by Jessica Ward
It wasn’t long before we were back on the road, leaving Undead Pete behind.
Even though we hadn’t been at Jodrell Bank for long, I was still sad to see it fading away in the distance. It provided us with security, a warm place to sleep at night and we even had electricity. Granted, we still lacked showering facilities, but we had running water in the sinks and real toilets.
After a conversation between Lacey and I, we discovered our toilet habits seemed to be a struggle for us both. Whilst number ones were relatively easy to relieve. It was the number twos we struggled with. I'll put it this way; Lacey refused to relieve her bowels if Paul was even in the same house. She just couldn't do it, and that was before the virus.
I had issues with relieving myself in public toilets, as did she. Let's just say over the last few weeks there's been a lot of holding in on our parts. We were relatively OK when we had real toilets to go to, but squatting in the woods, no matter what the circumstances, just wasn't going to happen.
The Professor was now in the car with us, as the 1 series was full of new supplies. He seemed grateful for the different company.
Sensing something wasn’t quite right between the Professor and George, Lacey decided to press the issue with the Professor.
“If you don’t mind me asking, what’s going on with you and George? You don’t seem to be as friendly as you have been before?” She speculated.
I cringed as I lent down further into my seat. I knew why the Professor had kept his distance, but I hadn’t even told Nick what had happened that night in the kitchen. I eagerly anticipated the Professor's response.
“Oh, nothing at all dear. George is a fine fellow, and I have simply been putting a lot more of my efforts into my research. Well, what little of it I have” He replied smoothly.
I shifted up my seat a little bit. He handled it well. I was never sure of the response from the Professor he was a hard character to figure out.
“Oh, OK. So how’s your research going? Any new findings to declare?” She asked. I didn’t know if she was just making conversation, or she had figured out something was up. Either way I kept my head down. I was terrible at lying, I knew if I opened my mouth she would see through me instantly. I just waited and listened; the Professor was on his own.
“Not as of yet. I merely have a few theories. It is not something I wish to discuss until I have a little more evidence to back up my claims.” He replied clutching his notes firmly to his chest.
“Nothing to worry about sweetheart, please don’t worry” He added in for good measure.
I breathed a sigh of relief. As much as I hated keeping secrets, I knew it was the right thing to do.
Lacey decided not to push any further. She drew her attention back to the window as we all took in the scenery around us.
Trees whizzed past as we pushed on towards our destination. We were in the back end of autumn now; most of the leaves had fallen off the trees, and the weather was its usual miserable self. As we neared the marina, the rain started to pour blurring our once clear vision.
“Great, just what we need, more rain.” Paul complained.
“Only a few more miles to go” Nick replied, unfazed by the new weather conditions.
Our wipers were now going at full blast; visibility was starting to become a real issue.
“Slow down a bit babe, Ryan might not be able to keep up in this weather.” I told him.
Nick eased off the accelerator as the rain started to slow.
“Better?” He asked.
I nodded. “Much better.” I answered back.
The countryside started to disappear as we entered the rural village of Church Minshull. The whole place seemed abandoned. Rubbish littered the streets as smashed glass covered the pavements.
Houses stood, completely inhabitable. The curtains protruded out of broken windows flowing freely in the wind.
There was all but one infected, stood at the side of the road. The rain had started to die down leaving huge puddles where the underground draining system had already flooded.
Nick pushed down on the accelerator as he drove through a particularly large puddle, just next to where the infected stood.
Water pushed up against the car as a wave came up and splashed down straight onto the infected man, stood on the pavement. Nick and Paul cheered as the infected man, drenched in dirty water simply looked on in our direction.
We looked behind us at the white one series as Ryan followed Nicks lead and did the same. I could see from the grin on their faces they were equally as excited as the boys.
“Mate that was epic” Paul announced patting Nick on the shoulder.
“I know, can we do that again?” Nick asked the rest of us.
Lacey and I looked at one another. “Don’t even think about it.” I told Nick sternly.
I couldn’t help but feel they were getting a little too cocky for their own good. The Professor had a concerned look on his face. He didn’t seem very happy with the way the boys were behaving. In all honesty neither was I. As the saying goes ‘don’t poke the bear.'
I saw the Professor out the corner of my eye shaking his head. We carried on with our journey. A few minutes later we were back in the countryside.
“Not far at all now” Nick announced trying to change the subject.
We were now on the home straight. Signs for the Marina were just up ahead. Luckily we didn’t pass any more villages or towns, it was pure countryside.
We drove over the final bridge as the marina opened out in front of us. Rows upon rows of canal boats floated on top of the water, moored and completely unattended.
We slowly pulled into the marina car park. There were only one or two other cars. The whole place seemed abandoned. This was good news for us, if only we could find the boat.
Nick looked out into the marina and turned to the rest of us.
“You guys stay here; me and Paul will check out the marina and see if we can find the right boat.” he told us.
