The old man slid his body sideways along the window, making his way towards the shop entrance, his mouth leaving a trail of slobber as his face dragged against the glass. Steven spoke into the microphone again, this time with more of an urgent tone.
“Jo or Nikki to the tills PLEASE!”
Still no response and by now, the man had made it into the entrance of Poundland and an unholy growl left his throat.
“Anyone to the fucking till please!” he yelled into the microphone.
Moving his good leg forward, the old man dragged himself forward. Steven was overcome with fear and began to shake uncontrollably.
“Hello sir, can I interest you in some polo mints today? Two packs for £1?” he asked, his mind devoid of processing a sensible course of action.
Then, as if out of nowhere, Steven’s friend and security guard Tin Tin, ran into the shop wielding a hammer and bludgeoned the old man across the back of the head.
The force of the blow sent the old man to the ground and Tin Tin continued to pummel him.
Steven found it difficult to find his voice, his mind unable to process what he was seeing. After what seemed to last forever, Tin Tin ended his assault, appearing satisfied with the destruction he had caused.
“Now stay dead you old bastard!” Tin Tin shouted, pointing his blood dripping hammer at the lumpy broth that used to be the old man’s head. “Close the shop door, don’t let anyone in or out,” he told Steven.
Steven in a state of shock at the horrifying sight could not respond.
“Earth to Steven, is there anyone there? I said close the door, we don’t have any time to waste,” he added.
“Yu, yu, you just killed that man,” was his friends shaken, quiver toned response.
“No I didn’t, he was already dead. I will take responsibility for turning his head into a goulash but killing him? No, whoever did that to his leg killed him,” Tin Tin replied.
“What are you…? When? Who?” Steven asked.
“I see your vocabulary is still as great as always. If you can construct sentences as awesome as that, I can’t wait to read the screenplay you’ve been telling me about for years. Steven, just do as I say and close the door. I’ll get rid of granddad,” Tin Tin replied.
Tin Tin grabbed the old man’s legs and dragged him out of Poundland, removing him from the shop doorway, leaving a slither of blood and head matter on the floor in doing so.
“What the hell is going on?” Steven asked.
“Zombies my friend, zombies,” Tin Tin informed. “Look mate, I don’t want to ask again, please can you close the shop door?”
“I can’t Tin Tin, only the manager and her assistant have keys and I haven’t seen them since I came in,” Steven replied.
“Well where are they now?” Tin Tin asked.
“In the storeroom out the back. They were both moaning about feeling sick,” Steven answered.
“How do you mean sick? How did they look?” Tin Tin pressed.
“Terrible. They were sweating badly and had stomach cramps. Why?” Steven asked.
“Grab yourself something you can use as a weapon, something strong enough to crack a skull,” Tin Tin told Steven.
“Tin Tin, zombies? Are you sure? Do you realise how ridiculous that sounds?” he replied.
Tin Tin walked outside of Poundland and looked up and down the shopping mall walkway.
“Come here,” he told his friend, who followed him to the walkway, carefully avoiding the blood and brain juice on the floor.
“Now do you believe me?” he asked.
Steven looked left and straight away wished he was back home having never risen from his bed.
Staggering towards him some 50ft away shuffled five figures, with faces hidden due to their stooped posture. He knew on first sight that Tin Tin was right.
“Fuck me!” Steven gasped. “We need to get those keys for the door.”
Then, a large groan was heard resonating throughout Poundland.
“I best get a weapon,” Steven gulped.
“Is there some kind of delayed reaction going on with you today? Stop repeating what I asked of you a few minutes ago and get a move on. You grab a weapon and check on what made that noise. If it came from your manager, bash her head in and take the keys. I’ll make the front of the shop as secure as I can” Tin Tin replied.
Steven ran to the gardening aisle of Poundland and ripped open the packaging on two handheld digging forks. Used for planting, he surmised that the forks would be more than capable of penetrating the skull of a zombie. Just to make sure, he swooshed a few practice swings.
