Dead Days (Book 2): Tess (3 page)

“You can’t stay here, this place is a warzone.”  The policewoman says.

“But I-”

“Look around you, the city’s falling apart!”

I feel a flash of anger, this woman thinks I’m an idiot.

“Well what are your lot doing about it?”  I snap.

She laughs bitterly and my heart goes cold.

“You mean the police?  There won’t
be
a police force in a few hours.  Not at this rate.”

“What do you mean-?”

“These things are springing up everywhere.  We’re stretched too thin as it is and most of us, myself included are going to find our families.”

“You’re deserting?!”

Her expression turns suddenly furious.  “Fuck you!  I’m a civilian not a soldier.  I’m going to get my son, and then I’m getting the fuck out of London.  If you have a problem with that, write to your bloody MP because I couldn’t give a flying fuck what you think.”

She turns and stalks away.  There is a police motorbike on the curb, and she straddles it, putting on a helmet.

“Wait!”

She looks up.

“Which way are you going?”

“What? Why?”

“I can’t stay here.  I don’t have a car and I don’t know how to fight…”  I look at the gun in her hand.

“That’s not my problem.”  She speaks abruptly but she doesn’t look at me.  I notice her unease and I feel a flicker of hope.

“Please, I’m sorry I-  I’m just scared ok?  Please help me.  There’s room for two on that thing, I just need to go as far north of here as you can take me.”

She holds my gaze for a minute.

“Fine, but hang on tight, I’m not stopping again.”

      I climb on behind her and shoot a look at Mike’s building.  I’m almost sure he won’t have come in today, he’s been working from home more and more and if he’s drinking again there’s little chance of him making the effort.  Besides I can’t see the receptionist at the welcome desk.  The idea of being sealed in a building surrounded by this chaos seems incredibly stupid in retrospect.

God I hope he stayed home.

“Let’s go.” 

My small companion is a skilful rider, I cling on tightly as she weaves in and out of the stalled traffic, keeping as low as I can to help her balance.  A few people try to flag us down when they see the police insignia but we don’t stop. 

       We head up through Camden, I see a group of teenagers smashing up a shop front, an angry crowd gathering around a TFL worker who is trying to close the tube gate, two men punching the hell out of one another in the street. 

I see all of this but my companion never slows.

We skirt the Wittington Hospital via the maze of side streets, the area around there is surely in chaos, and I guess that any hospital is going to become a hotbed of infected people. 

I think of the young waiter’s face again as he was bitten, the fear, the confusion. 

Please God don’t let that happen to me.

When we do eventually stop, it’s in a quiet leafy suburb.  The officer pulls off her helmet and retrieves the pistol from the holster on her thigh.  She produces a box of shells and starts to reload the clip.  I notice the tremor in her hands.

“What’s your name?”

She looks up, very pale.

“I’m Rhona.”

“Tess, hi.”

She replaces the clip.

“Listen Rhona, I wanted to say thanks.  I should have said it sooner but with everything that’s going on- Well, I mean, I don’t
know
what’s going on but I think you saved my life back there.”

She nods and looks embarrassed.  It’s kind of endearing.

“I take it those things aren’t standard issue?”  I say, pointing at the gun.

“You’re right about that.  I only finished my training with it a month ago, never taken it off the range.  They just started handing them out to us this morning….”

She puts a hand to her mouth and I see tears standing in her eyes.

“I n-never shot anyone before.”

I see her start to tremble and I put my hand on her shoulder.  “Well I’m really glad you did.  I know that’s easy for me to say but, whatever that woman was, she wasn’t coming back from it.  I don’t know how she survived that fall, but I’m pretty sure she would have died anyway.  All you did was save me and put her out of her misery.”

She looks at me and I realise she must be younger than I first thought.  I see her composure start to come back though, and I feel a little relieved.

“Where’s your son?”  I ask.

“His school’s close.  I stopped here because it’s quiet and I think you’ll be fine…”  She looks doubtful.

      I don’t know exactly where I am and I really don’t want to be stuck out here when whatever’s going on in the city centre reaches the suburbs. 

“Rhona, come on, you can’t leave me here.  At least take me as far as the school, there may be a parent there who’s going my way.  Please?”

She sighs. “Ok, but that’s as far as I can take you.  Once I get Patrick we’re out of here.”

    Rhona’s radio suddenly crackles into life.  We can hear someone shouting for back up,
screaming
for it.  She clicks it off and looks away.

“Come on.”  Her voice is trembling.

I climb back onto the bike.  I don’t say anything.  What
can
I say?  Those people crying out for help are her colleagues, friends too most likely, but I think I’d probably do exactly the same if I had a child. 

Still, it’s a pretty shitty choice to have in front of you.

      I don’t ask about Patrick’s father.  Rhona isn’t wearing a wedding ring and she hasn’t mentioned him.

     We ride in silence, passing only a few cars.  The ones we do see are filled with luggage, people leaving town. 

Sounds like a good idea. 

