The Dust: Book Two - Pursuit (18 page)

‘Hold your horses now, John Wayne.’ Yanto called him back. ‘Have a good feed and drink some coffee. Over that ridge is a different world, we are going to enter a large urban area. We don’t know what the situation is going to throw up, do we? So far we have kept pretty rural, there a lot more places to hide in a city and a large town.’

‘Yanto, I respect your opinion you know that, but hey, my daughter is so close now, I can almost touch her, and I’m not waiting another second.' With that Jake went to wake Angel up.

‘Bloody kids.’ Yanto bit on another piece of warm chicken and rolled his eyes.

Twenty minutes later the three of them were sat on their horses on the ridge looking down at the M4.

‘I have never seen it so empty.’ Jake looked up and down the asphalt snake as it wound its way around the hills and disappeared.

‘I think this is the first time I have ever seen the M4.’ Angel replied, I’m a northern girl and my motorway is the M6.’

‘You’ve never seen or been on the M4?’ Jake couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

‘No.’ Angel smiled.’ I prefer it up north, the folk are friendlier.’

‘Well don’t go that way.’ Yanto pointed to his left. ‘London is one hour and thirty minutes away.’

‘I’ve never been to London either.’ Angel said smiling waiting for the response.

‘You’ve never been to London?’ Jake said loudly again, sounded astounded.

‘Okay soldier, stand at ease. I’m here now aren’t I? I’m sure you can show me the sights.’ Angel now realised how far away she was from where she had grown up.

‘The truck is over there, in a lay by.’ Yanto pointed to the opposite side of the motorway. ‘I got quite close, but I couldn’t see who was in it.’

The three of them rode their horses across the bridge of the motorway towards the concealed layby. Yanto led the way, his eyes peeled for any unusual movement; he didn’t like the location where the truck was parked up. It was too confined and too close to the woods, they could easily come under attack and have no time to react. Thunderchild crunched over the gravel as the smooth road ended and the rough track that led into the layby started.

Angel niggled Chive past Jake and Lola and up next to Yanto. ‘This place doesn’t feel right, it’s claustrophobic.’

‘My thoughts exactly, it feels like a trap.’

‘Let’s walk in.’ Angel dismounted and tethered Chive to a small wooden post.

‘What’s going on?’ Jake jumped off Lola.

‘We are going in slowly and quietly, this place is too close to the woods to be safe.’ Yanto took one of his swords from his saddle.

‘Okay, that makes sense.’ Jake grabbed his sword and followed Yanto.

As they crept around the corner children’s voices could be heard.

‘That’s a girl’s voice.’ Angel’s eyes lit up.

‘Keep steady.’ Jake held her arm as it looked as if Angel was about to jump up and run to where the giggling was coming from.

‘There.’ Yanto caught a glimpse of two girls playing on the grass verge.

‘And a truck.’ Jake could see the big army truck parked up.

‘Oh my God.’ Angel shrugged Jake’s arm off and stayed deathly still.

‘Was is it girl?’ Asked Yanto.

‘That’s the truck I escaped from, Lonny Gold and his two lap dogs.’ She swallowed hard.

Then the two girls came into view, chasing each other, one holding a stick.

‘It’s Lou Pepper.’ Jake nearly shouted, but kept a lid on his emotions.

‘And Alice.’ Angel couldn’t understand what was going on. She stood up and went to run towards Lou, but a large leathery hand went over her mouth and pulled her down.

‘Infected.’ The Welsh voice whispered into her ear. Yanto released her and pointed to three naked men wandering aimlessly the other side of the truck out of the view of the little girls.

Angel looked back to her horse, she had left the bow and arrows in the saddle sheaf.

Jake wasn’t taking any chances and sword in hand, he silently sprinted around the grass verge until he was behind the three infected humans.

Yanto could see what he had in mind. ‘Stay here and keep an eye on the girls.’ He told Angel, and with that he ran straight at the trio twirling his sword in his right hand.

The first naked man growled and stepped towards Yanto gritting his bloodied teeth. Before he knew what had hit him Jake pounced from behind and sliced his head clean off, the body dropped to the gravel, blood spurting from the open wound.

The second naked attacker, a teenager about six foot three screamed and sprayed blood in Jake’s direction, again before he could react, Yanto struck. With a low kick to the ankles the Welshman toppled the tall youngster who crashed to the ground, pools of blood spewing from his mouth. As he tried to lift himself off the gravel Yanto thrust his sword straight through his neck, death was instant.

