by J Porteous
I nodded. ‘It used to be busy too. There would be people all over these streets, in the buildings, pretty much everywhere you looked.’
‘Wow. Now they’re all just empty?’
‘I hope so.’
‘Where did all the ill people go?’
There was no easy way to tell a child that the thousands of people who lived and worked where they now stood were burnt to cinders in a last-ditch attempt to curtail the outbreak. I decided to take the softer approach. ‘Well, when they were ill, they were very ill. None of them got any better.’
‘Like Mum,’ Jessica said. ‘Dad said she went to a better place. Is that where these people went too?’
It seemed like as good as an explanation as any, and sometimes it felt that death was a better place than the world they lived in now. ‘Yes. They’re all in a better place now.’
‘Where is the better place?’
‘I don’t know,’ I said. ‘Nobody knows. But they’re all gone, that’s the main thing.’ I hoped that we wouldn’t now stumble upon a pile of sun-bleached bones, but the streets seemed mercifully clean; no doubt that the rats and carrion feeders had made short work of them years ago.
Walking the streets of a dead city was a strange and foreboding experience. I had been to Oxford in my youth, and seeing the place reduced to an abandoned husk almost made my memories seem like lies. The grand cathedral and the nearby university lay dormant, their stained-glass windows either barricaded or broken, the great doors still locked and chained after all these years. It seemed as fitting a grave for humanity as anything.
I attempted to dredge up any memory in my mind of an electrical store in the city but drew a blank. I guided Jessica down the high-street, keeping her close by at all times. Sometimes it felt as if I were herding a distracted cat, having to prise her eyes from one wonder or another. Still, this was the first time she had seen a glimpse of the shadow of what humanity had been, and I did not want to ruin it for her.
A small side-street grabbed my attention. A sign further down the road signalled a small independent electronics shop, a dilapidated and rusted piece of metal drilled directly into a brick wall above the old shop entrance. I had little doubt that the place had already been ransacked, but I thought I should at least try my luck.
‘Jessica. This way.’
We closed in on the shop, its old double doors now ripped away to reveal a gaping maw. I peered into the darkness but could make out very little. There were shelves, and some even still had boxes on them. Whether they were empty or not was an entirely different matter.
I placed one hand inside my coat, grasping the grip of my shotgun. I turned to Jessica. ‘Stay here by the entrance. If you see anyone or anything moving, you call me, okay?’
Jessica gave an enthusiastic nod, no doubt just happy to be useful. ‘Okay.’
I crept in through the doorway, into the darkness just beyond daylight. My eyes adjusted to the murk, revealing the store in all of its dishevelled glory. I could already see that some of the boxes were empty, although there were many further back, behind the till, which could be promising.
I opened with my usual cautionary words. ‘Hello? Is there anybody here? If there is, just shout and I’ll leave.’
I waited patiently for a moment, anticipating an angry shout, but none came. I glanced back, to make sure Jessica was still in the doorway, and carried on.
As I stepped forward, the old floor groaned and bent. I stepped back, relieving some of the pressure. Place must have suffered some water damage. I’m going to need to watch my step. I placed a cautionary foot forward, pressing down with increasing weight to gauge the strength.
As I advanced towards the till the floor moaned and strained in protest at my intrusion. One area of the floor bowed as I trod on it, the ground threatening to give way. I stepped back and went another route.
I crossed over a fallen shelf, more empty boxes littering the floor, and stepped on to the tiled floor on the other side. The floor seemed firmer here, with less bounce. I moved with more confidence, stepping quicker towards the till.
Something gave way. The sound of splintering wood sounded as my left leg disappeared through the floor. Before I could react, my sudden weight broke the surrounding floor, sending me tumbling into darkness.
My eyes opened slowly. I stared up at the light above, a ragged hole torn in the now ceiling above me. Something lay across my leg. I sat upright to see one of the metal shelves pinning me down. Fucking hell.
‘Jessica?’ I shouted through gritted teeth. ‘Are you okay?’
‘You’re the one who fell through the floor!’
