“Poor thing,” Winter said. “Looks like it got caught up in the fight.”
They opened the kitchen door. It was a small box of a room, but it seemed to be untouched. Cedric went in and began rooting through the cupboards. He gagged when he opened the fridge as a stench wafted towards Winter.
“What is it?” She pictured a dead body, left inside in some sick experiment.
“Gone off chicken by the looks of it,”
She breathed a sigh of relief.
Then she heard it. A door, unlatching. She turned slowly, stuck at the end of a narrow hallway. She saw a door that had been closed was now open. Staring at her in the doorway was a child.
The boy had purple skin. Its jaw had snapped, hanging open, blood dripping down to the floor. Pyjamas had been covered in blood, but still seemed to project innocence. The zombie child stepped forwards, holding out its hand, as if he thought Winter was his mum.
He screeched, loudly, like a baby that had begun to cry, and propelled his short legs forwards.
Winter could do nothing but stare. She watched as the boy came towards her, his teeth bared, his screech getting louder.
She didn’t react when Cedric pushed past her. She didn’t even blink when the axe swung and severed the head of the boy. She didn’t flinch when Cedric threw three blows into the child’s skull.
She did, however, feel faint as she watched the decapitated body standing in the hallway. Blood spurted from where his neck had been moments ago, and then his body collapsed.
Cedric turned to Winter, his eyes wide.
“You might be immune, but I would rather not have you get bitten.”
Winter hunched over and threw up.
Chapter Forty-Seven
Heidi revved the engine, glaring at the gaggle of the dead that stumbled before her. They didn’t blink at the lights that were on full beam, illuminating them and casting them in sinister twisted shadows. They hissed and moaned as they questioned what was before them.
“You need to get away from here,” Olivia whined, her voice loud enough to alert the dead.
“You need to be quiet!” Violet shouted. “They’re going to hear us.”
“They want us anyway!”
“They want the car, not us!”
“Be quiet,” Heidi ordered.
The car revved again, and the dead head towards them, sensing there was something of interest in this metallic contraption.
“Heidi, your window,” Missy said, leaning back in her chair, further away from the smashed glass. “They’re going to get in.”
“I won’t let them,” Heidi said.
“Why aren’t you moving?”
The dead were at the bonnet now, walking around the car. The dead on Violet’s side peered in at the window, making eye contact with her, bearing their teeth and hissing. Some hands banged against the window behind her and Olivia screamed. The dead began to get riled.
“Drive, Heidi!” Missy screamed.
Hands reached in on Heidi’s side. She sped forwards, the tyres screeching. The dead in front of the car flew over them; the ones on the side fell under the wheels. Bones crunched and blood spilt, but they were alive.
They left the dead behind. They out sped the ones that tried running after them. Heidi kept driving, her eyes on the road.
They didn’t stop until they came to houses on the outskirts of Paris. The homes were small, and had views of the wall the government had built in an attempt to keep out the dead.
“Where are we?” Violet asked.
“I was living here,” Heidi spoke.
“Was?”
“Before my job took up all of my time in The Union. Before life became too dangerous. These houses never interested V or her government. They’re too far out.”
“So people live here?”
“Not many,” Heidi said. She turned the engine off, twisting a gear behind the wheel to cut the lights. They were now sat in darkness, opposite a house with a small door with chains over the window. “It’s a great place to hide.”
“Why have we been hiding in Paris all this time if this has been available?” Violet questioned.
“It was Maria’s idea,” Heidi said. “She never learned where I came from.”
“Why?”
“I found myself lying when I started working for her. I decided to keep quiet I knew about this place. I just thought it was mine. A very private place.”
“It looks safe,” Missy said.
“It should be. Follow me.”
Heidi climbed out of the jeep, and the others followed. They closed the doors as quietly as possible. Heidi didn’t bother locking it. They crept across the street and disappeared down a narrow alleyway, where bins had been placed and left. It was a dirty part of France, but nobody cared except Olivia. She tutted and moaned each time her foot squished on something unknown.
