Viro [Book 1]

by Barnaby Taylor

  ‘What’s wrong?’ I asked.

  ‘There’s someone screaming upstairs,’ said Abe. ‘I heard them as we cycled past.’

  ‘We should do something,’ said Amber. ‘They sound in real trouble.’

  I heard the screaming. It sounded terrible. The noise would attract viros. I didn’t like it.

  ‘What about danger?’ I said. ‘We need to keep going.’

  ‘Jake’s right,’ said Ellis. ‘It might be a trap.’

  Abe got on the bus.

  ‘I’m going to take a look,’ he said.

  I looked around. The world was empty for the moment. I climbed off my bike.

  ‘Wait, Abe. I’ll come too.’

  Norman

  I stepped past the bus driver. His head was messy. It had been hit on the steering wheel. His face was dark blue. It was puffy. Abe crept up the stairs. He was crouching. I did the same. The screaming got louder. Abe took a look.

  ‘Help me,’ said a voice. ‘Please help me.’

  There was an old man. He was lying between the seats. There was no one else around. He was screaming.

  Abe knelt next to him. The old man grabbed his arm.

  ‘You’ve got to help me,’ he said. ‘Please, I’m in agony.’

  ‘What happened?’ asked Abe.

  ‘The bus crashed and I fell off the seat,’ said the old man. ‘Everyone else ran away. They left me here. That was three days ago.’

  The old man looked very worried. Three days was a long time. I didn’t know what to do.

  ‘Can you move?’ asked Abe.

  ‘If I could do you think I’d be lying here?’

  The man was angry. That’s why he was rude.

  ‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘I didn’t mean to snap.’

  ‘I’m Jake,’ I said. ‘What’s your name?’

  ‘Norman,’ said the man. ‘Norman Hargreaves.’

  ‘Do you have any family anywhere we can look for?’ said Abe.

  The old man shook his head.

  ‘Cancer took my Irene two years ago. She died the day after our fiftieth wedding anniversary. My two sons live in America. We haven’t spoken in months.’

  Norman’s pain was really big. He groaned out loud.

  ‘No one knows I’m here,’ he said. ‘Only you two.’

  Abe took a deep breath.

  ‘I don’t know what to do, Norman. We can’t move you and there’s no one to call for help.’

  ‘Well, you can’t leave me here,’ Norman said. ‘There must be something you can do?’

  Abe didn’t reply. I wanted to speak. I thought it would help.

  ‘We’re headed to a school.’ I said. ‘There might be someone there who could help?’

  ‘That’s a good idea,’ said Norman. ‘You get to the school and then send someone to come and help me.’

  ‘Jake,’ said Abe. ‘We can’t be …’

  He stopped talking.

  Amber and Ellis were standing at the top of the stairs. Amber put her finger to her lips. Sssh. They sneaked over to us.

  ‘There’s a viro downstairs,’ Ellis said. ‘It must have heard all the noise. We hid on the bus while it sniffed around. We waited until we thought it had gone and came up to you.’

  ‘The trouble is,’ said Amber. ‘It hasn’t gone.’

  We heard the viro downstairs. It was sniffing the driver.

  Trapped

  We stayed quiet. The viro was stamping around. It sounded like it had heavy boots. It was clumsy. It kept banging into the seats. We stayed very still. Abe stayed with Norman. I closed my eyes.

  It might not find us, I thought. It might not find us.

  The viro was still banging around. It made loud snuffling noises.

  It might not find us.

  It might not find us.

  Ellis held her breath. Amber had her eyes closed. She was listening.

  It might not find us.

  It might not find us.

  It might not find us.

  The viro started to wail. The noise was awful. It made Norman jump. He screamed as he moved.

  ‘Sssh!’ hissed Amber.

  The viro stopped wailing. I held my breath.

  It might not find us.

  It might not find us.

  It might not find us.

  The viro started up the stairs.

  ‘Oh no!’ gulped Abe. ‘We’re trapped.’

  I looked around. There was nowhere to hide. Ellis and Amber were climbing over seats. Abe was still crouched next to Norman. I tried to think. I knew about buses.

  ‘Emergency exit,’ I said. ‘Open the emergency exit.’

