Hamsikker: A Zombie Apocalypse Novel (12 page)

Cindy shook her head. “No way, José. I told you,
I’m
driving.”

“Look, Cindy, you’re in no state to drive. We need to get out of here fast.”

“Fuck you. You want a ride? You’ll have to climb over me. Or shoot me. Either way, I’m not moving from behind this wheel.”

Javier toyed with the idea of shooting her, but it was too easy. Besides, Cindy would make an awful mess of the van, and they really did need to get a move on. She was not going to back down, so he reasoned that he would let her drive until she was on the verge of passing out. Then he would take control of the wheel, and control of the two women he now had in his company. Looking at the state of her, it probably wouldn’t be long before she slipped into unconsciousness again.

“Rose, hurry up!” Javier shouted, watching her knife one of the dead on her way across the yard.

As Javier climbed into the van, Cindy stayed in her seat forcing Javier to slide across her. He expected her to flinch away as he crossed her, to try to sink back into the seat, but she stayed perfectly still. Her eyes followed his as he mounted her, and the thought of Rose writhing on top of him fleeted across his mind once again. Ignoring his feelings, he swiftly fell into the passenger seat and opened the door for Rose to climb in beside him.

Wasting no time, Cindy slammed the van into gear. As they drove through the yard, she avoided most of the zombies, but a few collisions were inevitable. The dead slammed into the side of the van, and a few bounced off the front fender, but Cindy was true to her word, and she got them out of their as fast as she could, weaving between the dead. Javier was surprised she managed the van so well. She clearly was a good driver, and in her condition, he was impressed. Perhaps he had underestimated her. His plan had been to use her as another decoy. He had intended to leave her in the parking lot, a bullet in her gut, screaming her head off as he and Rose made their escape, and the zombies feasted on Cindy’s body. If she hadn’t lost too much blood, she could prove to be more useful though, and he decided she could stick around a bit longer.

“Why the fuck is
she
still here?” asked Rose when they were out on the road. “Why the fuck is she driving? Where are we going? Are you
trying
to piss me off, Javier? Do you…”

Javier slapped Rose on the cheek, and she glared at him. Javier held her gaze, fed up with her constant biting. This eagle was about to go solo. Usually a gentle slap was enough to quell any uprising, but Rose was in no mood to quieten down.

“I asked you why’s she still here, Javier? She serves no purpose. What, we can’t bring a young boy along, but we’ll bring along some slut just because you want to fuck her?”

Javier went to slap Rose again, but she blocked his hand with an arm, and she began to squirm in her seat.

“Let me at her, I’ll kill the bitch,” said Rose.

“Calm down.” Javier tried to get Rose to sit still, but she was too worked up, and there was no way he could get enough leverage to make her shut up. All he managed to do was slide his arms around hers, and stop her from getting to Cindy.

Cindy simply drove on, ignoring the argument, and she looked across at Rose. “Don’t worry, Rose,” Cindy said smiling. “I’m sure once Javier’s done with me, you can have him back.”

“Shut up, and drive,” said Javier. He looked in the rear view mirror, noticing the diner was behind them now. They were heading away from Jeffersontown, but he had lost his bearings, and the low sun meant long shadows split the road into varying shades of golden white and murky black. The darkness hid their path, and he was going to have to make a decision as to where to go. They had lost all their gear, and picked up a stray. Finding somewhere to bed down for the night wouldn’t be a bad thing. Rose needed to calm down, and he was growing tired of the bickering between the two women. He knew they had a couple of hours before nightfall, but sleeping in the minivan filled him with dread. If there was any kind of attack, they would have little option but to run, and running in the dark was a bad idea.

They passed an open field full of dead sheep and goats. The farmhouse was burnt to the ground, and the smell of cooked flesh made Javier’s stomach turn over in both sickness, and hunger. A large, white swan crossed the road up ahead, as if it were a normal day, followed by a cygnet. They meandered into the farm’s driveway, and then disappeared underneath a large bush. Javier didn’t care much for animals, but he was surprised to find himself smiling. The cygnet couldn’t be much more than a few weeks old, and yet, there it was: life. Perhaps all was not lost. Perhaps his brother was all right, still waiting for him. He realised he hadn’t thought about Diego all day. There was just too much to do, and too many other things and people clamouring for his attention. He was beginning to lose sight of the long-term plan.

