by Kady Monroe
He stopped when the sound of the transit vans doors opening and stood gazing at her with an even deeper frown. Seconds later, two more people joined him, both with scarves around their faces. But she knew the eyes of the newcomers. She engaged neutral as they stared at her in disbelief. Opening the door she got out and stood facing them. Raising her arms a little, palms upwards she said with a grin,
“Surprise.”
She was pretty sure Matt and Sophie’s mouths had dropped open.
“Jenny, oh my god, Jenny, I thought...” Matt said,
He didn’t get to finish his sentence as Sophie pushed past him and grabbed Jenny in a fierce hug. The girl released her grip, smiling, then looked over Jenny’s shoulder towards the van, hope in her eyes. After a few moments they came back to Jenny’s, questioning.
“I’m sorry Sophie,” she said.
The girl continued to keep eye contact with her, but there was pain in them now. Sophie pursed her lips and nodded,
“I know, my Mum told me,” she said.
Jenny wanted to explain, but Sophie rushed on,
“I’m glad you’re back and Ok. I’ve missed you.” Then she turned and went to lean against the side of the black transit.
Matt stepped forward, filling Sophie’s place. He pulled the scarf down from his face then Jenny was taken by surprise when he hugged her too. She tentatively returned his embrace and patted his back when he said,
“I’m sorry I left you behind, I really thought…”
She replied quietly,
“It’s Ok. Don’t go beating yourself up about it.”
He sighed, still holding on to her, which felt nice.
“It’s good to have you back,” he said with a smile.
He finally let go of her and stepped back.
“Where’s everyone else, Maggie, Clive?” She asked.
“They’re fine. We’re staying at Clive’s house.”
“Ah, the elusive house,” Jenny said and added, “We’ve been looking for that place for days.”
“We?” Matt replied, eyeing the motor home.
“Zombies,” Jenny said, sniffing the air and opening the van door to retrieve her bolt cutters.
“Huh?”
“Zombies,” Jenny repeated as she heard the first moan from somewhere behind either the Land Rover or the camper. She ascertained the stench wasn’t bad enough for it to be more than two. Then she saw a slight reflection on the glossy surface of Matt’s van. At least one corpse was on the other side of her motor home. At the sound of the word zombies, Sophie scampered into the van, and Bert was looking anxiously in the wrong direction.
“Let’s go,” Matt said, grabbing her arm and pulling her towards his van. She shook him off with annoyance. For one, she wasn’t going anywhere without her boys, and two, somewhere along the journey, she had stopped running.
The first zombie appeared from the back of the Land Rover. She swept forward, pushing the unawares Bert to the side, and stepped behind him to get a better view of the dead. Jenny knew that since she was closest, it was likely their attention would automatically alight on her. She guessed right, only two were lumbering close to the vehicle, but she could see a crowd staggering to the edge of the waste-ground. Calm as a still pool, she walked to the first zombie and dispatched it. The second one took two blows from her before it too crumpled to the ground.
“We should go now,” Jenny said, turning around to face everyone, only to find they were all staring at her like she was a crazy lady. She casually looked over her shoulder at the bodies and by way of an explanation said,
“I guess I toughened up while I was on my own,” then continued, “Can we go now? There’s more of them coming.”
“Yeah, Ok,” Matt replied pointing to the black transit, “this way, there’s plenty of room.”
She wondered if he was blind to the motor home so she said,
“You drive, I’ll follow.”
Matt stared at the camper, frowning,
“I thought you couldn’t drive?”
“I’m here aren’t I?” she frowned and stated, “It seems that one driving lesson I took years ago was worth the expense.”
Then she turned and walked back to her van. She caught Bert’s eye on the way and said as she passed by,
“Sorry for pushing you.”
He nodded and stood staring as she jumped in the motor home and started the engine.
