Tar: An apocalyptic horror novella (6 page)

The words made Finn’s stomach turn.

I need you to protect me.

Marie's words echoed through two decades and came out of the mouth of the young boy he was about to leave in the oily clutches of a paedophile. Was he really so selfish?

Yes
.

“Come to me, kid,” said the officer. He sounded like he was talking to a dog. Speaking of which, Wonder Mutt was finally out of Finn’s hair as he trotted to Minty's side.

Even that dog has more loyalty than me.

Finn tried to walk away, but his throat constricted and his chest pounded. He put his hands on his knees and bent forwards.

“I said keep walking, unless you want a bullet in your chest!”

Minty changed his tune. “Finn, just go. I'll be all right. I'll... be...” The kid couldn't even finish his own lie.

Finn straightened up, still facing away from the man pointing a gun at the back of his head. “Minty?” he asked. “That promise you made me make about not killing. That just applies to Dominic, right?”

“Right!” Minty shouted back.

“Thought so.” Finn yanked the Ka-Bar from his belt loop and spun around with it in his hand. He slung it underhand as hard as he could and it sailed through the air. The twirling blade missed Minty by a hairsbreadth and buried itself in the police officer’s guts.

A gunshot rang out.

Wonder Mutt yelped.

The officer slumped to his knees, staring at the large combat knife poking out of his belly like it was a puzzle. Finn marched up and seized the rubber grip. He twisted it fiercely before yanking it out with a sickening squelch. He stared into the sicko’s eyes, “Playtime’s over, you sick fuck,” and slashed open his throat. He slumped to the grass, clutching feebly at his torn neck.

Wonder Mutt yelped again, frightened by the sudden gunshot and the ensuing violence. No surprise the little hound was a walking bag of nerves. Finn ignored the dog and looked for Minty. “You okay, kid?” He found him lying in the grass. “Oh shit!”

Minty was facedown and not moving. Finn rolled him over onto his back and saw blood. “Damn it, kid.”

“F-Finn? I think I’ve been… shot.”

“Yeah, no shit. Just... stay calm. I’m gonna take care of it.” He patted Minty down, looking for the source of blood. It seemed to come from high up, and the bloodstain on his t-shirt was darkest over his shoulder. Finn grabbed the collar and yanked it, tearing the thin cotton apart.

A wound glistened over Minty’s collarbone.

“Wait a minute,” said Finn. “I… yes, I think the bullet hit your collarbone and deflected. The bullet never entered your body.”

There were tears in Minty’s eyes. “Then w-why does it hurt so much?”

“Because you took a bullet to the collarbone, you eejit.” He prodded the area with his finger, making the kid cry out. The wound was horrid, and the bone felt chipped, but there was definitely no bullet hole.

Minty's eyes rolled in their sockets. “It hurts.”

“You gotta move, kid. We have to get out of here.”

“I… I can’t…”

Finn looked around—didn't see anyone. The police station was in an empty part of town. There was only the retail park they had left behind them and the industrial section up ahead where Latif's was. “Jesus wept! You're a pain in the arse, Minty. Do you know that?”

“Sorry.”

Finn clambered over to the fallen officer and grabbed his gun, adding it to his bloody Ka-Bar. He placed the knife in Minty's trembling hands while keeping the gun for himself. “Hold this.”

Minty moaned as Finn grabbed him around the waist and started dragging him towards the police station. They needed to get into cover before the next sicko appeared and had a go at them. Minty was half-conscious and in no state to move or go anywhere.

How the fuck did I end up having to play hero to this kid?

I’m supposed to be a killer.

Not a hero.

“I guess Dominic will have to wait,” Finn muttered.

Minty didn’t reply because he had passed out. He still clutched the knife Finn had asked him to hold.

T
he police station
was cool due to its lack of carpeting and soft furnishings—a welcome relief from the dust and mugginess of outside. It was also dark. Many of the interior corridors lacked windows. A sense of echoing laced the building, and scenes of drunken arrests and interviewing suspects played out in every room.

