Chapter 3 – Left for Dead
The two cars pulled up on Alex's street with everyone inside still shaken from the recent trauma. What were those monsters? It walked away from a bullet to the chest and advanced on the officer that fired the shot, tearing him open. It ripped the flesh from his bones all while he was still screaming. A blood-curdling scream that hung in the minds of these survivors.
It was just like Peter had said. The military had put up two fences at either end of the road, gating in the square and the small stretch of road that lead to it. Two army officials manned the fence from the top of their trucks, both heavily armed, with a few more troops seated inside the vehicle.
Cautiously Peter got out his car and beckoned Vincent - Zoe's father - to follow. They approached the gate slowly, not wanting to startle the men with the guns.
"Sarge!" one of the men on lookout called over his shoulder causing the men in the truck to hop out, holding their guns. "We have people!"
"Infected?" Asked another tall man appearing at the watch post on the gate
"No, sir... Just people."
A few nervous seconds passed until they heard a chain clattering and the heavy gates were pulled aside and the Sargent with two younger troops greeted.
"Good morning, I'm Sargent Andrews, and this is Private Peterson and Private Stewart." said the man introducing both him and his troops.
"G'morning, I'm Peter Howard and this is Vincent Baker. We got told you were evacuating people and we figured this was the safest place to be...with the country being as it is and all."
"Smart move sir. We've already evacuated everyone in a mile radius and set up this temporary safe zone for people we have missed or those waiting for family." Sargent Andrews continued "Why don't you get your families out the car, so we can register you and get you inside these gates."
The families scrambled out the car pulling a few bags with them to take inside.
"We will assign you an empty house for you to use for the time being." addressed Sargent Andrews, pulling out what looked like some sort of register. "I need each of your full names, age and address."
"Peter Howard,42; Clair Howard,40 and Layla Howard, 16- 73 Linden Avenue." Peter reeled off to the Sargent who flipped through his papers and filled in some boxes. He moved over to Zoe's family.
"Vincent Baker, 45; Jessica Baker 43; Zoe Baker, 15 and Elizabeth Baker 13. 132 Highfield close"
The Sargent finally turned to Alex who was stood slightly off to one side in a world of her own.
"And who do we have here?" Prompted the Sargent, snapping Alex back to reality.
"Alexis Evans, 17, 14 Appleton Square."
The man looked up from his paper and studied the girl
"Are Helen and Daniel Evans your parents? " He inquired.
"Yes sir," she answered "are they okay?"
"They're inside." he replied lowering the pages of notes "Refused to be moved until you got here."
Alex let out a breath she didn't realise she was holding and shuffled over to stand with Zoe.
"You might not like to hear this but before we can let you inside, we're going to have to check you for any bites or scratches." the Sargent explained calmly "It's nothing more than a precaution we have to take now."
"Check us?" Peter asked defensively "What do you mean by that?"
"Check your skin, see if the infected got to you before you got to us." he said, "So if you wouldn't mind, I have to ask you to remove your out layer of clothing."
Compiling, the group shrugged off their jackets and stood outstretched as a group of officers patted them down, checking for any sign of a bite or scratch.
"Why are you checking for bites?" Alex asked as one of the younger officers rolled up her trouser leg.
"As far as we know, the bites are how this infection spreads." replied private Stewart, standing up satisfied "The bite infects you, you get the flu and you die. But then you come back...Have you seen a Walker yet?"
"A Walker?"
"One of the infected. The 'monsters' for lack of a better term."
Alex just nodded solemnly.
"Well you come back as one of them and nothing stops you accept a bullet to the brain." He said, seeming exasperated at Alex's questioning. "That's why we check for bites."
Stewart nodded at his Sargent before returning to his post, earning an eye roll from Alex.
"Alright!" Sargent Andrews piped up "I thank you people for your cooperation, we will have you inside shortly. One last thing, for safety reasons we're making it so every person over the age of 16 carries a knife. You should be perfectly safe in there until we escort you to the coast, but we have to be prepared for anything."
Private Peters appeared with 6 combat knives and belt holders, handing one each to the adults and finally one to Alex and Layla.
"You be careful with that young lady, it's not a toy." the private joked.
"I know... Thanks." Alex returned bluntly.
"We thank you again for your cooperation. We will be sending for you later to be taken down to the coast." Sargent Andrews said unlocking the gate and pulling it aside "You have houses 15 and 16."
With that, the group were inside the gates, reassured only by the flimsy wire gating and the uniformed officers that patrolled them with assault weapons.
Alex made a beeline for her house as the others moved to their assigned houses. She hadn't even opened the door fully when something barrelled into her legs.
"Lexis!" Her youngest brother Freddie shouted hugging her around her legs "MUM! DAD! Lexis is back!"
Her parents came into the hallway followed by her other two siblings. Her mother hugged her frantically.
"Alex, oh my god are you okay?"
"Yes, mum I'm fine. Just a little shaken up." She replied pushing her mother off gently, not liking the affection.
