by Luke Ashton
Chapter 18
The polo pulled up outside Emily’s place, it was an old red brick house with a bay window. Her garden was well kempt with flowers arranged in colour co-ordination. All the windows on the polo were rolled down at least half way as evidence of the aftermath of one of David’s legendary methane explosions, Vicky was still complaining about it as they stepped onto the road. David was first to wander up the garden path and reached out to put his hand on the door knob as the door flung open and Emily stood there wearing a blood stained floral dress. She had foot long rolling pin that was broken on one end exposing splinters coated in a layer of fresh blood that matched the stains on her dress. Her face was coated in the residue of tears and her eyes were puffy and red, it was clear she had been crying.
David instantly stepped forward to comfort her and attempted to get the full story from her when Gary chirped up.
“I know I’m being a tad insensitive here but can we have this conversation on the road please? Am I to understand your family is staying here?” All Emily could manage was a nod as she stepped through the door pulling a large maroon suitcase behind her. It had a small carrier bag hanging off one side. David took it from her and packed it in the boot as she climbed in next to Vicky. Gary and David took their seats and they pulled out.
While on the road they had managed to coax a brief version of the day’s events out of Emily. It turned out Emily’s Father had turned during the night and proceeded to turn her mother; her brother had gone to investigate the noise and was confronted by his undead parents. He had managed to re-kill his parents but not before becoming infected himself. Emily had been awoken by the scuffle and so already had her weapon of choice in her hand by the time her brother began to bang on her door. She had opened it and, realising it was no longer her brother, opened his head.
Vicky had done her best to calm Emily down while David and Gary discussed the slight alterations to the plan. They had originally planned to take Emily and most of her family to a safe place, leave them there and go back for the rest. David found it difficult to hold back his tears as he thought about the losses he had witnessed. Not only had he lost his own family but lost his future in-laws also. Pushing all thoughts to the back of his mind as the tears that had pooled in his eyes compromised his vision and he didn’t want to crash and kill off the only he family he had left. Gary noticed his brother’s discomfort and gave him a sentimental pat on the back and a nod. Gary wasn’t an overly emotional person. Whatever tragedy occurred he let himself breakdown when he knew he was truly alone.
“David, my good sir, what is the direction in which we are heading?” Gary asked, trying and failing to sound posh. He asked with a small smile. He wanted to make sure he distracted David from the nightmare that they’d all lived in for the past few weeks especially the last 12 hours.
“Well, Mr. Winston, our destination is to be Leeds City Centre.” David laughed. He felt much better knowing he had his brother to cheer him up.
“Puffs, both of you” Vicky interjected. Leaving Emily in fits of laughter. It was what she needed to forget the morning she’d had.
“Ohh you bitch” David replied as camp as he could and Gary turned to face the girls with a shocked expression, this left them laughing so hard tears filled their eyes.
The rest of the journey towards Leeds was in silence only ever interrupted by David’s explosive arse followed immediately by laughter. As they approached the centre of Leeds David chirped up.
“Guys any sign of movement I need to know whether it’s alive or dead. I’m guessing with it being a city there will be more survivors than at home.” His leadership shone through and all of them listened intently, not taking their eyes off the streets of Leeds.
“Nothing over here Dave” Gary replied, wanting to feel some importance in the survival of his remaining family.
“Same here bud” David replied. He felt confused he assumed the volume of survivors and zombies would be greater than in Halifax, his home town, but it was a ghost town. He heard nothing. A strange feeling overcame him as he felt as though the car was being watched.
“Errr guys straight ahead. Zombies. Lots of them.” Vicky screamed, scared at the sheer size of the group, but also smug to have been the one to spot them.
“Fuck. There’s gotta be at least 30 of them!” Gary replied, armed ready with his table leg.
