Safe Haven, page 2
He knelt down in front of his little sister, hugged her tightly, and then pulled back. "Listen to me Sammy. I don't have a right to ask you this but... Right now, you're the only person I can rely on in the world. I know you're only eight, but you're more intelligent and capable than most adults I know. I've got a lot to do, and I need to know that if I ask you to do something, you'll do it. I need your help more than I've ever needed anybody's help in my life. Will you help me Sammy?" She swallowed hard, fought back the threat of tears and nodded. He kissed her on the forehead and smiled. "I love you Sammy. Never forget that. I love you more than you will ever know."
"What do you want me to do?"
"I need you to stay here and start tidying everything up. This is our home. We need a bit of order to it."
"I want to help find Jake," she said, beginning to get upset once again.
"Sammy, you'll be helping to find him by staying here. The only point of reference Jake has is this house. If he comes back here and finds us all gone, he's going to think we've abandoned him. I need you to stay here, so if he comes back, he won't go wandering off, okay?" Sammy nodded. "Now, I'm going to stay in sight of the road at all times, so if there are any of those men still around, I'll know and I'll come back, but just in case; if you hear any vehicles, go to the cupboard under the stairs and hide there." Sammy nodded once again and Mike smiled to reassure her.
He returned to his feet and headed out of the kitchen. His smile immediately turned to a menacing grimace.
Ever since they had arrived at his gran's house, Mike had been demanding that the villages should develop a defence strategy. He had been arguing constantly for some cohesive plan to deal with raiders, but everybody had called him paranoid. Time and time again they told him that no one would travel this far north to steel the few scraps they had. So, Mike had begun to make plans of his own. He had drawn up schemes for defending the entire stretch of coast but now it was too late for those whose lives had already been taken. What he was sure of, though, was that he would never let it happen again. No matter how few of them were left, no matter how much dissension he encountered, he would implement plans to fortify their stretch of coast.
In the bedroom, he moved the pine-framed, double bed to one side and peeled back the rug. He levered up a few ill-fitting floorboards revealing his rucksack. The rucksack had rarely been off his shoulder on the journey to Scotland. It had saved his life and the lives of his friends and family countless times, and now it was time to call on its services again.
He grabbed one of the straps and pulled it out of its resting place, replaced the floorboards and rug and then moved the bed back. He sat down for a moment looking at it, recalling the battles he had fought to get his family up here. Finally, he unzipped it. He pulled out a pump action shotgun, a box of shells, and his preferred weapons, two machetes. How many RAMs had he killed with those? He flipped the rucksack onto his back like someone putting on his favourite jacket. He carefully positioned the machetes in a criss-cross pattern, so he could get quick and easy access as well as a good degree of momentum when he withdrew them from the rucksack. Then he loaded the shotgun, put a few more shells in his pocket and the remainder of the box in the backpack.
He thought the raiders would be long gone by now, but if they weren't, he wasn't going to take any chances.
***
The lorry noticeably slowed as it negotiated the roundabout.
"Okay," said Sarah, leaning against the door. "About 200 yards and there's the other roundabout. That's where we need to make our move. As soon as we hit the ground, we head down into the city."
Lucy and Emma looked at each other. The plan was already set, they knew exactly what they were going to do. Emma pulled up Lucy's top and tore away the Glock pistol and spare magazine that had been taped to her back just underneath her bra. Lucy did the same for Emma. Neither winced as the thick gluey plastic peeled off their skin. Their minds were somewhere else now.
"This is it," said Lucy in a louder voice to the rest of the women. "Remember, follow Sarah and Beth, we're heading for the Home and Garden Depot on Bridge street."
The women closest to them who could just make out what was going on in the dim light suddenly understood. Up until this point, the escape plan had been just a fantastical plot, Lucy and Emma had not shared the finer details, just in case the lorry had stopped at any moment and an interrogation had taken place. Now though, just seconds away from the plan going into action, a more positive feeling in the lorry became palpable.
