by Kady Monroe
“Mrs Garthy? Is she Ok Amar?”
“I don’t know. She was at the bonfire too and she didn’t come back, but my Mum has spare keys for her house, so I… I used them.” he finished sheepishly.
“That’s Ok, I’m sure your mum and Mrs Garthy wouldn’t mind, and yes, I have food and water in the van,” she paused then asked again,
“So, do you want to travel with me? I’m on my own too you see and I could do with some company. So you’d be doing me a favour if you did.”
The child thought about it for a moment, then nodded, saying,
“Ok, ‘cause I know my Mum and Dad aren’t coming back. I used to see my dad playing a game on his console with dead people in it and they were like the ones outside. I’m scared of them.”
His bottom lip quivered again.
Jenny leaned in closer and whispered to him,
“So am I, so let’s get out of here fast. Why don’t we hurry and get some of your things before the light goes?”
Amar nodded, turned and headed for one of the rooms down the hall. Jenny was relieved he had agreed to go with her, she couldn’t possibly have left the kid to survive on his own.
She looked in through the first door. It was the living room. She noticed the photograph sitting next to the flat screen TV. It pictured Amar with two people she guessed were his parents. The man was tall and stocky with light brown hair and the woman was pretty and petite with darker skin and long black hair from her Indian descent. The family were all laughing at something off camera. Poor Amar, she thought as she picked up the photo frame and went to find the boy.
His bedroom was at the end of the hall and to the right, situated off another small passageway which ran along the inner kitchen and bathroom walls. It was tiny, just a box room really. Superhero bedding and curtains caught her eye, along with the walls covered in Amar’s colourful drawings. A bed, a small wardrobe and chest of drawers were squashed into the space. Toys and books littered every surface.
Amar was doing what she told him to do. A small suitcase sat on his bed and she could see a pile of clothing already in it, along with a colouring book, a pack of crayons and a ratty old blue teddy bear. Jenny picked up one of the reading books from the floor as the kid dropped a few more pieces of clothing into the case and declared he was done. Jenny added the photograph and book before helping to close the case.
At Amar’s bedroom window, she looked down onto the back of the building which had a large patch of waste-ground behind it. The grey ash of a bonfire could still be seen. Zombies were roaming about but not as many as she had previously seen. Some of them might have already made their way back towards the front. Looking down to the ground in front of the window, Jenny saw an assortment of broken items; crockery, CD’s, Books, Toys and various pieces of decorative ornaments littered the area. The boy joined her.
“We should throw some more stuff out the window before we go,” he said.
“Oh, was that you that made the noise that drew them away from the van?”
“Yes.”
“Clever boy,” Jenny said with a smile as Amar opened the window a little, then picked up some heavier toys, in this case, a Tupperware box full of Lego, and a bright red model fire engine of a metal construction. He lobbed both things out and closed the window again. They both stood there watching the dead coming to investigate the noise. The Lego box had broken open in the fall and coloured bricks lay scattered under the zombies’ feet. Some of the dead tottered off balance as they stood on the pieces.
After a few minutes the crowd below doubled in size.
“It should be Ok out front now,” Amar said, looking up at Jenny, “but we should check first. I think some of them don’t hear very well.”
“Alright,” Jenny replied, picking up the boy’s suitcase, “Let’s be quiet and careful, Ok?”
“Ok.”
Jenny checked out the front window before committing to going outside. It appeared clear but with the light so low now, she couldn’t be certain.
“Stay behind me,” she whispered.
With that she opened the front door and checked the walkway and the path they would use to get to the van. No one was in sight, so with Amar’s case in one hand and her weapon in the other, she headed for the stairwell. The stairs were also unoccupied, except for the zombie she’d destroyed earlier. It still lay in the same position. Jenny poked the girl with the bolt cutters again. It didn’t move, so she side stepped around it. She looked worriedly at Amar, realising she should have told him not to look, but he hardly seemed to be paying any attention to the corpse. His eyes were more interested in trying to see what lay ahead in the dark stairwell. He kept pace with her as they alighted the final set of steps to the door below. They stopped there a moment as Jenny scoured the area. Then she turned to Amar and whispered,
“Ok, we’re going to run. As soon as I get the van door open, get in and scoot over the seats.”
“Ok,” he whispered back.
A single moan alerted the others as Amar and Jenny ran. Luckily it was a short sprint to the van and the boy was in the vehicle in no time. Jenny pushed the suitcase past the driver’s seat and got in, immediately locking the doors and inserting the key in the ignition. Before the zombies reached them, she started the van, turned the headlights on, and quickly drove off.
As soon as they were clear of the area and about to join the next main road, she drew the van to a stop and went into the back. Jenny grabbed one of the smaller bottles of water and two chocolate bars. On returning to her seat she handed the bottle to Amar along with one of the sweets.
“We’ll have something better to eat later,” she told him.
He thanked her and took a long drink of water.
