A water-filled quarry. Dee and her friends were enjoying the last of the summer before university. A few drinks in the sun. She fell asleep under a tree while her friends swam out to the rock in the middle of the lake.
Dee woke to a rough, callused hand over her mouth and hands grabbing roughly at her. She struggled and fought like a trapped cat. Finally, she connected with a well-timed knee to the groin. The man tumbled off her, clutching his balls. He rolled around on the ground, cursing at her. A red mist descended over her. She picked up a nearby rock and smashed the man in the head. Again and again and again. Another man Dee hadn’t seen tackled her, knocking her to the ground and out of her rage. Seeing her friends running up from the lake shore, the second man ran off. Dee looked down at the rock she still held. She could see blood and grey brain matter, and tiny fragments of skull. She promptly doubled over and vomited.
The police arrived and took Dee away in an ambulance. Later they arrested her for manslaughter.
A lengthy emotional and soul-destroying trial ensued. It exposed Dee to a very corrupt and male-favoured system. Psychiatric evaluations deemed her fit for trial, but thankfully she was found not guilty by means of self-defence. The media called her the mouse that roared. The rapist's family yelled daily abuse at her. After, she withdrew from society, finding comfort in books. In movies. In gaming. Where people are essentially anonymous.
It took meeting a special guy to bring her out of her shell. To live life on the outside again.
Dee would always remember the stench of his breath. A mixture of cheap bourbon and cannabis.
Remembering this, Dee renewed her efforts. Struggling. Scratching. Kicking. She managed to bite Missing Teeth’s hand.
He just grinned at her. “Hmmm… I like it went they fight.” To Simon, he said, “Hold the bitch's legs down.”
Simon grabbed both her flailing legs in a vice-like grip. Together, the men managed to wrestle her onto the pallet.
Dee looked up into Missing Teeth’s eyes, silently pleading with him. Searching for some decency.
She didn’t even hear the first gunshot. As she watched, Missing Teeth’s head exploded, brains and skull splattering all over her. His body slumped, pinning her legs.
She heard the next couple of shots and saw Simon look down at the gaping holes in his chest. His lifeless body toppled over. She pushed Missing Teeth’s body off and scrambled up, then looked down at his nearly headless body. Anger boiled up, and she spat on him. Asshole.
“You all right?”
Dee spun toward the source of the voice. A stocky, muscular man with a long wizard beard and white hair approached her. He was dressed in green cargo pants, a green shirt, and one of those vests Dee had seen special ops men wear in movies.
“You all right?” he asked again.
Dee shook her head. Too many things were happening at once today. “Y…Yeah, I think so.” Then she remembered Boss. “Boss?”
“Sorry, what?”
“Boss. Sorry, I mean the kid?” Locating him, she pointed at Boss.
“He’ll be fine. He took a nasty blow to the head, though.”
Finding her manners, Dee held out her hand. “I’m Dee. The kid, we, well… I call him Boss. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I’m Ben. Ben Johns.” The man looked around, eyes alert. “I don’t mean to rush you, but we need to move, I don’t know how many of those creatures have been alerted by the gunshots. Let’s grab the kid and go.”
“We’ve got a boat tied up down at the river. The Variants won’t come in the water.”
“Variants? You call them Variants too, huh?” A bemused look crossed Ben’s face.
“Umm, yeah, ah. Boss had an old ham radio going, and he talked to some Americans. They called them Variants.”
“Oh, right. Well, the Variants, they are smart bastards, and fast. Why don’t you come back to my bunker. I’ve got food, water, and medical supplies. It’s held them out for now.”
She searched Ben’s eyes, and found honesty and kindness. She nodded, more to herself than to him. “All right, thank you.”
Ben and Dee grabbed an arm each and hauled Boss to his feet. He was coming to, but was still quite groggy. Ben led them to a 4x4 parked next to a red ute. They pushed Boss onto the back seat, lying him down. Dee grabbed one of the fleece jackets they had found, and placed it under his head.
Pulling out of the farm driveway onto the tarmac-sealed road, Ben pointed the 4x4 east and picked up speed.
“Here, use these to clean some of that muck off you.” Ben handed Dee some tissues.
“Thanks.”
“I’m not far. About fifteen minutes.”
She nodded. She couldn’t figure it out. Why had Ben been there? She was more than grateful, of course. She looked down at the rifle sitting between them. It was black, but had a long, fat, extended barrel. It looked military. Not like the ones her Dad used to use. Ben looked and acted like military. With shooting like that, and the calm way he acted, she guessed he was ex-army.
“So… look, thanks for saving us back there.”
Ben glanced over and smiled, stroked his long bushy beard. “You’re welcome. I couldn't stand by and let them do that. It’s not right. Even in these terrifying times, there are rules. Moral rules.”
Dee could see by the expression on the old man’s face that he was telling the truth. She decided she liked him already. Plus, he seemed really handy with a rifle. If she wanted any chance of finding Jack, she needed Ben. His expertise.
Till now she’d been extremely lucky, but luck will only get you so far. She knew she reacted well under pressure. A calmness would come over her, as if time slowed down and she saw the way out. More than anything, she wanted to survive this. She wanted Jack back. To take them all to the valley, to start afresh.
Cleaning the last of Missing Teeth’s skull off, she turned. “Ben?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m curious. How did you know we were there?”
“I didn’t. But I knew they were. I’d been tracking their movements for a few days.”
Dee looked at Ben, startled. Tracking them? For a few days? Why? She opened her mouth to ask, but Ben slowed the 4x4 down and turned into a tree-lined driveway, magnolia trees creating an avenue.
“We’re here,” he announced.
Dee looked down the drive and could see it curving up behind a small hill. As the 4x4 got closer to the hill, a house nestled into the leeward side came into view. It looked as though the walls were made of earth, and she could barely make out the roof line. Wildflowers covered it.
Ben pulled up around the back, next to a large utility shed. This too blended into the surrounding countryside.
Ben and Dee half-dragged a semi-conscious Boss out of the 4x4. Ben indicated with a tilt of his head toward a side door. Entering the house, it struck Dee how warm and dry it was. And with the door closed behind them, the silence was complete.
Jack would love this house. It looked like a safe room, and went back a good ten meters or so.
Ben guided her and Boss past some shelves toward a couple of bunks in the back left-hand corner of the room. Dee struggled with the deadweight of Boss. Pain shot up her arms, and the muscles of her lower back started to cramp. She concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other, watching the smooth concrete floor as sweat dripped off her forehead from the exertion. Once there, they gently laid Boss down.