Viro (Book 4): Viro

by Taylor, Barnaby

Ellis had loads of questions. Abe as well. Maggie didn’t let them ask them.

  ‘We can hear all about your adventures later, Jake. But for now we need to get to the house. Is it far?’

  I shook my head.

  ‘It’s a long walk down that track. It will take ages. I think it's a farm. There was a shed full of dead cows. The viros were having a picnic. I made them all chase me so they could eat the policemen.’

  Granny

  We walked to the house. No one wanted to speak. We just wanted to get right away from the two policemen. I walked with Ellis and Abe. We smiled at each other. It was nice to be back with them. Vinnie was in front. He had the rifle. Maggie and Amber were behind.

  It was dark when we got to the house. I said there was no one there. Vinnie wanted to be totally sure. He checked while we hid behind a wall. Then Vinnie came back. He was whispering.

  ‘I think we’re all clear. I looked around upstairs as well. I met Jake’s old lady but there was no-one else.’

  Maggie was pleased.

  ‘We need to get inside now, it’s going to freeze tonight.’

  Vinnie went first with the rifle. We all followed him inside. He pointed upstairs. Ellis nodded at her brother. She went up. Me, Amber and Abe followed. Ellis went to go into the bedroom with the bloody bed. I stopped her. I pointed at the other door.

  ‘Here’s better.’

  We went into the old lady’s room. She still looked like she was sleeping. Amber pulled the blanket over her face.

  ‘She doesn’t need us to see her like this.’

  Ellis agreed. She spoke nicely about her.

  ‘She was probably someone’s granny once. I hope that someone somewhere still thinks about her like that.’

  I was confused. I hadn’t had this thinking last time I was here. I was too busy.

  ‘If she’s dead how come she’s not a viro.’

  Ellis had her thought. It was a good one.

  ‘Maybe she just died of old age.’

  Amber whistled.

  ‘Think how lucky you’d feel if the only way you died nowadays was naturally. You’d be so relieved not to wake up as one of those things.’

  Abe was beside me.

  ‘I hope we all die like this. I really do.’

  Abe was right but it was weird to hope to die.

  Water

  Vinnie and Maggie came back into the bedroom. He was being in charge.

  ‘We need to block the downstairs door with all the furniture. We can hide here but we need to make sure that no one outside sees us. That means no light and no noise.’

  Maggie agreed.

  ‘Obviously there’s no electricity but it means we won’t be able to light a fire.’

  I was sad. I liked a fire burning. But I knew they were right. Maggie kept talking.

  ‘There is running water. It’ll be cold but we can take turns to freshen up in the bathroom. There’s also plenty of towels.’

  Vinnie looked at me and Abe.

  ‘The three of us need to block the top of the stairs just in case. We can use the bed next door.’

  I didn’t like this.

  ‘It’s got blood everywhere.’

  ‘I know, Jake, but we’ll have to use it. It’ll just be for tonight.’

  The three of us went into the bedroom. Vinnie put all on the bed stuff in the corner. We moved the bed onto the landing. It blocked the stairs really well.

  Ellis and Amber had found more sheets and pillows. They were making up beds on the landing. Ellis looked at me.

  ‘We thought we’d give the old lady some privacy. There should be enough room out here for all of us.’

  I thought it was good. I didn’t want to sleep in the old lady’s bedroom. What if she suddenly woke up? This made me think.

  Even with all the horror everywhere this was still creepy to my thoughts. Maybe I was still a proper human? I hoped I was. I knew I was different now. Everyone was. But I was still Jake. I wasn’t anyone else. I didn’t want the badness of the world to make me bad. It wasn’t fair. I had to stay me. It would be what Mum would say. I know she would want me not to change.

  I would be me for as long as I could.

  Cold

  It felt nice to wash my face. I used my good hand. My bad hand was swollen. I did not have a bath. That would be mad. If the house got attacked I would not be ready. And I had to be ready.

  The water was crazy cold. It made me very shivery. It was dark in the bathroom. I couldn’t see the dirt. But I felt cleaner. That was good. I used the towel. It smelled damp. I smelled worse.

  Vinnie had found some toothpaste. I brushed my teeth with my finger. It was better than nothing. The minty taste made me hungry. We had no food. Abe was starving. He wanted to look in the cow shed. He said we might find meat. I thought he was going mad. I knew what the cow shed looked like. Vinnie didn’t like the thought either.

  ‘No way, Abe. We have no idea what might still be in there.’

  Abe was disappointed.

  ‘I’d be careful, Vinnie. I really would.’

  Abe looked at us all.

  ‘We’re starving, Vinnie. We need some food.’

  Vinnie knew Abe’s words were good. He said so.

  ‘I know, Abe. We haven’t eaten properly for days but if we’re gonna stand a chance of getting through this then we have to stay together. We can’t get separated now.’

  Amber put her arm round her brother.

  ‘Vinnie’s right, Abe. You know he is.’

  Abe nodded. He knew Vinnie was right. And his sister. But it still felt wrong to him.

