by TW Brown
“And so a man is to be hanged for trying to feed his family?”
This had been the circular argument being repeated to varying degrees and with a variety of profanity sprinkled throughout for the past several minutes. Simon had had enough and pushed back from the table with the intent of saying so.
“We will trade one of yours for our man,” the speaker blurted.
“If you have one of ours, and he or she was caught doing something wrong, then that person must be prepared to accept the penalty,” Geoff spoke up from where he had been leaning silently against the wall next to the doorway.
Simon heard something in the man’s tone that he did not care for. Add in the fact that he had not been told anything about how these people might have a prisoner of their own from Old Micklefield. On a whim, he decided to prod into the issue.
“And what has our person done? I have told you that your man is in lockup due to stealing, so what crime has our person committed?” Simon asked.
He saw the eyes of all three people sitting across from him flit over his shoulder to where Geoff had been standing. A second later, he felt a hand on his shoulder. His cousin leaned down; his lips close to Simon’s ear.
“That is not part of the scope of this meeting.”
“You’re right,” Simon replied out loud, not bothering to whisper. “This meeting was supposed to be about putting an end to this ridiculous feud between the northern and southern ends of the same bloody village. Are we really going to allow something from a time that does not look like it will ever return be what separates us and makes us act like fools?” Standing up, Simon brushed away his cousin’s hand. “So, here is what will happen, I want you three to return home and gather whoever is calling themselves the leader of your community. We need to have a meeting and put an end to this foolishness. As a show of good faith on my behalf, I will release the man of yours that we are holding—”
“You don’t have the authority to do such a thing,” Geoff snapped, slamming his hand on the table for emphasis.
“Actually, that little vote you had would indicate differently.” Simon turned on his cousin and fixed him with an appraising stare. “And as soon as these gentlemen have made their exit, you and I will have a talk where you will tell me exactly what is going on.”
Simon showed the men to the door where he was greeted by Mrs. Raye who had apparently heard the entire thing. This whole meeting had taken place in one of the vacant townhouses just around the corner from the one assigned to Simon and the others.
“I guess I don’t need to tell you what has to be done,” Simon said as the woman stepped aside to allow the three delegates past. Mrs. Raye smiled and shook her head before catching up to the trio and falling in with them.
As soon as they were around the corner, Simon shut the door and spun on his cousin. “You want to tell me what in blazes is going on?”
“What do you mean?” Geoff asked showing almost no emotion.
“Where do I start? Shall it be where you have me dropped into the role of law enforcement here with almost no qualification? Or perhaps how your little part of town has shut itself off from the world and is in the process of building a giant moat—”
“It’s just a trench,” Geoff interrupted.
“Call it what you want,” Simon shot back. “You have had some sort of meeting where you just decide that you will execute anybody who breaks the law—”
“Murderers, rapists and thieves,” Geoff interrupted again, still not showing any signs of agitation.
“Once more,” Simon slapped the table for emphasis, “you can say what you will. The facts remain that this is not natural, nor is it the way that I would expect a bloody vicar to act.”
“Why? Because we are somehow not like normal people?”
“I never said that.”
“You didn’t have to.”
“Look, you have to admit, this is not normal behavior for anybody. The fact that you are okay with what is going on here has me concerned.”
Geoff sat back and looked at Simon with almost no expression on his face. Slowly, it was as if a storm rolled in and Simon could actually see the man’s countenance darken. He sucked in a big breath and then let it out.
“The people in New Mick are not killing the zombies,” Geoff finally said at last. “Well, that is not true, they are killing some of them. But, and this is where you may think I am being a bit dodgy, but I swear I am telling you the truth. They refuse to kill a zombie if it is a child.”
Simon let that sink in. Actually, a part of him could understand that; especially after what he had seen back at that school when they were running for their lives. Still, there had to be more than that to the story.
“Okay, so tell me the bit that you are keeping back because you think I will be sure you are a nutter.”
Geoff actually seemed to relax just a little at that remark and the hint of a smile curved his lips.
“Shame this whole zombie thing came along,” Geoff said as he relaxed into his chair a bit more.
“Why is that?”
“You would have made a proper police officer.”
“I appreciate it, but save the kind words until after you’ve told me whatever this terrible thing is that has you all so worked up.”
“It was before the news was really rolling on this, and one of the families had just returned from holiday.” Geoff paused and shook his head. “You have to understand that this is all secondhand information. The folks in New Mick closed up ranks fast before things got bad, and then they had sort of made their bed and were forced to lay in it.
“What I was told by one of their people after church one morning was that this particular family, the Bush family I am told was their name, was all found dead one morning. Apparently there was a bit of a ruckus, and then the screams. That is what brought people running…those terrible screams. Only, after a few of the neighbors rushed over, what they found was beyond anything imaginable…at least at the time. Every member of the Bush family was dead and looked like they had been torn apart by wild animals, then it was discovered that one of the children was not among those found at the scene.
