Cacophony [ONC 2023]

8

The last of the Screamers ran through the garage without giving Henna a second glance, not trying to push the others out of the way but knocking into them, trying to get to Cas first, as though something compelled them. Henna felt relieved when the last one passed through the door to the stairs, the helmet she now wore not suited for muffling such noises as those horrific screams, and raced up to remove the screwdriver.

The door swung closed and, as soon as it clicked shut, she drove the screwdriver under the door. If any of the Screamers decided to come back out this way, they'd have to break down the door to do so. She didn't doubt they could, but that didn't mean she'd make it easier for them. Once done, she headed back to the tac-van and drove it outside before reentering the garage and lowering the doors as far as she could before crawling underneath.

She was a small woman, truth told, and few others could make their way through the tiny gap she had left, but she had seen women almost as small within the ranks of the Screamers that had chased after Cas. She had seen children rush past. The screaming disease saved no-one from its clutches. Men, women, children, all turned their heads to the skies and screamed.

If she had thought she had the time, she would have set something up to cover that gap. Something that could have toppled over, hiding the way out, but she had no way of knowing whether Screamers still retained any of their human intelligence. If they did, something blocking that gap would be worthless. After all, they seemed intelligent enough to choose between her and Cas, intelligent enough to climb stairs after Cas.

Thinking of Cas brought home that she hadn't heard anything from her ex since their last exchange. The radio on her helmet had remained silent. No explosive shotgun shots, no screams, not even the sound of Cas' breathing. It had all become deathly silent, leaving Henna to pray that Cas had managed to find a way out. Where, Henna couldn't imagine and, parked here, right beside the walls, as Cas had asked, she began to wonder if she should return to the precinct to look for her.

She looked around, through the windshield, but saw no sign of her ex. In fact, she saw no sign of anyone. No Screamers stood anywhere in the near vicinity, as though all of them had come here, congregating at the doors of the police precinct, all to find Cas and ... what? Henna didn't even know what the Screamers would do to Cas if they did catch her, though she felt she had a good idea.

The injuries Cas had, seen back in Henna's room, showed some of it, but Henna doubted that was all of it. Broken bones that Cas hadn't even acknowledged, but must shoot needles of pain through her. Bruises, bite marks, cuts. Thinking of those injuries sent waves of fear rushing through Henna. If they had caught her, Cas could already be dead. Torn apart by these things that were once people that could, if she and Cas reached that extraction point, be people once more.

It was taking too long. The tac-van's engine bubbled and gurgled, coughing and barking as it idled and Henna had no idea how long it would last, or how to fix it if it did break down. That was Cas' area of expertise, it always had been. Way back when, it had seemed like Cas had preferred to stay elbow deep in the guts of some old wreck, rather than spend time with Henna. It was one of the reasons they had broken up, but only one of a number of very good, valid reasons to call it a day on their relationship. Henna had never had any of those problems with Carla.

Reminiscing wasn't helping and Henna decided to drive around the precinct, to search for Cas. Before she could even put the van in gear, she saw something above. A movement. It didn't last long, but Henna saw it, and then she saw more before hearing the sound of shotgun firing. She leaned forward, pressing her head against the windshield, trying to see what was happening, but she could only see flurries of movement.

Then she saw Cas. She leaned out, over the edge of the roof, and looked down, before clambering up onto the parapet and running along the top of it. Arms reached out for her, clutching for her legs and feet, but she soon outran them, firing the shotgun blind behind her. She dropped the shotgun and began pounding her arms forward and back, her feet a blur as she ran toward the tac-van and Henna wondered whether she had parked close enough for Cas to drop down to the roof.