Six Days With the Dead

by Stephen Charlick

  ‘No, the pigs are from Patrick at the Substation. Just the chickens and supplies are from the O’Brien place,’ Imran said, pulling down more of the supplies from the cart.

  When he came across the small crocheted blanket Emma had made for her unborn child, he handed it to Liz.

  ‘You want to give this to Ruth? It’s better than that rag she has the poor thing wrapped in now,’ he said.

  Realizing the blanket would at least be put to good use, Liz nodded and decided to go in search of Ruth and her baby.

  ‘I’ll send some of the others out to help carry this lot to the kitchens,’ she said, referring to the large pile of acquired stores. ‘See you later. I’m going to have a wash before we eat, I feel more than a bit grimy and I want to get this dried blood out of my hair.’

  Giving Imran another quick kiss, she walked off, the blanket held tightly to her chest.

  Alice wanting to be close to Charlie still, helped him and Imran unpack the rest of the supplies stacking them in large piles by the cart.

  ‘Why does she have dried blood in her hair?’ Alice asked, as they continued with their task.

  ‘One of those bastard Donaldson brothers, attacked her. Tried to rape her in fact and ended up Dead for his troubles, serves him right if you ask me,’ Imran said, becoming angry at the thought of what could have happened.

  ‘God!’ Alice said, as scenes of her own attack suddenly sprang into her mind.

  Liz was one tough young lady but she would have to have a chat with her about it later, to make sure she was really ok.

  ‘Need a hand?’ Barry said, as he walked up to them with Adrian lagging behind him looking a bit sheepish.

  ‘Thanks,’ Charlie said. ‘I think if we just get all this down to the kitchen, Sister Rebecca can tell us what she wants where.’

  Charlie noticed Adrian had a nasty looking black eye and a split lip. From the way Alice looked at him he assumed something had gone on between them. Looking at Alice, she gave her head the slightest shake to signal they would talk about it later. It was clear that whatever had happened, she had dealt with it, and Adrian had certainly come off worse for the encounter.

  ‘Will you help me with the piglets Adrian?’ Sister Claire said, her eyes flicking between Adrian and Charlie. ‘Oh, and Imran you can just release the chickens, they’ll soon find their way to the hen coop on their own. I’ll send Lars out to see the Reverend’s poor beast while I’m there too.’

  Though she could manage the small crate on her own, she knew what had happened to cause Adrian’s black eye and thought it best to get him out of Charlie’s way until Alice had talked to him. Taking one end each Adrian and Sister Claire carried the crate over to the stable, which would be the piglets new home until they got a little bigger. They would have to build a proper sty eventually but the stable would do just fine for now.

  ‘Oh… and here’s something you might be interested in,’ Charlie said, handing Nadine the sack stuffed with the ambulance medical supplies. ‘I don’t think much of it will be life saving but who knows?’

  Opening the sack, Nadine’s face lit up as she pulled out one item after another.

  ‘Oh Charlie, you’ve no idea how useful this will be. The surgical kit alone is worth its weight in gold.’

  Like a child on Christmas morning, Nadine could hardly contain her excitement. Due to her skill in memory retention, it had fallen on her to take up the role of medic for the community but knowing, and doing, were two very different things. She was terrified each time someone came to her with a cut or feeling unwell, that she would make it worse rather than better. She would still check and double check every detail in the books they had, before she felt comfortable enough to act. So to have actual medical supplies could only make any situation better. Picking up the sack she scurried off to the infirmary to make an inventory of the precious new supplies.

  ‘So, any trouble while we were gone, Barry?’ Imran asked, handing him a large box of the O’Brien’s supplies from the cart.

  ‘No, it’s been the usual. Four or five of the Dead turned up each day, nothing we couldn’t handle. It got a bit tricky when a Dead man in a crash helmet turned up. Eventually Michael and Cam knocked him over and drove metal spikes through him, pinning him to the ground like a butterfly, so they could take it off to kill him,’ he replied, while he and Imran carried boxes into the convent. ‘So was it really bad out there?’

