by Ian Woodhead
The shakes had eased off just a fraction, although Jordan had no idea why that was any cause for celebration. Barry had been right about the blood in the streets. His friend just didn't know how right he was. The remaining survivors, the living, like himself, would stand absolutely no chance at all against the dead, not if they all were able to more as quickly as his now deceased parents. Oh my God! Dad never moved so quickly when he was alive!
His fingers found the gate latch. He pulled it back and slowly moved forward. Jordan silently thanked God that dad had oiled the gate hinges a couple of days ago. The gate used to make enough noise to wake the dead, until his mum nagged his old man every day for almost a fortnight to do something about it.
Wake the dead. Oh fuck, why did he have to even think about that? The image of the untold millions of rotting corpses clawing their way up to the surface in order to join their converted pals almost made him piss himself again.
Jordan still didn't have a single clue where to go. In this world, he had no Jenny, no shopping mall and definitely no fucking chance of stumbling over a shotgun left behind in some abandoned shop.
The gate opened wide enough to allow him to leave the garden. He stepped out onto the street, feeling more vulnerable and exposed than he had for a long time. Jordan took in a mouth of cold air, not realising until that time that he'd been holding his breath. Where was he going to go? The only place he could think of was to head for Amir's takeaway. It's the only place in town, beside his house, where he felt comfortable. He could head for Barry's house. He had spent a lot of time there when they were younger but knowing Barry, he would have already emptied the place of anything valuable before setting off. Despite his friend's apparent bravado, Jordan knew that Barry was as much housebound as himself and it must had been something fucking traumatic to make the kid leave his fortress. Besides, Barry lived on the other end of town, almost four miles from here and Jordan doubted that he'd survive long enough to make the journey.
The dead could be watching him right now, looking out of the many windows surrounding him, licking their lips and drooling at the prospect of sinking their teeth into his soft, tender flesh. “Stop it, you fucking clown,” he muttered. Like he didn't have enough problems already without making up a load more. This didn't stop Jordan from checking out every window he could see, just to make sure that none of them were watching him. His gaze stopped at his own house. He knew he needed to get away from here but Jordan just couldn't help himself from checking out his own bedroom window, just to see if he could spot his other self. There was nothing up there but a black rectangle.
That had to be an illusion, some kind of fake vision, brought on by whatever that sensenet had done to his mind. Maybe, if he did somehow survive the coming night and, hopefully, find some other survivors, again hopefully, all tooled up with weapons, then he'd ask them to bring him back here to double check.
His gaze moved down to the kitchen window. “Oh no!” Two pairs of eyes stared right back at him. Jordan stepped back, finally letting go of the gate, just as the window exploded outwards. They galloped across the lawn on all fours. Almost reaching their garden shed before Jordan's own survival instinct kicked in.
He heard them smack straight into the gate but by that time, Jordan was already across the road. He risked a peek over his shoulder and immediately wished he hadn't. That solid piece of wood hadn't stopped them at all. The dead things just kept running into the gate until one of them, his dad toppled over it. His mum joined him after another two attempts. Jordan carried on running, his target, the shop was at the end of the street. He ran past the estate car and skidded to a halt, knowing those corpses would have caught up with him before reaching the shop. Even if he was able to outrun the bastards, it might not even be possible to get inside. Hell, the snack shed had steel shutters on the window and the door and from here, he couldn’t see if they were down or not.
Jordan chose the only option left and threw himself inside the car, closing the two doors still open and locking every door while praising the lords of fate for leaving him a old car that wasn't a slave to modern electronics. He wasn't sure whether the two had seen him get into the car, but just in case they had, he slid into the foot space, pulled a blanket covering the seat above him and laid it over his body.
Were the car windows open? Jordan bit his lip to stop himself from crying out. Believing that even the slightest sound might give away his position. He dare not move the blanket to check either. Through the gaps in the weave, Jordan saw nothing but shadows but those shadows were moving. They were there, his dead parents, right outside the fucking car window! Oh Christ, like it mattered if one of the windows were open a crack. The bastards had already proved what they were prepared to do in order to reach their next meal. Jordan waited for the inevitable as he knew that staying motionless and quiet while knowing those two flesh-eating monsters were waiting for him just inches away would prove impossible.
“Fuck it,” he whispered. There was no way that those things out there was going to dine on him while lying in this car. Jordan knew what to do. He had to make a run for it. He figured if he pushed the door hard enough, the force might be strong enough to knock at least one of them over, giving him some time to try to get away from them. Sure, the chase would be short but at least he'd go down doing something.
Jordan slowly pulled the blanket away from his face. As it fell down to his neck, something fell off the blanket and slid between his side and hand. As soon as his fingers curled around the object, he immediately knew what it was.
He brought the sensenet up and instinctively unrolled it over the top of his head. Being eaten by zombies who shouldn't exist while fighting fictional zombies in some stupid computer game sounded like a much more attractive option than his last idea. The last noise he heard from that reality was something trying the car door handle.
