Mass Extinction Event: The Complete Fourth Series (Days 54 to 61) (19 page)

“What do you mean?”

“How many people are in the city right now? And don't act dumb. It doesn't suit you, and it doesn't convince me for a second.”

“Eighty-one,” I tell him.

“What are you doing?” Natalie hisses. “You can't help him!”

“I'm not helping him,” I reply, “I'm making him see that this is hopeless! He can't possibly hope to get away with what he's doing!”

“Can't I?” Edward asks.

“It's insane,” I continue, turning back to him. “Whatever plan you've got, it won't work.”

“You'd better hope it
does
,” he replies, “because if it doesn't, and if I end up cornered or with soldiers coming for me, I'm going to make damn sure that you two bitches come with me to hell.”

“Listen,” I tell him, “we -”

“Off the bed.”

“If -”

“Get off the bed!” he shouts, aiming the gun at me. “Both of you! Stand up, now!”

We both obey, and as he heads over to the door I can't help but glance at Natalie. The wound above her eyebrow isn't bleeding so much now, but from the way she's staring at Edward, I can tell that she's planning something.

“What is it?” I whisper.

Waiting for an answer, I realize after a moment that she's ignoring me.

“Okay,” Edward says, turning to us. “Over here. I want one of you to get out there and make sure there's no-one around.”

“Why?” I ask.

“Because we're getting the fuck out of here, that's why.”

“Let me take you to my father,” I continue. “Please, he can help you!”

“There'd be a bullet in my head before I could even open my mouth.”

“No, he would never have you -”

“Get out there,” he says, standing back from the door and keeping the gun fixed on me. “Make sure there's no-one in the corridor.”

Realizing that there's no way I can argue with him, I head to the door, with Natalie just a few paces behind.

“Where are we going once we get out of here?” I ask.

“Just check the coast is clear.”

With a trembling hand, I reach out to unlock the door.

“Fuck you!” Natalie shouts suddenly. Turning, I see that she's launched herself at Edward and has started bashing her fists against his face, but he quickly twists her around and slams her against the opposite wall. Pressing the barrel of the gun against the back of her head, he places a finger on the trigger.

“No!” I hiss.

“Stay out of this,” he says firmly, with blood running from a cut on his lip.

“Please,” Natalie whimpers, sobbing as he continues to press her against the wall. “Please...”

“Everyone'll hear if you fire that thing,” I tell Edward. “There aren't that many people in the building, but they'll hear a gunshot and they'll come running. If you shoot her, this is all over.”

I wait, but he still has his finger on the trigger, as if he hasn't made up his mind.

“If you really think there's nothing left for you,” I continue, “then you might as well kill us both right now. But if you really want to help yourself or to help the people on the other side of the barrier, you should probably think again before you let everyone know that you're here.”

He stares at the back of Natalie's head for a moment, before letting go of her neck and taking a step back.

“There's still a chance,” I tell him. “You have to -”

“Open the door,” he says firmly, aiming the gun at me. “If either of you tries anything again, it's over.”

Turning the handle, I pull the door open and look out into the corridor. There's no sign of anyone so far, so I step out and listen for a moment, but all I can hear is the sound of Natalie sobbing nearby.

“There's a stairwell,” Edward says after a moment. “It goes down to the foyer, but there are two exits. If we take the one at the back, where do we come out?”

“In an alley, I think,” I tell him. “I'm not certain.”

“Well let's hope you're right,” he replies, grabbing Natalie's collar and shoving her out to join me in the corridor. “Remember. If either of you does anything to piss me off, I'll shoot you both and then when help comes running, I'll take as many of them down as I can.”

“We're not going to do anything,” I reply, before turning to Natalie. “We're
not
, are we?”

“Go fuck yourself,” she whispers, with tears running down her cheeks.

“We'll get out of this,” I tell her. “We're not -”

“Move!” Edward says firmly.

Taking Natalie's hand, I lead her along the corridor. She pulls away after a moment, but she keeps pace with me and by the time we reach the door at the far end and head through into the stairwell I can tell that she's managing to calm down just a little. There's a hint of steel in her eyes, as if no matter what happens to her, she's always able to bounce back, but I'm worried that she might try to attack Edward again.

“Don't do it,” I whisper.

“Go to hell.”

“Stop talking!” Edward says firmly. “Get down the stairs!”

“So where are you taking us?” I ask, as Natalie and I lead him down toward the lower floors of the building. “Can't you at least tell us that? We might be able to help!”

“Why would you want to help him?” Natalie sneers. “What are you, on his side now?”

“We're all on the same side,” I remind her. “We all want to get out of this thing alive.”

“Don't worry about my plan,” Edward continues. “I know my way around this city.”

“I don't,” I tell him. “I'd never been to Boston before the other day.”

“And yet here you are,” he replies, “sitting pretty the safe zone while the rest of us are scavenging on the sidelines. Doesn't seem fair, does it?”

“I -” I start to say, before realizing that he's right: it's
not
fair.

“Okay, stop,” he tells us as we reach the door at the bottom of the stairwell. “Elizabeth, I want you to take a look and make sure there's no-one between that door and the one that leads to the rear of the building. If there
is
someone, get rid of them or this whole situation'll get very messy, very fast.”

“How do I get rid of them?” I ask.

“Use your brain,” he continues. “Think of something.”

“I'll do it,” Natalie says suddenly.

“No,” I reply, “I can -”

“I'm better at thinking on my feet,” Natalie continues, stepping past me and heading to the door. “If we really have to do this, we might as well do it properly.”

