Sanctuary

by Courtney McPhail

  A shadow passed over them as someone walked along the driver’s side, drawn to the racket of the fighting freaks. For a moment, Malcolm thought it could be a healthy human, maybe even one of the guys, but then a cry split the air that he knew didn’t belong to either one of the guys. The SUV shook as something slammed hard against the hood and Malcolm took a chance and leaned forward to spy between the seats.

  A freak was sprawled across the hood, motionless. It stayed that way for only a moment before twitching back to life.

  The freak tried to get off the hood but then the car shifted again as another freak, young, dressed in shorts and a dirty undershirt, mounted the hood and loomed over the prone one. It wrapped its hands around the prone freak’s throat and squeezed. The prone freak struggled to free itself, feet bouncing against the hood for purchase but the younger one was stronger and soon the struggle was over.

  The body hit the windshield with a dull thud and the car shifted again as the other freak jumped down. The dead freak lay against the windshield, still as a stone and silence once again surrounded them.

  He and Claudia stared at one another as time passed and the sounds of freaks faded away. He was still cautious after having several of them so close and so he counted down a full ten minutes on his watch before he nodded at Claudia that they could move.

  He twisted around and pushed up to look out the window as Claudia did the same on her side. The area around the SUV empty. He climbed between the seats and into the driver’s seat and Claudia followed, slipping in the seat beside him. He was quick to turn on the engine, sighing in relief when it started up without any protest. He backed out of the spot, letting physics pull the freak off the hood while Claudia cranked up the A/C.

  He didn’t know what was more of a relief: the cool air blasting out of the vents or the fact that their path was clear of any freaks.

  “Looks like they moved over to check out the showroom,” Claudia said, her face pressed against the passenger side window.

  “I’m gonna swing around back to the service centre,” he said. “The laneway back there goes out to the side street. We can make a full circle if need be, give the guys a chance to spot us.”

  They rounded the lot and drove towards the service centre doors and he spotted the abandoned jerry cans by the gas tank. He slowed the vehicle as they came parallel to the service centre doors, trying to spot the guys but he couldn’t see anything through the windows.

  “The ones in the showroom spotted us,” Claudia said. “They’re coming this way.”

  He nodded and hit the gas, knowing that they needed to keep moving or they would be pinned down again. He swung around to the laneway, aiming for the side street on the other side of the service centre.

  When he turned the corner, he was startled to see a pile of freaks on the ground in front of one of the garage doors. It took him a moment to realize that the reason they were on the ground was because they were pinned under the door.

  “Pretty sure I know where the guys are,” Claudia said and his gaze was pulled away from the freaks to see her pointing across the street.

  An L-shaped strip mall stood there and he realized where the freaks that had been in the lot had gone. He counted at least twenty freaks surrounding the building, all of them staring up at the roof of the building.

  Draped over the side of the roof against the backdrop of the brick wall were two shirts, sleeves tied together to form a multi-coloured flag. Behind it stood the two familiar men, waving at them.

  “I think it’s safe to raise them on the radio,” Malcolm said with a grin. “Tell them we’re coming.”

  Subject File # 756

  Subject: I hate admitting that I was wrong.

  Administrator: Most people do.

  Subject: I’m trying to get over it, learn to swallow my pride and make amends, but it’s hard. I know I have a hell of an ego but I’m trying.

  Quinton swiped the back of his hand over his forehead, trying to keep the sweat out of his eyes. The sun was high in the sky and the black roof drew the rays right to them. After less than ten minutes up here, he could already feel sweat dripping down his bare back and he knew it wouldn’t be long before his skin started to burn.

  He took a sip from his water bottle, wondering if using their shirts as a signal had been the best idea. He and Jackson had draped them over the edge of the roof so they were strung like a banner facing the dealership. The red and blue stripes of his t-shirt next to Jackson’s faded grey long sleeved shirt contrasted well against the brown brick and Quinton was hopeful they’d be easy for the others to notice. He just hoped it happened before the two of them were burnt to a crisp.

