He drove the jeep carefully as they entered the town of Rugeley. It was a few miles from the factory to the town and Jack was astounded that there were hardly any incidents on their journey back to the place.
There were only a few incidents on the two-mile trip. The first one was when Jack and Johnny drove past a village and found scores of the things wandering aimlessly. A few attacked and clawed at the jeep, but the jeep was too quick and powerful, and they were too slow and weak to cause any damage to the vehicle and the men that were inside it.
The second incident involved humans. Jack passed a parked van on the side of the road where a male dead body lay, and three men and a woman left a house and got into the van. All he could think of was that the man was the owner of the house and the four people that owned the van, parked up, and killed the man for his food, as well as other items that would be deemed as necessary for survival.
At first, Jack thought that the van was going to follow them, but thankfully it never happened.
As soon as they entered Rugeley, they got to the road, Horsefair, and saw at the roundabout that there was a horde of them, all congregating to the left side of the roundabout where a few cars were parked horizontally across the beginning of the road, Sandy Lane. The cars were being used as some kind of barricade, and the Snatchers were trying to get through, knowing that there was something of interest that could be devoured.
Jack had a quick peep and could see people behind the cars, armed with swords and knives, and it seemed to him that some people were trying to take control of the situation. Sandy Lane was the road that led to Draycott Park, and further on was the end of Rugeley and the beginning of Hednesford Road, which bypassed Stile Cop Road.
The jeep turned left onto Green Lane, and passed a street called Park View Terrace where Jack lived for a while when he was a young boy. As the jeep got to the top of Green Lane, it turned left and was now on Crabtree Road, Kerry's old road.
There was just the one dead walker in the street, and Jack made sure that that one ghoul was going to test the jeep's mettle. Back at the factory, despite hitting the boy, he didn't want to run down the small group in case it gave the vehicle unnecessary damage. But now he was at Kerry's and there was just the one of them, Jack wanted to see how the jeep would 'react' hitting an adult's body. They certainly couldn't leave it to roam about. They had no weapons of their own to take it out, and if they entered Kerry's house, it could follow them, which could attract more from afar.
"Hold on." Jack dropped a gear, and floored the gas pedal.
Johnny closed his eyes as the jeep made impact; once he opened them, Jack had stopped the vehicle and had the wipers on, clearing the black gunk off of the windscreen.
Jack said, "Well that was relatively painless."
"Have you a key for this place?" asked Johnny; his hands were shaking and his bottom lip wobbled a little when he spoke.
Jack shook his head, but didn't answer Johnny verbally. He parked the jeep at the side of the road and jumped out. He looked at the street and could see the end house had been burnt out; whether it was an accident, he had no idea.
The first time he arrived here from Glasgow, he remembered that he had taken out a pane of glass to get into the house; so getting in would be pretty easy, even easier if the place had been broken into and ransacked by desperados.
"You told me about your son and your ex," Johnny began, and was reluctant to finish his sentence, but he did. "Isn't this a little weird coming back to this house? There should be plenty of other houses abandoned."
"I want to be here. You can go whenever you want."
Johnny shook his head, as they were both now walking down the garden and around the back of the house. Jack noticed the shaking of Johnny's head and asked him what was wrong.
"Seriously?"
"Yeah." Jack nodded. "What's up?"
"You're an ungrateful fucker, Jack Slade."
"What?" Jack stopped walking and turned to stare at a clearly-upset Johnny.
"You were nearly dead when I brought you in, and all you've done is bark orders at me; I just feel you're really ungrateful. You drive me all the way to this town, miles away from my own house, and then tell me that I can go if I want. What's your problem?"
Jack look baffled and had no answer for Johnny. He could see he was upset, but felt that it wasn't necessary to apologise to the man, as he didn't know what he would be apologising to him for.
"I appreciate you taking me in." Jack looked around and was stroking his thin beard that had been itching the hell out of him over the last few days. "But what do you want me to do? Give you a wank? The factory was eventually gonna be your own tomb; you would have starved to death in there eventually, while hundreds of those fuckers would be gathering outside the place. I've taken you out of that place," Jack then looked and pointed at Kerry's house, "and I'm giving you a bed for the night. I think we're even, don't you?"
Jack never received a response from Johnny. He continued to look all around him, as he was paranoid that standing where they were and having a conversation, wasn't the best thing to do in an apocalyptic situation where the dangers were everywhere.
Jack patted Johnny on the shoulder. "Let's go inside."
The two men went round the back of the house; Jack could see that the pane of glass he had broken, to get inside two weeks ago, was still sitting on the floor in pieces. He raised a sad smile, knowing that Kerry and Thomas were alive back then.
He let himself in and Johnny followed.
Jack looked around. It looked exactly the way it was when he came here the other week, and couldn't believe it hadn't been ransacked yet. It would be eventually; he was certain of it.
Johnny scanned around and asked Jack, "Can I check upstairs?"
Jack nodded his head and said, "It's clear upstairs, I'm sure of it."
Johnny smiled and opened the door that led to the stairs, where there was three bedrooms and a bathroom on the first floor.
