by Brown, TW
“I think you are just overly fatigued.” Mrs. Raye gave him a pat on the arm. “What could be wrong out here? All I see are a few rundown buildings, an old farmhouse, and…” Her voice trailed off as she stepped up beside Simon and took a better look.
Simon fixed the woman with a quizzical eye and could see her studying what was ahead of them. Maybe she could make sense of whatever it was that had him so uneasy.
“Everybody, very casually turn around and head back to the train tracks.” Mrs. Raye took Annie by the hand and pivoted on her feet, heading away from their proposed destination. She leaned over to Simon and whispered, “We can discuss this later.”
At last, they reached the tracks. When they drew near to the M1, Simon had everybody stop and wait while he went up to take a look around. When he found what he was looking for, he swept the area to be sure there were no zombies lurking and then jogged back to the group.
By the time he returned to the others, the shadows of the end of the day were stretching out and connecting as night made its slow but steady approach. Annie was leaning up against Mrs. Raye, her eyes closed, and Cedric (who was supposed to be keeping a lookout) was propped against a tree, his eyes shut as well. The only person alert was Mrs. Raye. She shot a nasty glance in Cedric’s direction and then returned her gaze to Simon.
“Well?” she asked, causing Annie to stir and snuggle in closer.
“It won’t be very posh, but I think it will keep us safe for the night.”
“That is the best we could hope for,” Mrs. Raye said, climbing to her feet and running her hand through Annie’s hair to comfort the girl when she started at the sudden movement.
Simon shot a look over at the man who was pulling himself away from the tree he’d been dozing against without even the slightest look of embarrassment on his face. He was becoming more and more certain that they would have been better served to bring Shadiyah and leave this lazy oaf of a man behind.
They all made their way to the M1 and Simon ushered the group to a small, white van that sat in the very center lane sandwiched in between several other vehicles that were all part of what looked to have been a nasty accident. There were no windows except for those up front and the pair on the back of the wide open cargo doors. Once everybody climbed in and became situated, Simon pulled himself up and in.
The quarters were a bit cramped, and with everybody somewhat soggy from the weather, it was not long before a musty smell permeated, but that was the tradeoff for them being warm and relatively safe. A voice woke Simon just as he started to drift off to sleep.
“I need the loo,” Annie grumped.
7
Choosing
Shadiyah had never really paid attention to the river that cut through the city of Leeds. Now, it was positively the only way that she could see having a chance to get out. The zombies were everywhere and in massive numbers. She looked up at the dead faces that peered down from some of the walkways that ran along the gently winding river and could only shake her head.
“How?” she asked the breeze since there did not seem to be anybody else to hear her.
By the time she reached what she knew had to be Leeds Station, she was actually thankful to dip into the darkness of the tunnel that ran underneath, allowing the river to continue on past the heart of what had once been a beautiful and vibrant city. Now, as she pulled in the paddle and allowed the canoe to drift along with the gentle current, she felt much like the tunnel she was currently navigating. She could not, nor would she try, to deny the darkness that was settling on her heart.
When she emerged on the other side, she glanced back at the curved white roofs of the train station. She let her eyes drift over the many tall buildings and she wondered if perhaps there might be a single living being that could see her. She wondered if maybe that person might be just wishing and eager to catch her eye with the hopes that she would somehow be able to come to their aid. She also wondered if there might be some malevolent part of the dregs of humanity that watched her and imagined doing terrible things to her in this new and lawless world that existed…at least for the time being.
That last thought was what took greater purchase in her mind as she continued on, occasionally using the paddle to correct her course and keep her in the middle of the waterway. She had seen the evil of man with her own eyes. She knew that history was full of tales from the Middle Ages regarding how those in power had often abused it at the peril of the poor, the innocent, and quite often, the women.
She had taken back a small bit of the power that was stripped from her sister in that moment when she executed those terrible bastards that had hurt and abused Assi. Could she hope to take back even more?
“Please!” a distant voice called, snapping her focus back to her immediate surroundings.
A brick building to her right with windows and balconies overlooking the River Aire was obviously on fire. Smoke was leaking from the bottom three levels and an orange glow could be seen emanating from within. On one of the top floor balconies was a young man who looked to be in his twenties.
Perhaps around the same age as Simon, she thought as she looked up at the individual frantically waving his arms to try and get her attention.
“Can you help me?” the man shouted down.
He was already on the outside of the balcony railing and appeared to be ready to jump. He had a large bag in one hand that looked like the sort a person would carry to the gym. Even from here she could see that it was bulging and gave the impression as if it might split at the seams if poked just so.
“Toss the bag,” Shadiyah called as she paddled closer. “Let me get it pulled in and then you jump.”
The man seemed to consider her statement and then nodded. “Good thing you ain’t a bloke,” the man called down with a nervous laugh. He unshouldered the bag and held it up above his head.
“Why do you say that?” Shadiyah paddled back a little to come to a stop as close to the building as she dared. The smoke and heat actually made it a dangerous prospect of getting any nearer.
