Chapter 14

They had a moment to take in the slaughter before two things happened. First the giraffes noticed the small group watching them and like a flock of birds, turned and began charging towards them. Second, a TTC bus burst out the garage of Canadian Tire and made its way toward the road, smashing into cars and pushing them off to the sidewalk as it, also, started coming right for them.

There was a sudden confusion in the giraffes. Their ranks broke up as they tried to both avoid being crushed by the bus and attack it - then there were a few giraffes who completely ignored the bus and just focused on the four unprotected humans.

The bus reached them first, not bothering to slow down and while Elise was still trying to decide on whether to go down fighting or spend the last few seconds of her life fleeing, a hand suddenly grabbed her and started pulling her to cover as the bus smashed into a car, sending it careening to where she had just stood.

She lost sight of Meagan and Steve as she fell to the pavement. Holden stood above her, pulling out a gun and firing into the giraffes. Milo was there one second, but then jumped up and attacked a giraffe that had reached them.

"Get up! Move!" Holden screamed and Elise pulled out her gun and started firing.

The bus slowed down with the added traffic, but still forced its way down the street, now covered in tiny giraffes. Meagan and Steve still nowhere to be seen. Milo was fighting giraffes nearby, but she had no chance of reaching him.

"Come on," Holden grabbed her again, she pushed him off, but he was frantic and didn't let her go, slowly dragging her off and soon she had to follow or be buried under an avalanche of giraffes.

They ran, and didn't look back. The giraffes nipped at their heels and just as they were about to overtake them a wail went up and most of the giraffes suddenly turned and ran. There was screaming somewhere and they thought maybe the bus had been breached.

Holden kept shooting into the giraffes still following them, and after ducking around an apartment building they seemed to lose them, but they could still hear the giraffes calling out to each other.

Elise pulled out her phone and dialed Meagan's number, but she didn't pick up. She pretended the only possibility for that was because Meagan was still fighting off the giraffes and not that she had lost her phone or...

They reached Queen Street. Dozens of giraffes roamed around and they kept in alleys until they saw a back door propped open. They needed a place to hide and gather their thoughts - maybe think of a plan to find Meagan, Steve and Milo.

Once Elise had heard a story about how the day of the attacks on the World Trade Center, people were still lining up in the Starbucks underneath and barristas served them dutifully until they were all crushed underneath the molten steel and concrete. For a second Elise almost expected to see a lineup waiting for frappuccinos, but instead she saw a few dozen giraffes cuddled into a nest.

Without thinking she ripped open her bag, pulled out her Tommy Gun and opened fire. The giraffes woke up, wailing their high pitched shrieks in pain, until finally Elise ran out of ammunition. The giraffes lay dead in a puddle of fur and blood, only one still remained living. It crawled towards the two, its neck had a chunk missing and its head dragged along the floor, its tiny mouth opening and closing, until it too went still.

Holden stepped forward and crushed its head beneath his boot. It crunched like a potato chip.

"Gotta destroy the brain, right?" He asked.

"I don't know. You're thinking about zombies," she looked around the Starbucks to make sure no more giraffes were present.

Holden sat down at one of the tables, needing a moment of silence before he started thinking about survival again. "You know, we need to start figuring these things out. We need to know what kills them and what doesn't. What makes a person turn and why some people just... die..." He trailed off, staring at a skeleton still wearing a green apron. The giraffes had eaten every last morsel of flesh, organ and hair.

"I mean," he continued. "They can communicate, right? Why aren't you guys more concerned about this? Sure, all animals have some way of getting signals across, but these things organize and-"

"Infiltrate."

"Yeah! They seem to be able to get into any building," he cleared his throat, looking around wearily. They shouldn't stay in one place too long.

Elise moved behind the counter, looking for a kettle.

"They drive people out, like that Canadian Tire."

Like my office building, she thought, but she was too concerned with searching through boxes to respond. Holden didn't notice, he seemed wrapped up in his thinking.

"When they need more giraffes they make more giraffes and when they need food," he turned away from the skeleton. "I can't figure out their game plan."

"Giraffes don't need game plans," she turned the kettle on.

"What are you doing?" Holden finally noticed her.

"I'm making tea."

"You're... making tea?"

"Yes," she gritted her teeth.

