by G G Garcia
Henry smiled, tucked his handgun into his jeans. He stepped out of the window and grabbed the drainpipe and began to slide down. The two IOs below him were ten yards from the drainpipe and hadn’t noticed him. The two of them were wandering aimlessly around like a couple of drunks. As soon as Henry’s feet reached the floor, Demi began the descent and looked down to see him take out the two IOs with a knife.
He waited patiently as they made the descent, one by one. Lisa was the last person to make it to ground level.
“Right, fuckers,” said Henry. “Time for a run, me thinks.”
Chapter Seventy-One
Henry turned and could see three of the IOs from the car park exiting. All three turned and immediately ran at the crowd, which was noticed by all of them.
“Shit,” Mel panted, still tired from his climb down the drainpipe. “I’ll never be able to outrun them.”
“Fuck it.” Henry raised the gun, ready to waste all three of them.
“No! Don’t!” Demi stepped in and lowered the gun that Henry had raised. “If you shoot that thing, the rest of those pricks from the car park and inside the pub will be after us.”
“Of course.” He shook his head in anger, annoyed with himself, and tucked his gun away and pulled out a knife from his pocket.
Paul did the same and Demi stepped forwards with the men, all now holding a blade in their right hands.
Mel and Lisa stood helplessly as the three walked towards the running IOs. Mel couldn’t look and opened his eyes to see two of the IOs lying on the floor, and Demi finishing off the last one standing, furiously stabbing its chest. It eventually fell to the floor, bleeding out, and an exhausted Demi was helped back over to Mel and Lisa by the two men.
Demi bent over to catch her breath. “That was hard work,” she admitted. “I’m so unfit.”
Paul wiped the side of her cheek, to remove where blood had splattered on her, and checked out her face. “You’ve scratched your cheek.”
“It was that IO bitch.” She continued to pant and added, “She kept on trying to claw at me.”
“Well, ya were stabbing her to death,” Paul laughed.
Demi looked at her right hand that was covered in blood, and wiped it on her black trousers. She then asked them all if they were ready to go. All nodded and instead of running, like what was planned, they walked briskly away from the pub. They went over the Wolseley Bridge, with the River Trent furiously flowing underneath them, and Mel told them that their house wasn’t far away.
“Well, that’s great,” Henry said. “But I was told that your place is littered with dead bodies and your living room window is smashed in.”
Mel looked at Paul, who then hunched his shoulders.
“It’s true,” said Paul.
“If you wanna go back home, that’s fine.” Henry took a peek behind him. It was still clear. “We’re gonna try and find another place, maybe a house in Little Haywood.”
“Don’t wanna be goin’ too far,” Paul said, “not if we’re plannin’ to go back to the pub and get the supplies.”
“Good point.”
They continued to walk and Mel and Lisa were getting closer to their house. Mel spotted Lisa staring at the place as they were passing it.
“Keep walking,” Mel said. “That place is unliveable now. The place will be stinking with death.”
“I was thinking about going in and getting some fresh clothes,” Lisa said.
“Too dangerous,” Henry chipped in.
“It’d only take a few minutes.”
“Do what you want,” Henry sighed, not wanting an argument with the woman, “But we’re not waiting for you.”
Mel could see Lisa was thinking about it and told her to keep walking.
“Fuck off,” she snapped. “You’re not the boss of me. I want to wear my own clothes.”
“And I want to levitate, love,” Mel groaned. “But life can be a shithouse sometimes.”
“I’ll see you at the garage,” she told the rest of them, and walked towards her home where the door was left wide open.
Mel groaned and followed her in. He would only get grief if he allowed her to go in by herself.
The pair of them avoided the living room full of bodies, but the smell was still horrendous in the house. They wordlessly went to the top of the stairs and into their room. They both decided to change their clothes and even change their underwear as well whilst they were there. Mel had changed into another T-shirt that was a carbon copy of the one that he had been wearing for the last two days. It was a white round neck T-shirt with the words: “WARNING: Fart Loading” in black print. Lisa changed her bra and pants, and could see that Mel was slightly aroused.
