Roamers (Book 1)

by Viper, Velveteen

  “Sis, this is dangerous,” Jimmy insisted, almost afraid to be holding the weapon in case it spontaneously went off in his hand, “Besides, we won’t need it. I’m not even sure we should be leaving.”

  “Are you serious?” Scarlett asked, practically laughing at Jimmy’s statement. She stood and took the pistol from him, “Good work, Alice. Where did you find it?”

  “Dad keeps it in his wardrobe. He goes out to the shooting range every two weeks.”

  “I’m not saying we should use it, but I think as a precaution--”

  Scarlett was cut off by Charlie as he began breathing erratically and rubbing at his eyes.

  “I can’t see!” he exclaimed, “Please, help me. I can’t see!”

  Scarlett spun around to face him and pulled his hands away from his face. She stumbled backward suddenly when she observed his completely white eyes.

  “What is it?” Jimmy asked with a clear tremor in his voice.

  “It’s his eyes… They’re the same as... He’s blind.”

  “W-what does that mean?”

  “He’s infected. They said on the news that one of the symptoms was blindness,” she reminded him.

  Scarlett helped Charlie to lie down on the sofa while Alice thoughtfully spread a blanket over him.

  “Is he gonna be okay?” she asked timidly.

  “I don’t know. Maybe you should go upstairs,” Alice did so and Scarlett knelt down in front of Charlie, “How do you feel, Mr Briggs?”

  “I feel cold… really cold.”

  Scarlett put a hand on his forehead and turned to Jimmy.

  “He’s burning up. Can you get me a damp cloth or something? I need to cool him off a little.”

  Jimmy disappeared into the kitchen while Scarlett tried to reassure the old man.

  “You’ve just got a bit of a fever, Mr Briggs. I’m going to try to bring your temperature down and make you comfortable. You should try to rest, maybe get some sleep.”

  Charlie just nodded weakly as Jimmy returned with a damp tea-towel and handed it to Scarlett who placed it gently on Charlie’s forehead.

  Scarlett and Jimmy shut the living room door and made their way quietly to Jimmy’s room, leaving Charlie to sleep on the sofa. On their way, Jimmy peered into Alice’s room to check on his little sister, who was already sleeping, curled up in a ball on her bed, still dressed, complete with baseball cap.

  Scarlett also decided to sleep in her clothes, aware that Charlie was ill downstairs and might need help during the night.

  Once in Jimmy’s bed, Scarlett forced her eyes closed, hoping she’d be able to sleep, but with her mind on her mum, it didn’t look likely. Jimmy cuddled up to her with his arm around her waist, providing Scarlett with a little comfort. After what felt like hours, she was able to drift off to sleep. But not for long.

  Grace had her pinned to the floor, teeth bared, with saliva and blood pouring out and onto Scarlett’s face as she desperately struggled to hold her mother’s face from her own. The unrelenting strain became too much for her and her arms gave way. The monster sank her teeth into Scarlett’s neck. All she could do was lie there while her blood pooled around her body and Grace sat up, still on top of her, and began clawing at her daughter’s abdomen, scooping her entrails into her hands and up to her mouth. Scarlett turned pale, her eyes fixed on her Mum’s locket before they rolled back into her head and her limbs started twitching and going cold.

  Scarlett woke with a start and sat bolt upright. She wiped the sweat from her brow and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She began breathing deeply through her nose to calm herself.

  On hearing a thud from downstairs, she held her breath to listen for further sound. Charlie was awake and, by the sound of it, stumbling his way around the kitchen. Scarlett slid her feet into her boots, leaving them only partially laced up, and made her way to the stairs.

  Walking down the hallway, she noticed that Alice’s bedroom door was open. She peered inside before hearing a devastating scream from downstairs.

  Almost tripping over her own feet, Scarlett sprinted down the stairs, closely followed by a half-naked Jimmy.

