by Thomas Hall
He seemed to drift in and out of consciousness. At times he seemed to be back in the hospital with Velma, Harold and Bradley. Then the little zombie children that belonged to Bradley came running into the room to play and he returned to the corridor with Wesley.
Dale didn’t have the strength or the will to move. There seemed little point in doing so now. He couldn’t bring himself to pull the trigger but that wasn’t the only way to kill himself. If he just sat there then eventually he would die.
Somebody started to knock on the front door. Dale ignored it. He heard voices shouting as well but he ignored those too. He couldn’t turn his head, couldn’t look away from what he’d done.
The door opened. He still didn’t turn around.
He heard footsteps coming towards him across the entrance hall. He still didn’t turn around.
‘Dale?’ Beth said from somewhere behind him. ‘Is that you?’
He felt her hand on his neck and then she was crouching down beside him. He could see her out the corner of his eye. She kept her hand on his neck. She didn’t sound angry.
‘What happened?’ Beth said.
‘I killed him,’ Dale said. He left the gun on his lap. Part of him hoped that she would pick up the gun and shoot him. It was no more than he deserved.
‘He was a zombie,’ Beth said. Even she could tell. ‘You didn’t have a choice.’
Dale wanted to believe her but she didn’t know the full story. She didn’t realise that he had brought the virus to the village. That it was his fault all of this had happened.
‘You did him a favour, it’s what he would have wanted.’
Dale nodded. ‘I killed a soldier as well.’
Beth didn’t reply. Her hand stopped rubbing his neck but she didn’t take it away.
‘He found me at your place. He had a gun.’ Dale looked down at the gun in his lap. ‘I hit him with the poker from the fireplace.’
Beth didn’t say anything.
Dale was surprised that it was the death of the soldier that moved her. She seemed quite happy to sit on the floor with the man who had killed her grandfather.
‘You didn’t have a choice,’ Beth said. Her voice was quiet as if she was speaking more to convince herself than him.
‘He would have arrested me,’ Dale said.
‘He would have arrested you,’ Beth repeated. ‘You had to kill him.’
Dale wasn’t sure that she believed it. Hearing the excuse come out of her mouth he wasn’t sure that he believed it either.
They sat together for a moment and she began to rub his neck again. With a little more pressure this time.
‘We have to leave,’ Beth said.
‘What do you mean?’ Dale said. He turned to look at her for the first time since she’d arrived in Wesley’s house. ‘We can’t go anywhere.’
Beth shook her head. ‘You don’t know what it’s like out there Dale.’
‘What what’s like?’ Dale said. ‘Beth, why did you come here?’
This time she looked away from him. Only for a moment. When she turned back her expression was settled and determined.
‘There are zombies everywhere,’ Beth said. She shook her head. ‘I don’t know where they came from. I don’t know how they got past the army.’
Dale thought that he probably knew. It was because, regardless of what they had said, the soldiers weren’t there to protect Harmony from zombies. The army was there to find him and take him away. He didn’t say anything though.
‘They’re everywhere Dale. People are dying.’
‘What are the army doing?’
‘They’re doing what they can but there’s hundreds of them. Maybe thousands. Some of them are people we know.’
‘Do you think that’s how… how Wesley…’
‘It must be,’ she said dismissively as if it was of no concern. ‘Dale you don’t understand. We have to get Dawn and we have to leave. Right now.’
‘Where’s Dawn?’ he said.
‘She’s at school,’ she said.
The realisation that Dawn was in danger shocked him back to reality. Dale looked down at the gun and realised that he might be able to help her. If he could then, of course, he would.
‘What about everyone else?’ he said.
Beth shook her head. ‘We don’t have time.’
Dale offered her his hand and helped her stand.
‘Maybe there’s a few on the way we could bring with us. If we have a chance,’ she said.
Dale nodded. In his mind he was already planning the route they would take to the school and working out which of their friends they could visit along the way. Not many of them but some was better than none.
Something exploded. It was in the distance but loud enough that the ground shook and something smashed elsewhere in the house.
They stopped in the middle of the entrance hall and looked at one another.
‘Wait here,’ Dale said.
Beth nodded.
He squeezed her hand firmly and then let it go. Dale walked towards the front door to find out what had happened.
CHAPTER 15
THICK SMOKE FILLED THE AIR SO THAT DALE couldn’t see more than a few metres ahead. He could hear the distant screams of people who he had come to know and think of as friends but there was nothing he could do for them now. The army might save a few but this was beyond anything the Patrol Men could have handled.
Beth appeared beside him. She had a piece of blue cloth held over her mouth. One of Wesley’s handkerchiefs. She handed one to him and he nodded his thanks.
The school was on the other side of Harmony. He could hear the wail of the zombies alongside the chugging diesel engines of whatever machinery the army had brought with them. He told himself that they couldn’t save everyone. That if they tried they would end up saving no one.
‘Ready?’ Beth said. Her voice was muffled but she was close enough that he could understand.
‘Where first?’ Dale said. He had to raise his voice to be heard over the discordant mixture of sounds that filled the night.
