Swarm (Book 2)

by Alex South

  “Not free ‘cause you get paid.”

  “Er, yeah, even better, right?” Again John tried to smile.

  “It’s fine.”

  “So… you got some hobbies, or… anything like that?”

  “Chess,” Rob said, with his mouth full.

  “Chess?” said John. Rob didn’t say anything. John continued. “That’s cool. You know, um, that’s actually a, um, good post-apocalypse thing, isn’t it? We could actually play some chess, even if the power finally goes out, all we need is a board and some pieces.”

  Rob nodded.

  “Maybe you can teach me,” said John. “I know how the pieces move. I just need some basic strategy. Like, I don’t really know how to approach a game. I just sort of… do it.”

  Rob looked at him with a small amount of interest. “You want to play chess?”

  “Sure.”

  “I’m very good. I’ll win.”

  “Ah, well, I’d love to learn.”

  Rob nodded, a quick head jerk. “That’s good.”

  John felt a twinge of success. It was a start. He took another sip from his water.

  “Like I say, these things are important now. You have to keep yourself distracted, right?” said John.

  Rob nodded.

  “I mean, usually I’d just be on Youtube or something,” said John, “but… you know… did you go online much?”

  Rob nodded, “Yes.”

  A silence.

  “That’s all weird, isn’t it? No Internet. No phone signal. Just out of nowhere.”

  “Well, that’s the point,” said Rob.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Obviously, this is all organised.”

  “I don’t…”

  “The government did it,” said Rob. “It’s population control.”

  “Oh…”

  “You don’t seriously think that an infection could spread like this normally, do you?” Rob said, his tone made John feel stupid.

  “I don’t know. What… what can I-”

  “I’ve seen a helicopter.” Suddenly, his voice lost some of its blandness. Suddenly, there was a hint of excitement.

  “Where?”

  “When I was here, it went south, and, there’s a big power station that way. I think.”

  “So… you think that’s where they were going?”

  “Probably.”

  “Why?

  “The electricity is still working. Obviously. Someone has to be at the power stations.”

  “Oh… what did the helicopter look like?”

  At that moment, Duke entered the room.

  “You saw a helicopter?” said Duke, quietly.

  “Yes… going south… to the power station.”

  “Was it army?” Duke pulled out a chair.

  “No… black.”

  Duke looked at John as he sat down. “That could be army.”

  “I can give you directions, if you want to go,” said Rob.

  “What? The power station?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why do you reckon it was going there?”

  “Someone’s keeping the electricity functional. It must be related,” said Rob.

  Duke held his eyes and nodded. It was a while before he spoke. “Yeah… I guess. It’s a good guess.”

  “Do you want directions?” Rob asked.

  “Um… I’ll think about it. I’ll talk to the others.”

  There was a pause, with Rob’s chewing sounds the only noise between them. “We need to get another zombie,” said Rob. “It’s sunny. They’re slower when it’s sunny.”

  John glanced at the windows.

  “But… why?” said Duke, frowning.

  “Why what?” Rob asked.

  “Why do you want to get a zombie?”

  “To eat.” He put another piece of meat in his mouth.

  “But… why not get normal food?”

  “It’s very unlikely you will find food,” said Rob. “I’ve been to the houses near here. They’re empty.”

  “All of them?” said Duke.

  Rob nodded.

  “There’s got to be a better way, though,” said John, his eyes moving between them.

  “It’s a big call, man, you know?” said Duke.

  “We have to go,” said Rob. “We all have to go.”

  “But… what you going to do?” said Duke

  “Kill it. Then, bring it back.”

  “Kill it how?” said Duke

  “With a knife.”

  Duke blew out his cheeks and looked at the floor for a few seconds. “I don’t know, dude.”

  “You’re coming.”

  “That’s not your call,” said Duke sharply, suddenly frowning. Then, as if to soften his tone. “We have to all agree, I mean.”

  “Why?” Rob said without looking at him.

  “Huh?”

  “We have to go,” Rob said.

  “You gotta understand, dude” said Duke, “we just got here. You know? We’ve been through a lot, so… it’s not easy for us to charge back into danger.”

  “You’re in danger now. You don’t have any food.”

  “It’s not the same.”

  Rob put his knife and fork down on his empty plate. He finished chewing and swallowed.

  “You won’t help,” he muttered.

  “It’s not th-”

  “And you all want to get rid of me.” He glanced at Duke and then back to the table.

  “What?” said Duke.

  “You want to kill me.”

  Duke stared at him for a few seconds, then started shaking his head. “No.”

  John opened his mouth to speak, but was beaten to it by Rob.

  “You haven’t killed me yet because you want to know how to make zombies safe to eat.”

  “That’s not true… why do you think that?” said Duke.

  “We all need food and there’s sun,” said Rob.

  “Why do you think we’re against you? What have we done?” said Duke, each question coming with slight shrug, and an expression that was somehow a cross between confusion and repulsion.

  Rob shook his head. “Don’t want to talk about it.”

  Duke stared at the table for a while, and took a deep breath. “I don’t want to get a zombie. That’s not gonna fly. The only thing is, is that sunny days are sorta rare, but, you know,” he glanced at John, “we’ve seen zombies running in sunshine, did you know that?”

