Chapter 7 Launch

"Put your hands up."

They were blinded by the lights of Adam's vehicle.

" I warn you! I have had big trouble from less assuming people, yet prevailed, where are your weapons."

" There's an old rifle in the car."

"You're Norwegian?"

" Originally yes, i met my wife many years ago when i came here for work, we settled just near here."

He spoke urgently looking to form a bond with his captor.

" Where did you work?"

"A Science company, err, not very well known."

"Space-Agency, I can see no other reason for a Norwegian to move out here, I'm guessing you quit, judging by the age of your child ,mmmmm 8 years ago."

" Yes, you know of it."

" Adam Gressingham."

He lowered his rifle.

"I too have worked there, I'm currently on my way as it happens, clearly you are too."

He elongated the last syllable as he looked on into the car. No supplies in the back.

"Adam, I am Erik, this is Angella, and our daughter Solveig."

" Nice to meet you."

"Sir we intend to get off planet, my people, the people we lived with, they are bad. They captured on of your people, he told them about the evacuation, they didn't believe him. Killed him."

" I will keep your weapon, get in the back. You can explain later"

Adam stared off into the night beyond Erik's shoulder, raising his weapon.

"Move, now, into the back."

The family ran towards the headlights. Once they passed the glare of the beam the shape became apparent. Erik grabbed his child and held his wife back, in horror. The truck was smeared with blood. Pieces of flesh and guts were nailed on in various places. An entire head's eyes stared, its jaw waggled at them. Limbs hung, toes twitching.

"It's disguise! get in the back, we will wait for it to pass."

The family could hear the roars of the crowd that had came, glowing in the strong headlights. As they climbed in Adam slammed the double doors shut. Mumbles and thuds on the shell of the truck was heard. Adam climbed up into the driver's seat and slid open the viewing panel to the back, whispering.

"Hey pipe down would you, they will hear, we're going to wait for them to pass, in.."

He turned the keys and shut down the car, the lights went off and he whispered.

"stealth mode."

Solveig woke first, she looked out of the viewing panel into the front seat. She saw tree shaped air fresheners hanging from the roof, about twenty bunched together. she pressed her face right up against the window and saw Adam's chest rising and falling. She scrambled down and back into the arms of her mother who lay on the bench, waking her. Angela sat up. The only light that came into the back of the truck was from the viewing hole into the front eat and a tiny pin hole into the outside on one of the walls. She thought this was where a nail had come out. She remembered vividly what the nails held in. Chopped up zombies plastered all over the truck. It seemed to her that she was in a money truck, the typed that delivered to banks. Camouflage he had said, she shuddered. Everyone woke seconds before their conscious minds realised what was happening. The rumbling grew until it was obvious to Adam what was going on. He hopped out of the truck. The back doors flung open and the family squinted because of the light.

" Come and see, TP1 is taking off!"

The four stood there and watched as the rocket rose in blank sky and disappeared.

"It's true, there are rockets."

Salvation, his family would live.

The rumble of the rocket shook everything. Bodies felt hollow as it quaked, everyone's ears were filled with noise. The noise only lasted about forty seconds, but by then every decayed pale head had turned and with it the sullen bodies of the dead followed in that direction. Sound drew them, and this was the loudest sound the earth had heard for years. The battle with gravity tore on. Primula, Sam and bikaner were lay on their backs facing the sky. G force sucked them into their seats. Primula fought hard to keep her eyes from the blackness. her head rolled to the side. Sam was fighting the G force too, her fists clenched around the straps. Primula gave a long heavy blink as the force on her body intensified, her head rolled to the other side, her vision slowly faded to the sight of Bikaner's body, arms by his side, done fighting.

