Autumn exodus, p.22
Autumn - Exodus, page 22
‘We always do that,’ David said, equally furious.
‘You just handed our future over to a band of thieves.’
‘Until just now we didn’t think there were any thieves left out there.’
The arguments were pointless, everyone knew it, but with no obvious solution to their predicament, they were all they had.
‘Well?’ Ruth demanded when the others returned.
‘Piotr,’ Sam said, struggling to catch his breath.
‘What? You’re certain about that?’
‘I didn’t see him, but I definitely saw that bastard Dominic Grove and Alf too. They don’t have the brains or the balls between them to have done this without Piotr. Christ, he used to have to remind Alf to breathe.’
‘What the fuck is wrong with these people?’ Mia asked. ‘I know you lot never got on, but why can’t they just fuck off and leave us alone?’
‘Because Piotr’s brain doesn’t work like the rest of ours do,’ Ruth said. ‘He just wants us to know who’s boss.’
‘But he didn’t have the balls to come and face us, did he?’ Ollie said. ‘Cowardly fucker.’
‘I hate that piece of shit,’ Omar said.
‘Did he even know for sure that it was us?’ Callum asked.
‘Yes,’ Sam replied without any hesitation.
‘How?’
‘How do you think? Dominic bloody Grove’s got the old gang back together again. The two-faced little wanker. This is on me. I should have finished him off yesterday.’
‘I don’t understand,’ Callum said. ‘If this guy hates you lot so much, why leave us here? Why not try and get rid of us?’
Vicky shook her head. ‘He’s not as stupid as you think. He knows exactly what he’s doing. He knew he was outnumbered, same as he did in Yaxley. And the thing you need to remember about Piotr is that he might well be a malicious bastard, but self-preservation is always at the top of his list. He didn’t need to risk attacking us. All he needed to do was reduce our chances of staying alive.’
‘And that’s exactly what he’s done,’ David agreed. ‘We’re stranded now.’
‘It’s worse than that. Where do you think Piotr’s going now? I guarantee he’s on his way to Ledsey Cross.’
‘God help them,’ Orla said. ‘Does he know the route?’
‘He can read a map, can’t he?’ Noah said.
Vicky shook her head. ‘It’s not that straightforward. It’s a small place, hard to get to. Unless he knows about Heddlewick, he might struggle to find it. That’s the one advantage we still have. We know exactly where we’re going. He doesn’t.’
‘Then we better get a bloody move on,’ David said.
‘How?’ Mia asked. ‘We’ve just lost all our kit, or did you not notice? They’ve taken our vehicles and Vicky’s sick and—’
‘And what’s the alternative? Have you got a better solution? Because from where I’m standing, we either stop here, try and get back to Yaxley, or keep going. Ledsey Cross is closer, and with Piotr on the warpath, it seems to me the people there are going to need us as much we need them. We need to get there before he does.’
‘We should have a vote. We need to know what everybody thinks.’
‘Fuck that,’ he said. ‘People keep telling me I’m supposed to be in charge, so I’m calling it. Get your shit together. I want us out of here in less than an hour. Got it?’
41
They’d stripped the clothing section of the store to protect themselves against the cold; there were shelves and bins of Wellies and garden boots and they’d bagged up anything else of worth. It was noticeably warmer this morning and there’d been no fresh snowfall. Though there were clouds on the horizon, for now the sky overhead remained a clear electric blue.
They’d walked north for an hour already, the remaining snow increasingly turning to slush beneath their boots. They followed the tracks cleared by their truck, though they knew they’d disappear before long. But there was no way they could go any faster. Much to her chagrin, Ruth had been pushing Vicky in a wheelbarrow. But she was still slowing them down. Selena walked alongside, stopping the barrow from tipping over. It was impractical and uncomfortable. It was all they could do just to keep going.
At the front, Sam leant across to David. ‘This is never going to work. First civilised place we find along this road, we should stop.’
‘I was thinking the same thing myself. If we can find some replacement vehicles, we can keep moving.’
