Patient Zero (Zombie Apocalypse Book 1)

by Thomas Hall

  She shrugged. She waved the gun at his left shoulder. ‘Are you bleeding?’

  He looked at his arm and then back at her. ‘I was shot,’ he said.

  ‘Let me see it.’ She moved towards him and bent down.

  Dale could have taken the gun from her then, even while he was injured, but it wasn’t worth the risk. She was an unknown quantity and unlikely to be on her own. If he made any move to attack, he might have twenty more guns aimed at him.

  ‘Who shot you?’ she said. She stepped back but, this time, she didn’t point the gun at him.

  ‘It was an accident,’ Dale said.

  ‘You jumped in front of zombie or something?’

  ‘In a manner of speaking.’

  ‘Try speaking in a different manner then.’

  ‘They were chasing a group of zombies. I was running away from the zombies. They took a shot and I got hit.’ It wasn’t far from the truth.

  ‘Are they coming this way?’ she said.

  Dale shook his head.

  She looked at him for a moment longer. He could see that she was trying to make up her mind whether to trust him or play it safe and put a bullet in his head. He knew which he would choose but he hoped she was a more trusting person than him.

  ‘What’s your name?’ Dale said. His throat felt better. His vision had cleared up and he could see that he was on the bank of a river. There was a bench beneath the tree. In the distance, he could see houses.

  She looked at him and he could see that he had caught her off guard. ‘Beth Malone,’ she said.

  ‘It’s nice to meet you, Beth,’ he said. He was still on the ground and she still had a gun in her hand. He didn’t feel much pain from the gunshot wound but he was still very numb.

  ‘Here,’ Beth said. She offered her hand. Dale took it. Her skin felt smooth and warm. She was much stronger than he had expected and pulled him to his feet. ‘Can you walk?’

  ‘I think so,’ Dale said. He took an experimental step forwards. She held onto his arm. He was wobbly but he didn’t fall over.

  Beth nodded. Dale had the impression that she still hadn’t made up her mind about him. He could sense the internal debate she was having with herself.

  ‘I don’t suppose you’ve got any dry clothes have you?’ Dale said. He couldn’t imagine that she was travelling with a supply of men’s clothes but he found it difficult to believe that she was travelling alone. If there were others in her party, they might have something he could change into.

  Beth shook her head.

  ‘Well, thanks anyway.’ He let go of her hand reluctantly. The longer he stayed there, the greater the chance that she would decide to shoot him, or one of her party would. He started to walk away. On stiff legs, it was more like a hobble.

  ‘Where are you going?’ Beth said.

  ‘Away,’ Dale said. He didn’t turn around. He heard footsteps and a moment later she was walking beside him.

  ‘You can’t go into the forest,’ she said.

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘It isn’t safe.’ She nodded to herself and seemed to make up her mind at last. ‘Come with me.’

  ‘I’ll only slow you down.’

  ‘We’ll walk slowly then. It isn’t far. I’m sure Wesley would like to meet you.’

  ‘Who’s Wesley?’

  ‘He’s…’ she hesitated. ‘He’s the leader.’

  Dale surmised that, if he was the kind of leader who sent pretty young girls out by themselves, then he wasn’t the kind of person he would get on with. ‘Tell him I’m sorry to disappoint him.’

  ‘At least, let the doctor take a look at you,’ she said.

  ‘You’ve got a doctor with you?’

  She smiled and forced a laugh. ‘Sort of. He never actually graduated.’

  ‘Tempting, but no thanks,’ Dale said.

  Beth walked around so that she was standing in front of him. She blocked his path but the gun was nowhere to be seen. ‘Please,’ she said.

  Dale was forced to stop. ‘Why is it so important to you?’

  She turned away. Then back. ‘You’re hurt. If you leave now, you might get an infection. You could die.’

  ‘And I won’t die if I come with you?’ He watched her face for any sign of insincerity but didn’t see any.

  ‘We’ve got antibiotics. Drew can clean up the wound.’

  ‘Drew?’

  ‘Doctor Berlin.’