The third savage a tubby heavily tattooed middle-aged man ran at Yanto to knock him off his feet, but before he could make contact Jake had run full circle and caught him between the shoulder blades with his cold steel. He pushed hard and the tip came through the large man’s chest. blood shooting from the gash. Jake withdrew his sword, but the man didn’t fall, he kept staggering towards Yanto.

‘Watch out!’ Jake shouted to his pal.

Yanto grabbed a knife from his boot and raked it across the advancing man’s face. He had cut him from cheek to cheek and the tip of his nose was now missing. Tubby wasn’t having any of it though, with his teeth snapping and his bloodshot eyes bulging like balloons, he slammed into Yanto and the Welshman was knocked off balance. Jake who had continued running caught up with the infected aggressor just as he was about to attack. Another wild swing of the sword caught tubby on the top of his head and his skull cracked, part of it flew off landing about twenty feet away. This time, he fell to his knee’s blood running out of his mouth like a swollen river. Yanto finished off the job as he plunged the knife into the skull and deep into his brain. Tubby was finally dead.

‘Jesus, I never thought he was going to die.’ Jake took a deep breath.

‘Some people are made of tough stuff, Butty Bach.’ Yanto inserted his knife back into his boot, after removing the sticky brain tissue with his forefinger and thumb.

‘Angel, Angel!’ The shrieking voice of Lou Pepper made both men turn to see Angel hugging Lou and Alice.

‘Oh honey, I have missed you.’ Angel squeezed Lou as if she would never let her out of her sight ever again.

‘I thought we would never see you again.’ Lou started to well up. ‘Me and Roger hid in a house and then a woman tried to kill us in the road.’

Angel kissed on her on the cheek. ‘You can tell me all about it later.’ She squeezed Alice’s hand. ‘How come you two are back together again?’

Before Alice could answer Angel a shout emanated from the fringes of the woods.

‘Get away from the girls!’

Angel looked up and could see a woman pointing a hand gun directly at her.

‘Get away, or I swear I will shoot you!’ Again the woman shouted out in a southern Irish accent.

‘And move slowly.’ A second voice came from the side and a younger woman, a teenage girl stepped out of the woods holding a large hunting knife.

‘Okay, okay, chill your boots.’ Angel lifted her hands up.

‘It’s Angel, it’s Angel.’ Lou Pepper protested but it fell on deaf ears.

‘Back off now!’ The Irish woman never took her aim off her target.

‘What’s going on?’ Jake then came into view and could see a woman pointing a gun at Angel.

The Irish woman quickly turned to see where the voice was coming from but then returned her weapon onto the woman who was now backing away from the two girls.

‘We are friends, we know Lou and Roger.’ Jake walked a little closer to the woman holding the gun.

‘Stop right there.’ The younger woman yelled over to Jake.

‘Are you Jake?’ The Irish woman asked.

‘Yes, yes, and that’s Angel. We were with Roger and Lou Pepper.’ Jake held out his hands to show he meant no harm.

The Irish woman lowered her gun. ‘I’m sorry, I was worried about the two girls.’ She walked over to Jake and shook his hand. ‘We saw your message and Roger drove straight here.’

‘Where is he?’ Jake asked.

‘Gone into Bath to look for his family. That’s where me and Hannah have been, out there looking for him.

Jake’s delight in finding Lou suddenly turned to anxiety over his friend. ‘You think he’s lost?’

‘No, but he might not return, he told me to wait till midday today.’

‘Might not return?’

‘Well, I think if he couldn’t find them or there was some hope of them being alive he would return with or without them.’ Iris O’ Neil fidgeted slightly. ‘I got the impression that if he found them, well not alive then he might not return at all.’

‘Then we must find him.’

‘That’s what we were doing, over in the fields, looking for him.’

Angel walked over with the two girls, Hannah followed closely behind. ‘Leaving these two children unattended?’ She spat out some dust onto the floor. ‘At the mercy of any crazed freaks that might show up looking for easy pickings.’

Iris was a little put out at Angel’s tone. ‘I told them to stay in the truck and keep it locked, plus
I
didn’t leave them in the middle of nowhere with a mad man on the loose.’ She paused and made sure she made full eye contact with Angel. ‘Unlike some.’

The hairs on Angel’s neck pricked up. ‘Excuse me? You know nothing of why we went back to the big house and in any case we left her with Roger.’

