At least George got away.
Using the standoff, Boss clicked a fresh magazine into his Glock. He looked down at Max, who was still growling and baring his teeth. Boss’s heart hammered away in his chest. After all I’ve been through to survive, it’s going to end like this? Surrounded by man-eating monsters. After all those hours playing video games, killing all manner of beasts, and I’m going to be torn apart by them. Ironic.
Boss sighed, remembering his life. Home had been fine, and school was too, until he reached 14.
It wasn’t his fault she liked him. Anya was her name. Beautiful blue eyes and long blonde hair. All the boys liked her, including Boss. Especially his best friend, Thomas. Thomas chased her for months. When Thomas finally asked her out, she declined. Boss was surprised when she texted him, asking him to the movies. Boss agonised over his decision, but in the end accepted. Thomas then turned on him and accused him of ‘swooping’. He launched a vicious social media campaign, bullying Boss mercilessly.
Boss began to hate school, dreading each day. He spent his time hiding away from the other boys and their taunts. He spent weekends online, immersed in WOW, joining guilds and raiding.
It was some of the worst days of his life and, weirdly, some of the best. His parents advised him to chalk it up to a life lesson and told him to remember that real friends stick by you no matter what.
Anya dumped him and moved on. Boss felt empty and without a purpose. He struggled for the next couple of years. Now, with the Hemorrhage Virus, Boss had a motive. Survive!
With new determination, Boss stared into the eyes of the approaching Alpha, whose yellow eyes glared back at him. As he got closer, Boss saw that the trophy heads were rotting now. Bits of flesh and tissue had fallen off, and the whites of their skulls were gleaming through. He raised his gun, sighting the Alpha, though he doubted the bullet would penetrate his bark-like hide. Squeezing the trigger a couple of times, he watched as the bullets harmlessly bounced off it. One bullet penetrated one of the mounted heads, though. Boss winced. He holstered the Glock and let his hands fall to his sides. Heat rose up through his body.
Strangely, he felt angry. Angry that it was going to end like this.
He bit his lower lip as the Alpha reached the island and hauled himself ashore. The clear lake water sloshed off him, making the green and black obsidian glisten in the morning sun. Boss shook his head. He hated to admit it, but he felt abandoned. Jack, Dee, and Ben had left him alone to look after George, and when he needed them most, they weren’t here. Well. They had asked Erin to stay with him, but Boss felt responsible for George. Dee had made him promise to always look out for him. Eager to please her, Boss had readily accepted. He’d never imagined this.
The Trophy King reached him, and stopped a couple of metres away. He raised one of his claws and pointed above Boss. Boss turned around as screams reached him. Feminine screams. Beth’s blonde hair appeared on the clifftop between two Variants as they man-handled her. The Alpha then pointed to his right. Boss watched, horrified, as George appeared, firmly held by a large Variant. His blue eyes pleaded with Boss.
Boss turned back to the Alpha. All his anger and frustration at the situation boiled up. He sprang forward, pulling his knife. A blur of black and white followed. Max barked and leapt at the Alpha, managing to latch onto his ankle. Boss leapt, raising his hand, knife clasped tightly. He aimed for the Alpha’s neck, hoping to penetrate the skin and cut the jugular. The Alpha bellowed and lunged forward. He caught Boss in mid-air with one claw, holding him aloft. He reached down and, without taking his eyes off Boss, lifted Max off his ankle. The dog barked and howled in pain. The Trophy King grasped Max in his claw. With an evil glint in his eyes, he smashed the dog down onto the ground. Max let out a whimper and fell silent.
Boss started to thrash and twist his body, desperate to escape. The Alpha lowered the squirming Boss to the ground. A Variant moved up in front of him. Boss stopped struggling and looked at it. The Variant moved in close and excreted a hot liquid into his face. Boss spat some of it out as his vision started to fade. He struggled to keep awake. Thinking quickly, Boss reached down and untied his prosthetic. The sound of it clinking off the stones brought a smile to his lips. He twisted his heavy head, catching a final glimpse of George as his world went dark.
