John had to drive over two bodies as he negotiated the humpback bridge, and we reached the main roundabout, where John turned left towards the Heybridge basin. Passing the local shops and business park on the left, we continued straight on at the next roundabout to where Ruth and Tom lived, eventually taking several right turns to bring us into the residential estate. Finally, John pulled up outside his sister’s house.
We scanned the area for any sign of infected people, but all appeared to be clear. The three of us got out of John’s truck and headed for Ruth’s front door. The curtains moved as we approached – they had been waiting for us. John was about to knock on the door when it was opened and Tom was standing in front of us.
“Hi all, you made it then!”
“Yeah, not too much of a problem,” said John.
“Are you ready?” I asked.
“Yes, we only have to take a few things,” replied Tom.
“I’ll open up the back of the truck, and act as lookout,” said John.
Brian and I went into the house and into the living room, which had a dining area attached and beyond it the conservatory that led to the back garden surrounded by a six-foot-high fence. Off to the left of the dining area was the kitchen.
In the middle of the floor was a pile of various items to be loaded into the truck – most seemed to be for the baby. This brought back memories of when my own children were young, and every time we went on an outing the gear we had to take for them always seemed to be considerably more than our own.
“Hi, Dad – you’re late again,” said Ruth. This was an ongoing thing between my daughter and me, as Mary and I always seemed to be late for any event for which Ruth requested our presence, be it babysitting or a birthday extra.
“I did say midday at first, and it’s only about ten now, so we’re early for once,” I replied. “How come you have so much stuff? I did say only take what you need.”
“Well, we need all that.”
Ruth was of slightly above-average height and well-built, but not overweight and reasonably fit.
“Hello, Grandad,” said Helen, a shy four-year-old, about average height for her age if slightly overfed – a bit like a smaller version of her mother. I gave her a kiss and then shook her hand vigorously, which made her laugh, as this was my usual greeting which she had now come to expect.
I turned my attention to Cathy, my youngest granddaughter at less than a year old, who was already strapped into her car seat. Bending down, I kissed her.
I returned to the adults.
“How are we going to load this lot, then?” I asked Tom.
“The smaller gear can go in our car and the bigger items can go in the truck,” he replied.
“Seems like a plan,” said Brian.
John appeared at the living room door.
“Are you lot ready, then? You sure you have enough stuff there?” he said as he noted the pile on the living room floor. “Dad, you keep watch, and Tom, Brian and I will load the vehicles.”
They were much younger and fitter than me, so I didn’t argue the point.
“I’ll get the kids strapped into the car,” added Ruth, lifting the car seat containing Cathy.
I went outside and took up position in front of the truck as Tom, Brian and John went back and forth loading the vehicles. I looked all around and, not seeing any movement, moved towards the football ground so I could see down the small cul-de-sac to my right. Again, nothing seemed to be moving. There were two bodies lying in the close, and another three in the road going towards the home of the Heybridge Swifts. Turning round to see if any infected were approaching from the way we had come, I walked back to the truck. I was more pleased than normal at there being no infected about, because firing the 3.5-inch magnum shells was turning out to be quite painful.
“OK, we’re ready to go, Dad,” said John.
I looked towards the house and saw Tom shutting and locking the front door.
“Tom, you follow us to the local shops first, then on to the gun shop at Great Baddow,” said John.
“Lead the way,” Tom replied.
We all climbed into our respective vehicles, and John turned the truck around and headed back the way we had come in. We soon turned right into the small shopping area. Ahead of us led to the business area on the left and a small car park on the right, and we turned towards the parking area in front of a row of shops, including a Co-op on the corner and, further along, a Tesco Express. In front of us was a stand-alone restaurant called The Pavillion, which created its own small island. The main car park was to our left. John pulled into a disabled parking space directly in front of the shops between Tesco and the Co-op, and Tom parked to our left. I indicated to Tom to open his window so we could speak.
“Tom, stay in your car until we have checked the area out.”
“OK,” he replied.
John turned the engine off and climbed out, Ruger in hand, and Brian and I did the same with the shotguns.
“John, if you check round to the right where the business area is, Brian and I will check at the back of the café,” I said.
“Sounds good to me – meet you back at the car in five minutes,” John replied.
“Of course, you do realise I haven’t shot anybody before?” admitted Brian reluctantly.
“I’m quite sure you will be alright on the night, so to speak,” I replied reassuringly.
John moved away as Brian and I went towards the right side of The Pavillion. A veterinary surgery was directly in front of us, with half its main window missing. A number of bodies lay on the ground with a few crows picking at their internal organs, and a small dog was trying to rip the fleshy parts from a dead woman’s arm. It looked up at us as we approached and started to back away slowly, and eventually turned and ran around the other side of the café, disappearing from our view. The small area at the back of The Pavillion was surrounded by small shops, and the very centre was cordoned off, forming an outside dining area for the café. Brian and I walked around the edge, looking into each shop as we passed for any sign of movement, and eventually we arrived at the other side of the café. We could now see John leaning against his truck, talking to Tom. I looked over the car and behind us towards the main road, and apart from the vermin nothing seemed to be moving.
