by Wood, J N
‘Caleb,’ Michael said to the sofa.
Caleb was now indistinguishable in the four or five people crammed onto the sofa.
‘You want their names Caleb?’ Michael asked him.
Caleb’s right arm shot up, making him visible, his fist clenched. ‘Yo,’ he croaked, puffing out smoke.
‘Names? Do you want their names?’ Michael repeated.
‘Sweet,’ Caleb said, his clenched fist still held high above his head.
Fuck’s sake, this is a waste of time.
Michael turned to us, his eyelids also starting to droop. ‘Does that mean he wants your names, or what?’
‘Okay, thank you fucked people,’ Jack said to the room, grabbing Michael’s arm and pulling him backwards. ‘Let’s get out of here. We’re going to be the same as this lot if we stay here any longer.’
‘Yeah probably a good idea,’ Michael said, allowing Jack to pull him into the corridor. ‘I don’t think they wrote our names down this morning anyway. Don’t forget to pick up a card on the way out.’ Michael was pointing to a tray on a small table, just inside the front door.
Inside was what looked like hundreds of playing cards. As far as I could tell, they were all the four of clubs. I picked up two, both had a five pointed star scribbled onto the bottom corner in biro. I handed one to Jack.
‘Is that it?’ Jack asked. ‘Just pick up a card and get fed?’
‘I think we have to turn up for work,’ Michael said, a spaced out expression on his face. ‘Otherwise they take the card off us, somehow, maybe. I don’t know. I’m very confused.’
I grabbed Michael by the elbow, guiding him towards the clean and fresh air outside. ‘Come on Mikey Boy. I think you’re just topping up from the last time you were here.’
We left the house, pulling out a large cloud of smoke into the front garden with us.
‘What the fuck was that? Was that just weed? Or something else?’ I asked Michael.
‘Probably whatever they can get their hands on,’ he replied, his eyes looking more and more glazed over by the second, but sounding relatively coherent. ‘And, that’s the base for the Fencers and Zombie Patrol. I think they were all the bosses.’ Michael still had enough of his senses to notice the look of disbelief on mine and Jack’s faces. ‘It’s their night off,’ he casually explained.
‘The scavengers aren’t struggling to find drugs then?’ I asked.
‘Not yet anyway,’ Michael replied.
‘So are we in the Zombie Patrol or the Fencers?’ Jack asked him.
‘Colours are Zee Pee, so I think that means you are Zee pee. Zee pee. Zee Pee? Yeah, Zee Pee.’ Michael started giggling to himself.
‘Okay, we’re in Zee Pee,’ I said. ‘Stop saying Zee Pee. Fucking hell, you’ve got me doing it now.’ I couldn’t stop a giggle escape my mouth.
‘I think the Fencers use football teams for their names,’ Michael added, still giggling slightly. ‘I’m not into sports. I’m not really a sporty guy.’
‘I think we just found out what you are into Mikey,’ I laughed.
‘I may have dibble dabbled a bit in college,’ he replied. ‘Just a little bit mind you. I wasn’t a waster.’
Jack and I smiled at each other and moved a bit closer to Michael.
We started walking back to our new house, occasionally having to redirect Michael. My legs were feeling a little lethargic, and my head was definitely lighter than usual.
‘An alcoholic sheriff,’ Jack mused. ‘Half the people in the accommodation place didn’t turn up for work, and the half that did were either asleep, or arseholes.’
‘Probably both,’ I interrupted.
‘And the Zombie Patrol and Fencer bosses are all smashed on a concoction of drugs,’ Jack continued.
‘Yep, Refugee Camp 33 looks a bit of a mess,’ I replied. ‘I agree with the woman Mikey Boy spoke to earlier, can’t see it lasting much longer. I reckon we get out of here. What do you think?’
Jack looked uncomfortable. ‘First things first Chris. Get back to the house, and then we search for Beth. I could do with some help. Is that okay?’
Michael and I both agreed. I had to nudge Michael to get him to respond, but he eventually did.
Two men appeared from around a corner, upon seeing us, they headed in our direction.
