When There's No More room In Hell: A Zombie Novel (40 page)

Jim was in
much better condition; still not back to his old self, but far away from death’s door. He still had trouble moving about as his ribs slowly healed and his face still bore the marks of a broken nose and jaw. He was placed in the back of the truck and Sandra was tasked with watching over him while Stu and Ahmed rode up front in the cab.

Marcus, Sini and Hussein were back in their old SUV, only this time, Hussein would stay behind the wheel, freeing up Si
ni to man the guns when needed while Ian and Yan took over Stu’s old SUV at the front of the convoy.

They moved out, headed for the border with Hungary. They had to pass through the field of impaled dead again and Marcus felt a shudder run throug
h his entire body as he avoided looking directly at the elevated corpses that stared and moaned back at them as they passed.

28

A cool breeze was blowing in from the open ground in front of the house. The dark sky was completely
devoid of any cloud cover and the tiny twinkling lights of millions of stars were stretched across the heavens, like a scattering of diamonds over a black silk sheet.

Lee had always loved
summer nights. They had been his favourite since he was a young boy, and now he sat on the roof of the house, leaning back in his chair and savouring the moment. Without the ambient noise and light of the days gone by, the night seemed all the more complete. Nothing stirred. There was no glare from street lights and no steady murmur of the hundreds of cars as they travelled the roads in the distance.

The gentle wind
rustled the leaves in the trees around the house, and the occasional hoot of an owl or squeak of a mouse could be heard in the underbrush. But it wasn't the noises of the nocturnal animals that suddenly caught his attention and made him sit upright. It was the unnatural and unmistakable sound of a door closing. Whoever was responsible for the sound was doing their best to go unheard. But Lee distinctly heard the click and the almost inaudible thud of the wood as the door met the frame.

The noise came from his right, toward the back of the house. Lee rose from his chair and made his way over to the edge of the roof, taking gentle steps, careful not to alert whoever was below to his presence by crunching too heavily on the gravel that coated the flat areas of the roof.

He reached the edge and peered over and into the gloom. At first he saw nothing, but a moment later his eyes adjusted to the change and he was able to make out the foot of the trees, the dark line that marked the edge between the long grass at the side of the road and the tarmac, and the figure walking away from the house.

It looked like a man. The gait was unmistakably masculine. He couldn't tell who it was. All he saw wa
s the silhouette as they walked along the road and hugged the grass verge, remaining obscured in the dark shade of the trees.

The figure stopped, Lee could see a very faint cloud
of misted breath escape from his mouth as he slowly turned, looking in all directions. It was then that Lee realised who he was watching.

Tony.

His movements were unmistakable and Lee couldn't understand why he hadn’t recognised Tony the moment he saw him. For weeks, he had watched him like a hawk and scrutinised his every move. Even though no one had found any reason to distrust the man, Lee always had a gut feeling about him and it niggled at him constantly.

Now he was watching him
again, in the middle of the night, skulking away from the house and into the darkness. To Lee, just by that very act, there was reason enough not to trust or like the man.

Lee rushed back through the door tha
t led onto the roof from the inside of the house and pounded his way down the three flights of stairs to the ground floor. He paused at the rear door and sneaked a look through the window, careful to make sure that Tony hadn't seen him or suspected he had been noticed.

Lee couldn't see him anymore, and he slowly tur
ned the handle and crept out into the gloom and after Tony.

Following the path that he suspected he would have taken, Lee trod carefully. Avoiding the crunch of stones and the snap of
twigs beneath his heavy feet, he crept along, blinking into the darkness for any sight of his quarry.

He continued blindly, hoping to pick up a sign or sight of Tony. He was about to give up when, from somewhere up ahead, he heard the
faint deep grumble of someone clearing his throat. Lee quickened his pace, hoping to close the gap to a distance where he could see him with his naked eye without having to rely solely on his hearing.

