Hamsikker 3 (12 page)

Erik watched as the zombie clawed at the glass, desperate to get out. He knew it wasn’t going anywhere, and decided to leave it where it was. It couldn’t hurt them, and it was easier than trying to destroy it with his bare hands. As the zombie continued to scrabble at the car windows like a dog scratching to get out, he heard Claire’s voice from across the road.

“Niamh, is that you?”

Erik turned and was suddenly wrapped in a zombie’s arms. It had him in a bear hug, and the stench of the thing that held him was sickening. The zombie had long strands of blonde hair protruding from its scalp, and the patchy skin was putrid. The woman’s face had rotted away, revealing the bones underneath. Now that the dead woman had her arms around Erik, her face was right in his, and he could see her teeth shining in the moonlight. The woman had become a monster and was about to take a nasty chunk out of him.

Erik couldn’t think what to do. He had no weapons, and Claire wasn’t able to help. He couldn’t shake the woman off, and in literally two seconds she was going to give him a bite that was a death sentence. There was no way out. He had nothing to fight her with. He had turned his back for one second, and this thing had snuck up on him. He hated the zombies, hated them for what they had done, for everything they had destroyed. Now Freya would be alone with no family. He couldn’t let that happen. He couldn’t let Freya down. Erik screamed once, and then thrust his jaw around the dead woman’s neck before she could do the same to him. Erik pushed himself forward, thrusting his face into the woman’s dead flesh, and he ripped out her throat. Thick blood filled Erik’s mouth but he spat it out along with the rough skin he had chewed off. He took another chunk from the zombie’s throat, trying to rip off its head before it could get its teeth into him. Like a wild dog, he sunk his teeth into her skin, ripping it apart ferociously. He could think of nothing else but to use the only thing left that he had to kill it — his own life. Erik recoiled as the zombie began to buck wildly. He spat the woman’s blood into the gutter, and felt her arms around him lose their grip. He pushed her away and wiped his mouth. The foul taste made him want to vomit, but he wasn’t finished yet. Although her neck was open, and her head lolled sharply to one side, the woman was still standing. Erik knew that the zombie wouldn’t quit until it was dead. He had done nothing more than shake it off.

He charged at it, and shoved it down to the road. The woman fell back, bringing Erik with her. He landed on top of her, and the woman’s neck flopped backward, sending her head smacking onto the tarmac with a loud crack. Straddling the woman, Erik buried both his hands deep into the opening in her neck. Her body was cold, and he curled up his fingers, gripping whatever he could. He began to pull in opposite directions, and heard a tearing sound as the woman’s flesh began to rip apart. The hole in her neck widened, and Erik continued as the zombie bucked beneath him. He pulled with all his might, until with a cracking sound, he pulled the woman’s head from her shoulders, and he held it up aloft like a trophy. The body beneath him twitched, and then stopped moving, but the head in his hands was very much alive. The woman’s eyes turned to look at Erik, and the jaw worked up and down slowly as if still trying to bite him. Erik spat on the woman’s face, and then he hurled the head into the air, as far away as he could.

“Rot in hell.” Erik spat again, desperate to remove the fetid taste of death from his mouth, and got to his feet. He was shaking, scared, and knew the noise he had made might bring more. He had to get Claire inside and get them both out of sight off the street.

“You okay?” asked Claire as Erik returned to her.

Erik nodded, and scooped her up into his arms.

“I didn’t see her until the last second. I thought it might’ve been my sister, but…”

Claire stopped talking as Erik carried her into the tattoo parlor. She could see the blood on Erik’s face, and knew well enough that if he had been bitten, he was not going to be around much longer.

“Look, if that thing got its teeth into you…”

“It didn’t. I got my teeth into it. It’s dead now, so forget about it.”

Erik reached the office and pushed open the door with his feet. He found the light was dimmed, and Javier sitting on the desk.

“My, my, that was quick,” said Javier.

Erik gently lowered Claire into a seat. “If you give me that gun, I’ll show you what else I can do quickly.” Erik went over to Freya who was curled up beside Quinn. She put her arms around Erik when he bent down to her, and he looked her in the eyes. “You okay, honey? He didn’t hurt you?”

Freya shook her head and looked down at Quinn.

Erik noticed the blood stain on Quinn’s neck. She was alive, but sleeping off whatever Javier had done to her.

“So, are you going to introduce us?” asked Javier, swinging his legs down off the desk and planting his feet firmly on the floor.

Erik glared at Javier. He was arrogant beyond belief. Hitting Quinn around with Erik gone was pathetic. Did Javier really think he could do whatever he wanted? “She’s…”

“I’m Claire. I take it you’re the leader, Javier?”

