They would all be killed, she was sure of it. Russell hadn’t struck her as a man with suicidal tendencies, but she could have been mistaken. Plenty of otherwise rational people had taken their own lives since the zombies had arrived. Plenty of people had taken others down with them.

  Beth sat back in her seat and felt around for a strap, but instead, she found Colette’s hand. She turned to her friend who smiled back at her warmly. Suddenly Beth felt like the criminal for thinking that these people would ever betray her.

  She turned back to the wall and, with some surprise, saw a split running horizontally through it. Beyond that she could see sunlight and forest.

  ‘I knew it!’ Russell shouted from the driver’s seat.

  Beth couldn’t believe that he had staked all their lives on the assumption that the guards would open the gate rather than let them be smeared across it. But, if he had, it had paid off.

  There was more gunfire from behind, but it seemed lazy, almost as if they had given up. Of course, if they weren’t prepared to let them be killed by the wall then it was unlikely they had been shooting to kill in the first place.

  All that remained was to find out whether they would continue to pursue them past the boundary of the compound.

  They raced past the gate, and Beth realised that her guess of 60mph had been on the low side. She barely had a chance to register the guards standing on the towers before they were gone, receding into the distance behind them.

  The road led down from the gate at a shallow incline. She held onto Colette with one hand and the door with the other. She glanced back a final time allowing her to see that, somehow, the truck and the caravan were managing to keep up, and that the soldiers had stopped at the edge of their territory.

  She could hardly believe it. They were free. It had seemed impossible but, somehow, they had made their escape.

  Russell slowed down when they reached a flat, straight, stretch of road. He turned around in his seat and looked at Beth.

  ‘Okay darling, I think you should let us in on the secret now. Where are we headed?’

  Beth looked straight back at him and she didn’t know what to say. She had no idea what Noel had told Russell, nor anyone else. Had he promised them that she had a plan, or was it something that they had assumed? It suddenly occurred to her that she should have had a plan before she let anyone else follow her away from the safety of the compound.

  CHAPTER 21

  THERE WAS NO SIGN OF THE SOLDIERS. OUTSIDE of the convoy, there was no sign of movement. Darrel had taken the bikers off to explore the road ahead, and she could hear their engines in the distance.

  The jeep skidded to a halt and Beth was thrown forwards in her seat. In front of her Russell opened the door and got out. She looked back and saw that the other vehicles had also stopped and then she got out to join him.

  He ran towards the bikes, which were only now appearing in the distance. She jogged behind him, the surge of adrenalin lighting a fire under her.

  Three bikes stopped in front of them. Darrel was at the front.

  ‘What’s going on?’ Russell said. ‘Have you seen something?’

  Darrel nodded. His face was red and he looked out of breath, despite having been on a bike. ‘Hundreds of them.’

  ‘Coming this way?’

  Darrel nodded.

  ‘Shit!’ Russell said.

  He turned towards Beth and seemed about to say something to her, but then decided against it. She opened her mouth to give her opinion anyway but then thought better of it.

  ‘We could go back,’ Russell said.

  ‘To the compound?’ Beth said.

  ‘Unless you’ve got a better idea?’

  Beth shook her head. ‘I’m not going back there.’

  ‘There’s too many of them to fight. Maybe the army—‘

  ‘No,’ Beth said. She was adamant. ‘You go back if you want. If you think it’s the best thing to do. Me and Dawn aren’t going back there.’

  He turned to Darrel. ‘How far are they?’

  ‘Ten minutes at a shuffle.’

  ‘Ten minutes,’ Russell said. ‘Fuck.’

  Beth watched him pace. If she had any bright ideas then now was the time to reveal them. But nothing came to mind. The only thing she knew was that she was not going to take Dawn back into the compound.

  ‘Well we’ve got to go somewhere,’ he said, turning back to Beth. ‘We can’t just stay here.’

  ‘We could fight?’ she suggested.

  Darrel shook his head and because it was him, she knew that it was the truth. ‘There’s too many of them. They’d overwhelm us in minutes. Seconds maybe.’

  ‘We’ve got to do something,’ Russell said. ‘If we can’t go back to the compound and we can’t fight them then we can at least get out of the damn way.’

  Beth nodded.

  ‘Well let’s go then!’ Russell said.

  He turned back to the jeep and Beth followed him. Darrel went and picked up his bike. They were moving again within seconds, but they had to turn the whole convoy around and by the time they were done with that she could hear the collective moan of a thousand zombies getting closer.

  She sat in the back of the jeep, and no one spoke. Russell swore under his breath and muttered to himself, but she didn’t think that any of it was meant to be heard. She stared at the back of his head and wondered what they were going to do.

  They made slower progress climbing back up the hill. It was now light enough for them to see that the zombies were gaining on them and that there weren’t any turnings off the road.

  The jeep stopped and Russell climbed out.

  ‘What are you doing?’ Beth said. She wondered if he was going to kick her out.

  ‘Everybody out,’ he said.

  ‘What? Dad, are you serious?’ Colette said.

  ‘We can’t lose them with this,’ he said, waving at the jeep, the truck and the caravans. ‘We’ll be quicker on foot.’

