by West, Mark
‘Get back!’
A girl pokes her head through the hatch. She growls and reaches a hand through to try and grab at Lincoln’s leg. He kicks her in the face.
‘You mutt!’
He lifts his leg and kicks and stomps on her head against the timber floor until she manages to slip away. When she disappears he looks in my direction for answers.
‘What do I do now?’
His rage has gone, replaced with fear. I’m not sure how to respond. I can’t believe how unlucky he is; how unlucky we all are, because now we are trapped with nowhere to go.
‘Close the hatch.’ Noah yells, pointing to the floor.
I snap out of self-pity and quickly kick the hatch closed. In seconds it begins to rattle. I point to the washing machine and yell to Lincoln to give me a hand. ‘The machine!’ I grab one side, Lincoln the other, and we shuffle it into position before anything can come through.
I notice pools of blood on the floor and stare at his wound. It’s a small bite mark but it bleeds like a large gash, and the surrounding skin has a strange green tinge. He catches me staring at it and gives me that look again, the look that says he knows things are not okay and he needs help.
‘Cover it up. Stop the blood circulating. We can assess it soon.’ I say brusquely. I can’t help it, I’m in fight mode and have no time for sympathy.
I search the room for answers but see nothing that can help. No one is moving and no one is saying anything. Everyone is in shock. Glass is breaking and the walls are pounding around us, which doesn’t help the situation.
I look at the stairs and yell to the others to move. They follow me, grabbing a bag each and running. The plywood on the front door is shaking violently and I notice a large split down the centre that is growing rapidly. I scream for the girls to go first. No one argues. When they are about halfway up the stairs the plywood bursts open and Infected come tumbling through.
I shove Noah and he reluctantly follows the girls up the stairs. Lincoln is standing about a metre away. I call for him to follow but he isn’t moving. I yell again, and he finally turns to face me. His eyes are blood red and the blood oozing from his arm has turned black. It catches at a distant memory but I can’t put my finger on it.
‘Run!’ he screams.
I start to climb; Lincoln follows. When we are halfway up, I turn to find Lincoln has drawn his rifle. He begins shooting, hitting an Infected at the bottom of the stairs. More windows burst open and they flood the room like a virus, pushing and pulling in desperation to get to us. Lincoln fires again, hitting another. I call for him to leave them alone and follow, but he doesn’t listen. I take a few more steps backwards up the stairs. I’m at the top and the door is closed. I bang on it to be opened.
‘We can’t shoot them all.’ Lincoln screams, and I see it dawn on him that I’m at the top of the stairs already.
They swarm up the stairs, the noise unbelievably loud and getting louder. The smell of rotting flesh fills the air, burning my eyes so that they run with the tears. Lincoln takes a step back, dropping his gun to the floor. He pulls his machete from his side and swipes at the Infected. He is hacking them apart when I feel a hand grab my shoulder. I turn to see Noah. His grip tightens on my shirt and he tries to pull me inside. I ask him what he is doing, but he ignores me. I’m pulled further and further in, my ribs burning in pain with every tug on my body. I scream for Lincoln and he glances back for a second before turning away. In that moment I see his eyes have changed. They now burn red, with a glint of yellow like the sun. I fight against Noah, yelling for him to let go, but my efforts are futile; more hands are pulling me in.
‘Leave him!’ Someone screams. ‘He’s bitten.’
My eyes are streaming with tears. I plead to them to let me go and save him. But it’s no use, they drag me further and further into the room. Before I have a chance to break free, the door is closed and the last memory I have of my friend is the vision of death surrounding him.
We huddle in the room, listening and waiting for the door to come crashing in. We have reinforced the door with a bed and a large dresser to buy us some time, but it won’t hold forever. The only window to the room is boarded up and remains untouched because it is so high off the ground. There is a small slit in the plywood, giving us a view of the darkening world outside. The masses surround us in the shadows. We are trapped.
‘What now?’ Hannah asks, peering around at us for answers. She is clutching firmly to Noah’s arm.