  Ellis nodded. She found the exit.

  ‘I can’t open it,’ she said. ‘The handle’s too stiff.’

  Amber tried to help.

  ‘It’s stuck,’ she said. ‘The handle won’t budge.’

  The viro stood at the top of the stairs. It was enormous. Its hands were wide. Its eyes were really red. It looked at me.

  ‘Help, Jake,’ Ellis said.

  I climbed over the seats. I nearly banged my head.

  ‘Mind out,’ I said to Ellis and Amber. ‘Let me try.’

  The viro stood still. It looked unsure. It couldn’t choose who to eat first.

  Abe stayed with Norman. The old man looked at him.

  ‘There’s no point,’ he said. ‘Go and help your friends. I’ll keep him occupied.’

  Norman started to crawl towards the viro. He screamed as he moved. The pain was terrible. The viro watched Norman. It still didn’t move.

  Abe ran to me. I hit the handle with my foot. It moved a bit.

  ‘Do it again,’ said Abe. ‘Do it again.’

  I kicked the handle again. It moved some more.

  Ellis screamed. I turned around. The viro was standing over Norman. It was dribbling. Norman shouted up at it.

  ‘Eat me,’ he screamed. ‘Eat me, you evil beast.’

  ‘Hurry, Jake,’ shouted Amber.

  I kicked the handle again.

  One more kick.

  The door opened.

  ‘Come on,’ said Abe. ‘Lower yourselves down and get the bikes.’

  Ellis went first. She climbed out. She dropped to the floor. I worried about her ankle. She didn’t shout. Amber followed.

  I looked at the viro. It was kneeling next to Norman.

  ‘What are you waiting for?’ he screamed. ‘Get on with it.’

  The viro was nodding its head. I thought it could understand.

  I climbed out the exit. I dropped to the road. It was high. I didn’t hurt myself. I looked up. Abe climbed out. He jumped down.

  Norman screamed. The viro howled. It was all over.

  We grabbed our bikes. I was frightened. It was hard to pedal.

  ‘Let’s go,’ Amber said. ‘Before that thing comes downstairs.’

  ‘Poor Norman,’ I said to Abe. ‘I wanted to help him.’

  ‘I know, Jake,’ he said, ‘but we couldn’t move him.’

  I tried to understand what happened. I didn’t like the world any more.

  ‘At least he isn’t screaming now,’ I said.

  ‘That’s something,’ Abe said. ‘I know it’s not much but it might be the best he could hope for.’

  We kept pedaling. Neither of us spoke.

  Bark

  Ellis said there was a small road. It was at the back of the school. Next to somewhere called Beulah Woods. She said we should ride as far as we can down the lane. Then we would walk.

  I didn’t want to do this. The woods sounded dangerous.

  ‘Can we go another way?’ I said. ‘Any other way.’

  Ellis shook her head.

  ‘Sorry, Jake, this is the only way.’

  ‘In any case,’ Amber said. ‘It will be easier to slip in through the back than simply walking up to the front gates. We have no idea who or what is there.’

  Amber looked at Ellis.

  ‘Sorry, Ellis, but you know what I mean.’

  ‘No
problem, Amber,’ said Ellis. ‘The only way we are going to survive is if we fear the worst and then work backwards from there.’

  There were loads of nice tiny houses. They were all neat in rows along the road. I saw lots of cars parked outside. It was quiet. There was no movement anywhere.

  I imagined everyone was asleep inside. Each house had a happy family. They were dreaming about nice things like holidays. The world was nicer to them.

  I saw a thin orange cat. It was ripping a black rubbish bag. It was licking chicken bones. Then it saw us. The cat ran under a silver car.

  A dog barked.

  A lovely Alsatian dog was locked in the car. It barked really loud. I thought the noise would make all the viros everywhere attack us. I stopped pedaling. The others stopped by me. Amber pulled my arm.

  ‘We’d better get going, Jake. That dog is barking so loud that it will attract every viro within a five-mile radius.’

  ‘It’s stuck,’ I said. ‘I have to help.’

  I loved dogs. I hoped to get one for my birthday. I always wanted a dog. I needed a best friend.

