E Virus: The Diary of a Modern Day Girl (The Beginning of the End)

by Ward, Jessica

  I couldn’t help put cringe. She asked pointless questions, and when people responded to her she would pretend to listen and pout her lips (aka the “Duckface”) as she nodded, with the occasional “yep” as if in agreement with the other person.

  It was like watching the Churchill Dog the way her head was bobbing up and down. I’d happily watch that advert constantly on repeat than listen to her whining high pitched voice.

  The Sergeant split the boys into two teams. The Sergeant led the first team which consisted of Nick, Paul and Greg. The Corporal led the second team alongside Leon, Andy and Josh.

  They had all started training together within their teams, the privates showed the boys how to use the weapons, and they started to have lessons in close combat.

  Lacey and I spent our training up on the roof. I figured we might as well practice on the real thing. I preferred it on the roof. With Duckface being in such close proximity of me and a gun, the urge to shoot was far too tempting. At least on the roof both me and Lacey could get away from her.

  The Sergeant trained all the boys for the first phase of his plan. Hangar 5 contained spare fencing and barbed wire, he wanted to build a fence between our hangar and Hangar 5 so we could easy move between hangars without threat from the infected. In order to do this he needed us all to work together. Lacey and I were to protect them from above, both teams would pick up the fencing and the wire. One team would build whilst the others stood guard.

  Even George got involved with this plan; he volunteered to be an extra set of eyes on top of the roof of Hangar 5. Armed with a rifle he left with the rest.

  I wasn’t overly keen on the boys being out, but I felt better knowing at least I could protect them from above.

  As the trucks made their way to the hangar, the infected were nowhere to be seen. Although I couldn’t see them, I knew they were around. I wasn’t taking any prisoners, as soon as I saw one I’d take them out. We had plenty of ammo, and we knew the other buildings were full of weapons too. We had more than enough.

  It wasn’t long before the boys reappeared, with a truck full of fencing. The hangers were at least 800 yards apart. It would take the boys a few full days to secure the area. Like clockwork they started putting up the fencing, the distance between the fences was the size of a small road, it encompassed both shutters on either side, out of arms reach. Barbed wire was to be positioned at the top and bottom of each fence.

  Hopefully this would keep the infected out. It wasn’t long before we spotted our first kill of the day. This one was a slow mover. It looked slightly worse for wear, it’s left arm was missing and part of its jaw had been ripped clean off. It was not a pretty sight. He wasn’t getting anywhere quickly in that state, I saw the hunger in his eyes as it looked towards the boys. The split second after I saw him, I blew his head clean off.

  The boys looked around upon hearing the sound of my rifle. The Corporal shouted at them to get back to work, they couldn’t afford to be unfocused.

  They carried on as Lacey and I took out 3 more. They all seemed to be coming all around us, we stayed vigilant. I heard 4 shots fire from the building opposite; George had obviously spotted a few. We would be ok as long as hordes of them didn’t come running. The boys finished working as the sun went down.

  At the end of the first day I had managed to shoot 15, Lacey got 13 and George took out 18. George took the lead. On his back to base, he stopped by one of the infected we had shot. He pulled out a pocket knife and a petri dish from his pocket, and took a fresh sample back to the Professor.

  It made me feel sick. It was strange. I didn’t mind shooting the bastards, but watching George carefully cut into the host and pull out, skin, tissue and muscle made my skin crawl.

  As soon as everyone was safely inside we made our way back into the hangar, just as the Sergeant gathered everybody together.

  “Ok, we’re making good progress on the fencing. Once we’ve secured both bases we have some decisions to make. I need a team based here and another based over there. The choice is yours.”

  It felt good having a bigger base. I didn’t care which side I went on, as long as it wasn’t the same side Duckface went on. I had spent over a month with her day after day, I’d had enough. She needed to go or I did. Worryingly, I think Andy felt the same as I did.

  “I’ll move to the other base” Andy offered out the blue.

