The vehicles turned right one by one like cattle walking into a slaughterhouse. The lane had potholes, but it was still a marked improvement on what had gone before. The convoy moved relatively smoothly and slowed in trepidation as they reached the brow of the hill which heralded the descent into the town square and uncertainty.
It was like being on a rollercoaster. As soon as each set of wheels reached the sharp decline, the drivers pumped their accelerators and shifted quickly through the gears to reach as high a speed as possible before they ran into any threats. The road down to the town centre was clear, but Joseph could see up ahead that there was an abandoned car. The windows had been smashed and the doors were open. It was in the middle of the street at an odd angle just before the square. He rode the clutch and moved down a gear as the 4x4 mounted the kerb with a whiplash-inducing shudder. The truck did the same with less effort. The attached caravan made a sickening crunch as it mounted the pavement, but the momentum won over and it got round the obstruction and into the square. The other vehicles followed rapidly, and the ascent back out of town was now in sight. Mike and Lucy looked around feverishly. The square of the idyllic market town had a war memorial in the centre where two roads crossed, making it the single most exposed section of the town. Lucy spotted a group of RAMs in the distance, clearly alerted by the revving engines and the sound of metal on concrete made by the caravan. When they caught sight of the convoy they began to run with purpose. Lucy and Mike grabbed on to the cab tightly as they hit another pothole. Then a horrifying crash sounded, followed by an interminable scraping noise. The pair looked at each other in a breathless panic. Both knew instantly what had happened and, in unison, they hammered on the roof of the cab for Beth to stop. They looked towards the RAMs: they were about three hundred metres away, and more had joined them. They looked in the other direction and noticed another group zeroing in. Lucy leaned over to see the damage. One of the caravan’s wheels had come off and the axle had collapsed. The bottom edge of the caravan was battered and broken. Curtains twitched wildly as the petrified occupants looked out.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck! Mike, what do we do?” Lucy cried out.
Mike grabbed the Browning from underneath the tarpaulin. “Doc, show me how this fires.”
Lucy released the safety catch and pulled the slide then handed it back. “That’s it, now you just aim and pull the trigger,” she said, still not understanding his intentions.
He picked up his rucksack and pulled it onto his back. He threw the heavy tarpaulin over the razor wire and brought Lucy round to face him. His firm grip held her upper arms, forcing her to look and listen.
“Listen, Doc, there’s no way we can fight it out with these things, we’re too exposed. I’m going to unhook the caravan, then I’ll lead the RAMs away. Hopefully they’ll all follow me. You get Alice and the kids into the other vehicles and then get out of town as quickly as you can. If there are any stragglers, take them out quietly. You don’t want to draw attention.” He turned around and started climbing down.
“You can’t, Mike, it’s suicide,” she called after him, tears forming behind her frightened eyes.
“Just do it, Doc. Please.” He threw the tarpaulin over the defensive razor wire, which sprung back into position. “It’s up to you to get them to safety now. Tell my family that I love them and I’ll see them soon.” With that he ran to the caravan, released the coupling and unlatched the breakaway cable.
Mike pulled the Browning out of the back of his jeans and then ran to the front of the convoy so he was visible to both sets of advancing RAMs. Joseph and Beth watched from the vehicles in awe as he fired at the first group and then turned and fired at the second. They were too far away for him to get a targeted shot, but the sound grabbed their attention and he became their new quarry. He waited until they were about twenty metres away and then began to run. He was heading in the direction the convoy would take, so at the first opportunity he would need to make a turn and draw the RAMs away from that route. He looked back and fired. One of the creatures floundered briefly as the shot exploded in the flesh of its belly, but then continued in pursuit. He fired again into the mob of snarling grey beasts. His intention was to attract stragglers rather than kill them. Mike began to sprint faster, confident that they were all following him. They were sixty metres away from the convoy and if Lucy and the group acted quickly the vehicles could soon be underway again.
