The Farm

by Carter, Stuart

  It only lasted a few seconds, then the larger group were in panic, pushing each other over in an attempt to flee. At least two people could be seen either falling or jumping over the edge of the rig to fall to their deaths on the water below. The ten attackers could be seen chewing on the flesh of those they had incapacitated. The few survivors could be seen creeping towards the door that their assailants had emerged from, and appeared to seal themselves inside.

  The film switched to a video that had clearly been shot on a mobile phone. A clearly exhausted and panicked face appeared on the screen. As the camera panned about at random the bright green coat he was wearing came into view, with a badge sewn on showing the title, ‘The Beast.’

  “If anyone finds this, please prepare yourself for the worst. I don’t know what we’ve encountered here, but we’re not going to stay ahead for much longer. They just don’t tire. We’ve been running for hours. From the start they looked unsteady, but they won’t stop chasing us…”

  He stopped to look nervously around himself, “We don’t have long here. Its hours since they got Elouise. I don’t know how long. Five of them attacked her. She was only a few meters from us but we couldn’t help her. They tore her apart. They were eating her alive. How the fuck could anyone do that to another human being? Me and Peter fled up the mountain, but they followed us. We’ve tried everything we can think of to shake them, but every time we’ve looked back they’ve been behind us. We can outrun them for a little while, but they just don’t stop. I don’t understand it, but Elouise is with them now. She has the same awkward walk as they do. Elouise scares me more than any of them. We’ve been friends for years. I would always have trusted her with my life, now I’m sure she’ll kill me if she catches me…

  “They’re closing in on us again now. We’re going to try one last sprint. We are at the top of Snowden, so we can head across Crib Goch from here. We need help. We’ve tried calling, but the networks aren’t working up here. They are close now, and I’m just so tired. Why aren’t they tired? Our only hope now is that they fall. They’re uncoordinated, and they might not be able to balance on the narrow ridge”

  The cameraman interrupted. “Come on, we don’t have any more time. They’re too close. We have to run.” With that the video ended.

  There was no commentary on the footage shown. They cut instead to Newcastle. If his attention had been lagging this would have caught it. It was St James’s park on the screen, but Ruth on his mind. He didn’t need to know anything about football to recognize the banks of black and white stripes. It didn’t appear that the game was a sell-out, but there as at least two thirds of the seats filled. The atmosphere was a little muted, but nothing that’d be obvious if there was no reason to look for it.

  It wasn’t noticeable at first, as the cameras focused on the player’s emerging onto the pitch, but soon the eye was drawn to the ripple of movement in the crowd, and the cameras turned to focus on this. The players were emerging from the tunnel and aligning themselves on the pitch. There were people arriving in the stadium, but it was clear that it was more than just a rush to get out in time for kick off. The camera zoomed in, and it was clear that the newcomers had no interest in the football. First the stewards who were positioned to guide people towards their seats were overwhelmed, in poor camera focus. Moments later, in sharper focus, the people in the front rows were being bitten by the new entrants to the stadium. Most of them were dressed similarly to the crowd around them, the black and white stripes being perfect camouflage.

  John heard himself saying, “My sister is in Newcastle.” He was staring blankly at the screen. He’d forgotten that there was anyone else in the room, but was reminded as the woman whose name he hadn’t thought to ask for moved next to him and put an arm around his shoulders. He couldn’t take his eyes off the screen to acknowledge the gesture. In front of him was a bloodbath.

  The people near the entrances saw what was going on and started to panic and tried to force their way back up the stand, through people who did not know what was going on below. Fights broke out, and no one was able to move as the horde of infected advanced, grabbing and tearing and biting anyone who came within reach. Those who turned to try and fight them off were overpowered as quickly as those who tried to flee. As the level of panic rose more and more people found themselves crushed and trampled, succumbing to fellow supporters instead of the monsters attacking them.