“Police were called, but they never made it here because of all that mess that took place at the train station in Leeds that same day. That was also when the Prime Minister came on and told everybody to just stay put in their homes or make it to one of the rescue centers.”
Geoff rose to his feet and began to pace. Simon recollected back to those first crazy days. He had missed so much of what was going on around him because he was busy trying to take care of Miranda. He recalled seeing something about a riot at the train depot, but he had dismissed it as just an overreaction by some of the citizens. He was not too concerned in those early days. After all, it seemed like the news was always going on about some new flu or strain of bug that was going around. And even with Miranda so sick, he’d simply figured that she was strong enough to power through it and that all would be right as rain in a few days.
“The members of the family that were found were dead. Nobody disputed that fact. When the missus…Katie Bush…when she sat up, I guess people just had no idea what to do. Naturally, the phones began to ring here from some of the folks down in New Mick.
“I was asked to go as a person that might be able to settle the minds and fears as people realized that what was just starting to show up on the BBC news had come to our little village. I saw for myself a woman who had most of her insides torn out as she struggled and fought to be freed from the gurney that she had been tied to.
“I returned to the church that evening to find it full with people standing out front. They were scared, and had no idea what to do. I did what I could, but I saw fear in every face that night when everybody finally left. I went to bed that evening fearing that perhaps the world was facing something greater than ever before in history. I had no idea how fast it would spiral out of control.
“When we lost our first people, it was the Woodl
ey farm at the south end of Old Mick. That day was when it all changed here.” Again Geoff paused. He turned to face Simon, and tears were just starting to brim over.
“The people blamed the folks of New Mick. It was foolish, I knew that the reaction was based out of fear, but there was nothing that could be done for it. There was a meeting called in the school that night, and it was decided that nobody from New Mick would be allowed here. The Great North Road would be blocked just this side of Pit Lane, and that was to be the end of it.”
“But when you asked me to take this position, you said that I would be the one to broker a peace between Old and New Micklefield,” Simon said with a hint of confusion in his tone.
“I did, and that is because there is no way for me to do it. I am part of Old Mick, that is how the town sees things. If I were to suggest such a thing, I might well be run out on a rail. Also, the New Micks won’t hear me, I represent the enemy, and anything that I suggest would be viewed as having an angle to it that benefits Old Micklefield at the expense of the people that reside in the New Micklefield district.”
“You act like this is two separate towns,” Simon said with unveiled annoyance. “The town is just Micklefield.”
“Tell that to the people.” Geoff paused and then fixed Simon with a serious gaze. “No…I’m serious. Tell that to the people.”
“Why should they need to be told?” Simon scoffed. “We are on the verge of becoming extinct. Those bloody zombies are a mindless army that will wipe us out if we don’t come together and shove them back. Fighting amongst ourselves is absolutely idiotic. Do these people really need me to tell them that?”
“Yes.” Geoff gave a shrug of his shoulders. “You have to admit, this is certainly nothing that anybody could have ever imagined happening. Even the type of people who read those zombie comics and novels or watched it at the pictures…they did not believe this was something that would really happen. “
Simon gave that statement a little consideration. He had seen a few of those movies. His mind flashed on 28 Days Later and he shivered. They had used soccer players as the infected. Damn good thing the zombies didn’t run or it would have been a short apocalypse.
“Okay,” Simon finally shrugged, “gather everybody together. I will see what I can do, but I doubt it will help.”
“So,” Geoff asked as the two men exited the townhouse and started up the road on what looked to be a bright and sunny day, “do you think we have a chance of getting through this?”
“Alive?” Simon allowed himself to chuckle. “Maybe. Unscathed? Not a chance.”
“Were you always this cheery?”
***
Shadiyah opened her eyes and had to keep them squinted because of the reflection of the morning sun off one of the bumpers of a nearby car. She yawned and stretched, actually surprised at how refreshed she felt. Grabbing her bag, she pulled out her final bottle of water. She could not recall having consumed so much, yet this was indeed the final bottle.
After taking a few sips, she decided that she would simply have to believe that she could locate more before too long. After all, she reasoned as the last drops trickled down her throat, Garforth was just down the road. If she was careful, then surely she could slip in, break into a house, and find some water.
Her mind was made up that she would not try to venture inside a market. Those would be too dangerous with all their blind corners. No, it was time to get moving and she would start by making a go at one of the small apartments that bordered this junkyard.
After slipping into her pack, Shadiyah opened the door, grabbed the bag that she had liberated from that fool that had thrown it to her after admitting that he would have likely tried to jump her had she been a man. Why would somebody say something like that and then think there could be any degree of trust?
Shadiyah’s foot touched the ground and a peculiar sound made its way to her ears with just enough warning for her to leap up and back into the cab. She looked down to see the head of what appeared to be some sort of Pit Bull as the dog emerged from under the truck.
At first, she believed that the dog was normal and that perhaps the odd noise it made could be attributed to an echo or something since it was coming out from under the vehicle. When its head swung around and up to her, she saw the eyes and she knew that this poor thing had somehow become one of the undead.