She shook her head and pointed at his semi-erect penis. “Look at the state of you. And in the predicament we’re in as well.”
“I was just imagining you giving me a blowjob,” Mel said and immediately blushed. “You know, just like the old days.”
“Well, keep imagining, sonny.” She put on a long black T-shirt and a pair of black leggings. “There’s no way I’m sucking that. It hasn’t been washed in days.”
“Can’t I even have a wank?”
“Of course you can,” she said with a straight face. “Go into the bathroom and I’ll wait outside for you.”
“Fucker.”
“Are you seriously gonna wear that shirt?” She asked him.
“Yeah. Why?”
“Because you look like a cunt.”
Mel narrowed his eyes and shook his head at his wife. Where did it all go wrong? He huffed, “When God put teeth in your mouth, he spoiled a perfectly good arse.”
“Yeah?” She placed her hands on her hips and added, “And your mother should have swallowed you, retardo.”
Mel turned and looked at their bed. His eyes went up and looked at the picture of a ginger Tomcat. It was picked by Lisa and purchased from Ikea. Over two decades ago the canvas picture that hung over the bed was of a forest. It was black and white, very spooky, but it was quickly taken down once tragedy struck the Leslies. The picture reminded Mel of the heartbreak on that awful night/early morning, and he remembered staring at the picture once the shock hit him. Then Lisa woke up and the house was filled screaming. It was a terrible day, and November 2nd would be a date that Melvin and Lisa Leslie would never forget.
“Snap out of it,” she said from behind. “We don’t have time to be morbid. We have to leave, Mel.”
Mel nodded sadly and was the first to descend down the stairs and Lisa quickly followed. They both stepped into the fresh air and were surprised that Henry, Demi and Paul were waiting for them.
“Ready?” Henry asked the pair of them sarcastically. “Can we go to the garage now?”
Both nodded, and Mel murmured to his wife, “I still miss him.”
Lisa never responded at first. She could feel his gaze and she sighed, “I know you do. You should get that tattoo of yours covered over. It’s bloody morbid.”
“You’ve been saying that for years. I like it.”
“Memories are up here.” Lisa tapped her temple with her finger. “Not ink in the skin.”
“Just get off my back.”
Chapter Seventy-Two
Henry checked around the back of the garage once they had arrived, and claimed it was clear. There were a few things still left after Paul and Tony’s visit to the place, and all five helped themselves to food and drink.
“I think someone else has been here since me and Tony visited the place,” Paul said.
“Yeah?” Mel responded.
“There was a dead body in this aisle, where I’m standin’.” Paul pointed at the floor. “But it’s gone. Even the blood has been cleaned up.”
Henry could see that Demi was anxious and asked what was wrong.
“Need the toilet,” she said.
“I don’t think there’re toilets in here,” Henry said.
“I know.” Demi sighed, “I’ll go around the back of the garage. Tell
people not to go out.”
“Will do,” Henry laughed.
“I’m serious.”
“Don’t worry. Just go.”
Demi left the garage through the main door and Henry told the three confused people that she needed a piss.
Demi Mason looked around as she walked along the forecourt, and turned left, now walking at the side of the building. She went to the back of the place and could see a field and some houses from Little Haywood in the distance.
She looked around and then pulled down her lower clothing, including her pants, and squatted to the floor. She closed her eyes as she peed on the grass and released a little flatulence on doing this.
She pulled her clothing up once she was done, and stood up straight when she heard a noise to the side of her. It sounded like it was coming from the side of the garage and she could feel her carotid artery going ten to the dozen, banging the inside of her skin. She put her hand in her pocket and pulled out the very same knife that had been pricking her thigh when she was fleeing from the pub.
