From Despair to Where

by Oliver Smith

  They didn’t have sex, but they slept together, holding each other close. Inseparable. Intimate.

  Chapter 28 - The Hills are Alive

  The following morning, Jack was startled awake by a clap of thunder in the throes of another nightmare. The weather outside looked and sounded terrible and was a pathetic fallacy of the images in his head. The expensive wine was lingering heavily on his brow. He slid out of bed and left Lucy sleeping; peeking his head into the master bedroom, he saw that Chloe was still fast asleep laying horizontally across the giant bed.

  Checking the time on his newly acquired Rolex, courtesy of the previous owner, it was 5:15am, he’d finally become a morning person. He tucked the watch in his pocket as it was far too big for his slight wrist and pondered whether time would lose meaning and if it was just a throwback to more civilised times. Rubbing his eyes, he got a bottle of water and decided to make a start on packing the car rather than contemplate the meaning of time. First things first, he’d get the guns.

  Walking back to the office above the garage, Jack pulled out the key and unlocked the gun cabinet, having secured it the previous evening just in case Chloe had gone wondering without his knowledge. Staring at the guns he made quick decisions, conscious that he needed to get them loaded into the car before Chloe saw what he was doing. Looking at the labels and without any real knowledge, he decided to choose based on two criteria: short range and long range. He reasoned that the only times he’d need to use a gun were to fend off the dead when their numbers were too large to fight by hand, scare the living away and use a rifle from distance to help people who were surrounded. He picked the following guns:

  1 x Benelli M4 pump-action shotgun,

  1 x Pump-action Mossberg 500 shotgun,

  1 x Ruger 10/22 semiautomatic rifle with telescopic sights,

  1 x Remington Model 700 bolt-action rifle with telescopic sights,

  2 x GSG 1911 long-barrelled pistols.

  Resisting the temptation to load gun after gun, he moved on to ammunition. He had no idea which bullets were right for each gun so referred to the labels that the fastidious Jordan had printed and stuck in place. The shotgun cartridges were obvious, so he picked two boxes. Opening a draw that had a .22 label on it, Jack sighed with relief, gun enthusiast Jordan had labelled the draw into two sections, rifles, and pistols. He took three boxes of each making sure he remembered the different brand names, luckily for him the rifle bullets were Remington, R for rifle, easy to remember. Jack then made three trips back and forth to the Bentley loading the guns into the recess of the boot. He took the Benelli shotgun, one of the pistols and a box of ammunition for each and put them in the passenger side of the car.

  His next job involved moving the supplies from the Citroen into their new car. It didn’t take long to move the water, food and bags across, but in the few trips across the drive, he was drenched to the bone and shivering in the cold rain. He was cold and wet, so decided to get some soap or shower gel from the luxurious bathroom and give himself a good scrub.

  Jack was washing himself as fast as he could, wincing in the cold rain when he caught Lucy smiling at him from the door in the kitchen. He had his back to her and was extremely grateful to hide his shrinking appendage as it retreated in the cold, he became self-conscious, and covering his dwindling modesty, made his way hurriedly to the door to get the towel he’d left there.

  “I’ve seen it all before you know.” Lucy said, amused at Jack’s behaviour.

  “It’s pretty cold out here if you know what I mean.” Jack said feeling his cheeks redden.

  Lucy laughed out loud and held out the towel, shivering with one hand still covering his bits, the towel was yanked from his grasp as Lucy teased him, greatly amusing herself. Jack jumped in the house and grabbed Lucy and pulled her close to him and pressed his cold and wet body against her. He kissed her and the contact brought some life back into his manhood and he relaxed.

  “You’re freezing and now I’m wet!” Lucy cried out, “I’ll have that towel after you please.”

  Lucy undressed, and Jack watched on, stopping drying himself, transfixed as she quickly whipped off her clothes and jumped outside with a squeal, the cold rain splashed down in large droplets making her body shimmer. He wanted her with all his might and was about to drop his towel and join her when he heard Chloe, “It’s rude to watch you know.”

