I didn’t answer. I couldn’t say. Vinnie spoke loud and true to me.
‘We have enough responsibility already, Jake. We can’t carry any more. We just can’t.’
I looked at Vinnie. He smiled. I did as well. I looked at the kids. They were just waiting for me. I nodded.
‘Come on,’ I said. ‘Let’s get out of here.’
Balaclava
We walked carefully. I tried to watch everywhere together. It was so hard. I was frightened but couldn’t say it to anyone. I needed the kids to believe I was strong enough to save them. I held the hook in my hand. I was ready to use it if needed.
We got back to the community centre. There were people standing outside with sticks and pitchforks and other weapons. They were behind a pile of big tables. There was a load of dead viros near them. Their heads were all smashed. We went up to them.
‘What do you want?’ said a man in a balaclava. ‘There’s nothing for you here.’
‘We need somewhere to hide,’ said Vinnie. ‘You must let us in.’
‘No way! You could be one of those things.’
Vinnie laughed and pointed at the dead viros.
‘If we are then I’m sure you won’t hesitate to smash my head in.’
Balaclava Man didn’t laugh.
‘Don’t push me, kid. I might just kill you anyway.’
‘It’s Jake,’ said a voice. ‘He’s alright. His friends are inside.’
It was Jill. She was wearing a big green jacket and a motorbike helmet. She had a big piece of wood with nails sticking out. Balaclava Man grunted and moved aside. Jill opened the door. She put her hand on my shoulder.
‘I don’t know how much longer we can hold this place,’ she said. ‘Those monsters are everywhere. We’re going to try and find some vehicles to get out of here. The trouble is, everyone else has had the same idea.’
I looked at the kids.
‘We have to get these kids to safety too. They’re our responsibility now.’
Jill rubbed my arm.
‘Stay strong, Jake. I hope we can all get through this.’
I looked at her. My voice was strong. The kids were watching. I felt older than I was.
‘We will get through this. It’s the only thing to do. There is nothing else now.’
Sleep
We found the others in the same corner. They all were pleased to see us. Ellis gave me a hug.
‘Great to see you, Jake.’
She looked at my clothes.
‘What happened to you?’
In all the action I had forgotten about being sick. My clothes were a mess. I felt silly. Ellis was kind. She pointed at a box nearby.
‘That’s lost property,’ she said. ‘Let’s see if we can find you something clean to put on.’
After I got changed we told everyone about McKenzie and the kids. I said about Baxter too.
‘Wow,’ said Florence. ‘That’s so sad.’
‘Yeah,’ said Amber. ‘I’m sorry, Jake.’
‘Thanks, Amber. Baxter saved our lives. He died a hero.’
‘He did,’ said Abe, looking at the kids. ‘It sounds like you’re a bit of hero too.’
The kids were all sleeping. Everything was too much for them. I liked Abe saying this about me.
‘You would have done the same, Abe. I know you would.’
Later on we had some food. It was only more soup and stale bread but I didn’t care. I was starving. We made all the kids eat something as well. Eric had soup all round his mouth. It was like a new smile. I liked this kid. He was funny.
‘Can I have some more, please,’ he said to Ellis.
Ellis shook her head.
‘I’m sorry, Eric, there isn’t any more.’
Eric smiled.
‘That’s alright, Ellis. Things will get better once my dad gets here.’
‘Your dad?’ said Ellis.
I shook my head. Ellis saw me. She helped Eric lay back down on the floor.
‘Why don’t you try and get some rest, Eric? We’re going to need all the strength we can find to get out of here.’
Eric shut his eyes. He held Ellis’s hand.
‘Will you sit with me for a while, Ellis. It helps me get to sleep.’
‘Of course I will, Eric. I’ll sit right here.’
Daddy
I heard a loud banging. It woke me up. Everyone was awake as well. Eric was standing by the emergency door. He had his hands on the bar that opened the door. I could see people outside. Their shadows were big and scary.
‘It’s Daddy,’ he said. ‘Daddy’s outside.’
