by Birch, S. C.
“I have!” shouted Grace from down the stairs.
“What we looking at?” asked Jack.
“Err, well, it’s safe anyway.” Grace replied.
Jack sighed hard and shook his head with frustration, “I mean what kind of shop is it.”
“Oh,” replied Grace, “well there’s lots of clothes and bags and shoes and -”
“I mean,” spat Jack as he watched the bouncing wall with his guns, “anything we can use!”
“Give me a minute to check.” Grace shouted back.
“Lucy! How you holding up?” asked Owen.
Lucy, who was sitting on the floor, spoke up, “Honestly, guys, I’m not great.”
Now this is an awful thing to say after just being attacked. Her friends turned to face her, afraid she had been bitten.
“What happened?” Emily whimpered.
“I’ve been shot.” Lucy looked around the rest of her body, “My hands are bleeding pretty badly and I busted my ankle.”
“For fuck’s sake, Lucy!” Owen shouted and spun his attention back to the bouncing door, “New rule. Tell us straight away what your ailments are. Don’t fucking worry us all thinking you were bit!”
“Oh. Sorry.” Lucy said.
“Forgiven!” screamed Owen.
“Guys?” Grace shouted up.
“Yes!” Cameron shouted back.
“There’s a lot of furniture down here.”
“Right,” cut in Owen, “everyone bring as much furniture as you can up here so we can block off this fucking door!”
There was a lot of difficulty with this. It is hard to push solid, non-flat-packed furniture up a narrow set of stairs. But they all managed it. Daniel stayed at the door with a few other people while everyone else went down. Cameron and Emily worked their way around the shop, hunting for zombies. They checked the staff rooms, toilet, loading bay, everywhere.
Jack and Owen helped Lucy down the stairs and sat her on the ‘Returns’ counter of the ramshackle shop. Remarkably all the lights were on and working. Nobody asked why and nobody cared. While Jack and Grace wandered around looking for anything that could come in useful, Owen marched into the little staff room and found a first aid kit, then went back to Lucy and started working on her numerous wounds.
“Check out me and my battle scars.” said Lucy as she morbidly admired herself.
“I know, look at the absolute state of you.” Owen said with a smile.
Lucy looked past Owen and at the survivors. Some cried (Flight) and some wandered around anxiously (Fight) while others meandered (Other).
“I wonder how many people are still out there.” Lucy thought aloud.
“Yeah. I mean, how did that even happen?” Owen shook his head, “How did they get that fucking fast and strong?”
Lucy thought about it for a moment. She pulled her hands up to hold her hair, but Owen brought them back down and continued wrapping them up.
“Maybe the smoke that’s been blowing over here has changed them?” said Lucy.
“That must be what happened… Glad we got out that goddamned hotel.”
“Oh God, I know. I mean, we probably would have got out eventually, but at least we got out before things got worse.” replied Lucy.
Cameron slid up to them and pushed his elbows back onto the counter, “We need to ditch them.” he said and nodded to the survivors.
“Cam!” said Lucy, “What the fuck!”
Emily hoisted herself up and sat on the counter, “He’s right. We don’t know how many of them might have inhaled that smoke or whatever. They might turn. And so might we, actually…”
“Oh.” said Lucy.
“Well,” said Jack as he placed his heavy guns on the counter, “what’s next for us then?”
“We get out of here.” said Cameron, “Quietly and alone.”
Jack peered through Lucy, Owen, Emily and over to Cameron, “Why that way?”
Cameron grunted a little, “Please don’t think I’m a dick. I fucking hate this. But we don’t know how many of them,” he nodded to the strangers they had saved, “might be on the turn. And if we can slip out of here quietly we have a better chance of sneaking past zombies. I hate myself so fucking much right now…but we’ve got a better chance of surviving without them.” Cameron threw his head back and stared at the ceiling.
Emily placed her hand on Cameron’s shoulder and looked at the others, waiting for someone to talk.