  “Yes, you’re quite right, sorry about that.” Jack responded with guilt. He put on a dry t-shirt and walked into the hallway with his towel wrapped around him to put some underwear and trousers on, away from Chloe. Returning to the kitchen he saw that Chloe had gone outside in her knickers and was being washed by Lucy, wincing at every drop of rain. Jack rushed to the bathroom and got two fresh towels from the large cupboard and ran downstairs to leave them by the door. He then explored the kitchen, taking any non-perishable food he could find.

  -

  While the girls got ready to leave, Jack looked at the maps once again to reacquaint himself with the route and after a good night’s sleep he was optimistic about navigating through side streets and suburbia to get to the hills.

  Having spent 10 minutes trying to get the garage door open, Jack finally managed to pull the car into the drive. He got a little emotional saying goodbye to the Citroen, running his hand over the battered bodywork as he bid a farewell to his trusty steed.

  Lucy helped Chloe into the back of the car and looked surprised when she saw the pistol and shotgun in the front seat, but didn’t say anything. Jack checked that the coast was clear over the wall, unlocked the gate and opened it, he drove out and decided to shut the gate behind him, thinking it was better to keep the place secure should they, or someone else in need, require refuge.

  The trio all looked back at the big house as they set off on their journey again, hoping for an uneventful and more productive day on the road.

  Turning back onto the road they’d traversed the day before, the way was clear, many of the dead had been drawn off the road by wildlife. Car crashes and debris still made the driving slow, but Jack wanted to take it steady to conserve fuel so wasn’t concerned.

  Lucy tried the radio once again and the signal was there, but still weak with the words undecipherable. They were more relaxed after a night’s sleep and chatted away as though they were going on holiday. They were becoming acclimatised to the scenes outside and deliberately chose to avoid looking directly at the more gruesome sights to keep their spirits up.

  Before they could reach the hills, more towns and suburbs awaited them and the number of dead increased dramatically, Jack felt as though his mind was on autopilot as the car weaved in and out of devastation. He hated every stressful second of the journey. His mind ventured into itself and he found himself thinking about driving in the old world, the morning rush hour and having to deal with the inconsiderate actions of others. He’d often get infuriated with BMWs and Audis cutting him up, switching lanes and trying to take shortcuts to save 10 seconds in their daily commute. He remembered most mornings, cursing as people would drive millimetres behind him even though the row of traffic in front of him meant they couldn’t have gone any further. Or people who would get on the motorway and immediately traverse to the middle lane and drive there no matter what was going on around them, unaware of their own bad driving. He used to think that if everyone drove sensibly, gave each other room, and stuck to the lanes they were supposed to drive in, then everyone would have benefited, and traffic jams would have been far less severe. This mutual consideration didn’t occur to most people at the time and it was ‘every man for themselves’ on the roads. He hated the commute, but would have settled for a lifetime of rush hour now that his vista included death and sadness around every corner.

  “Left Jack, take this left.” Lucy called with urgency as Jack bounced over a curb and managed to steer the car in the right direction. They’d all been silent as they’d tensely navigated through suburbia all concentrating on getting out of the built-up areas and into
the countryside. They had made good time, dodging the main towns by sticking to the outskirts and had begun their assent to the hills through a small town called Bollington. The town was heaving with the living dead, as the roads were lined by walls and terraced houses creating a funnel for them with nowhere to go, other than the road itself. The car took some battering, Jack was forced to drive slowly and push his way through, as gruesome forms banged against windows and clambered on the bonnet, but he carried on regardless.

  They made it through Bollington unscathed and with the steady assent, the numbers of the dead reduced until the road was empty. Buildings and the remains of civilisation were replaced by rolling green fields. The air seemed sweeter and the scene more inspiring as the bright yellow of oil seed rape contrasted beautifully against the dark rain clouds. The trip gathered pace and the three passengers breathed a little easier as they all started to believe that the journey across the country was going to succeed and give them a better chance of survival.

