He wanted to call to her, to scream encouragement, but he didn’t have the spare breath. As he glanced back, he let her see his eyes and hoped his expression was enough. And then he pounded the pavement, pounded it like never before. His lungs were raw and sore and aching and a sharp pain dug upwards from under his ribs on the left side. He cursed every butt he’d ever tugged on but still he ran. Despite his lack of fitness, he was faster than Tammy. Maybe a simple competition was no longer enough to goad her. Perhaps he was more frightened than she was, had more reason to live. Jenny was waiting for him just a few more steps away; a few more seconds and he’d be holding her in his arms again and saving Tammy too.
He angled in from the main gate, leaning over to make the corner like a racing driver. He found new strength he didn’t know he possessed, broke through into a new reserve of power. He gave it everything he had; heart and soul and pure animal instinct.
He was going to make it. He knew it.
He reached the bottom of the steps for the hardest part, the final upward dash. He took the steps three at a time. At the top he saw the faces watching through the steel-framed glass doors. They were urging him silently on, waiting to unlock the doors and let the pair of them through before slamming and locking them again straight away. Then he heard a scream and the slap of hands on concrete. With it the muffled click of something breaking. He could hear in her voice she wanted to make it now, he knew she wanted to survive. He looked back and Tammy was down. She’d tripped on the first step and was flat out on her front, already trying to lift herself up.
He reached the door as she lifted her face to him and he saw that she’d smacked her mouth on the corner of one of the steps. The impact had snapped her front teeth off at the gum line. Even with death as close as it was he could see in her eyes the disgust with her sudden ugliness. Her lips were lined red and glossy, but smudged. As she pulled herself upright he saw her stop and wince as the pain in her knees flared. She’d taken the rest of the force of the fall across both patellae as they smashed into the edge of a lower step.
There was time for Kevin to look forward again and see the many faces beyond the glass and the look of dismissal in every pair of eyes - she’s history now - they were all thinking. But no, he could still go back for her. There was still time.
He turned away from the doors - doors opening to let him pass into safety and back to Jenny - and started back down the steps.
It was impossible.
The landfill army had arrived and there weren’t hundreds, but thousands of them. And now that they were this close he could see how big they were. Some of them were twice the size of people, more like cows. They came on legs of timber, legs of steel. They scrabbled along like millipedes on the claws of a hundred hedgehogs. They ran on two legs, galloped on four. They waved their arms and tool-hands like winning ticket holders. They were here for the flesh that would allow them to add to themselves from the crud of Shreve, the crud of the world.
They had Tammy in their hooks and pincers before he could take another step.
As she disappeared among them he saw the nearest ones inspect her with eyes of flesh, eyes of glass, eyes of plastic. And then their cutters appeared, made from hedge trimmers and hacksaws, the tiny blades from inside food processors. They mobbed her for her limbs and organs, took them while she still breathed. Her softened manicured hands were snatched from her in a single shear, her eyes were sucked out, the tongue clipped out from deep in her throat and he found himself wondering,
Why? What the fuck do they need that for?
She wasn’t enough for them. They tumbled up the steps towards him. Instead of moving he was simply thinking, considering. Was there any point in running and hiding any longer? Wouldn’t it be easier if he just let them take him now?
Hands grabbed him and yanked him back through the doors before he could finish the train of thought, before the landfill creatures could finish it for him. The locks were flicked shut and the crowd of faces retreated from the door with his now safe among them. He collapsed to the floor, panting, all the strength haemorrhaging from him.
‘Kev. Oh, Kev.’ Jenny held his head in her hands, cradled his face into her lap as she leaned over him. ‘I thought you weren’t coming back.’
‘What just happened out there, Jen?’
‘I’m so sorry.’
‘Just tell me it didn’t happen.’ She held him tight.
‘I can’t do that, Kev. This is real. All of it.’
‘But . . . Tammy . . . I mean, she was right there with me. She was right behind me and then . . . Christ, what have I done?’
‘You did everything you could. You risked yourself. You risked us, Kev. There was nothing more you could have given.’
‘I did it, Jen. I got her here. All the way here. But she . . . she just wouldn’t try. It was like she didn’t really want to make it.’
‘Maybe she didn’t. Don’t think about it now, love.’
‘What else is there to think about?’
‘Staying alive.’
‘Yeah, but for what? What’s going to be left? They take everything.’
‘We’re not going to give up, Kev. We’re not.’
***
Ray reached Jimmy just as the guttering gave way.
The kid threw up his hands as he fell backwards and Ray caught hold of one of them. Jimmy steadied himself with the other hand as one foot landed back on the top step of the wall and the other slipped off the side. Jimmy grabbed the steak knife out of his mouth as though it would save his life.
‘Listen to me, Jimmy, and do exactly what I say. I’m going to haul you up here but you have to help me. On the count of three, you jump and pull yourself up with your free hand. I’ll pull at the same time. Nothing to it. Talk to me, Jimmy.’
The kid just nodded, wide eyed. He could hear the things right behind him, scraping and scratching as they came.
