Tommy raised his gun and fired straight through the forehead of the freak this time. It collapsed in a lifeless heap. Angelica stumbled forwards, gripping her dripping shoulder with her hand. The blood pumped from the gaping wound. “Don’t leave me here,” she cried out. “Please…”
Devan looked at Tommy with an expression of ravaged regret. His face seemed to cave in on itself, and the older man could see what he was going through. Tommy turned to see where the other girls were, but they were inside the jeep and the door was closed. The dead were still piling out of the entrance of the building, around half of the bodies in flames, and in the middle was the girl, bleeding and crying, the life as she knew it fast leaving her. In a day or so she would be one of them. He lowered his gun and glanced sideways at Devan.
Angelica sank to her knees. “Don’t leave me! Don’t let me turn into one of those things. Not like my dad, not like my mum, not like my brother...” She crumpled to the floor and sobbed.
Devan raised the gun and fired once.
***
They drove in silence. Marla peered in the rear-view mirror at Devan. The boy looked haunted, his face turned slightly as he gazed out of the window. Ellen sat cradling Joanna, who was still crying, and Bob had his head on her leg. Marla glanced sideways at Tommy, but he was staring straight ahead, his expression unreadable. “It’s getting dark,” she said at last. “Want to find somewhere to sleep or stay in the car?”
“Don’t mind,” Ellen replied, stroking Joanna’s head slowly. “I’ll go with your decision.”
Devan nodded once, but did not peel his eyes away from the world outside.
“If we stay in the car, they won’t be able to see us because of the dark windows, but we will see them,” said Marla softly. “What do you think?”
“I don’t care,” muttered Joanna. “Angelica’s gone, so what’s the point?” she added, before bursting into tears again.
Ellen stroked her hair and muttered, “Shush, it’s okay,” while looking up at Marla’s face in the mirror with a look of warning.
Her sister got the message and turned her attention to Tommy. “What do you think?” she whispered.
“Maybe we should find somewhere. It’s going to be too hard on the girl and we all need sleep. It’s too cramped.”
“Any suggestions where?” she asked.
***
Taking the turn-off for Kings Langley, Marla drove along the desolate and quiet streets. Litter blew here and there; a plastic bag swept up into the waiting boughs of a tree as the chill of night approached. Many of the brick houses had planks of wood nailed across their windows. At the very corner of the road was a shop and it was also boarded up at the front, but only the bottom floor. The top window was cracked open. Marla stopped the car. “This looks promising, Tommy,” she whispered. “Do you think there could be people here still?”
“Well, someone boarded it up. I can take a look,” he offered, pushing the door open.
“No, Tommy, I’ll go,” she insisted. “If someone is there, a guy with a gun might scare them. Maybe just keep an eye on Bob. Make sure he doesn’t bark.”
“Alright, but make sure you don’t go empty handed.”
“No worries,” she assured him with a smile.
Marla placed her gun in her bag and slung it over her right shoulder before stepping out of the jeep. She glanced back at her reflection in the driver’s window. Dark glass was a pro and a con, she thought, feeling slightly fazed by the fact that she could not see any of the passengers. Standing with her back against the door, Marla glanced up and down the street to double-check no one was there. She spotted a dead-looker sitting slumped in a front garden, but it did not stir, so she decided to take her chances. Walking around the jeep, she stepped on to the pavement, painfully aware of every echo of her boots, and strode closer to the bay window of the shop, trying to figure out whether there was a gap between the nailed strips of wood. No such luck; the planks were set too closely together. Someone else was not taking any chances, that much was clear.
Wandering up to the door, she pushed the letterbox open and glanced inside. The hallway was dark and she could not discern any source of light. Narrowing her eyes, she peeked up the staircase, but could only make out four steps. To the left the hallway stretched back and ended at another door. There was a rug on the floor and a table with a plant on it. Flowers! They had to have been watered recently. Bending down a little, she peered as far as she could to the right – yet another door, but this one ajar. Moving slightly, she strained her eyes to try to see through the gap between the door and the wall. Something moved. A shadow. On the fourth step a pair of boots appeared. Marla’s heart leapt into her throat and she staggered back on her bent legs. The letterbox pinged shut with a snap of metal on metal.
Recovering her balance, Marla stared all around and down the road. The coast was clear. No one, living or dead, had heard the rap or the gasp she must have made. Straightening up, she backed away from the door, confused as to her next move. There was someone inside, but what should she do? Knock? Marla felt her bag and willed herself to remain calm. Backing away further, she gazed at the jeep. She knew she had to be braver for all of them, but who was inside the house? Would they open the door and then would it be safe? As she struggled to make a decision, it was made for her.
A woman of perhaps thirty, dressed in a checked shirt, black jeans and boots stood holding the door open. Her curly, black hair was swept back in a ponytail. “What do you want?” she whispered.
Marla gathered her wits about her. “Place to sleep, please. We don’t need food or anything. Just for tonight.”
The stranger studied her for a moment, before answering, “I almost didn’t answer, but you made me think of myself out there, all alone.”
