by Casey, Ryan
She frowned. Went to run away. Went to punch him, or fight, or anything.
But it was already too late.
Jefe pushed her into the hole.
She smacked down the edge. The mud battered her, caught all up in her hair. She tasted blood in her mouth. Felt her body bruising as she tumbled below.
And then she smacked the bottom of this muddy pit, and she froze.
She looked up. Immediately shot to her feet, tried to clamber her way up the side of it.
But it was too steep. The mud just gave away upon contact.
She punched the side of the muddy slope with her one fist.
And then she slipped down into the depths below.
Tears of anger and rage storming inside her.
She was strong.
She didn’t belong down here.
She wanted to be up there. She wanted to fight. She wanted to—
“Emma?”
She looked around. Hannah, the girl with the tattoos, sat there in the mud. She looked bruised. Pale. Like she’d been through some real shit.
But she still had that smirk on her face.
“Looks like it’s just you and me now, kiddo.”
Emma went to say something.
Then she heard something else.
Another voice.
“Emma?”
She froze. That voice. She recognised it. But it felt like she’d not heard it for a long time.
She turned around, and she saw a girl about her age standing opposite.
She had thin ginger hair. Really long, right down her back. Her cheeks were covered in freckles. She was so pale, so thin. Wearing nothing but a torn white T-shirt and some jeans that were way too big for her. Her body was caked in mud.
Emma went to ask who she was when it clicked.
It clicked, and she felt it like a punch to the throat.
“Jade?” she said.
It was her best friend.
Her long lost best friend.
Right here before her.
Trapped with her.
Chapter Thirteen
“Trent? Villain?”
Susan didn’t even have to say another word for Villain to come racing towards her.
He jumped up at her. Licked her face, wagging his tail.
She felt herself welling up, growing tearful.
“It’s good to see you, lad. It’s so good to see you.”
She heard footsteps crunching through the snow up ahead, then. When she looked up, she saw Trent standing there, half-smile on his face. “You gonna give me the same kinda greeting?”
She smiled. Honestly, she felt a little reluctant around him still. She’d not been so keen to let him in just a matter of hours ago. But now here they both were, standing together.
And here Susan was. Actually happy to see the guy.
“It’s good to see you. Surprised you’re still alive, to be honest.”
Trent tilted his head. “Yeah, well. I have a way of surviving. Wouldn’t’ve made it this far if I didn’t. You look, um…”
“Yeah. I’m okay. Don’t worry.”
Trent nodded. He didn’t look convinced. Then he turned his attention over Susan’s shoulder. “What’s he doing here?”
Susan didn’t know who Trent was referring to at first. Not until she looked around and saw Pete standing there, somewhat awkwardly.
“Oh,” she said. “He’s here? I didn’t know he was. Must’ve been following me.”
Pete shook his head and sighed. “Susan—”
“This shit ain’t a joke,” Trent said. “That guy lied to your people. You sure he’s the kind of bloke you wanna keep around?”
Susan looked into Pete’s eyes, and she saw the sadness in them; the uncertainty. But also the determination to do something right. The determination to be better.
“He’s made a lot of shit choices. But this isn’t one of them. He wants to help. And as far as I see, we should let him.”
She looked back at Trent again, then.
“I mean, we gave you a chance, didn’t we?”
Trent shrugged. “I guess so. Don’t expect me to just go trusting this guy, though. I’ve seen snakes like him before.”
“Good to see you again too,” Pete said.
They stood together then, in the middle of the road. Susan. Trent. Pete. Villain.
“What happened to you, anyway?”
Trent scratched his head. “Managed to tackle one of those smiling freaks. One of ’em was gonna kill Villain, but this lad fought his ground. We ran. Kept on running and hiding as long as we could. Until we were sure we’d lost ’em. Still not quite sure we have. But at least we know where we’re heading.”
Susan nodded. “The same way as us, I hope.”
“Jack gave me a chance,” Trent said. “I owe my damned life to your people. I ain’t gonna just jump ship now.”
Susan smiled at Trent. As uncomfortable as she was with trusting outsiders, she felt like they were all united. Like they all had a common goal.
And that they were far stronger together.
Susan took a deep breath and looked at the road ahead. “We’ve only got one choice then, haven’t we?”
Trent smirked. “Looks that way. Just wish I had more than a damned knife in my arsenal.”
Pete stepped forward. Handed out his rifle to Trent. “How about an upgrade?”
Trent frowned. “What’s your deal?”
“No deal. Just… well. You know how to use one of these things better than I do. Trust me. I’ve seen you.”
Trent didn’t look convinced. But reluctantly, he took his rifle.
And then he handed the knife to Pete.
“This thing’s decent. Hope you know how to use it. But if not… well. I’ve got your back. For now, at least. ’Cause we all want the same thing here.”
Pete nodded, holding on to the knife. He looked around at Susan, smiled.
And then Susan looked at the road ahead, and she took a deep breath of the ice-cold air.