  Dale nodded. ‘And this Wesley guy?’

  ‘You don’t have to worry about him.’

  ‘Okay,’ Dale said. He was beginning to feel weak and he didn’t think he would make it far if he tried. Chances were that he would collapse somewhere and then Beth, Wesley, Drew and whoever else they had with them would find him. ‘Okay, I’ll come with you.’

  Beth smiled and then immediately stopped. ‘Come on then.’ She turned away and he followed her towards the houses that he had seen in the distance.

  Dale assumed that the group was staying in one of the houses. It might have been that the men had gone out hunting and Beth had been left behind. She would have been able to see the river from one of the upstairs windows. She might have seen him wash up and gone to see what it was.

  He wondered how long the party had been in the house. Might he have drowned if he hadn’t been lucky enough to wash up while they happened to be staying there? It seemed like a big coincidence.

  Beth led him past the house. She was a few paces ahead of him but kept glancing back to make sure he was following. She seemed very keen that he come with her.

  He began to worry that this was some sort of cannibal tribe and he was going to be killed and cooked. Or not killed but still cooked. He was aware that this was a ridiculous thing to think. It hadn’t been much more than a year since the zombies had first appeared. Six months since the army had lost its war against them. People wouldn’t have turned to cannibalism yet. Unless he was wrong.

  ‘Most of us are near the town hall,’ Beth said. ‘It seems safer.’

  ‘How many of you are there?’ Dale said.

  Beth shook her head. ‘Do you know I’ve got no idea. Not as many as there used to be.’

  She led him along narrow empty streets. He could see trees in the distance that already looked overgrown and out of control. They passed a church where the grass was so tall it covered most of the gravestones. They passed thatched cottages and newer slate roofed ones. Neither seemed worse for the lack of repair.

  They crossed a bridge. Dale looked down at the dark water and shivered.

  ‘We’ll get you some clothes first,’ Beth said. ‘My house is just around the corner.’

  ‘I thought you said most people lived near the town hall?’ The only buildings that he could see were houses and there were few enough of those.

  ‘They do but I prefer the peace and quiet.’

  At the end of a sloping narrow lane, there were three brick cottages. Beth walked to the middle one and pushed open the door. Dale stopped outside.

  ‘Come in, there’s nothing to worry about.’

  Dale nervously went inside. He hadn’t realised he would feel so uncomfortable with a roof over his head again. He felt trapped. He stayed near the door and held it ajar with his foot.

  ‘I’ll be back in a minute,’ Beth said. She disappeared up the stairs.

  He could see into the kitchen on his right and the living room on his left. There were piles of books on the floor and a blanket on one of the chairs. He could hear Beth moving around upstairs. Dale was beginning to get an idea about Beth but it wasn’t one that he wanted to entertain for long.

  Dale thought that she might actually be alone in the village. The sole survivor. Her talk about other people living nearer the town hall was just that, talk. Maybe being alone for so long had made her go mad. He knew he had been close after just a few days in the hospital by himself.

  He didn’t want her to be mad but he was honest enough with himself to admit that it was only because she was attractive. He look
ed up the stairs and wondered if he should go after her. He could comfort her and help her recover. Maybe her being mad could bring them closer together.

  ‘Who are you?’

  Dale turned around. A girl who was the spitting image of Beth but several years younger stood outside the house. She looked up at him without fear.

  The girl leaned around him and called into the house: ‘Beth? Are you in there?’

  Dale turned back to the stairs and saw Beth appear at the top. She was holding a pile of clothes and came running down. ‘What are you doing home?’ she said. ‘Why aren’t you in school?’

  ‘I came back to get some lunch. I am allowed to eat aren’t I?’

  Beth rolled her eyes. ‘Why didn’t you take something with you? Get inside and I’ll make you something.’

  ‘I can do it myself,’ the girl said. She squeezed past Dale and went into the kitchen. ‘I don’t want to interrupt you.’

  ‘And what’s that supposed to mean?’ Beth said. She followed the girl into the kitchen.