  ‘But all our stuff—‘

  ‘We’ll come back for it,’ Russell said and maybe Beth was the only one who heard the unspoken, if we’re still alive.

  She got out and when the others started moving towards the forest, she turned towards the rest of the convoy. The doors to the other caravans opened and people got out. When she got to the final vehicle, she opened the door and went inside.

  The survivors from Harmony were huddled together in the seats that ran around the edge of the caravan.

  ‘Everybody up,’ she said.

  They didn’t argue with her.

  They followed her out of the caravan and they were some of the last to make their way off the road, into the forest. The canopy above created strange shadows but there was enough light for them to easily see where the others were going.

  Russell had been right. They were quicker on foot, and she felt as if they were making good progress. Beth wasn’t exactly sure where they were going but, wherever it was, it was better than staying where they were and waiting for the zombies to reach them.

  They moved at the pace of the slowest member of the group. Kathy was being helped along by two middle-aged men who looked around as if they were afraid people would be cross with them.

  After a few hundred metres they took a left turn. There was a path beaten through the forest which none of them knew was the same one Velma had returned on several weeks ago.

  People began to slow down but when Beth tried to see why she couldn’t. The other survivors from Harmony bunched up around her. They kept moving forwards.

  The sudden noise from the bushes sounded like an explosion.

  She turned, but seemed to move in slow motion. She saw what was happening, but was powerless to do anything about it. The creature emerged from the overgrown bushes like a monster from the sea. The skin on its face peeling away to reveal bone and sinew beneath. The muscles on its arms had torn through the flesh that they were wrapped in.

  The super zombie was twice the size of a man and covered in muscle. It felt wrong to even call it a zombie, but she could see that they were the same.

  It roared so loudly that the trees shook.

  Her heart seemed to stop in her chest.

  The gunfire was deafening. She was close enough to the super zombie to see that it wasn’t having any effect. The bullets hit it, but the creature barely seemed to notice. It turned to look up and down the length of the group.

  ‘Stop shooting!’ someone shouted.

  The gunfire spluttered out.

  The group was in chaos, but Beth seemed unable to move. All around her people were falling over themselves to get away, but all she could do was look at the creature.

  There was something about it which was familiar. She couldn’t work out what. Perhaps it was the eyes. Yes, something about the eyes—

  ‘Beth come on!’ Dawn shouted.

  She realised that Dawn was pulling her arm and the spell that had kept her in place broke. Beth turned away from the zombie, just as it turned towards her, and followed Dawn away from the path.

  It took a few moments for her to recover, but when she did she found that she was able to run. She didn’t look back to see whether the super zombie was following them, but she didn’t need to, she could hear it crashing through the bushes behind them.

  She and Dawn were at the back of the group, and the others seemed to be getting away. She didn’t think they would be able to catch up, but maybe they could lose the creature by taking a different route.

  She turned off the path and dragged Dawn along with her. They stumbled further into the forest where it was darker and there were more things to trip over. She looked down and ahead. There was nothing except trees and bushes but maybe that would be enough to put the super zombie off following them.

  After a minute she could no longer hear the rest of the convoy, but she could still hear the low moan of the super zombie. It was still there a minute later and, when she turned, she saw that it had left the path and followed her.

  She tried to run more quickly, but Dawn was slowing her down. Her weight was dragging Beth back and the super zombie was gaining on them.

  One moment she was running as quickly as she could, pulling Dawn along behind her, the next she was being dragged backwards.

  Dawn’s hand was ripped away from her grasping fingers and Beth started to fall. Her legs were swept out from under her, and she turned in the air.

  There was screaming, but she couldn’t tell whether it was her or someone else. She landed heavily and all of the air was forced out of her lungs.

  When she was able to look up again, she saw that the super zombie was holding Dawn.

  Dawn looked like a rag doll in the super zombie’s giant paw. She was struggling but Beth could see it wasn’t having any effect.

  She got to her feet.

  ‘Let her go,’ Beth said. She wasn’t sure why she spoke. As far as she knew zombies weren’t capable of understanding human speech, maybe it was those eyes. They looked so human… so familiar.

  The super zombie stopped moving. It looked at her. While it continued to hold Dawn in its left hand it reached towards Beth with its right. The gesture was purposeful, but she didn’t understand the meaning.

  Was it possible that the creature was trying to communicate with her?

  She saw the surprise in the creature’s eyes before she heard the clicks and snaps of the guns behind her.

  Beth turned around and saw the men from the convoy standing armed and ready to fire.

  ‘Don’t shoot!’ she said. ‘It’s got Dawn.’

  The men didn’t lower their guns but she heard the creature move. Beth turned around just in time to see the super zombie disappear into the forest, still holding Dawn in its left hand.

  CHAPTER 22

  BETH WAS NUMB IT SEEMED IMPOSSIBLE. EVERYTHING SHE’D done to keep Dawn safe and now this.

  ‘Beth are you okay?’

  She turned and saw Darrel standing there, gun now by his side. She wanted to be angry with him, he had pointed a gun at the super zombie and scared it away, but she couldn’t.

