by Monroe, Kady
“So we’re going to your house then?” Jack asked.
“No,” Matt replied. “I’ll go on my own, less likely to draw attention that way.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Sophie said.
“Me neither,” Jack said.
“It’s the way it’s going to be, so make sure you’re all ready to go when I get back.”
Jenny could see the sense in Matt’s plan, but it still didn’t sit right. However, the longer they stood there talking about it, the longer it would be before they could all get out of the Mini-Mart. The smell of smoke was hanging heavy in the air now. She didn’t think it would be long before they all started coughing.
“I’ll go get the key for the back door,” she said and took the torch from Sophie. She handed it to Matt. She cursed the fact her staff keys didn’t include front and back door keys.
“Go and wait by the door. I’ll close the one between here and there on the way back, to keep the smoke out.”
He took the offered torch. “Ok.”
Once the three of them were on the way to the back, Jenny turned and went towards the front door. Both door keys were on the same ring, which still protruded from the front door lock. Her stomach turned at having to face the infected again, and she could already see that some of the burning ones had reached the shutter. The smell of searing flesh reached her. Gagging, she kept going and tried not to look at the awful crowd outside.
She reached her goal, grabbing the keyring, and made a hasty retreat. Coughing on the way back, she stopped behind the counter and swiftly scooped up her bag, wondering if she needed door-keys and cash anymore. But she had ID in there too, and she might need that. She slung the bag-strap over her head and across her body, then hurriedly went to the dividing door. She locked it and went to her companions, who waited at the end of the hallway.
They all looked at each other nervously.
“Are you really going to do this alone?” Jack asked Matt.
“Yeah.”
“How long should we wait?… I mean, if something happens to you, we won’t know will we?” Sophie said.
Matt used the torchlight to look at his watch.
“It would normally only take me a couple of minutes from here, but things aren’t normal now, so give me fifteen minutes tops. If you have to move before that, then head up the street, ‘cause that’s where I’ll be driving the van from.”
There were a few seconds of silence, then Jenny said,
“Right, let’s see if we have company in the yard.”
She advanced on the door.
“Wait a minute,” Matt said, grabbing a sweeping broom by the handle.
“Not much of a defence weapon, but it’ll have to do.”
He put his ear to the door and listened, then nodded, indicating to Jenny he was ready for her to unlock it. Matt held the broom like a battering ram, intending to use it to poke anyone who came near him from outside.
As she turned the key, Jenny was certain the others must be as nervous and scared as she was. The lock disengaged with a click. She hid behind the door and pulled it open an inch. Matt stood ready to hit out. Smoke wafted in through the gap, but luckily, nothing else tried to get in. Jenny opened the door further and Matt peered out into the slabbed yard.
“All clear,” he whispered.
Jenny opened the door wider and looked out. The moon had put in another appearance. Its weak luminance was enough to see by, but the light from the house fire put it to shame. Everything nearby was clearly visible in the dancing orange and yellow glow.
Matt crept forward, stopped, listened, then crept a few steps more. He had his makeshift weapon at the ready, even though, at the moment, he had no use for it. Jenny and the others joined him.
Not only was there a lot of smoke in the air, but Jenny could feel the heat of the house fire, which was only three doors down. She hadn’t realised the fire was so close. It was already spreading across the roof of the next house, getting ever closer to them.
Jenny whispered to Matt urgently,
“You better hurry.”
He nodded and went to the heavy wooden gate, which was secured from the inside by a bolt. They couldn’t detect any noise from the other side, but it was difficult to tell if anyone was there or not, due to the roar of the blaze.
Jenny stepped in as gatekeeper while Matt readied himself for an attack. She slid the bolt back as quietly as she could and cracked the gate open a smidgen. Her chest tightened, expecting someone to rush inwards. When that didn’t happen, she opened the gate a little more. Matt stuck his head through the gap and took a glance around the alley. Satisfied he could make an escape, he turned to the others and whispered,
“There’s nobody about, but once I come back, the noise of the van will probably draw them.”
“Ok,” Jenny replied. “If we have to move, then we’ll signal you with the torch, so you know where to stop. Be careful out there.”
Matt nodded, handed the torch back to her, then ducked out the gate.
Jack was busy scaling the six-foot high brick wall that divided the property from the one next door. Jenny closed the gate and slid the bolt back into place.
“I’ll keep watch from here,” Jack said, sitting astride the top of the wall and leaning low.
“Ok. The alley is a dead end, so anyone coming towards us will probably come from the top of the road,” Jenny replied.
Jack shimmied forward to the corner where the back wall met the side one. He glanced in both directions.
“Nothing happening down there,” he said, nodding towards the end of the alley that was closest to the park.
“Good. Pedestrians can’t get in that way. It leads to the back walls of all the houses. If anyone appears, then they’ve come from someone’s yard.”
Jenny turned around and nearly bumped into Sophie.
“What if he doesn’t come back, what are we going to do then?” the girl asked.
“We’ll just have to take our chances walking,” Jenny replied.
