Viro (Book 4): Viro

by Taylor, Barnaby

  Abe agreed.

  ‘Jake’s right, Grace. The camp was overrun by and we had to evacuate. The soldiers said there were ships at sea where people could go to but we never got there.’

  Grace nodded.

  ‘That’s decided, then. We need to get ourselves onto one of those ships.’

  I didn’t understand.

  ‘But how, Grace? We can’t fly a plane or helicopter.’

  I was worried as well.

  ‘I need to find my Mum. I can’t hide on a ship.’

  Others

  I spoke some things to everyone.

  ‘What if we stay here? What if we make our own camp? People can live here. We can be a big team. We can protect each other.’

  Grace didn’t agree.

  ‘But why, Jake? Why should we stay here?’

  ‘People might need us. There are lots of people who need help. They can’t get to the ships. But they can get here.’

  I looked at the others.

  ‘We could build defences. We could go on patrol. We could be somewhere safe for others to find.’

  Grace didn’t like my idea. Maggie was a bit happier. She looked at her sisters.

  ‘He could be right, you know. It’s going to be practically impossible to get out to the ships, even if they are still there. There must be loads of people out there looking for somewhere safe.’

  Maggie sounded excited.

  ‘This could be that safe place.’

  Susie spoke next.

  ‘We could, Maggie. We really could do something for other people. The question I have is, why?’

  Vinnie spoke.

  ‘None of you will ever know how great it was for us to find you. We’ve been wandering forever and the chance to rest somewhere, even for a little while, is amazing.’

  Vinnie looked at us all.

  ‘We would be happy to help you all keep this place safe.’

  Amber and Abe agreed. And Ellis.

  ‘We could really make this somewhere for survivors to gather. It would be amazing.’

  Grace still didn’t like the idea.

  ‘But how would we feed everyone? Where would they sleep?’

  Susie nodded.

  ‘We would have to forage for food until we could get our crops working. As for sleeping, there are plenty of barns and sheds.’

  Susie spoke slowly.

  ‘We could do this. We could really do this.’

  Grace shook her head.

  ‘I don’t like it, Sis. I really don’t like it.’

  Maggie was with Susie.

  ‘We could do this, Grace. We could make this place somewhere safe for everyone.’

  Grace looked really sad. She stood up.

  ‘I really don’t like this at all.’

  Grace went out the kitchen.

  Weapons

  I was excited. It was like my dream of Ellis’s farm. The one with the tree and the kingfishers. Where we could all have lunch. And I could help Ellis hunt rats.

  But I was frightened.

  I still needed to find Mum. I couldn’t do that if I stayed here. I had to go again. I couldn’t wait much longer. She might be gone from the asylum. I needed to think about my plans. Vinnie was looking out the window. I spoke to him.

  ‘What about Mum, Vinnie? I won’t find her if I stay here. What can I do?’

  Vinnie was kind to me as always.

  ‘Nothing has changed, Jake. Nothing at all. We said we’d help you find your mum and that’s what we’ll do. Susie says the asylum is ten miles from here.That’s close enough to get to and then bring your mum back here with us.’

  Vinnie paused. I knew what he didn’t want to say. I said it for him.

  ‘If she’s there. I know, Vinnie. I have to find out.’

  Vinnie was glad I spoke like this.

  ‘We can leave in the morning.’

  Susie said that we should take a tractor. We could follow the lanes until we hit the big road. Then we should follow that until we saw the sign for Watling. Abe, Amber and Ellis said they would come as well. But Vinnie said there was one problem.

  ‘None of us can drive a tractor. I could probably manage but it would be too dangerous to risk me driving all that way as a learner.’

  Maggie was sitting next to Susie. She smiled.

  ‘I’ll drive the tractor. We’ll hitch up the trailer and you can ride in that. There’s just one thing.’

  Maggie looked at Susie. Then she looked at us.

  ‘We can’t travel anywhere without weapons.’

  Trauma

  Susie said that Vinnie should bring a rifle. Susie said she would teach him to shoot. He was the oldest, she said. It made the most sense. Susie took Vinnie outside to help him practice.

