by G G Garcia
“Who?” Maxwell laughed.
“Tell him.” She nodded at Henry and sat back in her seat, folding her arms.
Maxwell looked at his friend with a confused look on his face. “What’s she talking about?”
“Demi and some guys stayed at The Wolseley Arms for a day,” Henry began. “And the owner told them a theory he had, which has got Demi all riled up.”
“So?” Maxwell hunched his shoulders. “What did he say?”
“Well, do you remember when we watched it on TV yesterday, and that the army were surrounding the West Midlands and putting up perimeters and stuff?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Maxwell said impatiently. “So what?”
“He reckons that the government are trying to keep us in the area,” said Demi. “And that they’re going to wait until we’ve all perished. Then the army will enter towns and villages and ... clear up.”
“It’s too big an area for the army to surround.” Maxwell began to laugh. “We only have about two hundred thousand personnel, including reserves. Some of them are already abroad, on active duty. Unless they bring in NATO, or even the US Army, there’ll be no proper perimeter.”
“He’s got a point.” Henry smiled and nodded. “And what about the army that are within the area. You’ve got places like Whittington and Beacon barracks?”
Demi never responded and remained quiet, thinking about what Maxwell had just said. Maybe he had a point.
“It was just his theory.” Demi said timidly, hunching her shoulders. “It made me think, that’s all.”
“Don’t worry about shit like that.” Henry placed his hands behind his head and groaned, “They’re not gonna let millions of people from the middle of England die. There’d be hell to pay. There’d be international condemnation, and I’m sure the people of the south and the north would protest about such a decision.”
“Maybe,” said Demi. “But if you lived in Newcastle, Edinburgh or Devon, would you give a shit about people in the West Midlands if it meant the problem was being contained, and you and your family were safe?”
Neither men gave her an answer.
“That’s what I thought.”
Chapter Five
“Have you got what you need?” Melvin asked the two young men.
Paul Newbold and Anthony Willetts both nodded. They wanted to carry as little as possible. Both men had eaten and were hydrated, and hoped that their excursion would only take an hour or so. Both had a steak knife in their pocket, and Tony also had the tyre iron from Paul’s car clasped in his right hand.
“So, how are we gonna do this?” Tony asked his friend. “I haven’t watched that many cop shows to know how to hotwire a car, and it’s too dangerous to be fannying about.”
“I’m not sure that hotwiring is even possible,” Paul remarked.
“So, basically we’re gonna hope that someone has left their car with the keys in the ignition, is that what you’re saying?”
“Pretty much.” Paul nodded the once and added, “Some people might have abandoned their cars in panic, maybe crashed them a little. If there’re cars on the drives we could break into the house and take the keys; even ask the owners, if they’re in, if we can borrow their vehicle.”
“And then return it once everything is back to normal?” Tony laughed.
Paul shrugged his shoulders.
Tony groaned, “This is madness.”
“Have ya got any better suggestions?”
The door to the main bedroom opened and out stepped Lisa Leslie, moaning about the noise being made by the men of the place.
“What in the blue fuck’s going on?” she groaned. “Noisy bastards.”
Lisa was dressed in her pants, and her groin area was covered by a long white nightshirt that reached her knees. Melvin didn’t recognise the shirt and presumed correctly that she had taken it from Helen Jameson’s wardrobe.
Her eyes looked bloodshot and Melvin asked if she was okay.
“Fine.” She wiped her eyes. “I just woke up and thought about Gail.”
“Oh.”
Lisa looked at the three males and noticed their glum faces. “What’s up with you three? You all look like somebody has pissed in your porridge.”
“Tony and Paul are leaving,” Mel announced.
“Leaving?” Lisa screwed her face in confusion and belched loudly. “What in blue fuck are you talking about?”
“We’re going to the garage up the road, and then maybe off to Little Haywood if we can’t find anything,” Tony began. Noticing the perplexity scrawled over her face, he continued to explain. “We’re hoping to get a car.”
