E Virus: The Diary of a Modern Day Girl (Book 2): The Path of Destruction (15 page)

"What is it exactly that's playing on your mind. It might make you feel better getting it out. I learnt not to bottle things up a long time ago; we don't know each other very well yet, sometimes speaking to someone you don't know helps even more." I told her.

"You seem really nice, thank you. I just don't know how to put it in words." She replied simply.

"Well, I know at times, I think about the people I've lost, I try not to dwell on it too much. It makes me sad thinking about them, but then I think of the infected. They make me angry, if it wasn't for them; the people I've lost would still be alive. Then when I picture the infected, I get scared. Scared because I don't want to turn into one of them. Scared because of the way they look, what they stand for, and it scares and worries me how fast they seem to be evolving." I told her.

She nodded "That's exactly it. I feel trapped as well though. Like, there's nowhere really that's safe. I know
its safe on here for now. But sooner or later we'll have to get off." She was a smart girl. She seemed to be opening up to me. For that, I was grateful.

We both sat on her small bed for a while, as we gazed out the window. We watched the green, overgrown scenery around us and the murky water beneath us. The wind caused constant ripples along the surface of the water.

Watching the water was rather therapeutic, although the strong winds shook the boat, a little too violently at times. It was a good job none of our group or the new arrivals got seasick.

Sarah and I looked at each other as the boat shook violently once again. I glanced out the window; the sight before me jolted me back. I looked to Sarah; she had done exactly the same.

There, floating right by our boat, was an undead corpse, the water pushing past us as it made its way towards the back of the boat. I could have sworn it even grinned at me as it floated past. It was a menacing stare as his eyes bore straight through Sarah and I. Lying flat above the water, he seemed to know what he was doing.

We both looked ahead, at least four or five more followed suit. Had they found a way to access the water? I hoped to god they hadn't found a way to climb in.

I rushed outside, to warn Leon and Ryan, who had gone back out after lunch. I told Sarah to stay put. As I rushed outside to warn the boys, I wasn't alone. Everyone must have seen the infected coming as they had already armed themselves, and were busy stabbing the infected down into the depths as they tried to surface.

"What's going on?" I asked as I got outside.

"They're coming from the bridge up ahead." Ryan yelled as he struggled to steer whilst defending the boat.

I looked directly in front of me. Sure enough, a crowd of the infected were throwing themselves off a bridge, and into the water.

George motioned for us to start backing up. We held our position as the remaining infected launched themselves into the water beneath us.

I turned to face the front of the boat. A golf club opened up on our right hand side.

I clocked onto where the infected were coming from. On closer inspection, I could see that the infected seemed rather well dressed. The last remaining infected were a group of men. They were dressed in shirts and ties. I imagine they were doing a bit of business and lunching in the clubhouse when their meal got cut short. I watched another infected float right past the boat. He had overshot his mark. A middle-aged man dressed in a navy Ralph Lauren v neck jumper and once cream trousers floated towards the second boat.

Clearly a golfer in life, but now, he was the host to something far sinister. I stared at him in the water. I saw something I had never seen before, from any of the infected, not even Undead Pete. I saw him smile.

It was a menacing grin. The look he gave me showed greater intelligence than I had ever seen before. He looked at me as if to say, "This isn't over."

Chapter 17 – A Practical Joke

I knew in the grand scheme of things; it was far from over. Given the rate at which the infected were advancing, this seemed like only the beginning.

It wasn't long before we dispatched of the last of the infected. We were very lucky. None had made it on board our boat. The current had swept the bodies past our boats, and away from us.

As we passed the Golf Club, we saw the remaining members sprint across the golf course. They were too late; we had passed under the bridge, and were now sailing, slap bang in the middle of the canal. We were out of arms reach for now.

We were all stood outside. When the buoyant infected tried to rise out of the water, we had to cover all areas.

Even our new recruits got involved. We kept them close to Ryan and Leon, with their military background, they were our greatest protectors.

Lacey, Paul, Nick and I took to the front of the boat and kept them at bay. We were at the front line, as the infected descended on us first.

The nearer we came to the bridge, I feared the infected would end up right on top of us, but Ryan managed to keep us out of danger.

With the golf club now fading away in the distance, we headed back inside for a much needed break.

"That was so cool!" Jared announced as we piled into the living area.

"Did you see me push that dude back with my board? I thought I was
gonna lose it." Nathan replied.

"I know, I saw. They didn't stand a chance though. I wasn't scared." Jared told the rest of us.

Sarah stayed close to me. I could tell by her body language; that she didn't share the same opinion, the rest of her friends did.

"Right, calm down guys." Lacey told them firmly. She was quickly taking on the mother role, although I could tell this wasn't her intention.

"Remember, those things are dangerous. It's not about going out and killing and fighting. It's about staying alive. We don't hunt; we defend." She added. The last part she had learnt from the Sergeant. It was what he would always say to us over on the base. I felt a twinge of sadness as I thought of him again.

Ryan looked over to Lacey and smiled. He was about to join in the conversation when he was interrupted.

"Guys, come and have a look at this." Nick shouted from outside. It was his turn to drive.

"What is it?" I asked as I peered out the door.

It didn't take me long to find out. Opening up in front of us were row upon row of houses.

Each house had its own pier. Small rowing boats floated above the surface of the water, tied to the small piers, the property of the homeowners.

