The two men stayed in the living area cleaning the dishes from the table.
Stumpy asked Jake about his background in security, whilst relating him his time working on the docks as a Plater.
By the time they placed the dishes into the small dishwasher and returned to the living area, it was still absent of the others.
“There are bottles of spirits and wine in one of the boxes over there,” Jake said, pointing at the boxes in the corner.
“I don’t think we have any glasses, but if you search amongst the cupboards in the kitchen you may find some,” he said, “either that or we use mugs. I’ll go grab the others.
“Don’t worry Jake. I’ll see what I can find,” Stumpy replied, looking through the cupboards.
Walking along the hall leading through the centre of the horse box to the stalls, he found Abigail and Eve stroking the big Chestnut whilst chatting.
Nate knelt in one of the spare stalls, mixing a handful of pony nuts into two bowls of chop.
“Not too much love, we don’t want them too full of energy whilst they are stuck in here,” Abigail said, looking where their son knelt.
Nate raised one hand to her in a wave.
“He spoils the pair of them something rotten,” Abigail said, turning to Eve smiling, “but too many treats aren’t really good for them.”
“He’s a lovely lad.”
“He does have his moments,” Jake said, walking to them, “they’ll still be here in the morning love, let’s go settle down for a while.”
The adults returned into the living area, whilst Nate opted to go into his sleeping quarter, so he could relax playing on the console.
The table in the living area held a couple of bottles of wine, along with several glasses.
“I managed to find some,” Stumpy said, smiling, asking what each would like, pouring out their glasses in turn.
They spoke for a while, Jake and Abigail relaying the earlier events at the stables. Eve and Stumpy in turn, relaying what happened at the canal side and what they witnessed in the supermarket car park.
They related how, after encountering another of the infected on the towpath of the canal, they climbed over a fence into a retail park.
They discovered it suffered the same onslaught the supermarket succumbed to.
They sought the assistance of several people in the car park, being ignored each time.
Eventually, discovering a battered old car with keys still in the ignition, upon Stumpy’s insistence they ‘borrowed’ it, its owners appearing to have abandoned it to make their escape on foot from the attacks being carried out by people who, as Stumpy put it, “weren’t right in the fucking head.”
Locating the remote control, Jake switched the plasma television on, whilst they all sat on the leather seating to watching the screen.
He worked his way down the onscreen menu, until it displayed which programme each channel currently broadcasted.
“I take it that nobody is in the mood to watch any of these celebrity ‘reality’ shows?”
Abigail shook her head, and Eve shook hers with a mock grimace across her face.
“A load of rubbish, all of them if you ask me. Opiate for the masses,” Stumpy stated.
“So, the News it is then,” Jack said, smiling.
He flicked through the menu, until finding the icon for the National News broadcaster.
“Sweet Jesus,” Eve exclaimed.
The image on the screen was that of a news reporter, sheltering under an umbrella from the heavy rain.
The wording on the screen below her read; ‘Cynthia Addams – Live – Town Hospital, Liverpool’.
She stood in front of a large, green Armoured Personnel Vehicle, in the background above the roof of the APV, towered the distinct shape of the top of the Town Hospital, its tower still visible through the sheets of torrential rain.
Jake turned the volume up.
“As you can see, the situation has not changed much for the last hour. The army has set up barricades to ensure the public do not pass into the area. In the last hour or so, the army have successfully managed to evacuate the last of the residents from the area surrounding the vicinity of Town Hospital.
“There are still people walking around the grounds of the hospital and the army have sent in teams to remove them from the area. We have tried to get a statement from the authorities regarding if they have managed to communicate with anybody inside of the hospital, but we have been met with a wall of silence.
“As you can see from behind me, most of the lights seem to have been switched off in the hospital. As reported earlier, there were distressing scenes of a small number of people leaping from the third, fourth and fifth storeys. We have no word on their condition yet, but they have been taken away by ambulance to hospitals in Lancashire and Greater Manchester. We will keep you up to date on their conditions throughout the night when we are able to find out more details.”
They sat in complete silence, transfixed by what they saw and heard on the television.
“There has been no confirmation by any of the authorities regarding what is actually going on inside of the hospital. Telephone calls, by not only this news station, but by several others and members of the public have been met with silence. We have managed to interview some members of the public who have family and loved ones inside the hospital who say that they have received very distressing calls from mobile telephones saying that it is chaos within the hospital and that people are randomly attacking each other for no apparent reason.
“The shocking revelations that acts of cannibalism may have been committed are yet to be confirmed, but we do know that the violent acts are continuing.”
The footage changed to a camera closing in on one of the hospitals lower windows, where a person stood banging against the window, before being grabbed from behind by an assailant, pulling the persons head in the direction of their face.
The image turned into a mass of pixels, before they could see what transpired next.
The image on the screen reverted to the news reporter.
“We have been informed that the army are now manoeuvring a couple of their vehicles towards the ambulance bays of the hospital...”
The reporter held her earpiece, listening intently.
“I am handing you back to the studio now and will keep you informed of the situation here in our next bulletin. This is Cynthia Addams reporting live from the Town Hospital, Liverpool.”
The scene changed to that of a newscaster in a studio, a grim look upon his face as he read out the report in front of him.
“That was Cynthia Addams reporting live from Town Hospital in Liverpool. The scenes from the situation at the hospital are distressing and are sadly not the only scenes of violence we have been getting from Liverpool throughout the course of the day and into the early evening.
“Army Infantry units from Cheshire and Lancashire, called in to assist the police with their operations around the city to quell the outbreaks of unprovoked violent attacks, arrived in the last few hours and have immediately given their support to the beleaguered police force.
