"It's not your turn yet, is it?"
"Nah." She stretched out her arms and yawned loudly and unabashed. "Just killing time. I see you've been working out."
Jamie shrugged, and released an embarrassed grin. "Preparing myself for the outside world. We can't stay here forever. And these woods don't seem to be safe either, despite the hill."
Janine said, "Pickle said that thing was just a stray."
Jamie guffawed falsely, "And he knows that because he's checked the whole of the woods?"
Janine paused with her stretching, and lowered her arms and turned to Jamie and narrowed her eyes inquisitively. "You said we can't stay here forever. Why not?"
Jamie twitched his shoulders; he wasn't expecting Janine to question him. "Well, once that supermarket has been cleared out, where are we gonna get food from?"
Janine playfully twisted her hair like a child and shrugged. "There's another one three miles up the road, outside the village."
"Exactly, three miles up the road. So we'll be using fuel as well. It's all gotta run out one day."
The mood was sombre, and Janine never thought for a second that Jamie was feeling sorry for himself, although he looked genuinely down. Janine was certain that he was trying to look to the future with realism rather than false hope.
She tried to lighten the mood and stroked his arm. "We've got guns now," she joked. "We could take a farm, kill the family and have their livestock."
Jamie grinned, and mockingly wagged his finger at her naughty remark. "That is so wrong, on so many levels."
Janine and Jamie remained in a silent state for a long twenty seconds. Their eyes both wandered over towards the fresh fire that sat burning in the middle of the sandy region.
Janine spoke once more. "Has it ever crossed your mind that one morning Pickle and KP will just up sticks and leave us in the lurch and take the van?"
Jamie shook his head and pouted his bottom lip. "No. Why would they do that?"
"In case we start running out of food, and they decide they'd be better off being just the two of them, and then suddenly shoot off with our van."
"But then, why would he give us a gun each?"
Janine was lost in thought and produced a menacing grin, Jamie could see her little mind was doing overtime. "What if we ran off together and leave Pickle, KP and that new girl? It's practically an armoured van, and it's full of food."
Jamie placed his hand on his forehead, and couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You're a naughty girl."
"I've been naughtier," she playfully giggled and quickly raised her eyebrows.
Was she joking?
"You know at first, I never fancied you at all," she confessed.
"Really?"
"I thought you were a meathead. Now, I think you're a sexy meathead."
She turned around and walked away. He playfully smacked Janine's bum as she walked off, and she left his presence, giggling to herself as she walked back to the camp and tried her hardest to make a depressed KP smile.
*
It had taken nearly two hours for Jack Slade and Gary Jenson to reach the house, and it had been quiet, apart from seeing a group of about fifteen of the creatures from a distance at the edge of the village. They got to the top of the road, where the pub sat to the right and the primary school was on the opposite side of the road, and they could see that the danger was small.
They had slowly walked the last mile, as neither one had the energy left. What had got them through the first mile was the last bit of adrenaline that pumped through them after the attack. A mile later, the adrenaline was beginning to wane and their legs were becoming heavy and Gary could feel his hamstring pull again.
The darkness was creeping up on them, and they passed the primary school railings and marched down the road, drenched in sweat and rain. Gary looked to the skies and noticed it turning into a darker shade of blue between the dark abusive clouds; the day was coming to a close once again.
They were so confident that the danger was limited where they now were, they strolled down the long road towards the house, as if they were just two regular guys walking back from the pub without a care in the world.
They finally got back into the street and could see that there wasn't a soul around. The street was also in complete darkness, apart from the streetlights. They got to the house to find that the BMW bike had been stolen while they were away. Unbothered by this, they went inside and Gary checked if the house still had electricity.
For now, it did.
They locked the doors and began moving furniture against it. They placed the cupboard back at the bottom of the stairs.
Something had caught Gary's left eye. It was a tiny flashing green dot, and as his head swivelled around towards the answer machine, it flashed to say that there was one message on it.
Gary gestured to Jack to stand next to him before he pressed the button. Jack gently patted a nervous Gary on the back and told him to go ahead. He exhaled out and his index finger pushed the silver button on the machine.
Machine: "You have one message. Message received today at four-thirty-six-pm."
It was followed by a long and exaggerated beep.
It was Jemma's voice. "Hello, this is Jemma Marlow," at this point, Gary broke down and shouted 'yes.' "If you're listening to this, then you're in my house. There are twelve of us. We are all well, considering, and we still have a small amount of food left from what we took from our homes. The names of the people I am with are Jason Barton, Kevin Houston, Oliver Newton, Karen and Sean West, Yoler Parkinson, Ian Jenson, Paul Parker, Lee Hayward, myself Jemma Marlow, Clare and Kerry Evans and Thomas Slade. If anyone is related to these people, please ring or come to us at the Longdon Community Hall, just outside of Hazelslade near Cannock. I'm calling from the hall's landline as our cell phones have either gone flat or the signal is impossible. The number is 555 63524."
Gary looked to his side and saw Jack with his head in his hands; he was crying. Gary sat slowly and placed his arm comfortingly around his older compatriot.