Javier kept the gun trained on Erik, walked over to Claire, and held out his hand. “You know, it’s rude not to shake someone’s hand when you first meet. Aren’t you even going to get up?”

Claire gave Javier a sullen gaze. “I can’t.”

“You can’t?”

“She can’t walk,” said Erik. “I carried her here. Claire’s been trapped in that apartment for months.”

“Looking at the state of you, Erik, I assume it wasn’t all plan sailing.” Javier noticed the blood on Erik. “I trust nobody got their teeth into you? Not even a nip?”

“No,” replied Erik. He looked at Freya, her tired eyes drooping, yet still full of fear. “I’m fine.”

“So all you found was this?” Javier pointed the gun at Claire.

“Charming,” said Claire. “You remind me of my ex-husband.”

“Ignore him,” said Erik. “He’s armed with a blind faith that he’s in charge. Just do what he says, and you’ll be fine.”

Javier reached down and took the bat from Claire. “This is something I suppose. Here.” Javier held out the bat to Erik. “Keep it safe, and we’ll take it with us in the van. It could come in handy.”

Erik took it, and laid it on the hard floor beside Quinn. Freya wriggled free from Erik’s arms and lay down on the floor beside her. Erik told her to stay there and look after Quinn.

Javier looked at Erik. Despite everything, the man still thought he could win this. Javier could see the anger burning in Erik’s eyes. Maybe going out there had stirred something in him, awoken some kind of hope. That wouldn’t do, not at all. “Why’d you bring her back here? You could’ve set her free. You could’ve taken off at any point, yet you came back. Why? I would’ve run the second I got the chance.”

“That’s the difference between you and me. I don’t leave my friends behind. I’m not going anywhere until you let Freya and Quinn go.” Erik was amazed how Freya was handling it all. She still hadn’t spoken a word, but sometimes her eyes gave away what she was thinking. She hated Javier too. He had seen it enough times. Freya understood at least some of what was happening. He hoped that having Claire here would add to the stress that Javier must be under. He had to make a mistake at some point, and then Erik would be ready.

“Well, Erik, as much as I had hoped to spend some quality time with you tonight, I’m afraid your little adventure has brought some attention to us. I haven’t exactly been idle myself. I saw what happened out there. You know there are more coming now, don’t you? I saw movement out there, further away, but they’ll get here eventually, so we’re going to have to find somewhere else for the night. We’ll have to keep going and stop where we can,
if
we can.” Javier looked at Quinn and smiled. He picked up a bag and pointed the gun at Erik. “Get going then. Take Freya and get the van ready. Quinn’s a little tied up right now.”

Erik suspected that more would come. It wasn’t such a bad thing that they were on the move again. He hated driving at night, but it was better than waiting to be surrounded by zombies. He looked at Claire. She was worried; that was obvious. He had saved her from a lonely pathetic existence, only to bring her into this. He still wasn’t sure it was a great idea to bring her back here, but it was the best option. Without help she would undoubtedly die. They had food, and surely even Javier could see that Claire needed help. “Come on, Claire, you can ride in back with Freya,” said Erik as he scooped up the bat. He would take Claire and Freya out to the van and come back for Quinn.

“Slow down there, Erik, you’re not in charge of this little group yet. You’re just the chauffeur, remember?” Javier raised his eyebrows. “I need to talk to our new friend here for a moment.”

Erik bristled. “Javier, we don’t have time for this. Claire can ride in the back; she’s not going to
do
anything. She’s harmless. Look at her. She’s damn near starving. What’s the problem?”

Javier swung his gun toward Claire. “Can you drive?”

Claire shook her head. “You really are an asshole aren’t you? Do I look like I can drive?”

“You held a gun before? You ever done any shooting? You ever took out one of those zombies?”

Claire shook her head again and stared defiantly at Javier. “No, never had the chance. Plus, I don’t much like guns. My father always taught me to steer clear of them. Said they were dangerous.”

“Right, well your father was a wise man.” Javier looked at the gun in his hands and then back to Claire. He could spare one. “Erik, get in the van and start it up will you? We’re going to have to hit the road very soon.”

“So, we good here?” asked Erik. He wasn’t going anywhere without Claire. He knew he had to get her safely in the van before Javier did anything. He had begun to like Claire too. She didn’t cower down before Javier but actually stood up to him. Metaphorically speaking. He could tell that Claire was feisty, and began to think that despite her disability, he might have struck lucky. She would be more than prepared to help him when the time came. “Can we all just go now?”

