by J N Wood
The moment carried on for a while longer. Ali and I exchanged glances. I shrugged and nodded in Roy’s direction.
‘What?’ she mouthed to me.
‘I don’t know?’ I mouthed back.
‘Sorry everyone,’ Roy finally said. ‘It’s just so hard. You know?’
‘Don’t worry,’ Michael said. ‘You don’t have to talk about it.’
I need a way out of this conversation.
‘I’m gonna go and make a drink. Does anyone else want one?’ I asked.
‘That was the last one,’ Michael said, pointing at the cup in Roy’s hand.
‘I’m gonna get some water then, does anyone want one?’
Nobody wanted anything, so I headed to my shared bedroom. I remembered sitting on a bottle of water that morning when trying to climb off my bunk.
After a brief search through my bedding, and pushing aside my Brooklyn Smasher, I managed to retrieve the bottle.
Maybe I shouldn’t sleep with a blood covered baseball bat.
I turned to head back to the corridor, stopping when I heard angry whispering from just outside the bedroom door. I crept a bit closer to listen in.
‘Stop shouting at me,’ Beth hissed.
‘I’m not fucking shouting,’ Jack replied. ‘I’m obviously not shouting because I’m whispering.’
‘Well, stop using a shouting tone.’
‘What the fuck does that mean?’ Jack whispered, sounding exasperated.
‘It means you’re being very aggressive Jack.’
‘What do you expect when you’ve been shacked up with another man for the last three weeks?’
‘I haven’t been shacked up with anyone Jack. Roy’s wife and my friend died. She died in front of us.’
What the fuck do I do here? I can’t walk out now. They’ll know I’ve been listening to them. Please don’t come into the bedroom.
‘I’m obviously very sorry about that,’ Jack said. ‘But that doesn’t mean you had to start sleeping with him. I wasn’t dead. Was I?’
‘I wasn’t sleeping with him. We shared a bedroom, but he slept on the floor. His wife has literally just died.’
‘Sleeping on the floor, a likely story–.’ Jack suddenly broke off for some reason.
‘Jack,’ Gee said. ‘This is Beth?’
Where had Gee been? Probably off drinking vodka with Andruis and Matis.
Shite. Don’t come in here Gee.
‘Yes, this is my wife. Beth, this is Gee.’
'Very nice to meet you,’ Beth said. ‘Jack has told me how much you’ve helped him. Thanks for getting him here.’
Shit, what do I do? Hide under a bed? Get in my bed?
‘No problem,’ Gee said, and then walked into the bedroom.
My finger was pressed against my lips, but it didn’t make any difference. As soon as Gee saw me, he said, ‘Chris, what you doing here? Hiding?’
Gee, you fucking twat.
I waived the bottle of water in my hand. ‘Just getting this,’ I said brightly.
I walked out into the corridor. Jack and Beth both shot me identical glowering looks.
I gave them both a big smile. ‘Morning, see you outside.’ I stepped between them and quickstepped down the corridor, towards the back door.
Back outside, Roy was back to talking about how he and Beth had bumped into a group of five guys, also heading north. He said they were hesitant at first, but both agreed it would be safer to join them.
‘They never did, or really said anything, but we were both a bit wary, Beth especially. I said we should maybe pretend to be married. Just to put Beth’s mind at ease.’
Fuck. Definitely don’t tell Jack it was Roy’s idea.
The back door swung open and Beth and Jack stepped into the garden.
‘Right okay,’ Beth said to us all. ‘I’m going back to our place to get my stuff.’ She looked at Jack. ‘My husband is going to stay here and wait for me.’
‘Why not just keep your own bedroom,’ I asked. ‘We could squeeze Roy in here.’
‘That might be an issue,’ Roy said. ‘We share the house with the guys we came in with. They think me and Beth are married.’
‘Roy, you’re moving here as well,’ Beth told him.
Roy looked awkwardly to Beth, and then to Jack, and back to Beth again. ‘Oh, erm, okay.’
Jack just stood there, a look of glum resignation on his face.
