The Road Trip At The End Box Set

by J N Wood

  ‘I think so, but I don’t know for definite.’

  ‘I think we should go back,’ Andruis said. ‘Walk and talk guys.’

  We set off at a brisk pace.

  ‘Have you seen Michael and Shannon?’ I asked the group.

  ‘No,’ Jack answered. ‘We haven’t seen them.’

  ‘How did you know we were here?’ I asked.

  ‘We didn’t know Roy was here at all,’ Jack said. ‘Caleb told me the annoying British arsehole had gone back out to look for his friends. So I safely assumed that was you.’

  ‘Caleb is a fucking twat. Have you seen Sheriff McCallany sat on top of his container?’ I asked. ‘He’s the one playing the music. It’s drawing a lot of the zombies to him.’

  ‘Yes we saw him from the fence,’ Jack said. ‘His batteries will only last so long though.’

  It was at that exact moment that Pale Shelter, by Tears for Fears was cut off half way through the song. We all stared at each other with fearful eyes.

  ‘Run,’ Gee said.

  ‘That was your fault Jack,’ I called out as we sprinted down the alley.

  We reached the car park at the end and turned right, aiming for the same gate I had repeatedly used that day. Zombies were now streaming towards us from around the bend, all coming from the sheriff’s container. The front of the swarm crashed into the inner fence, ferociously attacking the chain links with their hands and teeth.

  The two people on top of the fence were staring at the oncoming swarm. They hadn’t seen us. We all shouted but the hissing was deafening.

  An ear piercing whistle came from my right. I looked over to see Roy pulling two fingers out of his mouth. It had worked. The two people were now looking at us, and speaking to the guys below them.

  It also meant every zombie was coming for us.

  We weren’t gonna make it to the gates before they got to us. I think we all knew that, but we carried on regardless.

  I saw the metal panel being removed, and then two people starting fiddling with the bolts. They paused to look at the zombies heading straight for them. I was willing them to continue unlocking them. They slotted the bolts back into place and stepped out of sight. The metal panel slid back to cover the gates.

  Mother fuckers.

  We all started to slow down slightly from our desperate sprint.

  ‘We need to get up on the roof again,’ I called out.

  The three Lithuanians changed direction and started running towards the swarm. They still carried their long scaffolding poles.

  Fuck knows how they can swing those heavy things with any control, never mind run with them.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed something soaring over the fence to my left. The square shaped object was trailing something behind it. It hit the ground and shattered. A length of rope must have been tied to it. Three more bricks flew over the fence, all trailing rope behind them.

  Whilst I’d been watching the ropes appear from over the fence, the Lithuanians had already met the swarm. They were cutting swathes of the front runners down with the scaffolding poles.

  ‘Climb up the rope!’ Jack screamed. He shoved Pete towards the fence and one of the dangling ropes.

  ‘Gee!’ I shouted. ‘We have a way out.’

  He glanced over his shoulder to look back at me. He was swinging the pole in wide arches across his body. Zombies were being smashed to pieces, hurtling away to land amongst the swarm. It was a truly awe inspiring sight.

  ‘Lithuanians!’ I shouted. ‘We need to go.’

  A couple of zombies slipped through their onslaught, running for the person making the most noise. That was me.

  I slammed my bat into the first. I didn’t have time to get the Smasher back up for the second, so I side stepped. It missed me and staggered past. I crushed its head after it made its slow turn to come back for me.

  ‘Climb Chris!’ Gee called out. ‘We will follow.’

  Pete was almost to the top, and Jack and Roy weren’t far behind. I stuffed the Smasher into the back of my belt, and ran for one of the ropes. I started to pull myself up, using my feet to walk my way up the fence. I looked over to Gee, Andruis and Matis. They were close to the fence now, slowly backing up towards the ropes, constantly swinging the poles as they walked.

  Three zombies managed to get around Matis’s wide swing, and launched themselves at him. He had to stop swinging to fight them off, and that was all it took. The front of the swarm capitalised on the opportunity, and enveloped him.

  I reached the top and straddled the fence, a leg on each side. More ladders were leaning against the corrugated metal panels. Jack, Pete and Roy were using them to climb down. All I could do was watch what was unfolding outside the fence.

