Alan balled his fist and bit on his knuckle. He began to sob. ‘Then he came at me Eric. He came at me growling and spitting blood. I tried to fend him off but he got some on me. This shit isn’t mine. I wrestled with him and managed to get Bruce’s gun from him. I pushed him off me and I then shot him. I shot him to death. But I had to, he was already turning. He was turning into one of them so quickly. It was all happening so fast. I panicked. I feared for my life.’ Alan dropped to his knees and wailed.
‘Do you think he’s infected?’ Janet whispered into my ear.
‘I don’t know’. I replied in the same whisper while taking a couple of steps backwards from Alan. ‘He doesn’t seem to be. But then again the virus could just be taking longer to spread through him. We need to be careful.’
The smell in the room was beginning to hit me in the face. I put my hand over my mouth and breathed through my nose. When I gathered myself I spoke.
‘Alan, you had no choice with Marty. It had to be done ok? Now, like I said, we need to get you cleaned up and back upstairs with us. We need you. Bruce and the kids need you too.’
Alan wiped his eyes. He went to pick himself up and then stopped. He looked at me with teary eyes and then shook his head slowly. ‘I can’t do it anymore Eric. It’s all falling apart. It’s too far gone. We haven’t got a chance. That Monty fucker has so much to answer for. He doesn’t know that I know. Bruce told me all about him. He’s a piece of scum, and so am I for not telling.’
‘Alan what are you talking about? What does Monty know? You need to get yourself together and we need to get upstairs now!’
‘The book Eric. Find Monty’s book and you will know. But if you do find it, you’ll end up wishing that you didn’t. He doesn’t trust anyone. That’s why only three of us knew about the getaway vehicle. He thought people would turn against him and bail the fuck out of here.’
‘Alan I know you’re a little freaked out at the moment but –’
‘There’s one more thing I haven’t been honest about Eric.’
‘What’s that?’
‘I didn’t use all the bullets on Marty.’
Alan put the barrel of the gun inside his mouth and pulled the trigger. Myself and Janet watched the back of his head explode behind him. We stood motionless as his dead body hit the floor.
Chapter 36
When I looked at the pool of blood forming around Alan’s corpse it made getting back upstairs to Sarah and the others seem irrelevant. We were in the same shit down here as they were upstairs. The only difference was that Janet and I knew our guys were gone past the point of any possible return. I only hoped that Sarah would realise it too before things got any worse up there if they hadn’t already.
‘This is a fucking nightmare’ Janet said re holstering her gun.
I nodded, unable to take my eyes away from the scene. ‘I don’t know how we can even try and explain this to the rest of them up there Janet. I mean, shit. It’s so bad.’
We both stepped around Alan’s body and into an area of the workshop that wasn’t covered with blood. I went to the workbench and examined one of the radios carefully before I picked it up and tried to contact somebody upstairs. I gave up when all I got on the other end was static. I looked at Janet and grimaced.
She shrugged back at me. ‘I think we should we cover these guys up at least Eric.’
‘Yeah, I guess we should.’ I went to one of the storage presses and took out two rolled up tarps. I handed one to Janet along with a pair of welding gloves and told her to cover Marty. I put on another pair of the gloves myself, and took a needle nose pliers from the toolbox that parts of Marty’s head was stuck too.
‘Be careful,’ I said to her as I went to Alan’s body. The way Alan had fallen had made it easy for me to prize his key ring from his back pocket with the pliers. Before I covered him up I thought about taking the gun he had used to top himself with, but went against it when I saw that it was sitting in a puddle of puke.
When I was done I went back to the workbench. I took the cup from Alan’s flask and dropped the keys into it. I then went to the first aid kit, took the bottle of disinfectant from it, and emptied it all into the cup. I took my gloves off and tried the radio again, but I was met with the same fuzzy response.
Janet came and joined me at the bench. She looked at the keys in the cup and then to me. ‘What’s going on?’
