The Undead Day Twenty Read online

  ‘Are you sure it was Paco Maguire?’ Paula asks the same question again, getting nods coming back.

  ‘Bread rolls,’ Clarence says, walking into the group with his hands holding several jam filled weirdly shaped lumps of bread.

  ‘Cheers,’ Howie says, taking one.

  ‘Want one,’ the little Indian girl says on sight of the rolls.

  ‘Amna,’ Subi says, ‘that is rude.’

  ‘She can have mine,’ Howie says, offering the roll to the little girl who beams with delight.

  ‘Here, honey,’ Paula says, offering her roll to Subi. ‘Go on, we’ve got plenty.’

  ‘Why is she sniffing that girl the most?’ Marcy asks, offering her roll to the children.

  ‘Dunno,’ Nick says, thinking hard. ‘Did Paco carry you? Did he carry this girl?’ He asks the older children who nod.

  ‘No way,’ Howie says. ‘Paco?’

  ‘Hey,’ Paula says, crouching at the side of the van. ‘Did Paco have any injuries anywhere?’

  Subi nods, her hand lifting to touch the base of her neck. ‘Here.’

  ‘He couldn’t speak,’ Rajesh says.

  ‘He did speak, Raj,’ Subi says. ‘He said dog and girl and Heather…’

  ‘Howie, want to get everyone ready?’ Paula says softly. ‘I’ll find out the rest.’

  ‘Yep.’

  ‘Save me a roll,’ she adds.

  ‘And me,’ Marcy says.

  ‘Yep,’ Howie calls out, rushing back with Nick and Clarence.

  ‘She killed him,’ Clarence says. ‘We were there. We saw it.’

  ‘Maybe she didn’t,’ Nick says.

  ‘What’s going on?’ Blowers asks, eating a bread roll with jam.

  ‘Get ready to go…Paula’s finding out the rest but it’s looking likely.’

  ‘No way,’ Blowers says, shaking his head.

  ‘Is Maddox having a bread roll with jam?’ Cookey shouts, ‘cos I’ll shit in it if he is…’

  ‘I’m fine, thank you,’ Maddox says, holding his impassive expression.

  Chaos erupts. An explosion of activity of many people moving through a house while finding socks, boots, clean tops and eating jam filled bread rolls. Rifles are checked, fresh magazines loaded. Pistols the same. Dull metallic clicks sound from every room. Voices arguing over space and kit. The bathroom is used. A constant flushing of the toilet. Kyle moves amongst them, passing rolls into hands to make sure they all get something.

  Charlie goes into the back garden to get Jess ready before going back into the house with a thoughtful look on her face. The cut on her cheek is itching already. She scratches it gently then the top of her ear too, feeling the new shape under her fingertips. She stops outside to look down at Jess munching happily on the grass verge.

  ‘Why is Jess out the front?’ She asks, going back into the house.

  ‘My fault,’ Clarence calls down from upstairs. ‘She came out last night…’

  ‘How did she…’

  ‘Through the house. I had biscuits.’

  ‘Oh. Oh I see. Right…’

  ‘Is that okay? Can she have biscuits?’

  ‘One or two now and then won’t harm her.’

  ‘Er…roger that, one or two….now and then…roger.’

  She goes back outside to get Jess ready, checking the big animal over before leading her to the horse box at the back of Roy’s van.

  Maddox waits on the path outside the house. Watching and listening and feeling very alone. Pea and Sam eat bread rolls and move amongst the team with ease, sharing jokes and comments. Joan stays at the van with Paula and Marcy. Everyone ignores him. His lip stings a little but it’s not the first time he’s been hit and he knows Blowers pulled that punch a lot. That thought alone tells him there might be a chance to earn back the respect he had before. Still, it was a bloody hard punch though. He hasn’t been put on his arse for a long time. Not since he was a kid.

  ‘Twat,’ Cookey mutters, rushing past to get the Saxon ready.

  ‘Cookey,’ Maddox says, still holding that polite tone.

  ‘Cunt…’

  ‘Who are you?’ Maddox asks.

  ‘Blinky,’ Blinky says, stopping as she rushes behind Cookey. ‘I blink a lot…’

  ‘Oh…I’m Maddox.’

  ‘I know.’

  ‘Okay.’

  ‘Bye.’

  ‘Er…bye,’ Maddox says as she runs towards the Saxon. ‘Hey,’ he looks down at feeling Meredith’s nose sniffing his leg. He drops to a squat, rubbing her head and ears. ‘Do you hate me?’ She runs off back to the van and smells inside. ‘Figures,’ Maddox mutters, standing back up.

