the tape from his mouth,
peeling off skin as I teared back the adhesive. I held my knife to the ropes
around his wrist and cut through them.
“Are you mad?” said Dan.
“He’s just a little boy.”
“And she looks like a lunch lady, but
she still knocked you out cold,” Dan said, and pointed at the woman.
I nodded at Faizel. “Can you cut her
loose?”
He stood up and walked over to her.
In a minute, both the woman and the boy were free. The boy stood up and climbed
onto his mother’s lap. I took the seat he had left, turned and faced the woman.
“What’s your name?” I said.
Her hair looked tough and wiry, and
strands of grey ran through it. She had a large frame and her arms looked
strong. She’d certainly been able to swing something with enough force to knock
me out, anyway. I expected her to be scared, but aside from the purple-red bump
that stuck out underneath her eye, she seemed fine.
She rubbed the top of her son’s head.
“This is Ben. I’m Alice,” she said in a Yorkshire accent.
I didn’t see any point in skirting
round the issue with her. She still had one good eye, so she could see what
position she was in here. There were four of us and one of her, and she’d
already attacked us. She was dangerous, and we would be on our guard.
“Alice, my friends and I have to
decide what to do with you,” I said. My temple throbbed, and I put my hand to
it. A knife of pain stabbed through my head so sharply that I winced.
“There’s paracetamol upstairs,” said
Alice.
I turned to Justin. “You mind?” I said.
He got up and walked out of the room.
Faizel crossed his legs. “What are
you and Ben doing here, Alice?”
She bit her lip and half shut her
eyes, as if she was sizing Faizel up. Then she turned to him. “Running away
from my husband.”
“Why?” I said.
Dan stood up. “Enough of this shit.
Who cares why she is running away? If her husband had any sense, he’d run away
from her. Let’s tie them up again, get through the night then get the
hell out of here.”
Faizel grabbed hold of Dan’s belt,
tugged him back to his seat.
My stomach rumbled, and bile rose up
my throat. I took a deep breath. “Why were you running?” I said.
Alice looked at her son. She put her
hands over his ears.
“My husband has gone mad,” she said.
I nodded. When the outbreak first
happened, I’d seen a lot of people lose their minds. Not everyone was built to
cope with the transition from normal to nightmare, and the only way some people
held on to their mind was by sacrificing the majority of it to madness.
I dragged my chair closer to them.
“You two can’t survive alone. Take us to your husband. Maybe we can help him.”
She shook her head. “No, Torben can’t
be helped. He’s so far gone that there’s no bringing him back.”
I bolted upright. That name. I hadn’t
heard it in a year, and the sound of the syllables sent a cold shiver through
me, made the gunshot scar on my leg sting as if it was fresh. Torben Tusk, the
man hunter.
He’d stalked Justin and me over a
year ago for the sole purpose of killing us. I had a suspicion that he planned
to eat us, but that wasn’t his end game. Torben took joy in the hunt, from
watching someone run and then killing them. He had killed my brother in law,
and he’d put a bullet in my leg.
“You okay Kyle?” said Faizel.
My face was cold. The throbbing in my
temple had disappeared, wiped out from the shock. Faizel looked worried, and
even Alice stared at me with concern in her eyes.
Footsteps moved into the room, and
Justin held out a packet of paracetamol. I threw two in my mouth and swallowed
them back.
“You need one for your eye?” I said.
Alice shook her head. “I’ve had
worse.”
Alice said she was running away from
Torben, so she obviously didn’t know he was dead. I’d killed him a year
peeling off skin as I teared back the adhesive. I held my knife to the ropes
around his wrist and cut through them.
“Are you mad?” said Dan.
“He’s just a little boy.”
“And she looks like a lunch lady, but
she still knocked you out cold,” Dan said, and pointed at the woman.
I nodded at Faizel. “Can you cut her
loose?”
He stood up and walked over to her.
In a minute, both the woman and the boy were free. The boy stood up and climbed
onto his mother’s lap. I took the seat he had left, turned and faced the woman.
“What’s your name?” I said.
Her hair looked tough and wiry, and
strands of grey ran through it. She had a large frame and her arms looked
strong. She’d certainly been able to swing something with enough force to knock
me out, anyway. I expected her to be scared, but aside from the purple-red bump
that stuck out underneath her eye, she seemed fine.
She rubbed the top of her son’s head.
“This is Ben. I’m Alice,” she said in a Yorkshire accent.
I didn’t see any point in skirting
round the issue with her. She still had one good eye, so she could see what
position she was in here. There were four of us and one of her, and she’d
already attacked us. She was dangerous, and we would be on our guard.
“Alice, my friends and I have to
decide what to do with you,” I said. My temple throbbed, and I put my hand to
it. A knife of pain stabbed through my head so sharply that I winced.
“There’s paracetamol upstairs,” said
Alice.
I turned to Justin. “You mind?” I said.
He got up and walked out of the room.
Faizel crossed his legs. “What are
you and Ben doing here, Alice?”
She bit her lip and half shut her
eyes, as if she was sizing Faizel up. Then she turned to him. “Running away
from my husband.”
“Why?” I said.
Dan stood up. “Enough of this shit.
Who cares why she is running away? If her husband had any sense, he’d run away
from her. Let’s tie them up again, get through the night then get the
hell out of here.”
Faizel grabbed hold of Dan’s belt,
tugged him back to his seat.
My stomach rumbled, and bile rose up
my throat. I took a deep breath. “Why were you running?” I said.
Alice looked at her son. She put her
hands over his ears.
“My husband has gone mad,” she said.
I nodded. When the outbreak first
happened, I’d seen a lot of people lose their minds. Not everyone was built to
cope with the transition from normal to nightmare, and the only way some people
held on to their mind was by sacrificing the majority of it to madness.
I dragged my chair closer to them.
“You two can’t survive alone. Take us to your husband. Maybe we can help him.”
She shook her head. “No, Torben can’t
be helped. He’s so far gone that there’s no bringing him back.”
I bolted upright. That name. I hadn’t
heard it in a year, and the sound of the syllables sent a cold shiver through
me, made the gunshot scar on my leg sting as if it was fresh. Torben Tusk, the
man hunter.
He’d stalked Justin and me over a
year ago for the sole purpose of killing us. I had a suspicion that he planned
to eat us, but that wasn’t his end game. Torben took joy in the hunt, from
watching someone run and then killing them. He had killed my brother in law,
and he’d put a bullet in my leg.
“You okay Kyle?” said Faizel.
My face was cold. The throbbing in my
temple had disappeared, wiped out from the shock. Faizel looked worried, and
even Alice stared at me with concern in her eyes.
Footsteps moved into the room, and
Justin held out a packet of paracetamol. I threw two in my mouth and swallowed
them back.
“You need one for your eye?” I said.
Alice shook her head. “I’ve had
worse.”
Alice said she was running away from
Torben, so she obviously didn’t know he was dead. I’d killed him a year
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