by G G Garcia
“I just didn’t like the way you was sucking his cock. It was embarrassing.”
“I wasn’t sucking his cock.” Mel huffed and clenched his fists. He envisaged knocking his wife out, but took a deep breath and a step back.
“Honestly, Mel.” Lisa looked her husband up and down and sneered, “You have more cock in your personality than you do in your pants.”
“Oh, shut up. Why do you have to put me down all the time?”
“You put me down all the time.” Lisa yelled, and then leaned her back against the sink. “You’re always calling me names.”
“Only when you insult me first.”
“You’re always calling me fat.”
“That’s not me insulting you, that’s me describing you. Anyway, if you run like your mouth you’d be in good shape.”
Lisa threw her hand back and went to slap her husband, but Mel grabbed her wrist and stopped the violent action. He was inches away from being struck on the side of his face.
“You hit me,” he said, letting go of her wrist, “and I’ll hit you back.”
“You’re good at that, aren’t you?”
“Stop going on about it. I don’t remember that night at all.”
“You really are a twat, aren’t you?” Lisa shook her head and looked at her husband with disgust. “As soon as this is over, we’re getting a divorce. You repulse me.”
“You’re hardly a supermodel yourself.”
“Stop talking like an idiot.”
“Well, how else are you gonna understand me?”
“Honestly.” Lisa took a step forwards and was inches away from Mel’s face and the male refused to back down. “I wouldn’t piss on you if you were on fire.”
Mel looked away, puzzled, and turned back to his wife. “It’d be bad enough being on fire without you pissing on me as well.”
“You think you’re such a smart arse, don’t you?”
A bang could be heard, and Lisa and Mel stood in silence. It wasn’t a loud noise, but it sounded like it was coming from outside.
Mel and Lisa remained standing, unsure what to do, and Mel finally left the kitchen and went downstairs. He reached the ground floor and entered the lounge area. He could see Tony, Craig, Paul and Demi standing by the main door, all with worried faces.
Mel looked around the lounge, and then stared at the four individuals who were looking back at him.
He asked, “Where’s Henry?”
Chapter Sixty
Henry looked to his left and then to his right. He decided to walk right, towards the beer garden and the river, and kept his gun in his hand, caressing the trigger. Henry approached the fence and climbed over, and now was on the riverbank. He couldn’t see anybody. The day looked like God had turned down the contrast. It had dulled a little and he guessed that it was around six or seven in the evening. Henry looked over at the two cars in the car park and then at the exit once more. Whoever had banged the door must have disappeared, he thought. He shook his head and placed the gun in the front of his jeans. Relaxed, he climbed over the fence and began to make his way over to the main door.
Henry was yards from the main door when he heard a familiar voice behind him. “You forgot to check behind the cars.”
Henry stopped in his tracks and a small smile appeared under his nose, but that smile soon disappeared once he had turned around.
Henry looked at the man that was standing opposite him and could see that he wasn’t best pleased.
Maxwell had his Glock pointing at Henry, holding it with both hands, and looked ready to shoot.
“You and that bitch just left me,” Maxwell spat.
“We didn’t have a choice,” Henry tried to explain. “We—”
“Bollocks!” Maxwell bit his bottom lip and a rage like a fire swept over him.
He looked genuinely upset that his friend had left him to die back in Colton, back in the flat they both shared.
“Let me explain what happened, eh?” said Henry.
“I’m all ears.”
“Just...” Henry raised his hand and urged Maxwell to lower his weapon. “Just put the gun away so we can talk.”
Maxwell began to grind his teeth and lowered the gun, but kept both hands on it. He glared at Henry and waited for him to speak.
“The place was littered with those cunts. We barely got out ourselves,” Henry began to explain to his irate friend. “We heard shooting from yourself, and we realised there were too many of them to kill. It would have been suicide to take them on.”
“So you just left me?”
“Yeah.” Henry nodded. “We had no choice.”
