by G G Garcia
Demi puffed out a breath and asked her driver, “Where are we gonna stop?”
“I was thinking another mile or so. Near the pond.”
“Why?”
“I want to park up where there’s flat land. You see, where the pond is situated ... it’s surrounded by fields.”
“And we’re definitely going back to your place in the morning?”
“Yeah. I need to—”
Demi screamed out, but Henry only managed to brake once he hit the individual that suddenly ran out onto the road. In panic, Henry steered sharply to the right, whilst still with his foot on the brake, and both individuals looked at each other once the car came to a stop. There was no scratch on either of them, which was lucky, considering they weren’t wearing seatbelts.
“What was it?” Demi asked. She then looked at the road and could see the individual lying on the floor. “Is it … one of them?”
“Probably,” said Henry. He took out his handgun and announced, “I’m gonna go and check on them.”
“What for? Just go.”
“Demi, it might be a normal person that needs our help.”
“Since when have you been Mother Teresa? You’re supposed to be some vicious drug dealer.”
“Just wait here. I’ll be fine.”
Henry stepped out of the vehicle and looked all around and had no idea why, as all he could see was darkness and the dipped headlights of his car that were shining on the body in the road.
He walked with careful steps, gun in both hands, and could hear the woman moaning. He bent down and touched her head, asking if she was okay. More groaning could be heard and Henry was convinced that this woman wasn’t infected. He gently rolled her onto her back, aware that she could have a neck injury, and she looked at him. He had no idea how much damage his vehicle had done to her body, but was convinced she was dying and beyond help. Her eyes weren’t bloodshot and she tried to speak but couldn’t.
“I’m sorry,” said Henry. “You just came out of nowhere. I didn’t have time to stop.”
The woman shivered and opened her mouth and released a hushed word, but Henry couldn’t understand what she was saying.
“I’m sorry, what?”
She tried again, but he still couldn’t hear her.
He leaned in closer, his ear only inches away from her mouth, and she tried again.
She whispered, and pointed to the side of her, “Run.”
Henry stood up quickly, gazed over where her finger was pointing, and could now hear the sound of feet hurtling towards him.
“Oh, fuck.”
He tucked his gun away and ran back to his car, ignoring a barrage of questions by Demi, and tried to start the car. It failed twice, so he shut off the lights, locked the doors, and told Demi to get down.
“What is it?” she cried. “What’s going on?”
“Just don’t move.”
Lying across the front seats, the two of them listened out the best they could. Loud groans came from the woman and both guessed correctly that the IOs had turned up and were eating her, as she lay injured in the middle of the road. She must have been fleeing from them, Henry thought. And then ran out into the road and struck by the Audi. What rotten luck!
“How long do we have to stay here?” Demi said.
Henry could hear the fright in Demi’s voice and felt for her. He said, “I don’t know. We might have to be here all night. Just get comfortable.”
Henry lifted his head up and peered out. The body was still there, but the infected had disappeared.
Henry then pulled the vehicle away and minutes later he arrived at the pond and parked up. He turned to Demi and told her to get on the back seat.
Demi did as she was told. She climbed in the back and it seemed to take an age for her to get comfortable.
“Henry?”
Henry lay down across the two front seats, trying to avoid the handbrake from poking in his back, and said, “Yes?”
“I’m scared.”
“I’m here,” he said. “You’ll be fine.”
Both of them were now lying down, covered in darkness, and Henry closed his eyes, despite knowing that sleep was impossible for a while.
Almost twenty minutes went by and both of them had remained quiet, almost too scared to speak.
Henry’s body was still full of adrenaline and his thoughts were plagued by Emma and Maxwell, and his eyes began to fill, but he didn’t want Demi Mason to hear him crying. He then thought of the poor woman. Her death also saddened him. Indirectly, he had killed her. In hindsight, he should have finished her off, rather than leaving her to such a gruesome death.
“Henry?” Demi had broken the silence and added, “Are you thinking about that woman?”
“Do you have a sixth sense or something?” Henry had managed to release a chuckle.
“What do you mean?”
“That’s exactly what I was thinking about.”
“If we stay here all night,” she began, but then left a long pause. Long enough for Henry to urge her to continue. She said, “Are we still going back to your place?”
“I think so.” Henry cleared his throat and continued, “With the rest of my ammo, and the food me and Maxwell gathered, I don’t think I’d be comfortable just leaving it. I mean, where else can we go? The woods? Break into someone’s house? I could do that when we become desperate, but it’s only the second day. We’re not at that point yet.”
“There may be another option,” she said.
“Oh?”
“The pub. I mentioned it before.”
“I’m not sure, Demsy.”
“If you get what you need from your flat, and stock up the car with as much food as you can, we could go there. They’d let us in. I know it.”
“You seemed desperate to leave when I picked you up a couple of days ago. Why go back?”
“It’s better than what we’re doing now.”
“Okay. We’ll talk about it in the morning.”
“Can’t stop thinking about that poor woman,” Demi sighed, changing the topic. “My parents, Emma, even Maxwell.”
