The Afflicted: A Zombie Novel (11 page)

“Yep.”
Joe winked and poured himself another. Evan sat down beside Amane.

“What do you think?” he asked her, taking a handful of peanuts.

“I think we’re lucky they found us. I know this is an odd situation, but they seem harmless. We’ve got a roof over our heads. Food and drink. We should be happy right now.” Amane shrugged and filled two glasses of wine.

“Lily, you can have one glass, no more, okay?”

“Fine by me. Mum never let me have
any
. I mean, I’m fifteen, does she think I’ve never had a drink!”

Evan
and Amane smiled at each other picking at the food.

N
athaniel had been sitting quietly in the chair, observing everything, saying nothing. He filled his glass and stood, watching them.

“D
o you believe?” he asked, to no one in particular.

“What’s
that, mate?” said Joe through a mouthful of potato.

“In Him.
The Lord. Blessed are thee that follow in His footsteps.”

“Not me. I believe in what’s in front of me.
This Shiraz for starters.” Joe took a big gulp. “I believe I’ll never get to the MCG again. And I believe the world is royally screwed. Thus endeth the sermon. Cheers.” He chinked his glass against the half-empty bottle on the table, oblivious to the atmosphere developing around him.

Nathaniel said nothing
. He just stood there staring at them. Amane and Evan cast sideways glances at each other. Before they could speak, Father Thomas came back in with some bandages. He bent down at Lily’s feet and began examining her leg.

“Lily was it? Here, let me look at you
,” he said kindly. Father Thomas studied Lily, and when he rested his hand on her knee, Amane could see Lily growing uncomfortable.

“Thanks
, Father,” said Amane taking them from him. “Come on, Lily, let’s get you sorted.”

Nathaniel wandered out into the corridor taking the bottle of whisky with him,
muttering through his beard.

“I must say you are lucky we found you,” said the Father
, standing back up again. “Outside of these four walls is a world that none of us are used to. ‘The earth shall cast out the dead.’” He paused, hoping his words would be taken with the seriousness he wanted them to be.

“
It’s hard to believe, but there’s no denying what you can see with your own eyes. The prophets foretold all of this, you know? If I may be so bold, Evan, have you all prepared? With the approaching Armageddon, all our houses must be in order.” The Father remained standing over them whilst Amane tended to Lily’s swelling ankle. He was getting a little too preachy for Evan’s liking.

“I don’t think we are really thinking much further than the next day to be honest with you. It’s hard enough finding water to drink,
and food to eat, let alone contemplating the Apocalypse, or whatever this is.” Evan carried on munching on some chips hoping the Father would take the hint to drop the conversation.

“Zombies.
That’s all they are,” said Joe, looking thoughtfully into his glass of wine. “No more, no less. Just dead bodies that have forgotten they’re dead. I haven’t seen the four horse-men riding around, and I certainly haven’t seen God. Just stinking dead bodies everywhere.”

“I think the dead are walking becaus
e they have no place else to go,” said Amane. “Think how many people have died since mankind has been around. For every one that went to Heaven, how many have gone to Hell? What if the gates to Hell were locked? What if they all got kicked out? It’s like a dam that’s full and the water has to go somewhere. Hell is overflowing if you ask me. Maybe the souls of the damned have to go somewhere, so they’re back here, inhabiting dead bodies.”

She looked at George who, if he was listening to their conversation, was paying no heed. He was slurping orange juice down,
pretending not to listen, soaking in every word.

“But then
, maybe my wine glass is overflowing and I’m talking crap.” Amane raised a fake smile; feeling very tired all of a sudden.

“My dear, you may have something there,” interjected the Father. “If I may quote once more: ‘And death and Hell delivered up the dead wh
o were in them; and they were judged by every man.’

“
Man has for too long ignored the signs: murder, deviant sexual practises, greed, and sloth. Common people die in abject poverty while the businessmen of this world grow rich from unrestrained lust. It is all there plain as day! The earth is ripe for harvest my friends. You can’t argue with what you see, with what you’ve seen with your own eyes out there.”

“Ok
ay, Father.” Evan stood up, reluctant to let this go on any longer. “Look, thank you for taking us in, but can we perhaps talk about this some other time? George is a bit young for all this and I think we are all in desperate need of some rest right now.”

“Evan, I wonder if I might take y
ou on a short tour of the house?” The Father belched loudly.

“Yeah, sure.
Would be good to know where we are: doors, exits, all that. Joe, can you keep an eye on George?”

Joe looked over at George who was
now gorging himself on chocolate. “No problem, mate. We’re not going anywhere.”

“Oh and everyone, it goes without saying that we should be quiet at all times,” said the Fath
er like a teacher speaking to his pupils. “In particular, please do not go anywhere near the front door. You are fine in here, or upstairs. If you stray beyond that, then I’m afraid I cannot vouch for your safety.”

Evan left the warm lounge
, following behind the Father who whipped a small flashlight out of his pocket. The hallway was quiet, dark, and cold.

“You must be curious
, I suppose, about the tunnel?” said the Father, eager to talk. “I’m afraid it’s the only way in or out now. Next door is the mortuary and the old chap who used to live here built the tunnel back in the sixties. Probably thought there was going to be World War Three or something.” He gave a little laugh and his big belly wobbled unflatteringly.

“
Well, Nathaniel runs it now. Anyway, you must keep quiet. I’ll show you why it’s so handy now.” He led Evan through a door, into a small vestibule. He flicked the torchlight off and motioned for Evan to look through the spyhole in the huge, wooden front door.

