by Casey, Ryan
Riley sighed. “I know how it is,” he said. “I know… I know about the lies. But Peter. He’s here for a reason. He’s a coward. Believe me, he wouldn’t come charging into this place and putting himself in danger if he could help it. So I believe him. Call me stupid, but I believe him. We need to go back to my district. We need to get there, and we need to get to Kesha. And then we can start the next step.”
Rhubi looked at him. Studied him, closely. “You really do believe him. Don’t you?”
Riley took a deep breath. Nodded. “All I know is our whole world has suffered enough. I know the chances of this cure being legit seem slim. But I have to believe. I can’t give up. And neither should you. Because what else have we got? What else is there?”
She looked away. Riley saw her throat wobble as she swallowed a lump.
Then she looked back at him.
“You made a mistake coming here,” she said.
She lifted a knife.
“No. Wait—”
But then something banged.
Something above them.
Right above them.
Riley looked up. Past Rhubi, who stared above, too.
“They’re here,” she said. “They’re… they’re onto us.”
Chapter Twelve
Anna waited until she was absolutely certain the coast was clear before making her move from behind the houses.
The streets were filled with light now, which made the task at hand even more difficult, even more uncomfortable. Because at least in the night she could lay low. She could keep a low profile and hide.
But in the day—in the eyes of the sunlight—she was exposed. She was visible.
And her challenge became all the more difficult.
All the more impossible.
Because she knew Xanthe and her people weren’t going to stop hunting her down. She’d seen the look in Xanthe’s eyes. Seen her capabilities.
And Melissa, too.
She’d seen the way she looked. Seen the way she’d turned so promptly after facing such an untimely end.
And she’d seen the way the pair of them wanted Kesha.
For what, she wasn’t sure.
But they wanted her.
Then there was Alison, too.
She thought about Alison. Thought about how long she’d spent trying to get over here. Thought about the lengths she’d gone to, the life she’d left behind.
She thought about what Riley would say when he discovered she was gone. That Anna hadn’t been able to do a thing to help her.
And then she put her hand on her belly, and she looked down.
There was Kesha by her side. Confused. Scared. Asking what was going on. Asking where they were going.
But there was her baby, too. Her son. Her daughter.
Whatever the case, she had to protect them. No matter what.
And right now it looked like there was only one way of protecting her.
Of protecting them both.
And that was by getting the hell away from this island.
She looked over at the helicopters in the distance. She didn’t know how to fly them of course. Didn’t know the first thing about controlling one of those things.
But if she could find somebody who did… maybe she had a chance.
An opportunity to get out of this place once and for all.
She looked over her shoulder. Back towards the Main Building. And she thought about Riley. He was in there. She had to believe he was still alive, wherever he was.
But it had all began with Peter Hillson’s scream.
It had all began with that—and now here it all was.
An invading rival force.
A manifestation of the virus that she wasn’t sure they could keep control of.
And if Riley didn’t know what was coming his way… she dreaded to think what might follow.
But on the other hand, she could only think of her baby. She could only think of Kesha.
And she could only think of how she had to get them away from this place.
She had to try something.
Even if she was taking them away from here only to end up back in the chaos of the old world… it was still better than this place, right now.
She rushed over towards the helicopters when she saw them both.
Xanthe.
Melissa.
Standing there. Standing right in front of the helicopters.
Watching.
At first, Anna thought they were looking at her. At Kesha. Standing and waiting for her.
But the more she looked, the more she realised that wasn’t exactly correct.
They were looking over her, with these trance-like expressions on their faces.
Over towards the Main Building.
Like they were waiting for something.
She went to turn around and try finding another way when she felt a hand on her back.
She turned around, and her stomach sank.
There was a man standing there.
Holding a rifle.
She felt dread wash over her when she saw him. Especially when she saw how he was looking at Kesha.
Not her, but at Kesha.
That was the most disconcerting thing of all.
She looked into his eyes. Tried to appeal to his better nature—without saying anything at all, exactly. Just hoping he could see something in her. That he could give her a chance.
But her hopes soon dropped when he pushed the rifle into her belly, right against her child.
“Walk,” he said.
She turned around right away. She didn’t want to risk anything. Not where her child was concerned. Not where Kesha was concerned.
She turned around, felt the rifle against her back and then she walked towards Xanthe, towards Melissa, even though she knew what was coming, even though she knew there was only one way this could possibly go.
She felt the rifle pushing further into her back as she walked, step by step, time dragging on, Kesha close to her trying to look around, trying to see; trying to understand.
She hoped maybe there’d still be a chance.
Maybe there’d be an opportunity to get away.
And then she saw Xanthe look over at her and smile.
