The End of Us

by D, Hannah

  “I guess you have a point but we never knew we’d be attacked by people as well as skin eaters” Zoe had replied.

  Sarah and Kirsty had formed a bond between them. They had a lot in common it turned out. Kirsty had also lost the love of her life, her boyfriend. Turns out that Lewis was her cousin but they were both still joined at the hip.

  “He’s the only family I have left” Kirsty had said.

  Sarah, Kirsty and Lewis were planning an escape route everyone could take in case this fight went sour and they had to make a run for it from Brians group. Zoe was hoping it wouldn’t come to that.

  Alice and john were preparing as much food as possible for everyone to take in case they had to leave. They would place the food in the backpacks everyone had when the fight was ready to start. Zoe just hoped that they would have enough warning for Alice and John to have enough time to actually put the food in the backpacks.

  Sue was helping to look after Alex, trying to make his life seem as normal as possible and to keep him away from what everyone was doing. Alex wanted to help however but Jeff had been firm with him and told him no.

  “There’s too much heavy parts that may hurt you, you have to stay inside” Jeff had told him.

  Alex had been in a huff for a day but that soon changed when Sue played board games with him and read to him and told him some history stories about Scotland.

  ‘Thank god for Sue’ Zoe had thought.

  Sophia, Arthur and Mandy had taken it upon themselves to think of another safe place everyone could go to. There was no telling everyone would be able to stick together when they made a run for it and they needed a safe place they could all meet up. So far they hadn’t found anywhere.

  Zoe and Michael had taken it upon themselves to do the majority of the watches and to plan their attack when Brian and his group came for them. Michael was pretty much shaking with anger whenever they spoke of their attack, you could tell how much he hated Brian.

  “Thinks he can get away with anything and everything that son of a bitch” Michael said to Zoe as they were on their watch that morning.

  “We won’t let him get away with this” Zoe said.

  “I can’t wait until I get my hands on him!” Michael told her.

  “What about his gun? What if he shoots you or any of us before we get too close to them?” Zoe asked.

  “I doubt he even knows how to properly aim and use it, never seen him actually use it so who even knows if it’s real” Michael said.

  “I suppose you have a point but if it does work and he does use it?” Zoe asked.

  “He won’t get a chance to, he’s my one and only target” Michael said.

  Zoe hoped that Brian wouldn’t get a chance to use that gun and hoped upon hope that the gun was a fake but she knew deep inside that the gun was real, this group didn’t have that much luck that the gun was fake. Also, Zoe knew that Brian wouldn’t carry around and flash his gun so much if it were fake, he seemed like the guy who just loved to show off.

  “Do you think Colleen is with them?” Zoe asked Michael.

  “I don’t know, I hope not. I’m still trying to wrack my brain around why she would betray us” Michael said.

  “Do you think this was all planned? Colleen coming to us saying she was being chased and then offering to come find you guys?” Zoe asked him.

  “Maybe? Brian really did hate when we managed to get away, he’d want revenge on us that badly to stage chasing someone I suppose.”

  “But how did they know where we were? Apparently they never knew about this place or that we were here?”

  “Theres every possibility he did know and had been watching you all longer than you knew. He’s sneaky that way and he’s probably had this attack on this place planned for god knows how long.”

  “It means they could have the upper hand” Zoe said to him.

  “Maybe but they don’t know the fight they’ve got on their hands. It’s a strong group this and he should be scared” Michael told her.

  “He won’t be though” Zoe said.

  “No, he won’t be” Michael agreed.

  Michael shook his head and went back to looking through the binoculars. The sun was hitting them directly were they were sitting on watch and Zoe was sweating in places she didn’t even know could sweat. Zoe’s skin didn’t even burn anymore from the sun, it was getting acclimatised to the sun as she had been in it that much since the epidemic broke out. Who knew that Scottish people could actually acclimatise to the sun?

  Zoes thoughts kept on drifting to Colleen and her note of betrayal. Did Colleen go back to Brian and his group? Or did she run off on her own? And what did her note mean that Brian made her do it? What could Brian have over her?

