Before Safe Haven (Book 4): Jules

by Artinian, Christopher

  “Just the two of you?” Jules asked.

  “Yeah,” Rog said, leading the group around the racking to see a figure lying on the floor with a half-bottle of whisky and a packet of painkillers by his side. His legs had been strapped to two makeshift splints, and his face was badly bruised.

  “Hi,” Scotty said.

  “Shite, you look like you’ve been through a mangle,” Jules said.

  “Funny, that’s exactly how I feel too.”

  “So, you’re the only two who stayed?” Jules said.

  “Didn’t really have a choice. Scotty couldn’t go anywhere, and I wasn’t going to leave my best mate.”

  Jules gave Rog a long, respectful look, but it was George who spoke next. “There’s something I don’t understand. The gates were chained and padlocked when we arrived here. It seems strange that your friends—”

  “No fucking friends of mine,” interrupted Rog.

  “Your colleagues, then, would take the time to stop and padlock the gates shut.”

  “That was me. First and last time I went out there.”

  “How did you get out?” Jules asked.

  Rog nodded towards the windows. “Climbed the racking and lowered myself down. There’s a recycling bin just on the other side.”

  “Why? If you don’t mind me asking,” George asked.

  “I figured we didn’t want to be facing any more of those things. What if a horde of them came through the gate?”

  “Err—” George began with a slightly confused look on his face.

  “I realised pretty quickly that those things were already spread out all over the grounds, but we didn’t want to be entertaining any more. The day we shut ourselves in here, I saw some in the building; until I heard your commotion today, I didn’t head back in there either,” he said, nodding towards the door.

  “How many do you think there are in total?” Jules asked.

  “Twenty-five or so.”

  “Twenty-five?” Jules asked, shocked.

  “At a guess.”

  “And what’s your plan?”

  “Haven’t really got one. I mean this is as good a place as any to live out the last days on Earth, isn’t it?”

  “These are hardly the last days on Earth,” Jules replied.

  “You could have fooled me.”

  “We were so close as well,” said Scotty. “We had a half-loaded truck out there. Food, weapons, supplies. We just needed to load up the rest of it, and then we’d have been on our way. Just a few more hours.”

  “A truck?” Jules said.

  “Yeah,” replied Scotty, picking up the whisky and taking a drink.

  “Look,” she said, turning towards Rog, “we came here looking for clothes and supplies. By the sound of it, that truck more than takes care of the supplies part. Help us, and we can all get out of here together.”

  Rog looked down at Scotty, who was wiping his mouth and placing the top back on the bottle. “Can I speak to you?” he said to Jules in a hushed tone.

  The pair of them walked off to one side, while the others began to look around at the array of food on the shelves.

  “What is it?” Jules asked when they were out of hearing distance.

  “The truck’s no good.”

  “What do you mean the truck’s no good?”

  “It won’t work, it’s trashed.”

  “I don’t understand. Who would trash it?”

  Rog let out a long sigh and bowed his head. He looked back in the direction of the others then towards Jules. “Me.”

  “I really don’t have a clue what you’re talking about. Why would you trash your only means of—” Jules broke off and glanced towards Scotty, who had half a smile on his face as the effects of the whisky began to kick in. “You didn’t chain the gate to stop any of those things getting in. You chained it to prevent yourself from leaving. And you trashed the truck because it was too much of a temptation.”

  Rog looked ashamed. “I’d given Scotty plenty of painkillers, anti-inflammatories and he’d had about a quarter of a bottle of single malt too. He was out for the count. I got into that truck, and I started driving. I reached the gate and…”

  “Most people would have carried on.”

  “I was so close. Anyway, I grabbed the chains and padlock from the gatehouse, chained it all up and literally threw away the key. I drove back here, had a few of those things following me by that time too. I knew if I left the truck in working order, it would be too much of a temptation for me; when things got desperate, I’d try driving through the gate. So, I shredded the tyres and ripped out the wiring. There’s no way that rig is going anywhere.”

  “You’re a decent man, Rog.”

  “No, no, I’m not. A decent man would never have even thought about leaving a friend in the first place.”

  “We all have weak moments.”

  “Don’t make excuses for me.”

  Jules looked at him long and hard. “It doesn’t have to end like this for either of you. We’re getting out of here, and you can come with us. There are two box vans waiting at the front of this building. If we can get past those six things out there waiting for us, then we stand a chance.”

  “There’s no way Scotty can make it, and I’m not leaving without him.”

  Jules thought for a moment. “What about if we rigged him some kind of stretcher?”

  Suddenly, the impossible seemed a little more possible. “We've holed up at the Home and Garden Depot in Inverness. There are a good number of us. We’ve got our problems, but it’s better than this. It’s better than just waiting to die.”

  Rog thought for a moment. “Okay. Okay, we’ll do it.”

  Jules smiled and placed a reassuring hand on his arm. She walked over to the others. “Rog and Scotty are going to be coming back home with us.”

  “What about those things out there?” Jon asked.

