“What we can tell you is that it’s a disease of some sort,” said Brian.
“What I can’t understand is why our wives haven’t come to look for us,” said Scott.
“Oh, where do you live?” asked John.
“I live in Springfield on the outskirts of Chelmsford, and Scott lives in The Chase in Boreham,” replied Ken.
“You wait until I see my wife – I’ll give her what for,” added Scott. “I mean, it’s not as though she doesn’t have a car.”
The five of us looked at each other in silence before Miles decided to break the bad news to our unsuspecting new acquaintances.
“Sorry to tell you, guys, but you’d better sit down. This infection is not confined to here or even Chelmsford.”
“You mean it’s country-wide?” asked Ken, his eyes opening very wide.
“Not just that, it has spread all over the world,” stated Miles. “We think ninety-five percent of the world’s population is either infected or dead.”
“So, what’s the government doing?” asked Scott.
“There is effectively no government,” I said. “Most of the ministers are probably infected, as well as the police and army personnel.”
“To put it bluntly, it’s everyone for themselves,” added John.
“Ken, Scott, there is a small group of us, and we came to check the farm over with the intention in the long term of growing our own food and becoming self-sufficient. If you want to join us, you’re quite welcome to do so,” I said.
“My God! If it’s that bad, we’d better check on our wives first,” said Scott.
“I’ll give you a lift to The Chase, before I make my way over to Springfield,” Ken said to his colleague.
“Guys, I suggest you stick together and take that shotgun with you – we can give you some ammo,” suggested Miles. “We’ll be moving to the farm tomorrow – at the moment we’re based in Connor Way.”
“I know where that is,” said Scott.
Miles, Brian and I gave the two men a few shells each, a total of about 20. We followed them out to the front of the farmhouse and watched them drive away in Ken’s Range Rover. Mary and Josephine joined us at the farmhouse entrance as we watched the four-by-four disappear from view.
“So, is the house all clear now?” Mary asked
“Yep, and we may have at least two additions to our group – that’s if they survive,” I replied.
“It took you long enough!” said Mary. “And that gives us two more mouths to feed.”
“They have very useful skills,” I said, not going into detail.
“Mum, let’s check this house out,” suggested Josephine.
“I’ll go with you, just in case,” Brian offered.
Mary, Josephine and Brian went through the front door of the farmhouse and disappeared from view.
“OK, guys, I’ve got the wheelbarrow, so let’s start moving bodies,” said John.
The next two hours were spent moving bodies just off the track where we had turned right to enter the farm complex, about a hundred yards from the farmhouse. Mary and Josephine had checked all the rooms and were wandering about outside at the back of the farm building, making slow progress to the front, with Brian in tow. Once finished with the bodies, John put the wheelbarrow back in the truck and we stood in a small group outside the house waiting for the ladies and Brian to arrive.
“Well, guys, it’s certainly big enough,” said Miles.
“The place is a maze,” commented Jeffrey.
“We’ll have to draw a map! At least it has a couple of open fireplaces – it could get really cold in the winter,” I said jokingly.
“Mum and Josephine are taking their time, and we’ve still got to check that other house yet,” said John, pointing to the large house 250 yards away in front of us.
“Tell you what – while you’re waiting for your other halves, Jeffrey and I can check it out. Brian can ride with you,” Miles suggested.
“No, he won’t,” said John. “You’d better take my truck and we’ll ride with Brian. He has the keys to the MPV.”
“Good thinking,” said Jeffrey.
John passed the truck’s keys to Miles, and they drove off towards the large house. We watched them pass through the large open gateway and park in front of the house. They tried the front door without success and proceeded around the back of the building, disappearing from view.
John and I finally heard voices approaching, and Mary and Josephine came into view, with Brian close behind.
“The place is certainly big enough – it even has a swimming pool and a conservatory,” Mary said.
“A swimming pool – where?” I said.
“Behind the building to the right of the farmhouse there’s a shielded area with a small pool,” said Josephine.
“No problems then, Brian?” asked John.
“Only being dragged around the place looking in every nook and cranny,” replied Brian.
“So, everything is OK then, Mary?” I asked.
“Apart from the blood and bits over the walls and floor. A good cleaning session should cure that,” she replied.
“Let’s go, then, and see how Miles and Jeffrey are getting on. Oh, and Brian, you’ll be driving,” said John.
“They’re checking out the house and have taken John’s truck,” I added.
John suggested that we make sure all the doors were shut before we left – we didn’t want any more infected wandering around the buildings – and after 15 minutes we made our way over towards Miles and Jeffrey.
Brian pulled up next to John’s truck, and as we disembarked the large double patio doors in the front of the house opened, and Miles and Jeffrey stood waiting. The house had a chimney stack at either end of the roof, and a large double garage on the right in line with the ten-foot-wide open gate through which we had passed. The first floor was partially built into the roof. By UK standards, this was a large house.
“The place is completely empty,” announced Miles.
