Begrudgingly, Anna shook the man’s hand. It felt rough and scarred. “My name is Anna. This is Alistair, Jim, Chris, Samantha, and Bob.”
“And I’m Poppy,” said Poppy, hiding behind Anna nervously.
Roman looked at the girl and smiled. “Well, it’s nice to see such a little miss. Not many around nowadays. I am very pleased to meet you.”
“Me too,” said the large man who came over the railing last. He grinned at Poppy with crooked teeth. “Such a young girl.”
Poppy shook hands with all three of the new men before giggling coyly at their apparent leader. “What happened to your hand?”
Roman didn’t seem offended by the question. In fact, he smiled warmly. “I lost it a long time ago in an accident, long before the bad men started walking around. They say two hands are better than one, but I tell them that one hand is still better than none.”
Anna placed a hand on Poppy’s shoulder and manoeuvred the girl behind her. It wouldn’t do to have her becoming too enamoured with the strangers.
The two men accompanying Roman were complete opposites. One man was fat, sweaty, and unwashed, with random zits covering a balding pate; the other was thin and older with a full head of grey hair falling all the way to his shoulders. His beard was clean and fluffy and gave him a wizened and friendly appearance. He introduced his name as ‘Fox.’ Instantly, Anna began to think of him as Grey Fox. The larger man introduced himself as ‘Birch.’
“Take me to the man you’re holding,” Roman demanded. Anna shook her head in dismay and did nothing. Alistair took the three strangers and led them away.
Old man Bob, the resident elderly person of the pier at the ripe old age of sixty-four and a retired bus driver, stayed behind with Anna and Poppy whilst the other members of the group broke away to follow after the three guests. He was staring at Anna with his rheumy, grey eyes. “You all right, duck?” he asked her in his usual Yorkshire way.
Anna sighed. “I don’t know. I think I’m being stupid.”
“Why’s that?”
“I have a problem handing over that injured man.”
“They said he was a terrorist or something – a bad egg.”
“If he’s a bad egg,” said Poppy. “We should give him up. The new people will be angry with us otherwise.”
“Exactly,” said Anna. “I shouldn’t have a problem with this, but it just feels wrong somehow. I don’t trust anyone anymore. I’ve been burned too many times before.”
Bob smiled. Several of his teeth were missing and his dentures had gone bad with no fluid to sterilise them. “Not a bad way to be nowadays, duck. I think all of us survived by having a touch of the cynic about us. Doesn’t pay to be too trusting, but hopefully, if we play ball with these new fellas, we might be able to tag along with all those boats. They seem to have their act together.”
Anna stared out at the fleet. The numerous boats sat beneath the grey sky and bobbed up and down like writhing insects. She wasn’t sure they were any better off out on the sea. It seemed unnatural to live away from land. “Would you enjoy being cooped up on a boat all the time?” she asked Bob.
The old man shrugged. “I think enjoyment went down the swanny along with everything else. Just being safe and sound is good enough for me. Unless you know a bookies that’s still open.”
“We’re safe here,” said Poppy. “But it’s boring.”
Bob smiled at the girl and tussled her hair. “We are very safe, little lass, but we’d be even safer out on the sea. Zombies don’t have a cat in hell’s chance of getting at us there, unless they learn how to doggy paddle.”
Poppy’s face screwed up in conflict. “I don’t know which I want most. I like it here, but I want to go new places.”
Anna cuddled her. “We’ll all have a chat with the new men and sort something out.” New men. Why does that thought fill me with dread? We haven’t seen anyone in months and now a thousand-odd people turn up right on our doorstep. I didn’t even know there was that many still left alive.
Anna had met so many desperate, struggling people in the first chaotic months when the infection hit that it had sullied her opinion of the human race forever. When law and order evaporated, those left alive had stolen, fought, bullied, and even murdered for their own gain. Women had wandered the streets raped and bloody. After leaving the amusement park with Rene, Anna had watched entire cities topple as much to desperation as to the dead. She was eternally grateful that she had become part of the little community at the pier. It was the only place she knew where people hadn’t resorted to stabbing and killing each other over bottles of water. We’re a family – a dysfunctional, messed-up family, but a family all the same. Maybe I’m wrong not to trust them more.