  ‘But we have to do something, Sis. We have to.’

  Amber said yes.

  ‘We are, Abe. We’re surviving.’

  ‘Not if we don’t eat.’

  Maggie spoke next.

  ‘Vinnie’s right, Abe. We need to stay here until the morning. Then we can go and look for our tractor. Once we have some transport then we can get going again.’

  Maggie looked at me.

  ‘We might find some food at the Asylum, mightn’t we, Jake?’

  I smiled with my face. I didn’t speak. I hoped we might find more than food there. I really did.

  Swarm

  It was much later. We were all sleeping. I was awake. It was warm under my blanket. My neck was stiff. I didn’t move. Abe was breathing softly. His head was by my ear. It was so dark. I couldn’t see. There was someone by the window. It was Vinnie. He was watching something. I closed my eyes.

  It was later again. Someone bumped my arm. It was Abe. I opened my eyes. He looked at me. His eyes had big fear in them. He put his finger on his lip. I knew he meant to be quiet. I nodded. Abe pointed. Vinnie was still at the window. Maggie was with him. Ellis and Amber were sitting up. They were frightened. Something was really bad.

  Me and Abe waited. Vinnie sat down next to us. He spoke in my ear. It tickled. I couldn’t really hear him.

  ‘There’s a swarm walking past the cottage. They’ve been going past us for the last hour. Loads and loads of them. We’re hoping they’re heading back to the cow shed. All we can do is wait.’

  I nodded.

  There was no more sleep. We all waited. It was awful. We could make no noise. Not any at all. We had to sit and hope. I looked at everyone else. They all looked like me. There was no smiling.

  I thought the viros would hear the smallest noise. My body got all uptight. My heart got fast. It felt so loud inside me. I was sure they’d hear it. But how could I make it stop? I didn’t know. All I could do was keep real still.

  No one moved for ages. Maggie was at the window. She was being very careful. She was watching and waiting. I tried to imagine what was outside. I imagined the lane being full to the brim. The viros all pushing and shoving. Going back to eat more cows. This idea made me feel really sad.

  Everywhere

  It was impossible. We were stuck. My legs were all numb. My bad arm throbbed. It felt all swollen still. My fingers didn’t really move.
They were too fat.

  I needed to wee really bad. It was getting so sore. My tummy felt all tight. I really couldn’t stop my body. It wanted to be natural. I couldn’t fight the feeling. It was very hard. I looked at Abe. I needed to tell him. He saw me looking. He shook his head.

  Then I couldn’t wait. My tummy wanted to burst. I was too frightened to move. I couldn’t go the bathroom. They would hear me. I had to do something. I looked at Abe again. He shook his head again. I wanted to make him understand. But I couldn’t.

  My tummy was so painful now. It felt worse than my arm. I couldn’t wait. I had to go. My leg got wet and warm. My wee water was so strong. It kept coming. My face was baby bright red. I felt like a silly little boy.

  I knew Abe knew. He was looking. I said sorry with my eyes. They started to get teary. Abe knew what I was doing. He knew it was an accident. Abe held my hand. It was enough. My wee water made him wet as well. Abe didn’t let go of my hand.

  Then Maggie gasped. We all looked. She turned. She was very scared. Her eyes were big. She spoke slowly without making sounds. We understood.

  ‘They. Stopped. Outside.’

  Ellis shivered hard. Amber hid under her blanket. Me and Abe looked at each other. Vinnie slowly picked up his gun. He gulped. Maggie put her finger on her lips. She turned her head. She was listening. She spoke again with no noise.

  ‘Wait.’

  We waited. It was forever. Maggie looked out the window. She was so careful. They must not see her.

  ‘Still. There.’

  Vinnie went to move. Maggie stopped him. She pointed outside. Vinnie pointed at the bed. Maggie didn’t shake her head. Vinnie was so quiet. He touched the bed. He would have to move it.

  Maggie pointed at Ellis and Amber. They stood up really slow. Amber held Ellis’s hand. I knew they were big scared. Then Maggie nodded her head at me. I didn’t stand up. I kept the blanket around me. Abe carefully stood up. He wanted to pull me up as well. I was too worried.

  Abe had a wet patch on the back of his trousers. It was my pee water. It looked so bad. I thought everyone would laugh. Even with the viros outside.

  Abe didn’t care. He stood next to his sister. Maggie pointed at me again. She wanted me to get rid of the blanket. I looked at her. I let the blanket drop. My trousers were all wet. Everyone could see. No one said anything.

  I tried to turn my body. I wanted no one to see my wetness. I felt so silly. This was when I needed to be strong. Not wet myself. How could I stay alive if I couldn’t hold my wee in? It sounded like a baby question in my head.

  I turned my body more so no one could see. This brought me by the window. Maggie said not to with her silent words. But I couldn’t stop. It was too late.

  I peeped out the window. It was hard to see at first. Then I saw properly.

  It was PC James.

  He was in front of the house.

  He was now a viro.

  His army was behind him.

  They were all over everywhere.

  THE END