The Dust: Book Two - Pursuit (10 page)

Roger and Lou then leapt into his head.
They would be worried, they might come back this way.
That would be far too dangerous, he knew sitting in his comfy tent wouldn’t solve any problems though. He rolled off the mattress and crawled towards the small entrance, there he was met with a sight that made him stop in his tracks.

Washing the soap out of her hair and wiping the water off her face Angel was bent over a leather pouch filled with water. Her sweater was hanging up on a branch and she was standing there in her tight fitted jeans and black bra. Her lily white skin glistened in the morning sun and her ample breasts rose up and down as the cold water took her breath away. Angel turned slightly to reach for the small towel hanging next to the pouch, her tight stomach twisting it was then that Jake noticed the large weeping angel tattooed on her back. She bent forward slightly and her lacy black thong rode up above her belt line, Jake could feel his heart beating in his throat, he had been bitten by this bug hard.

‘They would take your eyes out in ancient Greece for that Butty Bach.’ A soft welsh accent whispered into Jake’s ear making him jump.

‘Jesus Christ.’ Jake shot out of the tent and stood up next to Yanto.

‘Spying on the goddesses is strictly prohibited.’ Yanto winked.

‘I wasn’t spying, I was just...’

Yanto stopped him in his tracks. ‘No need to explain yourself Butty Bach, if she wasn’t yours I would have a little crack myself.’

Before Jake could explain more the big man was off back to the campfire and the sizzling food that was waiting tantalisingly for them.

‘What are you boys chatting about?’ Angel walked over to Jake running her fingers through her hair trying her best to dry it.

‘Nothing, Yanto just asked me if I slept okay.’

‘Beautiful isn’t it?’ Angel looked over at the view. The green fields endlessly rolled down to the bottom of the valley and if you didn’t know any better it felt like the perfect spring morning.

Jake had been so busy watching Angel washing herself that he hadn’t noticed the stunning surroundings they had found themselves in. ‘It is beautiful.’ He admitted.

‘You would never think that any horrors had ever taken place would you?’ Angel looked up at the birds swooping high in the light blue sky.

Before Jake could reply Yanto called them both over for breakfast.

‘Sausages and eggs okay?’ He handed over two large white baps filled with juicy meat and runny yolk. ‘Thank god for long-life rolls' he smiled.

The three survivors sat on two large logs around the small fire and tucked into their morning feast, this was followed by steaming hot tea even though they had to share the one and only tin mug Yanto owned.

‘How did you get here Yanto?’ Jake looked at the tall Welshman trying to work out his age. The grey in his shoulder length black hair and the lines in his weathered yet chiselled face gave the impression of someone in his early fifties but he could have just had a colourful life.

‘The call, that’s what brought me to these parts.’

‘The call?’ Jake looked at Angel puzzled by the reply.

‘Of a good woman, alas she can’t be found.’ Yanto licked the grease from his fingers. ‘I had a woman who lived near here, I made my mind up a few days ago to see if I could help her out.’

‘A girlfriend?’ Angel joined the conversation.

‘One of them.’ Yanto smiled.

'How many have you got?’ Jake laughed.

‘How long is a piece of string?’ Yanto slapped Jake on the leg with his huge hand. ‘It’s something I have always collected, on my many travels.’

‘Women?’ Angel tutted.

‘I’m a single man, a man with lots of spirit and I certainly would never mislead any of my girlfriends.’ He drained the last drops of tea from the metal mug. ‘They all know the score, and that’s beneficial to everyone. Nobody should be owned in this life.’

‘Where do you come from?’ Jake was eager to find out Yanto’s story, he knew it wasn’t going to be a boring tale.

‘I was born in Pontypool, Osborne Road, in the back bedroom of a rented house. My mother, Beverly was only seventeen years old and she never revealed who my father was. I was told he was a married man with children but I didn’t care one way or the other, it was my grandfather Reg who brought me up with the help of my mother.’

‘Sounds tough.’ Jake sympathised.

‘It’s only as tough as you want it to be my boy. Life is what you make it and I certainly have made the most of mine. I left the Gwent valleys as soon as I could ride a motorbike and travelled all around Britain doing various jobs. Never been married and I don’t have any kids, well none that I know of. I live life to the full and always try to make the best of a shitty situation.’

‘Like now?’ Angel felt a slight kinship with Yanto’s story.

‘Exactly, some would say this is the end. Some would say this is hell on earth but I love it, a fresh start.’

