by Wood, J N
The afternoon passed by slowly. The Rodriguez family understandably kept to themselves at the back of bus. Occasionally two of them would pass us to use the exit. I think we all tried speaking to them, maybe not Gee actually, but we’d only receive the odd word here and there.
I was more than relieved when it had finally been time to set off. I’d sat myself in the driver’s seat at seven o’clock, staring out through the windscreen, willing the sun to go down quicker.
We were soon heading north on the WA-9. The excitement amongst the people sat at the front of the bus was definitely noticeable. I could almost feel it in the air.
‘It’s only about an hour and a half, maybe two hours from here,’ Michael said, shining a torch onto the road map.
‘What do you think the border is gonna be like?’ I asked him.
Michael took a long breath before answering. ‘I honestly don’t know. I just want there to be a border. If it was overrun at the beginning, and all this has spread further north…’ He paused for a few seconds, before continuing. ‘Well, let’s just say it’s a long way back down to Mexico.’
‘The last time I heard anything from my wife, she emailed saying Canada and Mexico were building walls.’
‘It would be very impressive if they got a wall up this quickly,’ Michael said.
‘I think you’d be surprised what people can do to survive,’ I said.
‘I’m not sure if there will be an actual wall, but I’m feeling confident Chris. The border will still be there.’
The roads north of Seattle had been quiet. We drove by Arlington, and decided to take the WA-534 so we could get onto the I-5. We hoped that would take us all the way to Blaine, the small town just before the Canadian border. Michael said that route would avoid most of the bigger places. Unfortunately though, it would take us right through the middle of Bellingham. After a brief discussion, we put it to a vote. We unanimously agreed to stick with the route Michael had decided on.
Bellingham had been empty, eerily quiet in fact. The city had been well and truly abandoned. It wasn’t long after leaving the city limits that we started seeing the signs.
Every road sign near the Bellingham airport had either been spray painted over, or messages had been painted onto white sheets and then draped over them.
15 MILES TO BORDER
STAY QUIET
NO NOISE
NO VEHICLES
SILENCE PLEASE
As soon as we’d passed the no vehicles sign, I started to slow us down, stopping in front of another sign that read, 14 MILES TO BORDER.
‘What the fuck do we do now?’ I asked.
‘We can’t walk fourteen miles with the kids,’ Shannon said. ‘It’s too risky.’
‘There must be a reason for the sign though,’ Jack said.
‘Hey guys,’ Pete said, after joining us at the front. ‘We saw the signs. What are you thinking?’
‘I think we try and get a bit further in the bus,’ Shannon said. ‘Just a bit. Take it slowly and see what happens. There doesn’t seem to be anything around here.’
Sandra had made her way up to stand behind Pete. ‘I don’t want to take the kids outside if I don’t have to,’ she said. ‘But we’ll do whatever everyone else wants to do.’
‘It’s okay Sandra,’ Michael said. ‘I agree with Shannon. Let’s just drive a bit further.’
‘Yep, it’s decided then,’ I said, and slowly started accelerating. I kept the bus below fifteen miles an hour. Everyone stared out of the windows, looking for any danger.
The ‘no vehicles’ and ‘keep quiet’ signs continued to appear in the darkness, and the miles signs slowly counted down. There were no people, no zombies, no anything of note. When we reached the three miles sign, I stopped the bus again.
‘Well?’ I asked.
‘There isn’t anything here,’ Jack said.
‘I don’t think we are three miles away from Canada,’ Michael said, looking up from the road map. ‘I’d say it’s more like four or five, maybe even six miles.’
We all sat, or stood, peering out through the windscreen.
Shannon broke the silence, saying, ‘How about we get to the outskirts of Blaine and then walk the rest of the way.’
Everyone agreed, so we carried on driving. We passed the two miles sign, still there was nothing. Then we rolled by the one mile sign, and still there was nothing happening.
‘The border can’t be one mile away guys,’ Michael said. ‘We’re further away than that.’
