Survival Instinct (Book 2): Adaptive Instinct

by Kristal Stittle

  “Misha,” Abby waved him over to where she stood near the bridge to the broken greenhouse. She had been able to pack quickly, knowing exactly where all of her things were.

  Misha walked over.

  Abby looked around, making sure Shawn wasn’t in sight, and then opened her bag slightly so that Misha could take a look inside. He just saw a bundle of clothes he couldn’t identify.

  “There are socks and a shirt in there for you,” Abby told him. “I don’t think Shawn will notice they’re missing for awhile, if he notices at all. Once we get to Rufus’s place and he’s gone, you can put them on.”

  “Thanks, Abby.” Misha wished he could return the favour somehow. Maybe he’d think of something later.

  “Do you want to go to this boat?” she asked.

  “Sure, why not?” Misha shrugged.

  “I’m worried because there will be more people there.”

  “And why does that worry you?” If anything, it should worry Misha who was the anti-social one.

  “I’m worried about someone like Jessica being there.”

  That, Misha could understand. He had never met Jessica, but had seen the damage she had done, both physically to Cillian, and mentally to the others. That’s really why they were so afraid of Shawn, because they knew what could happen when somebody snapped.

  “Lauren could be there,” Misha offered hopefully. “You seemed pretty sure that she survived this, so there’s a chance of her being there, right?”

  Abby smiled, although it was strained. She clearly wanted to believe this, but wasn’t sure if she could. “You’re right. Thanks, Misha.”

  Misha wondered if he had just inadvertently paid her back for stealing him some clothes. A T-shirt and socks for some weak hope seemed like a fair trade.

  One by one, everyone came back out onto the deck, wearing what they had worn on the Day. For Josh, that meant a pair of blue hospital scrubs with a slit cut up one pant leg and only one shoe. Although he had removed his cast, he had his crutches and a boot-like thing called a walking cast with him. If Shawn wasn’t going to give them anything extra, then they weren’t going to leave anything extra for him.

  “Load up,” Mathias ordered them all toward the plane. He and Tobias helped Alec get down the stairs.

  Misha directed the dogs toward the big Otter floatplane, but Rifle stopped short when he saw where they were headed. The big German shepherd lowered his head and whined.

  “It’s not that bad,” Misha tried to convince the dog. He wondered what Rifle would think of the boat. “Really, I promise it won’t be as bad as last time.” Although really, he thought it’d be worse with Shawn flying.

  While Misha tried to convince Rifle, Danny went up the steps and opened the door so everyone could load their packs inside. When he was out of the way, Milly actually climbed the steep steps that were basically a ladder, all by herself to get up into the plane. She was a smart dog.

  “See?” Misha pointed out her white form to Rifle. “Milly wants to go in the plane.”

  Rifle noticed his friend get in and took a few steps closer to the plane, still cautious. Last time, they had to trick him near the plane with treats and his skunk toy, but they were out of treats and the skunk toy was locked firmly between Rifle’s jaws.

  Milly appeared at the door again, looking toward the ground. She watched as Mathias picked Shoes up and began carrying him up the ladder. As he got to the top, Milly backed out of the way and followed the old dog deeper into the plane.

  Rifle moved closer to the plane again. Mathias climbed back down the ladder and then looked at the big dog, the two of them staring each other down. Misha gestured for the ex-mercenary to step aside. Mathias did, opening the path to the ladder. Rifle went up to it, eyeing Mathias some more, wary about being grabbed and hauled up like last time. He began sniffing at the really steep steps, then, going slowly and nervously, he began climbing up on his own like Milly had. Milly herself poked her head out for a moment, watched Rifle’s progress for a few steps, and then went back inside. Although she wasn’t as expressive as Rifle or Shoes, Misha had already learned her moods and could tell that she was excited.

  Rifle managed to get up into the plane all by himself. Misha climbed up quickly after him, making sure to praise him a whole lot and giving him a thorough shoulder rub. He stayed up there, watching the dogs, while Tobias, Joshua, and Mathias worked to get Alec up into the plane. Alec grumbled and cursed the whole time, hating his need to be manhandled.

