Eyes of the infected ✔ [COMPLETED]

Chapter six

CHAPTER SIX


Run, run, run.
‘Don’t stop!’
Don’t stop, keep going, keep going.
‘They’re gaining on us, go faster!’
If I stop, we’ll die. If I stop, we’ll all die.
‘Come on, goddammit!’
I could hear them, feel them even, growling and spitting from behind us. They could run, they hadn’t tired yet, their infected bodies seemed not to have been struck down with fatigue or tiredness – they seemed never to stop.
‘Come on, you two!’ Keith was an incredibly fast runner which was unsurprising with his sturdy frame. As we had all fallen ungracefully from the window with only cuts and scrapes, we’d not anticipated that the infected would follow us instantly.


There was no time for a plan, a talk, we simply sprinted in a direction in which we saw.
Forwards, never looking behind us.


I refused to acknowledge the gathering crowd behind us; biologically, scientifically, it made no sense. If I had a flu, I would barely be able to drag myself out of bed, yet these people who seemed so desperate to grab and tear us to pieces were running, sprinting, managing to keep up with us. In the minutes we’d been running, we had gained no lead, growling had turned into hissing, hissing into spitting and now even screeching could be heard behind us as the crowd angered. If we slowed down, we’d be ravaged horribly, the only thought keeping my legs moving at a speed I’d never thought possible
Run or die and never see my family again.
‘We should find somewhere to stop, this street is full of houses!’ Keith panted. He could have left us easily, his sprint seemed at ease whereas Lucas and I were clearly struggling. Yet for some reason, he’d only grabbed my hand and yanked me out of the flailing arms behind me and yelled at Lucas in a way that would encourage any non-athletic person.


He could have just left.


‘We can’t stop’ Lucas sounded as though he could barely breathe, shouting for us to hear over the noise.
‘We have to!’ I wheezed, ‘They won’t slow down!’
‘That house’ I had time to catch Keith’s finger as he pointed towards a building in the distance.
‘If the door is locked, we die’ my brother growled, his voice catching.
‘If we don’t check, we’ll die anyway’.
He was right, we all knew it. Honestly, I could not fathom why we had not fallen prey to these monsters already. Tears streamed down my face as I let out strangled sobs, absolutely terrified. Death was breathing down our necks and the fear and nausea was absolutely crippling.


Running the last few yards was easy; somehow the knowledge that soon, being able to sit down would be a possibility was a massive boost speed wise. However, the fear that if we ran to the door and it did not open was immense – the infected, creatures, monsters, people, whatever they were, were only feet behind us. One mistake, one tiny mistake and we were theirs. The likelihood of a front door being unlocked before this, certainly not. The likelihood now? Fifty fifty.
Life or death.
‘This house’ Keith confirmed as we approached the front garden, each of us breathing heavily. ‘You run round the back and if the door is open, I’ll let you in, if not, keep running’.
‘No!’ I cried, suddenly angry. Nobody was going to be a hero here, not Keith, not my brother, not me. We were here to survive, that was it.
‘Do as he says, Harley!’


I had to.
Suddenly we were at the front of the house, Lucas had grabbed my hand and yanked me round the side of the building, telling me not to look back. I wanted to scream and scream, but I didn’t, I wouldn’t.
The noise seemed to die down and as if by magic, the footsteps behind us resided and we were alone, stood round the side of the house in a tiny, suburban alleyway, gasping for air. Keith was not with us, nor were the infected. Silence, such dead silence.
‘He’s dead’ I whispered, numb in a way I had never been numb before.
‘No he’s not’ Lucas muttered, moving his hands quickly through his hair, ‘We said we’d meet him round back and that’s what we’re going to do’. I felt myself being tugged by his hand again but I wasn’t there, my mind was elsewhere.
He couldn’t be dead, we’d already been through so much together. One minute he was there and then the next he just wasn’t, life couldn’t work that way.
It wasn’t right.


‘Help me get in Harley’ Lucas’ voice startled me – I was stood outside a clear glass back door, the air around us was tranquil. Keith was not at the door like he said he’d be; the glass gave us a clear view of a small conservatory which was only filled by a deep blue sofa and a coffee table. It seemed this house had been untouched, unscathed by the ugly world outside. It didn’t matter though, Keith wasn’t there. He’d died trying to help us, he was dead because of us, because of me.
‘Harley, please’ My brother sounded more desperate than I’d ever heard him. Vulnerable, like he was near tears. I suddenly felt horrible; this wasn’t just my nightmare, it was his too. Keith started out as a stranger but he’d quickly become a friend – he’d never show it, but Lucas was hurting too.


‘Should we smash it?’
‘Probably not, we might have to stay in here for a while. I can probably pick the lock, do you have a hairpin or something?’
This wasn’t the movies though; I didn’t have a hairpin and there was nothing I could miraculously pull from my pockets.
‘Nothing’.
‘Alright’ he sighed, ‘I’m gonna have to leave for a minu-‘
‘No!’ I cried, my heart beginning to hammer unsteadily, ‘Don’t leave, we’ll smash the door, Please Lucas, don't go’.


