He overheard Isobel say to her dad, "It's stuck."
"You're probably just constipated, Babs," her father responded. "You need to drink some more water."
"I don't like water. It doesn't taste of anything."
KP sighed so impatiently that David turned his head around and snarled. "She's only four! What's your fucking problem?"
"Daddy!" his daughter scolded, followed by Davina reprimanding him from ten yards away from the brook, and telling the irate father to watch his mouth in front of their little girl.
"Fuck this shit," KP muttered under his breath. "I haven't broken out of prison to baby-sit you fuckers."
With his cheeks flushed with rage, KP went behind one of the trees, and placed his Browning on the grass beside his shoes. He released his penis and realised it was semi hard.
He then finally began to pee, and let out a hushed sigh as the urine gushed out. His bladder had been aching, and as the flow was coming to an end, he looked around over his shoulder, lowered his head and sniffed hard. The effluvium coming from his penis wasn't great, and he definitely needed a shower. The last drops fell from him and he gave it a quick shake and on doing so, he heard the petrified screams of Davina.
Oh Shit!
He frantically looked around for his gun and picked up the Browning, and ran from behind the tree to see Davina and David wrestling with one of the creatures as Isobel stood yards away, screaming.
KP ran over to Isobel. "Run, run straight through the trees." He pointed toward the woodland. "Run through the trees and tell the others."
She shook her head; fear had paralysed her petite body and KP realised he was wasting valuable seconds negotiating with a four-year-old girl.
"Sit there then!" he roared.
The beast look liked it used to be female; it was heavy and looked middle aged. KP told David, who kept on repeatedly punching the thing in the face, to get the fuck out of the way.
David pushed the thing away and ran over to his hysterical family, as KP ran to the side of the thing and stood five yards away. He then put one slug into the side of its head, spraying the leaves with the awful black oily liquid. The thing fell to the ground with a thump, and David and Davina looked on in horror as their daughter sat on her own, still squealing.
The daughter shrieked as the horror unfolded, and putting a gory end to the being's miserable life had only intensified the child's shrieks. It was something she had never seen before; it was something that had been shielded from her by her parents. Now the four-year-old had witnessed her first killing, and it scared her. It scared the hell out of her so much, that she had wet herself unashamedly as she continued to scream.
"I'll see to Isobel," David insisted.
He ran over to his distressed daughter and gave her a cuddle. KP took a few steps forward in Davina's direction as she frantically washed the stubborn stuff off her face. He watched, as she quickly washed her face and exposed arms, by splashing the arms and rubbing the opposite hand up and down. She winced as her right hand rubbed her forearm and not knowing she was being watched, she looked under her forearm to see a mark where she, with instinct, had used to try and protect herself.
She had been bitten, and once she realised this, she placed her hand over her mouth to stop herself from crying. She started to look around and KP quickly switched his head the other way, trying to make out that he hadn't seen her injury. KP felt useless, so instead of standing motionless, he decided to grab the legs of the deceased body and dragged it further into the woods away from view of the hysterical four-year-old girl.
David continued to console his daughter and looked over to a clearly shaken Davina who gave her family a huge cuddle.
KP had returned back from disposing of the body, and nodded at Isobel and said to David, "Shut her up! The place'll be swarming if you don't keep her quiet."
"Why don't you take her back to the camp?" Davina insisted to David. "Also, Pickle will be on his way after all that screaming and gunfire, tell him everything's fine."
"What about you?" asked David.
"KP will take me back up. I need to finish off here."
"That piece of shit! He should have been watching us!"
Davina added, "No point going over that now. Take Isobel back to the camp."
"Mummy!" Isobel cried.
With her eyes saturated in tears, she kissed her little girl on the lips. "I love you, my darling, now go with daddy." David gave her a confused look and she gave him a reassuring smile. She said, "Just let me wash my face."
Carrying his distressed daughter, he ran the short journey through the trees and was back at the camp within a minute, where a nervous Pickle and co were ready to go in after the hullabaloo.
Davina walked over to KP and greeted him with a fake, cold smile, as she wiped her wet hands on her shirt to dry them. Her eyes were drenched in sadness, and the left corner of her top lip quivered slightly with despondency.
"What is it?" he queried her.
"You saw it, didn't you?" The smile was a brave one, as he could see the fear in her rainy eyes.
He nodded his head sorrowfully.
She walked in front of him dilatorily, heading back the same way to the camp, and said in an emotional voice, "If I keep walking, I'll be back at the camp within a minute. I don't want my daughter to see me change into one of those things. Better make it quick."
Without hesitation, KP pointed his gun at the back of her head; she was now ten yards away and still moving. He squeezed the trigger once, and watched the woman fall to the floor. He kept a hold of the gun and fell to his knees himself.
It had only been a few days, but the new world was getting to him. It took a minute for the hurry of footwear to come bursting through the condensed trees. KP's first shot had alarmed the group initially, but the second forced them all to enter the woods, including David, with the exception of Isobel and Janine.
KP looked up to see David, Pickle and Karen.