  They had huddled up against the ventilation system but it didn’t offer much shade.

  Jackson had tied his bandana around his forehead to catch the sweat before it fell into his eyes. Quinton cursed himself for choosing a surgical mask for this trip instead of a bandana. Better yet, he should have brought an umbrella with them to provide some shade.

  Jackson sat with his knees pulled up to his chest and his arms crossed over them. It was clearly a defensive posture and Quinton wondered if he was trying to hide his scars.

  He thought back to their confrontation at the church and the nasty things he had said to and about him. He had doubted that Jackson could be trusted to watch their back but he’d saved his ass from the freaks at the dealership. Looked like he had some crow to eat.

  “Thanks.”

  Jackson’s head shot up and he eyed Quinton suspiciously. “What for?”

  “Saving me when those freaks tried to get the jump on me at the tank.” Jackson shrugged his shoulders, shifting uncomfortably against the air duct he was propped up against. “I mean it, thank you.”

  “Ya don’t hafta thank me.”

  Quinton sighed, squaring his shoulders to prepare himself for what was to come. He wasn’t used to having to do this and the admission was not easy to get past his lips.

  “I was wrong about you.”

  That got Jackson’s attention, his blond head shooting up to look at him with a mix of skepticism and suspicion.

  “You stuck your neck out to save me. I’m sorry for the things I said before. You’re a good guy.”

  Jackson was silent as he stared at Quinton, obviously weighing his words and Quinton wouldn’t blame him if he told him to fuck off. The man deserved to throw his apology back in his face after the way he had treated him.

  “Didn’t do it ‘cause I’m a good guy,” he finally said. “Did it for her.”

  For a moment Quinton wondered if this was Jackson’s attempt to bait him but the man sat back and closed his eyes, clearly done with the conversation. It wasn’t bait. It was the truth. He’d saved him because Veronica meant something to him.

  “I don’t get it. Why her?”

  “Why her what?”

  “You know what I mean,” Quinton said but Jackson just kept that blank look on his face. “Why are you interested in Veronica? You can’t possibly think that it’ll work out.”

  “Ya just couldn’t leave it be, could ya?” Jackson let out a sardonic chuckle, shaking his head before letting it fall back against the vent. “There ain’t no use in explainin’ anythin’ to ya anyway. Ya won’t believe me. Just another lyin’ junkie, right?”

  “That’s not what I meant,” Quinton replied. “What we’re dealing with...watching people we know and love die, having to constantly kill sick people so they don’t kill you first, having to fight to survive from minute to minute...it’s not healthy. All of us are screwed in the head and the last thing we should be doing is starting relationships. All we do is risk hurting each other when the whole thing inevitably ends in an explosion of mutual PTSD and grief.”

  “Ya ain’t wrong on that.”

  “Then why are you going after my sister?”

  “I ain’t.” Quinton scoffed. “I ain’t. Never hit on her. Never made a move on her. So how exactly am I goin’ after her?”

 
; Quinton had to admit that he’d never seen the two of them actually engaged in any PDA and those girls were always with them in the tent or van. Still, he wasn’t stupid.

  “I see the way you look at her.”

  “That’s just lookin’, it don’t mean anythin’,” Jackson mumbled, looking away from him and sighing. “I ain’t stupid enough to think I’d be good for any woman, even before all this shit went down. Add in all we’ve got goin’ on here, like ya said, recipe for disaster and I know that.”

  Quinton actually felt sorry for the guy. He’d gone from thinking the guy was this master manipulator who was playing all of them to realizing that he was actually a humbled man, someone who felt there was no redemption for him.

  “Look, Jackson, I--”

  “Only reason I said anythin’ is ‘cause I didn’t want ya thinkin’ I saved ya outta some nobility, ‘kay? That ain’t me. Just didn’t want to see yer sister get her heart broken, that’s all, nothin’ more.”