Beth pointed at Roy, saying, ‘Come on then. We’ll be back soon. We don’t have much stuff.’ She kissed Jack on the cheek, and then walked towards the side gate, Roy following behind her.
Once they were out of sight, I said, ‘Fairy tale reunion then?’
Jack was still looking at the gate. ‘No, not exactly.’
‘I think you should be grateful to Roy,’ Michael said. ‘He did help Beth get up here. Although by the looks of it, Beth probably helped him more than he helped her.’
‘Yes, you might be being a bit hard on him,’ Shannon added.
‘Alright,’ Jack said. ‘Let’s not turn this into a group discussion. I’ll handle it thank you.’
‘Okay, let’s change the subject,’ Shannon said. ‘Michael and I have been talking.’ She exchanged glances with her husband. ‘We’re thinking about moving on from here.’
Ali looked at me and raised her eyebrows.
‘What does that mean?’ Jack asked.
Michael grasped his wife’s hand. ‘Shannon and I have been talking to a few people, and after giving this place the once over, we don’t think it’s going to be safe for much longer.’
Sandra must have overheard the conversation. She stepped into the circle that had been formed. ‘And go where exactly?’ she asked.
‘A couple of guys that live here in our house, Robert and Bob,’ Shannon said. ‘They’ve been told the wall isn’t complete. You only have to go a few hundred miles, and it’s still under construction.’
‘I’ve heard the same thing,’ I agreed, before looking at Ali. ‘Well, we did, last night. Elliot from the container told us about it.’ I directed my attention back to Michael and Shannon. ‘He told us the same thing the two Bobs told you. Although Pea told us it’d only be between fifty and one hundred miles. Whatever the distance though, I’ve been thinking exactly the same thing as you. I can’t wait here for eighteen months.’
‘Who is Pea?’ Jack asked me.
‘The guy from Pea’s Place. I’ll tell you about it later. He’s an Ipswich fan.’
Sandra stepped forward slightly and lowered her voice. ‘I can’t leave here with the children. This place might not be ideal, but I can’t risk their lives out there again. I wish you the best of luck, but count us out.’
Ali looked disappointed. ‘Okay. I’m staying with my sister.’ She forced a smile, looking to Sandra. ‘Whatever you decide Sis.’
‘Pete, Theo,’ Sandra said. ‘Come over here. What do you want to do?’
The brothers left the three kids to play amongst themselves, and wandered over.
‘Did you hear all that?’ Sandra asked them.
‘Yeah we heard,’ Pete replied. ‘We’ll obviously stay with you and the kids Sand.’
Sandra smiled. ‘Thanks Pete. Theo, that okay with you?’
‘Whatever Pete says.’
‘You’re old enough to make your own mind up now Theo,’ Sandra said to him.
Theo looked at his remaining family members. ‘I’m not going to leave you all here am I?’
‘Chris, could I have a word with you in the house please?’ Jack asked me.
‘Yeah, if you want.’
‘Excuse us for just a moment please,’ Jack said to everyone.
As we walked towards the house, Shannon said, ‘Where is Gee? He keeps disappearing.’
‘He’ll be drinking with his Lithuanian friends,’ Michael replied.
Once inside the house, Jack stopped and turned to me. ‘I can’t take Beth out of here. Like Sandra says, it’s too risky.’
‘I und
erstand, but maybe ask Beth what she wants. Do you really want your baby born in this camp? We don’t even know what medical facilities they have.’
‘I want the baby to be born, simple as that. If we have to go back out there and fight through the zombies, even before trying to illegally cross a border, there is an extremely high chance the baby, along with all of us, will die.’
‘You do understand I have to go, don’t you? The rest of the world is in the middle of a new cold war. Russia and China are just about to attack everyone else.’
‘Yes I know. Beth and Roy told me about some of the rumours going around the camp.’
‘Rumours or not, I have to go.’
Jack sighed, ‘Yes I know.’
‘So you’re not telling anyone about the pregnancy? Does Beth know I know?’