  Duckface looked livid. “Erm, Excuse me.” She said getting on her high horse. “What if I don’t want to go to that base? You can’t decide for the both of us without consulting me”

  He turned and looked her dead in the eyes “I didn’t say we would move. I said I would. Stay here if you want I’ve got no problem with that at all” he snapped. “Besides what stops me from making decisions for the both of us? You do it all the time”

  “I do it for us. Whenever I’ve made decisions for the both of us, it’s because it’s the right thing to do. It’s always been for your own good” she spat.

  Clearly reaching boiling point he glared at her. “If that’s the way you want to play it, this is for your own good” He said as he stuck his middle finger up at her, right in front of her face. He walked off without saying another word.

  That was it, she snapped. She pulled her wedding ring off and flung it at his head. “I want a divorce” she screamed. Her aim went wide and hit the floor to the side of him. She was always so full of drama, I’ll give her that. She certainly knew how to throw a tantrum.

  He turned around “So do I! I’ve had enough of your bullshit. You’re a control freak, I’ve spent most of my time here defending you and making up excuses for you. But what’s the point? You’re just a spoilt little selfish bitch, who’s made my life a misery for the past 4 years” he yelled.

  She stood for a moment in shock at what she was hearing, as we all turned to look at her. She was shaking with anger, a vain was nearly popping out of her head. She had a face of pure evil as she glared at each one of us, before she stormed off and went back into the plane. Nick and Paul went after Andy, probably to congratulate him. Lacey and I looked at each other with a huge grin on our faces. It was mean, but I couldn’t help it. She had it coming for a long time.

  More than anything, I was proud of Andy. I had never seen him stick up for himself the whole time I had known him. She had finally pushed him too far, and saw the consequences first hand.

  The Corporal came over to us “Is anyone going to see if she’s ok?” he asked us.

  “Nope” Lacey and I replied in unison. “Fair enough” The Corporal shrugged, quickly agreeing with us.

  “Are you?” I asked as he turned to walk away. “Hell no, that Banshee scares the shit out of me” he said over his shoulder grinning.

  “How’s Andy?” I asked as Nick and Paul came back.

  “He’s fine” Nick responded “He’s gone up to the roof, he’s offered to take watch. He just feels embarrassed to have caused a scene in front of everyone, so he’s just going to cool off.”

  “So do you think this is it for those two then?” I asked him.

  Paul nodded “Without a doubt. He hasn’t been happy for a long time. We’ve all seen it. Don’t blame him, the poor lad.”

  I made my way to the roof to make sure he was ok.

  “Hi Andy, mind if I sit with you?” I asked him.

  “Go ahead, it’s a free country. I’m sorry about that before. I didn’t mean to make such a scene, I’ve just had enough” He apologised.

  I shook my head “No, don’t apologise. I think you’ve been holding it in for a while. We all knew you weren’t happy with her. And none of us blame you. If I’m honest I’m surprised you’ve lasted this long” I joked, trying to lighten the mood.

  “You’re right. I’m surprised I haven’t seen it until now. I’ve tried to make it work, I’ve let things slide so many times. But there’s a line. She needs to grow up. Thinking back, I fell out of love with her a long time ago.” He sighed.

  I felt bad for him. He had
put up with way more shit than he should have done. In a way it was his fault, he let it get to this stage. If he had stuck up for himself in the first place, and not let her get away with so much, he wouldn’t be in this mess. I could tell it was going to be awkward around the base. At the same time, if she wasn’t such a control freak and didn’t make him so miserable, he wouldn’t have to flip out like he did. I couldn’t wait until the fence was done, it was getting a bit too cramped in here.

  The atmosphere that night wasn’t pleasant. No one really knew what to say, so we spent the majority of the night in silence. Duckface didn’t come out of her room, and we all tried to avoid her like the plague.

  Andy spent the night on the roof, as it got late, Lacey brought him a blanket, but she couldn’t get him to come down. We all figured he just needed some space, so we left him there. We all went to bed early, we had a long day ahead of us and the boys were already exhausted from building the fence. My shoulder was starting to throb again.

