The Good, The Bad & The Dead | Book 1 | Once Upon A Time In An Undead World

by Grimes, A. L.

  They were in deep shit. They were surrounded. Bloody claws groped at the car and hungry faces stared at them. He started the engine and tried to move back and forth. Some of the dead had fallen and become trapped underfoot of the others. With each forward and reverse motion bones cracked. They couldn’t hear the snapping of bones over the moaning of the dead.

  ‘You fancy getting out to give us a push?’ he asked Laura.

  ’That’s not funny,’ she replied blankly.

  ‘No, it’s not.’

  Chapter Fifty-Five

  Leeds, Northern UK.

  Amy woke up to Jack poking her and Adam trying to force water into her mouth. She could feel Adam’s hand behind her neck pushing her towards the bottle. She pushed the bottle away and spurted a mouthful of water out. Jack backed off; he knew she was potentially dangerous coming out of a sleep – he knew she would be worse when she discovered she had fainted.

  ‘You need to drink,’ said Adam as he forced the bottle back towards her.

  ‘I’m fine,’ she said moving her head away. ‘What happened, was I attacked?’

  Jack busied himself, I’m not telling her he thought.

  ‘You passed out,’ said Adam.

  Here we go, thought Jack.

  ‘Really, that’s a first,’ she replied calmly.

  Jack spun round, ‘That’s it, really.’

  She shrugged her shoulders, ‘What else do you want me to say.’

  Jack was beginning to wonder if she had staged this whole end of the world saga just to be swept of her feet by Adam. He had to admit to himself he wouldn’t have minded being carried over the threshold by Adam. He probably wouldn’t get much sense from Amy now. She was always going on about Adam and his skinny jeans, his floppy haircut and those big dopey eyes. Or was that his words and Amy agreed, either way it was one of them. He’d never imagined Adam as the heroic type, more geek and Xbox type than blood and violence. He guessed the new world was going to turn more mummy’s boys into men.

  ‘Are you OK?’ asked Jack a bit too sarcastically.

  ‘I just said I’m fine,’ she swung her legs of the couch and stood too quickly. Adam was there to steady her. She winked at Jack.

  He shook his head, ‘You’re unbelievable,’ he mouthed silently.

  ‘How long was I out,’ she asked.

  ‘Not long enough,’ said Jack with a huge smile.

  Amy appreciated the humour, it’s the same response she would have given. Adam was a little confused. ‘Are you two still friends?’

  ‘For now,’ she retaliated. Adam didn’t get it.

  ‘Have you eaten?’ he asked her.

  ‘Not in a while.’

  He tossed them both a chocolate bar and fizzy drink.

  *

  From the dorm they now occupied they could see the main entrance. The gates were closed and the courtyard was swarming with dead people, they were quite possibly the only people left alive in the building. Amy had been trying to ring her dad without success. Mobile reception had never been that good in her accommodation, she just hoped that was the reason.

  Adam had barricaded the door to the dorm with furniture from the rooms, nothing was getting in unless it was a dead person swinging an axe. He had tried unsuccessfully to contact his parents, they lived on the other side of Leeds. His mother a schoolteacher wouldn’t be able to make sense of all this, dead people walking about eating the living. He hoped they were safe, that his dad had enough sense to get in the converted attic. He needed a plan to get out of here and get to them, he didn’t think he could do it alone.

  ‘Have you rang home,’ she asked Adam.

  ‘Yeah, no answer,’ he replied.

  ‘Maybe they have got somewhere safe and are unable to answer,’ she said trying to reassure him.

  ‘Maybe,’ he said returning a smile.

  Jack was quiet during the exchange. Amy suddenly had an awful feeling. ‘Jack, have you rang your mum?’

  He didn’t reply. She walked over to him. ‘Jack, please tell me.’

  ‘I think my stepdad has eaten her,’ he replied.

