Deadweight

by Forster, Paul

  Peter hopped off of the car's bonnet first, eager to find somewhere safe to sleep with a possibility of some fresh water. Amy joined him as they began to walk on down the road. The sudden yelp and whimper of a dog stopped them in their tracks. They looked around but could only see feeders at a fair distance behind them, nothing as close as the horrible sound the dog made suggested. They looked at each other, not needing to say anything as they started at a faster pace.

  It was good to get something in her belly, the meat tasted bitter, the dog was malnourished but it took the edge off. Picking the fur out of her mouth reminded her of Renton. Not the love or the guilt. The disappointment. People tasted so much better than animals. Peter would be delicious.

  CHAPTER SEVENTY-FIVE

  THE SUNLIGHT WAS beating its way through the curtains, finding its way onto the king-size bed where both Amy and Peter slept soundly. Peter was hugging the edge of the mattress, desperate to not encroach on Amy's personal space. The bedroom was tidy, except for the mess the current inhabitants had created. A chest of draws moved across the room to block the only door, cups and bottles of water littered most surfaces with tins of consumed baked beans and spaghetti hoops. Amy watched Peter. This funny little chubby man. Sweet, but an absolute pussy. He'd done well to make it this far, when it came to fight or flight, there was a lot to be said for running, or hiding for that matter. Amy had been doing everything by the book and seen the worst of humanity, you didn't need to eat human flesh to be a monster. She had seen the best and the bravest die, mostly horribly. Yet Peter lived, he needed a lot of help along the way, but here he was. Maybe there would be others, like Bo and Babs, small groups looking after each other. It could be how they survive. With a few weeks, some weapons and manpower the farm could have been a safe haven. Time, guns and people, none of which were in abundant supply. And Natasha, how many more like her were there? Passing as human only to make their move when those they have befriended feel safe. Nowhere would be safe.

  “Time to get up.” She gave him a nudge and Peter stirred and sat up. They packed light, raiding the draws they found some suitable clean clothes to replace their dirty ones. A few water bottles were refilled, but not too many to weigh them down. Both Amy and Peter attempted to drink as much water as they could before they left.

  Natasha felt less and less need to sleep as the days passed, her body and mind didn't cry out for it. With a full belly, she'd found no need to sleep. Only when she grew weaker did her eyelids feel heavy. The dog had done its job, and she hadn't needed to sleep. She hadn't wasted her time. She led several feeders to positions around the house, some had strayed, but not too far. She hoped they'd prove enough of a deterrent that her food would take the front exit and she wouldn't miss them. The front door slowly opened, Amy poked out her head before fully emerging with Peter following close behind. Natasha let them get a bit of a head start, she could smell them, it was faint but the longer she followed the more obvious it became to her even if she didn't fully trust it yet. They spotted a few lurking feeders and hurried off down the street. It was a small housing estate on the edge of a small village. Natasha didn't know it or care to. The feeders were sparse, but there were obvious signs of conflict, burnt-out cars, shell cases and minor explosive damage to buildings. When the government had ordered the evacuations, they had returned with firepower to halt the dead. Some places it had been more effective than others, Natasha had seen villages that had been completely levelled and towns all burned to the ground. Others had little sign of a major internal conflict. This place seemed fairly average. There had been a fight, a decent one, but they stopped short of dumping tons of ordinance on to the town. A few gunshots here, a small explosion there probably all from the initial evacuations.

  Amy and Peter had opened up a sufficient lead as Natasha began to follow, shuffling along pretending she was less of a threat in case they saw her. They were little more than a mile out of town when they came across a very small camp, abandoned and damaged. A few feeders lurked within the torn down fences, their attention taken by a crow berating them from the safety of the single abandoned watch tower. Amongst them the devoured remains, bones, scraps of clothes and blood smears. It was impossible to imagine that every camp, big or small had fallen, when they got to Wellworth, they would hopefully have an answer. They carefully gave the camp a wide berth, wary of what may have escaped and could lurk in the surrounding area. Slowly and quietly they moved, listening for any sign of trouble.

