Winter looked from Connor to Cedric. She let the realisation that they had been talking about her sink in.
“What have you been telling him, Connor? What have you been telling this complete stranger?”
“I-”
“We’re not talking about this here.” Suddenly Cedric’s tone was dark. The smile on his face was gone. Ruby looked stern.
“I’m not getting in that car with you. I don’t know who you are, or what you want, but you killed Oliver and then you expect me to join ‘your side.’”
“We were told to kill him,” Ruby said.
“By who?”
“Me.”
Winter looked at Connor. He was staring back at her.
“I told him to kill Oliver. I told them where we would be. I told them we were on the way to the Thames. I told them you were with me, at last. They’ve been looking for you all this time.”
Winter glanced at William to see he was just as confused as she was.
“We don’t mean any harm, Winter,” Cedric said, although something in his voice suggested this wasn’t entirely true. He was a man who got what he wanted, and Winter was sure if he didn’t get what he wanted, he would do what it took to get it.
“I’ve been talking to him this whole time,” Connor said to William. “I found the walkie-talkie in your shack.”
Connor took the walkie-talkie out of his pocket. Winter suddenly realised she had heard it go off before, when they had been in the woods together, when Connor had confessed his deepest secrets. Had he been lying? Or had that been an opportunity for Winter to realise he wasn’t to be trusted?
“How did they get the other device?” Winter asked.
“I sold it to them,” William said. Winter turned to him with despair. She couldn’t learn that William had been in on the communications too. William shook his head quickly. “I didn’t know who they were. I didn’t know Connor knew them. But they were our last business. They cleared us of weapons, and then they bought only one walkie-talkie. I remember because it was really odd.”
“So I’ve been talking to him, because he had seen the photos of that party, Winter, published in the paper after the attack. He had learnt that I was there with you on a date, by piecing together the location, the images and people who had seen us in the coffee shop,” Connor explained.
“Stop talking,” Cedric warned.
“She needs to know how I got talking to you. She doesn’t need to know why you want her.”
“I do,” Winter said, but she was ignored.
“But we had been split up, and Cedric didn’t think we’d find each other. I knew I’d be alive because he was keeping track of me, looking out for us. But you, well he couldn’t find you and neither could I.”
“What do you mean he was looking out for us?” William asked.
“You really think we survived everything because we were skilful?” Connor asked him. “Sure, we survived some things alone, but Cedric kept watch over us and made sure we were always safe.”
“So you knew someone was watching us, someone could help us, but you made us travel anyway? You made us lose Helena, Gerry and Laura?”
Connor sighed. He ran a hand through his hair. Winter could feel William now trembling with anger next to her.
“I wasn’t going to help you until you got Winter,” Cedric said.
“We got Winter before they died,” William argued.
“By the time Winter came, Cedric was out of the country,” Connor said. “So I knew we had to stay in those gardens, because we would have no one making sure we were safe after that. We’d run the risk of leaving the gardens and being killed.”
“Then he left,” Cedric said.
“Because Gerry made us.” Connor bristled. “We were told we had to get to the M1, no protests. I wasn’t going to take on Gerry, was I? He was our leader. You wanted him on our side.”
Cedric shrugged. “I’ll live without him.”
“So we got to the M1, and that was when it all went wrong. I kept communicating with Cedric, telling him he needed to come back immediately, because we were so close to the Thames. We had already lost Helena, and that was because Cedric wasn’t there to help us.”
“That’s insulting.” William growled.
“It’s the truth,” Ruby said.
“Why do you think I insisted we got out of the car by Buckingham palace?” Connor asked. “I knew Cedric was back. I had told him that was where we’d be. I knew we could escape, and if anything looked like it was about to go wrong, we’d be saved.”
“But you haven’t explained why he was looking for me,” Winter said. She had kept quiet to listen to Connor, but now she wanted more answers.
“Because we are not explaining that here,” Cedric said. “We will explain that on the ship.”
“Trust me, Winter. He can get us to the Thames quicker than if we went there on foot. Hear him out. If you don’t want to do that, Cedric will let you go, and he won’t contact you again.” Connor urged. “Isn’t that right, Cedric?”
Cedric’s lips tightened. He furrowed his brow. “That’s right,” he said in a strangled voice.
Ruby looked equally as tense.
“Come on, Winter, we should go,” William said. “We can get to the Thames at last. We all know how dangerous it is to go by foot.”
“We’ve survived so far,” Winter said.
“Because of me,” Cedric answered. He fixed the smile back upon his face. “You should come with me, Winter. I promise I’m going to take you to where you need to be.”
Her parents had never said to her ‘don’t talk to strangers’, but she had heard it numerous times. She had known never to get into cars with strangers, especially strangers who shot someone you had travelled with so quickly and for no apparent reason other than someone else had told them to. That someone was Connor, who she had trusted, and begun to fall in love with.
“We’ve already said too much,” Cedric added. “Please, just come with us.”
