Rise of the Dead

Chapter 16: The Morale

"When history is erased, people's moral values are also erased," ~Ma Jian

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We all sit in the new car that speeds along the country lanes, attempting to discuss our new plan but coming to no real conclusions. In the days since Toby's death, the morale in the group has been rock-bottom, with everybody struggling with the pain and grief. It's unexplainable how much his death hurts. My heart aches for Maria, so young to lose her brother, Amelia too. I felt closer to Toby ever since he confided in me, I felt I truly began to understand him. I can barely function under the weight of the grief but I can't let my guard down. Still, everything just seems so pointless. I don't know how everyone else is coping.

Maybe they aren't.

"We need to get away from here, far away, I don't want to even be in this heinous country anymore," Amelia says painfully and we all nod in agreement.

"But there's no way we can go abroad," I state and Maria sighs sadly.

"It wouldn't be too far to the south coast, would it?" Sophie questions and I nod cautiously.

"That would be pretty far away from everything that's happened, but not too long of a drive," Josh says whilst tilting his head in Sophie's direction.

"Why don't we go home?" Sophie asks and I stiffen visibly.

"No," I reply bluntly, my voice cracked and harsh.

"Why not?" she presses further and I shake my head in painful anger.

"I want nothing to do with our parents," I reply and she shrugs at me in the mirror. "They could be dead for all I care," I say bitterly. Soph's face falls and I grimace, the air is silent for a second before I speak again with a gentle sigh. 

"I didn't mean that I'm sorry. It's just they caused all of this," I say gesturing to the world of destruction around me, "I know what I did was wrong but I didn't understand, they knew what they were doing," I whisper and look at the ground. "They don't deserve you, Sophie," I add. 

"Madeline they're our parents! They love us and they made a mistake, everyone does. They deserve another chance and I know that you still love them," she says forcefully, shaking her head.

"I can't right now..." I trail off, my eyes stinging with the tears that threaten to fall. "If they love us so much, where are they?" I ask no one in particular. My eyes scan the dead fields that show the signs of winter which are fast approaching, the bare trees forking into the grey sky.

"They were probably scared Madeline," Maria suggests and I press my lips together in a firm line. My forehead creasing and a look of deep concentration is visible as I stare blankly at my reflection, irritation coursing through my veins.

"Sophie, we could be dead and they wouldn't know until this ends, maybe not even then!" I say loudly, my voice pleading and rough. "I have a daughter and they have a granddaughter, they will NEVER KNOW!" I almost shout when the others are silent, my voice echoes in the car and I take a deep breath. 

"Please?" Sophie whispers, her eyes filled with tears. I part my lips but the sadness and pain in her eyes causing a sinking feeling in my stomach. 

"They weren't here for us when we needed them, Soph, but you're right, they deserve to know we're safe," I say defeated, "so if you want to go to the south coast that's fine, but I don't know how we're getting to the Isle of Wight?"

"I might have an idea," Josh says excitedly, a small smile plastered onto his face. I narrow my eyes at him and raise an eyebrow, my silence edging him to continue.

"What?" Sopha and Maria ask in unison, their tone's critical. Amelia just stares out of the window with a grief-stricken expression, she seems to have taken Toby's death worse than Maria, but maybe Maria prefers to grieve alone.

"We could take a boat," he suggests and I shake my head at his idea.

"What? Do you even know how to drive a boat?" I say with a heavy sigh and he laughs.

"No, but it can't be that hard," he smirks playfully.

I sigh and shake my head gently but don't protest further, taking a boat is the only way we'll be able to cross the water that stands between us and the island. 

The drive through the countryside was quiet and uneventful but I can tell that the ports that litter the south coast are going to be different, with the trees and fields slowly fading into houses and shops I know we're approaching a city centre. Sophie holds Ashia in her arms whilst the other two girls sleep, their heads on each other's shoulders. I look at Josh next to me and he smiles back, reaching out to take my hand whilst one remains on the steering wheel.

Suddenly a huge explosion erupts to our right and the cars thrown onto its side, I scream and it's echoed by the others. We land with a thud and the roof crunches until it's inches from my face, pain shoots through my head and my ears ring whilst I glance around disorientated. I raise a hand slowly to my ear, pulling it away to find it covered in sticky blood, I press my sleeve back to it and look around the car.

I see Josh slowly sliding out and carefully pulling the girls with him, Maria rolls onto the ground with a moan and Amelia whimpers as her body scrapes against the smashed glass. I see him take a crying Ashia from Soph's bruised arms, who grimaces at the movement. I try to slide out but my head beats and I fall back dizzily, trying to unclip my seatbelt which pins me in place.

I feel Josh pull me out of the battered car and the sun beats down on my face, I raise a hand feebly to shield my eyes as we shakily get to our feet and scramble to an old cake shop that will provide cover. We stumble inside and duck down behind the counter, our breathing ragged and accelerated with adrenalin. As we dress our shallow wounds feebly I look out of the cracked and bloodstained window, my eyes wide and alert. I look through the maze-like layout of shops and into the town square, frowning in confusion and squint at the chaos across the street. 

"What was that?" Maria asks and I slowly turn to her.

"Zombies," I reply shakily, my eyes fluttering around. Maria laughs and a tired smirk plasters itself to her face, her tone disbelieving.

"No seriously, what was that?" she asks again. I sigh and point out of the window, not attempting to hide the fear that coats my features.

"Zombies, there setting fire to a petrol station," I say in compleat confusion, Maria following my gaze out of the window, her mouth opening in shock. A look of uncertainty is reflected in the group until finally, Sophie breaks the silence, her voice holding a hint of authority.

"I know we're all shaken up but we need to move before fire spreads or they notice us," she states and we all nod whilst getting to our feet.

"But we don't have a car," I say, panic flooding over me.

"We'll just have to walk until we find one," she replies bluntly with a small shrug and I groan at the thought of fatigue and prolonged pain.

"Great!" I reply uncertainly but follow the group out of the small cake shop, creeping through the back alleys until finally, the zombie's howls fade away into silence.

"We need to find a car or we're never going to make it to the port," I pant and the group nod in agreement.

"Let's look in the street back there," Maria instructs and we all follow her lead, crossing the litter-strewn road to the main street. Eventually, we find a black SUV which we pile into gratefully, I scoop the keys from the footwell and hand them to Josh before hopping into the passenger seat with Ashia in my arms and Jaz led across my feet. Josh speeds off through the empty streets and I look out of the window thoughtfully to the zombies back at the petrol station, their actions sending shivers up my arms.

"Those things," I spit, "I don't know if we can even call them zombies anymore, they're not just evolving physically now- they're evolving mentally and quickly too. They're thinking, plotting; calculating their next moves," I say exasperated.

"What does that mean?" Maria asks quizically with a frown creasing her forehead. I stare at my nails that are cracked with blood and dirt before turning around and meeting her eyes, my tone uncertain.

"It means they're coming for us."