by Aline Riva
Greg had been determined to make it up to Vicki, he knew when he looked at her that he saw it reflected in her eyes: She blamed him for leaving her with that lurking corpse...
While they had a quiet morning with Zodiac busy in the garden, Greg made the most of the moment, climbing on to the bed and laying beside her.
“You're still beautiful,” he told her, “I still think you're pretty, I could get used to you like this.”
He ran his hand over her head where already, a faint trace of fair stubble was softly growing.
“I might keep it like this for a while,” she replied, “I want to be sure I broke that habit.”
“I don't mind at all...”
Greg ran both hands over her head, pulling her close as he kissed her deeply. For a moment they shared the kiss as it lingered, then he pulled away, his eyes darkened with arousal.
“I want you...”
“Wait.”
The tone of her voice killed his excitement.
“Why?”
“I should go and see Christian about some contraceptives,” she reminded him, “It wouldn't be a good idea to have a baby.”
Greg was still beside her, but now he sat up. She sat up too, wondering why he looked so confused.
“Vicki, if you want a life with me don't you think eventually Zodiac should have a brother or sister? We're on a self sustaining island, a luxury place built before the old world ended, we're living like royalty compared to how the poor bastards back on the mainland have it! There's no reason why we can't have a family here on Wolfsheer.”
She hesitated. The doubt he saw in her eyes made no sense.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Like what?” she asked.
“Like having my kid is the last thing you'd ever want to do?”
She gave a heavy sigh.
“I've seen what Zodiac can be like! He's a great kid, I love him so much, but he can't play too long without biting other children! I even saw him bite you once when he had a tantrum! He's a lovely boy but I can't handle two like him.... even if the kid was normal, what if he hurt the baby... bit its fingers off or something like that?”
Greg paused. Everything she had just said had killed his love for her.
“Vicki,” he said quietly as he contained his feelings of hurt and anger, “My child was affected because I conceived him while I was carrying the bite virus. I don't have the bite virus any more! If you got pregnant now, the baby would be....normal, that was the word you used?”
Guilt reflected in her eyes as he got off the bed and stood up.
“I'm sorry I left you in that place, I'm sorry I didn't believe you and I'm sorry that you almost died because I made a mistake! But I'm not sorry to say this: We're over. If you can't really accept Zodiac, if you're scared one day you could have a child like him, we have no future. My son comes first!”
Then he walked out of the room, slamming the door heavily behind him.
On the mainland, the car took the same route back. They lost an hour attempting a short cut to find a road blocked by crashed vehicles that had long since rusted, then turned back and taken up the planned route once more. It was easier now because Alex had a good memory for the roads that were clear, and by late afternoon, they had stopped off at the petrol station where the trapped corpse was still repeating the same fruitless attempt to smash through the window of the shop.
As Alex filled the tank, Emma stood there watching. The creatures they had killed still littered the forecourt, but the only living corpse was the one in the shop, as it crashed against the window again she thought of Clare and how she had laughed at its obvious mistake of missing the doorway, then she had felt an ache in her heart, first for Clare and then for Adrian as she recalled their deaths and how rapidly it had happened, with no warning, two lives suddenly snatched away...
She found it hard to believe the mainland could ever be a safe place again. But it seemed pockets of safety were now emerging – five years after the old world had ended, it sounded as if the town of Circus had done a fine job of reclaiming a chunk of civilisation. It would certainly be worth talking to Parsons about – he would be keen to establish links to strong communities that had risen from the ashes of destruction.
“Let's go,” Alex said, he had finished filling the tank and was getting back into the car.
She joined him and closed the door, he started up the engine and then they headed for the road, turning towards the motorway and the route that would eventually lead to the town by the sea, where the boat was moored and waiting.
Parsons was sat at the table in his dining room, he had woken late and had breakfast and now as he looked to Greg he wondered why he had come to see him so suddenly, saying he had something to report...
“What is this about?” Parsons asked as he sipped tea made by Serena that reminded him how good it was to be home – tea that was not drugged, just made with love by his wife.
Greg sipped his tea and set the mug down.
“You need to stop these experiments with live corpses!” he said, “Vicki almost died because Christian's experiment broke out of the lab!”
“He told me about that,” Parsons replied, “He was very upset - he said you killed it.”
Greg's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared across the table at Parsons.
“I had to kill it, Vicki had sprained her ankle and it was crawling after her!”
“Vicki shouldn't have been in the infirmary when there was no doctor present to treat her.”
“She was falling apart! She needed her meds! That corpse was a threat to life. Christian didn't secure it well enough!”
Parsons looked at him wearily. He had already heard the doctor and Greg had a fight the day before and this accusation came as no surprise at all.
“The corpse was sedated but the sedation wore off because we were detained longer than expected on Raven, if not for this Christian would have been back in good time to ensure the creature stayed contained.”
“Well, I just wanted you to now what happened here.”