‘No and no. She doesn’t want anyone to know. She thinks people will treat her differently.’
‘Fair enough. Let’s get back outside and find out when Shannon and Mikey Boy are planning on leaving.’
Fuck. I wanted Jack and Beth to come with me. Is it bad that I’m relieved Sandra and the kids are staying?
Probably.
She’s right though. It’s too risky to take them outside the fences. Also, they’d really slow us down. Just me, Michael and Shannon then. I’ve no idea what Gee will do. Not now he’s found some of his fellow countrymen to hang around with. I suppose a smaller group will have more chance of sneaking into Canada.
‘In a few days I think,’ Shannon said. ‘We could do with getting some supplies together. If we leave the same way, we could pick up our stuff from the bus. Unless it hasn’t already been ransacked by the Container Brothers, or by the actual Scavengers.’
Shite. I hoped we could avoid going in the tunnel again. That being said, my passport is in the bus.
The side gate swung open, crashing into the fence with a loud bang. Gee strode into the garden, holding a large cardboard box in front of him.
‘Gee,’ Shannon hissed. ‘You have to be careful. No noise.’
‘Yes, sorry. I have things,’ he said, placing the box down on the floor in front of us.
The box was full of clothes. Sandra, Michael and Ali almost dived in to it.
‘Where did you get this Gee?’ Shannon questioned him.
Gee smiled and waved his hand. ‘You do not need to worry about it.’
Shannon leaned over to look in the box. ‘Did you trade something for it?’
‘Hmmm…no, not exactly,’ he replied.
‘Did you steal it?’ I asked him.
He looked at me and continued to grin. ‘You do not need to worry about it.’
‘Yep, he stole it,’ I said.
We all got a new set of clean clothes out of Gee’s thieving, so none of us really cared how he’d acquired the box. Nothing quite fitted right, but new socks, pants, combat trousers and a t-shirt were exactly what I needed.
Using the soap, and our bare hands to scrub, we took turns in washing our dirty clothes in the bathroom and kitchen. Michael offered to do my washing, but I had to turn him down. There was no way I was gonna make anybody go near my underwear.
Chapter 15: I Am Batman
I was hanging up my wet clothes on the fence at the back of the garden when the noise started.
I froze with my hand in mid-air, just as I was placing a sock on the fence.
It began as a quick burst of what sounded like automatic gunfire, soon followed by screaming. Not too close to us, but close enough. Then there was another quick burst, and another. Within seconds the gunfire had become almost non-stop. The terrified screams and shouting were getting closer and closer.
The back door of the house burst open. I spun around in a panic, dropping the clothes in my hands. Jack led, as everyone spilled into the back garden.
Jack looked terrified. ‘What the fuck?’ he shouted. The rules about volume control now seemingly pointless.
‘Fuck knows?’ I said. ‘Have the zombies got in?’
The shouts and screams from outside our garden got even louder, as people ran past our house.
‘Sandra,’ Ali shouted over the noise. ‘Get the kids in the house, barricade yourselves in the bedroom. Pete, Theo. You guard the room. Don’t let anything in.’
I ran into the house after them. After grabbing my baseball bat from my bed, I exited the house through the front door. People were sprinting down the street, all in the direction of the fences. Jack, Ali, Michael, Shannon and Gee were outside on the front lawn, trying to stop people that were running by.
Jack ran back to me. ‘It’s not zombies,’ he quickly said. ‘There are people shooting people. It’s not fucking zombies.’
‘It’s not zombies,’ Shannon said, as the rest of our group made their way back to Jack and me.
‘Yes we know,’ I said.
Jack looked around at the people running towards the outer edges of the camp. ‘I’m going to get Beth.’
‘I’ll come with you,’ I said. ‘Everyone else, lock yourselves in the house.’
‘Do you know where her house is?’ Michael asked.
‘No…’ Jack said, hesitating. ‘But I have to go. I know it’s over by the harbour. She might have been walking back. It’s been over an hour since they left.’
‘Everyone in house,’ Gee said. ‘Lock doors. Me, Chris and Jack will get Beth.’
