I Dream of Zombies (27 page)

“Oh,” said Ellen
, turning. “Thanks, Billy.”

“No problem,” he replied. “Glad to help. I was hoping we’d be able to go further on the train, but, hey...”

“Which way?” asked Marla. “I’d like to stop, Ellen, and talk to you properly, but we can’t. I’m so sorry. I hate to ask where we should go right now, but...”

Tommy shook his he
ad. “No, you’re damn right. It’s mid-afternoon now, so it’s not going to be dark for about five hours. We have time to go either way, I reckon. I still think we should head past that mass of freaks and keep on towards Heathrow rather than going back.”

“Okay,” said Marla. “Hang on.” With that, she slowed down and did a U-turn before driving back in the direction whence they had come. “Remember this was your
idea.”

“So sue me,” Tommy
offered. “Heading back to London is a no-no. We need to find the refugee centre that Eric mentioned – the one in Rickslaw near Pewsey.

“
As long as it is actually there…”

“I know where
some of them are,” Billy revealed.

Everyone glanced at him. “How?” asked Tommy.

“The government announced it. There’s a new message playing on the radio. I was listening to it in the train cab. They’ve announced where all the facilities are, but they were warning that violence won’t be tolerated. They’re taking a hard line. Some of the places being used are government buildings or army, which no one knew about and they’re not on any map. They also say people will have to be quarantined on arrival.”

“That makes sense,” Marla answered. “The first place we tried to get to was overrun by the dead. The army blew the place up, I think, cos there were flames going up like crazy.”

“Seems weird the army would blow up a base,” Billy remarked.

“But if the place was overrun, what option would they have?” asked Tommy. “We’ve had a few close calls ourselves.”

Billy nodded, looking to have experienced some too.

“I’d
believe any announcement,” said Ellen quietly. “There must be something close.”

“Guys, h
ere they come,” Marla announced as a dark crowd appeared in the distance. I’m going to speed up as we pass them, so don’t panic.”

“I’m not going to look,” Ellen muttered
, burying her head in Bob’s fur. The dog lapped up the attention and squirmed slightly.

Tommy nudged her. “Take a look. Get used to them. It’s the only way, I think.”

“He’s right,” added Marla, glancing in the rear-view mirror at the worried face of her sister as she peered up. “They can’t get you and you need to get rid of your fear of them.”

“They nearly just killed me.”

“But they didn’t,” said Marla. “That’s what you’ve got to focus on.”

“They give me the heebie-
jeebies.”

“Me too,” Billy piped up.

“Did… did you see Devan on the train?” Ellen asked. “No one has mentioned him.”

Marla glanced at Tommy in the mirror and sighed. “Yes, we did. He didn’t make it.”

Ellen shook her head. “Such a shame.”

“You feel sorry for him?” asked Billy
, looking surprised.

“
Yeah, I think something bad happened to him, and then Angelica…”

Billy nodded. “You’re a generous person. I don’t know if I’d be so forgiving.”

“He didn’t deserve to die…”

“No, he didn’t,” Marla agreed. “Now, we’re
just going to drive straight past them and everything is going to be okay. Trust me.”

“I do trust you,” Ellen replied
, glancing outside. “I just don’t trust them.”

As the dark crowd grew larger,
she moved closer to Tommy and away from the window. Marla put her foot down on the accelerator as they sped down the motorway on the wrong side, which was fine as she assumed nothing would be coming the other way. As the mass drew closer, their features became more distinguishable, their bodies shuffling and banging against one another. Ellen clasped her hands together to stop them trembling as Tommy wracked his brain for an interesting anecdote or joke he could tell, fast realising that neither were appropriate.

“Here we go,”
said Billy as the faces of the dead became as clear as their own.

Eyes shot in their direction and bodies angled towards them, relentless in their quest for flesh. Ellen forced herself to look, passing her gaze over the endless suffering and pain that she imagined they endured, as lifeless as they
appeared to be. She could not quite believe they felt nothing, no matter what anyone said. It was as if they were possessed. For a second she thought of Devan, or Mark as he was really called, and his theories of purgatory and damnation. Then she jumped as something hit the front of the jeep as it sped forward. Hands bent like claws reached for the windows, banging on the glass as the vehicle ploughed through. The suspension bounced as an object went under the wheels. Ellen was glad she could not see in front from where she was sitting, bent as low as she was with her arms hugging Bob tightly.

Billy focused ahead as bodies bumped against the front of the jeep, but Marla
did not slow down. She kept her foot on the accelerator and ploughed through, ignoring the splatters of blood that flew across the windscreen. After what seemed an endless time, but was only minutes, the grim surge was gone. Marla glanced in the rear-view mirror and smiled. She wished she was always protected by steel when she encountered the dead.

***

“How many
do you think?”

“I’ve lost count,” Tommy
replied to Ellen. “Too many.”

“But w
hy are they all parked here?” she asked, gazing out at the rows of vehicles parked haphazardly along the side of the motorway.

“Dunno. Maybe they got picked up
for evacuation from here?” he suggested.

“Some of the doors are open
, and I can see belongings and stuff,” she remarked, pointing. “It doesn’t feel right.”

“It’s clearing up ahead,” Marla noticed, squinting to see further. “Sure there’s a logical explanation.”

“Do you think they all got attacked?” asked Ellen, voicing the question they were all thinking.

“Impossible,” said Billy. “There’s too many.”

“Some of the windows are smashed...”

“Don’t look, Ellen, j
ust focus ahead,” soothed Marla. “We’re nearly through.”

