SAFE HAVEN: REALM OF THE RAIDERS

by Christopher Artinian

  “I think they are creating a new kind of town. A town where if things go bad, they can simply pack it up and take it a few miles up the coast.”

  “That’s smart. If you don’t have the numbers or the will to fight then at least provide yourself with the opportunity to flee.” Mike scanned the pier and noticed someone with binoculars staring back at him. Mike raised his arm and waved. The woman paused for a moment then returned the greeting.

  “Should we go to them?” asked Raj, curious to find out a little more about the encampment.

  “All I want to do is find Lucy. The sooner we get to the camp the better, as far as I’m concerned.” Mike handed the binoculars back to his friend and went below deck.

  *

  Jenny and Shaw had heard the sporadic gunfire and the unmistakable sound of a large vehicle crashing into a building, but they were at a loss as to what was going on. The small barred window in each of their cells was too high and too narrow to get a view of anything. No guards had visited since Lucy had been escorted out just after breakfast, so the two of them were left to ponder what events might be unfolding. After a short debate, they sat silently in their cells listening for any sound that would give them a clue as to what was going on. The seconds ticked into minutes and the worry and frustration became palpable.

  “Do you think—” Jenny began.

  “Run... Run!” shouted a voice, gasping for control between laboured breaths. Several pairs of running feet could be heard, followed by the same voice again. “Faster, faster!”

  “Hello,” shouted Shaw, but to no avail. Whoever was up the short corridor past the guard desk was deaf to everything but his own plight.

  Then there was another voice, female this time. “C’mon, Mum, quick... quick!”

  “Hello!” shouted Shaw again. His face was pressed up to the bars of his cell, desperate to see what was going on. But then came a chilling scream and he instinctively took a step back. The high-pitched female sound was quickly followed by another scream, this time male and throatier, but still a familiar prelude to the certain death that would follow. Enthusiastic growls could be heard as multiple creatures fed. “Oh, Jesus Christ! Jenny, stay back from the bars, I think we’re about to get some company.”

  Like Shaw, Jenny had excitedly pushed her face up to the cold metal to see if she could find out what was going on. And like Shaw, when she heard the sounds, she wished she hadn’t. She walked backwards from the barred door and sat down on the bed, pushing her back against the wall and hugging her legs tightly to her chest.

  The twelve RAMs, some former soldiers, some former villagers, feasted on the three victims. The guzzling and slurping resonated around the cell block, and Jenny cupped her hands around her ears and closed her eyes. She was a strong woman who had been through a lot and could go through a lot more, but at that moment, it became too much for her and she began sobbing. One of the RAMs stopped feeding and its head shot up. Steaming blood trickled down its powdery grey chin as it rose to its feet and walked past the guard desk. As it got halfway down the corridor, Jenny’s sobs became more audible and it picked up speed. It walked straight past the cell of Shaw, who stared open mouthed, and went to Jenny’s. For a second it just looked at the figure on the bed with its eyes closed, crying helplessly. Then it lunged forward. It stretched its two arms through the bars and tried to squeeze its face through the gap to get to Jenny. Its growl gained in volume, alerting the other creatures that there was a fresh meal waiting, and they too headed down the corridor. All of them bypassed Shaw and went straight to Jenny’s cell like a pack of rabid dogs sensing weakness. Jenny’s cries became hysterical as she stared out at the inhuman monsters, their arms clawing at empty air, desperate to reach her.

  Shaw closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. He had made some bad decisions, and maybe, in some way, he was happy to be in this cell as a kind of penance for what he had done. But it pained him that Jenny was having to suffer.

  “Come on then, you fuckers. You want some fucking dessert, I’ll give you something to get your fucking teeth around.” He walked across to the metal bunk beds, removed the mattresses, pulled the frame away from the wall and tilted it towards him at a forty-five degree angle. It was sturdy, but Shaw was no wimp. He lifted the angled frame into the air and crashed it down repeatedly on the hard cement floor. All the creatures moved from Jenny’s cell to the next one; the quarry was standing just a few feet from their outstretched fingers. The bed crashed down again and again until one of the legs finally buckled. Shaw released his grip, letting the metal frame crash onto its side. He took hold of the buckled leg and heaved it back and forth until it tore loose, creating a twenty-inch metal club with a sharp jagged edge.

