We both sat down in the armchairs with our drinks and waited for the news to start.
There was some movement from upstairs, as John and Josephine stirred.
The emergency broadcast message appeared on the screen and the newsreader appeared.
He spoke first about the disease, its symptoms and effects, as before informing everybody to stay in their homes.
“All bus and rail services have now been suspended for public use, and are only being used on official government business. However, there are still a few taxi firms operating outside the greater London area. The regular army, helped by the TA, is now deployed to keep power supplies running. All remaining police officers who are fit for duty have been armed.”
Then the broadcaster said goodbye and the screen went blank.
John and Josephine walked into the living room.
“Have there been any new developments?” asked John.
“Not really, apart from the government seemingly trying to put all its efforts into maintaining power supplies.”
“That doesn’t sound good – we could be in a blackout within a few days. Anyway, are we going to block the stairs as we discussed yesterday?” John suggested.
“Yes, we haven’t got anything better to do at the moment,” I confirmed.
“I’m going to make us some tea and something to eat,” Josephine said. “You can start blocking off the stairs.”
John and I walked out into the garden to inspect the wood we had left.
“The A12 sounds busy – not as bad as a normal working day, but there seem to be a few cars travelling along it,” I observed.
“Yeah, it appears that many people are still trying to go to work – maybe they never got to hear the news,” said John.
“Force of habit, I suppose.”
We found a long piece of wood that we could use as a batten and some smaller pieces that we cut to length to fit between the batten (which we would screw to the wall) and the landing at the top of the stairs.
Mary shouted, “Tea and toast is ready, and it’s time for the nine o’clock news”.
We went inside and sat down in the living room just in time to see the news start. They repeated what had been said earlier but confirmed our worst fears – that quite a number of people were trying to go to work, and that the infected had started to move to new areas in groups of 30 to 50.
The newsreader continued, “We have just received this amateur video taken in east London, which contains some scenes that viewers may find upsetting”.
A shaky video appeared on the screen, obviously taken from an upstairs window, showing police officers trying to shoot the infected person that was attacking them. We could hear the police shouting “Stop or we will shoot you”, but needless to say it had no effect and the infected still kept coming. There must have been at least a hundred of them. The police opened fire with their 9-mm Glock pistols and although the infected were hit, they still kept coming. This was probably because the police were trained that way – shoot to incapacitate, not to kill. The infected were moving at a slow jog, and although some of them fell to the ground others had reached the police line of about 15 officers, some of whom had run out of ammunition and were trying to reload their weapons. More and more of the infected had now reached the police line and were trying to bite them, with a degree of success. One of the officers then shouted “Fall back, fall back!” but it was too late, as another group of infected had appeared from the side and most of the officers had now disappeared under a pile of writhing bodies.
The video continued, showing the infected starting to walk away, leaving their victims nursing their wounds amongst torn flesh and blood all over the road. Some of the officers managed to fire a few more shots, dropping two more of their attackers as they were moving away. The video unexpectedly cut off, and the newsreader reappeared, speaking with authority.
“Please be advised: do not leave your homes today and if you have tried to go to work, please return home as soon as possible.”
He ended, and again the screen went blank.
“Jesus, that’s it then. Let’s finish our work on the staircase so we can block it off easier if we have to,” said John.
Once John and I had finished our food and drink, we continued to work for an hour on the stairs with renewed enthusiasm. Time for another cup of tea, I thought. This time I made tea for John and me, as the ladies did not want a drink. The news was on again while I was in the kitchen, but there was nothing really new apart from reports from other countries that were having the same problem as the UK. It was mentioned that Chelmsford and the surrounding area had been overrun by the infected, and a number of other places were mentioned but I took little notice unless they were close to us. All power workers were asked to report for work if possible, and assurances were given that they would be protected by the army. The newsreader ended by saying there would be no further bulletin until 1.00 pm due to staffing problems, then signed off in his usual way.
“That sounds a bit ominous, Dad,” said John.
“Yes, I agree. Mary, could you call Linda and Ruth?” I suggested, thinking I don’t like the way this is going.
“OK, I’ll contact Linda first as she was surrounded by the infected the last time I spoke to her,” said Mary.
She dialled the number, and Linda answered almost immediately. I put my ear close to the phone so I could also hear.
“Hello, Mum,” Linda said in a whisper.
“How are things there?” Mary asked.
“We are surrounded by the infected at the moment. A group of them came across the park, and are going past the house as we speak,” Linda whispered.
“Can we do anything to help?” Mary asked, also starting to whisper.
“Brian has boarded up the windows and the doors, so we are reasonably safe, but we are running out of food fast.”
“How are the children coping?”
“The older two are not too bad, just a bit bored as they can’t go out, but the two younger ones don’t understand why they have to stay in the house and we are having great difficulty in keeping them quiet,” Linda answered.