“Right.” Lisa nodded slowly, her tone mocking the boy’s plan. “And if you can’t find a car?”
“I’ll be leavin’ anyway, on foot,” said Paul. “With or without Tony.”
“And why would you risk your life just to get home?”
Paul hunched his shoulders. “I just want to get home. No matter how.”
“And I want to get pumped rotten by Tom Hardy,” she huffed. “But life can be a shithouse sometimes.”
“Well, I’m goin’ anyway,” Paul said, almost petulantly.
“Fine,” said Lisa. “If you get killed, then that’s on you, sunshine.”
Paul sat down and decided not to antagonise Lisa Leslie. She was an argumentative and obnoxious bitch, he thought. And he didn’t have the energy to have an argument with the feisty woman. She could probably start a fight in an empty house, he thought. And believed that Melvin deserved a medal for putting up with years of her shit, despite what Mel had done to her years ago. This was only the second day in her company and he had already had enough of the woman.
“Are we ready to go?” Tony asked.
Paul nodded and shook Melvin’s hand. “Thanks for everything.”
“No worries.” Melvin Leslie smiled. “If it gets too bad on the way there, come back.”
“And probably bring some of those IOs back here?” Lisa groaned. “No fucking chance.”
Ignoring Lisa, Paul said to Melvin, “Don’t worry. We’ll be back if it gets too bad.”
“Good,” Melvin said with a smile.
“Good?” Lisa yelled and pointed at Paul Newbold. “We were doing okay before this twat turned up at our front door.”
Melvin was baffled by his wife’s comment, and had to remind her, “He helped us out more than once with those infected things.”
“We owe them nothing.” Lisa folded her arms and added, “We can do alright on our own.”
“On our own?” Melvin guffawed. “This isn’t even our place.”
Lisa continued to rant, but Melvin and the two young men turned and walked away whilst she moaned. Lisa yelled at Melvin to lock the door once Paul and Tony left the building, but he knew what to do. He wasn’t stupid.
The three males reached the bottom of the stairs and all stood near the main door.
“So, this could be it,” Mel said to Paul.
Paul smiled. “It could be.”
“A part of me wishes I was going with you.”
“And leave the love of ya life on her own to fend for herself?” Paul joked, making Melvin giggle.
“Yeah, well, looks like I’m stuck with her now.”
Melvin opened the main door that led out to the back, onto the vacant car park, with the river flowing to the right.
“Best of luck, Mel,” Paul said as he approached the door.
“I’m not gonna lie to you, guys,” Mel spoke with a seriousness in his tone. “A part of me hopes you come back.”
“We’ll see how it goes. Maybe we will come back. Maybe we’ll have to.”
Paul and Tony stepped outside, noticed that the area was clear, and turned to face Melvin.
“I feel guilty,” Paul confessed. “Leaving ya here with her.”
“Nothing I’m not used to,” Melvin laughed. “Don’t worry about me. I can handle that lump.”
“All the best.” Tony held out his hand and Melvin
shook it. Paul did the same and both young men said farewell to Melvin.
“Remember what I said,” Melvin spoke with his voice raised as the two men walked away. Paul and Tony turned around, still walking. “Come back if it’s too dangerous.”
Paul saluted Melvin and Tony gave off an approved nod. The two young men turned left, went over the Wolseley Bridge, and walked along the desolate lane. Tony clasped onto the tyre iron, but Paul felt reasonably relaxed and kept his knife in his pocket for now.
“Ah, it’s nice to be outdoors.” Paul lifted his head as the pair of them walked along the main road.
Tony looked to his left, at his friend, and said, “Seriously? Nice to be outdoors? I’m friggin’ shitting myself, man.”
“It’s not that bad, so long as we don’t come across a gang of them.”
Tony shook his head and huffed.
“Wit’s up with ya face?”