  Once Alec and his wheelchair were in with the dogs and the packs, Misha and Danny hopped back out. Everybody gathered in front of the plane and began pushing on its floats, shoving it out into the lake. Once in the water, everyone climbed aboard the floats, then scrambled up into the cabin.

  Misha took the same seat he had on the way up, across the aisle from Alec. Everyone took the same seats that they had heading north, even Mathias who sat in the co-pilot seat.

  “Don’t touch anything,” Shawn warned him as he settled into the pilot’s position. Riley had told him the same thing, only she hadn’t been so threatening about it.

  Once the engine was started up, they began circling the lake in the same manner they had watched Riley do in the little plane. After gaining speed that way, they faced the long stretch and the engine was gunned. Misha tightly gripped his armrests. He remembered how close the trees had been during their landing. The plane rose steeply up off the lake, and Misha squeezed his eyes shut. If they were going to crash, he didn’t want to see it.

  He kept them shut until he felt Alec’s hand grab his wrist. He looked at Alec, who nodded, assuring him it was over. When Misha glanced out the window, he saw they were above the trees.

  As they soared through the air, the mood was a lot darker than it had been the previous time. When they had been heading to the cabin, everybody had been joyous and even celebratory. Now, they were sullen and quiet. During that first flight, they had thought that they had made it, that they had survived the zombies. In spite of a lot of emotional grief to deal with, they believed they would no longer be in mortal danger. They imagined having a life at the cabin, a future. Now they were leaving it. They were heading to unknown lands, and from there, back into the heart of danger. There were going to be more people, some who may turn out to be like Jessica, and some who were likely to get infected.

  Misha felt like he was standing on the edge of a high cliff with nothing but darkness before him, and the ground was quickly giving out.

  ***

  It didn’t take long to reach the small airfield. It had a single, weedy runway and a cluster of old military buildings. Shawn didn’t bother to circle at all; he just lined the plane up and set it down. Misha found himself squeezing the armrests again. It felt like his fingers were going to leave permanent impressions. When he risked a glance at the others, most of them had the same white knuckle grip. Nobody trusted Shawn’s landing skills.

  Their fears were ungrounded as the plane landed smoothly on the tarmac. They taxied over toward one of the buildings. It didn’t look like anyone was there, or had been there, for a long time. Shawn stopped the plane, shutting down the engines and unbuckling from his seat.

  “Wait here,” he ordered.

  He opened the hatch and climbed out of the plane. Although they obeyed, both Misha and Mathias moved to the doorway so that they could watch.

  As Shawn walked toward a building, he raised both his hands above his head in a surrender position. He stopped a few yards away from the building he had been walking toward.

  “Rufus!” he called out. “It’s Shawn! Shawn Bishop! Kathy and Hank’s kid!”

  “I know who you are!” a gruff voice of unknown origin yelled back. “Where are Kathy and Hank?”

  “They didn’t make it!”

  He didn’t sound too upset about that, causing Misha and Mathias to share a look.

  The door to the building burst open. A squat, black man with a totally shaved head, lots of muscles, and lots of ta
ttoos came out, carrying a pump action shotgun. He had the gun levelled at Shawn’s chest, and a small part of Misha hoped he pulled the trigger.

  “What are you doing here, boy?” the man, presumably Rufus, demanded.

  “There are some people in my plane that need to talk to you.” Shawn gestured over his shoulder at them.

  “I see ’em.” Rufus didn’t take his eyes off Shawn. “Why would I want to chat with them?”

  “You should ask them that.”

  Rufus stood perfectly still for a moment longer, holding his gun steady. At last, he lowered it.

  “All right, bring ’em out.” He gestured for them to come over.

  They went through the whole production of getting Alec, the dogs, and the packs out of the plane, gathering on the tarmac. Rufus didn’t offer to help; he watched from a distance. Both hands remained on his shotgun at all times.

