The World's Last Breaths: Final Winter, Animal Kingdom, and The Peeling Page 4

  This will not do. We must wrap this up so I can get out of here.

  Several minutes passed, the aimless fools just about managing to push one of the pool tables up against the door. Unbelievably, they had started playing a game on the other table.

  What do they think this is? Break Time?

  “Right!” The curator cleared his throat and addressed everyone once again. “Now that we have secured our safety, I should introduce myself. My name is Mason and I work here at the zoo. Unfortunately, I have no more knowledge of the current events than anybody else. I will, however, be going upstairs shortly to use one of the office phones to try and contact the authorities. Before that, might I ask if anyone has a cell phone?”

  The group looked around themselves, but no one answered. Randall could have said ‘yes’, but he wasn’t about to offer up his possessions to a bunch of fools.

  Mason raised an eyebrow above his spectacles. “Really? No one has one? I thought the whole world had mobile phones these days?”

  “Yeah,” added a Black man with grey sideburns who looked a lot like Bill Cosby. He was holding up a piece of shattered plastic with various wires hanging out of it. “But mine got pretty bashed up during the attack, as you can see. I tried making a call, but the thing won’t even switch on anymore.”

  The young girl spoke. “I had one in my bag. My bag is outside. I think we all just ran for our lives, without really thinking about our belongings.”

  Not me. Randall smirked. Too bad the rest of you are unorganised idiots. I made sure to keep a hold of my possessions.

  Mason nodded thoughtfully and then shrugged. “A shame, but not much we can do about it now. Okay, I’ll go try to find some answers for everyone.”

  “Make sure you find them in the next five minutes,” said Randall, using the commanding tone that he had perfected throughout years of boardroom conflicts.

  Mason sighed. “Mr Randall, I do not wish to do battle with you again. Please try to see-”

  “No, you try to see how much you have caused us all an inconvenience. None of us should be sitting here right now, in danger, no less. You need to remedy this situation immediately – and I mean immediately.”

  “Yeah!” The agreement came from the bald tattooed man. “This has gone way beyond a bloody joke, pal!”

  Mason sighed once more and Randall was sure that the man was defeated. “I implore you to be patient and in return I will do my upmost to get this situation resolved as quickly as possible. I can only do my best to make sense of things. For now the only place we know that is safe is here, inside this building. I’ll go now and try to make contact with somebody in authority.”

  Randall relaxed back in his chair and smiled like a fox after dinner. “See that you do, my friend.” Despite the curator’s obvious skill in keeping a straight face, Randall could see tiny rivulets of irritation soaking into the man’s expression. It pleased Randall.

  “Afterwards,” he added, “I would request that everyone give me their contact details. I will be taking this establishment to the courts and anyone that wishes to join me in that pursuit will be most welcome.”

  “I’m with ya, pal,” the tattooed man replied.

  “As am I,” said a middle-aged woman with wispy grey hair and bifocals. “Someone has to be punished.”

  Randall couldn’t help but grin. Splendid. Looks like I have a nice foundation for my case already. The more angry voices in a courtroom the better.

  “Why you gotta be such a dick, man?” It was the Black man, standing by the pool table, cue in hand. “Can’t you see the trouble we’re in? People are dead and all you can think about is your damn self.”

  Who the hell does he think he is to question me?

  “I live in a world where people are held accountable for their actions,” said Randall. “Sorry if the notions of right and wrong are beyond someone like you.”

  The Black man scrunched up his face and stepped away from the pool table. “The hell that supposed to mean?”

  Randall sighed. “Work it out, Cosby.”

  Before Randall got a reply, the large blond man entered the conversation. “Let’s not pick at each other, okay? Mason has gone upstairs to make a phone call and shed some light on the situation. The rest of us should just keep ourselves occupied. Look,” he pointed one of his giant arms across the room, “there’s a television in the corner.”

  He was right, Randall noted. Perched on a pair of wall brackets at the far corner of the room was a brand new LCD TV.

  Another extravagance Black Remedy paid for. Jesus wept!