Finn dumped Minty down on a swivel chair behind a desk in the waiting room. The kid was out cold, the proud owner of a nasty flesh wound, but his bleeding had slowed to a trickle. Finn remembered his own first flesh wound. He’d been drinking at a pub on the southern bank when a bunch of British Paras came in. Finn's buddies took offence to the squaddies, and a fight broke out at last orders. At twenty years old, Finn was no match for a British Paratrooper. Before he even managed to land a punch, he’d found himself lying on the ground with a broken bottle lodged in his thigh. Today, the scar ran an inch long, thick and ugly. It served as a reminder of that day and taught the lesson not to get into fights he couldn't win. It also stoked his ongoing hatred for the British Army.

But the British Army was gone now. It had been weeks since Finn saw a man in fatigues. It didn’t bring him much closure though. In fact, seeing no presence of the Army during a time of such insurmountable crisis was disconcerting.

“Everything will be okay,” Finn said as he wheeled Minty down the corridor. The kid couldn't hear him, but Finn felt a need to keep talking. It was unlike him, but he felt rattled. The kid had taken a bullet because of him.

Wonder Mutt ran on ahead but didn't go more than a few metres without stopping and looking back. Finn assumed the police station would have a medical bay somewhere, or at least a supply closet. They had to be first-aid-ready, right? No telling when a drug addict would seize and start choking on their own tongues.

Minty mumbled and went silent again.

Finn continued wheeling the kid along the corridors, shoving doors on either side until he found what he needed. The fifth room contained a raised bed and several cabinets. On a counter sat a green box with a white cross on it—a first aid kit.

Finn wheeled Minty into the room and hoisted him up onto the bed. The kid's lightness disturbed him. Then he pulled up the safety rails on either side and searched the room’s cabinets. Besides the first aid kit there was an ample supply of bandages, gauze, and even over-the-counter medications. Finn got a trickle of water from the room's barely functioning sink and crumbled two strong painkillers into a plastic cup. Gathering up bandages and antiseptic, he placed everything on the bed beside Minty.

“I’m just going to strip your top off,” he said.

Minty didn’t respond. Finn peeled his T-shirt off and over his head, then wiped away the blood with the antiseptic wipes. Once he could see what he was doing, he sprayed the kid's wound with antibacterial spray and placed gauze over it. The wound cleaned and dressed, he finished by wrapping bandages under Mint’s left arm and around the right side of his neck binding tightly. He used a strip of medical tape to tie-off the bandage.

“Not bad, if I say so myself.”

Minty mumbled again, but this time his eyes flickered. Finn propped the kid up into an angled seating position and tried offering him the dissolved painkillers. Even half conscious, Minty sipped at the liquid until it was gone.

“There you go. Good lad.” Finn laid Minty back and slumped against the counter while he let out a deep sigh. Exhaustion had set in, not just from exertion but from the anger and hate he’d been holding on to.

Would he ever find Dominic?

How long before the grey ooze got here? It was like working against a ticking clock. Only a matter of time before the horizon disappeared and the creeping, relentless death started to devour the ground like a rising tide.

Clatter!

Finn leapt up from the counter, starling Wonder Mutt who ran underneath the bed and cowered.

Somebody moved out in the corridor. The only question for Finn was whether to hide out in this room or rush out and catch whoever was sneaking around.

He decided on the latter.

Finn rounded the bed and shoved his way out into the corridor. He was surprised to find a young woman frozen on the spot and terrified. The clatter had been from her foot stumbling into an empty water canister from a nearby dispenser.

“Please don’t hurt me,” the woman begged. The panic on her drawn sickly face was difficult to watch.

Finn put his hands in the air and took a step away from her. “Hey, I’m not going to hurt you. I’m just taking care of my kid.”

“Are you a friend of Edward’s?”

Finn frowned. “Who’s Edward? If you mean the sick fecker who likes to mess with kids, then I'm afraid he won’t be coming back.”

The woman seemed to tremble, her legs wobbling all over the place. “He’s gone?”

Finn nodded.

“Oh.” The woman pitched forward and collided with the wall. Finn was just quick enough to catch her before she fell to the ground.

“Easy, love. I’ve got you.” Finn eased her into a sitting position and looked at her. “Who was this Edward to you?”

