Winter Smith (Book 1): London's Burning (45 page)

              Violet shook her head. She felt like screaming. In the distance she could see a light shining from another helicopter, but it was miles away. It probably wouldn’t come this way. It probably didn’t even know one helicopter had been brought down.

              Then it struck her. They would radio each other. She looked back at the helicopter parts to see which one was burning. It was the second half. The radio would be in the front. Would it work?

              Violet turned to Zach to see the flames of the helicopter reflected in his glasses. Even behind the reflection she could see he was afraid.

              “It isn’t over, Zach. I have an idea.”

              Zach turned to look at her.

              “We need to get to the radio in the front of the helicopter,” she said. “It could still work, although I’m betting it probably isn’t. But we have to try.”

              “You want us to go out there?”

              “I want you to go out there.”

              Zach laughed.

              “You can’t be serious. The street is swarming. I would die if I went out there!”

              “Listen, Zach, it’s the only thing we’ve got left for us. That other helicopter is miles away, and we’re running out of time to get to the Thames. If we don’t get there tonight then I don’t think we will ever get there.”

              “If I went out there right now, Vi, I would be infected.”

              Violet felt like screaming. Why were people so set on escaping, then when the opportunity was there they let it go?

              She suddenly thought of another way to get what she wanted.

              “Fine, I’ll go out there.”

              She flipped her hair so it wound around her shoulders, a few strands falling over her bra. She saw Zach’s eyes glance down but he seemed to be thinking of other things right now.

              “Violet, you can’t.”

              “If you’re not going to go and see about getting help, then I will.”

              “It’s not going to work!”

              “That is probably the only thing that does work,” Violet said as she began to walk towards the door. She tried to be brave, ignore the hisses of the countless zombies outside. “The phones are down so we can’t ring evacuation squads. We’re in the thick of the dead so no government worker is going to drive past or come knocking on the doors. The ships are running out and in a few days time they’ll be cut, and if we’re not there we’re left here. I’m not being left here, Zach. I can’t be left here.”

              Zach clutched at his hair. He looked positively alarmed. Violet opened the door and he shouted out, stopping her in her tracks.

              “Fine, I’ll go out, I’ll go out and try and radio someone. I’ll probably be able to work it faster than you, if it will work in the first place.”

              Violet smirked, facing the landing. She arranged her features to look confident, even though she felt like this could end in disaster.

              “Go out now. You’ve got to call someone now.”

              Zach peered out of the window. “Why don’t I go when it dies down a bit?”

              “They’re not going to go away, Zach.”

              The pair looked at each other. Zach’s lip quivered. Violet thought he was almost about to break down. She wondered why she was forcing him to leave. Was this a subconscious plot to get him killed? If he died out there, then surely she could leave the kids behind and leave London alone? But she loved Zach. At least, she thought she was falling in love with him. Surely to subconsciously think about this being his death was preposterous?

              “Look, Zach, I’ll keep guard up here. We have the guns, I can shoot anything that comes your way. I’ll guide you, tell you where to go, get you to safety in time. I’m not going to let you get bitten out there, Zach.”

              “Violet, I can’t go out there. It’s suicide.”

              Violet shook her head. They needed to get out of here. She couldn’t be cooped up in this house much longer. To see a helicopter come towards you, with the intention of help had been enough to confirm to Violet that she had to survive London. Then to see it ripped down and their last safety route disappear in front of them had tipped her over the edge. She knew she was being irrational. She knew she wasn’t thinking clearly. But right now she wanted out. And what Violet Black wanted, Violet Black got.

              She strode to the window and threw it open. The zombie’s attentions were drawn to her. She left the window and strode back into the room, where she spotted two candlesticks lying in the corner. She picked them up and felt that they were pretty weighty. They were inscribed with odd symbols, which she admired by running a finger over the bumpy steel work.

              “What are you doing?” Zach asked.

              She strode back to the window, lifted one candlestick and hurtled it through the air. It smashed the glass of a shop opposite them. The shattering glass was loud and fierce, attracting the attention of the zombies gathered at the bottom of their house. The coast became clear while they ran to investigate the source of the commotion. Violet knew they didn’t have much time.

              “Go now, Zach. I’ll get more things to throw, just go now.”

              Violet turned to look at Zach. He was just standing there, looking out of place and defeated.

              “GO!”

              Zach had no choice. He picked up his gun from the side of the bed and left for the hallway. Violet followed him, barking orders.

              “I’d say you have about a minute to get to the helicopter and back. It’s pretty close. Probably only about five feet away. If I think they’re coming back I’ll distract them again. You’ll be fine, Zach, just don’t make any noise or bring their attention to you.”

              She opened the door and pushed him out. He stumbled over the stone ground and stood where he was in fear. He wasn’t surrounded, but seeing the scene from here Violet thought this really was crazy.

              “Violet…”

              “Go.”

              She shut the door as quietly as possible; hoping that the click she heard was not as loud outside. She made to go back upstairs, then remembered what she had hidden in the room next to her. She knew she didn’t have much time, but she remembered there being books inside that could be heavy enough to cause some distractions.