Chapter Eight
Fifth Insertion
The pair had traversed the shopping mall in relative silence. The sounds of the recent dead were around them and growing in volume whenever they passed by a locked shop, holding their previous tenants. Every time that Jordan heard their mournful whine, he found himself moving to the other side, much to Jenny's bemusement. He couldn't understand his behaviour either. It's not like those shambling monsters could smash their way through the glass.
Jordan had advised the woman against taking the direct route through the old covered market which had been the only moment when they had struck up a real conversation. He said that they should find an alternate way, perhaps by cutting through one of the larger clothing shops. Asked why, he could only shrug and say he had a bad feeling.
The woman had released a dramatic sigh and muttered something about questioning the validity of someone having a feeling who thinks the dead can break through glass but otherwise stayed silent.
Their journey brought the pair to the destination without incident. Jordan saw the occasional wispy cloud floating across a light-blue sky. He almost spoke out, advising Jenny to do the same and look up, that perhaps the illusion of serenity might help to smooth out some of the rough edges. After some deliberation, Jordan decided that telling a stressed-out woman to 'calm down' might not be the best idea he'd ever had and a second after uttering those fateful words, he'd find himself plummeting towards the ground floor after she pushed him over the balcony.
“ That looks pretty.” he turned his attention to the woman, currently staring at the shuttered up shop on the other side of the mall. Jordan had never seen the town's only game shop shuttered up before. It felt a little weird to see the place looking more like a shop situated in the middle of the rough housing estate at the other end of town than the warm and welcoming place where he spent many a happy childhood hours.
Jordan also found it a little strange that none of the other shops in the shopping mall they had passed were shuttered up.
“If you're trying to butter me up again, Jordan. Forget it. I'm not in the mood.”
�
�I was talking about the clouds, that's all. The clouds are pretty.” He leaned over the balcony, wondering if he would die on impact if she did push him over. It was highly likely, at was a long way down. Jordan's heart rate increased when he saw that not all of the dead things were locked inside the shops.
“Oh shit,” he muttered. “That's not good at all.”
Jenny joined him. “What is it?” she hissed.
He pointed at the next level down, the one they'd just left. There were two of them, both young teenage females, crawling along the top of a vent pipe which stretched the length of the wide corridor. That's the original direction that Jenny wanted to go in order to reach the main stairs which would lead them up here. They would not have spotted those dead girls, not unless either one of them were looking up.
Jenny grabbed the back of his hand. “Shit. I almost got us killed.” she squeezed hard. “I almost got us killed.”
“But you didn't, we're still here. Don't stress over it.”
“Yeah, thanks for that. It's okay for you. You're the type of guy who can shrug this all off and still find time to stare at pretty clouds.”
Jordan pulled her away from the balcony, wrapped his arms around the woman and gently kissed her. He could have explained that not two hours ago, she was the level-headed one who had done her best to put Jordan in the right mind so he could stay alive. It's just that the tables had turned right now. He guessed that come this time tomorrow, if they were still breathing, it might be her turn to do the same to him. Jordan had no intention of saying any of that. Not while this beautiful woman continued to respond to his kiss.
After what felt like an eternity, she pulled away. The pleasure that Jordan saw in her face vanished in a blink of an eye, and Jenny resumed her earlier 'cold fish' pose.
“We need to make a move, Jordan. There's not much daylight left.” She cast her gaze towards the skylight. “Even your pretty clouds have fucked off.”
The woman checked the straps on her backpack then turned and strode towards the direction of the old market, leaving him wondering if that kiss really happened.
“Are you coming or what?” she asked.
“Sorry, yeah, wait up.” He ran after her, still thinking about how easy this woman could change her mood. Was this ability she had to turn it off and on like a tap something that Jenny had always been able to do or was it a new development? Hell, even after being married for ten years, Jordan still had no clue about how the minds of the opposite genders worked. Come to think of it, did that assessment also not apply to every man on the planet?
“Are you alright?”
He had been so wrapped up in his thoughts, Jordan hadn't even realised that they had reached the entrance to the old market. “Yeah, I'm fine,” he replied.
“You don't look fine. Is there anything you need to get off your chest?”
Jordan pointed to the games shop. “Yeah, can you tell me why that is the only shop with its heavy shutters down?” He had no intention of asking her if that kiss meant nothing to her and the mystery of the games shop seemed like a reasonable distraction. The more he thought about it, though, the more convinced that finding out why the place where he spent most of his childhood and pocket money now looked like a fortress.
“I don't understand why this is suddenly so important to you? I mean, would it not make sense that if the owners were inside when the shit hit the fan, that they'd do anything and everything to prevent the monsters from getting to them? That would mean putting down their shutters, would it not? After all, I guess the guys who own that shop are as geeky as you which also leads me to the conclusion that they are just as weird as you.” She chuckled. “They probably believe the dead things can jump through glass too.” Jenny grabbed his left arm and led him into the old market. “Look, leave it, Jordan. Enough of the distractions. You said that the place beyond the mall has weapons. Then let's go get them, for crying out loud! There are people back in town who were relying on me and Barry to bring them supplies. They probably think we're both dead by now.”