  ‘We ready?’ Howie asks, coming down the stairs with his hands full of kit. ‘Marcy, your stuff is here by the door.’

  ‘Ta,’ she shouts from the van.

  ‘Maddox.’

  ‘Hi,’ Maddox says, nodding at Roy coming out the house. ‘How are you?’

  ‘Fine…got a weird pain in my mouth though. In the right cheek…might be a growth.’

  ‘A growth?’

  ‘And I’m sure my neck doesn’t feel right…’ Roy says, turning his head side to side. ‘Feels knotted…must be something bad.’

  ‘New pillows?’ Maddox asks.

  ‘Ah could be…’ Roy says, looking at the younger man thoughtfully. ‘Blowers hit you?’

  ‘S’nothing.’

  ‘Bit swollen. I’ve got a medic’s bag from the hospital section yesterday.’

  ‘That’s er…that’s good.’

  ‘Red.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘The bag. It’s red. Got loads of stuff in it. I really want a defib though. We should have a defib.’

  ‘Cock,’ Cookey mutters rushing back into the house.

  ‘Other than that I think I got some good stuff though. Have they got any over there?’

  ‘Any what?’

  ‘Defibs?’

  ‘Er…I don’t…yes, yes they have.’

  ‘The mobile ones in the yellow case? It’s all self-contained…has a voice that tells you what to do…’

  ‘I’m not sure.’

  ‘Cock.’

  ‘Cookey,’ Maddox says, nodding politely again.

  ‘Course I said I’m not a medic but Howie seems to think I am.’

  ‘Hey, Maddox.’

  ‘Blinky.’

  ‘Cunt…why are we calling him names again?’

  ‘He locked Lani in the…’

  ‘I could probably set a broken arm. Maybe a broken leg…you know, splint it up. Cuts and bruises are easy enough too. Did you see Charlie’s face?’

  ‘Er…the girl with the cut,’ Maddox says, touching his own cheek.

  ‘Yes, the same. I steristripped that wound. Doctors said I did a good job too.’

  ‘That’s good.’

  ‘Roy.’

  ‘Blowers,’ Roy says, turning to the door as Blowers comes out. ‘Pulled the punch then.’

  ‘Bit. You ready?’

  ‘Yep, all ready,’ Roy says, nodding at his bow and kit bag at his feet. ‘Am I taking my van?’

  ‘Probably,’ Blowers says, avoiding looking at Maddox. ‘Can’t be Paco…the dog had his throat out.’

  ‘Maybe she didn’t kill him,’ Roy says. ‘Did any of you check?’

  ‘Check what?’

  ‘His heart or pulse.’

  ‘His throat was ripped open.’

  ‘Still…look at Cookey’s back and Charlie’s wounds. There’s a chance she left him alive…well, she must have done if he is alive.’

  ‘Cookey’s back?’ Maddox enquires.

  ‘Go fuck yourself,’ Blowers mutters.

  ‘Infected ripped his back open,’ Roy explains. ‘Healing well mind.’

  ‘Ready,’ Howie says, dumping kit bags on the floor as the others pile out.

  ‘Will you be coming back here today?’ Kyle asks, coming to the door.

  ‘Hope so,’ Howie says. ‘Where’s Reggie?’

  ‘Behind y
ou.’

  ‘Oh, you read all that stuff yet?’

  ‘I have and I need to read it again.’

  ‘Righto, we’ll be doing this for a bit. Paula? Marcy?’

  ‘Two minutes,’ Marcy says, leaning round the back of the van, ‘did you save us some rolls?’

  ‘I have them here,’ Kyke says, holding two rolls wrapped in silver foil in the air.

  ‘Don’t let Nick eat them.’

  ‘He’s had four already so he has.’

  ‘Four?’ Blowers asks, leaning round Howie to look at Nick. ‘You fat fucker.’

  ‘Get bent.’

  ‘Blowers is,’ Cookey says, rushing past to the Saxon. ‘Twat…’

  ‘Cookey,’ Maddox says, noticing as the last two come out the house. ‘Mo Mo,’ he says, nodding at the young lad.

  ‘What did I tell you?’ The space falls silent at Dave’s dull hard voice.

  ‘Awkward!’ Cookey shouts from the Saxon.

