The Dust: Book Two - Pursuit (23 page)

Jake liked this idea, of course a boat, he could use a boat. ’We need to find one and fast.’

‘We can’t get any closer.’

‘Back over there.’ Jake pointed to the small bungalows that were situated about three hundred yards behind them. ‘One of those houses are bound to have a boat or some sort of rubber dinghy.’

Lou Pepper waved with both hands as Jake and Angel appeared in the distance. ‘They are coming!’ She shouted to the others who had been doing a small stock take to see how much food they had collected.

Yanto walked out to meet them, ‘How did it go?’

‘It’s horrific, imagine the worst and times it by ten.’ Angel continued to walk over to the other girls.

‘That bad eh?’

Jake nodded. ‘Like a scene from the worst horror film you have ever watched, I have never seen so many of them, like cockroaches climbing over each other.’

‘What’s the plan then?’ Yanto asked as they both walked slowly over to the truck.

‘The bridges are unusable, both out of the question.’ Jake stopped short of the others. ‘We found a boat, no oars just a small wooden rowing boat.

‘You are going to drift across?’ Yanto was surprised.

‘It’s my only hope, either that or trek up to the Forest of Dean and come back in from Monmouth.’

‘That’s another four days on foot and we don’t have the diesel in the truck to go by road.’

‘I know.’ Jake ruffled his hair. ‘I can’t wait any longer, I have to get to my folks house.’

‘What about the tide?’ Yanto leant against the truck.

‘I had to explain to Angel that the tide in the Severn estuary has one of the highest ranges on the planet and at low tide I have a chance.;

‘What’s it doing now?’

Jake wiped a thin layer of dust from the bonnet. ‘I threw a large stick into the river, away from all the mayhem and it's going out.’

‘Time left?’

‘A few hours.’

Yanto looked across at the others now setting up the stove. ‘There’s about four maybe five and a half hours daylight left.’

‘I’m going in two.’ Jake had made his mind up. ‘Enough time to get across and find them. Then I might stay over there till first light and come back in the morning.’

‘Not tonight?’

‘It’s all according how long it takes, its fifty fifty.’

Yanto patted him on the back. ‘Let’s pray it's tonight before dark falls.’

Jake walked over to the others and took Angel by the hand. He didn’t want any emotional farewells later so they went for a small walk before they had some food.

‘I’m going in an hour, I can’t prolong it anymore.’

Angel really wanted to go with him but knew she would have to stay with the others till he returned. ‘Are you sure that boat won’t fit two?’ She joked.

‘I don’t want you in any more danger.’ Jake let go of her hand and put his arm around her shoulder. ‘You need to stay with the girls.’

‘I know, I just wish it could be tomorrow and we are all on our way to Devon.’

‘You will love it there.’ Jake stopped walking and faced Angel. ‘It’s going to be fine.’

Angel kissed him, she then hugged him tight and rested her head on his chest. ‘Just get Amber and your folks and make it back safe.’

‘I love you.’ Jake kissed the top of her head and smelt her hair.

Angel pulled her head away and looked into his eyes. ‘I love you too.’ She then passionately kissed him.

‘Steady on or I won’t want to go.’ Jake smiled with the taste of Angels tongue still inside his mouth. He hadn’t felt like this since, he had never felt like this before.

‘That’s the idea.’ Angel laughed.

‘I haven’t told anyone I have loved them since Amber was born.’ He looked at the floor and then back into Angel’s eyes. ‘This time I mean it though.’

‘I have never told anyone I have loved them.’ Angel whispered. ‘I have never been as open with anyone as I am with you.’

‘Let’s keep it that way.’ Jake held her hand once more and they both strolled back to the camp.

‘Please be safe.’ Angel squeezed his hand. ‘I don’t want to lose you when I have just found the person I want to spend the rest of my life with.’

‘I promise I will come back to you.’ Jake kissed her on the cheek. ‘And then we can start our life together.’

Chapter Twenty Four

Jake had said his goodbyes quite quickly, Lou Pepper had wished him luck with a kiss and Alice had picked him a flower which he had placed in his pocket.