“I realise there's bad feeling between you and Christian. But I suggest you ask Marc just how bad it got on Raven. We were taken captive, it was a small community of cannibals. We took them all out. It's now an isle of rotting corpses.”
Greg fell silent as Parsons continued, “So our incarceration was to blame for the creature getting out, not Christian. That young man is a good friend of yours. I suggest you try and mend the friendship. We all say and do things we don't mean, Greg. But we're a long time dead too. I said the same thing to Christian.”
“You've spoken to him?”
“Yes,” Parsons replied, now smirking as he raised his tea and then paused to take a sip, “He was here half an hour ago, telling me how you killed his experiment!”
“He had the nerve to report me?”
“And now you've reported him, Greg. I suggest you go home to your son and enjoy the rest of the day. And leave the quarrels of last night in the past, be the bigger man and step forward first to apologise.”
“I've got nothing to apologise for,” Greg said as he got up from the table.
“Christian said that too,” Parsons replied as he tried to hide his bemused expression, “You guys are so alike maybe I should bash your heads together and knock some sense into you both! I'll see you another time, Greg. Have a good day.”
“You too,” he muttered, then he turned away and left the room, heading for the front door.
Vicki had been limping when she had made it over to Marc's porch and sat down. He had taken Zodiac with him and left the house and crossed the street to ask what was wrong. While Vicki told the tale of her break up with Greg, Zodiac saw some children playing in the street and ran over to join them.
“So,” Vicki said as she sat on the porch step with Marc, “I blew it. I said I was worried if we had a baby it could turn out like Zodiac and he said we were over.”
“I don't blame him.”
Vicki shot him a look of alarm.
“So I was a total bitch?”
“No, I don't blame you, either. At least you were honest. And he's not likely to have another child like Zodiac – he's free of the virus now, it's been out of his body for five years.”
“Why didn't I think of that?” she wiped her eyes as her voice trembled, “I messed up...”
“Do you want me to talk to him for you?” he offered.
“No,” she replied, “But I would like you to help me back to my place. My ankle hurts.”
“Anything for a friend,” Marc said fondly, then he helped her to her feet. Just then a scream sounded from an area beneath the shade of a tree where the kids had been playing.
“Oh shit!” Marc said as little Sarah clutched at her arm and Zodiac turned to a boy who shoved him, then snarled and snapped his teeth again.
“Sorry, I have to go -”
“I know,” she replied, and she tested her weight on her injured ankle,”I'll be okay, its not far. Just look after Zodiac.”
Marc turned and ran off towards the fighting children as Vicki turned the other way and limped off in the direction of home. After what she had just seen Zodiac do, she was sure she had been right to raise her concerns with Greg, but it didn't matter now, they were over. It took a while to get home, her ankle throbbed all the way, but that was not the reason she had tears in her eyes as she left :
They were over, she knew it. She had lost Greg and had the feeling that even if they tried again, it wouldn't work. They had given it a shot, but some things were just not meant to be.
The sky was streaked with colourful shades as sunset loomed. The journey back through the over run town had been hampered by weaving around stumbling undead. By the time they reached the sea wall, it dawned on Alex and Emma that they would have to drive to the end of the road then up the narrow path that led to the open gate.
The car came to a stop at the top of the hill, with a short walk to the gate and they wasted no time unloading the car. Emma stood guard with the gun ready as Alex made several trips to the dock to load up the fishing vessel. By the time the final box had been unloaded and he waved to her, the sun was lower still as she locked the car, put the keys in her pocket and then hurried through the gate and over the uneven ground to meet him on the dock. In the distance, shadowy, stumbling figures were looming as dusk fell, but they were over by the sea wall and too far away to cause concern.
She took his hand as he helped her board the boat, then she raised the anchor and started the engine. As they moved out to sea, heading towards the sinking sun on the horizon where far off, Wolfsheer island waited, Emma felt a huge surge of relief.
The boat cut through the water in the fading light as she exchanged a glance and a smile with Alex, who stood there beside her as the breeze blew back his hair and the smell of the salt on the wind seemed like a silent welcome home from the elements.
The island was in sight now. The mission was over. Two were dead, it had been a terrible experience, but Emma felt elated now as she realised she had made it, she would be going home...
Chapter 10
Stepping back on to the dock and seeing the crowd that were gathering to meet them, now Emma knew for sure she was home. This was no dream, safety had wrapped itself around her along with familiarity and a sense of belonging. Nothing came staggering out of the shadows to devour the living, instead all she saw was a sea of familiar faces – including Maria, who pushed to the front, looking anxiously to Emma then to the stranger who was helping the islanders to unload the boat.
“Who is he?”
“That's Alex,” Emma said, “He saved my life. He wants to meet with Parsons.”
“Where's my sister?”
Then a young man fought his way through the crowd.
“Where's my Dad?” he demanded.
Emma looked to Clare's sister and Adrian's son as she felt lost for words. They knew, they had seen the look in her eyes as she shook her head.
“No!” he yelled, “No, he's not dead!”
“I'm sorry, we were shot at and -”
“You couldn't save him?” demanded Adrian's son.
