by Lex Sinclair
Tulisa tilted her head slightly, seemingly distracted. Then she said, ‘Jack say’s you can use his bike. It’s in the shed out in the back yard.’
‘Excellent! Tell Jack he’s a forty-two carrot diamond.’
Tulisa laughed. ‘He already heard you. He says thanks.’
‘Welcome,’ Eric said.
‘Jack says the infected are hiding in the local church and the infant school,’ Tulisa said. ‘The church is over the brow of the hill and the school is that way, round the bend in the road behind a copse of trees. The infected have broken down the doors and are resting there.’
Eric frowned. ‘Resting?’
Tulisa nodded. ‘Their bodies are still functioning. Blood is still being pumped around the body by the heart and the brain is still functioning. But Jack is saying that their muscles are hardening and their veins are shrinking. There was boy, Stephen, whom had been declared dead by the medical examiner. His pulse had stopped and the first signs of rigor mortis were setting in. The infected are decaying without actually dying. They are aware of this by seeing their bodies fall apart in front of them, like accelerated old age. They are filled with rage and want blood from the living to keep them from dying.’
Eric rubbed a hand over his stubble. ‘Bloody hell,’ he blurted.
‘Okay,’ Diana said breaking the silence. ‘So, you lure them here to the filling station - what then?’
‘Fill petrol cans from the pumps, pour the petrol over the filling station and lead a trail through the convenience store into the café/restaurant. We take the rear exit and I set it alight. We’ll be in the woods and the... whatever-you-wanna-call-them... will be in here after us when this whole place makes a big noise.’
Diana didn’t say anything. She had to admit that sounded like a plan. ‘There’s just one glitch, though.’
‘Yeah. What’s that?’ Eric said, open to all suggestions.
‘How are we gonna lure two sets of crowds from two different places at the same time?’
Tulisa gazed at her mum. ‘We’re not.’
Eric could see by Diana’s perplexed expression he was going to have to explain in greater detail. ‘Tulisa, which is closest from her - the church or the school?’
‘The school. And Jack says that the bike won’t be much use if the person who uses it takes it to the church. One: they won’t be able to cycle up the hill ‘cause it’s so steep. Two: on the way back when being chased, if whoever does manage to get the bike up to the church will probably break their neck trying to get back down for the same reason.’
‘You and Tulisa take the school. You can ride a bicycle, yeah?’
Diana found herself nodding before fully understanding what their plan entailed.
‘You and Tulisa wait for me to get over the brow of the hill and then start pedalling towards the school. Jack’ll also be guiding you, right Tulisa?’
‘Even though he’s a ghost he can only be with one living person at a time. He say’s to follow the stream and to use it as a guide so you don’t get lost in the thicket on the way down. And don’t dawdle. He says there is only gonna be one go at this. We need to think clearly when the masses come running after us.’
‘Jack’s one super-intelligent young boy.’
‘How’re we going to coax them out of their hiding places?’ Diana asked.
***
‘Okay,’ Eric said, addressing Diana. ‘A Molotov cocktail is basically a stoppered bottle filled with fuel or alcohol, with a fuel soaked rag stuffed into the neck of the bottle.’ He held up the red and black Polo shirt Sara Banks had been wearing before he blew her head off. He’d gone back into the convenience store and yanked it off the lifeless form and brought it back along with five bottles of alcohol. ‘The stopper separates the fuel from part of the rag that acts as a fuse. The rag is then ignited and the bottle is thrown against - I dunno - a vehicle or fortification. As a result of this, the bottle breaks spraying fuel in the air. The vapour and droplets are ignited by the flame, producing a fireball and then burning fire, which consumes the rest of the fuel.’
‘Sounds lethal,’ Diana said.
‘Oh, it is. Very deadly. It is also used quite effectively as a defensive barrier. I doubt very much we’ll kill the infected with Molotov cocktails. But what it will do is get their attention and get them out of their hiding places.’