‘What do they want?’ Jack asked.
They were both incredibly thin. Their gaunt faces seemed to be all cheekbones.
‘Jesus is our saviour,’ the man on the left said as they neared us. ‘Join us at 1, 986 D Street. All that accept Jesus into their lives are welcome.’
His friend had a ragged cut running down the whole length of his face. It looked like it had only recently been given to him. The bright red and painful looking cut was suddenly split by a huge grin, making his cheekbones even more pronounced. ‘Please join us,’ he said. ‘Only Jesus can save our souls now. Every one of us can be saved, just by allowing Jesus in. Please accept him into your lives.’
I gripped Michael’s arm tightly, and swerved around the wild eyed men. ‘Okay thank you,’ I said, with a polite smile.
‘There is always somebody there. Please stop by,’ one of them said to us as we briskly walked away.
‘I suppose the apocalypse is enough to make anyone turn to religion,’ Michael said.
‘Well, not quite anyone,’ I said.
Chapter 12: Pub
Back at the house, everyone was still in the back garden, albeit now with wet hair, and smelling a whole lot better than us.
‘You three,’ Shannon said as we walked, or in Michael’s case, staggered towards them. ‘Go take a shower. We managed to trade in some stuff for toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap and towels.’
‘Who, what and when?’ I asked, surprised.
‘We took a walk over to some of the stalls in the middle of the camp,’ Shannon answered. ‘Traded my watch for our stuff.’ She handed Jack two towels, two toothbrushes and one bar of soap. ‘You and Chris are sharing this soap. Make it last.’ She nodded over to the three young boys. ‘Sandra traded a few pieces of jewellery for their things. Got some clean clothes and a few bits for the kids.’ She handed a towel and another bar of soap to Michael, looking into his face with concern. ‘How long were you guys in that house?’
‘Too long,’ I replied.
‘Not long enough,’ Michael quickly said, a smile spreading across his face.
‘I need to start looking for Beth,’ Jack said.
‘Half an hour won’t make any difference. She’ll still be here,’ Shannon said to him. ‘If you’re quick, you’ll be out there even sooner. You don’t want to find your wife when you smell like that. Do you?’
Jack shook his head in resignation. ‘Okay Mum.’
‘I am not the mother figure,’ Shannon exclaimed. ‘Now, don’t forget to wash behind your ears.’ She shoved Jack towards the house, a smile on her face.
Jack was in and out of the bathroom within the allotted time of five minutes. Michael followed him.
I stood outside waiting for my turn, thinking about what I could use to trade for some clean clothes. All I had was my wedding ring, my phone, a fitness watch, with no means to charge either, my axe and my baseball bat. I’d need the Smasher and the axe for my new job. I didn’t fancy killing zombies with my bare hands.
A new person walked by me, a woman in her twenties maybe. We both said hello, before she carried on towards the kitchen. I thought she might have been English from the way she spoke. I couldn’t stop myself from glancing down at her bum as she walked away from me.
I didn’t really try too hard to stop myself though.
Fucking hell I miss Joanne. Would she forgive me if I had to give up my ring? Not for clothes I suppose, but I’m sure she’d understand if it was for something to help me stay alive.
Who am I fucking kidding anyway? How would she even find out if I traded it? It’s not like I’m going to get back to England anytime soon. Not now that I have to wait eighteen months befor
e getting out of here. I really can’t stay in this shithole for eighteen months.
Eighteen fucking months! I’d almost forgotten about that. This camp isn’t gonna last that long anyway. Not a chance. I need to convince Jack that we have to leave here.
The bathroom door opened, and the still clean shaven Michael exited. ‘You’re next Chris.’
‘Are you somehow shaving everyday Mikey Boy?’ I asked, running my hand through my three week old beard.
‘I only get a few hairs coming through on my chin and upper lip, so yes, I just shave it every day. That way it doesn’t hurt too much.’
‘Lucky you,’ I said.
‘I used to wish I could grow a beard,’ he said. ‘Not anymore.’