I was more interested in its security as I walked through the kitchen and dining area. Looking out, I could see that the rear garden was about 30 yards in length. The right side was mostly taken up by the double garage, which had been extended on its right side so it nearly reached the bottom of the garden, while on the left was an old wooden shed that had obviously seen better days. The garden at the front and rear was completely surrounded by a fence consisting of three four-by-two poles, on the bottom of which a two-foot-high stretch of chicken wire had been attached, probably to stop rabbits and other four-legged pests entering the garden area.
“Josephine and I are just going to have a ladies’ inspection of the place, James – see you all shortly,” Mary announced.
I had noticed that there were no dirty dishes or cups in sight – in fact, the house was unbelievably tidy, as if it had not been lived in for some time.
“So, what do we do next, chaps?” I said.
“The way I see it, we get the others to inspect the place and then decide who is going where,” replied Miles, “and at the same time bring as much gear as possible ready for the final move tomorrow. What do you think, James?”
“Yes, once I’ve had a cup of tea and something to eat,” I said.
“Yeah, I’d better feed my kids too,” added Brian.
Ten minutes later, Mary and Josephine reappeared.
“The place is very tidy – just need to go round with the duster. And the windowpane in the back door is broken,” said Mary.
Mary liked things clean and tidy, which drove me nuts sometimes.
“Had to break the window to get in,” explained Miles.
“Time to go, folks,” said John.
We returned to our own vehicles and headed back along the track. Ten minutes later we had arrived back in our close, to be greete
d by the other adults, questioning us about the farm and our trip.
After half an hour and with most of the questions answered, John, Mary, Josephine and I returned to our house where Josephine made us a lovely cup of tea and something to eat with Mary’s help, while John and I checked over the firearms and discussed what we needed to take on our next trip back to the farm.
We had just finished our food and drink when there was a knock on the door and we heard Miles’s voice.
“Are you ready, James?”
I answered the door and found Miles, Jeffrey and, to my surprise, Maria outside.
“You ready to start loading up? I’ll be taking the van,” said Miles.
“I’m coming too – just got to see this place,” Maria enthused.
“OK, I’ll be with you shortly,” I said as John joined me in the porch.
“Can I put the generator in your van?” he asked Miles.
“Yeah, we’ll put all the larger equipment in it,” replied Miles.
“Let’s go for it, Dad,” said John, walking back into the living room.
“See you by the van, then, Miles,” I said.
John and I put the generator in the van, along with a few gardening tools. Then we started loading John’s truck with supplies, clothes and footwear. We decided to leave our other weapons and spare ammo until the following day.
The close was now a hive of activity as each household loaded their own vehicle, and occasionally they would load a larger piece of equipment into the van, including the bigger children’s toys.
After an hour and a half, we were ready to leave. Ruth, Linda and Lucy volunteered to stay behind to look after the teenagers and younger children.
This time Miles led the way in the van with Jeffrey and Maria, followed by John and me in the truck, with me riding shotgun. Mary and Josephine occupied the rear seats. Next was Brian and Tom in the MPV which, with the back seats folded flat, managed to take not only Brian and Linda’s gear but also Tom and Ruth’s. Next came Kevin and Kate in the BMW, then Bill and Rose and Mat and Sara bringing up the rear. Mary moved the Micra from the barricade to let us through, and once she had put it back in place we were on our way.
“It’s lucky we didn’t have to take the furniture,” John commented.
“We can come back for that if need be,” said Mary.
“We’ll have to use what’s there first, as we don’t want to clutter the place up with lots of gear, and it’s going to be a tight fit as it is,” I said.
As we got to our destination, Miles stopped suddenly in front of the big house, jumped out of the van and came towards us. John wound down his window as Miles approached.
“What’s up?” asked John as Miles peered through the window.
“Yeah, what’s wrong?” I echoed.
“Who’s going to occupy the house, then?” asked Miles.
John and I looked at each other, and Mary and Josephine remained silent. Brian and Tom had joined Miles outside the truck with the rest of our convoy walking in our direction.
After an in-depth discussion which lasted a good half-hour, it was agreed that Brian and Tom would take over the house, which was convenient because their gear was in the same vehicle. Brian pulled into the house driveway, while the rest of our convoy continued on to the farm.
Once we had come to a halt outside the main farmhouse, we decided it would be a good idea to have a look around before any selection was made over what rooms we were going to occupy. This would allow Kevin, Kate, Bill, Rose and Maria to survey the buildings for the first time, before they came to any final decision on the rooms they wanted to have. Mary and Josephine had already decided that we would be taking the two rooms at the front of the main house, with John and Josephine on the right and Mary and me on the left. John and I brought in our gear, mainly clothes, which we took to the appropriate bedroom, while Mary and Josephine found homes for them. The generator ended up in the conservatory and our spare food in the kitchen opposite.
