by Luke Duffy
Helen shrugged. "As we discussed, we hit the fuel station and see what we can get. Then, if it still looks good, we have a look around."
Steve nodded. "That's what we'll do then." He turned to Jake who still did not look too pleased with the plan. "Are you up for this, buddy?"
Jake turned his attention from the complex in the distance and back to Steve. "Well I'm not exactly going to sit here and leave you to it, am I?"
They piled back into the vehicle and pulled out of the car park. They travelled along the narrow country lane until it opened up on to the main ring road that encompassed the city. On the next slip road, they pulled off and onto the access ramp of the outlet complex. They followed the short curving road around until they were at the entrance to the massive sprawling car park that the multitude of shops encircled.
Most of the stores and fast food restaurants still seemed intact. From what they could tell, the place had been forgotten about in the chaos that followed in the days of the virus outbreak. The fact that it was removed from the heavily populated areas with main roads and a park separating them, probably helped to keep it unscathed and out of the forefront of people's minds during the times of panic, all those months ago.
Steve slowed the vehicle to a crawl. Everyone was on high alert. Their eyes scanned every corner, every shadow and entrance of the buildings. The dead were there, all around, but their numbers were small and scattered.
"As long as we keep moving, we shouldn't have any trouble from them," Steve said as he watched a woman stumbling toward them, reaching out and clawing at the car as they passed.
The body of the woman still wore the shredded remains of a bright pink nightdress. It was now covered in dark dried blood and it hung open at the front, revealing her pale naked emaciated body underneath. Her lower jaw was missing and her tongue hung loose against her neck, swaying from side to side as she walked, giving the effect of a grotesque bloodied and bloated pendulum.
There were shadowy jerky figures scattered throughout the large car park of the complex. Some dragged or pushed shopping carts while others stood staring at the shop windows and the goods inside. As the vehicle approached, all of them turned and followed. Soon, the small group of survivors had a pack slowly pursuing them. Although they moved sluggish and clumsily, they would follow them for as long as they could see or hear them and never lose interest. They knew that living flesh was close.
Steve steered the Land Rover towards the fuel station on the far side, close to the exit point of the complex. As they approached, his eyes lit up.
"Fucking hell, jackpot," he exclaimed in excitement.
Ahead of them, sitting motionless at the front of the pumps was a large fuel tanker. They could not tell if it was full or not, but their plan had been to try to find something that they could use to transport a large amount of fuel in. They did not expect to find a tanker, so they had planned to scrounge fuel cans and any other container that they thought would be suitable for carrying the precious liquid.
John leaned forward from the rear seat and patted Steve on the shoulder. "Couldn't have asked for better, maybe our luck is changing?"
Helen looked across at him, a serious expression on her face. "You mean like the other day when you and Carl ended up stuck in a tree? Let's not get complacent on this." Her last statement was meant as a reminder, a warning, to them all.
John breathed deeply and nodded. Just being reminded of his traumatic time within the supposedly safe walls of the Safari Park was enough to bring him back down to earth with a bump. He had honestly expected to die that day.
Steve brought them to a halt. For a moment, they all remained in their seats, staring out the windows and watching for any sign of the dead in the immediate vicinity. The fuel point was situated to the side of the supermarket with an exit road leading off between them. No movement came from the area of the station or the large buildings around them.
Steve pulled his small axe from the foot well of the vehicle and clutched it in his hand as he reached for the door handle.
Jake was holding the heavy hammer that he had become fond of and readying himself to step out. He looked back at the others over his shoulder.
"You all know the drill. Steve and me, we go in and see what we can get and you act as the lookouts."
"No worries." Lee nodded back at him and opened his door.
Helen, John and Lee fanned out in a line in front of the fuel station, facing the way they had come and keeping a close eye on the dead that slowly approached in the distance.
"I'd say you've a good five minutes before they become a problem, guys," John called out to Steve and Jake when he had finished weighing up the situation. "Hang on," he muttered them as he stepped forward and began to bring his heavy iron bar into position for a swing, "got one here."
From behind a group of parked vehicles to the side of the fuel station car park, a lone figure approached. It lurched from side to side as its legs struggled to keep a forward momentum. The shadow of the building made it difficult for John to see it clearly until it entered into the sunlight. Its entire abdomen had been ripped open and the contents torn out. There was nothing left of its internal organs. Even the soft flesh was gone, leaving nothing more than the rib cage and spinal column visible. The thing in front of him was little more than a skeleton with a thin covering of leathery skin and dried up sinew. How it was still mobile, John could only guess.
He took a couple of careful steps forward, raising his weapon, ready to swing like a baseball player. The stench of the corpse drifted into his nostrils and he gagged slightly as he moved closer towards it, but he never took his eye off his target.
He stepped forward again and at the same time, began his swing. He threw his shoulders out, allowing the weight of the iron to carry them in a wide arc with the momentum. He timed it perfectly and judged the distance to the millimetre. The iron bar smashed into the side of the walker's head with a sickening thud. John felt the bone crunch under the impact and a loud sigh escaped from the creature as it dropped to the floor.
John stepped back, looked across to Jake and nodded. "All clear now."
