SAFE HAVEN: REALM OF THE RAIDERS

by Christopher Artinian

  “Don’t worry, Emma, we’ll have you out of there long before they even have a chance to regroup.”

  “I’ll give you guys a more thorough exam when you’re out of there, but all your wounds look superficial. Your quick thinking saved you.” Lucy climbed out of the debris and turned to Mike. “People are starting to head back to their homes. There were a few older people who had difficulty breathing for a while, but they seem okay now. I’m just going to do one last walk around and then I’ll get back to the ambulance and see how our patient is in there.”

  “How was he last time you checked?”

  “Sleeping. Which is good. He’s a tough son of a bitch and the more rest he gets the quicker he’ll recover.” She took hold of Mike’s hand as the digging operation began again and pulled him to one side so nobody could hear. “What do you think about what Emma said?”

  “I think that as soon as we’re able, we get the hell out. This was plan B, we revert back to plan A. Get as many people together who’ll follow us and head up to Gran’s place.”

  “I don’t know how big her house is, sweetie, but—” Mike cut her off. His mind had been whizzing ever since Emma had told them about the raiders.

  “The village that’s near Gran’s has a big campsite. There are some static caravans and some log cabins. The people we can’t fit in there we’ll put in tents or vans or whatever until we can sort something more permanent out. It’s better than dying here.” He looked at Lucy, expecting her to object, but over the last few days their thinking had become more and more alike.

  “You think they’ll come back? It seems like a lot of trouble for one small place.”

  “That guy I faced down, he was just a henchman, he wasn’t even the boss. I know people like this, Lucy. They’ll come back here with ten times the men, ten times the weapons. They’ll want it to be known far and wide that if you fuck with them, they’re going to fuck with you a thousand times worse.” Lucy’s gaze fell to the floor. Just a few hours ago she had been so happy and now everything had fallen to pieces. Mike lifted her chin up with his index finger. “I need you to be strong so I can be strong. This sounds really screwed up considering everything that’s going on.” He briefly looked behind Lucy as Shaw and two of the other soldiers passed more debris down the line and out into dining room. “But you make me feel something I’ve never felt before. A touch from you, a word from your lips and you give me this strength, this power that makes me feel like I can do anything. I need you, Lucy.” She looked up at him and kissed him, then smiled.

  “You silver-tongued Lothario, you.”

  “Erm, yeah, whatever the hell one of them is,” Mike replied.

  “Give me a shout when Emma and Jenny are free. I’m getting back in there.”

  Unbeknown to Mike, Sammy had crept up behind him during his conversation with Lucy and now she was smiling mischievously.

  “What have I told you about eavesdropping?” he said crouching down to meet her at eye level.

  “You told me to always keep my ears and eyes open and never trust anyone other than family,” she replied precociously.

  Mike scrunched his face up. “That does sound like something I could have said. Okay, well done for paying attention. Listen, Sammy, there’s something I need to tell you. It’s about Samantha.” He knew Sammy and Jake had taken a liking to her and the news was going to be difficult to break. “I’m afraid she didn’t make it.”

  “I know. I heard two of the women talking.”

  “It’s alright to be upset. It’s alright to cry.” He gently took hold of her arm and looked into her eyes.

  “I really liked Samantha, and I got upset when I heard the news, but then I remembered what you said about being strong and I remember what she said about you doing everything you could to keep us safe, to keep us from harm. I want to be strong so I can help you. I don’t want to let you down. I don’t want to disappoint you.” She opened her eyes wide in an effort to stop the thin layer of salty water from rolling down her cheeks.

  Mike had no such control. The noise and shouting from the rescue effort drowned out his wretched sob. He flung his arms around his sister and squeezed her tight. “You could never, ever disappoint me, Sammy. I love you, Jake and Em more than anything in the world and I always will.” He pulled back and wiped tears from his face and then from hers. “Look, being strong is good, being strong is important, but there are different kinds of strength, and having the strength to admit your grief is just as important as having the strength to fight for your family. Samantha was my friend too and it hurts inside when I think about her, and that’s okay, Sammy. The fact that I’m in pain, the fact that I want to cry when I think about her lying there honours her memory. It means that she meant something to me. Never be afraid to show your tears for someone you love.” Sammy pushed her face into Mike’s shoulder, crying uncontrollably. He held her head tight against him and kept kissing it gently like a father comforting a daughter. After a moment she pulled back, wiped away her tears with a whimper and took a deep breath.

