“How we looking, Dave?” Nick shouted toward the front.
“I got us back onto the main road, but there are pile-ups everywhere. It’s like the whole country started trying to get somewhere in a hurry but forgot how to drive. I can’t say how long until we get into difficulty again.”
“Is it safe to stop for a second?”
“Safer than it was earlier.”
Nick looked at the little girl with sadness. “Okay. Stop the bus. We’re dropping off a passenger.”
The bus slowed. Nick took hold of the little girl’s arm and pulled her towards the front of the bus.
“What are you going to do?” Pauline asked him.
“Free her.”
“We can’t leave her, she’s just a little girl.”
Pauline was right of course, but Nick knew they couldn't keep her. “It’s not safe,” he said. “She’s…infected, for want of a better word. We can’t risk having her near us. She’s acting like a zombie or a demon or…god, I don’t know what, but I know you understand what I am saying.”
Pauline was shaking her head. “We can’t just leave her outside alone and blindfolded. She’ll get hit by a car. She’s just a little girl.”
“A little girl that almost took my bastard thumb off,” said the teenager from the rear of the bus.
Pauline could see she was fighting a lost battle, but continued pleading anyway. “Still, we should do something.”
“I’ll take off her blindfold,” conceded Nick. It was the only compromise he could think of.
The teenager shook his head. “What? No way. She’ll come right at you again.”
“I’ll do it outside. I’ll do it quick.”
“Your funeral, mate.”
The bus stopped. The doors opened.
Nick guided the little girl out onto the road. She was completely docile, willing to go wherever he guided her.
“I’m sorry to do this,” he whispered. “Whatever is happening to you, I hope it isn’t permanent.” Then he manoeuvred her into the treeline, hoping she would wander into the countryside rather than onto the motorway. He faced her away from him and then glanced back at the bus. The door was still hanging wide open for him, but he would still have to be quick.
He took a deep breath and yanked away the girl’s blindfold.
The girl screeched at the top of her lungs.
Nick turned around, sprinted, and performed a running leap up the steps onto the bus, where he skidded into the aisle. He told Dave to “Step on it.”
Dave didn’t argue.
The doors closed and Nick watched the young girl turn around and snarl at them, but by that time they were already well on their way.
The bus picked up speed and the cold autumn air swept in through the broken windscreen. Nick slumped against the side of Dave’s driver compartment and watched the road go by, eventually losing count of the numerous wrecked cars and fallen bodies he saw.
“We need a new plan,” he said. “Driving around like this is just going to get us killed. Plus we can’t drive around for ever.”
Dave shrugged. “No argument here. So, what should we do?”
Nick thought for a second before giving his answer. The plan was simple. “We stop at the first safe place that will take us.”
Chapter Six
One hour passed. The view from the bus’s windows only got worse.
On the outskirts of Cannock, they witnessed an overturned petrol tanker and a dozen charred bodies. It seemed that the tanker’s operator had decided to run right through a police barricade, disregarding the group of people gathered there. The explosion probably killed them all instantly.
Only minutes later, the bus entered a village called Alrewas only to find every resident dead. Their limbs and guts lined the concrete paths like Christmas decorations. A group of infected people milled around, eating the remains. Eve almost vomited and had been crying ever since. After everything they’d witnessed, the passengers were starting to realise that they weren’t merely having a bad day. The situation wasn’t going to be dealt with by the Ten O’ Clock News. Things had fallen apart, totally and irreversibly. The country – maybe even the world – was under siege.
The bus’s current heading was north on the A38, just past Derby. Nick still held a sliver of hope that they might chance upon a local army regiment or police force. His biggest hope was to simply to find some kind of authority. Once he was safe, he would finally find time to grieve his wife and son. Images of their smiling faces kept trying to burn their way into the forefront of his mind, but he kept pushing them into the pit of his stomach where he could deal with them later. Thinking about them now would be too much. He had to survive first.
