Dead Days: The Complete Season Two Collection (45 page)

Admittedly though, it did look pretty nice.

“We stick to the road,” Chris said. “Walk until the sun’s moving down towards our right. Then we find somewhere sheltered to stay for the time being. A car. Something like that.”

“Think we’ll struggle to find somewhere warm,” Pedro said.

“Right. We will. But we can’t walk all day. We can walk as much as we can down the motorway and hopefully make it to Manchester in a week, maybe less if we’re lucky. But we stick to the road. The last thing we want is to end up knackered and stranded in the middle of a snowy woods.”

Pedro thought back to the creature-surrounded motorways he’d seen in the early days. “Not sure the motorways are such a good idea, mate‌—‌”

“They are,” Barry butted in. He kept his head down and kicked aside the falling snow as they walked down the open road towards the motorway. “Not in the early days. But any creatures that were there moved. Followed the screaming people right away from there.”

Chris shrugged. “He’s right. Might be the odd straggler or two, but nothing we can’t deal with. We walk until the sun starts setting, then we find an abandoned car or two and settle down for the evening. And finding an abandoned car shouldn’t be too hard on the motorway. Trust us‌—‌we’ve been doing it this way for long enough.”

Pedro nodded. Chris had a point.

The five of them walked down the road, various weapons in each of their hands as the snow fell down on them. Pedro thought about all of the other people he’d encountered in these mad few weeks. All of the other people whose fate he wasn’t sure of. Gustavo. Roger. But mostly, Riley. Riley and Chloë. He wondered where they were. How they were getting on. Whether they’d seen the snow, just like he had.

“Okay, Josh, okay,” Tamara said, resting a bloody hammer on the road and blowing breath into her hands. “But I swear you just went an hour back.”

“Problem?” Pedro asked.

Tamara rolled her eyes. Her fur coat was wrapped tightly around her neck, but her lips were almost blue against her pale skin. “Wants another bloody wee. Swear he’s like a human fountain, this lad. D’you mind taking him over to the side of the road and keeping an eye out? I really need to sort out my rucksack. Stuff’s digging right into my back.”

Josh grinned up at Pedro. He had a gap between his teeth where he’d lost a milk tooth.

“Um, okay,” Pedro said. He felt his cheeks flushing even though cold snow brushed against them. “But, I, er‌—‌”

“You only have to take him to the side of the road. Besides, I know he’s desperate to hear some of these army stories of yours.”

“Yeah! Army stories!” Josh hopped up and down.

“Conserve your energy, lad,” Chris called. “We’re getting close to the motorway. I’d like to be able to get at least some of it done before we collapse today.”

Barry stared on at Josh. Pedro wasn’t sure what that look was, but he didn’t like it. Certainly didn’t trust this Barry character with anybody. Struck him as a bit of a creep.

“Okay, okay. Come on, you.” Pedro patted Josh on the back and started to walk over to the side of the road.

“So did you see any splosions?” Josh asked with a little lisp. A lisp that reminded him of his boy, Sam. A lisp that he’d have to try and ignore. He couldn’t see Sam in this kid. He couldn’t allow himself to get attached, not to somebody else.

“A few,” Pedro said, looking around to make sure they were safe as they approached the side of the road. There was a tall line of evergreen trees up ahead, snow sprinkling down from them like icing onto a cake. The road looked clear both ways. “Okay. This place should be good.”

But Josh kept on walking, his eyes wide and fixed on Pedro. Snot dribbled down onto his top lip. “Wow. How many splosions? How many‌—‌”

He didn’t finish his sentence because he slipped on some ice and went tumbling to the ground.

Pedro threw himself at Josh to pick him up. Looked like he’d taken a fair knock on the head. A real crack sounded, too. A crack that brought it all back. A crack like when Sam balanced on the kerb, and then‌—‌

No. Don’t think of that. This is different. This isn’t Sam.

“You okay, kiddo?” Pedro asked. He lifted Josh up. His coat sleeve had partly slipped off with the impact.

“My head. My head hurts,” Josh said, mumbling and half-whining.

Pedro wanted to respond. He wanted to reply to the boy. But when he saw the boy’s now bare arm, he froze. He couldn’t speak. All this time…‌‌all this time, and he was‌—‌

“All alright?”

Pedro turned around. It was Barry. He was staring at Josh with a frown on his wrinkly forehead.

