by Chris Harris
As we got closer we could see that the people in trouble were both women and were clinging to each other for support. One seemed to be having trouble walking and the other was helping. They hadn’t noticed us, so I shouted but they clearly couldn’t hear me. Shawn finally managed to get their attention by blowing loudly on a whistle and they responded by waving and changing direction towards us. Unfortunately, this shortened the distance between them and the zombies who, distracted by Shawn’s whistle, began to make their way over to us instead.
This is not good! I thought. They’re going to get caught by them unless we do something.
‘Becky, keep the kids with you. If anything happens to us run back to the cars and drive away.’ Throwing caution to the wind, the four of us started sprinting across the moor. It was going to be close. We were all running together, holding our weapons ready.
‘We need to distract them,’ I gasped between breaths. Our shouting and hollering had confused the zombies, who seemed to be struggling to work out the best food sources to aim for: the quiet ones closest to them or the noisier ones further away. Two of them suddenly turned back towards the women and three of them continued on towards us. One of the women fell over, dragging the other one down with her, their shrieks of terror prompting me to run even faster.
‘Chet, with me. Shawn and Andy get the others!’ I panted, as I headed towards the women.
As I ran past the outstretched arms of the nearest zombie, I swung my axe wildly at it. The blow, poorly aimed, failed to hit anything vital but did succeed in knocking it off balance. As I ran on, the blood pounding in my ears, I could hear Chet breathing heavily beside me. The women were trying to get back up, but their panic was making them clumsy. I was ten metres from them when the two zombies reached them and fell upon them.
I dropped my axe, knowing that if I swung it now it could easily injure one of the women as she lay writhing on the ground, and instead pulled my knife from its sheath. The woman’s screams pierced the air. There was no time to give Chet instructions; he knew what he had to do.
The long hair of the nearest zombie proved a bonus. It was so intent on feeding on the woman, it had forgotten all about me. I grabbed a fistful, pulled its head back and stabbed it as hard as I could. It instantly went limp, as it died for a second time. Still clutching its hair, I pulled it off the hysterical woman. The other zombie was also stone dead. Chet was standing over it, staring at his hand axe, which was sticking out of its head as if it was stuck in a log. I immediately turned to check on Shawn and Andy and watched Shawn neatly dispatch the last three zombies from a distance of about ten metres, with crossbow bolts to their brains.
Beyond them stood Becky and the kids. They immediately became my first priority and I walked over to them, saying: ‘Shawn, see to the ladies please. I’ll go and get Becky.’
I grabbed Becky and gave her a hug, then turned to Stanley, Daisy and Eddie. ‘Thanks for protecting Mom for me.’ Eddie showed no discomfort at my referring to Becky as his mom. In a sense I suppose we’d already unofficially adopted him, so when we had time we would need to think carefully about how to deal with that. ‘Come on,’ I said to them. ‘Let’s go and meet the new arrivals.’
As we approached the others I suddenly realised that something wasn’t right. The three men were standing around the women, who were both still on the ground holding on to each other. They were both crying.
Andy came to meet us, looking worried. ‘One of them’s been bitten.’
‘Shit!’ I said, ‘When?’
‘Just as you got there, when they first attacked them.’
I immediately felt guilty. We’d wasted precious minutes and seconds prior to going to help them. If we’d gone to them as soon as we’d spotted them, she might have been ok.
Becky, who knew the way my mind worked, said firmly, ‘Don’t even go there Tom. Do not even begin to blame yourself. You did your best.’
‘I know love. Look, can you take the kids over there somewhere? You know what we’re going to have to do.’
I think the children already understood what was going to happen, but the urge to protect our kids from the outside world for as long as I possibly could was still overpowering. They all looked up at me and then over to the two women and then let Becky usher them away. I heard her saying, ‘Everyone else is going to be busy, so it’s up to us to keep a good lookout.’