Rose stopped struggling, but Javier held her in his arms, reluctant to let go. Part of him suspected she would just start fighting again, but part of him didn’t want to let her go. Her presence was reassuring and irritating in equal measure, and he found himself letting up the pressure on her arms slightly. He took a hand and she squeezed it back.

“Honey, I’m sorry,” said Rose. “Honest.”

Javier let Rose go, and she looked out of the passenger window, resting her hand on his thigh.

“I’ll make it up to you later. I know I lost it, but...well, it’s just hard, you know.”

Javier looked out of the passenger window, leaning across Rose so his arm touched her breasts. He knew exactly how she would make it up to him, and he found himself growing hard again. Why he was suddenly feeling so hot for her he couldn’t quite understand. He put his forehead on her shoulder, and kissed her neck. He brought his lips slowly up to her ear. “Question me again, and I’ll kill you.”

Rose shivered, and squeezed Javier’s thigh. She remained still, her face pressed against the window.

A moment passed, and when she didn’t answer, Javier knew she had got the message.

“Look at that,” Rose said as they slid around a curve in the road. “There’s a fence over there. It looks intact. Perhaps we could…”

They were so lost in their own world that neither Javier, nor Rose, noticed the minivan start to drift. It was barely noticeable, but they started to veer from the left lane across the centre to the right lane. It only took a few seconds, but they were suddenly in the wrong lane. Cindy had started to feel nauseous, and then faint, and she had been unable to keep her eyes open. Like the sun setting, the light in her eyes dissipated as she fell unconscious behind the wheel, the blood loss and shock telling her body to rest. As her hands fell from the steering wheel, her head fell back, and Cindy slumped in the seat as the minivan lurched to the right of the road.

Javier felt the van start to spin out of control, and he whirled around to see Cindy unconscious. He grabbed for the wheel, shouting at Rose to put her belt on, but when he looked out of the front window, he knew there was no time. A small SUV had been left in the road, abandoned when the driver had succumbed to the bite on his left arm, and was unable to continue driving. Javier was able to read the SUV’s bumper sticker, something witty about Jesus driving their other car, and then they were airborne. The van smashed into the back of the stationary SUV at high speed, instantly sending the SUV into the roadside ditch. The van flipped over, and Javier saw the ground flying beneath him. Cindy’s lifeless arm slapped him in the face, and Rose screamed, before suddenly, the van hit the ground. It rolled over and over, crashing loudly as metal scraped along the tarmac, and the windows all shattered.

Javier tried to hold onto something, yet was unable to do anything but go with the flow. The front windscreen caved in, showering him with glass, and as the van rolled over, he only saw glimpses of what was happening, scenes flashing in front of his eyes, blinding him like flashbulbs, as they destroyed his plans. How had he been so stupid to let this happen? He saw the steering wheel break in two as the dashboard collapsed. He saw Cindy flying through the now empty front of the van head-first, disappearing through the hole where the glass should’ve been, one leg being torn open as her flesh caught on a piece of twisted metal. He felt Rose being banged up against him, but she was silent, and he knew she was either unconscious, or dead. He saw a brief glimpse of the blue, evening sky, before suddenly the grey tarmac was coming rushing up to meet him. There was a sickening thud, and Javier’s head smashed against something hard. He blacked out, and saw nothing more, as the van came to rest in the middle of the road, upside down, its underbelly split open, and the engine dying as the van began smoking. The reanimated corpses in the vicinity turned their attention to the noise of the crash, and the van’s occupants were silent, unconscious and unaware of the zombies that were closing in on them.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Jonas could hear Erik shouting, but was concentrating on holding off the dead girl. For her size, she was surprisingly strong. Or maybe he was just weak, having not eaten a decent meal for weeks now. He was unable to reach his axe, and caught the girl as she fell on him. He managed to get his knees up in time, forcing her body up and over his torso. Now her face was directly above his as they lay in the aisle of the bus, her jaws snapping continually at him. He tried to wriggle free, but it was impossible with her on top of him, and with the seats so close, he had nowhere to go. Already his arms were being sapped of what little strength he had left, and the weight of the dead body was pinning him down.