‘Ladies, ladies please let’s just get acquainted and work out how we are going to find Roger.’ Jake didn’t want a big fall out before they were even introduced. ‘Let’s just get our heads together and bring our boy home.’

***

‘Which way, boss?’ Archie looked at the large road sign.

‘South, we head south.’ Lonny Gold released the air brakes of the lorry and revved the engine.

‘Wales?’ Archie had never been out of England before.

‘Fuck no, I hate those bastards.’ Lonny threw the stub of his cigarette out of the window. ‘The west country my boy.’ He put on a mock Bristolian accent, ‘Where they drink thy cider.’

‘Oh, I like a drop of cider.’ Archie licked his lips.

‘That’s what you and young Harry said they sounded like, yes?’

‘Yes boss, they sounded like farmers.’

Lonny laughed out loud. ‘And down here
we
sound like northern monkeys.’

‘Maybe we will find the others too. The Irish bitch and the young girl.’ Archie looked out of the window as the M5 motorway crossed the M4.

‘You liked her, didn’t you?’ Lonny nudged the youngster.

‘Well.’ He smiled. ‘I wouldn’t kick her out of bed.’ He then sniggered like a naughty school kid.

‘When we find them, and we will. If they are still alive, then you can have her.’ He nudged Archie once more. ‘With my blessing.’

Archie beamed as he looked out of the lorry window at the massive RAC tower which stood over the massive interchange.

‘You can dip your wick into her then my lad.’ He nudged him again this time harder. ‘Eh, what do you think of that.’

Archie nodded. ‘That would be sweet, boss.’

Lonny roared with laughter. ‘Look at you all starry eyed.’ Another massive nudge came. ‘You’ll be grinning like a wanking Jap when you get your filthy little mits on her. Wont you?’

Both laughed as they trundled past Bradley Stoke and Almonsbury.

Harry James sat in the back of the blood soaked lorry, nervously gripping his shotgun, he could hear the faint laughter coming through the back of the cab and into the trailer.

‘Not with the
in
crowd anymore, are you?’ Naomi Hardcastle whispered over to him.

‘Shut up.’ Harry James growled back.

‘You’ll be next in the cage.’ Janine Davidson now joined in with her Glaswegian drawl.

‘I’ll shoot you.’ Harry James lifted the gun slightly.

‘You won’t shoot.’ Sarah Hardcastle replied.

‘You wanna bet on that?’

‘You are too nice, you are not like the others.’ Sarah continued. ‘We can overthrow those two, Harry, with your help.’

Harry James jumped as his name was spoken. He didn’t realise that the women knew his name and he didn’t like it, he wanted respect.

‘Come join us Harry.’ Janine Davidson edged closer.

‘Fucking get back!’ Harry James stood up and screamed at the women. ‘I’ll fucking kill the lot of you.’ His face was scrunched up and the pressure was getting too much for him to bear.

Sarah Hardcastle could see the boy was fighting his emotions, he was only young and was very confused. ‘Okay, okay, you’re the boss.’ She looked at the others and moved back a little. They could see her motive and followed suit.

Harry James breathed a little easier and slumped back down. His head was spinning out of control; he wished he could go back, back in time. He wished he could go back to before the disgusting dirty dust had fallen. What started as a daring adventure had quickly turned into a tortuous nightmare; he just wanted it all to go away, and fast.

***

Jake and Yanto stood out in the field and looked at the steep hills as they rolled down onto the city of Bath. It looked so peaceful as the mist slowly lifted, both knew that appearances were now very deceptive.

‘You want to go in and find him don’t you?’ Yanto asked.

‘I just can’t leave him, he was there at the start for me, gave me a helping hand.’

‘It’s suicide though, you know that don’t you?’

Jake sighed. ‘The thought that he might be waiting for us, to get him out of a bad situation.’

Yanto stopped him. ‘You have to think of Amber, you need to find her first.’ He wanted to add if she is alive but he thought better of it.

‘I know, I know and every nerve ending in my body is telling me that, but I owe Roger. I just can’t desert him, not now.’ Jake kicked at the damp grass.

‘Why don’t we wait, till tomorrow at least. If he hasn’t returned by then, well there isn’t much more we can do.’ Yanto could understand Jake’s frustration, but he needed to show him the bigger picture.

‘We could go in and look for him, me and you.’ Jake looked over at Yanto