E Virus: The Diary of a Modern Day Girl (Book 2): The Path of Destruction (5 page)

We were so wrapped up in opening the different parcels, we forgot about the world going on around us. We had filled up on Graze boxes, and for the first time in ages, we even had chocolate.

The majority of our findings were tossed straight into the ‘crap pile.' That particular pile was slowly but surely starting to look like a car boot seller’s wet dream. It was unbelievable what people were sending through the post these days.

Bicycle parts, jewellery, curtains, a mountain of cables and wires, even living insects (we presume they were live, we all decided against opening those ones) cropped up in amongst our search.

We had eventually made our way through the majority of the parcels. We ended up having the most unusual feast. Graze boxes, jam preserves and crackers, washed down with ale, all with the strangest of names topped off with Thorntons, Cadburys and various other sweet treats.

We packed together as much food as we could carry. I grabbed my new clothes and a pack of baby wipes, which I had found amongst a baby hamper, and went to clean off as much dirt and grime as I could, which had caked into my skin, during our time in the woods.

I was that covered in dirt, I pretty much used up a full pack. It wasn’t a hot shower I was so longing for, but I felt considerably better than before.

I pulled my new skinny jeans on and the jumper I had first found. Grabbing a can of deodorant from my pile, I covered myself completely from head to toe. I was starting to feel normal again.

Although I had chosen my clothes a size smaller than what I usually would be, they still felt a little baggy. I didn’t realise how much weight I had actually lost since the infection took over.

I strolled over to the rest of the group. We had all changed our clothes and were looking a lot more civilian than we had done before. This was actually the first time I had seen Leon or Ryan out of uniform. I hardly recognised them. I couldn’t believe how normal they looked.

They had both found dark wash jeans and plain t-shirts, but they weren’t the most stylish. They had definitely dressed for practicality rather than style, but even then, they looked good.

The boys had come across a few electric razors in among the post, so they had all for the first time in a long time, had a decent shave.

“Well, I have to say, we’re all starting to look relatively normal again.” I said to the group.

“Feels much better, these socks are great.” Paul said lifting up his foot. “I’m taking these babies with me” he picked up the rest of the pack, still half wrapped.

Lacey and I started to giggle. Bless Paul, he was so thrilled with his new socks, they were all he seemed to be bothered about. The socks were plain black and covered in cookie monsters, he looked so comical in his Sesame Street novelty socks.

“You Muppet.”
Lacey laughed shaking her head.

Right at that moment George and the Professor stepped forward. They were holding a small jiffy bag, it was marked Special Delivery.

"It seems we have a new heading” George announced holding up a small key.

“What’s that for?” I asked George, gesturing to the key.

“It’s a boat, well the keys to a boat to be more precise.” The Professor interjected.

George pulled out a letter from the jiffy bag he was holding. It was sent by ‘Venetian Marina.' It read:

Dear Mr
Anderton,

Re: Lion Heart, 1997, 70ft Traditional Style
Narrowboat

Thank you for your recent purchase. We have received your payment in full, and are pleased to enclose the keys to your new boat.

As discussed, your Narrow Boat is currently docked with us here at the Marina in bay V43.

May we take this opportunity to thank you for your custom and we wish you all the best for the future.

Yours sincerely,

Robert Hope

Director

Venetian Marina (Nantwich) Ltd

“Poor Mr Anderton.” Lacey said shaking her head. “Bet that boat would have come in useful in this mess” she added.

“Yeah, suppose, but good news for us. We’ll be much safer on the water; did you see those things when we were in the lake? I don’t think they like water.” Paul replied.

“Yes, yes this is all true.” George agreed, trying to steer the conversation.

“But we have a few obstacles to get past first.” he said, bringing us all back to reality.

“How exactly are we going to get back to the cars?” I asked. “Plus, Nantwich is just over an hour away from here” I reminded the group.

