by David Moody
Jody noticed that Charlie was standing on the other side of the window, illuminated by the early morning light. She looked like a little kid lost. She was clutching her arm.
‘What’s the matter, love?’ Gary said. ‘You okay?’
It was clear Charlie was anything but okay. She was shaking. Nerves, fear, anger, shock... Jody couldn’t tell what was wrong.
She noticed that blood was dripping between Charlie’s fingers.
Gary reached out for her but she pulled away.
And then, slowly, she lifted her hand.
There was a deep gash running the length of her forearm, almost from elbow to wrist.
‘How did that happen...?’ Gary asked, although they all knew the answer already. Charlie sniffed back more tears. She didn’t want to tell him because if she didn’t tell him, if she pretended it hadn’t happened, she’d be okay, wouldn’t she?
She sobbed. The deep scratch was burning with infection, though the physical pain paled into insignificance alongside her fear. ‘One of them got me,’ she said, struggling to keep control. She looked down at the cut and picked at its raw edges.
‘How do you know?’ Gary demanded. ‘You might have just cut yourself on the glass or something?’
‘It would have been cleaner if it was a glass cut,’ Jody said, sounding clinical and cold, detached. ‘One of them did that to her. One of the infected.’
Charlie stifled another deep sob as the inevitable enormity of what had happened began to fully sink in. She looked at Jody. ‘What do I do?’
‘There’s got to be someone we can contact? Somewhere we can take her?’ Gary said, and he too looked to Jody for answers.
‘There’s nothing and you know it. We all saw the TV reports yesterday. Sorry, Charlie, I truly am.’
‘But I don’t want to be like one of them,’ she cried, shooting a sideways glance at the swarm of squabbling infected on the other side of the boarded-up glass. ‘I don’t want to go. I want to stay here with you...’
‘I’m sorry,’ Jody said again, and she too wiped away a tear. She’d had plenty of reasons not to like Charlie, but had quickly warmed to her. What she was going through now and what lay ahead was too awful to even contemplate. Jody couldn’t begin to imagine what she must have been feeling.
‘You’re not going anywhere,’ Gary announced, and he took a couple of steps closer to his girlfriend, then checked himself and held back. ‘We don’t know for sure it was one of them, do we? The window frame’s damaged... maybe you just caught your arm on some wood.’
‘Come on, Gary,’ Jody sighed. ‘Don’t be so frigging naïve.’
‘It was one of them,’ Charlie said. ‘I know it was. I saw it happen. I’m infected. I should go.’
‘You’re not going anywhere.’
‘I have to, Gary.’
‘No you don’t. Not until we’re completely sure.’
‘Are you out of your fucking mind?’ Jody barked. ‘Seriously? For fuck’s sake, Gary, our kids are in this house. We can’t take the risk. Look, Charlie, I’m truly sorry, but...’
‘It’s okay,’ Charlie said. ‘I get it. I’ll go. And if I’m okay in a few hours, I’ll come back. At least then we’ll know for sure if—’
‘Did you not hear me?’ Gary interrupted, furious. ‘You’re not going anywhere.’
‘She heard you all right, she’s just choosing to ignore you,’ Jody said, glaring at him.
‘You, on the other hand,’ he shouted at his ex, ‘can fuck off right away.’
‘I’m not going anywhere without the kids.’
‘Take my car,’ Charlie said, struggling to think straight but managing to recall the conversation they’d had earlier. She seemed short of breath now, face ice-white, clammy. ‘The keys are on the... hook in the kitchen. Just go. Get safe.’
‘Thanks, love,’ Jody said, and she went to leave the room but Gary blocked her way.
‘I’ve got the keys to Charlie’s car,’ he said, dangling them in front of her. ‘If you’re leaving on your own, you’re welcome to them. If you’re still thinking about snatching the kids – which I really wouldn’t recommend – then we’ve got a problem.’
Their latest argument was interrupted before it started proper by Charlie. She dropped to her knees and doubled-over in pain, clutching her stomach. She looked up at Gary and Jody, her face screwed up in agony. ‘It hurts,’ she gasped. ‘Really hurts.’
