The Alpha Plague - Books 1 - 8: A Post-Apocalyptic Action Thriller

by Michael Robertson

  The thing changed its course and went for Flynn.

  “No!” Vicky shouted and her loud call echoed through the town. She lurched at the thing and swung hard for its head before it could get to the boy. She caught its temple and the creature’s legs buckled beneath it. Like the first, Vicky made sure and buried her baton into its fragile skull.

  Heavy pants ran through her as she stared at the two diseased and listened out for more.

  Nothing.

  The two monsters, both men aged anywhere between twenty-five and forty years old, lay executed in the wooded area at the side of the road. Dark blood, almost black like tar, ran from the wounds in the sides of their heads and pooled on the ground. Vicky hunched down next to one and slipped her hand into its pocket. She found what she was looking for on the first try. “Bingo!”

  Dumbstruck, Flynn simply stared at her and shook when she lifted the car key up for him to see. She pressed the unlock button on the key and an orange glow came from a car three houses down.

  “Yes,” Vicky said and ruffled Flynn’s hair. “Let’s get the fuck out of here.”

  Before Vicky left, she found a phone in the other man’s pocket. It had a sticker across the back of it with the phone’s number printed on it. “Must be a work phone,” she said to Flynn as she showed it to him. “Why else would someone have their number on the back?”

  Flynn shrugged, clearly still too shocked to speak.

  “What that means for us is that we can use it. Sure, we can’t make any calls from it because we can’t unlock it, but we can receive them.”

  A spade lay on the front lawn of one of the houses next to a mound of earth. “Stay there,” Vicky said and jogged over to retrieve it.

  After Vicky had folded up her telescopic baton and slipped it into her pocket, she picked the spade up and marched back over toward Flynn. “Look away, son, you don’t want to see this.”

  When Flynn closed his eyes and looked down at the ground, Vicky lifted the shovel and drove it into the forearm of one of the diseased. Sparks flew up and a loud ching rang out from where the head of the spade ran straight through the dead creature’s arm and hit a rock beneath it. Vicky’s hands buzzed from the shock that ran up the handle.

  The sound of the spade ran through Vicky’s mind for longer than it called out in the quiet street. Tense, her skin tingling as she stood alert, Vicky looked around, squinting as she studied the shadows. She hadn’t attracted any unwanted attention. Vicky then placed the spade on the ground and lifted the severed arm. Heavier than she expected it to be, she walked over to the first house with Flynn by her side. When they reached the white garage door, she handed Flynn the phone and said, “Read the number out to me, will ya?”

  Once they’d finished, Vicky took the phone from Flynn to check she had the number correct. She then tossed the arm aside and pulled the boy close to her. “You’ve been so brave. Your mummy and daddy will be so proud to hear how well you’ve done.” She then pulled the police car’s key from her right pocket and tossed it into a bush at the side of the garage. “No need for that now.”

  Although silence surrounded them still, a different sensation shimmied through Vicky’s skin now she’d gotten closer to a house. With the power in the street out, the windows on every property sat dark and impenetrable. Someone, or something had to be watching them at that moment.

  One final look up and down the road and Vicky shuddered before she finally said, “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

  Once inside the car, Vicky smelled the reek of rot from the diseased. Coated in blood, she wound the windows down, but it didn’t help remove the heavy stench. She reversed off the driveway so the car faced toward London. Rhys knew of her plan to go to The Highlands so she needed to stick with it. If she didn’t, Flynn may never see his parents again.

  The car’s brake lights lit up the street behind Vicky, and when she looked in her rear-view mirror, she nearly lost her bladder.

  Brendan, still with his limp and still with his focused look of hate, shambled up the road behind her.

  Without another word so as not to traumatise Flynn any further, Vicky slipped the car into gear with a shaky hand and drove off.

  Chapter 25

  Rhys’ eyes itched as he strained to see into the darkness. No matter how many times he blinked or rubbed his eyes, the pitch of night prevented any more than about five metres vision in any direction. Aches streaked up and down his tired legs and sweat stood out on his brow. A sticky film of dirt covered his entire body that pulled his shirt and trousers against his skin.

