“She was a big lass. Had to use plenty of talc, know what I mean? I think even her bath had stretch marks.”
“Okay,” Pickle sighed. “That’s enough.”
“I remember one time when I was in the kitchen, she fell down the stairs and I thought Eastenders was ending.”
“Yer making that up.”
“I also once went out with a woman who had one leg shorter than the other. Her name was Eileen.”
“Oh Jesus, Vince. Now yer definitely making that up.” Pickle turned and playfully punched Kindl on the arm. “That’s a Primary School joke. Yer should be ashamed o’ yerself.”
A silence fell on the two men, but Pickle cleared his throat, ready to crack the silence.
“I know yer used to have a kid,” Pickle said, trying to choose his words carefully. “But did yer ever think about getting married and get tied down to the same woman for the rest o’ yer life?”
There was a few seconds of silence as Vince pondered Pickle’s question. Eventually he answered.
“No way.” Vince shook his head. “Single women come home, see what’s in the fridge and go to bed. Married women come home, see what’s in bed and go to the fridge.
“Harsh, Vince. Very harsh.”
Pickle moved the vehicle away and two minutes later, they had reached the Western Springs Road. He took a peek to his left and could see that David still had his hands over his ears. Harry Branston cackled, gave the boy a gentle slap, and told him that he could remove his hands.
Chapter Sixteen
The bendy roads made Stephanie touch the brake every so often. The vehicle had slowed down to under twenty and began to judder because the young girl had kept the large vehicle in fourth. She guessed that there were a couple of miles to go, and could feel cramp in her left leg from all the stretching, trying to reach the pedals.
With the vehicle still struggling, Stephanie tried to drop the gear from fourth to second, but couldn’t do it.
“Come on!” she screamed, crunching the gears. “Fucking get in!”
Stephanie looked down, wondering why the vehicle was speeding up. With her left foot still down on the clutch, she was coasting and the vehicle was picking up speed as soon as the road began to descend.
Stephanie looked up and shrieked when she could see that she was half on the road and half on the grassy bank. She took her left foot off the clutch and planted her right foot down on the brake. The vehicle came to an abrupt halt and then stalled.
Stephanie wiped her brow and looked in front of her, realising that she was seconds away from hitting a tree. She tried to start the engine again and then placed her hands at the top of the steering wheel. They were shaking and so were her feet. She leaned her head back and decided to give herself a few minutes before driving off again. She was convinced that if she drove with the way her limbs were shaking, an accident was going to occur.
“Come on, girl,” Stephanie muttered to herself. “Deep breaths. Try and relax and then we’ll try again.”
She took in a breath and held it for eight seconds before slowly releasing it.
“Okay, one more time.” She tried again, sucked in a breath, but released the lot with a gasp as her door opened.
“Get out,” was the instruction that she heard. It came from a male voice, a voice she didn’t recognise.
Stephanie looked to her left to see who the voice belonged to, and saw a six-foot man with his long dark hair tied in a ten-inch ponytail. The man with the ponytail turned around and said to a man, who was coming out of a cluster of trees, of average size and stature, dark short hair, “See, I told you I heard something. And what is a kid like this doing driving a beast like this?”
The man who was of average height stood next to Ponytail and both men gazed at Stephanie, leering at the girl. She could see by the bulk in their pockets that both men were carrying knives, but to them she wasn’t much of a threat, so the blades were never taken out.
Ponytail grabbed Stephanie by the arms and pulled her out of the RV and she landed on the grass with a thump, making the young girl shriek, in fright more than pain. Average jumped into the vehicle whilst Ponytail ‘babysat’ Stephanie.
“Jesus,” Average laughed from inside the RV. “There’s a shit load of food in the back of this thing.”
“Good.” Ponytail took a step towards Stephanie and gazed down on the teenager. “Because we’re taking it.”
“Look,” Stephanie began, “You two don’t have to do this.”