Winter wanted to say no. She wanted to say she had her pride, and that she could get to the Thames by foot, and if she had to go alone she would. But in reality, she knew how dangerous it would be. In reality, if she were alone she would crumble.
“Fine.”
She smiled reassuringly at William, strode past Connor and let Cedric guide her to the car. Once inside, she rested her head against the headrest and waited for the others to join her. She was in no doubt that Connor and Cedric had a lot to catch up on.
* * *
Violet and Zach heard them before they saw them, but in a few seconds the front door was splintering and the kitchen door had been shut. They had gotten in, and it was only seconds before they found them.
The kids were crying on the soft, pink sofa. Violet felt like crying herself. They were in an enclosed space, with zombies on both side of the doors, and they knew they were outnumbered.
“What the hell are we going to do?” Zach said. “How are we going to get out of this one?”
Violet had no idea. She looked around the comfy room, trying to find something that could help them, but there was nothing. Then her eyes fell on the fireplace.
“This is going to be incredibly crazy, and it really could go horribly wrong.”
Zach saw what she was looking at.
“There’s matches on the fireplace.”
Violet found the matches while Zach threw a few logs onto the fire. Violet struck a match and moved the burning stick towards the fire. She threw it onto the logs as Zach began to tear pages out of the books and threw them onto the fire too. A few seconds later, the fireplace was proudly sporting a glowing orange fireball.
“Now we set this place alight,” Violet said. “And we run through those doors and hope we don’t get bitten.”
“It’s pretty risky.”
“This could be where our luck runs out.”
The pair looked at each other for a moment, and then they were kissing each other one last time.
>
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
Zach helped the kids off the sofa while Violet pushed it towards the fireplace. The flames licked at the arm of the sofa, and in a few moments it had travelled across the sofa until it was ablaze. Zach crouched down and reached for a log from the pile. He picked it up and held it to the flames on the sofa until the log was burning, and then he strode across the room to the front door.
“Are you ready?” He asked Violet.
“Do it.”
Zach wrenched open the door and threw the log at the first zombie he saw. As soon as one was set alight the others scattered. Zach grabbed the kids while Violet ran out into the street. Zach felt no remorse. He knew there would be no survivors living inside the row of homes anymore.
After what seemed like an age running, avoiding any of the dead that still remained, the Thames came into view. The pair were spurred on by the sight.
“There it is! I can see the ship! There it is!”
It was still a distance away, but they could get there. The coast was clear so far and they carried on running. Zach could feel the kids straining against him but he kept them close.
When they got near the ship, they saw commotion. Zombies were attacking any remaining survivors running to safety. Police officers, government workers and the survivors who had acquired guns were firing bullets, refusing to give up now that evacuation from London was so close.
Violet and Zach both heard snarling and turned in time to see a zombie launch itself off a metal container towards them. Violet shot it to the floor, moving out of the way before it fell on her.
They ran, and a police officer held out his hand as they approached.
“Give me the children, I’ll get them on board.”
Two government workers made to help, too. They touched the boy Zach was holding.
It all happened so quickly. The boy turned to the government worker with bloodshot eyes and decaying flesh, but it wasn’t him who imparted the infectious bite, it was the girl, who launched at the government worker and tore at his throat.
The police officer called for help, and in seconds police officers had descended on Violet and Zach, grabbing them and handcuffing them, dragging them away from the kids who had run off to attack nearby survivors.
“What the fuck? Get off us, what the fuck are you doing?” Violet screamed.
“We’ve been set up.” One police officer was saying. “These survivors bought infected people here in an attempt to kill.”
“Disarm them.”
The guns were ripped from their hands and thrown to the floor. Violet tried to protest but the police officers pushed her to the ground.
“Leave her alone!” Zach shouted, but he was also pushed to the floor. They were held at gun point, surrounded by police officers instead of the dead, while all around them government workers and survivors struggled to protect and get on the ship.
“What do we do with them?”
“Kill them,” someone said. “They could be infected.”
“I don’t see any bites.”
“Why aren’t they wearing any clothes?”
“Why did you set us up?”
“Kill them.”
“We didn’t know they were infected! We’re not infected ourselves, we’re fine. Please, take these cuffs off,” Zach said, confused by all of the questions.
The pair felt themselves being checked over. Zach’s top was torn from his back so all he was in was his underwear. He felt his dignity shrinking away from him. He heard the water slapping against the docks behind him, and the firing bullets soar through the air.
“We’re fucking survivors who want to get on that fucking ship!” Violet screamed, trying to stand up. She was pushed back down to her feet and three guns were aimed at her. “You take these fucking cuffs off us right now and get us away from this city.”
“Call for government back up.”
They heard police officers scatter, and knew that if they didn’t move soon they would be killed.
* * *
Winter Smith hurried out of the car she had gotten in with Cedric. She heard him calling her, telling her not to be so stupid, but she didn’t care. She could see her friends, Violet and Zach, about to be shot by police officers. She feared the worst. She feared they were infected.
