Tar: An apocalyptic horror novella by Iain Rob Wright Read Free Book Online Page A

years. In London, every face belonged to a desperate stranger.
    Finn cleared his throat. “You picked an awful time to be alive, kid.”
    Minty frowned. “I didn’t pick it, but I suppose I know what you mean. If I'd been born a hundred years ago, I would've lived a full life without ever knowing that the world would end soon. It sucks.”
    “Trust me, you’re not missing out on all that much. Life gets shit as soon as you’re out of puberty. Least you got the good years.”
    “The good years? I spent the last three years getting my ass kicked at school every day, and my mum was so poor that I was still playing games on an old Xbox while all the other kids were chilling out with their PlayStation 4s. My dad barely wanted to know me.”
    Finned grunted. “See, that’s the problem with kids today—especially English kids.”
    “What?”
    “Growing up shouldn't be about who's got the best stuff. It should be about exploring—playing in the dirt and jumping off rocks. Kids weren't meant to spend their time sitting on their fat arses playing stupid video games. Maybe if you spent more time outside you wouldn't have got your arse handed to you at school.”
    Minty didn’t reply. He scrunched his face and moped. The little dog trotted between them without a care in the world, its previous torment forgotten. If only human beings possessed such talent for closure.
    Imagine living life without regret.
    Seeing he had upset the kid perversely satisfied Finn. Maybe now he would stop thinking of him as a good guy . Maybe now he sees what I truly am.
    They reached the end of the road where they were met by a wide roundabout. A retail park lay to their left. A makeshift camp had been erected in its carpark, full of people milling around and living in tents for mutual protection. These communes had popped up everywhere in the last couple of months. People were too afraid to stay in their homes alone, so they grouped together like flies, choosing to live outside in their own collective filth. Finn could think of nothing worse.
    The other roads off the roundabout led back to the built-up areas of the city.
    “Where now?” Finn asked the kid.
    “What are you going to do when you find Dominic? Are you going to kill him? You killed Steve back at the Hobby Horse.”
    “Who? Oh, you mean the Afghan vet. He killed himself when he pulled a knife on me. Why do you care, anyway? Those gobshites let you starve half-to-death.”
    Minty shrugged. They had come to a stop at the roundabout so he knelt and patted the dog—or Wonder Mutt as he was apparently called. “I just don’t think you should kill people. I don’t think you should kill Dom.”
    Finn narrowed his eyes and tried to understand the kid’s agenda. “What does it have to do with you whether I kill him or not?”
    Minty shrugged. “Don’t you think there’s been enough killing? The last two days, all I’ve been able to do is look out of the living room window, and it's been like watching a horror movie. This morning I saw a woman raped right in the middle of the road. She was screaming out for help, and people just walked on by. I saw a little boy point at her and ask his mummy what she was crying about. Then, when she lay there abandoned and sobbing, someone came and stole her shoes. If I’d had anything to eat in days, I would have thrown up.”
    Finn imagined the woman’s fear and then transferred it to his sister. Had she screamed out? Or had she gone somewhere in her head and remained silent? Just like Minty, the image made him want to vomit.
    Finn felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, but didn't show it. Violence only upset you if you allowed it into your thoughts. He shrugged. “Everyone knows their time is up. They don’t care. People can do what they like.”
    “Exactly,” said Minty. “So you could choose not to kill Dom. I don’t want you to be like everybody else. Beat him up if you have to, just don’t kill him.”
    Finn grunted.