  Jenny heard the commotion and stood up, but dared not move forward again in case she diverted the RAMs’ attention. Shaw picked up one of the discarded mattresses and bunched the material in the middle so he could grip it with one hand while holding the leg of the bed in his other. He approached the front left corner of the cell, stirring the creatures into a heightened frenzy. He paused for a second to get his breath and then whipped the mattress around, trapping the flailing arms of two RAMs against the bars as he did. They bared their teeth angrily as Shaw pressed against the mattress, his face inches away from them. Then he raised the bed leg and brought it down with the force of a hammer blow onto the forehead of the first beast. The crack of the caving skull was drowned out by the growing excitement of the other creatures. Shaw pulled the metal club back out, making a barely audible sucking sound. His would-be attacker crumpled to the floor with satisfying speed. Shaw wasted no time and repeated the action for the second RAM. It too fell almost immediately. He pulled back, allowing the creatures to realign now that there was space nearer to him. Sure enough, within seconds two more pairs of arms had replaced the fallen RAMs. “Not too bright, are you?” he said as he twisted the mattress round once again.

  *

  The sun had retreated behind the clouds so, after having enjoyed the afternoon rays for a while, everyone went below deck, out of the biting sea air. Mike stood with Raj at the helm as the cruiser deviated from its heading slightly and into a large bay. The sandy beach gave way to dunes and wispy grass.

  “We have arrived, my friend,” said Raj, taking one final look at the map. “If our calculations are correct, the camp should be about two miles in that direction,” he said, pointing inland. “We can’t take the cruiser any further in as we might get grounded, so give me a few minutes to prepare and I’ll drop anchor, say my farewell to Talikha and we’ll take the motor dinghy.” He did not reveal any of the fear he was feeling inside.

  “No problem, Raj, I’ll do the same.” Mike headed to the saloon where he had put his rucksack. Everyone was assembled there, either sat or lying flat on the luxurious cushioned seating. Ruth was reading to the children, which made Mike smile. For something so normal, given the circumstances it seemed so bizarre. He nodded knowingly towards Emma, who got up and went across to him as he put his rucksack on his shoulder.

  “Are we there?” she asked in a hushed voice. Mike nodded. “I still wish it was me who was going with you.”

  “Like I said, Em, I feel a lot better knowing that you’re here keeping everyone safe.” He took hold of her hand and led her out into the small galley next door. “I’m not going to say goodbye to Sammy and Jake. It always ends in tears and I feel guilty as hell.” Emma understood.

  “I know you’ve got Raj going with you, and hopefully his level head will stop you from doing anything stupid, but please don’t take more risks than you have to. I wouldn’t be able to go through losing you again,” she said, taking hold of his other hand and squeezing them both tightly. He relinquished her grip and wrapped his arms around her.

  “I’ll see you soon, sis,” he said gently and kissed her on the head. He climbed the stairs and walked out onto the deck, leaving her to stand alone for a few moments with her thoughts before returning to her siblings.

  O
nce out in the fresh air, he wasted no time. He quickly went to the stern, pulled the dinghy in, undid the rope and jumped on. He took hold of the oars and quietly paddled away. When he was twenty metres from the cruiser, he levered the blades of the outboard motor into the calm water and started the engine. The boat sped across the waves towards the beach.

  He looked back at the cruiser as he heard shouts rising just above the sound of the motor. Raj was on deck, his hands outstretched as if to say what are you doing? Mike couldn’t see his face, but he could imagine bewilderment and pain, but underlying it all, a substantial amount of relief. He looked back to the direction he was heading in and cut the engine, allowing the momentum of the small boat to beat the waves to shore. He pulled up the motor, climbed out and dragged the boat up the beach. He struggled with the weight. It had seemed quite insubstantial in the water, but it could hold six people and out of the water it took on a new sturdiness.