“Claire, you ever been to Canada? Reckon you could do some navigating at least. I mean Erik would be driving, but perhaps you could help him. We’re heading for a place called Thunder Bay.” Javier smiled. “We’re going to look up some old friends.”

Claire shivered. She looked to Erik for reassurance and then back to Javier. “What’s with the twenty questions? Look, Javier, I won’t be any trouble. You can tie me up like your friends if you want. I promise…”

“Answer the fucking question.” Javier raised the gun and pointed it at Erik. “Answer the question, or I’ll shoot him right here, right now.”

Erik spoke to Claire, but his eyes never left Javier’s. There was no way he was going to buckle this time. Javier was nothing but a bully. He enjoyed playing games. This was just another one; a charade to prove to Claire that he was in control. Once they were all in the van, Erik would talk to her, make sure she knew that she was safe with them. “It’s okay, Claire, go on. Just answer his stupid questions.”

Claire could sense that Javier meant business. Erik had been right about him. She twisted her hands together anxiously. “Last spring break I went to New York for a vacation. Cost us a fortune. Other than that I’ve not gone far really. Kinda hard in my condition.”

“Focus, Claire. Do I look like I care about New York? Canada. Big country. Cold. Ever been?” asked Javier again.

“No. I wouldn’t know how to get there if my life depended on it.” Claire tried smiling at Javier to see if she could break down his bravado. Hiding behind that gun was a lost boy, and she thought maybe she could appeal to the real Javier. “I could try if you like? But I’ve never been to Canada.”

“Shame,” said Javier. “That’s a real shame.”

Javier quickly moved the gun from Erik to Claire and pulled the trigger.

The noise of the gunshot echoed around the office, and Freya’s scream bounced around its four grey walls. Claire’s body slumped back in the chair, and Erik dropped to his knees. He looked across at Claire’s lifeless body. Javier had put a bullet right between her eyes.

“She was useless,” said Javier calmly. “Let’s roll.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

The way to the border was clearly marked, and Lukas had no trouble in navigating the truck into Duluth. The roads were largely clear, and it seemed that most people had gotten out in time. There were very few vehicles around and even fewer zombies. They spied a couple wandering around a small park, and there were a few dead bodies littering the surrounding streets, but other than that, the city was unusually quiet.

“You think everyone just left?” asked Lukas as he picked his way through the deserted roads.

“Maybe they got enough warning,” said Julie, knowing it was unlikely.

“You remember how fast it all happened,” said Jonas. “I’d like to think the people of Duluth are safe and sound somewhere, but somehow I doubt it.”

Red and maroon buildings shimmered in the dawn, and thin trees lined streets devoid of life. As they climbed up a steep street, Dakota spotted a tall, stone tower in the distance. It blinked in and out of view as they made their way between the city’s buildings, and she wondered if they were alone. Had the city been evacuated, or were they all dead? The truck came to a halt, and Dakota read a street sign pointing the way to Canal Park. Beneath the sign was a stroller that had toppled over and fallen under the wheels of a blue car, dented and scratched all over as if it had been in a fight with a bigger car and lost. A gray fleecy blanket was trapped beneath the front wheel, and a small jacket flapped on the ground beside the stroller which was bent out of shape. Dakota put a cold hand over her belly. Her fingers were so cold that her wedding ring was loose, and she tugged it on firmly. She had seen a fire in Jonas’s eyes earlier, and in his mind he was already there with Janey, moving on. He didn’t see what she saw. A city didn’t just vanish. Tens of thousands of people had to go somewhere. She tried to quell the uneasy nausea growing inside her, and wished she could just snap her fingers and make everything all right.

“Look,” said Lukas, as he pulled the truck around a crash, and began steering them downhill. “There’s a ship. See it? It’s huge.”

As the truck rolled through the empty city streets, they all glimpsed what Lukas pointed out. A massive ship was docked in the harbor. It was a gray color, yet difficult to see as the visibility was poor. It revealed itself bit by bit, appearing between gaps in the houses, and it was only as they neared the bottom of the hill when the harbor opened up before them that they could get a clear sight of it. The ship was tall, majestic even, proud and calm as the figures raced around its decks. Even from afar, Jonas could see people on board, scurrying around, looking busy, and waving their arms.

“Jesus, that is one big boat,” said Julie.

“Why is it still here?” asked Lukas excitedly. “You think we can get a ride? You think they know somewhere safe to go? That’s why there’s no one here.” Lukas began to laugh. “I’ll be damned. We can get out of here. I knew it. The military sent a rescue ship. They probably go from port to port looking for survivors. We should get down there before they go.” Lukas swung them toward the ship, carefully picking a way through the discarded cargo containers and delivery trucks across the industrial harbor toward their awaiting rescuers.

