by Casey, Ryan
Lisa looked around. Such a look of defeat on her face.
And then the most resigned nod. “Okay.”
Jasmine nodded. She rubbed the back of her neck. They needed to get the doors locked. They needed to secure this house.
And then they needed to wait for this “quarantine and evacuation,” whatever it entailed.
She went to step out of the lounge, Barney by her side, when she heard something.
Creaking.
Creaking at the top of the stairs.
Jasmine froze.
More creaking.
Like footsteps.
“Lisa?” Jasmine whispered, her voice shaky.
Lisa nodded.
“Is there anyone else home?”
Lisa looked back at her, wide-eyed. And she shook her head. “Ralph’s away on work. It’s just me.”
Jasmine heard that creaking upstairs and fear surged through her body.
The bloody handprint on the white front door.
If that didn’t belong to Lisa, who did it belong to?
And if Ralph was away on work, who else was in this house?
Chapter Twenty
“Noah?”
Every muscle in Noah’s body froze.
He crouched there in the alleyway. The sun beamed down from above, making him feel like he was centre stage. Like the whole world was looking at him and watching him, judging him for what he’d done. The taste of vomit clung to his lips. Pins and needles crept up his arms. He could barely breathe.
Lying by his side, bleeding from his skull, that homeless man. The one who’d thrown himself at him.
Dead.
And now this voice.
This voice from behind him.
He didn’t want to turn around. He didn’t want to look.
But he turned around. Slowly. Dreading what he might see.
When he turned, it wasn’t exactly what he expected.
A girl stood there. Her face disguised from the bright light of the sun, making Noah squint. She looked tall. Blonde. And she had this freckle on her chin.
A freckle that made Noah recognise her the moment he saw her.
“Kelly?” he said.
Kelly stood there and stared, totally silent, totally still. Those big green eyes twitched from Noah to the homeless guy and back again like she was trying to process what she was looking at, like she was trying to understand.
Kelly was one of Jasmine’s best friends. One of the few friends Jasmine had held on to, anyway. Jasmine shed a lot of her friends in her ambitious career climb. But Kelly was always one of the loyal ones. Always stuck around. They went back years. They’d been through their ups and their downs, but they always figured things out. They were solid.
But there was a problem.
Kelly never liked Noah. Couldn’t stand him. You know how sometimes, people just get the wrong impression of you from the off? Like, they make their minds up about you before they’ve even bothered attempting to get to know you?
Kelly was like that.
“What... what the hell have you done, Noah?”
Noah clambered to his feet. The taste of vomit still clinging to his lips. That stabbing pain searing through his knee. “Nice to see you too. Long time no see, and all that—”
“Don’t move an inch towards me,” she said, backing off.
“What?”
“You’re covered in blood. I’ve... I’ve seen what happens to people when they’re bleeding. I’ve seen what it does to people.”
Noah wiped beneath his eyes. Saw fresh blood on his fingertips. And as screwed as he knew he probably was, he was pretty sure this wasn’t his blood. “It’s not mine. It’s the guy’s.”
Kelly frowned at him, uncertain. “Why should I believe a thing that comes out of your mouth?”
“Look,” Noah said, taking a limp towards Kelly—who instantly backed up. “I know we don’t have the best history. I know we’ve never exactly been best friends. But... but you’ve seen what it’s like out there. You can hear the chaos. The sirens. All of it. We need to help each other right now.”
Kelly couldn’t turn her eyes from the body of the homeless man. “You’re sure you’re not bleeding?”
“No. Other than my leg. But that’s another matter.”
“And you feel okay?”
“Considering I’ve just been hit by a bus, stabbed my leg, and been vomited on by a deranged bloke who swore I was someone called Lydia? Yeah. Yeah, I’d say I’m doing pretty well, cheers.”
Kelly sighed. “The virus. Whatever it is. I’ve seen it working in different ways.”
“Different ways?”
“Some people get sick right away. Others... they take longer to get sick. There’s no logic to it. But that could mean you’re in the shit. And by hanging around with you, I could be in the shit, too.”
Noah nodded. He feared as much. His days were numbered. And if this really was some kind of virus, anyone who hung around with him was screwed, too. “So what do you suggest? I give you ten steps and follow behind you?”
Kelly rubbed her temples. “It’s pointless doing that anyway.”
“Why?”
“’Cause I’ve been in contact with someone, too. Walking down the high street and some woman just flies at me. Drools all over my damned face. I can still taste her spit.”
She shrugged. Defeated.
“I guess we’re on this shitty sinking ship together, right?”
Noah sighed. He didn’t want to feel relieved that he wasn’t alone in his impending doom. He could think of far, far more people he’d rather be in the company of right now—especially if this was his dying company.
But there was still something reassuring. Just knowing he wasn’t alone.
And knowing he hadn’t turned immediately, and neither had Kelly.
Maybe there was hope.
“I just can’t wrap my head around any of it,” Kelly said. “First, the job. Now... now this.”