Beth crouched down and raised her trouser leg. She pulled out a hunting knife, readjusted her trousers and rose to her feet. "Your brother taught me everything I know," she said to Emma with a smile.
"Let's hope he taught you enough."
The lorry began to slow again.
"Now!" Lucy shouted as Sarah pushed hard against the doors. Lucy fired four deafening rounds through the thin metal shattering the bolt on the other side. Both doors budged six inches as Sarah continued to push against them, just enough for Lucy to see the thick chain, sealing them in the container compartment. Despite the jerky motion of the vehicle, Lucy took careful aim and shot two more rounds, shattering the heavy iron links. Sarah quickly pushed the doors open wide.
It all happened in a matter of seconds. At first, the driver and passenger of the truck full of raiders behind them couldn't comprehend what was happening, but as the doors swung open revealing a woman down on one knee and carefully aiming a gun in their direction, it became clear. Lucy fired four rounds and both men were dead before they could so much as duck. The heavy green army truck veered, hit a crash barrier and then turned the other way sharply. The momentum proved too much for the change in direction and it toppled over. The vehicles behind had little time to react and began to pile up with deafening crunches and shrieks of tearing metal. The lorry they were travelling in kept going for a few seconds more before jerking to a sudden stop.
Lucy and Emma peeked out of the doors and realised they hadn't crossed the roundabout, they were actually on it. The doors of the cab opened and closed as the driver and passenger got out. The engine was left running in case they needed to make a quick getaway. They had heard the shots, but they were at a loss as to where they had come from. They had their rifles at the ready and scoured roadside shrubbery looking for an ambush, desperately trying to understand what had caused the carnage that was still amassing behind them. Other vehicles in the convoy began to slow and stop as they too became aware of the unfolding destruction.
"You see anything?" shouted the driver as he walked down one side of the lorry while his passenger walked down the other.
"Nothing," the other replied, looking beyond the immediate surrounds and up the hillside for snipers.
"Change of plan," said Lucy, just loud enough to be heard. "We're going to take the lorry. Em, take the passenger, I'll take the driver. Beth, Sarah, as soon as we're out, close these doors and get everyone down on the ground. Tie them together or something until we get where we're going. We're going to sustain a lot of fire." Before anyone had a chance to discuss it, the two women had jumped down to the tarmac. They looked at each other as they took positions at their respective corners, then Lucy mouthed, "Now".
Neither of the raiders were looking in their direction and both were down before anyone even registered the sound of the shot. The two women heard the doors slam shut. Men from the vehicles up ahead ducked as they saw the two men fall. Because Lucy and Emma were crouched low, they could not see them, and like their fellow raiders, they thought the attack was coming from the roadside. Lucy and Emma heard frightened shouts as more and more raiders dismounted from the vehicles ahead of them. The two women used the underbelly of the lorry to creep along out of sight.
Suddenly, there was a huge explosion from behind. "Get down," screeched one of the raiders as searing heat washed over the convoy.
"The fucking diesel," shouted another as a bigger eruption sounded.
Lucy and Emma instinctively covered their heads as they heard debris hitting the roof of the lorry and scattering over the road beside them.
Lucy yelled over the noise. "This is our chance!"
The doctor scrambled further up the underneath of the lorry, hoping Emma would do the same. As they reached the cab, they quickly rolled out, opened the door and dived in. While the raiders were still covering their heads on the ground, Lucy crunched the gear stick into first, pulled off the handbrake, and the lorry juddered off the roundabout and down the hill towards Inverness.
Gordon Mckeith was in the front vehicle, he had been leading the convoy home to a victorious welcome, but now, the convoy of fifty vehicles carrying, men, fuel and supplies had been reduced to less than fifteen vehicles and one burning mass of torment for any human caught in it. He had not cowered as the diesel had exploded, he had just watched in disbelief. It took him a moment to understand what was happening, when one of his lorries, the one carrying all the women they had collected for the men's entertainment, veered off the roundabout. But then as he focussed, he saw a woman with long brown hair in the passenger seat, frantically looking around, searching for any potential danger.
