Swarm (Book 3) (4 page)

As they approached the front door they saw a briefcase. On it was a laminate pouch, with paper inside, and on the paper was writing:

Code: 2244. We are dead. Take the house.

Zack stared at it for a little while. “Is it a trap…?” Zack whispered to her.

“Er… I don’t… I don’t know…” said Laura.

Zack slowly moved forwards. There were two wide double doors and next to them, embedded in the brickwork, a keypad. Zack pressed a few digits. The keypad beeped. Laura heard the lock click. Zack opened one of the doors.

Instantly Laura was hit by a smell so pungent, and so disgusting, that it could only be the smell of death. Her throat tightened and a wave of nausea rose from her stomach. She stumbled back out into fresh air. It was too late. She gagged, fell onto her knees and gagged some more. With an empty stomach, all that came spilling out onto the gravel was liquid. It stung her throat and mouth as she tried to spit it out.

Zack closed the door. Laura stood back up, and spat a few more times.

“Is that a zombie?” Zack whispered.

Laura shook her head. “No… someone’s dead in there.

Zack glanced up, his eyes flicking between the windows, “Wh… how do you know it’s not a zombie?”

“Zombies don’t smell. Not like that.”

Zack was silent for a few seconds, “So you think we should go in?”

“I can’t…. I can’t… you’ve gotta go. Get the car keys; we can stay in the car.”

“I’m not going by myself.”

“I can’t… I can’t go in there… it’s too bad… that smell…”

“Please,” said Zack.

Laura took a deep breath, “I can’t… I really can’t. I’m sorry.”

…

The ground floor was a huge, rectangular, open plan area — a kitchen and living room rolled into one. In front of Zack was the most striking feature of the house. A glass wall, revealing an open view of the fields beyond. The building itself was rectangular, and had four main walls. Two short. Two long – the huge sheet of glass being one of the long ones. It allowed a view so seamless and expansive, that it felt like he was still outside. The sky was a moody grey. The fields rose gently, eventually drawing a line in the horizon. The occasional tree was dotted around, appearing as black outlines due to the low-level light. On the right, way off in the distance, the trees were closer and greater in number. Instead of a black isolated shape, they drew a thick, irregular line.

Zack headed to the staircase, which was built into the same wall as the house’s entrance. His dread grew as he ascended. Pictures of his loved ones looked down at him. Family holidays. School photos. He had seen them a hundred times.

A part of him knew what he was going to find. The stench was getting stronger. Zack came onto the landing – wide and long. Windows lined one side, and doors lined the other. He moved first to his Grandparent’s bedroom. The door was open. The bed was made. Inside this room was another room. The en suite. He didn’t think that they would be there and didn’t check.

He tried the next door in the corridor. The spare room. Again the bed was made.

Once more he returned to the corridor, his feet moving slowly along the soft luxury carpet. He pushed open the next door.

The full stench hit him. Two corpses lay in the bath, hideously swollen. The maggots obscured their faces, but Zack knew it was them.

Laura thought about Stacy. Should she have gone back for her? Why hadn’t she thought of that earlier? What if Stacy was still there, still unconscious? Why had she not considered this? What was wrong with her? Yet the more she thought about it, the less she saw it as an option. There was no way… too much time had passed. Stacy would be gone.

Stacy. What was she going to do about Stacy? What was she going to do about — the sight of Zack coming back distracted her. He came towards her. His face had lost its colour. He passed her and got in the vehicle. Laura got in with him. A few seconds of silence. She opened her mouth, ready to ask him if there was any food, but he spoke first.

“I’ve gotta go to my parents’ house.” He stared into the distance and his tone had a strange determination to it.

Laura sensed that he would ask for her help.

“Um… look… I, er… I have an infection from the hospital… I’m ill… I’m not infected with, you know, the zombie shit, but I’m ill. I really, really need to rest,” she said.

“Someone could still be there…”

“But… I don’t know… what time is it…? Maybe it’s going to get dark soon.”

“It’s morning… You’ve gotta drive me there.”

“Why?”

“I’ve gotta save them.”

“But why do I… why do I have to drive?”

“I can’t drive.”

“There’s no-” Laura began, but she stopped as Zack sat bolt upright, his eyes suddenly growing wide.

“… I’m gonna have a fit,” said Zack.

“Really?” said Laura

Zack said nothing. His eyes began to drop. His body suddenly became limp.

