Page 7

John

W e cobbled together the Cave’s approximate location based where we first met at the abandoned factory and Claire’s best guess on the nearby landmarks.

She said it was at the fork of a river. That matched what I’d heard local people say on my way into the area, as they warned me to steer clear of it. It would have to be enough.

By the time we were done, the sun was coming up. We woke Kimmy and told her the plan.

“You can’t go,” Kimmy argued weakly. “It’s a suicide mission, and for what? This isn’t survivable.”

She was lying on her front inside the tent, looking miserable. I couldn’t blame her. The few painkillers we had left weren’t strong. Claire carefully measured clean gauze to change the bandages.

“Too fucking bad,” I said with a shrug. “I can’t just sit here and watch you die. Would you do that in my place?”

Kimmy sighed and rolled her eyes. “That’s different.”

“Uh-huh. Sure it is. Now lie still for Claire. ”

Still crabby as hell, she let Claire unwrap the soiled bandages. Kimmy’s wound was a nasty shade of yellow and purple around the stitches. The skin all around it was bright red—the beginnings of an infection. Claire bit her lip as our eyes met.

“It’s already starting to fester,” Kimmy croaked. “The fever won’t be far off. Even if you find the medicine you don’t know is there, you won’t make it back in time.”

I meant to say something, but a lump had hardened in my throat. Claire spoke up instead.

“How long do you have?” she asked.

Kimmy coughed. “If I were my own patient? A few days. A week at most.”

I cleared my throat. “So, we better get moving.”

I didn’t want to leave Kimmy, but I couldn’t find the place without Claire. Claire bravely offered to go by herself, but I’d be cold in the ground before I let her take that risk. We needed each other.

We left Kimmy almost everything we had. We needed to pack light, which meant guns, basic first aid supplies, and not much else. After packing, I steeled myself for what might be the last goodbye.

“You’re still determined to do this?” Kimmy said with a groan. “Stubborn ass. Just like always.”

“Takes one to know one,” I answered, brushing hair out of her face. “I’ll come back as soon as I can. Do me a favour and don’t die between now and then.”

She laughed weakly. “I’ll do my best.”

I kissed her cheek, then left the tent. Claire appeared a moment later and gave me a hug, her eyes red and cheeks wet.

“Sorry,” she mumbled against my shoulder. “It’s just…I love her too.”

“I know, baby,” I said gently, stroking her hair.

She wiped her eyes.

“Right. Let’s go.”

By my best guess, it’d take more than a full day to get to the Cave. We took a risk by following the main roads, but it was faster. Eventually, we both needed rest, but neither of us wanted to stop. The long walk gave us time to talk about the latest attack from the cult.

“How the fuck do they keep finding us?” I said, frustrated. “I covered our tracks. Every step of the way. I made sure of it.”

Claire sighed. “I don’t doubt you. They must have another way. The compound has technology that I don’t fully understand.”

“But even if they have you bugged, how have we not found it?” I asked. “I searched everything when we left.”

I knew there was another possibility. If the implant could stop guns from firing, it wasn’t a big leap that it might also be capable of tracking someone. But I wasn’t ready to face that yet because I had no idea how to solve the problem, and we were already a little busy. One thing at a time.

“I don’t even understand why they want me,” Claire said softly, a slight tremor in her voice. “They called me the Vessel…whatever that is.”

“Doesn’t matter,” I said, taking her hand. “Whatever it means in their fucked-up belief system, I guess, that made them destroy the compound.”

She nodded. “It fits with Holly’s behaviour before the attack, and the way she and my mother drugged me. In retrospect, I think…they were trying to recruit me. Some sort of initiation rite. But I failed the test somehow.”

I squeezed her hand.

“Not surprising. You’re nothing like them.”

She gave a thin smile. “I hope that’s true.”

We were quiet for a while, but it was an easy silence between us. Just Claire’s presence comforted me.

“So…the plan,” I said eventually. “The only way we’ll succeed is by staying hidden. That won’t be easy, but I think we’re fucked otherwise.”

“Agreed,” Claire replied. “I expect the breach to be guarded, and it won’t be easy to reach—it’s near the river, which acts as a natural barrier around the walls.”

We kept going for the rest of the day. I enforced breaks for us to sleep and eat, even though I only slept in short bursts.

The last thing I needed was for Claire to keel over on me too.

We took turns sleeping a couple of hours, we walked for a couple of hours, rinse and repeat.

I focused all my energy on one thing: don’t think about Kimmy.

Instead, I thought about Claire. Our future together. The future I still wanted, no matter how this turned out. When she woke from one of her naps, I laid out the most important part of the game plan.

“No matter what happens in there,” I said firmly, “you have to promise me that you won’t take any risks you don’t have to. Going is enough of a risk as it is. You let me handle the risky stuff.”

“But—”

“No,” I interjected. “Just like our PNC trip together. If I tell you to hide, or to run, you’re going to do it. No questions asked.”

She sighed. “Do we have to do this every time now?”

“Yes, damn it,” I said, hitting my thigh for emphasis. “Because if I’m going to lose my sister, I won’t lose you, too.”

Claire softened and pecked my lips.

“Alright. I promise.”

A day and a half after we left, we finally saw it in the distance: massive concrete walls rising up out of the landscape.

Even a kilometre away, it was intimidating.

We stopped—me to marvel, Claire to feel whatever mess of emotions she must’ve felt.

I couldn’t fully see her face, but I felt her arms tighten slightly around me.

“You okay?” I asked, touching her hand.