‘I’d say we’re trapped,’ says Noah, bluntly.
‘I can see that.’ Hannah says, shoving him. ‘But do we have a plan? What next?’
‘No plan.’ I bury my head in my hands.
Victoria holds me close and I bring my knees into my chest. I have completely given up. I say Lincoln’s name over and over in my head. I’ve known him since high school; now he is dead. I miss the others as well, but somehow Lincoln’s death is affecting me more than the others. I don’t know how I would react if I lost Victoria too.
Amy hasn’t spoken since his death. There is no one to hold her now, no one to love. I feel sorry for her not having anyone to weep against. I selfishly won’t share my wife, because she is the only thing I have left. Even if Amy is her best friend, I need her right now. I’m grieving too.
‘We wait to die then.’ Someone says.
Chapter 38
SURROUNDED
Pounding footsteps slam up the stairs. I know it can only be one thing … a Beast. The Beast roars and a sense of dread runs through me. It somehow fuels my body. I jump to my feet and begin stuffing my backpack with the remaining food that is sprawled across the floor. The others follow suit without questioning.
I run to the window and pull the ply from the frame. It’s pitch-black outside now and raining. A howling wind is whipping the rain across the glass. I try the window, but it’s locked.
‘Step back!’ I lift my foot and kick the glass with the sole of my boot.
It shatters, dropping shards of glass across the wet roof. I draw my machete and run it around the edge of the frame, knocking out any loose daggers.
It’s bitterly cold outside, with the wind and rain soaking the night air. Lightning rips through the darkness, followed by a thunderous boom. The brilliant light reveals the horde below, still waiting. I hope they didn’t see me.
The others dash over. I yell out my plan over the pounding on the door and howls of wind that are drowning out my voice. They all nod. I can see the hope in their eyes, but the fear quickly returns when the dresser falls. Before I can think I’m leaning up against the bed with Noah by my side, trying to hold the door closed. Amy runs over to help, but I point to the window and yell for them to leave. She hesitates, but runs back to the others. One after the other they disappear.
When they are all out of sight, I shove Noah with my elbow.
‘You next! I will be right behind.’
He let’s go of the bed and I feel the pressure double.
‘Hurry!’
My feet are slipping. Any second the door is going to come crashing down.
Noah swings a leg over, wind and rain sweeping past his body, then takes a step and is gone. I feel another thump and take that as my cue to leave and run to the window. The rain slaps my face; the ferocity of the wind has increased. I swing a leg over, conscious to place my foot on the roof screws so I don’t slip, and grip the window frame. The rain is torrential, causing a river on the roof iron. I can just make out the others a metre or so away under the eaves. There is a thump from inside and I realise the bed has fallen. There is a gaping hole in the door where arms poke through. I swing the other leg over and move away from the window as I hear a rush of feet in the room.
I huddle in close to the others and slowly move to the front where Victoria is standing.
‘Everyone okay?’
They are soaked and shivering from the cold.
‘Alive, but for how long I don’t know,’ Noah answers.
I pull Victoria in tight
ly, ignoring my ribs, and trying to give her a little warmth.
‘So cold,’ she mumbles. ‘What now?’
‘We wait for an opportunity.’ But for what, I have no idea.
More and more Infected pour from the window, slipping to the ground the second they touch the roof. The rain is still belting down and the wind is getting stronger by the minute, as the storm continues to roll over us. Hannah and Noah are closest to the window when the wall starts to shake.
‘They’re coming through the wall.’ Amy yells. ‘Let’s move!’
I look at the wall behind Noah. Cracks have appeared in the cladding. Noah sees them too and I sense his panic as he pushes the group along the roof to get away. I step slowly, conscious of my footing. I run one hand along the wall, and hold Victoria’s in the other. The surface is like ice. I miss the screws a few times and feel my feet almost go from under me.
