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

by Wood, J N

  Fuck me I feel like shit. My head feels like it weighs a tonne.

  I groaned and rolled back over to face the wall.

  Beth let out an exasperated sounding squeal, before saying, ‘Right, okay, I won’t do this for you again.’ I heard her step over Roy and walk out of the room.

  ‘Chris,’ Jack said. ‘You need to get up. Beth brought us back some porridge. She’ll kill me if we don’t eat it.’

  I thought I’d smelt the food, but assumed I was dreaming. I opened my eyes to see a very scruffy looking Jack. He was holding a porridge filled bowl in each hand. Roy was now sat on the edge of his bed, hunched over the bowl on his lap, looking very sorry for himself.

  ‘Alright, alright. I’m getting up.’ I sat up and took the bowl from Jack’s outstretched hand. ‘Ta very much.’ My throat felt like sand paper. ‘Anybody got any water?’

  Roy grunted, and started rummaging through his bag. He pulled out a bottle of water.

  ‘Thanks Roy,’ I said, and raised my hand.

  He threw the bottle under arm. It fell woefully short, landing on the fanny fart bed below me.

  ‘What the fuck was that?’ I asked him.

  ‘Sorry,’ he muttered.

  Jack stood up from his bed and retrieved the bottle, before passing it up to me.

  I thanked him and got back to the chore of eating my disgusting breakfast.

  Ali walked into the room. ‘Morning guys,’ she said brightly, before screwing up her face. ‘It absolutely stinks of beer in here.’

  We all just grunted in reply.

  ‘We need to go and speak to Charles and finalise our plans,’ she said. ‘I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m walking without a stick. So we’re ready to go.’ She spun around and started walking out. ‘And make sure you all have a shower.’

  Roy very slowly got to his feet, making a peculiar groaning noise as he rose. He ended the groan by saying, ‘Shower,’ and walked out of the room. He immediately returned and grabbed his towel off the end of his bed.

  I closed my eyes and waited for my turn in the bathroom.

  I had another freezing cold shower, which did nothing for my headache.

  ‘Sore head Chris?’ Sandra asked, as I walked out into the incredibly bright garden.

  It was so bright I had to keep my eyes almost closed, so I couldn’t actually see where anybody was. ‘Keep talking so I can find you,’ I said.

  ‘Over here,’ Sandra said. ‘Yes, keep going, keep going.’

  I walked towards her voice, trying to block out the sun with my hands. ‘Why is it so bright? Has something happened to the sun?’

  ‘Yes, you drank too much last night,’ Beth said. ‘That’s what happened to it.’

  ‘Oh right, that explains it then,’ I said.

  ‘Do you need some shades?’ Pete asked me.

  My eyes were slowly adjusting. ‘No thanks. I’ll be fine.’

  We all made our way over to Pea’s Place. Jack, Roy and me slowly trudged along at the back of the group. Sandra told us the boys didn’t like it near the fence, so we were forced to walk through the middle of the camp. That meant having to weave our way through the crowds.

  ‘Either of you remember what happened last night?’ I asked them.

  ‘Most of it, I think,’ Roy replied.

  ‘I remember you and Matis turning up Jack,’ I said. ‘Nothing after that.’

  I bumped into a woman, apologising to her after she shot me a very disgruntled look.

  ‘Not much happened after that, just more drinking, I think,’ Jack said. His hand shot to his mouth as a horrible noise came from within him. ‘Oh fuck, I was just sick in my mouth.’

  ‘Lovely,’ I muttered.

  ‘For at least half an hour, you kept repeating the word Showaddywaddy,’ Roy said.

  ‘Who did?’ I asked. ‘Me?’

  ‘Yes you,’ he said.

  I laughed. ‘Why?’

  Roy raised his hands. ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘And you ran home,’ Jack said. ‘As soon we left the pub, you ran off, saying you had to run.’

  I shook my head. ‘No idea why I did that. Where did you find Matis?’ I asked Jack.

  ‘I was lost, couldn’t remember where the pub was, and then I bumped into him. He said he was out taking a walk to get his strength up.’

  ‘Did he stay for long in the pub?’ I asked.

