The remaining four walked on with heavy hearts. No one spoke, their minds all dominated by the same thought: how could anyone survive on their own in this hell? How long would it be before she too died? A sudden burst of optimism came from an unlikely source.
"She'll be fine," said Jim. "If anyone can make it alone, it's Alyssa."
"Jim's right," echoed Yoko. "I bet we find her already at the facility, way ahead of us," she said confidently.
Cindy did her best to put on a smile, but she could only remember Alyssa's fatigue after the fire at the news office. What would she do without someone to hold her up next time? Everyone needed someone in this kind of disaster; of this she was certain.
"We should head there then," said George, meeting Cindy's worried eyes with his own. "She knows the way; the only thing we can do is have faith in her."
Everyone seemed to nod in agreement, the pace quickening. If what Yoko said was true, they could expect to find a fully operational research facility, complete with electricity, communications equipment, and maybe even help. Anyone with access or knowledge of the facility would immediately head there upon the onset of the outbreak.
They were within sight of the facility just before dawn. A pale, monochrome blue filled the landscape, the sudden temperature change causing fog to rise from the damp ground. Nearing the edge of the city limits, the trek was quiet and uneventful. They encountered neither survivor nor undead on the streets, and found no signs of battle. It was strange, but common sense dictated that most were unprepared to make it this far on a hunch. After all, few knew of its existence, and there was little reason to head towards the city's main river, where the facility lay.
The building appeared remarkably unremarkable. Had they not been told of its lower levels and hidden secrets, the survivors would have thought it nothing more than a remote warehouse or a drab distribution center. A high arcing steel fence surrounded the grounds, high gauge girders as a foundation. Someone could ram a truck at full speed into that fence, and they'd more than likely bounce off.
Removing the ID card from her pocket, Yoko approached the front gate. Still they found no sign of life, not even a guard on duty. A security camera above the gate whirred, its lens focusing through the thick fog. Looking up at the camera, Cindy couldn't resist the urge to wave at it.
"What are you doing," asked Jim.
"Just letting them know we're friendly," she answered, put off by his bluntness.
"No, I was talking to Yoko," he said over his shoulder. "What's the hold up here?"
She turned to face the other three, a befuddled expression on her face.
"The card…my ID…it doesn't—" she began, her voice trailing off weakly.
"What is it, honey," asked Cindy kindly, a degree of nervousness in her words.
"It's not working."
--
"You have got to be fuckin' kidding me," grumbled Jim later. "It could only happen to me…we trudge fucking mile after fucking mile, only to find her goddamn card is goddamn expired?"
"It's probably a new protocol for a lockdown procedure," countered Yoko, but he didn't care about the reason, only the problem. She pushed a branch aside, continuing to hike through the underbrush.
The woods by the facility were thin, most of it removed for the future of the land development. Despite Jim's incessant complaints, they were actually quite lucky that the woods were safe enough to move through, with so few places for ambushes. Still, the fog was thick enough to toy with their imaginations, the unseen terrors of the frightened mind.
"I see it," said Yoko. "The river is just up ahead!"
"Any sign of a boat or raft," asked George, quickening to catch up to the girl.
Emerging from the bushes, the river opened before them. It flowed as if nothing had happened, as if the entire city hadn't been destroyed in just a few days. Thus was the immutability of nature, George thought to himself. No matter what awful fate awaited them or the thousands of other people within the city, the river would remain the same. As it always had been.
"There's something," pointed Jim, coming up behind them. The rest had to struggle to see where he pointed, the thick fog swimming above the water.
"Looks like a rowboat," said Cindy, stepping onto the docks. Seven other spaces were empty, the boats either sunk or taken. Ancient, withered boards creaked beneath her.
"Be careful, Cindy," warned George, his eyes scanning the decrepit structure.
"Crap, looks like that's the only boat," whined Jim, reluctantly grabbing a nearby paddle. "Hope you got your paddle on, doc."
"We might have to go in rotations," said George grimly. "We'll be paddling upstream."
"It's gonna be one of those days, huh," groaned Jim.
--
If it were possible, the fog was thicker on the water, an impenetrable swirl of murky pea soup-dense mist. Guided by only the dim light of the predawn morning, the group did their best to move north, the only sound the lapping of the waves and the oars breaking the surface of the water.
"How can you tell we're even going in the right direction," asked Jim, grunting with the strain of his oar.
"Just go against the current," suggested Yoko.
"How are you guys doing, do you want to switch," Cindy offered, hoping they weren't tired already. It had barely been twenty minutes, and she suspected they were barely halfway there.
"My two years of crew really aren't paying off like I thought they would," panted George. "But I think we can manage," he added with a strained smile. Yoko watched the two men intently, particularly Jim. She couldn't believe it, but he still had shown no further symptoms since George gave him those pills. Could something so simple as over-the-counter meds really slow the virus? Or had he somehow escaped infection? Still, she doubted she could trust him.
