by Ryan Casey
No.
Nothing was going wrong this time.
They were making it to the Merrily building.
Then they were finding the boats. The boats that had to be there.
Then they were crossing the sea.
Gently down the stream…
“Tell you somethin’,” Dean shouted. “Not gonna be riding anything ‘gently’ in this frigging weather!”
Chloë smiled. Almost as if Dean was reading her mind.
They moved further down Embankment Road. She saw the grey building getting closer. Saw the caravans behind it. Up ahead, she saw the main town of Pwllheli. Behind it, the hills. The hills they’d walked through. The hills they’d battled through to get here.
All for nothing, it seemed.
Not anymore.
They were here for a reason now.
Chloë knew that reason.
They were here to find the safe place.
And they were about to—
She heard something up ahead. A scream.
She stopped. Raised her hand. Heard the group slow down.
“What is it?” Cassandra asked.
Chloë stared into the distance. She felt a slight shiver take over her. She’d heard something. Definitely heard something. And she was pretty sure it was a scream. Pretty sure it was—
Another scream.
And then another.
Up the road.
In the town.
No. Closer than the town.
Getting closer and closer…
“Definitely heard that somewhere before,” Dean said.
Chloë’s fingers and toes tingled. No. They couldn’t be back. This place was empty. It was all theirs. It was…
She heard the screams again.
Lots of them.
All identical.
And then she saw the movement in the distance.
At first, she couldn’t place the figures coming her way. She thought maybe they were Jackson’s group. But that might’ve been wishful thinking.
Because there were lots of these figures rushing through the town.
Lots of them hurtling towards Embankment Road.
Towards the group.
“Umm, Chloë?” Dad said.
Chloë reached for her knife. Gradually lifted it out of her pocket. She felt her legs and knees going weak.
“Are they what I think they are?” Dean asked.
Chloë heard the screams again.
The screams from the figures racing in their direction.
The ten, twenty, thirty figures sprinting down Embankment Road.
Monster figures.
40
FORTY
“Keep moving!”
Chloë ran.
She ran towards the Merrily building. Ran through the lashing rain. She heard footsteps behind her. The following footsteps of the rest of her group.
They had to keep running.
They had to keep following.
Because up ahead, swarming out of the town of Pwllheli, a crowd of screaming monsters.
And they were moving fast.
Chloë tried to blot out the terrifying sound of their screams. She tried not to focus on them as they hurtled towards her, towards the rest of her group. She just gripped her knife tightly. Kept on running. Kept her focus on the Merrily building.
Nothing had changed.
Just… a “shitload” of monsters, as Dean might say.
Nothing more than a shitload of monsters coming their way.
She heard the panic from behind. The muffled cries. She knew the old people couldn’t run much faster than the current speed. But they had to. They had to find it in themselves to be stronger.
And if they couldn’t, Chloë still had to reach the Merrily building.
Open the door.
Save the ones who could make it.
A bitter taste filled her mouth as the oncoming stench of death grew closer.
She’d have to leave people behind.
Leave weaker people behind.
She didn’t want to, but she had to.
Because she had to survive.
She ran down the grassy hill at the side of the embankment. Felt mud splattering up her torn jeans. In the distance, the monsters got closer and closer. Their screams were deafening, all crying as one.
And the more Chloë looked, the more she noticed the speed they were racing at.
The fastest monsters she’d ever seen.
She shuddered at the thought of all the monsters being like that and hoped for her old friends’ sakes that wasn’t the case.
She reached the bottom of the hill. A few of her group members struggled and slipped down the side. Four of them. Not enough. They had to be quicker. They had to be fucking quicker.
“Quick!” Chloë cried.
She ran across the concrete at the side of the water. The sea was gentler in this area. Some of it splashed up and hit the concrete, but mostly it was okay. At the other side of this stretch of water, the white cabins and green caravans looked on.
Caravans.
Heathwaites.
Her mum.
The place she’d lost her mum.
She looked over her shoulder. Saw her dad at the back of the current group. She wanted to go back to him. She knew he’d help her. She didn’t want to lose him. Didn’t want to lose anyone else.
But no.
She had to push forward.
She had to be strong.
The strong person he always told her she was, even when she was being bullied back at school.
The survivor.
The fighter.
She ran around the side of the grey Merrily building. Looked for a door. There had to be somewhere. Somewhere the boats could get out of. Somewhere…
She saw it.
The rusty black door by the side of the sea.
Her heart skipped a beat.
She was snapped out of the moment when she heard screams. Not the screams of the monsters, but the screams of her own group. She heard a few pops of gunfire. The weapons they’d taken from the care home. Limited ammo. Only to be used when they absolutely needed them.
Right now was one of those times.
Chloë ignored the gunfire, the screaming of both her people and the monsters.
She ran to the large metal door.
