The Last Peak (Book 2): The Darwin Collapse (20 page)

Beth’s hand moved before she could stop it. Her closed fist hit Diana's mouth with a sickening crunch. Her old boss’s lip split open and blood trickled down her chin.

"You stole animals from this zoo and illegally and immorally used them for medical research!” Beth hit her in the face again. She was going to beat her to death. Strangulation would’ve been too kind.

Diana cupped her mouth, watching the blood spill into her hand. "I had no choice. I was just following orders. I'm sorry it happened. Please, believe me. It was an impossible situation. One I couldn't escape."

As much as Beth wanted to hurt Diana, she wanted to hurt Anton more. "Why are you here now?"

Diana broke into tears. The moisture from her eyes mixed with the saliva and blood from her mouth. "Anton ordered me to stay here until an evacuation team could retrieve Jack. When they finally arrived, they took him but left me behind. The bastards rescued an ape and left me to die!"

The pounding in Beth’s ears urged her to finish Diana’s misery. Her brain screamed for violent action. And yet, the boiling rage struggled against another part of her. A core much deeper. A quiet serenity and faith in greater things. Just as she was about to do something she’d never be able to take back, that core swept over the fury as the ocean swallows a lava flow.

This pathetic woman was no saint. She wasn’t even a good person. Yet, she was a victim. Not in the way the chimps were, but a victim nonetheless. She was in desperate need and who was Beth to turn her away? Worse, who was she to judge and execute this woman?

The choice tasted foul in her mouth.

"Get up," Beth said as she helped her to her feet.

"You're taking me with you?"

Beth walked away before rage blackened the good deed. Before the dark thoughts defeated the light. She retrieved the bag of medicine on the counter.

"I haven't decided yet."

With the remaining stock of bandages, gauze pads, and other supplies stuffed into her bag, Beth turned and shined the headlamp at Diana. The rail thin woman stood there shaking like a leaf. As if an imaginary breeze would be enough to blow her over.
 

"When did you eat last?" Beth asked.

"I don't know… maybe two days ago."

“I’ve got some food for you. A few bags of nuts and dried fruit."

Diana nodded eagerly and then swallowed hard as her body reacted to the anticipated meal. The desperation nearly made Beth want to forgive her.

Nearly.

Beth led the way back out outside. She secured the bag of precious supplies and then dug out a snack for Diana. The woman's hands shook as she reached for the Ziplock bag of almonds. In a rush to get it open, she ripped the plastic and nuts spilled out. The old Diana never would’ve touched a scrap of food off the ground. She would've yelled at the grounds crew to clean it up before a customer slipped and fell potentially causing a lawsuit.

This was not the old Diana.

The gaunt, haggard woman dropped to her knees and swept up the nuts along with a good amount of dirt. She shoved the handful into her mouth as quickly as she could.

Beth cracked open a water bottle and put it on the ground next to her. “Slow down. And drink some water as you go."

Diana nodded as she popped more nuts and dirt into her mouth. Wads of saliva and almond fragments clung to her chin.

Beth watched her in silence.

Was she really going to take this woman home? Going to give her food that would’ve otherwise contributed to keeping her family alive?

Insane.
 

Diana had made her choices and now she was paying for them. Beth couldn’t save every sorry soul that suffered in the new world. Diana should be left to meet her own destiny. She should leave her boss to whatever fate she’d earned.

But she couldn't.

It had nothing to do with the resurgence of Catholic faith that she’d been noticing of late. It had nothing to do with a conscience that would feel guilty knowing it had chosen to leave Diana to die.

It was more direct than that. More positive.

It was seeing another human being suffering and simply wanting to help.

"You can go with me back to my house. We have shelter, food, and water. You’ll be safe there."

Diana stopped scrambling for the fallen nuts and looked up at Beth. Tears welled from her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. "Thank you… Thank you so much.”

"Yeah."