After an incredibly cold shower, I got dressed in my dirty clothes and headed back outside to the garden. Sandra, Pete and Theo were sat with the kids while Shannon, Michael, Jack, Gee and Ali were stood on the other side of the garden. I noticed a few more people were now out there, although separated from our group. The woman with the nice bum wasn’t amongst them. I nodded in their direction as I passed. They were sat in two groups of three. They responded with nods of their own, a couple of people saying, ‘Hi.’
Jack looked at me as I approached. ‘Chris. You, Gee and Ali are going to walk counter clockwise around the camp, working your way inwards.’ He gestured to Shannon and Michael. ‘We’re going to go clockwise. We’ve kind of figured out where the food tents are by comparing everyone’s maps, but it’s anyone’s guess really, they’re all as bad as each other. We hit the food tents when we see them. Try and spend twenty minutes in each one you find. Dinner starts at six.’ He looked to Michael, who nodded in agreement, looking a lot more sober after a shower.
‘Have you got a photo of Beth?’ I asked Jack.
‘Yeah on my phone.’
‘Has your phone got any battery left?’ I asked.
‘No.’
I laughed. ‘So you don’t have a photo then.’
‘No I don’t, come on let’s go.’
Shannon handed out bottles of water, informing us she’d filled them up from the tap in the kitchen.
I hesitated before taking one. ‘Is it okay to drink?’
‘Spoke to the other residents.’ She nodded to the other people sat on the grass. ‘They said they haven’t got dysentery yet.’
I took the plastic bottle. ‘Okay, suppose we don’t have much choice anyway.’
The six of us made our way back to the road that ran around the edge of the camp, just inside the inner fence. Gee, Ali and I turned left, the other three turned right.
‘Good luck Jack,’ Ali said as we parted.
‘Thanks,’ Jack replied. ‘If we don’t see you at our food tent, meet back at the house at midnight.’
We got our first look at the border wall as we headed towards the north fence along 12th Street. It wasn’t as big as I was expecting. It looked like it was made up of large concrete sections.
‘How tall do you think it is?’ I asked.
‘Don’t know,’ Ali replied. ‘Hard to tell from here. Must be about two hundred feet away. It looks smaller than I thought.’
‘Wall is about six or seven metres high,’ Gee said. ‘Can tell by people on top.’ He pointed to a few different spots along the wall.
‘Not that small then,’ I noted.
Human shapes could just be seen walking along the top, their heads and shoulders visible. Large unlit floodlights were spread out along the wall.
Unlike the south inner fence, which ran in a straight line, following H Street all the way to the Harbour and the water, the north fence didn’t have a straight road to follow. Rather than cut through gardens and woodland, the fence followed the easiest path. It ran alongside the route the roads took. Vast amounts of the woodland had recently been felled in a large section of no man’s land, presumably to allow the Canadians to spot any illegal border crossing attempts.
The sound of building work could be faintly heard on the other side of the wall. Other than that, it was still eerily quiet. I’d assumed there would be more noise coming from the Canadian side. They must be under strict instructions to stay quiet also. The outer edges were still clear of people. Unlike the south and the east fence, nobody stood guard on this side of the north fence.
The amount of people dramatically changed when we reached the end of the north fence. To carry on would have meant walking into the water, so we turned left. The harbour was a hive of activity, still silent, but people were everywhere. Hundreds crossed the road in front of us, going back and forth. They seemed to be carrying crates of all sizes.
Considering fish is only on the menu two or three nights a week, I think we may have been quite fortuitous the first night we arrived, in order to get tuna steaks.
The harbour jutted out at a right angle from the mainland, going in almost a straight line into the water. At the end of the harbour I could see a small stretch of water, and then some more land with buildings on it. I really wished my phone was working so I could check Google Maps.
More people meant I was saying, 'No, it’s not her,’ a lot. Gee and Ali had a very vague description of Beth that Jack had given them. So any female they spotted with shoulder length brown hair would mean them frantically pointing at her, and asking me if it was Beth.
I had to keep reminding Gee that Beth was white, and not literally every female he saw. I was pretty sure he was still drunk.
