A Dead Disappointment

by Birch, S. C.

  “Owen!” she screamed while she changed. “Owen! Wake up!”

  Owen jerked awake and looked at Emily.

  “Jack’s gone!” she said.

  “Where?” asked Cameron.

  “I don’t know. But the car’s gone.” she put on her leather coat and picked up her knife.

  Instinctively everyone else did the same. They got suited up, picked up their weapons, and ran down the stairs.

  Owen scooped up his keys from the table by the front door, “Listen up! Someone drive my car and follow me.”

  Daniel asked, “How do you know where he’s gone?”

  “I don’t. But Jack fucks off all the time. That’s why I gave him my car.”

  Emily grabbed the keys from Owen’s hand, “You bugged it?”

  “Go.” Owen pointed at the door, “Go, get the engines started. I’ll be right behind you.” Then he ran to his basement.

  He threw himself down the stairs and started tipping out boxes and ripping open bags.

  “Come on!” he growled. “Where…”

  He found the box he needed and gutted its innards as he ran back up the stairs and to the driveway.

  He chucked a walkie talkie into the white car Emily had claimed, “Just listen in and follow me. Okay?”

  Emily nodded.

  Owen ran to the Impala and climbed inside. He looked at his cargo: Grace and Lucy. He pulled out his phone, swiped his hand across the screen, and opened an app. A sonar-style map appeared. Owen passed it to Grace who was sat beside him.

  “You need to tell me which way to go.” he said.

  Grace nodded, “Okay.” she looked hard at the little map, “Left.”

  “’Kay.” Owen sped forwards and past the gates.

  Owen was driving fast and hard. Which was great considering Emily was fast running out of patience. She and her passengers were never given a chance to overtake. Daniel was sitting in the back, gripping his golf club. Cameron was sitting in the front with a hammer in one hand and the walkie talkie in the other. And Emily drove. In dead silence. She sat forwards and clutched the wheel.

  “You guys? Is this working?” Owen asked from Cameron’s hand.

  Cameron pushed the button on the side and lifted it to his mouth, “Yeah, it’s working. Are we close to Jack yet?”

  Then there was static then Owen’s voice again, “No. He got a fair few miles on us. Will keep you updated. Em, you having trouble keeping up?”

  Emily looked straight ahead, her eyes and mind fixed on the black car in front of her.

  “No, we’re fine.” Cameron said on her behalf.

  “Good!” said Owen, then silence again.

  In the Impala, Owen hurtled along the road. The car bounced over corpses, potholes, debris, and detritus. Owen steered clear of the undead as he flew along the roads until the woods surrounding them thinned out and he drove through a deserted city.

  “Right!” Grace shouted.

  The car screeched and scorched the tarmac as Owen turned the corner.

  “Right!” Grace shouted again.

  And again, Owen spun the car around. They drove through the lifeless city and to the motorway. The road was strewn with cars. Owen weaved through them. Driving through the carnage. He knew people would have left their homes in search of safety once news of the end of the world broke out. Owen mourned them. He really did. And he was disgusted with himself for driving over body parts and speeding through the wreckage without checking for survivors. But there was someone out there he knew was alive. And Owen needed to keep it that way. He needed to get to Jack. Through his mirror, Owen saw Emily spin through the cars and gain on him.

  “He’s stopped!” Grace said. She picked up the talkie, “Emily? He’s stopped now.”

  There was a crackling at the other end, then Cameron, “Where?”

  Grace pressed her thumb into the little button, “Twenty-three miles up.”

  Silence from the car behind. Lucy craned her body round and watched as the white car started to gain on them. “Jack...” she whispered to herself.

  They cleared the motorway and drove forwards. Into another city. But this one was overrun with the moving-dead.

  “Shit!” Lucy said.

  “Christ! Hold On!” Owen shouted and slammed through the horde and ripped them apart. Viscera swallowed the car. Rotting hands and faces smacked into the windows, leaving trails of slime and skin.

  “Emily? Drive behind us. We’ll clear the path for you.” Grace shouted into the plastic box.

  Again, silence in response.

  Owen barged through the horde and spun on the black ooze left in their wake. The wheels screeched on the road. He regained control of the car and drove through the city and past the undead. Emily drove behind them along skid marks and congealed blood.

  Grace looked at the map. They had gone so far off course in a bid to free themselves of the dead, “No!” she gasped. “Jack’s moving again.”