She looked at Xanthe and felt cold, right through. Because Melissa looked at her in the same way, too. That smile on her face. That glow in her eyes. Not what she was expecting. Not the look she thought would follow.
Like she was happy to see her.
Like she was…
And then, again, Anna realised something.
It wasn’t her they were looking at, once again.
It was Kesha.
She tried to slow down, but the rifle dug deeper into her back. She could only push against it so much. She looked to her left. Looked to her right. Tried to see a way out of this. Tried to find a way she could go.
Because it couldn’t end now. Not like this. Not after everything.
She kept on looking until she saw Xanthe and Melissa were just inches before her.
That they were right opposite her.
And then she felt the rifle ease, just a little, and she stopped.
It was Melissa she looked at more than anyone. It still didn’t seem right, seeing her like this, standing here like this. Wound on her neck.
There was something else, too.
She was missing an arm.
“Looks like all that running was in vain, hmm?” Xanthe said.
Anna turned and looked at her with total hate. “Never. Not if it means I have a chance at protecting my children.”
“But you haven’t protected them. You haven’t protected them at all. If anything, you’ve denied them. Denied them an opportunity.”
“And what kind of twisted opportunity is that?” Anna asked.
Xanthe smiled.
And then she lunged forward and grabbed Kesha from Anna’s arms.
Anna tried to hold back. Tried to grip on for dear life. “No!”
Xanthe was too strong.
She dragged Kesha towards her, and her people held Anna back as she kicked and screamed and cried, desperate to get her back, determined not to let her go.
She saw Xanthe holding her, and she expected all kinds of violence. She didn’t know why she wanted her so dearly, but she could only imagine all the horrors.
But she saw something else.
The way Xanthe stroked the side of Kesha’s head.
The way Melissa looked at her with such sensitivity. Such love.
She tried to pull herself free of the guards’ arms. “Please don’t hurt her. Please.”
Xanthe looked up. And she almost looked insulted. “Hurt her?” she said. “Why would we ever want to do such a thing?”
Anna frowned. She didn’t get it. Didn’t understand.
“Let me tell you what we’re going to do here,” she said. “We’re going to wait here. We’re going to wait for Peter to come back here with what we need. And when he gets here… that’s when we’re going to begin the next step. The step that brought us here in the first place.”
Anna frowned. “The next step?”
Xanthe smiled. “The beginning of the new world.”
Chapter Thirteen
Riley heard the bangs and the growls from above, and he knew he needed to get out of these cuffs—fast.
Rhubi stood over him. He didn’t know where Ted and Peter were; only that time was running out. They needed to escape this place. They needed to get away.
If Peter couldn’t finish the job, then the least Riley could do was get out of this place and figure shit out for himself.
“Rhubi, we need to get out of here.”
Rhubi turned back to him. She looked spaced out. Lost. “The monsters. They… they’ve never got in here before. Never made it this far. Not until you got here.”
“I don’t know how that happened,” Riley said. “I can’t pretend I do. All I do know is that Peter said it’s really important you get back to our district. That—that we get back there, and we find Kesha.”
“And you believe him?” Rhubi said.
Riley heard the bangs above getting louder. “It’s like I said. I have to. Because if I don’t… this place. This—this is what could happen to the world. To the rest of the world. If it ever gets out. And I don’t know if the world could bounce back from that. I mean fuck, I do know, and it never would. So we need to do the right thing right now. We don’t have a choice. We get out of here. Get far, far away. Because if we don’t… then we’ll never know. But if we do… at least there’s still a chance.”
Rhubi looked up again. Like she was starting to consider what Riley was saying. Like she was really starting to come around to his way of thinking.
“The place you’re from,” Rhubi said. “It… it isn’t like this?”
“It’s not perfect,” Riley said. “Far from it. But it’s not like this, no.”
She rubbed her hands through her hair. Like she was considering it. Like she was debating it.
“I’m afraid,” she said. “I’ve been in here for so long. Barely stepped outside. I… I’m not sure how far I can go. Not while my family might still…”
Riley realised, then, as the banging continued above. He realised what it was Rhubi was staying here for. What she was so reluctant to leave behind.
Her son.
Her husband.
People she’d lost.
But people she couldn’t let go of.
“I know you can do this,” Riley said. “Because… because I’ve been in situations like this. I’ve been in positions I never thought I’d escape from. And I made it. I did it. You just need to believe in yourself. You just need to believe you can make it. That’s the only way.”
Rhubi looked at Riley, and a half-smile crept across her face. “If I let you go… I can trust you. Right?”
Riley nodded. The banging getting louder. Above, plants and vines were beginning to worm their way through the cracks. “You can. We just—”
“Good,” she said.
She leaned forward.
Cut Riley free at the wrists.
Then free at the ankles.
Then she pointed to her right. “Through there.”
