“How long have you been hiding here?”
“This will be night three,” Sarah said. She reached past him and secured another bolt across the trapdoor.
Jack laid his pack down next to him and stretched out his legs as best he could. Sarah was right, it was a tight squeeze. Especially for his 6ft 2-inch frame. He could hear the muffled howls of the creatures and rubbed his hand over the handle of his bachi hoe, waiting for the beasts to break in and attack. But it remained silent above him.
Sarah offered him water and took a sip out of her own bottle. “What’s in Hamilton that you are so eager to get back too?”
“Dee.” Jack smiled, sipping his water. “My wife.” He turned, blinking away tears. The thought of her worrying about his well-being and him not being able to contact her was driving him nuts.
Jack took another mouthful of water. “I was hiking up in the Kaimais. I’ve been trying to get home since yesterday. But the roads are all blocked. I got this far mainly by river. That’s how I discovered that the creatures disappear around midday.”
“I’m thinking of heading to this evac centre in Cambridge tomorrow with George. I can give you a lift if you want?” Sarah said.
“It’s worth a look. We’ll have to be careful, though.”
“I thought you said the creatures disappeared?”
“It’s not them I’m worried about.”
Sarah eyes widened. “What is it?”
“I won’t give you the details. Let’s just say, men with guns.”
Sarah glanced down at George, who was drawing something on a piece of paper, and ran a hand through her hair, twisting it in her fingers as she glanced back at him.
Jack didn’t blame her. Most people would be worried about just surviving. Surviving the creatures. Staying alive. Having enough food and water and keeping your loved ones safe.
But Jack had seen countless movies and read hundreds of post-apocalyptic novels. After the initial shock of the event, once the survivors had learned to deal with the monsters, it always came down to the human factor. Humanity was a strange beast. Capable of great kindness, great industry and great determination. But, at the same time, capable of great evil.
A quote he often thought of came to mind. To have one, you must have the other.
To his movie-geek mind that meant a balance in the force. Yin and yang. But, more often than not, evil and the machinations of men resulted in situations like this.
“What do you think happened out there?” Jack said.
“With the virus?” Sarah asked as she wriggled her legs and pulled a woollen blanket over them, trying to make herself comfortable. She shrugged.
“Dee, my wife, said it started in America and spread out within a few days?”
“Something like that,” Sarah said. “The first I heard of it was on the morning news. It showed some crazy scenes of people running in Chicago, I think. We discussed it here in the staff room that day but no one thought it was anything bad. I just thought it was crazy America again.”
“Crazy America?”
“Well, I mean, in the way their news is. Not the country itself,” Sarah said. She looked down at George, who was happily colouring his picture. “I’m glad I don’t teach over there though. All those shootings.”
Jack nodded. “I could use some of their assault rifles about now though.” Jack looked at her. “What made you come here?”
“It was a couple of days later, on Friday I think. News alerts started with reports of the virus in Auckland, and then it spread to Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin. Schools were closed, and by the evening the Civil Defence started telling everyone to stay inside and lock their doors. Or get to their nearest safe zone.”
Jack raised his eyes and rubbed his thumb and forefinger over his chin. His mind was racing as he tried to figure out the timeline of events. A virus that spread that fast and caused that much disruption was insane. He looked over at George and Sarah. They were lucky, extremely lucky to have made it so far.
The sound of glass breaking clattered above him. He snapped his mouth shut, stopping the question he had for Sarah from leaving his lips. Her eyes found his and she raised a finger to her mouth. George had gone rigid, his eyes flickering around the small space.
Sarah placed a pair of earmuffs over his head and hugged him tight, covering him in her blanket.
They were dead-quiet. All Jack could hear was the sound of their breathing. He gritted his teeth and glanced at the bolt, hoping it would hold.
He listened for a few more minutes, but apart from the shattering of glass, no other sounds came. Sarah shut off the lantern, plunging the tiny space into darkness.
Jack shifted off his injured leg and shut his eyes. There was nothing to do now but wait. Wait, and hope that tomorrow he could finally find his way home to Dee.
— 12 —
Jack rolled his shoulders, trying to warm up his aching muscles. It had been a long, sleepless night in the maintenance tunnels with Sarah and George. Every creak, every tap, had woken him. The fear of the creatures discovering their hideout had kept him from getting any more than a few minutes of sleep.
Jack checked his watch. It was finally nearing midday.
“Ready?” Jack said.
“Okay,” Sarah said, and helped George into a jacket. “Straight to my minivan?”
“Yes.”
When they hadn’t been able to sleep, Jack had borrowed some of George’s paper and written down what he thought they should do. Sarah had agreed about going to the evac centre, but her next question had been “What if?”
Jack had to admit that he thought there would be soldiers and officials there waiting for any stragglers. But what if no one was there? He had explained to Sarah about his cabin filled with supplies, tucked away from civilisation. The conversation went back and forth as Sarah tried to decide whether to go with Jack or try to reach family in the Bay of Plenty. After Jack had told her about the state of the main roads, she’d agreed to come with him and Dee.
Sarah nodded to him, indicating she was ready, and Jack carefully slid the bolt back, cringing with every squeak it made. As he lifted the trapdoor, he half expected one of the creatures to howl and sink its teeth into the top of his head. He still had the bachi hoe, but in the cramped space it would have been almost useless. Slowly he lifted the door higher, blinking in the bright sunlight that bathed the room above. He could see the broken glass from several windows and muddy scuff marks, but there was no sign of the creatures.
Jack hesitated halfway out, his mind casting back to the day before, to Duke and his men. He glanced down at Sarah and, taking a calming breath, lifted himself clear. After checking his surroundings, Jack was satisfied they had gone undiscovered. Sarah had chosen her foxhole well. The creatures had been here during the night, but thankfully, for whatever reason, they had moved on, searching for easier prey.
It was warm and sunny as Sarah drove them towards Cambridge. Jack swivelled his head from side to side as they whizzed past dairy farms and horse studs. He smiled to himself at the dozens of studs. If there was one thing Cambridge was well-known for, it was breeding thoroughbred horses. Jack thought about getting Sarah to stop so he could check to see if he could find a shotgun or two, but now that he was within twenty kilometres of Dee, he wanted to get there as soon as possible.
Ten minutes later, they entered the outskirts of the town and Sarah slowed the minivan to a crawl. Ahead of them, the street was littered with debris. Cars were parked haphazardly, some with doors open and engines running. One or two had stereos on, playing garbled music. Next to the cars were pools of blood, some fresh and red, others older and dark.