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

dishearten him. As the lorry had almost ground to a halt, he decided on a different approach.

With a mighty roar of the engine, he jerked the wheel sideways, bounding onto the bordering field. The zombies followed, crying out as the lorry moved past them. The trailer bucked over the uneven ground as they increased their speed once more.

“What the hell are you doing?” Lisa gasped.

“What? It worked didn’t it?”

Frank looked in his side mirror for confirmation. Sure enough, the zombies were now running alongside the trailer. The mass of mangled bodies left in the road had painted its surface red. He looked back as Lisa snapped at him once again.

“Are you forgetting what’s back there?” She jabbed a thumb at the trailer behind them.

“Those three? They can live with it.”

“I’m not talking about them; I’m talking about all the loaded guns!”

Frank’s heart lurched as the magnitude of his actions became clear.

“The bouncing could set them off!” Lisa urged.

“I realise that.”

Frank lurched towards the road. He smashed through a wooden fence before they were driving on the road once more.

“Thank God.” Lisa sighed.

Frank stared ahead, his unblinking eyes scanning the area for anyone else in their path.

“So now our building’s gone, where do we go from here?” Lisa asked.

“We go north.”

“North?” Why?”

“I’m going to collect on a bet.”

29

Footsteps echoed around the large room as Gus Razor paced back and forth. He would stop now and then to frown at the gagged soldier in front of him, before continuing his stride. The man’s bound hands were bleeding from the constricting tie-wraps against his wrists. The soldier fought to speak through the soiled rag in his mouth, but only an inaudible muffle escaped.

“You want to speak?” Gus asked. The soldier nodded, his eyes fixed on the gangland boss.

“Fine, but it better be something useful. If you tell me you need a piss, you’re gonna get another beating.”

Razor strode over to the man and yanked the fabric from his mouth. He gasped for air as his captor crouched to his level.

“Now what’s so important?”

“I need a piss,” the man wheezed.

Razor swung a punch at the soldier’s face, causing his head to snap sideways.

“A soldier with a sense of humour? What did you clowns do in Iraq? Throw custard pies?” He rose to his feet and resumed his pacing.

“They’re not coming back,” the soldier said after a while. “They must’ve been gone for half an hour.”

“This is a big place. It’ll take a while to make sure everywhere’s secure.”

“It was secure until you lot tricked me into letting you in!”

“Yeah, keep telling yourself that, Murdock. There’s no way you could have kept this place secure on your lonesome.”

“Well, you’re going to have to try. Your boys have either left you or they’re dead.”

“Willing to bet your life on it?”

The soldier fell silent as Gus turned to face him. He produced a large combat knife from a sheath on his belt.

“No?” Razor continued. “How about your peepers? Or those big cauliflower ears?”

The man remained silent, eyeing his captor with contempt.

“Here’s the deal, G.I. Joe. You better hope they don’t come back. Because if they do, I’m cutting something off.”

“What? Why?”

“Why not?” Gus sneered.

“Look, I can help you. Let me out of this chair and you’ll have a fourth gunner to protect this place.”

“I gave you that chance yesterday. You responded by breaking poor Zielinski’s nose, do you remember?”

The man fell silent once more.

“No chance, Sunshine. You’re only alive to serve as zombie chow if those things get in again, that’s it.”

Gus looked around at the bodies strewn across the floor of the military base. It had been almost four hours since the undead had managed to gain access. Even now, he still felt the adrenaline pumping through his body. He slid the knife back into its sheath and resumed his pacing once again.

The sound of footfalls accompanied his own as the two men returned from their expedition.

“Well, Action Man, looks like you were wrong.” Gus pulled the blade from its sheath once more. “What do you want removed?”

“No, please!”

“Wait, Gus,” Zielinski said.

“I’m busy.” Razor yanked the soldier’s ear and started to slice.

“You might wanna see this!” Zielinski shouted over the soldier’s screams.

Razor turned to face the two men. “What’s that?”

He eyed the bundle of documents in Zielinski’s hands.

“Read them.”

“Fuck off, Zielinski. You know I don’t read.” He turned back to his victim and made to continue slicing until Zielinski spoke again.

“Fine, but there’s something else you need to see.”

“What’s wrong? Have you found how they got in?”

“Yeah, we’ve sorted it. The base is secure.”

“So what do I need to see?”

“Look outside.”

“Don’t fuck with me, Zielinski!” Gus spat, pointing the blade at him. “Just tell me what’s out there.”

“A lorry, it’s heading straight for us.”

***

Amy rubbed her forehead as their car raced along the Yorkshire moors. The roar of the engine was all she could hear as they sped through the desolate landscape.

“Something up?” Ben asked.

Amy looked around and found concern in his eyes. “No... I just...”

“Just what?”

“Do you think we should have left them back there?”

Ben looked back at the road. “Look, you were right. We had to move. If not, the zombies would have caught us.”

“I know, but we could have made space. Some of them could have got in with us.”

“Amy, by the time we did all that, it would’ve been too late. Besides, in all the confusion I think they would have jumped in the lorry regardless.”

Amy looked away and stared at the passing countryside. She had watched in the wing mirror as the lorry ploughed