Heidi stopped at a back door, set into a wall. She crouched down and lifted a stone. Underneath was a bronze key.
“I can’t believe it’s still here.”
“I hope nobody has gone in.” Missy thought.
“Nobody comes here.”
Heidi slotted the key into the keyhole and turned. The door opened and she pushed it forwards.
They were in a dark bedroom, the bed neatly made. The room had home comforts, like photos on the walls and dead flowers in a vase.
“I lived here,” Heidi breathed, looking at the photos on the walls. “I can’t believe it is all still here.”
They headed further into the room. Heidi shut the door and locked it. It had a metal cage fitted in the doorframe, which Heidi shut and drew a bolt across.
“How is this so secure?” Violet asked.
“I knew people on the black market who helped me out and got me here.” Heidi shrugged. “I think people in this area sensed something was wrong when the apocalypse started. They fitted their homes with safety. It’s lucky they did.”
“So all the doors? All the windows?”
“All have these metal cages around it.”
They walked out into the hallway, where a lamp in the corner was plugged in. Heidi switched it on. There was a chill in the air, and Heidi walked into the kitchen. Violet and the others followed her, and watched her turn on the boiler. It gurgled into life after a long time being off. The pipes around the small apartment began to groan as water flushed through them.
Violet eyed the wall in the kitchen. It was plastered with Polaroid photographs. Peering closer, Violet saw Heidi with people her own age. A couple of photos were of her with her parents. Yet most of them featured one boy, his black hair ruffled and his grin cheeky.
“Who is he?” Violet asked.
Heidi sighed. She eyed the photos, too, though it hurt her to do so. “His name was Daniel. He was my boyfriend for three years. He…he didn’t make it.”
Violet placed a hand on Heidi’s arm. “I’m sorry.”
“Me, too.” Heidi nodded, letting tears fall. “I’m sorry, but it’s just overwhelming being back here. It’s like I blocked it out. I didn’t live here for long, but I made it into a home.”
“How did you get these over here?” Missy asked. “The photos?”
“I packed them when I evacuated. I needed them. I couldn’t function without any of them.”
Olivia swayed into the room. “I’ve found my room. Heidi, is there soap here?”
Violet rolled her eyes. “There aren’t any home comforts here, Olivia.”
Olivia ignored Violet. “Heidi?”
“Nothing, I’m afraid. But the shower should work.”
Olivia sighed, as if the news of the apocalypse was new to her. She turned and left the room, heading back to a room at the back of the hallway.
“Leave her to it.” Violet commented.
“Find yourself somewhere to sleep. There are four bedrooms here and a small living room with a sofa. The shower and bathroom are at the end of the hall, next to the front door. We’ll rest and then we’ll work out where to go from here.
”
“We’re not staying?” Missy asked, staring down the dark hallway. The doorway was locked with the same gate.
“Well, not for long,” Heidi replied. “We’ve got to find the others.”
Chapter Forty-Eight
Winter and Cedric climbed back aboard their boat, carrying a bag of tinned foods left behind by the man, woman and their family. Connor helped Cedric throw the dead man’s body overboard. The splash and the plunge of the body hitting the water made Winter’s stomach twist.
They sat below deck, watching Cedric heat up tinned soup on a small stove. Winter’s stomach rumbled. She realised just how hungry she was.
“Get David and Zach up,” Cedric instructed.
Connor stepped up and headed to David’s room.
“That was crazy,” Winter said. She eyed Cedric’s axe, dry with the blood of the child he had decapitated. “It made me feel sick.”
“You threw up,” Cedric said. “I didn’t think you would.”
“I’ve seen some shit things, but that was the worst,” Winter said. The child had kept some innocence, stood there in pyjamas, his parents dead outside. Something about him had set Winter’s emotion on high.
