I looked at Amber. She was holding the Reverend’s pistol. She looked fierce. Her eyes were ready for action. I didn’t know how she was so tough. I didn’t think that I would be able to shoot the Tall Man.
‘Would you really shoot that baby?’ I said.
Amber sighed. She looked exhausted.
‘I have absolutely no idea what I would have done,’ she said. ‘Everything was so dark and so twisted that anything could have happened.’
Amber looked at her brother.
‘I couldn’t bear to see Abe suffer any more. I had heard him screaming in the night and that was when I knew I had to act.’
Amber stopped and looked straight in my eyes.
‘If I see that bastard again I will shoot him right in his stupid face and laugh as he dies on the floor.’
Amber meant what she said. I knew she did. Her voice was strong.
Ellis walked with Vinnie. She had her arms around his waist. Vinnie was limping badly. We had to find somewhere to hide. Ellis whispered as they walked. She was terrified. She had lost him once. She didn’t want him to be a viro now.
What if Vinnie was just scratched? Would that be enough to make him turn? How long would it take?
I looked at him.
Was he already turning?
Did it start inside?
Did you feel anything?
He might not have been bitten.
He could have cut his leg on the window.
I hoped so.
It was possible.
Anything was now possible in this silly world.
Anything.
Den
Baxter found the den. We were walking quietly. I was trying to listen everywhere. Baxter suddenly barked and ran off.
‘Baxter,’ I said. ‘Come back.’
But Baxter didn’t. He went ahead of us. I ran after him. He had to stay with us.
‘What are you doing, Jake?’ said Amber. ‘We haven’t got time to play. We need to get going before the plastic soldiers find us.’
‘Keep going,’ I said. ‘I’ll catch up.’
I chased after Baxter. The woods sloped down. I saw a small river. It gurgled. Baxter was ahead of me. He was sniffing some bushes. I thought he had caught a rabbit. He disappeared.
‘Baxter,’ I said. ‘Where are you, boy?’
I crept towards the bushes. I saw a bundle of broken branches. They were piled against two large logs. Baxter was behind the logs. He was snuffling. There was a small gap between the logs. I crawled through.
It was a kid’s den. The ground was covered in pine needles. A damp cardboard box was by the entrance. I looked inside. There were three soggy comics and a candle stub. There was also a box of matches and a ripped blanket. I looked around. It was the perfect place to rest.
‘Well done, Baxter,’ I said. I stroked his big ears. ‘Let’s go and get the others.’
Vinnie winced as he crawled between the logs. Once inside he leaned on one elbow. Everyone spread out. Baxter and I sat by the entrance.
‘We might safe here,’ I said. ‘You rest. I’ll keep watch.’
Amber and Ellis were kneeling by Vinnie’s leg. Amber lit the candle stub. She held it near to Vinnie’s leg. Ellis gasped.
‘It doesn’t look good,’ Vinnie said. ‘It doesn’t look good at all.’
‘I’ve seen worse,’ said Ellis. ‘Far worse.’
Vinnie ruffled his sister’s hair.
‘Nice try, Sis,’ he said with a smile.
Vinnie looked at all of us.
‘We need to have a chat,’ he said.
We listened.
‘Even though I can’t be sure, there’s a very good chance that I’ve been infected.’
‘Vinnie,’ said Ellis.
‘Sssh, Sis,’ Vinnie said. ‘We have to be realistic.’
‘If I have been infected then I will probably be turning soon and once I turn you won’t be able to reason with me. All I will be interested in is trying to eat as many of you as possible.’
Vinnie shuddered.
‘I know it sounds terrible but once I turn I will no longer be anything to anyone, especially you, Ellis. I will simply be one of those things. You need to be ready for that fact.’
‘You might not have been scratched,’ I said. ‘You could have cut your leg on the window.’
‘It’s possible,’ Vinnie said, ‘but the viros were in the corridor by the time I was climbing out. I could feel them right behind me.’
