Suicide Run (The Infected Book 5)

by Gowland, Justin

  Someone had stolen my truck. The parking spot where I had parked it the night before was empty. I looked around thinking that there might have been a chance I had parked it elsewhere in the car park. But the more I looked, the more my heart sank.

  I heard a loud crash come from inside and decided that it might be a good idea to find somewhere to hide and then think of what I should do. Running out on the main road I headed toward the city center.

  This was going to slow things down slightly, I thought, as we ran down the pavement. Spirit ran along side of me panting with her tongue hanging out of her mouth and her toenails clicking on the pavement. The sound of glass smashing from behind me had me run even faster, but I was beginning to tire. The rucksack was heavy on my back and the rifle that was stuffed in the top was just weighing it down even more. I needed to find some kind of transport and soon.

  I was scanning all the car parks and alleyways on either side of the main road and not really looking where I was going when I slammed into the side of a lone infected. I ended up falling to the ground on my arse looking up at her. She was slowly turning round, and if it wasn’t for the smell you may never had said she was infected.

  She was slim and had a grey tone to her bronze skin, her hair could have been any colour but it was so filthy that it looked dark brown. As her face turned round the side, that came first looked like would have been quite good looking when she was alive. But it was the second part of her face that screamed infected. From below her right eye down to her chin all the flesh had been torn away down to the bone, and I mean down to the bone. The contrast between the white bone and the grey/bronze skin gave her face an almost fake look. Her eye was missing and some of the teeth looked as though they had been smashed out and they had left the ragged stumps in her jaw.

  Her eye flicked round looking for me. I scurried back on my hands a few feet before trying to stand. Spirit bounded in between myself and the infected and barked. The eye couldn’t remain still. I looked everywhere but on me or Spirit. I clambered to my feet, and to tell you the truth I was puzzled. Here was one of the infected not three feet away from me and it was as if I wasn’t there. The infected lurched off in the opposite direction and I stood watching it bash into walls and then go in the other direction until it hit another obstacle. It was after watching it bash into the walls a few times that it dawned on me that she was blind.

  A small snort of laughter came out of my mouth before I could get myself under control. The infected stopped dead like someone had thrown a switch and turned round to face me. I clamped my hand over my face and tried not to breath or make any kind of noise. She turned back around and started her staggering lurch again. She must have been blind before she had gotten infected and because of that she was still blind.

  Chapter Six

  It never occurred to me that there would be disabled infected roaming the streets. But I suppose that it made sense after all the old and infirm would have been easy targets for the infected. I started heading toward the city again and this time I walked. Bumping into the blind infected had been one thing but bumping into a horde of normal infected might not be a good one.

  Turning the corner at the end of the street I saw a black car in the middle of the road with its doors wide open. Checking the street I headed toward the car. Nothing looked out of place and I looked at all the roofs and buildings around it. Getting within about four feet I walked round the car looking in each window in turn. I dropped onto my stomach and peered underneath.

  A cloud moved in front of the sun and that’s when I saw the dull red light under the car. It was hidden in the wheel well and I would have not seen it if it wasn’t for the dull red light. I stood up and brushed the small road stones from my trousers and set off again. I could feel the skin between my shoulder blades begin to itch. There was someone watching me. Spirit and I must have walked like this for the next two hours.

  We sat down on the steps of a church and I fished out a breakfast bar for me and a MRE for Spirit. With my eyes hooded, I watched all the buildings and rooftops in front of me. The itch that had been between my shoulder blades earlier on was now camped out on my chest. Nothing seemed out of place. Well, nothing in a Zombie Apocalypse, anyway.

  Spirit lay down on the step next to me with her head on her paws and her eyes closed. Small flitter of movement on the top of a small dry cleaners gave whoever it was away.

  Standing, I cleared my lungs and shouted “Look, either come out and talk or Fuck Off!”

  I looked around and waited for a few seconds. No one came out to talk so I struggled into the rucksack and started heading back toward the city. My plan to skirt the city had gone out the window when my truck got stolen, so I was just winging it now. I had walked about another five hundred meters when I heard what sounded like two motorbike engines start up. ‘Here we go!’ I thought, and ran for the shelter of a used car showroom.

  Dodging between the cars I slid behind a van and started trying to pull the rifle out of the straps. I heard the engines getting closer and risked a quick glance around the side of the van.

  It was two of those four wheeled ATV’s. The one at the front had a slim figure in black leathers wearing a motorbike helmet. I couldn’t tell if the figure was a man or a boy. The figure on the second ATV was defiantly a man. He was dressed similar to the other rider but was huge. The ATV looked tiny underneath him.

  I ducked back out of sight and readied the rifle. Spirit just sat there looking at me as though I was off my rocker. The engine noise lessened as the ATV’s came to a stop beside the used car showroom.

  “He’s got to be round here somewhere.” Came a muffled shout over the ATV’s rumbling engines.

  They were looking for me, and for some reason I felt very frightened all of a sudden. I really did feel like I didn’t want them to find me.

  “I’ll head around the back and have a look. You try and see if he has gone inside.” The voice said just before the engine revved and I heard the ATV pull away.

