by J N Wood
Roy very dramatically looked to the ceiling.
Theo stared at his brother with wide eyes.
‘You can forget that idea straight away,’ Sandra said.
‘Why?’ Pete asked. ‘Afterwards, I’ll go back to that camp we drove by. The one at Sumas. I’ll wait my turn and meet you all in Canada.’
‘No, not happening,’ Sandra told him.
‘That’s a very brave and selfless thing you’re offering to do for us,’ Ali said. ‘But we’re all going across. We’re not leaving anyone behind.’
‘Why don’t we draw the zombies away from the fence,’ I suggested. ‘Near to where they’re still constructing the wall. Like they did with the helicopters.’
‘We don’t have any helicopters,’ Jack said.
‘No,’ Beth said. ‘But we have two cars, with stereos.’
‘Exactly,’ I said. ‘Then we do Roy’s idea, and set fire to everything. That tall grass should burn easily enough. We’d just have to crawl through beforehand and cover the ground with petrol, or something else flammable.’
‘There must have been some soldiers around the construction sites,’ Ali pondered. ‘But I can’t actually remember seeing any.’
‘I don’t think I saw any,’ Jack agreed.
‘Nope,’ I said. ‘I didn’t see any obvious ones with the binoculars.’
Roy sat forward in his seat. ‘There must be some there, somewhere.’
‘Maybe,’ Ali said. ‘But hopefully far enough away to give us some extra time.’
‘That big industrial farm as well,’ I said. ‘If we could blow that up, or just set fire to it, that would definitely make a good diversion.’
‘So we use music in the cars to draw the zombies away from the fences?’ Sandra asked. ‘After that we set fire to literally everything by the sounds of it. Then we just walk up to the fence, and a simple snip snip later, we waltz into Canada? With three small children by the way.’
‘It’s a plan,’ I declared. ‘We just need to iron out the details.’
Sandra rolled her eyes and slapped her hands down on the arms of the chair.
‘When we set fire to everything,’ Jack said. ‘And especially if we blow up that farm, the zombies are going to come back pretty quickly.’
‘So we’re entertaining the destroy everything and burn ourselves to death plan?’ Sandra asked.
‘Even if we didn’t blow up the farm,’ Roy said. ‘Burning the fields alone would hopefully create a lot of smoke.’
‘Let’s not blow up the farm though,’ Jack said. ‘Okay?’
‘If we use music to draw the zombies away,’ Beth said. ‘The Canadian workers will soon figure out someone is trying to lure them away for a reason, and call the soldiers.’
‘So we need to draw the zombies away some other way,’ Ali said. ‘With a naturally occurring sound.’
‘Ca-caw, ca-caw!’ I screamed.
Everyone flinched. There was a loud clattering from the kitchen as the three kids ran into the room.
‘Like that?’ I smiled.
Ali shook her head. ‘Pretty sure I said naturally occurring.’
‘That just sounded like an idiot screaming ca-caw,’ Jack said.
‘What was that?’ Seth asked his mother.
‘It’s just Chris messing about,’ Sandra replied. ‘Now go back and play. Quietly though. And don’t break anything,’ she quickly added.
‘Why not wait for the helicopters to do it?’ Beth asked. ‘Then there isn’t any reason for the Canadians to become suspicious.’
‘That would be easier,’ I said. ‘My throat is hurting just from those two ca-caws.’
‘We could hide in the farm,’ Pete said. ‘And wait for the zombies to get dragged away.’
‘That means you can’t blow it up Chris,’ Jack said.
I let out an exaggerated sigh. ‘I suppose I don’t have to blow the farm up.’
Roy placed his empty cup on the coffee table in the middle of the room. ‘We’ll need to be fast, and already have the petrol there, obviously.’
Sandra raised her hand into the air. ‘One question. How do we all get to the fence, while everything is on fire?’
‘The farm is quite close to the fence,’ I told her. ‘And I’m pretty sure there was a track that ran alongside the farm to the fence. We’d just have to take lots of water, maybe soak blankets and cover ourselves in them.’
