by V. L. Dreyer
"Are you just being a big baby?" I teased, trying to use humour to lighten her mood. "And after all the effort you've put into trying to convince me that you're a grown up now."
My reward was a cheeky smile and a nudge in the side. "I am grown up. All grown-ups worry about their big sisters. You're the only family I've got now."
"Well, if I have any say in the matter, then that's going to change." I wrapped my arms around her and drew her into a tight hug. "These people are going to be our family now. All of them. I need you to be a big sister to those little kids, and I need you to be strong for me. I trust you to keep things organised while I'm gone."
"I will." Skylar hugged me back and then released me. "Just… stay safe, okay?"
I sketched a playful salute, then I pulled away from her and hurried the last few steps to the entrance of the video store. The stench of smoke was thick on the air, but aside from a layer of soot on the front door and the window sills, the building had survived unscathed. I shoved aside a few broken movie cases and made my way behind the counter, where I found Michael instructing the chosen few on the use of automatic weaponry.
He glanced up when I entered and smiled at me; even in the tension of the moment, his smile made my heart race. The others looked at me, and each of them gave me a nod. Hemi's face was a grim mask, and his friends looked no better.
I joined their ranks and gave the young man's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "We'll get to her in time, Hemi. I promise."
"No matter how fast we get there, it'll be too late for the guys that are already dead." Hemi looked miserable, and his shoulders sagged beneath my touch.
"Then we'll just have to make sure no one else joins them, right?" I gave him a gentle shake, and looked at the ring of faces around me. One by one, they nodded their agreement. Sensing that morale was at an all-time low, I looked each of them in the eye to try and assess their state of mind.
Michael looked as determined as I felt. He met my eye squarely, his jaw set in the look I'd come to know so well. His smile was reassuring. The others were not so confident. Tane's face mirrored Hemi's; they looked sad and completely bereft of hope, and neither of them would meet my eye.
Iorangi was another story altogether. When our eyes met, I saw hot rage surging behind his impassive mask. He was angry, really, really angry. I drew a deep breath to steady myself, and then set about the difficult task of rallying my troops.
"Guys, I need you to be here with me," I said softly, sympathetically, reaching out to my friends to try and give them hope. "Anahera is relying on us. We can still save her and the others, but we need to work as a team. It's the only way we'll have a chance. Can I rely on you?"
Unsurprisingly, Michael was the most vocal of the group and supported me without hesitation. Iorangi joined in a moment later, though I could see on his face he was motivated more by revenge for his fallen friends than any real hope of success. His older brother glanced up at me when I spoke, his gaze lingering thoughtfully on my face, but something about my words did seem to stir him. A few seconds after the others, his voice joined in, leaving only Hemi quiet and withdrawn.
"Hey." I shifted my attention to the young man, and put my hands on his shoulders. "I need you, too, man. Your mum needs you."
"Damn, Sandy. I don't know if I can do this." Hemi's voice was laced with despair. "I'm no fighter, man. I'll just get in the way, and then Mum will die."
"Don't talk like that," I protested. "Your friends believe in you – I believe in you. I know you can do this." I was studying him closely enough that I could see he wasn't entirely convinced, so I decided to switch tack. "Do you remember when we first met?"
"Yeah, of course," he said, nodding. "That pig, man. How could I forget?"
"Right, the pig. And do you remember what you said to us afterwards?" I didn't wait for him to respond, but supplied him with the answer. "You said that you didn't know what you would have done if we hadn't arrived when we did. You called us heroes. Do you remember that?"
"Well, not the exact words, but yeah, I remember." He was staring at me now, trying to figure out where I was going. I didn't keep him waiting long.
"This is your chance to learn what it takes to be a hero," I elaborated. "None of us are soldiers. We fight because we have to, to preserve what's ours. That's how heroes are born. We're going to teach you, and we're going to save your mum at the same time." I tugged him into a quick hug, then pushed him back and looked at him again. "Can you do this for us? For her?"