“Lukas, turn us around,” said Jonas. “Turn us around, right now.”

“Hamsikker, this is a way out of here. Don’t you see?” Lukas accelerated, and the huge ship seemed to become impossibly large as it got closer. “We miss this ride, and who knows when it’ll be back.”

“Lukas, stop. Turn us around,” said Julie.

“You too? No way. You ever seen so many people before? I’ll bet they’ve got the whole city on there. Look, Hamsikker, I’m sorry about your sister, but we can’t afford to pass this up. Who knows when they’ll be back around here? Maybe Janey is already on board, maybe…”

“Lukas.” Dakota reached over and gently tapped him on the arm. Up ahead she could see two gangplanks stretching from the ship to the pier. One was empty, the other full of people. They seemed to be standing still, neither going up nor down. They were jostling each other, as if dancing almost, but going nowhere. When she spoke to Lukas it was with kindness and humility as if she were talking to a child. “Lukas. Look at it. Look at where you’re taking us. Look at those people. Please, Lukas, turn us around.”

Lukas let the truck slow down, and as they approached the ship, he finally saw what the others saw. The hull was drenched in blood and riddled with bullet holes while the back of the ship’s hull was charred and black from where a fire had broken out. The deck above and the gangplank ahead were full of people, thousands of them. As he looked closer, he realized there wasn’t a living soul amongst them. He saw men and women, boys and girl, black faces, white faces, and everything in between. They were all dead. The freighter was nothing more than a floating morgue. Narrow and long, it was humming with zombies, and Lukas wondered just how long they had been there.

“Shit,” Lukas whispered as he brought the truck to a halt. He leant forward over the wheel, staring up at the ship. All around the deck, pressed up against the railings, were the dead. They were stuck up there, unable to find a way off. “Shit,” he said again, deflated. “I thought we’d finally got lucky.”

“I guess they came to get people out,” said Jonas, reading the name on the side of the hull. “The Nanjing Equinox. That thing must be nearly a thousand feet long. I guess they dumped their cargo and tried to pick up survivors. There must be hundreds of them up there. I guess they tried to get too many people out. It would’ve only taken one infected. One person with a bite or a scratch, they bite someone else, and so on, and so on, until there’s no one left, not even anyone to take the ship back out onto the lake.”

“Whatever, it’s going nowhere. The boat’s useless to us now,” said Lukas. He noticed a few of the dead on the walkway had found their way down to the pier and were starting to come towards the truck. The figures stumbled as they walked, their stiff legs and arms jerking as though the bodies were being shocked with electricity.

Lukas shifted into reverse and turned the truck around. They left the harbor behind and resumed looking for a way over the border. “I guess we stick to the plan. Thunder Bay, right?”

Jonas could hear the despondency in Lukas’s voice. It was understandable. The thought of rescue was exciting. More than that, it would mean there was somewhere untainted by the dead, clear of zombies and death. Did such a place exist? Could it? Had anyone gotten out of Duluth, or were the last survivors trapped on the freighter, destined to spend an eternal death on its exposed deck until the snows came and froze them solid?

Lukas charged the truck around a pile of containers and punched the wheel. “Fuck it. I just thought, you know, that maybe there was something out there. I thought someone might have made a go of it. After Chicago, after Bishop picked me up, I figured there had to be some place left to go, you know?” Lukas shook his head. “Whatever, man, whatever.”

“Forget it,” said Jonas. He needed Lukas to calm down before they reached the border. There was no guarantee the city was going to stay empty or that the roads would remain clear. Lukas had to be focused on driving, not distracted or driving angry. “We all hoped for something better, Lukas, but never say never, right? In the absence of any rescue or sign that other people are out there making a go of it, then we stick together, and we stick to the plan. If we stay alive, then who knows? One day, perhaps, someone will come along. I bet you never thought you’d run into Bishop, right? So who’s to say we won’t run into someone else, someone in authority, someone who is trying to actually
do
something about this. Don’t give up on us yet, Lukas. I’ve been there. You have a lot ahead of you. One thing at a time though. Get us over the border into Canada. Short steps, okay?”

“Yeah, let’s try and stay positive,” said Dakota. “Maybe Air Force One landed in Bermuda, and the President is sipping cocktails with the President of Russia trying to figure out this mess.”

Lukas snorted, and couldn’t help but smile. “Oh, yeah. Did he remember to pack his speedos? Gotta work on that tan while figuring out how to save the planet.”