  ‘Isn’t it always,’ Imran said, pushing the door open with his backside, ‘We’ll tell you all about it later at the meeting, but needless to say, people have died out there for no reason… no reason at all.’

  After half a dozen trips the cart was finally empty, the new chickens had successfully found the coop on their own and Lars had taken the Reverend’s horse into the stable for a well needed feed. In the kitchen, Sister Rebecca was busily taking note of the new items, filling the shelves in the store room. She would write down each item as it came out of a box, adding it the inventory list, whilst Nicky and Sally arranged them on the shelves. Knowing exactly what you had and how much people could eat, was a key part in surviving in this new world. They were lucky at the Convent, that although food was obviously rationed, the portions were enough so that you wouldn’t notice.

  ‘I think I’ll make up the cake mix now, Charlie,’ Sister Rebecca said, as she put the two small boxes to one side. ‘Celebrate you all coming home safe, and I hear that Mrs Moore is a nurse, now that’s something to celebrate in itself if you ask me. She’ll be able to take some of the pressure off Nadine.’

  ‘That’s if they stay,’ Charlie said, pouring some boiling water into a large bowl.

  Liz wasn’t the only one who wanted a quick wash before dinner.

  ‘Why wouldn’t they want to stay,’ Nicky called from the store room. ‘It’s a damn site better here than out there?’

  ‘They’re a bit heavy with the hell and damnation, real God Squad types,’ Charlie replied, ‘no offence Sister, but I don’t know if they’re going to fit in.’

  Sister Rebecca waved off his comment, not at all offended. When the Dead had first arrived in the world, the Mother Superior had gathered all the Sisters in the Refectory to discuss what they should do. Together, as one, they agreed they would open their doors to all that needed their help. No matter who they were or what they believed, the Carmelite Sisters of Lanherne would not turn anyone away who came seeking sanctuary from the Dead. They had only asked three people to leave the convent in the past seven years and that was because they had either stolen from the stores, or had attacked another member of the community. In the early days one of the younger Sisters had been raped by a man they had welcomed into their home. The sisters had waited until the man had collapsed drunk one night and then carried him out beyond the walls to fend for himself among the Dead. When the man had woken the next day to find himself outside, he had begged to be let back in, but the Sisters turned a deaf ear to his cries and eventually he went away.

  ‘But they’ve got a baby, surely they wouldn’t risk it,’ Nicky said, thinking she would’ve walked through fire to save her son and would do so for Justin too.

  ‘I think it may be a case of pushing their beliefs on us a bit too hard, that’ll rub people up the wrong way. But hey, who knows, perhaps they’ll keep it to themselves,’ he replied, shrugging his wide shoulders.

  ‘Would one of you mind carrying this to the bathroom for me?’ he continued, gesturing to the bowl of hot water.

  There wasn’t much he couldn’t do with just his one hand but lifting the bowl up to fill the tank above the bath had proved a bit too tricky for him to manage.

  ‘Sure,’ Sally said climbing down from the ladder in the store room.

  The way she brushed that little bit too close to him, made Charlie think Sally may be hedging her bets. If she was ever in need of protection, her liaison with Damian wouldn’t prove to be worth much when it came to fighting for her life. Of course Charlie would risk his life to save any of those who
had found their way to Lanherne, so Sally really didn’t need to make this effort. But he suspected she had used her body as a bargaining chip for most of her life, and wouldn’t understand someone looking out for her just because she was a decent human being and not expect anything in return.

  ‘Come on then,’ she said, a voice a little too sultry, as she picked up the bowl and headed for the bathroom set aside for the men.

  Rolling his eyes at the ridiculousness of the situation he caught Nicky covering a grin with her hand.

  ‘Thanks,’ he mouthed to her silently before following Sally down the hallway.

  As he pushed open the door, Sally was slowly pouring the hot water in the tank on the wall.

  ‘Need me to scrub your back?’ she asked, raising an eyebrow as she looked Charlie up and down.

  ‘No thanks Sally,’ he replied, feeling slightly awkward.

  Sally continued to look him directly in the eye for an uncomfortable length of time, weighing up in her mind whether to push him a bit further. In the end she put the bowl on the floor and went to the door.

