The Infected (Book 4): Wrecked

by Justin Gowland

  Amy started the engine and slowly followed the same route we had taken getting into Hornsea. With daylight slowly fading, we decided to stay out in the open between Hornsea and the forest where we had seen all of the infected.

  Whilst we waited for some water to boil I asked Jane a question that had been on my mind since then.

  “Jane, the last time we were through here a huge horde of infected were hiding out under the trees when it was raining. Any idea why?” I asked.

  She seemed to think on it before saying “We saw similar occurrences when we had to gather specimens. We found that the green excretion is some kind of barrier to the elements and can be washed away if there is enough water. They were probably staying out of the rain. Was it a heavy downpour?” She asked at the end.

  “Yeah, it was bouncing off the ground.” Chris said, leaning forward.

  “There you go, they were hiding from the rain.” She said.

  It sort of made sense, but again doubt reared its head. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to believe her. It was just that the past had given me reason not to. After an MRE supper and a mug of warm coffee, we climbed inside the A.P.C. and tried to get some sleep.

  That night was uncomfortable for all of us and the following morning couldn’t come any quicker. As soon as the sun had cleared the horizon the engine was started and we headed home.

  Heading through the forest, Chris said “They're not there.”

  Foxton called out, “Who?” from the rear of the A.P.C.

  “The infected.” Chris replied before looking outside again.

  They were like a swarm of ants when they reached the dock in Hornsea. Surely that many couldn’t have fallen into the marina? I just shrugged my shoulders and went back to stroking Spirit. She really didn’t like Foxton for some reason and she had always been good at judging character. It just meant that when we got back home I would have to keep a subtle eye on him. At the moment he seemed to spend most of his time with Kathy. Jane, on the other hand, seemed to try and spend as little time with him as she could. That was another reason that I felt uncomfortable with him.

  The day passed by with very little problems and we made good progress. We came over a small hill and ahead in the distance was the coach crash which had been full of infected. Amy stopped the A.P.C. and Chris picked up the binoculars to look down at it.

  “There’s no movement down there.” He said, looking.

  “What about the coach?” I asked.

  He looked round slightly before saying “If the infected are down there, then they are on the coach.”

  “Amy, do you think we can go across the fields again to miss it?” I asked.

  She looked over her shoulder and said, “Sure, but your shoulder and Chris’s arm aren’t going to thank me for it.”

  “It’s either that or we chance trying to push it out of the way again, and we all know how that turned out.” I said.

  “Ok, everyone, hold on.” Amy said.

  With her gunning the engine, she pulled off into the fields and headed back the way that we had come. She was right. After the first twenty feet my shoulder was calling me all the names under the sun and a few I didn’t know. Spirit hugged tight against my leg and whined the whole time. I could hear Chris sucking air in every time we hit a large bump. Amy, God love her, really did try to take it easy. I have never been as happy as when we finally pulled back onto the road. After a while my shoulder seemed to be happy with the more comfortable ride and stopped trying to scream at me.

  “Chris, do you think we’ll make it back before dark?” I asked.

  “Don’t think so. We might have to spend the night in that village again.” He replied.

  “It can’t be helped.” I said, leaning back and closing my eyes.

  The village loomed into view and Amy slowed the A.P.C. down. Edging through the village, we came to roughly where we had spent our first night on this trip. Amy stopped the vehicle and we all climbed out to stretch our legs and sort out our evening food.

  “Get out of here!” An old voice shouted.

  Spinning around, I saw a spindly old man with a white beard and bald head shaking his fist at us.

  “Hey, hold on. We haven’t hurt you.” Foxton said in his policeman’s voice.

  The old man looked around us and then darted out of sight behind a building. Foxton made to go after him.

  “Foxton, just let him be.” I said.

  “Marc, he’s an old man. He’ll need our help.” He said, turning to go after the old man again.

  “I doubt he wants our help, mate. I’m sure he saw us the last time we were here, and he didn’t ask for it then so I doubt he’ll ask for it now. In any case, he just told us to leave.” I said.

  Foxton looked like he wasn’t going to listen for a second, but then his shoulders sagged.

  “Suppose it’s the copper in me.” He said, turning around and walking back to the group.

  I sat on the rear edge of the A.P.C. and said “Mate, you can’t save them all.” I sat there thinking back to the women and their failed attempt at taking over the bunker and then what had happened to Tracy and her gang.

  Foxton saw me sitting there all morose and said “What do you mean by that?”

  Chris stood up and walked over to sit beside me and said “Remember, I told you what had happened before we came to get you?”

  “Yeah.” Jane said.

  “Well, Marc took a lot of the responsibility for everything that happened, especially the women we rescued from the bikers and the fallout that came from that.” He said.

  “But none of that was his fault.” Kathy said in a soft voice.

  “Still doesn’t stop him from beating himself up over it. He’s helped save twice as many as he has killed and he still feels that there should have been another choice.” Amy said from beside the fire.

  I looked up and said “I just want a safe place for people.”

