by RR Haywood
‘This?’ I boot a chair and send it flying across the room, ‘not really.’
‘Imagining it’s me? I cannot believe you just said all that.’
‘It was the bloody truth and no, I am not imagining it is you. I wouldn’t do that. I wouldn’t hurt you for the hell of it.’
About to retort and she blinks and stares at me. Her face red and flushed and the anger is evident.
‘Cat got your tongue?’
‘You’re an idiot,’ she says and looks away. We get to the double doors at the same time but both hold back to avoid walking through at the same time. We hesitate, not looking at each other then both tut as we both try and walk through at the same time which makes our shoulders brush.
‘Oh excuse me,’ I say sarcastically.
‘Gonna dry hump me again?’
‘I did not dry hump your bloody leg!’
‘You so did,’ she shoots me a look of hatred, ‘you know you did.’
I snort and roll my eyes, ‘I wouldn’t do it now.’
‘Good!’ She recoils with malicious pleasure, ‘I wouldn’t want you to. Do you think I even liked it having you leching all over me?’
‘Leching? I was not fucking leching? That’s bloody awful thing to say.’
‘And accusing me of genocide and being like Hitler is okay is it?’
‘That was below the belt.’
‘Lech.’
‘Murderer.’
Outside we get down the steps side by side and split directions as I head to the front of the Saxon and she goes for the back.
‘Dry humper,’ she shouts and pulls herself into the back.
I get into the front and slam the door closed, ‘where next?’ I ask out loud.
‘Er,’ Clarence hesitates and turns round in his chair to face the back.
‘Marcy? Where would you like to go?’ I ask without turning, ‘maybe we can find some people to eat. Would you like that?’
‘No I would not like that. Maybe we can find someone for you to lech over.’
‘Great. Fine by me. I’ll lech over anyone apart from you.’
‘So you do lech then.’
‘No I do not bloody lech. Paula, do I lech?’
‘Not getting involved.’
‘I don’t lech. This is stupid. I’m hungry.’
‘Well go then.’
I twist round to stare down past the others to Marcy sat by the open back doors, ‘where? Where then?’
‘Try a supermarket? Shop? Another café? What’s up? Your first idea failed so you dry up?’
‘Oh fuck off with the dry comments you murderer.’
‘Nicely done though.’
‘Alex!’
‘Sorry, Mr Howie.’
‘We’re trying a supermarket,’ I announce and start the engine but the anger flows from my mind into my brain and the signals sent to my limbs make my movements harsher than they should be. The vehicle starts. I slam my right foot down and it stalls to tick over and a soundless interior remains within the Saxon.
‘Dry humper.’
‘Murderer,’ I start the engine and force my movements to remain calm.
‘Want me to drive?’ Clarence asks brightly.
‘No, thank you, Clarence.’
‘Okay,’ he says with the same light tone.
We go along the seafront and up an incline to the junction with the main High Street hard on the right side. Another no entry from this position and the turn is too tight to make in one go so I go forward, select reverse and edge back while turning the wheel the other way. I stop, engage a forward gear and turn the wheel back the other way and edge forward but the angle is still too tight so I once again stop, select reverse and pull back while turning the wheel back the other way.
‘You hit something,’ Marcy calls out at the dull thud followed by a distinct clang of metal from the lamppost falling over, ‘lamppost. You knocked a lamppost over.’
‘Yes, I am aware but thank you for pointing that out.’
‘You’re welcome.’
‘It’s good you have such awareness for danger…’
‘Screw you.’
‘Pity you didn’t have such awareness once before.’
‘The lamppost is on the ground if you want to dry hump it.’
‘That,’ I say through gritted teeth while forcing the wheel back over, ‘would be better than dry humping you.’
With the wheel over I edge forward then throw caution to the wind and instead of doing another shuttling back and forth I simply push on and take out a huge chunk of wall.
‘Brute force,’ I nod happily to myself and gain the main road down. Shops on both sides broken and looted but the damage here doesn't seem as bad as it could have been and again no bodies.
