I Dream of Zombies (29 page)

“I think it’s a good idea to find somewhere to sleep
just for tonight – somewhere peaceful. Those kids have been through hell. I can’t begin to imagine what is going through their heads. That poor boy,” Marla explained. “You, too – I know you say you’re alright, but what you went through was traumatic, and I’m so sorry for it. On water I’m sure we’ll be fine. Those dead-lookers can’t swim and this journey is only going to get tougher, so a break tonight would be good, I think. You know?”

Ellen
bit her lip and nodded.

“First sign of big trouble and we’re coming back,” said Tommy, removing his
rucksack from the boot. He slung it over his shoulders and gathered up his weapons bag.

“You’re taking both of those?” asked Marla.

“Yep, just in case something happens and we can’t get back.”

“You think this is a bad idea too?” she questioned him.

“I didn’t say that, but it would be sod’s law.”

“But you’re thinking it.”

“I reckon one idea is just as good as another,” Tommy answered. “We can’t keep driving and we need to get our heads down. Let’s just find somewhere.”

Billy appeared and picked up his
belongings. “That was a good kip I just had.”

“Can you carry this
extra bag?” asked Marla. “We’re taking everything essential, just in case.”

“No sweat,” he replied. “One on m
y back and one over my shoulder, that’s fine by me, but what about the little one? Someone will have to carry her.”

“I will,” Ellen volunteered. “I’m the worst shot anyway.”

“I’m not arguing with that,” said Tommy, to which he got a poke in the rib cage. “Okay, okay... ladies...”

Marla closed the boot and opened the back door of the jeep. “Everyone out. We’re going to find a boat to sleep on tonight.”

“Boat? Cool?” squeaked Ruth, her eyes lighting up. “We likes boats.”

Barney’s eyebrows shot up.
“On water?”

Ellen nodded.

“Is it safe?” he asked.

“We’ll find one that is, but
we’re going to keep you safe, so don’t be scared,” Tommy assured him. “We’ve seen a lot of those, erm… things. They’re not people anymore. Just bad ghosts of them.”

“I call them skeleton people,” Barney
announced.

“That works. I call them freaks,” Tommy replied.

The boy squinted. “Freaks? Like weirdos.”

Tommy nodded.

“I call em monsters,” added Billy.

“I just call them annoying,” added Marla.

Barney laughed automatically, but then looked down and scrunched up his face. He glanced around sheepishly, as if checking to see if someone had heard him. Tommy watched him out of the corner of his eye, noticing how Bob was keeping close to his legs, as if the dog was picking up on the boy’s feelings of loss and confusion.

Ellen leaned into the backseat of the jeep and picked up Ruth. “Here we go,” she
told her. “Hold on to Jemima.”

Marla closed the door and locked the car before nodding to everyone and walking ahead. In her right hand she gripped her gun, which Barney could not stop staring at. The jeep was
parked on a narrow street off Windsor Road. It was a few minutes’ walk past a few industrial buildings surrounded by wire fencing to the entrance to the park. On the map it looked to be wide and open – no obvious places for an ambush. Barney walked beside her, taking an extra step to keep up while Bob trotted faithfully behind with his tongue hanging out.

“How long were you in the army?”
the boy asked.

Marla smiled. “Ah, it was years, Barney. A good few, ever since I was sixteen, so more than ten.”

“You’re that old?”

She laughed. “Yes, but I’m not telling you how old. That’s no question to ask a woman!”

Tommy laughed and Barney frowned, not quite getting the joke. “Why did you leave?”

“Ah, that’s a long story!”

“Do you miss it?” asked the boy.

“Not really. I feel like I’m back in it now.”

Barney nodded. “I want to be a pilot.”

“That’s cool, Barney. I think you’d make a good one,” said Tommy, walking behind him.

Billy brought up the rear while Ellen walked beside Tommy, carrying Ruth who was staring around wide-eyed with her thumb in her mouth. They entered the park, accompanied by the smell of the wood and flowers. It was still light and it looked to be completely empty. A big field stretched in front of them with swings and a slide, and all manner of things to the right. In the distance stretched trees on both sides. Veering to the left they followed a gravel path between some skinny, sparcely planted silver birches, passing a small cafe, which was dark inside and looked closed, and a rose garden. The sweet scent of the blooms drifted on the cooling breeze.

“Nice,” whispered Marla and Ellen nodded with a small smile.

The group made their way quietly, rarely speaking and then only in a whisper. Everyone’s nerves were on edge, their eyes trained to glance everywhere, seeking out any movement or anything that seemed out of place, but they were glad of the sunlight. When darkness came it would be different. As if knowing not to make a sound, both children were silent. Ellen assumed their mother had taught them this over the past week. The thought made her sad and she had to slam the image of the woman or thing in the car to the back of her mind. She wished she could lock it away and leave it there, untouched.

The path
ended in front of two railings, beyond which was the canal. Two Mallards swam in the centre and Barney took a curious step towards them. “Careful,” warned Marla, nudging him back. “Let me.” Moving in front of him, she walked between the railings and gazed out upon the water, which rippled behind the ducks. The beauty of it made her smile and for a moment she could imagine when everything was normal. On the opposite side the grassy bank was empty and the trees were set far back, offering a clear view of anything wandering along. She was about to walk further when Tommy appeared by her side. “Safety in numbers,” he told her with a grin.

Marla smirked and
stepped on to the gravel path of the canal. It stretched in two directions.
Left, right: clear.
Between the park and the canal sat bunches of thick bushes and a line of horse chestnut trees. Although there were gaps, looking down from a distance it resembled a wall of wood. It would be easy for anything to hide there, but then it offered defence at the same time. A handful of multi-coloured boats sat on either side of the canal.

