Winter Smith (Book 1): London's Burning (29 page)

              The women, deciding it was safer than they thought, strode over to the three teenagers at the window. One woman gripped Winter by the arm and drew out a torch, which she shone in Winter’s eye.

              Winter gasped, and as her mouth was open a thermometer was placed inside. Her mouth was clamped shut as her temperature was taken. Once pulled out, they spun her around, admiring her skin, checking for any signs of death.

              Once they were satisfied with Winter, who was glad she had showered the dirt off herself last night, they moved on to Violet who was not amused that she was being probed like she was an extra-terrestrial being.

              They did the same to Zach, who looked a little uncomfortable that his personal space was being invaded. Once done, they set down a black bag they were carrying and one woman knelt down, taking out needles and cotton swabs.

              “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Violet asked.

              “We’re from the government.” Was all the one woman said.

              “Well, that much is obvious. Can I ask why you’re actually here?”

              The two women surveyed Violet, judging her appearance. They evidently saw she was a strong character, yet they didn’t seem remotely intimidated. Winter thought they must deal with bigger personalities every day.

              “We’re here to make sure this area is safe before the evacuation squad comes along,” the woman fussing with the needles said. “I’m Donna. My partner here is Liz.”

              “Lesbians, are you?” Violet asked.

              Donna didn’t even bother replying.

              “And what are those needles for?” Zach watched Donna with apprehension.

              “We need to check your bloods.” Donna said casually.

              “Also, I’m here to warn you about others,” Liz said, taking leaflets out of her back pocket. “There have been a lot of scams going on. It seems people like taking advantage of people in their worst states.”

              “All we care about is when you are going to be bringing people to take us to the Thames.” Violet stated. The roar of the propellers outside had stopped.

              “Evacuation squads will be here in the next few days, once we have made sure this area is safe and infection free,” Donna said. “London has become a red riot zone. That means the majority of London is infected, and people who are still able bodied need to look out for any viruses, infections and high risk areas.”

              “Well we’re pretty fucked then, aren’t we, if most people are already infected and you can’t actually see a fucking virus in the air.”

              “You ain’t so smart, girly.” Donna grinned. She took out a bottle of blue liquid. “We have a vaccination.”

              “You can vaccinate against the virus?” Zach asked.

              “We think so, yes.”

              “Think?” Winter asked.

              “We have yet to see any reason why this vaccination does not work.”

              “Here, this leaflet explains it all.” Liz handed Winter a leaflet with an image of a needle similar to the one Donna held.

              Violet scoffed.

              “Do you have an opinion, love?” Donna asked.

              “Clearly this is just government bull,” Violet said. “You’re just injecting us with mouthwash so people think things are being done, until someone with the injection is bitten and turns.”

              “Well, if you don’t want the vaccination that is fine by me. Keep it for someone who really deserves it, I say.”

              Violet shrugged.

              Winter bit her lip. It did seem odd that a vaccination against something nobody really understood had been made so quickly. Yet Winter thought that it would be best to get the vaccination, regardless of whether it worked or not.

              “What do you mean, people are scamming others?” Zach asked.

              “People are taking this opportunity to exploit people’s emotions,” Liz said, inflating when the attention was on her. She seemed pleased that she had something to do. “There are people going around asking for places to stay, only for them to steal every supply that household has and leaving the home owners with nothing. Others are stealing the little money others have, and others are just committing murderous crimes for a place to stay.”

              “No one is your friend here,” Donna said, eyeing Violet maliciously. “You’re all on your own.”

              “I don’t think so,” Zach said, keeping his tone polite. “I’d say the three of us are together. We’re friends.”

              Winter glanced at Violet, whose expression remained blank.

              “I wouldn’t be so sure,” Donna said to Zach. “You’re a boy staying with two girls, who will probably bitch about you and backstab you all they can. Then again, you’re a man who could think himself far more superior to women, and so you think you can manipulate these girls how you want to. Then, of course, you have two girls. The classic tale of two girls who are jealous of each other, don’t get along, and want the boy to themselves and won’t stop until they get it.”