  “Okay,” Randall conceded. “Television sounds like a good idea, but let’s just put the news on. None of that daytime talk show drivel.”

  “Fine. No problem.” The large blond man bounded off towards the television set on legs that seemed more like stilts. The television was far away from where Randall was sitting, but big enough that he would still be able to see it.

  When the blond man managed to find the remote and switch on the TV, it showed only a blue screen at first. After a couple of seconds of pressing buttons and flipping through several channels of empty static, a grainy picture finally appeared.

  “The reception is really bad,” said the blond man, “but I think I got the news. It’s certainly not Jeremy Kyle.”

  “Yeah, it’s a news report alright,” Cosby added needlessly. “I recognise the journalist, Jane Hamilton.”

  Everyone sat quietly as the news updates flashed various images from around the UK. It seemed that it wasn’t just the zoo that was having troubles.

  “Holy shit!” Cosby cried out. “I can’t believe it.”

  If Randall was honest, he couldn’t quite believe it either. “Interesting,” he said out loud, wondering what it could all mean. “Very interesting.”

  3

  Joe couldn’t believe what he was seeing. The flickering news report showed animal attacks from several areas of the country – images of Regent’s Park overrun by snarling dogs of numerous breeds and even more bizarrely, a pack of crazed squirrels attacking a baby in its pram outside Bristol’s Clifton Cathedral. Next came scenes from the countryside – of farm animals ripping a man to shreds in Paignton as he failed to reach the safety of his dust-covered Range Rover. Sheep, cows, and even pigs were roaming the fields and roadsides like Nazi-death-squads, with what looked like morsels of human flesh hanging from their jaws. Every scene was different, but they all had one thing in common – animals were attacking people. It didn’t matter how big or how small, anything with fur, claws, or fangs was seemingly possessed by a malevolent rage directed solely at the human race. Dogs, cats, and mice, to sheep, cows, and pigs – all were united in their quest to kill. Whatever was going on right now, it wasn’t just isolated to the zoo.

  “This can’t be happening,” said Joe, as the television switched to similar scenes from various locations in Europe. Helsinki was currently under siege from a band of rampaging bears, while Paris was fighting off a plague of rats emerging from its vast sewers. “God help us.”

  “I don’t think God is watching,” said Grace, who had picked Danny up into her arms to keep him from looking at the images.

  Joe shook his head, unable to take his eyes away from the screen. “I don’t understand any of this.”

  “Me either.” The man with the grey sideburns came up beside them. “It’s a mad house.”

  Joe somehow managed a smile. “What’s your name? I’m assuming it’s not Cosby?”

  “Name’s William, but my friends call me Bill – don’t mention the coincidence to that stumpy guy in the suit. Your name’s Joe, right?”

  Joe nodded. “Pleased to meet you, Bill. You make sense of any of this?”

  Bill shook his head. “Just about the craziest goddamn thing I’ve ever seen. Don’t know what could be to blame. Maybe it’s the end of the world.”

  “Terrorists, if you ask me.” Coming to join them was the grey-haired woman that had spoken out in support of Ran
dall earlier, wanting to join him in his legal battle. She was smiling now and seemed quite pleasant. “Godless monsters are always coming up with new ways to destroy the world. Looks like they finally came up with a good one – airborne rabies. Name’s Shirley.”

  “Hi, Shirley,” Joe greeted her. “You really think terrorists?”

  “Have a better suggestion?”

  Joe shook his head. He didn’t. If it was a terrorist act, he wondered what that could mean, and what it would mean for his son. “What do we do?”

  “How should I know?” Shirley shrugged. “Whatever happens, things will work out however God wants them too. Maybe the world will finally face up to its sins now that deliverance is upon us.”

  Bill huffed beside Joe. “Speak for yourself, lady. People are responsible for their own actions. I don’t believe there’s some man in the sky playing us all like puppets, weighing up our mistakes against us. That’s crazy!”