She’d help her, but she still hated her. Beth waited as Diana gathered up the last of the almonds. She wasn't going to stop her from eating off the ground. Aside from enjoying the twisted spectacle, those really were valuable calories that something like a little dirt wasn't going to ruin. They were too precious now. You couldn't walk into a store and slurp down a Coca-Cola along with a pint of ice cream. The effects of consuming excessive calories were no longer a major public health crisis.

The world had changed.

Sustenance was no longer perpetually available and within reach. It was again arduous to obtain and quick to consume, as it had been for tens of thousands of years in the past. Beth tapped her big toe by one that had fallen out of Diana’s search zone. "Missed one."

Diana snapped it up. She chewed and swallowed and then stared up at Beth. “Why are you only wearing one boot?”

“It’s a long story. Get up. We have to go." She’d do the right thing, but she didn’t have to be nice about it. She pulled Diana to her feet and then helped her settle onto the back portion of the seat. "Have you ever ridden a motorcycle?"

Diana shook her head. "No."

"Great. Just don't lean out to the sides or make any sudden movements. Can you do that?"

"Yes."

Beth checked all the straps and made sure everything was tightened down. She swung her leg over and fired up Spock. She eased on the throttle waiting to see if her passenger would do something stupid. After coasting a while without incident, she opened it up a little. They rode down the meandering path heading toward the exit. Beth did a double take at the empty elephant paddock as they passed. They were gone. It was impossible for the four thousand pound animals to hide. So where did they go?

The path curved around toward the administration building on the right.

"Wait! Please stop! Can I gather a few things? Personal things.”

The absolute very last thing in the universe that Beth wanted to do for this woman was a favor. And a favor included anything not immediately related to her survival. Personal things fell very much inside the realm of favor.

“Please,” Diana said.
 

Beth bit her lip and groaned.

“Fine.”

She stopped her bike in the middle of the path, a good thirty feet from the entrance to the admin building. A favor sure as hell didn’t mean front door service!

Diana didn't move, apparently waiting for exactly that.

“Go!" Beth shouted.

Diana nearly fell as she scrambled off the bike and headed toward the entrance. She tried the door and it was locked. "It's locked. Can I use your keys?"

Beth turned off the bike and held them up. Diana waited at the door as if Beth was just slow in delivering them. The gall of this arrogant woman!

"Come get them," Beth said with thick agitation coating her voice. Maybe she could drop Diana off on the way home. Surely she had family that would be relieved to see her alive. Such relief was hard to imagine, but even the worst criminals had mothers that loved them.

Diana plodded over and accepted the keys. "Can you help me grab a few things?"

Beth gritted her teeth until she worried a molar would shatter. Was this woman purposely trying to piss her off? "Fine." She swung off the bike and followed Diana back to the entrance. With every step, she fought the urge to turn right back around and take off with her load a hundred and twenty pounds lighter and infinitely less infuriating.

Diana jiggled the lock open and let them inside. She led them through the center hallway back to her office on the left.

How many times had Beth marched down this hallway to this office ready to set fire to Diana’s desk? More than a few. And now, having heard the truth about what had happened to the Bili chimps? And more recently, to Jack, too? This time, she wanted to set fire to the woman herself.

The door to her office was open and the interior looked like a bomb had gone off. Her desk was overturned and framed pictures on the floor smashed to pieces. It seemed strange to Beth that only now did she notice the pictures. Every other time she'd visited, she'd been in such a rage that whatever personal affectations Diana may have had were unnoticed white noise. Beth stood by the door while Diana went around the room collecting whatever it was that she had come back for.

"You have one minute," Beth said.

Diana retrieved her purse from a filing cabinet and filled it with stuff Beth didn’t care enough about to absorb. She filled another bag with crap and handed that one to Beth. “Carry this one,” she said.

The words stomped on Beth's last, raw nerve. Even in her desperate condition, Diana easily slipped into her old attitude of expected obedience. Maybe it was being in the office that did it. Whatever it was, she was no longer the boss.

Beth spun around and headed back down the hallway. “I’ll be outside."

“I’ll be another few minutes."

“Your ride leaves in t minus sixty seconds. Fifty-nine. Fifty-eight.”

