The woods were sparse, not much more than a buffer between the village and a highway. The highway must have been the scene of the battle because the gunfire was too close to be coming from anywhere else. Maddy spotted people amongst the trees.
But they weren’t people.
The figures standing just inside the treeline were demons – men and women burnt to a crisp in the fires of Hell. They were looking the other way, towards the dual carriageway.
Tosco threw his arm up and shouted, “Fire at will!”
The line of sailors, with Maddy in the middle, pulled their triggers and lit up the gloomy wood. It took the demons unaware and they lurched forward as bullets struck them in the back. Tosco’s team was too capable to miss, and within seconds they had taken down over a dozen burnt men. The fighting on the dual carriageway continued, was slowly ebbing. Too few guns. A losing battle.
Maddy broke into a sprint. “Come on, hurry!”
“Maddy, slow down!”
She reached the edge of the woods and hopped over a half-dead burnt man with a bullet wound between its shoulder blades. Then she finally spotted humans – two dead men lying on the embankment, their bodies torn to shreds. If not for the gunfire, she would’ve assumed the demons had killed everyone, but there were two people still alive on the dual carriageway – a man and a woman. They were kneeling in the road and embracing while a dozen demons approached them hungrily, taking their time to surround them.
Maddy fired a shot, but a handgun was no long-range weapon, so she stuffed it inside her waistband and grabbed a rifle that was lying next to one of the two dead men. The weapon wasn’t one she was used to, but thankfully it chattered excitedly as soon as she pulled the trigger. With the attached scope, she found her targets.
Tosco and the others lined up on either side of Maddy and discharged their own rifles. Once again, the demons were blindsided and fell like rag dolls on the dual carriageway. A few turned and raced towards the treeline, but there was too much distance to cross. A few seconds was all it took to take them down.
The two people in the centre of the road raised their heads from each other’s shoulders and looked around in confusion. When the male of the pair saw Maddy standing on the embankment, he gave a small, disbelieving wave.
Maddy waved back.
Tosco had his team clear the area before he allowed them to enter the dual carriageway. When they did, they formed a semi-circle and closed in around the two strangers, who were still on their knees. Both appeared utterly stunned.
“W-Who are you people?” the man asked.
“I’m Maddy. This is Captain Tosco and his team.”
Tosco lowered his rifle and nodded. “We’re searching for a group of survivors in a place called Kielder Forest.”
The man’s eyes widened. “We’re from there. Well, recently we are. Before that, we were in Indiana. My name’s Damien. This is Nancy.”
The woman nodded. “Indiana was my home.”
“Good to meet you, miss,” said Tosco. “How on earth did you make it all the way here from all the way over there?”
“Long story. How did you get here? You’re American too.”
“I came by boat. I was a coast guard before this.”
The woman gasped. “My ex-husband was US Coast Guard based out of New York.”
“You’re kidding me? What was his name? Perhaps I knew him.”
“Captain Granger. First name, Guy.”
Tosco stumbled. Even Maddy was gobsmacked by the coincidence. What the hell were the odds? The world had become a large and empty place, so to find his deceased superior’s ex-wife was close to a miracle.
Tosco struggled to speak. “I-I was Captain Granger’s second in command aboard The Hatchet. You’re Nancy, right?”
Nancy got to her feet slowly, like she was moving through water. “Y-You knew him? You knew Guy? Where is he?”
“I’m sorry.”
Nancy’s eyes teared up, but she nodded as if she accepted it. “He was a good man. Brave.”
Tosco seemed to tear up a little himself. “I learned a lot from Guy. When the war first started, we butted heads many times over him coming here to find his—” He put a hand to his mouth and spluttered. “Jesus Christ! Nancy, I have Alice on board The Hatchet. It’s anchored at the coast.”
Nancy’s legs folded, and Damien had to leap up to steady her. Once he got her steady, he looked at Tosco and shook his head. “This is insane, but we shouldn’t be discussing it here. Come on, we have a van parked less than a mile away. We should head back to Kielder and figure things out.”
“Alice,” said Nancy. “I need to go to her. I need to go right now.”
“She’s safe,” Tosco assured her. “I have fifty sailors back on The Hatchet, and enough weaponry to break off a chunk of England. As soon as I know it’s safe, I’ll radio in and have her brought to you.”
Nancy’s eyes rolled. It looked like she might pass out as she mumbled to herself, “Alice, my sweetheart, you’re alive.” Then she gathered her wits to look at Tosco sternly. “What about Kyle? Is he on board The Hatchet too?”
Tosco peered at the ground. “I’m afraid Guy never reached him in time. I understand he died in London trying to escape with his sister.”
Nancy lurched forward and vomited. Damien held onto her and looked at Maddy. “Help me get her out of here.”
The van was parked down an alleyway between a pair of small factory units. One had been a woodworking business. Shavings and half-finished carvings covered the ground, having spilled out from beneath an open shutter. The unit next to