  Dale stood at the door and listened to them speaking in muttered voices. He was able to make out an occasional word but not much more. A few moments later Beth and the girl came back out of the kitchen.

  ‘I’m Dawn,’ the girl said. She held out her hand.

  Dale looked at Beth for an explanation.

  ‘She’s my sister,’ Beth said.

  Dale shook her hand. ‘Dale.’

  Dawn turned back to look at Beth. ‘Happy? Now can I get something to eat?’

  ‘Just get on with it,’ Beth said. Dawn disappeared back into the kitchen. Beth turned to Dale. ‘Close the door, you’ll let the cold in.’

  Against his better judgement, Dale stepped away from the door and it closed behind him. Beth handed him the pile of clothes.

  ‘These should fit,’ she said.

  He didn’t ask why she had men’s clothes. He supposed she might have had a brother living there as well. Or maybe the Wesley she had mentioned.

  Dale put the dry clothes down on the stairs and started to take off his wet top. He had it over his head before she stopped him.

  ‘What are you doing?’ Beth said.

  Dale lowered the top and looked at her.

  Beth pointed at the living room. ‘You can change in there. Just leave your wet clothes on the floor. I’ll sort them out later.’

  Dale went into the living room.

  ‘And close the door,’ Beth said.

  He closed the door behind him.

  The afternoon was warm. Dale felt much more comfortable in dry clothes. He followed Beth away from the house towards the middle of the village.

  ‘What about Dawn?’ he said, as they were walking away.

  ‘She can’t come with us. She needs to go back to school.’

  Dale looked at her and tried to work out whether what she was telling him was the truth, whether she was crazy and genuinely believed it was true or whether she was taking the piss. Her expression remained neutral and she didn’t turn to look at him so he asked: ‘There’s really a school here?’

  ‘Of course there is.’ She offered no further explanation.

  When they had been walking for several minutes, they began to see other people on the street. Small groups of people of various ages. They were walking together as if they didn’t have a care in the world. Some of them smiled and nodded at Beth, others ignored her entirely. A young woman actually turned away from them and muttered something unpleasant to her friend.

  It was a lot for Dale to take in. For a long time now his world had consisted of himself, Bradley, Velma and Harold. Everyone else had appeared on the other side of the giant mirror and seemed about as real as characters on television. Seeing so many new faces was overwhelming.

  ‘What is this place?’ Dale said.

  ‘Wesley will want to tell you,’ Beth said.

  Dale nodded. ‘Can’t you tell me anything?’

  ‘I can tell you everything if you want,’ Beth said. ‘I’m happy to piss off Wesley. You might want to make a good impression, though.’

  ‘Wesley’s the leader?’ Dale said. The conversation they’d had by the river seemed like a long time ago, although he would have guessed that it had been less than two hours.

  ‘The Mayor. He brought everyone here.’

  ‘I suppose he’ll explain that to me will he?’

  ‘If he doesn’t I will.’

  ‘You don’t get on with him?’

  ‘It’s not that,’ Beth said. She seemed about to explain but stopped when two men came walking towards them.

  One of the men was quite round and well fed. The other was slim. Beth embraced one and then the other.

  The round man looked Dale up and down and said to Beth: ‘And who is this fine young man?’

  Beth smirked. ‘This is Dale. Dale, this is Oscar.’

  Dale shook hands with the round man. Up close he wasn’t as big as he had seemed, not much larger than average really. He just had a great deal more presence.

  ‘And this is Noel,’ Beth said.

  Dale transferred his hand to the slim man who seemed to shy away from him even as he met his eyes.

  ‘It’s nice to meet you,’ Dale said.

  ‘Likewise,’ Oscar said. ‘I hope we’ll be seeing much more of you in the future.’

  Beth slapped his arm. When she turned back to Dale, she was trying not to laugh. ‘Come on. Someone’s bound to have told Wesley about you by now. We better not keep him waiting.’ She took his arm and led him away from Oscar and Noel.