She held the steak knife and smiled when she saw a black cat appear from around the corner of the garage. It stared at her and hissed, making the female jump, almost dropping the knife. It was a reaction she wasn’t expecting from the four-legged animal. It continued to hiss and crept forwards. The behaviour of the cat reminded her of the lions and cheetahs on some of the wildlife programmes she had seen whenever they had spotted an antelope or a zebra. She had seen this many times when she used to watch nature programmes, mainly David Attenborough ones.
She then remembered the infected dog that Tony had killed. They didn’t think it was possible for a domestic pet to be affected by the catastrophe, and now Demi was face to face with an infected cat. Or was it? Maybe it was just scared. Hungry. It seemed ridiculous that a cat could be infected. Demi laughed to herself. What next? she thought. Being ambushed by a gang of infected grey squirrels?
Demi gulped and made a brave step forwards, her feet scraping along the floor, and this animal began to retreat. It hissed once more, arched its back, and then turned and ran away, disappearing through the bushes. Demi wasn’t sure if she had spooked the cat or something else had, or someone else.
Demi decided to join the rest inside the garage, but three steps were all she could take before an individual appeared from around the corner. It had its head down and didn’t notice her at first. Demi thought it was Henry, but the male lifted his head and glared at Demi with its red eyes. He growled as soon as it clocked her.
Demi raised her knife as the male ran at her. She suddenly froze and had no idea where to stick the knife. She thought that maybe the side of the neck, but was dragged to the ground before she could make a move. She dropped the knife and grabbed the male around the neck, trying to prevent herself from being bitten, but the man was strong. Much stronger than her.
Demi removed her right hand and reached out for the knife that was by her side. She was inches from grabbing the handle of the blade, but was struggling to keep the man at bay with just the one hand.
She could feel herself weakening and went back to grabbing the IO with two hands.
“Henry!” she cried. “Henry!”
She couldn’t hold on for another minute, and knew that if she didn’t get any help she was going to die.
“Henry!”
She dug her nails into the neck of her assailant and released a scream. She didn’t know what else to do. She could see that she was drawing blood and tried to squeeze harder, but she was weakening and the male IO was winning the battle. She screamed out and tried to push the infected individual away, but her arms shook with fatigue and she was seconds away from giving up.
She closed her eyes and howled, “Jesus Christ in Heaven! Help me!”
The man on top of her jolted and became still. She opened her eyes and could see a large blade had been embedded into the side of his skull. The blade was then removed and she could feel the body being dragged off of her. At first she thought it was Henry, but she quickly realised he had a gun and a knife. He didn’t have a blade that big.
Demi sat up and could see her saviour.
She tried to focus on the man that had saved her life. “It’s you.”
Chapter Seventy-Three
Henry grabbed a can of coke from the defunct fridge and peeled the ring pull back. He gulped the drink down, some of the contents escaping out of the corner of his mouth, and released a loud belch once he was finished.
“Been ages since I had one of them.”
He went over to the fridge and grabbed another one. He offered one to Mel, Paul and Lisa, who were all sitting on the floor with their backs against the wall. They all refused, and only Mel spoke.
“I’ll stick to the water. Thanks, Henry,” said Mel, holding up the litre of Evian. He took a long drink and passed it to Lisa.
Henry told them he was going to go over to the counter, at the other side of the place, and see if there was anything that could benefit them.
“Shame there wasn’t any cars lying on the forecourt,” Mel spoke to his wife. “We could really do with one now.”
Lisa never responded to her husband’s comment and Paul looked to be in a world of his own.
“Lisa,” Mel probed. “Are you listening?”
She never responded. Not even a nod.
“What’s up with you?” he huffed.
“What’s up with me?” she finally managed to speak.
“Yeah.”
“Thanks, Henry,” she mocked her husband in a whiny voice. “Can I suck your cock, Henry? Tickle your balls? Bloody pathetic!”
“Oh, not this again,” Mel moaned. “What’s wrong with being civil to one another?”