“Have you heard anything from your sister?”
“Not a word.”
“I’m going to ring her now,” said Mary. I then leant even closer to the phone.
“John and I will try to do something about your food situation when we have time,” I said to Linda.
“Thanks, Dad.”
“Hopefully I will see you soon, Linda – by-ee,” I said.
“’Bye Mum and Dad.”
“’Bye,” said Mary.
“You’d better try our Ruth now,” I said, but Mary was already dialling the number as I spoke.
After a few rings, Ruth’s voice came on.
“Hello Mum, how are you?”
“We are OK at the moment. Dad and John have blocked off the windows and back door, and done something with the staircase, but I’m not sure why that is – you know your dad, he sometimes has some weird ideas. How are you coping in Maldon?”
“We did hear some screaming in the distance last night, but today has been worse,” Ruth replied. “We saw our neighbours across the road being attacked, but they managed to escape back into their house.”
“Did they get bitten?” I asked.
“I did notice the woman was holding her arm as they went inside.”
“Don’t go anywhere near them, Ruth. The chances are they will both be infected by now,” I said.
“Oh, why’s that?” Ruth asked.
“That’s how the disease is passed on. Has Tom managed to block the windows with something yet?”
“Well, he has managed the front window, but you know Tom – he isn’t the handiest man in town.”
“Just make sure he secures the side gate, then. Are you OK otherwise
?”
“Will do. Yes, we are OK, but we are running out of food for the children,” Ruth replied. She had two young daughters.
“Linda is in the same position. John and I are going to see if we can come up with a plan. Speak to you soon – ’bye for now.”
“’Bye, Dad.”
Mary began to ask Ruth how the children were coping with being locked up in the house 24/7, when there was an almighty crash from the direction of the A12. John and I rushed to the back door, and removed our boarding so we could get the door open. I heard Mary saying “Ruth, I’ve got to go – it sounds like there has been an accident on the A12. ’Bye”. Ruth didn’t get a chance to answer before Mary put the phone down and started heading in our direction.
John and I exited the back door, followed by Mary and Josephine. When we arrived at the back fence, peering through the bushes we could see that the northbound carriageway had come to halt and it appeared a car had gone into the back of a stationary one. A number of passengers and drivers from other vehicles had gone to the stricken cars to see if they could help, and we could see the driver of one of the crashed vehicles climbing out of his car. He suddenly lunged for the nearest helper and bit him in the neck, before getting hold of a young lady and biting her in the arm. Some of the would-be helpers started to back away, while three men and a middle-aged woman tried to help a young girl from one of the crashed cars. The driver of the other crashed vehicle then attacked the middle-aged woman, biting her in the back of the neck as she was trying to help the young girl to her feet. Two of the men then grabbed this driver from behind, pulling him backwards, while the third man helped the two ladies to their feet and started to escort them back to their own cars. The driver then managed to turn round, breaking free from one of the men and looking at the one who still had hold of his arm.
The man must have seen the red eyes and black pupils, because he suddenly let go and took two steps backwards. The crash driver then lunged at him, but the guy was obviously ready for this, and with a thumping right hook he knocked the driver sideways, causing him to fall almost to the ground. The second man then kicked him in the ribs and this time he went down. We then could just hear one of the men calling out, “Don’t get up or you’re going to get really beaten up”. The driver appeared to lie still, recovering from his wounds. The two men started to walk away from him, heading back to their own vehicles and talking animatedly to each other as they went. The driver on the ground suddenly rose to his feet and headed for his two assailants. Christ, he’s going to get them as well, I thought. I shouted at them to watch out, but they could not hear me over the noise of all the idling car engines. The crashed driver jumped on the back of one man and bit him in the neck. The guy managed to turn on the driver and hit him full in the face, and the other man then hit him with a left hook to the side of the head. Apart from taking a step backwards, the blows had little effect and he lunged at the second man, managing to bite him on the arm. The man seemed to cry out in pain, but in his anger he brought his elbow down onto the crashed driver’s neck, which caused him to fall to the ground. The man proceeded to kick him in the ribs and chest several times before his colleague managed to stop him from possibly killing him. Still the crashed driver got to his feet again, but this time he walked away from them, heading south towards the cars that had now stopped behind his own.
“I think we should warn them about the people that have been bitten,” said John.
“I agree,” I answered.
We removed the wood from the gate that led out to the A12, climbed down the embankment and, after negotiating the bushes, crossed the southbound carriageway up to the central barrier. I noticed the young girl in the back of a Ford Fiesta, and indicated to the driver that I wanted to speak to him. He got out of his car and started to approach me. A middle-aged man of about six feet tall and average build, he was probably the girl’s father.
This was going to be difficult.
“Hello – did the young girl get bitten by that mad man I saw earlier?” I asked.