David knew there was no chance of them all surviving if they were to try fighting them. He knew from an earlier experience that hitting them with his Polo was a bad idea. He had been charged by one of them as he hit the M621 and the large dent that had taken his left headlight out was proof it was a bad idea. He swerved wildly as he attempted to pick his way round the horde and the car began to slew to the left. Vicky ducked into the middle seat as her side of the car approached the zombies. The Polo impacted 3 of them simultaneously with a jolt that smashed both side windows and threw David sideways. His seatbelt catching him before his head bounced off Gary’s shoulder. The car was now at a standstill and becoming slowly engulfed in the horde. The zombies were clawing into the car through the broken windows and grabbing at anything they could get hold of. David floored it and several of the zombies came with him. He made it about 10 feet before the ones at the front lost their footing and slid under the car. There were several bumps as the wheels bounced over them that jolted everyone in the car.
“Dave, head back. Good old Gary to the rescue!” Gary screamed and David pushed his head into the head rest just time to see the table leg thrust in front of his face. Catching the clinging zombie in the shoulder and pushing it out of the car. It hit the tarmac and rolled several times before attempting to stand again. There was now only one zombie left attached that was now attempting to find the grip to clamber on top of Vicky. Gary slid his seatbelt off and, realising the table leg was too large to use, threw a punch at the zombies jaw line. It connected, hard, and the zombie reeled back slightly and lost several inches of car space. Gary threw another punch that hit it in the top of the head and it disappeared from view. David threw the Polo into third gear as he accelerated up to forty.
“Vicky, get onto Ajay. We need them ready to go. This car is no longer safe.” David shouted back over the rush of wind coming from the exposed windows. Vicky pulled her phone out and dialled Ajay. The phone rang several times before skipping to voicemail. She cursed and dialled again. Ajay answered on the third ring and the distant echo on the line told Vicky she was on loud speaker.
“Vicky, please tell me you’re here. I don’t think these undead bastards have ever heard the phrase ‘FUCK OFF!’” The last part was clearly aimed at whatever zombies were attacking her.
“Nearly, what’s going on?” Vicky asked with a concerned twinge. There were several grunts and curses before Ajay answered.
“They must have seen us through the window and are making an effort to get through the door. These shitty plastic doors can’t handle six bodies pressed up against them so we had to improvise with a wardrobe door, holding it to the door to stop them… Oh no you did not just swing for me you ugly mother fucker.” Vicky couldn’t help but smile as Ajay got more and more pissed off.
“Right, We kind of need you ready to leave when we get there. You and Tom all packed up?” Vicky knew it sounded stupid given their current situation but she had to try.
“Yeah ok. I’ll just explain to these fuckers we need to leave and I’m sure they will find another walking meal.” Vicky could hear Tom’s grunting in the background followed by a slam that she assumed was the makeshift door closing again.
“Fuck it! If they can hold them off for another 5 minutes the cavalry will be here.” Shouted David from the front as he veered around a burning car.
“Did you get that love?” Vicky asked and heard several thuds before Ajay replied.
“Yeah, I ain’t getting bitten today.” Ajay answered as the thudding continued. David pulled onto their street and saw the issue instantly. There were only six zombies on Ajay’s s
treet and they were all clawing at the wood in front of the apartment door. Tom and Ajay had moved in together around 3 weeks before the apocalypse had begun. They had moved into a small apartment in Leeds, just outside the centre. It was a house that had been horizontally split into two apartments. David skidded to a halt a few doors down and he and Gary pounced out of the car. Vicky and Emily joined them as they moved towards the clawing horde. The closest two had never even seen them coming as the back of their heads disappeared under the men’s weapons. The remaining four barely had time to turn as the table leg caught both of them across the back of their head in a sweeping motion.
“See Dave. I don’t really need you here. I can do this all on my own.” Gary called as he watched the two zombies fall. David caught the second zombie across the temple as he tried to stand back up.