The convoy circled around the zombies and ended up back at the Y junction. Only where Jenny had turned right on her arrival in Kirkland, the two vehicles in front took the left branch. Typical, she thought, I’ve been searching in the wrong area all along. However, it didn’t matter now, so she didn’t let it detract from the relief she felt at having completed her goal.
They drove for about a mile out from the village and went through an open gate with a sign that simply said Private. The van was now on a narrow tarmacked lane, which wound around huge bare trees on either side. In spring and summer, the high foliage canopy would completely cover over the road, creating a snaking tunnel. Even in winter, it was pretty. Although it made it difficult to see what was around the next curve in the road as high brambles, shrubs and straw wild grass were abundant between the tree roots.
It took almost five minutes before they came to another gate. This one was black metal and stood six-feet high. Its slat bars were close together and gave the appearance of closed vertical blinds, making it impossible to see what stood behind. From the gate, ran a taller fence of the standard chain-link variety, although it too was coloured black wire.
The vehicles only lingered as long as it took for the gate to swing open. She had seen no one get out to unsecure it so she presumed they had remote access. That fact made her wonder if they had a power link somewhere, or if the gate ran on some kind of battery. She drove forward with the rest and as she cleared the entrance, the metal barrier closed.
She suspected once they were through the gate that a house would soon appear, but she was wrong. After another minute of driving on a similarly winding lane as the previous one, she was actually beginning to wonder if they were simply taking a shortcut to somewhere else. But again, her conclusion turned out to be untrue. Thirty seconds later, the tarmac began a straight course which ended at an impressive two storey white and terracotta villa, which Jenny thought would look more at home in some Mediterranean setting. It definitely wasn’t the kind of place she expected to find in the Lake District.
The forward vehicles drew to a stop in the semi-circular drive in front of the building. Jenny followed suit and told Amar and Hayden to stay in their seat until she checked things out. Her old group had at least one new person and she wondered if there were any more.
She didn’t have to wait long to find out. After the vehicles rolled to a stop, the front door which was recessed under a pillared porch, opened and three people came out to greet them. Jenny got out of her van as she saw Clive and Maggie. Another woman walked behind Sophie’s mum. She was tall and dark, like Bert.
“Jenny?” Clive said, rushing forward, “Oh my! Jenny, I am so pleased to see you.”
He crushed her in a bear-hug. She almost felt as if her eyes bulged as she tried to drag in a breath. Clive didn’t let up his embrace until she coughed and said with a grin,
“I’m pleased to see you too, Clive.”
He held her at arm's length and asked,
“Are you Ok?”
Jenny nodded and smiled. It really did feel good to see him and the others again.
Sophie’s mum was next. Jenny noticed how different she looked without makeup. The woman looked tired and sad. Jenny also noted the quick glance she gave to her daughter before coming to Jenny. Sophie responded with a cold stare, then turned her head away.
Maggie said nothing as she hugged Jenny. Out of all the greetings she’d had so far, for some reason, this was the one that made her emotional. Maybe it was because she never knew what to expect from the woman as they seemed to be enemies most
of the time, but in truth, it was the way Maggie’s body relaxed against her and the gentle hand rubbing her back. She genuinely believed the woman was glad to see her. Jenny hugged her back and whispered,
“Thank you, Maggie.” Then as she was released, she added with a grin,
“That truce is still in place, isn’t it?”
She got an amused small smile as Maggie raised an eyebrow and declared, “For now, but if you turn into a diva again, I might have to reconsider.”
Bert, to whom she hadn’t been formally introduced to yet, joined forces with the new woman, and came forward to greet her. The man held his hand out,
“Bert,” he said, and nodding towards the woman, he continued,
“and this is my wife, Raveena.”
She shook both their hands introducing herself. Raveena gave her a warm smile before saying,
“We’ve heard so much about you, it’s so nice to meet you in person.”
“Oh,” Jenny replied with a mock grimace, “I hope it wasn’t Maggie who told you about me.”