I hear the wall burst open behind us, and turn to see the arm of a Beast grabbing at the cladding. It pulls and twists the fragile panels until a sheet the size of a surfboard snaps off. It tumbles down the roof and hits something below that angrily growls back. I continue to watch in horror as the Beast pushes a leg through wall. It slams its foot onto the roof with a loud thud, the impact creating a small indent in the metal like a step, giving the Beast a flat surface to walk on. It grips the sides of the broken wall and pulls itself out onto the roof, slamming another foot down.
‘Shit!’ Noah yells. The pair are less than five metres away from the Beast. They scramble away in fright.
The Beast takes another two large steps towards Hannah and Noah. I hear Amy yell at them to move, but Hannah is having a hard time walking along the roof. Noah has her by the hand and is pulling at her frantically, trying to drag her along, but the Beast is closing in on them fast.
I keep moving, glancing back every time I hear it take another step. When we are at least five metres away from Noah and Hannah, I decide to stop, but know there is little I can do.
‘Oh God!’ Amy screams.
The Beast is now standing just behind the pair. Its arm reaches towards Hannah. I sense she doesn’t see it coming, because her eyes are too focused on her feet, trying not to slip.
Noah spots the Beast and whips around, striking his bowie knife into its forearm and catching it by surprise. It takes a step backwards, misjudging its footing, and slips on the wet surface. It slides sidewards, hitting the wall with a loud thump and collapsing onto the roof. I feel a shudder from the impact, the roof shaking below me, and I scramble to hold my position so I don’t fall. Hannah screams, and Noah grabs her hand to try and pull her away from the fallen Beast.
The Beast begins to slide sideways, hands grasping at anything and everything for a grip, but its weight and momentum has it slipping down the roof in a river of water. It reaches out to Hannah and she side steps the best she can, but unfortunately takes a blow to her knee. I hear the crunch of a bone snapping and Hannah tumbles onto the roof, pulling Noah down with her.
The Beast is slipping away but so are my friends. They slide down the roof, the roofing screws catching them like road spikes. I see the pain in their eyes as they tear into their flesh. I wish I could help them, but they are too far from me. They reach the edge of the roof and fall, disappearing into the shadows. A moment later I hear a burst of movement and see the shadows below gathering around where my friends fell. There are no screams and no cries for help, just the growls of wild animals around us.
‘Let’s move,’ I whisper to the girls, because for once I feel like we may have been forgotten.
I feel guilty at the thought, but know we need to grasp any opportunities that come our way. I shuffle along the roof, the girls close behind, until I reach the corner of the house. There is a small alcove, and I tell the girls to huddle under to get out of the rain. They snuggle together like two baby birds in a nest. I tell them I’ll be back in a second and leave in search for somewhere to go.
The sensor light is on at the front of the house and I see the area is clear of Infected. I spot my truck close to the roof and contemplate if we could make the jump, then race back to the others with my plan.
‘It’s a simple jump. Once we are down it’s a quick dash to the bush, which is only around thirty metres away. We should be safe once we get in there.’
Victoria doesn’t seem convinced, but Amy is nodding furiously. I can tell she is happy for anything at this moment.
‘Okay,’ Victoria says, reluctantly.
‘You’ll be fine. I’ll go first and then—’
Amy shoves Victoria. ‘Victoria will go next. I’ll go last.’
I don’t argue and the girls follow me around the side where the truck is located and wait under the shelter of the eaves. The roof is still like a river as more rain continues to fall. I step carefully down the valley, treading on the screws either side until I’m near the edge. The area is still clear, and I peer up at the girls waiting at the top. I give them the thumbs up and turn back towards my truck. It’s less than a metre away, bonnet facing towards me. I ready myself to jump.
I crouch down and swing my arms, then spring into the air and land on the bonnet with a soft thump. I bend my knees on impact and grip the top to prevent myself from slipping. The pain from my broken rib is so intense I can’t breathe. I force myself to look up and check I’m still undetected. The pain subsides a little and I signal for Victoria to follow. I’m impressed at how well she comes down the roof. When she reaches the edge, I whisper her good luck and drop onto the ground. She throws me her bag and takes a step backward before leaping into the air and landing on the bonnet with a loud thump. The sound reverberates, and I grab her hand quickly, dragging her off the truck and hiding her beside me. There is a distant growl and I notice movement at the corner of the house.