‘And if we can’t, then we need to forget about going any further.’
‘You can be the one to break it to Vicky.’
They’d pulled ahead of the others. Sam stopped and took a folded-up map from the inside pocket of his jacket. He covered his eyes to shield them from the sun and scanned the horizon. David unzipped his jacket and took off his hat.
‘I’m too hot. This weather’s so bloody unpredictable. You don’t realise how much you used to rely on the weather forecast and a mixed wardrobe until you don’t have access to either.’
Sam looked up from the map and pointed ahead and to their right. ‘I reckon that’s Knottingley.’
‘What’s there?’
‘No idea. Somewhere to rest and reset, I hope. I say we stick on this road as far as we can. Looks like it’ll take us right into the centre.’
‘And you think we can risk that?’
He shrugged. ‘I think we have to. The night will slow the dead down again. Being nearer to the middle of town should give us maximum options for finding transport and anything else we need. We’re not going to make it much further on foot. We’re going to start losing people if we’re not careful.’
David laughed to himself. ‘When we left London there was over two hundred of us. Now there’s sixteen.’
Sam looked at Ruth and Selena struggling with Vicky. He’d been stationary for a couple of minutes, and they still didn’t seem to be any closer. ‘I know. Let’s do what we can not to lose anyone else, eh?’
#
For a long time, the town didn’t appear to be getting any nearer. The disappearing snow still lay heavy in the fields and the white covering made everything look the same, obscuring their progress. The only visible landmarks were the towering stacks of a distant power station, many miles ahead. One of the towers was blackened, dirty smoke still billowing from its truncated stump.
And then, almost without warning, they were there. They followed the curve of the road around onto the Pontefract Road, the main route into Knottingley. Now their surroundings began to change more rapidly. The ice had sloughed off the south-facing roofs of a housing estate in large sheets. The sun glinted off windows.
It broke Sam’s heart to see that Ruth had abandoned the impractical wheelbarrow and resorted to carrying Vicky on her back. It seemed to him more of an encumbrance, but, he thought, she was probably lighter than the rucksack that Sanjay now carried on Ruth’s behalf. They waited and regrouped beside the wreck of a vehicle transporter that had veered off the carriageway, carved a deep furrow across a sliver of open land, then come to an undignified halt smashed into the corner of a house, reducing it to a lop-sided ruin. The road they had been following looped the long way around, but there was a shortcut to be had here if they were able to pick a safe path through the rubble and ice.
They paused a couple of streets later. ‘Tell me this is where we’re thinking of stopping,’ Ruth said to David.
‘Somewhere around here, yes,’ he said. They were both watching Vicky but trying to make it look like they weren’t. Her body may have been failing, but her hearing was still pin sharp.
‘We should keep going,’ Vicky said. We can’t afford to let Piotr build up any more of a lead than he’s already got.’
‘Not an option,’ Sam told her. ‘David’s right. We’re in no state to keep going, you especially, and we’re definitely in no condition to take on Piotr like this. Anyway, you’re assuming the folks at Ledsey Cross won’t be able to take care of themselves. From what you’ve said, I reckon they’ll be okay without us.’
‘Maybe so, if they were warned,’ Selena said, getting agitated. ‘I can’t stand the thought of Piotr doing anything to Annalise and the others. I know there’s enough of them there, but they don’t know what he’s like.’
‘You can argue all you want, but we’re stopping here tonight,’ David said, cutting across the chatter. ‘We’ll be stronger tomorrow, rested, and we’ll have replaced a lot of the kit we’ve lost.’
‘I know that,’ Vicky protested, ‘but—’
‘But nothing. I’ve made my decision. The town centre isn’t far. A couple of us will go and check things out so we don’t walk straight into anything disastrous. The rest of us will wait here.’
Vicky fished in her pockets for a cigarette and her lighter, figuring she should shove something in her mouth to stop herself answering back. It was pointless arguing. Didn’t matter how much she protested, in her current condition she was pretty much helpless.
