by R J Murray
Clive reached the truck first and tugged at the door but it wouldn’t budge. He rapped on the window with his knuckles and called out to the man inside. There was no answer and no movement. He looked helplessly at Terri and she reached out one hand to touch his arm. A brief reminder that she was there for him.
“What happened, do you think?” she asked and he shook his head.
“Probably sick like his wife. Crashed the truck going for help and died out here in the cold.”
Terri stepped close, wiping away some of the snow as she peered in through the window. The man's head was turned away from her as he slumped over the steering wheel. Sticky blood had run down the steering wheel to drip and pool in his lap.
“Looks like he cracked his head,” she said as she gave him a second look. “But yeah, he was infected too.”
“How can you tell?”
“Bite mark on his hand.”
Clive peered in and grunted softly.
“How the hell did they both get bitten?” he gave a nervous look around the woods that surrounded them. “What bit them?”
“No idea. A better question is can we get this truck to work?”
“Front wheels buckled,” he said. “It’s not going anywhere.”
“Damn,” she said. “Guess we need to keep walking.”
He took her hand in his and they carried on in silence for a while before he turned to her, a question clear on his face.
“You seem… I dunno, kind’a calm about this,” he said.
“What? You think I should be the hysterical woman, all weepy and useless?” she asked with a laugh. “I’ve seen dead bodies before.”
“You have?” there was concern in his voice as he watched her face. “You’ve never mentioned that.”
“Not really something I want to talk about,” she admitted. “Was years ago when I was in high school.”
“It’s okay,” he said. “You don’t need to tell me if you don’t want to.”
“Nah, it’s fine. I was a bit wild back then. Older boyfriend who was a bit of a bad boy. One night he turned up in a car. Said it was his mate’s and me being a naïve idiot, I believed him.” She shook her head at that as if perhaps remembering herself back then. “Long story short, a police car passed us and my boyfriend panicked. Ended up turning the car over after hitting another.”
“Oh wow, that must have been terrible.”
“Wasn’t great. Boyfriend and his mate died on impact. I broke my left arm and leg and my friend shattered her hip.” She paused and swallowed hard as she looked away into the trees. “We were stuck in there for a while till they could cut us out. I got plenty familiar with dead bodies.”
He squeezed her hand and she smiled as she squeezed back. She didn’t seem to want him to say anything and to be fair, he realised that anything he could say would be trite. Even so, he wanted to say something to offer her comfort, and he was still struggling with exactly what that would be as they rounded a corner and stopped.
“There’s the town,” she said with a wide smile.
Nestled in a deep valley at the base of the mountain, the town was small. Barely a few thousand people and most of the businesses served the holiday trade in the surrounding area. There was a ski resort a dozen miles to the south and more holiday cottages and cabins than you could shake a stick at, though most of them had yet to see the main crowd come over for the season.
The bulk of the town was made up of the homes of the people who worked at those holiday resorts and the few businesses that didn’t serve the day to day needs of the residents, were geared towards the tourists.
Restaurants, cafes, souvenir shops and those that sold the winter sports clothing and equipment that visitors may need as well as renting out the various pieces.
“What time is it,” Terri asked and Clive lifted his sleeve to look at his watch.
“Twelve, why?”
“There’s no bells ringing,” she said with a tilt of her head towards the church. “When we came through last time they rang every hour.”
“Might be broken,” he said with a shrug.
“What about people,” she said, her voice insistent. “Can you see any cars moving?”
“It’s snowing,” he protested. “People are probably inside. Now come on, let’s get down there.”
He led the way and she followed, hesitancy in her step and a nagging worry that something wasn’t right.
Chapter 5
The town was quiet, few people moving on the silent streets. Snow covered everything. Cars sat unmoving on the roads, doors open as though abandoned in the middle of their journey. Like people had just stopped and decided to get out of their cars.
“Where is everyone?” Clive asked as they stood at a junction where three streets met.
“No idea,” Terri replied, moving a little closer to him, seeking comfort in his presence.
The snow had piled up oddly, forming small mounds in random places and giving the town streets the look of a crumpled sheet.
“Keys are still in the ignition,” Clive said as he looked through the open door of one of the cars.
“Is that blood?” she asked, pointing with one mittened hand at the car door where a spatter of dull brown coated the window.
“If it is, it’s days old.”
“The hell is happening?”
There was no answer to her query and all Clive could do was shrug helplessly. They left the car and wandered the streets, each of them alert for some sign of the residents or tourists. But, the businesses they passed and the homes, were all dark and still.
Clive nudged her and pointed at the window of a hunting store a dozen meters away. The glass window had been shattered, the items that had been on display, taken. She shook her head, unsure what to make of it.
When she looked closer at the other shops, she realised they too showed signs of looting. She brushed a layer of frost from the window of a café and peered into the gloomy interior. Tables and chairs had been overturned, liquid spread across the floor.
“There’s someone in there,” she said softly, voice numb with shock. “They aren’t moving.”
