“I don't know why you're laughing,” said Gordon with a snarl, glaring at Joan. “You don't think I'm such a drip when we're fucking.”
Joan looked furious and an uncomfortable silence fell on the three individuals, but Walter sat with a wide grin on his face.
“Oh dear,” the old man cackled and sang, “Awkward.”
Gordon dropped his head and immediately regretted his outburst. Before he had a chance to say sorry to Joan, a noise from outside startled the pair of them.
“What's that?” Joan whispered to Walter.
“Probably just a stray,” he answered with calm.
“A stray? A stray what? A stray cat? Fox?”
Walter shook his head and put his finger to his lips, telling Joan to be quiet. He leaned over and whispered to them both, “One of … them.”
“You better lock the door,” Gordon said softly. “We got in easy, because you hadn't locked the thing.”
Walter shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. “I've always left it unlocked. Even when those cunts came on the scene.”
“You not worried about them getting in?”
“Never have done yet.”
Gordon got to his feet and went over to the door. Unlike Walter, he wasn't as confident. He noticed there was a bolt on the door and slid it slowly to the right, now securing it.
He went back to the living room and could see Joan peering out of Walter’s living room window, but Walter was sipping on the tea and munching on a biscuit as if nothing was happening.
Gordon stood beside her and both watched as a lone Runner was staggering across Walter's path, in the front garden, looking confused and disorientated.
“It’s just the one. Give it a few minutes,” said Joan. “If it's not gone by then, we'll both go out and remove it. We can't be stuck in here all day.”
“No, we can't.” Gordon agreed. “We certainly don’t wanna be stuck in here with him.”
“I heard that,” Walter spoke up, a little too loudly, making both Gordon and Joan wince. “Feel free to go any time you want. Don't let me stop you, you ungrateful shit.”
Gordon turned and snapped at Walter, “Gonna keep it down?”
Walter gave Gordon the middle finger and gave it a kiss.
“I don't know what you're both panicking about,” Walter said. “This happens all the time. At least it's just the one. There used to be more of them.”
Joan moved away from the window and tried a lighter approach to keep Walter quiet. “Could you be a star, and try and keep it down until it's away? We're not as brave as you, me and Gordon.”
“Sure thing, sugar tits. Anything for you.” Walter smiled, leaned over, and beckoned Joan with his finger to come closer.
“What is it?” she asked in a whisper and took a couple of steps towards the man in his late sixties.
Walter began, “Let me ask you something.”
“What?”
“Why would you lower yourself and let a weedy bloke like that stick his dick inside you?”
Joan decided not to bite. Creating an argument with the situation they were in wouldn't benefit anyone. Besides, she was used to this kind of smutty talk with Marvin. In fact, Marvin was much worse.
She decided to humour the guy. “He's all that's left.”
“Oh, so you two weren't an item before...?”
“No, we met at a guesthouse,” she said with a smile.
Gordon was still at the door and was aware that a conversation was going on between Joan and Walter, but not aware of the content and that they were talking about him.
Gordon continued to look out and seemed more unnerved by the presence of the contaminated being than the other two. The faint noises he had been hearing were now moving away and he headed to the kitchen, aware that the Runner was walking around the house.
Why didn't it just fuck off? Gordon thought. Did it have a higher sense of smell? Could it smell them?
Surely not.
He had to keep reminding himself: it's still human. If anything, their motor skills had been diminished. They couldn't swim, drive, and as far as Gordon was aware they couldn't speak. Their human skills seemed to be lost once they were infected, apart from eating and using their feet to travel.
A noise could be heard outside and Gordon carefully put his fingers on the blinds and pulled them back an inch. He couldn't see anything and decided to go back to join Joan and that cantankerous old fuck.
He returned to the living room and Walter said, “Have you stopped shitting yourself now?”
“I wasn't shitting myself,” Gordon spoke with his teeth clenched. “I was just checking.”
“Give it ten minutes, and the thing will be away. Trust me.”
“If you say so.”
“Right, I'm off to release some piss and have another cup of tea.” Walter Grey glared at Gordon with disdain. “A proper one this time.”
*
He didn't know how long he had been sitting in the dusky cabin. Maybe an hour; maybe two, but Junior Dickinson had had enough and was ready to go back to the site. It was only a short walk back, but danger could be lurking.
He rubbed his hands over his face and from out of nowhere he began to sob. He was sobbing so hard that he had to put his fist into his mouth and bite down to stop him from making a noise. He knew that if it was a Runner that was out there, it could force its way in, or at least hang around the place for hours. There'd be no leaving the cabin. These things just didn't give up.
He wiped his tears away, and suddenly stopped crying and moving as a sound appeared right behind him, from right behind the door. He held his breath and placed his ear against the wooden door. Whatever was out there had come back, unless it was another one.
But why? Junior thought he was being quiet.
He continued to listen out and could hear sniffing. He was convinced it was an animal that was outside.
Maybe it was just a deer or an inquisitive fox. Junior still remained where he was. He wasn't brave or stupid enough to open the door and confront what it was. A snarl from outside made him jump and almost gasped aloud. Not trusting himself, he placed his hand over his mouth and continued to sit on the floor in the dusky cabin.
