by RR Haywood
‘What?’
‘Yes, it is obvious. This thing prevents death, pain, suffering, disease, hunger, thirst…’
‘It makes them kill everything in sight.’
‘It does now but is that what was originally intended? Is it a tweak in a DNA chain or the genealogy? I have a fundamental belief that what one can do all can do…’
‘I know of this,’ she says intently, ‘we are all capable of what the most intelligent can do.’
‘Yes but we do not know how. It is the same. Marcy, through the course of her infection, went from a thirst for death and destruction to a belief in finding a way to take what she had to…well, to make things better if I may be so blunt, and her belief is that it is only through Howie that she can achieve that.’
‘I see but…’ movement on the monitor but not from the cameras mounted to the front but from those behind, of a horde pouring from the junction into the road, ‘they’re coming,’ she says quickly.
‘From the side road? Ah yes, yes…so they are…’
‘I can fire from the back doors,’ she says rising from the chair.
‘No you mustn’t,’ he snaps, ‘that would give away our position and the fact we are in here…’
She stops dead cursing inwardly at her own lack of thought, ‘of course, sorry. I…I didn’t think.’
‘Mr Howie has seen them,’ Reginald says commentating from his observation on the monitor and a second later the first shots are fired as the second part of the fight gets underway, ‘we are in the firing line,’ he says fretfully and the nervous manner sweeps back as his hands move instinctively to his neck, ‘I do hope this vehicle is bullet proof.’
A dull ping from the back makes them both duck followed instantly by Roy shouting don’t shoot my bloody van you idiots.
Five minutes later and it’s done. The few sent from the road are dispatched with the same brutal efficiency and Meredith is released to finish off the crawlers.
‘All done,’ Howie calls banging on the back door. Charlie opens up, swinging the door in to reveal them all checking weapons and Cookey grinning widely.
‘Did you see me?’ He can’t help himself but ask outright.
‘Yes I did,’ she laughs, ‘very funny.’
‘Did you laugh?’
‘Yes and I almost got told off by Reginald for watching you.’
‘Watching me?’ He asks with a broad wink, ‘eh? Watching me were you?’
‘You wish,’ Blowers mutters.
‘You both alright?’ Howie asks peeking through the door to Reginald at the desk, ‘that went exactly as you said, Reggie.’
‘Reginald, yes, yes we observed it from here.’
‘Spot on, mate. Totally spot on. Anything for us? Any feedback?’
‘Yes, can you not shoot the van next time please?’
‘I said that,’ Roy shouts from somewhere, ‘I can’t see any damage though.’
‘Perhaps we could be parked within the circle?’ Charlie asks, ‘it would make sense for both vehicles to be in the centre.’
‘Why didn’t you two think of that?’ Howie asks looking at Clarence and Dave.
Clarence shrugs nonchalant and smiles, ‘why didn’t you?’
‘Fair point, yeah we’ll do that next time. Anything else?’
‘Radios to communicate,’ Charlie says, ‘we saw them coming from the road before you became aware of them…we could have alerted you.’
‘Yep, actually,’ Howie says ducking out of sight for a second then reappearing, ‘once Meredith has finished doing her rounds we’ll have a look.’
‘There may well be some left to observe,’ Reginald says.
‘So? We’re just looking for radios and supplies. That won’t give anything away. Will it?’
Reginald thinks before answering, ‘no…no but we must be sure not to verbalise anything in relation to…’
‘We won’t,’ Howie says abruptly still with the flush of battle in his face, ‘fuck me this heat is unbearable, you both drinking plenty in there?’
‘We are,’ Reginald replies.
‘Can I come to look for supplies?’ Charlie asks.
‘Yeah sure, we’ll be a few minutes yet. Nick you got a…ah well done, he’s got one waiting like a mind reader, you got a light? Ah cheers, everyone get fluids and watch out for crawlers in case Meredith misses one.’
*
I turn away from the back of Roy’s van and walk a few steps into the street as Charlie vaults down onto the hot tarmac. The humidity is through the roof, like an invisible invasive force working to sap our energy.