Pedro looked back at Josh. Lifted his sleeve even further. Maybe it was just a scratch. Maybe he’d just imagined it was bigger than it was.

But no. His stomach sank when he saw it.

There were bite marks in Josh’s arm. A chunk of his flesh was clearly missing underneath a torn bandage.

Pedro looked back at Barry. Chris and Tamara started to jog over. Barry turned around to them.

“He knows. He knows.”

“What the hell is going on?” Pedro asked. He looked at Chris. Looked at Tamara, who stared at her feet.

“Please, Pedro,” Chris said, raising his hand. “We can explain‌—‌”

Pedro shuffled away from Josh. “Explain? Yes you can. This boy’s been bitten. You know what happens to the ones who’ve been bitten.”

“I told you we should’ve just told him,” Barry muttered under his breath, shaking his head and scratching his beard. “Told you we should’ve just told him off the bat.”

“What the hell is going on here?” Pedro said. He squared right up to Chris, who looked back at Pedro with wide eyes. Tamara rushed over to her son.

“We were going to tell you. We were going to tell you once we…‌‌I dunno. Maybe we timed it wrong. But I swear, we were‌—‌”

“What, were you going to tell me when you sent me to the side of a fuckin’ road with the kid? Gonna tell me when we all bonded and you made me share a car with him later? Fuck that, mate. Fuck that.”

“Please, Pedro, you have to‌—‌”

“I’m done,” Pedro said. He stepped back in the direction the group had already come from. “You lot can go your own way, but I’m not havin’ any more of this secret bullcrap. Josh‌—‌I am sorry. I swear I’m sorry, kiddo. But I can’t be here. I can’t be a part of…‌‌of this again.”

Pedro stepped away. He couldn’t look at the group again. He peered up the road in the direction they’d come from‌—‌at the wooden fences lining the road. It was the third right they’d taken to get this way, right? Or was it the fourth? And where was he going to go? His vision was blurry. His head spun.

“You might want to know something else before you walk away.”

Pedro did turn around. It was Barry who spoke. Barry, who’d been so quiet‌—‌so suspicious‌—‌since Pedro had met this group. “You’ve got a lot to say all of a sudden. I can’t be here. Simple as that. I can’t watch this kid turn‌—‌”

“You won’t have to,” Barry said.

Pedro frowned. “What do you mean I won’t have to? He’s been bitten. That’s what this is. Right?”

Tamara cuddled Josh. Josh had tears running down his cheeks and a big purple bruise growing on his forehead. Chris held his cheeks in his hands. Barry, for the first time since Pedro had met him, stared directly at him.

“That’s what this is, isn’t it? He’s been bitten and you can’t let him go. He’s been‌—‌”

“Josh was bitten. You’re right about that.”

Pedro shrugged. He felt a lump in his throat. “Then I’m sorry. But there’s nothing more we can‌—‌”

“He was bitten three weeks ago,” Barry said.

Pedro was already turning around when the weight of what Barry just said hit him in the face. He turned back. “What? What did you…‌‌how…‌?”

“Back at that big house we told you about when we found the Internet connection. It happened then.” Pedro noticed Tamara was crying. Hugging her son, holding him close. “One of the zombies took a chunk out of his arm. So we…‌‌we figured we’d take him out of there. Find a way to end his life peacefully on the road. Waited for it to…‌‌for him to turn. Sometimes it takes minutes, sometimes it takes hours. But as time went on, it just…‌‌it didn’t happen.”

Pedro stumbled back towards Barry. Chris was stood to one side, head lowered, letting Barry speak‌—‌at last.

“Are you telling me this boy is…‌‌are you telling me he was bitten and he’s‌—‌he’s not turned? Are you…‌‌are you saying he’s immune?”

Barry smiled. He rubbed his fingers through Josh’s curly hair. “I’m saying he’s more than immune. I’m saying that he could be the cure.”

As Riley stepped through the doorway and into the brightly lit area of the bunker, it was as if he’d stepped into a new universe entirely.

The stairway was clean and brightly lit. He could smell the freshness of the place as he descended the stairs. He could see the white paint on the walls, so clean, so…‌‌undirty. A world away from the musty, damp entrance area.

But when he reached the bottom of the steps, that’s when it got even weirder.

