Three minutes without air…
Twisting his left arm back and forth, and scraping skin off in the process, Jack could almost reach the valve of his water bladder. Miraculously, his hiking pack was still on his shoulders. With a final effort, Jack grasped the valve in his hand. Bending his arm and pushing his head as far forwards as he could, Jack was agonisingly close to that life-saving liquid. He bellowed in frustration.
A popping sound alerted Jack to the monsters’ approach. He cursed at his stupidity. Holding his breath and keeping his body rigid, Jack squeezed his eyes shut.
Not me not me not me not me…
The rotten fruit smell lingered as the creatures carried out their grotesque task. Jack kept his eyes closed and forced himself to breathe in shallow breaths. He listened as he heard a tearing sound, followed by the sickening thud of a body hitting the ground. The monsters clicked at each other in some sort of communication. Jack gritted his teeth and screamed in silent terror as the popping of their joints faded away.
Not me not me not me… it’s not me… it’s not me this time.
— 1 —
Jack gazed up at the stars, captivated by the serenity and majesty of the little pinpricks of light. As many times as he looked at the Milky Way, he never grew bored with it. He would spend hours searching out the constellations he knew, trying to name them.
Scorpius.
Canis Major.
The Southern Cross.
And a cluster of stars New Zealanders liked to call “The Pot”. Jack had been meaning to find out what its correct name was, but he’d never got around to it. Recently he had learnt about Pleiades, or what the Maori called Matariki, but he didn’t bother searching for that cluster of stars now. It only appeared from late May or early June.
He inhaled deeply, the fresh forest scents lacing the chill air. He loved it up here in the mountains, away from the rat race. As much as he loved technology, with its smartphones, flat screen TVs, computers, and all conceivable gadgets, all to make humanities wander through time easier, the wilderness was where he felt at peace, at home. Jack smirked. An eternal conflict.
When he thought about it, it was the silence he liked. That, and being able to see the galaxy spread across the night sky. In the wilderness, it was just him and nature. Nothing but the echoes of the stars. For three days he had enjoyed being off the grid. For three days he had let his mind wander. He had played out his favourite movie scenes in his head. Laughed. Cried at memories as he stepped one foot in front of the other. Through mud. Over tree roots. Often Jack had to duck under branches and squeeze through fallen trees. For kilometre after kilometre he had been at peace.
His wife, Dee, would often ask him why he liked to hike alone. The only answer he could ever come up with was: It’s like being a nomad again. Being one with yourself.
When he’d arrived at the hut earlier in the evening, he’d resisted the urge to make contact with Dee for as long as possible. He sighed and stretched out his knotted shoulders. He took one last look at the stars. Digging reluctantly into his pack, he pulled out his phone. It was time to reconnect and let her know he was okay.
Immediately after booting up, it alerted him to several messages. Looking at the screen, Jack saw that they were all from Dee, the first sent three days ago. He spent a few minutes scanning through them.
Jack. Call me…
Please call me it’s urgent…
For Pete’s sake Jack!
Something weird is going on. Please call…
Jack frowned. He opened the last one.
Jack there’s been a virus outbreak in America. It’s spreading fast. Please call me and tell me you’re okay. I’m worried baby. This sounds serious. xoxo
He gasped. Really? A virus? Is this a joke?
Pushing the phone icon, he held his breath as the phone rang. It sounded distant and garbled. After what seemed like minutes, Dee answered.
“Jack? Thank God!” Without letting him answer, she continued, “Listen, it’s all over the news. They’ve closed all the airports, all the ports, everything is closing or closed down. You need to get home now, please, Jack. It’s horrible, it’s crazy, it’s…”
“Dee, slow down. What’s going on?”
“It’s some virus in the States. It started in Chicago. It’s already been reported in London, Paris, Sydney… everywhere!”
“Okay, so we go to the cabin and wait it out. We prepared for this.”
“It gets worse, Jack.”
“How?”
“There are rumours about it turning people into monsters.”
From the panic in Dee’s voice, Jack knew she was serious.
“Monsters? How?”
“Who knows. All I saw was blurry footage on the news. They want everyone to stay inside. Lock your doors.”
“What about Civil Defence?” Jack said, his eyes scrunching together. “What are they saying?”
“Same thing. Stay indoors. Wait.”
Jack pulled the phone away from his ear and looked out over the dark mountains.
Had they had finally done it? What so many people had imagined? Had they killed the world?
Whoever “they” were.
Was it true? Had the end of the world come? A virus outbreak? Monsters?
So many thoughts swam through his head. He loved movies, comics and sci fi. Jack had daydreamed about this sort of thing happening plenty of times. He had even convinced Dee to get an isolated cabin in the woods for this kind of eventuality.
But that was just a fantasy, right? This sort of thing doesn’t really happen, does it?
“Jack? Are you there? Babe!” Dee’s voice cut through his thoughts. “You have to come home. I need you.”
He looked at his phone, struggling to grasp what was happening. He took a couple of deep breaths, letting the air out of his lungs slowly. Finally, he held the phone back to his ear. “I don’t think the city will be safe for long. If the virus reaches New Zealand, it’ll turn bad, and fast. What about our cabin?”
“I think it’s already here. Th… There’ve been conflicting reports of it in Auckland.” Dee paused. Jack could just picture her running a hand through her hair as she sat on the couch, her legs tucked under her petite frame. “Come home, baby. We’ll pick up your mother and head to the cabin.”
“Okay. Good idea.” He was thinking fast now. “Call her and let her know what’s happening. Fill up as much water as possible into any available container, get our bug-out bags, and gather as much food as you can.” Jack smiled. “Dee?”
“Yeah?”
“I love you. I’ll see you in a few hours.”
“Love you too, baby. Hurry!”
“Okay.” Jack’s phone crackled. “And lock up!” He spent a few seconds watching the reception bars on the screen, waiting for them to come back on, but they remained blank. After a moment, the ‘no signal’ icon flashed.
Jack pivoted and looked over to Mt Te Aroha. It was only four kilometres away and he could clearly see the tall communications tower that dominated the skyline. He should have perfect reception.
Grumbling to himself, Jack slipped the phone into his pocket.
Emptying out his pack, he found his headlamp. His heart pounded in his chest, and he could feel the tension building, like a violinist playing strained and suspenseful music. He hurried over to fill his water bladder up at the basin, catching his reflection in the mirror as he did so. He ran a hand through his dark hair and couldn’t help but notice the worried look in his blue eyes.