by Ryan Casey
Riley started to nod. “Right. I—”
“Anna! Riley! Someone!”
The scream came from downstairs. A female voice — Claudia. Anna and Riley’s eyes widened. Riley jumped to his feet as Anna ran through the door and he followed her down the corridor and down the stairs.
When they reached the bottom of the stairs, there were pots and pans spread across the floor. The front door, previously blocked by a tumble dryer, was wide open. There was a bloody fist mark on the white-tiled wall to the side of the door.
Claudia was on the floor. Trevor rested his hand on her shoulder.
“What happened here?” Anna asked.
Claudia pointed at the door. “It’s Stan. He went crazy. And he’s gone.”
Riley picked up a pan that Stan had sent tumbling to the floor and hooked it up in the kitchen area. Claudia whispered to her daughters in a reassuring tone. Trevor and Ted stood in the doorway, arms folded.
“He must have said something,” Anna said. She slammed her hands down on the top of the kitchen worktop. “Something about where he was going or what he had planned. He can’t just have taken off on foot. That’s madness.”
Claudia shrugged. “I already told you. He—One minute he was there and the next he was gone. I don’t know what else you want me to say.”
Anna sighed and shook her head. “None of you heard him mention a thing? You know what he’s like with his big mouth. Surely if he knew somewhere close to here he’d have mentioned it by now, right?”
Trevor and Ted looked at one another and lifted their shoulders. “Sorry,” Ted said. “He… he didn’t say anything. But maybe it’s not such a… a bad thing.”
Anna frowned. “You what?”
Ted scanned the floor with his eyes. “Well, I just think, he was a little… a little off the rails. And with…” His eyes met Riley’s briefly. “With, um. With what happened. To Jill. I don’t know whether we’d be able to all just get on again. You know?”
Anna squared up to Ted. She eyed him up from head to toe. “What sort of a coward are you?”
“Maybe Ted’s right,” Trevor interrupted. “And it’s not like we’ve any real choice. He’s gone. Nobody knows where.”
Anna moved away from Ted and stared at Trevor. “So, we just leave him out there? Leave the… the grieving old man out there to get torn to pieces? Is that what you think is right?” She stepped closer to Trevor and lowered her voice. “Tell me — where were you when Jill was killed, anyway?”
Trevor’s eyelids twitched. “It doesn’t matter who did that. If she turned, she turned. No room for sentimentality.”
Anna shook her head. “Is that a confession?”
Trevor remained completely still. “No. But I don’t think that’s the issue right now.”
Anna opened her mouth to respond but closed it and stepped away from Trevor. She approached Claudia and the girls. “You got any thoughts on this? You think we should just leave him out there too?”
Claudia shrugged. “I don’t… I don’t know what to suggest. But I just think that looking for him is going to be difficult when we’ve no idea where he might be.”
Anna nodded. Forced a smile across her face. “Right. So it’s just me then. Just me that after two days, hasn’t lost her sense of—”
“Stan said he had a dairy farm.”
The voice was unfamiliar. Everybody’s attention turned beside Claudia and to her daughter, Elizabeth.
“What did you say, darling?” Claudia asked.
Elizabeth squeezed her hands together. Her cheeks went slightly pink. “He… He said he had a farm nearby. And I asked if I could go see the cows one day but he said I had no chance.”
Claudia turned to the rest of the group. “Nice of him to let us know he had a farm, wasn’t it?”
“Stevens’ Dairies,” Anna said.
“What?” Riley asked.
“Stevens’ Dairies.” Anna shook her head. “Of course. Stan and Jill’s surname was Stevens. Stevens’ Dairies — you’ve seen the vans, right? They… they’re based in Barton. Short trip around the fields should take us there, I think.” She walked over to the front exit door.
“Wait,” Riley said. He stepped in front of her. “We can’t act on a hunch. There’s no guarantee he’s even gone there.”
“Riley’s right,” Ted said. “And we don’t know how many of those creatures are out there now. They could be growing in number. You could be cut off before you even have the chance to get back.”