  The next morning, the boys loaded the truck, ready for another day of building. I went to the roof to set up our rifles, as we had done the day before. Andy still hadn’t come down, so armed with a few energy bars I went up to take his breakfast to him. Meanwhile the professor offered to see to Lola. He was a brave man.

  As I opened the roof hatch I looked around towards the spot I had left Andy. I panicked at first, as I looked around I couldn’t see him. I pulled myself up and onto the roof and spotted him in a corner wrapped up in the blanket. He was fast asleep. I let out a sigh of relief.

  I made my way over to him, to wake him up. As I got closer he opened his eyes. He looked awful.

  “What are you doing here?” He asked rubbing his eyes.

  “I’ve brought you some breakfast, you’ve been here all night” I replied as I bent down handing him the energy bars “I think you’ll need those. How you feeling?” I asked.

  “Like crap” He answered. “But I want to get back to work. The sooner this fence is up the better. I’ve had enough of this place” He groaned as he got up. With that he trundled his way downstairs.

  Poor guy, I thought to myself. Once I had set the weapons up, I made my way downstairs to see the boys off.

  As I came downstairs the professor was coming out of the plane shaking his head. As he got to the bottom Duckface emerged from the top.

  “Will you all just fuck off and leave me alone” She screamed.

  I looked around at everyone, “Where did that come from?” I asked no one in particular.

  “I don’t want anything to do with any of you. None of you give a shit about me so stop pretending you do” She carried on. Oh dear, these were the tantrums I was referring to earlier.

  The professor turned to face her. Saying completely calm he addressed her. “My dear, I am a scientist, not an actor. I simply came to you to make sure you were ok in yourself. Had I have not cared, I would not have bothered”

  “Whatever” She replied snottily. “I don’t need any of you anyway, I’m fine by myself.” She looked at us all in disgust. “Your all beneath me anyway” she muttered.

  I knew her kind streak wouldn’t last very long. She always had an ulterior motive.

  “That’s enough young lady.” The professor rose his voice. “I do not care for your tone one bit. You are acting like a spoilt child, grow up!”

  “Fuck you” she snapped.

  The professor’s blood was now boiling. “Now you listen to me child. You say these people are beneath you. Well I’m sorry to say, you are beneath them. They have one thing you will never possess”

  She laughed sarcastically, “Oh yes? And what might that be Professor? Blood on their hands, dirt, no class?” she sniggered.

  “Integrity” He replied matter of factly. “That is something you’ll never have. Not until you learn to act like an adult. All these fine people have a lot more class than you’ll ever have, and I won’t stand for this behaviour any longer. Now get out my sight”

  With that she turned and left. The professor composed himself. He turned to see us all staring wide mouthed at his outburst. “Carry on” He smiled as he wandered back over to his makeshift lab.

  Lacey and I made our way to the roof. We both had massive grins on our faces.

  “Didn’t expect that from the professor” I started.

  “I know, she got told” Lacey giggled.

  I couldn’t deny it, watching that display had made my day. I had no idea why she lashed out at all of us; we stayed well clear of her after the argument between her and Andy. What did she expect us to do? Lacey must have thought the same as me.

  “She probably expected us all to gather round her and make a huge fuss of her. I think she’s upset because we just left her alone and didn’t bother with her.” Lacey suggested.

  She was spot on, and I couldn’t agree with the professor more. She was acting like a complete spoilt child. She wasn’t getting her own way and we had all wised up to her behaviour, refusing to pander to it. She responded by throwing her toys out the pram. It was ridiculous.

  I put it to the back of my mind; I had more important things to deal with. Like the group of infected making their way to the incomplete fence.

  I pulled my rifle up and took aim, as I fired the first shot, pain shot through my arm. I dropped my gun slightly, but ignored it and carried on taking the group out. Lacey had spotted the same group, so she helped me dispose of them. As she looked over her shoulder, she turned her rifle and started shooting in the opposite direction.