              “Painting yourself a lovely little fairy tale there, aren’t you?” Violet spat.

              “Oh, I wish you were getting this needle injected into you.” Donna seethed.

              Violet rolled her eyes. Her tongue rolled inside her mouth in irritation. Winter could sense the air was frosty, and she didn’t like the glint of excitement Donna had in her eyes as she set up the needle.

              “Once your blood has been taken, and we determine whether or not it has any traces of infection in, you will get the vaccination,” Liz said as Donna stood up holding a clear syringe in her hand.

              “Look, the three of us are fine,” Winter said. “None of us have been bitten. Do you see any wounds on our skin?”

              “That’s beside the point.”

              “What’s happening down the road…by the leisure centre?” Zach asked of Donna and Liz.

              “What do you know about that?” Donna barked. She was an intimidating woman, her tall temper making up for her short size.

              “We were there yesterday. Last night, in fact. The zombies almost had us.”

              “That area is forbidden. No one must go there.”

              “Why not?” Violet asked.

              “It is a high risk zone.”

              “It wasn’t last night.”

              “Well it is now.” Donna boomed.

              “The area is under strict watch and is highly infectious.” Liz clarified.

              “Arm,” Donna said to Zach.

              Zach looked a little stunned to be first, and it was written all over his face that he wasn’t prepared for it. He held out his arm and looked away as Donna rolled up his sleeve and found his vein. Winter winced as she saw the blood being pulled up into the syringe. She rubbed her arm, almost feeling the prick of the needle herself.

              Donna was handed a second syringe by Liz, who took the one full of Zach’s blood and began putting it through a system they had.

              “Arm.” She repeated, glaring at Violet.

              Violet kept eye contact as she held out her arm. She didn’t flinch as the needle went in, and she didn’t even wince once Donna took it out roughly.

              Donna stepped across to Winter, glanced at her messy hair and said, “Arm.”

              As Winter saw the blood move through the syringe, there was a commotion outside. Someone screamed, and the sound of a door banging against stonewalls boomed through the square. Winter pulled away from Donna, removing the needle herself, and joined Violet and Zach at the window.

              A middle-aged woman was sobbing on her knees, surrounded by three government guards, all holding guns. All eyes were on the woman, who was pleading to the guards that stood around her, closing in on her, their target.

              “Please, please. I am well.” Her accent was Russian. She clutched a wound on her arm. “There is nothing wrong. I am fine.”

              “Please move away from the window,” Liz said, trying to move Zach. Donna was hanging back, labelling the bloods they had taken.

              Violet hit her hand away and gripped Zach’s arm.

              “I have family. They live down the road. They are fine, too. I live alone. Please, please. I am well.”

              The guards lifted their guns. The air outside was silent. The clouds above, which threatened a storm, seemed to be hovering over the square. The electric charge of a thunderstorm seemed to be crackling. Everybody stood unmoving, holding their breath.

              “Get away from this window,” Donna said, gripping Winter’s shoulders. The blood samples now lay on the floor.

              Winter was beginning to be pulled back, but she grabbed the windowsill so she could see what happened next. She wished she hadn’t.

              A gunshot, so loud it made Winter’s ears pop. Violet screamed and Zach jumped. Liz flinched, and Winter felt Donna’s hand squeeze her shoulders even tighter. Blood splattered from the Russian woman’s head. She crumbled on the floor where she lay in her own blood.

              There was commotion on the square. People started screaming, others were shouting, others were running back into their homes. The guards were trying to keep order, but what ever happened next Winter didn’t see.

              “That woman was infected,” Donna told the room before anyone could say a word.

              “They fucking killed her.” Violet gasped. “A human being. She hadn’t even turned.”

              “But she has been eliminated. The area will remain safe without people like her.”

              “Donna?” Liz said.

              Winter took her eyes off Donna to see where Liz was. Her heart sunk when she saw she was stood behind the sofa. She had pulled back the fabric and was now staring at what Winter knew to be the hidden guns.

              “What Liz?” Donna snapped.

              “Come and look at this.”

