At the back of the room, on either end, were two double doors leading out to one balcony. A glass table in the middle of the room sat on a shag pile white carpet. A gold plated fireplace, that hadn’t been set alight, sat below a mirror.
“This is incredible,” Winter said to herself, eyeing a glass door. Through it she could see a large shower, with a marble base.
She shut the door and padded over the room. She had removed her dirty shoes downstairs, afraid of getting this immaculate house dirty. A wardrobe in the corner of the room caught her eye. She opened it, expecting it to be empty, but was surprised to see a couple of t-shirts. A note was attached to one coat hanger. Touching it, Winter read a message from Maria.
‘Complimentary clothing for the brave at heart.’
“Thanks, Maria.” Winter smirked. She would definitely benefit from clean clothes.
The bathroom was airy, with tiled flooring and spotless surfaces. Complimentary soaps and shampoos were next to the Belfast sink, making Winter feel like she was in a five star hotel. There was a nice scent in the room, lavender, she thought.
She wasted no time in stripping and turning on the shower. It took a few seconds for the water to change temperature, but when it did Winter ducked under and savoured the water running down her skin. She felt the dirt wash off her.
She helped herself to the soaps, and after two applications she felt clean. It was the first time since she had escaped London that she truly felt human again.
She got out of the shower, wrapping a fluffy towel around her body. She wiped condensation off the mirror and stared at her reflection, admiring how refreshed she looked.
She poured herself a glass of water from the tap and drank it in one, before refilling and doing the same.
She grabbed her old clothes and strolled out of the room, towards the balcony. She opened the doors and stepped out onto the stone, a light breeze chilling her wet skin. Up here, she felt invincible. She felt like nothing could go wrong. She felt like life was just starting, how it was promised to start when she had been escaping.
On a whim, she threw her old, dirty clothes up in the air. They fluttered away from her, falling down to the ground below. A man looked up, confused, but Winter didn’t care. She giggled as she walked back into her room, dropping her towel.
She could get used to safety.
* * *
They had been in the kitchen, grouped together talking about their rooms, this new life, The Union, when they heard the front door opening.
Immediately the group had tensed. Winter’s heart thumped heavily in her chest as her eyes scanned the room for something to fight with.
“Did you lock the door?” Violet whispered.
“Yes.” Zach replied.
The noises in the hall got louder. Nobody in the kitchen moved.
“Didn’t Cedric say there were others living here?”
“I hope it’s them.”
Voices drifted down to them. Winter recognised the one.
“It can’t be…” She breathed.
The door to the kitchen opened, and Winter’s suspicions were confirmed.
“Winter.” William gasped. “No. What?”
Behind him were Lara and Caroline, the two girls they had met upon arrival. The three of them were alive and well, after they had split from the group a few days previously. It seemed like so long ago.
“I can’t believe it!” Winter threw herself into William’s arms, squeezing him tightly. He hugged her just as hard, pulling her as close to him as he possibly could. The girls said hello to the others and joined them at the table, looking equally as shocked.
“You’re all okay,” Lara said. She looked around the room. “Where’s your friend?”
“Connor,” Winter said, breaking away from William. “V took him.”
Caroline gasped. “That’s awful.” She had a wound to her forehead, but other than that she seemed okay. She saw Winter look at it. “Nothing to worry about. An attack from a crazed individual whose house we broke into one night. He’s not alive anymore.”
“I had to shoot him down.” Lara indicated the gun she held in her hand. “You got here tonight?”
“We did!” Zach said, nodding enthusiastically. “When did you get here?”
“About three nights ago,” Lara said. “We were working the next morning. We got bored of sitting around.”
“You did?” Missy asked. Her hair was tied back after she had been in the shower. “I’m loving the luxury!”
“It’s nice, yes.” William nodded. “But it isn’t going to be this easy all the time. We’re constantly under threat.”
“Under threat?” Violet asked.
“The Blitzer’s patrol the area regularly,” Lara said. “It’s only a matter of time before they storm in.”
“But Maria said it was secure.”
“It is for now.” Caroline nodded.
For the rest of the evening, the group caught up with one another. William revealed he had begun training as a doctor. “It’s obviously very early days yet. I haven’t had a class just yet, but I start in two days. I’ve been learning combat, but I’m just not very good at it.”
“So they have a doctor department?” Zach asked.
William nodded. “It’s two blocks away. There aren’t many doctors yet, but Maria has managed to find a place where we can do some classroom learning, and maybe a few mock surgeries when the time is right. Obviously, without proper training, we’re limited on what we can do for now. There are small operating rooms being built, and consultation rooms are already open.”
“How many doctors are there?”
“About three. I haven’t met them yet.”
After going through the process of The Union, and what it had to offer, conversation turned to life how it used to be.
“I used to love living in Bristol.” Lara sipped at a glass of red wine. It was her third, and her cheeks had started to blush red. “It was a nice place to live. Sure, it could get a bit dodgy here and there, but it seemed like the people had a bit of life to them. There was always something interesting going on, which I really appreciated.”
“What did you do there?”
