Swarm (Book 2)

by Alex South

  A collective dishevelment has descended onto the group. Tired faces. Heavy eyes. Some had blankets, some had hats, and some had puffed out bodies from the many extra layers of clothes. Everyone was somehow weaker looking, with their bodies bent and closed against the cold and weighed down by fatigue.

  “Don’t even talk about food, seriously,” said Jess.

  “But that’s it, isn’t it? We have to eat. We have to eat soon,” said Duke.

  “We should just leave the area,” said Jess. “Everything about this place is bad. There’s no food anywhere. Rob’s one danger. The girl’s another danger. We don’t have any heating. We have to leave. We can go to the power station. They might help us.”

  “But Rob was saying they’re probably involved in this,” said Duke. “Anyway, he’s speculating. So he saw a helicopter. Could have been going anywhere.”

  There was a long silence.

  “It’s easier to just go,” said Jess. “Laura,” she turned her head to look at her, “I’m sorry, but you must be able to move now.”

  “Um… maybe…”

  “What difference does it make if you’re on a sofa or in Dreadlocks’ arms?” said Jess.

  “It’s just, like, even when I move a little bit, it still hurts,” said Laura, her eyes on the wall that her bed faced.

  “Well, Dreadlocks can hold you carefully,” said Duke.

  “Where can we go?” said Dreadlocks.

  “Anywhere,” said Jess. “Anywhere that we can eat.”

  “We can go back on the train tracks,” said Elena. “They were good. They have to go to the next town, and the next. ”

  “A car is way better,” said Duke.

  “Of course,” said Elena, giving a slight shrug, “but we don’t have a car.”

  “A car would be better for me as well,” said Laura.

  “We can get one,” said John.

  “Yeah there’s cars… there’s loads of cars… it’s getting the keys that are the problem,” said Duke.

  “You just need a house; the keys are in the house. The car’s outside the house,” said John.

  “Yeah, I guess,” said Duke.

  “And Rob?” said Elena, lowering her voice.

  “What about him?” said Duke.

  “We’re going to leave him behind, no?”

  “Um…” said Duke.

  “Yeah. Of course,” said Jess.

  “Well, he’s kind of valuable now,” said Duke, looking at Jess, “now that we know about his blood.”

  “I still don’t think that’s true,” said Jess.

  “I think we should take him,” said Dreadlocks. “He hasn’t done anything to harm us.”

  “Seriously?” said Jess, staring at him, wide eyed. “He’s made everything more difficult.”

  “He let us in though,” said Dreadlocks, “and he’s allowed us to tie him up each night. He’s a little different, but you can’t say he hasn’t been fair most of the time.”

  “If his blood is a cure, then… we should have him with us,” said Duke.

  “It’s not that useful, though,” said John, “What are we going to do? Fill a spray bottle and spray it in the zombies’ faces, then wait a couple weeks?”

  “But, maybe if one of us gets bitten?”

  “Yeah, but… even then… I don’t know… if I get bitten, you’ve got a few seconds to inject me. Then you have to tie me up; keep me somewhere. I don’t think you could do it,” said John.

  “It’s not just that,” said Dreadlocks. “We have a duty to look after him. What if he’s the only one in the world with the immunity?”

  “I want to know how he thinks he’s immune,” said Jess. “Oh my God. How have we not asked him this? Has he been bitten?”

  No one said anything for a while, then Duke finally spoke, “Yeah, we should ask him.”

  “How long before you die from no food?” said John.

  “We can last about a month,” said Dreadlocks, “but it depends, most I’ve ever gone is two weeks.”

  “Why?” said John.

  “I was fasting,” Dreadlocks replied.

  Knock, Knock, Knock,

  “Hello?” said Duke.

  Rob entered the room.

  “Hi,” he said, his hand clung to the side of the door as if to somehow anchor him.

  “Hey, Rob,” said Duke.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Just chilling, talking about stuff.”

  “What are you talking about?” His eyes moved to the floor.