I couldn’t help but give a pained laugh. ‘Stay where you are, I don’t want you falling down here too.’
The room I found myself in was shrouded in darkness. In one corner was a broken door, which would hopefully lead back upstairs and to freedom. I braced myself against the metal shelf and heaved it off of my leg. Still got movement, no broken bones. Going to be some fine bruising come the morning though.
I stood upright and brushed myself down. I checked my pockets to find my shotgun missing. Must have dropped it in the fall. I looked around and spotted it, sat on the edge of darkness in the corner of the room.
I limped towards it, scooped it up, and returned it to the safety of my coat. As my eyes became accustomed to the darkness, a group of unopened boxes appeared before me. I picked one up, testing its weight, and found it to be full.
The damp cardboard gave way quickly to my fingers. I tore through the box to pulled whatever was in there out into the light. It was a number of spools of wire, around ten per box. I allowed myself a small smile. Jackpot.
A scream pierced the air. In my disorientated state I had forgotten about Jessica waiting for me in the doorway. I tore a path towards the broken door and climbed the steps as fast as my leg would let me. I met the locked door at the top with a firm boot, and I burst through to find myself back upstairs by the tills.
In the doorway were three figures; the smaller one being Jessica. I pulled the shotgun from my coat and clambered across the counter, making sure to avoid the large hole I had created. I kept the shotgun trained on the one holding Jessica.
As I approached the doorway, the assailant became clearer. A woman gripped Jessica tightly by her hair, holding a knife to her throat. Her glare was as sharp as the blade she held, her greasy black hair plastered to her face. A man stood beside her, eyeing me cautiously.
His face was a collection of old scars, a fresh black eye darkening one side of his face. He sneered at me, an array of missing teeth revealing themselves. ‘Stay back, or Lucy here cuts the girl.’
I kept the shotgun trained on Lucy. ‘Let the girl go. I won’t ask again.’
The man laughed. ‘You’re not the one calling the shots here. We’re taking her, and there’s nothing you can do that won’t get her or yourself killed.’
My heart pounded in my ears. Jessica’s wide and fearful eyes pinned me to the spot. I looked back at the man. ‘She’s not going anywhere.’
The man stepped back towards the street. ‘You pull the trigger on that thing and you’ll be smearing that girl’s head over the wall as well.’ He nodded towards Lucy. ‘Let’s go, he ain’t going to do anything.’
A shadow darted across the doorway and plunged something into the man’s neck. He yelped and floundered, spasming uncontrollably.
Lucy let go of Jessica, letting the girl fall to the floor. ‘Justin?’ She pulled her knife high to lunge at their attacker.
I took my chance and pulled the trigger.
In the blink of an eye, what had been Lucy was now a splattered mess on the wall, her body slumped against the doorway, and what was her head now just a mass of bloody meat. As my hearing came back, the shrill ringing was replaced by Jessica screaming.
The girl was sat beside Lucy’s body, staring at what used to be a living breathing person less than a second ago. Her fair skin was spotted with blood, her clothes
ruined by the seeping mess.
The shadow moved from the doorway and grasped Jessica’s arm, pulling her upright. He held a hand up to me. ‘It’s me, Felix. Don’t shoot!’
‘Felix?’ I stumbled towards the doorway, his face becoming recognisable. ‘What the fuck are you doing here?’
He wiped the blood from Jessica’s face with the sleeve of his coat. ‘You asked me to look after her. I must have nodded off, I was so tired. When I woke and realised she was gone, I realised that she must have come after you.’
I held a hand out to Jessica. ‘Are you okay?’
She dashed towards me, her whole body shaking. ‘They’re dead. They’re dead.’
‘They are,’ I said. ‘But I didn’t have a choice, and neither did Felix. They were going to hurt you.’
The girl didn’t reply. Instead, she simply buried her head into me and sobbed. I placed a hand on her head to comfort her.
‘Check the pockets,’ I said, looking up at Felix. ‘They might have something useful on them.’
‘Did you find any payment for the city?’