I couldn’t ignore the cracking in his voice, nor the tears which proceeded to fall from his eyes as he pulled me towards him, hugging me tightly to his chest. ‘My baby sister’ he whispered into my ear as tears started to spill from my own eyes. It one of those moments; the kind you know you’ll never forget. Lucas wasn’t the kind of person to cry, the phrase ‘Keep calm and carry on’ seemed like it’d been written for him. Standing in the middle of a stranger’s garden in the arms of my sobbing brother was all I needed to confirm nothing would ever be quite the same again.
‘Now I’ll be back in two minutes, just trust me Lee Lee’.


                                                                     ******


More noisily than I intended, the door locked closed behind me. It had taken only a small, discarded piece of metal to crack open the entrance and so Lucas and I stood in the deserted conservatory, scanning the area to find Keith.
‘Let me go ahead, we don’t know what’s in here’.
I knew better than to argue by now, it got me nowhere. Idly, I examined the wallpaper, waiting for my brother’s call to tell me everything was fine. Dark green and chipped paper lined the walls and the glass looked like it had only been washed days ago.Standing in the middle of somebody elses conservatory felt like I was prying, intruding.
I suppose it didn't matter though, anymore.
As I lifted my finger to trace the holes in the wall, a scuffle from the next room made my head jerk. Out of pure instint, I pushed open the door and tripped headlong into what could only be the living room.


‘Stop!’
Too quickly to react, I was halted with a hand gripped to my shoulder and a cold nozzle pushed firmly into my forehead. Common sense told me this was a gun, and that I shouldn’t move if I wanted to see the next few seconds of my life.
‘Who are you?’ The female voice demanded in a clear London accent, her face coming into focus as I slowly regained my vision which had blacked out from sheer shock. We were in a living room, decorated with an old style which I wasn’t used to. Instantly, I could picture an old couple sat silently together next to the old fire, an image which faded with each second I took in my real surroundings. My brother was in an equal situation to me, a small gun pressed into his forehead by a slim man who looked no older than 20 with sandy blonde hair and tanned skin. He kept glancing towards the woman who had complete control over me, a pale brunette with an expression of reluctance as she looked into my eyes.


‘At least they’re not infected’ my mind screamed.


‘Who are you?’ she repeated, her voice laced with complete authority. In an instant, the reluctance was gone and replaced with scary determination.
‘Harley’ I stammered, wondering what the right answer was, ‘That’s my brother, we just came in here to find somebody I’m sorry, please don’t shoot’.
‘Let go of her’ Lucas growled, attempting to wrestle the man to the floor. It was a bad idea because the second he tried, the woman’s eyes lit with fire as she pressed the gun harder into my head, surely drawing blood . ‘I’ll shoot Harley, let him go!’
Everything suddenly went quiet as my brother’s arms fell limp and everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief.


‘Well, you aren’t infected’ the woman muttered, loosening her grip on me slightly, ‘I’m Lauren, sorry about the gun’ she apologised, releasing the nozzle from my skin. The man was mirroring her actions, letting my brother go – I didn’t know whether to move, to run, to attack, so I simply stood, baffled and confused.
‘This is Matt’ Lauren’s voice was softer as she gestured towards the man who nodded to me with a small smile, ‘again, I’m sorry but you can’t be too careful. Where have you come from?’
‘Stevenage’ Lucas answered for me, staring down the female in front of me. He looked as though he understood suddenly, ‘You two are together?’
‘Yeah, we are’ Matt grinned at us both in turn, ‘There’s no-one better to have around during a zombie apocalypse than this girl, trust me’.
‘I always told you, didn’t  I?’ Lauren chuckled lightly, reaching her hand out to mine. I took it gingerly, feeling slightly more confident, ‘We thought you were one of those outside, you’re lucky you tripped on that doormat because otherwise, you’d have a bullet in your head’. Sensing my confusion, Matt spoke, ‘The infected don’t fall, don’t make mistakes, don’t even seem to hurt themselves. She had her finger on the trigger, you’re a lucky girl’.


‘You seem to know a lot about.. them’ Lucas gestured to the window.
‘Sit down’ Lauren spoke, ‘We didn’t expect any normal people to just fall onto our radar so we’ll explain what we know and you can tell us what you know too’.
‘Wait’ I cut in, my voice pleading ‘There was a guy who tried to get in here earlier, he told us to meet him round back but we can’t find him’
‘He had dark hair’ Lucas cut in, ‘Black hoodie and blue jeans, w-‘
‘Keith?’ Matt asked, eyebrow raised.
‘Yes!’ Lucas and I both cried, relief flooding my body. So he’d gotten in.
‘He’s upstairs’ Lauren looked gingerly to the floor, glancing at Matt before locking eyes with me.
‘Something wrong?’