“Just try and clear your mind. We may have a big day tomorrow.”
The silence lasted just another minute between the pair of them and it was Demi, once again, that shattered it.
She said, “Henry?”
“What?” he moaned, his patience being tested a little.
“What happens if we both fall asleep and then suddenly wake up to find ourselves surrounded by the infected?”
“Why would that happen?”
She couldn’t give him an answer.
“It’s pitch black outside, we’re in the middle of the countryside, we’re out of view, and making no noise.”
“But...”
“Just relax.”
“How can I relax after everything that’s been going on?”
“You’ll need to.” Henry put his hands behind his head and closed his eyes. “It won’t help us being out there sleep deprived. Sleep deprivation can lead to poor decisions, and poor decisions could get us killed.”
“It’s alright for you,” Demi huffed. “You’re used to this kind of violence. Shooting people comes as second nature to you.”
“That’s not true,” Henry snickered gently. “Do you know how many guys Maxwell and I have killed over the years?”
“I dread to think.”
“None is the answer.” Henry could hear Demi take an intake of breath, as if she was about to speak, but Henry continued talking. “Sure, people who have crossed us have been shot and wounded, sometimes have had their face slashed, but we never killed anyone.”
“Is that right?” Demi didn’t sound convinced. “Was it you or Maxwell that shot Terry Knowles in the Tesco car park?”
There was no answer from Henry Brown.
“I heard he has a brother that hates your guts for what happened,” she continued.
“Billy Knowles.” Henry nodded. “A proper psycho.”
Henry sighed and all he could muster was, “Just get to sleep, Demsy. You’re gonna need it.”
Chapter Forty-One
Mel and Paul had informed the other three that they had had an encounter with three IOs. Lisa, Craig and Tony were told that the bodies would be taken care of in the morning. Paul had changed his shirt, and then he and Mel went downstairs.
Fifteen minutes later, they were still on the ground floor, chewing the fat, still sitting in the dark lounge area and could hear feet making their way down. Paul and Mel looked at the bar and could see the outline of Lisa Leslie making her way over to them.
“When are you coming to bed?” she asked her husband, and decided to take a seat with the two men.
“No idea,” Mel replied.
“Drinking?” She looked at Paul and then at the bottle of beer. “What a great idea, considering the situation we’re all in. You’re about as much use an inflatable dartboard.”
“Why not?” Paul hunched his shoulders. “You’re not my mother. And we could all be dead tomorrow.”
“Cheery bugger, aren’t you?”
“For Christ’s sake, Lisa,” Mel moaned. “You could start a fight in an empty room. Leave the guy alone.”
“Leave the guy alone,” she mimicked, annoying her husband. “I’m sure you two are playing hide the sausage with one another. That’s why you couldn’t stay hard, isn’t it, Mel? You prefer a hairy arse.”
“For God’s sake.” Paul stood up and took a drink of his beer. “Ya really are a revoltin’ woman, aren’t ya?”
“Who the hell are you talking to, twat?” Lisa stood up and approached Paul.
“I’m talking to you, ya fuckin’ lump.”
Mel stood and went inbetween the pair of them. He grabbed a hold of Lisa by the shoulder and told her to go upstairs.
“Let go of me, you useless man,” she cried.
At this point, Tony and Craig had appeared from the first floor.
“We’re going upstairs,” said Mel, who still had a hold of his wife, and snarled at the woman. “Stop struggling.”
“I’ll stay down here for the night,” said Paul, and looked over to Tony and Craig. “Get some rest. I’ll see you in the morning.” Paul looked at Mel. “You too.”
Craig nodded and went upstairs with little hesitation.
Tony hung around for a few seconds longer and asked Paul if he was sure.
“Ya, I’m sure,” he said.
Mel tried to take a struggling Lisa up with him as well, but he let go once she shrugged him off.
She stormed over to Paul and he stood his ground.
“You ever speak to me like that again, you little shit,” she said, her face only inches away from Paul’s. “And I’ll rip your balls off.”
“No, ya won’t.” Paul smiled “Now go to bed, before I give ya a punch.”
“So you like hitting ladies, is that it? No wonder you and Mel get on so well.”
“You’re no lady.” Paul looked over to Mel and said, “The pair of ya get to bed. I’ll be down here for most of the night.”
Paul sat down and Lisa eventually went to bed without the help of Mel who went after her. Paul placed his steak knife on the table and hoped that it wouldn’t be needed.
*
Henry Brown could feel his bladder was full. He sat up, feeling the smarting in his lower regions, and knew he had to drain himself if he was going to last the night. It wasn’t even midnight yet, and Henry decided to open the car door and relieve himself. He looked to the side and saw Demi. She was breathing softly and he knew she was fast asleep.
He unlocked the doors of the vehicle, wincing when it clicked louder then he expected, and reached for the door handle. He opened the driver’s door and stepped out into the cool night. He unzipped his black jeans and relieved himself in the middle of the road. His paranoia was at its highest and he constantly looked to the side of him as he continued to pee. Despite looking in every direction possible, he couldn’t see a damn thing and prayed his bladder emptied as quickly as possible. He came to the end and hoped the pool of urine hadn’t run and touched his shoes. He didn’t want to go back into his vehicle stinking of piss.
