Mutation (Twenty-Five Percent Book 1) (23 page)

She sniffed and wiped her nose on her sleeve.  Tears streaked her face and her eyes were red and puffy. “I was scared you had been eaten.” 

Alex looked up at Leon.

“I had to go and get Em from her school,” he said.  “It got a bit hairy for a while.  She saw some stuff.”  He gazed in distress at his oldest daughter.

Alex kissed her forehead and smiled.  “I’m tough,” he said, “it takes more than a few eaters to get me.  You don’t ever have to worry about me.  And I had help from my new friend.” 

He nodded towards Micah who was standing along the hallway, beyond Leon.  Leon turned around, hissing in a breath when he noticed Micah for the first time.  He whirled back round to look at Alex.

“It’s alright,” Alex said.  “He’s okay.”

Leon looked uncertain as he glanced back at Micah, but nodded.  “If you say so.”

Alex stood and ruffled Emma’s hair, which he knew she hated.  She batted his hand away, stuck her tongue out at him and smoothed it, making him laugh.

Leon walked over to Micah and thrust out his hand.  “Welcome to East Town,” he said.

Micah looked at his hand for a moment before taking it.  “Thank you.”

The handshake lasted for slightly longer than it should have.  Alex thought he saw a slight wince cross Micah’s face for a split second, then Leon let go and smiled.

Pat appeared at the door.  “Would you and your friend like to come for dinner?” she said.  “I’m making chilli con carne.”

“We’d love to,” Alex said without hesitation.  Pat made the best chilli con carne on the face of the earth.

She smiled.  “Be here at six thirty.”

“What happened to your nose?” Leon said as Emma followed her mother back inside.

“Big dude,” Alex said.

“Fists like rocks,” Micah added, smirking.

Alex led the way into his flat after Leon had joined his family. 

Micah looked around, his eyes taking in the ugly grey vinyl tiles adorning the floor and the brown and orange, floral patterned, smoke stained wallpaper.

“Homey,” he said.

“When I moved in, I thought this would be temporary,” Alex said.  “I was evicted from my previous, very nice flat when I was infected and this was the only place I could find who would rent to me.  I was determined to find somewhere better though, so I didn’t want to spend any money on doing this up.”

“How long ago was that?”

Alex cleared his throat.  “Four years.”

Micah nodded his head slowly and removed his backpack, lowering himself onto the huge sectional L-shaped sofa that took up half the room.  His eyes widened and he ran one hand across the cushion beneath him.  “This is really comfy.”

Alex grinned.  “Yeah, well, that’s where the decorating budget went.  That and the essentials.”  He nodded at the fifty-two inch plasma TV mounted on the wall opposite the sofa. 

“A man has to prioritise,” Micah said, nodding.

“Don’t worry about Leon,” Alex said.  “He will come round.  He’s a lot more forgiving than Janie.”

“I hope so,” Micah said, grimacing as he shook out his fingers, “because I think he may have broken my hand.”

For the first time since the outbreak began, Alex felt completely safe. He knew it was false security, that he wasn’t necessarily any safer than he had been for the past two days, but there was something about being home. He threw himself into relaxing for the evening, not knowing how long it would be before he would have the opportunity again. 

The first thing he did was take a shower to get rid of all the eater gunk he’d accumulated, then he checked the cuts on his hands and the stab wound on his arm and redressed them.  He was relieved to see they were healing well and that he wouldn’t need stitches.  There would probably be scars, but they’d make good stories to impress women with.  He hoped. 

When he got back to the living room, Micah was stretched out on his back on the couch, reading, an open bag of crisps balanced on his chest.

“I love this thing,” he said, patting the sofa.  “It’s like lying on a cloud.”

Alex went to a chest of drawers and took a pad and two pens from the top one, handing a couple of sheets and one of the pens to Micah. 

“What are these for?” Micah said.

“I have an idea,” Alex replied.  “To head off any future arguments, we should each make a list.” 

“Of what?”

“Of the times we save each other’s lives.” 

He’d had the idea in the shower.  He knew he was being ridiculously competitive, that it shouldn’t matter who had the highest life-saving score.  And yet it seemed very important to have a record.

Instead of the scoffing Alex had half expected, Micah closed the book and sat up.  “That is a good idea.  We’ll start with the car park...”

“Oh no,” Alex said quickly.  “We’ll start at the station when I let you out of the cell.”

The ghost of a smile crossed Micah’s face.  “Oh, right, forgot that one.” 

. . .

For a while after they arrived at Leon and Pat’s for dinner, things were awkward. 

Leon, who was usually friendly to everyone, had a barely concealed threat on his face every time he looked at Micah.  Pat kept darting nervous glances in his direction.  As they waited for dinner to finish cooking, Micah looked like fighting off a ravenous crowd of eaters would be preferable to being there. 