Muffled shouting erupted from the diner.
Alistair had taken the visitors into the diner several minutes ago, but now they were shouting. Anna felt herself grow pale. I knew this was going to go bad. She took Poppy by the hand and hurried towards the diner. Bob limped along behind them, trying to keep up. Once Anna reached the American-style eatery, she wasted no time stepping inside.
Roman had his spear against Alistair’s throat and had shoved him backwards over one of the tables. His two companions were standing rigidly either side of him, their hands curled into fists.
“What the hell are you doing?” Anna demanded.
The man released Alistair and spun around. Alistair slumped to the floor, his blustery face as red as a blood-soaked rose. “Where is he?” Roman demanded, raising his spear so that it pointed right at Anna’s face.
Anna frowned in confusion. She glanced across at the table where her patient had earlier been lying. There was no sign of him now, save for some blood spots and a scrap of dirty bandage.
“Where is he?” Roman demanded again.
“I don’t know,” said Anna. “He…he was here.”
“Well, he ain’t here now, luv.”
“No shit.”
Alistair straightened up off the floor, his legs wobbling. “H-he must have gotten up and escaped.”
“Escaped?” said Anna. “He wasn’t our prisoner. If he wanted to leave then good luck to him.”
Roman snarled at her. He held the tip of his spear right up against her chest and spat a word at her. “Bitch!”
Anna bristled. “What did you just call me?”
“Calm down there, chuck,” old man Bob pleaded. “No need for talk like that.”
Anna’s lip turned into a snarl. “You better get that thing out of my face before I break it off and whip you with it.”
Roman glared at her for what seemed like minutes, but in fact must have been only seconds. Eventually he lowered his spear and grinned at her. There was no humour in the expression, though. “I don’t know what game you muppets are trying to play, but there’s a very powerful man sailing just a mile away from here, and if he doesn’t get what he wants then bad things are going to start happening, you get me? I never came here to have a barny with you, I honestly didn’t, but I’m following the orders of a geezer that don’t give a shit either way.”
“That’s what the Nazis used to say,” said Bob. “Just following orders.”
Roman nodded. “And, like me, they had a gaffer with a nasty temper. I’m going to give you people a chance to save your arses. I’m going to camp here ‘til morning. You have until then to produce the man I’m looking for. Otherwise I’m going to have to go back with bad news, and the captain won’t like that. Tell you the truth, I don’t even like the prick very much, but I do appreciate that he has the power to shag things right up for you lot. So be smart. Use your fucking loafs.”
Roman marched out of the diner with Fox and Birch close behind him. Anna took in a deep breath and held it while Alistair gritted his teeth, bright red and seething. It was then that Anna noticed that the ‘cripple’ wasn’t the only one who was missing. Where did Rene go?
POPPY
The adults were tense. They were all frowning and fidgeting. Anna kep
t chewing her nails and Alistair kept huffing and puffing.
It was all because of the new men; the one with the silly name and his two friends. He don’t look like a Roman to me. After the argument, the three men from the boat had said that they were not leaving. They were going to stay at the camp until the man with the poorly belly showed up again. Anna said the injured man had run away, but the Roman said that Anna was playing games. Then Anna told him to leave and when he refused she had got angry. Eventually, Poppy had decided to leave the adults to themselves. She was tired of all the shouting
She passed the time inside the games pavilion. It was a building shaped like a big tent at the very end of the pier and was full of arcade machines and indoor funfair rides. Poppy wished the machines still worked, but she knew none of them ever would again. They had died along with everything else. Funfair rides were just like the Roman coliseums now: dusty and broken. Does anything last forever?