The closest thing Riley could come to describing the place was to say that it reminded him of one of those fancy studio apartments he’d taken a look round at the Preston Docks when he was first moving out of his parents’ place. There was a desk in the middle of the room with an out-of-place CRT monitor atop it. Over to the right, the silver tiles turned into a plush, deep red carpet, a huge television mounted on the wall with DVDs and Blu Rays stacked either side of it. To the right, there was a pristine looking kitchen area, with shiny utensils‌—‌all so fresh looking, all so new. Beside the island in the middle of the kitchen, there was a wheelchair.

“What…‌‌this place…‌‌it’s‌—‌”

“Sorry about the mess,” Alan said, although Riley didn’t know what mess he was referring to. He limped over to a mirror just beside the kitchen, where Riley assumed the bathroom was. “Oh, hell. Look at this beard and hair of mine. Sorry‌—‌when you’re not used to presenting yourself to someone, you can slack a little bit on the shaving. Drink?”

Riley gazed around the room. It smelled so fresh, like a summer’s day, and yet he couldn’t place how or why. It wasn’t cold, either. Quite toasty, actually. It was perfect. Out of the way of the creatures. Some fake doorway in case any outsiders came searching.

Alan whistled. “Hey. Would you like a drink?”

“I, er…‌” Riley could barely find the words. His throat was dry, so he just nodded.

“I can see why you might be a little thrown by this place. Again, I’m really surprised Rodrigo didn’t tell you more. And I’m just sorry we can’t spend a bit more time here before taking off. Well. I am and I’m not. A man needs his exercise.” He handed Riley a glass of crystal clear water.

Riley took a sip of the cold, perfect tasting mineral water, just like he used to be able to get from the machine at his office. He gulped it down, dribbling some down his chin, looking all around the room, at the bright lights, the CCTV-like footage of various parts of the woods and outside area on the CRT screen, at the stacks and stacks of canned food.

“Don’t get too comfy, now,” Alan said. He still had his long, heavy looking gun in his hands. Clearly didn’t quite trust Riley, not yet. “I’ll give you a tour. Then you should get refreshed and rested before we start our journey.”

“Our journey?” Riley asked.

Alan chuckled. “He really didn’t tell you a thing, did he? Always was a shrewd git. “ He waved his hand and started walking away from Riley. “Let me show you something.”

Riley followed Alan across the hard tiled floor, still staring around as he saw something new every second‌—‌a microwave, an oven, a table tennis table. This place was amazing. And Rodrigo knew about it all along? Why hadn’t he already started moving people over here? Sure, it was small, but it was out of the way. It was out of sight of bastards like Mike.

“This right here is our path, my friend,” Alan said. He struggled with a wheel on another metal door, out of place to the side of the kitchen cabinets. “Give me a lift here, would you? Legs aren’t what they were.”

Riley obliged. He grabbed the other side of the metal wheel and started to turn it. It was so heavy, so stiff. No wonder this strange little man had struggled with it.

Eventually, it gave way. Alan wiped his head. “Phew. I’m getting too old for this. But not
too
old for what I have to do, of course.” He grabbed the back of the wheel again and pulled the door to one side.

A cold gust of air filled the seemingly idyllic bunker. So too did a large echo as the door stopped opening. Riley peered through the door. Out into the darkness. It was like staring off the back of a boat in the middle of the night. No idea what was ahead. No idea what might be looking at you.

“What…‌‌what is this place?” Riley asked.

“Like I said,” Alan said, panting, squeezing past Riley and fumbling on the wall behind the door for something. “It’s our path.”

“Our path to what?” Riley asked, but as he did, Alan clicked something on the wall and a series of dim lights flickered on behind the door.

And what Riley saw was even more staggering than the bunker itself.

“What…‌‌what…‌?”

“It’s a tunnel. A tunnel connecting all the bunkers like this from here right to Manchester. It’s where a strong, strapping lad like yourself is going to escort me. If you don’t mind, of course.”

Riley stared down the dimly lit tunnel, Alan’s voice echoing in it. He heard drops of water dripping from the ceiling. Smelled that familiar damp smell, just like he had when he’d entered the place. “Why…‌‌Why are we going to Manchester? Why do you need me?”

Alan patted Riley on the back. “Because I’m the only one who can stop the world falling apart.”

“What‌—‌what do you mean?” Riley asked, his eyes still fixed down the seemingly endless tunnel, like a train track without any actual tracks.

Alan smiled. “I know what started this virus. And I know how to end it. And that’s something you’re going to help me with.”

Want More Dead Days?

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