  “How do you know you’re immune?” said Jess.

  “I don’t know. I think I am.”

  “Why?”

  “My blood almost cured someone.”

  “But how did you know to give it to them?”

  “I was hungry… and I ate the zombie meat. So…”

  “Maybe anyone can eat it. Maybe you’re not special.”

  “Yes, but I tried giving it to a dog… and…”

  There was a silence.

  “You poisoned a dog?” said Dreadlocks quietly.

  Rob’s eyes moved to the side. “I had to. Poppy had no food. It was that or eat the dog.”

  “What happened?” said Duke.

  “It turned into one of them,” said Rob.

  “What? Yellow eyes and everything?” said Duke.

  “No… not the eyes… just the behaviour.”

  “Right,” said Duke.

  Rob glanced at Duke. “I’m sorry. I love dogs.” He turned and left.

  Chapter 15

  The group continued their discussion about Rob. An agreement was eventually made, although it was far from unanimous, they should let Rob come with them. Duke took it upon himself to tell him, leaving the others and eventually finding him downstairs, drinking a glass of water.

  “Hey, Rob.”

  “Hi.”

  “Listen, so we’re going to try and find a car and get out of here.”

  “Where are you going?” said Rob.

  “Somewhere with food,” said Duke, “Anywhere, really.”

  Rob thought for a second. “I don’t want you to go.”

  “Um, come with us,” said Duke.

  Rob shook his head. “I have to stay.”

  “How come?”

  “It’s going to be warmer. When winter ends there will be more sun. That’s when I’ll leave here.”

  “Well, maybe that’s too long to wait. You don’t have that much food left.”

  “Please wait. Wait a few more days,” said Rob.

  “No, we have to go… we’re hungry.”

  “When are you going?” said Rob

  “Tomorrow, we think.”

  Rob stared at the floor and appeared to be thinking.

  “Okay, I’ll come,” said Rob. “I really don’t want to.”

  “Er-”

  “But, I’ll come. Thank you… what if I found some food? Would you stay for a few more days? Maybe the weather will be better.”

  “I don’t know… We’re going as soon as we can, so…”

  Rob nodded and looked at the table, “Okay, I understand.”

  …

  After the meeting, John hung around in the living room. Night time came and he decided to check on Laura. He slowly opened the door to her room. The lights were off.

  “Hello?” came Laura’s voice from the darkness.

  “Hey,” said John.

  “Hey,” she said, weakly.

  He walked to her and gently touched her shoulder.

  “How are you?” he asked.

  She shook her head slightly. “I don’t know,” she said, numbly.

  John noticed that her voice was thick and stuffy. “Are you ill?”

  “Yeah, I’m ill. And I’m hungry. And I’m tired.”

  John tried to think of something to say.

  “I’m going to be okay.”

  “Yeah… yeah, of course.”

  “Am I going to be okay?” she said, her tone changing suddenly.

&nb
sp; “Yeah… yeah, you’ll be fine. You’re hungry; it’s normal,” John tried to sound assertive, to speak as if her question was misguided, just a simple mistake of her perception, that he, as the clearheaded outside voice, could dispel with total certainty. He tried to be that for her, and not to let any of his own fears bleed into his inflection.

  He heard her sobbing. It was jerky, quiet – the sound of someone trying to hold it back.

  “It’s just… I can’t sleep, you know?” she said. Her words seemed to open her up, now, so that her sound became louder, so that her speech waivered and spiked, and John could only just understand.

  “I keep trying but… I can’t do it… and now I’m all stuffed up. I can’t breathe through my nose. I just… I feel so bad all the time. I don’t know anymore.”

  John knelt down and rubbed her arm. “It’s okay,” he said. “You’re doing great. You’re resting, and you’re… you’re going to be fine. Just try and relax and don’t worry.”

  A long wordless void spread between them in the darkness. John felt her shuddering under his touch. He could just make out her hands covering her face. He felt his own sadness rising up, making his throat tight. His eyes began to water.