“Oh… God…” said Laura. She tried to hold him still. He began to shake, violently. She moved his hands to his head, doing her best to stop him hitting it against the window.

…

Stacy shivered from the cold, but she didn’t mind. She liked being outside, and being away from
her.
She looked up, squinting against the rain. A squirrel walked along a branch. She wondered what had happened, why she had woken up in a backpack.

She watched the little creature move. The rain was very pretty. Stacy liked the way it made her clean, she liked the way it made her body more awake. The bike lock around her neck wasn’t too bad. She could get used to it.

She wondered what she would do. How she would get Laura. Maybe she should go back to the house and let out her friend. That would be funny, if the friend was the one that went and bit her. Stacy smiled to herself. Laura would probably still be looking for her sister. Laura was so stupid. Although she wished she really did have a sister, or a brother. She was a bit sad on her own like this.

The squirrel climbed down the trunk towards her.

…

Zack came to consciousness. His head ached; his mouth was dry and full of pain. He knew he’d had a fit, but couldn’t quite put it all together. Where was he? Slowly it came back to him.

He realised that he was being hugged from behind. He looked down to see Laura’s hands clasping his shirt tightly — two pale fists on his stomach.

“Wh… ere…” he murmured. He tried to lean forwards, to show her he was conscious. She didn’t let go. “Hello…” He tried to say her name, but couldn’t remember it. “Get off me,” suddenly he felt a sort of claustrophobia rise in him. He pulled her hands off him, and clambered awkwardly over to the other seat. Looking back, he saw her eyes were closed; her face was screwed up into a grimace. She was breathing slowly, seemingly asleep.

“Oy,” Zack reached across and shook her.
Laura… that was it.

“Laura… Laura!”

No good. She was out. A terrible thought struck Zack. Was this it? Was she turning a zombie? There was no way to know. It could just be her injury. Was staying here safe? Had he been wrong about her? He pulled the car door’s handle, swung it open, got out, took the keys from his pocket and locked her inside. He stood for a moment, staring. Then he turned and walked quickly, the gravel crunching underfoot. He came to the other car and got inside. Sitting in the passenger’s seat, he was able to make out the top of her head through the window. With each passing second he expected her to move.

His thoughts turned to his family. He had to find a way to get to them. Perhaps he
could
drive. If he could just take it slowly, then maybe he would figure it out. He turned the key in the ignition and pressed down on what he thought was probably the accelerator. The engine stalled.

…

Laura opened her eyes. She was alone in the vehicle. The last thing she remembered was Zack having a fit — she must have passed out. Again. The soft light of the outside world seemed uncomfortably bright, she found herself squinting. However, almost instantly, Laura had the sense of things being better – better than before. Her thoughts were noticeably clearer. She felt the responsiveness of her own mind, the relative ease with which she was able to move from one moment to the next. It wasn’t perfect. A weight still remained, a
something
that sat right in the middle of her head. But it was better… definitely better.

She looked around and saw Zack in the other vehicle. She heard the engine struggle for a few seconds and then fall silent. Scanning the area for any threats, she got out and approached. She knocked at the window. Zack jumped and took a moment to compose himself. She gestured for him to let her in. He unlocked the door. Laura sat in the passenger seat.

“What happened?” she asked.

“You fainted.”

“How long was I out?”

“Not long…Can you take me now?”

Laura weighed everything up. Would she find Stacy again? Did she want to find her? And if she did, then what? Would it all go wrong again? Where would she even start? Zack was asking for her help. His family were probably dead, but at least he knew where to look. Besides, she was a mess. Being alone didn’t seem like a good idea. But was she giving up? John was waiting for her. Except he wasn’t. He was gone, replaced by a shell. Duke and Dreadlocks, they were frozen – dead. Out of all of them she was the only one alive. And if she couldn’t save them she could at least save herself, and if she couldn’t save herself maybe she could save Zack and his family.

“Okay…”

“Okay… Thank you. Thank you so much.” Zack went on to explain his plan to her. She would drive the car there and she would use the vehicle to run over any undead that they found.

Laura said nothing.

“So… you wanna go?” asked Zack.

Laura was silent and still. Her eyes stared into the distance, sometimes moving slightly, as if flicking through the pages of a book. She didn’t like Zack’s plan, but an idea was coming to her. First she would eat, and then… if they could just find some rope…

Zack’s hands were sweating on the leather grips of the steering wheel. His eyes remained fixed ahead. A short rope had his car attached to Laura’s.

