The man, fifteen years Karl’s senior, nodded, while munching on some chips. “That’s one way of putting it. Making sure his money don’t get stolen and spying on his rivals, would be another.”

  “You’re a hacker…”

  Callum spun around, his eyes looking larger than they were due to the thickness of the lenses in his glasses. “We don’t use that term down here.”

  “Oh… s—”

  A chip hit Karl in his nose, while Callum laughed and pivoted his seat back to the desk. “Of course I’m a hacker! And maybe, the last one alive on this continent.” He looked back to Karl. “Which makes me King hacker.” He smiled and started typing again on one of two keyboards.

  “So you know what happened? Like with the bombs and people changing?”

  Callum paused slightly before continuing to type and move the mouse. “Yeah, I know some things.”

  “So… what happened?”

  Callum sighed, stopping what he was doing. He turned his seat once more to face the teen. “The world’s different now… But, you’re like, what? Fourteen?”

  “Seven—”

  “Whatever. Point is, you’re young still. This world. The one with the real monsters and the bombs. The world without the fast-food and social networks. That’s your world now. That’s the one you have to live in. Like, grow up in and stuff. And you got to make your peace with that.”

  Karl sighed. He nodded, although he hadn’t made ‘peace’ with anything. He still didn’t quite believe he wasn’t actually in bed, at home, having the most vivid dream he had ever had and wanted to wake up from.

  Callum turned back to his screens. “Now, I got a whole shit ton of work to do, so behind me you’ll find some old TV consoles. They don’t use the internet, so turn them on and amuse yourself for some hours.”

  *****

  Tod sat in the back of the SUV, holding goggles in his hands. They were part of the kit he had been given, including an actual real gun that he could use. But just a half mag. He was told it was the same for everyone but he didn’t believe it, not that it mattered. Having a weapon meant he was now part of the ‘gang’ at least for a trial period. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that, but it beat being eaten by whatever the hell came out at night. And then there were the others to think about…

  If he had taken August up on the offer to leave, what would happen to Evelyn and the kids? He knew they weren’t his—

  “There’s someone already here,” said Daryl, the taller of the two gang members that August had also bought with him, and who was sat in the driver’s seat. August to his right in the passenger’s. The youngest of all four, Jesse was seated in the back, next to Todd.

  “There’s always people here. The factory is neutral ground you know that.”

  Daryl looked at his boss. “That was before…”

  August continued looking out the windshield, at the nondescript slab of a building which appeared to cover a whole block. “These here premises were constructed in the seventies. Before that, there was another building which had stood for over a hundred years.” He looked at his subordinate. “That too was neutral ground.” He looked back to building and silver van parked outside. “Some things don’t change.” August briefly caught Todd’s eyes in the rear mirror. “Leave your gun in the car. You can leave with weapons, but you can’t enter with them. Lets go.”

  Todd and the younger man to his right, both looked at their handguns, then left them in the footwell and got out. August was already across the street, walking up the steps to the concrete deck in front of secure looking double doors.

  Todd followed, scouring the various warehouses nearby for any sign of movement, which there wasn’t any. Maybe the things he saw the night before would try and get brave and go after their meals in the daylight? Or maybe they would adapt? He didn’t know.

  Smoke hung in the air. A symptom of the sporadic fires which still burned across the landscape, throwing columns of black dust in whatever direction the wind happened to be gusting, and right now it was gusting particulate across the faces of the group of four, standing at the door to the ‘factory.’

  Todd couldn’t see any sign of a buzzer or knocker, or even a hole for a key but he did see the camera, perched up high, looking down at them.

  August held up a satchel, and almost in tandem there was a click and the right side of the two doors opened inwards a few inches.

  Todd joined the others as they all moved inside to a small room, and then through that to a huge open space, filled with ten-foot high shelves, stacked from floor to ceiling with supplies. He tried remembering if he had passed a sign on the outside of the building, mentioning that this football sized building was a retailer of some kind, but then he walked past shelves containing military equipment. Crates of anti-personal mines, ammo for just about every handgun and rifle he knew of and then larger even more illegal products such as shoulder mounted rocket launchers and canisters with skull and crossbones on them, filled the shelves.

  August walked past all of it, without giving any of the weapons so much as a glance. Instead, Todd and the two others followed him on a course between the aisles, until they emerged to where it seemed transactions were done. They had arrived at the center of the building, where a shipping container sat. A modified metal box, which looked like a World War Two pill box, except instead of a turret sticking out of a gap, a man could just be seen talking to three others who were completely wrapped from head to foot in silver foil, with sunglasses.

  August paused on seeing them, and one of them, the tallest turned towards the leader of the bridge gang and nodded. August did the same, then the three individuals picked up three large green satchels and walked past the newcomers, leaving the way they had just entered.

  A white beard and a toothy grin could just been seen within the gloom inside the shipping container. “August! I knew you would ride this one out. You were always one for preparing for the worst.”