“I studied to be a sporting coach. I was in college, half way through. I’m good with fitness, but I wanted to teach it. I thought that would be a fun career. One that would be quite rewarding, you know?”
“You do look lean.” Winter remarked.
Lara laughed. “Thanks. I met Caroline in a martial arts class I joined, didn’t I?”
“She did indeed.” Caroline nodded, also drinking wine, though looking less drunk than Lara. “And we met Miranda there, too.”
Winter remembered the girl that had been with Lara and Caroline on arrival. She had died when trying to get back to safety.
“When the apocalypse hit, we were actually just finishing up at a class,” Caroline said. “We saw people running, and then of course we saw the dead. We just ran. We didn’t know what else to do. My mum lived closer, so we went to my house, but...”
Lara continued for her. “There wasn’t anybody there.”
Caroline shook her head, letting tears spill. “I didn’t get on with my mum. Not enough, anyway. But I didn’t want to find her gone. I hoped she would be there. I never found out what happened to her.”
“We realised, eventually, that it wasn’t just Bristol falling victim to this,” Lara said. “I’m sure like you did you picked up on the news. Everywhere was going. So we fled, trying to get away from Bristol.”
“We didn’t know about the evacuation boats in London,” Caroline said. “Maybe we would have headed there. But we lucked out, really.”
“We did.” Lara nodded. “We got on a government boat in Bristol, by the Severn Bridge.”
“The rest was history.” Caroline shrugged. “Found out the truth after working for V for a bit. Broke away, and now she wants us dead.”
“Not if we kill her first!” Lara exclaimed, laughing as she did
so. It was odd to see Lara relaxed. Winter had got the impression that she was quite a serious person the last time they had met.
“What about you Caroline?” Zach asked. “What was life like for you in Bristol?”
“Ah,” Caroline looked away, as if embarrassed. “I had my problems, I suppose. I was working admin jobs, trying to figure out what I wanted to be.”
“Did you ever?” Violet asked.
Caroline shook her head. “No. I just worked admin jobs.”
“What about life?” Missy smiled. “You said you had problems with your mum…?”
“That doesn’t really matter.”
“No, tell us!” Missy said. “I love stories.”
“It’s nothing.” Caroline shrugged. “We just argued sometimes.”
“But why?” Missy pressed.
Caroline sighed. “Look, it’s embarrassing, okay?”
Missy looked like she wanted to shake Caroline. “Just tell us.”
“She couldn’t accept me.” Caroline blurted, instantly regretting the words. She glared at her wine, as if that was to blame. She swallowed and looked at the group before her. “She didn’t like who I was.”
“Which was?”
“A lesbian.” Caroline shrugged. “She was a woman that was…quite religious. She had her beliefs, I had mine. They didn’t match. She didn’t like that. We fell out when I was about fourteen, after I asked her if it was normal to kiss other girls. Ever since then we weren’t the same.”
“That’s…tragic.” Missy mused.
Caroline cocked her head. “That was my mum. My big old, divorced mother. She cared for nobody but God. She had a life of drugs and turned herself around when he found her at her lowest point, or some bullshit like that.”
Winter was stunned. She would have never thought of Caroline having such a difficult past. It amazed Winter what people went through, and only reminded her that life was different for everyone before the apocalypse came around. Only now, they were all walking the same path.
“I tried to appease her.” Caroline continued. “I tried coming home with boyfriends, and for a short time she was happy for me, and things seemed to be going well. But soon I realised I couldn’t keep doing this. I wasn’t happy, and it was draining me. I lost a lot of friends because of my own problems. I got upset, thinking there was something wrong with me. When I was about twenty, I realised there was nothing wrong with who I was. So I just became a girl that was out and proud. She hated me for it.”
“At least you stayed true to yourself,” Violet said. “Sometimes, we’ve got to do what we have to do.”
Caroline nodded. “Two years later, and she’s disappeared off the face of the earth. I’ve no idea where she was on the day the dead came to Bristol, but she was untraceable. I have no doubt that she’s dead.”
The mood in the room turned cold as everyone thought back to their own family. Winter knew, somewhere in France, her parents were in trouble. As was Connor. If anything, Winter had to help them. She had to save them from V.
“My parents up and left me,” Zach said to Lara and Caroline. “One evening I came downstairs to see them driving away.”
“You were left alone?” Lara asked.
“Yes,” Zach nodded. “My brother and sister had gone with them, too.”
“I didn’t know you had siblings.” Winter said.
“I try not to talk about them much.”
It wasn’t the first time Winter had wondered what relationship Zach had previously had with his family. His parents had left him, and Zach had once given a vague reason as to why. But surely they wouldn’t have just left if they knew they could save him?
“I never got to go back home.” Lara said. “My mum was a drunk who I hadn’t spoken to in years.”
“A drunk?” Violet asked. “Apparently, my dad was, too. But he disappeared as soon as he found out my mum was pregnant.”
“Tough lives!” Missy exhaled. “My parents were fantastic.”
“Because they spoiled you.”
“I worked. I did buy my own things.”
“Not your ponies,” Winter said.
“I didn’t want them, anyway.” Missy huffed.