Diana shifted from her left foot to her right uncomfortably.
‘What’s wrong?’
‘I don’t think I can risk igniting one of those things, hurling it with Tulisa right next to me. When it comes to this type of thing I trust you, Eric. But you’re gonna be some distance away. If anything happens to my little girl because I threw it too soon or too late. Fire is dangerous by itself...’
Eric held up his hands. ‘Okay. Okay. If you’re not familiar with the Molotov cocktail idea that’s fair enough. But what you could do is take a petrol can with you and a box of matches. If you can set slight the entrance and exits that’d be a big help. You start yelling. They’ll hear you. Get some distance between yourselves and them, wait until they emerge and then run or cycle. It might be best on the way back if Tulisa waits outside the school gates on the bicycle and you run back to the filling station.’
‘Still very dangerous.’
‘Yeah, it all is. Staying here, hiding and waiting for them to come out of their hiding place is even more dangerous.’
Diana gazed at Tulisa. ‘Are you ready for this?’
Tulisa nodded and gave hand for her mum to take. ‘Let’s go get Jack’s bicycle.’
***
As they started their journey towards Jack’s house, Eric arched his head back.
‘What’s the matter?’ Diana asked, unnerved.
‘The fog is lifting, gradually.’
‘When the fog evaporates entirely we will be in touch with the outside world again,’ Tulisa said.
‘So why are we risking ourselves then?’ Eric said, not concealing his exasperation.
‘When that happens it’ll be too late to save ourselves,’ Tulisa went on. ‘Jack says the military have cordoned off Rhos Meadow, believing it to be a highly contaminated area. It’s all over the news worldwide.
‘When the fog evaporates military helicopters and the world media will see everything from a bird’s eye view. They’ll see the policeman’s patrol car. They’ll see Mummy’s car and automatically assume that we are either dead or have become infected. The safest thing for them to do is to either drop a bomb or enter Rhos Meadow on a shoot-on-sight mission. They’d kill us in cold blood not knowing we weren’t infected until it’s too late.’
With that said, Eric broke into a jog and let Tulisa guide them the way to Jack’s home.
They used the patio slabs and made their way to the rear side of the house and saw the timber slatted shed standing at the back of the garden.
Eric raised the shotgun, aimed at the padlock and fired.
Tulisa’s ears were ringing as Eric booted the door down and propped the steaming shotgun against the shed, cordite assailing her nostrils.
Eric disappeared into the dark shed and emerged not half a minute later pushing Jack’s bicycle onto the grass. The bicycle fell from his unfeeling grasp and toppled onto the overgrown lawn. The young policeman’s mouth fell open in a wide yawn. Diana and Tulisa whirled around and shared his dread. There standing by the back door stood a ruined figure, bleeding from the eyes, mouth, ears and nose, chalk-white. The decaying flesh hung in tatters from his elongated skull, flapping in the breeze.
Without any further hesitation, Eric fumbled blindly for the shotgun, raised it and squeezed the trigger a second before the thing that used to be Greg Zane tackled him, knocking the breath out of Eric and sending them crashing on top of the fallen shed door.
An audible crack that co
uld either have been Eric’s head splitting or the timber followed like a minute gun blast, quietly mimicking the explosion that had been the cause of the thing’s demise.
Diana grabbed the dead body by the lapels and threw him off Eric. The young policeman’s face was drenched in scarlet liquid. The thing that used to be Greg which now only had half a head remaining lay twitching spasmodically, black blood oozing out of the remnants of his brain.
‘My God! Are you all right?’
Eric blinked through the crimson mess dripping off his face. His eyes protruded in a sudden realisation that turned his heart to stone. He sat up, wiped the blood from his face. Doing this he knew was futile. He pushed Diana away, not wanting her to assist.
‘What? I only wanted to help,’ Diana said.
Eric turned his back on Tulisa and Diana and rested his brow against the shed and came to terms with the new, harrowing set of circumstances he now faced.
