by Cenz Barone
As though swung out of his previous plan Kenny stated “Maybe we could cut down some trees and put it around in a circle, well half a circle. The lake itself is acting like a barricade, so a natural barricade along the road” Kenny seemed enthused by the prospect of doing something, anything constructive. Roy wanting to add to this initiative added “About 4 miles northwards is an old farm, nobody is there, they ran apparently, leaving a note, they have plenty of tools and stuff you could use in their garage. You just need your camper van to load and move the equipment”.
Laura now stood up amazed this was suddenly discussed as Kenny said almost excitable “Yes, great idea. I will just load up on some weapons and then we will go. Make sure it is all in order” Kenny made his way to the tent where they stored the bulk of the weapons. Roy turned to Nancy and whispered seeing she was the most withdrawn since returning from the house as Roy said “I hope you can get over seeing those bodies in the house. It is disgusting I know” as Nancy asked him with trepidation “Are you sure the people who did that are gone?” as Roy replied “I am sure I watched them leave, and the people who did that would never go into the woods, and they were only attracted to that place because it was a house. They have likely moved to other areas, I have not seen them since, it was days ago” Roy now overlooked the rest of the group “Onto other matters, but covering the road is a really good start to shut this place off, and by closing up the road, shutting it up so the eye can no longer see will mean nobody will ever know how to get here. Sooner or later though something might happen, you should think about precautions, like where you would go if you were found by those things, I agree with Kenny in that respect” as Roy glanced over the tent Kenny was in pulling out the bags of weapons as he said did Roy “Just not with how Kenny proposes to do it”.
Nancy nodded understanding. “Do you have any suggestions” asked Elise as Roy smiled at her and the rest of the group and he was bringing a certain degree of confidence to them all by how he carried himself, despite some of their reservations about him. Roy said “It’s obvious isn’t, the downs are massive, just keep going further and further into the woods. Just find a spot as good as this one” as Cherie curiously asked him “Just like that huh?” and Roy shrugged his shoulders and replied “It really is”. Elise recalling him saying he was originally from Wales asked Roy “Wouldn’t it also be wise to consider heading to an area like Wales, in the valleys right or Scotland” as Roy sarcastically said “Sure, if you have a plane. Trust me, this is the best, it is secure here, I don’t know why you people are so eager to leave. You just got here for fucks sake”.
Laura shook her head as Baxter asked her “What’s wrong” Laura finally blurted out now that she was asked “It is you all, you mainly Roy. You warn us about the death squads, now we are taking the camper van to a farm to get tools to cut down trees to blockade the road” as Roy answered her dismissively “They aren’t around here, and I am sorry but you don’t have any tools worth any salt to cut down any trees” Laura shook her head and voiced “We should think outside the box” as Roy told her “This is thinking outside the box”. Nancy now stood her ground and said “We will all get secure here and then think about Wales, Scotland, Ireland or wherever else. But what good is that, the rest of the country is like this spot, I don’t see any dead things, or even hear them. In the city and rescue station, everywhere else I can hear them, out here there is nothing, so that is a start”.
Laura now said trying to refocus the group “Wales’s sounds like a good idea, there are only so many people there and in the central areas it is mostly rural villages right. The majority of the population is located in the Southern and Northern Coasts, I often went there on holiday. I got family there to, it is closer than Manchester, at least I think” Laura then cursed “Why am I so shit at geography” as Melissa said to her friend “I did not know you were Welsh” to which Laura replied “I am not Welsh, I just said I have family there, they moved there” she snapped as she quickly apologised to which Melissa told her not worry about it. “At least you have an idea” said Roy, trying to find common ground with her as he said “Wales would be nice but honestly, here is as good as any place” as Roy looked around at them all “Anyways, we will go out now, when you are all ready. I will show you where this farm is”.
