Mass Extinction Event (Book 2): Days 9-16 Page 5

  "On your knees," he says.

  I stare at him.

  "On your knees," he says again, more firmly this time.

  Slowly, I get down on my knees, and I watch as he takes a couple of steps closer.

  "Okay," he continues, closing one eye as he steadies his aim at my head. "Now why don't you tell me who you are, and why you just shot a man in cold blood outside my house?"

  Day Ten

  Chapter One

  Pennsylvania

  I'm slowly jolted awake by the motion of the van as it bumps and bounces along some kind of gravel road. Blinking a couple of times, I realize that somehow I must have eventually fallen asleep, and now the warm light of dawn is flickering through the passing trees.

  "Wakey wakey," Erikson calls back from the driver's seat. "How you doing back there, Elizabeth? You manage to get your head down?"

  "Yeah," I mutter, still feeling kind of groggy. It takes a couple more seconds before I remember everything that happened yesterday with Dawn, or whatever her name was, and finally I look out the window and see that we seem to be way off the beaten track. "Where are we?" I ask.

  "Pennsylvania," Erikson says.

  "Seriously?"

  "I've got a friend out this way," he continues. "Haven't heard from him for a while, but last time I talked to him, he was living on a couple of acres of land, raising chickens and..." He pauses. "Well, I don't quite know what he was doing, to be honest, but he seemed to like coming out to the country and getting away from things." He turns to his girlfriend, who so far seems to be conspicuously ignoring me. "Shauna, do you remember what the hell Toad was doing out here?"

  "No fucking idea," she mutters.

  "Toad?" I say, a little shocked by the name.

  "It's what we called him at school," Erikson continues. "He's just... well, you'll see, but despite his appearance, he's a great guy. Actually, that's not fair. He's just kinda earthy, if you know what I mean. He's got no style. These days, the guy's usually to be found covered in fucking soil, digging some kind of garden or whatever the fuck he spends his time doing." Up ahead of us, a large farmhouse comes into view. "He's very friendly. We'll just stop here for a couple of days before we get going again. Maybe scrounge some supplies, if he's in a good mood. I don't know if -"

  Before he can finish the sentence, there's a loud pinging sound, as if something has ricocheted off the metal frame of the van. We keep going for a moment, before there's another loud bang and the entire windscreen shatters into a thousand pieces, spraying us all with glass and causing Erikson to swerve the van until it comes to a halt straight across the road.

  "Get down!" he shouts.

  Just as I duck down under the table, there's another loud bang, and this time it's clear that someone's shooting at us. My heart's racing as I crawl across the floor of the van, trying to get behind one of the chairs, but moments later there's a loud bang as a bullet bursts through the door and hits one of the bags over near the other seat.

  "Fucking asshole!" Erikson shouts from the foot-well of the driver's seat. "Anyone hurt?"

  "Get us out of here!" Shauna screams.

  "Elizabeth!" Erikson calls out. "You okay back there?"

  "Yeah!" I shout back. "But why's he shooting at us? I thought you said he was a friend!"

  "I also said he's a bit weird!" he replies, as another bullet strikes the van, followed by the ominous hissing sound of a slowly deflating tire. "Fuck! Now what are we supposed to do?"

  "Are those blanks?" Shauna asks, just as there's another shot, blasting a hole near the back of the vehicle.

  "Do they seem like blanks to you?" Erikson screams.

  "Doesn't he know it's you?" I ask. "Doesn't he recognize the van?"

  "I doubt it," Erikson says. "We kind of... liberated this baby from the guy who owned it before us. He was dead, though, so I figure it doesn't really matter. We cleaned it out and everything! There's no reason to worry."

  "We're going to die!" Shauna screams. "This is fucking insane! That asshole's going to kill us if you don't get us out of here!"

  Reaching up, Erikson tries to start the van again, but something seems to be wrong. He tries a couple more times, with no luck.

  "You're going to flood the engine!" Shauna hisses.

  "I know what I'm doing!" he replies.

