Zombies Zombies Zombies (Parts 6-10): Surviving

by T. L. Frost

  Carter stopped half way out of the door, watching Jack as he climbed out of the rear of the bus.

  “Ah shit.” He said quietly, looking at Sally.

  Sally glanced back then looked at Carter, her eyes silently filling with tears.

  Chapter 8

  They found a small, empty house a few miles further on and decided to stay there for the night. Carter emptied the fuel cans into the mini-bus’s tank and took a tray of food inside, checking everything was secure as Sally heated up some tinned sausages and beans on an old camping stove they had in the bus.

  “I don’t think I’ve ever smelt anything so good.” Said Carter when he sat at the small kitchen table “Your cooking must be improving.”

  Sally raised an eyebrow at that.

  “You’re the one who burns everything.” She said “Plus hunger is the best ingredient, so they say.”

  “I like it that way.” Said Carter shrugging “What I wouldn’t give for some burnt toast right now…”

  Sally smiled, a small strained smile, as she stirred the food.

  “How are they doing?” She said, nodding towards the living room, where Sharron and Jack were resting.

  Carter sighed.

  “As well as can be expected. I think they’ve accepted what’s going to happen now, Jack’s going downhill fast, I don’t think he has long left.”

  Sally nodded and served up the hot food into some bowls which they took to the others in the living room. Jack refused it, not feeling hungry, even though his face looked even thinner than the last time Carter had seen him. His eyes seeming to go in and out of focus, a grey tinge to his skin. The others ate in silence, Sally watching them intently.

  “I think we should get Sharron away from him, before the end.” She said.

  Carter nodded agreement “It won’t be long. Why don’t you get her to sleep in one of the beds, keep her company, I’ll stay here and… look after Jack.”

  When they had finished eating, Sally took the exhausted Sharron upstairs, covering her with some blankets and sitting with her. The tears had stopped now, her red rimmed eyes barely able to stay open.

  “Look after my Jack.” She said sleepily as she squeezed Sally’s hand before falling asleep.

  “We will.” Replied Sally quietly.

  Carter checked on Jack, covering him with a blanket. The room was cold but they hadn’t lit a fire, too much risk of drawing attention, then he slumped down next to the empty fireplace, a gas powered camping light turned down low on the small coffee table between them. He watched as Jack’s chest rose and fell slowly, his breath rattling, dark patches appearing under his eyes. Then all was silence. Carter had seen enough dead people by now to know, the unnatural stillness and quiet. He sighed, holding his head in his hands for a second, then he stood. Taking a metal poker from next to the cold fireplace, he moved and stood next to the large sofa on which Jack was laying. The boy’s face grew even paler, sunken cheeks seeming to draw in further. Carter raised the poker, holding the handle in both hands, the point just above one of Jack’s eyes, but still he waited. He should just do it now, he knew but couldn’t quite bring himself to move.

  “You didn’t deserve this kid.” He said quietly.

  Jack’s eyes snapped open, his head turned slowly, grey eyes staring, mouth starting to open. The metal poker plunged down, the point punching through the eye socket, deep into the brain, breaking through the back of the skull and stopping there. Carter turned his head away, taking a few deep breathes. After a moment he gritted his teeth and pulled the poker free. He wrapped Jack in the blanket, completely covering him, then sat down heavily in the chair again, letting the poker fall to the floor beside him. He sat like that for a while, the camping light growing dimmer as he thought back over all that had happened and as the light went out, he fell into a fitful, exhausted sleep.

  He was woken the next morning by the sound of crying. Opening blurry eyes, he saw Sharron standing next to the sofa where Jack’s body lay, tears streaming down her cheeks as Sally held her, trying to comfort her. Carter stood, stretching his neck and back as muscles protested at the uncomfortable night’s sleep. After a few minutes Sharron seemed calmer, wiping her face dry, she came over to Carter and gave him a quick hug.