“No way would I toss all my goods down to a fella. That would be the same as just giving it away. People are not acting out of charity these days. I feel a bit badly if I am being honest.”
“Why is that?” Shadiyah cocked her head to the side in curiosity.
“When I first spotted you, I was actually going to wait until you got close and then I was going to try and land either on you or close enough to give you a good tip.”
“But now you’re promising to be a gentleman?”
“I would certainly owe you that.”
“Well then, you best give that bag a toss before the fire climbs any higher.”
“Do you think you can catch this?” the man asked with concern. “It’s a bit heavy. All the food I could find is inside, nothing in tins thankfully, or we would be in a bit of a pickle. Still, it’s quite heavy, so be careful.”
Shadiyah opened her arms and gave a gesture for the man to throw the bag. He had to grip the railing of the balcony as he leaned out and then tossed it down to her. It plummeted, and proved to be just as heavy as promised. The canoe rocked sharply as she snagged it just before it landed almost in her lap. She felt her shoulder wrench a little, sending sharp pain radiating up her neck and down her side. Still, she now had the bag.
Dropping the bag, she looked up to see the man leaping from the balcony. He would land well short of her and just a little behind. Picking up her oar, she dug in and began to paddle away. Each stroke caused her to wince as she dug into the water for all she was worth.
For the second time in a very short period, she could hear screams for her to stop mixed with threats of what would happen if she did not. After a few minutes, the pain in her shoulder changed to nothing worse than a steady heat. She knew well enough that she would likely be more than just a little sore the next morning, but that was still several hours away.
She glanced up at the sky and decided that perhaps darkness was not as far
off as she first thought. She would need to find someplace to stay for the evening. Despite the relative safety she felt at being on the river, she did not want to spend the night in the canoe.
She would soon have her choice made for her. She had just passed under another bridge when she saw a small fork in the waterway at the tip of what appeared to be some sort of manmade island. Keeping to the right, she felt a tingle of excitement as she figured out exactly where it was that she had arrived.
Ensuring that the zombie presence was minimal, she finally managed to get the canoe to a spot where she could hold on to the concrete landing and pull herself up. Her shoulder gave a bit of protest, but eventually she was on solid ground and had managed to tie the small section of line that was at the bow of the canoe to a metal post.
“The Royal Amouries Museum presents: Shogun versus Samurai,” she read from the sign.
She was not surprised to see that somebody had already thought to come here. The entrance was destroyed. Still she considered it unlikely that the entire place was emptied out; that would take an army.
Drawing her own scimitar, she entered the building. Once she set her original bag and the one that she had recently liberated in a safe place behind the main information desk, Shadiyah ventured into the gloom, the beam of her flashlight cutting a path in the inky blackness of the interior.
***
Simon opened his eyes and sat up. That let him feel every aching muscle in his body. He did not think that his neck would ever recover from the kink he could feel in it as he tried to turn his head gingerly first one direction and then the other.
“You look horrible,” a voice whispered from up in the front of the van.
On instinct he turned his head to see the person speaking and was rewarded with a jolt of pain and a refusal of his head to actually complete that action. Turning his upper body towards the front of the van, he winced as the light from what hinted at the possibility of a sunny day bored into his head.
“I was thinking that it might not be such a bad idea to just go out and allow one of those deaders to take a nip,” Cedric chimed in as he groaned and rose to a sitting position beside Simon. Obviously his body was feeling the effects of sleeping in the cramped quarters as well.
“That would be silly,” Annie snorted as she crawled over the tops of the two men and joined Mrs. Raye in the front seat, apparently oblivious to their groans of pain as she did so.
Simon leaned over and started to open the cargo doors when Mrs. Raye spoke up and stopped him. “I wouldn’t do that just now.” Simon’s hand slid off the handle and he adjusted his body back to the front of the vehicle, eyebrows up in question. “About twenty of those bloody things just staggered past like a bunch of sailors trying to find their way home from the pub. They were moving down the side of the motorway and headed in the same direction we want to go.”
“Probably see a lot of those things slipping out of the city,” Simon said as he sat back against the interior of the van, continuing to rub at the base of his neck in hopes of kneading out the knot of muscles that were causing him so much grief.
“Yes, well, perhaps in a bit we can see about getting out, otherwise I am going to piss myself,” Cedric groaned causing Annie to cover her mouth as she giggled.
They sat quietly for a while longer. Eventually, Simon decided that it had been long enough, and after confirming from Mrs. Raye that there did not appear to be any zombies in the vicinity, he popped open the cargo doors. The rush of fresh air quickly reminded him of how dank the interior of the vehicle had become with four soggy bodies crushed in on top of each other in the closed in space.
“I don’t imagine that anybody thought to check and see if any of these vehicles might still be able to run?” Cedric said as he returned from behind the large freight truck that seemed to have been at the center of the accident.
