She ran around to her side of the truck, hopped in, slammed the door, and hit the central lock. Not that it would do any good against the mob. They’d tear though concrete to get at their prey.
As the diseased closed in on them, Vicky threw the truck into first gear and accelerated away.
The mob filled her rear-view mirror for a few seconds, but as she picked up speed, they grew smaller.
After she’d negotiated the tight streets and swerved around the occasional diseased, Vicky got out onto the open seven-lane highway. She rested a hand on Flynn’s knee. “It’s okay. We’ve left the bad man and the diseased behind. It’s okay. We’ll find your mum and dad, I promise.” She squeezed his leg again. “I promise.”
Chapter 33
As Rhys and Larissa reached the tree line, the truck went up with a loud whoomph behind them. Seconds later, a hard gust of hot air shoved Rhys in the back and he stumbled. The rapid change in temperature brought a layer of sweat to the surface of Rhys’ skin. When he looked at Larissa, he saw how the light glistened off her damp skin too.
Once they’d entered the dark cover of the trees, they both stopped and peered out. Rhys watched the truck they’d ignited burn on its own. As one, the diseased descended on the blazing wreck. The bright flames picked out their twisted faces and snapping jaws.
The first of the diseased reached the truck and screamed as they caught on fire. “What the fuck?” Rhys said.
Larissa shifted to see out of the trees too. “They’re not running away.”
And they weren’t. As one fell to the flames, three more ploughed into the vehicle.
The ignited diseased bridged the gap to the next car and it caught on fire too. A few seconds later, Rhys flinched at the blinding flash and second loud whoomph.
This time, the gust of hot air brought the sweet and fatty smell of seared flesh with it, and Rhys vomited a small amount of bile into his mouth. The sharp and bitter kick twisted his face and he spat on the ground, but the acidic burn remained in his throat.
A continuous monotone ring hummed in Rhys’ ears from the loud explosion as he watched the car burn, and he blinked repeatedly to take the flashes from his vision.
Before he’d fully recovered his sight, another two cars blew up and the ground shook. The double explosion pushed out another hot gust that rushed toward them and blew the hair back from Rhys’ forehead.
When Larissa tugged on his arm, Rhys saw she’d stepped farther back into the woods and he let her pull him in with her.
By the time the next explosion happened, Rhys had turned his back on it. If he stood there and watched every one of the explosions, his night vision would be shot to pieces, although maybe he didn’t need night vision with the bright glow from the car park. Another several cars went up and drowned out the sounds of the diseased as they burned alive.
The cars continued to blow. Three, four, five, six at a time and each explosion rang louder than the last. They lit up the night and shook the ground.
“When shall we move on?” Larissa said as another three or four cars exploded.
Despite the ring in his ears, Rhys just about heard her. He shook his head. “Not yet. If we can wait this out then maybe it’ll kill all the diseased and we can get back on the road.”
Rhys watched Larissa open her mouth to reply, but the screech of tyres cut her dead.
When Rhys looked up, he saw a truck. It came from the same direction they’d come from and it had lost control as it snaked down the road toward them.
When the truck got closer, the bright flames showed Rhys two people in the cab: a woman and a boy. “Oh fuck!”
His entire body tensed when the truck finally lost it, flipped, and went into a barrel roll. The large vehicle crunched and popped as it lost its wing mirrors, panels dented, and the windows broke. After a particularly loud pop that had obviously put a window out completely, Rhys heard the scream of a little boy.
The truck came to rest against the small wall that surrounded the lot. It lay on its side just feet away from the burning cars. Panic stole his breaths and he only realised how hard he gripped Larissa’s arm when he saw her wince. He eased off and said, “That’s Flynn and Vicky.”
“How do you know?”
A wall of flames separated the burning diseased from the wrecked truck. It would hold them back for a time. A line of explosions then ripped through the car park, away from Vicky and Flynn. It took out yet more diseased, but they continued to flock to the flames.
“Well?” Larissa said.