‘Eric,’ said Vinnie. ‘Come away from the door.’
‘But Daddy wants to come in,’ said Eric. ‘He will save us all. He’s a fireman.’
‘Don’t open the door, Eric,’ said Ellis. ‘If your Dad wants to save us then let him speak to the people at the front door.’
‘But they’ve got sticks and stuff,’ said Eric. ‘They’ll hurt Daddy, they will.’
Eric banged on the glass.
‘Wait there, Daddy. I’ll let you in.’
Before anyone could stop him, Eric pushed the bar. The door opened. The viros came in. There was loads of them. A big fireman was in the front. Eric ran and hugged him.
‘Daddy,’ he said. ‘Thanks for saving us.’
The fireman didn’t speak. He leaned down and picked Eric up. Eric went to cuddle his dad. The viro bit Eric’s neck. I saw blood. Eric screamed.
‘What are you doing, Daddy? That really hurt.’
It was too late. We had to get away. Vinnie and Abe pushed the beds at the viros. It made them slow down. Ellis and Amber woke all the kids up. They started screaming.
‘Head for the front door,’ Abe said. ‘We’ll try and slow them down.’
‘No way,’ said Amber. ‘It’s too late for that. We all need to get out of here.’
People were running everywhere in the darkness. It was really confusing. Jill and three men ran towards the viros.
‘Get those kids out of here,’ she said to me. ‘Get them out now.’
The fireman stood in front of Jill. She swung her plank of wood. The fireman grunted when the wood hit his head. Jill hit him again. The fireman did not fall down. Jill looked at me.
‘I mean it, Jake. Get out of here now.’
The fireman grabbed Jill’s arm. She struggled to get free. The fireman went to bite her face. One of Jill’s friends hit the fireman with an axe. The fireman let go of Jill. Vinnie pulled my arm.
‘Come on, Jake. We’re leaving.’
I got to the door. I looked over my shoulder. Jill and her friends were still fighting the fireman. They were surrounded by the viros. I knew they would not live much longer.
Keith
There was an ambulance outside the centre. A soldier was talking to another man. They saw us coming out.
‘Is this everyone?’ said the soldier. ‘Where’s Jill?’
‘The viros broke into the centre,’ said Vinnie. ‘Jill was trying to stop them.’
The soldier looked worried.
‘I’d better go help her,’ he said.
The other man stopped the soldier.
‘Jill said to get the kids out of here and meet her at the church. We can’t wait any longer. This ambulance is a monster magnet as it is, and we need to get out of here before the roads are blocked forever.’
The soldier wasn’t sure.
‘Perhaps we should wait a bit longer? She could be on her way now.’
‘She could be,’ said the man, ‘but what if she isn’t? Then what do we do? We can’t risk everything waiting for Jill. She knew what she was doing. We have to get out of here straightaway.’
The man looked at us.
‘Everyone get in the back of the ambulance. We’re leaving now.’
We did what he said. We had no time to think about Eric. It was all too quick. The man got in the front. He shouted at the soldier.
‘Get us out of here, Ciaran.
We have to go.’
The soldier climbed in the driver’s seat. He started the engine. He looked in the rear-view mirror.
‘Hold tight,’ he said.
The ambulance started to move. But it stopped suddenly.
‘What’s he doing?’ said the soldier.
‘That’s Keith,’’ said the man. ‘He wants us to let him in.’
‘Please don’t!’ I said. ‘Keith has been kidnapping these kids and feeding them to McKenzie.’
‘McKenzie?’ said the man. ‘He’s been dead for ages.’
‘Exactly,’ I said. ‘McKenzie is a viro now. Keith and Kathy have been feeding him kids.’
‘But why?’ said the man.
‘They thought that McKenzie was still in charge of their family and they had to keep him happy,’ said Vinnie.
‘But that’s crazy,’ said the soldier.
‘They’re crazy.’ I said. ‘They’re all crazy.’
Keith stood by the driver’s window. He leaned inside. The kids saw him and started to scream.