“Yeah,” she sighed. “I just never thought in a million years that I’d be back again. And in the early days at the camp, when I used to daydream about going back, I always imagined I’d be welcome.”

I squeezed her hand. We started walking again, cautiously moving northeast, toward where Claire thought the breach was. It was maybe a half hour till sundown. Darkness would be our only ally here.

“We must be getting close to the patrol area,” Claire said anxiously.

Sure enough, the landscape changed. Fewer trees, and rough paths worn into the ground. Another minute, and we discovered a small billboard. Unlike most billboards I’d seen, it looked in decent shape—no rust, just a little overgrown.

NO ENTRY was written across the top. Underneath that, there was a picture of a stick figure getting his head blown off. Charming.

“That warm compound hospitality,” I muttered, rolling my eyes.

Claire nodded. “It’s not going to improve.”

I sighed. “Climb on, then.”

I bent so that Claire could get on my back, then secured my hands behind her knees. Carrying her and both of our packs was not my idea of fun, especially because it made me slow. But it was the best way to hopefully slip past the heavy machine guns that topped the compound walls.

I made the long walk to the riverside. It was quiet—no signs of defences triggered. No sign of patrols, either. It made me uneasy.

As we got closer, I watched the heavy machine guns that topped the walls. My heart was hammering hard against my ribs.

After a moment, Claire let out a long breath. “It’s working.”

“How can you be sure?” I asked, giving the guns a doubtful look.

“Well, if it wasn’t, we’d probably be dead.”

“Awesome. This place just keeps growing on me.”

We followed the river until we faced the northwest wall.

The breach appeared in the distance just as the sun was setting.

The concrete was smashed, and a small tunnel had been carved out.

Someone had patched the outer wall with what looked like part of a chain-link fence.

Easy enough to cut through, but the other side was dark, and I wasn’t sure what to expect.

I looked down at the river. It probably only hip-deep, and the current wasn’t strong. I touched the water—cold, but not freezing. I estimated the other side was several metres away. Crossing was doable, but risky.

“There’s no other option,” Claire said, voicing my concern. “This is the only way in. The main gate is heavily fortified. The side gate was only ever opened to maintenance workers. Using either of them would draw attention to us immediately.”

I nodded. “We’re lucky it isn’t too cold. The water’s still gonna be a shock, so prepare. Hold on tight and keep the bags and guns above water as best you can. We’re gonna move slow and steady. Ready?”

We slowly, carefully shifted so that both packs were elevated—one on her back, and one held above her head. It took longer than I liked because we had to make sure that Claire’s body was always in contact with mine, protecting me from the guns.

Finally, I lowered myself into the water, still carrying Claire on my back. The water was only hip-deep, but the cold shot through me. Goosebumps covered my skin, and Claire gasped as the water rose to her knees.

“You alright?” I asked as I took a step.

“Y-yes,” she answered, shivering.

I focused on wading through the murky water. The current pushed against us, and our progress was painfully slow. I bit back my frustration at the time we were burning through. It couldn’t be helped. By the time I got to the other side, I was sure my balls had fully retreated into my body.

But we’d made it to the breach in the wall, where the wire fence sealed off the compound. I was suspicious enough of the slap-dash repair to palm a rock and toss it at the fence.

No telltale crackle of electricity. No indication that it was anything but what it looked like—a shitty fence.

“Bolt cutters,” I said, holding my hand up, and Claire retrieved them from my pack and handed them to me. As darkness fell, she held a flashlight over my shoulder, letting me get to work on the fence.

“Why’d they do such a shit job patching this up, you think?”

“I don’t know,” Claire replied, a little anxiously. “It’s possible that they don’t have the resources. The wall needed regular maintenance. Killing so many of the residents might mean that the people capable of fixing it are dead.”

I finished cutting through the wires and carefully removed a large patch of the fence. The small tunnel through the wall was barely big enough for me to stand up in, and the other side was dark. It took me a second to realize that it’d been blocked with a metal sheet from the other side. Damn.

“I’m going in first,” I said in a low voice. “Wait for my signal before following. Got it?”

“Yes. Go into the tunnel first so that you’re covered, then let me down.”

I lifted the fence piece off and threw it aside before taking the first step into the small tunnel.

Once inside, Claire slid carefully off my back.

The overall structure of the wall seemed intact; I just had to hope it wouldn’t collapse on top of us.

I kept one hand on the hilt of my hunting knife, then used the other to push on the metal sheet, testing its weight .

It was thick and heavy. I motioned to Claire, and she moved to help me. We gave it a good, harsh push and the metal gave way…falling right on top of two men standing on the other side.

One shouted in surprise as he fell over.

I leapt on top of the sheet, trapping him under it.

His head stuck out under the edge, and I bashed it against the concrete path under us.

The second guy let out another shout and started wriggling out from under the metal.

To my surprise, Claire jumped on top of him and copied me, smashing him into the pavement.

Both men went still, and we stood, panting.

We were standing in a small back alley behind a couple buildings.

Storage containers lined the alley, but it was otherwise empty.

Claire helped me drag and dump the two men into a nearby dumpster, where I then slit their throats to make sure they were dead.

We hid behind it, listening for footsteps.

It was weirdly quiet, and I was surprised that the shouts hadn’t alerted anyone.

“Good work,” I said to Claire in a hushed voice. She trembled a little, but she was holding it together. “But where’s everyone else?”

She took a deep breath. “Only one way to find out.”

“Right,” I sighed. “Stay close and tell me where to go. If we see anyone, hide first, fight second.”