‘So there’s your answer,’ Jody said. ‘That can only be infection. I saw it on the news – this is how it starts. She’ll lose consciousness for an hour or two now, maybe longer, and when she wakes up she’ll be one of those fucking things outside and she won’t stop until she’s infected every last one of us. You, me and the kids. Is that what you want?’
Almost on cue, Charlie passed out. She slumped forward in an undignified heap, the rancorous gash on her arm exposed.
‘Help me get her outside.’
‘Don’t you fucking touch her,’ Gary warned, and before she could react he grabbed her arm and manhandled her out of the room. Jody didn’t fight back, but she continued to protest. She dug her heels in and clung onto the sides of the door frame as he tried to push her through.
‘Think about what you’re doing, Gary. I know you’re hurting, but Charlie’s gone. There’s nothing you can do for her.’
‘We don’t know that for sure. Not yet.’
‘Oh, come on. What are you going to do? Keep her locked up in there until she’s scratching at the door, baying for blood?’
‘I’ll deal with her when the time comes.’
‘Deal with her now.’
‘No.’
He shoved Jody in the small of her back and sent her flying across the hallway. She hit the wall hard and rebounded. By the time she’d picked herself back up he’d slammed the dining room door shut and was leaning against it to stop her getting anywhere near.
‘You stay here with your dead girlfriend. I’m leaving and I’m taking the kids,’ she told him.
‘You’re not going anywhere with my children.’
‘Our children.’
‘Whatever. Right now they need to be with their dad more than ever.’
‘No, you prick, they need to be safe.’
‘Yeah, and they’re better off with me.’
‘How d’you work that out?’
‘I’m not the one who took them camping when all this shit kicked off, for Christ’s sake.’
‘How was I supposed to know?’
‘They’d have been better off with me from the start.’
‘That’s not what the judge said.’
‘Yeah, well the judge is probably in as shitty a situation as we are right now. He’s probably one of those diseased things walking the streets.’
‘Like your girlfriend?’
‘Priceless. You absolute bitch. I know your problem. You’re jealous.’
She’d heard it all now. ‘Jealous? Christ, Gary, you’re deluded. I’m not interested in you or anything you’ve got. I couldn’t care if you were the—’
‘Can’t you just stop?’ a quiet voice asked. Jody looked around and then up. It was Jenny. There were three small faces at the top of the stairs, peering down between the balustrades. Seeing them there immediately took Jody back eighteen months to when things had been at their absolute worst with Gary, when every single day had been miserable: a never-ending succession of fight after fight after bloody pointless, energy-draining fight.
‘Sorry,’ she said, and she genuinely was.
‘So you should be,’ hissed Gary.
Jenny cautiously crept downstairs. ‘I’m scared,’ she said.
‘We’re all scared,’ Jody told her, and she immediately regretted her candid admission.
‘It’s okay,’ Gary said, sitting down on the step next to his daughter. ‘Everything’s going to be all right.’
Ben and Holly were a few steps further up still, hanging back. ‘Where’s Charlie?’ Ben asked.
‘She’s not feeling too good,’ Gary answered quickly, getting in quick before Jody had chance to speak.
‘She sick like them?’ Ben demanded, unexpectedly abrupt. He pointed in the direction of the grey figures which milled around outside, visible through the frosted glass window in the front door.
‘No, no, no... nothing like that,’ Gary said and, out of sight of he kids, he glared at Jody. The intent behind his eyes was clear: don’t you say a fucking word.
‘We going home soon?’ Jenny asked.
‘This is your home, love.’
She looked from face to face, sensing trouble.
‘Are we staying here then?’
‘I don’t know what we’re doing yet,’ Jody said. ‘Your dad and I need to talk about it.’
‘I don’t want you kids going anywhere.’
‘What about Mummy?’ Holly asked.
‘That’s for the grown ups to decide, isn’t it, love?’ Gary said.
‘Suppose.’
