First Activation

“What’s going to happen next, is there going to be another one of those activations?”

“Yes, tomorrow, but I can help you. Get me that—”

“Tomorrow? What time?” Jack snapped.

“Eleven in the morning, I only found out yesterday.”

“I don’t give a shit when you found out. Is it triggered by Ron in Monroe?”

“Yes, did Jerry tell you that?”

He looked at Lea suspiciously.

“Don’t look at her, look at me. You said you can help, how?” I replied.

“I can neutralise you, it’s a simple procedure, trust me.”

“Trust you? As if we would let you carry out any procedure on us. What about the next activation, and the one after that? We’ll never know when it ends,” Jack said.

“It’s a one-time procedure. Over there, in the corner, the cattle prod. Just zap yourselves on the head, it works.”

“Christ, you must think we’re all stupid.”

Anthony shook his head.

Jack was right, Anthony’s suggestion seemed ridiculous. We had found out that another activation was on its way and I couldn’t put my faith in him to help us avoid the consequences. He may have not been as openly offensive as Jerry, but I had to keep in mind what these people had done. I rubbed my eyes as I thought of what would happen to us, and any other survivor if we were hit with another activation. I turned to Lea.

“How far is Monroe from here?”

“About two hundred miles. We’d easily make it.”

I looked at Jack who nodded.

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” I said.

“Yeah, we need to deal with the organ grinder, not his monkeys. There’s no point wasting our time here with him.”

“I can help you. Seriously,” Anthony protested.

“Jack, tape his legs up.”

He nodded, pushed Anthony forward, and pulled his legs together.

“Lea, grab that masking tape and wrap it around his ankles and knees,” Jack said.

“What are you going to do with me?”

As both of them secured Anthony, I found two dog bowls amongst the clutter along the left hand side of the garage. I filled one of them with three cans of peaches and poured two bottles of water into the other.

“I’ll give you a clue; we’re not taking you to Splash Universe,” I said.

I headed out of the garage and over to the Range Rover, placing the dog bowls on the back seat.

“Make sure he’s secured and put him in the back,” I said.

Jack and Lea heaved him into the Range Rover as Anthony pleaded for mercy. I opened the driver’s side, took the keys, stabbed each tyre, and then opened the rear door by Anthony’s head.

“We’re leaving you with some food and water. If we don’t manage to stop the activation, at least the food will keep you going until somebody turns up and kills you.”

“You can’t leave me like this, please.”

“Yes we can,” Jack replied.

“You’ll be digging your own graves.”

I ignored Anthony, slammed the door closed, and then passed Jack the Ruger from my bag.

“Cheers, I’ve always wanted one of these.”

Anthony shouted from inside the Range Rover for help but we ignored him. It had started to rain, so we all jogged back to the garage.

“Let’s search the garage and house, if you find anything of use, then bring it out to the front. We need to find and disable any comms equipment,” I said.

I headed into the house with Lea, leaving Jack in the garage. The door opened easily and I motioned for Lea to search upstairs. The lounge area had a stone effect fireplace along one wall, some couches, and a bookcase. I leafed through the bookcase pulling out random books and shaking them for any hidden papers. It felt like a waste of time, so I pulled over the bookcase and kicked around the debris with my foot, but found nothing of interest. The kitchen was sparse and clean, I couldn’t find anything to help us other than the sealed food, which would come in handy for brunch. The dining room on the other side of the staircase contained a table and six chairs, there were pictures on the wall of interest and I took down a framed photo of a fishing group. In the centre, was a man holding up a large fish, the brass plate on the timber frame read ‘Ron’s catch of the day.’ Interesting, I thought and tucked it under my arm. I kicked over a bureau and rifled through it, but found nothing else. I walked to the door as Lea came down the stairs shaking her head.

“Only the usual kind of stuff up there.”

Outside, Jack was still making noise in the garage, I approached to see him hammering away at the activation device.

“Leave it, Jack.”

He turned with sweat pouring down his forehead, surrounded by a mess of garage contents, now smashed in pieces.

“Let’s torch it. For all we know, there are weapons, radios, anything hidden. I’ve found a radio but these fuckers are slippery,” Jack said.

It made sense; Jack threw me a box of safety matches.

I picked up the lawnmower, opened the fuel tank, and emptied it onto the garage floor. Inside the house, I opened the gas supply to the stove in the kitchen, set fire to the curtains in the dining room, and walked out. We regrouped at the garage. I lit a match and tossed it onto the fuel that had been spread around.