  Ellis got excited when Maggie found a slingshot for her.

  ‘It’ll be just like old times.’

  I wanted one too. I wanted to help Ellis hunt rats. Maggie found another. I was really excited.

  ‘You’ll have to teach me to hunt, Ellis. Me and you against the rats.’

  ‘Or viros, Jake.’

  ‘Yes, Ellis. Or viros.’

  Maggie found pellet guns for Amber and Abe.

  ‘They’re not great, I’m afraid. We used to use them when we were kids to scare birds. The pellets probably won’t kill those creatures but they will act as a deterrent.’

  Florence didn’t want a weapon. She wanted to stay at the farm.

  ‘I want to wait around in case Jo finds her way here. Susie said it was fine. I have no way of knowing if she is alive or not but I’d rather wait here just in case. If mum and dad got this far then maybe Jo is on her way as well.’

  Florence stopped speaking. We all knew what her words would be if she said them. Her life was real nasty right now. Susie said to me earlier Florence was traumatised.

  ‘You have to understand, Jake, the shock of seeing her parents is still very real to her. She’ll be alright but she needs some peace and quiet and above all, time.’

  Ellis hugged Florence.

  ‘You wait here, Florence. You’ll be safe here until we get back.’

  I hugged Florence as well. She was teary.

  ‘Thanks for understanding, Jake.’

  I hugged her tighter.

  Stones

  Me and Ellis were outside later. We were collecting stones for the slingshots. We had a bag each. Ellis was helping me.

  ‘Look for the smooth ones, Jake. They fly faster and flatter.’

  I liked being on Ellis’s side. She was part of my team. Susie had given us some old jars. We lined them up on the fence. Ellis was teaching me.

  ‘Hold the stone tightly as you ease it back. Lift your other hand towards the target. Wait until you are ready to fire then take a breath. Let the stone go but try not to jerk your other arm up.’

  I shot stones everywhere. It was so hard to do. Ellis was patient with me.

  ‘We have plenty of stones, Jake.’

  I fired twenty and missed them all. I pulled the next stone back. I took a breath and let go. The stone flashed at the jar. I saw it smash. Ellis was happy for me.

  ‘Good work, Jake. That’s the way to do it.’

  I was pleased. It was important to work well for the whole team. I didn’t want to be the useless one. I worked extra hard to make sure. Mum said I was always over-compensating. I wasn’t sure what she meant.

  ‘Just be yourself, Jake. You don’t have to prove yourself to anyone. The world has to accept you for what you are, not what you’re not.’

  But that was before all this horror stuff. Now, I had to prove myself every day. I didn’t want this new world to just accept me. I had to prove to this broken world that I wasn’t broken as well. That made me fight harder than ever.

  I thought about all the everything that had happened. I had fought and stabbed and hit and killed. I had battled viros and saved my friends. They had fought the same battles and saved me. That was the only thing that mattered now. It was too late to prove
myself. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was getting up every day and keeping going.

  Keeping fighting.

  Living.

  Surviving.

  And finding Mum.

  Safari

  It was the next morning. We were ready. I had practised more with the slingshot. Ellis said she thought I was better. That was good enough for me. Amber and Abe were ready with their guns. Abe was excited. He showed me everything.

  ‘They’re only pellets, Jake, but one shot could take your eye out.’

  I nodded. I did not want my eye taken out. Amber saw my worried look. She laughed.

  ‘Don’t worry, Jake, I’ll make sure he only shoots the viros.’

  Vinnie had his rifle. It was much bigger. There was a loud bang when he fired it. It made his shoulder jump. Susie patted Vinnie’s back.

  ‘Just remember to relax when you aim that thing. Breath slowly and try not to jerk as you pull the trigger.’

  Vinnie looked serious.

  ‘Thanks for your help, Susie. I’m really hoping that I won’t need to use it.’

  He patted the rifle.

  ‘But I’m glad I have it just in case.’