He nudged her gently aside and looked inside, face pale as he saw the body. Blood spattered the floor around it along with parts of flesh and internal organs. He shuddered as he looked away, a green tinge around the edges of his mouth and he swallowed back the urge to throw up.
Terri pulled the rifle from her shoulder and gave it a quick once-over. It had a walnut coloured wooden stock and a matt black metal barrel. The scope on top was a good six inches in length and it fired a single shot at a time. There was a simple lever that was pulled back to eject the spent ammo and allow the operator to put a fresh bullet in. Simple and easy to use even for a novice, which was useful, she conceded.
“What’re you doing?” Clive asked as she pulled a bullet from the box in her pocket and slipped it into the chamber.
“Something’s not right here and whatever did that…” she nodded towards the body in the café. “Well, it might still be around.”
“But… you don’t know how to use a gun.”
“Point and pull the trigger,” she said with a weak attempt at a smile. “Can’t be that hard.”
He shook his head but didn’t say anything more. She knew he disapproved of guns in general, considering them to be toys of the sociopaths who liked to hunt for fun. Still, she wasn’t asking him to use it and she would rather have it ready and not need it rather than the other way around.
The next three stores they peered into had the same disarray. Items pulled from shelves, broken glass and in two of them, more bodies. The hairs on the back of her neck rose and she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being watched.
“We should find somewhere to sleep,” she said, glancing at the sky. “Will be dark early and I doubt the streetlights are working.”
“Solar powered,” Clive said distractedly as he looked through another shop window.
“What?”
“Can you see the small box on top of the lamp?” he asked and she nodded.
The streetlights extended out a couple of feet on an arm atop a tall pole. On top of each of the glass lamps was a cylinder like box.
“Well that’s a solar battery,” he said. “Stores up sunlight during the day and uses the energy to light the lamp at night. It’s a way that small towns like this can save money on their power bills.”
“The things you learn,” she said with a small laugh and he grinned.
“Sorry, I’m a bit of a geek. I like knowing this sort of thing.”
“And I love you for it, babe,” she said pursing her lips and blowing a kiss his way. “But we still need somewhere to stay and preferably a phone line.”
“That we can do,” he agreed with a smile. “Our hotel is just up ahead.”
“The one we stayed in the night we arrived?”
They had arrived late and been advised to avoid trying to travel up into the mountains in the dark. Preferring to be safe, they opted to spend the night in a nice hotel in the centre of the town. They’d explored the town and dined in one of the restaurants before heading back to their room and making love. It had been a wonderful start to their holiday.
“Yeah, I remember,” she said with a wistful smile.
When they arrived at the hotel, it was much like she remembered. An arched doorway with a thick wooden door of ancient oak, wooden shutters on the windows and white painted walls with thick ivy climbing it. It was an old building, made of stone and timber and had been around for a heck of a long time. Heavy flowerpots stood on either side of the door and planters hung from every window.
In summer, she imagined the smell of those flowers would be wonderful and along with their bright colours, would make the hotel look truly wonderful. She’d already planned to come back in the summer next year and experience the town then.
Something told her that wouldn’t be happening now.
“Door’s unlocked,” Clive said as he pushed on it.
It opened silently, the hinges well oiled and they stared into the dimly lit reception area. Terri ached to wipe the sweat from her palms but that would have required letting go of the rifle. She’d removed her mittens so that she could pull the trigger if needed and regretted it almost immediately as the cold numbed her fingers.
“Hello!” Clive called and she jumped a little at the unexpected sound in the oppressive silence of the town.
“What’re you doing?” she asked from clenched teeth, her voice a hiss.
He shrugged and took a tentative step forward. He cocked his head to one side and said, “I think someone’s in there.”
A blur of movement was all the warning they had as a half-naked woman leapt at him. Her teeth clamped down on the material of the thick coat at his shoulder as he stumbled back.
“Help!” he yelped, as the woman’s fists beat down against him.
Her crazed eyes were wide as she bit down again, clamping her teeth closed on the material and pulling back, trying to tear through it.
Terri stood, rooted in place with shock as she watched the man she loved being attacked. Her hands seemed to move of their own accord as she raised the rifle and aimed it at the woman.
“Stop!” she cried. “Get the fuck away from him!”
There was no answer as the woman kept tearing at Clive’s coat, seeking to get through it. Blood flecked spittle flew from her mouth as he tried his best to keep her hands away from him.
“Stop, damn it!” she cried.
The woman didn’t so much as glance her way as the coat tore, a growl sounding from deep in her throat. Eagerness and a hunger that couldn’t be quenched in that sound.
A roar echoed around the streets and the acrid smell of gunpowder filled the air as the rifle shook in her hand and the woman slumped to the side, lifeless and still, a bloody hole in the side of her head.
Clive stared at the woman and then at Terri, her blood had spattered across his clothes and cheek, his eyes were wide with shock and his mouth moved but no words came out.
“Fuck!” Terri said as she dropped the rifle to the snow.
