Tar: An apocalyptic horror novella (7 page)

T
he three of
them spent the night in the same room because, quite frankly, it was safer that way. Finn packed up the food and put it into a pair of rucksacks he found in the station’s changing rooms. He also moved some of the weapons and all the ammo, along with something precious he'd found in the evidence room. He now lay on his back amongst his haul, listening to Katie and Minty snore. And that bloody dog.

In fact, Wonder Mutt snored the loudest.

How had Finn ended up here? On his way to kill a man, but somehow lumbered with a woman and a kid?

Didn't they realise he couldn't help them? They were doomed.

During the first weeks of the apocalypse, the United States assured the world it would save mankind. As self-proclaimed guardians of the earth, the Americans almost seemed to feel it was their birthright to be the ones to save the day. So far, only Australia and southern Indonesia had been lost, but the global weather turned unstable due to the massive ecological effects of losing part of the southern hemisphere. Only a single nation of white people was dead—and Australian’s no less—so the panic had not yet fully taken hold. Australia was a nation well-liked, but not one the world couldn’t live without. If they stopped the cataclysm now, it would go down as a tragedy to be mourned once a year. Woe betide the disaster creeping up on the Americas though.

The grey tide, which scientists surmised was some kind of chemical chain-reaction, spread out concentrically from its point of origin. It started at the OSC facility in the Australian outback and spread out in a perfect circle. Therefore, on the opposite side of the globe, the United Kingdom would be last to go.

Which was why it still existed in a world without America, China, or even France. All gone, except for England, Wales, and southern Scotland. Ireland existed just over a week ago. Next week, nothing would exist at all. A grey oozing crust would cover the entire world like a seagull soaked in tar.

No one knew what the alien substance was for sure because it was impossible to collect a sample. Unmanned sea vessels were sent to collect specimens, but as soon as their apparatus touched the stuff it corrupted them and made them part of the growing whole. Only the air itself was immune, which was why helicopters and planes flew overhead and recorded the dreadful event for the world to see.

Only once America disappeared, did the remnant of humanity abandon their civility and embrace their animal origins. Rape and murder statistics went through the roof. Armed Forces and Police fought wars on every street corner. Iran bombed its neighbours for no discernible reason. Muslims and Christians slaughtered each other on the streets of Jerusalem. A Tunisian sniper assassinated the Pope. The Catholics in Italy expelled the migrants from its shores with extreme prejudice. IRA terrorists set off eleven bombs in Northern Ireland.

The twelfth had been a dud.

In fairness to the United Kingdom, things remained civilised for a while longer than other places—perhaps because they had longer to live, but maybe because the population prided itself on its manners. The British government led by example and started accepting mass immigration from those countries in immediate jeopardy. The country filled with Malaysians, Filipinos, and Indians first. Then Africans from the eastern coastline. Eventually, the people of the United Kingdom grew tired of sharing with ill-bred refugees. No more supplies came from overseas, only more mouths to feed. The riots seemed to spark overnight, and when the country awoke, thousands lay dead in the streets—mostly immigrants but also naturalised citizens unfortunate enough to have the wrong characteristics. The slightest hint of an accent or tan became a death sentence. A country that once prided itself on manners and equality turned as xenophobic and bloodthirsty as any nation in history.

And it was all for nothing.

The creeping grey death would not stop. No one could escape the tar.

All men were equal. Truly.

So why were a woman and child clinging to Finn like he could do them any good? Best thing they could do was end it now, rather than risk the torments of more men like Edward…

Or Dominic.

Why wasn’t the fact that Dominic would die with the rest of humanity good enough for Finn? Why did he need to extract what would be a futile revenge?

“No, I need to go,” Minty mumbled into the darkness. The kid had the bed while Finn and Katie took up the floor on mattresses from the jail cells.

He kept his voice low but could already see Katie waking up. “What is it, Minty? Are you okay?”

“No,” Minty shouted. “I said I have to go. Just leave me alone. I…”

Finn sat up, rubbed his eyes despite not having slept. “Minty, what is it? What—”

Minty bolted up from his sleep and yelled in terror. The scream trailed off quickly though and the kid ended up sitting there in darkness and panting. Wonder Mutt, also on the bed, licked at his face, but the kid gave no reaction.

Finn climbed up and went to him. “Minty, it’s okay. You were having a bad dream.”

Minty turned his head, his face ghostly and his hair wet with sweat. Tears glistened on his cheeks. “I… I was just… Please, help me.” The kid sobbed, holding himself and shaking. The more Finn’s eyes adjusted to the shadows, the more he saw the desperation on the kid's face.