“Had no choice?” Maxwell began to laugh.
“It’s true. We left the flat, in my car, stayed somewhere for the night, and then we came back to see if you were there and—”
“You went back to the flat?”
“Yeah. We wanted to see if you were okay.” Henry looked uncomfortable and said further, “We went back for the supplies as well.”
“How touching.” Maxwell relaxed a little and now had the gun by his side, now holding the gun with the one hand.
“You don’t understand how bad it was. It would have been suicide trying to get to you.”
“I don’t understand how bad it was?” Maxwell began to laugh. “I had to shoot and fight my way out of that place.”
“Look, I’m sorry. If I could get the time back again, I’d still do the same. It was too dangerous. Anyhow...” Henry scratched his head and looked a little perplexed. “Why did you come here, eh? How did you know how to find us?”
“Demi mentioned this place before, didn’t she? After escaping the Savs, I went through the woods and ended up at Great Haywood. I remembered this pub being mentioned, so I thought I’d try it.”
“Come inside.” Henry took a step forwards and held out his hand.
Maxwell placed the gun into his jeans and moved forwards himself. He held out his right hand, looking like he was ready to shake Henry’s, but instead he threw a left hook.
The punch took Henry by surprise. He staggered back, and by the time he could compose himself, a right hook caught him on the side of the jaw, and now the two of them were rolling around on the floor like boys in a playground.
Maxwell managed to get on top of Henry and punched him in the mouth. He threw another punch, which Henry caught, and Henry Brown bit into Maxwell’s hand, making the man scream out. Henry then palmed his pal under the chin and managed to push him off and onto the floor.
“Forget this!” Henry cried. “Let’s talk!”
Maxwell stood to his ungainly feet and threw a punch at Henry, but completely missed. Henry had his back to the entrance of the car park and Maxwell was facing him, with his back to the river.
Maxwell took a step forwards with his fists clenched, but Henry stepped back a few paces. He didn’t want to fight his friend.
Maxwell narrowed his eyes and reached for his gun in the front of his jeans.
Henry began to panic and reached for his own gun, but was struggling to get it out. Maxwell aimed his gun, and said to his friend, “Move.”
Henry looked behind him and took a step to the side. An infected obese male ran into the car park and Maxwell put two slugs in the man’s belly. He continued to pull the trigger, but he was out of ammo, and the man fortunately collapsed to the floor. But there were more coming.
Another two entered the place, two females, and headed for the two men who stood in shock. Henry pulled out his Glock, chambered a round, and then put two bullets into the chest of the girl on the left. The shots echoed around the car park, piercing the ears of both men. She fell to the floor and the other female, unbothered by her companion’s demise, continued to run in the direction of the two men.
She was a matter of yards from Henry and he squeezed the trigger, releasing a bullet into her forehead. She fell, with his ears still ringing, and looked to Maxwell and asked if he was okay.
“Shit.” Maxwell released his cl
ip and realised he had no ammo left. “I’m out of bullets.”
“Don’t worry about that. I have another five magazines in the pub. Then that’s it. That’s our lot.”
Maxwell stood straight and looked over at the exit of the car park. “We better go inside.”
“I know.” Henry said. “I don’t know about you, but I could do with a drink. Are we good?”
“Never mind that,” Maxwell huffed and pointed at the entrance/exit of the car park. “We need to go inside. Now.”
Henry turned around and could see seven of the infected running into the car park and there was more behind them. Many more.
Within seconds, both men were inside the establishment and the door was locked.
Chapter Sixty-One
Henry locked the door behind him and he and Maxwell ran through the lounge and up the stairs. Henry went into the spare bedroom and tossed Maxwell a magazine for his Glock. Both men were on the landing, at the top of the stairs, and the rest of the people were standing in the living room, all were anxious. Henry quickly introduced Maxwell to the group and then the pair of them were now standing at the top of the stairs and reloading their handguns.
