The Road Trip At The End (Book 2): Border

by Wood, J N

  ‘So you’re happy to jump nine feet onto a higher roof?’

  ‘Eight or nine feet,’ Roy said. ‘And yeah, easy.’

  ‘Okay, after you.’

  He turned and walked until the flat section of the roof ended. He spun back around, and momentarily placed his hands around the handles of his machetes, still tucked into his belt. He let go of them and started running. I couldn’t help but smile at the expression on his face. It was a look of complete concentration. His eyes were fixed on the other roof.

  Roy planted his right foot down close to the edge, and launched himself. He sailed through the air, his left leg stretching out before him. His left foot came down to land on the other side, but immediately slipped off. With a loud grunt of pain, his right shin collided with the side of the building. Luckily his momentum carried him through, slamming him face first onto the tiled roof.

  He slowly got to his feet and forced a pained looking smile. He raised both his thumbs in my direction.

  Fuck’s sake.

  He beckoned me over whilst rubbing his shin. ‘Come on Chris.’

  ‘Are you taking the fucking piss?’ I hissed, staring down to the end of the alleyway. I was checking to see if any of the massive swarm had heard Roy nearly kill himself. ‘Are you okay?’ I asked, and pointed to his waist. ‘You didn’t stab yourself with your machetes did you?’

  He quickly patted his hands over his hips and thighs. ‘Yeah I’m fine. Just make sure you jump a bit closer to the edge. I probably jumped too early.’

  ‘No you fucking didn’t. You were right on the edge when you jumped.’

  ‘Just jump further than I did.’

  ‘Just jump further than I did,’ I repeated, under my breath. ‘Here, catch my bat.’ I raised the Smasher and Roy stepped closer to the edge, I tossed it across and he caught it with ease.

  I turned and walked to the spot Roy had started his run up. ‘Get ready to fucking catch me,’ I said to him.

  I tried to get up as much speed as possible in the short run up. As soon as both of my feet were off the roof, I knew I wasn’t going to make it.

  This is gonna hurt.

  I didn’t even manage to plant one of my feet down. My left thigh crashed into the edge, swiftly followed by my right. My balls then seemed to take the brunt of the impact. I wasn’t sure what happened after that, but I opened my eyes to find myself lying face down on the roof. My feet dangled over the edge, and my testicles felt like they were in my throat.

  ‘I’ve crushed my bollocks,’ I moaned into the roof, my lips squashed against the tiles.

  I got halfway up onto my knees and tried to suck some air into my lungs. My mouth filled with blood so I spat it on to the tiles.

  ‘See,’ Roy said. ‘We made it. Easy.’

  The intense pain in my balls didn’t seem to be leaving any time soon. ‘Fuck you Royston,’ I mumbled. Sticking out my tongue, I tried to say, ‘I think I bit my tongue.’

  He had a quick look, before screwing up his face. ‘Yeah, I think you did.’ He grabbed my arm at the elbow, and I let him lift me to my feet. He handed me back the Smasher.

  ‘Let’s try and get to the other side,’ he said. ‘See what the sheriff is up to.’

  I nodded and gestured for Roy to take the lead. I hobbled along behind him. Welcome to the Jungle, by Guns N’ Roses accompanied us as we precariously made our way across the rain soaked roof tiles.

  The fences that had once been around the tennis courts were gone. They were still technically there, but were now lying flat on the ground, trampled over by thousands of zombies. The sheriff’s container was still there, just with an incredible amount of the dead surrounding it.

  Sheriff McCallany sat on top of the container. He must have thrown one of the plastic chairs up there. He was sat on the chair, leaning back on two legs, like he didn’t have a care in the world. A large umbrella, maybe even a parasol, was propped up against him. He held a bottle of whiskey in his right hand. The big eighties boombox I’d noticed the other day sat on his lap.

  We waved at him to get his attention, still trying to make as little noise as possible. We were directly in his eye-line so it didn’t take him long to notice us.

  ‘Hey guys!’ he cheerfully shouted, making me flinch. ‘Any requests?’

  Roy and I exchanged concerned glances, before looking back to the sheriff.