Connor came back, David behind him, topless and wearing loose fitting boxers that were striped like a pic-a-mix bag. Zach strolled behind, his hair jutting at odd angles.
“Could have got changed, David,” Winter commented.
David yawned, as if he hadn’t heard her, but his yawn was too put on. “Where did you get that?”
“You slept through the dead getting on board,” Connor said, as light rain began to fall outside. “The boat drifted towards us and the dead were inside.”
“The dead got on board?” Zach asked.
“Is nowhere safe?” David gasped.
“Apparently not,” Cedric said, as the soup hissed on the stove. “You need to get some photographs of the ship for the newspaper. It’s a good story.”
“No one wants to read about the dead out at sea.”
“Anything to fill the newspaper.”
David sat opposite Winter and took off his glasses. He blew on the glass and wiped them off on his boxer shorts. He placed them back on his broad nose, blinking a few times. “It won’t be long until New Year’s is here.”
“We’re set,” Cedric said. “I’ve been reviewing the plans, and I think we’re good to go.”
“With the food, do you think we will stay here a bit longer?” Connor asked.
“A little longer, yes. Until we’re needed on land.”
“Where are we going to get ball gowns and masks from?” Winter asked.
Cedric shrugged. “I’m not sure.”
“We weren’t really planning to dress up, were we?” Connor looked at the others for validation. “That can’t actually happen.”
Zach shook his head.
“We’ll get in,” Cedric said. “I think V wants to see us. She won’t care if we’re dressed up.”
“I highly doubt we will just be able to walk in,” David said. “Cedric, you stole money from her. Winter’s immune, and Connor is both immune and an escapee. The rest of us have violated her trust by being part of The Union. We aren’t exactly her favourite guests.”
Cedric shook his head, turning to the small room. “We’ll be getting in. Trust me.”
“How?”
“We’ll sneak in.”
Winter shook her head. “It’s going to be a New Year’s party on high alert.”
Cedric sighed. “You’re forgetting that we’ve been invited.”
“It sounds like a trap to me,” Connor said.
“We won’t let it be a trap!” Cedric fired. “Honestly, it’s like you lot don’t trust me. Don’t you know how much experience I have with this? Don’t you know how important this is to me? To bring down V? To bring down her government? I worked for that bitch for too long. I risked my life to steal some of her money, which hardly dented her fucking investment, and I went on the run. Yeah, sure, Maria joined me and got me contacts, but I built the fucking Union. I built the fucking group that has kept you lot alive.”
“Cedric…” Winter began.
“No! You belittle me. You doubt my brains. You doubt how smart I am! You think I haven’t thought any of this through. You think I just go with a small plan and see what happens. You risk your lives to save Connor when I had better plans. When I could have saved him, too! I know people, Winter. I know who the right people to trust are. I know who not to trust, as well. Why won’t you trust me?”
“It’s not that we don’t trust you, mate,” Connor said, his eyes wide with shock. “It’s not a competition as to who can save me first. I’m glad to be alive! We do trust you, mate, but we’re scared.”
“Why?”
“Because V is running an establishment that ruined the world,” Winter shot back. She refused to be intimidated by the man before her. “She’s running an establishment that lost everything for all of us.”
“Which is why I need to bring her crashing to the ground.” Cedric screamed. “But you need to trust me! You all do!”
David shook his head. “Cedric…”
“Don’t start, David,” Cedric snapped. “You’ve been slowing down that newspaper of yours when I could have done it quicker.”
“Cedric, you don’t want to hear anything we’ve got to say,” David argued back. “You never listen to my suggestions. I want to make this newspaper as good as possible, not rush it out. Do you know how dangerous it would be to publish it?”
“Of course I know, but don’t you want to tear V down?”
“Sometimes, you need to realise that getting ahead of yourself is dangerous.”
Cedric shook his head. The soup behind him was popping and spitting but he ignored it. “I know what I’m doing.”