A small narrow boat sat docked in front of a particularly large house on the corner. We looked around us. We couldn't hear a single sound. Only the running engine of our narrow boats.

"I think we should stop here." George yelled from behind.

He was right. With our new hungry recruits, our food resource was depleting a lot faster than expected. We all needed gas for the boats, this seemed a good a place as any to stock up.

Ryan took the helm and steered us to the pier. George followed and stopped his boat behind the small abandoned boat. He peered inside and gave us the thumbs up.

Ryan quickly cut the engine, and him and Leon jumped off the boat. Jared followed behind them.

"No mate, you stay here for now." Leon told him.

"We won't be too long, just need to make sure the area is secured." Ryan added, stopping him in his tracks.

"I can help though." Jared pressed. He was eager to tag along.

"No, not until we're sure it's safe." Ryan replied firmly.

They turned and carried on up the garden path as a small hill led to the house. The rest of us stayed on the boat, as Jared stood outside on the pier, he was starting to sulk.

"Are you sure you don't want to come back inside?" Lacey asked.

"No, I'm fine." Jared replied; his voice completely toneless.

He kept his head down and started to kick the small stones beneath his feet. Typical teenage behaviour.

A few minutes later, Ryan and Leon returned. Reporting back that the area was all clear, we all stepped out the boats.

Jared lagged behind the rest of the group. He was still upset he couldn't go with Ryan and Leon. He didn't yet understand; it was for his own safety. Then again, I don't think any teenagers truly understand what is best for them, until they get a bit older.

Jared, Sarah and Nathan had all lived sheltered lives through the infection. They were lucky they had managed to secure somewhere safe. They hadn't been on the run as we had, and they hadn't had any real experiences with the infected. I don't think they were truly aware of how dangerous the infected could be.

We followed the path up to the main house. Leon and Ryan had already managed to find a way in. We entered through the back door. The door led into an old-fashioned kitchen. It didn't look as if it had been decorated since the 1970's.

The tiled splash back walls were a deep orange. Some of the tiles had already faded over time. The chipboard type wooden cupboards were full of empty Tupperware containers. The faint smell of moth balls hit us as we delved deeper into the house.

This home obviously belonged to an old couple. Family photos littered the fridge door.

Photos of grandchildren in various stages of life dominated each room.

Lacey and the Professor stayed in the kitchen. Their job was to collect as many usable supplies as possible.

Lacey went straight to work. She pulled plates, cutlery, mugs and glasses from the cupboards and packed them into a bag.

She then set to work on the food, pulling out cereals, tins and frozen goods. The Professor did the same. The good news was that this couple seemed well prepared. Upon opening the pantry, Lacey was able to find a full sack of potatoes, all in relatively good condition.

We divided them up between the boats and took the full lot with us.

I pressed on with Sarah; it was our job to find anything else that might be of use to us.

We decided to work from the top, and make our way to the bottom. Ryan and Leon had already checked each and every room for us, just to be on the safe side.

I started in the bathroom, as Sarah made her way to the bedroom. I packed as much toilet paper as I could carry, living without toilet paper isn't exactly convenient, unfortunately, I learnt that the hard way; from our time spent in the woods. 

I grabbed towels, shampoos, soaps, anything I could get my hands on. Sarah came out with a similar haul.

"Where did you get that from?" I asked as she came out the bedroom with her arms full of toiletries.

"There's an en-suite." She replied.

"Great, let's get all this back to the boat." I told her. "But don't let Lola know about the shampoos, just give them the men's shower gel." I added. I had already shared with Sarah, the reasons behind our hatred for Duckface.

Sarah had already taken an instant dislike to Duckface. Sarah didn't like the way Duckface looked her up and down in disgust. When she shared her feelings with me, I knew what she meant. It wasn't fair on the poor girl; she was only 15 years old. Duckface would get what was coming to her, sooner or later.

"I've got a better idea." Sarah grinned.

"Oh yeah,
whats that?" I asked.

"Why don't we give her the conditioner, but add a little something to the mix?" She beamed. She was holding up a tube of hair removal cream.

This girl was a genius. I couldn't help but laugh. That was exactly what Duckface needed to bring her down a peg or two. The hair removal cream would seep into her hair in the shower, and dissolve half her hair in the process. It was brilliant.

"Yes! Sarah that is amazing." I told her.

We quickly dumped our findings on the floor and grabbed a bottle of conditioner and the hair removal cream.

We poured half the remaining conditioner into another bottle. There was no point wasting it; we would use it for our boat.

Sarah unscrewed the tube and squeezed the remaining cream into the conditioner bottle. Once our conditioner/hair removal concoction was ready, we screwed the caps back on and binned the evidence.

We agreed that it was best Sarah give the hair products to Duckface, considering Lacey, and I refused to go near her, it seemed the most sensible option.

Duckface had stayed in the boat whilst this was all going on. She wasn't the most helpful at the best of times.

As Sarah went to hand Duckface her 'peace offering' I went to find Lacey. I knew this would make her day. We had both wanted so much, to get our hands on her, but we knew right now, any effort would be futile. Any chance to make her life a little more uncomfortable was fine by us.

"Is everybody ready?" George asked us, as he made his way back from the front of the house.

Whilst all this was going on, George took watch. He made his way through the side of the house and stood out by himself.