Hell

by G G Garcia

  “Why not, eh?” Henry persisted. “You’ll be in good hands.”

  “I’m better off on my own,” Luke said.

  “Give it a try. You might even like being in a group.”

  “That, right there.” Luke pointed at Demi, making the female blush and shudder a little with nerves. “That’s the reason.”

  Henry rubbed his forehead in puzzlement. He said, “I don’t understand.”

  Demi walked over to Henry and stood by his side, feeling intimidated in Luke’s presence.

  Luke released a heavy sigh and explained to Henry, “People are selfish. Other people will get me killed, so long as they save their own skin.” Luke then glared at Demi and continued, “I just saved your life, and you don’t want me to join your group. Now, there’s fucking gratitude for you.”

  “It’s just because she doesn’t know you that well,” Henry tried to defend Demi, but deep down he agreed with Luke about the lack of gratitude.

  “Bollocks. She’s selfish. There’s probably no one in the group that she cares for and would gladly trip someone up if they were being chased by the SOs if it benefited her and saved her own arse. I don’t have anyone. What family I had is now dead. If I joined your group, there’d be no one there that I’d care for, no one that I would risk my neck for.”

  “Um...” Henry looked at Demi and both were equally confused by Luke’s rant. “I just thought I’d offer. Forget I said anything.”

  “Fine.” Luke went over to the dead man that had attacked Demi and grabbed his legs. Henry walked over and gave Luke a hand and took the arms.

  “Where are we putting him?” Henry asked Luke.

  Luke nodded to his left. “Other side of the fence. In a couple of days he’ll fucking stink and this is where I piss and shit. It’s not pleasant as it is.”

  Once the two men had gotten rid of the body, Luke wiped his hands down his trousers and said, “Right, so when are your lot fucking off?”

  “Soon,” said Henry.

  “Don’t wipe the place out,” Luke snarled. “Take something to eat and drink, by all means, but don’t take the piss.”

  Henry laughed and couldn’t believe the attitude from Luke Bentley.

  “Did I say something funny?”

  Henry lifted his shirt up, revealing his gun. “I don’t normally let people talk to me like that. I’m trying to be respectful here.”

  “You don’t normally let people talk to you like that? What ... are you fucking royalty or something?”

  “He has a gun,” Demi stated the obvious.

  “So? Fucking shoot me then.” Luke took two steps towards Henry and Demi, and Henry almost reached for his gun. “Either shoot me or fuck off.”

  “You’re insane,” Henry shook his head.

  “No, I’m not. Billy Knowles is insane,” Luke said with a smile. “I know all about you, Henry. You better hope that you don't bump into Terry and his psychotic brother, Billy.”

  “I can handle Billy Knowles,” Henry said with a smile.

  “Can you?” Bentley shook his head. “For the last three years, since his girlfriend was killed, he’s been out of control.”

  “I remember.” Henry nodded. “Kerry Gleeson. She was only seventeen. She was eleven years younger than Billy.”

  “Unfortunately for you, Billy was released from prison only two weeks ago.”

  “I know. Me and Maxwell have been looking over our shoulders since his release. They’re both probably dead now anyway,” Henry scoffed.

  Luke shook his head. “They’re both very much alive when I saw them passing by me in their car yesterday.”

  Henry gulped and turned to Demi and said, “Come on.”

  The two of them walked away from Luke, but the loner spoke up as the two made their way to the forecourt of the garage.

  “I’m not an animal!” Luke yelled. “If I see a family being attacked or a little kid running from one of those freaks, I’ll help out. But, you ungrateful slut, I’d be quite happy to watch you die!”

  Henry put his arm around Demi and said, “Gather everybody. We’re going.”

  “You should have just shot him,” said Demi.

  “Maybe, but he’s an ally.”

  “How can you call him that? He’s not with us. He’s not part of our group.”

  “No, but he’s going around killing the Savs. He may be a lunatic, but he’s kind of doing us, and other people, a favour. It’s better for us if he still lives.”

