I ate as much of the soup as I could and although it was very good; it was hard to swallow knowing one of our friends would not be leaving this house with us. Finally, Jason headed outside. It was late in the day, but the sun was still peeking over the horizon, casting long shadows and making the air feel arid and hot as the others and I followed him to the garden.
Lara was sat by the pile of freshly dug earth; she was picking daisies from the grassy area and laying them on the mound. Ali sat beside her and Mark bowed his head, “We are all here to say goodbye to our friend Lance. To thank him for his help and courage and to let him know we will miss him every day” Lara began to cry again but this time it was silent tears that streaked her darkened face and glistened in the last light of the day. Her head hung down, and the tears dripped from her nose, Ali held her close and used her sleeve to wipe at her face. Adam appeared in the doorway with a computer screen in his hands. It was a flat, lightweight one, and he had written across it with a marker pen “Lance, our friend” in a childish script. He put it on the grave like a headstone and Mark patted his back and picked him up when he started to cry. Lara looked up at Mark, “Can we stay here tonight?” she asked, “I don’t want to leave him just yet.” Mark looked at us and we all shrugged or nodded. “Sure,” he said, “Let’s sort out sleeping arrangements”.
We went inside. The first thing Jason did was rip up the hall carpet, so Lara wouldn’t see the blood. I grabbed some cloths from under the kitchen sink and wiped the walls and banister. It wasn’t the best clean-up job, but it looked less like a horror movie. We headed upstairs and aired the beds; Jason got some of our torches from the van, and we divided the two bedrooms between us. Jason and I would sleep in one room with Lara and Mark, Ali and Adam would share the other. Lara flopped onto the bed and we thought it best to let her sleep, Jason and Mark went on a scout around of the local area and tidied up most of the bodies in the street. Adam untied the puppies and took them for a walk by the front door, under Ali’s watchful eye. I stood for a while watching them sniff at the last few corpses that littered the street, Adam pulled them away as they tried to lick at the blood.
“Walk them over there,” I said, pointing to a clear area of the street. Adam headed that way with the dogs bouncing at his heels.
“Don’t go too far,” I shouted as I went inside. Ali had already cleaned up from dinner, I fed and watered Lance’s chickens. He had been so excited to find them, they were so weak and scrawny looking, but I wanted them to survive as a testament to Lance. I gave them some dried corn and peas with a few worms that had been disturbed by all the digging. I studied the poor things for a while they seemed to be two hens and a cockerel. They were probably beyond egg laying, but if Lance had saved them, then I would help get them well and keep them safe.
The time dragged on. We found some tinned supplies and even a few vegetables growing wildly. I could have kicked myself that I hadn’t thought before to check gardens for vegetables or look around for apple trees. Ali found a lane with blackberries growing and we filled quite a few plastic tubs with them. We already had seeds and bulbs in our supplies, but anything fresh was a bonus. We put everything in the van and had a few blackberries each to feast on. Adam enjoyed them immensely, and we all gave him some of ours as it gave us more pleasure watching him eat them than actually eating them ourselves.
As darkness came, we all began our shifts. No one had planned a shift for Lara as we just wanted to let her sleep. Jason was up first and as I didn’t want to disturb Lara, I stayed down in the front room with him and watched out of the windows for any movement. He hadn’t really spoken to me since the kiss and I wasn’t sure if I should try to broach the subject, or even if I wanted to. We sat in silence for most of his shift; he was swigging from a bottle of the wine I’d found and I wondered if he was angry with me; I felt responsible for Lance’s death as it had been my fault that Jason had stood stock-still in the street. I didn’t want to ask Jason if he blamed me because it terrified me that he might say “Yes”.
I found my voice. “There is some gin and whisky if you feel like getting really drunk.” It came out a little sarcastic, but Jason looked over at me and shook his head slowly. As he turned to look out the window I tried again in a more reasonable tone. “Do you think there are many more survivors out there?” Jason shrugged and kept looking out; I decided it was probably better to let him be, so I moved into the kitchen to watch out the back. Seeing Lance’s grave again with Adam’s message perched on top of it, so still in the dark garden and the thought of leaving him here all alone, made me start to cry. I heard a movement behind me and turned with my bow raised but it was Jason, he sat next to me at the table “I feel so guilty,” he said taking my hand. I felt his rough fingers caress my palm, “I’m alive while Lance is dead. It should have been me. It was my fault.” I grabbed his shoulder with my free hand and looked into his face; I knew every line of it by now. His dark stubble was thicker than usual, and his slightly tanned skin had a few light patches from old scrapes and cuts, I knew he had a large scar over his cheek and faint freckles that covered his nose. I’d watched him without even realising I was doing it, as he’d been working, fighting or resting and I’d laid beside him at night wondering if he ever looked at me in the same way and feeling so many mixed emotions.