  The world seemed normal again, only a couple of car wrecks on the narrow road showed signs of disaster, but they were sporadic. The clouds were breaking up and the sun was beginning to peek through, giving the countryside and spring bloom an optimistic feel.

  “Look over there, he’s hunting!” Lucy said pointing at a man in the field with enthusiasm in her voice. The man had turned as he heard the car and waved as they slowly drove past. Chloe sat in the back smiling and waving back.

  “It’s the first signs of life we’ve seen since leaving.” Jack said feeling good.

  “We haven’t seen any monsters for ages.” Chloe said joyfully.

  They agreed that they would pull over to relieve themselves and eat the last of the perishable food taken from their two temporary homes of the previous evenings. It would be tinned food from then on.

  -

  Lucy spotted a road that led into a national park, so Jack pulled down the single track and then drove off road, parking behind some bushes to stay out of sight. They were still on edge, even though they’d not seen any dead in a while, but with their encounters over the past week, they were equally as weary of the living, so were glad to be hidden.

  Taking Chloe by the hand, Lucy led the girl into some trees so they could do their bodily functions. Jack found a nearby bush and quickly relieved himself and then set out their lunch on the backseat for the girls to devour when they returned. He was anxious when they weren’t with him and watched and listened, like a meerkat dosed with amphetamines, for any noise or movement in the surrounding trees.

  The pair came back whispering and giggling together. Smiling, Jack handed some humus and crackers to Chloe and they ate with relish, silently enjoying every morsel. Clearing the food packaging, still in conservation mode and not wanting to litter the countryside, Jack asked if anybody needed the toilet again to which there were shakes of the head. Getting ready to leave, they were stopped in their tracks as the sound of a diesel engine approached.

  Jack moved to the bushes in front of the car and was quickly followed by Lucy and Chloe. Peering through the gaps in the leaves they saw an army truck with a trailer pull down the track that led right past them.

  “It’s the army.” Lucy whispered.

  “Let’s just watch, we don’t know who they are, they might have stolen the truck.” Jack said feeling tense.

  The truck bounced down the uneven track and turned a corner out of sight, but they heard the engine cut out a short distance away. Men’s voices soon followed, carried on the wind towards them.

  “Did you ever see 28 Days Later?” Jack asked Lucy and she nodded her head.

  “I’m worried that if there are small groups of military men left without proper leadership then they might start acting in a similar way. Basically, doing whatever the hell they want to.” Jack said, seriously stressing.

  “Can we go?” Chloe cried.

  “Not just yet, they’ll hear us leaving, we’re better hiding and waiting for them to leave.” Jack said.

  “Come on, we should go through the trees and see what they’re doing. Be quiet though, we don’t want to be spotted.” Lucy said as she held Chloe’s hand and walked the way the two girls had previously gone to relieve themselves.

  Jack followed quietly, watching the floor trying to avoid standing on twigs. They slalomed through trees, keeping low, until they found a spot behind a tree overlooking the army truck.

  Down below, five men dressed in army fatigues, carrying assault rifles, gathered around the back of the truck they arrived in. Another man came out of the woods, who had been surveying the area, and announced in a loud and commanding voice, “Right lads, live training starts now. Leave your guns in the cab, you will only be armed with your army issued blade.”

  A distinctive grumbling could be heard as the men proceeded to place their guns in the truck and then moved back into formation around the man who had spoken. He then began to speak again, but the words were lost as Lucy and Jack strained to hear. He had told them to stand 10 feet towards the back of the trailer. The spying trio watched as the men walked to the back of the trailer all standing a few feet apart, each holding a knife purposefully in their hands.

  With a running jump, the leader of the troop, jumped onto the truck bonnet, walked over the roof, and leapt onto the top of the trailer, which looked more like a horse box. Banging on the roof fiercely he shouted, “Right then you horrible lot, come get your fresh meat.”