‘Water,’ Dave at my side handing me a bottle while drinking from his own.
‘Ta,’ I prop my rifle against my legs, unscrew the lid and chug it down in one go, ‘went well.’
‘Yes.’
‘We need radios.’
‘Yes.’
‘Maplins down there,’ I say using my water bottle to point down the street, ‘bit fucking fortuitous don’t you think?’
‘What is?’
‘Maplins being here.’
‘They are a chain store,’ he says after a pause.
I start towards it while drinking from the bottle. He falls in beside me and I hear everyone else moving behind us.
‘Maplins?’ Clarence calls.
‘Yeah,’ I call back without turning round and pour the last bit of water over my face to rid the sweat stinging my eyes, ‘Nick, we need anything else?’
‘Don’t think so,’ he says, ‘batteries while we’re here.’
I keep my eyes fixed on the front door and the car backed up to the front plate glass window at a weird angle. Getting closer and I can see a rope running from the back of the car through the smashed glass and hooked onto the protective shutters on the inside as though someone parked up, got the hook attached but failed to make it safely back the car.
Every decision we make and every action we take can make the difference between living and dying. Maybe the person was trying to get batteries or torches, wiring, or something else that could have helped them survive and in taking the risk they put themselves in danger, and quite possibly fell to that same danger. Then the idea pops in my head that this could have been done as the world was starting to fall, maybe someone tried to take advantage of the chaos to bag some goodies. Either way they ain’t here now and they didn’t get inside either.
‘Handy,’ Nick says walking towards the car, ‘think it’ll still run?’
‘Give it a go,’ I say wishing I had more water and thinking about changing into a dry top, and pants, and socks, and trousers.
‘Better than me smashing the door in,’ Clarence says with a heavy sigh wiping a big hand across his forehead to remove the sweat trickling down.
Nick walks round the back of the car stepping over the rope while Clarence and I move to check the hook is already fastened through the grille on the thick mesh shutter.
‘Can you get me another bottle of water out please,’ Cookey asks presenting his back to Blinky who slings her own rifle and starts opening his bag.
‘Get one for me after,’ she says.
‘Yeah course.’
Paula and Roy doing the same. Blowers lighting a cigarette and Meredith streaking across the street to catch up with us and Mo Mo screaming no as Nick opens the driver’s door. The dog speeding up. Dave spinning round. Roy dropping the bottle of water from his hand. Blinky stepping back from Cookey’s bag. Blowers spitting his unlit cigarette out as the undead male smashes his frame into the door on the inside which rams it into Nick’s chest that sends him staggering back and the thing is out driving into Nick as he falls down in a flail of limbs. Dave, his pistol out and trying to aim but within that split second the bodies are together with no clear shot. We all react, surging forward with yells but not one of us can react as fast as Meredith who slams into the side of the male with a vicious snarl.
She rips him to the side but the beast is clinging onto Nick who rolls with the male acros
s the ground. She whips about, spinning on the spot and with a deft movement she sinks her teeth into the back of his head and starts ragging to prevent the male from biting Nick but still it clings on until Dave is in there, slicing like a demon with his blades cutting through tendons in the arms to make the fingers unlock. Clarence stamping on the legs breaking bones in the knee joints and Blowers launching himself into the middle to punch into the male’s throat with fists that slam down again and again.
It finally releases and is pulled away by Meredith with a raging Blowers going after it as Cookey, Blinky and Mo start kicking it in the stomach and ribs. Everyone having a go and a few seconds later there is a lump of broken meat without a head and Meredith still attacking it for the sheer audacity of daring to touch her beloved Nick who lies bleeding on the ground with his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open.
‘No…no….FUCKING NO,’ he roars into the sky at the lacerations on his bare arms from the filthy nails of the male that raked him open, ‘Mr Howie…’ he stares at me, his chest heaving as he goes into terror stricken shock, ‘Mr Howie…’
‘Easy,’ I’m at his side grabbing his arms to look. The skin is broken, opened in several places with ragged shallow cuts, ‘cut me,’ my hand in front of Dave and he slices to open the skin on my palm.