Fifteen minutes after they arrived, Emma whispered something to her sister and Katie ran over to Micah, who was sitting in an armchair, and took his hand, tugging on it until he stood up. 

“Come and see our room,” Emma sing-songed, taking his other hand, both of them pulling him towards the door.

Leon kept a perfectly straight face.  Pat looked at Alex.  Alex nodded almost imperceptibly and struggled to contain his smile.

Micah, looking slightly panicky, glanced at Leon and Pat.  “Um...”

“Dinner will be in ten minutes,” Pat said, “so be quick.”

“We will, Mum,” Emma said with a grin.

Micah was ushered out of the room.

“Are you sure they’re okay in there with him?” Leon said.

Alex had finally let his smile loose and it was stretching the edges of his face.  “Oh, they’re perfectly fine.  It’s Micah who’s in trouble.”

“You going to tell us what happened to you?” Leon said.

With only ten minutes, Alex spoke fast, recounting everything that had happened since he found Micah at the station.  At the end, Leon appeared to be lost in thought as he stirred the chilli in its saucepan.

Pat was shaking her head.  “We’d heard it was bad out there, but that’s terrible.  The entire city?”

Alex nodded.  “As far as I know.”  He finished laying out the warmed plates on the dining table and started on the cutlery.

“Micah sounds...” Leon looked at the ceiling.  “...conflicted.”

“I think he’s beginning to realise the error of his ways,” Alex said.

“You trust him?”

“I do.  I may not have made it back if it wasn’t for him.”

Leon nodded.  “Well, while your judgement can be unreliable at times, I will give him the benefit of the doubt.”

“I’m going to ignore that comment...” Alex stopped as Micah walked back into the room, followed by Emma and Katie. 

He pointed his finger at Alex.  “If this doesn’t come off, you’re in big trouble.”

The girls were now giggling.  Pat squeaked and quickly turned back to the rice she was pouring into a large serving dish.  Alex snorted, his abdominal muscles clenching to restrain his laughter.  Leon took one look at Micah and erupted into guffaws.

Emma and Katie had outdone themselves this time.  Micah’s face was a canvas of colour.  There was the usual make-up; lipstick, eyeshadow, big red circles of blusher, but they had also added drawings of flowers and butterflies and a red and yellow striped snake curling from his forehead to his chin. 

Alex remembered when Emma had done the same thing to him.  Katie had only been nine months old at the time so was yet to be indoctrinated into her sister’s schemes.  Emma had been sneaky, asking if she could put a little make-up on him then gazing up at him with huge, pleading eyes she knew he wouldn’t be able to refuse.  He’d ended up with a face covered in flowers.  The butterflies and snakes were a new development. 

“Don’t worry,” Emma said, patting Micah’s hand.  “It’ll come off.  But you’re not allowed to wash your face until after dinner.  House rules.”  She took Katie to the sink to wash their hands.

Pat smiled at Micah.  “They only do that to people they really like.”

Micah didn’t answer.  Instead, he walked up behind Emma and picked her up.  “I’m going to get you back for this,” he said.

She grinned.  “Bring it on.”

Micah laughed and put her down.

Leon was still guffawing.  It looked like he might never stop.

The following morning, Alex was jolted from a dream by a loud banging on his bedroom door. 

He peeled one eye open a slit and squinted at the clock beside him.  It said 7:32am. 

“What?” he groaned.

The door opened and Micah stepped into the room.  “Get up,” he said.  “I want to get out early.”

“What, you want to avoid the rush hour traffic?” Alex closed his eye again.  “If we’re descending into the apocalypse, can’t I at least lie in?”

“No.  We’ve got four miles to cover and I’d like to get there before midday.  I don’t want to get stuck out there after dark.  Come on, it’s a lovely day to go running and hiding for our lives.”

Alex opened his eyes again, but made no move to do anything else.  “You sound like my ex-girlfriend.  She was a morning person.  It was a nightmare, being woken up at some ridiculous time even on my days off.  But at least
she
gave me sex first.”  He flinched.  “That so did not come out how I intended.”

Micah rolled his eyes.  “I’ve made breakfast, since I knew you wouldn’t leave without eating.”  He turned to leave.  “I’ll be on the sofa.”

“I hope you two used protection last night,” Alex said.  “I don’t want to be stuck with a litter of footstools in nine months.”

Without looking back, Micah flipped him off over his shoulder.

Alex sniffed.  A hint of bacon was wafting into the room.  “I’ll be right out.”

. . .

It was nearing twenty past eight by the time they walked out onto the street.  No-one else was around, that Alex could see.  He knew there were sentries at both barriers, but they were hidden in doorways, as Pete had been when they arrived the day before.

