by Smith, I. J.
Still wanting answers Bray asked one more question, “Do you know why the kids were in the crates? It is something that I cannot make sense of,” he asked.
Both men shook their heads, “We didn’t even know the kids were kept in the same place as us,” Mark replied.
Bray shot a look at them both, “Same place? Do you mean there is another place?” Bray asked.
“Yes, I was moved only two days ago,” Mark, told him.
Frank interrupted them, “Found anything?” he asked.
“No,” Bray simply answered, looking lost in thought.
Zoe’s hands were stained red with blood which matched her red hair, but made her pale complexion stand out even more. She opened up another black case, “Bingo,” she spoke out.
Everyone looked as she pulled out bottles of water, silver packets, a few handguns, two rifles and a radio. Jack joined her, he held the silver packets, “Oh great ration packs,” he laughed.
Frank picked up the radio, “Do you think this works?” he asked.
Jack gave him a look of anger, “Does it matter?” he muttered.
Frank looked back realizing even if it did, they could not use it, he simply pushed the radio into his backpack; out of sight of everyone.
“OK, hand the water and food out and then everyone needs to get some rest,” Frank told everyone.
Ryan spoke out, “How exactly are we going to get out of here?” he asked, looking to the door they came through; at the banging and groaning of the dead trying to get in.
Jack smiled, “You’re standing on it,” he told him.
Ryan looked down and realized he was standing on a metal door. Jack stood up and walked over to him, “This is a security room and in case of an emergency there is an exit underneath. Below us there will be a tunnel that leads to another door and into a sewer,” Jack told everyone.
“How the hell do you know that?” Zoe asked him.
“With all the terrorist activity in recent years, near all military buildings had escape routes installed in secret. I was lucky enough to see a few of them installed,” he replied to her and a group looking at him worried.
Bray joined him, “You just happen to know this well-kept secret?” Bray laughed, “I am happy you’re on our side,” he continued.
“Get some rest,” Jack laughed, looking at Bray’s long girly hair and what passed as a mustache on his chubby face.
The banging against the steel door had eased; the group had been resting for a few hours. Jack sat with his back against the wall; he was unable to rest, as he had far too much running through his mind to sleep. Everyone else had all gone to sleep; Jack just sat and stared at the ceiling, when Bray approached him.
“Do you mind?” Bray asked, indicating if he could sit next to him.
Jack simply waved his hand at the floor to let him know he could.
“Can’t sleep,” Bray asked him quietly, making sure not to make much noise.
Jack screwed up his nose and smiled, “Hard to sleep knowing the dead are walking around out there all wanting to eat me,” he joked.
Bray giggled, “Yeah, trying to not really think about it,” he replied.
“How, do you do it Jack? How, do you keep going; knowing we don’t stand a chance?” Bray asked.
Glancing at Bray, Jack replied, “There is always a chance, no matter how small.”
Bray looked down at the floor, he took a deep breath, and Jack knew exactly what Bray needed to talk to him about.
Jack decided to say it first, “So why did you never tell me about your family?” he asked directly.
Struggling to speak, Bray finally spoke, “I always tried to keep my personal life separate from my professional one,” he said. Bray took a deep breath and pulled a faded photo from his pocket and handed it to Jack, looking at the picture he looked at a blonde woman and a young girl with glasses.
It made Jack feel emotional; “They never made it out, did they” he asked.
Bray held back his tears, “It was so chaotic, and they never stood a chance of making it out, so I told them to stay where they were. We lived in a small town and I believed they would be safe,” he finished speaking, the emotion too much for him.
Bray wiped his eyes of the tears filling his eyes, “I just need answers, I need to know what happened to them,” Bray struggled to say.
Jack could still hear the voice of Doctor Grant telling him how this virus began. It weighed on him and he wanted to tell everyone the truth, but he knew telling the truth now in their current situation would be a disaster.
“I made you a promise Bray, and I plan on keeping it. The moment we are out of London and got the others to a safe place, you and I are going to look for your family and we are going to find your answers.” Jack told him while holding his hand out, in offer to seal his promise.