“Come on then,” she said. “We’d better get…”
She heard a shuffling somewhere to her right.
And she knew right away that someone was watching.
Chapter Fourteen
Jack was in the familiar surroundings of a shipping container again.
Only this time, he was alone.
It was pitch dark in here, which gave the illusion it was night. He knew it couldn’t be, though. Sunset couldn’t be far off, but there’s no way that much time had passed already.
He thought back to his conversation with the man called “Jefe”, whatever bullshit kind of name that was. The way he’d told him about not getting caught up in emotions, and all that crap. The way his endgame was to build some kind of alternate future, where people didn’t get bogged down by their weaknesses.
But then he remembered the way Emma had been dragged inside. Beaten. Bruised. The way Jack had been yanked back out into the unknown and thrown in another shipping container, alone this time.
He had no idea what fate awaited Emma.
He had no idea what fate awaited Candice.
He had no idea what fate awaited any of his people.
And there was nothing he could do about it now.
He leaned back against the cold metal wall of this shipping container. His body still ached from his beating by the big bloke earlier. He thought about how close he’d got to getting out of this place. How close he’d been to escape.
But had he really been close? Or was that just what it’d seemed like?
There was one thing for sure.
His hopes of getting out of this place were waning by the moment.
He heard a bang at the front of the shipping container, and light filled the darkness.
He spun around, and he saw her.
“Hazel,” he said.
He stood. Went to rush towards her.
Someone stood behind her. Pushed her inside the shipping container, to her knees.
“Hazel?” he said, crouching by her side. “You… you okay?”
Hazel pushed herself to her feet. Planted her hands on Jack’s arms. “Jack. It’s… Emma… she killed someone. She—”
“It’s okay,” Jack said. “Slow down. It’s okay. Emma. Is she okay?”
Hazel shook her head. “I don’t know. I...”
“Have you seen Candice?”
Hazel was quiet for a few seconds. Then, finally, she shook her head. “Not seen her. Have you?”
Jack’s stomach sank. “I was in a container with her earlier. We—we almost got away. But…”
“They stopped you. Right when you thought you were free.”
Jack sighed, nodded. “Something like that.”
Hazel stood up. Walked around this container, her footsteps echoing in the silence. “The question is, what’re we going to do?”
Jack shook his head. “I wish I knew what to suggest.”
“Wait. Is that the sound of Jack Drake admitting he doesn’t know how to handle a situation? Well, I never.”
Despite the circumstances, Jack laughed. He had to laugh.
“All this searching,” Jack said. “All this surviving. All the ways our paths have turned. And this is where it ends. Stuck in a shipping container. Surrounded by frigging seagulls.”
“You always hated seagulls, didn’t you?”
“I don’t hate them. They’re just cocky bastards.”
“Oh, come on. You do hate them. Remember that time in Cornwall when that one wouldn’t stop following you?”
“The cocky little prick nicked my Cornish Pasty.”
Hazel laughed. And Jack laughed too.
And as they sat there together, Jack felt Hazel place a hand in his.
“You know,” she said. “Whatever happens. I’m glad I’m with you. I’m glad we’re together.”
Jack felt a tightness in his chest. He felt his defences growing. His resistance. “Sure you wouldn’t rather be with Pete?”
Hazel sighed, then. “Don’t be a prick, Jack. I… I love Pete. I’ll never stop loving him. But you’re the father of my… of our children. And I’ll always love you too.”
She leaned on his shoulder. Jack felt a warmth like he hadn’t felt in years.
And suddenly he didn’t care where he was. He didn’t care about this situation. He didn’t care about what was happening.
All he cared about was Hazel.
He tightened his grip around her hand.
Leaned on her head as it rested on her shoulder.
“I’ll always love you too,” he said. “Even though you’ve royally done my head in these last ten years.”
She laughed. And he laughed, too.
And as they sat in this cold, dark container, he felt like his younger self again.
He felt like he was back in school again.
Meeting Hazel for the very first time again.
“One way or another, we’ll get out of this,” Jack said. “I really believe that—”
Right on cue, that door to the shipping container opened once again.
A man Jack hadn’t seen before stood there, knife in hand.
A woman stood by his side.
Smiling.
“Hope you’ve made your last words count,” she said. “Now come on. It’s time.”
Chapter Fifteen
Emma could barely believe what she was seeing.
The afternoon sun hid behind the thick wintry clouds. Emma shivered as a cold breeze blew down into this cesspit, covering her body. All around her, she saw such horrible things. Skinny people who looked like they hadn’t eaten in weeks, covered in mud and sores. Dead bodies lying by the side of the dirty hole, the smell of them even worse than that bottle of milk Mum once forgot she’d left in the fridge. Opened it and almost died when she smelled it.
And the looks on the faces of these people. Like they were broken. Defeated.
And then there was the person standing in front of her.
“Jade?”
Jade was her old best friend. Emma had missed her when she’d moved from Wigan. The very first day of the blackout, she’d been catching a bus, on her way to see her.