Evan looked and
gasped. The garden was completely full of zombies, staggering around like drunks. From the front door back to the gate, they filled the garden. The zombies were stuck between the house and the tall fencing ringing it, squashed like canned sardines. Their heads bobbed up and down like seals peering over the ocean waves. Evan broke out in a cold sweat. He felt trapped. Charlie’s voice rang through his head again.

“I’m scared, I’m scared...”

Father Thomas pulled Evan away and back through the doorway, flicking the torch back on.

“What the hell is that?” said Evan w
hen they were safely out of earshot.

“
Sadly, those poor souls have been there for a couple of days,” said the Father. “They get agitated when the sun comes up. I think they can hear Nathaniel when he goes out, but they can’t get past the fences. They’re stuck in there like sheep in a pen. I wonder if they’ve developed into some kind of herd or if they’re still as individual and selfish as they were in life. We’ve thought about trying to move them, but it’s impossible. Lord knows how long they will be there. Still, as long as they are out there and we’re in here, I think it’s best to let sleeping dogs lie, don’t you? Come on.”

He began trudging up the stairs, pausing
on the final step to catch breath. Evan reluctantly followed. The house seemed secure but he wasn’t comfortable knowing there were so many of the dead out there, so close. At the top of the stairs, he counted at least six doors and deliberated how big the house must be. As they walked, Evan noticed the crosses on the walls: large and small, all depicting Jesus spread-eagled in pain and torment. Through the end door, Father Thomas led him into a bedroom.

“Careful son, it’s a little messy in here.”

The room was clearly not used. The bed was covered in old magazines and the room was strewn with clothes and boxes. There was hardly any free space to walk on and Evan trampled over old suits and shirts on the floor.

“See? Down there.”
The Father pointed out through a small window, criss-crossed by elaborate ironwork.

Evan looked through it. T
o the left he saw the edge of the shopping centre they had passed through earlier. However, the window mostly looked out over the road and he could see their van that had ploughed into the truck. There were a couple of zombies wallowing around, but no activity of note. He wondered if the Father had seen what had happened to Karyn. Surely if he had, he would have said something? Was she still in the van? It was dark and there was no way of seeing inside now. The doors were shut and he could see nothing useful that would indicate if she had left the van or not. For all the trouble she’d caused, he had to admit he felt a little remorseful now. She was out there alone, inside the van or not, probably scared witless, not even knowing where her son was. Evan vowed that tomorrow they would fetch her. He hoped she’d stayed in the van. If not, there was a good chance George would never see his mother again.

“When we heard the crash we raced up here to see what was happening. We ha
dn’t seen anyone alive for at least twenty four hours before you. Nathaniel’s a good, stout man. I knew he would find you.”

“I’m grateful
, Father. We were in trouble, I know.” They continued their conversation in the dark. Father Thomas turned the torch off to avoid it shining through the window and attracting any unwanted attention.

“So
, Father, is it okay if we stay here tonight? We’ll be on our way in the morning.”

“Oh goodness yes, of course. Take your time. There are plenty of
bedrooms up here, plenty of space for all of you. But tell me, where do you intend to go tomorrow?”

“Well, my family
is on Tasmania. We were heading to the harbour to get a boat before we crashed.” Evan paused, unsure of whether he should say anymore. Perhaps he should offer to take these men with them? His question was answered without the need to ask it.

“Tasmania!” Father Thomas sat down on the bed, springs creaking under the weight.

“Madness. Oh, of course you must do what you need to but...Evan I have a mission to complete here and I need all the help I can get. I am but a lamb in His service, and I am only one. With more followers, comes more power, and...Nathaniel is a devout believer; he’ll stand by me, but...

“
Evan you have seen what has become of our world? We are haunted by demons and unclean spirits. It is clear the Armageddon is coming. It is all written in the scriptures. This day has been foretold for generations. I’ll show you down stairs in the library!” He was getting worked up again, enthusiastic to bring Evan into his world.

Evan
interrupted before he was subjected to any more unwanted lectures. “Father, I’m sorry, but
my
mission is to find my family. That is all. I don’t want to interfere with your plan, your calling, or whatever it is. You must do what you need to. I’m sorry, I appreciate your help, we all do, but our paths are only going to cross tonight. We’ll be on our way tomorrow.”

Father Thomas sat silently on the bed. Evan could hear his wheezing breath and was glad it was dark so he didn’t have to look at him.
It was a full minute before Evan get a reply.

“And you’re not a believer, Evan.
None of you?” The Father stood up. Evan could not see the flaring nostrils, or the anger burning the Father’s cheeks.

“No.”

It occurred to Evan that maybe before all this, he had believed in God. He couldn’t remember that life anymore. But he knew he didn’t believe now.

“Very well,” said the Father despondently, yet firmly. The torch flashed back into life and Evan followed him back down to the libra
ry. They did not speak on the way back.

As they entered the warm
library, Evan saw Joe had fallen asleep and kicked his chair. Joe stirred and shifted his weight before going straight back to sleep. Amane was chatting to Lily and George had found a book to read.

“The Father has kindly offered us a room for the night. Upstairs, take your pick, plenty of room. Be quiet when you go about the house though. And avoid the front door, ok
ay? I’m serious. You stick to here and the rooms upstairs.” Evan felt uncomfortable. He knew he had offended the Father, but just because he had offered them sojourn in this house, didn’t mean they had to convert.

“Bathroom’s upstairs too,
” Father Thomas said, walking over to the dying fire and extinguishing it with a jug of water. The hiss of steam broke the awkward silence and the room was plunged into a darkness illuminated only by the torch he carried.

Amane
realised that this was their cue to move, and picked up the flashlights on the table. She blinked one on and handed the other to Evan. “I’ll take Lily with me. See you in the morning, yeah?”