E Virus: The Diary of a Modern Day Girl (Book 2): The Path of Destruction (10 page)

I opened the fridge, ready to feel the cool breeze as I opened the door. There was nothing. I put my hand in the fridge to check the temperature. I shook my head. I turned to George.

“I don’t think the electricity is on.” I told him.

“Ahh yes, I had almost forgot. Bear with me” he replied getting up out of his seat.

He squeezed past Lacey and I and made his way to the very back of the boat. He opened a small cupboard and started fumbling around. After a few seconds, the fridge came to life.

“Any luck?” He shouted back to us.

“Perfect” I yelled back.

The Professor walked in just as the electricity came on.

“Let there be light” The Professor declared, both arms up in the air. He seemed to be in much better spirits today.

The boys were already finding out for themselves; exactly how cramped the boat was. As they piled our belongings into the boat, they found themselves having to manoeuvre past each other, even climbing on the beds just to make room for the others who were passing by.

“This is going to be awkward” Leon moaned hauling in the last of the supplies.

We all gathered in the cramped living area. George had managed to get the power on, but we had another issue. George had checked the outdoor area at the back of the boat. Although he told us the freshwater tank was full, we only had one gas canister, and he wasn’t sure how long it was going to last.

“George, how do you know so much about boats?” I asked.

He smiled “Well, you don’t get to my age without learning a thing or two. My wife and I used to have one of these beauties” he said patting the side of the boat.

He carried on “It was years back now; it was our retirement present. Since she passed, I saw no use for it. I sold it on about seven years ago” he said sadly.

“I’m sorry to hear that” I replied. George smiled and nodded his head.

“Ok, so what do we do now?” Lacey asked.

That was a million dollar question on every one's lips.

I looked around the room. I was met with blank expressions.  The Professor was the first to respond.

“How about a spot of tea?” He suggested. He had already found the kettle and was digging out the industrial sized bag of PG Tips we had taken from the café. It seemed a good idea as any.

“We could do with a map of the Canal system” George suggested. “I have already looked; there doesn’t seem to be one in the boat” He added.

“Great, where exactly are we going to find one of those?” Ryan asked.

“I would suggest we start in the office we drove
past, it’s just on the corner.” George told him.

We all looked at one another. It was risky; we didn’t know who or what was in there, or lurking around nearby, for that matter.

“Can we not just go, and see where we end up?” Paul asked.

“No, definitely not.
Especially not in these uncertain times. We need a map, and then we can agree on the best route to take.” George told the rest of us firmly.

That was that. We had been given our next mission. Find and retrieve a map, and then head off on our merry way, wherever that would be.

“Right, let’s get this over with then.” Ryan said.

We all made our way out the boat; the Professor stayed put. Offering to have the tea ready by the time we all got back.

It felt nice stretching my legs for a change. It was only a small walk to the office, but we hadn’t really had much fresh air since our time in the woods.

We made our way across the pier, and up the pebbled path up to the office. The stones beneath our feet crunched with every step we took.

Leon and Ryan made their way up to the door first, despite Ryan turning his back on his military background; he turned straight back into a soldier as soon as the possibility of danger arose. Whether this was a conscious effort or not, we could all see it in him.

Pulling out his trusted cricket bat, he pushed open the door. The whole office was
pitch black; we could hardly see a thing. All the curtains were drawn blocking out all the natural light.

Ryan made his way in first; Leon was close behind him. Ryan motioned for Leon to check the area nearest the closed curtains. He put his hand up mouthing for the rest of us to wait outside.

Once they were sure we were all clear Ryan motioned us in. Leon quickly pulled the orange velvet curtains back, and we all took a step back.

All our eyes were drawn the desk in front of us. Flies swarmed the desk area, disrupted by the new light shining in. There on the chair sat a corpse, the body of what I am guessing was a woman, probably the receptionist.
Decomposing on the chair in front of us.

I could only tell the gender by the blonde perm that sat upon the top of the rotting body, and the clothes she was still wearing. The flies continued to swarm around the corpse crawling inside and out of various holes eating away at the rotting flesh that remained of her face. Maggots had made a nest in the empty eye sockets. I can only presume the eyes had already been eaten away.