“I’m not alone. I have my friend, my sister, and another guy and girl, and a dog. The girl just lost her sister. It’s because of her, more than anyone, that I wanted to find a place to sleep. We saw all these houses boarded up and thought...”
“…you’d check,” finished the woman. “I would too, probably. The house next door is mine, also boarded. We know the people in the next two houses, too, and we’ve been living off the stuff in this shop.”
“What happened to the owners?” Marla asked.
“Took off. I’m Leonie, by the way. Get your friends and you can crash, but no weapons in the house.”
Marla raised an eyebrow.
“Them’s the rules,” Leonie insisted. “Take it or leave it.”
“Alright, I’ll just tell them.”
Marla hurried quietly back to the car and slid into the driver’s side. “There’s a woman living there, aged thirty-something I’d guess. She has the house next door and says she knows the people in the next two along. Name’s Leonie. Said we can stay the night, but no weapons.”
“Really?” asked Tommy. “Right, I guess I’d probably lay down the same rule.”
“But they could be anyone,” Devan protested, speaking for the first time since the incident.
“She seems trustable, I think. My back didn’t go up. Sure she’s fine,” Marla replied. “It’s going to be dark in about half an hour. We can keep looking or...”
“Nah, I’ll go with your gut instinct,” said Tommy.
“And I think we’re all in this together,” Ellen added. “People will just want to help each other...” She stopped talking as her thoughts turned to Angelica.
“I’ll stay in the car with my mutt,” Tommy suggested. “That way I can guard our stuff. And if there’s any trouble, I’ll hear it first.”
Marla frowned. “You sure?”
“Yeah, I can stretch out in the back and he’ll stay quiet with me. Also, I need to take him to do a you-know-what before it gets dark.”
“Is that in code so he doesn’t know what you mean?” asked Ellen.
Tommy smiled. It was the first remark to lighten the atmosphere. He glanced at Joanna and his heart sank. He couldn’t help wondering if he
could have saved her sister if his first shot had hit home. Life was a bunch of what-ifs. Shaking his head, he glanced back at Marla.
“I’ll see you in the morning,” she told him as she got out of the car. “Oh and here’s the keys, in case.”
He smiled. “Thanks. I’ll drive down the road a bit, so if he barks I won’t be drawing anyone near the house. If he does, they’ll get confused, I hope, as they won’t see us. Get a good night’s sleep.”
“I’ll just get some things we need out of the boot and we’ll be on our way,” she added.
Devan, his shoulders slumped, got out of the vehicle while Ellen helped Joanna out the other side. They stood apart from one another. Ellen noticed how the girl could not bring herself to look at the youth and she felt sorry for him, although she didn’t know how to voice it.
“Come on,” Marla said. “Think we have everything.”
Ellen watched Devan sling his bag over his shoulder and follow her sister, looking dejected. She wanted to say something, but second thoughts stopped her from doing so in front of Joanna.
“Come on in,” Leonie welcomed them. “It will be dark soon and then they come out.”
Marla smiled and walked inside. “Thanks for letting us stay like this.”
“No bother. There have been a few people passing through. Normally a few at a time. No big groups. But I thought you said there were more of you?”
“My friend is staying in the car with his dog,” Marla replied, “in case he barks. He’s going to move the car down the street, further away, just in case he does.”
“Right. Thanks, that’s considerate. Not a lot of people would think of that.”
Marla sighed. “Ah, he thinks of everything.”
“One of those?” asked Leonie, raising her eyebrows. She bolted the door several times and flicked up a board that covered the letterbox. “Lucky for you that I forgot to do that before,” she admitted.
“How long have you been here?” Ellen asked.
Leonie furrowed her brow. “Since everything started. We just chose to stay.”
“But why?”
“Next door is my home. I was born there. My parents are old and I’m their carer, basically. My husband and brother help out, and then there’s my son. I didn’t want to move everyone. There was a couple who ran this shop, and they went with the evacuees and told us we could take it over. When they come back, when all this is over, we’ll just get out of their way again.”
Marla nodded, although she was surprised at the woman’s belief that everything could go back to normal. She had no idea what normal was anymore.
“Anyway, come through into the lounge. You can all sleep in here, if that’s okay?”
“Great,” said Marla. “I can’t thank you enough.”
“Well, this is it. Make yourself at home. There are two sofas and I have some blankets upstairs.”
“We have two sleeping bags,” said Marla.
“Joanna, you can have mine for tonight. It’s really comfy. And please take the sofa,” Ellen offered. “I can manage with the floor and a blanket.”
“Thanks,” said the girl in a hollow tone.
“I can give you dinner too,” said Leonie. “I made a cheese and potato pie, and I also have vegetarian chilli and rice. You are welcome to have anything you like. I can’t cook meat because it attracts them outside.”
“That’s really kind of you and it sounds great.”