I told her what Alan had told me about the escape tunnel and the car. Then I told her about Bruce and Monty having the other sets of keys to access it all. When I was done talking I brought her to the doorway behind the pallets and showed her. She kept silent all way through it until we were on our way back to the workshop. She grabbed my arm and halted me in my tracks. I turned to face her in the dim light and saw that she was already crying.
‘I’m so sorry Eric.’
‘For what?’
‘For turning my back on you when we got here.’
‘Why did you do it?’
‘Because I got scared Eric.’
‘Scared of what?’
‘Ending up alone’ she whimpered. She folded her arms under her chest. ‘When we got here and I realised that we were pretty safe, I started thinking that it might not be too long before you were reunited with Lauren. I thought that if Monty had a set up like this then Lauren had to be alive, and waiting for you somewhere considering she had people protecting her.’
‘But Janet I told you we would still be in contact if we made it out to the other side no matter where we ended up’
‘And I appreciate that sentiment Eric, I really do. But in reality that’s not going to happen. I mean I’d be dead now if it wasn’t for you, as you would too if it wasn’t for me. But that doesn’t mean that we have to repay each other for it forever. And it still doesn’t come close to creating a baby and raising it with somebody.’
‘But Janet?’
‘But nothing Eric. It’s like you said, if we make it out, and you find Lauren then you’ve got a family to be with. I can’t fit in to that. I wouldn’t even try. That’s why I took to Sarah and the others. Selfish as hell I know but, I just didn’t want to be alone.’
I took Janet in my arms and hugged her tight. ‘Listen to me,’ I whispered into her ear. ‘If we do make it and I find Lauren, then I want her to meet the woman who kept her baby’s father alive, and kept him strong. Ok?’
Janet buried her head into my chest and sobbed. I held her in the shadows for a long time forgetting about the decaying world outside, and the crumbling community inside. My conscience began to tear at me again but I tried not to let it consume me. If there was a man out there holding Lauren in his arms and keeping her alive and full of belief about me, then I guess I had to be grateful.
When the both of us were composed enough we headed back to the workshop. We tidied a few things as best we could, while discussing a plan for when we got back upstairs and faced the others. I took Alan’s keys that I had left soaking before leaving. We took our time heading up to the living area while fine tuning the details of our plan.
With each step we took my stomach sank a little lower. Janet had her gun at the ready and looked focused. I didn’t know what we were heading in to. But I was sure that it wasn’t going to be pretty.
Chapter 37
The closer we got to the living area the harder my heart began to beat. I anticipated the worst. It had become natural to me. It was probably that type of thinking that had kept me alive for so long. That and absolute luck.
When we got to the corridor where the dining area was nothing looked out of place. Janet and I stood at the mouth of the hallway, waiting and listening. Up ahead, we could see that the dining room door was open just a crack. The lights were on, but it didn’t appear as if anybody was inside. The other doors that surrounded us were all closed.
I looked at Janet. She pointed her gun in the direction of the dining room and we began to creep forward side by side, while paying close attention to the doors flanking us. I h
ad visions of one of them bursting open and zombie Bruce and the rest of the gang having an easy feast. I still believed that Bruce was fucked, and I felt terrible for his family, but I hoped that he was really dead and not stalking the corridors.
I took one side of the dining room door, Janet the other. Again we listened for signs of life through the tiny gap. After a couple of minutes of silence I pushed the door open slowly while Janet pointed her gun into the creaking void. Monty was sitting on the top of the table by himself working his way through a bottle of booze. He looked like death, but not the zombie version. When he saw us he rose from his chair and put his hands on the table to support himself. As we got closer to him I could see that his arms were trembling. I wondered why he hadn’t locked the door.
‘Well?’ He asked looking to the both of us.
I pulled up a chair and told him what had happened down below in the workshop. He had remained standing while I talked. When I was done he flopped back into his chair and cried. Janet went to the drinks trolley and made the both of us two large ones. She handed me one and sat opposite myself and Monty.