Lucy emerged from her hiding place underneath the tarpaulin and scanned the area. Mere seconds had passed but the imminent threat of attack had lifted; she saw the two groups of RAMs converging in pursuit of their single prey. She looked up and down the convoy, all was clear. There was the sound of gunshots growing ever distant. Lucy quickly jumped down and ran to the Land Rover.
“Joseph. Get everybody out of the caravan and into the other vehicles, and whatever happens, don’t tell anyone about Mike,” Lucy ordered. She went to the second vehicle. “Beth, grab your shotgun. You and I are going to stand guard in case there are any more of those things around. Only fire if there are no other options. We don’t want to sound the dinner gong.” The younger woman did as requested.
Lucy and Beth patrolled up and down on either side of the convoy. Their shotguns were cocked and ready. Joseph swiftly evacuated the caravan, distributing the occupants throughout the various vehicles.
“Where’s Mike?” Emma asked Joseph as he opened the passenger door of the box van to lift in Sammy and Jake, who were tearful and terrified.
“He’s up ahead, dealing with our problem,” the farmer replied, not lying but by no means giving Emma the full story either. She realised it was no time to play twenty questions and did not press any further. She knew her brother would be doing all he could to gain them safe passage, and he always had a plan.
Mike slowed down to take a turn into a back street, keen to make sure none of the chasing mob lost track of him but mindful that he couldn’t afford to reduce speed too much and get caught. Two RAMs were up ahead, the pounding feet of the pursuing mob alerting them to the possibility that dinner might not be too far away. Mike raised the handgun as they converged. He pulled the trigger, click. He pulled it again, click.
“Fuck!” he shouted. He reached round to drop the empty weapon back into his backpack and withdraw his hatchet and one of the machetes, then ran at the two advancing beasts head on. Thick saliva bubbled from their dead grey lips as they approached. Their black pupils were soulless pinpricks in the bright afternoon sun, and their guttural, snarling growl increased in volume with each stride forward. Their hands reached out like hungry orphans in a Dickens novel. They were ready to leap, but Mike leapt first. He rose above them, putting his full weight behind his swinging arms. The hatchet sank deeply into the forehead of one, the sound of breaking bone swiftly followed by a slushy withdrawal. Milliseconds later another powerful crack sounded as the hefty machete sliced through skull, cracking bone on the way in and shattering more on the way out. Both creatures were down before they could even touch Mike, but the pause for their execution and the time it took for him to retrieve the weapons from the bodies meant the pack of ravenous beasts in pursuit had gained valuable ground. He heard a shot, then another, from the direction he had run from. He could only hope there were just a small handful of stragglers for his friends to deal with. He looked back to see that the creatures following him had not been distracted. The leaders of the group were just ten metres behind now. He would have to sprint faster. If they got him, they could still have time to get back to the convoy before it set off.
*
“Get in the car and go, Joseph,” Lucy shouted, once Alice and the children were safely dispersed among the four vehicles.
“What about Mike?” he asked, with one foot in the car and one still on the road.
“Coming back here wasn’t part of his plan. Don’t let it have been in vain,” Lucy replied, her voice shaky.
Joseph saddened visibly as he crouched to get back into the driver’s seat. L
ucy pumped the shotgun and fired at another stray RAM as the vehicles began to pull away. The box van and the ambulance pulled around the wreck of the caravan and headed upwards and out of the town centre. Joseph mowed down two creatures that had been attracted by the sound of the gunshots. Lucy looked around frantically to see if Mike had somehow managed to escape the beasts and got back onto the road, but there was no sign of him. She wept. Mike had willingly sacrificed himself so the rest of the group could live. He did it without a second thought for his own life. She wished she could see him one last time to say thank you, but instead, she could only whisper it as the convoy sped past the boundary of the town. “Thank you, Mike.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
Mike carried on running, but he was tiring. The pain in his leg was nothing more than a memory as elevated adrenalin levels remained constant in his blood. He could run miles, but not at this speed. The RAMs, on the other hand, showed no signs of fatigue. Their growls and grunts seemed to become more excited with each centimetre gained. He took another left turn and saw a number of large semi-detached houses lining the streets. He looked back once again to see where the pack was in relation to him. The leaders had been joined by a few more but were still about ten metres behind. He was going to have to try and find a way to get to safety, to get off the street. His lungs were burning.