“So, what’s the plan now?” Tom enquired as Brian and I arrived beside John.
“Dad and Brian are going to check out the Tesco store for infected before you go in. I’ll stand guard out here,” said John, smiling at me.
“Thanks, son. Come on, Brian – let’s get this over with.”
Facing the shops, we went to our left. We could not walk onto the pavement that ran along the front of the shops as the disabled car parking was cordoned off by three-foot-high railings. As we approached the Tesco store we noticed the double doors were closed, but Brian gave the right-hand door a sharp tug and it opened. Before we went in I tapped him on the shoulder.
“Don’t make any noise, and move very slowly,” I said in a low whisper.
I took the lead at this point and entered the store. On our right were cans and cartons of beer and in between was a rack containing an assortment of wine. To our left was what seemed to be the main aisle and at the bottom was the counter of a sub post office.
“Brian, let’s go this way – check the aisles as we pass.”
Slowly we headed towards the post office counter. Then there was a crash! behind me, causing me to jump involuntarily. I swung the shotgun round so it was pointing at the source of the sound, only to see Brian put his hand up.
“Sorry,” he said. He had managed to knock over a stack of tins of baked bean.
Both of us froze on the spot, listening intently for any signs of life. Fortunately, the only thing I could hear was my heart beating – very quickly. I now moved faster as Brian had given the game away, still checki
ng the last few aisles before we reached the post office counter. Turning to our right, we walked the short distance along the bottom aisle before heading along the other side. We soon found ourselves approaching the store entrance again.
“Wait!” said Brian, tapping me on the back.
“What’s up?”
“Listen – I can hear strange voices. They’re coming from outside,” Brian whispered.
We cautiously approached the entrance and I pushed the door open so we could hear more clearly. Brian was correct – it was a female voice. Two ladies carrying baseball bats were standing by the truck, talking to John and Tom. As we approached, I called out a greeting.
“Hello,” the older, middle-aged woman replied, slightly apprehensively as she noticed the shotguns we were carrying. John had put his gun down on the back seat of the truck.
“Lower your gun, Brian,” I said out the corner of my mouth as I did the same with mine. The women seemed to become less tense as we arrived at their side, and I noticed the second woman was much younger.
“The store is clear,” I announced.
Tom and Ruth got out of their car. Ruth told Helen that they would not be long and to stay in the car as they made their way towards Tesco.
“Do you live far away?” John asked the older woman.
“Langford. My husband should be around somewhere. He went to the pharmacy.”
“This might be him,” said John as a man approached from behind The Pavillion café, also carrying a baseball bat.
“Hello,” John and I said together as he neared us.
“Hi,” the man replied in a rather rough voice. He was over six feet tall and looked very overweight.
“I’m James and this is John, my son, and my son-in-law Brian,” I said, hoping to break the ice a little.
“My name’s Harry, and this is my wife Maria and my daughter Liz,” the man responded.
“Liz and I are going to do some shopping,” Maria said, “as James and Brian have so kindly checked the store for us. See you soon.”
She headed for the store with Liz in tow and they eventually disappeared through the double doors.
“How are you making out, Harry?” I asked.
“This is our first trip out since the infection began. Bit of a must really, as we are about out of everything. Have you checked out the Co-op yet? It’s bigger than Tesco.”
“No, not yet – that’s our next job,” I responded. “You ready for this, Brian?” I asked, turning to him.
“Ready as ever,” Brian replied.
“John, you going to hold the fort again?” I asked.
“Yeah, Harry and I have everything covered,” said John, looking at Harry, who nodded his approval as Brian and I started to approach the Co-op’s glass double doors, one of which was missing all its glass.
“Brian, just try to avoid the baked beans this time,” I said in jest.
I was hoping to step through the door but the remains of the glass panel formed a V-shape at the top and an inverted V at the bottom. Brian pushed the door and fortunately it opened. In front and to the left were the checkouts, and we could see to the bottom of the store. The walkway had no intersecting aisles, which gave a straight run to the bottom without having to check around corners, although we still moved slowly and quietly, listening for any unusual sounds. Turning right, we progressed along the bottom of the store, where there were three aisles to be checked running all the way to the front. Moving cautiously, we checked each aisle and arriving at the end we turned right again. This had no intersecting aisle either, and we arrived back at the other end of the tills, turning right again to face the entrance. We both breathed a sigh of relief and helped ourselves to a bag of crisps and a much-appreciated can of Coke. Suddenly, a booming voice echoed across the car park.
“What do you think you’re doing? This is our patch, mate!”
