Mass Extinction Event: The Complete Third Series (Days 46 to 53) (14 page)

Thomas

"It's been the case throughout human history that most people are expendable. You know that, don't you? You must have noticed? Most people are just... worthless."

Sitting in the room that Quinn describes as her 'office', I keep my eyes fixed on the laptop. It's hard to believe that she's got it up and running, and even harder to believe that someone somewhere out there has managed to maintain a server. I can't help trying to work out who could be on the other end of the signal. The government? The military? Some lone hacker? Someone like Quinn?

"I've always had a very realistic view of the world," she continues, apparently not too bothered by the fact that I'm not responding to her. In fact, this whole encounter is more like a soliloquy than a conversation. "Most people try to maintain the fiction that human beings, in general, are useful, but the truth is rather different. There were seven billion people on this planet before last month, and now how many do you think there are? A hundred thousand, maybe? That's one sweet-ass cull. It's almost enough to make me believe in God. I mean, I never had much of an opinion one way or the other in the old days, but now..." She pauses for a moment. "God just became interesting, so I'm finally paying attention."

"Can't you work out where it is?" I ask, still staring at the laptop.

"The signal?" She wanders over and looks at the screen for a moment. "I'm working on it. I've got a few ideas. I always considered myself to be not very good with computers, but I had the benefit of being able to look stuff up online. I never bothered with hard copies of system information, and now I'm struggling a little. I'll work it out eventually, though. Nothing ever beats me, not in the long-run." She pauses again. "Where's your friend?"

"What friend?" I'm genuinely puzzled for a moment, until I realize she means George. "I don't know. He... I think he left. He's looking for his family."

"Family?"

"His daughter and granddaughter."

"Oh," she replies, sounding distinctly unimpressed. "So he still clings to traditional patriarchal definitions of societal structures, does he? How gauche."

I turn to her. "He wants to find his -"

"I know, I know," she says dismissively, "but it's all just pissing in the wind, isn't it?"

"Aren't you looking for anyone?" I ask.

"Only smart people. Bright people. People who can help me." She stares at me for a moment. "What about you?"

"I've got a sister, but she was out in California when all of this started so -"

"Forget her."

"I just -"

"Forget her. She's old news." Putting a hand on my shoulder, Quinn seems to be trying to make friends with me, although there's something stiff and off-putting about her, as if she's pre-determined her every move. "California's a hell of a long way from here, Thomas. The odds of you finding your sister are huge, and why does it matter, anyway? Just because someone is biologically related to you, it doesn't mean that either you or she will benefit from working together. You have to get past these old ideas about family and recognize that the world has moved on. What do you really think is going to happen to your friend George?"

I pause. The truth is, I don't want to say what I really think.

"He's going to die," she continues. "He's going to fill his head with dreams of looking for his family, he's going to go out there, and he's going to fail, and then he's going to die. He'll probably collapse and starve. It'll be a horrible, lingering and painful death. He'll feel his stomach starting to digest itself as he dies. If he's lucky, rats will finish him off a little quicker. And why will his life end like that? Because he was fixated on family. Families are absolutely fatal. Am I right?"

I stare at her.

"Thomas, I need you to show me that you understand. Am I right?"

I nod.

"Say the words."

"You're right," I whisper, even though I feel as if I'm making a mistake.

"Louder."

"You're right."

"That's better." She smiles. "The way I see it, you've got two choices. The first is that you can sit around here, or sit around some other place, and scrabble in the dirt until you die. Do you realize how bad your life could get before the end? There's no dignity left in the world, no promise of love or tenderness. It's every man for himself from this point forward, and screw the weak."

"This is some serious shit," I hear Joe's voice say suddenly. "You're changing. You're letting this psycho freak make you see things differently. Be careful, kid. She doesn't strike me as someone you can trust."

"Worms," I reply, ignoring Joe's imagined voice and turning instead to face Quinn. "I was eating worms the other day. They were the only thing I could find."