  The whole group walked over to Rufus and Shawn, with Mathias in the lead as their ambassador.

  “My name’s Mathias Cole.” He held out his hand.

  Rufus looked him up and down, paying special attention to the Keystone insignia on his shirt. He ignored the offered hand. “And? What do you want?”

  “Riley Bishop said you should be able to help us out.”

  Rufus glanced at the group. “And why isn’t Riley here?”

  “She went back to Leighton to get Cameron. The greenhouse at the cabin was destroyed by a falling tree last night. We can’t all survive the winter there without it.”

  Rufus looked to Shawn, who nodded.

  “Riley heard about a boat, a cruise ship out in Halifax that a group of survivors are going to head to. They plan to convoy down to Toronto where they will meet up with some pilots that are holding out at Pearson International Airport. From there, they plan to fly to an airbase near the harbour and board the ship.”

  “A ship, huh? How big? How well stocked?”

  “I’m not sure on the size, but it seems to be pretty big. They were empty of passengers and anchored offshore when the outbreak hit the area. A team has been preparing the ship for long term living as well as collecting what survivors they come across. They didn’t think they’d have very many people until the pilots in Toronto were able to get in touch with them through radio.”

  “Who’s running this whole thing?”

  “A group of mercenaries, like me, who broke away from Marble Keystone.”

  “Sounds shady.”

  “It does. I understand you have no reason to believe any of the words I’m saying. In fact, if I were you, I would have disavowed every word the moment I saw my own clothes. I’ve seen the people running the group of survivors that are going to convoy, and I have to say I still don’t completely trust them.”

  “So why are you here?”

  “We don’t have a choice. Shawn could probably survive the winter in the cabin alone, but all of us wouldn’t. The boat is our best option. Shawn doesn’t want to fly us down there, but we were told that you might be willing to help us out.”

  “Were you now?” Rufus turned to Shawn. “And why don’t you want to fly them?”

  “I’m not wasting the fuel I have. In fact, I was hoping to barter some off of you,” Shawn told him.

  Rufus looked at Mathias again. “Why should I help you? What do I get out of this?”

  “Well, for one thing, you and your family could come with us.”

  Rufus bristled and became tense at the mention of his family.

  “Shawn may not like us, but Riley trusts us. She told me you’d likely be here with your family. I don’t know about you, but we’ve seen a zombie up here. This area isn’t a hundred percent safe until the snow comes and freezes them all. But of course, they’ll just thaw again in the spring, and the winter could be brutal.”

  “We saw a group of five wander across the end of the airstrip.” Rufus gestured to where he saw them. “Couldn’t say for sure they were zombies, but I figur’d they were, considering they didn’t come to check out the buildings for shelter.”

  “If you think you’re safe enough here, then we’ll try to barter something for a flight, but if you don’t think you’re safe, come with us.”

  Rufus looked at the group again. “I’ll have to ask my family.” He turned and walked back toward the building he had come from. He then stopped and looked at Shawn. “Oh, and boy? There’s no fuel here. I didn’t have time to bring any and this place has been dry for a long time. I also ain’t going to trade any my supplies with you ’cause I got what I need, and need what I got.” He then began heading toward the building again.

  Everybody silently watched him go.

  “Well,” Shawn broke the silence, “looks like I have no reason to stay here. Guess I’ll head out.” He was clearly fuming about Rufus’s refusal to trade.

  Shawn turned back toward the Otter and began walking. Nobody tried to stop him, but Milly started to follow after him.

  “Milly, come here,” Misha called for her, following after the two of them.

  “Go away, Milly,” Shawn told the dog. “You’re not staying with me anymore.”

  Milly continued to follow him.

  “I said go!” Shawn turned and shouted. “Go away!” He then kicked Milly in the face. She stumbled due to her missing leg and fell over.