  Risking another glance round the side of the van I hoped that it wasn’t the huge man that had stayed behind. But it looked like my luck for today was going to be bad. Because as I watched, the huge man turned off the ATV and swung his leg over and stood up. Reaching down, he lifted a MP5 from the straps on the back of the ATV and he pulled back the charger and started walking for the door.

  I hid again and was trying to think of a way out of this, but nothing would come. Yeah, I could probably shoot him and make a run for it, but that would also let all the infected in the area know I was here.

  Spirit looked up at me and then wagging her tail, trotted out from behind the van and toward the man.

  “Spirit!” I hissed quietly.

  She either didn’t hear me or couldn’t have given a shit because she just wandered up to the man and sat down in front of him wagging her tail like he was her long lost love. The man stopped and looked down at her and then crouched down and stroked her head and her tail, nearly had her lifting off it was wagging so much. I needed to get away but there was no way that I was leaving my dog behind.

  I lifted the rifle and started to line up my shot at the man’s head when a female voice said from behind me “You know, Marc, if you shot Chris, he will kick your skinny arse for you?”

  I spun around and there leaning against the van was Amy in black leathers holding the motorcycle helmet by its strap. She had been the other rider.

  “Oi! Chris, I found him! He was about to shoot you in the back.” She said, grinning.

  I peered round the van and I saw Chris pull the helmet from his head and then he stood up and looked around.

  “What?” He called out.

  “I said I’ve found him. He’s over here next to the van.” She answered.

  I was really in deep shit now and the funny thing was, I was really happy about it. Grinning like a fool, I watched as Chris squeezed through the cars and over to the van. I still hadn’t got up from where I was crouched.

&nb
sp; “Alright, dickhead!” Chris said, looking down at me.

  “Yeah, not so bad.” I answered.

  Laughing, he dragged me up by the arm and grinned at me before his face went deadly serious and said “What the fuck were you thinking?”

  Spirit sprinted passed me and ran straight to Amy. I watched as she crouched down and got her face washed doggy style.

  Chris poked me in the shoulder with one of his thick fingers and said “I said what were, you thinking?”

  I looked round at him and said “I told you on the radio.”

  “I know why! I just wanted to know why you thought I wouldn’t want to help.” He said looking very pissed off.

  “Look, you and Tessa were happy and so was everyone else. Benton has a lot to answer for, and seeing as I started all of this, I thought I should be the one to end it.” I said, looking him in the eye.

  Chris nodded. His head and said “Ok, I just wanted to look you in the eye when you said it.”

  Amy looked up from stroking Spirit and said “Look, we can talk more back at the safe house.”

  “Safe house?” I asked.

  “We got into town late last night and secured somewhere to bed down. Then last night Chris heard a car engine and went for a look and saw the truck driving out of a car park. But he said it wasn’t you driving. We went back to where it had been parked this morning and saw some infected hanging about. We decided to have a little look around before clearing them out and seeing if your dead body was in there. As we scouted the streets, we saw you and tried to catch up. Then you hid in here.” Amy said.

  We all heard the moans and the sound of feet.

  Chris looked over the tops of the cars and said “Look, lets piss off before they turn up.”

  I nodded my head and we headed over to the ATV’s. I went to climb on with Amy but she shook her head and pointed over at Chris. I shrugged my shoulders and headed over. I looked over my shoulder and watched as she lowered her helmet on and started the engine. I climbed behind Chris and put my hands round his waist.

  “Hey, don’t get too friendly back there.” He said through his helmet.

  “Fuck off, Chris.” I said, a little too harshly.

  “Look, she has every right to be fucked off with you.” He said starting the engine.

  Chapter Seven

  The thing was, she had every right and I knew it. I watched her pull away and Spirit ran along beside her. Chris gunned the engine and pulled away following her as we moved through the streets.

  The safe house turned out to be a huge brick firehouse. They had managed to force open one of the garage doors and they drove the ATV’s straight inside. I hopped off the back and watched as Chris pushed the door closed. I followed them both up a flight of stairs and we headed to where the firemen and women would have slept. I dropped my rucksack and the hunting rifle on one of the beds and sat down. Amy walked passed me and head to where the toilets were.

  “Is she really that pissed with me?” I asked.

  “Really? Are you that fucking dumb? Of course she is pissed off with you. Marc, you left in the middle of the night and didn’t say anything to anyone. It was by chance that Jake remembered you asking about the ship in Hull. We then managed to put two and two together and thought you would head down here.” Chris said throwing his leather jacket on to a bed sitting down.

  “How did you catch up so quickly?” I asked.

  “David. He managed to find those ATV’s and some leathers big enough for me. After our little conversation the other day Amy decided that she was going to come and kill you. As you can gather, we managed to talk her out of it. We left the same day and drove non-stop down here. It was pure luck that I heard the truck last night.” He said lying down on the bed.

  Spirit came in and jumped up onto the bed beside him.

  “Well, go on then!” He said, closing his eyes.

  “Go on, what?” I said.

