Junior thought it was best to leave, but a rustle from outside made him gasp. He popped his head out but couldn't see anything. Was it one of them?
He went inside, closed the cabin door gently and was almost drenched in darkness. He could feel that a bolt was attached to the door and slid it across, locking it, just in case whatever was outside tried to come in. He sat down with his back to the door, brought his knees up and rested his head on them.
His heart elevated when a sound could be heard, right behind the door. It was a mixture of moving and growling, but it didn't sound like a Runner; it sounded like an animal that was outside.
Junior felt the need to cry, but knew that sobbing would probably entice whatever was outside to try and get inside the small place. If it was definitely an animal outside, then he’d have nothing to worry about, but if it was a Runner…
Go away, go away, go away.
The sound of movement and snarling began to disappear and Junior guessed that the animal was leaving.
He wanted to stay away for a while anyway, to teach Gordon and Joan a lesson, so he decided to stay in the cabin. He leaned his head back and stared up at the ceiling.
A part of him wished he had stayed in the caravan now.
Chapter Fourteen
The black jeep went along the bendy roads at a steady thirty. Lloyd was being cautious and didn't want to damage any of the supplies in the back by driving recklessly. The supermarket trip hadn’t been a complete waste of time, but it had been a frightening experience for the both of them. At least the two men had managed to escape unscathed.
Lloyd guessed, especially the speed he was going, that they'd be back at the caravan site in fifteen minutes, and didn't want to rule out another trip to the supermarket in the next couple of days. There was still food in there, and if they didn't take it, then others would … eventually.
“We should go back,” said Marvin.
“I agree.” Lloyd nodded. “I think in a few days—”
“No. I mean now. All those Runners from that staff room have gone. Let’s be honest, we lost our nerve. We wanted to get the fuck out, but we should go back. This jeep still has space that needs filling.”
Lloyd took in a deep breath and began to ponder. He released a breath out and had made a decision. “We'll just head back to the caravan and go another day.”
“If that's what you think is best.”
“I don't know what's for the best, man. Not really.”
The jeep took a bend and Lloyd released his foot off the gas when his eyes clocked a body lying in the middle of the road. Whatever it was, it wasn't dead, but it looked to be in a dreadful state and was hopelessly trying to move.
“What the fuck?” Lloyd cried out.
Marvin stated, “That wasn't there before.”
“No, but it's here now.”
Lloyd brought the vehicle to a stop, ten yards from the body, and asked his big brother, “So what the fuck do we do now, man?”
“Just run over the cunt,” Marvin suggested.
“I'm not running over it.”
“Why the fuck not?”
“It's moving. It's still alive. It could be human.”
“The infected are human.”
“You know what I mean, man.”
Marvin gave his brother a disappointed look and opened the passenger door, forcing Lloyd to ask Marvin what the hell he was playing at.
Lloyd cussed as he watched Marvin head towards the body and taking his knife out of his pocket. He couldn't just sit there.
He opened the driver's side and reached behind him and grabbed the crowbar that was lying on the back passenger seats. He turned the engine off and left the vehicle, leaving the door open and the keys in the ignition. He followed Marvin and could see that he was already by the body and was crouched down, inspecting it.
“Don't go too close,” Lloyd warned as he reached the pair of them.
“It's okay.” Marvin held his hand up. “Come and take a look.”
Lloyd stood by his crouching brother and got into the same position. The individual on the floor was infected, a male dressed in sports attire, and despite its effort to crawl, it was moving at a snail's pace. Lloyd looked to the side and could see dense woodland to his right where it must have come from. It was a small area of woodland, as the rest of the area they had passed were fields, and wondered where it would take them if they decided to walk through there.
Lloyd looked back at the gaunt infected person and screwed his eyes in confusion, and then stood up straight.
“What're you thinking?” Marvin asked him, and then nodded to the knife that he was holding in his right hand. “Shall I put it out of its misery?”
Lloyd nodded and seemed distant. “If you want.”