  Amy felt guilty that she hadn’t bothered to ask him before. Everything had moved so quickly that it had completely slipped her mind. She had been too busy fighting monsters that everything else had become unimportant. I could’ve asked him when I spoke to my dad she thought.

  ‘Why do you think that?’ she asked.

  ‘Because I could hear her screaming when I rang.’

  ‘Oh god no,’ she said as she leaned in to hug him. ‘When did you ring her, I’ve not seen you on your phone.’

  ‘I rang before I met up with you. I was watching the news and seeing all the fighting and blood, so I rang to see if she was ok and tell her to get somewhere safe. Amy remained quiet and let him continue. ‘She answered and told me that there was lots of trouble and that Clive wasn’t feeling too well. I told her to get away from him but she just dismissed me and said she wished we could get on, she wouldn’t listen to me.’

  ‘That doesn’t mean…’

  He stopped her, ‘I heard him. I could hear him groaning then my mother asking if he was ok. She started shouting, telling him to get off her. Then her screams were filled with horror and pain. I tried to talk to her but she couldn’t respond. I could hear him tearing the flesh in between screams so I threw my phone at the wall.’ He stopped talking and looked at her.

  ‘I’m sorry Jack,’ she said as she wrapped her arms around him. ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’

  ‘I didn’t want to believe it,’ he said.

  ‘Me neither,’ said Adam.

  Amy hoped that she was going to hear from her dad soon.

  *

  Frank and Miles reached the outskirts of Leeds.

  ‘Not what I expected,’ said Miles as he viewed the city that was on fire.

  From the edge of the motorway they could hear screams, shouting, explosions everything you’d expect to here in a war-torn environment. Except this wasn’t the Middle East or Central Africa, it was middle England and it was burning.

  Frank rang his daughter again; the network bars were low. He moved about hoping that the signal strength would increase. The phone rang.

  *

  Amy answered the vibrating phone, she spoke briefly. She hung up and looked towards Jack and Adam. They guessed by her smile before she confirmed it. ‘My dad is here; he is on the edge of the motorway. He told us to hang on, it might take him a while to get through the roads. He said the city is fucked.’

  What he actually said was – the city is dead.

  Chapter Fifty-Six

  Leeds. UK

  Frank and Miles stood on the edge of a smouldering city. Through binoculars Frank could see half the city burning, the other half under water and all of it swarming with dead people walking about. He was grateful that Amy lived not too far from the motorway. Through the binoculars he tried to picture a mental map of how to get to her. He guessed that the lower part of the A58 would be submerged, the River Aire had probably burst its banks by now. He would have to navigate around which would mean going through more populated areas.

  While the dead certainly posed a threat he was equally concerned by the pockets of civilians that would be fighting, looting and surviving. He was willing to end the life of any breathing or non-breathing creature that attempted to stand in his path to Amy. He wasn’t sure how much he could trust Miles either. Yes he had intervened in a potentially life-threatening situation for Miles but equally he believed that Miles had the drop on his pursuers.

  He had spoken with Amy and knew for now that she was as safe as she could be. She was with others and that helped to reassure him that the safest way to reach Amy would be the best. He also needed an exit strategy so stealth was paramount to getting in and out of Leeds with a minimum amount of fuss or bloodshed. He passed the binoculars to Miles.

  ‘What am I looking for,’ he asked.

  ‘I’m the one doing the looking,’ said Frank calmly.
/>   ‘For what?’ asked Miles.

  ‘An opinion,’ he replied.

  ‘You’re asking me which way looks the safest.’

  ‘Something like that,’ said Frank. In truth he knew the best way to travel around the chaos. What he really wanted was to size up Miles and see who this person was. He also anticipated that Miles was smart enough to have guessed what he was up to.

  Their journey to Leeds had been fast and uneventful. They had travelled the length of the M58, a brief distance on the M6 before hitting the M62. There looked to be a lot carnage behind them particularly at the Warrington turn off. Cars strewn across all lanes, overturned trucks and stuck in the middle, an ambulance that still had its blues flashing. Dead bodies walked about while others crawled and the really lucky ones didn’t move at all.

