by Monroe, Kady
After lunch Jenny searched the second cottage of the day. It hadn’t been touched by trouble and once inside, she saw that it was a holiday rental as it was devoid of personal possessions. Plus tourist brochures for local attractions sat on an end table near the front door. With nothing else to do, the boys were busy examining them. Jenny told them it was time to go and to bring the leaflets if they wanted to read them. Amar grabbed most of the pile and shouted at Hayden,
“Race you!”
The small boy shot past Jenny heading for the back door. Jenny’s inner alarm went off when he threw the door wide and rushed outside. She was already after him when she heard him scream. Her heart nearly stopped as she flew through the doorway and saw Amar in the grip of a gruesome male zombie. The leaflets lay on the ground and were being stomped on as Amar tugged and fought to free himself from the corpse’s grip. The thing leaned down trying to snap at the child’s body. Jenny rushed forward and hit the male on the back of its skull with the bolt cutters. The creature didn’t let go and Jenny became aware of Hayden grabbing one of its arms to pull it off Amar, who continued screaming.
Jenny pushed Hayden away as the zombie turned its head towards her and sunk its mouth into her shoulder. She yelled out in fright even though she didn’t feel any pain. Dread filled her as she spun around and hit out once again at the corpse’s head. This time, it released its grip on Amar, who fell to the ground sobbing. Jenny stood eye to eye with the monster as Hayden pulled the younger boy away. She noticed the zombie didn’t have a lower jaw, its tongue flapped in its mouth and hung much lower than normal. Its upper teeth were broken and jagged. Jenny felt sick as the thing swayed on its feet before she swung with all her might and hit it for the third time. It finally fell. She staggered backwards for a few steps before rushing to the boys,
“Are you Ok, Amar, are you bitten?”
She grabbed the sobbing boy and checked him before he answered. There were no marks on him apart from some bruising to his left arm.
“Don’t ever do that again,” she said, shaking him a little, then sighed and hugged him.
She let go and turned to Hayden and asked,
“Are you Ok?”
He nodded, so she continued,
“Take him inside and lock the doors.”
The older boy frowned and asked,
“Aren’t you coming too?”
She didn’t feel any pain in her shoulder or feel any different, but she still needed to check, so she said calmly,
“I have to see if I’m bitten and there’s a mirror in the hall of the house. I’m going to look.”
“I could look for you,” Hayden replied.
“Thanks,” she said and continued, “but I need to see for myself.”
“Oh. Ok,” he replied with a frown.
“Go,” she told him, “I’ll wait here until you’re both locked in.”
Hayden nodded and led Amar into the motor home. She heard the locks engage, then turned and walked back towards the house on shaky legs.
She took off the trawler coat and the layered jackets underneath. Only her sweatshirt hid the view of her shoulder. She drew in a long breath of air and expelled it slowly, then raised her trembling hands to pull back the fabric where she’d felt the pressure of teeth. It took a few moments before she found the courage to look. Her body relaxed when she saw she had only the smallest of bruises. The zombie’s missing lower jaw meant it hadn’t been able to put enough pressure into the bite, and the layers of jackets had protected her too. With her legs still trembling, she returned to the camper.
They continued with the search. The next property was also a holiday home with nothing to offer the group, and this time, Jenny made the boys stay in the van. Neither complained.
She hit the jackpot when she surveyed a small modern bungalow which once was someone’s home. Unfortunately, it didn’t belong to Clive. However, the garage could accommodate the length of the van, and it contained three bottles of antifreeze. Jenny got to the task of finding out what to do with the liquid and followed the label’s instructions. She felt better at having taken care of the motor home and hoped she’d fixed the slow start problem.
An hour of daylight remained but Jenny felt drained and gave up house searches for the day. She drove the camper into the garage and saw a connecting door which led into the house. The place was devoid of threats, and also water and power. She returned to the garage and determined they would spend another night in the van.
The next morning, Hayden developed sniffles and by evening Amar joined him. Jenny scoured their supplies and plied both kids with hot lemon drinks and cold medications. However, in the following twenty-four hours, both developed a light chesty cough. They were still up and about and were in good spirits, but Jenny worried, and thought she would prefer to get something better to treat them with, before it got any worse. And if she came down with the bug too, she’d want to recover as fast as possible. Having found no cough medicine, Jenny decided a trip into Kirkland was necessary. She remembered seeing a small pharmacy there and she would rather make sure the boys got what they needed than continue her search for her elusive former travellers.
She admitted to herself she was giving up hope of finding Matt and the others. Maybe they didn’t make it, or chose somewhere else to go. Perhaps it was time to stop dragging the boys all over the countryside in freezing temperatures. Her time might be better spent finding a safe house instead. When she thought about it, the place they were at could work. It wasn’t too big to heat via the open fireplace in the living room, and the property was secluded amidst fir trees on a gravel track, two hundred yards back from the road. Plus the van would have protection from the elements in the garage. The house seemed ideal for the purpose, so she decided they would give it a trial run after they returned from the village.