Chapter 34 - Lakeside Fallout
With the decision to take the camper van, the group divided up. Kenny was eager to go, and in tandem with him was Nancy and both Elise and Cherie due to them both being together with Kenny since the beginning, they felt more comfortable being with each other. Even though Kenny appeared indifferent to any situation, yet Elise and Cherie were drawn closer together. Roy joined them in the camper van as Cherie drove it. They made their way out of the camp site, so that left Baxter, Laura and Melissa behind, neither volunteered and it was decided to keep enough people back, truth be told it was obviously safer to remain within the camp, despite reservations shared earlier and Melissa herself who was eager to go exploring prior to this plan had changed her mind. As the camper van drove down the road Roy was impressed by the camper van they had, as he sat in the passenger side directing Cherie, he found it amazing and spoke glowingly about it, it was such an expensive camper van that much was certain and he could see why they chose it. Roy was also impressed by the group’s resourcefulness
Meanwhile back at the camp with the group long gone Melissa and Laura decided to entertain themselves as Baxter remained sitting on a log by the fire, watching the camper van leave and he decided to remain alert. Behind him in their tent Melissa and Laura opted to go down the lake. They were frolicking around the water’s edge in the shallow side as Baxter moved along from the fire and went into the surrounding woods for a walk, making sure he was close enough to the camp, it was serene and tranquil, and the scene gave off such a false impression of what was taking place beyond it. He just wanted alone time.
Baxter found a log near him and sat on it, the log having fallen down sometime in the past, he went into his pocket, he wore combat trousers and pulled out a bottle of water, he drank from it, one of the many bottles swiped from the supermarket. Baxter thought about how rushed the supermarket affair was, and how they had stocked up on so many items. Baxter reflected on who he was before this, as he took off his glasses and wiped them down, he blinked his eyes several times and then used the water bottle top to pour water into each of his eyes, as he took a swig of it. He felt better for it, but then drifted onto whether or not life would return as normal, he thought about his stresses and strains in university, meeting deadlines or thinking about his demanding parents, what would they think of him now, or all his old friends, where were they, yet now he was here and he heard giggling in the backdrop.
As he turned he looked through the foliage where he noticed in the lake direction which was in the distance, that Laura and Melissa were giggling and playing in the lake, both it seemed had taken off their clothes and gone in, in their underwear and bra, he shook his head and smiled at the sight of them enjoying themselves as he thought, if this didn’t happen would he be here amongst this group, living quite an exciting life for someone who never knew excitement, no he thought he would not. And also would he have spent last night with Laura, not in his wildest dreams, and that was such a nice night he thought. How selfish the introverted Baxter thought, it is the fall of modern civilisation and all he cares about is getting up close and personal with Laura, the girl whom he secretly in class thought about being with, but never having the courage to approach, he was always shy with girls but here he was with her living and hiding for their lives, he muttered “It’s so confusing”.
Baxter stood up and walked towards a stick on the floor, a stick amongst many sticks. Baxter picked up the stick and then threw it through the foliage. Staring into what seemed like an endless stream of woodland and trees, and he never knew how much of a swarm of beauty this was. A city boy through and through was Baxter like it appeared the majority of the people he was here with, and now
he thought about all he had missed by neglecting nature, it was so easy to be forgotten in these woodlands he reasoned, it was just like the stick he cast aside amongst many, picked up and thrown away, and why not he thought. That stick represented him he thought, it represented how he felt living everyday life amongst other people, he felt like he was forgotten by most, which he was, but now, no more.
All his life he was scared about being alone, that’s what troubled him the most, living and dying alone, it petrified him, as he thought no matter what happens I do not want to die alone. I don’t even want to die either he further asserted. The idea of being in the woods was daunting enough but the idea of being in the woods alone was intolerable. Baxter had a tear stream down his face as he wiped it away and he bit his lip and made his way towards the bottom of the little woodland “I just want to lay down and fall into a sleep” he said quietly to himself, eager to try and shut off his thoughts, and thus he rested on a log, making sure he was not staring at the girls indulging in the lake, he wanted to be respectful, so he laid down and closed his eyes staring up at the 100 feet trees and whispered to himself “Peace, peace at last” but for how long he wondered, for how long.