He zipped himself back up and quickly went back into the car, locking it immediately. He checked that the keys were still in his front pocket, and lay back down across the two front seats, trying to avoid the handbrake from digging into his back.
He puffed out a breath and went onto his side, hoping that he’d at least get a few hours of sleep, just to take the edge off for the next day. He was convinced, and even told Demi, that he wouldn’t sleep, but his body was becoming tired.
He closed his eyes, but his thoughts immediately went to Maxwell. I’m sorry, buddy.
He released a sad groan, scratched the inside of his nose with his thumbnail, and wondered what kind of day tomorrow would bring.
Chapter Forty-Two
Tuesday 4th August
Demi Mason yawned and she struggled to open her sticky eyes. She eventually managed to get them open and winced when she felt a pain in the side of her neck. She rubbed where the discomfort was and her eyes widened when she realised where she was. It was Tuesday.
She was in the third day of the catastrophe that had struck the West Midlands of England, and the realisation that she was where she was hit her hard, bringing tears to her eyes. She looked to her right and could see that Henry was asleep, despite that he convinced her the night before that he would stay up because he didn’t feel tired. She didn’t mind. She had practically had a full night’s sleep and was sure that Henry had fought the tiredness before exhaustion won the battle.
Demi didn’t know what time it was, but guessed that it was around five or six in the morning. The sun was up, but it wasn’t burning at its full potential and the skies were still dim.
She had no idea how long Henry had been asleep. She guessed that maybe he had only a couple of hours so far, and she didn’t want to wake him up if there was no danger around them. If she did that then Henry wouldn’t be able to function properly for the rest of the day. According to what Henry had said the night before, the plan was to go back to his place in Colton, to check on the place and Maxwell. But being sleep deprived in such a terrible situation, gun or no gun, could be detrimental to both of them.
Demi rubbed her stomach and needed to relieve herself. Her bladder was full and it was becoming painful to sit forwards. She could see with fields to either side of her, as well as the pond, that the area was clear. She opened the door and winced when it clicked loudly, making Henry stir a little, and pushed the door open wider and stepped out. She closed the door a little, and left it open a few inches and went behind the car. She took one last look around and then unbuttoned her trousers and pulled them and her underwear down to her ankles. She crouched down and peed over the road. The relief was immense and she couldn’t help but groan as her bladder drained.
Once she was done, she pulled her clothing back up and stretched her back, putting her arms straight in the air. She grunted loudly and then went back to the car. She had only been out for a minute, but it was good to stretch her legs and be out in the fresh air.
She opened the door and sat back on the passenger seat, closing it shut. She leaned her head back and was in two minds whether to wake Henry up or not.
It looked like it was going to be another beautiful day, weather wise, and a small smile emerged on Demi’s face as she thought about a weekend away she had with Emma a few months ago.
Along with two colleagues from their work, Emma and Demi had gone to Blackpool for the weekend to let their hair down. It was a good weekend, but Demi had to spend the last night in the hotel as she had contracted food poisoning. Their two colleagues went out regardless, but Emma never left the hotel, as she was concerned for her vomiting friend.
Demi’s eyes filled with tears when her thoughts went to the last time she had se
en her friend alive, and a flashback of that surreal early Sunday morning entered her mind. One of the infected had come out of the darkness and jumped on Emma, tearing into her flesh as she, Craig, Tony and Paul stared in shock. It was a death Demi wouldn’t have wished on anyone, yet her best friend had to endure it.
She wiped her eyes and could feel her stomach twisting and growling with a mixture of hunger and nausea. She cleared her throat as quietly as she could, trying not to disturb Henry, and could see the man was already stirring. His head went from side to side, as if someone was slapping him, and Demi guessed that he was having a nightmare. Rather than waking the man up, she gazed at him as he continued to squirm in his seat and his eyes suddenly opened.
For a few seconds he didn’t know where he was, and as the realisation hit him he looked disappointed.
“Morning;” Demi said.
Henry rubbed his eyes and gave Demi a quick look, then rubbed his face and released a depressed groan.
“I know how you feel,” she spoke and revealed a small smile. “This is not a dream.”
Chapter Forty-Three
Paul Newbold had been dosing for the last hour. He shot up and the first thing he saw was his knife lying on his lap. He had convinced the rest of them that he’d be able to stay awake for the whole night, in exchange for a long lie during the day. Melvin had popped downstairs to the ground floor to see if Paul was okay and claimed that he was having trouble sleeping. Paul was sure that Mel was on tenterhooks in case he fell asleep. He guessed that he had only dozed off for a little while, as the last time he had looked at his watch was at quarter to five. It was now nearly half past.
He rubbed his eyes and prayed for the time to go quick. He was due to wake up Tony Willetts and then go to bed. In truth, around 9pm everybody should have been awake anyway as Paul was the only individual who hadn’t had a night’s sleep.