“Oh Christ, that’s fucking grim.” said Owen. He finished wrapping up Lucy’s hands and stood back, “But I think he’s right.”
“We can’t seriously be about to leave them all here? They might die!” pleaded Grace who materialized beside them.
“You’re right. We can’t just leave them.” said Lucy. “But we won’t be able to get them all through this either. I mean, I don’t know how many we lost, but look at us. We’ve got to be at least halved just getting this far. And again, we’re trapped.”
“Twenty-eight.” said Emily.
“What?” Cameron asked as he rolled his head and looked up at her.
“I counted before we left the stairs in the hotel. We lost twenty-eight.” Emily replied. She watched the other survivors and gripped Cameron’s shoulder just a little tighter.
“Oh God.” groaned Cameron.
“So what do we do then?” asked Grace.
“We wait.” replied Owen. “We wait till the morning and then we can take it from there. And this is going to make me seem like a bastard, but keep a gun close. You know, just in case.”
Day Seventeen
“Is it just me, or does seeing the twins all loved up and stuff just creep you out?” asked Lucy as she and Daniel sat in the staff room.
He looked at her somewhat perplexed (which is not a difficult thing for Daniel), “Not really…”
Lucy peered through the door and into the shop. She watched Jack talk with Grace and Emily talk with Cameron, “It’s just weird. I don’t think either are capable of being in a relationship.” Lucy chuckled to herself a little, “Well, not a healthy one anyway. Maybe that’s why the apocalypse is working so well for them. Perfect background for them.”
Daniel watched the twins and their counterparts, “I never thought of it like that. Do you think that they would have got together if the world wasn’t dying?”
Lucy shrugged, “Probably.”
“Probably?”
“Yeah. I’m a girl. I notice things like that.”
Daniel screwed his face in confusion, “What’s being a girl got to do with it?”
“You know, Daniel, for someone who spends so much time with women, you have absolutely no clue how we work.”
Daniel bobbed his head up and down with a proud grin, “Oh, I think I do know.”
Lucy sighed and slid off her chair. And with Daniel’s help, she hobbled up to the closest twin: Emily.
“Still quiet outside?” Lucy asked them.
Emily nodded, “Yeah. It’s about as quiet as, like, a mouse taking a shit or something.”
Cameron rolled his eyes.
“And what about them?” Lucy asked and looked over at the survivors, ignoring Emily’s bizarre comparison.
“Still the same.” said Cameron.
Owen was sitting on top of a chest of drawers by the shutters. He was listening as best he could to the hums and growls outside. It was mostly quiet out there. Every now and then Owen could hear gunfire and screams. But for now, it was just the light grunts of the undead outside. He had been thinking the whole night and morning about what to do next. It was something that infuriated him in zombie movies, books or games. Nobody planned anything. They just went on a whim and hoped for the best. And even during the scarce times anyone did plan anything it was so vague it was swiftly abandoned. So Owen took the time to plan. He thought about what he wanted most in the world:
More ammunition.
Gas masks.
His cars.
An RPG.
A Tank.
A new country, clean and dead free to live on.
Owen had categorized it from most important and most likely to get to least. Oh, and a fire truck. He forgot about that. Actually, a fire truck could be a genuine bet. If there was a station nearby (there was) and if there was a truck inside (there was) and if it was loaded with water (it wasn’t) and if zombies were affected by water (these ones weren’t) then that could be a real winner. But first: ammunition. That was his priority. They had seven magazines left and six guns. Owen had heard a lot of gunfire outside then screaming, so he knew there was some within arm’s reach. If only he could walk through walls. That would be dead useful. Or maybe super strength. Or flight. Oooh, or even better, Jedi powers! That would be good.
Owen shook the ludicrous thoughts out of his head (although he did add a lightsabre to his list). This wasn’t a comic or game. This was real and dangerous. Dangerous was a vast understatement. It was the most death-defying, heart thumping, toe-curling, fucked up situation in the world.