  August lowered his head a little, the only time Todd had seen him show deference to anyone. He then held up his bag. “I have the usual.”

  The grin dissolved, and black eyes could be just about seen through the letterbox slit of a window. “What use is the usual now?”

  “The world may have changed, but those that the virus did not touch, have not. They will still need to feed their addictions.”

  “Hmm… I don’t know August. I reckon yesterday we lost about two-thirds of the city’s population. And what’s left… well, let’s just say, it’s not the snow they are craving.” He nodded past August. “Their kind have a new kind of lust, and it’s not white, it’s red that they want. And not any red. They want red from our kind.”

  August’s face stiffened. “Their kind want blood from those that are immune?”

  “Yeah. Supposedly stops them going completely psycho.”

  Todd felt a ping of hope for Evelyn and Zoe. His fake joining of the River gang had already paid dividends.

  The old man continued. “Most of my contacts are dead or like them. And their kind find it real hard to be out in the daylight. So they’re having a problem finding what they need. It’s worth a hundred times what the snow used to be to them. You bring me pure red and you can have what you want. But until then…”

  August smiled, but Todd knew it was a thin mask containing his anger. He was beginning to understand that August was angry most of the time.

  August slowly nodded. “Then I shall return with what you require.” He started to turn around.

  “But…”

  August stopped, turning back.

  “Be a shame to waste all that snow. What you want for it?”

  “Merely information.”

  “What?”

  “I want the location of the Goblin.”

  There was a brief snort within the steel framed structure. “What makes you think I know his whereabouts?”

  “If you do not, then I shall bid you—”

  “Hey, hold up. I heard a rumor. Can’t say if its true or not…”

  “Go on.”

  “Heard there was a place. About fifty-miles south of here. Way out in the boonies. A group of old aircraft hangers. Was an old WW2 base or something. Maybe that’s where you’ll find him.”

  August dropped the bag and turned, walking away.

  “Don’t forget about the red!” shouted the old man.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Cole Chang looked at the plain dark green door. It was the one the woman and her kid had been put in and he needed to get inside. But what would he find? The nightmare of what had hunted him just twelve hours earlier still vibrated across his thoughts with the occasional flashback of blood and rage causing his body to jolt, as if hit by an electric shock. Were they locked in there on purposes?

  Noises came from along the corridor, through the other various doors there, but at least in the main room with the kitchen and living area, he was alone. The others had left earlier and he had been told to stay behind. He said he could be useful but his voice fell on deaf ears. Even the fast food manager had been sent out with another group to scout for supplies.

  His mind flicked to his parents in San Francisco and the last conversation he had with them before the internet stopped working. They said they were fine and were keeping inside their apartment and away from the windows. He replied he would make his way over there, once he checked in on his sister on the way there, but that plan didn’t exactly work out, once things really went sideways.

  He turned around and looked at the door to his right. It was weathered and a cool draft blew from its seams. Obviously some kind of exit to the sewers. As he stood there looking at possible freedom, he wondered if staying or leaving was the better choice. He was surrounded by criminals, but maybe they were the perfect people to help him get out of the city? Or maybe it was inevitable they would turn on him, once they realized he was never going to be one of them?

  “Hello?”

  He jolted, not being aware of the woman standing behind him, and turned to face the mother. “Hi. Are you okay? Is your daughter… Is it Zoe?”

  Evelyn nodded then looked both ways along the corridor, moving closer to him. “She’s sleeping. To be honest that’s all I want to do as well. But we’re fine, thank you for asking. What are you doing?”

  “Honestly. I don’t know.”

  She checked the path was clear again, before moving even closer to the firefighter. “Will you leave? Can you take us with you?”

  “I… I don’t know if that’s a good idea. It’s pretty bad up there, and with your condition…”

  “If you can find some aluminium foil and maybe a van or a truck? Then we can leave. Maybe the sun doesn’t burn us anymore. Maybe it’s—”

  The large elevator door started to swinging into action, and slid across revealing a group of men and one woman, all covered in dust and grime. They emerged into the large room, dropping bags and boxes. The tallest, Noah, spotted the two people standing in the hallway on the other side of the space and made a direct line for them.

  “Shit,” said Cole under his breath, but Evelyn stood up straighter.

  Noah stopped at the entrance to the corridor. “Why are you both out here?”

  “I want to be of use,” said Cole, he ignored Evelyn’s glance.

  Noah sneered. “A firefighter is kind of redundant.”

  “I can help find things. I know where the city’s emergency supplies are.”

  “Is that so? Okay, maybe you got some use. We’re back out in ten. The door to your left. Get yourself some kit and a weapon.”

  “I don’t need a gun. It’s daytime.”

  Noah snorted. “It ain’t the vamps you should be worried about.” He looked at the woman. “And you want to be useful too? I ain’t got any use for a pile of ashes, lady.”

