Darkness Ahead of Us | Book 1 | Darkness Within

by Spencer, Leif

  Anger bubbled in her stomach. He was the second man in a short period of time who believed himself to be the new sheriff in town simply because he was armed. Mike had been the first, and she’d killed him.

  She wouldn’t let this soldier take their food. “Doesn’t it bother you? That you’re no longer protecting people?”

  “I was naïve. I thought the government would fix this mess. I didn’t realise how low our stocks were. How quickly warehouses and supermarkets would empty. There are over fifty million people in England. We can’t feed them all. They’ll starve. It’s inevitable. It’s every man for himself now.”

  “Please let us keep at least some of it. Perhaps we can share?” She spoke slowly to hide the terror choking her.

  He didn’t reply, but his left eye twitched.

  “Take half? If you take half, both our families stand a chance.” She took a deep breath, gathering all her courage. “If you don’t agree to that, my son will run.” She spoke loudly so Tom would hear. “He’ll make a run for it, and he will be screaming for help out there. He’ll come back with your mates, and they won’t be kind to you.”

  He narrowed his eyes.

  “You’ve abandoned your post. You’re a deserter. And you’re trying to harm civilians. I know you believe it won’t be long before we’ll shoot each other in the streets over scraps, but at least for now, they won’t tolerate what you’re doing.”

  “If he runs, I’ll shoot you.”

  Chris squared her jaw. “Even so, my son will be safe.”

  “I’ll tell them you were hoarding supplies and that—”

  “It’s not illegal to have food at home. We didn’t sign up to the food supply scheme. My son will be safe, but you won’t be able to go back to your wife and son. They won’t let you.” She bit her lip. “I’m offering you half.”

  His features remained motionless as he stared at her.

  Calculations were going through her mind at a rapid pace. Even if he only took half, they’d be in trouble. Especially if Anna came back with her sister. The food wouldn’t last for more than two months.

  But they’d be safe. For now.

  “When is Anna coming back?” the soldier asked. “I liked her. She helped me.”

  “Soon, hopefully. That is her dog you can hear barking.”

  “Mum?” Tom’s voice shook.

  The soldier’s head snapped up, looking towards the hallway. He took a step back so he could see both the hallway and Chris. His finger found the trigger. “Stay where you are, kid. If I hear you move, I’ll shoot your mum.”

  “Half,” Chris repeated.

  He grimaced. “Fine. I’ll leave you half. For Anna. There’s a bag by the door. Fill it. Some of everything.”

  Chris slowly walked down the hallway. Her stomach knotted with fear. She’d failed to keep Tom safe. Had failed to guard the flat. She’d fallen asleep instead of keeping watch. Had missed Oreo’s barking.

  She grabbed his bag and set it down on the kitchen counter. Rummaging through the jars of rice and cereal, she poured half of everything into freezer bags.

  And now this man knew how much food they had.

  And if he changed his mind, he’d be back for the rest—perhaps with friends.

  Her stomach sank at the thought.

  This flat was no longer safe.

  When he finally left, she closed what was left of the front door and sank to the floor, her back to it. Her shoulders shook as sobs wracked her body.

  “Mum?” Tom rushed over and wrapped his arms around her. She buried her face in his neck and let the tears flow freely. Oreo whined, approaching with his head hanging low, the whites of his eyes showing.

  Tom patted his head soothingly. “Mum? What do we do now?”

  “We continue. We survive. There’s still all that food in Anna’s wardrobe.”

  “But what if he comes back?”

  Chris hesitated and closed her eyes. Then a whisper: “I don’t think he will.”

  Had she done the right thing?

  She brushed a strand of hair from Tom’s face and smiled. “We’ll be fine.”

  “How do you know he won’t come back?”

  “Because…” She stood with her son’s help and walked back into the kitchen to put the empty jars at the back of the cupboard. “Because I’ve crumbled rat poison into his cereal.”

  Chris lay on the bed with her eyes closed, a sheet draped loosely over her lower body. Outside, the birds were chirping away.