  Quinton nodded, starting to understand the man in front of him. He was willing to admit he’d screwed up big time when it came to assumptions he had made. Jackson wasn’t a threat that he had to protect his sister from; he was someone who was willing to protect her himself.

  The sound of a car engine broke through the silence and had both of them jumping to their feet to scan the ground below.

  “There!” Jackson said, pointing towards the service centre side of the dealership. Sure enough, a black SUV pulled out of the laneway between the service centre and the fence. It turned onto the side street, brake lights flashing as they passed the garage doors, the sight of the freaks they had pinned under the door giving them a moment’s pause.

  “It’s gotta be them,” Quinton said and began waving his arms wildly to get their attention. When the vehicle stopped, he grabbed his radio and hit the call button. “Guys, we’re over on the roof of the strip mall.”

  “How the hell did you get up there?” Claudia replied and he could hear her smile through the radio. He laughed, looking over to Jackson who was actually grinning at him.

  “Tell her what happened,” Jackson said, nodding to the radio. “I’ll get our shit packed up.”

  Jackson headed over to where their makeshift banner was pinned and Quinton hit the call button.

  “Got us a ladder and climbed up, of course,” he replied, his grin splitting his face. “Problem is they’ve got us surrounded so we’re stuck up here now.”

  “Yeah, we can see your new friends waiting on you down there,” Claudia said.

  “You’ve got a couple of them on your six too,” Quinton replied, watching three freaks run down the laneway and turn the corner of the service centre. They flanked the SUV and began to beat their arms on the windows but they gunned the engine and drove up the street, the freaks following them.

  “Any idea how many there are?” Claudia asked as the SUV turned right onto the highway.

  “No clue. More kept coming and we stopped counting after twenty,” Quinton said.

  “Malcolm and I are going to do a drive by to lure them away and then double back to get you guys.”

  The SUV turned into the strip mall parking lot, the freaks still running behind them, and drove up to the storefronts where the other freaks were lined up to keep watch on him and Jackson. They slowed down, the freaks at their back catching up and starting up again with their window pounding routine.

  The freaks out front turned their heads at the arrival of the SUV, a couple of them even moving towards it but the cry of one of the Alphas had them quickly back into formation. Malcolm honked the horn and gunned the engine so the SUV shot forward a few feet, trying to entice the freaks but they stayed in their positions.

  “They ain’t gonna take the bait,” Jackson said, passing over Quinton’s shirt and pack as he looked down at the parking lot. “Alphas won’t let ‘em.”

  Quinton hit the call button. “It’s not going to work. They’ve gotten too smart. You see that freak that yelled at them? It’s one of the leaders.”

  “Leaders?”

  “Like the alpha wolf in a pack. There are three of them leading the packs.”

  “How the hell do a bunch of raving cannibals form packs?”

  “I don’t know, I’ll work on some theories for a research paper later,” Quinton snapped back at her. “Point is the Alpha isn’t letting them take the bait. We need another plan.”

  The radio was silent a moment before Malcolm’s voice sounded. “Quinton, you said there were three of these Alphas. Where are the other two?”

  “Not sure,” Quinton replied. “We got up here, spotted the three of them together, talking or growling or whatever it is they do, and then the other two walked back to the dealership lot. We figured they had their packs keeping you guys pinned down like us.”

  “Most of them had cleared the lot except for the stragglers that followed us,” Malcolm replied. “Okay I got an idea. You two be ready to get down here and into the SUV.”

  “Roger that,” Quinton replied and put the radio back on his belt and shouldered his pack. Jackson hauled over the ladder and joined him, the two of them watching as the vehicle rocked back and forth for a moment and then the sunroof opened.

  Claudia emerged, rifle in hand, and she gave them a nod before turning her focus to where the Alpha stood. Claudia didn’t hesitate after she lined up her aim and the gunshot echoed as the Alpha dropped to the ground.