The ship had left the atmosphere. The rumbling faded first in the engines and then the astronauts ears began to adjust until silence prevailed. Adam had watched the rocket blasting through layers of air and fighting gravity with its massive fiery jets until it was a speck. The second most common feeling, after pure unrefined joy, that Sam made him feel, was anguish. He felt it in the pit of his stomach a hand reaching in and grabbing the bottom of his spine with a tight cold fist. There was only Charlie, Sahil and Ailbe now, Adam was on his way, sending selfies every few hours. Charlie had finished his last lap of the fence and had already counted hundreds rattling the chain link and more behind them, arriving by the second. There were no weaknesses per se, but who knows how many snarling aliens the night held, most likely enough to force a fence or two down. Adam was driving through the night, Sahil was doing the computerised checks. Charlie had done all the physical manoeuvring off the space-craft onto the launch pad, the re-fuling. It was dark now, charlie guessed 10pm but it was likely much later. He had spent the whole day getting prepared for the launch and was exhausted. He knew that it was time to retire and rest, for he needed to do some very precise checks tomorrow. One tiny indiscretion and the take off would most likely result in a massive explosion, crash and burn. He had the window down in the truck. Poking his head out he looked up to the stars, checking each one's movement, one could be Sam's ship which was now a satellite traversing earth. With his head out the window he could hear the dead screetching on and rattling the fences with their jerky involuntary movements. He longed now for the silence of space, or for the touch off Sam which made everything else quiet, disappeared. Sahil and charlie begrudgingly went to bed in the silent dorms, both exhausted lying on their backs, staring at the blank ceiling. Sahil woke, he had set his watch to vibrate at 6.15am. He walked along to Charlie's room. The door was open and the bed sheets were empty and crumpled in a heap. Sahil felt alone, and a pang of anxiety came along with this. he hurriedly trotted along the hall to find Charlie. Zombies, evil dead at the gates, by myself, Charlie, Charlie

"Charlie?!"

He shouted. A door creaked behind him. Charlie emerged from what was Sam's room. it still bore the details; the finesse and beauty of her existence. Charlie had found solace from his bare room here last night. He had drifted to sleep wondering how long a smell lasts, as her sweetness hung in the air as if she was nearby. Sahil smiled at Charlie.

" Come on, let's get started. I think there is at least 3 hours of checks to be done, Adam should arrive just after that."

The conversation stopped dead in it tracks. the glass doors to the outside blocked from the morning lights by decrepit human faces.

"Stop"

Charlie whispered, he drew Sahil back around the corner of the hallway. A gentle bumping began against the glass, not quite the thrashing limbs that they were used to, but bump, bump, bump.

" Keep quiet, fuck."

Charlie rubbed his tired face with his hand.

" They must have broke the fences, let's take a look."

Treading lightly and arriving back in the corridor they had slept, Sahil shivered at how they had slept with the enemy at the door.

" you think that door will hold?"

"it's not one of the main building ones, if we can get back there were fine, if they can tear that fence down they can go through a building like this.

"I'm going to get to the roof, see how many they are, how we're going to get across to the main building."

They came into Sam's room and Charlie hopped up onto the bed. He pressed a roof panel with his finger tips and slid it off to the side.

"See if you can find a way to contact Adam."

Sahil smiled with nervous doubt in himself, but he trusted Charlie to protect him. He pulled himself up into the roof panel and steadied himself by dragging his boot on the wall, tearing a wall tapestry Sam had put up, that now hung only by one corner. Sahil went to the end of the corridor, the reception room had a laptop in, he might be able to contact Adam if he could connect to the TP intranet. the waiting room was like a doctors surgery. Behind the desk a laptop lay neatly shut, just as its owner had left it no doubt on his unexpected last day at work. Sahil rounded the desk and opened the laptop. He pressed the power button and it hummed and blinked slowly to life. 'ERROR' Sahil, sat down, flexed his fingers and began typing. Charlie was tearing through the insulation in the roof. exhausted he lay on his back, covered in the pieces of foam. He drew his knees to his chest and kicked with the soles of his feet at the roof panels. the only give was in the top left corner so he moved his body underneath it. he kicked again. the insulated roof of the building was had trapped heat, and he lay panting on his back, kicking out every time he mustered the strength through the humid exhaustion. his last kick must have flicked a screw out because with it the roof panel moved back a slight further than usual. a gap of light came into the empty roof cavity. he took a deep breath and stood up put his back to the roof and pushed through his legs. he lifted the roof panel with the load on his back. The gap was foot wide now and he crawled out onto the corrugated roof. It was only as he lay face down recovering as the sweat dried cold on his arms in the outdoor wind, that his brain allowed the sound to resonate. The crowd that filled the airstrip was never ending. as far as Charlie could see, where once there was heat haze, bodies swayed. The nearest few were only metres below at the sides of the building, they hadn't noticed him. Adam was correct, there was an army of the dead, hundreds of thousands.