“Do you really think if Matt gets the van, he’ll come back for us? Maybe he’ll drive off on his own.”
“He won’t do that.”
“What makes you so sure? Do you know each other well?”
“No, we only just met, but I know when he had the chance to run earlier, he didn’t. He stayed and got the shutters down on the shop. We’ve already got him to thank for helping us stay safe.”
The next moment, Jenny was blown off her feet when an explosion erupted from the house fire.
CHAPTER 5
For some moments, Jenny felt disorientated. What was she doing on the ground and why was the air so hot? Then the situation flooded back to her. She remembered the noise of the explosion and being hurled forward. She had banged into the wall, head first. She raised her hand to her temple and winced in pain. Looking at her fingers afterwards, there was no blood.
She tentatively turned her head and saw Sophie was on all fours nearby. The girl raised herself to her knees.
Jenny asked her, “Are you Ok?”
The girl coughed, and replied,
“Yes. Skinned my hands a bit though. How’re you?”
“Headache,” Jenny said.
The young girl looked around and then alarmed, asked,
“Jack! Where’s Jack?”
Jack responded from the other side of the yard wall,
“I’m here. Got knocked off the bloody wall.”
“Are you alright?” Jenny asked.
“Uh-huh, I think so,” he replied.
They heard him moving, then he let out a groan of pain.
“What’s wrong?” Sophie asked.
“Um, I think I’ve twisted my ankle.”
Sophie whispered back,
“Are you alone over there?”
He was silent for a few seconds before he answered,
“Uh-huh.”
“Stay there,” Jenny told him.
She turned and surveyed the damage from the e
xplosion. It was worse than she feared.
Jenny raised her arm in front of her face against the intense heat. She blinked her eyes to moisten them. The house where the blast happened was now a pile of burning rubble. The houses on either side of it, what was left of them, were well alight. During the blast, burning debris had expelled in all directions, including onto the roof of the mini-mart. Some slid off and landed in a scorching pile in front of the shop’s back door. The way back in was barred.
Next, she noticed the wall between the yard next door, closest to the fire, had taken a major blow. It was leaning inwards, large cracks visible between the mortar. It wouldn’t take much force to knock it down altogether. She realised the wall had saved them from much more severe injuries. Whatever hit the bricks on the other side, had been travelling straight for Sophie and her.
Coughing, Jenny looked at the upper levels of the partially destroyed buildings, she watched glowing embers rise into the sky as the flames ate their way towards the shop. For a moment, she was horrified when she thought she saw a burning body stumbling about in a room, which until recently, had most likely been a bedroom. But then it was gone, and she wasn’t sure if she had really seen it or not. Still, it filled her with an even greater sense of urgency. They had no choice now but to move.
She turned back to the opposite wall and asked Jack,
“Can you make it to the gate over there?”
“Uh-huh. Are you coming over here?” he asked.
“No. We’re going to have to walk up the alley.”
He hesitated before replying, “Um, Ok.”
Jenny had considered making an escape either by the alley or by climbing the walls over into each yard up the street, but Jack’s injury made the decision for her. Matt said the alley was clear. She hoped it still was.
Since the teenagers didn’t disagree with the plan, she went to the gate. Once again, she slid the bolt back. This time, after listening, she was the one who poked her head out. Sweat ran down her back as she scouted the road. Thankfully, they were alone.
Jenny heard Jack shuffling about in the other yard. She looked at Sophie, who was standing wide-eyed, her shoulders hunched.
“Ready?” she asked.
The girl nodded.
“Ok, let’s go.”
She stepped into the alley, Sophie followed, nervously looking around. Jenny took a last look at the back of the mini-mart. Her shoulders slumped as she saw the door smouldering and smoke pouring from the roof. She averted her gaze and joined Sophie at the next gate. Jack slid the bolt back and cautiously opened it, staring out through a small gap to make sure it was his friends arriving outside. He let out a sigh, allowing the wooden door to swing wide and hopped out.
Jenny supported him on one side and Sophie took the other.
They walked slowly towards the top end of the pot-holed road. No one said anything as they travelled. They were busy watching to make sure they were safe. Jenny knew if trouble came, the only escape would be to try to get back into one of the yards. But finding an unlocked gate was unlikely. Would any of them survive if they had to try climbing a six-foot wall while the infected bore down on them? She didn’t want to find out.
She had no idea how much time it had been since Matt left, and her watch was on the wrist currently holding Jack up. She hoped nothing bad had happened to the guy, but it did no good to worry about it, so staying in the shadows, they continued towards the end of the alley.
When they were nearly there, Jenny heard moaning. She saw no one, but there was no doubt the dead weren’t far away. No howls sounded-off, but it didn’t mean the infected weren’t waiting for them too. They couldn’t go any further forward for fear of being seen. Jenny counted four more houses before the alley ended. Then she noticed house number three was missing its gate wall.