“It’s you,” said Tony. “You’re changing. It’s like you and Marion splitting up all over again.”
“Don’t mention her name,” Paul snapped.
“God, sorry, mate.” Tony shook his head. “It was a long time ago, so why—”
“Shut the fuck up, Tony. Ya have no idea, so don’t bring her name up again. Ya should know that by now.”
Tony was hurt by his friend’s scolding and was angry at himself for producing tears. Thankfully, they never fell and he wiped his eyes and cleared his throat, embarrassed by his reaction.
“I’m sorry for bringing her name up, Paul, but I have a confession to make.” There was no response from Paul, so Tony continued to talk. “When Demi and I were stuck in the pub, she mentioned you and wondered why you were so emotionless.”
“I’m not emotionless.”
“You are, man.” Tony was reluctant to finish his story off, but eventually got round to it. “I told her about Marion and how it changed you. I think it was August when you two split up, wasn’t it?”
“Twenty-fourth of August,” Paul spoke with sadness in his voice. “Three years ago. And there’s more to it than just a break up.”
“What do you mean, man? What else happened?”
Paul opened his mouth to say something, but he changed his mind. “Forget it.”
“Come on, mate”
“Forget it.” Paul turned to the side and spat on the road. “Trust me. It’s best if ya don’t know.”
Tony probed no more and the two friends walked in silence.
They were ten minutes from the garage.
Chapter Six
“I was watching this film about the apocalypse,” Maxwell began. “And just like now, power had gone. But this was after two weeks, and then people began to raid shops and supermarkets.”
“This isn’t an apocalypse,” Demi huffed.
All three were sitting on the couch, gazing at the TV that would have been working twenty-four hours ago.
“Then what is it, eh?” Henry asked.
“It’s...” Demi paused and thought.
“I’d Google it.” Maxwell picked up his defunct phone in his right hand from the side of the couch, and then placed it back. “But the internet doesn’t seem to be working.”
“It’s a pandemic,” she said, looking unsure.
“It’s an epidemic,” Henry jumped in. “A pandemic is when the whole country is affected.”
“Well, whatever it is, it’s not a worldwide thing,” Demi spoke with conviction. “Or at least it wasn’t last time I saw the TV.”
“That’s the problem.” Henry ran his hands over his face in exasperation. “Nobody knows what’s going on now. We don’t know if this has escalated or if we’re gonna get help.”
Maxwell said, “The best thing we can do, for our own survival, is to assume the worst.”
Demi was unsure what Maxwell meant, and told him so.
The thirty-four-year-old tried to explain,” We need as much food, water, and gas as we can store in this place and then just sit tight.”
His announcement was greeted by silence. Henry and Demi turned and looked at one another.
“I have an idea,” Maxwell announced.
Henry took an intake of breath.
The bald and portly Maxwell continued, “Here’s what I propose.”
“I’m listening.” Henry nodded.
“Me and you go out to the supermarket on Power Station Road. We fill the car up with as much as we can, then hit the petrol station next to it. And once we’ve done that and brought the stuff back here, we go on a second run.”
“A second run?” Demi queried.
“That’s right.” Maxwell grinned. “We go to Aelfgar sports centre, just outside Rugeley’s town centre.”
“Why?”
“Because they have a gym. Where there’s a gym, there’re water coolers.”
“And what do I do?” said Demi. “Just hang about here, like a good girlie?”
Both men looked at one another, and Henry decided to speak to an upset Demi Mason.
He said, “Look, this has nothing to do with being sexist, if that’s what you’re implying. We have guns, plus, we need someone to stay here.”
“Why?” she huffed.
“In case somebody tries to get in.”
“So you’re basically leaving me here, alone, in danger, while you two go out there and play Cowboys and Indians.”
“You said last night,” Maxwell decided to speak up. “You’ve never killed any of those things. You’d be no use to us out there. Also, an extra arse on our car seat is less room for us to fill with goodies.”