Tulisa started crying, body racking.
‘It’s okay, sweetheart,’ Diana said, stooping down and embracing Tulisa. ‘The bad man is dead now. Don’t cry. Be brave, remember?’
Tulisa shook her head. ‘You don’t understand,’ she wailed.
‘What don’t I understand?’
‘That was Jack’s father.’
Eric punched a hole into the shed hearing that piece of news, as if things couldn’t get any worse. ‘Tell Jack, I’m sincerely sorry,’ he said through gritted teeth.
‘He knows,’ Tulisa said, her face contorting with sorrow. ‘He just wished he didn’t have to see it.’
‘So do I,’ Eric said in a voice unlike his own.
After several moments of listening to the shotgun blast reverberate in their eardrums as a background drone to Tulisa’s weeping, Eric turned around and faced the two girls he was doing his utmost to save.
‘There’s no easy way to say this, so I’m just gonna come out and say it,’ he said.
Tulisa stopped crying.
‘I’m infected.’
A bomb exploded in Diana’s chest. She bucked forward involuntarily. Tulisa stood frozen, feeling hot pinpricks on her cherubic cheeks.
‘How? When?’ Diana blurted, on the verge of becoming hysterical.
‘Greg’s blood, I inadvertently swallowed some when I -’
A long high-pitched moan escaped Tulisa.
‘Get on this bicycle. Take your petrol can with you and your box of matches. Wait until you see my climb the top of the hill and then make your way to the school. Make sure you make them know you’re there. Make sure they see you and get back to the filling station. I left another can of petrol next to the pump number eight. It’ll be the one closest to you when you are heading back. Pick it up and pour a trail leading into the convenience store, like we discussed. Close the doors behind you. Then keep pouring the petrol down the corridor and out the emergency exit door. Close that and then run like hell into the woods.
‘Here,’ Eric said, handing over what appeared to be tube or a small rod. ‘Take this. When you get to the woods and you’re at a safe distance away, light it and God be with you.’
Eyes boggling, Diana said, ‘What about you?’
‘Look at me.’
Diana looked closer and studied Eric’s eyes. The whites were ever so slightly discoloured, as though he hadn’t slept much. A little raw. A little red.
‘I’m sorry,’ Eric said, reaching out and gently resting the palm of his hand on Diana’s smooth skin.
Diana kissed the tender hand that cupped her face. A tear fell from her face into Eric’s hand. He closed the hand and kept the tear of the last human being he’d have contact with as a good luck charm.
17.
NOW
Diana listened intently to Eric’s instructions, committing everything to her memory. In her mind, though, she was still having difficulty coming to terms with the fact that Eric had become infected. At this precise moment in time Greg’s blood was working its way into his bloodstream devouring the red and white blood cells. In spite of how young and fit Eric was, his immune system had no defence against the ferocious assault from this malignant disease.
‘Okay, so this is a road flare. Police keep some spare in case they happen to witness an accident on the road and need to warn other motorists while they await assistance.’
Diana stared at the tube.
‘Road flares burn for about 10-60 minutes. To use it first you have to remove the cap to expose the surface. I can’t actually do this right now because once it’s lit that’s it. Remove the cap to expose the end of the flare. Do this by twisting gently. The end of the flare will have an ignition surface. Light this end. Hold as far away from you as possible. Keep your hand in the middle away from the end you’ll be lighting. That’s fairly obvious but important nonetheless. Then rub the end of the flare briskly against the surface on the cap. The flare will spray and ignite molten material from its end. If you are wearing clothing it may get damaged. Keep burning flare pointed downward to avoid burning residues dripping on your hand.’
Nodding, Diana said, ‘Okay.’
‘Anything you don’t understand say now. Please.’
Diana prudently asked if Eric could go through it one more time, to make certain she’d absorbed all the pertinent information.
‘How ‘bout now?’
Diana nodded. ‘Yeah. Just needed to make sure, that’s all.’