  Mo looks different. Older, harder, his eyes are like the rest of them now. Never still but always watching, always scanning. He doesn’t slouch but stands straight and he’s had a shave too. All the wispy hairs from his jaw and chin are gone. Like Dave he wears a pistol on each hip with the butts facing in to be cross drawn. Knife hilts on his belt. His bag secured with the chest and waist strap fastened. Like Dave. Mo looks like Dave. Dressed the same. Standing the same.

  ‘Right,’ Paula says, coming down to the group with Marcy. ‘Everyone here?’

  ‘Cookey and Charlie,’ Howie says.

  ‘Cookey? Charlie?’ Paula calls out.

  ‘Yep, coming,’ Cookey says, dropping from the Saxon.

  ‘Here,’ Charlie says, rushing from the back of the horse trailer.

  ‘What we got?’ Howie asks.

  ‘Everyone listening?’ Paula asks, ‘no funny comments from anyone…Cookey…’

  ‘Roger that.’

  ‘Lady called Heather and Paco Maguire find three Indian kids hiding in Tesco in a town called Boroughfare…’

  ‘Do what? That’s my town,’ Howie says, looking at Dave. ‘Where me and Dave worked…in that Tesco…’

  ‘She said it was piled up with bodies.’

  ‘Yeah, Dave did that…in the middle aisle.’

  ‘I didn’t ask what aisle funnily enough. Anyway, she said the smell kept the infected away.’

  ‘Boroughfare? Seriously?’

  ‘Yes. Boroughfare. Anyway, so this Heather and Paco found them a few days ago. The kids are filthy, living in this Tesco, so Heather takes them with her and Paco. Now they…what?’

  ‘That’s our Tesco.’

  ‘Yes, Howie. I know. Heather gets them cleaned up and ends up handing them over to another group of survivors…they said Paco was all injured on his throat and his eyes were red. They said Heather bandaged him up and…’

  ‘She a doctor then?’

  ‘I don’t know, Roy.’

  ‘Oh, okay.’

  ‘Tesco? Seriously?’

  ‘Yes, in Boroughfare. So they are one hundred percent sure it was Paco Maguire. Said he was strong…like able to throw people and carried the kids all day and never got tired…’

  ‘Why you all looking at me?’ Clarence asks.

  ‘…and also that he couldn’t speak.’

  ‘They said he did speak,’ Marcy says.

  ‘I haven’t got to that bit.’

  ‘She might be a doctor.’

  ‘Me and Dave worked in that Tesco.’

  ‘Fuck’s sake…listen! Right, so Heather and Paco give the three kids to another woman. They end up getting attacked at which point Heather and Paco come back…now from what I can gather…they were near the towns we were fighting in two days ago when we took on the ten thousand…’

  ‘Ten thousand?’ Maddox asks, stepping forward.

  ‘Yep, now…they get into a town…they said it had a square and that square was full of infected. They said they hid in the top floor of a flat and saw blue and red flashing lights outside during the night….lots of gunshots and explosions…’

  ‘No way,’ Nick says, ‘they were there?’

  ‘Sounds like it,’ Paula says. ‘So Heather and Paco get seven kids moving out that town to get them here…yesterday evening they find a house and try and get inside. One of the kids got killed, shot by a shotgun…’

  ‘That’s awful,’ Clarence says, shaking his head.

  ‘Heather tried saving her but that’s when they got attacked. They said the infected kept coming all night. Lots of them. Said Paco and Heather kept them running and were fighting the infected. In the end they get trapped…Heather kissed Paco…big fight, lots of infected. This is where it gets interesting…’

  ‘Yeah cos all of that was so boring.’

  ‘Cookey, I said no comments.’

  ‘Sorry.’

  ‘Heather was bitten but carried on fighting. By this time Paco is speaking but his voice is all wrong…’

  ‘Fuck me,’ Nick mutters.

  ‘They get the kids through a hedge and tell them to run…the kids run…find a stable and use a hose to get water then a wheelbarrow to push the youngest kids. Little bit later they get found by that van and brought here. Twenty miles away.’

  ‘Shit, all that was going on twenty miles away?’ Howie asks.

  ‘Looks that way.’

  ‘Got a map,’ Marcy says, holding out a piece of paper. ‘The oldest girl, Subi?’

  ‘Yeah Subi,’ Paula says.

  ‘Genius little girl…she drew a map from where the van picked them up back to the stable.’

  ‘Fuck…can the van show us where they found them?’ I ask.

  ‘They’re ready to go,’ Paula says.