  "I knew we should never have come here," Shauna continues, her voice filled with panic. "You're gonna die, and I'm gonna die, and this baby's gonna die before it ever has a chance to see the world. We never should have come to see this asshole, and we never should have picked those girls up! You know what we should have done, Einstein? We should have stayed the fuck where we were. We should have just stayed in place and waited for everything to go back to normal. Instead, you insisted on having us drive out here to see some psychotic loner who thinks the best option is to blow our fucking heads off!"

  "Calm down," Erikson replies, "I'm gonna fix this! Toad's not a bad guy, he's just scared. He probably thinks we're coming to rob him, that's all." He pauses. "At least we know he's alive. And he's stopped shooting, which is probably a good sign."

  "It just means he thinks we're already dead," Shauna mutters. "He'll wait a while, and then he'll come out to pick over what's left, and when he finds us, he'll blow our fucking heads off."

  "I'm gonna go out there," Erikson says after a moment.

  "No fucking way!" she replies.

  "Once he sees it's me," he continues, "he'll be fine! He's probably got binoculars or something lined up on us, so he just needs to see my face and everything'll be okay. He's not gonna shoot me! We go way back! We're friends! Honestly, there's just been a bit of a misunderstanding, but it'll all get smoothed out!"

  "Send her," Shauna says, looking back at me.

  "Why the fuck would we send her?" Erikson asks.

  "You know what Toad's like," she continues. "He likes the ladies. Show him a girl, he'll come running out of that place with his tongue hanging to his knees."

  "No way," I say. "He'll shoot me!"

  "No," Erikson says, turning to me, "Shauna's right. He probably wouldn't shoot me, but he definitely wouldn't shoot you. I mean, Toad's a fucking sucker for the ladies. He sees you, there's no way he'll shoot a hot girl when he thinks he can -"

  "Shut up!" Shauna shouts, slamming his head against the seat. "She's not hot, but she's a girl, so she'll do!" She turns to me. "No offense, but you get the idea. The guy has an eye for the ladies, and in my current condition, I don't really fit the bill. You might as well make yourself useful. Just go out there, wave at the house, and wait for him to come out. As soon as you can talk to him, tell him that Carl Erikson and Shauna Bennett are in this vehicle and tell him to stop being an ass!"

  I shake my head. There's no way I'm going to get out of this van while there's some maniac with a gun anywhere nearby, and I don't see why Erikson and Shauna really think I could be much help. I guess they just figure I'm expendable, and that it wouldn't be the end of the world for them if they miscalculated and I ended up with a bullet in the head. So far, this 'Toad' guy seems to be pretty trigger-happy, and I can't help thinking that they're underestimating his willingness to fire off some more shots.

  "Push her out," Shauna says after a moment.

  "No!" I shout.

  "Push her!" she says firmly. "Just do it!"

  "I'm not pushing anyone," Erikson replies.

  "So you'd rather put your own unborn child at risk?" she says. "I swear to God, if you don't push that little streak of piss out right now, I'll get out myself. Is that what you want? You want me to put myself in danger instead of her? That's nice to know, Carl. Really fucking nice!"

  "Maybe a pregnant woman would be the best one to go out," I mutter.

  They both turn and stare at me.

  "He's not going to shoot a pregnant woman, is he?" I continue.

  "Maybe I should be the one to go out there after all," Erikson says.

  "Fuck you," Shauna replies, reaching out to open the door
on her side.

  "No!" Erikson shouts, grabbing her arm. He turns to me. "Listen, Elizabeth, you're the best option here. I've known Toad for a long time, and he's not going to shoot at you, okay? He's just not. The guy was just firing a few warning shots, but he's not insane. He'll at least hear what you have to say first, so just make sure he understands that you're here with us." He pauses. "Seriously, by the end of the day, we'll all be laughing about this. We'll be sitting around, chatting about the old days and generally having a good old natter, probably over some of that home-brewed beer Toad's always going on about."