  Maggie made sure that the tractor was full of fuel. She also put two more cans in the trailer. And a small box with a red cross on it. Her and Susie spoke quietly together. Maggie kept nodding her head. She was listening carefully to Susie. The sisters hugged.

  Susie gave us one box of food and five bottles of water. She smiled but I knew she was worried.

  ‘That’s all we can spare, I’m afraid.’

  Maggie was different. She wasn’t worried.

  ‘Don’t worry, Sis, we’re bound to find stuff on the way. In any case, we’ll only be gone for a day or two so I’m sure we’ll manage.’

  Susie’s lips were thin.

  ‘I’m counting on you to manage, Maggie. You’re in charge of this whole crazy safari.’

  Scorched

  The tractor rumbled down the lane. We were in the trailer. We all looked out in different directions. We were ready for anything.

  The lane was scorched and black. The hedges were blown away. They were just stumps. And the bodies were absolutely all around us.

  The trailer bumped as we drive over the ashes of all the viros. The stink was so bad. My nose wrinkled. I saw burned body bits. Legs and arms and skulls. They were all black. I tried not to look. Everyone was the same. Abe whistled.

  ‘That’s disgusting, absolutely disgusting.’

  Amber agreed with her brother. Vinnie tried to sound sensible.

  ‘At least it’s them and not us. I can’t imagine what would have happened if this swarm had hit the farm. It would have been all over for everyone.’

  Ellis was quiet. I knew she was worried about Florence. She told me when I was learning the slingshot.

  ‘I’m worried about Florence, Jake. I can’t bear to think how bad she is feeling.’

  I nodded. I let Ellis keep talking.

  ‘I know I saw my parents as viros but at the time I didn’t really know what I was seeing. I just knew that I needed to get away. But it’s different for Florence. She was heading to what she thought was safety with her parents. I know they left her to hide but they said they’d find her later. In the end she found them, and they were viros.’

  Ellis shuddered.

  ‘It’s so awful.’

  I wanted good words. I tried to think.

  ‘Maybe her sister is still safe somewhere? Florence didn’t meet her as a viro.’

  ‘Maybe she is, Jake, but she probably isn’t. This world hates little kids now. It doesn’t want them to live, it wants them to be eaten.’

  ‘But me and you don’t want that, Ellis. Neither do the others. We want all the kids to live. All of them. That bad world doesn’t matter. We have to be our own world now.’

  Prize

  The tractor stopped. Maggie was pointing. It was the barn. Maggie got out the cab. She said we should scout around.

  ‘You never know, there might be other survivors.’

  I didn’t think so. It was crazy. The barn was burned to the ground. The ground was piled high with ash.

  There were no other survivors. All we saw was burned bodies. I tried not to look too much but I think I saw some of the kids. I wasn’t sure. All the body bits looked the same. Vinnie called us over.

  ‘Look at this, guys.’

  It was Daphne’s shotgun. The barrel was all melted. It had twisted in the heat. Vinnie tried to sound bright.

  ‘She was a brave old lady. I bet she took a few viros down before they got her.’

  I was sad.

  ‘Daphne was brave but I wish she didn’t have to be. I wish she could just be Daphne, and not brave or dead.’

  Vinnie nodded.

  ‘Me too, Jake, me too. But it seems like the only choice we have is to be brave or be dead.’

  I felt like crying. I didn’t understand Vinnie.

  ‘But Daphne was brave and is now dead. That’s not a choice, that’s like punishment.’

  I sniffed.

  ‘Why do all brave people die? Why can’t they just live their lives?’

  Abe hugged me.

  ‘You’re brave, Jake. You’re really brave and you’re still alive.’

  Abe’s words helped me a bit. I had a small smile.

  ‘You’re as brave as me, Abe.’

  Ellis laughed. It was nice sound.

  ‘It’s not a competition, lads. There’s no prize for coming first. In fact, there’s no prize whatsoever.’

  Abe laughed too.

  ‘What about staying alive, Ellis? Isn’t that the prize we all want the most?’

  Ellis smiled. I still loved her smile.