‘You love it?’ Jake couldn’t keep his voice down.

‘Yeah, why not?’

‘Because death is all around, misery is everywhere.’ Jake was getting a bit disgruntled. ‘What about my little girl? I bet she doesn’t love it.’ He went to get up.

‘Now hold your horses Butty Bach. I don’t know you and I don’t know your daughter. Even though I wouldn’t want either of you to come to any harm.’ He paused. ‘Really I couldn’t give a shit. Right here, right now it’s all about survival. Debt and class divide families and feuds are gone, vanished, the slate has been wiped clean.’

Jake was taken aback at Yanto’s attitude.

‘I understand.’ Angel replied.

This didn’t help Jake’s frustration. ‘You too?’ He looked across at her.

‘You know me, you know how I feel. I have always looked after myself first. For some people the life they used to lead may have been a burden, I understand that some may see this as a new way of life, a life where you act first and ask questions later. For some it’s a leveller.’

‘Not a bad philosophy.’ Yanto said producing an apple which he bit into with a crunch.

Jake shook his head, perhaps he was being a bit too animated but all he could think about was his Amber, his 'Barnacle'. How could these two sit here thinking that this may be a better life? A life where everyone starts equal? Jake wasn’t having any of it.

Before the debate spiralled out of control a terrifying scream came from the brow of the hill and stumbling over the grass were two naked men.

‘Infected, the two of them.’ This time Jake jumped up and instinctively went for his air pistol but realised he had left it in the truck the evening before.

Before Angel could gather up most of the belongings Yanto had run from the camp and jumped onto Thunderchild. Digging his heels into the horse's ribs he charged towards the two bloodied men.

‘Has he got a gun?’ Jake asked Angel.

‘Can’t see one.’

Galloping at full speed, Yanto took the leather reins from his hands and placed them in his mouth, clamping down hard. Using his freed hands he produced two swords from behind the saddle. The sight of this stopped the two naked savages in their tracks. Yanto then twirled both of the gleaming swords from side to side. The infected men parted as he approached and as horse and rider passed between them Ianto brought each sword down and sliced clean through each of the savages throats. As the horse sped passed, the two decapitated heads spun into the air and landed twenty meters away from the twitching bodies.

Yanto turned Thunderchild around and trotted up to the severed torsos, he jumped off and wiped the blood stained blades in the damp grass.

Jake turned to Angel and forgetting the little spat they had just had around the campfire said. ‘We have to persuade him to come with us.’

Angel trod on the burning embers with her well-worn black boots and stamped the fire out. ‘Don’t worry yourself about that, I’ll make sure he sticks with us. We need him.’

Jake wasn’t sure what Angel was insinuating but for the time being the ends were more important than the means. They had to find Roger and Lou, they needed to get to Bath and then Jake had to find Amber. His little girl was his number one priority and nothing could make him deviate from that.

***

Roger took another look out of the bedroom window, he still couldn’t see any movement. They needed to leave now and this was the time to vacate the premises, they needed to find some transport and go in search of Jake and Angel. He couldn’t be sure if they were alive but he knew he had to go and look for them, that’s what Jake would do if it was other way around.

‘Are we leaving now?’ Lou Pepper tugged at Rogers arm.

‘Decided to wake up now have you?’ Roger smiled, he was trying his best not show any signs of panic or upset in front of Lou, he was trying to make things as normal as possible for her under the circumstances.

‘Have Angel and Jake come back yet?’

‘Most probably decided to stay the night at the big house, it was quite late when they left.’ Roger gently took her arm and moved her to the back door. ‘Now remember what I said last night, we need to move fast and we need to be very quiet.’

‘Don’t want to wake up any of those naked monsters do we Mr Clough?’ Lou smiled, she felt safe with Roger.

‘No Lou we don’t.’ Roger patted the top of her head. ‘In a moment I’m going to open the back door and then we run, okay?’

‘Whatever you say, you’re the boss.’ She saluted.

Roger slowly opened the door and looked around the garden, it was silent, not even the birds were singing. Holding Lou’s hand tight he walked out of the kitchen and onto the wooden decking.

‘Are you ready?’

Lou nodded.

‘Hold on tight.’ With that he ran across the garden and out into the side street, Roger looked in all directions but nothing was about, it was deathly silent.