The road they were currently on was one of the few that still flowed with traffic. Anyone lucky enough to still be on the road was now very careful, not wanting to add to the uncountable wrecks littering the landscape. Things moved along fairly well, but the problem was that most people didn’t seem to know where they were going. Many cars were parked off on the verge; petrol tanks dry after miles and miles of aimless driving. Stragglers wandered the side of the road in small groups, trying to hitch a ride. Dave stopped for a couple of them whenever he could, but had no choice but to ignore most. Those he did pick up were eternally grateful. Those he ignored screamed obscenities.
In addition to the passengers they had started with, the bus now held Cassie, a twenty-something nail technician from Tamworth; Carl, a factory worker they picked up on the outskirts of blood-soaked Alrewas; and Kathryn, a supermarket manager from Birmingham. Kathryn kept mostly to herself, but had been kind enough to share her bottle of water with the teenager when he started to feel unwell. His hand had not yet stopped bleeding from when the little girl had bitten him.
Nick learned that the teenager’s name was Jake, and that he was a Creative Writing student from Wolverhampton University. His hand was a mess - tough to even look at. The wound had blistered up and leaked a kind of mustardy pus. He was currently lying on the bus’ back seat, after having applied a bandage Dave had given him from the bus’s first aid kit. Nobody said it, but everybody worried that he had caught whatever the little girl had. All eyes gazed upon him with suspicion.
Dreadlocks, in the navy-blue overalls, was actually named Mark. He was a Jamaican-born mechanic with a thick accent who was currently living in Smethwick. Nick hadn’t noticed Mark’s leg was broken when he’d first spotted him on the bus, but the man’s left leg sat inside a grubby white cast. Mark told Nick he’d desperately wanted to intervene when the little girl had attacked, but expected only to make things worse with his cumbersome leg getting in the way. Nick decided not to hold a grudge.
The two old ladies were Ethel and Margaret. They’d become sullen and voiceless in the last hour, a stark contrast to their earlier natterings. It seemed they’d only been able to take so much before losing their stiff upper lips.
“We’re running on fumes,” Dave informed Nick. “Every time we pass a petrol station, it’s totally blocked up with car wrecks or swimming with sick people. We’re going to have to pick somewhere to turn-in soon or we’re going to come to a stop in the middle of the sodding road.”
Nick patted the man’s shoulder. “Okay. Let’s get off the road as soon as we can. Maybe park off in the woods somewhere?”
Dave took the next slip road and headed west into a residential area full of Victorian semis and dusty shops. Nick eyed every road sign as they passed and, after a few minutes, he pointed. “There,” he said. “Head for that.”
Dave glanced at him. “Head for what?”
“The Ripley Heights Country Park. I bet we can hole up there. I just saw a sign for it, saying to head left. It’s almost winter. The park has probably closed up for the season. It might be empty, safe.”
Dave took the next turning. The bus entered onto a steep incline with woodland on either side and Nick was immediately pleased at the lack of buildings. If they found a rural enough area, they may
just be able to sit tight somewhere until they could figure out what to do next. Or until help arrived.
While the bus continued to climb, Nick took a seat next to Eve. For some reason, he felt an attachment to her, perhaps because their relationship stretched back to before their presence on the bus. Perhaps because she was only there because of him.
“Hey,” she said. “Any idea where we’re going?”
“We’re heading for a country park,” he said. “We’re hoping it’ll be deserted enough that we can stop for a while. We’re running low on petrol so it’s not like we have a choice either way.”
Eve stared out the window thoughtfully. “I wonder if my family are okay.”
Nick thought about Deana and James. They certainly were not okay, but there could still be hope for other people. He knew he should try to care about that, regardless of how hard it was to think beyond his own losses. “I suppose it’ll be a while before any of us find out how bad things are. I think Jake has a mobile phone if you want to call your parents.”
“Already tried,” she said. “My call wouldn’t go through. Kathryn has a phone as well, but it wouldn’t connect either.”