  I open my mouth to say that I won't do it, but after a moment I realize that maybe I don't have a choice. From the way Shauna's staring at me, I genuinely believe that she'd be willing to physically throw me out, and it's not as if we can just stay in the van indefinitely, especially with a blown tire. Sooner or later, one of us has to go out there and talk to this guy. I just don't see why they're so convinced that I'm the best candidate for the job. Surely this Toad guy would react much better if he saw that his friends were here than if he spotted some random girl he's never seen before?

  "Isn't there some other way?" I ask. "Maybe we could make a sign and hold it up for him to see? Maybe we could make a white flag and wave it out the side of the van?"

  "Trust me," Erikson says firmly. "I know you don't really know me, but I wouldn't send you out there if I wasn't absolutely certain that you'll be safe." He pauses. "We're in this together, Elizabeth. We let you come into our van, we probably saved your life, and now it's your turn to do something. Yeah, it's risky, and yeah, it's pretty fucked up, but in the current circumstances, it's something that needs doing. You're not gonna let us down, are you?" He waits for me to answer. "Hand on my heart, I swear to God he's not going to hurt you."

  Sighing, I look over at the door, which still has a small bullet hole in the side.

  "He won't shoot once he sees you," Erikson says again.

  "You seem very sure about that," I say bitterly.

  "I am," he continues. "I know Toad. I mean, it's been a couple of years since I last saw him, but I know this guy and I know how his head works. People don't change, not that much. He's fundamentally a good and honest man."

  "Does he normally shoot at people when they're coming along his driveway?" I ask.

  "Strange times," Erikson replies with a hint of melancholy. "Strange fucking times."

  Without saying anything, I crawl over to the door, before reaching up and sliding it open. If the guy with the gun is in the farmhouse, he won't be able to see me until I get all the way out and walk forward a few meters, past the driver's door. My heart's racing, but I seem to be gaining some degree of strength that I never knew I possessed. Taking a deep breath, and forcing myself not to think about this too much, I climb out of the van, hold my hands up in the air, and walk around to the front. I'm pretty sure that this is the craziest thing I've ever done in my life, but I figure I've got no choice. I just hope that Erikson was right when he said his friend Toad would never shoot me.

  The farmhouse is about fifty meters away. I can't see anyone, but I'm assuming that this Toad guy is watching me from one of the windows. Unless he's an absolute monster, he hopefully won't open fire on someone who's clearly unarmed, although the fact that his nickname is Toad doesn't give me much confidence. As I take a couple of steps forward, I realize that it's a good sign that he hasn't fired so far, so I keep walking, making sure to hold my hands up where he can see them at all times. So far, so good, but I won't be able to relax until he comes outside and I can see that there's no longer a gun pointing at me. I just have to trust that Erikson was right when he said that Toad wouldn't open fire, otherwise I'm an easy target.

  "Hello!" I shout eventually, although I figure I'm probably still too far away for him to be able to hear me properly.

  Silence.

  I turn and look back at the van. There's no sign of Erikson or Shauna, who are still down in the foot-wells, hiding from any potential stray bullets. I guess this is all very easy for them, and there's a part of me that wants to go and grab them, and then drag them out so that this 'Toad' guy can see us all.

  Realizing I have no choice but to keep going, I turn back toward the farmhouse and start walking again. I still can't work out where this Toad guy might be hiding, but I can't help imagining that he's got the crosshairs of his rifle aimed straight at my face.

  "Hello!" I shout once I'm a little closer. "My name's Elizabeth! I'm here with Carl Erikson and Shauna!"

  Silence.

  "They say they know you!" I continue, taking another step forward. "They sent me out here to tell you that -"

  Before I can finish, there's a loud gunshot, and I'm knocked clear off my feet as a powerful force smashes into my shoulder and sends me crashing to the ground.

  Chapter Two

  Missouri

  "Hey!" I scream, banging on the door. "Let me out of here! You've got no right to do this!"

  Taking a step back, I listen out for any sign that the guy is coming back. It's been eight or nine hours since he led me, at gunpoint, down here into the basement of his house, and since then there's been no sign of him. It's dark down here, but the rising sun has begun to show through a small window at the far end of the dark, dank room.

  Silence.