“Are you certain little brother?” Was all David said before he flattened the nose of one of the remaining zombies with a well-placed jab of his bat. Gary shrugged and punched the other one in the jaw before stepping back and raising the table leg. Both brothers brought their weapons down simultaneously and the zombies dropped. They checked each zombie in turn to make sure they were not getting back up before turning back to the girls. They had been watching the street, weapons up and ready.
“Shall we?” David asked as he motioned towards the doorway. He walked up to it and knocked in the wardrobe door.
“Avon, I would like to speak to you about our half price offer on lipstick.” David called and the girls began giggling once more.
“Fuck off David.” Tom said with a smile as he lifted the door away.
“Shall we err…” David made a motion with his hands. “Piss off then?” Tom nodded as he turned and picked up his Jeep bag and laptop case. Ajay wheeled a battered looking green checked case out and they moved swiftly to the car.
“Where are your weapons?” Asked Gary realising they were empty handed.
“Haven’t needed them until now.” Tom explained as he pulled the bags into his boot. He drove a red Vauxhall Astra that was his pride and joy. He had skinted himself on the monthly repayments since he had bought it but he thought it was worth it. Gary wandered over to the Polo and pulled out the carrier bag. He passed it to Tom who dug through it before pulling out a sturdy looking copper pipe. David turned to Gary with a confused look.
“Where the fuck did you pull that from?”
“It was attached to the boiler at home. I figured our boiler didn’t need it anymore.” He replied as Tom passed the bag to Ajay. She rummaged for a little longer before pulling out a crowbar and passing the bag back to Gary. He stashed it back under his seat before ushering everyone to the cars and climbing in himself. He dug in the glove box and pulled out a set of hands free ear phones. He took David’s phone and plugged them in before dialling Tom’s number. Tom had just set his own up and answered. They checked it was working ok before Gary passed an earphone over and tucked the phone back in David’s pocket. This now meant that the two cars could communicate instantly. They used it like a radio. David pulled off to lead the way in the Polo with Gary and Emily, Tom followed behind in the Astra with Ajay and Vicky. It made sense for Vicky to go in the Astra, it evened the numbers out.
“What’s the first move then Dave?” Tom asked through the hands free kit.
“Well I don’t know about you but I could use some fuel. There’s a station not far from here, just over the road from that army barracks thing.” David replied as he swerved round a legless zombie that had decided it could take on a car.
“Works for me buddy.” Tom answered.
“Ooh look at you two working harmoniously and shit.” Gary chirped up after the exchange with a grin.
“Oh shit Gary mate, what’s that?” David was glancing between Gary’s chest and the road with a shocked look. His left hand had left the wheel and was now pointing at a spot in the centre of Gary’s shirt.
“What? What is it?” Gary fumbled with his shirt to try and see.
“A Twat!” David laughed and Gary shot him an evil look before bursting out laughing with him. Tom had picked up the gist of the conversation and there was now a wheezy laugh in David’s right ear.
“What’s so funny?” Ajay asked watching him.
“Her brothers are.” He replied jerking his thumb behind him to Vicky on the back seat. David pulled round and onto the main street. He could see the petrol station around 200m away on the right and what looked like dead bodies strewn wildly across the street. They all seemed to be heading towards the army barracks David mentioned earlier that was across the road. There was something on the roof of the barracks that David could see. It looked like a bunker of some sort.
“Tom you seeing this?” David asked over the phone.
“Yeah, I could place bets on the fact there are survivors in that building to the left. From the looks of it I’d say some pretty successful ones too.” Tom replied.
“We could go for it? It looks secure enough. They will probably be able to help us fuel up too.” David asked.
“Do it.” Tom said as they got around 50m from the turning. David swerved round a clump of bodies and threw his indicator on. It made life easier for Tom to follow him. As he passed the petrol station all hell broke loose. Zombies began pouring out of the petrol station shop and into the forecourt. Intent on the new noises passing them by.
“Tom, we got a problem.” David said swerving away from the petrol station in an attempt to keep them away from him.