  The city thinned out. The tower blocks shrank in the distance and the buildings blurred behind them.

  “Where the fuck is he? How far away are we now?” Owen barked as he squinted through the bile and slime on his window.

  Grace stared hard at the screen, “Thirty-six miles.”

  Owen nodded, “Right, we can still make that.”

  Grace again pulled up the talkie to her face, “We lost a bit of distance on Jack.”

  And again, silence.

  Emily clung onto the wheel of the car. Every movement was jerked and threw everyone inside around. Emily felt herself jerk in her seat. She struggled to see through her tears. She started to lose her grip on the wheel and felt it slide out from under her hands.

  Cameron yanked his arm forwards and pulled up the handbrake. The car came to a screaming stop and slid along the road. He flung open his door, ran around the front of the car and to Emily’s side.

  “Move.” he said.

  Emily slid herself over to the passenger’s side and slammed the door shut.

  “What’s going on? Why have you stopped?” asked Grace from the box on the dashboard.

  Cameron slammed his side shut, picked up the talkie, and said, “We’re fine. Don’t wait for us. Just keep going.” Then he threw the talkie behind him and to Daniel. “You’re in charge of it now.” Cameron pushed the handbrake back down, careered the car forwards and closed the distance between himself and Owen.

  He pushed the car forwards fast. Each turn, each swerve handled without faltering and he never lost speed or control.

  “Cameron,” Daniel asked, “where did you learn to drive like this?”

  Cameron kept his unhealthy focus ahead of him and shifted gear, “Not now, Daniel.”

  Daniel heard Emily make a noise. Like a choking. He leaned forwards and held her arm.

  Owen hurtled along the roads as the icon on the map stopped.

  “He’s stopped again.” Grace said to her car and the other.

  “Where?” asked Daniel through the plastic box.

  “Checking now…” said Grace as she pulled out her own phone and typed the postcode into her map. She squinted at the screen to be sure she was right before saying, “Eh, the King’s Cinema.”

  The car behind them veered hard and split onto another road.

  Lucy watched them go off course, “Shit! Give it.” she shoved her body forwards and snatched the talkie, “What’s going on? Are you all okay?”

  There was a long silence before a crackle of static and Daniel’s voice, “Cam knows how to get there. He’s going the faster way.”

  “Christ!” Owen shouted, “I won’t be able to catch him. Tell them to keep going and we’ll get there as soon as we can.”

  “Keep going! We’ll be there soon!” Lucy shouted into the box.

  “Okay.”

  Cameron knew the cinema well. He used to work there and had snuck Jack in more times than he could believe he got away with. Cameron handled the car like an expert and within minutes sped into the nearly em
pty parking lot.

  “Jack!” Emily wailed and shot forwards in her seat.

  Jack was ahead and slaughtering a small army of the rotting undead. He swung around the wrench in one hand and stabbed with a small knife in the other. Rubber screeching and an engine snarling demanded Jack’s attention. A white car with tinted windows was heading straight for him. Jack threw himself from the path of the car and sprinted to his own then dove inside.

  The white car charged towards him and slammed through the cluster of zombies before spinning around and ploughing through another cluster. Jack grabbed his weapon, left his car, and stood firm on the tarmac. Jack didn’t have a fucking clue who they were, but he didn’t care. He gripped his hand tight around the handle and slid his finger over the trigger, aiming his shotgun at the car.

  The car stopped, and the doors flew open.

  “Em?” Jack asked as he lowered his gun and watched his twin get closer.

  Emily slammed into Jack and wrapped her arms around him.

  “Never point a gun at me again!” Cameron roared as he marched towards the twins.

  Jack felt his sister under him. He dropped the gun and held her.

  “You’re a dick.” Emily mumbled.

  Jack laughed a little. “That I am.”

  “What the fuck were you thinking!”

  “Cam, I’m sorry.” shrugged Jack with a half-smile.

  “You fucking idiot!” Cameron screamed. Jack had never seen him look so angry. He could see Cameron shaking as he approached.

  “What do you want me to -” Jack started but was caught short when Cameron’s fist landed in his face. Jack felt himself being launched backwards and Emily being dislodged from him.

  “Cam!” Daniel shouted. He ran forwards and pushed Cameron against the Mustang. “What are you doing?”

  Cameron shoved Daniel away and charged towards a stumbling Jack.

  Emily threw herself in front of Cameron and held him back, “Stop it!”