  These questions went round and around her head, Zoe thought she even dreamed of these questions and Colleen. Zoe hoped that Colleen wasn’t back with Brian as she didn’t know if she’d be able to fight her, never mind kill her. Zoe felt nauseated at the thought of killing anyone in Brians group, they were humans for god sake!

  “Theres two more than there was last night, brings the total up to eight at the front of the building” Michael said.

  “I counted eight at the back as well when I was around there half an hour ago to check” Zoe told him.

  “None at the sides yet” Michael told her.

  “Yet, but there probably will be soon” Zoe said to him.

  It was clear that the fight would be happening soon. More and more of Brians group were coming up here and watching them, almost half of his group now. Zoe was hoping that if the group kept coming up here gradually then they would be more prepared for when the fight would take place but Brian couldn’t be that stupid surely? He’d want a bit of element of surprise.

  The door behind them opened and Alice came out holding two bowls of cereal.

  “Thought I’d bring you both some food since you won’t move from being on watch” Alice said to them.

  “Thanks Alice” Zoe smiled as she and Michael took the bowls.

  “Another warm day huh? Getting sick of this sun” Alice said.

  “It’ll rain at some point” Zoe said.

  “Can’t wait!” Alice laughed as she went back inside.

  Zoe and Michael went to eating their cereal which was coco pops of all things. Zoe couldn’t remember the last time she had coco pops. The cereal and the normal conversation about the weather made life that bit normal for all of ten minutes before the arrival of some skin eaters.

  “I’ll go take care of this” Michael said.

  “You sure? Need any help?” Zoe asked him.

  “Nah, I need to release some of the anger built up in me, I’ll be fine” Michael said as he picked up his wooden stick that he’d fashioned into a spear on both ends.

  You’d think that the wooden stick would snap with the amount of force you needed to plunge it into a skin eaters head but apparently it didn’t.

  Zoe picked up the binoculars and went back to looking at the people watching her and her group. You could see the skin eaters bodies they’d had to kill around them which turned out to be quite a lot. Maybe this place was becoming unsafe now and they were better off just leaving?

  ‘No, they don’t get this place that easy’ Zoe thought.

  “Much happening out there?” Jeff asked as he jumped down next to Zoe.

  Zoe nearly jumped out of her skin.

  “Jesus Jeff! You gave me a heart attack! How quiet do you walk!?” Zoe asked him, clutching her chest from the fright he’d given her.

  “Sorry, I didn’t realise just how quiet I moved” Jeff laughed.

  “Yeah well next time stomp your feet or something so I know you’re coming up behind me” Zoe told him laughing as well.

  “Deal” Jeff said.

  “And the answer to your question is that two more of Brians group have turned up at the front and tow more at the back as well” Zoe told him.

  “More and more huh? Why don’t we just take them out the now? M
eans Brian has less people to fight us?” Jeff asked.

  “We’ve already went through this, we don’t know what they have set up where they are and they’d see us coming before we would be able to attack them, it’s not a good plan” Zoe said.

  “Yeah I know” Jeff said as he put his arm around her shoulders.

  Zoe liked the feel of Jeff’s arm around her and leaned into it. They hadn’t really been sleeping in their makeshift bed together with Zoe doing most of the watches and Jeff either setting up the barricade at the fence and spending time with Alex. Zoe missed feeling him sleeping beside her, it made her not sleep well.

  Zoe turned her attention from the group watching them to Michael. He was on his last skin eater to kill. He’d managed to take it all six that had came to the fence. He wasted no time in plunging his spear into the skin eaters head as it dropped to the ground. Zoe could feel the anger releasing from him for where she sat.

  “Feel better?” Zoe asked Michael as he came back.

  “Not even close” Michael said.

  Jeff slipped his arm from Zoe and let Michael sit back down beside her to continue his watch. Zoe already missed feeling his touch.

  “I better go and continue building this barricade” Jeff said as he winked at Zoe and walked off.