‘How will we know?’ I asked. ‘How will we know about your leg?’
‘We’ll have to wait,’ said Abe.
Abe wasn’t Abe any more. He sounded like he was very far away from all of us. I wondered where he was.
‘We’ll just have to wait here until Vinnie turns or doesn’t turn.’
‘What will we do if he does?’ Ellis said.
Abe looked at his sister.
‘Amber will shoot him, won’t you, Sis.’
Amber nodded.
Infected
Amber ripped her jacket. She made a bandage. She wrapped this round Vinnie’s leg.
‘It’s not much,’ she said, ‘but it should stop the wound from getting infected.’
‘Unless I’m already infected,’ said Vinnie. He was trying to joke.
‘Probably,’ Abe said.
Ellis looked hard at Abe.
‘I guess we’ll know soon enough,’ said Vinnie. ‘When, if, as it happens, please don’t hesitate. Do what you have to do.’
Amber nodded. Ellis began to sob.
‘But I’ve only just found you again, Vinnie.’
Ellis held Vinnie’s hand. She was so upset.
‘Don’t leave me.’
Everything was always so sad. I couldn’t stand it. My mind hurt. My heart was heavy. I felt bad. I wanted something else. I wished that happy was bigger than sad. I looked outside.
I held my breath.
Three men were at the other edge of the wood. They came from the Tall Man. They had rifles and torches. They were heading away from us.
‘Trouble,’ I said.
Amber blew out the candle. She crawled over beside me.
‘They must have lost us when we took your little detour.’
Amber stroked Baxter’s head.
‘I don’t think they know where we are and they probably won’t want to be out here once it gets dark. Let’s wait for night to fall.’
‘But what if Vinnie …’
‘We’ll worry about that later,’ said Amber. ‘Until then, keep an eye on them and let me know if they head this way.’
I lay on my belly. I watched the men try and find us. They were sitting on a log. They were smoking and laughing. What was so funny? I didn’t understand. I wanted it to get dark again quickly.
One of the men suddenly jumped up. He pointed his gun at the woods. The other two stood up. They copied him. A sweaty-looking viro wandered towards them. It had no clothes.
The first man fired his gun. It was so loud in the woods. Birds got scared. Baxter jumped. The first man missed. The viro kept moving. It couldn’t walk properly. The second man fired. He hit the viro in the top of the leg. The viro wobbled. It didn’t stop. It kept on coming. The third man laughed and took aim. His rifle made a loud crack. The viro was still alive. The woods were singing the bullet song now.
Amber and Ellis crawled over to me.
‘What’s going on?’ Ellis said.
‘They’re trying to shoot a viro. They keep missing.’
The first man fired again. He hit the viro in the stomach. I saw the blood. It fell to its knees. The second man shot the viro’s shoulder. The third man fired. He hit the viro’s head. Blood flew in the air. The viro fell down. The men cheered.
‘I’m glad they’re looking for us,’ said Amber. ‘I doubt they could find their way home from the corner shop let alone hunt us down.’
I wanted to laugh.
Amber stiffened.
‘They’re heading this way.’
The three men walked our way. They were chatting and happy. They weren’t looking. They stopped close to us. I saw their breath like clouds. They started to speak.
‘They’re long gone now.’
‘We must have lost them in the woods.’
‘They won’t last long out here, especially once night falls.’
‘Not with that idiot with them, they won’t.’
‘There’s bound to be more of those things around.’
‘The noise will attract them from miles around.’
‘Let’s get back to the others.’
The three men headed off. I listened to them keep talking. Then I couldn’t hear them anymore.
Bickering
We waited for a long time before we spoke again.
‘Idiots,’ said Abe. ‘They only had one job to do and they couldn’t even manage to do it. How hard can it be to find five useless kids and a mangy old dog?’
‘Speak for yourself,’ said Amber. ‘Useless hasn’t got us this far, has it?’
