Clifton Falls

by L A Taylor

  Mike removed the phone from his ear as water splashed out of the tiny holes in the handset. Of course it was only in his mixed up mind, but Harry was belting out spit as he directed his disapproval. “Harry, I’m sorry for not letting you know what I was doing. The truth is; I thought the matter was over and sorted out, so there was no need for the cavalry.”

  “It wasn’t over though, was it?” Harry shouted.

  “No, I fucked up. You’ll have my resignation in the post.”

  “You know you can’t carry on being an officer after this, so I’ll accept your letter.” Mike was left to absorb the agreement for a few seconds while Harry thought of more things to say on the subject. “You’re a good chief, but the line was crossed and there’s no going back once you’ve stepped over to the other side.” There was another slight silent moment before he spoke again. “How many officers were killed?”

  He lessened his tone now. Mike admitted failure and accepted the punishment. After about ten seconds of going back to the horror inside his mind, the answer was revealed.

  “Six officers and two recruits from the academy,” Mike replied.

  Harry increased the heavy breathing sounds, so Mike now expected a barrage of abuse to blast him out of his chair. “You asked the academy for help, but not me. Those were just kids in there. My God, man, you used kids for a man’s job. You’re going to need help when you tell their parents. Bloody hell, man, why did you get the academy involved?”

  Mike could only mentally agree with every word.

  Why did I do what I did? Harry’s right, they were just teenagers doing a man’s job. I’ve failed everyone, he thought, as two streaks of liquid raced down his cheeks.

  “I wanted the job done without needing more people from outside the area. This town was infected and the safest place for the contamination was to remain here, in this town. If it spread to the city then who knows where the horror would end?” Mike said, while wiping the juice away from his face. Harry had been given an honest and very reasonable answer. “The city would’ve become a much bigger nightmare. There are hiding places, exits to other towns and cities via there, so the whole country could’ve been swamped with the living dead,” finished Mike.

  He has a point but still, he shouldn’t have involved the young in this battle of survival, thought Harry, as he tried to come to terms with what’d happened in Clifton Falls.

  “In a way, Mike, you’re right. If I’d come down with my men and killed off the vermin then we would all be fine now, but what if the infection was amongst us and no one knew until we got back here. Your men sacrificed their own lives to save millions of others. I’ll always remember the bravery of your crew and I’ll make sure they receive a heroes’ burial service.”

  Harry couldn’t retain his hard man image. Angry as he was over what Mike hadn’t done, he also felt sad that so many of Mike’s officers had sacrificed their lives to prevent the virus from spreading.

  “For that I thank you, Harry. I’m truly sorry to have not informed you.”

  Harry spoke more sympathetically. “I should be the one to apologize. You saved the lives of many, but sacrificed the lives of a few, so God bless you when you face the families of the departed. If you need my assistance then you only need to ask.”

  “I’ll be okay.” Mike changed the subject slightly. “I thought I would inform you that I arrested the person responsible for the virus.”

  “I thought this virus was passed amongst the dead?”

  Mike went over old ground, explaining the scientist’s role in the event before changing the subject again. “By the way, I’ve another twenty four sacks of the stuff in storage so I was wondering if you’ll give me the go ahead to burn it?”

  “Now you want to ask for my help.” Harry produced a little giggle. “Listen, Mike, you’ve done this all by yourself so I don’t want to receive any credit for this. Burning the stuff seems like the right thing to do, but I’ll let you decide. Anyway, I’ve got to make a speech, but thanks for telling me your version. It’ll make things easier for me. Speak soon.”

  The conversation was over, but Mike still couldn’t forgive himself for the deaths of the other men. Even though Harry had swayed in favour of what he’d done, this still couldn’t convince him to withdraw his resignation.