We spotted a few of the food tents as we made our way around, marking them on the best of our maps so we could pay them a visit when it was time. To my relief, I spotted a couple of pubs. I was glad the entire population wouldn’t have to cram into Pea’s Place. I marked them all on my map also.
After doing a full circle, we started to move further in, towards the middle of the camp. This meant having to walk through more and more people. My eyes constantly scanned the crowds as we made our way through. Behind me, Ali stopped people as we passed by, asking them if they knew a Beth Tillman or Gayter. Every thirty seconds Gee would point at a woman, literally any woman, asking me if it was Beth.
We passed a lot more fights. They all seemed to finish as quickly as they’d started. More than once, it began because somebody took it upon themselves to try and shut another person up. Usually because that person suddenly cried out something religious, such as, ‘God is punishing us for our sins’ or, ‘Only Jesus can save us now.’ We made sure we stayed as far away from them as possible.
As we passed one of the food tents, placed in a former Blaine residents back garden, Ali pointed out it was six o’clock, and she was starving. So we went in and joined the queue.
‘Do you think we have to go to our designated food tents?’ Ali asked, after we’d been slowly shuffling along for a few minutes. ‘I’m pretty sure it’s supposed to depend on where we live. Our house isn’t near here.’
‘The catering staff won’t give a shit,’ I said. ‘They’ll probably be drunk or stoned, or both.’
Twenty minutes of queuing later, we were stood in the corner of the large tent, holding our bowls of rice and vegetables, watching the crowds come and go. The amount of people stuffed in here at any one time was incredible. Luckily it didn’t take long for people to spoon rice into their mouths, so it was a quick turnover.
I’d flashed my four of clubs to the guy behind the counter, but he didn’t even glance in my direction. Like an automated machine, he just handed me my bowl of beige food, before scooping some more into another bowl, and handing it to Gee behind me.
‘I think we’re gonna lose a bit of weight in here,’ I said. ‘You might have to change your name to Little Gee.’
Gee grunted an acknowledgement before spooning more rice into his mouth.
Ali looked down at her bowl. ‘I might see about joining the scavengers. The only issue is going through quarantine every time you come back.’
‘So you wouldn’t be able to bring stuff back for personal use? They’d take everything off you?
’ I asked her.
‘Yeah I suppose. Okay, I’m not going to see about joining them.’
‘Where do they do the quarantine? The same place as we did it?’
‘No,’ she answered me. ‘They do it on Semiahmoo, and then get a boat over to the harbour.’
‘What the fuck is Semiahmoo?’ I asked.
‘It’s a bit of land that curves around to almost meet Blaine harbour. You probably saw it when we were walking around that side. The guy that ran one of the market stalls was telling us about it, that’s where everything comes in to the camp, not just the fishing boats.’
I managed to squeeze between people so I could place my empty bowl down on the closest table. ‘Could we have come across on a boat? Rather than through that tunnel?’
Ali shrugged. ‘Probably, I didn’t ask him. Come on, we’ve been here long enough. Time to move on.’
We started to weave our way through the mass of people and long tables, towards one of the exits.
‘Fucking Elliot and Martin,’ I said to Ali. ‘They never mentioned the boat option. Did they?’
Ali spoke over her shoulder as she walked, ‘We were surrounded by zombies. What were you going to do? Fight your way to the coast?’
‘No, but I could have waited until the zombies had fucked off back to the outer fence. Then I could have strolled over to the coast.’
‘The tunnel wasn’t that bad,’ Ali said.
‘Tunnel fine,’ Gee added.
We finally made it outside. There was marginally more space to move around, now that a lot of people were crammed into the food tents.
‘The tunnel wasn’t fine,’ I said. ‘It was incredibly shite.’
Ali walked away, her head down and looking at the map in her hands. ‘Come on guys, let’s find another food tent.’ She stopped and had a glance around her, before starting again down another road. Unfortunately, the route she’d chosen meant we had to fight through a mass of people all walking towards the food tent, and us.
This is gonna get really fucking annoying. No, it is really fucking annoying.
Beth wasn’t in the next food tent we found, or the one after that, or the one after that.