“I think you’ll find that we do,” said Ponytail. “It’s all about survival, darling. And there isn’t two of us. There’s three.”
Stephanie tried to stand to her feet, but Ponytail placed his hand on her shoulder and pushed her back to the ground. “Sit, and don’t move, darling.” He flashed the girl an unsettling smile and added, “I ain’t finished with you yet.”
He then turned around and said to Average, who was still rummaging around in the back of the RV, “Where the hell is Paul?”
“He went for a piss before we heard the vehicle,” Average yelled from inside the vehicle. He then exited the vehicle, out of the driver’s door, holding Stephanie’s bow. “Look what I’ve found.”
The sound of feet could be heard from within the trees, and Average scratched his head and said, “Here’s Paul, at last.”
Stephanie lowered her head and wondered what was going to be the outcome of this. Was she going to be left on her own, with no vehicle? Or worse? She felt for her knife. She knew she couldn’t take out three men, but if she could hurt one of them and then run away... Maybe she would stand more of a chance. She wasn’t that far away from Colwyn Place now.
“For fuck’s sake, Paul,” Ponytail cussed. “That was some piss. What are you, a fucking camel?”
“I was bursting,” came the soft voice of Paul.
“Bursting? You took fucking ages.”
Stephanie twisted her face, thinking that she had heard that voice before, and looked up and could now see all three men.
Ponytail and Average were standing next to one another and the other guy, Paul, was leaning against the side of the vehicle, a rucksack on his back. They told him that the vehicle was full of food and that the girl appeared to be on her own.
Ponytail and Average were clean-shaven, but the Paul character had a thin beard and he and Stephanie both recognised each other straightaway. Paul then looked at the RV, as if he had seen it before, and then looked over at Stephanie again.
Paul gulped and said to Ponytail, “So what happens now?”
Ponytail shrugged his shoulders and winked at Average. “Take the van and leave her here. But maybe we should have some fun before we leave.”
“No.” Average shook his head and began to laugh, throwing the bow back into the RV. “She’s too young.”
“Never too young.” Ponytail said, and began to rub his crotch. “At least she’ll be nice and tight for us.”
“We’re not going there,” Paul said sternly, and Stephanie could see anger on the bearded man’s features.
“Fuck you,” Average cackled. “You’ve only been with us for two days and you’re giving us orders?”
“It’s not happening,” Paul snapped.
“Is that so?”
Paul looked over at Stephanie and asked her, “Where’re you headed? Back to your camp?”
“Yes.” Stephanie nodded.
“And what are you doing out here? Some kind of supply run?”
She nodded and tried to explain, “We took the food from the warehouse up the road.” She turned to Average and Ponytail. “There’s actually more up there, plenty left. But I lost two people when getting the stuff.”
Paul’s eyes widened. “Lost? Lost who?”
“Two women called Elza and Ophelia,” she answered, and could see a little relief on Paul’s face.
Paul turned to Average and Ponytail and said, “Let’s leave her. And she can keep the vehicle as well.”
“What?” Ponytai
l began to snicker. “No fucking way.”
“She’s taking food to people that are relying on her,” said Paul. “And she said that there’s food back up at the warehouse. We can go there ourselves.”
Average and Ponytail took a peek at one another and burst out laughing.
“You’re too soft, Paul.” Average stepped towards the bearded man in his forties and playful patted his cheeks. “Way too soft.”
“You don’t even know me.”
Ponytail stood next to Stephanie and placed his hand on Stephanie’s head. “We’re taking the food, we’re taking the vehicle, and we’re taking the girl. You’re either with us, Paul, or you’re not.”
Stephanie felt for her knife and lowered her head, slowly pulling out the blade.
“I can’t do it,” Paul said, shaking his head. “It’s not me.”
He looked to young Stephanie, could see that she had taken her blade out, and nodded his head. Whatever she was planning to do, Paul urged her to do it quickly.