  Destroying the compost was the ultimate priority before typing up his letter and making special announcements to the poor, grieving family members. He could easily phone for help, but needed some fresh air and quick. More excess water was wiped from his eyes. He exited the office and slowly walked toward the people who were still busy on the phones. “Are you two okay here? I’m off out. I need to find a van to take that fertilizer away.” There was no reply, just the usual nod of heads. “I’ll see you later. Don’t forget to take a break,” Mike said, relieved that he wasn’t doing their job. He was just about to leave the building when he suddenly halted, reversed, and spoke again. “Oh, does anyone want a burger bringing back?” That definitely received the attention of the busy pair. They looked up, feeling confused by his words. “I’m just kidding. You carry on.”

  Now he was gone.

  His next stop was the local hire company to arrange for the removal of the sacks. Once there he walked confidently up to the front desk. “All right, mate. I need to hire a van.”

  A sudden surge of brain activity caused the teenage, green haired youth from behind the counter to act weird. He’d seen the news update and felt suspicious of Mike.

  If there’d been unexplained happenings going on at the caravan site then was the chief human? Or was he an alien? the teenager thought.

  “Stop right there. Who are you?” he said, nerves creeping into his every move.

  Mike looked confused by what he heard.

  What was this kid going on about?

  “I’m the chief inspector, and I want to borrow a vehicle from you.”

  “How do I know you aren’t from outer space? Or one of those man-eating monsters you’ve been going on about?”

  Was this arsehole taking something or what? Mike now thought.

  “I tell you what I’ll do, I’ll ask you one more time and I want you to give me a more useful reply, but if you go on about aliens and monsters once more then I’ll arrest you and lock you up forever. Have you got that?”

  Mike’s approach worked. The assistant was back to normal, responding with a clearer attitude. “All right, I believe you. You want to hire a van you said, no worries, anything to help.”

  “I almost forgot; I also need a driver as well?” Mike said, while producing one of his rare, sneaky smiles.

  The lanky trainee moved away from the desk and headed for a doorway on his right. “Just leave it with me. I’ll tell the boss what you require.” He then slipped passed and out of sight.

  Mike didn’t know if the person was doing what he said he was going to do but thought it best if he trusted him.

  Two minutes later and another man appeared, escaping from the same doorway. “Hi, my colleague told me what you’ve asked for.” The hire company boss stroked his grey, curly beard. He examined Mike’s movements for a few seconds before speaking again. “We heard about what’s been going on, so if you need assistance with anything then we’ll help you, no charge of course. I’ll send two helpers. Steve and Billy will be with you shortly.”

  Mike was pleased with the reply. He thanked the man before waiting outside for the two men. He explained the situation once they arrived, and they followed him to the police station. Once there, the van reversed up to the storage unit while Mike unlocked it. “I just want to say that I’m truly grateful for your help, guys,” he said, while staring over at the crate with the left over compost bags on it. “As you can see I would’ve struggled lifting all those on my own.”

  The men didn’t ask questions, and like all the others who’d witnessed the news update, felt pleased to have not been involved in whatever occurred earlier. They opened up the back of the van and got busy.

&
nbsp; For the next five minutes the only sounds heard were the grunting and panting from the two, unhealthy, but willing to help guys. Aching joints took control of their bodies after only four bags each and the need to gasp air with every lifting movement was now a necessity, but they weren’t going to let the fertilizer beat them, and it didn’t. Completion of this horrendous, heavy lifting task was finally over as Mike watched the half bag being placed onto the back of the van with the others. “Cheers guys, but we have to take this stuff as far away as possible.” The helpers were still unsure as to why the fertilizer needed shifting again? But still didn’t question Mike in all of this. They watched as the chief prepared himself for another onslaught of spoken words. “Now, I’ve been searching the map for appropriate places for us to take this to. I think we should head for Old Clifton Hill. It’s about five miles away and pretty much isolated now that the farmer has moved on.” Mike definitely had the men zoomed in on his speech. “Then we’re going to burn this shit, get rid of it once and for all.”

  Mike made his way toward the van. “I’ll go with you guys so I can show you the way.”