‘Oscar and Noel’s place is on the way to the school,’ Beth said. She closed the door behind them and forced him down the first step. ‘If we get time we can go to Drew and Valery’s place. Everyone else will probably be in the town hall.’
There wouldn’t be time to go to the town hall where the majority of the villagers would be hiding. It was where the army would have its last stand against the zombies, who would be drawn there by the smell of so much living flesh huddled together. The bulk of the village would be killed but they had always known that would be the case.
Dale turned back to look at the village and Beth took his hand. She led him down the steps and away from Wesley’s house knowing that neither of them would return.
They moved like ghosts through the village. They could hear a cacophony of sounds but rarely saw anyone. The smoke hid them from the dangers that were, perhaps, just a few metres away all around them.
There was gunfire now. A short rattle that followed the screams of a zombie. They were noisier than Dale had ever expected. He felt his hand dropping to his side and touching the gun that had belonged to the soldier. He didn’t take it out but knowing it was there made him feel better. If something were to happen he would be able to protect her.
Beth led the way. Dale didn’t know how she could tell which direction they were walking in. They could have been walking in circles for all he knew. It was too dark to see anything clearly and smoke obscured the rest. The ground felt flat and unfettered beneath his feet.
After a few minutes walking the smoke seemed to thin and he tried taking the handkerchief from his mouth. He could still smell the smoke but it was not as strong. He realised that Beth had succeeded in leading them away from the village and she had done it without encountering any of the many people who were currently trying to kill them.
Noel and Oscar lived in a small terrace cottage. Beth stopped and Dale saw a small wooden gate set in
to a stone wall that he knew matched the walls of the row of buildings beyond it. The sound of fighting was more distant now but no less intense.
‘Do you want me to go?’ Dale said.
Beth shook her head. Her face was darkened by ash from the smoke. Dale knew that he probably looked the same. He searched her expression for any sign of resentment towards him but found none. For some reason that worried him more. He had killed Wesley but she was taking it in her stride.
‘We’ll go together,’ Beth said. ‘If we get separated we might never find each other again.’
Dale nodded and pushed open the gate. Beth followed him through.
The gardens were neatly kept. There were three houses on either side of them. Dale led the way along the gravel path and listened to their footsteps crunching.
He stopped outside the house and knocked on the front door.
Beth stopped beside him and put her arm through his. There was no answer so he knocked again.
‘Maybe they aren’t there,’ Dale said.
‘Try again,’ Beth said.
Dale knocked again and they waited.
A minute later the door opened and Noel looked out. His thin face was pale. His dark eyes were wide like an animal caught in a trap.
‘Oh it’s you two,’ he said and seemed to relax a little. ‘What are you doing here?’ He spoke in a whisper as if he was afraid of being overheard.
Beth let go of Dale’s arm and wiped her eyes. ‘Where’s Oscar?’ she said.
‘Oscar? Why do you want to see–‘
Beth interrupted him. ‘We don’t have time Noel. We came to get you both because we need to leave.’
‘Leave? What do you mean leave?’ he said.
The door swung open wider and Oscar filled the rest of the frame. He was dressed in a velvet smoking jacket that only just managed to cover his gut. ‘What’s going on?’ he said.
Beth turned her attention to him at once. ‘We’re leaving,’ she said.
‘Why on earth are you doing that?’ Oscar said. His face creased in such a way as to suggest that he was actually interested in her response rather than shocked that she would suggest such a thing.
‘It’s not safe here,’ Beth said. ‘It’s never going to be safe here again.’
‘Wesley’s dead,’ Dale said.
The two men turned to look at him. He could see the shock etched on both of their faces. It faded gradually to be replaced by fear.
‘Where will we go?’ Noel said.
‘We’ll find somewhere,’ Beth said.
Noel nodded but he didn’t move.
‘Come inside,’ Oscar said. He turned to Noel. ‘Go upstairs and get the bags.’
Dale followed Noel into the house. It smelled of lavender. He closed the door behind him and they stood in the opulent front room and waited.
Once Noel returned with two bags they left the house. Neither man showed any sorrow at leaving it behind with surprised Dale.
Dale and Beth led the way. The smoke had been almost completely cleared by the wind. He still couldn’t see where they were going because thick cloud covered the moon. It was as dark as any night he had known.
They passed more houses but there was no sign of any life in them. Their occupants would be in the town hall where, Dale imagined, they were huddled together, trying to comfort one another while they listened to the zombies and the soldiers fighting outside.
‘Is there anyone you need to find?’ Beth said.
Dale thought about Anton, Daren, Huey, Demetrius and Jessie. Other than Beth and Wesley they were the only friends he’d really made in the village. The Patrol Men. Now all of them were either dead or zombies which was practically the same thing.
He shook his head. Beth took his hand.
‘It’s going to be alright,’ she said.
Dale nodded because he knew that was what she wanted to hear but he wasn’t convinced. He was sure that they could find a safe place to live and maybe there would be other people there or more would follow. Maybe they could start Harmony all over again and this time without the army sitting on their shoulder. They could fight the zombies that were bound to come but there were things that Beth didn’t know about.