  Scarlett burst through the living room door to see Alice, on her back on the couch, desperately kicking and tearing at Charlie, who had the same look to him as Grace had. Along with Jimmy, she ripped the frail creature off and to the floor, but he got straight back onto his feet, this time charging for Jimmy. Jimmy fell to the ground, winded, followed by the old man, while Scarlett looked urgently around her for something to use.

  She seized the pistol and a magazine and threw them to Alice, who seemed to read her mind and set about loading the weapon while Scarlett grabbed a large, pointed, metal ornament and began striking Charlie’s head as hard as she could. It seemed to have no effect, so she rolled the creature over, allowing a terrified Jimmy to get to his feet; she straddled it and, raising the ornament over her head, brought it down with such force that a vocal cry escaped her.

  The improvised weapon was badly aimed, however, and went straight through the monster’s neck, spattering Scarlett’s clothes with blood. The creature grasped her around her middle and tried to sit up.

  Alice got to her feet, pointed the .45 Colt at her once feeble neighbour’s head while Scarlett took hold of its arms, pinning it to the ground.

  “Do it, Alice! Shoot him!” Scarlett screamed.

  Alice squeezed her eyes shut and pulled the trigger. Charlie slumped back and the three of them stared, trying to catch their breath.

  Alice was inconsolable as her actions began to sink in. She looked at the gun in her trembling hand and threw it on the floor.

  Scarlett and Jimmy looked at each other, still both in shock, and without a word, they both stood and set about moving Charlie's body. He was too heavy for the two of them to lift, so they took an arm each and began dragging him to the kitchen, heading for the back door. Once there, Jimmy reached behind him for the handle and opened it, allowing them to shut out the poor man's lifeless remains.

  On closing the door, they noticed the cherry-red trail of blood along the white tiled floor leading back to the living room. Scarlett gestured for Jimmy to comfort his little sister while she made her way to the cupboard containing cleaning products. She found a mop and bucket which she filled with hot water from the tap, some all-purpose cleaner and some industrial strength carpet cleaner. Jimmy and Alice's parents always kept a spotless house. This was made difficult by Jimmy; forever spilling food and drink on their expensive beige carpet which ran through every room in the house except the kitchen and bathroom.

  Having poured the entire bottle of all-purpose cleaner into the bucket of hot water, Scarlett soon had the kitchen floor white again. She made her way to the living room to see Jimmy with his arm around his sister as she pressed her wet cheek onto his shoulder, sobbing. Scarlett started spraying the carpet cleaner onto the carmine mess before her and didn't stop until the can was empty. Without a word, she disappeared into the kitchen again, emerging seconds later with a large scourer before scrubbing as hard as she could over the area where the blood had pooled after the gunshot. The frantic scouring only served to spread the mess, turning it a very slightly less alarming shade of pink.

  “I'm sorry, Jimmy,” Alice choked between ragged breaths, “I didn't know what else to do.”

  “Hey, stop it,” Jimmy comforted, “It was all you could do. If you hadn't pulled the trigger, he could have killed Scarlett. You did the right thing.”

  “What's mum going to say?”

  Scarlett stopped her frantic cleaning and shuffled over to Alice on her knees. Taking Alice's hands in her own, she succeeded in holding back tears to address her.

  “Alice, your mum would be proud of you for saving my life. There's no 'could have' about it, if you hadn't shot him, I'd be dead now.” Alice looked down at her lap as her uneven breaths began to subside and Scarlett gently lifted her chin to regain eye contact, “Thank you.”

  * * *

  As
the sun rose, Scarlett switched on the TV again. They were faced with the same news channel, the same broadcaster. She maintained her calm disposition, but the fear and the panic were evident in her eyes.

  “Military bases around the country are currently preparing for domestic deployment in a continued effort to contain the spread. The President says he is confident that it can be done, and warns rioters and looters that they are putting their lives at risk, declaring that the infected are to be shot on sight and there is a chance that people in the street could be confused for those carrying the virus. Efforts are being made to set up evacuation points to get people away from the city. More on that as we get it.”