“Just assume your family are okay, then,” Nick urged her. “Anything else won’t do you any good.”
“I’m scared, Nick.”
He went to put his arm around her, the same way he would whenever Deana was anxious, but stopped himself, remembering that he barely knew the girl. “I’m scared, too,” he said. “I’m scared that even if we get through this, things will never be the same for any of us. We’ve all lost too much.”
“Do you think terrorists did this?”
Nick hadn’t thought much about it, but he considered it a possibility. “I don’t think it’s worth thinking about why this has happened, at least not for now. Leave that to the experts. All we need to focus on is sticking together and getting through the rest of the day in one piece.”
“You think we’ll manage to do that?”
“I think we’re through the worst of it.”
At least I hope so, Nick thought to himself as he looked out the window.
***
The bus came to a stop in a grassy picnic area inside a wooded clearing. There were no other vehicles in sight.
“Well done,” Nick told Dave. “This place looks pretty deserted.”
Dave switched off the engine and leant back in his chair, rubbed at his eyes with two meaty fists and blinked. “I’m just glad to take a break from driving. I would’ve gone cross-eyed after much longer.”
“I’ll bet,” Nick said. “We all owe you for keeping us safe. I think we can stretch our legs for a while now and take a breather. Then perhaps we can check out the surrounding area.”
“Sounds good to me.” Dave pressed a button on the dashboard and the pneumatic doors opened. Everyone got to their feet and piled out. There were multiple sighs of relief as they each stretched and took deep whiffs of the country air. The temperature was a little low for comfort, so Nick fastened his coat before joining them all outside. He winced as the garment brushed his various injuries.
“You okay?” Eve asked him. “Your face still looks pretty bad.”
“Just a little sore.” He prodded at the slick wound on his cheek. “I’ll live.”
Mark limped off the bus behind Nick, his cast sinking into the mud as he hopped along awkwardly. “Hey,” he said. “Do we have any water or snack food? I’m starting to feel lightheaded, mon.”
“Me too,” one of the old ladies added.
“We’ll just have to make do for now,” Dave told them, taking on an air of authority that he probably felt was rightfully his as driver of the bus. “We can see if there are any shops around here later, once we’ve all had a rest.”
Pauline shook her head. “Bad idea. We’re safer to just stay put.”
Mark hopped on his one good leg to the side of the bus and leant up against a wheel arch. “We’ll need to eat something eventually, lady. So how long do we plan on staying here?”
“I don’t know,” Dave said.
“Well, don’t you think we should have a plan?” Pauline said.
Dave huffed. “If you have one, then I’m all ears. Until then, just keep quiet.”
“Look,” Nick said. “We don’t know enough to make any sort of plan, which is why we just need to take things one step at a time. Let’s just be glad that we’re off the road at last.”
Everyone grumbled in agreement before spreading out. The supermarket manager, Kathryn, sat on a nearby picnic table and began shaping her long red fingernails with a file. The two elderly women sat on another bench just a few feet away. Eve stood around aimlessly next to Dave, who had decided to check the oil level of the bus. Nick thought it was pointless, seeing as they were out of petrol anyway. Jake stayed on the bus, still feeling unwell. Carl chatted to Cassie nearby, and Mark remained leaning against the bus, taking the weight off his cast.
Nick chose to approach Cassie and Carl. He hadn’t spoken to them much and thought it wise to know everyone he was with. “You folks okay?” he asked, approaching.
Carl sniffed. “As well as can be expected. Can’t say I’m a big fan of sticking here indefinitely. We’ve got families to get home to.”
“I know,” Nick agreed, but deep down he knew that it was no longer true for him. “Ideally we’ll be able to find help soon, but for now we just need to be safe. We all saw what’s happening to people.”
“It’s like they’ve all gone crazy,” Cassie uttered meekly.