“Then work with us,” David replied. “We’re a team.”
“Then trust me.”
“Cedric…”
“DON’T.” Cedric boomed. The room fell silent. Zach stared down at the table. Wind whistled past the vessel as the rain increased. “I don’t want to hear it.” He shook his head, ruffling his hair. “I’m going to bed.”
“What about the soup?” Connor asked.
“Cook it yourselves.”
“You don’t want any?”
Cedric disappeared into his room.
They sat silently for a moment or two before Connor got up and tended to the soup, finding bowls in one of the cupboards.
“I didn’t know his temper was that bad,” Winter said, keeping her voice low. “I remember him threatening me that night we evacuated London. He didn’t like that I wasn’t going to be his ambassador.”
David shook his head. “Cedric doesn’t like it if he feels as though things aren’t going his way. He is very much a lone wolf; only in this situation he can’t be such a thing. He has to work with a team. His plans are in the right place, but he can’t pull things off all by himself.”
“No, he can’t,” Winter agreed. “Unfortunately, he lowers his trust in me when he acts that way.”
“You’ve just got to let him get over it.”
“Get over it? He’s supposed to be our guidance. Hell, maybe even our leader…”
“We don’t have a leader.” David watched Connor pour the soup into three bowls. “We work as a team.”
“Not in Cedric’s head, we don’t.”
David rolled his eyes as Connor placed the soup in front of them. Dinner was served.
Chapter Forty-Nine
The days turned into weeks, and before they knew it the day before New Year’s Eve was upon them. The atmosphere on the ship was sombre. Cedric had barely uttered words to the group, still not over his argument with them about their apparent doubt at his leadership skills. It had been a very awkward place to be.
Zach’s panic for Violet’s safety increased.
“What if she’s dead?”
“She won’t be.”
“But what if sh
e is?”
“Zach, she’ll be okay.”
“What if V has her?”
“Zach…”
But nothing Winter or anybody else said would reassure Zach. Now, with their one day left until they found themselves in government headquarters, the reality of the situation had set in.
Taking on V seemed idiotic. Winter had doubted the plan from the start, but she never truly expected to be going through with it. Cedric, in his temper, was adamant they would be stopping the apocalypse tomorrow night. Winter knew better.
“I just really want to go back now,” Zach said for the umpteenth time, looking out at the sea. “I just can’t bear this any longer. I’m too nervous.”
“I know, Zach, but I can’t do anything about that,” Winter said, irritated by his worrying. He just wouldn’t change. “There’s nothing any of us can do until tomorrow.”
“The thing I keep thinking about is whether or not she will find us,” Zach said. “Paris is a dangerous place, and Violet could be anywhere. She doesn’t know about the invite to the party.”
“She’ll be with the others. She’ll find her way there. She’ll figure something out.”
“I just don’t feel so confident in any of this.”
“Zach, I’m not talking to you about this anymore,” Winter sighed. “You’ve been driving me crazy with your worry.”
Zach turned to Winter, looking both shocked and upset. “I’m sorry, but I actually care about Violet’s wellbeing.”
“And so do I,” Winter replied, stung at his words. “We may argue sometimes, but Violet has her heart in the right place. I trust her. I worry for her, too, and I seriously hope we find her. But I’m also being real, Zach. Realism is what you’re good at, and to keep me sane I need you to start thinking straight again. We’ve lost William, we saved Connor by sheer luck, and we’ve lost Lara. Violet is out there with Missy, Heidi, Caroline and Ruby. If Ruby is to be trusted, that is. They’ll be fine, I’m sure of it.”
Zach sighed, slumping on one of the benches. He took off his glasses and rubbed the middle of his forehead, trying to work away a headache.
“She can fend for herself, can’t she?”
Winter sat next to Zach and looked out at the setting sun. “She’s survived this long.”
Winter Smith (Book 2): The Secrets of France Page 28
