Lee Kerr - Welcome to the Apocalypse

She nods back and the first woman falls into her arms. I already know she isn’t Lucy – I could tell from the voice, but it makes me wonder how I will cope with opening every door and each person inside not being her. They will all want to fall into my welcome arms but I will want nothing but to move to the next, my search never ending until I find her.

I take a deep breath and unbolt the next door, opening it quickly and confirming what I already knew, that Lucy isn’t in it. The woman inside, who is barely out of her teens, runs into me the moment I come into sight. She had been waiting, desperately pushing against the door, and now cannot stop thanking me and holding onto my chest, desperately squeezing every ounce of attention from me. I don’t know what else to do but I know that I cannot face doing this a dozen more times without finding Lucy, and I know that if I find her then the rest will not matter to me.

I try to push her off me, telling her that there are many others to save, and Terry slowly prises her off and puts an arm around her, kissing her forehead and telling her that she is safe.

I look at the two of them, and the first woman we freed, all of them barely clothed and covered in the scars and stains resulting from their captivity. I know that this is going to take too long and that it’s going to get too crowded for us to keep quiet. ‘Lead them down the tunnel,’ I say to Terry. ‘We need to get them out of here and quickly.’

Terry nods – she clearly has the same idea. She leads the first two to the trapdoor, quietly explaining what they need to do and that there are others, more prisoners from different places but all suffering the same fate, just waiting for them on the other side. The first two nod as they listen to what they are being told. Terry touches them to reassure them as she calmly lowers them into the hole. ‘Get the others,’ she says to me.

I nod and turn, remembering the task ahead of me. I open many doors, each with their own crying wrecks inside, some more like girls than women, all equally scared and confused. I get to the last door and I am already convinced that Lucy isn’t in there; the voice coming through the hole tells me not to forget her and to hurry, but doesn’t sound anything like my girl. I open it, but I don’t even look, don’t even take the girl inside into my arms. She has clearly been watching, waiting for her turn, and I get only a whispered thank you before she runs to Terry and starts listening intently to the instructions for her escape.

I turn my attention to the staircase into the house, knowing that no matter how many I rescue I will still be forced to go deeper, my resolve pushed to levels I never knew I was capable of. I decide to make one final sweep of the basement, just hoping to find another set of wooden structures, or even just one – anywhere where Lucy could be. I notice a box in the corner and run over, knowing that it’s shaped more like a coffin than a cell. When I get to it I see that it is made of steel and is some sort of chest, mounted on a wooden pallet. I lift the lid without hesitation and I’m pleased to see that it’s full of cement bricks. It makes no sense but at least it’s not a body.

Terry walks over to me and pushes against the chest to see how solid it is. ‘You think this is how they plan to seal the trapdoor,’ she whispers.

I nod, looking over to the pallet truck. ‘Once it’s in place nothing would be able to push the trapdoor up.’

‘Nothing, you think?’

I don’t get time to answer when I hear a voice coming from upstairs. We both turn our attention back to the stairs that lead into the main house. I recognise the voice as belonging to Marius and I figure that he must have crawled through the tunnel, and then set the foam substance in place. He’s shouting threats at someone but I can’t make out what he’s saying.

As we both move closer to the door I hear someone else moaning. Marius tells them to stay still and asks how they could have been so stupid. ‘I’m going to need to stitch you up,’ are the last words I hear before the screams of another man echo through the house.

It’s enough to make me move towards the door, my heart pounding as I wonder where Lucy is in all of this. I look back to the trapdoor and see all the women are gone, but I know there is still more to do; time is racing by. With Terry just behind me we start to crawl up the stairs, hoping they won’t creak and give away our approach.

‘Seal the basement first,’ a voice says, which I recognise as belonging to Carlos. ‘You said that we don’t have much time before they come this way.’

‘The foam will set within minutes now,’ Marius says. ‘And once it does they won’t be able to smell anything in this house.’

There’s a pause in which no words are spoken by either man, whilst my mind battles to understand all that they have said. I try not to think, not to connect their words with the frantic and scattered images I have seen on the news. ‘What about my wound?’ Carlos eventually says.

I don’t hear any answer as I think about how Carlos could possibly be injured. Maybe one of his captives fought back; maybe it was Lucy? I start to worry if she is okay, which makes me tap Terry on the arm and point to the next room. She nods and we both run through the hallway and into the dining room, next to the kitchen. Terry immediately places herself behind me, her body pressed up close to mine as she leans her head over my shoulder, listening to the sounds coming from next door.

‘Your wound was a stupid mistake on your part,’ Marius says, as I imagine his cold face staring down at Carlos, his calculating mind considering what he will do with him next. I don’t know if they have always been in on this together or if Marius discovered what Carlos was doing and wanted in, but either way it sounds like the detective is the one in charge.

Carlos suddenly screams, which causes both of us to jump backwards. Terry takes hold of my arm as I tighten my grip on the gun, the moment when I will inevitably have to use it creeping closer.

‘Hold still,’ Marius says, his voice barely audible above the constant moans from Carlos. ‘The wood has gone right through but I don’t think it has ruptured anything serious. Your bigger concern will be any remaining splinters, which could cause an infection, but as I’m not a qualified surgeon you will have to take that risk. I will seal the basement and then do my best to patch you up.’

‘I need a hospital,’ Carlos says.

Marius laughs. ‘You know that’s not going to happen, not for a few days. If you survive the storm outside, then we can look for one afterwards. I doubt there will be a functioning hospital left in the surrounding districts but maybe we will be able to find a doctor who is willing to work on you for a price. Perhaps we will have to trade her for your survival.’

There’s a pause for a moment and I wonder who they are talking about, as well as what he knows about the threat that is approaching. Marius will know more than anyone and it makes me think of the secrets he must be holding, and how little time we have left in here.

‘No trade, only hospital,’ Carlos says again, his voice trailing off. The screams have gone, along with any sense of energy from him.

‘There’s no point in looking at her for help. She did this to you and I will certainly make her suffer for it.’

I step out of the dining room, as close to the kitchen door as I dare, as I try to listen for any sign of who else is in there. I hear a ripping sound, following by shouting. It’s the voice of a woman, and she’s threatening him, telling him what she is going to do to him. She is confident, taunting Marius with a story about what will happen when she gets free. She is describing it in graphic terms, totally unafraid; she is Lucy. I put a hand to my mouth, stopping myself from gasping out loud as I realise I have finally found her.