It was Matt who spoke ‘Lauren had a small accident, we have a rule not to let anybody in and Keith was no exception’. My blood began to run cold, it was inevitable that they’d hurt him and it was all our fault.
‘Don’t pin it on me!’ Lauren cried, punching Matt in the arm, ‘I knocked him out and then we took him upstairs when we realised he wasn’t infected. He’s not awake yet but you can see him when he is; sorry about that’ she glanced to the floor, obviously embarrassed. At this point I couldn’t help it, the world had gone mad and my mind was frantic, so I did all I knew how to; laugh. Everybody was looking at me as though I had lost my mind and nobody made any move to stop me so I continued to cackle into my outstretched palms until my laughs died into nothing.
‘I like you’ Lauren looked sceptical, but smiled at me nonetheless.
‘You like everyone’ Matt broke in, pulling her firmly towards him. It was hard not to envy what they obviously had, the world was upside down yet they still stood firm with one another, it just made the ache for my family worsen. Why had we agreed to split? This was inevitable, we should have seen it. Soon we’d see them again though, and this stupid mistake wouldn’t matter.
‘Would you believe he proposed yesterday? Bloody awful timing’.
‘It’s not my fault!’
‘You always did know how to pick your moments’. This time it was Lucas laughing, looking as surprised as I felt as he gazed at the bickering couple. Strangely, it was nice to be able to laugh for a few minutes and try and forget, but I was still determined to find out what they knew. Lauren beat me to it though, she must have caught my expression as she tore her eyes away from her fiancé.


‘I’ve been preparing for a zombie apocalypse since I was fourteen; it seemed like a joke until now’ she said quietly.
‘They’re not zombies’ I said out of instinct, feeling stupid as soon as the words left my mouth. For some reason, I felt as though these people werehere to tell us something we didn’t know and somehow through ignorance, tiredness or maybe the fact I was just fed up of naivety, I was ready to believe whatever came out of their mouths. Theirdemeanour was different; the two seemed calm, collected, like they had been ready for this their whole life. Matt seemed equally at ease as his counterpart; they didn’t strike me as two people who were ready to face certain death – it was refreshing from the carnage we’d faced so far.
‘It’s not easy to believe, I know’ she sighed, gazing towards the windows which were concealed by deep mahogany curtains, ‘What else are they? They bite us, they kill us, we die, we end up like them. They might not be the stereotypical green things but they’re out there and we’re in here, simple’.
‘End up like them?’ I choked out, my heart missing a beat, ‘Die?’ And as if by magic, I understood. It was an infection, maybe it was zombies after all, just not the type we ever imagined. But what did it matter? It was us against them. Just like the movies, they bit us and we turned then we bit more and they turned and they bit more and the whole world died. Maybe we could trust these strangers and maybe we couldn’t, but any information, true or false worked in our favour.
‘Die’ Lauren repeated my question, ‘I saw it happen. An old guy, looked run down, ill. His skin was an awful colour, he was just sat on the floor. He died, right in front of me. We just stared for a while, at his body, a few minutes at most. Then his neck just snapped backwards, he got up, ran at us. The movies got it right, if you ask me, damn suspicious’.


No.
How was any of this possible? How could it be happening?
It wasn’t, I had to wake up. Where had I been going, to Psychology, to school? Maybe I’d fallen asleep in class, dreamed up this whole new world, this whole scenario.
Dead.
Dead people couldn’t come back, it was impossible, it had been impossible for thousands of years, why now?


‘Why? How?’ I spluttered, tugging at my hair. Lucas was pacing next to me, breathing heavily.
‘Somebody was screaming about it in the streets, saying that their hearts stop dead when the virus takes over the body. Then it rages from the inside, the blood just gathers up in the veins while the brain goes haywire. She was saying they have no memories, no recollection of who they once were. They’re just bodies, angry bodies’.


‘What else do you know?’ Lucas asked, still pacing back and forth, his distress obvious.
‘Not much’ Matt stood from the sofa, ‘This infection broke out a while ago, they tried to keep it contained but it’s spreading like wildfire round the country. The rest of the world is fine as far as I know but England is in quarantine’.
‘We don’t live here’ Lauren continued, ‘We went to a posh little restaurant last night, we ignored the rumours, I’d take a curry over impending doom any day. People started screaming though and we just ran till we found this place, climbed the gutter. We only know what we found on the internet before it went down; the entire UK is on lockdown, no leaving, no entering. We’re stuck.

It took a while to process their words, it was a fair amount of information to take in, in such a short time. It sent my hope spiralling to my feet, my heart sinking with it.
‘Would it be out of the question to assume the other side of the town is fine?’ I whispered, trying to remember the last time I cradled Joel, hugged my mother and laughed with my father.
‘Totally out of the question, in a few hours this whole country will go to shit’.


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