  “We’re going to figure that out,” Jules replied.

  “Jules, it seems stupid leaving all this behind,” Olly said, gesturing around at all the food.

  “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, darlin’, but we’re not in the strongest of positions at the moment. There are six of those things in the building and God knows how many more out there. The sooner we get out of here, the sooner we’ll be safe.”

  “I understand what you're saying, but listen to me a minute. If we leave all this, we’ll only have to find food from somewhere else and who’s to say that won’t be more dangerous? Every time we come out, it’s a risk, we know that. Right now, though, we’re in a place that can solve our food problems, our clothing problems and our weapons problems. I say we clear this place then help ourselves.”

  Jules looked towards Ben then at George. “What do you say?”

  George rubbed his fingers over his whiskered face. “I think Olly makes a good point.”

  “Twenty-five you say?” Jules asked, looking towards Rog.

  “There or thereabouts.”

  She looked around at the rest of the faces who were all staring back at her. “Let’s do this.”

  CHAPTER 4

  The plan took form quickly. There wasn’t a soul who did not want to be back at the Home and Garden Depot before nightfall. The six creatures continued to batter against the double doors, and as the group headed back out with their pitchforks and various makeshift weapons, they saw that the sturdy piece of wood that had been slid through the door handles had nearly been rattled free.

  Olly and Rog positioned themselves at either side of the group with their weapons raised; they had no intention of firing unless it was an absolute last resort. They were the only two who had been trained to use the rifles, and although Scotty’s SA80 was leaning against the wall in the pantry, it was more of a liability than an asset in the hands of someone who did not know how to use it.

  Rob shone the torch towards the doors, and the group just stood there looking for a moment. Jules gulped and walked up to the doors. Her hand shook as she jiggled the thic
k wooden pick-axe handle back to the centre to ensure the doors did not burst open and allow the beasts through while they carried out the first part of their plan. She looked back to the rest of the group. They were all just silhouettes in the perimeter of the torchlight, but these silhouettes were the only real hope the other occupants of the Home and Garden Depot had.

  Jules turned back to the doors. She raised her hatchet and smashed it against the narrow glass panel on the right, immediately shattering the pane and filling the hallway with the hellish growling chorus. Almost immediately, one of the creatures extended its arm, its fingers grabbing, desperate to touch the sweet-smelling pink flesh of the young woman in front of it.

  Jules instinctively jumped back as the hand extended into the darkness towards her. Even in the shadowy light cast by the torch, she could see the unnatural greyness of the creature’s skin and a shiver ran down her spine. Its fingers continued to snap at the air like a shark’s jaws frantically trying to wrap themselves around their prey. Then Jules saw a shadow from behind her looming closer. Ben appeared at her side before raising his pitchfork and thrusting it through the head of the beast. The full beam of the torch shone towards the creature as he withdrew the fork once more.

  If it had been a human he had stabbed, fountains of blood would have issued forth from the wounds, but these things were different. The blood was almost congealed, and the prongs came out with a sickening slurping sound. The creature fell back only to be replaced by another, anxious to take its turn at claiming a prize.

  This time Jules darted forward, parrying the reaching arm and making her hatchet blade whistle as it sliced through the air towards its target. There was a crack, which reverberated through the entire hallway as the small axe shattered the skull of its victim. Jules tugged hard, pulling the weapon back out just as quickly before skipping backwards once more as a third monster appeared in the narrow aperture.

  Andy ran forward, desperate to prove his worth. He grabbed hold of the monster’s stretching arm, removing the threat of it clutching him as he dealt with it. He brought the clawhammer down hard on its head. The first blow only stunned it, but then he brought it down again, harder. Another stomach-turning crack echoed up and down the corridor as the face and neck of the hammer disappeared into the creature’s head. He whipped it back out and a small piece of brain and bone fragment danced in the torch beam for a moment before finally falling to the ground. The beast slumped a little, its thick shoulder wedged in the narrow gap. Andy tentatively pushed at it to clear the way, but the dead creature did not move.

  Just then, another grasping hand shot through the opening clutching Andy by the upper arm. He let out a scream, immediately drowning out the growls and the banging of the rest of the beasts. Olly took aim, ready to fire, but Jules and Ben both shot to Andy’s aid.

  Ben grabbed him, pulling him backwards while Jules hacked the creature’s arm, unable to reach its head because of the other beast, which was still blocking much of the opening. The small axe blade burrowed into the elbow joint, once, twice, third time was the charm, as Andy and Ben both fell backwards. The beast’s arm now hung from the elbow down like a dangling piece of soaked cloth; completely useless, nothing more than a gory ornament. It withdrew its flopping limb and turned to use its other arm.

  It was George who came forward now with his heavy shovel. He got down low and thrust it into the gap, knocking the wedged creature out of place and the reaching beast off balance.

  Ben and Andy climbed back to their feet, and the four of them made short work of the remaining attackers. The creatures fell, and enough natural light seeped through for Rob to be able to turn the torch off. Jules, Ben, Andy and George spent a few seconds trying to catch their breath before removing the pick-axe handle, pulling open the doors and continuing down the corridor.