‘One . . . two -’
‘No! It’s got me. It’s got my LEG.’
‘Shit.’
Ray let go and looked over the edge of the roof. The first creature did have the kid’s calf in its grip - a claw made of rusted barbecue tongs. There couldn’t have been much strength in it.
‘Hold on to the roof, Jimmy.’
Ray unsheathed the katana and aimed. He severed the thing’s ‘arm’ with one sure stroke. It released a pathetic shriek and recoiled, backing into the one behind it. There was a struggle and both landfill creatures fell off the wall into the bushes below. The remaining one moved forward eagerly to take their place. Ray sheathed the katana, feeling fairly impressed with himself, and reached out to the kid again.
‘Okay, here we go again, Jimmy. No hesitation this time. One, two, three.’
Jimmy weighed nothing and he popped onto the roof like
Peter Pan.
‘Go up to the apex. Carefully, Jimmy.’
Ray waited, sword drawn again, for the last creature to reach the top step of the wall. It extended concertinaed arms to grip the roof tiles and Ray slashed them off. The thing screamed but from underneath its body, two more arms reached up. These were larger - human arms with curtain hook fingers on one side and an edging spade blade on the other. Ray stood back this time and allowed the creature to get a purchase with its hooks. Seeing a pair of arms which probably belonged to someone in this very street, he couldn’t bring himself to damage them. The landfill creature was fast and once its body was on the roof it launched itself at Ray. The loss of two arms had done nothing to deter it. Ray let it come forward and merely held the katana in front of himself. The thing gored itself on the blade in its eagerness to have him and then, finally, something more important damaged within, it stopped. Ray drew the blade out of it and the dead thing slid back to the edge of the roof before falling into the garden below.
At the ape
x, Jimmy was looking down at his feet. Delilah had an arm around him. Ray shot her a look that said, ‘you’ve changed your tune’ and she gave him a barely perceptible shrug in return. When he reached them the kid said,
‘Th . . . thanks, mister.’
‘I’m not old enough to be a mister. My name’s Ray. This is Delilah. Now you can come with us to the college but you’re going to have to pull your weight, understand?’
The kid nodded.
‘I’ll do my best.’
‘Let’s hope that’s good enough.’
Ray led the way the end of the terrace of houses. He’d hoped for the last wall in the row to be usable as a way down to the street level but he’d completely misjudged its height. It was a challenging drop from the roof to the top of the wall and a dangerous one from there to the ground. He peered over the gable end of the last house, following the guttering. There was a black downpipe, not plastic but cast iron. It was bracketed to the bricks and looked secure. Even if it wasn’t, it was their best and safest escape. The problem was it led straight down to the street. Ray had hoped to get into the garden and make a run for it from there when they were all ready. As it was, they’d be arriving one at a time at street level in plain view of every creature nearby. He scanned the distance between the bottom of the down pipe and the row of shops they planned to loot on the way to the college. It was fairly clear at the moment. If they were fast they could dodge most of the landfill creatures in their path - none of them looked particularly large or agile. Between the shops and the expanse of parkland leading to the college there were far less creatures visible.
He turned back to Delilah and Jimmy.
‘It’s this pipe or it’s nothing. I’ll go first and keep things clear at street level. Come down one at a time or the pipe may not hold. Jimmy, you follow me, I’ll need your help at the bottom.’ He kissed Delilah hard and fast. ‘I’ll see you down there.’
It wasn’t a graceful descent. Between each bracket the pipe had no hand holds. It was a matter of stopping himself sliding so fast it became a fall. About two thirds of the way down, before he was ready to jump, Ray lost his grip. He fell and landed awkwardly, jarring his ankle before landing on his arse in the road. He jumped up quickly testing the injury. He’d twisted it badly enough to make him swear, not badly enough to stop him walking. A sweat broke on his face just thinking about what would happen if he couldn’t run. As soon as he hit the ground, creatures turned and made their way in his direction. He drew the katana, testing his ankle again and again. Running was going to be a problem.
At the top of the pipe, Jimmy struggled just to get his legs over the edge of the roof. The kid was obviously frightened of heights. Ray didn’t care.
‘Get your arse in gear, Jimmy.’
A ragged semicircle of monstrous garbage creatures had already formed before Jimmy was a quarter of the way down. Ray turned to face the interlopers. What am I waiting for? He went out to them, choosing the largest and most dangerous looking ones first and wielding his Japanese blade with as little force as possible. It was a lot heavier than he’d imagined it would be. There were dozens of them and he needed to conserve his strength. From time to time he glanced back to assess Jimmy’s ‘progress’. It was like a watching a slug cross a garden path.
‘Come on, Jimmy! You’re making it worse for all of us. Just fucking slide down.’
The creatures he’d killed formed a protective crust around them. The ones still approaching had to crawl over it, bringing them nearer to his sword. Even so, keeping the gaps plugged was like playing Tetris on level nine. Every time he moved around the perimeter his ankle expanded with pain.
Finally he heard Jimmy hit the pavement behind him. Delilah was already on her way down.