  “Go and talk to Amy. You know, for being the smarter of the two of us you can be rally thick sometimes.”

  I stood up and headed toward the toilets. I stopped at the door and listened. Inside, I could hear her quiet sobs.

  I lightly tapped on the door and said “Amy!”

  “Fuck off, Marc, I’m not ready to talk you yet.” Can the muffled shout.

  “Amy, I want to say……”

  “Fuck off!” She shouted, followed by a thud against the door.

  I could imagine her throwing her boot at the door. I headed back to the bed and sat down.

  “Fuck’d up again?” Chris said with a small laugh.

  ‘Pretty much.’ I thought and sat watching the toilets for Amy to come out.

  After a while my stomach rumbled and I grabbed my rucksack and pulled out some MRE’s and bottled water.

  “Chris?” I said.

  “Hmmmm?”

  “You hungry, mate?” I asked.

  “You know me, bud. I’m always hungry.”

  “Can you go ask Amy if she wants anything?”

  “Really, you that scared of her?” He said laughing.

  “Wouldn’t you be?” I said.

  He thought about it and sat up to look at me and said “Mate, I would sleep with my boots on if I were you. Because if she comes for you whilst you sleep, you might have a chance of running away.”

  “Funny fucker!” I said.

  He climbed off the bed and gave Spirit a stroke and headed toward the toilet.

  “Anything else you want me to ask her while I am being messenger boy?” He said.

  “Since when did you become the fucking comedian?” I shouted.

  “Just now!” He said, flipping me the middle finger and then pushing open the door and walked into the toilets.

  I sat there watching the door and waiting for it to open. Nothing happened for a good ten minutes and then it opened and Chris walked out. My head whipped around to look at him but all he would do was shake his head. I looked down at my feet and felt so rejected. Could she not see that everything I had ever done was for the good of our group? Chris sat down on the bed opposite me and didn’t say a word.

  “That bad, huh?” I asked.

  He looked toward the door and then back at me before saying “You do realize that she is head over heels in love with you?”

  I looked at me feet “Yeah, I had a feeling. But I had to try and do this. If Benton ever found us, it would be a nightmare.”

  Chris swung his legs up onto the bed and said “Look, I know why you did it and I even agree with us having to deal with Benton. But to run off by yourself in the middle of the night, Marc, even for you, that is a stupid plan. You have friends and a group of people who rely on you and us to keep them safe and secure.”

  Standing up, I looked toward the toilet door and then started walking toward it.

  “I wouldn’t if I were you.” Chris called after me.

  This time it was me who gave the middle finger. I pushed the door open and walked in. Amy was standing near the rear of the room with her arms crossed under her breasts. She looked up and shook her head.

  “Get out of here, Marc. I am not in the best of moods with y…..”

  She never got to finish that sentence because I had locked my lips on hers and pulled her into my arms. I could feel her hands beating against my chest and her struggling to get free.

  Our heads came apart and she started “Get off, you sel….”

  Again I kissed her and this time the hands beating on my chest weren’t as hard and she didn’t struggle as much. I needed some air and pulled back slightly and Amy said “You fucking bast….”

  As you guessed it, another kiss. This time her mouth parted and the kiss became the start of something else. The love we made on the toilet floor was full of heat and passion. There were several times when Amy would either cry or lash out, but we both knew that neither of us were actually angry at the other. We lay there on the floor tangled in our discarded clothes. I held her body close and feel her breathing against my che
st.

  Amy opened her eyes and looked up into my face and said “You scared me.”

  “I know.” I said, running my fingers through her hair.

  “You told me that you would never leave without me and then you go and do this.”

  “Amy, it’s like what Chris said. This is a suicide run. I just wanted to keep the people I love safe. The only way I could do that was if I did this on my own.” I said softly.

  She shook her head slightly and said “I can understand that, but going after them on your own won’t do any good. They probably have a ton of men and more equipment than we do. Plus there is the fact that you had lost the only vehicle you had.”

  “All right. I concede that it wasn’t a very well thought out plan, but I had to make sure you would all be safe.”

  “Ok, smart arse, what would you have done if they captured you and they forced you to tell them where we were?” She asked, raising herself on her elbows to look in my face.

  To tell the truth, I hadn’t actually thought about it. I lay there looking at the ceiling thinking of what she had just said.

  “I didn’t think of that.” I said.

  She nodded her head and said “Like I expected. Marc goes off half-cocked again.”

  Smiling, I tickled her side and said “That’s not what you said five minutes ago.”

  She squirmed away from me and stood up. There she stood, naked as the day she was born and I felt like my heart was about to burst from my chest. That and another part of my body was quite happy to see her standing there like that.

  “You fucking git.” She said, laughing.

  I rolled over and started pulling on some underwear.

  “You do realize you’re trying to pull on my knickers?” She said.

  “Yeah, well, they feel nice and they fit better.” I said, grinning.

  She leaned over and pulled them out of my hands and laughed again. I found my underwear and pulled them on and then grabbed my gear off the floor and headed for the door.

  “I’ll give you some privacy.” I said, my hand on the handle.