  The town hall was an old brownstone building at the far end of a square filled with empty market stalls. Along one length there was a mock Tudor building which looked as if it had recently been painted. The white panels and black beams seemed to pop in the sunshine. Along the other side, there was a building that matched the town hall but with arched windows that looked as if they belonged to a church.

  The ground was clean as if it had recently been swept. There was no one in sight but Dale imagined that there were people watching them as they crossed the square towards the town hall. He found himself walking more closely to Beth.

  ‘Don’t worry,’ Beth said. ‘Just try to relax.’

  Dale nodded. When they reached the door, she knocked and they waited.

  The door swung open at once. As if someone had been waiting for them to arrive. A small man wearing a long red coat looked up at them.

  ‘How may I help you?’ the man said.

  Beth stepped forwards. The man showed no more recognition for her than he did Dale. ‘It’s me, Andrew. Is Wesley here?’

  ‘They Mayor is currently engaged in other business. Perhaps there is someone else who can assist you?’

  Beth rolled her eyes. She looked as if she might be about to reply to the man. Instead, she grabbed Dale’s arm and pulled him into the building behind her. The little man was forced to step aside or be knocked over. The door swung closed behind them.

  The village hall looked as if it had once been a church. The ground floor was large and filled with desks. Most of them were unoccupied but a few curious people had stood up to watch Beth drag Dale down the aisle. The man at the door had pulled himself together and came along behind them, calling for them to stop where they were.

  ‘Ignore him,’ Beth said.

  Dale turned back to watch the small man for a moment and then did his best to follow her advice. He caught up with them when they stopped outside a large door at the back of the hall.

  ‘You can’t just come bursting in here like that,’ Andrew said. He was out of breath. His neatly parted hair had come unstuck and he seemed to be having trouble keeping the ends of his moustache out of his mouth. ‘This is a place of government.’

  ‘I just want to speak to Wesley,’ Beth said.

  ‘Well, he might not want to speak to you, Miss Malone. Did you consider that possibility? The Mayor has important work to do and can’t be disturbed every time his granddaughter feels like stopp
ing by.’

  ‘I’m not just stopping by. Who–‘

  The door opened. A man appeared. He had grey hair that was turning white. Creases across his forehead and narrow eyes that seemed to study them all intently.

  Andrew pushed his way past Dale and Beth. ‘Mr Malone, I’m terribly sorry. I tried to keep them out.’

  The man at the door nodded to Andrew and then turned to Beth. ‘You’d better come in.’

  Dale followed Beth through the door. Behind him, he heard Andrew saying: ‘Sir if there’s anything I can get for–‘ The door closed and his voice was cut off.

  The room was large and well furnished. There were gold framed paintings hanging from the walls and expensive looking wallpaper. A large window was covered by thick curtains.

  ‘Take a seat,’ Wesley said.

  Dale sat next to Beth on a large sofa. She perched on the edge of the cushion as if she expected to get up soon. Wesley walked to a small table filled with glass and crystal bottles.

  ‘Drink?’ he said. He pulled the cork out of a bottle and poured a large glass of something golden.

  ‘No thank you,’ Beth said.

  Wesley turned around and looked at Dale. ‘You?’

  ‘No thank you, sir,’ Dale said. The man had the air of authority. The sir came quite naturally to him.

  Wesley nodded to himself. It looked as if he enjoyed the sound of it. He turned away to record the bottle and then walked back across the room to sit on a wooden chair opposite the sofa. There was a small table between them. He put the glass down on a coaster.

  ‘We don’t get many new arrivals here,’ Wesley said.

  Dale nodded. He did not get the sense that it was okay to interrupt.

  ‘In fact, you would be the first. How does that sound?’ Wesley leaned forwards and picked up his glass. He sipped the golden liquid and then put it back down. The room was silent.

  ‘Dale was a soldier,’ Beth said.

  ‘Is that so,’ Wesley said. He turned to Dale. ‘So you know how to fight?’

  Dale nodded. ‘Yes, sir.’

  ‘Then we might have a use for you yet. What do you think Beth? Solomon always needs more people who can fight.’