every night now. Stowmouth, and the countryside that
branched from it, were mute.
My brain started to fill the gaps in
noise. The rush of the wind blowing against a tree sounded like the movement of
a stalker, the patter of its claws scraping on the pavement. Every shadow
twisted into a creature, every shape in the darkness was a threat.
“Not a single one worked. I can’t
believe that,” said Dan.
Faizel shifted the weight of his pack
on his shoulders. “Sometimes you get lucky.”
“You’ll have to remind me what that
means,” said Dan.
We walked out of Stowmouth, took a
turn on a bypass that led to the motorway. The small country roads were the
quickest way to Bury on foot, but there weren’t many houses on the way, and
absence of houses meant there wouldn’t be any cars.
“Do you know where we’re going,
Kyle?” said Alice. Ben tugged on her hand, gripping her as if she were about to
leave him. In Alice’s other hand she held a crowbar that she’d found on the
roof of a car.
The motorway stretched into the
distance, an endless concrete path. Trees lined the side of it, their branches
almost bare from autumn shedding. Ahead of us, a bridge stretched across all
four lanes of the motorway, with the words ‘Tracy Lithgow I love you I’m sorry’
drawn on in white paint.
The motorway was curiously
absent of cars save for a few that were parked haphazardly against the
barriers, their doors opened in a state of abandon.
We looked at each one we passed.
Faizel pried open the bonnets, checked for oil and other things that I was
unaware of in my complete lack of technical knowledge. Each time, he shook his
head.
Shapes burst from a bush at the side
of the road. I flinched and reached for my knife, the drum of my heartbeat
racing. It was for nothing. A scatter of rabbits darted across the motorway
ahead of us, tiny shadows with bulbous eyes. One stopped dead, stared at us,
and then followed the rest of its family.
“What are you looking for?” I said.
“When you pop the bonnet.”
“No science to it. If the car looks
healthy, there’s a slight chance it’ll have enough battery to start. But even
that is a one in a thousand chance. Did you ever go on holiday for a while, get
home and try to start your car?” said Faizel.
I thought back to all the trips Clara
and I had taken. What a novelty that was, the idea of a holiday. “I guess.”
Faizel continued. “You must have come
back at least once and found that your car choked. And that’s when it hadn’t
been used for a few weeks. Imagine what they are like after sixteen years.”
The black sky was compounded by
clouds thick enough to cover the glow of the moon. Darkness seeped down from
above and covered our faces in shadows.
Ben stood still, pulled Alice back.
“Can we stop, mum?”
She put her hand on his shoulder.
“We’ve got to keep going.”
He screwed up his face, looked like
he was about to cry. “But I’m tired.”
Dan stopped now. He dropped his bag
on the floor, let out a huff of air. “Can you shut that kid up?”
Alice gave Ben a gentle squeeze. She
walked over to Dan and without saying anything, she punched him in the gut.
Dan bent over and took hoarse
breaths. He blinked and then lifted his head. He held his fists at his sides
and his face glimmered with anger.
I stepped in between them. “Cut that
shit out,” I said. I turned to Alice. “Don’t ever do that again. That isn’t how
we do things.”
Alice’s face was twisted, her body
tense. “If he talks to my child that way again I’ll do worse.”
Faizel dropped his pack on the ground
too. It seemed we were stopping, but this was the wrong place to do it. The
motorway was completely in the open, and we had no cover. If any infected saw
us, or God forbid a stalker, we’d have nowhere to hide.
“We need a plan, Kyle. We can’t just
walk down the
branched from it, were mute.
My brain started to fill the gaps in
noise. The rush of the wind blowing against a tree sounded like the movement of
a stalker, the patter of its claws scraping on the pavement. Every shadow
twisted into a creature, every shape in the darkness was a threat.
“Not a single one worked. I can’t
believe that,” said Dan.
Faizel shifted the weight of his pack
on his shoulders. “Sometimes you get lucky.”
“You’ll have to remind me what that
means,” said Dan.
We walked out of Stowmouth, took a
turn on a bypass that led to the motorway. The small country roads were the
quickest way to Bury on foot, but there weren’t many houses on the way, and
absence of houses meant there wouldn’t be any cars.
“Do you know where we’re going,
Kyle?” said Alice. Ben tugged on her hand, gripping her as if she were about to
leave him. In Alice’s other hand she held a crowbar that she’d found on the
roof of a car.
The motorway stretched into the
distance, an endless concrete path. Trees lined the side of it, their branches
almost bare from autumn shedding. Ahead of us, a bridge stretched across all
four lanes of the motorway, with the words ‘Tracy Lithgow I love you I’m sorry’
drawn on in white paint.
The motorway was curiously
absent of cars save for a few that were parked haphazardly against the
barriers, their doors opened in a state of abandon.
We looked at each one we passed.
Faizel pried open the bonnets, checked for oil and other things that I was
unaware of in my complete lack of technical knowledge. Each time, he shook his
head.
Shapes burst from a bush at the side
of the road. I flinched and reached for my knife, the drum of my heartbeat
racing. It was for nothing. A scatter of rabbits darted across the motorway
ahead of us, tiny shadows with bulbous eyes. One stopped dead, stared at us,
and then followed the rest of its family.
“What are you looking for?” I said.
“When you pop the bonnet.”
“No science to it. If the car looks
healthy, there’s a slight chance it’ll have enough battery to start. But even
that is a one in a thousand chance. Did you ever go on holiday for a while, get
home and try to start your car?” said Faizel.
I thought back to all the trips Clara
and I had taken. What a novelty that was, the idea of a holiday. “I guess.”
Faizel continued. “You must have come
back at least once and found that your car choked. And that’s when it hadn’t
been used for a few weeks. Imagine what they are like after sixteen years.”
The black sky was compounded by
clouds thick enough to cover the glow of the moon. Darkness seeped down from
above and covered our faces in shadows.
Ben stood still, pulled Alice back.
“Can we stop, mum?”
She put her hand on his shoulder.
“We’ve got to keep going.”
He screwed up his face, looked like
he was about to cry. “But I’m tired.”
Dan stopped now. He dropped his bag
on the floor, let out a huff of air. “Can you shut that kid up?”
Alice gave Ben a gentle squeeze. She
walked over to Dan and without saying anything, she punched him in the gut.
Dan bent over and took hoarse
breaths. He blinked and then lifted his head. He held his fists at his sides
and his face glimmered with anger.
I stepped in between them. “Cut that
shit out,” I said. I turned to Alice. “Don’t ever do that again. That isn’t how
we do things.”
Alice’s face was twisted, her body
tense. “If he talks to my child that way again I’ll do worse.”
Faizel dropped his pack on the ground
too. It seemed we were stopping, but this was the wrong place to do it. The
motorway was completely in the open, and we had no cover. If any infected saw
us, or God forbid a stalker, we’d have nowhere to hide.
“We need a plan, Kyle. We can’t just
walk down the
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