“You’re not to blame,” I said trying to keep him looking into my eyes “Lance chose to do what he did; we have all risked our lives for each other. That’s called friendship and Lance wouldn’t want you to be sitting here moping. He’d say Lara needs us to be strong right now and he would be spot on.” Jason looked at me for what seemed like an eternity and finally, he said, “I know, and I will be. Lara needs us all. We are her family and we will protect her.” At that, he got up and headed towards the hallway. “Come and sit with me,” he asked quietly without turning his head to look at me. “I need the company and we should keep an eye out the front.” I smiled a little at this gesture of reconciliation and followed him into the front room. We sat upon a dresser looking out of the window at the dark still street, ravenous corpses still littered the road and I could make out their shapes in the moonlight. I leaned back against Jason’s chest and my eyes grew heavy as I felt his arms wrap around me; I could hear him breathing as he kept watch, and I felt safe and cared for.
I woke up as Mark was shaking me; I was in bed upstairs. I looked around feeling disorientated and saw Mark with his finger to his lips; I became suddenly alert, worried that something was wrong. I could see Lara asleep on the bed beside me, Jason wasn’t around, and it was still quite dark. Quietly I got up and crept outside the room with Mark, “What’s wrong? Is it my shift?” I whispered. Mark shook his head, “It’s Jason, he won’t leave his post and I’m worried. He’s drunk quite a bit and he’s talking of going out and killing all the ravenous he can find. He won’t see sense; usually, he listens to me, but…” I nodded and rubbed my face to wake myself up. “How did I get up here?” I queried, nodding at my surroundings.
“Jason carried you up earlier,” Mark said and headed towards the stairs; I took a deep breath and followed him. Jason was still sitting on the dresser; he was carving thin sticks and seemed to be making arrows from them. I walked past Mark, who was hovering in the doorway and into the front room. Mark stayed in the hall and I knew he would be ready to help if I needed him. “Jason.” I said gently approaching him, he looked up and smiled a little when he saw me “You’re up,” he said picking up the bottle by his side and raising it in a salute “good,” he took a swig and smiled again.
“I have a plan; I’m going to get them all.” He was starting to raise his voice, so I shushed him “Lara and Adam are asleep” I reminded him.
He looked thoughtful, “Yes, Lara and Adam. I must protect them; I will go out and get every one of those creatures. First my Janey, now Lance, they won’t get any more of you. I can’t lose you. You’re too special.” I knew Janey was his sister’s name, and I felt flattered by his words, although I gues
sed he meant all of us and not just me. Slowly I walked to his side and carefully removed the bottle from beside him; I hid it behind me and walked back towards the settee. I bent slightly and dropped it behind one of the cushions; Jason still hadn’t looked up from his carving.
“What are you making?” I asked as I walked towards him.
“Arrows” he slurred, and I could see that he was very drunk, he waved them at me, and they were actually quite well made. “They look good; can you show me how to do that?” Jason seemed pleased with my interest and climbed off the dresser to show me. We sat on the floor and I started to carve inexpertly at some of the wood, just relieved to have got the knife from him.
I talked quietly and slowly as I carved, mostly about what I was doing or about things Adam had said or what the puppies had done, general stuff designed to keep him calm. Gradually I saw his head begin to droop and with his back propped against the sofa, he fell asleep with a little snore. I put the knife away and got up carefully, I walked to the doorway and nodded at Mark “I’ll do my shift now,” I said, “I want to keep an eye on him.”
Mark nodded back with a relieved look on his face and went upstairs. As I sat beside Jason and watched outside for movement, I examined the arrows he had made and wondered how he had acquired such an amazing skill. The light crept back into the sky and Mark came down to relieve me; I decided to stay where I was and as Mark took up station on the dresser I leaned against Jason’s sleeping bulk and feeling the warmth from his body; I began to drift off.
This time when I woke up it was bright outside, something was cooking, and it smelt good. Jason wasn’t next to me, but I was still leaned against the sofa, I kicked off the light blanket that someone had kindly covered me with and running my hands through my short hair I headed to the kitchen. Mark was cooking something on the little stove, Adam was helping his mum to lay the table. We all said good morning, and I realised Lara was out at Lance’s grave with the puppies. I debated going out there, but Mark asked me to go and wake Jason as he was upstairs and would probably have a hangover. I smiled and headed up to the bedroom, Jason was awake but had all the curtains shut, he was sitting in the darkened room with his head in his hands; he had his shirt off, but he was covered by a light quilt. “Fancy some breakfast?” I asked loudly with a bit of a smirk in my voice. Jason groaned, and I almost laughed, walking over I sat heavily on the bed facing him.
“Are you feeling better?” The question seemed silly when he obviously had a hangover, but I couldn’t think of a better one and I wanted him to admit that last night was a silly drunken moment, to check he wasn’t still hell-bent on killing all the ravenous in sight. Jason looked up at me with red-rimmed eyes and a sick look on his face, “I’m sorry about last night,” he said trying to focus on me. I chuckled a little. “Glad you got it out of your system,” I retorted playfully slapping his arm. “Just make sure it doesn’t happen again!” Jason shook his head then groaned again at the movement, grabbed his head in his hands he grunted, “I need some aspirin,” and he started to rub his forehead. I got up to go and find some, but he grabbed my arm and looked at me.