  Scarlett switched off the television. Her mind was made up. None of them had been able to sleep and had instead made themselves useful by gathering a little food; crisps and chocolate mostly. Scarlett had changed again, this time just her top. She was now wearing one of Jimmy's many Motorhead t-shirts over the same pair of Alice's dark blue jeans, and she helped herself to a shirt to cover her arms.

  She hesitantly picked up the gun, sliding it into her waistband before Alice hurriedly pulled it out again, showing Scarlett that the safety was off. She adjusted it and replaced the weapon in her jeans, making her way to the window and peering gingerly out of the curtains.

  “Can you see anybody?” Jimmy asked.

  “No one. All the cars are in their driveways. It's like no one else is thinking about leaving.”

  “Then maybe we shouldn't either,” Jimmy pointed out, “They said on the news that they’re sending the army in. We'd be putting ourselves in harm’s way when we could just stay here where we have food, shelter and TV to stay informed.”

  Scarlett stood and swung her bag over her shoulder.

  “They’re setting up evacuation points. If they can’t control it, we’d better hope we find one before it’s too late.” She made her way to the door. Jimmy and Alice followed without argument.

  The street was silent as they approached Grace's car and Scarlett felt a shiver run through her entire body. Once they were all in the vehicle, she started the engine and checked around the car before pulling away. Upon turning the corner toward the main road, Jimmy noticed a woman in a heap, looking as though she was crying, in front of the small local shop. He pointed her out to Scarlett who stopped the car and wound down her window.

  “Hey, are you okay?” Scarlett called to her.

  When there was no answer, Scarlett slowly opened the door and got out. As she neared the woman, Scarlett reached out and laid a hand softly on her shoulder.

  “You shouldn't be out on the street like this. Where do you live? We can take you home.”

  Only then did Scarlett notice the woman’s bloody arm. Teeth marks were clearly visible among the mangled flesh and the blood had started to coagulate.

  Scarlett began to back away as the woman turned to face her. Not crying, but blind, vacant. She scrambled to her feet and Scarlett froze, picturing her mother again.

  Before she knew it, the creature had hold of her and, sputtering back to reality, Scarlett battled to push her away, screaming. She held an arm at the monster's throat while the other hand desperately fumbled with the gun in her waistband. She clumsily took the safety off and shot the girl once in the stomach. It had no effect, so she shot again and again before losing her footing on the curb and falling onto her back.

  Scarlett’s head bounced on the ground, but she managed to hold the creature away with her feet and carefully take aim at its head. She fired and it became limp and lifeless. Scarlett kicked it to one side, wiping yet more blood from her face.

  Shaking, she stood and made her way back to the car where Jimmy held his little sister, both of them breathing erratically. Scarlett silently shut the door. She lightly touched the back of her head. It was wet with blood so she took off the shirt she was wearing, bundled it up against the headrest, and drove away without a word.

  As Scarlett drove, all Jimmy could do was talk frantically about what he’d just witnessed.

  “How is it even possible?” he removed his glasses to wipe away the sweat that had formed in droplets all over his face, “How the fuck did this drug make it to human trials?”

  “I don’t know, Jimmy. It’s too late to think about that now. We have to concentrate on getting out of here.” Scarlett insisted.

  She glanced into the rear-view mirror to look at Alice. She’d barely spoken since pulling the trigger and Scarlett didn’t think she wanted to hear any more about the creatures.

  Scarlett didn’t know where she was going. She just drove, only realising her mistake when she approached the motorway leading into the city. The roads were suddenly packed and every car was stationary and clearly had been for some time. It looked as though people were making camp in their cars; standing around, boots open – some sitting inside, legs swinging – drinking water and talking to people from neighbouring vehicles.

  Still, Scarlett found herself driving down the slip road, coming to a stop behind a shiny, black hatchback.

  She cursed under her breath on glancing at the petrol gauge, wishing she’d had the presence of mind to stop at the garage a few miles back. True, service stations appeared frequently on this stretch of road, but the likelihood of reaching one before the next day was remote.