“What?”
“Just trust me, okay? I know this place better than you.”
Riley stepped through the door on his left.
And when he crashed through it, two realisations hit him.
First, he wasn’t alone in this room.
Ted and Peter were in there.
Looking at him.
Neither of them was cuffed.
“Riley?” Ted asked.
“Why the hell aren’t you cuffed?”
“You were cuffed?”
“Yeah.”
Ted shrugged. “I mean, you always did have a dodgy look about you, mate. Always used to say it. My auntie said she’d never trust you as a babysitter.”
Riley frowned. “Jeez. Thanks.”
His relief and distraction were momentarily cut short when he heard a crash over his shoulder.
The plant creatures. They’d broken through.
And they were on Rhubi’s tail.
“We need to get back to the Main Building,” Peter said, authoritative as ever. “We have Rhubi, and we have Riley. We have a chance. Now!”
Riley saw Rhubi racing away from the plant creatures. They were spitting out daffodils. Spewing dahlias.
But there was no mistaking how bloodthirsty they looked.
“Keep going!” Rhubi shouted.
He raced as quickly as he could through the narrowing, earthy tunnels. Pushed through makeshift doors. Took left turns, right turns.
And all the time he could hear the creatures behind him getting closer.
Closing in.
He heard a shout, and he stopped in his tracks.
Rhubi had fallen.
He looked back, and he knew getting to her was important. More important than anything.
But then he felt a hand on his arm.
It was Ted.
He looked at Riley with a smile. With wide, glassy eyes.
And in that look, Riley thought he could see something. Thought he could see the whole story.
“No,” Riley said.
“Riley, you need to survive,” Ted said. “Rhubi needs to survive. And this Peter dude. It looks like he needs to survive, too.”
Riley shook his head. The creatures were getting nearer. There wasn’t much longer left. “No. Not after all this time. Not after—”
“You didn’t leave me,” Ted said. “I was wrong for ever saying that. You fought for me. Fought until the end. I’ve spent the last years locked away barely surviving. But these past two days… I’ve lived again. I’ve found a purpose again. And now I can see my biggest purpose of all.”
Riley felt tears rolling down his face. “Ted, no. Mate. Don’t do this. Don’t do this.”
Ted put a hand on his shoulder. He was crying too.
But there was happiness in his eyes.
He took a deep breath, and his smile widened. “I’m not afraid,” he said. “Where I’ve been these past few years, it’s far, far worse than death could ever be. At least I can go out in glory. At least I can go out a hero. Not bad for a pot smoking slacker, huh? Better than my first death, right?”
Riley shook his head. There were so many things he wanted to say. So many ways in which he wanted to beg Ted not to do this; to beg him to change his mind.
But in the end, Ted just squeezed Riley’s shoulder tight, and he nodded. “Better get to it,” he said. “Don’t want your blubbering to get in the way.”
He leaned in.
Kissed Riley on the cheek.
“Goodbye, mate. I love you, brother.”
Then he raced back before Riley could stop him.
Dragged Rhubi to her feet, slashed away the vine around her ankle, and threw her forward.
Then he stoo
d there, the creatures surrounding him.
He smiled. “Go, mate,” he said. “Just go.”
He wanted to stay. He wanted to fight.
But then he felt Peter’s hand on his shoulder.
“We need to go, Riley.”
He watched Ted as he stood there.
As the creatures closed in.
As his smile grew wider.
And then he watched as the flowers began to grow from Ted’s body.
As they began to sprout out from his mouth.
His eyes.
Still smiling widely.
More emphatic than ever before.
He wiped away his tears as Ted was engulfed in more and more flowers until he was nothing more than a wall of petunias.
“Goodbye, mate,” he said, tears streaming down his cheeks.
Then he turned around and ran.
Chapter Fourteen
Riley raced through the tunnels away from the oncoming creatures, and he tried to get what just happened to Ted out of his mind.
The darkness was intense and suffocating down here. He kept bumping into walls, kept tumbling off track. Partly because of the lack of visibility. But also because of what had happened. How it weighed down on him. How the memory kept resurfacing, over and over again.
The way Ted had held his shoulder.
The way he’d rushed back towards Rhubi.
Saved her life.
Sacrificed himself.
He thought of the first time he’d lost Ted as he raced further through these tunnels, his surroundings blending into the background, sifting out of his consciousness. The way he’d watched him die.
And he thought of the way he’d actually fallen.
And he knew this time was far more heroic. He had gone with purpose like he’d said.
And Riley wanted to be put at ease by that. He wanted to be reassured. Like it would make him feel better, somehow.
But the fact stood.
He’d got his friend back. His best friend.
And now he’d lost him all over again. So soon after they’d reunited. So soon after they’d found each other.