Bray gave a smile and grabbed Jack’s hand, “You promise?” he asked.
“Not as a soldier, but as a friend!” Jack reassured him.
Frank came into view with his skinny frame and graying hair, “Can I have a minute with Jack?” he asked.
Bray wiped his eyes and stood up; he took another quick look at Jack, who simply smiled back.
Bray walked away and Frank sat next to Jack.
“Is Bray, OK?” Frank asked.
Jack did not want to betray Bray’s trust, “Just keeping a promise,” he simply replied.
Frank knew by the tone of his voice Jack was not going to tell him.
A serious look appeared on Frank’s face, “We need to talk about what we learned,” he told Jack.
“Not sure there is much to talk about,” Jack replied.
Frank looked Jack in the eyes, “We learned our own people are responsible for all this shit1” Frank replied.
“When we are safely out of London we have to tell everyone,” Jack told him.
A worried looking Frank replied, “Is that a good idea?” he asked.
“NO, but it is the right thing to do, they stayed; they deserve to know the truth!” Jack answered.
Jack stood up, “Where are you going?” Frank asked him.
“To eat something and try to get some sleep,” Jack simply replied.
Jack walked over to the silver packets, one packet was already open, he removed a cracker and took a bite, and he took a bottle of water and took a long drink. As he placed the bottle back down he looked over to see Elle laying there looking at him, she smiled and reached her hand out. He looked at her beautiful dark eyes, she had tied her dark hair back; but the freckles that covered her face always hypnotized him. Jack joined her, he lay down next to her, “Do you mind if I get close, it’s cold?” she asked. Jack smiled and laid his arm out; she rested her head on it and cozied up next to him, Jack stared at the ceiling and closed his eyes.
CHAPTER TWO
PAIGE
“Holy shit!” a voice screamed out.
Jack opened his eyes to see panic around him, he looked around the room to see Frank and Bray braced against the steel door. Jack jumped to his feet to help them, as he rushed to them, he could see the wall around the door starting to crack.
“There must be hundreds of them out there,” Bray observed, while pushing against the door.
Jack pushed his back against the door, “Frank, we need to start getting everyone down the tunnel now!” Jack told him.
“You should lead them out,” Frank told him.
“No, you’re in command,” Jack replied, trying to help Frank become the leader he needed to be.
“As soon as we are down there I want you two right behind us, no matter what,” Frank ordered them.
Frank rushed to the metal door in the floor, he found the round handle and twisted it, and a loud unlocking noise echoed around the room, he pulled the door open. Looking down, he could see emergency lighting in the tunnel, he grabbed his backpack and picked up his rifles, “Everyone, take what you need and move down, quickly!” he rushed everyone.
Frank was the first down the
steps, a thick layer of dust covered the ground, cobwebs were scattered around the ceiling. He walked along the tunnel; in the distance, he could see a large metal door. Ryan, Elle and Zoe were first to join him, they followed him down the tunnel; they stopped when a loud crashing noise echoed above them.
Mark stood on the steps, holding the metal door; waiting for Jack, Bray and David to join him. David rushed around looking for a weapon, “Just come on!” Mark shouted to him.
Bray and Jack held the door, but the bricks around the door were cracking, eventually the door gave way. Jack grabbed Bray pulling him back out of the way; he pushed him towards the tunnel entrance. Jack pulled his machete from his side and started swinging at the first rotting corpse heading his way. The groaning of the dead and the shouting of the living echoed the room. Bray pushed Mark down the steps, Jack was being forced back by the dead marching towards him, “David, fucking move it!” Jack shouted to him.
David stood with his back against the wall; frozen stiff with fear. Jack tried, but could not reach him. Jack reached the tunnel and looked back at David, he watched as the dead marched towards them both. Jack wanted to help him, but knew there was no way to reach him. David backed up into the corner of the room. Jack looked at David and locked eyes with him. He could see the fear in David’s eyes and the guilt of what he had to do next; made him feel sick to his stomach. Zombies scrambled over each other to get to Jack, he took one last look and knew he had no choice. He stepped down, slamming the metal door behind him, and pushed over the big metal bolt to lock it.