  “Thank you.” She said “I don’t know what I would have… thank you.” Then Sally took her out of the room to the kitchen, nodding to the sofa where the body lay, then closing the kitchen door behind her.

  Carter nodded and after they had left the room he checked the view outside, all was clear, so he unlocked the front door, stepping out into the brisk morning air, taking a few deep, clean breathes. All was quiet and after a few minutes he went back inside, dragging Jack’s body out by the feet, he took it around the side of the small house. He found a shovel in a small shed there and ten minutes later, had dug a shallow grave, rolling the body in and covering it. He stood a moment longer looking down at the grave but no words came to him so he sighed, shrugged his shoulders and went back inside. The smell of food greeted him and he headed for the kitchen, suddenly ravenous. Sally gave a questioning look and Carter nodded, turning to Sharron.

  “I buried him in the garden. It’s not much but it will do.”

  Sharron smiled, a small fleeting smile. The tears had dried now and she seemed to be taking it a little better. People move on, Carter thought, there are only so many tears you can cry.

  They stayed there another night, getting some much needed rest. Carter was up early the next morning, shivering as he got out of bed and checked around. He could see some movement outside, not too close, maybe a couple of zombies out there in the distance where there had been none yesterday. The windscreen of the mini-bus was icing up a little, another sign of the weather turning colder. His stomach rumbled and he went downstairs, deciding to treat the others to a nice hot, burnt breakfast.

  “Oh, you shouldn’t have.” Said Sally with a hint of sarcasm as she appeared in the kitchen, closely followed by Sharron.

  Carter pointed the large spoon he had been serving the food up with at her.

  “Admit it, my cooking is growing on you.” He said as they sat down to eat.

  When they had finished he rinsed everything and started packing.

  “We need to get out of here today.” He said to both Sally and Sharron “The weather is turning colder, we need a place to hold up for the winter, or longer.” As he said this he looked at Sharron’s growing belly.

  “Agreed.” Said Sally “At least we’ve got enough fuel to do it now.”

  Carter nodded “Half a tank, should get us pretty far. We can head for the countryside, maybe find a smallholding or a farm, somewhere isolated.”

  Everyone agreed and after a final check outside they packed up their meagre belongings and climbed into the mini-bus, Carter helping Sharron up the two small steps at the rear. For the next few days they travelled north and west, away from any cities or large towns, looking for somewhere secluded. A couple of places looked promising but the screams and moans of the undead greeted them as they approached, forcing them to leave quickly. Eventually they came to a small access road which turned off from another minor road, all around them were abandoned fields, overgrown with grasses turning brown as the season headed for winter, others barren and rocky. They hadn’t seen a town or village for about twenty minutes and it was the only place they had come across in that time. Turning off the minor road, they passed a sign saying ‘Haven Farm’ at a set of gates.

  “Looks pretty remote.” Said Sally “Let’s check it out.”

  Ten minutes later they arrived at some farm buildings, the rough access road had taken a bumpy, winding route downwards into an isolated valley with steep hills on both sides and a clear stream running through the centre. As they approached, Carter spotted someone on top of a large storage silo, binoculars pointed in their direction. They drove on slowly and the faint sound of a bell came to them as the lookout rang it, signalling to more people who came out of the buildings th
ere. Most carried weapons and Carter was wary as he and Sally stepped out of the bus. The man at the front of the small group handed his weapon to one of the others and stepped forward, his hand extended.

  “Excuse the welcoming committee.” He said “But the alarm usually means a zombie or two have found their way here. I’m Merrick.”

  Carter shook his hand, a little surprised, he hadn’t seen so many people together in one place in a long time.

  “I’m Carter, that’s Sally.” He said nodding to the other side of the bus “And this is Sharron.” He moved around to the back of the mini-bus, helping her down the two steps as she climbed down.

  “Oh deary!” Came a woman’s voice.

  An older woman wearing a flour covered apron pushed her way through the group, making straight for Sharron.