  Mike took hold of her hands. “I love you, Sammy.”

  “Love you too,” she said and kissed him on the cheek before moving off to find Jake.

  When she was gone, Mike caught Shaw’s attention and signalled him over. “Are you okay?” he asked, seeing Mike’s red eyes.

  “Yeah. My little sister, she’s a constant source of amazement,” he replied, smiling. “Look, I was wondering, how many troops are actually left?”

  “We’ve got two at each bridge, two in each Jackal, three of us here and there’s two groups of three on foot patrol, plus Hughes.” He added them up on his fingers as he went. “So that’s eighteen in total.”

  “Bloody hell, we lost twelve?” Mike asked.

  “And most of the reservists. If those guys come back we’re fucked, well and truly.”

  “Look, I’m not saying it will be easy, but we’re going to head up to my gran’s place on the west coast of Scotland. The more people who come, the safer the convoy will be, and to be honest I think anywhere will be safer than here.”

  “Jesus. Scotland, Mike? That’s suicide.” Shaw pulled back a little to see if there was any hint of a joke in Mike’s expression.

  “I know it sounds crazy, but I’m thinking long term. It’s on the ocean where there’s an abundance of food, there are forests for wood and the moors are peat. And it’s Scotland, so it’s not like there’ll be a drought any time soon. Not just that, but it’s easily defendable.”

  “What, you mean like this place?”

  “I mean, with good planning, it would be like a fortress. The population in that area is tiny, so RAMs wouldn’t be an issue. We could build a community there. We could build a life there. The cities are gone. The outlying areas that can’t be defended are going to be lost to raiders. What we need is somewhere to start again. My family and I are setting out just as soon as we can. We’ll take anybody who wants to come with us, but I’ll be honest with you, if there were some soldiers and a couple of Jackals among them, I’d feel a lot more confident.”

  Shaw rubbed the back of his neck and looked towards the progress the rest of the group was making with the digging. “I can’t promise anything, but I’ll talk it over with the rest of the lads. Fair enough?”

  “That’s all I’m asking.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  Very few men could be so relaxed around horror that they could nearly drift off to sleep leaning against a tree while flesh-eating beasts ran wild nearby. Fry, however, was one such man. The architect who designed the chaos of this new world must have had him in mind. He loved the exhilaration. He loved the fear he saw in his victims’ eyes. He loved the sound of his knife running through flesh and sinew. He loved the metallic odour when it withdrew. He loved the feel of the warm blood running over the hilt and trickling down his cold hands. He loved the power of it all. This new world was his for the taking. The Don was a useful figurehead, fearsome, infamous, but when the time was right, F
ry would seize control. Maybe he would pronounce himself King and reign over this rotting land, then take a queen and produce a line of princes, all devoutly loyal to their father, all equally at home in this hellish landscape. Everything in life used to be grey to Fry, now it was black and red. He loved black, he adored red, and now grey was dwindling so fast that soon it would just be a memory. This was a new age for mankind, a new time. This was his time.

  He got to his feet, making sure he stayed low. The road was clear and there was no longer any movement near the bridge. He weaved around the odd vehicle abandoned by his men, making sure there was nothing lurking in his blind spots. It seemed all the RAMs had been lured by the sound of the machines on the other side of the bridge. He crept around an armoured coach and found what he had been looking for. Eight bikes, five still upright on their kickstands. Three had toppled over. There was one that immediately stood out, the Ducati Streetfighter. They had even named a bike after him. He smiled as he saw that the keys were still in the ignition. A more impetuous man would start it up away and risk RAMs running out of the woods in search of the noise. No, he would carefully and quietly wheel it back down the lane before starting the engine.

