Dead Winter

by Aline Riva

  Where was God now? Why was he letting the dead walk the earth and rip the living apart? But the meeting had ended without incident, with Mrs Fisher agreeing to allow extra rations to those who were sick or elderly. Then she had left, to go home and get the spare room ready. She had already agreed to take in Poppy when Sage left on the supply run...

  The morning arrived and it was time to leave. It was five am and still dark but the skies were clear and no snow was falling. The ground was soft and her boots crunched in the snow as Poppy climbed out of the window and jumped down, then stayed low as she darted away from Mrs Fisher's house, heading for the road, where up ahead, she saw a lorry parked near the lane that led to the farm. She stepped off the path where the ice was slippery and once on the snow covered grass, she began to run, heading towards the truck. Then she saw Curtis walking down the lane, he was talking with two guys who were about to go out on morning patrol, and they were all armed. She ducked behind a low brick wall and watched, waiting for the farmer to get into the vehicle as she hoped the back was still open, because there was no other way she could follow her sister if that lorry was locked up...

  Further up the road, where it turned and led close to the village square, Joy had just handed over the keys to the police station, placing them in the hands of a local guy who coordinated the barrier patrols. She had just loaded two guns and spare ammo into the back of the squad car, and as she reached for the door to close it, a figure walked stiffly towards her, dressed in black and wrapped up warmly against the chill of the icy morning. He held out a gloved hand, then as he stepped closer, she saw it was Mickey. His right hand was shoved in his pocket as he held out his left.

  “I need a gun. I'm not going out there without one!”

  She looked back at him and shook her head.

  “Weapons are in the back, I have a gun in the front under the seat - that's mine.”

  “You don't trust me? Thanks a lot, if we run into trouble I'm sure you can shoot your way out. Don't give a thought to me, Joy. I guess that line still divides us, doesn't it?”

  “What line?” she said as her breath formed an ice cloud in the frozen air.

  “Them and us,” he replied, taking another stiff step towards her, “You're a copper and you think I can't be trusted. I want to stay alive as much as you do! There are zombies out there, real fucking zombies that eat people - and they're not eating me!”

  Thee was something in his eyes between anger and panic. Joy reached into the back of the car, took out a loaded handgun, checked the weapon and put the safety on, then placed it in his open hand. He grabbed it quickly and shoved it in his pocket.

  “Thank you!” he snapped, then he got into the car and shut the door loudly.

  It struck Joy as crazy that such a moment was almost amusing, to see him so worked up as he demanded to have a weapon as he ranted about zombies that wanted to eat him. She got into the driver's side, closed the door and glanced at Mickey, but he looked away towards to the darkened road ahead as she started the engine and they began on their journey, as the car headlights lit the way along the snowy road that led to the barrier.

  As Curtis started up the lorry, he thought he heard a sound like the back of the vehicle closing, then he paused, looked out the window, saw nothing, and turned the key in the ignition. Just as the lorry started up, River hurried towards it carrying her bag and wrapped up warmly. Sage followed behind with a rucksack full of supplies and her rifle in her hand. He opened the passenger door and they climbed up and got in, leaving the bags on the floor as Sage closed the door, shutting out the cold. Up ahead, those on patrol were ready to raise the barrier. They heard a car horn sound behind the lorry, and looked back to see Joy's squad car behind them. They were ready to go.

  “This is it,” said River, “I just hope we all come back from this.”

  “We will, we have to,” Curtis replied, then the lorry drove away, heading for the barrier as Joy's car followed.

  The barrier was cleared by the time the lorry drove past, followed by the car, then as the men at the barrier hurried to close it once more to shut out the wandering dead, the two vehicles went on their way, taking the road that led away from the village, unaware that Poppy was in the back of the lorry, alone in the dark as they drove on and she sat there in scared silence, hoping when they stopped it would be daylight, and there would be no monsters waiting to climb in and grab her. She was afraid as she sat there, but it was too late to back out of her plan, the vehicle was picking up speed, by now they had left the village far behind...