‘I see you’ve rounded up all those missing kids,’ Keith said to the soldier. ‘McKenzie will be pleased.’
‘McKenzie’s dead,’ shouted Cecily. ‘Jake killed him with a hook.’
Keith looked angry.
‘McKenzie? Dead? That will never do.’
He looked at the soldier.
‘I demand that you hand over these kids straightaway.’
The soldier laughed in Keith’s face.
‘Not likely, mate. Not after what I’ve been hearing.’
Keith started shouting. He pointed at us.
‘One of those kids is my daughter.’
The soldier stopped.
‘Which one?’ he said.
Keith leaned in and pointed at Eleanor.
‘That one.’
Eleanor screamed. She was all terrified. Her eyes went really big. She pointed at Keith.
‘He’s not my daddy. He’s not. Tell him to stop saying that.’
Keith changed his voice. He sounded nice.
‘Come on, darling,’ he said to Eleanor. ‘Tell the man the truth and we can get out of here. Daddy will make sure you’re safe.’
Eleanor got hysterical. She screamed. Her breathing was really bad. She grabbed Cecily.
‘He’s not my dad. He’s not.’
Her face was just plain terror.
‘He wants to feed me to the monsters like he did all those other kids.’
Dr. Smith
The back door opened. It was Keith. He went to grab Eleanor.
‘Come on, sweetheart. Don’t make Daddy wait any longer.’
The soldier got out the front. He came around to where Keith was. The soldier looked at Vinnie.
‘What’s the story here? Is she his kid?’
Vinnie looked at Eleanor. She was shaking. Vinnie looked at me. He looked at Keith. He looked at the soldier.
‘No way,’ said Vinnie. ‘Eleanor stays with us.’
‘Okay,’ said the soldier. ‘That settles it.’
The soldier turned to Keith. He was going to say something. Keith hit him really hard in the head. The soldier fell over. Keith grabbed Eleanor. He pulled her out the ambulance. She screamed. Keith shook his fist in her face.
‘Stop your screaming right now,’ he said, ‘or I’ll give you something to really scream about.’
Eleanor stopped screaming. She begged me with her eyes. I got out the ambulance. I stood up to Keith.
‘Leave her alone,’ I said. ‘She stays with us.’
Keith laughed at me.
‘What are you going to do, little big man? Take your stupid face and go and bother someone else. This is a real man’s business.’
I didn’t go anywhere. I stood still. My eyes were strong on Keith. I felt someone standing next to me. It was the man from the ambulance. He was holding a rifle. He pointed it at Keith.
‘Let the child go now. She is nothing to do with you.’
Keith let go of Eleanor. He stepped back. He looked around.
‘Whatever you say, Dr. Smith. This whole place has gone to shit anyway. You’ll be lucky to get out of here alive.’
‘That’s just maybe, Keith, but rest assured, these kids are coming with me not staying with you.’
Keith laughed.
‘Whatever you say, Doc. You’re welcome to them.’
Keith pointed at me.
‘You’re especially welcome to this imbecile. You should have seen the look on his stupid face when I shot his mangy dog.’
Dr. Smith raised the rifle. His voice was hard. He stepped between me and Keith.
‘Get lost, Keith, before I lose my temper.’
Keith laughed as he walked away.
Dr. Smith helped the soldier stand up. He was groggy.
‘Are you alright?’ he said.
The soldier nodded. His voice was shaky.
‘I think so,’ he said. ‘That bastard caught me with a sucker punch.’
Dr. Smith wasn’t interested. He was in a hurry.
‘We’ve wasted enough time already. Are you fit to drive?’
The soldier said he was. I wasn’t sure. He looked unsteady.
Dr. Smith looked at me.
‘Let’s go, Jake. Let’s get out of here while we still can.’
Beverley
We started to move again. No one spoke. It was really scary. The soldier wasn’t a very good driver. He kept stalling the ambulance.
‘Take it easy, Ciaran,’ said Dr. Smith. ‘There’s an army convoy leaving via the broken gate. We should try and leave with it if we’re not too late.’