The woman needed a moment before speaking. She had to catch her breath. Eventually: “I came here a few days ago for help. My house burned down during the riots, and I had no place else to go. Edward was a police officer. When I found him I trusted him. I thought he would protect me. Instead…”

Finn rubbed her shoulders, but moved his hand back when she flinched. “All right, love. I understand.”

She looked at him, and the panic returned to her eyes. “Are you…?”

“No,” said Finn. “I’m not going to hurt you. I really am just here to help my kid.”

The woman nodded. “Did you kill Edward?”

“Only to stop him killing me. D'you think you can get up?”

The woman nodded and pushed herself up off the floor. Finn grasped her arm to help her, but once again it was clear his touch was unwelcome. He backed off.

“Where’s your kid?” she asked him suspiciously.

“In here.” Finn pushed the door open and led her into the sick bay. Minty still lay on the bed, but was awake now and staring at the ceiling in confusion. Wonder Mutt had somehow leapt up onto the bed and was stretched out over his legs.

Finn rounded the bed until he was standing in front of Minty. “Kid, you’re awake?”

“W-What happened?”

“You got shot.”

Minty’s eyes went wide. “I’ve been shot?”

Finn wrapped his fingers around the kid’s ankle and squeezed. “You’re going to be fine. The bullet bounced off your collarbone. Just about the luckiest damn thing I’ve ever seen.”

Minty glanced sideways. “Who’s she?”

Finn looked at the women in the room. “Actually, we haven’t introduced ourselves. My name is Finn, and this is Minty. What’s your name, love?”

“Katie. G-Good to meet you both.”

“She was hiding out in here,” Finn explained.

“Was she with the guy who shot me?” asked Minty.

Finn shook his head before the woman could speak for herself. “She was no friend of his, kid.”

“We need to go.” Minty tried to sit up, causing Wonder Mutt to hop to the ground, but he ended up yelling and falling back.

Finn moved forward and put a hand on the kid’s chest. “Take it easy. We’ll stay here tonight and see where we stand in the morning. It might be best if we part ways.”

Katie moaned. Minty did too.

Finn put his hands up. “I’m just saying we think things through, okay? You two might be better off staying here than coming with me. The world ain’t getting any better.”

“You’re not leaving me,” said Minty. “I took a bullet for you.”

“That’s debatable,” said Finn, and before the kid had chance to say anything else, he put his hand up and silenced him. “We’ll discuss it in the morning. For now, you need to get some rest.”

Minty sighed.

Finn turned to Katie and motioned towards the door. She understood and followed him back out into the corridor. She still didn’t trust him—constantly flinching every time he moved—but there was little he could do about it. She would just have to live with her anxiety. It wouldn't be for very long.

“Tell me about this place,” he told her. “Are there any weapons? Food?”

She nodded. “Yes, do you want me to show you?”

“Er... how about yes!”

Nervously, Katie led him down the corridor and around a corner where she pushed open a door to a cleaning supply cupboard.

“Well, slap me sideways,” said Finn. “You’ve got a king’s ransom here.”

The small supply cupboard was filled with tins of food, dried packets, and bottled liquids. Even more surprising was the shelf full of handguns and ammunition. Edward must have cleared the station’s armoury and brought it down where he could get to it quickly.

“He unlocked it to get a gun before he came out to speak to you,” explained Katie. “He’s given me a little to eat in the last few days, but barely enough to live on.”

Finn nodded to the shelves full of food. “Well, get in there, love. You don’t need my permission.”

It was obvious the woman did need Finn's permission, because she remained reluctant to go into the room. It was only after several seconds, she realised it truly was okay and started ripping open packets of food. While she was at it, Finn joined her, and together they downed more food than he'd eaten in weeks. Neither of them spoke for several minutes while they gorged, and Finn particularly enjoyed the jar of pickled eggs he found on the bottom shelf. He remembered the ones his ma used to keep in the pantry of their small home back in Belfast.

Marie had always loved them too.

The joy of a full tummy disappeared as Finn remembered he had a job to do.

There was still a man he needed to kill.

Katie looked at him all of a sudden and the panic returned to her eyes. Perhaps she could sense his thoughts of murder. Perhaps she could sense he was a killer.

But she also seemed to understand Finn was not the same monster Edward had been.

At least not yet
, Finn thought to himself as he tucked into another bag of crisps.