Terry’s face crumpled. “What was I supposed to do, eh? You lot left me. And they had knives. They showed me. I could’ve been killed. Now you want to punish me?”
Despite the urgency, Clive took a deep breath and exhaled slowly and deliberately. There were so many things he wanted to say. If he’d come on the scene as a police officer, he’d have cuffed Terry on the spot and interrogated him until he broke. But these were exceptional circumstances—hadn’t his own actions the night before proved that?
“We have to move, son. I’m not blaming you, but I also can’t have you running around with a loaded weapon if you’re in shock.”
“I’m not in shock.”
Clive almost laughed. “You’re white as a sheet and you’re shaking so hard you’re almost a blur. Now give me the gun and let’s get back on the road. I’ll give it back to you later.”
Finally, with obvious reluctance in his eyes, Terry handed over the weapon, barrel first.
“Never point a gun at anyone,” he hissed through gritted teeth. “That’s rule number one.”
“Sorry,” Terry whispered.
Clive bit his tongue. On the surface Terry seemed like a grown man sulking like a child after being scolded, but he knew better than to jump to that conclusion.
“Get back on your bike. Now. We need to move.”
Clive picked up his own bike and waited. Terry was obviously in a state of shock, but they didn’t have time to properly deal with that now. He was worried about those boys running back to their fathers or older brothers. They couldn’t stick around.
“Shouldn’t we…” Terry pointed at the boy on the ground. “Shouldn’t we get your wife to see if there’s anything she can do?”
“She’s a nurse,” Clive said, shaking his head. “Not an undertaker. Now, come on. Please. I know it’s hard, but we need to get out of here right now.” He glanced over his shoulder at the abandoned buildings behind them, hoping it wasn’t already too late.
27. Annie
Come on, Annie told herself. Move.
It was a challenge. Her nerves were shot after everything that had happened in the past two days. Her legs felt like lead; the muscles above her knees screamed in protest every time there was the slightest incline in the road, which happened a lot. She had never noticed that before. There was no relief in the downhills because they were too gradual and there were too many obstacles to avoid.
Annie sighed. And now their morale was worse than it had ever been. Terry hadn’t said a word since he caught back up with them and Annie was still numb with shock at the sight of that body at his feet. She didn’t know why it was more shocking to her than the fact that Clive had killed three men the night before. Maybe it was because those men had shot at Clive or because they hadn’t actually seen the bodies.
She grimaced. Whatever she was feeling, she had no doubt that it was ten times worse for Terry. He was already starting to fall behind again. She squeezed her brakes—carefully, because it was obvious they hadn’t been tuned up in a very long time.
“What do you want?”
She shrugged, trying to overcome her dread. They hadn’t stuck around to talk about what happened, nor had any of them wanted to. What were four people on bikes going to do against a community out for blood?
“I would have done the same thing,” she said. She’d been thinking about little else ever since that gunshot rang out behind her.
“You don’t have to say things like that to make me feel better.”
“I’m not.” She sighed. “Maybe I am. Look, it’s true. I may not like you after some of the things you’ve said, but I can see it’s getting to you. And we’re all in this together. I just want you to know anyone else would have done the same in your shoes.”
He snorted. “Of course it’s getting to me.” He turned to her. His eyes were red and raw. “I killed someone.” He laughed humourlessly. “And I don’t even remember doing it.”
What would I have done?
Annie looked up the street. Clive and Olivia were about fifty yards ahead of them, and the gap was gradually increasing as she matched Terry’s slower pace. They were nowhere near where they needed to be, even at a conservative estimate. They weren’t even close to the outskirts of London. At this rate, it might be a week before they got to the farm, not a few days like she’d originally thought. And that was assuming they didn’t get even more fatigued or meet any more delays.
“They surrounded me.”
“I know.”
“I wouldn’t… I didn’t… It just went off.”
She sighed. The last thing she wanted to do was stop, but he didn’t seem in any fit state to continue cycling. “Let’s find a safe place to stop and eat lunch.”
Terry shrugged.
“You need to eat. You’ve had a shock.” All she could think about was Dan and the farm, but she made herself catch up with Clive. “Let’s stop for a bit, eh? There’s a green up there.”
“Yes, I’m hungry,” Olivia said quietly.
They reached the park and wheeled their bikes in with them. They sat in a tight circle on the grass, avoiding each others’ eyes.
Annie looked around at the others. Three strangers she’d never spoken to before all this happened. Now she felt like she needed them more than she’d ever needed anyone.
They ate quickly and without talking. Baked beans and breakfast bars were hardly gourmet, but they were fuel. With any luck, it would help them cycle faster and for longer. That was all that mattered now.
One by one they finished eating and stood up. Still, no-one said anything. It was like there was nothing left to say.
Far from feeling rejuvenated from their brief rest, it felt even harder to go on than ever. Annie looked around, dismayed to see her own hopelessness reflected in the others’ faces.
With a colossal effort, she pushed past them. She couldn’t deal with her own emotions let alone anyone else’s.
Some time later, the urban sprawl finally gave way to greenery. It was a golf course, but that didn’t matter. It was a break from the constant threat of someone jumping out from an alleyway and surprising them.
“We could camp there,” Terry said sounding hopeful. The effort was taking more out of him than all the rest of them—that much was obvious.
“Too exposed. We need to get further away.” She looked around dubiously. The sky was so grey that she was struggling to get a sense of the time. They had set out with the mission of getting seventy miles, but now that seemed unlikely. How many hours of daylight did they have left?
Terry shrugged.
Annie sighed and looked away. Traffic had thinned considerably compared to the street outside their block, but there were still cars on the road. She looked around. Where had the people from those cars gone? Had they walked back to London? They hadn’t met anyone coming in the opposite direction.
She started looking at the cars as they passed them. What had happened to the occupants? It was cold out.
Then it struck her.
Some of the cars had steamed up windows.
Still.
Three days later.
Was it possible there were still people alive in there? But why? Why hadn’t they gotten out of there before?
Annie wavered.
She’d passed four or five cars with fogged windows since she noticed it. Shouldn’t she at least check to see if…
“Annie? What is it?”
She wobbled on the bike. What was the point? Did she have to make herself responsible for everyone between here and York? There was no way she could do that. It felt wrong to just cycle on by, but what choice did she have?