"Exactly. And who wants to end up like that?" She pauses again, as if this whole performance has been calculated from the start. "Or you could take the other choice, which is to make something of yourself and adapt your skills to the new world. There's a reason I took you into my confidence, Thomas. I'm a good judge of character and I could tell immediately that you're someone who can see the world from my perspective. You're not like all those assholes out there, wandering the streets, waiting for me to tell them what to do. There are lots of different types of zombie. At least those infected creatures were interesting, but a lost, mindless human is dull and boring."

I open my mouth to argue with her, but I can't. I know deep down that if I stay here, or if I strike out on my own, I'll die. When George left earlier today, I knew that it would be the last time I'd ever see him, and I also knew that his chances of success were zero. Worse still, I could see that same realization in his eyes.

"We're going on a journey," she continues with a grin. "You and me, Thomas. We're going to find the source of this signal and we're going to go and find it. I've been waiting for someone to show up, someone I could take with me, someone smart and resourceful. Fate has brought you here, or maybe it was God, but either way, we're going to find that source and we're going to take bold steps into the new world. Are you with me?"

"I don't know," I reply. The truth is, she seems to be completely insane, but at the same time I feel as if she's at least offering something positive. I don't want to hang around here in Chicago, and I'm not sure I could really make it as a farmer.

"Be better than the others," she whispers, leaning closer until her face is almost touching mine. "You arrived here because this is where you were needed."

"What about all the other people?" I ask.

"What other people?"

"The ones here. The ones who follow you."

"They're not people. They're sheep. They'll die once I'm gone, and it doesn't even matter. Let them starve. The world won't benefit if smart people waste their lives worrying about the weak. You and I, Thomas, carry the burden of being better than the rest. We owe it to the future of the human race to maximize our potential." Reaching out to take my hand in hers, she pauses, and again I get the feeling that she's working through some kind of script that she prepared in advance. "Let's do our part to rebuild the human race. Let's go and find the source of this signal. It's a beacon for people like us, and it's our duty to respond."

"I..."

She waits for me to continue.

"I have a truck," I say eventually.

"I know," she replies, her eyes bright with excitement. "That truck of yours is going to make our journey so much easier! It's another gift from God!"

"We don't know which way to go."

"I'm working on that. By sundown, I should have worked out the direction of the signal. I've got a few different systems set up, and once I've triangulated the signal's strength, I can mark out an area that should be no more than five or six square miles. Then all we have to do is go and search. I'm pretty sure it should be easy enough to find whoever's running the server. After all, they seem to
want
to be found."

"But then -"

"No more hurdles," she says, silencing me by placing a finger against my lips. "It's decided. As soon as I've got the information we need, we'll leave. If the people here are worthy of life, let them save themselves. It's every -"

Before she can finish, there's a knock at the door, and a man wearing rags steps into sight.

"What is it?" Quinn snaps, clearly annoyed that we're being interrupted.

"There's..." He pauses. "There's been another... It's that girl again."

"What girl?" Quinn asks, before a faint smile crosses her lips. "Oh.
That
girl." She pauses, before turning to me. "If these people are going to survive once I'm gone," she continues, "they'll need discipline. I might as well try to help them one last time." She squeezes my hand tight. "Come on, Thomas. Let me show you the power of tough love."

The Bunker

Nothing.

Day forty-eight, and still no sign of the creatures. That makes it three full weeks since the last one, which in turn means that I have to at least be hopeful that the first phase of this nightmare is over.

After scribbling a few items in my notebook, I take one more look out the window and stare at the scrubland on the other side of the hatch. When I came down into this bunker, I wasn't entirely sure what would happen, but I was worried that I'd end up being besieged by those creatures. I imagined them banging on the glass, desperately trying to get inside. I knew they'd never be able to get to me, but still, it would have been unsettling. I had nightmares about the whole thing; some nights I'd wake up, covered in sweat and convinced that somehow they'd be able to prize the seal open.