  Chapter 3

  By the time the sunrise had managed to shine a weak ray of light between snow clouds, the two vehicles had negotiated a short distance up a motorway obstacle course of crashed and abandoned cars, they had already seen bodies hanging out of vehicles, and a lone zombie sucking at the bloody frozen neck of a dead driver as it savoured the frozen blood and iced up meat, the cold was keeping the dead fresh enough for the undead to feed all winter...

  They turned off the motorway when the road ahead was clogged with a burned out car and several vehicles piled up. The turn off took them down a country lane where skeleton trees stood either side, their boughs laden with snow. They passed a cottage that looked picturesque, but the owners had died, ripped apart by the undead and their remains lay scattered in the red stained snow.

  “Looks recent,” Joy remarked as they passed by.

  Mickey turned his face away from the sight, as the winter sun cut a glare through the cloud he closed his eyes, keen to grab more sleep.

  In the lorry, River had a map unfolded as she traced a finger along the route.

  “We carry on for about eight miles,” she said, then we turn off and go left - I hope. Otherwise it's a long way around to reach the back of town.”

  They passed feeding creatures at the roadside, they stood there apart, clutching at lumps of bloody flesh as they gnawed into it. The undead stood out not just for their wounds and their crazed eyes and their pale, blue tinted flesh, but for the fact that none were wrapped up against the cold. A small boy in jeans and a t shirt was kneeling beside the bloodied body of a woman. He looked up on hearing the approaching truck and snarled, then plunged his hand into the corpse, pulling out trails of shining intestines.

  “Jesus Christ,” Curtis said as they passed by, “How can a virus do this... and how can it burn itself out so fast? There won't be anyone left to pick up the pieces of this fucked up world by the time it's over!”

  Sage stayed silent, watching as the dead roamed the roadside. If this was what it was like out in the countryside, she could only imagine the hell the town had been plunged into. Those creatures would be everywhere...

  “Well,” River said as she felt tension creep through her muscles as her guts went tight at the thought that death was a real possibility, “Let's hope all of us make it through. I have no plans on dying yet!”

  “Me neither,” Curtis agreed, and he looked back to the road, driving on, trying to ignore the figures at the roadside that stood there oblivious to the cold, their clothing soaked in blood as they tore at corpses or wandered off, eating chunks of human flesh.

  The route they followed took them past fields covered with snow, the skies were starting to lighten now, but it would be a while before the thaw began. What had started out as an icy, snow laden winter had provided the perfect feeding ground for the undead. Yet as they carried on down the country road, there were no more zombies feasting on corpses, here all was quiet and still and it felt deceptive, as if this pocket of the land had been saved from the outbreak. No undead, no torn up people. Just virgin snow and the risk of ice patches as the lorry went first followed by the car, and they made their way slowly towards the next part of the journey that would lead into the back of the nearest town.

  As they took a tight corner into the next country lane, branches laden with snow scraped the roof of the lorry as in the back, Poppy gave a gasp, shivering with fear as she imagined monsters jumping down to
the roof to tear it open... But the lorry was still moving. It hit a bump, she was lurched sideways with the vehicle, and then it carried on towards their destination.

  In the front, Sage had grabbed at the seat as River had gasped as they hit the ice, but Curtis had been quick enough to slow the lorry further and take it out of what could have been a skid straight into a tree.

  “We'll have to keep going slow,” he said, “The roads are too iced up.”

  In the car behind, Joy had slammed on her brakes as the lorry slipped on the ice, the sharp jolt had woken Mickey as his head went thud against the back of the seat and he reached up, rubbing the back of his stiff neck as he looked about, in time to see the lorry get back on track and start moving again.

  “Almost,” Joy said, seeing the look of alarm in his eyes, “We'll have to go slower, there's no choice in the matter. Or the roads will kill us before the zombies get a chance to try!”

