by Jessica Ward
George didn’t seem to understand what was so funny. Maybe he hadn’t heard of the Cookie Monster before. Or even worse, maybe he didn’t like Sesame Street. No, he couldn’t have not liked it, everyone loves Sesame Street.
Once we had calmed down we collected up our new belongings. I tried to sneak a pair of shoes out, without anyone noticing. They were highly impractical, and I knew that, given our current circumstances I would most likely, never get a chance to wear them. But I didn’t care, I wanted them anyway.
They were killer heels; they had been painted a rusty gold and were covered in different style buttons, all different shapes and sizes. I knew the designer instantly. The intricacy in the detail, the quirkiness of the design, these had Nixxi Rose written all over them. Even better, they were in my size.
I had to take them; I simply had no choice in the matter. I couldn’t leave a pair of shoes, especially ones this stunning, to live the remainder of its life in an abandoned post office. No, I was going to rescue them.
I wrapped the shoes around my new clothes, and I pushed them down to the bottom of my bag. After I had packed everything away, I could only just close my bag.
After we had all fully packed, we turned our attention to the next matter at hand.
“How are we going to get out?” Lacey asked.
George looked over to the red door in the corner of the room. “I think its best we exit through there.” he said pointing over to the door.
Leon wandered over to the window. “They’ve gone” he shrugged.
We weren’t new to this game anymore. We knew the infected were getting smarter. Just because they weren’t in view, didn’t mean they weren’t there. They had already learnt how to creep around in the shadows.
However, it did mean that we had a clear path to the cars. If we made a break for it, we should be able to outrun them.
We had all armed ourselves with blunt objects. I played it safe with a broken off piece of piping; one Nick had ripped off a dormant machine. Lacey followed suit and had another piece of piping, from a different section.
Leon and Ryan were a little more daring. Leon was wielding a bright red electric guitar, one he had found in amongst the larger parcels. Ryan held onto a large cricket bat. Both items looked rather heavy, but both Leon and Ryan had been built for this type of stuff. They had been with the army for years and were apparently used to the weight.
Leon led the group out, whilst Ryan covered us from the rear. We all kept our eyes peeled as we made a break for the cars. It turns out we were right in our estimations. As soon as we were in view, the infected that had chased us earlier emerged from behind the abandoned cars on the main road. They had tried to lay a trap. Luring us into a false sense of security, they bolted out at the last minute.
Lucky for us, by the time they had made their move we were only a few meters away from the cars. We had easily outrun them. They had laid in wait a little too far out, and we were completely out of reach for them. “Ha, not as clever as you think, ugly fuckers.” I thought to myself.
Nick had dived into the driver’s seat just as the infected closed in.
Paul was the last one inside, as soon as he closed the door the first of the infected collided with the now locked door.
Snarling and gnashing at the window, it didn’t take him long to realise he was too late. Drawing his attention to the others, who had a longer sprint to get to their car; he ran off in search of easier prey.
We turned our attention to Nick as he was fumbling to get the keys into the ignition. Just as he started the car we heard an almighty bang behind us.
We quickly turned around. Leon was stood; his guitar snapped in half, as the infected who had tried to get to us previously laid on the ground.
Throwing his broken weapon into the road, he climbed into the car as Ryan effortlessly started the engine.
Nick swiftly turned the car around, as another infected bounced off the car bonnet. Both cars heading out into the distance; away from the main village and through the maze of Edwardian houses, along Sydall Road. We pulled over once we were clear.
We set the sat-nav up and punched in the marina postcode. We sat for a few minutes as the symbol on the sat-nav spun round and round, trying to work out the best route for us to take.
Nick looked up as the rest of our group in the car behind us flashed their lights. We all turned around, trying to see what they were flashing us for when we heard a familiar screech in the distance.
The infected had followed us. They were sprinting towards us, blood and saliva dripping down their fronts.
Those infected that we hadn’t noticed previously were emerging from the houses around us.
They snarled and gnashed as they headed straight for us.
Nick pushed the car into gear as we tried to set off. Before long the infected had us surrounded. We had to slow our speed right down as the infected swarmed the car.
Slowly pushing the infected in front of us, the rest scrambled to get a good hold on the car. We had almost pushed our way through the crowd as an infected woman launched herself across the bonnet of the car.
She was a young woman in life. Although, just like all the rest, the infection had consumed and eradicated all her previous human features, and replaced them with a terrifying, bloodthirsty and menacing look of death. She bared her teeth through the windscreen as she looked directly at us. Blood trickled down from her mouth and onto the car. Her skin had already started to rot. The wounds on her arms and face looked as though something was eating her from the inside, out.
The side of her face was missing. Yellow pus oozed from her sores. Maggots wiggled around deeply embedded in her open wounds; it was sickening.
Nick pushed the accelerator down harder, forcing her to sway slightly, but she still latched on.
As soon as we emerged from the crowd I yelled for Nick to swerve. He turned the steering wheel quickly to the right. With the sudden change of direction, the woman swayed to the left and whipped back over to the right, over correcting herself. The jolt threw her off the bonnet to the passenger side of the car, just as Nick ploughed the side of the car into a parked car on the road. The woman was now wedged between our car and the parked car.