This time, there was fire burning in his eyes. "Yeah, okay. Yeah. I can do this." He looked around at the others and saw conviction written across every face. That seemed to bolster him up even more. At last, he puffed up his chest and looked me right in the eye. "Hell, yeah. I can do this. Let's go!"
"Good lad." I grinned at him and gave his shoulders a squeeze, then I released him and looked at the others. My little pocket-sized, rag-tag army. There were only five of us, but we had determination and courage on our side.
It would be enough. It had to be enough.
Chapter Two
The quad bike's engine thrummed beneath me as we bounced along the overgrown path towards Lake Ruatuna. Even though it was the first time that Michael or I had driven one of the little bikes, we were rattling along at breakneck pace, exercising just enough caution to keep ourselves from getting killed.
I spent half the time standing up in the saddle, bracing myself with my knees as we passed over uneven ground. Through the bike's suspension, I could feel the change in texture as we moved from the bush into the emerald tunnel lined with old railway sleepers. We were getting closer. A branch reached out and tried to grab my hair, but I ducked beneath it at the very last moment. I gained a few scratches on my cheeks from accidents early on, but I was a quick study – the vengeful trees with their grabbing claws wouldn't get me again. They were certainly trying, though.
It was the height of midday, yet the world we were travelling through was all shadows, ferns, and dappled light. We were jumpy and on high-alert, fully expecting one of the creatures to leap out at us at any moment, but nothing had so far. If they were in the area, then their attention was elsewhere.
I held up one hand to signal the others to halt, and then eased off the throttle and let my bike cruise to a stop. Ahead of us, the side passage that led towards the village opened up, dark, ominous, and too narrow to ride through safely.
"We'll leave the bikes here and go the rest of the way on foot," I said, looking back at the others. "I want to be able to make a quick getaway if we have to."
A chorus of determined noises answered me. No one questioned my orders; they just accepted them. It was a feeling that left me both proud and confused. Even Michael deferred to my judgement; he seemed relieved that someone else had taken on the burden of leadership. Our footsteps rustled in the grass as we dismounted and wheeled our bikes around so that they were facing the right direction for when the time came to flee.
While the others were preparing for combat, I pulled out my walkie-talkie. I quickly checked in with Skylar to let her know that we'd arrived safely, and then I switched the band over to Anahera's channel.
"Anahera, are you still there? Come in, Anahera."
It was the longest twenty seconds of my life before someone picked up on the other end – but the person who answered wasn't Anahera.
"Sandy?" The voice was male, and it sounded terrified. It took me a second to recognise him.
"Wiremu? Is that you?" I asked, keeping my voice as calm as possible in hopes that it would rub off on the others. Behind me, I could feel the men gathering to listen. "Is everyone all right?"
"No." The man was struggling to keep his fear under control, but I could tell his heart was racing a mile a minute from the way he was panting into the radio. "Anahera fainted. From blood loss, I think. I don't know what to do. The things are still out there. I can hear them growling."
I swore under my breath.
"She said someone wa
s injured – she didn't say that it was her." I looked back at the boys behind me, my face a grim mask. I clicked the send button down and spoke into the radio again. "We're not far away now, and we're coming to get you. Where are you?"
"W-we're in the pantry." The man laughed, but there was a hysterical edge to it. Behind him, I heard the faint sound of a thud and an inhuman scream. His laugh turned into a gasp. "Aw, Christ. They won't give up. Sweet mother, we're going to--"
"Stop." It was not a request, it was an order. "You're not going to die. We're coming to get you right now, and we'll be there in a few minutes. I need you to be ready to move the moment we get there. If I remember correctly, you guys have a couple of old knapsacks in there, don't you?"
There was a pause, and in the background I heard Wiremu shifting around. "Yeah, there's some here. You want me to fill them up with food?"
"Yes," I answered simply. "You probably aren't going to be able to come back again, so grab everything you can carry that won't weigh you down too much. Fill the knapsacks up, put them on, and be ready to run the second that you hear my voice. Okay?"
