Infection Z (Book 4) (14 page)

“
H
old in there
, Anthony. You hold in there.”

Hayden gripped the wheel of the truck and drove down the empty, stretching road. The zombies were but dots in the mirror now, far, far away. Nobody seemed to pull him up for his driving abilities, so he figured it didn’t make sense to mention that he couldn’t legally drive.

That was the old world.

This was the new world.

All rules, all regulations, were different now.

“Don’t you worry sweetheart,” Renee said, holding Anthony’s hand as he bled out from the gunshot wound in his stomach. “We’ll get you safe soon. We’ll get you safe.”

“You sure this is the best route?” Miriam asked, leaning towards Hayden.

“Do you know a better route?”

“I don’t mean it like that. I just—”

“All that matters right now is getting to that wall. I don’t know how long it’ll take whoever sent this truck to realise we’ve taken out its crew. I dunno what they’ll do if and when they do find out. But that doesn’t matter right now. All that matters is we get there. We get to safety.”

“And the people in the back?”

Hayden glanced in his rear-view mirror. Saw the movement in the back of the truck. He smelled them, too. The refugees. Because that’s what they were—people just doing all they could to escape a conflict-stricken region to reach somewhere safer.

Just like Hayden.

Just like Miriam.

Just like everyone.

“We spoke to them,” Hayden said. “They understand the score. They want safety too. And this might be their best chance.”

“But if something goes wrong?” Miriam asked.

Hayden glanced away from the road. Looked Miriam in the eye. “Things have been going wrong since way before the apocalypse broke out. We’ve made it this far. We can make it a little further.”

He offered a reassuring smile to Miriam.

Didn’t feel all that confident about his words. Didn’t feel any sort of profundity in what he was saying.

But Miriam’s eyes softened. She smiled back.

Must’ve worked.

Must’ve—

“Stop!”

Hayden swung around when he heard Renee’s shout.

He saw the dog on the road. And it startled him. A golden Labrador retriever. His favourite kind of dog. Used to have one when he was a kid. Called it Charlie. Went everywhere it went.

Charlie died not long before Hayden’s older sister Annabelle died.

No wonder he’d ended up as fucked up as he had.

He saw the dog in the middle of the road. Skinny. Bony. Blood dripping down from its messy muzzle.

Swung the truck to the right.

Only the truck didn’t turn as expected.

It spun. Spun sharply to the right. The tires screeched against the road. The vehicle started to topple. Screams erupted from the refugees in the back of the truck.

“Hold on!” Hayden shouted.

He wasn’t sure if anyone heard him.

The truck slammed against the road.

All the glass inside shattered, some of it raining down on him, nicking at his face.

As Hayden lay there, disoriented, head spinning, he thought he was in silence. That everyone was dead. Everything was over. He wasn’t sure if he’d blacked out. Sure felt like someone had hit the reset button on his consciousness.

He wasn’t sure about anything.

Then he realised it wasn’t silent at all. His ears were just ringing so loudly they were covering up his sense of hearing.

But Hayden heard loudly now.

He heard the pained cries.

Smelled the burning fuel.

The truck. The truck was on fire. The truck was fucking burning.

He looked to his left. Saw Miriam squinting, blood rolling down her sweaty head. To Miriam’s left, Sam. Renee. Anthony. Anthony wasn’t moving. Renee was crying. Sam looked stunned, like he couldn’t be any more afraid than he already was.

Hayden reached over for Miriam. Grabbed her hand. Struggled, tried to help her out of the truck. It was burning in here, filling with smoke. If they didn’t get out soon, they’d all choke to death. Every one of them.

Including the...

Shit.

The people in the back of the truck.

They’d gone silent.

Hayden pulled himself out of the truck, Miriam following closely behind. The others climbed out too—Sam, Renee. They had to help Anthony out, though. And judging by his closed eyes, by the stillness of his body, the blood rolling down his forehead, there wasn’t much to save of him.

Hayden jumped down by the side of the truck. Saw the scale of the damage. The road wobbling with the heat of the burning. Black smoke billowing out the engine.

“Gonna have to get moving,” Miriam called, as Renee crouched on her knees, crying over her husband’s still body.

“The people in the back—”

“It’s gonna explode, Hayden. It’s gonna explode, and if we don’t get away, none of us are gonna make it.”

Hayden walked around the back of the truck. Walked to the doors, which he knew would still be locked shut. “So be it.”

He stepped in front of the doors.

And then he noticed something.

Noticed something in the distance, way ahead of the truck.

At first, he thought they were zombies. But they were running. Running away from Hayden, from the truck, from the group, who were surely easy prey right now.

Then he realised they weren’t zombies at all.

“That’s... That’s them,” Miriam muttered.