“Oh, sorry,” Rhys said as he watched the chaos. His eyes stung from the light and he sweated more than ever. “I just know it’s them.” He stepped out of the trees and the heat pushed against him. More cars exploded away from them, but all of the cars close to the first one had already gone up in flames; all except the truck with his boy inside.
The screech of a second set of tyres stopped Rhys in his tracks. It too came from the same way Vicky and Flynn had, and it too cannoned toward the parked cars. It seemed to have its sights set on Vicky and Flynn.
It took for Larissa to speak for Rhys to realise she’d walked out of the trees with him and stood by his side. “Then who’s that?”
Chapter 34
About fifteen minutes ago
The entire truck shook when Vicky hit a diseased. Flynn screamed next to her. His shrill cry stung her ears. She’d seen this one coming too late so she hit it head on. It rolled up over the bonnet and cracked the windscreen much like the one they’d hit in the car had.
Adrenaline ran a wobble through Vicky’s arms, and no matter how tightly she gripped the wheel, she swerved from side to side on the wide road.
On their right, Summit City still burned. On their left, the dark woodland peered out at them.
They hit another diseased. Another thud shook through the truck and the diseased flew off to one side.
“I’m scared, Vicky.”
Vicky reached across and squeezed Flynn’s arm. “Don’t be, honey, everything’s okay. This is a big, strong truck, and it’ll get us to where we need to be. Don’t worry. Remember, in Call of Duty: Zombies, the idea is to kill the zombies. Think of the points we’d get for driving into them.”
Flynn remained curled in a ball, his feet pulled up onto the seat with his heels pressed into his bottom, but he lifted his head and looked out of the window at the road. “Kinda hard to see now, isn’t it?”
Cracks ran all the way across the windscreen, but Vicky still managed to see the next diseased. At the last moment, she swerved to avoid it.
Flynn laughed.
“What’s so funny?”
The boy relaxed his tense little frame and pointed out in front of them. “That was an easy fifty points and you completely missed it. I think I should drive.”
“You cheeky …” Vicky left it there and the smallest hint of a smile lifted her lips.
When they passed the drawbridge, Vicky slowed down a little and frowned hard as she stared into the dark. The police car remained in the same place, though that was hardly a surprise considering she’d thrown the keys away earlier. The booth that controlled the bridge also remained unoccupied. Not that it mattered. The orange glow from Summit City showed it still burned, so even if someone did lower it now all they’d find would be ash. Vicky put her foot down again and the large diesel engine pulled them on.
When they came to the exit signpost for Biggin Hill, Vicky turned to Flynn. The boy had his feet on the ground now and had relaxed a lot more. They’d not hit, or even seen a diseased for the past half a mile or so.
The cracks in the glass dragged lines of light across Vicky’s vision, but she didn’t need to see that well as long as she stayed on the wide road. “We’re close to the airport now, Flynn. Don’t worry, we’ll find your mum and da—”
Before Vicky could finish, she saw the headlights on the road behind her and a chill snapped her body taut. It could have been anyone, but Vicky knew. “Brendan? Not again.”
For a moment, Vicky didn’t reply. Instead, she watched the lights as the car behind gained on them. When would he give up? She finally said, “Yep, it’s him.”
“Oh God.” Flynn lifted his feet back onto the seat and wrapped his arms around his knees to pull them in closer. “What does he want from us? Why won’t he leave us alone? You won’t leave me on my own again, will you?”
The last question stabbed Vicky’s heart and she didn’t reply. Instead, she put her foot down and squinted through the broken windscreen. When Brendan flicked on his full-beam headlights, she frowned harder than before as she tried to see in the dark.
Suddenly an explosion lit up in front of them. The cracks on the windscreen spread the bright light all the way across the window and Vicky swerved. Several more explosions came to life about twenty metres away and completely blinded Vicky.
In her attempt to bring the vehicle back under control, she snaked from side to side. A glance behind and she saw the bright light of Brendan’s car.