Grabbed the bottom of it.
It didn’t budge.
“Shit.”
She kicked at the door. Started pulling it again. She could feel it edging up. Feel it digging right into her hand.
But she wasn’t strong enough.
She needed help.
More than one hand would be a start.
She turned. Looked for Dean, for Cassandra. For someone—anyone—who could help her with this door.
And then she saw something.
Lisa. The old woman who always rolled her eyes, always moaned and complained.
She’d fallen over. Mud covered her face.
Everyone was leaving her behind.
Chloë swallowed a lump in her throat. “Need a hand here!”
She saw Dad getting closer. Saw Cassandra helping Rajiv and Lawrence.
Dad reached the door. Screams and cries continued at the top of the hill. “Got it,” Dad said. He started to lift the door, Cassandra helping him. “Just… just needs a few—Chloë!”
Chloë didn’t listen to her dad.
Instead, she ran back towards Lisa.
She couldn’t leave her behind.
She couldn’t leave anyone behind.
Because she was their leader. And a leader’s job was to protect their people.
She ran up the side of the grass. Saw three monsters stagger off the road towards Lisa. Their skin was see-through and pale. Their eyes were completely white. They were unlike any monsters Chloë had ever seen.
The moment they saw Chloë, they sprinted down the hill towards her.
Chloë raised her knife. Held her breath. Stared the first of the m
onsters in its horrible eyes.
She remembered what she’d learned.
Remembered everything she’d practiced.
Balance.
Focus.
Calm.
She took in a deep breath when the monster got within inches.
And then she stepped to the right.
Stuck the knife between the monster’s eyes.
She pulled the knife away. Watched the monster fall to the ground as she swung her knife into the left temple of the other approaching monster.
And when she’d finished with that one, she dragged her knife away once more.
Backed up.
Stabbed the third monster right between its eyes.
She felt its blood rolling down her hands but the rain soon washed it away.
All she cared about was Lisa.
Getting to Lisa.
Stopping anything happening to Lisa.
She heard the screams. Not far away. But far enough.
“Lisa, quick!”
She ran towards her.
Lisa struggled to find her footing. Kept on slipping over, covering herself in more mud.
“Quick!”
Another monster emerged. This one just behind Lisa. It looked at Lisa lying defenceless in the mud. Then at Chloë, and back at Lisa again.
It took a moment.
And then it jumped at Lisa.
In a flash, Chloë flipped the knife.
Aimed it just ahead of the monster.
Took another breath.
Threw it.
She watched the knife slice through the air.
Watched it flip like a boomerang.
All sounds slipped away. All tastes. All smells.
Just the knife.
The monster running at Lisa.
And the knife moving towards its…
The knife cracked into the side of the monster’s skull.
It fell on top of Lisa. Bled out all over her.
Lisa screamed. Cried.
But the monster was down.
Lisa was safe.
For now.
Chloë ran over to Lisa. Helped her to her feet. “Come on. Let’s—let’s get you away. Let’s get you out of here.”
“Thank you,” Lisa spluttered. “Thank you so much. You princess. You absolute princess.”
Lisa stumbled down the hill towards the Merrily building, where Dad and Cassandra kept on trying to lift the door.
Chloë reached for her knife.
Pulled it out of the monster’s head.
And then something crashed into her side.
Something sent her falling down the hill.
Something screaming.
41
FORTY-ONE
Chloë felt the monster’s grip on her body getting tighter.
She struggled in the mud. Turned over, rain and blood dripping down onto her face. She held the monster back. Held it back with all she had. She couldn’t reach for her knife. If she let go, the monster would sink its teeth into her neck. All hope would die.
But she had to do something.
She had to—
She heard something above.
A slice.
And then she felt a sudden waterfall of cold blood hit her face.
The monster went limp.
Chloë rolled out the way just before it could fall on top of her. She scanned the area. The road above was still quiet. The metal door at the Merrily building was creaking as Dad, Cassandra, everyone helped get it open.
Chloë turned.
She saw Lisa standing there. Staring down at the fallen monster.
Chloë’s knife was in her hand.
Dripping blood.
She held the knife out to Chloë. Handed it to her.
Chloë took it. Nodded.
Lisa nodded back. “You saved my life. So I saved your life.”
Then the pair of them rushed over to the Merrily building.
The door was half open. Dad was ushering people inside one by one, getting them to climb underneath. Chloë couldn’t hear any screams from behind the door, so she assumed things were okay in there.
The rain eased. The screams were gone. Chloë looked at her Dad, struggling to hold up the garage door. Looked at Cassandra, Rajiv, Dean, all helping out, all fighting and trying their hardest to get into this place.
They all wanted the same thing.
Safety.
And they were all working together as a group towards it.
“Go on,” Dad said. “You—you take a look underneath.”
