She nodded, headed down to the room where they’d left the two ladies, and returned with a packet. He downed two with water before slouching into one of the sofas.
The wind was peaceful now he wasn’t about to go flying. The window showed signs of the ladies trying to tape something over it, but without any luck. The rain had stopped early in the morning and he realised with a jolt that it was probably lunchtime.
‘You need more sleep.’
‘What?’
‘You only slept for a few hours. You’re feeling better because I gave you the painkillers, but you’re on the edge of a total collapse. You need to sleep.’
‘I’ll sleep when Az is dead and w—’
‘No, you’ll sleep today. Otherwise we won’t get anywhere near Az.’
‘We?’
‘I’m coming with you. I can make him think I’m there for, you know…’
Jackson nodded. She had a point. And it meant he could watch her arse while they walked across London. There wasn’t that far to go but it’d pass the time. He rested his head back and closed his eyes.
He must have been asleep because he’d been talking to someone right before she shook him awake. It wasn’t a bad face to wake up to, though, and he smiled. Then Ella frowned, lines forming across her forehead, and it became clear this wasn’t a nice wake up call.
‘The zombies are back. There are some in the stairwell. Actually, there are hundreds in the stairwell.
Dave
He had a child. A son. A scream came from the car and he stood, stumbling beneath the weight of his baby. He put his head in the driver’s door and gagged. The smell of blood was strong enough to knock him straight back out. He glimpsed the white, rain-beaten face of his helper crouching behind her friend.
The pregnant lady was face down on the back seat, no longer moving. His helper stood and Dave saw the child in her arms, a twin to the one he held in his. It was beautiful, the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.
The lady came round the car and they stood together in the rain, gazing down at the tiny creatures in their arm. The lady smiled at him, the sort of smile he thought a proud mother might wear. He looked at the body on the back seat and knew immediately that she was dead. They were both dead. The real mothers were gone, so why not the woman beside him?
His vision darkened for a moment as something stirred inside him. Like a fierce ache in his gut that travelled upwards almost as soon as he felt it. Names came with it.
Amber and Steph.
He’d known them.
Had he loved them? It felt like he had. He wasn’t sure what love was anymore.
He’d had feelings, things that ran his life. He’d lost them, somewhere, but the baby in his arms was bringing everything back.
There was something else as well. An emptiness. A loneliness. He remembered… it struck him behind the eyes, like a migraine headache that bent him double and made him clutch the baby like a life raft. He’d been alone. He’d been so alone it had broken him. The pieces of his mind were parting, fracturing like melting ice. It couldn’t happen again, not now.
He fell to his knees, ignoring the stabbing in his legs as he sucked in deep breaths. He tipped his head back and let the rain run down him, though he barely felt it anymore. He couldn’t be broken. He had children to care for, children who relied on him. He couldn’t be broken.
His teeth ground together and he shook his head so hard his hair whipped back and forth. ‘I’m Dave, I’m Dave, I’m Dave, I can’t be broken, I can’t.’
‘Are you alright?’
It was such a simple question. It was so basic and so fundamental and he had no idea what the answer was so he said what he always said. ‘Yeah, not too bad.’
And just like that, he was. The ice solidified enough for him to stand on it. It creaked and groaned beneath his weight, but the dark waters beneath were hidden. He wasn’t broken and he was still Dave.
He rose to his feet, one leg at a time, with the baby still clutched tight against his chest. He leant against the car and took deep breaths, trying to count them as they came and went. The zombies were gathering, coming at them with eyes fixed on the still-widening pools of blood.
‘Follow me, walk slowly.’
He led her away from the car in a wide circuit round the body sprawled face down on the ground. He tried not to think what her last moments were like, knees pressed into the soaking concrete and the rain beating on her back as her child tore her apart inside. He tried not to think about how the child was Az’s and not his, and that he would lose them soon.
The children. He had to focus on the children. The zombies fell onto the corpse. Some formed a circle around the pool of blood and set to work with tongues lapping. More surrounded the car and moments later the other mother was dragged out by her feet and ripped apart.
A lump formed in his throat. He swallowed it back and kept walking. The baby in his arms let out another scream that crept inside his head and became a writhing, lashing serpent. His arms stiffened and he nearly dropped him. The baby squirmed and had Dave not just seen it be born, he’d have sworn it was a few years old and impatient to play.
The lady screamed and his other child fell to the tarmac. Time seemed to slow as the baby tumbled through the air. Then it flipped like a cat and came down on arms far stronger than they should have been. The moment it landed, it scrabbled off across the bridge on all fours.
Dave set off chasing it through the storm. He no longer cared whether the lady was still with them. If she truly wanted to be there, she would keep up. And if she didn’t then she shouldn’t have left the Shard. He could only think about one thing at a time right now.
The baby swerved across the bridge and charged directly at a zombie. Dave was about to scream when his baby left the ground at speed and grabbed the zombie around the head. There was a brief tussle during which the zombie flailed pointlessly with its arms, before his baby sank its teeth into the creature’s head and tore a chunk out. He grabbed a handful of the exposed brains and shoved it into his mouth.
