“I…I…” I tried to talk to her but all that came out was a rasping voice of a raving loon creature.
The man’s body was close enough I could touch it, I placed one hand on his shoulder sucking my claws back into my skin which made a sickly popping noise, I then pushed him over to the window and bowed my head to the girl. I knew he wouldn’t make it his lungs had taken in too much water, his head wound had hurt him badly enough to leave him unconscious. The girl leant forward and tried to drag his almost dead weight up and out the window but she was too weak, I put my hands under his body and heaved pushing him out. For a moment the girl just stared at me, her eyes glinting in the moon light, I could see trails of tears leaving her eyes and running down her cheeks shimmering in the moons wake.
I let out a howl as the hunger rose again but something told me I couldn’t harm this girl, I had to leave this girl alone and leave her to be safe. I turned and she called out to me but I ignored her and dove back into the water swimming into the deep darkness…
I sat up in my bed panting heavily with sweat pouring off my skin in waves, I rushed to the bathroom and threw up into the bucket, heaving until nothing but bile came up. I rinsed my face and came out into the living room sitting myself down on the sofa until my breathing had calmed down and my hunger pangs subsided.
That dream wasn’t just a dream, it was real. Five weeks ago I had been out looting some old houses, flats and shops a few miles closer to Tunbridge Wells a town near my current home of Tonbridge when I had been caught off guard by the blood lust, I knew it was coming I could feel my body tingle for a few days before with the surge of the virus pumping through my veins but sometimes it would pass and nothing would come of it. I was in the upper levels of some flats when the torrential rain storm had hit, I hadn’t realise how unsteady the block had become the floor boards rotten and cracked and I had walked through a room to try and leave to head home, the rain didn’t bother me much and I wanted out before any lightning hit. A loud boom had echoed around me but it wasn’t until I hit the cold water that I knew I had fallen three floors down and that it wasn’t thunder at all but the floor breaking up around me, it was then I found the other creatures and the body floating in the water, the iron taste of his blood in the air, it sent my brain into overdrive and set off the madness. That was until the girl somehow snapped me out of it to a degree, something strange and wired in the air around her, I didn’t want to eat him any longer I wanted to stop and kill the other creatures, which whilst I was in the madness had never happened before, the madness made me disregard the creatures all together usually. How she done it I’d never know and I’d left before she could find me but I had a strange feeling about her, that she was different to normal humans.
I hadn’t seen the girl since and I know she’s either moved on to another town, been kidnapped by the scavengers or had been eaten by another creature, a horrible thought I know but this world was full of death and doom, there was no hope, not unless she had managed to make it to their camp, to them, Cain, Ollie, Monique…Callum.
Chapter 2 …
I was rudely awoken in the early hours of the morning by screams and shouts, not people in fear or in terror of being eaten but by the scum of the earth tearing through buildings ripping them apart, setting them on fire and smashing whatever the shop remains had left in them. Lifting my rifle I headed into the front room and over to the window and kept low, I looked out over the high street to see the building opposite mine go up in flames, the warmth could be felt through the glass and I immediately felt the panic that my home was about to be destroyed. I wasn’t daft I knew eventually I would have to move on but I had hoped that would be after the winter, when spring came and all was fresh and renewed, I wanted to make a fresh start when I wanted to make it, not when some idiotic scavengers forced me to.
My eyes traced their every move, there had to be at least twenty of them mostly male but a few female too, they held onto make shift weapons of knives strapped to poles or baseball bats, one even looked to have a sword which he swung round slicing everything in his path. He was tall and slim but held a muscled tone to his slim frame and had long curly caramel coloured hair which had warmth in the glow of the fire, he wore a fabric mask over the bottom part of his face concealing his mouth and nose but his beady eyes glared out over the burning street, he was searching around and calling out at first I couldn’t make out what he was saying but I focused and waited listening to him, “Come out, come out where ever you are”.
Who was he talking to? The monsters, a human, me?
I had no idea who they meant but I stayed low just in case it was me who they were after, I had no idea why I hadn’t seen these lot before so I knew they couldn’t be chasing me but still, if one of them had noticed me when I hadn’t been concentrating? Nah I would have sensed them, right? I moved along to the next window in my front room and kept lookout, I knew I didn’t have many bullets left but I was a damn good shot after all these years and I could take out most of them before they made it to me plus I had my new bow and arrow that I needed to try out and this could be the perfect opportunity. To my luck they were moving away from my home and traipsing further down the road but a cold grasp of ice grabbed my heart, what if they knew about the camp and were going to find it? What if they didn’t know but stumbled across it? There were so many men, women and innocent children living there, I had to do something to at least steer them away from their direction.
I rushed into my bedroom and threw on my trusted denim jacket which had fur that lined the inside, it wasn’t as holed as my other blue hooded jumper but it was worn to a degree and weathered in places but I knew if the snow came before I made it back home I would be a least a little warm. My old leather boots sat comfortably on my feet as I snatched up my rucksack and a few necessities like bottled water, food and bullets, I also filled the bag with arrows and crossed the bow over my body to carry and as usual my rifle slung over one shoulder. I was ready to go, I knew I was a little over equipped but you could never be too careful and if need be I would discard something if I had to and go back for it later. I left my flat and locked it up tightly hiding the plank of wood and climbing down the balcony and over the fence. Keeping low and letting my sensors or feelers as I sometimes called them flow out I tried to see if I could feel anyone close by, nothing but still I had to be careful. Yes I was dangerous but so where they.
