Chapter Fourteen
Judith walked around the hut glancing at the closed door every few seconds. She felt uneasy. She couldn’t figure out why. Most times she liked to chalk it down to her emotional state; with the baby and all that. But truth be told she hated it when he left going out for long periods. It made her uncomfortable.
She knew he had to try and get food for them and all that but __ her eyes drifted across the room. It was small, having only a mattress, a few pots and pans and a small generator. A wire with a bulb at the end dangled from the roof. Collins turned on the generator for a few minutes at night. She hated to think what would happen when the fifty litre keg of petrol they brought with them finished. She shivered just thinking about it.
Her hands drifted over her belly in long measured strokes. The baby kicked. She smiled. Her face lit up for the briefest of seconds before falling slowly. This wasn’t the sort of existence she wanted to bring her child into. If she had a choice ___ she shook her head, trying to stop her train of thought. It didn’t work. She started to do it again when she heard a humming sound coming from her handbag. Like something was vibrating inside it.
She raced to it. How could she have forgotten? There was a phone there. Collins said Matthew gave him two of them. Think they called it a satellite phone. She couldn’t help wondering where Matthew had gotten one from.
It came out in a flash and she pushed the answer button.
“Judith you have to leave the house right now. They’re coming! Go to the stream, like we practised. Don’t bother packing anything, just GO!”
She whimpered tearing to the door. Opening it carefully, she peered out and listened. She heard nothing for a second and then it came ___ the faint sound of slurring.
She took off, heading to the back of the hut. A narrow path snaked out in front. She took it running as fast as she dared. She was almost five months pregnant. She didn’t want to do anything to endanger the baby.
The land sloped downhill. She slowed; it was rocky at this point. She had to be careful. The stream came into view; a thin slivery trickle of beauty. She approached, slowly. Coming out from behind a tree she was alarmed to see a tall dark shape standing on her right. As she prepared to scream he spoke.
“It’s me!” she heaved in relief. He sounded winded and out of breath.
“What do we do now Collins?” She got out in a breathless whisper.
He walked forward and grabbed her arm. “We RUN JUDITH!”
And they were off again.
Judith was gasping horribly. Collins looked at her worriedly He was breathing pretty hard too. They had to stop soon. His eyes kept drifting to the bulge in her belly. The baby had to be alright. ‘Hang on little one’
He tore left pulling Judith with him. There was a hollow depression in the earth leading down a slope. He approached it carefully pushing Judith ahead so he could walk behind her.
The slurs behind were getting louder.
“Where are we going Collins?”
“Not sure yet __ we have to get away from them __” he turned raising his gun. The bushes three hundred metres behind started to shake. They were almost upon them.
“Let’s go faster dear __”
“I can’t __” Judith wailed.
“Try honey __ please try.”
They stepped into the depression. It snaked forward for several hundred metres eventually disappearing into the bushes.
“It stops here __” Judith gasped as she reached the end.
“Keep going darling __”
She took a deep breath and reached forward, pushing through the thick hedge of elephant grass. The darkness here was almost complete. They hurried along; not running, but simply walking really fast.
After almost ten minutes of fast walking a light lit up ahead shinning through the gaps between the trees. Collin’s eyes narrowed as he took the lead.
The light brightened and he was through. A well maintained four lane express road lay ahead. A bright half moon hung low in the sky bathing the road in a silvery grey light. The bashed carcasses of half a dozen cars lay dotted at varying points.
There were faint screams coming from their far left, too far away to see who was screaming. Collins eyes darted left and right. One of the cars looked less damaged than the others. A 2010 metallic grey Honda Accord. He hurried towards it.
“Where are you going?”
“That car __” He cried pointing.
They reached it in minutes. He glanced in __ the windscreen was smashed on the right side and stained with dried blood. The interior was scratched, seats showered with glass. There was blood on the dashboard too.
He touched the bonnet, it was warm. It hadn’t been abandoned for long. That meant whoever owned it couldn’t be far away. The frightening part was he or she could be changed, one of them.
He reached into the car, relieved to see the key was still in the ignition.
“The key is there. Get in.”
Judith hurried to the other side. Collins brushed the glass off both seats and entered the driver’s seat. Judith practically leaped in. He turned the key, the engine started with a healthy growl.
The headlights came on illuminating the road ahead. Collins shoved it into gear slamming his foot down hard on the accelerator. The car leapt forward as it had been stung.
He looked into the review mirror shocked to see the crowd of red eyed bodies racing after the car. He pushed the accelerator down to the floor and quickly left them behind. In minutes he couldn’t see them at all.
“Where do we go now Collins?”
A long pause followed as he considered her question.
“I don’t know Judith. I honestly don’t know.”