Internally, Simon smacked his forehead. Apparently he had been just as exhausted as everybody else last night. Ten minutes later, they were satisfied that any of the vehicles that might have been drivable either had no keys or no gas. Of course that revelation only ended up being a bit of a disappointment as it meant that they would be walking again today. His feet were killing him. Naturally he would not be saying anything or complaining about it; of course Cedric had no such qualm and started in almost right away.
“I got blisters on blisters, mate. How much farther do we have to go?” he groaned as he hoisted up his backpack and cinched it up tight which only prompted a new outburst. “And I think I may have a nasty rash starting in my armpits.”
“We can stay on the M1 for a bit. Maybe we will find a vehicle that has petrol and the keys,” Simon said as he started up the road.
The sun was over the horizon now and shining directly into his face. He recalled something he had seen in one of the vehicles in that wreck involving the van they’d used. Jogging back, he reached in and pulled out a set of what certainly looked like expensive sunglasses.
“Cartier shades,” Cedric gasped. “Ain’t you posh!”
That earned a chuckle from everybody and the group scoured the other vehicles for sunglasses. It was something so simple, but everybody had a laugh as they passed the few sets they discovered back and forth. When they all finally settled on their own pair, they headed up the road.
At first, Simon was bothered by some of the faces staring out at him from vehicles as they walked. However, after a while, he simply ignored them and kept his focus on the road in front of them.
“I am glad that you decided not to try and be some sort of hero.” The sound of a voice to his left caused Simon to jump and he turned to discover Mrs. Raye had sidled up beside him.
Annie was skipping around Cedric at the moment singing in a whisper some pop song about making “your body rock” or some such nonsense. That left the two of them bringing up the rear and a good twenty yards or so behind Cedric and Annie. He guessed now was as good of a time as any to clear the decks on what he had seen.
“Those were people hanging from that scaffold, right?” Simon shot a sideways glance at Mrs. Raye and saw her nod. “And was that a military truck parked on the road?”
“It was,” Mrs. Raye confirmed. “If my mind is working correctly, that was a Foxhound parked just beyond the grove of trees.”
“So what do you think was going on?”
“I am sure I have no bloody idea, but it felt…off.”
“Exactly,” Simon said with a nod. “If not for the bodies strung up, I might have had us approach. I can’t really explain it, but seeing those people hanging had me wondering. Maybe it is too many movies, but it always seems that the military, government, and basically any figure of authority always ends up being a proper git.”
“Says the policeman,” Mrs. Raye laughed.
“Yeah, well there is always the one idiot who tries to do good. He usually ends up dead.” Simon glanced over his shoulder, almost expecting to see the armored vehicle roaring their way with soldiers shouting and waving their weapons. All he saw was the smoky haze that shrouded Leeds and the massive accident that clogged the M1. He would not allow himself to think about the bite on his arm at the moment; that would be too depressing.
They came to another roundabout and Simon took them down the A656. The walk was actually becoming pleasant as lush green farmland opened up the left and trees bordering on their right. Without anything being said, everybody drifted to the left side of the road, eyes keeping a watch for anything that might stumble out from the trees.
Annie seemed like any girl out for a walk on a normal sunny day as she flitted over and plucked the occasional daisy. When Simon called for a brief break where they pulled out the little bit of bread they had managed to snatch up. Spreading on some Marmite and passing the pieces around, Mrs. Raye surprised everybody when she produced a few wrapped bottles of Newcastle Brown Ale.
“Enjoy these, lads, it may be quite a spell before we taste the likes again.” The woman handed one of the bottles to Simo
n and one to Cedric. Before Annie could raise a complaint, she produced a Fruit Shoot and tossed it to the girl who caught it with a squeal of delight.
“Apple!” Annie exclaimed, sitting down at the side of the road to enjoy her treat.
“What about you?” Simon asked after taking a long pull of the ale and then offering his bottle to the woman.
She produced a green tinted bottle and gave it a wistful look. Simon saw her actually wince as she twisted off the top. He read the label with a bit of confusion.
“What is Royal Brackla?” he asked after taking another pull of his ale, savoring it like he had never done before.
“Royal Brackla Nineteen Twenty-four,” she emphasized. “This was a gift from a male admirer.”
Her gaze became unfocused and it was clear that she was remembering something wonderful as a smile curved her lips. She shook her head after a moment as if to clear her mind before looking back down at the bottle. With a sigh, she brought it to her lips and took a drink.
“Ahh…heavenly.” She replaced the cap on the scotch and carefully wrapped it back up, in not only the cloth she had used for that bottle, but also what she had used to protect the two bottles of ale.
To each his own, Simon thought.
They hoisted their gear once more to the sounds of Cedric’s complaints; although he did seem in at least slightly better spirits. At some point, Annie had made a wreath from the daisies and was now wearing it on her head like a crown.
The road wound lazily and, while they could see a few of the undead shambling through some of the vast fields, none seemed to take notice of their little band of travellers. Sometime just before midday, they reached a junction with a small black and white sign that pointed east.