‘I did,’ I replied. ‘There’s spools of wire in the basement.’
Felix looked behind me, his eyes fixated on the large hole. ‘What happened there?’
‘I took a shortcut.’
Felix turned over the bodies as I held Jessica to me. She sobbed with violent shakes, her muffled whimpers caught in my jumper. ‘Come on,’ I said, as I gently guided her outside.
The cloud cover had mostly cleared, and the warm sun shone down on us. I appreciated it for a moment, before crouching in front of Jessica. ‘Hey,’ I said, prising her chin from her chest. She looked at me with puffy eyes. I turned her head from side to side, inspecting her. ‘You’re not hurt are you?’
She sniffed and sucked down a number of juddering sobs. ‘No. I don’t think so.’
Thank god. It was a risk taking the shot at Lucy considering how close Jessica had been, but I had little choice. I placed my hands on her cheeks in an effort to calm her. ‘You understood why I did that, don’t you?’
She gave a hesitant nod. ‘I think so. She was bad like the man at the church.’
‘They were bad people,’ I said. ‘I was afraid of what they were going to do to you. Plus, what would your dad say if I let anything happen to you, eh?’
She smiled slightly. ‘Did you find anything in there?’
‘I did,’ I said. ‘Should be enough to get us into the city.’
She jumped forward and wrapped her arms around me. ‘Thank you.’
I held her tightly. Don’t thank me just yet.
Felix emerged from the store, a number of boxes under his arm. He dropped them to the ground and dug something out of one of his pockets. He held up two stamped pieces of paper.
I stood up and took a closer look. ‘What are those?’
Felix handed them to me. ‘Take a look.’
The two slips of paper were damaged at the edges, curled and battered. One of them was still slick with blood, the name Lucy almost blotted out. What caught my attention the most was wording at the top of each of them. Hope City Citizen. I looked up at Felix. ‘These were theirs?’
He nodded. ‘The only thing they had on them, apart from the two knives.’
‘Do you think they’re real?’
He shrugged. ‘I can only assume so. What do you think they wanted?’
I glanced back at Jessica. Children could be a valuable commodity if you knew of someone interested in purchasing them, it would not have been the first time I’ve heard of such a thing. Felix caught my nod and shifted uncomfortably. ‘Just speculation, of course.’
‘Maybe they were just after what you were going to bring back? Saw you as easy pickings?’ Felix said.
‘Possibly.’ I stuffed the two pieces of paper into my coat pocket. ‘Give me some of those,’ I said to Felix, gesturing to the boxes. ‘We’ll get back quicker that way. I’m sure Diego is anxious.’
‘I’m sure he is,’ Felix said. He handed me two of the boxes, the sudden weight swaying me.
Jessica brushed past me. ‘I’ll take one. I want to help,’
Before I could respond, she snatched one of the boxes up and held it tight to her chest. ‘Are you sure?’ I said. ‘It’s not too heavy, is it?’
‘No. I’ll be fine.’
‘Okay,’ I said. ‘Just let us know if it gets too much.’
‘What are you going to do with the papers?’ Felix asked.
‘I’ll ask our friend at the gate about them.’
Chapter Six
Diego had shifted slightly since I had last seen him, but he was still slumped against the outer wall of the city. He looked up as we approached, a smile finding his lips. ‘You’re back? All of you? I was getting worried.’ He glanced at the boxes we carried. ‘You found something too?’
‘I’m not even sure I want to go in there any more,’ Felix replied.
‘What?’ Diego sat upright, wincing at the pained movement. ‘Why? After all this trouble?’
‘We were attacked,’ I said. ‘Felix got to us just in time.’
‘Attacked? By who?’
I retrieved the two papers from my pocket, the blood on Lucy’s pass now dried to a dull brown. ‘Our friends seem to be locals.’
Diego took them from me and read over them in disbelief. ‘I mean, I saw people come and go, but I never thought any of them were coming after you.’
‘It’s not your fault,’ Felix said, sitting next to Diego. ‘You weren’t to know.’