  He unlatched the back of the trailer and pushed the door down which noisily crashed to the floor. After a brief silence, infected corpses started to stream out of the trailer and down the sloped door that had transformed into a ramp upon opening. Jack, Lucy, and Chloe watched on as at least 20 creatures ambled out of the back towards the five men who stood motionless waiting for the dead to attack. The army men were outnumbered, but it was evident that they had been trained for this eventuality. They all stood waiting as the first of the dead lunged for the nearest soldier who was quick; he reached up and grabbed the creature around the neck with his left hand and with his knife wielding hand lodged the blade into the side of its head dropping it with ease. The rest of the soldiers joined the fight as the dead approached, sensing the living and breathing flesh in front of them. Each soldier was engaged with differing success, a couple faced three of the dead attacking in unison, where others had only one to fend off. One of the smaller soldiers had three large dead creatures attacking him and had dispatched one of them only for his knife to become lodged in its head, he was desperately trying to remove the blade when the other two lunged at him forcing him to fall backwards with the two dead on top of him, gnashing their teeth as they tried to force themselves on him. The soldier lost his trained composure and shouted, “Fucks sake Sarg, do something.”

  Jack and Lucy watched on, not wanting to reveal themselves, but feeling helpless as the soldier looked doomed. They watched as the man on top of the trailer unsheathed a pistol and fired two quick shots, the two infected creatures on top of the felled soldier toppled left and right, taking direct hits to the head with the precisely fired shots. The rest of the struggle between living and dead didn’t take long, the soldiers worked together bringing down the remaining creatures.

  The Sergeant, who had jumped down from the top of the trailer, gathered his men around for a debrief. The soldier who had been knocked down managed to retrieve the knife that was still lodged in the head of the walker, and joined the group, he was covered in blood and his body language made him look like a defeated man. The leader talked to each man pointing out the pros and cons of the fight, but he seemed to be congratulating them on a successful exercise. Looking directly at the crest fallen soldier, he said loudly so that Jack and Lucy could clearly hear, “A valuable lesson was learnt today. You’ve got to be quick, use your brain and move around them. They are slow and clumsy and easy to bring down. Knock them down and you buy time. What you definitely do not want to do is panic. You panic and you become more like them, relying on insti
nct rather than trained intelligence and that is what will help you survive. Panic is not your friend.”

  Murmured agreements drifted on the wind as a couple of soldiers patted the disgruntled man on his back in an attempt to console him. Orders were given and the troop quickly clambered into the back of the truck, departing quickly, leaving a tangle of mangled bodies in their wake.

  Lucy turned and smiled at Jack, “The army are still running drills and training. That’s got to be a good thing. Right?”

  “It can’t be a bad thing. Would you have gone with them if they saw us and invited us to tag along?” Jack said, wondering if the two girls would be in a better position with men who were trained and prepared.

  “You’re stuck with us Jacky boy.” Lucy said smiling, touching his arm. “Besides, I want to see your family home and some goofy pictures of you as a boy.” She continued, laughing.

  A low moan rang through the trees and they all looked through the wooded area and saw one of the dead stumbling through the roughage towards them.

  “Come on let’s go.” Chloe urged.

  Jack and Lucy didn’t need a second invitation as they speedily made their way to the car and set off again.

  Seeing the army prompted Lucy to try the radio again and this time they had a signal strong enough to listen to the broadcast that repeated itself over and over. It was a short message and it was from a Government broadcast explaining that the army were dotted around laying low for the initial wave of infection to die down and that people should stay inside and stay safe until instructed otherwise. It said that plans were in place to suffocate the disease at a later date and that resources were too stretched to rescue people. The broadcast also gave a brief overview of how to kill the dead in case there was no alternative.

  They listened to the broadcast three times until Lucy turned the radio off, “They have a plan, but we’re on our own until then.”