David looked to his left to see his dead wife and crouched down and wept hard, the word no was constantly spoken with his disbelieving voice; he went to cuddle her and found that the back of her head had been significantly disfigured.
"We thought it was a Snatcher," Karen said, explaining why most of them had turned up.
Pickle and David could see that Davina had been bit. They both looked at a distraught KP who remained knelt on the grass. David gently placed his wife back onto the grass and ran over to KP, only to be grabbed and held back by Pickle.
"You bastard! You didn't even give her a chance!"
"She was bit." Pickle tried to make the grief-stricken widower see sense. "She would have become one o' them!"
"She'd be okay, if he hadn't of disappeared!" David cried out and broke down repeating Davina's name over and over. Karen gave him the shoulder to cry on, and was feeling herself being caught up with the negative emotion of this sad episode.
Pickle walked over to an upset KP who was desperately fighting back the tears; he hadn't seen him this way before. "What happened?"
"I was bursting..."
"So yer decided to go for a piss, and leave a family helpless?"
KP never answered; there was nothing that could make him feel any worse than he already did, he wanted the ground to open up and swallow him.
Karen shook her head, and flashed a threatening glare KP's way. "What the fuck were you thinking?"
Pickle raised his hand at Karen, telling her not to give KP any more grief. "What's done is done."
David broke away from Karen, remained on his knees and wept like a child. His moans and wails seemed impossible for a man to produce, but he managed to achieve it. After a minute of heartbreak, he eventually struggled to his feet.
"I don't want my little girl seeing this," David said tearfully, and went back over to Davina. "What am I going to tell her?"
"She won't see her," Pickle said with confidence. "I'm gonna bury her myself, when it's time. It'll be shallow, cos I have no spade. I'l
l do the best I can, just like I did with Laz."
David nodded frantically, his face thanking Pickle for his kindness and remained hugging his dead wife, his right hand firmly on the back of her head where the trauma was situated.
Pickle grabbed David, and whispered in his ear, "Yer daughter needs yer."
David wailed, "I can't leave her like this."
"Yeah, yer can," Pickle responded coldly. "She doesn't need yer anymore, yer daughter does."
David looked up at Pickle, in two minds whether to hit him or not, but Pickle's eyes were comforting and he could feel David's hurt.
Pickle placed his hand on the back of Davina's head and sighed, "I'll take good care of her."
Chapter Forty Eight
"It's time."
Jack was pleased that he was alive, but the monotony of waiting around, having no television or any other technology to appease his mind, was mentally torturing him. He knew he was better off than most people, but couldn't help feeling selfish about the situation. All he wanted to know was if Thomas was safe.
If Thomas had been taken to some secluded castle in the country surrounded by armed guards, he would never have left Glasgow and would have stayed barricaded in his own house like everyone else, but as a father, he felt it was his duty to protect his son.
Gary, on the other hand, was used to the monotony and the waiting around was normal for him, being an ex-inmate. He never felt it necessary to tell Jack about his former life—although he had found out once he started talking too Pickle at Stile Cop—why would he? He had no interest in what Jack used to do for a living. It didn't matter now. Jobs didn't matter anymore, just like politics and the economy.
Peoples' goals had changed; now it was all about survival. Gary and Jack were now survivors in a new, and more dangerous world, not just because of what the virus had done to turn these creatures against man, but the fact that the dark side of man was still due to appear.
Jack sat nonchalantly in the seat, unable to get up and thought about what the world was going to be like from now on within. Humans would now isolate themselves from one another, drenched in paranoia, simply because as the weeks went by and the fuel, food and water dried up, they would turn on each other in order to survive.
Jack could already see images of people being beaten to death for their car. These types of scenarios seemed ridiculous, but Jack was sure it would eventually be a reality as lives would be lost over a gallon of water, or food, or anything else for that matter.
If a man had something that could keep someone alive for just one day, he could be killed for it. That's why the farmers had boarded their places up and put a warning outside. He was sure that they would shoot trespassers if ever someone trespassed or tried to steal a chicken—or something else that was deemed edible. Family came first, and that was all the owners of the farms were doing.
In a time of disaster, would humanity pull together? Bullshit!
It was every man for himself.
It wasn't just the infected that would be a threat to the family, but humans as well. These families who were barricaded in their own homes, weren't going to stay there forever, especially once the food began to run short. That was when the worst of it would happen. People spilling out onto the streets amongst the infected, and willing to do almost anything in order to feed their families, was what was about to occur.
They needed gas, and the two men walked out into the street and this time, they both carried a knife each. Gary insisted that Jack shouldn't take the bike again because it was too dangerous, he agreed wholeheartedly.
Gary took out an empty watering can and placed it in the boot of the car and was going to fill it full of fuel once he got to a petrol station. The nearest petrol station was a mile or so away in Rugeley—the one that was being guarded a few hours earlier, and they promised themselves that this was the last time they were going to venture in the town, whatever the outcome, because of the risks.
The Porsche was three quarters full, but topping it up was probably a wise move before desperate motorists drained all the pumps. Satisfied the street was clear, he went back into the house and took a drink of water.