  “They don’t run when it’s sunny,” said Rob.

  “Yeah, turns out some of them do.”

  “I’ve never seen it,” said Rob.

  “We have,” said Duke.

  “Can we… can we go and look for food? And if I find a zombie, then I can keep it?” said Rob.

  “I think, um… I think I’m going to talk it through with the others,” said Duke.

  Rob nodded.

  “All right,” Duke said beginning to stand up. “I’ll chat with the others. I’ll get back to you. And we’re gonna talk about what you just said about getting rid of you. I’m going to prove that’s not true. No way. All right?”

  Rob grunted. Duke went into the other room. “You guys hear that?” John heard him say. He decided to stay with Rob.

  “Rob… I don’t think now is the time, you know?” he said, his hands fidgeting nervously.

  “It is.”

  “It’s just… you know… I think everyone’s not ready, they’re… not at the point, you know?” He looked at his palm. “I don’t… I don’t want to do it.” His eyes moved back to Rob. “for example.”

  “It doesn’t matter. You have to.”

  “I mean… if we can just wait a little bit…”

  “I need food. I need to eat.”

  “Rob… I…”

  Rob stood up and left without another word, going into the living room, where Duke was explaining the situation to the others. John stared at the doorway numbly. Then he put his head down on the table, closed his eyes, and put his fingers in his e
ars. The darkness brought relief. This was all he wanted, silence, stillness. It wasn’t a lot to ask. It wasn’t anything. He just needed everything to stop.

  He stayed like that for a long time, half expecting someone to notice and ask what he was doing. Eventually John knew he had to come back. He raised his head, got up, and walked into the living room.

  Everyone had an arm in the air as John entered. He guessed that they had just voted on something.

  “I’ll stay with Laura, no?” said Elena, lowering her arm slightly. To John’s horror, he realised that they had actually decided to leave.

  “Why?”

  “She can’t be left alone.”

  “No… No… I’m not cool with that,” said Duke. There was a silence.

  “Wait, what’s happening?” said John.

  “We’re going. We’re just sorting out the plan. We need food. Normal food.”

  Rob was standing in the corner of the room. He gave no response.

  John tried to speak, but the words got stuck in his throat.

  “But I think someone should stay with her,” Elena insisted.

  “Stay with who? Laura?” said John, sensing an opportunity.

  “Yeah,” said Elena, “so she is not here the only one.”

  “Oh… yeah… someone should stay,” said John.

  “But… thing is,” said Duke, “Laura is um… it’s statistics. We’re in danger. We gotta stick together.”

  “Well, no… we can leave someone here though,” said John. “What if something happens to her?”

  “But what if it happens to us, John. You know, it goes both ways. What I’m saying is, from a statistics point of view, we’re gonna need that extra man more than Laura.”

  “Yeah, but… what if the shrapnel moves or she starts bleeding again?”

  “Whatever risk is there with Laura, it’s nothing compared to us,” said Duke. “We’re going outside with them. We’re going in random houses, you know, this is, this is dangerous shit. Laura, you know this isn’t about you when I say we gotta play the odds? She’s safer than us. She doesn’t need the extra person. We do.”

  “I can’t. I can’t leave her,” said John, numbly.

  Duke closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. “You have a duty, John. We all do.”

  “Why should you be the one that gets to stay?” Jess protested

  “Well… I’m just saying that someone has to stay with her,” said John.

  With this comment, John had spoken over Duke as he has said, “No one is staying.”

  “Do I get a say in this?” said Laura. Everyone looked at her. “If I say you should go, then you should go, yeah? It’s down to me, yeah?”

  “So, is that what you want?” said Duke.

  She paused, as if collecting herself, “Duke’s right. I’ll be all right. I feel fine.”

  “Laura…” said John.

  “John, you have to go. It’s not fair. What would you even do if something happened to me? Huh? It’s not like anyone knows what to do if, you know, like… what happens to me isn’t going to be changed by having someone here, you know?”

  John shook his head. He could feel himself shaking slightly. He had fucked it up, his one chance to stay safe. He had fucked it up.

  “All right, so, I’ll go tell Rob,” Duke said, heading back to the kitchen.

  “No, wait,” said Elena. “It’s not only statistics. It’s more. Laura cannot move. What if we don’t make it back? She would starve, no?”

  “We’re going to make it back,” said Duke.

  “You don’t know that,” said John. “You want to know statistics? Let’s talk about all of them. What are the odds we won’t make it back? What are the odds… what are the odds that Laura needs help?”

  Duke took a long, deep breath. “So what? We should leave someone here, in case everyone else gets bitten? Cause that’s a great fucking situation to aim for, isn’t it? You don’t get it… I don’t want anyone to get bitten. That’s the point.”

  “I get it,” said Laura. “It’s cool.”