  With the camp behind them they began to ease up as Amy tried her luck with another car. The Volvo estate looked in immaculate condition except for the dried blood clinging to the outside of the open driver's door and window. Cautiously she circled the car, it seemed clear, the open rear passenger door helping give a complete view inside. The keys were still in the ignition, a bonus but not necessarily a good sign. If the driver left in the hurry, as the blood stains supported, they could have left the engine ticking over and battery now long since dead. Peter took the opportunity to open up the map on the car's bonnet and check their agonisingly slow progress. Amy tried the key, the engine struggled but didn't start. She gave it another desperate go. Peter placed his a bottle of water on the map to keep it in place as he looked up to Amy. She was beautiful, strong, and clever. If you're going to survive the apocalypse, it would be hard to choose a better companion. Peter noticed the estate's large boot. Several boxes had been packed in, the car may be another bust, but maybe there would be something useful.

  Natasha could smell them in the wind and could hear the engine being forced to kick into life and resisting every attempt. Every time she saw them get into a vehicle she felt a twang of panic. Every time it failed to move, she nearly laughed, again she could feel the tension rising. She hadn't been alone in hearing the engine being forced to kick into life and the bitter battle it was a part of to remain at rest.

  Peter swung open the boot, a suitcase fell out and startled him, Amy looked back to see what the noise was before continuing on the car. Peter picked up the case, and it opened up. Just clothes, he kicked them to the side and reached further in.

  Feet slowly shuffled, a weak murmur from hungry mouths.

  “God damn it.” Amy struggled, she stopped and took a deep breath to compose herself, the car was so close to starting, it just refused to cooperate. Peter looked to his companion before continuing to rummage. He never tired of seeing the pointless junk people took with them. As amusing as it was, a machine gun, water and a year's supply of food would have been better. He pulled out another box of tat and dug further in.

  The smell of the prey grew stronger. They picked up their pace, desperate to taste the flesh and fill their bellies.

  Natasha spotted the mob approaching and watched as they began cascading past her. Maybe twenty, young and old, all hungry. She was helpless to stop or dissuade them. All she could do was watch as they carried on towards her food.

  The first couple were twenty feet away, still unnoticed by either Peter or Amy. She again tried the engine, and it kicked into life. Peter looked up with a big smile.

  “Fuck yeah!” Amy's delight lasted as long as it took to turnaround and beam proudly at Peter. Her face dropped and Peter froze for a second before he turned round and saw barely ten feet away the nearest feeder.

  “Get in!” Amy slammed the car into gear and Peter jumped into the estate's large boot. It grabbed Peter's ankle as the car started to move.

  Natasha watched helplessly as perhaps the last fresh meal in the county started to drive off. She screamed in anger and frustration. The foul monster turned as if Natasha were addressing it directly, Peter kicked out as he held on for dear life and the car picked up speed sending the map and water off of the bonnet as the car hit a pothole. Despite its distraction, it didn't loosen its grip. Peter desperately felt around with one hand for something to use as a weapon, a lamp produced an answer. He flung it at the creature now being dragged along behind the car, its grip on his ankle the only thing stoppin
g it from bouncing off the tarmac. The lamp made only a glancing blow, opening up a small gash on its temple, but the creature didn't care. Peter kicked out again and again until finally he could feel its hold loosening.

  Natasha walked with purpose towards the mob as it slowly gave pursuit. She could just make out the car as the feeder holding on lost its grip and skidded along the road to a grey pulpy stop. They were gone, but all was not lost. It blew along the floor and through the legs of the mob. As it reached Natasha, she placed her foot down on it firmly. The map. She allowed herself to smile once again.

  “So that's where we're going.”

  CHAPTER SEVENTY-SIX

  THEY MUST HAVE driven around in circles for nearly an hour. Without the map, they only had a rough direction in which to head. They knew the town it neighboured, but secret military research bases were rarely signposted. Every country track, road, or bridleway had fresh tyre marks from a fruitless drive.

