Winter Smith (Book 1): London's Burning

by Strange, J. S.

  “I had to change myself. So I did. The reason I committed those crimes and acted up was because I was so ashamed of myself. But then I realised I needed to change. So I got a job at that coffee shop last year, and I began applying to college, and then this fucking happened.”

  He gestured around him at invisible bloodbaths and imaginary swarming dead.

  “And they never found out, Winter. I let them die while I escaped. It was like the last thing I did that was selfish, that was wrong.”

  Connor again was overcome by tears. This time Winter placed a hand on his back and began to rub his shoulders, consoling him.

  “How is it I get to survive, Winter?” He asked. “I don’t deserve to survive.”

  “Because you’re trying to better yourself, Connor. You’re trying to redeem everything bad you’ve ever done. None of this was really your fault. You’ve just mixed with the wrong crowds, allowed bad things to happen. Everybody makes mistakes.”

  “I killed my sister. I possibly killed my parents, and that poor old woman. Think of all of the other people I’ve hurt through violence, blackmail, burglary. I just ruin everything, Winter.”

  “No, you don’t.” Winter shook her head. “You were ten, Connor, when you let your sister go across that ice. You were young. You should have known better, but you were a boy, and boys play games, especially with their younger siblings. You didn’t know she would die. You didn’t know the consequences of falling through ice. You didn’t know how deep that water was. You just wanted to play a prank, and that prank went wrong.”

  “But I forced her across the ice, Winter. She was scared but I made her do it!” Connor cried. “And I never told my parents.”

  “Of course you wouldn’t tell your parents, especially as you got older and realised just how bad it was. You could never have told them something like that. They were disappointed in you for your crimes, imagine how disappointed they would have been if you told them about your sister. You knew you couldn’t do that.”

  Connor just nodded. He was a young boy defeated.

  “I’m not saying you wouldn’t have told them. Guilt is poisonous. It eats away at you until you’re about to succumb to it,” Winter said. “But at your age, you could never have told them.”

  Connor sniffed. He was still crying, even though he hid his face away from Winter. She could see his shoulders shaking.

  “But the point is, Connor, you tried to save your life. You’ve tried turning it around, and you can still do that. You got your job. You applied for colleges. You’re saving this group, helping us all survive. This is your chance, Connor. Take it.”

  Connor rubbed a hand over his face.

  “What’s wrong with us, Winter? Why are we so fucked up?”

  “All of the best people are.” Winter grinned.

  * * *

  Helena strolled by the river’s edge. She had waited behind for Winter and Connor, but after deciding they were going to take their time she thought she would catch up with the others. She didn’t want to know what they were doing, that was none of her business, but a couple left alone in a private wood leaves little to the imagination.

  She grinned to herself as she stumbled over uneven ground, listening to the rushing water that stood a few feet away from her. She moved out of the way of a particularly dangerous rock and something dropped out of her pocket; a pen knife.

  She bent down to pick it up and that was when she heard something snap behind her.

  Turning around, she saw Oliver leaning against a tree. He looked at her on the ground, with that odd look he gave to people he didn’t like. Helena hadn’t taken to Oliver. She thought it was because she hadn’t tried. But then, to her, she never tried to make friends with someone if she thought they were rotten.

  “Alright, Oliver?” She smiled, retrieving her penknife and standing up. She didn’t put the knife away. It was always good to keep a weapon on you. Not that she would do much damage with a penknife. Her gun had become too heavy for her, and William had taken it back to the campsite. She wished she had remembered to take it with her.

  Oliver strolled away from the tree, looking at the river behind Helena.

  “Did you find Connor?” Oliver asked.

  “I did try and wait, but they took their time. I just thought I’d leave them to it, if you get what I’m saying.”

  She grinned cheekily, but Oliver didn’t return the smile.

  “Hmm.”

  “How come you’re not with the others?”

  Oliver shrugged. Helena watched him. She could see he was deliberating on something, wondering whether to just come out and say what he had to say.

  “I think we better go back. I think Winter and Connor will be alright on their own…”

  She was uncertain. She knew they needed to get back to camp before it got dark. The sun was already setting. Nightfall was the most dangerous in the park. The zombies seemed to thrive on it. It was easy to miss an approaching zombie when there was no light except the moon above.

  “Maybe we should wait,” Oliver said.

  Helena looked at him. She flipped the penknife open and shut in her hand and sighed.

  “Okay, well, if you want to find them, why don’t we go and look?” Helena asked, trying to make a compromise. “I don’t really like standing around. It’s like we’re waiting for death.”

  “I don’t want to find Connor. I have something to tell you.”

  Helena smirked. “What’s up?”

  Oliver cast a look around him, to make sure they were alone.

  “We need to get rid of Winter.”

  Helena blinked. “Get rid?”

  “Yes, get rid.” Oliver nodded. His eyes widened and lit up. “She can’t be trusted.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “She is going to screw us over. She is going to make sure we never escape London. We don’t have much time, and it’s precious, and she’s going to make sure we run out of that time.”

  Helena shook her head. “What are you saying?”

  “I’m saying we leave her behind…or we kill her.”

