Abe and Vinnie were behind me. We stood and waited for the lady. She climbed in. She was wearing thick trousers and big lace-up boots. She still had her gun. She put her finger on her lips again.
‘Follow me.’
We all went into a bedroom. Me and Abe sat on the bed. The lady stood by the window. Vinnie was by the door. The lady looked outside.
‘They’ll get bored in a minute. It is much easier if they can’t see you.’
She looked at us.
‘If we whisper we can talk.’
I nodded.
‘Who are you?’
‘My name is Daphne. I have lived in this village all my life. Those things don’t belong here and I was waiting for them to leave.’
She looked out the window again.
‘These things don’t always spend long in one place. They tend to wander around looking for people to eat. The village has been deserted for so long that I didn’t think they would be coming back.’
Daphne looked at her gun.
‘Any who did come back got both barrels of this little beauty. After a while I think they got the message. In any case, the army base up the road was a big distraction for them all.’
Vinnie shook his head.
‘The base got overrun. We all escaped in an ambulance and ended up hiding in the fire station.’
Daphne smiled.
‘I wondered why they were waiting outside.’
Daphne put her gun down.
‘I heard the ambulance arrive but it left soon after. I assumed, wrongly, that everyone had left with it.’
Murphy
Daphne was really nice. I liked her strong voice. She looked at me. She smiled.
‘What’s your name, young man?’
‘Jake.’
‘Why were those creatures chasing you?’
‘My mum is missing. We need to get to Watling Asylum. She might be there. That’s what some people said.’
‘Watling Asylum? That’s more than ten miles from here. You’ll never get there on foot.’
‘We were hiding in the station. Ciaran is a viro. He was looking for us. Damian made them find us.’
Daphne looked confused.
‘Viro? Whatever do you mean?’
‘They have the virus. Ellis calls them viros.’
Daphne shook her head.
‘Ciaran? Damian? Ellis?’
Vinnie said things to the lady.
‘There’s a whole bunch of us hiding in the station. We brought some little kids along with us when Dungeness got overrun. Ciaran was our driver but he got bitten. Damian is one of the little kids. Ellis is my sister.’
Daphne nodded.
‘I see. Of course, it isn’t safe for you to be hiding in the station any longer. With these things now out and about once again the whole village is totally compromised. I’m getting ready to go and you’ll all have to leave with me.’
I got excited.
‘Where are you leaving to? Can you take us to Watling Asylum?’
Daphne didn’t smile.
‘I doubt it. I was leaving on foot and hoping to reach Murphy’s farm by nightfall. He’s holed up there with his three daughters and a farm worker. I think they have a few guns between them.’
‘How far is it?’
‘Five miles as the crow flies.’
Abe spoke next.
‘We’ll never get everyone to Murphy’s farm. David’s leg is really bad and the little kids will never manage the journey.’
Daphne spoke firm.
‘Well, I’m heading that way and you are all welcome to join me.’
She looked out the window.
‘I’ll be leaving in exactly one hour.’
Wagon
Vinnie tried to talk to Daphne.
‘We won’t be ready in an hour. We’ve got to get back to the station, explain what’s going on and then try and make our way out of there. The viros could already be back there trying to get in.’
Daphne was not happy.
‘I’ve already wasted enough time with you silly boys already. If I don’t get on my way soon, I’ll be stuck wandering across the fields at night. That will never do.’
Vinnie was thinking out loud.
‘If only we had some form of transport. That might help us get all the kids and David out of the fire station.’
Daphne smiled a little.
‘Smith’s old hay wagon is still outside his house. His horses have long since died but you might be able to get it going if you’re prepared to pull it by hand.’
Vinnie got excited.
‘Anything is better than nothing.’
He looked at me and Abe.
‘Right guys, we’ve got to find the wagon, get it to the station, get everyone on board and then haul it to the farm.’
Daphne put her hand up.
‘Hold on a minute. The wagon is a heavy old thing. Even if you get everyone on board it will be a real struggle to get that thing to Murphy’s farm. You’ll have to drag it across the fields as the quickest way to get there is not to follow the roads.’
Daphne looked out the window.
‘In any case, I doubt the roads are passable after all that excitement at the power station.’
Abe stood up.
‘We’ll manage. We always have and we always will, won’t we, Jake.’
I was pleased by Abe’s words.
‘We will. We are a good team. We stick together.’
Daphne looked at me.
‘I’m sure you are. I’m assuming that you wouldn’t have got this far if you hadn’t worked together.’
Hurry
‘Absolutely not. I won’t hear of it.’
David didn’t like our idea.
‘You’ll never haul a hay wagon off-road with me and the kids riding on it. It’ll get stuck in the first ditch we meet and that will be that.’
Vinnie was calm.
‘We can and will do it. This place is not safe anymore. The viros have wandered off but they’ll be back at any time. There’s no knowing how many others they’ll pick up along the way. Next time there may be enough of them to break down the gate.’
Vinnie looked around.
‘Once they’re inside, they’ll swarm this place in no time. No one will survive.’
David looked around as well.