He always thought he was a non-believer, but this situation made Junior lower his head and mutter ever so softly The Lord's Prayer.
By the time he reached 'deliver us from evil' a bang at the door forced him to stop. He placed his hand over his mouth once more and started to cry. He feared for his life and was certain that whatever it was outside could smell him and wanted in.
Another bang was heard, making Junior jump, and was now sure that whatever was outside was going to get in. If not through the door, then they or it could come crashing through the window.
Junior was beginning to hyperventilate and closed his eyes and tried some breathing exercises. He sucked in a deep breath and held it for ten seconds, before slowly releasing it. He did it once more and could feel his heart bouncing inside his chest. He clutched onto his chest as a shooting pain went across.
“What the fuck’s going on?” he mumbled. “A panic attack?”
Another pain was felt, making Junior wince, and then he tried the breathing exercises once more.
A minute of this was enough for Junior to be satisfied and could feel his heart rate reducing its speed and not as quick as before.
He held his ear to the door and listened out, but couldn't hear anything. A yelp from yards away made the teenager widen his eyes in panic and wondered what the noise was.
“Sounds like a distressed dog.”
If he went outside, he'd know. But not right now.
He knew he had to leave the place eventually, but he wasn't quite ready to do it.
Not yet.
The teenager placed his two fingers against his carotid artery and felt the gentle drumming against the tips of his fingers. His heart had slowed down, so why did he feel short of breath?
Once more, the fourteen-year-old tried th
e breathing exercises.
Chapter Sixteen
The jeep pulled forwards and Lloyd was finding it difficult to see out of the windscreen. Marvin suggested to put the damaged windscreen through, like they do in the American TV Cop shootouts, but Lloyd wasn't sure if it was possible to do such a thing. Instead, although knowing it was extremely dangerous, he wound his driver's window down and occasionally looked out to see if any bends were up ahead, keeping the vehicle between twenty and thirty.
The two Runners were still chasing the jeep, and Lloyd knew that they were going to have to be dealt with sooner or later. They were under two miles form the caravan site and were sure the Runners would reach there if they were allowed to.
Lloyd checked his rear view mirror and could see the Runners still giving chase.
“Watch out!” yelled Marvin.
Lloyd slowed down once he saw the sharp bend up ahead, and he then stuck his head out of the opened window as he took it.
“This is hopeless,” said Marvin.
“I know,” sighed Lloyd.
“Are you thinking what I'm thinking?”
Lloyd nodded.
Lloyd stopped the vehicle and reached for his crowbar. Marvin pulled out his blade.
“May as well get them out the way,” said Lloyd.
Both men exited the damaged vehicle and went to the back of it. They stood with their weapons ready, and glared at the bend in the road, waiting for the two infected to show their faces. They could now hear the sound of feet slapping the tarmac and knew that they weren't far away.
A nervous Lloyd looked at Marvin and could see a small smile on his face.
Lloyd shook his head in astonishment. Jesus, is he enjoying this?
The sound was growing louder and Lloyd knew that any second and they'd be adding to their kill total. It wasn't what he wanted, as they were still human, but he had no choice in the matter.
The two Runners came around the bend and increased their pace once Marvin and Lloyd were seen.
Lloyd took in a long breath and brought the bar back, ready to strike. As if they had already picked their prey, The Runner on the left headed over to Lloyd and the other went for Marvin.
Both Runners lunged for their potential victims once they were near them, taking both Lloyd and Marvin by surprise. It wasn't what they were expecting.
Lloyd pushed his attacker away, but Marvin cried out and fell to the floor with his. Lloyd's attacker came forward again, not lunging this time, giving him time to swing the bar.
The crowbar struck the side of the infected individual's head, making it stagger backwards, but Lloyd wasn't taking any chances and struck it again, and once more when it hit the floor.
He turned away from the corpse once his eyes could see part of its brain exposed through the cracked skull, and Lloyd began to retch, but never actually threw up. He turned to see his older brother struggling with the other Runner.
Both Marvin and the Runner became motionless and Lloyd gasped, staring at both bodies. The Runner was on top of Marvin. Marvin then suddenly began to twitch on the floor. He twitched so much that the Runner fell to the side of him. The Runner now looked dead.
Lloyd watched in horror and then saw his brother suddenly get to his feet, snarling at Lloyd.
“Oh shit, oh God,” Lloyd moaned. “He's turned. He's fucking turned.”
He took a large, heavy gulp and brought his bloody crowbar back, ready to do the unthinkable. Ready to put his own brother out of his misery.
Lloyd widened his eyes to stop the tears from producing and could see Marvin's blade sticking out of the Runner's head. It looked like he had managed to kill it before getting infected himself.
Lloyd shook and screamed with false bravado, “Come on then! What're you waiting for?”
Lloyd looked at Marvin and narrowed his eyes in puzzlement as Marvin began to laugh hysterically. He was laughing so hard that he was bent over and clutching onto his stomach with both hands.
Lloyd lowered the crowbar and screwed his face in confusion.
