As the Light Dies (65 page)

Collin nodded standing up, he wanted to say something but could
n’
t, a lump had caught in his throat thinking about And
y’
s last words, he thought of his grandparents and wondered how they were. He hoped with all his being that they were safe, that they were ok, and on top of that he felt guilty knowing that if they were ok, they would be worried sick about him. He hoped that they did
n’
t try and venture out and come looking for him. Then before he knew it the
y’
d caught up with Leann as she waited quietly at the end of the overpass. She was staring through the window of a jewellery shop.

“
Hey
,”
said Andy
,“
you ok
?
”

“
Yea
,”
she said looking up at him. They could both see that sh
e’
d been crying again.

“
Thanks
,”
she added
,“
for saving us back there, I know you did
n’
t have a choice,
I’
m sorry I gave you a hard time. I
t’
s just that...
.
”

“
Forget about it
,”
said Andy
.“C’
mon, le
t’
s check this place out, see what we can find and look for a place to bed down for the night. Just remember to stay alert ok
.
”

The three of them set off, walking deeper in to the abandoned shopping centre trying to block out the morbid calls from infected people outside as the weather raged beyond the walls.

It was
n’
t long before they heard sounds carried on the wind that they could
n’
t block out.

Sounds that filled them with dread and chilled them down to their bones!

Drawn out gut-wrenching screams pierced their eardrums carried up to them on the wind from somewhere outside in the unnatural darkness....

The lifeboat rushed towards the turbulent North Sea pulled by gravity as it fell from the rig.

Steve braced for impact, holding on with white knuckles to a seat-back that h
e’
d only just managed to grab on to when Jen pulled the leaver. Jen held on to the base of the release lever, holding on as tightly as she possibly could. She crouched beside it, using her legs to push herself back up against the side of the hull to brace for impact. She looked up at the entry hatch and watched the infected figures trying to hold on. Some still tried to climb in. She hoped the impact would knock most of them off, but until then she was terrified one of them was going to fall in mid-descent or that one or maybe even more would be thrown in on impact.

The descent felt like it was lasting forever. It was taking too long and for a split second both Steve and Jen thought two of the infected were going to make it in and fall in with them when BOOM the lifeboat hit the water!

The lifeboat crashed in to the bitterly cold and stormy sea landing on the entire length of its hull like a bellyflop, unsettled from the weight of the infected holding on to the outside causing it to swing off balance as it dropped through the air. The impact was hard and it forced Jen down on to the floor jarring her tail bone, winding her. Steve lost his grip of the seat back and tumbled to the floor bashing both of his knees and he yelped out in pain. They could
n’
t let their pain bother them. Could
n’
t let it get in the way. If they did they were dead!

Jen was up in a flash and unhooked two of the long wooden boat hooks coupled to the side of the lifeboat and threw one to Steve. The long pole whacking Steve on his head as he reached out for it and missed. Jen did
n’
t notice, as soon as the boat hook left her grasp she spun around and started ramming hers straight up, hitting the blackened mauled hands that were still holding on.

“C’mon!”
she yelled hurrying Steve as icy sea water poured in over her through the open hatch as waves swept over them. The sea was rough and Steve was struggling for balance. Despite all his years at sea, he was
n’
t used to being on a boat. Jen twisted and turned her boat hook grinding it into infected flesh and bone trying to unclasp their black fingers. It was working but too slowly! The infected were surprisingly strong and did
n’
t react to any pain from Je
n’
s actions.

She worked fast forcing the pole with th
e‘S’
shaped hook on its end up as hard as she could repeatedly twisting the hook, tearing already broken skin, working down to the bone, separating knuckles. One of the infected pulled itself up over the hatch and looked in at her with a knowing look on its face like it knew it had to stop her.

Jen could feel that it knew!

Her heart started to race at the realisation, then Steve bumped in to her pushing her out of the way as he lost his balance with the movement of the lifeboat as he joined her. She lost sight of the figure.

