Dead End

by Monroe, Kady

  She couldn't locate one vehicle without fire damage. This blaze, however, had been out for a while. No smoke rose, and the breeze had blown away the odour of burning carnage. It hadn’t taken the smell of the dead though. Black crisps of humanity lay scattered; never to move again. Jenny felt sad. Only a few days ago, these people were normal. What had anyone done to deserve this?

  “We’ll go back to the last junction,” Matt said, “maybe it’s just as well, as after junction 6, we would’ve come to the next services.”

  Jenny shuddered and agreed with Matt. She was sure she never wanted to see another one of those places again.

  They left the M61, and at a roundabout, they found the A6 which ran parallel to the motorway, still taking them North West.

  They reached the outskirts of the town of Chorley, when Matt said,

  “We’ve got another road-block here.”

  The barrier was of the same concrete blocks as before. Jenny grabbed the map and after a few moments directed him to a road that would take them around the town’s border. Zombies were ambling from the edge of the nearest buildings towards the van. Matt got working on Jenny’s suggestion. After five minutes Maggie announced that she felt sick. Jenny looked over her shoulder and saw how pale the woman was.

  “Ok, we need to stop.”

  Matt found the safest place he could to pull over. In the back, Maggie was retching, she flew out the door as soon as the van stopped. She staggered a few feet and dropped to her knees as her stomach emptied its contents onto the grass verge. Sophie jumped out after her mother and rubbed her back. Jenny lifted a bottle of water and some tissues and delivered them to Maggie.

  Out of the van next, was Matt. He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, then withdrew his pack of cigarettes and lit one up. Taking a long drag, he moved to the front end of the transit to stand guard.

  Maggie got back to her feet. She took a long drink from the bottle, but Jenny thought she still didn’t look well. Sophie was offering her mum comforting words as the two women returned to the van.

  Before joining Matt, Jenny spent a minute scanning the location. She could see a housing estate of white houses with grey tile roofs. The buildings were of typical council housing accommodations. A few zombies were stumbling from the estate, heading for the group, but there was a large open field between them and the survivors. She saw one dead person catch his foot on something and fall flat on his face.

  She stood beside Matt watching the smoke from his cigarette stolen away by the breeze.

  “We’ll find somewhere to stop soon,” he said.

  “Ok,” then asked, “Are you alright?”

  “Yeah, but that was a close call, shook me up a bit.”

  “Same here.”

  He nodded but didn’t say anymore.

  They got through Chorley without further incident and kept an eye out for somewhere to stop for the night. The sky was darkening as Matt spotted an isolated house.

  “That might do us,” he said, and steered the van onto a dirt track belonging to the property.

  The two-storey house appeared neglected. Its once white walls were now a dirty grey, and in places, peeling and crumbling. Green patches flourished where rainwater often dripped on the walls from the rusty guttering. The wooden front door had seen many seasons of wind, rain and shine. Its weathered surface covered in hairline cracks.

  Matt stepped out of the van, leaving the rest of them to gather up their belongings. He headed to the door and knocked. To everyone’s surprise, a few seconds later the door was answered and Jenny saw the end of a shotgun pointed directly at Matt. He stepped back a few paces from the door.

  Holding the gun was a wiry, unshaven man in his fifties. His clothes looked filthy and his face was ruddy with anger. He waved the gun from side to side, indicating to Matt that he wanted him to step back further. Matt complied and raised his hands to shoulder height.

  The man furtively glanced at the van before raising the gun to eye level and threatening Matt,

  “Get off my property or I’ll shoot you.”

  “We’re just looking for somewhere to stop for the night,” Matt said, “we didn’t know someone lived here.”

  “Well you do now and you’re not welcome.”

  He took a step closer to Matt, hissing,

  “Get. Off. My. Property.”

  “Ok,” Matt replied, taking a step back, “We’re going.”

  “Hurry up about it then,” the man said, taking another step towards Jenny’s friend.

  Matt walked backwards. Jenny leaned over and opened the driver’s door for him. He got in without taking his eyes off the gunman. Starting the van, he turned it around to face the dirt track and drove out of there. Jenny saw in her wing-mirror that the man stood his ground watching them leave.

  “Do you think he would have fired?” Jack asked of no one in particular.

  “Yes,” Jenny answered, “he had that look about him.”

  “Nasty little man,” Maggie said.

  “Let’s just forget about it and find somewhere else,” Matt replied.

  Daylight was fading fast and Jenny worried they wouldn’t find somewhere to stop before nightfall. She was convinced though, that if it hadn’t been for the incident on the motorway, then Matt would have pushed on for a while longer.

  On the right, behind a small grove of trees, Jenny spotted a barn. It was isolated and secluded.

  “How about that?” she asked, “If we can get the van inside at least we will have some cover.”