  Rhys fought for breath as he ran and his tired feet slapped down against the hard road. From the sound of Larissa’s own heavy steps, she seemed as exhausted as him.

  Despite the diseased behind them, Rhys slowed to a walk.

  After she’d glanced across at him, Larissa did the same.

  Hopefully they had enough of a lead on the mob to get to Biggin Hill Airport before they caught up to them.

  Summit City gave off an orange hue like a smouldering bonfire. All of the tall flames had gone, but the place looked like it still burned hotter than hell and the roads looked as if they could melt glass. The plastic reek of the city burned as strong as ever, and after a particularly deep breath, Rhys tasted the chemical funk of it. Although this time, the smell seemed a little different. It had an undertone of singed hair and overcooked sweet meat.

  After another glance behind Rhys looked in front again. The sound of the diseased had grown louder, a thunder of clumsy footsteps, but he still couldn’t see a thing. By the time he could it would be far too late. Despite his will to run again, his leaden body didn’t have it in it.

  Larissa looked over her shoulder and stumbled. Once she’d recovered she said, “Do you think they can smell us?”

  “No.”

  “Oh?”

  A shake of his head and Rhys elaborated. “When I was in the city, I hid from them on several occasions. If they were able to smell, they would have found us at that point. They were so close it would have been almost impossible to miss us. I think they’re a hungry mob on their way south. Sure, they saw us back there and gave chase, but I don’t think they know where we are. They’ll just keep moving until they find something. It seems to be what they do.”

  When Larissa didn’t reply Rhys looked first at her, and then followed her line of sight.

  “One mile,” she said as she looked at the sign. “One mile to Biggin Hill Airport.”

  Silence.

  “What if she’s not there, Rhys?”

  “She will be. She’ll be there with Flynn. I trust her.”

  “I don’t!”

  “I know, but it’ll be fine. If you don’t trust her, trust me when I say everything will work out.” Although he encouraged Larissa to have faith, an anxious pang twisted through him. So many things could go wrong in Vicky’s attempts to reunite him with his boy. She would try her hardest, but that didn’t guarantee a thing.

  The conversation with Larissa had died so Rhys looked again at the burning city. A lump rose in his throat. “I miss Dave.”

  The scowl lifted from Larissa’s face when she looked over at him. Genuine concern softened her eyes. “It’s shit how many people have been lost and how many more will go.”

  After a heavy sigh, Rhys looked up ahead into the darkness again. “Yeah. He didn’t deserve to die.” Both the grief and the constant need to move robbed his strength and he focused on his breathing again before he finally said, “No one did. I don’t know what I’ll do without him.” Tears blurred his vision. “As much as he used to drive me nuts he also kept me going most days. He gave me an excuse to be angry at someone, but he never took it personally. He could see how much being away from Flynn hurt me.”

  Larissa dropped her head but didn’t reply. Her dark bob fell forward and swayed with her quick steps.

  “He listened when I talked about Flynn, and he always wanted me to see him when I drove past his school in the morning
.”

  Larissa flicked her head up and looked at him, her green eyes wide as she said, “You drove past his school?”

  “Every day.”

  “Why?”

  Rhys coughed several times and swallowed against the burn in his throat. “I just wanted to see him. An occasional glance at my boy would be enough to keep me going.”

  For a moment, Larissa didn’t respond. A deep inhale and she finally turned back and looked at Rhys. A softness sat in her emerald eyes that he hadn’t seen from her in a long time. The tight resentment that pulled crow’s feet to her temples had vanished. “I’m sorry. I’ve put you through a lot of shit and deprived Flynn of the opportunity to have a dad in his life who loves him. I just felt so angry.”

  It felt natural to reach across so Rhys grabbed Larissa’s warm hand as they walked. A wall of ice had separated the pair for years. In that moment, it melted and took Rhys back to a different time, a time when they were happy. The memory of one particular day flooded his mind. “Do you remember when you were pregnant with Flynn?”