He so much wanted her to be alive. At first, he thought she was, convincing himself she was another survivor, when all along he should have realised she was just one of them. He knew he had been foolish in putting his weapon down, and now he was about to pay the price. Grisly gore fell from the dead girl’s mouth, and splattered his face as they struggled. The smell coming from her mouth was repulsive, not unlike the stench of the garage from earlier that morning, and it was hard not to be sick. As he fought to keep her off, he noticed her attention begin to wane. Her eyes looked up, and then her whole head followed. Her grip on him relinquished, and he wondered what had drawn her away. With her head above him, Jonas watched in disgust as it was suddenly thrown to the side and smashed into the side of a seat. Her head blew apart instantly, and great dollops of congealed blood and tissue fell onto him. It felt like someone had thrown jelly and soggy pastry over him, but tasted far less appetising, and Jonas spat out the grunge from his mouth. He saw the bat come around again, and he held the dead body up that was still somehow holding onto him. The head was split right open this time. Crushed against the seat back, the girl’s face shattered, and Jonas was covered in her brains. They slid from her cracked skull slowly, dripping onto him like clotted lumps of cottage cheese. The body slumped on top of him, and he quickly cast it aside, rushing to his feet.

“Fuck, Hamsikker, you okay?”

From the expression on Erik’s face, he knew he must look a sight. Jonas wiped his face, trying to erase the sticky fluids and blood that covered him, and he spluttered out an answer. He couldn’t really think straight. All he could see was the girl’s face exploding.

“She didn’t...get you?” asked Erik. He was still holding the baseball bat aloft, its rounded tip covered in gore.

Jonas could see that Erik had adopted a defensive stance. He was ready to strike, and this time the bat would be aimed at Jonas’s head. It was fair enough. The man had a family to protect. If Dakota was in trouble, he knew he would do the same thing. He wouldn’t let anyone hurt her, including his friends.

Jonas picked up his axe. “I’m fine,” he grunted.

Erik looked at Jonas from head to toe. Jonas felt like he was under a microscope, being scrutinised in case he was lying.

“I said I’m fine. What, you want to take me in for questioning,
officer
?” said Jonas brusquely as he wiped his brow. “Let’s get out of here. I need to get this shit off me.”

Jonas attempted to push past Erik, to get out of the bus into the open air, but Erik didn’t move. He didn’t lower his bat either.

“Listen, Hamsikker, and listen up good. You got lucky. What the hell were you thinking, dropping your weapon like that?” Erik’s expression had turned from one of sympathy to anger. “You get yourself in a situation like that again, and you’re likely to end up losing more than your dignity. You understand?”

Jonas thought about answering back. He thought about shouting Erik down, telling him to back off, to let it go, to forget it, but he was too tired, and he didn’t want to argue. Nothing had happened, not really, at least nothing that warranted getting into an argument. He just wanted to get out of the bus, away from the stench of death, and to wipe the girl’s innards from off him. “I’m cool.” He sighed. “I just...I just hoped she was...you know.”

Erik lowered his bat, and shrugged his shoulders. When he spoke next, he had softened his tone. Jonas wondered if it was a technique he had learned in the force. “All right, buddy, no harm done. I know that we’re all wound up right now. Just don’t take any chances next time, okay?”

“Next time?” Jonas smiled. “Next time,
you
go in first, and
I
stand guard.”

“True that,” said Erik.

Jonas smiled at Erik, and Erik smiled back, but both were forcing it. It was as both men wanted to prove they could handle it. Neither wanted to think about what might happen the next time one of them was cornered.

