Hamsikker: A Zombie Apocalypse Novel (21 page)

“Give it a second. You’ll be fine,” said Erik.

The coldness of the damp tunnel was soon forgotten once they were back in the sun, and Jonas looked around.

“Where are we?” he asked rubbing his eyes.

“Right where we want to be, Hamsikker,” said Erik.

Jonas let Erik help him to his feet, and he blinked away the tears. They had come up behind what he assumed was the clubhouse, a two-level brick building covered in ivy. There were a couple of large catering trucks parked up, a delivery van, and some more cars, all parked up neatly in the stone driveway. The drain was sandwiched between the drive and a lawn, and further away was what looked like a vegetable patch. Vines grew lazily around a criss-cross mesh of chicken-wire, and cabbages sprouted from the earth. There were small red fruits too, what looked like strawberries, and Jonas dared a smile.

“I know. Seems too good to be true, right?” said Erik.

Jonas looked at Erik. The big man was smiling back as Peter and Freya ran over to the veggie patch.

“You know what, Erik, I’m sorry. Truly.”

“Forget it,” said Erik, watching Peter scoop up handfuls of fruit and give them to Freya. “We’re all under pressure. The main thing is we’re here. We made it, Hamsikker.”

“You think we can stay here?” asked Jonas. “For good?”

“Why not? We’ll have to check the house out, but we’re onto a good thing. As long as those fences stay up, we’re looking in good shape. We’ve got food, and I’m sure we can find water. I remember there was a stream running through this area before they built the course. It’ll still be here in some format, which means fresh water. There’s probably some sort of irrigation system for the course that we can tap into.”

A thought snagged in Jonas’s mind. Erik was right: it was almost too good to be true. How could a place like this be deserted? Those strawberries that Freya was tucking into hadn’t grown by chance. They would’ve needed water to grow too, which would suggest someone had been tending to them, watering them. Perhaps the house wasn’t empty. It might be that someone had been looking after the place, but had recently left, or had an accident.

“I think we need to check out the house, but go carefully, Erik. We don’t know for sure it’s vacant. Someone could be watching us right now,” said Jonas. “Or there could be, well you know, the dead.”

“I hear ya,” said Erik. “Why don’t we let the kids play for a while? I haven’t seen them looking so relaxed in weeks. You happy to come with me?”

The way Erik looked at Jonas when he asked him if he would go into the house with him, told Jonas more than the question did. Erik still had doubts. Jonas felt like he had to prove himself all over again. He looked across at Dakota who was sitting on the grass beside Pippa watching the children play. She expected more of him, he knew that, and he was determined to prove himself to her too. He wasn’t about to give up on her, no matter what she said.

“Absolutely. Let’s just tell the others. I think it’s best if we two go in alone. Let the others rest up out here?”

Erik explained they had to go through the house, just to make sure, and he and Jonas walked toward the building. They took just the bat and axe with them deciding to leave the guns with Mrs Danick and Quinn, as they didn’t want to leave the group unarmed. If there were any zombies inside, they didn’t want to go shooting the place up and bring the dead from the fields to them. The house was quiet, and nothing moved by the windows, but they couldn’t assume anything. The farmhouse had taught them that, and Jonas didn’t want a repeat of what happened there again.

The vehicles in the yard were all parked up neatly, and as long as they had gas should still be in working order. Jonas was reluctant to tell Erik he planned on leaving, and tucked away for future reference which cars were in the best condition. To get to Canada was no easy task, and he was going to have to take one of the cars, maybe even one of the trucks. Janey needed him, and Jonas had already decided that once Erik, Quinn, and the others were safe, he was gone. He hoped he could convince Dakota to come with him, but if not, he could leave her here temporarily, satisfied she was in safe hands. He would get Janey, and bring her back. Saint Paul’s really did seem like nirvana, just as Erik said.

“What’s with that stuff?” asked Jonas as Erik chewed on a piece of licorice.

“This? You sure you don’t want some?”

Jonas screwed his nose up. “I’m hungry, but I’m not
that
hungry.”