  Zoe sighed and leaned her head back on the seat and closed her eyes for a minute. She could feel her eyes stinging from tiredness and yet she didn’t feel tired at all. She knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep until this fight was over and done with.

  “So all of us at the front for this fight?” Michael asked her.

  “I think that’s best. We can maybe station two people at the sides, one on each side, to watch there and the back” Zoe said to him.

  “Good idea” Michael said.

  “We should maybe think about fashioning spikes to place on the top of those buses at the back to stop them just climbing over them, I doubt buses there are going to stop them much” Zoe said.

  “You are just full of ideas Zoe, I’ll get people on that” Michael said.

  “Maybe grab Arthur, Sophia and Mandy to do it?” Zoe said.

  “I’ll go ask them the now” Michael said as he got up and went back inside.

  Zoe had no idea what they could use to fashion spikes but she guessed that Arthur, Sophia and Mandy would have an idea, they were a creative bunch. Zoe had realised that they were just giving Brians group an advantage with placing the buses at the fence. They were only single decker buses, the same height as the fence and with the buses there, their group wouldn’t be able to really see if anyone was coming from behind them. The spikes would stop them, or at least delay them from climbing over the buses. If they did manage to get on top of the buses and over then they would be at least a bit injured from the spikes.

  “I have an idea for the spikes, follow me!” Arthur said as he came out the door.

  Sophia and Mandy followed him, they all had smiles on their faces.

  ‘Must be happy with the spikes plan’ Zoe thought.

  “That Arthur is just a ball of energy, jumped straight up when I asked about them making spikes. In fact he was on his feet when I asked if they could do me a favour” Michael said as he came back out.

  “He’s eager I’ll give him that” Zoe said.

  “I like him” Michael said with a smile.

  “Hard for me to believe I didn’t when I first met him” Zoe said.

  “What? Why didn’t you like him?” Michael asked.

  Zoe turned and Tod Micheal the story of how she met Arthur, Mike and Sue and how they’d rescued her when she was being chased by the skin eaters. She also told Michael about her first run in with the skin eaters which was Catherine and the man skin eater.

  “Great work day that must’ve been for you” Michael said to her.

  “I’ve probably had worse” Zoe said.

  Michael laughed at that. Zoe didn’t actually mean it as a joke. She probably did have worse days than the beginning of the skin eater epidemic. In fact, Zoe thought this epidemic was a good thing to happen for her. She had found Jeff and people she was beginning to class as friends. Sue turned out to be the closest thing she had ever had to a mum. Zoe had never felt what it was like to have this before, it felt good for her.

  “The outbreak started at the worst time for me” Michael said.

  “Why’s that?” Zoe asked.

  “I was in the pub, enjoying a nice cold pint when this fucker came shuffling in and bit the guy standing closest at the door. No one knew what to do, we were all shouting at the skin eater. Another guy went up and smashed a glass over it’s head hoping that’d stop it. It didn’t. He ended up being bit as well” Michael told her.

  “Did anyone end up killing it eventually?” Zoe asked.

  “Nah, more came in at that point. Must’ve heard all the commotion coming from the pub with us all shouting. When I saw more coming in I jumped the bar, grabbed a bottle of whiskey and ran out the back door” Michael said with a laugh.

  “Priorities huh? You weren’t with anyone you knew?” Zoe asked him.

  “My mates hadn’t turned up yet, don’t even know if they’re still alive. I was trying to look for them when Brian found me and brought me into his posey. Brian offered to help me look for them, that’s how he roped me in. Didn’t bother looking which you probably already guessed” Michael said.

  “Yeah, I guessed as much” Zoe said.

  “I hope they’re still alive out there” Michael said.

  “I hope they are too, I hope we’ll manage to run into them at some point” Zoe said to him.

  Michael turned and smiled at her before turning his attention back to the front of the building.

  Zoe watched out for more skin eaters and well, watched Jeff as well. He did have his shirt off and Zoe was still a human female, she couldn’t help herself!