“SHIT
!
Sorry
!”
he called and started thrusting his boathook up at the infected hands copying her, but he was missing them because of his poor balance. All he was doing was knocking tiny chips out of the lifeboats fiberglass. Jen stumbled back as he bumped in to her, she cursed him under her breath as she regained her balance. As she did the staring figure, a tall man, made an attempt to force himself in!

Steve gasped stepping back for a second before he started jabbing at the man, forcing his way through the hatch. Steve jabbed at the man as fast as he could but he only managed to land the odd passing blow. The long lean man pushed himself through the hatch, pushing other infected out of the way as he dropped down towards them, forcing his shoulders through and reached in with one arm and started reaching out for Steve! The ma
n’
s arm thrashed through the air like a wild tentacle until the infected man grabbed a hold of the end of Stev
e’
s boathook.

Steve flinched back yelping out with a mixture of fear and revulsion as the infected man bit down on th
e‘S’
shaped piece of steel. Steve pulled his boathook back, reluctantly at first, not wanting to hurt the man. Then the lifeboat pitched violently on a wave and he yanked the boathook out of the ma
n’
s mouth tearing both of his lips in two with the steel hook as he struggled for balance.

The infected man swung as he dangled upside down like a bat as the lifeboat rode the savage seas. He reached out for the boathook and screamed his primal, alien sounding gurgle in anger as Steve pulled away and Steve realised that h
e’
d held back when he should
n’
t have. He remembered Katie telling him that he had to be as savage as them
,
more s
o
if he wanted to survive and he immediately took a jab at the man thrusting the boathook like it was a spear and he landed a solid blow and stabbed the infected man in his breast bone! He broke through the skin and ground into the bone, but it had no effect! The man did
n’
t react to the wound in the slightest he just carried on reaching out for Steve!

“THIS ISN’T WORKING!”
yelled Jen coming up beside Steve.

“
You keep at them
,”
she said
,“I’
ll be back in a sec
!
”

Steve carried on jabbing and stabbing, but it was fast becoming a losing battle, others were trying to force their way in following his lead. There were thrashing arms waving in all directions, he could barely stand up. He knew that if it was
n’
t for them being so unco-ordinated, and constantly fighting with each other to get in the
y’
d already be inside.

“Fucking Christ!”
he said
,“
why are
n’
t they washing off with the waves
?
”

Jen did
n’
t answer she was busy searching for something tearing through the survival packs. Another infected man started to squeeze in beside the first one.

Steve was amazed, he did
n’
t think there was even room for two. It twisted and bucked all the way in passed its shoulders and stopped just short of the first figure. Steve ducked down just in time to miss its clasping hand.

There were two to deal with now!

The lifeboat rocked heavily and threw Steve on to his knees directly under the hatch.

Fingers brushed through his hair. The gurgles roared above him, excited as they felt their fingertips touch him!

Without looking he thrust upwards as hard as he could and the end of the boat hook pierced deep through the left eye socket of the first figure. Steve could feel that his hook was caught on something as he tugged and twisted, so he looked up. He was horrified when he realised what h
e’
d done and vomit rose up his throat! His hook was caugh
t
insid
e
the ma
n’
s head!

The infected man grabbed the pole and pulled at it. Steve pulled back emulating a morbid tug of war. But it was no good, the hook was caught fast behind the ma
n’
s eye socket. Steve pushed and pulled frantically trying to free the pole tearing the ma
n’
s eye socket to shreds, and he vomited unable to stop himself as black viscous fluid started running down the pole and over his hands as it oozed from the burst eye socket. Suddenly Jen took hold of the boat hook and violently whisked it around!

Steve vomited again picturing th
e‘S’
shaped hook inside the ma
n’
s head mulching everything in there!

“
STEVE
!”
yelled Jen.

He did
n’
t respond!

“STEVE!”
she tried again screeching to be heard and he looked up to see her thrusting the handle towards him!

