Adrian Smith - The Rule of Three

Mike started gesturing madly, his face going red. He started to retort, but Vicki elbowed him in the ribs, effectively silencing him.

“We’re happy to go with you, Dee. Our families are both in the South Island. Just until it blows over, then we’ll be on our way,” Vicki whispered. She bent down next to Dee. “I’m sorry about Mike.”

Dee shrugged her shoulders and grimaced. “I don’t know about you lot, but I’ve had enough of this basement and its foul stench.” She looked at Boss, causing him to grin, and once again she marvelled at the teenager’s resilience. Seeing his smile gave her new motivation.

“Matt?”

“Yeah?”

“You can take my neighbour’s car. I know where the keys are.”

Matt nodded. “That sounds perfect. Thank you.”

The group spent the next hour gathering what little food and water they had, dividing it up as evenly as they could. Dee gave them all spare clothes from some bags she had meant to take to the op shop.

Picking up her katana, Dee looked at Boss still trying to cram all the radio bits into a box. “C’mon, they’ll be active again soon.”

“Yeah I know, I just don’t want to miss anything.”

“Okay. Meet us in the car. And be careful.”

Distracted, Boss nodded.

Matt was waiting at the basement door, and as Dee approached, he looked over at Aston, who was peering through the grate. Given the all clear, Matt slid the bolt and they stepped out into the sunlight.

Dee took a deep breath, the fresh air filling her lungs. Looking left and right, she gripped the katana tightly. Seeing nothing, she walked on. Dread washed over her the closer she got to her elderly neighbour’s house. The thought of seeing Faye’s mangled body frightened Dee, but she knew she had to do this. She wanted to survive, to see Jack again.

I didn’t fight the darkness for it to end now.

Dee walked up to the smashed-in window and quickly peered inside. On the floor was a thick, congealed blood stain, but no body. She frowned. Where’s the body? Matt brushed against her as he looked in too.

Not wanting to speak for fear of attracting Variants, Dee, using mime, demonstrated that she wanted Matt to cup his hands together and give her a boost.

Grunting, Matt pushed her through the window and onto the kitchen bench. Dee did her best to stay out of the glass, but she felt a few pinpricks on her hands. Looking again to the spot where the body had lain, shivers shot up her spine. Quickly moving on, she grabbed the keys off the hook near the pantry and let herself out the side door.

Signalling with a nod of her head, she indicated the garage to Matt and handed him the keys.

They were struggling with the garage door as Aston and Alice joined them.

“Wait a few minutes. We’ll try to leave together,” Dee said, lowering her voice.

Matt nodded.

Alice grabbed Dee in a bear hug. “Thank you.”

Pushing Alice back slightly, Dee wiped a tear from her own eye. “You’re welcome. Good luck, and thanks for all the fish.”

Alice smiled distantly at her, not getting the reference. Embarrassed, Dee jumped over the fence. Crouching low, she made a dash for her car. When she got to her garage, she found Mike and Boss had raised the garage door in readiness. They piled into the car and she turned the ignition. Easing the car out, she glanced around, looking for Variants. Gripping the steering wheel, she indicated right and headed up the road, away from her sanctuary. Dee wondered if she was doing the right thing by leaving. Would Jack know to head to the cabin? She pushed her doubts aside and concentrated on driving everyone to safety.

Matt followed her to the end of the road. Turning south, Dee and her group waved them goodbye. She watched as their car disappeared from view and said a silent prayer of hope. Hope that they would survive to see their families again.

Dee made it across town without incident, weaving in and out of the vehicles that clogged the road. Everywhere they looked there was evidence of violent confrontations. Blood and broken glass. She saw one car with the doors peeled off like a tin of sardines.

What the hell did that?

Dee drove them to a hunting shop she knew, but they could see it had been looted. Giving up on finding any new guns, they drove on, heading for one of the bridges crossing the river. As they drew near, she could see it was blocked. Vehicles were strewn everywhere, tangled in a bottleneck. Some were burnt out.

“We’ll have to try the next bridge down,” Dee said.

“They’ll all be the same,” Mike said sullenly.

Dee shook her head in annoyance. “We have to try though.”

“What about Narrows Bridge, out by the airport?” asked Boss.

“Yeah, all right. Less traffic. Could be a winner,” agreed Dee.

Reversing the car, Dee looked in the rearview mirror, and mouthed Thank you to Boss.

The going was slow, as all the roads were nearly impassable. She had to backtrack several times and try different routes, but finally they made it out of Hamilton. Speeding up as much as she dared, Dee couldn’t help thinking that the Variants would be out on the hunt in another couple of hours.

If the roads carry on like this, we’re going to have to find somewhere to hole up for the night.

The Narrows Golf Course shimmered into view as Dee swerved around another abandoned vehicle. She slowed, knowing the bridge was just around the corner, and crossed her fingers for some luck. Her heart sank. Just like the others, the bridge was clogged.

Damn it!

Several cars were pressed against each other, like a police roadblock. Looking into the jumbled mess, she could see a small gap, perhaps just wide enough to squeeze the car through.

“What do you think, guys?”

“We could shunt them over a bit,” Mike said. “Do you want me to drive?”

“I got it.”

“Are you sure?”

Dee glared at Matt. “Yes. Just keep an eye on your side.”

“Fine. I was only offering.”

Dee let out a breath to calm her anger and inched the car forwards, scraping both fenders. The metallic sound echoed around the car. She clenched her jaw and pressed the accelerator down, giving the car more gas.

Easy, easy does it.

Dee checked the wing mirrors in turn, checking her progress. She heard the thump a fraction before Vicki and Mike screamed. Looking up, she saw a Variant perched on the roof of a nearby car. It stared at them with its reptilian yellow eyes. Globs of saliva drooled from its mouth.

Dee felt her heart drop like she was on a rollercoaster. She grabbed the gear stick, jammed the car into reverse and slammed the accelerator down, spinning the tyres.

The Variant shrieked and leapt onto the hood of her car. Several screeches answered its call. Dee swung the steering wheel hard from side to side, trying to remove the Variant, but it dug its claw-like digits into the hood.

One arm drew back and smashed through the windscreen, spearing a stunned Mike right through the skull. Vicki’s screams jumped several octaves.

Boss pounded Dee’s shoulder. “Down there! Go right, through the golf course!”

She didn’t have time to answer. Swinging the steering wheel hard right, the car whipped back and went down the embankment. They rolled once before righting and, wheels spinning in the soft earth, Dee put it into drive and tore away from the screeching Variants.

The roll had crushed the Variant that had speared Mike, whose lifeless body flopped around and leaned onto Dee.

“Boss, get him off me!” she shouted.

Boss pushed Mike against the passenger door with his feet.

Dee kept the accelerator pressed against the floor, the car fish-tailing over the grass like they were competing in a rally. She dodged trees and shrubs and even one overturned golf cart with clubs scattered next to it.