A minute later he could see the hunched
shape of Tony, fifty metres ahead of him. He was walking, hands in his pockets, and Lee could now hear another sound in the air. Tony was humming a tune. He couldn't tell what tune he was humming, but Lee got the impression that he didn't have a care in the world and was just out for a nighttime stroll.

For a moment, Lee doubted his own judgement.
Maybe he was just out for a walk?
Maybe Tony enjoyed the summer nights just as much as he did?
Lee shook himself. No. His gut feelings about the sinister side of Tony were still there. He was going somewhere specific and Lee wanted to see where.

Tony headed for the restaurant and gift shop area of the park. He left the gloom of the trees and made his way to the Information Centre, still humming
away to himself.

Lee stopped in the darkness of the woods and watched as Tony crossed the open area and began to fumb
le at the side door that led into the Information Centre. He paused as he pushed the door open, glancing about and checking for anyone in the area before disappearing inside.

Stepping
out from the trees, Lee quickly crossed the open area and into the shade of the building. He followed around its exterior wall, hoping to see some sign or hear a noise that would pinpoint Tony’s location for him.

Toward the back of the building
, he heard the sounds of footsteps inside through the thin corrugated iron and plasterboard lined walls. It sounded like Tony was in the manager’s office.

“
Ah, hello again.” His voice was muffled through the wall, but Lee could make out what he was saying without any undue effort.

“I hope you've been good while I've been away. Have you? You know I don’t like you misbehaving. We must always keep order.”

Lee screwed up his face in confusion.
Who could he possibly be talking to? Is he using a phone or talking to himself? Does he have a pet?
Lee wondered.

“Yes, if we don’t have order, we have anarchy. And that will not do
, will it? You do understand, don’t you?”

There was a pause
as he continued in a calm friendly voice. “That is why I keep you here, to teach you the ways of the new world. You are pure, you have been taught by me, the right and wrongs of the new era. If I were to mix you in with all the whores and scum up at the house, you would be polluted and no better than the filthy, impure creatures that roam the streets. Believe me, it won’t be long before those festering inbred swine at the house are staggering about as they rot on their feet too.”

Lee couldn't see what was going on, but he was hearing plenty and what he heard turned his
stomach and boiled his blood. He moved around to the other side of the building and paused below a window that he suspected would look into the room where Tony was. He slowly raised his head to the bottom of the ledge and paused again, listening for Tony’s voice and ensuring that his movements hadn't been detected.

His eyes cleared the ledge, and in the glow of
candlelight, he saw Tony pacing the room, a long cane clutched in his hands as he spoke. He seemed to be ranting, but in a hushed voice. Lee turned his head, straining his eyes to see what Tony was ranting at.

He focused and saw something in the gloom.

His eyes bulged, a cry knotted in his throat and his stomach tightened, as if someone had reached into his abdomen and twisted his guts in their clenched fist. His anguish turned to rage, he gritted his teeth and staggered back from the window, shaking his head. He steeled himself, and then stormed toward the door.

Steve's eyes shot open. At first, he wasn't sure what it was that had awoken him until the blur of sleep subsided a few seconds later. He could hear shouting, crashing, and banging. And screaming.

He sat bolt upright and reached for his trousers at the side of the bed and quickly pulled them on
, hopping to the door as he buttoned them. Without bothering to pull on his t-shirt, he bolted out into the corridor, where the commotion became louder. He stopped and looked to his right, checking that the noise wasn't coming from any of the other bedrooms.

It was coming from downstairs, in the lobby.

He bounded down the steps, taking two at a time until he skidded to a halt in the open area in front of the main door.

Before him were two men. One
was on the floor and the other stood above him, his arm pulled back, about to land another punch.

Steve watched as Lee’s fist shot forward and pounded into Tony’s head with a sickening thud.
  A scream echoed through the house and Lee cocked his arm, ready to strike again.