‘Come here,’ said Ray. ‘When you see one of these bastards get near the edge of this ring, slash ’em. Got it?’
The kid nodded, knuckles white around the handle of his steak knife.
‘What are you waiting for? There’s one right there.’ Jimmy looked at the small creature scaling the growing hump of its now inanimate brethren. It mewled like a starving kitten. He didn’t move. The thing reached the top of the mound and made faster progress down their side of it. It hoisted itself along on the thrashing tails of dogs and cats.
‘Jimmy, do it.’
‘I . . . I’ve never killed anything before.’
‘Even if you waste a thousand of them you still won’t have killed anything. They’re not living like you and me.’
‘I know but . . .’
Delilah arrived behind them having slid down the pipe like a fireman.
‘Forget it, Jimmy,’ said Ray. ‘Time to go.’
Ray found the least busy part of the ring of trash, took a run up and leapt over. On landing he fell to one knee. Delilah was right behind him.
‘What’s the matter, babe?’
‘I’m okay. Just twisted my ankle a bit.’
Jimmy still hadn’t joined them. Creatures had breached the wall of rubbish and were closing in on him. He looked at Ray and Delilah with desperate eyes. It was obvious that in the greatest part of his mind, he didn’t believe in himself. Or perhaps he didn’t believe he was worthy of surviving. Whatever it was, the instinct that was driving Ray and Delilah had not surfaced in him. Jimmy was thinking instead of acting. Ray beckoned him frantically.
‘Jump them, Jimmy. For fuck’s sake. Do it now or they’re going to dismantle you for spares.’
The idea must have affected the kid. He took a run up and leapt the trash wall like a hurdler. Then he stopped to look back, barely able to take in that he’d come this far.
‘Right,’ said Ray. ‘Let’s see if we can get into that outdoor shop.’
***
When Mr. Smithfield saw the wall of garbage strung across the road he knew there was only one course of action.
‘Belt up and hold on.’
Aggie and his wife braced their arms against the front seats. Pamela cried out:
‘Oh God, Richard.’
‘I know.’
It was the first time he’d ever put the accelerator to the floor. The Volvo responded with enthusiasm, pushing him back into the seat. He resisted, leaned forwards, kept his eyes open. If there was a weak point in the swathe of living trash up ahead, he couldn’t see it. It was a straight section of road beyond; plenty of time to correct and slow down after the impact. If they made it through. He looked at the speedo. Climbing towards ninety already. Was that fast enough?
They hit the rubbish, tore through it. Rumbles, snaps and louder impacts vibrated up through the foot wells. The Volvo shimmied on the uneven surfaces, slithered on unnameable substances but stayed straight. Richard Smithfield, elbows locked, jaw vicelike, prayed. They cleared the roadblock and the car settled down onto smooth tarmac. White-faced and rigid in the back seats, Aggie and her mother cried hesitant tears of relief.
Richard was laughing in tiny, machinegun bursts.
‘Hu hu hu hu . . . hu hu . . . hu hu hu.’
The road curved and he realised he was doing a ton. He touched the brakes as gently as he could. The bend sharpened.
‘Darling, look ou -’
Something popped and the car sank on the front passenger side. Richard hissed through gritted teeth.
‘Shit.’
Not knowing what to do, he stepped harder on the brakes. The car began its spin, no longer following the road.
Full brake. Hand brake.
Three interwoven trails of black rubber and something like a curl of stripped black hide.
Whirligig G-force.
The world smearing to green all around.
For all of them an awareness of the car moving beyond its proper environment.
Flying briefly, peacefully.
Tearing and scratchi
ng as the Volvo erased a section of hedge.
Blackout.
22
They set off but Ray couldn’t run. Jimmy and Delilah tried to put their arms around him and help him along.
‘I’m fine. I can walk fast. I just can’t run yet. I need a couple of minutes off the pitch and then I’ll be fine. Come on, we’ve got to keep moving.’
They reached the front of the outdoor shop quickly and safely. Someone had half closed the shutters but hadn’t finished the job. Ray expected the main door to be locked but it wasn’t. There was no need to smash the display window. They all just ducked under the shutter, pushed on the door and walked in. Ray locked them in for safety.
It was gloomy inside but there was enough light to see by. It seemed safer not to use the electricity and draw attention to themselves. Ray went to the rucksack display.
‘Why don’t we ditch your old backpack and get some nice new ones, D?’
‘Good idea.’
‘Pink? Light blue?’
She didn’t answer.
‘Black it is, then.’
Ray started filling their backpacks with anything he thought might come in handy.
‘What are you doing?’ asked Jimmy.
‘Stocking up. Being prepared.’
‘You’re stealing,’ said the kid.
Ray stopped and turned to Jimmy.
‘Are you serious?’
‘Well, it’s not right, is it?’
‘Let me explain something to you, Jimmy. Law and order have succumbed to the vicissitudes of survival. Primal urges are to be encouraged.’
‘Come again?’
‘We’re trying to stay alive. Nothing else matters now.’
‘I think the owner of this shop might take a different view.’
Garbage Man Page 26