“
Try and get it free. We need to keep as many weapons as we can, h
e’
s dead now but the other one is
n’
t and nor are the others
!
”

Steve took a hold of the handle trying to keep his mouth clamped shut and he tried to retrieve the boat hook from the infected ma
n’
s head as he dangled there, while also trying to fend off the frantic reaching hand of the second figure!

He used the dead ma
n’
s body like a shield against the second infected man as he tried to free the boathook and as he turned the dead body around in the hatch blocking the second ma
n’
s advances he managed to dislodge the second man slightly and he dropped down a few more inches, just far enough for him to free his second hand. Then he slid some more!

Steve yelled out almost screaming, sure that he was about to fall in with them and Jen reappeared bolting along the aisle between the seats with her boathook extended out in front of her like a lance. Steve winced as she raced towards him. She screamed out at the last second gaining the attention of the dangling man. He turned around to look at her just at the right time and she thrust her boathook through his left eye socket with so much force that she rocked both of the bodies wedged in the hatch like carcasses in a meat locker. Jen tugged and pulled and spun and twisted the pole screaming as she did until the body fell limp. She yanked the hook back out of the ma
n’
s head and dropped it on to the floor. Then without stopping she started climbing the ladder towards the hatch. She was only using one hand to climb while she used her other one to pull out two silvery objects that were wedged under her waist belt.

Steve saw her pulling at the two dull chrome rectangles.

What the hell
!
he thought watching her. When she reached the top she hooked one of her legs through a rung in the ladder and used her leg to lock herself in place freeing up both of her hands, then she started whacking the discoloured clasping fingers that were curled around the edge. Steve realised she was using mess tins from a couple of the survival kits. She was using them like primitive steel boxing gloves, and it seemed to be working. She worked on two hands at a time, slapping hands, crunching knuckles and loosening their grip by sliding the mess tins around the rim of the hatch over and over, and every now and then she had to use brute force to push one or two of them back as they reached out for her. Steve was stunned by her ferocity. As she cleared the hatch she shouted down at him
,
“PUSH THIS ONE UP!”

He looked up to see her holding on as best she could to the dangling figure that sh
e’
d killed before climbing up to the hatch.

“
What do you...
.”
he started to ask when she yelled back
,
”JUST PUSH!”

So he did. He reached up trying not to think about it and he pressed against the ma
n’
s shoulders and started pushing him back up. At first he did
n’
t think they were going to manage to push him back out, he  thought the
y’
d have to pull them both in first, before the
y’
d be able to lift them out, one at a time when neither one or the other was still partly blocking the hatch. But then with Jen helping, the limp body moved several inches in one go. Jen repositioned her mess tinned hands quickly and shouted
,“
AGAIN
!
”

Steve pushed again and instantly he managed to push up as far as his arms would stretch and Jen took it from there and shoved the infected body all the way out through the hatch just in time before the lifeboat bucked and leaned violently over to one side throwing Steve off his feet again leaving Jen holding the second dangling figure in place on her own, trying to stop it from falling in on top of Steve while she tried to hang on with her legs and fend off bloodthirsty infected hands as they reached in for her. She started losing her grip on the dead figure quickly!

“STEVE!....STEVE!”
she hollered.

He saw what was happening as he scrambled back on to his feet and he rushed over and grabbed hold of the man just below his armpits as he began to slide.

“HOLD HIM!”
yelled Jen and she turned back just in time to dodge being bitten as one of the infected men leaned in towards her. She punched him square in the mouth bursting his lips and snapping teeth with her steel boxing gloves as she forced him back. He leaned in again and this time Jen punched out with both hands slamming his chest so hard that he bounced back from her and lost his grip, and he was swept away by the waves.

Then she went back to forcing eager hands back, slapping them away and forcing them back between having to punch infected faces as they tried to lean in and bite her. She worked fast, she had to, she could tell that Steve was struggling to keep a hold of the infected body and dead or not she did
n’
t want it in the lifeboat with them for a second
!
“OK!”
she yelled
,
“START PUSHING!”