Thirteen Roses Book One: Before: An Apocalyptic Zombie Saga (6 page)

She'd been approached, more than once. It was the eyes. And they always offered less than those bastard shoes. A pair of shoes for your virginity and pride and self. Lucky they didn't know she was a virgin really, or they'd have offered her more. Maybe she'd have been tempted.
 

Krystal spat on the floor, earning looks from the couple putting tables and chairs outside the cafe. She thought about sitting in one just to watch them react, then opted not to. She glanced over her shoulder as she turned the corner. He was still there, still following. Bloody hell.
 

She went through the market, out the other side and found a nice spot near a cash point. The sun made begging so much easier. Didn't get any more money, but people didn't hurry as much and she could relax. Gets too cold and you never relax, just shiver until you fall asleep.
 

She'd been there an hour or two before he approached and sat down beside her.
 

'Oi, piss off, would you. Never get anything with two of us here.'

'I'll split anything I get.'

'You won't get anything. People never give when there're two of you.'

'Why not?'

'Who do they give to? They ain't giving to both and they can't decide 'cause it makes 'em feel bad, so they just don't give at all.'

'I need to talk to you.'

'No you don't. You said all you need to say. Look, leave me alone. You want advice, leave him alone, too. He's a bastard, complete and utter and you don't want anything to do wi--'

'I can still feel him inside me. I can hear him in my ear. I couldn't leave him alone if I tried.'

Krystal looked down at the cup placed on the pavement before her. How the hell was she supposed to respond to that? 'Yeah, look, I get that, b--'

'Do you? Has it happened to you?'

'Well, no, I been lucky, but he punched me and he's punched a lot of other people. And done what he did to you. No one's killed him be--'

'So he was there to do it to me. How long before he comes for you?'

'He won't, he only likes boys.'

'Of course he does, stupid me, why didn't I know? But how about someone else? Someone else will come for you, won't they, eventually.'

'So? Killing him won't make any bloody difference. He's gone, it'll just be someone else. You go to prison and they'll be lining up.'

'I can't go to prison, I'm too young.'

'You think the YOI's any better?'

He fell silent, chewing on his lip like it was his first hot meal in weeks. Krystal tried a few sad looks at the passers-by and got a quid for her troubles. The boy shrunk back against the wall. You'd barely notice him, even if you knew he was there. She tried a bit harder and got enough for some lunch.
 

Krystal's stomach growled. The trouble with having breakfast, it makes you hungry for the rest of the day.
 

'Right, see you then.'

She set off walking fast and for a moment he stayed where he was, eyes fixed on something far in the distance. Then he scrambled to his feet and raced after her. Krystal's head was down, protected by the thin material of her hoodie, eyes on the pavement. He was still there, eyes burning through the cotton. Silent treatment time. She'd see how he fared with a one-way conversation.
 

He seemed happy to say nothing, though, so they stomped to the river in silence. There was a shop, just past Embankment tube that sold cheap sandwiches after lunch, cheaper to people like her. She was still trying to ignore him, but he followed anyway.
 

Someone shouted, but it can't have been aimed at her. She'd not done anything to the best of her knowledge. It was, though. Somehow she knew the voice was calling her and her alone. With a grunt, she slowed and peered out the corner of her hoodie. It was some guy selling flowers. He waved at her and despite all her natural instincts, she wandered over.
 

'Yeah?'

'Hello, young lady, how are you today?'

She examined him. Was he for real? Weird face, like his skin couldn't decide where to sit. She wasn't sure about the eyes either. They'd either give you a tenner note or drag you down an alley and beat you to death just for the fun of it. Nice smile though. Krystal stared for a moment before deciding he was in the tenner-note mood.
 

'Yeah, alright. Had some tea, got enough for lunch.'

'Well that is splendid. And who's this?'

'Ed.'

'Hello, Ed, how are you?'

'Vengeful.' She answered for him. Ed squirmed beneath both their gazes before shrugging.
 