  Shirley smirked, but the expression contained a dose of venom. “Believe what you will, but when your day of reckoning arrives you will see the error of your ways. Now is not the time to be a heathen.” The woman strolled away; apparently satisfied that she had said her piece.

  Bill turned to Joe. “She for real?”

  “Don’t know,” said Grace, “but that was a bit of an intense introduction.”

  “Mentally ill if you ask me.”

  Grace shook her head and seemed uncomfortable. “Being strange doesn’t mean you’re crazy.”

  Joe laughed. “Strange times call for strange people, I guess. It doesn’t matter who, or what, is responsible at the end of the day. The only thing that matters to me right now is keeping my son safe. You think things will work themselves out if we just stay put?”

  Bill shrugged. “The police must be doing something. Hell, the army too! It’s just a bunch of animals. They should be able to handle a few rabid Labradors and Tabby cats.”

  “What about lions?” Grace asked.

  “Lions are a little more difficult, but that’s only because we had the misfortune to be at the mother-fuckin’ zoo. I mean, damn, you couldn’t make this shit up.”

  Joe winced at the language and motioned to his sleeping son.

  “Sorry,” said Bill immediately.

  “So what’s the plan?” Grace asked Joe, shifting Danny’s weight onto her opposite shoulder. “Do we just stay here?”

  Joe had no answers. He scratched at his forehead on the off-chance that he would knock loose an idea, but found nothing hiding. “I guess we just settle in and wait for help to come. It’ll probably take time for the authorities to get a handle on things.”

  Especially if this is happening everywhere.

  Just then a door swung open at the edge of the room, startling everybody. When it turned out to be Mason, they all relaxed. The zoo’s curator ambled over with a look of grave concern on his face.

  Joe nodded to him. “Everything okay?”

  Mason shook his head and looked down at the floor. When he looked back up his expression seemed even grimmer. “I tried contacting the admin building, but got nothing. The phones just rang out. So then I called the police.”

  Joe cleared his throat, not sure he wanted to hear what Mason had to say. “And?”

  “No answer.”

  Grace frowned. “What? No answer? They have to answer, don’t they?”

  Mason bit at his lip. “One would certainly think so, but I’m getting the impression that they may be inundated with calls right now.”

  Joe knew where this was going and didn’t want to beat around the bush. “We just saw the news. It’s going on all over the country. We saw it happening in Paignton and Bristol.”

  Mason rubbed at his jawline. “Interesting,” he said. “Paignton and Bristol both have zoos.”

  Joe shrugged. “So do a lot of places. I don’t think that has anything to do with it. Things are bad everywhere.”

  “Yes,” said Mason. “I suspected as much. Every number I tried was unanswered. But what really disturbed me is what I saw through the upper-floor windows.”

  Joe took a deep breath which seemed to lead Bill and Grace to do the same. Maybe anxiety was infectious. He raised an eyebrow at Mason and asked the question. “What did you see?”

  Mason didn’t answer at first and seemed to drift off into thought, eyes flickering behind his spectacles as though they were playing back a movie in his mind. When he finally answered, his voice was weak and lacked his usual composure. “The entire zoo has been overrun. The animals are all out of their cages and there are…” Mason took a moment to gather himself. “There are bodies everywhere. I watched for ten minutes whilst the zoo’s pack of African Wild Dogs ate the very flesh from a group of dead children. Blood every--”

  Joe cut him off and pointed to his son. Danny didn’t need to hear any of this. Hopefully he was sleeping soundly.

  My incredible sleeping son. One way of dealing with the situation, I guess.

  Mason understood the warning and changed his tone to something more positive. “Yes, well, perhaps it is best to think forward now that events have already transpired. I believe we are safe for now, but I have no idea how long we should prepare to be here. If I tell the group what has happened, and that we all must remain inside, I think they may kick up a fuss.”

  Bill laughed. “That’s an understatement. Biggest problem is gonna be that jackass banker – or whatever he is.”

  “Christopher Randall.” Joe sniffed. “He works for Black Remedy.”