A small round of laughter went up, even from the woman in question. Then a few seconds later Matt stepped forward again and said,
“You said you had people. Are they with you?”
Jenny hesitated, before replying,
“Yes.” Then indicated with a sweep of her hand, “Is this everyone from your group?”
Matt’s eyebrows creased a little as he answered,
“Yeah, this is all of us.”
Sadly she noted Matt’s father wasn’t with them. But satisfied with the new people she’d met, Jenny nodded and walked to the camper. She went to the side door which was hidden from view of the waiting survivors. She drew it open and told the boys they could come out now.
They weren’t enthusiastic, moving slowly to undo belts and exchanged nervous glances with each other. Jenny waited patiently. Hayden was the first to get out and cautiously look at the surroundings. He crowded in close to Jenny after she helped Amar down. The younger boy grabbed onto her coat with one hand and leaned in to her. She closed the van door and proceeded back to the other group.
Eyebrows raised at the sight of the boys, who still kept body contact with her. She put a protective arm around each of the boys’ shoulders before introducing them.
Clive came forward, giving them a friendly smile and greeting. Then, noticing Hayden’s bandaged hands and healing black eye, he asked,
“That’s a nasty bruise, what happened to you?”
Hayden leaned further against Jenny as he answered,
“The people before Jenny weren’t nice.”
Clive nodded sympathetically and replied,
“I’m sorry to hear that. Well, you won’t find anyone like that here.” then added, “You landed lucky when you met our Jenny.”
Hayden smiled and nodded.
Our Jenny, she thought. It had a nice ring to it. And for once in her life, she really felt she had a sort of real family with the boys and the rest of these people. It gave her hope for the future, and her newfound optimism had her believing that maybe, just maybe, they could survive and perhaps even thrive if they stuck together and took care of each other. She might even consider getting a new watch and putting minutes and hours back in the day.
EPILOGUE
His footsteps echoed down the long concrete corridor. He stopped at the metal door of his office and pressed his thumb on the wall-mounted biometric scanner. After a moment, the red light on the unit turned orange and a digital message instructed him to input his security code. When done, a soft click sounded as the electronic lock disengaged. He withdrew a normal silver key from his pocket and inserted it into an extra lock. The biometric scanner flashed orange. He sighed at the rigmarole of these security procedures as he tapped out a second six digit code. The light changed to green, and he was free to turn the key.
The room was depressingly utilitarian apart from his Grandfather’s ornate oak desk, and his own comfortable chair sitting behind it. Both were ridiculously large for the tiny ten by ten space. But he’d insisted on having them. However, he’d given up most everything else, or at least that’s what he’d told the others. His stash of prized possessions waited in the world above, hidden away in a high security home.
Turning his bulk around, he hit the door lock button on the wall. The light changed to orange. He moved towards the desk and squeezed himself through the narrow gap between the edge of the desk and the wall. The man hated that his desk couldn’t be centred in the room and cursed for the thousandth time of his decision to use this dreary place. But then, as he sank into his leather chair, he smiled at the memory of his reasoning behind the choice. Every one of the turds who underestimated him now paid the price. Still smiling, he relaxed in his seat and closed his eyes, only to be disturbed five minutes later by a knock on the door. Shaking his head and letting out a long sigh, he pressed a button on a door control panel sitting on his desk.
“Enter,” he called out.
The tall, wiry man who stood before him was dressed from head to foot in black fatigues and combat boots, not unlike the rest of the security forces of the facility. Only civilians were exempt from the dress code. The man behind the desk would have been considered a civvie, but not here. This place was his domain and everyone answered to him. He power dressed for the position and wore an expensive grey suit complemented by a pristine cream shirt and dark grey pinstripe silk tie.
“Well?” he said, drumming his fingers on the desk when his subordinate remained quiet. The new man raised the tablet he carried and swiped the screen.