“Yeah, but think about it, it’s all back roads.” Paul chimed in, his excitement not quite ready to fade. His mood had been lifted, just by putting on those ridiculous Cookie Monster socks. He was the happiest I had ever seen him. Nothing could bring him down.

“Ok, ok, let’s pack up here, and we’ll try and find a way out.” I agreed.

I was trying to be realistic. As great as it was that we now had somewhere to go, realistically we still had a long way to go to get there. It was naïve to think we could simply drive there, and hop straight onto the boat and live happily ever after. We didn’t know what dangers we faced on the other side of that door, let alone what we would encounter along the way.

But still, it was worth a try. I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but it was something we needed to do. I still held out a little hope that somewhere out there, was a safe place. Free from infection, and with other survivors like ourselves. There had to be. We just needed to find it.

“Right then, shall we split the food up first and divide it between us?” Lacey asked, getting down to business.

“Me take cookies!” Paul answered in his best Cookie Monster voice.

He was sitting on an old conveyor belt.
As giddy as a school girl would be, having just met One Direction for the first time.

Lacey rolled her eyes “I think you’ve had too much sugar” she quipped as she tried to arrange the food supply.

Paul pulled his feet up and wiggled his toes “Om, nom nom nom” he replied in his familiar Cookie Monster tone.

We all laughed, but Lacey shook her head. “You do realise that’s all we’re going to get out of him now.” she said pointing to him as if he were a naughty child.

“Ooooh Cookie Monster said, you from Grouchland” Paul replied Cookie style, seemingly unfazed to her irritation.

That was it; she couldn’t keep her face straight any longer, and neither could we. We all burst out into hysterical laughter. Tears streamed down our faces as we struggled to compose ourselves. Even Ryan and Leon struggled to stand upright they were laughing so much.

George didn’t seem to understand what was so funny. Maybe he hadn’t heard of the Cookie Monster before. Or even worse, maybe he didn’t like Sesame Street. No, he couldn’t have not liked it, everyone loves Sesame Street.

Once we had calmed down we collected up our new belongings. I tried to sneak a pair of shoes out, without anyone noticing. They were highly impractical, and I knew that, given our current circumstances I would most likely, never get a chance to wear them. But I didn’t care, I wanted them anyway.

They were killer heels; they had been painted a rusty gold and were covered in different style buttons, all different shapes and sizes. I knew the designer instantly. The intricacy in the detail, the quirkiness of the design, these had Nixxi Rose written all over them. Even better, they were in my size.

I had to take them; I simply had no choice in the matter. I couldn’t leave a pair of shoes, especially ones this stunning, to live the remainder of its life in an abandoned post office. No, I was going to rescue them.

I wrapped the shoes around my new clothes, and I pushed them down to the bottom of my bag. After I had packed everything away, I could only just close my bag.

After we had all fully packed, we turned our attention to the next matter at hand.

“How are we going to get out?” Lacey asked.

George looked over to the red door in the corner of the room. “I think its best we exit through there.” he said pointing over to the door.

Leon wandered over to the window. “They’ve gone” he shrugged.

We weren’t new to this game anymore. We knew the infected were getting smarter. Just because they weren’t in view, didn’t mean they weren’t there. They had already learnt how to creep around in the shadows.

However, it did mean that we had a clear path to the cars. If we made a break for it, we should be able to outrun them.

We had all armed ourselves with blunt objects. I played it safe with a broken off piece of piping; one Nick had ripped off a dormant machine. Lacey followed suit and had another piece of piping, from a different section.

Leon and Ryan were a little more daring. Leon was wielding a bright red electric guitar, one he had found in amongst the larger parcels. Ryan held onto a large cricket bat. Both items looked rather heavy, but both Leon and Ryan had been built for this type of stuff. They had been with the army for years and were apparently used to the weight. 

Leon led the group out, whilst Ryan covered us from the rear. We all kept our eyes peeled as we made a break for the cars. It turns out we were right in our estimations. As soon as we were in view, the infected that had chased us earlier emerged from behind the abandoned cars on the main road. They had tried to lay a trap. Luring us into a false sense of security, they bolted out at the last minute.