Poppy sat down on a pretend motorbike fixed in front of a big television screen and imagined she was tearing down a road someplace, the sun shining down on her and mountains up ahead. She imagined she was heading away from the sea, away from the salty air that made her lips sore and her nose red. There were so many places out in the world and she wanted to visit them all. She wanted to ride a motorbike for real and parachute off a cliff. I want to leave this pier. I wish Garfield would take me.
With a sigh, she slipped her leg off the motorbike and hopped back down to the floor. As she landed, she thought she saw movement – a shadow flickering past a group of penny pusher machines in the middle of the pavilion.
“Hello? Is somebody there?” Maybe it’s Rene. He was missing earlier when everybody was arguing. “Hello?” she repeated. “Is anybody there?”
There was no answer.
She must have been seeing things. The pier could be so lonely sometimes that her mind would wander all over the place. She would often get spooked when she was all on her own. It’s stupid. Grown-ups never get scared.
She strolled over to the basketball machine. It was one of the few games that could still be played. The ball return didn’t work without electricity, but you could reach over and grab the basketballs directly from the pit inside. The act of throwing a ball into a net was as fun as ever; it broke the monotony for a while. Sometimes Garfield would come and play with her, or they would remove one of the balls and play catch or football somewhere else. The basketballs weren’t proper ones, so they didn’t bounce very well, but they were easy to throw and kick.
Poppy arched back and let off a shot. The ball hit the backboard and teased around the basket. Eventually it tilted and fell through the metal rung. Poppy had gotten pretty good at making baskets.
“Good shot,” said a voice behind her.
She spun around, her heart drumming against her ribs. It was one of the new men; the big fat one who said his name was Birch.
“You scared me,” she said.
The man grinned. He was ugly with lots of spots and a bald head. “Sorry, sweetheart. I was just checking out where you people live. It’s quite a place. Lots of space and things to do.”
Poppy shook her head. “It’s boring.”
The man looked surprised. “Really? Where would you rather be?”
Poppy shrugged. She picked up another basketball and threw it. It went straight through the hoop this time with a satisfying swish. “Anywhere,” she said. “I’m just tired of being stuck here.”
The man came closer. “Maybe you could come with me. We go sailing everywhere out there on the sea. The things we see…. Every day is someplace new.”
Poppy tried to imagine. “Really? You go exploring?”
“We do. Different countries, different islands. It’s beautiful…and so much fun.” He stared into space dreamily and grinned. The man didn’t seem so scary anymore.
“Maybe Anna and Garfield will come,” said Poppy.
“Whoever you want.” He reached for her, but just as he did, someone shouted out from over by the pavilion’s entrance.
It was Anna’s voice. “Poppy? Are you in here?”
Poppy ran to her, darting between the various games in her way. “I’m here,” she said. “I was just playing basketball and speaking with Mr Birch.”
Anna put her arms around Poppy and peered into the pavilion. “Mr Birch? What is he doing here with you?”
Birch appeared from around the side of a change machine. “I was just checking out your digs and I stumbled upon the girl. She’s very sweet.”
Poppy nodded to confirm the story. Anna seemed angry but she didn’t understand why.
Anna folded her arms. “Perhaps you should stay where we tell you to, Mr Birch. It’s rude to make yourself at home on somebody else’s property.”
Birch grinned. A pimple on his chin seemed to stretch wider and burst. “Oh, I didn’t realise this was your property. I assumed you were just squatting here. You’ll have to tell me more about how your family built the pier. I’m sure it’s fascinating.”
Anna glared. “You know what I mean. We claimed this place. It’s ours. Whoever used to own it is long dead.”
“You assume.”
“I know so, and if not then they are very welcome to come along and join us. Perhaps you should show a little more politeness, Mr Birch.”
“As should you. A guest should be made to feel welcome.” He glanced at Poppy and then back at Anna. “You should offer whatever comforts you can provide.”
“Does that stand for uninvited guests as well?”