              She opened the door and ran straight to the bookcase. She hadn’t heard anything outside yet that signalled that Zach was in trouble. She realised she hadn’t even told the kids about what was happening. She thought she should.

              As she pulled out heavy book after heavy book, she found the notes she had hidden from Zach earlier. She picked these up and folded them, hiding them away in the left side of her bra.

              Then, she left the room with the books, struggling to carry them upstairs. Her heart was pounding as she suddenly thought she was out of time. Zach could have been attacked and had no time to call out or fight back. For all she knew he could have left the scene and left her behind.

              Would she be double crossed by Zach? Was it possible he was playing her, too?

              As she passed the kid’s bedroom she heard them inside. She stopped and popped her head around the corner. They had one window here looking out onto the side street. She thought that it would probably be full of zombies, too. Still carrying the books she went to the window and peered down, seeing the heads of the dead fighting over a dead body. Had someone been nearby only moments ago?

              She drew the curtains so the kids wouldn’t see outside and turned to see them watching her.

              They looked so tired and ill. The girl was sniffing constantly, while the boy seemed to tremble.

              “Don’t go to the window, okay?” Violet said. “Stay inside here, okay?”

              The kids nodded.

              Violet smiled at them unconvincingly and left for the main bedroom she was sharing with Zach. She strode to the window and saw that Zach was in the helicopter dialling away at something she couldn’t quite see. The zombies were still investigating the shop window she had smashed. Others were investigating the second half of the helicopter, looking at the flames but not getting too close. Others were staggering away from the street, and then there were two or three heading towards Zach.

              They seemed to be walking slowly, almost cautiously, as if they weren’t quite sure if they were seeing someone alive or one of their own. Violet knew if they got closer they would realise he was alive, and they would alert the others.

              She picked up the second candlestick and aimed at the house in front of her. She hoped no one was inside as she threw the stick through the upstairs window, similar to the one they had here. The zombies approaching Zach ran to the house opposite, while the others stopped to look but went back to what they were doing. Zach looked at her and nodded.

              Had he contacted someone? Or was he thanking her?

              She wanted to call out. She wanted to speak to him. Suddenly, she wanted him back inside.

              He moved. The helicopter groaned and moved to one side. The window hit the ground and snapped in half, creating a loud noise. Violet saw what was about to happen before it did.

              The zombies, all investigating something else, knew this was a moment too good to miss. They turned to the helicopter and as one they spotted Zach trying to escape. They began to run, and Violet, seeing that Zach was struggling to get out, knew he would be set upon in seconds.

              She screamed and began firing her gun at any zombie she saw. She only managed to hit a few down, but the sounds she made alerted more zombies her way. Zach was out of the helicopter now and running towards the door, the nearest zombie only inches away.

              Violet sped out of the room, her heart pounding, her body filling with guilt. If Zach died she would never forgive herself. Never.

              “Kids, get in the other room, kids!” She heard herself scream as she stumbled down the steps.

              She jumped the last few and sprang to the door. Before she got there it opened, and Zach was turning to shut it. It was so close to shutting when the zombies from outside began to push it back on them. Zach shouted, but Violet couldn’t make out a word he said. Her heart drowned out any other noise.

              She tried pushing the door shut again, but the more zombies being added to the door, the more they were outweighed. Then, the door swung back on them, and Zach fell to the floor.

              Violet screamed and picked Zach up. He wouldn’t stand so she had to drag him, ignoring his protests as he hit the steps, ignoring her body telling her she wasn’t strong enough to carry him.

              Then he stood and they sped up the steps, aware that the zombies were behind them and inside the house.

              The stench filled their nostrils. Violet swayed on the uneven floor of the landing. The kids were stood in the doorway, and when they saw the zombies climbing the stairs, they screamed.

              Zach was the last into the room and he slammed the door. He locked it, gasping for breath.

              “The bed,” he said. “Put the bed against the door.”

              Violet grabbed one end of the bed while Zach grabbed the other. He dragged it backwards while Violet pushed it forwards until finally the metal frame of the bed was against the door, giving them protection. It was small, and they knew that if the door splintered in the middle they were doomed.

              Zach ran to the open windows and looked down into the street. What he saw was the dead spilling out of the house, banging on the windows and staring up at them. They were trapped.

* * *

              Winter and Connor strolled through the woods feeling slightly on edge. It was dark now and Winter didn’t really know where she was going. All that consoled her was that she held Connor’s hand, who was still crying silently.

              “Thank you, Winter,” He whispered as they walked. “You let me tell you everything. I have never been able to tell these stories to anyone before.”

              “You’ve been giving yourself too much of a hard time, Connor. What you say you’ve done can easily be explained as childhood mistakes and growing up.”

              Connor stopped. They were at the edge of the woods now. Winter could just make out the memorial park. A fire was burning inside the fortress of the walls. It looked so safe and welcoming.

              “I know we really haven’t known each other all that long. But I’ve seen you popping in and out of that coffee house for awhile now and I’ve never been able to say anything to you.”

              He looked down at his feet, scuffing his shoes against the ground.

              “Then we finally go on a date and we almost die.” Connor laughed.

              “That’s why I avoid relationships.” Winter joked.