Diego looked around. ‘Is everyone okay? No one got hurt, right?’
‘Everyone’s fine,’ I said, not wanting to work him up further. ‘Let’s just concentrate on getting into the city. We’ll work out our next plan from there.’
‘Work out your plan from there,’ Felix said. ‘We’ve done what we came to do, get to the city.’ He looked at Jessica. ‘You can go find your dad, and us...we’ll figure something out.’ He shook his head. ‘I’m not even sure I want to stay here. What if everyone in there is like that?’
‘And what if they’re not?’ I replied. ‘You should at least stay to get Diego’s leg looked at.’
Diego looked up at me. ‘I’ll agree with that.’ He nudged Felix. ‘Come on, man. We’ll get my bust up leg looked at and we’ll go from there. Once I’m back on my feet, what’s there to stop us?’
Felix shook his head. ‘I suppose you’re right.’ He looked up at me once more. ‘Thanks for helping us get here. I doubt we’d have made it without you.’
I could almost feel Jessica’s eyes burning into me. ‘It was the right thing to do,’ I replied.
‘Not many people say that these days,’ Diego said, a bitter smile ending his words.
Felix climbed to his feet and picked up the boxes he had set down. ‘Let’s get this over with, shall we?’
I picked up my boxes, Jessica precariously stacking hers on top of the ones I already carried. The pair of us trudged through the churned mud near the gates, the majority of it now dried and steady underfoot. I firmly kicked the door several times.
Those same sharp eyes appeared in the gap in the door. ‘What is it now?’
‘We’ve got what you asked for,’ I said. ‘Now let us in.’
The eyes swivelled down to our boxes and widened. ‘Well, fuck me. I didn’t actually expect you to come back. Give me a moment.’
The slit in the door slammed shut, and the sound of scraping metal could be heard. The door swung open. The sharp-eyed man was relatively scrawny, his clothes hanging off of his slender frame. There was no doubt he was employed for his harsh glare rather than anything else.
‘First time citizens?’ he said, eyes not leaving the boxes we carried.
‘First time,’ Felix said. ‘Is that an issue?’
‘No issue,’ the man said. ‘Just need to get you processed, that’s all. Get your friends to come too, we’re going to need to put you all through.’
Felix placed one
of his boxes on the teetering tower which I now held, and gave the other to Jessica. He hurried out of the gate to grab Diego and haul the man to his feet. Jessica looked past me expectantly, as if expecting to see her father waiting for her.
‘Do you think it will be long until I can look for my dad?’
‘Not long, I’m sure.’ I said. In the back of my mind, sorrow began to well. It was strange really. I had picked this girl up with the idea of dumping her back at Community, leaving again knowing that she was in safe hands. Of course, the plan had changed since then.
I’d found myself growing attached to the spirited young girl, and the thought of now leaving her in the arms of a loving family, although in her best interest, seemed to lose its sheen slightly. Then again, if the citizens of Hope were anything like Lucy and Justin, it might not be the safe haven I was hoping it was.
The gate we had been led through opened up into a small courtyard, another set of larger double doors behind it. The courtyard itself was largely empty and had obviously been part of the shopping malls car park. A number of boxes were allocated into their assigned bays, signalled by the old white lines which used to guide cars where to park. Two battered cars served as makeshift barricades near the second gates, two uninterested faces following us momentarily from behind them.
The man led us to an unassuming door off to the side, a crudely written sign saying processing office beside it. He opened the door and ushered us in. ‘Welcome to Hope.’
My eyes were instantly drawn to the light which hung from a precarious fitting on the ceiling. It flickered and dimmed intermittently, but it was on and it worked. Below that was a wooden desk, with a large-set man sat on the other side.
‘Don’t mind the light too much,’ he said. ‘Although we’ve got electricity, it’s a bit flaky at times.’ He flicked a finger towards the scarred desktop. ‘Chuck your goods on the desk for inspection.’
Jessica and I set out the boxes we carried along the edge of the desk. The man opened one of the drawers and retrieved a number of papers, scribbling on them with a well-chewed pen.