by Stevens, GJ
“Or they didn't know,” Naomi added.
Lane stared back, no reaction to the words.
“It's still spreading in the air. No one touched your man,” I said.
“Spicer. His name was Leading Hand James Spicer,” he replied, looking down at the ground.
“And your name?” Zoe asked, her voice soft from the other side of the fire.
“Commander…” he said, cutting himself off, his eyes turning down. “Connor Lane.”
“Well, Connor Lane,” Andrew said, leaning up at my side, the pain stretching out his face. “Welcome to hell.”
Zoe snapped his way and Andrew relaxed back, letting the air suck through a tense smile as he did.
“So what do you think, Commander Lane?” I said, looking him in the eye.
“Connor. Or Lane, please,” he replied. “I’ve already told you.”
I shook my head.
“You’ve told us what you’ve been told, not what you think.”
He kept his gaze on mine for a moment, then looked around the group before staring deep into the dancing licks of the fire.
“I think we don’t know shit. I think they’re making it up as they go along. Spicer wasn’t bitten,” he said, his face hardening as I watched his effort to control his breath. “But still, those eyes.”
I nodded and filled the space when he stopped talking.
“We’ve lost three to bites. They bleed out and die, then…,” I said, but couldn’t continue.
“We all know what comes next,” Naomi said, as we shared a nodding glance.
“I’m sorry,” Lane said as he turned my way.
“I think death is the key factor,” I replied. “I guess, what else matters?” Following every other face, I turned and let the flames mesmerise my attention.
“So what next?” I said, after what seemed like an age of listening to the wind in the leaves and the crack and pop of wood in the flames. I looked at each face reflecting the question.
Lane was the first to speak.
“We should wait here. They'll come and rescue us. They know where we are, there's a transponder in the helicopter. Even if it's damaged, they'll have our last position.”
I watched as faces lit up. I didn't want to be the one to let them down, but I couldn’t keep my concerns to myself.
“They’d risk another crew for someone who's already infected?”
The faces around the fire fell.
“I'd like to think so,” Lane replied, still sipping the water.
“I'd like to think so, too,” I said. “But what if they come? They were in the same briefing, right?”
Lane nodded.
“They see you, then fine. Hugs all round. They see us and open fire.” I waited for someone to argue. “Tell me why they're not like you.”
Lane took his time.
“We don't decide,” he said, his gaze floating around the group. “We call it in and they sign off.”
“Exactly,” I replied.
Zoe was the first to react with sobs from across the fire.
“So, what do we do?” Naomi said, standing, moving around to comfort her.
“We get warm. Rest up. Take stock. It's still early. But we need to get on the move, find somewhere warm and secure for tonight,” I said.
“Then what?” It was Naomi again.
I looked to Lane, nodding back in my direction as if he knew what I was going to say.
“We keep moving north.”
Lane continued nodding as deep as his bandaged forehead would allow.
“Then?” Naomi said, leaning in.
I drew a deep breath, all heads turning in the same direction toward the road at the heavy crack of twigs, the damp leaves rustling.
I palmed the gun and rose to my feet, twisting my head around.
“We see if civilisation lets us back in.”
31
I returned to camp, no shots fired. The noise was from a deer or smaller, at least something alive. I was sure zombies never hid in the movies. Right?
Cassie stood by the fire, the gun in her hand and gaze on me, nodding as I forced the corners of my mouth high. Ellie was asleep close to the fire; Cassie's every other glance checking a stray ember hadn't caught her clothes.
Andrew lowered himself down as he saw me arrive through the bushes, pain still drawing his features out. He needed to rest but staying here wasn't a long-term choice.
Lane the same, but our need for tonight's shelter was so much more important. We had to find somewhere we could keep warm, somewhere we could barricade before we slept.
I needed sleep bad, the corners of my eyes screaming out for rest.
Watching me sit, Cassie stayed on her feet and took nervous steps. It was clear she wanted to be on the move. I understood.
Beside me was the pile of supplies. Between us, we'd done a pretty good job getting what we did as the Tesco burnt to the ground.
Twenty tins of fish; couldn't stand the stuff. My old self didn't anyway, but they would be much better than digging grubs from the bark of rotting trees. I'd give anything for a bigger supply, enough to eat until we got home.
Home. The first I'd thought of the place since we'd set off on the journey less than a day ago. Was it only twenty-four hours since our world went up the creek? My parents faces crashed into my head. Their imagined thoughts given words. What must they be thinking when they saw the news? At least I didn't have a wife worrying where I was. Didn't have kids panicking when they heard what had happened in the South West. None of us did.
My mind lingered on the thought. Between us we had two who couldn't; I put my hand up in my head. It had been the death-nail to my one and only relationship. Four who wouldn't and the rest where it just wasn't the right time or hadn't met the right someone. Maybe that's why we'd stuck together for so long and hadn't drifted apart when kids and exploding families separated our lives.
A twig snapped, a spray of sparks spat from the fire. All gazes fell on the loud noise, shoulders relaxing as the light-show drowned in the daylight. I was thankful for the distraction.