“If they get in,” Craig called over to the two men, “I don’t think gunning them down is the answer, mate.”
“Then what the fuck do you suggest?” Maxwell laughed. “Try and persuade them to leave?”
“I think Craig is concerned that the gunshots will attract more of them,” Paul guessed. “Isn’t that the reason why so many have turned up? Because of ya little shootout in the car park?”
“If they get in,” said Henry, “we’ll have to gun them down. We won’t have a choice. I don’t particularly want to waste bullets on these freaks. Those five magazines are all I have left.”
“Try not to piss your pants just yet.” Maxwell shook his head at Paul and released a snigger. “They might not even come in.”
“I’m not pissin’ my pants,” Paul snarled. “I’m just…”
“Just stand back if they come in. We’ll look after you.”
“I can look after myself.”
“Paul has killed those things, man,” Tony decided to speak up, but his voice quavered when he did. “He can handle himself. He probably has more experience than you.”
“Of course he has.” Maxwell chambered a round and Henry decided to stay out of the petty argument. “I bet I’ve killed more.”
“At least he’s never killed a pregnant woman,” Demi spoke up.
A silence fell on the people and nobody seemed to query Demi about her comment. Whatever the story behind her comment, it made the two guys, Maxwell especially, uncomfortable. They could all see it.
Maxwell lowered his head and cleared his throat. “That was an accident, Demi. Stop fucking going on about it.”
“You just shot her, asking no questions.”
“I thought she was one of them!” Maxwell turned and growled at the female. “Just shut the fuck up, bitch!”
Mel and Lisa remained quiet whilst the arguing persisted, and Paul was the only one out of the three young guys that spoke up in Demi’s defence. Even Henry remained quiet.
“Don’t speak to her like that,” Paul spoke up. “That ain’t gonna help anyone.”
Maxwell’s blood was simmering and he was beginning to shake with rage.
“What did you just fucking say?” Maxwell stepped towards the living room. Henry tried to pull him back, but Maxwell shrugged him off.
“Ya heard me.”
“I’m not letting some cunt speak to me like that.” Maxwell was in the living room and now squared up to Paul Newbold. “Fancy your chances, do you?”
“Ya just arrived. So why are ya tryin’ to get yourself thrown out?”
Maxwell released a belly laugh and turned around to look at Henry. There was no expression on Henry’s face. In truth, he was embarrassed of his friend’s behaviour. He had only been in the place five minutes, and was already causing trouble. He was worse than Lisa Leslie.
Paul smiled. “What are ya gonna do? Shoot me?”
Maxwell took a step back and raised his firearm, the barrel inches away from Paul’s forehead.
“Are ya really doing this?”
Paul never moved and glared at Maxwell. He was certain he wasn’t going to get a bullet, and tried his best to remain calm. He didn’t want Maxwell to think he had the upper hand. He didn’t want him to think that he feared him. It was a bizarre situation. Weeks ago, even days, the sighting of Henry and Maxwell in town would have made Paul cross the road to avoid the notorious pair. But now with the apocalyptic type of situation they were in and Paul having to kill some infected people to remain alive, the presence of Henry and Maxwell didn’t concern him. Even though both had loaded weapons.
Henry stepped towards his friend and placed his hand on top of Maxwell’s gun and pushed it down slowly, lowering the weapon.
“Let’s not be stupid,” said Henry. “We’re all in a dire situation and need to have our wits about us. Turning on each other isn’t going to help.”
“I don’t like being disrespected.” Maxwell continued to glare at Paul and was in no mood to back down.
“Put your gun away.”
Maxwell shook his head, his temper now reducing. “Why?”
“Just do it.”
“I’m not—”
The sound of glass shattering stopped Maxwell from finishing his sentence. Demi and Craig gasped when the sound reached their ears, and Tony and Mel never flinched.
“What in the blue fuck was that?” Lisa cussed.
“Looks like we might have guests.” Henry looked at Maxwell and slapped him on the shoulder. “Come on. Back to the top of the stairs.”
