Animal Kingdom (24 page)

“
I’m blind,” Shirley cried out as she staggered around in wild panic towards the back of the warehouse. “Help me, I’m blind.”

“
Get your fucking God to help you!” said Grace as she checked out Danny’s face. His left cheek was glowing.

Joe got to his feet gingerly, going up to them both. “Go find the petrol. I’ll deal with Randall.”

Grace looked down at Randall who was still clutching at himself in agony. “Is he worth it?”

“
He killed Bill.”

Grace nodded and then kissed him on the cheek. She took Danny away and left him to it.

Randall had cottoned on to the situation and took one of his hands away from his groin and held it up in front of him. “Now Joe, let’s be civilised.”

Joe spat. It hit Randall in the chin. He did not wipe it away. Joe closed in on him. “You killed Bill. You killed Mason. And I’m figuring you would have killed me and Danny too. Why? So you could get Grace to yourself?”

“
Of course not. I wanted to save Grace and Danny from all this. I would have taken them some place safe.”

Joe laughed so hard it hurt the soft flesh of his throat. “You mean the safe place that you hid from us all? And what about me? Where did I come in your grand plan?”

Randall wouldn’t look him in the eye.

Joe nodded. “I see. Well, I’d say that in your case, your punishment should fit the crime.”

Randall eyes went wide. “Don’t kill me!”

Joe smiled. “Course not. That wouldn’t be suitable.” Randall seemed relieved, but Joe had more to say. “You killed two people, so simply killing you wouldn’t add up. No, I need to do something worse than just kill you.”

Randall started scooting backwards on his bum, obviously searching for his knife, but it was nowhere to be seen; lost in the scuffle. He looked up at Joe and made eye contact. “What are you going to do to me?”

“
This!” Joe leapt forward and grabbed Randall by his legs.

“
What are you doing? Get off me, right this instant.”

Joe was beyond hearing Randall’s pleas now, and almost took pleasure as he gripped the man’s left ankle tightly and started to twist. “My son would call this an ankle lock,” he said, and then yanked hard.

Randall wailed as the bones in his ankle snapped. Joe thought about breaking the other leg as well, but decided that one was enough. He turned and walked away. “Now, don’t you go following us, you hear!”

“
JOE! Joe, please don’t leave me here.”

Joe carried on walking.

“
You’re a murderer. A murderer, you hear me! You’re no better than me or anyone else.”

Joe shouted back a reply over his shoulder. “Least I’ve given you a fighting chance. However slim that may be.”

Joe found Grace and Danny in the corner of the warehouse, pleased to see that they had found both a can of petrol and some matches.

“
Is that screaming I can hear?” asked Grace.

Joe nodded. “Randall had a little accident, but he’s in no immediate danger. Let’s get out of here, yeah?”

Joe took the can of petrol from Grace and she picked up her mop handle again. Then they all headed back through the warehouse, being sure to avoid the aisle that contained a screaming Randall. Joe didn’t want to hear any more begging from the worthless human being. Something had changed in him.

They reached the warehouse shutter and prepared to step outside, but stopped. The animals had arrived, attracted no doubt by the recent commotion and Randall’s relentless screaming. So far it was only a small group of chimps and a few wolves, but Joe knew there would be more coming.

A lot more.

Chapter Thirty-Six

Joe grabbed the petrol can from Grace and thrust it at the nearest chimps. The liquid sprung from the nozzle and doused the animals head to toe. Without even having to be asked, Grace struck a match and tossed it.

Two chimps went up. Two-legged infernos, their wild screeching pierced the air in spikes of pain. It still left about eight more though.

“
This isn’t going to work,” said Grace, backing into the warehouse.

Joe grabbed Danny by the hand and followed after her.

The chimps glared at them as they continued backing away, but made no attempts to follow. They seemed to be communicating amongst themselves, arms moving frantically in some sort of monkey sign language. Joe didn’t dare take his eyes away from them, feeling that as soon as he did they would attack.

“
Should we go back upstairs?” asked Grace.

Joe shook his head. “It’s too late for that. We need find a way to lose them.”

Grace tittered. “I don’t think that’s gonna be easy.”

The chimps seemed to reach an agreement amongst themselves and rushed into the warehouse, hopping and rolling playfully as if the whole thing was just a game. Perhaps to them it was.

“
RUN!” Joe screamed at Grace and pushed her into action. Danny ran alongside them as Joe continued to hold his hand. Behind, the chimps whooped and hollered. The three of them ducked behind a crate of fertilising materials. Grace was already panting with exhaustion. Packing material flew into the air on all sides.

Or is it from fear,
thought Joe. He glanced around the crate and saw that the chimps had spread out and were in the midst of a chaotic wrecking spree, ripping and tearing everything in their sight.

“
What’s the plan,” said Grace. “More petrol?”

Joe looked at the petrol can in his hand and thought about it before shaking his head. “Can’t risk trapping ourselves inside. We need to keep the exit clear.”

“
What then?”

Joe shrugged. “Pray for a miracle?”

“
Miracles are beyond you,” said a voice Joe recognised.

He looked up to see Shirley heading towards them. Both of her eyes had been reduced to blood soaked orbs and the woman was obviously blind.

“
Shirley, be quiet.”

Shirley turned in the direction of his voice and snarled. “You cannot silence the righteous. The end times are upon us and your punishment is nigh. Your son will burn in Hell for man’s crimes.”

In different circumstances, Joe would have knocked the woman’s block off, but right now all he wanted was for her to be quiet. She was going to alert the crazed chimps to their location.

But it was too late.

