The Fourth Phase

TWENTY-ONE

Jack bent down and helped Dee from the lake. Pain from his fresh wounds shot up his spine. He took the whimpering form of Max from Dee and laid him on sand. Max’s eyes met his. He managed a small wag of his tail and licked Jack’s hand. Gently, he checked over their adopted dog. He had no cuts or tears on his skin. When Jack pressed his hand against Max’s ribs, the dog let out a pained howl and licked at Jack again. Seeing the injured Max, Jack couldn’t help the tears forming. As an animal-lover, seeing any injured animal pained him. Especially a loved pet. He leant down and kissed the dog on his head.

“All right buddy, we’ll get you home. Hang in there.”

He looked up at Dee. She was rubbing herself dry with the small hiking towels they carried in their packs. She paused, smiling at him, watching. He always admired how she found the time to smile at him despite everything that was going on. He knew she was just as concerned about the boys as he was. Six had told them about the Trophy King being on the island, and with what he and Dee had discovered, he was in no doubt now: this attack had been planned.

Could they even think like that?

Like the others, he thought they had left that beast behind on top of that mountain. With this attack, it seemed to Jack that this Alpha not only had retained its human intelligence, but used it to collaborate with humans. And had come for them to settle a score. Memories of the nest he and George had escaped from, and the horrors that lay within, came flooding back. Jack swallowed down the lump that was forming in his throat. Not only did he feel guilty for not being on the island to help defend against the attack, but he felt some responsibility for it. His escape and his actions had caused the Alpha to purposely seek them out to mete out his revenge.

Dee reached out, grabbing his arm. “Hey, come back to me, babe.”

“Sorry, I just feel guilty. What if this is our fault, Dee? What if the Trophy King came here for us?”

“I know, Jack. I feel it too.” Dee knelt with him beside Max and kissed his cheek. “We’re going after him, right?”

“Remember in Fellowship of the Ring when Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas went after Merry and Pippin?”

“Of course. We’ve watched that movie so many times!” she said, punching his arm.

“Dee, we’re going after them, because the thought of the boys being in that place cuts into my soul. I know what’s there. I couldn’t go on knowing that and not doing anything about it.”

He pulled her into a hug, kissing her neck. Tears filled his eyes. Dee once again pulled away from him. Standing up, she shouldered her pack and checked her rifle before holding it ready.

“Well, come on then. Pack light, for we travel far and swift.”

Jack grinned at her. Standing, he cradled Max into his arms. With a last look at the crater lake, he followed his wife’s striding figure back into the caves.

Jack’s arms burned with the exertion of holding the injured Max. He paused and shifted the weight of his load, attempting to relieve some of the pressure. Dee was scanning ahead, looking for other Variants.

Where there is one, there are many.

He had radioed Ben with the news of what they had discovered. Ben had relayed the information that patrols had encountered several groups of the beasts, and warned them to stay vigilant. They stopped several times to rest, the last few days of madness finally catching up with them. After forty-five minutes, they made it back to the village. The sun was beginning to sink lower in the sky, bathing the small settlement in an orange glow. Activity buzzed all around them as they made their way to the old hotel. Several soldiers wearing chemical suits and masks were stacking dead Variants into piles, ready to be incinerated.

Entering the FOB, he gently laid Max on his bed near the door. Jack scooped out a few biscuits and scratched his ears. Max licked Jack’s hand and wagged his tail in appreciation.

Jack scanned the room. Ben was standing at the main table, deep in discussion with a couple of sergeants. Spotting them, he waved them over.

As Jack approached the table, he could see a large map of the island spread out on it. Red circles had been drawn over it, one of which circled the lake. It was going to take them a while to flush out the remaining Variants, and with so many caves on the island, perhaps never. Ben gave one of the sergeants an order to set up a perimeter with rotating patrols. Jack reached for Dee’s hand and grasped it, comforted by her touch.

Ben turned and looked them over, shaking his head. “You two have to be the luckiest sons of bitches I’ve ever met.”

Jack glanced at Dee. “Why?”

“How many Variants were in that crater?”

“Five or six?”

“Five or six. Yet here you are, still living and breathing.”

Ben glanced down at Jack’s wounds, which were seeping blood. “Jack, go and see the Doc after we’ve finished here. I’m going to be tied up here most of the night. I want you two to get some sleep.” He paused, looking at them in turn. His voice softened. “Look, I know you’re worried about the boys, and you have every right to be. If what you say about the Alpha is true, I know you want to go charging off after them. But you guys need rest. You look like shit. Get some sleep. We’ll plan a search and rescue in the morning. I’m posting a couple of guards at the villa.”

Jack rubbed the back of his neck, feeling the wispy hair with the tips of his fingers. “We think he’s taken them back to the dam.”

“You don’t know that for sure, Jack. He could’ve moved his nest somewhere else.”

“Maybe Ben, maybe. I just know he has. Like that friggin’ dam has some weird cosmic meaning.”

Ben reached out and grasped Jack’s arm. “Get some food and some rest. We’ll sort it out in the morning.”

Dee gave Ben a squeeze. “Thanks, Ben. See you in the morning.”

Jack smiled as she hugged the grizzled old soldier.

A private Jack didn’t know ran out of the radio room and approached them. “Sir, I received a radio call. We have a boat coming. She says she has children on board.”

“Thank you, Private. Radio back to her to approach slowly to the south dock.”

Ben turned to one of the sergeants. “Tell your men to lock and load. We don’t want to get caught out again.”

The sergeant turned and left. Ben looked back at Jack and Dee. “Jack, go and get patched up. That’s an order. Dee, if they do have kids on board, they will respond better to a friendly face. I need you with me.”