‘Co-op,’ Clarence points ahead to the supermarket sign.
Once again we come to a stop and spill out with eyes up. Blowers taking the lads to form a perimeter guard while Dave and Roy head to the door. Reginald scoots past me with a look of fright and heads straight to Clarence and Paula waiting a few feet off leaving Marcy and I trying to not to look at each other.
‘It’s open,’ Dave says after a few minutes of standing next to the wide open doors.
‘And empty,’ Roy adds.
Empty shelves stripped of everything. I head past them into the store and realise someone took time and effort to empty this place. Meredith runs past me with her nose to the ground.
‘I’ll check the back,’ I call out and stomp down the first aisle towards the rear. Meredith sniffs but doesn't show reaction. I hold my assault rifle ready and find the rear double doors leading to the back storerooms.
‘Here,’ I click my tongue and shove the door open with my foot as Meredith comes running over with her claws skittering on the tiled linoleum floor.
‘Fuck it,’ one look tells me this place has been stripped empty. Dave gets to the doors behind me while I peer round into the vast storeroom.
‘Anything, Mr Howie?’ He asks.
‘Nope. Fuck all,’ I walk back and we head down the aisle back to the front.
‘Nothing?’ Paula calls out.
‘Nothing,’ I confirm and fix my eyes on Marcy who glares back. Neither of us look away so I scowl and she returns the gesture.
‘Sainsbury’s down the road a bit,’ Mo Mo calls out from his position on the other side of the road.
‘Dave, would you and Roy mind checking it out?’
They head down side by side. Paula, Clarence and Reginald drift down to speak with Blowers while I pat my pockets looking for a smoke.
‘Nick, Mr Howie would like a cigarette,’ Marcy says.
‘Sure thing,’ Nick jogs over while I shoot another scowl at Marcy who looks back at me with a look of minor victory on her face, ‘boss?’ He hands me a packet and I start wriggling one out while he jogs back to the others, ‘keep it,’ he says.
‘Thanks, Nick,’ I say and get one into my mouth then immediately groan at not having a lighter. Now I look stupid. More stupid than normal.
‘Nick,’ Marcy calls out with delight in her voice that makes me wince, ‘Mr Howie doesn't have a lighter.’
‘Sure thing,’ Nick jogs back and hands it to her before running back to the others.
‘Thanks, Nick,’ I call out again and glance over to see Marcy holding the lighter but making no effort to pass it to me.
‘Can I have the lighter please,’ I ask while rolling my eyes.
‘Are you going to apologise?’
‘Apologise? What for!?’
‘For saying what you said,’ she says quickly.
‘Fucking no way.’
‘No lighter then.’
‘Grow up and give me that fucking lighter.’
‘Stop swearing at me.’
‘I’m not swearing at you! I’m hungry and I want a cigarette.’
‘Apologise and you can have one.’
‘Oh my fucking God, Marcy. Give me that lighter.’
‘Apologise
.’
‘Lighter.’
‘Apologise.’
I could get a lighter from one of the others but suddenly that doesn't feel right, like it would be cheating. The point would only be scored by getting the lighter from Marcy.
‘Give me the lighter,’ I hold my hand out.
‘Give me an apology.’
‘Marcy, give me that lighter,’ I step closer while holding my hand out.
‘Apologise,’ she demands angrily.
‘Okay,’ I say with a big fake smile, ‘you apologise for calling me a lech and I’ll say sorry for mentioning the fact you killed lots of innocent people.’
‘Here,’ Paula at my side thumbing the wheel on a disposable lighter and shooting foul looks at both of us, ‘if it shuts you two up.’
‘Thank you, Paula,’ I light the end and smile again at Marcy.
‘You still owe me an apology.’
‘Tell you what, you write a letter of apology to all the people you killed then I’ll…’
‘Infection. It. Was. The. Infection. Not. Me.’
‘You knew.’
‘I did not.’
‘You knew.’
‘I did not.’
‘All day long, you knew.’
