“Where were you heading?” Emma asked.
“Somewhere … anywhere but there. We’d made that place our home. We thought maybe we could live out some kind of normal life there,” Ryan replied.
April started to sob again. “I suppose … I suppose that’s it now. We have to head back out on the road on the off-chance we might find somewhere.”
Tabby glanced towards Emma. “Well, look,” Emma said, “for tonight, make yourselves as comfortable as you can here. We’ll pick up the pieces tomorrow morning.”
“There aren’t any pieces to pick up,” one of the other refugees said.
“Emma’s right. Let’s find a place to kip down tonight and look at things fresh tomorrow,” Ryan said, and people gradually broke away from the crowd. Tabby did her best to furnish them with blankets and any bedding she could. She settled a family in one of the bedrooms and let the others find their own spaces. For tonight, the place would be a commune.
Emma, Ryan and April continued to stand around the table a little longer. “I’ll go and find us a place,” April said, nodding gratefully towards Emma. When she was out of earshot, Ryan flopped down on one of the chairs.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” he said, brushing his hands over his stubbly face.
“You got nearly thirty people out. If you’d done nothing, they wouldn’t be here now,” Emma said, crossing to the cupboard beneath the sink and opening it up. She pulled out a pair of binoculars, opened the patio door and stepped out.
A few seconds later, she heard the screech of wood against tile as Ryan pulled his chair out and walked into the garden to join her. “What are you doing?” he asked.
“Did you notice those sailboats in the bay? They seemed to arrive just before sunset.”
“Can’t say I did. I don’t really have a good view from where I live … lived.”
Emma spun the focus wheel on the binoculars and then concentrated, peering into the distance. “Whoever they are, I’m pretty certain they’ve got something to do with this.” As she looked now, more boats had joined them, and a procession of smaller vessels was heading towards the shore. She handed the binoculars to Ryan.
“Why do you think they’re doing this?”
“Obvious isn’t it? It’s actually quite clever, in a pretty insidious way.”
“You’ve lost me,” Ryan said, handing the binoculars back to Emma.
She could just make out the contours of his face in the moonlight. How could someone so naive have lasted for so long? “They cause an outbreak, turn the population of the town into flesh-crazed monsters, then lure them away with a loud siren and a fire while they head in and ransack the town. The pirates of the apocalypse.”
“You sound like you admire them.”
“I don’t admire them. I hope they all fucking die, but whoever came up with this idea had a brain, and they knew that a couple of sailboats out in the bay wouldn’t seem out of place, so they either had inside knowledge or they’ve been watching us.”
“How can people do this?”
An image sprang into Emma’s head. She was back in Loch Uig, and Webb was standing over her with a pair of secateurs in his hand. An unholy grin decorated his face, and his eyes were lit with excitement. “Trust me; you’d be amazed at what people can do.”
“I’m going to find April. Thank you for this, Emma.”
“Don’t mention it.” He went back inside, but a moment later, she felt another presence by her side. “Before you say it, I’m sorry. I couldn’t just turn them out into the night.”
“I wasn’t going to say that,” Tabby replied.
“Oh. What were you going to say?”
“I was going to ask what are we going to do now?”
“I know exactly what we’re going to do.”
“What?”
“We’re going to head to Safe Haven.”
chapter 4
It was difficult to ignore the air raid siren, in fact, it was impossible, but for the time being Mike only had one concern and that was finding Jake. He stumbled and clawed his way up the craggy rocks, over the scrub grass, and down the other side into the next cove. The sand reflected the moon’s beams, a blanket of white punctuated only by the odd pebble here and there. He took a wrong turn on the rocks and, rather than finding a safe route down, he chose to leap the last few feet. Soft dry sand buried his trainers up to the ankles, but he soon shook it loose as he sprinted onto the beach, swooping down to pick up a sharp, jagged stone, just in case.
“Jake! Jake!” he shouted, the echoes bouncing off the surrounding cliff faces and out to sea. “Jake, where are you?” Mike stood in the middle of the beach, twirling around, searching for movement, listening for any sound beyond that of the siren that might give him a clue.
Then he saw it. Halfway up a rock face, behind a salt-burned growth of shrubs, there was movement, a flicker of white against the darkness. “Mike?” called the quavering voice, only just audible.
“Jake?” He ran across and started to climb up towards the youngster. The smooth black surface was almost vertical, and as he felt out the mounds and crevices that allowed him to scale it, he wondered how his younger brother had managed, but then fear was a great catalyst when it came to conquering inhibitions.
“They got John,” Jake sobbed as Mike reached him.
“I know, Jakey, I know.” There was a small plateau behind the shrub, and Mike placed his right foot on it for support. “I need you to climb onto my back and wrap your arms around my neck. Do you think you can do that?”
Jake sniffed loudly and then left the small nook behind the bush and climbed onto Mike’s back. “I heard a scream. It sounded like Sammy,” he said through his tears.
“Don’t worry, Sammy’s fine. What happened?” Mike asked, still shouting to be heard over the siren.
