by SD Tanner
‘Help me,’ Tracey gasped. ‘Oh God, help me.’
Now occupied with his still living meal, Vernon had lost interest in him. He knew people attacked by hunters but not bitten didn’t usually survive. The hunter would put their hands in their mouth while they ate their victim alive. Hunters would touch their victim’s wounds as they tore more flesh with their infected hands. Mouthful by mouthful, the victim was both eaten alive and slowly infected by the hunter and Tracey was still alive and whimpering. He desperately looked around the container for another weapon. Kat believed that the stress of such close living and weapons were a bad combination and she didn’t allow guns in their containers. People objected, but given the island was free of hunters, most followed her rules. After barely surviving for months he was too grateful for the safety the bases to argue about the conditions. Now listening to Tracey slowly dying, he regretted his compliance. Trying not to incite Vernon into attacking him, he quietly belly crawled towards a backpack on the floor near the next bunk. Emerging from under the next bunk, he grabbed the pack and bolted into the bathroom. Slamming the door closed behind him, he leaned against the door and waited to hear if Vernon would attack. When there was no response, he hunkered down and pulled out the contents of the backpack.
He got lucky. Inside the pack was a KA-BAR still in its sheath. Pulling out the blade, he contemplated his next move. He could stay in the bathroom and wait for someone to rescue him or he could go back into the room and try to bring Vernon down. It was a difficult decision. Tracey was doomed and Vernon was dangerous. Sitting hunkered down with his back to the door, he remembered his sister, Sally. When the virus had struck he’d been with Sally watching TV in the lounge. His mother was a large woman and she raced in from outside and launched herself at her own daughter. Their mother was always an angry woman and it wasn’t uncommon for her to slap her own children. Initially he’d assumed his mother was punishing Sally for some real or imagined slight. Sally was lying on the sofa when his mother landed on her and it was only when he saw Sally’s blood, he realized his mother was tearing into Sally’s chest. He ran from the scene, out the front door and into the road where he threw up his lunch. Outside the scene was equally as chaotic as the situation inside his home and he never went back. That day he’d kept running, but it was the image of Sally with her eyes wide with shock, staring up at her mother now dripping with her blood that made his decision. He wouldn’t let Sally down again. Holding the KA-BAR in his fist he opened the bathroom door.
***
Dawn was finally breaking in earnest and the sun was slowly making its presence known, hunters were drawing back into the shadows. The once white beach was now trampled with patches of dark sand where people bled, died and were reborn as hunters. In the water, heads were bobbing together while people held onto one another to stay afloat. Boats were slowly moving through the water between the groups of people and pulling them to safety. On the island the sound of continuous gunfire had diminished. A new sound could be heard over the gunfire and it was the heavy pucker pucker noise of multiple helicopters heading rapidly towards the island.
Gears peered out of the door of the bird at the island and surrounding water. He could see people in the water that were being pulled into the safety of the boats. On the island he saw groups of armed people at the shores. Hunters were still roaming looking for prey, but as the sun was now clearly rising, their vision was becoming compromised. He saw a woman stumble out of one of the containers and a hunter launch at her, she immediately turned and ran back into the container and he could only hope there were no living left inside.
‘Land us near the containers,’ he shouted to Hatch.
He was with TL, Pax, Ip and six combat shooters. They were getting ready for the day when the ship emergency sirens sounded. Before they could react, one of Gerry’s comms guys burst into their suite screaming, ‘The Island is down! The Island is down!’
Grabbing their guns and gear. They’d run straight for the bird and were in the air heading to the island within ten minutes of hearing the sirens. On the radio Gerry told them a small transport boat had drawn near the island and seen it was over-run with hunters and radioed him. He told Gerry to tell the bases to have every bird loaded with combat shooters and to get their asses to the island immediately. Then he’d radioed Captain Ted to get transport ships to the island.