‘What are you doing?’ Roy moves towards us with shock in his voice.
‘Back off,’ Blowers snaps at him moving to drop to Nick’s side with Cookey next to him, ‘me too,’ he offers his hand to Dave.
‘And mine,’ Cookey the same, three hands cut and bleeding.
‘What are you bloody doing?’ Roy demands.
‘Oh my god…no…’ Nick cries with tears pouring down his face, ‘fucking no…I was just checking THE FUCKING CAR...’
‘On the wounds,’ I clamp my bleeding hand round a long cut on Nick’s right wrist and rub to work my blood into his. Fuck knows if this works or does any good but we have seconds to do something and doing something is better than doing nothing.
‘You’ll make it,’ Blowers gripping his blood soaked hand on Nick’s left arm, ‘you’ll make it…’
Cookey pushing his own dripping hand onto Nick’s arm above Blowers and Marcy is at my side pushing her open hand towards Dave. No words are needed and her skin is opened with a flick from the knife and her hand pushes against mine as she too grips hold of the lacerated skin to work her own blood into his.
‘You’ll make it,’ Blowers says fiercely, ‘you fucking will…I promise you, Nick.’
‘Oh fuck,’ Nick swallows and grits his teeth, ‘fuck ‘em yeah,’ he says as the tears pour down his face, ‘fuck ‘em…we’ll win yeah?’
‘We will, we fucking will,’ Cookey bites his own sobs down.
‘Yeah,’ Nick gasps, ‘fuck yeah…we’ll win…oh fuck…Mr Howie…’
‘I’m here,’ I lean past Marcy and grip the back of Nick’s neck with my free hand and look into his terrified eyes, ‘you’ll make it.’
‘What if…’
‘You’ll make it,’ I cut through his words as the first tear falls from my own eyes and Clarence is there behind Nick lifting his upper body off the floor to hold the lad still.
‘You’ll make it,’ the deep voice is soft but powerful.
‘How long?’ Nick glances past me to Dave.
‘One minute ten seconds.’
‘Two minutes yeah?’ Nick locks eyes on me, ‘two minutes so…fifty seconds…’
‘You will not die,’ I say with a power resonating through my body, ‘not here, not today…’
‘Mr Howie,’ he whispers unblinking and his body shaking like a leaf. Meredith pushes her nose through still dripping blood from her jaws, ‘oh god…can she smell it?’ Nick looks down at her, ‘she can smell it inside me…’
Meredith whines, her ears flattened against her head that she pushes down to rest on his stomach.
‘Oh fuck…fuck….’ His breathing gets faster, shallower as the seconds tick by, ‘Dave?’
‘One minute thirty.’
‘Fuck,’ he seems shocked by the answer and blinks, ‘okay…yeah…yeah okay,’ he steels himself with a hard look passing through his eyes, ‘fuck it…’
Paula in amongst us holding Nick, her face a mask of love, worry, hope and utter despair. Roy right there staring down and Charlie holding her hand to her mouth with tears pouring down her face. Blinky staring without expression and Mo Mo glaring angrily.
‘Fuck…oh fuck…if I go…Mr Howie…if I go…’
‘You ain’t,’ I say to him with utter belief in my voice, ‘I won’t let it happen. Do you hear me…it will not happen.’
‘You’ll make it,’ Blowers says it over and over as though saying it will make it true.
‘FUCK,’ Nick shouts again flashing through emotions as the fear builds and the seconds tick by.
‘Steady, son,’ Clarence soothing and deep.
‘One minute forty five.’
‘Fucking already?’ Nick shouts, ‘I want a recount…’ he tries to joke but it bites off on the last word, ‘Dave…shoot me in the head,’ he says quickly, ‘if I go shoot me through the head…promise me…’
‘I promise,’ Dave says and a chill runs down my spine at the way he says it so accepting of the fact. Fear courses through me, pure fear at the thought of losing Nick and that fear mingles with anger and a feeling of betrayal that we’re doing everything we can so why keep doing this to us? Why? Haven’t we done enough for you? Don’t take Nick. Not Nick. Don’t take Nick. Please. I beg you. Take me. I will give my life for his. You can have it. I will die for him to live. Please I am begging you with everything I have. Do not take Nick. Take me.
