It'll Come Back... (7 page)

‘For the way I behaved back with that girl in the van. I should have helped. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for being a fucking twat the whole time you’ve known me.’

‘These aren’t really normal circumstances, Louie,’ she said. ‘I’m not going to judge you on today’s behaviour. None of us know how we’re going to react in extreme situations. I normally spend way too much time caring about my hair and make-up and taking selfies to go on Facebook to make my friends believe that I’m enjoying my life, that I’m happy, and not enough about stuff that really matters. But today I get to help people. Who knew?’

‘You’re pretty cool.’

‘Thanks. Let’s go, huh?’

‘Yeah.’ Louie cast an eye back towards his sister as she clawed at the bloodied glass. ‘Yeah, let’s go.’

They pushed a wooden table up against the brick wall to the left and peeked over the top of the wall to check the neighbouring garden was clear – it was. As they jumped down into the garden, a middle aged woman began hurling herself against the French doors, making both Kate and Louie jump.

They climbed over into the next garden. Kate edged up to the back door and knocked on the glass. Nothing. She tried the door. It opened. She reached inside with the umbrella and banged the tip of it against the kitchen unit. Nothing.

‘Come on,’ she said to Louie. ‘Let’s get ourselves some better weapons and we can head out the front.’

Kate pulled a nine inch chopping knife out of a knife block on the work surface, and left the bloody umbrella propped up against the units. As much as it had saved hers and other’s lives, it had seen better days. Its spokes had bent out of shape and she wasn’t confident it would last much longer.

‘Let’s see if we can find something for you,’ said Kate, realising she’d taken the best weapon for herself.

The pair edged through the kitchen to an under-stairs cupboard.

‘Bingo,’ said Louie when he spied the large toolbox. He tossed the metal pole he held but had never used onto the floor and opened the lid of the box. ‘This will do me,’ he said as he laid eyes on a claw hammer lying on top. He lifted it out, testing its weight in his hand.

‘You think you can use that thing?’ asked Kate.

‘Yeah. Only instead of coconuts, I’m going to imagine that each one of those things out there is the one that killed my sister, turning her into that thing that killed my mum.’ He mimed hitting something with the hammer a few times before nodding his head at Kate. ‘I’m ready,’ he said.

‘You sure?’

‘Yeah.’

‘You’re not going to freak out on me again?’

‘No.’

‘I can count on you to have my back?’

‘Yeah. I promise.’

‘Good. Because I don’t know if the others will still be at Wilkos so we might have to head out on our own and catch up with them – I’m assuming you’re sticking with me?’

‘I’m going wherever you’re going,’ said Louie. ‘You know what you’re doing.’

‘Oh dear – you’re fucked if you think that,’ said Kate. ‘But, hey, let’s give this a whirl.’

As she and Louie jogged down the High Street, Kate’s stomach began to feel as if she had a team of freerunners inside it showcasing their best moves – tiny feet ran, jumped, somersaulted and sprang off every bit of her belly lining; why did she only give herself an hour? Idiot. But she knew she didn’t want the others to lose their daylight because of her. She and Louie would just have to be okay by themselves if Phil, Lucy and Edith had already set off.

It’s just, Kate couldn’t shake the realisation that never seeing Phil again made her feel empty. Though, the thought was so absurd that she tried to convince herself that it was the result of some sort of post traumatic stress disorder. They had been through so much together in such a short space of time – they had saved each other’s lives, pulled each other through, been each other’s backbone – she guessed she’d elevated him to some sort of superhero status in her mind. Ridiculous –
I mean
,
this is Phil
,
the prematurely balding guy from the bus who always looks so sad and lost
… But she knew she couldn’t bear not seeing him again.

Then an even worse thought occurred to her – what if Phil, Edith and Lucy had befallen the same fate as Louie’s mum and she and Louie would discover them torn to bits and spread all over the inside of Wilkos? There was only one way to find out.

Kate spotted a few Dead staggering along the High Street up ahead.

‘Don’t worry… we can… dodge them…’ she said to Louie between panting breaths as they ran side by side. But Louie broke pace with her, and sped directly towards the Dead.

‘Louie!’ yelled Kate as the young boy tore on ahead. More Dead lurched out from a nearby shop and lumbered towards Louie as he continued to charge at them. ‘Louie!’ Kate increased her own speed in order to catch up with him. ‘Louie, come back!’

He ignored her and ploughed onwards until he reached the front runner. The young boy swung his hammer at its head. Blood, skull and brain exploded into the air and Louie moved onto the next Dead before that one hit the ground.

‘Aaaggghhh!’ he roared as he launched himself into the creatures one by one.

Kate had joined him now and she slammed her knife through the head of a Dead, enjoying how smoothly the sharp metal blade slid through flesh and bone – way better than the umbrella.

‘Come on!’ Louie yelled at the Dead surrounding him and Kate. His face red, spittle flying, he repeated his taunt, ‘Come on!’ while thumping his chest with his free hand, balled up in a fist. ‘Come on you fuckers!’