The street was alight with the glow of fire, the smoke thick and heavy in the early morning air. I just hoped when I came back there was still a home here for me if not I would have to move on and start again which made my chest heave and made me want to cry out and give up but I would if I had to, I was a survivor.
I traced their footsteps and followed the trail of destruction that they had left in their wake, more buildings on fire and other smashed up shop fronts showed me the way. I knew I was catching them up as I could feel them in the back of my mind and hear them up ahead. I ducked down behind an old bus that had melted into the tarmac long ago, scurrying inside I looked out of the windowless windows watching them, they were definitely looking for someone, a few of them would enter a building and have a nose shaking their heads as they left and if the building was unlucky enough they threw a fire bomb inside, to me it looked like a bottle of alcohol with a rag inside which they ignited and threw letting it explode and catch alight, these were true scumbags destroying things needlessly. They continued this tirade for most of the morning until the sunrise was blocked out by the gloom of smoke in the air, still they called out for whoever they were looking for, maybe it was someone who had escaped their clutches.
By lunch time they had headed to where I feared towards the camp, I knew I was going to have to do something to tear them away from that direction or maybe I would just have to kill them all but it was such a waste of human life and the flow of fresh human blood in the air was risky, it could cause the bloodlust to crawl up from its hidey hole. I knew about half a mile from here was the old mansion, th
e camp had raided it long ago so it should be safe, I could lure them there and take them all out one by one or burn it to the ground like a mass cremation.
I slipped off the main road I was following them behind on and ran into the dense tree lined forest that had once been a small woodland but had grown out of control, I ran through as quickly as I could to get in front of them I needed them to spot me. I soon reached the point of being in front of them, they were arguing about something and not paying attention so I slipped out and hid behind an old bus shelter then as they got close enough I sprung out of hiding knocking the rifle as I passed on the metal structure to draw their attention then I vanished into the trees and waited to see if they would follow. Their shouts and cries like war songs from long ago let me know they were now on my tail, I set off into a run jumping over tree roots, ducking below low branches, tearing through the greenery like it wouldn’t hamper me at all. I could hear their heavy beating footsteps crashing through the woodland behind mine, their heavy lungs deeply breathing as they tried to catch up to me. I could see the silhouette of the old mansion in the dim light of the sun up ahead, I saw the old boundary fence glimmer as a cloud passed over it and the closed locked gate. I knew I could make it in a heartbeat and flung myself at the fence and climbed over in seconds rushing to the front door and opening it darting inside, I ran up the old stairs and burst into one of the old bedrooms reaching a window and opening it. Once outside and clinging to the wall via an old drainpipe for dear life I closed the window and slowly but surely made my way up to the roof, they would never find me up here or be able to get up here if they did. I ducked down behind an old chimney and waited for them as they tried to fathom out how I had managed to climb over the gate so quickly.
“Boost me up and over”, one of the women snarled.
“That brat managed to get over without help so we can too”, Another hissed as she tried her footing at the metal gate but as she neared the top her footing slipped and she slide down to the floor the others all laughing at her feeble attempt.
Brat? I thought to myself, I’m not a kid or a brat.
The guy with the sword snarled at them all, “Back off you idiots”, and they done as he said no questioning him, he lifted the sword down hard and sliced all the locking mechanism to pieces, then he used his pointer finger to push the gate open with ease. He gave them all a look that made them snivel and grovel at his feet, ignoring them he pushed through towards the mansion, he looked weary and lifted up the sword his eyes darting over every shadow. He pushed the door fully open, his mouth moved under the cloth mask, “Come out, come out, where ever you are”.
~
Thwack, Thwack, Thwack…
Monique stopped in the cool but bright midday sun, she lifted her aching arm up to wipe the rippling beads of sweat that had collected on her forehead, threatening to flood down her dark features. She felt the beads of sweat on her hand go clammy in the cool autumnal breeze, instantly she wiped it away on the hem of her warm but very worn checked red and black jacket, it had holes appearing from the years of use and the fur inside the collar and hood were flat and not so puffy and warm anymore but it done the job and it had become like a comfort to her, her old trusty jacket.
She lifted the axe back up and continued on her mission to chop up as much firewood as humanly possible. The snowy season was only days away, she could feel it in the air, the particles cooling quicker almost tasting ice cold on the tip of her tongue, the chill of the ice cold weather system flowing in from whatever direction, there were no weather men or women anymore to tell you what way it was coming and what the weather was meant to do each day but they had all become accustomed to the atmosphere and had learned how to read it so they knew roughly each day what the weather was going to be like. She knew it wouldn’t be long that the snow would no longer be on the horizon but upon them, the cold snap would come quick and fast but she wasn’t going to let it take them by surprise like it had last year. She had a lot of people depending on her to keep them safe and warm in their homes until spring arrived, when the whole cycle of their year would start again, plant the seeds, fatten the animals up and breed them, loot on supply runs and search for more survivors, if there were any left other than her camp, they hadn’t seen any more for months and had come to the conclusion that unless going to other towns or cities that they were it for their area.
