As the Light Dies (25 page)

“
You did just fine
,”
said Maggie.

“
Some of the guys were making some really strange noises! I could
n’
t understand them. It was so strange it was
n’
t like they were talking it was more like a growl or
a
gurgle
!

I honestly do
n’
t know what they were trying to do or say
!
”

Lara fought hard not to cry as she told the others what had happened to her, she had
n’
t realised how shocked and scared she had been, it was only beginning to sink in now as she re told the story to the others.

“
Then the big window shattered, it practically exploded, I do
n’
t know what they hit it with. It just shattered and guys started coming in to the shop grabbing whatever they could get their hands on.

It was all so fast
.”
Lar
a’
s lower lip was quivering, and a tear ran down her face as Maggie tried to reassure her.

“
I was scared you know, I honestly did
n’
t know what else to do so I turned around and ran through the back, and I only just managed that. The men who had been banging at the till window got in. They broke through the glass, climbed through and raced after me.

I just got through the door and shut it as one of them grabbed the handle on the other side.

Thank God the door opened, the doors security key pad was blank, it was
n’
t lit up you know
.
”
“
Safety feature
,”
said Andy. Lara nodded.

“
Well I got through, and I locked it from the other side and they started banging like crazy, I do
n’
t know what they were using but it made a hell of a noise, the door practically bounced around in the frame every time they hit it.

I ran to the staffroom and tried the fire exit but it was frozen solid, I could
n’
t even push down the doors push bar. Then without thinking I grabbed the stool, climbed up on top of the counter and broke the little window at the back with the stool legs, then I climbed up on the stool and picked out as much of the glass as I could that was still stuck in the frame and as I did I heard the staff door smash open behind me, so I just had to go for it, even though there was still some glass left in the frame. I only had my chest out of the window when the stupid stool fell over.

I thought I was stuck
.”
Another tear ran down Lar
a’
s cheek but she did
n’
t stop talking, she was on overdrive now.

“
I swung and kicked my legs and banged my elbows on the wall from outside trying to push through, I think I kin
d‘
a lost it for a minute
!
”

“
Who could blame you
,”
said Maggie
,“
I think we all would at that point...
.
”

“
Anyway, I wriggled around and got loose and I fell out head first and scraped my face against the wall as I fell but I was just in time, I could hear them right behind me in the staffroom, they were screaming and shouting, some were calling after me and others were making that weird noise. It was horrible! It was like they were having some kind of fit or something!

I sat against the wall for a minute outside scared
I’
d broken something, trying to think what to do next and then I got scared that they might try and run around the outside to catch me.

So I tried the button for the carwash roller door just in case and I could
n’
t believe it when it worked. Well
,
it opened just enough for me to squeeze under, so I did, scared shitless that the door was going to fall on me. It nearly did. It slammed down right behind me just brushing passed my arm as it did but I was in and they could
n’
t get me.

I could
n’
t hear much after that, I heard the odd bang or scream but that was all, mostly all I heard was the wind and the thunder until the guys came round looking for me
.
”

Lara looked at the three guys with her wet eyes
.“
Thanks for coming to get me guys
,”
she said
,“
I honestly thought I was stuck out there for good. Thank you so, so much
.
”

“
You have Collin to thank
,”
said Andy and he nodded in Colli
n’
s direction
.“
H
e’
s the one who sounded the alarm
.
”

Maggie cut in then
,“
Speaking of Collin, have you taken your lunch yet
?
”

“
No
,”
said Collin
,“
I was sti...
.
”

“
Well go on lunch now, and then come and find me afterwards,
I’
ll have something for you to do
.
”
“
Yea, ok
,”
he said nodding and he stood up to leave as Leann leaned around Maggie and said
,“
Thanks Collin. I could
n’
t have lasted long over there, thank you
.
”

“
No problem
,”
he said smiling and then he left them to it and went for his long overdue lunch break.

*****

He sat by himself in the candlelit canteen, the truck driver was the only other person there and he was sleeping on a line of chairs over in the back corner. Mad Maggie had tried to take him to hospital along with Lara but her car was dead just like everyone els
e’
s.

Droves of people were coming back in to the supermarket asking to use a phone to call for roadside assistance and so on, taking no notice of the sign that Jimmy put up that said the phones were out of order. When he tried to tell them, they simply demanded they get to use a phone and when that did
n’
t work with Jimmy they moved on looking for another member of staff to harass.