As usual, my fears were completely unfounded. I'd done too good a job, and prepared too well.

In the end, a few of them showed up, but basically they died off pretty quickly. I watched as a handful of my children made the pilgrimage here to find me, and then I watched their impotent anger, and then I watched them die. Some of them tried to talk to me, begging me to let them in and calling me a god, but I just stood and watched as they fell apart. It was a beautiful thing to experience.

Well, beautiful and sad. Two sides of the same coin.

Sometimes I wonder if I should open the hatch and step outside, but I know I need to be patient. The server is up and running and I'm convinced that sooner or later, someone is going to get the goddamn message and find me. I mean, is it really too much to hope that there are still people out there who can rise to the challenge? The creatures might be gone, and they might have been something of a mistake, but the world should still have a few stragglers left behind. Besides, I know for a fact that someone has been pinging my server, which means that I've been noticed.

All I ever wanted, really, was to be noticed.

I just hope they get here soon. I only have enough food, water and air for another 351 days, and I've got a feeling my sanity might get down to the bone a lot sooner.

Thomas

"Don't you remember what I told you?" Quinn asks, stepping behind Kaylee. "Didn't you listen to a word I said yesterday?"

A small crowd has gathered in front of the platform. Dead-eyed and weak, the survivors seem to be almost hypnotized by the sight of the girl being judged. I've got to admit, Quinn has a sense for the theatrical, and she seems to know how to keep people interested. As she walks all the way around Kaylee and finally stops in front of her, she has a curious look in her eyes, as if she's already decided what to do.

"I told you not to steal again," Quinn says eventually. "I told you to become a better person. And how did you respond? You tried to become a better thief instead. You were more sneaky, more cunning. You'd have succeeded, too, if it wasn't for the fact that I made sure someone was watching you the whole time. Unfortunately, Kaylee, I already suspected that you might disappoint me."

Kaylee doesn't respond. She just stares straight ahead, with a look of fear in her eyes. It's almost as if she knows what's coming next, and she's ready for her fate.

Quinn pauses, before turning to me.

"See?" she says after a moment. "This is a perfect example of what I was talking about before. This girl had a chance to better herself, but instead she just ran off and stole from the communal food supply. She put her own needs above the needs of everyone else here, and she thought she was smarter than all of us when, in fact, she's just another fool." She turns to Kaylee. "Isn't that right?"

Again, the girl doesn't reply. There are tears in her eyes, but she seems to be forcing herself to remain stony-faced.

"And now she arrogantly remains silent," Quinn adds. "What do you think, Thomas? Should I teach her a lesson? How should I punish this young lady, since my efforts yesterday seem to have failed so spectacularly? I mean, I've tried reason and logic, I've tried kindness, and she just knocks it back in my face. It's tempting to believe that some people are utterly beyond salvation, which leads me to..." She pauses again. "What would you do, Thomas? If you had the power, how would you punish her?"

"I don't know," I say, worried that I'm being tested. "I just..."

"Should I just let her go?"

I shake my head.

"Of course not. She's a thief, and she's been caught twice now. Something has to be done to ensure that she doesn't do this again. She needs to be removed from the rest of the community, not only to protect the dwindling food stocks but also so that she can have another chance to learn her lesson." She pauses, before reaching under her shirt and pulling out a hunting knife with a large, serrated blade. "Or I could kill her."

"No!" I shout, stepping forward.

"Why not? She's worthless."

"But you can't -" Turning to look at the crowd, I realize that they're all staring at the platform with varying degrees of disinterest. It's as if they don't care that a girl might be murdered right in front of them, and I can't help feeling that whatever Quinn decides to do, her actions will be met by more or less the same blank reaction.