Another explosion in front and Vicky hit the brakes. Regardless of what happened behind them, they couldn’t drive straight into the fire in front. But she hit the brakes too hard. The truck tilted up onto one side before it flipped and went into a barrel roll.
Although Vicky tried to reach out to Flynn, within seconds, she’d lost her bearings as the car rolled over and over. Each time, despite her seatbelt being on, a moment of weightlessness was followed by a loud bang and a heavy impact through a different part of her body. She whacked her knees on the steering wheel, her shoulder against the driver’s side window, and the air flew from her chest from the pressure of her belt when she jolted forward.
On the next moment of weightlessness, she reached out to Flynn again but grasped only thin air. A bright light then punched through her vision when she whacked her head. A bell rang in her ears and her world went dark.
Groggy from the crash, Vicky heard a loud bang next to her and opened her eyes. Her seat belt held her in place as the truck lay on its side. The weight of her entire body rested on her left ribs. Her door pointed toward the dark sky.
Flames roared next to the truck and had turned the temperature up by what felt like a thousand degrees. Sweat had turned her entire body slick. When she looked down, she saw Flynn. His door was lowest to the ground, and he was lying unconscious against it.
Another loud bang and the glass from the door on Vicky’s side rained down on her. She shook the window fragments away and looked up to see Brendan standing above her.
Vicky shook her head but before she could speak, Brendan shouted at her. “Thought you’d gotten away from me? Well, guess again, bitch.” Brendan leaned down into the car and cut off her air with a tight grip around her throat.
Chapter 35
Unable to breathe, stars flashed in Vicky’s vision as Brendan squeezed tighter. She flapped her hand in the direction of the seat belt release, but couldn’t find it.
With her eyes on Brendan, she saw the man’s teeth as he clenched his jaw. Veins stood out on his forehead and saliva dripped from his mouth. A large globule landed just below her left eye. If he squeezed much harder, he’d break her windpipe for sure.
Woozy from the lack of oxygen Vicky fought against her body’s desire to fall limp. Whatever happened, she needed to get Flynn out before the truck blew up.
The heat from the flames pushed against Vicky’s face and turned the air stuffy. If the lack of oxygen didn’t drag her under, the heat would. Vicky gave up on the seatbelt, reached up, and grabbed Brendan’s wrist. One last chance to get out of the situation, she dug her nails in hard.
Brendan’s eyes flew wide, but he didn’t let go, he squeezed harder instead.
Darkness narrowed Vicky’s vision and she could only hear the sound of herself choking. And then, just before complete blackout, Brendan let go.
A hungry gasp of air and Vicky looked up to see Brendan had gone. Seconds later, the face of a woman appeared. Although Vicky opened and closed her mouth several times, she couldn’t get her words out. She continued to gasp for air. Who the fuck was she?
The woman looked past her at Flynn, who lay crumpled at the bottom of the car. “Flynn.”
Of course! Vicky finally coughed a word out. “Larissa?”
The woman pointed down the vehicle. “Get me my boy. Get him before this truck blows up.”
Still groggy from the crash and with a headache pounding in her temples, Vicky found the seatbelt release this time and popped the button. She managed to catch the steering wheel as she fell and stopped herself just short of landing on the boy by pulling her legs up to her chest.
Although knocked out, Flynn’s body moved with his shallow breaths. A gentle tap on the side of his face and he opened his eyes.
“Hey,” said Vicky, her voice no more than a quiet croak, “look who’s here.”
The dazed boy turned and looked up. He drew a sharp intake of breath. “Mum?”
“Oh, Flynn,” Larissa replied. “Flynn, I’m so glad you’re okay.”
Vicky watched the woman as she cried and leaned into the car. Vicky then lifted Flynn up so his mum could take him. After she’d dragged Flynn out of the car, Vicky stepped up on the handbrake and poked her head out of the driver’s side window.