Jake and Steve headed for the tanker. It did not look damaged at all and even the large plate glass windows of the fuel station shop were still intact. It looked like the place and the truck had just been abandoned and forgotten about.
Steve reached up and climbed onto the small step of the driver's door. Before opening it, he wanted to have a look inside, just in case. The cabin looked clear. A thin layer of dust coated the dashboard along with dozens of dead flies, but there was nothing moving as far as he could see. He reached down and tried the handle. The door came open a little and Steve quickly jumped back down to the ground, raising his axe in his hand and stepping back in case there was anything inside that he had missed. Nothing appeared and he gingerly approached the large truck again and pulled the door fully open.
Jake stood at his back, his hammer ready.
The sudden change of air in the cabin caused the millions of dust particles to drift into the air and dance in the sunlight, but that was all that stirred from within. Steve glanced back at Jake and stepped forward. He craned his neck, trying to see into the rear of the cabin and began to pull himself back up onto the step to get a better look into the darkness behind the driver and passenger seats. It was completely empty.
Jake climbed up behind him. "Any sign of the keys."
Steve looked back at him, his eyes lighting up and a grin spreading across his face. "They're still in the ignition."
He carefully turned the key to the first click, checking to see if there was any power left in the battery. The dashboard lit up brightly and all the needles in the gauges danced and swung across before settling to give him an accurate read out of oil pressure, temperature, fuel status and battery power.
Steve chuckled, "Looks like we're good to go, Jake, even a full tank."
"What about the storage tank on the back?"
"Full," St
eve informed him, "but I don't know what with. Could be frigging orange juice for all I know."
"Only one way to find out, I suppose." Jake looked up at him. "Let's check the back and see what the labels say."
To their disbelief, the truck was full of diesel, exactly what they needed. It was time to see if the truck was willing to start. Steve and Jake climbed back into the cab of the tanker. They exchange glances at one another and Steve said a silent prayer to himself. He exhaled loudly and reached down for the keys that hung from the ignition.
The sound of the large engine roaring to life sounded like an earthquake in Lee's ears. He spun and caught the eye of Helen, who looked back in bewilderment. The tanker was belching and coughing clouds of black smoke from its exhaust as it cleared its throat and then settled into a steady rhythmic rumble as it idled on low revolutions with Steve remaining seated behind the wheel.
Jake ran toward them from the truck. "We're going to drive it back to the entrance where we came in. You follow in the Land Rover and pick us up. We will sit and wait for ten minutes and let those dead heads follow us. Then, once they are close enough to us, and far enough away from the supermarket, we head back in the Land Rover for a shopping spree. A quick one, mind you,"
"Okay, you lead and we'll follow." Helen nodded as Lee and John followed her to the Land Rover.
Steve made a point of avoiding hitting any of the dead that staggered toward them as he headed for the entrance point. He did not want to risk losing a wheel or damaging the radiator and ruining their run of good luck. He drove slow and deliberately, swaying left and right as he rounded individuals and clusters of the dead in his path.
The five of them sat in the Safari Park Land Rover, watching the slow shambling corpses approach.
"Are we just going to smash in the door of the supermarket?" John asked.
"I'm hoping that we won't have to do that," Steve replied. "Maybe they didn't lock up, just like they did at the fuel point?"
"We'll soon find out I suppose," Lee said nodding at the lead reanimated bodies that approached. They were now only fifty metres away.
Steve put the vehicle in gear and pulled forward. He weaved in and out, steering the vehicle between the groups of bodies that attempted to reach for them as they passed. They tripped and stumbled into each other as they tried to turn and follow. Even in the vehicle, and with the engine drowning out much of the noise, they could hear the moans of the dead as they passed them.
At the entrance to the supermarket, the five of them climbed out and scanned the area. It appeared that all of the dead in the vicinity had followed them to where they left the tanker. Now, they followed them again, but they were hundreds of metres away and Steve and the others had a little breathing space to see what they could scavenge.
All of the doors they tried were locked and secured. Their easy meal ticket had run out with the fuel tanker still being roadworthy and full with the fuel they needed. Now they needed to work for their pay.
Without another word, Lee launched a piece of paving slab through the main door. The glass caved in with a loud crash, leaving a large hole gaping into the gloomy interior of the store. He began chopping away at the remaining shards of glass that hung on to the frame; they shattered as they hit the floor. He looked back over his shoulder as he stepped into the darkness of the supermarket.
"We're in," he grinned.
John looked back at the approaching figures in the distance. They were still far away and moving slowly. They had time to get a quick look around and grab a few items they may need.
Steve backed the Land Rover up close to the hole that Lee had created. It was just a few centimetres too narrow to enable the vehicle to fit completely through it and he did not want to risk ramming it through and possibly causing the whole frame and even the roof to collapse on top of them. They would be stranded and at the mercy of the dead if the vehicle became stuck.
He climbed out and squeezed himself through the narrow gap between the Land Rover and the frame of the doorway. It would be hard for any of the dead to be able to force themselves through the tight space.
"Okay, folks, as quickly as possible, let's go shopping." Steve clasped his hands together and rubbed his palms, smiling at the others with glee.
