Seasons of Z (Book 4): Dead Fall

by Riva, Aline

  As the glass showered in, Brett jumped up from the sofa in panic, seeing nothing but a blur of shadow as Alex leapt through, grabbed a china lamp and smashed him around the head. He fell to the rug, bleeding from a gash to his face as he lay there knocked out cold. Alex looked to the crying woman on the sofa, who was shaking and tearful. Thankfully, they had got there in time to stop him...

  “He followed me home... he had a spare key, I didn't know!” Carla sobbed, then she looked about the room in panic.

  “Archie...where is he?”

  Just then she heard the front door open from the inside.

  “Thank you, Archie, it's only me, Uncle Mickey from across the street,” they heard him say, “Where's Mummy?”

  “The bad man slammed the door and Mummy cried,” said Archie, and he sounded tearful.

  “Let's go and find her,” Mickey said kindly, then the door opened and Mickey led Archie into the room. As he let go of his hand, Archie ran over to Carla and jumped on to the sofa as she wrapped her arms around her son, holding him tightly.

  “Are you alright?” Mickey asked, and Carla nodded as she gave a sob, still clinging to her son.

  Mickey walked stiffly over to her, as Alex stood over Brett, deciding if he woke up now, a swift kick would knock him the fuck out again.

  “He broke in here and tried to rape you?” Mickey said cautiously, “Is that what happened, it looked that way from the window?”

  She gave another sob.

  “Yes, he tried...” tears ran down her face as she looked up at Mickey, “I'm terrified of him!”

  Mickey took in a slow breath, containing his anger as he thought back to the asylum and how they had been duped into sharing the place with Jack.

  “It's not the first time we've had to deal with scum like Brett,” he said to her, “Don't worry, Carla. He won't get away with this.”

  Then he paused, the look in his eyes darkening as he turned to Alex.

  “Take him back to the house and cuff him. I'll stand guard over him. If he tries anything, I have another lucky brick at home! I want you to go over to the fair. Fetch Joy. Tell Sage to watch the kids, they can't witness this.”

  “Witness what?” asked Alex.

  “What happens to this vile bastard,” Mickey replied in a low voice.

  The news of Brett's attack had shocked Joy and Sage as they had stood there in the fairground while the music played and the rides turned and children's laughter sounded all around as he related the horrific tale. Sage had agreed to stay at the fair with Poppy and Angel, and she would stay there until it got colder, then she would take the kids back to the flat until she knew it was safe to take Angel home. Sage faked a smile for the kids as Joy explained she had to help Alex with something, and then they left, hurrying back in the direction of the house.

  When they got there, Alex went straight home while Joy dashed across the street and went around the back of the bungalow to find tearful, shaken Carla in the kitchen as Archie toddled in to join them with Fluffle in his arms.

  “Bad man made Mummy cry,” he said, looking up at Joy.

  “Mummy's okay now,” Carla said, forcing a smile for her son, and as he nodded and then went out to the garden with Fluffle, Joy spoke quietly to her.

  “You're safe now,” she assured her, “I'm going to ask Devan to open up the local police station. They have cells there. We can keep that bastard locked up until the barricades come down, then when the police are back in town, Brett will be looking at charges of mass murder for deliberately shutting the gates on two thirds of this town and leaving innocent people to the hordes. And he will also be charged with attempted rape. I'm going to make sure it gets all around town, so everyone knows what he tried to do to you. No one will help him, Carla. He won't get away with anything he's done.”

  Carla felt a flicker of fear as she looked at Joy and thought about how many people Brett had employed. There was always the risk that someone might free him... and as long as he was alive, she still feared for her son. She couldn't tell her the truth about the accident, just in case he got out and came after Archie...

  “Thank you,” she said quietly, “Now I need to get this place cleaned up -”

  “There's no need,” Joy told her, “I'll send a message for someone to come over and clean up the glass and get that window boarded...” she paused, feeling her policing instinct kicking in. Perhaps there was more, she saw so much fear still burning in Carla's eyes.

  “Is there anything you're not telling me? Has he done this before?” she asked.

  Carla shook her head.

  “No, you know everything,” she replied.

  “Carol will be back from work soon,” Joy reminded her, “I'll be back over to see you both once we've arranged custody for Brett. Until then, don't feel unsafe. Alex and Mickey have everything covered.”

  Carla nodded, then thanked her again, and Joy left the bungalow. She crossed the street and went up the path to her own front door. She was about to let herself in when Alex opened up the door for her.

  “Is Brett secured?” she asked as she went inside.

  “He's cuffed, on the floor in the kitchen,” said Alex, “And Mickey's with him.”

  That was when Joy saw the look of uncertainty in his eyes.

  “And?” she asked.

  “And Mickey just loaded up a shotgun.” Alex added.

  Joy hurried down the hallway towards the kitchen.

  “Mickey?” she called out, “Put the bloody thing down, don't do it like this!”

  As she reached the kitchen, she saw Brett was on the floor, he was cuffed and going by that blow he had suffered to the head, wouldn't be making a run for it any time soon as he lay there barely conscious with blood drying on his face. Mickey had pulled out a chair from the kitchen table and sat there with the gun across his lap as he looked with disgust at Brett.