“Violent attacks have occurred across the city, including the harrowing report of scores of shoppers, including children, being attacked in the streets in the heart of the city. Eye witness accounts have relayed horrific reports of the level of violence being inflicted upon innocent people.
“All regional bus and rail services in the city and surrounding areas have been placed on indefinite suspension until the situation has been brought under control. A spokesperson for the City Passenger Transport Executive confirmed earlier to this news channel, that this was due directly regarding the several attacks which have occurred throughout the day on both the bus and rail networks…
“Please excuse me…..We have just received the first official statement from Merseyside Police since the outbreak of these attacks. Let me…please bear with me…ah, the official statement is as follows; ‘In light of the ongoing
incidents within our city and its suburbs we request that members of the public stay indoors and do not take any unnecessary journeys, by car or otherwise. Members of Her Majesty’s armed services are on the streets of Liverpool purely to assist the Police in bringing this matter to a swift end. We can rest assure the public there is no need for alarm; the armed services are here purely to assist from a logistical perspective.
“However, if you, or a member of your family, or a neighbour or anybody you know, begin to show any signs of abnormal violent tendencies then please contact us on the hotline number…”
They sat in silence, Jake pressing the mute button on the remote control, whilst they took in what they witnessed on the screen.
Stumpy became the first to speak.
“Abnormal violent tendencies? Do they mean different to normal violent tendencies?”
Eve dug his ribs with her elbow.
“Looks like we managed to get out just in time,” she said.
Abigail and Jake nodded, continuing to watch the silent screen in front of them for a few moments longer.
“What do you suggest?” Abigail asked, breaking the silence.
“An early night followed by an early start,” Jake suggested, “it’s no use continuing to the Pennines and at the moment it’s no go in regard to getting back into the city. I suggest we get our heads down and in the morning drive to whatever police station we find open and hope for the best.”
Stumpy nodded in agreement followed by Eve, staring at the horrific tableau of images the news channel displayed in regard the continuing attacks.
Abigail stood up, crossing to the television set and switching it off.
“There are four main sleeping rooms,” she said, “Nate has, fortunately, already chosen the smallest one. Jake and I will grab one and you two can grab…whatever rooms you wish.”
“I’m a bit of a light sleeper,” Stumpy remarked, “would you mind if I just doze on the settee? If I put the television on, I’ll put it on mute and read the subtitles.”
“No, of course not,” Jake replied smiling, growing fond of this man with the ice blue eyes, “we aren’t in school. I’ll throw you a pillow and quilt in to keep you comfortable.”
The four of them bid each other good night, walking to their chosen sleeping areas and bedding down for the evening.
Abigail and Jake lay entwined in each other’s arms, admitting the bed in the box felt more comfortable than their own.
Jake attempted to install a sense of humour into their situation to lighten the mood, but as much as Abigail enjoyed listening to his poor attempts at comedy, she did not feel in the mood for it, gently kissing him on his lips, before rolling over to sleep in the warmth of the duvet.
Nate sat up with his headphones on, playing a first-person shooter. He switched all the settings to ‘mute’, tired of fielding questions from the other members of his ‘alliance’ about the situation in his home city.
He lay, his head upon the pillow, welcome of the fact there was a decent internet connection and more so having a way of switching off from whatever was going on at home.
He fell quickly into a blissful slumber.
Eve lay on her back staring at the ceiling, from on top of her duvet. No matter how hard she tried to blank out the events of the last twenty-four hours, her mind ran amok with a thousand different trains of thought.
Eventually, she rolled onto her side, placing her hands around the pillow and pulling it closely around her head.
With images of Brad as a child, she gently wept herself to sleep.
Switching the television on, Stumpy settled down on the sofa with a duvet over his lap. Sipping at a glass of shiraz, he read the subtitles on the screen, until eventually he slept.
Jake and Abigail were awakened by a knocking on the door.
Opening his eyes, he could see the soft, hazy light of dawn seeping through the ceiling skylight.
Groggily rising from the bed, he opened the door to find Stumpy stood in the narrow hallway.
“I think you’d better come see this,” he said.
Jake and Stumpy made their way into the living room, whilst Abigail went to wake Eve.
Pointing to the television set, Stumpy adjusted the volume button on the remote control.
An image of the Prime Minister displayed on the screen, even in his Saville Row suit and with his perfectly trimmed hair, he looked a man in dire need of sleep.
“He’s up early,” Eve said, walked into the living area, followed closely by Abigail.
“Shush love,” Stumpy said, raising the volume on the television as the Prime Minister continued to speak.
“…in complete agreement across all parties. To recap, as of 05:00hrs today, the city of Liverpool and certain of her surrounding areas are effectively under martial law.”
To be continued in Book Two
Author Notes
Thank you, dear reader, for taking the time to read my introduction to the world of the Infection Chronicles. I am honoured you took the time to read my words.
Thank you to the good people who reviewed Origin for me beforehand and knew when I asked them for constructive feedback I really meant “Tell me it’s good, PLEASE!!!!”
P.S. If you enjoyed this small introduction into the world of the Infection Chronicles, please consider posting a review on the site you purchased it from. Even a few words about your experience may be helpful to potential readers.
About the Author
Andie J Fessey is the author of Comet, The Walk and Two Hours in addition to being an eternal romantic.
In-between making the world a safer place, he is currently scribbling away his next few works, in no particular order; Dignity, Fearlas Mor, Betrayal, The Painter of Florence, Autumn, Angel and the Darkness, Taken, The Conversation, Sarah’s Tale, Hy Brasil, A car named Lucille to name but a few.
He is going to be a busy little beaver for a while.
Book Two of the Infection Chronicles: Coming soon
Connect with Andie at:
[email protected]
http://twitter.com/AJFessey
http://facebook.com/AJFessey
The Infected Chronicles (Book 1): Origin Page 30