  Gee was closest to Matis. Upon seeing his friend in trouble, he threw his pole at the oncoming zombies, and turned to help him. He was soon surrounded, so he had to battle through the zombies with his bare hands, throwing them in all directions as he went. Three or four were biting into his back.

  Andruis turned and launched himself at a rope, immediately pulling himself up. Zombies clung to him as he climbed. He stopped when he was half way up and ripped away the creature biting his thigh. I started climbing back down, pausing when he reached around and grabbed the final one clawing at his other leg. He threw it back down into the swarm. I stopped where I was.

  Matis was completely covered in the dead, but still fighting. He was swinging his arms and kicking his legs. Gee was wading through a sea of death, pummelling skulls and ripping off heads. He finally made it to Matis, and started tearing away the zombies covering him. Within seconds Matis’s top half was visible again. With a roar, Gee lifted him up and walked him over to the fence. A blood covered Matis weakly reached out for the rope and gripped it. Gee pulled away the last of creatures from Matis’s legs.

  He wasn’t gonna be able to pull himself out of there.

  I climbed back up to the top of the fence and leaned over. Looking down into the camp, I shouted, ‘Pull the first rope!’ I was desperately pointing, shouting to anyone who would listen. ‘Pull the first fucking rope!’

  Jack, Pete and Roy were the first to figure out why I was screaming down at them. They threw themselves at the rope. All three of them heaved it down to the ground, and then pulled on it hand over hand. Two more people grabbed a hold, and the five of them almost ran in the opposite direction of the fence, pulling the rope behind them. Matis’s grip was strong as he rose up alongside the fence.

  Gee was now covered in dead creatures. He staggered over to the fence, grabbed a rope and started hauling himself, and the six zombies attached to him, up the side of the chain link fence.

  Andruis and I both started climbing back down, stopping when we were alongside Gee.

  ‘Hold on Gee!’ I shouted.

  I gripped the rope with my left hand and steadied myself with my feet against the fence. I reached over to grab a zombie’s back, my fingers dug into flesh and my fist closed around bone. I pulled and heard a repulsive ripping noise as it tore away from Gee’s shoulder. I then punched my gore covered hand into the back of another’s neck, my fist almost going all the way through. The zombie dropped away. A spurt of blood erupted from somewhere on Gee’s neck. Andruis was kicking his heel into the head of one hanging from Gee’s legs. I leaned over and grabbed the hair of a zombie biting into Gee’s back. I yanked it backwards and it came away with a chunk of Gee’s flesh and clothing in its mouth. Andruis removed the final one, and threw it down into the swarm.

  Gee looked at me straight in the eyes and smiled. It was the biggest, most genuine smile I’d seen on Gee’s face, then he let go of the rope and fell backwards.

  Chapter 19: Weary

  I screamed Gee’s name as my hand shot out to catch a hold of him, but it closed around thin air. Andruis reached out for him, but also missed.

  Gee’s face looked peaceful as he fell. His eyes were closed as he slammed into the swarm below, crushing the ones directly unde
r him. He was gone almost immediately, zombies diving on top of him.

  I screamed something, I don’t know what, and started lowering myself down the rope towards him.

  I’ve got to get him out of there. I have to help him.

  A huge hand tightly gripped around my wrist and the rope, stopping me from moving any further down.

  I looked at Andruis through the tears filling my eyes. He stared back at me, slowly shaking his head.

  Gee can’t fucking die. It’s Gee. It’s fucking Gee.

  ‘But…’ I started to say.

  ‘No. Come on,’ Andruis said. ‘Climb up with me. Yes?’

  I looked down, still hoping Gee was gonna get up and fight them off. If anyone could have done it, it would have been him. I stared at the zombies fighting each other to get to him, like frenzied sharks.

  Come on Gee.

  ‘Chris,’ Andruis very calmly said, releasing his hold on my wrist. ‘Let’s climb up. Let’s go. Matis needs our help.’

  I had to force myself to look away from the mass of zombies below us. I turned back around and focussed on the top of the fence. I started hauling myself up the rope.