He was heading downhill, which made running easier, and he could see that there was not far to go until he joined one of the main streets through Skelton. Maybe he would be able to give these creatures the slip by sprinting up a side street. Then, at the bottom of the road, a small group emerged. He had underestimated the amount of sound he and his would-be attackers, who now numbered upwards of fifty, were making. The other pack began to run in his direction, the angry growls of these additional eight beasts indistinct from the noises behind him but present nonetheless. At a push he might be able to battle eight RAMs with the various weapons he had at his disposal, but no way could he do it while still being pursued by the others. He would be overpowered in no time. His choices were becoming fewer and fewer as each second ticked by. Sweat was pouring down his forehead and he could feel it dribbling down his back. His breathing was increasingly laboured. Mike knew his body well; he knew he was stronger, fitter and faster than most, but his limits were approaching quickly.
His pursuers had gained more ground. The pack was about eight metres behind him now, and the group coming towards him was just twenty metres in front. Within a few seconds this would all be over. The footsteps and the gurgling growls were deafening as the creatures drew closer and closer.
*
Joseph had managed to cripple a further three beasts as the vehicles progressed swiftly towards Candleton. They were proceeding at sixty miles per hour along the straight stretches of road. They slowed down to thirty to take the shallow bends, but it wouldn’t be long before the signs for Candleton began to appear. It wouldn’t be long before Joseph was with his brother and his family and friends were safe. It sounded clichéd, but Mike had made the ultimate sacrifice for them to live, so the very least he could do now was to look after Mike’s friends and family like they were his own.
Each time the vehicles went round a bend, Emma craned her neck to try and catch sight of Mike on the truck. Each time she failed. She grew increasingly worried that he may have been injured and rather than standing guard he was actually lying down, bleeding out. Her little brother and sister were sharing the seat beside her. Sammy held Jake tightly, more akin to an anxious mother than a loving sister.
“Did you see Mike when we stopped?” Samantha asked Tracey as the ambulance steadily navigated the gentle curves of the road.
“I heard Joseph saying something about him dealing with the problem, so I’m guessing he had his hands full,” she replied, before turning around to look into the back of the ambulance. “Are you three okay in there?”
Alice and her two youngest children were sat on the gurney swaying from side to side with each twist and bend in the road. “Yes, thank you, dear,” Alice replied, clutching her children tightly.
In the distance, Lucy could see a formidable church steeple. Could that be Candleton? Please let that be it. Please say we’re safe, she thought to herself.