“Job issues too?”
“Jasmine issues,” Kelly said.
“Ahh. How’s she, erm—”
“She fired me yesterday. That’s how she’s, erm, doing.”
“Fired you? Wow. Still as compassionate as ever, then.”
“Let’s not even talk about her,” Kelly said. “It’s about time we figured out what we’re actually gonna do here. Unless standing around in an alleyway with a couple of dead people right by us is your idea of a plan.”
Noah rubbed his fingers through his hair. He looked towards the main road. It sounded chaotic there. The last thing he wanted to do was get caught up in any of that hysteria again.
And then he looked down at his leg. The stinging pain getting worse. Blood still trickling from it. He needed to get it seen to. Immediately.
“Where is it you live again?” Noah asked.
“You’re not coming round to my place.”
“Kelly, this is—”
“I live in Goosnargh, anyway.”
“Goosnargh? That’s bloody miles away.”
“The further away from scrotes like you, the better,” she said.
“Charming.”
“How about you?”
Noah frowned. “Me what?”
“Where do you live?”
“What, so your little Goosnargh manor is out of bounds, but I’m supposed to just open my doors to you?”
“Quit being an idiot, Noah. I know you’ll live closer to town than I do.”
“And why’s that?”
“Because there’s no chance a slacker like you could afford anything too far outside of the centre. No offence.”
Noah’s cheeks flushed. “Erm, none taken.”
“I’m just messing with you. Partly.”
“Right.”
“So come on. Where is it you live?”
Noah stood opposite Kelly, and he felt himself at a fork in the road.
He needed help.
But he wasn’t sure he was going to get help in town.
Not with the chaos going down all around.
“Just outside town,” he said. “A couple of miles down the road. There’s a doctors just around the corner from me, too. I’m just not sure I’m gonna be able to limp my way back.”
Kelly smiled. Lifted her car keys. “Good job one of us drives then, isn’t it?”
Noah could’ve kissed her right there, a thought he was deeply uncomfortable about.
He followed her down the alleyway, towards the car park, and towards her blue Toyota.
He went to open the passenger door as people scrambled around, rushing into their own cars, driving away as quickly as they could. People locking their doors. Covering their faces with medical masks.
“Just one thing,” Kelly said, as she went to climb in the driver’s seat.
“Anything.”
“You’re in the boot.”
“Are you insane?”
“No. I’m not. You could be infected. I could be infected. If one of us turns, it’d be better if we stayed out of the other’s way.”
“And if it’s you that turns? What the bloody hell am I supposed to do in your boot?”
Kelly shrugged. “You’ll figure something out. Go on. Boot. Now.”
Noah opened his mouth to object.
And then he closed it. Sighed. Realising full well this was a losing battle.
He walked over to the boot. Stared into the darkness.
“I can’t believe I’m actually doing this,” he said.
“You’d better believe it,” Kelly said.
He climbed into the boot. Got himself as comfy as a frigging man in a boot could be.
And then he looked up and saw Kelly standing there.
Satisfied smirk on her face.
“What?” he asked.
“You can sit in the front,” she said. “I just wanted to see.”
“See what?”
“If you were actually that much of an idiot you’d agree to it.”
Noah’s cheeks flushed. He climbed out of the boot. Walked to the passenger door.
And as the embarrassment surrounded him, he remembered exactly why he hated Kelly so much.
Chapter Twenty-One
Jasmine heard the footsteps creaking around upstairs and she froze.
She stood in the lounge, Lisa close behind. Barney stood at her side. Behind her, she heard the barking and scratching of those dogs in the conservatory. She didn’t want to look at them. She didn’t want to see them. She didn’t want to be reminded. Not again.
Upstairs, she heard footsteps, and she couldn’t stop thinking about that bloody print on the pristine white front door. She’d forgotten about it when she’d walked inside, seen the dogs. And when Lisa followed closely behind, Barney by her side. It slipped from the forefront of her consciousness.
But it was back now. Right at the forefront of her fears.
“You’re sure there’s nobody else home?” Jasmine asked.
Lisa looked back at her. Eyes wide. Face totally pale. She looked totally engulfed in shock.
And a part of Jasmine feared her. Because she could be infected. Anyone could be infected with... well, whatever the hell this was.
But she wasn’t displaying any signs or symptoms right now.
She had to take things at face value.
“Lisa,” Jasmine shouted. “You sure there’s nobody—”
“There’s nobody else home,” Lisa said.
Jasmine stood at the doorway. Goosebumps creeping up her arms. Those footsteps didn’t seem to be coming anywhere. They didn’t seem to be descending the stairs. There was no rhyme or reason to them. Nothing threatening about them.
And in a way, that scared Jasmine more.
But she knew she had to do something here.
She had to get out of this house.
It wasn’t safe here.
“You need to follow me, Lisa,” Jasmine said.
Lisa shook her head. “I can’t leave the dogs.”