“What the fuck's going on?” he muttered. “Marvin? Are you okay?”
“Sorry, bro,” Marvin continued to snicker.
Lloyd gazed at his brother with narrow eyes and was beginning to realise that his older brother was fine. This had been some sick joke. “Sorry?”
“Just a little joke.” Marvin began to compose himself and added, “You wanna see your face. You looked like somebody had pissed in your scrambled eggs.”
“You...” Lloyd couldn’t find the words.
“Yes?”
“You … bastard.” Lloyd shook his head and couldn’t believe what Marvin had done.
“It was just a joke.”
“Yes, but there's a time and a place for jokes, man. What happens if I’d ran over and smashed your brains in?”
“I would have said something.”
Lloyd didn't say anything further. He knew there was no point. All he wanted to do now was get back to the site, back to Junior. He didn’t want to have a blazing row with Marvin in the middle of a country road.
“You're a twat.” Lloyd went over to the jeep, entered the vehicle and threw the crowbar in the back. “First, the story about your daughter, and now this!”
From where he was sitting, Lloyd yelled at Marvin to get in.
Marvin did, but was bemused why his little brother was so uptight.
Marvin sat in the passenger seat, now staring at Lloyd. Lloyd knew that Marvin was looking at him and could feel his smiling also. He fired the engine and pulled away.
Lloyd slipped the vehicle into a higher gear and could feel that Marvin was still gaping at him and smiling. The corners of Lloyd's mouth began to elevate, but the man was trying his best not to smile.
“I can see you trying not to smile,” said Marvin.
“Okay, so maybe I can see the funny side of it now. Now that I’ve calmed down.” Lloyd began to snicker and Marvin joined him. “But I did nearly shit myself and was seconds away from putting you down.”
“There you go. Not so bad, is it? Good to have a laugh now and again.”
“Yeah,” Lloyd giggled. “At my expense.”
“Was that funnier than my story from before?”
Lloyd never answered.
Marvin persisted, “Well?”
“Yeah, but do me a favour. That’s twice you’ve fucked me over, man. Promise you won't do anything like that again?”
“Oh, I can't do that.”
Chapter Seventeen
Junior Dickson had stifled a yawn and hadn't heard anything from outside for ages. He slowly rose to his feet and had made the decision to go outside and head back to the caravan site.
It would be a fifteen to twenty minute walk, he guessed, and hoped there was going to be no danger on the way back for the unarmed teenager. In hindsight, the youngster should have exited his bedroom and went to the kitchen to get a knife before his venture, but then Gordon and Joan in the living room area would have wondered what he was up to. He was so angry when he left the caravan through his window, that he wasn't thinking straight.
He thought about the noise from behind the door that occurred more than half an hour ago and the yelp. He had no idea what it was sniffing around the cabin, but hoped that it was now gone.
He opened the door and peered out. The daylight made his eyes scrunch and shrink, like putting salt on a slug, and stepped into the wooded area, relieved that his eyes could spot no danger.
The area looked clear.
He went outside and lifted his legs higher than he normally would when walking, making sure he was creating as little noise as possible. His paranoia was making his heart gallop once more and his breathing was becoming quicker than he would have liked.
The teenager had made good progress and could see that the woods were thinning up ahead, telling him that he was near the main road, but he stopped moving once he heard a snarling to his left.
The young man turned and could see a black Lab
rador, struggling in the bracken. Junior took a step forwards and could see that the dog was stuck in an animal coil trap that must have been set by poachers many moons ago. Initially, he felt sorry for the poor mutt.
He took another step forwards and jumped when the canine snarled and salivated as if it was rabid. Junior crouched down as the dog continued to gnash and growl. He was confident that the snare was preventing the dog from going anywhere, and took a closer look to see that it had wounds on its back leg.
It looked like the poor thing had been attacked, and Junior took another look at the dog’s rage-filled face and then back at the wounds again. It was infected. He was sure of it. He didn't even know if it was possible, but he was certain that the animal was now infected just like the Runners. It must have been attacked by one of them and had escaped, not knowing that it was already fucked anyway.
“You poor thing.”
He stood up and looked around the woodland, hoping to come across a heavy branch lying on the ground, but he found something better. A boulder. The boulder, the size of a person's head, lay up against a tree a few yards away, and Junior went over to see if it was possible to lift it. He crouched down and put his fingers underneath and lifted. It was heavy, but he could hold it for a few seconds.
He staggered over to the dog, carrying the boulder, and placed the rock on the floor to give himself a rest. He was only a metre from the canine and decided to wait for a minute, then he was going to lift the thing and drop it on the dog's head.
He released a heavy puff and lifted the rock, and stood at the side of the canine that was wriggling and hopelessly trying to take a bite out of him. The dog was infected; it wasn't crying or whining, so this made it easier for the teenager to do what he had to do.
He held the heavy stone above the head of the dog and dropped it. He never looked down once the boulder hit the skull. There was no need. It had stopped wriggling and gnashing, and Junior knew that the dog's skull had been caved in.
Junior walked away. He had had enough.
He was going back to the caravan.
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