‘Oh trust me I can keep going forever and I did not.’
‘Empty,’ Roy says heavily.
‘Right,’ I step back and stare up and down the street, ‘have we got radios?’
‘Nope,’ Clarence says.
‘Cock it, right…load up we’ll keep looking.’
Huffing to myself I head back to the Saxon and quickly puff on the cigarette before pulling myself up halfway into the driver’s seat and pull off down the High Street. We stop at the next café, get out and search it only to find it stripped empty and get back in. The next one is the same. The one after that is just Dave, Roy and Meredith and so it goes. Every food outlet and café has been stripped. From the High Street we go back down onto the seafront and start trying the other outlets.
‘I don’t think I’ve ever been this hungry,’ I say to Clarence as Dave and Roy get back in from checking the last place.
‘We all are,’ Paula says from behind me, ‘pier? It’s the last place.’
‘Pier it is.’
The short drive along the front brings us to a concrete hardstanding in front of yet another fast food kiosk resting amongst a sea of cheap town centre style benches.
‘Movement inside,’ Clarence says, ‘eyes up.’
‘Lads, on me,’ Blowers jumps from the back as I get out the driver’s door and pull my assault rifle out to hold up and aimed.
‘What did you see?’
‘Someone inside, running back away from the doors.’
‘Away from the doors? Like a normal person?’
‘Dunno,’ he says.
‘Fortified,’ Dave joins me behind the big bonnet of the Saxon. Three sets of double doors to the front of the pier that would no doubt be wedged open during the summer months to entice people inside. Adverts and signs for a bar, café and amusement arcade inside but two of the sets of double doors have been secured with thick wooden boards fastened on the inside. The remaining set of doors have boards across the bottom three quarters leaving the top section unobstructed to view out. The windows to the sides are boarded too. Someone has taken time and effort to do this and now it makes sense why the town has been stripped. The survivors have retreated to the pier and stashed the food.
‘Paula, you and I will go to the doors. Everyone else stay alert but try not to look too threatening.’
‘How do we do that?’ I hear Mo Mo ask Blowers.
‘Widen your stance a bit and hold the weapon down…yeah like that…and smile if we see anyone…unless they shoot at us in which case don’t smile…or smile and then shoot them…’
‘Got it,’ Mo Mo says.
We sling our assault rifles and head to the door, Paula and I so we appear less threatening. Marcy keeps to the side and puts sunglasses on and I think Reginald is still hiding in the Saxon.
‘Hello?’ I call out in what I hope is a friendly voice, ‘anyone there? We’re not a danger to you…we will not enter or use force…’
We stand listening, straining to hear anything while Paula peers through the glass to the inside.
‘Anything?’ I ask.
‘No, HELLO?’ She call out, ‘I’m Paula and this is Mr Howie…we’re from Fort Spitbank down the coast. Is anyone there?’
‘Movement,’ Dave says in a low voice.
‘How can you tell?’ I ask him knowing full well he can’t see anything from his position.
‘The dog,’ he says simply.
I look down to see Meredith peering intently at the bottom of the door with her head cocked to one side. Ears pricked, and her tail wags slowly but giving no indication of the infected.
‘Someone’s coming,’ Paula says, ‘two men…one has a…er…shotgun, is that a shotgun?’
‘Let me see,’ she moves over so I can peep through, ‘yeah, shotgun. Double barrelled.’
Two men walking down the side of the interior hugging the wall. One is huge with thick arms and a thick neck, like a body builder or a nightclub bouncer. The other one is older with greying hair, thickset and clutching the shotgun in his hands.
‘Hi,’ I call out so they can see me clearly, ‘I’m Howie…’
‘Howie?’ Mr Howie?’ The thickset man asks as they stop a few feet back from the door.
‘Yeah, from Fort Spitbank. We were looking for food but…’
‘We’ve got it all in here,’ the body builder says in a surprisingly high pitched voice. I stop myself from rolling my eyes at the information given so freely.
‘We heard about you,’ the thickset man says, ‘and Dave and your soldiers from the government.’