Finn stood there, not knowing what to do. He flinched when Katie moved up beside him.

“It’s okay, sweetheart,” Katie told Minty. She moved over and sat on the edge of the bed. She pulled him close and cradled him, rocking him back and forth. “Just a nightmare. That’s all. Everything’s okay.”

Finn sighed and sat back down on the floor. As he listened to Katie comforting Minty, he realised that she was doing what he should have done. The kid had been terrified, and he had been right there in front of Finn, afraid of the dark and alone.

Why didn’t I reach out and hold him? What’s wrong with me?

Does it even matter?

M
orning broke
but you could barely tell. The room remained dark, and only Finn’s body clock caused him to go into the station’s reception area and look outside. The sun was just about visible through the haze of black dust. What remained of the earth’s atmosphere was closing in on them. The oceans no longer existed and had taken the winds with them. The black dust descending from above would blanket the earth. Perhaps they would all choke to death before the grey ooze took them.

How long until it gets here?

Am I afraid? I’m not sure I can even tell any more. All I feel is numb. Alone.

Angry
.

Finn watched the empty road running in front of the station and considered leaving before Katie and Minty awoke. They would be safer without him. They could await the end together with food and warmth. He opened the station's exit and winced as the odious stench of the world hit him. With his belly fed, it was harder to resist the urge to gag.

A ragged fox emerged from the bushes along the embankment, probably confused by the lack of sunlight. Day and night lacked the definite distinction they used to hold. When the emaciated creature set eyes upon Finn, it did not shy away. Instead, defiantly, it trotted across the road and headed towards the city centre. Finn remained standing in the open doorway.

Why wasn’t he leaving?

It was as if ropes yanked at his back preventing him from stepping forward.

“Damn it!”

He turned around and went back inside. In the sick bay, Minty and Katie were stirring. Wonder Mutt had his nose buried in a packet of rice that he hadn't been given by any of them. Finn grabbed a bottle of water and handed it to the kid. “How you feeling?”

Minty sat up and took the water. He rolled his shoulders and winced. “It hurts, but... I’m better. I think I can get up.”

Finn nodded.

“Are you still leaving?” asked Katie.

“Yes. I have something I need to do.”

“He’s going to kill someone,” said Minty.

Katie didn’t seem upset by the statement. Why would she be with all that had happened? Spending the night in his presence without being abused had obviously gained her trust. Yet, Finn felt the need to explain himself. “The man murdered my sister.”

“I’m sorry,” said Katie. “But why bother going after him? He’ll die soon, anyway.”

“I made a promise to my ma I would punish the man who took our Marie. He doesn’t deserve a single extra minute of life, so I will end him before death claims the rest of us.”

Katie was silent for a moment but eventually knelt and gathered the rucksacks and supplies.

“What are you doing?” Finn asked.

“I’m getting ready to leave. You saved me by dealing with Edward, so I’ll help you.”

Finn huffed. “You’re going to help me kill a man?”

She stood up and shook her head. “No, I’m just going to help you do what you need to do to find him. I’ll leave the rest up to you.”

“You both should stay here. It's safer.”

“Maybe,” Katie agreed, “but I don’t want to wait here until the end comes. I’d rather be doing something. If I sit around here, I'll go insane. The dog needs to go the toilet anyway, so I'm going to have to go out sometime.”

Finn ran a hand through his dusty hair and tried to remember the last time he washed it. Such things were so unimportant now. “It’s dangerous out there.”

“I know. I want to come anyway.”

“Me too,” said Minty, sliding gingerly off the bed.

Finn grabbed a rucksack up off the floor and slung it over his shoulder. “Fine, but understand that I’m not responsible for you. It’s not my job. Come along if you want, but it’s every man for himself.”

Nobody argued.

So they got going.

Finn and Katie wore the rucksacks while Finn also carried Edward’s gun. He had considered arming the three of them, but decided that a woman and child weren’t the best people to operate deadly weapons. It wasn’t sexism, merely that Finn possessed experience with handguns, and they did not. He still remembered the old Browning 9mm that belonged to his dad. Finn fired it to kill the man who used to be his family’s milkman when it turned out he was an informant for the British. It wasn’t an easy kill—the man had once gifted Finn’s ma a carton of eggs and jugs of milk when times were tough. As far as traitors went, the milkman was a decent enough fellow.