Chapter 6
She stared at the dead woman for what seemed like an eternity. She couldn’t seem to move, couldn’t seem to stop wondering about who she was. Did she have a job? A family? Friends or a lover? Was she a good person?
Whatever had affected her was the same as the woman in the cabin, that was clear. She wasn’t in control of her own actions and Terri couldn’t stop the thought that maybe she should have found another way to stop her.
Tears filled her eyes as Clive wrapped her in his embrace, making soft, wordless sounds of comfort for her. He didn’t say anything, didn’t need to. She understood what she’d done and even if it was in self-defence, she would likely be going to jail for murder.
“Oh god! What did I do?” she wailed and he tightened his grip, rocking back and forth gently.
“We should go inside,” he said after a moment. “Get cleaned up and find a phone.”
“What about… about… her,” Terri asked, squeezing her eyes shut as she nodded towards the dead woman.
“I’ll bring her inside,” he said. “Can’t leave her out here in the snow.”
“What did I do! I’m sorry!” she said, unable to stop the tears from flowing. “I didn’t mean to.”
“I know, shh,” he said. “We’ll figure something out. She attacked us.”
Terri lifted shaking hands to her face and wiped away the tears that had run down her cheeks. She nodded slowly before reaching down for the rifle.
“What’re you doing?”
“It’s evidence. The police will want it,” she said simply.
“Okay,” he took a step away from her and watched her as though afraid she may burst into tears once again. When she didn’t he stooped to pick up the woman. “Christ! She stinks.”
Terri glanced at him and he grunted as he lifted the dead weight of the woman, wrinkling his nose at the smell of her.
“I think she crapped herself,” he said.
“They do that, don’t they?” she asked. “I’m sure I’ve heard that before.”
“No, I think it was before you… well, you know.”
She nodded and gave a half shrug. It wasn’t something she really wanted to think about or even talk about. Most likely it was whatever illness she had. If she was crazed like that, stopping to use the loo wouldn’t be a high priority.
Clive carried the dead woman inside and laid her down on a sofa beside the front door. It sat just beneath the window and she wondered if she should open the shutters and allow a little light in. It didn’t seem right to leave her in darkness.
“Close the door,” Clive said and paused, head tilting to one side as he listened. “Can you hear…”
His eye’s widened and he pushed past her, stepping back outside for a moment as he turned his head this way and that, listening.
“Babe?”
He hurried back inside, closing the door firmly behind him and reaching up to slide the locking bolt closed. Terri watched him in bemusement as he grabbed one end of the sofa and dragged it over the polished wooden floorboards to sit in front of the door.
“What…” she began but he shushed her, holding one finger up to his lips.
She opened her mouth to speak and he shook his head, eyes narrowing as he gestured sharply to the door warningly. She swallowed back what she’d been about to say as she heard it. The sound of feet breaking through the snow crust, a chattering babble of noise, half grunts and wordless sounds. A lot of it.
Terri backed away from the door, taking slow measured steps until she was beside him. She jumped as something heavy hit the door with a thump, the wood shaking from the impact. Clive tapped her on the shoulder and gestured for her to follow.
He led her up the stairs, moving slowly and cautiously. There was nothing to say the woman had been the only one in the hotel. They moved along a corridor, checking d
oors as they went. All were locked.
They went up another flight of stairs to the top floor. The few rooms at that level were smaller, little more than attic garrets. Room enough for a bed and wardrobe, maybe a set of drawers but with a slanted roof, the only place you could stand up fully was by the door.
The first door he tried, opened. He peered in, expecting someone to jump out on him and breathed a sigh of relief when he found it empty. She followed him inside, too afraid to speak even as he closed the door and dragged the heavy chest of drawers in front of it.
Terri moved across to the window. The shutters were open and light flooded the room. From there, she could see across the quiet town. Row after row of snow-covered rooftops without any movement or smoke coming from the numerous chimneys.
Down below, she could make out a mass of swarming figures. Many of them naked or almost so, they seemed not to notice the cold. Blood streaked some of them and many of them had injuries of one kind or another. Mainly bite marks.
“What’s going on?” she whispered to Clive as he joined her.
He shook his head and took the rifle from her unresisting hands and rested it against the wall beside the window. He took a hold of her hand and led her away from the window towards the ensuite bathroom.
Once inside he removed his coat and gestured for her to do the same. Water gushed from the taps and he grimaced as he realised there was no hot water to be had. Grabbing a washcloth and one of the small bars of complimentary soap he cleaned first his face and hands before stepping aside for her to do the same.
After they had cleaned their faces, he used the cloth to scrub as much of the blood spatter from his clothing as he could.
“You should leave that,” she protested. “The police will want it for evidence.”
“I don’t think the police are going to need it, my love,” he said without looking up. “You saw them out there.”
“Yeah, but just because…”
“No,” he said, his voice firm. “There’s no one here. Except for those, those… infected people. Whatever they have is making them aggressive and judging by the lack of people, I don’t think they’re the only ones here.”