  The carnage in the stands was replicated on the pitch. The players and officials were out ready to start the match. When the chaos in the stands became clear they tried to get back to the tunnel, but it was too late. From all four stands the dead piled onto the pitch and charged them. For a couple of minutes the players had space to run and could try and stay clear of their attackers, but soon they were closed in, in a rapidly tightening circle. Through the advancing zombies they could see a couple of their team-mates who had been caught. Several of the dead were pulling out their entrails and feasting upon them. Pools of blood soaked the grass. One of them was clearly still alive and was crying out in pain, begging for help which no one could give.

  The surviving players tried to make a break for it, charging at the thinnest part of the surrounding circle. They were grabbed at, clawed and bitten, but several broke through. Those who could fled, leaving the less fortunate to their fate. They made it to the tunnel and exited the scene. A couple of the zombies followed them, but most were too distracted by the feast in front of them to pursuit a few fast moving survivors. In the stands some of the first victims were already adding their teeth to the assault.

  From there, the TV cut to a presenter. He was not a familiar face, was unshaven, looked barely twenty. His eyes were bloodshot, he had no tie and looked uncomfortable in front of the camera. He read off some notes on paper rather than an auto-cue. It was a sign of how quickly things had fallen apart. It was clear that the BBC didn’t have much of a staff available to them. The presenter was advising everyone to stay indoors, and to admit no one into their homes. The army was trying to regain control, and would assume that anyone moving outside was infected and they would shoot to kill. With that message delivered he seemed unsure what to say, and the TV cut clumsily to an army base.

  At that point John got up and offered his guest a cup of tea. He wanted to ask her name, but it seemed awkward after so long. She accepted his offer, and stayed in front of the TV as he went to the kitchen. He could hear that other people had started moving as he filled the kettle, so put on enough water for a large round. While the water heated he checked what food they had available for breakfast. There was a growing number of mouths to feed, and it was going to be a busy day. He would be whole heartedly assisting his father in building up their defences, repelling attacks, and putting every available pair of hands to work on the farming. There was no denying the scale of the crisis facing them now. He made another attempt to call his sister, but the network was dead.

  London

  They weren’t ready to run, following their previous sprint, but didn’t want to stand and have another fight with a group of lunatics, with the threat that their de facto leader would shoot them afterwards. They backed away, but the space between them and the new group quickly closed. Guns were pointed in the direction of the advancing group, which consisted of about a dozen people who did not look like natural companions. The threats that Jed made, telling them to back off were ignored. Everyone pulled out what weapons they had to hand, and tried to make their way to the back of the group.

  Suddenly there was a screech of tyres behind the group that was advancing on them, which slowed the advance by introducing some uncertainty about who to attack. A police van came into sight, and in seconds eight policemen were in the alley way, dressed in full riot gear. Before Jose could blink the police opened fire, and brought down all twelve of their attackers. It was the first time in his life that he had been glad to see the police. The fact that one of his friends had been hit in the barrage and was crying out in pain did little to
dent the feeling. He felt safe. His friend would be taken to hospital, and the rest of them would be taken somewhere safe. He hid his gun in a way that he hoped was subtle. He saw that Jed had done the same, but saw that the third gun was still being waved in the general direction of the police who had just executed a dozen people so expertly. He quietly told the guy to lower his gun, and was obeyed.

  “What the fuck are you shits doing out on the street? Don’t you know that there is a fucking curfew?”

  “If you didn’t look so shit scared we would have shot you as more of those.” The recently shot were indicated with a wave of a gun. The police did not seem friendly, and looked ready to open fire again on the slightest provocation.

  “What’s going on?” Jose asked. “Fucking lunatics keep attacking us.”

  “The end of the fucking world is going on. Get back to your homes and lock the doors. If we see you again we’ll assume you are infected and put a bullet into each of your brains.” They were already getting back into their van, and in seconds they were gone…

  “Fuck me!” was Jed’s means of breaking the silence. “You all heard them. We’re going home. We don’t want to be on the streets tonight.”