Beth kicked the front door open and walked over to Spock. She took a seat and stared at the darkening sky. Mason would be worried sick. Worried sick while she waited. And fumed. Fumed and waited.

No Diana.

Two minutes.

Three minutes.

Beth marched to the entrance and threw the door open. "Diana! Let’s go! Now!”

Her voice echoed into silence.

She stomped inside ready to punch a hole in Diana’s face. As she headed down the hall, the clicking of the front door locks caught her attention. She ran back to the front. Diana stood outside holding Beth's keys.

Beth shoved the door and it didn't budge.

"What the hell are you doing, Diana?"

"I require your transportation. Mr. Cruz will want me to report in.”

Beth pounded her fist on the glass. "Open the fucking door!"

"I can’t do that,” she said as she turned and headed back to the motorcycle.

Beth drew her Glock and pointed it at the door. She was about to cover her eyes and fire when she heard a growing rumble.

Diana froze next to the bike.

The same thundering of hooves she’d heard earlier.

An instant later, the herd of impalas rushed toward Diana. She fell to her knees and curled into the fetal position. The male in the lead decided not to go around, but instead leaped high into the air and sailed over both the bike and Diana. A few of the herd followed suit while others darted around. They passed in a clattering rush and were gone.

Diana lay on the ground shaking. She lifted her head and stared back down the path, around the bend to where Beth couldn’t see.

She screamed.

Diana struggled to her feet and ran toward the door.

Then Beth saw the reason for her terror.
 

Hubert. The zoo’s fully grown African male lion. His black and tan mane trailed in the wind as he sprinted toward Diana. The powerful muscles in his back legs rippled as he quickly closed the distance between them.

Diana shoved a key into the lock and jiggled to get it open.

Hubert gracefully leaped through the air and smashed her to the ground. With one huge paw, he swept her over onto her back.

Beth stared. Her veins congealed with frozen shock.

The lion lunged and snapped Diana's neck between his jaws. He held her pinned down by the neck but she required no more killing. He looked up and spotted Beth mere inches through the glass on the other side. He let go of Diana and stared directly into Beth’s eyes. He slammed a paw into the door and his nails scraped the glass like knives on a chalkboard. He opened his mouth wide. Dark lips curled back to reveal four huge canines dripping with blood.
 

His roar shook the glass. It shook Beth’s reason. It promised death and the futility of resistance.

Hubert circled around his prize and then grabbed ahold of one of Diana’s feet in his mouth. He bit down hard and headed away. Her head dragged and bumped along on the ground between his legs as he went. A red, brushed streak of blood was all that remained of Diana Richston after he disappeared around the bend in the path.

Beth's legs gave out and she fell back hard onto the desk behind her. The pistol clanked to the surface.

Did that just happen?

She sat in stunned silence while her brain digested the event. The ice in her veins slowly warmed. Another minute and rational thought began to seep through the primitive concoction of chemicals inundating her system.

Diana's death was her own fault. Her actions had directly resulted in her own death. In a sick way, Beth was thankful for her old boss’s treachery. If Diana hadn’t tricked her, she probably would’ve ended up as Hubert’s next meal.
 

She picked up the gun and waited to see if Hubert would return. She didn’t like the odds of facing down an apex predator in his prime with a 9mm handgun. She waited a few minutes more but the growing darkness outside convinced her it was time to get moving.
 

Deciding to conserve ammo, she grabbed a metal chair from behind the office desk and slammed it into the glass window. A huge crack splintered out from the point of impact. She was about to take another swing when she realized her bare right foot was still exposed. Shatter the glass and she’d be hopping around like a pogo stick. She found a black scarf tucked in the desk drawer. She grabbed a few magazines off the table and wrapped them around her foot, making sure the bottom was the thickest. She then tied the scarf around the paper into a makeshift moccasin.

Terrible. But it would have to do.

Another couple of swings and the window fell away in large, jagged sheets. She poked a metal leg at the clinging shards that still hung over the opening.