'What she said.'

'I see. Well, I apologise, but my gift is for Krystal. Wo--'

'How d'you know my name? Who the hell are you?'

The flower seller smiled again and she relaxed, just a little. What was going on? This guy was a snake. That, or a stalker. Since when did homeless people get stalkers? She tried again. 'How did you know my name?'

'How can I have a present for you if I don't know your name?'

'That isn't an answer.'

He nodded and smiled again and she realised he wasn't going to say anything else. She could both walk away and hope he wasn't enough of a psycho to follow, or wait and see what the present was. It'd been a while since she'd had a present.
 

'Yeah, what's the present then?'

With a flourish, he pulled a single red rose out from a bunch on the front of the stall and handed it to her. The smell hit her before she wrapped careful fingers around it. For a brief moment, the scent took her away. She was sat in a penthouse, staring out over the city, wearing new clothes that didn't scratch or have holes in and the whole flat smelt like the rose. The popping sound made her glance over at the open plan kitchen and she saw a coffee percolator coughing away to itself.
 

She breathed out and was back on Embankment. It was like being punched in the gut, only without-- actually, it was like being punched in the gut. She glared at the flower seller.
 

'Why you giving this to me?'

'I thought you might need it, a little hope now and then.'

'Yeah, that and then some. Thanks, I suppose.'

He nodded and smiled. 'Remember, the greatest gifts are those you give away.'

She opened her mouth to respond but he'd already rushed over to a young couple standing by the stall. She looked at the rose and shook her head. Lunch time.
   

Krystal Part Three

The lady in the shop was like the most generous person in the world. She gave her enough sandwiches for dinner as well and asked for a quid. Still shaking her head, Krystal wandered down to the river. Something was bugging her. Something other than the silent ghost drifting along behind.
 

It was the look the woman gave the rose she carried. As she walked in the shop, both women behind the counter turned to look at her and they both zeroed in on the rose. They had some sort of look between them then treated her like their daughter. Which was weird 'cause she wasn't that much younger than them.
 

She shrugged and settled on a bench. Another sunny day. Ed came and set beside her, as far to the other end as possible.
 

'I'm going to do it tonight.'

'How? How you gonna do it?'

'There are four hostels round here, right?'

'Yeah.'

'So I'll go to each one until I find him. When I do, I'll put a knife between his ribs.'

'You know how difficult it actually is to stab someone to death? There are guys in America in those prisons got stabbed like fifty times and din't die.'

'Yeah, but he'll be sleeping and I'll put it in his heart.'

'Even so.' She sighed. What the hell was she thinking? 'What do you need me for then?'

'I need you to vouch for me, to say I was with you all night.'

'Ooh yeah, you and me cosying up, I can see it now. Bollocks, they won't go for that.'

'He's just one of us. Why would they believe a dead person and not both of us?'

He was right. She could say the right words and probably, maybe, it would work.
 

'Where's the knife?'

'I don't know. I have to find one. But that's easy. As long as the blade's long enough.'

She hissed through her teeth and stared at the unwrapped sandwich in her hand. Her appetite was gone but she still stuffed it into her mouth and took a bite. It was bloody delicious and her appetite came flooding back. She crammed the best part of it into her mouth and, without thinking, offered the other one to Ed.

He looked from it to her and, with that labrador face, took it in shaking hands. She was skinny, but he was scary thin, like he'd fall over in a strong wind.
 

'You ain't got the strength to put it through his skin.' Why was she even contemplating this?
 

'I have. It won't take much, not with a sharp knife.'

'He'll wake up, you know? Moment the point goes in 'im, he'll wake up and go for you.'

'Yeah, I know. I'll line it up and do it in one big shove. I've thought about it.'

'Yeah, I can tell. So I help you, what's in it for me?'

'My undying gratitude.'

She burst out laughing, sides aching from the unfamiliar. 'Right, so you'll remember me when you're driving around in your Ferrari, that right?'

