The Dust: Book Two - Pursuit (11 page)

Running as fast as they could whilst carrying a small child, Iris made for the big army truck.

‘Get in and get your head down.’ She shouted across to Hannah as they reached the cab.

Iris pulled open the heavy door and clambered up onto the well-worn leather seat. She could smell the cologne that Gold had been wearing, lingering in the air as if to remind her of his repulsiveness. Iris opened the window to rid her nostrils of the stench. ‘Are you in?’

‘Yes, please just leave, now!’ Hannah had her arm round Alice who was now awake but said nothing. She just stared at the dusty old dashboard not knowing what was going on.

Iris jammed the key into the ignition and turned. The engine burst into life and roared, she knew this would wake everyone up in the village and she acted super-fast. Crunching the gear stick into first she released the clutch and the huge wheels turned as the truck rumbled down the road towards the village hall. Iris knew she wouldn’t have the time to turn the big vehicle around so she pressed hard on the gas and quickly went up the gears.

As they neared the village hall the door burst open and out ran Lonny Gold with an astounded look across his sleep wrinkled face. Iris’s instincts were to keep on going in a straight line and to mow the bastard down but she knew that wouldn’t help her passengers. She got as close as she could and then swerved.

‘What the fuck!’ Archie Stanton emerged from the hall just as the truck screeched around the bend.

‘Shoot the fucking tyres!’ Gold ordered running back inside to get his gun.

Archie ran into the road and aimed his shotgun, the truck was disappearing fast and moving erratically. He let off a volley and the dust from the road shot up in the air but he was just short of the huge tyres.

‘They are shooting at us!’ Hannah screamed from inside the cab.

‘I know! Hold on tight.’ Iris weaved the steering wheel trying to make the huge target as hard to hit as she could.

Lonny Gold ran back into the road and sprinted after the truck firing his pistol. It was useless, there was no way he was going to catch them.

‘For fuck’s sake!’ He screamed and ran back towards Archie. ‘You fucking idiot! You were supposed to be watching them.’

Archie stood there open mouthed, it had all happened so quickly it hadn’t quite registered.

Lonny soon reminded him and struck him on the side of the head with his hand gun. ‘You've cost us our fucking truck.’ He yelled spittle flying out of his mouth. ‘You useless cocksucker.’ He went to kick Archie as he lay on the ground but thought better of it.

Some of the women were now standing by the door of the hall wondering what all the commotion was about.

‘What the fuck are you lot gawping at?’ He aimed his gun at them and a few of the girls screamed and they retreated back into the village hall. He looked back down to Archie who was wiping the blood from his forehead. ‘Where is that other useless twat?’

‘Harry James?’ Archie asked.

Lonny’s eyes bulged, not believing the stupid answers he was getting. ‘Yes you fucking prick covered cunt, who the fuck do you think I am talking about.’ He wanted to kick the little bastard to death but he knew he would be useful in the near future.

‘I don’t know boss, I’m sorry boss.’ Archie cowered at Lonny’s boots.

Gold looked back up the empty road,
that Irish bitch was going to pay for what she had done,
that he guaranteed.

‘Look, there are people in the road.’ Hannah pointed to a man and little girl waving the truck down.

‘Who are they?’ Iris said quietly. She wanted to drive past as she was sure Gold and his two accomplices would be running up the road firing their guns.

A massive thud and blood on the windscreen made Hannah and Iris scream out loud and she brought the truck to a skidding halt.

‘Oh my God, what have I done?’ Iris’s hands were visibly shaking.

Hannah opened the door to see what had happened. Roger Clough then appeared and tried to get into the cab.

‘Get out!’ Screamed Hannah, kicking out at his advancing body.

‘What the fuck has happened, have I killed the little girl? Iris felt sick.

‘No.’ Roger brought Lou into sight for the woman to see. ‘There was a woman trying to kill us, you ran her over, you save the little girl’s life.’

‘Who are you? Where have you come from?’

‘Never mind that let us get in, the infected are everywhere and someone is watching us from the bushes.’ Roger jumped on the footplate.

‘Alice!’ Lou Pepper could see the little girl crouched down in the foot well.

Alice said nothing but burst into tears holding her arms out to her friend.

‘You know her?’ Iris was surprised.