Marvin stabbed it twice in the back as Lloyd continued to ponder.
“So what do you think was wrong with it?” Marvin asked Lloyd. “Starving?”
Lloyd hunched his shoulders. “Maybe a little. Probably dehydrated more than anything.”
“What's that noise?” asked Marvin.
Both men were now standing, and were glaring in the direction of where the noise was coming from, into the woodland. The sound of rustling branches and hurried steps grew louder and Marvin and Lloyd both took a panicky look at one another, and then ran back to the jeep.
Marvin slammed his door shut once he was in and Lloyd did the same. All Lloyd needed to do now was start the engine and move away, but that was easier said than done.
Lloyd threw his crowbar into the back whilst Marvin was yelling at him to get a move on, and grabbed the keys that were still in the ignition and started the engine. He slipped the vehicle into first, but stalled the jeep once the parking brake was taken off. His legs shook with fear and the scolding from his brother wasn't helping matters.
Lloyd tried to move away again. One Runner came out of the trees and sprinted towards the jeep. Lloyd pulled away and tried to swerve around the creature, but Lloyd had only managed second gear and was travelling too slow. The jeep went over the body in the middle of the road and Lloyd accidentally had bitten his lip, drawing blood.
The contaminated being managed to run past the vehicle and threw itself onto the bonnet and began to head-butt the windscreen.
“Get rid of it!” shouted Marvin.
“And how the fuck am I supposed to do that?”
Lloyd had reached thirty in third gear, but the Runner was still holding on, head-butting the windscreen and making good progress as the glass was beginning to crack, spoiling Lloyd's vision.
“I can't see,” Lloyd cried.
“Hit the brakes,” said Marvin. “Try and throw it off.”
Lloyd did as Marvin suggested, and it worked. The infected human flew off the bonnet, once Lloyd quickly applied the brake, and went tumbling down the road like a thrown dice.
Lloyd slipped into first again and got to third and twenty-five mph when the black jeep's wheels went over the Runner before it managed to get back up. It revealed an unusual cry, almost prehistoric sounding, when the wheels crushed it to death. Lloyd stopped the vehicle and took a moment to realise what had just happened.
“You okay?” Lloyd asked Marvin.
Marvin nodded. “Never better.”
Both men jumped when two more appeared from the woods at the right hand side of Lloyd, punching and slapping at the driver’s side window. Lloyd cussed and cried out in panic, and then eventually pulled away.
*
Two minutes had passed, and the black jeep was going at an average speed. Lloyd didn't want to risk taking a bend at such a high speed in case he lost control or the vehicle accidentally ploughed into a herd of the infected. He went through the radio stations to see if there was any information, but all stations seemed to be defunct. He noticed that the vehicle had a CD player and asked Marvin to look in the glove compartment for CDs
“Music?” Marvin scratched his head. “Really?”
“I won't put it on too l
oud,” Lloyd tried to explain. “Listening to music was a part of normal life. I just want to feel normal for a few minutes.”
“Weirdo,” Marvin scoffed, and opened the glove compartment anyway. “Let's see what we've got.”
Lloyd eased off the gas as they approached a tight bend, slipped the jeep into second, and once the bend had been passed he speeded up once more.
Marvin noisily rummaged through and pulled out three CDs. “This is the best there is.”
Lloyd had a quick glance to the side and saw his older brother holding up U2's The Unforgettable Fire, David Bowie's Low and Led Zeppelin's In Through The Out Door.
“The owner of this vehicle had good taste in music.” Lloyd nodded. “Never liked Low. Too many instrumentals on it for me, and In Through The Out Door should never have been made. As far as I'm concerned Zeppelin should have split up after Plant's car crash, well before Bonham's death.”
Marvin popped in The Unforgettable Fire and put the other discs at the side.
“Put on track three,” Lloyd ordered. “Has to be possibly the most underrated song in history.”
