Adrian Smith - The Fourth Phase

He shrugged his shoulders and pushed himself up the clay bank, ducking under the manuka trees. He breathed in deep, savouring the oily scent. George was scrambling through the leaf litter up ahead, making little pebbles and rocks bounce off Boss as he followed. The pain in his stump was becoming unbearable. He had some painkillers in his pack that he was desperate to take, but the ever-closer screeches forced him to push the pain aside. Pausing, he pulled on the leather straps, tightening the prosthetic. Howls and screeches followed them, getting closer. They reached a clearing and Boss glanced around, searching for the white crushed-shell paths that ringed the island. Screeches from the horrors that chased them sounded out, and he cringed. Making a choice, he pushed George up the bank, farther up the hill.

“Keep going, G-man. Higher,” he whispered.

George pulled himself up the slope, his little hands grabbing onto whatever roots he could find. Up they climbed, away from the terrifying noises of the battle below, away from the sights of limbs being torn off, of intestines sloshing onto the ground. Away from the Variants sinking their sucker mouths onto flesh, tearing off chunks of muscle. Boss hated to run; he felt like he was betraying all those fighting down in the bay. But he and George ran away to save themselves.

The lactic acid burned in his tired leg, making it feel like jelly. They finally reached the path he was searching for. Gasping in some deep breaths, Boss could see the steep, jutting rocks of the volcano peeking through the Olearia trees a few metres down the path.

George reached back and, grabbing his hand, pulled him. “This way, Boss.”

A crashing sound behind them rang out. Boss pivoted, his rifle raised, searching for a target. A figure crashed out of the undergrowth and skidded on the shell path, followed by a blur of black and white. Max, Boss realised.

Boss slid his finger off the trigger guard, ready to put a bullet into the figure. His eyes went wide as he saw blonde hair. He reached down and yanked her to her feet. “I nearly shot you, Beth. Bloody hell!”

Beth dusted some of the white shells off her pants and top. “Sorry. We need to go. They’re not far behind me.”

Boss handed her his rifle. “Okay. Here, take this.”

Beth reached out and clasped it. “Thanks, what about you?”

Boss grinned at her and reached behind, extracting his shotgun. “Say hello to my boomstick.”

She smiled at him.

Boss sighed inwardly. He would find a girl he liked in the apocalypse. He looked over to George, who was hugging Max. Boss reached over and rubbed the dog’s head. “Aye Boy.” Seeing the dog calmed him somewhat. Then Max’s snarled, teeth bared. Boss frowned and turned.

Beth’s eyes went wide. She grabbed his arm, yanking him away. “Go! They’re coming!”

Screeches and howls followed Beth’s warning.

Boss cursed. He was tired, stressed, and angry. He could feel the fury building down in his gut. Angry at those that had caused this nightmare, angry at the collaborators helping the new apex predators. But most of all, angry at himself for not being able to do more. Losing his lower left leg had scarred him mentally just as much as physically, maybe more so. He felt useless, not whole. A piece of him was missing physically, and a piece was missing on the inside. Without Dee here to help centre him, he struggled. She had a way of calming him. Jack had told him it was Dee’s greatest latent quality: she could calm you with a smile, assure you with a simple touch or look. He’d said that some people have that gift, as though a calming aura emanated from them. Boss smiled to himself. He looked up ahead, to Beth and George running. He was going to get them to safety, or die trying.

A screech jolted him back to reality. He stopped. Spinning on his good leg, he searched for the source. A couple more screeches sounded out, this time from above. Boss glanced up. Several pairs of reptilian eyes flashed back as figures scrambled down the rocky face of the volcano. Beth was a little ahead of them by a few metres.

“Run, Beth!”

She glanced up and saw the creatures. Two of the Variants leapt down in front of her. She raised the rifle and fired a couple of shots, hitting each of the beasts in the torso. They dropped to all fours and let out horrifying screeches. Beth turned, horror plastered on her face. Her lips trembled as she looked first back at Boss, then out to sea. Boss watched, stunned, as she took a few steps back and then sprinted off the cliff, her body vanishing from view.

“NO! Beth!”

He stared at the point where Beth had vanished. A swirl of conflicting emotions flashed through his mind. Why had she done that?

George yelled something at him, but all the noise around him became a blur. His emotions were threatening to overtake him, rendering him useless. Boss screamed out in frustration. He squeezed the trigger and pumped the shotgun again and again, unloading into the gathering knot of Variants. He hit a few, dropping them.

George grabbed his leg, getting his attention. He pointed up a path to the right. Boss could see the cave entrance. He took in a deep breath, letting it out between gritted teeth. Shoving George ahead, he whistled for Max. Max growled and barked at the beasts. He whistled again. Max obeyed, and they sprinted for the cave, the howls of the man-hunting monsters chasing them. As they reached the entrance, Boss pulled the red-handled machete from his belt and jammed the blade into the clay bank adjacent to the cave. On they ran, fleeing into the darkening maw.

Jack ran down the wide, muddy track. Once, this track had been a mining road, back in the days when men shifted tonnes of earth and rock to get a few precious ounces of gold. He looked out at the vista. The sun was beginning its climb up from the horizon, spreading its life-giving glow to the world. Jack snorted. A very nearly dead world.

The valley cut through the landscape, intersected by the river gorge. He scanned the tree line ahead, searching for the dull metal of the zip-line tower. The steady thump of boots behind him comforted him, knowing the other Renegades shared his fears. He still thought it was crazy they had been ordered to collect this scientist. Out of all of them, Ben was the only real soldier. The Joneses were privates barely out of boot camp. Dee and himself were still learning. Hoping to help. Now here he was, running from these eternally hungry beasts.

Thinking of Dee, Jack glanced back and looked into her eyes, smiling. She was covered in sweat from their flight through the underground lab. She smiled back before scanning around, searching the trees for the beasts. The howls of the Variants were getting closer as Jack leapt over a creek, its muddy water gushing over the track and down into the valley. A flicker of light alerted him to the metal tower he was searching for. Jack ran the last few metres and looked up, spying the woven steel cables stretching across the bush-choked ravine. A ladder clung to the tower, and five metres above the ground sat a small platform. Hooked up, attached to the tower, were two metal cradles, similar to those rescue choppers use to ferry injured people off cliff faces.

Jack spun around. Raising his rifle, he covered the other Renegades as they jogged up to his position. He caught the pungent smell of sweat mixed with the peaty smells of the forest. It didn’t matter who you were, the fear was the same.

Ben called out to them as he made up the last few metres. “Dee, take the Doc across to the first platform and keep going. Eric, you pull the cradles back and then go with Tony. Jack and I will follow last.”

Jack nodded, and turned to help Dee and Katherine up the first few steps. He gave Dee a squeeze on the arm as she climbed past him. Screeches rang out, and Dee bounded up the ladder, pushing Katherine out ahead. Jack pivoted around, scanning the track and bush, his eyes glancing left and right, waiting to catch sight of those eyes. Eyes that haunted him. Eyes that meant death and loss. He kept his finger on the trigger guard, waiting. He heard the whirring of the zip-line, and risked a look to see Dee racing across with Katherine.