Although the day was cold and overcast, it was dry. The drawback to that, was the frost didn’t melt and standing water on the roads remained frozen over. Jenny took her time on the drive into Kirkland. The last thing she wanted was some dozy zombie walking in front of the vehicle and startling her into a skid. In the back, the boys were watching the Cumbria DVD for the umpteenth time. Hayden talked along with the narrator and used funny voices to make Amar laugh.
Jenny hoped the bolt cutters would do a good job of slicing through the chemist’s shutter padlock. She also knew they were in need of more water, so she prayed she would get lucky in just one shop and not have to break into anywhere else. But it depended on how many dead were around as to how long she might get for her latest spot of looting.
The village looked exactly the same as when she’d last seen it. The corpses were milling around, getting in her way. It would have been nice if the colder weather slowed them down further, but it didn’t.
She slowly drove up main street, doing a thorough check of where everything was located, including obstacles and possible escape routes for a person on foot. To make sure she memorised the lay of the land, she did a second sweep. Content, she headed for the residential road two streets back from the one she was interested in. Zombies followed in her wake as more wandered towards the van. If they got too close Jenny simply aimed the van to bump them out of the way.
The terraced street she entered contained no obstructions. A few cars sat parked along the edge of the pavement but none protruded outwards. She would have no trouble guiding the van to the end of the road. The little horde of corpses in pursuit hadn’t caught up with her yet. However, four ragged and bloodied bodies moaned from behind the parked cars. She wasn’t sure if she would have to deal with them or not. She preferred the latter.
The boys knew the score. They were to stay in the van while she carried out a bit of vandalism which would hopefully go without a hitch. Checking the rearview mirror once more and seeing the road behind her clear, she leapt out of the van and ran to the nearest car. Jenny raised the bolt cutters and brought them down hard on the car bonnet. They made a great dent in the car’s bodywork, but
she didn’t get the result she wanted, so she went to the next one and did the same again. The alarm went off loud and strong. Jenny grinned and got back in the van. She sped to the end of the street and turned the corner which led back to the pharmacy. With no dead in sight for the moment, she switched the engine off and hauled down the windscreen blind, then waited. Hayden and Amar had already pulled the rest down before her return to the van. They sat in the back, listening. Jenny knelt down and watched as zombies from all around lumbered towards the noise of the car alarm.
Ten minutes went past before the last trickle of dead disappeared into the street. Even with the alarm warbling out, she could still hear the corpses’ excited moans. She turned the key in the ignition and drove back to main street. Alas, she couldn’t block the store off with the van as she’d done on previous occasions, as cars sat parked up and down the side of the street. Jenny pulled the camper into a small car park situated opposite the chemists. She fitted the motor home into the one remaining space, between a muddy pickup truck and a red four-door Honda, and killed the engine. The car park only had a slightly raised curb to divide it from the pavement in front, when she returned from her supply run, she could simply drive forward to exit the space.
So far, everything was going to plan. No zombies lurked anywhere in sight. But before she exited the van, she pulled the windscreen blind down again and left a tiny gap for the boys to monitor the situation. They were under strict instructions that under no circumstances were they to open the doors or leave the van, even if it looked like she was in trouble. She reassured them she had escape routes in mind, so if she ran away in another direction, they should stay quiet and wait. She would find her way back to them. When she was sure they fully comprehended the plan and gave their word to do as she said, Jenny lifted a spare rucksack and made her way across the street.
The bolt cutters made short work of the padlock. Jenny drew the door shutter up and then lowered it again when she reached the other side of a recessed vestibule. A full glass door stood before her. Now that would make a lot of noise if she smashed it. She reached into the trawler jacket’s deep front pocket and pulled out a flat-headed screwdriver. It was worth trying to do this the quiet way, and she’d had some practice over the last few days with breaking and entering houses.
It took longer than she would have liked, but she jimmied the lock open. She listened for any movement, but could only hear the car alarm and the distant zombies, thankfully they seemed to have stayed put. She entered the shop and found the medicines for colds and flu. Grabbing handfuls, she stuffed them into the bag and moved on to take whatever else she could find. She got behind the counter into the pharmacist's area and did a quick hunt for stronger and useful medications. Antibiotics, strong painkillers, and anything else that caught her eye.
On her way back out she checked for water but found none, therefore she picked up random medical supplies by the fistful on the way back to the door. So that went well, she thought as she pulled the shutter back down and moved on to the grocery shop two doors down. Jenny gave the boys a quick little wave and a thumbs up as she travelled.
The second shop was easier to get into. The ancient lock gave up the ghost within seconds. Obviously the store owner relied on the shutters and alarm rather than the door’s security. Listening for sound didn’t do her any good, but seeing no movement on the shadowed shop floor, she scoured the surroundings until she found bottled water. There was a decent supply in both the defunct cooling cabinet and on a half empty shelf. Looking around she saw quite a lot of vacant spaces on the display units. Maybe with it being a small village, they only got deliveries every so often. If the place hadn’t been locked up tight, then she might have considered that someone else had already been there.