Pushing the car forwards Nick drove along, only pulling the car back into the middle of the road after we passed the car.
The woman finally let go. I looked over to the side of me where the woman once stood, clinging on, desperate to get to her next meal.
She now lay in two pieces. Nick had sandwiched her to the other car that tightly, the force and friction of the car had split her from the waist down.
Her top half was still moving as she pulled herself along the floor with her hands. Blood smeared across the parked car and spilled out all over the floor where her legs now lay.
Seeing the mutilated woman in the road, the infected turned their attention to her, giving up on their perusal of the cars.
They surrounded the woman and started pulling apart the left over limbs, greedily filling their mouths with the rotting, maggot-ridden flesh.
It was the first time I had seen them eat one of their own. I turned back to the front, feeling extremely nauseous as Nick turned on the wipers, cleaning the remnants of blood off the windscreen.
A few minutes later, the sat-nav decided to spring to life. It had finished loading. I quickly pressed OK as our new route came into view.
Chapter 6 – Are we there yet?
We went via the back roads in order to get out of Bramhall. We didn’t want to alert our presence to any more of the infected. We’d had enough excitement for one day.
We finally emerged onto the A555. The sat-nav was directing us towards the Handforth Bypass, we were heading towards home. Well, to what was once home. Our apartment was a few miles ahead; we would be going straight past it.
I was starting to feel homesick. Being this close to home, yet knowing we couldn’t go back made my heart sink.
We had spent so much t
ime getting the apartment exactly how we wanted it. All that time and money, if I had known we were going to be in this situation, I think I would have put my money to better uses.
“Shall we swing by Andy and Lola’s house?” Nick asked; I knew he had good intentions. He was worried about Andy; it was understandable.
Just hearing that vile girl’s name, made the anger well up inside me. I looked over to Lacey; I could tell from the look in her eye she felt exactly the same way I did.
I didn’t respond to him; I just glared over in his direction. He knew how much I hated her, how much Lacey did. I couldn’t get my head around how the boys could be so cool about it. She had completely and utterly betrayed us. She had opened the flood gates, on purpose I might add, and let the infected in. She knew exactly what she was doing, and she did it out of spite.
For all intents and purposes, it was attempted murder. Actually, it was murder, although not directly. The Sergeant and Josh were no longer with us. They still would be if it weren't for her.
This wasn’t just a petty little, girls falling out drama. This was way bigger. It was on a whole other level.
“I know how you girls feel.” Paul said, “But I think it’s a good idea, for Andy’s sake guys.” He added.
I wasn’t thrilled with the idea, but I knew that in the end we would be outnumbered.
Nick signalled to the car behind us as we slowed down and pulled in on the side of the road. The roads were completely dead. A few plastic bags rolled across the side of the road, like tumbleweeds in an old western. Rain had started to fall, only very lightly, but it darkened the sky above us.
Nick hopped out the car and ran over to Ryan and the rest of the team. He relayed our thoughts about veering off course slightly.
I wasn’t too surprised that Ryan sided with Lacey and I. After all the Sergeant was a dear friend, and we all knew he was still reeling from his death.
Leon agreed with the rest of the boys, which only left George and the Professor.
Although a little quirky, the Professor had a good heart. He wasn’t one to hold grudges, and always did what he could for the rest of the group.
He agreed. “If there is a chance to help young Andrew, I feel inclined to say yes” He announced. He mentioned nothing of Duckface, which was absolutely fine by me.
George seemed a little more practical than the Professor. “I find myself siding with the girls.” He said. “But for a different reason. Andrew left on his own accord. He had his own priorities. I also think veering off would be a fool’s errand. We should focus on the task ahead and concentrate our energy into getting to the Marina” He stated.
It seems we had reached an impasse. Four votes yes, and four votes no. I was actually surprised Lacey and I had managed to gain this many.
Lacey, Paul and I hopped out the car and went to meet with the others.
“Ok, how do we work this one?” Nick asked the group.
“We could split up? Those that want to go take one car, those that don’t take the other and head to the marina?” Paul suggested.
“No, for one, we only have a sat-nav in one car” I replied quickly.
“She’s right, plus I don’t really think it’s a good idea splitting up, we need to stick together” Leon agreed.
We all nodded; it was the only thing we could agree on. Unfortunately, it left us in the same predicament we were in before.
It was clear none of us were going to change our votes, so reluctantly we agreed to take a drive to Andy’s house. The last thing we wanted to do was to split up.
A few arguments later, we trudged back to the cars. The boys agreed that on the first sign of danger we’d get out of there.
I suppose they were right in a way. Andy was a good guy. He went out his way for us and took part in everything whilst we were on the base. He put a lot of hard work in, but so did the rest of us. He should have never left in the first place if you ask me.
We turned right at the next roundabout as our car climbed up the hill towards the Bluebell BMW garage. We were a stone’s throw away from the apartment. It was heart-breaking driving past the road, knowing we most likely, would never go back.