  Frank had tried to remain focused and silent during the journey. Miles on the other hand had been inquisitive. Frank had considered Miles to be quite excited that he had found a travel companion. He didn’t appear to be nervous but Frank could sense that this man was much more than he appeared to be. He told Miles as little as he could. He tried to disarm him with questions of his own. He asked about his family, wife, kids, mother and father. Miles answered truthfully, he’d never married and both his parents were dead since his childhood more or less. Frank sensed an untruth when he asked how they had died. Miles had stated it was a car accident – the usual answer that was easy to lie about.

  Frank knew that people were usually guarded, he was himself but with him he refused to answer the question, he didn’t invent an alternative. He had managed to take a look into Miles’s car during the carnage, he doubted the white lab coat had belonged to him. Frank’s guess was that Miles had taken an opportunity to escape from a prison or hospital amongst all the chaos. He was trying to think of the secure facilities in the location of their meeting. Miles could be harmless, a petty shoplifter, burglar or some other low-level criminal. Frank didn’t buy his own thoughts, whoever or whatever Miles was he was far from petty, Frank knew this man to be dangerous just by his calmness. He had witnessed Miles pull over the car to confront his pursuers when it would have been easier and safer to outrun them. What confused Frank a little was Miles’ reason for stopping. He only stopped once the others had knocked down the kid fleeing from the dead. This suggested he had compassion for the vulnerable. He had confronted the others because of outrage yet he had remained calm and focused, even when a gun was pointed at him. Frank liked this man but he was not prepared to trust him just yet, he was dangerous and a possible ally which could be useful but if he turned out to be dangerous and an adversary he would have no conscience or hesitation to end his life. It seemed both men had the measure of each other for now.

  ‘Which direction are we headed,’ he asked Frank.

  ‘To the left,’ he nodded.

  Miles scanned the area with the binoculars. Miles could see the flooding in parts, wreckage and the dead were the other obstacles. ‘There is a lot going on down there,’ he said.

  ‘There is,’ replied Frank. ‘Maybe it’s time we said our goodbyes. We could find you a car on the way in, let you get on with your own personal journey’

  Miles lowered the binoculars and made eye contact with Frank. He smiled. ‘We both know I don’t need to be someplace else; I’ve said as much and I’m pretty certain a man of your intelligence has figured that out. I also apologise for telling you the falsehood about my parents, it’s a personal story but one I’m willing to share in time…providing we survive.’

  ‘Fair enough,’ said Frank continuing to hold the eye contact.

  ‘I appreciate your level of suspicion,’ Miles continued. ‘But I am not here to cause you or your family any harm. You helped me out of a situation, the least I can do is return the favour. Before you say you can handle this alone and I’m sure you can – I think you’ll agree that it may be better to have some help going into what looks like a war zone.’

  Frank wasn’t easily taken in by words but he did consider himself a good judge of character. He also sensed a familiarity to Miles, a feeling that they were similar in morals. Frank didn’t feel threatened by him he just didn’t know him. He didn’t think long about accepting.

  ‘Ok,’ said Frank. ‘Let’s go get my daughter.’

  ‘Do you still need me to pick out a route,’ said Miles as he handed back the binoculars.

  It was Frank’s turn to smile.

  *

  Frank had noticed a sign indicating that the police HQ was close to the motorway leading in to Leeds, he made a mental note to scavenge it on his way back out. For now they proceeded along the A road route they had planned. There wasn’t a lot on the road, much of the bedlam was happening further into the city. They drove past pockets of the dead, wandering aimlessly. Some were broken, others had been chewed viciously.

  A dead female barred their path. She stood glaring at them. Her right arm hung limply against her side, the other reaching out for them. Her head tilted. She had long brown hair that flowed past her shoulders, now matted with blood. They couldn’t tell if she had been attractive in life but she was hideous in death. Frank slowed the car to crawling pace.