Violet rolled her eyes. “You two lived very different lifestyles to us commoners. You do realise we had problems?”
Winter couldn’t help herself. “I had problems, too, Violet.”
“Sure.”
Violet couldn’t accept Winter’s background. Winter knew she was envious of the money Winter once had, and the big house and the security that she never had. But Winter’s life hadn’t been a walk in the park. It had been pretty horrific.
“My parents were pretty cool.” William mused. “They were your average joes. Married for ten years. Had me when she was twenty-two. I got along with both of them pretty well.”
“Parents,” Lara shrugged.
They finished up their drinks and bade each other goodnight. Lara, Caroline and William had to be up in the morning. Winter decided she wanted to wake up early, too. She knew she was here to work to one goal: saving her parents and Connor. She would save them and see what else there was to do. Right now, she wasn’t convinced that taking on V’s Illuminati cult was the smartest move.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Winter awoke the next morning in a soft bed that tickled her skin. She moved against it, savouring the feeling of a good night’s rest. She could hear someone walking out in the hall, and a few seconds later the door to her room was opening. She drew the blankets around her naked body, making sure she was covered. She relaxed just a tiny bit when Caroline walked in, wearing just a top.
“Hey.” Caroline awkwardly waved. She stepped forwards but stopped, swaying on her feet. “I just wanted to check you had a good night’s sleep.”
“Uh…” Winter blinked. What time was it? “Uh…yeah, I did. Yeah, it was good.”
Caroline nodded. “Good.”
She hovered for a moment, before nodding slowly and turning to leave. She shut the door behind her, leaving a bemused Winter staring at the door.
Winter got to her feet, finding a fresh pair of clothes from the wardrobe and putting them on. She peered out of the window. It was raining. Black clouds told her that the rain was not going to ease off anytime soon.
The door to her room opened again. This time a topless William, his hair stuck up at odd angles, greeted her. It must have been early morning.
“Winter,” he said, yawning. “There’s somebody here to see you. Waiting in the kitchen.”
For one stabbing moment, Winter thought it might be her parents. Had they escaped, or been recruited by The Union? She glanced at William’s grey shorts as she nodded. “I’ll go down in a moment.”
William nodded and left the room.
Winter threw a look at her shower. She wished she had time to clean before someone came to see her. She headed out of the room and walked downstairs. A clock in the hallway told her it was five minutes past seven in the morning. Lacking sleep out on the streets was strange. Really, she should still be in bed. Maybe her body had got used to sleeping lightly, anticipating an attack from the dead.
When Winter walked into the kitchen, she considered walking out. David Herald was not a man she wanted to see when she had bad smelling breath and tangled hair. She didn’t want to see him at all, but if he was in The Union she knew their meetings would be unavoidable.
“Winter.” He didn’t bother to stand up. The air of his feigned authority was back, now that he wasn’t in the company of Maria and Cedric. “I just wanted to see how you settled in.”
“Fine, thank you.” Winter walked to the large fridge they had. She hadn’t actually seen what was inside. As she opened it, she spotted orange juice. Figuring that might mask the taste in her mouth, she poured herself a glass. “Now that you know, maybe you can leave.”
“Come on, don’t be that way,” David said, his hand resting on a notepad. Winter hoped this wasn’t going to be some interview for his new
project. “Make me a coffee and sit down.”
Winter eyed the silver kettle on the worktop. “I’m not your slave, David. Make it yourself.”
David pulled a face. “Just sit down.”
Winter sat on a chair that was underneath the island in the room. She chose the chair furthest away from David, opposite a large window that looked out onto a small, secluded garden.
A toilet flushed upstairs, followed by footsteps walking across the landing. She wished somebody would come down and stop David from the interrogation he was likely to put on her now, but they didn’t.
“I’m glad you’re alive,” David said, which surprised Winter. He looked slightly embarrassed to the say the words. “I worried that you hadn’t made it.”
“Well, I’m here.” Winter wasn’t interested, but she figured she needed to make conversation. “How did you get out?”
“You don’t have to phrase it so bluntly,” David said. Winter stared at him blankly. He cleared his throat. “I got out not long after I saw you, in that coffee shop back in London. I was on to something when I saw you. I started hearing rumours, so I started pursuing them.”
“What rumours?”
David’s hand still rested on his notepad. There was a pen slipped inside the binding. “That the government were behind the apocalypse. People talked, even back in London. They had spotted guards acting strangely. Some even claimed they saw them unloading the dead in rural areas so the infection spread quicker. I knew there was a story that needed to be reported, so I ignored evacuation squads and started to do some research. Of course, it didn’t take long for the dead to get to the area. I wonder if it was because guards sensed I was on to them. I don’t know. Anyway, I was approached by a couple of government guards who said they recognised me. Said they could take me to Paris and set me up, and my newspaper would be a success. I told them I would do it if I could get my dad and take him with me.”
“Your dad’s here?” Winter asked, surprised. She knew Harry Herald by name, and had only ever met him once. He hadn’t known who she was.
“No.” David shook his head and looked away. “No. We went to the offices to find them all dead. He had been bitten.”
Winter Smith (Book 2): The Secrets of France Page 14