Lacey, the Professor and I stayed in the car as they scoped out the area in front of us. By this time, Ryan, Leon and George had also got out their car and were heading in the same direction.
“What was the name of that boat again?” Lacey asked.
“I believe it is called Lion Heart” the Professor answered simply.
“What an odd name for a boat” I replied.
Lacey started to laugh. “That’s nothing, have you seen the name on that blue one over there? It says Lost Grockle.”
The Professor started to chuckle. “How peculiar” he laughed.
“Oh, I like the sound of that one” Lacey pointed over to a small black and white boat. “The Shiraz” she read aloud.
“I wonder what that could contain” I joked.
Our minds swiftly wondered back to wine. In all honesty, it didn’t take much. We sounded like recovering alcoholics; this is the longest we had ever been sober for. I had a feeling the Professor enjoyed a drink or two; his mind seemed to wonder just as much as ours did.
We watched the boys as they hopped from pier to pier endlessly searching for the right boat. With each boat they passed, they shook their heads in dismay.
“Are you sure it’s called Lion Heart?” I asked the Professor.
“Yes, I am absolutely certain dear.” The Professor responded. “In fact, I have the original letter right here.” he replied.
He flicked through his many notes and pulled out the original letter George had found in the sorting office.
“Here we are, see it says just here Lion Heart” The Professor pointed out. “It says here, that it is docked in bay V43.”
“Do the rest of them know this?” Lacey asked.
“They should do, we all saw the note” The Professor responded.
As soon as the Professor said that, I knew what the problem was. For one reason or another, the boys had overlooked the fact we had been given the exact spot. The bright sparks that they were had just wandered around, hoping to co
me across the right boat.
“Hang on, one second.” I told the Professor. I opened the car door and stood up. I looked around to make sure we were clear and shouted over to the boys.
“You need to look for bay V43” I shouted. The boys looked up understanding their new instructions. They began scanning the numbers along the side of the pier hoping to find the right one.
“I’m at V27” Paul shouted.
“I’m V15, complete wrong way” Leon shouted.
“I got V31” Ryan joined in.
Nick was the last one to reply. “I’m V7, well off” he responded.
I looked out in front of me at the rows of boats. They were all in the complete opposite direction. George was the first to realise.
“Over there” He pointed to the last row of boats. Sure enough, there it was. It was the biggest of them all. Painted blue and red I couldn’t help but notice how much it stood out from the rest.
How could they have possibly missed it? George was the first to get to the pier. He leaped onto the boat and made his way inside, using the key.
Nick and Ryan ran back up to the cars just as I went to sit back inside. They moved the cars as close to the pier as possible, ready to unload the supplies.
Lacey and I hopped out the car, eager to take a look at our new home. We left the boys to do the heavy lifting, it was traditional, even before the virus began, and who were we to break that trend.
George helped us aboard as we went down the steps leading inside the boat.
There was pine everywhere. It covered the walls, floors and ceilings. I was pleasantly surprised, for such an old boat it had a fairly modern interior. As we walked through the small passageway, we passed a double bed and two singles, one on top of the other, a little bit like a bunk bed.
As we carried on down, the passageway thinned further as a wall protruded outwards. A side fold door sat in the middle of the wall; this was the bathroom. I pulled the door back and came across a small toilet and shower cubicle. It wasn’t much, but I was evermore grateful for a warm shower. Although given our current state, we would each need at least three just to get rid of the dirt and grime that had built up. It had been nearly two weeks since my last shower. We were all starting to smell as bad as the infected. It wasn’t a pleasant smell at all.
We pushed on past the bathroom and came across another double bed and another set of singles. It was starting to feel a lot like Groundhog Day, but at least it was looking like we all had a bed to sleep in.
Past the second lot of beds, towards the back end of the boat, was a small kitchen. It could barely fit two people in there, but it had a small oven, a single and twin gas burner hob. I looked over to my right; there was even a fridge and a small freezer.
All in all, it was extremely small and cramped. But we would be much safer on the water than we would on land. Plus, we were just grateful for a warm bed to sleep at night.
George took a seat in the small kitchen area which backed onto the kitchen.
“Well, it’s a tight squeeze, but we’ll be just fine.” he told us.
Nick and Paul were the first ones to join us, their hands full of food, which we took from the freezer at Jodrell Bank. They placed them on the table and went straight back out, ready for another trip.
Lacey and I made our way into the kitchen; we needed to get the food in the fridge and freezer before it became inedible.
I opened the fridge, ready to feel the cool breeze as I opened the door. There was nothing. I put my hand in the fridge to check the temperature. I shook my head. I turned to George.
“I don’t think the electricity is on.” I told him.
“Ahh yes, I had almost forgot. Bear with me” he replied getting up out of his seat.
He squeezed past Lacey and I and made his way to the very back of the boat. He opened a small cupboard and started fumbling around. After a few seconds, the fridge came to life.
“Any luck?” He shouted back to us.
“Perfect” I yelled back.
The Professor walked in just as the electricity came on.