"I can't what?" Quinn asks with a frown. "Kill her? Of course I can. I can do anything I want. Who else is going to administer justice around here? These sheep would probably just let the little bitch carry on stealing from them, which..." She pauses. "Which," she continues after a moment, "might actually be something that sets Kaylee apart from the others." Still holding the knife, she seems lost in thought. "Maybe a thief is someone who refuses to sink into the crowd. Maybe this young lady has a little more sense than I'd anticipated."

"Kill me," Kaylee says suddenly.

"Did you hear that?" Quinn asks, turning to me with a broad smile.

"Please," Kaylee continues, with tears streaming down her face. "I don't want to live like this. I'm hungry all the time..."

"Then why haven't you ended your own life?" Quinn asks.

Kaylee's lips move, but no words come out. A moment later, she buries her head in her hands and starts to sob.

"Are you too scared?" Quinn continues. "Do you worry about how much it's going to hurt? That's a very human way of looking at things." After a moment, she takes Kaylee's right hand and gently forces her to hold the knife. "Here. I'm sure you can be inventive. If you truly want to die, then end your life right here. Don't be shy. Everyone dies eventually, and I'm sure some of these people might even envy you. After all, who hasn't craved death since the world ended? Go on. If you can't be good, be brave."

Kaylee stares at the knife, her hand trembling as if she's genuinely considering her options. I watch with horror as she slowly moves the blade toward her chest, and although I want to shout out and tell her not to do it, I feel as if I'm frozen in place.

"Go on," Quinn says softly. "After all the cowardly things you've done, be brave right at the very end of your life. It's more than most people manage. I mean, how many truly brave people have you ever met in your life? Two? One? None?" She leans closer to Kaylee's face. "Do it!"

I wait.

The crowd waits.

Silence.

Suddenly Kaylee jerks the knife toward her chest, only for Quinn to reach out and grab it at the last minute, pulling it away again. Twisting the girl's wrist until she lets out a cry of pain, Quinn forces her to drop the knife before shoving her roughly down to the ground. When Kaylee reaches out to grab the knife again, Quinn kicks the weapon away before crunching her heel down hard against her hand.

No-one in the crowd really reacts. A few coughs and grunts here and there, but nothing more.

"You surprise me," Quinn says, finally freeing Kaylee's hand before stepping across the platform and picking the knife up. "It's so very rare for someone to truly surprise me, but you've managed it. I don't mind admitting that I really didn't think you had it in you. I thought you were a coward who'd always choose life. It's a good job I learned the truth, though. This way, you're going to be extremely useful to me. That's all that really matters anymore... Whether or not people are useful in the grand scheme of things."

"Please," Kaylee sobs, "I don't want to -"

"Get up," Quinn says firmly.

"But -"

"Get up!"

Slowly, and with obvious pain, Kaylee gets to her feet and starts wiping her eyes.

"Please," she whimpers, "let me die. I just want to be allowed to die. There's nothing wrong with -"

"Shut up!" Quinn shouts.

Kaylee takes a step back, clearly shocked by the outburst.

"You're going to come with us," Quinn tells her, "and you're going to listen to what I have to say. You've managed to redeem yourself, and I think you'll be very surprised when I tell you what's going to happen next. The world is moving at a faster pace, and there are jobs to be done." She turns to me. "Don't you think so, Thomas? We could have managed the journey alone, just the two of us, but a girl with Kaylee's strength of character might be a real asset. I'm sure we'll make a wonderful little team as we set out to find the source of that signal."

Although I'm being dragged way too fast into this situation, I feel as if I'm in no position to argue. Quinn is a force of nature, and as she turns and heads back toward her building, Kaylee follows almost without question. Glancing at the small crowd, I realize that everyone here just seems to accept whatever Quinn says and does, and I don't know whether to be horrified or impressed. Finally, feeling that I don't belong up here on this platform, I turn and head into the building. For now, at least, I figure my best bet is to see what Quinn has to offer. If she's right about this signal, it means there are other people out there in the world. I have no idea if there's a real chance for the human race to recover, but I have to at least find out.

For the first time in weeks, I feel as if there might actually be a future.