  ‘Yeah he was there all night, until we left,’ Roy said.

  ‘What time was that?’ I asked.

  ‘About three,’ Jack replied.

  ‘Fuck’s sake. And we were worried about Ali not being ready to go today.’

  ‘I don’t think we’re going to try and get to the bus,’ Jack said. ‘We were talking about it in the garden. Sandra, Pete and Theo don’t want to go anywhere near there. Because of Steve.’

  ‘I doubt the British Embassy in Canada will have the time to issue me a temporary passport,’ I muttered. ‘Pretty sure they’ll have more important things to worry about.’

  ‘I think you should worry about it after we’re in Canada,’ Jack said.

  ‘Have you got your passport?’ I asked him.

  Jack patted the back pocket of his jeans. ‘Yep, right here.’

  ‘Roy?’ I asked.

  ‘In my bag, back in the house.’

  Well that’s just fucking brilliant.

  It was the same two American guys on the door, they’d been expecting us.

  Charles was sat in his usual spot, at the end of the bar. He was wearing dark sunglasses and nursing a short glass containing a bright red drink.

  ‘Morning Charles,’ I said. ‘I’m guessing the sunglasses and the Bloody Mary in your hand mean you’re feeling as bad as me.’

  Charles lifted a hand to his sunglasses, and with one finger, very slowly pulled them down to end of his nose. ‘Morning everyone. You are correct Christopher, I’m not entirely on top form, but I sincerely hope I don’t look as bad as you three.’ His eyes slowly tracked across us, settling on Jack. ‘If you don’t mind Jack, please don’t be sick in my pub.’

  ‘I’m fine,’ Jack said.

  ‘Hi kids,’ Charles said, looking down at the three boys. He looked back up to Sandra. ‘You brought your kids.’

  ‘Certainly did,’ Sandra said, smiling.

  Charles carefully slipped off his stool to stand on his feet. ‘Okay, follow me through to the back room.’ He walked towards the room we’d spent the previous night. We all filed in behind him.

  Charles lazily gestured for us to take a seat around the table, and walked over to a small cupboard set into the wall. Sandra gave the boys some toy cars to play with. They took them to the corner of the room and sat on the floor.

  ‘Quiet time please,’ Sandra said to the kids.

  ‘Sandra,’ Charles whispered. She looked at him and he glanced down to his hand. He was holding three Hershey’s chocolate bars. Once she’d seen what he was holding, he nodded to the kids. Sandra smiled and returned his nod.

  ‘Kids,’ Charles said. ‘Would you like some chocolate?’

  Like three meerkats, they suddenly stood to attention, still on their knees, but with straight backs and extended necks. All three of them looked to Sandra for approval.

  ‘Yes go on,’ she said as she sat down.

  They quickly got to their feet and ran to Charles to receive their gifts.

  ‘What do you say?’ Sandra asked them after Charles had bent forward to hand the chocolate out.

  In unison the three boys thanked Charles.

  I wish I could get offered some chocolate.

  Charles sat himself down on one of the chairs. ‘Okay, let’s get this over and done with please,’ he said. ‘The sooner I can get back to bed, the better. What time do you want to set off?’

  I hadn’t even thought about it.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Roy’s chin slip off his hand, nearly recreating his head slam from last night.

  It was Ali that spoke up. ‘H
ow long will it take to sail down to Birch Bay?’

  ‘One hour, maybe an hour and a half.’

  ‘So if we set off at five,’ Ali said, glancing at us all. ‘We’ll have enough daylight left to find somewhere else if Birch Bay isn’t viable.’

  ‘Five is fine with me,’ Charles said.

  ‘Are you okay to sit offshore for an hour if Birch Bay is clear?’ Ali asked him. ‘Just until it’s dark enough? Will you be able to sail back here in the dark?’

  I’m glad Ali has thought about all this.

  ‘That’s fine,’ Charles said. ‘But you’re right to ask, if it’s too dark, I’ll come back in the morning.’

  ‘That’s settled then,’ Sandra said. ‘Five o’clock.’

  ‘Meet me here at four thirty,’ Charles said. ‘I’ll stock you up with some food and bottled water, to keep you going for a while.’