  “KILL HER?” Helena laughed. “Are you drunk?”

  Oliver advanced on Helena. She was pushed against a tree as he glared into her eyes. She forgot all about the knife in her hands. She was too scared.

  “She is going to ruin this for us, Helena, and if you know what is good for you, you will get rid of her.” Oliver moved away. His expression was confused. He seemed to be somewhat stunned at what he had done. He moved away slowly, looking slightly out of it. “I’ve spoken to the others. They want her gone.”

  Helena, breathing in, began to relax. She felt the knife in her hands and clutched it.

  “Really?”

  “Gerry isn’t convinced, but the others want her gone.” Oliver nodded.

  “Surely they don’t want her dead, though?”

  Oliver breathed in, shrugging as he did so.

  “Maybe not. I don’t know, I was wrong to say that. Let’s just leave her behind. She’s here to ruin us.”

  “But Connor knows her. Connor trusts her. She’s obviously not here to ruin anything,” Helena said. “I think she just wants to escape, like the rest of us.”

  “Connor can’t be trusted, either.”

  Helena shook her head. “You’re becoming too paranoid, Oliver. Chill out. We’ll all know whether or not they can or can’t be trusted. I think they’re fine.”

  “You’re wrong.”

  “Well, if I’m wrong, let’s discuss it all in a group and decide on it, yes?”

  When Oliver didn’t reply, Helena made to move, but Oliver blocked her.

  “You know, I don’t like it when people don’t listen to me…Helena.”

  Helena looked at him. He was staring just over her shoulder, clutching onto the tree trunk next to him. It blocked her path but she could simply duck underneath. His voice was low, slow and empty. She realised it was the first time she had spoken to him this much.

 
; “I am listening to you, Olly.”

  “DON’T CALL ME OLLY.” He screamed. It made her jump. She moved away from him, closer to the river. Once again he closed the gap, inches away from her. “I can’t really be with you people. I need to be with people I trust. I don’t trust you. I don’t trust Winter, and now I don’t trust Connor.”

  “Oliver, listen…”

  Before she could utter another word Oliver’s hand gripped her shoulders and spun her around. The rushing river in front of her hissed with excitement as she was pushed to her knees, a rock jabbed into her leg and she felt like crying out. The knife in her hand dropped and only just managed to avoid being swept away.

  Oliver’s other hand gripped the back of Helena’s neck. His grip was strong. She knew not to cry out or try to escape.

  “Everything that has happened recently is crazy, isn’t it?” Oliver asked, and when Helena didn’t scream he shook her. “Isn’t it?”

  “It is.” Helena gasped.

  “Everyone saying they didn’t see it coming, well I fucking did.”

  “Did you?”

  “Yes. People are scum. They were scum before any of this happened. They were selfish. Corruption is what caused this mess. Selfish corruption.”

  Helena said nothing. She tried to stop making any sound as she cried, hunched over by the river’s edge.

  “What did you do before this happened, Helena?”

  “I was in uni.” She choked.

  “Of course.” Oliver muttered. “Putting yourself in debt. Taking things for granted. Am I right?”

  “Yes, you’re right,” Helena said, even though she had taken her academic career seriously. She had had plans. She had begun to set them into motion.

  “Such a shame you’ll never get what you want.”

  He jerked her head forwards and smiled as it went crashing into the water. He held her there as the river washed over her head and blocked it from view. He could feel her panic in his hands, as she thrashed and tried to grab something to pull herself back up. She jerked and tried to escape. He let go for just a second and let Helena almost sweep away with the current before grabbing her hair and pulling her back up to the air.

  She gasped and breathed in, spluttering on the water she had swallowed. She looked so pitiful.

  “Gerry isn’t the leader of this group, Helena. I am. I need to be treated with respect.”

  Helena was still spluttering. It annoyed him.

  “Don’t you agree?”

  “Yes, I agree.”

  “Because Gerry will lead us to death, won’t he?”

  “Yes, he will,” Helena said, deciding it was best to agree.

  A second later she was back under the water. Rushing water pounded against her eardrums. She tried to scream but the water began to choke her. She moved one hand into the water in the hopes to push herself up, but Oliver was either too strong or had anticipated the move.

  He yanked her back up. She blinked away the water and saw the trees in front of her, swaying slightly. The sky was darkening. If she screamed someone was bound to hear her.

  “Are you learning how important I am, Helena?”

  Helena nodded, but choking on water she was unable to talk.

  “I’m glad. It was nice knowing you. Such a shame you were attacked and fell into the water. That’s what I’ll tell the others, anyway.”

  And Oliver pushed her under the crashing water and held her there, until her body stopped moving. For good measure, he held up her head by the hair and picked up a rock. He hit her across the head and then threw her into the water, where he watched her body, dead or alive, tumble away under the waves.

  He stood there for just a few moments, just to make sure she disappeared and that her body didn’t get stuck or betray what he had just done. Then, when he was satisfied she was gone, he picked up the knife she had dropped and slit his arm. He held in a scream at the pain and threw the knife across the water, where it bounced before being swallowed.