  *

  An Indian woman had been helping Lucy in the foyer with the casualties. Many people had already left the hotel. Some were still in a state of shock after hearing about their fallen friends and family. Some of the older ones were confused and a little sickly after inhaling the smoke from the stun grenades, but the chaos was gradually giving way to something like order.

  “Sorry, I didn’t catch your name,” said Lucy to her surrogate nurse.

  “I am Talikha,” she replied, nodding her head politely. “My husband is Raj, the vet who brought the dog in to help with the search.”

  “Ah. That dog’s got a hell of a nose on him,” Lucy replied, and Talikha smiled. “I wanted to say thanks. You’ve been a huge help here.”

  “You are most welcome, Doctor. I was happy to help.” The woman smiled and turned to go back to one of the few remaining patients.

  The front doors had been wedged open to aid the flow of fresh air. Lucy stood several metres back and took in a few deep breaths. It had been a long hard day and it was nowhere near over yet. She knew that Mike would need her to try and convince people to leave with them. She looked out past the doorway and noticed two women and a man puffing away on cigarettes. Just beyond them, at a slight angle to the kerb, was the ambulance. That would have to be her next port of call. Unless something went drastically wrong, Private Hughes would make a full recovery, but it would depend on some vigilance on her part. If nothing else, it meant he would have to head with them to Scotland. Lucy looked back to see Talikha moving on to another elderly patient and then she headed towards the ambulance. She got to the top of the three steps leading down to the pavement and then froze as a RAM appeared from nowhere and leapt onto one of the smoking women. It was soon joined by a second, third, fourth, fifth...

  Humphrey began to whine. He stuck his nose into the air and sniffed, then started barking aggressively. He pulled on his harness and Raj struggled to keep him under control. The rescue team paid no attention, but Mike, like Raj, had an understanding of animals. There was always a reason for their actions. He looked at the vet, who looked back at Mike with concern.

  Terror glued Lucy to the spot as one of the growling beasts looked up at her with its dead grey eyes. Bloody flesh still hung from its pink teeth as it sprung towards her. Instinct kicked in, and she reached round for her Glock and shot the creature straight between the eyes. It cartwheeled back, knocking another off balance, but now all the RAMs knew where they needed to go to quench their thirst, their hunger.

  Mike looked through the dining room and into the foyer. He saw Lucy and, beyond her, the snarling beasts. The shots had stopped the rescue workers in their tracks. Panic replaced the determination that had previously shone on their faces. “Get on the radio, get your men back here now,” Mike barked at Shaw. He looked at his sister, still trapped underneath the rubble, and his younger sister and brother with the now familiar look of terror on their faces. “Nothing gets through these doors, you hear me? Nothing.” Before anyone had a chance to reply, Mike kicked the wedges out from under the fire doors. The people who had been removing the rubble from the demolished hospital wing scurried back in before he kicked the wedges back under the door and used a fire hose to tie the handles. Anyone with intelligence would be able to open the doors without much trouble, but thankfully for them, the RAMs were not thinking creatures.

  Lucy was retreating further into the foyer as she shot the incoming beasts. Mayhem ensued around her as the remaining villagers fled to take cover wherever they could. Talikha desperately tried to usher scared and confused people into the office behind reception, sacrificing her own security in order to try and make them safe. Lucy was the only one putting up a fight, but more and more RAMs were appearing at the door. Mike bent down and took his hunting knife from its ankle sheath then looked around for another weapon. His rucksack was in the ambulance; he would have to make do with whatever he could find. He remembered there was a fire axe on the wall next to the bar and was about to grab it when he noticed Raj. The vet had sneaked out while the others were running to safety, and he had grabbed the axe. Realising Mike was looking for something other than the knife, Raj flung him a crowbar that Jenny kept handy to lever up the door to the storage cellar. Mike caught the heavy chunk of metal comfortably and nodded in appreciation. He took one look back towards the barricaded doors and saw Shaw and another soldier knocking out the vertical oblongs of glass so they could get the muzzles of their rifles through.