‘What’s happening with Bruce?’ She asked Monty.
Monty shook his head slowly. He drained his glass and then topped it back up before replying.
‘I think we all know what’s happened to Bruce Janet. Well, everybody except Sarah and Ellen. They took him to one of the spare rooms and cleaned him up properly. Sarah gave him a strong sedative and then Christian helped restrain him. I was told to leave after that, and the door has been locked since.
‘Where are the kids?’ I asked.
‘Christian and Elaine are watching over them. They’ve slept through the whole thing, thank heavens. I can’t even imagine what’s going to happen when they wake up tomorrow.’
My stomach lurched. I picked up my glass and took a drink. The alcohol burned my insides and made my eyes water. I put my glass back down and coughed.
‘Bruce needs to be finished off,’ Janet said staring at Monty. ‘Whatever Sarah and Ellen have in their little nurse kits isn’t going to save him. They know it up in that spare room, and you know it too. I do feel for Sarah, I really do, but part of me thinks she’s being selfish and delusional in thinking that Bruce can actually come out of this. She should be putting her children before her husband!’
Janet took a drink and slammed her glass down on the table and spoke again. ‘You need to take charge Monty and sort this shit out before we have an outbreak in here like there is outside. You know what has to be done, and the longer we fuck around here the worse it’s going to be.’
Monty’s face twisted. He looked at me but all I did was stare back at him. He took another gulp from his glass.
‘You’re right Janet. You are. But I can’t just do that to Bruce he’s been with me such a long time he… I just can’t.’
Janet leaned across the table. ‘I’ll go talk to Sarah, she’ll listen to me. I’ll try to find out what exactly is going on ok? And if the worst comes to the worst, I will make sure she does the right thing for her kids Monty.’
The old man ran his trembling hand through his hair. ‘Thank you Janet. And you too Eric. But please, if Ellen asks about Marty, I want you to lie. Just until we figure something out.’
Janet rose from her chair and reattached her gun onto her hip. ‘Don’t worry Monty, I know exactly what to do. I’ll come back as soon as I can with an update.’
Then she was gone, leaving me with Monty. We sat without speaking, avoiding eye contact and sipping our drinks while the rain and rumbling thunder intersected the tension across the table. I looked to the window and wished I was far away from the dining room, and from everybody in the building, dead and alive. I longed to be back inside my garage.
‘That’s the only thing that’s stayed consistent throughout all of this’ Monty said looking in the same direction as I was.
I turned to face him.
‘The weather Eric. The rain doesn’t care what’s beneath it. When it wants to fall it does.’
Monty emptied his glass and topped himself up as quick. It took him three attempts to put the cap back onto the bottle. I wondered how drunk he was. He certainly didn’t look it. He still looked afraid and confused.
Broken.
‘There’s another bottle of this stuff on the trolley Eric by the way. I’m not being greedy. There’s more than enough to go around.’
I muttered a thank you. I didn’t even want the one I was drinking, but I knew it wouldn’t be long before Monty would be on the one he had just mentioned.
‘This is such a cluster fuck Eric. We’ve lost three good men today. I thought that this place would be more than enough to protect everybody. But I have failed them.’
I pulled my chair closer to Monty. ‘What do you mean you failed again?’
Monty reacted to my question as though I had just slapped him across the face.
‘I … I mean as a politician I let the state down. And as a leader in here, I’ve seen three men die in quick succession.’
‘I know things are bad Monty. Really bad. But we need to regroup and try and be positive. I can do Alan’s job by myself. I mean he was doing it pretty much alone until I came along anyway right?’
Monty nodded back at me.
‘And Janet,’ I continued. ‘She can do Bruce’s job. She’s a wicked shot, and she is fearless too. If it wasn’t for her I’d be one of those things out there for sure. And I know that she will handle the whole thing with Sarah too. We will get through this.’
Monty eyed me up and down and lit up a cigar.
‘If we ever do get out of this Eric I reckon you would be a very good public speaker.’
I smiled.