  Bang! Bang! Bang!

  John jerked upright.

  Bang! Bang! Bang!

  “What’s that?” said Laura, quietly. John jumped to his feet.

  Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

  “Maybe someone’s hammering,” said John.

  “Go and check,” said Laura.

  John didn’t move.

  “Go and check!” said Laura.

  “I can’t.”

  “Why?”

  “I… can’t.”

  “But you have to!”

  “I just…” John felt a weight pushing down on him.

  “John, I mean… we can’t ignore it.”

  John moved across the room. A long, high-pitched scream spiked the air. He turned on the lights, locked the bedroom door and stared at Laura.

  “What is it?” she said, eyes wide.

  They both remained in silence.

  “What about the others?” Laura said. “Go! You have to go!”

  John shook his head and looked away. Another scream. Laura was shouting at him. He stared at the floor, closing his eyes and waiting for everything to go away. The door handle rattled. John’s heart slammed against his chest.

  Knock! Knock! Knock!

  “Hello!?” Laura shouted.

  “It’s Duke!”

  “John, open it!” said Laura.

  John slowly turned around to face the door, took a deep breath and slid the lock across.

  Duke came in, followed by everyone except for Rob.

  “What’s happening?” stammered John.

  Elena, the last in, locked the door again.

  “It’s the girl,” whispered Jess, “She’s outside,”

  Another scream rang through the house. John knew, now, that they belonged to her, that they belonged to Stacy.

  …

  “I say we grab her,” said Duke. There was a silence. “We just grab her and pull her into the house.”

  “No!” said Jess, looking at Duke as if he was crazy.

  “Before she brings the zombies here.”

  “No!”

  “She’s just a girl we can-”

  “No!”

  “… take her.”

  “No! No!” said Jess marching over to the door and standing in front of it.

  At that moment, there was a knocking at the door.

  “Who is it?” said Duke, loudly.

  “Rob.”

  “Jess, let him in,” said Duke.

  Jess opened the door and Rob entered.

  “What’s happening?” said Rob, his face pale.

  “It’s the girl. The one I told you about,” said Duke.

  “Do you think she could have powers over us?” said Dreadlocks

  “No one’s going apeshit. If she had control over us, then we’d know, right?” said Duke.

  “What if she has the infection?” said Elena.

  “We’ll be careful. Super careful,” said Duke.

  “I don’t think I can do it,” said John. “I just… I don’t think I can do it, you know?”

  “Whatever. I’ll do it alone,” said Duke.

  “No, Duke!” said Jess.

  Duke stared at her for a few seconds. “I’m making a judgment call.”

  “So am I!”

  “Jess, get out the way.”

  “I can’t do it. I can’t go out there,” said John.

  “Has she got any zombies with her?” Laura shouted over to them.

  Duke moved to Jess and began pulling her away from the door. She screamed and resisted.

  “Duke, come on, Duke!” shouted Dreadlocks.

  Duke let go. “Are you helping me or her?”

  “I don’t know. Whatever we do, we need to do it together.”

  Duke looked at the floor for a few seconds, then walked away from the door.

  “So, you want to just stay here and wait? Wait for what?”

  “For her to leave!” said Jess.

  “So, that’s it. If she doesn’t leave, I can go get her?”

  Jess shook her head.

  “Come on? I’m asking you. If she stays, then you’ll change your mind?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Duke looked at the others. “What about you? If she doesn’t go away, you’ll let me?”

  “I can’t help. I just… I’m… I’m not there, you know… I’m just…” said John.

  “But, we don’t know for how long she is staying there,” said Elena. “Maybe she is there a day. How do you know?”

  “She was talking… shouting stuff, right? Let’s go listen to her. You know what kids are like. She’s probably going to say all her thoughts out loud. That’s what they do.”

  “But she’s not a normal child,” said Elena.

  “So let’s find out,” said Duke. “Let’s go… Jess…?”

  “What if she hears you?” said Jess.