Chloë shook her head. “I’m not leaving you out here.”
“I’m not a dog, Chloë. Go on. Go in there. Check everyone’s okay. Check…”
He didn’t finish that last sentence. Chloë knew why. The boats. Dad didn’t want to get too excited. Neither did Chloë.
There had to be boats in there.
It added up. With the song.
There just had to be.
Chloë pulled herself under the ajar garage door. She heard it creak above as she dragged herself through. Had an image of the huge chunk of metal slipping from Dean’s fingers, falling down and slicing her in two.
But that didn’t happen.
She was inside the Merrily building within seconds.
She stood up. Brushed the dust from her cloak. She looked around in the darkness. The windows were all boarded up, so she couldn’t see a thing.
Just the faint outlines of her fellow group members.
All of them inside, all of them squinting.
Chloë walked around the room. It was a strange place. Grey. Dusty. So dusty it made Chloë’s lips all dry, made her cough. Every sound echoed around this room. Every footstep on the concrete floor.
“There’s no boats,” Lawrence muttered. “There’s no nothing.”
Chloë walked to the middle of the room. She saw a blue sheet covering the floor. Her heart pounded. She tried not to lose hope. No. There had to be something. There had to be something in this place. The song, it wasn’t a coincidence. It was a message. It was all a message leading them here.
Unless someone had got here before them.
She heard the garage door slam shut. Covered her in total darkness.
The moment it shut, a lamp switched on.
It was a poor light. Little battery powered thing over by the garage door.
But it was something.
Another sign that something was in here. Something was hiding. She just had to look.
Dean rubbed his hands together. Dad breathed against his. Chloë could see they were bleeding.
“So,” Cassandra said. She walked up to Chloë. “See anything aroun—argh!”
Chloë saw Cassandra lose her footing as she stepped on the blue sheet.
She pulled Cassandra back. Stopped her falling forward, instead tumbling onto her backside.
Chloë looked at where she’d fallen. Cassandra stared at the spot. The spot her foot slipped through.
“There’s… there’s nothing. Underneath there. There’s nothing.”
Chloë’s chest lightened. She hurried over to the blue sheet. “Not nothing,” she said.
She pulled the sheet aside.
Dragged it away.
Stood back, and stared down into the darkness below.
It might’ve been dark, but Chloë could see four things.
She could see four things very clearly.
Four long, wooden boats.
All red.
Two paddles resting inside them.
Four boats.
Chloë heard the whoops around the room. Heard the applause. Her thoughts were scattered, too excited to think.
All that mattered was the boats.
The boats resting at the bottom of the room. Resting in a still pool of water. A breeze coming up from somewhere outside.
She wanted to stay here. Enjoy the moment with her friends for as long as possible. She saw Dean thrust a fist into the air. Saw Lisa doing a little dance,
all covered in mud.
And she saw her dad.
She saw his knowing grin on his face.
It made her feel tall. Strong.
The fighter he always said she was.
Chloë climbed down. Sat in the middle of one of the boats. The rest of the group followed, all finding their seats, managing to fit into three of the boats. Outside, the rain continued to lash at the building. She couldn’t hear the monsters anymore though. Must’ve gone. Must’ve given up.
Chloë swore there were more monsters than the few she’d fought though.
She swore there were more screams than her group dealt with.
“Look here,” Dad said.
Chloë peeked over her dad’s shoulder. He was holding something. A dusty, crinkled old map. On it was Wales. Chloë knew it was Wales because she always remembered Wales because of its fin, even though sharks had fins, but there was no country called Shark. She didn’t think.
“Where’s it taking us?”
Dad traced his finger from the top of Wales across a dotted line, towards a little speck of land broken away from the mainland. “Bardsey Island,” he said.
“Shit,” Dean said. “I’ve been there. Before the world went to shit. Took a day tour when we were in Porth Meuwdy.”
“Nice place?” Cassandra asked.
Dean tilted his head from side to side. “Small place. Not a lot going on. Population of four, from what I remember. And they were all wardens.”
“Sounds perfect,” Dad said.
He grabbed the paddles. The rest of the group settled into a boat, steadied themselves.
Dad turned to Chloë. Smiled. “You ready?”
Chloë looked ahead. Looked at the tunnel ahead. A dark exit. Completely dark.
But something they just had to trust.
“Ready,” Chloë said.
Dad started paddling.
Led the way.
Dean paddled the next boat just behind.
Cassandra took control of the third boat.
As they got further down the pitch black tunnel, as the air cooled, Chloë grabbed hold of her dad. She held him tight. Just like she’d held him when they went on a rollercoaster at Blackpool a few years back. He told her it’d be okay back then. She’d believed him. And it was.
“It’ll be okay,” he whispered.
She squeezed her eyes shut.
She really believed it would be.
She really—
A sudden burst of light.