Dead Days [Season 11]

by Casey, Ryan

  And something happened.

  Riley couldn’t explain it. He couldn’t begin to understand it.

  But at the same time… he couldn’t deny it.

  The creatures stopped.

  They weren’t flying towards them.

  Not anymore.

  They were just standing there.

  Looking at Alison.

  The Orion, too. Something was different about it. It looked like it was lowering Anna down. Like it was in some kind of fight with its own nature.

  But slowly, surely, it loosened its grip on Anna’s neck.

  Slowly, surely, it dropped her to the ground.

  Anna coughed. Struggled. Tried to get her breath back.

  And Riley could only rush over to her, as much as she was beside an Orion.

  He could only hold her and cry with her as he came so close to losing her all over again.

  “It’s okay,” he said. “You’re okay.”

  He pulled her back. Pulled her over to the entrance of the building. And all he could do was watch as the creatures stood there. Immobile. Still.

  As the Orion looked at her, totally entranced.

  “How…” Riley started.

  “I don’t know how,” Alison said. “I just know… This virus. This form of the virus. I’m stronger than it. I can… I can stop it.”

  Riley looked at the stationary creatures. Then at the Orion. And he didn’t think he’d ever seen anything like this before. He’d never seen this level of control over these beasts before. Ever.

  “We need to get to the helicopter, Alison,” Riley said. “Do you… do you think you could fly it? Even in your condition?”

  Alison tilted her head to one side like she was considering it.

  Then she nodded. “I reckon I could give it my best shot. But don’t hold me to it.”

  She looked at the creatures again, then. And Riley wondered what this was. It was clear that Alison didn’t only still have control over Narcissus—she had control over the District 63 strain of the virus, too. And that could be important. So important.

  It could be what they needed to survive.

  To get out of here.

  And to get to Kesha before time ran out.

  “Come on,” Riley said. “We’ve no time to wait. We have to get to Melissa. We have to stop her before she gets to Britain. We have to…”

  He stopped, then.

  He stopped because he saw something.

  Or rather, someone.

  Right at the front of the crowd of the creatures.

  He saw Ted.

  His heart picked up. He walked over towards him as he stood there, totally static.

  “Riley?” Anna said.

  But Riley kept on going. Ted was still. He had green sprouts and shoots all over him. Flowers breaking through the cracks in his skull. Eyes dripping blood.

  He stopped right in front of Ted and looked into his eyes. And he felt such sadness. Because he knew Ted could see him through those eyes. He knew the Ted he once knew was looking back at him. He couldn’t imagine what he was thinking. What he was trying to say to him.

  How much he must despise his people for bringing him to this island.

  “Riley, we need to get out of here,” Anna said. “There’s—there’s no time. The creatures aren’t going to hold back forever.”

  Riley looked at Ted as he stood there, and he felt such sympathy for him. There were so many things he wanted to say. So many ways he wanted to thank him. Just like last time when he’d watched Ivan cut his throat. He hadn’t had the chance. It had been taken from him.

  But now he had an opportunity.

  Now he had his moment.

  He felt his throat swelling. A lump building inside it. His jaw started to shake.

  He reached over. Touched Ted’s shoulder. The vines didn’t even budge.

  “Ted, I know… I know this isn’t how it should be. I know this isn’t what you wanted. What any of us wanted. But I just want you to know something. I just want you to understand.”

  He kept on looking at him through those blank eyes. Kept on staring.

  Riley leaned in closer. Right to Ted’s ear.

  “You’re a hero, Ted. You’re a hero. And you’re the best damned mate I could ever have hoped for.”

  He looked away, then. Saw Anna, Alison, Rhubi.

  Alison looked at Riley. Her face was growing pale. He knew her strength was waning. Time was running out.

  He looked back at Ted, and he lifted the rifle.

  “You don’t deserve this,” he said. “But you don’t deserve to live in this hell, either.”

  He felt his finger shaking as it touched the trigger.

  Flashbacks to the very first day.

  To Grandma.

  To the way she’d tried to grab him.

  To the way she must’ve been conscious all along, all without him knowing.

  He looked into Ted’s eyes, and he took a deep breath. Thought of his lowest moments. The days he didn’t want to live. The anxiety. The depression. All of those dark thoughts filling his mind.

  And the one light in his life when everything seemed so hopeless.

  “Thank you for being you, Ted. Thank you for saving my life. More times than you even know.”

  For a moment, he swore he saw a smile creep up the corners of Ted’s mouth.

  He smiled back at him.

  Looked away.

  And then Riley pulled the trigger.

  He didn’t have to look to know.

  His best mate was gone.

  And this time, it was for good.

  Chapter Ten

  Riley ran away from the creatures and the Orion and towards the helicopter.

  He ran away from his best friend, once and for all.

  The sky was a dull, dirty grey. In the distance, he could see lightning and hear thunder roaring. He didn’t like the thought of heading right into the belly of that particular beast.

  Nor did he like the idea of his ex-girlfriend being the one piloting the helicopter.

  Especially not when she was some half-human, half-infected hybrid.