The rest was history.
Jade looked at Emma with wide, bloodshot eyes. She was always a pretty girl. Always way prettier than Emma. But right now, Emma could barely believe this was actually her. She looked so broken. So defeated.
So scared.
Emma took a step towards her.
And Jade stepped back slightly.
Emma lifted her hand. “Hey. It’s okay. It’s me. It’s… it’s me.”
Jade’s eyes narrowed. They got redder. Tears began to roll down her face. She stood there, shaking her head. “Everyone went away. Can’t be you. Everyone went away.”
Emma kept on walking towards her. She didn’t want to imagine what Jade had been through. She could probably guess looking at her that she’d been through hell.
All of them had been through their own kinds of hell.
But they were here now. They were together again.
Best friends.
“It’s okay,” Emma said. She felt tears of her own building up, trickling down her face. “It’s me.”
Jade kept on backing away. Shaking her head. “All in my head. All in my stupid, stupid head.”
She did something, then. Started to smack the sides of her head.
And as Emma stood there and watched a girl she used to admire so much—a girl who used to be so strong—she couldn’t feel anything but sadness. Pity.
She walked towards her and wrapped her arms around her.
“It’s okay. I’m here.”
Jade struggled at first. She wriggled around in Emma’s arms. Her body was so bony. Her ribs stuck right into Emma’s chest. Her hair felt greasy. And she smelled really bad.
But Emma kept on holding on to her.
Kept on stroking that damp, grimy hair.
“It’s okay. I’m here. It’s okay.”
And eventually, Jade stopped struggling and held Emma tight.
They kept their arms around one another. Neither of them said anything for a while. Emma didn’t want to force Jade into speaking. She wanted her to speak in her own time.
And eventually, she did.
“I thought—I thought I’d lost everybody.”
Emma backed away a little. Looked into Jade’s sad, wide eyes. “Well you haven’t.”
“My mum and dad. They… We survived together for a while. But—but then something happened to them both. They went out. Never came back. They told me not to leave the house. But—but I was starving, and I was thirsty, so I did. I—I ended up with some people. Good people. We lived together for a while. But then… then something happened. And now I’m here. I’m scared, Em. I’m so scared.”
Emma heard the fear in Jade’s voice. A girl who she used to think was way tougher than her. “How long have you been here?”
Jade shook her head. Wiped her tears away with her grimy hand. “A long time. It’s been cold. So cold. Sometimes… sometimes you have to sleep all up against each other. But people are sick. And sometimes people die. Sometimes you fall asleep holding a person, wake up holding a body.”
The taste of sick crept up Emma’s throat. She looked around at this cesspit—at the people in it, and the tall muddy walls at its sides. “What is this place?”
“It’s where they put the ones who they don’t know what to do with. The ones who they don’t want to kill, but who’ve done something bad. I just wish I’d not tried to escape. I wish I’d not tried to help anyone out. I wouldn’t be here now. I mean it’s bad up there, but down here, it’s hell.”
Emma looked around at all these people. Hannah leaned against the muddy walls of this pit. Most of the people in here were women. She didn’t know how to feel about that.
She looked back at Jade, then. Put her hand on her shoulder. “We’re going to get out of here, okay?”
Jade’s eyes widened. She shook her head. “No. We can’t. We—”
“We’re not staying down here. We’re not dying down here. And we’re not suffering down here any longer.”
Jade looked like she was going to argue for a second.
And then something shifted.
A smile on her face. Reminded Emma of old times. The times they’d go out playing in the woods. The times they’d spend on sleepovers, laughing at television shows they were far too young to watch.
The times when nothing else mattered.
“You’ve changed, Em,” Jade said.
Emma narrowed her eyes. “What?”
Jade shook her head. Wiped her eyes again. “You were always strong. But you’re even stronger now. You’ve grown up.”
Emma heard those words, and she felt a warmth in her chest. Just to have someone say she was strong, to not pay any attention to her missing hand… that was something.
She smiled back at Jade. Despite all the horrors around them. Despite the stench of death.
“We’re getting out of this,” Emma said. “You, me, and every other survivor down here. ’Cause that’s what we are. Survivors. Okay?”
Jade smiled a little wider.
And then she nodded.
“Okay. We—”
She stopped, then.
The sound of gunfire.
And the sound of crying.
Her face dropped. Fear covered it once again. Everyone else in this pit looked up, fear in their wide eyes.
“What’s happening?” Emma asked.
And Jade looked back at her with such fear.
“They’re coming,” she said.
Chapter Sixteen
Susan heard the movement in the hedges, and she knew right away they weren’t alone.
She spun around. Stared into the hedges. She couldn’t see anything. For a moment, she wondered if it was just her. She was feeling a little delirious. But judging by the looks on Trent and Pete’s faces, they’d heard something too.
Even Villain looked curious. He stood there, hackles raised, growling.
There was somebody here.