He hefted his backpack further up onto his shoulders and made sure the sword was secure on his belt.

“Why on earth are you bringing that thing?” Micah said.  “You’re only going to hurt yourself with it.”

“It’s a good weapon,” Alex said.  “I’m not going to leave it, then later, when I’m being eaten alive, wish I’d brought it along.”

“It’s a health hazard.  Just don’t use it anywhere near me.  I’d like to keep all my limbs.”

“Yes, mum.”

On the other side of the street, a door opened and Janie walked out.  She was carrying a small backpack, slipping her arms into it as she walked up to them.

“Morning,” she said.  “I was beginning to think you were going to sleep all day.”

“One,” Alex said, “it’s only twenty past eight, and two, are you just here to berate me for wanting to sleep to a civilised hour?  Which, by the way, I didn’t.” 

He stared pointedly at Micah, who ignored him.

“I’m coming with you,” Janie said.

A panicked look crossed Micah’s face.  “You are?”

“Yes, I am.  I’m too cooped up here.  Don’t get excited, it’s only to begin with.  It’s time I found my son and brought him back here, where it’s safe.”

“I didn’t know you had much contact with him,” Alex said. 

“I don’t, since his bastard father got custody and turned him against me, but I know where he lives and he’s coming with me if I have to carry him.”

Alex imagined her bringing home a struggling twenty-three year old man hanging over her shoulder.  Her son didn’t stand a chance.   

Janie smiled at Micah.  “Don’t worry, I promise I won’t kill you unless you do something that deserves it.”

“Uh, could we maybe establish a list of things that in your opinion would deserve death?” Micah said.  “I don’t want to look at you wrong and find myself with a hole in my chest.”  He nodded at the scary-looking hunting knife tucked into her belt.

“We’ll discuss it on the way,” she said.  “What happened to your face, by the way?”

Despite repeated scrubbing, not all of the flowers and butterflies had come off successfully the night before.  Micah had been left with faint splotches of red, yellow and blue all over his face.

“Emma and Katie happened to his face,” Alex said, smiling.

Janie snorted.  “It was a week before all mine came off.”

“A
week?
” Micah exclaimed in horror.

“I’m sure the eaters won’t mind,” she said.  She turned away and strode down the road.

Micah sighed.  “I can’t help thinking that this is not going to go well.”

“Do you want to tell her she can’t come?” Alex said.

“Not until I know it’s not on that list.”

Hearing a tapping sound, Alex looked up and saw Emma and Katie at their living room window, waving.  Micah followed his gaze and they both waved back.

Alex couldn’t help wondering if he was doing the right thing, leaving his friends.  It seemed safe here, but would it stay that way?  But then again, did he really want to sit on his hands and wait for the danger to come, when he might be able to do something to stop it?  He’d made his decision.

“Let’s go and find the bastards who did this,” he said, turning to follow Janie.

“Were you planning to drive or walk?” Janie said, once they were beyond the barrier of cars.

“The roads are terrible,” Alex said. “Lots of blockages.  Even if we could get a car all the way there, the engine noise might attract eaters which would be bad if we suddenly got stuck.  That’s what happened to the family we brought in yesterday.”

She grinned.  “I have the perfect solution to that.”

. . .

They had to go out of their way to get there, but as they stood before the huge glass frontage, Alex had to admit it was worth it. 

Surprisingly, the motorcycle dealership looked untouched.  It was on the edge of an industrial estate not far from East Town and therefore out of the way of the casual looter.  They made their way to the main entrance and pushed at the doors.  Unsurprisingly, they were locked.

“I suppose we just break the glass then,” Janie said, scanning the ground for something that would do the job.

Alex tapped her shoulder and pointed at a sign mounted on the brickwork nearby.

Premises protected by Allsafe Security.

This building is alarmed.

“Maybe they just put it there to deter would be intruders,” she said.

He pointed at a box on the wall twenty feet above them.

“Maybe it’s fake,” she said.

“That’s a lot of maybes,” Micah said, looking around.

There weren’t any eaters in sight, and they hadn’t seen many on the way, but there were a lot of buildings surrounding them.  A hundred eaters could easily be lurking nearby and they wouldn’t know it.

“We could knock,” Alex said.  Micah and Janie stared at him.  He shrugged.  “There might be someone in there.”

“Go ahead,” Janie said.

Alex knocked on the glass of the door.  Nothing happened.  He tried again, louder.  There was still no response.  “Well, it didn’t hurt to try,” he said, a little defensively.  “Let’s go round the back and see if there’s any way in there.”

The back wall was mostly taken up with a huge garage door and a small pedestrian entrance.  Both were locked.

“I am not giving up on this,” Janie said when they were back at the front, looking through the glass at the shiny new motorbikes on display.  “I’m just going to break in.  We can grab the keys from the office over there,” she pointed at a door in one corner, “and be driving away before any eaters get anywhere near us.”