"O-okay." He stumbled over the word, sounding so frantic and terrified that it made my heart lurch. "Please, please hurry; I'm not sure how much longer the door will hold."
"We're coming right now." I tried to be firm and reassuring to hide the shaking in my own voice. "Just hold on a few more minutes."
There was a wordless grunt of agreement from the man on the other end. With no more time to waste on talking, I clicked the radio off and tucked it onto my belt. I looked back, and found myself ringed by four very determined faces, each clutching his weapon as though his life depended on it.
I nodded to them and unslung the shotgun off my back. In a swift, well-practiced motion, I slipped off the safety and loaded a shell into the chamber. A chorus of soft metallic clicks told me that the others were ready as well, so I didn't delay any further. I spun around and charged down the narrow green corridor at a run.
My heart hammered in my chest, but there was something cathartic about finally being in action instead of just worrying about it. I'd always been the kind of person that chose diplomacy over brute force unless I had no other choice, but now I felt surprisingly calm and rational. I was ready for this. We were ready for this. We could do it. I thought the pep talk had been to rally the troops, but apparently it had worked just as well on me.
My feet crunched over the leaf litter as we charged through the passageway, then out into the fields beyond. What greeted me was a scene of carnage. The last time I'd visited that little fortress, it had been a pleasant, picturesque sight, surrounded by fields full of animals grazing peacefully. Now, every single one of those poor farm animals lay dead and dismembered, torn to pieces. I snatched a deep breath to calm myself and ran on, trying to ignore the smell of death hanging on the air.
I leapt over a mound of entrails that I chose not to try and identify, and powered my way up the hill towards the fortress itself. The doors hung open, still damaged from the recent fire; just inside the entrance, we found the first human corpse. There wasn't much left, just a tattered heap of skin and bones with half a face attached. The organs were all gone and the puddle of blood spread in all directions; there was no way the man could have survived.
Another body lay not far beyond the first, and it was in an equal state of disarray. His face was completely gone, but I recognised him from the tattered remains of his favourite old plaid shirt.
Honi. His name had been Honi. I'd known him. I'd counted him as a friend.
I swallowed and tried not to look at Honi's corpse, but it was hard. Every death was a step closer to the permanent annihilation of our species. A death was no longer just a sad event worthy of mourning – it was an absolute tragedy for all of humankind. What was even harder was the knowledge that yet another one of my friends was dead and gone. I had so few left that each of them was precious to me.
If we didn't hurry, then more friends would end up like that. We could not allow that to happen. I shot a quick look around us, then sprinted across the clearing towards the nearest wall. The compound our Maori friends had built over the years was a maze, but it wasn't a big one. I knew the layout well enough.
The pa had been built up around an old yacht club, which was one of the few buildings that had survived the fire relatively unscathed. It was scorched with soot even weeks later, but it was still intact. The door hung ajar and I could see into the hallway beyond. Without hesitation, I threw myself down that narrow passageway, half-expecting to get attacked at any moment. Nothing sprang at me, but the moment I was inside I could hear the low, guttural growls and thuds of a creature on the offensive.
A creature. Just one. That was worrying. Anahera said they'd been attacked by at least four – where were the others?
I could feel Michael's protective bulk at my back as I crept forward, keeping myself low to the ground to present as small a target as possible. My ears were alert for every sound, but the only thing I could hear above the sound of our breathing was the uneven thump of flesh on wood.
Suddenly, the creature howled in rage and there was a louder thump than before, followed by an ominous cracking sound. I heard guttural human cries behind it, muffled but terrified. The thing had almost finished breaking through the door.
My shoes crunched across the debris that littered the floor as I followed the noise towards the kitchen. It took all of my willpower to move slowly and cautiously, and not give in to the urge to run. We passed a doorway. I swung my weapon around to scan the empty room, found nothing, and moved on.