"Thomas is with Jemma. They're alive," Gary whispered.
Jack nodded and lifted his head up to reveal his stained cheeks and his bloodshot eyes. He struggled to find words at first and stammered. "I c-can't b-b-believe it. If I never had met you…" Jack pulled himself together. "Where is the place?"
Gary grinned. "About a mile up the road. It's in the middle of nowhere and quite secure."
"What are we waiting for?" Jack stood quickly to his feet.
Gary raised his hand. "We're not going anywhere tonight! I need to ice this leg; I'm knackered, and we now have no transport and it'll be getting dark soon."
"I can't stand here knowing my son is up the road."
"Well, you're gonna have to. We're knackered. Let's get a decent night's sleep, and I'll steal a car in the morning and we'll make our way up. I'll give them a ring right now."
Gary shook as he picked up the phone and felt similar to the first ever time he spoke to Jemma.
Jack watched him intently as he slowly dialled the landline number that Jemma had given out on the message. As soon as he pushed the last number, he stood up straight and blew out an overwrought breath that would have been strong enough to blow out sixty candles on a sixtieth birthday cake. Jack was unsure whether to call them at all in case the phone alerted outside predators, but Jemma had given out the number, so he assumed that it must be reasonably safe where they were.
"Hello," Gary greeted. Jack could see from Gary's glassy eyes that it was Jemma that had picked up the phone.
The conversation was teary and short. Gary explained very briefly that he had escaped from prison and he also informed Jemma that he was heading their way first thing in the morning.
"One more thing," Gary said to his girlfriend, as the short conversation was coming to a close. "You have a little boy called Thomas Slade there, put him on. I have his daddy standing next to me, believe it or not."
Gary passed the phone ove
r to Jack, and Jack held the clammy handle of the phone. "Hello."
There was a pause on the other end, and Jack waited another few seconds and opened his mouth to say hello once more, when he was cut short by a voice he so desperately wanted to hear.
"Daddy?"
"Hi son," Jack sniffled, and was finding it desperately difficult to restrict his emotions. "How are ya?"
"Okay, I suppose. Mum's been crying a lot. She keeps on saying she has something in her eye."
"What are you doing?"
The question wasn't needed, but it was hard to engage in a conversation with a six-year-old-boy, Jack just wanted to hear his voice, he didn't care, as the last time he heard his voice he seemed scared and mentioned the 'monsters' trying to get in. This time he seemed a lot more relaxed and his voice demonstrated to Jack that his boy was in a safe place.
"Not a lot. My mum says I'm on holiday, but they won't let me outside, and there's no swimming pool."
Jack chuckled and shook his head at his innocence. That's what he loved about kids. They saw the good in most people and were completely unaware of what a shitty world they actually lived in, and this was before the infection had taken place.
"I love you, son."
Thomas had no time to respond as the voice on the other end had been replaced with Kerry's.
"What are you doing here? How did you find me?" There was genuine concern in Kerry's voice for her ex-lover, and Jack was touched by this.
"I needed to see him, Kez. I went to your house, but it was empty. I thought about checking your mother's. I met a guy called Gary, he's Jemma's boyfriend."
"As long as you're okay. Jemma told me that you and this Gary are coming up tomorrow morning?"
"That's right."
"Just be careful."
"Careful? I managed to travel from Glasgow without any hitches, didn't I?" He lied, trying not to worry the mother of his child. "We'll be up first thing, as soon as we get a car."
"I'll see you then. Stay safe."
Jack hung up and didn't have time to emotionally collapse, as they were both immediately distracted by the sudden screaming in the distance that was coming from outside. He and Gary looked at one another and ran upstairs, heading for the bedroom window that would give a better view of what was occurring.
They both peered out and saw a father and young son running out of the house, whilst being slowly chased by a group of seven creatures along the main road that was clear only minutes ago. The boy looked no older than ten, and Gary and Jack felt for the poor soul who was probably wondering, like everyone else, what was going on?
He and his father disappeared up the road as they went by the last streetlight and then were swallowed up by the darkness that had quickly arrived. I wonder where the mother is? Gary thought.
Jack moved away from the window and sat on the bed. He rubbed his tired eyes and reminisced over the last four days of his life so far. It had been a surreal weekend, even by Jack Slade's standards.
He had never drunk so much in one weekend; then suddenly the epidemic materialised, or was it a pandemic? He wasn't entirely sure.
The lack of technology left people in the dark whether this was a European or global problem. He had also been attacked numerous times by beings trying to eat him; he had killed, and had been the proud owner of a BMW motorbike. And he was now finally going to be reunited with his son.
Any other man would have had a breakdown by now, he thought.
"Looks like there's a few hanging around, now it's getting dark." Gary spoke, still staring out of the window.
"We better start barricading a little bit better downstairs."
Gary agreed with Jack's comment and spotted a silver Mazda that sat lazily on a drive opposite the house. "I think I've just spotted our wheels for tomorrow."
Chapter Fifty Two
June 13th
The hours went by like days, as the monotony crept upon the camp in the mid-afternoon, and as the hours passed, like a leech, it sucked all the enthusiasm out of them and refused to go away.