A few minutes later, not long after crossing Dakota Creek, I stopped the bus in front of a very confusing sign. A banner was stretched across the entire width of the road, held up by metal poles on either side. In huge red letters, it simply said BORDER, with a big red arrow pointing to our right.
‘Does that mean we can’t cross the border up ahead?’ Jack asked.
‘Maybe we just have to drive east,’ Shannon suggested. ‘The border might be closed here.’
‘Fuck knows,’ I sighed, and turned the engine off.
‘Can you here that?’ Ali asked. ‘Sounds like crickets or cicadas.’
I leaned forward in my seat and tried to listen.
She’s right, it does sound a bit like crickets, but it also sounds like a shitload of zombies.
A shockingly loud and high pitched screech came from our right. We all swivelled around to find the source.
‘What the fuck was that?’ I asked.
Before anyone could answer, a loud boom echoed around us, followed by the crackling and popping of fireworks. The sky was suddenly lit up in green and red. An engine in the field next to us roared to life. It seemed to be coming from a blue shipping container in the middle of the field, now illuminated by the fireworks.
A squeaky voice called out something over loud speakers, something about being a cheerleader, and being ugly.
I looked to Jack and we made eye contact. His face was screwed up in disgust.
‘Is that Daphne and Celeste?’ he asked me.
‘Yeah I think so.’
The song continued, very loudly.
All of a sudden, while the lights of the fireworks slowly drifted to the ground, we heard popping noises, followed by the fizzing and whistling of more fireworks squealing into the air. The explosions when they reached their desired height were incredible. The sky was filled with a kaleidoscope of different colours.
‘What is happening?’ Shannon muttered.
The top half of a person suddenly popped out of the top of the shipping container, maybe to watch the fireworks.
I pointed the person out to everybody, and we all just watched the bizarre spectacle. After a few moments, the person seemed to notice our bus, and started to wave, before banging on the top of the container. Some of us actually waved back.
That was when the zombies appeared. They were running from the direction Canada was supposed to be, obviously drawn to the fireworks and horrific music.
I looked back at the container, where the person was vigorously gesturing for us to come to him. I realised we didn’t have time to debate this, so I turned the engine back on and spun the steering wheel fully to the right.
When we drove over the first bump, I called out for everyone to hold onto something. It was a very bumpy ride. The field was full of peaks and troughs.
The occasional zombie started to thud into the side of the bus. The person on top of the container was still waving, but it was more like a side to side motion rather than a come to me gesture.
Is he saying here I am? Or telling us to stop?
Fuck knows.
My stomach lurched as the front of the bus suddenly dropped, coming to an uncomfortable and abrupt stop. My forehead very painfully slammed into the steering wheel. Panicked screams cried out from behind me.
I slowly lifted my all too damaged face, and put the bus into reverse. I very gently pressed on the accelerator, trying to bump us out of the ditch I’d fucking stupidly driven us into. We rocked backwa
rds and forwards, but the bus wasn’t budging.
‘We’re stuck Chris,’ Shannon shouted over the cacophony of noise. The revving bus engine, the fireworks, and fucking Daphne and Celeste were overwhelming. ‘Everybody,’ she called out. ‘We’re getting off the bus and running to that container.’ She pointed over to the pale blue and battered shipping container, looking very much out of place in the field.
It was probably about forty or fifty feet away from us. Dark shapes sprinted across the grass, each one casting multiple shadows from the lights of the fireworks.
‘We have to go now,’ Shannon ordered. ‘No bags, only weapons. Let’s go.’ She looked at me, and then nodded towards the button to open the front doors.
I picked up the Brooklyn Smasher, and felt for my axe tucked into my belt. I had one last look at everyone, then out at the very strange shadows moving around in front us, and slammed my fist into the button.
Gee was out first, firing his crossbow before he’d even left the bus. Everyone else was following him out.
I was trapped in the driver’s seat, and letting everyone pass me, meaning I’d be getting off last.