Anna pushed past Riley. “Well, that’s just a risk I’m going to have to—”
“Who is Stan to you, Anna? Really?”
Anna stopped in her tracks. She turned around, slowly. “What… What do you mean?”
Riley cleared his throat. “I can’t blame you for looking out for us. I’d like to think you’d do the same for me. But you’re being rash. Which makes me wonder whether you’re closer than you let on? The Anna I met yesterday, I don’t think she’d do this. You have to think about this. You can’t just go running out there. We need a group. We need to figure out who’s doing what.” He reached out and rested a hand on Anna’s shoulder. “We need to think.”
Anna looked distant. Her eyes were wide and she seemed deep in thought.
Then, she pushed Riley’s hand from her shoulder. “Then what do you suggest?”
Riley turned around. Claudia and her girls stared back at him. Ted and Trevor looked on from the doorway. All eyes on him. All ears waiting for an answer, from him. “I’ll go.”
Anna frowned as Riley edged past her. “You what? Just you? But that’s… that’s mad.”
“It’s not,” Riley said. “I’m solely responsible if I’m on my own. And he blames me, so I need to prove myself to him. But logistically, too. Ted would be my first choice, but he’s still hurt.”
Ted held his foot out as if nobody was already aware. “Man, I’d… I’d love to but… Alone? You can’t. You just—”
“Claudia has her daughters to look after. And you’re tough. A good organiser. I want you here.”
Anna shook her head. “I’m better out there. I’m—”
“This group needs you,” Riley said. “They need you. And you should be here. Okay?”
Anna looked like she was about to protest but she backed down and nodded once.
“Good. Now… now I’ll take the Punto and I’ll check out this farm or dairy place. Anna — you’ll need to draw me up a map or something.”
“What about Google Maps?” Ted asked. He pulled his phone out of his pocket. His face dropped. “Oh. Yeah. Scrap that. Network is… it’s completely down.”
“What about me?”
Trevor shuffled. Looked around the room at the others.
“I’m not sure I can trust him around my daughters,” Claudia said.
Riley walked up to Trevor. “I don’t care whether you did or didn’t kill Jill… Jill’s creature. I saw it too. I know she’d turned. And I know you’re a… you’re a good guy. You helped me out in the supermarket. But just don’t do anything stupid. Okay?”
Trevor peered into Riley’s eyes. “I’m not the one going out into the middle of nowhere to search for a missing man.”
Riley tilted his head. “Suppose you’re right.”
“Riley,” Anna called.
Riley turned around. “Yes?”
Anna’s eyes were welling up. She opened her mouth, and then closed it again, shaking her head. “It’s nothing. Just… say you do find him. What makes you think he’ll just come back with you?”
“Yeah,” Ted said. “He seemed pretty pissed at you. The guy’s flipped his lid. Just… be careful. Okay?”
Riley nodded. “You keep an eye on this place.”
Ted attempted a smile. “I’ll make a decent carer when the world goes normal again, right? Finally a job I’m good at.”
“Consider this work experience. Least it’s got you off your arse. Sort of.”
Ted jabbed Riley in the arm. He cou
ghed and smiled. “Good luck. If… Right behind you.”
Riley turned around. Saw Claudia and her daughters. Trevor. Anna. All of them looking at him, waiting for him to make the next call. He’d never really fancied being a leader before. But he’d always been the one that people seemed to turn to in group meetings and the like. Never figured out why, and always hoped that wouldn’t be the case were the apocalypse to arrive, but beggars couldn’t be choosers.
“Okay,” Riley said. His voice squeaked slightly, which didn’t add much authority to his position. “I guess I’ll grab some water, take the Punto and check this place out. If it gets dark, keep… keep the outside light on for me.”
“You know we can’t do that,” Anna said. “Can’t risk the things seeing us.”
Riley winked. “Correct answer. Just testing.”