  There was a small bridge up ahead, it was wide enough for the lorry to pass over, but it looked iced up as sunlight caught on the glare of patches on the road surface. Curtis opened the window, waving to get Joy's attention, then he stopped the lorry as the car slowed to a halt behind.

  “What's wrong?” she called out, suddenly aware of more than just the chill as she stuck her head out the open window. She couldn't see the undead, but if one pounced now, it would be over as she pictured her own blood spattering the interior of the car. But all around, the world was silent save for the drip of slowly melting snow that rested thick on bare branches nearby. The snow clouds were dispersing, here and there, patches of blue were showing through - a rare sight since the bad weather had hit and lingered on day after grey day. Maybe a thaw was coming. She hoped so, the snow was as bigger threat to the living as the zombies were...

  “The bridge is icy,” Curtis called back, “Wait for me to clear it before you come over, just in case I back slide. This isn't my lorry, I'm being cautious, I'm no expert truck driver!”

  “Thanks for the heads up!” she called back, then she closed the window and reversed the car, leaving the engine running as she watched for the lorry to take the bridge, which was slightly humped as below it, the wide stream's frozen surface sparkled as the winter sun hit its face.

  In the lorry, Curtis turned to Sage and River.

  “You'd best get out in case I roll it.”

  Sage stared at him.

  “Out there? We're safer in here!”

  “Just take your gun,” he said, stay over there,” he pointed to a large clearing covered with snow, over the bridge and across the street where bungalows and houses were dotted about, looking pretty with snow covering the scene and not a drop of blood in sight to mar it.

  “It looks clear,”River said.

  Sage opened up the door and got out, then River climbed down too, passing Sage the rifle.

  “We'll cross first,” she said, then she and River began to trudge through the snow, cautiously taking to the bridge, as Sage led the way, rifle in hand as she kept looking down, avoiding patches of ice.

  In the car, as the door slammed, Joy looked around to an empty seat, then turned down her window.

  “Oi! Where are you going?”

  “With them,” said Mickey, “If the lorry can roll, so can your car!”

  Joy gave a sigh as she closed the window, watching as Mickey clung to the edge of the low stone wall, slightly dragging his stiff leg as he kept the gun in his weak right hand as the left steadied him as he made his way up the slope towards the middle of the bridge. By now Sage and River had crossed to the other side, and they were standing in the clearing close to the road, watching the bridge. Mickey gave them a wave with the gun in his hand, then began to take the downward slope to the other side. As he made his way off the bridge and headed for the clearing, he breathed a relieved sigh. Ice had never been easy to navigate, and he had endured a lifetime of slips and falls in snowy weather to remind him of that fact. But he had joined Sage and River now. He put the gun away in his pocket, shoving it in casually as River looked on, guessing this was hardly the first time Mickey Silk had handled a gun. Then Curtis started up the lorry and headed for the bridge. The engine seemed louder in the silence that surrounded them, the wheels turned and bumped and he kept going, taking it as slow as he could without rolling backwards as the rest of the vehicle hung heavy behind him. He cleared the hump and took the downward turn, clearing the bridge and turning right for the road. And tires screeched and brakes slammed on as the vehicle went into a skid, he turned the wheel again, frantically trying to right the lorry as he went into a spin, then he gave a yell as the cab was twisted sideways, hit the road with a crash and the wind shield shattered as the world went dark.

  “Curtis!” Sage yelled, making a run for the cab.

  The back of the vehicle had slammed on its side, hitting the riverbank, then sliding into what was deeper than the apparently shallow stream it had seemed at first glance, as thick ice began to crack. Sage reached the cab as River followed. By now Joy's vehicle had gone up and over the bridge slowing to a halt in the road, then she got out and ran back across the river bank.

  Sage was struggling to open up the door, just as River reached her and joined in, grabbing at the door and giving a tug. It swung up and open as Curtis struggled with his seat belt, shaking glass from his hair as a trickle of blood ran down his cheek as he blinked, realising he had passed out for a moment.

  “Are you hurt?” River said.