  They approached the dark green barn cautiously. It appeared to be disused and in much the same state of repair as the man’s house, with old wood and peeling paint. However, they had travelled a few miles since his place, so Jenny doubted it belonged to him. Whoever the owner was, they didn’t live close as the wooden building stood alone.

  “I’ll take a look this time,” she told Matt, “stay in the van and keep the engine running.”

  She didn’t give him time to answer. Opening her door, she jumped out and ran towards the barn. Before she got there, she saw it had two huge doors, and one of them was partly open. She covered the remaining distance at a slower pace. Listening as she walked for any trace of suspect noise.

  On reaching the door she peered from behind it, into the gloomy space. It was empty, so she swung the large doors outwards and signalled for the van to drive in. Once inside, Matt found a large plank that fitted across the doors to keep them shut from the inside. A normal door was on the right-hand side of the back of the building. It was locked, and by the look of the rusty old fashioned lock mechanism, it hadn’t seen use in years.

  Everyone vacated the van and surveyed their sparse accommodation. Jenny felt the coldness of the place. The barn’s wooden side panels had gaps between many of the boards, allowing the chill of the night air in. Thankfully, the gaps were small enough to keep other big things out.

  Sophie collected two of the gas stoves and put them on the ground. Thereafter, she boiled water for hot drinks. They would eat later. While she did that, Jenny retrieved the lamps to combat the growing darkness. She placed them by the van where everyone gathered. The weak light left most of the barn in shadows.

  Later, when everyone’s injuries were inspected and treated for the second time, they sat down to eat. The group was subdued and tired after such a harrowing day. And even though Maggie looked exhausted, Jenny wondered if she would ask for her pills back. She could understand the need for oblivion in the midst of the situation they were in.

  Yet, Jenny would refuse the request if it came.

  They decided everyone would sleep in the locked van. It would be a squash, cold and uncomfortable. But in the long run, safer, and slightly warmer. As they piled into the vehicle and tried to settle for the night, Jenny was glad when nobody complained.

  Matt and Jenny gave up their front seats to Clive and the unmedicated Maggie and settled in the back with the teenagers. The group had lost half their bedding and supplies when th
e car flipped, so it would be a chillier night than the one before. They would just have to make themselves as comfortable as they could under the circumstances.

  The next morning Jenny awoke to the sound of birdsong. Sleeping so late was unusual for her and her head felt fuzzy because of it. She raised herself up on one elbow, glancing at her companions who were still asleep. Through the windscreen, she could see part of the top half of the barn where sunrise was making an appearance. On the mattress next to her, Sophie mumbled something unintelligible in her sleep.

  Jack was next to wake and shuffled himself to a sitting position. Yawning and noticing the sleepers, he nodded good morning to Jenny. She gave him a smile in return. Not long after, the rest of the group started to wake and breakfast was soon underway.

  A bathroom break was next on the agenda. Providing it was quiet outside, they elected to split into groups of women and men. On inspection, nothing adverse was lurking anywhere near the barn, so the ladies went out first. When they returned, the men took their turn.

  With everyone fed, watered and toileted, the time to get back on with the journey arrived. Jenny concluded the group was in better spirits after the rest. Even Maggie, who hadn’t asked for a pill, seemed to have slept well.

  Back in the passenger seat, Jenny picked up the road atlas and notice a name and address scrawled on the front cover.

  “What’s this?” she asked, not sure who had written it.

  Matt answered,

  “It’s my dad’s name and address.”

  “Oh, why did you write it down?”

  “Because I trust you too.”

  “Huh?”

  Matt sighed, staring out the window.

  “If anything happens to me, I still want someone to check on my father,” he paused and turned his head to Jenny,

  “I think that’s something you would do anyway,”

  She hadn’t thought about it, but yes, he was right.

  “Ok,” she replied, “you have my word.”

  He nodded and gave a small smile.

  “Thanks, Jenny. That’s put my mind at ease.”

  CHAPTER 19

  The A6 ended at Bamber Bridge, where a triangle of three motorways converged. The built-up area was littered with wrecks and abandoned vehicles. Matt dropped the van’s speed way down. At some points, they could have got out and walked faster.

  Being so close to a large town made the group nervous. A higher population of zombies was evident on the streets, and without fail, they always noticed the sound of the vehicle. Matt had to take the chance of speeding up to avoid them when he would rather have been focusing on not crashing. As a result, the van’s front wing panels sustained more than one new dent on each side and the paintwork would never be the same.

  Jenny saw a street sign announcing the van was on Station Road. Praying the street was clear, she hoped it would take them safely through town. She didn’t like the place; it gave her a bad feeling. As if she’d put a curse on them by thinking it, she groaned when Matt announced the discovery of yet another road-block.

  “We can’t go back,” he said, “the road’s full of zombies. I won’t be able to see past them all to avoid crashing into anything.”

  In this situation, the road atlas was useless because it didn’t have details on individual town streets.

  “There’s a left coming up,” Jenny said, “we’ll have to turn in there.”