  But hey. Beggars couldn’t be choosers.

  And he was a real fucking beggar right now.

  They kept on moving. Anna. Alison. Rhubi. Nobody had said a thing to him after what happened with Ted. But he couldn’t shake it off. Couldn’t shift his memories of how it’d gone down.

  It was Anna who finally broke the silence. “Are you okay?” she asked.

  He looked at her.

  “Sorry,” she said, lowering her head. “Course you’re not. I—”

  “I spent the last four years thinking my best friend died in cold blood. That he died afraid. Then I find out he didn’t die. He was left alone. Left alone in an awful place. Went through his own kind of hell. He gets back here. And… and I see what a hero he was. What a hero he always was. Because he saved my life way before the Dead Days. And his memory… that’s something worth fighting for. That’s something worth honouring.”

  He looked around at the creatures.

  “I got to say goodbye to my best friend. I got to tell him what a special person he was to me. To so many. That’s… that’s got to count for something.”

  He looked at Anna again. Saw her smile.

  Then he heard the movement.

  He looked around.

  The creatures were starting to move.

  “What…” Riley said.

  “I can’t hold them off anymore,” Alison said. “It’s too late. We need—we need to get to the helicopter. Before it’s too late.”

  “Are you going to be okay?”

  Alison held her knees. Winced. Looked at Riley, eyes twitching. “I have to be.”

  Riley nodded. “Come on. There’s no more time. We’ve got to go. Now!”

  They ran together towards the helicopter. And as they did, Riley could hear them all behind beginning to shake free again. He could hear them beginning to turn back to their normal creatu
re-like selves.

  He could hear them racing on.

  And he could hear the Orion running along, too.

  He didn’t want to look back. Didn’t want to look over his shoulder. Not for a single second.

  He didn’t want to consider losing anything now he’d worked so hard to get it all back.

  Now he’d been so fortunate to be alive.

  So fortunate that Anna was still here.

  Alison was still here.

  And Rhubi was still here.

  Now the focus was on Kesha.

  He got to the helicopter and opened the door. Escorted the others inside as the undead got closer.

  And then when they were all inside, the creatures getting close, he threw himself inside, and he slammed the door shut.

  “Now for God’s sake, Alison,” Riley said. “Please tell me you’re alright to fly this thing.”

  Alison steadied herself. Looked around like she was trying to figure it out. Like she was trying to weigh it all up. She didn’t look well at all.

  The creatures and the Orion were closing in.

  “Alison,” Riley said. “I know you’ve never been bloody great with your timings, but now would be a great time to suss this fucking thing out. Infection or no infection.”

  She looked at Riley. Frowned.

  And then she flicked a few levers.

  The helicopter sparked to life.

  “Patience,” she said.

  The helicopter started to lift into the sky.

  The creatures clambered at it.

  The Orion raced forward. Reached up. So close to grabbing hold of it.

  But then it fell down.

  The helicopter rose up.

  And all Riley could do was watch as the island below was consumed by this beautiful form of the virus.

  All he could do was hold on to the sides of his seat as he lifted higher and higher into the sky.

  “Shit,” Rhubi said. “I never thought I’d see the back of this place. Good fucking riddance.”

  He smiled. Relief beginning to grow. But adrenaline still surging.

  And then he looked over at Alison as she piloted the helicopter. A sight he never thought he’d see.

  He looked at Rhubi.

  At Anna.

  He looked at all of his people.

  “Time to stop this,” he said.

  The helicopter flew into a cloud.

  The island disappeared.

  It was time to go back home again.

  Chapter Eleven

  Riley held on to his seat as the helicopter made its way back to mainland Britain.

  The afternoon sun shone brightly through the helicopter windows. Beneath them, Riley saw the vast expanse of the Irish Sea. It brought back memories of the time he’d been in that boat on his way to the island. Sailed across, away from Britain, away from its horrors, and into a new world.

  So much optimism. So much hope.

  And for a time… a sense of order. Of normalcy.

  And now he was heading back.

  Back home to stop this nightmare getting any worse.

  He looked over his shoulder to where he knew the island was. He couldn’t see it anymore of course. It was out of sight. And Britain wasn’t in sight yet, either.

  But now they were aboard this helicopter, the reality of just how many unknowns they were heading towards was really beginning to build.

  “So where exactly are we going?” Anna asked.

  It was exactly what Riley was thinking. The exact question he had in his mind. And as he looked around the helicopter—looked at Rhubi, at Alison—he realised they were all as clueless about this whole thing as each other.

  And that’s what made everything worse.

  Kesha was out there.

  Not only that, but Melissa was threatening to use her to send Narcissus airborne. To start the domino effect.

  She had all she needed now.

  It was just a matter of making the move.

  Making the move that would change everything.

  “We can’t know for sure,” Riley said. “But we need to try—”

  “Britain’s a big place,” Anna said. “Melissa, she could’ve gone anywhere. Could’ve taken her anywhere.”

  “Then what do you suggest?” Riley said. “We just give up?”

  “You know I’d never suggest that.”