Gripping his hammer with both hands, he swung it into heads, carving out great chunks of bone and brain matter. Blood splattered both him and Kate while they carried out their frenzied attack.

Once the Dead had been slain, Louie stood panting, the hammer held by his side.

‘You okay?’ asked Kate, touching his elbow with the tips of the fingers of her free hand.

‘I’ve just seen my sister eating my mum,’ he replied after a moment’s pause. He glanced up, catching Kate’s eye. ‘I’ll never be okay again.’ He bit his lower lip and squeezed his eyes shut. Letting out a breath, he opened his eyes and carried on, ‘But I’m going to try to make myself feel better by killing as many of these disgusting things as I can.’ Louie closed his eyes tight once more, hoping, Kate guessed, to hold back his tears. It didn’t work. Tears fell, cutting steaks through the blood on his cheeks and soaking into his beard. He sniffed and used his shirt sleeve to wipe his face.

‘Let’s get going before more come,’ said Kate.

‘Let them come,’ said Louie. ‘LET THEM COME!’ Louie flung his arms wide as he yelled the words, so loud in the silent city.

‘Louie,’ Kate snapped as she saw two Dead stagger from a side street, ‘that isn’t going to help. Taking on a city’s worth of dead bastards isn’t going to bring your mum and sister back. All that will happen is that you’ll die too. Come on, don’t be a twat.’ Kate broke into a jog. She glanced back over her shoulder at Louie. ‘Come on!’

She saw Louie tear his eyes from the Dead that lumbered towards him. He paused a moment longer and then started after her. The pair dodged through more Dead that staggered from shops and side streets, their decomposing bodies unable to catch up with them. Soon, Kate could see Wilkos up ahead. She glanced at her watch – 1.55 pm.

Kate peered through the glass doors, cupping her hands over her eyes in order to cut out the glare of the sun. Nothing stirred inside the store’s gloomy interior. Blood splattered the windows outside, but she couldn’t see any evidence of blood inside. She pushed one of the doors. As it swung inwards, Kate heard a clattering sound. As she poked her head around the door, she saw four small cans of paint rolling across the floor –
stacked up behind the door as a warning device
?
Maybe they’re still here
, thought Kate.
That must mean they’re okay
…
Unless there were any dead people inside the store already
…
Or maybe they found a way out around the back
…

A shuffling sound preceded a figure rounding an aisle to the right – Phil, pale and sweating, but holding a claw hammer in one hand and a chopping knife in the other.

‘Fuck! Thank fuck!’ he said in a gasp of relief. ‘Kate, am I glad to see you!’

‘Phil – you’re okay?’

‘Yeah. Yeah, I’m good.’

Kate tried to pretend she didn’t feel as happy about that as she did. ‘And…’

‘Lucy and Edith are fine too. They’re back in the store.’ Phil walked towards Kate as she, followed by Louie, entered the store.

‘Louie?’ said Phil in surprise as he glanced around Kate’s shoulder. ‘What are…?’

Kate shook her head in warning that he shouldn’t pursue that line of questioning and Phil let his words trail off.

‘Phil – what are you still doing here?’ said Kate as the pair stopped before each other, their eyes locked.

‘I wasn’t going anywhere without you,’ he said.

They gazed at each other for a few moments, both attempting to suppress the grins that bellied how glad they were to see each other but both failing.

‘You’re back, dear.’ Kate broke eye contact with Phil to see Edith round the aisle and hobble towards her – aided by Lucy holding onto her elbow. ‘Not as though we ever doubted you’d be back.’

‘Here I am,’ said Kate. ‘Are you okay, Edith?’

‘Yes, yes, dear. I’m okay. The old bones are struggling but they won’t be beaten!’

‘We should head off,’ said Kate, turning to Phil.

‘You should rest – have a bite to eat and drink before we go,’ he said.

‘Are you okay?’ Kate asked, ignoring his advice.

‘Fine. I’m fine.’

‘You don’t look fine. Have you cleaned up your wound?’

‘Yes. Lucy put a fresh dressing on it.’

‘Is there a pharmacy in here? Maybe you should get some antibiotics – wounds get infected. You could get blood poisoning or something.’

‘There isn’t one in here. I’ve had some paracetamol though.’

‘We’ll find a chemist and get you something stronger,’ said Kate.

‘Okay, but that can wait. I’m fine – honest. Let’s get you back to your man.’

Kate lowered her eyes to the ground at the mention of Andrew. For a brief moment, she had forgotten why she was heading back.

‘Sure,’ she said a little too fast. ‘But we’ll keep an eye out for a chemist on the way – yes? You really don’t want that getting infected.’

‘Yes ma’am!’

Kate turned to the others. ‘Is everybody ready?’

‘Ready, dear.’

‘Yes.’

‘Ready.’

Kate turned back to Phil and he nodded at her.