  “You come with me right this minute.” She said.

  A large smile appeared on Sharron’s face at the same time as tears in her eyes “Who are you and…”

  “Don’t fret about all of that you poor thing, you come have a sit down, take the weight off your feet, you look exhausted!” Said the woman, giving Carter a slightly scolding look as she passed “A nice cup of tea and some cake is what you need.”

  “That’s Harriet.” Said Merrick smiling at Carter “She lives here with her husband Bill, the rest of us turned up later.”

  Merrick introduced the others who were there as Sally joined Carter and they were warmly welcomed.

  “And this is the newest arrival at our little home from home.” Said Merrick after the others had been introduced and started to wander off “Only turned up a few days ago himself.”

  Carter accepted the thrust out hand, shaking it and noticing the way the other man’s eyes strayed towards Sally, lingering just a little too long.

  “I’m Quinn.” He said with a small, not particularly friendly smile as he squeezed Carter’s hand.

  :::::::::::::::

  Part Ten: HAVEN

  Haven

  Survival depended on a lot of things. Knowing when to run, when to fight. Learning how to stay alive and helping each other. Teamwork. That was more important than ever now. A group of people facing the odds, facing the dangers together. But trust was a major part of that, you had to be able to trust the people around you. Not something Carter found easy, his natural suspicion could get in the way, but he wasn’t too concerned about that right now. Though it had saved his life before and probably would again. If I make it out of here alive, he thought, as he used all of his strength to hold the door closed, holding back a pack of screaming zombies.

  Chapter 1

  Carter held his breath, fist clenched, and pointed.

  “Here, this is where we should go.” He said.

  A huff from across the table answered him.

  “You have something to say?” Asked Carter.

  Quinn stood and glared down at the map, eyes scanning the area surrounding Haven Farm. Crosses showed all around, small farms and isolated homes all marked to show they had been searched.

  “They’ve already been that way, no point going over old ground. We should head for the towns while we have enough fuel. One big score could see us set for weeks, maybe months.” Quinn looked up, watching Carter “Unless you’re scared of a few zombs?”

  Carter gritted his teeth but held back an angry comment, the man seemed to go out of his way to antagonise people, bullying them to his way of thinking. As he watched, hoping for a reaction, Carter relaxed, a grin appearing on his face. He had dealt with people like him before, but there was a time and a place for everything.

  “Tell you what.” Said Carter “Why don’t you take a vehicle and ask for volunteers to head into town with you. Meanwhile I’ll head north and keep searching the smaller places as we have already planned.”

  Quinn stood staring for a moment, eyes unreadable as he thought about Carter’s suggestion. Then he sat back down with a loud sigh, eyes still fixed on Carter.

  “Better if we stick together.” He said, shrugging his shoulders.

  Carter watched him for a second more then turned his attention back to the map, pointing out a route, looking to some of the others for suggestions or information. When they had finished, he rolled up the map and they started packing some equipment.

  “Got a minute?” Asked Merrick after the small meeting had broken up.

  Carter nodded and they stepped outside, the early morning light subdued by low lying clouds on the horizon.

  “I don’t know what’s going on between you two, but we need to work together if we’re going to succeed here.” Said Merrick.

  Carter nodded “I know that, but that man just irritates the hell out of me for some reason.”

  “Not just you, others have complained about him. Nothing bad, just his attitude. He proved he could handle himself when he went out with a group a couple of days ago though, so maybe we have to be a bit more tolerant of each other. We need every pair of hands we have if we’re going to make this place work.”

  “Not everyone is an asset these days.” Said Carter “But I’ll give him a chance to prove himself, I know I can be a bit quick to judge, but I trust my instincts.”

  Merrick clasped his shoulder “That’s all anyone can ask. You all be careful out there, don’t take any unnecessary risks.”