‘No,’ Nick whispers at me in shock.
Me. Take me not Nick.
‘NO.’
Do not take him. He deserves life. He is young. Take mine. I will go with you.
‘NO,’ Nick screams at me, ‘STOP IT…’
If you want one of us take me. Take my life but please, I beg you, leave him alone.
‘FUCKING STOP IT!’
‘I’ll go,’ a deep voice says, ‘take mine.’
‘One minute fifty five…’
‘I have sinned more than any,’ a female voice now so close to me, ‘I will go…if you must take then take mine…’
‘Fifty six…’
Lord. These boys have given you everything. They have done everything asked of them without question.
‘MR HOWIE STOP IT…STOP IT...’
I am yours to take.
‘NO!’
‘I will go,’ Clarence whispers into the air, ‘I am old and have served…’
‘Please,’ Nick gasps, ‘please stop it…’
‘My sins are the worst and I will come with you. Leave him alone.’
‘Fifty eight…’
‘It’s my fucking life,’ Nick cries, ‘not yours…not Mr Howie…I’ll go…I will go but don’t take them…’
Do not take Nick. I give you myself and my love and all that I am but leave Nick here. Let him live and love.
‘I am an old soldier and I accept death. I am not scared of you so take me and leave the boy.’
‘I am scared of you for the things I did but I go with you because of those things I did. Do not take Nick. He is clean. I am tainted. Take me.’
‘I’ll go,’ Blowers growls the words out.
‘No,’ Cookey says with his cheeks glistening, ‘I’ll go.’
‘Two minutes…’
‘You cunts,’ Nick gasps, ‘it’s my fucking life…’
Take me.
‘My life and my right…’
‘Take me.’
‘Don’t you fucking dare…none of you…’
‘I’ll go.’
‘Leave him, I am tainted and filthy.’
‘Take me. A soldier accepts death.’
‘I am Dave…’
‘No,’ I gasp at the words as every head snaps to the small man staring down at us.
‘I am Da
ve…’
‘Dave no,’ Nick whispers at an implication too profound to even contemplate for none of this can be done without Dave.
‘Dave…’ Clarence growls in warning.
‘Dave…’ I shake my head in disbelief.
‘Not you,’ Nick pleads in a ragged voice.
A pulsing energy moves through us making my hair stand on end. The air is thick, clogged with emotion and static and Dave stares down in all his terrible glory of never suffering pain, of never knowing the hurt inside and what it’s like to love and and this, now, for Dave to join in is beyond anything I could ever think.
‘I…am…Dave,’ the power in his voice rattles through my bones and seems a challenge to the heavens for that man glares with a defiance that cowers us all. Then he does that rarest of things and smiles as he checks his watch.
‘It’s been three minutes. Now get up and get back to work. You’re fine,’ and walks off to inspect the front of the store.
‘Oh fuck,’ Nick gasps air from his mouth, ‘oh my god…holy fucking fuck…’
An explosive exhalation of breath ripples around the circle. Fat tears rolling down Nick’s face. Clarence closing his eyes and bowing his head. Blowers stock still. Cookey staring wide eyed. Marcy crying and stroking Nick’s face. Paula sobbing with relief. Roy wiping his eyes. We stay together. None of us wanting to move away from the pulsing energy flowing through our bodies.
‘What the fuck was that?’ Blowers says more to himself.
‘Nick being immune is what that was,’ Cookey replies softly
‘Shit,’ Marcy says sagging down on the spot as she gently releases the grip on Nick’s wrist, ‘I heard you,’ she mutters and wipes her face with the same bloodied hand, ‘I heard you,’ she looks up at me.
‘You had no right,’ Nick says and swallows as his eyes widen, ‘you had no right, Mr Howie…’
‘Nick…’
‘You had no right,’ he says firmly, ‘you had no right to do that.’
‘Nick…’