As I got closer I winced at the sight of the bite wound on the woman’s arm. A huge chunk of her bicep had been ripped away and blood was pouring from the wound. I certainly didn’t want to get near the wound, as no one knew yet whether contact with the blood would transmit the infection. Up until now we’d got some on us when we’d been killing them, but as they didn’t actually bleed that much it wasn’t a lot. This woman was bleeding profusely from an open wound caused by a zombie bite.
We knew they needed our help though, so I knelt next to her, taking care that the wound was on the side away from me. Both women were in their late twenties and dressed in jeans, trainers and t-shirts. I touched the uninjured one on the shoulder tentatively. She hadn’t noticed me arrive and jumped violently at the contact. Her face was muddy and tear streaked, her eyes puffy from crying.
‘Thank you,’ she said, trying to smile. ‘We’ve been trying to get away from them since last night, but they kept following. Please, you have to help Julie; have you got any bandages?’
I paused, not knowing how to break the bad news.
Shawn crouched down beside me. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said, as gently as he could, ‘There’s just no easy way to say this. If she’s been bitten then she’s probably only got about ten minutes before she becomes one herself. We’ve seen it before.’
She stared at us indignantly. ‘No! Look at her! She’s ok, it’s just a bite. She can’t be one of them. What are they anyway?’
Unable to restrain himself, Andy said: ‘Where have you been for the last twenty four hours? They’re fucking zombies and they wanted to eat you!’
The look I gave Andy made him stop. He walked away holding up his hands in apology.
Shawn tried again. ‘Look, I’m really sorry but from what we’ve witnessed, if your friend’s been bitten then it’s likely she’s going to turn and there’s nothing we can do to stop it. The only thing we can do is wait. I’d suggest you say your goodbyes now.’ As he said it, he clumsily put his hand on her back in a vague effort to offer support.
For the next few minutes both women hugged, cried and denied that anything was wrong. Gradually the bitten woman fell silent and then slumped unconscious. We all sat poised, ready to react. Her friend, who was still hugging her, was clearly completely unprepared for what was about to happen.
I had to get her out of the way. I knelt close to her and put my arms on her shoulders. ‘Please. Just move out of the way for a minute. Let me check her. I know first aid so I’ll put her in the recovery position. It’ll help her.’
She looked at me and nodded, wiping her eyes. My lie had worked and she stood up and stepped back a few paces.
It was only just in time. The woman’s eyes opened, and she went into violent spasms as the virus took hold of her body. With a cry, her friend stepped forward to help her but Shawn had anticipated this and quickly grabbed her and held her back.
Within thirty seconds the bitten woman had completed her transformation and was trying to stand.
I turned to her companion and said, ‘I’m sorry. I’m going to have to do this to protect us all.’
I turned, grabbed the woman’s hair and killed the newest addition to the zombie population. Wearily I looked at her friend, who was white with shock. ‘Shawn, when she’s ready, bring her over to the cars. I’m going back to my wife and children.’
Picking up the axe, I walked over to Becky and we all made our way back to the cars. While Daisy kept a lookout from the rock, I got everyone busy refilling the cars with everything we’d unpacked the day before. Ten minutes later Shawn, Chet and Andy appeared, acco
mpanying the quietly sobbing woman. Now I’d had the chance to look at her properly, I could see that she was in her late twenties to early thirties. She had a slim athletic figure and long brown hair and was a very attractive woman.
Stopping what we were doing, Becky and I walked over to them. ‘I’m very sorry I had to do that to your friend,’ I began, ‘there was nothing else we could do.’
She looked at me, crying afresh, and sobbed, ‘She was my sister!’
I was stunned into silence for a moment. Before I could say anything else Becky stepped forward and enveloped her in a hug, saying, ‘I’m so sorry,’ over and over.
This brought on a fresh bout of tears and the men stood around awkwardly, waiting for the emotional roller coaster the woman was on to slow down.
After a few minutes I indicated for Shawn, Chet and Andy to finish off packing the cars. While they were busy with that, I kept an eye on the children who by now had all climbed on to the rock to help keep a lookout. I smiled as I heard Stanley organising the others and telling them which area to scan.