‘That’s fine,’ Eric said, staring at her face, seeing every intricate feature and placing the memory in the forefront of his mind. ‘Its better you ask until you are certain, as opposed to guessing and getting it wrong. You do that and all this trouble and effort will be for nothing. Is there anything else you wanna know now?’ He hoped she would say yes to make this moment in time last longer. However, he knew deep down that he was being selfish.
‘No,’ Diana said. ‘That’s it, I think.’
It hurt when Eric swallowed; his Adam’s apple stretching the taut skin around his neck. ‘Then... it’s time.’
***
Eric handed Diana his mobile phone. Then he stooped down and gave Tulisa a hug. He whispered into her ear, ‘You’re an angel. So is Jack and your mum. I’m sorry for upsetting you or your mum or Jack. And I’m sorry I won’t be there to see the fog lift and see the world and everything and everyone I ever loved.’
Tulisa’s eyes swam with tears. ‘Jack’s say’s you will see the world and everything and everyone you have ever loved. He said your greatest deed is in the sacrifice you are about to make. He says he doesn’t blame you for what happened to his father, although it did upset him to see it. For that monstrous entity was not the man whom he loved and whom loved him. You gave his father eternal peace. When you reach the pinnacle of what you are about to do you will see Jack and everyone and everything you ever loved. There will be no more pain, misery and suffering.’ Her body quaked with emotion. ‘I love you, Eric. You saved me and my mum. Now, it is only right that you shall be saved, as well.’
Eric smiled benignly. ‘Thank you.’
He rose and faced Diana. She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. They held each other and felt the other’s breath breathing life into them.
‘A person is at their best when they are at their worst,’ Diana breathed, and let go.
‘It’s amazing,’ Eric said, beginning to turn and ascend the steep hill.’
‘What is?’ Diana asked.
‘Amidst all the darkness, I see only the light. Amidst all the death, I see only the life.’
With that he ambled into the thicket, swallowed by the pitch darkness never to be seen by a living person ever again...
***
Tulisa and Diana watched PCSO Eric Leibert ascend the rise, leaden with Greg Zane’s shotgun, two bottles of alcohol a box of matches and a petrol can.
After witnessing the many sacrifices of the young, inexperienced policeman who couldn’t have possibly done any more to save them, Diana’s anxiety had abated somewhat.
She checked her pocket for the box of matches Eric had handed her and the can of petrol. The third and final one sat idly at pump number 8. Diana had already taken the cap off so that she wouldn’t be wasting any unnecessary time later on. Tulisa already had mounted Jack’s bicycle. Now mother and daughter squinted through the dark at the hill Eric was currently climbing. When a silhouette in the shape and size of a man reached the apex and flashed his torchlight they knew it was time.
Taking a deep breath, not deliberating on future events, Diana strode alongside Tulisa as the young girl peddled forward towards the school.
The hairs on the nape of Diana’s neck bristled. She realised with cold reality that this was the first time she’d been alone since the disappearance of Tulisa. Eric had been with her all the way until now. And in order to save them from becoming infected and getting out of this hellhole, it was entirely in her hands.
Tulisa had said she was so brave because she lived with a survivor. Nevertheless, raising a child on your lonesome hadn’t been as daunting as what they were about to do.
A distant rustling of cedars and pines reached them from the fringe of the environing woods. The natural sounded comforted Diana as her heart mimicked the sound racing horses.
‘How is it that the filling station works if the power is off?’ Diana heard herself ask.
‘Jack says the electric is back on. The fog is dissipating slowly. The infected are getting slower, lethargic because of the decomposition setting into their rigid bodies. But they are lying in wait for the military so they can attack and pass on the disease. They want to spread it so that it can no longer be contained within one place. That’s why we have to act in haste.’
‘You’re talking like a grown-up,’ Diana pointed out.
‘I’m just repeating what Jack is telling me to tell you, word for word, so you’ll be able to understand.’