by G G Garcia
Chapter Forty-Six
The car was packed up, rammed with food and bottles of water. Henry was concerned about the suspension and considered removing a few things to decrease the weight, but he knew if he wanted to be accepted into this pub, he needed to have something in exchange to stay at the place. Demi already told him that they’d be welcome with open arms, but the food was insurance in case the people didn’t want to let them in, Henry especially. Not only that, he didn’t want to leave all that food in the flat anyway. It was supplies that he and Maxwell had risked their necks for, and he didn’t want to leave it for anybody. There was also the magazines for his Glock back at the flat, five in all, and knew that he needed to use his Glock sparingly and make every bullet count.
He switched the engine on once Demi had her belt on, and pulled away the car from his drive. Convinced that he would never see his place again, he took a peek at the flat in the rear view mirror and then headed out of Colton and onto the country road.
“At least we don’t have to head into Rugeley Town,” Henry sighed. He turned a corner, too sharply for Demi’s liking, and increased the pressure on the accelerator.
“Slow down,” Demi said.
Henry eased the pressure off with his foot and they approached another bend. It was a sharp one and both shrieked when they cleared it. A crowd of seventeen people were bent over something, with their backs to the vehicle
Henry slammed on the brakes and every single one of the individuals had stood up straight and turned to face the Audi. Demi screamed at Henry to move and both knew that this crowd were infected, even before their eyes clocked the eaten and mutilated dog lying in the middle of the road.
He tried to reverse, but was struggling to find the correct gear. Almost immediately, the crowd ran at the car and both Demi and Henry jumped when the desperate herd of IOs began to slap the car, trying to get in. Not one tried to punch their way through; it was as if it was something they had forgotten to do. Demi screamed at Henry again to move, but he was still struggling. He finally managed to find the gear and pressed the accelerator, but the vehicle was hardly moving. The front and the side of the vehicle was now surrounded and all Demi and Henry could see was a sea of faces looking in, eyes all bloodshot.
“What’s happening!” she yelled. “Why aren’t we moving?”
Henry looked down to his left. “Shit.”
The handbrake was still on. In all the panic, the experienced driver had forgotten to take it off. As soon as he took it off, the vehicle zoomed backwards, running over one of the infected. Henry did a one-eighty turn, put the vehicle into first, and slapped the pedal with the sole of his boot and quickly went through the gears. The crowd gave chase and they were finally on a straight road so it was safer for him to increase his speed. The faster he went, the smaller the crowd became in his rear view mirror.
“You okay?” Henry asked his female passenger, but she never answered.
He flashed her a quick look and could see that she had been given a massive fright and was close to tears, her face quivering.
“If it’s any consolation,” said Henry. “I also shat a brick. I’m shaking like a leaf.”
There was still no response from Demi, and Henry had another quick gape at the woman and could see she was crying. He checked his rear view and side mirror, then in front, and pulled over once it was established that it was clear.
“Why are we stopping?” she cried.
Henry took his seatbelt off and said, “Come here.”
Demi also took her belt off and the pair of them embraced.
Demi sniffed and could feel the tears running down her cheeks. “We could have died.”
“I know, but we didn’t.”
“But we could have.”
Henry broke away from the embrace and placed his hand on Demi’s cheek. “Look, you’re not gonna like hearing this, but that could be one of many close calls we’re going to experience. In time … you’ll toughen up.”
“Wow.” She wiped her tears from her cheeks with the palms of her hands and added sarcastically, “That wasn’t patronising at all.”
“It’s not because you’re a woman. A lot of guys out there are shitting themselves, in fact you’ve done a lot of brave things since—”
“Stop, will you?” Demi cleared her throat and said, “I think you’ve said enough. I’d stop digging, if I were you.”
“I’m just trying to say—”
“Henry. Just drive.”
Chapter Forty-Seven
Craig Shepherd and Anthony Willetts were sat on the Jamesons’ couch. Melvin was downstairs and they had no idea, or even cared, where Lisa was. The two young men sat in silence and Tony sat back and a small smile emerged under his nose, which was eventually noticed by Craig.
“What’s up with your daft face?” Craig asked his pal.
“Just thinking,” Tony sighed, which was followed by a chuckle.
“Spit it out then, mate,” said Craig, who had no idea what was going on in Tony’s head. “I could do with some entertainment. I’m bored out of my brains sitting here. I know I’m alive and have a cheek to say that, but—”
“I was thinking about the time when we were all in Paul’s car and we were driving around Cannock, looking for girls to chat up.”
Craig smiled. “When you put it like that, it sounds kinda creepy now.”
“I suppose, man,” Tony giggled. “But it happened. It was a couple of years ago, do you remember?”
“Of course I do, mate.”
“We were fannying about and drove around the same block for ages, and then we noticed a group of girls.”
“That’s right.” Craig nodded. He had no idea why Tony was telling him a story he already knew, he was there as well, but decided to let Tony have his moment.
Tony continued. “We stopped and began talking to them and then a group of lads turned up in a van. Four of the cunts, holding iron bars. What did that guy shout at us again?”
“I’m gonna hit you so hard, your mother’s gonna feel it.”
