The Virus by Lee, Damien (summer books txt) 📕

front door, with the windows blocked by furniture. Another had barbed wire circling the garden wall.

Before long, they arrived back at the hospital. Once again Amy looked around at the fresh, mangled corpses and felt a wave of guilt. The corpses littering the road were not part of the initial outbreak. They had survived the first wave, only to be killed during the second. She couldn’t help but feel partly responsible for the deaths. If they had stayed close by, rather than returning to her home, they could have helped some of the survivors. Ben cast an appraising eye over the carpet of bodies.

“We’ll have to drive over them to get to the car park.”

Amy nodded, closing her eyes as the car trudged over the strewn bodies. A sickness rose deep within her stomach with each jolt of the vehicle. All she could imagine was their wheels crushing the corpses beneath. She longed for the grisly path to smooth over, to be out of the field of cadavers and back onto regular asphalt.

It was a nearby scream that caused Amy to open her eyes. She looked at Ben for confirmation of the noise. The frown creasing his face was enough to tell her he had heard it too. She scanned the road ahead.

“Who was that?”

“I think it came from behind the hospital.”

They drove around the side of the building, both scouring the area as the scream came again.

“There!”

Amy’s eyes fixed on a woman sprinting around the corner. They sped after her, veering around the side until she came into view again. Amy watched the woman run into the underground car park. They stopped as another scream echoed from beneath the structure.

Amy felt her heart lurch. She dared not imagine how many zombies dwelled in the dark confines of the car park. The woman was running towards certain death. Before she could voice her concern, she flinched at Ben’s outburst.

“I think that was Fran!”

 He pushed the car forward, chasing the woman into the gloom. The headlights of the car danced around the walls as they rolled down into the main parking lot. Amy scanned the dark confines, looking for Ben’s sister. If she was screaming, she had to be fleeing someone. Yet, there was nobody behind her when she ran beneath the hospital.

The tyres squealed as Ben ushered the vehicle around the tight car park. The reach of the headlight’s beam was limited, but Amy couldn’t see anyone. She frowned as they veered around another pillar. The woman was nowhere in sight.

“Where is she?”

Ben made to reply, but stopped, his eyes wide. The car lurched to a halt as the headlights revealed a grisly spectacle. The hunched backs of the undead were evident first. The squelching sound of their feast merged with the rumbling engine. Ben looked on in horror as his sister joined the morbid banquet. She dropped to her hands and knees and reached into the bloody carcass of a shuddering woman. Fran was not the one who screamed, nor was she the one fleeing. She was drawn to the screams like the other creatures.

“No,” Ben stammered, his unblinking eyes fixed on his sibling.

“Ben, I’m so sorry.”

The pair remained frozen, watching the morbid feast in a trance. Amy didn’t want to look, but the grotesque scene ensnared her. The spell was finally broken when an open palm smacked the rear window. The pair twisted in their seats as the zombie emitted an ear-splitting screech.

“Shit.” Ben snapped as more hands joined the assault on the car. Amy looked ahead and saw that the feast was over.

“Let’s get out of here!”

Fran’s corpse rose to its feet. It fixed the car with wide eyes before sprinting towards them. In one swift motion, Ben reversed in a cloud of smoke and squealing tyres. The undead figures behind were sent reeling as the car made its way towards the exit. Amy gripped her seat as they swerved around a pillar. Their pursuers roared in anger as the distance between them increased. The car struck the ramp and sailed out into the open once more.

“Thank God.”

They were back outside, safe. Amy sighed as Ben spun the car around and drove away from the hospital. She glanced at his stony face, unsure whether to continue speaking, or allow silence to envelop them. Before long, it was Ben who spoke.

“Where are we going now?”

Amy watched his unblinking eyes. He didn’t return her gaze.

“Ben, I’m sorry.”

“I know.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

“Then don’t say anything. Just tell me where you want to go.” He held the steering wheel in a firm grip, his eyes still fixed ahead.

“Do you still want to check on my grandparents with me?”

The unyielding look on his face slackened. “Of course.” He finally looked at her. “Just lead the way and we’ll go there.”

“You don’t mind?”

“Not at all, I suppose I ought to visit my old man while we’re out there. It’s what Fran would have wanted.”

Amy nodded as they left Sunnymoor behind. Although she knew it was only fair to visit his father, she couldn’t quash the feeling of dread that had formed in the pit of her stomach. She didn’t know why, but going to the slaughterhouse seemed like the worst idea imaginable.

22

“That wasn’t so hard, was it?” Frank looked at the weary couple as they stood in the doorway. “Care to join us?”

“Not if you’re going to make us do more jobs,” Simon muttered.

“If you want to stay here, you have to pull your weight. And let’s face it, there’s enough of that.” He eyed the man’s midriff with disgust.

“And what have you done?”

“I saved your arse while you were out there,” Frank replied. He stood aside to allow the pair entry. “And you’re