  Following Jed’s lead, the gang started it’s walk towards their home streets. Everyone’s guard was up given what they had already seen. They did not hurry, but were always ready to sprint if the need arose. At every turn they looked about themselves to make sure no threats approached them. Their backs were checked constantly. It was only a couple of minutes walking before they heard the sound of gunfire ahead of them. Everyone halted and looked to Jed for leadership. This time he offered none, so Jose inched forward and peered around the corner.

  The police van that they had seen a few minutes before was back in sight, but this time they seemed to have bitten off more than they could chew. They were in the middle of a cross road about thirty meters away. Down one street a group of corpses lay, probably their initial target. The noise of the fight had drawn attention to them. The infected had emerged from another street, and were closing in fast. They were not being shot down, as the police were being distracted by targets emerging from the surrounding buildings. They had stepped too far from the van and were cut off. Realizing the predicament, they tried to get back to the vehicle, but their attackers were too close to get clear shots. Blood splattered in all directions as they drove towards the van with a wild spray of gunshots. Nearly half of the police made it back, all soaked in blood of friends and foe alike. They did not stop to help their friends, who had already been bitten. The doors slammed shut, the engine revved and they accelerated rapidly through a crowd who were chewing contentedly on their still conscious victims.

  The scene only lasted a few seconds. Jose’s face, as he turned back towards his friends told them all that they needed to know. Everyone was silent, but he lifted a finger to his lips to indicate they should keep quiet anyway. The group parted and allowed him to walk through them, turning and following as he led them back the way they had come. Jose had no idea where he was taking them, other than away from what he had just seen. The streets around them were a maze of windy terraces, narrow alleyways and dead ends. He had grown up here and should have known every road around him, but, as he turned into a cul-de-sac Jed caught up with him and whispered, “Where to genius?”

  “I don’t know,” was all he could whisper back. None of the others were close enough to hear this exchange. Jed, with a couple of strides, took the lead, and made his way for a house about six doors along the street. “What are you doing,” Jose whispered to Jed’s back, “You don’t know what’s in there.”

  Everyone was following, but only Jose was close enough to hear, “No one lives here.” With his gun raised, Jed re-assumed leadership of the gang by entering the house. He moved slowly, either with genuine or feigned fear, but didn’t waiver in his resolve. He led them upstairs. There was not a sound in the house except their quiet footsteps. He clearly knew what he was looking for as he immediately found a chord that allowed him to lower a ladder to the loft space above. Slowly as it was done, it made enough noise to scare all of them, but they heard no repercussions. Jed turned back to the group, “Matt, give me your phone.” It was handed over without hesitation. Most of its functions were now useless, but as a torch it still had a purpose. Jed used it to lead them into the loft.

  He had obviously been up there before, but Jose had no idea why. The house below them was empty, and whoever brought it would have a major project on their hands. It was safe to assume that Jed had no interest in property renovation. If it wasn’t for the light of the phone it would have been pitch black up there. A couple more phones were added to the lighting system, and gradually their surroundings started to reveal themselves. The entire space was boarded, making it safe to walk around until you approached the steeply descending roof. Jed had signalled instructions to pull up the ladder, and was being obeyed. Soon they would be in a sealed unit. A safe refuge from whatever was going on out in the streets.

  Jed spoke slightly louder than he had previously, “Everyone keep quiet. We’re hiding out here until daylight. Whatever the fuck is going on outside, we don’t want to be a part of it… Can anyone do anything about that?” He pointed towards Fred, who was nursing the arm that had been shot by the police. A couple of people moved to look at it. “Tim, you’ve got one of the guns. You’re taking first watch. Make sure nothing gets through that trap door. Wake me in a couple of hours. Everyone else, get some sleep. We might need to be sharp in the morning.”

  The gang moved to obey. An ineffectual bandage was tied around Fred’s arm. Those not playing doctor found themselves a space to lie down, and soon the makeshift doctors followed suit. Only Tim remained by the trap door sat up, pointing his gun at the hatch. He was one of the only ones who managed to get any sleep that night.