Back at the lake the playfulness continued. “The lake is pretty warm if you imagine it is not winter and we are in the Bahamas” Melissa said as she was treading water and then Melissa swam further out and began treading again. Laura herself was treading closer to the edge. Laura replied “Are you trying to tell me mind over matter because I am fucking freezing” but Melissa with her teeth clattering swam towards Laura and teased “Come on, don’t act coy. This is fun for you isn’t” and Laura replied “I don’t know what it is, if I am being honest”. Melissa splashed some water towards Laura as Laura splashed her back, and then Melissa said “Despite this horrible thing which has happened, don’t you find it exciting. I know it’s really a terrible thing to say but it’s quite fun. Running, sleeping rough and then trying to survive” she turned to Laura who objected strongly and told her “How can you say that Melissa, people are dead, people are dying all around us, we could die tonight or tomorrow. If some of those things come towards us now, what will we do?”
Melissa was just trying to keep her spirits up as she said “I don’t know, I might ask those dead things to join us for a swim” Melissa laughed as Laura looked annoyed but Melissa angrily said “I am trying to make light of this, and look on the positives”. Laura now answered quickly “You sound like Kenny, did you hear him talking about making our way across country and all his foolhardy ideas, then he drinks and passes out, wakes up and goes from one extreme to another, he is quite unpredictable, he switched ideas within a few minutes by the fire, did you notice that. It sounds like he is enjoying it but then again most of them sound like they are”.
Trying to defend the rest and thus herself Melissa replied to Laura “How else can we deal with it Laura? To live in dread and in fear all of the time”. As Laura coldly said to Melissa “Have you forgotten about Claire, Paul, Billy, Mark, Alvin, Andrew...” before Laura could list off anymore of their friends name from the party they were at, that house long ago since they were taken in by Grant, Kenny, Elise and Cherie about one week ago.
Melissa interrupted her “Don’t bring up the past” as Laura answered quickly “The past, it was like a week ago, I mean I am losing track of time like everyone else but it wasn’t that long ago”. Melissa circled around Laura as she continued treading the water and said “We cannot go back in time”. Laura was a little bit annoyed at Melissa, thinking her friend would at least think a little more compassionate about those they lost, so Laura said “I know we cannot go back in time but we just need to remind ourselves who we are and..” Melissa interjected and said “And what? Did you see Cherie, Elise and Nancy when they returned from that house? You think those dead things are all we need to be wary of. I am thinking about right now and trying to get through this. You are doing a good job aren’t you with lover boy” referring to Baxter.
“It is not like that, he is nice” defensively Laura replied as Melissa raised her eyebrows at her friend and said “If I am being insensitive what about you, climbing into bed with him and sleeping with him, fucking your way out of this?” Laura was pissed off at her friend and said “You fucking bitch!” as Melissa said to her tauntingly “Why don’t you invite lover boy over and let him join us, hey maybe we will go skinny dipping” Laura checked around to see if Baxter could hear them but he was nowhere in sight as Melissa noticed this and teased “I am sure he would appreciate it” as Laura strongly told her “Don’t tease him” she was about to call him out was Melissa but saw Laura was serious and Melissa took in some water and spat it out of her mouth. Melissa said “Come on Laura, why don’t you tell me what it was like. How was last night for you?” Laura looked incensed and said to her friend whispering “We didn’t fuck Melissa” Melissa was confused as Laura confessed “We didn’t do anything but kiss and hold each other, it was nice and it was comforting”.
As Melissa took this in and then said with a giggle “Oh you pussy” at this Laura swam towards the shore to which Melissa observed her and commentated “Where are you going sweetie? Going to get your boyfriend to relieve your tension? Ask him to rub you really good” as Laura turned to her before reaching the lake’s edge and with a look of scorn said to Melissa “You know Baxter isn’t like that, I wanted to sleep together but he didn’t he said in better times, isn’t that a refreshing thing for a guy to say Melissa. I think he felt like he was taking advantage of me, how sweet when I was taking advantage of him” Melissa observed her friend, and Melissa appeared serious, like considering this moment of reflection from Laura.