  ‘Let’s go. Load up…Maddox, what you doing?’

  ‘I would like to come with you.’

  ‘Fuck off.’

  ‘Get fucked…’

  ‘Not a fucking chance…’

  Howie pauses to look at him. ‘Can you take instruction?’

  ‘I can. I’d like to…I want to…’ he stops to drop his gaze.

  ‘Cheeky fucking twat,’ Cookey says, shaking his head.

  ‘He’s not immune,’ Nick says.

  ‘How do you know?’ Maddox asks, keeping his tone respectful.

  ‘You got tazered eight times and took two day to recover,’ Blowers says. ‘Charlie got her ear bitten off yesterday and fucking laughed about it…’

  ‘It was just the top of my ear actually.’

  ‘I can fight,’ Maddox says, looking at Howie. ‘I don’t blame Lilly for what she did…’

  ‘You fucking…’

  ‘Easy,’ Howie says to Blowers without looking at him. ‘You’ll work under Blowers on his team. You’ll follow his instructions. Clear?’ Howie says after getting a nod from Clarence.

  ‘Boss?’

  ‘Mr Howie is giving an order, Simon.’

  ‘Yes, Dave.’

  ‘Likewise Maddox will follow your instructions.’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘To the letter,’ Dave adds, looking at Maddox.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Yes, Dave,’ Dave says, still managing to make Dave sound like sarge.

  ‘Yes, Dave,’ Maddox says.

  ‘Load up. We’re going. Charlie? Jess ready?’

  ‘Ready, Mr Howie.’

  ‘Reggie? You staying or coming with us?’

  ‘Do I have a choice?’

  ‘Stay here if you want, mate. Read the books in peace…’

  ‘Oh gosh that is a nice idea. Yes a wonderful idea but I fear you will charge a horde and spend all day fighting with spoons if I am not there. Am I given to understand we are simply looking to secure this man and woman and then returning here?’

  ‘Yep.’

  ‘That won’t happen,’ Reginald says to himself as he runs behind the rest.

  Three

  Silence. Cramped hot and quiet. They sit shoulder to shoulder. Paula and Marcy near the front leaning over the hand dra
wn map. Dave and Mo by the back doors. Meredith in the middle panting at the heat and excitement of being off with the pack. Clarence in the passenger seat. Howie driving. Everyone else silent. Charlie looks down at her rifle between her legs and fingers the wound on her face.

  ‘Itchy?’ Nick asks.

  ‘Very itchy,’ she replies, flicking her gaze to Cookey and waiting for the offer but Cookey is busy staring ahead to the quiet man seated opposite. She taps his leg with her foot, smiling when she sees that hard look in his eyes soften as he looks at her.

  ‘We’re going in hot,’ Clarence says, leaning round in his seat. ‘Clear the air…now.’

  ‘You’re a fucking cunt,’ Blowers growls across the gap, making Charlie blink and everyone else look at him sharply. ‘But you’ll stay with me at all times. Where’s your bag?’

  ‘Bag?’ Maddox asks.

  ‘Where are your spare magazines? Where is your water?’

  ‘I didn’t bring any,’ Maddox says, cursing himself inwardly.

  ‘Paula, we got a spare bag?’ Blowers says.

  ‘In the locker under Charlie.’

  Charlie looks to Cookey again, waiting for the I’ll get it comment but Cookey eyes stay fixed on Maddox. She never met Lani but now realises the depth of feeling running through the others at having Maddox with them. She reaches down, mooching through the small space to pull a bag free.

  ‘Thanks,’ Maddox says, taking the bag.

  ‘You’re welcome,’ Charlie says politely.

  ‘Everyone dig a spare magazine out and give it to Maddox. We haven’t got time to load fresh ones now. How many magazines you got for your sidearm?’

  ‘One.’

  ‘Be specific. One in the weapon and one extra or just one?’

  ‘One in the weapon.’

  ‘Dave, you got any spares? Charlie, pass it down, please.’

  ‘Thanks,’ Maddox says, opening the bag.

  ‘Water bottle,’ Nick says, throwing it at Maddox’s feet.

  ‘Thanks.’

  ‘Drink now…hydrate while you can,’ Blowers says.

  ‘I’m fine.’

  ‘It’s hot. You’ll sweat and we might be engaged for a length of time. Drink now. Same for everyone else. Hydrate.’

  They do it too. All of them lifting water bottles to drink deep while Maddox takes in the confusing and messed up dynamics.