"I could do with some retail therapy actually," Jake replied.
Steve and Lee headed for the tinned goods, looking to grab as much as they could before it was time to head back. John volunteered to stay close to the entrance to keep an eye on the goings on outside in the car park while Jake and Helen headed for the pharmacy.
They had already discussed the possibilities of needing antibiotics and painkillers as well as basic medicines in the future. There was also the matter of women's health and hygiene that Helen was concerned with and she wanted to be able to provide the rest of the women in the house with what they needed. To her, having Jake as her looting partner was not as embarrassing as it would have been with any of the others.
Within minutes, the cart that Lee was pushing was filled to the brim with all kinds of non-perishable foods and drinks. Lee was furiously collecting every tin of beans he could find, scooping them from the shelves and into the cart.
Steve raised an eyebrow. "You got a baked bean problem, Lee?"
Lee looked back at him as he shovelled more from the shelf, knocking the contents into the shopping cart. "I can't live without them, mate. A world with no beans isn't worth living in as far as I'm concerned."
"Whatever floats your boat, mate. I think we are done here. Let's head for the clothing section." Steve moved off toward the end of the aisle while Lee followed behind, pushing their heavy load ahead of him.
Soon they had pretty much emptied the clothes racks of everything they thought would be useful, in all different sizes. The cart was overflowing with food and clothing, threatening to spill across the floor of the aisle.
"It's the middle of summer, Steve, what do we need fleece jackets and duvets for?" Lee asked in wonder as he watched his friend drop another load in on top of the ever-growing pile that was by now, becoming hard to push.
"It's not always going to be summer though, is it? And I don't fancy having to come back out to shop for winter clothes."
"Well, in that case, we may as well get over there and grab some gear." Lee nodded in the direction of a display for camping equipment.
The tent sat pitched and pegged on a patch of imitation grass with pots and pans laid out in front as though ready for cooking. The sleeping bags were rolled out, looking inviting, as they lay sprawled on a sheet of thick foam for insulation and comfort.
It reminded Steve of the visions of camping he had always had as a child, though the reality was never the same. His trips into the wilderness always ended in disappointment, soaked to the bone and shivering uncontrollably. Lee had been present on many of his aborted camping trips in their youth.
Steve chuckled to himself as he remembered a particular event. At the age of about fifteen, he and Lee had gone in the local woods, their camping gear in their packs, intent on spending the night smoking the hemp they had collected that day and getting pleasantly stoned. It did not seem to have any effect on Steve and once his failed joint was extinguished, he began griping about the lack of results. Halfway through his complaint, as he looked up to see whether his friend was in agreement with him, he stopped.
Lee's eyes had swollen to the size of golf balls. They were bright red and streaming with tears. His nose and upper lip was covered in mucus and he wheezed as he breathed. He had had a bad reaction to the hemp because of his hayfever. Steve had rolled up laughing and now, remembering the incident, he struggled to keep his laughter stifled as he stood, staring at the camping gear.
"What you giggling about?" Lee asked as he walked towards the display.
Steve shook his head and reminded Lee of the details of the night in the woods, all the time trying hard not to allow the memory to send him into fits of laughter.
"Ah, yeah, I remember t
hat one," Lee said with a faint smile. "I didn't know that smoking weed could set your hayfever off."
Jake and Helen had ransacked the pharmacy and had now moved on to the toiletries aisle. Shampoo and hair conditioner had become a rarity lately in the mansion and Helen was craving for a hot bubble bath with scented candles, followed by copious amounts of moisturising. She smiled to herself at the thought of Steve joining her amongst the piles of bubbles and drifting steam.
John could hear the others moving about amongst the aisles. They were taking too long and he was becoming anxious. He paced the floor along the large windows at the front of the store. Standing on his tiptoes, he attempted to see further into the shop, between the lines of shelves, hoping to catch a glimpse of their progress.
Noises outside made him turn around. To the right of their Land Rover, a lone figure stumbled into view. It worked its way toward the entrance, using the side of the vehicle to steady itself. It reached the broken glass but could go no further because of the vehicle that blocked the hole. It pushed its face against the narrow opening, its fingers attempting to widen the gap with the remaining shards of glass slicing into its hands and leaving smears of dark, coagulated blood all over the frame. It snarled and thrashed its arms through the gap at John when it noticed him standing amongst the aisles in front of it.
John stepped back. The sight of the thing unnerved him. Its skin was pale and pitted with dark holes that showed the bone underneath. Its teeth looked extra long as they gnashed at him and, as always, the lifeless haunting eyes never looked away from him. Its eyes were fixed on him, staring right into his soul with no emotion or indication of its intentions. It was its body language and John's experience with them that made him fully aware of what the thing wanted and intended.
More of its skin had started to come away from its hands. Its dried and congealed blood smeared the glass of the store window and the zebra stripes of the Land Rover in dark stains that looked more like oil.
John could not understand where it had come from. The dead that had followed them to the far side of the outlet car park were still a distance away; he could see them getting closer. The one by the vehicle had come from somewhere much closer by. John plucked up the courage to venture nearer to the window.