Henry and Maxwell returned to the landing and stood next to each other, side by side, both guns pointing to the bottom of the stairs. The sound of running could be heard, but it was difficult to establish how many were inside. Just two of them? A dozen? Maybe less?
Henry whispered to Maxwell, “It may take the Savs a while to realise you have to go behind the bar to get upstairs. So be patient.”
Maxwell never responded verbally; he simply released a quick nod and took a quick look to his left, into the living room. The males were standing, looking tetchy, whereas Lisa Leslie sat in the armchair as if what was happening was nothing out of the ordinary, and Demi was sitting on the couch with her hands over her ears, waiting for the shots to occur.
The sounds of feet began to increase in volume, but neither Henry or Maxwell were certain if they were anywhere near the stairs that led to the first floor.
Henry suddenly jumped with fright when two appeared at the bottom of the stairs. The IOs looked confused and hadn’t quite worked out that there were two potential meals standing at the top of the stairs. There was a male, probably a bodybuilder, and he was the first to look up and realise what he needed to do in order to feed. The other IO was a female. She looked no older than twelve, a pretty blonde thing back in the day, but now she looked like she was in dire need of a wash and her clothes looked liked rags.
The male snarled and ran up the stairs with no fear. Henry told Maxwell that he had it covered and waited until the man was halfway up before squeezing the trigger. He put one in the man’s chest and both watched as he tumbled backwards to the bottom of the stairs. He lay in a heap and the girl now looked up and began to run upstairs.
No words were exchanged between Henry and Maxwell. Maxwell had his gun pointing at the female and assumed that his friend had this one covered as well. The girl had reached halfway up the stairs, but there was no response from Henry. Maxwell reacted to Henry’s hesitation and raised his gun, still waiting for his friend to respond. The girl was only four steps away from reaching the landing, from reaching the two men, and Maxwell decided to step in.
He squeezed his trigger, releasing a bullet in the middle of the little girl’s forehead.
Both men seemed shocked when the back of the girl’s head spat o
ut some blood and fell backwards, banging off the sides of the walls as she crashed to the bottom of the stairs.
Maxwell kept his gun raised and seemed to have stopped breathing. His hand began to shake and he could feel Henry staring at him.
“I’m okay,” Maxwell whispered.
“You sure?”
Maxwell gulped and released a nod.
“It’s not every day you have to gun down a pre-teen girl. I just froze.”
Maxwell lowered his gun and moaned, “I need a drink.”
“Me too.” Henry agreed and added, “But before we do that we need to check downstairs. If the place is clear, we can board up, or at least cover up, the window those two smashed.”
“I’ll come with ya,” Paul spoke from behind the men.
“Shit.” Henry jumped and then cursed, “Don’t fucking sneak up on men with loaded guns.”
“I wanna come, too,” said Tony.
Maxwell and Henry looked at one another, and before they could come to a decision Paul spoke.
He said, “We may not have guns, but we have a knife each and we can handle ourselves.”
Henry was lost in thought and turned to his partner in crime. “What do you think?”
“Fuck it.” Maxwell shrugged his shoulders. “The more the merrier.”
Chapter Sixty-Two
The four guys made a slow walk to the ground floor, with the armed men leading the way. They could see that a window to the side had been smashed through and there were shards of glass on the carpet floor.
“We’ll get that covered up once we check the place out,” said Henry.
“What with?” Tony scoffed.
Henry never answered him and another moan could be heard to the left of him. It was Maxwell.
“Don’t know why we have to split,” he groaned. “The place ain’t that big. We could check it out in minutes.”
Tony and Paul were nervous, but felt it was something that needed to be done. Craig or Mel never volunteered, but the two young men didn’t hold it against them. They had been in the thick of it on some occasions, but still lacked experience when it came to dealing with the IOs. Lisa and Demi also never volunteered, but four was enough to check out the area downstairs.