Moving down towards the main road he could see the old tin roof of the village hall. W
ere they still inside?
He wasn’t going to hang around to find out. What they needed though was transport, anything with wheels would do, even a bike. The two of them walked in the opposite direction of the hall and further into the small village.

At the end of the street hidden behind a hedge a pair of eyes watched as the man and the small girl made their way up the pavement. They seemed to be looking for something,
a way of getting out no doubt.
What was he going to do? Raise the alarm and get the small girl back to where she belonged? That would mean curtains for the man though,
no way he would be allowed to live.

The pair of eyes observed the odd couple stop and walk down a driveway,
he must have spotted a car.
They went out of sight for a minute or two but emerged empty handed. They were getting closer now, he could see the little girl looked pale and tired. The man on the other hand looked dogged and determined. This was most interesting, should he let them leave or sign the man’s death warrant? He sat there and considered his position for a while. Once the pair got closer, he could hear the girl sniffing, the decision was taken out of hands. Bursting through a small garden hedgerow a naked woman emerged snarling and frothing at the mouth holding a pair of bloodied garden shears.

The little girl screamed so loudly that the hidden watcher was startled and moved slightly, causing the leaves of the bush to rustle, luckily the crazy woman was too busy sizing up the other two to notice. The man shielded the small girl behind his back and shouted something at the naked woman. The blood on the shears was fresh and trickled off the rusty blade, dripping onto the road forming a small pool in the dust. The man shouted once more but the crazy woman just kept coming towards them.
Should he intervene or should he run?
Running seemed the more viable option.

***

Iris O’Neil slipped out of the thin sheets they had given her to sleep under and moved over to Hannah. ‘Are you okay child?’

Hannah was no child and wanted to remind her of that fact but the Irish lady had been really nice to her so she bit her tongue. She nodded instead.

‘Do you fancy getting out of here?’

Hannah’s eye’s widened as she couldn’t believe what Iris had said.

‘If I go, then you're coming with me. You are not staying here with them.’ Iris motioned towards Archie and Lonny Gold who had both fallen asleep. She couldn’t locate the other boy, he hadn’t been there when she had woken up twenty minutes before.

‘Okay, if you want.’ Hannah was scared but she wanted to go wherever Iris was going. She felt safer with her.

Taking Hannah’s hand they got up slowly and made their way over the sleeping bodies towards the men. Hannah tugged on Iris’s hand not understanding why she was going towards them.

Iris pointed at the glinting keys that were lying on the floor on top of Lonny Gold’s crumpled jacket.

Hannah shook her head, it was too risky.

Iris placing a finger over her lips stared into Hannah’s eyes as if telling her to trust her instincts. Hannah’s shoulders dropped and she moved slowly to the perimeter of the sleeping women.

Iris looked down as she moved over the women and straight into the eyes of Sarah Hardcastle. They were staring straight back as if to ask what the hell she was doing?

Iris mouthed slowly to her that she was leaving. She also added for her and Naomi to come along too.

Sarah shook her head, she was too scared and tears fell from her eyes. The stuffing had been knocked out of he, she physically couldn’t move, she was a beaten woman. She nudged her daughter to get up and join Iris but Naomi was going nowhere without her mum, she clutched at her arm to show her. Iris couldn’t look anymore, it was too upsetting. As she tried to move away Sarah held her ankle, Iris stopped and looked down once more. Sarah pointed to a sleeping Alice, she then mouthed up to Iris to take her. Iris nodded in agreement. Sending Hannah back to pick up the little girl Iris made her way across the wooden hall floor and was soon in touching distance of the keys. Crouching as low as she possibly could, she made her move, gently picking up the bunch of keys, they made a small noise as she moved them and Iris not wanting to disturb the two sleeping men stayed as stilll as a stone statue. Her heart pounding so heavily she thought it was going so spill into her mouth. Lonny Gold continued to snore but the young, horrible lad fidgeted in his wooden chair. Iris closed her eyes squeezed the keys into the palm of her hand silently prayed. The next few seconds felt like hours but the sleeping keepers of the keys stayed dead to the world. Iris as quick as she could scurried back across the hall and grabbed Hannah by the arm. Alice was being held by the girl but hadn’t woken up yet. The three then moved with speed back across the floor, past the sleeping Lonny Gold and to the main door, it was ajar so Iris slowly pushed it open letting a small stream of daylight in. She looked behind her and could see Sarah Hardcastle watching their every move. Iris smiled at her and Sarah smiled back, then as quick as a wisp they all disappeared out of the door and into the main road.