“Thanks. My name is Devan. It’s nice to meet you, Ellen.”
“You, too,” she replied with a faint smile. “Are you travelling on your own?”
He nodded. “I got separated from my family. I’ve no idea where they are.”
“I’m sorry,” she answered, “but maybe they’ve been evacuated elsewhere. When we get to where we’re going, you’ll probably be able to find out where they are.”
“I hope so,” said Devan. “What about you?”
“Me? I’m with my sister and her friend, over there,” she answered, nodding towards Marla and Tommy.
“Ah, the two superheroes...”
“Well, I wouldn’t go that far, but, yeah, they kind of make me feel safer.”
The woman sitting next to Ellen nudged her. “Why don’t I swap with the young man? Then you can talk properly.”
“Thanks,” said Ellen, standing up. Everyone changed seats, and she slid back in by the window and glanced out. The coach she had seen earlier was travelling along behind them. The scenery had changed to fields and trees, farmland and countryside. Quiet and still. “I like it here,” she remarked. “I can imagine the craziness isn’t happening. It’s so peaceful.”
Devan nodded. “I know what you mean. I love the country.”
She glanced at him curiously and then decided to lighten the mood. “So do I. There’s something restful about trees. I imagine all the creatures living in them. Maybe I’m a bit of a hippie.”
“Well, surely that’s a good thing?” he replied with a shy smile.
Wednesday evening
Tommy stirred in his sleep. Something was nudging him and he woke up to see Marla’s face. “Hey,” she whispered, “my turn to sleep.”
He groaned and dragged himself up to sit straight. Feeling the edge of his jaw, he opened and closed his mouth slowly. “Think I slept with my head up the window.”
“Sure did,” she replied with a smile. “If the wind changes, you’ll stay that way. Come on and jump out so I can get some shut eye.”
“Any change in the woman and her kid?”
“None, but Ellen’s getting on really well with this young guy on the coach.”
“Really?” he asked, raising his eyebrows and trying to see.
“Don’t look! He’s sitting next to her now. Nice,” she added, grinning. “But I’m getting some zees now, so I’ll chat to you when I wake up.”
Tommy nodded and settled himself down to watch the two with a fever. They were slumped against one another. The woman’s long, dark hair fell across her face and over her daughter’s head, and the little girl had her arm slung around her mother. Both were breathing heavily. Tommy rested Marla’s gun on his lap and glanced down the coach. Various people were sleeping while others chatted quietly. Ahead the motorway yawned as far as the eye could see and darkness was coming. He was not looking forward to that, but at least they were out of the city now. Things would not be so bad in the country.
He imagined walking in the fields with his dog barking beside him, the sun blazing on his face and the branches bowing above his head. Bluebells created a carpet, eeling its way across the green landscape, inviting him to step upon it. A woman walked out from between the trees, lithe and beautiful, her red lips curved into a smile, the white skin of her bosom emerging from the low cut of her dress. She leant forward and stroked his cheek with one finger, slowly, up and down, while she moved against him for a kiss. As the pressure of her fingers increased, the motion woke him and he opened his eyes with a start. The image in front of him did not gel with the face in his dream. This one was haggard, the eyes bloodshot, the skin a pale grey. She opened her mouth and bile dribbled down her chin as the dark chasm yawned open for him.
Tommy grabbed the gun from his lap with his right hand and shoved the woman backwards with his left. Standing, he aimed at her head as she squirmed against the seat. “She’s changed!” he yelled out. Behind him the other passengers rose and the coach swerved slightly as Eric glanced around in terror. The soldier urged him to pull over.
Woken by the commotion, Marla got up when she realised what was happening. Turning towards Ellen, she mouthed the word ‘gun’. Her sister bent down to rummage in the bottom of her rucksack before moving towards her, holding it out. Marla grabbed the Glock and shifted behind Tommy. “Shoot her,” she directed.