Abe didn’t reply.
Amber insisted.
‘Has it?’
‘Okay,’ said Abe.
Ellis was very upset.
‘What are you two bickering for? With everything going on right now couldn’t you two find a better time to have a domestic?’
Abe sat away from us. He looked really bothered. Amber nodded her head.
‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘You’re right. I’ll deal with Abe later. For now, we need to focus on Vinnie.’
Vinnie had been dozing. He was now awake.
‘I’m still here,’ he said. ‘Perhaps I’m not going to become one of those things.’
‘There’s still time,’ said Abe.
‘Abe!’ Amber said. ‘Not now! Not ever!’
‘I suppose he’s right,’ said Vinnie, ‘but with each passing minute it looks more and more like Jake was right and I was wrong.’
I thought Abe would say something mean. He didn’t.
‘I wasn’t sure,’ I said to Vinnie. ‘It was happening so fast. I couldn’t see anything behind you.’
‘I saw the door buckle as the viros managed to break it open. I watched as the first few viros came down the corridor and then I jumped for it.’
Vinnie looked at his leg.
‘I guess that I must have got my leg caught on a hinge or something. What felt like a bite was probably the hinge ripping my leg as I struggled to get through the window.’
‘I pulled too hard.’
‘You saved my life by pulling too hard,’ said Vinnie. ‘I wouldn’t have made it without you, Jake.’
Ellis squeezed my hand.
‘He’s right,’ she said.
I didn’t care about Abe. I squeezed back.
‘You would do the same.’
‘I would,’ said Ellis.
Her skin felt lovely. I wanted just the two of us to be here.
‘I hate to always be the practical one,’ said Amber. ‘We can’t stay here much longer. We need food and drink and somewhere warm. These winter nights are getting colder and colder.’
‘Amber’s right,’ said Vinnie. ‘There isn’t much for us in these woods.’
‘But what about the Tall Man and his soldiers?’ I said. ‘What are we going to do about them?’
‘Judging by what we saw earlier, I don’t think we’re going to struggle too much to outwit them,’ said Amber. ‘We’re no match for their firepower but if we are smart we can stay one step ahead of them.’
‘We can’t head straight for the army base because they’ll be expecting that,’ said Vinnie. ‘They’ll be watching every road that leads there.’
‘Instead,’ said Amber, ‘we need to head for about a day in a different direction and then swing round and approach the base from the other side.’
‘Agreed,’ said Vinnie. ‘However, I’m not going to get too far with my leg like this, so I suggest we head off in that direction and find somewhere to hide for a day or two. A couple more days won’t make any difference and anyway, we will never make the journey without supplies.’
He looked at all of us.
‘Besides, we’re tired and hungry and could all do with a rest.’
We left straightaway. We didn’t wait.
‘It’s risky,’ said Amber, ‘but we probably stand more chance if we run into a viro than if we run into a plastic soldier. In any case, they’ll be back in the woods tomorrow and we may not be so lucky next time.’
We crawled out of the den. We headed for the gurgling stream. The night was clear. It was very cold. I shivered.
The woods were scary. The trees big above us. They were like the fingers of some bad giant. Amber stepped into the stream. She climbed up the other side. We followed her.
A small trail went through the wood. We were all anxious. I thought we would be ambushed. We might be shot.
‘We need to press on,’ said Amber. ‘We’re still too near to where we saw the soldiers.’
‘Let’s keep heading in the same direction,’ Vinnie said. ‘There must be somewhere for us to shelter.’
I was getting tired. I wasn’t used to this. I was still the same kid from before all this.
That was long ago.
I wanted to be back there now.
I wanted everything to be how it was before all this.
I didn’t want it like this.
The world didn’t care.
School
The sign said, ‘St. Matthews Preparatory School.’