“We saw the dolphins and John went into the water to get closer to them. I told him it was dangerous, but he wouldn’t listen. I was calling him from the shore; then those things appeared from around the rocks. They started coming towards me, and I ran, but then I looked back and they were all heading to John and then—” His tears took over.
“It’s okay, Jakey. It’s okay. You did the right thing.” They reached the sand and Mike lowered his little brother onto the soft surface. “Come on, let’s get you back home.” He took his little brother’s hand, and they started to jog across the beach. All the time the air raid siren was singing a desperate aria into the air.
✽ ✽ ✽
“Jen, how’s it going there? Over,” Shaw asked.
Jenny hit the talk button on the radio. “Nearly done,” she shouted over the sound of the siren.
“Do me a favour. Get the second generator going and get all the lights on.”
Jenny looked confused. “Did you say get all the lights on?”
“Yes. We’ll be there soon. Over and out.”
The radio went dead, and Jenny just looked at it for a moment. Torch beams were flashing around the interior of the village hall as people took weapons from the cache. The panic in the air was palpable.
“What the hell’s going on?” Barnes asked as he and Beth burst in through the double doors. The two of them were already armed and had been just up the road at George’s when the siren had first sounded.
“Infected,” Jenny replied. “Shaw wants me to power up the generator and get all the lights going.”
“The lights?” Barnes asked, just as perplexed as Jenny had been.
“That’s what he said.”
Barnes took the radio from Jenny as she and Beth ran out to start the second generator. “Shaw, this is Barney. Did Jenny understand right? You want all the lights on? With the siren going too, we’re just inviting the RAMs to attack. Over.”
“That’s the point; we’re falling back to your position now. These things are all over the place. We need to draw them in. Listen, I’m glad you’re there. Get some lanterns in the grounds then get the people with weapons onto the
roof. Over.”
“Understood. Over and out.”
✽ ✽ ✽
“I really don’t like the idea of Sammy and Jake being left alone,” Lucy said as she put her foot down harder on the accelerator.
“Look, it’s not ideal, but they’re in the attic and the ladder’s up. Sammy’s not just any kid, she’ll stay up there until we’re back,” Mike replied.
Two vehicles sped past them in the other direction, and Wren turned rapidly in her seat. “That was Grandad,” she said.
“He’ll be heading to the mangonels,” Mike replied. “I think that was Richard and David behind him.”
“Why though? These are RAMs we’re facing, not raiders.”
“It’s a smart move by Shaw. Get everybody on a battle footing.”
Mike looked across towards Lucy. He could see in the glow of the dashboard lights that tears were running down her face. He reached across and took her hand. “It’s okay, we’ll get through this, whatever it is.”
“Tell that to John. Tell that to Beth when she finds out that her little brother’s dead.”
Mike pulled his hand away. When he saw John, the only selfish thought that had run through his head was, Where is Jake? Did being a good brother make him a bad person? “I’m sorry. I hadn’t even thought.”
More cars sped by in the opposite direction, but soon they saw the glow of the community hall, although that was not their destination. Lucy sped through the small village and finally brought the car to a skidding stop outside the infirmary, the four static caravans that constituted Safe Haven’s medical facility. Stone chips sprayed up clattering against the outside of the vehicle. A few seconds later, another car came to an equally abrupt halt at the side of them; it was one of Lucy’s nurses.
They all exited the vehicles and ran inside. A look of relief swept over the face of the young nurse on duty as they entered Ward One. She and the lone patient had been listening to the radio transmissions. “They say there are infected. They say they’re going to put up a stand at the village hall,” she blurted.
Everything suddenly made sense to Mike. That’s why all the lights were on there. The creatures would naturally be drawn to the sound of the air raid siren, and the lights would beckon them further the second they were in sight. Mike picked up the handset. “Shaw, it’s Mike. We’ve got no guards here. What’s going on?”
“Mike, you tell me. It’s fucking mayhem. You’re meant to have four militia reporting there, are you saying none of them have shown up?”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
“Okay. Stay there, kill the lights. If you run into problems, let me know, but I think we’re going to have our hands full here for a while.”
Mike put the radio back in the cradle just as more vehicles arrived. It was the rest of the nursing staff, but still there was no sign of any guards. When they were all inside, Lucy took charge. “Okay, we need to be quick about this. We have to get the patients from the other wards across here and get all the lights turned off. It’s a lot easier to defend one caravan than four, so let’s get to it.”
No sooner had she spoken than the nurses and trainees dispersed. Mike, Lucy and Wren walked out into the middle of the court. The air raid siren was still in full vigour, and the three of them stood back to back. Despite Wren only being sixteen years old, she had proven herself to be a more than capable fighter, and she had both her pistol crossbows drawn and ready. Mike had his shotgun in one hand and a machete in the other, while Lucy stood there with her Glock 17. One by one, the lights of the static caravans went out as the patients and staff exited.
“How come you keep all the wards open with so few patients?” Wren asked, always inquisitive.
“We need to keep them aired and heated. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the damp air causes a lot of mould. I like to keep at least one patient in each ward. Keeps the building in shape for when we need it.”
“Makes sense.”
“Seriously. We’re under attack from a horde of zombie flesh-eaters, and that’s what was on your mind?” Mike said.