  “This is what I hate about the apocalypse, Joy. Filth like this bastard somehow manage to survive! But not for much longer. I'm just waiting for him to wake up. I want him to know what's happening when I blow his fucking brains out!”

  Joy looked at him pleadingly, thinking about the man she had met back in Winter, a gangland name with blood on his hands. Mickey had come so far and changed so much, too much to go back now...

  “Don't do this,” she said to him, “There's another way.”

  Mickey paused for thought.

  “We could always drag him to the barrier and toss him to the zombies. Personally I think his balls should be sliced off first. He's a rapist, Joy! If he walks away from this, what next? He will do this again to other women! Some day Angel and Poppy will be adults, will he prey on them too? Do you want him to live long enough to get the chance?”

  “That's not what I meant!” she said as she stepped closer, “Mickey, you're not a killer any more. You've changed, and for the better! You and me and Angel are a family now. Don't go backwards. I won't let you get blood on your hands again! I'm having the police station unlocked, we'll post armed guards in there, let's lock him away in the cells until the barriers come down and the out break is over. Then the police can deal with him - and he will also have to answer for what he did when he locked half the town out of the safe zone! He's a mass murderer, he's beyond redemption - but you're not, so don't blow him away in cold blood!”

  Mickey gave a heavy sigh as he looked down at Brett, then up at Joy as he sat there with the gun still resting in his lap.

  “My way is a permanent solution.”

  “Your way should be to do what's best for Angel, who wants her Daddy Mickey to be the person she's come to know and love. You're not arranging contract killings any more, you're not smuggling guns for your sister or bumping off anyone who gets in her way, you're a family man now.”

  “But I did kill my sister,” he reminded her.

  “That was self defence! This is different. He needs to answer for what he's done, the courts need to deal with him.”

  Mickey gave a heavy sigh and s
et the gun aside, then he got up from the chair.

  “Okay, I'll do it your way, Joy. But if the barriers are not down in six months, I'm paying a visit to his cell and blowing his head off. I don't want to share the air I breathe with this vile piece of shit for any longer than I have to!”

  Joy nodded.

  “Six months,” she agreed, “That's fair enough.”

  Devan was shocked to learn of Brett's attack. He spoke with the committee and within the hour, the keys to the police station were in Joy's hands. Devan had arranged for armed guards to attend as a permanent posting, and after news of the attack reached the committee, it was duly spread around the town. As people heard about his attempt to rape Carla, they started to talk about the gates and how many were shut out back in Winter. Talk was spreading of uninfected people being shot on Brett's orders, and of his selection process, deciding who came in and who stayed out there with zombies. Now he was locked away, it seemed more were willing too openly declare Brett had wiped out two thirds of this town on the day he had locked the gates...

  Carol was shocked to return home to find the window being boarded as arrangements were made to find someone to replace the glass - if they could locate anyone left in town who had the skills and the glass to do it. Carla had asked her to watch Archie, who was smiling now as he watched their new friends sent over by Devan, they were clearing up the broken glass so he didn't cut himself, and putting a board on the window. But he had still not let go of Fluffle, who was happy to snuggle in his arms as he toddled about the bungalow. Carol started preparing dinner for Archie, staying cheerful for the little boy who had suffered such a nasty shock.

  And while she was doing that, Carla had got into the car and travelled to the police station, because she wanted to see for herself that Brett really was locked away securely. Joy had assured her she would feel much better for being certain about this, and as they walked past the heavily armed guards and went through a short corridor that led to the cells with their heavy doors, Joy led the way to a cell at the end of a row of six and opened up a small hatch and then stepped back.

  “Are you sure you want to see him?” she asked.

  Now determination burned in her eyes as she nodded.

  “I need to know he's in there,” Carla said, and then she stepped forward.

  Brett had heard voices outside the cell door. He was no longer cuffed and his head was aching and blood had dried on his face, but despite his headache and his rising sense of panic he was able to dash to the door, looking desperately through the hatch.

  “Tell them it was a mistake! Tell them to let me go!”

  He was afraid. He was actually afraid for once in his life, and satisfaction came to her gaze as Carla gave her reply.

  “Everyone knows what you did to me, Brett! And now they're talking about you closing the gates and leaving more than half this town to die when the hordes invaded! It's all over, you won't get away with any of it! The zombies are almost gone. Soon the army and the police will come and we will be a free town again. And you will be locked away for the rest of your life and I'm glad!”

  He looked at her in panic.

  Please - I can't stay in here, it's filthy and the toilet's blocked, at least fetch Joy...”

  “Don't want to know,” he heard Joy call out from the corridor.

  “But it stinks, the toilet's blocked, what am I supposed to do about that?” he yelled back.

  There was a look of satisfaction on Carla's face as she glared at him, recalling her ordeal when he had held her prisoner at the house.

  “Piss on the floor!” she said sharply, and slammed the hatch closed.

  As she and Joy turned away, Brett hammered on the inside of the cell door.

  “I'll kill you for this!” he raged, “I'll kill your fucking son, Carla!”