“You need to listen to me. It’s not safe here. There’s infection in the house. And there’s someone in the house, too. We need to get out of here. I know it’s not easy, but we need to...”
Jasmine stopped talking.
Because those footsteps.
They were coming down the stairs.
She held her breath. She didn’t want to look. It was like a nightmare, where she sensed something evil was out there but didn’t want to look it in the eye.
Her heart raced.
Her chest was on fire.
Think, Jasmine. Think.
She peeked her head around the lounge door and looked up the stairs.
A man stood in the middle of the staircase.
He had short, dark hair, balding around the middle. Glasses perched atop his head, strings dangling down by his ears. A brown jacket, blue jeans, brown shoes.
Blood streamed from his nostrils.
From his lips.
And diluted red tears fell from his bright red eyes.
“I need your help,” he said, staggering down the staircase more and more unsteadily. “You—you need to help me. Please. Please!”
He stuck out his arm and threw himself to the bottom of the stairs.
And Jasmine knew right then for sure that she had to get away from here.
Fast.
She lunged for the door first.
But it was too close to the man. Too close to the risk of infecting herself.
There was no way out of this lounge.
Shit.
She slammed the lounge door shut.
Heard the man banging, scraping at the door, begging.
“I need your help. Don’t leave me. Don’t leave me! Please!”
And as Jasmine pressed against the door, the dogs kicking back and barking and howling, she looked beyond Lisa at the conservatory doors, and she knew there was only one way to go.
“We need to go through the conservatory,” Jasmine said.
Lisa frowned. “But I thought you—”
“We don’t have time to screw around. We need to get out of here. The corridor’s blocked. The conservatory... it’s the only way. But we need to keep our heads strong, and we need to run. We need to just run. Okay?”
Lisa shook her head. Clear tears streaming down her face. “I just walk dogs. That’s all I do. I didn’t deserve this.”
“None of us deserve this,” Jasmine said. “But we’ve got to keep our heads straight here. We’ve got to—”
Another kick, right at the door.
Jasmine tumbled back, just a little.
She knew there wasn’t much time.
“Come on!”
She ran, Barney by her side.
Grabbed the opening to the conservatory door.
Right away, the dogs scuttled around her feet. Whined for attention. The smell of the dead dog sticking in her nostrils, making her want to heave.
“I’m sorry,” she said, as she rushed through the conservatory. “I’m so sorry.”
She grabbed the back door to the garden.
It was locked.
“Shit,” Jasmine said.
She looked around. Saw Lisa standing in the conservatory doorway. Surrounded by her dogs. Looking at each and every one of them, her heart breaking as they jumped up at her, begged her for attention.
“Lisa?”
She looked up at Jasmine.
Behind her, the infected man stumbled through the lounge.
“The door keys. Please.”
Lisa stuck her hand in her pocket.
Then she tossed her keys over to Jasmine.
Jasmine fumbled them, then spun around, unlocked the door, rushed outside into the fresh air.
She wanted to stop. To take a breather.
But there was no time.
She ran out into the garden, Barney by her side.
Then down towards the path at the side of the house, not once looking back.
She ran down the pathway.
Then out of the gate, on
to the front road. Saw more abandoned cars. Heard more sirens. More signs things were falling out of control.
She looked back at the house, and something made her freeze.
Lisa.
Standing in the window.
Dogs jumping around her.
The man standing by her side. Holding on to her. Crying tears of blood, all over her.
“Lisa,” Jasmine said. A lump in her throat.
She wanted to go in there.
She wanted to help her.
But she saw that bloodied print on the doorway, and she knew it was already too late.
She nodded at Lisa.
And Lisa nodded back at her, the most heartbreaking, defeated nod Jasmine had ever seen.
And then Jasmine took a deep breath, turned around, Barney by her side, and she walked off into the unknown.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Noah kind of hoped him and Kelly could take this journey back to his flat with as few words as possible. Much to his irritation, Kelly seemed to pick up on this and was using everything in her power to make dammed sure the pair of them had as awkward a conversation as possible.
“So you don’t drive yet?” Kelly asked.
Noah turned to the passenger window, his cheeks flushing. They manoeuvred past abandoned cars. They drove around people rushing across the streets. It was surreal scene after surreal scene. And the more Noah saw of it, the more he started to fear that the authorities weren’t going to be able to do a thing to manage whatever this was.
If they were, surely they’d have started managing it already.
“I mean, you’re twenty-seven, right?” Kelly said.
“Twenty-six.”
Kelly shrugged. “Whatever. You should be driving by now. Does it not bother you that my baby sister has more independence and freedom than you?”
“It hasn’t exactly been keeping me awake at night, no.”
“I just think it’s strange, is all.”
“Yeah, well, what you’ve spent on running a car, I’ve saved for other things.”
“Like video games?”
“I haven’t played video games in years.”
Kelly looked at him with a doubtful expression. “You know, I used to think you were alright when you and Jasmine were together.”