“Lee, stop
!” Steve was holding his hands out to his friend, pleading with him.

Lee looked up with wildly shining eyes and a ferocious snarl.
He was panting with the effort of the obvious beating he had inflicted on the man at his feet. He lowered his arm to his side, and stepped back, slightly, but not too far to give the floored figure the chance to wriggle away.

Steve slow
ly approached, still looking into the eyes of the madman that had possessed the body of his friend, Lee. He was confused and concerned and wondered what could have happened to make Lee turn into a maniac. He knew there would’ve been something, but for the life of him, he couldn't imagine what.

The man on
the floor groaned and rolled onto his back. His face was a mess. He was covered in blood and thick strings of it dangled from his mouth. He spluttered and turned his head and spat. Steve heard the tinkling sound as three white teeth skittered across the tiled floor, leaving dots of bloody spittle in their wake.

Jake, Gary
, and John had heard the commotion and came down the stairs behind him. Further up, Helen and Claire stood at the top of the stairs, straining to see what was happening.

Gary looked back at them and held out a hand, telling them to stay where they were.

Steve recognised the limp form, now curled tightly into a ball and whimpering. He looked back up at Lee, his eyes wide and questioning.

“What
happened, Lee?”

Lee’s chest was heaving, and Steve saw that it wasn't from the
exertion. He had tears in his eyes and he struggled to speak as he sobbed. He gestured at Tony. His hand was swollen from the beating he had dished out.

In a voice that was on the verge of breaking
as he fought to control himself, he spoke, “Ask that bastard there. Send someone down to the Information Office to see for themselves.” Lee looked up from Tony, his head shaking at something he was struggling to comprehend. His tears had broken through their floodgates and they now streamed down his cheeks in glistening rivulets. “Kids, Steve, they're just little kids.”

He let out a howl and began to thr
ow kick after kick into Tony’s ribs as he writhed and screamed under the blows.

Jake and John moved to the door and
ran out into the night to the Information Centre.

Lee continued to r
ain down kicks and stomps onto the quivering and pulverised mush that was Tony. Gary approached him from behind and grabbed him by both arms, speaking soothingly into his ear as he pulled him away to allow Steve in to see to Tony.

“It’s okay
, Lee, it is okay. He isn’t going anywhere. You can leave him for now. Come over here and sit down. Your hand looks hurt, let me have a look.” Gary took his hand in his own and began examining it, trying to distract Lee from launching any further assaults.

Steve knelt over the now still and unconscious Tony. His face was unrecognisable and Steve wondered how Lee hadn't managed to kill him, though from the look of it, it had been his intent
ion.

Helen came in
to the lobby, her hair sticking up and a scruffy old baggy t-shirt just barely covering her perfectly formed thighs and buttocks. Steve couldn't help but steal a second glance, even with the carnage and emotion around him.

They moved Tony to the couch and gently placed him down under the lights so that Helen could examine him better. Steve left her to it and moved over to the table where Lee sat, sobbing into his folded arms with Gary and Carl sitting either side of him.

More people had come down the stairs and Steve noticed that the room was now pretty full. He saw them staring and heard the odd mutter here and there, including Stephanie’s whispered voice.

“He's finally done it. That psycho has actually gone and killed someone.”

Steve turned in her direction and gave her a hard stare that shut her up immediately and forced her to shrink back into the crowd.

“Lee. Hey mate, what the fuck is going on?” He was leaning ov
er his shoulder and speaking into his ear, pleading with him as he rubbed him on the back.

Lee raised his head and tried to speak, but his words were gibberish.

“It’s okay, calm down and tell me what happened.”

Lee sat up, sniffing up his tears and breathing deeply as he wiped his eyes. He loo
ked to Steve, his eyes pleading. “They’re just kids, Steve,” he said again, “chained up in an office, just a couple of little kids.”

Steve sat back and looked at
Gary, who returned with a shrug. “That's all he told me, Steve.”