  ‘Suit yourself,’ she said, smiling as she slipped out of the bathroom.

  She never took it personally when someone refused the obvious ‘come-ons’, it just meant she would have to find some other way to ingratiate herself with him instead. She would have to get creative if she wanted Charlie to look out for her and in a way, she looked forward to the challenge.

  Once he was sure Sally wasn’t going to reappear, Charlie stripped off his clothes and wrist knife and stood in the bath. Catching sight of his naked body in the mirror, Charlie was pleased with the way his body looked. His muscular chest and taut six pack stomach hadn’t changed much since he had been discharged from the army, all those years ago. Thinking of his time in the army, he looked down at the smooth stump where his forearm ended just shy of his wrist. Occasionally he would get phantom twinges from the missing hand which he never ceased to find really bizarre. Despite his missing hand, he knew women still found him attractive.

  Well, perhaps in a ‘best friends attractive older brother,’ type of way he thought to himself.

  ‘Still, not bad for an old man,’ he said to his reflection.

  ‘Not bad at all,’ said Alice, as she slipped through the door holding a small pile of clean clothes for Charlie.

  ‘Christ Alice! You made me jump, I thought you were Sally again,’ he said.

  ‘Sally?’

  ‘Oh, you know what’s see’s like, it’s not me she’s after at all, just a better knight in shining armour than Damian would be,’ Charlie said, beckoning Alice to come to him. ‘She’ll move onto someone else now that she knows I’m not interested.’

  ‘I wouldn’t be so sure,’ Alice said, pulling her top over her head, revealing her firm breasts and flat stomach.

  Soon, she too was standing naked in the bath next to Charlie. Hooking Alice with his arm, Charlie pulled her closer to him, loving the feeling of her skin pressed against his body. With his hand he cupped her face, tilting it upwards so he could kiss her. Starting slowly at first, their kisses spoke of the tender love that had grown between them over time and then as their passion grew the kisses became deeper, telling of the physical need they shared for each other. Alice reached down with her hand to enjoy the obvious effect her body was having on Charlie. As she began to caress him, Charlie moaned softly with pleasure. Moving her so she could lean against the wall, Charlie kisses began to roam down her body. From Alice’s neck, breasts, nipples and then to her stomach, Charlie could not get enough of the beautiful body being given to him. Alice instinctively arched her back, pushing herself against Charlie’s mouth as his kisses continued their journey downwards. When she could stand his attention no longer, Alice pulled Charlie from his knees so they could take this to its urgent completion. Once they were both satisfied Alice rested her head on Charlie’s chest listening to the rapid beating of his heart, while she panted for breath.

  ‘I love you Sergeant Charles Philips, you know that don’t you,’ she whispered into his chest, her breath still a little shaky.

  ‘I had hoped so,’ he replied, smiling and gently kissed the top of head.

  He then reached up to turn the tank nozzle allowing the warm water to fall over their naked bodies.

  Once they had both washed each other, they stood in the bathroom in each other’s arms, tiny beads of water dripping from them like tears.

  ‘Come on, we’d better get dressed, people will be waiting to hear what happened out there,’ Charlie said, slowly releasing her to reach for his clothes.

  ****

  Once they were dressed Charlie and Alice made their way through the dark stone hallways to the Refectory. Entering the Refectory, already aglow with tallow candles, they could see that everybody was there except Phil and Mohammed, who were still on watch duty along the walkway. Nicky and Richard sat as usual with a struggling Justin wedged between them, while Barry talked quietly to Cam and Michael who sat opposite them. On another table Nadine, Bryon, Duncan and Lars were having a conversation about something in a book she was holding. Every so often Lars would turn to Penny next to him, a far off dreamy look on her face. Adrian was also sitting with them and it was obvious he was feeling a little left out of the conversation the others were having. As Charlie walked in Adrian dropped his eyes to the bowl in front of him and tried to appear small, willing Charlie to walk past without noticing him. Sally on the other hand brazenly looked him straight in the eye, daring him to look away while next to her Damian held her hand. The Sisters were quietly passing out the soup with chunks of bread soaking in it, and plates piled high with scrambled egg flavoured with chives. Looking up at Charlie as he entered, Sister Rebecca smiled, and with a wave he was ushered to the front of the hall. With a wink and a discreet pinch of Charlie’s bum, Alice went to join Liz, Imran and Anne sitting at one of the tables near the front.