That was the understatement of the year. Alex and the other girls were witnesses to horrific events that were enough to scar any person for a lifetime. But her 3 younger siblings were there so she put on a brave face. It was her job to protect them from what was outside.
Freddie had just turned 4 and was the liveliest child going, constantly running around and playing make-believe games. The second youngest was Charlie, her 10-year-old sister who was everything fashion, always thinking she was older than she was. Finally, was her 14-year-old brother Sam who was a video game fanatic and mathematics genius.
The house had four bedrooms to cater for the family and a garden for their dog, Alfie.
The next few hours were spent packing up boxes and bags ready for the move. Alex helped Freddie choose a few toys and packed him a few clothes into his little bumblebee backpack and helped her parents move some personal belongings into their car. They didn't need much as the army told them everything would be provided for them in the safe zone; like toiletries, more clothes, food and housing. Once they were done, all the families waited outside next to the cars ready to be taken to the safe zone. On the square was currently 8 families- a few with children of their own.
Sargent Andrews stood on top of his truck looking around the people, his professional demeanour not wavering.
"Everybody!" He announced "As you know we planned to escort you all in your own cars in one final run to the coast. However, a problem occurred on our last run to stop us from doing that."
The small crowd mumbled nervously between themselves. Layla held onto Zoe's arm a little tighter than before.
"The safest option now is to get you into our military vehicles and move you down in smaller groups. This way we can protect you better and ensure your safety." Andrews paused "On our first run we will prioritise children 14 and under and their mothers..."
Then there was an uproar
"My daughter is only 15 she needs to go too!"
"What about my husband!"
"I'm not leaving my other children!"
"ENOUGH!" Andrews interrupted. "We can only take ten people at a time. You can choose to refuse and wait for the next run but that won't be until tomorrow morning as it's not safe to travel when it's dark."
It was only mid-day but being early February, it got dark at around 4 pm.
"I said the priority is with children under 14 and that decision is final." The crowd hummed in agreement
"However anyone under 18 can't stay without a parent."
The Sargent scanned the crowd for any more objections. Everyone was silent.
"First up. Baker; Elizabeth and Jessica. Evans; Freddie, Charlie Sam, Helen. Davis; Billy and Betty. Thompson; Jack and Ellie." he called out the names "As I said, you can turn down your place on this first run but we're leaving in ten minutes."
The Davis family were a kind couple with a son the same age as Sam. They were the first to pipe up and refuse their place.
"We can wait, give our places to Mr Thompson and their other kid. Let them stay as a family."
"If you're sure?" the Sargent asked and the Davis' nodded in response "Okay, Ruth and Joe. You're up."
"As for the rest of you left behind. We can't afford to leave any troops, but we can leave you with a few guns, ammo and knives. We recommend put a few men on guard. Keep the noise and light to a minimum- it attracts the infected. Also, with the change in circumstances, it might be best to move into two or three of the houses so you're all together." He spoke to the crowd "You should be safe inside these gates and we should be back for the rest of you in at noon tomorrow. If we run into difficulties, expect us at the maximum 3 days. We have to move quickly so lets get moving."
Those who qualified for the first run began bidding goodbyes to their families before loading themselves and their belongings into the trucks. Zoe turned to her mother and sister who were fussing about being split up.
"It's fine, dad and I will be okay. It's not like we're being left for dead. We will see you tomorrow."
Vincent hugged his wife and his youngest daughter.
"Yup we'll be right behind you."
Behind them, Alex and her family were exchanging goodbyes and had persuaded the Sargent to let them take the dog on the journey to the safe zone. Alex hugged little Freddie and lifted him into the truck and ruffled his hair.
"Bye 'Lex, bye dad, see you tomorrow!"
In his little world, he was going on a holiday, but the cars had broken down, so they had to go with the army men instead.
Alex and her dad hugged her mother and her sister then let them climb into the truck. She then bent down to fuss her dog who jumped and licked her face, which made Alex smile as she passed him up to her mom in the truck. Sam hugged his dad then nodded towards Alex before turning to get in the truck. Alex grabbed his arm, stopping him.
"Listen to me... You have to keep them safe." said Alex in a stern voice, placing her knife holder into her oldest brothers' hands "I don't care who or what it is out there. The worlds not like it was before. You keep them safe okay? Sam promise me you keep Freddie and Charlie safe?"
"I promise." said Sam taking the knife "But mum..."
"You know what mums like, she can't even watch a horror movie without shitting her pants," Alex smirked but she knew her mother would be no use if something were to go wrong. "You have to be there for the little ones. No matter what."
"You know I will."
"Good." Alex then pulled her brother into a hug before Sam followed into the truck. Once everyone was counted for, the gates were opened and the three trucks pulled away. Peter and Vince chained the gates behind them. From the outside the last thing they heard was the call of Sargent Andrews voice.
"Remember! If it's the Infected! It will only kill 'em if u get the brain!"