  “Hop in,” said Steve.

  Mike shifted himself into the two-seater passenger seat before shutting the door.

  The time was fast approaching 11.30am. Mike had missed another one of Chris’ news updates as the vehicle came to a sudden halt on the outskirts of town.

  This is the spot, he thought.

  He left the vehicle, inspecting the area around him, but seemed shocked at the state of the farmhouse. The windows were totally smashed and it looked like vandals had been there. If the farmer and his family had moved on then the land, plus the farmhouse would probably be sold on in the not too distant future.

  “Okay, chaps, this is where we’re burning the stuff.”

  Out of the vehicle came the others to do the opposite of before. The back of the van opened again and Mike did the honorary thing of climbing inside to slide the fertilizer over to the other men.

  “Make sure you pile them up properly, as I don’t want to make a call to the local fire station,” Mike said, his eyes glinting cheekily.

  “No worries,” said Billy.

  The bags were placed flat side down in two rows of four. The same ritual was repeated twice before finally, the half bag was added. Mike jumped down and walked over to the pile. The look on his face wasn’t of a happy emotion as he remembered something very vital to the whole operation.

  What the fuck am I going to light it with?

  “Hey guys, you wouldn’t happen to have a petrol can and some matches stored anywhere on the van?”

  “It’s a good job we’re on the ball, chief. We always carry a spare can,” said Billy.

  “What about something to light it with?” a now impatient Mike shouted.

  “Sorry, no.”

  Mike was furious. Surely there couldn’t be more obstacles to climb before all this was over? “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he shouted, as he jumped up and down from frustration.

  The hire company workers watched the chief run around the pile of bags, kicking out at them as he did so. If he kept it up, then it wouldn’t be long before some of the bags split. He was livid and ready to burst with anger.

  Billy returned to the van to fetch the petrol can, but once there saw a half used box of matches lying on the small piece of carpet that was underneath the driver’s seat. He snatched it up, returning to watch more, crazy, un-chief like behaviour as Mike prepared to jump on top of the fertilizer.

  “Excuse me,” he shouted, as Mike made his run up. “I’ve found some matches.”

  A sudden halt caused the chief to slip, but at least now he was primed to stop the stupid, child like tantrums.

  “Did you say matches?” Mike replied, grinning with delight.

  The box was tossed into the air and the chief quickly re-adjusted himself to catch it. The man moved closer, handing over the petrol can. An erratic Mike shook the can and was pleased to listen to the splashing of liquid inside it, but at the same time wasn’t impressed by the stalling trick from the dick of a man. He let him off the hook though after remembering what he was about to do to the fertilizer. It was best to leave it, just in case the story got out that he’d lost his marbles.

  The petrol tipped over the bags. Mike made sure that all areas had a dose of the stuff. Three wooden matchsticks were then struck together against the rough side of the cardboard casing before being tossed in the direction of the designated target. Within seconds a large gulf of fire had Mike thinking it was bonfire night all over again.

  The fire did its job and didn’t seem like a safety hazard at this time, but Mike knew that he couldn’t leave it just yet. It was best monitored until dying down. The two, now amazed looking helpers watched smoke swirl around as the flames ate away the contaminated bags. There was no chance of them leaving the chief alone, well, not while he was in a weird place inside his mind. For all they knew Mike could try walking through the fire. The men stared at the disintegrating mass of unwanted evidence until it disappeared forever.

  The fertilizer let off an extreme amount of dark smoke and dirty flying ash. It strayed through the air before landing amongst nearby shrubs and fields. Eventually it would land on the men if they stayed where they were, so they gradually moved away from the scene and returned to the vehicle.

  Mike followed the direction of the after-fire as the ashes performed a dance in front of his eyes. He sat in the van and waited for the fire to completely die down.