“Yeah, it’s gross,” said Erik as he swallowed and tucked a piece into his pocket. “It’s therapeutic. I don’t know what I’m going to do when it’s all gone. I foolishly took up smoking when I joined the force. I was trying to give up when you came back for your father’s funeral. I’d quit the day before. I remember clearly throwing my last pack out. Took one last drag, then I tossed them all in the garbage. Of course, then we were locked up in my place for so long that I had to go cold turkey. This is my substitute. What with the end of the world and all, smokes are pretty hard to find. I don’t know, sounds like bullshit, but it gives me something to do with my hands, you know? I’m still adapting to this. God knows how Peter and Freya do it.”

“I guess kids don’t have the same hang-ups that we do. They just get on with things.”

Erik approached the door to the clubhouse. It was clearly a back door, probably leading to a kitchen or store-room, but it was as good a place as any to start.

“Erik, before we do this, just let me apologise again. I know I’ve acted like an idiot. It just got to me, what happened back there. I think…” Jonas didn’t explain any further. He didn’t want to, and he hoped Erik wouldn’t push it. “Look, anyway, I couldn’t have gotten this far without you. Seriously, man, I know I owe you.”

Erik patted Jonas on the back. “Forget it, Hamsikker. You just need to concentrate on yourself and Dakota. Talk to her. I can see there’s trouble between you. Whatever it is, sort it out. Family’s more important than anything.”

“I will, but it won’t be easy. She can be so stubborn. She says she needs time to think.”

“I know,” said Erik, “but I also know how forgiving she is, and how much she loves you. I hear her and Pippa talking sometimes, and...well, never mind, just talk to her, okay?”

“What is it?” Jonas could sense Erik was holding something back. “What do you mean you heard her talking? Did she say something to Pippa?”

Erik rested his hand on the door handle and looked down at his feet. “Damn it, Pippa told me not to say anything.”

“Erik Lansky, you’d better tell me what you know.”

Jonas watched as Erik pulled a fresh piece of licorice from his pocket and the big man began chewing on it noisily. He glanced back at the garden, then back to Jonas. “I didn’t tell you this, right?”

Jonas nodded. He feared the worst. Dakota might’ve told Pippa she was leaving him, or maybe she had told them what he had done with Cliff.

Erik rested a big hand on Jonas’s shoulder. “You’re going to be a father, buddy.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

Erik grinned. “She hasn’t been able to do a test, but from what I hear, she’s quite certain. Couple of months or so.”

“Wow, I was
not
expecting that.” Jonas wondered if that was why she had taken it so badly about what he had done to Cliff. Dakota didn’t need a bully right now, or a psycho intent on killing and running headlong into danger. She needed a man, someone to help her. Damn, could she really be pregnant?

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything. You all right, Hamsikker?”

Jonas couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah, I mean, well, yeah. Shit, I’m just...wow. I’ve spent my entire life running away, absolving myself for all the shit that’s happened, but I’m not running anymore. I’m going to talk to Dakota as soon as we’re finished up here. I’ve got a lot of stuff to make up for.” There was a part of him that knew he could never make up for what he’d done, or not done, in the past, but he was sure as hell going to try. That meant Janey too. If Dakota would just come with him to Canada, Janey could help with the baby. Jonas knew absolutely nothing about raising kids, but his sister had three. It was all starting to fit together.

“Look,” said Erik, “we don’t have to do this now, we can…”

“No,” said Jonas. “I’m good. Let’s get inside and get this place sorted out. Maybe then we can find some decent food, and you can get rid of those disgusting licorice rolls. I gotta tell you, they do nothing for your breath.”

“Thanks. You’re pretty ripe yourself, Hamsikker.” Erik pulled on the door handle, and it clicked open. “Ready?”

Jonas raised his axe and gave Erik the nod. As the door opened, Jonas half expected a horde of zombies to rush him. Instead, he was greeted by a blast of cool, fresh air. The room inside was dark, and there were no zombies. There was however, a figure stood in the doorway with a gun pointed right at Jonas’s head.

