The Afflicted: A Zombie Novel (18 page)

He walked over to the bed and tried the radio on the nightstand. He went through
both AM and FM but got nothing but static. He flicked on the television but it was just static too on every channel.

“A hundred channels and there’s still nothing on,” he muttered to himself.

Amane came out of the bathroom, Sasha following.

“You
gonna be okay?” said Evan, seeing Sasha’s hands wrapped in a loose cloth.

“
They hurt like hell and I might need help tying my shoelaces, but yeah, I’ll be fine. They’ll heal. Well I’d better go see what he’s up to. I’ll tell him about the boat and see what he thinks if that’s all right by you?”

Evan nodded.

“I guess I can stand it for one more night. If you need anything just knock, I’m not far away! Thanks, Amane. Good night, Evan,” she said, and disappeared into the adjoining room.

Amane
sat down on the edge of the bed, taking off her shoes, relishing in the freedom her feet felt. She let out a satisfied sigh and massaged her aching feet.

“I hope George is al
l right,” she said to Evan.

“
Me too. You know I think he’ll be okay. We underestimated him. He’ll make it.”

“And our new friends?”

“I have no idea. They seem okay. Well Sasha does. Rob could be trouble if you ask me. If he puts us in danger, I’ll have to cut him loose. No one else is going to hold us back,” said Evan, missing what Amane was really fishing for.

“You think
the shower works?” he asked, hopefully, nodding to the bathroom.

“
There’s hot water in the tap so I guess so. I’m not sure which is more inviting: a hot shower or this bed,” she said, looking at Evan.

“Go on, you first,” he replied, “
We don’t know how long the hot water will last. You need to get warm and out of those damp clothes.”

Amane
practically ran to the bathroom, exclaiming her thanks as she did so. She stripped off her filthy sodden clothes she’d been wearing the last few days, hung them out on a towel rack to dry, and jumped into the shower. Bracing cold water hit her face first and she took a few mouthfuls, thirsty for the taste of clean water. Seconds later, beautiful hot water sprung out gushing over her body. She was in raptures. They hadn’t washed in days.

“Feels amazing!” she called out
. Evan smiled thinking about how good she must feel now.

* * * *

Sasha and Rob did much the same, taking it in turns to wash, but without the convivial atmosphere. She made it quite clear that just because they now had a bed, it was not for sharing. Rob had a choice of the floor or the bathtub. They chatted idly for a while whilst the sun set, but had little to say to each other; they’d spent the last forty-eight hours cooped up in the same room and had exhausted everything there was to talk about.

“I’m beat,” said Sasha. “It’s surprising how doing nothing can make you feel so tired.”

“This whole end of the world shit is fucking boring if you ask me,” said Rob from the floor. He had made himself a bed out of a couple of towels and the dressing gowns. “What do you make of them? Evan’s got a big mouth. Who does he think he is, bossing me about?”

“Oh come on, he’s al
l right,” said Sasha. “He reminds me of someone I used to...well anyway, I think he’s nice. Amane is too, you should talk to her tomorrow. If you stop acting like such a dickhead all the time, you might find you like her and maybe she’ll like you.” Sasha yawned and hunkered down under the bed covers.

“
Hm, maybe. She did look quite trim. I think I saw her checking me out,” he said lying down in the darkness.

Sasha rolled her eyes and rolled over. “I think I’m going to go with them tomorrow
on that boat and get out of here. I can’t see much point in hanging round. Did you see what it’s like out there? I couldn’t believe it. They’ve been on the streets the last few days. They said there is no police or army. It’s all gone.”

Rob just grunted. “Whatever. I’m going to get some shut eye. Try not to snore.”

Sasha gave up trying to make a decent conversation and let herself fall asleep. Rob considered sneaking into bed with her, but decided it was too soon. If it was the end of the world, she wasn’t going to get much attention and he’d be first in line. Rob fell soundly asleep quickly and slept well, undisturbed by anything.

* * * *

Amane finally came back into the room wrapped in a huge, clean towel.

“
Evan, that is bliss. Go!” she said. Her slick, damp hair draped lushly around her bare shoulders.

“
Scrub my back?” he said, as he walked past her to the bathroom, taking off his shirt.

“Yo
u wish,” she shouted after him. Evan drank from the sink tap greedily. His throat was dry and rough. After gorging himself, he jumped into the hot shower and scrubbed himself clean. Amane opened the wardrobe and found two dressing gowns. She dropped the towel on the floor and slipped one on. The first clean thing she had put on for days.

“Did you try the radio? Is there any news?” she called out through the open door.

“I tried it, but nothing. Just dead air.”

He instantly regretted
saying it: ‘dead.’ It reminded him of the dead world they were now living in that, momentarily, he had forgotten. He cleaned his body as he cleansed his mind. He caught sight of himself in the reflection of the shower’s glass partition. The bruising on his face had subsided. A few scratches and scars remained, but nothing permanent. A week ago, he had probably looked at himself in the mirror and thought nothing of it. Maybe he had kissed his wife and kids goodbye and joined the rat race to work with everyone else? One week later, he was in a strange city, in a strange room with a relative stranger. He knew his wife was dead, his children were lost, and the world was full of zombies. He barely knew himself. Evan dried himself off and put dark thoughts to one side. If he kept thinking like this, he would go insane.

He
wrapped the white towel around his waist and went back into the bedroom to find Amane sitting on the bed.

“
So, beans or beans,” she asked, holding a tin in each hand.

“Don’t suppose there was anything in the
minibar? I could do with a cold beer right now.”