  Cameron glared at Jack. His clenched fists vibrated as every inch of him pulsed with anger.

  Jack stood up and rubbed his sore cheek, “Mate.” he spat a little blood to the ground, “What the fuck was that for?”

  Cameron jerked forwards and Emily tried to push him back, “Don’t fucking ever leave us again!” he yelled, his voice echoing through the parking lot.

  Daniel grabbed Cameron again and pushed him back, “Calm down, Cam!” he said.

  Then the Impala roared into the parking lot and skidded to a halt beside them. Owen chucked open his door and as he marched towards Jack he brought his bat up, ready to swing it.

  “What in the good God of all fucks were you thinking?” Owen barked.

  Lucy flung herself between Owen and Jack and raised her palms out to face them, “Whoa! Whoa! Calm down, right now! Everyone!

  Owen glared hard. He kept the bat held high.

  Lucy turned to Jack, “Tell us why you left! Tell us all right now!”

  Jack kicked his feet as he travelled to the front of the car and sat on the hood. He rubbed his sore cheek again, “Well it seems a bit fucking cheesy now.”

  “Don’t you even dare think about making this a fucking joke!” Cameron screamed and tried to shoot forwards, but Daniel kept him back.

  Jack looked up and felt a breathed laugh escape him. “Honestly…was gonna watch that film of yours.”

  “What?” Owen spluttered.

  “Yeah.” said Jack, “Figured if this is my last day before I die, I might as well watch it and get away from you lot. How’d you find me anyway?”

  “Jack,” said Grace, “why would you want away from us lot?”

  Jack sighed as he continued to look up at the sky. “Honestly?”

  “Honestly!”

  “Why do you think?” Jack dropped his head down and looked at his friends, “I didn’t want to put you guys through killing me.”

  Emily slammed her hands hard into Jack’s chest and shoved him with all she had in her, “You fucking prick!”

  Jack slid along the car a little. “Hey, you wanted honesty. And you all knew it would happen. None of you wanted to talk about it. I just decided to remove myself before you had to go through it.”

  Grace walked to Jack. She grabbed the collar of his jacket and pulled him down, then kissed him.

  Jack’s surprise was quickly replaced with a desire he didn’t know he had. He kissed her back, stealing her breath and relishing her taste. He held her hips and brought her in close.

  As they parted, Grace gave Jack a small, soft smile, then walked to the car, grabbed her club, and walked to the cinema. Lucy chased after her.

  Owen had absolutely no idea how to process what had just happened. He looked at everyone and they looked as dumbfounded as he felt. Except for Cameron though, he still looked livid. Owen couldn’t blame him. But he noticed then most of his own rage had subsided. He looked at Jack who had hung his head and was rubbing the back of his neck.

  Grace tried pulling open the cinema doors but they were locked. She dropped to her knees and examined the lock. Then she pulled out a pin from her hair, bent it to an angle and jammed it in.

  “Grace, I, err…” Lucy started but didn’t know what to say next.

  Grace focused her concentration on the lock. She twisted it and lifted it. Then it clicked. As she stood up and turned to Lucy she saw her friends wandering over, “Growing up in the home I learnt that if you want to calm everyone down, you do something nobody expects.”

  The two girls headed inside and towards the unfortunate staff members and over some half-eaten corpses. They swung their clubs and started smashing soft skulls. The place was filled with zombies who, when they were alive, had locked the doors of the cinema in an attempt to keep themselves safe from the apocalypse. And halfway through the slay the other five caught up with them. The troop decimated the zombies without using any real effort. They cleared the large cinema hall and listened out for any more. Jack slid along the food counter and landed hard on his feet behind it, then he started scooping up bags of sweets.

  There was a familiar tugging on his foot. A corpse in a black shirt clawed at him and brandished its teeth. Jack dropped the sweets, cocked his shotgun, pressed it on the bridge of the zombie’s nose, and squeezed the trigger. The face at the end of the gun exploded and scraps of skull and lumpy skin flew out and splattered everywhere. The noise rumbled like thunder in a small chamber.

  “Wow!” Jack said, rubbing his ears, “Okay, I was not prepared for how loud that was!”

  “Where did you even get that?” asked Cameron (who was still furious but he had managed to take out quite a bit of his anger by now) as he dislodged his hammer from a pulp-like skull.

  “Eh, stopped by a hunting shop thing earlier and nabbed it.” said Jack.