Sandra frowned. ‘Okay, another question, actually two questions. Does this tall grass cover the ground all the way up to the fence?’
‘No it doesn’t,’ Jack replied. ‘It must all be trampled flat by the zombies around there.’
‘So why hasn’t all of the grass been trampled flat?’ Sandra asked.
‘There aren’t that many zombies,’ I told her. ‘It’s not a huge swarm size. Some of it will be trampled, but not all of it.’
‘Sorry, the grass question was an extra one,’ she said. ‘If the grass doesn’t go all the way to the fence, what if the wind blows the smoke away from the fence? It’ll be kind of obvious what we’re doing when we just stroll up to the fence and start snip snipping.’ She lifted her hand and imitated a pair of scissors with her fingers.
‘If the wind isn’t in our favour,’ Roy said. ‘We don’t do anything. We just wait for another opportunity in one of the other farms. There are a few around here.’
‘So you’re all on board with this then?’ Sandra asked, slowly looking around the room.
Ali nodded.
I shrugged, and said, ‘Yep, why not?’
Jack said, ‘Yeah.’
Beth raised her cup of coffee in front of her, saying, ‘Yep.’
Roy also shrugged his shoulders, saying, ‘I’m in.’
‘Sure,’ Pete said.
Theo looked to his brother, and said, ‘Yes.’
Sandra slowly shook her head.
‘I think we should go tonight,’ Ali said. ‘Oxygen masks are out of the equation. We won’t be able to find enough, if any. We empty our cars of their gas, and do the same with all the surrounding vehicles. Then we pack up and leave.’
‘We need to take as much water as we can carry,’ Roy said.
‘Swimming goggles, and snorkelling masks,’ Beth said.
‘What?’ Jack asked her.
‘To protect our eyes from the smoke,’ she replied. ‘Especially for the boys.’
Jack nodded. ‘Good idea.’
‘Fuck,’ Sandra slowly whispered.
Ali stepped in front of Sandra, and crouched down. ‘Don’t worry. The kids come first. If it’s not safe enough, we won’t do it.’
‘Safe enough,’ Sandra replied. ‘That sounds reassuring.’
‘We’re not going to drag them away from you and run away,’ Ali told her. ‘It will always be your final decision.’
Sandra nodded.
‘Okay everyone,’ Ali said, straightening up. ‘Sandra and the kids, you look for goggles and masks. Anything to protect us from the smoke really.’ She looked directly at Sandra. ‘Probably best not leaving the house though.’ She turned back to us. ‘I’m on food scavenging. Chris and Roy, you get us blankets, and things to keep us warm. After you’ve done that, search the outbuildings for tools, stuff that will cut through fencing. I don’t want to rely on the pliers I found. Jack and Beth, you fill up every possible thing you can find with water. Pete, and Theo, you know how to syphon gas. Get as much as you can carry and bring it back here, and then go and get some more. Two hours, that okay with everyone?’
Everyone agreed and rose to their feet.
Ali sidled up to me once we were in the kitchen, and away from Sandra. ‘If it comes down to it, and the opportunity opens up, we might have to grab the kids and run. Sandra will follow us if we drag them away from her and run away. We’re getting into Canada no matter what. I’m sick of this shit.’
Without another word, she marched off and climbed the stairs.
I hope it doesn’t have to come to that. It’s gonna be
dramatic enough as it is.
Roy walked into the kitchen and stopped in front of me. ‘Split up and save a bit of time?’
‘Yeah can do,’ I replied. ‘Blankets or outbuildings?’
Roy pulled out a coin from his pocket. ‘Heads, you do blankets? Tails, you do the outbuildings search?’
‘Yep okay.’
He flipped the coin into the air, catching it with his right hand as it fell back down. He slapped it onto the back of his left hand, and pulled his right hand away.
‘It's tails I’m afraid Chris,’ he said. ‘You’re on outbuildings search.’
‘What a fucking surprise,’ I glumly said, walking towards the back door.
‘We can swap,’ Roy offered. ‘I don’t mind.’
I picked up my baseball bat and a torch before opening the door. ‘No it’s fine. Come and look for me if I don’t come back.’