Hatch landed and survivors of the massacre immediately ran for the bird and as they stepped out of the bird with weapons ready, the survivors leapt on board eager to be airlifted away. Hatch took as many people as he could and flew them to the farming island so he could return and pick up more survivors. Ip was already methodically killing any hunters seeking refuge in the darkness of the containers.
‘How do ya wanna do this, Gears?’ Pax asked.
Without taking a pause, he aimed and fired at hunters and replied grimly, ‘We sweep the island from one end to the other. Every goddamn inch of it and then we turn around and sweep it again.’
‘I’ll sort the boats and shipping out the survivors,’ TL said equally as grimly. ‘We need to get the survivors off the island first, then we can deal with the ones in the water and then those on the farming island.’
‘Go do what ya gotta do,’ he agreed.
Helicopters were landing and unloading combat shooters. Pax called them to line up across the island and told them they were going to walk it end to end, killing any hunter they found.
He called to Ip, ‘Honey, need ya back here.’
Ip reappeared from inside one of the containers and looked at him quizzically. Answering her, he said, ‘Need ya to focus on clearin’ the dark areas, but you’ve gotta stay with the line.’ Clearly understanding, she looked at what was immediately in front of the line of combat shooters and moved to the forested areas to kill hunters hiding in the dark.
Pax shouted, ‘Okay people! Aim for the head. Stay outta the dark. We know there’s hunters everywhere. Call for Ip to clear the dark areas. Doan shoot her and doan be a goddamn hero today!’
With that warning ringing in their ears, the combat shooters moved forward as a line and the firing commenced. The island was two miles long by a mile wide and it was going to take all day to clear the entire island of hunters.
***
Still in his container, Will managed to stop Vernon. Vernon was so occupied with consuming Tracey alive, he’d been able to sneak up, cut through Vernon’s brain stem and drag him off Tracey. Since then he sat with Tracey as she lay bleeding to death from the wounds Vernon inflicted. Vernon was lying six feet away and was down, but still moving. Tracey was unconscious, but still alive. The virus had not yet taken over and she was still human. The wounds to her buttocks and lower back were horrific and through the tattered flesh, he could see the white bone of her spine. Losing track of time, he eventually heard helicopters landing outside, one after another. He heard muffled voices as people called out to one another and the sound of controlled gunfire. Help had arrived. Feeling a deep sense of relief, scrambling to his feet he opened the door to the container and stepped out into the morning. He felt something thud against his chest and looking down saw a spreading stain, then he fell to his knees and his mind went blank.
***
‘Cease fire! Cease fire!’
‘There are living people in the containers!’
Of course there are, Pax thought. Why the fuck hadn’t he thought of that. Storming into the container area, Pax shouted, ‘If yer alive ya need to come out. Now!’
Dropping to one knee in front of the young man the combat shooters just shot, he felt for a pulse and found none.
‘Shit,’ Pax swore angrily. Looking down at the dead boy he said, earnestly, ‘I’m sorry, son. My bad.’
Gears walked up behind him and said, steadily, ‘It’s chaotic out here, Pax. We need to slow down. Do this step by step.’
‘I know that, Gears,’ Pax replied angrily. ‘We gotta get this situation under control.’
‘Yeah,’
he agreed. ‘But we’ll only get it under control if we keep ourselves under control. Don’t lose it. Your teams need ya.’
Having dealt with Pax, he said over the radio, ‘Hatch. Get the birds to drop all the ammo we got back at the helipad and then get back to the ship and load up some more.’
‘Roger that,’ Hatch replied.
‘And get Harry to send some food,’ he added. ‘Place is fuckin’ wrecked and nowhere inside is gonna be safe until we’ve cleared it.’
‘Ya okay, Gears?’ Hatch asked.
The question surprised him. He didn’t think Hatch had ever enquired about anyone’s welfare before and he said honestly, ‘No, Hatch, this is every kinda shit, but it’s gotta be sorted.’