With his engine off, the sound of Laura’s car filtered into the empty space of his vehicle. Her movements played out in his windscreen. Every turn and acceleration from Laura quickly travelled down the rope and altered his path – so that he felt the weight of her car in the weight of his, so that he became a sort of physical echo of her.

They came to a car, deserted in the middle of the road – blocking their path.

Zack saw Laura get out. She slammed her door and walked over. Zack unlocked the door and she got in.

“I’m going to ram it,” she said.

“Okay.”

“Yeah… so… you honk your horn if you see anything coming, okay?”

“I will.”

Laura got out again, ran over to her car and untied the rope. Then she returned to the driver’s seat. A few seconds later, Zack heard the sound of her engine, and watched as she accelerated towards the obstructing vehicle. She crashed into its front end. It rolled back slightly. She reversed and repeated the action, going through several collisions, until there was just enough space to squeeze by.

Laura got out, retied the rope, returned to her car and then slowly dragged Zack’s vehicle through the small space.

He went through the plan in his mind. He could not avoid expecting the worst, whilst simultaneously pleading for the best. Ever since this had all begun, he had found himself praying.

In his head, one of these prayers now ran.

I know my Mum’s gone. I accept that. I accept that. Please don’t let her be there. Please let my sister be okay. And my Dad. Please let me find them. And if I don’t find them, please let them be somewhere else, safe. Please let my dog be safe. Please keep Laura safe, and me. And please get rid of the zombies. Please get rid of them. And if you can’t do that, just my family. Just let my family be okay.

They continued on. An endless landscape, a clumsy journey — with stops, redirections, difficult manoeuvres, and even a few small crashes. A trip that could usually be measured in minutes became further and further drawn out. But finally, after what seemed an eternity, Zack saw the buildings, trees and road conspire to draw the final corner before his parents’ house. Laura didn’t take it. Instead she slowed down, making the rope lose tension. Zack’s car bumped into hers gently, and together they came to a gradual stop. He watched Laura get out, run over to his vehicle and climb in.

She let out a long, slow breath – a kind of internal shudder. Her eyes stared into the distance, her body unnaturally still. A silence spread between them. Zack waited for her to speak, for her to lead him. But nothing came. He let the moment continue. These last moments of safety had taken a hold of him. Now that he was here, courage had left him. But he knew he had to fight his fear. This was it. He had to do it.

“Laura.”

No response.

“Laura!”

Slowly she turned her head to look at him, “I’m struggling.”

“Why,” he said, unsure what she meant.

“I… I… All of this… It’s…” She put her head in her hand.

Zack opened his mouth, but couldn’t find the right thing to say. He searched for the words that would snap her out of it, without pushing her over the edge. She took a deep breath, and spoke again.

“It’s fine… It’s fine… I’m all right, I’m okay.” She closed her eyes and took a few more deep breaths. “Right… so… we’re ready, right? I’m going over there. If there are any zombies, I’m going to make them follow me-”

“Yes,” said Zack.

“- and you have to wait, count to fifty… Count for me now.”

“One… two… three…”

“No that’s way too fast… You have to say ‘Mississippi’, one Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi, you know? Keep it consistent.”

“Okay… yeah.”

“Come on, practice.”

“One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi, four Mississippi”

“Yeah… like that… you know what? Go to one hundred.”

“Okay.”

“And if there are no zombies. Then I’ll stay outside. And I’ll be the look out. You know the horns?”

“Yeah.”

“Tell me,” Laura instructed.

“One horn, you’ve seen zombies. Two horns, they’ve gone in the house. Three horns, they’ve come out of the house.”

“Yeah… Yeah… okay,” Laura took a deep breath, “Right. Swap places then.”

Awkwardly, they climbed over each other, so that Zack was in the passenger seat.

She put the car into first gear and started the engine.

“You have to have your foot down on the clutch. The one on the right, you know ABC, and then you-”

“-What’s ABC?”

“Accelerator, brake, control – er, clutch. Left to right, like you’re reading it. Okay? And you need to have your foot down on the clutch. First thing you do, foot on the clutch. Then start the engine. Then, I’ve put it in first gear for you, so you just… don’t worry about the gears, all you have to do is lift your foot slowly, and at the same time press down on the accelerator, until the car’s ready to go. You’ll feel it move slightly, and then… just let go of the clutch, keep your foot on the gas, and you just go.”