Julie burst out laughing. “The President in speedos? Now
there’s
an image.”

“Ew,” said Jonas, noticing that Lukas was relaxing already. The harbor was behind them, and so were all thoughts of the freighter full of zombies.

Dakota rapped the dashboard and put on a mock serious voice. “Mr. President, here’s your bloody Mary. Oh, and we just received word from Washington. The bad news is the body count is approximately 300 million, but the latest polls have you up five points.”

Everyone burst out laughing, and when the laughter had died down, Julie shook her head. “That’s my Commander-in-chief you’re talking about.”

“Right, right, sorry, Julie,” said Dakota. “What was I thinking? The President would never drink a Bloody Mary. He’s more of a Spritzer type of guy.”

Julie burst out laughing again. “Sure he is. I always go with a Spritzer when it’s the end of the world. I save my cocktails for general homicides, invading third world countries, that sort of thing.”

The truck suddenly swerved and bounced, causing them all to hit their knees on the dashboard. Jonas’s head hit the roof of the cab, and he grabbed Dakota.

“Sorry, my bad. Dead horse. Didn’t see it till it was right in front of me,” said Lukas, steering them back onto the road.

Jonas looked at Dakota, who in turn looked at Julie. Immediately they all burst out laughing again.

“It’s not even funny,” said Jonas as he wiped his eyes.

Swallowing her laughter, Dakota tried to apologize to Lukas, but could only utter the words “a dead horse” before exploding into more laughter.

“I don’t see what’s so funny,” said Lukas. The laughter of the others was contagious, and though he tried to act upset, all he could do was smile.  “All I said was I didn’t see it. I didn’t. What do you want me to say?”

“How about, look out, dead horse ahead?” suggested Julie, giggling.

Dakota was pleased to see Julie joining in. She was still a bit of a mystery, but was beginning to relax around the others.

“Look out!” shouted Lukas.

“Exactly, just like that,” replied Dakota, missing the urgency in his voice.

The truck banged up against the side of a trailer, jack-knifed across the road, and slammed into the sidewall of a coffee shop. Lukas wrestled with the wheel, and managed to get them back under control, before hitting the brakes. They came to rest in the center of an intersection.

“Everyone okay?” asked Jonas. “Dakota?”

“Fine, fine,” she replied.

“I’m good,” said Julie.

Lukas peered through the windshield. They had come to rest inches from the back of a multiple crash. “Sorry, it just—”

“Came out of nowhere, right?” Jonas looked at Lukas. “Maybe you should ease off for a while. It’s a couple of hours drive to the border crossing, and I think we’d all like to make it in one piece.”

“My bad. I should’ve been concentrating. Sorry guys.” Lukas sighed and began to move the truck cautiously around the crash.

“No need to apologize, Lukas,” said Julie. She was shaken by the close call and immediately felt guilty for laughing. Carlton had died less than twenty-four hours ago, and she was already moving on, laughing at nothing.

“It’s us who should be apologizing to you, Lukas. I guess we got a bit carried away there,” said Jonas. “You okay to drive, or do you want me to take over?”

“No, it’s all good. It wouldn’t hurt to have a second pair of eyes on the road though. I’m doing my best here.”

“I appreciate it. We all do. I know you probably feel like a fish out of water now that Bishop’s gone, but we’ll look after you.”

“Really?” asked Lukas. He winked at Jonas. “I thought it was me looking after you.”

They continued on out of Duluth and found Highway 61 leading toward the Canadian border. The Duluth University buildings on their left dissolved into suburbia, and then the buildings disappeared completely. Lukas noticed a large sign advertising cheap fees at a golf course, and then a small sign promising great views of the Lake from a park on his right. With the zombies far behind, he was tempted to stop and take a look. He had never been this far north, and not spent much time at Lake Michigan or any of the other Great Lakes. If it wasn’t for the fact that they had somewhere to be, he probably would’ve stopped to check it out. He consoled himself with the fact that, if they reached Jonas’s sister’s place which was right by the water, he was probably going to live out his days looking at the lake anyway whether he liked it or not. He guessed he was also going to have to get used to eating a lot of fish.

The highway quickly narrowed as they left Duluth, and it hugged the edge of Lake Superior. Lukas hoped they didn’t come across any major crashes. If the road became blocked, they were going to face serious difficulties getting any further. As far as he knew there was no way around. To his left was what looked like a thick forest, and to his right, the massive expanse of Lake Superior. There was no end to it as far as he could see, and it reminded him of the ocean. The water was flat, calm, and the low clouds gave it an eerie feeling. He could imagine the huge freighters crossing it loaded with tons of cargo.