  A strong breeze had brought with it some cooler weather, and the blinds were clattering against the window frame.

  She hadn’t slept since the soldier had left. Tom had offered to stay up and take a watch to guard the flat, but Chris had refused.

  Tom was now sitting in the armchair near the window reading his programming book. The only noise in the flat was the occasional rustle whenever he turned the page.

  Oreo lay at his feet.

  A shot rang out in the distance. The third she’d heard that morning.

  Twelve days since the world had gone dark and already the end was beginning.

  “Tom?”

  He didn’t reply, didn’t even look up.

  “Are you okay?” She didn’t know what else to say. It didn’t matter whether she’d done the right thing. Her son thought she was a monster.

  Death had invaded their lives, lurking around every corner.

  She didn’t even know the soldier’s name.

  Ingesting rat poison was a horrific way to die. Horrible stomach cramps would be the first indication that something was wrong. He’d bleed to death, never knowing why. Along with his family if he’d taken the food back to them. Serves him right.

  “We don’t have enough food.” Chris flinched at the venom lacing Tom’s voice. His tone was defiant, but she could hear tears through his anger.

  “We still have Anna’s—”

  “She’s bringing back her sister. There’ll be four of us, mum.”

  “I’m painfully aware of that, but he had a gun, and I couldn’t stop him.”

  Tom huffed and buried his nose back in his book.

  Oreo got to his feet and wagged his tail. He whined, pushing his nose against Tom’s hand. With his ears pricked and his mouth open, he looked as if he was smiling. As if he was trying to tell them something.

  Chris froze and listened.

  Somebody was in the stairwell.

  Jumping to her feet, she grabbed the carving knife resting on the bedside table. She’d sharpened it after the soldier had left.

  “Wait here.” She dashed into the hallway.

  They’d pushed a chest of drawers in front of the broken door. They had to push and pull it every time Oreo needed to be let out and it had scratched the wooden floor.

  Oreo followed behind her, his feet pattering across the floor. He spun around and barked once, tail wagging. It sounded friendly.

  Was it Anna?

  A knock.

  Chris held her breath.

  Another knock.

  Tom appeared in the doorway to the spare room. “Is it Anna?”

  “Shhh.”

  A shuffle followed by a muffled voice. “Hello? Anna? Are you there?”

  Chris’ stomach dropped. It had to be Sarah. Anna’s sister. Chris held her index finger up to her lips. “Let me think,” she mouthed.

  “Mum?”

  “We don’t have enough food.”

  He scowled. “It’s Anna’s sister.”

  Another knock. “Hello? I can hear you whispering. Who are you? Where is Anna? Why are you in her flat?”

  Chris pressed her knuckles into her eyes. If it were just herself and Tom, she could stretch the food. Make it last.

  They could hide.

  Wait it out.

  Would Sarah believe her if she told her that Anna had left and wouldn’t be back? Would she give up and walk away? Or would she wait?

  Once Anna came back, she’d find Sarah outside her flat, and her sister would tel
l her that Chris hadn’t let her in.

  The soldiers might help them, and they were armed.

  A horrible thought came to her, and she barely dared consider it. It loomed at the edges of her mind, still and terrifying. Chris closed her eyes and contemplated it.

  The thought took shape and her throat grew dry with apprehension.

  She’d killed people in self-defence.

  This time it wouldn’t be.

  Then again…wasn’t it to protect her son?

  Once Anna came back, she’d tell her that her sister had never shown up. She’d make her a cold coffee and comfort her.

  “Mum?”

  Anna would never know.

  Chris lifted her head to find her son’s eyes filled with concern.

  Fists pounded on the door. “Hello? Please tell me if my sister is okay?”

  Chris took a deep breath and pushed the chest of drawers out of the way.

  She could do this.

  She was strong enough to survive.

