Adrian Smith - The Fourth Phase

Maggie looked down at him. He reminded her of the young men she had seen on reality programmes, all swagger but no brains. He clutched his side, nursing his ribs. His eyes squinted at her.

“You bitch,” he groaned.

Maggie shook her head. Her finger hesitated on the trigger. “Where do they take the kids?”

The guard looked up at her, confusion etched on his face. “I don’t know, and if I did, I wouldn’t tell you,” he grunted, his pain evident.

Maggie was about to respond when a Variant’s screech rang out. The guard kicked out at her, catching her on the shin. She let out a gasp and hopped back a step. “Wrong move, asshole.”

Maggie brought up the AR-15 and put a round through his head. She reached down and grabbed his rifle. Turning, she jogged back to the shed and glanced around. Spotting the ammo she was looking for, she grabbed it and started to fill her pockets. A small rucksack sat beside the door. Even better, she thought. She emptied her pockets and filled the bag with as much ammo as she could find. With one last look around, Maggie zipped up the rucksack and jumped back in the van.

Alice stared at her, eyes wide, her mouth turned slightly upwards. Maggie handed her the rifles.

“What?”

Alice was now smiling. “You are badass. Bloody badass.”

Maggie smiled back at her. “They deserved it.”

Shrieks sounded out. Maggie glanced in the rearview mirror. Several Variants were scampering up the road. She gently pushed on the gas, moving the van forward. Gathering speed, she watched as the Variants sniffed at the two guards she had shot. Maggie pushed down harder on the accelerator, keen to put distance between themselves and the prison camp. Keen to leave that place behind and start on her journey home.

She gripped the steering wheel tighter, thinking of the two guards. She had trained to both save lives and end lives, but it was the desire to help those in need that motivated her. It surprised her how easily she had executed the guards. Shaking the misgivings from her thoughts, she glanced out the window. The pine trees whipped by. Hundreds of them, stretching for miles.

“I hope you know the way, Alice, because I can’t see the leaves through the trees.”

Hearing no response, she looked over at Alice. She was holding one of the rifles, rubbing her hands over the barrel, testing the weight.

“Alice?”

Alice glanced up at her. “Sorry, what did you say?”

“Do you know the way to Towlewronga?”

Alice let out a giggle. “Yes, and it’s Tauranga.”

“Yeah, that place. Is it far. Will we make it in one day?”

Alice placed the rifle back down in the foot well, wedging it to one side. She nodded. “We should do. As long as the roads are clear, it should only take a couple of hours.”

Maggie smiled at her. “I think they will be. If these traitors brought us in here for the Variants, they would have cleared the roads.”

“I hope so. When we reach the highway, turn north. Once we reach the town of Tirau, I’ll direct you.”

Maggie glanced over at Alice. “Thanks, Alice. You did good back there, kept a level head.”

Alice smiled back at her. “I just followed your lead. Please tell me you sorted out that creep.”

Maggie took her hand off the steering wheel and rubbed her neck. She could still feel Ian’s slimy tongue, his hands groping her. She shuddered. “I don’t think Ian’s going to bother us anymore. I’m more worried about who comes after us.”

“He got what was coming to him, then?”

“You could say that. Yeah.” Maggie tilted her head back towards the children. “I’ll tell you about it later.”

“All right. Should I load these guns?”

“That would be great. Thanks. Always good to be ready.”

Alice reached down and extracted the magazine, checking. Maggie glanced back at the children. Happy, she concentrated on driving them to safety.

Maggie marvelled at Alice’s resolve. She had been pulled from her bed in the early hours by Ian, and forced away to do God-knows-what. After the explosion, she had run for the fence to help Maggie with the kids. Now she sat here, driving through Variant-infested forests with traitors gearing up to chase them. She took her hand off the wheel and squeezed Alice’s hand, enjoying the comfort of her friend. As much as she portrayed the badass Army woman, Maggie was terrified that she was leading herself, Alice, and the kids to the slaughter.

The trees were beginning to thin out, and Maggie could see a sunlit clearing up ahead. She slowed the van down, bringing it to a stop before a dual carriageway. She looked left and right. It was devoid of life, not even an abandoned car. She wound down the window, enjoying the fresh pine scents.

Becs wriggled her way between the front seats and threw her arms around Maggie. Maggie reached up and wiped the tears from Becs’s cheeks.

“Hey kiddo.”

Becs nuzzled in closer. “Have the bad things gone?”

“Not yet, baby. But you go and sit back down and we’ll keep going until they have, all right?”

“I wanna sit up here with you.”

Maggie stroked Becs head and pushed her hair behind her ear. “It’s too dangerous, sweetie. Can you do me a favour, though?”

Becs nodded.

“Can you be a brave girl and look after the other kids?”

Becs looked at her, her lip quivering. She wiped her nose with her sleeve. “Okay.”

Maggie turned around to get a better look at the other children. Most of them were staring out the windows at the trees. A couple stared straight ahead with vacant, shocked looks on their faces. She shook her head at the cruelty of the traitors, sending these kids off to such a horrible fate. Instinct told her they were being sent away to be eaten. Ian had called them tributes. Give the beasts what they desire and they’ll let you live. A new world order. Ian had weaseled his way into survival to save his own skinny ass. Images of him being torn apart flashed through her mind.

You got what you deserved, traitor.

Maggie looked up from her thoughts towards Alice.

“Which way?”

Alice pointed to the right, and Maggie took her foot off the brake, turning the wheel.

The van made its way through the town of Tirau. Everywhere Maggie looked were signs of violence and carnage. Cars overturned, broken glass. Fires had ravaged out of control through shop fronts, gutting several buildings. The scent of burnt wood and plastics still hung heavy in the air. Even amongst all this ruin, the weeds and plants were growing. With no one to maintain the gardens, the plants were reclaiming the earth. She shook her head at the destruction. It had only been a few weeks, and already the extinction of the world of men was evident. How are we going to recover from this? Can we?

Alice nudged her shoulder and pointed to a road leading east, towards the bush-clad mountains. Maggie had looked at them in the prison, dreaming of escape. Several vehicles had been pushed aside in that direction, confirming they were on the right track.

Maggie gunned the engine and gathered speed. On they drove, following the road as it dipped and curved with the contours of the rolling countryside.

After a few miles, it started to look familiar to Maggie. She turned to Alice. “Isn’t the Hobbiton movie set around here?”

Alice frowned. “Yeah it is, why?”

“It’s a pity those hobbit houses aren’t real. Would be a good place to hole up for the night if we had to.”

Alice smiled at her and turned, watching the countryside flash by. “You really like those movies, don’t you?”

“Just a bit. Don’t you? I thought all Kiwis did.”

Alice chortled and shook her head. “No, not everyone. I knew this guy once, he thought that anyone who didn’t like them should have their passports revoked. Said they weren’t Kiwi enough.”