  “Jesus, I hope I never see him again.”

  “Yes, he’s quite a character,” Henry laughed.

  He opened the door to the garage kiosk and told everybody that they were leaving in five minutes. Nobody knew where they were going next.

  Chapter Seventy-Four

  With the garage behind them, the five individuals hit the road and walked wordlessly. Demi took a look behind her and could see Luke Bentley standing on the roof of the place, looking their way.

  He was probably making sure they definitely went, she thought.

  She turned around and was yards away from the rest. She was lagging behind Henry, Paul, Mel and Lisa, and began to think about the recent past. She thought of her parents, Emma, and wondered if her two brothers were safe.

  A few more minutes of silence had passed and she could see that there was a junction to the left that led into the village of Little Haywood. She didn’t want to go to another place. She was sick of moving around. In three days she had been to the Wolseley Arms pub, then Colton, and back to the pub again.

  They needed somewhere to stay. Even if it was for one night. They couldn’t just walk away from the pub and leave all that food. They were going to have to go back, and if they couldn’t find transport, it was going to be hard work to move the food to their new place, wherever that may be. Even if the pub was IO free the following day, it was going to be a nightmare removing all of the food and then taking it back to their new digs.

  “We’ll try the first house we come across,” Henry said to the other four. “We want to avoid going in the village too deep. It’ll be too dangerous.”

  “And once we’ve found a place?” Mel asked.

  “Then we need to get a vehicle to transport that food.”

  They turned left, passing the ‘Welcome to Little Haywood’ sign, and Henry led the way, pulling out his Glock 17. They passed a pub called the Lamb and Flag. All took a look at the pub, but moved on when they could see two men in the downstairs’ window, showing them that they were carrying baseball bats. Henry giggled at the two men and waved his gun at them, making them retreat away from the window.

  Henry could take the pub if he wanted, but he didn’t want to be that guy. He looked up to the top window of the pub and could see a woman holding a baby in her arms. One of the men must have been her husband, or her brother. Henry waved at the woman as they walked by and they were now entering a street. The street was lifeless and had no visible signs that any violence had taken place in the last three days.

  “This is really weird,” Demi groaned.

  “I know.” Henry nodded. “It’s like a ghost town, isn’t it?”

  Mel and Lisa were behind Paul, Henry and Demi, and neither one of them had spoken to each other since they had left the garage.

  Lisa looked to her left, at her husband, and decided to break the ice.

  “I was thinking about the time we went on holiday, to Tenerife,” she said. “Remember?”

  “God, that was over twenty years ago.” Mel smiled a little, and added, “Christ. Back then we actually used to like each other.”

  “Used to shag like rabbits as well.”

  “I suppose that’s the normal process,” Mel sighed. “Shag like bunnies, and after a few years it dies on its arse.”

  “I remember you used to call your penis The Truth, because bitches couldn’t handle it.”

  “Yeah, well, those days are well and truly gone.” Mel smiled and looked up to the sky, reminiscing. “I suppose that happens as you
get older, living with the same woman. I like vanilla ice cream, but I wouldn’t want to have the same flavour every day. Sometimes you need to try different flavours.”

  “If that’s a euphemism,” Lisa said, “then that’s a crap one. I suppose I’m the vanilla ice cream.”

  “I’m just saying.”

  “Was that what Gail was?” Lisa asked. “A different flavour?”

  “Gail’s dead. Let’s just change the subject.”

  “I don’t know what she saw in you. You’re about as attractive as a retarded pig.”

  “Well, holy shitballs, and normal order has been restored,” Mel sighed. “Just for one minute you actually spoke to me like a normal person.”

  He then looked up and could see Henry holding his hand up and stopping. Paul and Demi also stopped, and Lisa asked why.