Riley splashed his face with hot water. Condensation coated the bathroom mirror. He wiped away a patch with his wrist and stared back at himself. Bags under his eyes, bigger than ever before. His skin, pale and washed out. There was something different about him. The way he looked at himself — he truly saw his face. Every crevice on his forehead. Every prickly hair on his beard. He lifted his hand — it wasn’t shaking. His heartbeat was there, but it wasn’t too strong. He’d faced his fear. Stepped up. Spoken up and taken charge of the room.
And now he was going to go for a little drive. That’s all it was — a little drive on his own.
He inhaled the steam from the hot water right into the bottom of his lungs and felt a wave of calmness splash over him.
“I’ve got you those directions.”
Riley jumped around. Anna was stood at the door of the bathroom. She had a small piece of note paper in hand. She stared beyond Riley. Right through him.
Riley pulled his shirt back on and grabbed the directions from Anna. “Thanks. I—”
“What you said before. About knowing Stan better than I was letting on.”
“Ssh,” Riley said. “Like we said, we all have our secrets. We can’t just expect one another to suddenly open up. We’ve only known each other a day. Trust builds.”
“I don’t know him. But I…” She froze. “I… He reminds me of someone. Yeah. And I guess I don’t want to let that go just yet.”
Riley held his breath. His hand started to rise, almost automatically. He rested it on Anna’s shoulder. She flinched a little, then let it rest there. “I’ll do my best to bring him back. I’ll try the farm. It’s a long shot, but it will be worth it.”
“Do you really think that?”
“Think what?”
“That it will be worth it?”
Riley lowered his hand. “I suppose I’ve done a lot these last two days. More than I ever did stuck at an office desk. There’s a strong chance I’ve absolutely lost my mind. But maybe that’s a good trait to have in this new world.”
Anna half-smiled. “Maybe it is.”
Riley and Anna were silent for a moment. They looked at each other. Riley could see something behind her eyes. Something deep and dark beneath that stare. Something behind her quivering lips. A secret. Some kind of secret.
“You’d better—”
“Yeah,” Riley said. “Get to the car, get on his trail.”
Riley brushed past Anna. As he did, she grabbed his hand.
“Thanks. For… Thanks.”
Riley looked back at her and nodded. “We’re all entitled to our secrets.” He walked down the corridor and hopped down the staircase.
Anna watched him as he disappeared down the steps. A sickness welled up inside her. “We’re all entitled to our secrets.”
She slammed the bathroom door shut and rushed over to the taps. She let the hot tap run for a few seconds, water splashing out of the sink and covering her clothes. She stuck her hands under the water, biting her lip as it scolded her palms, and threw it over her face. She gasped. Looked at herself in the mirror.
“We’re all entitled to our secrets.”
Would he feel the same way if he knew the truth?
“Looks clear.”
Riley and Ted examined the road outside the house. Empty plastic packaging scraped against the tarmac, blowing gently in the breeze. The playground just up the road was empty. A family of ducks pottered up from the pond, curious as to when their next helping of bread was going to arrive.
“Good luck, mate,” Ted said. He patted Riley on the back. “And sorry. I can’t… I can’t be more useful. I feel like such a letdown.”
Riley nodded at Ted. “You just gradually get yourself used to walking again. It’s better if just I do this, anyway. Less fuss.”
Ted stared closely at Riley. “Is that what this is really about?”
Riley’s cheeks warmed. His stomach tensed. “Yes. Yes. Why wouldn’t it be?”
Ted shook his head. “Just be careful. I… The Punto. I wouldn’t want to lose it.” He winked at Riley then disappeared back inside the Chinese restaurant.
Riley breathed in deeply. The way Ted had looked at him with those pitiful eyes. He knew what he was implying. The accident. The sound of metal crunching against concrete. The guilt he’d felt in that hospital bed, everybody visiting him. And although they didn’t say anything at the time, he knew what they were thinking. Why did you do it? Are we not good enough for you?
He let go of his breath and walked towards the car door of the Punto. That was the past. The rules were different now, in this new world. Who he was, that was irrelevant. Same went for everybody. In these days, it had to be about who you were, and what you were willing to do to hold onto that sense of identity.