FIFTEEN
Dee scanned left and right, letting off short bursts at any Variant she saw. With the arrival of the Maori warriors, they had focused their efforts on the Variants crowding on the campsite. With Ben directing them, they had concentrated their fire into groups of the knotted beasts, breaking through after some ferocious fighting. Dee shook her head, amazed at the ferocity with which the Maori fought. They didn’t have any guns either. Just traditional weapons.
The Renegades and the Maori warriors entered the tree line and started to climb up into the surrounding mountains, screams and howls following them. Skirmishes broke out on all sides. Dee caught a glimpse of Jack running ahead, following one of the Maori. He was pointing farther up the mountain, beckoning them to follow.
Dee pushed Katherine’s back, urging her forward. Katherine was struggling. First, they had run through the lab, then flown across the zip-lines, and here they were running again. Shrieks and howls echoed around them. Even amongst the scents of mud and gunpowder, she could smell the rotten fruit smell the beasts expunged.
Katherine stumbled. Dee reached down and hauled her to her feet. “C’mon, don’t stop.”
Katherine mumbled something.
On they ran, the lactic acid building in her legs. The exhaustion of the last few days was beginning to take hold. If it wasn’t for the imminent threat of being torn apart, she would stop right here and sleep, nestled against a rock.
Dee hurried on up the winding path, ducking between slabs of limestone and jumping over gnarled roots. Several of the Maori jogged alongside her, weapons grasped in their hands. The distinct tang of blood hung in the air, adding to the gruesome cocktail of body odor and cordite. Sweat was pouring off her forehead, stinging her eyes. Dee turned, looking for Ben’s comforting figure. He was bringing up the rear with a knot of Maori warriors, taking down the pursuing Variants. He caught Dee watching and waved her on. She turned and hauled herself up a steep rock shelf, straining at the effort.
Dee looked up to find Jack holding out his hand. She grasped it, enjoying his touch. For a fleeting moment, she let her mind enjoy the familiarity.
“Hey, you.”
He smiled and kissed her cheek. “Hey.”
A chorus of howls sounded out as a blur of movement on both sides rushed from the trees. Dee pulled away from Jack and raised her rifle back up. The fleeing humans had run straight into an ambush. Variants poured out from the bushes on both sides. There were dozens. Intense fighting broke out. Jack moved to Katherine’s other side, raising his rifle. Movement buzzed all around her, making it difficult to use her carbine without hitting someone friendly.
Dee slung her rifle and pulled out her Glock. She unloaded her magazine, dropping several monsters. Jack standing beside her had adopted the same idea. She heard Katherine, crouched down between them, scream.
Three Variants broke through and barreled into them. Dee twisted to one side, firing as she tumbled to the ground. Her bullet sailed true, smashing through the beast’s throat before exploding out the back. The Variant slumped to the ground. Dee risked a peek at Jack; he had rolled out of the way and shot a Variant in the head.
A terrified scream reached her. The third Variant had straddled Katherine. It slashed at her torso with its claws, cutting deep and exposing her intestines. Dee screamed and ran forward, reaching back to pull out her Katana. She brought the blade down in a slashing arc, relieving the beast of its head. She watched, satisfied, as the head bounced along the forest floor. One of the struggling warriors kicked it, and it ricocheted off a rock and dropped out of sight.
Yelling for Jack to cover them, Dee bent down and clasped Katherine’s hand. “Lie still. I’ll bandage
you up.”
Katherine looked into her eyes and squeezed her hand back. “Dee, it’s bad. I can feel how bad it is.”
“Regardless, I’m not leaving you behind.”
Katherine shook her head at Dee. All around them, the battle went on. Gunshots and war cries. The whacks of Mere hitting skulls. Grunts of effort as the Renegades and their saviours fought for their lives. Jack reached down and grabbed her Katana, standing guard as she pulled out her first aid kit and field dressed the wound. Blood immediately soaked the bandage, coating her hands. She quickly tied it off and signalled to Jack to help her. They lifted Katherine up, who grimaced in agony.
She handed Jack the metal case she’d carried all the way from the lab, often hugging it close. “Get this to Colonel Mahana.”