“No such luck. Here.”
Amane held out a tin for him. “I did, however, find this in the bottom of the rucksack, lovingly wrapped in a protective blanket. I assume Joe packed this bag.” She whipped out a bottle of vodka from behind her.

Evan grabbed two plastic cups from the sideboard
, put on the second gown and then dropped his damp towel on the floor before sitting back down on the bed. Amane poured a generous helping in each.

“
Cheers,” said Evan holding his little white plastic cup out. “To lost friends.” They kept eye contact whilst toasting. Amane coughed.

“
To lost friends,” she agreed.

“We should probably share,” said Evan
, staring at the vodka and food.

“Yeah, right,” said
Amane, topping up their cups. They both knew that, stale bread or not, this was their time.

They sat on the bed together and polished off a tin
of beans each. When they’d finished, Amane lay back on the bed, threw the tin into the far corner and stifled a yawn. Evan lay back.

“What else did you find?” he asked.

“Not much I’m afraid: a torch, a blanket, this vodka and a packet of cigarettes. That about sums it up. There are two tins left. I hope you’re looking forward to beans for breakfast.”

Evan smiled but was worried.

“We need to find more food, Amane. In the morning, when we leave, we should try to grab something from that shop down there.”

“Yeah.
And more importantly, some coke to go with this vodka!”

Evan laughed and knocked back his cup, holding it out for
Amane to top him up.

“You think Sasha will be al
l right in there?”

“Evan, stop worrying about everyone else. She’ll be fine. She’s fended off the big guy for the last few days, I’m sure she can cope tonight too.”

“Look,” said Evan, “you can take the bed tonight. I’ll be fine on the floor with that blanket.” He threw his tin into the corner too.

“
I trust you, Evan,” said Amane looking at him. “Let’s not waste this opportunity for us both to get a good rest. This bed is big enough for the both of us. Can you even remember when you last had a good night’s sleep?”

“
No. I actually don’t think I can move. This bed is
so
comfy.” Evan bounced up and down a couple of times before settling back with his hands behind his head. He was secretly grateful he didn’t have to spend the night on the floor as he suspected Rob was going to have to do.

There was silence. Both lost in their own thoughts
, content enough not to feel as if they had to talk. They polished off their cups. Evan was grateful they even had it, it took the edge off. Amane broke the peace first.

“Those fucking z
ombies just don’t stop do they? Day or night. They quieten down at night but you
know
they’re still there. Jesus, I can’t take much more of this. I hope we can find that boat tomorrow out there. I’m sick of running like this. I’m sick of this fucking island.”

“They’re still a bit like us, I guess. We don’t give up do we? Doesn’t matter how bad it gets or fucked up things look, we keep going. You’ve got to. I don’t want to fight or run every day but there’s no other choice right now. I think it’s the same for them. There’s no call-centres or MTV anymore. What else are they going to do?”

He paused, images
of the dead people he’d despatched over the last couple of days whirring past his eyes: old, young, male and female.

“You realise we’re headed to another island,” he continued
. “It’s just a lot...smaller.”

Amane
smiled. “Amen to that. Smaller means fewer people. And that means fewer zombies unless the whole island’s dead.” Her attempt at a joke fell flat as she suddenly remembered that Charlie and Anna were on that smaller island they were talking about. She put her hand on his leg and looked up apologetically at him.

“I mean I’m sure your kids are al
l right though. Oh shit, Evan, sorry I didn’t mean...”

“It’s ok
ay, don’t worry. I try not to think about it, but it’s virtually impossible not to really. I fear for Anna, what with Charlie saying she wasn’t moving. But he’s old enough to have his wits about him; he’ll take care of her. And they’re with my father, right? The more I think about the last time I heard Charlie’s voice though...

“I
keep picturing them stuck on the boat, locked away down there in the cabin. What if they’d cast off and something happened to my dad? Maybe that’s why they’re trapped.”

Evan sighed
deeply and stared at the blank television screen opposite the bed.

“I
t’s just so...”

Amane
squeezed his leg tenderly. She poured out another cupful of vodka each. Evan guzzled it down.

“We’ll find them s
afe and sound. We will.” She thought how she could take his mind off them. Otherwise, they’d go mental bouncing around negativity in this room.

“
Look, I know you want to get to Charlie and Anna as soon as possible, but I’m kind of glad we found this room, you know? Even if it’s only for a few hours, I need a break from this shit. We’re close, Evan.”

“It’s
going to be difficult tomorrow,” he said. “It’s probably going to be hard getting out to the marina unless George is leading those zombies a merry dance all the way to Canberra. Then we have to find the boat. We have a long trip ahead of us too. I only know a little about sailing from what Father Thomas taught me, not much. I hope I can figure it out.” He swallowed the last of his vodka. “You’re right, we need this break. I’m shattered.” Evan yawned loudly.

They lay together for some time
as the sky outside turned jet-black, the room darkening with each passing minute. Amane curled up and yawned once more, longer this time, as the moon rose.

“
Thish vodka is fucking great,” laughed Amane. Was she slurring or was it Evan’s imagination?

“Cheers to that,” said Evan, n
ot sure now if he was slurring too. Amane poured out the last of the vodka. Between them, they had managed to polish off a whole bottle on a stomach of cold beans.

Before l
ong, Amane fell asleep, too tired even to get under the covers. Evan found sleep harder to come by, his mind racing a million miles an hour. His mouth was dry and his arm around Amane had pins and needles. He extricated himself without waking her and went to the bathroom where he gulped down more cold water from the tap. It was chilly as he slipped back into the bedroom quietly. A luminous moon had risen and was casting a faint light into the room through a crack in the curtains. As he lay back down on the bed, Amane stirred.