The sight before us was horrific. Lacey retched, then she ran out. The rancid smell was drifting towards us, what I can only describe as the smell of death.  I made a swift exit along with Paul.

Lacey sat on the pebbled ground trying to catch her breath. She had at least managed to keep her last meal down. Paul comforted her, as he sat by her side.

I looked back towards the window. Leon and Ryan had edged forward for a closer look. After the years they spent in the Military, I can only assume, this wasn’t the first dead body they had seen in this condition.

I looked back over to the corpse; I couldn’t take my eyes off of it. No matter how much my mind wanted me to look away, my body was yet again acting independently.

I glanced away as something caught my eye. Behind the rotting corpse, there was a key safe. I was pretty sure I knew what was inside, after all they had to keep the boat keys somewhere. Hanging just next to the key safe was a plastic brochure holder, full of canal system maps.

George was right, we had found a map. I made my way back to the office door to point them out. I doubted anyone else had seen them; they were too busy focusing on the hideous body swarming with insects.

“Look on the wall” I shouted to them from the entrance door.

George was the quickest off the mark “
Ahh yes, get the map” He instructed, pointing to Leon and Ryan.

They looked at each other and nodded. One by one they made their way over to the dead body carefully pushing it and the chair to one side with the bat.

“Oh, don’t be a bunch of pansies! It’s just a dead body, it’s not going to hurt you” George scolded.

“Well, you do it then, old man” Leon hit back, clearly insulted by
Georges outburst.

“Oh, get out of my way” George demanded brushing them off.

He grabbed the map and turned to leave as he spotted the same key safe I had. He went over to the wall, pushing the body further into the desk. We all squealed as the body made contact with the desk, squelching and cracking as the bones fell apart slightly.

George quickly pulled the safe from the wall. He handed it to Ryan as
hemoved the dead body, yet again.

I couldn’t bear it anymore I stepped back outside; I didn’t think my stomach could cope anymore.

George searched the whole desk pushing the body aside as he went along as if it was just an old coat. He didn’t seem bothered by it at all.

Nick, Ryan and Leon stepped back outside after a few minutes.

“Doesn’t look like there’s a key to the safe.” Leon said as he filled the rest of us in.

“What do you think happened in there?” Lacey asked.

She brought up a good point. We had seen loads of dead bodies before, but the ones we had seen infected were a little more animated than this one.

“I have no idea” Ryan answered. “Must have been suicide” he shrugged.

George stepped out with a map in hand. “Let’s go back to the boat; we’ve got what we needed. Besides the tea will be ready by now” he said walking back towards the boat.

“You go ahead, we’ll catch up to you” I replied.

George raised his eyebrows and carried on walking. George was becoming a hard one to figure out. He was tough; I give him that. But I just didn’t know what to make of him. There was a lot more to him than he was letting on.

The Sergeant was the type of person who always put others first. His whole demeanour commanded respect. But he had earned that respect. He was firm but fair. He had a good heart, and he always did what was best for us. I never doubted the Sergeant, not even for a second.

There was no comparison between the Sergeant and George. As thankful as I was that George had kept us relatively safe, I was starting to question his leadership skills. The way he snapped at Leon shocked me. I thought about how careless he had been with the corpse. Ok, it repulsed each and every one of us. But it was once a human being. He definitely didn’t show any respect for the dead. But then again did we?

I looked over to the boys who were conversing in a small group. How was what George did, any different to the way the boys behaved; purposely driving through puddles, soaking the infected, just for the fun of it. The infected man did nothing to provoke any of us, he simply existed. I knew that if that infected man had of been someone we knew in life, the boys wouldn't have even thought of driving through that puddle.

None of it was sitting well with me at all. I sat down next to Lacey to gather my thoughts.

“Are you ok
hun?” She asked; she had a worried look on her face.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Head just feels like a bit of a shed at the moment” I told her.

She nodded in agreement. “I know what you mean, I feel the same.”

She didn’t press anymore and we just sat in silence for a few minutes, taking in the scenery around us.

The water was still, the whole area around us was quiet. The only sound that could be heard was the water lapping against the boats. I watched the water as the wind gently breezed through, rippling the surface of the water in its path.