Jack nodded. “You’re going to make it, Doc. You have to.”
“Just take it. Please.” She looked at Dee. “Everything is in there, all my research. I hope… I hope I’ve done enough to save everyone.”
“Okay, whatever you say. Let’s just concentrate on getting out of here first.”
Dee wrapped her arm around Katherine and held her up. She looked over at the warriors; they were dispatching the last of the Variants. Several were coated in blood and black gore. Dee couldn’t tell if it was theirs or the beasts’.
Ben jogged up clicking a fresh magazine into his rifle. He looked Katherine up and down. “Bad?”
Dee looked into his brown eyes and gave him a slight shake of her head. “Not too bad.”
“Okay. Let’s keep moving. That attack was just a taster.” He turned to the hulking tattooed warrior next to him. “How close are we to your Pa?”
The warrior pointed with his Taiaha. “Top of the mountain. If we hurry, about ten minutes.”
Ben nodded. “Let’s go. I want this bloody day to be over.”
Dee pushed on, holding Katherine up as they struggled up the mountain. One of the Maori dropped back and held Katherine on the other side. Dee nodded and smiled at him.
As they climbed higher, Dee caught whiffs of decay. The morning sun broke through the clouds, illuminating the mist swirling around the trees and rocks. The muscles in her arm and shoulder were straining under Katherine’s weight. Not only was she straining with the physical task, but she was also struggling to grasp the fact that Katherine knew her mother. And that her mother was apparently alive.
The stench of decay became stronger as the steep path plateaued out. Dee glanced to her left, seeking the source of the putrid smell. The swirling mist dissipated, revealing several Variant corpses tied to trees, all in different stages of putrefaction. The nearest one’s insides were spilling out, liquified, dripping to the ground in a black, oozy mess.
Dee turned to her helper and indicated with her head the corpses. “Why do you do that?”
He grinned at her, showing his teeth. “The Rewera don’t like their own dead. It keeps them away.”
Dee scrunched her eyebrows together. “Rewera?”
“Ummm…Demon. What do you white fellas call them?”
Dee paused and looked down at her feet, watching where she put them as she stepped over some gnarled roots. She looked back at her helper. “We call them Variants, sometimes beasts.”
“Variants? Who came up with that?”
Dee shook her head. “Some American, I think. That’s what we’ve been calling them since near the beginning. I’m Dee, by the way.”
He nodded at her. “Tama.”
Dee held his gaze, smiling.
Katherine whimpered something inaudible. Dee and Tama stopped and shifted their grips.
Tama glanced at Dee. “Not far now.”
Dee hooked her hand into the belt loop on Katherine’s waist, gave Tama a nod, and they carried on.
Dee gazed in awe at the intricate carvings surrounding the gateway to the Pa as the exhausted and bloodied Renegades passed under it. She could see the figures called Tekoteko and other shapes she couldn’t recall the names of. She made a mental note to ask Tama.
Several women and men stood on either side, letting them pass. Two older women ran forward and lifted Katherine away. They carefully helped the injured scientist towards a building to their right.
With Katherine’s weight gone, Dee took in her surroundings. Immediately in front of her stood a large wooden building, the meeting house. Surrounding the whole facade were more of the intricate carvings. Their names escaped her tired mind for now. To either side were four smaller buildings, with a large rectangular building directly behind the carved meeting house. Looking to her left, Dee could see gardens, with a raised kumara store perched on a pole above them. She glanced back, happy to see the other Renegades enter.
The gates slammed shut with a thud, and several of the inhabitants pushed thick, heavy logs into place. Jack handed back her Katana and she slid it back into its saya, savouring the swoosh as it slid home.
She pulled him into a hug. “That was too close.”
Jack nuzzled her ear. “So much for a simple pick up.” He pulled away slightly, grinning.
Dee rubbed her hands over his back. “I can’t believe they sent us. I don’t think I’m ready for this, Jack. I mean, we’re not soldiers.”
“I know, right? I guess we were all they had. I would’ve rather gone to Mayor and checked on the boys. Now we’re stuck here, and Katherine is injured.”