  Morning announced itself with small rays of light making their way between the roof tiles, and with an incessant chatter of birds. Jose, unable to sleep like most, was first to move. Taking a knife from his pocket he tried to make a small hole in the roof so he could take a peek outside. He succeeded in dislodging a couple of tiles, which everyone heard crashing to the ground outside. Jose was too embarrassed to look at the faces glaring at his back, so he focused on the scene outside. It was just getting light, but there was probably a couple of dozen people milling about outside. Even with the dense population it was a lot to be seen so early. Without exception, the people were lurching towards the fallen tiles, seeking the source of the noise.

  Jose moved from his vantage point as Jed shoved him aside, and surveyed the same scene. “Fucking idiot. What were you thinking?” was muttered. There was nothing to say, so Jose kept quiet. “Every fucking one of them’s infected with that crazy virus. We’ve got to get away from here.”

  “It’s got to be safe up here. Shouldn’t we just wait for the Pigs to clear up the streets and walk home when they’re gone?” It was Tim speaking up.

  “If we are relying on your ability to stay awake we might as well go and feed ourselves to those fuckers outside right now… I don’t know about everyone else, but I’m hungry, and I’m thirsty, and last night I saw a bunch of coppers getting torn to shreds, and I don’t like their chances of taking control any time soon.” Everyone looked at Jed, except Tim who focused on his feet. Jed delivered answers, first gesturing to Jose, “Thanks to our little alarm clock here, we’re not going back the way we came any time soon.” Turning to Tim he said, “Pass the gun over to Matt.” He was obeyed. Turning to the gang at large he said, “Lucky for you lot, I know where I am, and I’ve nicked some stuff from around here.” He turned and walked towards one end of the loft space, and in the growing light it became clear that there was a hole in the wall big enough for a person to crawl through. To the now armed Matt, he said, “Lead the way.” There was no hesitation.

  While they waited for Matt to pronounce the area safe, Jed said, in an aside to Jose, “Most of the houses along here
are linked like this. Find a way into one of them and you can rob them all if you’re careful. People like us have probably been doing it for centuries without the idiots below cottoning on.”

  “I can’t see anything.” came from the other side of the wall.

  “Then turn your fucking phone on.” Jed returned. Moments later a faint glow could be seen through the hole in the wall.

  “Nothing but boxes and junk through here.”

  “Let’s go visit the neighbours then everyone.”

  Fred looked in a bad way, and blood was seeping through the poor attempt at a bandage, but otherwise they looked tired and grubby and no worse. He sat leaning against a wall as soon as he was through, while the rest followed Jed’s instructions and located the trapdoor, forming a perimeter around it. This time he instructed Jose to take the lead and to be the first man entering the house. He was controlling things masterfully. No one doubted who was in charge. Everyone was ready to obey. Jose may have questioned some of their decisions, but he was not ready to challenge the authority that had asserted itself. Rather than that, he found himself climbing down a ladder into the unknown.

  “We need food, beers and some aspirin to stop Fred whining if you can find it. If it’s safe to come down let us know,” was whispered down to him at a volume far louder than normal speech. His guard was immediately up, but there was no sound from the rooms around him. He nearly shot the person who landed quietly beside him.

  He relaxed and caught his breath as he realized that it was one of their usual crowd, who he was fairly sure went by the name Becky. She was pretty in an odd kind of way. If you looked at any of her features in isolation it was wrong, but as a package she was lovely to look at. Her blond hair was badly styled, she had an overly masculine jaw, an odd shaped nose, the eyes of the perpetually stoned. Her curves were slightly out of sync with the right places, but the way all these merged together worked for her. When he had seem her before he had admired her, but was unsure that anyone else had the same appreciation for her. Having never really spoken to her he assumed she was with the gang for a reason, which was not complimentary.