Sitting beside the woman the little girl was shaking, her limbs flying all over the place as she lay on the back seat. Tommy thought she was having a fit for a second and then reality sank in. Her mother lunged for him and he pushed her back down. The woman shook her head violently and groaned, and then a wail filled the air. The other passengers peered over Tommy’s shoulders with a mixture of curiosity and horror, including Ellen.
“Can’t you just put her off the coach?” asked one man.
“How?” yelled Tommy. “I wanted to do that earlier when she was calm. You can see how dangerous she is, and she’s only just changed. She hasn’t got all her reactions yet by the look of it.” He shoved her down again. “I have to shoot her.”
“You can’t shoot a woman!”
“She isn’t a woman anymore – look!” Tommy moved aside briefly to show the passengers. The sight they beheld made most of them slide down in their chairs in fright. He raised his gun and shot her once in the forehead. The body sank. “What about the girl?” he asked. “She hasn’t changed yet.”
“Take her off the bus,” Simon suggested.
“She’ll bite someone,” yelled Marla. “Are you out of your mind?”
“But she’s a child.”
“Not anymore,” Tommy responded.
“Then we can tie her up and just leave her somewhere,” someone suggested.
Tommy raised his eyebrows. “Why? She’s dead. Can’t you people see what’s going on here? She’ll bite you and you’ll be one of them too. She’s no longer who she was. Look at her face. She’s having a fit because she’s changing. If you check her pulse, I bet she doesn’t have one.”
A man stepped forward. “I’ll check it,” he offered, “and if I can’t feel anything you can do what you want.”
There was a general murmur of agreement. Tommy relented. “Fine, but I’m standing right by you. In fact, I’m going to hold her. He shoved Marla’s gun into his pocket and bent over the girl. Taking her arms and gripping them tightly as she kicked her legs and swung her head, he dragged her along the backseat. “Do it now,” he said. “Her wrist... check it!”
The man nodded and placed his trembling fingers on her skin. “She feels cold, like ice,” he exclaimed in surprise. “Her skin is clammy. I can’t feel a pulse. Let me check again.” After a minute he shook his head and removed his fingers. “There’s nothing,” he admitted, turning to look at the other people. “There’s no sign of life. It’s like she’s really dead.”
There was a murmur of fear and disbelief. Tommy shook his head. Surely they knew? Then he realised that they still could not believe it. Whatever they were seeing right now wasn’t really connecting with their view of reality. This was something else and most of them could not take it in.
“Do what you have to do,” Marla told him.
Tommy picked the girl up by the arms and swung her in front of him so that her eyes were looking forward. The people on the coach retreated in disgust, shifting as far back in their seats as humanly possible, while those by the windows had no room to move, penned in as they were. He walked down the aisle carefully and nodded to Eric, who opened the front doors so that he could step off. In the darkness, Tommy walked in front of the vehicle and on to the grassy slope. The lights inside the coach revealed the way down was steep. He glanced at the trees to his right, but he did not feel safe going into them, even here where the virus had not spread. Taking care where he placed his feet, he trod down the slope a short way, holding the child at arm’s length, until he was sure no one could see him. Then he let her go.
The little girl dropped to the ground and landed on her two fe
et. Listlessly, she peered up at him, her blonde hair hanging lank down either side of her sunken face. Tommy was struck by the horror of her eyes. There was nothing in them, except what he imagined to be hunger and pure hatred. The kid raised her tiny hands, shaping the fingers into claws, and she emitted a high-pitched whine as she walked towards him.
Tommy backed up the slope and removed Marla’s gun from his pocket. He could not do it. She was so small, so young. The wailing hung in the air between them, cloaking the space in a rancid smile. Her mouth cracked open, waiting for him. Diving into the darkness of her eyes he shot her once through the forehead. She fell, lifeless. For a moment Tommy could not move. She could only have been seven years old, not much younger than his son. What was happening to the world that such a thing could happen to a child? He glanced up at the dark sky above him and cursed it. There were things a person should never have to do. There were things a kid should never have to see.