“Don't try anything,” Edward tells her. “Remember, if -”

“Yeah, sure,” she says, glancing back at him. “You don't have to keep threatening us, once is enough.” She pauses for a moment. “We all have the information we need so we can make a decision. It's not like you've got anything new to add, other than maybe cracking that gun around our heads again. Are you gonna do that, or do you want me to go out there and get rid of our unwanted visitor?”

“Get it over with,” he replies, with the gun aimed at her head. “You're not as smart as you think you are, so -” Suddenly he swings the gun toward me. “Be careful.”

“Please,” she says with a faint smile, “I don't even like Elizabeth. Threatening her isn't going to work on me.” Opening the door, she steps out into the foyer and looks around.

“Hey,” a female voice says suddenly, and I realize that Alison is out there somewhere. “Have you seen Elizabeth?”

“Elizabeth?” Natalie pauses, and for a moment I'm convinced she's going to run and leave me to die. “No, I haven't seen her all morning. I'd like it to stay that way, too. Do you have any idea how annoying she can be? Seriously, she's the most irritating bitch I've ever met in my life. All that whining, all that holier-than-thou sermonizing, she just gets on my nerves the whole time.”

“She's very convincing,” Edward whispers to me, with the gun still aimed at my face.

“I think I'll go up and check her room,” Alison says after a moment. “Charles spoke to her earlier, but he said she seemed a little off. It's way past breakfast, though, and no-one's supposed to stay in bed so long.”

“Oh, she's not in her room,” Natalie replies quickly. “She's over at the old grocery store, looking for books.”

“I thought you said you hadn't seen her?”

“I haven't
seen
her, but I know that's where she is. I spoke to Annie and she said she met her there.”

“Oh.” There's a pause, as if Alison isn't quite convinced. “Well, then I guess I'd better go and look for her,” she says finally. “Her father's asking after her, I think he wants to talk to her about something.”

“Then the grocery store is where you need to go,” Natalie replies. “She's there, I guarantee it. Probably scooping up every book she can find so she can start some kind of sanctimonious little library. That's just the kind of project she'd try. You know what she's like, going on and on, boring the pants off everyone.”

“Thanks,” I whisper.

“I might give her a hand,” Alison replies. “Are you sure you don't want to come and help?”

“Deadly sure,” Natalie replies. “Trust me, I've got better things to be doing.”

A moment later, I hear Alison's footsteps heading away, until finally Natalie turns to look back through at us.

“All clear,” she says with a grin, snapping her fingers. “Told you I'd be better at this.”

“Move,” Edward says, shoving me in the back and forcing me through the door until we join Natalie in the foyer.

“Sorry about all the insults I had to send your way,” she says to me with a faint smile. “I hope I was convincing.”

“Very.”

“This way,” Edward continues, grabbing me by the arm and leading me over to the door that leads out through the rear of the building. “It's not going to be long now before they realize you two are missing, and when that happens, they'll start to figure out that I must be involved. That's when things are going to get nasty.”

“There's still time to try something different,” I tell him. “My father might be able to -”

“Save your breath,” he says firmly, opening the door and looking out into the alley that runs behind the building. The sunlight is blinding for a moment, but once it's clear that no-one is out there Edward grabs my arm and pulls me through, before Natalie follows.

“Now where?” I ask.

“I've got a plan,” he replies. “Keep your voices down, both of you. One wrong move and this is all over.” He pushes us both away from the building and then keeps the gun aimed at us as we head along the alley.

Up ahead, the scene is desolate, with nothing to see other than buildings with broken windows. Looking up, I see that one skyscraper appears to have been torn apart from the inside, with scorch marks on the side and pieces of the damaged building flapping in a slight breeze. The sign on the building's roof has been mostly dismantled, but from the framework that's left it would appear that the place used to be a bank's headquarters.

Glancing over at Natalie, I see that she's looking up at the same building.

For several minutes, we walk in silence. Edward uses the gun to nudge us at each intersection, indicating which way we're supposed to go, but other than that there's no communication. Every so often, I hear voices in the distance, but there's nothing to suggest that our absence has been noted and Edward seems good at keeping us to the back-streets and alleys, well away from where anyone might notice what's happening. Although my heart is pounding, I can't shake the feeling that this whole situation is turning into a dream-like experience, with no sign that it's every going to end. All I can focus on is the task of putting one foot in front of the other while waiting for the next nudge to indicate a chance of direction.

“What's wrong with your foot?” Edward asks eventually.

“It's not my foot,” I mutter.

“What?”

“It's not my foot,” I tell him again. “Do you really want the full story?”

“That's gross,” Natalie mutters, looking down at my foot. “Kind of cool, though. Whose is it?”

“I don't know.”

“Classic!”

“Keep moving,” Edward says firmly.

For what feels like an eternity, we continue to make our way through the streets. We have to stop regularly, as Edward waits to make sure that there's no-one nearby, but eventually I start to wonder how much further we can go before we
have
to meet someone. At the same time, there's also the question of the barrier: at some point we're going to reach the edge of the city's safe zone, and I'm starting to think that Edward wants to somehow damage the barrier and find a way to let other people through. With my foot starting to hurt, however, I can barely even think straight, and I stumble a couple of times, starting to feel exhausted.

Above, the sun breaks from behind the midday clouds.

“Hey!” Alison says, suddenly coming around the corner up ahead. “There you -”

Edward fires twice, hitting her both times in the head and sending her jerking back against the wall before she falls dead onto the ground.