Feeling George nestled into his chest, hanging on to him for any sort of comfort, confirmed it. He was thankful. Thankful for this chance at redemption. Jack looked around. He had trained as a lifesaver in his youth, but with all the trauma his body had gone through, he wouldn’t last much longer in the river.
Farther down, he could still see the limestone cliffs soaring high. At the bottom, little pockets of bank had eroded away to form muddy coves covered in a thick tangled mess of tree roots and scrub. He could see the bright green of his hiking pack floating close by.
As far as Jack could see, there weren’t any monsters in the scrub. Their screeches sounded close, though. He really needed to get out of the river. Risking it, he kicked towards one of the muddy coves and his pack. Pushing George in front of him, he pulled his exhausted body out of the river, hooking his leg through the strap of his pack as he did so. To have any chance at survival, he needed his pack, so he was thankful it had been waiting. Cold water dripped off his head, splattering onto the mud. Jack was having trouble focussing on his immediate surroundings. He realised the last few days were taking their toll. Wiping river water from his eyes, he crawled under the mess of roots. Exhausted, he leaned up against the tree and took a few deep breaths.
George sat panting, his eyes flicking around.
“It’s okay, George,” Jack said. “We’re going to hide for a while.”
Jack looked down at the thick mud coating his legs and arms and smiled. He could just hear Dee laugh at him and say. “You and your movies.”
He scooped up handfuls of mud and started to coat George with it. “Sorry, buddy. I know it’s cold and gross, but we need to hide from the monsters.”
Jack made sure the kid was completely covered before doing himself. Maybe it will work. It was worth a shot.
The creatures clearly had excellent vision and a heightened sense of smell, not to mention exceptional hearing. As exhausted as he was, he knew that if he wanted any chance of getting down the river, they had to hide out for now and rest.
They had achieved the impossible: they had escaped hell.
Since learning of the virus, Jack had been trying to get home to Dee. They had always had a “what if?” plan. But no amount of planning and preparation had readied him for the horrors that hunted him now. He had always been a keen outdoors type and had learned the hard way that you needed to be prepared for anything.
One spring day, a day hike turned into a three-day nightmare. The weather was cool, clear and crisp as he set off on his six-hour return hike up one of the many valleys cutting their way through the mountains close to his home.
The trip up the valley passed without incident. On the return journey, he slipped on a wet rock and caught his boot on a tree root. The result was that he broke his ankle as he tumbled down a steep ravine.
Jack shouted for help until he lost his voice. He had broken the cardinal rule: he hadn’t told anyone of his intentions.
With little hope of rescue, Jack spent the next three days crawling out of the ravine, and then farther down the river to the more popular walking tracks. A very surprised group of elderly hikers found an extremely dehydrated and hungry Jack.
The relief had been immense. He had learned his lesson. Now he followed a strict code of conduct.
Always be prepared.
Branches behind Jack snapped as the creatures shrieked and howled around him. Answering howls joined the monsters as they ran up and down the river hunting for their lost prey. Jack glanced down at George who had his knees tucked under him and eyes clenched shut. Jack prayed for his mud trick to work. It was all he had left. He had no weapons apart from the machete. If the creatures did find them, he figured he could maybe kill one; at a stretch, two.
The closest monster let out a screech, its pitch deafening. Jack held George’s hand tight as the mud-covered kid snuggled into him, shaking. Closer now, the screeching intensified. Jack struggled to keep himself from shaking.
Go away… go away… go away…
A howl right above him nearly made him jump back into the flowing water. Opening his eyes, he checked his escape route. Looking out at the river, Jack couldn’t believe his eyes.
A large motorboat was slowly making its way up towards the dam. He wanted to yell out a warning to the tall, brown-haired figure. It was hard to tell, but Jack thought he looked to be only a teenager.
The figure glanced from side to side, watching the howling monsters on top of the cliffs. Jack could see he was being careful to keep the boat in the middle of the river.
With a horrific screech, the creature above Jack tore off after the boat, following it back towards the nest.
Holding a trembling George, Jack rocked the boy back and forth, trying to soothe him.
“It’s okay, they’ve gone for now,” he whispered. “We’re going to eat the last of my food, then we’re going to have to get back in the river, all right?”
George whimpered into Jack’s chest.
Watching the disappearing boat, Jack wondered what the hell the kid on the boat was thinking?
Has the whole world gone mad?
— 27 —
Dee stared at the hydro dam as Ben pulled to the side of the road and brought the 4x4 to a stop. She could see the dam stretching across the river, a high cliff dropping away on the opposite bank.
A small electrical substation nestled against the side of the bank she stood on, and beyond, a road stretched across the dam wall, following its curve.
“We go in there, nice and slow,” Ben said. He was pointing at the larger building below the substation. “Shoot anything that’s not human. Go for their centre mass to bring them down, then once in the head, okay?”
Dee nodded. “Got it. Rule two. Double tap.”
“If they attack en mass, just fire until you’ve got nothing left. When you reload, shout it so I can cover you.”
Dee looked at Ben. She was determined but scared. Scared of failing. Failing to find Jack. Scared of dying. Dying without knowing what had happened to him. To anyone she cared about. She sighed and looked down at the AR-15, feeling the weight of it.
Ben placed a hand on her shoulder. “Just point and shoot, kid. Give them hell. We find Jack, we retreat straight away.”
Dee followed close behind Ben as they crept up to the large set of wooden doors. She could detect the rotten fruit smell that lingered around the beasts, a sure indicator they were here. Taking a deep breath, she readied herself.
Ben reached out and tried the handle. It gave. Dee watched as he pushed the door wider. She took a last deep breath to help centre herself and followed him through. She took up a covering position like they had practised back at the bunker. Scanning the small room, she could see a little desk to one side but no other furniture.
Ben indicated with his head for her to cover him. He opened up the next door, revealing a steel set of stairs going down. The reek of rotten fruit made Dee gag. Another stench wafted in. She wasn’t quite sure, but it reminded her of decaying flesh.
The thought of what lay beyond, at the bottom of the stairs, horrified her. Ben looked at her, his eyes asking if she was all right. She nodded, and they descended into the stench.
Opening the door at the bottom of the stairs, Dee saw what true horror looked like in the corridor beyond. People were stuck to the walls, trapped in some weird membrane. Cocooned. Their faces serene. Her heart pounded, her breath quickened. Praying for her Jack, she frantically ran down the corridor, searching the faces for him. She ignored Ben’s pleading for her to slow down.