  Evelyn remained silent, and started to move back to her room.

  “What the fuck!” A voice came from her right, from the now open door at the end.

  She instantly recognized the voice and froze, then scrambled to get her room’s door open when the man that tried to kill her in her apartment, limped towards her using a pole as a walking stick.

  “That’s the bitch, that was with the guy that shot me! They’re the reason I’m pissing, sitting down!”

  Noah looked down, smiling, then back to Amos.

  “You threatened my kid!” she shouted, standing her ground, with her hand behind her on the handle. “You broke into my apartment!”

  Anger began to turn into rage on the injured man’s face.

  “You threatened her kid?” said Noah.

  Amos stopped, looking at the giant of a man. “Yeah, so? August told me to find valuable things. So that’s what I was doing.” He waved his crutch around. “The whole world is over! You missed the memo or something?”

  Noah’s brow tightened. “Maybe you need to go rest. Morgan told me if you get too stressed you might tear something. That wouldn’t be good, would it?”

  Amos let out a frustrated breath, turned and with the help of his metal pole limped back to the room at the end, closing the door behind him.

  Evelyn turned back to Noah, but he was gone.

  *****

  The air was beginning to smell fresher to Todd. The smoldering piles of brick and steel had long since given way to single and double story, stores and homes, many of which were still intact, although vehicles by their thousands littered most streets that, he, August and the others were traveling through in the SUV.

  “They must all be hiding inside…” said Jesse, the younger man to his right.

  “Yeah,” said the driver, Daryl.

  “We’ll be back in the bunker by sundown,” said August.

  Jesse’s anxiety urged him to speak more. “So, this Goblin guy, he’s really important or something?”

  Daryl looked over his right shoulder slightly, even though the question wasn’t aimed at him. “You ain’t heard of the Goblin?”

  “I… er… no… why?”

  August caught Todd’s eyes in the rear mirror. “I’m sure Mr. McKenzie, has?”

  Todd looked back to the empty streets. “Rumors. Hearsay.”

  “One of the biggest weed growers in Illinois,” said Daryl.

  August looked back to the world outside. “Who is particularly good at growing in artificial environments.”

  “I… don’t understand,” said Jesse.

  Todd did, but didn’t want to explain.

  Daryl looked to his right again. “Not to bright, are you, kid?”

  Jesse’s face flashed with anger. “I’m still alive, aren’t I?”

  Daryl looked back to the street ahead. “I’m guessing that had more to do with—”

  Todd could sene the agitation of the twenty-something. “We need food,” he interjected.

  Jesse looked at him. “We, got food. Like years worth, right?” He looked back to August, but the older man was smiling, looking in the rear mirror to Todd again.

  Todd continued, but avoided the gaze. “Most crops. Food grown outside, will be contaminated for at least a year. And even though there’s lots of food in the bunker, that can run out real fast. Someone who can grow food inside, under artificial light… They’re going to be really useful.” Todd wasn’t sure if August wanted the Goblin because of his food growing abilities or that he realized others would want him too. The plan being to grab him and use him for leverage. He hoped it was the former.

  “Mr. Mckenzie is indeed correct in his summary. The Goblin’s skills are going to be highly useful in the coming months.”

  Jesse looked between the older men in the cabin. “So, we’re going to like, kidnap him?”

  “Hopefully,” said August. “It will not come to that.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Karl hadn’t stopped watching the greasy haired man at the computer, even though he pretended to be engrossed in the 1990s console game. It was actually a good one. A game that his father used to tell him about, that he played as a teen. He had breezed through the first few levels but got stuck on the bridge section, where there were just one too many monsters. He had almost stopped playing. Even though the green and blue zombies were rendered at a laughably low resolution compared to what he was used to, the cheesy blood splats and ghost train shocks hit home far harder than they should have, due to what transpired the night before. So for the past twenty-minutes he paid more attention to the reflection on the glass screen of the old cathode ray TV, than the game itself. And he was fairly sure the older man had fallen asleep.

  Karl turned around as quietly as possible, laying the controller on the floor, then just as cautiously stood, waiting for Callum to suddenly spring into life, but instead he just laid there, his head on the back headrest of his seat. His glasses fallen slightly down his nose.

  Karl creeped closer, looking down to see if Callum’s eyes were closed beneath the black rimmed spectacles and…

  Callum was asleep with his mouth slightly open and a slight trickle of spit escaping from the corner of his mouth.

  Karl had been waiting for this moment. He wanted to sneak a peak into whatever network August’s hacker was using. Try and get a glimpse of the rest of the country. The world even.

  He moved to Callum’s right and placed his hand on the mouse, stealing looks at the sleeping man. Karl got the impression that Callum mostly worked at night, like a lot of programmers. Less distraction.

  He looked at the central monitor, trying to understand what he was looking at. It appeared to be some kind of programming language, but none he had seen and not one he could make any sense of. But that’s not what he wanted.

 

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