And then Melissa burst out laughing as Laura ignored her friend and headed to the land, she pulled herself up did Laura as Melissa said “Oh come on Laura, I am just fucking around. There is no need to be so sensitive to what I said, what’s your problem? We always joke around like this?” Laura grabbed her clothes from the nearby area beside the lake and looked at Melissa and said from the land as she whispered “Melissa, I know you don’t mean harm but we have to be careful. If you are not careful you will be like the others and those squads, you will forget we are victims in this, all of us, and this is not a game, we cannot think of it as a thing to enjoy. Don’t let it eat you, I have just got this bad feeling something is going to happen” Laura made her way away from the lake as Melissa still treading water laughed at her friend, treating the situation as a joke was Melissa as she said to Laura by shouting “Look around you Laura, it is all a bad fucking situation”.
Laura was steaming angry and made her way back to the tent as Melissa swam around for a while and was shouting aloud “Baxter, come swim with me baby” Laura knew her friend was taunting her but she ignored her. Melissa herself was just joking around, and this was how Melissa was and the extreme side of her personality led her to be like this. Melissa eventually became placid and continued to find comfort in the freshness of the water. Laura sat in her tent and wrapped herself in a towel and put her clothes back on after drying her underwear. Eventually Laura left the tent and after a few minutes and went to the fire to pour some coffee into a flask, she stood by the fire, the coffee being cold. “Everyone is losing their mind” she remarked to herself. Baxter was sleeping calmly in the woods unaware about what was happening beyond it, he had himself succumbed to sleep so had no idea Laura and Melissa had an argument.
A few minutes after Laura had exited the lake Melissa had done the same. Melissa though spent time by the lake side wandering around in her wet underwear, taking her time before going back to camp, she saw Laura who turned to her as Melissa rolled her eyes at her friend and went into their tent. Melissa spent about 20 minutes changing back into her clothes. Melissa then came outside and went towards the campfire, she came to sit near Laura and looked at her and sat opposite her “Where is Baxter?” asked Melissa, as Laura replied “In the woods, sleeping, can you not hear him snoring”. Melissa listened out a
nd laughed as she added “I thought that was an animal”. Melissa then glared at her friend who would not look at her as Melissa said seriously, since she noticed Laura was not laughing along with her “Since we have had a fight I am not sleeping outside, so you will have to find a new place to sleep. I am sure Baxter won’t mind taking you in but best ask Kenny to sleep outside, unless you want two for one”. Laura now stood up and looked down at Melissa as she said to the sitting Melissa “What the fuck is your problem?”
Melissa quickly stood up and said to Laura “You are, you think I don’t care about our friends who have died, or my family” as Laura quickly replied “I never said anything about your family?” and with her quick wit Melissa answered angrily “Oh so it is our friends then?” as Laura made herself clear by explaining “I didn’t say you didn’t care about our friends either. All I meant was must be mindful about the situation we are in or...” Melissa interrupted her and stated “You know you need to chill the fuck out!” as Laura and Melissa then saw Baxter who was moving back towards them from the woods after having finally woken up, both girls went quiet and sat back down, they were not eager to expose their issues with each other in front of him or anyone for that matter. As Baxter approached he asked them both “Did you enjoy your swim?”
Laura just smiled as Melissa did an OK sign with her fingers without saying anything else. Both girls just looked at each other tensely. Baxter said unaware of the tension “You know I wish they took radios with them to keep in contact with us” as Melissa stood up hurriedly and stated “So we can hear them dying on radio like we did back in the police station with Nancy’s colleagues” Melissa then walked away, she went to where her weapon was and held it and said “It is my turn to go into the woods on patrol, I will probably sleep like you Baxter”. Baxter was confused as he looked at Melissa walking away and then at Laura sitting down, looking up at him.