Marvin did as he was told and both listened. Marvin took a glance to the side and saw Lloyd driving with a smile on his face as his younger brother sang, rather badly, to U2's Wire.
“Not as good as The Joshua Tree,” Marvin spoke over the music, annoying Lloyd.
Two tracks had passed and Marvin had spent his time drumming on the glove compartment and annoying Lloyd. Halfway through a song called Promenade, Lloyd switched the player off and huffed.
Marvin never asked why the music had been turned off; instead he asked Lloyd, “So what have you been up to ... you know ... apart from running a pub?”
“What?” Lloyd gazed at his brother and wondered if Marvin was joking or not.
“What have you been up to?”
Lloyd snickered, “Are you fucking with me, man?”
“No. Why?”
Lloyd smiled and shook his head. “I haven't seen you for years, and when you do turn up it takes you up to the second week to ask me what I've been up to?”
“Just making polite conversation.” Marvin began to laugh. “Jesus, what's up with you?”
Lloyd shook his head and moaned, “We've never been close, Marvin. So don't start acting like you care now.”
“Pardon me for breathing,” snickered Marvin once more. He then twitched his nose and put his forefinger up his left nostril. He picked and picked and managed to scoop a big green slimy number. Lloyd screwed his face as he looked to the side to see his brother inspecting what he had retrieved from his nose.
“What the fuck are you gonna do with that, man?” Lloyd asked with a twist in his face.
“Relax,” Marvin laughed. “I'm not gonna wipe it in the vehicle.”
“You're not gonna eat it, are you?”
“What do you think I am? An animal?” Marvin shook his head and snickered, “I can't believe you asked me if I was going to eat it.”
“I dunno with you.” Lloyd slowed down for another bend and could feel the wind from outside as Marvin put the window down a few inches.
Lloyd took another glance and saw his older brother rolling his snotter and flicking it out of the window, then wound the window back up.
“So...” Lloyd decided to ask Marvin a personal question, considering it was he that had started it. “You never met anyone that you were serious about or had kids or...?”
Marvin leaned his head back on the head restraint and puffed out a breath. He seemed lost in thought and was pondering on how to answer Lloyd's question.
He finally answered, “I had a kid.” Marvin nodded and his face looked sombre. “A daughter.”
“Shit.” Lloyd sat up straight and listened for more. “You mean I have a niece somewhere?”
Marvin thinned his lips and looked at Lloyd with sadness in his eyes. This was the first time that Lloyd had seen him like this since he had turned up weeks ago.
Lloyd gulped. “What happened, if you don't mind me asking?”
“Well...” Marvin paused and seemed reluctant to continue. “I was seeing this woman a few years ago. Her name was Beryl. Far too good for me.”
“Isn't any woman?” Lloyd tried to joke.
“Anyway,” Marvin tried to continue, ignoring his brother's attempt at humour, “I was seeing Beryl for a couple of years and she fell pregnant. We got a place together in Lancaster and things seem to be going well. Then after Jade, my daughter, was born, things seemed to have taken a turn for the worse.”
“What happened?”
“Four months after Jade was born, our daughter, Beryl became depressed, even started drinking. She just couldn't handle being a mother.”
“Post-natal?” Lloyd queried.
Marvin nodded sadly.
“Why didn't you ring me or...?”
Marvin shrugged his shoulders and added, “We hadn't spoken in years. It's not easy to just pick up the phone after such a length of time, is it? Let's be honest, if this thing never happened, we wouldn’t be sitting next to one another now.”
“True,” Lloyd sighed sadly. “So where's Beryl and your daughter now? I assume you fucked up and she buggered off somewhere.”
“You have little faith in me, little brother.”
“Is it any wonder? Especially the way you've behaved the last couple of weeks.”
Marvin never responded. He turned away from Lloyd and began to stare out of the window.
Lloyd felt that he had hurt Marvin's feelings. He wanted to know what had happened to his brother's partner and daughter and asked him, “What happened to Beryl? Where are they now?”
