ALONE
BY
mERCEDES pRUNTY
Alone
Copyright ©: Mercedes Prunty
1st Edition Published: 30th August 2015
2nd Edition Published: 30th August 2016
Publisher: Mercedes Prunty
The right of Mercedes Prunty to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All Rights Reserved. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, hired out or otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that of which it is published. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, copied in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise transmitted without written permission from the publisher. You must not circulate this book in any format.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, incidents and dialogues are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual people living or dead, events is entirely coincidental.
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Other titles by Mercedes Prunty:
In the Alone series:
*Alone
*Lone
* The Keeper of the Key
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Facebook : Mercedes Prunty Author
Twitter : @MercedesPrunty
Blog: www.mercedespruntyauthor.wordpress.com
For my husband Jamie who has believed in
me since day one and my beautiful daughters, love you all .x.
“Sister’s together holding hands forever”.
‘Stacie’
Chapter One …
The rain poured down from the skies like the plagues of Egypt from god, a curse stowed upon the terrified world by man’s own hand, a whirlwind of panic erupted as the knowledge of what was really happening to the already broken land of Britain spread like the pandemic it was. Screams echoed through the light of day, blood curdling cries of pain shattered whatever peacefulness the small street in Kent held moments before. People scattering, running, falling, trying to reach shelter to protect themselves, their loved ones and friends from the burning acid rain that pelted down upon them. The rain hissed and bubbled away at peoples flesh, melting them all down to a molten mush littering the streets with a jelly like fluid of human remains. The rain soon subsided but the terror didn’t as the people who had been hit with the acid rain turned, the ones who hadn’t completely melted down to nothing changing, the pain flowing in their broken blood streams turning their minds wild, ravage, cannibalistic, grabbing the person nearest to them and biting their throats out like a bloody war on themselves. As we hid I saw her and I felt time go to a standstill, like a black and white film being shown only in slow motion, her face lined with pain turning into a pure rage, parts of her skin and muscle fell from her revealing the white of bone, the muscles and tendons that had worked hard to keep her body together were on show revealing how strong she could become even with only half the flesh, her long brown hair that was normally a glossy mass that pillowed itself around her had melted into a fine line dripping down her face like a brown liquid penetrating her eyes and mouth. She screamed at us before she charged, the bones of her finger tips exposed reaching for us as her melting legs carried her across the garden, pushing me out of the way she then pounced on him, clawing her fingers at his throat and snapping her jaws as if to pass on the pain she was feeling, her hair dripped from her teeth pooling on the ground near his ear. His mouth moved but I couldn’t hear his words as my body was already moving into action, my brain doing all the work so I didn’t have to think, the fight or flight scenario playing out in front of me, lifting the plank of wood which had been an old table leg I swung it down hard ploughing it into the back of her skull, the need to save at least him took over. Finally she fell like a dead weight to the floor nearly a complete skeletal figure other than the few tatters of meat still clinging to her. My sister stood by the back door screaming loudly but it barely hit my ears as she was trying to be the one who used flight to live, trying to run. My dad stood up quickly to grab her wrapping his arms around her waist to prevent her running into the street to more of the turned, he moved too fast, so fast that he knocked the skeletal figure so she turned to me, her eyes stared up at me burning into mine, the pure rage still there in those dead eyes as I couldn’t close them as there were no eyelids left for me to close to leave her at peace, those ghostly ice blue iris’s haunting me, calling to me, “STACIE!”
“Stacie!” I heard her call my name like it had been only yesterday but in fact the last time I had heard my mother’s voice had been well over a year and a half ago. Sitting up on the makeshift bed I had made for myself I sighed, stretching my arms out to unstiffen them from my awkward slumber. Blinking I tried to block out the last image I had seen of my mother, trying to replace it for an older more mind comforting one. I settled on one I had close to my heart, a photograph I kept with me of my mum, dad, sister and myself at their wedding five years ago. My memory from when the world turned to crap was a constant reminder of what I have had to do to keep surviving, how much I missed my family and how utterly alone I had become. Over a whole year and a half had passed since that dreadful day and I was no closer to finding what my life had become to live for, I had met a few survivors on the journey but they had fallen victim to the creatures that roamed the streets looking for their next meal, keeping friends had actually become more of a burden than a luxury because if they weren’t as quick or as ruthless as you, it inevitably meant they got left behind or killed.
Shaking myself mentally I stood up in the room that had become my home for the past few nights, it was a dark dingy office based in a town centre environment, the office block itself was only a few stories tall, it had a main frontage with a large lobby with huge windows which had once been the eyes to the world but since the outbreak someone had gone to the hard work of boarding them all up. The front door had been barricaded with desks, chairs, filing cabinets and a few vending machines and the same went for the back entrance but they had left a small window above the door open which for my build was no effort to climb through, I only considered this place safe as the creatures had not worked out how to climb, yet! But soon enough I would have to move onto pastures new as they would come and the more that came meant that when I did finally want to leave it would be suicide. They would for sure come looking for me, sniffing me out, I had pushed my luck being here as long as I had been but I had been on the road for so long, running and hiding I needed to rest for a few days to recharge my batteries. When I arrived I had checked the building thinking I was here on my own but I did find one other resident, a colleague of the company who ran the building at one point but he was swinging from the rafters, taken the easy way out, hadn’t tried to fight to live even if life didn’t seem worth living anymore. Of course I had thought about it, taking my own life so I could be reunited with my parents but then I would be breaking my promise to my dad and I always tried to keep my promises one way or another. I couldn’t do it anyhow even if I had really wanted to I was a human being, I had a fighting spirit living inside me and there was no way I was going out without trying to live first.