Demi gulped hard and opened her mouth to react, but no words fell out. She hated to admit it to herself, but both men had good points.
She asked, “So I just stay here then?”
“Sorry, Demsy.” Henry smiled thinly. “We’ll lock you in before we leave.”
Demi went to the bathroom and took a while to come out. Both men guessed that she had had a cry to herself. She exited the bathroom, wiping her eyes with a hanky.
“You okay?” Henry took one step forwards, in two minds whether to comfort the woman.
She sat down, waved him away, and told him to leave her alone.
“Sorry to put you in this position,” Henry said.
“I bet that’s not the first time you’ve said that,” Maxwell chuckled.
Ignoring Maxwell, Henry continued, “So, in summary, we’re gonna take a run to the supermarket, get gas, and then come back here and drop the stuff off. Then we get gallons of water from Aelfgar gym. We could be out most of the morning, but you’ll be fine.”
“You know that for sure, do you?” Demi sniffed.
“Look, if there’s anything I can do to make it up to you, I will. But we need to do this first.”
“Make it up to me?” Demi laughed mockingly at her occasional lover. “We’re not a couple, Henry. I was just some daft tart that you banged every now and then, when you were bored. I should have stayed at the pub.”
“I picked you up.”
“Yeah, but it was Emma you was really looking for. And now you’ve laid her to rest in your back garden.”
“I mean it.” Henry spoke “You were more to me than just a shag.”
Maxwell cleared his throat and said, “Look, do you want me to leave the room?”
Nobody responded to him and Henry said, “I meant what I said. If there’s anything I can do to make it up to you.”
“Actually, there is something you can do when you get back.”
“Tremendous. Well, we’ll talk about it when I get back.”
Chapter Seven
Melvin Leslie sat on the Jameson’s couch, holding a bottle of coke he had taken from the defunct fridge, and stared into oblivion. Lisa was mooching around the area downstairs, and finally made her way up, back to the first floor, back to the living area.
She entered the living room and slumped in the armchair that wasn’t far from the couch. She huffed and looked over to her husband who seemed to be in a state
of hypnosis.
“Well, this is weird,” she said, trying to break the silence.
It took a while for Melvin to respond, but when he did, he mumbled, “What is?”
“Staying in a pub we’ve been coming to over the years,” she began to explain. “I’ve always wondered what the upstairs living arrangements in this place was like.”
“Yeah? Well, now you know.”
“What’s up with you?” Lisa looked over and shook her head at her husband. “You look like someone has kicked your dog.”
“What’s up with me?” Melvin laughed and took a swig from his bottle. “Almost two days ago, everything was normal. Now the area we live in is plagued by infected people, like something out of a horror film, and we’ve had to move from our home after being attacked by these infected ... things. Oh, and we’ve possibly been abandoned by our own government, and we might be left to our own devices because of the fear of it spreading.”
“I suppose when you put it like that...” Lisa scratched at her grey hair and groaned, “I can’t stop thinking about Gail.”
“I know.”
Lisa looked unusually hesitant about releasing her next sentence. She paused and said, “I knew about you two. I’m not daft.”
Melvin never flinched. He remained gazing at the carpet and took another swig of coke.
*
Once Paul and Tony had managed to complete the left bend of the country lane, they could see that there was a straight road ahead of them. On the left hand side of the road, the garage could be seen a couple of hundred miles up the road, and much further up, also on the left, was the entrance to Little Haywood. Acres of farmland was to the right of the men, and fortunately not an IO was in sight.
“I very much doubt that there’s gonna be any abandoned cars on the forecourt of this garage, man,” Tony remarked.
“True.” Paul nodded. “But there might be products in there that could come in useful.”
“We don’t even have any bags with us,” Tony grunted.
“Well, if we get a car, whether it’s from the garage or the village, we can fill the vehicle with the goodies.”
The two men continued to walk and their hearts dipped when the sight of the forecourt began to show that there were no vehicles present.