Jack didn’t wait for a response, immediately turning and running down towards the south inner fence. Gee and I sprinted to catch him up, slowing only to weave through the mass of panicked people. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, and it was nothing to do with running.
‘If they were on their way back,’ Jack said, still staring ahead. ‘They would have been walking around the outside. Nobody would walk through the middle.’
Hundreds of people were running past us, trying to get away from the shooting, which continued to rage on. It sounded like it was coming from two or three different places, all in the middle of the camp, where the majority of the residents congregated.
As we ran alongside the fence, I looked up 8th Street on my right, where the Senior Centre was situated. I slowed and tried looking over the heads of the people desperately trying to escape the gunfire. Bodies were lying in the street, too many to count. A bit further up, a small group of people were attacking someone, or something. They were swinging sticks over their heads, bringing them down on something on the floor. I didn’t want to slow down any more to get a proper look, and continued to follow Jack down H Street. We stuck as close to the fence as possible, trying to keep our heads down.
As we neared Pea’s Place, the gunfire didn’t seem to be as continuous. It was much slower now, and sounded like there was only one shooter. The other shooters must have either ran out of ammunition, or been clubbed to death.
Hopefully the latter.
I almost tripped over a group of people, all on their knees in the middle of the street. They were bent over, all mumbling something and making life even harder for everyone trying to escape. Jack and Gee moved around them. I was already pretty much in the middle of them, so I decided to try and carefully step through the group. One of them reached out a hand as I passed, grabbing my leg. He looked a little bit like the two religious guys from the other day. I looked down at the rest of them. They all seemed to share that same gaunt look.
‘God has spoken,’ the leg grabber said to me. ‘Why should we have the right to take just one of God’s angels? Tell me why?’
I yanked my leg out of his grasp, and aimed for Gee’s obvious frame running away from me.
‘Why?’ the leg grabber screamed after me.
We were now moving in the same direction as the escaping crowds, making progress a bit quicker. Although peoples’ faces still looked panicked, the screaming had at least quietened down.
We stopped at the end of the road, terrified looking people rushing around, but mostly barging into us. They must have been heading towards the boats.
The sp
oradic gunfire in the distance abruptly stopped.
‘What now?’ I asked. ‘It’s mostly shops and stuff around here. I don’t know if there are any homes.’
‘I don’t know,’ Jack said. He spun around on the spot, desperately searching the crowds.
‘She will have gone inside when shooting begin,’ Gee said. ‘We are better off going back to our house. That is where she will go.’
Jack stopped spinning around and looked at Gee. ‘Why did you come with me if you think that?’
Gee shrugged his shoulders. ‘Because you want to look for her.’
And Gee came to look after Jack.
‘Gee’s right. Let’s make our way back to the house Jack,’ I suggested. ‘We’ll pick her up on the way, or find her back at the house.’
‘They might start shooting again,’ Jack said.
‘Well either way,’ I said. ‘We don’t know where her house is.’
‘This was a really fucking stupid idea,’ Jack said, as people still filed past us, but at least no longer running. ‘We can’t find her like this. Fucking hell. I only just found her.’
We started walking back, having to push through the crowds.
‘They’re dead. They killed them,’ a man whispered as I passed him.
‘They got them all. I bet it was them,’ I heard another man say.
‘I hope they killed them all,’ a woman said.
Naomi, the woman who’d shown us to the Senior Centre, was walking along the fence, talking to people as she passed them. As we neared her, I heard her repeating the words, ‘The shooters have been taken out. Everyone just needs to calm down and go to your homes. It’s over. Please go back to your homes.’
A bit further along the road, Sheriff McCallany was making his way through the crowds gathering by the inner fence. He was repeating what Naomi had been saying.
‘Hey Sheriff,’ I said when we got close to him. ‘I thought there were no guns in the camp.’
He raised his palms to the air. ‘This may not be America anymore, but it’s still full of Americans.’ He shot me an insane looking grin, before continuing to instruct the crowds.
