at the opposite side of the room. He was an old man, with bushy eyebrows and a wispy beard. He was going senile. But he was no harm to anyone. In fact, most of Mattius’ group liked having Mervin around. He might be going batshit crazy, but he was good for a game of chess against.
“Mervin,” Mattius said, trying to keep the composure to his voice. “We have to—”
“Come on in, fella,” Mervin said, standing from the edge of his twin bed and smiling. “Got some decent whisky ’ere for you to try.”
Mattius heard the bang against the door then, and it forced him to his feet. He hurried over to the window as the door banged some more, as the wood warped and started to split under the weight.
“Someone else here to join us?” Mervin asked.
“No,” Mattius shouted as he unclipped the window from its latches. “There’s…”
Then he had a thought. A horrible thought. One he wasn’t proud of.
“Actually, yeah,” Mattius said. “It’s a few of the lads. I told them to get down here for some of that whisky of yours. The expensive stuff.”
Mattius saw the smile creep up Mervin’s face and he couldn’t help feeling so, so guilty for what he was doing. “Then I’d better go let ’um in then, hadn’t I?”
He whistled as he wandered towards that door, not even noticing the changing shape of the woods, the roaring groan of the creatures.
Mattius wanted to tell Mervin to turn around. He wanted to tell him to come with him. But in the end, all he could say was: “I’m sorry.”
Mervin turned around and frowned, his hand on the door handle. “Sorry for wh—”
The door split apart.
Mattius saw the first zombie wrap its teeth around Mervin’s neck and tear a chunk of his flesh out.
He saw blood splatter up Mervin’s face, covering his glasses.
But before those glasses were covered, it was the look in Mervin’s eyes that stayed with him more than anything.
That look of betrayal.
As the zombies filled the room, distracted by Mervin’s fresh body, Mattius climbed out of the window, Kesha in his arms.
He dropped out onto the ground and ran down the alleyway beside the hotel. He had to find a safe place. He had to find a route that was suitable for…
When he got to the end of the alleyway, he saw his hopes weren’t going to be realised anytime soon.
His camp was filled with the undead.
The area in front of the cells. The food court. Even the vehicle garage.
Everywhere, filled to the brim.
He looked back up at his hotel, smoke pouring out of the window, and he felt a tear roll down his cheek.
This wasn’t his home anymore.
It couldn’t be his home anymore.
“Come on,” he said, tucking Kesha further under his arm, not wanting her to get harmed in any way. “I’m going to keep you safe. I promise.”
Then he stepped out into one of the rare clear parts of his camp, and he walked towards the fences.
CHAPTER THREE
Ricky and the woman—who still hadn’t revealed her name—made their way away from Ricky’s old camp to a place where the woman insisted was going to be safe. For now at least.
The afternoon sun was low, and already a night-time chill was setting in. The sun shimmered through the trees and reminded Ricky of those winter days he used to spend with his dog, Stevie. Especially the days he had off work. He’d drive up to Carnforth and walk Stevie all the way up and down Warton Crag. Looking back, Ricky realised those days were some of the best of his life, yet at the time they’d just seemed so everyday. So routine.
How the end of the world could change your perspective on everything.
He looked at the woman beside him. She had her hood back up again. He’d seen her eye, though. Something had happened to it, no doubt about that. She’d lost it in battle, and judging by the state of the wound, it’d happened since the outbreak.
She was lucky to still be alive; that was for sure.
“What’re you looking at?”
Ricky looked away. He didn’t know that the woman knew he was looking at her. And just hearing her talk was disorienting. She’d been so silent up till this point. “Just wondering if you’re ever going to introduce yourself.”
“I don’t see much point to introductions. Not anymore.”
“Not even a name?”
“What’s the point? I’m the only person around you right now. Not like you’re going to get me mixed up with anyone else, Ricky.”
Ricky saw her glance at him around the side of her hood. She shot a smile at him like she enjoyed knowing his name without him knowing hers. As if it put her at an advantage, somehow.
“What happened back there. With the woman you were burying…”
“She was my mother.”
“Well, I’m sorry for that,” she said. “Really, I am. But it’s a tough world. And in tough worlds, people do crazy things sometimes. It doesn’t make them bad people. Sometimes, they’re just… I dunno. Lost.”
Ricky thought about Mattius and the way he’d changed. And as much as he told himself Mattius was a good person, that he’d just got lost along the way, he couldn’t simply give him the benefit of the doubt. Not anymore. “Maybe so. But we are the decisions we make. If we aren’t defined by those, then what are we defined by?”
She glanced at Ricky again, like she was weighing him up; scanning him for his own losses, his own traumas. “It’s not always as simple as that.”
After a few more minutes of total, serene silence, Ricky decided to be the one to break it this time. “So how about you?”
“How about me?”
“Out here on your own. It can’t always have been that way.”
“Why? Because I’m a woman?”
“I didn’t mean it like that.”
“You men never do.”
“I’m just interested, that’s all. I want to know your story. I want to know I’m not talking with, like, a psychopathic serial killer, for example. I’ve pretty much had it up to my neck with those types.”
The woman chuckled a little. “You and me both.”
She didn’t answer Ricky's question. Not right away.
“I’ve been on my own a long time,” she said then. “At the start, there were others. Then something went down, as it always does in this world, and I lost them. Since then, there’s been people. The odd person here or there, just like you.”
“I don’t see anyone else with us now. Doesn’t exactly fill me with optimism abou
t my own situation.”
“That’s where you’re making your mistakes, then,” she said. “Showing optimism in any situation. Because nothing’s forever. Not in this world.”
“It must be hard having a world-view like that.”
“And it must be hard having such faith in the order of things only to have that faith torn apart repeatedly.”
Ricky didn’t answer that. He figured this woman, whoever she was, had a point.
“What about your eye?” Ricky asked.
“My eye? Or my eye-hole?”
“You know what I mean.”
“You know what your problem is?”
“Enlighten me, please. You’re going to anyway, so you might as well.”
“You’re too caught up in the past.”
“Oh, am I, now?”
“Yes. You’re so caught up in whatever shit happened to you that you’re not looking around at the present. And it’s going to get you killed.”
Ricky smiled. “Is that s—”
He heard the groan right behind him.
He felt a flicker of fear, just for a moment.
But that flicker was extinguished seconds later as the woman rammed her axe through the head of the zombie that, up until a millisecond ago, Ricky hadn’t even realised was there.
She pulled the axe out of its head. Then she wiped the blood onto Ricky’s coat.
“Hey. This is my favourite coat.”
She looked up at him, smarmy smile on her face. “That’s what I was telling you. About being so focused on the past that you don’t see the present. Now come on. It’s just up ahead.”
They walked further. Ricky didn’t know where this woman was taking him, in truth. She claimed it was a shelter she’d found, and one which would be good enough to support themselves for a short while, at least until the massive wave of zombies had definitely moved on.
At least they were out of sight now. They seemed more focused on Mattius’ camp, for whatever reason. Ricky’s old home.
“We’re here,” the woman said.
Ricky squinted. He could see trees, he could see grass, but he couldn’t see a cabin. “Where…”
The woman stomped. As she did, Ricky heard the sound of solid metal echoing. She pointed down.
When Ricky looked down, he saw a hatch.
“You’ve no idea how much the Lost nerd inside me is freaking out right now,” he said.