“Still don’t know what the fuck that means, man,” Tony chuckled.
“Neither do I.”
“That was mental when you look back.”
“What was?”
“That car chase between those lads and Paul was crazy. I know it took place along the country roads, but we could have been killed if we crashed.”
“True, mate,” Craig agreed. “But we could have been killed if they had caught up with us.”
Tony’s smile was still present and it began to increase, making Craig wonder what his friend was thinking about now.
“Now what?” Craig chuckled.
“I was thinking about that time when Helen Fitzgerald turned up at the house.”
“Jesus.” Craig laughed. “I forgot about that.”
The night that Tony was speaking about was when the three of them, Paul, Craig and Tony, decided to have a night in, get drunk, and play a Resident Evil game on the PlayStation.
Halfway though the night, a twenty-year-old Helen Fitzgerald turned up at the door. They were at Craig’s house, and his parents had gone out for the night so he invited her in. She initially came round to see Craig. They had been casually seeing one another, and had no idea he had guests.
She decided to stay, and after a few drinks they had a game of truth or dare. When the bottle pointed at Helen, she was asked by the ‘quizmaster’ Craig if she wanted to sleep with Tony. Helen had always been a free spirit, was attracted to Tony anyway, and said that she would sleep with Tony, providing Paul and Craig left the house for an hour.
Tony lost his nerve and had never heard the last of it from his two friends.
“Still can’t believe you turned Helen down.” Craig spoke. He lost his smile and added, “I wonder if she’s still alive.”
“I was a bit nervous,” Tony admitted. “I wasn’t ready.”
“Wasn’t ready?” Craig laughed and shook his head. “You’re gonna have to s
ort yourself out, otherwise you’ll still be a virgin by the time you’re thirty.”
“I’m not a virgin,” Tony blurted out, and then bit his bottom lip.
“Oh, yeah.” Craig sat up and looked at his friend. “So when did this happen, mate?”
“Forget it.”
“No. I want to know.”
Tony’s head was lowered and gazed at his friend. “I said … forget it.” He stood up and walked into the kitchen, and Craig decided to pester his friend no more.
Chapter Forty-Eight
The Audi entered Rugeley, going by an area called Draycott Park, and Henry eased off the accelerator once they reached a roundabout. Once the vehicle went past the roundabout, they travelled a further hundred yards and came across the worst carnage they had seen since the disaster had started.
“Jesus Christ in Heaven!” Demi cried as Henry slowed down to take a look.
They had hardly seen anything so macabre, because of the small village where they were staying, and when they entered Rugeley town it was just the outskirts they had been to, but this scene twisted both of their stomachs.
Henry checked his rear view and wing mirrors, then brought the vehicle to a halt.
He kept the engine running and checked the fuel gauge. He had a third of a tank left, and had a canister in the boot that he and Maxwell had filled when they went to the supermarket.
Henry looked ahead and could see two individuals wandering about, as if in a drunken stupor, but they soon disappeared and went along a road that was to their left. They were definite IOs, but Demi and Henry hadn’t been spotted yet. To his right was an eaten and mutilated body of a girl, no older than ten years old. Her face was unrecognisable, as pale as wax. Her insides had been pulled out and left hanging like a string of bloody sausages, and he could just make out that on her black blood stained leggings they had emblazoned on the side: I Love Unicorns.
A couple of limbs, arms, were near the little girl, but they were from another poor victim. A head, probably belonging to the individual with the torn off limbs, could be seen further along, and a turned over pushchair was three yards from the head. To their left was something not quite as macabre, but their eyes could see that the pavement was bloodstained and twenty yards further up, on the left hand side of the road, was a car.
It was hard to tell if the driver of that vehicle had crashed it or had willingly abandoned it. The driver’s door was open and it looked like that there was no one inside it.
“Let’s keep moving,” said Demi, and produced a gulp, unsure if she was going to be sick or not.
Henry never said a word. He pulled away, saddened by what he had just seen. They had only been travelling for a minute and Henry had to stop the vehicle once again. A group of people appeared from the very same road where the two IOs had gone. Eleven individuals gathered in the middle of the road, and some were looking in his and Demi’s direction.
“Turn around,” Demi said. “Turn around before they start running at us.”
Two from the crowd began to sprint in their direction, and Henry reversed the vehicle and tried to perform the quickest three-point turn he’d ever done. By the time he had the vehicle going forwards, the first IO from the crowd was just a few yards away from touching the Audi. The vehicle gathered speed, and a frightened Demi asked Henry if he had any idea where he was going.
“Gonna go the Etching Hill way,” he said, quickly shifting through the gears. “We’ll be fine.”
“I hope so.”
Chapter Forty-Nine
Mel knocked the bedroom door and entered once Lisa verbally told him she was decent. She had gone through the wardrobe of the Jamesons and kept on her jeans, but picked out a plain black T-shirt.
“What do you want?” she asked her husband.
Mel shut the door behind him and shrugged his shoulders. He went over to the left side of the bed and lay down.
“I came in for a nap,” he said. “I suppose the truth is that I’m bored.”
