The Grave: A Zombie Novel (35 page)

Suzy walked back to the surprised prisoner and hustled him into the back of the chopper, before settling inside herself.

Kelly raised the gun at the pilot “Any questions?”

“No. I’ll take us up now.” The pilot was pale and wanted off the roof as badly as anyone. The helicopter was trembling as the roof shook.

Kelly clambered in behind th
e pilots and sat down next to Mark. Her stomach lurched as the roof started to give way and the embassy succumbed to the immense aftershock. A corner of the roof gave way, bricks and masonry shattering in the yard below. A deep crack ran across the whole of the roof.

Kelly watched as a segment of the
embassy disappeared into the ground, swallowed up by flames that danced in the sunlight.

“Get us up now!”

As the roof collapsed, the helicopter glided up into the air, rising faster than the billowing smoke chasing it. The pilot took them up swiftly, away from the destroyed city and the Deathless. Away from The Grave.

* * *

When they were safely out above the ocean, well away from the island, Kelly reached over and gave Mark a hug. “Thank you,” she whispered in his ear. He had saved her from Roach. She was surprised at herself. She had thought little of Mark at the beginning of the expedition, but he had come through for her when it had mattered. He was only a year or two younger than she was and she found herself looking up at him as he looked at the cockpit. His short blond hair made him appear younger than he really was. He hadn’t pushed her away so she stayed there, nestled in the curve of his neck and shoulder.

Mark let Kelly rest on his shoulder and said nothing. He knew what they had all gone through in escaping The Grave. They had all played their part.
It was a relief to be able to sit down and not have to look over your shoulder. They stayed that way for a couple of hours, not talking, not even noticing the time, but just letting the pilot take them back to civilisation. Mark turned to check on Suzy in the back a couple of times, but she was fine. Quiet, but fine.

Mark knew that n
ow they were clear of the island, they had one more mission. They had to make sure someone knew where they were. If they got pulled in by the military, they would disappear just as Roach had. He kept his gun trained on the co-pilot and made sure nobody tried to signal or radio base.

“Hey,
does one of you have a mobile?” Mark prodded the co-pilot with his gun and heard a grunting as the man bent down. A moment later and a mobile appeared. Mark took it and handed his gun to Kelly. “Keep an eye on them for me?”

As Kelly reluctantly pulled herself away from Mark and took the gun, he pulled the memory card from his pocket and examined the mobile. “Perfect,” he muttered.

Kelly watched as he ejected the phone’s memory card and slid in his own. He turned the phone on and quickly found the images file. Kelly saw a smile spread across his face and she saw brief images flash up on the mobile’s screen: the mob at Judgeford, a smiling Will holding the Weta, Roach on the road into the city and more. She watched as he began typing in an email address to send them.

“What are you doing?” asked the pilot. “You can’t communicate with anyone without official permission. You’re got a lot of questions to answer. Let us get you back to base and...”

Kelly pressed the muzzle of the gun into the back of his neck. “Stop talking, fly-boy. We’re not the ones who have to answer to what’s happening. You’re finished and you know it.”

“Shit,” said the
pilot to his co-pilot. “Commander Warwick is
not
going to like this.”

Kelly chuckled, not caring about
Sergeants, Commanders, or anything these men had to say. She saw Mark holding the phone aloft and the screen flashed up a message:

EMAILS SENT SUCCESSFULLY

“My boss has everything now. I copied in my flatmate and some buddies too, so we’re covered. I sent a few words about what had happened. You want to call anyone?” Mark held the phone out to her.

Kelly looked at it. She couldn’t think of anyone she w
anted to call right now and shook her head. “I don’t really feel like talking to anyone at the moment. Can you just text Freddie Taylor? I’ll give you the number. He’s the Director at the museum back in New York. Just let him know that I’m alive. Just tell him I’ll update him when we land.” She prodded the pilot again. “Where are we heading?”

“USS
Enterprise, South Pacific. We’ll be there in approximately thirty minutes now.”

Kelly gave Mark the number and
waited for him to send the text.

“You know, I’m just going to call and make sure he spreads the word. I don’t want to go missing again.” Mark called his boss back in New York and spent a few minutes explaining where they were, what had happened, and where they were heading. He made sure to ask him to contact Freddie Taylor at the Museum of Natural History too.

“Our story is going to be all over the front page tomorrow,” said Mark as he tucked the phone away in his pocket. “Apparently, we were missing, presumed dead. Our plane came down somewhere over the ocean. My boss was about to run an obituary for me. Can you believe that?”

Kelly was pensive
and wanted to relax, but she still couldn’t find it in her to relax just yet. “You think Suzy’s all right back there? She’s been awfully quiet. I should go check on her.”

Mark pulled back the khaki curtain separating the fore of the helicopter from the rear. The prisoner was curled up on the floor, hands still bound. Suzy was
sitting, looking out of the window with the gun cradled in her lap. Her look was distant, as if she was thinking about something else and not seated in reality.

Mark looked at the gun in Kelly’s hand. It was trembling.
He decided it might be best if he went to Suzy. “I’ll go.” He went back and crouched down beside Suzy, resting a hand on her arm.

Suzy looked at
him, withdrawing it quickly. “What?” she said coldly.

“I just wanted to make sure you’re okay? We both did. Kelly’s worried about you. We’ll be at the base soon and there’s going to be a million questions to answer. I’ve sent some emails and texts though, so we’ll be fine.
They know we’re coming home now. Did you want to call anyone?”