“Dogs? Why dogs?” she whispered. “And how about that,” she added with a chuckle. “They can look up.”
She puzzled over the dog for a moment, watching it as it made pathetic and feeble attempts to get up at her as she sat in the cab. She knew that the dog would have had no problems jumping up to her if it had been alive, yet, just as with humans, the zombie version of a dog appeared to have suffered a terrible lack of control in its coordination.
What had her confounded for quite a while was the lack of any sort of evidence that the animal had been bitten. In fact, there was not a scratch on it. A thought hit her, and when she gave the dog’s muzzle a closer look, she believed that she understood how this poor creature had become infected. She recalled the corpse she had seen with all the peculiar bites out of it and its skull scattered about.
That would add a new twist to things, she thought.
That one observation sent a series of thoughts cascading through her mind. If animals could be infected, could this also be carried via mosquitoes like that West Nile Virus? Would it carry over to every animal, or just a few?
As much as it hurt her in her heart to do so, Shadiyah drew one of the small swords that she had grabbed at the museum. It had a thicker blade, and she would not be upset if she damaged her blade on the skull of the dog. Standing up on the step-up lip at the entrance to the cab of the truck, she lined up the point of her weapon with the top of the dog’s head and, after a deep breath to steady herself, she jumped, bringing the point of the sword down almost perfectly and plunging it into the top of the dog’s skull. She landed with enough force to actually pin the poor creature to the ground.
Leaning back against the truck, Shadiyah felt the tears stinging her eyes. So far, she had killed a handful of humans and who knew how many zombies. None of them had had any effect on her soul. Somehow, to her, this was so different. Pulling her blade free, Shadiyah knelt over the creature, her tears splashing in the dirt near its head.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
After a few minutes, she regained her composure and decided to take a better look around to see if there might be anything lying about that would be worth grabbing. The yard itself had a lot of things that could possibly be transformed into some rather nasty weaponry, but it would weigh her down far too much to be worth the trouble. Eventually, she decided to abandon searching the yard and decided to check out the apartments that bordered one side.
When she went inside the first of the two flats, she was more than a little disappointed. The place looked like it had been recently vacated and just never cleaned up and prepared for new tenants. There was trash strewn about and the smell of mold and rotten food permeated the air. That was when she realized that she did not smell the telltale odor that announced the walking dead.
She left the first flat and headed next door. Her confidence only increased when she discovered an unlocked front entry. While the place was a mess and showed signs of having been quickly abandoned, there seemed to be no zombies to worry about.
She made her way to the kitchen and was greeted by the smell of food that had gone off several days ago. On the plus side, she also found cans of baked beans in an open cupboard along with a treasure trove of Super Noodles.
“Mild Curry,” she groused when she realized that the treasure was of only a single currency. Still, she thought, beggars can’t be choosers. She scooped it all into her bag.
The only thing she was currently lacking now was water. She opened every cupboard and the pantry to reveal that the person was a fan of beer, but apparently chose to forgo water as a regular beverage. With a sigh, she exi
ted the flat, refusing to allow herself even one of the many bottles of beer that she’d discovered.
As she walked along the road, Shadiyah found herself enjoying the sun on her face. She kept her eyes open for any signs of wandering zombies, but for a while, there was simply nothing to interrupt what was becoming a rather pleasant morning stroll.
She came to an end of having both sides of the narrow road lined with trees to discover a rather expensive looking house on the left. The property was sealed off by a three foot high stone wall that was topped with wrought iron spikes that added just an extra bit of protection. Were it not for the Mercedes that had smashed into the iron gate at the head of the driveway, the whole thing would have been simply beautiful to look at.
Stopping at the car, Shadiyah looked in at the figure that had its head resting on the steering wheel. Her arrival caused it to sit up and begin to claw at the driver’s side window. The gate still looked to be intact and so Shadiyah made a small bow to the undead occupant and hopped up onto the hood of the silver luxury car.
After appraising the situation for a moment, she decided that it would be best if she were to just toss her things over and then climb. Since there did not seem to be any zombies around, other than the one making a little bit of a fuss inside the car, she even removed her belt and tossed over her scimitar. The last thing that she wanted was to get hung up by the strap and end up dangling from the fence until either a zombie found her or she died from thirst.
It was not an easy task, but eventually she was over and standing on a slick driveway that reflected the heat of the sun back at her with a vengeance. She needed to find something here to drink.
When she reached the front door, she was not surprised to discover that it was locked. People like this obviously had things worth taking and took steps to protect them unlike those flats she had just left behind. Ironically, it wasn’t much trouble to get in considering the fact that the top half of the entry door was a window.
Wrapping her elbow in her jacket to give it some extra protection, she gave the glass a sharp smack. The sound of breaking glass was so loud that it actually frightened her at first. Drawing her weapon, she looked everywhere at once, fully expecting either a bunch of zombies or the police to arrive and put a nasty cramp in her day.