  ‘I’ve met the Reverend,’ Sister Rebecca whispered as she followed him to the front. ‘I think you might be right about that one.’

  Her eyes flicked over to the side where the Reverend and his wife sat by themselves, watching the rest of the group intently. Charlie watched as Justin briefly escaped Nicky and Richard and went up to the new arrivals to say hello. The Reverend leant forward, smiling broadly as he cupped Justin’s chin with his hand and said something in a low voice. Justin made a reply, but again Charlie could not hear what was said. Whatever it was, the smile slowly drifted from the Reverend’s face as he let go of the boys chin and returned to watching the group. Looking like he was feeling a little awkward, Justin stood in front of the two adults who were now ignoring him, before he turned and went to sit next to Nicky. Charlie made a mental note to ask Justin after the meeting what had been said.

  Charlie was just about to call everyone to attention when Sister Margaret and Sister Catherine entered the room with their other visitor, William, trailing behind them. William was clearly a broken man. Charlie could see that it took all his effort to put one foot in front of the other without falling to the floor in a torrent of tears. What Charlie was about to tell the group would not be pretty but they all needed to hear it, if they were to prepare for what might be coming.

  ‘Can I have everyone’s attention please,’ Charlie said in a loud voice, a leftover from his army days. Conversations died immediately and everyone, except Penny who as always was in her own world, turned to face Charlie.

  ‘Right, as you all know Liz, Imran and myself left here primarily to fetch Emma O’Brien so Nadine could help her with the birth of her baby, but when Mr Parker arrived telling us about a raider attack, we went on a circular route to warn the other Out-posters,’ Charlie said, as he pointed to the map someone had pinned to a board, showing the route they had taken. He then went on to tell them about the tragic mutilated bodies they had found at the Penhaligan’s and then the O’Brien’s homes. He also told them of other details they had seen or come across while they were travelling among the Dead, such
as the pack of killer dogs, the boat they had seen off shore and what had happened when they had tried to warn the Donaldson family. The more information he could give them the better prepared they could all be in the future. When he had finished a stunned silence had descended upon the room, as each of the survivors processed the information they had been given. After a few minutes hushed conversations began again as they discussed what they should do.

  ‘So Reverend, you probably had a very lucky escape,’ Barry said, turning to look at the newest arrivals to the Convent.

  ‘The Lord preserveth all that love him, but the wicked will he destroy, Psalms one-four-five,’ the Reverend said in a flat tone, ‘I had no need to fear this group of men, my soul has been judged and truly the Lord was pleased.’

  ‘Oh,’ Barry said quietly, not knowing what to make of the Reverend.

  ‘But of course we had to flee for the sake of the child,’ Ruth said laying her hand over her husband’s.

  The Reverend Nathan Moore slowly looked down at his wife’s hand, her tiny delicate fingers entwined with his.

  ‘I am certainly blessed amongst men,’ he replied. Lifting her hand to his lips, the Reverend gently kissed Ruth’s palm ‘this woman walked through the wilderness with God by her side and brought forth into the world this child. May God’s will be done.’

  ‘Yes, a baby is always a blessing,’ said Sister Josephine, trying to steer conversation away from the Reverend.

  When she had taken him and his wife to their room, he had expressed some not very pleasant views concerning Imran and his obvious non-Christian religion. She had told him point blank, that if they wanted to stay they would have to get along with everybody, no matter what their creed. She hoped they had taken it to heart, for the sake of their child she did not want to have to ask them leave.

  ‘So Charlie, are we in any danger from these Raiders?’ Sister Josephine continued.

  ‘Well, we’re off the beaten track, which is in our favour and with the high walls, we should be ok… but I want everyone to be on guard just in case,’ Charlie said, sitting down to eat his meal. ‘Sister Claire, how did the harvest fair during the storm?’