  It didn’t feel right to shout with so many of the dead that close to us, but I shrugged my shoulders, and shouted, ‘More Tears for Fears?’

  The zombies closest to us all turned their attention to us.

  He placed the whiskey bottle down on the roof, and rummaged his hand around in a plastic bag behind him. He pulled his hand out and shook a cassette tape above his head, before exchanging it for the tape in the boombox. Mad World started playing. The sheriff gave us a thumbs up.

  Roy turned to me. ‘Well, that was a bit surreal.’

  ‘The sun will be down soon,’ I said. ‘Let’s find a way into the school before it’s too dark.’

  ‘What about the sheriff?’ Roy asked.

  ‘We can’t do anything. He’s safe for now, and he seems to be happy enough.’

  Roy pointed back the way we came. ‘Back to the passage?’

  ‘Yep, hopefully it’s still clear.’

  I took one final look at the sheriff and waved. He lifted his bottle to us, before taking a swig.

  Turning to catch Roy up, I said, ‘Yep, very fucking surreal.’

  We reached the other side of the building where it overlooked the alleyway below, and turned right, planning to drop down further away from the eyes and ears of the zombie swarm.

  Roy placed a hand on my shoulder, stopping me in my tracks. ‘Can you hear that?’ he asked.

  I tried to listen for something new. ‘Hear what?’

  ‘Voices, I’m sure I just heard voices,’ he said.

  ‘I can’t hear anything.’

  ‘Jack, I think I just heard voices,’ somebody whispered from below us.

  ‘I heard that,’ I said, clapping Roy on the shoulder.

  I crept over to the edge and looked down. The faces of Jack, Pete, Gee, Andruis and Matis looked back up at me. Their hopeful expressions instantly turning to smiles.

  Apart from Pete, who looked like he’d just stepped out of the shower, they were entirely covered in dark brown coloured streaks.

  ‘Alright, what are you lot doing here?’ I asked them.

  ‘Looking for you,’ Jack said, his eyes shifting when Roy stepped alongside me and leaned his head out. ‘Roy, what are you doing here?’

  I pointed down the alleyway. ‘Meet you down there, further away from the swarm.’

  We hurried along the edge of the building until we felt like we were far enough away, and dropped down to join our friends.

  Pete looked anxious. ‘Where’s Ali?’ he asked. ‘Jack said you brought her back. Is she okay?’

  ‘I think so. They took her to a medical tent. Don’t know which one, sorry.’

  ‘But she’s okay?’ he asked.

  ‘I think so, but I don’t know for definite.’

  ‘I think we should go back,’ Andruis said. ‘Walk and talk guys.’

  We set off at a brisk pace.

  ‘Have you seen Michael and Shannon?’ I asked the group.

  ‘No,’ Jack answered. ‘We haven’t seen them.’

  ‘How did you know we were here?’ I asked.

  ‘We didn’t know Roy was here at all,’ Jack said. ‘Caleb told me the annoying British arsehole had gone back out to look for his friends. So I safely assumed that was you.’

  ‘Caleb is a fucking twat. Have you seen Sheriff McCallany sat on top of his container?’ I asked. ‘He’s the one playing the music. It’s drawing a lot of the zombies to him.’

  ‘Yes we saw him from the fence,’ Jack said. ‘His batteries will only last so long though.’

  It was at that exact moment that Pale Shelter, by Tears for Fears was cut off half way throug
h the song. We all stared at each other with fearful eyes.

  ‘Run,’ Gee said.

  ‘That was your fault Jack,’ I called out as we sprinted down the alley.

  We reached the car park at the end and turned right, aiming for the same gate I had repeatedly used that day. Zombies were now streaming towards us from around the bend, all coming from the sheriff’s container. The front of the swarm crashed into the inner fence, ferociously attacking the chain links with their hands and teeth.

  The two people on top of the fence were staring at the oncoming swarm. They hadn’t seen us. We all shouted but the hissing was deafening.

  An ear piercing whistle came from my right. I looked over to see Roy pulling two fingers out of his mouth. It had worked. The two people were now looking at us, and speaking to the guys below them.

  It also meant every zombie was coming for us.

  We weren’t gonna make it to the gates before they got to us. I think we all knew that, but we carried on regardless.