“You are all somewhat amazing.” said Other Lucy as she walked up the stairs.
Owen slumped back and closed his eyes, and felt the cold metal dull the headache creeping up on him, “Hello, Other Lucy.”
“Am I really getting called that?”
Owen’s head slid up and down the shutters as he nodded, “Yep. Or would you rather Lucy Two? Or Alternate Lucy?”
Other Lucy groaned. “Other Lucy is fine.” she walked closer to Owen, “Thank you.”
Owen lowered his resting head down to her, “For what? All we managed to do was get you from one locked room to another.”
And for the first time in four days, Owen saw her smile for real, “I know. But you didn’t leave me when you could have. Thank you for that.”
“Then I guess,” said Owen, “you’re welcome.” He watched her; she seemed like a different person from the one he had seen on televisions for nearly two years now. “Other Lucy?”
Her smile got a little wider, “Yes, Owen Parker?”
“Why do you act so fucking stupid on TV?”
Other Lucy let out a little, breathed chuckle and rolled her head, “My agent said it would be good for me. You know how everyone likes a bimbo.”
“I guess.” replied Owen.
He pressed his head against the cold metal and looked to the ceiling. Again, outside was that gut-churning wailing sound and bullets. But it was off in the distance somewhere.
“We’ve met before. Clearly you don’t remember.”
Owen pulled his head down, “Have we? Sorry about that.”
Other Lucy waved her hand delicately in front of her face, “Don’t worry. It was during a premier. I really liked your film. It was a bit corny, but it helped me a lot when all this started.”
Owen laughed. That film had, he was sure, saved his life. If he hadn’t been in that film then he wouldn’t have been living in that house, and he wouldn’t have had his friends with him. He wouldn’t have had those cars to get food and weapons. And he wouldn’t have been locked in a hotel room when the undead started attacking everyone. Owen would have been outside, defenceless and by now, either chewed or chewing.
“Never question the shit that happens, it always pays off.” Owen said to himself.
“What?”
Owen shook his head as he placed it back on the shutter, “Something my mum says.”
Mum. Dad. Owen pulled out his phone and held it above his face. He had over half a charge left but no signal.
Outside was a rumbling. Their shelter shook. The shutters clanged. The lights flickered. Then it stopped.
“Other Lucy?” Owen asked. In truth he kept calling her that because he quite liked teasing her.
“Yes.” she replied.
“You know this city pretty well, right?”
“I do, yes. I’m not proud to say it, but I did sleep my way around the soldiers so I could get information and favours.”
Owen smiled in admiration. What a survival tactic. And what balls to say it out loud. “Is there an armoury or something here?”
“There is. The police station. It’s, I’d say, a twenty-minute walk from here.”
“And do you know how to get there?”
“I do.”
And it was decided that Other Lucy was going to come with them. Owen found he was starting to grow fond of her.
“Do me a favour, Other Lucy?”
“What’s that, Owen Parker?”
“Get changed. We’re in a shop surrounded by clothes and you’re wearing a dress and don’t even have any shoes on.” Owen said.
Other Lucy smiled, “Yes, sir.” she said then wandered off.
Cameron passed her on the stairs and sat down on the floor. He leaned against the wall and looked exhausted.
“You okay, Cam?” Owen asked.
“You know,” said Cameron “out of all the fucked-up situations we’ve found ourselves in, this one ranks pretty high.”
Owen chuckled in agreement.
The city outside was quiet. The majority of soldiers had taken solace inside any shelter they could find while survivors were scattered all around, hiding in buildings like rats. The military, what was left of it, were planning an assault and escape. They had no intentions of collecting survivors or neutralizing the undead population. Instead, they were planning to barge their way out of the city in an almighty shootout and had no concerns for the civilians still trapped. The soldiers hiding inside buildings were the only people that the military planned to rescue. And plans started taking motion as Flight consumed them all.
And so, for many hours, there was silence. Unbearable silence. It is always better to be able to hear something than nothing at all. The quite broke when people below in the bowels of the shop coughed, cried, spluttered, and vomited. And every time they did Owen winced.