  ‘It’s got Dawn,’ she said. Her voice sounded fragile. She shivered and finally felt how cold it was in the shade.

  ‘I know,’ he said. ‘I’m sorry.’

  Since Dale’s death, she had put up barriers to protect herself. Maybe she hadn’t even realised it. She had fallen in love with him, and he’d been taken away from her. A part of her had resisted getting close to anyone else and maybe that was why she hadn’t wanted to lead them.

  If she was their leader, then she had to care, and if she cared then she could be hurt again. There was nothing she could do about the love she already felt for Dawn, so that was where she had focused her attention.

  Darrel put a hand on her arm. ‘Are you okay?’

  She nodded but then shook her head. She really wasn’t okay and it was alright to let him know that. There were no romantic feelings between them, but he could be a friend. She could love him as she loved Dawn.

  He put his arms out and pulled her into a bear hug. She let out the tears that she had been holding back and let him comfort her.

  The rest of the convoy gathered around them and, by the time Beth stepped away from Darrel, everyone was there.

  ‘I hate to break up the party,’ Russell said. Beth turned to see him standing between Noel and David. He nodded at her and she realised there was something going on behind. ‘We’ve got company.’

  A pack of zombies appeared to have ventured into the forest to find them. Beth turned and counted twenty of them stumbling through the branches that blocked their path. When one fell another took its place so the twenty she could see were just the tip of the iceberg.

  She turned back to Russell and then to David.

  ‘Where’s Rachel?’ she said.

  ‘She’s with the children,’ David said.

  ‘Do you know how to fire a gun?’ she said.

  David shook his head and she knew she shouldn’t have been surprised. Who in Britain, outside of the army, knew how to shoot.

  She turned to Russell. ‘Give him a gun.’

  Russell pulled the handgun off his belt and David took it.

  ‘Go back to Rachel,’ she said. ‘Make sure the kids are safe.’

  David nodded, turned and disappeared from her sight without another word.

  The zombies were closer now. Collectively the group took a step back and Beth realised that they were waiting for her to tell them what they should do. Well, that was easy: they needed to deal with these zombies so they could go after Dawn. There was no need to second guess herself now.

  She ducked out of the way when the shooting started. The men and women with guns easily making head shots from the short distance. The bodies of the zombies began to pile up around the trees where they formed a barrier that would keep them trapped in the forest.

  The shooting continued for several minutes until the guns began to dry fire. The smoke cleared, and she could see the zombies clearly. They were relatively fresh, most of them only showing minor decay.

  She walked towards them, cautiously at first, but growing in confidence when she saw that they weren’t going to rise from their second death. Beth looked back at Russell and the others.

  ‘Let’s go,’ she said.

  ‘Beth—‘ he began, walking forward to join her and she knew that he was going to say there was no point, that if Dawn wasn’t already dead she soon would be.

  She shook her head. ‘You’re either coming with me or I’m going on my own,’ she said.

  Russell said nothing.

  ‘Leave some guns behind to protect the others.’

  She turned away before he could say more. It would be impossible to get Dawn back without his help, but she knew she would still have tried. It might not even be possible with him, but she wasn’t going to give up on her sister without a fight.

  Beth climbed over the fallen zombies and into the darkness of the forest beyond. She shivered again and looked around for a clue as to which direction the super zombie had gone. She saw nothing and then she heard Dawn screaming.

  Beth pushed aside branches and ran as quickly as she could.

  There were a lot of things to take in and she might easily have become overwhelmed, but she held on to one thought: if Dawn was screaming then it meant that she was alive. And while she was alive, there was a chance, however small, that she could be saved.

  She could hear the others storming through the forest behind her but she paid them no attention. She didn’t know how many there were, but that no longer mattered. She had to get her sister back, she simply refused to lose another person who she loved.

  Beth slowed down as she approached the super zombie and saw that it had stopped.

  At first, she couldn’t see why. The clearing was unremarkable, a compacted dirt floor and trees which were almost lifeless.

  Then she saw that the super zombie was not alone.

  Dozens of soldiers surrounded the clearing. Each of them had a large gun pointed at it. None of them had opened fire, but Beth was not naive enough to believe it was because of Dawn. It was because they wanted to capture the super zombie alive.

  This had all been part of the plan, Beth thought. The guards hadn’t opened the gate because Russell was driving towards it at a hundred miles an hour, they had done it because they knew the super zombie would find them. She didn’t understand why it had come looking for her, or Dawn as it now seemed, but maybe it had something to do with those eyes.

  A hand touched her arm, and Beth turned to see Velma.

  ‘I’ve got her!’ Velma shouted as she tightened her grip.

  ‘Let me go,’ Beth said. She struggled to get away, but she couldn’t.

  ‘You heard her,’ Russell said. Beth couldn’t turn far enough to see him but Velma smiled.

  ‘Drop your weapons,’ Velma said. ‘Or we’ll shoot the girl.’

  ‘You wouldn’t,’ Russell said.

  Velma looked at Beth as if daring her to put it to the test. Beth knew better than to push the woman.

 

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