“Remember in Fellowship of the Ring when Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas went after Merry and Pippin?”
“Of course. We’ve watched that movie so many times!” she said, punching his arm.
“Dee, we’re going after them, because the thought of the boys being in that place cuts into my soul. I know what’s there. I couldn’t go on knowing that and not doing anything about it.”
He pulled her into a hug, kissing her neck. Tears filled his eyes. Dee once again pulled away from him. Standing up, she shouldered her pack and checked her rifle before holding it ready.
“Well, come on then. Pack light, for we travel far and swift.”
Jack grinned at her. Standing, he cradled Max into his arms. With a last look at the crater lake, he followed his wife’s striding figure back into the caves.
Jack’s arms burned with the exertion of holding the injured Max. He paused and shifted the weight of his load, attempting to relieve some of the pressure. Dee was scanning ahead, looking for other Variants.
Where there is one, there are many.
He had radioed Ben with the news of what they had discovered. Ben had relayed the information that patrols had encountered several groups of the beasts, and warned them to stay vigilant. They stopped several times to rest, the last few days of madness finally catching up with them. After forty-five minutes, they made it back to the village. The sun was beginning to sink lower in the sky, bathing the small settlement in an orange glow. Activity buzzed all around them as they made their way to the old hotel. Several soldiers wearing chemical suits and masks were stacking dead Variants into piles, ready to be incinerated.
Entering the FOB, he gently laid Max on his bed near the door. Jack scooped out a few biscuits and scratched his ears. Max licked Jack’s hand and wagged his tail in appreciation.
Jack scanned the room. Ben was standing at the main table, deep in discussion with a couple of sergeants. Spotting them, he waved them over.
As Jack approached the table, he could see a large map of the island spread out on it. Red circles had been drawn over it, one of which circled the lake. It was going to take them a while to flush out the remaining Variants, and with so many caves on the island, perhaps never. Ben gave one of the sergeants an order to set up a perimeter with rotating patrols. Jack reached for Dee’s hand and grasped it, comforted by her touch.
Ben turned and looked them over, shaking his head. “You two have to be the luckiest sons of bitches I’ve ever met.”
Jack glanced at Dee. “Why?”
“How many Variants were in that crater?”
“Five or six?”
“Five or six. Yet here you are, still living and breathing.”
Ben glanced down at Jack’s wounds, which were seeping blood. “Jack, go and see the Doc after we’ve finished here. I’m going to be tied up here most of the night. I want you two to get some sleep.” He paused, looking at them in turn. His voice softened. “Look, I know you’re worried about the boys, and you have every right to be. If what you say about the Alpha is true, I know you want to go charging off after them. But you guys need rest. You look like shit. Get some sleep. We’ll plan a search and rescue in the morning. I’m posting a couple of guards at the villa.”
Jack rubbed the back of his neck, feeling the wispy hair with the tips of his fingers. “We think he’s taken them back to the dam.”
“You don’t know that for sure, Jack. He could’ve moved his nest somewhere else.”
“Maybe Ben, maybe. I just know he has. Like that friggin’ dam has some weird cosmic meaning.”
Ben reached out and grasped Jack’s arm. “Get some food and some rest. We’ll sort it out in the morning.”
Dee gave Ben a squeeze. “Thanks, Ben. See you in the morning.”
Jack smiled as she hugged the grizzled old soldier.
A private Jack didn’t know ran out of the radio room and approached them. “Sir, I received a radio call. We have a boat coming. She says she has children on board.”
“Thank you, Private. Radio back to her to approach slowly to the south dock.”
Ben turned to one of the sergeants. “Tell your men to lock and load. We don’t want to get caught out again.”
The sergeant turned and left. Ben looked back at Jack and Dee. “Jack, go and get patched up. That’s an order. Dee, if they do have kids on board, they will respond better to a friendly face. I need you with me.”
Jack and Dee nodded. Jack embraced Dee, then headed to the infirmary, stopping only to scratch Max behind the ears. Jack was pleased to see that Max had eaten all his food.
Dee walked along the boardwalk, struggling to match Ben’s long strides as they made their way down to the smaller of the two jetties. A white and blue boat was slowly chugging its way towards it. Armed soldiers lined the jetty, Dee heard the synchronised sound as they clicked their rifles off safety.
The boat nudged the jetty. One of the soldiers jumped on board and tied the painter to the bollard. He lashed it tight before standing back, rifle raised and ready. Dee caught a glimpse of blonde hair in the wheelhouse. The door to the cabin creaked open. The soldiers on that side of the boat tracked it opening. A blonde-haired figure emerged from the cabin.
Dee’s heart leapt in her chest as she recognised the figure. “Don’t shoot! I know her.”
The woman turned towards Dee. Her mouth dropped open. “Dee?”
“Alice!” Dee leapt onto the boat and wrapped Alice in a hug. “I can’t believe it! You’re alive. What about Matt? Austin?”
Alice shook her head, tears falling freely down her cheeks. “Dee, I saw Boss. Some big ugly Variant had him.”
“What? Really? Where?”
“Back in Tauranga. Maggie… she… she went after them.”
“Maggie? Who’s Maggie?”
“She helped us escape the camp. Rescued the kids.” Alice paused and pointed to the cabin. “Becs, Leela. Kids, you can come out now.”
Dee watched as a girl with red hair exited the cabin, a small blonde-haired girl in tow. More children followed them out one by one. Dee counted six all together. The kids’ eyes went wide at the sight of the soldiers and their guns.
Ben turned and waved them away. He reached out and shook Alice’s hand. “I’m Captain Johns, but please call me Ben. C’mon. Let’s get you guys fed.”
“Ben, she has intel on Boss. She saw them in Tauranga. The Trophy King had him. I suspect George too.”
“Alice, was there a red-haired boy?”
“Yeah, there was.”
Dee looked down at her feet, thinking, trying to gather her racing mind. Alice had just confirmed her and Jack’s worst fears. That was it. Tomorrow she was going to end this.
She caught Ben’s eye. “We have to go after them, Ben. I’m not taking no for an answer. I’ll take this bloody boat and do it myself if I have to.”
“Okay, Dee. I believe you and I agree. Get them up to the villa. I’ll tie up some things down here, then join you. It sounds like we have a lot to plan.”
“Thanks, Ben.”
Dee reached out and hugged Alice again. She couldn’t believe it. Alice here, on this island? Somehow, against all the odds, she was seeing her friend again. She had hoped they had made it to Alice’s family’s sheep station, but with the horrors she and her friends had faced, barely escaping with their lives both times, her hopes had faded.
Alice reached down, grasped the little blonde girl’s hand, and helped her off the boat and onto the jetty.
Dee turned and helped the red-haired girl. “I’m Dee, what’s your name?”
“Rebecca. But everyone calls me Becs.”
“Well, Becs, it’s nice to meet you. You hungry?”