‘Yes from the big house, we met a couple of days ago. What are you doing with her?’ Roger wasn’t sure if he had done the right thing flagging the truck down. He had heard the shooting and the screeching of the tyres and gambled that the truck had been stolen. Now with the sight of Alice down in the bottom of the cab he was confused.
Had she being abducted?

‘We've stolen this truck and if we don’t move the'll be around that corner any second.’ Iris looked again in the wing mirror.

‘And they have guns.’ Alice added through her tears.

Hannah moved across while Roger and Lou stepped up into the cab. He slammed the door shut. ‘Well let’s get a move on then.’ He smiled at Iris. ‘I’m Roger by the way.’

Iris had no time for introductions she wanted to get out of this godforsaken village, she released the clutch and they started to move.

‘Who’s that?’ Lou could see a teenage boy run from the hedge towards the truck.

‘Don’t stop.’ Hannah cried. ‘It’s one of the boys that held us captive.

Iris recognised him straight away, it was Harry James. She pressed down hard on the accelerator and sped past him.

Roger looked in the passenger wing mirror to see the boy waving and then clasping his hands together as if he was pleading. ‘He’s calling to us.’

‘It’s a trap, he’s one of Gold’s lap dogs.’ There was no way Iris was stopping. He should count himself lucky she hadn’t ploughed through him.

Roger knew nothing of Gold or his gang just the brief encounter at Hexham so he kept quiet, he was just glad Iris had turned up when she did. The infected woman with the shears was only inches away when the truck had come into view. Iris had saved their lives.

Harry James fell to his knees, tears falling from his eyes onto his dry cheeks. ‘Please take me with you.’ He whispered, but it was too late. He wiped the dust from his hands onto his jeans and stood back up. He turned around and reluctantly walked back down the main road to the village hall. He knew hell was waiting for him but he had nowhere else to go.

Chapter Fourteen

‘Can you read that?’ Jake stood back to look at his handy work.

‘Bath, Junction eighteen on the M4?’ Yanto sat on his horse and read the yellow spray paint that adorned the single track that would eventually lead to Wisteria Hall.

‘I thought it was code.’ said Jake a little disappointed that Yanto had deciphered it instantly.

‘Well JC18M4 isn’t that hard to work out sonny, is it?’

‘Well you know that area.’ Jake got back to his horse and mounted.

‘I know a lot of areas.’ Yanto smiled. ‘I’m sure your friend will get the gist.’

‘Do you know the Bath area?’

‘Yes I was stationed there for a couple of years.’

‘Stationed?’ Jake asked.

‘The army Butty Bach, did five years in Battlesbury, near Warminster.’

‘You have been about a bit.’ Jake smiled. ‘Still that will come in useful now, all that survival stuff. I suppose that’s where the campfire and the cooking came from.’

‘Nope.’ Yanto smiled. ‘That came from Newport train station.’

‘Eh, Newport station?’ Jake was confused.

‘After I came out of the army I stayed with my best mate Mags for a few months, he lived in Rogerstone. He ran a greasy spoon at the train station, platform 3.’

‘On my God I can remember that, when I used to stay with my parents we would sometimes catch the train into Newport.’

‘Rumbletums was the name of it. Crazy days.’ Yanto looked skywards temporarily reminiscing. ‘Finish work by two o'clock, then over the road to the Greyhound pub for an afternoon session. I wonder sometimes how I’m still here!’ Yanto grinned and nodded remembering the good times he'd had with Mags.

‘I bet you have a lot of stories from a lot of places.’ Jake stroked the mane of Lola.

'Too many Butty Bach, too many, we would never have enough time.’

‘I can’t see why we don’t just wait here.’ Angel rode over on Chive. ‘Lou is going to be worried sick, I’m worried sick!’

‘There are infected crawling all over this area. Believe me, I have been all up and down this countryside in the last couple of days.’ Yanto led his stallion back towards the woods. ‘It's only a matter of time until they group again and attack, there are only so many times you can keep fighting them and get away with it. On their own or in small groups they are easy to pick off, I’m sure you have noticed how delicate the skull is?’

‘Yes we have, the bone is paper thin.’ Jake followed slowly on Lola.

‘Exactly, but you can easily be swarmed by a large group of them. I have had one or two lucky escape but lady luck will eventually run out.’

‘Can’t we find a safe place?’ Angel was eager to be reunited with Lou, she hated the thought of the two groups continually changing directions.