Water. Our main issue. We had chocolate, first aid kits, pain killers galore; antibiotics we'd tried to push down Chloe's throat, left over from the chemist. A whole spectrum of other medications in prescription bags which had sat on the shelf, never to be collected. Maybe some of them would come in useful; although we'd need to find some sort of medical book first. Toothpaste, tooth brushes, but only four bottles of water, two litres in each.
Three, I corrected as Naomi rested an empty bottle at her side. I discounted the bottles of Jack I knew she'd kept out of sight of the pile.
“We need to start rationing,” I said. No one complained or suggested an alternative.
We had an SA80 rifle from the crash site, the only surviving equipment. It was battered and scraped, could be bent, I couldn't tell. We'd have to wait for Lane's advice when he was better, but long before the need came at least.
Naomi's gaze twitched upwards, then Zoe's followed. A crack sparked from the fire for a second time.
Zoe's gaze fell, but Naomi stood, releasing her grip from Zoe's shoulders.
Lane had his eyes open towards the sky, then looked to me, already raising himself on his elbows.
The sound was unmistakable, rotors pounding in the air.
I stood, helped Lane to his feet, looked twice at the pistol then pushed it into my jacket pocket.
With his arm around my shoulders, I supported him to his full height. Steadying his balance, we took the first steps out of the circle. I turned, hearing Cassie at our backs.
“Stay there,” I said, nodding to the pistol in her hands. “Keep watch.”
Her footsteps stopped as we built speed, the sound of the chopper loud and constant. They were hovering. I pictured them over the wreckage, the gunner peering down, searching the surroundings for their men. They'd see one, a hole in his head. They'd have flown over the carnage across the road.
We were getting c
lose. We just needed them to stay a moment more before they would see us and we could roll the dice, hoping they saw their comrade before they saw me.
The second noise was one we'd heard before as well. The pitch of the engine note changed. We'd already slowed. Then came the scream of the machine gun from the door and the snap-snap of bullets hitting the tree-line.
“Infra-red,” I heard Lane murmur, but they weren't shooting at us. Their aim was for the four dead bodies walking into the trees in our direction. Their torsos and legs were a pulpy mess of small explosions with limbs missing, eyes white and mouths hanging open, each circled with dried blood.
Lane relaxed his arm from around me. I was about to fire the pistol when Lane pulled me down. Snaps of lead hit the ground too close, tracing our outlines, or so it felt.
The helicopter withdrew as I'd buried my head and the footsteps dragging behind us silenced.
I lifted, relief battling with the disappointment, but instinct ducked me down as a gunshot burst from the direction of the camp.
32
I didn't stay down long, leaving Lane to get to his feet by himself while I ran. My shoulders flinched forward as another shot echoed through the trees, the bang followed by a chorus of vicious screams.
A third shot exploded as I raced closer to the source and I heard the trample of feet running, Lane behind me, his face contorted with pain as he followed.
A fourth split the air and I sped up while fumbling for the gun. Its cold, not quite metal, reassured me little.
My first sighting was of Zoe, tears streaming down her face. She was running, pushed at her back by Andrew. Both were heading my way, their faces alight, eyes wide.
On seeing me, Andrew held his hand out to take mine, waving me from my course, trying to turn me as he saw my approach.
Shaking off his hands, his worry, I pointed to my right.
“Go that way,” I said, breathless.
Andrew understood. He'd heard the machine gun only moments earlier and, missing with one last attempted grab at my jacket, he veered Zoe off the path and into the untracked route, darting around the trees.
“No,” I shouted. “I'll catch up. Get her safe. Take Lane.” I didn't look back, didn't check if they'd taken my advice. I had to keep running, had to get everyone safe.
Another shot sent me stumbling as my foot caught a root, the gun falling from my hands. Down on my knees, I scratched around in the leaves.
Before I was up, Naomi was running toward me. In her arms, Ellie fought, whipping her body round to get free.
I pointed the way I'd sent the others and was running again, the smoke of the campfire strengthening with every step. A first trace of rotten meat.
The camp came into view, as did the maelstrom of movement and the crowded expanse of bodies standing, clawing forward.
I loosed off a round into the mass. A head shot. One went down. I had just enough time to see at first sight he looked almost like he was still all there; only his pallid, cold complexion told me there was no real life behind his clouded eyes.
He was in the front line of the pack, my eyes adjusting to see the three and four body-thick group squeezed between the trees, meandering forward with cumbersome pace.
Cassie was to the side and on her back, her face and hands bloodied as she struggled to push a double-dead body from her front.
I couldn't tell if she'd been hit and I shook away a thought flashing past, a thought I couldn't bear to hold on to. I retrained my aim from her as she rolled the limp, dead body away.
How the hell did they get to the camp without being noticed?
My thoughts were shattered as she fired off a shot and the fifth body lay dead, dead again on the floor with its face blown away.
As she tried to get to her feet, the pack parted, split, and out jumped a woman, once a woman; I could only guess from her shape. Her clothes were tattered, barely there. Her skin darker, greyer than any I'd seen. Her eyes were clouded red, not white like the others. She launched herself to the ground where Cassie scrambled.