She concluded the owner had illegally knocked it down so they could use the yard to park a car. The road was supposed to be for the strict use of service vehicles only, but Jenny mentally thanked the person who broke the rules. The space offered them somewhere to hide. She signalled with the hand that was around Jack’s waist, shaking Sophie on the arm and then tapping Jack’s side. When she had their attention, she motioned with her head towards the gap. With her other hand, she put one finger vertically in front of her mouth. The others nodded.
They moved carefully, trying not to stand on anything that might make a noise and give their position away. Jenny let out a breath of relief when they slipped into the shadows of the unkempt overgrown yard. There was no car parked in it, but two lines of grooves indented the dirt.
They stood, waiting. Ears strained to detect the sound of an engine approaching.
What if something’s happened to Matt? Jenny wondered. If he didn’t come back, it would only be a matter of time before they were discovered, or the fire got too close again. They couldn’t stay there, so she decided a Plan B was required.
Across the alley, were two blue plastic wheelie bins sitting forlornly beside one of the gates. Jenny didn’t trust her upper body strength enough to scale the wall without help. She would make noise scrabbling her feet for purchase, but if she got one of those bins on its side, it would make climbing the wall easier. When she got over, she could open the gate and get the others inside. At least that would allow them some seclusion and safety for a while, providing of course, that the house and yard hadn’t been breached by the infected. Jenny also hoped the fire wouldn’t jump from one row of houses to the next.
She was about to whisper her plan to the others when they finally perceived the sound they waited for. A vehicle was approaching. It was then Jenny realised she didn’t have the torch anymore. She must have dropped it when the explosion happened.
“I’ve lost the torch,” she told the couple, grabbing at the zipper of her bag to retrieve her phone.
“Here,” said Sophie, holding out the missing item, continuing,
“I picked it up before we left. It’s still working.”
“Thanks,” she replied, taking it and moving closer to the corner of the yard.
The vehicle was closer, definitely coming down Winston Road, towards the alley entrance. The sound of the moaning increased, but as of yet, there were no howls.
Jenny faced the brick wall of the building and moved her head stealthily sideways until one eye watched the road. There were more shadows there, with it being further away from the fire. It didn’t matter though, as a moment later, headlights lit Winston Road and she saw a van brake to a stop just past the alley entrance.
Reversing lights engaged and the vehicle swiftly backed in. Jenny switched the torch on and waved it, praying Matt wouldn’t drive right past, thinking they were at the shop. Her concern was alleviated as the van halted beside her. Jenny listened to the moaning crowd approaching and wasted no time in helping Sophie to move Jack to the van.
Matt left the engine running and ducked into the back of the vehicle. He swiftly drew back a sliding door on the van’s right side. Jenny was glad to see he looked okay. He helped the girls get Jack up into the van. As soon as they were all on-board, Matt slammed the door shut and jumped back into the driver's seat. Fastening his seatbelt, he shouted over his shoulder,
“Sit down and try and hold onto the shelving at the back of you. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.”
The women did as instructions, and Jack, who was already on the floor, said to Matt,
“Just don’t get us toasted, like that other guy.”
Matt kept quiet, putting the van in gear and pushed down on the accelerator. The rear wheels seemed to spin uselessly at first, but soon found purchase and the van shot forward.
Leaving the alley, Matt collided with bodies but kept going. The moaning outside was loud as thumps rang out from the metal surface of the van. Matt took the corner fast. Jenny was glad she held onto the shelves, otherwise, she would have been thrown across the width of the interior.
They were heading back up Winston Road which would take them away from the
park area and out to the west of the town centre. The sweat Jenny had felt on her back earlier was cold now and she involuntarily shivered.
In the first few minutes, Matt kept the speed steady enough to avoid hitting anything else. The three passengers were aware of occasional moans from outside. There were no windows in the back of the van so they couldn’t see what their driver was avoiding. However, just a little further up the road, Matt began to slow down, announcing,
“There’s a road-block up ahead.”
“A crash?” Jenny asked.
“No. Sandbags and barbed wire. That’s probably why we didn’t hear any traffic all night.”
“Are the police there?” Sophie asked.
“No, it’s unmanned.”
“Can we get through?” Jenny asked.
“Not without getting out and moving stuff, and we’ve got company outside.”
“Where exactly are we?” Jack asked.
“The White Hart Pub is coming up on my right-hand side.”
“Can you turn the van around?” the teenager asked.
“Yeah.”
“Ok, then head back down Winston Road and turn off into Sidlaw Crescent.”
“Sidlaw Crescent? Doesn’t that just take us in a semi-circle and bring us back out onto this road again?”
“Uh-huh, if you want to stay on the road, it does. But if you want to go off-road, then there’s a track down there. Quad biker’s use it.”
“Yes, that’s right,” Sophie said, “I used to hear the lads at school talking about it. I think it runs all the way to the Globe Estate.”
“Uh-huh,” Jack confirmed.
“Ok,” Matt said as he performed a three-point-turn. Jenny got up and staggered to the passenger seat. She plonked herself down and put on the seatbelt. Matt drove back down Winston Road and took the first right into the crescent.