‘I hear ya, Gears,’ Hatch said. ‘We’re all in this together.’
‘Roger that,’ he replied.
***
While Gears, Pax and the combat shooters methodically cleared the island with Ip’s help, TL walked to the beach across from the farming island. Someone had driven a boat into the bridge, effectively cutting the two islands off from one another and he called across the water to Mom who was waving at him.
‘You okay over there?’ He shouted.
‘Yes. We’re fine, honey,’ Mom shouted back.
‘How many people you got there Mom,’ he shouted.
‘About five hundred,’ Mom shouted back.
‘That’s good,’ he shouted.
Mentally he was estimating how many people were in the water, added an estimate for those left alive on the land and decided it was not good at all. By his calculation, they’d be lucky if there were a thousand people left of the two thousand that were living on the island. Realizing they lost at least half the people on the island, he felt his stomach sink and his face fell. That was a thousand people dead. A thousand hunters that needed to be killed. A thousand bodies that needed to be buried. A thousand people who were not given the sanctuary he promised. The magnitude of the loss made his stomach literally hurt.
Outwardly he gave no hint of how he felt and he called to his mother, ‘Transport ship is on its way, Mom. They’ll take you back to the base. Tell everyone, everything is in hand.’
‘Will do, son,’ Mom shouted. ‘Have you seen Pop?’
‘No, but I’ll let you know when I do,’ he shouted.
He radioed Gears and said, ‘Pop’s not on the farming island.’
‘Of course he ain’t. Ya know Pop wouldn’t leave his people,’ Gears replied bluntly. ‘When I see him I’ll send him to ya.’
‘How do you know he’s okay?’ He asked dubiously.
Over the sound of gunfire through his earpiece, he heard Gears say, ‘I don’t, TL, but I’ll assume he’s okay until I know different.’
Realizing Gears had enough to deal with, he let it go and walked towards the beach checking what survivors were still on the island.
***
Ruler listened to TL and Mom shouting to one another across the water and smiled. One fox in the coop has killed a lot of chickens, he thought and he put his hand over his mouth to suppress a giggle. He was sitting with Anna away from the groups of survivors who were clinging to one another, many crying and all in shock. I know exactly how they feel, he thought, I was just as shocked to find so many happy and safe people. I almost cried too, he thought indignantly.
He felt slightly better now. Putting his hand on Anna’s knee, he squeezed until she whimpered. ‘Oh shut up,’ he said crossly. Squeezing again even harder, he added, ‘Don’t spoil my good mood with your whining.’
Anna did as she was told and stopped whimpering. He stretched back and put his arm around her neck, dropping his elbow so he could slid his hand down the front of her white gown. ‘This has been a good day,’ he declared contentedly.
‘It has?’ Anna asked tentatively.
‘Yes indeed,’ he replied. ‘Strike one. TL loses his survivors. Strike two. Pax will lose his precious BD.’
Anna looked confused and said, ‘But BD is already dead.’
Under her dress, he squeezed Anna’s breast hard until he heard her breathe sharply. Ignoring her observation, he continued, ‘Strike three. Gears will lose his little imp. He paused and tilted his head until it touched hers and said matter-of-factly, ‘Then it’s game over.’
CHAPTER TWENTY: Devil’s in the house of the rising sun (Pax)
‘How the fuck did a hunter get on the island?’ TL raged.
They were back on the ship and standing in their suite. Filthy and stinking of hunter vomit, no one made a move towards their rooms to shower. The normally steady TL, was almost beside himself with impotent fury and neither he nor Gears moved while they listened and watched TL, who was unable to contain his anger.
TL slammed his gun down on the dining table and shaking his head as he deftly unclipped his tactical vest, he said angrily, ‘There is no way it was a fucking accident! Somebody deliberately did this!’
‘How?’ Gears asked simply.
‘I don’t fucking know,’ TL shouted. ‘But it was no fucking accident, Gears!’