“We’ll be fine?” Suzy snorted. “It’s a bit late for
fine
, Mark. No, I don’t need to call anyone. I’ll deal with it when we’re back in New York. I heard you talking up there. Look at us. We’re covered in blood. We’ve hardly eaten for three days. People are dead. Our friends are dead. No offence, it’s not you I‘m angry with. I want to make damn sure the world knows what’s going on. After all that’s happened...I have no idea if anyone even knows about us or if it’s been covered up like everything else. We were left to die, Mark. Just left...three days ago we were headed on a scientific journey and now only three of us are still alive. Only three of us are going home. I am
so
not
fine
.”

Mark was taken aback. He had
half-expected Suzy to cry or to clam up, but not this. “Well look, we’re in this together now. Kelly is...”

“Kelly can go fuck herself,” said Suzy. “She left him behind. Will,
Claire, Rasmus...all of them. Will was...oh what does it matter now? Once this nightmare is over, I’m done. I quit. I don’t want anything to do with her again.” She stared out of the window as Mark got up.

Mark waited silently, but Suzy said nothing more. “Whatever happens, Suzy, if you
need anything, you can count on me.”

Unable to say anything else, Mark returned to his seat.
As he sat down beside Kelly, he saw her wipe a tear away. “Kelly, I...”

Kelly waved Mark away, embarrassed. “Don’t, Mark, just don’t. I heard. Just don’t.”

Mark took her hand and held it tightly. He brushed her dark brown hair behind her ear and wiped away another tear rolling down her cheek. They looked at each other, their eyes saying everything.

They all sat silently for the rest of the journey, waiting for the ship to appear. Twenty minutes
later, the helicopter began its descent to the USS Enterprise. At first, it was just a dark speck in the ocean until it revealed itself as a colossal ship, its deck full of sailors and fighter jets. The pilots finally radioed ahead that they were landing and had unexpected guests. The days ahead were going to be revealing for everyone.

EPILOGUE

“
Look, I think I’ve said all I can say on the matter. With the Senate hearing soon, it would be wrong of me to say more at this stage. The pictures you’ve seen printed in the papers over the last twenty-four hours are amazing, disturbing and undoubtedly warrant further investigation. You know as much as I do about Franklin Roach. However, they are not evidence of some cover up. I mean, come on, guys. This isn’t Roswell.”

The reporters chuckled nervously in the White House media room as Agnew attempted to wrap things up. None of them believed a word he said, but they all knew better than to question him. The seasoned reporters, both sitting and standing in the crowded room, knew you would only get honest information from sources. They were preparing President Agnew’s obituary before he’d finished his speech.

“I think we should finish up now, sir,” said Verity Dawson, leaning over and whispering into Agnew’s ear.

Agnew stood tall over the podium and looked out over the microphones and cameras. “Gentlemen, I know we’ve had some banter and we joke about things, but the truth is
that people have lost their lives. All this conspiracy talk is insulting to the families and the memories of those who unfortunately died in that plane crash. I am going to do all I can to support the museum in its hour of need, as I’m sure we all will. My wife and I have invited the Associate director, Kelly Munroe, and Suzy Collins up to the White House for dinner tonight, so that we can personally assure them of our support.

“Now before I go, don’t forget the memorial in San Francisco Bay on Sunday. See you all there.”

Verity took the stage and President Agnew exited swiftly before any more questions were fired at him. He knew he had handled it well, but questions were starting to be asked from the Senate. It was easy to deflect the reporters away, but he was coming under intense pressure in Washington. Commander Warwick should have taken care of it as soon as he knew those people on The Grave had survived. This was not how it was supposed to have gone down. Warwick had let those damn photos of Roach out and now they were splashed across every broadsheet in the country. Agnew was not impressed at being left to clear up the whole sorry mess. As he walked back to the Oval Office, flanked by his security, he squeezed the bridge of his nose. With the ridiculous service for the Golden Gate bombings coming up, he was already under enough pressure.

“Migraine, sir?”
Mr White strolled alongside Agnew, always at his side, always looking out for him, and impeccably dressed of course.

“Almost,” said Agnew sighing. “Those
goddamn fuckers, who do they think they are? My goddamn wife has invited them over for dinner tonight too. The journalist Mark something-or-other, the one responsible for those photographs? He’s too busy apparently.
Too busy
to meet the President? He’s too busy being an asshole. The other two, well I’d just as soon bury them as share dinner with them. They are going be a major problem, White, a
major
problem.”

White opened the Oval office door as Agnew stormed through. The other security
guards took up their usual positions outside.

“What
do you want to do about them?” asked White. He took a seat on a decorative armchair beside Agnew’s desk. “The photos are damaging enough, but if they testify, it’s going to be hard to sweep that under the rug. We could take care of them. I could take good care of them. You know next year is a re-election year. The opposition will pounce on any weaknesses.”

Agnew swivelled his plush, black leather chair around to face White. He rubbed his
eyes, looking pale and tired. He knew it, but there was so much to be done. “Not this time, White. They’re too high profile and it would look a little too convenient. Rubbing them out would only make things look more suspicious. I’m heading over to meet them now. I think a little sweetness might be in order. The museum has been crying out for funding for years now. Sophie attended their last fundraiser a few weeks back and they need another five million this year alone. I think if Dr Munroe were to find her fundraising days over, she might be more receptive to forgetting about The Grave, don’t you?”

“Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.” White cuckolded his hands, forming a point with his fingers, and leaned over, his eyes studying the carpet as if deep in thought. He nodded, silently agreeing with Agnew.
“What about the reporter?”

Agnew got up and walked over to the
full-length mirror. He pulled his tie up and smoothed down his slick brown hair, then walked over to the exit. He turned to White and smiled. “Remember how Senator Collins had that car accident last week? Terrible business. You sent my flowers to his wife, didn’t you?” Agnew turned the door handle. “I would hate for our reporter friend to suffer a similar accident. That would be very...unfortunate.”