“Step back, both of you.”

Jonas froze. They had been too blasé about the place being empty. Of course it wasn’t. Somewhere as sweet as this was not just going to fall into their lap. It seemed like for every step forward they took, they were forced to go two steps back. With the gun trained on his head, Jonas thought immediately of Dakota. He couldn’t go like this. He had unfinished business. As the man kept the gun trained on him, he thought that he was unlikely to see Dakota again. He was used to facing death, but it would be so stupid to die now, right when they had nearly made it. He still had to tell Dakota how he felt. He still had to find Janey. He had to look after his child now; there was so much left to do, that he really didn’t want to die today. Jonas contemplated rushing the man. He could probably knock him down, although undoubtedly the man would get a shot off first. Still, it would give Erik time to overpower the stranger. Should he do it, and give Erik a chance to warn the others?

“
Step back
, or I shoot first and ask questions later,” said the man calmly.

“Okay, okay,” said Erik. He stepped back from the doorway, pulling Jonas back with him.

Jonas knew that Erik had faced armed attackers before, and knew how to deal with them. He would see how it played out. But if things looked like they were turning sour, Jonas had already decided that he was going to take the man on, no matter the consequences. He wasn’t about to let someone else harm Dakota, especially not now.

“You play ball with me, and you’ll find I’m all sweetness and light. Understand?”

The door swung open fully, and the man on the other side stepped through into the sunlight. As the man stepped forward, Jonas got a clearer view of who they were dealing with. The man was dressed in a security guard’s uniform that was slightly too big for him. Jonas could see his eyes sweeping around the grounds, taking in the others who were resting on the lawn.

“Look, we don’t want any trouble, we just need some help,” said Erik. “Can we come in, just for a few minutes, please, just let us rest and…”

“You got any guns?” asked the man.

“We don’t have anything,” Erik said quickly. “Just a lot of bruises.”

“Is that so?”

“Please,” said Jonas sensing the man wasn’t buying it, “we have children with us.”

“So I see. I also see what looks like a couple of guns out there. An old lady is cleaning them if I’m not mistaken.”

“I’m sorry,” said Erik quietly. “I just thought…”

The man shook his head. “We don’t get along with liars. My wife and I take care of this place, and we don’t need a group of murderers and thugs wrecking it.”

“No, no, you don’t understand,” pleaded Jonas. “We’ve been looking for somewhere safe, that’s all. You can take the guns. Take it all. Just please, we need to stay, even if it’s just tonight, and then we’ll be on our way. You can lock us in a room if it makes you feel better, just please, give us a chance.”

The man’s brown eyes flitted from Jonas to Erik and back again. “We had some trouble a couple of days ago with some drifters: a couple who claimed to find this place by chance. A man and a woman showed up right out of the blue, claiming this and that. Said they were from Louisville, but that was a pack of horseshit. Turned out they were nothing but common criminals, out for trouble. Tried to kill me,
and
my wife.”

“But they’re not here now, right?” asked Erik.

“No sir, I dealt with them. Wasn’t easy, but they won’t be bothering us anymore. Buried ‘em both out front, by the old swing. Now it’s just Mara and me, and we don’t intend to make the same mistake again. I don’t want any more trouble, so you folks had better be on the level. Look, I’m sorry, but I think it’s best you leave.”

“What’s going on, honey?”

Jonas saw a woman appear in the doorway. She held a gun too, but it was low by her side. She was apprehensive, but her posture was not threatening, and Jonas sensed that perhaps she was more open to helping strangers than her husband.

“Mara, get on inside, I’ve got this,” said the man, obviously annoyed at being interrupted. “I was just telling these folk that they need to move on.”

Hidden in the shadows of the room, Jonas couldn’t see the woman, but he heard her tutting. “Oh come on now, they look harmless enough. Isn’t that a child out there in the vegetable patch? We can help them out, for tonight at least, can’t we, honey? Put your gun down, and stop being such an ass.”