He didn’t think it was an accident either. They were careful with their transports. No boat was anywhere near the island for eight hours before the outbreak started. There was no way a hunter waited around in the dark for eight hours before it attacked. Admittedly the security on the island was not hunter proofed. He’d assumed a hunter would never get loose on the island and he’d never planned for it. It meant the people were not protected in any way at night and there was nowhere for them to run to be safe other than the sea or the farming island. TL worked with many of the survivors convincing them to join their group and he helped them to get settled into the bases. He frequently checked on people to make sure they were getting what they needed and he thought TL was taking the failure at the island very personally. Sitting down on one of the single sofa chairs, he continued to listen to TL.
‘Why would somebody do that?’ TL asked angrily. ‘We lost children…’ With that acknowledgement, TL’s anger seemed to be replaced by grief and his shoulders slumped.
‘Sit down, TL,’ Gears said firmly. ‘Pax, go make some coffee.’
Walking to the small kitchenette in their suite, the coffee machine was already set up and he assumed Mom left it ready for them. Flicking it on, he walked back to the lounge dining area and joined Gears and TL at the table. Behind him he could hear the coffee machine as it burbled to life.
‘I agree it was no accident,’ Gears said plainly. ‘But I dunno how anyone could have gotten the hunter virus onto the island without bringin’ a hunter.’
‘We doan know enough about how the hunter virus works,’ he observed. ‘Maybe ya doan need a whole hunter. Or maybe someone brought a downed hunter. Maybe the downed hunter was a kid. I guess a kid would be small enough to hide and control.’
Looking horrified at his possible explanation and sounding shocked, TL asked, ‘Is that possible? Someone would bring a downed child hunter to destroy the island? What the fuck would motivate someone to do that?’
‘People can be freakin’ crazy, bro’,’ he observed morbidly.
‘Ya jus’ guessin’, Pax,’ Gears said steadily. ‘Ya dunno. There’s no way to know.’
‘He may be guessing, Gears, but he’s right that this was deliberate,’ TL replied confidently. ‘We need to see a manifest of who was on the island and find out who did this.’
‘TL, we are not startin’ a witch hunt,’ Gears said sternly. ‘We have to work out how this was done before we can work out who did it. Even if someone did get a hunter on the island, how did they survive the hunter attack?’
‘Maybe they didn’t,’ he suggested. ‘Suicide by hunter.’
‘In this day and age that’s a stupid way to kill yourself,’ TL said grimly. ‘You don’t need to go to that much trouble.’
Gears rubbed the scar on his face and said, thoughtfully, ‘Ya couldn’t get a hunter on the island on your own. More than one person would hafta know.’
He nodded, ‘That’s true. Now we’re talkin’ about some kinda terrorist attack.’
Gears got up and fetched the coffee pot and cups. Putting the cups down, Gears poured the coffee, managing to spill it on the table. He got up and got the sugar jar, creamer and a fistful of spoons. While they sat stirring their coffee, Ip came into the lounge dining area with her hair wet, fresh from the shower. The perfume she always wore made the odor of vomit they brought with them smell even worse.
Watching her go to the kitchenette, TL asked, ‘Do you think she knows what happened?’
Glancing over his shoulder at Ip, Gears shook his head and asked, ‘Why would she?’
‘I dunno,’ TL sighed. ‘She seems to know about stuff before we do.’
Having lost his rage, he thought TL seemed to be tired and beat and it surprised him. TL was always the optimist of the three of them. He was cynical and he knew it. Gears was pragmatic to the point of being slightly psychopathic, but TL was the one who always believed the best could happen. For all the things they’d done and seen together, he’d never seen TL lose his hope before and he found it disturbing. This was the first time he had ever seen all three of them at a loss for anything to say. He was about to tell them he was heading to bed when someone knocked at the door of their suite.
‘It’s open!’ He hollered.
Mom walked in and asked, sympathetically, ‘How are you boys doing?’