She brought her knife down onto Ponytail’s right foot and he released a scream. Average went to run over to Ponytail, but was dragged back by Paul and thrown to the floor. Paul pulled out a blade from his back pocket and drove it into Average’s chest. He pulled out the blade and walked away from the deceased Average, and made long strides over to the screaming and injured Ponytail. Paul grabbed the man’s ponytail and pulled him backwards. Ponytail fell to the floor, lying on his chest and with Paul’s knee in his back so he couldn’t get up.
“You didn’t leave me a choice,” Paul whispered into Ponytail’s left ear, leaning over. He placed his blade on his throat and dragged it across, making Stephanie turn away in revulsion as the blood pissed out of Ponytail’s throat.
Paul stood up and watched the blood running out of the man’s neck. He then bent over, took the knife out of Ponytail’s foot and walked the two yards over to Stephanie and gave her the knife back. She thanked him and then he held out his hand. She took it and he gently pulled her onto her feet.
“You okay?” he asked her.
She nodded and brushed herself down. She then turned to Paul. “It’s good to see you again, Paul.”
Paul Dickson smiled and said, “Likewise.”
Stephanie looked down on the two corpses and said, “Friends of yours?”
“Only bumped into them a couple of days ago. I didn’t know they were like that. Sorry.”
“When I mentioned losing my people,” said Stephanie. “You looked worried.”
“I thought that maybe Pickle or Karen, or both, had been killed. No offence to Elza and Ophelia.”
“Well, Pickle and Karen are still alive, last time I saw them.”
Paul smiled and said, “Good.”
“It’s a shame you can’t come back.”
“It’s safer for everyone that I don’t.” Paul looked around and added, “Besides, I’m kind of liking life on the road. Were you serious about the food in the warehouse?”
“Sure.” Stephanie nodded. “Grab as much as you can, in case we come back for a second run.”
“Will do.” Paul smiled.
“Maybe you could hang around. If I take Karen and Pickle to the warehouse, even Joanne, you could have some kind of reunion.”
“A nice thought.” Paul smiled at the sweet kid and added, “But it’s better to just disappear and cut our losses. Time to move on.”
“If that’s what you want.”
“It’s for the best.”
The two individuals had ran out off words and Stephanie decided that she needed to get back. She didn’t know how long it’d take to get back to Colwyn, especially with her erratic driving.
“I’ve got to go,” said Stephanie.
“Okay.” Paul smiled and opened his arms.
Stephanie stepped towards the man and the pair of them hugged. She didn’t know him that well, but it was good to see him. And for Paul it was nice to see a friendly face, a face that he knew.
They broke away from their embrace and Stephanie insisted that she needed to leave. She was kind of hoping that Paul would offer to drive her back most of the way and then disappear in case any of Drake’s men were hanging about, but she knew that asking him for such a favour would be selfish on her part. If Drake caught Paul, he’d be dead, plus Paul seemed to be heading north, and going back to the Little Haywood area would put his progress back.
The offer never came anyway, so Stephanie said goodbye to the ex-resident from Colwyn Place, climbed into the RV and shut the door.
Paul Dickson smiled and waved Stephanie off as the vehicle moved away. He glared at the vehicle and never moved until it was out of sight. He turned on his heels and looked up the road. The bag on his back was only a third full with food and some liquids. It was supplies that the three of them shared, as Paul was the main carrier, but now he had more than enough to keep him going for another week, whether he visited the warehouse or not.
He thought about the warehouse and decided to go and fill the bag up. He was heading that way anyway.
Chapter Seventeen
Karen took the short walk over to 18 Colwyn Place and gave the door three loud knocks. She turned around and faced the street as she waited, and couldn’t believe how lifeless the place felt, now that the three girls, Pickle and Vince were away.