A little while later, once Becky had managed to calm the woman down, she led her over to me. ‘Tom, this is Louise. I’ve explained to her what just happened and why her sister died.’
‘Hi Tom,’ said Louise. ‘I understand you had to do what you did. I know I’ll never get over losing her but I also know I have to be strong. Becky says I can stay with you until I reach my family.’
I smiled. ‘Of course you can. Now we really need to get moving. Our car’s pretty full so if you wouldn’t mind travelling with Shawn, we’re trying to get to a farm we know is just over the hill. Hopefully it’ll be a bit safer for us there than out here in the open, so the sooner we get there the better.’
Nodding, she walked over to Shawn’s car. After a quick check to make sure we’d left nothing behind, we started the cars and with me in the lead, continued slowly along the track.
Now we were nine.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
I crested the hill, stopped the car and waited for the others to arrive. After a thorough check that the coast was clear (this had become second nature to all of us), we stepped out and looked across the moor towards the farmhouse. It was a solid building, surrounded by barns and store sheds, and nestled peacefully in a shallow valley. I looked at it carefully through my binoculars before passing them to Shawn. ‘It looks clear to me, what do you reckon?’
‘Looks quiet,’ he replied. ‘The front door’s wide open so there could have been some trouble, but on the bright side, I think the place has an alternate power supply! I can see a wind turbine and there are solar panels on the roof of the barn. It makes sense really; they’re so remote they must be vulnerable to power failures when the weather’s bad.’ He turned to me looking positively cheerful, ‘I say we go and check it out.’
I nodded. ‘Right everyone, let’s stay close together. When we get there, Chet and Andy, you come with me to make sure the main house is safe while Shawn stands guard outside with his crossbow. Then we’ll go through the outbuildings just to make sure they’re clear as well. We’ll work out the rest when we get there.’
Soon afterwards we were driving through the open gate of the farmhouse. It all looked very quiet and apart from the fact that the front door was swinging slightly in the breeze, everything seemed completely normal. I squeezed Becky’s hand, smiled reassuringly at the children, and stepped out of the car.
Shawn had his crossbow raised and was scanning the area constantly. He instructed Louise to get out of his car and into mine. With my knife in my hand, I motioned for Shawn and Andy to follow me. Remembering that zombies tended to be attracted by noise, I banged loudly on the front door, pushed it open slightly and shouted, ‘Anyone at home?’
In response I heard the now familiar groan of a zombie from somewhere in the house, followed by someone calling out for help. The shouting appeared to be coming from beneath our feet, presumably from the cellar.
The zombie appeared in the entrance to the hall, dressed in a ripped and bloody pair of pyjamas. As it made its way towards us, I stepped back from the narrow doorway to give Andy and Chet room to stand beside me. One of its feet was sticking out at an unnatural angle, giving it an even more awkward gait than normal.
‘Got one coming out,’ I shouted to warn Shawn.
‘Ok, it’s still clear out here. Be careful,’ he replied.
As I stepped forward and felled the zombie with a thrust of my knife, I found myself chuckling. He’d said it in the same way that someone tells you to be careful if it’s slippy outside.
I looked at Chet and Andy and came to a decision. It was about time they took the lead. ‘Right,’ I said firmly, ‘One of you can go first. Let’s make sure there are no more of them.’ To their credit, they actually argued over who should lead the way. Andy won, having promised that he would let Chet go first the next time.
Whoever was in the cellar was still shouting and hammering up against the floor. It sounded as if more than one person was down there, but it was difficult to be sure because the voices were muffled. All the rooms downstairs were clear so we climbed up to the next storey. The first bedroom we entered solved the mystery of the pyjama wearing zombie. A blood-spattered bed held the gruesome remains of a woman. Presumably the zombie had turned during the night and fed on his wife while she was sleeping. It was a sickening sight and not one of us was sufficiently inured to the horror of it. We’d all seen similar scenes in movies, but this didn’t in any way prepare you for the sweet smell of decaying flesh and the sight of flies buzzing over ruptured intestines. I could feel my stomach beginning to churn.