  ‘But what can we do?’ asked Amber. ‘We’ve got to keep moving. We haven’t got time to rescue the dog.’

  The dog barked louder. I thought it knew what Amber said.

  ‘Come on, Jake,’ she said. ‘Let’s get out of here.’

  Amber turned away. I didn’t move.

  ‘No,’ I said. ‘I’m not leaving. The dog might die.’

  I looked at Ellis.

  ‘Hold my bike, please. I’m going to help.’

  Ellis looked worried but did what I asked anyway. There was a rock garden in front of the house. It was next to a fence. The dog barked more.

  ‘Hurry, Jake,’ said Ellis. ‘We need to get out of here.’

  ‘I am,’ I said.

  Alarm

  There was wooden gate in front of the car. It was next to the house. I looked at the rock garden. I needed something heavy. The gate made a noise.

  ‘The gate,’ said Abe. ‘There’s something behind the gate.’

  The gate was weak. It began to break. I chose a big stone. It was heavy. I used both hands. I went to the car. The dog looked at me. It kept barking. The gate broke again. A hand came through it.

  ‘Get back, boy,’ I said to the dog. ‘Get out the way.’

  I threw the stone at the window. It didn’t break. I picked the stone up. I threw the stone harder.

  The window broke. It was a loud noise. The car alarm was much louder. Ellis screamed. She pointed behind me. An old viro had got through the gate. I leaned in through the window. I didn’t want to cut myself. I unlocked the door. I pulled it open.

  ‘Come on, boy,’ I said. ‘Let’s get you out of here.’

  I stepped back. The dog jumped out the car. Something grabbed my hood. I pulled away. The viro didn’t let go. The car door stopped it getting closer but only for now. Ellis jumped off her bike. She grabbed stones from the rock garden. She loaded her slingshot. She didn’t fire.

  ‘I can’t get a clear shot, Jake,’ she shouted. ‘Your head is in the way.’

  The viro had really bad breath. It wouldn’t let go. Ellis walked around the car. She wanted to shoot.

  ‘Can you slip your hoodie off, Jake?’ she shouted.

  I tried to slip my arms out. It was really hard. The viro kept pulling. I got tangled.

  ‘What are you doing, Jake?’ hissed Amber. ‘You’ve got to get out of there.’

  Ellis fired a stone. It whistled by my head.

  ‘Careful,’ I screamed. ‘Don’t hit me.’

  ‘Sorry,’ said Ellis. ‘I’m really sorry.’

  She reloaded.

  The viro pushed towards me. The car door started to close. The viro wouldn't let go. I was trapped. The viro groaned. Ellis had hit it with a stone. The viro didn’t let go.

  I pushed my back against the door. It didn’t help. The door kept closing. The car alarm kept ringing. It was too loud. My head hurt. I couldn’t think.

  ‘Help.’ I said. ‘I’m stuck.’

  I was panicking. I felt sick. I lost my breath. I was dizzy. My eyes weren’t clear.

  I looked up. Abe was leaning against the door. He tried to stop it closing. The viro went to grab him. Another stone hit it in the eye. I stopped moving. Abe grabbed me. He pulled me hard. My arms came out my hoodie. We both fell backwards.

  We were in a muddle on the floor. The viro pushed the door closed. It went for us. I shut my eyes. I thought I was going to die.

  I heard the dog growl.

  I looked.

  The dog was standing in front of the viro. It was growling really hard. The viro didn’t move.

  We stood up. The dog kept growling. The viro stood still. Ellis hit it with another stone. The viro’s head was bleeding. We walked backwards. I picked up my bike.

  ‘Ellis,’ I shouted. ‘We’re going.’

  ‘Coming,’ she said. She hit the viro with another stone. It fell backwards. Ellis hobbled back to her bike.

  The viro watched us escape. It looked unhappy. It wanted to eat us but couldn’t. I felt sad for the viro. It didn’t know why it was like that. They must all feel the same now.

  I patted the dog’s head. There was a nametag attached to its collar.

  ‘Come on, Baxter,’ I said. ‘You can come with us.’

  Me

  Baxter was a good dog. It ran with us when we cycled. Baxter was well trained. He stayed near.

  The car alarm was still ringing behind us. Amber was happy.