I put it to the back of my mind. I was still angry at Duckface, just the thought of her false, arrogant face left me reeling. I swear to god if I saw her, I’d punch the arrogance right out of her. That’s if Lacey didn’t get to her first.
We carried on past our road and onto the housing estate which was home to Andy and Duckface. We pulled up outside the house.
I couldn’t believe it. My car was parked in the drive. After a quick sweep of the area, we got out the car. The front door was wide open.
The first thing I did was check the car. It was locked. “Perfect!” I thought to myself. It was still in the same condition I had last seen it in. At least she hadn’t scratched my baby, I wouldn’t have put it past her.
We cautiously entered through the front door. The house was a mess. Furniture, decorations, DVD’s and books were strewn everywhere. The whole house had been turned upside down. We walked through the house; the boys went upstairs whilst Lacey and I followed George and the Professor checking out the rooms downstairs.
After a few minutes, the boys came back down, shaking their heads. “No sign of either of them. It’s a mess up there as well” Leon told us.
I took a closer look at the debris. Although it had evidently been tipped upside down, this didn’t seem like the work of the infected.
For one, there was no blood. Usually, when the infected were present, tell-tale signs of blood weren’t far behind. Even in and around my car, it still had its colour. Not a spot of blood was anywhere to be seen.
“Where are they?” I wondered. She’s obviously been here, but where is she now? And why didn’t she take the car?
“Can anyone see my keys?” I asked the rest of the group.
Everyone looked around shaking their heads. With that, we all scoured the house, looking for the keys. It wasn’t a necessity, but I wanted my car back. The last thing I wanted to do was leave it for that bitch to take, wherever she was.
After ten minutes or so it was clear, wherever she was, the keys were also.
We decided to leave it and head back to the cars. We didn’t want to draw any unwanted attention to ourselves. Nick quickly grabbed a pen, and screwed up piece of paper and straightened it out. He left a note for Andy. It read:
Andy,
Its Nick, we are heading to Nantwich to get to Venetian Marina. We have keys to a boat. If you find this, don’t go to the base. It’s all gone. Meet us at the Marina. Postcode CW5 6DD.
He stuck it onto the fridge as we made our way back to the cars.
“What if she sees the note?” Lacey asked.
“After the stunt she pulled, I don’t think she would dare show her face” I answered simply. I hoped to god I was right.
We bundled back into the cars and corrected our course. We headed back onto the A34 and carried on towards Alderley Edge. We had managed to follow the A34 past Wilmslow with ease. There were no cars on the road at all.
It was such an eerie feeling looking around and not seeing a single soul, especially in the middle of the day. It started to hit home, how isolated we were.
We turned off into Alderley Edge as we passed the Merlin pub. What was once one of my favourite eateries, always in pristine condition, had now taken on an entirely different look. All the shrubs and hedgerows were overgrown. The building itself stood dormant. A few cars still stood in the car park, but it was clear they would never be used again.
I was amazed by how different the world was starting to look. Without people around to maintain places such as these, they were deteriorating rapidly.
We passed the glass fronted café Aldeli as Nick turned quickly into the petrol station.
“What are you doing?” I asked him, looking around making sure we were alone.
“Babe were nearly out of fuel, I don’t think we can make it all the way to
Nantwich on what we’ve got left” He replied.
I looked at Lacey and Paul in the back as I sunk back into my seat. “Great!” I thought to myself.
I had already had enough excitement for one day; I didn’t think I could cope with anymore.
Ryan pulled up behind us and got out the car. Checking all around him first, he shouted over to us. “I need to fill up too, but we need to get inside to switch the nozzles on."
I turned my gaze to the station shop. It looked quiet enough. But the windows were steamed over from the inside, meaning we couldn’t see in.
Leon made his way over to the door, wielding Ryan’s bat. He peered into the glass and looked over to us shaking his head.
“I can’t see a thing.” he told us. He pulled open the door and poked his head around.
“All clear so far” he shouted over. George and Nick started to unclip the nozzles and put them in the cars, ready for refuelling.
Leon, Ryan and Paul made their way inside to switch on the pumps. The Professor, Lacey and I stayed on watch, making sure the area was clear.
The rain was starting to clear up. The sky was already still its usual grey self. We never had much sun even in the summer. I rubbed my arms as I started to shiver.
A few minutes later the nozzles clicked on. Nick and George quickly went about fuelling the cars. A few minutes after that, the boys in the station shop reappeared arms full of chocolate and crisps.
Paul emptied his findings into our car. “Treats for the journey.” he told us, as he turned to go back for more.
“It might be a good idea to find some plastic bags to put it in.” I told as he wandered back to the shop.
“Oh yeah!” he said nodding, “I’ll find some."
Leon and Ryan weren’t far behind him. Ryan picked up a Jerry Can on his way in and handed it to Nick. “Fill this up, just in case we need it.” Ryan told Nick. It was a smart idea. You never know when stuff like that comes in useful.