Jack and Dee nodded. Jack embraced Dee, then headed to the infirmary, stopping only to scratch Max behind the ears. Jack was pleased to see that Max had eaten all his food.

Dee walked along the boardwalk, struggling to match Ben’s long strides as they made their way down to the smaller of the two jetties. A white and blue boat was slowly chugging its way towards it. Armed soldiers lined the jetty, Dee heard the synchronised sound as they clicked their rifles off safety.

The boat nudged the jetty. One of the soldiers jumped on board and tied the painter to the bollard. He lashed it tight before standing back, rifle raised and ready. Dee caught a glimpse of blonde hair in the wheelhouse. The door to the cabin creaked open. The soldiers on that side of the boat tracked it opening. A blonde-haired figure emerged from the cabin.

Dee’s heart leapt in her chest as she recognised the figure. “Don’t shoot! I know her.”

The woman turned towards Dee. Her mouth dropped open. “Dee?”

“Alice!” Dee leapt onto the boat and wrapped Alice in a hug. “I can’t believe it! You’re alive. What about Matt? Austin?”

Alice shook her head, tears falling freely down her cheeks. “Dee, I saw Boss. Some big ugly Variant had him.”

“What? Really? Where?”

“Back in Tauranga. Maggie… she… she went after them.”

“Maggie? Who’s Maggie?”

“She helped us escape the camp. Rescued the kids.” Alice paused and pointed to the cabin. “Becs, Leela. Kids, you can come out now.”

Dee watched as a girl with red hair exited the cabin, a small blonde-haired girl in tow. More children followed them out one by one. Dee counted six all together. The kids’ eyes went wide at the sight of the soldiers and their guns.

Ben turned and waved them away. He reached out and shook Alice’s hand. “I’m Captain Johns, but please call me Ben. C’mon. Let’s get you guys fed.”

“Ben, she has intel on Boss. She saw them in Tauranga. The Trophy King had him. I suspect George too.”

“Alice, was there a red-haired boy?”

“Yeah, there was.”

Dee looked down at her feet, thinking, trying to gather her racing mind. Alice had just confirmed her and Jack’s worst fears. That was it. Tomorrow she was going to end this.

She caught Ben’s eye. “We have to go after them, Ben. I’m not taking no for an answer. I’ll take this bloody boat and do it myself if I have to.”

“Okay, Dee. I believe you and I agree. Get them up to the villa. I’ll tie up some things down here, then join you. It sounds like we have a lot to plan.”

“Thanks, Ben.”

Dee reached out and hugged Alice again. She couldn’t believe it. Alice here, on this island? Somehow, against all the odds, she was seeing her friend again. She had hoped they had made it to Alice’s family’s sheep station, but with the horrors she and her friends had faced, barely escaping with their lives both times, her hopes had faded.

Alice reached down, grasped the little blonde girl’s hand, and helped her off the boat and onto the jetty.

Dee turned and helped the red-haired girl. “I’m Dee, what’s your name?”

“Rebecca. But everyone calls me Becs.”

“Well, Becs, it’s nice to meet you. You hungry?”

“You have food?”

Laughing, Dee replied, “We sure do. C’mon.”

Dee led them off the jetty and up the path towards the villa. The kids followed, with Alice bringing up the rear. The children looked wide-eyed at all the soldiers walking around, guns slung over their shoulders.

Reaching the old house, she ushered them into the kitchen and pointed to the table. A few of the kids asked for the toilet. After Dee showed them where it was, she returned to the kitchen. She never would’ve thought she would be preparing a meal for six hungry children. It was only after the end of the world and meeting Boss and George that she started to warm to kids. Seeing the children sitting at the table gave her a warm, motherly glow. She subconsciously rubbed her belly. Maybe she and Jack still had time for children.

The kitchen door banged open and Jack walked in, his legs bandaged around the thighs. Dee smiled at him as he took in the scene. Max padded in behind him and gingerly sat down on his bed next to the fire. Alice stood up from the table as Jack walked over.

Dee kissed him on the cheek, searching out his blue eyes. “You good?”

“Yeah. Just a flesh wound.”

Dee elbowed him in the ribs. “’tis but a scratch,” she replied.

Smiling, Jack glanced over her shoulder at the dining room. “What’s all this?”

She turned away from the stove. “Alice. Jack. Jack. Alice.”

Alice pushed back her chair and moved around to meet them in the kitchen. She reached out and hugged him. “The Jack?”

Dee barked out a laugh. “Yes. The Jack.”

Jack looked between the two women. “Okay? What’s going on?”

Dee turned to him. “Alice hid with me down in the basement back in the beginning with the others and Boss. Jack, she saw Boss, George, and the Trophy King in Tauranga.”

“When?”

“Earlier today.”

Jack pursed his lips together. Grimacing, he rubbed a hand through his hair. He let out a sigh. “That must have been those boats we saw from the chopper. We’re definitely going after them tomorrow. I don’t care what Ben says.”

“He’s already agreed, Jack. Let’s eat. Ben’s coming up later to talk it through.”

“All right. I’ll give you a hand.”

Dee turned back to her cooking, busying herself with the task. Thoughts of what that abomination was doing to her boys frightened the hell out of her. Jack moved over next to her and started cutting up some vegetables. She smiled at him, grateful for his silent encouragement. She knew that he was just as keen to get them back. Dee felt wrung out and turned around. In the last twenty-four hours she had found out her mother was probably alive and an animal geneticist, she had hiked up a mountain to escape a Variant horde, and to top it all off, the Alpha they called the Trophy King had attacked their haven and captured her boys.

Dee stared down at the bubbling cheese sauce. It was time to end this.