Hayden couldn’t help but smile as he watched the refugees run towards the wall. Watched them sprint for their lives. He didn’t know what lay ahead for them. Didn’t know what fate they’d meet at that wall, on the other side.

But as he watched them run, watched the Labrador retriever sprinting behind them like this was all some kind of game, he felt proud.

Because he’d got them here.

Stopped them getting thrown into a hellhole like Salvation.

He’d given them another chance.

He heard Renee wailing and it snapped him out of his pride.

He looked at her. Looked at her perched over her husband’s body. A lump swelled in her throat. To come all this way then lose Anthony. It was harsh. Cruel.

He owed her some support.

He owed her that much.

Hayden started to walk over to Renee, away from the burning truck.

“Renee, I’m so sorry,” Hayden said. “I’m sorry this had to happen to you. I’m sorry this had to...”

Then, something unexpected happened.

Anthony’s eyes jolted open.

He shot upright.

Grabbed Renee’s neck with his teeth.

Pressed down.

Ripped her throat out.

There was a moment’s shock. A moment’s complete silence, even from Renee, as her husband chewed away at her neck, as she choked on her blood, wide-eyed.

And then Anthony threw his wife back, smacked her head against the road, and ripped off her face with his teeth.

Then, Renee finally screamed.

H
ayden watched
Anthony rip his wife’s face away and listened to her screams.

He couldn’t do anything. Nothing but stare. Neither could Miriam, and it would’ve been cruel to expect Sam to do something.

Rain fell from the thick clouds above, breaking the stuffy air. The taste of blood lingered in Hayden’s mouth. The smell of burning erupted from the crashed truck.

Renee continued to scream.

Hayden ran towards her, still unsure of what was going on. Anthony hadn’t been bitten. He’d just turned. He’d been shot, and then the truck crashed, then he’d turned.

What did it mean?

How had he turned?

Why had he turned?

He stopped just opposite Anthony. Legs wobbling. Still unsure of what to do, of how to react.

Anthony looked up from his wife. Her torn-away nose dangled from his blood-soaked teeth. Renee was unrecognisable as she lay on the road, her face a mush of torn skin, of ripped-up flesh.

But still she edged from side to side.

Wailed.

Poor woman. Poor fucking woman.

Hayden watched Anthony rise to his feet. Instinctively lifted his right hand, then realised the metal pipe wasn’t in there anymore. The Stanley knife was gone from his pocket, too.

Anthony continued to rise. Not a fraction of his old self in his eyes. Just bloodshot. Anger.

“The gun, Miriam,” Hayden called. He held his right hand out.

Miriam just stared on blankly as Anthony edged towards him, as Renee finally went silent.

“Miriam, the gun!”

Miriam jolted. Reached for the gun.

Threw it at Hayden.

Hayden grabbed it.

Lifted it.

Pointed it at Anthony’s face.

“Sorry, Anthony.”

He pulled the trigger.

No bullets fired out.

Hayden looked back at the gun. Safety still on. Shit. Still not used to all this crap. Still not—

Anthony grabbed his right arm.

Grabbed it with immense strength.

Closed in on it, teeth clicking, eager for a bite.

Hayden started to pull back from Anthony. But he knew it was no use.

So he punched.

Punched at Anthony’s face.

Punched at his neck.

Punched as hard as he could, gun in hand, bloodying Anthony’s face even more than it already was.

He looked to his right. Saw Miriam holding Sam. Eyes wide. Stunned. Startled. He wanted her help, but he knew how it was; how it felt. He’d been there before. Been frozen in shock.

He had to deal with this one alone.

Had to—

He saw Renee rise behind Anthony.

Saw her stand perfectly upright, the bones in her spine crunching as they twisted at an impossible angle.

Then, blood dripping down from the mess that was once her face, she walked towards Hayden.

He punched at Anthony again, doing all he could to dodge his snapping jaws. The desire to fight this battle himself drifted away. “Miriam, please! I need a hand!”

He felt Anthony pressing right into his chest.

Felt the blood from his mouth splashing against his body.

He was so close. So close to biting him. So close to pushing him over. So close to...

Hayden lost his footing.

Fell back on the road.

Anthony’s weight on top of him.

He struggled against Anthony, who was inches from his neck now. But he had a grip on the gun. A good chance to remove the safety.

But doing so meant stopping pressing back against Anthony.

He held his breath.

Reached to remove the safety.

Anthony’s teeth pressed against Hayden’s chest.

Hayden put the gun to Anthony’s head.

Pulled the trigger.

He heard the sound of the gunfire split his skull, make his ears ring even more.

He felt blood. Warm blood. Felt it cover him. Bathe him. Clog up all in his eyes.