‘Best to keep moving.’ Yanto urged Thunderchild on.

Jake looked back to Angel and shrugged his shoulders. They had no choice but to team up with their new ally.

‘You are coming to Bath with us then?’ Angel enquired.

‘Maybe. I haven’t decided yet.’ Yanto mumbled.

‘We could do with your help.’ Jake looked over to the impressively build Welshman.

‘A bedraggled unit of army personnel have set up a camp, south of Nottingham, I was thinking of going  there to help out.’

‘You have met other groups?’ Angel was surprised and excited by this new information.

‘A few small ones but the camp in Ruddington was the biggest I have come across. They were going out on patrols and picking up survivors. I suppose that’s how our communities are going to evolve now.’

‘You don’t think we can go back to how it was then?’ Jake still wanted some sort of normality back.

‘Can’t see it. Not for a while anyhow, we have to rid the land of the infected first.’

‘Or find a cure.’ Angel added.

‘That could take a while, all the main hospitals are deserted, and most of the doctors are dead.’ Yanto dismissed Angel’s theory. ‘A staff nurse at Ruddington was talking about the blood being contaminated, not too sure what he was actually on about and didn’t much care either.’

‘We have a blood theory too.’ Jake was also excited to hear this new information and was ready to share what he and Roger and come up with.

‘I don’t care Butty Bach, all I know is that I’m alive, better to be alive than dead.’ Yanto wiped his nose. ‘The dead are dead! The infected are basically dead, and some of us wish we were dead. I say be glad to be alive. Don’t mull over it and pick the bones from it, just survive and keep going.’

‘We are a resilient race, maybe we will find a cure for the infected.’ Jake wanted to believe in Angel and smiled reassuringly at her. ‘We will find a way.’

‘Maybe, but for now we must keep moving. I can’t tempt you in going to Ruddington then?’ Yanto thought his two new companions would be better off in a community, nice and safe, out here they were like ducks out of water,

‘No.’ They both answered simultaneously.

‘Okay, Bath it is then.’ Yanto dug his heels into Thunderchild and was off, the other two did the same and soon they were on their way south.

***

‘We need to get back to Wisteria Hall.’ Roger looked over at the Irish woman driving the truck.

‘No chance.’ She snapped, Iris never wanted to return to that place.

‘My friends are there, we need to get them.

‘Then they're dead.’ She fixed her eyes on the road ahead.

‘Don’t say that.’ Lou couldn’t believe what the lady had just said.

‘Iris, that’s not right.’ Hannah also couldn’t believe how tactless she was being.

‘I’m not going back okay!’ Iris screamed making everyone jump, her knuckles white from grabbing the steering wheel so tightly. She burst into tears.

‘Pull over.’ Roger was concerned for their safety.

‘No, I got this truck and I’m getting us out of here.’ She wiped away the tears that momentarily made her eyes bleary.

‘Pull over before you kill us all, I’m not saying I want to drive but please compose yourself.’ Roger was insistent.

Iris saw sense and parked up on the grass verge. She turned to Roger. ‘We can’t go back, they are all dead. The place has been burnt to the ground.’

Roger quickly turned to Lou Pepper to see if she had heard Iris, but she was too busy chatting to Alice. He looked back at the Irish woman. ‘When did this happen?’

‘Yesterday.’

‘What!’ Roger was shocked. ‘We only left yesterday morning.’

‘Well we just missed you then.’ Iris said. ‘All hell broke loose, he killed the boy and then one of our women got raped, it was awful.’

‘Who the hell is this guy?’

‘Lonny Gold, the man is pure evil, I want to get the rest of the women out but I don’t know what to do.’ Iris wiped away a tear recalling yesterday’s horrific events.

‘Look I need to go back to the Hall, our friends went there late yesterday.’ Roger sighed. ‘Something has happened and I need to find out what. I promise you after that we will find a way to help your friends.’

Iris studied Roger’s face carefully. She had been taken in by Gold at first but this man seemed different. Also he had a little girl with him and they seemed to have a close bond. She had to take a chance. ‘Okay you’re on, but as soon as we find your friends and I pray they are alive then we head back to my friends.’

Roger opened his hand and moved it towards Iris. ‘It’s a deal.’

They both shook on it.

Chapter Fifteen