Lucky for us, by the time they had made their move we were only a few meters away from the cars. We had easily outrun them. They had laid in wait a little too far out, and we were completely out of reach for them. “Ha, not as clever as you think, ugly fuckers.” I thought to myself.

Nick had dived into the driver’s seat just as the infected closed in.

Paul was the last one inside, as soon as he closed the door the first of the infected collided with the now locked door.

Snarling and gnashing at the window, it didn’t take him long to realise he was too late. Drawing his attention to the others, who had a longer sprint to get to their car; he ran off in search of easier prey.

We turned our attention to Nick as he was fumbling to get the keys into the ignition. Just as he started the car we heard an almighty bang behind us.

We quickly turned around. Leon was stood; his guitar snapped in half, as the infected who had tried to get to us previously laid on the ground.

Throwing his broken weapon into the road, he climbed into the car as Ryan effortlessly started the engine.

Nick swiftly turned the car around, as another infected bounced off the car bonnet.
Both cars heading out into the distance; away from the main village and through the maze of Edwardian houses, along Sydall Road. We pulled over once we were clear.

We set the
sat-nav up and punched in the marina postcode. We sat for a few minutes as the symbol on the sat-nav spun round and round, trying to work out the best route for us to take.

Nick looked up as the rest of our group in the car behind us flashed their lights. We all turned around, trying to see what they were flashing us for when we heard a familiar screech in the distance.

The infected had followed us. They were sprinting towards us, blood and saliva dripping down their fronts.

Those infected that we hadn’t noticed previously were emerging from the houses around us.

They snarled and gnashed as they headed straight for us.

Nick pushed the car into gear as we tried to set off. Before long the infected had us surrounded. We had to slow our speed right down as the infected swarmed the car.

Slowly pushing the infected in front of us, the rest scrambled to get a good hold on the car. We had almost pushed our way through the crowd as an infected woman launched herself across the bonnet of the car.

She was a young woman in life. Although, just like all the rest, the infection had consumed and eradicated all her previous human features, and replaced them with a terrifying, bloodthirsty and menacing look of death. She bared her teeth through the windscreen as she looked directly at us. Blood trickled down from her mouth and onto the car. Her skin had
already started to rot. The wounds on her arms and face looked as though something was eating her from the inside, out. 

The side of her face was missing. Yellow pus oozed from her sores. Maggots wiggled around deeply embedded in her open wounds; it was sickening.

Nick pushed the accelerator down harder, forcing her to sway slightly, but she still latched on.

As soon as we emerged from the crowd I yelled for Nick to swerve. He turned the steering wheel quickly to the right. With the sudden change of direction, the woman swayed to the left and whipped back over to the right, over correcting herself. The jolt threw her off the bonnet to the passenger side of the car, just as Nick ploughed the side of the car into a parked car on the road. The woman was now wedged between our car and the parked car.

Pushing the car forwards Nick drove along, only pulling the car back into the middle of the road after we passed the car.

The woman finally let go. I looked over to the side of me where the woman once stood, clinging on, desperate to get to her next meal.

She now lay in two pieces. Nick had sandwiched her to the other car that tightly, the force and friction of the car had split her from the waist down.

Her top half was still moving as she pulled herself along the floor with her hands. Blood smeared across the parked car and spilled out all over the floor where her legs now lay.

Seeing the mutilated woman in the road, the infected turned their attention to her, giving up on their perusal of the cars.

They surrounded the woman and started pulling apart the left over limbs, greedily filling their mouths with the rotting, maggot-ridden flesh.

It was the first time I had seen them eat one of their own. I turned back to the front, feeling extremely nauseous as Nick turned on the wipers, cleaning the remnants of blood off the windscreen. 

A few minutes later, the
sat-nav decided to spring to life. It had finished loading. I quickly pressed OK as our new route came into view.