His blood began to simmer through his veins as he watched the lorry chug away, and the cowards he had brought with him, still on the floor covering their heads.
He heard one of his lieutenant's shout "The women are escaping!" then too slowly, rifles were raised and shots were fired. He looked down to where the women were heading, the streets were moving. Dozens, then hundreds of undead were pouring onto them. The explosions acting like a chorus of echoing dinner bells, telling them food was abound.
Mckeith realised what he had to do - he had to run.
He could not go back now. He would be publicly executed for such a colossal fuck up. The best he could do was run and hide. He would find a small corner where no one knew him, somewhere he could live out his days. He turned and walked back to the Land Rover.
"Are we going after them, Gord?" asked his passenger as he emerged from cover behind the Land Rover.
Mckeith just looked at him blankly and climbed back into the car. The passenger was about to do the same, but the Land Rover's tyres screeched and it tore away, quickly blazing a trail into the distance. The man stood there bemused for a moment, then realised, he had been left in charge. He looked towards the lorry as it headed towards the masses of RAMs crowding the streets, then looked towards the men and what remained of the convoy.
"They're finished, Diesel's pouring out of that thing," he shouted down the line as the raiders looked towards dozens, then hundreds of massing RAMs with more and more unease. "Let's get in our vehicles and go."
He walked down to the transit van, which had been the second vehicle in the convoy and commandeered the passenger seat. The driver nervously climbed in and watched through his mirror as the other raiders quickly returned to their vehicles. Two more explosions sounded, as wagons carrying red diesel in unprotected plastic containers ignited. He looked beyond the men to the huge plumes of black smoke rising from the wreckage behind, then engaged first gear and moved off. There was a feeling of dread in his stomach.
***
Mike climbed the craggy hill above the main road to Lonbaig. The cairn at the top was Sammy and Jake's not so secret den. He stood on top of a rock and surveyed as far as he could, looking south towards the village he saw smoke rising. He turned to the north and saw more plumes.
"Jake!" he shouted at the top of his voice. "Jakey!" he yelled again.
He stood still barely breathing, just listening for a response. He turned 360 degrees, hoping to see movement, hoping to see anything but the smoke plumes that signalled destruction. Mike climbed down from the rock and slumped onto a mound of dry earth. He sat there looking out over the calm sea.
Just the day before, he and Lucy had snuck away to one of the many small sandy beaches. They had made love in the afternoon sun, and then gone for a swim in the bracing water. They had held hands, watching this same sea, marvelling at how lucky they were. And now...and now that familiar feeling was back with him. That dread that lurked in the pit of his stomach; would he ever see her again? He hadn't seen what the raiders had done first hand yet, but the smoke plumes gave him a sense of what lay in Lonbaig and the other small villages and enclaves. His instinct was always to fight. Even in this case, he would have charged in.
The raiders were nothing if not pragmatic. Male villagers were unlikely to be of their persuasion, so it made more sense to kill them rather than to try and recruit them. Females were like a currency. They would be kept alive for...
Mike broke off his thoughts. He didn't want to think about what they would be kept alive for.
He leant forward, resting his elbows on his knees. Lucy and Emma had made sure he survived for a reason; the first one being to protect the family. Before he could do that, he needed to find Jake. He was just about to stand up when a sharp pain stabbed him in the back. He jerked around quickly and found himself face to face with a vicious beast.
"For fuck's sake Daisy!" he said to the goat as he began rubbing his kidneys. "All the fucking people who come in and out of gran's place, you lick their hands and let them stroke you, but me... If you're not fucking biting me, you're trying to gore me!" Daisy just stood there, eye to eye with Mike, slowly rotating her jaw, as she munched a succulent mouthful of grass. She paused for a second in mid chew and then barged Mike again. He scrambled to his feet and let out a big sigh.
"It's a good job I'm a vegetarian you little bastard, otherwise I'd have you on a spit."