  Standing, I walked to the front of the A.P.C. and stood looking out into the dead village and wondered about the people that used to live there. I had the bunker to concentrate on but for some reason I still needed to help those that where outside of it. I heard someone coming up behind me and looked over my shoulder and saw it was Kathy.

  “I’m sorry we upset you back there.” She said.

  I looked at her and for the first time noticed her bright blue eyes.

  “Don’t worry about it. I’ve just been through a lot since this all started.” I said, smiling.

  “But think of everything that you have accomplished.”

  “I didn’t do it by myself. Most of it has been done with help from Chris, Amy and others in our group. I’m just the fool that volunteers for the dangerous shit.” I said.

  “Well, from one of the people who you have saved, I say thank you.” She stood on her tiptoes and gave my cheek a gentle kiss.

  “Watch out for Foxton.” She whispered, and walked back to the others.

  Now, if I was worried before, I was now really worried. I also needed to try and figure out who was on our side and who was not. After all, from what I could see, Kathy and Foxton were a couple. Did this mean that Kathy was keeping an eye on Foxton or was he keeping an eye on her? My head was once again spinning like a top. I wasn’t cut out for this kind of crap.

  “Marc, food's ready!” Amy shouted from the rear of the A.P.C.

  I headed back, my mind churning with thoughts of betrayal and sabotage.

  “What’s up with you, bud?” Chris asked from his seat on the back of the A.P.C.

  “My shoulder is giving me a little bit of pain.” I said.

  I needed to get Amy and Chris away to talk about what Kathy had said, but I knew that wasn’t going to happen until we got back to the bunker.

  The day was nearly over and the sun was touching the horizon when we finished eating and climbed into the rear of the A.P.C. At least we only had one more uncomfortable night in the A.P.C. before we’d be back home. The others seemed to try and
sleep. I just sat looking at Spirit as she lay snoring at my feet. The night dragged on and just after two in the morning we had a visit from the infected of the village. They banged on the sides of the A.P.C. causing a hollow boom noise inside which woke everyone up. They continued this up until nearly four in the morning. Everyone was grumbling about it as the sun slowly started its climb into the sky.

  We decided that it might be worthwhile skipping breakfast and just head home to the bunker. I had to agree. The quicker we got there, the quicker I could speak with the others about what Kathy had said. I also wanted to set up some security in our comms room and the armoury. If Foxton wasn’t to be trusted, the last thing I wanted to do was give him access to the outside world and firearms.

  Chapter Eleven

  Amy sped along the country lanes toward the bunker. After a couple of hours, we pulled over to the side of the road.

  “Blindfold time.” Chris said from the passenger seat.

  I leaned over and pulled out three torn pieces of sheet from one of the carryalls. I passed them to Jane and they fastened them round their eyes.

  “Okay, guys, what I need you to do is sit down on the floor as well, please.” I said.

  No one complained and they slowly lowered themselves onto the floor. Amy pulled out onto the road and we made our way home. We came to the track and we stopped. Chris climbed out and stood waving like I had to the camera for five minutes before climbing back inside.

  “If they didn’t see you, then they must be blind.” I said.

  “You saying I’m fat?” He said, turning in his seat.

  I laughed and said “No, mate, it’s just you have your own gravity.”

  Amy sniggered as she drove the A.P.C. up the track. As we came to the crest we could see how far the fence was getting on.

  Amy stopped and said “They’ve gotten that up quick.”

  I looked between the seats and I could see that they had managed to erect the first ring of fence and the guard towers. They were now erecting the second fence. It must have been safe because I am sure I saw children running around.

  “Amy, get us down there. I have a pressing need to see Tessa!” Chris said quietly.

  We rolled down the hill and stopped short of the new gate. Chris climbed down and walked over to it. I saw a figure running from where the work was going on, and as the figure got closer, I could just make out Tessa. I could see that she was shouting and pointing. I think someone finally figured out how to open the gate because it slowly trundled open. Chris dove through just as the gate opened and tried to sweep Tessa up in one arm but settled for a long kiss, which was rudely interrupted by Amy pressing down on the horn telling them to get out of the way.

  Amy nudged the A.P.C. through the gate and I noticed that they had made it just wide enough for the A.P.C. to squeeze through, stopping just behind the coach that I had brought Mike and his group to the bunker with. I took each of the blindfolds off Jane and her group. We opened the rear doors and stepped out into the daylight and onto home soil. Chris and Tessa walked over hand in hand and I could see a huge grin on both their faces. Amy appeared beside me.

  Seeing Amy, Tessa let go of Chris’ hand and ran across to give her a huge hug. Tessa whisper something into Amy’s ear and they started to scream and dance.

  Out the corner of my eye I saw two men carrying rifles walking toward us and I guessed who they were. I stood there grinning like a loon when my two friends walked toward us.

  “Hey, Mike, David, I see you haven’t done much whilst we were gone.” I shouted out.

  “What do you mean?” David asked.

  Laughing, Mike just said “Fuck you, Marc!”

  Chris started laughing and soon we were all shaking hands.

  “What the fuck happened to you two?” Mike asked.

  “We’ll tell you later on. First thing we need to do is get inside and have some decent food and a shower.” I said, wincing at the thought of water running over my shoulder.