  “Well, I don't know. What do you want to do? Carry on driving until the tank is dry or try to head back to the farm?” Amy was frustrated but not angry, she didn't blame Peter for losing the map, but they were so damn close.

  Peter noticed them first. Two feeders excitedly approached from the main road heading out of town, both wearing army fatigues. It had to be. Amy clocked them and her question was answered, they were close, no point in stopping now. They drove past the two former squaddies who couldn't keep up.

  They approached a junction, a bus was lying on its side and small blue car had smashed into it, entering through the roof. It could have been easy to miss the small side road. Before the outbreak, many would have passed it daily without even noticing a local secret. A sign gave further hope “Private Property: Strictly No Trespassing”. Amy pulled the car onto the side road and edged down forward. Mounds of earth flanked the road, it felt almost like driving through a tunnel. It took a few hundred metres to open up as the road started up a small hill, as the car reached its peak they could see the other side. Wellworth. The compound wasn't huge, a few small outbuildings, a large single storey one and then the main building, three or four storeys in height. A tall fence surrounded the site. And they surrounded the fence.

  Hundreds of the dead. They weren't attacking, they weren't walking around. They were mainly still, just swaying as the wind caught them.

  “Well, that's fucked it.” Amy was ready to turn back there and then, was there nowhere safe on this stinking fucking planet anymore?

  Surely it was impossible to get inside, or even close. Two rounds of ammunition, a cleaver and a few blades would not get them too far.

  “When they see us, they'll help. They have to.” Peter was still optimistic.

  There must be people still there, otherwise why would the dead be? More soldiers like Kenneth, determined and well armed. They drove closer to the site, a few feeders turned as the car’s engine alerted them to its presence. Slowly they moved forward as more feeders noticed their arrival before Amy slammed on the brakes.

  “I can't see anything in there. If there is no one left, all we're doing is ringing the dinner bell for a few hundred of these bastards.”

  They were being watched, but not from eyes from the Wellworth compound. It was good they were here, it was bad that so many of the creatures were so close. They'd had a good head start, and Natasha feared they'd beaten her here and either already safely inside or abandoned the idea. Her ability to walk amongst the other feeders gave her luxuries that a healthy person couldn't enjoy. She didn't have to rush for fear of being eaten, within half an hour of Amy and Peter driving off she'd found a working vehicle. Soon she was on her way and with the map she found her way to Wellworth with ease. She felt it prudent to keep her distance. Walking up to the front gate was just as likely to be welcomed by a bullet to the face as a smile. Far better to hang back and watch.

  “We should go, there's nobody home.” Amy put the car in reverse and began her retreat. Peter looked desperately for a sign that their journey wasn't a waste.

  “Wait!” Peter pointed to a window at the top floor of the main building, the light was on and there appeared to be movement. Amy stopped the car and looked to the building.

  “So maybe there's one person there, we’re not getting through that mob and even if we could, we'd just be trapping ourselves.”

  Peter looked at her. “We should try.”

  Amy's slow retreat had brought their car within a hundred metres of Natasha. She salivated as she observed them, willing the car to continue its slow crawl to her. But nothing. It was now or never. They might drive off and she'd never find them or even be foolhardy enough to get past those damn dumb feeders. Either way, she had an opportunity, and she would take it. Natasha kept low as she moved to the car, the light was fading, she hoped it'd be enough to remain unseen. Eighty metres left, her stomach grumbled in anticipation. Fifty metres and she wiped the saliva from her mouth. Twenty metres and she could see them talking.

  “Christ knows how I made it this far. Please, let’s at least try, if no one’s home we can drive off.” Peter was winning Amy over.

  His hope replaced quickly by confusion, he didn't know what was happening, the door swung open so fast and he found himself on his back looking up at the sky, his shoulder screaming with pain. He expected another attack, a blow to come raining down onto his face or teeth to rip out his throat. Instead, he saw Natasha stride past him and into the car. Amy had already grabbed the cleaver and lashed out catching Natasha’s outstretched hand, barely a scratch but an effective warning. Natasha pulled back and turned her attention towards Peter. She grabbed him by the scruff off the neck and dragged him further away, far easier prey. Amy reached back into the rear passenger seat, grabbing desperately until she felt it, the rifle. She wretched the rifle around the seats awkwardly and brought it to her shoulder.