He felt Anthony’s weight fall onto him, crushing him even more.

And then he heard Renee gasping as she crept towards him.

Hayden looked up. Squinted through the clotted blood in his eyes, the taste of metal strong on his lips.

He pointed the gun at Renee.

She fell before he pulled the trigger.

Miriam slammed a large rock into what was left of Renee’s head. It knocked her to the ground. But Miriam didn’t stop there. She perched over Renee’s body. Smacked the rock into her skull. Onto her neck. Slammed and slammed and slammed.

When Renee had gone quiet, when her head was nothing more than a pulp on the concrete, Miriam slammed the rock a few more times.

Then, she backed away. Blood smeared across her face. Silence filling the road.

Hayden pushed Anthony’s body aside, which still twitched, fortunately mouthless and headless after the gunshot.

He stood. Walked over to Miriam. Put a hand on her shoulder.

“It’s okay,” Hayden said. “It’s done now. It’s done.”

Miriam stayed on her knees. Stared down at the bloody pattern where Renee’s head once rested. “I just... I don’t understand. I don’t understand how it happened. How he turned.”

Hayden nodded. He walked over to Sam, who hid behind an abandoned car. He held out a hand to him. Half-smiled. “You okay?”

Sam glanced around at the dead bodies, fear in his tear-soaked eyes.

Then, after a few seconds, he nodded.

Took Hayden’s hand.

They walked away from the truck. Away from the bodies. Miriam stood eventually. Joined them. The three of them. The only ones of their wider group left.

They stood in the middle of the road. Stood, hand in hand. Stared ahead at the running mass of refugees who’d escaped the truck. At the Labrador chasing behind them.

“Shall we go?” Hayden asked.

Miriam swallowed a lump in her throat.

Then, she nodded.

Squeezed Hayden’s hand.

Hayden looked back into the distance.

At the road ahead.

At the fences.

The wall.

They were getting there.

They were getting inside.

One way or another, this was ending. Today.

He walked down the road. Picked up a wrench from beside an abandoned car.

Then, together, they walked.

I
t was
another hour before Hayden, Miriam and Sam reached the wall, and already, Hayden was having doubts.

The sun had burned through the clouds, making it a pleasant afternoon. Hayden’s arms burned in the heat, hotter than any late springs he could remember in recent history. Maybe it was another thing the end of the world had prompted. Maybe there weren’t just zombies, but fucked up weather patterns, too. He didn’t know how this had all broken out. Probably never would. Who’s to say it wasn’t weather related?

Might seem far-fetched, but so too did a bunch of bloodthirsty undead trying to hunt him down. He lived in a world of farfetchedness. That was just life now.

He stared ahead at the long, empty road. The wall etched ever nearer. He didn’t like how silent it was. Not just within his group—Miriam and Sam hadn’t spoken a word for ages. But outside, too. Beyond his group. No groans of zombies. No shouts or cries of people. Nothing.

It seemed peculiar that a supposed boundary between old Britain and new Britain would be so… lifeless.

Hayden licked his dry lips. Didn’t matter what he thought. Didn’t matter whether he worried about it or not. Whatever was behind that wall would be there whether he gave a shit about it or not. All he could do was see for himself. Discover what secrets lay beyond.

He wasn’t sure he was ready for it. Not after what happened with Anthony. With Renee. Not now the group were down to three. Another dwindling group. The whole reason he’d gone off the whole group dynamic in the first place. Groups collapsed. Groups decayed.

He didn’t want to lose anyone else.

Didn’t want to lose Miriam.

“She was pregnant, you know?”

Miriam’s words came out of nowhere. Hayden turned to his left. Saw her staring at him as they walked further along the road. Her eyes were bloodshot, filled with tears.

“She found out back at the supermarket. Took a test. Confirmed it. She didn’t want to tell Anthony. She was scared, I guess. Scared of what he’d say. Scared of the problems it’d put on the horizon. Scared of… scared of creating another problem in a world that didn’t need any more damned problems.”

She wiped her eyes. Shook her head.

“She was waiting to get to the wall. To tell him. He never knew. He—he ripped her face off and he never knew.”

The image of Renee’s face being violently torn away under the force of her husband’s teeth was still fresh and prominent in Hayden’s mind. He shook his head. Took a deep breath. “They were good people.”

“They
were
good people.”

“And we’ll do what they wanted us to do. To honour them. We’ll reach the wall.”

“What if it’s all bullshit?”

Hayden slowed. Frowned. “You’re the one who wanted this place. More than anyone, you wanted this place.”

“I did. You’re right. But what if it really is just hell? What if it’s fucking worse than it is out here? What if it’s all for nothing?”

Hayden looked ahead. Looked at the fences. The wall. “I find it hard to believe anything can be worse than out here.”