  FORTY-SIX

  Chris felt tension and tiredness as he prepared to leave the disaster site. He’d witnessed the dead and decayed corpses being cleared out of the forest like there was a sale on, and it was first come first serve at the forest clearout, bargain basement. He watched the dead zombies being placed into the ambulances and driven away to the hospital to be incinerated, but by this time it was 1.00pm, and time for him to go. He’d done enough to help. He’d completed all updates, written an article for the newspaper, and now wanted to go home.

  Mike’s bonfire madness had been pushed to the back of his mind as he prepared more tasks of virtual importance, such as letting Kevin and Susan have a rest. There was only so much talk of zombies and death that they could explain. It was time for them to leave it and let the townsfolk play Chinese whispers for a while. Maybe the conversation would start off like a grotesque horror story, but when finally reaching the last to know, would turn out to be something completely off the scale.

  Susan had been pleased by Mike’s decision, and had given him another massive hug. This time he wasn’t complaining, or backing off. “You’re coming back to mine, Mike, and I won’t take no for an answer. You need looking after, and I’m here for you.”

  “There’s no need, really there isn’t. I can take care of myself…” Susan had Mike where she wanted him. She knew he was way past tired, and although he tried putting up a fight, she knew he would submit to the pampering. After a few more seconds of looking into her kind eyes he changed his mind. “Okay, you don’t have to keep staring at me. I’ll go to your house to rest.”

  “Great. That’s settled then. We can pick up some food on the way.” She turned, glaring in the direction of where the cells were. “That scientist bloke can rot in here.”

  “Well he can rot here for one night. Tomorrow I’ll shift him off to the city, let them look after him before his court case,” Mike replied.

  Kevin remained quiet, and used this time to see the beauty of the moment. The kindness Susan portrayed, well; except the bit about Shane, made him feel at ease. He didn’t need to force a smile anymore.

  Mike needed to talk to Harry again, letting him know the latest before eventually giving in to the receptionist’s offer.

  “Kevin, I’ve got a few things to do mate, so why don’t you head off, get some rest. Susan and I will be out soon.”

  Mike held out his right hand. “You did a great job out there.” It was an emotional farewell considering they didn’t
know each other. “You do know there’ll always be a position for you here, if you want it.”

  If the chief was to remain in the force then he would make the young man an officer right now, but Mike didn’t want him to know that he was leaving. Kevin shook the desired hand and smiled.

  “Thank you. This was an experience that I won’t forget.”

  Susan couldn’t stop herself from nearly squeezing the life out of the young cadet. It seemed as if Kevin had a gift that made others feel close to him. George had spotted something special about this youngster and now it washed onto everyone else he came across. Eventually Susan let go, and Kevin was able to breathe properly. He then said his goodbyes.

  Mike sighed as Kevin left, and wondered what tomorrow would bring. He needed to type up his notice of resignation and do it soon.

  Everyone in Dave’s house had witnessed the recent newsflash. Mix that up with what Blake narrated and each guest was left with a concoction of stirred up, strange apparitions haunting them. Gary and Tony were extremely glad that Dave had called them. If Blake hadn’t talked about the massacre then none of his closest and loyal mates would’ve had an inkling of the tragedy that he’d witnessed.

  Something needed to be said about Blake’s dress sense because while they were in the restaurant, several people had looked their way and had whispered to each other. Blake hadn’t noticed, but Dave should’ve chosen more appropriate attire for his close friend.

  “Sorry, Blake, but I have to ask, why are you wearing a uniform that we wore for school?” Tony asked.

  In truth, this was the first time that Blake had checked out what he was wearing. He stood, staring at the mirror on the living room wall, the others watching his movements. Blake couldn’t believe what he was witnessing, not only was he wearing the shirt, tie, trousers, and blazer of his old school uniform, but was even wearing a school cap on his head. He looked over at Dave. His face had burst into a beetroot red as he waited for a blast of abuse. The others expected the same outcome, but Blake cracked up with laughter. “Bloody hell, Dave; was this the only thing in your wardrobe that I could fit into?”