"Don't go into the bedroom on the right," Jack spoke out in a sad voice. "That's my son's room. Even I won't be going anywhere near that."
Johnny released a sympathetic smile and could only imagine the torment that Jack had, and still was, going through. No wonder he was rude and uptight, Johnny thought.
Jack had told Johnny in a brief summary what he had been through over the last week or so, and Johnny had come to the conclusion that this world was now either going to strengthen him, mentally, or break him. He had no idea where Jack was, as far as his mentality was concerned. Johnny thought that Jack Slade had been moulded into the figure he was now, and was probably a normal bloke before all this shit happened. He was probably a simple guy, with a simple job, and enjoyed a beer and the company of women.
The new world had stripped down all the perks of the world. Playstations, Facebook and job promotions were now things of the past. Food, drink and shelter were taken for granted in the old world, but were the only targets that people were aiming for now. The days of walking into a supermarket and getting a week of food had disappeared; from now on they were going to be living from hand to mouth.
Johnny got to the top of the stairs and went into the bathroom. He tried the cold tap of the sink and raised a scowl as nothing came out. He took a damp flannel that was sitting on the side; he then washed his hands and face with a bar of soap and the wet flannel, lowered his head on the ceramic and began to cry.
From the bottom of the stairs, Jack called out, "Johnny."
The thin, bald man, who was nearly at the age of fifty, composed himself and called down the stairs, "What is it?"
"We're gonna need to block this front door off and some of the windows, if we want to sleep easy tonight."
Johnny took a look in the mirror. He looked hideous. He looked hideous anyway; some people had remarked over the years, since he had lost his hair, that he looked like one of the cannibals in Wes Craven's, The Hills Have Eyes. He may have looked scary to some folk, but he was one of the biggest cow
ards on the planet.
How on earth was he going to last more than a week in this world? He couldn't rely on Jack to carry him; and even if that was the plan, Johnny had a strong notion that if you were slowing Jack Slade down, he would eventually leave you to fend for yourself.
Jack's voice was heard once again. This time it was a lot louder, angrier, and made Johnny jump. "Johnny, hurry the hell up!"
"I'll be right down," Johnny finally answered.
Chapter Sixteen
June 25th
Jade Greatrix and Paul Parker had managed seven hours of broken sleep between them, and were both feeling the effects of dehydration. Jade had drank a few gulps of stream water the evening before and had contracted diarrhoea, but she was unsure whether it was down to the water she had drank, or it was her nerves that were causing her bowels to be so upset. Maybe a mixture of the two.
Paul had splashed his face by the nearby stream, but refused to drink it, despite that his body was aching to have water. He stood to his feet and stretched his body. Jade looked at him and was concerned for him. They were both tired and thirsty, and Paul seemed to have given up. He was such a different character to the one she had first met in the sports centre.
Back at the sports centre, he was strong and confident, and despite the fact he was a man that was missing his family, she did find him attractive. Maybe that's what it was! It wasn't just the tiredness and the dehydration that was making him feel so down; he was more than likely pining for his wife and daughter, she thought.
"You okay?" Jade glared at Paul for some kind of answer. Talking hadn't been his strong point of late.
He shook his head. "This is hopeless. Living in this," he opened out his arms and looked around the woods, "is hopeless. I've made a decision."
"Oh?"
Paul's shoulders rose up as he took a deep breath in. "I'm going home."
"But what about those things? I thought they were all around your village."
"I don't care anymore!" he snarled. "When I woke up on that morning, my family were gone and my house was swarming with the things. I had no choice but to run. Now, who knows?"
"If you go back to your village, there could be hundreds of the things."
"True. But what if they're not there? What if there's no one left, and the Lurkers have moved on somewhere else? That means my house is lying vacant. I have more of a chance finding my family being back at the house. Since I left for the village hall, I seemed to be moving further and further away from where I used to live, which probably means further away from Jocelyn and Hannah. I need to go back; if we ever get to a stage where it becomes safe to walk outside again, the family home is where they'll go."
"Okay." Jade sounded dejected with Paul's determination, but she knew that she could hardly stand in the way of a man wanting to find his family.
"And I want you to come back with me," said Paul.
"Really?"
"Really."
Jade released a smile; her face was full of so much relief and happiness that she began to cry. She was convinced that Paul was going to suggest for the pair of them to part their ways. Paul walked over to the fragile, young lady and gave her a hug. Once their embrace was broken and Jade managed to pull herself together, she asked, "How far is it to your house from here?"
Paul Parker shrugged his shoulders and released a false smile. "With travelling in that pick-up truck, and then running about a mile in the woods away from those four arseholes, I have no idea where we are and what direction we should be heading. I'm guessing we're about four or five miles away from my village."
"So we need to find a road."
"Yes," Paul agreed. "There's a good chance I could recognise the road, and even if I don't, we should eventually approach a junction. Junctions usually have road signs to state which village is what way and how many miles it takes to get there."
"So do you wanna head back the way we came from?"
"No I don't," he said sharply. "I think we should go that way," he pointed to his right, "and see where it takes us."