They drove by the
rainbow of cars and vans, and everyone stared out quietly, trying not to imagine the fate of the passengers.

“Could try the radio,” suggested Billy
, breaking the silence.

“Go for it,” Marla replied.

Billy turned the dials, mostly finding crackles and white noise. Tuning into the government station, he came across the message he had heard earlier regarding the refugee centres. “This is it,” he commented.

“Do you think they are still sending out trucks or coaches
, and the like, to pick up people?” asked Ellen.

Marla shrugged. “Who knows?
I haven’t seen one in a long time, sweetie, but we can hope.”

Ellen smiled slightly and turned to peer out of the window.
Where did all the people go?
She hoped they were among the many taken out of the cities and off the main routes. The glass could have been smashed after they had gone. Odd belongings littered the road; cast-off memories of those who once sat there. As they passed, a small hand flickered. “Stop!” she shouted, causing Bob to bark loudly.

Marla almost slammed on the brakes in surprise and everyone else turned to stare at Ellen.
“There’s someone in the car!” she explained.

Tommy glanced out the rear window. “
Where?”

“I
saw a hand wave at us from one of them.”

“The pack is way back there.
We could stop for a moment, if you’re sure.”

“
Are you sure?” asked Marla.

“Yes.”

“Maybe you imagined it, little sis. You’ve been through a lot.”

“
Honestly, I saw someone,” Ellen insisted, leaning forwards. “I’ll be okay, really, but if there’s a chance there is someone there… please, Marla.”

“I’ll go,” offered Tommy.

“And me,” added Billy, glancing out the back.

Ellen
grinned.

“Okay, okay,” grumbled Marla. “Hold on, I’m
going to slow down and reverse back up, but take a look around, will you? If those things turn and come back towards us, which I just know they’re gonna do, we’re going. No questions asked. Okay?”

Ellen nodded. “Thanks,
Marl.”

She tutted. “
Yeah, but we’re gonna need to find petrol after this.”

Tommy ruffled through his backpack, removed his
handgun and checked his pump-action shotgun before shoving some ammo into the pockets of his jean jacket. In the passenger seat, Billy checked his rifle. The two men looked at one another and nodded.

Marla turned off
the engine and put the keys in her pocket. “How are we going to do this?” she asked, glancing back down the motorway. The pack of figures in the distance had not noticed them stop as yet.

“We’ll go,” Tommy suggested, “and you stay in the car.”

“You’re kidding?”

“Nope. Get that key back in the ignition and be ready to drive off if there’s trouble. We all know those things are gonna turn at some point. We’re never that lucky.”

Marla breathed out heavily. “Okay, but be careful. Ellen, I’d rather you stayed here. We haven’t talked about…”

“If it’s a girl in the car, she’s not going to get out if there are two guys,”
remarked Billy.

“I think it’s a child
, because it was a tiny hand,” Ellen added. “And you know I’m better with kids.”

“Fine!” sighed Marla, throwing her hands in th
e air. “Just be careful, please. There are a lot of cars. Something might be hiding.”

“Thanks, sis,
” said Ellen, getting out and pushing Bob back in.

Tommy and Billy did the same. The Labrador put his paws up against the glass window, whined once and looked at Marla.

“Don’t give me that face, Bob, it wasn’t my idea,” she told him. Folding her hands over the top of her head, she watched her sister walk away with a sense of dread.

The group
headed towards the rows of cars in the other lane, all facing in the opposite direction. Ahead of them the blurred, shadowy figures were still creeping forward, slowly and irrevocably as a low, eerie tone drifted on the breeze. Tommy nodded to Ellen, who led the way towards the place where she thought she had seen someone. No one said a word. Billy kept his eyes fixed on the monsters in the distance while Tommy’s darted around the parked metal.
Empty windows, empty windows...

Ellen pointed to a red car, surrounded
by vehicles on three sides. She walked slowly towards the back door and glanced in from a safe distance. Huddled on the floor were two small children. One was a boy of about ten and the other was a much younger girl of perhaps five. In the driver’s seat was a woman who was maybe in her thirties, but she was not moving. Ellen pointed and Tommy walked slowly around the bonnet to the windscreen. Billy waited behind her, surveying the site, waiting for the monsters in the distance to turn.

Moving closer to the window, Ellen
waved at the children, being careful not to touch the glass. It was a few moments before the boy peered upwards. A look of recognition swept across his face and he stood up. Ellen could tell he was unsure whether to smile or shout out for help. She smiled at him, put her fingers to her lips and pointed down the motorway in the direction of the dead creatures walking.

The boy nodded and woke his sister.
The little girl squinted with her thumb in her mouth, gripping a doll with her other hand. Her hair was white blonde and she had the face of an angel. Ellen grinned and waved again. The little girl instinctively echoed the movement. She opened her mouth, but her brother covered it with his hand. Although she screwed up her face, thankfully she did not cry out.

“She’s dead,” whispered Tommy, nodding towards the woman in the driver’s seat.

“Must be their mother,” Ellen replied. “How awful.”

He
nodded. “How do we get them to leave?”

Ellen moved back to the window and made a motion for someone to open it. The little boy hesitated and then the glass
slowly moved. First halfway, followed by a pause, and then all the way down. She nodded to him and whispered, “Hello, my name is Ellen. I’m here to help you.”

“Do you know
my mum?” asked the boy.

Ellen shook her head. “No, but I’m a teacher. I teach children.”

The boy stared blankly.

“How long have you been here?”