Adrian Smith - The Rule of Three

Jogging down the trail, he thought back to the day he and Dee had met.

It was the height of summer. A hazy glare bounced off the trees in the valley, and Jack could see and smell the pollen coming off the poplar trees. Taking a breath, Jack heard two excited voices coming up the trail, the roar of the waterfall and the gurgling of the stream no match for the high-pitched excitement. Looking, he saw her for the first time. Petite, pixie-cut brown hair, bright blue eyes and a gorgeous smile. And when she turned towards him, he could see a tattoo of flowers creeping up her arm.

Jack turned away shyly, but still managed to smile at her.

Enjoying his lunch, he listened as the two girls took in the view, snapped photos and chatted. He was pleased when they sat close by to eat their lunch.

He was readying himself to leave when he felt the air change. “Do you know how far that trail goes?”

The voice was almost sing-song, its sweet tones music to his ears.

Jack looked in the direction Pixie-hair was pointing. “As far north as north goes.”

Pixie-hair laughed. “Isn’t it ‘as far south as south goes’?”

Jack smiled. “Yeah, but I know nothing.”

She stuck out her hand. “I’m Diana, but my friends call me Dee.”

Jack grinned, his cheeks hurting. “James, but everyone calls me Jack.”

It was hard going. Down, down, down. He hated down. His knee joints ground with every step. He could feel the lactic acid building. He gritted his teeth. He picked his way over the gnarled tree roots that twisted over the trail and dodged granite boulders. He hurried past evidence of the area’s gold mining past. Boilers and steam compressors rusting away in their steel frames. Other relics sat amongst the undergrowth, all but forgotten. Jack ignored it all. His focus was on Dee. On getting down from these mountains safely. As he jogged down the trail, he could hear the hoot of owls, the squawks of kakariki and the coos of wood pigeons as they searched for their meals. Normally he would stop and watch them, fascinated by their routine. Not tonight.

The trail finally flattened out as he came up to the swing bridge. Without even glancing at the view, Jack jogged on.

Only one more hour.

Those countless times he’d hiked this trail were really helping him in the darkness.

Forty minutes later he arrived at the car park. He fumbled for his keys as he ran up to his SUV. Finally getting them in hand, he unlocked the door, slung his backpack onto the passenger seat and jumped in. Jamming the key into the ignition, he started the engine, whacked it into gear and sped off, tyres spinning in the loose gravel.

I’m coming, darling. I’m nearly there.

With one hand on the wheel, he turned on his phone, tapped the phone icon and put it on speaker. Nothing but garbled sound emitted from it. Looking at the bars, Jack swore in frustration. “ CRAP! SHITTY SHIT!”

He leant over and turned the volume up on the car stereo. A strange monotone beep filled the silence. Frowning, he scanned through all the FM stations. Nothing. His pulse quickening, Jack switched to AM, and heard an emergency broadcast. He listened to it a few times but got no actual details of the virus. It was just the announcer advising people to stay indoors. Jack ran a sweaty hand through his hair. Letting out a breath, he turned the radio off in frustration.

Jack sped through the night, the road dipping as it followed the undulating countryside. He kept off the main roads, taking the narrower but straighter roads that dissected the flat farmland. His eyes scanned the houses as he flew past, searching for signs of life. Every house was dark; people had either left or the power was off.

Jack grimaced at each dark building he saw and fought the urge to drive faster. The closer he got to Hamilton, the more his trepidation grew. After thirty minutes of speeding his way along the back roads, Jack decided to risk the highway, his worry for Dee and his family making up his mind.

As soon as he turned onto the main road he spotted an orange glow up ahead. His mind flashed back to his time in Australia. A glow like that normally meant a fire. Slowing his car, he wound down the window. Acrid smoke wafted in, making him cough. Definitely fire.

Jack dropped his speed further and glanced in his rearview mirror, searching behind for any vehicles, in case he needed to make a quick U-turn. The glow intensified as he rounded a sharp bend, and before him was the cause of the fire. He jammed on the brakes.

Cars lined the road on both sides, their occupants milling around. About 100 metres away, he could see a jack-knifed milk tanker strewn across the road, its ends tangled in fences on both sides. It was engulfed in flames, thick black smoke pouring out over the land.

Alongside him, on the shoulder of the road, a family sat waiting in an old mini-van.

Winding his window right down, he made eye contact with the driver. “Hey, been waiting long?”

“About an hour,” replied the man.

Jack could see him quite well in the light from the blaze. He looked about 40 and had on a flat cap, like the English wear — or the hipsters. The woman sitting alongside had her hands over her ears. Hearing the bickering of kids from the back seat, he could understand why.

Jack turned his attention back to Flatcap. “Any sign of the emergency services?”

“Nope, not yet. It’s pretty crazy out there. The roads are jammed up.”

“Because of the virus?”

“Yeah. They announced it on the news, told everyone to stay home from work, only essential travel. That was yesterday. We decided to go and stay with family, get out of Auckland. I guess everyone else had the same idea.”

“What about Hamilton?”

“Couldn’t get past the Bombay Hills. The police directed us onto this road.”

Jack nodded, contemplating the new information. Looking out at the tanker, the fire raging out of control and all the cars jammed up, he knew that if he was to get home to Dee, he’d have to go the long way around.

Making his decision, he turned back to Flatcap. “Thanks mate. I’m going to try a different way. I really need to get home to my wife.” He revved the car up and shifted it into gear.

“Hey!” called out Flatcap.

“Yeah?”

“Can you give us directions?”

“Sure, where are you headed?”

“Cambridge.”

“Cambridge? Okay. Follow me. I’ll show you to the turn off.”

The lady, who had not uttered a sound until now, turned and looked at Jack. “Thank you. It’s madness out there.”

A high-pitched scream echoed through the night. Jack and Flatcap exchanged a look.

Squinting into the glare from the fire, Jack could just make out the source of screaming. A couple were running down the road towards where he was stopped, terror sharpening their features. The woman let out another primal scream as a black blur slammed into her. They went down in a tangled mess of arms and legs, just a few car lengths away. The black blur had stopped above them and came into focus.

Jack stared. He was having trouble comprehending what his eyes were seeing. It looked like a monster straight out of his worst nightmares.

The creature looked human enough. Or like something that had once been human. Its limbs had elongated, and where its feet and hands should have been, were claws. Large yellow eyes stared back at Jack. They blinked, as if the creature was deciding whether to attack him or finish off the woman. The monster glared at Jack and shrieked.

Jack’s heart hammered in his chest, sending a shot of adrenaline right through his body. He struggled to think straight. The creature crouched over the woman. Jack watched, dazed, as it plunged its head down and tore out the woman’s throat. Spurts of arterial blood coated the creature’s face, the plasma glowing a hellish red in the firelight. It turned its head towards Jack, as though it could see him watching, and it licked its strange, sucker-like lips. Then letting out a horrible screech, it returned to its meal.