Suicide Run (The Infected Book 5) (2 page)

Chapter Two

The lad span round to look toward the door. I got a better look at him in the small room. He must have been about ten and had dirty blonde hair, blue eyes and was filthy from head to toe.

“Who the fuck are you?” He asked, reaching for the poker in the fireplace.

“Well, I’m not fucking Santa Claus.” I said, tapping my hand on the pistol holstered at my hip.

His eyes went wide when he saw the pistol and his hand stopped moving toward the poker.

“Sorry, mister, I didn’t think anyone lived here.” He said.

I shook my head before saying “Look, I don’t live here, either. I saw the light of the fire on the main road and so did about a dozen infected.”

“Infected?”

“You know, the ‘Zombies’.” I said.

A light sort of appeared in his eyes and he said “You mean the moaners.”

Come to think of it, the name did sort of fit.

I nodded and said “Yeah, they must have seen the light like I had and they were heading this way. Look, I know you don’t know me but they are going to be here soon. I have a truck outside. If we leave now, we can be away before they arrive.”

His eye flashed with panic and he grabbed a small backpack and stood up.

“Okay.” He said, watching me.

I headed out the doorway and he followed me across the yard to the truck. I was about to get in when I remembered something.

“Watch your feet when you get in. My dog won’t like to be stepped on.” I said, as I pulled myself behind the wheel.

The lad opened the door and came face-to-face with Spirit. She took one look and the lad and gave him a lick from his chin to his brow before moving away from the door to let the boy inside. I could hear the moaning of the infected out there in the darkness. Starting the engine, I pulled out of the yard and headed back up the track to the main road. In the rear-view mirror I could see dark patches moving across the yard toward the open doorway. We had left just at the right time. Our little journey to the main road went quickly and we both sat quietly all the time.

“What’s your name? And what were you doing out here on your own?” I asked.

“Matthew and I do better on my own than with others.” He said, looking out of the passenger window.

Now what do I do? I had never had kids, so I didn’t have a clue as what I should do with Matthew. There was the bunker. I could take him there and leave him for the others to deal with. But who was I kidding? As soon as I turned up they would figure out some way to stop me leaving again, and that was only if Amy and Chris didn’t kill me first.

Matthew’s voice broke me out of my thoughts “So what’s your name then, mister?”

“Marc, and the dog is called Spirit.” I said, smiling.

“He’s a nice looking dog.” He said, rubbing his hand in Spirit’s fur.

“She.” I replied.

“What?”

“My dog is a she not a he.”

“Really?”

Nodding my head, I watched the road and had to swerve to miss a couple of wrecked cars. These small back roads between the villages and towns had very little traffic at the best of times. I would have hated having to use the motorways. We came to the next village.

              When I say village, I mean a few houses on either side of the road and a pub. I slowed down and looked at the pub. All the ground floor windows that I could see looked intact and the doors looked okay as well.

“Look, Matthew, I don’t know what you want to do, but I’m knackered. The pub looks okay and this village is too small to have too many infected, so I’m going to try to get inside and get some rest.” I said, pulling the truck into the small car park at the side.

Matthew looked out of the window and into the darkness outside. I turned the engine off and climbed out. Leaning into the back, I pulled out my rucksack and my rifle. I was about to call Spirit out of the truck when I heard a low moan come from behind me. I felt a tug at my collar, but what really sent me spinning to the floor was the flash of white fur the passed by my face making me tumble to the floor.

Rolling on to my front, I pushed myself to my knees as I watched Spirit rip into the throat and face of an elderly infected. The thing rolled around on the floor trying to get Spirit off, but every time he moved she would leap clear and then dart back in again for another bite. I pulled myself back up using the side of the tuck and reached into the bend and pulled out a tire iron that had been in the back.

The infected was having a hard time trying to get back up because every time it tried to push up off the floor Spirit would race in and tear at its face and end up knocking it back down. I stood looking down at the thrashing creature and placed my booted foot on its chest, whilst lifting the tire iron in the air. Bringing it down like a golfing stroke, I caught in the temple and there was a sickening crack followed by another as I snapped the neck of the infected. Spirit had retreated a little and sat on her haunches watching me. Matthew had slid across the front seat and was looking out the open door at the infected and then at me.

“If it’s okay with you….can I tag along?” He said.

“You can hang around until I can get you somewhere safe. When that happens, then I am sorry to say but that will be when we part our ways.” I said, picking up my rucksack and gear.

He clambered out of the cab and jumped down. His eyes were wide and he couldn’t keep his head still. I smiled at this because I couldn’t hear any other infected.

“Come on, let’s get inside.” I said walking over the nearest door.

I tried the handle and found the door locked. We headed around the side of the building till we came to the rear of the pub. There was a small fenced off area where there were some benches and tables.

Helping Matthew over the fence wasn’t much of a problem. The problem was trying to figure out how to get Spirit over the fence without dropping her in a way that hurt her on the other side. I heard a creak and turned to see part of the fence opening and Matthew’s face peering out at me.

“I found the gate.” He said, smiling.

I ran over to the opening and slipped in through the gap and Spirit followed in behind me. As soon as her tail cleared the opening, Matthew closed the gate and fastened the latch. From where I stood, the gate looked like any other part of the fence. I turned to look at where we were. It was the pub’s beer garden and had the usual flat grassed area with picnic tables and benches.

We threaded our way through the benches and tables toward the rear of the pub. There were four large windows along the rear facing the garden and a set of French doors. I tried the doors and found that they were unlocked.

I turned around and looked down at Matthew and said “Look, we don’t know what is inside. The best bet is for you and Spirit to wait out here while I slip inside and check it out.”