He opened the car door and threw his rucksack onto the passenger seat before sitting down. Andy’s blood had dried up, but the rest of the car was a mess. There was a patch on the passenger footwell mat where Ted’s foot had dribbled blood out of the bottom of his shoe. But it would do the job. Get to the dairy farm, look for Stan, and get him back. He was on foot, so he couldn’t be much further ahead. And maybe it was a shot in the dark. But he had to try. He couldn’t allow Stan to die believing that Riley was responsible for his wife’s death.
He raised the clutch and started to reverse out of the parking area when he heard something scraping underneath the car.
Then, the vehicle jerked backwards and forwards. Something wasn’t right.
Riley stopped the car and climbed outside. He could see what the problem was right away. Ted reappeared at the door. “Everything okay, mate?”
Riley’s heart began to thump. Nausea built in his chest. He turned around and looked at the other cars. The Previa. The red Mercedes. All of them the same.
“I… I think I know why Stan went by foot,” Riley said as he jabbed his finger into the slashed tire of the Punto.
CHAPTER THREE
“The bastard. The absolute bastard.”
Anna leaned her head against the round table in the dining room. The others were also gathered in the room, agitated, uncertain.
“What do we do now?” Ted asked.
Claudia sighed. “There’s not a lot we can do. Stan’s… He’s made his choice. And he’s made our choices for us. We can’t let a man like that back here.”
Anna smacked her hand against the table. “We can’t be certain it was him. He—”
“Come on,” Ted said. “You saw how he was when he took off. Who else would do that?”
Anna shrugged. Her eyes were bloodshot. “I dunno. The same person who left the dead dog?”
“Nobody left the dog,” Claudia said. Chloë rested on her knee. “Don’t start that crazy nonsense again.”
Anna rubbed her fingers against her temples. “We need to work out what we’re going to do. We… we need to come up with some sort of plan.”
“The way I see it, we don’t have many options.” Trevor broke his self-imposed silence. “Our tires are slashed. We’re stuck here. That’s that.”
Anna shook her head and turned to Riley. “You. What do you… you’ve been acting like you’
re some sort of leader these last few hours. So go on, Mr. Leader. What do you suggest?”
Riley looked around at the group. Anna’s concerned eyes stared at him, desperate for some sort of answer. He swallowed the lump in his throat. He knew what he had to do, but he had to be careful how he approached it. “I… I think we should draw up some plans. Plans of action for if we have to leave this place.”
“No,” Anna said. She shook her head. “This place is as good as we’re going to get. We need to hold onto it.”
“Riley’s right,” Trevor said. “We need to prepare. Just in case.”
“I’m not living my life as a ‘just in case,’” Ted interrupted. “I’m not doing this. We’ve got something… something good here.” He looked at Riley and attempted a reassuring half-smile. “I’m sorry, mate. But that’s what I think.”
Riley nodded half-heartedly. He turned to the dining room door and started to walk out of it.
“Where are you going?” Anna asked.
Riley seemed to awaken to his surroundings. The wooden doors, the dull smell of cooking, the autumn sunlight peering in through a crack in the window at the top of the stairway. He knew what he had to do. And it had to be him. They couldn’t let every bond they’d worked for fall apart already.
“I’ll be back soon,” Riley said. He stared Anna in the eyes and nodded his head. “Just going to collect something.”
He closed the dining room door.
Then, he took a deep breath, and he ran.
Deep breath in, deep breath out…
Riley hopped across the fence and onto the field behind the Chinese restaurant. He jogged, maintaining a steady pace. He couldn’t run too fast and risk tiring himself out. The last thing he wanted was to find himself in the middle of a large group of creatures and with no energy to run from them. But at the same time, he wanted to get there and check the dairy farm out as quickly as he could. He tried not to think about Ted and Anna’s reactions when they saw he was gone. Claudia, her daughters, Trevor. The cursing, the arguing, the disagreements. He needed to try and find Stan. Maybe he was mad. But at least he was doing something proactive.