He looked down at his chest as if he would be able to see the thing there, like it might have marked him.
‘What is it?’ Beth said.
‘It’s nothing,’ Dale lied. It felt worse because it was a lie to save himself and a part of him knew that it put her in danger.
The graveyard seemed to be the only thing lit which Dale took to be an ominous sign. The two cottages behind it were hidden in the darkness.
‘I can see a light,’ Beth said. ‘They’re there.’
Dale tried to ignore the gravestones. In the darkness they looked blank as if they were waiting to have names carved on them. Beth was right, there was a faintly glowing light in one of the upstairs windows.
They crossed the graveyard. The ground was lumpy and uneven. He saw Beth touch a headstone to keep herself from falling over. He offered his hand and she took it with a smile of thanks.
The back door to the house on the left was open. It creaked gently in the wind. There were no lights on inside. Dale wondered what had happened to the people who had lived there most recently. Were they in the town hall? Were they laying dead on the street or had they been turned into zombies who were now trying to eat the people they had once called friends?
Oscar pushed open the door to the house on the right. Dale followed Noel inside and Beth followed him. They were in the kitchen and everything was very still.
‘They aren’t here,’ Noel said.
The house felt empty.
‘The light…’ Beth said.
‘I’ll go and look,’ Dale said. He let go of Beth’s hand.
The three of them stayed in the kitchen. Dale could hear them opening cupboards and taking things out. The instinct for survival had not left any of them. He could picture them filling their bags with packets of dry food and tins.
It was dark in the living room. The air was warm as if a fire had been lit there recently. Orange coals continued to glow in the fireplace and Dale began to hope that he might still find Drew and Valery alive.
He climbed the stairs slowly. The cottage was small and he could still hear the others in the kitchen but the darkness seemed to protect him and he felt alone. He tried not to think about what the soldier had told him but he knew it was true.
At the top of the stairs both of the doors were closed. He knocked gently on the left door which led to the room they would have seen from the back of the house.
‘Drew? Valerie?’ he said.
There was no answer.
Dale turned the handle quietly. He wasn’t sure what he was keeping quiet for. He didn’t want to startle them but it seemed impossible that they hadn’t heard him climb the stairs. He could still hear Beth, Oscar and Noel talking in the kitchen.
The light that they had seen outside came from a small oil lamp on the bedside table nearest the door. It lit the whole room like a nightmare. Shadows of the few pieces of furniture climbed the walls and danced on the ceiling. Drew and Valerie were laying side by side on the bed.
He walked back into the kitchen and the others turned to look at him. He was alone and they had expected him not to be.
‘Let’s go,’ Dale said. ‘They aren’t here.’
Beth walked towards him. Her eyes wide. ‘Did you find anything?’ she asked. ‘Did they leave a note about where they had gone?’
Dale shook his head. There would be enough horrors ahead, he didn’t need to tell her about this one.
A bitter wind had appeared while they had been inside. Dale wrapped his jacket more tightly around himself and reached for Beth’s hand. The four of them walked in silence through the narrow street between two rows of houses. In the distance, they could still hear guns and shouting.
Dale began to hear footsteps moving towards them quickly. At the end of the road the brid
ge crossed a narrow section of the river. They turned the corner and he saw a dark figure running across it.
They stopped and Dale reached for the gun. He let his fingers play across the handle but didn’t take it out. They slunk back and hid beneath the awning of an abandoned house.
The figure stopped on the other side of the bridge. It was too dark to see what they were doing. The speed they were running suggested they weren’t a zombie but it wasn’t certain. Some of the newest ones could still move quickly. He could feel Beth shaking.
They waited. Another figure joined the first on the road. The new one was taller. They didn’t move.
‘Do you know who that is?’ Oscar said. He sounded as if he did.
‘Who is it?’ Dale said. His eyes never left the two figures, his hand never left the pistol at his side.
‘It’s Valerie and Gerard Halverson,’ Oscar said in a whisper. He didn’t move away from the door.
‘What should we do?’ Beth said.
Dale watched Valerie and Gerard. They stood on the road by the bridge and didn’t move. He could hear the river.
Valerie started to walk away from them. Gerard followed.
Beth walked out of the shadows towards them. ‘Valerie,’ she said. ‘Gerard.’
The two figures stopped and turned back towards them. Dale could feel his heart beating in his throat. Valerie and Gerard started walking towards them slowly.
‘What are you doing out here?’ Gerard said.
Dale led Oscar and Noel away from the house and they stood beside Beth.
‘We thought everyone was in the hall,’ Valerie said.
Gerard was looking at them all with suspicion. It was clear that he hadn’t expected to encounter anyone else in the village tonight.
‘We’re leaving,’ Beth said.
‘Leaving?’ Valerie said. She turned to her husband.
‘Where are you going?’ Gerard said without looking at Valerie.
‘We don’t know,’ Beth said. ‘But it isn’t safe here anymore.’
Gerard nodded.