‘I’m doing my best,’ said Ciaran. ‘The trouble is, I’ve never driven an ambulance before.’
Dr. Smith was calm with the soldier.
‘Just keep going,’ he said. ‘You’ll do fine.’
Dr. Smith turned to all of us. He smiled.
‘I haven’t had a chance to introduce myself properly. I’m Dr. David Smith and I’m looking for my wife, Beverley. She was on the same trucks as your mum, Jake, but never made it to the camp.’
‘How do you know about her?’ I said. ‘Are you her friend?’
David shook his head.
‘Sorry, Jake, I don’t know her. It was Jill that told me that your mum was working at the same hospital as Beverley. I’m a Major in the Territorial Army and still carry just about enough clout to be given permission to use this ratty old ambulance to try and find her. Ciaran kindly agreed to come with me, didn’t you?’
Ciaran nodded. He was sad.
‘I lost my wife and three sons in the first wave of the virus. I was stationed here and couldn’t get to them in time.’
Ciaran stopped speaking. Those family thoughts were too big for him. Ciaran breathed heavy. Then he spoke again.
‘Jill asked us to take you all with us and the thought of helping other people makes me feel just a little bit better about all of this.’
Ciaran sighed.
‘In any case, the world is just one big tragedy now and my story is only the same as a hundred million other stories all over this sorry planet.’
I didn’t want Ciaran to speak. I wanted to hear what David was saying.
‘Where did the trucks go?’ I said. ‘The ones that didn’t get here.’
‘I understand that they were forced to divert to Watling Asylum,’ said David.
‘Where’s that?’
‘It’s an old hospital twelve miles inland from St. Burton’s-on-Sea. We have received sporadic communication from an army unit that has set up camp there. In the last message we received, we were told that two trucks of evacuees from the hospital had just arrived.’
‘See,’ said Ellis, ‘I told you, Jake. I told you she’d be alright.’
I got excited. It was true. Mum was alive. I looked at David. He shook his head.
‘That was three days ago,’ he said. ‘We haven’t heard anything from them since.’
David looked at me. He k
new my heart.
‘As we sit here now, I honestly don’t know what has happened at the asylum. They could all be fine. Or they might not be. They might have been lucky enough to join up with a bigger force somewhere else. It might just be that the batteries for their radios have died.’
David sighed. I know he was trying to help. I understood how he was speaking. He didn’t want my disappointment.’
‘I understand,’ I said. ‘I know what you are doing. I am not going to believe anything until I see Mum for myself. Everything is so random now. There is nothing for sure.’
David nodded.
‘The only way for us to know for sure is to get to the asylum and see for ourselves.’
Siren
Nobody spoke in the back. We were exhausted. Ellis held Vinnie’s hand. Amber and Abe sat next to each other. Florence was next to me. There was a pile of blankets on the floor. The kids were asleep there. I closed my eyes.
I woke up again. There was people banging on the side of the ambulance. It was very loud. I thought they might break the windows. Everyone woke up. The kids starting screaming again. David leaned back. He looked tired.
‘We’re caught up in a column of refugees,’ he said. ‘We left the camp a while ago and have managed to join the convoy. The problem is that the convoy is now stuck. We haven’t moved for a while.’
‘What are they doing?’ said Ciaran. He sounded worried.
David stopped talking. He looked at Ciaran.
‘What’s happening?’
‘It looks like the front part of the column is moving again. I can see the lights up ahead. The trouble is that the lorry in front of us has stopped.’
Ciaran’s voice was scared.
‘We’ll be stuck here if they don’t get going.’
Ciaran beeped the horn. The lorry didn’t move.
‘Come on,’ he said. ‘Hurry up and get moving.’
People were still banging on the side. It was awful. All the kids were shouting and screaming.
‘Should we get out?’ Vinnie said to David. ‘Perhaps we could speak to them.’
David shook his head. He got really serious.
‘Listen to me, all of you,’ he said. ‘No one, I repeat, no one gets out of this ambulance unless I tell them to.’
Viro (Book 3): Viro Page 7