The store was too small to bother having trolleys so Jenny grabbed two wire baskets and dumped water into them. She might have to make a couple of trips she decided. With her acquired goods, she hurried back to the van and dumped the stuff just inside the side door. She told the boys not to touch any of the medication items she emptied from the rucksack and reminded them the same rules as before applied.
On her second trip back to the grocery shop she thought it might be easier to draw the van level with the store. The water was heavy and limited her as to what she could carry. She took what weight in water she could manage and exited the place again. The car alarm was still going off, but as for the zombies, they were quieter and she wasn’t sure where they were. She couldn’t be certain she would get another crack at the shop now, so she lowered the shutter to keep stray zombies out. They could always come back another day.
As she was picking the bottles of water back up, Jenny stopped. She heard another sound. Engines, at least two, and they were heading her way. She scurried across the road as quickly as possible, not wanting to drop the water. Full bottles lying in the street might alert the vehicle driver’s to her presence.
With every second that went by, the sound grew louder. Jenny only just made it back to the van and slide and lock the side door before the first of the vehicles entered the street. She rushed to the front windscreen and peered out with the boys. A banged up old green Land Rover rolled to a stop adjacent the shop, exactly in the spot she recently planned to park the camper. The boxy Land Rover looked like it belonged on somebody’s farm or country estate. Mud splatters covered its lower bodywork, and it had more than its fair share of dings and scrapes.
A giant of a man unfurled himself from the driver’s side, purposely scanning the road as he walked to the front of the vehicle. She watched as he turned his head to listen to the squealing car alarm. His head was clad in a black turban and a small area of black frizzy beard could be seen beneath the scarf that wrapped around his face. The man’s heavy clothes matched the colour of the turban. But Jenny’s heart palpitated when she caught sight of the sledge hammer he carried effortlessly in one gloved hand.
A moment later, a glossy black transit van with tinted windows pulled up behind the Land Rover. The first driver moved between two parked cars towards the shop. Jenny’s heart sank as she crept into the driver’s seat and whispered to the boys to go belt themselves in as the man said, looking towards the black van, “Hey, that alarm ain’t going off for no reason. The padlock’s cut, so somebody’s been here.”
Jenny put the key in the ignition and was busy trying to do up her own seat-belt while crouched over to see out the small gap below the blind. She gave up her effort when the man surveyed the area more closely. His dark eyes came to rest on the motor home.
“That wasn’t here before,” he said, and began walking towards the camper, swinging the sledgehammer menacingly. She didn’t know if these people were friend or foe, but she considered running the man over if he got in her way of escaping. She started the engine and revved it in warning. Thankfully, he heeded, and stopped. His mouth opened to speak as the sound of a crowd of moans poured into the street behind the newly parked vehicles.
They drew the man’s attention and for a few seconds he seemed undecided about whether to continue his approach or beat a retreat to his own vehicle. The driver of the other van leaned out the window and shouted to his companion,
“Leave it Bert, let’s go.”
Sensibly, he took the advice and trotted back to his vehicle. As the zombies edged up the short street, Jenny realised she knew the voice of the other driver. She was positive it was Matt!
She opened her window and shouted out as the first man slammed his door and started the engine. Neither driver heard her as they sped away up the street, and with the blind still down, even if any of the group had looked, they wouldn’t have been able to see who the motor home driver was.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Jenny raised the blind, put the van in gear and bumped over the curb edge in pursuit. At the end of the street when the two vehicles turned left, she had a moment of doubt. Was it just wishful thinking, or had it really been him? If it wasn’t, then she was wasting a chance to escape.
She could put the boys in danger by following the other people. Jenny hadn’t seen the transit driver’s face, but she pushed the doubts aside. Her gut told her to abide by her first judgement.
Her tyres screeched on the tarmac as she swung the van left and raced to catch up with the vehicles before she lost them.
“What’s happening, Jenny?” Hayden asked.
“We’re escaping zombies and following those other people. I think one of my friends is with them.”
She paused, then continued,
“When we come to a stop, I want you both to stay in your seats and keep quiet. Don’t open the blinds, Ok.”
In the rearview mirror she saw them both nod.
Jenny got the other vehicles back in her sights. When they took the next right-turn, she copied and then followed them into a deserted stretch of crumbling tarmacked waste-ground. The Land Rover in front braked, causing Jenny to do the same. Amar and Hayden cried out in alarm as the camper threw them forward against their seat-belts. Jenny wasn’t wearing hers but had braced herself. She let out a deep relieved breath when she stopped short of ramming the vehicle in front. Her relief didn’t last long though as the driver of the Land Rover got out of his vehicle with a sledgehammer in hand and strode towards her van. The furrow in his brows told her he meant business.
She put the van in reverse gear, with her foot ready to press the pedal. The boys were doing exactly as she’d told them to do. Jenny quickly rolled down the window and asked the man,