I shut the door, took a deep breath and said, ‘If we’re going to be staying here we need to do something about that.’
The house was large and had a lot of doors so each one had to be opened very carefully in case it was hiding a nasty surprise. When we finally came back downstairs I tried a door in the kitchen and discovered that it was locked. As I tugged at the door handle I heard someone inside shout, ‘He’s back! Get out of my way. We need to get away from the door.’ Clearly I’d found the entrance to the cellar.
‘Hello!’ I called. ‘We’ve er..we’ve killed the man in the pyjamas. Is there anybody else in the house we should know about?’
There was a pause while the person inside digested what I’d said. ‘No!’ they said finally. ‘I don’t think so. That man fell down the stairs and tried to attack us yesterday. We’ve been down here ever since. He’s been pounding on the door non-stop.’ The voice, which was clearly male, sounded very frightened.
I tried to sound as friendly as possible. ‘It’s ok to come out now. We’ve checked all the rooms and the house is clear.’
‘Who are you?’ said the voice distrustfully.
Andy once again displayed his undiplomatic side, shouting, ‘We’re the ones who’ve fucking saved you! Who gives a fuck who we are. You’re the idiots hiding in a cellar. We’re not going to hurt you. Just man up and get out here!’
Lost for words after that blunt but accurate appraisal of the situation, I gave Andy a severe look. Then I told him to stay with Chet and carry on trying to persuade them to come out. I walked out of the house to check on Shawn.
To my surprise they were all out of the car and standing close together. Shawn was standing on his car bonnet with his crossbow at the ready. He greeted me cheerfully. ‘Hi Tom. Don’t worry, it’s safe out here. The amount of noise you lot have been making would wake the dead, not just zombies. While we’ve been waiting I’ve carried out a sweep of the outbuildings. They’re all clear.’
Momentarily annoyed that he’d put himself in a potentially dangerous situation which could have had a direct impact on my family, I opened my mouth to say something, but then thought better of it. He wasn’t daft and had obviously assessed the situation as being low risk.
While we were waiting for Chet and Andy to coax the people out of the cellar, I took the opportunity to look round. The whole farm was
surrounded by a solid drystone wall, about four feet high. There were two five bar metal gates at either end of the yard to give access on to the moors. The walls would help to shelter the whole place from the weather and I suppose, in days gone by, the farmers would have brought all the sheep inside the enclosure when the weather really took a turn for the worse.
All I cared about was the fact that it looked secure. I went to look at the barns. They contained all the things you’d expect: a newish looking tractor and a quad bike plus other pieces of equipment in various states of disrepair. I was tempted to investigate further but I heard Becky’s voice calling me back.
The people in the cellar had finally emerged and were standing quietly next to Chet and Andy. They were a couple in their mid-fifties, dressed in walking gear, and were looking decidedly dishevelled. The man was fiddling nervously with his mobile phone.
The children were looking slightly shocked and the others were all looking furious.
‘What’s up?’
Hands on his hips, Shawn spoke first. ‘Mr Knight here wants to report us for murdering the poor man who tried to eat him. We’ve been trying to explain to him what’s been happening in the world but he assures us that that’s just not possible. I’ve even shown him the remains of the man’s wife but he insists that an animal must have done that because God wouldn’t allow something like this to happen.’
The gentleman in question walked up to me, held his phone up to my face and took my picture.
‘What the hell do you think you’re doing, you idiot?’ I snapped, irritated.
‘I’ve taken photos of all of you!’ he squeaked in a nasal voice that I found instantly annoying. ‘I insist that you take us to the nearest police station where I shall report you all. Shame on you for exposing your children to your cruel, godless ways. Maud! Come and stand next to me and get away from these people.’