Leonie’s eyes lit up. “I’m glad to help. I’ll stay with you here with my husband, but my brother and son are at the house with my parents. You might get to meet them in the morning though. Right, I’ll just warm up the food and put the kettle on, and then I’ll check what you fancy.” With that, she opened the door and walked into the kitchen, allowing the smell of food to wander out.
“She’s nice,” Ellen remarked.
“Lovely,” Marla replied, “but you don’t need to take the floor. I will. You have the sofa.”
Ellen shook her head. “I’m not arguing, sis. You take the sofa. You’re the one who is driving and stuff. I don’t really do anything.”
“That’s not true,” said Marla.
“Isn’t it?” asked Ellen. “I was useless in...” She stopped when she saw the look on Joanna’s face. “I mean I’m useless in not being able to help with the driving.”
“Driving is overrated,” said Devan, helping her to change the subject.
Ellen smiled. “It’s the other drivers that get me. You have to concentrate on what they’re doing. It doesn’t matter if you’re a good driver or not – you have to check that they’re doing the right stuff too. And most of the time it just looks really stressful. I’d probably just abandon the vehicle in a traffic jam!”
“But it makes you feel free,” Marla argued. “You can get in your car and go anywhere.”
“Angelica was learning to drive,” said Joanna quietly. She stared down at her hands.
“I’m sure she was a good driver,” Ellen answered softly.
Joanna looked up. “She was. She promised that when she got a car, we would drive everywhere together. Everywhere…”
Friday night
Ellen rolled on to her side under her blanket and looked over at Devan who was lying on the floor a small distance away. Joanna and Marla were sound asleep. She could hear the low snore of her sister, although it was something she would never tell her that she did. Otherwise she would have to endure the Wrath of Marla. “How are you?” she whispered in the darkness. Hearing a rustle, she imagined Devan turning.
“Not great,” he admitted. “You?”
“Same, but I feel safe here. You know, under a roof and everything. Feels normal.”
“I’m feeling far wide of normal. Wondering if I’m ever gonna feel normal again.”
“Do you feel guilty about what happened?” Ellen asked, and then wanted to kick herself for being so blunt.
Devan sighed. “You just come out with things, don’t you?”
“Erm, not always, but I figured you might need to talk. I noticed Joanna can’t look at you, and I saw from your face...”
“Yeah, it’s shit. I feel like shit. I shot her.”
“You did the right thing, Devan,” Ellen insisted. “And she asked you.”
“No I didn’t – I shot someone, and euthanasia is illegal. It’s a sin. Killing someone is wrong.”
“What about the other people... I mean the dead... you think shooting them is wrong?”
“Of course not.”
“What’s the difference?” she asked. “They are people too.”
“No, they’re not fucking people,” he corrected her, raising her voice. “They were people. And one of them…”
“Shush, Devan. My sister will wake…”
“Yeah and she’s so fucking perfect! She doesn’t think twice about killing anyone and you look up to her.”
“Devan, please. I know you’re upset, but…”
“Jesus, what do you want from me?”
“I only want to help. I thought you’d need to talk.”
“Yeah, but you said she asked me. How crazy is that? It doesn’t make it right. She had no choice but to ask as she’d turn into one of those monsters who… It doesn’t matter. Fuck it. She’s dead. What’s the use?”
“You stopped her becoming one of them, that’s what I’m trying to say.”
“Fucking great.”
“Sorry.”
Devan laid back and sighed, turning his ideas over in his head. “I think they’re in purgatory,” he said eventually. “My mum believed in God, but not my dad. He always took the mick out of her for it, but I’ve been thinking about it more and more.”
“Maybe. In purgatory. Neither living nor dead, just wandering in between.” Ellen heard a rustle and sensed Devan had moved closer to her. When he spoke, she knew it to be true by his tone. It was louder.
“I know she asked me, Ellen, and I know she had no chance, but it doesn’t change anything to me. I can’t e
ven bring myself to say her name. She was alive when I shot her. She wasn’t dead. That’s murder, however you look at it. And I had to face her sister right after. That’s what’s eating me up. I think I’m damned now because I murdered someone.”
“I don’t think you’re damned, Devan. And you didn’t murder anyone. Not in the way it used to mean. You spared her from becoming one of those things – demons or whatever. I don’t know what they are.”
He sighed again. “Maybe.” His voice was breaking and she wondered if he was crying.
“You know, I don’t know what to call these not-dead people. To me, they are still alive, even though some of them look more like skeletons. Sometimes I think it’s not real and that it’s a dream – like the dreams I was having before – and they’ve just come true.”
“You dream about them?” Devan asked.
“Every night. I have done ever since the whole thing started.”
“How do you sleep?”
Ellen paused. “I dunno. I got used to it, I guess, but I still think I’m going to wake up and all of this will have been a nightmare, because how can it be true? How can the dead be walking?”
“Because they are – because we can see them,” Devan replied. “That’s how I know they are real.”
“But that’s my point. We’re living in a different world now. Things have changed. I don’t think there are any rules any more. I don’t think you can say what is right and wrong... when it comes down to what you did.”
I Dream of Zombies Page 18