6 Colwyn Place was now empty, since John Lincoln’s passing, as well as number 9, where Freddie and his mother lived. 13 Colwyn Place had been empty since Paul Dickson had left, 14 Colwyn Place was empty since Beverley and the toddler’s death, thanks to one of Drake’s men, 16 Colwyn Place was empty since the deaths of Ian and Derek Ferguson during the attack, 17 had always been empty since the death of Brian Marley, a man Karen had never met, and the place was now used to store the medical supplies, and Lynne and Sandra’s house was also vacant since their deaths.
Especially with people out, Karen couldn’t help feel a little vulnerable with so many people missing.
She could hear the door opening, finally, and span round to see the face of Jim Danson, a man she hardly knew.
“Hi, Jim.” Karen revealed a warm smile.
Jim smiled thinly, unsure what Karen wanted. He was a thirty-four-year-old thin man, dark features, had tried to keep clean shaven for many months, but stubble was present, and was average in height. He looked older than he actually was, and it was clear that the stress of living in an apocalyptic world was taking its toll on the man. His clothes were crumpled and an odour was coming from the father of two. Karen could hear his wife asking Jim who was at the door.
“It’s Karen,” he said.
Jim cleared his throat and asked Karen what she wanted.
“It’s okay,” she began, and kept the friendly smile on her features. “I don’t want to come in or anything like that, I just wanted to see if you guys were okay. We hardly see you.”
“We keep ourselves to ourselves,” Jim said with a croak in his throat. “We’ve always done that, even before you lot turned up.”
“I’ve seen you out and about in the past, but the last week—”
“What happened with those men…” Jim interjected, but struggled to finish his sentence. He tried again. “What happened with those men frightened my family to death. My wife and children are too scared to go out. We’re not cut out for this world.”
Karen pitied the man and could understand where he was coming from. Surviving in this new world was hard enough; she couldn’t imagine what it’d be like to survive with a family, especially families that had to leave their homes in the beginning.
She guessed that most didn’t make it.
How could two adults with a baby survive in such a world, or with two babies? Or with kids under the age of eight who couldn’t fathom why they couldn’t play with their toys anymore, watch TV, see their friends, go to school…
Karen said, “It’s not healthy for you or your kids to be stuck indoors all day.”
Jim gulped, and although he looked nervous before saying the
words, he snapped, “Mind your own fucking business.”
“Okay.” Karen thinned her lips. “But if you want, I can take your children out and take them for a walk, play games with them, get them some fresh air.”
Jim looked like he was contemplating Karen’s offer, and then he snapped out of his train of thought when he heard the voice of his son.
“Daddy, who is it?”
Young Zac Danson was nine years old, and like his dad he had dark features and was as cute as a button, Karen thought. The little boy stood next to his dad and held his hand. He was still in his pyjamas and Karen now clocked the little girl, Kelly, standing in the kitchen. She had lighter hair than her dad and brother, and looked withdrawn and despondent.
Jim sighed and began to slowly shut the door. “Just leave us in peace, will you?”
“Sure.” Karen nodded. “I’m sorry. Just think about my offer. It’s not right for kids to be stuck indoors all day.”
Jim paused from shutting the door completely and said to Karen, with just inches left to shut, “And it’s not right to have children living in a world like this.”
“I know.” Karen hunched her shoulders and could see that Jim was ready to close the door fully and said, “There’s nothing you can do about this situation.”
“Yes, there is,” said Jim, before the door was completely closed.
As soon as the door was shut, Karen turned around but paused from walking.
Yes, there is. What did he mean by that?
She turned to look at the front window of the Danson’s house and could see that the curtains were drawn.
A tingle shivered down her vertebrae when she thought about the last three words that had come from his mouth.
*
They were four miles from Little Haywood, from Colwyn Place, and inbetween them sat David MacDonald. He had fallen asleep sitting up.
“Fancy a detour?” Pickle asked Vince.
“What kind of detour? And what time is it?” Vince seemed unsure.
“Well, seem as though we’re trying to add to the place, I thought that maybe we could try and pick up a few people on the way back. I know Craig’s going out tomorrow, but he might not be back for days.”
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