  ‘Hopefully,’ she said, ‘every viro around here will head towards the car alarm and leave the streets empty enough for us to get to St. Dunstan’s without any further bother.’

  Amber cycled ahead. Ellis rode alongside me.

  ‘We used to have a dog just like him,’ she said. ‘You’re a crazy, reckless kid, Jake, but I’m glad you managed to rescue Baxter.’

  ‘Me too,’ I said. ‘Thanks for firing stones. You’re really good.’

  ‘It was an old one,’ Ellis replied. ‘We were lucky back there but please don’t keep putting yourself in danger, Jake.’

  Ellis paused.

  ‘I … we … need you to be okay.’

  Ellis smiled. I looked at her lovely lips. Her face made me feel good inside. I wanted to speak. I tried to smile. I wanted to be cool. I wanted to be someone else.

  I couldn’t.

  I was me.

  We stopped at the top of the lane. There was a metal barrier. It was locked. The lane looked dark. I thought there was danger there.

  We’re walking from here,’ said Amber. She looked in front of us.

  ‘It looks really muddy so we’ll have to be careful.’

  Ellis pointed at something.

  ‘This lane is part of the school’s cross-country circuit,’ she said. ‘Halfway down on the right-hand side there’s a stile that leads to the top of the football pitches.’

  Ellis smiled as she remembered something.

  ‘Vinnie’s class had to do cross-country running last year and he was so exhausted by the time he reached the stile that two of his friends had to help him over. They got him halfway over and then dropped him on his head.’

  Ellis stopped talking. The thought of her brother made her feel bad. I wanted to say something good to her.

  ‘We’ll find Vinnie,’ I said. ‘We will.’

  We pushed our bikes. The path was muddy. It was hard. A spiky fence stretched alongside the lane. Lots of grass went downhill behind the fence. The grass stopped at some bushes. I could see water. There was something moving down there. It was moving a lot. I thought it was more of those things. I thought they were coming to get us. I took my mind away. I looked back at the lane.

  Two older boys were there. I hadn’t seen them before.

  ‘Where do you think you lot are going?’ asked a tall boy. He was wearing a school uniform. He had a bow. He pointed it at us.

  ‘We’ve been following you since you set off that ca
r alarm,’ said the other one. He was bigger. His hair was red. He had a pimpled face. He had a bow as well.

  ‘You’ll wind up dead if you keep doing stupid things like that.’

  Ellis stepped forward.

  ‘Tim! Kevin!’ she said. ‘Put those bows down before someone gets hurt.’

  ‘Ellis!’ said Tim. He was the tall boy.

  ‘Vinnie was hoping you were still alive. He’s been worried sick.’

  ‘Is he?’ started Ellis.

  ‘He’s alive and well and as annoying as ever,’ said Kevin.

  He looked back down the lane.

  ‘Let’s get out of here before those creatures get bored with the car alarm and come looking for us.’

  Arrow

  We followed Tim. He walked carefully. Kevin was behind us. I was happy to be with the boys. They were clever and sensible. Ellis walked with Tim. I felt weird. I wanted to be like Tim. I wanted to look like him. I wanted to walk next to Ellis. I felt sad about myself. I had to think about other things.

  Would we be safe again? I had felt unsafe a lot now. I wanted to feel better. Maybe Mum was with Vinnie? Perhaps she knew where we were going? She might be waiting? I thought I might be silly about this. How would she know what we have done? Who could tell her where we were going? She could be dead. She could be wandering around with all those other things.

  The soldiers might have killed her. She could have followed us into the tunnel. She might be one of those in the pond. Did she bite the soldier? My head ached with nasty feelings.

  Baxter started growling.

  Tim stopped. Nobody said anything. Tim crouched and pointed his bow. I couldn’t see where he was firing. I held my breath. Tim waited some more. He fired. Tim looked. He started moving.

  ‘Let’s get going,’ he said. ‘There’ll be more where that one came from.’

  I saw the viro that Tim had shot. It had once been someone’s dad or uncle. Not anymore. It was just dead now. A yellow arrow stuck out its eye.

  ‘Isn’t that a waste of an arrow?’ asked Ellis. ‘Shouldn’t you be recycling it?’