Scuffing one of his boots on the grass, Tommy turned back up the slope. Something across the way made him pause. Smoky shapes littered the darkness, walking from right to left, coming from the direction in which the coach was heading. He squinted, but there was insufficient light to see much. Striding up to the coach, he checked for vehicles both ways. Where was the coach that was behind them? Had it overtaken? Seeing nothing, he walked out into the middle of the motorway, aware that everyone seated on that side would be wondering what on earth he was doing.
Sure enough, there were shadows moving. People. He could see them; maybe five or six, seven even. He eventually counted eight. Walking closer, he could tell they were mainly male plus one female and a child. They stopped and looked his way. Then they began to approach. He waved, but they did not reciprocate. Instead they lurched from side to side, swinging their arms oddly to compensate for their lack of balance. Shit. Not here. How could they be here?
Folding his hands on top of his head, Tommy let out a deep breath and turned around. The sound of a horn rocked his eardrums and he stopped dead, covering his eyes as a dazzling light blinded him for a second. A gust of air nearly blew him off his feet as the coach trundled past, still blaring its horn. Behind him jagged howls pierced the air and he ran. Across the motorway he sprinted, not pausing. Thundering up the steps of the coach, he yelled at Eric to close the door, which he did.
“Freaks!” said Tommy, gasping for air. “I counted eight. I didn’t think the virus had spread this far.”
“That’s what we were told,” Simon replied. “Only London, they said.”
“They can’t have known,” said Eric. “Damn idiot government. Now what?”
“Are you okay?” asked Marla, wandering down the aisle. “You nearly got hit...”
“Yeah,” said Tommy, feeling so relieved that he might laugh. He brushed his hair out of his face and handed her gun back to her. “I guess we keep driving to this army base that we’ve been told to reach. It’s night time, so we’re going to see more of these things. We should move.”
“What about the woman’s body?” Simon asked.
“Drag it over here and we’ll just chuck it off right where we are, before those freaks reach us.”
Two male passengers got up and ran to the back of the bus, followed by Tommy and the soldier. Together, they carried the body to the front. When Eric opened the doors, they heaved her into the road. The doors closed and the coach continued on its way.
“Look!” said Marla, pointing out the window.
Tommy glanced out to see the freaks feasting on the woman in the road. “Bon appetit,” he muttered.
“Sick,” Marla exclaimed.
“That’s how I feel,” he replied. “I just shot a kid.”
Marla sat down. “I’m sorry. But she wasn’t alive. The other guy found no pulse. She wasn’t human and she would have killed someone.”
“I know that – in theory – but the reality was different. I almost couldn’t, and her eyes... Jesus, you should have seen her expression. Hungry, that’s the word. How can this be happening to kids?” he asked, wiping a hand across his forehead. “I hope I never have to do that again.”
“Everyone is at risk,” said Marla. “The virus isn’t selective. Everyone...”
“...is damned,” finished Tommy, staring into her eyes.
***
“Almost there,” Simon announced, “glancing at the map. We leave the motorway second left.”
Eric nodded.
At the back of the bus, Marla stared out the window into the dark. “We’ll be safe now.”
“I hope there’s someone there who can give us some answers,” said Tommy. “I haven’t heard any radio announcements this whole journey, except the same old ones about evacuations and London being sealed off.”
“I guess that’s the main focus at the moment. I’m sure they’re working on finding an antidote or something.”
“Since when were you a fan of the government, Marla? You were the one talking about conspiracies...”
“Yeah, I know,” she replied. “I’m trying to be hopeful. But what could it be? Only thing could be some war weapon, like Agent Orange, but right now I just wanna be somewhere safe, away from those things – more for my sister… Get me?”
With a shrug, Tommy glanced behind him at the bloodstained back seat and a girl’s tiny shoe: a constant reminder.