Brian and I were just inside the entrance and the voice had come from the direction of the business park, so we could not see the man. We could see John and Harry standing at the back of the truck, looking in the direction of the business park, which was behind us. John looked down towards the open back door of the truck, where he had laid the Ruger on the rear seat.
“Don’t you move, mate!” the voice ordered.
Harry put his hands in the air and John stopped reaching for the rifle. John could obviously see us. Putting a finger to my lips, I indicated to John and Harry not give our position away. Four men and two women passed in front of us heading towards John, and fortunately they were concentrating on him and Harry. They had their backs to us now. Two of the men were carrying double-barrelled shotguns, one of which was pointing in John’s direction. My mind was racing now. Brian, I’ll take the one pointing the shotgun, you take the other. But then: Do we just shoot the men holding the shotguns or do we give a warning first? Not wanting to deplete the uninfected population any further, I decided on the latter but, just as I was about to shout out, John took the situation into his own hands. He pulled Harry behind the truck and at the same time reached for the Ruger. The man pointing the shotgun in John’s direction fired, and the back window of the truck exploded into a thousand pieces. The boom! of the gun startled the feeding crows and seagulls, and hundreds of them took to the air squawking their alarm.
“Hold it!” I shouted, which turned out to be a bad move as the other fellow turned and fired at us without any hesitation whatsoever. Brian and I both reacted as the man started to turn, Brian going right and I to the left just in time, as the unbroken glass door exploded in front of us. I could not see our attacker from my new position but could look along the line of shops, and Tom’s head popped out of Tesco about 50 yards away.
“Get inside, now!” shouted John to him.
Fortunately, Tom reacted quickly, and his head disappeared from view as another shot rang out, removing the glass window from the door he had just shut. Brian, being in a better position, peered around the corner and promptly pulled back again as another shot broke the silence, sending a number of Coke cans behind us spinning into the air with an exceptionally loud hissing sound as they sprayed their contents in all directions. The first man to fire had now reloaded and, as John looked around the back of the truck with his Ruger at the ready, the man started to aim the shotgun. John opened fire with three quick shots in succession and the man was hit in the left hand, causing him inadvertently to fire, which completely removed the offside rear lights of the truck. John’s other two shots hit him in the centre of the chest, and he staggered backwards and fell to the ground. Brian also fired one shot at the other armed man, who was hit in several places by the nine .33-calibre lead balls, one in the side of the head, causing him to spin round. He landed in a heap on the ground.
I now moved out into a more open position from where I could take in the whole scene.
“Nobody move!” I shouted, aiming the shotgun towards the other culprits.
Brian arrived at my side with his shotgun pointing in the same direction, as John appeared from behind his truck to back us up.
“OK, you four – back up!” John shouted.
He approached his would-be assailant, now lying on the ground, and kicked the shotgun towards the truck. Brian walked down the small ramp to the other aggressor and did the same.
“Are these your friends?” John asked, pointing the Ruger towards the now-still bodies.
“No, we only met them two days ago,” the man said.
He seemed to be in his middle thirties, of average height but definitely overweight. The other man was of about the same age, over six feet tall and very slim – in fact, he looked undernourished. The two women, who had stayed in the background until now, were both well dressed, considering the circumstances, and looked exceptionally fit, one of average height and the other quite tall. I thought she might have been a model.
John looked at the overw
eight man suspiciously.
“They were a couple of farm workers,” said the man on the ground. “We used to work in IT, in the business park around the corner. We only went with them for protection, really.”
“That didn’t work out too well, then,” said John, indicating the two dead bodies.
“Can we come out now?” Tom asked, poking his head through the broken glass door of Tesco.
“Yeah,” said John.
Tom went back into the store briefly and re-emerged pushing a shopping trolley, followed by Ruth, Maria and Liz, also pushing trolleys.
“Can we put our supplies in your truck?” Tom asked John. “Christ! It’s a mess.”
“Yes, if I can get the back open. This prat shot my flipping truck not once but twice,” John replied, giving the body on the ground a kick.
John managed to open the back of the truck without too much difficulty. Tom and Ruth started to load it up with their supplies. Meanwhile, Maria had stopped beside an old Vauxhall Astra in the car park.
“Harry, you got the keys?” she asked, irritated.
“Oh, yeah,” Harry replied, and walked over to her.
“You might want to have a look in the Co-op while we’re here,” I said.
Tom and Ruth looked at each other.
“Have you checked it out?” Ruth asked.
“Yes, it’s all clear,” Brian replied before I could say anything.
“OK, Tom – follow me, and bring the empty trolleys with you,” Ruth demanded.
John and I were still keeping an eye on our four would-be attackers. They seemed harmless enough.
“Do you need any supplies?” I said to none of them in particular. “If so, you might want to check out Tesco.”
“Thanks – we’re starving and thirsty,” the overweight man replied.
“I’ll leave one of these shotguns for you and some of the cartridges these two were carrying,” I said, pointing to their two dead companions.
Infected- The Beginning Page 19