  Carter nodded and threw his small pack into the back of the first of two Landrovers they were taking. Watching the others climbing into the vehicles, he saw Quinn getting into the back of the second one, a large double-handed axe clasped in his hand.

  “We’ll be back before dark.” He said to Sally who came to say goodbye, then he climbed into the passenger side of the first Landrover and nodded to Bill. “Good to go.”

  Chapter 2

  The going was slow at first, Bill taking it easy down the access road from Haven Farm until they reached the gate. Carter jumped out and opened it, waving both vehicles through, then he jumped back in next to Bill. Turning right, they quickly increased their speed on the surfaced road.

  “Should be there in about twenty minutes.” Said Carter checking the map.

  Bill nodded.

  “We’ve been to all the closest places.” He said “Picked them clean early on. Not that there was much to take, land’s too hilly around these parts for bigger farms, only small-holders like me and Harriet could make a living.”

  “I think those hills are probably what’s kept the place clear.” Said Carter “Still a few making it through though from what I hear.”

  Bill nodded “The odd one finds us for sure. That’s why we keep a lookout on top of the silo during the day, helps stop any nasty surprises.”

  “Good idea. Maybe we could find where those few that do get through are coming from when we get time. Maybe put up a few barriers.” Carter checked the map again “Next left, then keep going for about a mile.”

  Bill took the turning and after about a mile they came to a large gate, dry-stone walls stretching away on either side. Just beyond the gate a rough, muddy track led upwards to a rise in the road before disappearing out of sight.

  “I’ll take a quick look.” Said Carter, grabbing his iron bar and climbing out.

  Checking the map as he went, he was pretty sure it was the right place, though he couldn’t see any signs naming it and the map didn’t have enough detail to say. When he got to the top of the rise, a faint smell of decay came to him as the wind changed direction. Ahead the track dipped gently downwards again to a large clear area, fields all around, green turning to brown as the overgrown grasses started to die out as the weather turned colder. Carter walked on a little further, the smell stronger now as he walked among the fields, some large farm buildings ahead. Large mounds could be seen in the fields and as Carter checked one near to the track, he realised that was where the smell was coming from. Blood and gore were covering it, its insides ripped out, darkened bones showing. Cows, thought Carter, as he looked around. Dozens of cows, or what was left of them.

  “Lo
oks clear enough.” Said Carter as he climbed back into the Landrover next to Bill “A lot of dead cows in the fields but no zombs out in the open.”

  Bill nodded “Probably a dairy, some good home-made cheeses came from this area.”

  It didn’t take long to reach the farm buildings, the two vehicles parking up a good distance from the entrance to the main house, allowing them a clear view all around. Everyone got out and listened, tension obvious in all of them. Tom who was driving the second Landrover pointed to the farmhouse.

  “Something moving in there.” He said as he took up a large hammer.

  Alice, who had been in the passenger seat, moved around to the driver’s side, gave him a quick hug and climbed in.

  “Be careful in there.” She said, before turning the Landrover to face away from the house, ready for a quick escape.

  Tom nodded and moved towards the house with Quinn beside him.

  “We’ll check out the other buildings.” Called Bill as he took out his shotgun, loading it and nodding to Carter.

  Tom moved to the door of the farmhouse, listening but hearing nothing, then he tried looking in the windows but couldn’t make out anything in the dim light. As Carter and Bill disappeared from sight around the side of the building, Quinn took a couple of quick steps and kicked the door hard, smashing it inwards.

  “Fuck!” Said Tom, jumping and spinning around “A little warning next time!”

  Quinn grinned and moved into the house, his axe held loosely in one hand. Tom followed him and as they searched through the ground floor they found the place had been ransacked, furniture tipped over, belongings smashed. The back door leading from the kitchen to the rear of the house stood wide open and as Tom entered, he caught a glimpse of a fox running outside.

  “Nothing here.” Said Quinn opening one of the kitchen cupboards.

  “We should check upstairs just to be sure.” Replied Tom.