  ‘That’s very kind of you Charles,’ Sandra said. ‘On top of everything else you’re doing.’

  ‘Yeah, we can’t pay you back for all of this,’ I said to him.

  ‘Don’t worry about that. I’ve always liked helping people, but I never did it enough. I liked helping myself too much.’ With a groan, he rose to his feet. ‘Now, I don’t wish to be rude, but could you please leave me alone so I can retire back to my bed. Don’t worry, all arrangements have been made. We just need to turn up at the Mariette. Everything will be ready.’

  ‘Mariette?’ Ali asked him.

  ‘The name of my yacht. Don’t know the origins. She was already called that when I acquired her.’

  We thanked Charles again, left the pub and started back to the house.

  ‘Let’s try and get as much sleep as we can,’ Ali said. ‘We’re going to have to turn nocturnal again.’

  ‘Sleeping today is not gonna be a problem,’ I said.

  Jack and Roy both grunted in agreement.

  ‘I feel fine,’ Theo said. ‘I’m not sure what’s wrong with you three?’

  ‘Very funny Theo,’ Jack said.

  Roy suddenly ran off to our right, nearly knocking someone over and disappearing between two market stalls.

  ‘Wait a minute everyone,’ I said. ‘I think Roy’s gone to be sick.’

  We all stopped to wait for him.

  Thirty seconds later he reappeared, wiping his mouth with his sleeve and waving us on. ‘I’m fine, carry on. I’m fine.’

  With great difficulty, we forced our way through the crowds of people, eventually getting back to the house. I’d barely had the energy to heave myself up onto the top bunk.

  The afternoon’s sleep had been constantly disturbed by people coming and going. The bed rest had still helped me get rid of most of my hangover though, so by the time I was woken up by Jack at four o’clock, I felt much better.

  We collected what little belongings we still had, and walked back through the crowds to Pea’s Place.

  Now that the day had actually arrived, the nerves were very much kicking in at the prospect of leaving. Even though I’d always wanted to get out of here, the short break away from dead creatures trying to eat me all the time had been very pleasant. Even with that break being interrupted by the needless fight with the zombies. We were now going back outside the camp, to live under the constant threat of dying in an excruciatingly painful way.

  You don’t have to think too hard to realise that is a fucking stupid thing to do, voluntarily. No choice though, I need to get back to my wife, and this refugee camp’s days are definitely numbered.

  Chapter 23: Flashing Lights

  On arrival at the pub, Jack had gone in to get Charles. They walked back out a couple of minutes later, Andruis and Matis following them.

  Charles looked at us with a big grin. ‘Hello travellers. I hope you’ve all got your sea legs on today. I do not allow any vomiting on my yacht.’

  ‘Are you feeling better?’ I asked him.

  ‘Yes, much better thank you. All ready then?’

  ‘Ready as we’ll ever be,’ Sandra replied.

  Charles looked directly at Jack. ‘Seriously though, please don’t be sick.’

  Jack looked back at him wide eyed. ‘What? Why me?’ He pointed at Roy, saying, ‘He’s been sick. I haven’t.’

  Roy glared back at Jack and raised his hands. Shaking his head, he simply asked, ‘Why?’

  ‘Okay, follow me,’ Charles said, and started walking in the direction of the harbour.

  Considering Michael had been told a lot of the fishing boats had disappeared, the harbour looked full. All I could see were fishing boats.

  The Mariette turned out to be very impressive and modern looking, to my eyes at least. I’d been expecting something with a sail, but this one looked more like the yachts people hired to go sport fishing. It was hidden away amongst the many fishing boats that hadn’t yet been used to escape this dying country.

  Matis stayed on the dock, shaking all our hands as we passed him. Andruis was going with us, apparently to help Charles on the way back.

  ‘You can go down into the cabin, or stay up here on deck,’ Charles said. ‘It’s up to you.’

  I had a quick glance down into the cabin. Two large boxes sat on the floor down there. They were full of bottled water, different kinds of snacks, some packets of jerky, and what looked like sandwiches. The bread looked similar to the loaves we’d eaten the night before.