“Just wondering, that’s all.”
They fell silent again as bursts of gunfire started to sound from the direction of the village hall. “And so it begins,” Lucy said under her breath.
“There’s something in the trees,” Wren said, and Mike and Lucy both turned to see which direction she was looking in. They saw bushes and branches move and raised their weapons ready. Humphrey came bounding out, followed by Raj and Talikha, and the three of them instantly lowered their aim once more. They quickly greeted each other before all of them piled into Ward One.
“Who are we still waiting for?” Lucy asked.
“Nobody,” one of the nurses replied, we’re all here.
“Then why are the lights still on in Ward Four?”
“Oh,” the nurse replied guiltily.
“I’ll go and turn them off,” Mike said, flicking the light switch in their own ward then heading towards the door. Lucy grabbed his arm before he could open it.
“Too late,” she said.
They all gazed through the window at the figures that had been taking a shortcut through the woods towards the deafening sound of the siren. Five of them were now assembled around the brightly lit static caravan. They mounted the three steps and began to throw themselves at the door.
“Nice work,” Mike said, turning towards the nurse.
“I’m sorry,” she said, her brow creasing.
“Don’t worry sweetie, it’s easy enough to do,” Lucy replied.
“It’s not right that there’s a dog in a hospital ward,” said a grouchy old female patient.
“What did you say?” Mike asked, walking across to her bed.
“I said it’s not right that there’s a dog in a hospital ward.”
“Mike, leave it,” Lucy said.
“Our town’s under attack and your big concern is that there’s a dog in the ward.”
“It’s not right, it’s unhygienic!” she protested again.
“Listen to me, you old bag; I’ll put you out there before that dog, do you understand? So, there’s the door, and if you don’t fancy that option, you just stay there and keep your fucking mouth shut. That dog has more of a right to be in Safe Haven than anyone.”
“Well, I’ve never been spoken to like that in my life.”
“All I can say is you’ve been fucking lucky. Trust me, I’m not that pleasant to be around at the best of times, and this isn’t the best of fucking times. So keep your fucking mouth shut!”
“Mike!” Lucy said more firmly.
The old woman just sat there in her bed with her mouth wide open, and Mike walked back across to the window. There was even more gunfire coming from the direction of the village hall now.
“Sounds like a shooting gallery over there,” Mike said as he continued to look across to Ward Four.
“What should we do?” Wren asked.
“We wait,” Mike replied.
“Wait? Why?”
“All those things will be heading towards the siren unless something more interesting crops up along the way. All we need is another half dozen to appear out of the woods while we’re trying to clear them and we’ll be in a whole heap of trouble. We’ll give it another five minutes, and then we’ll go out there.”
Almost as soon as Mike had finished speaking, three more beasts appeared from the wooded area next to the lit caravan, and he looked towards Wren. “Okay, point taken,” she said.
✽ ✽ ✽
Lanterns littered the car park of the village hall, the doors were locked so there was no entry point for the creatures, and twenty men and women stood on top of the roof, carefully taking aim at each approaching RAM. Beth walked across to stand by Shaw. “You spoke to Mike?”
“Yeah,” Shaw said, aiming his rifle and making another headshot. “Why?”
“John was with Jake. I just wanted to make sure he was okay.”
“Beth, if anythin
g had happened to Jake, Mike would be round here tearing these things apart with his bare hands.”
“Fair point,” she said, bringing up her scope and taking down another creature as it charged towards the building.
✽ ✽ ✽
Mike, Lucy and Wren stepped outside, the noise of the air raid siren disguising any sound that they made as they got into position at the bottom of the steps. Lucy nodded, and the lights flickered on in the static caravan. George had rigged the lighting circuit to run on car batteries, so even when the generators weren’t running, there was always illumination.
For a moment, the creatures continued hammering at the door of Ward Four, oblivious to the fact that supper was preparing to serve itself outside of the first static caravan.
“Mike, what are you doing?” Lucy half whispered, half shouted as he started walking towards the creatures.
The beasts were still throwing themselves at the door when Mike pulled the fore-end of the shotgun, raised the weapon to his shoulder and fired. In the shadowy light, the explosion of blood and tissue looked black against the white entrance door. For a few seconds, the crack of the shotgun could be heard over the sound of the air raid siren, but the reverberations around the courtyard ended again just as quickly as the remaining seven creatures turned towards Mike. The beast with half a head collapsed, and the rest charged.
Mike cocked the weapon again and fired a second time, then a third, bringing down two more charging beasts. The pump-action shotgun was Mike’s go-to firearm. He did not possess the patience or the skill to learn how to use a rifle or handgun properly, but the spread from a shotgun blast almost guaranteed that he would hit something if he was close enough and pointing it in the right direction. He fired three more times in quick succession, blowing off the arm of one creature and blinding but not killing another. A third flew backwards, disappearing into the darkness, and Mike dropped the shotgun to the ground, reaching back with both hands and withdrawing the crisscrossed blades of the machetes from his rucksack.
Safe Haven (Book 6): Is This The End of Everything? Page 4