  ‘Why are we slowing down,’ asked Miles.

  ‘I wanted to look at this disease in all its horror before I drive over her,’ he said.

  ‘You’ll see enough of the horror when we get deeper inside the city,’ said Miles.

  Frank looked towards him, ‘No I won’t, when I get into the city my only focus will be Amy. These creatures will not register with me nor will any human that tries to stop me. I’m looking at her now for what she is and also trying to picture what she was.’

  ‘Why,’ asked Miles.

  ‘Because when we enter this city there will be no turning back from what we will become. We are both prepared to kill again and then I have to face my daughter.’ Said Frank.

  ‘That is true my friend but don’t overlook the fact that we will kill so you have that opportunity to face your daughter.’

  Frank nodded; he wasn’t feeling guilty just preparing himself for the new world. He floored the accelerator and watched as the pathetic creature disintegrated across his bonnet and windscreen.

  They drove along the A road, entering a small tunnel structure, on the other side was a huge roundabout leading to the inner city motorway. Normally that is the route Frank would take but he had seen from his vantage point that the upper road was cluttered with abandon vehicles and roaming dead while the lower part had been flooded. He took the second left onto Canal Street and continued for a mile to Canal Road. They travelled along the road, crossing the river as they went. The river had swelled causing extensive flooding to the surrounding area. Cars had been submerged; bodies floated past – some reaching out. They progressed onto Viaduct road, a one-way system that Frank ignored. At the junction he stopped. They had entered a residential area and it looked like the inhabitants were having a street party. They turned right and headed along the road. The dead turned to look at the noise and headed towards them.

  They passed a variety of religious buildings, a mosque, a Methodist church and a public house called The Winchester, for some people that is as religious as they got. The road narrowed at the top; cars parked on either side. The dead had heard them coming and reached out for the car. The ones that stood in front were crushed the others bounced off the side. Frank didn’t stop at the next junction; he wasn’t expecting any moving vehicles. He crossed towards the leafy park area. The park looked as though a mass demonstration was taking place…Frank and Miles looked at each other, the dead looked at them, they were congregating.

  Surprisingly only a handful of the dead turned towards Frank and Miles as they progressed along the road. The main crowd were focused on something in the middle of the park.

  ‘That’s a lot of dead people walking about,’ said Miles.

  ‘Yeah,’ said Frank, not taking his eyes from the road.

  ‘There is something keeping th
eir focus off us.’

  ‘Yep,’ said Frank.

  ‘It could be someone in trouble,’ said Miles looking at the crowd.

  ‘It had crossed my mind.’

  ‘Are we just going to continue driving past?’ he asked.

  They were almost at the end of the road, a few more metres and it would no longer be an issue. Frank began to slow down; he knew Miles was right and he wanted to help but his daughter was so close.

  Miles read his thoughts; he placed a hand on Frank’s arm. ‘Your daughter is safe for now, whoever is stuck in the middle of the park is dead unless we help them.’

  ‘You’re a pain in the arse, do you know that?’ he asked Miles.

  ‘I do,’ he replied smiling. ‘But don’t act like you were just going to drive by.’

  Without answering Frank pulled a hard right on the steering wheel, they bumped the kerb, smashed into several of the dead and bounced along the uneven grass of the park. As they moved along the dead became thicker in mass. Frank didn’t want to become trapped by sheer volume so he skirted the edges of the crowd, crunching bones and dismembering on his way. He banged his horn as he went. The noise he made caused the crowd to disperse and reveal a visual path to their excitement.

  They were circling a children’s play area; the main focus was a climbing structure sat in the centre. On top of the construction sat a mother cradling her child. The dead continued to reach out towards them. The mother didn’t seem to respond to any of the chaos around her, she didn’t cry for help or wave when Frank blared his horn or crashed through the dead. She looked as though she had gone, not physically but mentally. The child didn’t appear to move.

  ‘We have to do something,’ said Miles looking past Frank into the crowd of horror.