42
Knottingley was compact enough for Callum and Sam to be able to scout relatively easily. There was a high street with traditional shops on one side, more modern-looking buildings on the other. It looked like they’d be able to find enough food and other supplies here to get them through tonight and tomorrow. ‘You know what gets me?’ Callum said, his voice low as a whisper.
‘What?’
‘All these shops... look at how many of them we’re never gonna need again. There are restaurants and takeaways, a pawn brokers, a bookies, couple of charity shops and thrift stores... me and the others used to talk about it when we were back in Brentwood. We’d have a few beers, then one of us would always be wanting to order a pizza or a curry.’
They kept going, and found that further to the north, the industrial part of the town was bordered by the River Aire. They’d nothing to compare it with, but the water looked fierce. The noise it made was deafening. A freshly defrosted corpse bumped past Sam, more interested in the sound of the current than in him. He watched as it toppled into the river and was carried away by the ferocious, churning flow. He hoped the waters didn’t let up. With everything else so quiet, the river would be a magnet for the dead.
They found an old-fashioned guesthouse on the way back to the others. Thankfully, there had been plenty of vacancies at the critical moment last September. The bedrooms were clear, and there were enough beds, sofas, and other spaces for them all to be able to rest tonight. ‘This’ll do us, Callum,’ Sam said. ‘Let’s get back.’
They’d not been gone long, but when they retraced their steps, there were bodies waiting for them in the roads they’d run along. The remaining undead population was thawing out and becoming more mobile. Even though the temperature was only a couple of degrees above freezing, the fact it was above freezing at all had altered the equation in favour of the dead. Sam cursed himself. In their haste to find shelter, they’d been less careful than they normally would have been. The trek through the winter landscape this morning, coupled with their experiences over the last couple of snowy days, had lulled them into a false sense of security.
‘Godawful time for these fuckers to wake up,’ he grumbled as he drew his knife and approached the nearest corpse. The creature hesitated, still struggling to move, but its fury and intent were clearly undiminished. He caught one of its flailing wrists, but the damn thing continued to fight. Increasingly agitated, it began to thrash about with such force that its arm tore away at the shoulder, the already feeble flesh further weakened by the combined effects of the freeze then the thaw. Surprised, Sam hit it across the face with its own dismembered limb, whacking it with such force that it tripped over its feet and collapsed in front of him.
‘It’s only a flesh wound, pal.’
‘That would be funny if it wasn’t so disgusting,’ Callum said, watching nervously as more of the dead closed in. They took slow, dragging steps through the slush, and were easy to outrun.
The rest of the group had attracted a similar amount of attention. David, Joanne, and the others fought quietly and efficiently, but even with all their experience, it was impossible to massacre in silence. The noise of every individual kill dragged more of them out of the shadows.
‘Tell me you found somewhere decent,’ David asked Sam in a glimmer of space between attacks.
‘There’s a guesthouse. Bit grim and old-fashioned, but it’ll do.’
‘Will it keep us safe from these nasty fuckers?’
‘As much as anywhere.’
‘Then I guess we follow you.’
‘This way,’ Callum said. He gestured for them to follow him, then raced off. Sam held back, happy to bring up the rear. They couldn’t afford to get split up and lost here. With the light ebbing away and the dead locals becoming more active, he had neither the time nor inclination to be hunting down lost sheep in the suburbs.
Just Ruth, Vicky, Selena, and Omar remaining now. He tried to help Ruth with Vicky, but she batted his arms away. ‘I’m alright,’ Vicky snapped, angry. ‘Let me go, both of you. I can walk by myself. You just focus on clearing the way.’