  He stumbled through the trees, crying at the pain he had inflicted on himself, and worked out what to say when he got back to camp.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  The helicopter they had signalled for came their way. Hope was flying towards them. They could escape. They would get to Paris at last.

  “Get the kids,” Violet said to Zach. “I’ll get anything we’ve left behind.”

  Zach made to move, but then Violet screamed.

  The zombies had found height, and with that height they threw themselves at the lowering helicopter. A total of seven zombies flew through the air. They gripped the bottom bar, and with the weight added to one side the helicopter began to tilt. The pilots face was that of fear.

  “Oh no.” Zach gasped. “Oh, please, no.”

  Seconds later more zombies had attached themselves to the helicopter. Violet didn’t know if they knew what they were doing, but they seemed to know they were about to get a feast.

  The helicopter fell to the side and crashed to the ground. On impact it smashed in half, dropping the living people inside. The helicopter hitting the ground had successfully killed a few zombies but it made no difference. The street was crawling with the decaying dead. Some lifted their hands up towards Violet and Zach leaning out of the windows. The others set upon the pilot in the helicopter.

  Government workers leaped out of the helicopter and began to fire bullets, but they were outnumbered. It took less than a minute for them to disappear under the swarming dead.

  With a bang, one part of the helicopter caught alight, and the zombies inside began to burn and wither. The others nearby hissed at it and scattered.

  Violet shook her head. She felt like screaming. In the distance she could see a light shining from another helicopter, but it was miles away. It probably wouldn’t come this way. It probably didn’t even know one helicopter had been brought down.

  Then it struck her. They would radio each other. She looked back at the helicopter parts to see which one was burning. It was the second half. The radio would be in the front. Would it work?

  Violet turned to Zach to see the flames of the helicopter reflected in his glasses. Even behind the reflection she could see he was afraid.

  “It isn’t over, Zach. I have an idea.”

  Zach turned to look at her.

  “We need to get to the radio in the front of the helicopter,” she said. “It could still work, although I’m betting it probably isn’t. But we have to try.”

  “You want us to go out there?”

  “I want you to go out there.”

  Zach laughed.

  “You can’t be serious. The street is swarming. I would die if I went out there!”

  “Listen, Zach, it’s the only thing we’ve got left for us. That other helicopter is miles away, and we’re running out of time to get to the Thames. If we don’t get there tonight then I don’t think we will ever get there.”

  “If I went out there right now, Vi, I would be infected.”

  Violet felt like screaming. Why were people so set on escaping, then when the opportunity was there they let it go?

  She suddenly thought of another way to get what she wanted.

  “Fine, I’ll go out there.”

  She flipped her hair so it wound around her shoulders, a few strands falling over her bra. She saw Zach’s eyes glance down but he seemed to be thinking of other things right now.

  “Violet, you can’t.”

  “If you’re not going to go and see about getting help, then I will.”

  “It’s not going to work!”

  “That is probably the only thing that does work,” Violet said as she began to walk towards the door. She tried to be brave, ignore the hisses of the countless zombies outside. “The phones are down so we can’t ring evacuation squads. We’re in the thick of the dead so no government worker is going to drive past or come knocking on the doors. The ships are running out and in a few days time they’ll be cut, and if we’re not there we’re left here. I�
��m not being left here, Zach. I can’t be left here.”

  Zach clutched at his hair. He looked positively alarmed. Violet opened the door and he shouted out, stopping her in her tracks.

  “Fine, I’ll go out, I’ll go out and try and radio someone. I’ll probably be able to work it faster than you, if it will work in the first place.”

  Violet smirked, facing the landing. She arranged her features to look confident, even though she felt like this could end in disaster.

  “Go out now. You’ve got to call someone now.”

  Zach peered out of the window. “Why don’t I go when it dies down a bit?”

  “They’re not going to go away, Zach.”

  The pair looked at each other. Zach’s lip quivered. Violet thought he was almost about to break down. She wondered why she was forcing him to leave. Was this a subconscious plot to get him killed? If he died out there, then surely she could leave the kids behind and leave London alone? But she loved Zach. At least, she thought she was falling in love with him. Surely to subconsciously think about this being his death was preposterous?

  “Look, Zach, I’ll keep guard up here. We have the guns, I can shoot anything that comes your way. I’ll guide you, tell you where to go, get you to safety in time. I’m not going to let you get bitten out there, Zach.”

  “Violet, I can’t go out there. It’s suicide.”

  Violet shook her head. They needed to get out of here. She couldn’t be cooped up in this house much longer. To see a helicopter come towards you, with the intention of help had been enough to confirm to Violet that she had to survive London. Then to see it ripped down and their last safety route disappear in front of them had tipped her over the edge. She knew she was being irrational. She knew she wasn’t thinking clearly. But right now she wanted out. And what Violet Black wanted, Violet Black got.

  She strode to the window and threw it open. The zombie’s attentions were drawn to her. She left the window and strode back into the room, where she spotted two candlesticks lying in the corner. She picked them up and felt that they were pretty weighty. They were inscribed with odd symbols, which she admired by running a finger over the bumpy steel work.

  “What are you doing?” Zach asked.