  “Then just… just have faith. Melissa isn’t far ahead. She can’t be. If we keep on going and hope to God Alison somehow manages to keep this helicopter in the air, we have a chance. It might be slim. But we have to take it. Because the alternative… we can’t allow that to happen.”

  Anna opened her mouth like she was preparing to disagree.

  Then she just sighed and nodded.

  “I guess we do what we can. I just hope your ex-girlfriend here really is as comfortable piloting a helicopter as she looks.”

  “Trust me,” Alison said. “I know what I’m doing, but I’m definitely not comfortable. I’m just keeping faith in myself. Seems to be working so far.”

  Anna glared at Riley. Raised her eyebrows.

  “Yeah,” Riley said. “Not exactly the reassurance we were hoping for.”

  He was worried about Alison, though. She looked like she kept zoning out. Drifting off. He could tell the battle with the virus was taking its toll on her.

  He wondered if this was the case for everyone who hadn’t been outright killed. Whether it was a slow build to an eventual, irresistible turn.

  He just hoped Alison got them back to Britain before that awful, inevitable moment came.

  And then he looked at Rhubi. A woman he felt like he knew so well already, even though they’d barely had chance to bond.

  She nodded at him before he could ask how she was doing. “I’m better than I was,” she said. “Because… Well. I thought I’d never get out of District 63. I thought that was me, forever. I saw people turn overnight. I saw that place go from order to chaos in the blink of an eye. People I knew. Friends. Family. People I loved. I saw all of it disappear… and all I could do was hide. All I could do was hope. Hope they were still out there. Hope I’d see them again someday. I clung onto it. But now I can see where we are and what we’re working towards and… well, I guess I realise just how important it all is.”

  Riley nodded. Smiled. “Your family. They’d be proud of you.”

  She smiled back at him. “I know they would. They—”

  “Hold up,” Alison said.

  Riley’s instinctive reaction was dread.

  He turned around.

  Looked out through the helicopter window.

  Expected to see something sickening. Expected that familiar double punch of anxiety and dread.

  But he saw something different completely.

  He saw the British coast emerging from out of the clouds. A coast he’d visited so many times. A coast he’d driven down. A coast he’d explored.

  A coast of a country he’d once called home.

  And then he saw something else.

  It was only small. So small that he almost missed it.

  But he didn’t miss it.

  None of them missed it.

  “That’s her,” Riley said.

  He looked ahead. Looked further through the window. Right ahead, he saw it. That little black dot in the sky.

  “Melissa’s helicopter,” Riley said. “That’s it.”

  He looked around the helicopter at the others. Looked at the uncertainty on their faces. Looked at the fear.

  He saw it all, and he knew it was time.

  “Bring the copter down,” Riley said. “It’s time to finish this.”

  Chapter Twelve

  The moment Riley stepped out of the helicopter he knew time was running out.

  The clouds had parted. Bright sun beamed down. Riley could feel sweat trickling down the back of his neck. His hands were clammy. His throat was tight. His heart was racing.

  He knew the severity of this situation.

>   He knew its urgency.

  And he knew even all the effort in the world might not be enough.

  He looked ahead at the town. It wasn’t a town he was familiar with. But it had a sense of nostalgia about it. The old red bricked buildings. The cars lining the streets. The shop fronts, boarded up now, but still emitting that sense of lives lived there years ago.

  It was different to Island 47. Mostly because Island 47 had a new kind of feel to it. It had a sense of the artificial to it. Even though he’d lived there happily for a while… it always had something of a temporary vibe to the place.

  But this was the home he remembered.

  This was the home he’d left.

  “So what’s the plan?” Anna asked.

  Riley looked at the street ahead. He looked in the direction of where he knew Melissa’s helicopter had landed. That was the problem, in a sense. He’d wanted to land near to Melissa. But he hadn’t wanted to spook her and force her into doing something drastic—into activating the virus immediately.

  Stealth was going to be just as important as haste right now.

  So they’d landed a little behind.

  “Kesha’s safety is our priority. Her life is our priority. So rescuing her is paramount. Then we can focus on the rest.”

  He looked at the others. Looked at them, all in line.

  The biggest study of his leadership of all.

  The most important, most dangerous challenge he’d ever faced.

  He cleared his throat. Looked at Anna. Half-smiled.

  Then together, they looked at the road ahead.

  “Time to get going,” he said. “Time to…”

  When he saw the movement, his stomach sank.

  He smiled. Couldn’t help smiling. Because it was typical. It was almost poetic.

  Because if he’d been expecting this to be easy in any way, it had just got a whole lot more difficult.

  Creatures were spilling out of the side streets. Stumbling towards Riley and the group.

  The good news was that they didn’t seem to be this newly advanced form of creature, which meant that Melissa hadn’t activated Narcissus.

  Yet.

  The bad news?

  There were a shitload of them.

  “Typical,” Rhubi said, shaking her head as she saw the horde of the undead racing down the road, their groaning getting louder, their rotting bodies edging closer. “But hey. The standard monsters. Got to admit I’ve kind of missed them.”