“You really believe that?”

Hayden nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I do. Now come on. While we’ve still got some energy.”

They walked for another thirty minutes, maybe longer. The continual silence built a sense of foreboding inside Hayden. The empty road. The empty patch in front of the wall. He swore when he looked down on it from afar that it’d been filled with people. Filled with life.

Something had happened here.

That’s the only thing he was certain of.

“My legs are tired,” Sam said.

“I know, kiddo,” Hayden said. “I know. But we’ll be there soon.”

“Will Charlie be there?”

Images of the garden flashed into Hayden’s mind. Holding the gun. Pulling the trigger. “No,” Hayden said. “No he won’t.”

“Because he’s dead?”

Hayden glanced over Sam’s head at Miriam. Saw her wide, watery eyes. He thought about lying to Sam. Covering up the truth. Protecting his innocence, whatever.

But instead, he looked back down at him. Looked him right in the eye.

“Yeah. Because he’s dead.”

“Are we going to die?”

“I don’t know.”

He didn’t like the brutal honesty with which he spoke. And from the shaking of Miriam’s head, neither did she.

But that was just the state of affairs now.

Kids needed to know the truth. The next generation needed to understand what was at stake. To survive. To live.

“But I can promise you I’ll do everything I can to make sure we don’t,” Hayden said.

Sam smiled at him. Nodded. Eyes so droopy, so tired.

Hayden smiled back at him.

The smile didn’t last for long.

Not when he heard the voice crackle through the loudspeaker.

“Attention. Turn around. Border closed. Turn around and wait for further instruction.”

Hayden squinted into the distance, towards the wall.

“Is that…” Miriam started.

Hayden saw the people in the distance. Saw them right in front of the wall. Saw them watching. One of them holding a loudspeaker.

All of them holding guns.

“I repeat. Turn around. Border closed. Turn around and wait for further instruction.”

Miriam shook her head. “No. Not after coming this far. Not after—”

“If you do not comply, we will be forced to respond with due force. This is an infection-free border. Turn around and wait for instruction.”

Hayden stared down at the wall. At the fences. At the tunnel leading through into the world beyond.

He stared at the men holding their guns.

A part of him wanted to comply.

To turn around.

To walk away.

But no. He hadn’t walked this far to give up. Not now.

“Come on,” he said.

He took Miriam and Sam’s hands and started walking.

Hayden kept his head upright. Walked defiantly in the direction of the fences.

“Hayden, what if they—”

“They won’t open fire.”

“But what if they—”

“What else have we got?” Hayden shouted.

Miriam stared into his eyes.

Then she shook her head.

Tightened her grip on Hayden’s hand.

Kept walking.

The voices didn’t echo out of the loudspeaker for some time after. Or maybe it wasn’t long at all. Maybe it just felt that way because with every footstep, Hayden became more aware of the guns pointing at him, of the words he’d heard.

Infection-free border

What did they mean by that?

What did they mean by any of it?

“Hayden, I don’t like this.”

“I don’t. None of us like this. But it’s what we have to do.”

“Maybe we could come back when it’s dark. Try—”

“We’re not turning…”

Hayden’s thoughts were interrupted when he saw the golden retriever at the bottom of the hill.

It was still. Covered in blood. Bony ribs on show. Tongue dangling out of its mouth.

Lying in front of it, masses of dead bodies.

People.

It didn’t take Hayden long to realise who these people were.

“The people from the truck,” Miriam muttered, coming to the same conclusion.

“I repeat once more,” the voice said, louder now than ever before. “This is an infection-free zone. Stepping within the boundaries is a selfish act. A selfish act towards all the population living healthily within.”

All the population living healthily within…

But what was the selfish act?

What was so selfish?

Miriam gasped when she saw the dead bodies. When the truth dawned on her, invaded her. “We should turn back. We should go.”

But Hayden wasn’t being turned.

Not as the heat built up in his face.

Not as the tension twisted at his stomach.

He wasn’t turning back.

He wasn’t turning anywhere.

He was getting beyond that wall.

He was surviving this.

He was—

“As carriers of the virus, you are required to stay well away until further notice.”

Hayden stopped. Didn’t mean to. Just stopped, in the click of a finger.

Carriers of the virus.

Carriers of the virus.

And all of a sudden, it made sense. A twisted kind of sense.

Little Tim.

Bob.

Anthony.

All the people he’d been around.

All the people who’d turned.

Without bites.

Carriers of the virus.

“Step back slowly. This does not have to escalate.”

But Hayden didn’t process the words. Didn’t take them in, not properly.

All he heard were the words spinning around his mind.

The truth overwhelming his thoughts.

You are a carrier.