Signaling with a nod of her head, she indicated the garage to Matt, and handed him the keys.
Matt and Dee were struggling with the garage door as Aston and Alice joined them.
Whispering to Matt, Dee said, “Wait a few minutes. We’ll try to leave together.”
Matt nodded.
Alice grabbed Dee in a bear hug. “Thank you.”
Pushing Alice back slightly, Dee wiped a tear from her own eye. “You’re welcome. Good luck, and thanks for all the fish.”
Alice smiled distantly at Dee, not getting the reference. Embarrassed, Dee jumped over the fence. Crouching low, she made a dash for her car. Mike and Boss had raised the garage door in readiness. Easing the car out, she glanced around, looking for Variants. Gripping the steering wheel, she indicated right, and headed up the road, away from her sanctuary. Dee wondered if she was doing the right thing by leaving. Would Jack know to head to the cabin? She pushed her doubts aside and concentrated on driving everyone to safety.
Matt followed her to the end of the road. Turning south, Dee and her group waved them goodbye.
They made it across town without incident, weaving in and out of vehicles clogging the road. Everywhere they looked, they could see evidence of violent confrontations. Blood, broken glass. Dee saw one car with the doors peeled off like a tin of sardines.
What the hell did that?
Dee drove them to a hunting shop she knew, but they could see it had been looted.
She drove on, heading for one of the bridges crossing the river. As they drew near to it, she could see it was blocked. Vehicles were strewn everywhere, tangled in a bottleneck. Some were burnt out.
“We’ll have to try the next bridge down,” Dee said to no one in particular.
“They’ll all be the same,” Matt said sullenly.
Dee shook her head in annoyance. “We have to try, though.”
“What about Narrows Bridge, out by the airport?” asked Boss.
“Yeah, all right. Less traffic. Could be a winner,” agreed Dee.
Reversing the car, Dee looked in the rearview mirror, and mouthed Thank you to Boss.
The going was slow, as all the roads were nearly impassable. She had to backtrack several times and try different routes, but finally they made it out of Hamilton. Speeding up as much as she dared, Dee couldn’t help thinking that the Variants would be out on the hunt in another couple of hours. If the roads carry on like this, we’re going to have to find somewhere to hole up for the night.
Dee could see the the golf course up ahead, and knew the bridge was just around the corner. Slowing down, she crossed her fingers for some luck. Turning the corner, her heart sank. Just like the others, the bridge was clogged. Damn it!
Several cars were pressed against each other, much like a road block. Looking into the jumbled mess, she could see a small gap, perhaps just wide enough to squeeze the car through.
“What do you think, guys?”
“We could shunt them over a bit,” replied Mike. “Do you want me to drive?”
Anger at the implied insult flowed through her. “No! I’m fine!”
Dee inched the car forward, scraping it on both sides. The metallic screech making her clench her jaw.
Easy, easy does it.
Dee was alternating between both wing mirrors when Vicki and Mike screamed. Looking up, she saw a Variant perched on the roof of a car. Heart pounding, she grabbed the gear stick, jammed the car into reverse, and slammed the accelerator down, spinning the tyres.
With a horrifying screech, the Variant leapt onto the hood of her car. Several screeches answered its call. Dee swung the steering wheel hard from side to side, trying to remove the Variant, but it dug its claw-like digits into the hood.
One arm drew back and smashed through the windscreen, spearing a stunned Mike right through the skull. Vicki’s screams went up several octaves.
Boss pounded Dee’s shoulder. “Down there! Go right, through the golf course!”
She didn't have time to answer. Swinging the car hard right, it whipped back and went down the embankment. Rolling over once before righting, the wheels still spinning in the soft earth, Dee put it into drive and tore away from the screeching Variants.
The roll had crushed the Variant that had speared Mike. His lifeless body flopped around, then leaned onto Dee.
“Boss, get him off me,” she shouted.
Boss pushed Mike against the passenger door with his feet.
Tearing over the pristine greens, she looked around furiously for an escape route.
“Over there,” yelled Boss, pointing to a large motorboat moored at a pier. “Let’s see if these fuckers can swim!”
Dee turned in the direction he was pointing. Staring in the rearview mirror at the pursuing Variants, she wasn’t watching where she was going. The car roared as it left the grass, then plummeted into a sand trap, where it stuck fast. Dee slammed into the steering wheel, her breath whooshing out of her lungs. Grunting with pain, she looked back at the Variants, stunned at their speed and agility.
“Run! Everyone, run!” she yelled as she leapt from the car.
Dee stole a glance back, to check if Boss and Vicki were following.
Over the crest of the hill, several Variants were moving toward them, fast. She slowed, letting Boss pass her.
Reaching the boat, Boss scrambled to start the engine. “Get in,” he shouted. Then his eyes went wide. “Vicki! No!”
Dee looked back and saw Vicki at the end of the jetty, arms outstretched like Christ the Redeemer. Vicki turned her head back toward Dee, and looked into her eyes. And in that moment, Dee saw Vicki’s anguish over Mike’s death. She had given up. This was her sacrifice. Her heaven-entering deed. For them to survive. To live on.
She looked on in horror as the leading Variants slammed into Vicki, tearing and fighting over her flesh.
“Dee! Come on!” screamed a panicked Boss.
Scrambling and slipping on the jetty, she covered the last few metres and, with a swish of her Katana, cut the bowline and jumped in.
Boss gunned the engine and the boat surged out into the river.
A lone Variant bolted from the pack. With an awe-inspiring leap, it sailed through the air toward the fleeing survivors.
Dee turned and, with all the anger and frustration that had eaten away at her soul for the past fifteen days, cooped up in that stinking basement, she let out a screaming war cry, bringing her Katana up in a slashing arc.
The Variant twisted in mid air in an attempt to avoid the swinging steel, but Dee’s blow cut deep into its torso, nearly severing it in two. With a sickening thud, it landed quivering in a heap on the boat deck. Disgusted, Dee kicked it into the river.
“Ughhh. I hate these things.”
Boss stared at her. “You’re getting good with that.”
Dee shrugged her shoulders and looked to the river bank, where the other Variants had gathered in a pack, screeching. They were jumping up and down, but did not enter the water. She could see more on the bridge. Pointing south, Dee said, “Looks like we can only go that way, toward Cambridge.”
Boss nodded in agreement. “Yeah.”
Dee sat down in the seat next to Boss as he moved the boat into the current and away from the banks. Taking a moment to calm herself, she looked around the largish boat and saw that it was all kitted out for pleasure cruising. Huh? What people spend their money on. She shook her head.
Boss looked over at her, a frown creasing his forehead. “You know what, Dee?”
“What Boss?”
“You’re not what I was expecting.”