  “No, no, no,” said Elena. “One of us has to stay; it’s not right. She has an injure”

  “Look, man,” Duke’s voice was suddenly loud, “I’m not fucking around here. Is anyone listening to me? We’re. Going. Outside. Where there are zombies. Where there is food. And everything depends on us getting food. Where… where all the danger is. All right? I would love to stay with Laura. You know what? I would love to be Laura. I would love to be able to stay on the sofa. We’re the fucking ones in trouble here. We’re the fucking ones that need to be scared – that we need to be scared about. Us!”

  There was a long silence.

  “Anyway…” said Duke, “we need to carry as much food as we can. That means everyone comes. Everyone helps. Laura, you’ll be fine.”

  Chapter 9

  The sunshine bristled amongst the grass and spread against the trees. John was thinking about the knife in his hand. He was thinking about the physics of killing himself. He was thinking about the best way to do it because he was determined to have an escape. No matter what the world threw at him, he wanted to always have an escape. He would be in control. Not like the other time. Not like in the park. It suddenly occurred to him that he didn’t know if killing himself would be enough. Maybe they could still turn his corpse into a zombie.

  Before leaving the house, the group had created makeshift armour for themselves, using items from around the house. John was wearing a lot of very thick clothes. He had tape around his ankles so that there could be no gap between his shoes and the bottom of his trousers. On his hands were tough, cracked leather gloves – on his head, a bike helmet.

  They were on a slope that stretched down towards the town. From here they had a sweeping view of the valley. John could see their old home, the ASDA supermarket. It had been a good place — so much space, so much food, even a large collection of video games and films. Life had almost felt like life.

  He felt a stab of guilt. It was an amazing resource. Losing it was not just a setback for them, it was a setback for all survivors. Looking at it now, he was filled with questions. Were the undead still there? Or had they left the supermarket, looking for the next victim? If so, perhaps they could retake the building one day.

  “Hey! Look!” shouted Jess. “There’s a car.” She pointed to the expansive view of the town.

  It took John a while, but then he saw it — a white point of movement. A child’s toy at this distance.

  They all stood in silence, watching, as it passed along the horizon. The breeze moved the grass, and yet the whole valley seemed still, as if it was watching with them, as if the shivers passing through the fields were some sort of sentiment.

  “Where are they going?” said Jess

  “Food or shelter, I guess,” said Duke.

  They all stood for a while, watching.

  In that moment, something changed inside John. That little white shape was a reminder that amongst the dead streets, there were still people, still little blocks of consciousness clinging to each other. Society was still there. Yes, it was buried under unearthly horror, but it remained. The dots still moved, striving to form connections. John felt hope that he would meet others and that they would work together to clean up this mess.

  Love. That was all. The beauty of it came to John. Love. That was all. Love, beautiful in its simplicity. For love needed nothing else. And with love he needed nothing else. He needed only this, as he watched the struggle of people he may never meet. And suddenly this wasn’t just a world where survival was the only thing.

  This was a moment. This was something. This was his. And there was only now. Only this. He could feel them, in the car, their fear, their troubles, but more than that, he could feel the part of them that had always been and would always be. The part of them that remained unchangeable. No matter what stains and corruption invaded their minds, there was something that lay underneath the fickle shifting tides. Their purity. And in t
hat moment, he felt his own incorruptibility. And so it was that John was able to feel as if he and these people were the same, that they were united, bound by their humanity.

  Despite the darkness, this was still within him – this ability to feel. There was still happiness.

  He told himself he would be part of a new generation, a new manifestation of what it was that they, as humans, needed to impart on the world. He felt love for these souls in their little white car. Together they would rebuild the society that they had lost, to make something that would one day, ultimately, be better.

  …

  John could feel the sweat sticking to his t-shirt. All the extra layers were making him hot, despite the cold air. Rob led them through the tall, dull grass, over the drystone walls, on and on. John’s stomach ached with a terrible emptiness. He couldn’t remember a time when he had gone this long without food. There was something so surreal about this. Walking through the countryside, John could almost pretend there were no zombies, that it had never happened.

  But despite this, a deep sense of dread was creeping under his skin. Some of the undead could run in sunlight. That changed everything. That took away his advantage over them. If they came running, then it was no different from fighting a human. Except a human had to kill him; a zombie just had to bite.

  He just wanted an escape, a break from the fear. Fuck it. Whatever would happen would happen. But he didn’t want to suffer now. He didn’t want to tear himself apart like this. He thought of flying, how, each time, a part of him always believed he would die. His response had been to accept death. When he accepted death, that it could happen, that he couldn’t guarantee it wouldn’t, that was when he coped the best. That was the way to do it, embrace the thing you’re scared of. Acceptance. He tried to apply the same principle to this. But this was different. It wasn’t death he needed to accept.

  What was it, this threat from which they ran, against which they fought? What was the ultimate darkness they all feared? What was it to become one of them? What were they?

  His gut told him not to think about it. But maybe, if he could just understand… if he could just understand his fate.

  They came to another low wall, and climbed over it, now coming into a field with shorter, greener grass.

  He tried to be logical, and start from what he knew. They weren’t smart. They were angry. Or were they? Their facial expressions suggested emptiness. But were their faces linked to their inner state? What if behind their blank faces, their stupidity, their meaningless noises, behind all of that, were the people they used to be? Helpless onlookers trapped within themselves.