  “We’ve got as surprise for you two then!” David said, grinning.

  “What now?” I asked.

  “Well, as you can see, the fence is going up pretty well but we’ve needed to go and get more building materials. Whilst we were doing that we found a group of four survivors in a DIY store. One of them is a nurse and the other is... wait for it... he’s a fucking doctor!” Mike said.

  “You have got to be fucking kidding?” Chris said.

  “Nope! He’s set up in a couple of the offices in the Operations room and been using the conference room as a sort of triage.” David replied.

  I looked around outside and smiled. The bunker had come on quite a lot whilst we had been away. Amy and Chris walked over with Tessa and Jane’s group.

  “Let’s get inside. Chris and I will call in and see this doctor.” I said.

  “Mike and I will have to stay outside to keep watch.” David said.

  “Okay. I'll catch up with you later.” I said.

  With Amy in front, we headed for the hatch and stepped inside. Chris pressed the lift button and we waited for it to arrive. Jane, Kathy and Foxton were looking around like their heads were about to twist off.

  “Amy, can you take Jane and her group down to the barracks and find somewhere for them to sleep and take Spirit to my room? Tessa can take me and Chris to see this doctor and get checked out.” I said.

  She turned and looked at me strangely before saying “Sure. I want to have a chat later on.”

  “No problem. You can probably find me in my room later.” I said.

  “You have a room and we have to sleep in the barracks.” Foxton said with a cross look.

  Chris turned and said “There were only a few rooms and the first people here took them.”

  “Fine.” Foxton said, and we could tell from the look on his face that it wasn’t fine.

  The lift stopped on the first floor and Chris, Tessa and I stepped out and headed for the Operations room. Opening the doors, we walked in to see a vast change. Most of the desks were shoved to the sides of the room. At one end the room had been painted with a children’s mural. That must be where they had the school. Tessa lead us across the room to the offices and stopped outside an office and knocked. After a few seconds the door opened and we saw a young man with thick glasses. He was a chubby chap about five feet tall and curly ginger hair.

  “Hi, Tessa. A little early for your check up.” He said, pushing his glasses up his nose.

  “Chris, Marc, this is Dr. Thompson. Doc, these are two of our leaders. They just came back from saving some survivors but got a few injuries.” Tessa said, pointing to us.

  Dr. Thompson squinted through his glasses at us before saying “Nice to finally meet the famous Marc and Chris. May I ask which is which?” The doctor asked.

  “He’s Chris and I’m Mark.” I said, pointing first to Chris and then to myself.

  “I can see that you’ve both been in the wars. I think we better head into the triage.” He said, walking over to what used to be the conference room.

  We all walked inside and saw a beautiful woman checking draws and noting what was in them on a clipboard. She was almost as tall as Chris and had dark ebony skin and long dark hair tied back in a ponytail. Her eyes were a dark chocolate and were large and piercing and fit well with her round face and full lips.

  “Ah, Fleur, glad you’re still here. We have some distinguished guests that have been injured.” said Dr. Thompson.

  She looked us up and down. I felt really bad that we had walked in here in the state that we were in. Chris and I were filthy, injured, and we looked like we had been dragged through a hedge backwards.

  “So I can see, Doctor!” She said.

  Tessa laughed and said “Fleur, meet my boyfriend, Chris, and the missing leader of the bunker, Marc.”

  “I see. Well, come in, gentlemen, and take a seat.” Fleur said, pointing at two hospital beds that were against one wall.

  As we walked to the beds, I was thinking ‘Whe
re the hell did they get these from?' We sat on separate beds and the doctor and his nurse headed over. Tessa stood next the door and watched.

  “You can go, Tessa. I’ll send your boyfriend to find you later. Remember, you have your prenatal check in two days.” Fleur said.

  Tessa sighed, gave us a small wave and closed the door as she walked from the room.

  “So, gentlemen, what happened here?” Dr. Thompson asked as he pulled on some gloves.

  I told them of our trip down the coast to Hull and how Chris had broken his arm and how I had been shot in the shoulder. I spoke through gasps and cries as he prodded and poked at Chris’ arm and my shoulder.

  “Well, looks like Chris has a double fracture. He’s been lucky that they haven’t been full breaks. They should heal in about five weeks. Now, you, Marc, are not so lucky. Whoever managed to get the bullet out did a very good job but you’ve managed to get an infection in it. Probably from jumping off the ship into the water. God only knows what was in that water. Anyway, the short of it is you are going to have to stay in here till we get rid of it.” He said, looking at me.

  “Doc, I just want a shower and get some sleep.” I said in a twisty voice.

  “Sorry, but you’ll have to make do with a bowl and flannel. On the good side, you’ll be getting plenty of sleep here, though, because you’re going to need the rest.” Fleur said.

  “Fleur, could you immobilize Chris’ arm for him, and after I’ve cleaned and redressed Marc’s wound you can immobilize his shoulder?” Dr. Thompson asked.

  “Yes, Doctor.” Fleur said as she headed to a set of drawers and started pulling different dressings out of them.