It was time to make their second short trip to Rugeley—and hopefully their last, and they were hoping that the streets were just as quiet as they were before. Jack could see that Gary was acting cool but his tension was for all to see.
The two men entered Slitting Mill where it was populated with the creatures, and again, the car drove around them with Jack in the passenger seat closing his eyes until the danger had passed.
They saw up ahead that the same garage was now vacant and they both looked at one another and smiled, although there was a little paranoia that the pumps may be empty. Thankfully they weren’t, and the Porsche and the watering can were filled to the brim. Jack assumed that once people began to leave their houses due to lack of resources, that was when the fuel would be drained—if electricity was still functioning—as people would have to travel to get to areas where food used to be sold. For now, the roads were still quiet, but he was sure that that would change in the next few weeks once desperation kicked in.
Jack popped into the ransacked kiosk and grabbed himself two bottles of cherry coke, three packets of cigarettes and stuffed two lighters in his pocket as well. He handed the bottle to Gary who took it in with him into the car.
Now they had topped up their vehicle with gas, the next plan was to go back home, sit tight and hope that Jemma would contact them somehow. There was nothing more they could do, apart from check on the two village halls on the way back, as they were running out of ideas as well as time.
Gary accelerated in the direction of Slitting Mill once more. As they approached the area some two minutes later, the Porsche slowed right down and Jack could see why.
There was at least seventy beings spread out along the main road, and there may have been more. The two men's presence was noticed immediately, and their approach toward Jack and Gary sent a shiver, as some of them were quite quick, almost at jogging speed.
Jack sighed. This is definitely the last time we're going into Rugeley.
It seemed to Jack that sooner would be better to get in contact with his son rather than later, because day by day, the population of these things appeared to be multiplying, as some of the roads weren't so desolate anymore.
The car ventured a different way and went up Sandy Lane where some roamed along the path. As they rode by the Pear Tree Estate, they got to the edge of Draycott Park where the new houses were built. The scene was horrendous; Jack opened his eyes, and both he and Gary looked at one another and shook their heads.
There were hundreds of them, and like before, they had found a release of energy as the two men gazed in horror. They looked like they had come from all walks of life; there were men, women, and children amongst the moving dead, and some seemed in better shape than others as far as the skin was concerned.
Jack noticed a handful of the beings' skin was peeling off their face and had to look away from the repugnant image. The crowd of beings marched excitedly toward the two men, and Gary looked at Jack. "We're practically surrounded. They must have come from other towns. I'm gonna ram the fuckers. It's the only way to get through."
He slipped the sports car into first and hit the gas pedal; the wheels screeched painfully along the road, producing smoke and the car did its job by furiously striking a bulk of the crowd. Jack's heart was in his mouth, and watched the windscreen crack as well as being decorated with blood and decay. His nerves were shot to pieces, and the relief was immense once they went by the danger zone.
Once they finally managed to drive through Draycott Park and pass the 'Welcome to Rugeley' sign—as they were now technically a hundred yards in the country and out of the town, Gary pulled the car over and saw the smoke bellowing out of the engine.
Jack stepped out of the passenger side and was aware that the things were gaining on them in their hundreds, and the mixture of groans from the
beings was growing louder as they approached nearer. The damage the car had taken, after hitting so many bodies, was for all to see. Gary didn't need to be a qualified mechanic to tell him that the car was beyond repair.
"Not now!" Gary exclaimed, and hit the bonnet with his fist.
He grabbed the duster from the glove compartment and leaped out of the car and didn't need to pop open the bonnet, he knew what the problem was.
Jack grabbed his sleeve and said with dark derision, "A bit late to be cleaning the car now, don't you think? Let's go."
Gary shrugged him off and demanded. "Give me one of your lighters."
"What?"
"Stop messing about. Just do it; if we run, they'll just keep on chasing us and chasing us until we collapse. Maybe this'll block them off. Don't get me wrong, I'm as fit as they come, but they'll just keep following us."
"Fire won't kill them. Anyway, you'll just entice more of them."
"More of them?" Gary nodded over to where they were, they were already in their hundreds.
Jack reluctantly handed him one of the lighters, and Gary went to the boot and took out the heavy watering can full of gas and emptied it all over the road and underneath the car. He waited for them to gain a few more yards and then lit the duster.
He threw the burning material on the floor where he began pouring, and ran as fast as he could, with Jack following suit. The entire road, as well as the car, lit up like a napalm strike and the two men had misjudged the intense heat that came from the fire, and Jack especially, was mortified to be taken off his feet with such force, he thought he was going to break every bone in his body once he hit the road.
With just grazes to their hinge joints, they brushed themselves down, and took a few steps backward as the fire increased. They decided to start and jog gently up Stile Cop Road.
It appeared that the knives that they were both carrying were still intact, and as they approached the beginning of the main road to their left, they saw six of the figures stumble through the fire like drunken stuntmen, as if it wasn't there. It hadn't worked as well as Gary wanted, as the beings continued to move through the fire.
Snatchers (A Zombie Novel) Page 28