Marvin turned away from the window and slowly turned his head, now facing his brother.
“I came back from work one day, six months after Jade was born. I...”
Lloyd began to fear the worst after Marvin had paused and was really growing concerned where this story was going. “Go on.”
Marvin continued, “I never really took her depression that seriously, to he honest with you. I just thought she was a bit down, tired.”
“And?”
“I came back from work and got into my house.” Marvin paused and lowered his head. This was something that was new to Lloyd and he immediately began to feel sorry for Marvin, knowing that this story wasn't going to end well.
Lloyd couldn't help himself and impatiently asked, “And? What happened?”
“I walked into the living room and couldn't see Beryl and Jade. I called out Beryl's name, but there was no response.” Marvin rubbed his right palm over his face and added, “I went upstairs, into our room, and then I saw it.”
“You saw what?”
Marvin slowly shook his head. “Both Beryl and little Jade were lying on the bed, dead.”
“Oh shit.” Lloyd looked aghast. “Marvin, I'm so sorry.”
“Beryl had smothered the little one and then took an overdose. I suppose the way the world is now ... I suppose it's kind of a blessing.”
The vehicle was filled with silence and neither of them could think of anything to say. Lloyd shifted in his seat uncomfortably and looked to the side and cleared his throat.
“I had no idea,” Lloyd began. “I hadn't seen you in years. I mean ... we never even spoke on the phone and I suppose now I feel … I feel terrible. I mean ... you lost a daughter, man. That is so fucked up. How'd you cope? I mean...”
Lloyd stopped talking when he could hear laughter coming from the side of him. He took a few quick glances to his side to see Marvin in hysterics.
“What're you laughing at?” Lloyd seemed confused and angry at Marvin's behaviour. “What the fuck is wrong with you, man?”
Marvin was still laughing and was struggling to explain.
“Marvin?”
“I was kidding,” Marvin snickered.
“What?”
“I never had a partner called Beryl. Or a daughter.” Marvin continued to laugh and was clutching onto his belly. “You wan
na see your face. You look like you actually felt sorry for me.”
“You’re unbelievable.”
“I really—”
“Don't fucking talk to me, man,” Lloyd snarled and wanted to punch Marvin’s lights out. If he wasn’t driving… “Seriously. Sick bastard.”
“Does that mean we’re not talking now?” Marvin cackled.
Lloyd grinded his teeth in anger and shook his head. He was so livid that he couldn’t look at Marvin.
He took a quick look in the rear view mirror and could see that the two Runners were still pursuing the vehicle. He thought they would have given up by now.
He pressed harder on the gas.
Chapter Fifteen
Gordon had made a pig of himself with the biscuits that Walter had to offer, and was told by Joan to slow down after munching on his seventh.
“Greedy fucker, isn't he?” Walter nodded over at Gordon and scratched his grey beard. “If I knew he was going to eat that many, I wouldn't have bothered opening my mouth.”
“What's your plans, Walter?” Joan asked him, ignoring his remark about Gordon. “You say you don't have much left, so what are you going to do?”
“Well,” Walter shifted in his armchair, “I suppose I'm going to do what most other living people are doing. I'm going to sit tight and hope helps comes along.”
“And if it doesn't?”
“Then I'll die,” he said bluntly. “I'm sixty-eight, so it wouldn't be a tragedy if I passed on. Compared to most people, I've had a good innings.”
“You say that you're going to do what other living people are doing,” Gordon began, licking the soggy biscuits from the gaps of his teeth. “But the infected are alive. They're not dead, you know.”
“Alright, alright,” Walter growled, “you pedantic prick.”
“Charming.” Gordon looked affronted by the aggressive old man. “You practically beg us to stay for a bit longer, then you abuse us.”
“Only you, son.” Walter Grey winked. “I can see Joan is a lovely woman, but you, on the other hand, are a bit of a drip.”
Joan burst out laughing, making Gordon flash her a rude stare, but then quickly raised her hand at Gordon and apologised.
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