  ‘It’s the only prize, Abe. The only prize.’

  Cows

  The tractor started again. We jumped in the trailer. Maggie wanted to get to the Asylum before it got dark.

  ‘We don’t want to be on these small roads at night. We need to be able to see what’s ahead of us. We’d never stand a chance if we got mobbed by those things.’

  Maggie was right. I kept extra watch. I didn’t let my eyes wander. The country went past us. All I saw was fields. There were trees as well. I also saw houses. I wondered what was in them. It was probably viros not people. It wasn’t safe to stay out here alone.

  We stopped for lunch at a crossroads. The sign said Watling was six miles away. Maggie saw me looking.

  ‘We’ll be there very soon, Jake. Once we grab your Mum we could even head back to the farm tonight. We have about eight hours of daylight left.’

  I didn’t speak. It was too exciting. I was worried. What if I spoke the wrong things and the excitement went away? I looked down the road. It was long and straight. What if Mum was waiting down there? What if …?

  Vinnie was pointing at something. We all looked. A huge bunch of cows was running across a field near to us. They were mooing really loud. It sounded like screaming. Vinnie kept pointing.

  ‘Something has really spooked them!’

  We all kept looking. Abe said something.

  ‘Look, behind them. It’s more viros.’

  I saw a huge swarm of viros. They were walking fast. They were climbing over the wire fence around the field. Some of them got stuck but the rest kept going. They were chasing the cows. Maggie ran back to the tractor.

  ‘We’d better get off the road. If those cows reach us we’ll never get past.’

  She started the engine.

  Nothing happened.

  The cows broke through the hedge.

  Maggie tried the tractor again.

  Nothing.

  The mooing was so loud.

  The cows were near us now.

  Maggie tried again.

  Nothing.

  The cows surrounded us.

  We were floating in a sea of animals.

  Nose

  The cows banged the trailer. It was like a big storm. I had to hold tight. I saw the fear
in the animals. They had wide nostrils and wide eyes. It was so loud. Maggie kept trying to get the tractor going. The engine did not start.

  The cows kept going. There was loads and loads of them. Maggie pointed at the horizon.

  ‘They must have escaped from Turner’s dairy farm. He had one of the biggest rotary systems in the county.’

  She tried the tractor again. Still nothing. I looked at the field. It was still full of cows. The viros were getting closer. We could still get away if we were lucky. I shouted to Maggie.

  ‘Can we run away? Is that a good idea?’

  She shook her head.

  ‘No, Jake, we have to stay with the tractor. We’ll be crushed by the cows otherwise.’

  A huge cow banged the trailer. It sent us all wobbling. I was worried. We didn’t want to be all tipped over. Another big cow was headed right for us. I fired my slingshot. My stone hit the cow on the nose. It moved away from us. I shouted at Ellis.

  ‘If they get too close, shoot them. It makes them go away.’

  Ellis nodded.

  Me and Ellis kept some of the bigger cows away from the trailer. But it was still banged everywhere. Maggie kept trying. The other three were watching the viros. Vinnie had his gun ready.

  ‘The viros are halfway across the field. They’ll be here any minute.’

  Maggie didn’t speak. She was whispering to herself. The cows were nearly gone now. I could see the last few running at us. Maggie turned the key. The tractor started. Maggie was really happy.

  ‘You beauty!’

  The tractor started up the lane again. We had to go slow. It was awful. The lane was too narrow for us to go round. The last cows were everywhere. They had stopped running. Maggie tried to nudge them out the way. Vinnie said something. He was scared.

  The viros were right behind the hedge.

  They were so close.

  ‘Get ready, everybody. Here they come.’

  Ellis

  I hit one of the viros in the eye. The stone was massive. The viro fell over. Ellis hit a big viro that was grabbing the trailer. Vinnie fired his gun. An old viro with a flat cap was trying to climb up. Vinnie’s bullet made his head burst. Amber and Abe fired their guns as well. Amber shot a viro in the mouth. Abe hit another in the forehead. They both let go of the trailer. Vinnie loaded his rifle.