He whispered, “I need you here more,” and I felt a shiver go all through my body. He moved his hands up to my shoulders and pulled me closer to him, I was very aware that I had morning breath and sleep in my eyes. He looked at me intensely and I felt my palms getting sweaty, then he kissed me on the lips. It was strong and warm; I could feel his stubble and his hands moving up my neck and into my hair. I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him closer, our bodies lightly touched, and I felt myself tingle as his naked chest brushed against me. I was sitting on his lap now with my legs wrapped around him, his hands moved downwards as we kissed, and I felt them on my waist. Suddenly a voice behind us made us freeze.
“Mum says breakfast is ready!” I jumped backward turning to face the door, Adam was stood there scratching his neck and scrunching up his nose.
“Ok, thanks, Adam. “I managed, feeling lightheaded, and out of breath. Adam put his head on one side, “was you kissing?” He asked. Jason’s voice behind me made me jump slightly. “Yes, it’s ok to kiss someone, as long as you like them a lot.”
Adam scratched his nose thoughtfully, “yer, that’s what Mummy and Mark said when they were kissing too,” and with that, he ran off down the stairs. I looked at Jason and we both started laughing. So, Mark and Alison had become an item. We had kind of guessed, but Adam had finally confirmed it.
I got off the bed and handed Jason his t-shirt. “We should go down,” I said, heading to the door. Jason pulled the t-shirt over his head and began to get up, but he sat back down quickly and pulled the duvet back over him. “Ermmm…I’ll be there in a sec,” he said, keeping the cover over his lower half. With all the recent kissing and closeness, I thought I knew what the problem might be, so I quickly walked out, not wanting to embarrass him further.
Adam was happily telling Mark and Ali about all he saw upstairs as I walked into the kitchen. I felt my face turn red as I heard him say, “and Jason had no clothes on.” I came through the door and thought I had better clarify. “Actually, he had no top on, Adam,” I said in a mock stern voice. “But otherwise he was fully dressed.” Mark was smiling and Ali had her eyebrows raised in an inquisitive manner. I ignored them both and with a slight smile playing around my lips, I began to get some breakfast for myself. A few minutes later Jason appeared in the doorway, I did my best not to blush as I sat down next to Adam, I couldn’t bring myself to look Jason in the eye. Jason sat on the other side of Adam and asked Ali for some aspirin, which she got out of Mark’s backpack. She handed them over with a little smirk and I thought I had better say something. I went to open my mouth and Adam spoke “If you two wanna kiss some more I can get out the way and sit on Mummy’s lap” Jason almost choked on his water and Mark started laughing.
“Do you wanna kiss some more?” Mark asked cheekily, mimicking Adam. I lowered my head, a little ashamed, but Jason spoke up in a very matter-of-fact fashion. “Not right now thanks, perhaps Mark and Mummy would like to instead?” Mark stopped laughing and went very red. Ali spluttered on her dry cereal. She looked at Adam with wide eyes and I saw Jason nodding. “Adam was telling us all about you two and the constant kissing.” Mark put his hand over his mouth and Ali lowered her head, “It’s true” Mark said, and I saw he was smiling “But I guess what we get up to is no one’s business but our own.” Jason nodded his head, “I couldn’t agree more.” I felt the atmosphere change as everyone felt a little uncomfortable with the conversation, so I got up and went out to see Lara and the puppies. She was putting pebbles from the rockery all around Lance’s grave; Tit and Tat were running around the garden chasing each other. I helped her finish, and she came and stood by me once we were done. “I feel better that we spent the night here with him, I have said my goodbyes and I think he would want us to get to the castle.”
I put my arms around her shoulder’s, “I think you’re right” I agreed kissing her lightly on the side of her head and smelling the earth in her hair “Let’s go and get some breakfast, there are some beans and sausage that Ali found in tins, they are hot and pretty good.” Lara shook her head. “Well, let’s pack. We need to get going.” Lara kissed her fingers and touched them to the grave. “Yes, let’s get going.”
We went into the kitchen and I felt everyone watch us as we walked through and slowly went upstairs together to get our stuff.
Once we were all ready, we packed up the van and headed once again towards the castle; I was still amazed at the sight of it once we crested the hill. It was so majestic and now so peaceful with no sign of any ravenous, but that didn’t mean we could let our guard down. We parked the van a little way back and quietly climbed out, Ali stayed inside with Adam and the rest of us loaded our weapons and spread out around the castle. There were signs of the ravenous everywhere; dead animal carcasses and bones littered the ground. The grass was ripped up in places and trees looked gnawed, Mark headed over the d
rawbridge with Lara, while Jason and I went opposite ways around the base of the castle. My side of the structure seemed deserted, I found a rotting skeleton that may have been a worker or a passer-by; it had been chewed on and its clothes were strewn about. Jason met me on the bridge at the back of the castle and we looked out at the fields nearby. Once we were sure of no movement, we headed back to the front of the castle and went over the drawbridge into the castle forecourt.
Surviving The Ravenous Page 12