Yanto was coming with him, to the water’s edge to give the boat a mighty shove. After that they were going to move a little further down to the far end of Severn Beach. The plan was that Jake would take the only torch and when he was ready with Amber and his parents he would flash it from the others side. Yanto would then light a small fire on the English side of the estuary to guide him in. Hopefully then they could all set off to Devon. Yanto had decided he would go with them and come back to Wales when order was restored, if ever.

Jake dragged the old rowing boat from the long grass and with the help of his friend they pushed it to the shore across the pebbles.

‘Get in.’ Yanto whispered.

Jake looked up at the stars just appearing as the light was starting to dim.

‘Don’t worry you have another two hours of light.’ Yanto could see he was getting edgy.

Jake then looked down river to the second Severn crossing. He had calculated where he would enter the river he should drift over to the other side without crossing under the bridge but arrive at a safe point on the Welsh side. He stepped inside the old rowing boat and it wobbled slightly, Yanto steadied it with his massive hands.

‘Cheers mate.’ He then shook Yanto’s hand.

‘Be safe and come back in one piece.’ Yanto shoved the boat out into the river and at first it looked as though it wasn’t moving but then the tide caught it and Jake drifted out a little further.

Yanto looked down the beach to the bridge and there he could see the mayhem that ensued. Angel hadn’t been joking, it was like a scene from a medieval battlefield. Naked bodies were falling from the bridge and the stench of rotting flesh was making its way upstream. Sodom and Gomorrah sprang to mind as humans intertwined with each climbing and killing as women were being used by dozens of men.
What had become of the world?

Yanto shook his head in disgust. He looked back over to the river and waved at Jake who was now heading to the other side at quite a rate, the only thing troubling Yanto was he also seemed to be heading towards the bridge. There was nothing Yanto could now though, Jake was in the lap of the gods. He had to get back and get the rest of the gang in the truck and about eight miles downstream and find a safe place where Jake could bring his family back.

The boat rocked back and forth and Jake looked down and a small puddle had formed in the bottom. He was about halfway across now but he was heading more downstream than across. He picked his bag out of the wet and moved his sword to his side. He checked the hand gun that Iris had given him, he had ten bullets.

Shit, he was heading towards the bridge.

This was the last thing Jake wanted and already he could hear the bodies falling into the water and the constant screaming and howling.

What was he going to do?

He had no way of steering the vessel, he was drifting. He could get out and swim for it but the tidal current would just pull him under the bridge just like the boat.

He crouched down low in the boat and withdrew his sword. There was nothing he could do, he was just going to have to chance it.

Another massive slash sprayed him with salty water and he swung around looking for something or someone in the water. Then burning cables flew through the air and crashed into Severn just in front of his boat,
this was suicide
.

Jake could now hear the clanking and crashing of steel upon steel as the boat drifted past the flames and eventually under the huge structure. He daren’t look up but curiosity got the better of him and he was met with about twenty pairs of eyes watching him. Some of the ‘Infected’ had crawled under the bridge and were now lying on the safety net. Hollering and spitting they became increasingly more agitated as he floated by. A small rock then hit the side of his small boat and it rocked. Jake could also hear arms thrashing around in the water, his heart pounded.

Then the vessel suddenly stopped moving and the naked bodies above started shaking the safety net with frenzy. They were totally demented, screeching and defecating in his direction. Jake could then see a pair of hands holding on to the side of the boat and he could see a man trying to climb aboard.

‘No you don’t .’ Jake said and sliced both hands clean off and the boat started to drift slowly once more.

The vessel now reappeared on the other side of the bridge and Jake looked up. A naked women crashed into the river just a foot from his boat and then more flames fell from above as more bits of bridge were being set alight and turfed over the edge by the crazed infected.

Jake sliced his blade from side to side as he thought he could see another body in the water ahead. The sea was red with blood and arms and legs were bobbing up and down on the surface. Jake looked ahead and could now see the Welsh shore but it wasn’t coming fast enough.

Suddenly the boat crashed upwards and Jake fell back losing his sword over board. He rolled around in the now deeper puddle in the bottom of the boat and quickly realised another body was also in there with him.