“Well, I’d rather be bored than dead, so stop your whining, shit for brains.” Lisa looked in the mirror, ran her fingers through her short grey hair, and then shook her head in disgust.
“What’s up with your face, my little shagbag?” he asked his wife, then placed his hands behind his head and closed his eyes.
“I’m getting old.” She patted her stomach and shook her head. “I remember the days when I used to have an hourglass figure?”
“Really?” Mel screwed his face and scratched his head. “Was that before I met you?”
“Oh, piss off,” Lisa snapped. “You’re hardly an Adonis yourself.”
“Didn’t say I was, pepperpot.”
“You’ve got a body like a dropped lasagne.” Lisa looked at her husband in disgust and shook her head. “Women now look at you in the same fearful way that pensioners look at snow.”
Mel sighed and bit his bottom lip; his eyes remained closed. “You do realise you’ve just started an argument out of nothing, out of thin air.”
“It’s you,” she huffed. “You get on my nerves with all your...”
Lisa couldn’t find the words to finish her sentence, so Mel tried to help with a pinch of sarcasm. “With all my breathing and talking and stuff?” A little smirk appeared after his comment.
“It’s this whole situation.” She sat down on the edge of the bed and her voice had changed in tone. It was more sombre. “It’s a horrendous situation. I think about the people that have perished, and then Gail. With the power gone, how do we know when it’ll be over?”
Mel didn’t have an answer for his wife’s query and remained tight lipped.
“Anyway,” she moaned. “I’m hungry.”
“There’s some cereal in the kitchen cupboards,” said Mel. “Don’t think there’s much milk left. I’ll try the cellar later.”
“Maybe I’ll do that.”
“I saw a box of Crunchy Nut Cornflakes yesterday.”
“Crunch Nut Cornflakes are just Frosties for wankers.”
“That doesn’t even make sense. I don’t know why I bother.” Mel sighed and kept his eyes closed, hoping that she was going to leave him in peace.
“I’m going into the living room,” she announced.
“Good. But before you do, can you do me a favour?” There was almost pleading in Melvin’s voice.
“What is it?”
“I would appreciate it if you stopped putting me down in front of the lads.”
“What do you mean?”
“If you’ve got something negative to say about me, which is most of the time, then I’d appreciate it if you say it when it’s just you and me.”
“Oh, don’t be so melodramatic.” She began to laugh, angering her husband who was trying to relax.
“Please.”
“Right,” she announced, ignoring her husband. “I’ll leave you in peace. I’m off to get a bowl of cereal.”
Mel breathed out a huge sigh and smiled when he could hear the bedroom being shut. She was gone. He was left in peace, for now.
*
Mel woke up with a start and sat up. He rubbed his eyes and was relieved that he was out of his dream. He knew immediately where he was and the situation he was in, but being in the Jamesons’ pub was a strange relief for the man.
In his dream he was running along the Stafford Road, barefoot, being chased by four infected people. He had no idea where Lisa was in the dream and why he had no shoes on, but he was running as hard as he could and there was not a chance he was going to outrun these freaks. As soon as a hand grabbed his shoulder and pulled him to the ground, he woke up.
He thought about Gail and the horrific way she died. She didn’t deserve that. Nobody deserved that.
He swung his legs to the side of the bed and stood up, stretching his arms. He shuffled over to the window, yawning, and pulled back the curtains to have a look. He had no idea if his eyes were playing tricks on him, so he squinted and almost pressed his face against the pane to get
a better look. He could see two individuals walking along the Stafford Road, the same road where his dream had taken place, and it looked like they were just two normal guys walking, but Mel knew they were IOs, even from that distance. Why else would two people be walking along a main country road with the way the West Midlands was now.
Maybe they’re survivors, he suddenly thought. Maybe they are not infected and had to leave their town to go elsewhere. He had no problem giving people sanctuary, even though it wasn’t his place to do such a thing, but he was still scarred by the experience that they had with Mitch and Rab.
“Oh, well.” He groaned and released the curtain. “Better brush my teeth.”
Chapter Fifty
“Go easy,” Demi warned Henry. “I wanna get there as soon as possible, but you’re going too fast.”
Henry eased off the accelerator and admitted to himself that he was speeding. He was convinced that the pub was now a realistic sanctuary and the excitement of getting there, travelling just the two miles, had made him press on the gas pedal a lot harder.
“We’re nearly out of Rugeley,” he remarked, as the vehicle went by the long, winding road, passing the streets of Etching Hill on their right. Some of the houses had a red X sprayed on the front doors, something that Demi and Henry had seen before. To their left were miles of fields and they literally were now on the outskirts and the edge of town.
The Audi descended down the steep road and were yards away from the junction; the Give Way sign stood on the left hand side of the road.
Henry stopped at the junction, like he would have done on any normal day, and could see that the road was clear both ways. If he turned right, the road would take him into the town centre of Rugeley, but that wasn’t the way he needed. He needed to turn left, travel along the Rugeley Road and get to the Wolseley Arms pub. He knew of the pub. It sat on the right, past the two mini roundabouts where Rugeley Road and Stafford Road met. It couldn’t be missed.