‘You’re right, Vinnie. I know I asked you to find something for us to escape in but I never thought you would find a hay wagon. I had in mind something more like a van or lorry.’
‘So did I, David, but if you think about it, Daphne might well be right. The roads around here could be jammed with viros. There are some very narrow lanes and we could easily get surrounded. Going across the fields might actually be easier.’
David looked at the rest of us.
‘What do you all think?’
Ellis was sitting next to her brother.
‘I think Vinnie’s right. We don’t really have much choice.’
Amber spoke next.
‘I’m with Ellis. We’re nearly out of food here and once the viros come back that will that.’
Florence agreed.
‘I know that I’m new to all this but it makes much more sense to keep moving than it does to stay here. If those things get inside we don’t have enough weapons to fight them. They’ll overrun this place in no time.’
David thought for a bit. Then he said things.
‘Okay, we leave straight away. We’ll all head straight for the wagon. It’ll be easier than us waiting here for you to get back. We can’t risk getting separated now.’
Vinnie stood up. He looked at everyone.
‘We’d better hurry. Daphne said she would wait by the pond but she didn’t say she’d wait forever. She wants to get to the farm before it gets dark. If she’s gone when we get there then we have no way of finding the farm.’
Plan
I watched the kids getting their stuff. It was sad. Eleanor was scared.
‘Why can’t we
stay here? I like hiding.’
Damian wanted to go.
‘They know where we live. They said they would eat us all. The dead kid told me.’
‘I don’t want them eating me.’
Florence was good with them.
‘No one is going to be eaten. We’re going on a trip in a wagon. We are meeting some people at their farm. They’ll keep us all safe.’
Vinnie stood next to me. He looked worried.
‘We need to keep strong, Jake. This is going to be a very tricky journey.’
I knew what Vinnie said. But I was confident.
‘We are strong, Vinnie. You, Me and Abe can make everyone safe.’
I picked up my axe.
‘If the viros come too close I’ll chop them.’
Vinnie laughed. I knew he was being nice.
‘Good old Jake. What would we do without you?’
I didn’t say. I felt good inside.
Abe was helping David down the stairs. David’s leg was still sore. He spoke to us all.
‘We know it is dangerous out there but if we stay together then we can do this.’
He looked at the kids.
‘We have to move quickly and we have to stay together. Do what we say and we’ll get you to the farm.’
None of them spoke. I could see the fear on their skin. David looked at us.
‘Abe, when we’re ready, you need to get the gate open. We’ll be right behind you. Vinnie, where is the cart?’
‘Daphne says we turn left when we come out the gate and head down to the crossroads. The wagon is outside a broken cottage. Daphne said we can’t miss it.’
David nodded.
‘Okay, once we have the wagon, then what?’
‘We head up the hill until we get to the first gate on the right. Daphne says she’ll meet us there.’
I felt tight inside. The plan sounded easy. All we had to do was get the cart and meet Daphne. But I knew about plans. They went wonky. I knew I had to be ready for everything. Having the kids here made me feel bigger. I knew I had to strong for them. And for everyone else.
Lucky I knew how to be strong.
Now it was all I knew.
Bloody
Me and Vinnie stood guard outside. There were no viros. Abe unlocked the gate. Everyone came out. I led the way. We went down the road. It was quiet. All the houses were broken. Some had no glass. One front door was all bloody. I hoped the kids didn’t see.
David limped. He was slow. The kids were as slow as him. Florence and Ellis helped them. Abe walked next to me.
‘They better hurry up. We’ll never get there.’
I listened as I looked around.
‘They are trying. We all are, Abe.’
Abe stopped. I looked at what he saw. There were viros in front of us. Four of them. Two of them were old, two were young. They stood still. I felt the axe in my hand. Abe walked towards them. Vinnie came up behind me.
‘This is it, Jake. We have to do this now. We can’t run the risk of more.’
The first viro was spindly. It had long bony arms. It looked like a broken bird. Abe hit it with the axe. The viro fell on the road. It had a broken leg. Another viro was behind Abe. He couldn’t see it. Vinnie ran to help.
‘Abe, behind you!’
Vinnie’s axe went up in the air. The viro was small. It grabbed Abe’s arm. Vinnie hit the arm. The viro let go of Abe. It howled. I heard pain and anger. Abe hit the viro in the head. It fell over as well.
The other two viros were walking towards us. Abe and Vinnie stood side by side. I went next to them. It was just like in the Big Man’s camp. We were fighting shoulder to shoulder. We were like ancient heroes.
One of the viros had no clothes. It was muddy and bloody. I ran forward and swung my axe. The viro put its hands up. My axe hit the fingers. Three fell off. The viro screamed. Something whistled past my head. It was Vinnie’s axe. The viro’s head crunched. It went down.
The last viro was big. Abe hit it twice and nothing happened. He was puffing. Vinnie stood in front of the viro. He was ready to pounce. I looked at everyone. I knew what to do. I ran round the back of the viro. I kneeled over.
‘Quick, Vinnie, push it over.’
Vinnie rammed the viro. It fell backwards over me. I crawled out the way. Abe and Vinnie broke it with their axes. There was blood in the air. I felt like a winner.