They joined the main road which was quiet and obstruction free. Jenny didn’t count wrecked cars and abandoned vehicles as obstructions anymore unless they really were in her way. They travelled on. The camper van safely traversed a few small towns and villages.
Jenny didn’t stop until they came to a junction for the A6, a road she had travelled on before when she had been in Matt’s van. She wondered if they had made it this far. The town where Matt’s dad lived was drawing ever closer. With luck she would reach it in the next twenty-four hours. Would she find the group there, safe and sound? She hoped so, she missed them, well, not so much Maggie, but the rest, definitely. Plus on a practical level she had a kid to look after and that would be difficult on her own.
According to her road atlas, there was a town further up the road. She decided she didn’t want to tackle that in the dark, and since they were out in the quiet countryside, then this would be where they spent the night. She drew the van close to the verge and parked. Then getting up she went to the back, found a candle and lit it. Having enough light, she drew all the blinds in the van. Nobody could see in to spy on any part of the interior.
Amar was asleep in the passenger seat. Poor little mite, she thought. She lit a few more candles and examined the items collected from the camping shop. She was sure she had picked up a couple of lanterns and some batteries. Trying to be as quiet as possible, she found what she was searching for. Now with one lamp working, she blew out the candles. Next she proceeded to sort and store the other things from her haul. Once done, Jenny turned her attention to making some hot food. She had quite a few cans of soup, gotten from the grocery store, and some canned fruit for afters.
While the soup was heating, Jenny tackled turning the driver’s seat around to face the one behind it. The task was much easier than she thought. A collapsible table was clipped on the wall between the seat. Jenny needed only to unfold the two legs. Once done she set the table for two and checked and stirred the soup. It was nearly ready, so she woke Amar up. He rubbed his eyes and yawned.
“Come have some hot soup,” Jenny said.
Getting off his seat and turning around, she guessed he got his first good look at the camper.
“Wow, this is great,” he declared.
“Glad you like it, come on, let’s get this food while it’s hot.”
Jenny took her coat off and Amar followed suit. He wore a yellow jumper underneath with a cartoon character on the front. They sat down at the table to eat and Jenny was about to tell the kid to be careful as the soup was hot, but he was already filling his second spoonful.
“So how old are you?” Jenny asked.
“I’m seven. How old are you?”
Jenny smiled,
“A lot older than you.” she paused, then asked, “Did you see anyone else go by your house?”
Amar blew on his soup spoon, then said,
“Only once. I heard a lorry, but when I got to the window, it was already past.”
“You must have been very scared, being all that time on your own,” Jenny said.
“Yes,” he replied, but then chirped, “but I’m not on my own now.”
After eating his spoonful of soup, he asked,
“Where are we going to?”
During the rest of the soup course, Jenny told Amar the story of her escape from Lillington. She left out most of the bad or gory aspects and didn’t mention Jack at all. When she got to the part about losing her friends, she lied and told him she got lost while trying to find some supplies.
“That’s why I’m going to Harrow Bay, to check up on my friend’s dad and to see if they are waiting there for me.”
Jenny knew they wouldn’t be waiting. She didn’t even know if there would be any sign they were ever there.
“What if they’re not there?” the boy asked.
“Well, then you and I will go to the Lake District. I know someone who lives in that area, so maybe we can find them instead.”
Amar nodded.
Next, he asked, “Will it be safe there?”
Jenny sighed and replied honestly,
“I don’t know.”
They both slept on the top bunk. Once they were snuggled in sleeping bags, she added the quilt over the top of them both. The van would get cold overnight and she didn’t want to use up the bottled gas on heating when they could use layers instead.
Jenny woke first. Daylight was just breaking and a layer of frost covered the van. She took some time to peek out of the blinds and was pleased to find the area clear. She lit one of the gas rings and boiled some water for tea and to take the chill off the morning air. Amar slept soundly while she drank and rearranged her rucksack to include more useful items in case they lost the van. She concluded it would be a good idea to find a bag for Amar too.
In the grocery shop, Jenny had found two packs of eggs that weren’t past their use by dates. She added four to a pan of water to have for breakfast. When they were done, the boy was still asleep, so she had to wake him up. He seemed a little surprised to see her at first, but then remembered his changed circumstances. Rubbing his eyes, he joined her back at the table.
Once the engine had heated, and the windows had defrosted, they headed towards the next town which the A6 ran through. As the van reached the outskirts of Garstang, the town ran on Jenny’s right, however, further down, buildings appeared on the left side too. She wasn’t too bothered about it as the zombie count was low and none were clogging up the road.
Not long afterwards the vehicle was skirting the town which was only on the right again. Heading forward though, the zombies’ numbers grew. It became a full-time job to avoid them. Then once again, the town built up on both sides of the van. It was only luck that the dead hadn’t banded together in large groups or she would certainly have thought about turning the van around and finding another route.
Amar stayed quiet in the passenger seat and Jenny glanced at him to make sure he had his seatbelt on. He was keeping his head down, avoiding looking out the windows. A few minutes later, she breathed a sigh of relief when both the town and the zombies thinned out and were soon behind them.
