by Ryan Casey
She looked around. Still quiet. And then she put Kesha down. Doing so always pained her. Always made her worry that something bad was going to happen.
She held her breath. Went to open the car door. Rain bounced off the roof.
“Please open. Please open. Please…”
The car door clicked open.
Excitement filled Chloë’s body. She got into the car. She could hardly believe her luck when she saw the keys were still in the engine.
She adjusted her footing. Got a grip on the steering wheel. She didn’t know how to drive. She was way too young. But when there were no other cars on the road or people on the pavements to worry about, it was easy.
She grabbed Kesha. Started up the engine the way Dad and Mum always used to, and how she’d started the Range Rover earlier.
The engine coughed.
And then it stopped.
Chloë clenched her jaw.
She turned the key again. Closed her eyes together. Hoped it’d start. Prayed it’d start.
The engine coughed… and then it started up.
“Yes!” She punched the air. This was it. She was getting to the MLZ. She was getting there, and she was saving Kesha. She could get to Riley or to Jordanna or to Tamara or James or whoever—as long as they knew the truth.
And if they didn’t seem like the right people to take Kesha to, then Chloë would fight her way across the country until she did find the right person.
She looked at Kesha in the passenger seat. Smiled. “We’re getting you safe now.”
She put her foot down on the accelerator.
A light flashed.
A sound emitted from somewhere above.
And then the car cut out.
Chloë frowned. She tried to start the car again, but it just wasn’t working. The light that’d flashed looked like a petrol tank. It looked like…
Shit. No petrol. No petrol.
She sat there for a few moments, maybe longer. Sat there and her mind just wandered to what she had to do. She could rest here. She was annoyed that there was no petrol, but there was nothing she could do about it.
She had to rest, and then she had to keep moving.
She couldn’t give up.
It was only a few seconds later that Chloë heard the groans.
She lifted her head. Looked in the rear-view mirror.
Her stomach sank.
A mass of monsters. So many that they filled the road behind.
They weren’t exactly running, but they were walking very fast.
Walking towards her.
THIRTY-NINE
Chloë stayed sat in the car as the monsters approached.
It was completely dark. But it didn’t have to be light for her to see them coming. The rain had stopped peppering the roof of the car; the first time it’d stopped for hell of a long time. Kesha cried in Chloë’s arms. Wailed, which didn’t help with the whole keeping a low profile thing.
Chloë could see the monsters coming and she knew she didn’t have long left.
She had to make a decision. Fast.
She reached over for the car door. Started to clamber out. But then she stopped. There were a lot of monsters, but maybe she could just stay in here and wait ’til they passed. She was exhausted as it was. The last thing she wanted was to have to run away from a massive group of monsters while she was at it. Just added more pressure to everything.
So she reached for the handle of the car door. Pulled it shut, gently. She clicked the door into place. It didn’t shut properly, but she didn’t want to slam it and attract them closer to her position.
By her side, Kesha kept on crying.
Chloë crawled over onto the back seat. She crouched down with Kesha right between the back seats and the back of the passenger seat.
“Ssh,” she said. “Please, baby. Please ssh.”
Kesha didn’t stop crying. The redness of her face. The tears pouring down it. Poor baby looked like she was struggling.
Chloë thought about putting her hand over Kesha’s mouth and stopping the wailing just like she had the other day. But the thought of it disgusted her. She couldn’t do that. She couldn’t do anything that might put Kesha in danger.
She knew then that she’d made a bond with Kesha. That she was her friend. She was her companion.
And she was going to be by her side no matter what, whether she lived or died.
“Please,” Chloë said, stroking the back of Kesha’s head as the monsters got closer. “Sssh. That’s right. Sssh.” She started to sing a nursery rhyme to her. Started to rock her from side to side, just like Mum used to rock her. And the more she did it, the less aware Chloë became of her surroundings. Of the monsters just metres from the car. Then just inches away. Then…
She heard the nails of a monster scratch against the back door. And then she felt the weight inside the car shift as the crowd of monsters gathered around. She kept on whispering to Kesha. Kept on telling her everything was going to be okay, kept on rocking her, stroking her head.
On the seat behind her, there was a gun. One she’d taken from the islanders.
She’d use it if she had to.
One way or another, she’d use it.
She kept as still as possible as the dark shadows of the monsters moved past the car. She could hear them from all directions now, and she knew she was surrounded. She knew that even if she wanted to get out of this car, she wouldn’t be able to.
There was no escape.
She was trapped.
She’d made her choice and she had to stick to it, whether she liked it or not.
The seconds dragged on. The monsters were mostly silent. That was a good sign. As long as they were silent, it meant they hadn’t seen her. Although sometimes they worked differently than that. Sometimes they used their quietness to pretend they hadn’t seen you.
They were getting stronger. They were getting better.
But for now, everything seemed okay.
Until Kesha started wailing.
Chloë’s stomach sank. She heard a few heavier footsteps outside. She didn’t know what to do. Didn’t know what to say.