‘I’ll come and find you once I’m done in here,’ he called out after me.
The sun was just setting as I made my way towards the first of the three outbuildings. It was made of red bricks, with a corrugated iron roof. The sky was a mixture of blues and oranges.
The big sliding door was unlocked. I knocked three times with the Smasher and waited a few seconds. I didn’t hear anything, so I slid the door open a few feet and stepped in.
Small windows around the top of the walls allowed in what little outside light was left. The building was empty, just a few leaves lay on the floor.
I moved on to the next outbuilding, much smaller than the first. It looked like it was entirely made of wood, with no windows as far as I could tell. There was a padlock hooked through a rusty metal latch half way down the door. I rattled it with my hand, hoping it was unlocked, and was just there for show. It wasn’t.
I tried to hit it with the Smasher, and missed. I had a quick glance around me, to make sure nobody had seen my embarrassing attempt. I couldn’t see anyone. I did spot a large rock lying on the floor. It was about half the size of my head. I placed my torch down on the floor, and leaned the Smasher against the side of the building.
With the rock now in both hands, I raised it up above the padlock, and brought it down. It struck the padlock, tearing it away from the door, along with the metal latch. I dropped the rock to the ground and picked up my bat. All was quiet still. I pushed the door open and peered in. Boxes of screws and nails filled the many shelves. One wall was filled with various tools, all hanging from hooks. Three tools immediately caught my attention, a large bolt cutter, and two smaller wire cutters. I grabbed the two smaller tools and put them in my pocket. I hefted the bolt cutter. It was about two foot long, and fairly heavy. I swung it two handed within the tool shed.
I’ll take it. I could use it as a weapon if needs be.
I was just about to leave, when I noticed a box of builder’s dust masks. I grabbed them as well, stuffing the box inside my jacket.
The third outbuilding looked like a garage. As I neared it, I could hear noise from within. It sounded like something was trapped. Whatever it was seemed to be thrashing about in there. The side door was slightly ajar, so I crept over to it. I put the large bolt cutter and my torch down on the ground. Holding the Smasher with both hands, I tapped on the door with the very end of it, and took three steps back.
The noise from within abruptly stopped.
‘Hello,’ I whispered. My heartbeat was now racing.
If this is another bear, I’m not gonna be very happy.
The door slowly creaked open. I peered into the darkness, there didn’t seem to be anybody opening the door.
‘Chris?’ Pete called out.
Fuck’s sake.
Pete stepped out through the door.
‘What the fuck?’ I said. ‘You nearly scared the shit out of me. What are you doing in there?’
‘Just getting the gas from this car.’ He opened the door and shone his torch inside, illuminating the back of a beat up vehicle.
‘What was all the noise? It sounded like a trapped animal.’
‘Oh, that was just Theo. It was his turn to do the sucking.’
I screwed up my face. ‘What?’
‘He swallowed a bit of gas,’ Pete said brightly, a smile on his face. ‘Happens every now and then.’
I slowly nodded. ‘Okay, anything else of any value in there?’
‘Not really,’ he replied, looking back into the garage. ‘Just engine parts.’
‘Right,’ I said. ‘See you back in the house. Enjoy your sucking.’
I picked up my belongings and headed back. I’d salvaged everything we needed from outside.
I bumped into Roy just as I entered through the back door.
‘Hey,’ he said. ‘I was just coming out to find you.’
I leaned my bat against the wall and handed him the large bolt cutting tool. ‘All done,’ I said, pulling the two wire cutters out of my jeans pocket, and then the box of dust masks out from the inside of my jacket. ‘Got these as well.’
Roy held the bolt cutter in both hands and swung them in front of him, almost exactly as I had done. ‘The weight will make it a good weapon as well.’
‘Yep. Did you find blankets and shit?’
Roy pointed to two piles of blankets and duvets on the kitchen table. ‘Yeah, all sorted.’
We sat ourselves down in the living room and waited for everyone else to return.
Sandra and the kids had actually found some goggles and snorkelling masks. Only two pairs of each, but I was surprised they’d found them. Not enough for everyone, which of course meant I wouldn’t be getting any to wear.