  I saw the metal panel being removed, and then two people starting fiddling with the bolts. They paused to look at the zombies heading straight for them. I was willing them to continue unlocking them. They slotted the bolts back into place and stepped out of sight. The metal panel slid back to cover the gates.

  Mother fuckers.

  We all started to slow down slightly from our desperate sprint.

  ‘We need to get up on the roof again,’ I called out.

  The three Lithuanians changed direction and started running towards the swarm. They still carried their long scaffolding poles.

  Fuck knows how they can swing those heavy things with any control, never mind run with them.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed something soaring over the fence to my left. The square shaped object was trailing something behind it. It hit the ground and shattered. A length of rope must have been tied to it. Three more bricks flew over the fence, all trailing rope behind them.

  Whilst I’d been watching the ropes appear from over the fence, the Lithuanians had already met the swarm. They were cutting swathes of the front runners down with the scaffolding poles.

  ‘Climb up the rope!’ Jack screamed. He shoved Pete towards the fence and one of the dangling ropes.

  ‘Gee!’ I shouted. ‘We have a way out.’

  He glanced over his shoulder to look back at me. He was swinging the pole in wide arches across his body. Zombies were being smashed to pieces, hurtling away to land amongst the swarm. It was a truly awe inspiring sight.

  ‘Lithuanians!’ I shouted. ‘We need to go.’

  A couple of zombies slipped through their onslaught, running for the person making the most noise. That was me.

  I slammed my bat into the first. I didn’t have time to get the Smasher back up for the second, so I side stepped. It missed me and staggered past. I crushed its head after it made its slow turn to come back for me.

  ‘Climb Chris!’ Gee called out. ‘We will follow.’

  Pete was almost to the top, and Jack and Roy weren’t far behind. I stuffed the Smasher into the back of my belt, and ran for one of the ropes. I started to pull myself up, using my feet to walk my way up the fence. I looked over to Gee, Andruis and Matis. They were close to the fence now, slowly backing up towards the ropes, constantly swinging the poles as they walked.

  Three zombies managed to get around Matis’s wide swing, and launched themselves at him. He had to stop swinging to fight them off, and that was all it took. The front of the swarm capitalised on the opportunity, and enveloped him.

  I reached the top and straddled the fence, a leg on each side. More ladders were leaning against the corrugated metal panels. Jack, Pete and Roy were using them to climb down. All I could do was watch what was unfolding outside the fence.

  Gee was closest to Matis. Upon seeing his friend in trouble, he threw his pole at the oncoming zombies, and turned to help him. He was soon surrounded, so he had to battle through the zombies with his bare hands, throwing them in all directions as he went. Three or four were biting into his back.

  Andruis turned and launched himself at a rope, immediately pulling himself up. Zombies clung to him as he climbed. He stopped when he was half way up and ripped away the creature biting his thigh. I started climbing back down, pausing when he reached around and grabbed the final one clawing at his other leg. He threw it back down into the swarm. I stopped where I was.

  Matis was completely covered in the dead, but still fighting. He was swinging his arms and kicking his legs. Gee was wading through a sea of death, pummelling skulls and ripping off heads. He finally made it to Matis, and started tearing away the zombies covering him. Within seconds Matis’s top half was visible again. With a roar, Gee lifted him up and walked him over to the fence. A blood covered Matis weakly reached out for the rope and gripped it. Gee pulled away the last of creatures from Matis’s legs.

  He wasn’t gonna be able to pull himself out of there.

  I climbed back up to the top of the fence and leaned over. Looking down into the camp, I shouted, ‘Pull the first rope!’ I was desperately pointing, shouting to anyone who would listen. ‘Pull the first fucking rope!’

  Jack, Pete and Roy were the first to figure out why I was screaming down at them. They threw themselves at the rope. All three of them heaved it down to the ground, and then pulled on it hand over hand. Two more people grabbed a hold, and the five of them almost ran in the opposite direction of the fence, pulling the rope behind them. Matis’s grip was strong as he rose up alongside the fence.

  Gee was now covered in dead creatures. He staggered over to the fence, grabbed a rope and started hauling himself, and the six zombies attached to him, up the side of the chain link fence.