Although the A6 seemed to be mostly clear of large crowds, vehicles became a problem. There were more wrecks to manoeuvre around. This slowed the journey down and it was almost afternoon when she saw signposts with directions for Lancaster and Morecambe. Jenny had already decided to avoid both those places. Lancaster was a large University town, and the A6 ran straight through it. To the west, lay Morecambe, another tourist hotspot. She was so close to her destination now, but concluded taking the longer way around and avoiding those two towns was well worth the delay. With luck, she would still reach Harrow Bay before nightfall. With that in mind, she took a right turn onto a B road and headed east, into the countryside.
A mile down the road, Jenny glanced over to the boy who was still quiet, with his eyes on the floor.
“Are you Ok?” she asked.
Amar looked up and gave a small smile.
“Yes, I just don’t want to see those things anymore.”
“Well we’re in the countryside now and I don’t see anything to worry about.”
The kid took a cautious look out the passenger window and relaxed when he saw she had told him the truth.
“We’ll stop for a quick lunch soon and if we’re lucky, we might reach the seaside later on today.”
Amar seemed to brighten as he said,
“I’ve never seen a beach, except on TV. Can I build a sandcastle?”
Jenny’s heart fell knowing she shouldn’t have said seaside. She would have to be more careful in the future.
“It’s probably going to be getting dark when we get there, and we have to be careful of the dead.”
His shoulders slumped,
“Ok,” was his only reply.
After lunch, she got out of the van to stretch her legs and get a breath of fresh air. Amar shadowed her.
“You should stay inside and keep warm,” she told him.
“I don’t want to be on my own,” he replied, looking up at her with his big brown eyes.
Jenny let him be and inspected the van for any nasty substances that might clog things up. She didn’t find any but she did notice the scratched paintwork.
Bloody zombies, she cursed to herself, I’ve only had the van a day, and I didn’t even crash into anything.
CHAPTER TWELVE
They made good time on the smaller roads and Jenny successfully navigated around Lancaster. She joined routes leading back west and smiled when she saw signs stating she neared a small town she knew wasn’t far from where Matt’s dad lived. They were back on the A6 which was now running along the coast with a view of Morecambe Bay. Over an hour of daylight remained to scout her destination of Harrow Bay.
When Matt told her the town was small, he wasn’t kidding. It was more like a small fishing village, quaint in a rustic, weathered way, with winding streets and historic buildings. From the coast road, she could see a harbour with fishing boats and dinghies. Crab pots and lobster creels, plus fishing nets all sat on the harbour’s walkway which was only four or five feet above the waterline.
Unfortunately, Harrow Bay included its share of walking corpses who showed the usual interest in the new noise amidst them. Since they weren’t a threat at the moment, she ignored them and scrutinised street signs. In a small place like this, it shouldn’t take long to find the right address. But with darkness not far away, Jenny knew she couldn’t dedicate a lot of time to looking as she also needed to find a safe place to park up for the evening.
Some roads were blocked, either by the dead or by vehicles. It soon became clear the hunt would take much longer than expected. Considering that, Jenny turned the van around and headed out of town. There wasn’t much daylight left when she found a good place to stop. They settled in for the night. Dinner was served and afterwards Amar got his colouring book and crayons to amuse himself before bedtime. He proudly showed off his finished work of a yellow and blue giraffe with exotic looking red trees in the background.
“It’s beautiful,” Jenny cooed, “Is yellow your favourite colour?”
Amar nodded.
When she got him settled in bed, Jenny brought the lamp and the storybook. Amar
told her his dad had already read the book to him, but he liked the story of Peter Pan and would enjoy hearing it again. She read to him until he dozed off. Jenny retreated and marked the last page she knew he was awake for with a piece of spare cardboard packaging.
With time to herself, Jenny thought about her friends and wondered if they were nearby. If not, then Clive’s place was the only other location she could think of where she might find them. The problem though, was the man mentioned living near a town, and not actually in it. Depending on the area, finding his dwelling could be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Plus she didn’t know how far from the town his house was. Her musing depressed her as she admitted she might never find the rest of the group again. They could be dead for all she knew. Pushing the thoughts aside, she made herself a cup of tea and flipped through the pages of Amar’s colouring book.
The rest of the night was quiet until she was woken in darkness by the noise of something thumping against the side of the van. Jenny lay still and waited. Amar’s breathing suggested he was still asleep and she didn’t wake him, but for the rest of the dark hours, she lay awake. The sound didn’t come again.
As soon as enough light to see by arrived, she peered out each of the van’s windows. Frost hampered her view, yet she noticed nothing moving in the immediate vicinity. Not being sure though, she kept quiet and refrained from starting the van to warm the interior.
The sun rose higher and weak sunlight struck the camper. It was enough to melt the ice on the windscreen. Nothing seemed to be lurking outside. She lowered the blind back down. She would check again when the rest of the windows defrosted. Amar was still asleep, it was better if he slept through, at least until she confirmed the van’s surroundings were zombie free.