Grabbing my rifle which I treasured as it had been the last thing my dad had given me I took to the window to do my morning lookout, using the scope I scanned the streets below looking for any movement that would indicate my time here was up but nothing caught my eye, no lone wondering things had wondered in during the night which made me happy as that meant I had time to eat before leaving. Opening my bag I rummage inside for the few stale bars I had found in the vending machine from the
hall, lucky for me the swinging man had not eaten a lot so there was plenty for me for a few days, there was also some rabbit I had hunted, really I should’ve eaten it yesterday but I wanted to leave on a fuller stomach today, taking the risk of food poisoning over starvation I chowed down on the meat discarding the bones to the side of the room and then demolishing the bars. Guzzling some bottled water I nearly choked as I heard the first howl, stuffing what I had out back into the bag I slung it over my shoulder, using the rifle I looked out the window again to see a group of five creatures heading down the road towards my building, they had found me!
“Crap!” I spat turning on my heel heading to the door to get out of the room, luckily I never unpack much as I know all too well that I always have to run eventually. Reaching the door I kicked the desk I had rammed under the handle as a barricade, not bothering to look back I raced for the main lobby, taking the stairs two at a time I was down in less than a minute, my heart hammering in my chest as I heard the first one reach the main door, crashing against it, shoving its body weight against it to get to me. Speeding through I felt a flurry of butterflies as I jumped the main desk heading to the back entrance, their ominous cries of rage, anger and hunger pushed me on faster and I reached the boxes piled on top of one another ready for me to climb up almost flying up them so fast my feet barely touching them. CRASH! That was the sound of the front barricade giving way, I didn’t have long. The adrenaline in my body spurred me to just jump out and try my chances, landing on the tarmac of a small car cark behind the building I found I was alone for now. The first howl of the creatures at the back door made me pick myself up and before I knew it I was charging full speed out of there and racing up an unfamiliar road, I hadn’t had time to check my map again this morning and in the panic I forgot which way I had to go to get to my destination, spotting a sign I breathed a sigh of relief as I saw I was on the right path, the sign told me I was heading towards the downs, a large green area that separated the town I was currently in Eastbourne to the small towns that weaved through the greenery and cliff sides to where I wanted to get to a city called Brighton.
Suddenly behind me I heard another loud crash which indicated that they had broken through the barricade at the back door and were now in hot pursuit. The road I was rushing up once housed very grand homes, apartments, a supermarket which had been bombed and mostly destroyed, a petrol station and a church. Keeping pace I tried hard to pump my legs faster, maybe I could hide in the church for a while and pray that god wouldn’t kill me yet but then that could be more dangerous than the streets as I had no idea what awaited me inside, so I kept moving. The passing of time and no one to maintain the roads was in full view for me to see, tree roots had begun to tear through the tarmac creating large pot holes that I had to jump over and dodge. Some were animal holes for those lucky and precious creatures that were blessed enough to be able to burrow away and hide from this hell hole. As I ran the acid began to burn in my legs making me want to stop but I couldn’t the fear pushed me on further.
I needed to find somewhere to hide, something to put them off my scent for a while. Looking around me I spotted a sign that read a park was nearby, that might be just the place to hide from them. Charging off to my left I clambered up some old stone stairs that led to a walled green garden, I could tell there was a sort of maze of gardens and old tennis courts ahead of me but the bushes and shrubbery was so overgrown it was hard to see if it was accessible but I had no choice I had to try it, it was either that or a very dilapidated ex art museum but with very old buildings they could become more problematic than the outside world, if it wasn’t the creatures roaming inside then it might be crumbling walls and loose debris shaken by the bombs from the war or the melted roof rafters from the acid rain. I chose the maze although I didn’t have much time to decide as I could hear their rasping breaths on the air behind me, their clawed feet from where their flesh had fallen off revealing their toe bones clattering on the stone steps a seconds pace behind me. Rushing through I spotted something that might confuse them, throwing my rifle and bag into a small grass patch next to some trees so they didn’t get wet I then reached a pond, the water wasn’t very appealing green algae had grown on the top where there was no one to maintain the gardens anymore. Trying not to think of the green slime I lowered myself in slowly ducking my head under the dirty water and holding my breath just as the first creature reached my position and howled for my blood.