  Mel stood next to the three of them whilst Lisa lagged behind. Three individuals, who were assumed as IOs, came from around the bend in the long street. Henry could see the three of them looking at him and the others. Seconds later more appeared, another seven, and Henry had lost some of his confidence.

  “Are they infected?” Paul asked Henry. “It’s hard to tell, isn’t it?”

  Henry nodded. “Sure is.”

  Another three appeared from around the bend and there were now twelve in all, but all were convinced there’d be more if they hung around long enough. The crowd were progressing towards the group and were still a fair distance away.

  The individual at the front of the herd then ran, and the other eleven followed.

  Henry turned around and said to the four of them. “Run.”

  Chapter Seventy-Five

  Henry Brown led the way as the group ran from the IOs. They were running up an incline, on the main road that was bending to the right. Henry pointed up ahead and could see a large house.

  “We can try that place,” he said with what little breath he had.

  “I think we can outrun them,” Paul panted. “Keep runnin’.”

  “We maybe could outrun them...” Henry nodded at Melvin and Lisa who were both aerobically struggling.

  “Oh, fuck it.” Henry snapped. “Follow me.”

  He turned right, with the rest following, and ran down the driveway that belonged to the house and was at the back garden of the place. Mel and Lisa were predictably the last to join them, both panting hard.

  “Did the IOs see ya come here?” Paul asked an out of breath Mel.

  Mel shook his head and was unable to speak, but he tried.

  “They...” He continued to pant. “They hadn’t cleared the bend ... when I ran down the drive.”

  “Are ya sure?”

  Mel nodded. “I looked over my shoulder before we ran down. There was nothing behind me.”

  They looked around the place and could see that it was a simple garden, but large. The grass was cut like a bowling green and there were very little plants or flowers present, apart from a bush in the left corner. The area was fenced off. It was hard to see what was over the six foot fence, but all knew it was just fields.

  Henry told the group to be quiet and took his gun out as the sound of running feet could be heard, highlighting to the group that the infected crowd had gone by the house. Henry went to the corner of the building, inbetween the back garden and the driveway, and peered around. Nothing could be seen.

  “Tremendous. I think we’re okay,” he said softly. “I think they’ve ran past.”

  “Okay?” Demi was worried and had her hand on her head, claiming she had a migraine. “We’ve got those freaks on one side of the road, and we can’t go back the pub way because of the ones that were there.”

  “It’s not great.” Paul sighed. “But it is wit it is.”

  “So what do we do now?” Lisa groaned, finally getting her breath back to normal.

  “Not sure.” Henry rubbed his head and was trying to think of the options that they had.

  “Not sure?” Lisa guffawed. “That’s no fucking use, is it?”

  Henry’s blood began to boil and couldn’t help himself. He stormed over to Lisa and put his face into hers. “Why don’t you shut your fucking mouth before I put a bullet in it. If you’ve got any better suggestions, I’m all fucking ears.”

  Paul was the first to react. He went over to Henry and placed his hand on his shoulder and said, “Let’s all calm down. This ain’t helping, is it?”

  “What about breaking into this house?” Mel suggested. “We don’t wanna go further and further away from the pub.”

  Paul turned around and could see a man in the living room window, holding a shotgun. Paul waved and instructed the middle-aged man to open the top window so they could talk.

  The nervous man opened the window and they could all see a little boy and girl by his side, and then being removed from the window by a female. They presumed that the woman was his wife.

  “Don’t come in!” the man yelled through the window. He then turned around and told his wife to take the kids upstairs.

  He then turned his attention back to the group. He pointed at Mel and Lisa and told them that he had seen their faces in the Wolseley Arms pub now and again.

  “It’s okay. We don’t wanna come in,” Paul said to the man behind the window.

  “Don’t we?” Henry spoke with confusion.

  “No, we don’t.” Paul flashed Henry a hard glare. “We’re just keepin’ a low profile from the infected. A couple of hours and we can try the pub again.”

  “We need a place so we can store the food from the pub.”