  Jules placed a gentle hand on Andy’s back as they walked. “That was a really brave thing you did.”

  “You’re my sister. I’ll never let you face a fight alone.”

  Jules’s face warmed. “I love you, y’know?”

  “Yeah, well ... same here.”

  “Don’t get me wrong. Most of the time, you do nothing but get on my tits,” she said, smiling, “but I love you, Rob and Jon like you wouldn’t believe. You’re my family and nothing’s more important than that.”

  They emerged into the foyer and, Andy looked across at her. “I know.” They both smiled and then the tenderness was over. Jules was back to being the group leader.

  She looked towards Ben. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

  “Want to?” he said, smiling. “This isn’t even in the top ten thousand things I want to do, but it’s the best plan.”

  Rog walked up behind them. “Remember what I said, carry straight on, turn right and then you’ve got six big dormitories that you can just weave around. Keep leaving gaps in between hitting the horn and listen out for our signal. When we’re loaded, you come back here; then I’ll take over. We’ll get your van loaded up too and then we can get the hell out of here.”

  Ben nodded. “I’ve got my bodyguard anyway,” he said, nodding towards Olly.

  “Don’t worry, Jules, I’ll keep him in one piece for you. Of course, we all know what piece that is,” Olly said with a cheeky grin and the others laughed.

  “Well, you just make sure you do,” she said, smiling. “Both of you be careful, and we’ll see you soon.”

  The two men walked up to the first box van. Ben climbed into the driver’s seat, Olly got into the passenger side, and the engine started. They manoeuvred in a slow circle, and the loud horn began to sound. The rest of the group stayed well back from the doors, ready to make an escape down the hall if something went wrong, and rather than following the box van, the creatures sped towards the entrance of the building.

  Slowly the beasts emerged, one by one then two by two until eventually there were over twenty charging towards the van. The tension in the entrance hall was palpable, and the speed and ferocity of the undead horde made more than one or two of them gasp. Jules felt a gentle hand wrap around her wrist. “Don’t worry, sunshine, they’ll be fine,” George said.

  She looked across towards him and placed her other hand over his. They all continued to watch until the van, and the beasts were out of sight; then George and Rog headed out to the second van. “Right, you lot,” Jules said, “we need to get this done as quickly as possible. Food and water first, clothes and the rest of the supplies after.”

  They marched back down the corridor as the sound of the horn became fainter. Rob took the lead, guiding them with the torch. They reached the pantry and Scotty called out, clearly a little squiffy due to the combination of painkillers and alcohol. “That you, Roger Dodger?”

  “It’s Jules.” She walked around the racking and stood over him. “Are there any trolleys or carts that we can use to transport this stuff?” she asked, gesturing towards the shelving units.

  “Absotively posolutely,” he said, letting out a small chuckle. “Next door, in the mess and the kitchen, you’ll find all sorts. That fire door will be the best one to use to get all the gear out too. Now don’t you forget about me, will you?” he said, pointing his finger but failing to keep it still.

  “Don’t worry, darlin’, we’re not going anywhere without you.”

  “I like you, Jules, you’ve got a kind face.”

  “That’s sweet of you to say. I like you too and don’t you worry, we’re going to have you back at the Depot in no time, and we’ll see if we can make things a little more comfortable for you.”

  “How? Have you got more scotch there?”

  Jules smiled. “Not what I was thinking, but we’ll see what we can do.” She turned around to look at the others. “Okay, you heard the man, the trolleys are next door, let’s get moving.” She started to walk out then stopped. “Wouldn’t it have made sense to have a door running through from here to the kitchen?”

  Scotty took another sip of whisky. “Things got out of
hand here. This place used to be a training room, but when we started getting recruits from all over the country, we soon realised we needed a bigger pantry. A door was on the list of things to do, but time caught up with us.” Now Scotty seemed a little less tipsy and more introspective. “I suppose time caught up with everybody.”

  Jules turned to see that the others had all left the room in search of the trolleys. “Yeah, I suppose it did.” She started to head out too.

  “It would have been my Louise’s eighteenth this month,” he said, quietly.

  Jules stopped. “Is she…?”

  “Dead? The wife and I parted company a long time ago. She took the kids, not really practical for me to, doing what I do.” He looked up towards Jules. “I was going to take leave. The ex and me used to get on well enough. We went in halves for a big surprise birthday bash for her.”

  “Do you know for a fact they didn’t make it?”

  Scotty unscrewed the top of the bottle again and took another drink. “They lived in Portsmouth.”

  His words hung in the air like the smell of rotting meat. Portsmouth was the first city to be quarantined in the UK and Ireland. The world had gone to hell and for months Great Britain had staved off infection. Jules remembered back to the day … the second when she had heard the broadcast on the news. She bent down and took the bottle from Scotty’s hand. “To your daughter and your family. May their souls be at peace. Sláinte,” Jules said before taking a drink. She handed the bottle back to Scotty.