Birch bellowed, his fat belly rumbling with laughter as he strolled towards Anna. He shoved his way past her and headed back out to the deck, but before he left he said, “Even more so, my sweets. Even more so.”
Anna grabbed Poppy by her shoulders and knelt down to face her. “You stay away from that man, you hear me?”
Poppy scrunched up her face. “He was saying we could go with him. They go everywhere on the sea. They go exploring.”
Anna shook her and it hurt. “Poppy, listen to me. Do not go near that man. In fact, I am telling you to stay with me until the new men leave. You told Garfield you would listen to me, so do you promise?”
Poppy rolled her eyes.
“Do. You. Promise?”
Poppy huffed. “Fine. Yes, I promise.”
“Good. Now come on. We should get something to eat before bed.”
Poppy went along reluctantly.
They ended up having fish. No surprise there. Poppy wondered if the people on the boats ate nothing but fish. I bet they don’t. I bet they find all sorts of good stuff on their travels. I bet they have sweets…and chocolate!
After dinner, everybody retired for the evening. It was winter and the nights got cold, so nobody wanted to hang around outside. Anna slept inside the gift shop and told Poppy that she had to do the same until Garfield came back, so she went and fetched a blanket from a pile on one the shelves and made herself a bed below a display of blow-up whales and sharks. The animals had all deflated a long time ago and now just looked like puddles of blue and grey plastic. The only light inside the shop was from a fat wax candle. There were lots of candles stored around the pier – one of the knickknack shops had sold them in all shapes and sizes – but the group decided only to start using them when the nights began to arrive early. Hopefully there would be enough to last a long time. I hate the dark. I’m such a baby.
Through the gift shop’s window, Poppy could see out across the sea. Some of the boats were all lit up, with real lights – electric lights. She wondered how that was possible. Did they use petrol? Or did they have batteries? It almost seemed like magic now, so long had it been since she’d seen anything with power. I wonder if they have toys and games, like I used to have at home. I wonder if they watch cartoons and listen to music, like that silly woman who wore a telephone on her head and sang all those catchy tunes…I can’t remember her name anymore. I wonder if people will ever get to be silly like that again, instead of serious
all the time.
Thinking made Poppy sad, so she took one last look at the lights across the sea and closed her eyes. Maybe tomorrow we can talk about joining the men on the boats. We could all leave here.
Sleep didn’t come easily that night. She listened to Anna’s snoring for what seemed like hours while she lay awake wondering where Garfield was and what he would bring back upon his return. I heard him talking about guns. I don’t want him to bring guns. Guns are dangerous. Why can’t they bring back something nice, like a puppy, or a bicycle, or a bow and arrow…or a guitar…or…a…
Poppy must have been half-asleep when the hand on her arm caused her to flinch and sit upright. She peered around in the darkness, wondering what had just happened, wondering if she had merely woken from a nasty dream. I don’t think I was having a nightmare...
But then Birch whispered in her ear. “Come with me, sweets. I want to show you something.”
“Mr Birch?” she whispered.
“Sshhh,” he said. “Just come with me.”
Poppy was confused that the man would wake her in the middle of the night. Maybe he wanted to give her a gift, or talk to her more about living on the sea. Maybe he has sweets!
Poppy knew she shouldn’t go with the man – Anna would be really mad – but if she was quiet, she could be back in bed without Anna ever knowing. I’ll just be quick and see what Mr Birch wants, then come right back.
Carefully, Poppy crawled out from beneath her blanket and shivered as the cold air got at her. Birch wrapped his arm around her shoulders and she felt a little warmer. His hand was hot and sweaty against her skin. She wanted to look around for her cardigan but he never gave her time. “Come on,” he whispered, “and keep quiet.” he added. “The secret is just for you, so we can’t wake anybody else, okay?” Poppy nodded. They stepped outside onto the moonlit deck and she asked where they were going. “Just to the end of the pier,” he told her. “I want to get some sea air.”
Savage: An Apocalyptic Horror Novel Page 9