Then Florence screamed.
Bitten
‘Mum! Dad! What are you doing?’
Florence was really shouting. I thought all the viros in the world would find us. I turned to see Ellis holding Florence. She was struggling.
‘Mum, where’s Jo?’
This was the worst ever. Florence’s mum and dad were viros. They had been bitten. Florence’s dad was wearing ripped clothes. His head was all bent sideways. Florence’s mum was muddy. Her hair was ripped at the edge. They were slowly walking towards everyone. Florence was screaming.
‘No! Not you! Not both of you!’
David looked at Vinnie.
‘We’ve got to get out of here.’
Vinnie nodded. He shouted to Ellis.
‘Come on, Ellis. We’ve got to go.’
Ellis pulled Florence. She didn’t want to leave. Ellis was speaking nicely.
‘We have to go, Florence. We can’t help them anymore. They would want you to be safe but we won’t be if we stay here.’
Florence wasn’t answering. She kept trying to get away. She didn’t know what to do.
‘Perhaps I can do something? Maybe I might be able to help them? We could get them to a doctor. There must be someone somewhere?’
Ellis shook her head.
‘The only way to help them now is to help yourself. They so wanted you to be safe. They would still want that. They really would. You know that.’
Ellis spoke kindly. Florence sort-of understood. She was thinking in her head. It was so awful to see. I didn’t even want to start thinking about Mum now. I didn’t. I couldn’t. Florence was speaking slower. Her screaming was stopped. Her mum and dad were getting closer. Florence nodded her head. She agreed with Ellis.
‘They would want me to be safe. They would. Also, I need to stay alive for Jo. She must still be out there somewhere. I know that Mum and Dad would do all they could to keep her safe, even if that meant them getting bitten instead of her.’
Florence looked at her mum and dad. She looked at Ellis. She looked at the kids. At us.
Florence nodded.
Confusing
The wagon was old and heavy. With everyone inside it was hard to get going. Vinnie pushed from the back while me and Abe pulled. That left Ellis and Amber to keep guard. Florence sat in the wagon. She was crying. The kids were crying too. It was a horrible sound.
We pulled the wagon for a while. The road was uphill. I was sweating. Abe was silent. We looked at each other. He rolled his eyes. I laughed a bit.
As I pulled I thought about Florence. It was so bad for that to happen. Like it must have happened to thousands of other people. I could feel how she was feeling. It was my biggest fear.
Every day I hoped that I would find Mum. Every single day. It kept me going. But I was scared that when I found her she would be like the viros. Sometimes I thought it might be better to not find her. That way I wouldn’t have to feel like Florence was feeling now. I wanted to find her. I didn’t want to find her. Both thoughts were real to me. It was very confusing.
I closed my eyes. I concentrated on pulling the wagon. My shoulder was really sore. I bet Abe was the same. Vinnie as well. This was worse than hiding in the station. If a swarm got near to us we would die. We would be gobbled up.
Why we were doing this? It was taking forever.
Then we heard gunfire. We stopped pulling.
I looked at the others.
‘That is Daphne. We must help her.’
David didn’t like my ideas.
‘You can’t leave the wagon here in the road. We’re too exposed.’
/>
Vinnie agreed.
‘David’s right, Jake. We need to keep moving.’
‘But what about Daphne?’
‘We’re on our way to help her.’
More gunfire. It was loud. Vinnie shouted.
‘Keep going, we’re nearly there.’
We pulled. Vinnie pushed. We moved the heavy wagon around the road. Daphne was in front of us. Her shotgun was open. She was reloading. Two bodies were in front of her. Daphne snapped her shotgun shut. She waved her hand.
‘Hurry up, we need to get out of here before the rest of those damn things come back.’
Daphne opened a gate. It went into a field. There was a rough track. Daphne pointed in the distance. There was some trees.
‘We need to follow this track to the trees. Once we’re there we should be safe for a while.’
Impossible
The track was bumpy. There were real big holes. The wheels kept sticking. It was so hard. We were all sweating. The sun came out as well. This was worse. It took ages to get to the other side. Daphne opened another gate. With a big push we got the wagon into the trees. Me, Abe and Vinnie fell down exhausted.
David got out the wagon. He was still limping.
‘We’ll never make it like this.’
Daphne agreed.
‘Of course we won’t. The farm is miles away and it’s the afternoon. We need to find somewhere to hide tonight. We can try again tomorrow.’
David looked at us.
‘It’ll have to be close. There’s too many of us to get far on foot.’
Daphne smiled.
‘It looks like you won’t get far at all. Luckily, there’s an old barn just the other side of the next field. We should be safe there for the night.’
Daphne led the way. She was fierce with her shotgun. I knew she would keep us safe. Everyone followed her. Me and Abe went last. We kept looking behind us to make sure we weren’t followed.
The kids walked in a line. Laura, Emily and Eleanor held hands with Florence and Ellis. It looked so sweet that it made me forget how we found the kids. I was still angry about McKenzie and the others. No one should ever steal children ever. No one. Not ever. It just was not allowed.
Viro (Book 4): Viro Page 2