  “She won’t. I’ll be careful, very careful,” said Duke.

  …

  Duke moved down the corridor. He knew they were going to hate him for this. But that didn’t mean anything. Only one thing mattered: making the right decisions. He got to the top of the stairs. He could hear her better now, her screams, occasionally interrupted by mindless chattering. This was it. Now was the time. He walked down the stairs taking two at a time. He quickly moved to the front door and looked through the peep hole. There she was, totally alone, just waiting to be grabbed.

  Duke knocked on the door.

  “Hey! We’re here. You looking for us? We’re here. We’ve got your sweets!”

  Chapter 16

  Duke had given them no choice. She knew they were inside. They had to act. John squeezed his hands together, trying to gauge the toughness of his leather gloves.

  Somehow he had found the courage to put on his armour like everyone else. Somehow he had found a passage through the hollowness, the crushing weight. Somehow he had fought against the tight grasp of his fear. Somehow he had elevated a single voice inside him. A voice that said he was not a coward. He was not helpless. And that he did not abandon these people. Somehow, this voice – nothing more than a string of words in the shifting darkness of his mind – had been enough. Somehow it had been all he needed.

  “All right,” said Duke, “stick to the plan.”

  John could hear the girl’s screams. He judged her to be close to the front of the house. Duke carefully pulled the latch and opened the door. Heavy rain distorted the unfolding darkness, catching the light from the corridor as it fell. At that moment, the shouts of the little girl stopped, leaving a gutted, empty space. Duke quickly closed the door. He looked at them, uncertainty playing on his face. The weight had left John’s stomach. Was that a coincidence? Or had she heard them? Duke had been so quiet.

  “She must have heard it,”
hissed Duke. “We have to do it now.”

  He opened the door again. Wide eyes stared back at them.

  “Jesus!” Duke jumped back.

  “Found you!” the little girl shouted, her hair flat and matted from the rain.

  Duke lunged – his hands wrapped around her tiny waist. He lifted her up. Everyone backed out of the corridor to let them pass.

  “Daddy!” She shouted. Duke kicked the door to close it. It flew back open. It happened before John could react. A tall figure with brown hair filled the frame, stretching his fingers towards Duke, now knocking him and Stacy to the floor. John ran forward. He pulled his knife. His focus was on the head. Its mouth opened — ready to bite. Its yellow eyes burnt into Duke as it climbed on top of him. John lunged, thrusting his hand forward to cover its mouth. He felt its jaw moving, its teeth scratching against the leather of his glove. With his free hand, he dropped the knife and yanked its head back by its hair. The zombie thrashed, now gnashing at the air. John fell onto his side, somehow retaining his grip.

  The girl was on her feet, punching and kicking Duke. Everyone came closer. Jess jumped onto the zombie and hooked an arm around its neck, making a choke grip from behind. Duke squirmed out, pushing himself away from his attacker. John picked up the little girl and tried to get her out of the way, stepping around the struggle. The zombie was now reaching behind its head, clawing at the space either side of Jess.

  Elena came at it with a knife

  “Watch out!” she screamed.

  “Stab it!” John shouted. The girl was wiggling furiously in his hands. He pushed her up against a wall to keep her still.

  “Where?” Elena shouted, moving to the zombie’s side.

  “Stab it!” John shouted again.

  “Stab it!” Jess shouted also.

  Elena climbed on top behind Jess. She rammed the knife into its back. It thrashed underneath her, testing her balance and forcing infrequency into her stabs, so that her attacks stuttered – the cruel metal landing in bursts on the creature’s back and peppering the air with missed attempts. On and on. An enduring frenzy.

  “I can not!” she shouted.

  “Give it to me!” Jess shouted, holding her free hand out behind her. Elena passed her the knife.

  Jess worked the blade into the gap between her arm and its chin. The zombie’s groans became distorted, twisting into raspy, laboured sounds. Elena had stayed on the zombie. Both of its arms were now held by Dreadlocks. Jess kept the knife moving, forcing it deeper.