Ali returned with lots of tinned food.
Jack and Beth had filled every plastic bottle they could find with water, so seventeen bottles of various sizes sat on top of the coffee table in the living room.
Pete and Theo returned to the house last, carrying eight full jerry cans.
‘You do realise we’re gonna have to carry all this to the farm?’ I asked them all. ‘We can’t drive up there.’
‘We’ll manage,’ Ali said, looking at everything we’d collected. ‘Somehow,’ she added.
My back pack was now stuffed with blankets, and three new tools, one of which was very heavy. I was also carrying my baseball bat, and a plastic bag containing three petrol filled jerry cans. I wasn’t alone, everyone else was also overloaded. Nobody more so than Jack, who had taken some of Beth’s load as well as his own.
We left the farm in the dark. Sandra, the kids and Beth were the only ones with any free hands. We had to rely on them to light the way with their torches.
During the walk through the woods, I lost count of the amount of rest breaks we took. So by the time we reached the tall grass, we must have been walking for two hours or more.
Ali was down on her knees, leaning in close to the three young boys. ‘We’re going to go into the grass now,’ she whispered to them. ‘And no matter what, we can’t make any noise. Okay?’
‘Okay Aunt Alison,’ Seth and Jonah replied in unison.
‘Okay Max?’ Ali repeated.
Max gave her three very quick nods of his head, saying, ‘Okay Aunt Alison.’
‘Good boys,’ she said with a big smile. ‘Nothing to worry about. We’re all just going on a big adventure.’
‘Stay close to me,’ Sandra said to the boys.
Ali stood up and very briefly looked at us all. ‘All the rest of you, don’t group up. They might notice the movement in the grass if we all stay together.’
I over dramatically lifted the heavy plastic bag, nodding towards the farm in the middle of the field. She smiled and turned around. We followed her in, keeping our heads below the height of the grass.
We hadn’t told the kids that there may be zombies in the fields, but we’d all decided beforehand, if we encountered any, we’d drop everything, pick up the kids, and run back to the woods.
Ten minutes later, we were stood outside the farmhouse. We hadn’t met anything as we made our way through
the tall grass. Where we were stood, we were hidden from the Canadians, but that also meant we couldn’t see the border.
Behind the house were the large industrial looking buildings I’d seen earlier in the day.
I pointed behind the farmhouse towards them. ‘We could do with being in them really. We need to be able to see what is happening at the border.’
‘Stay here,’ Ali quietly said. ‘Pete, you come with me. We’ll find the best way to get in.’
They both placed everything they were carrying onto the ground, and crept away into the night.
They returned a few nerve wracking minutes later.
‘Okay,’ Ali whispered. ‘We’ve found a way in. It’s easy. Follow us.’
They picked up their things, and led us down an alleyway between the house and a long shed. A tractor was parked on a thin lane behind the house. Ali passed the things she was carrying in her hands to Pete, and then started to climb up onto the tractor.
‘Alison?’ Sandra questioned her.
‘There’s no other way,’ Pete said. The main doors are on the border side.’ He pointed up to the flat roof adjacent to the tractor. ‘There’s an open window up there.’
Ali turned around on the bonnet of the tractor, and reached down for her stuff. ‘It’s safe,’ she said. ‘Don’t worry. We both went in this way.’ She turned around and placed her bags on top of the tractor’s roof.
Passing the kids up and everything else we were carrying made it a much more complicated task than it should have been, but we were soon all inside the building. The window we had climbed through led us to a metal gantry walkway, which skirted all the way around the inside edge of the huge building. It was about twenty feet to the warehouse floor beneath us. Under the walkway were massive steel brewing tanks, maybe thirty of them. Three metal staircases led down to the warehouse floor.
Jack turned to me as we travelled along the walkway to the front of the warehouse. ‘Blowing a brewery up would have been sacrilege.’
‘I’m sure we’d have managed,’ I said.
We unpacked the blankets and duvets, and set up camp on the cold, hard, metal gantry. Not the most ideal surface for sleeping on.
DAY TWENTY THREE