Then the rumblings outside started again. And the sickness down below got louder. Then the shouting started. It started quietly at first. And it was unsettling. But then the arguing got louder. And it was unnerving. But when the shouting got violent, it was terrifying.
Owen slid out of his half nap and crept down the stairs with Cameron.
“Really, guys? Any need for this?” Jack asked two of the screaming voices.
Owen dragged his feet towards them.
“Yes, there is a fucking need!” yelled Clearly Furious About Something as he jutted his shoulders and neck forwards.
“Okay, guys, don’t take this the wrong way but we got you here.” said Jack, “We keep the guns.”
“And just how are we supposed to protect ourselves?” screamed Equally As Livid.
“We’re fucking surrounded by stuff you could use! Go grab something.” said Jack.
Owen caught sight of Grace as she moved forwards and pressed herself in at Jack’s back, using him as a sort of shield.
“We keep the guns.” said Owen once he reached them.
Then So Angry She Looked Like She Might Explode rounded on Owen, “And who in the hell decided you were in charge?”
“You did when you followed us here.” cut in Daniel, “We gave you the option and you chose to follow us.”
Cameron jerked his arm and Emily flew to him with her gun ready and the ammunition still on her back.
“Cam?” Emily whispered, “Are we going to have to -”
“Just stay beside me.” he said.
“What did you do that for?” wailed Raged Old Woman.
Other Lucy was crouched down beside her, dressed sensibly now in jeans, sturdy boots, and a leather coat, “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean it.”
“What’s going on?” Owen asked the two women.
“This stupid little brat just spilled water all over me!” wailed the Old Woman.
Other Lucy was trying to wipe away the water she had spilled with the sleeve of her coat, “I’m so sorry. You said you were thirsty.”
Raged Old Woman lowered her head and glared up at Other Lucy. “You
little bitch. I’m going to enjoy watching you rot in here.”
Too Furious To Form Words lunged at Daniel and tried to grab the gun.
“Whoa. You might want to calm down.” Daniel said and sidestepped out of the way.
“Lucys.” said Owen.
Other Lucy walked over with her golf club in hand while Lucy-Lucy hobbled over.
“That’s right, isn’t it.” said Looked Like He Was About To Kill Someone, “You. And then us.”
“It’s not like that.” said Daniel, “But we’re a team and have been doing this since Day One. We know the best way to keep everyone safe.”
“The best way to keep everyone safe,” snarled About To Turn, “is to let us have a gun.”
Owen shifted his body and stood in front of the Lucys.
“Everyone needs to calm right fucking down.” said Blue Eyes, “They managed to get us all here safely and clearly know how to go about this better than we do.”
“That’s right,” said Unbelievably Frightened But Trying To Stay Sane, “we would all be dead if not for them. Or one of those things.”
“What?” asked Literally Foaming At The Mouth as he turned on the woman, “You think that they saved us? Look at where we are. Trapped with no way out except through Rotters. How is that better than being in a safe hotel room waiting for rescue?”
“Mate,” cut in Jack, “they were never going to rescue us. They were quite happy to let us die in that fucking hotel.”
“You.” said Totally Deranged Teenage Boy as his outstretched arm jerked in Jack’s direction, “You’re that one that has the cure.”
Jack shook his head, “Not me, mate, sorry. Wish it was.”
Totally Deranged Teenage Boy shook his head, “No, it is you! I watched your videos! And I saw you take off your scarf. You have the cure for this!”
“Really not me.” Jack lied, “And that was blind fucking stupidity on my part.”
“It is you!” shouted Black Ooze Seeping From His Eyeballs, “I watched your videos, too. You’re Jack Brooker. You have the cure!”
“Still not me. Sorry.” said Jack. He slid his fingers around the trigger of his gun and pushed backwards into Grace.
“If we had some of your blood,” said Raged Old Woman, “we won’t turn!”