Thump!
Steven heard the noise of something or someone banging against the storeroom doors. The doors were heavy duty, double acting saloon doors but with a little force they could be easily pushed open.
Thump! Thump!
With his newly assigned weaponry at hand, he moved towards the storeroom doors to investigate.
He pushed his face up against the Perspex window of one of the doors and almost immediately the undead face of Jo, his manager, pressed up against the other side. Behind her was her sister, Nikki.
He grabbed a broom and placed it through the handles of both doors, securing the Sisters of Doom in the storeroom… for now.
Whilst Steven was assigning himself weapons and dealing with his bosses, Tin Tin was collecting as many bottles of shower gel as he could then emptying them out on the walkway directly outside the entrance, creating a river of slippery fluid. By the time he was satisfied with his slimy creation, the oncoming zombies were a mere 10ft away.
“Steven!” Tin Tin called.
Steven was looking into the cold dead eyes of his boss through the Perspex window of the storeroom door when he heard the call.
“Coming,” Steven replied, turning away from his flesh hungry manager to join his friend at the river of slime.
“When they fall, smash their fucking heads in,” Tin Tin instructed. “Good choice in weaponry by the way. Did you happen to see what made that noise?”
“Yep,” Steven replied.
“Zombies?” Tin Tin asked.
“Yep, Jo and Nikki but I’ve locked them in the storeroom. I didn’t fancy taking on both of them on my own,” he replied.
“We’ll deal with them soon enough, but these bastards need sorting out first. Get ready,” Tin Tin said, gripping his blood stained hammer.
The first of the zombies lumbered forward. As its foot hit the slippery river of shower gel, it slid forward falling heavily.
The zombie began to move from side to side, slipping and sliding in the shower gel, unable to rise to its feet.
“Put these on,” Tin Tin instructed, passing Steven a child’s pair of pink Hello Kitty wellington boots.
“Why do I have to wear pink ones? You’ve got green ones, why can’t I wear green too?” Steven asked upset with the choice that had been made for him.
“Because, tiddly toes, you have the foot size of an eight year old girl and these are the only ones Poundland had small enough to fit,” Tin Tin explained. “Don’t blame me because you have feet a baby would be ashamed of.”
Tin Tin placed his feet inside the green wellington boots and walked out into the river of shower gel. With one fast swing, he drove his hammer into the forehead of the zombie, ending its undead existence instantly.
“That’s 2 – 0 to me now mate, you can kill the next one, it’ll give you a chance to catch up.” Tin Tin said.
The second and third zombies arrived together and slipping almost simultaneously they fell to the floor.
Steven removed his shoes and slipped his dainty size 4s into the child’s Hello Kitty wellingtons and, to his annoyance, they were a perfect fit.
He waded his way through the shower gel and looked down at the fallen undead as they reached up grabbing at his feet.
“Well, Steven, you wanted excitement!” he said to himself, before stabbing both zombies in the head with his gardening forks.
“2−2,�
� he said, turning to face Tin Tin, who nodded at him approvingly.
“They used to come in every morning before work” he said, looking at the dead zombies. “They used to buy milk and biscuits and I just killed them.”
“They were dead already mate. Just keep telling yourself you didn’t kill them; they were dead already. You did good, I’m proud of you. I’ll take the next one but we really need to get the keys from your boss so we can close this door before more arrive. Shower gel won’t hold them off forever.” Tin Tin said.
“Well I’ve secured the storeroom, so the Sisters of Doom won’t be going anywhere soon,” Steven informed.
Steven had barely finished his sentence when a sharp snapping sound followed by the noise of the heavy storeroom doors opening filled the air.
The wooden broom handle Steven had used to secure the doors had broken due to the pressure from Jo and Nikki continually pushing against it.
“Damn those cheap ass Poundland products!” Steven moaned.
Steven and Tin Tin turned their heads towards the shop and from the back, next to the baby section, stumbled into view the Sisters of Doom.