“Not as many as I was expecting,” said Marla. “Think anyone is
still on them?”

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Tommy replied. “I’m thinking we should choose one with easy access to this entrance. If anything happens it’s easy to run.”

“But then if those things come to the park, we’ll be more visible,” argued Marla. “If we keep a distance, why would they bother coming along here. The water is a kind of defence, no?”

“Unless we go to the other side,
” Billy suggested. “There’s a bridge to the right.”

Marla glanced over. “Too risky, don’t you think?
We don’t know what’s on the side and if the bridge got blocked off, we’d be stuck. No way to get back to the jeep from there.”

“Right, let’s find
a boat,” said Tommy. “Billy, if you can keep behind Ellen...”

“Sure.”

“Thanks,” Ellen replied, giving Ruth a huge grin. She was amazed how well behaved the child was, but then it might be shock of some kind. The kid had been through a lot. Ellen wondered when she would start asking about her mother and how she would respond.

“Let’s not go by that
bridge,” Tommy suggested. “Two directions for them.”

“For who?” asked Barney.

Tommy did not elaborate, but just pointed out some algae in the water. The boy frowned, trying to see something that clearly was not there. Marla walked along the gravel path to the left, cursing silently at the noise her feet made. In the stillness the crunch seemed deafening. She could not get used to the quiet of everything and the emptiness here. Perhaps this was not such a good idea. In theory it had seemed easy enough – a safe place overnight for the children. Shaking her head, she told herself to concentrate. The first canal boat they came across looked quite dark inside and the door was broken, so they kept walking. The second was intact and seemed sturdy enough. It also had a high roof and curtains.

“Let’s check this one,” Tommy suggested.

Carefully, he stepped on to the back of the boat, followed by Marla. They glanced at one another, waiting for the other to do something. Billy stood guard over Ellen and Barney, although Bob appeared to think it was his job as the only dog in the vicinity. He cast a sharp eye over his surroundings with his tongue lolling out and kept backing into the boy’s legs.

“Knives,” whispered Tommy, replacing his gun.

She nodded.

Slowly, he flipped the
metal latch on the wooden door of the narrow boat and looked at Marla. When she nodded he reached for the handle and turned it slowly. It squeaked for what seemed an endless time, but was only a second, and yawned open. The smell of rotting flesh hit them like a sledgehammer. Marla coughed and turned her face away, resisting the urge to be sick. Tommy peered inside. A body lay face up on the floorboards and there was not much left of it, clearly dead. He closed the door and shook his head at Billy, standing on the shore. Tommy and Marla stepped back on to the gravel pathway, and the group made their way towards the next boat.

Stepping on
to the small back deck, Tommy once again took the lead and tried the red, wooden door. When it opened there was no smell at all. He checked inside and breathed out in relief as it appeared to be deserted. The first area was a green-painted kitchen and tins of food were piled on the shelves. Some of the cupboard doors had been left open and there was a newspaper lying on the table. A mug was sitting beside it.

“
Seems like someone left in a hurry,” whispered Tommy.

Marla nodded and followed him inside.

“Looks clear to me,” he said Tommy, heading back. “And there looks to be a lot of food.”

“Does the shower work?” asked Marla.

“Yep,” he called out as he switched it on. “Works a treat. I saw gas canisters on the outside, a solar panel on the roof and there’s a lot of diesel. It seems fine. We can even have a hot cup of tea!”

Marla grinned. “Just like old times. Okay, I’ll tell the others.”

Opening the door, she glanced outside at the row of waiting faces. “It’s fine,” she announced with a smile.

Barney
gave two thumbs-up before slipping past Marla and disappearing inside the canal boat. “Whoa, it’s posh in here,” he called out.

“Well
, he sure didn’t have to be asked twice,” said Billy.

Ellen nudged
her sister. “Good idea of yours, Marl. We can get a good night’s sleep.”

“There’s food too and
showers all round, I reckon.”

Ellen’s eyes lit up. “You know how to wow a girl.”

“Well that definitely wowed me and I’m a guy,” replied Billy. “But I can wait til last,” he added swiftly when the two girls glanced at him.

“I can
wash Ruth,” Ellen offered, stepping on to the boat with her.

Marla nodded. “Thanks. I just want some normality for these kids. They’ve been through a lot and they’ve been holding up well so far.”

Once everyone was safely inside, Marla let her eyes linger around the canal. It was peaceful, but was it too much so? Shaking her head, she tried to block out any negative thoughts. It had to be alright, just for tonight.
Just one normal night, that’s all I’m asking for.
Swans glided along the water and she could hear birds singing. For a moment she could trick herself that nothing horrendous was going on; that life was normal and the world had not turned to shit. With a sigh, Marla ducked back through the door and closed it, securing it with the two strong bolts. She drew the blue curtain across, blocking out the outside.

“All good?” she asked, turning to everyone with a smile.

“Yep,” said Ellen. “I found enough cups for everyone and the kettle is on. There’s tea, coffee and even some packets of juice here, and some dried milk. What do you fancy?”

Marla smiled. “Tea, you know me.”

“Okay, that’s two teas, two coffees and two juices coming up.” Ellen smiled as she made herself useful.

“How are you kids holding up?” Marla
asked, sitting down on a reddish-coloured narrow sofa around a square-shaped table. She leaned back into the cushions, enjoying the easy comfort.

“Okay,” said Barney.

“‘Kay,” echoed Ruth, glancing up shyly before continuing to play with a pile of dominoes.

“You found those in here?”

Tommy went a little red and shook his head. “They’re mine. I’ve got some cards as well, if you fancy a game.”

Marla
giggled. “You packed dominoes and cards?”