‘You three hungry?’ he asked.
In spite of everything, they were. He took the children into the kitchen and found them something to eat.
When he returned to the hallway a few minutes later, the dining room door was open. Jody was standing over Charlie, holding the hammer he’d used to board up the window.
‘What the fuck are you doing?’
‘What do you think? I’m watching your bloody girlfriend to make sure she doesn’t come back and start trying to infect us.’ Jody stopped and took a breath. ‘Look, Gary, this isn’t doing any of us any good, especially the kids. I know you’re hurting, but you need to get over that and think carefully about what might happen here. Be ready for the worst.’
‘You quite finished?’
She ignored him. ‘Don’t forget, I was out there yesterday. I’ve seen what they can do. I’ve seen how they attack and what you become when you’ve been scratched, and it’s not pretty.’
‘I get that,’ he said, dropping the bullshit and bravado momentarily, ‘but I can’t write her off until I know for sure, okay?’
‘I think we’re already at that point. She’s been infected. You have to face facts.’
‘And when the time comes, I will.’
Charlie began to stir. Jody gripped the hammer, ready to use it if she had to. Both she and Gary edged back cautiously. Ice-cold and sweat-soaked, Charlie’s eyes fluttered open. Her throat was bone dry. She tried to clear it, but the effort was too much.
‘I’m okay,’ she said, her voice a bronchial croak, and with considerable effort she rolled over onto her front and picked herself up using a high-backed wooden dining chair for support. She plonked herself down heavily in the seat, exhausted. ‘Really thirsty.’
Gary went to get her some water, but by the time he’d filled the glass she was out cold again.
‘We should tie her up,’ Jody suggested. ‘Tape her hands like they said on the news. Just to be sure.’
‘Don’t you fucking touch her.’
◆◆◆
He stood guard outside the dining room whilst Jody sat in the kitchen. The kids moved freely between them, diving their time and their loyalties, hypersensitive and not wanting to do anything to upset either of their parents.
The situation felt on a knife-edge, both inside and outside the house. On the TV news, reports were coming in of trouble as people tried to escape the infected zone. The endless snaking queues of traffic were being patrolled by security forces which were already severely depleted. There were unavoidable bottlenecks and delays at the checkpoints, and the terrified public were not responding well to being left waiting in their cars indefinitely while the infected prowled nearby. Jody kept reminding herself that this was infinitely better than the outcome of most of the horror movies she’d watched over the years. Nine times out of ten in a horror flick the survivors would have been reduced to killing each other to stay alive by now. All things considered, and apart from poor old Charlie, they were actually doing pretty well.
It was quieter outside, too. Still no sign of any governmental or military interventions on this particular street, but the number of infected hadn’t increased. They hadn’t reduced either, but no net gain was still a good result in Jody’s book.
The kids had been gorging themselves on sweets and chocolate. Jody’s stomach churned with nerves and the thought of eating anything made her want to vomit. Holly, on the other hand, had eaten far too much and was feeling the effects, but having a free pass to the kitchen cupboards was something she was determined to make the most of. She dragged a chair over to a cupboard and stood on tiptoes to look inside. ‘Can I help you, young lady?’ Jody asked. ‘Don’t you think you’ve had enough?’
‘Want another Mars bar.’
‘Maybe later.’
‘Want one now,’ she said, elevating the last word of her demand to an uncomfortably loud volume. Jody cringed, remembering the effect she and Gary’s argument had on the creatures outside earlier.
‘Keep your voice down.’
‘What’s the problem?’ Gary asked, concerned.
‘No problem.’
‘I want another Mars bar,’ Holly told him.
‘So let her have one.’
‘I’ve already told her no.’
‘What’s the harm in the kid having more chocolate?’ Gary said, and he reached into the cupboard and brought down another multipack.
Jody seethed with anger. ‘How about trying to show a united front?’ she hissed at him once Holly had disappeared.
‘And how about not being such a fucking drag,’ he quickly countered.
And they were at it full-throttle again.
‘Why are you always pulling in the opposite direction to me? Do you do it on purpose?’
