Aggy and the Dinos

Chapter 15

They were freezing and exhausted, with no ammunition, food, spare clothing or hope, by the time John hurled Geezer up onto the jetty. The dejected little dog expressed the situation perfectly as he huddled close to the group and shivered miserably. Aggy scooped him up into her arms and they shivered together; Dean was still on his knees on the jetty with his arms wrapped round himself – Glen and John were in equally bad shape. John was staring at the sky with his hands pressed to his mouth and Glen could only look at his feet. There was no hope left for anyone, for to proceed or retreat meant death, either at the claws of the Dinos, the guns of any remaining inhabitants of the stricken bunker, or at the slower more brutal bequest of starvation. Among the group were two natural leaders, but no one could bring themselves to a decision. Eventually, even though he had only a few hours earlier snapped a man's neck, it was the innate human tendency to place animals above humans that made John speak up:

"We have to feed the dog." He said. Aggy nodded, and held the sodden little creature closer to her.

"We need to feed ourselves." Said Dean, who was a little incredulous. "That dog's about as vulnerable as a sabertooth tiger."

"Don't say that about Geezer." Aggy retorted.

"He killed a Dino! By himself! And was happy to eat it!" Dean exclaimed repeatedly.

"Shut up you ponce." Said Glen, earning him a flat palmed gesture of appreciation from Aggy.

"I need feeding too!" Dean continued, "I'm just as hungry and terrified and utterly fucked as that dog.

"I sai-"

"We all need feeding as much as the dog," interjected John. As the man with the neck-snapping hands he had ultimate mediating power. He looked at the sad little bunch, and saw the end of the world.

"We might as well head into town and try and find some food."

"We haven't got any weapons." Said Dean, intensely piqued at having been called a ponce.

"The world is full of weapons," said John, looking down at his hands. "We will find what we need. Where is your lab?"

"Hammersmith."

"This is St. Margarets." He looked at Aggy, who was in a state of general crying – the water was leaving her eyes without effort or expression – and said, "There may just be a little bit of fate at work here."

They warmed up as they walked. Without the intrusion of too many people some of the natural noises of the world had returned to London; without the presence of cars the sounds of animals, badger and fox, were audible in the still night. The air smelt different, more organic yet somehow purer, and despite the threat that lurked somewhere in the darkness there was also a sense of completeness that enveloped them as they walked. Aggy found that she was more aware of her own internal self as well as her direct environment, and she felt different, more in control; the previously denied sense of blame was lifting – they were going back now, to make it right. The group all reacted fast to a subtle shift in John's body language; he squared his shoulders and gestured with his hand that they should all step in line with him. Past a still neat line of trees, was a darkened McColl's. The corner shop's door was hanging open, casting an uninviting shadow in the moonlight. John turned and motioned at Aggy and Geezer to go first, for the small dog was certain to let them know if there were any unwelcome presences. They were quite confident therefore, when he trotted inside decisively. By the time they were all inside he was happily munching on some spilled cheesy puffs; Glen and John made a quick sweep round the shop and confirmed they were alone; Dean was already munching on a supersize chocolate bar, the wrapper clutched tightly to his chest. Aggy placed a six pack off water on the counter and handed them out to everybody. They stood behind the till, out of sight from the door.

"It's nice to feel safe," she whispered eventually around a mouthful of flapjack.

"Spray that again." Said Glen, and they shared their first genuine chuckle that they'd had since the early days at the colony. The mood became jovial, like students sneaking around the kitchen at midnight, until a noise from the back of the shop made their blood run arctic. It was Geezer's little warning rumble. Then there was an almost silence; the kind of full up quiet that has something unpleasant in it, before the dog really erupted. He shot towards the source of the false silence, to where a previously unseen door has snuck open, and attached himself to the groin region of the man who was emerging through it. He had a machete in his teeth, and a terrier on his trousers, which can be a very dangerous combination. The sequence of events went like this; the man flew down an aisle, where he slipped on the dog saliva coated cheesy puffs that remained on the floor. This caused a shout of surprise, sending the machete tumbling out of his mouth. It hit the flow at such an angle so as to propel it towards John, who accepted it gratefully and stuck it in his belt. The man went down heavily, breaking his arm. Then, he started to scream.

"Bad times," said Glen. "Time to Scooby."

"Geeezy, leave it," trilled Aggy, grabbing as many multi-packs of everything as she could. John stood by the stricken man and looked down at him, then he struck his temple with his boot and dragged him to the door. Dean looked at John with an expression of horror.

"Has to be done supergeek, let's go."

"GEEZER." Bawled Aggy as they fled from the stricken chap and his corner shop – he caught up with them as they hurried down a side alley. There were some metal stairs, which John lead them up – they lead to the flat attached to the shop; from there they could see the road they had come in on, upon which dark shapes were gathering. Geezer began to rumble again, so Aggy picked him up and shoved his muzzle into her armpit. He went rigid as the now familiar trilling call picked up on the wind, followed by a horribly human sound.

"Flletch." Shouted the Dino in front, but it was apprehended by another that stepped out of the shadows.

"Bwweeiiiiia! Meig. MEIGN!" Said the new beast.

On the hidden balcony Aggy and Dean looked at each other. 'He said mine' she mouthed at him.

Down below, a fight had broken out. The two dominant Dinos circled each other, and the fighting style was a lot like human boxing; perhaps not the highly skilled version that one sees in the ring, but the bare knuckles variety that can be seen gracing the street outside Wetherspoons just after the bell rings. They circled and jabbed at each other with their front limbs, vicious talons held so as to cause maximum injury. While they were busy, a couple of smaller Dinos crept round and started having a tear at the poor unfortunate man, who regained consciousness just in time to realise what was happening. When he started the screaming the sparring Dinos turned their wrath on their companions, and the fight really got going.

"That's it folks, time to fuck off." Said John, and so they crept down the stairs and ran, slow enough to be quiet but fast enough to put good distance between them and the melee. They were not the only moving things in London; amongst the garden gates and between the streets people could be seen, although they were neither familiar nor welcoming, but rather feral and warlike. Ragged clothing and many handmade weapons were toted in their direction, less professional versions of the bunker, in endless warnings – don't run to us. Other than those shadowy folk were the urban foxes, at the sight of whom Geezer to struggle and fight to get free, and always, mainly on the edge of hearing, were the trilling primal calls of the Dinos. There was evidence of this everywhere; though they may possess human DNA, modern hygiene principles had not come into it, and twice Dean slipped in Dino deposit – a fact that supplied great mirth for Glen, and on one occasion a group heart attack when the sample turned out to be worryingly fresh.

They came to a street where there was fresh blood on the pavement, and John beckoned them to a slow. He held the machete aloof, until their progress revealed the source of the claret – two human bodies. He looked at Aggy and nodded at Geezer; slowly she released his muzzle from her grip and they all looked at him for the verdict. He struggled, got down, and relieved himself on a tree. Glen was standing over the bodies.

"Bingo." He said, and came up holding a shotgun, and a knife. "John they did this to each other."

John searched the other man and came up with another pair of knives, which he gave to Aggy and Dean. Dean looked at his as if it had come from outer space, which in Dean's case it may as well have done. He tried to give it Aggy but she kicked him gently on the shin, so he took a more manly grip, and made a great discovery.

"There's a gate open over there." He said.