  13

  Anna wasn’t sure if it had been ten or eleven days since the EMP. She’d tried to mark each day in her notebook but had forgotten to do so at least once, possibly twice. Not even two weeks later, and she’d already lost the last bit of normality.

  She’d slept for more than twelve hours, and upon waking had discovered it was already late afternoon. Her sister’s sheets smelled of her and despite missing Oreo, the scent had been comforting.

  She was desperate for a hot bath to soak her aching knee.

  Opening her sister’s wardrobe, she found a dry shirt and a pair of socks before putting on her rain jacket.

  She opened her notebook.

  Sarah! I was here but you’d already left. I’ll meet you back in Harlow.

  Tearing the page from her notebook, she placed it on the kitchen table, weighing it down with what used to be Sarah’s fruit bowl. It was empty save for a few fruit flies walking along the rim as if waiting for a top-up.

  She locked the door and taped the key to the birdhouse before locking the gate. The air was thick with the stench of smoke. She coughed, covering her mouth and nose with a scarf. The dense smoke was black, covering her skin in soot.

  Forty miles lay ahead of her.

  Her right knee had grown to twice the size of her left one, throbbing painfully. She’d hoped a good night’s sleep would fix it. So much for that.

  The humidity wasn’t helping.

  Anna thought of Bob and how he’d kept fit by walking twenty miles every day.

  Well, it was too late for that now.

  This time, Anna walked through the night and didn’t stop to rest. It had to be more comfortable than trying to sleep on a bench in damp clothes.

  She took one step after another. Then another. And another.

  The thought of seeing Sarah again kept her on her feet.

  If only she’d waited a little longer in her flat before embarking on this journey, but she hadn’t been able to shake the image of Sarah bleeding out somewhere.

  Waiting for Anna to come to her rescue.

  Just like she always had.

  After their mum had died, Sarah had been confronted with their father’s true nature. Anna had offered Sarah her spare room to get away from their father but buried in grief, Sarah had refused, unable to let go of the house she’d grown up in.

  The house their mum had died in.

  Suddenly, she’d borne the brunt of their father’s narcissism.

  As her world collapsed, Sarah had lashed out. Had destroyed every friendship she’d ever had, and along the way, every relationship Anna had ever had as well.

  She’d stumbled from one party to the next, too drunk to remember most nights, and it had been Anna who had to pick her up every time she’d been too intoxicated to call a cab and who had to hold her hair back when she used to throw up after.

  David, Anna’s first long-term partner, had been a lovely guy, but after two years he refused to put up with both Sarah’s antics and Anna’s refusal to give up on her sister, ruining any future Anna might have had with him.

  It took Sarah years to finally grow up. Anna had met Dan not long after, and Sarah promised to behave.

  Apprehensive, yet hopeful, Anna had told her, “You’re more important than any relationship could ever be.”

  Anna had never found out what triggered the change in her sister, but Sarah had climbed the career ladder and finally bought herself a house, and Anna had moved in with Dan.

  “Isn’t it time for you to find your own boyfriend?” Anna had jokingly asked the day after Sarah signed the mortgage agreement.

  “I don’t want to meet someone only to find out he’s like Dad,” Sarah had replied.

  “They’re not all like Dad, you know.”

  “I loved him. I loved him so much and he just—”

  “What about women?” Anna had asked.

  “I’m not attracted to women.”

  Raising her glass, Anna had chuckled. “Here’s to being single forever.”

  “To being single forever.”

  After everything they’d been through together, after taking Sarah to the hospital to have her stomach pumped, after picking her up from the police station, Anna would never forgive herself if her sister was lying dead in a ditch somewhere.

  It was late morning by the time she returned to Harlow. She’d kept to the main roads, hidden by darkness. She’d walked for almost fifteen hours if not longer. Her knee and hip were two distinct knots of pain by the time she crossed the river near the train station.

  Fifth Avenue appeared abandoned.

  Relief washed over her as she approached her block of flats. She stopped and hid behind an abandoned car, peering up the street, inhaling deeply. The smell of smoke was faint, unlike in Colchester.

