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

“Yeah, but we were almost zombie food back there. What took you so long?”

“I didn’t know if you were in or not.”

“Well, we were! Then these guys got in.” She kicked the corpse at their feet.

“Where’s Elaine?” Simon demanded.

“She’s not back yet.”

“What? I’ll kill you!” He lunged at Frank, who sidestepped him with ease. In a quick motion, he swiped Simon’s legs. The man hit the ground hard, wheezing as the air escaped his lungs.

“Try it, Porky,” Frank spat.

“You should… never have… split us up.” Simon slowly rose to his feet.

“Why not?”

“Because they might be dead because of you!” Ben snapped as he joined the group.

“Look, I want them to come back as much as you.”

“Bullshit.”

“It’s true.”

“Why?”

“Because they’ve got our food supply, you dickhead. I don’t give a shit who comes back as long as they bring food!”

“You bastard.” Ben stepped forward, stopping only when Frank produced the handgun.

“I don’t want to kill you. But I won’t think twice if you leave me no choice.” The two men locked stares as the rest of the group looked on. “Now sit down, chill out, we’ll give them five more minutes.”

“I’m not leaving Elaine,” Simon muttered.

“Then stay! I don’t care.” Frank placed the gun back in his jacket and peered into the transit van. “So what did you get?”

“Mostly planks of wood. But we picked up a few nail guns, hammers, and sandbags,” Lisa replied.

“Great, that should do the trick. Were there any problems?” Frank observed a hint of sorrow flash over Lisa’s eyes before she replied.

“A few hiccups, but we made it out.”

“Good.”

The pair turned as the roar of an engine filled the silent street. A red sports car idled into view, slowing to a halt next to the van.

“Elaine!” Simon cried.

Frank looked on as the man’s spouse jumped from the car. The pair embraced as Amy rose from the driver’s seat.

“Ben?” She glanced from face to face. Her eyes lit up when he came into view.

“I thought they were dead,” Frank admitted. He turned away from the joyful reunion to look at Lisa. “It makes you sick, doesn’t it?”

“Sure does.” She nodded. “Let’s go see their haul.”

They approached the car, looking at the array of food on the back seat.

“Is this it?” Frank asked.

“No, Glen has most of the food.”

“Where is he?”

“I don’t know,” Amy replied. “He was behind us for a while, but then I looked back and he wasn’t there.”

“What was he driving?”

“A lorry. Bigger than that one.” She pointed at the vehicle Frank and Ben had arrived in.

“A lorry?” Frank repeated. “How the hell do you lose a lorry?”

“I told you, he was behind us one minute, then he wasn’t.”

“We can’t wait for him. If he doesn’t turn up at the house by tomorrow, we’ll have to come back and get more food.”

“Well, you’re going to have to do it without us,” Ben announced. “This is where we part ways.”

“What?”

“We told you from the beginning, we’ll help you, but we’re not staying.”

“That’s fine,” Frank replied. “Fat twat, you and your missus can take the Transit. We’ll take the lorry, and I’m sure Tina wouldn’t mind a spin in that car.”

The teenager grinned as she approached the sports car.

“Whoa, hold on,” Ben snapped. “We want our share.”

“Your share?”

“Yeah, like we agreed.”

“What we agreed was that you would help us get all this stuff back to the house. If you’re going to leave us here, then the deal is off.”

Ben and Amy looked at each other.

“Fine,” Ben conceded. “We’ll take the stuff back and then we’ll leave.”

“Good man. Right, Tina and nurse can go in the car, the whales can take the van and we’ll take the truck. Ben, you get in the back of the Transit.”

He waited for the group to disperse before climbing into the LGV.

“How much stuff are you going to give them when we get back?” Lisa asked as she climbed into the passenger seat.

“Whatever it takes to get rid of them.” Frank started the van, waiting for the others to drive ahead.

“I wonder what happened to Glen,” Lisa muttered.

“Who knows? But if he does turn up, he better have food.”

***

Glen sped down the street leading to his home. It seemed like an eternity since he had stopped following Amy, but he guessed it had only been five minutes. A burdening feeling of guilt formed as he imagined the group looking for him. He intended to return with the food they had salvaged, but he knew there was one thing he had to do first. With a newfound determination, he pushed the lorry further.

He soon realised that the small cul-de-sac he had lived in for five years would struggle to house a HGV. But he ploughed on, smashing cars aside and crushing the milling undead beneath the monstrous wheels. Before long, he pulled up alongside his house. He grabbed the shotgun and leapt from the vehicle. Leaving the engine idling, he marched up the garden path, scanning the area for any signs of the undead. There were none, but his door was ajar. He racked the shotgun, contemplating the horrors inside.

The hallway was empty as he stepped onto the threshold. He remained rooted to the spot, listening for a sound within the house. After a few seconds of silence, he was sure the house was empty. He closed the door behind him and stepped into the kitchen. It was there that he met his elderly neighbour.

“Mrs. Cropley?” he stammered

The old woman whirled around. She snarled at him, her eyes manic until he blew her head off. Blood and brain matter spattered the kitchen as Glen rushed over to the cutlery drawer. He stopped as