“Get into the barracks quick!” Tom shouted as he mounted the pavement to get round a stray zombie that had decided he was going to be first to feast on the meals on wheels flying past them. David pulled round the corner, his tyres skidding and throwing up smoke in an attempt to find some grip on the blood-slicked road. Tom followed him round, his engine whining to change gear. Tom was too busy grappling with the wheel, his knuckles white, to move it up one. They reached a gate and David made a snap decision. He could either pull up and wait for the gate to be opened or barge through and risk totalling his Polo. He glanced in the rear-view mirror and saw the zombies were only feet behind Tom’s car and decided to go for it. He braced himself and, without slowing down, pointed the car at the centre of the gate. The car hit with a sickening crunch and the gate gave. It popped outwards and fell on the windshield, cracking it into several star shapes before it fell on its side against the wall to David’s left. His car spluttered and began to slow. David hauled it round in a tight circle and it shuddered to a halt in the centre of the car park. Tom followed him in, watching in horror as the events unfolded before him. He pulled the car up at a right angle to David’s before leaping out, weapon ready. The rest of the survivors followed suit and quickly moved into the small area between the two cars. This gave them a safe corner where they could defend from. The zombies began to pour in from the gate like a broken dam. As they neared the group Tom had a random thought.
“Why had they all huddled inside that shop. What had possessed them to cram into there?” Tom pondered this as he raised his pipe high in the air to drop it on the first zombies head. As the zombies outreached hands got within 5 feet of him it suddenly lurched sideways and dropped to the floor. Blood spurting out of several holes in its side. Tom hadn’t heard the first shot go off but he heard the constant rattle of a weapon in the hanger. Several of the zombies pouring into the gate dropped with limbs and chunks of flesh flying off in all directions. Several managed to charge through the hail of bullets and Gary hit one of them hard in the head with a massive sideways swing that sent it spinning off, almost headless.
“Yeah, get some Yeah!” He shouted in his best Texas accent. David followed it up with and downward swipe on the next zombies face that made it drop like a kid on an ice rink.
“I have taught you well grasshopper, yet you still have much to learn.” He shouted over the din of the weapon. He drew the baseball bat in a classic stance as the next zombie neared him. Gary stepped in front of him and dropped the zombi
e for him.
“And the crowd goes wild!” Gary shouted as he moved back to his spot He looked up to see that there was now several people firing from the roof in at least 3 different locations. David stepped forward, swinging wildly as he went and caught five or six zombies who all dropped. He stopped suddenly as he heard a scream from his right. He turned to see Emily getting dragged down by a small group that had formed round her.
“Leave my girlfriend alone you undead bastards!” He screamed as he charged at the group. He began swinging randomly at the group, hitting them anywhere he could. He dropped several of them but most of his swings were hitting arms or backs as they clawed and ripped at his girlfriend.
“Fucking move you idiot!” Shouted a voice from the bunker on the roof and David reluctantly stepped back, changing targets to more of the same. The machine gun on the roof switched its fire to the mound of zombies and blood began spurting from it. Vicky, who hadn’t had any zombies at her side yet stepped forward to fill Emily’s space and sliced the bat at one of the zombies heading for David. She caught it on the back of its neck with a crunch and as it dropped the top of its head exploded in a shower of brains. Vicky had felt the bullet whiz past her and the heat from it. The crack as it passed her made her ears ring. She span round and saw a figure on one knee on the roof with a gun pressed up to its face. Tom stepped behind her as she span and began swinging his pipe at the horde. It dug into one of their ears with a clang that suggested they had had surgery. He swung over and over again at the approaching zombies and only stopped when he heard a familiar scream. Ajay had been swinging away with her crowbar when a zombie had snuck up behind her and sunk its teeth into her shoulder. She had barged it off and was now beating it relentlessly with her crowbar. The zombie was dead after the first swing but it didn’t stop her. Tom had seen enough of these things to know how they turned and fear overwhelmed him as he stood watching his soon-to-be-zombie girlfriend unleash her fury on the zombie.