Boss grinned at him, barking out a laugh. “Did I leave that part out?”
“Yes,” Ben said, raising a thick eyebrow.
“You guys ever heard of a place called Guam?” Boss said. “An island?”
“A Pacific island. Yes,” Ben said.
“That’s where the Americans were, until I lost contact.”
“There is an American base there, so it makes sense,” Ben said.
Jack shifted his weight off his injured leg and chortled. He wasn’t sure if Boss was joking or being serious.
Boss smirked at Dee, glanced at Jack and Ben. “You guys know I’m the hero in this rule of three, eh?”
“Hero? In the rule of three? Boss?” Jack frowned.
“Yeah, you know, teenage guy or girl ripped away from his home, orphaned. Meets old wise man. Gets trained and fights back.”
“Ah, you mean the classical hero’s journey. And it’s twelve steps, I think,” Jack said. He laughed and shook his head.
“Yeah, that’s the one, but whatever.”
“Kid, don’t make me laugh. I’m still healing,” Ben said, holding his side. “And just so you know, the rule of three is a survival guide. Basic guide at best.”
Dee wrapped her arm around Boss and held him close. “You’re a goofball.”
Jack smiled as he turned back to see the last of the sun dip down over his homeland. Despite all the horror and trauma he had been through, he was happy. He had survived. He had escaped the Variant nest. He had saved George. Amongst all the chaos, he had found Dee. He was determined not to let this second chance go to waste. To find his family. To give George, Boss and everyone a world to live in.
He wrapped his arms around Dee, feeling her warmth as they watched the first of the stars appear on the horizon.
Not just my stars, but everyone’s. They belong to everyone. To shine a little light down on this dark new world.
George squealed, the noise bouncing around the cliffs as he chased a cicada.
Jack could be forgiven for thinking everything was normal. It felt as if the last couple of weeks hadn’t happened. As if Dee and he were on a camping trip, enjoying nature. Jack sighed as he looked back at the mainland. It was far from over. It had only just begun.
Three weeks without food, three days without water, three hours without shelter, and three minutes without air.
One Eye made his way through the field, his subjects following a short distance behind. He could smell the others approaching from the north, west and east. He stopped in the middle of the field and bellowed. Three bellows sounded out in response. They were close. Soon his plan would be put into motion. Soon the remaining humans would be corralled into nests. They needed to breed again, provide him with food.
A human fragment tugged at him. Didn’t he used to do this with animals?
He shook the memory away. The anger, the hunger, gnawed at his soul. First, he wanted to find the little one who had taken his eye. He wanted to feel the satisfaction of ripping the flesh from its bones and sucking out its marrow. The humans had escaped his grasp in the thumping beast that sent stinging, burning rain on him. He had lost many of his tribe chasing them.
Finally the others approached, the Alpha leaders towering over their minions. The other three stopped around him. He looked them over. He could smell the blood as it pumped through their veins. Hear their hearts thumping. Air as it escaped their lungs.
Half of him wanted nothing more than to rip out their throats. To lap up the blood as it gushed out. To feast on their flesh until his hunger was satisfied. But he needed them. Needed their cooperation.
“Where?” he grunted, sniffing the air.
The Alpha who had come from the north signalled behind him. Variants pushed two humans, a man and a woman, forwards, shoving them to the ground at the feet of One Eye.
He gazed down at them. The blonde hair of the woman was matted against her head. He fought the urge to sink his teeth into her neck and taste her blood. The last remaining human part of his brain bubbled to the surface. She’s a real beauty.
He bellowed angrily, then grunted, “Where?”
One of the Variants kicked the male. One Eye looked down at the slightly overweight man with his shaved head and beady eyes. He hissed at him, shoving his face closer.
“I… I… I don’t know where they are, please…” mumbled the overweight man.
One Eye sniffed him. He could definitely smell them on him. He lashed out and speared the man through the head with his claw. With a satisfied hiss, he lapped up the spilling blood and brain matter.
One Eye turned to the Alpha that had come from the east. “Where?”
The Alpha pushed a skinny male out onto the ground. Skinny held up his hands in surrender, pleading, “Please… please don’t kill me… I know where they are.”
He pointed east, towards the mountains.
One Eye snarled with satisfaction. His anger barely contained, he let out a deafening bellow.
He hauled on four chains, pulling the terrified prey at the other ends towards him. Four children appeared, covered in filth. They were sobbing.
The Alphas smacked their suckers as the gathered Variants howled into the night. The small ones tasted so much sweeter.
One Eye sniffed the skull of the child in front of him and licked the salt off its flesh.
The child began to sob. With a satisfying crunch, One Eye silenced it forever. He moaned with pleasure as he drank the blood and tore into its flesh. Soon the sounds of the other Alphas feeding filled his ears.
The surrounding packs screeched and howled at the smell of the spilt blood.
Glossary
Gallipoli: World War One battle fought between the ANZAC (Australia and New Zealand Army Corp) and Turkish forces in 1915. The ANZACs suffered heavy losses, but fought with sheer determination for little gain.
Haka: Tribal war dance performed to intimidate an opponent. Famously performed in modern times by New Zealand sports teams. Each tribe has its own version of the dance.
Hongi: Translates to “The breath of life.” A greeting, where the two greeting each other touch noses and foreheads at the same time. Serves a similar purpose to a handshake.
Iwi: Translates to “people” or “nation”, but it has come to mean tribe. In pre-European times, Maori identified more with a Hapu or sub tribe. Iwi can mean a confederation of tribes.
Kai: Simply translates to “food”.
Kaitiaki: Term used for Guardianship of the Sea and of the Sky. Kaitiaki is a guardian, and the process and practices of looking after the environment.
Kaumatua: Elders in Maori society, held in high esteem. Being the storehouses of tribal knowledge, genealogy and traditions.
Kawakawa: Small tree endemic to New Zealand. Used in medicines and traditional practices.
Kehua: Translates to “ghost”.
Kina: A sea urchin endemic to New Zealand. Considered a delicacy.
Koru: Translates to “loop”. Used to describe the unfurling frond of the silver fern. Signifies new life, growth, strength and peace.