Another shot went off. Mine. Although it felt like someone else had control. The bullet missed. I watched as Cassie dropped her gun.
She was using all of her strength to grip the neck of the thing as it scraped at her hands, its teeth snapping open and closed. Its face was long gone, along with its hair, leaving only a ripped and bloodied scalp.
My second shot didn't miss, but the attack still continued with a ferocity getting the better of Cassie.
I ran, jumping the fire, pulling up a burning log and threw it into the crowd. Pushing the gun to the thing's temple, I let the bullet explode its head.
The creature went limp. I popped two wild shots into the crowd, some of which were on fire, but none had reacted, none seeing a need to put out the burning flames on their bloodied clothes.
I grabbed at Cassie's scarlet hand but my grip slid off. Instead, I clawed into her shoulder fabric, dragging her to her feet while emptying the rest of the clip into the crowd.
We ran with the smell of cooking flesh receding. Our hands gripped into each other's as tight as they could, pulling up, tightening further as one or the other of us slipped in turn.
We kept running, only slowing as we passed the helicopter's victims, bursting into the open air and out from the woods; slowing just enough to twist around, to figure out where we were. To scour for danger. To find our friends.
We saw the crash site with smoke still rising. We saw the road but could see no one standing. It gave us little relief when we didn’t see anything running toward us. We couldn’t see our friends, but then I remembered I'd sent them in a different direction.
“Tell me you saw that?” Cassie said through fits of breath.
I didn't answer straight away. Still holding her hand, I pulled her along the edge of the trees, hoping I was heading in the right direction.
“I saw it,” I said, only just able to get the words out.
“We didn't hear it coming. It pounced out into the open, then stood there looking around. We were all just staring back. No one moved until it jumped at me, screaming like a demon from a horror film. Oh my god,” she said, her voice cracking as her bloodied hand went to her mouth.
We jogged on. I couldn't deal with this right now. I'd seen what I'd seen, but still I couldn't think about what it meant.
A pained animal call came from behind us. It sounded like something was injured and sent a chill along my spine as my body urged me to run faster.
I remembered the gun was empty in my hand, remembered the two clips in my jacket pocket and undid the zip as I let go of Cassie.
“The noise you heard,” I said, slowing so my fingers could get at the depths of my pocket. “Was it like that?”
“No,” she replied, matching my pace and turning to catch what I was doing. Her eyes widened, colour draining from her face as she looked past me. A shrill, demonic call ripped through the air.
I didn't need her to say a word. I knew her answer if I asked the question again.
33
I didn't flinch back, didn't turn, but still our speed had slowed to barely a jog.
“Run,” I said, keeping my voice calm. I knew if I let the panic in it would take control. I needed to slide the magazine, not let it fumble to the ground.
“Run,” I repeated, as the gun gave a gentle snap, my palm driving the store of bullets home.
Still she hadn't sped, her gaze fixed over my shoulder as her complexion drained.
“Run,” I shouted, letting my voice have the full volume it needed. My hands pulled back the pistol's slide.
Cassie looked at the gun and turned forward, her speed building as I fought against my instincts, somehow managing to slow to a stop and circling to point the gun out as far as I could.
My arms wavered as, the length of a football pitch away, I saw what appeared to be an animal running on two legs. Its back was hunched over, its arms out and fingers hooked like claws.
Even from the
distance I could see the remains of clothes, tattered, dark-stained rags dragging in the air as it raced toward me; it was once human.
Unlike what I'd seen attack Cassie, this had a face. He was once a young man, now a beast with gaunt, tight skin, grey features curled up. Snarling, running at the pace of a leopard on the plain. Its bared teeth snapping open and shut.
Holding my nerve, going against all my instincts, I kept my finger from pulling, from emptying the lead into whatever was charging.
I was thinking ahead; if there were three of these things, there could be more. I had one gun and two magazines, with no idea how many bullets each held. We would need all the brass we could muster if we were ever to get to the other side of the exclusion zone.
The thing had already covered half the distance and still I held my nerve with my finger twitching against the trigger. My heart pounded so hard I thought at any moment it would get too much and I'd be on the floor in a heap. I knew my best chance would be to wait until it was at least half the distance closer.
Time was going too fast with so much running through my head and now I could hear something in the tree-line. Something else racing me down, but I dared not turn my attention away. Whatever it was it couldn't be bigger or scarier or run faster than this hungry-eyed beast who would try its best to eat me alive.
I shook, unable to take back control, but somehow I was winning against my instinct screaming at me to turn and run. Those things we'd first seen yesterday were slow and easy to outrun. You could smell them a mile off and were simple to out-fox, but still frightening as hell, their existence incompatible with how the world worked.
Then came this beast running towards me; it was almost at the point where I would see if I'd made the right decision. It was like the king of these creatures and threw the new rule book out the window, then leapt after it, ripping pages, eating the words and savouring every mouthful.
I let the first shot fly from the muzzle earlier than I'd planned, proving me right as it flew harmless through the air.
Resetting my arm and relaxing my stance, I closed my left eye and pulled again. As I did, the creature jumped high, leaping like a gorilla on speed, clawing its fingers as it sailed towards me.