‘They’re coming.’
Amy doesn’t wait for my signal. She is halfway down the roof. There is more movement and I can see figures slowly emerging from the darkness.
‘Get down.’ I hiss to Victoria, pointing to the Infected.
We wait for Amy. When she is at the edge of the roof, shadows appear. They are moving faster: runners.
I peer up at Amy. Her clothes are soaked and she’s shivering uncontrollably. She can see them too. She throws me her bag and I catch it, shove it down with the others and wait for her to jump.
‘They’re coming Jackson,’ Victoria says nervously, pulling at my shirt.
I’m trying to think what to do when I see Amy take a step back and jump into the air. She slams down onto the bonnet almost deliberately, like she is trying to gain their attention. I go to pull her down but she swipes my hand away. Confused, I go to grab it again and she slaps it this time.
‘What are you doing?’ I ask. She begins stomping the roof.
‘A distraction … Run!’
I see how close the runners are. There are three, and they have spotted Amy.
Victoria shoves me in frustration and yanks on my shirt. ‘We can’t leave her.’
The runners are closing in fast and I hear more movement behind us. If we don’t leave now, we will be trapped for sure. I go to grab Amy again and she kicks at my hand.
‘Don’t do this Amy,’ I beg.
‘You need to leave before we all die.’ Her words are panicked, and I sense she has some regret at what she is doing. But it’s too late for her now, she is their number one target. I reach for my pack, fishing around quickly until I find the handgun.
‘Here.’ I put the gun at her feet. ‘Use this.’
I don’t wait to see if she grabs it or not, because I’m too busy pulling Victoria away. I drag her until she reluctantly gives up and follows me through the shadows. We enter the trees to the sound of gunfire.
EPILOGUE
Victoria is pregnant. It’s an unexpected twist to our survival we confirmed just two months after our escape with a pregnancy test I found in an abandoned house. We suspect she is around four months in. I can see her baby bump pokin
g through her clothes. I’m shocked at how quickly it grows each day.
When we can we raid pharmacies and supermarkets in search of prenatal vitamins, but unfortunately we find most places have been, or are, overrun with Infected. The death of our friends has been hard on Victoria. Some days she doesn’t talk, others she is back to her normal self, whatever that is, because it’s been a long time since anything was normal. I also worry she isn’t eating enough, because her weight is starting to fall off. I force her to eat, trying to keep her moving forward, but I don’t know how much longer I can keep doing it, especially when the baby comes.
As the months pass, we manage to survive by living in and out of the surrounding properties, scratching together what we can before moving on. Occasionally we encounter a lone Infected wandering about. I quickly take care of them, hiding the body in fear word may spread of our location. Because she is still hunting us. I know it.
The realisation came when I discovered a group tracking our movements. At first, I thought they just happened to be going in our direction, until I saw one stop and pick up an old hat I had deliberately left behind. The Infected sniffed it, before handing it to his partner and pointing in our direction, confirming my suspicion they are gaining intelligence. I killed them shortly after, setting up a decoy so we could slip away.
I can’t understand why they are after us. It could be something to do with our escape, or it could be the fact something inside me has changed. I’m not quite sure what it is, but I get a strange tingling feeling, like bugs are under my skin, when I’m around them now. It’s almost like a sixth sense that is becoming more pronounced every day.
At first, I thought it was just my body reacting to the fear I held deep inside, until it saved us one day when I felt it right before going into a house. They were hiding in the back room, waiting to ambush us. It was a lucky break that not even I could explain to Victoria. It’s my secret and I’ll hold onto it for now.
The future scares the hell out of me. I know the only way to live through this nightmare is to move forward. We don’t really have a plan except to escape up north before the weather gets worse. Being out in the cold is a death sentence waiting to happen. I just hope we get out in time, because I don’t know how much longer we can keep running before they catch us.