“One problem,” Micah said.  “I have never ridden a motorbike in my life.”

Janie heaved a sigh and looked at Alex.  “When does he start being useful?”

“I’m guessing long before you stop being a bitch,” Micah retorted.

She shook her head.  “You explain to him how to ride and I’ll find something to break the glass.”

“If I haven’t killed her by the end of the day,” Micah said, “I will deserve a reward.”

“I heard that,” Janie called as she walked around the corner out of sight.

“You were meant to,” he called back.

By the time Janie returned, Alex had explained the basics of how to start, drive, and not fall over.  He’d learned during his police training and had ridden on and off since, but he hadn’t been on a bike for over a year.  The potential for falling off was significant.  At least if he was eaten as a result, his embarrassment would be short lived.

Janie hefted the brick she’d found, preparing to throw it at the glass door.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Micah said.  He closed his eyes and Alex watched his hands as he mimed what he would have to do to start the bike.  “Okay, I’m ready.”

Janie rolled her eyes, drew her arm back and launched the brick at the door.  Her target was thick safety glass, designed to not break easily.  A normal person probably wouldn’t have been able to do much damage.  But Janie was a Survivor.

The brick flew towards the door with tremendous power, the glass shattering on impact.  Alex winced at the sound and looked around.

Janie ran inside, heading for the door in the far corner while Micah began pushing aside the glass from the entranceway with his foot.  Alex stepped inside and managed to open the doorframe outwards with a couple of heavy kicks. 

Glancing at the surrounding area, he thought he saw someone dart between two buildings some way away, too fast for an eater.  He hoped whoever it was got to safety.

The alarm sounded.  It was loud. 

Really loud.

Hands covering his ears, Micah ran inside where it was marginally less ear-splitting.  “Maybe it will actually drive the eaters away,” he yelled.

“
Aaarrgh
!”

Alex whirled around at the scream to see a middle-aged man in a grey suit running at him, clutching a crowbar above his head.  He brought the makeshift weapon down in a clumsy swing and Alex danced back to avoid it.  As he raised it to try again, Micah darted in behind him and grabbed it, almost pulling the man over backwards before he had the sense to let go.  Janie was running back towards them.

“Sorry,” she shouted above the noise of the alarm, “he came out of the door like one of those springy snakes.”

“What on earth are you doing?” Alex yelled at him.

“You broke in!” the man yelled back.

“We knocked first!”

“I thought you were eaters.”

“Eaters that
knock
?”

“Or looters.”

“Looters that
knock
?”

“Can you turn this off?” Micah shouted, waving one finger around in the air.  “Before it brings every eater in the city down on us?”

“Oh.  Yeah.” 

The man trotted back to the door in the corner, disappearing inside.  A couple of seconds later, the alarm stopped.  Sadly, the ringing in Alex’s ears didn’t.  He tried rubbing them.  It didn’t help.

“So if you’re not looters, what do you want?” the man said when he came back into the showroom.  He stared at Micah for a moment.  “What happened to your face?”

“While we’re not looters as such,” Micah said, ignoring the face comment, “we may not be a million miles away.”

The man blanched.  “What?”

“What’s your name?” Janie said.

“Kenneth.  My friends call me Kenny.”

“Well, Kenny,” Janie said, draping one arm around his shoulders, “we need to borrow three motorcycles to get across the city.  I’d like to say you’ll get them back in one piece, but you probably won’t.”

Obviously recognising the futility of his situation, Kenny’s face dropped.  “Why do you need to get across the city?”

“There’s a secret laboratory run by an evil corporation on the north side which may hold the answers as to what has been going on the last few days and how we can stop it,” Alex said.

Kenny stared at him.  “No, honestly, why?”

“I need to find my son and make sure he’s alright,” Janie said, removing her arm from around his neck.  He looked slightly disappointed.

“Oh.”  Kenny looked at the motorcycles on display.  “I don’t know.  These bikes are worth a lot of money.  If I lose them, Mr Jameson will probably fire me.”

“Does Mr Jameson live in the city?” Janie said.

“Yes.”

“Then the odds are he’s probably dead or an eater by now anyway.”

Kenny seemed to perk up at that.  “You think so?”

“Uh, Alex?” Micah said.

Alex turned to see him staring out the window.  Across a wide expanse of scrubland and car park, a smattering of eaters was beginning to emerge from between buildings.  As he watched, more appeared.

“Kenny, we’re going to need to leave very, very soon,” he said.

Kenny took one look at the eaters and started to sob.  “I’m going to die,” he said.  “I’m too young to die.  I haven’t even...”

Janie slapped him across the face.  Kenny stopped sobbing and stared at her in shock.