  There was a moment of eerie silence before the world seemed to explode as the howls that rent the air hit a near ear shattering level. The freaks that had been keeping them treed on the roof gave up their posts and descended on the SUV as single wave of fury. They hit the driver’s side with such force that the whole carriage rocked on its tires and Claudia dropped back inside the SUV.

  The tires squealed as Malcolm sped them away, the freaks hot on their trail. Malcolm circled around the parking lot, the freaks running at full speed behind them, intent on catching the one who had killed their leader.

  “Ah, fuck me.”

  Jackson’s curse had Quinton glancing at him and he realized Jackson wasn’t looking at the game of tag in the parking lot. He was looking over at the service centre, where several freaks were working together to pull up the garage door. The pinned freaks were already sliding out beneath the door, climbing to their feet to join the others opening the door. In the middle of them was the Alpha with the baseball cap and it pointed towards the circling SUV. The freaks obeyed and went running over to join the others in pursuit of the SUV.

  Quinton grabbed his gun from his holster and took aim at one of the freaks as the SUV drove past the storefronts to make the next circle. He fired but his aim was off, his bullet hitting nothing but asphalt. He tried again with the stragglers at the back of the pack but he only clipped one in the shoulder, sending it stumbling to the ground but it was soon back up on its feet.

  Jackson followed suit, pulling out his gun and firing at the freaks that were coming from the service centre to join the pursuit but he was as unsuccessful as Quinton in hitting them. There were too many of them, moving too fast for their shots to be anything more than just wasting their bullets.

  “Ain’t no way they can stop to pick us up now,” Jackson said, watching as the SUV kept circling the lot. “Tell ‘em to drive on the highway. Lure ‘em away like they planned. Take ‘em a couple miles down the road then double back.”

  “Go on the highway and drive north a few miles,” Quinton radioed to them, “Then you can come back for us.”

  “Screw that. I’m not leaving you again,” Claudia replied, the determination in her voice clear even over the radio. “I’ve got an idea. We’ll be back.”

  Subject File # 750

  Subject: Anybody tell you about the dealership yet?

  Administrator: There were a few mentions of it.

  Subject: Did they tell you what Claudia did? No? Well, let me tell you all about that little badass...

  Malcolm had a white knuckle
d grip on the wheel of the SUV as he glanced in the rear-view mirror, keeping an eye on the freaks that were tailing them. He could see their slavering mouths and wild eyes and he wondered if his plan to take out the Alpha had been the best idea. Sure, it had accomplished drawing the freaks away from the strip mall but he hadn’t planned on them being swamped by all of them.

  Of course, that was the cost of making a plan on your feet. It could go tits up at any moment.

  “Want to tell me what your idea is?” he asked, glancing over at his passenger who was gripping the crash handle as he took a sharp turn out of the parking lot.

  “Gun it back over to the dealership,” she said before she leaned between the seats into the backseat. He did as she asked, driving down the four lane highway as she sat back with the FOBs he had dropped when he had emptied his pockets to find the one that would start this vehicle.

  He put some distance between the vehicle and the freaks on the straight away and took the turn into the lot sharply, doing his best not to lose the speed they had gained as they drove into the lot.

  Claudia began to hit the alarm buttons on the FOBs, sending various vehicles in the lot screeching to life. The distraction worked as Malcolm spotted a few freaks breaking off from the pack and running towards the sound of the alarms.

  “Go to the back and stop at the service centre,” Claudia told him and he nodded, speeding down the main laneway and turning towards the service centre. He jammed on the brakes and they came to a screeching stop at the service centre doors but before he could say anything, Claudia was out of the SUV.

  He whipped around to look at the pursuing freaks. Their numbers had been cut nearly in half with the distraction of the alarms but the ones intent on the SUV were closing in fast.

  “Claudia, what are you--”