John and I finished before the rest of our neighbours, so we gave them a helping hand, which also allowed us to find out which rooms they had decided to occupy. Miles and Mat had selected the rooms at the back of the house overlooking the Chelmer valley, while Kevin and Kate had chosen the middle room on the right overlooking the swimming pool and fields towards Boreham. Bill and Rose selected the centre room on the left side of the house, which overlooked the set of garages with the clock tower, beyond which were the barns and equipment sheds. The only things we left in the van were the toys belonging to Brian’s and Tom’s children.
After a brief discussion about where Maria and her children were going to reside, we went back to the large house on the hill to collect Brian and Tom and also to deliver the children’s toys.
They were waiting for us outside in the warm sunlight as we arrived. With a joint effort, the van was emptied in five minutes. With the toys stored away in the house, we re-formed our convoy and headed back along the track, the only difference being that Brian in his MPV was following the van, with us behind. We had just passed the large oak tree about halfway along the track when Brian suddenly stopped, causing John to brake sharply.
“What the …” I said, pushing myself off the dashboard.
Tom had got out of the MPV and was walking towards us. Miles had managed to cover another 100 yards before he realised no one was behind him. I wound down the passenger window as Tom approached.
“What’s gone wrong now?” asked John in exasperation.
“Why have we stopped?” I asked.
“Something is moving along the A12,” said Tom, turning round to look at the road again, which was about 30 degrees to our left.
“There, did you see that? Something moved in front of that white van,” Tom continued.
I could just make out the white van, but that was about all, as it was at least mile and a half away.
“You seem to have exceptional eyesight, Tom. I believe I put my binoculars in the glove box,” I said, opening the compartment. I extracted the binoculars from their case and started to focus them on the A12, somewhere near the sewage works.
“Christ, Tom! There are a number of people, in fact it looks like rent-a-crowd,” I said, turning up the zoom from eight to thirty.
“Can I look?” he asked.
“Of course,” I said, handing the binoculars to him. “The problem is that I don’t know if they are infected people or normal. What do you think?”
“Hmm … they seem to be moving rather erratically for normal people,” said Tom as John got out of the truck and joined Tom and me by the passenger door.
“OK, my turn,” said John, as he took the binoculars from Tom.
He adjusted the zoom and then refocused before having a long, hard look.
“They’re infected, alright – and there must be at least a thousand of them!” announced John, handing the binoculars to Brian, who had arrived together with Miles and Jeffrey.
“They look infected to me – let’s face it, you wouldn’t get a thousand normal people walking along a main road together, now would you?” said Brian, passing the field glasses on to Miles.
“You have a point there, Brian,” said Miles as he started to study the A12, following the road back towards London as far as possible before lowering them.
“What do you think, Miles?” I asked.
“I think we have a real problem.”
“Why’s that?” asked Tom.
“Because if they continue along the A12, they’ll end up at my house and yours, James – the close.”
We all looked at each other without a word, until finally John broke the silence.
“Oh shit, we’d better move today, then – like now!” he said. “In fact, we have an hour, maybe ninety minutes, before they reach us.”
“Let’s go, then,” said Brian.
With renewed purpose, we returned to our vehicles. As he pulled away, Miles set the wheels spinning before the tyres finally gripped the dusty surface of the track. It took an effort for Brian and John to keep up with him as he drove like a man possessed.
Back at our close, Miles sounded the horn as he approached the barricade to get everybody’s attention. I quickly jumped from the truck to move the Micra, and this time I didn’t bother to put it back. We went into the house to a very excited Sheba, whose instincts told her something was afoot.
“OK, Mary, you get the food and clothes, and John and I will get the cooking stuff, then the guns and ammo, then we’ll sort out what we’ve missed,” I said.
“Don’t forget the dog’s food and bits,” Mary added.
“OK, let’s do it,” said John.
He collected the camping stove and spare gas canisters from the kitchen and then worked on Sheba’s gear, while I put pots, pans, cutlery and crockery and baking dishes into carrier bags.
Josephine and Mary were emptying the food cupboards, which occasionally caused us to get in one another’s way. We ended up with the kitchen floor covered in bags.
“Josephine and I will start on the clothes upstairs, and you can start loading up the truck,” Mary said to me.
John and I picked up a couple of bags each and went out through the side gate, in front of which John had parked the truck. The close was a hive of activity as our neighbours frantically loaded their own vehicles.
Finally, John and I cleared the kitchen floor of bags, only to be greeted by a similar quantity in the living room, this time full of shoes and clothes.
“Dad, you start clearing this and I’ll get our torches, batteries and the radio bagged up,” said John.
Over an hour had passed when we finally loaded John’s barbecue into the van, as the truck was now fully laden – as was Mary’s Micra. Brian and Linda were still in the process of loading the van, and the MPV was loaded as much as possible while allowing enough space for their four children. Miles had loaded his taxi and Maria’s Ford Focus, and Jeffrey and Miles were loading larger articles into the van.
“You nearly finished?” I asked Miles.
Infected- The Beginning Page 35