Stood at the corner of Wilkos, Kate scanned the gridlocked road, but all that remained of the frenzied attack they had escaped from that morning were the abandoned vehicles. The bus stood across the street, its windows splattered with blood, the truck with its nose up the bus’s butt. Kate spotted the car where she had begged a young woman to get out and come with them. It sat empty, the driver’s side window had been smashed and blood smeared across the remaining glass.

Kate glanced left and right, but Upper Bridge Street remained silent and still – the bloodbath over.

‘I’m not going down there,’ said Lucy, pointing towards the slope of the subway that ran underneath the roundabout and the four lane road. Phil had suggested they go that route.

‘It’s the quickest way, dear…’

‘I’m not doing it. You don’t know what’s down there!’

‘But, Lucy–’

‘I’m not going through the subway!’

‘But–’

‘What if it’s so quiet up here now because they’re all down there waiting for us? That’s what monsters like, isn’t it… dark places? If they cornered us down there we’d… we’d…’

‘Okay okay. She does have a point,’ said Kate, glancing at the others. ‘We could end up running into an ambush.’

‘Better to stay where we can see what’s coming, right?’ said Lucy.

Kate nodded. ‘Right, we go up and over – back the way we came.’

Kate continued to scan the area, her eyes flicking left and right as she edged her way across the pavement and onto the road. The others followed her. She had a chopping knife in one hand and a claw hammer she’d picked up in Wilkos hung through the belt loop in her jeans. On her back, she carried a rucksack stuffed full of food, bottles of water, a first aid kit and a blanket. She had slipped her front door key into her jean’s pocket, just in case she lost her backpack. She had abandoned her handbag back in Topshop.

Each member of the group carried their own survival pack. Phil figured it would be a good idea if they each carried a pack, just in case they got separated. Lucy’s eyes had widened at that but Kate had comforted her with a hug and reassured her all would be okay.

On the street, Kate eased herself between two cars. She scanned the gap that ran between that line of traffic and the next. About five or six cars down, one of the Dead crouched on the tarmac, feeding on half a dead body. The creature had its head down as it gnawed on a leg. She wondered what had happened to the top half of the body – had it been devoured, or had it crawled away on its hands and elbows? Kate turned to the others and put her finger to her lips to quieten them. One Dead didn’t worry Kate too much, but she knew where there was one, there would probably be more.

She snuck out from behind the car and edged across to the next lane. This row had all crashed into each other, bumper to bumper leaving no gaps to squeeze between them. With one eye on the lone Dead down the street, Kate motioned to the others to climb over the bonnet of the closest car.

Lucy screamed as a Dead inside the car began slamming its palms against the windscreen. Kate hadn’t noticed the Dead, strapped in by its seatbelt, until that moment. It snarled as it leaned forwards as much as it could and clawed and slammed against the glass.

‘Shit!’ said Kate as the creature down the street glanced up at the racket. It dragged itself to its feet and began lumbering towards them. Kate gasped as she saw more of the Dead rise to their feet from between the vehicles along the street. ‘Move!’ she yelled to the others.

The group vaulted vehicles or squeezed through gaps between them where they could and headed towards the other side of the road. Edith slowed the group, but no one broke pace with her, not wanting to leave the old lady behind. Only Louie strained against the old lady’s leash. Kate wondered if he would make a run for it but figured the young boy would fear being alone in the Dead infested city more than he feared sticking by the group and the one for all mentality it possessed.

Edith may have slowed the group down, but, as Kate noticed, the Dead’s decomposing bodies slowed them down even further. Their stiff, rotting limbs struggled to squeeze through the vehicles, and while they pursued the group tirelessly, they did it slowly. The little group of survivors cleared the gridlocked road, leaving the Dead clambering through tightly packed vehicles behind them.

All four lanes of St George’s Place were as gridlocked as the street they’d just left, but the pavement remained clear. The group edged forwards, weapons at the ready should anything spring out on them from one of the buildings they hurried past, or from out of the stationary traffic to their right.

‘How you doing?’ Kate asked Edith, noticing the old lady slowing her pace.

‘Just fine, dear.’

‘Really?’

‘Well, I’m getting awfully tired, if I’m truthful. My hip and my knee are giving me a bit of jip.’

‘We should rest,’ said Phil.

‘No way,’ said Louie. ‘I’m not stopping out here in the open. We should keep going. At least find some shelter.’

‘We haven’t time to find shelter,’ said Phil. ‘Let’s just take five…’

‘Wait. Look,’ said Lucy. The others glanced in the direction she pointed in. ‘We can push Edith in one of those.’

‘Brilliant idea,’ said Kate, spying the shopping trolleys outside a super market just across the next junction.

Lucy smiled and blushed slightly at Kate’s praise, and the group headed towards the junction. At the corner of the building before it, Kate slowed and peered around into the next street. Her heart sank when she spotted the large group of Dead lumbering down the pavement and through the cars in their direction. She glanced across the four lane street towards the supermarket. The road wasn’t completely gridlocked, giving them plenty of space to weave through the vehicles to the other side. Kate hoped they would make it before the frontrunners to their left cut them off.