  Jack must have climbed back up one of the ladders, and was trying to drag a barely conscious Matis over the top to get him onto a ladder. ‘Chris, I need some help,’ he said.

  Andruis got to him first and straddled the top of the fence. He very quickly tied his rope around Matis’s chest, and under his arms. He then lowered him down to the ground. I climbed down one of the ladders. By the time I’d stepped off at the bottom, three people were already rushing Matis off towards one of the medical tents.

  Jack was looking up, his eyes skimming across the top of the fence. He looked at me, and then at Andruis. ‘Where’s Gee?’ he asked us.

  He knew what had happened to him as soon as he noticed my glistening eyes.

  ‘I’m sorry, but he’s gone,’ Andruis said. ‘He died saving Matis’s life. I really am sorry, for all of us.’

  Jack looked back to the fence. ‘What?’ he asked.

  Andruis patted a huge hand on Jack’s shoulder, and nodded to me. ‘I need to check on Matis.’ He walked off in the direction they’d taken his friend.

  Jack continued to stare at the top of the fence.

  Roy walked over and handed me a bottle of water. I thanked him, and he stepped over to Jack, offering him one as well. Jack glanced to his left and saw Roy standing there. He looked down at the bottle, before violently slapping it out of Roy’s hand.

  I stepped towards them as Roy backed away, his head bowed. ‘Thank you Roy,’ I said, and bent down to pick up the fallen bottle. I forced it into Jack’s hand. ‘We need to find Michael and Shannon.’ I patted Jack on his arm. The palm of my hand came away bright red. ‘Jack, is this your blood? There’s a lot of it.’

  He glanced down at his upper arm. There was a large tear in the sleeve of his jacket. ‘Yeah I think so. I got bitten. I got bitten a lot.’

  ‘Pete.’ I looked around, trying to find him. ‘Pete, where have you gone?’

  ‘Yeah I’m here,’ he said from behind me.

  ‘Are you gonna go and find Ali?’

  ‘Yes, of course I am,’ he quickly replied.

  ‘Good, can you take Jack and leave him at the first medical tent you go to?’

  ‘Yeah sure.’

  ‘No I’m alright,’ Jack said.

  ‘You can search for Michael and Shannon while you’re there,’ I said to him. ‘And once you’re sorted, you can search the rest of the tents.’

  ‘Okay. I can do that,’ he said, slowly nodding his head.

  ‘Good. You’ve got quite a big cut on the bridge of your nose as well.’

  Jack reached up and carefully ran his finger up and down his nose.

  ‘Meet back here in an hour?’ I suggested. ‘You too Pete. If that’s okay? I’d like to know how Ali is doing.’

  ‘Yeah that’s fine,’ Pete said.

  Jack checked his watch. ‘Yes okay, one hour from now.’

  ‘What time is it?’ I asked him.

  ‘Twenty past eight. Where are you going?’

  ‘I’m gonna try and find the rest of the Green Team. See if they know anything.’

  ‘One hour,’ Jack said, turning around.

  Pete watched Jack take a few steps away, before turning back to me. He grabbed and then shook my hand. ‘Thank you Chris.’

  I forced a tight smile. ‘Okay Pete. See ya soon yeah?’

  He turned and jogged after Jack.

  ‘I’ll help you Chris,’ Roy said after stepping by my side. ‘If you don’t mind?’

  ‘Yeah cheers. Could do with the company.’

  We walked towards the area I’d seen the Green Team. The first person I noticed was the guy with the massive broad sword. He was talking to the woman who had led the Green Team out. They were both keeping their voices low, so I couldn’t hear what they were saying until we were stood a few feet away from them.

  Braveheart pointed to the fence behind him. ‘This needs to be the outer fence. Look at all the fencing materials around us. Build another fence on the other side of the road. That can be the new inner fence.’

  ‘That will only give us forty feet between the two fences,’ the woman said.

  Braveheart looked incensed. ‘We have no fucking choice. You saw what it’s like out there. What do you want us to do? Ask them if they want to go back out there,’ he said, pointing to the very small group of his fellow Green Team members. They all looked exhausted, bloody, and dishevelled.

  Michael and Shannon weren’t amongst them.

  ‘Him, ask him. He was out there,’ Braveheart said. I looked back to see them staring at me, Braveheart pointing directly at me.