I see a few people walking on the streets but not many.  Those that are seem to be hurrying along,  I guess no one really wants to be out right now. 

      Within ten minutes we are in the school car park.  It’s a small place and there aren’t many cars.  Rhona pulls right up in front of the entrance.

“You can come in if you want.” 

“Thanks.”

There’s no one on the reception, the classrooms are quiet. 

Something’s wrong.

Rhona must feel it too.  She rests a hand on the butt of the pistol as she calls out.

“Hello?”

Nothing.

“Is anyone here?  Pat? Its mum are you here?”  I can hear an edge of panic in her voice.

“Hello?-”

We hear footsteps hurrying down the corridor.

“Hello?  Oh Rhona it’s you thank goodness.”

A middle-aged woman in glasses with blonde hair hurries into view.  She carries with her the scent of perfume and hairspray.  They remind me of my mother and suddenly I want to hear her voice so badly that I feel tears sting my eyes.

“Helen, where is everyone?  Where’s Patrick?”  Rhona asks. 

“It’s alright, Patrick’s fine you can relax.  Though there aren’t many people here, it’s just me and Paul Jennings and six or seven of the children.  The others have all been picked up by their parents or simply never came in at all.”

“What about the other teachers?”

“Gone, scared off by what we were seeing on the news…”  She looks momentarily disgusted, “Is it true that people are….are
eating
eachother?”

“I don’t know and right now I don’t care.  All I want is Patrick and to get out of the city.  You should too.”

Helen shakes her head.  “I won’t leave the children.  If their parents aren’t here by the end of the day I’ll take them home myself.”

“You might not be able to wait that long.”  As I say this Helen see’s me for the first time. 

“Sorry, I’m Tess.”  I say awkwardly.

She smiles warmly and shakes my hand. 

“Hello dear, Helen Rutherford, teacher and headmistress.  Are you a friend of Rhona’s?”

I’m not sure what to say to that.  I glance at Rhona, who gives me nothing.

“Er, yes I suppose you could say that….”

“I gave her a lift out of the city on my bike, things were getting pretty bad out there.”

Helen nods.  “Well I’m glad you’re both alright.  Come with me, I’ll take you to Pat.  We’ve brought the remaining children to the gym, easier to keep them all together.”

“I’ll stay here.  I’m going to try to call my boyfriend.”

I watch them walk off down the corridor and take my phone out of my bag.  I try to ring Mike but the call won’t connect. 

I try Cass at the flat but the result is the same. 

Damn! 

I put the phone away and look behind the reception desk.  I see a telephone, but when I pick up the receiver there’s no dial tone.  I slam it down, frustrated. 

There’s also a T.V. behind the desk so I flick it on.

It shows a news report, but for some reason it is being delivered by a man in military dress.

“-Special forces teams have been dropped into surrounding suburbs to eliminate and contain the immediate threat whilst search and rescue units have been deployed to extract isolated survivors in the city centre.   We have established numerous ‘Safe Zones’ on the edges of the city and are co-ordinating with the Royal Marines to facilitate an evacuation via the Thames.  Though the spread of this contagion has been more aggressive than first anticipated, we have moved rapidly to counter the threat.  The Manchester and Birmingham outbreaks have almost been fully contained, and once secure, all resources will be diverted to the capital.  The military is urging all Londoners to find shelter and secure their position as best they can until help arrives.” 

He stares straight down the lens. 

“Make no mistake, help
will
arrive.  Please remain with us to hear the list of safe zone locations.”

I hear footsteps in the corridor and I see Rhona and Helen returning, Rhona is leading a young boy, Patrick by the hand.

“I think we need to hear this.”  I tell them.

We huddle in front of the screen.  The officer who has replaced the regular anchorwoman is being handed various sheets of paper by a uniformed colleague.  He gives the first sheet a once-over and begins to read.

“The following safe zones have been set up primarily for those in the outer Boroughs, we believe at this time that public access beyond these points may still be viable though how long that will remain true is uncertain.  Those trapped in the inner Boroughs are advised to seek shelter where they are and fortify it as best they can.”

He then reads a list of locations relevant to the various Boroughs as we listen out for the one nearest to us.

“Mummy what’s happening-”

“Hust Pat.”  Rhona says though not unkindly.

“-for those of you in Barnet and Harringay-”

This is it.

“-we have secured a safe zone around Alexandra palace-”

I turn the volume down.  “That’s it then, that’s where we should go.”  I say.

Rhona shakes her head.

“No way, we’re getting out of the City and into the country.  I have family up north, that’s where we’re heading.”

“On the bike?”  I ask.

“If we have to, yes.”

“Rhona, that sounds most unwise.”  Helen says gently.  Rhona scowls at her.

“Don’t look at me like that.”  Helen says in a no-nonsense tone.  “You can’t expect Patrick to ride all that way.  Where’s your car?”

“At the station, back the way we came.”

“I thought as much.  Then you’ll have to take mine.”