Nick smiled at her but couldn’t manage to get the expression returned. “I think it’s some kind of virus. My son was feeling ill last night and then this morning…” He didn’t need or want to finish the sentence. Everyone had been through his or her own specific torments, and that meant they all understood each other’s losses without needing them explained. That they had all suffered was implicit.
“I don’t know if it’s something that can be cured,” Nick added. “So, right now, our best bet is sticking together.”
Carl sniffed again. “Safety in numbers, huh?”
“I’m glad you found me,” Cassie said. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if I hadn’t been picked up. I watched my best friend get ripped to shreds by her own dad. Then she got up and came after me.”
Nick scratched his chin. “She got up and came after you?”
Cassie nodded. “Yes, after her dad attacked her, Michelle and I managed to hole up in the bathroom together, but Michelle was hurt bad. Her neck and stomach were gushing and the floor tiles were covered in her blood. Then she just stopped breathing. I…I know she was dead, but two minutes later she was back on her feet and coming after me just like her dad had gone after her. Only she was different than her dad, she was…”
“Slower?” Nick finished for her, remembering how Mr Curtis had at first been fast and agile until his throat tore open on the fish tanks. After that he had moved very slowly, almost drunkenly.
“People don’t come back from the dead,” Carl scoffed. “It’s crazy.”
“Yeah, well,” Nick said. “I think crazy got invited to the party today. Whatever people are infected with is doing something to them when they get badly injured. It still makes them want to kill us, but they get clumsy and slow.”
“Like walking corpses?” Carl was shaking his head, apparently still too unwilling to accept such a concept. “You’re talking about bloody zombies.”
“Maybe it’s something in their blood,” Cassie suggested. “Maybe when they get injured and lose enough blood, the virus leaks out and makes them weaker.” She shook her head and sighed. “Or maybe they really are just dead and this is the end of the world.”
“You’ve been watching too many horror films,” Carl told her. “We should just stay calm and wait for this whole thing to blow over. I guarantee this time next week we’ll all be back at home, watching the news about whatever this is. It won’t be that the dead are coming back to life to eat the
living.”
“I hope you’re right,” Nick said, moving away. “I really do.”
He headed over to Mark next, nodding at him as he approached.
“You doing okay, mon?”
“As well as can be expected. How’s the leg?”
“Tis not too bad. Hurt it a few weeks ago at me old man’s garage, ya know? Me own stupid fault. Tripped over a tyre, of all things, and me leg twisted like a screwdriver. Tain’t hurting too much now tho. On its way.”
“I wouldn’t want to have to make a getaway with that thing,” Nick said. “Good thing you’re with us.”
“For sure. I is blessed de good man, Dave, picked me up. A right calamity we is in right now, ya know?”
“Putting it mildly.”
“Twill work itself out, mon.”
Nick patted Mark on the shoulder. “I really hope so, Mark. Good to meet you anyway.”
“Likewise. Think I’ll go back on de bus. Take the weight off dis leg. See how the young lad is doing.”
Nick nodded as Mark hobbled off. “I’ll let you know if anything transpires,” he shouted after him.
Eve was standing nearby. She was frowning. “You part of the morale squad or something?” she said. “Who made it your job to check up on everybody?”
“Just trying to keep myself busy.”
“Why bother? We’re all fucked. You keep going around like everything is going to be fine, though. We’ve got a bus with no petrol, a guy with a broken leg, and a pair of geriatric bingo warriors.”
Nick let out an aggravated breath. “Being negative isn’t going to do anybody any favours, is it? Should I have just left you in that closet?”
“Probably. It was safer than standing in the middle of a field, or letting that crazy little girl attack us.”
“No one exactly let her do it, Eve. And that girl was sick, not crazy.”
Eve flapped her arms. “Are you kidding me? The people we’ve seen don’t need an aspirin. They’re monsters. Mr Curtis was dead and he still came after us. They are all monsters.”
The BIG Horror Pack 2 Page 6