Daisy let out an angry bleat and began to trudge away. Mike noticed the rope she dragged behind her. He looked at the end of it. It had not been cut or chewed, so somebody had taken the time to untie her. He picked up the end of it and tugged, trying to get her to change direction so that he could get her back down the hill, but she was stubborn. He tugged a little harder, but she kept walking.
Despite his differences with the goat, he quickly developed the feeling that she was trying to show him something. He allowed himself to be led. They walked a short way over scrub land and heather. Daisy stopped dead in her tracks and bent down to chomp another tuft of grass. She stood there chewing, and Mike began to wonder if this had just been another power play by the goat to prove to him who was boss, when he saw something turquoise between two branches of a thick bush. He dropped the rope and walked across to find Jake just sitting there, eyes staring wide into the distance, dried tear stains on his cheeks. Cuts and scratches scarred his face, arms and legs as if he had been crawling through brambles.
"Jakey... Jake?"
There was no response. Mike reached out and touched his brother's arm. There was still no reaction.
"Jake. Jake, look at me!" The young boy just continued to stare into the distance. "Jake!" Mike yelled this time, but to no avail.
Mike knelt down and snapped his fingers in front of Jake's eyes. Nothing. He looked across towards Daisy who was in the same spot, still chewing happily.
Mike let out another heavy sigh and got to his feet. His muscles flexed as he pulled his younger brother up and positioned him over his shoulder like he weighed no more than a bag of flour. He walked across to the goat and carefully bent down to take hold of the rope, making sure he didn't lose his balance.
"Maybe you're not so bad after all girl," he said to her as the three of them began to make their way back down the hillside.
CHAPTER THREE
"Deja vu anyone?" Lucy asked as she took a corner at speed to avoid ploughing into a horde of charging RAMs. The wheels screeched and her and Emma heard muffled screams as the lorry nearly tipped. "I think they took out a tyre, or maybe two. This isn't handling like it should." She looked at the wing mirror and saw the army of creatures in pursuit. "Shit! Look at the gauge. I think they got the tank too," she said as they squawked around another bend. Just then, a red warning light flashed on the dashboard. "You've got to be kidding me?" said Lucy, as the oil light started flickering.
"Over there, Lucy. The industrial estate," Emma said, pointing. "Do you think we can lose them?"
"I'll give it my best shot, sweetie," she said, ramming the gear stick into third and flooring the accelerator.
The engine rumbled as the lorry hurtled down the street. Emma could see the struggle Lucy was having to hold the wheel straight as the flattened tyres dragged the vehicle. They took another bend, and then a sharp right. Lucy checked the mirror again, they had lost them for the time being, but she wouldn't be happy until they had found somewhere to hide. The lorry was becoming harder to steer by the second and the fuel wouldn't last more than a few minutes before it ran dry.
"Didn't Sarah mention the Home and Garden Depot?" Emma asked.
"Why?"
"That's it, there?"
Lucy looked at the fuel gauge again. The dial was on red. She turned onto the industrial estate that Emma had seen and passed the entrance to the huge DIY centre.
"What're you doing?" cried Emma.
"We don't want to park where we can be seen from the road. Not by those things or anyone else," she said as they passed a sign for delivery vehicles.
The engine began to splutter just as the lorry navigated its way round a corner and into a huge loading bay. It barked one final cough before cutting out forever and the large white vehicle stuttered to its final resting place. Lucy let out a deep breath. Perspiration dotted her forehead.
"Nice work," Emma said as she looked around the desolate loading bay. She began to get out, but Lucy grabbed hold of her arm.
"Listen to me. This is down to us. You and me. We're going to get back home. We're going to get these women back home, but we need to be smart and we need to be strong. They're scared, and they'll believe it's all hopeless. We've got to show them it's not." She looked at Emma's face and saw a glint of unease. "Sweetie, we've been here before, and we thought taking our own lives was the way out. It wasn't. The way out was fighting, fighting and not giving up. From now on, when we're in a tight situation, we've got to ask ourselves WWMD?"