Tin Tin turned his gaze back towards the fourth zombie, which was slowly heading to their location. He wasn’t going to wait for it to arrive at the shower gel lake, not with the Sisters of Doom approaching.
He walked out towards the undead, careful to avoid the slippery floor and thrust his hammer through the air cracking the zombie on its forehead. The zombie’s head fractured on contact, spraying blood and gore over the window of Card Factory, a nearby discount greeting card store.
“Hammer Time,” Tin Tin smirked.
“Did you just make a pun?” Steven asked.
“Fucking right I did!” Tin Tin proudly stated with pride, “let’s go and sort out the Sisters of Doom before the other zombie gets here.”
Steven and Tin Tin walked back into Poundland, approaching the Sisters of Doom as they staggered down the baby product aisle.
“There,” Steven said, pointing towards the keys that were attached to a chain, hanging from Jo’s trouser waist.
The Sisters of Doom shuffled slowly forward, their sweat and puke stained clothes hanging heavily from their frames as they swayed from side to side, knocking various products from shelving units.
“I’ll take boss lady,” Tin Tin announced, pointing at Jo as gloops of saliva dripped from her quickly decaying mouth.
“No way, she’s mine. This bitch has made my life hell too often and for too long. No mate, I’m doing it,” Steven said with purpose.
“Be my guest but do it quickly, we don’t have much time. I’ll take out Deputy Doom,” Tin Tin replied, pointing at Nikki.
Tin Tin marched towards his target and with one ferocious swing, smashed his hammer into the side of her face, shattering her jaw. Then he swung again, this time cracking the hammer against the side of her head, sending her soaring into the shelving units. He hunched over her fallen body, repeatedly bringing the hammer down onto her head, time and time again, turning her undead body back to plain old dead.
Having watched Tin Tin destroy Deputy Doom, adrenalin started to pump through Steven’s veins. His new found assertiveness in the face of the apocalypse was having a startling effect and for the first time in his life, he felt alive. He finally had a purpose and as basic as it seemed, staying alive was now his only priority. It was time to take down the boss!
With gardening forks held tightly in both hands, he raised his arms above his head and lunged at Jo, stabbing her through the top of the head with both forks. She died instantly, collapsing in a heap on the ground, the forks sticking out of her head like a pair of reindeer antlers.
“Fork you Jo!” Steven screamed.
“Very good,” Tin Tin said, approving of Steven’s one liner.
“Grab the keys and help me take the Sisters of Doom out to the front of the shop.” He added, “We don’t need these two stinking the place up. Once we have secured the entrance, I reckon we should empty some shelving units and place them in front of the window. Pretty soon this place is going to be crawling with zombies and those units will help reinforce the window. We could have a hundred or so pressed up against the glass trying to get at us. The shelving units will add some much needed protection.”
Steven agreed and together, they removed the Sisters of Doom from Poundland, dumping their bodies in the river of shower gel along with the other fallen undead.
Using the keys he took from Jo, Steven closed the doors to the store, securing both himself and Tin Tin inside whilst the latter began to empty shelving units, ready to be used to reinforce the windows.
Just as he was about to walk away from the doors to help Tin Tin, he noticed the light come on in the mobile phone shop opposite. It was Jess and she wasn’t alone.
Jess had entered the shop in a hurry and in some distress as she slouched over the shop counter, holding her right arm to apply pressure to a visibly bloodied open wound.
Due to her stress, she hadn’t noticed the stooped figure stood behind her. Steven had though and he started to manically bang on the door to Poundland, shouting her name in an attempt to alert her to the danger behind but it was no good, his cries, like his love for her, went unnoticed.
“Jess! JESS! Hey!” he screamed, banging on the glass as hard as he could.
The stooped figure lifted his head and moved slowly forward towards her. It was her slime ball boss.
His movement alerted her to his presence and she turned to face him. The fear in her face was evident as she backed away, begging him to stop his advances.