“Right, let’s go,” said Erik clearing his throat, back in police mode. “The others are outside, but it won’t be long before those critters catch up.”

They filed out of the bus, and Dakota ran up to Jonas. “What happened? You look terrible.” She began to wipe at his face and neck, dabbing at him with a handkerchief.

“I’m fine. Just a little trouble - nothing we couldn’t handle.” Jonas hated lying to Dakota, but she didn’t need to know the truth. He knew that if Erik hadn’t been there, he might not have been walking out of that bus alive. He began to wipe his face. “How’re you doing?”

“As well as can be,” said Dakota as they followed Quinn down the off-ramp. “I just wish this was over. My head is killing me, my feet are sore, and it’s so damn hot, I think my sweat has sweat.” Dakota wafted her shirt, letting some air up underneath the loose cotton.

“We can’t stop just yet, honey,” said Jonas. “They’re not far behind, and it’s not safe here. We have to keep going, just a bit longer until we find somewhere to rest up.” Jonas looked around at the streets as they reached the bottom of the off-ramp. “I remember this area. That cafe over there, that’s where we used to hang out after school sometimes. Janey would usually go for a chocolate milkshake, and I would have a ginger beer.”

“But you hate ginger beer.”

“I know, but I thought it looked cool.”

Dakota smiled. It was a rare thing these days, and Jonas savoured it. As soon as the smile had come, it was gone though, flitting across her face like the shadow of a bird. Janey used to smile like that too, back when their mother was alive and they could claim to be a happy family. Remembering Janey only made him realise how much he missed her. He had only met her kids, his three nephews, via Skype, and right then he would’ve given anything to see them all in person. He had wanted to talk to Dakota about heading north again, yet, time seemed to be at a premium, so he attempted to broach the subject again as they walked. It was no good putting it off until later. He wasn’t sure there would be a later the way the day was turning out.

“I’ve been thinking,” said Jonas. “We need to get back on track. I really need to get to Janey. Tomorrow, I want to get going.”

“To Canada? You realise how crazy that sounds? I’m not sure we can find a way out of Jeffersontown, let alone get across three states,
and
the border to another country. ”

“I know, but I have to try, I really do. I can’t let her down.” Not again, he thought, but he didn’t say it. “After tonight, I’m going to tell Erik and Quinn. If they’re on board, I think the rest will come with us. Safety in numbers, you know? I’d rather we stuck together. I don’t like the thought of leaving them, especially Erik, but I can’t just keep waiting. Things aren’t getting any better, and Janey’s on her own.”

“And if they won’t come? What then?” asked Dakota.

“Then it’s you and me. Okay?”

“She might not be on her own. She might have friends with her.”

Jonas hoped she did, but he doubted it. The last time they had spoken, it didn’t sound like Janey had anyone with her except the kids. He told her he would come. He promised he would come for the children, for Mike, Chester and Ritchie, and he told her how much he loved her and wanted to put things right. It was when he started talking to her about the funeral that she had begun crying. She hadn’t cried when he’d told her their father was dead, but she cried that night on the phone. She cried and poured her heart out about how difficult it was on her own, how she missed Jonas, how cold she was, and how scared the kids were. He promised her again he would come, and then the line had gone. He couldn’t leave her like that, he just couldn’t. He couldn’t let that be the last conversation between them.

“Look, Dakota, I don’t think this is the time to debate it, I just wanted to tell you.”

“But don’t you think…”