We had walked all night. We crossed boggy fields. There was a deserted lane. The trees leaned over us. It was like they were listening. Everyone didn’t speak. Vinnie could hardly walk. His leg was getting worse. We took turns helping him.
‘What do you think?’ Amber said, pointing at the sign.
‘It’s a bit obvious,’ said Vinnie. ‘Anyone looking for us would think to look here.’
Amber nodded.
‘They would but we don’t have much choice. You’re not going to get much further with that leg, are you?’
‘She’s right,’ said Ellis. ‘We all need to rest.’
‘That’s decided then,’ said Amber. ‘Let’s see what we can find.’
We sneaked through the main gate. We hid in some bushes. A big building was in front of us. It had a gravel drive. There was a big front door. A small building was next to it. Another in the distance. We watched and listened. There was no one here.
‘Those drives make a real noise,’ said Ellis. ‘If there was anyone there we would hear them a mile off.’
We waited to hear. No one walked on the drive.
We followed the bushes around the fence. There were tennis courts in the distance. They were at the side of the school. There was a concrete path next to them. We had to cross the gravel to reach the path.
‘We should cross one at a time,’ said Amber. ‘We need to be careful because our footsteps will be really loud.’
‘We could take our shoes off,’ I said.
‘That would slow us right down,’ said Abe. ‘Any other bright ideas, Einstein?’
I didn’t speak. I had nothing to say.
Vinnie went first. He was the slowest. Vinnie walked carefully. I heard his feet on the stones. It sounded really loud. No one chased him. When Vinnie got there, he waved. Ellis went next.
Ellis copied Vinnie. She was careful. It took her a real long time. She had smaller legs.
Abe followed Ellis. He wasn’t as careful as her. He joined the others.
‘You’re next,’ Amber said.
I tried to be like everyone else. It was hard to do. The stones were crunchy. Each step sounded loud. I took forever. The guys waved at me. They thought I should hurry up. I couldn’t. I was scared of viros hearing me. I kept stopping to listen. I was a long time.
‘What the hell was that?’ asked Abe. ‘Musical bloody statues?’
‘I was careful,’ I said. ‘I didn’t want any viros.’
‘That’
s enough,’ Ellis said. She sounded annoyed. Was it Abe or me?
Amber was last across.
‘Phew,’ she said. ‘That was harder than it looked.’
We followed the concrete path. After the tennis courts there were two football pitches. I saw a small cabin. The door was padlocked.
‘We’ll never get in there,’ said Vinnie. ‘We’d better keep moving.’
There were more fields after the cabin. Then we found a small wood. We hid there. It felt better in the shadows.
‘Wait here while I go and see what’s on the other side of these trees,’ said Amber.
Amber came back soon. She was happy. A big grin.
‘Come with me,’ she said.
The boathouse was dark. A window was open. Amber unlocked the door. She locked it after we went inside.
It was like a huge shed. The back was open. It led straight to a river. Six orange canoes were strapped to the walls. A rowboat bobbed on the water.
‘This is perfect, said Ellis. ‘We can rest here. When we’re ready we can use the boats to get going again.’
‘Agreed,’ said Amber. ‘A couple of us should go back to the school before it gets light and look for supplies. Anybody?’
‘Me,’ I said.
Maggots
Amber and I jogged. We went back to the side of the school. We looked for a window.
‘It looks like the power is off,’ said Amber. ‘That’s good because the last thing we want is to set off the alarm.’
‘Nightmare,’ I said.
‘Once we’re inside,’ said Amber, ‘we need to be clinical. The priorities are food, drink and a first aid kit. Let’s not get distracted by anything else.’
‘Agreed,’ I said.
‘We should also try not to leave any trace of our visit. If anyone is looking for us then they’re going to spot a broken window straightaway. We might want to come back here again so let’s be sensible.’
Amber carefully opened the kitchen window. It was loose. She pushed it up. We could climb through it. We dropped on the floor.
Viro (Book 2): Viro Page 7