  Mike inhaled deeply then began to sprint towards Lucy and the advancing beasts. She kept firing, and RAM after RAM fell to the ground, but for each one killed, another came through the door. She pulled the trigger again but this time there was no bang, just a hollow click. She was about to turn and run, but one of the beasts sprang through the air knocking her backwards and onto the floor. She screamed in horror, realising her life was just seconds from being over. Mike had never heard her scream like this. It pained him, but moreover, it angered him. Lucy struggled to hold the creature’s grabbing hands at bay as it edged its snarling mouth towards her face and neck. Another was about to join the struggle when Mike let out a barbaric shout, dragging the attention of all the RAMs towards him. The beast attacking Lucy looked up towards the sound as Mike launched himself into the air. His boot shattered the beast’s nose and upper gum as the impact catapulted the creature back, the crack of bone and teeth resounding throughout the foyer. The speed of the attack was so great that the beast was dead before the wound began to spurt.

  Mike didn’t lose a breath. He swung round and plunged his knife through the temple of the second creature then, in one motion, removed it and brought the crowbar down with the force of a juggernaut onto a third. Another RAM attacked; this time he plunged the knife up through the soft tissue of the beast’s chin, the cartilage from the roof of its mouth unable to slow down the mighty thrust. Another growling beast ran forward; Mike raised his leg and kicked it back. It fell into a group of RAMs which toppled like bowling pins. This gave the moment’s respite he needed to look back and check on Lucy. She had released the empty clip from the Glock and was putting a full one in.

  “Get into the office,” he shouted at her. Before she had time to bark back, she had shot another RAM which had appeared at the hotel’s entrance. Realising she wasn’t going to leave him, he took up a battle stance once again, in readiness for the next wave of the attack. Raj planted himself by Mike’s side and loosened his shoulders like he was getting ready to take a golf swing. Mike glanced back to the far end of the dining room. Shaw and another soldier were aiming their rifles down towards the entrance.

  The downed RAMs began to scramble to their feet. Lucy squeezed off two rounds and then three rifle shots whizzed past Mike’s right side. One of the bullets took off half of a RAM’s head, leavin
g a gooey red mound sitting on top of its neck. The body collapsed to the ground. The other shots hit the bodies of two creatures but barely made them pause. Mike began to advance but then stopped as a ruckus drew his attention towards the entrance. Four RAMs all trying to gain entry at the same time had been pushed over by another dozen. The beasts growled and snarled as they crossed the threshold of the hotel seeking fresh meat. Raj and Lucy edged back, but Mike took a step forward like some wild medieval warrior. None of these monsters were going to get past him. He was willing to fight them all, but he would take any advantage going. He toppled over as many dining tables and chairs as he could, creating an obstacle course for the invading creatures. They attacked simultaneously, but the furniture-strewn path staggered their progress. A rifle cracked in the background and another RAM went down. Mike took the first assailant out with a single blow from the crowbar, the thick skull making a sickening crack as metal exploded through bone. Another beast ran forward, this time to get an axe blade square in the chest. It tried to continue, but Raj held it at bay, bewildered as to why it hadn’t died. Mike helped him out by deftly ramming his knife through the creature’s temple.

  “You’ve got to get them in the head,” Mike grunted as he pulled his knife back out with a heavy slurp.

  Lucy took out the next two and the riflemen took out two more. Another three lunged towards Mike. This time, Raj swung the axe like he was playing a hook shot and sliced off one beast’s head above the ear. The other two converged and, fuelled by an almost primal ferocity, Mike stabbed one straight in the eye while bludgeoning the other’s forehead with one solid blow. Four more rifle shots rang out as two more attackers went down.

  Another figure arrived at the door. This time it was a child, or at least it had been a child. Now its once-innocent eyes were just grey memories of the past. A pink and white checked dress smeared with dark red blood. The small creature’s curled lips and gritted teeth demanded the same treatment as all of her kind, but the rifles did not fire; the two soldiers struggled to take aim at a child. Lucy’s mouth dropped open and she involuntarily lowered her aim. Heavy machine gun fire began to clatter out on the street as the armoured car pulled up.