  The soldiers had moved further up towards Sainsbury’s. They’d set up another roadblock. No one was coming in or getting out of the town centre that way.

  Gritting her teeth against the pain in her knee, Anna ran the last few feet. Sweat was pouring off her, but she didn’t stop. She knew what the soldiers were capable of doing—she’d seen it happen first-hand.

  Entering her building, she stopped near the door of the ground floor flat and listened.

  Silence.

  She raised her hand to knock and lowered it again.

  Had her neighbours with the toddler left?

  She knew the other flats were empty. The bald man from the second floor—Anna shook her head and closed her eyes.

  The gunshot still echoed in her ears. The dark spot on the tarmac flashed before her eyes. Anna wiped her face with her shirt. Sweat stained the fabric a dirty yellow.

  Perhaps she could ask Chris and Tom to move into one of the other flats? Together, they could defend the building.

  She rushed up the stairs as quickly as she could with her throbbing knee. She heard Oreo whine the moment she reached the top floor and grinned. “Have you been a good boy?” she asked through the door. She heard him spinning around with excitement in response.

  That’s when she noticed the door was splintered around the lock. It looked like somebody had kicked it open. She tried her key, but it wouldn’t turn.

  Anna knocked. “Hello? Chris? It’s me.”

  She pressed her ear against the damaged door. Oreo’s whining grew louder. Had something happened to Chris and Tom? Had they left?

  No. The door wouldn’t be locked or barricaded from the inside. “Hello? Chris?”

  She swallowed the sour taste filling her mouth. Why wasn’t Chris letting her in? She pulled on the door handle, rattling it. She shouldn’t have trusted a stranger. How stupid of her.

  Anna pounded on the door.

  Oreo was inside.

  Her food and medicine. Her clothes! “Chris? Tom?”

  She heard shuffling behind the door. Whispering was followed by a groan as something heavy was shifted and dragged across the floor.

  Then finally, the door opened a crack and Chris
pulled her inside. “You’re back.”

  “What has happened to the door?” Anna asked, bending down to scratch behind Oreo’s ears. “Were you attacked? Did someone break in?”

  She looked over Chris’ shoulder. Tom stood in the doorway to the spare room, his eyes hollow and haunted, his face pale.

  “We’re okay,” Chris said.

  Anna’s chest of drawers stood next to the front door. Judging by the scratches in the wooden floor it had been moved more than once. “What’s—”

  “We were robbed.”

  “Robbed?” Anna bent down and massaged her knee. Oreo helpfully licked the sweat off her calves. She looked down the hallway. Where was her sister? Had Sarah not made it?

  “That soldier you told us about. The one who shot your neighbour. He broke in and took half of our supplies.”

  Anna gasped. John. She remembered his face only too well. The way his eyes had narrowed before he’d lifted his gun and killed her downstairs neighbour. “He took half?”

  “He was going to take everything, but he remembered you and said he owed you. And…I may have threatened him a tiny bit.”

  “He owed me?”

  Chris wrinkled her nose and pointed at the bathroom door. “You look dreadful. You should get washed and changed. There’s fresh water in there.” Chris pulled a clean shirt from the washing basket near Anna’s bedroom door and threw it to her. “No offence but—”

  “I stink. I know. Is Sarah not here?”

  “No. Didn’t you find her? Wasn’t she in Colchester?”

  Tom grunted and disappeared into the living room.

  Anna frowned, then turned her attention back to Chris. “No. She’d left by the time I got to Colchester. There was a note. She said she’d wait here.”

  Anna’s thighs trembled from exhaustion as she entered the bathroom. Her knee throbbed. She took off her trousers and inspected her leg. It was blotchy and her skin itched from the dirt. She used baby wipes and fresh water to clean herself. It wasn’t as good as a hot shower, but by the time she put on new clothes, she felt more like herself again.

  Robbed. Half their supplies gone. And where was Sarah?

  It didn’t make sense that she wasn’t here.