Fuck’s sake.
Pete was the last person to pass by me, we gave each other a little nod and I followed him out, into absolute fucking chaos. I immediately swung my bat into the head of a charging zombie, before starting to run. Sandra was carrying one of the kids. I think Ali had another. I couldn’t see who was carrying the blond boy.
Gee had positioned himself between everyone and the oncoming zombies. He wasn’t even looking at the container, keeping his efforts entirely on stopping anything that got close to our group. He looked like he was slicing whole heads off with his huge knife. He was doing a fucking amazing job of protecting everyone, as usual.
I was so distracted by Gee’s heroics that I wasn’t paying attention to what I was doing. My foot caught on something, sending me stumbling to the floor. I managed to roll and was back up on my feet almost straight away, although I ended up running in the wrong direction. Before I had time to adjust my angle, a shape moved in front of me. I swung my bat upwards. It connected with, and obliterated a zombie’s head. As I was bringing the Smasher back up, another blurred shape lurched towards me. I swiped at it, making contact with one of its knee caps. The leg snapped backwards in a very unnatural and sickening way, the zombie collapsing to the floor.
I quickly scanned the field for the easiest route through the scattering of monsters, lit up in reds, oranges, yellows and blues. Some of our group were already climbing up onto the roof of the container. I ran straight towards them, keeping the Smasher by my side. I shoulder barged a zombie out of the way, then another, and another, before body slamming one into the side of the container. It slowly and disgustingly slid down to the ground. Their lightweight and long dead bodies made it easy to push them out of the way.
Killing them is definitely getting easier.
Gee and Jack had their backs to the container, holding off the ever increasing threat of dead creatures. I spun around and slammed my bat overarm into the top of a zombies head.
Jack’s face looked like he was in pain from swinging his big axe, but he seemed to be dealing with it. He didn’t have much choice.
‘Where did you go?’ he asked me.
‘Got a bit lost.’
He shot me the briefest of glances between swings of his axe. ‘What?’ he asked.
I swung my bat, very luckily hitting three zombies’ heads with one blow. ‘It’s not really that important is it?’ I yelled.
The space between us and the bus was almost full of zombies. If we’d waited just a couple of seconds we wouldn’t have made it. I could see the bus actually rocking from side to side from the force of the zombies hitting it. We needed to move before we were overrun.
A scream echoed out from above me. I swung my bat into a zombie’s face, before turning to see Sandra staring wild eyed at the bus.
‘Steve! Max!’ Ali shouted.
Who the fuck is Max?
I spun around. Looking over the zombies running for us, I could see a human shape carrying something. It was crawling up the front of the bus. A few seconds later, the shape made it onto the roof. The unmistakable figure of Steve, carrying the blond kid, slowly turned around to face us.
Oh, that’s Max.
Sandra screamed out the word, ‘No,’ drawing it out for four or five painful seconds.
Jack grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back towards the container. ‘We can’t get back to them now! There are too many!’ he shouted.
I dropped my bat and put my back against the container. I interlocked my fingers together and crouched down slightly. Jack placed his foot in my hands and I heaved him up so he could catch the edge of the container.
I stepped away and punched an oncoming zombie in the face, and then elbowed another in the side of the head. Immediately after picking up my bat, Gee wrenched it out of my hands, using it to decapitate a zombie, splattering us both with its innards. ‘Go up now Chris!’ he ordered.
I turned back around to face the container, narrowly avoiding a charging zombie, but only because Gee stepped between us and took it out with my bat. I ran and jumped at the container, placing the sole of my right foot on its blue metal wall and trying to launch myself as high as possible. It wasn’t going to be enough.
Ali and Shannon caught my outstretched hands and started pulling me up. I glanced to my left to make sure Jack was okay, he was almost on the roof, being dragged up by Michael and Pete. Sandra and Theo were staring at the bus, screaming at Steve.