  “This place is taken, Henry,” said Paul.

  “But the further we have to walk to find a vacant place, the further—”

  “He has a family.”

  “So?”

  “He’s also got a gun, Henry,” Demi said, stating the obvious.

  “So have I?” Henry smiled.

  “He’s more dangerous than you, Henry.”

  “Really?”

  “He has a home and, more importantly, a family to protect,” said Paul. “That makes him extremely dangerous in my book.”

  “Anyway, what is it with these country folk and shotguns?”

  “Most people have a permit around here,” Mel said. “Especially the farmers. To kill off vermin, so to speak.”

  “You can stay in the garden for a while,” the man spoke through the opened window. “If you try and come in, I’ll be forced to shoot. I don’t care who you are.”

  “That’s nice.” Henry turned to Mel and Lisa. “Aren’t you lot practically neighbours?”

  “Hardly.” Mel hunched his shoulders. “I’ve never seen him before.”

  “We’ll wait an hour or so,” Paul said to the man. “And then we’ll move on, friend. Okay?”

  “Wait there a minute.”

  The man disappeared from the window and Henry and the rest looked at one another, unsure what was happening. Nobody had a clue, but waited in the back garden patiently, apart from Lisa Leslie.

  “What the fuck is going on?” she groaned. “My legs are killing me.”

  The back door of the house began to make a noise, as if it was being unlocked, and to everyone’s surprise it opened.

  The man stood there, holding the shotgun, but not in a threatening manner. He had it in both hands and the barrels were pointing to the ground.

  “It’ll be evening soon,” the man spoke. “It’ll be too dangerous to be outside.”

  “We’re sorry for intrudin’,” Paul said. “A group of the infected—”

  “I know, I know,” the man interjected. “We saw them run by.”

  There was a silence between the man and the group and he cleared his throat, ready for his next sentence. “I was speaking to the wife. She’s a good judge of character. You can stay the night, and then you can be on your way in the morning.”

  “That’d be great.” Paul was the first to speak and added, “We came from the pub.”

  “The Green Man?” the man said. “The Dunn and
Cow?”

  “No. The other way. The Wolseley Arms. The one we mentioned before.”

  “Oh.”

  “We had to flee because of the IOs, the infected ones, but we are going back because of the food that’s there. We’ll give ya some for ya kindness. We’ll go back tomorrow.”

  “Greg?” a female voice called from inside. “Let them in.”

  The man called Greg sighed and widened the door. He walked away and muttered to the group, “Wipe your feet before you come in.”

  Chapter Seventy-Six

  Hours had passed and Paul Newbold had started to nod off as they were all gathered around the living room, talking about their experiences. The two kids were sent upstairs and were told by their parents, Greg and Amanda Hermes, that they’d be up in ten minutes and that there was nothing to worry about.

  Greg was a middle-aged man, portly, bald, and kept a hold of his shotgun when he spoke. His wife was pretty in the face, a little heavy, and excused herself early from the group as the kids were playing upstairs. She told her guests that they’d be sleeping in the living room and that she’d bring them down some sheets, quilts and cushions. Her husband rose to his feet and decided to give her a hand, taking the shotgun with him.

  They came down a minute later, dumped the quilt, sheets and cushions and they wished the group good night. Henry told Greg that he noticed a garage attached to his home at the side, and asked what was in it. Greg Hermes told Henry that his jeep was in there and jokingly told them that he didn’t want anybody venturing upstairs for the toilet as there was a downstairs one. He also winked at Henry and Paul in particular and informed them that his bedroom door where he, his wife and their children now slept would be locked and barricaded, and that he slept with his shotgun by his bedside, and also had his keys to the jeep with him at all times. He laughed and told them that he was joking, but Henry and Paul knew that the owner of the house was sending them a message. They didn’t mind. They were pleased that the man had opened his door for them.

  The room was getting quiet and people had stopped talking. People were getting tired and Henry was the first to speak.