  Andruis and I both started climbing back down, stopping when we were alongside Gee.

  ‘Hold on Gee!’ I shouted.

  I gripped the rope with my left hand and steadied myself with my feet against the fence. I reached over to grab a zombie’s back, my fingers dug into flesh and my fist closed around bone. I pulled and heard a repulsive ripping noise as it tore away from Gee’s shoulder. I then punched my gore covered hand into the back of another’s neck, my fist almost going all the way through. The zombie dropped away. A spurt of blood erupted from somewhere on Gee’s neck. Andruis was kicking his heel into the head of one hanging from Gee’s legs. I leaned over and grabbed the hair of a zombie biting into Gee’s back. I yanked it backwards and it came away with a chunk of Gee’s flesh and clothing in its mouth. Andruis removed the final one, and threw it down into the swarm.

  Gee looked at me straight in the eyes and smiled. It was the biggest, most genuine smile I’d seen on Gee’s face, then he let go of the rope and fell backwards.

  Chapter 19: Weary

  I screamed Gee’s name as my hand shot out to catch a hold of him, but it closed around thin air. Andruis reached out for him, but also missed.

  Gee’s face looked peaceful as he fell. His eyes were closed as he slammed into the swarm below, crushing the ones directly under him. He was gone almost immediately, zombies diving on top of him.

  I screamed something, I don’t know what, and started lowering myself down the rope towards him.

  I’ve got to get him out of there. I have to help him.

  A huge hand tightly gripped around my wrist and the rope, stopping me from moving any further down.

  I looked at Andruis through the tears filling my eyes. He stared back at me, slowly shaking his head.

  Gee can’t fucking die. It’s Gee. It’s fucking Gee.

  ‘But…’ I started to say.

  ‘No. Come on,’ Andruis said. ‘Climb up with me. Yes?’

  I looked down, still hoping Gee was gonna get up and fight them off. If anyone could have done it, it would have been him. I stared at the zombies fighting each other to get to him, like frenzied sharks.

  Come on Gee.

  ‘Chris,’ Andruis very calmly said, releasing his hold on my wrist. ‘Let’s
climb up. Let’s go. Matis needs our help.’

  I had to force myself to look away from the mass of zombies below us. I turned back around and focussed on the top of the fence. I started hauling myself up the rope.

  Jack must have climbed back up one of the ladders, and was trying to drag a barely conscious Matis over the top to get him onto a ladder. ‘Chris, I need some help,’ he said.

  Andruis got to him first and straddled the top of the fence. He very quickly tied his rope around Matis’s chest, and under his arms. He then lowered him down to the ground. I climbed down one of the ladders. By the time I’d stepped off at the bottom, three people were already rushing Matis off towards one of the medical tents.

  Jack was looking up, his eyes skimming across the top of the fence. He looked at me, and then at Andruis. ‘Where’s Gee?’ he asked us.

  He knew what had happened to him as soon as he noticed my glistening eyes.

  ‘I’m sorry, but he’s gone,’ Andruis said. ‘He died saving Matis’s life. I really am sorry, for all of us.’

  Jack looked back to the fence. ‘What?’ he asked.

  Andruis patted a huge hand on Jack’s shoulder, and nodded to me. ‘I need to check on Matis.’ He walked off in the direction they’d taken his friend.

  Jack continued to stare at the top of the fence.

  Roy walked over and handed me a bottle of water. I thanked him, and he stepped over to Jack, offering him one as well. Jack glanced to his left and saw Roy standing there. He looked down at the bottle, before violently slapping it out of Roy’s hand.

  I stepped towards them as Roy backed away, his head bowed. ‘Thank you Roy,’ I said, and bent down to pick up the fallen bottle. I forced it into Jack’s hand. ‘We need to find Michael and Shannon.’ I patted Jack on his arm. The palm of my hand came away bright red. ‘Jack, is this your blood? There’s a lot of it.’

  He glanced down at his upper arm. There was a large tear in the sleeve of his jacket. ‘Yeah I think so. I got bitten. I got bitten a lot.’

  ‘Pete.’ I looked around, trying to find him. ‘Pete, where have you gone?’