  ‘Erm…yeah,’ I said. ‘Every single thing he said is correct.’

  The woman continued to stare at me.

  ‘We’re looking for our friends,’ I told them. ‘They’re in Green Team. Michael and Shannon Presley. Both black, early thirties. She was wearing a baseball cap, or maybe she wasn’t. Fuck, I can’t remember. She’s got curly black hair, about five foot two or three. He’s about five ten, short black hair, and clean shaven. No beard.’

  ‘Sorry friend,’ Braveheart replied, sounding genuinely apologetic. ‘I don’t really know many names here. Hey, how is the girl you got out with?’

  ‘Don’t know yet, her cousin has gone to look for her.’ I looked to the woman. ‘How about you? Have you seen them? Michael and Shannon.’

  She shook her head. ‘Sorry, don’t recognise the names.’

  ‘We only got here yesterday,’ I muttered. ‘You won’t know the names.’

  ‘Hey,’ a man said as he walked towards us. ‘I think I remember your friends. I noticed the guy didn’t have a beard,’ he said, stroking his own facial hair. ‘Don’t see many guys without some kind of beard nowadays.’

  He must have been one of the members of the Green Team Sweepers. His clothes were splattered in zombie blood.

  ‘Do you know where they are?’ I asked.

  ‘They were there at the beginning, when we were lined up and waiting. I’d been speaking to them as we walked over towards the fence. Nice folks. I’ve not seen them since.’ He looked back to the other members of his group. ‘I’ll ask everyone else.’ He paused to look back at us. ‘Come on, you can talk to them.’

  One of the other Green Team members also remembered them. She was sat on the ground, nursing an injured arm.

  ‘I think they both got brought back here quite early on,’ she informed us. ‘Jerry and Mark carried them back.’

  ‘Were they badly injured?’ I asked. ‘Do you know where they took them? Where’s Jerry and Mark?’

  ‘Jerry and Mark died getting some of the injured back here,’ the first man said. ‘Absolute fucking waste of life.’ He glanced over to the woman still arguing with Braveheart. ‘The asshole bosses knew how many of the dead were out there. It was so fucking stupid.’

  ‘So my friends wi
ll be in a medical tent?’ I asked them both.

  Another member of the dishevelled group stepped forward, a tall muscular woman, her bare arms were covered in cuts. ‘Or over there,’ she said, pointing to the front lawn of a house, over on the other side of the road. ‘That’s where we laid out the ones in our team who didn’t make it.’

  I stared at the line of bodies.

  ‘Hey dude,’ the muscle bound woman said. ‘Your face is pretty fucked up. You had it checked out?’

  ‘Yeah,’ I simply said, still staring at the bodies. Sheets covered each one, but the shape of a human underneath was unmistakable.

  I took a very slow walk across the road, dreading what I was about to do.

  ‘I’m right behind you Chris,’ Roy said.

  There were twenty, maybe twenty five bodies in a line across the lawn, all lying on their backs. I dropped my bat and crouched down by the first. I tried to pull back the sheet, but it was tucked under the head, so I had to yank it out before revealing the face. It was a white woman. She looked young, far too young. I made sure to tuck the sheet back under her.

  I slowly moved along the line, trying to be as respectful as possible.

  Please don’t be here. Just please. Not Gee and them.

  As I reached the tenth body, and stood looking down at the white, blood stained bed sheet, I think I’d known it was her.

  I pulled the sheet back to reveal Shannon’s beautiful face. I couldn’t stop the strained low moan escape my mouth. An excruciatingly painful tightness seemed to grip my insides.

  She’d been wearing her baseball cap backwards. It wasn’t sat on her head properly because its peak was caught under the back of her hair. As hard as I tried, I couldn’t get it to stay on. It just kept popping off to fall back onto the grass. My tears were now heavily flowing.

  ‘Chris,’ Roy softly said from behind me. ‘Just take it off. She looks better without it.’

  I looked down at her for a long moment, and then gently pulled the cap out from under her hair. I folded it and put it my jeans pocket. After pulling the sheet back over her, being careful not to pull it too tight, I stood and moved onto the next body.