  Matt did as instructed. They entered a residential housing scheme. Only one side of the road was useable at a time as people’s cars were parked on the street outside their houses.

  The dead tailing the van hadn’t reached the turn for the street yet. But the late residents, who lived in the street’s houses, were out in force.

  Jenny watched as a few stumbled around in their front gardens, unable to get out because of fencing and gates. Others, however, stumbled down garden paths into the road or piled up on the pavement when parked cars blocked their way. It seemed to take them a while to figure out how to find a course around the vehicles.

  It took all of Matt’s concentration to get to the end of the road. They reached a T-junction, and Jenny could see a crashed car blocking part of the usable lane to the left. Therefore, Matt steered right.

  They reached one dead end after another. Most of the roads led into cul-de-sacs that went nowhere. Another road which might have been viable was blocked by a fallen tree and someone’s six-foot fence panels.

  They eventually figured out they would have to return to the T-junction. Jenny dreaded going back to face the crowd of zombies. Her stomach churned frantically while the rest of the passengers stayed quiet, letting Matt do his job.

  Back at the T-junction, Jenny noticed the street they had first entered was choked with walking corpses. Having lost sight of the van, the horde stalled in the middle of the road.

  This gave Matt time to try to clear a passage on the street the car was partially blocking.

  He nudged the van gently into the wreck and successfully turned the Ford Fiesta a little straighter. When the tactic worked, there was enough of a gap to mount the pavement and squeeze through before they came into contact with the next parked vehicle. The van lost a little more of its paintwork, but nobody worried about that.

  Behind them, the zombies were moaning and in slow pursuit once more. With each second, Matt put more distance between them. The new street was quieter. Only a few residents shuffled about.

  At the end of the road, they turned right. If Jenny was correct, this manoeuvre would guide them back to the main road.

  The group found themselves on a road that snaked right and left. Jenny crossed her fingers and hoped it didn’t stop at another dead end. At least there were fewer vehicles parked on the road-sides so Matt gained speed and put the crowd of dead at a good distance.

  Finally, the road they were searching for came into sight. Jenny recognised a pink building they had gone past earlier. Matt turned right, heading out of Bamber Bridge the same way they had come in.

  Unfortunately, another large crowd of corpses congregated in their way. Several screams and howls rang out, making this gathering much more menacing.

  Alarmed, Jenny said, pointing left,

  “Take one of these side streets Matt,”

  “On it.”

  They veered into a road lined with small businesses and eateries. At the end of the street, they made a right-turn, hoping to find a way to by-pass the zombie horde. Matt rounded a tight corner and slammed on the brakes. Concrete blocks barred the way. A delivery van driver who’d taken this route before them hadn’t been quick enough with the brakes. That vehicle’s front end was concertinaed against the stone cubes.

  Matt reversed to a junction and took another right. The road curved and started taking them further into Bamber Bridge.

  “You know,” Clive said, “I’ve been thinking about these barriers.”

  “Yeah?” Matt said,

  “Yes. Do you think it’s possible they weren’t placed to keep healthy people escaping, but because they are meant to keep infected driver’s in?”

  Jack joined the conversation,

  “Doesn’t matter. Whoever put them there didn’t care either way, else they would have been guarded or signposted.”

  “Didn’t bother to tell anyone either,” Sophie chipped in, “They could have put out warnings, told people what was happening. Instead, they left us to the infected.”

  “That’s a very disturbing thought,” Clive said.

  The district they next entered was industrial. They observed small business units and quite a few garages and car wash places. The streets were quiet. Not one zombie in sight. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and hoped the peace would last.

  Matt drove around for a while in the warren-like avenues. They were disorientated with which direction was which. And none of them caught a glimpse of anything that might offer a clue as to the way out. Jenny felt trapped, and anxiously looked for anything that might help them get out of
this predicament. In this case, she found no solution.

  They had been stuck in Bamber Bridge for over an hour, and most of the time, it felt like they were driving in circles.

  “What’s going on?” Maggie asked.

  “I think we’re lost,” Jack replied.

  “Lost?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Please tell me we’re lost in the countryside,” she said.

  “Nope, sorry.”

  Matt continued to drive, trying any new streets they could access. Eventually, they discovered a wider road.

  “Which way?” Matt asked.

  Taking a moment to view both directions, Jenny shrugged.

  “Should we toss a coin again?” he asked.

  Clive appeared between the seat, holding a 10p piece.

  The coin dictated a right-turn, so that’s the way they went.

  The road was promising and untroubled. Or, it was, at least, until they reached a crossroads where numerous vehicles were tangled with each other. Pieces of metal, glass, plastic and people’s belongings lay scattered in every direction. From what Jenny could detect, the cars were devoid of driver’s and passengers.

  They didn’t stop to find out. Matt guided the van around, avoiding the worst of it and continued along the road. But only a few minutes later, the vehicle began to make a noise.