"I think I see it," Cindy yelled brightly. And surely enough, the others were able to see the tip of the building, buried under a mountaintop of shifting fog, barely a hundred meters away. "Guess we made better time than I thought," she said. Feeling the nearness of their destination, the men doubled their efforts.
Breaking through a dense wall of fog, the survivors found themselves floating in an odd clearing of the mist. They could see open waters to the facility's docks, and a set of low cages built into the water. What were those for, wondered Cindy.
She became dimly aware of the noise moments later, the monotonous rowing and waves being broken by the sound of something else in the water. It sounded like a school of fish paddling through the river, but when she saw that terrible shape through the fog, she knew. The triangular dorsal fin sliced neatly through the water, coming towards the boat at a remarkable speed.
"Shark!" she screamed, and everyone's face paled as if she had told some horrible joke.
"A shark? In a fresh water river," said George doubtfully. But as he turned to follow Cindy's eyes, he saw she was right.
"Dear god," he cried. "Faster, Jim, we have to paddle faster," he urged, nearing panic.
"Are you kidding, we ain't outrunning that thing," argued Jim, reaching for his gun. Dropping the oar, he reached with his other hand into his pocket, drawing out his treasured lucky coin. He took a deep breath, tossing it into the air, praying for his luck to improve just a bit.
The shark's nose smashed the boat in that instant, the wood splintering. More importantly, Jim watched his lucky coin fall out of his reach and into the dark swirling waters. He stood to jump in after it, and feeling the boat lurch, thought better of it.
"I'll just get another one," he mumbled sadly.
"Everyone, take a side," ordered George, taking his oar in both hands. "Those cocktails are going to be useless," he added, seeing Cindy take one into her hands. Despite the peril of their situation, she blushed at her foolish mistake, not realizing where they were.
"Oh, right," she said weakly, taking up a handgun. They were down to very little weapons and ammo. Their best firearm, Yoko's shotgun, was also going to be the least effective in water, and at long range.
"Port side," Jim said suddenly, firing his handgun. The bullets made little splashes, and the water turned red. "Score," he yelled triumphantly.
"Will that be enough to scare it off," George wondered. "I thought sharks were most often scavengers, and anything that fought back could scare them off…"
"Those aren't ordinary sharks," Yoko said suddenly. Everyone turned to look at her. "They're Neptunes," she added sadly. "Sharks implanted with the virus to make them unstoppable killers."
"You fucking knew and you still brought us here!" screamed Jim, thrusting his handgun into her face. "Tell me one good reason why we shouldn't just throw your scrawny, lyin' ass overboard!"
"They only kept one on hand, and it was supposed to be destroyed in the event of a lock down," she insisted, but something in her voice didn't sound quite so sure.
"That's it," said Jim angrily. "I say we throw her to the fishes and row like fucking hell."
"Don't you get it, Jim? It won't stop after it eats one, or even two of us. It'll eat and eat until we're all dead," she cried. "And I'm literally in the same boat as you, so don't act as if I did this on purpose!"
"Quiet, the both of you," George commanded, his dark eyes watching the Neptune's fin sail across the water's surface. "I think that thing can hear us."
"It makes sense," said Yoko quietly, leaning over to watch the fin circle aimlessly. "Sharks have terrible vision, and respond to shapes, not details…"
"National Geographic ain't gonna help us here," Jim whispered loudly. "Anything injected with that virus throws all the rules out the window."
"What's your suggestion then," asked George, trying to follow the shark's movements in the fog.
"Pool our bullets, take our time sniping it when it nears the surface, then row like madmen when it goes to lick its wounds," suggested Jim.
"It's coming back," pointed Cindy. "Starboard side!"
"Looks like we're not going to have time to try your plan," said George, raising his oar. Jim began to fire again, his bullets splashing in the water, leaving no trace of red this time. The shark's fin vanished under the dark water a moment later.
"Oh shit…this is never good," Jim said weakly.
The group held their collective breath, listening hard for the faintest hint of sound or movement. Their ears took in nothing but the lapping waves of the river against their boat, the creak of the wood. Water had begun to dribble onto the boat's deck, through the broken boards from the Neptune's first attack.
It was through one of these cracks that George saw it coming, the fluid form of the Neptune almost poetic in its terrible beauty. It was a strange sensation, much like the first time he had ever been in a car accident. He could see the other car coming at his, and yet there was nothing in the world he could have done to stop it. Only close his eyes and brace for impact.
The nose of the shark crashed into the bottom of the boat, tearing the small raft nearly in half. Its grisly jaws opened, revealing rows of jagged teeth, taking in pieces of wood and grinding them to splinters. Thrashing its head side to side, the creature hung tightly onto the raft, tossing Jim and Yoko into the water. George held blindly onto an oarlock, locking his arm with Cindy's, keeping them both aboard the swiftly sinking boat. His eyes clenched tightly from the strain, he only heard the sound of her handgun, the smacking of bullets on flesh. The Neptune turned away silently, diving back underwater. Yoko was helping Jim back onto the other half, the two soaking wet and pale as ghosts.