“What the hell?” exclaimed Eric as he slammed his foot on the brake. Lighting up the darkness was a column of orange. Wisps of colour floated in the night sky.
“Fire,” the soldier stated. Half of the passengers stood up at his words. Ellen turned to look across the back of her seat at her sister, her eyes wide with fear. Tommy and Marla ran down the aisle to stand behind five other men and a woman. Gradually, everyone huddled behind the driver. Ahead of them, buildings were on fire and something exploded, like fireworks lighting up the scene. Several helicopters buzzed in the sky like flies.
“That’s the army base – our destination,” Simon informed everyone, although most of them had guessed that already.
“What about the coach that overtook us?” Marla asked.
There was silence. One by one everyone returned to their seats and just sat there quietly.
“What do we do?” asked Eric. “Do you want me to turn around? We’re going to need petrol soon too.”
“How long?” Simon enquired.
Eric frowned. “Next half an hour or so. There might be a spare bottle on here, but I’d prefer to tank up. If we run out in the middle of nowhere, we’re stuck.”
The soldier shook his head and held his hands up. “I don’t know. I need to contact someone,” he said, sitting down to speak into his radio.
***
“We need to go back,” Simon announced.
“Back where?” asked a female passenger, rising. “London?”
“I’ve just been told that there has been an outbreak in this area and the army base was overrun. Some of the evacuees were carriers. They were not quarantining newcomers, like they should have been, and people just turned and started attacking others. It was mayhem. There are survivors, and the army and emergency services are dealing with that at the moment. I’ve been recommended by my commander not to go near the base, but find somewhere safe to spend the night. He will come up with a plan for us in the morning,” he explained. “It’s almost 11 p.m. now. We just need to find somewhere to stay.”
“Why not stay on the coach?” Eric suggested. “I’d feel safer on it.”
Simon nodded. “Right, but let’s find a petrol station.”
“How about we go back and turn off at the first rest stop? If it’s safe we can get refreshments and petrol there? The toilet on here is starting to whiff a bit!”
“Fine.”
“Do you think that’s the best plan?” asked Ellen, who had moved to sit next to her sister.
“I guess they know best,” she replied. “I don’t know this area at all – totally alien to me.”
“Okay.”
&nbs
p; Tommy checked his mobile. “I’ve got no reception. You?”
Marla shook her head. “We’re out in the sticks a bit. I figured that’s why.”
He frowned and glanced out the window. “This whole thing has me nervous. What if the mobile network is down now? The internet went.”
“Me, too,” she replied, “but it is senseless worrying. We just have to hold tight.”
***
After taking the first turn-off, the coach trundled up the road and stopped in front of the Happy Eater. “Well, that’s ironic,” remarked Tommy.
“Shut up, grumpy,” said Marla with a grin.
“Yeah, moany,” Ellen agreed, which made her sister laugh.
Simon stood up. “Alright everyone, we are going to stop here for a while for refreshments. The lights are on and the place looks like it is open twenty-four hours.”
“Think it’s safe?” asked Tommy.
“I think so,” Simon replied. “We need petrol. And I need a coffee.”
There were murmurs of agreement and one by one the passengers began to file off the coach.
“Can’t we stay here?” asked Ellen.
“You’ll be fine,” said Marla. “We’re looking out for you.”
“Coming?” asked Devan with a friendly smile.
“Looks like it,” Ellen replied. “Guess a hot drink would be good.”
“First sign of trouble, everyone back to the coach,” Simon announced.
“I’m staying,” Tommy insisted. “Just in case the driver...”
The man in question looked up. “My name’s Eric, remember?”
Tommy smiled. “Just in case Eric runs into trouble or needs help.”
“Cheers, mate,” the guy replied with a nod. “Appreciate it.”
“We need to protect our only way out of here.”
“You could always jumpstart one of those,” Eric suggested, nodding towards the car park. The place was full of vehicles. “Looks like people just dumped their cars.”
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