An entire car park of cars burned in front of them. The flames seemed dangerously close. Close enough that she could smell her own singed hair and the heat prickled her skin.
After she’d boosted herself out of the truck, Vicky jumped down. When she hit the ground, the impact stung her knees and she nearly fell over. Larissa and Flynn headed over to the woodland area, but Vicky saw Brendan and Rhys locked in a battle on the hard road. The scream of the diseased roared behind them. Before long, they’d be swarmed by the horrible fuckers.
Vicky removed the telescopic baton from her pocket and snapped it open. She ran as fast as her weak legs could carry her, wound back, and cracked Brendan with the baton. The first swing hit his shoulder, and it did enough for the big man to scream and let go of Rhys.
When Rhys jumped away, Vicky clenched her jaw and swung the baton into Brendan’s stomach.
The shrieks from the darkness behind them got louder.
Vicky drove another blow to Brendan’s side and he wheezed as if winded. After a deep breath, she hit him as hard as she could on the bloody patch on his right thigh.
Brendan screamed like he’d been set fire to, and the diseased behind answered his call in kind. Although Vicky wanted to hit him again, Rhys tugged on her arm and dragged her away. “Come on, Vick, they’ll be on us soon. We have to go now.”
Vicky, Rhys, Flynn, and Larissa hid in the darkness of the trees and watched as shadows emerged from the road behind Brendan. The burning cars gave off enough light to expose their shuffling forms. One of the lead diseased spotted Brendan. It called out and a mob descended on him.
The first one to reach him bit hard into the side of Brendan’s face and the man screamed so loud it echoed through the night. Another one arrived a second later and bit his leg.
Drained and with the heat of the fire pressed against her, Vicky’s vision blurred as she stood there. She needed to see this. The man she loved and hated had met his end, but she had to make sure.
When she felt a tug on her arm, Vicky turned to Rhys. He, Larissa, and Flynn all looked at her as Rhys said, “Come on, Vicky, it’s over. It’s done.”
A deep sigh and Vicky nodded. He was right. It was done.
She followed the family as they ducked into the darkness of the woods.
When they were no more than ten metres in, a loud explosion shook the ground beneath their feet. Vicky turned around to see the truck she’d driven smothered in flames. She watched it for a second before she followed after the other three again.
Chapter 36
In the c
over of the trees, Vicky stood back while Rhys and Larissa hugged their boy.
“Oh, my God,” Larissa said as she seemed to purposely turn her back on Vicky, “I’ve missed you so much. I’m so glad you’re okay. Mummy’s never going to leave you again.”
Smothered by his parents, it seemed that Flynn could barely move as they both held him tight.
There had to be a perfectly rational reason for Larissa to be topless, save for a bra, but now wasn’t the time to address it. Instead, Vicky stood back and waited, the smell of tree sap a welcome change from that of the diseased. The sound of the creatures still called out close behind them. Having taken Brendan down, they seemed to be on the lookout for something else to attack.
“You must have been petrified, mate,” Rhys said as he ruffled his boy’s hair.
After he’d nodded, Flynn pointed at Vicky. “It was okay though, Vicky really looked after me. She said we should imagine we were playing Call of Duty: Zombies, so we did. How many points did we score, Vicky?”
In spite of everything that had happened, Vicky smiled as she looked at the boy. Her voice still croaked from where she’d been strangled. “It had to be a new high score for sure. We beat it, Flynn.” She then held her hand out for Flynn to give her a high five. His tiny hand hit hers as she repeated, “We beat it.”
The ice that Larissa had projected at Vicky seemed to melt and the topless woman managed a smile at her.
Before they could say anything to one another, Rhys pointed a thumb over his shoulder. “I still think we should head to Biggin Hill Airport. We need to get away from here as soon as possible. Maybe we can catch a private jet before it takes off? Besides,” he said as he looked back to where they’d just come from, “if we wait around here, those things are bound to find us.”
The Alpha Plague - Books 1 - 8: A Post-Apocalyptic Action Thriller Page 49
