They were killing and feeding.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
The school fell to the infected. Frank, Florence and the soldiers had watched it from the street. Frank had seen the refugees overwhelmed and consumed. A slaughter. The screams lasted for a while after the school had been overrun.
Now they moved along the street. The infected were everywhere.
“What the fuck took Gawen?” Pike said, flicking his eyes towards the sky. His voice was reedy, uneven. Scared. “What the hell was that thing?”
“He’s gone,” said Guppy. “Nothing we can do for him now. Focus on your job.”
“Is it still after us?” Pike’s movements were quick and erratic. He kept muttering under his breath.
“There’re many things after us tonight, Private.”
“Very true,” said Frank.
“Contact!” Sibbick sighted a roaming infected coming towards them. He fired three rounds.
The infected man flopped to the pavement like a boned fish.
“Keep moving,” said Guppy. “We need to get out of Horsham before the bombs hit. Other units will try to regroup outside the town.”
“Sounds easy,” said Pike. He gunned down a naked woman running at him.
They moved past dead soldiers. This is where the battle for Horsham had taken place. Frank sensed the soldiers stiffen. There were abandoned checkpoints to the safe zone. Broken barricades and toppled sawhorses. Spent shell casings on the road. An armoured vehicle was burning, throwing light upon the faces of the dead at their feet.
Frank slipped in a mush of blood and slick remains. He pulled Florence with him. He would not let her fall behind.
Burning cars lined the street, painting the houses with the colour of flame. Shapes flitted through the smoke. The soldiers slowed, rifles aimed into the grey haze.
“Steady, lads,” Guppy muttered. “Steady as you go.”
An infected man with both arms deformed into tendrils emerged from the smoke. Guppy put him down; two rounds to the chest and one to the head.
“Did you see his fucking arms?” said Pike. “Mutants. Fucking maniacs.”
More infected came out of the smoke. Rasping, snapping mouths and grabbing fingers.
“Check your targets, lads,” Guppy said.
Sibbick and Pike sighted the approaching infected. Fired. Short bursts. The infected went down.
Frank kept hold of Florence.
“Contact!” Pike shouted as a little girl sprinted across the street. He fired. The bullets took her in the chest and throat, and she fell. Pike walked to the girl and stood over her, shaking his head.
“Fuck’s sake,” said Sibbick. “I hate it when the kids get it.”
“Oh shit,” said Pike. “Oh shit…”
“Focus, Private,” said Guppy. “Come on. She’s dead.”
“I don’t know if she was infected. I’m not sure. I don’t know. Oh fuck, I killed a normal girl. Just a little girl. A little girl...”
“Get a hold of yourself, Private,” said Guppy. “Breathe.”
Pike shook his head. “No, Corp. I don’t think she was infected. She wasn’t infected. She was normal.”
Frank looked down at the dead girl. She was no older than ten years old. The bullets had opened her throat. Her chest was wet and red. No expression on her face. He couldn’t tell if she was infected.
“Calm down, Pike,” said Guppy. “Calm down, son. It’s okay.”
“I killed a little girl. It’s all fucked. Everything’s fucked.” Pike started to cry under his mask.
“It’s okay, mate,” said Sibbick. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Let’s move,” said Guppy. “We’re not safe here.”
“That’s the point, though, isn’t it?” said Pike. “Nowhere is safe.”
“This isn’t the time. Not now.”
Pike ripped off his gas mask, and his face was wet with tears. His mouth trembled. He was just a boy, really. Blonde hair and acne.
“Put your mask back on, Pike,” said Guppy. “Don’t be silly, lad.”
“We’re all fucked,” Pike said. “Nearly all of my mates are dead. We’re all gonna fucking die sooner or later. Like Gawen. Like everyone else. Like the lieutenant and Sergeant Baker. Like Matheson and Williams and Boyle. We’re food for the monsters. Either that or we’ll become monsters. There’s no point anymore. We’re fucked.”
Guppy lunged for the young soldier, but he was too late.
Pike stuck the rifle barrel in his mouth and pulled the trigger. The back of his head exploded. He dropped. Guppy shouted. Sibbick turned away.
Pike’s legs kicked and twitched, then went still.
Guppy stood over Pike, his shoulders slumped. He looked smaller than before. He crouched and took Pike’s spare ammo clips. He put his hand on the young soldier’s chest. Guppy straightened Pike’s arms alongside his body and whispered to him.
Sibbick came over and said goodbye to Pike.
Guppy stared at the dead soldier.
“We have to keep moving, Corp,” said Sibbick.
Guppy looked at Frank. “Let’s go.”
Frank guided Florence away from Pike’s body and the mulch of brain and skull fragments on the road. She looked back at him. Her face was the colour of moonlight. She was trembling and gaunt.
Sibbick took point. Guppy walked behind Frank and Florence.
They left Pike where he had fallen.
Frank heard far off screams. He ignored them.
“Nearly there,” said Guppy. “Anything, Sibbick?”
“Nothing, Corp. Just the street.”
“Good.”
Frank moved his greasy fingers around the axe handle. His limbs shook with adrenaline and dread. Screams and shrieks echoed around the streets. He looked at Florence and smiled. She looked away. There were more bodies here. One of them was moving, pulling itself along the ground towards them. An old woman with her legs severed at the knees. Her abdomen was bloated and puffy. She hissed at Frank. Her eyes were the colour of disease.
Frank kept walking.
“Keep moving, Frank,” said Guppy. “No point dwelling.”
“It’s difficult.”
“I know.”
“What is this virus?”
“Wrath of God, maybe.”
“You religious?”
“Not exactly.”
“What does that mean?”
“I believe He’s strictly Old Testament. I’ve seen too much to believe in a loving God.”
“Fair enough.”
They walked on.
Corpses had been piled against a shop doorway. Frank tried not to look but couldn’t help glancing at their faces. Cloudy eyes and mouths hanging open.
“Who piled them up?” asked Frank.
“We did,” said Guppy. “They were infected. We were trying to keep the roads clear.”
“I’m getting used to seeing dead bodies.”
“I have been for years. The first corpse I saw was a little boy in Iraq in the second Gulf War. He was shot accidentally by one of the lads in my squad. A high calibre round blew out his spine. He didn’t die straight away, which seems to be the way of things when children are concerned. Took me a while to get over it, but I did eventually, which in itself is quite disturbing. I’ve seen so many dead.”
Guppy glanced at Florence, probably concerned that he’d said too much to upset her, but she was staring straight ahead, holding Frank’s hand. She said nothing.
“I’m sorry about Pike,” said Frank.
“He was an idiot,” said Guppy. “But he was a good lad. He had a brother with Down’s Syndrome; talked about him all the time. He’d heard yesterday that the rescue centre his brother was at had gone silent.”
Frank opened his mouth to speak but he sensed something move above them. He looked up and it was gone.
“You saw that,” said Guppy. He raised his rifle and called to Sibbick.