Under the water the world sounded so different, I could hear my heart beat throbbing in my ears as the seconds ticked by, everything sounded so muffled so unreal. Sitting as humanly still as possible I held onto some weeds at the bottom of the pond, clenching my fists tight so I wouldn’t float back up to the top and be spotted by them prematurely. I kept my eyes closed as I didn’t want to risk any dirty water parasites attacking my eyes, I needed them to survive. I felt the seconds go by like hours and my chest began to burn with the need to breathe but I kept myself as calm as possible to stay down, if I rushed to the top for air too soon it could be the last thing I do. I hoped and prayed to whatever might be watching over me that a small breeze might dispel my scent from the air making the creatures move on into the maze to find me. Maybe some miracle would bestow me and they could become tangled in some overgrowth tugging at their clothes so they wouldn’t be able to harm anyone but I knew wishing and hoping was useless it was all luck, if I was lucky enough they would go, if I wasn’t they would still be there waiting for me. A ringing noise began to alarm my ears, the blood was rushing to my brain making me feel light headed as my body tried to keep oxygen going to the thing that kept me sane and alive, the noise was deafening and I knew I had to go up now or I would drown. Counting to five I slowly paced my body moving up the wall of the pond, even these last few seconds could be the difference between life and death, reaching the top I kissed my lips to the surface and took a slow breath, I couldn’t afford to go up coughing and spluttering. Keeping my face mainly under the water I breathed for a while, I felt my body return to its normal degree of fatigue from lack of proper food and sleep. I stayed there for about five minutes before deciding I had to check, the water was chilly and I needed to move on get some distance between me and this town before finding food and shelter for tonight.
Gently I raised myself up taking a quick glance around the park, nothing jumped out or looked to be of any immediate danger so I stood up fully lifting myself out of the pond, the water rushed out of my ears making my hearing come instantly back to me. Listening I tried to hear them, a faint cry came from the other side of the maze I would have a while till they caught my smell but I didn’t want to stay around for too long to see them. Trying to shake off as much excess water I noticed how dirty I had become, the algae had saturated my clothes giving them a nice slimy tinge. So my next mission for myself would be to find somewhere to wash and maybe find some new clothes.
Taking to a damp jog I reached the grass I had thrown my bag and rifle into, searching with my hands I found them grabbing them up and turning slowly to make sure nothing had snuck up on me in the process, finding it still clear I took to another gentle jog going back down the stone steps and continuing up the hill towards the downs. After about five minutes I reached the base of a huge steep hill that awaited me to climb it, a large gravelled area to my right which I recognised as an escape lane had two abandoned vehicles sitting in it both burnt out and entangled in the over growth that was trying to mask it from my view. One was a double decker bus the other a small Citroen must have been the last minute fleeing of some of the Eastbourne residents that had ended in tragedy, the burnt out hulls of them gave me the chills, the windows that remained had handprints embedded into the charcoal that covered them, which meant people had died in the fires that had torn through them.
Trying to disregard the sight as I already had enough memories to keep my nightmares alive at night I started walking on, it took me about ten minutes to climb the huge hill the gradient of the steepness was so har
sh that it took all my energy to climb, if anything charged at me now I was a goner as I wasn’t running anywhere. My normally quite athletic body was good at keeping me going but this was so immense it took a lot and with running on low body fuel I was going to need a rest. Reaching the top I sat on the tarmac, grabbing the last bar in my bag, munching it and guzzling down another swig of my dwindling water supply. Looking out in front of me to the magnificent view of Eastbourne it took my breath away, the tip of the hill literally looked as if it where the end of the world. It was beautiful and devastating, the town would have once been a happy glorious place to live but now it was a burnt out ruin, smoke plumed in the skies as there was no fire fighters to put out any blazes that might erupt out. Tall buildings had been torn apart by the bombs that had hit, creating huge craters where housing estates and shopping districts had been. The only thing that seemed untouched was the large pier structure that headed out to sea, the sea itself was a beautiful clear blue, with hardly anyone left there was not much pollution being pumped into the big blue, that part of the world was healing taking back what us humans had tried to destroy. I had to wonder where the sea led to nowadays, I had once heard France was over that way somewhere across the channel but would it even still exist? I had seen on the front of newspapers when people where still around to do them that parts of Britain had been blown off the map completely, just gaping holes in the countryside. Dover was one place that had been blown to smithereens, the country who had bombed us wanted to make sure we didn’t try to run so took away our docks and airports, trapping us on our small island.
Something caught my attention deep in the horizon, storm clouds. This was not a good sign storms brought lightening, the electricity in the atmosphere seemed to bring out more of the creatures including the older ones that were at the point of crumbling to dust giving them a temporary new leash of life, this made them strong their hunger meaning that instead of just biting their victim they would pull them apart limb by limb. The older ones were slow but lethal when electrically charged, I had to make sure I was in shelter before it hit otherwise I had no chance, I had seen it happen so many times before, I had only cottoned on that it was the current in the storms when I had witnessed three storms and strange killings all in a short space of time, maybe it was something to do with electrical pulses in the brain or something? I was no scientist by any means but even that sounded plausible to me. Taking one last look at the town behind me I took off at a quicker pace than before as I had no clue as to when I might find the next safe house to sleep in.
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