She looked around for something she could use to protect herself. With her good arm, she grabbed display phone after display phone, throwing them at him in quick succession but it had little effect. He was hungry and it was going to take more than a Nokia Lumia to the head to crush his need to feed.
Jess desperately scanned the shop for something more substantial to use. She reached for an iPad then ran at her boss, powerfully jamming it into his mouth with all the strength she could muster.
The impact was such that both sides of his pale dead lips split and the iPad lodged between his jaws but still he stalked his prey, following her as she walked with her back to the walls continuing to throw as many phones at him as she could.
She found herself back at the counter with nowhere else to go and her boss almost upon her. With both hands she lifted the shop till up high and with as much force as she could, brought it crashing down on his head.
Finally he stopped, lying in a heap of blood and smartphones. Relieved and exhausted, she collapsed on the floor; her head slouched forward with her back leaning against the counter.
Steven witnessed it all and felt relief that Jess was at least safe from the zombie that used to be her boss.
He moved to open the doors to Poundland. She needed assistance and he couldn’t just leave her there, not the woman he loved. Before he could place the key in the lock, Tin Tin snatched them from his hand.
“Bad idea Steven,” he said.
“Look at her, she’s hurt. We can help her. I’ll be in and out in no time, just give back the keys,” Steven replied.
“She’s more than hurt, she’s infected. There’s nothing we can do,” Tin Tin informed solemnly, placing his hand on Steven’s shoulder for comfort.
Steven looked across to Jess, longing to be with her. He desperately wanted Tin Tin to be wrong but he had seen her wound and he knew it to be true.
He watched as her body began to jolt and vomit leaked from her mouth. She quickly went into spasm, shaking feverishly for several seconds as if a thousand volts of electricity shot through her body. Then nothing, she was still, her body limp and lifeless on the floor.
He felt numb. Resting his head against the window, a tear rolled down his cheek as he looked upon the woman he loved.
“Come on mate, help me with the shelving units, there’s nothing you could have done,” said Tin Tin.
Steven lowered his head and took a deep breath. Tin Tin was right of course, there was nothing he could have done to help but that did nothing to ease the pain. He wiped the lonely tear from his cheek and lifted his head to offer one last look to Jess. What awaited his eyes sent a cold chill through his spine.
She was now stood upright and pressed up to the window of the mobile phone shop, slapping her left hand against the glass repeatedly. Her cold dead eyes had, for the first time in her life, noticed Steven and she was longing for him but not in a way he had ever imagined.
Steven pressed his right hand against the window and mouthed ‘goodbye’ to Jess before turning to help his friend secure the shop.
It was the start of what was going to be a very long day.
Journal Entry 3
I slowly opened my eyes. The blurred image of my daughter in front of me only helped to confuse my already weary mind. I had no idea where I was or what was happening.
“Dad, you’re awake!” said Emily eagerly.
“Thunderbirds,” I replied, the pain from my back restricting my ability to communicate properly.
“I think your dad’s lost it,” said the boy with the cricket bat.
“Gary Numan in a Thunderbird,” I continued.
“Definitely lost it,” he said again.
“Sorry Dad,” Emily said apologetically before slapping me hard across the face.
That did the trick!
I snapped out of my haziness and hurtled back into reality.
The room I was in was spacious and I had been placed on a couch surrounded by large chairs and a television set. The TV was turned on but nothing was broadcasting. There was another girl in the room. She was sat directly in front of the TV flicking through every channel. They all broadcasted the same message.
‘This channel is currently unavailable.’
“Oh my actual God, can you believe that the TV is like so totally lame? There is nothing on what-so-ever! Even the channel Dave has stopped running repeats of Top Gear. We are all like, totally doomed,” moaned the girl.
Everything she wore was black. Black shoes, black jeans, black hoody, black lipstick, black fingernails, black hair, black…. Well, you get the picture. And to compliment all of the blackness, she had a complexion that made zombies look like they have just come back from sunning themselves for two weeks in Magaluf.
The Death in a Northern Town Trilogy (Books 1-3): Welcome To Dead Town Page 7