“We’ve had some more intel on the refugee camp forming near Nottingham. There’s about thirty survivors there now.” He paused, waiting for a reply, when none came he asked,
“Would you like us to round them up, sir?”
“God no, Anderson. You know the plan and it’s far too early to be wasting resources, there’s still too many of them for that.”
“But sir…”
“No,” the man behind the desk barked, “we’ll wait at least another week, let the virus thin out the numbers, then I might consider it.”
Anderson frowned and tried again,
“Sir, I’m losing men. If you want more blockades in place, then I’m going to need workers.”
“And you shall have them, just not this week.” Then he leaned forward and put his elbows on the desk. He tented his fingers under his ample chin, before adding,
“Perhaps your time would be more productive making sure your men adhere to their training. You do seem to lose them on a regular basis, don’t you Anderson?”
The man took pleasure in seeing Anderson bristle and made sure not to give him time to answer.
“What’s the situation with our carriers?” he asked.
Anderson’s lips pursed as he looked down to his screen and swiped again before replying,
“Only four are active, the others have expired and are in stage two.”
“That’s a shame,” the man said, “I’d hoped they would last longer than that. How many do we have in holding?”
“Ten, Sir.”
“Release four of them on the next run. Once your men are clear, then activate them. Hopefully the idiots won’t get themselves killed before they turn,” he ordered.
Anderson’s stance was rigid as he spat out his reply, “Yes. Sir.”
“If there’s nothing else, you can go,” the man said, leaning back in his chair.
Anderson turned to the door but then hesitated, turning around again.
“Sir, we still haven’t been able to re-establish comms with the VIP facility. I’d like permission to send a team to investigate.”
“Request denied, Anderson. They have their own security forces and can take care of themselves.”
“Sir, with all due respect, the Prime Minister is there, and it won’t look good if we don’t take action to at least restore communications.”
“Didn’t you just finish telling me you had lost
men? Now you want to send a team south? Permission Denied. Now please return to your duties.”
When Anderson had departed, the man sighed, wishing this was all over. He couldn’t wait for the day when he wouldn’t have to deal with buffoons like that man anymore. But at least the idiot reminded him he hadn’t watched his daily dose of entertainment. He leaned forward and put his thumb to the ugly biometric scanner which desecrated the top drawer of his desk. He’d been assured the unit could be safely removed later without damage to the desk. There would be hell to pay if the tech guy lied to him.
He retrieved an encrypted tablet from the drawer and went through the protected routine to start it up. After a few moments he opened a secure connection to a live video stream coming from the VIP facility. He’d built the place, and he’d paid for the team who set up all the security procedures, making sure they supplied him with back-door details so he could spy on the bunker anytime he wanted. It also allowed him to take over control when the time arrived. All the members of that tech team were deceased as planned. And so were the inhabitants of the underground structure he now viewed. He chuckled to himself as he watched the ex VIPs lumber around. The man switched views until he found Thomas Black, the former Prime Minister. He zoomed in on the face of the zombie, relishing the sight of his grey, broken skin and missing left ear. The man chortled to himself and murmured, all good things come to those who wait. Then, after five minutes, he became bored with the scene, he switched to various feeds to look for other dead politicians and also his wife’s corpse.
A while later, after doing some tedious paperwork, he got to thinking about the refugee survivors’ camp near Nottingham. They weren’t the first sanctuary to have been set up and they probably wouldn’t be the last. He’d already dealt with the others, or the dead did it for him. Smiling, he thought with pride of the monster he had unleashed on the world. One swift strike simultaneously in every major country in the world, and some not so major ones; giving no one time to react or meddle with finding a cure or immunisation before the virus spread. He’d bought and paid for the end of the world by funding development of RED as he chose to call it, - Reanimated Epidemic Death. His only regret was the virus didn’t spread as fast as he wished. There were still a lot of survivors out there. Anderson might welcome that fact, but he did not. As far as he was concerned, the fewer people the better. The zombies could be taken care of afterwards.
