Dead End

by Monroe, Kady

  CHAPTER 2

  At the T-junction at the far end of the road, Jenny witnessed people running from the park where the bonfire night celebrations had been going on. The night was devoid of the noise and colour of the earlier fireworks. She wished to have that sound back rather than what she now comprehended.

  People poured from the junction into Marlow Street where the shop was situated. Her companion also noticed what was happening and urgently said,

  “If this is anything to do with the virus, then we can’t stand about out here. It’s not safe!”

  He herded her back towards the glass door, then discovered the metal roller shutters above the outside window and door. With a jump, he grabbed the bottom of the window screen and with a heave pulled it down halfway. He quickly finished the job of getting it all the way to the ground.

  Meanwhile, Jenny watched the runners. She heard more glass breaking somewhere and then to her horror, saw a screaming woman being pushed to the ground by a man that had been running behind her. He pounced on her and sank his teeth into the side of her face. Another female dropped to the ground beside him and joined him in attacking the fallen woman. That unfortunate lady’s screams of pain died, but Jenny thought the memory of them might haunt her forever.

  The first attacker got back to his feet and grabbed someone else. Jenny froze to the spot in shock as the same scene played out elsewhere further down the street. Panicking victims were being caught and attacked by one or two others.

  At first, she barely knew of the strong hand that grabbed her arm, and the voice shouting at her to “C’mon!”

  The crowd of people from the park were almost upon them.

  Jenny came to her senses and cooperated with phone guy until she spotted the young couple who purchased crisps and cola from her earlier. They ran in the middle of the street and one chaser was close to bringing the girl down. The skinny boy noticed and sidestepped his bodyweight into the attacker. The force knocked the assailant off balance, away from the young man’s girlfriend in the bright pink jacket.

  Jenny broke free of her companion’s grasp and ran the short distance towards them shouting,

  “Over here!”

  The girl’s eyes were wide with terror, but she recognised Jenny and the couple changed direction, heading for her. Confident they were following, Jenny turned and closed the distance between herself and the shop. Phone guy urged her on and had already lowered the door shutter about a foot down above his head so that when the time came, he would grab and close it quickly.

  As soon as she reached the doorway, she turned to make sure the couple were okay. They were, but a frail elderly man not far away howled in pain as a woman sunk her teeth into his arm. The biter didn't stay to finish the job and sprinted off in pursuit of another person. The old guy slumped down against a wall, sliding until he came to a stop, sitting on the street clutching his arm. Jenny wanted to go to him, but the couple rushed past her, and phone guy pulled her back before he heaved the shutter closed.

  A moment later, a female chaser slammed into it. She snarled, showing off her blood-stained face and teeth. A male joined her, he clawed and pounded at the barrier. Their awful, angry faces, were lit by the shop’s lights filtering through the small gaps in the screen. But the oblong spaces in the security blind weren’t big enough for him to get his fingers through. Neither of the aggressors considered trying to lift the shutter up from the bottom. It didn’t mean they wouldn’t figure it out though.

  Phone guy had also shut the glass door as soon as the four of them got inside.

  “Get the keys for this,” he demanded.

  On hearing his voice the two chasers outside growled and snarled.

  Jenny rushed behind the counter and pulled a set of keys out of a small drawer. Running back she locked the door herself, sending the man and woman chasers into a frenzy. They increased their efforts to reach the people inside, banging incessantly against the shutter. Jenny feared it would buckle inwards.

  There was a letter-box gap in the metal door screen, and Jenny found herself eye to eye with the brown-haired lady outside, who, on making eye contact with Jenny, squashed her gnawing teeth against the opening, snapping them together. The woman pushed her face as far forward as she could, hoping to come into contact with Jenny's skin. The sickening sight made Jenny shudder, and she now understood what the guy's brother had meant about his neighbours “looking wrong.” It was the eyes. Bloodshot and pale, as if all the colour had drained from the irises, leaving a terrifying insanity to fill them.

  Jenny backed away from the door and phone guy followed her lead.

  “Maybe we should kill the lights, it might draw less attention to us,” he said as they hurried across the shop to the counter area. The thought of being in darkness did nothing to comfort Jenny. However, if it made them less of a target, then it was worth trying.

  “Okay,” she said, “The switch panel is down the end, through the door and it’s on the right.”

  Her companion headed off towards the back of the shop. The man and woman outside were still rampaging against the shutters, frustrated at being kept from their quarry. She willed them to go away, but of course, they didn't. Hearing the noise from them, and from others outside, told her it was carnage out there, yet the screams from victims were quieter.

  The young couple hid behind the first aisle, which was furthest away from the door. The girl drew in heavy breaths after the exertion of running. But the boy fared better, and had his phone to his ear, already conversing with someone. Jenny approached and realised she had vaguely known of someone talking while she dealt with the door. The young man had phoned the police.

  “He's gone to switch the lights off,” she announced while keeping an eye on the door and listening to the conversation.

  If no one else had phoned the police, she would have.