  I turned to look at Charles. He was stood behind the very small wheel, looking at something on the dashboard in front of him.

  I’d also envisioned a large pirate ship sized wheel to go with the sails.

  ‘This is brilliant Charles,’ I said to him. ‘We won’t have any issues getting out of here will we?’

  ‘Yes, she’s a beauty isn’t she? And no, there’s nobody to stop us. Not unless we venture too close to Canadian waters. Then I imagine we will be torpedoed by the Canadians.’

  I assumed he was joking about the torpedoes. But we would probably be shot at until we turned around.

  ‘Make sure you only go south then,’ Jack said.

  We all stayed up on the large deck area, which was situated behind the wheel.

  The water was calm within Blaine’s harbour. I hoped it would stay that way after we left the cove.

  Charles pushed two levers into position, and switched on the ignition, the engine instantly roaring to life. ‘Matis came down here earlier to check her out,’ he called back to us. ‘Just to make sure she was shipshape and Bristol fashion.’

  Ali shot me a questioning look. I smiled back and shrugged.

  He manoeuvred the boat out from between the two fishing boats alongside us, and then turned left. We sailed past rows and rows of boats. The smell of fresh fish had been strong on the dock, but had increased tenfold after getting underway.

  I turned to Jack. ‘Is it still called sailing if you don’t have any sails?’

  Jack continued to stare at all the different kinds of fishing trawlers as we passed them. He shook his head, saying, ‘I don’t know.’

  As soon as we were clear, the yacht took a right turn, and the strong breeze hit us, making me wish I’d been wearing another layer.

  My face was really starting to sting from the biting wind, so I spun around to watch our wake in the water. I noticed Jack and Ali also turn.

  ‘The salt,’ Ali called out.

  ‘What?’ I asked.

  She pointed to her face. ‘The salt in the air will be getting into the scratches.’

  Charles shouted back to us, ‘It’ll be colder once we get out of this cove.’

  I turned into the painful wind. Charles was pointing to the gap between the harbour and the bit of land known as Semiahmoo. I pulled my t-shirt up so the neckline was just under my eyes.

  ‘You might want to get inside once we’re out in the open,’ he continued. ‘Especially the children.’

  Sandra hadn’t wanted to wait, very sensibly taking the three boys down into the cabin straight away.

  I’m pretty sure I’ll be sick i
f I go down there. Best to be cold and be sick over the side.

  As we left the cove, Charles pointed out two grey ships in the distance. ‘That’s two of Canada’s coastal defence vessels. It was probably them that forced us to dock at Blaine.’

  ‘Why didn’t you just go around them?’ Theo asked.

  ‘Because they’re faster than us, and they’re armed with all kinds of deterrents,’ Charles replied. ‘Also, there are four more of them out here somewhere. They’d have blown us out of the water if we tried getting past them.’

  ‘Has anybody ever tried to swim from the camp to Canada?’ Pete asked him.

  ‘I’m sure they have, but I wouldn’t want to try it. I’d maybe consider it in the summer.’

  Once out of the cove, Charles was forced to slow the yacht down. The choppy waters had made it feel like we were bouncing completely out of the water every time we hit a wave. Once we were travelling along at a more sedate pace, and he’d moved us closer to the shore slightly, we didn’t rise out of the water half as much.

  My stomach was very thankful to him. It had felt like it was being turned inside out at times.

  Eventually, one by one, everyone went down into the cabin. I pulled my jacket up around my head, and stayed up top. I sat at the back, and watched Canada get further and further away from us.

  The thought of travelling through zombie infested land again was terrifying, especially without Michael, Shannon and Gee.

  The three boys were worrying me. When it was just me, or even when it was me and Jack, it was so much easier. Just jump in a car and drive. Granted, we fucked up a lot, and very nearly died every half an hour, but we didn’t have three kids to worry about. There are a lot fewer people to protect those boys now, compared to when we first met up with them outside that Costco.

  So when we finally made it the waters next to Birch Bay, and Charles had dropped the anchor, I would have been more than happy to stay on the yacht forever.

  ‘It looks clear,’ Andruis said, holding binoculars up to his eyes.