“
It’s happening
.” Jonas cut Dakota off and strode ahead, aware that Dakota was falling behind him. He instantly regretted snapping at her, but there was no way he was going to get into an argument about it. Janey needed him, and Dakota had to realise that. It wasn’t like they could stay in Jeffersontown forever. The town was dead, and he could see little point in staying. Erik would surely agree. They had more chance if they headed north. Get away from the big cities, away from where the population had been, and find Janey. She lived in a small, quiet town, only just over the border. She’d asked him to visit so often, and there had always been an excuse. He realised now he had just been putting it off. He hadn’t seen his sister in person for years. They frequently talked on the phone, and he’d Skyped last Christmas, but actually seeing Janey in the flesh scared him. He wasn’t sure how Janey felt about their past, or if she expected anything now their father was gone. She said she didn’t hold grudges, but she sure as hell held one for her father, and he couldn’t blame her on that one. The question was did she hold one against Jonas? Maybe that was why she never pushed him to visit. The past was never an easy place to go, and the distance between them somehow made it more bearable. It wasn’t exactly the sort of thing he wanted to talk about on the phone, so he kept their conversations light, discussing the news, how the kids were, and how their jobs were going. There was only one thing he could do now to make up for his failings, and that was go to her, to tell her how sorry he was, and to make sure she was surviving. A promise was more than words, and he was going to fulfil it, no matter what fate put in his way.

“We need more guns,” said Jonas as he caught up with Erik.

Erik looked at him. “I hear you. There’s a station a couple of blocks from here. We could try it, but to be honest, I think it’s a waste of time. Any cop with a brain would’ve taken what they could. It’s likely to be empty.”

“We can’t keep defending ourselves with bats and knives. They’re getting too close. Any gun stores around here? I don’t remember.”

Erik shook his head. “No. This is a pretty boring neighbourhood. Nothing much has changed in the last twenty years, except the usual. You know, retail stores closing down, more boarded up, and more gas stations opening. No, if we wanted to find a gun shop we’d have to head south, and that’s quite a task. It would take us close to the park, and back to…”

“Right, gotcha.” Jonas was still feeling irritable from his brittle conversation with Dakota. “Any
useful
information, you can depart with?”

“Yeah,” said Erik, “wind your head in, otherwise, it’s likely to get bitten off. I’m not stupid. I know we need weapons. We also need food, water, and a place to stay for the night. You think I haven’t thought about that? You think I haven’t thought about how I’m going to protect my wife and kids?”

Jonas saw Pippa looking over at them, and wished Erik would just stay quiet. Her eyes were accusing, and he wondered if she was angry with Jonas for questioning her husband, or more annoyed with her husband for raising his voice. He was about to answer Erik when they came to a halt. Quinn was standing in the road, one hand clutching her knife, the other held up as if she were a cop directing traffic.

“Enough. I’ve just about had enough of you two bickering. In case anyone needs reminding, we have more pressing matters to deal with,” said Quinn.

Jonas glanced around and saw everyone looking at him. Pippa and Dakota were throwing him icy stares, while Terry, Tyler, Peter and Freya kept their distance. They didn’t get too involved in what went on with the group. Jonas almost snapped back at Quinn, but he fought the urge to answer back. She was right about one thing; they had more important matters to deal with.

“You said we wanted guns, right?” asked Mrs Danick standing shoulder to shoulder with Quinn.

Jonas replied with a nod. He raised his eyebrows expectantly. “You stumble across an AK-47, Mrs Danick?” It had sounded like a joke in his head, but it came out deadpan, and he instantly regretted his choice of words. As Mrs Danick shot him one of her withering looks, he could practically feel his balls shrivel up. He wasn’t intentionally trying to piss everyone off, but somehow today he was messing everything up.

“No, but if you care to take your head out of your ass, you might want to look in there.” Mrs Danick pointed across at two large, white tents straddling the road ahead. They were barricaded by makeshift gates and white CDC vans.

Jonas took a step forward, forgetting the conversation. His attention was now fully drawn on the tents and what might lie within. Two police cars parked outside hinted that they might not find any help inside the tents. Jonas saw one had smashed into a tree by the roadside. The front windscreen was gone, and the hood was smeared with blood. The other had taken on a fire truck, and neither had come off well. With their crumpled bodies and broken glass, they looked more like a piece of modern art with the way their twisted metal frames had melded together. Under the fire truck was a body, its legs still twitching. The head was hidden from view, and one of the huge wheels sat on the body’s midriff. Jonas didn’t need to go looking under the vehicle to know it was a zombie, trapped forever, destined to twitch its legs until time finally decomposed it and its dusty remnants were carried away on the breeze.