He chuckled as well. 'I don't have anything else.'

'You know what you got? You've got your freedom and the chance something might be different tomorrow.'

'Do you really believe that?'

She sneered and hissed at him. She'd keep her bloody sandwiches next time. She was only angry 'cause he was right. She didn't believe it, not for a second. She was counting the winters till they got a bad one and she couldn't get in the hostel and they found her next morning looking like Frosty the bloody snowman. Just counting the days.
 

Was prison such a bad option compared to that? She sniffed and got off the bench. Maybe doing something different was the change she needed. 'Alright, I can do that. Where are we gonna say we were?' His eyes opened a little wider and she realised he hadn't planned this far ahead. 'Surprised you, did I?'

He looked slightly sick as he nodded. 'Yeah. Um, so, I suppose one of the hostels that he's not at.'

'So we start together at one of them and you can go off and find him and then come back and I'll say you never left.'

'Yeah, yeah, that sounds perfect.'

He stood and bounced from foot to foot. 'I better be off, need to find a knife.'

'Yeah. Same place as last night?' She thought about offering to help, but that was a step too far. One thing at a time. He nodded and walked off, head not quite so bowed. He slipped between the normals in their suits and was gone. She blinked and looked down at the rose in her hand. Why had he given her this?

It was a slow day, but she got enough cash for the hostel. She trudged back to Black Street where she'd started the day, and rang the bell. It would be Mrs Ely again tonight. She stood on the step, twisting the rose between her fingers and caught the scent again.
 

She was transported. She stood in a graveyard, rain pelting her. Her clothes stuck to her body and she shivered. The rose was still in her hand and she placed it on a mound of freshly dug earth. The headstone just said Ed and she shivered again.
 

The sound of a door opening intruded and she blinked. The graveyard was gone, replaced by the opening door of the hostel. The rose looked sort of ordinary, the petals curled and pale from a day in her hand. She sniffed and headed inside.
 

He arrived out of breath, kitchen knife stuffed in his belt. They didn't say much, just ate more of the sandwiches and stared at the walls. They hadn't talked about what they'd do if Dawid turned up here. Probably stay until it was done, she guessed, but the words kept sticking in her throat.
 

It was actually happening. She only believed it when he got up and leaned down, mouth close to her ear.

'You're going to do this, right?' His voice shook.
 

She nodded. 'Yeah, I am.'

He went to the door and was about to go when she jumped up. 'Here, it's weird, but d'you want the rose?'

She shoved it at him and he took it before he realised what it was. He blinked as he looked at it and back at her. 'Thanks.'

'Yeah, whatever.'

The door closed and she stared into her cup. The tea swirled gently round and round and she watched it. Circles, never ending circles. Every time she thought they'd stop, she put her spoon back in and stirred a little more. That was all it took, a spoon in the right place, a knife in the right back and the circles began.
 

She smashed her hand through the cup and the contents flew across the room to strike the wall. The other two in there gasped and stared but she ignored them. Who put their fist through her life? She wasn't sure if it was Dad, or Mum, or social, or all three. But there had been circles and circles and then the fist came and she was showered all over the wall.
 

Krystal swore and jumped from her seat. She ignored Mrs Ely's cries of dismay as she headed out the front door and dashed down Black Street towards Shaftesbury Avenue. Three hostels and the streets were dark and already quietening. She kept up a steady stream of invective as she raced towards Soho.
 

She'd seen him there more often than not. It was the biggest, above the YMCA and always packed. Easy place for him to find his next victim. She sniffed as she ran, catching scent of the rain that threatened to wash London out by the morning. That would be fitting. But she'd seen blood in rain, after an accident. It didn't wash away, it just thinned out until the street turned pink.
 

She reached the hostel and bent double, hands on her knees. Her chest heaved and spots appeared before her eyes. She had to get inside, she couldn't be too late. She rang the bell then thumped the door until it was pulled open by an angry looking Mr Jensen. He frowned, lined face growing deep crevices.