              “Thank you for your time,” Violet said. Zach looked oblivious, unaware that the guns had been hidden.

              Donna strode over to where Liz stood. Her eyes fell on the guns and she grinned. “Well, well, well.”

              Winter caught Violet’s eye. Violet was playing dumb. Winter looked at Zach and signalled to do the same.

              Donna disappeared behind the sofa, and when she reappeared again, she was holding one gun. She admired it before looking at the three teenagers.

              “What are these?”

              “We had no idea they were there,” Violet said. Winter wasn’t convinced herself. It was no surprise that Donna laughed.

              “Don’t lie to me, girly.”

              “Fine, they’re guns.” Violet shrugged. “Law has gone out of the window now, hasn’t it? They’re advertised in those fucking leaflets that were given out awhile back. They’re for our safety.”

              “Then why are they hidden?”

              “Because we knew you’d be a bitch about them.”

              “True, the government have lifted the law on weapons. However, these guns are illegal.”

              “How does that work?” Zach asked.

              “They’re branded, by a brand we do not trust. They are illegally distributed.”

              “So basically you’re not earning the money,” Violet said.

              “Basically, these guns are not safe.”

              “Are guns ever safe?”

              “You need to bite your tongue!” Donna screamed at Violet.

              The room was silent. Winter thought she could hear people arguing in the square below.

              Donna handed the other two guns to Liz.

              “We will be going.”

              “What?”

              “With the guns?”

              “Yes, with the guns.” Donna spat. “You can forget those vaccinations, too. You don’t deserve our help.”

              Donna strode over to the needles on the floor and began packing away. Winter was surprised to see that Liz had one gun aimed at them, the second strapped to her back.

              “What are you doing?” Violet asked. “You’re supposed to be government workers. You’re supposed to help.”

              “We only help the lucky ones,” Donna said, packing away the final labelled syringe and standing up. “We’ll be going.”

              Donna led Liz towards the stairs. Paralysed with fear, Winter saw Violet striding behind them. She could see the rage in Violet’s eyes. She felt like shouting out, telling her to stop. It would only make the situation worse.

              Then it happened so suddenly. Violet pushed Liz who was at the top of the stairs. Liz screamed and fell, hitting Donna over. They toppled down the stairs, making a loud racket. Winter heard a deafening crack and thought the wood had snapped.

              She hurried over to the stairs, unable to believe what Violet had just done.

              Stopping at the stairs, Winter looked at Violet. Her eyes were wide and her face was pale. Winter looked down, and saw that Liz’s neck was at an odd angle. Donna stood above her, looking scared and upset.

              “You killed her. Oh my god, you idiot. You are going to get it now, girly. You’re fucking dead.”

              Donna began to run, and Winter knew what was going to happen. Without thinking she propelled herself down the steps, taking the gun out of Liz’s hand. She swung the gun through the air, aimed it at Donna’s back. There was no sound but Winter felt the trigger pull down. The gun moved in her hands as a bullet fired. She saw Donna fall before she saw the blood fly through the air.

              Suddenly, they were sharing their hideout with two dead government workers.

              Winter heard Violet and Zach heading down the stairs. She lowered the gun, suddenly too weak to hold the weapon. She was shaking, in disbelief that she had killed someone, and someone so official.

              “Good time to find out how to use the silencer,” Zach said.

Chapter Fourteen

              “What have we done?” Winter gasped, distraught and unable to believe what was before her. “Oh my god, we are going to be in so much trouble.”

              “Calm down, Winter.” Violet snapped. “No one heard the gun go off.”

              “But they’re going to know two government women came in here and they’re going to know they never came out.”

              “Something isn’t right…” Zach said. Winter turned to look at him, waiting for him to continue. “Why would government workers kill that woman outside when she was human?”

              “Didn’t you see the bite? She was a few hours away from infection,” Violet said.

              “But surely it is against government policy to kill the living if they still have their humanity?”

              “I don’t know, Zach, but if they had let that woman turn she would have infected another before she was killed herself. Remember, it takes a lot to kill one zombie.”

              Winter could see Zach had more to say.