‘Yeah, well you’re not always right, you know. You seem to think you have a monopoly on common-sense, coming at me from your bloody moral high ground.’
‘It’s not about common-sense, it’s about putting the kids first and not scoring points. I don’t think you can do that.’
‘Of course I can.’
Jody lowered her voice and moved closer to him. ‘Then why is your dead girlfriend still in the dining room? We should have got rid of her.’
‘She’s not dead.’
‘As good as.’
‘Maybe I’m just not as quick to give up on people as you are.’
‘Why do you keep turning everything around like it’s my fault? You’ve always done that, and you did it again just now with the chocolate. You’re always undermining me.’
‘It was just a bloody chocolate bar.’
‘Yeah, but it’s the message you’re giving out. Mum’s wrong and Dad’s right. You’re always making me out to be the villain.’
‘That’s ’cause you’ve always been a fucking killjoy.’
‘Can’t you both just stop?’ Jenny asked. Her innocence and honesty was heart-breaking.
‘You need to tell your mother,’ Gary said quickly.
‘I’m talking to both of you,’ she replied with a clarity which belied her years. ‘You’re always fighting. I know you don’t like each other, but you don’t have to keep fighting all the time. It’s embarrassing.’
‘That’s us told,’ Jody said, feeling awful.
Holly peered out from behind her older sister. ‘Daddy, I think Charlie’s awake. I heard her.’
Both Jody and Gary bolted towards the dining room door. Gary paused with his hand almost on the handle. Almost, but not quite. ‘Stay back,’ he said to the children, and Ben and the girls moved away without protest.
Gary’s hammer was on the hall floor. Jody picked it up and handed it to him. ‘You know it’s the right thing to do,’ she said, and for once he didn’t argue. He cautiously pushed the door open.
At first he couldn’t see her.
With the light coming in from the partially-boarded up window, it was hard to make out much in the shadowy dining room. It was only when she twitched and shook that he rea
lised where Charlie was: crouched in the corner, all arms and legs and hate, spiderlike. She didn’t look like Charlie anymore. Instead, she looked like every other damn infected. Her movements were awkward and unnatural, stop-start, and her limbs twisted in ways they shouldn’t. Her head ticked like a chicken pecking corn. The smell in the room was enough to make his eyes water. Death, decay, disease and defecation, all wrapped up in a single stifling stench.
Jody was on his shoulder. ‘Close the door,’ she whispered, quietly and carefully.
‘I need to see her,’ he said, edging in the other direction.
‘Don’t be stupid. She’ll kill you.’
‘She won’t.’
‘She will. And then she’ll kill the rest of us.’
Gary’s arrogance continued to astound her. Even now he was ready to tell her how wrong she was. He turned to push her away and—
—Charlie attacked.
It was sudden and swift. Deadly. The creature’s speed and ferocity compensated for the awkwardness of its barely coordinated movements.
The Charlie-thing leapt forward and was fully illuminated by the light. The gash along her forearm seemed deeper and wider and it glistened with overflowing disease. She was coming straight at Gary and the bloody idiot was just standing there, dumbstruck, waiting for it to happen. In half the time it took him to react, Jody grabbed his hand and dragged him out into the hall. She turned around to pull the door closed and barely managed to shut it in time. Dead Charlie was on all fours, scuttling like a crab towards her, head lolling back but eyes fixed forward.
Jody shut the door and clung onto the handle as it rattled in its frame. The noise was terrible and filled the house – dead Charlie hitting the woodwork again and again and again.
‘Want Mummy!’ Holly screamed, her high-pitched wail cutting through the panic and everything else.
‘Get them out of here,’ Jody screamed, but she needn’t have bothered because Gary was already halfway up the stairs, pushing and dragging the kids to safety. In the split-second she was distracted, Jody almost let go of the door. Charlie yanked it open from inside, spindly fingers wrapped around the handle, pulling Jody into the dining room. Jody pulled it back at the last possible second and clung on for dear life. ‘Help me, Gary!’