When she heard the first groan to her right, she knew she was already too late.
A hand smashed through the window on the driver’s side of the car. And then another worked its way in, and another, all of them battling to get inside this car.
The window at the other side of the car smashed, too. The window at the back. And as Chloë shuffled up to the other door, she saw the dead eyes of the monsters peering down at her, peering down at Kesha.
They’d seen her.
They knew she was here.
She grabbed the gun but dropped it with her shaky hand. It landed close to the invading hands of the monsters. Shit. She couldn’t reach it.
She was screwed.
She was…
No.
She wasn’t screwed.
She was a fighter. She was going to fight.
She inched closer to the gun. Hands waved inside the car, grabbed anything they could. The hands were invading every window now. Every one, slicing their skin and flesh in the process.
Every one except the back window.
Chloë’s heart pounded. Kesha kept on wailing.
“It’s okay,” Chloë said. “Don’t you worry. I’m getting you out of here. We’re both getting out of here.”
She waited a few seconds.
Counted down from three.
Then she lunged for the gun.
She grabbed it. Pulled it back.
But before she could move away, she felt a hand on her back. Felt a force stick its fingers right into her skin, start to pull her towards it.
She shook. She shook and kicked out. She even turned around and bit at the monster.
Bit right down into its skin, the coppery taste filling her mouth.
She felt the buzzing in her head again. But this time, it didn’t scare her. Even though that same buzzing once made her put
a rope around her neck and hang herself, it didn’t scare her.
Because that buzzing kept her alive.
That buzzing saved her life, time after time.
And now it was going to save Kesha’s.
The monster’s rotting flesh, bitter and awful tasting, fell away from its arm. Chloë backed away. Spat the flesh out. She held on to the gun in her hand, tucked Kesha under her arm.
And then she climbed into the back seat. Climbed over towards the back window.
She had to act fast. She couldn’t stick around.
“Sorry for this,” Chloë said.
She pointed the gun at the rear window.
Then, she fired.
She put two shots through the glass. It shattered all over, right onto the road. Cold air swooped into the car, the smell of decay and groans of the monsters following not long after.
She climbed through the window. Climbed out. And as much as she wanted to run in the direction the mass of monsters were gathered, she knew she couldn’t. Not now. That way was blocked.
She had to find another way.
She ran back. Ran back the way she’d come from. Ran down the empty road. She heard the creaking of the car, the breaking of glass, ease.
And then she heard the footsteps start to head in her direction.
She ran on her blisters. Ran through the pain in her knees. Because she had to. She had to do this. She had to get Kesha to the MLZ. And if she couldn’t do that, she at least had to get her to safety.
And she was going to do that. No matter what, she was going to get her there.
She looked over her shoulder. Couldn’t see much in the darkness, but she knew the monsters were onto her. And they wouldn’t give up. Not if she—
She felt something in front of her.
Smacked right into it.
Fell down onto the road.
When she turned round, Chloë’s thoughts froze.
The thing standing over her was tall. It was nigh-on invisible in the darkness.
But Chloë knew what it was.
From that clicking noise coming from its mouth, from the oiliness of its skin, she knew exactly what it was.
An Orion.
FORTY
Chloë stared into the dark eyes of the Orion and the Orion stared right back at her.
There was stillness between them. Such stillness that even the sounds of the approaching monsters seemed to drift away. Nothing else mattered but Chloë, Kesha, the Orion.
Nothing else mattered at all.
She smelled its damp flesh as it moved its face close towards her, close towards Kesha.
Chloë gripped on to her gun. She didn’t want to have to fire at the Orion. She knew that firing at it would probably not even kill it, only end up annoying it even more.
But she knew she might have to anyway. It might be the only option she had.
So she kept hold of it. Tight.
The Orion leaned right towards her neck. Chloë closed her eyes and winced as it sniffed at her. Its hot breath tickled the side of her neck. Kesha continued to cry.
Chloë felt a speck of saliva hit her lips. She tasted it, all salty and fishy. She wanted to wipe it away. Wanted to get the Orion’s spit off her.
But she couldn’t move. She just kept still. Completely still.
The Orion lowered its head down towards Chloë’s body. Moved it just past Kesha, then back up again. And Chloë thought back to what she’d seen earlier. The way the Orion in the woods attacked—butchered—Laura and her group of islanders. The way it looked up the tree at Chloë and Kesha. It could’ve killed them. It could’ve finished them both off right then.
But it didn’t.
It let them live.
For some reason, it let them live.
Chloë’s grip on the gun got tighter as the Orion pressed its face right up to Kesha’s belly. It sniffed at her, like a dog sniffing out another dog’s territory. Like it was trying to figure out whether Chloë and Kesha were friends or foes.
That was the terrifying thing about the Orions. Nobody knew where they stood with them. Mr Fletch designed them to hunt down monsters, but then he’d designed a few others that attacked humans, too.
Chloë didn’t know how many of those others he’d made. Only that she had to hope the MLZ group had already destroyed every one of them.