  Scarlett unfastened her seatbelt and got out of the car. She looked into the distance to discover that she couldn't see an end to the jam in either direction, so she opened the driver door and dropped herself back onto the seat to speak to Jimmy, who had busied himself trying to find a broadcast on the radio.

  “I don't think we're getting far in a hurry.” she stated, closing the car door.

  “Maybe they’re headed to an evacuation point.” Jimmy suggested.

  “In both directions?”

  Jimmy shrugged and Scarlett switched off the engine with a deep sigh, letting her head fall back onto the headrest. The three of them listened to the silence, each trying to stop the day’s events seeping back into their minds with graphic detail.

  After what felt like an eternity, a distant, low rumble sounded from somewhere to their left. Jimmy and Alice began looking for the source of the noise while Scarlett observed the people on the road below them.

  The rumble grew louder, becoming a roar, before being accompanied by an unbearably loud, high-pitched whistle. The people below began to visibly panic, some scrambling for their cars, others attempting to run, while a few simply wrapped their arms around their children tightly and closed their eyes. Scarlett looked into the sky and immediately grasped at the car keys, turning them in the ignition and forcing the gearstick into reverse. She craned her neck as far as she could in order to see out of the rear window before slamming her foot onto the accelerator.

  Jimmy and Alice looked on in horror as a Boeing 747 came crashing to the ground, nose first, crushing the cars – and their occupants – with ease. They watched, open-mouthed, as the front of the plane snapped off like a toothpick and continued to slide into the hundreds of vehicles and helpless bystanders who had no time to even think about trying to run. Men, women, children, dogs. All dead in the blink of an eye.

  Once Scarlett’s car had reached the top of the slip road, she turned the steering wheel violently, spinning the vehicle around.

  Now facing away from the motorway, Scarlett once again put her foot down before watching Alice in the mirror. Her head was bleeding a little, probably caused by Scarlett’s stuntman driving. There was no expression on her face, however. No sign that she was hurt, other than the injury itself.

  Scarlett took the back roads toward the city while Jimmy climbed into the back seat to see to his little sister.

  “All those people... What the fuck is happening?” she said angrily, slamming her hands on the wheel.

  Before she could say anymore, the radio suddenly sputtered into life, picking up a local station.

  “...will leave no later than 6pm. I repeat, the President has declared a national st
ate of emergency. Please proceed to The City. Evacuation buses will arrive at the Monument in one hour and will leave no later than 6pm.Good luck and God speed.”

  “Did you hear that?” Jimmy said excitedly, “We could actually get out of here!”

  The roads were remarkably clear as they sped closer to the city and Scarlett was able to weave in and out of abandoned vehicles with relative ease. Then again, they were only on the outskirts. Scarlett anticipated a considerable change in luck, although she chose not to share her concerns with Jimmy and Alice. All they had to do was make it to the Monument in the centre.

  Wait. Scarlett thought, The centre?

  She decided that they had no other option, so why waste time questioning the details of the evacuation? Aside from that, it was almost a completely straight road from where they were to the Monument so, provided they didn’t hit any real traffic, they would make it in plenty of time.

  It wasn’t long before Scarlett’s hope began to fade. The closer they came to the centre of the city, the more walking corpses appeared. There seemed to be no one left alive and fear washed over her.

  “What do we do now?” Jimmy asked shakily.

  “I don’t know... The Monument’s not far from here. All we can do is try to make it there.”

  “But what if they think there’s no one left to evacuate? Or they can’t get here? What if they leave early?”

  “Jimmy, I don’t know!” she yelled, twisting her neck to look at him, “I’m sorry, I just don’t know.”

  Turning back, Scarlett let out a shriek and slammed her foot on the break a little too late. The car skidded into a mass of hundreds of walking bodies.

  In seconds, the dead had surrounded the vehicle, slapping and clawing messily at the windows. Much of the glass was smeared with blood and Scarlett put the car into reverse. The small vehicle struggled backwards through the tens of cadavers that had already blocked their path. Hastily shifting into first, Scarlett put her foot to the floor and, due to the lack of visibility, drove it straight into a tree.