The sky above us was grey. Clouds filled the sky, blotting out what remaining sunshine we had left.

Lacey was the first to get up. “Come on, let’s go back inside, it’s getting cold and we don’t want to keep the Professor waiting.”

I pulled myself up. The boys were now by the pier looking out onto the marina. We headed down the path to the boat. Upon seeing Lacey and I turn to make our way inside, the boys followed suit. I couldn’t help but think the only reason they stayed out was purely to keep an eye on us.

Lacey and I were just about to make our way down the steps when we heard the voices. We froze for a few seconds, trying to listen.

I turned to Lacey as I saw the anger in her face swell.

“No, it can’t be?” I asked her; I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. 

She glared into the boat and shook her head. She was shaking with anger. I had never seen
her this mad. She switched her gaze to the boys who were closing the gap between us and the boat.

She pushed forward and stormed into the boat. I ran after her.

“What the fuck is this?” Lacey screamed as soon as she entered the living area. I was a few paces behind.

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I thought I was just hearing things at first, but there they were. How they had the nerve to show up was beyond me.

There in front of us stood Andy and Duckface. Lacey was shaking with anger; I wasn’t too far behind her.

They both turned to us and stared. Duckface cowered behind Andy; she daren’t look us in the eye.

She was extremely thin, her pale complexion even more prominent as neck bones protruded through her skin. She obviously still had access to make up as her lips were painted dark pink and her eyebrows drawn on, a deep brown. All in all, it wasn’t a flattering look. She had clearly lost a lot of weight; she looked easily breakable, but as far as I was concerned, that was a good thing.

Andy stood in front of her, as if protecting her from the rest of us. The Professor stood in the kitchen, clearly wishing to stay well out of it.

“How dare you even think about coming back” Lacey spat.

Andy looked shocked and horrified.

“Look Lacey, I’m sorry I left you all, but I just wanted to find the rest of my family. Surely you can understand that. I didn’t know the infected would take over the base” He babbled on trying to explain his actions.

By this time, the rest of the boys had also piled in. They stood right behind us; none of them said a thing. Just like Lacey and I, they glared at our new visitors.

“It’s not you that we have an issue with Andy. Yeah, you left, and it was a shitty thing to do. But it was nothing compared to what that creature did to us” I said pointing over to Duckface.

She edged closer to Andy. She knew we wouldn’t back down.

“I don’t understand?” Andy said turning to Duckface.

“Why don’t you ask her?” Ryan suggested, through gritted teeth.

I looked behind me. I had never seen him this angry. I could tell his blood was boiling. His fists clenched and the skin around his knuckles paled.

“Lola, what have you done?” Andy asked confused.

Lacey laughed sarcastically. “Ha, so you haven’t told him. What a surprise. You make me sick. Go on, tell him how you sneaked off and let the infected into the base. Tell him how if it weren't for you The Sergeant and Josh would still be alive. Tell him how you left us all to die.”

I looked Andy dead in the eye.
“Lacey’s right. She did leave us all to die.” I told him sternly.

Ryan couldn’t contain his anger any longer. “If it wasn’t for you Josh and the Sergeant would still be alive. It's because of you they're dead” he shouted at her.

George stood up. “That’s enough” he bellowed.

“No George, it’s not enough.” I said forcefully.

“How dare you, young lady.  I will decide when it’s enough!” George shouted back.

I couldn’t believe he said what he did. I snapped
, the Sergeant never spoke to anyone that way, what gave him the right?

“I’d like to see you try.” I threatened.

“Don’t you dare speak to her like that” Ryan stuck up for me. He squared right up to George. George didn’t back down.

“I will speak to her however I feel necessary” he replied matter of fact.

“I’ve had enough of this” Leon announced. With that, he grabbed the cricket bat and left the boat.

“We were doing perfectly fine before you turned up” I spat at Duckface, turning my attention to the matter at hand.

“We don’t want you here, go and crawl back under the hole you came from” Lacey shouted.

“Guys, calm down, please” Andy begged.

“No, it’s too late for that now mate!” Nick told him.

“It may not be that simple” the Professor interjected.