  The day began to fly in. Alice came out with lunch for everyone that was outside and they took a break from what they were doing and talked to each other. The conversation wasn’t all about the impending fight, they spoke about other things that made them laugh and happy. There was no doom and gloom conversation amongst them. Pretty soon they all went back to their assigned jobs.

  Zoe went to kill off some skin eaters from the side of the building, beside Chris grave to stretch out her legs and back, they were beginning to get stiff and sore from all the sitting she was doing on watch. She killed the two skin eaters with ease, adding them to the pile surrounding the depot building. Zoe thought that leaving the skin eaters around the building was supposed to make them stay away as the skin eaters shouldn’t be able to smell them through the actually dead skin eaters.

  ‘Maybe there aren’t enough to disguise our smell’ Zoe thought.

  There were some flowers beginning to grow near Chis grave from the grass beside the fence. Zoe bent and chopped some up with her knife and lay them on Chris grave. Zoe hoped that they would be able to stay here for Sarah. Sarah would struggle being away from Chris resting place where she could still go and talk to him.

  Arthur cam bouncing up to. Zoe as she was walking back to her watch post.

  “Zoe! Come look at the spikes we’ve made and put on top of the buses” Arthur said to her.

  “All right” Zoe said.

  Arthur was bouncing back to where they were working on the buses, excitement rolling off of him. It was hard not to feel as excited as Arthur, it was like he just spreads what he was feeling to everyone around him.

  Sophia and Mandy were just coming down off the last bus as Zoe approached them, both were grinning ear to ear.

  “So? What do you think?” Mandy asked her.

  Zoe looked up at the busses and saw the spikes and barbed fence on top of them.

  “Looks great! That should be able to stop them or at least delay them” Zoe told them.

  “We used the barbed fence we found in the shed to put on top of the buses and on top of the fences to stop them from managing to climb over from the top. W
e found the barbed fence in the hut just at the back corner over there” Mandy told her as she pointed out the hut.

  “For the spikes we managed to use broken parts of the fence they must’ve used to place around the property and place them in the holes on top of the buses. They’re not very sharp but they’ll do” Sophia said.

  “You’ve all done a great job, be proud of yourselves. We have a bit of an upper hand over Brian and his group now” Zoe told them.

  “Come to the hut and see what’s else we’ve found. You’ll love this!” Arthur said excitedly.

  Zoe followed Arthur, Sophia and Mandy over to the hut and as soon as they turned the light on inside Zoe felt herself grinning.

  “This is great huh?” Arthur said.

  “This is fantastic” Zoe grinned.

  The hut was like a shrine for weapons they could use. There were gardening tools they could use as weapons like rakes, shears, shovels, a saw, and drills. However, the prized weapons were sitting right at the back wall of the hut. This is what made Zoe smile.

  “We actually found guns that we can use!” Sophia said.

  “This is great, we have finally had a lucky dip find Zoe! Can you believe it!” Arthur said to her.

  Zoe couldn’t believe it. There at the back wall there was a pile of rifles and shotguns. Zoe moved into the hut to get a closer look and to see how many guns there were.

  She counted ten guns. Five rifles and five shotguns. There weren’t enough guns for everyone. Five people would have to without a gun and Zoe wasn’t including Alex in the count. He was far too young to handle a gun and they had all agreed that Alex would be protected from the fight. He wasn’t going to kill anyone and he would be protected from being killed himself.

  “Grab the guns and the bullets and take them inside and gather everyone in Simone’s office. We have to decide who gets a gun and come up with a different plan for fighting Brian’s group. Be as sly as you can taking them in through the back door, we don’t want to risk Brian’s watchers seeing these. Also grab the tools in here we can use as weapons as well” Zoe told Arthur, Sophia and Mandy.

  “You got it!” Arthur said.

  Zoe made her way back around to the front of the building to tell Michael, Jeff, Mike, Simone and Mark about the weapons and guns Arthur, Sophia and Mandy had found.