Jack stepped on the ground, Bray and Mark looked at him; as the sound David being ripped apart flooded their ears. He walked over to Bray and Mark. He looked at them both, but before he could say anything Mark spoke out, “You had no choice; it was him or all of us!”
Bray simply moved closer to Jack and placed his hand on his shoulder, “You are the only reason we are alive, don’t you dare blame yourself,” he said in a caring voice.
Jack looked up to the ceiling as the screams stopped, “We need to go,” he simply said while walking away towards the rest of the group.
As Jack walked, away Mark spoke to Bray, “Did he just sacrifice him?” The anger in Bray’s face made Mark uncomfortable about his words. “He had the guts to do what needed to be done to protect all of us,” Bray snapped at him as he also walked away.
Elle looked back waiting for Jack and the others to catch up, she was relieved to see Jack appear quickly followed by Bray and Mark. She noticed David was not with them. As Jack got closer, she spoke the name. “David,” Jack simply shook his head. As he got closer, she approached him and put her arms around him, not caring what anyone thought; she knew Jack needed it.
Bray joined Frank and Zoe by the door, “So David did not make it?” Frank asked.
Glancing at Frank, Bray replied, “No, there was too many of them and he was too slow,” the words shocked Frank, who looked at him concerned.
Jack joined them by the door, “We should keep moving,” he told them.
Frank cracked the lock open on the door, it was hard to move; so Bray helped him push it open. The smell that came through the door was horrendous, “Great a sewer!” Zoe remarked.
Stepping through the door, it was dark there were no emergency lights. Frank stepped into the stinking water; he felt something on his leg and jumped in shock, looking down only to reveal a rat crawling over his foot. He looked back to see Zoe smiling at him.
One by one, they walked through the door following Frank. Jack stayed by the door making sure everyone got out. Mark was the last to come out, he stopped next to Jack. “Was there nothing you could do?” he asked while looking him in the eye.
Glaring back Jack replied, “It was him or all of us, what would you have done?”
Looking uncomfortable he replied, “Tried to help him,” he muttered.
Jack smiled, “Then you and everyone would be dead by now,” he told him.
Mark sighed and spoke, “I thought you were the hero,” he spoke out sarcastically as he started to walk away.
Jack grabbed Mark in anger and pulled him back, bringing him nose to nose with him. “Heroes die, those around them die. We live in a new world where we don’t need heroes, we need survivors,” Jack stated in anger before letting him go.
Mark panicked, seeing the look in Jack’s eyes, he quickly backed off and rushed to join the others.
Jack closed his eyes for a second, seeing the look on David’s face as he closed the door; locking him inside with the dead. He gave out a deep breath and shut the tunnel door; he walked slowly towards the others.
Frank was leading the way, he looked back behind him to see Jack was a covering them. Jack winked at Frank, and he gave a small smile back. Frank knew Jack was pushing him to be a leader, it meant a lot to him knowing Jack believed in him. After all Jack was the reason they made it this far and deep down wished he would take command.
They waded through the sewage water, rats scrambled around them. Zoe walked just behind Frank; she noticed something shining in the water. She leaned down to reach for it, placing her hand in the water tried to grab it, but it moved. Zoe looked in fear when suddenly a rotting hand burst from the water trying to grab her face; she gave out a scream and fell back. Now sitting in the water, she looked at the hand as a small child’s face appeared from the water; its eyes dead, the skin sagging from the bone. The water had discolored the skin, the flesh ravaged from rat bites; the child gave out a groan and reached for her.