They thought they were being fobbed off despite the supermarket being in total darkness.

The whole place was being lit by candles. They were angry and started shouting at whoever tried telling them that the phones were broke.

Maggie tried telling them they were lucky that the supermarket was still open and that it had
n’
t been raided like some of the other supermarkets around town that the police had told her about or even the supermarke
t’
s own petrol station.

She said she saw it as doing her bit for the community by keeping the doors open as long as she could, even though the place was practically bare
.“
Its shelter for them
,”
she said
.“
Until w
e’
ve tidied up and are ready to leave, w
e’
ll leave the doors open, in times like these we all need to pull together
.
”

Collin was glad to be out of the way for a while. H
e’
d been tired before h
e’
d even gone outside to clear snow. Now he was exhausted.

After eating the sandwiches his Gran made for him, Collin sat with his head cradled in his arms and his eyes closed and dozed. He was even too tired to look at his latest Incredible Hulk graphic novel that h
e’
d taken in with him, it sat beside him unopened. He dozed off and on, occasionally lifting his head to look out the windows on to the car park. He watched as people, whole familie
s
,
attempted to start their walk home laden down with shopping bags and crates of water.

Maybe it was just as well that the kids came in the end
,
he thought seeing the little figures weighed down with shopping.

He watched as the ash faded, turning darker, turning day in to night, the dead of night. Then he dozed off again. He woke with a jolt when he heard screaming.

He sat bolt upright swiping his lunch box with the back of his hand by mistake sending it skidding along the table where it banged in to Leann Smith and stopped.

“
Shit!
I’
m sorry
,”
he said jumping up to reach his lunchbox. Leann slid it back to him smiling.

“
Calm down action man
,”
she said
.“I’
ll live
.
”

Then looking at him she said
,“
Here check this out
,”
and she shimmied across a couple of seats until she was opposite him and she slid her iPad between them.

Colli
n’
s cheeks felt like the
y’
d caught fire they were so hot, he saw where the screams were coming from and felt stupid. Leann was watching some crappy horror film or something on her iPad.

“
This is supposed to be footage from Norway
,”
she said
.“
I
t’
s from some reporter that managed to post on the internet
.
”

Collin looked up at Leann reluctantly and asked
,“
How come yo
u’
re iPa
d’
s working
?
”

“
I do
n’
t know. I saw Lara before she went home, I ca
n’
t believe she just walked, I mean, like on her own. Did you know that sh
e’
d cut her side really badly when she climbed through that window at the petrol station
?
”

“
Uh, no
!”
said Collin.

“
Well she did and she did
n’
t even know until Maggie realised in the first aid room earlier when she lifted her top
.
”

Collin just shook his head stuck for words as he felt knots of guilt start tugging at the pit of his stomach again.

“
Anyway
,”
said Leann
,“
she said that her iPhone still worked earlier when she was in the petrol station. She said she was watching the internet on it before the shit hit but she could
n’
t text or call anyone. But after she made her run for it and tried it in the car wash it was dead, she said that she thought that just being out in the ash for a few seconds fucked it up. So, anyway I thought
I’
d give the iPad a try, seeing as I have it with me. I never leave home without it. I
t’
s been in the locker since I got here, and the ash had
n’
t arrived by then
.
”

“
Ah huh
,”
said Collin looking at the screen.

“
Wel
l
,”
she said
,“
maybe the ash has
n’
t affected all of the airwaves yet or something. Or maybe i
t’
s only affecting the actual electrics you know like if it touches them or something you know like if it gets in to the workings of things, down in the circuit boards or whatever
.
”

Collin shrugged his shoulders he did
n’
t have a clue about these kind of things, but he thought it sounded about right
.
After all, the ash only started affecting things once it started to settle
,
he thought.

“
Have you tried to email anyone yet
?”
he asked.

Leann nodded and then shook her head
.“
Yea, but I had no luck. Anyway, after talking to Lara I nipped in to the changing rooms and checked to see if my iPad was working and it was, so I set it to download the news so that if the signal was killed off with the electrics or whatever, at least
I’
d have some current news downloaded and might be able to get an idea of wha
t’
s happening out there, you know. At least before my iPad dies that is
.
”