Primula, Primula PRIMULA "Primula wake up!" The last sentence rang clearer than the first few dreamy words in her head. Hearing the snarling, she opened her eyes to find Sam fighting with her straps. Her eyes wide glaring beyond prim. She rolled her head, to the other side. Bikaner's head wriggled, his arms were scratching the air around him, his jaw convulsed wildly, he snapped and screamed around him. Primula was still in a daze. She looked at the belt release symbol that was only accessible by her, or he co-pilot Alain. She allowed herself a thought of him. The screams of Sam in one ear and the monster's in the other grew until Primula was back in the real world. She slammed her hand on the release button and their straps pinged open and floated off. Bikaner, now with dark eyes and erratic movements. Crashed forward into the window. He writhed and kicked. Sending himself back towards the other wall. Sam and Primula huddled together.

" Kill it Prim!"

" If i spill a drop of blood it could destroy the electrics, we have to try and get it out of the cabin."

Adept at moving in space primula coasted along the wall. She used the handles to get herself in the path of Bikaner. He was slowly coming towards her in a tangle.

" Get the door open!"

A flash of eyes after every irregular revolution, Bikaner flipped towards Primula. Lifting up, she kicked at him whilst holding a rail. He was sent hurtling to the door, Sam had just open it and moved out the way. Bikaner was heading for the door. His foot caught the roof and gave him traction. He moved still indiscriminately but the foot had changed his course. Sam paddling in fear trying to move out the way. It was like trying to sprint in shallow water. She couldn't find anything to hold to move out the way. Pushing off the wall she head instead towards the door, sideways she drifted and locked her body in tight as she came towards Bikaner. His hand out-sretched as far as he could only just scraped her shoe but it was enough to bring them closer. He now had his hands clenched around Sam's ankle. She screamed and kicked with the other foot, not looking as she stomped violently. The vice like hands were moving up her leg.

"Sam grab the wall, move!"

Wriggling, Sam grabbed the wall and made herself upright. Bikaner landed on the floor and lost grip of her leg. His violence was matched only by her struggle. They swam through the air both clawing with equaled tenacity. through the door they went, bounding off the sides, pushing faster through the arteries of the space station. Primula was starting to climb her way towards them.

" Primula, open the air-lock, I'll lead it there!"

She knew what this meant. for either landing or docking, the air-lock was a door to the outside world. The decision was hard, but made in an instant. Sam looked behind her as she pushed along the corridor. The air-lock had opened. She would use herself as live bait in there. The monster was slowed at traversing the corridor. It arrived at the airlock and was upon Sam in an instant. The door closed. a speaker blinked on.

"Sam in five seconds I'm going to open the door, you'll only have.."

"..Do it NOW!"

With a deep breath Primula pressed the button. Sam had maneuvered the monster towards the door. She pushed and kicked. Fighting to push it away. She choked on the atmosphere. and gave a last shove with her feet, pushing the zombie off into space, it tore some of her clothing with it. Sam span and snatched for something but got only a handful of air. Her mouth wide open gasping. The detail of edges she could have grabbed slipped away. The ship drew away from her. Her vision was closing in but not before she glimpsed the gigantic white ship with the earth glowing the background. The zombie flew away from the ship. Still hungry for Sam who drifted slowly away, lifeless, still. Thrashing, chomping, its limbs shrivelled and convulsing. the corpse flipped and furled through space, blackness completely surrounding it as its greasy hair and torn clothing flapped. The undead creature would thrash and scream as it hurled through space until it was sucked into something that destroyed it, or it landed somewhere and continued its indefinite march.