‘Right, yeah that’s us but we’re not…’
‘What’s happening?’ The thickset man asks quickly with a step forward and I can see the worry clear on his face, ‘is it getting better yet?’
‘Better? No mate…it’s…er…have you been in there since it began?’
He nods and glances at the body builder, ‘I own it…James here was the bouncer on duty when…you know…when it happened.’
‘How many people you got in there?’
‘Fifty or so,’ the pier owner says, ‘we figured the government would get a grip and send people. What’s happening? Is the vaccine ready yet?’
‘Vaccine? What vaccine?’
‘Everyone here says the government will get a vaccine and send it out with the army. Someone else arrived a week or so ago and said they’d heard about you…and the fort and…we talked about coming down to you but voted to stay here and wait.’
‘Oh right, listen I don’t think there is a…’
‘We got all the food,’ he steps closer as though in desperation, ‘and a couple of shotguns….but we didn’t hurt anyone did we, James?’
‘I hit that bloke Mr Wheeler, when he took the beer.’
‘Yeah but we haven’t done anything else though,’ Mr Wheeler says quickly, ‘we haven’t killed anyone and…I’m one of the town councillors.’
‘Oh right,’ I say with a nod, ‘it’s good that you’ve er…got everyone safe in there…how much food did you say you have?’
‘Enough to last a few months,’ Mr Wheeler says, ‘we’ve rationed it…fairly…James wanted a bit more protein but…he fishes, don’t you, James.’
‘Got a rod,’ James says, ‘you can fish from the end when the tide is in.’
‘Great, er…’
‘And we got them into the units too…’
‘Pardon?’
‘For the vaccine,’ Mr Wheeler says, ‘we got as many as we could into the units…sorry, the industrial units by the petrol station, that’s where you should start with the vaccine.’
‘Oh the units, yeah…with the shutters and the no entry…’
‘We did that,’ James nods eagerly, ‘we thought it would let
anyone know there was people inside…’
‘We voted on it,’ Mr Wheeler adds.
‘Okay, listen about this vaccine…I don’t think…’
‘Our families are in there,’ Mr Wheeler blinks and swallows with emotion, ‘my wife and one of my kids…James’s mother is in there too. We managed to er…sort of lure them in and shut the doors…they’re still alive though, we check them every day and…you know…for when the vaccine comes…’
‘Your families? In those units?’
‘Everyone we could find,’ James says, ‘I think we filled up like four units…like we couldn’t get everyone but we did our families…like all the people in here did it…’
‘Families?’ I ask meekly.
‘For the vaccine,’ Mr Wheeler says.
‘Shit,’ I say from the corner of my mouth to Paula stood to the side with an obvious wince on her face.
‘We killed them all,’ she whispers.
‘I know…’ I whisper back.
‘What’s happened?’ Clarence steps in closer.
‘They’ve got fifty people in there…’ I nod at the door while whispering quietly, ‘and they put their families on those units…’
‘The ones we killed?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Shit.’
‘Yeah.’
‘Er, Mr Wheeler…I am afraid to say there is no vaccine,’ I blurt the words out and grimace while waiting for the reply.
‘Hang on,’ he rattles some keys and starts unlocking the door before swinging it open, ‘oh….there’s a few of you,’ he looks round at the team ranged about and seems to stand taller at the sight of the army vehicle and the lads holding assault rifles and looking every inch like soldiers.
‘There is no vaccine,’ I say again gently.
‘Oh, not yet?’
‘Er…’
‘They’ll get one,’ he nods quickly, ‘it will happen. The government won’t just let it happen and not…you know, like do anything about it…What about NATO? You heard anything from them?’
‘NATO?’ I ask in surprise, ‘mate, there’s nothing. Everything is gone. Governments, police…army…everything…’
‘But you’re here,’ he says looking at me, ‘we heard about you. Didn’t we James?’
‘We did, really we did.’
‘No, I believe you but we’re not from the army and…listen there is no help coming and…’