It was now a new day, not quite dawn, and the dark blue sky stretched over the area with a fat grinning moon hanging above the camp. The wind was relentless and the noise coming through the trees was eerie.
It was Jamie's turn again on watch-duty, and he was beginning to feel his eyes shut, then his body would jump in fright and he would be awake once more. Again, it reminded him of the visits section.
When he first started the prison, he was in visits permanently and had to stand in one spot for most of the twelve-hour shift, and keep his eye on any prisoners passing drugs or any other contraband. Some of the things he witnessed in there was a real eye-opener, watching desperate people resort to desperate things, just to get drugs onto the wings.
Babies were used to pass drugs, as wives and girlfriends would put their hand in the baby's nappy and pull out a wrap of narcotics, place it in their mouth and pass the substance to the partner by kissing them, moving it from mouth to mouth and allowing the inmate to swallow the substance.
On other occasions, women wearing short skirts, would put their hands in their panties and pull out a small bag of drugs and again, place it in their mouth and pass the drug. Even grown men had done this, brothers and fathers kissing their own flesh and blood just to pass drugs.
The unfortunate and frustrating thing was that once the drug was passed and swallowed, there was nothing the prison could do about it, even if it had been seen. It had to be grabbed before the passing would take place.
Jamie looked around the creepy area, and thought where he was now was much worse than in the prison. At least back in his old job he wasn't in danger of being eaten by the prisoners.
He ogled at his wristwatch and it instructed him that there was another hour to go before Pickle's turn. He looked to his left and now that the Pointers had gone, the camp seemed empty. The Renault Clio was no longer there, and all he could see was the silhouette of the bulky van sitting by the entrance where his four friends slept inside. He thought about Davina; he felt sad for the woman.
He peeped to his right to stare into the woods, but all he could see was blackness. It was an eerie sight to behold and he couldn't wait for the sun to arrive.
The sky was cloudless, making the area not as dusky as it could have been, but it was still a frightening place to stand alone. Jamie had never shot the pistol since the supermarket incident, and still wasn't confident he could take out one of those things on his own if he really had to.
He remembered how he shook when he fired it for the first time, and how his confidence grew as they eventually fell, but that was in a group situation. He was now on his own and knew the camp would be in better hands with someone like Pickle standing guard, who was used to shooting people, as it was part of his old job description.
He could feel his eyes going again, but this time a shot of adrenaline helped to spring him back into life as a snap of a branch appeared to the side of him that he could just about hear through the sound of the wind whistling in his ears.
God, what was that smell? He wondered.
He stared into the blackness and could see spots appearing before his eyes. His gaze continued as he began to attempt some breathing exercises in order to lower his irregular heart rate.
He was surprised how he was feeling. On the prison wings he was fearless, feared and respected by most of the inmates. That was in a controlled situation; he was now in an alien situation where relentless creatures were out there, and were programmed never to stop unless they received irreparable damage to their brain.
He was holding the weapon that could do exactly that irreparable damage, but his confidence was lacking. Another rustle was heard; this time it happened in front of him, and this had caused another surge of adrenaline to sprint through his arteries.
Whatever it was, he could hear it getting nearer and then he heard an animal-like squeal, which caused chest pains on both sides of the ex-prison officer. He clutched the le
ft side of his chest where his heart was situated and was bent over.
Every time he breathed in, the pain intensified and he winced whenever the cramp increased. He decided to hold his breath and was on his knees now, still staring in the direction of the noise, and whatever it was, it was getting nearer. He tried to breath in gently, and this time the pain wasn't as intense, so he got off his knees and staggered to his feet once more.
Shall I warn the group?
Whatever had caused the tension that had temporarily crippled Jamie Thomson, it had finally darted out of the woods at such a speed that Jamie let out a frightened yell. His eyes quickly followed the anxious animal that had ran out of the wooded area; it looked like an adult deer, and although the pain had returned and he had gone back to his kneeling position, he managed to raise a smile. He was glad that he hadn't called for back-up, as he thought he would have looked like a coward. He was pleased to be in a group situation and wanted to play an integral part in it.
The back door of the van opened and out came Janine. "You okay?" There was concern in her voice for him, as all she could see was the silhouette of Jamie on his knees.
"It's okay, I'm fine." He raised his arm high, knowing that from that distance, she would find it hard to see him properly. "It was a deer! It gave me a bit of a scare."
A bit of a scare? You nearly shat yourself, Jamie boy!
Jamie could then hear the voice of KP coming from within the van. "For fuck's sake, shut the door. It's freezin' in here." She did as she was told.
Jamie was sure that KP's telling off was exaggerated and uncalled for.
Jamie thought that the night, despite the shower earlier, was actually quite humid, and he had spent the night himself without asking to borrow a coat or an extra piece of clothing. He had his suspicions that KP was being tortured with the guilt of what happened to Davina, which also drove the remaining Pointers away. Jamie thought that if all of that guilt were feasting away on his mind, he wouldn't be able to sleep for days.
Snatchers: Volume One (The Zombie Apocalypse Series Box Set--Books 1-3) Page 31