"Did I get it," wondered Cindy. "I was trying for its brain…"
"I doubt it, their brains are the size of walnuts," said George. "But you saved them all the same, Cindy," he added, seeing her disappointment.
"Yeah, thanks Cindy," panted Jim, shaking the water from his pistol.
"I'm thinking…can we burn the water," Yoko asked suddenly.
"Burn the water…? Goddamn…she's lost it, guys. They use water to put out fires!"
"What if we poured all the cocktails into the water and lit them, though," she said. "The alcohol will burn on the surface, but it could buy us some time…"
"That's actually not a bad idea," agreed George, opening a bottle. "It might even scare off this Neptune creature; it's probably never had to deal with fire…"
The group began to open their last cocktails, dumping fifteen bottles of top shelf liquor into the water. Creating a wide ring, Yoko put the flaming rag to the surface, which ignited instantly. The fire burned low, but hot nonetheless.
"It's swimming away!" cheered Cindy. "It worked!"
"Let's swim for it, then," said George grimly. "We have no idea how long this will burn, or if that thing will keep its distance."
Before the four survivors could dive into the water, however, the Neptune decided to make one last go at them, fire or not. Emerging suddenly from the flaming water, the giant shark tore towards the section with Jim and Yoko. For some reason unknown to even him, Jim pushed Yoko aside, away from the Neptune's savage mouth, which instead turned its hungry attention towards him.
"Jim!" cried George, who leapt forward with his heavy oar, jamming it into the jaws of the hungry shark. The monster teeth of the Neptune tore the wood to pieces, pulling George off balance and into the water.
Staring into the soulless, reflective eyes of the monster, Jim saw it. What some philosophers called the abyss, the antithesis to everything one had ever known…Jim saw. He didn't understand it in those terms, however, simply foreseeing an end to a life he hadn't yet fully experienced. Seeing it, something took over his consciousness, a desperation blinded with an incomprehensible rage.
Grabbing for Yoko's shotgun at his feet, he blasted into the open mouth of the shark, using the recoil to cock it again and again, emptying the last six rounds in six quick bursts. The dead Neptune sank into the water in bloody pieces, the top of its head torn asunder by Jim's furious attack. Still, Jim continued to cock and fire the gun, unaware of the dry click, or anything else around him.
"Jim," soothed Yoko. "It's dead…" As she reached for the rifle in his hands, she was astonished to see tears in his eyes.
"I almost got eaten by a fucking mutant shark," he mumbled tearfully, but she couldn't tell if he was talking to her or himself.
"It's gone now, Jim. Can you make the swim," she asked gently.
"He can make it," George said suddenly. "Move it, soldier," he added gruffly, his voice deeper than usual. Cindy looked at him strangely, wondering what he was doing, when she realized his words were ones Mark often used to get Jim going. The young man nodded once, solemnly, before leaping into the cold river.
Floating in the murky water, its frigid bite nipping at their skin, the four survivors swam tiredly towards the facility's dock. The flow of the river had lessened, granting them slightly easier passage. Still, they each wondered what swam below them, what lay beneath the shadowy darkness of the water's surface. George reached the dock first, pulling himself up onto the wood before helping the rest climb up. With the last person up, he let out a relaxed sigh, wondering how many more times they could cheat death.
"Jim, are you ok," Cindy asked, his frail body shivering noticeably.
"I'm fine," he said miserably. "That water was just so goddamn cold." He dug his hands into his pockets again, and they again came up empty. His pills…the pills George had given him must have fallen into the water during the swim. Pushing the ominous thought aside, he shivered, and whether or not it was from the chilly waters, he could not say.
Note: This chapter turned out less Silent Hill-ish than I wanted (inspired by the raft scene in SH2), but I was happy to include everyone in the action. Having five characters was becoming a burden, having to put them into pairs or trios to ease the dialogue. The chapter felt very real to me, each of the characters showing their toughness and determination. However, the whole "setting water afire" thing might not exactly be realistic, but I got the idea from Friday the 13th Part VI (my favorite scene in the movie). Granted, Tommy uses gasoline in the movie, but the idea remains the same…yes, I'm aware gasoline doesn't mix with water while alcohol does.
I had actually never intended to use a shark in this scene, the whole idea felt very "bad Baywatch" to me. Like the show's writing staff was sitting around, saying "This scene is too boring…let's add sharks!" But in the end, I loved the idea of a Neptune having a go at them, making Jim lose his lucky coin. One, an excuse to make a reference to REmake, the other a foreshadowing of things to come…btw, took the title from a line in Samurai Champloo's opening theme, 'Battlecry'. A pretty mediocre anime, but I liked the music in it, and that line is really cool.