  “You can't understand how hungry I am.” Natasha stood over Peter as he cowered on the floor. “If you don't have this fucking hunger, this craving, you could never know. I'm not a bad person.” Natasha could barely speak through her salivating.

  “You're a monster!” Peter closed his eyes, he knew what would come, no need to watch.

  Amy looked through the sight and snatched at the trigger, the round slammed into Natasha's back sending her tumbling forward, blood spraying over Peter. The pain was intense, it burned then ached all in an instant, the air punched out of her as the round passed clean through her back and out of her chest. Natasha struggled to her knees clutching her chest, the thick grey sticky blood was already starting to seal the wound.

  “Back off him now!” Amy still had the rifle pointed at Natasha.

  An evil grin spread across Natasha's face. “You're not in charge here.”

  She looked towards Wellworth, the dinner bell had been rung, all the hungry ears could hear its pitch. Amy looked over as the whole damn herd started to shuffle towards them.

  “Peter, get back in the car, now!”

  Peter tried to stand but Natasha lashed out and grabbed him by the throat and smashed his head on the ground. His eyes rolled back in his head as he lost consciousness and his body went limp.

  “If I squeeze hard enough and pierce his skin, he's got enough of my blood on him to turn him. If I try a little harder, I might even be able to choke the life out of him.”

  The mob continued to move across the field to the trio. Amy looked at them then back at Natasha and Peter.

  “You can't save him and yourself, can you?”

  Amy could take the shot, but even if she killed Natasha, she wouldn't have time to get to him and drag him into the car. The closest feeders were maybe thirty metres away and making good progress.

  “Fuck!” Amy screamed, Natasha smiled.

  She squeezed the trigger, and the round hit low into Natasha's gut and she fell on top of Peter. Her body covered Peter, the wound oozing more of the greying blood onto him. Amy looked on for a sign of Peter moving, nothing. She dropped the rifle in the passenger footwell and
drove the car towards the downed pair. Several of the creatures were close, and the first bounced off the car bonnet as a growing number moved to intercept her. She stopped a foot away and looked at Peter, he could already be dead several creatures began clawing at the windows until they obscured her view. He was gone. She had to go. The wheels spun desperate for traction before the car moved, feeders knocked left and right. It was slower going over the ground and the monsters didn't drop too far back, all eager to follow for a chance of a taste.

  CHAPTER SEVENTY-SEVEN

  PETER BEGAN TO stir, his head was fuzzy, his eyes didn't want to open, but he forced them to. Night had fallen and besides the sound of a few feeders, it was quiet. He tried to sit up but couldn't move. He looked down at Natasha laying across him. For a second he panicked, but she was still, Peter rolled her off him and she flopped to the ground beside him. She looked dead. He was caked in her blood and her skin pale, he gave her a soft nudge and nothing. Peter decided to believe she was dead. He held his head as he focused on his surroundings, a field, several of the dead and Wellworth.

  It was lit up like a Christmas tree, floodlights illuminated the site and area around it. No wonder so many of the dead had found their way to it. There were a few feeders at the fence, but not many, maybe a dozen he could see compared to the hundreds that were there when he arrived. Where was Amy? The car was nowhere in sight. She wouldn't have left him would she? Of course she would, she was smart. He looked down on himself, he was covered in Natasha's grey sticky blood. She either thought he was dead or led hundreds of the dead away to save him. He didn't and wouldn't blame her, but once again he was alone. He looked down at Wellworth, lights were on, maybe somebody was home. He wobbled as he stood, he felt woozy, maybe he was infected? He smiled to himself, that would solve several problems and the ones it led to wouldn’t be his own. He staggered as he walked towards the gates, it was a short walk, but he wasn't being bothered by any feeders. They barely looked at him, either Natasha's blood masked his humanity or he really was turning into one of them, time would tell.