“It was hell out there,” was all she could say in reply.
Maria lunged at her, grasping at her clothing and almost pushing her off the dock.
“Where's my sister?” she yelled.
“There were too many of them!” Emma yelled back, “I would have been dead too if Alex hadn't stepped in! You have no clue how bad it is out there! I'm sorry for you, and I miss her too!”
As she let go, Maria started to weep, then she was led away by friends. At the back of the crowd Adrian's son was still yelling at Emma, then his voice faded out too as others gathered around him, consoling him as they led him home to grieve.
With the last bag out of the boat, Alex walked up the dock and joined her.
“I couldn't save everyone. I did my best.”
“Of course you did!” she exclaimed, seeing sadness reflected in his gaze, “Alex, you chose to put your own life at risk for us!”
Just then Parsons joined them. His wife was beside him and she looked to the unloaded supplies gratefully.
“Thank you so much,” was all she said, then Parsons turned to Alex.
“I'm Antonio Parsons, head of this community. And you are?”
“Alex Casper,” he replied shaking his hand, “Regrettably not possessing wings, I had to sail here, which took much longer. We did our best. I regret the lives lost. It was beyond my power to do more.”
Parsons placed a hand kindly on his shoulder.
“You helped Emma to return safely,” he replied, “Thank you for that.”
By now the supplies were being gathered up and taken from the dock. The sky was dark and the moon glowed and a cool breeze blew in across the water.
“You must both join me at the house,” Parsons added, “You're in need of food and rest.”
“Thank you so much, we're both exhausted!” Emma replied gratefully.
Then they left the dock together, heading for the pathway that led to the heart of the island.
Emma didn't care that it was growing late or that she was crushingly tired and needed sleep - to be able to sit at a table and eat good food again soon revived her, it felt like an even bigger welcome home. She said little as she ate her meal and drank water drawn from the local spring. Alex took up the tale, explaining how he had saved the two women when the scavengers had attacked, but was unable to save Adrian. He missed out no detail of their journey, then his expression saddened as he related to Parsons that Clare had been so close, but the creature had moved in too fast...
“The men who attacked them at the first town, they had clown faces,” Alex added, “People from my wonderful, magical town! I have never seen a supply team behave like that before. It's a good thing I was following them.”
“But Alex still maintains his town is a good place,” Emma added, “It's called Circus. He says it's a large place and very secure.”
“Really?” he looked across the table at Alex.
“Yes,” he confirmed, “We have an outer ring of protection and an inner ring plus man power and weaponry. The creatures can't get in. If any are required, they must be rounded up like cattle and brought in.”
Emma and Parsons exchanged a puzzled look.
“Why would anyone want to bring them in?” Parsons asked.
Alex was finishing his sandwich. He shrugged.
“We used to run from them, now they are put to good use for us, contained, used and then destroyed safely. Circus is a happy place...”
“Perhaps a place worth reaching out to?” Parsons wondered aloud.
“Visitors from the outside are not welcome. But if you travelled with me you would receive safe passage. I know of ways in.”
“Perhaps,” Parsons responded, “This is something to consider after much discussion - and that can wait for another time. Enjoy your stay here, Alex. Emma... m
aybe he could stay with you until accommodation is arranged?”
She nodded.
“That's a great idea. And thank you for the meal, Antonio.”
She got up and as they left the table Parsons walked to the door alongside them, pausing to shake the hand of the newcomer before giving Emma a brief hug. Then she and Alex left, walking away from the house and down the hillside, heading for the small round dwellings at the other end of the island.
“Can't sleep?”
As Marc asked that question, Vicki was sitting on the bed in Marc's spare bedroom, her face turned to the window as she watched the glow of the moon.
“I just wish things had worked out with Greg. I was crazy about him for so long, then as soon as I had what I wanted, it all went wrong.”
As Marc sat down on the edge of the bed she turned to face him. He met her gaze and spoke from his heart.
“Vicki, you did the right thing. Anyone who wants to spend their life with Greg has to take on Zodiac as part of the package and he can be hard work. We don't even know if there are other kids like him, he could be the only one. There's no guide book or advice to follow on how to handle his biting. We don't know how he's going to turn out as he gets older, either. He's five and he talks like a super smart twelve year old. Then just when you think he's a mini adult he goes back to behaving like a five year old again. Greg gets worn out raising him alone. But if you find him hard to handle, it's better to say so now rather than wait and say it much later.”
Vicki blinked away tears.
“None of this would have happened if I hadn't lost it over Stacy and the past... why can't I just let go of it?”
“Because you've been through hell,” Marc replied, “We all have. The more death we see, the more it scars us. You're not alone with that.”
He reached for her and pulled her into a comforting embrace. Holding her felt so right, yet he dared not move in for a kiss. It was too soon – perhaps the time would never be right. But as he held her he felt as if the missing piece of his heart was there in his arms. It would be a long time before he voiced that out loud. Vicki needed to get over the break up and so did his best friend...