“Let there be light” The Professor declared, both arms up in the air. He seemed to be in much better spirits today.
The boys were already finding out for themselves; exactly how cramped the boat was. As they piled our belongings into the boat, they found themselves having to manoeuvre past each other, even climbing on the beds just to make room for the others who were passing by.
“This is going to be awkward” Leon moaned hauling in the last of the supplies.
We all gathered in the cramped living area. George had managed to get the power on, but we had another issue. George had checked the outdoor area at the back of the boat. Although he told us the freshwater tank was full, we only had one gas canister, and he wasn’t sure how long it was going to last.
“George, how do you know so much about boats?” I asked.
He smiled “Well, you don’t get to my age without learning a thing or two. My wife and I used to have one of these beauties” he said patting the side of the boat.
He carried on “It was years back now; it was our retirement present. Since she passed, I saw no use for it. I sold it on about seven years ago” he said sadly.
“I’m sorry to hear that” I replied. George smiled and nodded his head.
“Ok, so what do we do now?” Lacey asked.
That was a million dollar question on every one's lips.
Chapter 12 – An Unwelcomed Reunion
I looked around the room. I was met with blank expressions. The Professor was the first to respond.
“How about a spot of tea?” He suggested. He had already found the kettle and was digging out the industrial sized bag of PG Tips we had taken from the café. It seemed a good idea as any.
“We could do with a map of the Canal system” George suggested. “I have already looked; there doesn’t seem to be one in the boat” He added.
“Great, where exactly are we going to find one of those?” Ryan asked.
“I would suggest we start in the office we drove past, it’s just on the corner.” George told him.
We all looked at one another. It was risky; we didn’t know who or what was in there, or lurking around nearby, for that matter.
“Can we not just go, and see where we end up?” Paul asked.
“No, definitely not. Especially not in these uncertain times. We need a map, and then we can agree on the best route to take.” George told the rest of us firmly.
That was that. We had been given our next mission. Find and retrieve a map, and then head off on our merry way, wherever that would be.
“Right, let’s get this over with then.” Ryan said.
We all made our way out the boat; the Professor stayed put. Offering to have the tea ready by the time we all got back.
It felt nice stretching my legs for a change. It was only a small walk to the office, but we hadn’t really had much fresh air since our time in the woods.
We made our way across the pier, and up the pebbled path up to the office. The stones beneath our feet crunched with every step we took.
Leon and Ryan made their way up to the door first, despite Ryan turning his back on his military background; he turned straight back into a soldier as soon as the possibility of danger arose. Whether this was a conscious effort or not, we could all see it in him.
Pulling out his trusted cricket bat, he pushed open the door. The whole office was pitch black; we could hardly see a thing. All the curtains were drawn blocking out all the natural light.
Ryan made his way in first; Leon was close behind him. Ryan motioned for Leon to check the area nearest the closed curtains. He put his hand up mouthing for the rest of us to wait outside.
Once they were sure we were all clear Ryan motioned us in. Leon quickly pulled the orange velvet curtains back, and we all took a step back.
All our eyes were drawn the desk in front of us. Flies swarmed the desk area, disrupted by the new light shi
ning in. There on the chair sat a corpse, the body of what I am guessing was a woman, probably the receptionist. Decomposing on the chair in front of us.
I could only tell the gender by the blonde perm that sat upon the top of the rotting body, and the clothes she was still wearing. The flies continued to swarm around the corpse crawling inside and out of various holes eating away at the rotting flesh that remained of her face. Maggots had made a nest in the empty eye sockets. I can only presume the eyes had already been eaten away.
The sight before us was horrific. Lacey retched, then she ran out. The rancid smell was drifting towards us, what I can only describe as the smell of death. I made a swift exit along with Paul.
Lacey sat on the pebbled ground trying to catch her breath. She had at least managed to keep her last meal down. Paul comforted her, as he sat by her side.
I looked back towards the window. Leon and Ryan had edged forward for a closer look. After the years they spent in the Military, I can only assume, this wasn’t the first dead body they had seen in this condition.
I looked back over to the corpse; I couldn’t take my eyes off of it. No matter how much my mind wanted me to look away, my body was yet again acting independently.
I glanced away as something caught my eye. Behind the rotting corpse, there was a key safe. I was pretty sure I knew what was inside, after all they had to keep the boat keys somewhere. Hanging just next to the key safe was a plastic brochure holder, full of canal system maps.
George was right, we had found a map. I made my way back to the office door to point them out. I doubted anyone else had seen them; they were too busy focusing on the hideous body swarming with insects.
“Look on the wall” I shouted to them from the entrance door.
George was the quickest off the mark “Ahh yes, get the map” He instructed, pointing to Leon and Ryan.
They looked at each other and nodded. One by one they made their way over to the dead body carefully pushing it and the chair to one side with the bat.
“Oh, don’t be a bunch of pansies! It’s just a dead body, it’s not going to hurt you” George scolded.