  He dragged it off the beach and into the scrubland to make sure there was no risk of the high tide taking it out to sea, then after one last look back he took a reading on the compass and began jogging inland.

  The sandy scrub soon turned to lush green grass and then to woodland. It was considerably less than the estimated two miles before he hit the chain-link fence. He could see no signs on it, but the three tight strips of barbed wire at the top told him it was more than likely owned by the military. The woods continued past the fence and Mike stopped to think. When he had played this out in his head, he thought he would find the fence and then see the army buildings just beyond it, like in a movie. The reality of the situation had caught up with him quicker than expected. The only sure-fire way to find the buildings would be to follow the fence until he found the road leading into it. That presented another problem for him. It would be highly likely that the official entrance would be guarded and then his guerrilla attack would not work. He took out the map and compass and marked where he thought he was, then put them away and looked around, agonising over his next move.

  “Fuck it,” he said out loud, reaching round into his rucksack to pull out the wire cutters. He knelt down and began snipping at the links. The metal was rigid and his muscles worked hard to cut through the fence. He peeled the snipped links apart like opening a pair of steel curtains, then got on his belly and shimmied through. Once on the other side, he pulled the fencing back so that on a cursory exam, nothing would seem out of place. He put the cutters back into his rucksack and began to hike, heading roughly east.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  The noise from the ward was relentless as the growing number of RAMs kept hammering on the door like flies trying to get through a closed window. Humphrey, who had been lying next to Hughes, suddenly pricked up his ears and angled his head. He edged towards the door and began growling. The arm that had got caught in the gap was still tirelessly flailing, fishing blindly in the darkness of the small room for anything warm and breathing. There was a deafening crack that made all of them jump to their feet, apart from Hughes, who edged himself up the wall to get into a half sitting position.

  “What the hell was that?” asked Beth, and she grabbed hold of her brother and sister before the inevitable fresh burst of screams and tears.

  Barnes moved closer to the door and took out his torch. He shone it up and down, surveying the wood for damage. He couldn’t see below the two wedged shelving units, but everything else seemed fine. He looked back to Lucy. “A hinge, maybe? I don’t know, it all looks okay.”

  Lucy shrugged, “It might look okay, but when was the last time you heard a door make that kind of sound?”

  He scanned it again, then noticed that the arm now had a shoulder, and above it a jaw and mouth. He panned the torch down the shelving units and stopped. He gasped, sending ripples of panic through all of them. “The fucking units are buckling,” he said, his voice almost shaking.

  “Are they going to get in?” cried Annie.

  Her question went unanswered, but Beth knelt down and pulled her and John closer towards her, as much for her own sake as theirs.

  Lucy climbed over the racking and up to the door. She moved her hand to where the metal had buckled and realised it would continue buckling as long as the pressure on it remained. She crept up to the door and remained low, then pulled the Glock from her jeans, angled herself over the wedged metal and fired through the open mouth of the RAM. Its arm dropped, but its jaw remained wedged between door and frame. She signalled for Barnes to pass her the rifle and she used the butt to bludgeon the head out of the gap. As the lifeless body fell back, she caught sight of dozens more creatures eagerly vying to take its place. Positioned where she was, she could see the arm of the RAM that had fallen, still moving, aimlessly, stupidly behind the metal. Another creature lunged for the gap and worked its arm and shoulder through. This one was smaller and thinner than the last, and more of its face was visible. It had been a young girl, not much older than Annie, obviously one of the villager’s daughters. Who she had been and how old she was were of little consequence now. Lucy aimed once more and fired. A fountain of red liquid and tissue sprayed up the outside of the door and the monster fell back. More kept coming, and each time, Lucy fired a shot into their skulls. The strain on the door eased as the creatures struggled to find solid footing in between their fallen brothers and sisters.