  “No, I'm okay... I can get out...”

  He felt unsteady, as if he might pass out again at any minute. The white of the snow was glaring to his eyes as his head throbbed. River and Sage reached for him, and pulled him from the wreckage. He landed unsteadily in the snow, then leaned against the doorway, catching his breath as he wiped blood from his cheek.

  “Sorry guys, we just lost the lorry.”

  “At least you're still alive!” said River.

  Further up the bank, the weight of the lorry made metal groan as the back of the vehicle slid a fraction more, sending cracks snaking through the ice. A muffled scream happened at the same time as Mickey hurried across the snowy ground, half slipping and silently cursing his weak leg as he reached the edge and looked down. Then he heard it again, and saw the back of the lorry had bust open, and in that gap, a small arm covered by a blue snow coat reached out.

  “No!” he yelled, “Wait there! You'll go through the ice!”

  The others looked back sharply.

  “Someone's in the back!” Mickey called out.

  And Sage just knew it could only be Poppy, then she heard her scream for help and she knew for sure as she felt a flash of panic.

  “Wait there, I've got rope in the back of the car,” Joy said, and she dashed back to the car to open up the back and search through the basic survival tools she had put together before she left. She shoved aside blankets and a food parcel and bottled water and a torch and grabbed a length of rope, working quickly as she looped one end and tied it securely.

  “Hurry up!”

  Sage was standing beside Mickey as River joined them at the bank, Curtis was still leaning against the wrecked lorry, waiting for the dizziness to fade out as his head throbbed and he leaned forward, puking into the snow.

  As Joy handed the rope to Sage, she tossed it down and it hit the ice close to her sister, who looked up with terror in her eyes. Then she looked under the bridge, into the darkness and screamed.

  “What's down there?” Sage demanded, looking around then recalling she had dropped her rifle nearby.

  “It's going to eat me!” Poppy yelled in terror.

  “Out of my way!” said Mickey, and he clumsily pushed past the others and took to the bank - too quickly, as his weak right side gave way and his boot slipped and he slid to the bottom, hitting the edge of the bank as more ice cracked and pain shot through his hip.

  He turned on his side, eye level with the girl who was hanging off the back of the lorry a fraction from the ice as s
he tried to draw her legs up to avoid the breaking ice and to shrink back from what ever she had seen in the shadows. He leaned closer, looking beneath the bridge, and then he saw it : Half a woman, with a bite mark to her neck, she had been frozen up to her waist in the ice, but now the ice had cracked as the lorry hit, slicing her in half. And the upper half was clawing at the ice as the undead creature slithered towards the lorry, emerging from the shadow of the bridge as guts trailed behind where her body ended at the waist. Her mouth was open, teeth were bared and freakishly long and sharp, she gave a snarl as she got a better grip on the cracked ice, slithering towards Poppy as the girl screamed again.

  “Grab the rope!” Sage yelled, but Poppy was clinging on to the wreckage, looking on in terror as the severed body crawled closer.

  Mickey dragged the rope back and tossed it to Poppy again. It fell next to her, and as he yelled to grab it, this time, she snatched it up and put on, wrapping it under her arms as she felt a tug and then she clung to it with one hand.

  “Let go of the door!” he shouted, You need to hold on with both hands!”

  She shook her head, sobbing as the creature slithered along the ice, now out of the shadow and heading straight for her.

  “I can't shoot it and pull you out!” Mickey said, “Hold on!”

  “Do it!” Joy yelled from above.

  Poppy let go, grabbing the rope with both hands as she slid to the ice, screwing her eyes shut tightly as she heard the creature snarl again, then she was tugged sideways, slipping and sliding. Up above, Sage took aim with the rifle. A single shot rang out. As Poppy hit the riverbank, the landing softened by colliding with Mickey, she opened her eyes and looked to the ice, where the creature lay dead as blood ran from its temple, dark blood that tricked through wet hair and ran into the snaking cracks on the frozen surface of the water.