He walked on, with Jade following behind. Their tired feet were dragging through the long grass and bracken, and once they finally came across a dirt path, it made their walk a little easier.
Jade ran her fingers through her dark, greasy hair and pulled a face that was the same kind of expression one would show if they had tasted a bitter lemon. Her fingers struggled through her hair, and her expression was made because of how greasy and unkempt her hair had become from days of not washing and sleeping rough in the woodland.
Her eyes stared at her feet as she walked on the dirt path, and she felt a sudden slap on her chest from Paul who was in front of her.
"Ow!" Jade rubbed her chest and looked up at Paul. "What was that for?"
Paul shushed the twenty-five-year-old and urged her to crouch down behind him. She did as she was instructed, and followed him as he crawled off the dirt path and hid behind a tree. He then pointed ahead of him and she took a gander; her eyes widened when it was clear what she was now witnessing.
There was nine Lurkers—a name Paul gave them—about a hundred yards away. They appeared to be walking away from Paul and Jade, and they had no idea where they were going and where they had come from. They both continued to watch as the small gang of the dead stumbled, very slowly, away from the two hiding humans.
Paul turned to Jade. "We'll keep away from the paths for a few minutes, until they're gone. When we're on the paths, we're more exposed and less hidden."
Jade silently agreed with head movement.
The two of them slowly walked through the long grass and Paul whispered to Jade, "Once they're completely away from view, we can get back on the path and head that way." He pointed to the right.
Jade giggled nervously a little, and asked Paul, "Why are you whispering? They're almost out of sight."
Paul had managed a smile himself; it was a smile Jade hadn't seen in a while, and he puffed out his lower lip and shook his head. "I have no idea."
"You're not right in the head," Jade joked.
"I don't think many survivors are these days, not what after some of us have seen."
Paul's comment had quickly crushed the light entertainment they were experiencing. It wasn't intentional; it just slipped out.
Jade then suddenly heard a snap to her left, where Paul was situated, and heard the thirty-one-year-old cry out and fall to the ground. Paul was on the floor holding his right foot. "Bastard poachers!" he screamed. "Get it off!"
Jade scanned around and began to panic. She had no idea what he was talking about and what was actually happening. "Get what off?"
Paul screamed out again, and this time Jade shushed the man that was in excruciating pain. Paul Parker raised his foot a little to reveal that his body part had been the victim of a coil-spring animal trap. He couldn't raise his foot any higher as the chain of the trap was hammered into the ground with a metal peg.
"What shall I do? What shall I do?" Jade was hysterical and was no use to anyone. She was a fitness instructor and had to take her HSE First Aid course every three years, but a foot being caught in an animal trap didn't cover what she had been taught.
The sweat on Paul's head was raining down and he was certain that his foot was broken. He spoke with a grimace, "Grab both jaws of the trap, and pull them back as wide as you can. At least then I can get my foot out."
Jade did what she was asked, but she found that it was difficult and was struggling to get the jaws open. "I can't do it."
"For fuck's sake. Let me do it."
Paul leaned over and pulled back the jaws of the trap. He cried out again when his fingers slipped and the trap snapped shut once more, sending the pain straight through his body. He stuck his fist in his mouth to prevent him from screaming any more, and drew blood as his teeth sank in.
"I'll try again." Jade bent over and tried once more; this time she had managed to get the jaws wide enough for Paul to remove his foot. Once he did, he could
feel his foot pulsating. His head dropped in his lap and tears were released, due to the pain.
He heard Jade say, "Oh no."
He blew air out of his mouth, wiped the tears from his face, and spoke with frustration. "Now what is it?"
She tapped him on the shoulder and pointed ahead of her. The melee had attracted the horde from afar. They had turned around, and were now shambling their way towards Jade Greatrix and an injured Paul Parker. "They're coming."
Chapter Seventeen
They had spent the night in the garden, but felt it was reasonably safe with the fence and the gate as protection. The owner had offered them the poky shed, but once they took a look inside, they kindly refused and wondered when was the last time it had been cleaned. It stunk of animal droppings.
This wasn't the first time these pair had slept under the stars, but it was the first time that they had had a good night's sleep in a long while.
Karen was the first to wake.
Still lying on the floor, she stretched out her arms and felt amazing. For the first time in a long time, she had slept for more than five hours—in this case, nine—and was hydrated. Her throat wasn't sore with dryness anymore and her headaches had disappeared. She sat up in the sleeping bag that had been given to her by the owner of the cabin, and she looked over to Pickle who was still sleeping.
After much talk, the pair of them had convinced the occupier that they came in peace, and only arrived at the cabin in hope that it was empty. They were honest with the man and each one told him their story, from the moment the outbreak occurred to the present day. The man had then lowered his gun, told them that he believed them, but made them sleep outside and appeased them that it would be safe.
He had been a man of his word.
The occupier off the cabin was called Wolfgang Kindl. He was a sixty-nine-year-old man with grey hair, a thick grey beard, with a straw hat sitting on top of his head. His appearance was like something out of Deadwood in the nineteenth century, and his shotgun was an old thing, and he admitted to the pair that he only had one box of shells to his name.
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