“It’s the way you suck somebody off, it’s cringe worthy.”
“You have a serious attitude problem.”
“Is that so?”
“For Christ’s sake,” Paul finally spoke up. “Can’t ya two shut the fuck up for one minute?”
“Don’t tell me what to do, fucking prick.” Lisa stood up and placed her hands on her hips, and Paul also got to his feet, prompting Mel to do the same.
Paul pulled out his knife and squared up to Lisa and growled, “Give me one reason why I shouldn’t stick this blade into ya gut right now.”
Lisa’s face quivered in fright and she gulped. She took a step backwards and felt a shiver down her back as Paul continued to glare at the scared woman.
“M ... M ... Mel,” Lisa shook with fright. “Aren’t you gonna do something?”
“Why?” Mel spoke with no emotion in his face.
“Because I’m your wife.”
“You’re just some bitter tub of lard that puts me down whenever you get a chance.” Mel placed his hand on Paul’s shoulder. “Maybe you should kill her. It’s not as if you’re gonna get arrested for the crime. This is the best time to do it.”
“Mel?” Lisa looked closed to tears. “What are you saying?”
“I’m fucking sick of you. That’s what I’m saying!” Mel didn’t really want Paul to kill his own wife. He just wanted to scare her a little, but he really was sick of her.
A scream could be heard from outside and Henry was the first to react. Paul, Mel and Lisa looked on as Henry Brown left the garage kiosk and ran along the front of the place. They assumed he was heading for the screams, at the back of the place, but they were unsure if the screams belonged to Demi. They must have. Otherwise, why did Henry leave?
Henry kept his gun in the front of his jeans and his knife in his pocket as he jogged along the side of the building. Once he reached the corner, he peered his head around. He stepped out and looked on in disbelief.
Henry could see the back of a man, standing a couple of yards from Demi. The man with his back to Henry removed his machete from the skull of the attacker and placed it into his leather holster. He then removed the body off of Demi and took a step back. Henry watched as Demi sat up. She spoke to the stranger and then suddenly clocked Henry
’s presence.
This was noticed by the strange man, and he sniffed, and calmly turned around so he was face to face with Henry Brown.
“I’ve seen you around,” Henry said to the stranger. “You’re Luke, right? Luke Bentley?”
Luke Bentley was six feet in height, head shaven, and was in his early twenties. He looked Henry up and down and said, “That’s right.”
“Where are you staying?” Henry asked him, and began to scratch the inside of his nose with his thumb.
Luke pointed to the top of the garage, but Henry and Demi were confused. Luke could see their confusion and explained briefly.
“I have a sleeping bag up there,” he said. “I sleep on the roof, and stay in the garage during the day. Came here last night. Had to move a body from inside the place, but it’ll do until I run out of food, or if the SOs turn up.”
“We turned up at the garage because we were fleeing from the pub,” Demi said to Luke.
“I hope you didn’t take much.” Luke Bentley began to look annoyed. “The garage is mine now.”
“We had a couple of drinks, that’s all,” Henry said. He had a handgun in the front of his jeans and could have easily gunned down Luke if he became too aggressive, but Henry liked the edgy man. He would be a good addition to the group, he thought.
“Everybody I know has died,” Luke began and placed his hand on the handle of the machete. “Since Sunday I’ve been on a bit of a killing spree, killing as many SOs as I can. And now I’ve ended up here. I don't wanna go further than this. I’ll probably head back to Rugeley after the supplies are done here. By the time that this place has ran out of food, the town will be less populated with the SOs and it’d be safer to get more supplies.”
Demi and Henry knew he was talking about the infected and never asked what SOs stood for.
“Why don’t you join us?” Henry folded his arms, waiting for an answer.
Demi looked at Henry as if he had lost his mind. Her face hardened and she gently shook her head at her occasional lover. Her reaction was noticed by Luke. He managed a small smile and declined Henry’s offer.