  Bill’s eyes went wide. “BR? Shit, ain’t they the biggest company in the world? What are they doing at a piddly zoo like this?”

  Joe shrugged. “They seem to have their name on a lot these days. I even think the cruise I took during my honeymoon was on a boat owned by them. It isn’t that surprising that they invested in a zoo as well as everything else.”

  “Well, the guy’s a jackass, whoever he works for.”

  Mason looked weary and seemed to have aged over the last hour. “We’ll just have to do our best to calm him. I’m sure he’s a reasonable man underneath.”

  They all looked at each other for a minute. Joe didn’t think anybody believed that Randall was anything other than a grade-A prick.

  “Should we get to it then?” Mason asked them all finally.

  Everybody nodded. No time like the present to serve shit sandwiches to a bunch of scared people. Joe just had to keep reminding himself that they were lucky to even be alive right now. They had to be thankful.

  Led by Mason, they moved over to the centre of the room. Most people were still glued to the on-going news reports, but when they noticed the zoo’s curator, they all turned their attention to him.

  Mason clapped his hands together. It was a needless action since all eyes were already on him, but seemed like an appropriate way to punctuate the start of a speech. “I’m sure everyone is eager to gain more knowledge about the current events and I do indeed have some for you. I ask that you remain calm as I say this, but I regret to inform you that the animal attacks we have witnessed here today are not localised to this zoo. In fact, from my estimation, they are happening throughout the nation.”

  “Thank you for telling us what we already know.” Randall spoke from the back of the room. The way he lazed casually in the chair made it obvious that his ego wasn’t yet ready to take a rest.

  Joe eyeballed the piggish little man. Anyone would think that being a pain in the ass was his hobby.

  “We already know it’s happening everywhere,” Randall continued. “It was on the news.”

  “Okay,” Mason replied, stuttering slightly. “Then I hope you all understand the gravity of the situation. What you may not be aware of, however, is the danger presenting itself outside this very building.”

  Randall shrugged. “The lions?”

  “I wish that were the depth of it, Mr Randall, but I am afraid it is far worse. From what I have witnessed, every animal in the park has broken free. They have attack
ed and killed anyone unfortunate enough to be outside.”

  Randall leapt up from his chair, quicker than one would have imagined for a man of his girth. For a moment Joe wondered if someone had lit a fire under his ass. “How the hell have you let this happen?” Spit flew from his mouth as he spoke. His cheeks turned red like cherry tomatoes. “How does a modern-day zoo let its entire inventory get loose? It begs belief that anyone could be so incompetent.”

  Mason only managed to respond with a series of splutters.

  Randall continued his tirade. “Do you know how much trouble you are in, my friend? I ought to throw you out there with the lions. You ridiculous, negligent--”

  “Enough,” Joe cut in. “There will be a time for blame, but this is not it. Right now we are in a predicament beyond anything we can yet understand. I think it’s safe to assume that whatever is happening at this zoo is a symptom of whatever has affected the animals nationwide – not the cause.”

  Randall glared at Joe. “I don’t know who you are, Beanstalk, but I am getting rather tired of you coming to this fool’s aid. If you continue to speak in his defence then I can only assume that you are complicit in this fiasco.”

  Joe threw back his head and twisted the kinks from his neck. Every conversation he had with Randall left him exhausted. The man was like a verbal succubus.

  “Look,” Joe finally said, “my name is Joe. I came here today because my son loves animals and has never been to the zoo.” He pointed at Danny who was still asleep in Grace’s arms. “Truth be told, I don’t get to see my son very often and this day was important to me. Real important. So don’t assume, Mr Randall, that I’m not as put out as everybody else. But there are people outside that never even made it long enough to be stuck in this situation. They’re dead.” A silence filled the room and Joe hoped that things were finally sinking in. “We’re in a bad situation here, people, and if we don’t all get along then it will probably get even worse. It would be nice if we introduced ourselves and tried to get through this together. Is that too much to ask?”

  More silence filled the room. Nobody wanted to talk. No one wanted to get along. To do so would be to admit that things were as bad as they all feared.