  They reached the end of the corridor, left the cells and closed the door behind them. Carla looked shaken up.

  “Has he threatened Archie before?” Joy asked.

  Carla thought about how much power Brett used to have in this town: No, she couldn't tell her, she was still worried someone might try and free him. It was too risky...

  “No, never,” she replied.

  “Don't worry,” Joy assured her as they headed towards the open door that led outside, “He can't hurt you or Archie. He's locked away until the police return and then he's looking at charges that will see him locked up for life. Brett won't ever come near you again.”

  Chapter 5

  In the days that followed, the view from the barrier was both grim and a sight of pure hope: Zombies were falling, littering the once infested streets. Blood ran dark and spattered from split open guts as Evolved scurried off, shaking the blood from their fur. The small handful of zombies that still washed up on the beach were all dead. Suddenly no more zombies staggered about, looking up to the barrier with dead eyes burning with hunger for human flesh. The other half of town was quiet now, save for the chattering in the trees as Evolved darted about. It was ending. The prediction made at Marshcast was right: It would be over in a year. The atmosphere in town was hopeful. Warning signs to stay off the beach stayed in place, just to be certain no lingering threat remained. Guards still patrolled the beaches, and the barriers would not be coming down until order was restored and the authorities were in contact...It was almost back to normal, but it was not over yet.

  Alex felt more relaxed about taking a day off work in these peaceful times as he walked along the sea wall, glancing over it at the sight of his colleagues on the beach, looking out to an empty sea where no undead littered the shores. But he also felt apprehensive. Because yesterday while he was out, Alice had put a note through the door, saying she wanted to meet with him. He had never missed the old days of mobile phones and text messages more than he did at this moment. He made his way to the pier, as the grey skies covered the sun and chilly wind blew in across the sea. He began to walk along the empty pier, where in the distance, just past the place where the amusement arcade stood, Alice was leaning against the rail looking out to sea, wrapped up against the cold as she turned and glanced at him, then looked back to the water. Alex took a deep breath and quickened his pace, heading towards her as he hoped this time, their conversation would end on a positive note instead of the mess made last time, thanks to zombies washing up.

  Back at the house, Mickey was soaking in a hot bath after spending the morning with the committee, outlining plans for what would happen next when the barriers came down. They had drawn up guidelines for the people of the town, advising them to welcome this change and to accept that the threat was over, even if it seemed hard to believe the zombies were gone. Once law and order was restored, guns had to be surrendered and it was important to stay mindful of the fact that people didn't make their own laws any more - the old world would be returning. There would be a meeting at the community hall to discuss this further when the time was right. With Brett out of the way, more responsibility fell to Mickey and Devan and right now, Devan was busy organising the printing of leaflets carrying advice discussed at the meeting.

  As for Mickey, his working day was over and it was getting cold out there, Halloween had come and gone and now they were into November, the wind that came in off the sea felt like ice. But he was warm as he soaked in the bath, knowing there would be no interruptions. River was at the medical centre, Chris was at the school because it had reopened, and both their jobs gave them great opportunity to meet with others and mention that the outbreak was ended, and it was time to prepare to return to some kind of normality. The warm water soothed away the aches from the weaker side of his body as Mickey lay there in scented bubbles, and then the door opened and Joy came in.

  “Please tell me you're here to join me,” he said with a smile, “The house is empty, Joy...”

  She smiled as she went over to him, then she leaned closer and they shared a kiss. Mickey was reluctant to pull away as Joy stepped back, her gaze lingering on glimpses of his body beneath water par
tly obscured by bubbles.

  “I'll definitely be joining you later this evening, in bed,” she said to him, “But the outbreak is over and there's something I have to do. The zombies are all dead, Mickey. Including the one locked away at the manor.”

  He gave a heavy sigh.

  “You're right, Charlie needs help. If only to remove the body and bury it. But we can't force him to leave the manor and join us here in town, Joy.”

  “He's going to be distraught and grieving and he's up there on his own with a dead body,” she reminded him.

  Mickey sat up in the water and pushed wet hair from his eyes.

  “I'll come with you.”

  “No, it's okay,” she told him, “You've had a hard morning, you look tired and it's a long walk to the manor. Stay here and rest. I went to see Sage this morning, and she said she would come with me. We won't be long, we just want to check on him. Then we can pick the kids up from school on the way back.”

  “I know everyone says the zombies are gone, but take a gun, please? Do it for me, Joy. There could be something left out there in the woods. We can't assume we're completely safe yet.”

  Mickey had looked so worried as he said that. She smiled.

  “Of course I'm taking a gun! Don't worry, we'll both be armed.”

  Back at the pier as they stood together and looked out to sea, for a moment, neither Alex nor Alice spoke. It was Alice who broke the silence as she turned her head and met his gaze.

  “It was all a shock. Not just finding out you used to be Anita... it was seeing that girl thrown to the sand, then you jumped in and smashed the zombie's head with a rock... I saw it tear your shirt, I thought it was going to rip you to pieces... But then you killed it and there was a lot of blood and mess and after all of that, the last thing I expected was you to tell me you used to be female. It's a lot to take in, all in the space of ten minutes...”