  The lights switched off. The girl gave a little groan of apprehension but settled down again.

  “We’re stuck inside a shop, em... Carter’s Mini-Mart, I think.” The young man looked towards Jenny for confirmation. She nodded, so he continued,

  “Uh-huh, it’s the shop on Marlow Street. There’s four of us here and weird people outside. There’s two of them banging at the door, trying to get in,” He listened. Jenny saw his hands shaking.

  “How soon will they be here?” he asked.

  “Uh-huh, and they will come get us when they’ve cleared the street?”

  “Yeah, Ok... Uh-huh. You won’t forget about us right?”

  “Ok, we’ll do that. Ok, bye.”

  Just as he ended his call, the thumping on the door ceased too. Jenny held her breath for a moment, waiting for it to start again. She looked up at the security monitor and saw the area in front of the shop was empty. The two chasers had either moved on, or they waited nearby somewhere, out of the camera's view.

  Phone guy returned from the back of the shop and asked the young man,

  “What did the police say?”

  He had made note of the call when he made his way to the light switches.

  “They told me we’re safer inside and we should keep the door locked and stay put ‘till they get to us. They’ve had other calls about it and have already dispatched units to the area.”

  “So we’re just supposed to sit here and wait! For how long?” grumbled the girl.

  It was phone guy who answered,

  “For as long as it takes.”

  Jenny pointed to the monitor for the others to see,

  “They’ve moved away from the door.”

  Phone guy asked,

  “Is that camera remote controlled?”

  “No, it’s static,” she replied.

  The girl piped up next,

  “Can you turn it to the news channel?”

  “It's not a TV,” her boyfriend said, “It's just for the cameras.”

  “How do you know? Do you work here now?” she shouted.

  “Shh, keep your voice down,” he hissed. “Do you w
ant the weirdos coming back?”

  She gave a petulant pout and moved on with her train of thought.

  “We will probably be on the news. I mean, this will be a big breaking story before long. I bet we’ll get interviewed once the police rescue us.”

  Phone guy shook his head,

  “I doubt it,” he muttered.

  “What do you mean?” she asked, frowning.

  “Never mind. Why don’t we deal with getting rescued first before we plan our five minutes of fame?”

  “Oh,” she said, then went on, “I better phone my mum before this breaks on the news.”

  She retrieved her mobile and tried to connect a call, but after a few seconds, she held it away from her ear.

  “What does it mean when the networks busy? This woman’s telling me to try again later.”

  The young man leaned in and put his ear to her phone.

  “Too many people trying to make calls at the same time. Here, try mine, I’m on a different provider from you.”

  She cancelled her call and took her friend's phone, pressing the numbers on the keypad since the boy apparently didn't have her mum on speed-dial. After another few moments of listening, she declared,

  “It’s saying the same thing!”

  “The networks must be overloaded,” the boy said to her, “You can try again later. Your mum will understand.”

  The girl pouted.

  Jenny suggested,

  “The shop has a landline, on the wall over there, behind the counter. You might have better luck with that.”

  The girl brightened,

  “Thanks! I can try our home number then.”

  As the couple headed to the shop phone, Jenny glanced at her watch. She could hardly believe less than fifteen minutes had gone since she’d overheard phone guy’s conversation with his dad. It seemed like a lifetime ago now. Everything had happened so fast.

  Phone guy was also trying his phone. His shoulders slumped. He looked at her and shook his head.

  The noise outside had died and Jenny wondered what was going on out there.

  “I’ll check the door,” she told her companions.

  The young couple, engrossed with the wall-phone, ignored her, and her original companion said nothing. He was dejectedly looking at his mobile.

  So she crept towards the entrance, listening with each step.

  When she got there, there was no sign of the man and woman. Jenny could hear moaning though. She assumed the source of that was most likely injured people.

  To get a clearer view, she peered through the glass door and out the letter-box gap.

  Once again, her view of the street was constricted. Her heart thumped in her chest. She half-expected a crazy person to jump out and give her a heart attack. But they didn’t.

  She saw a motionless person lying face down on the tarmac. A pool of dark blood, spreading out from beneath their body. She couldn’t tell if they were male or female because of their androgynous clothing and a hood which covered the person’s head. Across the road and to her right, she viewed the old man which she’d witnessed being bitten earlier. He was still sitting on the pavement, holding his injured arm. Although his head drooped, Jenny noticed the slight movement of his fingers against the bloody cloth around the wound.

  She wondered why he didn’t get up and try to reach safety. Was he too frightened? Or did he get hurt in some other way when he slumped against the wall? Her heart went out to him, but she was too afraid of attempting to get his attention by shouting out. What if she drew a sick person to them both? Jenny became frustrated because she couldn’t see if there was anyone dangerous close to the shop. Perhaps that’s why the man hadn’t moved, thinking if he stayed still, then the chasers wouldn’t pay him any more attention. From what she could tell in the limited light, he didn’t appear to have gained any more wounds.