  Misha’s hands clenched into fists, and before he knew it, he had launched himself at Shawn. He knocked the bigger man to the ground and began hammering at his face. He got in a few good hits before Shawn really knew what was happening. Shawn was a better fighter though. Once his brain caught up, he hit back. Misha took a shot to the temple, and another to the jaw before Shawn threw his skinny frame to one side. Misha sprang to his feet, prepared to go again, but Tobias and Josh grabbed both of his arms to stop him. Shawn pulled his revolver out, but Mathias had moved next to him unnoticed and disarmed him before anything really serious could happen.

  Shawn had a bloody nose and was glaring at all of them. “I hope you all rot in hell,” he said, turning back to the plane and climbing the ladder.

  Milly had run off and hidden behind Abby after she had gotten back up. Abby was hunched over, petting her head and trying to reassure her.

  Josh and Tobias released Misha and they all hurried away from the plane as the engine started up. Misha could feel a drop of blood trickle down the side of his face where the skin had split at his brow line. His lower lip was also split, and a large bruise was likely forming on his jaw. At least his eyes weren’t black and his nose wasn’t bashed up like the last time he had fought against someone bigger.

  “You’re an idiot,” Alec commented once the engine was far enough away not to drown them out. “I would have done the same if my legs were working, but you’re still an idiot.”

  “I wish you had more muscle,” Mathias added. “I have to say, I would’ve liked to pound the snot out of Shawn.”

  “Seconded,” Tobias agreed.

  Josh looked at Misha’s injuries and determined they weren’t bad, just needed to be cleaned. Misha’s tongue kept prodding the cut on his lip, bringing him the taste of blood every time. They watched as Shawn took off, back into the sky.

  “Where the hell is he going?” Rufus’s voice sounded behind them. They all turned to face him.

  “He had to go,” Misha answered, his tongue still probing. Rufus clearly noticed the new injuries to his face.

  “I hadn’t agreed to help you yet.”

  “Even if you don’t, Shawn would have left without us. If we can’t convince you to fly us, we’re hiking,” Mathias told him.

  Rufus looked at Alec and his chair. “You ain’t hiking far. Lucky for you, both my wife and my mother love the ocean. They want to see this boat.”

  “Thank you so much.” Although Mathias managed to come across as strong during the entire talk, the relief in his voice was immense.

  “It’s going to be a tight squeeze. I was thinking we’d leave tomorrow.”

  “No, we have to go now.” Mathias s
hook his head. “The groups are already moving toward Toronto, and that’s the best place for us to meet up with them.”

  “The sun will be down by the time we reach there. We’ll have to land in the dark, likely without guide lights.” Rufus looked at the sky. It would be dinner time soon.

  “Well, you’ll have all of Pearson’s airstrips to pick your landing from. And if you really need light, we can radio the people and arrange for flashlights to mark the way.”

  Rufus thought about it. “All right. Sure. Head down to that hanger over there. I’ll get my family packed up.”

  “Thank you,” Abby told the gruff man.

  Shortly, everyone was thanking him. Rufus waved them all off. “Just hurry your asses over there will you? You can thank me when we’re on the damn boat.”

  ***

  With the exception of Rufus, his entire family was female. There was his mother, a crotchety old woman who complained about everything, his wife, who bitched about everything, his sister, his sister-in-law, and his four squabbling daughters. The eldest of those daughters immediately began flirting with Tobias and making him very uncomfortable.

  The plane was a Beechcraft B200 King Air according to Rufus. The capacity was listed as thirteen people, but that wasn’t including the pilot and co-pilot’s seats. There was just enough room for all of them, but with their gear and the dogs, it was going to be a tight fit.

  The Beechcraft was a nice looking plane with leather seats. When Mathias asked about it, Rufus explained that he was a plane for hire. He flew some hotshot Hollywood types and upscale executives when they needed to hop from one city to another, but mostly he flew small film crews out into the wilds. Considering what the man looked and sounded like, the classy interior surprised Misha. Rufus went to the front of the plane, with his wife taking the co-pilot seat. The rest of his family took all the seats in the forward section of the plane, leaving their group to the back.

  “At least this plane isn’t so high up,” Alec grunted as they got him in. “I’m not looking forward to how you plan on getting me into the big planes in Toronto.”