*
Mike withdrew the shotgun from his backpack. His decisions were becoming more and more split-second. A shot forward might kill one of the creatures, but the recoil would slow his progress by a fraction. A shot back might also kill an attacker but would propel him towards the other group that little bit quicker. He veered to the right and hurdled a thigh-high red brick garden wall. He pointed the shotgun directly at the large bay window in front of him and fired. Glass imploded, revealing an impeccably decorated living room. He glanced back to see the two groups of RAMs converging and beginning to stumble over the barrier. He fired a couple of well-aimed shots, bringing down two of the beasts and giving the creatures following an extra hurdle to cross. Mike leapt through the window, ducking as he went to avoid any hanging shards of glass. His head twitched from side to side, looking for the best escape. He pulled open the door to his right, revealing a hallway and staircase. He bounded up the stairs as he heard the first creatures displacing the broken glass around the window and gaining entrance to the house. As soon as his foot hit the first step he realised he had made a mistake. The second floor of the house would trap him, but there was no time to double back now, he would just have to figure something out. There was a loft hatch at the top of the landing. It was quite an old house and the ceilings were high, so there was no way he could reach it without the aid of climbing apparatus. More glass crashed, followed by a thud, then another. The first beasts were in. Why hadn’t he closed the door behind him? What an idiot. The more he thought, the more he realised the loft was his only salvation. Mike reached the top of the landing and looked around desperately, searching for a chair or anything that could help him. There was nothing. He looked down to see the shadows of the first RAMs heading towards the stairs. There were no other options, he would have to try and balance on the thin banister and post, see if he could get the hatch open and then take it from there. He climbed gingerly onto the thin oak rail as the first creatures barged each other to mount the steps. With one hand pushing up at the ceiling for balance, he took the barrel of the shotgun and levered the loft cover aside. He threw his weapon into the darkness above. The hatch was at a diagonal to the end of the railing. To get into it he would have to leap across and up at the same time, grab the wooden edge of the loft surround and then pull himself through the gap. Sweat covered most of his body now, his energy virtually spent. Everything would come down to this one final action. If he made it, he bought himself time. If he didn’t, he would be clawed and torn apart by his assailants.
*
Joseph brought the Land Rover to a standstill at one end of the bridge. There were sturdy metal barriers at both ends which certainly hadn’t been there on his last visit. Water gushed beneath, deafening him to every other sound. He looked to the other side of the river to see an army jeep and what looked like turrets on both sides of the road. He climbed out of the car and instinctively raised his hands as he approached.
“Move on, old man, we’re not taking in any strays,” a voice shouted from the other side.
He stayed calm but resolute. They had all come too far to be turned away by a hidden voice. “I’m here to see Daniel Masters,” Joseph said firmly. The rest of the group watched from the vehicles, worried that their journey was not yet over.
“What’s your business with him?” the voice replied.
“I’m Daniel’s brother,” Joseph responded.
“Wait there,” the voice replied sternly.
A few minutes passed as Joseph stood at the head of the bridge. He looked around to the others. Their faces were tired, their hearts heavy. An army Land Rover pulled up next to the jeep on the other side. A uniformed soldier climbed out and headed towards the civilians. His pace quickened as he got closer, and when he
reached Joseph, a broad smile broke across his face.
“Uncle Joseph,” the corporal said and took the familiar hand gratefully. “We were worried you wouldn’t make it. We’d actually begun plans to send a party down to see if you were still at the farm. Dad has been a wreck, worrying about you.”
Joseph clutched his nephew’s hand with both of his. “Darren, you have no idea how grateful I am to see you. We’ve got some people with us, friends, people who saved our lives.”
“If they’re friends of yours, Uncle, they’ll be friends of ours. Bring them in and then I’ll take you to Dad.” Darren released his grip on Joseph and turned around. “Let’s get these gates open now,” he barked back towards the turrets. Four men in army uniforms appeared and opened the barriers.
Joseph got back in the car and drove across the bridge, pausing to let Darren climb back into his vehicle and lead them in to Candleton. The group advanced carefully, the barriers were closed the instant they were through, and as they drove past the tall turrets, they noticed another four soldiers on guard, weapons raised, covering the ones who were opening and closing the gates.
The convoy proceeded into the centre of Candleton. Villagers gawked at the spectacle. For several days, the only vehicles they had seen had been military ones. Darren stopped in front of the village school and got out. He marched inside and reappeared a moment later with an older man and woman walking behind him. Joseph ignored the pain that was beginning to dance around his leg once again and climbed out of his car. He walked, then began to jog, towards his brother in an uncharacteristic display of emotion. The two embraced, then Joseph pulled away and hugged his sister-in-law before turning around to the other vehicles and signalling for the occupants to follow him.
“I honestly didn’t know if I was ever going to see you again, Daniel,” he said, sniffing with emotion.
“Well, you’re here now, Joseph, and that’s all that matters. Who are all these people?”
Safe Haven (Book 1): Rise of the Rams Page 22