‘But, you are right. We’ve survived this long because we’ve been strong and stayed together. We’ve had a horrendous day, and I am totally devastated. But, tomorrow is a new one and we will have to try and pick up the pieces if we want to stay alive. I just hope – I pray that we can come back from this. I must admit I had my doubts about you Eric, but you have proved me wrong. I am glad that you have.’
‘I had mine about you too Monty. But I do respect what you have done here, and you did save my ass. For that I shall be forever in your debt.’ I raised my glass. ‘To new beginnings?’
‘I’ll drink to that,’ Monty said smiling.
We clinked our glasses together and I downed my drink. It took all the self -control I had inside of me not to throw it right back up. I took a couple of controlled breaths before I speaking.
‘How about we crack open that second bottle then?’
‘Eric, you’re a man of many savvy words tonight.’
Janet came back into the room and Monty nearly fell over himself trying to stand up at her approach.
‘Relax,’ she said holding up her hand. ‘I haven’t been to see Sarah yet. I just came back down to give Eric the key to his room. I’ve secured things as best as I could upstairs just in case. I take it your own quarters are locked up safely Monty?’
‘Yes they are Janet.’ The old man patted his front pocket on his trouser leg. ‘And good thinking too. We cannot be too careful.’
I got up and went to the drinks trolley. Janet came up beside me. She looked back towards Monty and then handed me my key. ‘The room is secure,’ she whispered. ‘And I did the other things too.’
I over exaggerated the noise of making the drinks to mask my words, but Janet had heard them just fine. I wished her luck, as did Monty, and then she was gone again. I brought myself and Monty’s drinks back to the table and sat down right beside him. He was eyeing the doorway that Janet had left through.
‘She’s an incredible girl Eric. Brave. Strong.’
‘She’ll do the right thing Monty. I trust her. She wants what is best for the group, and for this place too. She and I consider this place to be our home now.’
Monty fixed his glassy eyes on me and smiled. He held his glass up and I leaned across and touched it with my own one again.
We both reclined back in our chairs and drank. I sipped as much as Monty did, even though it sickened me to do so.
We talked some more about our current situation, and then on to what my new duties and added responsibilities would be now that Alan was gone until Monty began to slur his words. He looked at me and mouthed something incoherent Seconds later his face hit the table with a loud thud. I watched his body twitch and then go still. I thought that I had killed him at first, until I heard him begin to snore. I went to his limp form and put him sitting up in his chair. I slapped him on the face to make that he was out, and then I reached into his pocket and took out his keys.
I had spiked him with one of the tablets that Terrance had given me in his garage. Janet had slipped them to me when she had come back to give me the key to our rooms. She had removed the powder from the capsules and wrapped them up in a piece of paper for me, so that all I had to do was pour it into Monty’s drink when he wasn’t looking. My end of the plan had gone off without a hitch. I hoped that Janet’s part was running just as smoothly, despite her being in a much tougher situation than me.
I went and retrieved my radio from the table. I held it up to my mouth and hovered my finger over the speak button. Janet had said that she would radio if she ran into trouble. No news was good news. I attached the radio to my hip and left the sounds of the rain and Monty’s snoring behind me.
I began to shake when I got to the lift that would take me up to Monty’s quarters. I found the key to open the lift on my first pick from the bunch. I looked back towards the room where Monty was passed out before I stepped inside the tiny looking carriage.
When the doors opened onto Monty’s floor I quickly stepped outside and took some deep breaths. Looking at the door in front of me that had Monty’s initials spread across it on a golden plaque made my heart whack against my chest. The lift doors closed behind me, and for a second I had the urge to jump right back inside it and get the hell off the dam floor. Even though I knew I was alone and safe from the dead, I still wished that I was armed. The thoughts of going into Monty’s room made me sick. I hadn’t felt this afraid when I was facing the dead, or even when I contemplated the fact of never seeing Lauren again.
The Dust: The Zombie Apocalypse in Ireland Page 14