  Although she didn’t look at him, Larissa nodded. “Of course.”

  “Do you remember that day in April? It was super hot and we went to the park for a walk and to buy ice cream.”

  When he looked at her, Rhys saw the slightest smile on Larissa’s face. “Yeah I do. I was like a beached whale then and the heat killed me. But I remember we lay on the grass and talked about the future.”

  The memory of that day had run through Rhys’ head again and again. “It all seemed so simple then. So perfect. So fucking hopeful. We would be the best parents and raise our child to be a genius and a well-balanced individual.” The sadness he usually felt when he talked about Flynn welled up inside of him.

  “And I stopped that happening.”

  Rhys frowned and looked across at her. “Huh?”

  “Regardless of what went on between us … of how much you fucked up, Flynn still needed his dad in his life and I stood in the way of that.”

  The fast walk and warm evening made Rhys’ palm sweat, but he kept a hold of Larissa’s hand and squeezed it. “And I’m sorry that I hurt you.”

  The mention of what he’d done seemed to stir up fire in Larissa who frowned again before she visibly let it go. “It’s in the past. How about we draw a line under it? We’re going to need each other now.”

  Before Rhys could respond she said, “We never let Flynn forget who his Daddy was. Or should I say, Clive never let Flynn forget. Other than the photo by his bedside, Clive would talk about you to Flynn all the time. He believed a boy should see his father as a superhero regardless of what had happened. He felt that Flynn should be allowed to make the choice, not us. I even fought Clive about it sometimes. I was hurting so bad and I hated hearing your name. But he always stood up for you even though he knew I’d never feel the way for him that I did for you.”

  Rhys gasped. Did she just …?

  “And you know what?” When she looked at him, her eyes were glazed with tears. “Flynn’s still young enough to think that of you.”

  Their dark surroundings became even harder for Rhys to see through his tears. He swallowed several times against the burn in his throat and said, “Things will be different now, I promise. I’ll be there for Flynn and we’ll get him back.” Rhys thought about the kiss with Vicky. Sure, she was hot, but it couldn’t be any more than a kiss. Flynn didn’t need to see his dad with another woman, even if he didn’t plan on a relationship with Larissa.

  The conversation had taken Rhys’ attention away from the noises behind. When he tuned into them they sounded twice as loud as before. After a look over his shoulder, he squeezed Larissa’s hand again. “Come on. We need to speed up.”

  Chapter 26

  About an hour ago

  A loud bang coincided with a huge jolt that snapped through the steering wheel and up Vicky’s arms. She hadn’t seen the diseased until that moment. It had come at them from the dark to their right. Flynn screamed next to her, his voice so shrill it hurt her ears. Driven by instinct more than conscious thought, Vicky moved to one side as the body of the thing flew over the bonnet. It connected with the windscreen with a wet crunch and cracks spread away from the point of impact on the glass. When Vicky looked in her rear-view mirror—short of breath from the shock—she saw the broken body of the diseased land on the hard road behind the car like a rag doll.

  The sound of Flynn’s rapid breaths next to her made Vicky turn to the boy. When she reached across to hold his arm, he flinched and withdrew from her touch. “It’s okay, Flynn. They’re diseased; we can’t think of them as people anymore.” Another glance behind and she lowered her voice as she loosened her vice-like grip on the steering wheel. “We can’t afford to.”

  Flynn shook and shivered. Panic still had a tight hold on him and he seemed unable to hear Vicky’s words. As a way to get through to him, she drew a deep and loud breath, which swelled her stomach. She then exhaled slowly.

  After she’d done it several times, she noticed Flynn’s breaths had also slowed a little. Another glance across and she saw how the car’s dim interior lights glistened off his sweaty face. Wide-eyed and pale, the boy looked like he’d calmed down slightly, but he still stared ahead as if lost in shock.

  When her own heart settled, Vicky checked behind again.