Winter screamed when two children threw themselves at her, hissing and screeching and emitting a foul smell. She slipped across blood soaked floor and fired her gun, shooting the boy child straight through the head. She felt guilt crash over her in a wave, and she saw the girl running towards her.
She closed her eyes and shot, and heard the last screech of the girl. Opening her eyes, she saw the two kids she had been responsible for saving had now been killed under her hand.
She looked towards the car Cedric owned and saw it was driving towards the ship. She felt only panic. She hoped William was safe, and she found she didn’t care for the others, not even Connor.
She turned back to her friends and saw government officials surrounded them. She ran towards them. She would help them. She would explain everything.
As she approached, she locked eyes with Violet. Relief filled Violet’s face. A smile broke across her face.
“Winter!” Violet gasped.
The police officers turned to Winter, and the government workers raised their guns. Winter did the same, and pointed at the nearest police officer.
“These aren’t the thugs. These are survivors, who need to be taken on the ship,” Winter said.
Violet and Zach got to their feet.
“They brought infected children to the area,” a police officer said.
“And I’m sure they didn’t mean to do that. Let them go.”
The police officers exchanged looks.
“Let them go,” a government worker said. “We need all the survivors we can get.”
Winter gave the government worker a thankful smile.
A car horn beeped but Winter didn’t turn around. She knew who it would be, and she knew what they would want, but they could wait.
Once Violet and Zach were free of the handcuffs, Winter threw her arms around them.
“I can’t believe you’re alive.” Winter gasped. “I can’t believe we’ve made it.”
“I’m so sorry.” Violet sobbed.
Winter broke away. All three of them were in tears.
“There’s no time to talk here,” Winter said, as the car horn beeped once more. “We have to go.”
They turned to the ship to see the captain beginning to withdraw the anchor from the water. Winter screamed out. She saw Connor, William, Cedric and Rose stood by the car, looking over at them.
“Oh my god, it’s Connor.” Violet gasped.
They got to the water, where the captain was struggling to get the anchor back up, due to the zombies, which were grabbing it. Winter noticed the dead in the water seemed to sink and never return, but she could still see they were alive.
The steps leading up to the ship were heavily guarded, and the dead kept heading towards them. It was almost as if the dead thought they, too, should have a right to leave London behind.
“Why is it leaving now? It’s too early,” William was saying.
“Because of how much is going on. The dead seem to be congregating here,” Zach answered.
“Let’s get moving,” Violet said.
They did as she said. She was halfway to the steps when a survivor nearby fired a bullet. Winter knew what was going to happen but could do nothing about it. The bullet soared past and hit Violet straight in the shoulder.
Violet screamed, clutching at her wound. Zach ran to her and kept her on her feet before she could fall. The blood pouring from her wound alerted the dead nearby, and they began running towards her.
Guards ran to the aid, some fighting off the zombies and some leading them to the steps.
They were all scanned, judged, checked for any infections before getting on board, but when Win
ter stepped onto the deck of the ship she felt relieved. But the panic she felt for Violet was weighing down on her, and when Violet was rushed across the deck, Winter pursued.
The captain nodded at them as they got on board. He looked panicked and fraught.
A government worker came to their aid.
They were led across the floor, feeling the ship bob left and right and hearing the hisses and the firing bullets back on land. Winter noticed that the sky was becoming dark, filled with clouds, but it was much too early for nightfall yet. They were taken to a door, which led down old, wooden steps. Once they climbed down the steps, they found themselves in hallways full of bedrooms. Nurses frantically rushed from room to room, while those who had been tended to were sat on stools waiting for further instructions.
Winter, Violet and Zach were guided into one room, which was small and compact. Violet was told to get on the bed - a large metal slab with a thin mattress on top, while her wound was tended to. She was assured everything would be okay.
Zach was placed on the chair next to her, and Winter was told to sit on another bed as they needed to do routine check ups on everyone. Winter assumed it was because of her wounds after their car crash.
Connor looked at her through the door. William, Cedric and Ruby were behind him. They were told to move out of the way and a government worker guided them down the hall.
“I don’t need to be seen. I’m here on business.” Winter could hear Cedric saying.
The engines of the ship began to fire up, and Winter wondered if all survivors had made it on board.
“I’m so sorry for everything, Winter.” Violet was saying. “I got paranoid. I just forgot what was right, and wanted to do stuff my way. I thought I could do this with out you, but Zach will agree with me when I say just how hard it has been.”
Winter shook her head. “We were all scared. Emotions were running high. You have nothing to be sorry for.”
Violet sighed. “I am really sorry. For everything.”
“What happened with the kids?”
“They got ill.” Zach explained. “They were getting ill before we left…before we left each other…but I didn’t notice any bites on them or anything. Then, when we got here, they were dead.”
Winter Smith (Book 1): London's Burning Page 38