Her camp were her family, they all worked together helping one another, Chantelle was the teacher along with another young woman called Allison they both looked after all the kids during the day whilst the adults got on with their chores. There were groups who did the washing, groups who did the supply runs, people to guard the gates to their little home from home, people who tended to the animals and others who rationed out the food, they even had a small doctors surgery with a doctor and his wife who acted as the nurse although she had been a librarian before. They had it all planned out, they worked as a unit, they worked to survive.
Although she was tense that winter was on the way she knew all too well that spring could be just as lethal to them as the bitter cold, since the world had crumbled from the acid rain nearly six and a half years ago the weather had turned fierce on them, or maybe it just seemed worse without a home with central heating and cars to snuggle inside or the government or scientists to protect them and come up with ideas to stop the weather becoming such a hazard with flood defences and all that. Winters lasted longer now, the cold creeping in and settling down in their bones, or maybe without all the heat of the humans and pollution keeping the world warm the snow didn’t melt as quickly. Spring bought the showers with it, battering rains that could flood whole towns and villages within hours, with no one to unblock the pipes under the roads and all the sewers and drains the water had to go somewhere and it did, it went into homes, fields and roads turning puddles into rivers overnight. The summer wasn’t so bad, Monique loved the summer the glow of warmth on her skin, the sunlight to help their crops grow but even then it could cause hazards of its own, just as spring could bring too much rain the summer didn’t always give enough, the river beds would empty, their crops roasting under the heat and dehydration settling in. Then autumn would appear again and bring a sort of calm before the storm as they knew the snow would come soon.
At least she knew with the more fire wood she cut down the better the chance they had of surviving the cold months and harsh chills that hailed down around them, she knew she could always come back in the snow and chop more wood but in the snow just walking here was a mission in itself, even with their burly truck that always managed to get them out of scrapes it would be difficult. As she paused again for a moment and flexed her ever so tired and aching muscles she felt them, the strong male arms encircle her body holding her tight and bringing her warmth. They belonged to the one person who really understood and cared for her, they had both been through a lot of tough times together and losing people they cared about, even losing the one person who had become more than just a friend to both of them…Stacie. She had been like a sister to Monique, a best friend who she missed, a best friend who had sacrificed herself for the good of the others. She had been a girlfriend of sorts to him, to Callum and he had been a lost soul, wishing after her for months but their own heartache for her and each other brought them closer together.
Monique sighed and tried to push the thought of Stacie away. She had died trying to save everyone from monsters and the mental ideas of a new sadistic ‘Government’ who had risen up in the darkness of the new world and had tried to make people bend to their own dictatorship. They had tried to control people with money like in the olden days, the main head honcho, ‘The Prime Minister’ a horrific woman who had tried to inject herself with the blood of Stacie who had been infected at the time but hadn’t fully turned. The Prime Minister wanted the strength and speed Stacie had but she had underestimated Stacie and how much she hated what was happening to her so she threw herself and the detestable woman through a window and left themselves to
free fall to their deaths at the bottom of the hospital. Monique could still picture Stacie’s broken body at the base of the Shanti town, her claws had pierced the late crazed Prime Minister tearing her apart, making sure she could never return to terrorise the poor population of The Sanctuary again. Most of the small population of the Sanctuary had come with them other than a select few who went off on their own as they felt they didn’t want to be under a lock and key anymore, not that she blamed them, the late Prime Minister had made life a living hell, even more so in this hellish world.
A small warm press of his lips brushing over her cheek brought her back into reality, she pressed herself into his warm accepting arms. “What brings you out here?” she asked him curiously, “I thought you were hunting today?”
“We did hunt and we’ve caught enough to last us a few days and I came to tell you to come home. You need a break before you burn out”, he replied to her, he gave her his boyish but charming grin, his Irish slur sending shivers up her spine.
“You know I can’t”, she sighed feeling her body want to give in but not allowing it.
“This will all still be here tomorrow”, he tried persuading her.
She stared up at his dark and knowing eyes, they told her in depths that he could be powerful if he wanted, that he could make her do as he wanted, he had been infected just like Stacie had been but his hadn’t manifested like hers had into claws or anything unnatural looking. He had speed, agility and was strong but when it came to fighting creatures he still looked human and didn’t turn into a half monster to fight them. He didn’t have mind control over a small army of beasts and he was still alive. Even though he showed no signs of the infection as such and had at one point been given a cure, the doctor called Toni Bennet had said he was still infected, which for her meant that they could love and care for each other but they could never be intimate. Her biggest fear was falling pregnant even with a normal child let alone one that might have a chance of being infected, what would it become? What would it do to her in the womb? Would she then become infected? All those questions and no answers meant no intimacy but to be honest with all the people they had to keep safe in their camp there was no time for privacy anymore.
Alone (Book 2): Lone Page 2