Charlie couldn't see the end of the crowd. It stretched off in every direction. there was no motion to it, no direction. All the bodies just swaying sporadically amongst each other. Charlie rubbed his brow with his forearm, holding it there in front of his eyes for a while. He dreamed of space, of mars, of Sam. Safety on another planet. perhaps no rivers and stream, but the pervasive death that followed you; snapped at your heels here would be gone. He and Sam would be the founders of generations. The forebears of a new world. If he could escape this awful place, and with that he began looking for ways out. It took only seconds to register what the smash of glass might be. Charlie had peeled the roof layers back and slid into the cavity again. He peered down into the building through the hatch. He could hear the noise rising. they had broken through, he saw shadows in the hallway now. He ran in the dark bounding across beams and fluffy insulation. The office was at the back of the building, the aliens were bounding against the walls on their way down the hallway. Charlie picked up speed to reach Sahil before they did, his foot missed a beam and shot straight through the plaster roof. He summoned incredible strength to pull it back up imagining the zombies gnawing at it, dangling above their heads like a worm on a hook. He had just pulled it back up and felt the wet blood through his trousers, determined to carry on when he heard. " Charlie!" In the hal shout half whisper. a ball of scrunched up paper came through the hole. The hole was above the reception desk, which had Sahil cowering under it, as the hordes drove by in the hall. Charlie shook his head and mouthed 'What'. Charlie lay so his head was by the hole and whispered.

"There's too many to run for the hatch, I'm going to make this hole bigger, and you're going to stand on the desk and climb up."

Sahil hunched up tighter under the desk and shook his head nipping his eyes tight closed.

"get ready."

Charlie had time to see Sahil mouth 'no fucking way' before he pressed himself up and with a cringe stomped at the edge of the hole. Plaster fell down in crumbs onto the desk. the herd still pushed its way down the hall. If any of them had noticed they were swept along quickly by the weight of the mass. Charlie peeked down through the hole. Sahil's eyes were wide. The raspy cries and bodies hitting the walls drowned out the sound of another kick. Last one. The plaster flapped off onto the desk.

"Grab my hand Okay, ready."

Charlie grimaced as he reached his arm down through the hole. Closing his eyes he waited for ages, trying not to image the dangling worm on the hook. Sahil willed himself to stand before he could even consider the ramifications. The roars loudened immediately. He turned to see the crowd shuffling by, and they turned to him. Hands reached over the desk, knocking the pieces of plaster off. They were still being dragged away by the crowd's momentum but it was slowing. Sahil stood on the chair, reached out and grabbed Charlie's hand. Feeling the warm hand of Sahil, charlie pulled up, got to his feet and pulled again. The might with which he was taken upwards spilled Sahil from the rotating hair he stood on. he lurched towards the desk, suspended still in mid air. Charlie wobbled correcting the swing. Hands writhed beneath Sahil's feet and he stood on them and kicked as Charlies vice grip stopped the blood in his hand, now his forearm. he was being dragged upwards, away from the monsters.

" Some help?!"

Sahil grabbed the edges of the hole and pulled. After it crumbled away he managed to get an arm and lever himself up. Charlie threw him on the pink insulation.

They sat with their knees hunched up on the peak of the metal roof.

"You think Ailbe's going to wake up of his own accord?"

Sahil was sat with his chin resting on his knee and arms wrapped around.

"He hasn't since i've known him."

There was no way off the roof, unless you were willing to wade through decrepit corpses. The rounded edge of the terrapod building was 50 metres away. They could see the square launch port attached to it, but had no way of getting there, to freedom.

" Adam will probably arrived before Ailbe wakes up."

The sun still yellowed the morning sky. All they could do was wait.

"Wait inside if you want, in the roof cavity."

"Nah we need to be seen, better chance if there's two of us here."