  “There, that should give us a little time,” she said, breathing heavily and placing another clip into her Glock.

  *

  Mike was sprinting as fast as he could. He had been heading east, but shots had rung out to the north and his mind, like his body, was racing. Was it raiders launching an attack on the base? Had Lucy got a weapon and was she trying to escape? Had one of the soldiers gone mad and decided to go on a killing spree? He had run a quarter of a mile when suddenly the woodland stopped. He ducked low and crouched behind a tree, surveying the complex of buildings. There were bodies strewn all over, but he couldn’t see movement. All his plans had been centred around waiting until dark and being stealthy, but that was no longer an option. Whatever was happening, it was happening now and he needed to act. He pulled the shotgun out of his backpack and advanced through the tall grass, making sure he kept low as he went. He reached the tarmac, took one more look around and then sprinted across to the first of the bodies. He halted abruptly ten metres before he reached it. He didn’t need a close inspection to understand how this person had died. The throat had been torn apart, the blouse ripped open and huge chunks had been bitten out of the stomach.

  “Shit,” he said, putting the shotgun back into his rucksack and pulling out his two machetes. He knew there had been close to a hundred people all told. If RAMs had got in, there was no telling how many were infected or how many had turned. All he knew was that firing a gun was a last resort, so whoever had been shooting earlier had either been a real idiot, or in real trouble. He heard running steps behind him and swivelled to see a hulking creature in khakis thundering towards him. It had been Hooper. Despite the fact that his normally red complexion had turned a grey-green and his brown eyes were a misty grey, there was no mistaking his girth. Mike stood fast as he closed in, then sidestepped at the last second, causing the diving creature to crash onto the tarmac. Before it had chance to gather itself and launch another attack, Mike straddled it and brought down his machete, tearing through the back of its skull. Blood, brain and hair clung to the blade as he yanked it free. He wiped it off on Hooper’s T-shirt and looked around to see if there were any more. There weren’t, but he decided he had spent enough time in full view. He ran up to the front of the administration building and hugged the wall as he worked his way around it.

  At the corner he stopped. He looked across the courtyard to the front of a building that had caved in. He saw the back of the ambulance that had been their salvation during their journey from Leeds. If anyone had been in the building beyond that wreckage, they must surely have fallen to the RAMs by now. He stayed close to the wall as he headed down the side of the adm
inistration building. There was another structure at the end. It made sense that if they were holding Lucy hostage, it wouldn’t be with the villagers. She would be kept hidden, out of sight. As he moved nearer, he saw a sign reading “Detention Cells” and became a little more excited.

  *

  There was another crack, and this time the metal racking shifted visibly as the door began to give. First one arm, then two reached into the small room. Panic rebounded off the walls, and Humphrey began barking hysterically. Annie and John screamed themselves hoarse, and the adults shot each other horrified looks as the widening gap filled the air with the sound of death. Lucy fired at the first head that appeared then began shooting through the door at head height. She was determined that if she was going to die she would take as many of them as she could with her. Barnes picked up his rifle and began to do the same. The door was caving in anyway, so in the few seconds they had remaining, why not reap a little vengeance? The wood began to weaken as more shots pierced it. Suddenly the top half of the door burst inward, making the single hinge groan with its weight. The focus of the RAMs switched from trying to squeeze through the gap to trying to clamber over the jagged remains of the bottom half of the door. Their single-minded stupidity created a bottleneck which gave the trapped humans a moment’s respite, but only a moment. As two of the creatures stretched their arms further into the small room, they lost their balance and toppled over, landing awkwardly on the racking. Lucy put a bullet in the head of one while Barnes took care of the other. More beasts stepped forward and Lucy and Barnes took it in turns to finish them off. There were still close to twenty forcing their weight against the remains of the door and crumpling the racking further and further when first Lucy, and then Barnes, ran out of ammunition. Barnes rushed forward, turned his rifle around and began butting the creatures in the faces. An arm came out of nowhere and dragged him towards the door.