The Orion pulled its head back. Chloë’s eyes had adjusted better to the dark now. She could see the Orion’s face. She could see how awful, ruthless, monstrous it was.
But she could see something else too.
Recognition in its eyes.
And then it lifted its sharp-nailed hand and swung it right down towards Chloë’s head.
Chloë rolled away. She kept Kesha close, holding on and not letting her go for anything. The Orion pressed its claws into Chloë’s right side, scratching her in the process. And Chloë didn’t know what to do. Didn’t know how to get away.
She just knew that she needed to use the gun. Right now.
She lifted it. Pointed it at the Orion. Went to pull the trigger—
The Orion knocked it out of Chloë’s hand. Swatted it away, like it was nothing more than an annoying fly. It disappeared into the darkness.
The Orion’s breathing grew heavier, more intense. Just metres away, the monsters approached. She was going to be killed. She and Kesha, they were both going to be killed.
The Orion lifted its fist again. And this time, Chloë knew what was going to happen. She knew the end was close.
She squeezed her eyes shut and did something she hadn’t been expecting, that came from nowhere.
She lifted Kesha with her left hand.
Held her up.
“Kill me,” she said. “Kill—kill me if you have to. But not her. Please not her. Take—take her. Take her away and take her somewhere safe. Just don’t kill her. Please. Please don’t kill her.”
In the darkness of closed eyes, Chloë realised how ridiculous she sounded. She was speaking to an Orion. They were modified humans, sure, but the humans in them were gone. Long gone.
But something strange happened as time dragged on.
The hit from the Orion’s fist didn’t come. In fact, nothing came. Nothing at all.
Chloë opened her eyes again, peeked out of them.
The Orion was gone.
Sickness filled Chloë’s stomach. She wasn’t sure what to make of the Orion’s disappearance. It could be hiding. Hiding in the woods and waiting to attack her. It could be stalking her. Toying with her.
It could be…
Kesha was still in her arms.
And the monsters. They’d…
Wait.
Chloë heard the sound of squelching. She heard the groans of the monsters, only there were far less of them. They’d dropped in number. They should be on her by now. They should be sticking their hands into her guts and ripping them out.
But they weren’t.
They weren’t because the Orion was slaughtering them.
Chloë stood. She stood and stared into the darkness.
The Orion ripped apart the throats of the oncoming monsters.
It crushed the heads of those at the front of the crowd.
Stamped on the squelchy skulls of others, taking all of them down with crazy speed.
Chloë looked on. She held Chloë in her arm, not really understanding what was happening, why this was happening, and she looked on.
If the Orion hunted monsters, then shouldn’t it have attacked Kesha? Because she had bite marks. Might’ve been from a long time ago, but she’d been bitten all the same.
Chloë didn’t know the answer. She wasn’t sure she’d ever know the answer.
All she knew was that the Orion was protecting her.
All she knew was that it was taking the monsters down, one by one.
Clearing a path.
She wanted to thank the Orion. She wanted to say something else to it.
But she knew that thought was ridiculous.
And then she disappeared into the trees, following the road to the MLZ once again.
She didn’t look back. Not for a long time.
But when she finally looked over her shoulder, the Orion was gone.
Chloë didn’t see someone else watching her from the side of the road.
FORTY-ONE
By the time the sun rose again, Chloë had lost count of how many days she’d been walking.
The sky was grey. The rain had eased, but there was still the sense that a storm could break out at any moment. There was a chill in the air, too. Or maybe that was just because Chloë was so hungry. She didn’t know. And part of her didn’t even care.
She just had to keep moving.
She stared ahead at the hills in the distance. She saw Rivington Pike towering above. The thought of climbing that hill made her both happy and sad at the same time. Happy, because it meant she was getting closer to Manchester. But sad, because deep down, Chloë wasn’t sure she’d be able to make it much further.
But she knew she had to try.
The surroundings were silent. Chloë hadn’t seen a big group of monsters for a long time. And when she had seen monsters, she’d been sure to dodge them. To sneak around them. Not just because she didn’t have a proper weapon—just some loose sharp metal. But mainly because she didn’t have the energy left to fight anymore.
There was only one thing she had the energy to fight for, and she was holding on to Chloë’s arm.
Chloë looked down at Kesha and felt her stomach turn. She felt like such a weight on Chloë’s arm, but the truth was, she looked like a bag of bones. She was pale. Still. And Chloë wasn’t sure if Kesha was even alive still. She could feel her little heart beating every now and then, but she wasn’t sure if she was really, truly there.
And she wasn’t sure about herself, either. She felt lost. She felt exhausted.
But no matter what, she had to protect Kesha.
She found her thoughts wandering back to Dad as the wind brushed against her, the road opening up some more. She missed him, sure. She wanted to see him again, of course. But she also didn’t. Because she knew she wouldn’t want him to see her like this. She was skinny, too. Skinny and on the verge of breaking. And even though being skinny meant less meat on her for the monsters to tuck into, it meant getting tired more quickly, and it meant she was getting weaker.