Seconds later, the rotting brain came back out, accompanied by a unexpectedly-cute expression of disgust. Dave stood frozen, staring as the zombie crashed face down to the concrete with his child still gripping onto its head. The baby in his arms had stopped wriggling and he looked down at him.
He stared back, lips curling back from fully formed and very sharp looking teeth. There was a brief second he thought he was going to spring up and bite him. But that was ludicrous. He was his father, he would never do that. Then his head twisted to the side and his eyes found the lady. Dave glanced at his other child and saw him doing the same.
The baby in his arms squirmed and kicked to be released and he let it go as it sprang from his arms. They ran together, moving like hunting cats. The lady realised what was happening. She shook her head, eyes widening as she raised her hands.
‘What’s going on, what are they doing? Dave, help me, they can’t—’
Dave shook his head and stared at the ground. His children needed food and he couldn’t provide it. What else was a father to do? The lady broke and ran and the babies exploded into life. One leapt and wrapped itself around her head. The other sank its teeth deep into her leg. She screamed and tripped. His children swarmed, tearing bits of flesh out far faster than the zombies.
Dave turned away, gorge rising. He tried to find sadness or regret, the feelings he now knew should be inside him. But they were absent still, as though his awakening of a few minutes ago had been a lie. Had he woken at all? He had, because when he turned back to watch his children feed, his heart grew warm until his eyes filled with tears.
They were so perfect. So perfectly formed and so healthy. And growing so fast. He blinked. Had they got bigger since they attacked her? It looked like it, and when he drew closer and tried to imagine holding one in his arms, he couldn’t.
The zombies had finished the bodies of the two ladies and were heading towards them. He needed a car. He headed for the ne
arest and tried the engine. It took a few tries before it sputtered into life. The petrol gauge was nearly empty but it would be enough to get them off the bridge and nearer the theatre.
He jumped in and shouted to his children. ‘Get in, we’re leaving.’
He had no idea why he thought they’d respond to that, but they did. Not, though, before they grabbed the lady’s legs and tore them from her body. She wasn’t a zombie, she was human and healthy, and he shuddered at the strength there must be in those little arms to rip her apart.
They climbed in, looking more like squat monkeys with short arms than human babies. He put his foot down and motored off the bridge, leaving behind an undead crowd gathered around what was left of the lady. Something stirred within that he thought might be guilt, but it went as quickly as it came. He couldn’t help looking in the rear view as they drove, marveling at the little people tucking into their lunch on the back seat.
Their eyes were black and flicked about constantly. There was the slightest hint of horns thrusting through the fuzz atop their heads. They had their horns already! He grinned, tapping the steering wheel as they turned left and headed down the Strand.
The car got them all the way to the theatre. Stepping back in through the entrance was like coming home. He got the babies into reception. waving at the two zombies rotting away behind the ticket windows.
They crept into the box, the babies holding his hands and walking on two legs. Almost as soon as they were in, they found a corner and curled up together to sleep. Dave watched them. Their little chests and backs rose and fell fast and beneath their red eyelids their eyes still flicked back and forth.
He was nodding off when he felt the pull to the roof and, moments later, hauled himself up through the skylight and out. The rain was finally easing off, leaving a light drizzle through which the early morning sun tried, but failed, to shine. He shivered and wrapped his arms around himself as he leant back against the slant.
The flapping of wings made him rise, blinking furiously. Had he been asleep? He thought he had, though he remembered no dreams. His shoulders were stiff and he rolled them as he watched Az come closer. The demon no longer favoured his hurt wing and his face had lost the angry glower from their last meeting.
‘Dave, you did it!’
The demon landed and clapped him on the shoulder. The impact nearly drove him to his knees but he managed a weak smile.
‘Yes. But it was easy, I love them.’
‘Yes you do. And so you should. They are partly your children, you know.’
He spoke like Dave was a little child and he thought it should bother him more than it did. Despite his exhaustion, it seemed very little bothered him at the moment.
‘Are they sleeping?’
‘Yes, since the moment we got back.’
‘That will happen after the first feed.’
‘So what now?’
‘I need you to care for them. It will only be a week or so until they are fully grown and ready to join me. But I’m right in the middle of something pretty huge so I can’t be here right now.’
‘Something bigger than watching your children grow up?’
Az frowned. ‘I know. Believe me, if I could be here, I would. But this is pretty key to our plans, I really can’t… Why am I explaining myself to you? You will care for our children.’
Dave smarted and looked away. He wasn’t hurt by the sudden change, but it wasn’t necessary either. He’d already said he’d look after them. ‘What do I have to do?’
‘They’ll need to feed again. Once more should do it, but you’ll need a live kill.’
‘Who?’
‘The soldiers are still at St Paul’s. They’re pissing me off, actually, so head over there. Be careful, bullets can still kill them at this stage. Actually, bullets will always be dangerous. Find one or two soldiers on their own and take them.’
Just like that. Dave shook his head but kept his mouth shut. Az didn’t look grumpy anymore but he still had an edge to him, a brittleness he didn’t want to get in the way of. So he had no idea what possessed him to ask his next question.