It was a naked teenage girl. She had one bloodshot eye and the other was just a black socket. She screamed spraying blood in his direction and then lunged at him, her long fingernails raking the air close to Jake’s face.

The boat rocked violently from side to side as he grappled with the girl. He needed to get to his bag to get the pistol but the youngster was showing super human strength and pinning him down trying to shove his face into the water in the bottom of the boat. He brought his knee up and caught her in the buttocks and she fell forward letting go of Jake’s arms. He managed to roll away and kick her in the ribs as tried to turn around. She was now hissing and wailing and Jake kicked her again hard and he could hear a crack.

Just as he was going to finish her off she grabbed his ankle and brought him crashing down. The teenager was now moving a bit slower but still managed to seize Jake by the throat as she went to bite his neck. Jake slammed his head into her nose and he could feel it give way under his forehead. The girl cried out but showed no signs of giving up.

Jake managed a fleeting glimpse at the shore and it was getting nearer plus he could see a mudflat to his right. He had enough of this fight and just as the young girl was going to strike again he tipped the boat up. The next thing he knew was freezing cold water seeping through his clothes and hitting his skin, it took his breath away.

He searched for his bag, he knew it would float and he could make out a dark lump on the surface so he made a grab for it.

That was a mistake, it was the teenage girls head and she yelled at him spraying blood in his face. Jake used all his strength and pushed the head under water. He could feel the girl’s arms and legs kicking out trying to find his hands but Jake wouldn’t let go and kept on pressing. Suddenly the kicking stopped and he could feel the pressure ease off as the young girls lungs filled with salty sea water.

He eventually let the teenager go and she slipped away with the tide, he now needed to find his bag.

Searching in the gloom was tricky and the tide kept pulling him away from the upturned boat that was now stuck on the mudflat. With all his strength Jake swam up and close to the boat until his feet could touch the silty mud. There lying next to it was his bag, cord pulled tight to stop the water from getting in.

Pulling each foot from the mud was arduous work as the squelched into the next suction pocket. He could see the beach on the Welsh side but walking it would take forever, over to his left the water was shallow but deep enough to swim. As he pulled his way towards the river he could see the first Severn crossing was now a twisting under the heat of the flames. Then with a huge twang the thick steel ropes gave way slicing through the smoke filled air cutting anything in its way. The bridge fell sideways and burning bodies fell from it in their hundreds, Jake was mesmerised by the sight of such a huge structure collapsing.

The splash was titanic as the bridge crashed to the sea bed. Flames lit up the sky and smoke and steam rose from the murky depths. It was an apocalyptic scene that held everyone naked or clothed at its mercy. Jake regained some control and realised what would be coming next. There was no way something that immense could hit the water without sending through a massive wave.

He had to move fast or he would be swept out to sea along with a thousand charred bodies in a whirlpool of red. Jake leapt into the water his head submerging and his cheeks feeling the cold of the estuary. He swam like Tarzan. Ignoring the pain he had endured in his battle with the teenage girl and the added weight of his clothes he pushed his arms into the water kicking his legs to propel him. As he neared the shore he could feel the swell of the river as the water was starting to push with the tide. He felt as though he swimming at an Olympic rate as the surge got faster, then his hand caught the hard pebbled bed. He touched his feet down and they crunched onto the stones. Stumbling out of the water his bag in one hand and the sea water draining from his clothes he fell to his knees when he reached the shale. Jake wanted to stay there, he wanted to rest but he knew had to get further in shore. Looking behind him as he stood Jake could see the water crashing down entangled with lumps of masonry and concrete. He pushed himself up and ran up the beach and onto the grass, the water chasing him down with every step.

He made it, he pulled himself up the bank as the water slammed into the sand creating a huge wave to shoot up into the air and rain down on Jake as he rolled across the ground to safety.

A few minutes later he crouched down by the side of the sand bank and watched as the bodies floated past. There were so many of them he lost count such a waste of life. The farm animals too, hundreds of them, Jake turned away. Only the thought of Amber and his parents gave him the strength to carry on. He prayed that Angel and the others would have been out of harm’s way also. Even the thought of Angel made his heart heavy, he wanted them all together. His Mother, Father, Amber and Angel and of course Lou Pepper, he wanted them all by his side.