There were more of the dead still coming, but they were slower than ever, shuffling as much as staggering. It was impossible to know if it was down to the level of their decay, the aftereffects of the freeze-then-thaw, or a combination of both. It didn’t stop them getting in the way, but it made them easier to bypass. Even now, Sam was awash with relief that they were continuing to exhibit the same kinds of behaviours he’d witnessed in the apocalyptic ruins of central London, still playing that bizarre game of follow-my-leader, ignoring everything except the actions of the corpse in front of them. As they went, he was mindful of those that had shown glimpses of consciousness returning. Back in Yaxley, Ed had confirmed that he’d seen it too. There was upwards of thirty of them in the street ahead now; he didn’t fancy any of them making direct eye contact with him or asking directions.
The closest corpses broke away from the crowd. Ruth, Selena, Sam, and even Omar each moved quickly to head off the cadavers nearest to them. Sam hadn’t seen Omar fight much before, and he was impressed by the kid’s tenacity. The body he was dealing with loomed over him, almost double his size. Omar repeatedly swung a metal pole into its pelvis, the bones audibly cracking, until it dropped down to his level, then he battered it into submission with admirable dedication.
They were so focused on the advancing horde that they’d taken their eyes off Vicky. When Sam looked around, he saw that she’d continued walking. Her exhaustion was such that she could barely lift her feet, and she dragged herself along in a way that was uncomfortably comparable to that of the dead. The similarity was such that the corpses themselves appeared to be fooled; several of them parted, allowing her to move between them; the rest ignored her completely. Sam couldn’t understand what he was seeing, but he knew that right now, it didn’t matter. He signalled to the others, and they followed in Vicky’s inexplicable wake.
#
The rest of the group was already at the guesthouse. That they’d reached the shelter was obvious because there was another glut of death already loitering in the slushy street outside, even more moving towards the building. It was a small-scale recreation of their London nightmares – death attracting death attracting death. Sam put on a burst of speed and shoulder charged through the bulk of them, sending them toppling in all directions and leaving the way to the building’s ornate porch clear. The front door flew open, and Selena and Omar rushed for cover. Sam waited, holding back the dripping crowds until Ruth had half-dragged, half-carried Vicky the remaining distance to safety. He followed them inside. Lisa slammed the door shut behind him then helped Marcus drag a table across it.
The building was damp and stank of mould. When Sam looked up, he saw faces peering back at him from every angle. Worried expressions from doorways further down the hall. Expectant faces peering down from between banister posts like naughty kids who’d been sent up to their rooms, and the portraits on the walls, smugly judging how he dealt with the end of the world. Through the frosted glass in the doorway, he could see the mass of decay swarming outside. ‘Jesus, was it worth it?’ he asked, thinking out loud.
David was confused. ‘Was it worth what?’
‘We should have stayed in Yaxley.’
‘We couldn’t. You know that. It’s just hindsight.’
‘Yes, but what have we achieved? We’re no further forward now than when we were stuck in that hotel on Fleet Street. Same shit, different location.’
‘That’s not true.’
‘It is. All that effort and for what? If anything, we’re in a worse position.’
‘No, mate, we’re not. Okay, so things look a bit shitty tonight, yeah? We’re knackered. But look at the bigger picture. We’re nearly through this. You’ve seen how fragile the dead have become; we’re close to the end of them. That’s one clusterfuck off our plates, right? And we’re closer to Ledsey Cross than we thought we’d ever get.’
Sam wasn’t listening. His brain was racing. On autopilot.
‘I’ve got to get back out there. We need food and drink. We can’t afford to get stuck in here without—’
David gently put his hand over Sam’s mouth until he’d stopped talking. He frowned at him. ‘You don’t need to do anything else for a bit, Sammy. Have a sit down. Get your shit together. Joanne and Sanjay have already gone out to get what we need. They went out the back way so yes, they’re reasonably safe and yes, they both know what they’re doing. Stop always trying to be the hero, you infuriating sod. Sit down and let someone else take the heat for once.’
It was against his nature, but Sam did as he was told.
There was a small dining room just off the hallway, the tables laid ready for a final breakfast that was never served. There were two dead diners sitting at a table in the corner where they’d spent the last four motionless months slumped against each other, decaying together. Sam pulled up a seat next to them.