Dee shook her head at the craziness. “I guess so. I suppose I should go and check on her.” Dee paused, before adding, “I wonder if what she said about my mother is true.” Saying the word “mother” felt hollow to Dee. She was so used to not having a mother. But saying the word didn’t change anything.
Jack reached up and brushed some of her hair behind her ear. “Do you really think she is?”
Dee grimaced. “I don’t know why she would lie. She’d gain nothing from it.”
“True.”
“Yeah. I don’t recognise her, but then I was young when Mum died. Well, when I thought she had.”
Mother. A person she had long thought dead. Question after question flashed through her mind as she glanced around the Pa. Why had her mother abandoned her? Why had her father lied? A gnawing feeling ate away at her stomach as she tried to grasp the reasons. Since her father was no longer here, she vowed to ask Katherine what she knew.
Dee shook her head. She turned at footsteps and saw Ben approaching, the big warrior striding beside him.
“Jack, Dee, this is Hone.”
Jack reached out his hand to shake Hone’s. Hone pulled him closer and gave him a hongi — the Maori way of greeting, when the people greeting touch noses.
A fleeting memory of a school class flitted to the front of her mind. She recalled it was so you could feel the breath of life. Dee watched, smiling to herself, knowing Jack would struggle with that. She reached out her hand to Hone in turn. Grasping it, she went in for the hongi, but Hone moved his head and kissed her cheek.
“A real kiss for the lady,” he said, grinning.
Dee couldn’t help but smile. “Thanks for saving us back there.”
Hone grasped her shoulder. “You’re welcome. Couldn’t leave you to the Rewera. Even you white fellas. You guys certainly made a lot of noise. If we hadn’t been on a supply run, we’d never have found you. It’s always nice to save the pretty ones.”
He was grinning at her, his eyes glinting in the morning sun.
Blushing, Dee replied, “Well, thank you.”
Jack waved his hand out, indicating the Pa complex. “What is this place?”
Hone laughed and grasped Ben’s arm. “Always with the questions, you white fellas. First we eat, then we talk.” He pointed to the rectangular structure behind the building with the carvings. “Kai is in there.”
Dee felt Jack’s hand tighten in hers. She tugged on him, nodding her head slightly. “Thank you, we’ll meet you there. I want to check on Katherine first.”
Ben turned to Hone. “Thank you, Hone. We’ll attend to our injured and
be right there.”
Hone strode away. Dee couldn’t help but admire his muscles and tattoos. Jack nudged her side. She squeezed his hand, smirking at him.
The Renegades moved into the shade provided by one of the buildings. Dee shivered despite the sun; the autumn mornings were chilly.
She knelt beside Tony. He was shaking violently, obviously in shock.
Ben placed a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll take care of him. You go be with the Doc.”
Dee pursed her lips together. “Okay. Look after this smart-arse for me.”
She rose back up, grasped Jack’s hand, and headed for the small wooden building the elderly women had taken the scientist into.
With each step she took, her trepidation grew. The questions that had nagged her on their flight up the mountain bubbled back to the surface.
Jack seemed to pick up on her feelings and wrapped an arm around her, drawing her in close. “I love you, Dee.”
She pushed her body in closer, not minding that he stank of sweat, blood, and gore. “I know.”
Dee paused at the door, not sure whether to knock or just enter. She was clueless about Maori etiquette.
The door swung open, saving her. An elderly woman stood inside. Pulling the door open wider, she waved them inside. “She’s asking for you, hun.”
Dee rushed inside. The room held six single beds lined up in two rows. Katherine was lying on the middle one in the far row, her head propped up on several pillows.
Dee strode over to her, Jack following close behind. The other elderly woman sat next to her, holding her hand and wiping her brow. Dee caught the pungent stench of herbs as she moved alongside Katherine and sat in the empty chair.
The women had redressed her quick field dressing. She could see a dark green poultice oozing out the sides; that must be the source of the strong scent of herbs. The bandage was beginning to soak through with blood, though.
The Fourth Phase Page 12