Once I was up, I spun around on my belly, shouting, ‘Hurry the fuck up Gee!’
Gee’s crossbow was on the floor by his feet. He was swinging my bat from side to side, taking out four or five creatures with each swing. Most of them seemed to be obsessed with the fireworks, but there were still plenty coming for him.
There’s no fucking way he’s gonna have time to make it up here before they take chunks out of him.
I was desperately trying to think of a solution, when he suddenly spun around, threw my bat at us, and hurled himself towards me.
Fucking hell. This is going to hurt.
Gee’s right hand somehow found mine, and I held on. At the same time there was a loud thud next to me, as Jack slammed into the container, grabbing Gee’s other hand. I couldn’t move at all, let alone try and pull him up.
‘Help us pull him up,’ Jack pleaded.
I felt at least two pairs of hands on my arms, and as one, we all heaved Gee up onto the roof. Michael and Ali stamped on, and then kicked the three zombies that were clinging onto Gee’s legs, eventually forcing them back into the gathering swarm below us.
I clambered to my feet as the Daphne and Celeste song was replaced by the Spice Girls, singing Wannabe. It was blaring out through the hidden loud speakers.
‘Why the fuck is that playing?’ I whispered.
‘Don’t move! Just stay there!’ Pete called out.
‘I can’t!’ Steve shouted back.
‘Don’t move!’ Pete repeated.
The bus wasn’t level. Because I’d crashed us into a ditch, the front end was lower than the back, and it was angled to the left. It was being jostled around whenever more zombies joined the crowds around the right side of the bus. It seemed to be leaning more by the second.
Steve looked like he was struggling to keep his feet. Max was clinging onto him, his face pressing into Steve’s neck. Steve’s mouth was moving, probably trying to reassure the boy.
The field below us was now filled with the dead, and more were coming, all still illuminated by the seemingly endless fireworks.
‘What should I do?’ Steve shrieked.
I looked at Jack, and then at Shannon and Michael. They stared back at me, desperation in their eyes. We had nothing.
‘Stay real still!’ Ali shouted. ‘Don’t move and keep quiet. They’ll move on eventually.’
There was a loud scraping noise from under
the bus. Steve momentarily fell to one knee, before regaining his balance and standing back up. A few seconds later the bus violently shifted beneath him, the back end rising slightly. He immediately fell back down to land on both knees. He lifted his face to stare back at us, mouthing the words, ‘Help me.’
‘Keep low!’ Pete shouted. ‘Lie down.’
There were several sharp intakes of air as the bus started to dramatically lean to the left. Steve placed his right hand down on the roof to steady himself. A few moments later, the bus leaned back to the right and stopped moving.
‘What can we do?’ Shannon pleaded. ‘Anybody? We need ideas.’
Steve very slowly got back to his feet. He gently prised the boy’s arms from around his neck, and lifted him high above his head.
What the fuck is he doing?
Even over the hissing, the Spice Girls and the fireworks, we could hear both Max and Steve, sobbing loudly.
‘What is he doing?’ Pete asked.
‘No fucking idea,’ I replied.
‘I’m coming!’ Steve shouted, and stepped towards the front of the bus.
‘You fucking what?’ I said.
‘No!’ Sandra screamed, followed by the rest of her family all echoing the ‘No.’
Steve moved closer to the edge, and the clawing hands of the dead. More and more zombies were making their way up the front of the bus. Because it was in the ditch, the roof was easier to get to from that end. Steve stepped forward and kicked one in the head. It toppled back into the crowds.
My hand fell to the holster at my hip, resting on my gun.
‘Guns. Who has a gun,’ I asked, pulling mine out of the holster.
Sandra, Michael, Jack and Shannon all pulled out hand guns, the rifles all left on the bus.
‘Who is a better shot than me?’ I quickly asked. Gee took the gun out of my hand. Ali leaned over and took Jack’s, he didn’t protest.
‘Aim for the ones on the front of the bus,’ Ali said. ‘And please be careful.’