“F- foot on the clutch. Start the engine. Lift my left foot, put down my right foot… And then, can I let go of the gas?”

“No… you have to keep your foot down.”

“But… I’ll go too fast.”

“No… you don’t press it all the way, you just keep it at a steady speed. And you’re in first so you won’t go too fast.”

Zack asked more questions, and Laura did her best to help, until she told him to just try it. She reversed the car to give him lots of practice space, and they switched seats again.

Zack tried a few times to do as she had done. Each time the car stalled. Eventually, after numerous attempts, Zack managed to make the car go forwards a little, before fumbling for the brake and stalling the car again.

“Okay, are you ready?” said Laura.

“I don’t know… er…”

“I mean, that’s it. We have to do it. If you have to, just get out and run. But we have to go.”

Zack took a deep breath, “Okay.”

“Right. Count to one hundred,” Laura got out and detached the rope from the back of her car. She ran over to her vehicle, got in and drove forwards.

Zack watched her disappear.

“One Mississippi…”

…

Laura watched the corner unfold, as she took the vehicle around it. Her chest grew tight as the windscreen filled with running figures. They had heard her coming. Her body jerked involuntarily as their bodies slammed against her car.

She forced her eyes past them to the road ahead, keeping the same speed. Driving fast was not an option; she couldn’t leave any of them behind.

…

“97 Mississippi… 98 Mississippi”

Zack knew he wasn’t going to use the car. It was too hard.

“99 Mississippi… 100.” He got out, ran down the road, and around the corner, before sprinting towards his parents’ place. The door was open, just as he had left it. His eyes scanned the rest of the building, searching for a twitching curtain or some other movement. He told himself to be quick, decisive. Within a few seconds he was inside.

The soft light of the open door did little. Rooms were closed. Curtains were drawn. The house had never woken up.

Zack moved to the staircase. He put his foot on the centre of the first step. It creaked loudly. He winced and pulled his foot back. His heartbeat thudded loudly in his ear. He put his foot on the side of the step, and then his other foot on the other side. This time there was no creak. He placed his hands on the stairs too, and tried to distribute his weight between the four points of contact. He began to crawl up the stairs. Another creak – not as loud as the first one. But agonising in the silence of the house.

“HUURRRRRGGGHHH!”

Zack froze.

Thud, Thud, Thud,

A voice told him to run, instead he remained totally still.

“HUURRRRRGGGHHH!” The groan shook through the house once more, joined by more heavy thuds.

Zack was stuck, unable to run, unable to think. Each second brought more noises. He waited. Images of escape flashed before him. He could turn around. He could run to the door, back outside, back towards the car. He waited. The noises did not sound louder, or closer. Just the same. Groans. Thuds. Again and again. He waited. He had to choose. He had to act. He took another step, then another. He moved quicker. He came to the landing, now able to see the bathroom door shaking. He crept to his sister’s room and tried the handle. It was locked. With his eyes fixed on the pounding door behind him, he took a deep breath.

“Hello!” he shouted.

Speaking made his gut squirm. It felt like the worst thing he could do.

“ZACK!” her voice rang out - pure. He heard the family dog, Stones, begin to bark loudly.

“Unlock the door. Let me in.”

She did so. With one last look over his shoulder, Zack entered, pushed her back and closed the door behind him. He locked it. Stones, a black Labrador, leapt on him and tried to lick his face. Zack pushed him down and hugged Macy. Stones jumped on them again as they embraced, barking frantically. Zack grabbed his collar. Stones threw himself around and tried to break free.

“Macy, Macy… we’ve gotta go. We’ve gotta go. I’ve got a car outside.”

She stared at him.

“Is there anyone here, where’s Daddy?” said Zack.

“Daddy’s gone.”

“Okay… You gotta follow me, okay? Just stay close to me. There’s a car outside. We have to get in, okay? We have to get in. Get to the car.”

She looked at him with big eyes, as if that was her answer. He bent down and told her to jump on his back. She did so, wrapping her thin arms around his chest. Zack stood back up, opened the door and left the room, knowing that Stones would follow. He walked slowly, although he wanted to run. The thuds dug into him like claws. Stones barked again and again, as they came to the bottom of the stairs and opened the front door. Now Zack ran back around the bend of the road, and towards the car. He opened the back door and put Macy inside. Stones jumped in after her. Zack climbed into the driver’s seat. Relief flooded him as he locked the doors. Stones barked at him and tried to climb through to the front.