ago,
during the battle at the farm. I shot him in cold blood because it was a simple
choice between his life and my own.
I wondered if I should tell her. If
she was scared of him, maybe she’d be glad to know he was dead. But then there
was the kid. It took a lot for a kid to hate his father, and I bet Ben still
had some love for Torben. I couldn’t tell them.
Dan stared at me, his head titled and
his eyes squinting as if he knew something. I changed the subject.
“How far have you been travelling,
Alice?”
“Not much further than here. We
walked around some, but we ran out of food. Then we found this farmhouse and I
decided to stay here a while. When you get over the damp smell it’s a palace.”
“Have you heard anything about a
group of infected heading from Manchester?”
She pinched her earlobe between her
fingers and rubbed it. There was a hole where an earring had once been. “Torben
had a radio. We heard a broadcast from Manchester once, but nothing about
infected. It was something about a cure. Torben said it was horseshit. “
“And what do you think?” I
asked.
She put her arms around Ben’s chest.
“There are lots of university labs in Manchester. Clever people doing clever
things. It’s not impossible that someone’s found a cure.”
I sat back against my chair and my
energy seeped out of me. Outside the sky started to turn black, the last
minutes of daylight draining away like water down a plughole.
Faizel got out of his seat, walked to
the curtains and drew them. “It’s getting late,” he said.
I checked my watch. It was six
o’clock in the evening. Soon it would be pitch black, and the stalkers would
come.
“Let’s get some rest everyone.”
Dan stood up, his hands clenched. His
body shook a little, as though he were a ball of energy. “What about them?”
I smiled at Alice. For now, I’d
forgiven the near concussion she had given me, because I understood why she did
it. She was a mother looking after her son, and we all had the right to protect
the people we loved. Some of us were just better at it than others.
“They need rest too,” I said.
9
By nightfall the paracetamol kicked
in and my head cleared. A dark lump stuck out from my forehead and I had to
stop myself from pressing it from time to time, but otherwise I felt human
again. I wanted to be useful, so I volunteered for first watch.
I sat on the balcony that stuck out
from the side of the farmhouse. Justin had found a power generator with a few
dregs of fuel left in it, so the house had power. Despite that, the
rainwater-filled Jacuzzi didn’t work. I leant back against the window of the house.
The streets of Stowham were bathed in
darkness. A few infected lurched across the road, woken up by the events of the
afternoon. Thankfully, none of them had followed us to the farmhouse.
The door behind me slid open, and
Justin stepped out onto the balcony. He took a seat beside me.
“You should get some rest, kid,” I
said.
He pulled his knees up to his chest
and hung his head. His face drooped.
“Want to talk about it?” I asked him.
He shook his head. “It’s just
Melissa.”
“What about her?”
He scratched his knee. “You think
we’ll make it back?”
“Of course we will.”
He nodded. “I just miss her, I
guess.”
I put my hand on his shoulder. I was
still pissed at him, but I had to remember that deep down, despite everything
he’d seen, he was just a dumb teenager going through his first crush. I changed
the subject.
“I’ve been thinking. I want to tell
Alice about Torben.”
Justin’s eyebrows arched. He swept
the curls of his fringe back from his forehead. “I don’t think that’s a good
idea.”
“I just think she needs to know what
happened to him, maybe it would give her some closure. She needs to know what a
dickhead he was.”
A
during the battle at the farm. I shot him in cold blood because it was a simple
choice between his life and my own.
I wondered if I should tell her. If
she was scared of him, maybe she’d be glad to know he was dead. But then there
was the kid. It took a lot for a kid to hate his father, and I bet Ben still
had some love for Torben. I couldn’t tell them.
Dan stared at me, his head titled and
his eyes squinting as if he knew something. I changed the subject.
“How far have you been travelling,
Alice?”
“Not much further than here. We
walked around some, but we ran out of food. Then we found this farmhouse and I
decided to stay here a while. When you get over the damp smell it’s a palace.”
“Have you heard anything about a
group of infected heading from Manchester?”
She pinched her earlobe between her
fingers and rubbed it. There was a hole where an earring had once been. “Torben
had a radio. We heard a broadcast from Manchester once, but nothing about
infected. It was something about a cure. Torben said it was horseshit. “
“And what do you think?” I
asked.
She put her arms around Ben’s chest.
“There are lots of university labs in Manchester. Clever people doing clever
things. It’s not impossible that someone’s found a cure.”
I sat back against my chair and my
energy seeped out of me. Outside the sky started to turn black, the last
minutes of daylight draining away like water down a plughole.
Faizel got out of his seat, walked to
the curtains and drew them. “It’s getting late,” he said.
I checked my watch. It was six
o’clock in the evening. Soon it would be pitch black, and the stalkers would
come.
“Let’s get some rest everyone.”
Dan stood up, his hands clenched. His
body shook a little, as though he were a ball of energy. “What about them?”
I smiled at Alice. For now, I’d
forgiven the near concussion she had given me, because I understood why she did
it. She was a mother looking after her son, and we all had the right to protect
the people we loved. Some of us were just better at it than others.
“They need rest too,” I said.
9
By nightfall the paracetamol kicked
in and my head cleared. A dark lump stuck out from my forehead and I had to
stop myself from pressing it from time to time, but otherwise I felt human
again. I wanted to be useful, so I volunteered for first watch.
I sat on the balcony that stuck out
from the side of the farmhouse. Justin had found a power generator with a few
dregs of fuel left in it, so the house had power. Despite that, the
rainwater-filled Jacuzzi didn’t work. I leant back against the window of the house.
The streets of Stowham were bathed in
darkness. A few infected lurched across the road, woken up by the events of the
afternoon. Thankfully, none of them had followed us to the farmhouse.
The door behind me slid open, and
Justin stepped out onto the balcony. He took a seat beside me.
“You should get some rest, kid,” I
said.
He pulled his knees up to his chest
and hung his head. His face drooped.
“Want to talk about it?” I asked him.
He shook his head. “It’s just
Melissa.”
“What about her?”
He scratched his knee. “You think
we’ll make it back?”
“Of course we will.”
He nodded. “I just miss her, I
guess.”
I put my hand on his shoulder. I was
still pissed at him, but I had to remember that deep down, despite everything
he’d seen, he was just a dumb teenager going through his first crush. I changed
the subject.
“I’ve been thinking. I want to tell
Alice about Torben.”
Justin’s eyebrows arched. He swept
the curls of his fringe back from his forehead. “I don’t think that’s a good
idea.”
“I just think she needs to know what
happened to him, maybe it would give her some closure. She needs to know what a
dickhead he was.”
A
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