The group of chimps descended on Shirley like rugby players on a loose ball, knocking her to the ground under the weight of their writhing bodies. Unbelievably, the woman did not cry, but instead seemed indignant at their lack of manners.

“
Release me, you foul beasts of Satan. I am not one of the forsaken and I demand that you remove yourselves from my body.”

One of the chimps sank its human-like teeth into Shirley’s shoulder and, finally, she screamed. The noise seemed to excite the animals more and within seconds half a dozen of them were tearing strips of fatty flesh from Shirley’s struggling body. Her screams grew louder as one of her ears peeled away from her head like foil off a yoghurt pot.

Joe slunk away from the scene, thankful that the chimps were too occupied to notice him. He turned to Grace. “Let’s make a run for it.”

The three of them crept around the opposite side of the warehouse, as quickly and quietly as they could. The sound of blood-hungry monkeys ripping human flesh could be heard throughout the entire area, but Joe was sure they were all grouped together over Shirley’s body. There was a chance to get out without being seen.

Joe stopped near the warehouse’s shutter. Grace raised her eyebrows at him. “Why’d you stop?”

“
Randall. I left him lying in the spot we just passed. He’s gone.”

Grace grabbed Joe’s arm and pulled. “Let’s worry about that later. We need to get out of here.”

As one, they ran out through the shutter and back into the cold air of the loading area. They were immediately set upon by three wolves.

Joe pushed Danny out of the way just as one of the large lupines snapped at his face. Joe swivelled and kicked the animal hard in the ribs. It yelped and fell to the ground. Joe was surprised that it did not get up again.

Must have broken a few ribs.

Grace swung the mop handle that she had thankfully kept in her possession and connected the blow with another wolf. It rolled across the floor, growling in pain, before springing back to its feet. Grace swung again but missed.

The wolf lunged. Its jaws clamped down
on her wrist. She screamed and shook her arm left to right. The animal kept a tight hold, biting down harder.

“
Joe, help me!”

Joe saw a third and final wolf making a beeline for his son. “Danny,” he shouted. “Come here.”

Danny ran toward his father, the huge animal bounding after him. Joe ran towards him, didn’t make it in time.

The wolf pounced on Danny, driving his frail body down to the ground, knocking the air from the small boy, and ravaging him.

Joe screamed so hard he felt something in his throat rip loose in his throat. With every strand of muscle fibre in his body, Joe barrelled towards his son. Danny’s screams only made him move faster.

Joe kicked out at the wolf so violently that both feet left the floor. His right foot struck the animal in the side of the head. The impact threw both it and Joe into a tumble. Pain struck Joe’s leg like a fast-moving toxin and he knew that he had broken a toe. But it was worth it. The wolf was dead, bleeding from its misshapen head as it lay prone on the sidewalk. Joe crawled over to Danny. Tears streamed from his eyes. “Danny!”

His son’s face was buried in his arms, but he began to move. He was okay.

Thank God!

Joe examined him, saw that he was uninjured. The wolf’s teeth and claws caused a huge amount of damage, but it was all to Danny’s Undertaker backpack. It had been ripped and torn to shreds.

“
Is it gone, Dad?”

“
Yeah,” said Joe, stroking his son on the back of his head. “You’re safe now.”

Grace screamed out from behind him. Joe suddenly realised that she needed his help too.

He got to his feet. Almost fell down again as pain shot through his toes like an injection of fire. He gritted his teeth and fought through it. Grace was on her back now, her wrist still crunching inside the remaining wolf’s mouth.

Joe’s first intention was to kick the wolf as he had the others, but that wasn’t possible with his recent injury. He would need to try something else. He looked around for ideas, but the loading bay was empty.

Except for the petrol can.

He grabbed the canister and quickly hobbled to the wolf. It was ripping and tearing at Grace’s arm, oblivious to his presence – even when he began pouring the petrol onto the animal’s hind quarters. When Joe finished, he realised that the petrol would be useless on its own.

The matches. Where are the matches?

Joe scanned the pavement, looking for the small square box that Grace had been carrying earlier. He could not see it anywhere.

Then he heard someone strike a match.

Joe looked down to see that with her spare arm – the one that wasn’t stuck in the wolf’s mouth – Grace had pulled a match from the box that lay beside her. The phosphorous ignited and the flame immediately caught against the animal’s dry, dusty – petrol-soaked – fur. The wolf went up like a torch, finally releasing its grip on Grace’s arm. It leapt back in agony as the fire consumed it, blackening its skin and melting away any flesh too fatty to burn.

Joe pulled Grace away from the flames. She was wailing and blood covered her body from head to toe, adding to the caked-on layers of her previous injuries. He held her tight in his arms and rocked her slowly back and forth. Danny ran over and joined them, adding to the hug. Joe loved them both so much, but he was starting to think he would not be able to protect them. Despite that, he couldn’t help but tell them, “It will be okay. Everything is going to be okay.”

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Randall somehow managed to hop himself up the staircase to the warehouse’s upper walkway. He had watched the entire thing play out. He’d seen Shirley get ripped apart by a gang of goddamn chimpanzees. It was enough to send a lesser man insane. He also witnessed Joe’s escape and it pissed him off something rotten.

That traitor doesn’t deserve to be walking around like a free man.

Randall looked down at his ankle, twisted and hanging in an unnatural direction. “I hope you get ripped to shreds, you overgrown freak.”

Randall held onto the safety railing and hopped his way along. If he could make it back to Victor, the two of them could hole up somewhere in the building and re-establish their safety. Then they could think of a new solution to get out of this godforsaken zoo.

That’s if Victor is even still alive.

And that he forgives us all for running out on him.

I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. I’m sure I can charm some haggis-eating Scotsman into believing whatever story I choose to provide him.