‘What are you doing at the moment that’s so important?’
Az glared for a moment, then threw back his head and laughed. ‘Excellent question. I’m in the Flights being super sneaky. We’re in the final stages of recruiting and the longer I’m away, the more likely it is the whole thing will come down like a house of cards.’
‘Recruiting for what?’
‘War of course.’
Alex
The torch light wavered and flashed side to side. It wasn’t deliberate, his hand was shaking.
‘What was that?’ Tanya hissed.
‘Shut up.’ He put his finger to his lips, then gripped the torch with both hands to keep it steady. He turned, slowly but surely, playing the beam over every part of the room.
Nothing.
The growl came again and he shuddered. Tanya pressed closer, bumping against his hip. He put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed in what he hoped was a reassuring way and not a death grip.
A soft scratching intruded, like something running its nails down the wall. It could just as easily have been a rat. He did another circuit with the torch and once again saw nothing. Tanya touched his arm and he barely resisted jumping in the air.
‘That was the light switch, turn the lights on.’
He backed up until he saw the switch. He stepped back and put his finger on it. Something told him not to flick it, that he didn’t want to see what it would illuminate. But they couldn’t stand here forever. He flicked the switch.
Nothing happened. He swore under his breath and flicked it off. Try again. He flicked it up and this time the light blazed out. He hadn’t squinted his eyes in preparation and was blinded for a brief moment. He heard Tanya gasp and rubbed his eyes as the room came into focus.
There was nothing here. They stood in a lounge dominated by two large sofas, so he trudged across, sank into one, and gripped the arms to stop his hands shaking. His fear leaked from him until he felt weak and feeble. Tanya sat in the other sofa but she perched on the edge, checking over her shoulder at every moment.
‘It’s alright, we’re alright.’ Alex said. ‘Come on, let’s take a look round.’
He pushed himself up and offered her a hand. The door to the dining room was closed and Alex held his breath as it creaked open. He shone the torch through the narrow gap. He didn’t see anything but he paused anyway, listening intently. Nothing.
He shoved the door open as fast as he could and flicked on the light. The room was empty save a large wooden dining table and chairs, and two dressers at the far end. He let out a breath and Tanya giggled. He gave her a smile. ‘See, there’s nothing here.’
‘I heard a growl, I know I heard a growl.’
He had as well. Maybe it had been outside. What wild animals were there around here? Did badgers growl? He shook his head and strolled through the dining room to the kitchen. The lino was scuffed by the sink and the side door and he was reminded fiercely of his grandma’s house. It had the same smell, of age and cooking and love.
He closed his eyes for a moment and took a long breath. They could stay here. It felt safe here. He looked at Tanya. She was still on edge, tapping one finger against the work surface, but the tension was leaving her as well.
‘Shall we have a look upstairs?’ He didn’t mean it to sound rude but somehow it did and she burst out laughing. He blushed bright red and shook his head. ‘I didn’t mean it like that, god, sor—’
‘It’s fine, really. I didn’t think you did. That’s a good idea.’
They climbed the stairs and found four bedrooms, all kitted out with beds and wardrobes and the normal stuff. They also found a bathroom that felt cavernous after the tiny hospital cubicles. It also had a huge wrought iron bath into which he looked forward to sinking.
They wandered back down stairs, chatting about where everyone would sleep, talking about rotations and
mattresses. They’d reached the back door when he heard the growl again. It was clearer this time, and louder, and the torch slipped from his fingers. It fell with a hollow thud onto the floor boards beneath his feet, and they stared at the rug upon which they stood.
Tanya went white and backed away until she reached the fire place. She pulled a poker off the stand and held it out before her. It looked more like a wand than a weapon but it was more than Alex had. He knelt and rolled up the rug.
The trapdoor was clean and well-used and he knew he didn’t want to open it. The padlock was shiny and closed. Did he really have to open it? But if he didn’t, they couldn’t stay here, and he didn’t have the strength to find another place tonight.
‘What is it?’ Tanya asked.
He shrugged. ‘I don’t know. Well, I do. There’s at least one zombie down there. But why it’s under a trapdoor, I d—’
‘He was a freak.’
‘What?’
‘The guy who lived here, the one who attacked us. He kept people locked up down there.’
Alex shook his head. ‘No way. This is Beaconsfield, it’s full of really rich people. There’s no way someone could get away with this.’
‘Haven’t you seen it on the news? People with friends and everything and they keep these women locked up for years.’
‘They’re zombies now.’
She bit her lip and nodded, raising the poker. He grabbed the other one. It wasn’t much longer than his forearm, but was reassuringly weighty and he brandished it before him as he returned to the trap door.
He nudged the padlock with his foot. ‘How are we supposed to get this open?’
‘Where would he keep the key?’
‘Study.’ They said it at the same time and shared nervous laughter as they headed back through the house. They went through his drawers and emerged with three padlock keys. The first didn’t fit, but the second went in perfectly and he paused before he unlocked it. ‘Is there something we can fight them with, before I do this?’
Thirteen Roses Book Five: Home: A Paranormal Zombie Saga Page 11