  "Hey!" I shout again, pulling on the door handle, to no avail. Turning, I hurry across the basement, looking for something, anything I can use to force my way out of here. I've already spent a couple of hours trying the window, but it seems to be made out of reinforced glass and I couldn't even make a dent. Unfortunately, the entire basement seems to be completely empty, almost as if the guy deliberately removed anything that I could have used to get out. I'm starting to feel as if I'm completely at his mercy, and that's a feeling I really don't like.

  Heading back to the window, I take another look outside. Now that there's some light, I realize I can see the truck over by the trees, with the tarpaulin still covering Joe's body. I feel a dull, heavy sensation in my chest as I think back to what happened yesterday. The truth is, since I was brought down into the basement, I've been able to distract myself by focusing on me efforts to get the hell out of here, but every so often I'm forced to think back to the moment when I pulled that trigger. I feel like in some way, all my feelings have been bundled up in a bag and pushed to one side, but at some point I'm gonna have to deal with what I did.

  Just... not now.

  Hearing a noise over by the door, I freeze, and after a moment I realize that there's a key in the lock. Before I can come up with a plan, the door swings open and I see the guy standing with a rifle pointed straight at me.

  I wait.

  "You hungry?" he asks, his voice sounding old and gnarled.

  I stare, my heart racing as I try to work out what to do next. There's a part of me that thinks the best option would be to just take a run at him. After all, he's pretty old and I doubt his reaction times are too hot. At the same time, he's got a gun pointed straight at me, and this isn't the kind of situation where I can afford to make a mistake. Out here in the middle of nowhere, with no likelihood of any cops ever turning up, it wouldn't be difficult for this old guy to blow my head off and get away with it. I guess things are kinda lawless right now.

  "It's a simple enough question," he continues. "You hungry or not? If you are, you can have some food. If not, you can stay down here a while longer."

  Cautiously, I walk over to the door, unable to take my eyes off the barrel of the rifle. The man makes his way into the basement, keeping the gun pointed at me as he moves around until he's behind me.

  "You go first," he says. "Any funny business, anything at all, and I'll shoot. You got that? I've shot a man before, so don't think I'll hesitate. It's up to you whether or not you wanna live, but I've got this thing pointed right at the back of your chest. It's pellets, too, so it'll rip you up pretty bad."

  "I don't wanna hurt you," I tell him. "I just found this place by
accident -"

  "You broke my window."

  "Yeah, but -"

  "And you shot a man," he continues. "Shot him dead in the back of that truck. Don't try to deny it. I saw you."

  "That was -" I pause, but I can't get the words out. I can't let myself think about what happened with Joe. Not yet.

  "You want food, you walk out that door, but remember I've got your back in my sights." He pauses. "There's a few rules we need to establish around here. I'm not gonna let some murdering little thief have the run of the place."

  "I'm not -"

  "Get upstairs," he says gruffly.

  Figuring I should do what he says, I turn and walk toward the door. Although the guy's clearly getting on, in his sixties or seventies, he seems pretty threatening. I guess I just need to talk to him and explain exactly how I ended up here. As I start walking up the stairs that leads to the main part of the house, I can hear him following close behind, and I want to turn and explain everything, to make everything okay.

  "Stop," he says suddenly as I get to the top of the stairs. "Two steps forward."

  I do exactly what I'm told. Although I'm trying not to show it, I'm pretty terrified right now, and I'm convinced that this old guy means business. Then again, he's getting on, so he can't keep an eye on me all the time. He'll make a mistake sooner or later, and that's when I'll get him. I feel bad for plotting to hurt him, but he's not giving me a choice.

  "Okay," he continues. "I'm gonna have to do something to make sure we both know where we stand. You got that?"

  I open my mouth to reply, but I have no idea what to say. This whole situation is so bizarre and messed-up, I don't even know where to begin. For one thing, I have no idea whether this guy is genuinely crazy, or just scared. I'd understand if he was scared, but at the same time I'm getting a pretty weird vibe from him, as if maybe he's got a few screws loose.

  "Fine," he says.

  "I -" I start to say in reply, but before I can finish, there's a heavy thud at the back of my head and I'm instantly knocked unconscious.