The kitchen was the next door on the left. I took a long, deep breath to steady my racing heart, and then silently gestured Hemi and the brothers to watch the halls around us for trouble. Michael was a step behind me as I slipped around the corner and into the kitchen, my protective knight that refused to let me out of his sight.
The creature had its back to us, and was distracted by its desire to break through the door and get at the helpless prey within. It yowled in rage and reached up high, its fingers leaving bloody trails on the warped door. Michael lifted his gun and prepared to fire, but I held up my hand to forestall him. It took a second before understanding dawned on his face: the door wasn't all that thick. If we fired at the creature from behind, then chances were good that we'd also hit the people huddled inside the pantry.
He nodded and looked to me for guidance. I took a moment to consider my options, then decided that the one I least wanted to do was unfortunately the best. With a gesture to Michael to keep him from following me, I stepped forward to do the unthinkable. I walked towards the howling undead.
It didn't seem to notice me. At least, not at first. I managed to get within three feet of it without being seen, and then I circled around it to the left and carefully lined up my shot. Just as I was preparing to fire, it finally realised I was there and turned to stare at me with wild, bloodshot eyes. A horrifying shriek escaped from its bloody jaws.
That blood probably belonged to one of my friends, I realised with a detached certainty. But in that moment of danger, something happened that I still wasn't used to. Clarity. I didn't even flinch at the sound. I just pulled the trigger, and a blast of buckshot delivered at point blank range reduced the creature's head to a pulverised mass of flesh. I fired again, and a second shell sent the writhing mass tumbling away. It wasn't dead, and it wouldn't be unless we set it on fire, but that didn't matter. It couldn't do us any substantial harm without a head.
Cold, calm, and collected, I fired one last time, reducing the creature's legs to splinters of bone and flesh. "And stay down."
When I glanced back, I caught Michael staring at me with surprise on his face, but I didn't have time to ask what was wrong. I could hear the sound of human voices shouting from the other side of the door, begging for help, even praying. They were the most important thing, and everything else could come later.
"It's us," I called through the door, tapping on it
with my knuckles. "Open up; we need to get out of here before those things come back."
"Praise the Lord!" someone cried. I wasn't sure which one it was, but it didn't really matter. It was a sentiment shared by everyone. I heard the sound of heavy objects being moved, and then the door was flung open from within. The group looked wrung out and exhausted from their ordeal, but they were ready to move in a few seconds. Anahera was still unconscious, so two of the men lifted her between them and carried her towards the door.
"You have no idea how glad we are to see you," Wiremu said, sounding terrified and exhausted.
"Oh, I have some idea," I answered dryly, then I glanced back at Michael and the others. "We need to get out of here, and I don't think we're going to be able to come back. If you have room in your gear, grab any spare food you can carry and let's get out of here."
He nodded and hastily grabbed whatever extra supplies he could out of the pantry. I quickly shoved a few things into my empty backpack, but not enough to hinder my ability to flee. Within less than a minute, we were all ready to go.
A blood-curdling screech and a human shout from the doorway warned me that we'd finished just in time. A few seconds later, I heard the sound of high-powered bullets being fired in an enclosed space. By the time I reached the door, the creature was down and twitching.
"Just one?" I shot Hemi a worried look. He nodded and lowered his rifle. "There should be at least two more. Where are the rest of them?"
"Somewhere else," Michael replied. "Would you rather they were here?"
"Definitely – then we could take care of them and not have to worry anymore," I answered dryly, shaking my head. "It doesn't matter. Let's just get out of here before the damn things find us again. Tane, Iorangi, cover the rear. Hemi, you stay in the middle with your friends. Make sure nothing gets near them, and no one falls behind. Michael, you're with me."
A chorus of grunts acknowledged my orders. As I moved off in the lead, I heard my friends falling into formation behind me. We had to move at a slightly more sedate pace than before, but we still made good time. Nothing jumped us along the way; while I should have been glad for that fact, under the circumstances, it just made me even more nervous.