“Yes, she is my daughter.”
“Look, there is no easy way of putting this, but that man was infected,” I said. “The chances are that your daughter is now infected too. You’ll know in about half an hour, so keep an eye on her. You may have to tie her up, or she will infect you.”
“Look, mister. I’m a doctor and I have never known a disease to take over a body that quickly,” he replied.
“As far as I can tell, and I’m no expert, it is more like a poison that affects the brain, so please be careful. Haven’t you been listening to the news?”
“I don’t listen to the news when I am on holiday – alright, I’ll do that now.”
Then a younger man joined us. I recognised him as being the one that had been bitten on the arm.
“Did you see what that madman has done to me?” he said, showing me the bite mark on his arm, which seemed to be turning bright red.
“Are you with anybody?” I asked.
“No, I’m on my own – why?”
“Look, that man may have been infected, so you could also have the disease. Go and lock yourself in your car and wait about half an hour to see what happens.” I was starting to get a bit nervous just in case he started to turn, and I didn’t want to be anywhere near him.
“I did hear something on the news, but I must admit didn’t take much notice. Alright, I’ll do that. ’Bye and thanks for that,” he said and started to walk away.
“You may want to tell the others who were bitten, first,” I said.
“OK, I’ll do that.”
John and I looked at each other.
“Time to get out of here,” said John.
I agreed, and we left the scene rapidly and were soon back in our garden, blocking the gate up again.
I told Mary about the man and his daughter and the young man.
There was nothing we could do now, so we all returned to the house. I made some more tea and we each had a bowl of Corn Flakes. We had just finished when Josephine said, “Listen, I can hear noises coming from the A12 again”.
John and I went into the garden to investigate. The traffic had started to move off, but two cars had refused to move and were blocking the carriageway. Drivers behind them started to honk their horns in frustration, and eventually two car drivers got out and went to investigate the hold-up. One of them angrily opened the door of the immobile car nearest to the central reservation. He was obviously saying something to the driver, which we could not hear. The offending driver staggered out of his vehicle and then lunged at the angry driver, biting him in the neck. The second driver, a man over six feet tall and built like a brick outhouse, came to his rescue, knocking the attacker to the ground with a single blow. The bitten man started to head back to his car, holding his neck with blood oozing between his fingers. The man on the ground start to rise, only to be hit again by the six-footer, who this time got hold of the offending driver and threw him over the central barrier. He jumped into the blocking car and moved it to the side of the road, driving it onto the grass verge.
The traffic started to move past the other stationary vehicle, and the tall man then went back to his own car and pulled away. The driver of an articulated lorry had obviously seen what had happened and used his truck to push the other stationary vehicle onto verge. The driver who had been dumped on the other side of the barrier now got back to his feet and climbed over the barrier, even though the traffic was now starting to build up speed. He managed somehow to get across the first lane, but was hit by a double-cab truck similar to John’s doing over 50 mph, which catapulted him into the air; he landed on top of his own car on the verge. Not surprisingly, he didn’t move much after that. The truck driver didn’t even slow down but just kept going – wise decision, I thought.
“John, some of those people must be infected, so there will be absolute chaos further down the road la
ter.”
“Yeah, let’s get back inside.”
“Can’t we help the poor man?” Mary asked. She and Josephine had followed us out into the garden and were also looking over the fence.
“That would be a really bad idea, Mum,” John answered. “He is obviously infected.”
“Let’s see what the latest is on the news – it’s nearly one o’clock,” said Josephine.
We all returned to the living room, Josephine turning on the television. We sat down and waited in silence for the news to start, wrapped up in our own thoughts.
The news actually started on time, and the newsreader repeated the government warnings and the request for power workers to try to get to work. People in the communications industry were also asked to go back to work, because the telephone network ran on a different power supply.
We then saw CCTV footage of a plane that had landed in New York, all of its passengers infected. Unfortunately, they were released into the terminal, which the footage showed in absolute chaos. The pilots were OK, thanks to the cockpit door being locked as a precaution against possible terrorist attacks. There had been a disturbance on board, but apparently it had resolved itself after about half an hour. Once there were no more passengers to be infected, they all sat in silence.
There were no more reports on the conflicts in Syria and Iraq, because the world now faced a much bigger problem.
“I think it may be a good idea to get some more supplies,” remarked John. “Bottled water, more batteries, and candles might also be useful.”
“More tinned food, because it lasts much longer than fresh stuff,” I added.
“We can try the local shop first and then Sainsbury’s,” Mary suggested.
“And the gun shop on the way back to see if we can buy some more ammo,” I said.
“OK, let’s get ready then – we can take my truck,” said John.
“We will take the tactical Ruger and shotgun and make sure we have plenty of ammo, just in case,” I added.
Infected- The Beginning Page 7