  Phone guy moved towards her and asked what she could see. She moved out of the way and gestured to the door so he could take a look for himself. Once he viewed the area, Jenny whispered to him,

  “The old man across the road needs help.”

  “If you’re saying what I think you’re saying, then I don’t think it’s a good idea. We don’t know what’s going on out there.”

  “He needs help,” Jenny replied firmly, “And there are others out there with injuries too.”

  “The police are on their way. They’ll sort it out.”

  “Come on! How long do you think they will take? And that’s if they get here at all. I don’t hear any sirens, do you?”

  He let out a loud sigh, “It’s too dangerous.”

  “What if it was your brother out there, alone and bleeding? You said he couldn’t contact anyone to help him, so if it was him or your dad lying in the street, would you still be unwilling to help?”

  “Stop it!” he shouted, startling everyone.

  They all held their breath, waiting to find out if the noise had attracted anyone. Thankfully, no one arrived outside.

  Jenny was mortified at herself. She looked at phone guy and apologised,

  “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said those things, it was stupid and inconsiderate of me. You’re already going through enough without me doing the whole guilt trip thing.”

  He didn’t return her gaze, but replied,

  “It’s Ok. We’re all stressed out right now.”

  He hesitated before continuing,

  “But you’re right. I would go to help if it were my family outside.”

  The young couple joined them.

  “I’m not asking you to go outside,” Jenny said. “I’ll go on my own. All I need is for someone to be at the shutter, to open it back up when I return.”

  “What? You’re going outside?” the girl said with disbelieve, “Are you mad?”

  Phone guy stated,

  “There are people outside who need help.”

  “Then let someone else deal with it. You heard what the police said, we’ve to stay here and keep the door locked.”

  The teenage boy looked at Jenny.

  “I’ll go with you,” he said. “I can watch your back and help with getting people in here.”

  The girl protested again, “Seriously Jack, you’re just going to go off and leave me?”

  “Stop being a drama queen. I’m just going to go help, that’s all.”

  Jenny interrupted,

  “Thank you Jack, but I really am alright with going on my own,” she lied, scared to death. She didn’t want to put the young lad in danger, or anyone else for that matter. It probably was an idiotic idea to go out so soon, but she felt compelled to assist the wounded.

  “No, I’ll go with you. The big guy can take care of the shutter,” Jack said.

  “Matt,” said phone guy.

  “Well since we’re doing introductions then, I’m Jenny.”

  “Sophie,” said the girl.

  “Ok, let’s do this,” Jack said.

  After noticing him shaking earlier, Jenny was amazed at how calm the young man now appeared.

  “Are you sure about this?” she asked him.

  He nodded, “Uh-huh.”

  She looked at Matt, “You’ll take care of the shutter?”

  “Yeah Ok, but I still think it’s a bad idea.”

  “I agree with him,” said Sophie.

  “Noted,” Jenny replied.

  She went back to the door and unlocked it, being as quiet as possible. Again they waited to see if it had gone unnoticed. Her heart was racing. A moment later, she opened the door and stepped into the recess in front of the shutter. Jenny peered through the letter-box, being closer to it didn't improve her overall view very much. She still didn’t know if there was someone dangerous nearby. The sound of the car alarm, which was continuing with its high pitch whine, masked the chance of hearing anything suspicious.

  Jenny reached down to open the shutter, but Matt tapped her on the shoulder and whispered,

  “I’ll get it.”

  She got ou
t of the way to let him take over. He raised it as quietly as he could, centimetres at a time. Jenny would bet that all their hearts were racing now. When Matt had lifted it about two feet off the ground, Jack stepped forward and crouched down. He took a quick glance at the street from inside the safety of the doorway before poking his head out. As he leaned farther out, Jenny was afraid someone might rush forward and attack him.

  “It’s clear. The crazies have gone,” he whispered to them. “There’s a lot of people down though.”

  Jenny nodded and Matt raised the shutter another foot up. Jack had already extracted himself onto the street.

  As Jenny went to join him, Matt said,

  "I'll keep the shutter up and watch from here, so if there's any trouble, you can both get back in quickly."

  She thanked him before joining Jack. She took a glance around. It was just as Jack had described. There were a lot of bodies lying motionless in the road, and also a few injured people, sitting eerily mute on the ground.

  Lights shone from some windows, up and down the street, but the majority were dark.

  Jack was kneeling beside the nearest body, which was the person Jenny had noted wearing androgynous clothing. He righted himself and took a step back.

  Turning his head towards Jenny he said, “She’s dead.”

  He looked a lot paler than he had earlier and she could see him swallowing. She felt sick herself. She didn’t question Jack’s judgement, and took a wider berth around the body, making her way to the old man. He was still sitting in the same position.

  Somewhere in the distance, a dog started barking.

  She leaned over the man,

  “Hello,” she said, but he didn’t respond. She knew he wasn’t dead because his fingers were still stroking the fabric of his bloodstained coat. There wasn’t a lot of blood, so she didn’t think he was badly injured. He could be in shock, she guessed.