  I quickly disposed of the remaining of the group and focused my sights on the new herd coming towards them. In the distance I could hear shots going off on the roof of Hangar 5. George had also spotted another group coming towards them.

  They were all slow movers, none of them ran, they just stumbled along trying desperately to reach their prey. They all had limbs missing, organs and ribs were visible, as chunks of flesh and decomposing muscle had already been ripped out of them.

  From out of nowhere, the fast movers came out running from all different directions closing in on the boys. The boys had all seen what was going on and had their guns at the ready. They had made themselves a makeshift cage, dragging the fencing they were working on in front of them. Directed by the Sergeant they locked themselves in, for protection.

  We needed to do something, there were hundreds of them. I shouted to Lacey “take out the fast ones, leave the groups for now.”

  “Will do” She shouted back.

  I took control of the situation. I took down the fast movers as they came into sight. There was too many of them and they were advancing closer and closer to the boys. My shoulder was searing from the pain of the kickback from the rifle.

  Shots were being fired from down below, the sprinters had closed in on the fence. The boys took them out as they came closer; some of them reached the fence, shaking the chains desperately trying to find a way in.

  The soldiers switched to their handguns, taking them out from close quarters. The slow movers were getting closer. “Back on the groups” I yelled.

  We swung our rifles round, aiming for the advancing herds. “I’m out” I yelled. I needed to reload quickly. We didn’t have enough ammo with us to take them all down. I reloaded and emptied another magazine into another group of the slow movers.

  “We need more ammo” Lacey called. “I’m on it” I replied. “Take out the rest that come close to that fence. If too many get to them, the fence could fall.” I shouted to her.

  I ran to the door, as the Professor poked his head out.

  He was struggling to carry the boxes as he heaved them up to us. “I thought you girls might need a hand” He said.

  I nodded and quickly took the boxes from him. I slid a box over to Lacey and reloaded my rifle as I headed back to my post.

  I took out the last herd and concentrated on the fast movers. They were running from all different directions trying to find a way in.

  The sprinters had a lot more bo
dy parts in tact as they ran. They still had the diseased, rotting look of death. They were all covered in blood, I wasn’t entirely sure the blood was theirs. They moved perfectly, they had full control of their movements. They had a crazed, murderous expression as they screeched a high pitched sound. It was like listening to a crow being strangled.

  The infected kept coming. Bodies were piling up all around the perimeter, the stench of death was starting to make its way to the roof, and it was vile. After 20 minutes or so, we had taken them all out.

  Dead bodies, limbs and innards littered the ground beneath us. It was like a battlefield. We had taken out the enemy, and as far as I could see, we had no casualties.

  My shoulder was still burning, I could barely move it. I dropped my rifle as I tended to my arm. A massage wouldn’t fix it this time.

  The boys started to make their way out make shift cage they had designed for themselves. They wouldn’t be able to carry on building until the bodies were moved. The Sergeant ordered everyone back to the base.

  He gathered us all on the roof as he addressed us all. “Well, that didn’t go quite according to plan.” He started “We need to remove of the bodies. Girls, I need you to cover us. We will move the bodies over there, he pointed to the middle of the runway next to us. We will pile them up and burn them all. Is that clear?” he asked.

  We all nodded. I felt bad for all the boys. Those things stank. It wasn’t a nice job at all, I knew I could never do it.

  Sensing the disgust throughout the group the Sergeant added “don’t worry boys; we still have fully working showers in hangar 5.”

  I let out a sigh of relief. If Nick came back smelling like those things, he was sleeping on the roof with Andy.

  I watched with Lacey from above as the boys shovelled the bodies into the trucks. They all looked repulsed, but they carried on. They loaded the first haul into the truck and drove it to the runway. The Sergeant lit the first pile and went back to load more.

  It took them over an hour to dispose of all the bodies. The smell of burning flesh filled the air. I couldn’t decide which I preferred, the smell of death raw or extra crispy. It was like being stuck between a rock and a hard place trying to decide.