“When do I get to help out?” Matthew asked with a confused look on his face.

I smiled and looked at him before saying “Look, I haven’t any doubts that you can look after yourself, but I also haven’t seen you in action. So for the time being, let me have a look round first.”

He grunted and stomped off to the corner of the garden. Spirit followed him and cast a look over her shoulder as if to say ‘I’ll keep an eye on him’. I shook my head and opened the door.

Stepping inside, the smell of stale beer and sweat hit me full on in the nose. I stood there for a few minutes as my mind was cast back to when I used to drink in a pub like this. A small smile crossed my lips but it faltered when I remembered that there may be infected inside.

The room I was in must have been a small side bar that catered mostly for the beer garden. A few tables and chairs stood between the bar and the walls. At the far end near the front of the pub there was a single half glass door with the word ‘BAR’ engraved on it. The bar itself was only about half the length of the room. I leaned over to have a look behind. Nothing jumped out at me so I headed to the door leading to the bar.

              Slowly pushing on the door I saw that it actually lead to a small entrance hall with a large wooden door which must have lead out the front of the pub. I tried the handle and found it locked tight. Opposite the door I had come through was another half glass door. I peered through the glass and saw that it lead into the main bar which was at least three times the size of the smaller garden bar. The large bar stretched out into the bar and then curved back toward the rear of the pub and cut off my view to the rest of the room.

Putting my ear to the glass I hoped that if anything was moving in there I would hear it. Pushing the door, I stepped quietly inside. The first thing I noticed was the way my boots stuck to the tacky carpet. Beer spills was the thought that jumped into my head.

Looking down, I saw a large dark patch just next to the door. It wasn’t beer that my boots were sticking to.

Lying just inside the door was a headless body that was hanging half in and half out of the booth in the corner. From the small amount of light I could see that what I was standing in was a pool of sticky blood that had come from that body. I crouched down near the door and listened for any kind of movement in the bar.

The saying as quiet as a grave came to mind and I shivered. Slowly walking in between the tables and chairs in a crouch was hard but I was trying to keep the tables and chairs between myself and whoever or whatever was in the pub with me. It stood to reason that there was someone or something in here with me because of the sticky blood pool near the door.

The bar curved away from me and toward the rear of the building. There was a tinkle sound that came from the other side of the bar and I froze. Turning my head, I tried to pick up where the noise had come from. There was a dark shape that moved on the other side of the bar. I slowly pulled my crowbar out of my belt and held onto it tight with both hands. Again I heard the tinkle sound but this time it came from behind me. Slowly looking back toward the door I saw a dark shape move out from a dark booth that was opposite the one the body had been in. I really do need to start paying attention to my surroundings. The dark shape lurched like all other infected. Looking back the other way I saw another lurching figure stumble from behind the bar and head toward me.

I gave up on the stealth approach I had been using and ran toward the bar. The two infected let out their usual low moan and stumbled after me, knocking tables and chairs left and right. I hit the bar and quickly climbed up on top. The infected that had come out from behind the bar reached me first. As it reached for my legs I caught the heavy smell of alcohol. My crowbar speared through the top of its head and jutted out under its jaw. I pulled back and lost my balance falling back behind the bar. I had kept tight a hold of the crowbar and there was a wet cracking sound. I nearly pulled my shoulder out of its socket but I managed to keep hold of the crowbar and had an added extra. The infected head had been ripped clean from its neck and the puss and black blood streamed from the ragged neck down on to my clothes. I heard the other infected stumbling around on the other side of the bar. Rolling over, I got to my knees and used my foot to push the head off of the crowbar. It hit the floor and rolled over to where the bar owners had kept the soft drinks.

Standing up, I had to lean back quickly as the other infected lunged across the bar in hopes of grabbing me. Swinging the crowbar like a bat, I hit it on the side of its head with the usual meaty smack. The infected turned to look at me and I swear its expression was one that said ‘Why the hell did you do that?’ right before it toppled out of sight. I was breathing hard and placed both hands on the bar top and shook my head. Staying on this side of the bar I headed for the door marked private. This must lead upstairs to where the landlord or lady lived. I put my ear to the door and again there was no sound coming from the other side. I slowly turned the handle and pushed against the door. The other side was a dark stairwell that lead up to the second floor. I stood in the darkness at the bottom of the stairs and looked up the stairs and into the darkness above me.

Starting up any staircase in the dark is daunting to say the least, but throw in a world of infected and the chance that you step on the one fucking stair that creaks and you’ll forgive me for being slightly scared. Putting each foot down carefully, I slowly climbed the now pitch black stairwell. Getting to the top was nerve wracking and I had to stand and take a few deep breaths before looking around.

                            The landing at the top of the stairs had six doors leading off of it. The first two were open and I just glanced inside each. They were the kitchen and bathroom of the landlord’s apartment. Both were clear and I could see everything from the open doorways.

                            The next door was a small bedroom with a single bed, wardrobe and desk. From the looks of things it might have been only used occasionally. I closed the door and headed to the next two rooms. They were the master bedroom and another large size room. I took my time in these two because they both had a lot of large furniture that could have hid anything. Both were clear and that left the last door, which, if my sense of direction was right, looked over the front of the pub and the main road.

                            I pushed the door open and slipped in as the door swung in. It was the living room and from the looks of things either the landlord had left in a hurry or this place had been robbed. The door to a small safe in the corner of the room hung open and the drawers on the units had been pulled out and the contents scattered all over. I quickly looked round and found nothing to be worried about and headed back downstairs.                             As I walked into the bar I realised that I hadn’t checked the public toilets and looked round for the sign to tell me where they were.