Was that a dig at him? Perhaps suggesting that if they hadn't stopped to rescue him, she'd be back there by now, with the supplies the group needed as well as a still living Barry?
“Sorry, you're right. Come on, let's get out of here. I've no idea where I was going with that shop anyway.” When she took his hand, he decided that she wasn't having a go at him after all. “Just look at the pretty clouds,” he murmured.
“What are you on about now?”
He shook his head and grinned. “Nothing. Don't worry about it. I'm just talking to myself. It helps to calm me down.”
“Do you know what helps me calm down?”
He shook his head.
“ It’s the thought of getting into a hot bath and staying in there for a couple of hours.” She sighed. Perhaps a couple of scented candles burning away at the end of the bath, filling the room with a lovely aroma of vanilla or sandalwood.”
“We had no water after the first few days back home, no power either. I can't remember the last time I had a bath.”
“We have power and water, Jordan.” Jenny wrapped her arm around his waist. “That's what I intend to do when I get back. By the way, The bath's big enough for two, so you can run your fingernails up and down my back. Is that not a better image to help you stay calm?”
He nodded, positively drooling at the erotic image which wiped out any lingering doubts over why the game shop should be so significant. “Oh yeah. I'd like that a lot.”
“That's good to hear.”
“As long as the candles are not lavender or cinnamon,” he added.
“Is this another one of your feelings?”
“Sorry, Jenny. I don't even know why I said that.”
“ it doesn’t matter,” she replied. Come on, we'd better pick up the pace as I sure as hell don't want to be stuck in here overnight. The thought of what could be lurking in here scares the crap out of me.”
He could relate to that. The mall was bad enough but the old market seriously gave him the creeps. This place was so claustrophobic. Walking side by side meant they could touch the stalls by simply holding out their arms and if there were any dead things hiding inside, the flimsy looking wooden boards and the thick fabric which made up the stall construction would do little to stop those bastards from tearing into them. No wonder Jenny was shaking. He wanted to squeeze her hand for reassurance but he guessed that if he did that, he might end up shaking too.
Jordan stopped dead.
“What, what have you seen?” she hissed.
It took him a couple of seconds to reply. “Sorry,” he replied. “I thought I saw a man-shaped shadow move in front of one of the stalls.” He shook his head. “It must have been a trick of the light. Come on, let's keep going.”
“You don't have to apologise. It's better to be safe than sorry.”
Jordan was apologising for the lie he'd just told. There'd been nothing there. He had only stopped because he just saw himself standing at the bottom of a stranger's garden. Suffering from the shakes so bad that he had to hold on to the gate for dear life to stop himself from falling. The false memory only lasted for less than a second but the damn thing was strong enough to make Jordan feel that it had really happened.
“Are you sure you're okay?”
He turned to the side. “Should I not be asking you that? You're the one who is shaking like a leaf.” Jordan slowed down and then stopped. He placed his finger against his lips. This time he really had seen something that looked out of place. “Can you see that?” he whispered.
Jenny leaned forward and squinted her eyes. After a couple of seconds, the woman shook her head. “No. You've got me. What are you pointing at?”
He counted to five then moved forward a couple of paces then stopped again. Jenny had been right about taking no chances earlier on. The thing he'd pointed at still had not moved. Perhaps it wasn't going to move?
“Oh shit. I can see it now. What the bloody hell
is that thing?”
Jenny tightened her grip on his hand then pulled him back. “No. Forget about it. Let's just get out of here.”
Jordan wasn't going to leave. Not this time. She had got her own way at the game shop. That wasn't going to happen here. His feelings told him it was too important. He gently pulled his hand out of her sweaty palm. “This won't take a moment.” Jordan turned around and strode over to his find before she could object. The feeling of her doing just that was pretty strong, he had no idea why either.
He stopped a metre away. At first, when Jordan had first noticed this, he thought it could be a dark green sleeping bag belonging to one of the small band of homeless who drift through the town during the summer. “Oh Jesus,” he mumbled, doing his best not the throw up at the vile stench drifting off it.
Jordan now understood Jenny's reaction. It looked like a giant pea pod, covered in finger-thick dark green tendrils which formed a web around the foul smelling object. He tentatively pressed the tip of his shoe against the surface, jumping back when the pressure caused the pod to release a jet of black fluid which splattered against the stall behind him.
“You stupid bastard, you just had to go and touch it.” Jenny grabbed his shoulders and dragged him away. “You've done it now.”
“Wait, you know what they are?” Several vines detached from the pod's surface and reared up. They grew in length a couple of inches until their tips touched the stall beside the pod. The vile smell suddenly intensified before the vines vanished through the wood. “Christ, what the fuck is that thing?”
“We need to go, right now, before…”
“Before what, Jenny? Before that pod thing down there magical grows a pair of legs and runs after us?”
“Shut up, you clown. What, do you think the dead things are the only problem we have to face in our new world?” She pulled Jordan further away. “Please, will you stop dragging your feet and come on! You don't know what that thing can do!”