  Bright headlights suddenly popped from the darkness and filled the rear-view mirror. Vicky swerved in the road and a loud thud ran through the car as she mounted the curb. The shock jolted the wheel again and it stung her wrists. She wrestled the car off the pavement with another clunk.

  The lights had come from nowhere. One minute she saw the diseased, broken as it lay on the road, the next, full beams stung her eyes.

  Flynn looked over his shoulder out of the back window. “Who’s that?”

  “I would imagine it’s the man who was following us earlier.”

  “The zombie man?”

  Vicky squinted as she looked into the rear-view mirror again. He’d left his full beam on. It took a few deep breaths before her heart had settled enough for her to reply. “Yeah.”

  They’d now completely left the area that surrounded Summit City and had entered one of the first suburbs closest to it. Every house, although detached and big enough to have at least four bedrooms, looked the same as the next one. No personality whatsoever, the place looked like it belonged on an American television show about bored housewives. At least they’d gotten off the straight road that led away from Summit City. It would be easier to lose a tail in the tight streets.

  Despite hitting the curb, the car still drove straight and everything held together … for the time being at least. Another glance behind and Vicky looked at the boy next to her again. “It’s going to be a wild ride from now on. I need you to hold on and be brave.”

  Vicky saw him nod in her peripheral vision as she looked ahead again and put her foot down. She reached up and switched the mirror to anti-glare as she pressed the accelerator even harder.

  The diluted version of Brendan’s headlights remained on her tail. If anything, they got closer.

  All four wheels screeched when Vicky threw the car through a chicane. Flynn hit the passenger door with a whack. Without a child safety seat, the seatbelt would prove ineffective should they crash and it could kill the boy. She couldn’t think of that. If they didn’t get away from Brendan, he would kill them. Another check behind showed Brendan as close as ever, so close in fact, she couldn’t see the bottom of his headlights anymore.

  When they passed beneath a streetlight, Vicky looked behind to see the car Brendan had taken. Some kind of sports car; it was red, loud, and unmistakably fast. No way could they outrun him. They’d have to outsmart him.

  A glance down at the speedometer and it showed eighty-three miles per hour. The picket fences and driveways flashed past on either side and she could see Flynn as he sat tense and gripped onto his seat.

  Their car jolted forward with a crunch as the sports ca
r rear-ended them. Vicky looked to see Brendan as he leaned close to his windscreen. Wild-eyed; his teeth showed from where he clenched his jaw. This would only end when one of them was dead.

  The road forked up ahead so Vicky eased off. Not much, just by a few miles per hour so she could draw Brendan in closer. He nudged the back of their car again.

  Just before he crashed into them for a third time, Vicky threw the car left at the last moment. Again, all of the wheels shrieked and the car slid. When she looked across to the right, she saw Brendan fly off in the other direction. His brake lights punched through the darkness a second later.

  The mazy estate had plenty of turns so Vicky took one after the other. The muscles in her arms ached as she negotiated the rat run at high speed. The more complex she could make the route the more likely Brendan would never find them.

  When she turned down a dead end road Vicky raced to the end of it, turned the car around, and parked up in a line of other stationary vehicles.

  With the engine off, she listened to Flynn on the verge of a panic attack. Vicky unclipped his seatbelt and pulled him over so he could sit on her lap. The poor kid shook and cried in her arms. Vicky rocked him back and forth and kissed the back of his head. The sweaty child smelled sweet like a biscuit. “There, there. It’s okay, Flynn. Everything’s going to be okay. We’ve lost the horrible man now.” The boy’s breaths slowed down a little.

  About a minute later, Brendan’s sports car shot straight past the end of the road.

  Not that anyone would hear them but Vicky spoke in a whisper anyway. “We’ll sit here for a short while. We need to wait for the horrible man to be long gone.”

  When the clock in the car’s dashboard clicked onto ten forty-five, Vicky lifted Flynn back into his seat. Ten minutes had passed since Brendan had shot across the end of their road. “Strap up. We’ve left it long enough now. Let’s go.”