"We should probably get going-"

"No, tea first."

"Elise-"

"Look! Toronto's overrun by giraffes! Most of everyone I've ever known is dead! Meagan and Steve are lost! Milo is missing! My sister is trapped in a Tower of certain death that I probably won't be able to reach and I JUST WANT ONE LAST CUP OF TEA!"

The kettle boiled, clicked off, and she messily poured a cup of green tea, then stared at it angrily for a second.

"... Make me one too?" Holden gave her a small smile. "Fuck the apocalypse. It's okay to be civil once in awhile."

Chapter 13

Sunlight crept through the windows and Meagan blinked angrily. “Close the curtains Mom...” she mumbled. Laying about two feet away Steve opened his eyes and smiled at her.

“I’m not your mother.”

“Thank goodness for that,” she smiled back. Then Steve looked over her shoulder and his eyes went so big Meagan’s heart stopped. Oh shit, she thought. But then Steve smiled, and nodded silently behind Meagan.

She rolled over cautiously and propped herself up, and caught sight of something far more surprising and far less likely than a hoard of angry miniature giraffes – Elise fast asleep, draped across Holden’s chest.

“Well I’ll be damned...” Steve whispered, now inches away from Meagan’s ear. “If this were Survivor, they’d be an alliance.”

“Yeah well I wouldn’t count on the moment lasting when Elise wakes—“

“OH JESUS H CHRIST!”

“—up”

Elise shot up, jolting Holden awake as well. “What, what’s going on!?” he said, clamouring to his feet. Elise stared up at him from the ground, looking shaken and violated.

“Nothing,” she snapped. “Nothing. Milo brushed against me in my sleep. Sorry...sorry to scare you like that.”

“Oh,” Holden said, his face softening, “it’s all right. Are you okay now?”

“Yes, I’m fine. We should get packed up.”

“Okay then, let’s move,” Meagan said, oblivious to the tension. She grabbed her bag and began rummaging through, thinking aloud. “We should look for side streets with houses that can provide cover if we need it. And we might be able to salvage some more supplies. We’re probably no more than four hours walk away, tops. And keep the food sealed as much as possible. We don’t know what’s attracting these things.”

“Did it look like they were communicating with each other?” Holden asked. Meagan stared at him as if he’d asked, “Do you think they’ll hurt us?”

“Of COURSE they communicate. All animals can communicate. Didn’t you ever see Jurassic Park 3?” She finally found what she was searching for. She pulled out an old navy blue Maple Leafs hat from her bag and fitted her long ponytail through the back. Elise frowned at her in dismay.

“You have a HAT, in your SURVIVAL bag.”

“I can’t have hair in my face while swinging away at a giraffe, can I?”


The group readied themselves and with Milo at their heels they ventured out together into the streets. Still quiet, and strangely void of giraffes, they made their way along the sidewalk to another side street and headed towards the Tower. They passed ransacked houses, abandoned cars, and stray pets wandering the streets without an owner to take care of them. Every few miles they would hear the distant sound of gunfire, or screams, but they never stopped.

They pressed on like that for three hours without interruption. But nobody mentioned the absence of giraffes. Like a perfect game in the eighth inning, nobody wanted to jinx it.

But as they approached the downtown core along Lakeshore Avenue, a mere ten minute walk away from the Tower, Holden grabbed Elise’s arm.

“Hey! Wha—“

“Shh. Stop,” he hissed. Meagan and Steve turned around. “Listen.”

The group stopped and turned, but nobody needed to ask again. A hoard of giraffes were just ahead, only a hundred feet away, breaking their way into a Canadian Tire.

“Patriotic little buggers aren’t they...” Steve muttered. Then he saw what they were after. “My god, there were survivors in there!”

A group of people streamed out of the doors. They ran together across the parking lot but they were no match for the giraffes. One by one the survivors were tackled, eaten, and then melted away. In their little puddles’ places sprang more giraffes, who on apparent instinct began following the herd. It only lasted a few minutes, but by the end not a single human was left.

The four stood very still against their wall. Steve slipped his hand around Meagan’s waist and pulled her close to him, turning her body towards him to shield her. “We have to keep moving,” he said to her. “It’ll be okay once we make it to the Tower. We’ll be safe there.”

“They thought they were safe...” she whispered.