Zoe grabbed the child’s arms, but the skin was soaked and within seconds, the flesh tore from the bones of the child, holding the loose skin in her hands the child grabbed for her. As the child dropped on to Zoe, it tried to bite at her face, but was suddenly being lifted up and thrown against the wall. Zoe looked up to see Jack standing there pulling his machete from its pouch. He quickly moved towards the child and smashed the machete into the child’s head bursting it open. The child groaned as Jack hit it again; the water turned red as he laid it to rest.
Everyone stood in silence looking at Jack. Bray helped Zoe to her feet, and she looked over to Jack.
Jack looked at everyone, “WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH ALL OF YOU? HESITATE AND YOU’RE ALL DEAD! YOU JUST WATCHED, WE NEARLY LOST ZOE BECAUSE YOU ALL STOOD THERE WATCHING!” He shouted.
Jack rubbed his face in frustration. Frank told everyone to carry on, Zoe walked over to Jack. “Thank you!” she said gently to him. He looked and could see a tear in the corner of her eye, he reached out giving her a cuddle. “You OK?” he whispered in her ear. Zoe released her grip on him and attempted to smile, “I’m OK, just shook me up a little,” she replied.
As she walked away Jack looked down at the child on the ground. “Sorry,” he whispered to himself, before walking away.
Reaching the end of the sewer, Bray located a ladder leading up to the drain cover. Light shined through the gaps in the drain cover. “Damn, it’s already day time!” Bray muttered. He started to climb up the ladder. He lifted the cover carefully, and just enough so he could see what was outside. Looking through the gap, he could see nothing that posed a threat; he continued and climbed out ushering the others to follow him.
While everyone climbed the ladder, Jack remained at the bottom, as usual, he was the last to move, making sure everyone else was safe first.
Elle was at the bottom of the ladder, just before she started to climb, she turned to Jack, “You look broken,” she said to him.
Jack looked her in the eye, he pulled her close and kissed her passionately, “I’m OK, just lots on my mind,” he said to her.
She held his face with both hands, feeling the warmth of his skin made her smile. “You know you have me and can tell me anything,” she told him.
He tenderly kissed the tip of her nose, “and you have me!” he whispered back.
She moved in and kissed him once more; before turning to climb up the ladder. Jack stood watching her climb, he looked around the sewer and gave ou
t a little laugh, “I always pick the best romantic places,” he joked as he climbed the ladder towards the daylight.
Climbing out of the sewer, the sun was bright and practically blinded everyone; it took several moments for them to focus properly. Looking around their surroundings, the area was a residential one, a long road of houses most of which had broken windows and busted open doors. Cars scattered along the street abandoned, rubbish lay all over the ground. Elle looked at a nearby house; just outside the front door was a body. Its head had been smashed to bits, stains of blood covering the concrete ground around the body.
“Aww look how cute it is,” Ryan spoke out.
Turning to see what he was talking about Frank noticed a dog standing there. Looking at the animal in front of him, it was an Alsatian. The dog was dirty and its coat was overgrown and untidy. Ryan approached the dog, but it started growling, showing its teeth; its nose twitching and slowly began moving towards Ryan. The dog lowered its head and started to snarl louder, Jack pulled Ryan back, “Careful,” he muttered.
Bray raised his gun and aimed it directly at the dog.
“No,” Jack told him. “It’s just hungry and scared,” he continued.
Pulling a silver packet from his backpack, Jack pulled several crackers from it; gently, he broke the crackers up and laid them on the ground for the dog. The dog’s ears stood up, it looked at Jack and started moving side to side; as if it was deciding if the man in front of him was a threat. Slowly the dog moved forward, Jack waved at the others to move back. With everyone else moving back; the dog crept forward. Snatching a cracker from the ground and immediately moving back, all the time keeping its eyes on Jack.
Elle watched as the dog moved closer to Jack; each time it came for food. The dog finally stood directly in front of Jack. Holding out a cracker to feed the dog; Jack looked into the dog’s eyes and could only imagine the horrors it had seen. Taking the cracker from Jack’s hand, the dog sat in front of him eating, Jack stroked the side of the dog’s face.
“Jack, we should just leave it!” Frank told him.