Out on the road, the silence smothered them. The dust and dirt on the ground prevented even their footsteps from making a noise which made the lack of sound deafening. That was why it was such a sudden shock when a scream broke out. Finn raised his weapon when two women broke out of the bushes and into their path. A miracle he stopped himself pulling the trigger on instinct.

Wonder Mutt barked madly, his confidence today was twice what it was yesterday.

The woman who came out first was bleeding profusely, her dirty clothes glistening crimson. The woman behind her held a long chef’s knife and had a look of madness upon her face. She didn’t seem to notice Finn stood there with a gun pointed.

“Please,” the injured woman begged when she saw Finn. “Help me.”

The mad woman turned and saw them too and had enough control of herself to stop what she was doing. Her expression softened, and she didn’t seem quite so mad anymore. “Oh, hello,” she said, oddly calm.

“What are you doing?” Finn asked her, lowering his weapon only slightly.

“Trying to kill my whore of a sister. Can I help you with something?”

Katie stepped up beside Finn. “Why are you trying to kill your sister?”

“Because she fucked my husband. A lot, from what I gather.”

The offending sister doubled over now, panting. She held a bloody, trembling arm out in front of her as protection. “She’s… she’s crazy.”

Finn lowered his gun more, but was still ready to use in a split-second. “How do you know she slept with your man?”

The mad woman laughed. “Because the stupid bitch told me! Said she wanted to unburden herself before the end came. It might have unburdened her, but it didn’t do me any good, did it? Huh?” She waved the knife at her cowering sister. “Whore!”

“I’m sorry, Tracey. I’m so sorry. Please…”

“So, I’m sure you understand,” the mad woman continued, “but I need to take care of this.”

Finn nodded. Vengeance wasn't something he had a problem with. “Yeah, I get it. Makes perfect sense.”

The woman nodded her thanks and lunged towards her sister with the knife.

Katie cried out beside him. “Stop her, Finn!”

Finn raised his gun and fired.

Tracey tumbled sideways to the ground and ended up on her face with the knife still in her hand. The back of her skull was missing where the bullet exited.

Katie and Minty stood next to Finn, their mouths wide open. Finn lowered the smoking pistol to his side.

Tracey's sister screamed. “W-why did you do that? Why did you kill…? Why did you kill my sister?”

Finn raised the gun and fired again. Tracey’s sister hit the ground beside her, their blood ran into a single, growing pool. Both Minty and Katie staggered backwards.

Katie shook her head at him. “W-What? Why?”

“It was a kindness,” he explained. “Look!”

He gave them a few moments to see what he had seen. Minty and Katie crept towards the woman’s body and peered down at it. It didn’t take them long to see the bulge of her dissected bowel hanging out of the space where her belly button used to be. Wonder Mutt sniffed at the viscera, seeming to decide whether it was worth eating.

“She was dead anyway,” said Katie as it dawned on her.

“Yeah,” said Finn. “I’d say she had about an hour or two of the worst agony imaginable, and then that would be it. I did the best thing I could for her. Her sister gutted her like a pig.”

“Then why not let her sister finish her off?” asked Minty.

Finn thought about it but could only shrug. “Just didn’t seem right.”

“I can’t believe she was sleeping with her sister’s husband.”

Finn looked at Katie and raised an eyebrow. “If that shocks you, then I have no idea how you made it this long.”

“Because I had a husband too.”

Finn didn’t ask her to elaborate. It was easy enough to assume Katie's husband had taken care of her for as long as he'd been able—until someone took his life or illness did. Cholera and dysentery returned to the 1st World with vigour, and pestilence took as many lives as violence. When Finn fled Northern Ireland to escape the wrath of Chris Adams, he made for the docks. There he found sweaty, vomiting families crushed together on ships, intending to head for the Welsh coast to eke out a few more weeks of life. Many would be dead before they made the trip. It was seeing those sick and jaundiced children that led Finn to murder the owner of a yacht and eject his snotty wife from its decks. He held no remorse at the time and would probably have done it over again if asked. It was survival of the fittest.

What a time to be alive.

They walked onwards, leaving the dead sisters in their wake. Least their differences were now forgotten. When the tar claimed their bodies, they would be at each other's side for eternity. Maybe that would be Hell for them.

Less than five minutes later, just as they passed a ransacked petrol station, Minty pointed ahead.

Finn nodded. He saw it.

Latif’s.

The warehouse was gone, and all that stood where it once did was a single slither of a brick wall and a bright blue sign reading: LATIF’S WHOLESALE.

Wherever Dominic was, it wasn’t here.